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Esperanto in early Bolshevik Russia
As would-be world revolutionaries, the early Bolsheviks were sympathetic to Esperanto. It provided a means of international communication before the hegemony of English was established. Since Esperanto is basically a Romance language with a Roman alphabet, Russians who used it were making a bigger effort than those they were writing to. In any case, as Leninism turned to Stalinism, Esperanto fell out of favour as did any kind of private international communication even through authorised channels. This can be seen for example, in the decline of Philatelic Exchange letters in the 1930s. Private individuals were simply too afraid to send them.
The card below caught my attention first because of its date. It was sent from Petrograd to Switzerland in May 1921 and arrived the same month - the receiver mark is on the picture side. So it was sent within the scarce 1920 - 21 period when foreign mail services had just re-started. They were all suspended in January 1919 and resumed in June 1920. It's a registered postcard and as seems to be normally the case, it is franked at the registered letter rate of 10 roubles using a 10 kop stamp revlaued according to the March 1920 x 100 revaluations.
But then I looked at the Esperanto Star and Flag printed in pale ink on the card and realised that this is in fact an old Imperial formular card which has been recycled with these symbols on the address side and Zamenhof's picture on the correspondence side. All Imperial postal stationeries with a face value were invalidated on 1 January 1919 but continued in use as blanks, as did formulars without a face value.There were huge quantities available and the practice of overprinting them was common in the early Soviet period. The dealer Tarasoff did it in Archangel and the Soviet Philatelic Association did it in Moscow. You could probably make an interesting collection of all the different overprints, say from 1917 through to 1925 or so.
I have taken the following from the Comments section below:
Bill Chapman 10 February 2017 at 05:48
The sender of this card is of interest to me. S.N.Podkaminer (1901-1982) was an aircraft engineer by profession, He also worked as a college lecturer. As a Red Army volunteer he took part in the civil and Great Patriotic wars. Having learned Esperanto in 1920, the young Semyon Podkaminer immediately became active in the movement. He took part in the 3rd Russian Congress of Esperanto, at which the Soviet Esperanto Union (SEU) was founded, then he led their youth section, and was repeatedly elected as a member of the Central Committee of the SEU. In 1926 he was secretary of the 6th Congress of a left-wing body called SAT in Leningrad, when special stamps were published. When in the late 30's Stalin undertook purges against speakers of Esperanto, he was fortunate enough to avoid arrest, but was expelled from the Communist Party.
This card was sent when he was 20 years old and relatively new to the language. In it he appeals for people who want to correspond with him about political and other matters.
The original card was oprobably produced in 1912 on the 25th anniversary of Esperanto.
Labels: Esperanto in Soviet Russia, Imperial Russia stationeries used as blanks after 1917, RSFSR foreign mail, RSFSR mail abroad, Zamenhof in Russia
Women on Stamps: Armenia
I am sure one of my readers can answer this question to which I don't know the answer:
When and where was the first stamp issued which showed a woman who was not a queen, princess, president or mythical figure? Maybe someone famous, maybe an ordinary person ...
And then maybe a second question:
When and where for a stamp showing a woman doing an ordinary job as on the stamp above?
In the United Kingdom, a woman who wasn't the Queen did not appear until 1968 when the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst appeared on a stamp. In contrast, Turkey had put suffragettes on stamps as far back as 1934, the year in which all Turkish women got the vote. The Soviet Union depicted a female worker and peasant in two of the designs for the 1929 definitive series - earlier definitives showed only male workers, soldiers and sailors (Correct?).
I like the Armenian stamp and think it's a pity it was never issued. It exists in both slate and red as do all the stamps in the series. But another value in the set was issued, with a surcharge and this shows a woman carrying water:
The stamps are all from the 1921 Second Yessayan series printed by the Armenian firm of Yessayan (or Essayan) in what was still Constantinople. The stamps were ordered by the new Armenian Soviet government and the designer was Sarkis Khachaturian. Yessayan had fairly recently printed the Wrangel Refugee overprints and the Levant ship fantasies which did not stop him getting the Soviet order.
Part of the original printing of the Second Yessayan stamps was on a porous, yellowish paper rather than the usual white and non-porous paper. The 100r above is on the yellowish paper but both of the 1000r are on the normal white paper. The stamps on the yellowish paper are normally in an ink which is nearly black rather than grey and they are sometimes mistaken for proofs. All the reprints of the slate colour of this stamp are a paler grey and the red stamps a paler red, and only the forgery uses a yellowish paper - but then the paper is not porous and the yellow gum is laid on thick. The unissued 100r stamp above is really quite scarce but the issued stamps with surcharges are not so hard to find.
It would be interesting to know the source of Khachaturian's designs - he also has a shepherd boy, for example, and a train leaving Yerevan station (popular with Thematic collectors). Did he have photographs of the woman spinning and the woman carrying water? Or did he make a sketch? Note that the woman fetching water appears to be barefoot.
Labels: Armenia 1921 Pictorials, Armenia 1922 pictorial stamps, Armenia Second Yessayan, Sarkis Khachaturian, Soviet Armenia stamps, women on stamps
Guest Blog: Howard Weinert on Money Letters
Postal Rate Chronology for Russian Money Letters 1872-1917
Compiled by Howard L. Weinert
1 January 1872: A unit weight fee of 10 kopecks*, an insurance fee, and 5 kopecks for a receipt. The insurance fee was determined as follows: a) for a declared value of 1 ruble up to 100 rubles – 1 %, b) for a value above 100 rubles up to 400 rubles - ½ % plus 50 kopecks, c) for a value above 400 rubles up to 1600 rubles – ¼ % plus 1.5 rubles, d) for a value above 1600 rubles – 1/8 % plus 3.5 rubles. Values expressed in rubles and kopecks are rounded up to the next ruble before the insurance fee is calculated. A full kopeck is collected for any part of a kopeck. No postage stamps are used on money letters. *The weight fee for money letters sent abroad varied by destination.
20 March 1879: A new unit weight fee of 7 kopecks for all money letters. New insurance rates as follows: a) for a declared value of 1 ruble up to 600 rubles – ½ %, b) for a value above 600 rubles up to 1600 rubles – ¼ % plus 1.5 rubles, c) for a value above 1600 rubles – 1/8 % plus 3.5 rubles. Money letters now had to be registered for a fee of 7 kopecks, but the fee for the receipt was discontinued.
1 April 1889: For international money letters, the unit weight fee and the registration fee were both increased to 10 kopecks.
1 June 1893: New international insurance rates: 3 kopecks for each 75 rubles of declared value for countries bordering Russia (Germany, Austria, Rumania, Turkey, Sweden, Norway), and 7 kopecks for all other countries.
20 December 1898: New international insurance rates: for each 112.5 rubles of declared value - 4 kopecks for countries bordering Russia and 10 kopecks for all others, with a 4 kopeck supplement for sea transit.
1 January 1903: New domestic insurance rates: a) for declared values up to 600 rubles - ¼ %, b) for a value above 600 rubles up to 1600 rubles, 1/8 % plus 75 kopecks, c) for a value above 1600 rubles - 1/16 % plus 1.75 rubles.
1 July 1904: Henceforth, all money letter fees will be paid for with postage stamps.
1 August 1904: Instead of clerks writing serial numbers by hand on money letters, a blue-bordered printed label will be affixed, showing the serial number and the post office name.
1 January 1905: New domestic insurance rates: 10 kopecks for declared values up to 10 rubles, 25 kopecks for values above 10 rubles and up to 100 rubles. For values above 100 rubles, the rate was 25 kopecks plus 15 kopecks for each additional 100 rubles or part thereof. The fees for registration and sealing wax** were eliminated for domestic money letters.
1 May 1909: New international insurance rates which varied on the destination – from 4 kopecks (Germany) to 22 kopecks (Somaliland) for each 112.5 rubles of declared value.
21 September 1914: For domestic money letters, the unit weight fee and the registration fee were both increased to 10 kopecks.
15 August 1917: New domestic insurance rates: 15 kopecks for declared values up to 10 rubles, 30 kopecks for values above 10 rubles and up to 100 rubles. For values above 100 rubles, the rate was 30 kopecks plus 30 kopecks for each additional 100 rubles or part thereof. These insurance rates remained unchanged until 28 February 1918 (new style).
**Each money letter has either official wax seals or those of the sender or some combination of both. The number can vary from two to six or more, but is usually five. The sender could use his own wax or purchase it from the post office. Based on empirical evidence, the cost of wax was one kopeck for five seals before May 1898, and 1 kopeck per seal after March 1901. The price change happened sometime between 1898 and 1901.
Below are some fine examples of Money Letters for the period 1876 - 1913, from Howard Weinert's Collection and with his descriptions. Thank you, Howard, for providing this very informative Blog - TP
1876 money letter enclosing 83 silver rubles sent from Bolkhovskoye to Constantinople for transmission to a Russian monastery on Mt. Athos in Turkey. The total postage was 1 ruble, 8 kopecks (20 kopecks for double-weight, 83 kopecks for the 1% insurance fee, and 5 kopecks for the receipt).
1885 money letter (stationery of the Imperial Russian Technical Society) enclosing 50 rubles (equivalent to 200 francs) sent from St. Petersburg to the director of the Berlin Trade School. The total postage was 46 kopecks (14 kopecks for double-weight, 25 kopecks for the ½% insurance fee, and 7 kopecks for registration).
1891 money letter enclosing 1060 rubles (equivalent to 4240 francs) sent from St. Petersburg to Vevey, Switzerland. The total postage was 4.65 rubles (40 kopecks for quadruple-weight, 4.15 rubles for the insurance fee [1.5 rubles plus ¼% of the insured value], and 10 kopecks for registration).
1896 money letter enclosing 5 rubles (equivalent to 20 francs) sent from Sochi to Berlin. Total postage was 24 kopecks (10 kopecks for weight, 3 kopecks for insurance, 10 kopecks for registration, and one kopeck for sealing wax).
1904 money letter enclosing 5 rubles sent from Vorontsovskoe-Aleksandrovskoe to Worms, Germany, then forwarded to Speyer. The total postage was 29 kopecks (10 kopecks for weight, 4 kopecks for insurance, 10 kopecks for registration, and 5 kopecks for sealing wax).
1905 money letter enclosing 100 rubles sent from the fieldpost office of the First Siberian Army Corps in Manchuria to Borga, Finland. Total postage was 39 kopecks (14 kopecks for double-weight and 25 kopecks for insurance).
1913 money letter enclosing 5 rubles (equivalent to 131/3 francs) sent by the Kiev provincial prison inspector to the Hachette publishing house in Paris. The total postage was 26 kopecks (10 kopecks for weight, 6 kopecks for insurance, and 10 kopecks for registration).
Labels: Howard Weinert, Howard Weinert on Money Letters, Imperial Russia Money Letters, mail to Mont Athos, Russia Money Letter tariffs
Imperial Russia: Official Mail and Free Frank Privileges
I guess that most countries had and still have special arrangements for charging official mail handled by public postal services rather than by official couriers. In Imperial Russia and then in Soviet Russia, there were three basic features of the arrangements:
1.Official correspondence sent as ordinary mail did not need to be franked; it had "Free Frank" privilege. Bur if the mail was Registered, then the registration fee had to be paid at the post office counter and postage stamps applied. The post office could be financially compensated by central government for carrying Free Frank mail, based on volume of mail and so on.
2. Free Frank privilege extended only to Inland mail. Foreign mail, ordinary or registered, had to be paid for and franked with stamps to cover the cost of the foreign part of the journey.
3. Free frank privilege was claimed by means of a Seal applied on the reverse of the item of mail and by means of a Registry number written at bottom left on the front of an item. Seals could be paper seals, wax seals or could be applied with a handstamp. The Registry book ensured accountability and was an anti-fraud measure.I don't think I have ever seen a Free Frank item charged Postage Due for improper use of the system.
The paper seals have from time to time been popular with collectors and occasionally they have been passed off as official stamps. Early Zemstvo catalogues listed the pretty seals of Ananiev Zemstvo as Official Stamps and Agathon Faberge had a fine mint collection of them.
The Free Frank cover shown below has a Registry number on the front, "No. 403" - for some reason these numbers are always prefaced by Roman "No" rather than a Cyrillic equivalent. On the back there is a paper seal, fairly typical in being unreadable except for the key word "PAKETOV" which is always present on seals.
The interesting thing about this 1902 cover is where it is going. It starts off in MISHKIN YAROSL[AVL] with a 27 May strike on the front and a 28 May strike on the back.It transits in Odessa on 2 June and arrives at ROPIT AFON on 9 June.
Now Mount Athos was Ottoman Turkish territory but Free Frank privilege has worked all the way there, presumably because the cover has been handled throughout by Russian mail services. This was not always the case: ships from Odessa would drop off mail to Mont Athos in Constantinople and the ROPIT CONSTANTINOPLE office would pass them to the Ottoman post office for overland delivery. In this case, I guess that a ship dropped off mail at Mont Athos itself but I would need to do more research to insist that was the case.
Labels: Imperial Russia Free Frank mail, mail to Mont Athos, PAKETOV on Russian letters, Russian post Mont Athos
Collecting, Dealing, Investing in 2017
Happy New Year! Enjoy it now while it lasts.
As a dealer, I don't expect 2017 to be the year in which I finally make a lot of money. All the economic and political indicators are against that happening. So I will just try to enjoy doing things I enjoy doing and just try to keep my bank accounts positive. I say this even though I will be selling part of an Early Bolshevik Russia collection I have formed over a number of years in the Spring sale at Heinrich Koehler in Wiesbaden. If I don't sell it in the anniversary year 2017, when will I sell it?
I think that those who invest in stamps rarely - if ever - make money. Very few people seem able to beat the market, and if they do, it is more by luck than judgement. In this, they are no different to investment funds most of which fail to outperform the market - whatever their promises. When their fees are taken into account, they offer poor returns to private investors who thought that investment funds were Experts in something or other.
I once met someone who had collected over many years New Issues of the People's Republic of China from the beginning through the 1980s - in complete, mint sheets. He showed me them, housed in specially-made large format albums. I rather doubt that he had done this as an investment decision and as a collecting interest it seemed to me a bit limited. It was hardly more than an eccentric choice. But if in recent years he needed money - well, he would have been very nicely surprised I am sure. There would have been no nice surprise at all if instead he had collected complete mint sheets of Liechtenstein.
Very few collectors are able to say that their collection will sell for more than what they paid for it. The exceptions are those collectors who got interested in something fairly obscure and neglected, collected it seriously, and then have the luck that one day other people with a lot of money to spend suddenly become interested in those obscure and neglected things. In recent years, Dr Raymond Casey's collection of Russian Post Offices in China, sold by David Feldman in Geneva, is the stand-out example of a collection which made the collector a lot of money. But Dr Casey did not collect expecting that to happen; he collected what interested him and did it seriously and very knowledgeably.
Anyone who collects with the idea that one day they will sell - maybe sell just to start a new collection - should bear one thing in mind. It is really only likely that you will sell for more than you paid if you have collected items which can be offered as single lots in auctions where other collectors will buy them. Since the gap between what the buyer pays and the seller receives is around 30% - 35% you don't have much chance of making money except in a rising market - and right now we don't have a rising market. The only way anyone is likely to bridge that gap is to have found underpriced items in dealers' boxes at stamp exhibitions - and to have done so regularly over many years.
That way of collecting has a low-budget variant. I am impressed by collectors who go through the Cheap Boxes which most dealers have and manage to build interesting collections around themes which not many people have thought about. You may then end up with a collection which is more valuable than the sum of its parts just because someone else can see the theme you have worked with and say Ah ha! That's interesting! You are then getting credit for your intelligence and knowledge which in this case has outperformed your budget.
Labels: collecting and making money, making money from stamps, stamps as investments, state of the stamp market
Imperial Russia: Official Mail and Free Frank Priv...


