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Art, fashion and polo collide in Greenwich
On Saturday, she indoctrinated her husband, a former high school football coach, into the world of horses and mallets.
"She's been trying to get me to a polo event, so I'm very excited," John Morabito said.
Brant, who played with his White Birch team during the last polo match of the summer Saturday, opened the converted 1902 stone barn for a welcome reception hosted by St. Regis Hotels & Resorts. On display was artist Josh Smith's exhibition, "The American Dream," which featured paintings of a dinosaur and skeletons, as well as pieces with the artist's name in colorful swirls.
Castronovo-Morabito, who has lived in town for more than 50 years, and whose family stretches back generations in Greenwich, said she had come "for the art" because it's the last match of the season, and "most definitely the polo."
Argentine polo player and Ralph Lauren model Nacho Figueras, who has been designated a "brand ambassador" by the St. Regis, also graced the reception, addressing the crowd before the group walked over to a VIP tent near the polo field for lunch.
"I want to thank Peter for always being so supportive of polo in America and all over the world," Figueras said. "I think polo would not be where it is without his contributions to polo over the years."
Valentino, a legendary Italian designer known only by his first name, said the trip to Greenwich was a great way to relax after a hectic time in Manhattan. On Sept. 7, the Fashion Institute of Technology bestowed upon Valentino the Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion.
"Fashion Week went well, full of surprise," he said. "It was ... very beautiful, full of good times. It was my joy to get this award."
Many at Saturday's event made their own fashion statements.
Guest Cameron Silver veered far from the preppy outfits usually associated with polo. Silver, who owns a vintage couture store in Los Angeles, sported a blue paisley suit with short, draped pants. He said the suit was sent to him by designer Andrea Sutisno, part of a brother and sister team that lives in Jakarta, Indonesia.
"They thought this was Indian polo," Silver said.
Hundreds of other guests also took the opportunity on a chilly pre-fall day to picnic on the grounds before the match.
Greenwich resident Hugh Dollard, 16, brought along his polo mallet. Hugh, who started playing the game three years ago, spent the summer in Saratoga, N.Y., where his team, Agua Enerviva, won the Whitney Cup.
Hugh said the Greenwich Polo Club is a great venue "for the Northeast, a little bit," but the action is usually out on Long Island, in the Hamptons.
Some of the guests were not familiar with the game at all, and came simply for the atmosphere.
Mt. Vernon, N.Y., resident Terry Billie came with a large group from Meetup, a social networking site that brings people together for face-to-face meetings. They put out tables of cheese and crackers, fruit and sparkling wine.
"It's a nice way to spend the last weekend of summer," said Billie, who sported a wide-brimmed hat, de rigueur for polo matches. "It's a little chilly for summer, but we'll make the best of it."
Staff Writer Lisa Chamoff can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org or 203-625-4439.


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It could always be worse. Almost exactly a year ago, we shared a KFC promotion that donated part of the purchase price of a ginormous soft drink to type 2 diabetes research. You know, the kind of diabetes that is correlated with poor diet and exercise habits, such as drinking ginormous soft drinks. This year’s Wendy’s promo raises money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, or type 1 diabetes–the one not correlated to poor dietary habits. Donate $1, and you get four small Frostys, cups of a sugar-laden dairy-like substance. One small Frosty contains 42 grams of sugar, if you’re wondering. That’s 10.5 teaspoons of sweetness, and kind of a weird item to be selling as a fundraiser for a disease that prevents patients from processing sugar correctly.
It seems Domino’s isn’t the only fast food chain trying to figure out how exactly to deal with the challenges of its customers’ gluten intolerances. Bill writes in to relay the story of a disappointing encounter he had with Wendy’s, which is usually pretty good at working with his wife’s celiac disease. That translates to a severe sensitivity to wheat gluten, meaning, no bread. Not even a little bit.
The Internet world is in a buzz of confusion. Or at least some of its denizens are, after a Wendy’s coupon offered up a “Free Small Hot Original Redhead” with any purchase. Sounds like a good deal — or it sounds like you could get a small ginger person, if you aren’t aware that Redhead Roasters is Wendy’s newish moniker for its coffee.
Both Burger King and Wendy’s have been attempting to revamp their look and their menus in recent years, but it looks like whatever Wendy’s is doing is working slightly better as the fast food company edged out Burger King to become the second-largest burger chain — and the #3 overall fast food joint — in the country.
While Wendy’s has done an awful lot in the last few years to revamp its menu — new burgers, better fries, fresher ingredients — it hasn’t done much to update its staff. But that may change soon, with the announcement that the fast food chain plans to start re-interviewing its employees in an effort to only retain the best folks behind the counter.
Hoping for a zing of whiskey in your burger? Wendy’s Black Label burgers might make you think of a certain Mr. Johnnie Walker but instead of booze, these sandwiches are just offering some “high-end” ingredients to lure customers in.
In the over 40 years since Wendy’s began slinging burgers, the fast food chain has never been able to slip past competitor Burger King, which seemed to have a permanent lock on the runner-up slot behind McDonald’s. But the newest numbers indicate that while the Ohio-based burger joint is set to leap-frog BK into the number two spot in total sales, even though it has almost 1,400 fewer stores in the U.S.
Our sensory-specialist siblings over at Consumer Reports have tasted the Dave’s Hot ‘N Juicy burger from Wendy’s, and have declared that the burger, while thicker than previous Wendy’s offerings, isn’t all that juicy.
In the last year, Wendy’s has attempted to upgrade its menu items — skin-on fries with sea salt, real lemonade, better bacon for your burger — so now the fast food mega chain is looking to possibly overhaul its image with a restaurant redesign.
Last week, a pregnant woman in Illinois complained to a Wendy’s staffer about being served a cold burger. Little did she know that such a minor issue would lead to her being chased down in the parking lot.
If you’re a fast food mega chain in the midst of an image overhaul, it probably doesn’t help if some of the eateries that bear your name don’t play along. At least that’s what Wendy’s is saying about franchisees who refuse to install equipment necessary for making the company’s newest burger.
Many of the trademark infringement stories we cover involve mammoth corporations picking on smaller, unrelated businesses, but this one’s a bit different. A small chain of seafood restaurants in Florida has filed a $2 million lawsuit against Wendy’s over the use of the phrase “You can’t fake fresh.”
Almost a year ago, our survey-loving siblings at Consumer Reports asked several thousand readers to rate burgers from 18 burger chains and to no one’s surprise, McDonald’s came in dead last. Not satisfied with merely finding the best and worst beef-on-a-bun, CR decided to go for the super-sized option, rating 53 restaurants in five categories to find which ones provide the best food, service and value to customers.
Bad weather in Mexico and Florida, two of Wendy’s biggest sources for tomatoes, has pushed many of the chain’s restaurants to switch to a “by request only” policy for getting tomatoes on your sandwiches.
Just three years after combining in a $2.2 billion merger, Wendy’s and Arby’s are about to part ways. The supersized 2008 deal created the world’s third-largest fast-food chain, but Arby’s has struggled and parent Wendy’s/Arby’s Group is now ready to slice the roast-beef chain out of the family.

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Acton Pharmacy to host free lecture
Acton Pharmacy, 563 Massachusetts Ave., will host a free lecture from 5-6 p.m. Jan. 17 featuring Dr. Matthew D. Lazzara, who will discuss new treatments for glaucoma. Lazzara is an ophthalmologist at Lexington Eye Associates and Emerson Hospital who specializes in the medical and surgical management of glaucoma, cataract surgery and external eye diseases. He received his medical degree from the George Washington University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the New England Eye Center at Tufts University School of Medicine. To register: http://bit.ly/2kQVVys; 978-263-3901 ext. 6. The event is open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.
Karyopharm Therapeutics to present at health care conference
Karyopharm Therapeutics, of Newton, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, recently announced that Dr. Michael Kauffman, CEO, will present at the 36th annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference at 7:30 a.m. PT Jan. 10 at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco. A live webcast of the event will be available on the "Events & Presentations" page in the investors section of the company's website at http://investors.karyopharm.com/events.cfm. A replay of the webcast will be archived on the company's website for 90 days following the presentation.
Nanoco Group announces color film
Nanoco Group plc, of Concord, announced the next generation of its NANOCO CFQD FINE COLOR FILM. This new film builds upon Nanoco’s market leading quantum dot development, delivering brightness (up to 5-10 percent more) and performance, sustainably powering the fast-growing high-end TV display and media-centric monitor markets as the industry progresses on the roadmap to DCI-P3 and BT.2020 standards and away from cadmium-based solutions. The company will be exhibiting its next generation NANOCO CFQD FINE COLOR FILM at CES 2018 in Las Vegas, Jan. 9-12. Quantum dots continue to disrupt the high-end display market, thanks to their ability to produce more beautiful, vibrant color than traditional LCDs, their fast response time, their high energy efficiency and their cost competitiveness compared to OLED technologies. Quantum dots are increasingly applied to monitors to deliver DCI wide color gamut, color accuracy across a high dynamic range, artifact free high frame rate motion and low black levels made possible with local dimming BLUs. These characteristics are all required for the upcoming generation of media-centric monitors used for gaming, video streaming, video production, online shopping and other consumer applications. Only NANOCO CFQD FINE COLOR FILM can meet consumer demand for wide color gamut in the next generation of highest quality LCD products as the market continues to demonstrate its preference for sustainable quantum dot solutions. To schedule an appointment: firstname.lastname@example.org.
Paytronix Systems announces research
Paytronix Systems, of Newton, announced research from its data insights team, which finds that the traditional approach of evaluating overall sales numbers to rank the performance of menu items is not the best approach to menu redesign. The latest research from Paytronix explains how to dig into menu data and purchase frequency — as well as the performance of guests who buy particular items and the personas attached with your best sellers — to engineer a more effective menu.


