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Screen refresh rate is going to be one of the biggest trends in the smartphone industry this year. Companies like OnePlus, Asus, ROG, and some others have been focusing on screen refresh rate for nearly a year now. Looks like Samsung is joining the team with its upcoming flagship Galaxy S20 (yes, rumours suggest that Samsung will ditch the S11 naming scheme for S20). The next OnePlus phone, which is likely to be the OnePlus 8 is also said to come with 120hz display.
According to an exclusive report coming from Sam Mobile, the Samsung Galaxy S20 series will come packed with 120hz refresh rate. This is for the first time that a Samsung phone will such a screen refresh rate technology. Previously, we have seen Asus ROG Phone II, Razer Phone 2 come with 120hz screen refresh rate. Past leaks and rumours suggest the upcoming Galaxy S series phone will come with 20:9 display instead of 19:9. The screen specs of the Samsung phone is yet to be revealed.
With higher refresh rate, we can expect the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S20 to offer much smoother animations and scrolling when compared to phones with 60hz and 90hz refresh rate. Higher refresh rate also mean users will be able to experience a seamless, lag-free gaming experience.
Samsung has already confirmed to launch its next Galaxy S series next month on February 11. The South Korean smartphone manufacturer is yet to reveal the name of phones but rumours are that they will be Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 Plus and Galaxy S20 Ultra.
Why Samsung Galaxy S20?
Samsung launched the Galaxy S10 series last year right before Mobile World Congress 2019 event in February. Until now, the successor to the S10 series was said to be called Galaxy S11. But it now appears that Samsung is considering to change the naming scheme of its flagship lineup.
Several rumours and leaks circulating on the internet suggests that the next Galaxy S series will be called Galaxy S20 and not S11. Samsung is supposedly doing changing the naming strategy to avoid confusing among buyers.
Samsung Galaxy S20 series expected specs
Some rumours suggest Samsung will launch three phones under the Galaxy S20/ Galaxy S11 lineup. The phones are said to be Samsung Galaxy S20/ Galaxy S11e, Galaxy S20 Plus/Galaxy S11 and Galaxy S20 Ultra/ Galaxy S11 Plus. We will need to wait for Samsung to officially confirm the phones that it will launch on come Feb 11.
Ahead of the launch, almost everything about the upcoming Samsung flagship has been revealed by leaks and rumours circulating on the internet. Samsung Galaxy S11 is tipped to come with a center-positioned punch-hole display and very slim bezels on the sides. The back cover design of the Galaxy S11 is expected to be quite similar to the Pixel 4.
The Galaxy S11/S20 series is rumoured to include Pixel 4 like square camera module with five image sensors in it along with LED flash. The Samsung Galaxy S11 is said to come with 108MP main camera, an ultra-wide lens, a depth sensor, macro lens, and also include a 5x optical zoom camera.
The flagship smartphone is expected to come in two variants. One with Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, while the second variant could come with Exynos 9830 SoC. Samsung might bring the Exynos variant to India. The Galaxy phone is expected to come in four variants including 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage. The phone is tipped to launch with Android 10 software out-of-the-box.
📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines


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A giant purple toad has helped Nichols (NICL) outperform the soft drinks market in 2014 as the Vimto brand grew by 4.5% in the UK, as well as making headway internationally.
Vimtoad was introduced in April to front a new advertising campaign, along with a complete redesign of the Vimto packaging, in an attempt to broaden the brands target audience to capture teens and their parents.
And it appeared to do the trick as group sales for the 12 months to 31 December rose 3.5% to £109.2m, which included a 3.3% jump in the UK, compared with 0.4% growth for the wider soft drinks market [Nielsen y/e 3 January 2015].
Sales of Nichols’ still products also grew by 5.3% to £56.1m, with this division being the strategic focus for the Vimto brand.
And the group’s strategy of focusing on value over volume helped operating margin improve to 23% (up from 21% in 2013) driven by “healthy” international growth. It gave pre-tax profit, before exceptional items, a double-digit push of 14.1% to £25.7m. However, a payment of £7.8m to settle a litigation claim from a licensee in Pakistan, pushed reported pre-tax profit down to £17.9m, compared with £18.8m in the previous year.
“2014 was another strong year for Nichols as the group once again outperformed the wider soft drinks market on its way to delivering double-digit operating profit growth, pre-exceptional items,” non-executive chairman John Nichols said. “This strong outcome is again underpinned by the strength and heritage of our core Vimto brand, both in the UK and internationally, as well as the diversity of our products and markets.
“We remain focused on delivering our growth strategy both in the UK and internationally and we look forward to the year ahead with confidence.”
Shares in Nichols (NICL) have climbed 1.6% to 1,095p so far this morning on the back of its full-year announcement.
Elsewhere, French multinational retail giant Carrefour accelerated its organic growth in 2014 by 3.9% to €74.7bn. It pushed up recurring operating income 10.6% €2.39bn and net income from continuing operations by 24.6% to €1.18bn.
The full-year results were in line with analyst expectations but its fourth quarter sales were 0.7% better than predicted thanks to a 10.4% like-for-like sales jump in Brazil and progress in its smaller formats in France. China, however, continued to be a drag on sales performance in the final three months of the year, with a 7.4% like-for-like dip.
Carrefour’s stock is up 1.9% today to €30.30 a share.
Yesterday in the City
Greggs (GRG) was the share price story of the day - climbing 10.6% higher to 963p after posting record results. The bakery chain’s shares hits their highest level for six years after posting a 41% rise in profits and a 4.5% like-for-like revenue boost. The shares have now risen by over 90% since this time last year and 31.5% up so far in 2015.
The Thorntons (THT) rollercoaster ride was back on the up yesterday, with the chocolate maker climbing 5.1% to 72p after it reported less-bad-than-feared annual results on Monday. The shares are still almost 40% down since December, but the stock has recovered by almost 14% since last Friday after experiencing poor trading in the run up to its results.
Nicholls (NICL) was up 2.2% to 1,078p ahead of this morning’s results.
There was less positive news for Premier Foods (PFD), which dropped 6% back to 39.5p, while Majestic Wine (MJW) eased back 2.5% to 341.3p.

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Matthew Kaufman, a company lawyer for Cheyenne legislation agency Hathaway & Kunz who makes a speciality of blockchain and cryptocurrency, mentioned he has handled greater than 50 completely different companies trying to relocate their companies to Wyoming this 12 months alone.
Whereas there’s a philosophical break up amongst these within the cryptocurrency sector about what degree of regulation would profit the trade, he mentioned that discovering an accurate regulatory steadiness for these companies is acknowledged as vital to serving to cryptocurrency thrive, significantly given the monetary sector’s rising amenability to cryptocurrencies around the globe.
Lummis’ staff, he mentioned, may assist accomplish that at a federal degree and assist gratify the cautious optimism that has led corporations to look towards Wyoming.
“There’s an actual magnificence in what Wyoming has executed as a result of it has handed rules,” he mentioned. “As a result of it’s a brand new trade house, it wants some regulatory construction to it simply so individuals have certainty, nevertheless it’s not regulation that’s so prescriptive that it turns into overly burdensome and troublesome for corporations to determine how you can comply.”
“Even when it is just on the state degree for proper now, it’s a begin for a model new trade,” he added. “I’m excited to be to have individuals like Cynthia Lummis working on the federal degree alongside different individuals who perceive this sector and perceive not solely the impression that it will possibly have but additionally the main points and trivia of what Wyoming has executed to allow some of these items. Having that perspective at a federal degree will probably be massively vital.”


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Cyber police arrests Gujarat man for duping 22,000 people via fake shopping website
Mumbai cyber police busted a major cyber fraud gang that duped 22,000 people across the country through fake shopping websites.
The head of the gang, Ashish Ahire, a 32-year-old technology expert who studied in London, has been arrested from Gujarat. Police have also identified 11 more such fake websites that similarly dupe people on social media sites.
The cyber police on Sunday stated that it received multiple complaints regarding online fraud through the website shopiiee.com. Further investigations revealed that nearly 22,000 people were duped by the website to the tune of ₹70 lakh.
“The fake website was selling dress material, imitation jewellery, and other household items through advertisements on Facebook,” said Rashmi Karandikar, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (cyber crime).
The investigation led police to the website’s owner who was operating it from Surat, Gujarat. A team of senior inspector S Shastrabudhe, inspector Pramod Khopikar and assistant inspector Ravikiran Naale then arrested the accused and are questioning him to recover the money.
There were several complaints against the website about the fraud from consumers, a police officer said.
The arrested accused has been arrested under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act for cheating, impersonation, etc. He has been sent to judicial custody by a local court.
The police are currently looking for his associates.
During investigation, the police learnt that there are more such websites that are cheating people. The police have identified 11 such fake websites and warned people from using them.


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When Twinkies go back on sale next week, many shoppers will find that the spongy yellow cake has a longer life expectancy.
Continue Reading Below
The revamped Hostess Brands, which announced late last month that its iconic Twinkies snack cake will return to store shelves on July 15, said Monday the cakes will continue to have a shelf life of 45 days, up from the original 26 days.
Hannah Arnold, a spokesperson for Hostess, said the old company that went bankrupt made the change and introduced the longer-lasting Twinkies shortly before its liquidation and sale of assets.
Hostess also said it will freeze some of the cakes before shipping them at the request of certain customers.
According to Arnold, about 10% of Hostess’ distribution requested to receive frozen product. The decision is up to the bakery’s customers, she added, and only those customers who asked for frozen Twinkies will receive them.
“This allows the retailer to date the product for freshness, provides flexibility in filling their shelves and has no impact on the quality or taste of our products,” Arnold said of freezing the cakes. “The new ownership is absolutely committed to baking top quality snack cakes and, in fact, is making major investments to ensure that Hostess products are as good, if not even better than before.”
Hostess has billed the return of its Twinkies and other snack cakes as “the sweetest comeback in the history of ever.” On its website, Hostess has a digital clock counting down until the return of the “American snack icons that the people decided they just couldn’t live without.”
Private equity firms Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) and C. Dean Metropoulos & Co. partnered to buy Twinkies and other Hostess cakes, including Ho Hos, Ding Dongs and CupCakes, for $410 million.
McKee Foods, which purchased Drake’s snack cakes for $27.5 million, is also planning a comeback. McKee Foods said some of the former Hostess brand’s products will return by late summer or early fall. The rollout will start with a selection of Drake’s cakes, and more could be added over time.


