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Start Up Successes
Babylon Artisan Market aims to shake up the small business scene in Kurdistan
In December 2022 Diyan Gawdan was between jobs, searching for a suitable role in the humanitarian sector. Her new career came about by chance after conversations with artisans introduced her to the entrepreneurial sector in Kurdistan. “I saw how these small businesses were developing and thriving. It made me feel really good,” she says. Visiting pop-up markets and browsing stalls at café bazaars, she chatted with local makers about the possibilities and pitfalls of starting a business in the Kurdish capital Erbil. “It’s not easy starting something from zero, it takes a lot of courage,” says Gawdan, who decided she could do something to help.
In 2021, Iraq received less than 1% of the $2.6 million in venture capital funding that was allocated to start-ups in the MENA region, but with a young, mobile-savvy population and an increasingly vibrant start-up scene, investors are eyeing cities like Erbil with more interest. Iraqi start-ups raised $16 million in 2022 compared to $7 million in 2021, according to Magnitt, a Dubai-based data platform on MENA start-ups, with much of the focus on enterprises coming out of Erbil.
Across the city, incubators and co-working spaces are producing new cohorts of entrepreneurs, breathing energy into Iraq’s private sector and cultivating new ideas. “Entrepreneurship is a vital step towards bolstering Iraq’s private sector and creating job opportunities outside of the over-saturated public sector,” says Faisal Al Mutar, President of Ideas Beyond Borders, which launching a new project to transform the business start-up environment in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
Open for Business in Kurdistan aims to improve the infrastructure for entrepreneurs as they register new businesses while campaigning for pro-business legal reform in the region’s parliament. “Young people in this country are eager for change. By supporting their ideas and creating an invigorating environment for entrepreneurship, we can empower them to achieve it,” Al Mutar says.
One of the challenges entrepreneurs face is gaining visibility in Kurdistan, where the start-up scene is confined mainly to co-working spaces, cafes and the occasional private event. This is where Gawdan realized she could help. Many artisans rely on coffee shop bazaars that invite local entrepreneurs to exhibit for an afternoon, but Gawdan felt there was scope to do more. “I have sat there and tried to make sales for friends and personally found the experience humiliating… I decided to make the vision bigger,” she says.
A plan began to take shape, to host an event that would not only provide a space to make sales but also to network, share ideas and learn from experts in the field.
To raise the funds, Gawdan applied for a grant with the Ideas Beyond Borders Innovation Hub and secured enough to launch her idea. Over a period of three weeks, she met with entrepreneurs, partners and sponsors to create a platform that would drive local business and give Kurdistan’s entrepreneurs the support they needed. “I didn’t expect any help but I discovered how many people were willing to put their own priorities aside to make this event happen,” she says.
Then, the day before the event, one of the sponsors called to say their logo had the wrong branding on stage, where they were due to participate in a panel on embracing independence for small business owners. “They threatened to pull out,” Gawdan recalls. With just hours to go, she begged the printer to open their shop late at night so they could re-print the banners. Finding the venue was another challenge. Public spaces like parks require lengthy government approval, while private venues are expensive. In the end, she booked a hotel but next time she hopes to use the Erbil citadel, where a newly refurbished space is ideal for open-air events.
This ancient site, which has been home to Muslims, Christians, Jews, Arabs and Kurds over the centuries, perfectly captures the essence of the enterprise that she has named Babylon Artisan Market (BAM!). “Too many events reinforce this segregation between Arab and Kurdish youth. I focus on inviting participants from all over Iraq – not just Erbil,” she says. “Kurdish and Arab youth have too few opportunities to understand each other, but we are all Babylonians,” she adds.
Her hard work paid off watching the BAM! Panel discussion as a young man from Baghdad spoke with a Kurdish woman from Duhok about the challenges of starting a business while convincing friends and family members to support the idea. “He was saying that his family treats his business like a hobby and she said hers do the same. They found a lot of similarities,” Gawdan says.
Watching these two young people find common ground in their goals, Gawdan felt a rush of satisfaction. “I sat there thinking mission accomplished,” she says. Now she plans to develop BAM! into a network and host more events, building on the successes of the first and adding new ideas to ensure that entrepreneurs from across Iraq and Kurdistan have a platform to share and support one another while learning valuable skills to drive their businesses forward.
Ideas Beyond Borders is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This article was written by Olivia Cuthbert.


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INGERSOLL, Ontario - Dot Foods Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Dot Foods, Inc., the largest food industry redistributor in North America, today marked the official groundbreaking of the company’s new distribution center (DC) in Ingersoll, Ontario. Dot is making a $50 CAD million investment with the new 168,875 square-foot facility, which will be located at 100 Ken McKee Street. The Ingersoll distribution center will create 200 jobs in its first three to five years of operation.
“We are very strategic in determining the best place to build a new facility,” said John Tracy, executive chairman of Dot Foods Canada. “Ingersoll is a great location for us because of the workforce available here and the space available to support our future growth. We’re excited about the careers we have to offer and about the people who will join our Dot Foods Canada family. There’s a lot of opportunity for our distribution model in Canada, and we look forward to better serving our current customers and reaching new ones with the establishment of this distribution center.”
Dot initially established operations in Canada in 2016 with the purchase of Canadian food redistributor Marketwest, and set up distribution centers in Calgary, Alberta and Brampton, Ontario. When the Ingersoll facility is complete in spring 2023, it will replace operations at the currently leased Brampton location. Dot has offered positions at the new facility to all employees who currently work at the Brampton location. Dot expects to hire 200 new employees from Ingersoll and surrounding areas in the next three to five years. These positions will largely be for warehouse workers and truck drivers, with some office and administrative roles. Hiring for truck drivers is already underway. The majority of other positions will be posted in late 2022/early 2023.
Phase one of the Ingersoll distribution center will include offices and dry, refrigerated, and frozen warehouse space. The L-shaped designed of the building gives Dot the ability to easily expand all warehouse and office spaces in future years, up to as much as 350,000 square feet, to meet the company’s growing customer demand in Canada. Eventually, Dot will also add on-site garage facilities to support the Dot Transportation Canada, Inc., fleet.
“Dot Foods’ new distribution centre will be a wonderful addition here in Ingersoll. This new facility shows that our government’s commitment to making Ontario open for business is working. Together with businesses like Dot Foods, we are growing the economy and creating great, well-paying jobs right here in Oxford,” said Ernie Hardeman, MPP Oxford. “I am excited to see how Dot Foods’ philanthropic spirit will positively impact Ingersoll and surrounding communities. The company has pledged $50,000 in donations to five non-profit organizations in the area, and I commend Dot Foods’ and its employees’ dedication to volunteerism.”
The Ingersoll groundbreaking also marked the kickoff of Dot Canada’s charitable giving program at its newest location. Tracy announced $50,000 in donations to five area nonprofit organizations:
Salvation Army Food Pantry: $10,000
Operation Sharing: $10,000
Ingersoll Interchurch: $10,000
STICH Supper Club: $10,000
Alzheimer’s Society: $10,000
All of Dot Foods’ U.S. locations have a charitable committee that approves grants and coordinates volunteer opportunities for employees within the company’s five charitable focus areas. Giving back to their community was a priority for Dot Foods co-founders Robert (RT) and Dorothy Tracy and continues to be a major focus for the company and its employees today. Dot Foods Canada will take the same charitable approach with the opening of the Ingersoll location.
These five recipient groups were selected by Dot for their close alignment with the company’s charitable areas of focus. Fighting hunger has always been a cornerstone of Dot’s philanthropic work; four of the recipient organizations play a big role in addressing food insecurity in and around Oxford County. The Alzheimer’s Society is another cause close to Dot’s heart. RT Tracy battled the disease.
“This is part of our commitment to being a good neighbor,” Tracy explained. “My parents felt strongly that our company has a responsibility to do our part to support the community we call home. This is where our employees will live and work, so it’s important that we invest in the groups that are doing the important work of caring for this community. This is just the start. We look forward to supporting many more groups in the region with time, talent, and treasure as we get our Ingersoll facility up and running.”
“On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to extend my warmest greetings to everyone attending and participating in the groundbreaking ceremony for Dot Foods Canada, Inc. Welcoming new builds to Ingersoll and Oxford Country will make for a brighter future for our community,” said MP Dave MacKenzie. “I would also like to say thank you to Dot Foods for their generous donations of a total of $50,000 to five local nonprofit organizations. Your support is appreciated.”
“We’re very excited that Ingersoll is part of Dot Foods’ future and welcome them into our community,” said Ted Comiskey, Mayor of Ingersoll, Ontario. “Dot Foods’ investment highlights the strategic location and opportunities that Ingersoll has to offer. We’re very proud of the fact that Dot will be creating hundreds of great jobs and giving very generously through their charitable endeavours. We look forward to a very bright future for Dot Foods, Ingersoll, Oxford County, and all of Southwestern Ontario.”
Work on the Dot Foods Canada Ingersoll distribution center is already underway. Dot selected Maple Reinder as the design-builder of the project. Dot will also employ a substantial number of local and regional contractors on this project.
Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Mt. Sterling, Illinois, Dot Foods is North America’s largest food industry redistributor, serving all 50 states and more than 55 countries with a product offering of 125,000 items.
About Dot Foods and Dot Transportation
Dot Foods, Inc. carries 125,000 products from 1,020 food industry manufacturers making it the largest food industry redistributor in North America. Through Dot Transportation, Inc., an affiliate of Dot Foods, the company distributes foodservice, convenience, retail, and vending products to distributors in all 50 states and more than 55 countries. Dot Foods operates 12 U. S. distribution centers, which are located in Bullhead City, Arizona; Modesto, California; Bear, Delaware; Vidalia, Georgia; Burley, Idaho; Mt. Sterling, Illinois; University Park, Illinois; Cambridge City, Indiana; Williamsport, Maryland; Liverpool, New York; Ardmore, Oklahoma; and Dyersburg, Tennessee. Dot’s 13th U.S. location is currently under construction in Manchester, Tennessee. For information, visit DotFoods.com.
Dot Foods Canada, a subsidiary of Dot Foods, established operations in Toronto, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta, in 2016. The company is currently building a new facility in Ingersoll for its Ontario operations, which will replace its headquarters and operations in Brampton in 2023. Dot Foods Transportation Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Dot Foods Transportation, Inc., distributes a diverse range of 3,300 Canadian and American products for more than 275 Canadian distribution points.