Add-in Send Personally is designed to send messages to a great number of recipients via Microsoft Outlook 2000-2013 (32 and 64-bit). Add-in offers an alternative method of sending messages from Outlook, separate message being created for each recipient. The final recipient will get no information about the other recipients. Moreover, he/she will see only his/her name and address in the "To" field, as if the message was sent only to him/her.
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伊藤悠真, 竹川佳成, 寺田 努, 塚本昌彦, "フレーズ間類似度に基づく楽曲構造提示機能を持つ暗譜支援システム," 情報処理学会論文誌, Vol. 57, No. 8, pp. 1871–1886 (2016年8月).
Ito, Y., Takegawa, Y., Terada, T., and Tsukamoto, M., "A System for Memorizing Songs by Presenting Musical Structures Based on Phrase Similarity," Proceeding of International Computer Music Conference (ICMC2012), pp. 269–272 (Sept. 2012).


Happy Halloween! Celebrate Halloween with our special pumpkin spice. Warm and mildly spicy, it's as familiar as Grandma's pie. The greatness of this coffee comes from the light, yet full-bodied, dry taste that includes a little tang to it. A love of tea drinkers!


On Monday, the 21st day of October in the Donald Bren of ICS building, WICS and VGDC had a joint Resume workshop. Around 50+ people came to either help others or be helped. What was amazing about the event was the great amount of inputs from all those who were experienced and wanted to help by sharing their knowledge and experience with others and also the deep interest those who didn't have experience or wanted to learn. All the members learned how to improve or start resumes which can help in the long run with resume building and career searching. When I went to the resume workshop I was also amazed at how many people were really involved and really wanted to improve their resume and what they had in their resume. It was also interesting to see people quickly build the resume they didn't have before coming to the workshop. I also brought a resume and got tips and pointers on how to improve the resume and learning new tips and lessons I didn't know or thought about before. There are simple little things that could be overlooked, like a bigger name, better organization of resumes and the list goes on. The people who were helping out were also really reliable and professional, so the sources were very trustworthy. It was also a great experience to meet other people, who were just as involved, excited, and friendly. Can't wait for the next resume workshop to meet new people and improve my resume once again.


The cyber-liability landscape is constantly changing. It is difficult to see and identify risks- consequently it can be a difficult sell to clients. However, it is an essential form of coverage that business owners should not be without. It is essential for agents to educate insurance purchasers about the exposure to loss and potentially devastating consequences of a cyber-breach.
Even if you're a smaller agency, you're not off a hackers' radar. Hackers look for weaknesses, rather than large companies, as targets. If you fail to take adequate security measures, your chances of a data breach greatly increases.
Top data breaches include the New York State Electric & Gas Co. and Emory Healthcare. In a recent blog post, privacy & network security insurance: cyber-liability growing, we discussed the growing security..
Storing any type of personal information exposes companies to risk of a privacy or data breach. Regardless of your industry, a data breach is costly, interrupts business, and can harm your reputation. Privacy & Network Security insurance is essential for all firms to protect against this new threat, regardless of size.
In the insurance industry, it is a hugely growing sector. Cyber insurance maintained a double-digit premium volume growth in 2012. It..


We all have our own desktop (or laptop) computers set up exactly how we like them. We've got all the software we need and all the programs we want and use on a daily basis.
The only problem comes when we are using another computer for some reason. For example if you don't have your laptop set up in exactly the same way as your desktop, you will end up getting frustrated. This is simply because you don't have the programs you need on the computer you are using at that moment.
The answer to this is to use AlwaysOnPC. This site calls itself "your virtual computer". Instead of having your desktop on your desktop (quite literally) you can have it online instead. It is all secure of course, and the beauty of this is that you can access it from any device you want to use.
The system currently supports desktop and laptop computers of the Mac and PC kind, as well as operating for iPads, iPhones and much more besides. As you can see it is a very useful thing to have and it practically eliminates the frustration you get from having different desktops and systems for every device you have.
The system is available to try free of charge for five days on your computer. From then on you will have to pay for it, but you might find it is worth doing so if you constantly switch computers for some reason.


