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Plett is back on the radar of holiday home buyers and they are spending anything upwards of R5 million to a record price of R45 million for a luxury beach house located in Beachy Head recently sold by Seeff, says the agency's principal, Kevin Engelsman. The previous highest price was achieved in 2011 at R24,5 million.
While residential buying still dominates, agent Alet Ollemans says that there has been a notable return of Joburg and Capetonian buyers. Five years ago, there were almost no sales here above the R10 million price mark. In the last year though, the agent has sold 8 luxury homes priced upwards of R10,2 million, including two sales at R18,5 million each, a R21,5 million sale and the record R45 million sale.
The property market has been on a gradual road to recovery in recent years, says Engelsman. Holiday makers have steadily made their return and with that the demand for holiday and second homes. Last year, about 272 property transactions worth R540 million were concluded in the village, just under half of it sold by Seeff.
It has been a very successful summer season for our agents and with almost 50 sales already under the belt for the first four months including several high value deals, we are on target to see further growth in holiday home sales this year, says Engelsman. Younger buyers are also increasingly investing in holiday homes, largely under the R1,5 million price band. Since early last year, vacant plots have also started selling and, while most buyers of these intend building holiday homes, many are simply investing now with the view to future capital growth, he adds.
Prices have largely settled down and sellers are now far more inclined to negotiate, something that has contributed to the buoyant activity, says Ollemans. While there is still plenty of value to be had at the bottom to mid-sector of the market, we are now seeing a shortage of Blue Chip beachfront homes and it is an opportune time for serious sellers to get good prices.
With the Tsitsikamma Mountains as a backdrop, forests, a nature reserve, rivers, the warm Indian Ocean and three Blue-Flag beaches, Plett is the popular playground of the country's well-to-do when it comes to weekend and holiday getaways. For water sport and adventure and nature lovers, it is a paradise while others can indulge in two pro-golf courses. The village is also renowned for its top class polo fields with an almost year-round calendar of tournaments.
Devoid of the hustle and bustle of Cape Town's Atlantic Seaboard and no traffic jams, you can kick back and enjoy a laid-back coastal lifestyle here. Over school holidays for example, it is not uncommon for families to come down for weeks and a whole month in December. Many holiday-home owners later retire here and, in recent years, we have seen a rise in permanent residents with many migrating here from the big cities, says Engelsman.
It was always just a matter of time before we would see the return of holiday and investment buyers, he adds. With the recent introduction of weekly flights from Cape Town and Joburg by CemAir, Plett is now even more accessible for weekend getaways and holiday makers and of course for those who already own a holiday home here.
Not even the onset of the freezing temperatures are keeping buyers away as the buying frenzy across the Southern Suburbs continues, says Seeff's managing director for the areas, Andy Todd. With multiple offers and better prices, sellers have much to smile about. A further boost is the return of investor-buyers who are not only back, but buying.
About 20% of our sales this year have been for investment purposes, mostly to buy-to-let investors, but we have also concluded a number of sales to renovators and speculators, says Todd. This is a big change from two to five years ago when investor buyers had largely fled the market, preferring alternative investment options to residential property.
The popular choices for buy-to-let investors are sectional title units in the suburbs of Rondebosch, Claremont, Kenilworth, mostly one and two-bedroomed apartments priced under R1 million although some have paid up to R2 million for the right apartment, says Todd. The relaxation in certain provisions of the zoning regulations last year has also seen demand for R4-zoned (high density development) land increasing.
Renovators have been flocking to the school-zone suburbs of Claremont, Rondebosch and Newlands and many have made good returns in a relatively short period. A four-bedroomed home in Lee Road, Claremont/Lynfrae, for example was bought for R1,9 million in July last year. The buyer then renovated and modernised the property with trendy finishes and, it has just been sold by agent, Debbie Chalmers for over R3 million; yielding a significant return in under a year, says the agent.
There are more serious buyers now than I have ever seen, adds Todd who has been in real estate since 1987. I have never seen a gap in the market like there is now and our agents are sitting with growing lists of waiting buyers on the back of stock shortages. Show house attendance for the right property is sky high.
Chalmers for example sold five homes to the value of R14,1 million in the suburb last month alone, all within one month of listing. Sales include a three-bedroomed renovator's dream' in Lynwood Road that attracted 56 families on one show day with two offers and sold for R2,85 million. Yet another fixer upper' in Chess Road (within the school catchment area) attracted 80 buyers and seven offers. It sold for in excess of the asking price of R2,6 million.
Lynfrae is currently attracting significant interest as it is seen as representing good value for money, has the major advantage of school proximity and zoning in certain pockets. Buyers are flocking to the area right now and for sellers, it is a good time to list and get a good price, concludes Chalmers.
Luxury buyers are heading back to the historic Constantia Valley according to Seeff agents, Shelley Kruger, Marie Durr and Janine Stevenson who recently sold seven luxury homes priced up to R17 million in the Upper Constantia area. After somewhat of a lull in demand, especially at the top end, activity is now buoyant. While buyers have mostly been locals, we have also seen a return of Joburg and foreign buyers as well as South African expat buyers looking to relocate back to the country, say the agents.
While on the whole, the sub-R10 million price band is still attracting most of the demand across the suburb, the buoyant activity has spilled into the upper end of the market. In the last year sales over R10 million have almost doubled to 24 compared to just 13 in the preceding period, advise the agents. Managing director for the Southern Suburbs, Andy Todd, says that sales activity on the whole has leaped by 28% since the post 2007/8 market contraction. In the year ending April, about 204 sales transactions to the value of almost R1,2 billion were concluded in Constantia. Comparatively, only about 160 properties, worth just under R877 million, sold during the corresponding 12-month period ending April 2010.
The rural character, generous land sizes and wonderfully diverse mix of homes add to the perennial charm of the suburb. For country lifestyle seekers, it is the quintessential choice, yet with top class infrastructure and amenities on hand. Laidback and with lovely walking, cycling and equestrian trails, it really does offer the best of both - country charm, yet city chic, say the agents. And, there is something to suit just about every buyer taste and budget, from historic to contemporary.
Mid-sized homes now sell for upwards of around R3,2 million to R9,8 million while luxury homes range upwards of around R10,5 million for a spacious, contemporary architectural home on a plot of over 2,600sqm to around R22 million for a stunning 2-acre (over 8,000sqm) estate with a magnificent historic homestead and panoramic views of Table Mountain and the False Bay coastline. This rare property is one of the few traditional homes of the area, located in sough-after Southern Cross Drive and is set to draw significant interest, says Kruger, Durr and Stevenson.
The home, built in the early 1900s was designed in an English country style by well-known architect, William (Billy) Grant who was responsible for landmarks such as the Alhambra and Colosseum Theatres and the building today known as Inn on the Square' on Greenmarket Square. It boasts luxury finishes including lead-paned windows, chandeliers, parquet and wooden floors in the living rooms and pressed ceilings in the dining room. The living areas include two lounges, both with fireplaces, a dining room, study and kitchen with a pantry and separate laundry. There are four bedrooms, the main suite on the lower level opens to the garden.
There are also two cottages on the property - a one-bedroomed unit and a two-bedroomed unit with a lounge, dining room and mezzanine level. Also in the garden, is a pool house with a sauna, shower and steam rooms and a gazebo with a braai, seating and wet bar that overlooks a swimming pool and Jacuzzi. The property further includes a staff suite, two-gated entry, double garage and security system. The plot (which is sub-divisible) includes a beautifully landscaped garden and borehole.
For more information, contact Seeff Southern Suburbs, Shelley Kruger, Janine Stevenson and Marie Durr on083 700 9001/073 168 4749/083 269 8608or021 794 5252or visitwww.seeff.com, web reference 318753.
Seeff Dolphin Coast, whose offices are in Ballito, took home two top awards at the recent Seeff National Awards for 2013 held on 21 May 2014 at Arabella Hotel & Spa near Kleinmond. For their market size (Division 2) they won both theNational Licensee of the Year Award, as well as the National Marketer of the Year Award. Criteria for these awards focus not only on sales figures, but on innovation, business strategy, market share and how the Seeff brand is represented in each licence area and community.
Since winning these awards the office has gone on to pull off an innovative marketing coup with creation of the Happy Ballito' YouTube video, which after just a week had over 19,000 views (as at 3 June close to 25,000).
MD of Seeff Dolphin Coast, Andreas Wassenaar, explains: "I have always said that every business requires two things to be sustainable: marketing and innovation. We managed to combine these two in one with this recent YouTube release. My wife, Jane, picked up on the Cape Town version of Pharrell Williams' song Happy' on YouTube. Countries all over the world are making their own versions of it.Slovakia has a version set on a snow-capped mountaintop with bikini-clad models dancing and singing - which may explain the over 3 million views they received. The six Iranians from Tehran who produced their version made headline news when they were arrested because of it."
Seeff Dolphin CoastSales & Marketing Director, Tim Johnson, decided that Ballito needed its own version, and hooked up with Karl Worner from community online platform I love Ballito.com', and together with Tim Hay of Hellmot Productions and Julie Robert of Sugar Dance, put together a world-class production within 10 days. It features many local celebrities and regular well-known personalities - from homeless folk to Patricia Lewis and AJ Venter, who are regular faces out and around in Ballito, and of course used well-known locations. Says Johnson: "People tend to make their versions for various reasons, but many of us have lived and have grown up in Ballito, and we are genuinely passionate about the area. It is our way of showing how all of us who live in this area are connected."
Adds Johnson: Within a day we had received calls from Mr Price wanting to use it in their promotion of the Mr Price Pro surfing competition this year, Sony Music Africa tweeted it to their followers and East Coast Radio acknowledged the video live on air. If you are running a business and still wondering if social media is important as a way to communicate, then you are asking the wrong question! The social media platforms have revolutionised the way we all communicate and have truly made the world a small, interconnected village. Our aim is that the Happy Ballito video will make people proud of where they live as well as inspire and motivate others to migrate here."
To see the video go to YouTube and type in Happy Ballito, or click herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjFyf4kBJMg
The upswing in both domestic and foreign visitors to the Cape has boosted demand for hospitality property across many areas, especially the Overberg region, says Seeff's managing director for the area, Ian Badenhorst. Our agents report that in addition to an increase in domestic visitors, foreign visitor numbers were up by about 20% over the summer with guest houses and hospitality establishments were once again booked out.
Aside from serving the seasonal tourist trade, the Overberg is popular with weekenders, something that has contributed to the demand for hospitality property, says Badenhorst. Interest ranges from existing guest houses and bed and breakfast establishments to properties ready for conversion to guest houses, curio and art stores to restaurants. Popular hot spots include Caledon, Swellendam, Barrydale, Bredasdorp and the nearby coastal villages of the Cape Agulhas area, Arniston and Struisbaai....
The scenic Tulbagh Valley is now drawing buyers from across the globe, says Seeff agent, Nelia Retief. Surrounded by majestic mountains and with its collection of historic Cape Dutch buildings in Church Street a big draw card, the village has seen a flurry of buyers heading here over the last year. These include foreign buyers, mostly from Europe looking to invest in property and prepared to spend up to R6 million for a farm in the area, says the agent.
About 42 property sales were concluded during the 2013 year including 28 sales to the value of R19,5 million concluded by the agent. Not only is this about 24% better than the 34 odd sales of 2009 when the market turned, but this year is already off to a booming start, says Retief. Seeff alone has already concluded 15 sales to the value of around R8,2 million during the first quarter of this year, she adds.
Coming off a very busy few months, Seeff's agents across the southern school belt suburbs of Rondebosch, Claremont, Newlands, Kenilworth and Plumstead say that they are already dealing with buyers looking to move closer to schools and tertiary education facilities for the next academic year. With property stock levels down about 30% year-on-year on the back of strong sales, the biggest challenge for our agents is meeting the buoyant buyer demand, says managing director for the area, Andy Todd.
With around 160 schools, the southern suburbs boast the highest number of schools per square kilometre in the country, says Todd. While the convenient location of these suburbs, the top class infrastructure and quick access to just about anywhere into and out of the city is a plus factor, the high density of schools and the nearby UCT (University of Cape Town) is the biggest draw card for buyers.
Located only 45 minutes from Cape Town, the lush and fertile Elgin/Grabouw Valley is renowned for its fruit farms for example producing about 60 percent of the country's total annual apple crop, much of it exported. Seeff agent, Peté Kotzé though says that the area is fast gaining popularity for its wine and olive farms and, the valley is now more of a tapestry of orchards, vineyards and olive groves.
The Mediterranean climate makes it ideal for wine and olive cultivation. It is already gaining a reputation for its high quality cool climate wines, especially Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noirs, says the agent. The potential of olive farming across the Western Cape though has increasingly come to the fore in the last two years. It is one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors and according to the SAO (The South African Olive Industry Association), production has doubled over the last four years on the back of strong demand for olive oil and the various olive products.
The Somerset West property market is emerging from the recession hang-over with demand now beginning to outpace supply in the residential sales and rental sectors. That is the word from Seeff's Somerset West manager, Loretta Diab. Following the rather depressed market conditions of 3-5 years ago, we have in the last year seen a noteworthy improvement in buyer enthusiasm and sales to the extent that our agents are now battling to meet both buyer and rental demand.
Driven by growing buyer confidence, sales have strengthened year-on-year over the last few years. In 2009, activity slumped to 967 sales to the value of just over R1,2 billion. By last year, activity had improved to about 1,387 sales worth almost R2,2bn - 43% up in terms of sales volume and 83% up in terms of the Rand-value.
There is growing demand for luxury homes in Hout Bay according to Seeff agent, Ingred Blicher Hansen who recently sold several luxury homes, priced upwards of R6,4 million to around R15 million. Driven by the wonderful village lifestyle, views and convenient access to the city, upper income buyers are increasingly heading here for better value for their money when it comes to luxury housing, she says.
The demand for property here is evident from the growth in sales to around 374 units to the value of just over R835 million last year compared to 278 sales worth around R614 million in the preceding year. That is a quite significant increase of 35% in the volume of sales and Rand-value. Most notably, says Blicher Hansen, around 28 properties priced above the R5 million mark sold, almost 50% more than the 19 sales in the year before with exceptional properties now fetching anything upwards of R10 million to R23 million.


