/newsplus/ - News +

As a generational expert with over 25 years in the field, Alexis Abramson has heard about all there is to hear from brands trying to appeal to various age groups. From baby boomers to Generations X, Y and Z—pick your group, and she’s researched them, written about them and (probably) lectured brands on how to attract them, too. In recent years, a good many of those brands have had their sights set on the generation born between 1981 and 1996: millennials, aged 23-38 today. That’s because at 83.1 million, a full quarter of the U.S. population, millennials are now the largest single consumer group out there. Simply put, few companies can afford not to court them.

But ask Abramson how brands feel about millennial consumers these days, and the answer might surprise you.

“There was a great deal of interest [in millennials],” she said, “but there wasn’t as much due diligence around that group. We’ve generalized them as a certain type of person, [but] the reality is the rubber is meeting the road. Companies are starting to understand, ‘Wow, we’re not getting the ROI we thought we might.’”

more here:

https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/why-targeting-millennial-consumers-might-not-be-such-a-hot-idea-after-all/

Confidence among chief executive officers of large U.S. companies cooled for a fifth straight quarter to the lowest level since President Donald Trump took office but remains high, a Business Roundtable survey showed.

The lobbying group’s CEO Economic Outlook index fell 5.7 points to 89.5 in the second quarter, the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2016, according to the report released Wednesday. But the results remain above the gauge’s historical average of 82.6 and well above the 50-point threshold signaling expansion.

“CEO plans for hiring and capital investment remain healthy, but uncertainty about U.S. trade policy, softening global growth conditions and inaction on other pressing public policy issues are a concern,” Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and chairman of Business Roundtable said in a statement.

The data are based on a survey of 127 CEOs conducted from May 16 to June 3. During that period, tensions between the U.S. and two of its largest trading partners – China and Mexico – intensified.

source:

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/u-s-ceo-confidence-drops-to-lowest-level-of-trump-presidency-1.1272219

The Plain Dealer of Cleveland: It’s hard to parse what Ohio legislative leaders were thinking when they exposed their “Ohio Clean Air” nuclear bailout bill for what it really is – a blatant giveaway to nuclear and coal interests.

A House committee recently discarded green-energy provisions from House Bill 6. That doubled down on the Ohio ratepayer energy subsidies that would go primarily to benefit the Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear plants.

And lawmakers then added a new section that could obligate many Ohio ratepayers to subsidize two coal-fired plants, as well.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2019/jun/10/ohio-energy-bill-becomes-prize-for-speci/

A fourth tourist has died after he suddenly fell ill at an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic.

Robert Bell Wallace, 67, became sick and urinated blood after he had one whisky from his room minibar at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana.

His mysterious death comes as three other US tourists were found dead in their rooms in another hotel on the Caribbean island.

Nearly 180,000 Brits visit the country for a sunshine break every year, but the biggest market for tourism is by far the US with more than 2m Americans visiting the island.

Miranda Schaup-Werner, 41, from Pennsylvania, died on May 25 after she had a drink from her minibar at the Bahia Principe La Romana.

more here:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9259245/fourth-mystery-death-in-dominican-republic/

>‘There was no gain, he didn’t even get my phone or bag or anything,’ says nursery worker after teenager knifed her in thigh

A mother was stabbed by a teenager on a north London street while her three-year-old son was sleeping in a pram after she refused to give the attacker her mobile phone.

Christel Stainfield-Bruce, 36, was approached by a boy believed to be aged between 14 and 16 as she pushed her son along Caedmon Road in Islington on Friday afternoon.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/stabbing-london-mother-son-sleeping-pram-islington-knife-crime-a8953001.html

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki apologized to the LGBT community for not doing enough to censor Steven Crowder despite demonetizing him and many other creators on the Google-owned video platform.

The Verge reports that while speaking at the Code Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, this week, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki apologized to the LGBT community for failing to better punish conservative comedian Steven Crowder for insulting gay Vox journalist and YouTube censorship advocate Carlos Maza. YouTube did, however, demonetize Crowder and a number of other creators leading to an event becoming known as the #VoxAdpocalypse.

Maza took to Twitter to call Crowder out and pressure YouTube to take action, claiming that despite being used to “online harassment,” Crowder had been “bothering him.” YouTube was quiet about the situation for some time but eventually responded, stating that although Crowder’s language was “hurtful,” it did not violate the site’s policies. But one day later, YouTube reversed its previous statements by demonetizing Crowder’s account, preventing him from making money from ads placed on his videos. In a tweet, YouTube said “We have suspended this channel’s monetization. We came to this decision because a pattern of egregious actions has harmed the broader community and is against our YouTube Partner Program policies.” The Masters of the Universe faced widespread backlash in what has been dubbed the #VoxAdpocalypse.

more here:

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/06/11/youtube-ceo-susan-wojcicki-apologizes-to-lgbt-community-following-voxadpocalypse/

The transition from animal meat to plant-based alternatives will unleash a new era of agricultural productivity and Canada is well-positioned to benefit, Beyond Meat founder Ethan Brown said Tuesday.