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The vegetarian market has arrived in the Philippines.
Who would have thought that Johnlu Koa, who created a French bakery-cafe after trips to France in the the early ‘80s, would create vegetarian siopao, which is now selling like croissants at his highly popular The French Baker?
Today, 32 years later, The French Baker continues to innovate, coming up with new, unique and yummy products.
His latest offering, which he came up with during the pandemic, is a vegetarian siopao, a quick and light snack for a healthy lifestyle. It is because Koa believes that vegetarian/vegan food has gone mainstream and will be around for many years to come.
Their vegan products that are strictly free of animal products and byproducts are the new vegetarian siopao (which is dairy and egg-free), baguettes, French sourdough, walnut sourdough, 100-percent whole grain, walnut-raisin bread, tortilla, pita, sourdough rye bread, focaccia, and ciabatta, among others.


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Cattle industry concerned about USDA’s approval of Brazilian beef plants
Open mouth, insert foot.
Large animal veterinarian Dr. Ed Hamer said that the U.S. importing fresh beef from Brazil is “the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of.”
The southern California large animal veterinarian believes the USDA announcement on Aug. 1, 2016, that the Food Safety and Inspection Service approved Brazil to ship fresh beef to the U.S. will put the domestic livestock herd at risk of contracting the highly contagious Foot and Mouth Disease. FMD can infect any cloven-footed animal and while animals usually survive the disease, their productivity is usually greatly diminished. Mitigation plans often call for euthanizing of all wild and domestic cloven-footed animals within a particular radius and even burning porous materials like wooden corrals or barns on affected locations.
“…FSIS also recently determined that Brazil’s food safety system governing meat products remains equivalent to that of the United States and that fresh (chilled or frozen) beef can be safely imported from Brazil. Following a multi-year science based review consistent with U.S. food safety regulations for countries that export meat, poultry and egg products to the U.S., FSIS is amending the list of eligible countries and products authorized for export to the United States to allow fresh (chilled or frozen) beef from Brazil,” said the USDA news release.
The news makes Dr. Hamer squirm.
While federally inspected U.S. meat plants must keep an inspector on site every processing day, and conduct multiple disease tests, Dr. Hamer doesn’t believe Brazilian plants will follow such strict protocol.
“You are dealing with apples and oranges. Brazil is a third world country. If there isn’t a [USDA] inspector standing there, they aren’t held to the same standard (as U.S. producers and processors).”
While the bulk of his business is horses, the Los Olivos, California, veterinarian works on cattle occasionally, and grew up on a Nevada cattle ranch.
“The beef industry is important to me and my family,” he explained.
And subjecting the industry to unnecessary exposure to meat that could be tainted with the Foot and Mouth Disease is “asinine,” says Dr. Hamer.
The last FMD outbreak on U.S. soil took place in California in 1929. Pigs ate garbage offloaded by a cruise ship that that stopped on the coast. Something in the garbage contained the FMD virus, which infected the pigs.
California state veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones said foreign garbage is now “highly regulated” and must follow protocol including heat treatment before being left on U.S. soil. She said California now maintains strong disease prevention protocol, which should keep her her state’s ag industry as safe as any other.
“We are one of the very few states that continues to invest in state border stations that are part of our multi-layered approach to protect agriculture. We have a diagnostic laboratory system with four facilities strategically located in the State that is one of the best in the nation and the world, and is poised to immediately test thousands of samples in order to let us know where disease is as well as where it is not.”
While she does fear FMD introduction, Dr. Jones doesn’t think Brazilian beef is the mostly likely vector for the disease. “I worry much more about illegal product movement with travelers or intentional introduction of the virus.”
South Dakota state veterinarian Dr. Dustin Oedekoven agrees. “International travel, and the number of people in the air moving from all over the globe, is astounding. The traveling public (especially to areas that have active FMD infection) and imported products that are not inspected with respect to potential ag threats are my biggest concerns for the introduction of FMD in the U.S.” Oedekoven added that Rio, Brazil is recognized as FMD free so the risk of an olympian or attendee bringing the disease back to the U.S. is no greater than if the Olympics were held elsewhere.
In order to foster good global trade relations, Dr. Jones believes science-based trade protocols should be followed in all cases, so that, for example, if the U.S. were affected by FMD, exports of unaffected products would still continue.
“I understand the potential devastation caused by FMD, but feel we should not contribute to the ‘manufactured devastation’ created by fear and market closures, rather than science-based disease control measures.”
But capitol hill is more worried about the viability of the domestic livestock industry.
Senator John Tester (D-MT) agrees about the devastating affects of FMD.
In a letter sent to USDA on Aug. 5, Tester asks USDA several questions. “Without further information and assurances, I remain skeptical of this decision. In order to increase transparency and consumer confidence in this process, I respectfully request answers to the following questions:
· What steps has USDA taken to implement the recommendations the Government Accountability Office made for improving the emergency response to an animal disease outbreak?
· What steps did the FSIS take to ensure the Brazilian facilities are equivalent in nature to American facilities?
· What process will be in place to verify ongoing compliance?
· Is FSIS considering using third party verification?
· What processes will be implemented to track the movement Brazilian beef imports once they enter the US market?
· How will USDA make sure retailers are able to access the necessary information to voluntarily label beef products’ country of origin?”
Senator John Thune (R-SD) said cattle producers in his state have contacted him with concerns about imports of Brazilian meat. “USDA needs to assure me and our nation’s cattle producers that our livestock and food supply will not be jeopardized by an influx of Brazilian beef imports,” he said.
Dr. Oedekoven said his state’s Animal Industry Board opposed USDA’s 2014 proposal to allow fresh Brazilian beef imports because of FMD concerns, but that the region of Brazil that is approved for export is “FMD free with vaccination.” So, he says, “this isn’t a cause for panic.”
Dr. Oedekoven would prefer to see the U.S. maintain its historical protocol of only accepting beef from countries that are FMD free without vaccination but he realizes that trade policies are becoming more liberal and understands that policy requires that beef shipments will be halted if FMD is detected.
“It is highly unlikely, in my opinion, that if each step of the protocol is followed and enforced, that live FMD virus would be transported in fresh or frozen beef from a region recognized as ‘FMD free with vaccination’ and that the virus would then somehow come into contact with US livestock,” said Dr. Oedekoven. He emphasized, “if each step of the protocol is followed and enforced.”
But R-CALF USA president Bryan Hanson says therein lies the problem.
“It took Brazil two years to notify us that they had a positive BSE case. That shows me that what they say they are going to do and what they are actually going to do are not the same,” said Hanson, the owner of Ft. Pierre Livestock Auction of central South Dakota.
Another of Hanson’s biggest concerns is movement of cattle in South America. Cattle from regions and countries that are not approved for export may find their way to the approved plants, he said. “Let’s say calves are worth $3 per pound in North Dakota and only 40 cents per pound in South Dakota. The South Dakota producers are going to find a way to get their calves to a North Dakota market.”
Hanson also said that the FMD vaccine used regularly in Brazil can produce a false positive in an FMD test, making health assessment difficult.
Leo McDonnell, Director Emeritus, U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, is worried about compliance and integrity in regard to Brazil’s meat packing industry. “USDA’s announcement falls in line with the number of obligations currently directed by agreements within the World Trade Organization (WTO) to the US. The problem is that too often Brazil adheres to a ‘do as I say- not as I do’ type of policy. Brazil has a lengthy history of WTO violations that continue to undercut all sectors of U.S. production agriculture. Despite this, Brazil is the first to leverage the WTO when it works in their favor. Senator Tester’s letter and ongoing efforts to combat such abuses ensures that both U.S. cattle producers will not be run roughshod over by a country that continues to fail on every level in living up to international commitments,” said McDonnell.
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Tracy Brunner, a Kansas cattle feeder said his group is still awaiting a Government Accountability Office investigation into FSIS’s methodology used in determing that Brazil’s meat plants are safe.
Additionally NCBA calls for the production of large amounts of FMD vaccine.
“Most importantly, we need the U.S. government to take the proper precaution and ensure a robust Foot-and-Mouth Disease vaccine bank. We cannot afford to jeopardize our nation’s livestock herds, which are the foundation of our global food supply…” he said.
“The safety of the U.S. domestic herd remains at stake given Brazil’s ongoing FMD problem and continued bad-acts within the international trade community,” said USCA president Danni Beer in a news release.
“Foot and mouth disease would be absolutely devastating to California,” said Dr. Jones, who said California is better prepared for a disease outbreak than many states. “While we rank high in beef and sheep production, we are by far the number one supplier of dairy products in the nation, supplying about 22 percent of the nation’s milk. Like all states, our dairy industry is remarkably efficient with specialty facilities ensuring optimal care for each stage in life. But that means large concentrations of animals and millions of animal movements. It also means that an introduction of a highly contagious virus like FMD into our dairy shed areas would impact millions of cattle quickly. I always carry this knowledge with me. It is what motivates me to push our staff, our industry and our legislature to stay optimally engaged and prepared.
Hanson said that a cloven footed animal would have to ingest FMD-carrying meat in order for the imported meat to infect a U.S. animal. The most likely scenario would be infected meat being fed to pigs, he said. But the affects of one sick hog would be catastrophic.
“Even if one got gets it, the protocol is the same – it shuts down commerce and all of the sudden we are an FMD country,” he said. Exports would likely be restricted, along with movement of any number of products in the United States.
Aside from the disease concerns, opening U.S. borders to a country with huge cattle numbers is unwise for the U.S. cattle market, said Hamer.
“FMD is a huge concern but so are other things like hormones, trace minerals, high levels of antibiotics,” he said.
Hamer pointed out that Brazilian meat is likely to show up in fast food joints, hot dogs and other inexpensive meat sources. “Any sane person realizes when you outsource food to a third world country, it affects the people looking for a cheap way to feed the family. It’s not like all of us can afford to go to ‘Whole Foods’ and buy certified grass-fed beef.”
South Dakota Stockgrowers Vice-President Gary Deering also worries about the U.S. consumer. “This is exactly why we fought so hard for Country of Origin Labeling. As ranchers, we’ve worked hard to build up a strong reputation for safe and affordable U.S. beef. I just can’t understand how USDA FSIS thinks that importing beef from Brazil makes any sense or provides any benefit to the United States’ producers or consumers.”
According to USDA FSIS, annual imports of fresh (chilled or frozen) beef from Brazil will likely range between 20,000 and 65,000 metric tons (MT), with annual volumes averaging 40,000 MT, said the SDSGA news release.
“We’ve spent generations putting this strong cattle industry together and it will take 10 years to completely dismantle it,” Hamer said. “We don’t have a shortage of beef here. We are feeding everyone just fine. We’ve got 100 million people out of work and we are outsourcing jobs that we should be doing here.”
“This is a bureaucratic bunch of bull shit.”
Economist Dr. Robert Taylor’s April, 2022, cattle report, Harvested Cattle, Slaughtered Markets, offers some unique solutions to the buyer power that many believe is depressing live cattle prices.
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'DroneShield' helps prisons know what's coming
DroneShield sends alerts via email or SMS to a 24/7 monitoring service that works with police and legal response teams
By Ashley Garst, C1 Associate Editor
Drones are continuously presenting a threat to prisons by attempting to smuggle in contraband ranging from drugs to cell phones. One company is presenting a solution to help correctional facilities look ahead to stop threats from the skies.
DroneShield is a small device that can be mounted near exterior and interior perimeters. The device sends alerts via email or SMS to a 24/7 monitoring service that works with police and legal response teams.
“My co-founder bought a drone to inspect the roof of his townhouse, and the first time he fired it up, it went into the backyard of his neighbor’s house,” said Brian Hearing, co-founder of DroneShield, when speaking about how they got into the drone detection business. “He was able to see everything. So there were some privacy issues there. So we started a crowd funder.”
The patent-pending acoustic detection technology results in high detection rates with low false alarms and is able to detect drones without RF links or that are invisible to radar, like small, plastic drones are.
According to Hearing, depending on the type of drone, the device can detect an incoming drone from up to 150 yards away. It’s easy enough to install that the facility could buy the device outright and handle all the monitoring themselves.
“You can mount it to your perimeter and supply it with power, connect it to Wi-Fi or Ethernet and that ties back into the command center,” Hearing said. “There’s a little bit of wiring, but it’s something an average IT professional could handle.”
The company also offers a managed system where they can do all maintenance remotely and quickly.
“It’s a cheaper and better system. We would be involved 24/7 looking at data, looking at false alarms,” Hearing said, which could be helpful for facilities with staffing issues.
The device is loaded and updated with a signature database of drone models commonly used by smugglers to get contraband inside facilities, ranging from hobbyist to commercial-grade drones like the Cinestar 8. This also helps the device to ignore common sounds like lawn mowers and leaf blowers.
The device promises advanced warning of drones used by smugglers and other unauthorized operators, is best for centralized facilities or perimeter monitoring, and integrates easily into existing zone-based alarm systems with dry contact relays.
All data the device collects is saved for subsequent legal proceedings.
While the detector can only detect drones and not stop them, the company does have options for pulling drones out of the air.
“We promote a net gun, an air-powered gun that shoots out a net,” Hearing said. “It isn’t lethal, doesn’t damage the drone, and can preserve it for forensics. Another solution we have is a strobe-like item, which would mess up a drone’s camera. Those are the only two legal things at present that are effective.”
Currently, the DroneShield drone detector has pilot installations in close to half a dozen facilities around the world.
“A lot of prisons are interested in it,” Hearing said. “We go to ACA, conventions; we get a lot of interest there. It’s really been word of mouth.
“We’ve been really happy with the response. Things are taking off.”
Currently the company is focusing on integration with current systems, but for the future they’re hoping to expand the number of drones their system can detect.
For more information on Drone Shield, check out their website.