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Zogby asked respondents about their biggest concern about the Internet, and only about 4 percent identified behavioral advertising. Nearly 39 percent said their biggest concern was ID theft, and 34 percent said viruses and malware. Another 12 percent said their biggest concern was government surveillance of data.
The survey didn't ask if Internet users would prefer to continue to get free content while not seeing advertising. A May study by ClarityRay, a company that helps Web publishers defeat ad-blocking software, found that more than 9.2 percent of Internet users in the U.S. and Europe were using ad-blocking software.
More than 18 percent of Chrome and Firefox browser users have ad-blocking extensions installed, according to the company.
Large-scale ad-blocking on the Internet is "untenable" for publishing companies, Mastria said. "Someone has to pay for that service," he said.
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Clorox Names New CEOAugust 5, 2020
Rendle has been with Clorox for more than 17 years, serving in a variety of general management and leadership positions. She was named president earlier this year after serving as executive vice president – cleaning, international, strategy and operations since January 2019. She succeeds Benno Dorer, who has served as Clorox’s CEO since November 2014. Dorer will remain with the company serving as the board of director’s executive chair.
About Clorox Professional Products
Clorox Professional Products Co. offers a wide selection of brands designed to address workplace cleaning needs. For more information, visit www.cloroxprofessional.com.


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Eveline de Klerk WALVIS BAY - Walvis Bay Salt Refiners has invested N$90 million in a new salt wash plant that will see the company increase productivity as well as the quality of product. Construction of the plant started in June already and the completion date is set for October 2019. The new salt wash plant is part of the company’s expansion project aimed at transforming to become a major global player in terms of producing pure sea salt. The current wash plant is about 30 years old with an output of 900 tonnes of salt per annum if operated at full capacity, however the plant has been experiencing challenges hence the need for a new plant. Speaking during the ground-breaking ceremony, managing director of the company, Andre Snyman, said the plant is currently also only capable of processing about 80 percent of the salt field volume. Walvis Bay Salt Refiners currently produces in excess of 750 tonnes of high quality salt per annum. According to Snyman, the new plant will not only increase the volume of the plant to 1.1 million tonnes per annum but will also enhance product quality. The new plant will furthermore significantly cut down on overtime for the company. “The need for a new wash plant is deemed fit for our business that continues to expand in line with the increasing demand for our product,” he said. The new plant will offer a range of other benefits including a reduction in washing losses and lower moisture levels. “In general international markets require moisture content to be lower than 3 percent. The new plant will have the capacity and ability to ensure Walvis Bay Salt Refiners meets this and other stringent international quality standards.” He added that the current plant only runs on a single wash line, while the new plant will have two, which can be used independently if one has to go on maintenance.
New Era Reporter
2018-07-05 09:06:42 1 years ago


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Qatar confirmed 197 new cases in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of cases in the country to 3,428, the Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday.
For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.
The total number of people currently undergoing treatment in the country is 3,048, the ministry said. Seven people have died from the coronavirus in Qatar so far.
In the last 24 hours, 39 people have recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 373.
The ministry said 52,622 tests have been conducted in the country so far.
Qatar has closed all non-vital businesses until further notice as part of the country’s efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Vital sectors like supermarkets and pharmacies remain open.
The government also shut down all shops and bank branches in shopping malls, except for food stores and pharmacies, in addition to closing down part of the Industrial Area.
Mosques and communal religious prayers, including Friday prayers, have also been suspended.