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Before the global economic crisis, growth rates in the transport sector appeared fine; however those times are long gone, confirmed Jens Bjørn Andersen, CEO of global transport and logistics company DSV, at PA Consulting Group’s Executive Seminar on 21 November. It is clear that the transport industry is closely connected to the global state of the market.
Today, Jens does not regard the management of DSV as ‘crisis management’. Indeed, the lessons learned from the economic crisis have been embedded across the company, and tight risk and cost management have become business as usual.
“We don’t use the term ‘crisis’ anymore; however the market and our industry have changed markedly, since the prosperous years leading up to 2008,” said Jens.
PA’s IT and logistics expert Søren Lehn explained how the transport sector accounts for 9 per cent of global GDP, yet it still faces major challenges in each sector such as road, railway, air freight and sea freight. For example, said Søren, the increase in online trading is a challenge to B2B, while road pricing challenges pricing policies. Moreover, the new railway from Europe to China will change traditional transport patterns. According to Søren, the growth rates of the transport industry are influenced by the global state of the market; and we can see that transport costs are under pressure and today’s growth markets are primarily in Latin America, Africa and parts of Asia.
Today DSV employs 22,000 people, despite the significant dip in demand for transport after the crisis began. Today DSV’s share price is about DKK 160 (the highest ever), the company is the sixth largest in the global market and has won market shares across all sectors.
According to Jens Bjørn Andersen, DSV’s success is due to a number of factors, including a very tight cost control, which resulted in the layoff of 5,000 employees in 2008 and 2009.
“It was necessary to protect the company and the remaining employees. Had we not taken any action, we wouldn’t have become competitive. We were consistent,” said Jens.
DSV’s focus on costs and productivity means that the business has centralised parts of its administrative functions in Poland. One reason that DSV survived the crisis is, according to Jens, the fact that the company is ‘asset light’ – for example subcontractors own the transport vehicles that are operated by DSV. Another reason is consolidation. The transport industry is highly fragmented and acquisitions have become part of DSV’s strategy, both in markets where DSV is already present as well as in new markets.
If you want to know how PA can help you survive and thrive in turbulent times, please contact us now.


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A Reintroduction to Induction Lighting
- By Christine Beitenhaus
- July 1st, 2008
About 30 years ago a new lighting technology became available without much fanfare, but it only gained popularity after being reintroduced in the 1990s. Induction lighting technology, similar to fluorescent lighting, “offers a life span of up to 100,000 hours, outlasting 100 incandescent bulbs, five HID lights, or five typical fluorescent lamp changes,” according to information from Full Spectrum Solutions. With induction lighting’s obvious benefits of a long lifespan and little-to-no maintenance, are college campuses rushing out to switch over?
How It Works
Induction lighting is based off the principle that a gas discharge through magnetism can produce light. Basically, mercury vapor, located in the discharge vessel, is excited with the creation of a magnetic field inside the lamp vessel, producing invisible ultraviolet light. Visible light is then produced when the ultraviolet light passes through a phosphor coating on the surface of the tube. There is no electrical connection within the bulb, thus the generation of light is achieved through electromagnetic induction.
Benefits and Drawbacks
According to Dae Hur, HID product manager, strategic marketing for Philips Lighting Company, the lack of electrodes means, “the system’s life is much longer than conventional light sources. If the system components are designed properly, in terms of thermal management, then the system average rated life will be about 100,000 hours.” This long life translates into lower maintenance, a benefit to colleges who often recoup their initial costs through time from use of these lighting systems. Often, the only drawback to these systems is the initial cost, so it has been important for colleges and cities using induction lighting to show the rate of return. “Sacramento Municipal District does a lot of case studies, and they were trying to show the payback in the long life,” commented Steve Beede, market development manager at Lutron. “They were showing the energy efficiency and the long life. It does have a high price to it right now, and they are trying to show the benefits in the payback in the life of the bulb.” Joelle Kolhagen, marketing director for Full Spectrum Solutions, added to that point. “It’s maintenance free; you’re not going to have to mess with it once it is up. There aren’t the maintenance charges of someone going out and having to change your bulbs,” she explained.
Induction lighting technology has other benefits. Induction lighting can be turned on and off without waiting, like a typical halide fixture. Philip’s QL induction lighting system “is instant on/instant restrike, which is helpful during power outages,” stated Hur. Most induction lighting systems also have very good optics. “It replicates natural daylight, so it isn’t glowy orange,” said Kolhagen. The phosphors are similar to a traditional fluorescent system’s, providing great white light of CRI 80 with a choice of color temperatures. Beede also mentioned that an induction light puts out more lumens than an individual fluorescent light, although “a typical fluorescent fixture will have six lights compared to the one incandescent light in its fixture.”
Where It Works
According to Beede, induction lighting operates well at a range of temperatures, including lower temperatures. He suggested, “These systems work great for outdoor applications, places where you don’t want to be doing a lot of maintenance. This includes places where you want to have a good deal of light, like parking garages.”
Kolhagen noted that Full Spectrum Solutions works with the University of California, Davis, which has recently been redoing some parking garages. “We have different options for controlling [our induction lighting systems],” she stated. “Some of the fixtures have daylight sensors so that the light is off during the day.” The fixtures installed in the UC Davis parking garages can be dimmed to 50 percent when no one is using the facility. The lighting returns to 100 percent when someone comes in. “The parking fixtures do go down to 50 percent, so you still have the light for safety issues. At 50 percent, the light is still pretty bright,” she added.
Induction lighting fixtures are often going to be used in place of sodium or metal halide fixtures. This means you will see induction lighting showing up in streets, walkways, garages, tunnels, and wet environments. Induction lighting has even made the jump to indoor lighting.
Who Is Using It
Colleges who have been using induction lighting systems include UC Davis; Bryant College in Smithfield, RI; Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA; and Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, TX. Another university that has been installing and testing out induction lighting systems is the University of Michigan.
Moji Navvab, associate professor of architecture for the University of Michigan, stated that the University was first attracted to the use of induction lighting because of the light output, life of the source, and color temperature. The University is currently using wall-mounted pack lights for entries and exits, pathway and street lighting, and loading docks. He stated that they are hoping to use induction lighting systems in parking structures soon.
Navvab and the University have also done tests on the lights in the Sustainable Design Research Laboratory, which is within the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. They’ve tested “the amount of lumens or light output and the duration of exposure required or needed to make the noticeable difference for the users’ vision conditions under nighttime conditions.” He went on to explain, “You do not need 100 Lux (lumen per m.-sq.) or 10 Fc (lumen per ft.-sq.) illuminance levels to illuminate the pathway at night, and these sources, given their specific spectral characteristics, do make a major visual impact at night for viewing and color recognition.
“We have a very special data collection system that allows us to record the lighting condition at night in a dynamic way while walking or driving,” he continued. “We measure the scotopic and photopic illuminance simultaneously and evaluate the lighting conditions at night.”
So far, their testing has not found any drawbacks. Navvab also pointed out that what originally attracted the University to induction lighting systems has become a benefit as well. “Also, I have to say they do fully comply with the EPA and other regulations that already exist for CFL and LED as well.”
While the University of Michigan already has the lighting in several different applications, Navvab was quick to say that there are more applications they would like to try. These include, “combining with solar and wind, which is in progress right now. We have tested a prototype in the city of Ann Arbor for parks.” Other applications include a wall-mounted system with a sensor and dimming options within the City Farmer’s Market.
While induction lighting has come a long way since the early 1990s, expect it to continue to develop and show up in new places in the coming years. When discussing where the University of Michigan would consider using induction lighting in the future, Navvab suggested bringing the lighting indoors with smaller sources and dimming options.
Beede agreed. He stated, “In order for it to get into a multi-purpose space, you’re really going to need to get a full range of control on it.” Based off the lamp output, Beede also felt induction lighting will make a jump to retail in the future. “You’ll see it in a lot of high bay applications, warehouses, big box retailers where on and off are all you need.”
Kolhagen also felt that induction lighting will also make it into many more applications in the future. “I definitely see it expanding,” she said. “We’ll be seeing it in a lot more applications, especially retail.” Of course, she mentioned, “It’s always been there [on the market], but there is some lighting technology that is getting more news. We’re going to see a number of people going towards [induction lighting] in the next year or so.” Other technology, like LED, is out there, “but it doesn’t feel like it’s there yet because there’s price point and optics issues.”
If more universities and colleges who have been testing induction lighting recently feel the way the University of Michigan does, then her predictions may just come true.