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Game studio Infinity Ward just revealed on its official social media that popular Plunder variant Blood Money for Call of Duty: Warzone is back.
Infinity Ward recently revealed on its official Twitter account that a quick playlist update is launching now across all platforms. This has addressed several issues and changed some features for the better. One of them is the return of Blood Money to Warzone. After several fans complained of its removal a while ago, the developer confessed that it was an intentional move in order to return it again on another time.
Aside from the return of Blood Money, the new playlist update also moved the BR Solos into a sub menu and has removed Scrapyard from Hardcore playlists.
Call of Duty: Warzone can now be played for free on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.


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Mr Kipling cakes firm Premier Foods has said it is hiking prices in the face of soaring costs in the latest sign of mounting pressure on household food bills.
The group – which also owns brands such as Oxo cubes, Sharwoods and Ambrosia – said the Ukraine war was pushing up prices of many of its ingredients, including wheat and dairy, while fuel and energy costs are also rocketing.
The warning comes as official figures on Wednesday showed inflation hit a 40-year high of 9% in April – and it is expected to soar past 10% later in the year.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey sparked further fears earlier this week, issuing an “apocalyptic” warning about rising food prices.
Food inflation is pretty significant and for some families that's going to be really toughAlex Whitehouse, Premier Foods
Premier Foods boss Alex Whitehouse said the group raised prices after seeing a “high single digits” increase in costs in its year to April and is expecting to ramp them up again as it braces for a further “low double-digit” rise in costs over the year ahead.
He said the rises would be spread across its brands, though it is also launching cost efficiency programmes to try and tackle surging inflation.
Mr Whitehouse said: “Food inflation is pretty significant and for some families that’s going to be really tough.”
He pledged the group would “work really hard to offset as much of the inflation pressures as we can and help people as best we can by trying to keep prices down”.
Details of the price hike plans follow results showing the group’s pre-tax profits jumped 16.4% to a higher than expected £102.6 million in the year to April 2.
Premier Foods said its Mr Kipling cake brand enjoyed its best year ever in 2021, helping the overall sweet treats category enjoy a 7% rise in revenues.
The firm announced a 20% rise in its shareholder dividend payout on the back of the bumper results, helping shares rise 6% in morning trading on Wednesday.


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Brand Jamaica was highlighted to the Chinese public and private sector attendees at the China International Import Expo (CIIE), which kicked off on Tuesday (November 5) in Shanghai, China.
The expo, which is held yearly, began with an official opening ceremony that featured China’s President Xi Jinping as its official keynote speaker. The president later visited Jamaica’s booth at the event accompanied by the Prime Minister Andrew Holness, as the island was selected as a guest country of honour at this year’s staging of the CIIE.
Jamaica’s key sectors, including logistics, infrastructure and agribusiness, received promotion as opportunities to do business in the island, and export-ready products were also displayed to increase exports of Jamaican products to China.
The Jamaican delegation on mission in China has sought to use the event as a platform to establish and build existing relationships with key stakeholders in the region.
The delegation included: Audley Shaw, Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture & Fisheries, Senator Kamina Johnson-Smith Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Dianne Edwards, President of Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) and Gabriel Heron, Vice President of Marketing at JAMPRO. CIIE is one of China’s largest international events for countries to promote their interest in doing business with China.
On site was a Jamaican Pavilion booth, which gave a true Jamaican experience as it highlighted key Jamaican products such as Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, Appleton Rum, banana chips, jerk sauces and porridges. Jamaica’s reputation as one of the premier global destinations for investment continues to rise, as discerning entrepreneurs increasingly seek to capitalise on exciting business opportunities that abound in the country.
Hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China in partnership with the World Trade Organization, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, CIIE is expected to attract representatives from over 100 countries and thousands of domestic and foreign professional buyers.
Holness in responding to the interest shown to his country moved to assure China of Jamaica’s cooperation in economic development.
In a video release from his office, the prime minister said that since 1854 the Chinese community in Jamaica has remained fully integrated into the country’s economic fabric.
“Jamaica has benefitted from China’s support in several areas including human resource, capacity-building in areas of education and training as well as scores of Jamaicans benefitting from training in the areas, of agriculture, security, logistics, medicine and urban planning in China,” Holness stated.
He further noted that some 16 Chinese companies registered in Jamaica have already invested more than US$3 billion in the country’s economy.
He also noted that Jamaica shares China’s aspirations for a more “open, inclusive and balanced economic globalisation for the common development and prosperity of all countries, as well as the need to make the economies resilient to climate vulnerabilities and economic shocks”.
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By Shane McGlaun
One of the myriad of new smartphones to debut last summer and try to match wits, coolness, and usability with the iPhone was the Samsung Instinct, which was a Sprint exclusive. The handset was cool by many accounts, but didn’t really stack up to the iPhone.
Sprint and Samsung have announced that a new and Sprint exclusive Instinct s30 will be coming this month. The new handset offers a thinner profile and two color options including Cobalt Metal or Touch of Copper hues. Sprint says that the device can receive email and access corporate email servers at no additional charge.
The touchscreen QWERTY keyboard gets local Haptic feedback that provides vibration feedback when the keys are pressed on screen. Sprint offers both a standard web browser long with Opera Mini 4.2 for surfing the web. The phone is also pre-loaded with Guitar Hero World Tour and Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader. Other features include stereo Bluetooth, 2-megapixel camera with camcorder function, access to Sprint TV and GPS capability. Sprint says the s30 will be available on April 19 for $129.99 after contract, instant savings, and a mail-in rebate.
[ Sprint ]


