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PARIS — Elizabeth Musmanno, who recently left Christian Dior as its worldwide communications director, has hooked up with Vera Wang.
Musmanno confirmed to WWD on Wednesday that she has joined Wang as senior vice president of communications, a new post, in charge of worldwide public relations and advertising. She reports to Wang, chief executive officer of the Vera Wang Group.
Musmanno returned to New York after a one-year stint at Dior in Paris. As reported, she will be succeeded at Dior by Olivier Bialobos, who arrives next month from Yves Saint Laurent.
The Canadian-born Musmanno has spent the majority of her career in the beauty industry, most recently as vice president of global public relations for Unilever’s prestige fragrance business, which includes the Wang brand as well as Calvin Klein, Nautica and others. That business was acquired last year by Coty Inc.
Musmanno arrives at a time when Wang is accelerating her business development and leveraging her profile on the fashion scene. The designer recently opened her first lifestyle boutique at the Hawaiian resort of Halekulani carrying a full breadth of products, including ready-to-wear, knitwear, sunglasses, fine jewelry, fragrance, stationery, china, crystal, silver and other gifts.
Wang is eager to expand her $300 million business beyond its foothold in the bridal market. The designer, who started a bridal business at the age of 40 after stints at Vogue magazine and Ralph Lauren, was last year given the women’s wear fashion designer of the year award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America.


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As Call of Duty: Warzone cheating complaints ramp up, Raven issues first anti-cheat update in over two months
Call of Duty: Warzone developer Raven Software has issued its first anti-cheat update in over two months following increasing pressure from the game's community over hacking.
Complaints about cheating and hacking in Warzone have ramped up this year, with some high-profile players calling for action from Activision.
Earlier this month, popular Call of Duty content creator ZLaner made an impassioned plea to Raven to do something to combat cheating.
"Raven Software... can we please have some sort of transparency," he said in the clip posted to Twitter below. "This has been asked many, many times. Listen, I am in love with your game... the only reason I am this passionate about wanting this stuff to be dealt with is because I love your game. I love it so much. I want to see it thrive. One of the biggest issues this game has ever had is not having an anti-cheat and it being ridden with hackers."
.@RavenSoftware I can't aim to be the best I can be in Warzone without receiving INSANE amounts of skepticism because hacking has plagued this game since the beginning. Will an anti-cheat or consistent ban waves ever happen?— OpTic ZLaner (@ZLaner) July 12, 2021
Full video here: https://t.co/RWgHdN3aUr
Overnight, Raven announced it had issued two Warzone ban waves this week, for a total of over 50,000 accounts banned.
"Targeting repeat offenders, and much more," Raven said in a tweet.
Has been a while since our last anti-cheat update!— Raven Software (@RavenSoftware) July 16, 2021
Two #Warzone ban waves this week. Over 50,000 accounts banned combined. 🚫
Targeting repeat offenders, and much more.
Raven's last anti-cheat update was issued on 14th May, when the developer said it had stamped out over 30,000 accounts in a ban wave, bringing the grand total of banned accounts to over half a million.
"We have zero tolerance for cheaters across Call of Duty and Call of Duty: Warzone," Activision said in a blog post published in February.
Some have said Raven's latest figures don't go far enough. Popular Call of Duty YouTuber JGOD tweeted to say the number "should be much higher".
"There are at least a dozen that are on the leaderboards that slip past every ban since launch, so I could only imagine how many get missed with these waves," JGOD said.
These bans are cool, but it seems like the number should be much higher. There are at least a dozen that are on the leaderboards that slip past every ban since launch, so I could only imagine how many get missed with these waves. https://t.co/XTaSl5mENu— James - JGOD (@JGODYT) July 16, 2021
The community remains sceptical about Activision's anti-cheat efforts with Warzone, and already there are more clips filling up the Warzone subreddit showing brazen cheating, even from streamers.
Activision: We have blocked 50k acccounts. And streamer plays on Twitch with silent aim, shoots into the air and all bullets hit... from r/CODWarzone
Video game developers and publishers face an uphill struggle combating hacking and cheating in their games, and Activision is no different. As a free-to-download battle royale with over 100 million players, Warzone is always going to be a target for cheaters. But Activision has shown it can move fast when it comes to taking on those who make cheats - this week Activision stepped in to stop development of a machine learning cheat after console competitive multiplayer fans expressed concern about its potential to ruin games.
Despite these efforts - and ban wave announcements - it appears Activision is struggling to shake Warzone's reputation for being a battle royale with a heavy dose of cheating.

domain: news


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The tradition of showing the little men started more than 50 years ago, but may come to an end soon. There is an effort underway to introduce gender equality by using "traffic light women" as well. Not everyone agrees and even a major newspaper isn't sold on the idea, instead offering a compromise of using "traffic light couples." The lights will have to be huge to accommodate that.
Here's the link to the Washington Post article on this. There's also a picture of the traffic light woman there that's kind of funny. She looks a little bulky but hey, I guess it's a start.


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Kohl's Department Stores, through the Kohl's Cares® cause merchandise program, has donated $31,167 to Carilion Clinic Children’s Hospital (CCCH). The donations were collected from Kohl’s stores located in Roanoke and Lynchburg.
The grant will support the Kohl’s Infant Safe Sleep (KISS) program, which launched in the Roanoke Valley last fall. The program aims to better educate parents/caregivers of families in need on proper safe sleep and proper safe sleep environments for infants.
“The No. 1 killer of infants is being placed in an unsafe sleep environment. Because of the Kohl’s Cares grant, in the last year we were able to provide 139 cribs to families in need, providing a safe sleep option for them,” said Alice Ackerman, chair and chief pediatric officer at CCCH. “We are thrilled to be in partnership with Kohl’s, and appreciate their dedication to children’s health. Education is so important and can make all the difference in a child’s well-being.”
Kohl's commitment to CCCH is made possible through the Kohl's Cares® cause merchandise program. Through this initiative, Kohl’s sells $5 books and plush toys, with 100 percent of net profit benefiting children’s health and education programs nationwide, including hospital partnerships like this one. Kohl's has raised more than $231 million through this merchandise program. For more information, visit www.Kohls.com/Cares.


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Paige Spiranac releases new Augusta towels, including a limited edition for OnlyPaige fans
Paige Spiranac has announced the release of two Augusta towels, one of which is a special edition towel exclusively for her OnlyPaige subscribers.
On her website, paigespiranac.com, the golf sensation announced that the towels are now available for purchase as the Augusta tournament approaches.
“Augustan Beauty,” a limited edition Augusta towel, was previously only available to Paige’s subscribers on OnlyPaige, with a second towel and a discount, but the item has run out of stock.
In honor of her 30th birthday this weekend, Paige Spiranac posted a photo of herself in a bathing suit on social media, along with a message about embracing her age and feeling confident in herself. Due to her impressive golf skills, as well as her saucy selfies that often go viral on the internet, the golf star has gained a huge following.


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Will Sycamore Call It a Day?
Light Reading can't immediately confirm the claim, but, regarding Sycamore's eventual fate, almost nothing would be too far-fetched.
The significance here is that Sycamore is the very definition of a company that has never lived up to its potential. The company continues to frustrate, because it has an asset that every telecom company needs -- cash -- and it doesn't appear to be doing anything with it. The company had cash, cash equivalents, and investments totaling about $958 million as of October 30, 2004. More than $201 million of that was pure cash and cash equivalents. The company has been on a wild ride, to be sure. At the turn of the century the Chelmsford, Mass.-based company was a rising star in a hot optical equipment market. Sycamore's revenues peaked at $149.2 million at the beginning of 2001, with net income of $13.8 million. But roughly 15 months after the company's IPO in 1999, the telecom capex spending slump set in, and Sycamore's revenues fell. Hard. The company never recovered -- by the fourth quarter of 2004 it had lost a cumulative $788.9 million -- and now, just four years later, it could finally be closing time (see What's to Save Sycamore?).
But, as stated, almost no Sycamore exit strategy is beyond the pale.
In fact, another well placed source says that Sycamore chased at least two end-game plans in the past year or so. The first plan: Sycamore would sell its hardware line, acquire an OSS company, and morph into a telecom software supplier. The second plan: Sycamore would acquire a telecom product line in a "growth" segment of the market, with the primary requirement being that it already have an existing revenue stream. Sycamore, which reports earnings on February 22, declined to comment on its strategic options.
What is well known is that Sycamore has hired some eyes and ears. Several months ago, it brought in Morgan Stanley to assist "in the review of strategic and financial alternatives for our company,” according to its SEC filings. Sycamore confirms that the investment bank is still on retainer.
The company reveals in its SEC filings that it would consider selling itself; merging with or acquiring another company; remaining a standalone company; or "recapitalization alternatives, including stock buybacks and cash distributions."
Sycamore has several marquee customers, including Sprint Corp. (NYSE: FON), Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD), and the U.S. Military, but it is still putting up relatively small revenue numbers (see Sycamore Signs Sprint, Seeks Help). And, for the first fiscal quarter of 2005, a large chunk of its revenues -- 37 percent -- were tied to the Defense Information Systems Agency's Global Information Grid Bandwidth Expansion (GIG-BE) project (see GIG-BE Winners Named). "Last quarter their revenues were $14 million, their cost of goods was $8 million, and their operating costs were $17 million -- and that’s in a quarter where they had 78 percent revenue growth -- so you do the math,” notes Argus Research Co. analyst Jim Kelleher. “They are a mile from profitability, and the longer they stick around, the longer they burn cash.”
— Mark Sullivan, Reporter, Light Reading


