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The American International Motorcycle Expo (AIMExpo) announced that dealer registration is now open for the fourth annual event on October 13-16 from the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Registration is free for dealers and offers access to many valuable experiences including global and North American new product debuts from participating OEMs and aftermarket companies, on- and off-road demo rides, and no-cost participation in the highly valued Powersports Dealer Seminars presented by Powersports Business.
Qualified powersports dealers will find registration simplified for 2016. Dealers who have previously registered for the first three years of AIMExpo will be recognized by the new registration system and will be able to bypass the trade qualification steps, completing the process in only a few clicks. Registration can be found by visiting the AIMExpo website and clicking the yellow dealer registration button on the homepage. You can also click here.
Seeing new product is the No. 1 reason dealers attend AIMExpo, and there will be plenty to see and appreciate during the exclusive trade days on October 13 and 14. Dealers join international media attendees as being among the first to witness many of the new OEM model and aftermarket product launches happening during both trade days. With nearly 600 exhibitors expected, there will also be plenty of products to check out from companies exhibiting for the first time, with an increasing number of exhibitors offering show-only specials as a benefit for dealers.
In addition to first looks at a wide array of new products, dealers attend AIMExpo to increase their knowledge in the many areas of their businesses. Dealers will again have full and free access to the Powersports Dealer Seminars presented by Powersports Business. The increasingly popular education program offers five tracks of seminars designed to equip dealers with cutting-edge information they can use to improve the business of their dealership. From social media and marketing, to advanced dealership inventory procedures and more, there is a session for every type of dealer who is eager to immediately enhance their business. The seminar schedule will be released in early July to help dealers plan their AIMExpo experience.
“Dealers have told us that getting a look at new product and acquiring knowledge are the most important reasons they attend AIMExpo. Networking with their peers and industry representatives are high on the list too,” said Mike Webster, SVP of MIC Events, producer of the event. “AIMExpo offers all of that and more, and any dealer looking to grow their business has the chance to do so with a minimal financial investment and a great potential return. We’re positive their visit to Orlando in October will prove a worthwhile experience that is sure to reap benefits throughout the next year and beyond.”
Dealers with questions about AIMExpo or registering to attend can call toll free at 855-MC-SHOWS (855-627-4697) or visit AIMExpoUSA.com for more information. Companies interested in exhibiting at AIMExpo can call the same toll-free number and ask to speak to an AIMExpo Account Manager.
Be sure to stay tuned to the AIMExpoUSA.com website and keep up to date on exciting news as it happens by visiting AIMExpo’s social media pages. “Like” the American International Motorcycle Expo on Facebook, and “Follow” on Twitter or Instagram: @AIMExpo.


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The last revolution in front end trading technology – essentially the tools traders use to interact with the markets – came when Bloomberg released their primitive but surprisingly resilient terminals. Now that new systems are hitting the Street, new tools are necessary to help traders make better decisions. That’s why BCT made their interesting new Terminal.
The tool is essentially a double-screened PC with a great deal of proprietary software installed. It looks at multiple exchanges at once and lets you read news, prices, and market changes in one easy-to-understand package. I sat down with the BCT team to look at their product more closely and despite some early marketing hiccups the team seems to have a cool – if complex – product for those more familiar with the Bourse than Binance.

domain: news


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COLUMBUS, Ohio (News Talk 1480 WHBC) – Monday is the day Governor Mike DeWine says non-essential manufacturing, distribution and construction businesses can begin reopening.
The same goes for general offices.
On Saturday, some non-essential retail businesses could begin taking customers by appointment or curbside.
They’re not to swing their doors open until next Tuesday.
We expect to hear plans for restarting closed restaurants, personal care businesses, gyms, daycare and more this week.


