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Apple Employee Found Dead on Campus [Video]
Posted April 27, 2016 at 7:58pm
An employee has been found dead inside a conference room on Apple's campus.
Apple Releases OS X 10.11.5 Beta 3, tvOS 9.2.1 Beta 3, Safari Technology Preview 3, iOS 9.3.2 Public Beta 3
Posted April 27, 2016 at 7:18pm
Apple released numerous beta updates today including OS X 10.11.5 beta 3, tvOS 9.2.1 beta 3, Safari Technology Preview 3, and iOS 9.3.2 public beta 3.
Schematics for the iPhone 7 Pro Have Allegedly Been Leaked [Image]
Posted April 27, 2016 at 6:23pm
Schematics for Apple's upcoming 5.5-inch iPhone 7 'Pro' have allegedly been leaked online.
Readdle Calendars 5 is Apple's 'Free App of the Week' [Download]
Posted April 27, 2016 at 4:10pm
Apple has selected Readdle Calendars 5 as its 'Free App of the Week'.
Apple's Revenue Curve: 2005 to 2016 [Chart]
Posted April 27, 2016 at 4:05pm
Check out this chart that shows a four quarter moving average of Apple's revenue from 2005 to 2016.
Google Releases Android TV App for iOS
Posted April 27, 2016 at 1:18pm
Google has released an Android TV app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
Nintendo's Next Two Mobile Games Are Based on Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing, Will Launch This Fall
Posted April 27, 2016 at 1:09pm
Nintendo has announced that its next two mobile games will be based on Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing and will launch this fall.
Apple Says Demand for the 4-inch iPhone SE is 'Very Strong', Exceeded Expectations
Posted April 27, 2016 at 4:36am
Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that demand for the company's new 4-inch iPhone SE is 'very strong' exceeding their expectations.
Google Launches New 'Travel Times' Today Extension for iOS
Posted April 27, 2016 at 1:56am
Google has updated its Google Maps app for iOS with a new 'Travel Times' Today Extension.
Apple Announces Fiscal Q2 2016 Earnings, iPhone Sales Down 16%, First Revenue Drop in 13 Years
Posted April 26, 2016 at 8:50pm
Apple has announced earnings for fiscal Q2 2016. The company brought in $50.6 billion in revenue and $10.5 billion in net income.
Microsoft Announces Skype for Business Mac Public Preview [Video]
Posted April 26, 2016 at 8:19pm
Microsoft has announced the launch of Skype for Business Mac Public Preview.
Apple Releases iOS 9.3.2 Beta 3 to Developers for Testing
Posted April 26, 2016 at 7:13pm
Apple has released iOS 9.3.2 beta 3 to developers for testing.
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Not only is the mobile advertising network booming, it continues to find new ways to move forward and prosper. Current efforts have proven that mobile advertising and marketing are continuing to morph and develop into one of the largest advertising platforms. Apple recently made a change, which was one of many, that will heavily impact the mobile advertising arena moving forward.
Apple kicked off 2010 strong with the purchase of the cellular phone advertising company Quattro Wireless. Nearly eight months later, Apple decided to pull the plug on Quattro network and focus their energy into their own mobile advertising platform, also known as iAd. The termination of Quattro now allows Apple to focus its resources and efforts into improving the iAd Network, and hopefully converting Quattro’s existing customers into iAd users.
Apple’s relationship with Quattro is not the only recent change made by Apple; Apple has also announced that they are loosening up their iAd terms and agreements. Apple’s recent revisions to their agreement terms will now allow their competitor, Google, to sell and serve mobile advertising on their devices. This recent update has lifted the verbiage which previously specified that developers were not permitted to make use of any third-party advertising companies owned by or even affiliated with a distributor of mobile devices, which included Google’s AdMob. This change will open up the flood gates to a number of mobile advertising companies, who are now understandably thrilled by this new opportunity.
Users will benefit from an increase in inexpensive or even free applications that can more easily be supported by advertising. Prior to Apple lifting its regulations, there was a concern that Apple would be closed off to all ad networks that weren’t independent. Apple’s revised agreement will now allow both Google and AdMob to continue to serve advertisements to Apple devices. This newly enabled competitiveness in the mobile community is great news for everyone involved. This not only will facilitate lower costs for users, but also help to increase innovation and growth.

domain: news


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The Ghana Intellectual Property Office has called on Women in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to develop Intellectual Property (IP) strategy for their businesses during the launch of this year’s World Intellectual Property Day in Accra. Doing this will enable them protect their IP rights and enhance their business competitiveness in the market space.
- 5:48 pmPaul Russo, Group Chief Executive Officer of KCB Group PLC Emerge as InstinctBusiness CEO of the week
- 3:33 pmNigeria: FirstBank Group appoints new MD/CEO of UK subsidiary
- 1:47 pmGhana: Motorola expands in Ghana, introduces quality mobile technology
- 11:37 amNigeria: Zenith Bank seals MoU with CFA Institute for human capital development
- 11:21 amNigeria: Stanbic IBTC Pensions reaffirms dedication to customer service excellence


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Looking good on greens
Eating a healthy diet rich in fruit and vegetables gives you more healthy golden glow than the sun, say scientists.
The new research, by psychologists at the University of St Andrews, suggests that instead of hitting the beach, the best way to look good is by munching on carrots and tomatoes.
The team at the Perception Lab at St Andrews found that people who eat more portions of fruit and vegetables per day have a more golden skin colour, thanks to substances called carotenoids. Carotenoids are antioxidants that help soak up damaging compounds produced by the stresses and strains of everyday living, especially when the body is combatting disease. Responsible for the red colouring in fruit and vegetables such as carrots and tomatoes, cartenoids are important for our immune and reproductive systems.
Dr Ian Stephen, who led the research, commented, “Most people think the best way to improve skin colour is to get a suntan, but our research shows that eating lots of fruit and vegetables is actually more effective.”
“We found that, given the choice between skin colour caused by suntan and skin colour caused by carotenoids, people preferred the carotenoid skin colour, so if you want a healthier and more attractive skin colour, you are better off eating a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables than lying in the sun.”
Dr Stephen, now at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, suggests that the study is important because evolution would favour individuals who choose to form alliances or mate with healthier individuals over unhealthy individuals.
“This is something we share with many other species,” commented Professor David Perrett, who heads the Perception Lab. “For example, the bright yellow beaks and feathers of many birds can be thought of as adverts showing how healthy a male bird is. What’s more, females of these species prefer to mate with brighter, more coloured males. But this is the first study in which this has been demonstrated in humans.”
While this study describes work in Caucasian faces, the paper also describes a study that suggests cross cultures since similar preferences for skin yellowness were found in an African population.
The work was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Unilever Research, and published with support from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the British Academy and Wolfson Foundation.
It is published in the journal Evolution & Human Behavior this week.
Issued by the Press Office, University of St Andrews
Contact Gayle Cook, Senior Communications Manager on 01334 467227 / 462529, mobile 07900 050 103, or email [email protected]
Ref: Looking good 100111
View the latest University press releases at www.st-andrews.ac.uk


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Starbucks will start blocking pornography viewing on its stores' Wi-Fi starting in 2019, the company announced amid renewed public pressure on the coffee giant by an internet-safety group.
A Starbucks representative told NBC News that the viewing of "egregious content" over its stores' Wi-Fi has always violated its policy, but the company now has a way to stop it.
"We have identified a solution to prevent this content from being viewed within our stores and we will begin introducing it to our U.S. locations in 2019," the company representative said.
The announcement was first reported by Business Insider and comes after a petition from internet-safety advocacy group Enough is Enough garnered more than 26,000 signatures.
The nonprofit launched a porn-free campaign aimed at McDonald's and Starbucks in 2014, and it says that while McDonald's "responded rapidly and positively," Starbucks did not.
Starbucks said in 2016 that the company was "in active discussions with organizations on implementing the right, broad-based solution that would remove any illegal and other egregious content," according to a statement Monday by Enough is Enough CEO Donna Rice Hughes. But they didn't act, she said.
"Starbucks has had a tremendous opportunity to put its best foot forward in protecting its customers from images deemed obscene and illegal under the law, but they haven't budged, despite their promise two years ago and despite the fact that they voluntarily filter this same content in the UK," Hughes said in the statement.
Hughes told NBC News on Thursday that Enough is Enough ran a thank you campaign for Starbucks in 2016, but this time the organization will take a different tack.
"They won’t get an applause until they’ve actually implemented safe Wi-Fi filtering," Hughes said. "This time we’re going to wait and see, and we’re going to keep the pressure on."
In a letter that Hughes said she received from Starbucks over the summer, the company vowed to address the issue "once we determine that our customers can access our free WiFi in a way that also doesn't involuntarily block unintended content."
Starbucks has not released details about how it plans to restrict the viewing of pornographic sites or illegal content over its Wi-Fi.
The vice president of YouPorn, a free pornographic video-sharing site and one of the 200 most-visited websites worldwide, responded by sending a memo to staff banning Starbucks products from company offices starting Jan. 1, 2019.


