Walmart's entire business model is crumbling Business Insider By Ashley Lutz 12 hours ago

Oigin of Article

Residents shop at Walmart as the store prepares for Black Friday in Los Angeles, California in a November 24, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Jonathan Alcorn... (Thomson Reuters) Residents shop at Walmart as the store prepares for Black Friday in Los Angeles, California. This week, Walmart's shares crashed after the company reported a disappointing profit outlook. Profits will fall 6% to 12% next year, the company said. And the retailer's situation is likely to get worse rather than better, according to many analysts. Until now, Walmart has been able to make huge profits by keeping worker wages low and using its size to negotiate cheaper prices than competitors, Brian Sozzi at The Street writes. But the retail landscape is changing, and Walmart is increasingly irrelevant.

"New guidance reflects that Walmart's competitive edge — historically largely assortment and price — has faded relative to purveyors of extreme value (warehouse clubs, hard discounters) or extreme convenience (dollar stores, hard discounters), as e-commerce has neutralized the impact of selection," Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew Fassler wrote in a note to clients. As competitors like Costco, Aldi, Trader Joe's, and Family Dollar crowd the space, the idea of visiting a Walmart is less compelling to price-conscious consumers. The retailer has been pouring billions of dollars into ecommerce in an attempt to play catch-up to Amazon. This is another measure that is hurting profits, according to Sozzi. But the investments are short-term and will help the company win in the end, a Walmart representive told Business Insider. "We’ll be the first to deliver a seamless shopping experience at scale. And we come at this work with unique strengths," the company said in a statement. "We understand that dip requires patience from our investors, but we want to be very clear: these are the right investments for our future. We see an exciting opportunity to drive sales today, invent tomorrow, and ensure sustainable growth," the company said. View gallery .Walmart (AP) Walmart also can't continue to offer the low wages that helped it succeed for so long. The retailer has raised its pay to a minimum of $9 an hour because it discovered it was cheaper to offer higher wages than to train new workers who left for better opportunities. "Turnover in the retail sector has been steadily rising and now stands 5% a month," notes Bloomberg. "At that rate, if Walmart's workforce were to hold to the national average, over a full year it would be losing 60% of its sales staff." In addition to being costly, Walmart's high turnover led to complaints about customer service. It's increasingly clear that Walmart's profit model is unsustainable, according to analysts at Stifel. "The market is reacting to meaningful evidence that WMT has substantially over-earned," Stifel analysts wrote on Wednesday, referring to the company. "WMT calls out specifics of wage and price investments — and yes these are discrete actions taken by WMT; but we believe they are just symptoms of where WMT sits in its history." Walmart CEO Doug McMillon defended his company's position in a statement. "These are exciting times in retail given the pace and magnitude of change. We have strengths and assets to build on and are making progress to position the company for the future," McMillon said. "We’re encouraged by recent customer feedback and will continue to get stronger." Join our site and receive 15% off all during the month of October. Receive invitations for all members only sales. If you have any other questions please email us at adminatbjeweldotcom

‘A Tale of Two Foxes’ Wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2015

Published on October 14, 2015 by Michael Zhang ORIGIN OF ARTICLE Canada amateur photographer Don Gutoski has been crowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2015 for the remarkable photo above, titled “A Tale of Two Foxes.” It shows a red fox standing with the carcass of a white fox in its mouth. The Natural History Museum, which co-owns the prestigious competition with BBC Wildlife, announced the award on Monday. Don works as an accident and emergency doctor, and when he’s not saving lives, he’s often out with his camera on his 40-hectare piece of land. This particular photo was captured at Wapusk National Park in Cape Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Here’s the story behind it, as found in the competition’s gallery: From a distance, Don could see that the red fox was chasing something across the snow. As he got closer, he realised the prey, now dead, was an Arctic fox. For three hours in temperatures of -30 degrees Centigrade Don stayed at the scene, until the red fox, finally sated, picked up the eviscerated carcass and dragged it away to store for later. In the Canadian tundra, global warming is extending the range of red foxes northwards, where they increasingly cross paths with their smaller relatives, the Arctic fox. For Arctic foxes, red foxes now represent not just their main competitor – both hunt small animals such as lemmings – but also their main predator. Few actual kills by red foxes have been witnessed so far, but it is likely that conflicts between the two mammals will become more common. Gear-wise, Gutoski was shooting with a Canon 1D X equipped with a 200-400mm f/4 lens on a 1.4x extender with a focal length of 784mm. Settings were 1/1000s at f8 and ISO 640. “What might simply be a straightforward interaction between predator and prey struck the jury as a stark example of climate change, with red foxes encroaching on Arctic fox territory,” writes competition jury member Kathy Moran. “The bottom line is, this image works on multiple levels. It is graphic, it captures behaviour and it is one of the strongest single storytelling photographs I have seen.” The photo was selected for the grand prize out of over 42,000 entries received from 96 countries around the world. It, along with other winning photos, will be exhibited at the Natural History Museum in London from October 16th, 2015, through April 10, 2016. Image credits: Photograph by Don Gutoski/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2015 Join our site and receive 15% off all during the month of October. Receive invitations for all members only sales. If you have any other questions please email us at adminatbjeweldotcom