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Changes For The 2011 Buick LaCrosse
GM recently announced that the 2011 Buick LaCrosse will incur an engine change, as the 3.0L V6 currently offered will be replaced by an Ecotec 2.4L I4 as the base engine for the car. The Ecotec 2.4 with direct injection puts out a respectable 182 horsepower and 172 lb.-ft. of torque with EPA ratings of 19 mpg in the cityand 30 mpg on the highway, and Buick expects approximately 25% of LaCrosse buyers to opt for the 2.4L.
Additionally – 2011 LaCrosse’s with the 3.6L V6 will have the option of adding all-wheel drive. During the 2010 model year, AWD was only available on cars equipped with the 3.0L V6. The 3.6 required a few modifications to be mated to the AWD system, and it looks like GM has listened to consumers and made the necessary changes.
On a side note, US sales figures were just released (still haven’t seen anything from this side of the border) and Buick and GMC dealers reported sales 54% higher than March of last year. Susan Docherty, GM vice president of marketing had this to say
“Our March results show continued progress toward our growth plan. By investing in our brands and remaining disciplined in our approach to the U.S. market, we posted solid results. Our new vehicles, like the Chevrolet Equinox, Buick LaCrosse, GMC Terrain, and Cadillac SRX, are being well-received by customers for many good reasons, including quality, safety, excellent fuel economy, and higher resale values.”


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Tribe Amrapali reopens stores, works on sanitisation machine for jewellery
Ethnic jewellery brand Tribe by Amrapali has reopened its stores with new safety measures and is developing a machine to sanitise jewellery which will allow customers to try items on.
Tribe by Amrapali has opened its two stores each in Kolkata and Delhi and one in Mumbai to customers, the brand announced on Facebook. The brand is also in the process of, “finalising on a sanitisation machine which will clean all pieces, every single time they are tried,” in order to allow customers to try on jewellery (currently prohibited), Tribe Amrapali’s co-founder Akanksha Arora told the Telegraph India.
“While the standard prerequisites before entering the store include wearing a mask, having the Arogya Setu app on your phone and so on, the protocols inside the store are tightly outlined by allowing only two customers to shop at a time,” said Arora. “We are also treating the health of our store staff as a priority and ensuring they are secured with modes such as digital payment and allowance of lesser people in the store to ensure quality care extended.”
The brand’s dedicated e-commerce store is now delivering all pre-paid orders across India except for in containment zones, it announced on its website. As well as restarting business, Tribe Amrapali has launched a number of new collections in-stores and online.
The brand recently launched its ‘Rupali’ collection which mixes gold and silver to create bold statement pieces. Tribe Amrapali also recently launched its ‘Amara’ collection featuring gold plated silver jewellery inspired by the ocean and a ‘Father’s Day’ collection of cuff links.
Copyright © 2022 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.


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Infoblox Inc. (NYSE: BLOX) is the winner for Thursday as the automated network control systems provider showed that its sales gained almost 26% from a year ago. Earnings came in at $0.06 per share on sales of $49.5 million. Thomson Reuters was looking only for a breakeven on earnings and was looking for revenues to be $46.2 million.
The company called it an outstanding start to its new fiscal year, and it made a comment that you are just not hearing elsewhere in technology: strong demand across all geographic regions.
As a result, guidance also was amped up. Infoblox now sees revenues of $50 million to $51.5 million and it sees its earnings at $0.03 to $0.04 per share. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.01 per share and $48.3 million in sales. For its fiscal 2013 ending in July, Infoblox is guiding to a range of $204 million to $208 million in revenue with earnings at $0.17 to $0.21 per share. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $199 million in sales and EPS of $0.06.
Infloblox has been public less than a year and shares had previously sold off considerably as the market was untrusting of the growth here. Infoblox closed at $13.95 on Wednesday, and the 52-week range is $13.73 to $24.15. Shares are up more than 30% today around $18.40.
When Infoblox came public earlier this year, its shares priced at $16 at the IPO, and that was above the $12 to $14 per share indicated price range.
JON C. OGG
Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Earnings, Technology Companies Tagged: BLOX


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Naspers sells online auction site Allegro for $3.25 billion
October 17, 2016 01:47 PM
(Bloomberg) -- Cinven Ltd., Permira and Mid Europa Partners agreed to buy Naspers Ltd.’s Polish online auction site Allegro for $3.25 billion, taking on rivals such as eBay Inc. in the eastern European country.
The deal is part of Cape Town-based Naspers’s strategy to profit from its investments, according to a statement from the company Friday. Naspers bought Allegro in 2008 for about $1.5 billion. The acquiring group beat out other private-equity consortia including CVC Capital Partners and General Atlantic and a group composed of Advent International Corp. and Hellman & Friedman LLC, people familiar with the matter had said.
Naspers rose earlier in the day after Bloomberg first reported on the sale. The stock gained as much as 6.4% in Johannesburg and was trading 5.8% higher to 2,318.95 rand at 4:14 p.m., giving the company a market value of over 1 trillion rand ($71 billion).
Naspers is facing challenges from U.S. technology companies and weaker African currencies as the continent’s biggest company by market value tries to grow its internet and pay-TV businesses. Naspers hired Morgan Stanley to advise on a potential sale of Allegro, people familiar with the plans said in June.
Allegro, which is similar to U.S. website eBay, is the no. 1 e-commerce platform in eastern Europe with more than 14 million monthly users, according to Naspers’s website.
If completed, the deal will be one of the five largest acquisitions of a Polish asset ever, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Companies in the country have announced $3.5 billion in mergers and acquisitions this year, down about 50% from the same period a year ago.
Naspers plans to use the proceeds to repay debt, fund its e-commerce businesses and finance new acquisitions. Naspers said it remains committed to its remaining assets in Poland, including online and mobile payment provider PayU.


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It was announced that YG Entertainment artists will be donating their personal items to a charity auction.
Many celebrities, art officials and many others, will be donating their own things for K Auction ‘Love Sharing Auction‘ that will be held at the Gangnam Shinsadong K Auction Hall on January 30th.
Attendees can expect to see PSY‘s famous sunglasses and tickets to his Seoul concert, as well as stage outfits of 2NE1‘s CL and Big Bang‘s T.O.P and G-Dragon, and more.
All of the donated items will be on display from January 23rd to the 29th at Shinsadong K Auction Display Hall.
Article by Karolina & Jenny
MORE RELATED ARTICLES


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The Florida Supreme Court put the kibosh on warrantless real-time tracking using location data obtained from cell phone providers.
The modular malware was named "Ventir," by researchers at Kaspersky.
Symantec researchers received a phishing email linking recipients to a fake Dropbox login page that is hosted on Dropbox's user content domain and served over SSL.
Lamar Taylor was sentenced in New Jersey this past week for allegedly participating in a cybercrime scheme that accounted for more than $15 million.
A bill, which would require a national reporting standard, has failed to make it before the Senate or House this year.
Apple OS X Yosemite includes fixes for more than 40 vulnerabilities, including POODLE and Shellshock.
Information on half a million federal workers in the government's SmartBuy program went undetected by Chase hackers.
The search engine company updates it piracy report to let users know how its adjusting search results to stop illegal piracy efforts.
More than 5,000 customers had personal information stolen, but roughly 9,000 notification letters were sent out as a precautionary measure.
Malicious software installed on Sept. 24 may have compromised personal information for visitors that made purchases between May 12 and Aug. 28.
Settings for an internal file server were inadvertently modified, making graduate school applications accessible to anyone with Marquette University login credentials.


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Florida's still counting ballots. Thousands. By hand.
If you're a teen who loves robocalls and vaping, Thursday just wasn't your day. Meanwhile, in Florida, election recounts became so muddled that they're counting ballots by hand.
But first: Crank up the music of "Hee Haw" and remember Roy Clark, the Country Music Hall of Famer and guitar virtuoso who died Thursday at 85.
Gillum falls to DeSantis, but Florida's ballot woes remain
A judge denied an extension for Florida's nationally watched election recount, even though one of its largest counties likely failed to meet a Thursday deadline. Palm Beach County, plagued by a late start and overheating voting machines, was unable to recount some 584,000 ballots by 3 p.m. The judge's denial clears the way for a hand recount of thousands of questionable ballots in key races for U.S. Senate and agriculture commissioner because of tiny margins. Florida's gubernatorial contest won't make it to a hand recount: A recount of more than 8 million ballots confirmed Republican Ron DeSantis beat Democrat Andrew Gillum.
Florida's secretary of state has ordered a manual recount in the state's hotly contested U.S. Senate race. (Nov. 15) AP
Americans all agree: Robocalls are the worst
U.S. phones received 6 million robocalls per hour last month alone, YouMail reported, and they're the top consumer complaint at the Federal Trade Commission. They're often illegal, too, and mask phone numbers to look like local calls. But hope is coming. A verification system rolling out with phone carriers in coming months will visually indicate – using a green check mark, perhaps – that the caller's authorized to use that number. It's a needed first step, consumer advocates say, but no silver bullet.
Tech columnist Kim Komando explains how to safeguard your smartphones from spam text and messages. Kim Komando/ Special for USA Today
FDA aims to kill high schoolers' buzz
A total of 3.6 million middle and high schoolers vaped in 2018. That's nearly doubled from last year, the National Youth Tobacco Survey found, and on Thursday the Food and Drug Administration ratcheted up efforts to keep kids from vaping. Sweet-flavored vaping liquids – the favorites of many a teen vaper – would be restricted in online sales under the FDA's new proposals, which would also ban menthol cigarettes and many flavored small cigars. Juul, the most prominent e-cigarette brand, announced Tuesday it would pull flavored products from stores ahead of the FDA's restrictions.
Health reporter Jayne O'Donnell talks to Food and Drug Administration commissioner about opioids, cigarettes and addiction. USA TODAY
What else to know:
- Violence broke out near the U.S.-Mexico border after the migrant caravan clashed with locals in Tijuana.
- The long, hard process of identifying the dead after California's wildfire has begun.
- After domestic violence charges, Michael Avenatti's ex-wife called him 'a good man.'
- Amy Schumer has canceled her upcoming stand-up shows due to pregnancy complications.
Cheap gas and axed flights: It's holiday travel season
Gas prices are plunging ahead of Thanksgiving thanks to a drop in oil prices. Several dozen stations across Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas were charging less than $2 per gallon as of Wednesday, according to GasBuddy, and that number "could be several hundred by Thanksgiving Day," GasBuddy's Patrick DeHaan said.
Getting to Thanksgiving dinner could be harder this year. Veuer's Angeli Kakade has the story. Buzz60
This compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network.
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S. Korea to face ‘grave’ inflation risk for time being: official
By YonhapPublished : May 20, 2022 – 10:01 Updated : May 20, 2022 – 10:01
|Fruit and vegetables are displayed on the shelves at a large discount chain in Seoul, on May 3. (Yonhap)|
South Korea is expected to face a “grave” risk from rising inflation for the time being, as the recovery of consumption will further add price pressure amid high energy costs, a senior government official said Friday.
The government plans to beef up its monitoring of key items, including cooking oil and petroleum products, in a bid to ease the burden from elevated inflation, according to First Vice Finance Minister Bang Ki-sun.
“Price situations facing the South Korean economy are not good,” Bang said at the government’s first vice ministerial meeting on inflation.
South Korea’s inflation has been under upward pressure due to a hike in fuel prices and a rebound in demand from the pandemic.
Consumer prices spiked 4.8 percent on-year in April, the fastest increase in more than 13 years. They followed a 4.1 percent rise in March.
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British brand Karen Millen has appointed Pentland Brands Limited, a division of Pentland Group, as its global footwear license partner. The partnership will allow for Karen Millen to expand its footwear line and make the shoes available for sale at more retailers around the world. Currently, Karen Millen shoes are only available at the brand’s standalone stores and website.
”Customers have always loved our footwear and this partnership will enable us to offer more styles, choice and availability. Pentland is the perfect partner, with a truly expert level of knowledge when it comes to footwear licensing and long-standing record of working with brands to build their global presence”, said Beth Butterwick, CEO of Karen Millen, in a statement.
Pentland Brands holds footwear licenses for several brands, including Ted Baker, Lacoste, Kickers, KangaRoos, and Boxfresh, among others. Available in over 190 countries, its products are either sold directly by the company or represented by licensees and distributors.
The deal with Pentland Brands is part of the company’s overall growth plan. Karen Millen aims to offer more than just womenswear and accessories, ultimately becoming a global lifestyle brand. Earlier this year, the British company signed an agreement with IMG Licensing, in order to expand its product offering to include women’s swimwear, athleisure, gifts, lingerie, and luggage.
Picture: Karen Millen Facebook