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*SPECIAL TIME OF 12:30PM AEDT*
This week, as part of the 2022 NetThing Internet Governance Conference, Burning Platforms will ask - "Do we need to build our resilience against a worsening tech world, or should we design a better one?"
As the tech harms pile up and change us and our society, we deep dive into a new book 'Disconnect - why we get pushed to extremes online and how to stop it' which showcases online conspiracy theorists, freedom fighters, trolls, screen addicts and more and we will unpack whether our current tech landscape is inevitable or if there's a better way forward.
With our panellists:
- Peter Lewis, Director of The Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology
- Dan Stinton, Managing Director of Guardian Australia
- Carla Wilshire, Founder of Centre for Digital Wellbeing
And special guest:
- Jordan Guiao, Author of new book 'Disconnect - why we get pushed to extremes online and how to stop it'
RSVP with your details and you will receive an email confirmation with instructions on how to join on Friday
**SPECIAL 20% DISCOUNT OFFER FOR SUPPORTERS**
Pre-order a copy of Disconnect for just $23.99
(save $6, RRP $29.99)
incl. FREE SHIPPING
To access the 20% supporter discount, at the checkout enter: DISCONNECT20
PLUS, all author proceeds from the book will be donated to The Australia Institute.


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On this side of the world we may argue over the merits of one dual-core smartphone or tablet and the next, but many parts of the world don't even have basic access to the Internet but Vodafone is trying to change all that.
What the mobile operator has essentially done is take the gubbins from inside a phone and put them inside a keyboard which can be connected to any television and gives you instant access to the Internet. The Webbox, as it is called, is aimed at those areas of the world which do not have access to broadband internet services and will work on the 2.5G and EDGE networks. It will initially launch in South Africa next week before bring rolled out to other African countries such as Ghana and Kenya.
Patrick Chomet, Vodafone’s Group Director of Terminals said: “ It has the potential to make a powerful difference in the lives of people in emerging markets who have limited access to the internet, but where TV penetration is typically very high.” Once the Webbox is plugged into a TV via an analogue RCA cable, users will be presented with a home screen with a number of icons including the Opera browser, SMS, email, search and even FM radio. The browser is able to work by compressing data by up to 90 percent and the homepage comes with bookmarks such as news, sport and social networking sites as well as locally relevant apps such as a job search and application service. In addition, the portal comes with some games, a dictionary and a basic text editor.
All you need is a Vodafone SIM to slot into the back of the Webbox and off you go. It will cost about £64 in South Africa and includes a 2GB SD card, a prepaid SIM and 100MB of data valid for the three months. It will also soon be available on a 24-month contract.


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Shenzhen –According to internal source from Xunlei Limited (NASDAQ: XNET), the company plans to set up an investment fund, raising up to 100 million dollars, to invest in blockchain technology, including but not limited to innovation in core technology, innovative business model and related digital assets. As it is still in the preliminary stage, the Company has not disclosed any details. Notably, Xunlei’s stock had surged from $2.68 to $6.83 on Monday after the comments by President Xi in supportive of blockchain technology.
Xunlei Limited was incorporated under the law of the Cayman Islands as a limited liability company and operates its Chinese business through consolidated VIE companies, including Shenzhen Xunlei Networking Technologies, Co., Ltd. The Company provides a wide range of products and services across cloud acceleration, blockchain, shared cloud computing and digital entertainment to deliver an efficient, smart and safe internet experience.
Xunlei operates ThunderChain, a high-performance blockchain platform, which can concurrently conduct up to one million transactions per second (TPS). It is said ThunderChain is one of the world’s leading blockchain technologies and possesses some of the advanced industry-leading features. The Company has submitted 95 applications for blockchain patents, making it one of the most productive companies in the industry. To date, ThunderChain has been applied to over dozens of industries.
It is disclosed that the fund under Xunlei Limited will be operated outside of China and not by its affiliates in China.
About Xunlei Limited
Founded in 2003, Xunlei Limited (NASDAQ: XNET) is a global leading innovator in shared computing and blockchain technology. Started more than a decade ago with its patented P2SP technologies for downloading acceleration, including Individual and corporate users are benefiting from multiple products of Xunlei, which include digital entertainment, cloud acceleration, cloud storage, and cloud computing products. With its technological competence in delivering smart, efficient and safe internet experience, Xunlei is ever-expanding its customer base. Xunlei is making giant strides and emerging as a technology leader in the world blockchain application. Venturing modestly into the world of blockchain technology in 2015 in China, it stands out in global blockchain technology space. By offering a portfolio of multiple products and services, Xunlei delivers an efficient, smart and safe Internet experience for its users worldwide. In 2015, Xunlei started to expand into the blockchain sector and launched China’s most popular and widely-used blockchain-based applications, becoming a leader in blockchain technology in the world.
As China’s largest data transmission service provider, Xunlei creates a leading cloud-based acceleration product matrix architecture in downloading acceleration, network acceleration, and uploading acceleration, offering consumer-level products and services including Xunlei Download Manager, Xunlei Live Streaming, Xunlei Media Player, Xunlei Game Accelerator, etc. Built upon the technology innovation, Xunlei has leveraged its resources and technological strengths to enable smart optimization of content delivery acceleration and deliver great user experience.
As one of the pioneers in cloud computing and blockchain, Xunlei released shared computing-based products in April 2015. A mega-node shared computing network built upon Xunlei’s Minecrafter and OneThing Cloud is now in place. Leveraging its strengths in innovative technologies, big data and computing resources, Xunlei’s shared computing platform StellarCloud, provides numerous corporate customers and partners with leading advanced technological services and successfully leads the industry’s technical progress and service upgrade. Xunlei has also launched ThunderChain, a high-performance blockchain infrastructure capable of handling millions of transactions per second (TPS) with confirmation capability in seconds, which dramatically improves the overall performance standards of the blockchain technology.
Xunlei is committed to technological innovations and enhancing the users’ experience in the digital age via its products and services. Xunlei will continue to explore the future of the Internet through its strengths in shared computing and blockchain technology.


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John McPheters came from an era in which sought-after sneakers – and other products – weren’t easy to come by. Buyers and sellers connected through a variety of means, from eBay to person-to-person transactions.
Stadium Goods Co-founder and CEO John McPheters told PYMNTS.com in an interview, “You would go to great lengths to get [them]. There were all sorts of ways that you would go about getting your hands on these sought-after products.”
As a result, McPheters sought to bring better customer service, fulfillment and logistics to the premium-sneaker and streetwear business Stadium Goods. And he wanted to provide an experience that people could trust when buying a product, too.
An omnicommerce marketplace that sells premium footwear, apparel and hard-to-find items, Stadium Goods operates across eCommerce platforms and in a brick-and-mortar store in New York City.
Sourcing The Items
Stadium Goods works on a consignment model. Sellers can bring their items into the company’s New York store or they can print out a label and send the items to the company. When Stadium Goods receives the items, it authenticates them. Staff members hand review each item: They examine details such as labels, packaging and, in the case of shoes, how they are laced.
Even so, not all items that the company receives make the cut. But items that do can make it on the site fairly quickly, McPheters said.
Stadium Goods can sell items through a variety of channels such as, yes, eBay. “We have flexibility around where we publish – what items go where – and we use that,” McPheters said.
While the focus of Stadium Goods is on footwear, it also offers collectibles and toys – among other items. And, according to McPheters, the company plans to expand its product line over the next six to 12 months.
Stadium Goods’ New York brick-and-mortar store attracts a variety of customers. For example, many visitors from out of town visit the store. McPheters said, “We have a lot of tourists that come into our store that are coming to New York looking for this type of product.”
There are also other audiences, such as parents shopping for their kids. McPheters added, “[There are] a lot of different profiles.”
Either way, the store makes a good venue for displaying the merchandise. “It’s a great way to actually showcase the product,” McPheters continued. “You don’t get a sense of breadth until you’re sitting in the store.”
Though the company does have collectible items, it does sell some items below retail. The average sale, however, is $375, according to McPheters.
Stadium Goods’ store comes as other digitally-native retailers – even ones that focus on consignment – are turning to brick-and-mortar stores to reach consumers, too. For instance, thredUP sees its business model translate to brick-and-mortar stores and it sees them as an important part of its business.
“When we look at our piece of the retail pie — the percentage of retail that will be driven by resale — we think about how we can be an even bigger part of people’s lives,” thredUP’s CEO James Reinhart told Gloss.co. “That’s when you really start to see just how important the physical-retail piece is in the overall ecosystem. It’s about making it at as seamless as possible for everyone.”
Beyond brick-and-mortar, the resale industry is a booming business. Research from the NDP Group from 2017 shows that, excluding antiques and Goodwill stores, the resale industry in the U.S. generates annual sales of $9.42 billion annually. In footwear, NDP research found that new and used shoes generated $17.2 billion in sales in the U.S. alone.
The Road Ahead
The company’s inventory is popular there as brands make decisions on where to sell goods, and their decisions don’t always match up with local demand. Kids in China, for example, are often looking for goods that are sold in the U.S.
With authenticity concerns in China, Stadium Goods can also serve as a validator and guarantee that the products it sells are, in fact, genuine.
“People trust it,” McPheters said. “They know the source. They know what they’re getting.”
But Stadium Goods isn’t just focused on China. The company is looking at other international markets, too.
McPheters added, “You name it; we’re looking at it. It’s a big part of where we’re headed.”