WHAT THE OVERMENT DOES NOT WANT HOME OWNERS TO KNOW

Origin of this article>Origins of tis article> Origin of article er 16th 2015 New Home Refinance Plan Banks Don't Want You To Know refinancemortgagebanksobamaHARP

When homeowners visit FetchARate they may be surprised to find out that they may qualify for a new home refinance plan that will lower their mortgage to astonishingly low rates. Millions of smart homeowners have taken advantage of this brilliant government program called the Home Affordable Refinance Plan (HARP) and have reduced their monthly payments by as much as $4,264 each year.* This program, designed to help just about any homeowner take advantage of surprisingly low rates, has banks on the edge - we wouldn't be surprised if most banks hope you never learn about this program. The government has announced that this program will expire in 2015 and is making a final push urging homeowners to take advantage of this program. Most homeowners will qualify for this program and the process is very simply. If you want to lower you mortgage payments, pay off your mortgage faster or get some extra needed cash out, it's vital you act now. The government program is set to expire in 2015, so it's vital to act fast. HARP is a free government program and there is no cost & no obligation to see if you qualify. See if you qualify » A Stimulus Plan for American Homeowners HARP was designed so that the typical homeowners can qualify for low rates, and if you owe less than $625,000 on your home, the chances of qualifying could be very high. The government wants banks to cut rates and allow the typical homeowner to take advantage of those rates which act as a true stimulus plan for the middle class - This puts more money in your pocket and boosts the economy. But banks do not want you to know about this program because: This program makes it easy for just about any homeowner to qualify for low rates You can shop multiple lenders, you are not limited to your current lender's rates Not a great deal for the banks because banks rather keep you in a higher rate than the low rates this program offers, but great for the typical homeowner and the middle class. Here is what we love about this program: The average monthly savings is $355/mo.* In addition to savings, you can pay off your home faster. Homeowners can take extra cash for anything they want like paying off debt, home improvements, going on vacation, or an emergency cash fund. So how do you find these low rates? To help homeowners find low rates quickly, Fetcharates's free service helps homeowners easily connect with lenders specifically matched to their needs. In just a few minutes, any borrower could get a side-by-side rate comparison from multiple lenders and find out what loan offers they may qualify for. The service works with lenders throughout the country to help homeowners locate the best match for their specific needs. When you consider that Fetcharate's service is free, there are no obligations, and it only takes minutes to complete, the decision seems pretty simple. Using Fetch rate, you'll get up to five competing loan offers by filling out 1 simple form. Find and compare astonishing low mortgage rates. Fetch rate is one of the country's largest and most respected mortgage refinance comparison shopping websites. They are currently connecting smart homeowners like yourself with multiple lender offers to find competitive mortgage rates. With Fetcharate.com, there's no obligation and service is fast and easy. It takes less than two minutes, and comparing rates is 100% free. You have nothing to lose! Join our site and receive 15% off all during the month of October. Receive invitations for all members-only G sales. If you have any other questions please email us at adminatbjeweldotcom

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Dont-run-down-italys-refugee-effort-angry-renzi

The origin of this item (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Jan Strupczewski and Alastair Macdonald)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi made an unusual personal attack on a top EU official on Friday, accusing European Council President Donald Tusk of slighting the Italian people in remarks about refugees. Leaving a Brussels summit that Tusk had chaired, Renzi was asked by reporters about comments last week in which the former Polish prime minister bracketed Italy with Hungary as member states which had broken EU rules on handling migrants. "What President Tusk said showed little respect for the efforts of the Italian people," Renzi said, adding that Italy, which has taken in large numbers for many years, had given "lessons in civilization and generosity" to other EU countries. Italian diplomats said Tusk's criticism was particularly wounding in associating Italy with Hungary, whose right-wing government has built razor-wire fences to keep migrants out. Whave a big sale going on join our site and save 15% on everything in the store a hJoin our site and receive 15% off all during the month of October. Receive invitations for all members only sales. If you have any other questions please email us at adminatbjeweldotcom

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China’s stock market crashing; time for panic or restraint

-- Posted Monday, 5 October 2015 | Share this article | Comment - New! oRIGAL SOURCE OF ARTICLE By Sol Palha Fortune always fights on the side of the prudent. Critias