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Last updated on May 22nd, 2020 at 12:00 pm
First Data Merchant Services, a business unit that Brookfield-based Fiserv Inc. acquired in 2019, has agreed to pay the Federal Trade Commission $40.2 million to settle accusations it assisted in laundering credit card transactions as part of scams targeting consumers.
“First Data is paying $40 million because it repeatedly looked the other way while its payment processing services were being used to commit fraud,” said Daniel Kaufman, deputy director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “When companies fail to screen out fraudsters exploiting the payment processing system to steal people’s money, they’re breaking the law – and injuring consumers.”
In a statement, Fiserv, which acquired First Data Corp. in July 2019 in a $22 billion all-stock deal, said the settlement was in the best interest of First Data, clients and their customers and consumers. It also noted the resolution related to a single independent sales agent.
“We remain committed to ensuring that our business partners and merchants operate with integrity, and our enhanced practices will enable us to continue to lead the industry in fraud prevention, and business and consumer protection,” the statement said.
Fiserv has increased its investments in areas that improve detection of attempted fraud on its platforms, underwriting requirements, activity reviews and fraud alert protocols, according to a press release.
As part of the settlement, First Data did not admit or deny the allegations of the complaint.
The complain says First Data ignored repeated warnings from employees, banks and others that former First Data executive Chi “Vincent” Ko, through his company that served as an independent sales agent for First Data, was laundering, and First Data was assisting and facilitating laundering, payments for companies that were breaking the law over a number of years, according to the complaint.
Ko was later hired as an executive at First Data. Through his prior company, First Pay Solutions LLC, Ko opened hundreds of merchant accounts for at least four scams – three that were the subject of FTC actions, and one that was the subject of a U.S. Department of Justice criminal prosecution.
The FTC complaint said that Ko, between 2012 and 2014, opened accounts under false names, provided Wells Fargo Bank with deceptive information to open the accounts and ignored the evidence that his clients were engaged in fraud. The $40.2 million to be paid in the settlements will be used to refund consumers harmed by these scams.
The complaint also says First Data ignored several warnings about Ko and First Pay’s activity. Among the warnings was a 2014 email from Wells Fargo’s executive vice president, which stated:
“Why is First Data signing ISOs like [First Pay]? They are going to get First Data and Wells Fargo in trouble with the FTC and CFPB due to consumer deceptive practices…”
A 2014 Visa investigation required First Data to pay back $18.7 million in charges processed by Ko and temporarily banned First Data from bringing on high-risk merchants, according to the FTC. A 2015 forensic audit conducted as part of Visa’s investigation indicated that First Data had “no controls” on how the company managed high-risk merchants.
The complaint says that the defendants violated the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
Under the terms of First Data’s settlement, First Data will be prohibited from assisting or facilitating FTC Act violations related to payment processing and evading fraud and risk oversight programs. The company will be required to screen and monitor certain high-risk merchant-clients, as well as establish and implement an oversight program to monitor its wholesale ISOs.
The settlement also requires First Data to hire an independent assessor to oversee the company’s compliance with the settlement’s oversight program for the next three years.
The terms of Ko’s settlement requires him to pay more than $270,000 – he is banned from payment processing for certain types of high-risk merchants, credit card laundering activities, making or assisting others in making false or misleading statements and assisting or facilitating violations of the FTC Act, according to the FTC.
Get more news and insight in the April 27 issue of BizTimes Milwaukee. Subscribe to get updates in your inbox here.


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Is Demon's Souls Remake Coming To PC?
Will the Demon's Souls remake eventually come to PC, or will it remain a PS5 exclusive?
The Demon's Souls remake was released as a PS5 launch game, but whether or not it will remain exclusive on the PS5 or eventually come to PC, either through Steam or another digital storefront, is a bit confusing. Below, we'll parse through some of the messaging provided by Sony around the possibility of a Demon's Souls PC version and speculate on whether or not we think it's likely to happen.
Is Demon's Souls Remake Getting a PC Version?
An early gameplay reveal trailer for Bluepoint's Demon's Souls remake closed out with a screen clearly stating in the footnote, "Also available on PC." It also referred to the game as a "PlayStation exclusive," with the added note, "Not available on other consoles for a limited time." This led many to believe that the Demon's Souls remake was a PS5 console launch exclusive and that it would eventually make its way to other platforms, including PC.
According to Sony, this messaging was "human error." The trailer was promptly taken down and replaced with a new version of the trailer that did not include the PC announcement. When pressed for clarification by Kotaku on whether or not this means Demon's Souls is not coming to PC, a Sony representative said, "Yes, it's just PS5."
In August 2020, however, a corporate report from Sony expressed the company's interest in porting over more of its first-party titles to PC "in order to promote further growth in our profitability." We've already seen that strategy play out with the launch of first-party Sony titles like Death Stranding and Horizon Zero Dawn hitting Steam months or even years after their launch on PS4. Bloodborne, a PS4 exclusive since its launch in 2015 and another incredibly successful FromSoftware IP, is among the highest in-demand from PC players. The Demon's Souls remake, which Tamoor Hussain called an "unmitigated success" in our Demon's Souls review, could come to PC.
"It's Just PS5," Says Sony--But Is It Really?
Whether or not Demon's Souls will eventually find its way to PC remains to be seen, but it honestly seems likely. The mixed messaging, along with the fact that Demon's Souls is a PS5 launch game on a console with a fairly lean launch lineup of exclusives, certainly makes us suspect that Sony isn't giving us all the answers just yet. The Dark Souls games have seen massive success across multiple platforms, including PC, so to keep the Demon's Souls remake all to PS5 would not seem in line with Sony's reported shift in strategy regarding first-party titles.
Still, the short answer remains no--according to Sony's current messaging, the Demon's Souls remake is not coming to PC. But with a 92 on Metacritic so far, it's already enjoying a ton of critical acclaim, so we're not giving up hope just yet. Sony's more relaxed policy toward exclusives doesn't look like it will be changing anytime soon. That could be good news for PC players.
Demon's Souls launched on PS5 on November 12. If you're looking to pick up a console to play it now, check out our order guide for the latest on where to buy a PS5. If you have the console and game and just need some help, check out our Demon's Souls beginner's tips.
GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.