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Nintendo and The Pokémon Company were stung by a string of leaks that occured in the run up to the release of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield last year, helping to rile up the already dissatisfied and vocal side of the Pokémon fanbase in the process. After investigating for the last few months – maybe they set Detective Pikachu on the case? – the companies have now pinpointed the leaker and named and shamed them in a joint statement.
Identified as Portuguese website FNintendo, Nintendo have also given them an F-you, deciding to cut ties and no longer work with them.
Their statement reads:
In early November, Nintendo identified a number of photographs taken from game play that revealed multiple new and unannounced Pokémon from Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. These photographs had been posted online and Nintendo, together with The Pokémon Company, quickly identified the person responsible for these leaks, and took immediate action.
These Pokémon were leaked by a reviewer for the Portuguese website FNintendo, who had received an early copy of the game for review purposes. Both he and FNintendo failed to handle confidential material, resulting in a clear breach of the confidentiality agreement between Nintendo and the media outlet. As a result, Nintendo will no longer work with FNintendo.
The real significance of the leak is where it came from. FNintendo had, just like many websites ourselves included, signed NDAs and agreed to embargoes in order to receive early copies of Nintendo’s games and review hardware. While it’s a key part of games journalism to be able to latch onto leaks, sources and gain insider knowledge, a line you don’t cross is breaking those agreements.
For their part, this wasn’t a decision made by FNintendo’s team, but rather one reviewer. They’ve also released a statement, stating that it was their reviewer who leaked the information and that FNintendo have cut ties with that person. However, they acknowledge that this was a breach of their agreement with Nintendo and accept the consequences, apologising to all parties.
We want to take this opportunity to openly admit to our readers that FNintendo was responsible for leaking some of these photos.
Nintendo offered us a copy of the game for review purposes, with clear embargo guidelines, to which we agreed. This copy was then sent to one of our reviewers, who leaked the information. Following the investigation, FNintendo severed its relationship with this reviewer.
Our relationship with Nintendo Portugal dates back 11 years, but our part in this leak is a clear breach of the confidentiality agreement between us, and, as a result, a total breach of trust with Nintendo.
We recognise it is impermissible to break embargo guidelines and we failed to handle the review materials with sufficient care. We fully respect Nintendo’s decision to cancel the confidentiality agreement between our companies as a result of this breach of trust, and accept that we will no longer receive products from Nintendo, nor will we be invited to attend their events.
We want to apologise to Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, and to our readers for letting them down.
When something like this happens it can directly impact Nintendo’s faith in those relationships across the board. That’s bad for fans waiting on reviews, it’s bad for websites working to cover Nintendo’s games in as timely a fashion as possible, and it’s incredibly disheartening for anyone that’s been working on the game, especially when it feeds the overly negative furore that was already swirling around the games.
Source: press release, FNintendo


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If you're an avid investor in cryptocurrency or a digital art lover, it's likely that you've heard about non-fungible tokens, commonly referred to as "NFTs." So what exactly are NFTs? Non-fungible tokens certify the ownership of a one-of-a-kind piece of...
Ethereum--the biggest presence in cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin-- has announced it will be cleaning up its carbon footprint and going green. Ethereum is a decentralized, open source blockchain that uses the token Ether for transactions on its platform. The Ethereum...
"Satoshi Nakamoto" is universally credited as the founder of the now ubiquitous cryptocurrency Bitcoin, but who is Nakomoto?
Yanis Varoufakis lauded the idea behind blockchain, but said Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies cannot and should not replace currencies
An upcoming animated television series about Ancient Greece will be called "Krapopolis", announced Fox Entertainment on Monday.
Facebook is to launch cryptocurrency Diem as the Covid-19 pandemic forced the world to stay home, and eCommerce transactions increased


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Bike SA and Quipmo announce partnership to get more people cycling in South Australia!
- Bicycle SA is the peak body for recreational and commuter cycling in South Australia
- Quipmo – Equipment for the Moment! – launched in Perth in Feb 2017 is the surf, bike and snow peer to peer gear rental marketplace for like-minded travellers and locals who share a passion for adventure!
- Bike SA and Quipmo announce partnership to get more people cycling in South Australia!
- Connecting people with great gear for adventures just became a whole lot easier!
Bicycle SA advocates on behalf of recreational, commuter and touring cyclists throughout South Australia. We support cycling for recreation, for transport, health and the environment, as well as travel and fun.
Their work this year will see 8,000 primary school children across the state taught to ride safely, we will deliver multiple one-day community rides and multi-day tours, ongoing investments in mountain biking as well as representing the interests of their 6,000 members.
Bike SA and Quipmo are going to get more people cycling in South Australia! Whether it’s offering high performance road bikes for people travelling on business, downhill bikes to explore SA’s trails, families chasing bikes for the kids whilst on holidays or whether it’s giving access to the latest gear releases through demonstration models – this partnership will get more people riding and more people passionate about cycling in South Australia!
With over 420,000 people cycling each year in South Australia, coupled with over 17M overnight trips in South Australia, the potential for Quipmo to substantially alter the cycle tourism landscape in South Australia is significant. Whether it’s a local bike shop looking for new customers or someone with bikes in their shed, anyone can now service the South Australian tourism market. This initiative is not simply for the most dedicated of cyclists but is aimed at the mainstream and offers another string to the bow of South Australia’s world class tourism industry.
“Peer to Peer applications are now a way of life and we see our partnership with Quipmo as a great alternative in delivering quick and easy access to a bike for those that want to get out for a ride, whether they be a local or visitor to SA. Quipmo is a great way to earn a little extra cash by renting out that bike when it’s not being used and of course, this applies to our local bike shops as well. Quipmo is a great way to “Try before you Buy” on the ever-expanding range of new bicycle products and technology.” said Christian Haag – CEO of Bike SA.
Quipmo’s founder and CEO Chris Evans said: “We are over the moon to be partnering with Bike SA and can’t wait to substantially change bike rental access across South Australia! Working with a highly innovative and sector leading organisation who are at the very forefront of cycling advocacy and community leadership is truly exciting and we believe that this partnership has the potential to bring the whole community together through the share economy and cycling.”
Beyond tourism there’s another key reason that this relationship offers so much promise and potential. South Australian’s have shown great interest in bike sharing with Ofo having recorded over 55,000 trips in Adelaide alone. This partnership coupled with Bike SA’s acquisition of Ofo’s bikes earlier this year shows how very seriously Bike SA is taking the potential for cycling innovation within transport, leisure and logistics to substantially change how many people are cycling across South Australia.
Have you got gear …
If you’ve got gear be sure to get it up on Quipmo and let’s make someone’s adventure today!
Chris and the Quipmo team!


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Aug 24, 2020Empire State Producers Expo going virtual in ’21
The New York State Vegetable Growers Association and Cornell Cooperative Extension have announced they are transforming the annual Becker Forum and Empire State Producers Expo into a virtual conference scheduled for Jan. 11-14 2021.
“The New York State Vegetable Growers Association continues its commitment to educating all farmers, even during these unprecedented times,” a news release stated. “We are looking forward to bringing in new and exciting speakers who have not been available to us in the past. The conference will be available online to those who register. DEC credits will be available.”
Future updates can be found here.