The burger patties and sausages of the Californian company that are made from plant proteins have stormed the market, and even the stock market since the company’s listing last month on the Nasdaq composite.

Beyond Meat sells products made from peas, canola oil, mung beans and rice protein that contain no soy, gluten or genetically modified foods.

Brown took part in a discussion on “The Next Agri-Food Revolution” at the Montreal Conference of the International Economic Forum of the Americas.

In addition to the health benefits of his products, he believes that if water and farmland can be used to grow vegetables and other plant foods, the amount of food for human consumption will be exponential.

He pointed to a study indicating that a plant-based burger requires 99 per cent less water and 93 per cent less arable land to produce, not to mention reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Canada can take advantage of this windfall, he said, citing the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where farmland is vast.

https://lethbridgeherald.com/business/2019/06/11/canada-wellpositioned-to-benefit-from-nonmeat-alternatives-beyond-meat-founder/

A woman died in a 10 million to one “freak” accident when she was struck by lightning while hill walking with friends in the Highlands during a thunderstorm.

Isobel Bytautas, 55, died in the incident and a second woman was injured on a ridge in mountains near Fort William.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/06/09/woman-killed-lightning-strike-hiking-highlands/?

Neighbors say the message sent by a giant concrete swastika in the front yard of a home in El Sobrante, California, is pretty clear — but the homeowner disagrees.

“It’s a Tibetan sign that’s way back before swastikas were invented,” said Steve Johnson, who told reporters he “could be” Tibetan, KGO reported.

The Tibetan symbol typically has arms pointing counter-clockwise, while the swastika adopted by the Nazis has arms pointing clockwise, like the symbol in Johnson’s yard, according to the station.

more here:

https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article231200948.html

Canada has passed a bill banning the capture and breeding of whales, dolphins and porpoises for entertainment, after a lengthy campaign by animal rights activists.

The legislation, dubbed the "Free Willy bill" after the American children's film, was first proposed in 2015 and was finally approved by the House of Commons on Monday.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/06/11/canada-passes-free-willy-law-banning-captivity-whales-dolphins/?

The poll, which is the first head-to-head matchup conducted by Quinnipiac for the 2020 election cycle, shows Biden at 53 percent and Trump at 40 percent in a hypothetical general election.

When broken down by gender, Biden leads Trump (60 percent to 34 percent) comfortably with women, but narrowly within the margin of error among men (47 percent to 46 percent). Caucasian voters are equally split among the two, but with Trump leading with 47 percent to Biden’s 46 percent.

https://www.breitbart.com/2020-election/2019/06/11/poll-biden-leading-trump-up-from-2016-with-hispanic-and-black-voters/

“It has been a long road coming. This is our third time entering Canada Rumble and this win means a lot to us, because we have been doing this over 24 years,” Klymaxx member Kevin “Squidly Man” Wheatle said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

The other sound systems in Canada Rumble were Sniper, King Aggression, Cum Traxx, Super Fresh and Majestic Vybez.

Wheatle attributes Klymaxx's win to experience.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/klymaxx-wins-canada-rumble_167058?profile=1116

“Everyone knows that a fed bear is a dead bear. This is why the public is asked to take steps to avoid leaving attractants and food at campsites in grizzly bear country,” Sarah McMillan, WildEarth Guardians’ conservation director, said in a press release. “But in Idaho and Wyoming, individuals seeking to kill black bears can dump hundreds of pounds of donuts and other foods in these same forests to attract and kill bears. It makes no sense.”

The plaintiffs, represented by the Western Environmental Law Center, say there have been eight cases in Wyoming and Idaho where hunters have mistaken a grizzly bear for a black bear — though it was unclear how many of those cases related to baiting.

Wyoming and Idaho are among 12 states in the nation that allow bear baiting and are the only two where both black and grizzly bears reside.

http://www.buffalobulletin.com/news/state/article_d78a8d86-8c53-11e9-a3b6-a7632c981ed6.html

The bill would allow townships to sue cities for charging higher rates to sewer or water ratepayers outside the city limits. Under the bill, the city could argue the higher rates are justified by industry practices and established rate-setting methodology, according to an analysis of the bill

https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/download?key=11559&format=pdf

by the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.

https://www.marionstar.com/story/news/local/2019/06/11/marion-urges-ohio-lawmakers-defeat-bill-sewer-rates/1419121001/

Facebook is launching an app that will pay users to share information with the social media giant about which apps they're using. The company previously rolled out two similar apps. But both were shut down after drawing criticism for infringing on privacy, and one was cited for violating Apple's App Store terms of agreement.

Facebook said the new app, called Study, is different than the previous two and was built from scratch. And it is only available on the Google Play Store, though Facebook said it might work to expand it to iOS in the future.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-will-pay-users-for-info-on-their-app-usage/?