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Increase the supply, replenishment, “ice pier pier” pre-sale plan
Thanks to the strength of the Winter Olympics, the mascot “Ice Dwen Dwen” has appeared in the past few days.The reporter learned that with the end of the Spring Festival holiday, commodity supply is expected to gradually improve.In the morning of the 7th, the reporter saw in the official flagship store of the Olympic Cat, a batch of “ice dun dun” will be re-on-line in the store today, open many rounds of sales, more Olympic peripheral products will also be on-line.”One minute it says it’s available, the next it says it’s sold out.”With the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the mascot “Bing Dwen Dwen” has gone viral.On February 4, bingdun Dun handwork was launched in 15 minutes, and 5,000 of them were wiped out.The excitement of the Winter Olympics is never limited to the venues.Ahead of the Opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, bing Dwen Dwen has won athletes and netizens around the world with its charmed appearance.On Weibo, Bing Dwen dwen dominated the list of hot search, e-commerce platforms appeared “yidun difficult to find” situation.Many Weibo users left online messages expressing their love for bing Dwen Dwen and asking the authorities to replenish the product as soon as possible.And in the offline flagship stores of official licensed goods, citizens also favor “dream love pier”.On February 6, the flagship store of official licensed goods in Shichahai saw a wave of citizens come into the store every few minutes, and every one of them asked if there were any “Bing Dwen Dwen” plush toys available. Many of them were disappointed when they got a negative answer.On February 7, the first working day of the Year of the Tiger, people in wangfujing gongmei Building have been queuing up since the night before to buy licensed goods for the Winter Olympics, and many of them are running to bing Dwen Dwen.”Are there any more ‘Ice Dadden dadden’ blind boxes?””The blind box is gone for the time being, but you can have a look at the opening ceremony torch commemorative medallion, which is not expensive and also has the significance of collection.”Bai Yanyan, the manager of the winter Olympics flagship store, receives thousands of such inquiries every day on average.At the south gate of the shopping mall, the staff uninterrupts the unloading and handling of goods, with hundreds of boxes every day.After closing at 10 p.m., restocking, restocking…The enthusiasm of the public to welcome the Winter Olympics is high, and the sale of licensed goods has also ushered in a wave of peak.”Yesterday, the queue went all the way from Gongmei Building to Goldfish Hutong macau Center.So we opened earlier, and we increased our collection staff to speed things up.In the store, we also adjusted the placement of goods, rationally arranged the personnel to move the line and speed up the flow.”According to reports, since February 3, the flagship store receives nearly 10,000 customers every day.Due to the large number of people queuing outside the store, the flow restriction measures were taken to enter the store, and the time for every 100 people to enter the store was about one hour.At the same time, in view of the “Bing Dwen Dwen” plush toy daily arrival quantity is limited, the current limit per person 1.In order to keep out the cold for the queuing citizens, the flagship store gave out ginger soup and warm baby water for free from time to time.In addition to enhancing security measures and sending more security personnel to maintain the order of the scene, a number of logistics personnel were also arranged to assist in guiding the team and calming down the emotions. Meanwhile, special personnel were arranged to communicate online on platforms such as Dianping in a timely manner to answer and reply the comments and inquiries of netizens.The buying spree of “Bing Dwen Dwen” reflects everyone’s enthusiasm and wishes for the Beijing Winter Olympics.Zhao Weidong, spokesman for the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Winter Olympics, said at a regular press conference that the supply was insufficient to cope with the sudden outbreak of “Bing Dwen Dwen” due to the Spring Festival holiday and other reasons. Relevant departments are stepping up coordination to increase supply.”We have been contacting all the manufacturers and actively allocating supplies. Supply is expected to improve after the holiday and the products will continue to come to the market.”Winter Olympics flagship store also said the store will continue to operate after the end of the Winter Olympics, “at least the first half of the year will continue to open,” advised the public not to crowd, wrong peak purchase.At the same time, do not buy licensed goods from “scalpers” at a high price, do not believe the price hype, rational consumption.On the morning of July 7, the official Tmall store of the Olympic Games released the latest release preview information, “Bing Dwen Dwen” hand will be on the shelves today three times for pre-sale, a total of 6,000 shelves, each ID limit 2 pieces;”Bing Dwen Dwen” key chain will also be on sale for three times today, a total of 3000 pieces.Ali also revealed that there will be a number of Olympic Games peripheral products in The new tmall.(source: Beijing Daily client) For more exciting content, please download “Wuhan” client in each major application market.


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Even though they have fallen on hard times, BlackBerry is still a pride and joy for Canada. Excitement grew when John Chen took over as CEO of BlackBerry, but it took them a couple of years to finally produce an Android-based smartphone – the BlackBerry PRIV. Except for its high price tag, it has received favorable reviews and sales were brisk…all things considered. Today is another good day for BlackBerry PRIV owners, because just as it was reported two days ago, PRIVs sold via the carriers are now receiving their Marshmallow upgrade. According to reports, Wind Mobile, Bell, TELUS, and Rogers have all started to roll out the upgrade, which weighs in at a hefty 1.1GB, so you might want to make sure you are hooked on to WiFi to speed up your download.
A couple of days ago when it was reported the update was coming on May 3, we went into detail about the added security and features that Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow would bring to the BlackBerry PRIV. Our full review goes into more detail, but suffice it to say, the PRIV offers some hope for BlackBerry, but needs some improvements if it hopes to compete with the likes of Samsung, HTC, or LG in the smartphone arena – especially when it carries a price tag of $720. It sports a 5.4-inch OHD Super AMOLED display that is curved on both edges – they go around the edges over the slide-out physical keyboard – and is packing 540 pixels-per-inch (PPI). It uses a 64-bit Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor with dual cores clocked at 1.8 GHz and a quad-core clocked at 1.44 GHz. The PRIV packs 3GB of DDR3 RAM and 32GB of internal memory with a microSD slot to expand up to 200GB. BlackBerry – never known for their cameras – made an effort with an 18MP sensor with Schneider-Kreuznach optics, phase detection autofocus (PDAF), OIS, dual-tone flash, and a f/2.2 aperture. The front-facing camera (FFC) comes in at 2MP for selfies and video chatting. A 3,410 mAh non-removable battery with rapid charge provides power. It comes only in Black and is made of plastic.
There are rumors that two more Android-driven BlackBerrys will be released this year – one with the physical keyboard (BlackBerry Rome) and one without (BlackBerry Hamburg). Hopefully, BlackBerry will take what they learned with the PRIV and apply it to the new models.


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There's always room to grow. Chad Mackay, president of El Gaucho Hospitality in Seattle, Washington, talks about the opportunity producers have to meet the demands of progressive consumers seeking niche beef products.
- WTO again sides with Canada, Mexico on US COOL law
- Commentary: A beef with yogurt
- State cattlemen’s groups to USDA: Hands off the checkoff
- Six universities launch animal ag industry climate change website
- Rabobank projects substantial growth in Brazil feedlot sector
- BVD control: Segmented U.S.production system presents challenges


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Last week at BlackBerry Live is was announced that BBM will finally be going cross-platform this summer. Android and iOS users will soon be able to get in on the best messaging service around and easily keep in touch with their BlackBerry friends. At first it will just be straight-up messaging, but soon to follow will be full features like BBM Voice and BBM Video.
We've seen arguments both for and against cross-platform over the years. Some argue that it's a bad move for BlackBerry, while others think it's a great move for many reasons. Whatever your stance, it's going to happen in just a few months, so only time will tell.
Nearly two years ago we asked you if BBM needed to go cross-platform. Out of all the votes, an amazing 71% of you said that yes, BBM should indeed be available to everyone. Only around 25% said it was a bad idea, while almost 4% were undecided.
Now that it's been announced for real we want to know your thoughts again. BBM is going cross platform soon - we can't change that. What we want to know is if you think cross-platform BBM is a good idea or not? Let us know in the poll below then sound off in the comments.


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The rising popularity of Korean plastic surgery has taken the world by storm. The concept of innovative cosmetic surgery procedures practiced in South Korea has brought about sweeping changes in the global domain of plastic surgery.If you take a walk along the posh and fashion crazy affluent Gangnam street, it is visible everywhere right from the posters on the wall to the neon signage on the public transport.
It is a long way since the days of Japanese war assaults when South Korea was neck deep in poverty. The nation had made commendable strides in all round progress and the gross domestic earning shot up making the nation wealthier and fashion conscious. The South Koreans are very conscious about their looks. Even the high school students receive a surprise gift of plastic surgery from their parents on the event of celebrating their college graduation.


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BioWare, Electronic Arts’ role-playing game mill, has its nose to the grindstone with the next round of sequels to its most recent series. Mass Effect 4 is on the way (only it won’t really be Mass Effect 4). Dragon Age 3: Inquisition has been in a variety of production stages over the past two years, and all that’s clear is that EA and BioWare want to tailor it to whatever customers say they want. What consoles will these games be on, though? Maybe PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, maybe the PlayStation 4 and Next Xbox, definitely PCs? Definitely the latter three based on word from BioWare.
The next Mass Effect game and Dragon Age 3: Inquisition will both run on DICE’s shiny new Frostbite 3 engine. Those games didn’t put in an appearance at GDC 2013 when DICE debuted Battlefield 4, but the studio’s new general manager Aaryn Flynn confirmed on Twitter that those sequels will use the same tech.
“For everyone who’s been asking after the BF4 reveal, DA3 and the next Mass Effect are also using Frostbite 3,” said Flynn, “It’s awesome.”
Prior to Flynn’s announcement, all that was known was that these sequels would use a new engine. Dragon Age 3 at least started out using Frostbite 2, though. “We are working on a new engine which we believe will allow us to deliver a more expansive world, better visuals, more reactivity to player choices, and more customization,” said producer Mark Darrah in December, “We’ve started with Frostbite 2 from DICE as a foundation to accomplish this.”
If the engine technology has changed yet again, it’s questionable whether or not these games will make it out to current consoles after all. One thing, at least, seems like a guarantee. Mass Effect 3 on Wii U won’t be followed by the next Mass Effect game. DICE confirmed for Eurogamer during a GDC interview that the Frostbite 3 engine does not support Nintendo’s new console. “The biggest problem we have right now is we don’t want to back down from what we see as our low spec machines,” said DICE’s Patrick Bach, “We right now don’t have support for the Wii U in the Frostbite engine. The reason for that is it takes development time.” That’s bad news for the Wii U’s future prospects, as Epic Games also confirmed to us that the Wii U would not run Unreal 4 either.
- From ‘Anthem’ to ‘Smash Bros. on Switch,’ here are the games coming to E3 2018
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- 4A Games’ post-apocalyptic ‘Metro Exodus’ delayed to next year
- A ‘Dark Souls Remastered’ network test will begin on May 11
- PlayStation chief says the next console is still three years away