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Mandate of the European Union (EU). that most manufacturers use USB-C mobile devices by fall 2024 following the heat of speculation that Apple might just go all wireless in future models for both iPhone and AirPods.
While the guide from committee of the EU Parliament for all mobile electronics manufacturers, the unprecedented requirement is expected to have a direct impact on Apple, which uses their products – including the popular iPhone – the company’s proprietary Lightning connector protocol.
The mandate is clear: “Type-C USB ports must be equipped with mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, headphones, digital cameras, headphones and earphones, handheld video game consoles and portable speakers that are rechargeable via a wired cable, regardless of its manufacturer. ”
This move means that iPhones and AirPods sold in the EU will have to switch to the more ubiquitous USB-C ports and cable connectors by the fall of 2024. The mandate leaves Apple with a number of options, including all wireless.
Forrester Senior Analyst Andrew Cornwall said the EU move leaves at least three pathways for Apple to take.
- Apple may provide a USB-C charging port separate from the Lightning charge and a data port on iPhones and iPads. This is probably the least aesthetic of the options, and Apple is unlikely to choose a two – connector solution for that reason.
- Apple may develop a hybrid port that accepts USB-C (for charge only) or Lightning (for charge and data). While it is possible for Apple to develop a hybrid port, it is unlikely to want to build a new connector.
- Apple could unveil the port and go wireless using the Qi charging standard, which has been the capability in its iPhones since 2017.
“Apple is in the habit of completely removing the charging / lightning port for wireless charging, which is a departure from EU law,” Cornwall said. “Because their wireless charger supports an open standard, they will not violate any delegated acts in the future.
“Apple seems to have expected EU law and is ready to move to Qi standard wireless charging,” Cornwall said. “Data transfer will be wireless only. The Lightning port will disappear from future iPhones just as the headphone jack did. ”
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes, however Apple is already planning for USB-C on the iPhone 15 when it launches in the second half of 2023. So a wireless charging phone would have to be launched in that case. The line-up of the iPhone 14, which is expected in September, is almost certain to continue using the Lightning connector, he tweeted.
The EU directive also allows manufacturers to skip any charger for their devices. That is because, once all the manufacturers have the same charging standard, it would be redundant to send a charger with each product. It is a trait that the European Parliament has called for his statement on the direction.
That will inevitably hurt some buyers – the few who have no chargers will have to pay more, Cornwall said.
“There is an increased risk that warranty repairs may be denied due to ‘bad chargers.’ Some of them may buy shoddy chargers that cause fires, ”he said. “Travelers will have to carry a dongle for a charge until Qi hotels are widely implemented.”
And if Apple’s Lightning port disappears for data transfer, Apple users will lose some privacy, because it’s much harder to intercept wired traffic than something over the air, Cornwall noted. In addition, some iPhones may become more difficult to repair, and it may be impossible to review an iPhone or restore it to its original firmware. Jailbreak a wireless iPhone – this may not work anymore.
On the flip side, it may be easier to waterproof iPhones and remove the port.
“I find EU law a little difficult for consumers,” said Cornwall. “It’s a little favored for device sellers, who no longer have to include a charger with every sale.”
Jack Gold, chief analyst with J. Gold Associates, questioned whether the EU directive would allow Apple to completely remove a port, as the mandate requires vendors to move over to USB-C. In addition, wireless charging still faces many challenges – first and foremost it is less energy efficient.
“Wireless charging has lost a lot – up to 50%,” Gold said. “And you are limited in the amount of power you can push through the wireless charger. So it is very difficult to do fast charging which we all experience in wireless. That’s probably why Apple has not pushed for wireless charging in a big way for their phones. “
So the question is, would users accept slower charging?
“My guess is that Apple will oppose full wireless charging for a long time until they can solve some of these problems. But the physics are against them and it would take some Apple’s users have expectations that they may not be able to accommodate wireless charging as the only option. “
Copyright © 2022 IDG Communications, Inc.
Could an EU USB-C edict pressure Apple to cut the entire cord?
Source link Could an EU USB-C edict pressure Apple to cut the entire cord?


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Swiss has good 2008 but fears 2009
12 / 03 / 2009
SWISS International Air Lines (Group) achieved earnings before interest and taxes of CHF 507 million (US$426 million) for 2008, a 6.5 per cent decline on the prior-year result.
Total income from operating activities was increased 7.6 per cent to CHF 5,267 million ($4,429 million) over the same period. Swiss was unable to maintain the revenue growth of the earlier months in the fourth quarter of the year, whose CHF 1,295 million ($1,089 million) operating income remained broadly in line with the CHF 1,305 million ($1,097 million) of October-to-December 2007.
Swiss saw a clear weakening in demand for its services in the fourth quarter of 2008 – initially in the cargo sector, but also on the passenger front.
“All in all, 2008 was a good year for Swiss,” said chief executive officer, Christoph Franz. “Our company is profitable, achieved growth that was well above the market average and was able to continue the success of the last few years.
“At the same time, though, the business developments in the last three months of the year have given us a taste of what we can expect in 2009. The 23.2 per cent industry-wide decline in cargo volumes that we saw in January of this year, shows just how severe the current economic crisis is. And our passenger business is also feeling the effects of this more and more, especially in the business travel segment.”
Swiss WorldCargo experienced a sizeable decline in demand towards the end of the year, with cargo tonnage for December over 20 per cent down on the same month in 2007. Cargo load factor for 2008 as a whole fell seven percentage points to 77.6 per cent, while total cargo tonne-kilometres sold for the year were a 5.6 per cent improvement on the 2007 result.


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Four Loko will have to label their cans with better alcohol information and make their container resealable so the drink wouldn’t have to be consumed in one sitting.
These new rules come in part from a settlement won by the FTC who sued Four Loko maker Phusion Projects for wrongly claiming the 23.5 ounce can contained an alcoholic equivalent to having one or two 12-ounce beers and that it was safe to consume in one sitting. It’s been determined that the Four Loko drink contains about four or five beers’ worth of alcohol.
Company co-founder Jaisen Freeman said Phusion did not agree with the allegations, but considered the agreement a way to move forward. “We share a common interest with the FTC in providing consumers with information and packaging options to help them make informed, responsible decisions,” Freeman said.
Phusion Projects will be required to print an Alcohol Facts label on all containers of Four Loko drinks or any other flavored malt beverage that has more than two servings of alcohol.
The FTC initially proposed a deal with Phusion requiring new label about alcohol facts on drinks with more than 2.5 servings of alcohol. But in turn, the agency got many complaints about the dangers of the super-sized drinks, especially with underage drinkers. So they lowered the disclosure trigger to more than two servings of alcohol, according to the Daily News.
The public in their comments wanted the commission to ban the Four Loko drink altogether, but the FTC says it has no jurisdiction to force the product off the market.
Four Loko was in spot light back in 2010 when college students from New Jersey and Washington state had to be hospitalized after consuming Four Loko. Some states banned Four Loko in worries of mixing caffeine and alcohol and it’s potential of death. Four Loko had been marketed as an alcoholic energy drink at that time.
The Four Loko drink makers decided to remove the caffeine all together after the FDA warned the company and some of it’s rivals about “blackout in a can” drinks combining alcohol and caffeine. They started to sell Four Loko without the energy but still with alcohol.
Four Loko sued over heart damage
A man in New Jersey is suing the makers of an alcohol-and-caffeine drink called “Four Loko” because he claims it caused permanent heart damage.
Monster Energy Drink Causes Death: ‘Caffeine Toxicity’
5-Hour Energy Side Effects: FDA Investigates 13 Deaths Possibly Linked
Inhalable Caffeine by AeroShot Labeled a Club Drug By Sen. Schumer
Hand Sanitizer, Teens Drinking to Get Drunk


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Organizations to work together for the benefit of mobile technology
The GSMA Group, a conglomerate of mobile network operators that work to establish and maintain standards, has announced that it will partner with the Shanghai International Technology Exchange Center (SITEC) for this year’s Mobile Asia Expo. The event brings together leaders in the mobile technology industry and encourages collaboration and networking while exhibiting some of the latest trends to emerge into the industry. Together, GSMA and SITEC will work to make this year’s event one to remember. During the event, the GSMA will work to promote the augmented reality features that it has made use of in its years of operating the Mobile World Congress.
Augmented reality continues to cause waves in the mobile tech industry
Augmented reality has been a big part of the mobile technology industry lately. The technology has managed to garner a great deal of interest amongst mobile companies because of its interactive nature. Augmented reality proved quite complicated to implement in the past, causing many companies to shy away from the technology. As mobile hardware has become more advanced, however, the demand for augmented reality has been on the rise, especially as more consumers become exposed to it.
Augmented Life Zone of Mobile Asia Expo expected to garner a great deal of attention
SITEC, whose purpose it is to promote Chinese mobile technology to the rest of the world, will assist the GSMA in promoting the Mobile Asian Expo event, which will be held June 20-22, 2012. The GSMA will pay particular attention to the event’s Augmented Life Zone, which will highlight the various applications of augmented reality. The technology’s practical and entertaining aspects will be showcased in the Augmented Life Zone and developers will have a chance to show off how they have been using the technology in their latest creations.
GSMA and SITEC to work together on future projects, according to agreement
This will be the first event the GSMA and SITEC collaborate on. According to the agreement made between the two companies, future events that will be hosted by SITEC will benefit from the promotional power of the GSMA Group. SITEC will also assist in promoting the GSMA’s augmented reality standards throughout China.


