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Call me a news junkie, but I watch more than my fair share on TV, read more from multiple news sources, and try to pay attention to what goes on in the world. Almost a decade ago I wrote a much-criticized article about Apple’s then CEO. The Steve Jobs Death Watch.
I do not wish to sound an alarm so much as to alert others to what I see—an unhealthy looking Steve Jobs, leading his company at a critical juncture in technogadget history.
That was mid-2008, a few years after Jobs announced his bout with cancer, and a keynote presentation, where, frankly, he looked unhealthy.
I do wish to state the obvious. Steve Jobs does not look well and that is not good for Apple.
Jobs died just a few years later.
What do I see now?
I call it The Eddy Cue Pink Slip Watch. No, it’s not a new watch band for Apple Watch. It’s senior executive Eddy Cue losing more responsibility at Apple. This time it was moving Siri from Cue’s domain to senior VP of software engineering, Craig Federighi, the tall, affable, hunk who manages iOS and macOS– and now, Siri.
That executive shuffle follows on the heels of Eddy Cue losing responsibility for Apple’s App Stores to senior VP of marketing, Phil Schiller.
Cue has been at Apple since 1989, many years before Jobs returned in 1997.
Eddy Cue oversees Apple’s industry-leading content stores including the iTunes Store and Apple Music, as well as Apple Pay, Maps, Search Ads, Apple’s innovative iCloud services, and Apple’s productivity and creativity apps.
That seems to be a big plate.
Apple Music continues to fall behind Spotify. iTunes is one of Apple’s most criticized applications. Apple’s basic table stakes applications– Calendar, Mail, Reminders and others have fallen well behind third party competitors. Apple Pay works great but it’s hard to find stores that use it. iCloud has improved in the past few years, more because Apple controls the hardware server farms instead of renting from others.
Eddy also leads the newly created team responsible for developing all aspects of Apple’s worldwide video programming.
How’s that working out for Apple so far?
Both of the made-for-Apple TV-like shows have received at best mixed reviews (Carpool Karaoke and Planet of the Apps, respectively). I want to see Cue succeed as an Apple executive. But it looks like handwriting on the wall when major responsibilities start sliding to other executives.


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UK data could provide fresh hopes for Sterling
We’ve had a large round of gloomy outlooks for the UK in recent weeks, Brexit is, and will be the main economic concern for the UK. But this is where I deviate from the status quo. Whilst I accept Sterling is in for a bumpy ride over the next few years, the immediate reaction to Brexit is simply that, a blip.
For one, the UK is not leaving the EU for at least 2 years, and given the complexities surrounding the departure from the EU, this period is likely to persist well beyond these timescales. Regardless, the UK’s decision to leave the EU has not resulted in any immediate changes, as the dust settles I am expecting the outlook to return to similar levels to before.
Tomorrow’s Consumer price, given the positive retail sales figures despite ‘Brexit’, could give the Pound fresh strength. Consumer price is a measure of inflation and I am expecting the data to come out stronger than previously anticipated. Investors are monitoring carefully the impact of a Brexit vote on the economy, any signs of stability could be interpreted positively. Given that the UK is not leaving the EU in the short term, the UK has plenty of time to continue business as normal, the markets want to monitor this period of calm before the storm before making further investments.
Releases tomorrow do not give us the bigger picture post-Brexit
Whilst I am expecting a turn-around for the Pound I would not get too caught up in tomorrow’s data. Data being released is for July, a month on from the initial shock from the vote. At this stage data from August, September and October will provide more insight into the outlook. As it becomes more prevalent and understood that the UK remains within the EU for the foreseeable, I am expecting confidence to return to similar levels to before.
I am expecting exchange rates to return to levels close to 1.75 in the weeks ahead, Aussie Dollar sellers may want to make the most of this window of opportunity. Email me at [email protected] if you would like to discuss this update in more detail, or have a currency exchange to make.

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Talks at this year’s Meet the Manufacturer event will explore ‘Partnerships, Production and Provenance’ in UK manufacturing. Will you be joining us for our free drop-in seminars at this year’s Meet the Manufacturer?
Our Meet the Manufacturer trade show is even bigger and better this year, with more manufacturers than ever before and an exciting new hall dedicated to British brands British made goods are
Trade shows are one of the best ways to get exposure for your business, and a great opportunity to network too. Yet many companies feel daunted at the prospect of exhibiting at
Delegates and speakers at the Make it British Forum defined a clear agenda for the future of UK manufacturing – and you can all play your part Last week we held our first Make
One day event will provide answers to many questions that businesses have about developing a Made in Britain brand Over the past few years I have had thousands of people contacting me looking
Our third sourcing event took place at The Old Truman Brewery in London last week with over 120 companies from all corners of the British Isles exhibiting Thank you to everyone that
Clothing manufacturers, bag makers, fabric mills, knitwear factories, even a pottery…it’s your chance to find them all at ‘Meet the Manufacturer 2016’ One of the questions that I most often get asked is:
Make it British is seeking manufacturers and designers who are innovators in technology & design, product development and sustainability to take part in new ‘Dragon’s Den’ style competition at this year’s Meet the
Yes, we can make it all here, but first a lot needs to be done in terms of investment, education, public perception and good old-fashioned hard work… Hosted by Best of Britannia, the
The Great British Debate will see a prestigious panel of experts come together to raise awareness about buying British Taking place on Tuesday 22nd September at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, The
At our Meet the Manufacturer event in June, we wanted to keep everything made in Britain where possible. With tight deadlines and so much to get done, UK Lanyard Makers came to the
Picture highlights from our second trade show and conference Over 100 companies from across the fashion and textile sectors came together to exhibit at our Meet the Manufacturer trade show this year.
Our trade show and conference for UK manufacturing is doubling in size this year and shaping up to be a great event With just two weeks to go until the Make it British
Patrick Grant to open Make it British ‘Meet the Manufacturer’ conference We are delighted to announce that Patrick Grant will open our Meet the Manufacturer conference on 3 June, addressing the issue
Historic Tobacco Dock to host second addition of our UK manufacturer trade show After weeks of searching we have finally found a brand new home for our event, and are very excited
Inaugural event offers brands a way of tapping into the growing demand for British-made goods Chinese disposable income is currently rising at over 10% per year, and that new found wealth has


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There are already more than 37 countries that are affected by the coronavirus and the situation seems to be out of control, which will force the World Health Organization (WHO) to decree a worldwide pandemic soon.
In addition to the health precautions that the authorities are taking, on the internet a self-regulation has also begun to prevent the spread of false news about Covid-19.
That's why Facebook reaffirmed its commitment to avoid fake news and misinformation, and confirmed that ban all ads on its platform that show miracle medicines, cures and potions to eliminate the coronavirus.
"We recently implemented a policy to ban ads that refer to the coronavirus and create a sense of urgency, such as implying a limited supply or ensuring a cure or prevention," the company told the site. Business Insider, "We also have policies for surfaces such as Marketplace that prohibit similar behavior."
This is very much the same as Amazon, which also announced these days that it will suppress any notice of sale of products that promise to combat Covid-19.
But in addition, Facebook is doubling its efforts to have fact verifiers available, to confirm that the news circulating in the user news feed does not contain fake news about the disease.
Facebook buys a virtual reality game maker
On the other hand, Facebook also announced the incorporation into its product portfolio of Sanzaru Games, the studio behind the virtual reality action and adventure RPGAsgard’s Wrath.
Mike Verdu, director of AR / VR content for Facebook, hasannounced Acquisition in a publication on the Oculus website.
“Sanzaru is a veteran game developer, who has sent games to multiple platforms in the past, and also a pioneer of virtual reality: they have created four titles for the Oculus platform since 2016, when they were the first developer to partner with the team from Oculus Studios. ( Ripcoil,VR Sports Challenge,MARVEL Powers United VR,Asgard’s Wrath) .With Facebook's latest advances in virtual reality technology, Sanzaru can easily explore a future of rich and immersive original virtual reality content, ”was the statement to justify the purchase.


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The Islanders will soon be calling Brooklyn's Barclays Center their home, and the geographical change may also be accompanied by an aesthetic one. Sources tell the New York Post that the team's sports marketing team is weighing the adoption of a new color scheme, and that they are already showing prospective designs to focus groups.
The focus groups will be done in about 45 days—and then team owner Charles Wang will be updated, a source said.
Wang said recently that while he was turning over the business operations to Barclays Center, nothing much will change.
“We’re not going to rename the team,” he said at a recent conference. “The colors are the same. The logo is the same.”
However, Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark is leaning toward a recommendation that the team, which has the worst attendance in the National Hockey League, undergo a complete rebranding, the source said.
The Post goes on to speculate that the team might adopt a black-and-white color scheme, similar to what the Nets took for their uniforms when they arrived in Brooklyn. Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark seems to be on board with that idea:
Yormark, at the conference with Wang, without mentioning his study, said, “The colors black and white are the new badge of honor in Brooklyn. The question is, can we weave that into the [Islanders] color scheme, and create a connection to the fans here in Brooklyn?”
Here's how one such design could look.
The most important part of the Post's story, however, is the accompanying picture:
I don't think they know what the word "hipster" means.


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According to Research and Markets, the global decorative candle retail market will achieve a compound annual growth rate of more than 5% by 2023.
Ongoing growth in the home décor market will be key in driving the growth of the global decorative candle retail market, the market research firm stated. A rise in affluence across major economies coupled with lifestyle changes have generated a radical surge in demand for home décor products, the company added.
A qualifying factor to growth may be concerns about indoor air pollution and paraffin wax. However, Research and Markets, noted innovations in aromatherapy diffusers, plug-ins, and customized candles have commanded the attention of retailers and, among consumer groups, Millennials.


