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|By PR Newswire||
|April 23, 2014 11:11 AM EDT||
EAST HANOVER, N.J., April 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Mondelez International, the makers of OREO, RITZ, TRIDENT, HONEY MAID and SOUR PATCH KIDS, unveiled an innovative and engaging new campaign which highlights the unique and personal ways that fans and consumers embrace soccer – and invites people everywhere to #PassTheLove.
Beginning this month and continuing as the U.S. Men's National Team prepares for the world's largest sporting event, these beloved cookie, cracker, candy and gum brands – collectively known as the Official Snacks of U.S. Soccer – will partner with soccer stars like Clint Dempsey, Alex Morgan and Omar Gonzalez to create a consumer movement where soccer enthusiasts across the country unite to #PassTheLove of the sport.
This bold, integrated campaign – the company's largest multi-brand program to date – was designed to be sharable at its core and utilize real-time content, adaptive advertising, experiential events and ongoing consumer engagement to empower and reward consumers when they help celebrate the cheers, anthems, pageantry, rituals and all other elements that feed the spirit of soccer.
"Passion for soccer is reaching a fever pitch across the country, and #PassTheLove is a true call to action for people to share the special connection they have to the world's most popular sport," said Stephen Chriss, Senior Director, North America Consumer Engagement and Marketing Services at Mondelez International.
Igniting a Consumer Movement
The campaign will encourage people to share what they love about soccer using #PassTheLove. These individual expressions of fandom from consumers will collectively tell a rich story about the ways people are drawn to the sport.
"This isn't about the X's and O's of the games, it's about inspiring people to #PassTheLove by sharing the personal connection they have with the sport, whether they're cheering from the stands, watching at home or playing the sport themselves," said Chriss.
The fully integrated #PassTheLove campaign will blend elements of media, retail, shopper marketing, consumer promotions, grassroots, PR and social media to create a nationwide consumer movement around soccer passion. Among the many highlights are:
- Promotion Fueled By Social Content: A nationwide promotion appearing on more than 40 million custom designed packs of cookie, cracker and candy brands that will invite consumers to share why they love soccer using #PassTheLove in exchange for the chance to win a "Game of Your Life" soccer experience that captures the excitement of a major competition, or other instant win giveaways.
- Experiential Tour & Events: A coast-to-coast grassroots tour kicking off in April, plus key events featuring U.S. National Team members Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Alex Morgan (Portland Thorns FC) and Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy) bringing #PassTheLove to life for fans and media. (Full dates and details to be announced.)
- Mobile Game: A fun, interactive game called "Free Kick Fury" on the smartphone messenger Kik, where consumers can compete in penalty kicks as Clint, Alex or Omar – complete with an engaging "Pactivation" overlay allowing consumers to redeem upgrades found on more than 2 million on-pack codes.
- In-store Displays: #PassTheLove featured on more than 17,000 in-store displays at retailers across the country.
- Dynamic Media Campaign: Adaptive digital advertising, including a partnership with BLINK Studios.
- Multicultural Focus: A full-scale multicultural media plan tailored for Hispanic consumers that includes partnerships with relevant media outlets like Univision.
Celebrating Personal Connections
#PassTheLove is a mantra that not only resonates with consumers, but also with elite athletes like Dempsey, Morgan and Gonzalez who will take part and fuel the campaign.
"There's no doubt the passion for soccer in this country will be on full display this year, and what I like most about #PassTheLove is how it taps into that enthusiasm and celebrates the culture that surrounds the sport," said Dempsey, a star on the U.S. Men's National Team.
"Everyone has something that drew them into soccer, whether it's a game, a ritual, a coach or some moment that made them stand up and cheer," said Morgan. "What excites me most about the campaign is the way it celebrates these distinctly different ways people grow to love our sport – and finds ways to #PassTheLove on to others."
The designation of Official Snacks of U.S. Soccer extends to the cookie, candy, cracker and gum categories and is inclusive of a series of globally-recognized brands operated by Mondelez International, including: OREO, CHIPS AHOY, RITZ, WHEAT THINS, HONEY MAID, NEWTONS, BELVITA, TRIDENT, DENTYNE, STRIDE and SOUR PATCH KIDS, among others.
"We're excited about the #PassTheLove movement because it will continue to fuel the passion and excitement around soccer in the United States," U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said when the partnership was announced in October 2013. "The sport has enjoyed explosive growth in recent years, and this campaign will help celebrate the many reasons fans and athletes are embracing soccer like never before." For complete details about the contest, including entry requirements, visit www.passthelove.com.
About Mondelez International
Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ) is a global snacking powerhouse, with 2013 revenue of $35 billion. Creating delicious moments of joy in 165 countries, Mondelez International is a world leader in chocolate, biscuits, gum, candy, coffee and powdered beverages, with billion-dollar brands such as Cadbury, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolate, Jacobs coffee, Oreo, LU and Nabisco biscuits, Tang powdered beverages and Trident gum. Mondelez International is a proud member of the Standard and Poor's 500, NASDAQ 100 and Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Visit www.mondelezinternational.com and www.facebook.com/mondelezinternational.
About U.S. Soccer:
Founded in 1913, U.S. Soccer is the non-for-profit, governing body of soccer in the United States and has helped chart the course for the game for more than 100 years. During this time, the Federation's mission statement has been clear and simple: to make soccer, in all its forms, a pre-eminent sport in the United States and to continue the development of soccer at all recreational and competitive levels. To that end, the sport's development and growth in the United States during the past 25 years has been nothing short of remarkable as U.S. Soccer's National Teams have continually succeeded on the world stage and, with the assistance of its members, the fan support and participation in the game continues to reach new heights. For more information, visit ussoccer.com.
About Soccer United Marketing
Founded in 2002, Soccer United Marketing (SUM) is the preeminent soccer business company in North America. SUM holds the exclusive rights to the most important soccer properties in the region, including: all commercial rights to Major League Soccer; the United States Soccer Federation; promotional and marketing rights to Mexican National Team games played in the United States, and the CONCACAF Gold Cup™. SUM also manages promotional and marketing rights in the United States for Mexico's most popular sports team, Club Deportivo Guadalajara (Chivas).
In 2009, SUM announced the creation of the MLS Digital Properties, the only soccer advertising network of its kind, covering all facets of the sport in the U.S., and which allows advertisers to reach millions of soccer fans via online advertising and sponsorships campaigns. These global properties are represented by SUM's slogan: One Sport. One Company.™ For more information, please visit www.SUMworld.com.
Founded in 2009, Kik Interactive Inc is the maker of Kik Messenger, the fast, simple, and personal mobile messenger with a built-in browser, that allows over 120 million people across the globe to talk, browse and share content with one another. Kik continues to grow rapidly, with over 275,000 new people joining every day. Kik is the way people love to connect in mobile, and share the things they care about with the people they care about. Kik Interactive believes the future of smartphone era computing is in the mobile web. Kik is committed to building a cutting-edge HTML5 platform, making it easy for developers everywhere to optimize, distribute, and monetize new experiences for the mobile web. Kik Interactive is a privately-held company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
SOURCE Mondelez International
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Chicago, IL -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/05/2014 -- Jim Drolshagen, along with Anatoly Nirshberg and Hemanshu Nigam, have come together to launch Verie. It is destined to be the software certification of the future, where digital commerce and online interaction will be fundamentally improved by removing potential risk that comes with anonymity on the web. Instead of a company offering legitimization by means of semi-trusted certifications, individuals will be able to certify who they are when engaging in online activity.
Anatoly Nirshberg, one of the founders and Ideation Direction ParadigmNext, was approached by Drolshagen to help market a product he was working on in the realm of digital security. Nirshberg immediately saw the potential of this product to transcend the industry it was intended for, and apply it as a universal tool as a means to help identify an individual’s credibility by proving that they are who they actually say they are.
As the new CMO, Nirshberg brings quite a bit to this new company. As an entrepreneur himself with countless experiences in the world of business, marketing will not be the only thing on his mind. Developing a security product will need to grab the attention of the Verie target marketing, which at this point, can be anyone who uses the internet for interaction or eCommerce. He for sure has a big job.
With the help of ParadigmNext, and Nirshberg’s expertise, this project has come a long way in a short period of time. “This can change the world, and it can assure consumers that they are buying from sellers who are who they say they are,” Nirshberg said.
Verie aims to solve a weakness in Internet accountability and verification at the individual level by providing the means to enable credibility, trust, and legitimacy in the digital domain. Verie is in the initial phases of development and launch. Stay tuned for more news, information, and releases in the coming future. For questions, comments, and news please feel free t contact Verie’s new CMO Anatoly Nirshberg.
Chief Marketing Officer / Co-Founder

domain: news


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One of the lessons to come out of the JUUL affair is that it can be dangerous to come up with a product that is ‘too’ successful.
Does the US Food and Drug Administration know what it’s doing? Presumably yes. Do its actions always promote public health? Apparently not. Is this concerning? It would seem so.
British American Tobacco says that, given the success of its next generation product portfolio, it will increase investments in these products during 2018.
It was clearly not possible for Philip Morris International to maintain forever the huge growth rate of heated-tobacco-product sales that it had enjoyed in Japan; but there is a world beyond Japan.
The Malaysian arm of British American Tobacco has put the launch of reduced risk products on hold while it sees which way the regulatory wind is blowing.
Those opposed to the excessive use of electronic cigarettes among young people should define what they mean by ‘excessive’ use and, therefore, what they think is acceptable use.
There are times when the US Food and Drug Administration could be accused of acting too slowly, but there are times also when it is necessary to stop and reflect.
In partnering in an event in London last night, Philip Morris International once again demonstrated that it is serious about encouraging smokers to switch to lower-risk products.
A replication study of emissions from e-liquids has provided results that are significantly different to those of the original study.
A change in government in New Zealand seems to have put a brake on a move to legalize vaping with nicotine, leaving smokers in a difficult place.