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Stepping back and looking at our growth as a company and an industry over the years has helped make the long nights and hard work worth it, and confirms for us that we’re headed in the right direction.
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (PRWEB) August 19, 2020
Inc. magazine today revealed that Hypersign LLC is No. 1921 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment—its independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.
“It is such an honor to be recognized on the Inc. 5000. The nature of our industry is rapidly evolving and incredibly tumultuous, meaning a lot of our time and effort is spent looking to the future, which can make it hard to reflect on how far we’ve come. Stepping back and looking at our growth as a company and an industry over the years has helped make the long nights and hard work worth it, and confirms for us that we’re headed in the right direction. The Hypersign development philosophy is driven solely by user input. We don’t do competitive analysis, but instead are constantly listening to how we can be more valuable to our customers. I think that business approach is what will help us continue to grow and bring unique value.
I’m so proud of our amazing team, supportive partners, and best-in-class customers who have helped us get to where we are today. We’re excited to see where we’ll place next!” - Neil Willis, Founder, Hypersign
Hypersign’s client-driven ideology has led to a plethora of solutions that create a full visual communications ecosystem. What makes Hypersign’s ecosystem unique is that it does not hinge upon proprietary hardware, which was an intentional decision. It’s a decision that allows Hypersign to remain competitive in all areas and fight for customer retention, which was an industry leading 99% retention rate in 2019. This accomplishment confirms Hypersign as a key player in digital signage, virtual events, and visual communication solutions.
“The companies on this year’s Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business,” says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. “From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.”
The annual Inc. 5000 event honoring the companies on the list will be held virtually from October 23 to 27, 2020. As always, speakers will include some of the greatest innovators and business leaders of our generation.
Hypersign is a visual communications company, based in the United States, known for their virtual events solution, the Arena, and their award winning digital signage platform, Hypersign+, and its accompanying extensions, Waystation, Roomfusion, and Huddleup. Hypersign, headquartered in South Carolina, currently has customers throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Hypersign products are prominent in industries like healthcare, education and enterprise business. For more information, visit http://www.hypersign.com
About Inc. Media
The world’s most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com


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Monday 21st September 2020 : Milkybar, the number one white chocolate brand, today announces a new addition to its range with the launch of Milkybar Cookies & Cream.
Appearing in shops across Ireland this October, the 90g sharing bar features creamy-tasting, smooth white chocolate studded with delicious, crunchy cookie pieces.
Maria McKenna, Marketing Manager for Nestlé Ireland Confectionery said: “Milk and cookies is a classic combination for a reason, and we believe our deliciously creamy-tasting white chocolate makes it unbeatable! We are always looking for new ways to innovate and delight fans, and we hope they love this new sharing block as much as we do!”
Nestlé is believed to have invented the first white chocolate back in 1936, when workers who were making a vitamin-enriched condensed milk, added cocoa butter to make a solid tablet. In doing so, white chocolate was created!
In 2017, Nestlé introduced a lower sugar formulation for Milkybar that increased the quantity of milk in the recipe by over 10 per cent, making it the number one ingredient. By using more milk, Nestlé was able to naturally reduce the sugar content without using sweeteners. Milkybar is also free from artificial flavours, colours and preservatives.
Today, Milkybar is more popular than ever. So far in 2020, over 11 million Milkybar blocks have been sold.
Milkybar Cookies & Cream is being made at Nestlé’s factory in York, which also produces KitKat, Aero, Yorkie and Polo. It will go on sale over the next few weeks in stores across Ireland.