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Home » TI magazine » Clothing » Accessories That Supply the Final Touch
Accessories That Supply the Final Touch
Round out your inventory and stock up on accessories that not only complement an outfit, but multi-task as functional pieces as well. Here are some quick buys that can give your customers items they might not think about, and can help boost your bottom line.
Bälle de Mätch
Bälle de Mätch's fun hats and visors are fashion-forward, flexible, and lightweight, from the "Hey Baby Hey" hat ($22) with its meshy design and Velcro closure to the "Yippee Da-Bomb" hat ($24), featuring the advanced technology of Flex-Fit. (800-356-1021)
Ellesse sports the basic but stylish black and white look for the tennis traditionalist with their recognizable logo on caps ($20), visors ($14), wristbands ($7), and headbands ($9). (561-491-9000 or ellesse.com)
Lejay brings its own brand of fun, class, and glam to its kelly green and white twill visors and caps, which coordinate with the Racqueteers line of clothing. This emerald Swarovski crystal-trimmed headwear retails for $22. (800-932-7535 or lejay.com)
The Cosmic Tech Group features go-with colors from Tail's current lines. The visors ($18) and caps ($22) are a combo lycra jersey and nylon; the wristbands ($7) are a breathable cotton-nylon-spandex combination. The carry-along tote, which retails for $42, also picks up the new colors. (800-678-8245 or tailinc.com)
From the July 2005 issue
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The Levi Wilcoxon Demonstration Forest (LWDF) was originally established by the Crossett Lumber Company in 1939 to promote forestry research and demonstration in the Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain of southern Arkansas. The reser ve currently has at least 27 different overstory tree species, with loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.), shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.), and white oak (Quercus alba L.) comprising the majority of stand basal area. Hardwoods are most numerous, dominated by shade-tolerant species such as red maple (Acer rubrum L.), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida L.), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica L.), and winged elm (Ulmus alata Michx.), especially in the subcanopy and understory. Large pines, oaks, and sweetgum are scattered throughout the stand, with some individuals exceeding 100 cm DBH and 45 m tall. Overstory trees rarely proved sound enough to age, but some stumps, logs, and increment cores suggest that the dominant canopy pines are 100 to 150 years old, with the largest individuals exceeding 200 years. Pines contributed the greatest amount of coarse woody debris. The average volume of dead wood was noticeably less than other examples of old-growth upland forest in the eastern United States, attributable largely to salvage. Increased windthrow and the salvage of dead and dying pines have become the primary perturbations of the LWDF. Without large-scale disturbance like catastrophic fire or logging, shade-intolerant pines, oaks, and sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.) will decline in prominence, to be replaced by more shade-tolerant species.


Beyond the clash: investigating BIM-based building design coordination issue representation and resolution. Journal of Information Technology in Construction (ITcon) 24.3 (2019), pp. 33-57, 2019.
Characterizing interactions with BIM tools and artifacts in building design coordination meetings. Sarmad Mehrbod, Sheryl Staub-French, Narges Mahyar, Melanie Tory, Automation in Construction 98, pp. 195-213, 2019.
Supporting Communication and Coordination in Collaborative Sensemaking. Narges Mahyar, and Melanie Tory. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (VAST 2014), pp. 1633-1642, 2014. 22.6% acceptance rate.
UD Co-Spaces: A Table-Centred Multi-Display Environment for Public Engagement in Urban Design Charrettes. Narges Mahyar, Kelly Burke, Siyi Meng, Jialiang Xiang, Kellogg S. Booth, Cynthia Girling, and Ronald Kellett, Interactive Surfaces and Spaces (ISS '16), pp. 109-118, November 6-9, 2016.
CLIP: A Visual Thinking Space to Support Collaborative Sensensemaking and Reasoning. Narges Mahyar, and Melanie Tory. Graphics, Animation and New Media ("GRAND") NCE AGM, 4 pages, 2014.
A Multi-Display Environment for Community Planning. Narges Mahyar, Siyi Meng, Jialiang Xiang, Kellogg S. Booth, Cynthia Girling, and Ronald Kellett, Graphics Interface, 2 pages, 2016.


The tennis at Sugar is spectacular. Six courts, meticulously maintained of fast-dry, Har-tru clay, are wildly popular from May through October. Mens, womens, and mixed play "friendlys'' can be found every day of the week. And like the golf, the tennis facilities are open to everyone, either on a pay as you go basis, or economical season pass options.
Sugar Mountain Golf Club may be the best kept secret in mountain golf, but not for long. Located just minutes from Boone, Banner Elk and the Blue Ridge Parkway, the 18-hole municipal course is "Everyman's Golf Course" in a region home to some of the world's premiere private country club communities. The fabulous Par 64 golf course opened for play in 1974, the design of Frank Duane, previously the senior project manager for more than two decades for Robert Trent Jones, the undisputed dean of golf course architecture. Visitors will find golf at Sugar Mountain affordable and accessible. Rates vary during the season which opens early April and concludes the end of October. Walk specials are available every afternoon after 3 o'clock, as are twilight rates with cart.
Perfect nails is a full service nail salon for women as well as men. Our salon is equipped with the best pedicure chairs and spas in the industry.


Home / About online dating / What do Russian single girls like?
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What do Russian single girls like?
If you are interested in single Russian girls you must try to know them better. Let's try to figure out their main features, what they like and how to distinguish yourself among other men. So, what do Russian single girls like? Girls from Russia tend to prefer much older men. Don't be surprised if the twenty-year-old girl is interested in men in his forties of older. It is not a problem if their man is much older than her. Unlike Western women who adore the perfect athletic body, beautiful and manly face features, Russian girls are different. Fortunately, the laws of attraction are different in Russia. Girls here are much easy about it. Small tummy will not create any problem, you can be attractive for her without having the amazing press. "A man should be a little prettier than a monkey " that's what Russian proverb says. What else is able to impress a single Russian girl's fantasy? Just smile more often. Try to show her your positive side, but do not overdo it.
Favorite flowers of Russian girls.
Girls all over the world love receiving flowers. It is a pleasure both for a man to give and for the woman to accept them, because flowers are a symbol that conveys a much more powerful message than a card, a compliment or even a love letter. Bouquets of beautiful blossoms, in all their diversity, can declare wars and confess love. However, before giving your Russian girl a beautiful bouquet, any man should know that depending on the kind of flowers you chose and the way you give them, the girl will form a certain opinion about a man. For example, if you carry a bouquet in a rough negligent manner, your Russian girl will believe that this is the way you will treat her. So, if you want to avoid making a bad impression but still want to give her that special moment, follow these rules.
1. Don't buy yellow ones. Yellow is a bad colour, because it means separation in Russia. If a guy gives a girl yellow flovers it probably means that he wants to break up with her. So stay away from yellow, unless of course you know that she likes them and will not take it the wrong way.
2. The number is important. While in the U.S. flowers are often sold in dozens and most often bought in even numbers, it is something you will not see in Russia. Flowers are sold individually and bought in odd amounts in all flower stores in Russia. The even number of flowers is only used to form bouquets that are taken to a cemetery on Remembrance Day or for a funeral. If you happen to give your Russian girl an even number of flowers, you should explain your tradition to her before you get in trouble. It is also not recommended to give thirteen flowers, as thirteen is considered to bring bad luck in Russia, as well as in many other countries.
3. Try to avoid red carnation. For a very long time, red carnations used to be a symbol of war and army in Russia. In the Soviet Union they were given to soldiers who left to war and then were laid on the graves of soldiers who never returned alive. Red carnations are still the most common flower put on soldiers' graves on May 9, so called Victory Day. This is why over a long period of time they came to symbolize death.
4. Quality matters. If you care about the impression you make on the girl, you should choose the freshest flowers available.
5. Bring Russian flowers. Chamomiles are your best bet. They are considered to be the traditional flower of Russia and are often seen growing in the wild in this country. Even though they are not a common flower to be commercially sold, they are a special gift which will never be forgotten.
6. Chose roses and you almost never gonna miss. It's easy, roses syambolyse love, especially red or pink variations.
A date or online flirtation?
Are you still not sure about online flirtation? Some research suggests that chatting online first can have a beneficial effect on face-to-face relationships. In the "Relationship Formation on the Internet" study, the authors tested whether a group of students liked each other more after an online or in-person meeting. They found the online group was much more chummy, in part because of the quality of the digital interaction itself. It means that the Web allowed participants to pare away interpersonal distractions and focus on communicating openly and honestly. Of course there are some pitfalls with too much online interaction before meeting in person. If you meet someone face to face shortly after you meet them online, it's not necessarily going to lead to someone having a positive relationship, but waiting longer increases the possibility that things are not going to work out. We tend to develop in our heads these impressions of what we think that person is like, even though the realities of communication do not reflect that. This effect of idealization can be mitigated by expanding the relationship beyond the bounds of the written word. In other words when people relay on text based communications they can be easily idealizing the partner. But when they see each other on camera it makes it more realistic this form of communication gives you more information about person you like.
How to distinguish yourself among other men?
Smile. And smile a lot, don't be afraid to show your happiness. Russian girls like when they can see that their presents makes you happy. Besides, nobody likes sad and depressive guys.
Don't drink too much. One of the reasons why Russian girls prefer European men is because usually they don't drink a lot. On the other way the possibility of marrying an alcoholic in Russia is very high. You can allow yourself to have a couple of glasses, just know when to stop. Have you seen drunk as a lord man? Do you find him attractive? She would not too.
Don't be afraid to show your personality. Russian girls like when you show them your soul, it means that she is special to you. Just be yourself and let her fall in love with you.