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For Security & Risk Professionals
Organization: The Data Security And Privacy Playbook
How companies handle and protect consumer data privacy is much more than a compliance issue. Privacy is a competitive differentiator, and firms that fail to have a cohesive privacy strategy and...
- Downloads: 143
For Customer Insights Professionals
The Deal Touts Ubiquitous Customer Recognition And Targeting, But Only If Oracle Manages The Integration Well
On December 22, 2014, Oracle announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Datalogix, the Colorado-based consumer transaction data firm. This acquisition adds yet another significant data...
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Report:Reset On Big Data
Embrace Big Data To Engage Customers At Scale
Big data rhetoric is at an all-time high. The media is all over the map with its points of view and technology vendors tout products with claims that seem incredible. In the midst of this din, CIOs...
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CIOs Will Race To Unlock Marketable Data Insights
The data economy — the market system of buyers and sellers exchanging data to create insights and value — will dramatically expand in 2015. New data sources and new data analytics tools...
- Downloads: 350


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The next version of Android, designed for tablets, will not
support microSD cards when it launches, according to one of
Motorola's product managers, Mark Notton.
During a demonstration of the Xoom tablet, Notton showed off the
device's microSD card slot, which augments the device's 32GB of
onboard storage, but admitted that it wouldn't be functional
initially. "There'll be an update soon after launch to fix it,"
Notton told Wired.co.uk. Continue reading


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The lengthy COVID-19 quarantine has left us in quite a conundrum, forcing us to contemplate the next moves for the global fashion industry. Certainly, we are imagining what the industry will look like post-coronavirus and how business can still thrive when faced with an economic recession and personal devastation. Whether we like it or not, the impact of non-sustainable fashion practices has been clearly rerouted, sparking reflection on how to move forward with a more ethical approach and redesigning how we reach the consumer.
In the absence of a clear medical solution, we must step cautiously onto this new landscape with a global killer. The fact is that fashion has been catapulted into the digital world at lightning speed with an enormous impetus for innovative strategies to sustain business and elude Darwinism. The shift has been advancing for years, but now we’ve been steamrolled into an entirely new way of existing.
The good or bad news, depending on how you look at it, is that we may never have to leave our homes again (except for those essentials not digitized at the moment). The show is going on for many without physical interaction. Speaking as people who haven’t left home for three months straight, we’re busier than bees, churning out productivity via all of the video conferencing platforms one can Google — all of which actually saved travel and space costs.
Already swept up in a wave of evolution, the fashion industry anticipated complete digitalization on the horizon, but now it has come full force as a result of social distancing. So once again, it’s time to look ahead and innovate (our favorite thing) to keep our beloved profession moving forward into the future. And when this virus is under control, do we think that those businesses shuttered due to no foot traffic will re-open their physical locations? Will retailers want to shell out sizable leasing dollars for brick-and-mortar when they can exist in the digital space? Nope; it will be digital or bust. Reality check: things have needed a further shift for a while, and now all of our practices are forever transformed — we believe — for the better!
The fashion industry has been forecasting for a while that digital technology was the new mindset for how things would be done. It can help usher in the practice of more sustainable methods and overhaul the fashion world’s negative practices. Let’s face it: shopping on Instagram and the rise of designer resale, rental models and the plethora of discounted offerings in retail cyberspace were already evoking a new method of reaching the consumer of 2020 and beyond. Now, we see clothing companies like The Fabricant and Carlings, which only produce digital clothing, on the rise. As we work more from home, will renowned designers create extra prominent digital collections (like many have done for Bitmoji) that supplement their revenue where physical clothing sales have plummeted? What will your avatar wear to your next videoconference?
A key takeaway from this global pandemic is that the companies that didn’t jump on the digital bandwagon swiftly enough suffered fiscally and were left behind like a fashionista wearing an outfit from four seasons ago to Fashion Week. Ultimately, digital lag has led to financial failure and bankruptcy for our already fragile and outdated system.
Are customers even motivated to shop for non-essentials just because there is a surplus of online fashion outlets in such uncertain times? The psychological approach of the brand must be considered to adopt a new methodology to relate to the consumer in a more effective way post-COVID-19. A major selling point is for retailers and fashion companies to possess an appearance of empathy towards those who are suffering financially, emotionally, spiritually and physically. This viewpoint of considering the current state of consumer affair appropriately demonstrates further opportunity of how to achieve the aptitude to relate to this new demographic. Businesses on the forefront of closing as soon as the virus hit showed compassion to the consumer instead of trying to make a buck when people are dying. Those who remained opened were viewed negatively, which impacted brand loyalty. Consumers are watching and deciding on which brands “care” about them and align with their views.
Even still, this new climate will cause increased digital tech. WWD predicts that, “Changes to retail spurred by the pandemic could include booking appointments for a store experience, using video surveillance systems within a store to track social distancing and creating virtual showrooms and live streams. Other changes could include switching to payments by app instead of a checkout desk and using virtual reality to try on clothes.” Fully-automated facilities are cropping up. Fashion has been thrust into the digital future, and COVID-19 is the catalyst that will awaken, reshape and reconfigure the industry.
Michelle Alleyne is a fashion strategist and professor, and Sandra Roy is a graduate student studying social work. They can be reached via Instagram at @mshopnyc and @altruistic9, respectively.


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Posted by Polygon Staff on April 19, 2018 10:02:37 The first beta of Facebook’s mobile app, now in beta, has been released, and it looks like Facebook is making progress with its plans for an Android version of the app.
According to a post on the Facebook page, the beta is still a work in progress, but it is “very close to being ready for everyone.”
Facebook said the beta app is available on both iOS and Android.
As a reminder, the Android version is limited to two games and one music app per user, but the iOS version is able to play up to 50 games and over 30 music apps per user.
That’s a pretty significant improvement over the iOS versions of the first Facebook mobile app released in 2018, which only had 20 games and 25 music apps.
The mobile app is also available on the web and in a few languages, including Spanish, German, and French.
Facebook’s desktop app has been updated recently, and the company has promised more updates to come.
We’ll update you with more information as we learn more.


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LPG Expo of Singapore is organising the East Africa – Tanzania LPG Expo 2023 on the 15th and 16th of March in Dar es Salaam for those already working in the field but also for those keen on adopting LPG as a cleaner fuel alternative.
The event represents an opportunity to meet with regional and international firms for LPG products and services.
The organizer explains that Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption in Tanzania has soared substantially in recent years.
Imports by LPG marketing companies rose by 12.9%, from 107,083 tonnes in 2016/17 to 120,961 tonnes in 2017/18.
Moreover, imports jumped by 20% the next year to 145,800 tonnes before seeing a tremendous 30% surge to 190,248 tonnes in the 2019/20 fiscal year.
This consistent growth can be ascribed to the ongoing awareness campaigns that progressively urged individuals to transition from traditional cooking energy to LPG for clean cooking.
Within this framework, Tanzania’s LPG market is expected to bring new investments in the oil and gas sector.
Attend East Africa LPG Expo – Tanzania 2023 will showcase the latest products and services.
Government officials and experts from the industry will share their perspectives on the long-term growth potential for LPG in Tanzania, as well as on how they intend to harness these opportunities.
The conference will enable delegates to meet with prominent names in the LPG sector, including global business and association leaders, government officials, and C-suite executives, to develop strategies to overcome current issues and utilise elite knowledge that could determine tomorrow’s market.
For additional details visit: https://lpgexpo.com.sg/lpg-tanzania-2023/