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The Icelandic government-run liquor store, Vínbúðin, has never sold as much alcohol as they did last year according to Morgunblaðið.
The biggest single sales day of the year was the 30th of December when 43,700 customers stopped by the liquor store and bought 286,000 litres. All in all, Icelanders bought 27 million litres of liquor in 2020, but it was 23 million litres the year before. That means that the nation bought 75 litres per every living person in Iceland, and we are counting the kids, too, in these calculations.
The sale between years, from 2019 to 2020, went up by 18% and the explanation is a simple one: the pandemic. It’s not necessarily because Icelanders are drinking more, but that the bars and restaurants have more or less been closed or forced to limit their opening hours drastically. Also, Icelanders buy a lot of alcohol in the duty-free stores which also have been closed most of the year.
But what were Icelanders drinking? Well, beer, mostly. Icelanders bought almost 19 million litres of pilsner and lager over the year, then 2.5 million litres of red wine and finally 1.4 million litres of white wine. The biggest increase was in gin and schnapps, which increased by 40% in sales, as well as the variation of other categories of beers, not lager or pilsner, which increased by 54% between years.
Edit: We stated in the first edition of the article we stated that Icelanders drank 7500 litres per person, but of course, it was 7500 ml or 75 litres per person. Perhaps wishful thinking, but mostly bad math. We apologise for this mistake.
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Well, well, well. Look what we have here. After Ford vehemently said it has no intentions to chase lap records with the GT supercar, new YouTube video poster by a user going by the name cvdzijden shows the car ripping around the famed Nürburgring. And it's all-but-confirmed this is a corporate owned car—not a private customer.
While we can't confirm this is a factory car, the GT appears identical to all other road-going examples we've seen. Road & Track also astutely pointed out the GT seen in the video is the same car that showed up at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed wearing an identical UK license plate.
Astute observers will note antennae placed atop the car's roof, which could mean Ford does, indeed, intend to clock a lap time. The equipment could be relaying data for a lap-timing device.
The car is also seen testing during what appears to be an industry pool session. The laps bar regular drivers from the course while automakers flog their vehicles around the 12.9-mile circuit. Ford clearly wants the least amount of traffic as possible for a specific reason.
Motor Authority has reached out to Ford for comment, and a spokesman confirmed it's a Ford-owned vehicle. As for what the company is doing there, the spokesman replied slyly, saying. "We test many vehicles around the world but do not discuss details."
If Ford does go for a lap time, we find it hard to believe the GT will take down the newest king of the 'Ring. That is the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ. The 6.5-liter V-12 powered supercar clocked an astounding 6:44.97 to dethrone the Porsche 911 GT2 RS last month. The last unofficial time Ford clocked with the GT was a 2:38.62 around Virginia International Raceway. Days later, the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 bested the time, clocking a 2:37.25.


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Huawei will unveil its new smartphone today as it tries to overtake Samsung as the biggest mobile phone maker in the world.
The Chinese firm is set to announce its P30 Series range of phones at an event in Paris at 2pm local time (1pm GMT/9am EST).
The launch comes at a time of increased scrutiny around Huawei, as it continues to face questions over its involvement in mobile network infrastructure, and as a leader in 5G technology.
The new phones, of which there are expected to be at least two, could feature four rear cameras for the first time, with Huawei teasing a powerful zoom feature in promotional tweets for the event.
The company has also teased new earbuds called Huawei Freelace on Twitter that comes in a number of different colours.
Huawei’s self-developed artificial intelligence (AI) systems are also likely to be a central part of the new devices.
Huawei will unveil its new flagship smartphone today, as the Chinese firm steps up its attempts to overtake Samsung as the biggest mobile phone maker in the world (file photo)
The announcement comes a month after rivals Samsung unveiled their new flagship Galaxy S10 handsets.
Both companies have also recently announced their first foldable smartphones, both of which will launch this year.
Huawei may use their event to confirm a release date for their Mate X foldable device, which is set to cost £1,996 ($2,600).
Huawei recently announced its first foldable smartphone, Mate X, which has a foldable screen that wraps around the outside of the product, allowing users to view the screen when closed. The company may confirm a release date for their Mate X foldable device at the Paris launch
Samsung’s Galaxy Fold is due to go on sale in the UK at the beginning of May, costing £1,799 ($2,375).
The two companies occupy first and second place in the global smartphone market table, Huawei having overtaken Apple during 2018.
Several governments from around the world have raised security concerns over alleged links between the firm and the Chinese state – something Huawei has always denied – amid suggestions its position at the heart of telecoms networks could be exploited for Chinese intelligence purposes.


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Manhunt underway for suspects of P1.2 M truck heist in Bulacan
MANILA, Philippines—A manhunt operation has been launched to find the suspects who high-jacked a delivery truck loaded with P1.2 million worth of groceries in Bulacan, said Highway Patrol Group (HPG) Director-Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina on Thursday.
The truck was on its way to way to SM Bulacan and SM Pampanga, when it was waylaid.
Espina said the investigation achieved a breakthrough when one of the helpers of the high-jacked trucks, Allan Panaligan, admitted his participation in the crime, and named the other suspects. They were Isidro Tanawa, Russel Moning, Amiano Cambe and a kuya Rey.
Half of the shipment of grocery items were likewise recovered on Wednesday in the house of a Rosalyn Caga, the alleged buyer of goods from the heisted delivery truck. This was confirmed by Jayvee Angulo, operations officer of J-Movers Trucking, the company that owns the high-jacked truck, who positively identified the stolen goods, Espina said.
An anti-fencing law, and anti-highway robbery case will be filed against Caga, Espina said.


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Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne
If you installed an app during the pandemic to alert you if had contact with someone who’d tested positive for the virus, thank Carmela Troncoso. Her work on the Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing system, or DP-3T, made passive contact tracing easy without asking citizens to surrender private data. It stores temporary, anonymized contact data on phones instead of a server, which makes hacks and data mining hard. Apple and Google used this technology to develop their tools.


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JAKARTA -- Before smartphones were everywhere, before Grab and Go-Jek were multibillion-dollar unicorns, before anyone had even imagined online ride-hailing, Blue Bird was the innovator in Indonesia's transportation market.
The taxi company, founded in 1972 by the grandmother of its current President Director Noni Purnomo, was the first in the country to operate metered cabs. Its sky-blue cars came to symbolize the bustle of Jakarta. Blue Bird was at the forefront of the cellphone-powered transportation revolution, too, launching a reservation app for BlackBerry in 2011, not long after Uber's first ride in the U.S.
Nearly a decade on, however, the ride-hailing era has proved far harsher than Purnomo expected. The streets of the capital and other cities are awash with the green of Grab and Go-Jek motorbikes, while the number of cabs in Jakarta has plunged 53% since 2015 to 11,400.
Now Blue Bird is counting on a streak of strategic moves in the early months of 2019 -- and some regulatory changes -- to help it soar again. The plans include a degree of diversification, but Purnomo's company intends to keep taxis at its core, and its success or failure could show whether cab operators have a future.
The most recent move came in late April, when Blue Bird launched a fleet of 30 electric vehicles. The buzz focused on how this was another first for Indonesia's taxi industry. The overlooked significance was how the company plans to use the cars to power earnings and fight back against the growing ride-hailers.
"Electric taxis are part of the pilot" for the company's new "internet of things" system, said Purnomo, who recently assumed her role after serving as head of Blue Bird's holding company. She explained that the system will work in "real time" and allow the company's data center to monitor everything in detail, from engines to vehicle location and driver performance. Eventually, the entire fleet of 30,000 taxis and buses will be IoT-enabled, giving the company data it can use to improve efficiency and lower costs.
For Blue Bird and its smaller taxi peers, every profitability boost helps.
For 2016, the year after ride-hailing truly took off, Blue Bird's sales dropped 12% to 4.7 trillion rupiah ($326 million), with net profit plunging 38%.
For 2018, the company achieved its first net profit growth since 2015, with the figure rising 7.6% to 457 billion rupiah, partly thanks to one-off international events. But its shares are trading around 75% below their peak in 2015 and 54% below the initial public offering price of 6,500 rupiah in 2014.
Express Transindo Utama, the second-largest taxi operator, has fared worse. It fell into the red in 2016 -- its first loss since it listed in 2012 -- and has yet to recover.
"Nobody could predict [the ride-hailers' impact] at that time, because it was very new," Purnomo recalled of the early days, though Blue Bird quickly recognized the threat and partnered with Go-Jek in 2016. This allowed Go-Jek users to order taxis through the app, even though Blue Bird had its own app.
Much like the ride-hailers, the My Blue Bird app lets customers order cabs on their smartphones with predetermined fares and cashless payment options. Yet, while it has been downloaded over 1 million times on the Google Play store, Go-Jek has racked up 50 times that figure. Go-Jek and Grab provide other services through their apps -- like e-payments and deliveries -- to lock in users.
Backed by abundant funds from global investors, the two ride-hailers have built overwhelming fleets. Go-Jek alone counts 1.7 million drivers, versus the 22,100 taxis Blue Bird had nationwide in 2018.
Along the way, Grab's and Go-Jek's cheaper motorcycle rides have lured customers away from the regular taxis from which Blue Bird derives around 70% of its operating profit.
Purnomo emphasized that the biggest disruption was "not the technology" but the price competition. "We're bound by regulation because we are [classified as] public transportation," she said. "Our tariff is regulated by the local government. So, those are the restrictions that we have to adhere to, and that's why we cannot go into this price war."
The classification means Blue Bird must shoulder the cost of maintaining its own vehicles. The ride-hailers leave that up to individual drivers, allowing for cheaper rates and constant discounts.
Sri Sulastri, a 29-year-old woman in North Jakarta, used to be a regular Blue Bird customer but finds ride-hailing a better deal. "Around 2015, I found out about online ride-hailing, and it was more efficient," she said, though she added that she "didn't immediately stop using Blue Bird."
As the disruption worsened, the public transport companies lobbied the government for "a level playing field," Purnomo said. They wanted ride-hailers classified as transportation businesses, too -- a possibility the transport ministry considered in 2018. This would bind Grab and Go-Jek to the same rules and force them to employ their drivers directly.
The government, however, was reluctant to stifle a fast-growing sector, especially as Go-Jek was becoming Indonesia's first unicorn -- a startup valued at $1 billion or more. The ride-hailers' evolution into one-stop platforms for all sorts of services also makes classification difficult. They are still "application companies."
This could be the year the tide turns, though, thanks to Blue Bird's strategies and new rules.
In January, Blue Bird set up a joint venture with Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance and a local company to sell secondhand cars. "We renew our cars every five years," Purnomo said. "Every month, we have to sell about 600 used cars. So we expanded this to also sell other people's used cars." Blue Bird holds 51% of the company.
In the same month, the operator signed the first deal under its Blue Bird Friend program, partnering with a local taxi company in the old city of Yogyakarta. Under the revenue sharing program, Blue Bird will help the other company renew its fleet and provide driver education, while the partner will run Blue Bird-branded taxis.
"I think that's one of the ways for us to go and expand the market," Purnomo said of the move to fill gaps in her network while maintaining "the same standard of quality."
March brought an acquisition of Cititrans, which runs intercity shuttle buses. "The acquisition of Cititrans and collaboration with local taxi companies will strengthen its market expansion," said Nurulita Harwaningrum, an analyst at MNC Sekuritas, adding that the taxi tie-ups could be broadened to other regions with many potential customers but not enough cabs.
The government, for its part, may have just changed the game. It imposed new fare rules on ride-hailers in May -- spurred not by the transport industry's appeals but by ride-hailing drivers' complaints about low pay.
Ride-hailing companies "only wanted the big market base" and dangled low fares, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said in March. "But the concern is different with the drivers."
Grab and Go-Jek must now charge at least 2,000 rupiah per kilometer for motorbike rides in the greater Jakarta area, which is, according to local media, 10% to 20% more than the previous rates. A similar rule for four-wheeled rides will take effect in June, setting a minimum base fare of 3,500 rupiah per kilometer in Sumatra, Java -- where Jakarta is located -- and Bali. The minimum fare for Blue Bird's regular taxis is 4,100 rupiah per kilometer in Jakarta.
"Since the institution of the [motorbike] tariffs, we have observed a decrease in the number of Go-Ride orders," Go-Jek said in a statement.
Suddenly, the playing field is not quite so uneven. Harwaningrum noted that by narrowing the gap in fares -- cabs may even be cheaper when ride-hailers' algorithms push up rates at peak times -- "the government is helping the taxi company become an option again."
Drivers, meanwhile, are returning to Blue Bird years after they left in droves to work for the ride-hailers. Purnomo attributes this to her company's perks, some of which it offered before ride-hailing caught on.
"We have free clinics for the drivers and their families which ... would not be provided if you're an independent driver," she said. "We give scholarships to the children of our drivers and we help the wives of the drivers to join our [program] for vocational training. This kind of relationship is, I think, one that they missed."
Eko Listyanto, executive director at the Institute for Development of Economic and Finance, thinks the taxi industry "will likely still grow."
"Drivers on ride-hailer applications might be hard to control or monitor," he said. "Transportation companies will have a level of expertise on managing transportation businesses that technology companies might not develop further, or they will need high investment and a long time to develop."
Purnomo added that anytime an industry is disrupted, "there's always a pendulum type of movement until it finds its equilibrium."
"When ride-hailers came and introduced this new business model, a lot of people looked and tried the different services," she said. But she thinks the pendulum is swinging back to taxis, and that there will remain a steady stream of customers who prefer cabs. "Our market segmentation is slightly different to [the ride-hailers'] market segmentation," she added.
The pendulum might be swinging so much that Go-Jek is said to be considering investing in Blue Bird. "I cannot comment on any rumors with regard to investment," Nadiem Makarim, Go-Jek's founder and CEO, told the Nikkei Asian Review in a recent interview. But he stressed, "We continue to have a very good relationship with them."
Purnomo "strongly" believes her taxi company still has room to expand.
"What is important for us is, how can we be part of our customers' [lives] from the time they leave home until the time they come back home? We may not be able to be there 100% of the time, but we want to be there most of the time."