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In recognising the resilience of repurposed fabrics; the fragility of the environment; and ultimately the need for change, these individuals are creating beautiful, thoughtful and practical garments that stand the test of time, and represent a movement towards a more responsible, sustainable way of living.
The social influence market is just like any market. It uses currency (taste) to build capital (social status). This capital eventually gets monetized, and we inevitably discover that our internet “friends” may be making thousands and thousands of dollars for selling us brands, products, and ideas, just like celebrity pitch people did before them.
Image: grandriver/Getty Images
Supposedly environmental stock market indices used to help investors allocate hundreds of billions of pounds in investments include some of the world’s biggest contributors to fossil fuel pollution.
Content marketing is likely to be financing (and creating) more and more of what we do and see, as audiences become increasingly hostile to traditional advertising.
As with any social network, the brands that are getting the most out of Instagram are the ones who are smart about what they post, when they post, how often they post, and whom they're targeting.
There is no denying that it has mostly been a rough decade for print media. Many of the brands that have survived, however, appear poised for a profitable future by leaning into print as a pivotal part of their strategy, rather than merely preserving a dying platform.
Though many marketers believe they avoid gender stereotypes when creating advertising, according to a global survey detailed in a Kantar report, researchers noted that ad targeting is still extremely skewed within specific product categories.
In the investing world, there's always a hot new narrative. The narrative typically takes the form of an innovative product, a sector rotation or an "inevitable" theme.
For 2019, Ad Age has expanded their annual publishing-industry honors program. It's now known as the Ad Age Publishers A-List.


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The Live Company Group (LCG), the business behind the BRICKLIVE LEGO events, has reported a 47% jump in revenues in the first half of 2018.
As BRICKLIVE events and related exhibitions from the Live Company Group spread around the world, the company’s revenue and profits have significantly increased in the first half of 2018. LCG reported a 47% increase in revenues and a profit of £503,000, compared to a £391,000 loss in 2017.
“Having only created Live Company Group at the end of last year, we have achieved a great deal,” said chairman David Ciclitira. “2018 was always going to be a year of investment, and I am pleased that we have recorded a profit, whilst managing to expand internationally.
“I believe that this is a good base for our full-year results and we look forward to the growth in the second half of this year.”
Earlier this year, LCG launched an official convention named LEGO LIVE, but decided to launch BRICKLIVE in the USA and go no further with the licensed events. A subsidiary of the company, Parallel Live Group, has partnered with Three Six Zero to deliver the BRICKLIVE events in the USA.
Elsewhere in the world, China will get a three year tour of the BRICKLIVE Animal Paradise show, that will visit 20 cities in the country.
“The recent announcements relating to both China and BRICKLIVE’s launch of the joint venture in America are an indication of the exciting times we have ahead, both for the rest of 2018 and into 2019,” said Ciclitira.


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The Xbox One could outlast the Xbox 360, and by a long shot, according to Rare’s Danny Issac. Upon missing the Xbox One launch window with Kinect Sports Rivals, Issac believes that there will be a lack of opportunities to launch alongside a new console going forward.
This console may last 12 years
“There’s very few opportunities to be there day one, and there’s going to be even fewer going forward,” said Issac. “This console may last 12 years,” he continued in an interview with Video Gamer.
A twelve year cycle for the Xbox One would be lengthy by any standards, but Issac’s sentiment don’t echo with all in the industry. Ubisoft’s CEO believes that the Xbox One and PS4 life cycles could be shorter than the previous generation, and last only five years.
What say you? Do you think that consoles should have a shorter life cycle as Guillemot predicts? Longer, as Issac says? Or was the Xbox 360/PS3 generation just right for you? Let us know in the comments section.
- This article was updated on:March 7th, 2018


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The search traffic results are out, and Asia Pacific region shows a surge of 33% increase in the number of searches made in the last 12 months.
Based on the qSearch service by comScore Inc, one of the leading digital intelligence company, the search traffic results awards Google as the leader of the search engine table. With approx. 38.6 billion searches from September 2008 to September 2009, an average 88 searches per person per region is been done.
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With 44.1% searched on Google Sites, it showed dominance over majorly all the countries with an average of 59 searches per user which included Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.
Read next: History of the internet


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So Yu Televentures has officially launch a new flagship device on May 31 and that’s the way Yu Yunicorn is born. The phone gets Helio P10 processor coupled with 4 Gigs of RAM.
- 5.5 inch full Hd display
- 4 GB RAM
- 32 Gb internal memory
- Helio P10 processor from Mediatek
- 4000 mAh battery
- Android 5.1 Lollipop
- 13 mega pixel rear camera
- 5 mega pixel front facing camera
Good thing about this press invite is that the device name is officially confirmed. Unlike what all companies do, Yu will not give the name of their device like Yu Yunique 2 or Yu Yuphoria 2, as rumored earlier but instead go with some other name, starting with letter U. The name of the device is “Yu Yunicorn“.
Sadly just the name of the device is known to us, other specifications remains mysterious. Yu holds the exclusive rights to sell Cyanogen powered smartphones in India but recently ZUK Z1 was introduced in India which also runs on Cyanogen OS.
Yu recently launched Yureka Note phone, available at Rs 14,999 after Yu Yuhopia nearly went un-noticed.


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Amazon Music has officially launched its Gen Mex initiative to spotlight the evolving style and renewed popularity of the growing Mexican regional genre as it begins to reach global audiences.
The Regional Mexican category has always been used as a catch-all term that covers banda, grupero, norteño and other folk formats – but as more artists begin to experiment with Mexican music in new ways, the market has grown exponentially.
“Música Mexicana has its own categories not only in the Latin Grammys but also in the mainstream Grammys, an entire radio industry built around it and is rapidly overtaking reggaetón as the most streamed genre of music in Spanish”, Rocio Guerrero, global head of Latin at Amazon Music, says Variety.
“At Amazon Music, listening to música Mexicana grew 140% year-over-year… This revolution is unstoppable and it will continue to reach new heights.”
What Gen Mex aims to do is provide a hub for the vibrant genre while “trying to find the right ways to honor its [tradition]but forward-looking and a catalyst for its reinvention.
As part of this catapult into the limelight, Gen Mex promises to include new Mexican music programming and editorial content in the form of Amazon Originals. The first is a collaboration with Christian Nodal who stars in a short but cinematic intro video for Gen Mex. Nodal pays a sincere and proud tribute to Mexico, encapsulating the essence of the music and the artists.
“This one goes to my heroes, those who taught me to feel,” he begins. The video was also released with an Amazon Original song titled “Que Tal” written and performed by Nodal for Amazon Music. See the full video below.
Other Amazon Original contributors include Rancho Humilde CEO Jimmy Humilde for the “Las Que Rifan Para…” playlist where he shares his favorite songs. Gen Mex will also receive their own Amazon Original EP from Grupo Firme, which features four never-before-seen audio and video versions of their greatest hits as well as the recently released Harry Styles-inspired “Sabes A Tequila.”
This new initiative also makes room for what regional music has traditionally lacked: Mexican regional female artists. The platform will feature its “Las Amazonas” playlist aimed at raising the voices of gender-redefining women.
Four female artists will cover traditional classics through an Amazon Original that will show how this new generation of artists are redefining Mexican music. Itzel Vida will cover “Nieves De Enero” by Chalino Sánchez, Janely Rosa will cover “La Chacalosa” by Jenni Rivera, Michelle Bi will cover “Amorfoda” by Bad Bunny and Lluvia Arámbula will sing “El Rey de Corazones” by Ariel Camacho.
The platform will also integrate videos, live streams and over 50 playlists featuring a mix of traditional artists and newcomers. The first addition being regional rising stars, Yahritza Y Su Esencia, who will be featured on the platform’s Rompe program (created to support and accelerate the careers of emerging artists in the United States, Latin America and Spain).
Mexican music has increasingly blended with other genres and artists from around the world, resulting in chart-topping and genre-transcending collaborations.
Take for example Snoop Dogg and Banda MS’ 2020 release “Qué Maldición”, which pleasantly surprised listeners and stormed the Latin charts. Before that, Bad Bunny tapped tumbado bullfight pioneer Natanael Cano for “El Diablo (Remix)” in 2019, which helped popularize the style which blends traditional corrido elements with added hip-hop sensibility.
Most recently, Eslabon Armado’s “Nostalgia” became the first regional Mexican album to reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart.
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Samsung Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge ‘make in India’ at Noida to boost Modi’s campaign
Samsung has finally verified the rumors that we have been hearing for the last several weeks. The company has said that it is all set to start manufacturing its flagship devices within India now. The company has said that the two handsets that are yet to be launched in the Indian market will be manufactured in Noida plant that the company seems to be working on.
This is a great news and shows that the company seems to be taking the Indian market more seriously than anyone might have thought. The company is facing stiff competition not from Micromax the leading Indian smartphone vendor but also from Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone maker that has become very popular in the Indian market within less than a year.
In the meantime now Samsung has finally announced that it will start manufacturing the devices in the country. Samsung India Vice President Marketing (Mobile and IT) Asim WarsiÂ while talking about it said, â€œIndia is among the select 20 countries for the first phase of launch of Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. The Indian R&D team has made a valuable contribution in making these smartphones… We also plan to begin manufacturing these devices in India in the first half of this yearâ€.
The two handsets were introduced in the Indian market two days ago and will be available in shelves beginning 10th April. Samsung Galaxy S6 price too has been revealed. The Galaxy S6 will be offered in three storage options with prices as follows – 32GB (Rs. 49,900), 64GB (Rs. 55,900) and 128GB (Rs. 61,900). The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is priced at Rs. 58,900 (32GB), Rs. 64,900 (64GB), and Rs. 70,900 (128GB). He went on to add that the devices made at Noida facility will be primarily targeted at the domestic consumption. Warsi said the pre-orders for the smartphones had opened on Monday, and they will be available for purchase from April 10.
India has emerged as a huge market for smartphone. An IDC report says that around 22.5 million smartphones were shipped in India in the October-December 2014 quarter with Samsung accounting for 22 percent share. It was closely followed by Micromax and Intex with 18 percent and 8 percent market share respectively.
Samsung Galaxy S6, Samsung Galaxy S6 Price, Samsung S6, Galaxy S6, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 price, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Price In India, Samsung S6 Edge