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Minnesota Orchestra's finances fragile, review finds
An outside review of the Minnesota Orchestra, still locked in a near-death-grip with musicians, has endorsed management's view that the ensemble is on shaky financial ground.
The orchestra, which locked out musicians nearly a year ago, has said that big pay cuts are needed to ensure its survival. A review by AKA/ Strategy (paid for by management) supports that take, noting that the orchestra has cut all other parts of its budget, Minnesota Public Radio reports.
Musicians counter that the review didn't include their input. WCCO also covers the report, talking to musicians who say the standoff could have repercussions at other ensembles worldwide.
The lockout has already cost the orchestra its season and could cost it its music director, Osmo Vänskä, who says he'll leave if the conflict isn't resolved soon. Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell has been called in to help mediate — that was a few weeks ago, but The New York Times had a piece on it the other day that offers a national take.
Mark Reilly manages daily and weekly coverage at the Business Journal newsroom.
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Pi Network’s Core Team has announced that they will be expediting the Know Your Customer (KYC) process by May and June, in response to criticism from the network’s pioneers. The KYC process is a crucial step in verifying the identity of customers and preventing fraudulent activities, especially in the cryptocurrency space.
Pi Network is a relatively new player in the world of cryptocurrency, and while it has been striving to establish itself as a credible alternative to traditional currencies, the slow and complex KYC process has been a major concern for pioneers.
The Core Team’s announcement brings hope for the future of Pi Network, as they are set to update the Node from V15 to V18, which will enhance the network’s performance. In addition, the Ecosystem Development Kit (SDK) has been completed, and the team is now poised to quicken the KYC process.
The updated KYC process is expected to make it easier for new users to join the network and start transacting. However, the effectiveness of the new system in preventing fraud and other illegal activities remains to be seen.
What is Pi Network?
Pi Network is a relatively new digital currency that aims to create an accessible, user-friendly platform for cryptocurrency transactions. Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, Pi Network does not require specialized hardware or extensive energy consumption to participate in its network. Instead, users can simply download the Pi Network app on their mobile devices and start earning Pi by participating in the network’s mining process. The Pi Network team is also committed to creating a secure and transparent platform, with a focus on protecting user privacy and preventing fraudulent activities.
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Chinese investors consider powdered milk factory for Orange
The Orange City Council has held discussions with a Chinese consortium over a proposed powdered milk plant.
Mayor, John Davis, says he can't reveal the name of the consortium or any dollar figure.
Cr Davis said he can't reveal many details but council representatives have held initial discussions with the consortium and hope to meet again within two months.
He points out the consortium is considering other locations.
Cr Davis it would be good news for the dairy industry with milk sourced from a three hour radius.
The Mayor said the council has received a number of approaches by overseas investors since Electrolux announced it would close fridge manufacturing plant which will open up a pool of workers and possible government incentives.
"And I know a number of councillors and the staff have had probably at least a dozen proposals since the Electrolux announcement and we've got to check them out and make sure they're genuine," the Mayor said.
"I've got to say the people in regards the powdered milk proposal are very, very genuine."
Cr Davis said the powdered milk factory would be great news for Central West dairy farmers.
"It would be very substantial as a factory," he said.
"In basic terms you've got to have supply quite an enormous supply of milk and evidently that can be up to three hours from the point of the factory."


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We are so damn lucky to live in Washington. Berries can be picked off the freeway pull out, our forests are full of wild mushrooms, apples drip from backyard trees. But we do not have the climate it takes to grown avocados—and for that, we rely on our neighbors to the south.
But as it turns out, California hasn’t had the climate to grow avocadoes this year either. Wholesale prices are about double what they usually are, thanks to the years-long drought and subsequent extreme heat the state experienced. Last year wasn't much better, but the aftereffects of this perfect storm (hello, climate change) are now finding their way to our Seattle-area grocery stores and avocado toast purveyors.
On Friday, The Fat Hen (a personal favorite for baked eggs and coffee on a rainy weekday morning, and one of our 2015 picks for Food We Love) in Ballard took to Instagram to share that everyone’s preferred green superfood was off the menu—for now. Their reasoning is a smart reminder that we should all know where our food comes from.
"It's true: We have removed avocados from our menu for the time being. Please read the below comment for information on the current issues involving the avocado trade.
"California: This years major avocado crop shortage in the Golden State is beginning to inflate domestic costs and is increasing demands for import of the fruit from Mexico and Peru. Avocado harvests in California are down almost 50% from last year thanks to extreme heat and aftereffects from the drought, according to the California Avocado Commission.
"Mexico: Mexico provides over 75% of the avocados in the US market. Such is the size of the avocado market that it has become a lucrative business for Mexico’s drug cartels who are responsible for countless kidnappings, extortions, and murders in relation to the avocado trade.
"Beyond alleged criminal activity, avocado farming has had massive negative effects on Mexican land. As Talia Coria, an official in Mexico’s attorney general's office for environmental protection recently told the Associated Press, deforestation due to avocado farming is dire. Coria told the AP that between 30 to 40 percent—between 15,000 to 20,000 acres—of Michoacán's annual forest loss is caused by avocado farming.
"Nafta: Americans are used to buying whatever fruits and vegetables they want whenever they want them, thanks largely to imports from Mexico. This could soon end up effecting more than just avocados.
"If you think prices are unpredictable now, be warned: They could get a whole lot worse depending upon how the Trump administration renegotiates the North American Free Trade Agreement. #nafta #avocadoshortage #informyourself #shoplocal #beinformed #foodforthought #supportlocal"
When will it be back? Hard to tell. But you should go support The Fat Hen, and order the toast with housemade ricotta and jam instead.


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Of all of the ways in which we find the mainstream media looking to attack politicians with whom they disagree, holding those that they prefer to a lower standard is about as desperate as it gets.
It would be like telling the fanbase of the New England Patriots that they should lower their expectations now that Tom Brady is gone, and to cut the rest of the organization some slack now that they’ve lost the GOAT.
But, as we all know, this is a lazy and unconscionable means of placating a fanbase, and it says more about the former guy than it does about his replacement.
Someone should have perhaps explained this to the Washington Post.
“Time for some new, more realistic expectations,” columnist Micheline Maynard wrote after describing how Americans were used to fast service and easy access to consumer products until the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the supply chain. “American consumers, their expectations pampered and catered to for decades, are not accustomed to inconvenience.”Trending:
Maynard claimed that consumers would be doing themselves a favor by “consciously lowering expectations” instead of taking their frustrations out on shop owners and delivery people. She also described how the disruptions were affecting business owners from their perspective.
So, is it that Biden can’t live up to Trump’s prowess? Because that’s certainly what it sounds like.
In either case, the reactions to the piece came hard and fast.
Critics quickly excoriated the piece on social media, with some suggesting that lowering expectations was “becoming the theme of Joe Biden’s America,” and others suggesting such a “mantra” could negatively impact Democrats heading into the midterm elections.
Some critics even compared the call for Americans to accept empty store shelves to living in the former Soviet Union, which was often plagued by shortages in consumer goods.
“Good news: it’s the 1980s again. Bad news: it’s Soviet Russia’s version of the 1980s, complete with Pravda,” wrote Fox News contributor Mollie Hemingway.
There are very few folks working at The Washington Post who would have willingly endorsed Trumpian policies in the past, but the failures of the Biden administration may have just tricked them into doing just that.


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BUSINESS TRAVEL; MEMO PAD
By JOE SHARKEY
Published: August 26, 2003
The decision last week by major domestic airlines to back away from strict policies on nonrefundable tickets was hailed yesterday by air fare experts as a significant victory for business travelers.
''It's a huge retreat'' by the carriers, said Kevin P. Mitchell of the Business Travel Coalition. The policies, which were imposed last year and greatly restricted the ability of passengers to reuse cheap nonrefundable tickets easily if they canceled their plans, were a ''remarkable failure'' that did not generate revenue, he said. In fact, Mr. Mitchell said, they drove business travelers to low-fare competitors.
''Of all the new policies, restrictions and surcharges that the airlines layered in the last 24 months, this was the most onerous of all'' for business travelers, he added. ''It was a huge gamble by the carriers that this policy would be enough to force business travelers into buying higher-priced refundable tickets.''
Instead, he said, ''the low-fare carriers just opened their arms up for all these fleeing business travelers.''
In the revisions made last year, passengers who changed flight plans needed to rebook nonrefundable tickets for a specific date within a year of the original departure date. Airlines made the changes to discourage business travelers -- who tend to make more changes in flight plans than leisure travelers -- from using cheaper nonrefundable tickets. Previously, a nonrefundable ticket could be used any time within a year of the original departure date, with the payment of a $100 rebooking fee.
Terry Trippler, the air fare expert at the travel site Cheapseats.com, suggested that the retreat from the stricter policies, which was led by American Airlines and quickly matched by other major carriers, was ''precipitated by American peering into September and realizing there is no travel rebound afoot, and that they have to stop bleeding market share to Southwest, JetBlue'' and other low-fare carriers.
Mr. Trippler and other airline industry experts said they expected all major carriers to make further revisions soon fully restoring policies on nonrefundable tickets to what they were before the revisions last year.
Under the changes announced last week by most carriers, a passenger must still cancel a nonrefundable ticket before departure time to be able to rebook later (paying a $100 fee).
But Northwest Airlines said last week that it would not require a cancellation notice before departure time -- which in effect reinstated the policies on nonrefundables in place before the revisions last year.
''Northwest is leading the way on this,'' Mr. Trippler said, adding that he expected others to follow.
Airline finances brightened a bit in July, according to the Air Transport Association, the domestic carriers' trade group. Revenues were up more than 8 percent over July 2002, the group said. Average fares were up 2.6 percent, the first monthly rise this year.
That does not translate into a better ride for passengers -- and it does not mean air travel is up. Planes took off 82 percent full on average in July -- the highest load factor since the trade group started keeping such records in 1970. But that is because there are fewer seats, as airlines put fewer, and smaller, planes in the air.
Passenger traffic in July, traditionally the busiest travel month, was off 8.6 percent from July 2002.
Trans-Pacific air fares, meanwhile, were off sharply -- down 8.2 percent on average from a year ago.
Hotels need to catch up with airlines in selling on the Internet, according to a new report from the Center for Hospitality Research at Cornell University.
Last year, one in 12 hotel bookings were made online, but by 2005 one in 5 will be, say Bill Carroll and Judy Siguaw, who are professors at the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell. But hotel chain Web sites will control only about half of those bookings. The rest will be made by third-party online bookers like Expedia and Travelocity. JOE SHARKEY


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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Sunday, May 23 is National Taffy Day, and local candy makers are celebrating the nostalgic sweet.
Saltwater taffy, which is made from boiled sugar and butter and features swirls of colors and flavors, is a small, bite-size soft candy normally found in traditional candy shops as well as beachside shops.
According to National Day Calendar, an online website featuring made-up holidays, saltwater taffy was invented in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1883. Since then, saltwater taffy has spread all over, eventually reaching Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads.
Forbes Candies, a candy company based in Virginia Beach, has been hard at work making sure there was no shortage of taffy for Sunday.
“It's a nostalgic piece of candy, it's been around for a really long time,” Marty Cochran, the president of Forbes Candies, said. “I think a lot of it, too, is it reminds people of being on vacation. It's always been something you get while you're on vacation."
Contrary to popular belief, saltwater taffy does not have saltwater from the ocean in it. It does, however, have salt and water.
Cochran recalled the first time he tried saltwater while working with Forbes Candies while in high school. He said he was instantly a fan, but mentioned there are people who do not like taffy because they never had “good” taffy.
"If somebody is open enough to try it, then once they have good taffy they're hooked on it," Cochran said. "But we still run across people who have never had taffy."
If you love saltwater taffy or want to try it out for the first time, Cochran said all Forbes Candies stores will offer free samples as well as 20 percent discounts on all saltwater taffy sales.