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Artificial intelligence is on the rise around the world, according to a new global study that found the number of enterprises implementing AI grew 270% in the past four years and tripled in the past year.
Dell Boomi’s integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) is being used by Adelaide’s Flinders University to enable a connected environment as the university begins to execute its five-year digital strategy through to 2021.
Australian construction materials and building products supplier Boral is deploying MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform to support key business initiatives, including supply chain innovation and omnichannel customer experience.
Optus has sealed a five-year deal with aged care and community service provider Uniting to deliver fixed voice, mobile, Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) and data network services to Uniting’s customers.
Melbourne-based business management software company Pronto is going into competition with so-called digital agencies.
The Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) has released the third edition of its tablet guidelines, with this latest edition offering recommendations for using tablets as an enterprise tool.
Digital transformations facing large corporations are beyond typical planning cycles and most CEO tenures. This makes good timing absolutely critical when it comes to allocating resources effectively.
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Updated: November 21, 2016 12:10:29 am
With demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken the boldest economic and political decision of his term so far. He has pressed a button to upgrade India to version 2.0, which will hopefully weed out corruption to some extent, and sow the seeds of hope for a “clean” India. In this endeavour, the ministry of finance and key personnel of the RBI also deserve credit for maintaining secrecy and for the surprise with which the nation heard this news.
While there is no doubt that it has disrupted the smooth functioning of the economy — especially the informal economy — in the immediate-term, there seems a majority view emerging that it is good for the country in the medium to long-term. Perhaps for the first time, an honest person feels happy that the government has given him/her some dignity, a sort of premium to honesty, by targeting those who have hordes of cash stashed away from their unaccounted transactions.
It is well known that much of black income is generated through cash deals in the real estate sector, and an honest person wanting to buy a house or plot with a full cheque payment was often ridiculed. Almost half the payments were accepted in cash, and it was almost impossible to buy a house in just white money. This was sickening and cancerous. So, no wonder an honest person feels very happy about this move from the prime minister.
But the inconvenience caused to the common man in the long queues at ATMs and banks, if this lingers for too long, can turn the mood sour. Some opposition parties will surely take full advantage of that situation to ensure that this drastic step by the Modi government fails and demonetisation is rolled back. If the government buckles under their pressure, it will be political suicide. Thus, it must act on a war footing to minimise the inconvenience to the common man while re-monetising the economy with new notes and promoting electronic transfers aggressively on a large scale. How can this be done?
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Let us consider first the news that volumes of fresh produce in agri-mandis have dropped significantly, trucks have stopped plying, and farmers are in deep distress. No doubt there is some truth to these reports, but the magnitude of the situation is being blown out of proportion. If supply lines are so badly disrupted, how come consumers in urban areas are still getting their daily essentials commodities at regular prices? Why haven’t the prices of these goods erupted? That is the litmus test. Have people stopped consuming fruits and vegetables or milk and bread? There are no long queues for daily needs. People are getting their food at regular prices, and they are adjusting. Behavioural change is in the air with a greater use of plastic cards in transactions which were being done earlier almost entirely through cash. It needs to be expedited. How?
It is time that BJP-ruled states take the lead in announcing that commission agents in all agri-mandis must have the electronic data capture (EDC) machines (also known as machines to swipe credit/debit cards) and transactions should be only through these machines, else their licenses will be cancelled. These machines are very cheap and convenient, and will immediately convert massive cash transactions into electronic ones, signalling the rise of a new era of digital India. Massive campaigns and demonstrations encouraging the use of mobile wallets will provide a further boost. Small vendors, even the paan wala on the street corner, adopting this system will transform the manner in which India transacts its small business, which runs into millions of transactions every day. That would be an innovation to transform India and it can be quickly ramped up, giving a major relief to the common man.
The ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare at the Centre and in the states need to lead this transformation exercise. NABARD, with its offices all over the country, and agro-companies like Amul, Hatsun Agro, Nestle and IFFCO too need to demonstrate and promote electronic systems of payment to millions of farmers. In this attack on black money, honest people and companies with a stake in agriculture and the farming community cannot keep sitting in their comfortable offices. They must be out in the field, helping their stakeholders.
Further, at least the BJP-ruled states should quickly announce the reduction in stamp duty in real estate transactions, from the current levels of six to seven per cent in most states to, say, three per cent or even less. That will not hit their revenue adversely as businesses will expand with honesty. But it will surely boost the morale of honest people to brave the inconvenience that they are undergoing as they will see the potential gains from such a move.
Next, the banks and the Enforcement Directorate need to be on alert as many with unaccounted cash are using Jan Dhan account holders, even farmers, to deposit cash in their accounts. The current rate for their “reward” is around 25 per cent, and many in the queues at the banks are those potential “awardees”. It is easy to catch a few cases, and the big fish behind them, and give an exemplary punishment quickly. Else, the impact of this mission will get diluted.
Also, high priority needs to be accorded to the re-calibration of ATMs for new notes, extending working hours of banks, even asking them to work in shifts 24×7 especially for the withdrawal of money by people from their accounts. If needed, special extension counters should be opened through mobile vans — in schools, colleges and other offices — with due police protection, especially on holidays, as is done while conducting elections. This may provide some immediate relief to the general public. PM Modi cannot afford to lose this “surgical strike” on black money, and all honest people who want to see India emerge as a clean nation need to support him at this moment. The challenge is gigantic, but it can be met.
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Middle East businesses are spending less than 1 per cent of their overall IT budgets on security, leaving them vulnerable to cyber attacks, said an industry expert.
IT leaders in the region are allocating budgets to only meet current compliance requirements, explained Werner Heeren, regional director, Middle East, Africa and Turkey, Fluke Networks, a global provider of network performance monitoring and diagnostics solutions.
Last year, hackers stole roughly 81.5 million records while carrying out more than 740 confirmed data breaches. Many of the attacks targeted household name brands, costing the global economy up to $575 billion, and destroying consumer confidence, all the while companies still believed their data was secure.
“Another concern is the increased use of mobile devices in organizations. It is no surprise that these devices are increasingly being brought into the workplace, and used to perform both business critical functions as well as private user tasks,” said Heeren.
The average corporate user has anywhere from 2-4 mobile devices, most of which require wireless connectivity. Gartner, a technology research company, predicts that by 2017, there will be 1.3 billion new business mobile devices.
In this rapidly changing model, end users are demanding access to applications, development platforms, and network infrastructure as a service over the Internet. But with this transformation into a borderless enterprise, IT departments are finding it difficult to ensure heightened end-user experience, and business effectiveness of its workforce.
“There’s a significant urgency in the borderless enterprise model, where IT departments don’t always control the entire delivery path, but are expected to fix if something goes wrong. Therefore, it’s important that IT and the business work together to establish a process and methodology that orchestrates the adoption of SaaS applications into the enterprise,” said Heeren.
Fluke Networks is seeing increased tension between business and IT. Businesses are often dissatisfied with IT implementation and execution time lines, and 71 per cent of C-level executives believe they can make better IT decisions faster and more cost effectively.
Increasingly businesses are implementing applications and services without any involvement of their IT department, thus leaving themselves vulnerable to attack. As much as 38 per cent of businesses owners are making half of the enterprises cloud purchase decisions, according to a recent RightScale report.
Furthermore, non-IT departments control more than 37 per cent of enterprise technology spending, and that number is likely to grow over the next few years. (Frost & Sullivan 2015 “Why Choice and Control are Critical to a Successful Cloud Strategy“).
And if this is not generating enough tension, mobile business users expect their business service anywhere, anytime, and 77 per cent of employees see mobile devices as very important to meeting business objectives.
Fluke Networks will be showcasing its latest products, including the company’s wireless network security and performance monitoring portfolio at the Gisec 2015, an information security expo opening today (April 26) in Dubai, UAE.
Gisec is taking place at Dubai International Conference and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) until April 28
Copyright 2022 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group


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Tech firm Intel has introduced a significant leap ahead in enhancing how we play video games on PCs.
Its newest cell processor Tiger Lake possesses a considerably sooner Xe graphics unit and is primarily supposed to speed up synthetic intelligence functions and enhance video processing.
The system, which was offered at this yr’s CES tech truthful, is scheduled for launch in the midst of 2020.
As well as, Intel’s new graphics chip DG1 made a convincing demonstration throughout a take a look at run of the technically demanding pc sport Future 2 on the present. Nevertheless the corporate hasn’t but offered concrete efficiency information for the chip.
Intel additionally offered a brand new pocket book mainboard which is notably smaller than earlier fashions, enabling manufactures to construct much more compact laptops.
CEO Bob Swan stated the so-called Athena specs for notebooks developed at Intel are actually supported by over 50 PC producers, together with market leaders Lenovo, HP and Dell.
Laptops based mostly on Athena ought to have an particularly lengthy battery life and be capable of shortly return from standby mode.
Some fashions may even allow you to get on-line when on the go together with the assistance of built-in LTE and 5G cell phone chips, reasonably than simply connecting to a WiFi community. – dpa


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Ubisoft, publishers of the famed [I]Tom Clancy[/I] series, announced today that their jet fighter game, entitled [I]Over G Fighters[/I], will be exclusive to the Xbox 360, and will ship worldwide in North America and in Europe.
In [I]Over G Fighters[/I] players will fly more than 30 jet fighters in dogfights over Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. You can take on the more than 80 missions, or take the fight online via Xbox Live.
[I]Over G Fighters[/I] is set to ship in June. Keep checking back at Mygamer.com for more details.


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Falkirk business: Howgate Centre's new owners reveal plans
After weeks of uncertainty the new owners of the Howgate Centre have been revealed.
The shopping mall has been acquired by Belgate (Falkirk) Ltd, a Glasgow firm with similar acquisitions in its portfolio.
It follows previous owners of the 185,000 sq ft centre Ellandi putting the property up for auction on May 18.
There was considerable interest and after a flurry of bids it was eventually sold for £2.32 million but at that time there was no indication who had made the purchase.
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However, the owner was only revealed earlier this week as Belgate who already own The Centre in Cumbernauld and The Mercat Centre in Kirkcaldy.
However, two long-serving employees of the previous owners have now left the business.
Howgate manager Suzanne Arkinson and marketing manager Margaret Foy no longer work at the centre according to staff.
A spokesperson for the new owners said: “Belgate (Falkirk) Ltd is pleased to have concluded the purchase of The Howgate Shopping Centre.
"This is the latest acquisition to a managed portfolio that includes shopping centres in Cumbernauld, Kirkcaldy, Rhyl and Burton Upon Trent.
"Belgate and the team have proven experience of turning assets around and have already commenced with applying this model to The Howgate Centre to build upon and add to the existing tenant line up to give more variety to customers.”
Looking ahead to their future plans, they added: “Centralising retail and other offers within the town will play a major part in ensuring The Howgate Centre continues to be a focal point within Falkirk for many years to come and we look forward to engaging with local stakeholders in the forthcoming weeks and months.”
The centre, comprising 56 units, has a current annual gross rental income of just over £1 million from occupiers including Boots, JD Sports, River Island, New Look and Wilko.
The centre opened in 1990 with the original tenants Boots, Woolworths and Argos.