I was reminded this past week of the connection between good posture and tone production on the cello.
I worked with several of my students this past week on balanced posture while playing. I had the students establish proper posture away from the cello with a balanced upper body and head with the feet planted on the ground. I then had them bring the cello to their bodies without disrupting the posture they just established - this can be tricky for those of us who are tall as the C peg can easily get in the way and cause us to push our necks forward. Once the students established proper posture the difference in tone production was pronounced. Not only was the sound bigger but it had a more "open" and less forced quality. And to top it all off, it was achieved with less effort.
You see, our power ultimately comes from our upper backs. When we slouch we put our back muscles in a position where they cannot work as effectively or efficiently. We must respect the natural curve of the spine and achieve a balanced position while playing. A body in balance works more efficiently because muscles can focus on the task of playing the cello instead of holding up a body that is out of balance.
So if you want to hear an immediate improvement in your tone and expend less energy, first look at your posture.


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Tina Whittle Books In Order
Publication Order of Tai Randolph & Trey Seaver Mystery Books
The Dangerous Edge of Things (2011) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Darker Than Any Shadow (2012) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Blood, Ash, and Bone (2013) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Deeper Than the Grave (2014) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Reckoning and Ruin (2016) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
The Seventh Rule of Swimming (2016) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Not Even Past (2016) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Small Favors (2016) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Trouble Like a Freight Train Coming (2017) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Necessary Ends (2018) Hardcover Paperback Kindle
Tina Whittle is an American author best known for writing a series of mysteries, the most popular of which is the Tai Randolph mystery series of novels. Her short stories have been featured in Mystery Magazine by Alfred Hitchcock, and in The Savannah Literary Journal. The short story "Lost Causes and Other Reasons to Live" was also featured on "Gulf Stream" and was the winner of the 2004 Mystery Fiction contest. She is a two time Georgia Author of the Year Award nominee and is a member of the Sisters in Crime Atlanta Chapter, Low Country Sisters in Crime in Savannah and several national mystery chapters. When she is not writing she can be found reading tarot cards, eating sushi and spending time with her family of husband and daughter, two bossy chickens, and a neurotic Maltese.
Growing up, Whittle had always had a fascination with issues of identity, including how people create a sense of self, and if the processes are subconscious or accidental. For Whittle, the self is a very fluid and changeable thing even as cognitive scientists have often argued that it is nothing more than an illusion. Through her writing and particularly through her lead character Trey Seaver and Tai Randolph, she explores issues of identity in her Tai Randolph novel series. The lead character is the victim of a traumatic brain injury, after he was involved in a car accident and hence has to deal with many cognitive challenges because of his injuries. Having read and researched a lot on cognitive psychology and neuroscience, the author writes about a character struggling with identity issues, making him a very complex character. Unlike her lead character, Tai who is an energetic, bold, and brash character who is never afraid to speak her mind in whatever situation she may find herself in, Whittle is the complete opposite. She is methodical and slow and will never engage in anything that may be considered rash or reckless. Tina would be lost in the streets and would never keep up with the likes of Tai, even though just like her lead she is a southern daughter. Nonetheless, she has in common with the character a love for historical narratives, ghost tales, folklore, and a suspicion of any activity that may call for the purchase of new clothes.
When we are first introduced to Tai Randolph, she is thirty year old dealing with a quagmire of issues. She has just celebrated her thirtieth birthday and is fighting a battle to keep true to her ideals, which she has been steadily losing. For the first time in her life, she finds herself in what would be deemed a serious romantic relationship. She is determined and headstrong woman trying to leave the past in the past but finding that her family is her biggest obstacle to improvement. In her new life, she is the owner and operator of themed gun shop focusing on the confederate era. Tai's best friend and partner is Trey Seaver an Atlanta, Georgia based cooperate security expert. She is glad to have gotten away from her hometown in Savannah, and hopes to build a new life in Atlanta. Trey is a very intriguing character that is an ex sniper, SWAT team member that is some kind of hero. At heart though, he remains a math geek, who a few years ago had undergone a traumatic brain injury that had left him with the propensity for predictable and routine arithmetic. He is the perfect foil for the lead Tai who can be reckless, messy, headstrong, and unpredictable. As opposed to his partner, Trey strives for discipline and lives for training, as he needs order if he is to function at full capacity and keep his weird appetites at bay. For Trevor, it is important to keep his private and professional lives in balance and Tai respects his decisions even as she is more spontaneous. They have an excellent relationship that makes for spicy little romance subplots enjoyable even for non-romance fans.
"The Dangerous Edge of Things" is an excellent novel in the Tail Randolph series of novels by Tina Whittle. Tai has inherited confederate themed gun shop, which has turned to be a very big headache, until she stumbles on a dead body on her brother's lawn. To complicate things even further, she is now not so sure that her brother is innocent in the entire thing. The man has disappeared and last been heard of in Bahamas, leaving her to deal with all the suspicion from the Atlanta PD. All of a sudden, she is forced into amateur sleuthing to try to clear her name and that of her brother. To make things even worse is the arrival of Trey Seaver, a corporate field investigations agent brought in to investigate the case. Seaver is a focused and brave man that will not fall to deception, threats, or bribes. He lives a life of routine and certainty and the only thing he wants to do is to resolve the murder case as outlined in his brief from the PD. But this is one case that will not be so easy to crack as he finds himself in the midst of a bucketful of suspects, vengeful sisters, violent stalkers, and paparazzi with a taste for illicit drugs. Still, it is when there is another murder and threat to his life that he relents, and accepts the help of the mysterious Tai.
"Darker Than Any Shadow", the second title in the series takes the intrigue to a higher level as Tai gets used to running her confederate themed gun shop. Her hands are full with helping her friend Rico prepare for a poetry completion, and at the same time deal with a new relationship with Trey Seaver. Dating the math geek while fascinating in itself can be quite challenging, as Seaver is something of a walking lie detector with the lethal skills to take out a man with his bare hands. Just when she thinks she may have a hang on things, one of Rico's newest friends is killed in cold blood and Rico is the lead suspect. Tai is back to type to try to get her out with her little snooping and lying here and there that gets both Rico and Trey worried. It would seem that every poet in town has something to hide and would do anything to keep it hidden. But the biggest mystery is that someone has been feeding her clandestine clues, that may point to a person that may be downright deadly or positively heroic.
Book Series In Order » Authors » Tina Whittle


7 day, 6 night Columbia & Snake Rivers journey between Portland, Oregon and Lewiston, Idaho aboard sister-ships National Geographic Sea Bird/Sea Lion. Retrace some of the route Lewis & Clark followed, hike, kayak and enjoy Zodiac cruises through the Columbia River Gorge and embark on a culinary journey that embraces the region's vibrant food, wine and craft beer.
9 day Rivers of Adventure cruise sailing Portland to Lewiston aboard S.S. Legacy. With a new focus on adventure, river exploration includes a jet boat ride into Hells Canyon, Deschutes River whitewater rafting, hiking, biking, yoga, paddle boarding, kayaking, skiff tours, swimming and a winery tour.
8 day Rivers of Wine Columbia River voyage sailing roundtrip Portalnd, OR aboard the S.S. Legacy. Five AVAs, bunches of wineries, champagne, wine, and an onboard sommelier. Plus, hand-crafted meals, exclusive tours, spectacular vistas, and a week of river cruising—an oenophile's dream.
8 day Columbia & Snake Rivers cruise itinerary sailing year-round between Portland, OR and Clarkston, WA aboard American Pride or the paddlewheeler Queen of the West. Follow the famed Lewis & Clark expedition, experiencing deep river canyons, lush forested slopes and sparkling waterfalls to majestic snow capped volcanic mountains and the remote high desert country.
11-day Northwest Pioneers Cruise sailing between Astoria, OR and Clarkston, WA aboard the paddlewheeler American Pride. Cruising the Columbia and Snake Rivers offers guests the unique opportunity to retrace the historic journey of intrepid explorers Lewis & Clark, and see the magnificent views of the majestic Pacific Northwest.
5-day Highlights of the Columbia River Cruise sailing roundtrip Portalnd, OR aboard American Pride or the paddlewheeler Queen of the West. This cruise offers the best of the Pacific Northwest and, for the first time, the convenience of a round-trip from Portland.
5-day roundtrip Vancouver WA Columbia River cruise aboard the American Empress. This voyage through the Pacific Northwest shows you the bounty and beauty of nature, as well as the history and heritage of the people who inhabited this diverse region.
9 day Portland to Clarkston Columbia River cruise sailing between Portland OR and Clarkston WA aboard American Empress. Experience the same sense of excitement and wonder as your journey begins in Portland near the Pacific Ocean, the objective of Lewis and Clark's expeditionary party, the Corps of Discovery. You will visit many historic, scenic and enjoyable sites along your Columbia and Snake River voyage to Clarkston.


We are rolling out a new look for UrbanCondoSpaces!
Kudos to our great friends at Kotis Design. We are excited about our new look and remain committed to being the best resource for the Seattle condo market.


Vancouver Police are appealing to the driver who fled after hitting two pedestrians early Monday morning to come forward.
Shortly after midnight, the two pedestrians were crossing Fraser Street near East 20th Avenue when they were struck by a northbound vehicle on Fraser Street. The driver did not stay at the scene.
A 25-year-old woman from Surrey, and a 35-year-old man from Vancouver, were rushed to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The woman has since been released from hospital while the man remains in serious condition.
Evidence collected at the scene suggests that the outstanding vehicle is a grey or silver, 2014 or 2015 Kia Optima Hybrid Electric car. It will most likely have front-end damage, including a possible cracked headlight lens on the passenger side.
Anyone, including body shop employees, who may have information about this collision, or who knows the location of the vehicle, is asked to contact police at 604-717-3012 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.


4.	Send a note regardless of how the interview went: if you get turned down, it is still a good idea to send a letter thanking them for your time. This will end your interaction with the company on a positive note, and they may remember you down the line for it.


