Wendy's To Employ Self-Service Kiosks At 6,000 Locations

In direct response to higher wage prices and the firming of commodity prices,Wendy’s is going to install self-service ordering kiosks at 6,000 locations. McDonald’s is expected to follow at a slower pace.

Investors Business Daily reports Wendy’s Serves Up Big Kiosk Expansion As Wage Hikes Hit Fast Food.

Wendy’s (WEN) said that self-service ordering kiosks will be made available across its 6,000-plus restaurants in the second half of the year as minimum wage hikes and a tight labor market push up wages.

It will be up to franchisees whether to deploy the labor-saving technology, but Wendy’s President Todd Penegor did note that some franchise locations have been raising prices to offset wage hikes.

McDonald’s (MCD) has been testing self-service kiosks. But Wendy’s, which has been vocal about embracing labor-saving technology, is launching the biggest potential expansion.

All 258 Wendy’s restaurants in California, where the minimum wage rose to $10 an hour this year and will gradually rise to $15, are franchise-operated. Likewise, about 75% of 200-plus restaurants in New York are run by franchisees.

“We are seeing a bit of a softer overall category in April” relative to the past two quarters, Penegor said on an earnings call, implying more of an industrywide trend than an issue specific to Wendy’s.

Penegor said the reason for softer growth was hard to pinpoint, but he listed a cautious consumer, tougher spring weather in the Northeast, and a wider gap between the cost of food at home vs. food away from home as possible contributors.

In addition to self-order kiosks, the company is also getting ready to move beyond the testing phase with labor-saving mobile ordering and mobile payment available systemwide by the end of the year. Yum Brands and McDonald’s already have mobile ordering apps.

Carl’s Jr. Investing in Machines

Business Insider reports Fast-food CEO says he’s investing in machines because the government is making it difficult to afford employees.

The 100% automated restaurant, Eatsa, has inspired the CEO of Carl’s Jr.

The CEO of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s has visited the fully automated restaurant Eatsa — and it’s given him some ideas on how to deal with rising minimum wages.

“I want to try it,” CEO Andy Puzder told Business Insider of his automated restaurant plans. “We could have a restaurant that’s focused on all-natural products and is much like an Eatsa, where you order on a kiosk, you pay with a credit or debit card, your order pops up, and you never see a person.”

“This is the problem with Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton, and progressives who push very hard to raise the minimum wage,” says Puzder. “Does it really help if Sally makes $3 more an hour if Suzie has no job?”

Zero Human Interaction Eatsa

Also consider This is the first fast-food chain in America that requires zero human interaction.

A new restaurant chain called Eatsa is unlike any fast-food chain we’ve seen before.

The restaurant is almost fully automated, functioning like a vending machine that spits out freshly-prepared quinoa bowls.

When customers enter Eatsa, they order their food at an iPad kiosk.

Then they wait in front of a wall of glass cubbies, where their food will be appear when it’s ready.

Hidden behind the wall of cubbies, kitchen staff prepare the food.

Positions Open!

State of Affairs

Fast food is not cheap. $15 minimum wages do not help.

It’s easy to dismiss Eatsa. It has 10 stores. But it’s the idea that’s important.

Wendy’s is adopting a similar model as best it can, en masse.

Department stores that have massively over-expanded will follow suit.

None of these trends bode well for store expansion or hiring. Layoffs are on the horizon.

Credit to Zero Hedge

In Post-Christian America, Hundreds-Of-Thousands (And Growing) Prefer WITCHCRAFT As Religion

Wicca is a modern version of ancient pagan religions, created in England and brought to the United States in the 1960s. Its followers worship a goddess and a god, honor the Earth and practice ritual magic. 

They follow the Wiccan Rede, a statement of principles that stresses the importance of doing no harm. Because Wicca is a highly decentralized religion with no central authority, it’s hard to get a tally of its members. 

The American Religious Identification Survey, which periodically surveys 50,000 Americans, said the number of self-identified Wiccans increased to 342,000 in 2008, up from 134,000 in 2001. The 2008 figures are the most recent available. 

Wicca’s growth tracks the changing religious landscape in the U.S., as a growing number of people leave established religions and become either unaffiliated or switch to alternative religions. About 5.9 percent of Americans followed a non-Christian faith in 2014, up from 4.7 percent in 2007, according to the Pew Research Center…

Credit to skywatchtv.com

http://skywatchtv.com/2016/05/10/post-christian-america-hundreds-thousands-growing-prefer-witchcraft-religion-choice/

"Venezuela Apocalypse" 5,000 Looting Stores

Most DANGEROUS places in world to be a Christian

More than 7,000 Christians were murdered because of their faith in the last year with millions punished for their beliefs. 

North Korea remains the worst place to be a Christian while Iraq has replaced Somalia as the second most dangerous place to be a Christian. 

Eritrea, now nicknamed the ‘North Korea of Africa' due to high levels of dictatorial paranoia, follows at number three.

Afghanistan, Syria and Pakistan are the next most difficult places for Christians.

India, the second most populous country in the world, has seen persecution levels rise dramatically for the third year running, rising to number 17 from a ranking of 31 in 2013.

Christian charity Open Doors, which complied the list, said extreme Islamic fundamentalism is rising most sharply in sub-Saharan Africa, where more people are killed for their Christian faith than anywhere else in the world.

Lisa Pearce, CEO of Open Doors UK & Ireland, said: "The persecution of Christians is getting worse, in every region in which we work - and it's getting worse fast.

"In many parts of the world, despite the pressure and the often terrible cost, the church continues to grow.

"There is always hope, and yet we are in unmarked territory - the pace and scale of persecution of Christians is unprecedented and growing fast."

In North Korea it's estimated 70,000 Christians are currently in prison or labour camps because of their faith- which is illegal under Kim Jong-un's regime. 

Christians are forced to worship in secret and risk torture and death to do so. 

Iraq has been named the second most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian where the church is on the brink of being wiped out. 

GETTY/ EXPRESS

Christians have been increasingly persecuted by Islamic extremists

The Christian population or Iraq has been decimated from two million in 2003 to less than 200,000 today. 

A petition with more than 400,000 signatures has been submitted to the UN calling for the Security Council to formally declare the persecution of Christians in Iraq and Syria as genocide. 

The lowest ranking country in 2013, Niger, had 35 points, this year's lowest ranking country, Oman, had 53 points - an increase of more than 50 per cent.

Lisa Pearce said: "This is a cause of great concern. Many countries have dropped down the list, not because persecution there is decreasing, but simply because others are getting worse faster."

Credit to The Express

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/669376/mapped-most-dangerous-places-in-world-to-be-Christian-North-Korea-Syria-Iraq