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A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usually specially designed for the task, often being equipped with cranes and other mechanisms to load and unload, and come in all sizes. Today, they are almost always built by welded steel, and with some exceptions generally have a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years before being scrapped.
Cargo ships/freighters can be divided into five groups, according to the type of cargo they carry. These groups are:
(AP) — The final chunk of a cargo ship that capsized two years ago along the Georgia coast is awaiting removal from the water ... The ship overturned with 4,200 cars in its cargo decks after departing the Port of Brunswick on Sept.
... in shipping since 1997) if they are keen on securing PSU cargo contracts ... Foreign fleet owners are beginning to register subsidiary companies in India and bringing ships under the Indian flag to gain assured business in carrying Indian cargo,” said a shipping industry official.
The expansion of the port of Lucena with its additional pier to accommodate heavier cargo ships will unlock the economic potential of Quezon province, according to Transportation SecretaryArturo Tugade ... The port's twin developments will also yield lower logistics costs and shipping fees.
Massive supply chain disruptions are being felt across the United States as imports resume -- and as the country's busiest ports, at Los Angeles and Long Beach, are unable to handle the volume of container ships, many of which await offshore ... .
He said one Chinese cargo owner had signed a long-term cooperation agreement with a shipping company at the start of the year that had secured a stable price of $2,600 a container ... "The long-term agreements ensure rights for shipping companies and cargo owner companies, and also ...
The country's containerized cargo is mostly handled through major ports in southern Vietnam, and it maintained a double-digit growth rate of 15 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 18.6 million TEU... Although container shipping is experiencing upheavals from COVID-19, cargo is moving in larger amounts than ever before.
The number of container ships waiting for berthing space to unload cargo at Southern California ports reached a record 73 early this week before falling slightly ... are overwhelmed, as well as being ill-equipped to handle larger ships and the huge volumes of cargo they contain.
The problem is a serious lack of everything from cargo ships to tractor-trailers in the supply chain that brings everything to local stores ... However, it takes a good deal longer to train a tractor-trailer driver than a pizza cook, and crane operators on cargo ships need much more practice than servers at your local Irish bar.
We view MOST and Nexxiot as an alliance of truly complementary companies that promise to deliver the new standard in big data solutions across cargo shipping sectors ... An industry leader in the digitalization of cargo transportation, Nexxiot empowers global shipping companies and ...


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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) - It's been a project months in the making. The Publix at Twickenham Square officially opened for business Wednesday. City leaders and Publix managers cut the ribbon outside Huntsville's newest grocery store.
The store's manager counted a few hundred people walking aisles since 7:00 Wednesday morning. It appears Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle is not the only person happy to see this new store.
Publix Store Manager Chris Sheffield shouted, “Good morning, Huntsville!”
“Good morning,” replied a crowd of people waiting to shop inside the store.
The store manager's announcement made months of planning a reality. A ribbon cutting made things official.
Mayor Battle calls Twickenham square a public-private partnership.
“There`s the public section of it which is your parking garage. This is your private section of it which is stores that are opening,” said Mayor Battle.
He believes Publix serves a need to the area.
“We got some part of the quality of life. We got a development in downtown Huntsville that drives our downtown. This is a great project,” added Mayor Battle.
Karen Corp does not need the mayor's convincing.
“I work at Harrison Brothers, so am all about downtown. I love this. I love Twickenham Square. Welcome to Publix,” said Corp.
Rosa Kilpatrick is familiar with the grocery store chain, but was not sure what to expect with the downtown Huntsville store.
“I`m excited. The store is wonderful. They are saying it is small. This is great. It is just what I need. I am just excited for Huntsville and the community,” said Kilpatrick.
Both shoppers were thrilled about their travel time to the store. They had been traveling to the stores on Airport Road and Madison Boulevard. The downtown Huntsville store is only a few blocks from their home.
The store is a part of the $100-million downtown Huntsville project.
This is the 12th Publix in the Huntsville market. Around 100 people will work at the store.
The Publix at Twickenham Square is smaller than traditional Publix stores, only 28,000 square feet.
The store has grocery, dairy, frozen food departments. It also has full-service meat department, seafood, sushi counters and a bakery. There is also be a full-service pharmacy.
Regular store hours are from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.


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Figures Fly In A Public Meeting Over Supermarket Provision
April 2nd 2014
Alan Mumby of Keep Louth Special introduced their case, but first emphasised their common ground with MLF: "We share a passion for our town."However, he cited 600 campaigns across the country where supermarkets had "sucked the life out of towns".
"We are not anti-supermarket," Mr Mumby said. "Do you want a supermarket if it meant the decline of a town?"
Alan Grantham explained MLF's views. "Shopping provision in Louth is not sufficient, and it's going to get worse. Many travel to Grimsby and Cleethorpes. A third supermarket would encourage more people to shop in Louth." He put the case for a supermarket on the cattle market site, saying "ELDC would save the £70,000 a year it costs to maintain that site."
Darren Dodds called for ELDC to hold an evening meeting as opposed to a daytime one. "I am concerned about the cuts in public service," he said. He questioned the assertion that the cattle market is too far away, saying "It's not a proper out of town site. We may get one on the industrial estate." Referring to the idea of a supermarket on the cattle market site, he said "I'm not so sure it will damage the town."
Surveys and reportsELDC recently commissioned an updated report on retail by Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners. It's heavy reading, and full of statistics. Councillor Adam Grist quoted its finding of a 32% leakage in food spend. "The current supermarkets in Louth are overtrading," he said. "Morrisons by 40% and Co-op by 30%. ... Despite Aldi, they believe there is room for another supermarket."
I don't understand exactly what overtrading means with regard to retail, but it doesn't seem to have any relation to the usual definition to do with a business exhausting its cashflow.
Nick Louth brought out the statistical fencing. "Not a single poll has found that people in Louth want a supermarket," he said. He cited a number of polls, including this one I did. He clarified that the current KLS petition about the cattle market has been running since November 2013. There had been one in 2008. "At that time petitions had no legislative impact. Now under Localism they can trigger a local referendum," he said.
Mr Louth also questioned the definition of Louth's catchment area used in the Nathaniel Lichfield report, which goes up to the edge of East Lindsey.
I've mentioned before how surprised I've been by how many people shop in Louth from out of town. Having done a number of surveys in the town centre, as well as petitions for the libraries in 2013, I've spent a long time with a clipboard in hand, talking to hundreds of people and asking them where they're from. I'd estimate between 25% and 40% of people shopping in Louth are coming from outside Louth, particularly from Grimsby and other towns in East Lindsey. In the winter months, less than 5% of the people I spoke to came from outside the county, but obviously this increases in the tourist season. This is anecdotal, but if it's accurate then it balances nicely with the leakage of about a third that Louth is purportedly getting through people shopping elsewhere.
Back to Nick Louth, who pointed out that 3000 square metres is the largest the cattle market site might be. "There are all sorts of reasons people might go to an out of town supermarket," he said. "Many of those reasons would not change. If you park at Morrisons or Co-op it's just a five minute trip. The cattle market is actually a really long way. All the evidence is that the arrival of out of town shopping would cause huge damage."
However, Councillor Grist disputed this, saying the distance from the cattle market to the town centre "wasn't very far at all." He cited a report by Southampton University that points to the benefits of edge of town supermarkets.
Councillor Sarah Dodds spoke of the difficulty of this decision. She raised the point that there were two prominent issues that people brought up when she was canvassing for the County Council election in May: a skate park, and supermarkets. "I think we've got a much more complicated picture than we think we've got. We need to understand not Nathaniel Lichfield or MLF or KLS, but what you tell us." She made a plea for people to get involved with the official process.
Councillor George Horton asked whether Louth needed or wanted a supermarket. "Does it have to be on the cattle market? What will it cost to sell it?" He warned that the money from the sale "may not be put back into Louth" and instead could be spread out over the whole of East Lindsey. "If we do want a new supermarket, why does it have to be in the cattle market?"
"Supermarkets close town shops. We've got our supermarket, but we've got nothing else," Councillor Horton concluded.
Councillor Horton runs a business in the cattle market. His statement suggests that he's advocating a supermarket on the industrial estate, but unfortunately he left the meeting before he could clarify his position on this.
"Louth is not being provided for," Rick Aron of MLF claimed. "The way we shop is changing. All town centres are damaged. We do need a third or a fourth choice. I have seen my home town of Horncastle stagnate."
Statistics, damned statisticsNick Louth criticised the assumptions of Nathaniel Lichfield report, which forecasts population growth in Louth's catchment area to rise from 29,216 in 2014 to 30,580 in 2018 and 32,285 by 2023, which he believed too high. He also labelled the Southampton university study "very contentious."
"Why are there so many ghost towns?" Mr Louth asked, if supermarkets are so beneficial. "Louth is doing pretty well, and it's not by chance. None of us here have any control over the provision of businesses. ... It depends on whether they think they can make money."
Councillor Grist called the various reports "quite meaty stuff." (I disagree - they're more like cocoa laced with Valium.) "You can use these figures to put forward any case you want to make."
Councillor Grist defended the council's decision to commission an expert report. "We want to understand the needs and the wants," he said. However, he disagreed with the idea of a supermarket on a site such as the industrial estate. "The least worst site is the cattle market. It certainly isn't out of town. Arguably a supermarket on the cattle market would be damaging to the town centre. ... A third of the spend outside Louth and 40% overtrading tells me Louth could probably accommodate a new store."
"The scrutiny was not about supermarkets," Councillor Pauline Watson said. "It's about whether we keep the cattle market in Louth. I can't be predetermined. If we take the cattle market it will change the nature of this town. There needs to be a cattle market." She went on to suggest that a large supermarket would close down one of the existing supermarkets. "There is a very serious danger that if you have a supermarket you would only have one type of shop."
Neil Sharpley turned Councillor Grist's point about people spending money out of town around. "You are asking yourself what is lost. How much will come back to Louth?" He was critical of how little the NLP report says about this. "If the future of farming is more organic then there will be a greater need for a cattle market."
One lady whose name I didn't catch spoke about how run-down Alford is. "The town is boarded up," she said. She was in favour of a decent-sized supermarket for Louth.
Yvonne Andrews described her shopping experiences. "We do go to Asda in Grimsby," she said. She was critical of the expense of shopping in Louth's Morrisons. "I do think that the cattle market needs to stay up there. But we do need a large supermarket and I don't think that Aldi is going to make a difference."
Alan Mumby offered the statistic that large supermarkets put 5% of their profits back into the local community, whilst small shops put back 50%. "Our proposal puts in a climbing wall," he said, referring to KLS's detailed plans for refurbishing the cattle market.
Alan Grantham asked how KLS would purchase the site.
Nick Louth wasn't able to give specifics as yet. "We have a plan for specialist retail for things that aren't in Louth: climbing, outdoor equipment." He described the price of a new cattle market as "millions of pounds."
"We wouldn't have trouble raising money for a new climbing wall," Mr Louth said. "We want to have that site used every hour of every day."
"Supermarkets are inevitable," claimed Rick Aron. He also expressed concern that councillors think they are "prejudiced by having dialogue with their electorate." The whole matter of prejudiced decisions is something I find worrying, because its effect seems to be to stifle debate and discourage councillors from saying what they really feel.
Councillor Dodds was clear about the complexity of the issues and people's experiences. "We are not talking about the closure of the cattle market." She pointed out that any supermarket application would also have to go through the regular planning process.
However, Councillor Dodds expressed concerns about provision for youth in Louth. She wanted to "stop the assumption that when our kids hit 18 they have to leave. I would look at ways we can keep young people here."
"Play provision could be better," Councillor Grist agreed. But he paid tribute to the "huge number of people who give up their time" to run clubs in Louth. "We're really lucky in this town," he said. He also cited the 1551 Royal Charter which ensures the town keeps its cattle market. "Even if East Lindsey wanted to, it couldn't get rid of it, but that would be a line in the sand for me."
The debate was lively, and lots of figures were thrown back and forth, but by the end I felt that figures can only tell us so much. I would have preferred to have quoted more members of the public and fewer councillors, but that's often the way with these meetings.
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"Having created a phone, it's a lot harder than it looks," he said. "We’ll see how good their software is and we’ll see how consumers like it and how quickly it is adopted" ... "I actually think Google has achieved their goal without Android, and I now think Android hurts them more than it helps them. It’s just going to divide them and people who want to be their partners."We understand why Jobs wants to brush off a competitor before they make it to market. But he's wrong. Google can get into the phone business and make its partners -- both its advertisers and the wireless carriers -- happy.
As an ad company, Google needs to be in front of as many people as possible, and that now means mobile phones. There are several ways that Google can do that, including powering official search/portals/ads for a wireless carrier, attracting people to its own Google.com mobile Web pages, and by pushing out free apps for peoples' phones, like Google Maps Mobile, which it can eventually slap ads on.
Google has had some success getting carrier portal deals, including Sprint's forthcoming "Xohm" WiMax service, and Clearwire, another WiMax service. But most carriers haven't signed on with Google: T-Mobile, for instance, is rolling out a new version of its "T-Zones" start page, and we hear Google won't be powering search on that. In the U.S., cellphone carriers still want to control their lucrative portals, or "decks," where they can sell ringtones, wallpaper downloads, etc.
Google's free mobile apps are popular among the early-adopter set. But that's a tiny niche: About 4.2% of U.S. wireless subscribers used a downloaded app last fall, according to research firm M:Metrics. Likewise, while Google's mobile Web site is handy, M:Metrics says only 12.6% of U.S. wireless subscribers accessed info/news via a mobile browser last fall.
But a Google-owned mobile OS solves lots of problems. It can offer its ad network to third-party developers as an enticement to build Android apps. Google can also pre-load Android phones with its own, ad-supported software. And by offering a built-in Web browser that doesn't suck -- unlike the vast majority of today's phones -- Android can make it easier for subscribers to get on the mobile Web, where Google can sell ads yet again.
That may be the best news for Google -- and for carriers. Why? Because as wireless subscribers spend less money on plain-vanilla phone calls, carriers must sell more data services, like mobile Web access packages, to drive revenue growth. AT&T execs rave about how the iPhone, with its powerful Safari browser, has increased mobile data usage. There's no reason Android smartphones won't do the same thing -- and compete head-on with Apple.
See Also: Google's Android Beta Buggy. So What?
Macworld: Apple Has Sold 4 Million iPhones
Why Microsoft Should Build An iPhone-Killer
Smartphones Soaring: Good News For Apple, RIM, Nokia