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- Articles tagged "mwc 2012"
Besides the attention grabbing 808 PureView, Nokia also unveiled four other new handsets which are the Lumia 610, Asha 202, 203 and 302. The DC-HSPA variant of Nokia Lumia 900 will also be shipped to more countries in Q2 2012.
Nokia plans to set the new benchmark in smartphone imaging with the 808 PureView, which comes with a large, high resolution 41-megapixel sensor with Carl Zeiss optics. Is the Nokia 808 PureView the ultimate camera smarrtphone? Click to find out more.
If you don't already know, the kitschy Sony Xperia U is the other Sony smartphone unveiled at MWC 2012. The team goes behind the scene to check out what it has to offer compared to its NXT siblings.
2012 is no doubt the year for HTC to "focus on the product". The Taiwanese company announced a trio of handsets which are the HTC One X, One S and One V. Check out our initial impressions of HTC's first wave of devices for 2012.
Huawei started the ball rolling at this year's Mobile World Congress 2012 with an impressive lineup of its Ascend D Quad, D Quad and Ascend D1. The Chinese company also made a bold claim that its K3V2 quad-core processor is the fastest in the world. Join us as we find out more.
One of the two Android phones under the new Xperia NXT series, the Xperia P, makes its appearance today at the Sony Press Conference. What does it have to offer? Take a quick look.
With the Mobile World Congress 2012 coming right up, we gaze into the crystal ball and share some prominent trends, followed by a quick round-up of the latest news surrounding the annual event held at Barcelona. For those who've a keen interest in mobile technology progression, you'll definitely want to keep tabs on this.
- Lonely Planet has a travel app and exclusive watch faces for the Gear S3
- Singtel home broadband customers faced 24 hours of internet outage
- Google is working on a fix for the Pixel's camera freezing issue
- Apple explains why some iPhone 6s shut down unexpectedly
- 99% of fake Apple chargers will not protect you against electric shocks
- Google unveils "Best of 2016" apps and games on the Play Store
- Android OS malware Gooligan breaches more than 1 million Google accounts
- Razer updates its 14-inch Blade notebook with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060


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Updated 8:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 26 to reflect a correction sent by Cabela's regarding the dates of job interviews. The correct dates are Nov. 7-10.
KOCHVILLE TOWNSHIP, MI — Job hunters can set their sights on a new employment opportunity in Saginaw County. People who hunt and fish have an inside track.
The Cabela's outdoor store coming to Kochville Township is looking to hire more than 100 people to work at its newest retail location.
“The ideal candidate is someone who has a love of the outdoors and is passionate about customer service,” Bruce Biedenharn, general manager of the new store, said in a release. “We are looking for employees who embrace the Cabela’s lifestyle and are eager to share their enthusiasm with others.”
The company said most employees are expected to come from the Saginaw area.


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Fall is almost upon us. Destinations are emptying of summer revelers, people are returning to regular work schedules and children already back in school.
For those who can escape during this typical “shoulder season,” the fall brings its own set of unique destinations to explore.
A new American Express Travel Forecast looks at internal booking data for the fall season and has some of the answers for those wondering where to go.
The data shows that travelers interest’s span the globe among some surprising destinations rising to the top.
Beirut is back on bucket lists, and Tel Aviv is making a comeback as well: Interest in both destinations is up nearly 150 percent.
“Cognizant of today’s geopolitical climate, Americans are shifting the conversation from apprehension to understanding and are openly exploring destinations in the Middle East—tourism is booming, airlines are creating more routes, it’s never been a better time to visit these exotic gateways to culture,” said Jamee Lubkemann, vice president of American Express Travel.
Beirut’s surge in popularity is well-deserved. The country is known as the Paris of the Middle East and is one of the world’s oldest settlements.
Tel Aviv is also not a surprise to forecasters, as many are calling it the “Dubai for avid travelers,” according to American Express Travel.
Lubkemann also noted it’s not surprising to see other off-the-beaten-path destinations rise to the top.
“As the act of travel becomes less of an ‘if’ and more of a ‘when’ for today’s travelers, far-off African destinations are seeing an uptick in bookings as Americans get more knowledgeable and curious about discovering untraditional places,” said Lubkemann.
Destinations such as Nairobi, Kenya; and Casablanca, Morocco are drawing visitors.
Interest in Casablanca is up 86 percent attributed to the lure of culture, souks, Mauresque buildings, spice markets and a thriving port city of Casablanca. Nairobi is becoming a tech hub in Kenya and has evolved to a stunning gateway for travelers on African safaris. More visitors to Nairobi are interested in staying longer to enjoy its budding food scene.
While new destinations are emerging, old ones are regaining popularity as well. Interest in Paris and London is surging as are destinations in Americans’ backyard such as Mazatlan, Mexico, and Belize.
Interest in Mazatlan has surged 82 percent as the city and surrounding areas have become a haven for the creative class who flock to the city’s historic old town.
Belize is also experiencing an influx of visitors due to a growing interest in Mayan culture as well as ongoing visitation to what are arguably some of the world’s best dive sites.
A favorable exchange rate continues to drive visitors to London as the city further ups the ante for those who flock to trendy Shoreditch, check into luxury hotels such as the new Shangri-La Hotel At The Shard and enjoy some of the world’s hottest new restaurants.
Nothing can stop the City of Light, either. The American Express Travel Forecast showed that bookings to Paris were up 55 percent, possibly driven by the reopening of famous hotels such as Hotel de Crillon and the Ritz Hotel.
“Redefining the word ‘tourist’ for a new generation of U.S. jetsetters,” noted Lubkemann, “luxury travelers still seek tried and true destinations where there is always something left to uncover.”
You can read more of the news on source