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Cloud-based backup and transfer systems could save 7.3 wasted lifetimes, according to recent 451 Research into the time consuming inefficiencies of modern phone sales, reports Telecoms.com.
American consumers lost 4.5 million hours waiting for their content to be transferred between their old and new smartphones in-store this holiday season, according to the study conducted on behalf of Synchronoss Technologies. That wasted time converts into 187,500 days, 514 years or 7.3 wasted human lifetimes. Cloud based backups, which run in the background, will give smart phone users their lives back, Synchronoss claims.
As 59% of Americans buy new smartphones in physical stores, and each customer now has an average of 10.8GB of picture files, videos and games to transfer over the in-store Wi-Fi connecting their old and new devices, waiting times are likely to get increasingly long, according to Synchronoss. The picture is largely the same in Europe, with 64% of sales in the UK being conducted in store and with an even bigger proportion, 67%, in France. The store channel was used by 62% of Germans, 51% of Italians and 65% of Spanish phone purchasers.
In the study, conducted independently by 451 Research over the holiday season, 33.3 million devices were sold in that period throughout the US and 19.6 million of them were bought in a shop, with 23% of these shoppers asking the sales reps to transfer their personal content for them. At a transfer rate of 10.8GB per hour, that equates to a 4.5 million hours of waiting time.
Device financing, leasing and accelerated upgrade programmes will only make the demand for upgrades – and the subsequent waiting time situation – worse, according to Synchronous, which argued that its new cloud based Backup & Transfer service is the answer.
“Carriers and retailers must deploy backup and transfer solutions so customer content is securely hosted in the cloud before they walk into stores and can be ported to a new device at any time,”
said Daniel Rizer, Synchronoss’s EVP of Product Management.


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A new report suggests that Microsoft is indeed working on next generation hardware under the codename: Durango. Code-names are nothing new to Microsoft as many of their windows related products have aliases prior to release. You only have to look as far back as Kinect, to remember the code-name “Project Natal”.
If the report out of Kotaku is correct, we could be hearing a lot more about “Durango” in the coming months/years leading up to the release of the next generation console.
As the gaming world waits quietly for word about Microsoft’s next generation console, the company isn’t expected to make any announcements about a new console anytime soon. Some believe the earliest that we could expect to hear something is at E3 2012, which is still a longshot according to Microsoft brass.
One executive recently went on record to quell rumors that a next generation console was on the way.
- This article was updated on:March 7th, 2018


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The majority of people who visited the Web in the past 12 months went to health-related sites, and used the sites for research rather than the purchase of prescription drugs, according to research by Ipsos-NPD, Inc.
The Ipsos-NPD Online Health Report found that 65 percent of people who visited the Web in a 12-month period went to health-related sites, but data from the NPD e-Conomy Indicator show that of the total online sales in the first quarter of 2001, only 1.2 percent were for prescription medicines, essentially flat from the same period in 2000.
“Contrary to some speculation within the industry, our research suggests that the extent of online prescription drug purchasing is quite low and likely to remain so in the near future,” said Bob Shekhdar, vice president of Ipsos-NPD’s custom pharmaceutical business.
The consumers surveyed did report a high level of satisfaction with the information quality of health-related Web sites. Two-thirds of the respondents were extremely or very satisfied with the information available, particularly on specific conditions/diseases. According to the report, consumers placed the greatest trust in the following sites: thebreastcancersite.com, americanheart.org, WebMD.com and DrKoop.com. Those sites with the lowest levels of trust were dieting, health insurance/HMO/managed care and brand name prescription sites.
Sixty-one percent of those who visited healthcare Web sites and requested a specific drug after learning about it on the Web were women. Sixty-nine percent of survey respondents stated that they trust their doctors to make the best medical decisions for them; more than one-quarter said that they rely more on their own research. Men will usually trust their doctor’s opinion more than women (78 percent vs. 69 percent). Eighteen percent of those who looked for healthcare information on the Web specifically searched for prescription drugs.
The research also examined the future of Internet for health-related purposes. More than one-third (34 percent) of survey respondents said they would conduct more online research in the future, mostly through general health information sites. The purchase of prescription drugs could rise with such conveniences as doctors prescribing online and 24-hour delivery of prescriptions. According to the respondents, doctor and pharmacist recommendations, as well as good experiences related by others, would lead to increased traffic to health-related Internet sites.
Cyber Dialogue found a more symbiotic relationship between prescription drugs and the Internet in its research on pharmaceutical marketing. According to Cyber Dialogue, the ability of Web sites to provide more information about a drug than a commercial or advertisement pays off for drug companies. For example, 37 percent of consumers who visited a Web site after seeing a prescription drug ad requested a prescription from their physician. This is compared to 31 percent who called the 1-800 number and 15 percent U.S. adults overall.
The consumers who use the Internet to learn more about prescription drugs are also a highly sought after bunch. Forty-three percent of consumers who visit a Web site after seeing an ad have an annual income of more than $50,000, compared to only 15 percent of those who call the 1-800 number. In addition, post-ad Web site visitors are more likely than 1-800 callers to be college-educated (38 percent to 23 percent) and under 35 years old (37 percent to 24 percent).
More than three-quarters (77 percent) of online consumers who have visited a Web site they’ve seen in an ad are interested in using the Internet to manage their own health and that of their families; 81 percent of this group feels that the Internet empowers them to make better life decisions.


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Are QR codes worth it? When you include a QR code with your marketing materials, how sure are you that your customers would take the time to scan it? Are people still scanning QR codes or not?
NeoMedia Technologies, a global mobile barcode management solutions company, has released encouraging data about the use of QR codes.
Statistics from the firm confirmed that QR code scanning has increased in the second quarter by 39%, compared to the first quarter of 2012. Barcode scanning also increased by 41%. A lot of these scans came from Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and Spain.
The company released the data as part of its press release that also revealed that 25 million users have installed their popular NeoReader mobile app. More than half of these were on Android devices.
This is great news that shows that not only are more companies using QR codes for their marketing, but there are more customers scanning them as well. That should be enough reason why marketers should continue using QR codes in their efforts.
If you want to know for sure whether people are scanning your QR codes, be sure to track your QR codes. BeQRious gives you the ability not only to create your QR code, but also allows you to track these codes.
BeQRious’ tracking statistics go more than just counting the number of scans. What you get is a wealth of information and insights that could help you fine tune future QR code campaigns. For example, know which codes are being scanned by your target market. Know where they are being scanned as well as the time they are being scanned.
All of these insights are very valuable for you to be able to make your next QR code marketing effort a lot better. For example, you could focus on the places where your QR codes are being scanned. It can also help you determine if there are problem areas that you should fix.
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Nov 14, 2022
Nestle still bullish on plant protein despite dip in demand
A recent fizzle in the hype surrounding plant protein consumption will give way to a more sustainable growth trajectory that could see the segment account for 30 per cent or 40 per cent of the global protein market, according to a top Nestle SA executive.
Like the initial boom in craft beer, many investors piled into the faux meat market based on overly optimistic expectations of consumer uptake, Chief Technology Officer Stefan Palzer said in an interview Monday.
“When craft beer came on the market, everybody wanted to have it,” Palzer said. “Then there was a dip in demand and then it slowly grew back over many years to a significant business. I think that's what we will also observe here.”
Plant protein makers that benefitted from a greater emphasis on health in the early stages of the pandemic have struggled as inflation pushes consumers to less expensive options, including the animal meat they hoped to replace. Once an investor darling, Beyond Meat Inc. has lost more than 80 per cent of its value in the past year as discounting products in the U.S. and abroad hurts profitability. And some fast-food chains have pulled back from faux meat offerings after lackluster demand.
While the market may have been disappointed by plant protein sales of late, Nestle is still seeing “quite good” performance in the segment, said Palzer, who leads Nestle's research and development. He's preparing for steady consumption growth in the years ahead by building the plant protein portion of his global R&D team to 10 per cent, or 300 people.
The Vevey, Switzerland-based firm will continue to develop meat replacements, but also has turned to products that use both animal and non-animal proteins -- such as an ambient mix that can be added to eggs to boost volume and affordability, or including plant ingredients in dairy protein drinks.
“We believe in the potential,” he said. “But the potential is beyond the pure alternative ingredient. It's to use plant proteins to innovate in many parts of our portfolio.”
Peers including Hormel Foods Corp. already have been experimenting with meat-vegetable blends to appeal to the so-called flexitarian crowd that's looking to cut back on animal proteins. Drive-in restaurant chain Sonic Corp. sold a mushroom-beef blended burger in the past that it touted as a healthier option.
While food science and technology remains a centralized pursuit for Nestle, innovation is decentralized, Palzer said. He spoke from Santiago, Chile, where the company held a ribbon-cutting event for a new center to develop foods for the requirements of consumers in the region.
He also sees plenty of plant protein potential in Latin America where meat consumption remains high. Motivations for turning to animal substitutes vary region by region. For example, in the U.K. and Germany, animal welfare is a big driver while in Latin America it's more health and then sustainability, he said.
In the U.S., McDonald's Corp.'s faux meat burger made by Beyond Meat hasn't gone any further than just a limited test. Meanwhile, the chain has expanded the plant-protein burger across all of the UK and Ireland. Palzer said it's inevitable that plant-based goes mainstream.
“There's no way around that because we cannot continue with the same amount of meat and fish and chicken like we consume today,” he said. “So plant-based has to go mainstream simply cause there's not enough animal protein.”