Lately, one cynic after another, some of which claim to be experts are all marching to the same drumbeat. The Chinese economy is in trouble; the Chinese markets are going to continue crashing. The Shanghai index experienced an astounding advance over a brief period of time and so it should not have come as a surprise that such a stupendous rally would culminate with an equally brutal correction. The Doctors of gloom and doom are over doing it and this was our recent response to our subscribers. Not much to add here, except that it followed the project path. The fear has not peaked yet, so that means more downside is to be expected. It traded below 3000, and as long as it does not close below 3200 on a monthly basis, the bottoming action will gain traction. As it has already traded below 3000 and fear levels have not hit the extreme ranges yet, a monthly close below 3200 will drive this below 2800. If the Chinese economy is dead, then there are no words to describe our economy. Our economy is based on smoke and mirrors. Alchemists are trying to create something from nothing, and so far the cocaine sniffing crowd is buying this. Market update Sept 1st, 2015 Stephen Roach the former manager of Morgan Stanley Asia seems to concur with this assessment. He made the following proclamation on the 3rd of September, 2015, .Growth in China has slowed, “but it's not going in for a crash...and that will present, I think, an opportunity for shares to re-evaluate the China threat, big time." When the crowd panics, it takes a bit of time for the dust to settle down. Their confidence has been shaken, and they are letting their emotions do the talking. When emotions take over, the reaction is almost always overdone. When this occurs, the level-headed investor is provided with a once in a life time opportunity to purchase shares in top rated companies for a fraction of their true value. Prudence is still warranted, but for the brave of heart and those that have a long-term view, opening positions in companies such as NTES, BABA, SOHU, HNP, CHA, etc., will most likely prove to a good call. Our V indicator is signifying that we are going to witness volatility on a scale never seen before; the wild gyrations the Shanghai index has been experiencing clearly reflects this new trend in play. Volatility has a destabilising effect on the small player; they become nervous and end up throwing the baby out with the bathwater. In this instance, they might end up joining the baby and the bath water. The Technical Outlook

This five-year chart clearly illustrates how explosive the move from Oct 2014 to June of this year was. Only the foolish would expect such a rally to continue unabated. In our opinion, the market is letting out well-deserved steam and in doing so getting rid of all the speculative money that was pumped into it. The Shanghai index is sitting on the zone of support right now. However, we feel that there is still more downsides, albeit not that much, and would not be surprised by a hard-and-fast move down to the 2500-2600 ranges. In the interim, there is a very good chance that the Index could trade to the 3500 ranges with a possible overshoot to the 3700 ranges before dropping below 3000.

The trend in both the five years and the one-year charts have been violated, and therefore, one should expect more volatility before the dust settles down. The one-year chart illustrates that the index could run up as high as 3700 before dropping below 3000. For this to occur, a weekly close above 3250, would be needed. As the trend is not positive in all time frames, a test of the lows is almost a given. To trigger a move down to the 2500 ranges, the index needs a weekly close below 2750. Any move below 2700 should be viewed as a splendid long-term entry point. Long term reasons to be bullish. · The markets in the West have been rigged in favour of short-term gains via years of unconventional monetary policy and the Fed’s insane desire to maintain an ultra-low interest rate environment that favours speculators and punishes savers. · China’s middle class continues to grow in leaps and bounds. According to a report by the South China morning post (SCMP), China’s middle class grew by 203 million in 10 years. · China is transforming into a consumer-driven economy, and according to a report by Bloomberg, China has the potential to create a $67 trillion economy. · China is not ploughing as much money as it was into US treasuries. In fact, in April of this year, Japan overtook China as the largest holder of U.S. debt. A report on Bloomberg by Daniel Kruger and Wes Goodman in August revealed that China had slashed its stake in U.S. Debt by $180 billion. Instead of putting boat loads of money into U.S. treasuries, China is looking into moving billions into funding infrastructure projects, such as the “"One Belt, One Road" initiative. Conclusion As an investor, you have the option to dance to your own drumbeat or dance to the drumbeat of those banging the drums of gloom. If you take this route, you run the risk of missing an opportunity. Fear knows no limits and is only superceded by stupidity. The masses are in a state of panic, and so it will take sometime for the turbulent water to settle down. However, this is the time for the astute investor to start looking for good companies with great future prospects; we mentioned a few earlier. China’s market looks more promising that ours from a long-term perspective. If you decide to open positions right now, don’t be over zealous; take nibbles instead of large bites. Naysayers would have you believe that the world is about to end. They sing the same song of doom, and so far the world is still here and many of them are not. The naysayers have an innate knack for singing bloody murder after the correction is almost over and chanting songs of joy when the markets are close to putting in a top. There is a wide abyss that separates fear from prudence. Prudence is warranted as the driving force behind it is usually logic and not the irrational emotion of fear. If you embrace fear, you would not recognise opportunity even it slapped you hard in the fact. Fear is parasitic in nature; it only takes and gives nothing in return. One should look for symbiotic relationships when it comes to investing. There is no such thing as a good parasite, so the logical option is to get rid of this parasitic emotion as soon as you can. A learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one. Benjamin Franklin Join our site and receive 15% off all during the month of October. Receive invitations for all members only sales. If you have any other questions please email us at adminatbjeweldotcom

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The Fed wants a weaker US dollar – here’s what that means for your money

Home > The Fed wants a weaker US dollar – here’s what that means for your moneyORIGINAL SOURCE OF ARTICLE By: John Stepek 12/10/2015 1,335 views 1 comment Janet Yellen of the US Federal Reserve © Getty Images Janet Yellen: must think beyond America’s borders when setting interest rates I got back from the MoneyWeek cruise yesterday. I had a great couple of nights. It’s the second cruise we’ve done, and again we had a fascinating group of readers join us. There was lots of stimulating conversation. We covered plenty of topics, ranging from the existential threat posed by pollution, to the prospects for property investment; from debating the ultimate point of building wealth, to the simple pleasures of a Friday night chicken kebab.