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Peugeot 305 photo gallery
New Peugeot 305 pictures
The spies spotted on tests the new Peugeot 308 SW
Spy photos of a new third-generation Peugeot 308 SW have been placed in the network. During road tests in a heavily camouflaged form
A new alliance between Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler named Stellantis
The emblem of the newest auto concern, which was formed after the reunification of the French Groupe PSA (Peugeot and Citroen) and the Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), took place
Peugeot has the most powerful hybrid
The French division of Peugeot Sport Engineered has presented the first plug-in hybrid type with the possibility of recharging
Peugeot 108 will be reborn as a subcompact SUV
Peugeot will not create a new generation of city car 108
Peugeot 308 with updates got a virtual dashboard
Peugeot held a presentation of the updated 308 hatch
Peugeot will introduce a new pickup
In the standard version, Peugeot Landtrek will be released with ordinary optics and unpainted bumpers, and the top version will be offered a bumper color to match the body and LED headlights.
We select only big size peugeot 305 photos for our photogallery.
© 2021 CarsBase.com -


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Commenting on the challenges of those early days, Marianne Aljord, Managing Director International Business Group Dubai said: “My father is one of the first investor who has noticed the potential of the UAE and specially Dubai, the one of a kind visionary strategy of its rulers to make it a world leader hub for shopping and leisure so he decided to come to Dubai in 1982 against all doubts and warning of his entourage at that time. He realized the increasing potential of this market, which had a growing population that was seeking to spend its wealth on exclusive, unique products and was searching for exceptional items. Seeing a gap for luxury products in this part of the world, he took up the challenge and established a company to bring the finest brands to the UAE market.”
Since its inception, IBG Majestic has been an avant-garde concept and entrepreneurship. It has constantly searched for high quality products, stayed ahead of demand and introduced brands with a strong following in the UAE, always remaining a trend setter and not a follower.
Marianne says: “Our main concern in every project we have set up is to respect the customers and bring them unique products, not only imposing a globalized identical one style look but introducing exclusivity.”
Though the group faced challenges in its three decades of operation, due to its strong strategic planning it kept its overall sell-out growing and is proudly celebrating this year its 30th anniversary.
The group is all praise for one of the world most visionary local leadership in the last 3 decades for keeping the market upbeat and standing strong in the face of the worst financial global crisis that hit other countries recently.
Marianne recalls: “The major challenges in the early days were the introduction of high-end luxury brands such as Cartier, Charles Jourdan, Yves Saint Laurent, Fendi and many others to the UAE market beside niche and exclusive handcraft products as their presence as well as brand awareness was inexistent. Therefore the group devised a strong policy of introducing those high-end brands from Europe to UAE Arab tourists who were exposed to them during their trips abroad.”
This policy soon bore fruit as appreciation for luxury items started increasing and people started associating the IBG Majestic name with quality products. The group still enjoys the trust and confidence of its loyal and growing list of customers after 30 years.
Marianne added: “This has put more responsibility on our shoulders to maintain quality and we appreciate and thank our loyal customers for trusting us and our services. On our part, we have never compromised on high quality standards and exclusive items.”
Currently IBG Majestic has 12 points of sales and is looking to expand in the best locations in Dubai in the near future. The group also showcases the much sought after collections of one of the world’s leading, high-end luxury Swiss watch brands, Hysek also owned by Akram Aljord.
It has already opened two monobrand stores in the best locations in Singapore and Shanghai, and intends to set up Hysek stores in Hong Kong, Beijing and Russia.
Akram Aljord and IBG Majestic group activities are present in Paris with 10 shops in the golden triangle of the capital, in Istanbul and Kuwait beside the brands part of the group including O.J.Perrin, Parisian finest Jewellery, Manufacture Hysek S.A based in Morges, Switzerland, House of Eight S.A, exclusive men accessories in the most precious materials blended with the highest technology based in Switzerland as well and 40% of Manufacture Roger Dubuis in partnership with Richemont, high end exclusive watches based in Geneva.
Tuesday, April 10- 2012 @ 15:19 UAE local time (GMT+4) Replication or redistribution in whole or in part is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Mediaquest FZ LLC.


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Intel to take on AMD at the very low end
AMD slashed prices across its dual-core processor lineup last week, cramming a number of its dual-core chips under the $100 mark. The Athlon 64 X2 4000+ is available for $69.99 at Newegg, for instance, and the Athlon 64 X2 3600+ can be nabbed for just $61.50 at Mwave.
According to a report by DigiTimes, this bargain basement pricing trend has caused Intel to modify its roadmap slightly. The company originally intended to discontinue its Core-based Pentium E2140 chip and lower the price of the speedier Pentium E2160 to $74 in August, effectively replacing the former with the latter. Intel reportedly still wants to cut the E2160's price to $74, but DigiTimes says the E2140 will now live on with a price tag of just $64. This price cut is reportedly scheduled to take effect on August 26.


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BLDC gives up on $500,000 debt claim
The company was listed as one of BLDCs biggest debtors in a 2010 review of company operations.
According to sources familiar with the transactions between the two companies, BLDC eventually wrote off $500,000 it felt was owed by Fort Knox.
However, Fort Knox CEO Troy Symonds explained that the two companies disputed what was owed and came to a settlement.
I dont recall any write-offs. We came to an agreement, he said.
There was a dispute with rent. It was resolved.
Mr Symonds would not confirm the amount in question, but said the dispute centred around when his company vacated a property it had leased from BLDC.
They saw it as an arrears amount. We saw it as a disputed amount, he said.
BLDCs financial statement for 2008 reports a bad debt expense of $558,028.
Its retained earnings for the year ended March 31, 2009, were $14,957,429 as compared to $13,735,367 a year previously.
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Some People did very well during the pandemic, boosting demand for luxury housing – a phase that doesn’t confront the same offer shortages as decreased-priced houses.
WASHINGTON – Compared with earlier housing booms, the true estate industry is viewing a surge in sales at the pretty major of the housing marketplace. More high-priced attributes are promoting nearly 2 times as rapidly as reduce- and mid-priced residences.
“Wealthier Us citizens have benefited significantly all through the pandemic many thanks to the mounting inventory current market, which generally can help improve internet wealth,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the Nationwide Association of Realtors®. “So there is increased demand from customers for luxury housing now, and that sector is not as hamstrung by inventory shortages as the rest of the marketplace.”
History-setting genuine estate transactions are taking place across the place. The variety of dwelling product sales in the U.S. priced over $1 million surged 244.4% yr around year in May well, in accordance to NAR.
The selection of product sales is outpacing sales in the $250,000 to $500,000 price tag selection. Residences in that segment noticed a 47.9% raise in Might in comparison to a calendar year earlier, NAR’s knowledge exhibits.
“What we’re observing now at the leading of this marketplace is a 100% escalation,” Aldo Martinez, a true estate broker in Las Vegas and president of Las Vegas Realtors, instructed The Washington Submit.
In the beginning, the pandemic’s acquiring frenzy was primarily centered in suburban parts, but that has since spread throughout the market place, which include the priciest households for sale. Like other price tag points, the luxurious market is also reportedly observing additional bidding wars than it usually does.
In Maryland’s Chevy Chase Village in Montgomery County, the proprietors of a five-bedroom property for sale acknowledged $4.54 million for their residence. That was $1 million higher than the home’s asking rate right after only a week on the industry, The Washington Post reviews.
“We’re really starting to see the variety of inventory lack at the luxurious end of this current market that we would normally see at the middle and decrease finishes,” says Christie-Anne Weiss of TTR Sotheby’s Intercontinental Realty in Washington, D.C.
Us residents have been craving much more room due to the fact the pandemic commenced, and they’re snatching up much larger houses when numerous people today continue to work from home. Small mortgage loan charges and inventory market place gains may possibly have place more of these $1 million residences within just reach.
Supply: “Luxury Property Revenue Strike New Highs In spite of Pandemic Concerns,” The Washington Write-up (July 29, 2021)
© Copyright 2021 Info INC., Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688


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Photos from the 2015 New England International Auto Show
The 2015 New England International Auto Show rolled into town Thursday afternoon, bringing more than 600 new models from 36 leading car manufacturers to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center for the long weekend.
“This 58th year just might be our best year yet,” said Barbara Pudney, vice president of the Paragon Group, which produces the event, in a press release.
Boasting six football fields’ worth of vehicles, the annual event is the largest car display in New England, where visitors get a chance to both drool over exotic selections of Aston Martins, Bentleys, and Lamborghinis, and test drive more moderately priced selections from Kia, Ford, Toyota, and Scion.
Check out highlights from this year’s New England International Auto Show below. To see it for yourself, head over to the Seaport—the show will remain on view at the BCEC through Monday, January 19.