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Nokia and Microsoft haven't been forthcoming on the number of Lumia handsets that have sold since the line's debut, but a new analysis puts that figure at around 330,000 over four months. An analyst at Asymco has examined
recent market breakdowns from both Nielsen
to derive the figure, finding that Nokia's handsets trail HTC and Samsung even in the sliver of the market occupied by Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system.
The handset market is overwhelmingly dominated by Google's Android and Apple's iOS at 51 and 34 percent market share, respectively. In third place is BlackBerry OS with nine percent. The Windows Phone OS that powers the Lumia line holds 1.3 percent share, putting it in fifth place behind Windows Mobile.
Nokia's Lumia phones account for about 0.3 percent of all handsets sold in the United States. Using comScore's total market figure
of 110 million smartphones sold, that amounts to about 330,000 Lumia devices in the hands of consumers.
Asymco's analysis lends weight to Nokia shareholder complaints
that the company has been underperforming in the face of increased competition from Apple and other manufacturers. Once dominant in the mobile sector, Nokia has fallen on hard times, and is said to be making a big bet on Microsoft's forthcoming Windows Phone 8
operating system, with multiple models
featuring novel technologies
said to be in the offing. Should that platform not perform to expectations, though, company officials have assured shareholders that Nokia has a backup plan


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IFG Network’s invoice factoring blog published some interesting information released by PayNet Inc. earlier this week that the invoice funding specialists at PRN Funding wanted to share with The Factoring Blog’s readers:
First of all, PayNet Inc. collects real-time loan data from more than 200 leading capital equipment lenders, and they shared data that shows that borrowing by small businesses increased by 14 percent in January 2011, compared to January 2010. Initially, it may seem like this is an early indicator that small businesses are growing, however, it’s not as aggressive as industry experts had hoped.
For example, William Phelan, PayNet’s president and founder, thinks otherwise. He was quoted on IFG’s blog, saying: “We are calling it the long-haul recovery.” He further explained that small business borrowing will return to pre-recessions levels for at least another year, maybe two.
Moreover, economic analysts believe that even with zero-percent interest rates, small companies don’t want to borrow money and go into debt until they are certain they have customers and/or demand for their products.
NOTE FROM PRN FUNDING: Small business owners can and should consider factoring as an alternative way to finance their businesses because they don’t have to go into debt to help their cash flow.
Click here to read more of PayNet’s January stats.


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Seattle and King County ballots are due by Nov. 8th. For more information, see the King County Elections website.
Archive for October, 2011
When the Occupy Wall Street protests began to thrive in the US and around the world, frequent commentary on lack of focus or specific demands seem to litter the media. But the more I watched and waited, I began to realize this movement has never been out of focus, it’s just too big for our current lens.
Some realization came while watching a compelling commentary by a literature graduate student in NY regarding his efforts to establish a library at the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations (see YouTube). He knew that his efforts to simply provide knowledge was a protest in itself.
This is equally true with the issue of animal welfare. Once people are aware of animal cruelty and torture — particularly in the case of farm animals — no matter how gruesome the reality may be, the knowledge of the issue allows us the option to forgo participation in a cruel system, and often easily disarm the problem by economic participation in the alternatives.
But this isn’t breaking news….
As was so eloquently reported by One Green Planet and effectively detailed in this article by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the ‘Occupy’ movement has included the welfare of animals as a justifiable demand on the reform of, not just corporate America, but America in general.
From vegan-ism to banning pet stores sales, our struggle to stop the cruel and horrific treatment of farm, wild and companion animals has often glided along side other issues of inflation, pesticide use, heart disease and environmental degradation — or so we may have thought.
But, as it turns out, we are not alone — whether meat eater, farmer, feral cat rescuer, hunter or conservation biologist, none of us wants the cruel treatment of animals, just like none of us wants to be controlled by corporations exhibiting greed, inequality and illegal or abusive action.
So I find it very natural that Occupy protests include the demand for corporations to end the cruel, industrialized and institutionalized treatment of animals. This demand is no longer too big to be considered for mass reform. In fact at this point, improving welfare for animals in all situations, is practically a simple first step.
Oct. 12, 2011
In the last few years, a growing number of cities have taken a proactive measure against animal homelessness by banning the retail sale of dogs and cats. South Lake Tahoe led the way with its city council unanimously voting in a ban, followed by Albuquerque, N. M. West Hollywood, Calif.; Austin, Texas; Fort Worth, Fla.; and Glendale, Calif., have most recently followed suit. The city council for the largest city in Canada — Toronto — unanimously voted to ban the retail sale of dogs and cats just recently.
These cities acted on a local level to tackle a regional problem: industrialized breeding of kittens and puppies (a. k. a. puppy mills) and pet overpopulation, leading to mass euthanasia in city pounds and shelters. Pet overpopulation is a municipal problem that costs cities and communities hundreds of thousands of dollars in shelter costs, cruelty investigations and euthanasia.
Puppy and kitten mills are found almost anywhere in Washington state and elsewhere in the United States. And while retailers can make considerable profit selling animals, the reality is that breeding dogs and cats is not profitable under humane conditions. Hence, we have seen the rise of puppy and kitten mills, where breeding parents live in small, unsanitary cages, usually outdoors, with no exercise or veterinary care. The conditions are deplorable, and many breeding parents die before they are rescued.
City councils have discovered that by banning retail sales of dogs and cats, they can curb the economic demand for this type of breeding operation and save thousands of animals and thousands of dollars.
Like many surrounding cities, Seattle has no such ban, and backyard puppy mills and crowded shelters are common on the West Coast. Luckily, Seattle is blessed with many rescue groups that tackle pet homelessness.
But one such group, Ginger’s Pet Rescue, is dedicated to specifically saving those “death-row dogs” that are about to be euthanized in shelters from Washington state to Los Angeles and rescuing dogs directly from puppy mills.
Ginger’s Pet Rescue was started by Ginger Luke, who owns the Rickshaw Chinese Restaurant in Greenwood. The rescue group receives dogs from high-kill animal shelters and negotiates the release of breeding dogs from puppy mills to end the breeding operation.
If this sounds like an intensive operation, that’s because it is. Rescue dogs must be flown in from other cities or transported via car by volunteers. Each dog is given the care they need through a partnership with Greenwood Animal Hospital, but veterinary costs are high to treat so many dogs, and donations are desperately needed.
Without a centralized shelter, all the dogs are in foster care with more than 100 volunteers working with Ginger’s Pet Rescue. Volunteers provide care, love and reassurance for the dogs, and currently more foster families are urgently needed here in Seattle.
While there are a lot of things that make Ginger’s Pet Rescue unique, a conversation with the volunteers reveals a very special group of people. Rescuing dogs from all over the West Coast takes organization and commitment, and a genuine feeling of teamwork was obvious during an interview with Ginger’s volunteers.
Brooke Stanton and her partner, Michelle Smith, are foster “mothers” providing care to two dogs through Ginger’s Rescue. Stanton was originally an adopter from the Rescue when she brought Clyde, as Australian shepherd, into her home. Stanton soon found that she had room for a few more souls in the house.
When Smith decided she was ready to adopt as well, the couple fostered several dogs before they met Bonnie. Now with Bonnie and Clyde at the helm, the family of four continues to give its time and love to help foster more dogs through the Rescue. Thanks to Brooke and Michelle’s foster care, Momo and Billy Jean, both female rat-terrier mixes, are available for adoption through Ginger’s Pet Rescue.
More volunteers needed
Dedicated foster volunteers make the difference between life and death for dogs in crowded, high-kill shelters or confined at puppy mills. And while municipal laws to mitigate both these problems may not yet have come to cities in Washington state, Ginger’s Pet Rescue is putting a dent in pet homelessness and preventing euthanasia by saving one dog at a time.
Currently, foster homes are needed for about 20 “death-row dogs” received by the Rescue every other weekend.
If you cannot foster, Ginger’s Pet Rescue also needs transporters, volunteers and people who can help fund-raise. Currently, the rescue owes around $28,000 in veterinary bills for care for special-needs dogs who are deaf, blind, have only three legs have been hit by cars or need cancer treatment.
For more information or to find dogs to adopt, check out Ginger’s Pet Rescue online at www.gingerspetrescue.org.
CHRISTIE LAGALLY is a freelance pet columnist who manages the website “Sniffing Out Home: A Search for Animal Welfare Solutions” at www.sniffingouthome.org.
On Oct. 4, 2010, Richmond, BC became the first city in Canada to ban the sale of dogs in pet stores (want to know more? See media coverage here). Almost one year later, the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada’s largest municipality, decided to ban the sale of dogs and cats from pet stores for many the same reasons as Richmond.
Richmond’s puppy sale ban was a landmark bylaw not only because it was the first in Canada, but also because it considered the extraordinary costs to a community to ignore animal welfare — both financial and ethical. Furthermore, the Richmond’s puppy sale ban was also challenged in the BC Supreme Court and ultimately upheld with Judge Savage writing that “a decision to prohibit the sale of dogs in pet stores falls within a range of acceptable outcomes that are defensible with regard to the facts and law. There is rational connection between the Bylaw and its objective.”
With this court decision in their back pockets, animal activists, tax payers and city governments are beginning to view a retail pet sale ban as a reasonable and viable option to cut out the costs of thousand of homeless dogs they see every year and end support of cruel puppy and kitten mills.
While change often starts small, the retail pet sale ban appears to be gaining momentum. Neighboring cities of Richmond, BC are starting to talk ‘a pet sale ban’ as a possible solution to their common problem.
Burnaby activist and foundation founder, Kathy Powelson, of the Paws for Hope Foundation has brought some energy to the issue for Burnaby. Based on this article in the BurnabyNow, Burnaby’s mayor is willing to investigate the option.
Port Coquitlam’s TheNow is reporting a similar trend with Councillor Brad West indicating a desire to see a similar restriction on pet sales as were established by Richmond’s councilors.
And now Saskatoon, SK and Beaconsfield, QC are talking about a retail pet sale ban as well. City council members, activists and rescue group leaders see a pet sale ban as a practical and workable solution to the tragic consequences of pet homelessness according to news articles in the The StarPhoenix and the Montreal Gazette.
Meanwhile back in Richmond, while pet stores continue to complain over loss of business, Councillor Ken Johnson is reporting that the “new law seems to be working and there are bigger issues at stake than dollars” according to an article in the Richmond News.
So, will your city be next?
A very special ‘thank you’ to Helen Savkovic for doing ALL the media research for this post. Thanks Helen!