It really made me think hard about what’s going on in markets And I keep coming back to the US dollar… The strength of the US dollar is incredibly important Markets had a good week last week, and the reason for that is pretty clear – to me at least. The Fed fumbled the ball on US interest rates. It was far more cautious than everyone had expected at September’s meeting, and that briefly rattled markets. But they’ve quickly recovered their composure. If US interest rates aren’t going to rise as quickly as everyone had thought, then there’s less reason to favour the dollar over other currencies. And a weaker dollar tends to mean higher commodity prices and less pressure on emerging markets (and China, for that matter). Is this a sustainable rebound? I’m guessing that this primarily depends on what happens to the dollar and US rate expectations in the weeks and months to come. The argument goes that the US Federal Reserve doesn’t (or shouldn’t) pay attention to external events. It’s America’s central bank, after all. But that’s simply not true and never has been. I was re-reading hedge fund boss Ray Dalio’s thesis on the way the ‘economic machine’ works on the plane back from Athens yesterday. He notes that in the 1930s – 1931 to be precise – the strong dollar became a problem. Here’s a contemporary quote in Time magazine from the president of Chase National Bank: “The most serious of the adverse factors affecting business is the inability to obtain dollars…” There were calls to reduce or cancel debts that allied countries owed the US, basically to free them up to spend more money on American exports. And before this, the then-Fed chair had “privately advised” President Hoover to “cut war debts by 70% and reparations by 40% to improve international trade and financial conditions”. In short, the most important central bank in the world can’t and never has ignored external conditions. And no wonder. A country’s currency is a key weapon in its economic armoury. No central bank in the world right now will admit to targeting a specific level of currency, because that would a) have markets focusing on specific currency levels and b) essentially be a naked declaration of trade war. But I don’t think any of you are stupid. It’s pretty clear that both Japanese and European monetary policy have been aimed almost explicitly at weakening their overly-strong currencies. And, to an extent, it’s worked. The US is the same. If anything, the US should care more about the dollar. It’s the world’s reserve currency. In other words, the US has control of the most important currency in the world. It has a massive influence on global liquidity and thus economic activity. That’s ‘exorbitant privilege’ for you. A stronger dollar effectively tightens monetary policy across the world. It makes life harder for just about everyone, from US exporters (nearly half of S&P 500 earnings are now made overseas) to emerging markets and commodity producers. That matters to the Fed, believe me. In effect, the Fed has already tightened and now, despite all the constant proclamations that rates might rise before the end of the year, I think they’re warming us up gently for a turn in expectations. What’s coming next and what does it mean? In trying to work out what politicians and officials will do next, I’ve generally found that one thing works well. Find the path of least resistance, and bet on that. I’ve rattled on about this enough in recent weeks already, but I’ll say it again because I think it’s important. The Fed believes that its greatest sins in the past have involved being too tight with monetary policy. (I’d argue that they lie in taking no responsibility for preventing bubbles in the first place, but I’m not in charge of monetary policy.) So the Fed believes that if it tightens too soon, it will crash the economy again. It doesn’t want to do that. So Janet Yellen would rather be too late. At the moment, there’s no clear evidence of inflation, or huge amounts of strength in the US economy. Overseas, markets are crashing, the S&P 500 doesn’t look too healthy either, and finally, the US dollar is strong. There is nothing in any of this to make Yellen raise rates. She has every excuse to avoid taking that bull by the horns. So here’s what I think: either we won’t get any rate rise at all, or the rate rise will come relatively soon – but it’ll be followed by a statement that explicitly suggests that there won’t be another one until the Fed gets a feel for how this one is bedding in. And I’d argue that it’s the dollar that’ll make all the difference. I don’t know what the Fed’s dollar target level is, but I’d warrant that it’s lower than where it is today. What does that mean? We’ve already seen the mining sector rebound strongly. My concern is that the industry as a whole is so afflicted by over-capacity that life could remain difficult for all but the biggest players there. But one commodity that should be better placed is gold. My colleague Dominic Frisby wrote in MoneyWeek magazine this week about nine gold mining stocks he particularly likes the look of. (If you’re not already a subscriber, sign up now.) Join our site and receive 15% off all during the month of October. Receive invitations for all members only sales. If you have any other questions please email us at adminatbjeweldotcom

A woman who lived on $14,000 a year gives her top 2 tricks to cut your grocery bill in half

here is where this article was originally published Eat a healthy snack before heading to the supermarket to avoid shopping on an empty stomach. Saving money on groceries is easier said than do