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Chris Sells, vice president of the tools division at Telerik (and himself a Microsoft veteran, as a principal program manager for the developer division working on Visual Studio), thinks the volatility of the mobile market -- the very thing that put such a dent in Microsoft's sway in the consumer market -- can work in Microsoft's favor here.
"The key to remember is that consumers switch platforms fast," says Sells. "So long as they can bring their email, contacts, appointments, pictures, and music between platforms, there's no reason in the world for them to be loyal when the next cool thing comes out."
Forrester's Rymer and Hammond agree: "Only some consumers are strongly loyal to smartphone brands, and tablets may follow the same pattern. If Microsoft and its partners can create amazing new offerings at attractive prices, enough consumers may switch back."
Blue Badge Insights' Brust feels that Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 can and should prop each other up -- "get a virtuous cycle going," as he puts it. But Microsoft needs more apps in both stores to get there, Brust says -- possible only when a developer culture sees Windows 8, and Windows Phone 8, as worthwhile targets to begin with.
Under the Surface
Microsoft may have partnered with others to create Windows Phone devices, but what about the Surface, which sports the Microsoft brand and no one else's? Is the Surface a sign that Microsoft is becoming a hardware company and shirking its software-and-services roots?
Probably not -- for one, the Surface was developed mostly as a showcase for Windows 8, in both its x86 and ARM incarnations. It wasn't as if other Windows 8 machines with touch weren't coming to market; the Dell XPS 12, the Lenovo Yoga, and many others come to mind. But Microsoft wanted at least one machine to serve as a guiding light for what is possible, both for consumers and other manufacturers.
Surface attracted at least as much criticism as admiration, and it made others wonder if Microsoft was going to rebrand itself as a PC hardware company -- again, along the lines of Apple. It's a tempting view to take, but an incomplete one.
Forrester's Rymer says it's best not to "read too much into Microsoft's hardware ventures."
"Microsoft is simply trying to stimulate innovation in what had become a static ecosystem," Rymer says. "Close collaboration with hardware providers is one way to prompt greater innovation. Creation of new devices is another way."
It also helps to remember that Microsoft has long been a hardware company. Case in point: the Xbox, a component of Microsoft's overall strategy that's often ignored in favor of its conventional desktop efforts. The Xbox isn't just a game console, but an entertainment hub of remarkable flexibility and breadth of third-party support.
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Chinese Premier Visits Africa for First Time
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has started his first official visit to Africa. His itinerary includes Ethiopia, Nigeria, Angola and Kenya. The WSJ’s Ramy Inocencio speaks with Wayne Ma in Beijing about the premier’s goals for the trip.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... the the ... the ... leak itself has kicked off his first official visit to Africa since taking office in twenty thirteen in on the centenary Ethiopia Nigeria Angola and Kenya in The Wall Street Journal's when my joins me from Beijing with the significance of this trip knowing what says Mr. Lee hope to accomplish is Ardi may Ethiopia's prime minister this past Sunday right ... yes I mean I think that the main goal is sort of that has continued to ... develop a relationship ... it's a it's a no brainer to visit Nigeria and Angola because those are two of the top ... suppliers of crew of the time that they're very important for China's energy needs ... Kenny I isn't one of the bodies ... that during this visit they signed a deal to begin imports of beef ... from Kenya to China ... ball right now of all these four countries which you think is the most important the most pivotal for China's growth ... me I'd I think that only Angola ... mainly because that it's a major producer of crude oil ... it is in crisis we ranks among ... the top three suppliers of ... poker go to China ... being that the main issues surrounding ... the China Africa has always been whether or not China simple simply siphoning ... resources away from Africa and exchange a video of her ... relatively limited though returns ... use the African countries are apps ... these companies to ... invest in infrastructure ... add to creamed when ... things like that ... it is this a mutually agreed ... a relationship or does one side maybe potentially Africa look a little bit more ... you know um ... with a wary eye and that sort of knowing what's going on with which lane is doing ... we head into Zoe's been suspicion of Chinese investment ... and it's ... I've been is a stressful catch ... up with these investments ... right and the earlier we were talking about will you tell me about style up a few African governments of actually criticize China for for promising but then not delivering in particular the country is a Tanzanian Cameron which are pretty interesting so the tummy about that ... well I mean whenever every time is a major visited a state visit to China or ... by Chinese leaders to ... countries that Boeing's new deal signed in ... the eyes of dollars in loans promise ... but ... they are all means be seen ... how much of that might not come until the sprites are actually going to the ground and use it to something that's much harder ... when you go underground actually up there ... I'd to rescind the press briefing in days in ... a news tip reporter ... asked ... Will ... China promised to upgrade ... one of Tanzania sports ... last year ... welcome that but that hasn't been completed yet ... Cameron minion ... reporter s last year China promise for three years ago China promised ... to sell two major commercial planes ... the interim government in doubles fabulous plans have been sold ... probably very likely China's investments in Africa will continue ... you are saying earlier that said China's investment in Africa in twenty thirteen is twenty five billion ... TV probably figure that is going to go ... even higher ... into the future now up for merely eye or soon will be in for for a full week through May eleventh and Wayne will check back in with you ... if we need to as things progress over there