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Manila-based financial tech startup PayMongo has raised $2.7 million in seed funding to give merchants in the Philippines and other Southeast Asian markets simple ways to set up online payments. Investors included Founders Fund, Peter Thiel and Stripe, with participation from Y Combinator (PayMongo is the first Philippine fintech company it has funded), Global Founders Capital, Soma Capital, Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen and other angel investors.
PayMongo was launched in June by a founding team that includes CEO Francis Plaza, COO Edwin Lacierda, CTO Jamie Hing and chief growth officer Luis Sia. Since then, more than 1,000 businesses have started using its platform and the startup says its total transaction value processed is growing at an average of 117% week over week. PayMongo’s seed round will be used for hiring, product development, business acquisitions and strategic partnerships.
The startup will focus on the Philippines first, where the country’s central bank has set a target of increasing the rate of cashless payments to 20%. Plaza says PayMongo’s goal is to become the largest payment service provider in the country before expanding to other markets in Southeast Asia.
PayMongo has already partnered with several financial institutions, and its technology, including a payments API that Plaza says can be set up in minutes, is designed to be user friendly. Because many online merchants in the Philippines sell through social media platforms and messaging apps, like Facebook, Instagram, Viber and WhatsApp, PayMongo also provides customizable payment links that they can send to customers.
The credit card penetration rate in the Philippines is only about 6%, Plaza says, so PayMongo also supports e-wallets like GCash and PayMaya and services that allow people to pay for online purchases in cash at convenience stores. PayMongo’s products for micro-entrepreneurs, like freelancers and people who sell items through social media, help it differentiate from competitors like Paynamics, Dragonpay and PesoPay, which typically focus on serving larger businesses (though Plaza says PayMongo has also been adopted by large retail chains).
South Africa Today


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View the latest market
China's Wentai Technologies is planning to buy 75.86% of Nexperia, a Dutch chip maker, for 25.2 billion yuan ($3.6 billion), according to Bloomberg.
NXP sold its stake in Anshi Semiconductor to a consortium of Chinese investors in 2016. Wentai Technologies has consolidated control of the Dutch chip maker in the name of a company that assembles devices for Huawei, Lenovo and Millet's smartphone brands.
The acquisition of Nexperia, which has recently blocked several high-profile deals, requires the approval of the U.S. Foreign Investment Commission (CFIUS).
Wentai Technologies claims to be one of the world's largest smartphone manufacturers, but its reputation in the technology industry is small. The company was founded in 2006 by Zhang Xuezheng, a former engineer of ZTE and then an executive. Like Hon Hai Precision Industries Ltd., a mobile phone assembler, the company manufactures equipment for other brands, such as millet's low-end mobile phone brand red rice.
But now, the company is trying to strengthen its semiconductor technology, including chip design, manufacturing and packaging. The company also said it would set up R & D centers in Shenzhen, Xi'an and Shanghai.
Wentai Technologies has yet to fully describe its funding for the acquisition of Andersen Semiconductor, which will provide components such as diodes and logic packages for automotive and industrial customers. On Tuesday, the company said it would issue up to 127.45 million shares to raise 4.63 billion yuan --- but that was only a fraction of the initial cost.
In April, the company briefly disclosed the deal, and then the stock was suspended, with a market value of 19.4 billion yuan. Wen Tai technology has said that the company's revenue in 2017 reached 16 billion 800 million yuan. (heap)
Waonews is a news media from China, with hundreds of translations, rolling updates China News, hoping to get the likes of foreign netizens