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Cargo iQ names new board members and shares key objectives
17 / 06 / 2021
Cargo iQ has added two new board members, has re-elected its chair and vice-chair, and has unveiled its key strategies for the future.
Fedor Novikov, marketing director at Volga-Dnepr Group, and Clark Fritzsch, global head of business process management for airfreight at forwarder at Hellmann, have been admitted to the board of the 64-member Geneva-based group.
Novikov replaces a board seat vacated by Mark Albrecht of United Airlines, and Fritzsch replaces Markus Muecke, managing director of Im3pact AG, who has moved from being a voting member to advisor to the board.
They join Cargo iQ chair Henrik Ambak, who is also senior vice president of cargo operations worldwide at Emirates SkyCargo, and vice-chair Kerstin Strauss, vice president of air logistics operations, global air logistics at Kuehne+Nagel.
At the same time, Emanuel Hille, director eCargo solutions at Champ Cargosystems replaces Laurent Jossa from the same company as an observer.
New board member Fedor Novikov said: “For the last 18 months, the role of air cargo has been more visible as the entire cargo industry delivered vital supplies across the globe in the battle against the Covid-19 spread. Now it is time to scale up initiatives and implement projects and plans aimed at further enhancing the quality of the supply chain.
“I think that Cargo iQ is on the right track with this as it has been nurturing an innovative spirit since the first day of its work.”
Clark Fritzsch added: “As the airfreight community has been quite fragmented in terms of standards in quality control and transparency, joining the one interest group that is fully committed to finding a solution across most participants within the airfreight supply chain is the best way in pushing this industry into the ‘23rd century’. I hope and believe I can add an additional view to move the agenda forward.”
Cargo iQ board’s is made up of 13 voting members, including representatives from Agility Logistics, Air France KLM Martinair, AirBridgeCargo, Cargomind (Austria), Cathay Pacific, DB Schenker, DHL Global Forwarding, Emirates SkyCargo, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, Kuehne+Nagel, Lufthansa Cargo, Qatar Airways Cargo and Swissport International, supported by observer Champ Cargosystems and advisor Im3Pact.
The new board members were formally welcomed at Cargo iQ’s working group attended by more than 100 people last month.
The organisations key objectives for the year were also agreed and included achieving 100% reporting; reaching out and engaging with small and medium sized forwarders; and truly enacting Cargo IQ’s quality management system (QMS) by enhancing service delivery support in addition to post-event reporting.
Henrik Ambak explained: “Cargo iQ’s objectives for 2021 are designed to move closer to our overall goal of 100% visibility in a concise manner and support the parts of the community which need our QMS most. Both AirBridgeCargo and Hellmann have shown their commitment to Cargo iQ’s objectives and their contribution as board members will accelerate and support our progression.”
Sub working groups discussed issues for Cargo iQ members to work on in coming months including included cargo messaging, care protocols, smart data and suggested changes to the audit process.
They also discussed improvements to the Cargo iQ master operating plan, as well as updates for its Encore platform, which maintains offset agreements between carrier and forwarder members.
The groups also discussed exception handling code procedure and ways for road feeder service providers to complement airlines in their offline procedures.
Following additional meetings, they will report back in November.


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The Taichi is among the very few truly innovative mobile computing products we have seen this year and carries the potential to bridge the gap between the convenience of content consumption on tablets with the productivity capability of a traditional notebook. Unfortunately, the Taichi and its dual touch screens isn't cheap to manufacture. The BOM alone is estimated to ring in at about $900. Once you add assembly, packaging, shipping, overhead cost such as marketing and administration and apply a 20 percent retail margin, it's unlikely to see the Taichi become available form much less than $1,400 - if it enters production.
PC vendors typically shy away from any notebook that has to retail for more than $1,000, because it is generally assumed that only Apple can effectively justify such a high price tag. However, noticeable product innovation in the PC space could change that mindset. Razer's Blade recently demonstrated that even higher prices can be achieved with unique product designs. Lenovo would be facing similar road blocks, but healthy competition in this space could help bring the estimated retail price of this class of products down to a more digestible number closer to $1,000.
Lenovo did not confirm plans for a dual touch screen notebook.


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Principal Hospitality celebrates opening of debut property
A stylish new hotel occupying a historic site in the much-visited New England town of Brunswick, The Federal features 30 guestrooms split across two buildings.
The Federal, an exciting hospitality scheme in Brunswick, Maine, has opened its doors.
Giving a historic site a new lease of life
Hotel management and consulting company Principal Hospitality has announced the launch of its inaugural project, The Federal, in downtown Brunswick, Maine. Located on the former site of The Daniel and Captain Daniel Stone Inn, which was constructed in 1810, it spans two separate buildings, including the onetime residence of Captain Daniel Stone himself.
“This property holds such rich history dating back centuries,” said Gerard Kiladjian, founder of Principal Hospitality. “We’re honoured to have the opportunity to reimagine the site and elevate the guest experience for a modern sensibility.
“The Federal and our new restaurant will be a welcoming destination for those who come from near and far to experience coastal Maine.”
In the heart of the action
The Federal has an enviable location halfway between Portland and Boothbay Harbor, just off Route 1. Its 30 guestrooms comprise a mix of luxury suites, premium rooms, king-size rooms and queen-size rooms.
A pair of meeting rooms, The Anchor Room and The Chart Room, can accommodate 50 and 35 attendees respectively. There’ll also soon be a farm-to-table destination restaurant, which is scheduled to open in April 2022.
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Casa de Campo becomes wellness destination with spa debut
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Pan Pacific Orchard opens as new tropical oasis in Singapore
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Hyatt debuts four new Inclusive Collection resorts in Bulgaria
Secrets Sunny Beach Resort & Spa, Dreams Sunny Beach Resort & Spa, AluaSun Helios Beach and Alua Helios Bay are all now welcoming their first guests. Expansion of the Inclusive Collection The debut of Secrets Sunny Beach Resort & Spa, Dreams Sunny Beach...
Dusit welcomes three new hotels to its Asia portfolio
These three openings follow closely on from the recent launch of Dusit’s first hotel in Europe, Dusit Suites Athens in Greece, as well as Dusit Princess Hotel Residences Nairobi in Kenya. Brand growth Dusit Hotels and Resorts, which is a part of one of Thailand’s...
Grand Hyatt debuts in Spain with sports-focused Murcia opening
Hyatt Hotels Corporation partnered with property owner Grupo Inversor Hesperia to open this Grand Hyatt branded resort in the exclusive golf destination. Resort transformation Grand Hyatt La Manga Club Golf & Spa is now open following an extensive refurbishment....


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This morning Chairman Genachowski spoke on spectrum, consumers and America’s small businesses, delivering the keynote address as part of the Mobile Future Forum. He called attention to the growth of broadband in America, the looming spectrum crisis and our solution of voluntary, market-based incentive auctions to free up that spectrum. He emphasized that “we must act” to set the pace for 21st century technology and said, “there’s no other choice than for the U.S. to lead.”
Given the theme, the event was held at Voxiva, a mobile based information solutions firm recently named one of the most innovative companies in the world. Peter Rysavy of Rysavy Research released a report prior to the Chairman’s talk entitled The Spectrum Imperative: Mobile Broadband Spectrum and its impacts for U.S. Consumers and the Economy. Here's an excerpt from the Chairman's speech:
To some, it was a surprise that the Broadband Plan included major sections on mobile broadband. At the time, many assumed that broadband was what you got when you connected your computer to the modem plugged into your wall.…Mobile broadband is being adopted faster than any computing platform in history. The number of smartphones and tablets being sold now exceeds the number of PCs. The Mobile Future report released this morning puts a fine point on this. According to their report, quote, “The clock is ticking, with rising demand and rapidly closing the gap with existing supply. The consequences of inaction are severe, widespread and wholly negative for consumers and the U.S. economy."
The point deserves emphasis: the clock is ticking on our mobile future. Demand for spectrum is rapidly outstripping supply. The networks we have today won’t be able to handle consumer and business needs.
Read the rest of the Chairman’s speech The Clock is Ticking.


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(Reuters) – A U.S. district court on Wednesday sanctioned television host Ryan Seacrest’s Typo Products for violating an injunction barring it from selling a $99 iPhone case found to have likely infringed on BlackBerry Ltd patents.
U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco ordered Typo on Wednesday to pay BlackBerry $860,600 in sanctions, plus attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in connection with Typo’s violation of the injunction.
BlackBerry had filed a suit in January 2014 against Typo, co-founded by “American Idol” host Seacrest, alleging that the physical keyboard it makes for some of Apple’s iPhone devices infringed on the Canadian smartphone maker’s design patents.
In March, the court issued a preliminary injunction that barred Typo from selling the physical keyboard iPhone case.
A spokeswoman for Typo in an email said that the ongoing litigation and fine relates to the initial Typoproduct and does not impact its since redesigned keyboard product.
“It has no impact on the Typo 2 product currently in the marketplace, or our other planned product releases for the tablet,” the company said in an email, declining to comment any further on the matter.
BlackBerry, which had asked the court to fine Typo $2.64 million for violating the injunction, declined to comment on the matter, stating merely that the court order speaks for itself.
The court, in an order issued on Wednesday, said that Typo had sold nearly 19,000 of the keyboards after the preliminary injunction had been issued.
Typo argued that BlackBerry has not shown that it has lost any sales as a result of Typo’s conduct and that a fine would constitute an undeserved windfall for BlackBerry (BBRY).
The judge agreed it was unclear to what extent BlackBerry had been damaged, but added that “Typo’s not so clever attempts to evade the court’s preliminary injunction” were quite transparent.
“The amount of sanctions awarded is only a third of what BlackBerry sought and is directly tied to additional revenue that Typo could have expected from its illegal conduct,” said judge Orrick, in the order.


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BF Goodrich, one of the pioneers in the lifted truck tire business, has launched a racing website to promote the company’s racing activities. BFG supports numerous off-road drivers including Bryce Menzies and Andy McMillin. The Company has been extremely active in off-road and on-road motorsports for over 40 years and this website will help them highlight all they do.
That being said, BFG seems to be a little bit on the decline in the lifted truck industry. The BFG Mud-Terrain used to be the tire of choice for most lifted truck owners. But it appears that Toyo and Nitto have done a better job marketing and manufacturing tires, replacing BFG as the tire of choice in the industry. Hopefully this website will get things back on track for BFG, but it sort of feels like a veteran athlete trying to make a comeback. Everyone hopes they make it, but usually it doesn’t work out.
What do you think? Is BFG still a top tire company for lifted truck owners? Will this racing website help or hurt the company?