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Since opening its first store at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento in 2019, Zippin has grown its sports venue business to 25 stores, writes SBJ's Bret McCormick. The company has nine stores at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver, its largest deployment, and is present at NRG Stadium (Houston), Spectrum Center (Charlotte) and AT&T Center (San Antonio), along with eight more locations across NBA arenas and an unnamed NFL stadium.
Zippin, which is privately held, plans to open more than 100 more stores in sports facilities by the end of the year, according to CEO and co-founder Krishna Motukuri. The company today also signed a new deal with Atrium, a company that provides campus card management solutions to colleges nationwide, which will see Zippin introduced into the non-sports college realm.
"We’re going to focus on stadiums because that’s where lines are the longest -- but also the highest opportunity costs," Motukuri said. "The moments are so pricy that people would do whatever to skip the lines.”
The space is heating up as frictionless shopping becomes more prevalent. Zippin’s main competition is Amazon; they’re the only two companies in the field, according to Motukuri, that use both cameras and sensors to inform the AI that enables their checkout-free shopping setups. Other companies are using just cameras, which decreases accuracy, Motukuri said.


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Pantone Partners With Street Artists to Drive #ColorOfTheYear Awareness
Selecting two colors as their PANTONE Color of the Year for the first time, the trend company took to Instagram to show off their collaboration with artists Man One, Victor Quinonez, and Werc Alvarez
PANTONE is using Instagram and street art to build awareness and buzz around the 2016 PANTONE Color of the Year: Rose Quartz and Serenity. This is the first time the trend company has selected two colors at one time.
PANTONE has always been viewed as a B2B resource for home, design and fashion professionals. As their colors trickle over into consumer facing products like paint at Home Depot or tableware at A+R, the company wants to raise awareness amongst shoppers of design oriented products.
To do this, they’re leveraging the visual strength of Instagram and street artists with large social followings in Los Angeles, New York City and Miami.


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Jones Group to close 170 stores, cut 8 percent of jobs
- Staff New York Business Journal
The Jones Group Inc., owner of Jones New York, Nine West and other clothing brands, said it plans to shutter 170 underperforming stores and lay off about 8 percent of its global workforce to shore up profits.
The move comes as New York-based Jones Group (NYSE: JNY) forecast a drop in first-quarter earnings and continued profit margin pressures through the second quarter. Last year, the company posted a $55 million loss on sales of $3.8 billion.
The company said its cost-cutting moves will “reset” its U.S. retail business and streamline certain wholesale divisions and its supply chain.
“The Jones Group is committed to improving its direct-to-consumer business, achieving operational excellence and enhancing profitability through strong cost discipline and careful inventory planning,” the company said in a statement.
“Our decision to streamline operations was difficult,” Chief Executive Wesley R. Card said in the statement. “However, we believe these actions will position the company for maximum operating leverage and improved profitability as our businesses recover and grow."
Jones will reduce its U.S. retail staff by about 18 percent and corporate, support and supply chain staff by 2 percent, for a total headcount reduction of 8 percent. Layoff notifications began this month and will continue through the first half of 2014.
The company said its plan to close roughly 170 U.S. stores by mid-2014 is already underway and includes the 50 store closings announced at the end of last year. Once those stores are closed, Jones Group said it expects to operate a smaller and more productive chain of domestic stores, with outlet stores comprising a significantly higher percentage of the overall retail portfolio.
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Hong Kong: Food Service - Hotel Restaurant Institutional
Hong Kong reopened its borders to the world in late 2022, and with mainland China in early 2023. The slow return of inbound tourism has positively improved the situation of the local hospitality and food service sectors. In 2022, Hong Kong’s restaurant receipts dropped 6.4 percent to $11.1 billion compared to 2021 but still above the $10.2 billion in 2020. While inbound tourism has yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels, these sectors continue to adapt to labor shortages, changes in consumer behavior, and high food prices. The Government has launched the "Happy Hong Kong" campaign and organized different activities or promotions across the city to encourage domestic consumption and also the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign to attract more tourism to the city. Hong Kong’s economy is expected to continue recovering and grow between 3 – 5 percent for all of 2023.


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Introduced on Tuesday, March 26: 2014 Buick LaCrosse, Regal and Regal GS.
Is it real? Yes. The American midsize sedan is getting more sophisticated for a world audience, while retaining its heartland appeal.
What they said: “We’ve taken our modern sedan portfolio to the next level with styling enhancements, infotainment upgrades and safety packages,” said Jeanne Merchant, chief engineer for the LaCrosse.
What they didn’t say: The three cars are being refreshed, not fully reborn, for 2014. The new LaCrosse and Regal models represent a steady-as-she-goes move and a conviction that people want more luxury and safety features (from a full range of radar- and camera-enabled electronic aids) and easier to use entertainment options.


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President Trump was left without a luxury hotel to stay at for the annual G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, this week after White House officials waited too long to book a hotel, Buzzfeed reported Thursday.
The U.S. initially sought to accommodate Trump in the local Four Seasons hotel, only to find it was already fully booked by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, the report said. Other luxury hotels around Hamburg were similarly booked up by other key figures.
The G-20 Summit, which was announced in February 2016, requires 9,000 hotel rooms to accommodate world leaders, staffs and security details.
Trump will reportedly stay at Hamburg’s Senate guesthouse for the summit, with the U.S. Consulate General hosting his staff.
The Hotel Reichshof was taken by Vietnam’s delegation, Russian President Vladimir Putin is staying at the Park Hyatt and The Grand Elysée was booked by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.


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OMAHA (DTN) -- Groups representing the meat industry were ready to pounce Thursday when the long-awaited report by the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee came out.
As feared by the meat industry, the committee's report downplays the health role of lean meat in a diet while also advising Americans to reduce eating red and processed meat, refined grains, added sugars and sodium. The report also recommended replacing solid animal fats with vegetable oils and nuts.
Such a recommendation to cut consumption of red and processed meats is anathema to the meat industry, which invests millions of dollars each in year in research and promotion to get consumers to eat more beef and pork.
The North American Meat Institute pointed out that the term "lean meat" had been moved from being a recommended food to being a footnote in the committee's recommendations. The committee noted, "As lean meats were not consistently defined or handled similarly between studies, they were not identified as a common characteristic across the reviews. However, as demonstrated in the food pattern modeling of the healthy U.S.-style and healthy Mediterranean-style patterns, lean meats can be a part of a healthy dietary pattern."
The meat institute stated the committee "ignores the countless studies and data that the committee reviewed for the last two years that showed unequivocally that meat and poultry are among the most nutrient-dense foods available. Nutrient-dense lean meat is a headline, not a footnote."
The committee's report upholds the notion of a healthy Mediterranean diet. NAMI pointed out the contradiction there. "The committee's contradictory advice to reduce processed meats is also nonsensical, especially given data the committee reviewed about the Mediterranean diet."
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association offered similar criticism. Shalene McNeill, a registered dietitian with NCBA, said the recommendation lowering red meat consumption is not consistent with scientific evidence and would be unsound dietary advice.
"Lean meat is red meat. Today's beef supply is leaner than ever before with more than 30 cuts of beef recognized as lean by government standards," McNeill said. "The protein foods category, which includes meat, is the only category currently consumed within the current guidelines, and it is misleading to conclude that a healthy dietary pattern should be lower in red meat."
The report recommended adopting a "healthy" U.S, Mediterranean-style or vegetarian diet that is higher in plant-based foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, and lower in calories and meat. The meat industry disputed that interpretation on meat consumption in a Mediterranean diet.
The report, though, also showed how dietary advice can change over time. The dietary committee chose to drop the long-standing recommendation that cholesterol intake be limited to no more than 300 mg per day. That decision is likely to please the egg and meat industries, but has also raised questions about whether Americans can trust the government's dietary guidance since government and private medical experts have recommended reducing cholesterol for years.
But the committee said that the latest scientific research had changed their minds.
"Available evidence shows no appreciable relationship between consumption of dietary cholesterol and serum cholesterol," the committee said, concluding "cholesterol is not a nutrient of concern for overconsumption."
The dietary committee's report also recommended local, state and federal governments to create incentives for healthy eating lifestyles. Regarding disincentives for certain foods, the committee recommended taxing foods with higher sugar and sodium levels.


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Intel Profusion technology on time, shock horror…
Forget anything you read elsewhere
You, and Andy Grove, might think this site is anti-Intel. We're not. We're just against paranoia. A couple of weeks ago we tried to firm up a story that Profusion (Corollary) technology was late but talked to an HP geezer and an IBM boy who told us different. Now the proof has emerged. Intel Profusion technology is on time and it must be so because Data General, the SMP majors, has announced it. Time was that DG used ALR to make its SMP machines and so we always got forward knowledge on Intel's plans. But that's all over now. We dunno who makes DG machines but it's probably some Intel outfit in Taiwan, for all we know... DG said its Aviion AV8900, a high end entreprise NT server is bang on time and it uses the latest Profusion chipset from Intel, which will support up to eight PIII/Xeon chips. There's also full fibre channel disk arrays. DG says it will be available late summer. That means early September, as IBM and HP told us four months ago... When we talked to HP three weeks ago about this matter, he said corporations will not be interested until September this year, anyway. Try a search on Profusion and see what IBM had to say, wayback. Intel's chipset is, of course late. But we're used to writing stories like that here on The Register... ®
Sponsored: RAID: End of an era?