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Ripple Price Prediction 2018: Can XRP rise to $5 in 2019 – XRP Price / Ripple News Today: XRP has been one of the most popular cryptocurrency in the market. Also, with the Ripple Inc. inking more and more agreements with various corporations as well as banks, the influence of XRP is significantly increasing. The question which however remains is whether these partnerships can help ripple in gaining $3 price which it gained earlier.
Ripple Price Today XRP/USD
XRP May Go To 0.78 USD In 2018
September 2018 was the best month for Ripple/XRP so far because it beat Ethereum market capitlization twice to become the the 2nd most valued crytocurrency. In same month, Ripple’s blockchain solution xCurrent when live in Japan for real time bank to bank transfer.
#1 The Economic Forecast Agency
The EFA predicts that Ripple’s price would fall further, which means their products will no longer be used. As a result, Ripple could fall to $0.32 by in 2019.
#2 Ripple Coin News
Ripple/XRP coin news, the second largest news site on the basis of traffic, predicts that 2019 and the coming years will be a smooth period for Ripple as there will be an addition to the partnerships and new technologies, which might surge its price to 8 to 10 dollars.
#3 Daily Express
The Daily Express, a UK tabloid newspaper, believes XRP could skyrocket in 2019 with an XRP token price of $5.06.
Metro, The Uk’s biggest newspaper publication argues that Ripple would fall to $0.22-0.28. They think Bitcoin will still dominate the millennial mindset and will reach $20,000
CoinSwitch on Ripple Price Prediction
According to the different predictions worldwide, Ripple is going to take an upward surge in a graphical manner.
According to the World Bank, global remittance payments are expected to grow by 3.4% to roughly US$466 billion in 2019. Therefore, there’s a large market for Ripple to potentially tap into.
Ripple Price Prediction suggest that the Ripple Price is up for a long-term 926.52%in the XRP price value with a 5-year investment. This means that in the year 2023, the Ripple Price is forecasted to stand at $4.52.
Ripple Price Prediction for 2019
Ripple may open the market with the rate of $ 0.78 and may reach till $1.10 till the middle of 2019. Next year, it may be having independent trading platforms and investment routes like bitcoin and Ethereum, closing the rate to around $1.20 by the end of 2019. It will give tough competitions to other currencies like Litecoin and Dash.
Ripple Price Prediction for 2020
It looks like 2020 will be the year for cryptocurrencies and Ripple is predicted to be one of the leading cryptocurrencies in the world with the high amount of supply. First quarter will be very volatile as all of the currencies would experience ups and lows. Cryptocurrencies might give a competition to the stock markets and commodity markets in the near future. By the end of 2020, Ripple would be around $1.40-1.50.
Ripple Price Prediction in 5 years
As per the forecast and algorithmic analysis, the price of 1 Ripple (XRP) will be around $4.52 in 2023.
Ripple is also set to partner with more European and Latin American banks which might help promote both XRP and Ripple’s payment technology. These developments could lead, to big price rises in the XRP token price as the predictions stated above. So this means, the Ripple price prediction should go the positive way. You can convert XRP to BTC from CoinSwitch at best rates.
Ripple New Developments:
Ripple Inc is developing newer and newer technologies which can propel further the adoption of its payment protocols. It is consistently trying to increase the adoption of its xCurrent, xVia, xRapid protocols. It is trying to integrate these with XRP. With the increased adoption of these technologies, the price of XRP will increase further as well. There are quite a few new developments due to which, it can rise to even $ 5 in 2019.
XRP is the only cryptocurrency on SBI’s virtual currency platform:
SBI has remained faithful to ripple since a long period of time. On its virtual currency platform, XRP is the 1st cryptocurrency to be listed. Also, it is the only cryptocurrency which will be listed. As a result, the credibility of XRP increases significantly. According to the CEO of SBI Holdings, Yoshitaka Kitao, the company will be attempting to market the platform in order to make it one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges.
As a result, the volumes of XRP will increase significantly. This will in turn help ripple.
Ripple Inc is tying up with biggest financial institutions:
JP Morgan a few months back announced that it will develop its own system similar to ripple in order to manage internal cost. However, the company has not been able to make any further developments. This is a clear indication that developing such a system is not that easy.
Moreover, companies like Western Union, Bank of America are already testing the ripple network in order to process remittances. With successful testing of these networks, it can easily lead to widespread adoption of the Ripple protocol. This will ultimately increase the usage of XRP.
Even though the cryptocurrency market is highly volatile but with so many upcoming partnerships, ripple does hold greater value. If any of the large banks implement the ripple protocol, it can easily rise above $ 5. It all depends on the partnerships which it is forging with various companies all over the world. If it is officially implemented by any of the banks, it will receive a huge boost. Keywords: Ripple, XRP, cryptocurrency, Ripple Price Today, Ripple News today, XRP Price Prediction Source: Crypto Globalist


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Mecum's Kansas City December 2017 Auction Reaches $8.2 Million Sold
By: Mecum Auctions Sales topped by 2005 Ford GT at $265,000WALWORTH, Wis. – Dec. 5, 2017 – Mecum Auctions' collector-car auction in Kansas City, Missouri, held Nov. 30 through Dec. 2, was a success as 391 vehicles hammered sold for an overall total of $8.2 million in sales.
The biannual auction is one of Mecum's most consistent events and a personal favorite for many Mecum employees and customers alike. Sales at the December auction were topped by a 2005 Ford GT (Lot S91) with just 3,600 miles that gaveled for $265,000. Other top sellers included an attractive 1968 Ford Mustang Resto Mod (Lot S108) and a 36,000-mile 1986 Ferrari Testarossa (Lot S86).
The complete top 10 sales at the Mecum Kansas City 2017 auction include (individual prices do not include buyer's premiums): 1.2005 Ford GT (Lot S91) at $265,000
1.1968 Ford Mustang Resto Mod (Lot S108) at $95,000
1.1986 Ferrari Testarossa (Lot S86) at $87,500
1.1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351 Fastback (Lot S118) at $75,000
1.1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible (Lot S130.1) at $74,000
1.1962 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (Lot S116.1) at $69,500
1.1964 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe (Lot S99) at $68,000
1.2014 Dodge Viper SRT-10 (Lot S80.1) at $63,500
9 Six-Figure Chevrolet Trucks― As vintage Chevrolet trucks increase in popularity with enthusiasts, more trucks are going up for auction and sale prices for the most coveted trucks keep increasing. Vintage trucks, especially......
Mecum Auctions Announces 2018 Auction Schedule – The worlds largest collector-car auction company will host at least 14 classic- and collector-car auctions, two vintage- and antique-motorcycle auctions and two vintage-tractor auctions in 2018 in......