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Union members made up only 10.1% of the workforce last year, down from 10.3% in 2021, according to data released recently by the Labor Department. For a long time the prototypical union shop hasn’t been a private steel plant but a public school, yet the unionized share of government employees also fell.
Though the annual changes look small, they add up: The workforce in 2012 was 11.3% unionized, and in 2002 it was 13.3%. Organized labor hasn’t been able to stop the trend, despite frantic unionization drives, including many aimed at nontraditional members, such as the university graduate students who march under the United Auto Workers banner. Private workers are 6% unionized, down from 8.6% two decades ago. For public workers, it’s 33.1%, down from 37.3%.
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The Powell business, now in its 12th year, was founded with the sole purpose of providing gluten-free oats products for the percentage of the population that suffers from celiac disease. The mission is personal for Seaton Smith and his son Forrest …
Planting of 2016 crop tentatively on hold
Not all gluten-free oats are created equally.
It’s a reality that has roiled the marketplace for a Powell company, Gluten Free Oats, and its GF Harvest branded oats products.
The Powell business, now in its 12th year, was founded with the sole purpose of providing gluten-free oats products for the percentage of the population that suffers from celiac disease. The mission is personal for Seaton Smith and his son Forrest Smith, who is credited with the vision for the gluten-free oats start-up as a high school FFA entrepreneurial project.
Forrest Smith was diagnosed with celiac disease when he was 2 years old. Both his parents and up to 10 family members have now been diagnosed with celiac disease, for whom ingestion of gluten leads to damage in the small intestine.
Gluten is a protein in grain. Common foods containing gluten are pastas, noodles, breads and pastries, cereals and crackers.
First in the nation
Commitment by “our celiac family” led to the development of the first certified gluten-free oat mill in the United States, said Seaton Smith. The mill, warehouse and packaging facilities are located at 1030 Washington St. in Powell.
“We got into this to serve kids who have a real need of gluten-free, or they get sick,” said Smith. “Our goal was not to say, ‘let’s turn this into a business.’ We started this as a family affected by celiac disease who wanted to serve people who had a real need.”
Now in a world of increasing competition, there’s some question about what is really gluten-free.
In a nutshell, the words “gluten free” on a box on the supermarket shelf don’t always tell the whole story, Smith contends.
The 2013 federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) product labeling rule is in the middle of the controversy. The FDA has established that a product can be labeled gluten-free if the product has been processed to remove the gluten and tested to below 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten.
The gluten-free standard applied to the Smiths’ certified gluten-free products is more stringent — in fact, twice as stringent.
To earn approval of the Gluten-Free Certification Organization, the body which certifies Gluten Free Oats of Powell, all finished products using the GFCO logo must contain no more than 10 ppm of gluten.
“If you’re on a fad gluten-free diet, it probably doesn’t make that much difference,” Smith said. “But if you’re on a true gluten-free, restricted diet, then you’re going to want to buy a product that is truly certified gluten-free, or you may get sick.”
Averaging has loopholes
The gluten-free market has attracted some of the major food product companies in the world, including General Mills and Quaker Oats.
The big guys say they’ve figured out a way to be “gluten-free” by meeting the FDA standard of 20 ppm of gluten through averaging or blending, Smith said.
“Bottom line is that a company can buy common commodity oats, per the new FDA standard, and show some kind of gluten testing at least one time a year to be able to call them gluten-free. FDA does not state that the 20 ppm is on a single slice of bread, a serving of two slices, the whole loaf, or the 100,000-pound batch of dough used to make the bread. The standard is very loose,” he said.
At the 2014 conference of the American Association of Cereal Chemist Institute (AACCI), one manufacturer said they were using sorting equipment on
common commodity oats to separate out the gluten-containing grains, Smith related.
“They also stated that on average, 10 percent of their samples were testing over 20 ppm, but by using a statistical average, they were able to meet the FDA standard,” he said.
“This kind of leeway will result in a lot of people being at risk of eating gluten when the package says gluten-free,” Smith emphasized.
In contrast, Smith said the oats in his company’s procedures are certified to 10 ppm of gluten or less. The company follows a strict “purity protocol” from seed to finished product.
The steps include:
• Planting pure seed stock with pre-planting field history audits;
• All equipment inspected and approved for gluten-free production;
• Each field inspected prior to harvest by the company and a third party;
• Harvested seed only stored in dedicated gluten-free grain storage;
• Processed in a dedicated and certified gluten-free oat mill;
• Packaged on a dedicated and certified gluten-free packaging line;
• Third party audits showing the final product is certified gluten-free.
California Expo storytelling
Gluten Free Oats attended the 2016 Natural Products Expo West conference in Anaheim, California, in mid-March. This is “the food show of the world” with 70,000 attendees, Smith said, and provided the opportunity to network with other companies — anyone making a product for the food industry.
Smith said he and his company representatives would be making a particular push to tell the story for fully certified gluten-free oats and the product lines of GF Harvest and Canyon Oats.
He acknowledged that it would be an attempt to turn aside the competitive challenge by companies marketing gluten-free under the less stringent standard of 20 ppm.
“Competition is a good thing,” Smith said. “We thought the companies who wanted true gluten-free would stay with us. We expected there would be a bump in the road, then the true gluten-free market would take off again.”
The reality is Smith and Gluten Free Oats are still waiting for that to happen. The competition can put its product on the market for less cost without following the strict purity protocols from field to finished product.
That puts a premium on marketing the advantages of fully certified gluten-free.
Temporary hold on new crop
In 2015, Gluten Free Oats actually grew more oats locally than ever before. Ten growers contracted oats on 1,200 acres.
“We still have a majority of that product in storage,” Smith said. “Because we still have oats on hand, I went personally to see every grower and told them where we’re at. I said you need to think of something else as a crop for a year because we may not be contracting acreage in 2016.”
That decision is not final yet.
“To affect the grower community, we need to sway some large manufacturing companies that cheaper is not always better and to start buying from us again,” Smith summed up. “I’m going to be optimistic. We will know in two to three weeks if we see a market that we can offer growing contracts. At that time, we may be able to come back to growers if they have land left.”
What if the experience goes badly for Gluten Free Oats at Expo West?
“I’m not a quitter,” Smith said. “The company may have to retool itself, and that is already something being considered.”
Rather than the conventional large bulk market, the company may go after the retail product line by better educating doctors and dieticians that serve the pure gluten-free niche markets.
No adjusting standards
Gluten Free Oats is not going to sacrifice its standards and come off a strict certified base, Smith said.
“The truth is that’s not what GF Harvest is. That’s not what Park County is. We’re different. We’re better. We don’t just grow in Park County. We produce quality,” he said.
Smith said he wants to paint a positive picture going forward.
“The company has always been on the leading edge of the market. The product is in the bins, ready to use, and we can employ people,” he stressed.
Gluten Free Oats can be creative. A new Go-Pack of oatmeal is being introduced to focus for the first time on the outdoor market. The Go-Pack is saddlebag and backpack ready to travel without being crushed.
They announced the new Go-Pack package line this year that is a giant hit for the latest in convenience products.
Gluten Free Oats has enough oats in storage to make the product and market it for a year and a half.
“The new Go-Pack is debuting in four flavors. You tear off the top of this flat package, pooch it up to become a cup and add hot water,” Smith said. “This new Go-Pack will stand up to handling, and we can do it more efficiently.”
Gluten Free Oats has done some streamlining since the first of the year. Two jobs have been eliminated, but the company still employs 15 people.
Smith advised everyone who is required to be on a gluten-free diet to refrain from eating a food product that just has the words “gluten free” on it. Without third party certification, there should be fear of cross-contamination, he said.
“It hurts my heart to see people buy what they think are gluten-free products, and are marketed as gluten-free, but they aren’t. We don’t want a person who needs gluten-free to have a problem,” he said.


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A plan to finance the expansion of San Diego’s Convention Center with a hotel room surcharge is drawing opposition from some hoteliers, who say it’s unfair for more distant properties that derive far less benefit than those closer to the center.
In a meeting this week of about two dozen hotel general managers and owners, they expressed unanimous support for the $550 million expansion but agreed that a more equitable financing plan needs to be crafted.
Under the current scheme, all hotels in the downtown area would be asked to add 3 percent onto their hotel bills; Mission Valley, Mission Bay and Harbor Island properties would be assessed 2 percent; and all others 1 percent.
“We’d like to come up with a proposal where those who don’t benefit as much pay a fee that’s proportionate to what they get. The current proposal doesn’t do that,” said Bill Evans of Evans Hotels, which owns hotels in Mission Bay and La Jolla. "We will help fund the convention center, but not at the expense of fairness.”
Evans said that local hoteliers representing properties largely north of Interstate 8 intend to craft an alternative tiered financing plan and present it to the mayor’s office this month. Evans has said that his hotels get little, if any, business connected to meetings at the Convention Center.
Any plan that proposes boosting the surcharge on downtown hotels even higher than 3 percent could face stiff opposition, said Steve Cushman, a special assistant to Mayor Jerry Sanders on the financing of the expansion. A 4 percent surcharge, for example, would bring total room taxes and levies to 16.5 percent, which would put San Diego at a competitive disadvantage, he said.
Cushman made a presentation Thursday to the hoteliers, along with Charles Black, project manager on the expansion project, and Mary Lewis, chief financial officer for the city of San Diego. In addition to the $28 million to $30 million a year in funding from the proposed hotel surcharge, Cushman hopes to get revenue from a portion of taxicab fares, a levy on Gaslamp Quarter restaurants and bars, and an assessment on retail sales at the Horton Plaza shopping center. He also plans to ask San Diego Port commissioners on Tuesday for $60 million in funding.
“I am told that the very encouraging result of this meeting was that the group unanimously supported the expansion of the convention center,” Cushman said. “Industry folks have continued to say that those who benefit the most should be assessed the highest. That’s why I came up with the 3-2-1 concept. So now this group has said we think there’s a better way to do it, and I continue to be open to listen to any other way that people are willing to coalesce on.”
San Diego hotel consultant Robert Rauch, who also operates two hotels in Carmel Valley, said that in order for the financing plan to go forward, the mayor’s office will need the support of all the hoteliers, not just those in downtown.
“Nobody wants to derail the plan at all,” he said, “but none of us thought (the financing plan) is fair in its current form.”


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It's worth taking special note of the spectrum swap deal announced on Monday by T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless because it is a positive development. Here is an AP story on the deal that explains what each provider is getting and giving up.
When the deal was announced, here is a statement I gave to the press:
"Foremost, the spectrum swap announcement by Verizon and T-Mobile is good for consumers because it should result in getting additional spectrum in use for 4G broadband services sooner rather than later. It paves the way for T-Mobile to become a stronger competitor, which is a positive for consumers. And it ought to mean the Commission acts with dispatch to approve the Verizon-SpectrumCo transaction."
If the FCC approves the transaction, T-Mobile will be able to be a stronger competitor in the wireless broadband marketplace and this is good for consumers.
And it is also good for consumers when marketplace participants are allowed to negotiate spectrum swaps in the secondary market without having the FCC dictate its own preferred market outcomes.
With no one seriously disputing the looming spectrum crunch, for the sake of meeting the rapidly growing consumer demand for wireless broadband services, the FCC needs to make it a priority to approve promptly both the Verizon Wireless-SpectrumCo and T-Mobile-Verizon Wireless spectrum transactions.


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Apple had submitted a bid to include the Galaxy S 4 in their current lawsuit with Samsung, and it seems as though U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal has since turned it down.
iOS7, which recently was presented by Apple, is the biggest step in UI design since the iPhone was launched in 2007. They have made the UI design more flat and added new features. But where did they get their ideas from? Marques Brownlee explains where Apple got inspiration for some of the new elements of iOS 7. Check out his video after the break!