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Saskatchewan Fashion Week an exciting first for Sage Wosminity, 15
Designer Sage Wosminity, 15, is excited to be a part of Saskatchewan Fashion, currently underway in Regina.
"I really wanted to do it and just didn't want to wait," Wosminity told CBC News a few days before her fashions are showcased. Wosminity's collection is set to be part of the Saturday show for SFW.
"I've never done this before," she said, about her debut as a designer. "I've never even made clothes for anybody else. So this is the first time for all of this. All the steps. Fitting the models and dressing them backstage and all that."
While Wosminity, a Grade 10 student, is new to the fashion runway, she is no novice seamstress.
"I've been sewing for my whole life," she said. "My Grandma taught me because I used to go to her house before I went to elementary school, like for kindergarten and stuff, and she taught me how to sew and draw there."
Saskatchewan Fashion Week is presenting the collections of 22 designers at shows being held at the Canada-Saskatchewan Soundstage in Regina.


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Equilibrium/Sustainability — Sprouting seeds a quarter-million miles away
Scientists have succeeded in sprouting seeds in lunar soil — a triumph that could be the first step toward one day cultivating crops on the moon.
The University of Florida researchers said they had just 12 grams — or a few teaspoons — of lunar soil to conduct their experiment. The soil, they explained, was on loan from NASA and collected during the Apollo 11, 12 and 17 missions to the moon.
To sow their lunar garden, the scientists said they used thimble-sized wells in plastic plates normally used to culture cells — filling each “pot” with a gram of soil.
They moistened the soil with a nutrient solution and added a few seeds from the thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) plant, which is often used in science due to its fully mapped genetic code.
The researchers were surprised to see that nearly all the seeds sprouted, publishing their findings on Thursday in Communications Biology.
“For future, longer space missions, we may use the Moon as a hub or launching pad,” study co-author Rob Ferl, of the University of Florida, said in a statement.
“It makes sense that we would want to use the soil that’s already there to grow plants,” he added.
Welcome to Equilibrium, a newsletter that tracks the growing global battle over the future of sustainability. We’re Saul Elbein and Sharon Udasin. Send us tips and feedback. A friend forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here.
Today we’ll give a rundown of electric vehicles and battery hybrids that you can buy for less than $50,000 — and in some cases, a lot less. Then we’ll look at a bipartisan Colorado bill seeking to ban products that containing “forever chemicals.”
Soaring gas prices and a lack of available new and used vehicles have pushed many consumers to consider electric vehicle (EV) options.
While EVs can carry a higher price tag than traditional gas-powered cars, manufacturers are hoping cheaper models and semi-electric cars will help afford buyers more options.
Compact EVs for the most price-conscious customers:
- In its 12th year of production
- A range of 150 miles per charge
- A reliable EV for in-city driving
- Rings in just under $20,000 once credits are included
- A range of 259 miles
- $4,000 more than the Leaf
Two electric SUVs you can buy now:
- Offers 280 miles per charge
- Price starts at $41,000
- 300 miles for about $45,000
Both ID.4 and IONIQ5 are still eligible for the federal tax credits — which are only available for new battery-electric or plug-in electric cars. These can reach a maximum of $7,500 based on the car’s battery size.
More e-SUVs come out later this year: Toyota’s bZ4X is a small SUV coming out this summer
- Has a range of about 250 miles
- The first fully electric car from a company best known for gas-powered hybrids
- Costs between $44,000 and $48,000 — but unlike the Leaf or the IONIQ5, that sticker price is what you get
That’s because Toyota’s federal tax credits, which only cover the first 200,000 electric vehicles a manufacturer produces, will likely expire around the time the bZ4X hits roadways this summer, because most of them went to the company’s plug-in models.
That means a better choice for some consumers may be the SUV that Matthew Degen of car review site Kelley Blue Book described as the bZ4X’s “twin” — the Subaru Solterra.
- Costs about $45,000 but is still eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit
- Has a range of 220 miles
- Set to go on sale this summer
What about the Ford Lightning? The 2022 model of Ford’s new F-150 Lightning EV has long since sold out — but the 2023 model is expected to go on sale in fall of 2022.
- That will cost just under $40,000 for the base model — under $33,000 with a $7,500 federal tax credit
- However, Ford’s credits will soon run out, as Tesla’s did in 2021 and Toyota’s will this summer
BATTERY-ELECTRIC OPTIONS SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE
Options expand, and prices drop, the more gasoline a car can burn, Degen said.
On the lower end: The Kia Niro plug-in hybrid SUV
- Gets only 26 miles on a charge but compensates with a 52 miles per gallon in gas mileage
- The current 2022 model sells for just under $30,000, and the new 2023 model will sell for about $33,000
- If bought new, either model is eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit
On the higher end: Toyota’s plug-in hybrid RAV4
- Gets 42 miles per battery charge and about 40 miles per gallon when burning gasoline.
- That car is also still eligible for the tax credit, at least until Toyota’s supply of the credits run out.
- Without the credit, the 2023 model price will run in the mid-$30,000 range.
Added benefits: For some customers, a hybrid may bring added advantages beyond the lower price.
“The truth is, EVs won’t work for everybody,” Degen said.
Batteries for town, gas for country: “Some people want the flexibility of a plug-in hybrid electric — where they can do their in-town driving on electricity — and then when they want to take a road trip across America, they can do that too, without having to worry about charging up every 300 miles,” he added.
New ‘forever chemical’ bans
Coloradans would no longer be able to sell or distribute a long list of products that contain so-called “forever chemicals” under a bill approved by the state’s legislature this week.
The bill, which would restrict some products as early as Jan. 1, 2024, passed both chambers with bipartisan support and is now headed to Gov. Jared Polis’s (D) desk.
What would be prohibited? According to the bill:
- Carpets or rugs
- Fabric treatments
- Food packaging
- Juvenile products
- Oil and gas products
- Textiles, furnishings and upholstered furniture
Cookware that contains such compounds “in the handle of the product or in any product surface that comes into contact with food” would also need to disclose these ingredients on their product labels.
Popular in products: Forever chemicals — also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — are most notorious for their presence in jet fuel firefighting foams and industrial discharge, but they are also key ingredients in household products like those included in the Colorado ban.
There are thousands of types of PFAS, some of which are linked to testicular cancer, kidney cancer and a host of other illnesses. They earned the epithet “forever chemicals” due to their propensity to endure long-term in the human body and in the environment.
Bill would also target firefighting foam: In addition to restricting certain consumer products, the Colorado bill would also require those who use PFAS-based firefighting foam to “fully contain the firefighting foam during its use, safe store the firefighting foam” and report any spills to a designated hotline.
Bipartisan support: While the bill had sponsors on both sides of the aisle in the state Assembly, it received only Democratic sponsorship in the state Senate. However, the legislation passed with bipartisan support in both chambers.
ONE OF THE MOST ‘COMPREHENSIVE PFAS RESTRICTIONS’
Environmental activists applauded the Colorado bill’s advancement, with the Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG) describing the bill as “one of the country’s most comprehensive PFAS restrictions on consumer products, oil and gas production.”
“These are dangerous chemicals and there is no reason to allow them in our consumer products,” Danny Katz, CoPIRG executive director, said in a statement.
“Colorado is continuing to act in a bipartisan way to stop the exposure to these chemicals that can leach into our waters and bodies, and cause serious health problems like cancer and impairing immune systems,” Katz added.
How do other states compare?
- Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) in May signed into law a bill banning the manufacture, sale and distribution of various items containing intentionally added PFAS, in a gradual manner over the next two years.
- Last July, Maine became the first state to pass an all-inclusive PFAS product prohibition — legalizing a 2030 ban on most products with intentionally added PFAS as an emergency measure, without the governor’s signature.
- In October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed two laws banning the use of forever chemicals in children’s products and food packaging, as The Hill reported.
‘A really good start’: Liz Rosenbaum, a longtime PFAS activist from the Colorado Springs region, described the Colorado legislation as “a really good start.” She expressed disappointment, however, that certain measures were eliminated from the bill.
Of particular concern, Rosenbaum told Equilibrium, was the removal of ski wax from the list of banned products.
“If it has PFAS, doesn’t it get in the snow and melt into the rivers and then go into the water?” she asked.
A national model: Nonetheless, Rosenbaum hailed the legislation’s advancement.
“Some other states are really, really looking at it, which is great,” Rosenbaum said. “We get to be a groundbreaking state.”
To read the full story, please click here.
VIRTUAL EVENT INVITE
The Opioid Crisis & the Criminal Justice System, Wednesday, May 18 at 1 p.m. ET
According to SAMHSA, nearly 20 percent of incarcerated individuals have reported regular opioid use. Yet only a small percentage of them are receiving medication-assisted treatment in jails and prisons. How do we improve access to addiction treatment within the criminal justice system? What efforts are needed to ensure a safe and successful return to society and the workforce? The Hill hosts a discussion on improving addiction treatment and recovery across the criminal justice system with Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid and more. RSVP now.
A survey of newsmakers talking tough and starting fights.
Biden administration nixes oil and gas lease sales in Alaska, Gulf of Mexico
- The Biden administration is nixing planned oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Cook Inlet, due to conflicting court rulings and insufficient industry interest, respectively, Zack Budryk reported for The Hill.
GM wasn’t first with EVs, but aims to win: CEO
- General Motors CEO Mary Barra says her company — which has only released a trickle of new electric vehicles — can sufficiently ramp up production to flood out competitors at Ford and Tesla, according to The New York Times.
Elon Musk takes aim at hydrogen-storing competition
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk criticized the idea that hydrogen fuel — potentially pulled from water by clean energy — could be a cost-effective alternative to batteries, saying it is the “most dumb thing I could imagine for energy storage,” CNBC reported on Thursday.
Please visit The Hill’s Sustainability section online for the web version of this newsletter and more stories. We’ll see you tomorrow.
The Hill has removed its comment section, as there are many other forums for readers to participate in the conversation. We invite you to join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter.