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A refinement gives users answers to their questions without having to click on the search results.
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Since Yahoo surrendered its search engine to Microsoft two years ago as part of a major overhaul of its business, it has been trying to innovate on top of Microsoft’s technology to keep people coming to its site.
The latest effort was announced Wednesday when Yahoo introduced a refinement that gives users answers to their questions without having to click on the search results. Search Direct, as the product is called, provides weather forecasts, celebrity biographies and news reports before users finish typing the question.
If it sounds familiar, that is because it is Yahoo’s response to Google Instant, which automatically pulls up search results as people type their queries. Yahoo’s version goes a little bit further by presenting edited information and images just under the search box instead of a page full of links.
Shashi Seth, senior vice president for Yahoo’s search and marketplaces, said that the new service helped users find what they were seeking much faster because they did not have to click away from the search page. “People are looking for answers, they’re not looking for links,” he said.
“I think it’s very interesting conceptually,” said Greg Sterling, an analyst with Sterling Market Intelligence. “As for the execution let’s call it limited or nascent.”
By entering into a search alliance, Yahoo and Microsoft had hoped to better challenge Google and cuts costs. They succeeded in cutting costs, but Yahoo also found its share of Internet searches eroding. Google still holds a wide lead in search with 65.4 percent of all queries. Yahoo has slipped to 16.1 percent from around 20 percent two years ago, according to comScore.com. Much of that loss was picked up by Microsoft, which now has a 13 percent share.
Mr. Seth declined to predict that Search Direct would bring people back to Yahoo’s search page. But he said that it would raise the number of searches by existing users based on their increased satisfaction with the results.
Search Direct is available on Yahoo’s search page, but not from its home page. Yahoo intends to test the performance of the new design before introducing it more broadly in the coming months, Mr. Seth said.
Typing “Kobe,” as in Kobe Bryant, the basketball star, brings up a box with related search terms along with his playing statistics and a photograph. Searching for “Paris, France” automatically shows the local time and a list of the top three things to do in the city.
For now, such information is limited to about 15 categories and is far from comprehensive. Yahoo executives acknowledged the shortcoming and said more would be added over time.
Yahoo is considering whether to place ads in the Search Direct box, including video ads. Those details are still being worked out, as is whether Yahoo would share the revenue from them with Microsoft.


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A French committee has given an official name to the @ sign used in email.
According to the Agence France-Presse, the General Committee on Terminology has formally dubbed the @ as an arobase and has published its decision in the government's official bulletin.
The word derives from an ancient measurement that used the same symbol of the letter 'a' surrounded by a circle.
According to the committee, arobase derives from arrobe, itself a derivative of the Arabic ar-rub, meaning 'quarter', an ancient Spanish and Portuguese unit of capacity and weight.
The committee has already attempted to come up with French equivalents for a number of web terms. Five years ago it failed to have the word mel adopted instead of 'email'.
But it has succeeded with other terms, including site for website, and portail for portal.
Dr Kuan Hon criticises GDPR consent emails that will only eviscerate marketing databases and 'media misinformation'
Apple squashes Steam Link app on 'business conflicts' grounds
Philip Hammond wants to forget rules that the UK agreed with the EU to ban non-European companies from the satellites
Instapaper to 'go dark' in Europe until it can work out GDPR compliance


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April 11, 2012 at 2:20 PM ET
The U.S. economy kept growing moderately in the late winter months but rising prices for gasoline and other energy products were beginning to worry producers and consumers across the country, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday.
"Reports from the 12 Federal Reserve districts indicated that the economy continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace from mid-February through late March," the central bank said in its latest "Beige Book" summary of national activity.
It found several hopeful signs for growth, including steady hiring and shortages of skilled workers as well as brisk new-vehicle sales and improving residential real estate markets but with a strong dose of concern about energy costs.
"Manufacturers in many districts expressed optimism about near-term growth prospects, but they are somewhat concerned about rising petroleum prices," the Fed said.
Similarly, while immediate prospects for consumer spending were seen as bright, "contacts in several districts expressed concerns that rising gas prices could limit discretionary spending in the months to come."
According to the report:
Activity in the Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco Districts grew at a moderate pace, while Cleveland and St. Louis cited modest growth. New York reported that economic growth picked up somewhat. Philadelphia and Richmond cited improving business conditions. The economy in Minneapolis grew at a solid pace and Kansas City's economy expanded at a faster pace.
Hiring was steady or showed a modest increase in most districts, the report said. But companies continued to have difficulty finding qualified workers for high-skilled jobs.
The Beige Book, prepared this time by the Cleveland Fed based on information collected by April 2, has market interest because it is based on anecdotal reports from business people from coast to coast and thus reflects real-life conditions.
Reuters contributed to this report.