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Swordsman: Open Beta Coming July 3rd
Perfect World Entertainment Inc., a leading publisher of widely-acclaimed free-to-play MMORPGs, is pleased to announce that Swordsman will enter Open Beta on July 3, 2014. Players who have taken part in the currently ongoing Closed Beta will receive their Closed Beta awards once Open Beta starts.
Additionally, Perfect World Entertainment has released a brand new Swordsman producer walkthrough trailer, where Product Manager Gabrielle Heiland covers the key pillars of Swordsman, from its cinematic story and action-packed combat, to fluid movement, skill-based PvP, and immersive guilds.
For more info, visit http://community.arcgames.com/en/news/swordsman
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Disney’s “Frozen” continues to rake in money from merchandise sales as the actress playing Elsa multiplied her original paycheck by ten times.
The NY Times reported how Disney’s “Frozen” generated more dollars for the studio by cashing on in the merchandise sales.
Although sales based on brands alone are on a decline, the publication reported that Disney’s “Frozen” “appears to be impervious to the trend.” “It helps that the company is not selling products based on the quality of craftsmanship, but based on the quality of its stories.
Disney also specializes in selling affordable luxuries,” the report added.
The popularity of Disney’s “Frozen” merchandise is also tied to the growing market of girls fashions.
While most people will think that “Disney princesses” have been around for a very long time, they weren’t that popular until the 90s.
“Disney really began to focus on princesses in 2000, after a new executive went to see a ‘Disney on Ice’ show and was struck by how many of the girls in the audience were wearing homemade princess costumes,” it said.
Meanwhile, “Frozen” voice actress Spencer Laney Ganus was paid a pittance compared to the $1.2 billion gross box-office sales of the animated movie worldwide, said TMZ .
“The 15-year-old voiced one of the most iconic characters in Disney history …
but only got a one-day guaranteed payment of $926.20 …
this according to her contract which was filed with the court,” it said.
“Granted she only had a few lines.
Another actress played young Elsa, and Idina Menzel was the voice of grown-up Elsa.” But MailOnline published the clarification that “Frozen actress Spencer Laney Ganus was actually paid an additional $10,000 “in residual checks.” In fact, she will be doing more voice-over work for Disney so the report of her being underpaid is totally overblown.
As to the money, she said, it will go into her college fund.
The “Frozen” actress also lent her voice to “Happy Feet” and “Ice Age.”


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What you need to know
- Surface revenue is up 6% year-over-year.
- Microsoft pulled in nearly $2 billion in Surface revenue - a new record.
- Steep cuts in holiday pricing and new devices drove demand.
Microsoft's earnings report is out for the second quarter of its 2020 fiscal year, and the company raked in 36.9 billion beating most estimates.
The big news for More Personal Computing, especially the Surface division is good all around. Microsoft is reporting $1.98 billion in revenue for Surface, which is up 6 percent year-over-year ($1.86 billion).
That number also is up significantly from last quarter at just $1.13 billion where there was a lull before new Surface devices.
Microsoft does not break out the numbers for Surface individually, so it is unclear which device is selling the best. Microsoft launched Surface Pro 7, Surface Pro X, and Surface Laptop 3 (including a new 15-inch model) that resonated with audiences. The company was also more aggressive than usual in pricing with some substantial discounts over the holidays to woo buyers.
Update: On Microsoft's earning's CFO Amy Hood noted that these Surface numbers were lower than expected due to "execution challenges". For guidance, Microsoft expects next quarter to see "single digit growth" with Surface as they work through those execution challenges. It's unclear what those challenges are, but Microsoft did miss shipping Surface Earbuds during this quarter.
See more of Microsoft's full quarter results.
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Minecraft Dungeons lead talks its next DLC and the future endgame
We talk Minecraft Dungeons’ recent Jungle Awakens DLC, the Creeping Winter expansion, and future endgame plans with game director, Måns Olson.
Fix up your Xbox Elite Controller with these parts
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Hands-on with Windows 10 build 20161 showcasing the new Start menu
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Set up a Surface Pro workstation with one of these external monitors
The Surface Pro is great on its own, but that doesn't mean you can't add one or two external monitors to it and create a sweet battlestation. Here are the best overall picks available now.