We asked Wagasky to share her top-two tips for saving at the grocery store. "First, go shopping on a full tummy, and second, go with your calculator in hand," she told us. While seemingly harmless, shopping on an empty stomach can be an expensive habit. Everything — particularly junk food — starts to look delicious, and without realizing it, you're tossing all sorts of unnecessary items into your cart. She explains: "If you go hungry, you are just begging to have a cart full of guilty-pleasure foods. You can't make a week's worth of meals out of those ingredients, but you can wreck your budget by purchasing them when you don't need them and can't afford them." Try eating a healthy snack before heading to the store so your cravings for processed, packaged foods aren't out of control. Your budget — and waistline — will thank you. Wagasky's next trick, bringing along a calculator, doesn't require much effort at all. Most smartphones have a built-in calculator. Next time you're shopping, try inputting each item that goes into your cart. This strategy does more than give you a concrete number: It changes your spending habits, Wagasky explained. "You are more aware of how much each item is adding up. You suddenly weigh the options a bit more with name brand vs. generic. You think twice about adding all that candy into the cart just because it looks good. It makes you more conscious of what you are tossing in," she said. 15% Join%1 our site and get

Playboy to Drop Nudity as Internet Fills Demand 1 / 10 The New York Times The New York Times This is from

Cory Jones, chief content officer of Playboy, presented Mr. Hefner with the idea of eliminating nudity from the magazine last month. © Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times Cory Jones, chief content officer of Playboy, presented Mr. Hefner with the idea of eliminating nudity from the magazine last month. Last month, Cory Jones, a top editor at Playboy, went to see its founder Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion. In a wood-paneled dining room, with Picasso and de Kooning prints on the walls, Mr. Jones nervously presented a radical suggestion: the magazine, a leader of the revolution that helped take sex in America from furtive to ubiquitous, should stop publishing images of naked women. Mr. Hefner, now 89, but still listed as editor in chief, agreed. As part of a redesign that will be unveiled next March, the print edition of Playboy will still feature women in provocative poses. But they will no longer be fully nude. Its executives admit that Playboy has been overtaken by the changes it pioneered. “That battle has been fought and won,” said Scott Flanders, the company’s chief executive. “You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it’s just passé at this juncture.” Sign Up For NYT Now's Morning Briefing Newsletter For a generation of American men, reading Playboy was a cultural rite, an illicit thrill consumed by flashlight. Now every teenage boy has an Internet-connected phone instead. Pornographic magazines, even those as storied as Playboy, have lost their shock value, their commercial value and their cultural relevance. Playboy’s circulation has dropped from 5.6 million in 1975 to about 800,000 now, according to the Alliance for Audited Media. Many of the magazines that followed it have disappeared. Though detailed figures are not kept for adult magazines, many of those that remain exist in severely diminished form, available mostly in specialist stores. Penthouse, perhaps the most famous Playboy competitor, responded to the threat from digital pornography by turning even more explicit. It never recovered. Previous efforts to revamp Playboy, as recently as three years ago, have never quite stuck. And those who have accused it of exploiting women are unlikely to be assuaged by a modest cover-up. But, according to its own research, Playboy’s logo is one of the most recognizable in the world, along with those of Apple and Nike. This time, as the magazine seeks to compete with start-ups like Vice, Mr. Flanders said, it sought to answer a key question: “if you take nudity out, what’s left?”