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Clearcut logging in BC’s Bigfoot country is the latest explanation ascribed to trackers’ inability to pin down sasquatch in the woods. According to reports in today’s Vancouver Sun, a sasquatch tracker out of Golden, BC aims to take the provincial government to court to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt (or a guy in a gorilla suit) that the legendary creature roams the BC wilderness.
In a civil lawsuit filed in BC Supreme Court on Monday, it’s reported the BC Ministry of Environment and BC Fish and Wildlife Branch is charged with “dereliction of duty pertaining to the interests of an indigenous wildlife species.” The plaintiff suggests that logging played a role in disappearance of the hairy beast’s natural habitat. Some wonder if impending Halloween tricksters might scare the creature into view. Just sayin’.
Meanwhile, for traders returning from back-to-back Forest Products Conferences in the Northeast this week, sometime seemingly invisible realities shaping lumber markets may be coming into view. When the busy LBM Advantage show concluded Tuesday in Baltimore, vendors boarded rail cars for Philly to attend a jampacked LMC Expo Wednesday and Thursday. Key takeaways from the Dakeryn tabletop visits? The market’s hot and the supply chain is fractured. No Halloween costumes can disguise it. Moreover, rumours are swirling the duty timeline is aggressively moving up. Traders wonder if countervailing duties on cross-border shipments will now be in effect as soon as mid-November. In midst of the unprecedented wildfire season in BC, could free-of-char (FOC) lumber be tax-exempt? While perception among some US lumber retailers suggests that duties are beneficial to their bottom line, at least one major dealer struggling for supply described the ongoing softwood lumber dispute as “bizarre”.


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“All the places that are open are big name places: the Walmarts, Krogers, the TrueNorths the Speedways,” Ray said. “This seems like all they shut down are small businesses and small business alone.”
Ray of Piqua, who owns CR Butts tobacco shops in four Ohio counties including Montgomery and Miami counties, filed a dispute with the committee after his Englewood store was shut down by Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County over Ohio’s stay-at-home order. A companion store in Miami County was not initially closed by the health department there.
CR Butts won a victory of sorts with a Dispute Resolution Commission opinion last week: The Englewood business could remain open if the sale of deemed essential products accounted for a majority of his business, said Sam Randazzo, chair of the state commission named to referee the disputes.
“The opinion here focuses on the food products and non-prescription medications that this store is selling, and finds that with regard to those things, the store is engaged in the functions of an essential business,” Randazzo said. “To the extent that it may be selling incidentally other things, that’s okay. But to the extent that the incidental activity becomes the primary or the substantial portion of the business, then the status as an essential business will be lost with regard to food products and non-prescription medicines.”
MORE: Coronavirus: We want to stay ahead of the curve, Acton says
Following the commission’s decision Thursday, Ray had until 4 p.m. Saturday to provide Miami County Public Health evidence that a preponderance of revenue was derived from products deemed essential. He couldn’t. The store was closed.
“For me, it’s either shut down all tobacco sales or not. As long as we follow protocols, they should be fine with it,” he said. “You can drive by any Speedway and see 15 people and they’re not doing social distancing inside the store.”
CR Butts has until 4 p.m. Wednesday to provide Montgomery County with similar documentation for its Englewood location.
Ray said his company is practicing all the health protocols, keeping social distances in check and even taking customers’ orders at curbside. What he can’t demonstrate is that tobacco sales are merely incidental to his business, figuring sales of food and over-the-counter medications amounted to no more than 10% of his weekly revenue.
A CR Butts in Wapakoneta in Auglaize County and another located in Shelby County at Sidney also have an uncertain future due to the commission’s ruling, he said. But it’s not worth a second-degree misdemeanor offense of up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine to press matters further, he said.
It’s unclear how many businesses were affected during the wave of closures by the state’s 113 public health departments. Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County initially investigated 270 work sites, ordering 12 closed, which included CR Butts, other tobacco and vape shops, game and comic stores.
PHOTOS: Signs of encouragement: Miami Valley residents boost hopes with heartfelt messages
Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton appointed Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Development Services Agency, Sheryl Maxfield, director of the Ohio Department of Commerce and Randazzo, chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to referee the disputes.
During its first three meetings, the commission has sided with companies six times, with two caveats like CR Butts, and deemed another five businesses not essential.
The state’s first three disputes were lodged by pet groomers at a Niles shop, including Elena Jones, owner of Ultimutt Pet Pawlour, after it was shut down by Trumbull County while Mahoning County allowed other groomers to remain open.
“There are other places that did open back up and that’s where the confusion comes from for a lot of groomers,” Jones said. “From what I’m gathering within the state of Ohio itself, there are still counties that are allowing people to groom.”
Randazzo said the commission’s opinions are now precedents for disputes involving similar business activities and those decisions will generally not have to be reheard.
“Moving forward, when we get a request involving a pet grooming situation again, the stay at home order will be applied consistent with the determinations that we’ve already been made with regard to that case,” Randazzo said. “There will not be a need for that for us to revisit every pet grooming conflict in the state, we believe that we have addressed that and resolved that unless there are substantially different facts or circumstances.”
MORE: Coronavirus: Black death rates disproportionate; DeWine launches minority health task force
Disputes can be brought to the commission by health departments or by businesses affected by the determinations of the health departments, Randazzo said.
One dispute brought by GroundsPRO, a landscaping company in West Chester Twp., worked to resolve differing determinations of health departments in Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties. The commission rendered an opinion that the company’s stand-alone mulching services fall within the scope of landscaping services, previously deemed essential by the state.
That decision will now be applied equally across the state, according to the commission’s opinion.
Randazzo said car washes are essential businesses provided there’s no direct employee contact with customers, no human-to-human contact or hand washing and drying of vehicles. One determining factor was car washes support governmental first responders, he said.
MORE: Ohio wants the newly unemployed to file for benefits alphabetically


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T-Mobile has come up with a short-term solution to the complaints of multiple TV programmers that its new TV bundles have violated the distribution agreement – but carrier headaches are far from the issue.
On Thursday, T-Mobile announced several “Holidays” for customers. Among the offers: In addition to Discovery, it is adding 33 channels from Discovery, ViacomCBS, AMC Network and Crown Media in three TV live bundles at no extra cost.
T-Mobile says it is positioning to change the lineup as a “limited-time offer” and a special holiday-season gift to customers of over-the-top pay-TV services. Responding to a request for information about the promo, a T-Mobile spokesperson said in an email, “We are always on BIG during the holidays.” “This offer is all about giving customers more this holiday season – like all our holiday offers.”
In fact, T-Mobile is adding 33 channels – the same thing in the ভি 10 per month TV Vibe package – to come to terms with its content distribution agreement, industry sources said. Some of the programmers threatened legal action.
“T-Mobile Cavad,” said a media executive familiar with the situation.
Shortly after T-Mobile launched its new television service in November 2001, Desivori and VicomCBS were among the programmers who objected to Television Live and Vibe packaging in violation of their distribution agreement. This is because they specify that a pay-TV provider’s entry-level (e.g., Vibe) channel must carry a high-level. “We do not believe [T-Mobile has] In a Q3 earnings call at the moment, Discovery CEO David Jaslav says they have the right to do what they are doing right now,
The T-Mobile representative declined to say if there will be 33 Vibe channels available on the high-cost TV live tiers (which cost 40 40, $ 50 and $ 60 per month) at an additional cost. According to each industry source, Discovery, AMC, ViacomCBS and Crown Media channels will carry “100% of new and existing TV subscribers” for the terms of their agreement with T-Mobile.
Meanwhile, there are related controversies that remain unresolved with Disney, Fox Corps, NBC Universal and Warnermedia Turner. Those programmers whose channels have been excluded from the Vibe package are pushing for their basic channels to be included at the most comprehensive distribution level (i.e., Vibe).
It’s not clear how T-Mobile plans to resolve disputes going forward. According to an industry executive source, the 33 view channels in TV live tiers will obviously push the attachments into the negative-marginal region. In T-Mobile’s own Q3 call, CEO Mike Sewert identified the television as a loss-leader designed to attract new phones and broadband customers. The carrier, however, may not be willing to bear the cost of forcing channels to add to its various levels at current retail price points.
In the end, it could be forced to scrape the view – which is 10 bucks, which is basically its most attractive offer – and reduce the lineups on TV Live. An industry source claimed, “They will eventually have to close the 10 10 package.”
How did T-Mobile think it could package TV services like this without facing pushback? The company called for an “un-carrier” initiative as a “remixing TV” to give customers more flexibility and value. Contractually speaking, T-Mobile’s position was clearly that Vibe and more traditionally packaged television live tires are completely different products, as the tire-placement guarantee does not apply to the family of its OTT products. But programmers – and their legal parties – are not buying it.
Currently, T-Mobile is providing new TV OTT levels for TV postpaid wireless subscribers and Legacy Sprint subscribers. In 2021, it is expected to expand to make it available to anyone in the United States
The 33 channels that are now included in the television live tier are: AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, BBC World News, BET, BET Rate, CMT, Comedy Central, Discovery, DIY, Food Network, HGTV, Hallmark O Mystery, Hallmark Drama, IFC, ID, Motor Trend, MTV, MTV Classic, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Niktuns, OWN, Paramount Network, Sundance, Tinnick, TLC, Travel Channel, TV1 TV and TV Land,
Through December 31, T-Mobile subscribers are offering discounted access to Apple TV Plus and discounted Apple TV 4K set-top (after 99 99) for 12 of the two subscriber television plans (Live TV Plus or Live Zone); This is usually 179).
Separately, as of December 30, T-Mobile has been phasing out the main TV home broadband-supplied Pay-TV service. The company is offering TV Home customers special deals for a limited time to switch to live TV or Vibe packages.