We are a Loughborough based performance collective, focussed on making art which defies artistic catergorisation, experimenting with form and content and drawing on our lifetime practice as Arts Educators.
and anarchistic, deeply rooted in a philosophical ideology based on the writings of Derrida and his hauntological musings on our deepening obsession with the past, such as 'vintage' and 'nostalgia'.
Our work has an innately humourous, satirical edge, honed from a lifetime's consumption of Britishness and fish and chips. Past exploits have dabbled with bunting, bingo, the village fete, the garden shed and the Queenie Tea.


El-Com Systems provides local and offshore manufacturing services to meet the diverse needs of customers in a wide range of industries, including medical contract manufacturing and more. We are a one-stop shop for first-class manufacturing solutions, delivering the highest quality products at competitive prices, with on-time deliveries and a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
We have the resources to manage your entire manufacturing cycle, from initial design to development of prototypes for electrical cables, parts and first articles to full-scale production and testing in our offshore manufacturing facilities. We offer both domestic and offshore manufacturing to provide versatile and cost-effective manufacturing solutions, but all projects begin and end exclusively at our facility in Orange County, California.
El-Com Systems is a U.S. owned and operated company with over 50 years' manufacturing experience as a certified supplier to numerous Fortune 500 companies in demanding industries. We are a true full-service production partner who can handle your entire project from start to finish. Our performance, quality, certifications, and standards speak for themselves.
Request a quote for top-quality products and services for your custom application, or contact El-Com Systems to learn more about our unique manufacturing capabilities.


Beyond acquisition, demolition and renovation of blighted properties in the county, the Cuyahoga Land Bank makes strategic transactions that have immediate and far-reaching effects on many special needs and at-risk populations in our community. Since 2015, the Cuyahoga Land Bank has been involved in dozens of collaborations with social service, faith-based and non-profit organizations that offer affordable housing, community stabilization, and skilled training opportunities.
Working collaboratively, the Cuyahoga Land Bank identifies unique property uses that benefit community-based organizations and the citizens they serve. Through property donations to local organizations and churches, affordable housing solutions have been created that address housing needs for veterans, recovery housing, single mothers, those aging out of foster care, and individuals re-entering the community after incarceration.
Community and faith-based organizations with land or property-specific needs related to their mission can call on the Cuyahoga Land Bank. Find out more information about our community collaborations and partnerships here.


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Stark Memorial Funeral Home & Cremation Services
Judy Ann Lydic Davis, Salem, Ohio
Posted: Jan 7, 2022 / 08:35 PM EST
SALEM, Ohio (MyValleyTributes) – Judy Ann Lydic Davis, 68, died Thursday, January 6, 2022, at Altman Hospital in Canton.
She was born June 9, 1953, in Spangler, Pennsylvania, the daughter of the late James Blair and Velma Geraldine Lydic.
Judy was a 1971 graduate of Salem High School and a graduate of Kent State University.
Salem High School Alumni Tributes
She was a former committee member of Boy Scout Troop 2 and leader of Girl Scout Troop 409.
Judy was a life-long crafter and passionate in genealogy. Judy had her first grandchild seven months ago and was over the moon. She loved being a mother and grandmother.
Survivors include a son, Scott Keating Davis of Akron; daughter, Rebecca (James) Spencer of Akron; grandchild, Velma Jane Spencer; brother, Edwin Bruce (Chris) Lydic of Salem; sister, Amy Sue (David) Shoaff of Leetonia and numerous nieces and nephews.
Besides her parents; her husband, Richard Allen Davis and brother, James Howard Lydic, also preceded her in death.
Friends and family will be received from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Friday, January 14, 2022, at Stark Memorial. The family is asking that masks be worn and to follow social distancing.
A funeral service will be at 1:00 p.m., Friday, at the funeral home, with Pastor Frank Zugaro, officiating.
Burial will be held at Highland Memorial Park in Beloit.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Weathervane Playhouse, 1301 Weathervane Lane, Akron, OH 44313.
If unable to attend, you may show your support by joining our complimentary "Hugs from Home" program, where your message will be attached to a balloon in the chapel to remind the family of your love and support at starkmemorial.com/hugs-from-home.
To view send condolences, visit starkmemorial.com.


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Tour de France on TV
A site about sitting around on your arse watching cycling
Dan McLay looks like he can sprint
April 15, 2016 · by Alex · in Classics and day races
Let's first deal with the inevitable 'who?'
Dan McLay is a young British rider. Born in New Zealand and brought up in Leicester, he's been plugging away in Belgium for the last few years, trying to get a pro contract. Bretagne-Séché Environnement gave him one (a pro contract) and he's just won Grand Prix de Denain.
Now let's deal with the inevitable 'what?'
Grand Prix de Denain is, if I'm honest, not a particularly big race. That said, it has had some pretty big winners: Nacer Bouhanni last year and the year before, Milan-San Remo winner Arnaud Démare the year before that.
But more than anything it was the style of McLay's win that took the eye. You won't spot him the first time you watch this video of the finish, because he doesn't actually start in shot.
Keep an eye on McLay… #GPDenain pic.twitter.com/68s0q5ITxE
— CyclingHub.tv (@CyclingHubTV) April 14, 2016
Watch it again. I think you'll agree that Dan McLay was faster than everyone else in that sprint. Intriguing stuff.
The Tour of the Basque Country clashes with Paris-Roubaix, so I never actually gave you the result. It's a WorldTour (no space) race though, so it counts.
Alberto Contador won. He was there or thereabouts throughout the race and then won the final hilly time trial. Nairo Quintana came second in the time trial and finished third overall. Sergio Henao came third in the time trial and came second overall.
The Vuelta a Castilla y Leon is not a WorldTour race – not even nearly – but we're quickly going to mention it too because stage one was won by website pet Carlos Betancur. It's the first race he's won since bloody ages ago (can't be arsed checking – 2014, I think).
The Ardennes Classics – otherwise known as the racing segue from one-day racing to Grand Tours.
They're day races, same as the cobbled classics, but hillier and on asphalt. You tend to get specialists mixing it with a handful Grand Tour names. The Ardennes Classics comprise Amstel Gold on Sunday, La Fleche Wallonne on Wednesday and then Liege-Bastogne-Liege the Sunday after.
After that it's the Tour of Romandie, which is proper 'let's try and work out what's going to happen in this year's Tour de France?' territory.
Similar rides from the past:
Simon Gerrans wins a wearied sprint to take the lead in the Tour Down Under
Why I want Victoria Pendleton to win the Olympic women's sprint
Nacer Bouhanni manages to sprint
Tags: Alberto Contador, Carlos Betancur, Dan McLay
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Classics and day races
Stage races
Primoz Roglic says nothing but does everything – a recap of stages 11-12 of the 2019 Vuelta a Espana
Primoz Roglic takes a turn to be favourite – a recap of stages 1-10 of the 2019 Vuelta a Espana
Who's going to win the 2019 Vuelta a Espana?
Vuelta a Espana highlights will be on ITV4
Egan Bernal might never win the Tour de France again – a recap of stages 16-21 of the 2019 Tour de France
Thibaut Pinot is climbing – recap of stages 11-15 of the 2019 Tour de France
Tour de France stuff
Alberto Contador Alejandro Valverde Alexander Kristoff Andre Greipel Bradley Wiggins Cadel Evans Carlos Betancur Chris Froome Chris Horner Climbers Diego Ulissi Domenico Pozzovivo Doping Fabian Cancellara Fabio Aru Geraint Thomas Green Greg Van Avermaet Joaquim Rodriguez John Degenkolb Julian Alaphilippe Lizzie Armitstead Marcel Kittel Mark Cavendish Michael Matthews Michal Kwiatkowski Nairo Quintana Peter Sagan Philippe Gilbert Primoz Roglic Richie Porte Rigoberto Uran Rui Costa Simon Gerrans Simon Yates Sprinters Steve Cummings The Schlecks Thibaut Pinot Tom Boonen Tom Dumoulin Tony Martin Tour of Britain Vincenzo Nibali Yellow
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Copyright © 2020 Tour de France on TV


Samuel Adams Nitro Coffee Stout - AoM: Beer et al.
The beer has a strong coffee smell with a creamy taste.
The initial taste was better than the final sips which were more bitter. The final sips also tasted less like coffee and the mouthfeel was more watery.