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China's Huawei is suing South Korea's Samsung for compensation over alleged unlicensed use of its technology.
The next big smartphone patents battle is shaping up – between China’s Huawei and South Korea’s Samsung.
Huawei is suing in the United States and China, seeking compensation claiming unlicensed 4G phone communications technology, operating systems and user interface software was used in Samsung phones.
The law suit comes after the two failed to reach a licensing deal over the technology.
Samsung said it would review the complaint and take appropriate action to defend its business interests.
— 코리아헤럴드 Korea Herald (@TheKoreaHerald) May 25, 2016
This is the latest in a series of patent lawsuits, most notably between Samsung and Apple.
In the past China firms have often been on the receiving end of patent infringement actions.
Last year Xiaomi was forced to briefly halt sales of handsets in India after a patent infringement complaint from telecom equipment maker Ericsson.
Samsung used to be the biggest smartphone vendor but has been leapfrogged by local brands and losing market share to late-comer Apple. It is now ranked sixth by sales, trailing Huawei, OPPO, Vivo, Apple and Xiaomi.


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There's good news, and some really bad news, about Iran's efforts to evade U.S. sanctions and infiltrate the U.S. financial system.
The good news is that Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau's indictment this week of the Chinese firm LIMMT and its principal Li Fang Wei exposed some of Iran's illicit transactions. The bad news is that Tehran wasn't seeking U.S. currency simply as a safe haven in a turbulent market. The mullahs wanted dollars to buy critical ingredients in the production of long-range missiles and atomic warheads. And Mr. Morgenthau says they got them.
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This one's a bit of a worry. For years the British market yearned for the Ford Mustang. Now it has it, but is that a good thing?
When the Mustang was first tested it achieved a dismal two-star rating, making it the worst car in terms of safety rating sold in Britain over the last five years.
Thankfully, it was re-tested this year and it was given a slightly better three-star classification. Good, but not great.
Read our Ford Mustang review.


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The commercial insurance industry is at a crossroads: the market is consolidating, the competitive and customer landscape is changing, and underwriting and pricing models are increasingly sophisticated. Insurers must adapt, and that calls for advanced, data-driven, predictive analytics, according to a new report released by Valen Analytics, a data and analytics provider for property and casualty insurance companies.
The report, “2015 Outlook: Commercial Lines,” highlights the threats insurers face in advancing their commercial lines and identifies key steps they can take to succeed in a rapidly changing market and is based in part on 1,200 in-depth conversations Valen Analytics have had this year with commercial lines executives about their concerns. Specifically, the report details how profit and success in the changing market—which is facing the consolidation trends and issues P&C lines have faced—will be determined by data-driven decision-making, or what Valen Analytics refers to as D3.
To facilitate D3, insurers must implement advanced data and analytics in conjunction with an overhaul of their decision-making culture. To be data-driven, according to Valen Analtyics, is to commit to going beyond conventional analytics that rely only on heuristics and to instill a curiosity and rigor to find credible patterns in the data. “It’s not just about technology; you have to retool your people so that underwriters don’t feel that data analytics are a threat to their expertise, or actuaries to their tried-and-true pricing models.,” the new report advises.
This guidance is designed to mitigate the three most-pressing challenges commercial lines insurers face today. Underwriting profitability has become a top concern for insurers, especially as insurers who have adopted sophisticated pricing models begin undercutting pricing on the best risks and avoid writing poor performing risks at inadequate prices. This adverse selection, which the report notes is “perhaps the most insidious threat because it’s completely invisible until well after it has infected a portfolio and the damage is done,” occurs when a competitor undercuts the incumbent’s pricing on the best risks and avoids writing poor performing risks at inadequate prices. Insurers without sophisticated pricing models can’t effectively compete, according to Valen Analytics. The reports also points out that the number of market-dominating insurers who have the resources, technology and data to grab market share is getting smaller.
“We’re starting to see a division between the winners’ and losers’ of adverse selection emerge in today’s shifting landscape,” said Valen Analytics CEO and president Dax Craig said in a prepared statement. “It’s an increasing concern within commercial lines because the impact is oftentimes invisible until after the damage has been done to a portfolio. The good news is that the opportunities to compete in today’s fierce market are there for those who prioritize data and analytics.”
In addition, there are a number of new market entrants, especially technology companies like Google, e-commerce companies like Amazon and Overstock, and big-name retailers like Wal-Mart and Ikea, that are disrupting the market and already well-versed in data-driven strategies. Another changing-and threatening—market dynamic is the fact that 50 percent of the insurance workforce is nearing retirement and will have an increasing influence as both employees and customers.
The report says insurers can no longer do “business as usual,” and instead need to understand and now what they insure, become more adept and efficient at selecting risks that fit their business and price them accordingly, and use data analytics to evaluate options so they can test and learn, select the best approach, and deliver results that make the greatest strategic impact.
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Yahoo and Facebook reported on Friday that they have finally resolved a high profile patent disagreement through a deal, which analysts thought would possibly benefit both sides.
The dispute, involving a patent infringement of Yahoo against Facebook for technologies related to social networking, advertising, privacy, site customization and communications, have finally been resolved. Both firms revealed in a joint statement that they have signed a cross-licensing agreement allowing access to each other’s patent portfolios. They have also copied an advertising partnership and will expand an existing content distribution agreement.
According to Yahoo, under the leadership of former CEO Scott Thompson, it litigated Facebook in March for breaching its patents, including the accused social network’s News Feeds and how its privacy settings are managed.
Yahoo has about 1,000 patents in its portfolio, including 60 or so that originally belonged to Overture Services, which Yahoo acquired in 2003.
Soon after, Facebook fought back and filed its own patent infringement lawsuit against Yahoo. It alleged that Yahoo infringed on several of its patents, one of which was on a technology developed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook’s IPO filings revealed that it had 774 patents in the U.S. and 96 patents in foreign markets.
As a means to end dispute, Yahoo CEO Ross Levinsohn and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg represented in the settlement of a plan to broadcast Yahoo’s large event coverage to Facebook users through “collaborating on social integrations on the Yahoo site,” according to their statement.
Thus, according to analysts, it is not far from reality that Facebook will possibly host Yahoo’s content on its own site by incorporating more of its social sharing features into the firm’s coverage of events, such as the upcoming Olympics.
This collaboration brings good news to Yahoo as it can now have a share of the social market dominantly owned by Facebook.
IDC analyst Karsten Weide commented, “Primarily, I think this is Yahoo saying, ‘Oops, sorry we bothered you with the patent stuff. We’re going to go home now. Yahoo can go to [advertising] customers and say, look, you wanted social and we’ve got social.”
On the other hand, Facebook may also probably benefit from accessing some of Yahoo’s content.
According to Gartner analyst Allen Weiner, “One of the real opportunities [for Facebook] moving forward is using their platform to distribute content. Facebook wants to beef up their supply of content that can be shared across the Facebook network. They don’t really have any of their own content, be it original or even aggregated, so Yahoo makes a logical partner for that.”
The patent trials had been scheduled to begin later this month.


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From a Reuters News article:
“Democratic senators proposed legislation on Tuesday that would set penalties for online companies like Alphabet Inc’s Google and Facebook Inc if they mishandle users’ personal data.
“The measure comes at a time when the luster of the Big Tech platforms, once praised as one of the most dynamic parts of the U.S. economy, has faded because of data breaches and discomfort over what information about people is being collected and what it is used for.
“The proposed bill, called the Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act, would allow people to see what information is collected about them, require that it be deleted and prevent its sale. It also allows consumers to file lawsuits if online businesses break rules.
“Companies would also have to get a consumer’s permission to share any sensitive data, which the bill defines broadly enough to include location, biometrics, email address or telephone number.
“’The key thing is that obviously you have to have privacy rights. It should be clear and you should know what they are,’ Senator Maria Cantwell said in an interview.”
The fill article may be found at: https://reut.rs/35C7YWi.