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Health trends boost the rapid development of natural products, food and beverage industry these new trends worthy of attention!
As more and more consumers begin to pursue the road to health, food and beverage products that promote sleep, hydration and refreshing emerge in endlessly. Fat-free diets may be a past tense, and the trend of predominantly vegetarian diets will continue. Some companies are innovating to promote changes in the diet system.
Today, Xiaobian introduces the natural products exhibition in Baltimore, USA, to see what are the trends.
The days of fat-free biscuits soaked in skim milk are distant memories. Today's consumers will add full butter to their coffee and put guacamole on toast. Jenna Blumenfield, senior food editor at New Hope in New York, says the current ketogenic diet has helped push fat to the forefront. She also affirmed that the trend is driving innovation in food ingredients, such as the Thunderbolt fruit produced in Southeast Asia, which is not only delicious but also contains a lot of fat.
The Lavva plant yogurt at this exhibition is made from thunderbolt fruit with plantains, coconuts and cassava.
Fat Snax, on the other hand, is featuring a low-carb biscuit line made with fatty almond and coconut flour, sweetened with stevia and erythritol.
Seafood products also face challenges in terms of sustainability. Many emerging brands have therefore launched seafood products that can be tracked throughout. Fishpeople, for example, has made a completely transparent change to the traditional packaging of seafood-its semi-finished clean vegetables, soups and seafood chowder products can be traced back to the fishermen responsible for the catch.
Sustainable species at the lower end of the marine food chain, such as sardines, mollusks and mussels, were also featured at the fair. Patagonia Provisions in South America introduced a range of canned mussels, a blend of Spanish olive oil, mussel puree, vegetables and spices.
In order to attract seafood lovers who are concerned about sustainability, Good Catch has also launched "fish-free tuna" and "crab-free cake" bean products, which are made from a variety of beans.
Let the frozen food "fresh up"
As product developers infuse frozen products with deliciousness and nutrition, a frozen food renaissance is just around the corner. This kind of convenience product can attract consumers who are pressed for time. On the other hand, it also impacts shoppers' perception of its original boredom, softness or unhealthy. Millennials are especially eager to try, Blumenfield said.
Nolita Cauli-Bites is a good example of this, using broccoli, egg whites, cheese, almond flour and seasonings to make potato-free "potato cakes". And Foundry Foods, an innovation incubator backed by Nestle America, is bringing a new wave of traditional frozen food dinners, with emerging brands Wildscape launching single-person meals in transparent bowls and restaurant-inspired recipes such as sweet potatoes, black beans and mangoes, turmeric, farro wheat and toasted coconut.
Due to the simple availability of complex alternatives to meat and dairy products, more and more consumers are opting for plant-based foods and beverages.
"A predominantly vegetarian diet is no longer limited to vegetarians," Ms. Blumenfield said. "More consumers are choosing to eat vegetarian food for a while instead of eating it all the time."
Rising Brew offers a dairy-free nitrogen cold-extract oatmeal latte that is "creamy, slightly sweet and gently smooth".
Giorgio Foods has introduced vegetarian beef jerky, each bag is made of more than half a pound of mushrooms, and flavors include garlic black pepper, sweet golden figs, and Korean chili sesame and ginger.
Mushroom functional drink
Ms. Blumenfeld said that functional mushrooms such as cordyceps and ganoderma lucidum are emerging in new forms that are easy to eat.
Performance Tea offers a wide variety of instant teas including Cordyceps and Ganoderma lucidum mushrooms to help refresh and focus. Four Sigmatic's new golden latte mushroom blend is a blend of coconut milk, turmeric and shiitake mushrooms, and is Blumenfield called a "delicious warm-up drink".
Rising to the challenge is Rising Brewing, which has introduced a dairy-free Nile cold coffee that the company calls "creamy, slightly sweet and refreshing". From the mushroom processing company George Foods, a delicious wild Portabella jerky, each bag contains more than half a pound of mushrooms, with roasted garlic and black pepper, sweet balm and golden figs, sesame ginger and Korean chili.
Elmhurst's new product in 1925 was a peanut protein shake containing 20 grams of vegetable protein and 5 or 6 ingredients. The company has also launched a new barista line of plant-based milk alternatives, suitable for steaming or stirring coffee. Elmhurst has taken root in the dairy industry, but has recently turned to plant-based nuts and cereal "milk".
Innovation of water supplement products
Innovative hydration is flooding the natural product market, overflowing the beverage sector into the health and beauty industry. Some brands have begun to upgrade classic sports drinks by reducing sugar and not adding artificial colors and flavors. The Thirty line Beverages by Recov is a flavored hydrating drink that contains electrolytes and 30 calories per bottle.
Another brand that does water optimization is HyVida, which launched a series of foaming hydrogen-rich water. According to the company, hydrogen helps promote cell recovery, circulation and skin elasticity.
Loco Coffee accelerates hydration by adding coconut water to cold coffee. The company says each 12-ounce can of product contains the potassium equivalent of one banana.
"There is also a portable hydrating powder for natural hydrating products that can be seen at present, like mushrooms, but with electrolytes added." "It's the purified version of sports drinks," Ms. Blumenfeld said."
Manufacturers are tackling the waste problem by converting waste ingredients into functional and nutritious products.
Some brands have made use of traditionally discarded coffee pulp to create medicine rhamnoides tea. Caskai also added bubbles to the drink.
The Brew Dr. Kombucha recently began taking the excess alcohol from fermented tea production and packaging it as a plant spirit marketed under the brand Towshend's Distillery.
And cold-pressed almond juice maker Original Almond converted the byproduct from its beverage manufacturing into a plant-based skincare product, resulting in a sister brand, Clean as Kale.
Compiled by: Yang Ruixing
[Exhibition Information Recommendation Details]]
Health products, nutrition products, special medical formula food, Guangzhou health products exhibition, Guangzhou food exhibition, probiotic products, organic food, children's nutrition, maternal and child health food
The "China Health and Nutrition Expo" (NHNE), sponsored by Sinopharm Reed Exhibition, is the largest professional exhibition of health nutrition and health products in China. Through two exhibitions a year (spring Shanghai, autumn tour), it has gathered tens of thousands of state-approved honest suppliers of blue hat health food and many new products and international health products, providing excellent brand promotion and product channel expansion services for domestic and foreign enterprises.
The 8th China Health and Nutrition Expo will be held on December 4-6, 2018 at the China Import and Export Fair Exhibition Hall (Guangzhou). The exhibition area is expected to exceed 40,000 square meters, bringing together 1000 product suppliers and professional service providers in the field of health and nutrition, as well as 100000 honest distributors, agents and terminal purchasers. It has become the best platform for merchants to find new products, exchange and learn, and master market information.
On December 4-6, 2018, multi brands gathered, Guangzhou held the 18th China International Health Expo and 2018 China (Guangzhou) Health Festival, the 8th China Health and Nutrition Expo, 2018 China Health and Nutrition raw materials/packaging/equipment Exhibition, International Natural Food and Beverage Expo.


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Published: February 8, 2020 1:30:00 pm
Social media has undoubtedly had a huge effect on our lives and a brand new examine claimed that it could possibly additionally affect netizens’ eating habits. Published within the scientific journal Appetite, the examine confirmed how social media users are more likely to eat healthy or junk meals after being influenced by their peer group.
For the examine, Aston University researchers acquired 369 members to eat an additional fifth of a portion of fruit and greens for each portion they thought their social media friends ate. They have been requested to estimate the quantity of fruit, greens, ‘energy-dense snacks’ and sugary drinks their Facebook associates ate each day.
Facebook users have been discovered to eat an additional portion of unhealthy snack meals and sugary drinks for each three parts that they thought their online social teams consumed. Again, those that thought their social media friends had a healthy food regimen ate extra parts of vegetables and fruit.
“This study suggests we may be influenced by our social peers more than we realise when choosing certain foods. We seem to be subconsciously accounting for how others behave when making our own food choices,” PhD scholar Lily Hawkins, who led the examine with supervisor Dr Jason Thomas, was quoted as saying by ScienceDaily.
“The implication is that we can use social media as a tool to ‘nudge’ each other’s eating behaviour within friendship groups, and potentially use this knowledge as a tool for public health interventions,” Hawkins added.
Professor Claire Farrow, director, Applied Health Research Group, Aston University, was additionally quoted as saying, “With children and young people spending a huge amount of time interacting with peers and influencers via social media, the important new findings from this study could help shape how we deliver interventions that help them adopt healthy eating habits from a young age–and stick with them for life.”
The examine, nonetheless, discovered no hyperlink between folks’s eating habits and their Body Mass Index (BMI).
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BJ's Wholesale Club
saw its profits drop in the fourth quarter,and its outlook for 2003 doesn't look a whole lot better.
The company, which competes with
Sam's Club, earned$48.5 million, or 70 cents a share, in its quarter ended Feb. 1. That wasdown from the $56.6 million, or 77 cents per share, BJ's earned in the year-ago period. The drop in earnings came despite a revenue jump of 12.3% to$1.72 billion.
Not including a loss of $707,000, or a penny a share, related to the closureof three club locations, the company earned 71 cents per share. Analystssurveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call had been expecting BJ's to earn 70cents per share on some $1.73 billion in sales.
For the full year, BJ's earned $130.9 million, or $1.84 a share, on$5.86 billion in sales. In fiscal 2001, the company earned $82.3 million, or$1.11 per share, on $5.22 billion in revenue. The company's 2002 resultsinclude $14.9 million, or 21 cents a share, in losses related to the closureof the three clubs.
Although BJ's revenue increased significantly in the quarter, itsexpenses grew even faster. The company's cost of sales increased 13.8% overthe year-ago period to $1.52 billion. Meanwhile, the company's sales,general and administrative expenses jumped 16.7% to $110.8 million.
The company warned analysts to lower their expectations for its currentfiscal year, projecting that its earnings for fiscal 2003 would come inbetween $1.25 and $1.35 a share. Analysts had been expecting BJ's to earn$1.71 per share in the current year, according to Thomson Financial/FirstCall.
In the current year, BJ's expects to lower its prices while "makingsubstantial investments to reinvigorate sales," the company said in astatement.