Hugh Hefner, Playboy’s editor in chief, in 1992. © Bart Bartholomew for The New York Times Hugh Hefner, Playboy’s editor in chief, in 1992. It is difficult, in a media market that has been so fragmented by the web, to imagine the scope of Playboy’s influence at its peak. A judge once ruled that denying blind people a Braille version of it violated their First Amendment rights. It published stories by Margaret Atwood and Haruki Murakami among others, and its interviews have included Malcolm X, Vladimir Nabokov, Martin Luther King Jr. and Jimmy Carter, who admitted that he had lusted in his heart for women other than his wife. Madonna, Sharon Stone and Naomi Campbell posed for the magazine at the peak of their fame. Its best-selling issue, in November of 1972, sold more than seven million copies. Even those who disliked it cared enough to pay attention — Gloria Steinem, the pioneering feminist, went undercover as a waitress, or Playboy Bunny, in one of Mr. Hefner’s spinoff clubs to write an exposé for Show Magazine in 1963. When Mr. Hefner created the magazine, which featured Marilyn Monroe on its debut cover in 1953, he did so to please himself. “If you’re a man between the ages of 18 and 80, Playboy is meant for you,” he said in his first editor’s letter. “We enjoy mixing up cocktails and an hors d’oeuvre or two, putting a little mood music on the phonograph, and inviting in a female acquaintance for a quiet discussion on Picasso, Nietzsche, jazz, sex ...” He did not put a date on the cover of the first issue, in case Playboy did not make it to a second. Mr. Hefner “just revolutionized the whole direction of how we live, of our lifestyles and the kind of sex you might have in America,” said Dian Hanson, author of a six-volume history of men’s magazines and an editor for Taschen. “But taking the nudity out of Playboy is going to leave what?” The latest redesign, 62 years later, is more pragmatic. The magazine had already made some content safe for work, Mr. Flanders said, in order to be allowed on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, vital sources of web traffic. In August of last year, its website dispensed with nudity. As a result, Playboy executives said, the average age of its reader dropped from 47 to just over 30, and its web traffic jumped to about 16 million from about four million unique users per month. The magazine will adopt a cleaner, more modern style, said Mr. Jones, who as chief content officer also oversees its website. There will still be a Playmate of the Month, but the pictures will be “PG-13” and less produced — more like the racier sections of Instagram. “A little more accessible, a little more intimate,” he said. It is not yet decided whether there will still be a centerfold. Its sex columnist, Mr. Jones said, will be a “sex-positive female,” writing enthusiastically about sex. And Playboy will continue its tradition of investigative journalism, in-depth interviews and fiction. The target audience, Mr. Flanders said, is young men who live in cities. “The difference between us and Vice,” he said, “is that we’re going after the guy with a job.” Some of the moves, like expanded coverage of liquor, are partly commercial, Mr. Flanders admitted; the magazine must please its core advertisers. And all the changes have been tested in focus groups with an eye toward attracting millennials — people between the ages of 18 and 30-something, highly coveted by publishers. The magazine will feature visual artists, with their work dotted through the pages, in part because research revealed that younger people are drawn to art. The company now makes most of its money from licensing its ubiquitous brand and logo across the world — 40 percent of that business is in China even though the magazine is not available there — for bath products, fragrances, clothing, liquor and jewelry among other merchandise. Nudity in the magazine risks complaints from shoppers, and diminished distribution. Playboy, which had gone public in 1971, was taken private again in 2011 by Mr. Hefner with Rizvi Traverse Management, an investment firm founded by Suhail Rizvi, a publicity-shy Silicon Valley investor, who has interests in Twitter, Square and Snapchat among others. The firm now owns over 60 percent. Mr. Hefner owns about 30 percent (some shares are held by Playboy management). The magazine is profitable if money from licensed editions around the world is taken into account, Mr. Flanders said, but the United States edition loses about $3 million a year. He sees it, he said, as a marketing expense. “It is our Fifth Avenue storefront,” he said. He and Mr. Jones feel that the magazine remains relevant, not least because the world has gradually adopted Mr. Hefner’s libertarian views on a variety of social issues. Asked whether Mr. Hefner’s views on women were the exception to that rule, Mr. Flanders responded that Mr. Hefner had “always celebrated the beauty of the female figure.” “Don’t get me wrong,” Mr. Jones said of the decision to dispense with nudity, “12-year-old me is very disappointed in current me. But it’s the right thing to do.” Join our site where discerning women over 50 shop for clothes, jewelry and accessories and get access to members only sales,plus 15% off of everything in the store. Take a look

By Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council on Friday authorized European Union naval operations for one year to seize and dispose of vessels operated by human traffickers in the high seas off Libya. The 15-member council adopted the British-drafted resolution with 14 votes in favor. Venezuela abstained. The resolution approved the second of three phases of an EU naval mission intended to help stem the flow of migrants and refugees into Europe, which has escalated into a major crisis in recent months. The third phase of the EU mission, which is not covered by the resolution, would involve European operations in Libyan territorial waters and coastal areas. Libya initially objected to the draft U.N. resolution on the high seas mission, but its U.N. Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi wrote to the council Tuesday to say the country's concerns had been allayed and it agreed to the final draft. British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft welcomed the approval, and said "any action will be proportional in keeping with the limits authorized by this resolution and used solely against the smugglers and empty boats." He said any migrants rescued would be taken to Europe. Still, he cautioned that naval missions against smugglers would not tackle the root causes of the migration problem. "Action against smugglers on the high sea won't solve this crisis alone," he said. "But it will send a message that people cannot profit from this evil trade with impunity. It will save lives." The operation only covers the migration route from Libya and will not apply to the route that refugees have been using to flee the wars in Syria and Iraq, from Turkey through Greece and the Balkans. Russia and the African members of the council – Chad, Angola and Nigeria – had been wary of authorizing the use of force. But they ended up voting in favor of the measure. Libya descended into chaos after a revolution in 2011 led to the ouster and killing of leader Muammar Gaddafi, with two competing governments backed by militias scrambling for control of the oil-producing country. A power vacuum has allowed Islamic State militants to gain a foothold in the North African state. The United Nations on Thursday proposed a unity government for Libya but the deal has not been accepted by all sides. The International Organization for Migration said this week that nearly 3,000 people have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean this year, while 557,899 migrants have reached Europe. (Editing by Bernadette Baum) Big sale come on over have a look

Copyleft: What it means and how to use it, and creative commons what it means.

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BUSINESS IN FASHION & INTERIORS October 8, 2015 posted by Charlie Ross SHARE Creative Commons License & Copyleft: The Future Of Design Sharing Creative Commons License & Copyleft: The Future Of Design Sharing Over the last two articles, we looked at the meaning of Intellectual Property, and how to protect it and prevent it’s theft. In this article, we’ll look at a final and unique type of ownership of IP: The Creative Commons License and Copyleft. This concept will be helpful if you want to share some of your work for free, but restrict how it is used. Let’s find out how it works. @creativecommons and #copyleft: A new kind Of #sharing and #ownership what is creative commons license Creative Commons: Meaning of the term and how it works As a designer, you’d be hugely frustrated if someone were to steal your work and sell it off as their own (understatement of the century!). After all, it was your effort and creativity that made the design. Copyright laws make it illegal for anyone else to use your work, either in the original form or by modifying it without your explicit permission.