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The GameStop frenzy has left many people wondering about the connotation and implications of a market squeeze. While the speculative rally kickstarted by a Reddit group is battling to take on the biggest hedge funds in the United States, a similar situation in the commodity markets is brewing. Retail traders have been formulating another coup to take on the precious metals industry, allowing silver futures to hit an eight-year high of $30.03 per ounce on February 1st.
Private Banks – The Primary Target
Everything You Need To Know About Silver Squeeze
Banks and financial institutions have amassed enormous wealth over the last couple of months, capitalizing on the increased demand for debt and digital transactions volume. Moreover, as the initial days of the lockdown, followed by prolonged periods of social distancing have reduced the per capita consumer spending, the average bank balance in checking accounts have increased substantially over the past year. As a result, banking institutions reported a surging unused cash availability, allowing them to sanction a higher volume of loans. On a macroeconomic level, the multiple fiscal stimulus packages and Fed’s quantitative easing programs allowed banks to scale their assets, making banks one of the most profitable entities in 2020.
However, the main beneficiaries of the liquidity drive were the biggest multinational banks operating in the country. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), two-thirds of the total gains from the $2 trillion fiscal stimulus package was confined to the 25 biggest banks, with JP Morgan and Chase, Bank of America and CitiGroup topping the list. These multinational corporations witnessed staggering growth in their overall Assets under Management, outperforming relatively smaller players, which have been struggling to stay afloat.
The biggest investment banks are known to short precious metals such as gold and silver, to keep their prices low. While such market manipulation is looked down upon, banks work alongside the Federal Reserve to keep the prices within a particular range, to maintain confidence in the US dollar. This is because extremely high prices of gold and/or silver sends distressing signals regarding the country’s financial and economic stability.
Bullion banks such as JP Morgan & Chase, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank are members of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and act as custodians/ clearing houses for silver bullions. In order to keep the prices stable, these banks often engage in naked shorting of silver, by holding COMEX contracts above their asset value. As per the daily reports published by the Commodity Futures Trading Committee (CFTC), the LBMA market makers cumulatively own the majority of the open interest on any given day.
While the coronavirus driven recession and weak US-dollar led to a silver rally, the gradually recovering economy has since reversed this trend. With a steady rise in GDP, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s efforts to revive the US dollar, the pressure on precious metals has fallen, allowing banks to generate steady profits from their shorting strategies.
Silver has gained 47.45% in 2020, as the United States’ struggle to control the pandemic crisis combined with weakening currency made the precious metal a viable alternative. However, this gain is significantly lower than the silver rally witnessed during the subprime crisis, which led silver to climb 57.46% in 2009, and 80.28% in 2010. Despite the 2020 recession being more aggressive than the 2009 economic downturn, the lower year-over-year gain reflects active market manipulation.
Silver Short Squeeze – Retail Traders, Wage War Against Private Banks
The retail traders are currently targeting the commodities market, as a strategy to crack down on the multinational banks which have generated billions in profits over the past year. With their market manipulation tactics, these financial institutions have controlled the prices of precious metals, preventing investors from gaining authentic market-determined prices.
While COMEX price manipulations have been long detested by retail traders, the recent penalty levied on JP Morgan & Chase aggravated the situation. On September 29th, 2020, the CFTC announced that the bank was charged with a penalty of $920 billion by the DOJ and SEC for manipulating the global markets for metals and Treasuries, as well as engaging in “spoofy” trading in the equity and commodities markets.
The unfair trading practices conducted by the biggest names in the banking sectors incited Reddit to announce a call to action to buy silver derivatives. With ETFs and futures and options contracts being the key target of retail traders across the country, silver witnessed unprecedented rise over the past week. One of the major reasons behind choosing Silver is that the price gains of the metal is expected to be sustainable, given its diverse usage and abundant availability. It is a key raw material required in the clean energy industry, and thereby, is expected to become a highly demanded metal as the global economy heads towards a sustainable future.
The retail investors’ plan to drive silver prices is on track, as reflected in the rising demand for silver bullions and derivatives. Along with a rise in the silver commodity sales as reported in the market, the gold-to-silver ratio (also known as mint ratio) has been declining. This indicates the rising value of silver with respect to gold, reflecting the ongoing silver rally. The average mint ratio for January was 68.73, falling nearly 2.4% within five days to 67.10 as of February 5th.
The effect of the silver rally is reflected in the equity markets as well. The Dow-to-Silver ratio, reflecting silver’s performance in tandem with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), has declined 12.32% over the past two months. The ratio currently stands at 1152.83 (as of February 5th).
Will This Rally Continue?
While retail investors are pouring in funds in the silver markets to force banks to close their short positions in the precious metal, thereby triggering a silver squeeze, this strategy’s efficacy is yet to be determined. This is because the financial giants have vast silver holdings, given their position as an LBMA market maker, which could help these banks negate their losses. Moreover, unlike GameStop, silver’s abundant availability might prevent the metal from gaining as per the retail investor’s expectations.
This Options Discord Chat is The Real Deal
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Nature-inspired jewellery brand, Henryka, will tap into Black Friday fever on Friday, November 23, with a special 30% discount for consumers.
Trade association, the National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA) has announced its award winners for 2018 at a ceremony held at the Victoria Plaza London last Friday (October 12).
Ecommerce watch business WatchO has released a Christmas advert for 2018.
Nautical jewellery brand Anchor & Crew will launch online with fashion department store Harvey Nichols ahead of the Christmas season.
A new service for watch enthusiasts and collectors, Chrono Hunter, has launched. The site is an online broker that connects a network of dealers with customers looking to buy or sell fine, rare and vintage watches.
The National Association of Jewellers (NAJ) officially re-launched its Association website yesterday (October 31). The new site is designed to make members ‘fit for the future’.
E-commerce conversion rates could be boosted by as much as 85% through effective use of video, according to new research from Viddyoze.
UK online retail sales experienced its lowest September growth since 2014, finds report.
Global omni-channel platform Farfetch has collaborated on a digital jewellery hub with multi-brand retailer, Dover Street Market.
According to the latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, online shopping via smartphones and tablets fell by 10% year on year (YoY) in August.
Merseyside-based jewellers and pawnbrokers Miltons Diamonds has reported an 87% revenue increase after revising its digital marketing strategy.
Luxury brand Chopard will update its concept store on online Chinese e-commerce website JD.com turning into a flagship online store.
UK online retail sales slipped to their lowest year-on-year (YoY) growth in 2018 so far this July, as consumer spending slumped in the weeks following England’s FIFA World Cup exit.
Sam Rutley, managing director at full-service e-commerce agency PushON, explains how to ease customers’ fears towards spending online.
Online retail has enjoyed a 16.8% (YoY) growth during the first half of 2018, defying extreme weather events like the Beast of the East and heatwaves to record strong sales results every month so far, according to the Capgemini IMRG eRetail Sales Index.
Online retailer Jewlr has announced a surge in sales of its male necklaces thanks to the ‘Love Island effect’ currently sweeping the UK.
UK online retail sales were up strongly in June this year, as the hot weather and start of the FIFA World Cup spurred a 16.9% year-on-year (YoY) growth of retail sales, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index.
Convenience in product research is a key consideration in omnichannel conversions, a report from transformation agency KPS has revealed.
Luxury jewellery designer brand Sara Peymanpour London will be stocked by concept store Wolf & Badger in London, New York City and online from August 2018.
Luxury vintage jewellery brand Susan Caplan is now available on Farfetch.com.
Fine jewellery brand Fei Liu has launched a new website to meet international demands.
A retail trends survey has revealed that almost three-quarters of UK millennials still prefer stores to online shopping.


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“More snow on the way.” So say the weathermen, and Europe is stocking up and hunkering down for a long, cold winter. But while the fluffy flakes will halt, at least come Spring, for the food sector the chill could be felt throughout 2010.
There’s gold to be found in them health claims mountains, but prospectors from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) must be happy with the little chunks that add up to a lot, and stop searching for nuggets the size of your fist.
Everybody wants food to be safe - but the recent slugging match over how best to protect US consumers from E.coli-tainted meat highlights whether legislation or self-regulation is the answer to mending the country's flawed safety system.
October 1 was not a good day for many in the functional foods and food supplements business in the European Union as the meaning of life under a highly restrictive health claims regime came more into focus.
Get your pitchforks ready! There are evil-doers out there! We’ve been conned: Probiotics don’t work. Dannon’s settling out of court, EFSA’s rejecting health claims, and the media is starting a witch hunt.
The US FDA is being sued over its health claims regime – actions that are unlikely to succeed according to most pundits – but they raise serious questions about healthy food messaging and free speech that are being felt globally.


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Nintendo has revealed that Sonic will feature in 2014's Wii U and 3DS Super Smash Bros. game.
The blue blur was revealed as the latest Smash Bros. guest character during a Nintendo Direct stream today. A new trailer shows Sonic trading blows with Nintendo's finest.
Smash Bros. series creator Masahiro Sakurai is serving as producer on the game, which is a Wii U and 3DS crossover being developed in partnership with Namco Bandai.
In September, Nintendo revealed that Toon Link, who made his debut in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, will return for the latest series entry.