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- Dark Souls II: Crown of the Sunken King kicks off DLC trilogy
- Adventure title AR-K launches on Steam with chapters 1 and 2
- Rise of Venice – Gold Edition sets sail online, now on Steam
- QuakeCon 2014 sales announced on Steam, Bethesda Store, more
- Mondo creates Sunset Overdrive poster for SD Comic-Con 2014
Fancy A Date?
Developer- and Publisher-specific Articles: Deathmatch Made in Heaven
The final DLC drop for Max Payne 3, Deathmatch Made in Heaven Pack, is now available for 360, PC, and PS3. The pack, detailed below, includes a host of new material for multiplayer: versus modes, co-op modes, Arcade Mode challenges, weapons, items, bursts, and grinds. Rockstar announced the pack last week but has only released the specifics, including screenshots, today.
Rockstar has announced the release date for Deathmatch Made in Heaven, the final DLC pack for Max Payne 3. The pack will launch on January 22 for all platforms, and include new co-op and competitive modes, new weapons, new bursts, and new items. Specifics are being held off on until closer to release.


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27 April 2023
From 20 March 2023 to 9 April 2023, the Ministry of Finance (“MOF”) conducted a public consultation seeking comments on a draft Free Trade Zones (Amendment) Bill (“draft Bill”). MOF is proposing legislative amendments to the Free Trade Zones Act 1966 (“Act”) to update and strengthen Singapore’s free trade zone (“FTZ”) regime. This will support Singapore’s position as a trusted global trade hub by enabling the better detection, deterrence and prevention of money laundering, associated predicate offences and terrorism financing. The proposed changes also seek to ensure the integrity of Singapore’s financial system and protect it against illegal activities and illicit fund flows.
The proposed changes under the draft Bill include:
- Introduction of a licensing regime for FTZ operators and cargo handlers, which will specify the responsibilities of the involved parties;
- Requirements for FTZ operators, cargo handlers and shipping agents to collect and transmit relevant information to authorised persons, if necessary, to improve cargo visibility within the FTZ;
- Provisions to ensure confidentiality of data furnished;
- Specifying powers of the Minister, the Director-General of Customs, and officers of Customs in the administration and enforcement of the Act.
- Specifying regulatory frameworks to ensure compliance of FTZ operators, cargo handlers, shipping agents and tenants of the FTZ with requirements under the Act.


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“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” -Charles Darwin
The era of making the ritual trek to the gym or health club for a workout may have come to an end with the social and economic havoc of the novel coronavirus COVID-19. While there may still be facilities opening once communities return to life “almost as normal” in the coming weeks and months, many fitness businesses have closed their doors for good.
And there are many customers who are not likely to go back to using the ones that do open.
Change Can Be Hard; Change Can Be Good
The fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has been unprecedented. That’s a term that has been overused in the last three months or so, but it is fitting when we speak of the changes that have taken place. It is also fitting when we consider how life as we knew it may be markedly different in the immediate future.
Politics, opinions and theories aside, the fact is that there will be many organizations, businesses and government entities that are going to adapt new ways of doing things and requiring new behaviors. Things will probably never be the same whether they need to really change or not.
A majority of businesses and individuals will likely come out of this pandemic largely unscathed and strive to continue on in an approximation of normalcy. Others will not. Many businesses will either have changed dramatically or ceased to exist.
And this may be the fate of many health clubs and fitness centers.
Can You Sweat Together In a Post-Coronavirus World?
A recent television news story from ABC Channel 7 News in San Francisco noted the impact on both the home fitness equipment industry and the local fitness establishments.
“Since March, Precor Home Fitness says sales have skyrocketed 300%. VP of Sales Dusty Schlotfeldt says they joke that ‘dumbbells are the new toilet paper,’ because they are flying off the shelves and they can’t keep them in stock.
Customer Oliver Perreras picked some up at the Walnut Creek store. He is taking home a full set of weights to exercise but he says the problem is finding space in the backyard or garage for the gear. Other customers are buying treadmills and ellipticals for their homes since their clubs or gyms are closed.
Schlotfeldt said, ‘I think people are going to make a major shift to work out at home and long-term I don’t think that’s going to change. We’ve been hiring staffing, buying additional delivery trucks. It’s been hectic since day one.’”
With the various shut-down orders and stay-at-home regulations, going to the gym hasn’t been possible for most people since early March in California. And, even if their favorite facility has somehow managed to continue offering onsite services, most members are unlikely to show up.
Anya Litvinova owns Catalyst Fitness in Concord. Litvinova told ABC Channel 7 News,
“Every time I’ve asked people ‘what do you think of going back?’ They are very fearful. I think a lot of people are going to keep doing the virtual.”
Litvinova thinks the fitness business is going through a sad transition as her clients say they don’t want to go back in a room and work out next to other people, especially if they have to wear a mask.
It’s not just California, either. In states like Colorado, gym owners face a grim future. According to KRDO in Colorado Springs, a local survey of fitness enthusiasts reported 54.19% did not plan to return to their gyms when they reopen. The report also shows 38.7% have either canceled their memberships or are considering it.
It’s not just local gyms that are struggling to stay afloat. Gold’s Gym filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 4, 2020 and now 24 Hour Fitness was exploring that option.
“The Times They Are a-Changin’”
While the brick-and-mortar facilities are struggling or overhauling their business models, virtual and digital fitness companies are benefiting from the industry upheaval.
For example, MIRROR, an interactive at-home fitness system that looks like a full-length mirror, has seen an increase in sales.
“Sales have more than doubled since the advent of Covid-19,” MIRROR CEO Brynn Jinnett Putnam told CNN Business in an email.
For many online-only fitness services like Obé, business is booming. Obé gives members unlimited access to 14 live daily classes and more than 4,000 on-demand classes. Co-founders Mark Mullett and Ashley Mills have reported that their sales are soaring.
The good news for those who want to workout regularly, who are serious about their fitness journey and their ability to be able to workout, is that this shift can be navigated.
However, in the absence of personal trainers and on-site athletic trainers it is important to be cautious and avoid injuries while working out at home and, often, alone.
Evaluate Your Space
Make sure your environment is clear of any obstructions and has sufficient room for the activity of choice.
Warm Up And Cool Down
With any physical activity, proper warm up and cool down is critical to reduce the risk of injury.
Proper sleep is critical. It affects everything from healing, recovery, metabolism, muscle growth, weight control, mental health.
Drink water before, during and after any type of workout to avoid cramps, fatigue and other cognitive issues.
Fight injury with micronutrients by eating with health in mind.
Treating Workout Injuries at Pain and Performance Solutions
Your initial consultation and assessment will allow us to learn all we can about your present pain and condition, along with any history of discomfort, and your current level of activity.
This is important to treating and relieving your pain, since it can only start once we understand where and how your pain started.
A full examination will help us determine which form of treatment is best suited to get you on your road to recovery. Your trust in us is key, as is your honesty. Ultimately, getting your body healthy and working properly is the only way to achieve total recovery.
Our goal is to work through the sequence of pain and dysfunction in order to get your body healthy and working properly and to achieve total recovery. Don’t hesitate to reach out. We are here to help and will answer any questions that you may have.
You can reach us at (707) 636-4404 or by filling out our online contact form.