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LONDON-- Vodafone Group PLC said Monday it has agreed to buy Cobra Automotive Technologies SpA, an Italian provider of electronics services to the car industry, for EUR145 million ($197.5 million) as part of its strategy to connect more everyday objects.
The British mobile telecommunications giant, similar to its peers, is eager to develop its business in the so-called "machine-to-machine" (M2M) industry--also known as the "internet of things"--as a growing source of sales.
U.S. networking equipment manufacturer Cisco Systems estimates 50 billion devices, across sectors including health care, automotive, transportation and energy, will be connected to the Internet by 2050.
The growth represents a potentially lucrative sales opportunity for the mobile telecommunications industry, analysts say, with new connected wireless devices set to surpass the number of mobile handsets in the coming decade, according to consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Vodafone employs 250 staff at its M2M operations, which reported a 21% rise in revenue for the fiscal year ended March 31. Focused on automotive, smart metering and consumer electronic products, the company said it has increased M2M connections to 16.2 million from 12 million in the period and that it expects connections to growth at an average of 24% a year between 2013 and 2018.
Vodafone said that buying Cobra would enable it to provide a more comprehensive range of services to automotive customers. The company said it already has a "considerable presence" in automotive services, without disclosing more information.
"The combination of Vodafone and Cobra will create a new global provider of connected car services," said Erik Brenneis, director of machine-to-machine at Vodafone.
Mr. Brenneis wasn't immediately available for further comment.
Cobra is listed on the Milan stock exchange and has operations in Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and the U.K., Vodafone said.
Cobra provides vehicle manufacturers, dealerships and aftermarket customers with a range of products and services, including telematics, usage-based insurance, and vehicle tracking.
Vodafone said it would launch a voluntary tender offer of EUR1.49 a share for Cobra in the coming weeks. Cobra had a reported net debt of EUR48 million as at 31 March 2014.
The offer is conditional on, among other things, obtaining appropriate antitrust approvals and is expected to complete in the third quarter of 2014.
Write to Simon Zekaria at email@example.com
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SPARKS, Nevada — Tantus has announced the launch of its revamped online Resource Center that it says facilitates customers' access to product and promotional information.
Tantus’ Resource Center features a myriad of sales and marketing materials, including an interactive catalog that showcases each Tantus product in an informative context, viewable in flash form and downloadable.
The new, more user-friendly Resource Center also gives retailers and distributors access to product training videos, marketing campaigns and sales materials.
"Capitalizing on the little things is what brings the biggest impact," said Walter Hinchman, Tantus’ director of sales and marketing. “Making our customers’ experience with Tantus easy and enjoyable has become a critical part of our mission, and I think that this new Resource Center does just that.”
In the works for the Resource Center is an e-commerce component, where customers will be able to and purchase Point of Sales materials. The company plans to roll out the e-commerce feature in early 2014.
To view the updated Tantus Resource Center, visit at www.tantusinc.com/resourcecenter.


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The Marshall County Economic Development Corporation is celebrating a successful year in 2015, citing continued growth in the county’s manufacturing industry, as well as the $42 million in Regional Cities grant funds awarded to the North Central Indiana Region.
Looking ahead, though, MCEDC Executive Director Jerry Chavez says the corporation is also working to help new businesses build from the ground up. “Our mission is probably four-fold if you look at our strategic plan, and attracting or helping new businesses get set up in Marshall County takes a lot of our time,” he says. “There are great opportunities across Northern Indiana. I would say that Marshall County has a rich history on entrepreneurs and new businesses starting up and we want to get back to that particular space.”
Chavez says that strategy has worked well for the county in the past, and it could help further grow the economy in the future, “Marshall County has historically been able to have entrepreneurs provide resources, and [we] have had great success in businesses starting up from the ground up. Maybe some of those businesses have started their operations in their kitchen or in their garage, and that has led to big operations in Marshall County.”
As part of the effort to encourage new businesses, the MCEDC is partnering with SCORE Indiana to host a series of workshops in 2016 to help potential entrepreneurs learn how to get started. The first of the workshops, called The Fundamentals of Small Businesses, takes place this morning from 9:00 to 11:00 at the MCEDC offices in Plymouth.


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A recent Associated Press poll shows that Americans are an impatient bunch who hate to wait on line at the grocery store and on hold with customer service. Well, duh. A quote in the article also says that the 'typical person' feels more time-poor than money-poor.
So we want to know:
Commenters: discuss. Or send us an email to tips at lifehacker.com with your profound thoughts on this one.


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Chicago-area hotels and motels were among the worst performers in Nielsen’s ratings on Wednesday, as the nation’s economy has continued to weaken and the federal government’s fiscal deadline looms.
The nationwide average was down 5.7% from a week ago, according to Nielsen data released by Nielsen.
The national average was 8.6% lower than the week before.
In the Chicago area, the average hotel occupancy rate dropped 3.9% from the previous week to 42.4%.
The national occupancy rate, at 42.8%, was down from 43.3% a week earlier.
In Napa, Calif., hotels’ occupancy rates fell 7.3%, to 45.1%, and motel occupancy rates were down 8.4%, to 34.6%.
The occupancy rates in New York City, which is still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, dropped 5.5% from last week to 26.9%.
In Las Vegas, the occupancy rate for motels fell 2.5%, to 41.7%.
In Los Angeles, the rate dropped 2.6%, to 37.1%.
The national average is down 2.2% from its peak of 49.1% in May, but the industry’s share of the nation is still up from its last high in December of 50.1.
In Los Angeles and New York, the percentage of hotel rooms in the industry that are occupied by tourists increased to 18.3%.
In Las Vegas and New Jersey, the share was 16.3 and 16.1 percent, respectively.


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By Matt O'Brien
The names, Social Security numbers and information from driver's licenses or other identification of just over 40 million people who applied for T-Mobile credit were exposed in a recent data breach, the company said Wednesday.
The same data for about 7.8 million current T-Mobile customers who pay monthly for phone service also appears to be compromised. No phone numbers, account numbers, PINs, passwords or financial information from the nearly 50 million records and accounts were compromised, it said.
T-Mobile has been hit before by data theft but in the most recent case, “the sheer numbers far exceed the previous breaches,” said Gartner analyst Paul Furtado.
T-Mobile, which is based in Bellevue, Washington, became one of the country’s largest cellphone service carriers, along with AT&T and Verizon, after buying rival Sprint.
“Yes, they have a big target on their back but that shouldn’t be a surprise to them,” Furtado said. “You have to start questioning the organization. How much are they actually addressing these breaches and the level of seriousness?”
T-Mobile also confirmed Wednesday that approximately 850,000 active T-Mobile prepaid customer names, phone numbers and account PINs were exposed. The company said that it proactively reset all of the PINs on those accounts. No Metro by T-Mobile, former Sprint prepaid, or Boost customers had their names or PINs exposed.
There was also some additional information from inactive prepaid accounts accessed through prepaid billing files. T-Mobile said that no customer financial information, credit card information, debit or other payment information or Social Security numbers were in the inactive file.
T-Mobile had said earlier this week that it was investigating a leak of its data after someone took to an online forum offering to sell the personal information of cellphone users.
The company said Monday that it had confirmed there was unauthorized access to “some T-Mobile data” and that it had closed the entry point used to gain access.
The company said that it will immediately offer two years of free identity protection services and is recommending that all of its postpaid customers — those who pay in monthly installments — change their PIN. Its investigation is ongoing.
T-Mobile has previously disclosed a number of data breaches over the years, most recently in January and before that in Nov. 2019 and Aug. 2018, all of which involved unauthorized access to customer information. It also disclosed a breach affecting its own employees' email accounts in 2020. And in 2015, hackers stole personal information belonging to about 15 million T-Mobile wireless customers and potential customers in the U.S., which they obtained from credit reporting agency Experian.
“It's a real indictment on T-Mobile and whether or not these customers would want to continue working with T-Mobile,” said Forrester analyst Allie Mellen. “Ultimately T-Mobile has a lot of really sensitive information on people and it's just a matter of luck that, this time, the information affected was not financial information.”
She said the hack didn't appear particularly sophisticated and involved a configuration issue on a server used for testing T-Mobile phones.
“There was a gate left wide open for the attackers and they just had to find the gate and walk through it,” Mellen said. “And T-Mobile didn't know about the attack until the attackers posted about it in an online forum. That's really troubling and does not give a good indication that T-Mobile has the appropriate security monitoring in place.”
Updated on August 18, 2021, at 1:15 p.m. ET with the latest details.