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Peugeot to introduce the sporty new RCZ to British buyers at the MPH Show
Monday 19 October 2009
This is the RCZ, Peugeot's answer – although they wouldn't thank you for saying it – to Audi's successful TT sports car. The RCZ was formally launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but most British buyers will get their first chance to see it at the forthcoming MPH Show, a sort of car circus or variety event that takes place at Earls Court between November 5 and 8.
Peugeot's move highlights the challenge car manufacturers face in introducing their products to British buyers in an age when the still-large UK market seems unable to sustain a regular mainstream motor show of its own – the 2010 British show (it was normally a biennial fixture) was cancelled in March this year. This has increased the attractions for the car-makers of alternative car-related events such as MPH and Goodwod's Festival of Speed.
For Peugeot, there's quite a lot riding on the RCZ. As a sporty specialised niche model, it probably won't sell in huge numbers even if it's a success, but if it makes the right sort of impact, it could still help Peugeot rediscover some of its old zing. In the Eighties and Nineties, the French manufacturer won legions of fans with exciting models such as the lively 205GTI but its current rather stodgy line-up could badly do with an injection of some of that old Peugeot flair.
The RCZ goes on sale in the UK in April 2010 at a price of about £22,000.
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UFC boss, Dana White, made an appearance at Microsoft E3 Keynote and made what I think, the best announcement for the Xbox Live service. UFC Fights will be available on Xbox Live. Details are skeptical for now but based on what was shown at the conference, UFC pay-per views will be available for order on Xbox Live. That wasn’t it, the clip showed the ability to call matches, and place bets against your friends.
Dana White had this to say:
“There has never been a better time to be a UFC fan. As you know, we deliver the best fights in the world, and now XBOX will revolutionize how fans experience live events on television. You’ll get all the best fights, and compete with your friends…only on XBOX. Let’s take a look at the innovation you’re gonna see this holiday.
I’m a UFC fan, and even though I don’t order the PPV’s I would like to be able to watch past fights and even episodes of The Ultimate Fighter. I’m eager to hear more of this partnership


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Santa Clara, CA, October 20, 2011 –/BackupReview.info/– StorSimple, the leading provider of cloud integrated enterprise storage for Windows and VMware infrastructures, today announced a joint webinar with Forrester Research on the cost benefit of integrated enterprise cloud storage.
The amount of data organizations need to store is growing at record rates. At the same time they need to reduce capital expenses. There is a new approach that promises to deliver a more cost effective IT infrastructure through the cloud. Storage using integrated enterprise cloud architecture – capable of archive, backup, primary and disaster recovery – is 74% less expensive than traditional storage. To learn more about the cost benefits of integrated cloud storage don’t miss a live webinar on October 26, 2011 at 8:00 am PST hosted by StorSimple and Forrester Research.
The webinar will compare the capital, operational and staffing cost differences between traditional storage and cloud storage. Andrew Reichman, principal analyst at Forrester, and Joel Christner, chief scientist of StorSimple, will deliver a live demonstration modeling the difference between a common workload – file storage – built and deployed traditionally compared to consumed through the public cloud with an integrated enterprise cloud storage architecture.
Click http://cloudstorage.eventbrite.com/ to learn more and to register.
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Delhi High Court Issue Notice To Vodafone Idea, Jio And Airtel On Patym’s Plea
Paytm is seeking Rs 100 crore in damages from Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea for failing to stop the phishing calls.
The Delhi High Court asked telecom operators and the sector regulator to respond to a plea by Paytm seeking Rs 100 crore in damages for failing to stop the phishing calls.
One97 Communications Pvt., the parent of financial services firm, argued that fraudsters claiming to be representatives of Paytm are spamming customers through SMSes or calls. They get the customers to part with sensitive data, resulting transfer of money from their accounts. BloombergQuint has reviewed a copy of the petition.
A bench headed by Chief Justice DN Patel issued a notice to Vodafone Idea Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. and Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. to respond.
Paytm argued that the law makes it the responsibility of the telecom service providers to prevent such frauds and deter fraudsters. These frauds, it said, are a result of the operators violating the Telecommunication Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations, 2018, it said. Specifically, Paytm said in its petition, the regulations require service providers to:
- Verify purported telemarketers seeking registration with such telcos before granting them access to the telcos’ customer database.
- Refrain from issuing headers or allow SMS content purporting to be from petitioners or its related entities from unauthorised Registered Telemarketers, and
- Take immediate remedial action against all fraudulent RTMs.
The company said the alleged frauds have caused significant damage to the brand of Paytm, resulting in customers losing faith in the company. Operators failed to conduct proper verification before registering telemarketers, which enables frauds and phishing, it said.
Paytm has made the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India a party in the case, saying that it failed to take action against violation of rules by the carriers. The regulator also has to file its response.
The Delhi High Court will take up the matter next on June 24.