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Money from both ticket sales and auction items will go to support the organization’s Talk about Trees program, which has now reached over 2.3 million students.
The OWIT wants to thank the Northwest Ford Dealers Advertising Association and their $5,000 donation this year. The company has been a consistent sponsor since 2001, and since that time has donated $81,000.
It’s not too late to buy your ticket to the event. You can contact Diann Washburn at 503-831-1593 or [email protected]


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UNION CITY — City leaders have signaled early support for allowing marijuana shops to operate in Union City’s main shopping center, Union Landing, as it looks for ways to drum up revenue to contend with a roughly $3.5 million budget deficit.
The City Council on Tuesday voted to have staff work up changes to the city’s zoning laws to clear the way for such businesses to be considered for storefronts in an area of Union Landing along Courthouse Drive.
The decision came after the city received a zoning amendment application from a property owner, Bill Schrader with the Austin Group, who wants to place a marijuana shop in the building he owns that currently houses a Sprint store at 31000 Courthouse Dr., city staff said.
For now, the council said they only want to see one retail marijuana shop open in the area and would only consider more after evaluating further.
The zoning changes will still need to be approved by the council at a future meeting, and any business that wants to open a retail marijuana shop there would need to be separately vetted by city staff and council.
The city, which had previously banned any marijuana businesses since 2005, approved allowing a limited number of medical marijuana shops to be permitted for the first time in 2017, and loosened those restrictions to allow for recreational marijuana sales last year, however the shops were restricted to industrial areas.
The city currently allows three permits in several marijuana business categories; retail, cultivation, manufacturing, and distribution. While two different companies currently have retail permits, neither has opened yet in the city.
The city estimates it could collect $1.4 million in annual tax revenue if three marijuana businesses are operating in its borders.
Four of five councilmembers supported the idea of allowing a marijuana retailer to open in Union Landing, though Councilman Gary Singh was opposed, citing concerns about safety, and continuing his track record of voting against marijuana businesses in the city.
“There would be a devastating effect on the local businesses in the shopping mall if we have a cannabis business there. The businesses are already struggling as is,” Singh said during Tuesday’s meeting.
“We already have quite a few break-ins in the Texas Roadhouse parking area, all the time. We continue to ask police to do more, and at the same time we don’t have enough police officers to go out there and look over the shopping mall,” he said.
But Councilman Jaime Patiño said the council needs to take bold steps to get out of the “economic mess” the city is facing, while noting Union City could become the first to allow marijuana retail in a major shopping center in the Bay Area.
“I think that actually doing retail right there at Union Landing would be perfect,” he said. “Some of our restaurants that are struggling right now might see an uptick in business there. Whether we agree with cannabis or not, it is the law of the land. Let’s stop following and let’s start leading.”
Vice Mayor Emily Duncan, who supported the zoning change, expressed that she would prefer to see the shops only be allowed in a “more isolated area” of Union Landing where there isn’t as much “family traffic.”
Two different companies, Eden Campus Holdings, and Jiva Life, were previously awarded permits by the city to operate retail shops, in 2018 and February 2020, respectively, though neither has opened their shop yet.
Eden, which already operates a medical marijuana dispensary in unincorporated Hayward, plans to open a 12,000-square-foot facility in a warehouse at 30540 Union City Blvd., which would include retail, and also received permits to eventually include cultivation, manufacturing, and distribution in the same building. City staff reports said it’s unclear when needed renovation of the site would begin.
Jiva Life intends to open a retail shop at 30545 and 30547 Union City Blvd., but had “difficulty executing a lease agreement with the property owner,” though it could be on track to make renovations early next year and open by April to June of 2021.
While the council intended to award a third company, Redwood Medical Supply, the last remaining permit for retail, the company has not yet secured property, and the city may look to take new permit applications later this year, city reports said.


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An analysis of 23 studies published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that using warning labels on sugary drinks—a category that includes soda, sports drinks and fruit-flavored drinks—was generally linked to notable reductions in purchases.
That’s important news considering that research hailing from the University of California San Diego and San Diego State University found an almost 20% higher risk of cardiovascular disease in women who consumed one or more sugar-sweetened beverages per day, compared with women who abstained from these sugary drinks or rarely consumed them.
Up next, studying the best ways to design warnings to maximize their impact and, of course, convincing appropriate regulatory bodies that these graphics should be universally implemented, as was the case with cigarettes.
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Top 5 dealer in Northeast Territory award presented
DESHLER, Nebraska — Reinke has recognized Advanced Farm Supply, Inc., with locations in Burr Oak, Jonesville and Edgerton, Ohio, as one of its Top 5 highest selling dealers in the Northeast Territory, in acknowledgement of the company’s marketing year success.
Advanced Farm Supply locations also each received a Gold Reinke Pride award.
The dealership was honored during Reinke’s recent annual convention, held in November in Dallas.
“We congratulate Advanced Farm Supply on these well-deserved awards,” Tom Palmertree, Reinke director of marketing, said. “We appreciate their ongoing commitments to Reinke and to their agricultural community.”
Reinke dealerships from across the United States and Canada gather each year to attend the company’s sales convention. The convention awards ceremony recognizes select Reinke dealerships for their hard work and dedication to sales and marketing throughout the year.
The Reinke Pride awards are determined as part of an incentive program that distinguishes superior achievement levels according to an evaluation based on a dealership’s exterior and interior housekeeping and maintenance, indoor and outdoor displays, safety, retail environment merchandising, professionalism and event participation.
Reinke is the world’s most recognized manufacture of center pivot and lateral move irrigation systems.


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OPPO Reno8, Reno8 Pro and Reno8 Pro+ were the first Reno8 series smartphones to be launched in China. OPPO Reno 8 and Reno 8 Pro were first introduced by the firm in India in July. In India, the Chinese Reno8 Pro+ was introduced under the name Reno8 Pro.
The company is also preparing to introduce the Reno 8Z 5G smartphone, which will be the fourth model in the Reno8 series. Live images of the Reno8 Z 5G were released a few weeks ago and the device was spotted on the NBTC listing a few months ago. Now that the phone has been found in the Geekbench database, it looks like the device’s debut is just around the corner.
OPPO Reno 8Z 5G Geekbench Listing Details
On the Geekbench website, the future OPPO phone with CPH2457 has been listed. It has been previously confirmed that the OPPO Reno 8Z is this model number. A Qualcomm Snapdragon octa-core CPU with six clocked cores and two 2.21GHz cores will power the Reno 8Z 5G. The Adreno 619 GPU will be paired with the SoC. This is the same Snapdragon 695 5G SoC that we previously saw in the Reno 7Z 5G.
Not only does the listing imply that the phone will have 8GB of RAM, but we can also anticipate that there will be additional RAM and storage options for the phone. The system will ship with Android 12 pre-installed, which is based on ColorOS 12. In single-core and multi-core tests, the Reno 8Z scored 687 and 1920 points, respectively.
OPPO Reno 8Z 5G Specifications (expected)
According to previous rumors and leaks, the OPPO Reno 8Z 5G would include a triple camera setup at the rear. With a 4,500mAh battery unit and 33W fast charging capability, the Reno 8Z will be available. Additionally, it has a speaker grill at the bottom, a USB Type-C port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
( Image : Twitter )
|UttarPradeshLive.Com Home||Click here|


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Imagine being so sensitive to gluten that merely touching something made with wheat, barley or rye can trigger a reaction that can shorten your life.
That’s the case with Dawn Scheu, who suffers from refractory celiac disease, a rare condition that causes gluten to damage your intestines, no matter how trace the amount. People with the condition have severely damaged intestines that cannot heal. To protect against encountering gluten, she went three years without eating in a restaurant.
But a new tool is helping Scheu and others detect gluten in prepared food and packaged products – a gluten-sniffing dog.
Scheu's dog, Willow, is a German Shorthaired Pointer who began training at just 17 weeks old. Training a dog to ferret out gluten by smell takes at least four months because gluten comes in many forms, making it more difficult to detect. Gluten can be found in everything from pastas, breads and baked goods to frozen dinners, cream sauces, casseroles, ham, salad dressings and soy sauce.
Willow, goes with her to the grocery store now and paws at packages that contain even tiny amounts of gluten, saving her from a dangerous reaction. Scheu is now willing to try what most of us take for granted. She went out to dinner for her anniversary!
Service dogs help folks with physical disabilities and emotional challenges, what a breakthrough that now they can assist those of us with crippling food allergies and diseases.
Source: Livingston County Daily Press and Argus