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The ‘customs ONE’ plan is part of the India@2047 blueprint, a vision to make the country one of the world’s top three economies.
The government is working on streamlining approvals to ensure that goods for exports and imports are cleared within an hour of their arrival at seaports and airports to help catapult India’s share in global trade to 10% by 2047.
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WENATCHEE, Wash. — A smaller crop and stronger dollar have reduced Washington apple exports 28 percent as of Dec. 1 compared with the same time a year ago.
“We have a huge difference in crop volumes. It’s hard to compare the two years when they are so vastly different,” said Todd Fryhover, president of the Washington Apple Commission, which promotes industry exports.
The 2015 Washington apple crop is currently estimated at 118.5 million, 40-pound boxes compared with a record 141.8 million that were sold from the 2014 crop.
“The domestic market is No. 1 and the industry will take care of that demand and we will work diligently to keep our export customers happy until we have more volume for them next year,” Fryhover said.
Another factor reducing exports is the growth of new club and managed varieties that mainly sell domestically, he said.
The industry rule of thumb is that 30 percent of the volume is exported. It may be closer to 20 to 15 percent this season, he said.
From Sept. 1 through Dec. 1, 7.8 million boxes of Washington apples were exported, down 28.2 percent from 10.9 million for the same period a year ago, Fryhover said.
This year’s statistics are closer to two years ago when 8.4 million had been exported by Dec. 1 out of an 115-million-box crop.
The largest export market, Mexico, is off 38 percent and the second largest, Canada, is down 26 percent so far this season, he said.
“Both are apple producers so that makes our early sales there slow and our smaller crop and higher-value dollar don’t play into our favor,” he said.
About 1.5 million boxes have been shipped to Mexico season-to-date, 1.2 million to Canada and 1.5 million to Taiwan, he said.
That rate is on target given the size of the Washington crop, he said.
Washington exported 48.7 million boxes of apples from the 2014 crop and likely will be 30 million to 35 million boxes from the 2014 crop, Fryhover said.
China has bought 447,000 boxes of Washington apples so far this year compared to 24,000 a year ago. Closure of the market until Oct. 30 followed by labor disruptions at West Coast ports hindered sales.
This year, for the first time China is open to all U.S. varieties. Costs are more stable and lower with a 23 percent duty and 13 percent value added tax than they were through the “gray market” through Hong Kong, Fryhover said.
He anticipates sales will reach slightly under 2 million boxes this season but will grow in ensuing years with larger Washington crops.
E-commerce or online sales is a growing trend for all sorts of goods in China. Fryhover said he and commission members Jon Alegria, president of CPC International Apple Co., and Chelan grower Dave Robison met with importers, retailers and e-commerce sales organizations in a November trip to China. About 10,000 boxes of Washington apples were sold online in China in a single day on “Singles Day” or “1111,” on Nov. 11, a sales day akin to the U.S. Black Friday, he said.
The commission will spend $7 million to $8 million on export promotions this season with 38 percent of that in Southeast Asia, 19 percent in Mexico, 18 percent in India and 13 percent in China, he said.
Fryhover said he is concerned about Canada and Mexico imposing tariffs on Washington apples if Congress does not change country-of-origin labeling. Both countries object to COOL.


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The Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF) has officially requested the European Commission (EC) to investigate whether the proposed P3 global alliance between Maersk Line, CMA CGM, and Mediterranean Shipping Company could upend market competition.
The GSF in a statement said it has raised its concerns over the proposed P3 alliance by submitting detailed questions to the EC Competition Directorate in Brussels, Belgium, requesting for the “essential features and details of the P3 Global Alliance in order that the GSF will be in a position to complete its own legal analysis of the proposed agreement.”
It explained that a more in-depth assessment is needed for the forum to comment on the competition law and market impact issues that may arise from the proposed alliance.
“In particular, the GSF has asked for confirmation from the European Commission competition authorities that it has commenced a formal investigation,” it added.
“The question on every shipper’s mind is ‘what will be the impact on my rates and the quality of services?’’’ said GSF secretary general Chris Welsh.
He added that the proposed P3 alliance is an industry “game-changer” that will fundamentally change the structure and competitive state of the global container shipping market.
“Shippers are rightly worried about the potential of the P3 to eliminate effective competition in the world’s main liner trades,” he pointed out. “We need information and answers so that the GSF is in the position to protect the commercial interests of shippers internationally.”
Welsh added: “GSF members are equally focused on expected future inquiries of other national competition authorities with competency and regulatory oversight of maritime transport sector, especially in Asia and in the United States where the Federal Maritime Commission is uniquely positioned to assess the potential competitive impacts of this never-before-seen aggregation of market share.”
Photo: Maersk Line


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I continue to be puzzled by the car industry’s ongoing fight against better mileage (Bennington Banner – Headlines.) Imagine how moribund the computer industry would be if processors never got faster. You’d only buy a new computer when your old one got too dusty.
If mileage requirements went up, people wouldn’t buy FEWER cars. They’d buy more cars, more often. Yes, there’s no question that short-sighted consumers are regularly seduced by low initial prices or big car styling and buy a car that costs them a lot more in the long run. But if mileage standards go up, those cars cease to be an option. What happens instead is that there’s movement, always a car a little better as they march to the standard, which gives you a reason to upgrade.
The result would be a race to make better and better cars (and to buy cars that are cheaper and cheaper to operate.) If the cars are cheaper to run, then, over time, people will actually be willing to pay more for them, won’t they?
If I were a big company CEO facing such an incredible level of uncertainty about the key input to my product (the price of gas), why wouldn’t this be a great way to simultaneously level the playing field (ten years from now, which is plenty of time to get ready).
It’s like the cigarette companies. Think about how much they would have pocketed in profits if they had supported a ban on advertising ten years ago. Billions and billions of dollars…
In the face of change, reactionary stuck companies don’t look to marketing or innovation. They sue.


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Regional mall owner Pennsylvania REIT announced a repositioning strategy for its Exton Square Mall in mid-January after anchor tenant J.C. Penney (JCPN.Q) disclosed its intention to close its store there. This is just one of a host of locations that the retailer plans to close. The financial troubles of age-old big-box retailers like J.C. Penney and Sears Holdings have generally led to reduced operating footprints for these companies, which has left mall owners with unwelcome vacant space. Fortunately, a new crop of retail juggernauts have risen up to take the place of the fading giants. So, what retail investment ideas can an investor glean from this particular redevelopment action?
Out with the old
J.C. Penney has certainly been wading in troubled waters recently, though that fact shouldn't be news to even a casual observer of newspaper headlines. The company's attempt to mimic retail kingpin Macy's through a more upscale product selection and an everyday low price strategy was poorly received by its value-conscious customers, which led to a sharp sales decline and a big operating loss in 2012. Compounding its troubles, J.C. Penney tried to poach home fashion designer Martha Stewart from its larger competitor's clutches, a move that landed all parties involved in court and which will likely lead to a large financial cost for J.C. Penney despite its recent moves to unwind the relationship.
In 2013, J.C. Penney tried to move away from the precipice, largely through financing activities that included sizable issuances of debt and equity. The company also reverted back to a focus on private-label brands and promotional marketing which seemed to staunch its customer losses, which was evidenced by a slight pickup in comparable-store sales in its latest fiscal quarter. However, the cost of J.C. Penney's business "un-makeover" was prohibitively expensive, and as a result the company ended up in a weakened financial position that will likely mean further reductions of its presence in the nation's malls.
In with the new
Of course, J.C. Penney's exit from Exton Square stands in stark contrast to the store openings being engineered by financially strong and growing retail franchises like Starbucks (SBUX 0.33%). Despite a massive operating footprint of roughly 20,000 stores in 63 countries, Starbucks remains in expansion mode and this is especially true in the heavily populated Asia-Pacific region where it added nearly 600 stores in its latest fiscal year. The company also appears primed to gain additional traction from its 2011 acquisition of tea retailer Teavana as it continues to expand the unit's store network into new markets like Exton Square's Pennsylvania location.
In its latest fiscal year, Starbucks reported solid financial results which included a 12% top-line gain that was aided by the continuation of a favorable comparable-store sales performance. More importantly, the company took advantage of lower average coffee prices to generate higher operating profitability during the period, as it saw a 23.1% increase in its adjusted operating income. The net result for Starbucks was higher cash flow that will easily fund its growth initiatives, which include a larger mall-based presence for its Teavana unit.
Also entering the scene at Exton Square is Chico's FAS (CHS -0.94%), a diversified women's retailer that has recently added both a Chico's and a White House/Black Market store to the mall's tenant portfolio. The White House/Black Market brand has been a growth engine for Chico's over the past few years which has helped the company expand its overall store base by roughly one-quarter and broadened its appeal to a younger, more affluent demographic.
To be sure, 2013 was not Chico's best year as it succumbed to weak industry fundamentals, which was evidenced by a 1.8% decline in its comparable-store sales that ended a four-year streak of comparable-store sales gains above 7%. Nevertheless, the company's increasingly diverse brands across apparel categories and price points allowed it to remain profitable and debt-free during a challenging year and also provided the company with capital to continue growing its store base at a time when other retailers are retrenching.
The bottom line
Pennsylvania REIT's Exton Square mall repositioning is a pretty good snapshot of the changes in retail which have pitted shrinking old-time big-box retailers against growing specialty retailers which have strong brands. Since larger mall footprints for companies are usually precursors of higher sales and profits, Starbucks and Chico's FAS are definitely stocks that investors should watch.


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The self-produced indie kart racing title KartSim has officially passed the Steam Greenlight process.
Having first entered the Greenlight phase approximately two weeks ago, KartSim is now ready to enter the next step on the road to the title’s eventual commercial release.
According to the official statement, Zach Griffin – the creator and sole developer of KartSim – has confirmed more details regarding the game’s future availability will be announced “in the coming days”.
Griffin has also revealed the initial content which will feature in KartSim: five laser scanned tracks, five different kart types, full AI integration and a multiplayer mode. More content will also be added to KartSim as it progresses through the upcoming Early Access phase.
KartSim is an in-the-works PC simulation title which aims to provide one of the most in-depth and realistic representations of kart racing in a driving game, with even the chassis flex being calculated by the custom-built physics engine.
No definitive release date has been cited so far, though KartSim is expected to be made available to buy – according to the Steam listing – sometime in mid 2014.
We’ve partnered up with the computer gaming gurus at PC Specialist, to provide you a range of Team VVV-endorsed PC rigs that’ll extract the most out of your favourite racing games. Vist the PC Specialisist website here for more information.
Image Credit: KartSim


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Following preorders of the device going live at AT&T last week, T-Mobile just announced that the new 6-inch curved LG G Flex smartphone will arrive on its network starting February 5. While AT&T is offering the Flex for $299 on its usual two-year contract, T-Mobile will offer it for $0 down with monthly installment plans of $28 for 24 months. The carrier is listing the full retail price of the device at $672 and T-Mobile notes that LG is offering customers 6 months of free Netflix access with the deal. Preorders kick off today through T-Mobile’s website.
In addition, T-Mobile announced today that the LG Optimus F3Q smartphone with QWERTY keyboard ( will also become available on Feb. 5 for $0 down and $13 monthly.
LG announced previously that Sprint will also get the LG G Flex sometime this quarter.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