There is no point, however, creating beautiful work and then being too scared to show it to anyone for fear of copycats. And the fact of the matter is that other people sharing your designs can be a great source of promotion. It’s part of this amazing shift we’re seeing towards the age of the “sharing economy” and “open source networks“. There is a way to freely share work with the public and keep the proprietary rights yourself. This can be done by licensing the product under the Creative Commons License framework. Creative Commons “CC”, was a movement founded by Lawrence Lessig in 2001, with the intention of allowing artists to make their creative works available to the public, but with restrictions on it’s use. CC works are also protected by copyright, but the difference is that the artist who created it allows you to use it for free, as long as you conform to the conditions cited in the accompanying license. Thus, Creative Commons allows artists to share select intellectual property with the public, enabling them to build upon and share it further. There are four types of standardised licenses under Creative Commons. Attribution: The user may distribute, alter and build on the work, even commercially, as long as he suitably credits the creator for the work Non-commercial: The user may distribute, alter and build on the work only for non-commercial purposes, as long as he attributes the work to the original creator No derivatives: The user may distribute the work only in the original and intended format, and should attribute it to the creator Share Alike: The user can freely share and distribute the work by crediting the creator, but should also ensure that all derivative works are licensed under the same terms of the original work. Non-commercial Share Alike: The work is governed by the same conditions as the Share Alike license, but it may only be used for non-commercial purposes Non-commercial,non-derivatives: The user may use the work only in the original form and for non-commercial purposes, as long as he credits the original creator It is very easy to license your work under Creative Commons. All you have to do is select the suitable license from the above list to use for your work, mark your design with it and release it to the public. This will help your users identify the chosen license, so they may adhere to its terms and conditions. The License choosing tool on the Creative Commons website will help you select the right license for your work.

Copyleft is quite similar to Creative Commons in that the author applies some restrictions to the use of his work through a license. The license defines the copying terms under any of the following categories Freedom 0–Complete freedom to use the work Freedom 1—Freedom to study the work Freedom 2—Freedom to copy and share the work Freedom 3—Freedom to modify and distribute the original work and its derivatives Copyleft gives users the permission to contribute improvements to a work. The distribution and modification terms accompanying the license ensure that the improved version will be used only under the original terms accompanying the work. A work released under copyleft should be accompanied by the symbol of a backwards C enclosed in a circle. Pros and cons of Creative Commons License and Copyleft for designers Creative_Commons_Swag_Contest_2007_2_(by) You saw in our first article that the copyright owner allows his work to be used either through Assignment or Licenses. Thus, when you copyright your work, you disallow anyone from using it without paying you for its use. While this may seem necessary for most of your work, it is not always the case. When you release your designs to the public under CC or copyleft, you have a mutual agreement with potential users on the terms and conditions under which your work may be used. This eliminates the likelihood of any legal complications, through unfair or illegal use. The bonus is that when people share your work and accredit you for it, you gain valuable publicity that helps you grow as an artist. So, it is free advertisement for your work. Many people use these open networks to find collaborators and improve their design work. Despite all this, the system has its pitfalls. This article on the Scientific American draws attention to a Smithsonian blog entry, where the caption accompanying a CC image by the artist Terry Priest failed to mention the photographer’s name, and simply contained a link to the database from where it was picked. Not only does this mean that the license terms were violated, it defeated the whole idea of the CC concept — agreeing to the terms set by the artist, when using his creation. Another factor is that the licensing and contracting laws for CC vary from country to country. This legally complicates the solutions if there is a breach in terms of use. You should also remember that once you release a work under creative commons, it cannot be re-licensed in any other way. Only do so if you are certain that you will never consider monetising it in any way in the future. Find out more in this article. Thus we come to the end of our three-part series. By now, you’ve covered every aspect of Intellectual Property Rights and how it applies to designers like you. I hope you enjoyed it and will be using this knowledge in your journey forward.

California Governor Jerry Brown speaks to reporters while proposing his 2015-16 state budget in Sacramento, …