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According to a report from Chongdiantou, Apple plans to use the new USB-C standard for the 2018 iPhones charger that comes in the box. Currently, Apples 2017 iPhones (iPhone 8, 8 Plus, X) all come with a 5W charger and a USB-A to Lightning cable even though all 2017 iPhones support faster charging via the USB Power Delivery standard.
The alleged charger will have a new oval design and sport an updated USB-C port with up to 18W of Power Delivery current, thus, the cable that would come with this new charger would be USB-C to Lightning connector.
users who purchase the next-generation iPhone can enjoy the USB PD fast-charge function right out of the box, without having to pay extra to purchase expensive original charging accessories.
If you remember, when the 2017 iPhones came out, those who wanted to take advantage of faster-charging had to purchase a 29W USB-C adapter for $49 and a USB-C to Lightning cable, which goes for $29. $80 is far too much for a feature that should have been available out of the box.
This new default Apple charger would make it easier for new-gen MacBook owners who struggle with only having USB-C ports and living the #DongleLife This is certainly a move that Apple should have done for 2017.
Again, this isnt totally confirmed, but offering a higher-capacity charger out of the box is certainly a move long overdue by Apple.
Source (Translated) | Via


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Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) reported first quarter 2022 earnings results today.
Net sales totaled $13 billion compared to $10.4 billion in the same period a year ago.
Net income attributable to Tyson was $1.1 billion, or $3.07 per share, compared to $467 million, or $1.28 per share, last year. Adjusted EPS was $2.87.
For the full year of 2022, sales are expected to be at the upper end of $49-51 billion.
Looking for more insights on the earnings results? Click here to access the full transcripts of the latest earnings conference calls!
Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ) reported first quarter 2023 earnings results today. Net sales increased 17% year-over-year to $2.3 billion. Net income attributable to CBI was $390 million, or $2.06
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) on Thursday said its third-quarter revenues decreased. As a result, the healthcare service company's adjusted profit declined but exceeded consensus estimates. Net profit, on
The performance of AngioDynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGO) has not been very impressive lately, despite being part of a rapidly growing industry. But the company's efforts to bring innovation to the


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Dow teams up with business partners providing quality products for COVID-19 field hospitals
Dow Thailand, a global materials science leader, has teamed up with four business partners, Captain Coating Company Limited, Bangkok Foam Company Limited, Bangkok Cable Company Limited, and Eastern Polymer Group Public Company Limited to provide support for COVID-19 field hospitals and community isolation centers in Rayong. The provision of innovative products is aimed to relieve the effects of the outbreak in the communities and enhance the efficiency and adequacy of relevant public health services.
"Rayong is in the dark red zone of maximum and strictly controlled areas with a high number of cases. It is also one of Thailand's significant economic zones where several key industrial estates are located. These manufacturing bases are the main drivers for the country's economy and vital for export businesses. Therefore, Dow, a manufacturer of materials and chemical products for various industries, along with our business allies, has joined forces to hand over products worth a total of THB 3 million to support the setting up of COVID-19 field hospitals and community isolation centers in Rayong under the ‘Dow support Thailand to fight against COVID-19’ campaign," said Chatchai Luanpolcharoenchai, Dow Thailand President.
Dow has teamed up with four business partners who use Dow products as raw materials for manufacturing. Captain Coating Company Limited has donated primer, gloss enamel, and interior and exterior paint worth over THB 60,000 to support EEC Ban Chang field hospital facility improvement.
Bangkok Cable Company Limited has donated PVC-coated copper and aluminum power cables, which are highly safe, to be used for electrical system improvement inside the EEC Ban Chang field hospital's building.
Bangkok Foam Company Limited has donated 500 sets of high-quality PU foam mattresses made from Dow's polyurethane worth more than THB 450,000 to field hospitals and isolation centers in Rayong. The PVC-coated mattresses are easy to clean, which reduces germ buildup.
Eastern Polymer Group Public Company Limited or EPG, a leading global manufacturer and distributor of polymer and converted plastics products, has donated 600 units of AEROKLAS beds worth over THB 1.75 million. The beds, which have been specially made for this donation, contain Dow's ELITETM polyethylene. The resin improves elasticity and enables the beds to be lightweight, durable, and easy to set up. The beds are also easily recyclable and can later be converted into other furniture items when the COVID-19 situation improves.
In addition to the collaboration with its business allies, Dow has provided COVID-19 protective equipment and supplies for medical personnel to help them perform their duties more safely and efficiently. Beddings, essential electrical appliances, and daily necessities have also been donated to ensure prompt readiness in receiving more patients in the future.
The cooperation illustrates Dow and its business partners' contribution to the COVID-19 situation in Thailand. The partners have been supporting hospitals and public health agencies in protecting and controlling COVID-19 throughout the pandemic. They are committed to standing by Thai people to overcome this crisis together.