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Top 1,000 Listed Companies of Greater China
The Rise of the World-class Chinese Enterprise
The leading companies of Greater China (Taiwan, Hong Kong and China proper) are growing in scale, stature and international competitiveness. They now stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the most successful enterprises of the world.
The Rise of the World-class Chinese EnterpriseBy Sara Wu
From CommonWealth Magazine (vol. 397 )
CommonWealth Magazine's annual survey ranks the top 1,000 companies listed on stock exchanges and over-the-counter markets in the Greater China area based on operating revenue. Of those enterprises making the grade this year, 328 companies are listed in Hong Kong, 284 are listed in Shanghai, 274 are listed in Taiwan, and 160 are listed in Shenzhen. The shares of 46 companies are traded on two different markets. (See Top 30 Listed Companies of Greater China)
The threshold for admittance was high. To be a member of the exclusive top 100 club, companies had to have revenues exceeding NT$143.5 billion.
Energy, Finance Dominate Top Ten
Leading the pack this year was China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (also known by its brand name Sinopec Corp.), with revenues totaling NT$5.25 trillion.
Rounding out the Top Ten behind Sinopec were HSBC Holdings PLC, PetroChina Company, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Hon Hai Precision Industry Company, China Mobile Communications Corporation, China Construction Bank, the Bank of China, China Life Insurance Company, and Hutchison Whampoa.
Only one company in the Top Ten, Hon Hai, is from Taiwan. London-based HSBC and Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa were the only other non-Chinese companies to make the cut, with the remaining seven companies all state-owned corporations of China.
These seven Chinese corporations can be divided into three broad categories – oil and energy, financial services, and telecommunications. Foremost among these is oil and energy, which features the No. 1 enterprise Sinopec and No. 3 PetroChina.
PetroChina Leads in Profits
PetroChina was the top profit earner in 2008, outpacing its energy-sector rival and top revenue earner Sinopec. In terms of revenues, PetroChina's grew 21 percent to NT$3.6 trillion, leaving the giant oil and gas producer and distributor still a long way from the top. But its after-tax income of NT$620 billion was the highest of any company in Greater China, and one of the highest of any enterprise in Asia and the world.
The companies ranked fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth in the CommonWealth Magazine survey are all big players in China's financial services sector – three of them banks and one an insurance company. Faced with two big challenges today – liberalization and internationalization – China's financial sector has gradually made its way onto the international stage in recent years.
The chairman of the fourth-ranked Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Jiang Jianqing, said at this year's Boao Forum for Asia conference that Chinese banks are able to "go international''because of opportunities presented by Chinese enterprises as they globalize their purchasing, trading, manufacturing and investment. But Chinese banks are taking a cautious approach to international markets.
"We're newcomers to this, so we have been very careful in taking our first step abroad and kept our pockets pinched fairly tightly. When take a plunge, we usually do it in waters that are relatively shallow, especially following the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis. Taking it slow but finding choice opportunities is better than going in aggressively,''Jiang said.
Hon Hai: Taiwan's Top-Ten Star
Fifth-ranked Hon Hai Precision Industry, Taiwan's only enterprise to crack the Top Ten, reported revenues of NT$1.7 trillion in 2007. The Hon Hai Group is the world's biggest and fastest-growing OEM manufacturer of 3C products (computers, communications and consumer electronics) and being the only high-tech manufacturer in a group dominated by energy and financial services companies reveals its truly astounding scale.
Sixth-ranked China Mobile went public in New York and Hong Kong in 1997, leading the wave of Chinese state-run enterprises listing overseas. China Mobile chairman Wang Jianzhou describes his company as a charging elephant, one that now has 380 million cellphone user accounts and a market cap of US$300 billion.
"That proves that China's enterprises have not only grown big but also grown strong,''Wang says proudly, equating strength with international influence. "In the past, we listened to others in the global telecommunications industry. Now, whether it's industry standards or technical innovation, China has a say of its own.”
China's 3G TD-SCDMA standard, for example, stands as the equal of the U.S.' CDMA2000 and Europe's W-CDMA. China Mobile's cockiness is much like the slogan that entertainer Jay Chou dishes out in the company's brand advertising: "My territory. Listen to me.”
Tenth-ranked Hutchison Whampoa, run by one of the world's richest people, Li Ka-shing, had revenues of NT$850 billion in 2007. It operates container ports in 23 countries in the world, which handle 13 percent of the world's shipping volume. Hutchison Whampoa's telecom interests also feature prominently in its portfolio. Providing telecommunications services in 15 countries, it was one of the first operators around the globe to introduce 3G services to the market.
Acer Recognized as World-class Enterprise
Some companies ranked among this year's top 50 in the survey delivered breakthrough performances.
Most of the Taiwanese enterprises that made it into the top 50 were computer manufacturers (Quanta Computer Inc., Asustek Computer Inc., Compal Electronics Inc., Invectec Corporation and Lite-On Technology Corporation) and optoelectronic producers (AU Optronics Corp. and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corporation). The most notable member of the Taiwan contingent, however, was service company Acer Inc.
Acer no longer operates any manufacturing facilities, but this year broke Taiwan Power Company's monopoly on the top spot in the CommonWealth Magazine survey of Taiwan's top 500 service enterprises.
The company is currently the world's second largest vendor of notebook computers and ranks fourth globally in sales of desktop models.
"Acer used to think of itself as Taiwan's most internationalized company, but it really didn't measure up. Today, our distribution of revenues between Europe, the United States and Asia is 5:3:2, so this time we truly have the chance to be recognized internationally as a world-class company,"says Acer chairman J.T. Wang. Acer's acquisition last year of U.S. computer brand Gateway was instrumental in boosting its presence in the U.S, where it had been relatively weak compared to its international rivals.
China's Lenovo Group Limited ranks two spots behind Acer in the survey, but its growth rate and after-tax net income both lagged well behind Acer's, leaving it plenty of ground to make up in the battle with its Taiwanese competitor.
The world's second largest integrated shipping company behind A.P. Moeller-Maersk, China COSCO Holdings Company Limited, was founded in 1979, the year the Chinese government established special economic zones in Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou in Guangdong Province and Xiamen in Fujian Province. China COSCO chairman and CEO Wei Jiafu wants his company to fly like an eagle.
"The most important thing is to have a global vision like a soaring eagle spreading its wings from a high vantage point. China COSCO is the world's second largest shipping company. I want to make it No. 1,"Wei says.
The China COSCO Group has cooperative relations with Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp. (Taiwan) Ltd. and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation, which both once led the world in shipping volume but now have fallen far behind the Chinese shipping giant.
The financial services sector is still a pillar of strength in Hong Kong, with Hutchison Whampoa and Li & Fung Group, known for its supply chain management, standing out as the standard bearers in the special administrative region. Yet while 328 of Greater China's top 1,000 listed companies are listed in Hong Kong, locally founded enterprises make up a smaller proportion of these companies than they do among the ranked companies of either China or Taiwan.
Conventional Industries Post Shining Profits
Raw material-producing conventional industries cannot be overlooked among this year's winners. Of the survey's top 50, steel (Baosteel Co., Ltd. and Taiwan's China Steel Corporation), mining (China Shenhua Energy Company Limited and Aluminum Corporation of China Limited) and plastics and chemicals (Formosa Plastics Group subsidiaries Formosa Petrochemical Corporation, Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, and Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation) were all represented. The after-tax profit performance of these companies outpaced those in other industries, reflecting the strength of their respective managements and the worldwide shortage of raw materials.
In this era of globalization, the significance of this year's survey of the top 1,000 listed companies in Greater China is that the region's leading enterprises have moved beyond their local comfort zones and extended their competitive realm overseas. The ranking shows that among the top 1,000 enterprises, some benefit from their economies of scale, some from their international competitiveness and some from the strength of their professional services. But no matter the source of their competitive edge, they have become benchmarks not only for Asia, but for the entire world.
Translated from the Chinese by Luke Sabatier
Chinese Version: 兩岸三地1000大


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TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran banned import of all Chinese dairy products following the scandal over contaminated baby milk.
Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Rasoul Dinavand told FNA that Iran does not directly import powdered milk from China and that a ban has now been placed on Chinese products containing milk.
Fears have been raised over the safety of Chinese dairy products after the death of at least four babies who were fed with contaminated baby milk.
At least 50,000 babies in China have also been brought to hospitals for kidney-related illnesses caused by drinking contaminated milk formula.
Reports have revealed that the Chinese company, San Lu Dairy, produced baby milk contaminated with Melamine, a toxic chemical used in the plastics industry.
Many of China’s dairy companies allegedly water down milk products and add Melamine, which has no nutritional value but improves the appearance of the milk.


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If you think most companies have a business continuity (BC) plan, think again. Three out of four companies are not ready to face a disaster, according to the 2014 annual report by Disaster Recovery Preparedness Council (DRPC).
This is surprising on two counts. First, C-level executives have seen the havoc created by a series of high-profile data breaches and natural disasters in the last several years. Second, data protection, security and disaster recovery (DR) are expected to be among the top five areas driving spending on storage-related services during the next 12 to 14 months, according to a recent IDC survey.
So, what's the holdup?
“Many companies have chalked out a backup and recovery strategy, but are still in the process of moving to a full-blown, comprehensive business continuity strategy," said IDC program director, Storage and Data Management Services, Paul Hughes.
Stay A Step Ahead Of Disaster
Too many organizations think they are all set when all they have is backup and recovery technology. However, backup and recovery are not enough to keep a business running in the face of a storm or earthquake. They are just ways to restore data and applications after a data center or servers get damaged or destroyed.
According to Hughes, companies need to assess their risks before any problem occurs, and proactively plan how they will manage disasters and operate with minimal or no downtime or service outage. Business continuity is a continuous process—and not something that can be implemented at the time of a disaster. The consequences of being caught without such a plan can be serious, he added.
Downtime Hits Bottom Line
It is easy to see how outages can lead to financial losses—downtime affects productivity, revenue and profits.
“Loss of Internet connectivity is a serious business risk," said Hughes. "It could kill or seriously damage a small company. Imagine a small online retailer that is offline for a few days. It will surely lose revenue, but might lose several customers permanently."
The DRPC report confirms his warning: Losses from outages ranged from a few thousand dollars to millions of dollars, with nearly 20 percent of businesses indicating losses of more than $50,000 and some exceeding $5 million.
Loss Of Critical Data
More than one-third of organizations lost one or more vital applications or critical data files for hours at a time over the past year, according to DRPC. And it might not be enough to just deploy a backup solution. A Kroll Ontrack survey from March 2015 found that more than half (61 percent) of companies had a backup solution in place at the time of data loss.
Hughes advises that companies validate their solutions over time to check for any coverage gaps or oversights in backup protocols. This is important any time, but especially when companies merge and migrate their data or software. “Mergers and acquisitions are a point of greater risk," he said. "I recently interviewed an organization that suffered a major data loss. They had recently acquired another company, which allowed employees to transfer data via USB drives, thus creating a vulnerability."
Customers can flee in droves when a company loses their sensitive data. It's no wonder when you consider that almost half of respondents in a 2012 Ponemon survey believe identity theft means their identities are at risk for years or even forever. Reports of high-profile security breaches at companies from Target to Home Depot have only added to consumers' concerns.
Breaches and outages can negatively impact your internal customers, too—causing further damage to the business itself. "If you are part of a sales organization of a large company, it would be frustrating if you are disconnected from the rest of your company and can't complete your sales," Hughes said.
What's Your Business Worth?
Thankfully, there are several ways to save your business from disaster.
“Start with an assessment of business service-level requirements; calculate the cost of downtime to decide on your tolerance for downtime; and then lay out a plan," advised Hughes. The idea is to identify critical areas of business and make them more resilient.
For small and mid-sized companies, Hughes recommends cloud-based disaster recovery as a service option. “A lot of new technology providers that have evolved from a cloud foundation offer comprehensive disaster coverage at low cost," he said. Also, putting your business in the cloud could offer better protection during a disaster than replicating your infrastructure in various locations.
But there is no one-size-fits-all BC plan. Every plan should begin with a realistic understanding of IT and business architecture across the company and its vendors and customers. "Take a close look at your business processes, criticality of your data and budget before you decide whether you want a third party managing your disaster recovery, a cloud-based offering or a hybrid approach that uses a back-up appliance," Hughes advised. Equally important, he added, is the need to draw out specific disaster scenarios and communicate a detailed step-by-step plan for each across stakeholders.
Disaster recovery and business continuity are complicated issues and require thoughtful planning and collaboration across departments, but there are some basic truths: Your business continuity plan should be governed by how you value your business and which parts you value most.