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Originally announced June 2006 and a groundbreaking ceremony on March 19, 2007, the new Greensburg, Indiana plant finally began shipments on Oct 29, 2008 when Eugenia Olson drove the first Honda Civic off the assembly line at 7:50 a.m.
The $550 million plant ultimately will produce 200,000 vehicles annually and employ 2,000 workers; the vehicle they are producing is a Honda Civic Sedan featuring a 140-hp, 1.8-liter, 16-valve SOHC i-VTEC® 4-cylinder gasoline engine produced at a Honda engine plant in nearby Anna, Ohio.
“The rise of Honda’s mammoth new car plant in America’s farming heartland is a stark contrast to the layoffs and plant closings announced in recent months by General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and Chrysler LLC Chrysler LLC” noted The Japan Times.
In addition to the 4 cylinder gasoline engine model civic, Honda plans to shift production of its CNG natural gas version the Civic “GX” from its current factory in East Liberty, Ohio which has been producing about 2000 units per year.
Honda’s most environmentally friendly model, the GX Civic uses no gasoline and produces near zero emmissions according to Honda and it has been named “America’s Greenest Car” by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Honda is also promoting the Civic GX as a vehicle that doesn’t require imported oil – surely to resonate with Americans today!
Related articles by Zemanta
- Honda Dedicates Indiana Auto Plant (carsofjapan.blogspot.com)
- Honda Begins Mass Production of Civic Sedans in Indiana (carsofjapan.blogspot.com)
- Honda Closes Plant For Two Months (news.sky.com)
- Honda Hires as Big Three Crash (abcnews.go.com)
3 responses to “New Honda Plant in Greensburg Indiana to add Civic GX to roster”
Great innovation with the small engine assembly. But really, that innovation will greatly aid in saving energy and in further controlling the prevalence of global warming.
Honda is a pioneer in small car engine assembly. Lets see how the Honda Jet takes off.
I have been looking and looking for a 2010 honda civic SI two door coupe in black…. help…. can I order one? are they making them still?


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YouDeal Just Raised $8 Million from Leading VCs to Revolutionizes the Global Peer-to-Peer Service Industry
Originally published on: CoinSpeaker
Read the original article
August 10, 2018
These platforms play a big role in our daily life and make things easier. YouDeal is such a platform that matches service requesters and service-related freelancers in a more efficient, reliable and secure manner.
YouDeal seeks to incorporate a blockchain-based protocol for its platform. The use of blockchain encryption technology allows YouDeal users to retain their privacy. In addition, YouDeal provides a more robust and reliable rating system, which alleviates concerns of malicious bad reviews, through the standardization of the peer-to-peer evaluation system.
YouDeal’s first appeared in the public’s eye during 2015 with its strategic partner Yuedan as one of the first true P2P skill trading platforms in China. Initially, services on board of the platform were mainly daily life services, such as tour guides, fitness, self-driving, running, Yoga, and a plethora of other daily activities. After three years of development, the Yuedan platform has now grown to encompass the entire life skills market. Users can find any services they require with ease.
YouDeal and Yuedan have similar features and share the same userbase, this gives YouDeal a massive advantage to bring forward adoption of its platform. YouDeal will also address some of the pain points of existing Yuedan such as payments and transaction privacy by incorporating a YD token that will incentivize further transactions on the platform with its robust token economics design.
No matter how good the platform is or how diverse the services on the platform are, a user-friendly interface and structure are vital for good customer experience. YouDeal focus on making the platform as user-friendly as possible. Users are provided a market information service portal which allows them to choose the services they require effortlessly. The shop resembles a Taobao shop, but provides services instead or products.
YouDeal fills a much-needed niche in the services industry. The value of YouDeal is widely recognized by investors. As a matter of fact, YouDeal has been making waves in the crypto industry with the private sale round of their ICO, which has successfully raised over $8 million to date from more than 10 leading venture capitalists and investors such as Node Capital, Genesis Capital, and Grand Shores Fund.
In a short span of 3 years, Yuedan already has a massive 50 million registered users and 10 million active users a month on their platform. Yuedan is still growing quickly, recent statistics show the growth rate for the platform is still at an impressive 10% MoM. There are 400,000 transactions take place per month over the platform. Considering that these transactions range from ten to two hundred dollars, it’s obvious how much value this platform is.
Mr. Ken Dong, YouDeal’s Chief Advisor, who is a successful entrepreneur and founder of Yuedan, explained:
“Male users are the majority of service industry clients with the report revealing that 70% – 80% of service industry users are older, wealthier, men, and there’s a huge socializing element to the platform and this lead to the stickiness of the platform.”
Ken Dong commented while discussing the direction of the platform:
“The current e-commerce market is saturated.”
Recognizing these challenges, YouDeal decided to focus on the services industry as the blue ocean. This focus has allowed the platform to carve out a significant niche in this hyper-competitive online market. Think of YouDeal as a service-based ThumbTack-like platform that services China.
It is common to see fake review and ratings among marketplace platform and blockchain technology can help to build a trustable reputation system in the platform. Reviews or ratings can be changed on a centralized platform however once the transaction is logged into the blockchain, it is immutable.
This is especially important on a service marketplace as unlike standardized products where sellers can provide a guarantee, the service marketplace relies heavily on the ratings and reviews of users.
Ken Dong thinks that the potential of service marketplace platform is massive and will potentially be worth more than the top social messaging platform if the privacy issue can be solved. As users require even more privacy on the transaction than information exchange.
The numerous personal data breach cases lately have made users even more wary of uploading their personal info on any platform, in view of this, YouDeal put a heavy emphasis on protecting users information privacy. YouDeal will utilize a combination of different encryption technology such as self-destructing messages and zero-knowledge proof to ensure the privacy of information on YouDeal.
Compare to other blockchain projects that start from zero, YouDeal already has an advantage of massive and growing userbases it can tap into, while using blockchain technology to solve some of the pain points that currently exist in offline C2C marketplace.
The community is excited about the prospects of this platform. Many see YouDeal as a revolutionary step towards the further digitization of our economy. One thing is for sure; the service industry will again be the same.


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HCWA Adds Extra Drive Thru Lane to Headquarters
In an effort to continually improve its customer service experience, the HCWA has added a lane to the existing drive thru at the Authority Headquarters at 1695 Highway 20 West in McDonough.
The Kiosk occupying Lane 2 has been removed due to its low use, and that lane has been converted so it will have access to the Customer Service window. The Authority completed the renovation ahead of schedule, prior to the New Year.
“COVID protocol has increased our traffic in the drive-thru, so we are trying to ease the wait time and congestion,” says Darlene Johnson, HCWA Customer Service Manager. “This should be of great benefit to our customers.”
In addition to paying your bill via the drive-thru lanes, customers can come into the HCWA Headquarters Building, but a mask is required.
Additional payment options include use of the “Pay Your Bill” portal on this Website (www.hcwa.com). Plus, customer can pay by phone by calling 404-341-9689, or toll-free at 1-855-985-1136. [There is a convenience fee added when paying by credit card.]
Finally, customers can pay their bill by direct draft, either through their financial institution or by setting up this service through the Authority. This auto bill pay option does not incur a fee, making HCWA direct pay both convenient and cost effective.
For assistance with any of these HCWA payment options, contact our Customer Service Department at 770-957-6659.
Caption for photo:
The HCWA has converted Lane 2 of its Headquarters Building from a Kiosk (pictured) into another Drive Thru Lane to better serve customers during the current pandemic and in the future.
Chris Wood, Ph.D.


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The most recent U.S. inflation numbers have been released, and they show that prices continue to increase. Inflation in the US is outpacing most of the world by nearly 3 percentage points according to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. That may explain why the US has outpaced the world’s average rate of inflation in the past decade. Oscar Jorda (the bank’s senior policy advisor) warns against interpreting too much into these percentages. The overall picture is clear.
Different factors affect the rate of inflation. The CPI is the price index that is used by the government for measuring inflation. The Labor Department calculates it by conducting a survey of households. It measures spending on services or goods however it does not include non-direct expenditure that makes the CPI less stable. This is why inflation data should always be considered in context, not in isolation.
The Consumer Price Index, which tracks changes in the prices of products and services is the most frequently used inflation rate in the United States. The index is updated monthly and provides a clear view of how much prices have risen. The index gives the average cost of both services and goods which is helpful to budget and plan. Consumers are likely to be worried about the cost of products and services. However it is essential to know why prices are increasing.
Costs of production rise and this in turn increases prices. This is often referred to as cost-push inflation. It’s caused by the rising of prices for raw materials for example, petroleum products and precious metals. It also involves agricultural products. It’s important to note that when a commodity’s price increases, it also affects the cost of the item being discussed.
Inflation data is often hard to come by, but there is a method that can help you calculate how much it will cost to purchase goods and services in a year. Utilizing the real rate of return (CRR) is a more accurate estimate of what a nominal annual investment should be. With this in mind, the next time you’re planning to purchase bonds or stocks ensure that you are using the actual inflation rate of the commodity.
At present, the Consumer Price Index is 8.3 percent higher than the year before. This is the highest annual rate since April 1986. Since rents comprise an important portion of the CPI basket, inflation is likely to continue to rise. Additionally the increasing cost of homes and mortgage rates make it harder for many people to purchase an apartment, which drives up the demand for rental properties. Furthermore, the potential for railroad workers affecting the US railway system could lead to a disruption in the transportation of goods.
From its near-zero-target rate, the Fed’s short term interest rate has increased this year to 2.25 percent. According to the central bank, inflation is likely to increase by just one-half percent over the next year. It’s not clear if this increase will be enough to stop the rising inflation.
The rate of inflation that is the core which excludes volatile food and oil prices, is approximately 2 percent. The core inflation rate is typically reported on a year-over-year basis and is what the Federal Reserve means when it states that its inflation goal is 2%. Historically, the core rate was below the goal for a long time, but it has recently started rising to a level that has been damaging to many businesses.