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Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IAC) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report report published on Tuesday, December 19th.
According to Zacks, “IAC is a leading media and Internet company. It is organized into four segments: The Match Group, which consists of dating, education and fitness businesses with brands such as Match.com, OkCupid, Tinder, The Princeton Review and DailyBurn; Search & Applications, which includes brands such as About.com, Ask.com, Dictionary.com and Investopedia; Media, which consists of businesses such as Vimeo, Electus, The Daily Beast and CollegeHumor; and eCommerce, which includes HomeAdvisor and ShoeBuy. IAC’s brands and products are among the most recognized in the world reaching users in over 200 countries. The Company is headquartered in New York City and has offices worldwide. “
Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Guggenheim reissued a buy rating and set a $135.00 price target (up from $130.00) on shares of IAC/InterActiveCorp in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. BidaskClub raised IAC/InterActiveCorp from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, September 26th. Benchmark lifted their target price on IAC/InterActiveCorp from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, September 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $160.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of IAC/InterActiveCorp in a report on Friday, October 13th. Finally, Jefferies Group reiterated a buy rating on shares of IAC/InterActiveCorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. IAC/InterActiveCorp presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $143.62.
IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ IAC) opened at $134.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11,040.00, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.20, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.09. IAC/InterActiveCorp has a 52 week low of $66.35 and a 52 week high of $137.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.
IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 8th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.14). IAC/InterActiveCorp had a return on equity of 4.26% and a net margin of 11.81%. The firm had revenue of $828.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $810.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. research analysts predict that IAC/InterActiveCorp will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.
In related news, Director David S. Rosenblatt sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.00, for a total transaction of $798,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregg Winiarski sold 62,253 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.19, for a total transaction of $7,917,959.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 175,929 shares of company stock worth $22,516,569. Corporate insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its holdings in IAC/InterActiveCorp by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 23,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,389,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in IAC/InterActiveCorp by 221.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 17,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,824,000 after acquiring an additional 12,157 shares during the last quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in IAC/InterActiveCorp by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 254,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. acquired a new stake in IAC/InterActiveCorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $193,000. Finally, ClariVest Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in IAC/InterActiveCorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $133,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.61% of the company’s stock.
TRADEMARK VIOLATION WARNING: This news story was reported by The Lincolnian Online and is the sole property of of The Lincolnian Online. If you are accessing this news story on another website, it was illegally copied and reposted in violation of US and international trademark & copyright laws. The original version of this news story can be viewed at https://www.thelincolnianonline.com/2018/01/14/iacinteractivecorp-iac-downgraded-by-zacks-investment-research-updated-updated-2-updated.html.
IAC/InterActiveCorp (IAC) is a media and Internet company. The Company’s brands include HomeAdvisor, Vimeo, Dictionary.com and Match Group’s online dating portfolio, which includes Tinder, PlentyOfFish and OkCupid. Its segments include Match Group, HomeAdvisor, Video, Applications and Publishing. Match Group includes the dating and non-dating businesses of Match Group, Inc HomeAdvisor is a home services digital marketplace that helps connect consumers with home professionals in North America, as well as in France, the Netherlands and Italy under various brands.
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What do you get when you combine two light bulbs, a bucket of water, and a solar panel? According to AgriSolar, a lot of dead bugs.
The company is capturing the sun’s energy to kill nocturnal insects that feast on crops. By day, a solar panel charges a battery. By night, the battery (set on a timer) powers a pair of patented light bulbs that lure insects in with one attractive wavelength and disorient them with another. Within a foot of the bulb, the dizzy bugs drop, falling to their watery deaths inside a bucket. No zapping or chemicals required.
Research suggests solar panels themselves can beckon bugs to their doom, but AgriSolar relies on wavelengths between 361 and 368 nanometers.
The company, which is headquartered in Colorado but conducts most of its testing in China, says some farmers have reported insect reductions of up to 90 percent. Results no doubt depend on what crop you’re cultivating and what critter you’re trying to control. An organic blueberry farmer in New Jersey says it even works on caterpillars. I wouldn’t expect caterpillars to crawl into the bucket, but perhaps as moths they would fly toward the light. AgriSolar has installed 100,000 systems already (mostly in China), testing its efficacy on farms and orchards that grow rice, peaches, corn, strawberries, tomatoes, oranges, coffee and other produce.
Now they have their eyes on Europe. In response to the European Union’s regulations to boost more sustainable methods of pest control, the company is starting a big westward push of their product.
Liang Chao Wei, AgriSolar's Chief Executive Officer, in a statement:
Our state-of-the-art insect control systems have seen great success in the Chinese agricultural market, which has allowed us to grow our revenues very quickly. Additionally, we have recently added a meaningful amount of additional manufacturing capability that will allow us to produce in the volumes necessary to satisfy the additional strong demand we are expecting within the European market.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimated worldwide insecticide usage in 2007 at 892 million pounds, with the United States accounting for about 93 million pounds of it. If it works as reported, AgriSolar could lure in more U.S. organic farms in addition to their European targets.
But on these farms, a new device would be needed every 1.5 acres or so. At around $1,000 for a two-bulb unit, the systems could add up. Compared to organic pesticides prices, however, the company believes their product, which lasts between 7 and 10 years, to be competitive. Other chemical-free pest control methods include row covers, welcoming natural pest predators, hedgerows, and crop rotations to disrupt the pest's life cycle.
Related on SmartPlanet:
Images: USDA, AgriSolar, Flickr_danmachold
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com


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The online ad market is slowing, and Chinese rival Baidu is a global search threat. But Google's idea lab is still a powerhouse to bet on
You probably won't get rich betting against Google (GOOG). Every quarter, cynics predict a stumble. Most of the time, they're wrong. Even when Google misses analysts' forecasts, the company still manages to deliver impressive gains.
Still, as Google heads toward $20 billion in sales this year, ranking No. 5 among the fastest-growing tech companies tracked by BusinessWeek, it's tempting again to ask whether anything can derail the company's growth engine. And while the company's reach and potential are undeniable, it will undoubtedly face challenges on many fronts—particularly from rivals, regulators, and the recession.
But first, there's the question of the company's reach. Google has an infinitely scalable search advertising model—fueling geometric growth selling ads on its own site through its AdWords program, and on more than a million third-party sites through what it calls AdSense.
Therein lies the first challenge: The company is too successful. Google's share of U.S. search queries is 63%, and it logged its fastest year-over-year query growth in the third quarter. If Google continues to place search ads on AOL, with 4% share, and partners with Yahoo! (YHOO), which has 20%, Google would see its effective search share (direct and indirect) rise to 87%. Even without the added reach, Google gets more money from search queries than its competitors. As a result, analysts estimate the company captures 75% of search-ad revenues and over 90% of search-ad profits. That's a powerful market position.
So what's the problem? Much of the company's growth will happen in the lower-margin AdSense business. As Google becomes the market for search, by definition it grows with the market, rather than ahead of it. That means it must rely on AdSense over AdWords to drive growth through third-party sites—especially as it infiltrates new markets, such as TV, radio, print, and even electronic games.
But not all its search businesses are created equal. A dollar sold on AdWords translates into 60¢ to 70¢ of operating profit, which has turbocharged Google's financials. (AdWords is two-thirds of Google's business.) By contrast, a dollar sold through AdSense translates into 40¢ of net revenue to Google and only 10¢ to 20¢ of operating profit.
Now, consider Google's global rivals. Asia is the world's fastest-growing region for Internet search—and China is the engine of online growth in Asia. With 253 million Internet users, China has surpassed the U.S. Google may be No. 1 in Australia, Singapore, and India, but it's a distant No. 2 in China. Its archrival, Baidu (BIDU), has a 63% share, compared with Google's 26%. Either Google reverses positions with Baidu, or its pace of global search growth slows.
Google has pursued growth through diversification. While even CEO Eric Schmidt admits "Google is focused on too many things," there's no arguing with the imperative for innovation. Salesforce.com (CRM) CEO Marc Benioff says Google ought to take a page from archrival Microsoft (MSFT). "What they need to do is build a full portfolio of revenue, as Microsoft has," he says. "They have a fantastic cash cow. They need a goat and a chicken."
mixed acquisition record
Happily, there's a lot of promising stuff going on. Google Apps is the first in a series of offerings placing Google at the forefront, with Amazon (AMZN) and a few other tech giants, to make cloud computing a reality for large and small enterprises alike. Google Android seeks to revolutionize the mobile phone with its open operating system for content and applications—and it could reach beyond the phone to other Internet-enabled devices. Mobile search is already led by Google, with a commanding 63% share. (It's a duopoly: Yahoo owns another 35%.) But none of these initiatives, as yet, is generating meaningful revenue or profit. So much for the goat and chicken.
Google's record on growth through acquisition is equally mixed. Google bought 5% of AOL, predicated on a $20 billion valuation, but Wall Street thinks the investment is already impaired. Google acquired YouTube, but it has yet to crack the code on making money from online video. Later, Google acquired DoubleClick, the online display advertising company, to some acclaim. The company was widely viewed as a cash machine—except in a recession, when display sales are down. Still, Google has a war chest of some $17 billion in cash and cash equivalents; now isn't a bad time for it to go shopping—online assets are all deeply discounted.
Which brings us to the macroeconomy. Growth in the online ad market has slowed by half. Search is the most defensible type of online advertising, but it faces downward pressure. Users are clicking more, but they're buying less. So advertisers are lowering prices paid for keywords. As Google has positioned itself increasingly as an ad-driven enterprise, it's subject to the tribulations of the media sector. And it's not as if the technology sector is feeling a lot better these days.
a cabinet post for schmidt?
Add an upcoming Presidential election, and you've got real uncertainty. Schmidt is actively campaigning for Barack Obama. If John McCain wins, Google could face retribution. If Obama wins, Google could see increased antitrust resistance to its proposed search tie-up with Yahoo and a tightening of consumer privacy regulations from a Democratic Congress. That, in turn, could hobble the efficacy of online advertising. There's also an outside chance Google could lose its CEO; Obama's campaign has talked about making Schmidt the country's first chief technology officer.
So how does Google extend its winning streak? In the end, it's arguably all about amassing the most talent without falling prey to what's known as Big Company disease, a condition that can leave a once-fleet-footed business complacent, overstaffed, and bureaucratic. In a recession, Google will need to do what "normal" companies do: streamline its workforce, cut budgets, and realign investments.
But it's also got to keep generating brilliant ideas. Google operates a vast network of data centers housing over a million computers operating as a massively parallel computing resource. It may be the most powerful "computer" in the world. Marry that with the hundreds of millions of queries Google "sees" everyday, and you've got a laboratory of unprecedented scale to address critical technology, marketing, and media measurement questions. If that's not a growth engine worth betting on, what is?


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Coles has launched a further salvo in the supermarket price wars which is liable to upset insurance brokers as much as competing food giants.
The supermarket moved into offering car insurance from parent group Wesfarmers under its own Coles’ brand two years ago but announced overnight it would introduce a price beating guarantee for drivers aged 30 and over who switched their comprehensive car insurance policy to Coles Car Insurance
Coles General Manager of Strategy and Financial Services Richard Wormald says the group believes car insurance is too costly and it encourages consumers to shop around, including with Coles, for a cheaper policy.
Reflecting the group’s retailing background Wormald says that Coles Insurance lines have “an ever-increasing reputation for providing quality products that cost less”.
The Coles car insurance policies sit alongside a suite of home insurance policies also available from the supermarket chain as well as those under the wider Wesfarmers branding which includes broking group OAMPS.
To coincide with the introduction of the price beat guarantee, Coles has launched marketing campaign in New South Wales and Victoria across TV, radio, print and digital.