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Minister projected growth of Brazilian Gross Domestic Product above the main global economies and highlighted the resumption of the sector after the end of the restrictive measures of Covid-19
The Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, participated this Thursday, 1st, in the 10th edition of the Entrepreneur’s Fair, in Rio de Janeiro, and took the opportunity to speak during the opening ceremony of the event. On the spot, the government official Jair Bolsonaro celebrated the release of the result of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the 2nd quarter, with a positive variation of 1.2% in the period, projected an economic growth above the main world economies and stressed that the performance was only possible after the government changed the ‘axis’ of the Brazilian economy to the private sector. “The great force, which is being released in Brazil, with tax reduction, simplification, improvement in the business environment, is private investment. We already have R$ 900 billion in private investment over the next 10 years. And now comes the investments in renewable energy and food security. If you take the G7 and take the China, Brazil is growing faster than all of them. USA and Europe including going into recession and China with the possibility of recession. And all of them with rising inflation and ours falling. Brazilian inflation should be lower than the US and Europe. It’s already nine straight months of downward revision. Meanwhile, in the US, inflation is already being revised upwards”, pointed out the minister to businessmen there. Guedes again declared that Brazil is “doomed” to grow for the next 10 years and explained that, in addition to the investments already contracted, the Central Bank has the ‘handbrake on’ to fight inflation and in the following years the agency will to blow favorable “monetary winds” to growth. “Country would be growing 3.5% or 4% if it weren’t for [a alta nos] fees. There is no reason for pessimism, quite the opposite,” she concluded.


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A new Gallup poll has shown that millions of Americans have been self-isolating less, both in states and localities beginning to reopen and those that have not done so.
In the poll, conducted between May 4 and 10, 58% said they were either completely (17%) or mostly (41%) isolating themselves, the lowest level reported since a peak of 75% the week ending April 5.
The decline was smaller (7%) in states still under stay-at-home orders and larger (13%) in states without such orders, but all states had significant declines.
Gallup noted that the numbers showed that “factors other than one’s own state’s guidelines are evidently behind individuals’ decisions to get back into society.”
More people going to work, shopping, visiting
Only 17% of people in the poll said they were totally self-isolating. Those who were not isolating said they were mostly going to work and shopping for food. 19% said they had gone to someone else’s house.
Gallup senior editor Jeffrey Jones told USA Today that anti-shutdown protests may have changed some people’s views on stay-at-home orders and impacted behavior.
Jones also cited “quarantine fatigue” and allowances for more Americans to return to work as reasons why behaviors may have changed.
“In a lot of these states, even the worst ones, the curve has flattened a little bit,” Jones said, “so maybe people are feeling a little braver about going out than they used to, seeing what’s happened in the course of the disease.”
Fewer Republicans isolating, Democrats hanging on
Still, the only demographic with fewer than half continuing to self-isolate was Republicans, with 45% of that group saying they were doing so. Democrats were still far more likely to stay at home at 72%, the poll said.
Overall, 68% of respondents in states without stay-at-home orders still thought it was better to stay home and avoid public places, however.
Several large states–Texas, Georgia, and Florida–have lifted stay-at-home orders and allowed various businesses like hair salons, restaurants and retail stores to reopen with social distancing restrictions and guidelines. Other states like California, Michigan and Massachusetts are keeping everything shut down for another one to three months even as cases and deaths are dropping in their states in many cases.


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J&J Plans To Separate into Two Standalone Companies
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has announced plans to split the company into two separate, standalone publicly traded companies, one focused on pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and the other on consumer health.
The new J&J, focused on pharmaceutical and medical devices, is expected to have full-year 2021 revenues of approximately $77 billion, and the planned new Consumer Health Company, is projected to have full-year 2021 revenues of $15 billion.
Alex Gorsky, currently Chairman & CEO, J&J, will serve as Executive Chairman of J&J and transition the CEO role to Joaquin Duato, currently Vice Chairman of the company’s Executive Committee, effective January 3, 2022. Mr. Duato would continue to lead the new J&J following completion of the planned separation.
The new Consumer Health company’s Board of Directors and executive leadership would be determined and announced in due course (as reported on November 12, 2021) as the planned separation process progresses.
The company is targeting completion of the planned separation in 18 to 24 months (as reported on November 12, 2021), subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including, consultations with works councils and other employee representative bodies, as required, final approval of Johnson & Johnson’s Board of Directors, receipt of a favorable opinion and Internal Revenue Service ruling with respect to the tax-free nature of the transaction, and the receipt of other regulatory approvals.
The planned organizational design for the new Consumer Health company is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. The planned new Consumer Health company employees are expected to continue participating in their current J&J pay, benefits and retirement programs through the end of 2022.
The Board of Directors’ intent is to effect the planned separation through the capital markets and create two independent companies. The transaction is intended to qualify as a tax-free separation for US federal income tax purposes.
For a further analysis of the new J&J and Consumer Health Company, see related feature article, “Inside the New J&J and Consumer Health Company.”
Source: Johnson & Johnson


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Defence minister Arun Jaitley and Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag on Sunday will review the ongoing raising of the new mountain strike corps against China during their trip to West Bengal.
Independent directors, including the country’s top businessmen and private sector managers, on the boards of state-run companies were expected to professionalize the top-decision making body.
The Nifty edged lower on Wednesday, unable to sustain a rally after hitting a third consecutive record high earlier in session as investors took profits in blue-chips such as Oil and Natural Gas Cor.
The national auditor CAG has observed that state oil firms have overcharged customers and collected additional Rs 26,626 crore in five years by making people pay for imaginary charges such as customs duty on domestic sales.
A S Basu, Managing Director, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, Chennai, ceased to be a Director on the Board of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) effective May 31, 2014, on attaining the age of superannuation. S. Venkataramana, Director (Operations), Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, has taken additional charge of Managing Director of CPCL, effective June 01, 2014.
S R Bansal, chairman and managing director of Corporation Bank launched the Bank's 'Corp Excel' Branch with a provision of '24x7 e-Lobby' at Jeppu here on Tuesday.
Two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp Ltd has despatched 529,862units of two-wheelers in July, a 9% growth over the corresponding month in the previous year, when the company had sold 487,545 units.
S R Bansal, Chairman and Managing Director of Corporation Bank launched the Bank's 'Corp Excel' Branch with a provision of 'Corp Express Banking', a '24x7 e-Lobby' at Shivajinagar, Bangalore on July 22.
City based Corporation Bank will open 200 Corp Excel branches by December this year. The bank has thus far opened 15 such branches - eight in Bangalore and rest in Delhi, S R Bansal, chairman and managing director of the Bank said here on Thursday.
Sumitra Bansal, president of Corp Kiran - an association of wives of senior executives of city based Corporation Bank and women employees, on Monday distributed RO and UV water purifier and chairs to Katyayani Balika Ashram under Bhartiya Adimjati Sevak Sangh, New Delhi - an orphanage for girls.
Birla Corporation Limited, the flagship company of the M P Birla Group, has registered a drop in their profit. The company posted a profit after tax of Rs 25.20 crore for the quarter ended March 31,2014 as against Rs 72.63 crore for the corresponding period last year.However the total income of the company grew to Rs 793.49 crore this quarter as compared to Rs 678.03 crore for the same period last year.
Sumitra Bansal, president of Corp-Kiran, an association of wives of senior executives of the Bank and women employees on April 12 distributed back-packs and school bags to students of Kamla Shishu Vihar School, Patliputra, Patna. The bank has set up Corp-Kiran for carrying out such CSR activities
Anil Dua, Sr VP (Marketing & Sales), Hero MotoCorp said, "FY'15 will be loaded with a slew of new launches, including many of the new products that we showcased at the recently concluded Auto Expo. These launches will be backed by strong marketing campaigns and continued market expansion. We are gearing up for increased market demand for our products with the commissioning of the Neemrana plant in this financial year."
Commenting on the sales performance Anil Dua, Sr VP (Marketing & Sales), Hero MotoCorp said, "Our strong sales performance in FY'14 is reflective of our new strategic approach that focuses on bringing revolutionary and game-changing technologies. Our retail growth at seven per cent during FY'14 reiterates the confidence and trust that customers have in our products. This kind of retail growth has significantly given us the necessary momentum for the new financial year."
Hero MotoCorp Ltd, the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, has bucked the sluggish trend in the industry to report sales of 62,45,895 units of two-wheelers during the financial year April 1, 2013-March 31, 2014, a growth of 3% over the corresponding period when the company had sold 60,75,583 units.
City based Corporation Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with AMW Motors Ltd for financing commercial vehicles manufactured by the company.
City based Corporation Bank has signed an MoU with M/s UTI Infrastructure Technology & Services Ltd (UTIITSL) for issue of PAN cards through its select branches, recently.