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No-GoPro on Earnings; Could a Pfizer/Allergan Merger Become the Next Big Thing?; Wal-Mart Offers NO Free Shipping (limitations apply)
Worst. Day. Ever….
Image courtesy of jesadaphorn/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
GoPro released its earnings yesterday only to tell us that it did not nail them. This came as a surprise to…no one. Wall Street echoed its disappointment by sending shares down. Very down. So down, in fact, that the stock is hovering too close to its IPO price of $24 from back in 2014. GoPro miraculously managed to score $400 million in revenue, adding 25 cents per share. Too bad predictions called for almost $434 million and 29 cents per share. Meanwhile, the stock is down 67% for the year and the company is looking to buy back company shares, hoping to increase their value. While GoPro saw second quarter sales kick up by 72%, third quarter sales only increased by 43%. And the picture only gets grimmer as the company actually thinks sales will shrink during the ever-fiscally critical holiday season. Part of GoPro's problem is that it can't seem to figure out how to transform itself from a product for a niche market to a product that spews mass appeal. Then we turn to GoPro's Hero4Session. Besides the fact that the company initially charged too much for the product, GoPro also insists that the marketing budget for the already too-high priced product wasn't large enough. Analysts aren't too optimistic that they are gong to see much, if any, growth in GoPro's camera unit in 2017. However, they are forecasting $500 million worth of revenue for GoPro's other products. Go figure.
Image courtesy of Pansa/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Today's latest tax inversion plans are brought to us by Pfizer and Allergan Plc who are in "friendly talks" to create the world's largest drug maker. While no actual agreement has been reached, the deal would have Pfizer heading towards Ireland where corporate tax laws are far more favorable there than they are here. Can't you just smell the politics that are about to invade this deal? Tax inversions happen when huge companies set up shop overseas in countries where they don't get as brutally taxed as they do here. For instance, while Pfizer has the pleasure of shelling out a 25% tax rate to Uncle Sam, Ireland-based Allergan only has to deal with a 15% tax rate. The prohibitive tax rate can put many U.S. companies at an unfair advantage, they argue. Democrats think these companies should just suck it up and stay put. They also think drug companies should simply slash their high prices. However, these drug companies say they can't do that with such high tax rates imposed. Republicans want those tax laws changed to make them more favorable for these big companies so that they'll stay put because they want to. Not because they are being forced to. If any deal goes through, it will likely be the biggest deal. Ever. Estimates for Pfizer to buy Allergan range from about $113 billion to $157 billion. But isn't it worth every cent if it means adding everybody's favorite aesthetic filler into your drug fold?
No such thing as 'free shipping?'
Image courtesy of SundayMorning/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
If you can't beat 'em…well do something they can't do. And that's exactly why Wal-Mart is scrapping free shipping this holiday season on items that are less than $50. The idea is to instead offer free shipping – for in-store pick up. After all, there are approximately 4,600 Wal-Mart stores from which to choose. Besides, Wal-Mart's hoping that while you're picking up an ordered item, you'll impulsively pick up some other items. And companies love impulse shoppers. To entice you to use this method, Wal-Mart is even allowing you to check-in at the store with your smart phone for expedited service. Wal-Mart's hoping that this new shipping policy will help its profit margins, which have taken a bit of a hit, in part, because of shipping costs. And with 210 million consumers expected to use Wal-Mart's mobile app, the giant retailer is banking that in-store pick-up will reverse those hits.
Posted in Amazon, Pfizer, Wal-Mart | Tagged Democrats, GoPro, Hero4Session, Pfizer, Republicans, tax inversions, Wal-Mart | Leave a comment
Icahn: A Man of Letters; IBM Looks to Weather Some Storms; Twitter Has Yet to Impress
Icahn. Therefore I am…
Carl Icahn took time out of his busy schedule of haranguing Congress and ousting CEO's to write yet another letter, this time on his website, to insurance company AIG. Icahn now owns a sizable chink of the company, though exactly how much remains a mystery. He only tells us that it is very "large." I, for one, believe him, just cause it'd be kind of weird to make something like that up. Besides, he usually goes big. In his advice letter to AIG, the activist investor writes, "There is no more need for procrastination." He wants AIG split up into three separate divisions because he's not digging the company's "Systemically Important Financial Institution" status, or SIFI if you're feeling funky. If you find that term a bit too clunky, then, by all means, refer to it by its other more user-friendly term, "Too Big To Fail," as in the 2008 fiscal crisis and the HBO movie of the same name (that starred Bill Pullman as JP Morgan Chase's Jamie Dimon and Ed Asner as Warren Buffet). Icahn believes that when a company gets SIFI status it's bad. It's like a tax. A tax of a bunch of regulators breathing down your fiscal back with heavy breaths of federal oversight. Companies that don't get saddled with that status are more valuable to shareholders, in Mr. Icahn's not-so-humble opinion. Icahn wants to divide AIG into a property and casualty coverage division, a life insurance division, and a mortgage backing division. Then he wants to throw in some cuts and have AIG buy back some stock. After that, he feels AIG will start trading closer to its book value at about $100 a share. Right now the stock is trading at just under $64 and trades for less than 80% of its book value (which, by the way measures assets minus liabilities). As for AIG CEO Peter Hancock, well, Icahn will probably find a way to kick him out of AIG if he doesn't take his advice.
Today's big shopper is IBM, who is getting set to acquire The Weather Co.'s digital assets. In case you were wondering (because I know you were), those digital assets are its websites and apps. The channel, however, stays put, as it doesn't really fit into IBM's master plan. That master plan involves IBM beefing up its Watson Internet of Things Unit, its artificial intelligence unit that puts the super in supercomputer. The data supplied by the deal will give Watson the ability to create accurate forecasts – is that an oxymoron? – and will be able to provide commercial clients, from airlines to insurance companies, and beyond, very precise information. While the exact terms of the purchase have yet to be disclosed, the deal is rumored to be valued at around $2 billion. Naturally, shares of IBM took a little ride on the uptown train because of the super news.
These are the not quite the Moments…
Twitter is down 13% for the year and another 11% just today, and yet the micro-blogging site still beat the street. The social media company pulled down $569 million in revenue adding ten cents per share. Analysts predicted that Twitter would score closer to $560 million and add only a nickel per share. In terms of last year at this time, Twitter was up 58%. But here's where things start to go south. The company revised its fourth quarter profit outlook between $695 million and $710 million. That seems like a whole lot of cash except that analysts were expecting numbers closer to $740 million. Then we turn to growth. There wasn't that much of it. Twitter only managed to add about 4 million new active monthly users. A very unimpressive 11% increase over the same time last year. Analysts, however, are still optimistic that launches, including the much-hyped Moments, and its increasing ad revenues will help turn the company's fiscal tide.
Posted in activist investor, insurance, social media | Tagged ad revenue, AIG, Carl Icahn, IBM, Peter Hancock, The Weather Co., Twitter, Watson | Leave a comment
No Slowing Down Alibaba; REI VS. Black Friday; Rumor Has it Walgreens is Going Shopping
Slowdown? What slowdown?
There might be an economic slowdown in China, but judging by Alibaba's recent earnings, you'd never know it. China's largest e-commerce site easily topped Wall Street predictions, adding 57 cents per share on $3.5 billion in revenue. Forecasts were for 54 cents on $3.35 billion. The company saw a 32% increase with a lot of help from major growth in mobile revenue. Mobile revenue alone pulled in a staggering $1.66 billion, triple last year's figures, and accounting for more than 60% of the company's retail sales. And its monthly mobile active users only continue to grow, up 57% over the same last year, an easy feat for Alibaba, yet something hundreds of other companies wished they could do. Yahoo also came out a winner today, as well, since it owns a 15% stake in Alibaba. The company also plunked down about a $1 billion for some cloud computing investments which could see some big returns. Now Alibaba is gearing up for Singles Day, as in November 11, as in 11/11, one of the countries biggest shopping days. Last year, the company hit a record $59 billion in sales on that day and chances are it might just break that record again this year. Now about that downturn..
Take it outside…
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Don't bother getting on line at 5 am on Black Friday outside of any one of REI's 143 locations. Don't bother looking for any Black Friday coupons, discounts or promotions from REI either. REI president and CEO, Jerry Stritzke, announced today that its stores will be CLOSED on what is considered one of the most important shopping days of the year. Stritzke is giving his 12,000 employees a paid day off "so they can do what they love most—be outside." The company, which brings in annual sales of $2.2 billion, is hoping that consumers will follow suit instead of spending the day spending money. The company has set up a special website, optoutside.rei.com, that among other things, recommends hiking trails, that will presumably remind you of all the gear you need to go and buy at REI once the stores re-open. That's no joke. As far as PR goes, this is one tactic that is sure to help the company rake in more sales this holiday season than in year's past. Considering that in 2014, sales from Black Friday weekend actually declined 11%, staying closed on Black Friday, doesn't seem so insane after all, even though the day has always ranked as one of REI's ten best sales days, And if you're jonesing to spend some money online at REI on Black Friday, don't hold your breath as your order won't even get processed until Saturday.
Keeps growing and growing…
Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
The Wall Street rumor mill is all abuzz with talk that Walgreens Boots Alliance is about to scoop up smaller competitor Rite Aid for upwards of $10 billion. That might be a very generous offer considering that even after shares of Rite Aid jumped 36% to $8.27, the company's valuation was still only around $8.7 billion. But again, this is all just rumor. For now. Until today, shares of Rite Aid were down 29% since it announced last month that it was lowering its profit and revenue forecast. The move will up Walgreen's game in the $ 263 billion drug distribution industry where it currently holds 31% of the market share to CVS's 58%. Rite Aid's share is but a paltry 10%. Profits from this industry are a very lucrative $10.3 billion. So who can blame Walgreens for wanting to stake out a bigger share. Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Stefano Pessina recognizes the United States' government's ever-growing role in the pharmaceutical industry all because of the Affordable Care act aka ObamaCare, and he thinks consolidating U.S. pharmacies could yield some massive returns. Of course, Walgreens and CVS still have to contend with competition from online, mail-order and wholesale pharmacies, but for now, they'll satisfy themselves with bigger fry. Incidentally, Walgreens is supposed to report its fourth quarter results tomorrow.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged #optoutside, Alibaba, Black Friday, CVS, Jerry Stritzke, mobile revenue, November 11, REI, Rite Aid, Singles Day, Stefano Pessina, Walgreens Walgreens Boots Alliance, Yahoo | 1 Comment
Manny, Moe & Jack. And Bridgestone; Slumpy Times for New Home Sales; Xerox'd Out?
Feeling tire-d…
Image courtesy of Rawich/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Tokyo-based Bridgestone Corp., purveyor of tires and other automobile services, is about to infiltrate the Manny, Moe and Jack trifecta by scooping up the Philadelphia-based auto parts and repair company for about $835 million. Bridgestone is looking to stake out some bigger territory in the auto-service industry and adding Pep Boys to its team will add an additional 800 locations to Bridgestone's other 2,200 stores. Yeah, it's that big. Incidentally, Nashville-based Bridgestone America accounts for almost half of the company's total global sales. I guess Americans love their Bridgestone. In the meantime, while Pep Boys did manage to score a $4.8 million profit, Wall Street was most definitely not impressed, as it didn't hit expectations nor has the company been as successful as rivals AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts Inc. Pep Boys had been on the lookout for a way to beef up shareholder value and, lo and behold, Bridgestone's offer of $15 in cash per share, a 23.5% premium over Pep Boys closing price on Friday, proved to be a winner (after previous attempts, mind you). Shares of Pep Boys got a little jump from the news, which usually means investors dig the sale too. The sale is expected to close by the beginning of 2016.
Housed…
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What do you get when you combine rising real estate costs and a U.S. economic slowdown? A new home sales slump. That's no joke as new home sales for September plummeted 11.5% to 468,000 homes, its slowest pace in 10 months, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Analysts predicted that 555,000 new homes would sell. Ouch. But analysts are also telling us to stay calm, soldier forth and don't bother reading too much into this month's very disconcerting figures. Are we also not supposed to read too much into the fact that new home sales all but tanked – precipitously – in the northeast? I personally am finding it a bit of a challenge not to read too much into that 61.8% drop. But then again, I'm no analyst. In any case, new home sales account for a paltry 7.8% of the housing market while existing home sales account for 90% of the residential real setae market. And oddly enough, sales of existing homes actually rose 4.7% to their highest pace in eight years. By the way, sales positively soared in the first nine months of the of the year by 17.6%, not to mention that the median price of a home rose 13.5% from last year's $261,000 to this year's $296,900. We should also thank the mortgage gods whose low-ish rates have kept those sales figures from being that much more frightening. So perhaps it is alright to breathe a tiny sigh of relief. A teeny tiny one.
Don't copy that…
Remember Xerox? Well, neither does Wall Street, it seems, as the 109 year old company (who knew?) took a $34 million loss at 4 cents a share and reported its first net loss since 2010's first quarter. To be fair, Xerox still beat expectations. Barely. The company has lost a quarter of its value and had to cut close to 1,800 jobs so far this year. However, the company still says that it is not considering a sale. Yet. As companies have been slashing their printing costs, not to mention the rise of mobile devices doing their share to save the trees, Xerox is finding itself in a fiscal pickle and forcing itself to make some major changes to prove its relevance. And what better way to do that than to focus on making software and offering amped up services? That's what I'm talking about. But in the meantime Xerox is "undertaking a comprehensive review of structural options for the company's portfolio." Which basically means they're trying to figure out how to start making money instead of bleeding it.
Posted in Xerox | Tagged Bridgestone, existing home sales, Manny, mortgage rates, new home sales, Pep Boys, U.S. Commerce Department, Xerox | Leave a comment
Golden Earnings for the Golden Arches; European Bitcoin Victory; Say It Ain't So: Lego Brick Shortage
You deserve a break today…
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Looks like McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook's job looks pretty secure for the foreseeable future now that McDonald's posted some awesome third quarter earnings. The numbers were so good that shares of the company jumped 8% and took the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 250 points as well. Sales in the U.S. brought a nice little surprise of a 1% increase. And even though wage raises and benefit improvements did take a big chunk out of the Golden Arches operating costs, the company still earned $1.31 billion and $1.40 per share. That was a 23% jump over last year's $1.07 billion with $1.09 added to shares, and marked the first time in two years that McDonald's saw improved sales.The much-hyped turnaround plan is actually working with thanks in part to McDonald's All-Day Breakfast and the introduction of the Premium Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Deluxe Sandwich. Try saying that one five times fast. Or even three. Some franchises, however, are't digging this all-day breakfast because, besides adding many more menu items, those breakfast items tend to be cheaper and negatively affect sales at some stores. Revenue fell to $6.62 billion, but it was only a 5% drop from last year's $6.99 billion. And considering that Wall Street expected McDonald's to pull in only $6.41 billion and $1.27 per share, nobody's too upset over that 5% dip.