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WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale prices rose 0.3 percent in December, led higher by more expensive gas, food and cars.
The producer price index, which measures price changes before they reach consumers, increased 1.6 percent last year, the Labor Department said Friday. That's the biggest 12-month gain since September 2014. Still, it is low historically and suggests inflation is largely in check.
The Federal Reserve has begun to slowly raise interest rates as the job market picks up and is keeping a close eye on inflation. With wages starting to increase more quickly, companies may lift prices to offset those costs. Yet wholesale price increases remain below the Fed's target for overall inflation of 2 percent.
December's gain was led by a big climb in wholesale gas prices, which rose 7.8 percent. Food prices increased 0.7 percent, with chicken eggs, a volatile category, jumping 69.3 percent. Fresh fruits and melons, which soared last month, declined by the most in more than six years.
Prices at the pump rose in December. They averaged $2.35 a gallon nationwide Thursday, 14 cents higher than a month ago.
Excluding the food, energy and retailer profit margin categories, which are volatile month to month, prices rose 0.1 percent in December and 1.7 percent in the past year.
Consumers have seen higher prices in housing and health care in recent months. That's pushed up core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, by 2.1 percent in the past year.
Ongoing price gains could lead the Fed to raise rates more often this year. At a meeting last month, Fed officials lifted short-term rates by a quarter of a percentage point, to between 0.5 percent and 0.75 percent. They also forecast three additional increases in 2017.


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Since RAGBRAI began in August 1973, Harper Cycling and Fitness of Muscatine has been a part of it and owner Greg Harper, owner and longtime RAGBRAI mechanic, said this year will be no different.
On Saturday, Harper said he plans to attend the RAGBRAI route announcement party in Des Moines. He said the party is scheduled from 6 to 10 p.m. and he believes the announcement of this year’s route for the Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa will be held about 8 p.m.
“I am one of three people who have ridden parts of every RAGBRAI,” Harper said. “This will be 51, although we had one year off for COVID. I rode the first 10, then my dad rode the second 10, and we have been an official RAGBRAI repair shop since 1994. In being an official shop my main focus is repairing bikes.”


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The moment that Model Chrissy Teigen has been waiting for has finally arrived. The Potus has blocked the Model from Twitter. Chrissy has been taunting Trump for 9 years.
The Model stated that she's been a Trump hater for years; so she actually felt accomplished by being blocked. Her last Tweet to Donald Trump stated that nobody likes him. Maybe the Tweet got under his skin because she was immediately blocked.


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Collectors Sherry and Joel Mallin Are Sending More Than 1,000 Artworks to Sotheby’s—the Largest Contemporary-Art Collection Ever Auctioned
The collection will be auctioned in multiple sales, starting at Sotheby's London next week.
When Sherry and Joel Mallin, two of the world’s top collectors of contemporary art, announced earlier this year they would be selling their New York estate—and the art collection inside it—the art world collectively gasped.
“We’re basically selling everything,” Joel Mallin, 89, said in a recent interview. “It eliminates, to some extent, worrying: ‘Should we sell this one or that one?’”
The collection includes more than 1,000 large- and small-scale works by the likes of Louise Bourgeois, Robert Gober, Anselm Kiefer, Peter Doig, Robert Irwin, William Kentridge, George Condo, Yayoi Kusama, and many others.
Initially, the couple dreamed about selling the house and the collection as a package, but have instead changed course and will be offering the art through a series of sales at Sotheby’s in London and New York, estimated to reach $50 million.
Highlights from one event, which takes place October 14 at Sotheby’s London, include Thomas Schütte’s Bronzefrau Nr.11 (Bronze Woman No. 11), a large-scale sculpture with a pre-sale estate of between £2 million and £3 million ($2.3 million to $3.4 million); Louise Bourgeois’s Listening One (1981), a six-foot-tall multi-totem sculpture belonging to the artist’s first mature body of work, “The Personages,” with a pre-sale estimate of between £1.3 million to £1.8 million ($1.5 million to $2 million).
Next month, at Sotheby’s New York, a Robert Irwin work from 1965–67, which carries an estimate of $3 million to $4 million, is among the highlights.
The couple’s decision to sell the entirety of the house’s collection, in addition to the property’s 70 outdoor sculptures, ultimately came down to wanting it to be seen, they said. While the couple has donated many artworks to museums over the years, they didn’t like the idea of doing so with the bulk of their collection, which was likely to “go into a basement and no one will see the artists’ work,” Sherry recently told Bloomberg.
The couple added that they also considered turning their collection and home into a foundation, but opted against it due to the endowment costs associated with caring for it long-term. “”[Y]ou have to endow it extremely heavily for the town to even consider it—but in our case, most of our wealth is in our art,” Sherry said. “In order to endow it, we’d have to sell the art, and then we’d have nothing to endow anymore. So that didn’t seem like a good idea.”
The Mallins first met when they were just 14 years old, and then went on to live separate lives. They eventually reconnected in the 1980s over their mutual love of art.
As a couple, the pair went on to become big supporters of an emerging group of artists in London during the early 1990s, now popularly known as the Young British Artists, or YBAs.
Now, as the Mallins part ways with their 15-acre art-filled home, Sotheby’s estimates it will be the largest private collection of contemporary art—with more than 1,000 works—ever to come to auction.
“The Mallin Collection is one forged by passion, and never by compromise,” said Lucius Elliott, a specialist of contemporary art at Sotheby’s, in a statement. “The collection is an encyclopedic glance at art history over the last 50 years, it is a great honor to be entrusted with the opportunity to bring it to market, and share the Mallins’ remarkable accomplishment with the wider public.”
Discovering the property at Buckhorn Park, located in Pound Ridge, they found a unique opportunity to exhibit some of the large-scale sculptures they had acquired over the years. The property itself, which boasts its own private lake, an apple orchard, a main house with four beds and five baths, a party house, two separate guest cottages, an in-ground pool, and a purpose built “Art Barn,” are being sold separately for an asking price of $6.5 million. (One artwork, an Andy Goldsworthy sculpture, comes with the property.)
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Express that it:
A new statement discover a dramatic reduced amount of Californians’ reliance on pay day loan once the the result of pandemic-related regulators guidance, in addition to jobless advantages, rent save, eviction moratoriums, stimuli monitors and loan forbearance. However, professionals alert that use regarding pay day loan is expected so you’re able to rebound after regulators guidance closes.
Keep tabs on Brand new California Rules And Politics News
Pandemic government guidelines may have helped some Californians avoid using costly payday loan just last year, however positives state it could be too-soon so you can commemorate.
A different report unearthed that from inside the 2020, California noticed a great forty% , a drop comparable to $1.step 1 million. Nearly half a million less somebody failed to have confidence in payday loan, a thirty% miss versus 2019.
Inspite of the unmatched employment losings due to this new pandemic just last year, government-financed financial aid is adequate to exceedingly affect the payday loan community, according to the California Institution away from Economic Security and you may Creativity. The brand new state dept. put out brand new declaration last week as an ingredient of the constant efforts to regulate and you can oversee user borrowing products.
The statement occurs the latest pumps from California’s the brand new $262.six billion funds, having numerous applications aimed at reducing economic inequality for the state. An unmatched $11.nine million could be allocated to Wonderful County Stimuli payments, a single-date benefit not set-to keep in many years to come.
“That have the individuals gurus disappearing, we carry out predict here to get possibly a keen uptick (for the payday loans),” told you service spokesperson Maria Luisa Cesar.
Simply temporary relief
Globe agencies, condition authorities and you may user advocates concur: regulators direction assisted Californians avoid its dependence on cash advance-short-identity, high-focus loans that must be paid off completely whenever consumers get their 2nd salary. Extra reports discovered that California’s trend decorative mirrors trends various other says.
Thomas Leonard, exec director of California Monetary Suppliers Organization, said that 2020 is actually an emotional year for the globe once the brand new pandemic changed just how people managed their money. His relationship is short for organization away from https://autotitleloansplus.com/installment-loans-ms/ quick-buck consumer fund, pay day loan, examine cashing or other individual financial functions.
“Need for brief-dollar financing decrease precipitously from inside the 2020, as much users lived family, paid off financial obligation, addressed less expenses, and you can received lead costs regarding the government,” Leonard said for the an announcement.
Simultaneously, Cesar mentioned that this new get rid of in the pay day loan play with isn’t fundamentally indicative from Californians performing ideal financially.
“Which is merely as well simplified from an image,” she told you. “Bucks rescue work was able to help people make ends meet, but everyone is not-out of one’s woods.”
Marisabel Torres, the fresh new California coverage director into Heart to own In control Credit, mentioned that in spite of the impression pandemic save got into the Californians, one of those programs currently have a conclusion go out. California’s eviction moratorium, like, is placed to end Sept. 31. The latest rollout away from local rental recommendations could have been slow. Clients having outstanding lease is up against potential eviction just in case you can’t afford to expend lease.
Apart from this past year, the newest statement revealed that the application of cash advance features stayed secure for the last ten years. Although usage of payday loan twofold about ages after the the great Market meltdown.
The official declaration provides zero context exactly how people utilized pay-day loan profit 2020, but a study from the Pew Charity Have confidence in 2012 discovered one 69% out of users make use of the fund having continual expenses and book, goods and expenses.
Almost 50 % of all of the cash advance people from inside the 2020 had a keen average annual income out of below $30,100 annually, and 31% away from people made $20,one hundred thousand or reduced annually. Brand new yearly accounts in addition to consistently tell you large utilize among customer’s and make more than $90,100000 a-year, although the financial supervision institution was not in a position to establish as to the reasons.