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Rogers Wireless lands exclusive iPhone deal in CanadaRogers Wireless has sealed a deal with Apple Inc. to become the exclusive carrier for iPhone in Canada, according to a customer advisory notice sent to subscribers this week.
The largest Canadian wireless communications provider told its customers that availability and pricing were still being sorted out, but added that it would be the only wireless carrier to offer the Apple handset in Canada.
"Other Canadian wireless carriers will not launch the iPhone," the carrier wrote.
Rogers in the email communication said it is actively working with Apple to launch the iPhone in Canada "as soon as possible." The carrier also revealed that Apple is planning to introduce the iPhone in Europe during the fourth quarter of 2007 and in Asia during 2008.
In an interview with the Globe and Mail earlier this month, Rogers chief operating officer Nadir Mohamed implied that his firm would make a good fit for the Apple phone, as its the only Canadian provider offering GSM service.
"Im not saying whether we have agreements or anything [with Apple], but given the iPhone was launched on GSM, were in good position to reinforce that were the first and have the best-feature devices," he said at the time.
Rogers Wireless, previously known as Rogers AT&T Wireless, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications with 6.2 million subscribers and 5,000 employees.
In addition to acting as the the largest Canadian BlackBerry service provider, the carrier also claims to be the only Canadian wireless provider to offer a complete, independent coast-to-coast network spanning all Canadian regions excluding the Territories.


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TRAVERSE CITY, MI -- At Right Brain Brewery, they never let a pot stay empty. Sales at the pub are growing 35 percent and overall growth has been 40 percent.
Their beer is so much in demand, they'll come in on a Sunday to brew another batch if a tank is empty.
Last week, MLive's John Gonzalez and Amy Sherman of the Great American Brew Trail visited Right Brain's new facility in Traverse City. Their search for Michigan's Best Brewery took them to 38 breweries across Michigan.
"We're trained to do culinary inspired beers but also do basic styles and do them well," said Russell Springsteen, owner and head brewer at Right Brain.
They try to keep 20 beers on tap at their pub. They have also begun distributing and have their beer in about 80 percent of the Lower Peninsula.
Springsteen started off as a home brewer and worked at a couple breweries in Michigan. He said it was hard to find work at breweries in the state so he started saving money by getting into real estate and working in a barber shop.
Now Springsteen said he outs all of his money back into the brewery.
Right Brain has recently began to offer food. Since they don't have a full kitchen, they offer items like waffle sandwiches.
"Right Brain brewery kind of blew my brain," Gonzalez said.
"They have a lot of energy and they seem to be growing at an incredible rate," said Gonzalez. "You also can't go wrong with beer and waffle sandwiches."
Sherman said the new expansion is a lot bigger than she thought. "They have great room for growth."
"I like their beers a lot," said Sherman. As a cook, Sherman like how Right Brain is inspired by food.
"You can taste that in a lot of the beers," Sherman said. "All those beers were incredibly flavorful."


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The British fashion industry has not voted for Brexit: 90 percent of designers told the British Fashion Council they would vote.
But in less than seven months, before the United Kingdom formally cuts its ties to the European Union, this £ 28 billion sector needs to get three very different looks, ready for future-proof business.
Richard Lim, CEO of Analyst Retail Economics, outlines the possible scenarios: "Hard Brexit – where existing trade agreements are disappearing and designers, retailers and manufacturers would have to pay for trade with the EU – would mean that clothes and shoes cost around 11 inches, or just over £ 1 billion a year. "A second option is a free trade agreement," but we do not know what kind of strings will be appropriate – it's hard for companies to plan ". Third, the United Kingdom may remain part of the Customs Union, but that seems unlikely, since Theresa May has already rejected this path.
"Whatever happens, the price of a pair of jeans will rise after Brexit," says Lim. "It's tariffs and an exodus of [European] Store personnel, designers, warehouse workers, delivery drivers … As we "take control of our borders", the pool of available personnel is likely to shrink, which means an inflationary impact on wages. It's probably going to bother massively.
The United Kingdom annually imports nearly 10 billion pounds of clothing and footwear from Europe; More than 10,000 European employees work in the British fashion industry. It has become a microcosm of UK Plc's struggle to deal with the outcome of the referendum.
Katharine Hamnett has thousands of her & # 39; CANCEL BREXIT & # 39; T-shirts sold and a new version, & # 39; FASHION HATES BREXIT & # 39; released. She is fighting for a second referendum, but also has an emergency plan. She has set up her own Italian company near Venice, "to cope with production and logistics, so we do not have to interfere with complicated Brexit bureaucracy and import and export issues for our production and supplies."
"It's scary that we know so little about" the deal "- the fashion industry works so far in advance and it feels like we're in a blackout room and we have to use a crystal ball to find our way out" says Frances Card, fashion consultant and former Matchesfashion.com COO. Their concern is voiced by Clare Hornby of ME + EM, whose Breton T-shirts are loved by the Duchess of Cambridge. Meanwhile, the photographer Nick Knight is unique. "The overwhelming evidence and general approval on all sides is that this country and its communities will be significantly worse off both economically and culturally if we leave the EU," he says.
It's not all bad. The Brexit-stopped fall in value has led to more and more Chinese, Arab and American fashion tourists spending money in the fanciest coffers of the West End. Higher sales, however, may not be enough to offset rising production costs abroad, and an influx of buyers could be offset by an upturn in international talent from the industry. José Neves, founder of the luxury online platform Farfetch, put it this way at last year's Web Summit in Lisbon: "We have 25 different nationalities in our office in London [Brexit] That's a big loss. "Writer and consultant Nick Vinson emphasizes," Many great "British" designers are Europeans and proud of them. "Mary Katrantzou is Greek, Simone Rocha is Irish, Peter Pilotto is Austrian, Italian.
Stephanie Phair, Chair of the British Fashion Council, says "Brexit's priority is to ensure that young people from all over the world have access to creative education and skills to protect our domestic talent pipeline". "It is extremely important that we remain open and accessible to international talent," she adds. The BFC supports the Mode arm of the Ministry of the Interior's Tier 1 Visa system and provides 2,000 top designers from outside the EU with an accelerated visa. "In the face of Brexit, that's incredibly important."
Stylist Tamara Cincik has set up Fashion Roundtable to ensure that the concerns of the industry are heard. "Fishing makes 1.4 billion pounds for the British economy, almost 30 billion pounds, but we only hear of cod," she says. "I know two long-established London brands, one in accessories, one in women's and men's fashion that moves to Portugal, and a big fashion company that wants to relocate its logistics to Italy." With a hard Brexit or no deal, most fashion companies expect that they are going, "she adds.
Universities claim the talent outflow is not yet taking place. The London College of Fashion says that the proportion of EU applicants has not dropped over the past year. Professor Frances Corner, head of the college, is a rare positive voice: "Brexit gives us the opportunity to ask what kind of fashionable future we want, ideas and thoughts can not be tied to national borders, they will always break through," she says. But she mourns the end of EU funding and possibly the Erasmus program, which allows students and staff to work elsewhere in Europe.
International Trade Minister Liam Fox said Brexit was "an unprecedented opportunity to create a trade environment that cares for our country, our businesses and our citizens." And it's true that Brexit is not a wardrobe disaster for any London fashion company. Vote Leave's demand for the return of "Made in Britain" is already bearing fruit in the unlikely place of Haringey. In a dazzling white workshop in Zone 2, Jenny Holloway runs Fashion Enter, where 107 seamstresses, tailors, and designer womenswear manufacture for Marks & Spencer, Asos, Matthew Williamson, and Preen. Since the referendum she has knocked on Tesco and Arcadia. "Brexit and the chaos in Turkey mean production is drifting back to the UK," says Holloway.
"We can move from idea to delivery in three weeks." However, about 80 percent of their staplers are Eastern Europeans. When; & # 39 [the Brexit vote] At first, two people went home immediately – they felt unloved and unwanted. Every week, we knocked on specialists from Bulgaria, Romania and Poland at the door – that's over. "
British manufacturers also need something to make their clothes from – and there are no cotton fields in Seven Sisters. Three-quarters of the materials used in the UK are imported. If there is no agreement, British manufacturers will face a bewildering array of tariffs.
"The manufacturers will have a lot of paperwork for each component in front of them," explains Anna Tobin, who is ready for the Brexit. "In addition, there may be technical barriers to trade – if a country decides that the standards of a British clothing company are not high enough, it could be ruled out, then there are the possible port queues that delay shipments, new VAT rules that mean that importers have to pay their 20 per cent in advance, and possible delays in immigration for foreign buyers.
"Businesses that are unthinkable today – the shipping of fabrics from Italian factories, the procurement of components from China, Turkey and India, the transport of finished clothes and models to Paris or Milan for the exhibitions and product lines to the stores in Europe – will add many more steps, it will be a logistical nightmare.
The Spaniard Álvaro González manufactures the sandals of his eponymous shoe brand in Florence and sells them in his Marylebone business and wholesale worldwide through Matchesfashion.com, Mr. Porter and Browns Fashion, all based in London. # Delivery for SS19 is nearing it [Brexit day] But our next collection, which we are now designing, is a problem – we have no way of knowing how to sell and deliver it. We wholesale in Euro, and sell in our business and by e-commerce in pounds. Our margins are threatened by exchange rate fluctuations. & # 39;
Stephen Sidkin, fashion partner at Fox Williams, whose clients include La Perla and Orla Kiely, believes the industry is not well prepared: "Many fashion companies are taking over the ostrich position – which could prove painful." But he admits that they have no choice. "Next week, many brands will have decided which items to make from their SS19 collections – but if they do not pay in sterling, how can they know where exchange rates are when the payment is due for overseas manufacturing? Or what duties are levied both in the United Kingdom and in the EU?
All of which leads experts to fear that London may lose its reputation as a global fashion capital. Last month, the founder of Superdry, Julian Dunkerton, gave the plebiscite for a second referendum £ 1 million. Frances Card adds, "About ten years ago, we came back from a big exodus of designers and top models at London Fashion Week – it was hard to do, the threat of [Brexit’s] A potential loss cuts through all aspects of our industry – a disaster for our businesses, businesses and well-groomed brands, and the freedom to move anything and everyone across the board. Let's not lose our place again.
Illustrations by Michelle Thompson


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Cake Maternity has announced the launch of a new diffusion brand, developed with younger mums in mind.
The new label, named Charley M, has been created to offer fun, functional and fashionable maternity lingerie at an affordable price.
“With a strong, young brand personality, Charley M is for the younger generation of moms, who are social and active. Through our new line, we aim to provide young women with a positive body message during this celebratory period of their lives,” said founder and creative director Tracey Montford.
The inaugural collection is made up of plunge, balcony, soft-cup, seamless and moulded nursing bras starting at £20.
The colourful collection will launch to trade in September and will be available in stores from January 2017.
Charley M has already secured JC Penny and ASOS as stockists.