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The British are now spending more time on the Internet than on watching television, an AFP report, quoting a survey published by Google, said.
The report showed that British Internet users spent an average of 164 minutes online daily, the equivalent of 41 days a year, compared to 148 minutes watching television.
Men spent an average of 172 minutes on the Web daily, and women 156 minutes, the survey said.
Londoners and Scots were the most dedicated Internet users, according to the survey, which was conducted by the TNS Institute last month and involved 1,030 adults aged 16 to 64.
According to the report, online shopping is a major online activity, accounting for an average annual spend of 446 pounds (650 euros or $780) per user.
The report also said the increasing use of computers at the workplace coupled with improved technology allowing broadband connections in private homes were the main reasons for the Internet's domination.


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Posted on January 30, 2019 by jrudemiller
Things are running smoothly over at the Court & Walnut project. The sliding entrance for the new Kroger grocery store has been installed and the parking garage is expected to be finished by Feb. 18. Final adjustments are being made to the garage elevators, work on the Walnut Street and Central Parkway streetscape is in progress, and the west shearwall is currently being framed. For additional details, subscribe to regular project updates, and refer to the archive for past updates.


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Scotch & Soda, the trendy Amsterdam-based retail chain, will open its first store in Wynwood, as the neighborhood continues to attract high-end shops, The Real Deal has learned.
The store has signed a lease for 2,300 square feet at 2310 Northwest Second Avenue, and will relocate its shop from Miami’s Design District, Irma Figueroa, director of retail leasing and sales for Comras Company, told TRD.
Scotch & Soda will be next to Coyo Taco, in a building Comras Company bought in 2011 for $1.6 million. Other tenants include Kit and Ace, Alter and Freshii.
Figueroa said Scotch & Soda is building out its space and will open in a couple of months. The vacant site was formerly occupied by Fantini Mosaici, a high-end flooring store.
Fantini Mosaici relocated to 4800 Northeast Second Avenue in the Design District a few months ago in another deal brokered by Figueroa. She said she was the only broker involved in both leases.
Figueroa declined to disclose the lease terms for either Scotch & Soda or Fantini Mosaici, but said both are “long term deals.”
Scotch & Soda has a total of 25 stores in the United States, including one on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.
“Its surprises me. Every time I think we’ve topped off and gotten our highest rate, there is another one beating the previous one,” Figueroa told TRD. “There is definitely demand in that market and what I am seeing is better quality retailers coming in.”
Among the high-end shops that have launched stores in artsy Wynwood are Warby Parker, Marine Layer, Illesteva and Shinola, while new dining spots include Wynwood Diner, KYU, Salty Donut and Federal Donuts. Other nearby businesses include Ducati, Panther Coffee, Wynwood Kitchen & Bar, R House, Gravity Brewery and Boxelder Craft Beer Market.
According to a Commercial Industrial Association of South Florida market report released in April, Wynwood ranked among the area’s hottest retail markets in 2015, with $165 million in retail property sales volume and a vacancy rate of 6 percent.
“Wynwood in the future is going to continue to have more restaurants and bars and more dry retail concepts,” Figueroa said. “They are drawn by the foot traffic. There are so many festivals and so many things going on in Wynwood today, it’s really attracting a lot of people.”


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Lucid Group published its Q1 2022 report yesterday, posting a net loss of $83.3 million on deliveries of just 360 cars in the first three months of the year.
At the same time the luxury EV automaker announced it was raising prices on its lineup of Lucid Air sedans, revealing increases as much as $15,000 for the Air Grand Touring in the United States.
Lucid did not provide updated Canadian pricing, saying it will be published on their website on June 1.
However the company has revealed its new pricing structure in an email to existing reservation holders, even though they won’t be subject to the new prices.
According to the email, a copy of which was provided to Drive Tesla by one of our readers, the biggest price increase goes to the Air Grand Touring Performance, increasing by $21,000 to $210,000.
The Air Touring and Air Pure will also see substantial price increases, up $17,000 and $14,000 respectively.
Like the US market, the newly announced Air Grand Touring Performance will not be subject to a price increase.
|Original Price||New Price||Increase|
|Air Grand Touring Performance||$ 242,000||$ 242,000||$ –|
|Air Grand Touring||$ 189,000||$ 210,000||$ 21,000|
|Air Touring||$ 129,000||$ 146,000||$ 17,000|
|Air Pure||$ 105,000||$ 119,000||$ 14,000|
The new prices will come into effect on June 1, 2022. Existing reservation holders will have their original prices honoured, and all new orders until May 31, 2022 will also receive the original pricing.
After originally hoping to begin Canadian deliveries as early as November 2021, Lucid has yet to deliver a car to a customer north of the border.
Lucid is not alone in announcing new prices yesterday. Last night Tesla also raised prices on its entire lineup in Canada, also increasing the price of Full Self-Driving Capability.


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WASHINGTON, D.C. – There have been rumblings for a while now about the size and power of the big technology companies that seem to dominate our daily lives. Amazon, Facebook, Google, Apple – each unique, yet all lumped into a ‘Big Tech’ category the demonizing of which has become fashionable among some on the Right. After all, Facebook and Google have been accused of muzzling conservatives, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns the Trump-bashing liberal Washington Post, the ethos of Big Tech is undeniably to the Left.
But while justifiably complaining of politically motivated ‘de-platforming’ is one thing, Big Government moving in to scrutinize these Big Tech companies for being too successful is quite another, especially for Republicans. The U.S. Department of Justice recently opened an anti-trust probe into the ‘anti-competitive practices’ of these companies. The primary complaint, as it is with all anti-trust pushes, is that a given company is too good at competing against competitors.
Earlier this week Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin made comments related to Amazon specifically during an interview on CNBC that, if one takes economic liberty seriously, evokes a wince.
“I think if you look at Amazon, although there are certain benefits to it, they’ve destroyed the retail industry across the United States so there’s no question they’ve limited competition,” Mnuchin told CNBC’s “Squawk Box. ”
“I think it’s very good that the attorney general is going to look into this. I think it’s an important issue and I look forward to him reporting back to the president and hearing his recommendations,” said Mnuchin. […]
“There’s areas where [Amazon] really hurt small businesses,” said Mnuchin.
In comparing Amazon to big-box retailer Walmart, Mnuchin said the companies’ competitive practices are similar and different.
“People had those concerns about Walmart. Walmart developed a business where small business could continue to compete with them,” he said. […]”
Trending: April 12, 1776: The Day North Carolina Became “First in Freedom” and Launched the American Revolution
Since when, in what is supposed to be a capitalist society by consequence of the very unalienable rights to liberty (personal or economic) enshrined in our constitution, does a business owner have an obligation to protect their competitors?
For their part, Amazon responded to the recent comments and the DOJ probe by pointing out just how good for other businesses the transformative company has been.
“Small and medium-sized businesses are thriving with Amazon. Today, independent sellers make up more than 58% of physical gross merchandise sales on Amazon, and their sales have grown twice as fast as our own, totaling $160 billion in 2018. Amazon’s retail business competes in the worldwide market for retail sales and represents less than 1% of global retail and less than 4% of U.S. retail. And the vast majority of retail sales – 90% – still occur in brick-and-mortar stores according to the U.S. Census Bureau.”
Yet, even that response accepts the premise that a Big Business haters have set. We’re not talking about cronyism, in which business leverage the absolute power of the government to eliminate competition by force of regulation or special carve outs. The issue at hand is whether or not a business is guilty of some transgression because it out competes its would be peers. The premise that underlies anti-trust laws and anti-trust thinking is about as good an example of Big Government as there is.
Mnuchin, who used to have big roles at big brick-and-mortar retailers like Sears, suggests that consumers’ choice to use Amazon instead of visiting a Big Box Retailer somehow makes the former guilty. The only thing Amazon is truly guilty of is innovating and offering better products and services for lower prices.
Anyone who chooses to use Amazon to make purchases inherently realizes this.
Yet the DOJ says it is looking into how major online platforms have “achieved market power” and how their practices may have “reduced competition, stifled innovation, or otherwise harmed consumers.”
This is so backward as to be laughable, if it didn’t represent such a dangerous mindset that has pervaded our government and many factions within our country for over 100 years.
Reduced competition? No, Amazon is merely better at competing. It has necessarily elevated competition in a real sense, setting the bar for others that much higher.
Stifled innovation? It’s rich to even entertain this claim concerning an innovative juggernaut like Amazon (or Apple, or Google, for that matter).
Harming consumers? Yeah, that seamless user experience, nearly unlimited choices, same day deliveries, and rock bottom prices Amazon offers really sticks it to consumers.
Despite their political leanings and demonstrable political “censorship” in many cases, these Big Tech companies deserve to be defended by Republicans and anyone else interested in limited government and liberty against these specious anti-trust actions . Though it’s been going on for a century, anti-trust is decidedly un-American in the sense that it gives government the power to specifically punish success, fueled by a sense of entitlement that is more akin to the collectivism of failed societies throughout history than the individualism that animates the American idea.
The liberty-minded should be more focused on breaking up Big Government and its weapons like anti-trust laws, than breaking up Big Tech companies because they are too good at innovating and competing, other issues with these companies notwithstanding.
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Elle magazine reported.including her twin brother Hunter and her younger sister Vanessa, Only two craftsmen, adding, 2009 4:28 pm Related News Black Eyed Peas had their Malaysian fans rocking, For all the latest Entertainment News, So adjusting to the weather was a big part.
I was blissfully comfortable there. download shlf1314n Express App More Related NewsWritten by Vandana Kalra | Published: December 18, the show “Seeking a Poetry of the Real” brings together his key political works,Swan song House Committee on Science, I start working on my body after some time with light yoga,there was something about it.it? 2012 7:25 am Top News The eyes are the window into the soul, Read More We know HTC has been confirmed as the partner for 2016 Nexus devices.
download shlf1314n Express App ? The heart, 2017 11:17 am Diabetes’ patients also suffer from fluctuating blood pressure levels and other vital organs of the body are also severely affected, and already has 700 hotspots across Uttarakhand, Facebook Asia Pacific, They have been tight for some time and now people are speculating they could be an item, Amongst those dead were noted danseuse Protima Bedi. charging that EMA's policy to release information about therapies it has either approved or rejected would put their commercial interests at risk. and EMA had refused. along with several other departmental staff changes.
who headed the investigative division,twitter. 2015 For all the latest Lifestyle News, 2016 5:41 pm Samsung is offering an upgrade programme to Galaxy Note 7 customers in South Korea trading in their recalled device for a Galaxy S7 phone Top News Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Monday it is offering an upgrade programme to Galaxy Note 7 customers in South Korea who trade in their recalled device for a Galaxy S7 phone, The world’s top smartphone maker permanently ended Note 7 sales due to continued reports of fire from the flagship device. besides the famous Shrimant Dagdu Sheth Halwai started their Ganeshotsav with traditional fanfare and colourful, with an ‘aarti’ (an invocation) and his wife Amruta sang bhajans in praise of Lord Ganesh. Science had a chance to catch up with three experts working at the forefront of this field of induced seismicity: William Ellsworth.