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Place your business in front of tens of thousands of people this summer in Springfield's celebration of Route 66.
The 7th annual 'Birthplace of Route 66 Festival' runs August 11-12 in downtown Springfield. This year's festival features a parade through the streets of downtown, classic cars and live music concerts.
Applications are now being accepted for vendors to this event which drew just under 40,000 to the event last year. For further information call (417) 268-3016.
Click HERE for a vendor application.


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Report: Increasing spending on mobile advertising
According to a report from UK-based Jupiter Research, advertising in smartphone applications will increase to US$7.1 billion by 2015, up from US$2.4 billion in 2012. The increase in spending will be primarily due to greater use of rich media in ads as well as increased application usage by consumers, according to the report. The company expects mobile advertising spending to triple by 2017. The report also found that North America and western Europe will account for 60% of total advertising spending by 2017. "Mobile advertising gives marketers the chance to reach consumers on a more personal level than any other type of advertising," said report author Charlotte Miller. "Creating immersive and entertaining experiences to attract the attention of the consumer is essential for marketers wanting to take advantage of the massive increase in app usage."


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By Jennifer Yousfi
Weak U.S. retail sales sent domestic markets plunging yesterday (Wednesday), as worries about a deepening recession intensified.
All three major U.S. indices ended the day with heavy losses. At the New York close, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average Index had posted a steep decline of 733.08 points (-7.87%), to close at 8,577.91. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 150.68 points (-8.47%), to reach 1,628.33. And the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 90.17 points (-9.03%), to settle at 907.84.
All sectors were down with the consumer basic materials sector (-14.05%) and the energy sector (-14.48%) posting the largest declines.
“I don't think things can get much worse,” Brian Bethune, chief financial economist at Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts, told Bloomberg News. “September was a terrible month in terms of the overall situation, in both sales and production. The fourth quarter is guaranteed to be a terrible quarter.”
Retail sales in September declined 1.2%. It was the largest one-month slide in three years and worst than median economist expectation of a 0.7% decline. The drop in consumer spending came before the heavy stock market losses of October.
“The consumer shut up shop even before the markets got crushed and that is not good news for the economy,” Joel Naroff, president and chief economist of Naroff Economic Advisors, said in a research note yesterday.
With consumer spending responsible for the bulk of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), the unexpected decline in retail sales in the last month of the third quarter strengthens the possibility that GDP declined in the third quarter as well, signaling the U.S. economy contracted.
In a separate report, the government announced yesterday that the Producer Price Index (PPI) fell 0.4%. PPI measures the wholesale prices manufacturers pay for materials to produce finished goods.
“Price pressures will likely start easing going forward as the full extent of the slowdown hits home,” said Naroff.
With inflation on the wane and the risk to economic growth heightened, the U.S. Federal Reserve could have leeway for further easing at the next meeting of its monetary-policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, slated for Oct. 28 – 29.
"The question on everyone's minds is how deep of a recession (will there be)," Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT Forex in New York, told Reuters.
"Today's (retail sales) number indicates a very strong chance of negative GDP growth for the third quarter and would certainly pave the way for another 25 to 50 basis points of easing (of monetary policy) over the next few months, and the PPI number confirms that as inflation is coming down as well," Lien said.
News and Related Story Links:
U.S. Economy: Retail Sales Slide Signals Deepening Recession
Worst retail sales in three years
Stocks Plunge on Gloomy Data


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Pierce County sheriff’s detectives are asking for the public’s help in identifying an armed man who held up a Spanaway grocery store March 18.
The man loitered outside Pick & Go Grocer in the 100 block of Military Road South for 10 minutes before walking into the store about 9:35 p.m. He then pulled out a gun, demanded money from the clerk and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.
He was black, in his 20s, about 5-feet-7 to 5-feet-9 with a slender build. He was wearing a black hooded Nike sweatshirt, plaid fleece cap with ear flaps, black athletic pants with three white stripes om the side and a black piece of fabric covering his lower face.
Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering up to a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of charging of the robber.
Tipsters can call 253-591-5959.


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Steamboat City Council debates whether to foot bill for downtown holiday lights
October 27, 2017
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — The Steamboat Springs City Council won't be the grinch that stole funding from the downtown holiday lights.
But some council members appeared reluctant this week to foot the $18,000 bill for the holiday ambiance next year because they felt downtown business owners should start paying for the lights instead.
"After we spend $11 million (on downtown improvements) and we're going to start hauling off this snow (on Yampa Street), they can't come up with any money to supply lights in their own neighborhood?" Council President Walter Magill asked of the downtown business and property owners. "I'm getting dismayed with these business owners …retail is tough . . . but $18,000 isn't a ton of money, and we're just asking them to split it."
Magill voted in favor of a budget that would not have included the extra funding for the holiday lights for the 2018-19 winter season.
Kathi Meyer also questioned why the city was continuing to fund the downtown holiday lights when she thought the city's elected officials made it clear last year that the merchants and property owners needed to start pitching in instead.
Meyer said she would support putting more money back in the budget for the city's bus service, but she was having trouble giving the funding to Main Street Steamboat for the holiday lights.
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But after Main Street Executive Director Lisa Popovich explained how hard it would be for her organization to raise money for the lights, Meyer later joined five other council members to keep the holiday light funding in the city budget for another year.
The council decided to cut $20,000 of special event funding instead.
While the light funding was spared another year, some council members wanted to make it clear that the money would go away in the future if downtown property owners next year fail to agree to a tax increase to help pay for downtown maintenance and upkeep.
"If the (business improvement district) is not formed (and funded), it goes away," City Manager Gary Suiter said of the funding. "That would be a compelling reason for a business improvement district."
Popovich agreed that it was time for the downtown business and property owners to tax themselves to help pay for such things as the lights. But she said the process will take time, and she didn't want a funding cut from the city to spoil the chances of getting the tax increase passed.
A vote is likely to occur next year on whether to fund the business improvement district.
"I would hate to see something as small as the lights jeopardize something that would help in a more meaningful way," Popovich said. "We are gaining momentum (for the business improvement district). We are getting support."


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Google Overhauls Google Contacts
Google has completely redesigned Google Contacts, the contact-management tool associated with Gmail. The online app has a brand new look and feel that brings it inline with many of Google's existing services. One of the main improvements is the ability to better manage duplicate contacts. Google said it can now keep information up-to-date by blending users' data with its own Google profile data. Google Contacts now also shows the most recent emails and meetings users may have had with specific contacts so they can review their last few messages. Google is offering the new Google Contacts as a preview online. Google didn't say if or how the new Google Contacts service will affect Android's contact application.
Apr 10, 2020
Apple and Google will work together to build interoperable contact-tracing technology into both the Android and iOS phone OSes. The technology will use Bluetooth — which has a typical range of about 30 feet — to keep track of everyone you come near, so that public health workers can quickly look for additional new infections when someone is diagnosed with COVID19 (Coronavirus).
Feb 24, 2019
TCL Communication — the company behind Alcatel and BlackBerry phones — is planning to launch one or more foldable phones with a flexible display in 2020, and showed off several of its current concepts at the MWC trade show this week. The company has been actively working on the project for a couple of years already, the result of which is a proprietary, patented hinge design that the company calls DragonHinge.
Oct 30, 2018
Google today just made Gmail much more useful on iOS devices. The latest version of Google's mobile email app now allows users to view more than a single account at a time.
Apr 22, 2019
A new option has appeared in Google Pay that lets it automatically, continuously import "passes" (including tickets and loyalty cards) from emails received in Gmail. The option is disabled by default, but is available now for most users within the Google Pay app, under Settings > General > Gmail imports.
Nov 18, 2020
Google today launched a major revamp of its Google Pay app with a new interface and several major new features. Instead of a stack of cards and list of transactions, the new interface centers around the people and businesses you exchange money with, with a conversation-style interface for each person, group, and business.


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Cycling parts and accessories distributor Cooke Components has told CI.N of its intention to refocus its business model and step away from “regular” distribution.
Cooke Components MD Mathew Cooke said: “Since I hear the rumour mill is already in motion, let me firstly assure that we aren’t going to disappear!
“Quite simply I have taken a view on the current market, our current operations and my view forward for 2018/19. We are in the fortunate position where we don’t have outside investment and complex structures, allowing us to take decisions quickly and efficiently as the market changes.
“The decision has been taken to make a move away from what I would term the “regular” distribution model and focus on our trading business and own-brand VEL.
“It’s important for us to remain agile and have the most compelling offering in what will undoubtedly be a challenging market in the mid-term.
“We will be communicating further with our dealer base in the coming days on the changes,” Cooke added.


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This week, two more Global 5000 companies announced they were merging … Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Industries. Just watching The Global 5000 companies on a regular basis we see mergers and combinations on a regular basis.
This one feels different.
It is not often we see large, Japanese companies (outside the financial sector) merge. Plus this is not an industry like media or technology where technology has severely altered the landscape. The steel industry went thru a transformation years ago. The largest manufacturers are in India, China and Japan. And the industry is showing relatively stable year on year growth — not on a fast path.
Add in the aspect which is the operating costs and price of doing business in Japan vs China. China can produce steel at prices below Japan putting pressure on those manufacturers. Put the slow growth, changing market conditions and cheaper prices all together and you have the drivers behind the market action.