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The Harry Potter books have long been bestsellers, and now they’re joined by the first Harry Potter play. The script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, now on stage in London, was Amazon’s No. 1 bestseller of 2016.
“The power of Potter is still strong, and readers of all ages can’t get enough of Hogwarts,” said Amazon Senior Book Editor Chris Schluep in a press release. ”Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was the most anticipated book of the year, breaking pre-order records months before its release.”
Cursed Child is first play ever to reach Amazon’s top 20 bestsellers for a year. Here is the full list. Read more…
More about Harry Potter Play, Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, Harry Potter, and Entertainment
LOS ANGELES — Happy almost holidays, No-Majs.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the eighth Harry Potter story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne, is scheduled for a Spring 2018 New York City debut.
The two-part show, which debuted in July 2016 at London’s Palace Theatre, is ironing out the details to move to Broadway’s Lyric Theatre when it finishes its run in the UK.
Pricing for the New York City show has yet to be disclosed, but the show’s stage producer hinted in a statement that low-priced options would be available.
Many in the UK have complained about the availability of low-priced tickets, with eager theater-goers forced to pay higher prices. Read more…
More about Theater, Jk Rowling, Harry Potter, Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, and Entertainment
LONDON — Back in October 2015, I was one of thousands of Harry Potter fans who joined the eager online queue for Cursed Child tickets.
The whole process was exciting and incredibly frustrating. In the end it took four-and-a-half hours, I was booted out of the system once and had to rejoin the queue in 17,742nd spot, and when I finally did get tickets I was so deliriously excited I barely registered the fact I’d just spent £240 for two seats that came with a “view may be partially restricted” warning. Read more…
More about Uk, Tickets, Theatre, Jk Rowling, and Harry Potter And The Cursed Child


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Former El Bulli Chef Joins Napa Kitchen & Wine Bar
After last year’s tragic death of talented, young Chef Martin Bentzen, Napa Wine Bar & Kitchen has a new chef in kitchen. Chef Francisco Araya, a native of Chile who formerly worked at the acclaimed El Bulli, is cooking up seasonal specialties on the Bund.
With this new addition to the Napa team, Philippe Huser, the restaurant’s owner, continues his streak of bringing young, creative chefs to the city. Since 2008, Araya has worked around the world at critically-acclaimed restaurants (including Spain’s Mugaritz, which has two Michelin stars and has ranked in Restaurant Magazine’s Top 10 Restaurants in the world for the past decade).
Along with two other El Bulli alums, Araya opened his first restaurant in Tokyo in 2012. 81 Restaurant serves “borderless cuisine” that ranges from European to Japanese (and occasionally the two together) using molecular cooking techniques that validate the owners’ experience at El Bulli. The restaurant received its first Michelin star the year after opening, when Araya was only 29, and the chef returned to his native Chile that year.
Napa marks the first time the chef has worked in China, and the new menu he’s brought with him reflects his globetrotting cooking style: tender Hokkaido scallops swaddled in a blanket of crisp Iberico ham, bite-sized matsutake pastries made extra earthy thanks to black truffle, crispy skin-on garoupa paired with tart ponzu.
Like all menus at Napa, the wine pairings for this introductory menu are sublime, most notably with the Angus beef short ribs. The marbled meat and slow-cooked tongue are paired with a 2007 Bordeaux (Pomerol) from Chateau Le Gay. Light without being delicate, the wine brings out the best in the beef – and vice versa.
In addition to a new chef in the kitchen, Napa has also added a page to the back of their menu with a list of their suppliers, noting that the foie gras come from Food In, the Blackmore Wagyu from White Strip Fine Food and the fresh black truffles from Yunnan’s Dian Qi. It seems like Shanghai has finally caught up with the dining trends of the past couple years in the West, with suppliers taking some of the credit for the excellent food on the table.
This month, Araya debuts a special "Introduction Menu" that will run throughout September featuring a seven course menu of these signature dishes at a special price of RMB398/person or a sumptuous 10-course menu for RMB 798. Optional wine pairing, of course, is available for both.
2/F, South Bund 22, 22 Zhongshan Dong Er Lu, near Xin Yong'an Lu. Tel: 6318 0057


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AUSTRALIA: Three bidders vie to buy Blue Ribbon meat business
At least three proposals have been filed to take over beleaguered Tasmanian meat processor Blue Ribbon since the group was placed in voluntary administration last month.
The vying proposals will be tabled at a creditors' meeting to be held tonight [11 September] in Launceston. They are believed to have been submitted by Melbourne's BRG Capital Facilitation, Chinese company Guangdong Jinli and NSW meat processor Bindaree Beef.
Blue Ribbon has debts amounting to A$13.3m (US$6.8m), although buyers have been encouraged by how good business currently is, CEO Ray Joy said last month.
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Vallee-Jonction, QC — For the first time in two years the American-Canadian Tour returned to the Canadian Province of Quebec and for the first time in that same stretch, a Canadian stood victorious. Following a three-peat of mechanical woes and devastating wrecks, Blainville Quebec’s Jonathan Bouvrette battled hard with defending Autodrome Chaudiere and Quebec NASCAR Champion Dany Trepanier to take the Claude Leclerc 150 presented by Larue win and the $5,000 payday.
THOMPSON, Conn. – For the second time in as many starts at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in the 2022 Outlaw Open Modified Series season, Mike Christopher Jr. was in Victory Lane Wednesday at the Connecticut oval. Christopher rocketed to the lead with 58 laps complete in the Nutmeg State 75 presented by Twisted Tea and held off multiple challengers on multiple restarts to win the $5,000 prize.
West Haven, VT – Tim LaDuc seems to like money. He backed up his season opening $3,000 win with a $5,000 victory in the 2022 edition of the Northeast Crate Nationals Sunday evening with a late race pass on Elmo Reckner in a crowd pleasing 100-lap Memorial Weekend event.
Barre, VT — The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and Barre’s Thunder Road have announced the 43rd Berlin Optical Expressions Labor Day Classic on Sunday, September 5 will pay $5,000 to the winner. The 200-lap showdown instantly becomes one of the richest point-counting events of the year on the ACT Late Model Tour schedule. It will be broadcast live on FloRacing as part of the track’s live streaming agreement with Thunder Road.
Are you ready for a chance to win $5000 in Truck Parts? AmericanTrucks’ $5,000 Holiday giveaway is now live until 11/19/20. Better yet, participants can enter daily for the best chance to take home the grand prize—no purchase necessary.
Own a Challenger or Mustang or know someone who does? AmericanMuscle’s (AM) latest giveaway could award them a $5000 shopping spree! Sponsored by Modern Muscle Design (MMD), an industry leading automotive exterior styling brand, the MMD $5000 Giveaway on AM awards products of choice from any category on the site
Are you ready for Christmas in July? Mammoth 4×4 is sponsoring a $5,000 Truck Parts giveaway on AmericanTrucks.com now until 8/20/20. Better yet, participants can enter daily for the best chance to take home the grand prize—no purchase necessary.
Attention F150, Silverado, Sierra, and RAM owners: AmericanTrucks has teamed up with RAXIOM Lighting to bring you their first giveaway for 2019!
PAOLI, Pa. (January 17, 2019) – Attention all 1979-2019 Mustang and 2008-2019 Challenger owners: AmericanMuscle’s latest giveaway could earn you a $5,000 sitewide shopping spree. Each vehicle model has its own entry form where participants can enter daily for their best chance to win their choice of products from AmericanMuscle.com.


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Thanksgiving may be a week away, but that hasn't stopped small business owners from joining major retailers in promoting early holiday sales. Small businesses are feeling optimistic about 2013 holiday sales, and are gearing up with increased inventory and marketing efforts.
A new survey by Braun Research and Ink from Chase, the business-card portfolio of Chase Bank, found that 34 percent of small business owners are planning holiday promotions beginning on or before Thanksgiving Day. This same percentage believes their business will perform better this holiday season than in the 2012 holiday season, with about half of those respondents attributing their expected success to better marketing, expanded product and service offerings, and increased consumer demand. To keep up with the surge in holiday sales, 35 percent of respondents indicated that they would be working longer hours for the remainder of the season.
Small business owners have noticed consumer trends toward e-commerce and mobile shopping. On average, survey respondents expect 30 percent of their holiday sales to be through e-commerce and 13 percent to be through mobile commerce, otherwise known as m-commerce. About one-third of small businesses are expecting an increase over last year's numbers in both online and mobile sales.
The survey report by Ink from Chase said that the increased confidence levels of small business owners for the holidays may encourage them to be more generous with their own holiday spending for employees. Nearly 60 percent of respondents said they plan to spend extra money on employee gifts and celebrations this year.
The survey was based on the responses of 507 nationwide owners of consumer-goods retail businesses with fewer than 100 employees.
Originally published on BusinessNewsDaily.