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The second biggest event in Sports for people who are not interested in Sports after the Super Bowl (for the ads) is the release of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition.
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition just got unveiled with modelBrooklyn Decker on the cover.
Sports Illustrated has already launched their huge online photo gallery featuring photos and videos of all their swimsuit models in the 2010 edition.
Before the Apple iPad was even unveiled a Sports Illustrated interactiveTablet demo had already appeared.
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit photo gallery would work just fine on an iPad, but the Apple iPad is still several weeks away.
You can view the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition now here.
Luigi Lugmayr Luigi Lugmayr (Google) is the founding chief Editor of I4U News and brings over 15 years
experience in the technology field to the ever evolving and exciting
world of gadgets. He started I4U News back in 2000 and evolved it into
vibrant technology magazine.
Luigi can be contacted directly at email@example.com.
Gwyneth Paltrow facing Lawsuit
The famous actress and creator of a website named Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow, is facing a lawsuit by a man who claims she plagiarized his creative phrase. And she is also concerned about her ex-husband’s new relationships.
The “geek mind” is concerned with more than just the latest iPhone rumors, or which company will win the gaming console wars. I4U is concerned with more than just the latest photo shoot or other celebrity gossip.
The “geek mind” is concerned with life, in all its different forms and facets. The geek mind wants to know about societal and financial issues, both abroad and at home. If a Fortune 500 decides to raise their minimum wage, or any high priority news, the geek mind wants to know. The geek mind wants to know the top teams in the National Football League, or who’s likely to win the NBA Finals this coming year. The geek mind wants to know who the hottest new models are, or whether the newest blockbuster movie is worth seeing. The geek mind wants to know. The geek mind wants—needs—knowledge.


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MISSISSAUGA, ON, Nov. 3 /CNW/ - Today, Walmart Canada announced its much-anticipated top 10 toys for the 2009 holiday season and confirmed that it will drop prices on close to 200 toys between now and Christmas.
With special pricing already available on some of this season's hottest toys, Canadians have already started saving with Walmart's earliest-ever price drop on toys. Between now and November 20th, the retailer is featuring one of this season's hottest games, Monopoly City, at a special low price of $18.86 and the Transformer Deluxe series for $9.44.
Throughout the holiday season, Walmart will continue to offer the popular $10 toy promotion announced in September. Each week Walmart Canada stores nationwide will drop the price of select popular brand-name toys to $10. New toys will be reduced to $10 every week leading up to Christmas.
"Toys are the number-one gift idea for kids under 12 so we plan to offer deep discounts on popular brand-named toys over the weeks leading up to Christmas Day," said Don Cameron, Divisional Merchandise Manager for Walmart Canada. "Our customers count on us to be the price leader. This is a trust that we have built with our customers on every item we offer including the must-have holiday toys."
"Our customers tell us they start planning for Christmas as early as September, and begin shopping for gifts in early November. This year, Canadians have told us that they are making an extra effort to stay on budget, and are turning to Walmart as the store they trust to deliver great prices, great quality and great selection."
Top 10 Toys for 2009
Walmart Canada's top 10 toys for the 2009 holiday season:
- Monopoly City
- Transformers Deluxe
- Raider Nerf Strike
- Buzz Lightyear
- Whoopsie Poopsie
- Lego Millennium Falcon
- Rocky the Robot
- Zero Gravity Laser
- Bakugan 7 in 1 Combine
- Liv Dolls
About Walmart Canada
Walmart Canada operates 313 outlets nationwide serving more than one million Canadians each day. With 80,000 associates, the company is the nation's third-largest employer.
* The research noted above was conducted for Walmart Canada using JWT's
proprietary Internet-based market research tool, the SONAR consumer
Canadian panel. The panel consists of more than 20,000 individuals.
The margin of error is +/- 4%.
SOURCE Walmart Canada
For further information: For further information: and photos, please contact: Susan Schutta, (905) 821-2111, ext. 8012, email@example.com


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If you’re someone who likes cooking, you’re likely fuming at how expensive things have gotten in the last few months. While prices of fresh produce and FMCG are an inconvenience, nothing could have prepared us for the spike in vegetable oil prices – especially sunflower oil.
Global sunflower oil prices have gone up over 100% in the last month, with traders fearing the worst is yet to come. In general, inflation in vegetable oil prices can be tied back to several factors – often the case when a commodity is widely consumed and is sourced across different geographic markets.
But such an explainer works well when inflation percentages range in the single- or double-digits, not when there’s galloping inflation as is the case today. For instance, the price of Sunflower Oil 6 Ports Option moved up by $800 per metric tonne (mt) to $2,650 per mt on March 8, up from $1,850 the day before. That’s a 43% increase in a day. In commodity language, that’s nothing less than a short squeeze.
Why did this happen? Point all fingers to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia control over 60% of the world’s production of sunflower seeds, with Ukraine alone contributing roughly 35% of the world’s sunflower oil production. In total, Ukraine and Russia contributed 77% of global exports in 2020-21. Today, Ukrainian oil is out of reach, with shrunken harvests and oil supplies unable to leave its boundaries.
For Russia, the issue is with the embargoes. Several countries have banned Russian exports, and major shipping vessel operators and ports refuse to work with Russia. The European Union has announced a blanket ban on all Russian-operated vessels from its ports, with sanctions expected to be stepped up as the war continues to flare. So with Ukrainian oil out of reach and Russian oil being embargoed, it’s little surprise that sunflower oil prices have exploded over the last month.
While prices are an immediate concern, the issue in the longer term would be availability. With more than half of the world’s sunflower oil output siphoned off in a matter of weeks, it will be difficult – and nearly impossible – to find a replacement.
To understand the impact, it makes sense to check out supermarkets across the globe, which reflect the scarcity playing out in the absence of Ukrainian sunflower oil. For instance, Ukraine contributes to over 90% of the EU’s sunflower oil needs, aside from a meaty 40% of rapeseed and soybean oil – popular alternatives to sunflower oil in the continent.
Marketlerde vatandaş indirimli yağ almak için adeta birbirini eziyor.
— CBT Haber (@cbthaber) March 5, 2022
Meanwhile, India – Ukraine’s largest importer of sunflower oil – is having a headache with its imports, as 360,000 metric tonnes of Ukrainian sunflower oil shipments that had to be delivered in March are stuck across its ports due to the conflict. Between November and February, India has imported 715,934 mt of sunflower oil from Ukraine and 121,323 mt from Russia, making this war a costly affair. While India looks to continue buying Russian sunflower oil, transporting the oil seems tricky considering the shipping embargoes.
With sunflower oil being in demand and supply virtually limited, it puts the spotlight on its alternatives. The demand for Ukrainian sunflower oil was forecasted to hit 6.6 million mt in the 2021-22 season, which would considerably fall short in the current circumstances.
Sunflower oil is one of the big four vegetable oils, with the other being palm, soybean, and rapeseed oils. The soybean oil market is also under stress, considering a major production region – South America – has been affected by drought, reducing supplies. Canada, the largest producer of rapeseed oil, also suffered lower yields in ‘21, thanks to a sweltering hot summer. Reading between the lines, it’s evident climate change is increasingly becoming a spoiler for ag production.
Palm oil is by far the most used vegetable oil, with production concentrated in Indonesia and Malaysia, which control 85% of the global palm oil supplies. Even here, the region saw a lower yield of palm oil this year – the culprit being extended pandemic lockdowns that shut the doors on migrant labor who move into the countries during the harvest season. While cheap and ubiquitously used in food products, detergents, cosmetics, and even biofuel, palm oil is stigmatized, as its production has led to extensive deforestation in Southeast Asia, destroying indigenous flora and fauna.
But with options being limited, it is evident that palm oil usage will see an uptick at the expense of sunflower oil. In a recent meeting, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) strengthened this view, calling this the single biggest factor in palm oil demand and price direction. True to this, palm oil prices went from $1,640 mt on February 25 to $1,990 mt on March 2 – a 21% week-over-week increase.
Another reason for a future increase in the price of vegetable oil has to do with fertilizers. While most farmers do stock fertilizers for a short period of time, they’d have to buy more eventually. Fertilizer prices have been on the surge – not surprising, considering Russia and Ukraine contribute to 48% of the world’s ammonium nitrate, 28% of nitrogen and phosphorus, and 11% of the world’s urea. Russia and Belarus contributed to roughly 40% of the world’s potash exports last year. With the costs of fertilizer per acreage increasing substantially, farmers around the world are looking to ration their reserves, which ultimately impacts yield.
Human consumption aside, all vegetable oils play a role in reducing fuel-related carbon emissions, by being a key feedstock in biodiesel production. Around 15% of global vegetable oil production goes into making biodiesel. But now, with pressure coming in from consumers, countries are diverting their reserves – especially of sunflower oil – into the food industry. Nonetheless, if there’s sustained pressure on supplies on account of the crisis in the Black Sea region, the world will have a hard time supplying edible oil to growing demand in the medium term.
About Vishnu : Vishnu is an independent journalist appearing on several news outlets within the logistics and transport niche. He predominantly covers maritime- and trucking-related stories, and writes commentaries on supply chain trends. This aside, he also profiles freight-tech startups and brings perspective from industry thought leaders.