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By Seth Daniel
In Boston restaurant circles, outside of Valentine’s Day, February can be a hard month to make ends meet and keep plates moving.
In fact, the week just before Valentine’s Day can be the dreariest of the year, and especially early in the week when no one is going out in order to save room for cupid’s feast on Feb. 14.
That’s where the Ellis South End Neighborhood Association comes in, holding its Progressive Dinner every year the Monday before Valentine’s Day to bolster the bottom line for local restaurants in a quiet period of the year for the dining scene.
This past Monday, Feb. 6, the 12th Annual Progressive Dinner took place with a sold out crowd of 91 people attending and 11 restaurants offering samples of their food and drink. Those in attendance crowded into the Beehive around 5:30 p.m. and began mingling over appetizers and drinks.
Following that, the program includes visiting one restaurant for the first course and drinks, then moving to a second restaurant for the main course – “progressing” all the way across the South End. After it’s over, as tradition calls for, all congregate at Barcelona for dessert and to compare notes about the food, drinks and overall experience.
Bill Gregor of the Ellis Wine Group said he and the co-founder of the Wine Group got the idea 12 years ago. They started small and since then it has grown tremendously.
“The co-founder of the Wine Group proposed it to me,” he said. “We got a few restaurants to go along with it and we sold tickets to it. We had about four or five restaurants back then. The restaurants loved it because it was the slowest day of the restaurant year – the Monday before Valentine’s Day. Neighbors loved it because it was a way to get out on a Monday and try a lot of new restaurants and make new friends. We’ve grown a little each year and now tonight we are brining 91 people out.”
Ellis President Betsy Hall said it was the largest and most fun event the Ellis schedules every year.
She said the dinner sold out very quickly this year, and everyone who bought tickets showed up.
“This has really become our signature event,” she said.
This year, 11 restaurants participated, including:
- 647 Tremont
- The Gallows
- Boston Chops
- Elephant Walk
- The Beehive
“It’s a wonderful way to try a number of different restaurants,” said Gregor. “We end the night at Barcelona where we have coffee and dessert and compare notes on all of the restaurants we visited. It has become quite a fun time, and everyone seems to agree.”


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According to speakers at Natural Products Expo West, one of the most powerful tools a company has to reduce their climate impact is to engage their supply chain.
From fossil carbon to harvested carbon: a new alternative to EPS is poised to transport goods including healthcare, food, and protective packaging while cutting water and greenhouse gas use in manufacturing.
Live from ISTA’s TempPack: Experts discuss acceptance criteria guidance, payload selection, actual product versus placebo, testing multiple product configurations, and more.
|Prefer video? Mechanical testing Q&A.|
Cardinal Health is strengthening its collaboration with industry and government partners. At the same time, the company is rethinking how all parts of the supply chain are working seamlessly across networks to achieve this goal.
|Free Download: Life Sciences Logistics Playbook|
"While the healthcare supply chain has proven to be resilient in the face of a global pandemic, COVID-19 exposed vulnerabilities that require further coordination, cooperation and collaboration between the government and private sector," says HDA's Davis.
From the Archives: Four Reasons Reusable Packaging Is the Best Prescription for Pharma
The Inner Loop–blog of the Reusable Packaging Association–releases its latest article on reusable packaging in the pharmaceutical industry and how COVID-19 has affected it.


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Food security a Community priority
CARICOM Secretariat Director of Sectoral Programmes, Ambassador David Prendergast, has identified food and nutrition security among the highest priorities of the Community and has highlighted the proactive measures being taken to achieve that goal.
Amb. Prendergast on Tuesday 26 April addressed a virtual forum to launch the report of the fourth CARICOM/World Food Programme COVID-19 Food Security and Livelihoods Impact Survey. Since April 2020, the survey has targeted more than 20 000 persons across the Region.
The survey revealed that there has been disruption in livelihoods, negative impacts on income, concerns about food needs, impact of increasing food prices, and challenges accessing markets.
The results of a survey, Amb Prendergast said, highlighted the need for a continuation of the regional efforts to tackle hunger and food insecurity.
“The Survey will serve as a critical planning tool for the region, assist in the further development of targeted policies to help the vulnerable groups in the region. It has also highlighted the need to reach the low economic groupings and segments across the Region who may not have access to internet and connectivity. Overall, it demonstrates that further urgent action and support are needed in addressing Regional Food and Nutrition Security and to build forward better,” Amb Prendergast said.
The proactive measures CARICOM Heads of Government have been taking, the Director said, included a development of a COVID-`19 Agri-food and Action Plan; the establishment of the Special Ministerial TaskForce on Food Production and Food Security; the Development of a regional Food and Nutrition Monitoring Tool for CARICOM Member States and the Promotion of greater intra-regional trade. He also alluded to the CARICOM Agri-Investment Forum and Expo to be held 19-21 May 2022, in Georgetown, Guyana, under the theme ‘Investing in Vision 25 by 2025. The theme references the Region’s target to reduce its food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025.
“The achievement of a 25 percent reduction in our food import bill by 2025 targets the significantly increased production of some key products, such as poultry, corn and soya, fish, sheep and goats, and a range of fruit and vegetable products. Initiatives will also address several cross-cutting issues, such as the removal of various barriers to our internal CARICOM trade, mobilising financing, developing insurance, market facilitation and transportation,” Amb. Prendergast pointed out.
He added that the decision by Heads of Government recognised that despite its challenges, the agriculture-food sector in CARICOM represented a “clear opportunity for increased investment in primary production, agro-processing, marketing, e-commerce and innovative technologies, among others.”
Please see Amb. Prendergast’s remarks here
Mr. Regis Chapman, World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director Caribbean Multi-Country Office; and Ms. Yesim Oruc, United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator – Guyana also made remarks at the forum that Ms. Daphne Ewing-Chow moderated.


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RACINE — JCPenney has put its space at Regency Mall up for sale.
Real estate company CBRE lists a $2.5 million sale price for the JCPenney store, 5900 Durand Ave. A JCPenney spokesman confirmed the property is for sale but declined to offer
“There are no further details surrounding a potential sale beyond the listing,” spokesman Joey Thomas said in an email. “We cannot speculate potential sale timing, store closure or financial benefit.”
The listed broker of the sale, Donna Kolius, referred questions to JCPenney. Dan Summerlin, director of corporate relations for CBL & Associates, which owns Regency Mall, also declined comment and referred questions to JCPenney.
The listing advertises the site as an “excellent redevelopment opportunity” in a “strong retail submarket.” The store, which was built in 1980, is more than 150,000 square feet on an 11.9-acre site, according to the listing.
In addition to Racine, CBRE is involved with the sale of JCPenney stores in Georgia and Virginia, according to a confidentiality agreement attached to the listing.
News of the possible sale comes about six months after another Regency Mall anchor, Sears, closed its doors. The company said at the time the closure was part of a “series of actions” to cut costs and transform its business model.


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for Metro 2033: The Last Refuge (PlayStation 3)
VE3D News for Metro 2033: The Last Refuge (PlayStation 3)
Metro 2033 PC System Requirements Revealed
Feb 25, 2010 at 4:17 AM -
You'll need a top-end PC to enable all of Metro 2033
's bells and whistles
Minimum System Requirements:
Dual core CPU (any Core 2 Duo or better will do)
DirectX 9, Shader Model 3 compliant ...
Metro 2033 Graphics Far Superior On PC
Feb 20, 2010 at 1:02 AM -
Most titles that appear on both the Xbox 360 and PC offer only the most cursory of upgrades - higher resolution textures, a bit of extra anti-aliasing, and the option to play at a higher ...
Metro 2033 Dev: We Do Not Use S.T.A.L.K.E.R. X-Ray Engine Components
Feb 18, 2010 at 3:54 AM -
Is Metro 2033
's DirectX 11-enabled
game engine related to, or based on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow Of Chernobyl
's, as people keep suggesting
Controversy has surrounded the origins of the new 4A ...
Metro 2033 DirectX 11 Screenshots Released
Feb 17, 2010 at 2:32 AM -
THQ sent over the first DirectX 11 screenshots from 4A Games' forthcoming, Russian-made, post-apocalyptic first-person shooter, Metro 2033
THQ Inc. and NVIDIA today announced that Metro 2033, ...
Metro 2033 Trailer
Feb 03, 2010 at 12:06 AM -
A combat focussed trailer from Metro 2033
, teasing the linear action game's mid-March release:
(64MB) / Flash SD
THQ recently announced that English-language ...
Metro 2033 Release Date & Limited Edition Announced
Jan 28, 2010 at 5:29 AM -
4A Games' post-apocalyptic, linear first-person shooter hits store shelves March 16th in standard and Limited Edition flavours:
THQ Inc. today announced that Metro 2033, the hotly anticipated ...
Metro 2033 Screenshots
Jan 13, 2010 at 11:20 AM -
Seven new screens from the Russian-made metro shoot 'em up, Metro 2033
Metro 2033 Video Feature
Dec 15, 2009 at 6:56 PM -
The British Inside Xbox team attended a recent Metro 2033
event in Moscow, snagging screen time with the source-book's author:


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Andreas Karlsson – restaurants should avoid ‘sumo effect’ when it comes to growing a business: Andreas Karlsson, group chief operating officer of Sticks ‘n’ Sushi, has said restaurants should avoid the “sumo effect” when it comes to growing a business. Speaking at the Propel summer conference, he told delegates: “You don’t want to be a sumo wrestler eating 20,000 calories a day, having a short career and then dying 20 years earlier than the average age in Japan. I think we in the industry should think about a healthy way of maintaining our business so we can hand over what we do to the next generation. Performance-wise you need to look at your business over a longer period of time regarding a strategic decision to open restaurants. You must plant a lot of seeds many years before they are going to give you anything.” Propel managing director Paul Charity asked Karlsson about some of the bold moves Sticks ‘n’ Sushi has made, such as taking on a Walkabout site in Covent Garden with its corresponding high rent. Karlsson said: “How stupid can you be to take a restaurant in Covent Garden that’s six metres wide by 45 metres long, on two levels and with two entrances – no-one does that. But it worked out. It took us some time to get going but if you execute well and look after every guest who walks up, looks at your door and says ‘that looks really good’, they will come back.” The Covent Garden site took time to take off, yet Karlsson kept his nerve. He told delegates: “(Founder) Kim (Rahbek) called me up and asked me if I had an IT issue because he was looking at the sales. I told him the figures were correct. He said it was a ‘catastrophe’ and asked what we should do? I said we should just keep on doing what we were doing, looking after every guest. Bit by bit it went well.” However, Karlsson stressed the need to be bold when the company opened its first bar restaurant in Copenhagen, located at the top of the Tivoli Hotel. He told delegates: “We said we knew everything about bars. We knew what to do on the bar seat, not so much on the other side – but we soon worked that one out. We winged it but got the space and have been there for eight years. It’s one of our best-performing restaurants in Copenhagen – we opened another late last year.” Sticks ‘n’ Sushi was founded by half-Danish, half-Japanese brothers Jens and Kim Rahbek and Thor Andersen in 1994. The company’s first London site opened in Wimbledon in 2012 and it now has seven restaurants in the UK, 12 in Denmark and one in Berlin. Karlsson told delegates current turnover was above £20m – reported turnover rose to £15.6m in the year to 30 June 2017.
Barburrito reports turnover boost, increased operating losses: Barburrito has reported turnover rose 19% to £15,180,00 in the year to 25 March 2018, while operating losses increased to £1,599,000 from £1,540,000 the year before. The loss before tax was £2,771,000, compared with £2,708,000 the year before. The company said turnover growth had been driven by “like-for-like growth at existing restaurants and the full-year impact of restaurants opened part-way through the prior year”. Barburrito opened its 21st site at Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield in May 2017 and it has “traded strongly since”, as has the site at Paddington station that opened in March 2017, the last week of the previous trading year. The first site opened under franchise – with TRG Concessions at Edinburgh airport in January 2018 – has “traded ahead of expectations”. The company has cash reserves of £600,000 and its primary investor, the Business Growth Fund, has “provided additional funding both in the year and after the year-end to support ongoing expansion plans”. A 22nd site is planned, at the Arndale Centre in Manchester towards the end of 2018, while further TRG openings are being explored. The company added: “Previous investments in the central team, infrastructure and systems leave the business well placed to support the planned growth without significant further costs and, as such, Ebitda is expected to grow steadily in future years as the recent openings and new sites reach maturity.” Ebitda before non-recurring items was £4,000 in the year, compared with £8,000 the year before.
Chesterford Group chief – fish and chips will ‘never go out of fashion’: James Lipscombe, managing director of The Chesterford Group (TCG), which operates 42 fish and chip shops in the UK, has told Propel evolving palates mean the nation’s favourite dish will never go out of fashion. The fact burgers and chicken are among millennials’ favourite fast food items is of no concern to Lipscombe – because he has evidence people acquire a taste for the country’s most iconic dish as they get older. He said: “From their mid-30s, we definitely see a change in what people eat. We can see it in the data. Younger people are the burger and chicken buyers but they move on to fish and chips as they get older – their palates change.” Although TCG is predominantly a fish and chip operation, the company made a “radical” move in 1971 by creating the Fishnchickn brand to capitalise on the growing appetite for chicken while retaining fish at the heart of the business. Having built the brand into 22 outlets, the strategy now is to gradually rebrand them as Churchill’s – a brand created in 2012 as an “immediately identifiable British concept”. Lipscombe said: “We want a customer experience that can sit alongside any contemporary food brand. We’ve provenance – with the story being told in the outlets – and this combines with technology for click and collect, through the Preoday app and Deliveroo.” What this doesn’t mean, however, is a relegation of the chicken side of the menu as the business sells a lot of poultry including southern-fried chicken, nuggets and spit-roasted birds, which are complemented by a premium burger offer. He says: “We will keep these products on as it opens the business up to younger demographics. They start on the burgers and chicken and move on to our fish and chips.”
Tullymore House reports turnover and pre-tax profit boost: Belfast-based hospitality group Tullymore House, which is behind the Italian restaurant brand Fratelli, has reported turnover increased to £22,287,719 for the year ending 31 October 2017, compared with £19,947,224 the year before. Pre-tax profit soared to £7,041,140 compared with £3,721,409 the previous year, according to accounts filed at Companies House. Gross profit margin fell to 40.08%, compared with 41.89% the year before. In their report accompanying the accounts the directors stated: “Net assets of the group at the year end were £12,110,406 (2016: £9,972,234). Looking ahead for the next five years, the board remains committed to reinvesting in staff development and well-being alongside continued reinvestment in the group’s principal activities.” Tullymore House also operates the Galgorm Resort and Spa and a property development company. The number of employees during the period rose to 498 from 452.
St Andrews Brewing Company hits £400,000 crowdfunding target to expand pub estate and brewery: Craft brewer St Andrews Brewing Company has hit its £400,000 target on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube to expand its pub estate and brewery. The company, owned by Philip Mackey and Tim Butler, is offering 5.06% equity in return for the investment. So far it has raised £411,780 from 304 investors and the campaign is now “overfunding” with 24 days remaining. St Andrews Brewing Company plans to use the funds towards the cost of its new venue in Dundee – Caird Hall – as it adds to its pubs in St Andrews and Edinburgh. It will also use the investment to expand production at its brewery. The pitch states: “Our vision is to establish our brand worldwide as a creator of brilliant beers and the perfect places to enjoy them. Running great venues in tandem with our brewery provides a showcase for 25% of our beer. Our St Andrews and Edinburgh pubs will soon be joined by our Caird Hall venue near Dundee’s new V&A museum and £1bn waterfront redevelopment. With this raise we aim to make this a flagship destination for the best of Scottish beer, food and hospitality. Since returning brewing to St Andrews after a 100-year absence, we’ve scooped a World Beer award, plus Society of Independent Brewers and Great Taste awards. To meet growing demand we need to expand our brewery. Investment will fund kit capable of quintupling our production to one million pints in 2019.” Meanwhile, a bar in St Andrews that was subject to takeover speculation by Scottish brewer and retailer BrewDog has been sold to St Andrews Brewing Company. BrewDog announced plans to open bars in the Fife town and Perth at its AGM April. The presentation by BrewDog founders James Watt and Martin Dickie to “equity for punks” investors identified Rascals Bar in North Street, St Andrews, as the location of a BrewDog pub that would open this year. However, Rascals’ owner Colin Donaldson denied a deal had been done and called the Ellon-based brewer “arrogant” for the premature announcement. He has now made a deal to sell the pub to St Andrews Brewing Company and joined the Fife brewer in a senior role to help develop its exports.
Pub People Company adds Derbyshire village pub to portfolio: East Midlands-based Pub People Company has acquired the Half Moon in the Derbyshire village of Whitwell Common. The company has added the pub to its portfolio in a deal brokered by agents Everard Cole. The pub has an open-plan trading area with about 120 covers in total. The venue features a wooden bar, fireplaces, a beamed ceiling, part-timber floors and a raised dining area. There is also three-bedroom owners’ accommodation on the first floor, a drinking area at the front of the pub with picnic bench seating for 48, an enclosed paved terrace to the side with seating for 64, and a large beer garden with children’s play equipment and further seating. Founded in 1993, Pub People Company owns and operates about 50 pubs in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. Everard Cole director Jon Heald said: “The Half Moon is an attractive pub with enormous potential and we received terrific interest from a number of operators. Pub People is a very successful local company and we’re confident it will make the pub a great success.”
Pub Invest Group opens LGBTQ+ bar for 12th site: Liverpool-based Pub Invest Group has opened a LGBTQ+ bar for its 12th site in the city. The company has launched Out! in Cumberland Street on the former site of music venue Lomax. Out!, which takes inspiration from US drag star RuPaul, is spread across three floors and includes a showroom, multiple dance floors and bars, and a games room. On Friday and Saturday nights there is a performance every 30 minutes from an in-house show team, reports the Liverpool Echo. Pub Invest Group’s other venues include Blind Tiger, McCooley’s, Peacock, Rubber Soul and Soho.
Cineworld announces two board appointments: Cineworld has announced two new board appointments. Chief commercial officer Renana Teperberg has become an executive director while US film executive Camela Galano has joined as a non-executive director. Teperberg joined Cinema City International as a cashier in 1997 and worked her way up the company. Following the company’s combination with Cineworld, she became senior vice-president of commercial and then chief commercial officer in 2016. Galano began her career at New Line Cinema before becoming president of international film acquisitions for Warner Bros. She then served as Relativity International president and is currently Good Films executive producer of worldwide sales and distribution, where she recently executive produced The Infiltrator starring Bryan Cranston, and the upcoming City of Lies starring Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker.
EastZEast doubles up in Liverpool for eighth site: EastZEast, which specialises in desi Kashmiri cooking, has opened its second restaurant in Liverpool and eighth in total. The company has opened the venue in the Wavertree area of the city just off Penny Lane. Dishes include tandoori mixed grill, king prawn puri and peshawari chicken, reports the Liverpool Echo. EastZEast’s first Liverpool branch opened in 2011 in Kings Dock. The company has two sites in Manchester and one each in Birmingham, Bradford, Bury and Preston.
Greene King Pub Partners launches Festival of Summer campaign to build on World Cup momentum: Brewer and retailer Greene King has launched its Festival of Summer campaign for its Pub Partners division as it looks to build on the momentum of the Fifa World Cup. The initiative sees Pub Partners team up with brands such as Aspall, Pimms, Peroni and Asahi to create a marketing campaign suitable for the more than 1,000 tenanted and leased pubs in the Greene King estate. It offers a ready-made campaign to help pubs create customer experiences. Marketing manager Natasha Crotty said: “Each of our pubs is unique and an individual business and there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to marketing. We hope that by having a co-ordinated campaign, we can offer a level of support that’s applicable for all our pubs. Our Festival of Summer campaign is all about creating excitement around summer. We need to provide our partners with support that helps them create a reason for customers to visit their pub.” Participating venues can access Festival of Summer opportunities via Greene King Pub Partners’ intranet.
Nando’s and Five Guys to open at County Armagh shopping centre in October: Nando’s and better burger brand Five Guys will open sites at the Rushmere Shopping Centre in County Amargh, Northern Ireland, in October. Units with a combined space of more than 7,000 square feet have been developed to accommodate the two restaurants. Nando’s, which currently has five outlets in Northern Ireland, is creating 40 jobs while Five Guys, which has one other outlet in the country, said it expects to employ 60 staff. Rushmere centre manager Martin Walsh told the Portadown Times: “Rushmere’s success is built on providing the best shopping experience and the right mix of retailers and catering provision in an outstanding location. I’m delighted our growing number of visitors will be able to enjoy new culinary experiences at these leading restaurant brands.” Savills acted on behalf of Rushmere owner Central Craigavon, while Lambert Smith Hampton represented Nando’s and Five Guys.
Liverpool-based Japanese restaurant Izakaya closes city centre restaurant to focus on street food roots: Liverpool-based Japanese restaurant Izakaya has closed its city centre restaurant to “focus on its street food roots”. Founders Harry Marquart and Kurt Wilson opened the site in Castle Street 19 months ago having first showcased at the Liverpool food and drink summer festival. However, they have now decided to close the restaurant. An Izakaya spokesman told the Liverpool Echo: “We reluctantly decided to close the Castle Street site after nearly 19 months of operating there. We felt we wanted to focus on street food, which is how the Izakaya brand began. We have new sites in Marine Street Social and The Dockside Dining Club but unfortunately the Castle Street site wasn’t quite working for us as a brand.”
Marston’s lines up new-build pub in Workington: Marston’s is lining up a new-build pub restaurant in Workington, Cumbria. The company plans to open the venue as part of a new development that would include a 78-bedroom Travelodge. Hinton Group is behind the application to Allerdale Council for land between William Street and Church Street. The scheme also includes a Whitbread-owned Costa Coffee drive-thru. The Marston’s pub would have a small play area and a separate, 60-space car park. Meanwhile, the hotel would be in a four-story building with a bar and cafe. Hinton Group managing director James Hinton told the News & Star: “Hinton Group has a strong track record of creating high-quality schemes with household names such as Travelodge, Marston’s and Costa. We hope to continue our successful partnership in Workington by delivering fantastic new facilities, investment and job opportunities for the town.” Marston’s also plans to build a 150-seater restaurant in the town having received planning permission last year.
North Yorkshire-based craft brewer eyes York for first micro-pub: North Yorkshire-based craft brewer Crooked Brewing has submitted plans to open its debut micro-pub, in York. The company plans to convert an empty shop in The Green in the suburb of Acomb into a 60-capacity “contemporary suburban bar” offering craft beer, gin, wine and spirits. The empty shop formerly housed Tate Appliances and has a small terrace at the front. Crooked Brewing was launched a year ago in Church Fenton by Steve Dawson and Andrew Evans, who also run sister business Learn To Brew. The brewery supplies beer to pubs in York and Leeds. Dawson told York Press: “We are looking to complement what is already in Acomb. Our business is high-quality beer, wine and spirits, a comfortable place to meet with friends and a real alternative to going into town.”
Devon-based cafe owners open Greek restaurant in Exeter for second site: Devon-based cafe owners Arti Hazhaj and Alex Bersha have opened a Greek restaurant in Exeter for their second site. They have launched 50-cover Opa Taverna in South Street on the site of Spanish restaurant El Bocado, which closed earlier this year. The pair run Broad Street Cafe in Ottery St Mary and have previously operated a Greek restaurant in Newton Abbot. Hazhaj told Devon Live: “We hope to bring a taste of Greece to Exeter and make people feel like they are on holiday. There are so many cuisines from all over the world in the city centre but no Greek venues so it’s great we can add to the amazing variety we have in Exeter.”
Harrogate-based operators acquire second site: Harrogate-based operators David and Johanna Straker have acquired their second site, in Knaresborough. The couple have taken over the running of Carriages in High Street. The Strakers currently operate the William & Victoria Restaurant and Wine Bar in Harrogate. They plan to use the same ethos as at Carriages – “good British cooking with portions to satisfy Yorkshire appetites” alongside a selection of fine wine and ale, reports the Harrogate Advertiser.
Devon-based distillery to expand: Devon-based distillery Exeter Gin is to expand production after securing an overdraft facility with HSBC. The family-run company, which sells artisan gin across the country, has used the funding to meet increased demand from restaurants and wholesalers. The finance has enabled the business to set up two gin brands, supplying more than 4,000 full-sized and 4,500 miniature bottles to customers. Michael and Karen Skerratt and their daughter Lyndsey Terrell started trading in August last year after distilling gin at their home in Teignmouth. The gin was initially sold at food markets with the company now supplying five types of gin to national retailers, wholesalers, restaurants and bars across the south west. Karen Skerratt told Insider Media: “It has been an incredible year for our business, with demand for our products going through the roof.” Sarah Lucas, HSBC’s regional director for small businesses in Wales and the West Country, added: “HSBC is committed to supporting small businesses in Devon and we hope the popularity of Exeter Gin continues to grow.