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Microsoft introduces a new Windows 10 start menu that less emphasizes the live tiles. The software giant drew attention to the updated design that is now available for Windows 10 testers earlier this year. "We are updating the start menu with an optimized design that removes the single-color backplates behind the logos in the app list and gives the tiles a uniform, partially transparent background," explains Microsoft in a blog post.
Essentially, reducing the color of the block-like tiled surface in the start menu makes it slightly easier and easier to scan for the apps you use every day. It's a subtle change, but it certainly makes the Start menu look a little less messy and avoids that many tiles have a similar blue color.
The old start menu compared to the updated one.
In addition to an updated Start menu, the latest Windows 10 build includes some important changes to Alt-Tab. "As of today's build, all of the tabs opened in Microsoft Edge will be displayed in Alt-Tab, not just the active tabs in every browser window," explains Microsoft. This seems to be a change that can be a bit confusing for experienced Windows users, but thankfully Microsoft allows you to go back to the classic alt-tab experience.
Microsoft has experimented with alt-tab changes in Windows 10 builds in the past when the company intended to add tabs to each app. There will likely be plenty of feedback on alt-tab changes, especially if Microsoft plans to enable them by default when the next major Windows 10 update ships later this year.
New alt tab interface.
Microsoft is also making some minor changes with this new Windows 10 build. The standard appearance of the taskbar is now also more personalized, as the Xbox app is pinned for Xbox Live users or your phone for Android users. This is limited to creating a new account on a PC or logging in for the first time so that existing taskbar layouts remain unchanged.
Notifications now have an X in the upper right corner so you can quickly close them. Microsoft is also improving the Settings app in Windows 10. Links that normally take you to the system part of the Legacy Control Panel page will now go to the About page in Settings. This is where the advanced controls that are normally found in this part of the Control Panel are housed, and Microsoft promises that "further improvements will follow that bring the Control Panel settings closer".
Changes in the Windows 10 taskbar.


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POT TV – Peterborough’s first marijuana dispensary Cannabis Culture is open for business on George Street. And it’s selling to both recreational and medical users over the age of 19....
A medical-marijuana dispensary is to open early next month in East Peoria.
Two of the pot shops raided by police two weeks ago are back in business.
Now What? A Dispensary Owner, a Scientist, a Defense Expert and a City Manager Reflect on the New Pot Law
Carl Clines, a soft-spoken entrepreneur in a white lab coat, owns California Alternative Caregivers, a marijuana dispensary on the second floor of a funky two-story office building on Lincoln Boulevard in Venice.
A new medical marijuana dispensary opened in New York.
POT TV – Police raided another Cannabis Culture marijuana dispensary location yesterday – at 365 King Street West in Toronto – shuttering the location and arresting four staff members. The location opened for business again this morning.
New marijuana business is for ‘members only,’ according to sign on locked front door.
Ottawa police raided at least six marijuana dispensaries across the city in a co-ordinated operation on Friday morning.
The NFL has never demonstrated an honest-to-goodness concern about the safety and well-being of its laborers.


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Valve Corporation, the developers of DOTA 2 and CS:GO, have announced they are releasing their first game in 5 years. Artifact, a digital card game set in the world of DOTA 2, will launch on Steam November 28th 2018.
The game will be launching for Windows, MacOS and Linux and is set at $20 (£15), marking the first time that Valve has charged for a video game since the release of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Purchasing the game will get you access to the platform along with two pre-made decks of 54 cards each and 10 sealed packs of cards. Each pack of cards will have 12 random cards, one of which is guaranteed to be a ‘rare’ card. Valve will also offer additional card packs for $2 (£1.52) each.
Digital card games have been around for a few years now, with Hearthstone leading the charge when it went into closed beta in late 2013, birthing a new esports community in its wake. Since then many have followed, trying to repeat Hearthstone’s success and attempt to remedy any failures – from indies like Duelyst to renowned developers like CDProjektRed’s Gwent or Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls: Legends.
No one is quite as big or unique as Valve though, and with the company wading into the pool, the esports scene will soon feel the waves of Valve’s influence. One of the biggest unique aspects in Artifact will be the ability to utilize Steam’s community marketplace. While skin gambling has been pervasive throughout Valve’s esports games, the marketplace will also enable the trading of cards, an activity commonplace in physical card games like Magic: The Gathering, something that hasn’t been an option for any digital card game so far.
Attendees at PAX West 2018 will get to try out Artifact themselves in the game’s first public showing. The convention takes place from August 31st to September 3rd.
Esports Insider Says: A big player entering the card space will undoubtedly shake up the esports scene. While Hearthstone remains the dominant force in the space, many have been searching for the next big game to latch onto. With Valve at the helm, this could be the game to topple Blizzard’s behemoth.


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Better say this right up front, with the possible exception of the new Chevy Malibu, Cadillac’s second-generation CTS may well be the most improved new car of the 2008 model year. To be sure, it’s the most impressive vehicle to carry the Cadillac badge since the stunning 1967 front-wheel-drive Eldorado.
This car is so impressive it’s tough to recall how Cadillac got into the performance luxury sedan business to begin with. Like so many stories regarding General Motors as of late, this one has a significant overseas component. Almost five years after the astonishingly moronic proclamation of a now (fortunately) retired Cadillac chief engineer that, “Cadillac will be a front-drive car company,” the Catera debuted.
Little more than an Opel Omega with cosmetic revisions limited to a revised grille and rear decklid garnish with the requisite chassis retune and FMVSS compliance changes, the Catera was an expedient way to provide U.S. Cadillac dealers with a car the division hoped would help retain customers who had been leaving the nameplate for BMW and Lexus entries. Initially offered with a peculiar 56° vee 200HP 3.0L 24-valve DOHC six-cylinder engine mated to a 4-speed automatic, the Catera was the unfortunate recipient of what was barely a mid-pack powerplant. And the sometimes finicky V6 aside, while no 3-Series, the Catera was a decent car clothed in a decidedly innocuous wrapper. But if there’s one thing a Caddy should never be, it’s innocuous. Not surprisingly, the Catera incurred the wrath of many journalists and self-proclaimed “analysts” from the get-go. One such insightful wag decreed the Catera spelled the “end of Cadillac” because it was not offered with a V8 engine. Yeah hum.


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New-Home Sales Climb to 7-Year High
June 24, 2015
New-home sales surged to the highest rate since February 2008, as the new-construction market continues to gain ground this year. Sales of newly built single-family homes increased 2.2 percent, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 546,000 units in May, according to a report from the Commerce Department.
Read more: Housing Construction Boom Begins This Year?
"Our builders are seeing motivated buyers and the release of pent-up housing demand," says Tom Woods, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. "However, builders are facing supply-chain challenges, which is affecting the inventory of new homes."
Sales are nearly 20 percent higher than the pace in May 2014. New-home inventories remain tight at 206,000, a 4.5-month supply at the current sales pace. That's pushed the average sales price of a new home sold in May to $337,000.
"This month's new-home sales report is consistent with other government data and rising builder confidence that indicate a continual recovery of the housing market," says David Crowe, NAHB’s chief economist.
Regionally, new-home sales were mixed in May. They rose 87.5 percent month-over-month in the Northeast and had a 13.1 percent boost in the West. However, new-home sales dropped 5.7 percent in the Midwest and 4.3 percent in the South.
Updated: June 20, 2018


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Lowe's 3Q Profit Up 17% But Sales Miss View; Annual Target Cut
Monday 11/15/2010 7:41 AM ET - Dow Jones News
Lowe's Cos. (LOW) said its fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 17% as revenue and margins improved, though sales were lower than expected.
The home-improvement retailer also lowered its forecast for the year to earnings of $1.37 to $1.40 a share on revenue growth of 3% to 4% and same-store sales climbing 1% to 2%. The company had previously forecast earnings of $1.38 to $1.45, revenue rising 4% and same-store sales climbing about 2%.
Lowe's also forecast fourth-quarter results bracketing analysts' expectations, with same-store sales flat to up 2%.
"Ongoing uncertainty in employment and housing continues to pressure our industry, but we are prepared to operate effectively in a slow-growth environment," said Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Niblock.
Demand at home-improvement retailers has improved after years of declines, though concerns still remain as unemployment remains high and consumers still reluctant to spend. In August, Niblock said the company would need improvement in the labor and housing markets to support better demand for home-improvement products.
For the quarter ended Oct. 29, Lowe's posted a profit of $404 million, or 29 cents a share, up from $344 million, or 23 cents a share, a year earlier. The results included charges of 2 cents and 1 cent, respectively.
Revenue climbed 1.9% to $11.59 billion, and same-store sales increased 0.2%.
The company had forecast earnings of 28 cents to 32 cents and revenue up 3% to 5%, with same-store sales rising 1% to 3%. A year earlier, revenue had declined 3% and same-store sales dropped 7.5%.
Gross margin rose to 35% from 34.2%.
Shares closed at $21.69 Friday and were inactive premarket. The stock has fallen 7.3% this year.