VAT do you want already?
Score one for Bitcoin as the virtual currency is considered tax-free. Well, in Europe, anyways. Just like plain old, regular, not-so-virtual cash. Europe's highest court ruled that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are on par with real money and European citizens can scoop up as much of the virtual stuff as they want without having to pay VAT – a tax that presumably taxes the nerves of anyone who has to pay it. This piece of Bitcoin drama began with Swedish Bitcoin operator David Hedqvist who felt that the currency should not be taxed. However, the Swedish tax authority, Skatteverket, disagreed vehemently and brought the issue to EU's highest court. And while David Hedqvist is no doubt celebrating this recent victory, there is still one aspect about Bitcoin that has yet to be determined: is it legal tender? To be continued…
Everything is not Awesome…
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Scary news from the world's largest toymaker, Lego. It seems the Danish plastic brick manufacturer might not have enough brick's to go around. But rest assured, that here in the States, our plastic brick supply is safe. For now. With The Lego Movie, Star Wars and The Avengers all part of the Lego family, the company can't seem to make enough toys to keep up with the demand. In just the first half of the year, sales for the toys were up a whopping 18%. To help alleviate some of the shortage, Lego will be expanding three factories in Mexico, Hungary and, of course, Lego's hometown in Denmark. The company even has plans to expand in China. But everything may still not be awesome in certain parts of Europe, as they are likely to be affected by this very tragic plastic brick shortage.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged all-day breakfast, Bitcoin, Danish, David Hedqvist, EU, Europe, Lego, McDonalds, Skatteverket, Steve Easterbrook | Leave a comment
Activist Investor Sets His Fiscal Sights on Congress; Ferrari Races to IPO; UPSet
Icahn do it…
Many U.S. companies are taking a breather for the moment since billionaire activist investor, Carl Icahn, has shifted his attentions away from struggling businesses and instead to Washington D.C. And just like he ousts under-performing CEO's, he now plans to give the boot to under-performing congressman. Icahn tweeted earlier today, "I am starting a Super PAC with my initial commitment of $150 million to help end the crippling dysfunction in Congress." I'm just wondering why his millions are going to be more effective than the millions of taxpayer dollars Americans have been throwing at congress until now. But I digress. Icahn, by the way, happens to be a dear pal of Presidential candidate Donald Trump. "Basically he's by far the best of what I see out there," and "The Donald" would like to install Carl Icahn as his treasury secretary. Laugh all you want, but with Trump pulling in some great numbers, you might end up crying come November 2016. This Super PAC has more than a bit to do with the letter Icahn sent out to Congress this week demanding that it pass corporate tax reform legislation that would dissuade U.S. companies from leaving to other countries with more favorable tax laws at what Icahn calls "the worst time imaginable." He also wants Congress to offer companies like Apple a "tax holiday" that would allow it to bring back its trillions of dollars at much much lower rate. That cash can then be used to invest and create jobs. Sounds fair. Boom.
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Ferrari, one of the world's most valuable and utterly fabulous brands, made its U.S. stock market debut today in true Ferrari-style. Several of the high-performance, extremely pricey automobiles were parked by Wall Street, as the company stock opened at $52, the high-end of its range. And from there, the stock even cruised a bit higher. $893 million was raised and 17.18 million shares were dished out under the ticker symbol RACE. Catchy, huh? And just like it's hard to come-by cars, there was more demand than there were shares. The IPO is a way for Fiat Chrysler to finance a $54 billion investment program that will help expand the Jeep, Alpha Romeo and Maserati brands. As for the Ferrari family, the founder's son, Piero Ferrari, has a 10% stake and has now earned his billionaire badge with this IPO. The Agnelli family, however, remains the biggest shareholder with more than a 30% stake in the company. In the meantime, Fiat Chrysler CEO, Sergio Marchionne, took time out of his busy morning from ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to let the world know that he thought the EU's charges that his company evaded $23 million in taxes "absolutely ludicrous." He should really start hanging out with Carl Icahn.
Brown paper packages tied up with false claims…
UPS is not having a very good day after having to fork over $4.2 million to settle charges that it over-charged 17 states and three local entities. It seems the company falsely recorded packages reaching their destination on time when, in fact, they didn't. Customers paid to have packages delivered via next day service, however, those packages did not arrive by the promised time. These incidents ran from 2004-2014. UPS employees used "exception codes" and filed false claims that would excuse late arrivals for reasons like inclement weather and other difficult circumstances. By using these codes, customers could not even file a claim to get a refund. And while whistleblower Robert Fulk can look forward to a piece of that $4 million pie, UPS has no plans to acknowledge any wrongdoing, even though the company already had to pay $25 million for a different settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice back in May for similar allegations. The company says it ponied up the settlement cash in order to avoid a costly litigation trial. Uh huh.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Agnellie, Alpha Romeo, Carl Icahn, Donald Trump, Ferrari, Fiat Chrysler, Jeep, Maserati, Robert Fulk, Sergio Marchionne, UPS | Leave a comment
Harley's Rough Ride on Wall Street; Madoff Victims Pay Day; Amazon Wants You. Really.
Rough riding…
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Harley-Davidson is no match for Wall Street as the all-American bike gets whipped by yet another rough quarter. With sales down 2.5% in the U.S. and another 1% worldwide, Harley-Davidson brass have made a brutal decision to cut a bunch of jobs and ship out 11,000 less bikes next year. Instead, the company will dish out $70 million to increase its 2016 marketing budget. The company is hoping (and presumably praying) that it can increase product and brand awareness. And get people to buy more bike, of course. But how is it even possible that a brand as iconic as Harley would need to do such a thing? While there's no disputing that there's nothing like a Harley, the company is facing increased competition from European and Asian bike makers, like Ducati, Royal Enfield and Triumph. Those companies are putting out some fierce machines, and in some cases, for a lot less money than a "hog." The proof is that in the first nine months of the year, the number of registered bikes has surged 6.6%. Net income for Harley-Davidson came in at $140.3 million, a 6.5% decrease over last year's $150 million. Harley added 69 cent per share when analysts predicted 78 cents instead. In fact, shares fell the most that they have in six years. But that isn't stopping Harley-Davidson from plans to open up 200 more dealerships abroad.
It's been seven years since Bernie Madoff's evil Ponzi scheme unraveled. But today, more than 1,200 of his victims (there were way more than that) can sort of rejoice and look forward to recouping at least some of their lost funds. Irving Picard, the trustee who has been hard at working recouping money on behalf of the victims of the largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history, has managed to release $1.5 billion from legal reserves. Victims who invested up to $1,161,000 can expect to get back about $1 million. Those who unfortunately invested more can expect to recoup 61 cents on the dollar. Much of this money is coming from the widow of Madoff's deceased alleged co-conspirator Jeffery Picower. She agreed to turn over $7.2 billion of her late husband's ill-gotten stash. Of course, some of that cash, approximately $1 billion, will also go towards covering all those enormous legal fees of the law firm handling this case. U.S officials have so far recovered about $11 billion from the $17 billion that was lost. As for Bernie Madoff, he's hitting year 7 of a 150 year prison sentence.
Hire cause…
If you're looking to score some extra cash this holiday season then don't let the New York Times get in your way and dissuade you from applying for a job at Amazon. I bet Amazon is hoping the NYT doesn't dissuade you either since the company is looking to hire 25,000 full-time employees and 100,000 part-time employees for the holiday season. While the company has always hired more people for this time of year, this time the digits are pretty epic in that they've never been this high. It should be duly noted that plenty of people who had been hired specifically for the holiday season were subsequently kept on as permanent employees. The jobs will be primarily in the sorting and fulfillment facilities across the country. But Amazon's not the only game in town as Target, Wal-Mart, Macy's, Kohl's and a slew of other companies are also looking to amp up their workforces this holiday season. Just be sure not to ask Bo Olsen for a reference.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Amazon, Bernie Madoff, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Irving Picard, Jeffrey Picower, Kohl's, Macy's, New York Times, Ponzi scheme, Royal Enfield, Target, Triumph, Wal-Mart | Leave a comment
Fall-Mart; Twitter Fires, Twitter Hires; Feeling Spent
Execu-llent…
Image courtesy of Sira Anamwong/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Even though Twitter announced yesterday that it is shedding 8% of its workforce, today the social media company announced that its adding someone new to that very same workforce. Enter Omid Kordestani who is jumping the Google ship in order to bring his fiscal talents over to embattled Twitter. Omid will assume Jack Dorsey's old title of executive chairman, which he dropped last week when he, once again, assumed the title of CEO. Omid Kordestani comes to Twitter from not-at-all embattled Google Inc. where he not only left the post of Chief Business Officer, but also $115 million in equity awards. That's according to a regulatory finding, anyway. Omid, who was apparently employee number 11 at Google, and affectionately called Google's "business founder" by Larry Page, left the company in 2009, but returned in 2014, only to head on off into the Twitter sunset. Even though Omid Kordestani started his Twitter account back in 2012, his most recent tweet about his new post, was only his eleventh time using the platform. His lack of tweeting is, presumably, about to change.
Not "fine" by me…
Wal-Mart might be the mother-of-all retailers but, as they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall, especially on Wall Street. And unfortunately, a big company like Wal-Mart has a nasty little way of taking the Dow Jones Industrial Average with it. This particular fall was, unfortunately, rather epic. Wal-Mart took a $20 billion hit because it's predicting a very disappointing forecast. The world's largest retailer doesn't expect to experience growth for fiscal 2016 (which ends in February, btw). Investors loathe bad forecasts. Well, who doesn't? This bad forecast gave way to Wal-Mart's biggest stock drop in 15 years and shaved 9% off the value of its shares. Of course, the strong dollar gets part of the blame as it's hurting sales abroad. But then there's the investment the company is putting into its e-commerce. Wal-Mart is looking to plunk down $900 million next year, and over a billion dollars the following year to beef its tech efforts. All that cash is going to gouge those much relished profits. Also eating into those profits are wage increases that the company is giving out to thousands of employees. But what really got Wall Street in a fit was when Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillion told CNBC interviewers that Wal-Mart will do "fine" during the holiday season. And that one word means anything but to investors.
Save it for later, will ya?
Image courtesy of FrameAngel/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Retailers aren't exactly giddy these days as more Americans decided to save up all that money from low gas costs instead of spending it. As a result, retail spending only experienced a .1% gain in September even though analysts predicted gains from .2% to .6%. Since consumer spending accounts for 70% of the economy, that .1% gain is nothing but brutal fiscal news. In fact, seven out of thirteen retail categories experienced declines. Ironically enough, gas stations took a 3.2% hit because…can you guess? Lower prices at the pump. Hence, they couldn't pull in all that cash like they did in the past. What isn't ironic, just annoying and mildly disconcerting, is that this .1% was the biggest drop since January and represented no change from August. So get out there and spend!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged CNBC, consumer spending, Doug McMillon, Dow Jones Industrial Average, Google, Larry Page, Omid Kordestani, retail, Twitter, Wal-Mart, Walmart | 1 Comment
A Beer-y Big Merger is Brewing; Twitter's Big Plans; Johnson & Johnson Needs a Band-Aid for its 3Q
99 million bottles of beer on the wall..
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It looks like we have a winner. Well, a winning bid, anyways, that has SABMiller finally finally saying yes to ABInBev's offer to scoop 'em up. After five tries, ABInBev offered up $106 billion for its fellow mega brewer. Now regulatory approval in the United States, and even China, is all that stands between final completion of the merger. That, and also shareholder approval which still might get in the way of meaningful fiscal relationship. Assuming the merger is approved, it will go down as one of the top five mergers. Ever. The newly formed company will control approximately a third of all the world's beer (Heineken, the next biggest competitor, only controls 9% of the market) and puts Corona and Budweiser in the same corporate family as Miller and Grolsch. The new combo will handle 18 of the top 40 beers in the world. It's a match, some would say, made in beer heaven. The two companies put out 77 billion liters of drinks and 150 billion pints last year. Once they merge, sales are expected to come in at about $55 billion. If, however, the deal does not go through, AbInBev has to hand over a $3 billion break-up fee. to SABMiller. Is that necessarily a bad thing?
Twitter is about to get a lot less chipper. Well, 8% less chipper, to be more precise. Just one week after re-assuming his CEO role, co-founder Jack Dorsey announced that Twitter will be trimming its workforce, eliminating 336 positions out of the 4,100 at the social media company. Those positions will be mostly from the product and engineering areas whose departments were already bloated. No lay-offs are expected of any executives. Apparently, the company is not bloated with them. Dorsey is on a mission to turn Twitter into a kindler gentler platform. Just kidding. He just wants to make the system more accessible because, believe it or not, not everybody finds Twitter that user-friendly. Who would've thunk it? It seems many users have signed up only to unceremoniously part ways with the micro-blogging tool shortly thereafter. In the process, Dorsey's also hoping to make a lot of cash and do away with those bleak stagnant quarters that the company keeps churning out. Wall Street likes Jack Dorsey's ideas so far and sent shares up almost 6%. Too bad the stock is down 30% for the year. Dorsey added, "The world needs a strong Twitter, and this is another step to get there." I couldn't have made that up if I tried.
Band-Aids and Tylenol and hep C, oh my!
Health care giant Johnson & Johnson has had better quarters. Especially much better than this past third quarter where the company saw a 29% drop in earnings and is now down 8% for the year. There is no band-aid big enough for that boo boo. As is the trend, the strong dollar gets part of the blame, or rather 8% of it. But at least the company is showing signs of recovery following a spate of recalls that go back to 2009, as its consumer health business posted some respectable digits. The company even plans to buy back $10 billion in common stock and increased its profit outlook by a nickel hoping to score between $6.15 – $6.20 per share for the year. Johnson & Johnson pulled in net income of $3.36 billion scoring $1.20 per share with over $17 billion in revenue. Unfortunately, analysts were looking for $17.41 billion in revenue and doesn't even compare to last year's net income of $4.75 billion figure that added $1.60 per share. Wall Street made sure to share its disappointment by sending shares down 71 cents a pop. The company also took a 90% beating on its hepatitis C, Olysio, drug since newer drugs to treat that hit the market. And even though sales of Tylenol and Motrin fell worldwide by 7.7%, here in the states, sales on those products increased almost 9%. And for that you are welcome, Johnson & Johnson.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABInBev, Corona, Grolsch, Heineken, Hepatitis C, Jack Dorsey, Miller Budweiser, Motrin, Olysio, SABMiller, Twitter, Tylenol | 1 Comment