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Where’s Howard Stern? That’s what Sirius XM subscribers are asking about the new Sirius XM Premium app for iPhone and iPod Touch that finally launched today. The app provides 120 channels of Sirius XM programming, including sports, entertainment, comedy and commercial-free music. But Stern is among the missing, along with certain other programming (Major League Baseball Play-byPlay, NFL Play-byPlay, Sirius NASCAR Radio).
The app itself is free, but you’ll have to subscribe to Sirius XM in one of two ways to actually listen to content on the Apple devices.
If you’re an Internet-only subscriber paying XM Sirius $12.95 a month to stream stations on your computer (at 128 kbps), you’ll be able to play channels on the iPhone or iPod Touch. If you’re an XM Sirius subscriber who only taps into the service on a dedicated satellite radio, you’ll have to pay $2.99 monthly in addition to the $12.95 you’re already paying for the radio access to also listen on the Apple handsets. (That extra $2.99 also lets you listen on the computer.)
I’ve been a huge fan of satellite radio ever since XM Satellite Radio burst on the scene in 2001. (XM and rival Sirius Satellite Radio eventually merged.) But frankly there are a lot of compelling Internet radio stations that are available on the iPhone for free, including offerings from Pandora Radio and Slacker.
I got a chance to try the Sirius XM app on my iPhone 3G while commuting in my car. As with other Sirius XM radios, you can see what songs are currently playing on the channels you’re not listening to at the moment, which is nice. You can also purchase a song heard on Sirius XM while it is being played through iTunes, or “tag” it to buy it later there (if available). But a few times during my commute, the station I was listening to dropped out — and there were “buffering” delays before it came alive again. It reminded me of times through the years when my satellite radio signal dropped out while driving under cloud cover.
As for Stern, I would have to think there are negotiations going on to bring the popular shock jock to the iPhone app. But the folks at Sirius XM are playing it close to the vest.
“Some select programming, including ... Howard Stern, will not be available on the iPhone and iPod touch. Listeners will continue to be able to access that programming through the platforms they are currently offered on,” the company said in a press release. Not exactly illuminating.
Stern diehards aren’t taking too kindly. The new app has only generated a two out of five star rating among nearly 1900 people who weighed in in the App Store. As one commenter put it, “What is Sirius without Howard Stern? Nothing!”
Even so, Sirius XM has already vaulted to the number 6 spot on the top free iTunes download list. Pandora is currently number 23.
By Ed Baig


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LOUISA COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The County of Louisa announced on Thursday that Amazon is opening a distribution center in the Ferncliff Business Park.
“60% of our workforce commutes out of the County to work,” said Bob Babyok, Chairman of the Board
of Supervisors. “Amazon’s decision to locate here leads to more jobs for our citizens. That has an
economic impact of its own and it also means more time with family.”
The county said this new facility will operate last-mile delivery services, which is the transportation of packages from a distribution hub to the customer’s front door. This system requires coordination between systems and workers to help deliver packages quickly and accurately.
Amazon is going to be using an existing facility that had been constructed using a public-private partnership, according to the announcement.
“Responsible, carefully planned economic growth is a recipe for success,” said Patrick Henry District
Supervisor Fitzgerald Barnes. “This kind of progress creates revenue that can help keep our taxes low
while supporting critical efforts such as emergency services and the fiber deployment project.”


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KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia has set up a panel to fast-track investments as it seeks to woo businesses affected by the U.S.-China trade dispute and it approved more than $500 million in new proposals this month, a government minister said.
An increasing number of U.S. and Chinese businesses have been moving manufacturing out of China to escape tit-for-tat tariffs imposed on each other’s products.
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Malaysia’s new National Committee on Investment I (NCII) aims to encourage investment in Southeast Asia’s third-biggest economy and it approved investments worth 2.2 billion ringgit ($526 million) in its first meeting, the minister said.
“If approvals took three months earlier, now it would take a month – from when the documentation is complete to when the committee will approve it,” Ong Kian Ming, deputy minister in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, told Reuters.
“It would try to expedite investments that are relocating because of the U.S.-China trade conflict,” he said in a recent interview.