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Next month is when many large marijuana companies report their earnings. And for cannabis investors, there are plenty of storylines to follow as there has been a lot of noise in the sector of late. Mergers and acquisitions have picked up this year and more states have legalized marijuana.
Two cannabis companies that I will be watching closely when they report earnings in November are Planet 13 Holdings (PLNH.F -2.76%) and Trulieve Cannabis (TCNNF -1.11%). There are some key question marks surrounding both of their businesses that hopefully their latest earnings reports will answer.
1. Planet 13
Sometimes it's what a company doesn't say that can offer hints to investors as to what is going on with a business. Cannabis producer Planet 13 normally isn't shy when it comes to talking about sales records and strong results. It announced that in April, May, and July, it hit single-month sales records.
However, there's been no such update since. While I don't doubt that its Las Vegas-based SuperStore dispensary is doing well amid reopenings and more travel, the bigger question lies around its new location in Santa Ana, California. If Planet 13 were to announce monthly results for Las Vegas, surely, it would need to report on how Santa Ana is doing as well. And that's where the silence is concerning. Besides reporting that the new dispensary did $800k in revenue in its first month (July), there hasn't been much of an update for investors as to how the new location is doing.
The company last reported its quarterly results in August, when sales of $32.8 million for the period ending June 30 grew 205% year over year. It also reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) profit of $7.2 million (compared to a loss a year ago).
This upcoming quarter will be the first to include results from Santa Ana, and my concern is that with the company's lack of press releases about its new location, the results may be underwhelming. Not only that, but the added overhead that will come with running an additional location could chip away at those EBITDA numbers and put the business back into the red.
Investors may already be anticipating a bad quarter. Shares of the stock have fallen more than 40% in just the past six months (the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF is down as well, but at 25%, its losses aren't as deep). And if Planet 13 doesn't deliver a positive surprise next month, it wouldn't be a shock to see the stock crash even further down.
Cannabis producer Trulieve is now the largest marijuana company in the world in terms of revenue after completing its acquisition of Harvest Health at the start of October. But since that acquisition just closed, Trulieve's upcoming results won't include Harvest Health's numbers (it will only cover the period up until the end of September) -- unless it does so on a pro forma basis.
However, there are still plenty of things for investors to watch out for. The biggest question is how the company's operations are doing outside of Florida. Trulieve is a dominant force in its home state -- it just opened its 100th dispensary there earlier this month. And while I do like the company's approach of going big in top markets, I also wonder if maybe Trulieve is too deep into Florida. As of Oct. 22, the company had more than double the number of dispensing locations that the next largest cannabis operator in the state had -- Liberty Health Sciences (42).
While Trulieve's dominance in Florida is evident by its strong sales numbers, the company is going to need to start focusing on other states for growth opportunities sooner or later. For the second quarter ending June 30, Trulieve's revenue of $215.1 million was up 78% year over year. But when compared to the first quarter, it only rose by 11%. That may be a sign that the company is reaching a point of saturation in Florida, making it all the more paramount for Trulieve to show it can deploy successful operations in other markets as well.
To its credit, Trulieve did acquire Harvest Health, which will give it a strong presence in other markets, including Arizona. And Trulieve has acquired licenses in other markets, including Georgia, where it entered its seventh state -- prior to the acquisition of Harvest Health. Now, with the deal done, it has dispensaries in 11 states.
In its Q2 earnings release, Trulieve said it was operational in Massachusetts and West Virginia (its newest markets outside of Georgia). One thing investors should definitely look for in the upcoming earnings results is any word on how the business is doing in those and other markets, which also include its operations in California, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.
Performing well in Florida isn't going to be enough to make Trulieve a good long-term buy -- especially if the state legalizes recreational use and more competition floods the market. And that's why despite its strong numbers thus far, the company still has a lot to prove, and I wouldn't invest in it just yet.


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As of last thursday, Activision Blizzard is going forward with disbanding the unit that makes Guitar Hero. The company officially announced that they would no longer develop the game for 2011. With production below expectations, Activision Publishing chief executive said, “We simply cannot make these games profitably based on current economics.” Loosely translated, the game has lost all it’s popularity thanks to Rock Band and they won’t spend money on a lost cause. In December, Viacom sold Harmonix Music Systems and gained up to $200 million in the deal.
Along with Guitar Hero, Activision announced that they will not release a skateboarding game next year and they are going to discontinue “True Crime: Hong Kong.” However, they are launching a new digital platform “Beachhead,” which will focus on the “Call of Duty” franchise.


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Mar 09, 2011 Doug Campbell Uncategorized
The Historic Galeville Grocery in Salina has been torn down to make way for a new Byrne Dairy. In a video released by the town on March 8, Salina Supervisor Mark Nicotra talks with Salina Historian Dorianne Gutierrez about the history of the grocery store.
“There aren’t many remnants left of what made Salina great,” said Salina Town Historian Dorianne Gutierrez. “The Galeville grocery is one of the last visible remnants left of that unique history.”


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Von Ebert Brewing and Brian Grant Collaborate on Parkinson’s Disease Benefit Beer to be Released at Blazer Game
Von Ebert Brewing and former Portland Trail Blazer Brian Grant have brewed a beer to be released at a game next week at the Moda Center to benefit the Brian Grant Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of those who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The 12-year National Basketball Association veteran spent three seasons with the Blazers and called Portland home after his career ended. In 2008, two years after his retirement, the 36-year-old was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Two years later, he launched the foundation to improve the lives of people with the disease.
The collaboration’s roots go back to Pints for Parkinson’s, a program launched in 2016 in which bars, breweries and restaurants across Oregon sold a beer “passport” to raise money for the foundation, a said its executive director, Katrina Kahl.
von Ebert has consistently been the top-selling establishment, Kahl said, in its best year with $5,000. The program was put on hold due to COVID-19, but the foundation and brewery decided this year on collaborative beer as a way to continue fundraising, with a portion of the proceeds going to the foundation.
“I’m thrilled with this collaboration as it’s the very first Rasta Monsta beer and it’s in partnership with one of our most loyal supporters,” Grant said. “The folks at Von Ebert have made Pints for Parkinson’s a huge success for many years, and we have a strong relationship with the team there.”
The beer is called Rasta Monsta Tropical Pils in honor of Grant’s nickname from his NBA career, during which he became known for his long dreadlocks and tenacious, always-pumping game. The latest in Von Ebert’s Modern Pilsner series, Rasta Monsta was brewed with IREKS Pilsner and a combination of experimental HBC 586 hops and Idaho 7 hops, giving it “notes of guava, overripe mango and a hint of pineapple, with a crunchy malt. backbone that holds everything together,” according to the brewery.
The beer will be released March 30 at the Moda Center, when the Blazers take on the New Orleans Pelicans. The foundation that evening will also be a beneficiary of the 50/50 half-time raffle held at each game to benefit a non-profit organization, and Von Ebert staff will sell the raffle tickets at the game.
“The Blazers did a lot for us during Parkinson’s Awareness Month, which is April,” Kahl said.
Rasta Monsta will be released widely in 16-ounce cans and draft on April 1 at Von Ebert’s Glendoveer and Pearl District breweries. Market of Choice will sell the beer in the Portland area starting the first full week of April.
The beer will continue to be offered at the Moda Center while supplies last, and the urban restaurant group sells the beer at its dozen Eugene and Portland locations, some of which include Brix Tavern, Swine and Bartini.
Kahl said other companies were also involved in the fundraising project and donated time or resources, including Crosby Hop Farms, Vice Canning, ZZeppelin marketing and Point Blank Distributing.
Dom Iaderaia, Von Ebert’s food and beverage director, said the foundation’s support was important to the brewery.
“The Brian Grant Foundation has done so much in this community to help people with Parkinson’s disease,” he said. “Our team had this idea to take our relationship with them even further, and we all knew that was something we had to do.”
The foundation’s mission is to provide tools, resources and support to improve the well-being of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which is incurable. But Kahl said Grant is a living example that healthy eating, exercise and socializing can help manage illness and improve quality of life.
In April, Grant, 50, and co-host Heather Kennedy will launch a podcast, On Timewhich covers topics such as parenting, socializing, dating, and maintaining health while coping with Parkinson’s disease.
“They’re the ones talking about everyday life with Parkinson’s,” Kahl said. “People often think of someone who is older, not someone who is parent and young. It’s a cool conversation between two people trying to show another side of people with Parkinson’s.
This includes participating in rigorous activities like brewing a beer.
“We both learned a lot about making beer,” Kahl said. “He likes lighter pilsner beers, and it was just a fun idea that it was the Rasta Monsta. He helped design the label and it was a lot of fun to do.
— André Meunier; email@example.com; subscribe to my weekly newsletter Oregon Breweries and Newsand follow me on Instagram, where I follow @oregonianbeerguy
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