text:
Marvel's New 'Avengers: Infinity War' Trailer Has So Much Great New Stuff In It
#avengers
by Douglas Charles March 16, 2018
YouTube - Marvel Entertainment
Marvel just released a brand new Avengers: Infinity War trailer and it is two minutes and 18 seconds of "I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS MOVIE!" There's just so much stuff to unpack in this new trailer it's, as I also assume the movie will be, kind of overwhelming.
You've got Captain America and Black Widow greeting Black Panther and his crew in Wakanda.
You've got Peter Parker rocking his Iron Spider suit.
Hulkbuster!
Thor's got himself a dope new weapon.
Our best look at Thanos yet.
Doctor Strange does his thing, Tony Stark has a dope new Iron Man suit, the Guardians of the Galaxy being the Guardians of the Galaxy (especially Star-Lord), Winter Soldier, Vision, Scarlet Witch, you name it.
Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers unite to battle their most powerful enemy yet — the evil Thanos. On a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the artifacts to inflict his twisted will on reality. The fate of the planet and existence itself has never been more uncertain as everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment.
Oh yeah, presale tickets also happened to go on sale at 9 a.m. ET.
Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters April 27.
The BroBible team writes about gear that we think you want. Occasionally, we write about items that are a part of one of our affiliate partnerships and we will get a percentage of the revenue from sales.
Before settling down at BroBible, Douglas Charles, a graduate of the University of Iowa (Go Hawks), owned and operated a wide assortment of websites. He is also one of the few White Sox fans out there and thinks Michael Jordan is, hands down, the GOAT.
Tags avengersAvengers Infinity WarmarvelMovies