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As we reported a few weeks ago, the two Japanese companies announced a basic agreement that will see Isuzu produce the next generation Mazda ute, based on Isuzu’s D-Max, with input from both. Isuzu and current partner General Motors recently announced they would end ties in this market segment, as Mazda is expected to with Ford.
Mazda Australia marketing director Alastair Doak, speaking at the launch of the updated Mazda 3 range in Brisbane this week, told us that feedback from dealer partners — some of whom are also Isuzu franchise partners — had been positive.
“It’s been very good actually, our dealers have been very positive, as the press have been. A couple of our dealers do Isuzu currently as well, and their feedback is that it’s a good ute, the quality is there,” he said.
“We are very keen to ensure that BT-50 remains a cornerstone of our line-up and we think this decision ensures that’ll happen,” he added.
Timelines would suggest this new pickup won’t arrive until 2020 or so, given the traditionally long life cycles of light commercials.
While the BT-50 is outsold by its Ranger twin 3:1, and by others such as the Toyota HiLux, Mitsubishi Triton, Holden Colorado and, indeed, the Isuzu D-Max, it remains Mazda's fourth most popular model, and a lynchpin of its sales.
Mazda Australia is also a key strategic market globally, and we understand it will play some sort of role in the global development of the next-generation BT-50.
The deal between Mazda and Isuzu will give the latter greater scale and therefore it will be able to spend more keeping the next D-Max modern, while Mazda will be able to remain strong in core markets, again including Australia.
Mazda executives have always said that the only way it could make a ute such as the BT-50 viable was to use another brand’s architecture.
The deal also continues the trend of big car-makers sharing platforms. As we know, Renault and Mercedes-Benz are making utes spun off the Nissan NP300 Navara, a model which is also tipped to be the platform source for the next Mitsubishi Triton.
MORE: GM and Isuzu end ute collaboration, Holden Colorado to move upmarket
MORE: Mazda BT-50 news, reviews comparisons and videos
MORE: Ute comparisonFord Ranger v Holden Colorado v Isuzu D-Max v Mazda BT-50 v Mitsubishi Triton v Nissan Navara v Toyota HiLux v Volkswagen Amarok


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If limited data plans are getting you down, there’s a new alternative that makes use of some old tech. How about picking up good, old-fashioned broadcast TV?
For the most part, MetroPCS’ Samsung Galaxy S Lightray, is a pretty standard 4G-capable phone with a 1GHz processor, 4.3″ display, and 8MP camera and whatnot. But on top of that, it boasts a small antenna and uses app called Dyle to turn those sweet, sweet DTV airwaves all around you into mobile video. Using standard airwaves for mobile video has a few notable advantages over data.
That catch is that Dyle isn’t available everywhere yet and even where it is available, not all broadcasters are opting in. Still, Dyle has plans to come to other Android and iOS phones, presumably with bolt-on hardware, but MetroPCS’ Galaxy S Lightray is the first and only all-in-one model on the market now. Never miss your local nightly news again. [MetroPCS via GigaOM]


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'In its current form, the Internet of Things (IoT) represents a considerable threat to consumers due to inadequate regulations regarding security and privacy, say experts interviewed by the Cyber Security Research Institute for the new report “Internet of Things: Pinning down the IoT” sponsored by F-Secure. Swift action is recommended to avoid a predictable descent into a dystopian future.
With the number of connected devices now likely exceeding the human population of Earth, the IoT is already nearly inescapable.* Millions of connected devices have already been compromised to be used a part of the Mirai botnet. Many consumers aren’t aware of inherent risks of their connected devices and that manufacturers often rush products to market without considering basic security requirements and settings.
“This situation could create an even more frightening scenario than the UK tabloid newspapers' ‘phone hacking’ scandal, due to a massive adoption of insecure IoT devices,” the report states.
Even as millions of new connected devices come online every day, consumers are still generally aware that their new “smart” appliances will go online. But the lust for consumer data could change that in the future.
“Eventually almost every household device will be online, and they will largely be invisible to the end user as a smart device,” Mikko Hypponen, Chief Research Officer of F-Secure, says in the report. “They will look like dumb devices, but they will be smart devices though they won’t offer any features to the consumer because the real reason for them to be online will be for them to report home and report analytics to the company that built the device.”
Already it’s difficult to find any model of some devices, such as televisions, that do not connect to the internet.'
Read more: Secure the Internet of Things now or Risk a Dystopian Future, Experts Warn
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14 October 2018
Police in Manchester are caught using face-scan cameras as they spy on shoppers in the search for criminals
13 October 2018
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In July, we learned that General Motors is purchasing AmeriCredit, a major subprime auto lender. At that time, my colleague Megan McArdle wondered what GM would want with a finance company that caters to borrowers with spotty credit histories. I echoed that curiosity, but explained that subprime auto lending isn't as bad as it sounds. In his New York Times column today, Andrew Ross Sorkin suggests an answer: perhaps GM wants to make sure everyone who wants to buy one of its vehicles is able to do so, no matter how bad their credit. He worries that the automaker has purchased AmeriCredit so that it can weaken the lender's underwriting standards and inflate its own sales at a dangerous cost.
Sorkin may, very well, be correct. His logic certainly makes sense. But I really want to believe he is wrong. After speaking at length with GM employees several weeks ago at a Chevy Cruze event, I got the feeling that the company is very serious about creating a "new" GM. Would its management really return to the sorts of questionable strategies that hurt the company in the past?
Sales Won't Be Limited By GM's Future Bankruptcy Risk
But why else might GM purchase AmeriCredit instead of just developing an alliance with the lender? There's one key possibility. By financing its vehicles itself, GM doesn't have to worry about nervous lenders limiting its sales if they are scared of its vehicles due to the company's instability.
If GM were to ultimately fail its vehicles would instantly decline in value. Resale would be difficult, because parts and servicing won't be as easy to come by if the automaker no longer exists. This is particularly significant in subprime borrowing, since repossessions are not uncommon. Resale value matters, so borrowers with less-than-perfect credit might have more trouble getting financing on a GM vehicle than, say, one from Honda. In light of this, it makes sense that GM would want some control over subprime auto lending.
Does this alone make AmeriCredit's loans riskier than they would be otherwise? In a way, since it will have a large concentration of GM loans, which makes its portfolio very vulnerable in a GM bankruptcy. But, well, if GM fails, then AmeriCredit's fate is hardly of much concern to GM. Since the automaker would own AmeriCredit, the captive finance company doesn't really need to worry about how a bankruptcy would affect the value of GM vehicles -- its health would be tied to its parent anyway. If you're going to fail, you might as well fail spectacularly.
Financing A Larger Portion of GM Customers
Or perhaps the automaker's reasoning is even simpler. Maybe it simply wants to be able to capture more of the lucrative financing in the market. AmeriCredit provides that.
Owning any captive auto unit would allow GM to reap profit on prime borrowers -- that's the easy part. But with AmeriCredit, it can capture even more of the financing, up to virtually every borrower that wants a vehicle and could obtain financing in the market. The automaker will now be able to collect more loan fees and interest in its net than the other captive finance companies can -- even without watering down AmeriCredit's underwriting requirements.
Think about the average GM customer. Their cars don't cater to a luxury audience. It wouldn't make sense for Mercedes, for example, to own a subprime mortgage lender. If you've got poor credit, then no one is going to give you loan on a $50,000 automobile. But for a $17,000 Chevy Cruze with the borrower putting 20% down? GM can now take the loan if the numbers work out for such customers with less-than-perfect credit. Having the capacity to write subprime loans captures a much greater portion of financing from GM's clientele.
So GM's strategy here could be two-fold. First, it wants to make sure its customers can get financing just as easily as they can on the vehicle of any other automaker. Second, it wants to capture the financing profits of more of its customers. Whether or not the automaker also intends to extend credit too far, as Sorkin predicts, however, is yet to be seen. But let's hope GM won't resort to such a gimmick and has more honorable intensions for its new acquisition.


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By Federico Maccioni
MILAN (Reuters) -Italian tyremaker Pirelli on Thursday lifted its 2022 sales guidance while forecasting volatile market conditions next year.
The manufacturer of tyres for Formula One and high-end carmakers such as BMW and Audi has been wrestling like peers with rising costs due to the fallout of the Ukraine war, new COVID-19 lockdowns in China and global supply bottlenecks.
"The scenario for 2023 is uncertain and (even) more volatile," Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera told analysts, citing demand trends, rising input and raw materials costs as major source of uncertainty.
However, he expressed confidence in Pirelli's focus on high-value tyres used in popular sport utility vehicles and the group's business model.
He said that 80% of the tyremaker's sales were "local for locals", reducing its exposure to maritime costs compared with peers.
After third-quarter figures came in above expectations, the group forecast revenues of around 6.5 billion euros ($6.3 billion) this year, up from a previous guidance range of between 6.2-6.3 billion euros.
The improved guidance stemmed from the implementation of price increases and the impact of a better product mix in the first nine months of the year, which offset higher raw material costs and the hit from inflation.
Pirelli, which confirmed its full-year adjusted operating profit margin forecasts of around 15%, posted better-than-expected third-quarter results.
Adjusted operating profits rose 22.8% to 271.9 million euros in the July-to-September period, beating a company-provided analyst consensus of 259 million euros. Revenues jumped almost 30% to 1.84 billion euros. ($1 = 1.0262 euros)
(Reporting by Federico Maccioni, editing by Agnieszka Flak, Keith Weir and Valentina Za)


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A 48-state, $125 million settlement has been reached with Cephalon.
The settlement includes Nebraska, according to the Attorney General’s office.
The settlement ends litigation against Cephalon that accused the company of anticompetitive measures that kept generic version of Provigil, a wakefulness drug, from entering the marketplace.
According to the Nebraska Attorney General’s office, Cephalon intentionally defrauded the United States Patent and Trademark Office to secure an additional patent on Provigil as the initial patent neared expiration. A court ruled the action invalid and unenforceable. Cephalon settled lawsuits in 2004 and 2006 by paying competitors to delay the release of generic versions of Provigil until April of 2012. The delay cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars.
The settlement includes $35 million to consumers who bought Provigil.
The State of Nebraska will received $1.8 million from the settlement: $1.2 million to the state, an estimated $250,000 to Nebraska consumers, and approximately $285,000 for the State of Nebraska’s share of disgorgement and costs.


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"An EA insider has aired dirty laundry over what went wrong with Warhammer and what could this mean for the upcoming Bioware Star Wars MMORPG. Quoting: 'We shouldn't have released when we did, everyone knows it. The game wasn't done, but EA gave us a deadline and threatened the leaders of Mythic with pink slips. We slipped so many times, it had to go out. We sold more than a million boxes, and only had 300k subs a month later. Going down ever since. It's 'stable' now, but guess what? Even Dark Age and Ultima have more subs than we have. How great is that? Games almost a decade old make more money than our biggest project."
Im guessing its what is mentioned there, and the horrible billing problem that hit the subcribers