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Dior’s Carousel of Dreams at Saks celebrates the holiday season, marking the first time the retailer has collaborated exclusively
Dior Casts Feminist Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in Lady 95.22 Campaign. We are here for it. The ads for Lady 95.22, which will roll out over the year and feature a multigenerational cast of prominent Queen’s that includes Anya Taylor-Joy and Beatrice Borromeo.
Five months after Off-White founder Virgil Abloh‘s untimely death, the brand has announced it has appointed stylist Ibrahim Kamara as art and
DIOR Women Ready-to-Wear A\W2022-2023 looks at the past to move forward to the future. Which might also be ready for the Metaverse wear. The show started with a look that is perfect for a femme fatal in the gaming world


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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday urged the youth of the state to focus on processing and packaging of agriculture produces and items.
He said various produces from the state are in high demand globally and proper processing and packaging will ensure even more endorsement of these products.
Sarma was speaking after inaugurating a 5,000 metric-tonne-capacity cold-storage facility at Chaygaon and a fruit-processing centre at the food-processing park at Satabari, both under Kamrup district.
The cold-storage facility has been constructed by the Assam State Agricultural Marketing Board for Rs 24.75 crore.
The fruit-processing unit has been built at Rs 2.89 crore and is the first of its kind in the state.
The chief minister pointed out that products such as ginger, pepper, lemon, ‘joha rice’, etc. have great demand in the national and international markets.
He maintained that the farmers of these items shall be able to reap remunerative values for their produces only if they are further processed and packaged.
He urged the farmers, especially the youth, to take advantage of the government incentives in this sector.
Sarma said that there has been annual export of horticulture produce to the tune of Rs 200 crore in the past couple of years and exuded confidence that this figure can easily cross the Rs 1,000-crore mark within a few years.
-With PTI Input


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With India’s economy beginning to showing a positive outlook and a successful festive season behind us, there has been a rise in the spending habits of the consumers. The improved availability of electricity over time, technology advancement, and evolving lifestyles are some of the factors that are driving demand for consumer appliances in India.
Exposure to global technologies has upgraded the lifestyle of Indians where they do not see home appliances just as a mere utility; rather they seek better-designed products for their comfort and convenience. Additionally, several remarkable decisions have been taken by the government and the industry this year proved positive for the overall performance of the consumer appliance industry in India.
Citing the current positive outlook for the TV category in the market, we at Haier have sharpened our focus in this category by augmenting our range of smart TVs with the launch of a new series in India. The new smart AI-enabled Android LED U6900 TV series comes with a sleek design and a diamond-cut metal frame. It supports 4K ultra HD resolution along with HDR 10 support that offers great contrast details. We introduced this smart LED TV in line with our Smarter Life with AI promise that comes packed with features like Google Assistant, built-in Chromecast, and Google Play Store.
Staying true to our commitment to provide a holistic experience, we aim to enhance the customers’ home by creating a smart IoT hub with our new Android TV series. It will be the center of a home’s smart ecosystem where one will be able to control all IoT devices with just a touch of a button or voice. The new series also brings the perfect combination of features, like Dolby Digital Decoder and Stereo Sound. All the models support HDR playback with online streaming, HDMI, and USB sources. The series also comes loaded with wide color gamut technology that offers vivid picture quality.
With the core focus on our brand philosophy of customer-inspired innovation, we aim to forge a stronger bond with our consumers by addressing their evolving needs. With our newly launched smart LED TV, we aim to offer effortless access to many popular streaming services and apps via Google Play Store. With this feature, users can enjoy streaming, live TV, and download their favorite apps. The Bluetooth-equipped remote control of the TV comes with Google Assistant, voice built-in button, and hotkeys for Netflix and YouTube.
As we move further, Haier will continue to help consumers understand the new generation of innovative home appliances and its role in transforming their daily lives. We believe that connected consumers need to be convinced to adopt the bolder vision of a future where appliances with digital intelligence eliminate boring, repetitive household tasks and allow them to enjoy their daily lives. Our dream is to achieve this for every corner of India and we are hopeful that we will be rewarded with sustainable long-term value growth.
During the year 2019, the overall industry has witnessed a growth not only in the sales but also saw several new brands make their debut in the TV industry with the launch of smart TVs and other new technologies.
With the launch of our newly introduced Android LED TV, we aim to bolster the transformation of Indian modern homes into a smart hub, as in the coming times, smart home technology will become a cross-platform to provide complex decision-making solutions while increasing device capabilities.
To automate one’s home with these latest developments, it is significant to consider different types of smart home ecosystems and devices for a seamless experience. Understanding the different needs of consumers, Haier each year delivers top-notch technology and innovations that enhance consumer experience to an all-new level.


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Facebook is expected to report a continued growth slowdown for revenue and profits in its third quarter earnings on Tuesday, as a string of major data breaches weigh heavily on the firm.
Facebook finance chief Dave Wehner predicted the deceleration at its last earnings call in July, with consensus estimates as collated by S&P Global Market Intelligence putting revenue for the three months to September at $13.8bn (£10.8bn). This represents growth of 33 per cent year-on-year, compared to a growth rate of 42 per cent in its second quarter. Additionally, earnings per share are expected to decline 7.5 per cent to $1.47.
Last quarter, expenses began to grow faster than revenue at 50 per cent year-on-year as the effects of several cyber hacks took their toll. This is expected to continue, as Facebook hires to monitor content and beef up its security teams.
Moreover, fears remain for the fate of Instagram, Facebook’s main growth engine, after both of its co-founders departed unexpectedly last month.
Advertising revenue from Instagram represents a growing share of Facebook's total mobile revenue, coming in at nearly 29 per cent this year and predicted to take 35 per cent next year, according to Emarketer.
While Facebook's own monthly active user numbers are only expected to rise up to 8 per cent this year compared to 2017, Instagram is forecast to reach over 714m users worldwide at a jump of more than 18 per cent year-on-year.
All eyes will be watching the social media giant as it reports its results this quarter, after declining user numbers wiped more than $120bn off Facebook's market value in a single day at its last earnings call.