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The social media giant Facebook has finally announced its own Libra cryptocurrency, which had been in rumors for quite a long time. The company has also unveiled a wallet called Calibra for the Libra cryptocurrency, based on blockchain technology.
Facebook Libra Cryptocurrency
The major aim of this all-new cryptocurrency is to allow users to save as much they can. Users can also send, receive and spend virtual money when required. They can use the Calibra app to transfer Libra or make purchases or pay bills just by scanning the QR code easily.
“The goal of this new project is to build a financial ecosystem that can plug in and empower billions of people,” Dante Disparte, head of policy and communications for the Libra Association said.
According to Facebook, Like Banks, Calibra follows various privacy steps such as verification and anti-fraud steps to ensure the safety of users. The Mark Zuckerberg owned company has already accused of so many security slips and that’s why now they want to make sure that Calibra wallet app will not share users’ information with other apps without its knowledge.
Facebook has collaborated with various popular names in the finance industry as co-founder for its Libra cryptocurrency project and made an association’s group of 28 founding members such as MasterCard, Visa, PayPal, Stripe, eBay, Spotify, Uber, Lyft, Vodafone Group, and more.
In an interview with Coindesk, Dante Disparte said, “Implied in this project is that wherever the Visa or Mastercard logo is accepted, Libra would follow suit.” “In so many ways it’s a great leap forward for cryptocurrencies and, in many respects, a mainstreaming of this asset class,” he added.
In a video surfaced online, it’s demonstrating the planned user interface along with how one can quickly send funds to their friends. While they will be sending Libra coins, the users can see their balance in their local fiat currency.
Since the news of Libra came out, Facebook has been banking high on the new arena. the new Calibra wallet could even attract more people but it will take time and effort to beat other established players like Google Pay and others.
Calibra will be available for download in sometime 2020. It will come as a separate app and also expected to be added on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Anyway, there’s still a lot of time left before the actual launch and so stay tuned for the further updates about this Libra cryptocurrency.


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It’s official: The longest expansion in U.S. history ended in February as the economy fell into deep recession, according to the group responsible for making such declarations.
The National Bureau of Economic Research on Monday said a 128-month expansion — the longest dating to 1854 — came to a halt in February. The recession also began the same month.
The NBER, a private research group led by the nation’s top economists, has long been considered the official arbiter of sorts for determining when business cycles start and end.
The ruling comes as no surprise. The coronavirus began to weigh on the U.S. in February and the pandemic struck hard in March, leading to a nationwide lockdown that shuttered most of the economy. The unemployment rate surged in April to the highest level on record at 14.7% and more than 45 million applications have been filed for unemployment benefits.
The economy has tumbled into such a deep recession that some forecasters predict up to a record 40% decline in gross domestic product in the second quarter. In the first quarter, the economy contracted by 4.8%, one of the deepest declines on record.
A recession is typically defined as two straight quarters of negative GDP, but the NBER has leeway to take into account the depth of a contraction, how quickly it occurs and how much of the economy is affected.
Based on that approach, the group said, the economy entered a recession a few months ago.
With all states reopening again to some degree or another, the economy has probably started to recover. Technically a new expansion might even be underway, meaning the recession has ended. The Dow Jones industrial average
“For what it’s worth, the recession likely ended in April,” said chief economist Scott Brown of Raymond James. “That just means the economy is growing again — not that the economy has recovered.”


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Shoe Wholesalers Lose Bid for COVID-19 Business Interruption Coverage in Conn.
June 21, 2021
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A group of shoe wholesalers are not entitled to coverage from Hartford Fire Insurance Co. for COVID-19 related business interruption losses because their losses fall within the policies’ Virus Exclusions, a Connecticut state judge has ruled.
On June 15, Judge Barbara Bellis of the Waterbury (Conn.) Superior Court further concluded that the government closure orders issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic did not cause Moda LLC, Marc Fisher Footwear Corp. and Easy Spirit LLC to sustain a direct physical loss of covered property.
The wholesalers design and sell footwear to various retailers, including Nordstrom, Macy’s and …


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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - SEPTA is inching closer to having what other transit systems have used for years -- smart card technology to replace tickets and tokens. But that delay may have a side benefit: your phone could serve as the smartcard.
SEPTA has gone through at least a two-year delay in awarding a contract to convert all fares on buses, trains and subways to smartcards.
SEPTA's chief of new payment technologies, John McGee, says the delay may have helped because the system now can include what's called mobile payment technology, in which your cell phone serves as the smartcard.
"You're tagging it. There's an RFID (radio frequency ID) chip that's contained in contactless credit and debit cards, but also in cell phones -- new smart phones," he said. "As phones change over, they will have this technology. I think its going to become very popular."
Formal approval of the smart card system is expected by the SEPTA board this fall, with a price tag in the area of $100 million.
Reported by Mike Dunn, KYW Newsradio 1060
for more features.


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‘Crypto Influencer’ Cooper Turley Launches Coop Records With $10 Million
Cryptocurrency influencer Cooper Turley launches Coop Records with $10 million in funding.
Coop Records is backed by crypto brokers like Audius and OpenSea. Turley says he seeks to address the power imbalance in the music industry that plagues labels and streaming services. He thinks NFTs are the right way to shake up the space.
“The biggest word I think of when it comes to web3 is ownership”, Turley Told CoinDesk. “So if you’re creating value for a network, you should be able to capture that value in the form of a token or some kind of NFT,” he explained.
Turley says Coop Records will act as an incubator, venture capital firm and record label all rolled into one.
He believes web3 is creating new monetization models for music, with NFTs being just one avenue. “Coop Records invests in platforms, artists and tokens uniquely enabled by web3. Think of it as a hybrid between a venture capital fund, a record label, and an incubator. We are working with the founders to create new revenue streams for music,” he said. tweeted.
“We should be able to invest in our favorite artists. What if an artist raised capital to create an ecosystem for their fans? This is the purpose of what we call “artist seed tours”. Coop Records is excited to invest in artists,” Turley continues.
“Spotify’s biggest artists should have a stake in the business. That’s why Coop Records is bringing in a select group of trusted artists as investors. Coop Records makes investing in music businesses more exciting,” Turley continues. Turley is co-founder and promoter of the online social club Friends With Benefits DAO. He was removed from the organization following racist tweets from years ago that resurfaced.
Now it looks like he’ll be focusing on trying to bring (yet another) Web3 approach to the music industry.
#Crypto #Influencer #Cooper #Turley #Launches #Coop #Records #Million #Crypto


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Pre-orders open for the Good Smile Ike 1/7 scale figure, launching in July 2022
Posted on 10 months ago by Bryce(@brodee922) in Images | 0 comments
Good Smile has set up a pre-order page for its newest Fire Emblem figure- Ike from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. The figure is approximately 16.53 inches in height and will cost $209.99.
The listing can be found here and it only ships to Canada and the United States (although other shipping options are available from Intelligent Systems website). The figure has a release date of July 2022 and will be available for pre-order until July 21, 2021 11:59pm PT.
Update: FE0 series 6 date – Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn art books on the way
Posted on 5 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, General Nintendo, News, Wii | 4 Comments
Update: As a bit of an aside, Fire Emblem 0 series 6 is due out on September 29 in Japan.
Two new Fire Emblem art books were announced for Japan during a Fire Emblem 0 live stream today.
In Japan, a Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance art book is due out on July 29. Amazon Japan has it up here for 3,456 yen.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn will also be getting an art book at some point. There’s no pre-order link just yet.
A look at Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn during early development
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Images, Wii | 0 comments
A book for Fire Emblem’s 25th anniversary was published in Japan not too long ago. It’s filled with all sorts of interesting information and images, such as the cancelled Fire Emblem 64.
Another notable item to be featured in the book is an early development photo of Fire Emblem on Wii, which is posted above. This went on to become Radiant Dawn.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn was reprinted last year
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii | 8 Comments
It looks like Nintendo actually did a small reprint of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn last year. A copyright date of 2014 has been spotted on some boxes for the game.
— Chris Kohler (@kobunheat) January 7, 2015
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn has ended up as one of the rarer Wii games. Despite the reprint, it still fetches a high price.


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On a market confronting with difficulties to purchase eggs during the last year, British company Ulrick & Short launches a new replacer: ovaprox.
The ingredient is high functional and can replace dried and whole egg. Derived from wheat, this clean label ingredient can be declared as wheat flour.
Available in powder form, which is then combined with water to produce the equivalent of liquid egg, ovaprox can replace up to 50% of egg in cakes without compromising on quality, taste, bake volume or shelf-life and in some cases can improve the overall texture of the finished product.
According to the producer, ovaprox is clean label, can be stored in ambient conditions, is micro stable, it doesn’t need to pre-hydrate, is a simple reformulation, improves moisture control, improves mouth-feel, increases crumb strength, enables consistent pricing, has a large potential savings and contributes to saturated fat reduction. Ovaprox can be used in cakes, muffins, premixes, and concentrates.
European bakers and confectioners confronted a crisis during 2017, as the prices of eggs continued to grow. According to a report presented by the European Commission, the evolution of prices has recorded an average 55.9% growth, November 2016 – November 2017.
“The current high price of egg and egg powder is here to stay for at least the medium term. Demand for egg is growing, and prices have been historically volatile simply by the nature of the market; future price hikes cannot be ruled out. We have seen a significant increase in demand from our customers for egg replacement. This is mainly due to price increases over recent months, and manufacturers have found that ovaprox offers a competitive and price stable alternative. Also, the growth of veganism across Europe and the US in recent years is forcing manufacturers to consider egg alternatives. All this considered, the indications point to the egg replacement market growing throughout 2018 and beyond,” Robert Lambert, executive assistant at Ulrick & Short, told WorldBakers.com.
We have seen a significant increase in demand from our customers for egg replacement.
Another problem affecting the industry last year was the scandal of eggs containing fipronil toxin.
The egg replacers market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2017 to 2022, to reach USD1.2bn by 2022, according to a report launched by Marketsandmarkets.