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The world of mobile marketing automation (MMA) can be a scary one. MMA is how big enterprises and “triple-A” app developers get you to spend more money with them.
But MMA solutions aren’t just for those with mega budgets.
Within the pages of his most recent report — a 20,000-word deep-dive into the MMA industry — VB Insight analyst John Koetsier has uncovered the most important information of all: How the technology will make you more money, even if you’re a small fish in a big pond. The report is based on the experiences of 375 mobile developers with over 900 million monthly users, and a deep dive into the technology inside 1.8 million iOS and Android apps.
Before we dig into how MMA solutions help you monetize your users, it is important to explain the vendors that are involved in the industry and what MMA is used for.
The MMA industry, according to Koetsier, is set to double in size (at least) in 2015.
“First you have the innovators and instigators, like Appboy, Leanplum, Kahuna, Swrve, and Nudge, who are native mobile marketing automation platforms,” Koetsier, VP of research at VB Insight, told me. “These products are almost CRM tools.”
Of course, MMA has created enough ripples that many of the huge marketing cloud companies are getting in on the act.
“Marketing giants like Salesforce and Adobe, and to a very small extent IBM, have discovered that mobile really, really matters,” Koetsier said. “They know they need solutions for user acquisition, engagement, and monetization if they’re going to have a complete mobile-also marketing cloud.”
Who else is involved?
“Then you have the ‘let’s-do-that-too’ firms, who are into mobile analytics or mobile advertising and see the opportunity to put together an entire suite for mobile publishers,” Koetsier said. “Those include Tapjoy, Upsight, and — to an extent — DeltaDNA.”
The one anomaly in the report is Urban Airship.
It in a very real sense founded this space years ago with mobile messaging capabilities and has a large client list, but has only very recently added some of the more fundamental marketing automation features.
So that’s the current landscape, and Koetsier’s report on mobile marketing automation solutions goes into incredible detail on each of those 21 vendors. But how does MMA actually work?
Take a pinch of traditional marketing automation, with the ability to segment prospects and customers, understand their interactions with you, and provide ways to engage with them. Then, add in a scoop of traditional app analytics, focusing on the number of visitors, installs, sessions, usage, and behavior.
Now, mix it all up, and you have something approaching MMA.
“It is about deeply understanding known and unknown users. Engaging with them. And, of course, monetizing them,” Koetsier said.
“Enterprises like Starbucks and Alaska Airlines use MMA. So do Walgreens and Macy’s. Apps and games such as Plants vs. Zombies, Rivals at War, and even Talking Tom Cat use MMA,” Koetsier said.
But if you think these solutions are only for those with massive marketing budgets, think again. Some of the current mobile marketing automation solutions start as low as $100 per month.
And the return on that investment can be significant. I asked Koetsier which case study piqued his interest the most while doing the dozens of interviews needed for the report .
“Appboy CEO Mark Ghermezian told me that one client made $100,000 of new revenue with a single in-app message,” Koetsier said. “They did this through smart targeting, and by finding a potentially rich segment.”
Who else did a good job?
“With Salesforce, client Snag-a-Job uses their mobile marketing automation tools to send out a morning email with new opportunities,” Koetsier said. “If — and only if — recipients have not viewed and responded, the company follows up with a push reminder on mobile. It is an omnichannel approach to user engagement, and it pays off.”
MMA solutions aren’t yet the omnichannel be-all-and-end-all you’d hope for — many are still young, fresh startups. While most do a great job with analytics and in-app messaging, a few still lack email, SMS, and survey functionality.
“Email is hard because you need to know your user very intimately to get it,” Koetsier said. “SMS is hard because it comes with a cost attached. And survey tools just seem to have slipped under the radar.”
It is clear, however, that these 21 products are helping many organizations understand, engage with, and monetize mobile-using prospects and existing customers.
Leading the charge against the massive marketing clouds, according to Koetsier’s research? Appboy and Kahuna.
“They offer real-time API-level access right into their data, so what a customer is doing is always knowable. In other words, if someone buys something on your iPad app, you know that, and your website reflects the fact, and your email marketing newsletter knows about it too, and on their next trip to the store, the cashier does as well,” Koetsier said.
“Mobile Marketing Automation: How the most successful apps drive massive engagement & monetization” is available now at VB Insight.
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3 CPO Records to Start 2015
Three Canadian automakers notched record months in January for certified pre-owned sales, starting 2015 off with similar certified momentum seen throughout 2014.
Mazda Canada continued its CPO growth with another record month. The automaker sold 431 certified vehicles in January, up from 345 sold during the first month of 2014.
“This was a record January for us. The main drivers behind this improvement is increased dealer profitability, resulting in increased dealer participation,” said Bryan Leaitch, manager of certified pre-owned and remarketing at Mazda Canada.
Audi Canada scored its best-even January for certified, as well, with 398 CPO sales. This performance is up 13.4 percent from January 2014, when the automaker sold a total of 351 CPO vehicles.
Porsche Canada was the third automaker to notch a record this past month with its best January ever. The high-end nameplate sold 77 Porsche Approved Certified Pre-Owned vehicles in January.
Volvo Cars of Canada sold 30 more certified vehicles this January than during the same period of 2014. The automaker delivered a total of 131 CPO vehicles in last month, up 29.7 percent from January 2014.
The Mercedes-Benz Pre-Owned division recorded a great start to the year with 870 vehicles delivered in January. This marks an increase of 71 units (or 8.9 percent) compared to the same time period last year.
The CPO volume accounted for 79 percent of the sales, and Smart pre-owned sales were up 112 percent in January, the company shared.
Mercedes-Benz Mississauga was also recently honored as Auto Remarketing Canada’s first CPO Dealer of The Year.The dealership sold a total of 625 CPO vehicles in 2014.
Volkswagen Canada started the year off just a bit slower than 2014, but still notched significant CPO sales.
The company sold 1,176 CPO vehicles in January, only slightly below last January sales of 1,228.
Kia Canada was off to a great start as 2015 got underway, selling 270 CPO vehicles, which is more than double the 147 sold in January 2014.
“We are off to a go start for 2015 and continuing the strong pace we finished with in 2014,” said Richard Pasta, manager of national fleet sales, remarketing and CPO for Kia Canada.
Toyota Canada sales were down slightly from January 2014, with 1,342 CPO sales this past month, compared to 1,443 sold during the same time period last year.
Honda Canada saw much of the same with 1,039 certified sales last month, down 11.9 percent from the 1,169 sold in January 2014.
That said, the brand's luxury arm experienced a slight boost this past month. The automaker sold 220 Acura CPO vehicles, up 2.8 percent from 214 sold during January 2014.
Todd Fowler, manager of used-vehicle operations at Honda Canada Inc., explained that the challenge of tight used supply is sticking around in 2015.
“This year presents a unique challenge, as the Canadian market is operating under a tight used-vehicle supply, the lowest in more than a decade. However, we have confidence our dealer networks will strive to meet this challenge head-on,” he said.
Editor’s Note: Auto Remarketing Canada just released its inaugural “CPO Stars and Certified Trends” digital magazine issue. Flip through for more info on the movers and shakers in the CPO industry.


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Vivo V23e 5G with 6.44-inch AMOLED display, Eye autofocus front camera launched in India for Rs. 25990
Vivo just launched its latest 5G smartphone Vivo V23e 5G in India. This phone is priced at Rs. 25990 and is now available across the country starting today.
Vivo V23e 5G comes with a 6.44-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display and features a U-shaped notch for the selfie camera. The phone runs Android 12 with Funtouch OS 12 out of the box.
It is powered by Octa-Core MediaTek Dimensity 810 6nm processor with Mali-G57 MC2 GPU. It has 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage. Storage is also expandable up to 1TB with a microSD card.
The phone has a triple camera with 50 megapixels primary camera, 8 megapixels ultra-wide camera, and 2 megapixels selfie camera. It also includes 44 megapixels eye autofocus selfie camera.
The phone has an under-display fingerprint sensor. Connectivity options include 5G SA/NSA, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS/ GLONASS /Beidou, and USB Type-C. It packs a 4050 mAh battery with support for 44W fast charging. It promises to charge the phone up to 69% in 30 minutes.
The phone comes in Midnight Blue and Sunshine Gold colors. It has Fluorite AG Glass design technology and color combined to create a smooth back like silk. There is also an anti-fingerprint coating. It weighs 172grams.
Vivo V23e 5G costs Rs. 25990 and will be available from Vivo.com, online stores, and partner retail stores across the country starting today February 21.
There are also a few launch offers.
vivo V23e 5G specifications
- 6.44-inch Full HD+ AMOLED screen
- Octa Core MediaTek Dimensity 810 6nm processor with Mali-G57 MC2 GPU
- 8GB RAM
- 128GB storage, expandable up to 1TB with microSD
- Android 12 with Funtouch OS 12
- 50MP rear camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera, and 2MP macro camera
- 44MP autofocus front camera
- In-display fingerprint sensor
- 5G SA/NSA, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, GPS/ GLONASS /Beidou, USB Type-C
- 4050mAh battery with 44W fast charging


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Ofgem said that E.ON failed to properly train and monitor its staff and those it employed through third party telesales agencies, leading to incorrect information being provided to customers on the doorstep and over the phone.
As part of the redress package, E.ON will pay around £35 to 333,000 of their customers who are normally recipients of the Warm Home Discount. It will also make automatic payments to some vulnerable customers who may have been affected by the poor sales practices.
The company has set up a dedicated hotline and will write to around 465,000 customers it has identified through its redress work in order to see if they are entitled to compensation.
E.ON chief executive Tony Cocker said as part of overhauling its sales operations the company has ended face-to-face sales and outbound residential telephone cold calling.
He added: “It is completely unacceptable that we may have been unclear with customers about their tariff choices and as a result those customers may not have made the best choices for them.
“There was no organised attempt to mislead, and Ofgem has acknowledged this, but that does not excuse the fact we did not have in place enough rules, checks and oversight.”
Since 2010, Ofgem has imposed £100m in fines and redress on energy companies for various rule breaches, including £39m for mis-selling.
Among other energy companies, npower said in December it would pay £3.5m in redress to customers after it was found to have breached rules.


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Cannabidiol is a naturally occurring compound and is used in the treatment of a wide range of medical conditions including epilepsy, anxiety, neuropathy, chronic pain, rheumatoid arthritis, and other related disorders. Despite its purported benefits, scientists and medical professionals have been questioning the safety of using cannabidiol as an anti-seizure medication. The primary reason why scientists are worried about the use of cannabidiol is that cannabidiol is not a seizure suppressant. Rather, it is capable of partially ameliorating the symptoms of other conditions that have been attributed to epilepsy.
In addition to the possible risks of using cannabidiol, medical professionals are thinking that the cheap custom box packaging houses products with extended release versions of the medicine might pose a threat to the blood-brain barrier. According to a study published in the Journal of Neuropharmacology, CBD has the potential to cause brain swelling in mice, as well as increase the risk of cerebral ischemia and strokes. It has also been found that CBD does not possess anti-seizure properties, as claimed by some of the cannabis-based medicines.
To further make matters worse, medical professionals are divided on the use of CBD as an anti-seizure medication. The scientific community holds the view that CBD is safe to use, while most medical practitioners endorse its use as an effective treatment for epilepsy. However, there is no agreement between the two parties on the possible side effects of CBD.
Medical professionals believe that CBD is beneficial when administered along with other anti-seizure medications, especially when used together with carbamazepine and valproate. However, medical experts believe that cannabidiol may be dangerous to take in combination with these drugs. Moreover, doctors claim that CBD is harmful to the baby when taken in combination with certain drugs.
In addition to epilepsy, CBD is considered to be useful in treating a number of other seizure disorders, including Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and Carrier’s syndrome. Additionally, experts believe that cannabidiol is beneficial in treating Tourette’s syndrome, autism, ADHD, fibromyalgia, diabetes, restless leg syndrome, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. While all these conditions are treatable using conventional medicine, experts are urging patients to use alternative medicines when it comes to treating epilepsy.
This is not to say that CBD is without risk. Doctors caution that, should CBD be taken by children with epilepsy, the substance may exacerbate the condition. Moreover, although it may be useful in treating certain medical conditions, CBD is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in treating cancer.
It should be noted that medical professionals and health care providers to support the safe use of CBD for the treatment of epilepsy. CBD is a drug that has shown itself to be safe and has few or no side effects.