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Customer expectations continue to rise. Digital consumers want a faster, more personalized, and effortless "in the moment" experience and won't hesitate to move to your competitor to get what they want. Competition has never been greater - but the ability to stand...
BlueSky’s 2021 Outlook on Commerce
2019 Called and It’s Not Coming Back. Now What?
The COVID-19 crisis has created an imperative for companies to reconfigure their operations—and an opportunity to transform them.
Retail and Direct-to-Consumer has Changed. Forever
We have all seen it as a business or as a customer. Online adoption for essentials like groceries, home office equipment, and more has skyrocketed this past year and will not drop back to pre-pandemic levels. For this reason, more retailers should think about how to better cater to older consumers, who in 2020 became much more comfortable shopping online during the pandemic. That includes purchasing essentials from industries like groceries, pets and agriculture, and pharmacy.
Necessity is the Mother of All Invention
2021 will be a year when companies double down on technology, especially for B2B Brands, Retailers, and Manufacturers in terms of eCommerce platforms, digital storefronts, and improving their supply chains. Many executives in a McKinsey survey reported that they moved 20 to 25 times faster than they thought possible on things like building supply-chain redundancies, improving data security, and increasing the use of advanced technologies in operations. With the coronavirus overburdening fulfillment centers and workers, more retailers will adopt automation such as robotics and artificial intelligence technology to increase efficiency and productivity. In fact, it’s worth noting that according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, US productivity in the third quarter of 2020 rose 4.6 percent, following a 10.6 percent increase in the second quarter, which is the largest six-month improvement since 1965!
Cost differences among developed and many developing countries are narrowing. In manufacturing, companies that adopt Industry 4.0 principles (meaning the application of data, analytics, human-machine interaction, advanced robotics, and 3-D printing) can offset half of the labor-cost differential between China and the United States. With the development of AI and data analytics, companies can and should learn more about, audit, and connect with their entire value chains.
eCommerce will become harder in 2021 than it was in 2020. As usual, the advantage will go to the agile, adaptable, and innovative retailers. Increasingly, that includes having a conscience.
After being burned by the pandemic, businesses will seriously invest in diversifying their fulfillment options, having multiple backup options for sourcing products. The same goes for curbside, delivery, pick up, and 1P and 3P warehousing. In fact, we expect app-based delivery services like Instacart, Mercato Inc., DoorDash, and similar, to gain more clients in 2021 as small chains and independents try to keep up. Domestic product sourcing will become a larger priority for retailers as they continue to evaluate the logistics of overseas production. In other words, they should invest more and think long and hard about contingency plans for these areas of their businesses.
Some SMBs will invest more in social media and messaging apps as a separate eCommerce channel. eCommerce will become harder in 2021 than it was in 2020. As usual, the advantage will go to the agile, adaptable, and innovative retailers. Increasingly, that includes having a conscience.
A number of clients have highlighted their environmental and sustainable priorities on their website as differentiating features for their businesses. More businesses will do this with both the environment and other values, such as diversity or made-in-America products.
For brick and mortar to thrive, merging the digital and physical, using customer data to drive outcomes, and allow for agile innovation, must be the norm in 2021.
The Death of Brick and Mortar Has Been Greatly Exaggerated
Sometime in the coming year, if the vaccine rolls out as anticipated and most of the population has access to it, there will be a turn of the tide against eCommerce. People will long for the social, emotional, and physical connection of shopping in a store and there will be a big uptick in store-based shopping.
What brick and mortar look like in 2021 will be WAY different than in 2019. Think of locations being more like fulfillment centers, experience centers, and models of efficient operations. This is critical for the physical location to survive.
Look Beyond Amazon
Selling on third-party marketplaces will dramatically shift over the course of 2021. A lot of entrepreneurs have made a good living on Amazon up until now, but that won’t be so easy in 2021 and beyond, especially for the highly competitive CPG space. A new type of company has emerged in recent years that raise lots of capital and then buys small Amazon brands, with the idea of putting more resources behind those brands and increasing sales and profits. The more these Amazon aggregators grow, the more difficult it will be for smaller brands to sell on Amazon.
But, How Do We Really Know What 2021 Holds For Us? Look East (and Down Under)
According to McKinsey and the Financial Times, we can predict 2021 with some confidence. China provides us with a great case study precursor to how things might shape up this year for the US and Canada. The first country to be hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was also the first to emerge from it. China’s consumers are relieved—and spending accordingly. On Singles Day, November 11, the country’s two largest online retailers racked up record sales. That wasn’t just a holiday phenomenon. While manufacturing in China came back first, by September, so had consumer spending. Except for international air travel, Chinese consumers have begun to act and spend largely as they did in pre-crisis times. Australia also offers hope. With the pandemic largely contained in that country, household spending fueled a faster-than-expected 3.3 percent growth rate in the third quarter of 2020, and spending on goods and services rose 7.9 percent.
What Do We Do First? Priorities for 2021
This year, brands will need to evolve into platform companies by building a value-enhancing ecosystem of products and services to strengthen customer loyalty.
This year, brands will need to evolve into platform companies by building a value-enhancing ecosystem of products and services to strengthen customer loyalty. They will be powered by a self-learning digital ecosystem and algorithmic supply chains while leveraging data and insights to drive decisions. To excel in 2021, the following steps must become a top priority and within a short period of time (think 90 days and not 9 months):
- Rationalize Your Capital For A Digital Norm – For retail, it may mean “dark stores” that serve as fulfillment centers. For manufacturing and distribution, it may mean providing automation and thinking of alternatives for fulfillment. The profitability of online channels will be critical, and you will have to drive a sustained improvement of financials in these channels.
- Prioritize Through Data – Brands will need to break down data silos across the enterprise to allow for business leaders to make data-driven decisions that enhance business performance. The top impacted areas will include marketing, merchandising, and supply chain operations.
- Modernize Your Digital Infrastructure – Integrating commerce (systems touching customers, products, and orders) through more sophisticated data (think Machine Learning or AI) that constantly optimize and curate experiences.
- Organize Talent To Be Digitally Enabled – Even if you outsource your development, marketing, and other digital commerce efforts, having even one liaison for each is critical to ensure you are maximizing your investments and getting your return on investment. Furthermore, new customer demands to be more digital require more learning and development to arm your teams with the tools to manage them.
- Rethink/Redo Your Long Term Strategy – If you did not do this in 2020, you must consider the impacts the pandemic has had on your business and re-shift focus on a roadmap that works for growth in the new world.
2021 will reveal the clear long-term winners that can compete in a post-pandemic world. These winners will have one thing in common — they have all used lessons from 2020 as an opportunity to transform themselves rapidly, leveraging digital as a key enabler in the service of their customers.
As always, BlueSky Commerce can be your partner – using our insights from our clients and our 360 Approach to your business.
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CryptoArmor was founded by entrepreneurs Grant Mitterlehner and Brendon Kelley. Based in Austin, the cybersecurity startup is bringing runtime protection to the crypto industry. The protection software works to prevent breaches and ransomware to protect crypto investors from hackers.
More specifically, CryptoArmor is designed to secure NFT projects, wallets, crypto miners, and more. Through the startup company's runtime protection software, crypto users and investors have an opportunity to safeguard their assets. Companies can also use the software to maintain private customer information. Some noteworthy services offered by the new company include crypto runtime protection, privacy and compliance, vCISO, penetration tests, and more to ensure online safety. Those interested can visit CryptoArmor's online website for more cybersecurity details.
Image Credit: CryptoArmor
CryptoArmor is Designed to Prevent Ransomware in Real-Time
1. Crypto Security Startups - The rise of crypto has created an opportunity for new startups specializing in providing secure solutions, which can disrupt traditional cybersecurity companies.
2. Real-time Protection - Solutions that offer real-time protection can provide a competitive edge for security startups in the fast-paced and ever-evolving crypto industry.
3. NFT Protection - As NFTs become more valuable and mainstream, there is a growing need for cybersecurity companies to provide tailored solutions to prevent theft and fraud.
1. Cybersecurity - The world of cybersecurity is rapidly expanding, and with the rise of crypto, investors in this industry have a unique advantage in creating tailored solutions specifically for the crypto community.
2. Cryptocurrency - As blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies gain more widespread adoption, there will be a growing need for secure solutions to keep digital assets safe from theft and fraud.
3. Fintech - With the increasing use of cryptocurrency in the financial industry, there is a need for fintech companies to work closely with cybersecurity startups to provide seamless and secure services to customers.


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Coming in just days after rumors that the UK store Woolworths would be offering the Xbox 360 console starting at just Â£129.99, Microsoft have officially announced their new, lower prices for all three currently available SKUs starting Friday, the 19th of September .
The new prices start at Â£129.99, unsurprisingly, for the Arcade, Â£169.99 for a 60GB hard-drive and single wireless controller and a bargain Â£229.99 for the 120GB-endowed Elite… which isn’t sounding so Elite now we have a 60GB version. These prices are about Â£10-Â£20 under Play.com’s prices at time of writing which means that, once retailers have the time to adjust and create bundle deals, we’ll be seeing even better bargains than this.
To put that into perspective: Play.com sell the Arcade for Â£149.99 and Game.co.uk for Â£159.99. If Play.com want to keep that edge then we can expect a ridiculous Â£119.99 entry point for the Xbox 360- delivered free!
Update: These prices are also reflected in the rest of Europe at 179.99, 239.99 and 299.99 Euros respectively.


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There are two similar buzzwords flying around the digital media space right now, and to the uninitiated, responsive and adaptive design might seem like interchangeable labels for the same tech. They are both, after all, methods to optimize web content for mobile consumption -- a challenge that publishers must face if they are to adapt to today's news consumption trends.
A recent Pew Research study shows that mobile users are not just skimming headlines as once assumed, but "many also are reading longer news stories -- 73% of adults who consume news on their tablet read in-depth articles at least sometimes, including 19% who do so daily. Fully 61% of smartphone news consumers at least sometimes read longer stories, 11% regularly." So, having established the importance of offering a site well-adapted for mobile use, the question is: What's the best way to go about getting there for publishers, adaptive or responsive design?
In an attempt to fully understand what distinguishes the two methods, I've been asking experts in media, mobile development and PR from three countries to describe the methods for me in layman's terms. Perhaps unsurprisingly, each had a slightly different explanation, and it turns out that what's best for publishers depends on what they're trying to achieve with mobile.
There are a few ways of comparing the two methods:
The Client-Server Distinction, Simplified


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Universal Furniture will host nonprofit Half United’s pop-up shop at its showroom during High Point Market in October. Half United, based in Wilmington, North Carolina, fights hunger and poverty through the sale of home goods and apparel made by artisans in Haiti, Peru, Mexico and other countries.
“Universal Furniture is honored to host Half United during market this fall,” said Neil MacKenzie, vice president of marketing for the High Point, North Carolina-based furniture producer. “Their mission of using employment to change lives is inspirational and admirable.”
Half United’s pop-up shop will operate Friday, Oct. 21 through Tuesday, Oct. 25 to sell its “socially good goods.” At 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21, Half United co-founder Carmin Black will be the featured speaker in Universal’s Learning Center, discussing how gainful employment is the No. 1 way to fight global hunger.
Half United works in Djibouti, Haiti, India, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, the United States and Vietnam. Through the organization’s support of global gainful employment, the nonprofit has seen health care improve, land purchases increase and illiteracy decrease in the various communities it serves.
“In our earliest days, Half United donated seven meals per product sold. After giving away nearly 2 million meals, we were frustrated to learn that providing food for those in need does not equal ending hunger,” Black said. “We sought a new path toward ending hunger and poverty — holistically and sustainably — and realized that gainful employment has the power to end hunger.”


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In this special episode of Truckers and Nerds, we announce the launch of our suite of products at CloudTrucks — Virtual Carrier, Flex, and CT Cash.
Tobenna sits down with:
- George Ezenna — CloudTrucks co-founder who led the engineering on Flex & CT Cash
- Leonid Pekelis — Head of Data Science at CloudTrucks who led the efforts on our Business Intelligence tool
- Akiko Ito — Who runs design at CloudTrucks and led all the design efforts across all these different products
In today’s episode we discuss:
- The launch of Flex and CT Cash for owner operators — George Ezenna
- The launch of our Business intelligence tool — Leonid Pekelis
- The design choices made by our design team and how we ultimately created a product that works seamlessly for owner operators — Akiko Ito
- How long it takes to build and ship products like Business intelligence, Flex, & CT Cash
Truckers & Nerds is hosted by Tobenna Arodiogbu, CEO and founder of CloudTrucks.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about CloudTrucks? Visit our website at cloudtrucks.com.