Brown speaks to reporters while proposing his 2015-16 state budget in Sacramento . By Sharon Bernstein and Alex Dobuzinskis Related Stories Oregon becomes third U.S. state to allow recreational marijuana sales Reuters How Oregon's rollout of legal marijuana is different Christian Science Monitor Parties, discounts to mark start of pot sales in Oregon Associated Press Why Oregon is speeding up sales of recreational marijuana Christian Science Monitor Oregon medical marijuana dispensaries gear up for rec sales Associated Press This bale of hay nearly devastated a ranch. Chase Sponsored  SACRAMENTO, Calif./LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown on Friday signed into law the state's first comprehensive regulations of medical marijuana, two decades after legalization fueled a wild west of disparate local rules, a gray market in cultivation and concerns about the ease of obtaining the drug. The package of three laws, viewed by some as a possible framework for the eventual legalization of recreational marijuana in the most populous U.S. state, would establish a Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation and oversee such activities as cultivation and dispensary licensing. The bills, which take effect in 2018, "establish a long-overdue comprehensive regulatory framework for the production, transportation and sale of medical marijuana," Brown, a Democrat, said in a signing statement on Friday. The legislation regulates the cultivation of marijuana, which now frequently takes place on hidden gray market farms that strip water from the state's forests. The laws also require state tax and agriculture officials to develop a way to track the sale and development of marijuana products, which remain illegal under federal law. For years, the U.S. government's pot ban made California lawmakers reluctant to bring themselves into the conflict between federal and state law by creating rules for medical cannabis, said Assemblyman Jim Wood, a Democrat who authored one of the bills signed by Brown. Then in the last three years, voters in Colorado, Washington state, Alaska and Oregon legalized the drug for recreational use. "It was the votes for legalization that kind of opened the gates so to speak to have some more significant discussions around the issue," Wood said. The package of laws was welcomed by medical marijuana advocates, who said some cities had cracked down too hard on local dispensaries in the absence of strong state regulations. Organizations favoring legalization of recreational marijuana for adults are re-working proposed California ballot initiatives to accommodate the new laws, said Lauren Vazquez, a spokeswoman for the Marijuana Policy Project which works to legalize the drug. But opponents said the laws would codify a business they still see as promoting potentially dangerous drug use. "People do not want marijuana stores in their communities," said Kevin Sabet, co-founder of the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which opposes legalizing recreational cannabis. Sabet is skeptical of the state's current free-for-all medical marijuana environment, in which it is easy to get a doctor's recommendation and medical pot is often smoked, the method preferred by recreational users. (Writing by Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Lisa Lambert)

Instagram Not Into ‘Hosting Porn’, But Floated Idea of More Nudity-Friendly Version OCT 7 2015 SOCIAL MEDIA INSTAGRAM NOT INTO ‘HOSTING PORN’, BUT FLOATED IDEA OF MORE NUDITY-FRIENDLY VERSION Josh Wolford October 7, 2015 Josh Wolford Instagram’s anti-nudity policy and the backlash toward it have been well-documented. But now it appears that maybe, just maybe, the company has thought about rethinking that? Probably not – for plenty of reasons that mostly deal with advertising and its parent company Facebook. But according to CEO Kevin Systrom, Instagram has actually floated the idea of an “R-Rated” version. Via Mashable: “There have been discussions,” he said, noting that it becomes a slippery slope about “who decides what’s R-rated.” “We’re not in the business of hosting porn,” he added. “We focus on people being able to express themselves in beautiful ways.” Systrom also said that nudity isn’t banned on Instagram – “just to be clear”. Of course, that’s misleading at best. Here’s Instagram’s word-for-word nudity policy: “We know that there are times when people might want to share nude images that are artistic or creative in nature, but for a variety of reasons, we don’t allow nudity on Instagram. This includes photos, videos, and some digitally-created content that show sexual intercourse, genitals, and close-ups of fully-nude buttocks. It also includes some photos of female nipples, but photos of post-mastectomy scarring and women actively breastfeeding are allowed. Nudity in photos of paintings and sculptures is OK, too.” Instagram bans every single type of nudity, save a few very specific cases where it’s ok. Real nudity is only ok if it’s nipples, not genitals or butts, and only if those nipples are male or female and attached to a baby. Oh, and you can post pictures of statues. How generous. So really, nudity is banned on Instagram. The company has every right to do so, but to say it’s not is disingenuous. Another disingenuous thing that Instagram has said about nudity recently? That its policy is Apple’s fault. Sign up for our site and receive 15% off 3everything on the site, Receive invitations to the members-only sales, save big on combined shipping

PAYPAL LAUNCHES PAYPAL HERE CHIP CARD READER IN U.S. Chris Crum September 28, 2015 Chris Crum The PayPal Here Chip Card Reader has been around in the UK and Australia for about two years, and on September 30, it will be available in the U.S. The device works with iOS and Android and accepts chip card transactions, magnetic stripe, and contactless NFC transactions from Apple Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay, and others. “It is important that merchants understand the consequences of the EMV liability shift of fraud losses,” says Brad Brodigan, Vice President and General Manager, Retail at PayPal. “To help our small business customers prepare, we have been providing updates on the process since earlier this year and educating businesses on what the liability shift means for them. Beginning this Thursday, October 1, merchants who do not accept chip cards will be liable for point of sale fraud when their customers use chip cards, unless they upgrade to an EMV terminal.” “Beyond the need to accept chip card payments, merchants should view the liability shift as an opportunity to upgrade and modernize their Point of Sale systems with the latest technology that enables them to sell online, on mobile and in-person all with the same account,” adds Brodigan. “Future-proofing with a solution that already accepts multiple forms of payment is key to being prepared for new technologies – like contactless payments.” Merchants can order the device here. It’s $149 or $49 with the rebate offer they’re offering for merchants that process at least $3,000 within three months of activating it.We are having a big sale 15% off everything in the store. Come by and check out other ways to save like joining our site, cobining shipping

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