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Polish service provider Netia managed to arrest a year-on-year decline in revenue in 2016, posting revenues of PLN1.522 billion (€352 million) for the year, down 3%. The 2015 financial year had seen a fall of 10%.
However, EBITDA for the full year was PLN447 million, down 5% year-on-year.
Netia said its decrease in revenue was down to losing revenue-generating units served via third-party networks.
Netia saw steady growth in take-up for its TV service, ending the year with 182,000 TV subscribers, up 5,000 in the fourth quarter, and average revenue per customer of PLN56.
Next-generation access broadband subscribers increased by 14,000 in the fourth quarter, ending the year at 181,000.
Business-to-business revenues also helped boost the company’s performance, delivering a 3% increase to PLN185 million thanks to an improvement in wholesale traffic.
Chairman and CEO Tomasz Szopa said that he was happy with the solid results achieved in the face of strong competition. He sid trhat the number of services sold had increased and that Netia’s investment in its infrastructure was paying off.


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Feb 28, 2015 – Pictures: Bimbo Oshin, Fathia Balogun, Ronke Ojo, Femi Adebayo, Muyiwa Ademola Becomes Unilever Nigeria Lux Soap Ambassadors
Yoruba Movie Star Signed Endorsement Deal With Lux Beauty Bar
Nollywood Yoruba movie stars have signed a mega endorsement deal with Nigeria’s top consumer goods company.
Unilever earlier this week picked the biggest names in the Yoruba movie industry to be the new face of Lux beauty soap.
Sola Kosoko Abinna, Ronke Ojo Oshodi Oke, Femi Adebayo, Muyiwa Ademola, Fathia Williams, Bimbo Oshin and Moji Olaiya were few of the celebs who signed the deal with Unilever.
See more pics from their first promotional shoot below:


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3. In the case of Safeway in California, a lawsuit by the retailer's rivals has been filed accusing Safeway of "unfair business practices" for selling gasoline at prices that are "too low" and "below cost." If the plaintiffs prevail, a Bay Area judge may force Safeway to raise its gas prices, because "prices below cost" are illegal under the Unfair Practices Act.
So in some cases the government enables incumbent producers like limousine companies to engage in collusive behavior and fix high prices, and in other cases it brings charges against book publishers for collusive behavior and fixing high prices, and in other cases it might find retailers like Safeway guilty of charging low prices and force them to charge higher prices? Welcome to the wacky world of antitrust.


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E3 2019: Outriders is coming Summer 2020 from People Can Fly
Outriders was one of a few brand new games revealed during the Square Enix press conference at E3 2019 on Monday. The new IP from Polish studio People Can Fly (Bulletstorm, Painkiller, Gears of War: Judgment), has got a very ‘Mad Max’ look to it.
Little more is known about the game, as all we have to work from is a debut cinematic trailer (above). Taking place on the planet Enoch, Outriders is a shooter that supports drop-in/drop-out co-op for up to three players.
However, it’s clear that the game is a shooter and it has been confirmed that the game will support co-op with up to three players.
Outriders will be released in Summer 2020 on PS4 and Xbox One.
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A few weeks ago, after watching a very good movie at the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto’s Entertainment District, I ventured across a busy King St. intersection to what I thought was a Second Cup.
But this was no ordinary Starbucks ripoff. This particular location had been redesigned as the Cafe of the Future, with a high-end Italian espresso machine, single-origin coffees stacked in tubes against a ghost-white enclave, a draft beer-style series of milk dispensers, and carved wooden wallhugger tables with small centred circular etchings.
Years ago, when I imagined the future of food service, wireless charging was an integral part of that vision. Both from a visual and usability perspective, nothing beats being able to place a device on a surface to bring it back to life. Those circular etchings were in fact subtly buried charging pads, delivering power to any phone that supports the Qi or PMA standard.
The company behind the integrated pads, ChargeSpot, originates in Toronto, but has been quietly expanding to fill a need in the business-to-business space, outfitting boardrooms and executive offices with retrofitted desks and side tables to accommodate the growing niche.
But wireless charging is in a transitional phase. Similar to the arc of mobile payments, until Apple comes on board, the technology is only servicing one half of the smartphone market, and its rollout has been stymied by a two-party system, with big players like Google, Samsung, Starbucks, Duracell and even the FCC backing one party over another.
You may have heard of Qi, the standard companies like Nokia and Google have decided will win. It’s by far the more ubiquitous of the two, created by the nebulously named Wireless Power Consortium and backed by all the biggest Android players, from Sony to Samsung, LG, Motorola and Google. Another standard, overseen by the Power Matters Alliance, has companies like Duracell, Powermat and Starbucks behind them.
“We’re the only company that has a commercial product that works with both Qi and PMA,” says Mark Goh, founder and CEO of ChargeSpot. He sees wireless charging becoming as ubiquitous as WiFi over the next decade, as the cost of implementation decreases along with the availability of public stations. “We are clear that Qi will win, but until then it’s really valuable to have that compatibility [with both standards].”
“It’s about adding that magic factor.”
Wireless charging was introduced to consumers in earnest through Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 devices, unveiled in 2012. The company also created a series of charging pads on which consumers rest their devices, charging through induction. No wires, no hassle. Later on, the Nexus 4 became the first widely-available Android device with wireless charging support, and since then companies like Samsung have supported the technology with custom backings. But suffice it to say, wireless charging has a long way to go.
“My partner and I used to get frustrated that our phones would always run out of battery, and we were just too lazy to plug them into sockets just a foot away,” Goh tells me. It’s easy to scoff at the idea of people being too lazy to plug in a phone or computer, but think about today having to find one of half a dozen Ethernet cables every time you wanted to connect to the internet at the local Starbucks.
“It’s about adding that magic factor.”
Tylt isn’t a well-known accessory brand in Canada, but is set to become one. Instead of making me-too smartphone cases, the Los Angeles-based company is focusing on charging — wireless charging in particular — as a way to differentiate itself.
The design-focused arm of long-time accessory maker Technocell, Tylt was founded in 2011 after its co-founders saw an increasing number of smartphone users heading to carrier stores to buy cases, chargers, cables and other accessories. But after its Vü wireless charger made a huge splash at CES, the company began refocusing its efforts on that space, hoping to differentiate itself with high design that fit a certain premium price tier.
Tylt’s focus on design was at first a hindrance: carrier partners told them that no one wanted a short, coloured car charger. That product, a variant of the coming-soon Ribbn, went on to be one of the company’s most popular items. “Asking consumers what they want is the wrong way to do things. People don’t know what they want,” says Kannyn MacRae, Tylt’s VP of Product Development and Marketing. He is also one of the company’s co-founders.
“Apple’s ability to design products with confidence, without focus groups, has been key to its success over the years.” MacRae believes that such focused, collaborative design with small teams yields better products, and allows fewer me-too scenarios where a number of design firms crank out identical-looking accessories.
MacRae first saw the potential for wireless charging back in 2011, when he attended the Wireless Power Summit. A heterogeneous grouping of people from disparate industries, the WPS proved fascinating to him. “I was intrigued with the potential of the technology,” he says, but was ready to leave, unconvinced of the market potential, when a Verizon executive told him about its new Droid series of smartphones. Intent on differentiating itself from the rest of the burgeoning Android space, and AT&T’s iPhone dominance, Verizon was working with Motorola on bringing wireless charging to its product lineup.
At the time, the Qi standard had just been solidified, and its implementation was rather inconsistent. “Most companies had one-coil [mat] designs, which meant having to place the phone precisely to begin charging.” Tylt designed a three-coil product that held the phone upright while charging, allowing its users to see notifications and incoming calls.
“We’re going all-in on wireless charging,” MacRae tells me. Like Goh, he believes that the Samsung Galaxy S6 will have Qi wireless support built in, the most high-profile smartphone release to date. And while Apple is not a member of the WPC or PMA, it’s impossible to count the company out at this point.
Solutions to the “Apple problem” continue to represent both struggle and opportunity for the players in the wireless power game. ChargeSpot, as part of its commercial contracts, offers a simple add-on that plugs into the Lightning port of any modern iPhone, giving it wireless charging capabilities. Goh says that the pilot project at Toronto’s newly-renovated Second Cup location on King St. West has resulted in just two stolen adapters. “Canadians are generally very honest people,” he says.
Just last month, the WPC solidified Qi 1.2, a new set of standards that promise to bring faster charging, easier implementation for manufacturers and, perhaps most importantly, less precision. Remember when Goh said that he foresees a time when wireless charging is built into the furniture at all cafes, all boardrooms? What if, thanks to the expanding standards and lower costs, merely resting your phone anywhere on any table facilitates its charging?
It’s a future that isn’t too far out.


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The Stinky Asian Superfruit Beating the Recession
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
It stinks but it sells.
By John Reed
Eddy Nattapong Panastien, who works in logistics and lives in Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai, had time on his hands because of COVID-19. So last month he launched a startup, Bsamfruit Durian Delivery, which is devoted to Southeast Asia’s trademark spiny, fleshy, tropical fruit.
Nattapong’s two partners are his brother, a gym owner, and a friend who has a restaurant. Both of their businesses were ordered to be closed under Thailand’s anti-coronavirus lockdown.
“It was too boring for us to stay at home and do nothing,” Nattapong says over a video call as several shirtless men pack and cart fruit in the background. “We asked: ‘What can we do?’ Durian was the answer.”
It is Thailand’s hot season, with temperatures in the high 90s, and the air is pungent with the aroma of ripening mango, rambutan, mangosteen and durian — the delicacy nicknamed the King of Fruits.
Thailand’s legion durian lovers need no prompting to buy. But the unique selling point of Nattapong’s business is that its employees are buff bodybuilders — mostly men, with a few women. This beefcake image has given the business a viral element among Thais who surf the web as they endure the country’s gradually easing lockdown. Bsamfruit’s Facebook page has more than 4,000 followers who go to it to watch men with washboard abs pack durians, inquire about prices and delivery, or leave lustful comments.
I think durian is the only fruit that COVID-19 cannot do anything to.
Thiraphat Aunchai, Thailand Durian Growers’ Confederation
Nattapong’s pop-up business shows how Thais, whose livelihoods were upended by the coronavirus, are seizing new opportunities as they can. It also attests to the resilience of demand for durian, a product seemingly impervious to the pandemic and the country’s worst recession since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Thailand’s coronavirus caseload, about 3,000 confirmed infections so far, is small for a country of 69 million. But the grounding of flights and the disruption of supply chains have hammered its tourism- and export-dependent economy. Yet durian is having one of its strongest-ever selling seasons, according to growers in Thailand, the world’s biggest durian producer, and in China, its biggest market. “I think durian is the only fruit that COVID-19 cannot do anything to,” says Thiraphat Aunchai, president of the Thailand Durian Growers’ Confederation. Prices for the fruit are set to rise about 15 percent this year thanks to Chinese wholesalers, he says, and growers have shipped more than 100,000 tons to China.
People rarely tell you they are indifferent to durian. The fruit’s creamy, fatty, golden lobes have an overpowering scent. Southeast Asia is replete with stern signs warning of fines for carrying the fruit onto planes or public transport or into hotel rooms. It also has a flavor everyone struggles to describe, from caramel or custard to chopped onions or sewage — or any combination of the above.
Whether ladled over a sticky rice dessert, used to fill chocolates or eaten on its own, it is an acquired taste with an addictive quality similar to that among fans of hot chilies.
Chinese diners have especially taken to durian in recent years, causing a rise in prices and a run in demand among Southeast Asian growers. In Vietnam’s central highlands, some coffee farmers have uprooted their plants to make way for durian to meet the buoyant demand.
In the 2018 season, customers of Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce titan, snapped up a record 80,000 premium Thai Monthong durians in just one minute. In March and April, when China was exiting lockdown and Thailand entering it, the e-tailer’s Freshippo grocery chain registered a threefold year-on-year increase in sales. “Demand for durians by Chinese customers has been strong,” the company said. Durians are normally shipped to China by land, but because of the pandemic, all are being sent by sea, doubling the time it takes to reach market to 15 days, Alibaba said.
Nattapong, the Chiang Mai merchant, is now thinking of opening a branch in Bangkok. He says a group of businessmen are interested in buying his brand. He is also thinking of broadening the business into a distribution center for fruits from other parts of Thailand, once the current durian season is past. “It’s just once a year that people can try durian,” he says. “No matter how much money people have to pay, they want to try it.”
OZY partners with the U.K.'s Financial Times to bring you premium analysis and features. © The Financial Times Limited 2020.


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Sirin Labs, a startup backed by Israeli venture capital investor Moshe Hogeg, said Monday it will be launching an ultra-secure smartphone in another month for people who can afford its $10,000-plus price tag.
- Israeli Startup Guru Who Doesn’t Waste Time on Modesty
- Israelis Find Security Flaw in Galaxy S4
- Start-up of the Week / Two Cellphones in One
Working in stealth mode since it was formed in 2013 and backed by $72 million in venture capital, Sirin Labs offered few details about the phone except to say it would be is “the most advanced smartphone ever made.” The phone will be unveiled in May at Sirin Labs’ flagship store in Mayfair London.
“We managed to combine military phone and the phone for everyday use... Let’s see if we can integrate the best from both worlds without limitations,” Hogeg told the technology website TechCrunch. “It won’t be the most expensive phone in the world. We are in the neighborhood of $10,000-$15,000 per phone,” he said, promising that prices would eventually come down.
Behind the smartphone’s development is a multinational team of investors and engineers. The company is domiciled in Switzerland because of its strict privacy laws, but it has a 50-person research and development team working in Tel Aviv, another 30 people in Lund, Sweden, responsible for design and manufacturing and a marketing team in London.
The company’s operational leader and CEO is Tal Cohen, a former McKinsey consultant. Other key people include Fredrik Oijer, former product director at Sony Ericsson and Karim Rashid, an Egyptian-born, New York-based designer, in charge of design.
Hogeg’s Singulariteam venture fund backed Sirin together with Kazakh businessman Kenges Rakishev and Chinese Internet company Renren. Both Rakishev and Renren have worked extensively with Hogeg, who has backed companies like Mobli and the Yo app. Sirin Labs is being advised by Spanish politician Joan Laporta, former Futbol Club Barcelona president.
“The company has operated quietly under the radar here in Tel Aviv for two-and-a half years and next month will introduce what I believe is the most advanced and secure phone in the world,” Hogeg said on his Facebook page.
Sirin Labs’ phone is being offered as an alternative to mass-market smartphones like the iPhone for business people who want to protect confidential information. After Apple’s high-profile standoff with the U.S. government over encryption, Sirin Labs’ timing for a highly secure alternative is good. In addition, the secure phone market has no dominant player since Blackberry left in 2013.
The announcement about Sirin Labs comes only two weeks after Hogeg, who is known as something of a bad boy in the world of Israeli high-tech, said he was swearing off new investments. “New investments?” he asked on his Facebook page. “Not in the near future. Since 2009, there hasn’t been a period when it’s been so difficult to raise money.”
On Sunday, Hogeg told TheMarker he was now feeling otherwise. “Within a year, we’ll be in a situation where there are a lot of ‘bargains,’ the market will steady and there will be a flood of new investments and so on. Regarding my fund, I’m pressing down on the gas pedal.”


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Latest news and insight on how logistics, transportation, port, and supply chain organizations are implementing sustainable practices in an effort to become better stewards of the environment.
Posted 06/09 · 11:55 AM · SCMR Editorial
Business logistics costs fell to a record low of 7.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product last year, compared with 9.3 percent of GDP in 2008, according to a new annual benchmark report issued Wednesday.
Posted 06/08 · 09:07 AM · SCMR Editorial
The National Association of Manufacturers has filed a petition in federal appeals court challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) latest interpretation of the so-called “Johnson Memo."
Posted 06/02 · 09:56 AM · MMH Editorial
Some of the best new ideas in automated materials handling are the result of better motors, drives and controls. Here’s what you need to know.
Posted 05/21 · 09:03 AM · SCMR Editorial
Expanding into emerging markets is core to almost every major manufacturer’s growth strategy. As the global greening trend accelerates, companies should retool their supply chain infrastructures in order to keep up.
Posted 05/11 · 03:44 PM · MMH Editorial
The Power Moller is used in motor driven roller (MDR) conveyors around the world. How did it come about?
Posted 05/11 · 03:33 PM · MMH Editorial
Two keynote presenters considered the similarities between business sustainability in the profit and not for profit sectors as well as the role materials handling can play in ushering in a greener business.
Posted 04/01 · 05:01 PM · MMH Editorial
Pregis, a supplier of protective packaging solutions, has acquired IntelliPack
Posted 04/01 · 03:31 PM · MMH Editorial
From conveyors to pallets, industry leaders make the case for how their products can make a difference to companies focused on the green supply chain
Posted 04/01 · 02:00 PM · MMH Editorial
Crate and Barrel's Tracy, Calif., distribution center achieved Gold designation from LEED and merged the retailer's sustainability and distribution initiatives
Posted 04/01 · 09:50 AM · MMH Editorial
This month Modern shares the third in a series of features we’re calling “Big Picture: Where materials handing meets business.”


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Police are crediting an arrest last week with taking down the fence in an organized effort to steal tools from area home improvement stores and sell them online.
Francisco Martorell, 38, of Southington (Connecticut), surrendered on February 13 after learning about an active warrant for his arrest, police said. The warrant charged him with organized retail theft and resulted from an investigation that ran from April to September of last year, police said. Martorell was taking tools stolen from Home Depot and Lowes stores and marketing them on the internet, according to a warrant.
The investigation revealed that Main and accomplices committed “organized thefts” of Milwaukee brand tools from Lowes and Home Depot stores in the amount of $2,945. The tools
were then turned over to “another individual” to be sold via “an online marketplace,” police said. Main was being held, pending a $100,000 bond, police said… Southington Patch