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H-E-B, Texas’ largest grocery chain responds to hurricane Harvey by rolling out a disaster relief convoy. According to H-E-B, the convoy includes fifteen vehicles, including two mobile kitchens, water and fuel tankers, portable generators, emergency grocery supplies and equipment.
H‑E‑B’s DRUs (Disaster Relief Units) are fully equipped with an H‑E‑B Pharmacy and mobile Business Services unit, which allows displaced residents to fill prescriptions, cash checks and pay bills, as well as provide access to an ATM. The H‑E‑B Mobile Kitchens, two 45‑foot‑long food preparation facilities that are each designed to serve up to 2,500 meals per hour, will set up and serve hot meals to first responders and storm victims.
In addition, H-E-B dispatched a team of 100 employees to help assist in helping folks that have been impacted by the storm. HEB will be providing dry-ice, bottled water, dry-goods, and medicine. One of the mobile units includes a mobile pharmacy.
The convoy was dispatched to Victoria, Texas and staged at the HEB store at 1505 E. Rio Grande, Victoria, Texas. Another journalist, NBC5’s Brian Curtis posted a video on Facebook showing the convoy on the side of the road preparing to deploy.


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The series, which is a the result of a collaboration with Swarovski, follows Daman as he researches for the 'Carrie Diaires' and workings on shoots and offers a candid glimpse into the life of a costume designer. 'I am so excited that thanks to Swarovski I'm finally able to bring my fans a real-life glimpse of a career in costume design,' he said in a statement.
The first episode premieres tomorrow but tonight Daman will host an event at the Swarovski store on Lincoln Road in Miami and will be answering style questions all night. If you want to get involved simply use hashtag #SwarovskiStyle and watch the live Q&A session here from 7pm EST.
NEW YORK, June 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Swarovski, the world's leading designer of fashion jewelry, has teamed up with Eric Daman, one of the most influential costume designers, to create "The Daman Chronicles," a reality web series. "The Daman Chronicles" follows Eric in his life as he gallivants around New York City prepping for a shoot, researching for upcoming television seasons and meeting with his influential friends. The web series will be exclusively distributed on Cambio, a leading online entertainment platform for teens and young adults, this summer with the first episode premiering June 19 following a live-streamed kickoff event at Swarovski's Lincoln Road boutique in Miami.
"We are thrilled long-time friend of the brand, Eric Daman, is starring in Swarovski's original content," says Livia Marotta, Director of Communications for Swarovski CGB NA. "Like Swarovski, Eric is very adept at bringing luxury aesthetics to the mainstream, which is what we are aiming to do with this entertaining and engaging web series and interactive program."
Leading up to "The Daman Chronicles" premiere, Swarovski and Cambio are inviting users to tap into their own costume design abilities through participating in the Dress as your Favorite "Gossip Girl" contest. Fashion fans simply upload photos of themselves dressed as their favorite "Gossip Girl" characters to Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #swarovskistyle. The best interpretation of a character's overall look according to Eric Daman will win the Rocket Necklace from Swarovski's summer jewelry collection, Seasons One through Four of "Gossip Girl" on DVD and social media notoriety.
"I am privileged to have partnered with Swarovski, a brand that is constantly innovating ways to engage young people through producing relatable content for platforms that teens and young adults interact with daily," says Eric Daman. "I am so excited that thanks to Swarovski I'm finally able to bring my fans a real-life glimpse of a career in costume design through 'The Daman Chronicles,' and ask budding designers, stylists and fashion enthusiasts for their interpretation of signature 'Gossip Girl' looks."


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Tag : Mike Ashley
A third of Sports Direct investors reportedly voted against Mike Ashley maintaining his role as CEO at the group’s annual general meeting yesterday.
Mike Ashley faces shareholder revolt Subscription
Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley is reported to be facing a shareholder rebellion ahead of the retailer’s upcoming annual meeting in September.
Four forces redefining the high streetSubscription
As the retail industry returns from its collective summer holidays and looks ahead to the autumn season, Drapers recaps how the high street has changed so far this year
Jack Wills’ new owner, Sports Direct, is asking landlords to accept rent-free tenancy agreements across some of its worst-performing stores, Drapers can reveal.
Sports Direct seeks Jack Wills rent cutsSubscription
Jack Wills’ new owner, Sports Direct, is reported to be negotiating with landlords to slash rents across its 100-store portfolio.
Questions over Ashley’s strategy with Jack Wills Subscription
Industry insiders have questioned Mike Ashley’s long-term strategy as he continues to “irrationally hoover up the high street”.
Sports Direct frontrunner for Jack Wills sale Subscription
The private equity owner of Jack Wills, BlueGem, is reportedly close to agreeing a sale of the business to Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley.
House of Fraser suppliers hit out at Ashley’s U-turn Subscription
House of Fraser suppliers have told Drapers they fear for the future of the struggling department store chain and questioned if Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley did his due diligence before he bought it.
House of Fraser weighs heavily on Sports DirectSubscription
Ahead of Sports Direct’s delayed results, expected on Friday, Drapers analyses Mike Ashley’s progress in transforming House of Fraser into the “Harrods of the high street” and integrating it into the group alongside premium fascia Flannels.
Sports Direct delays results Subscription
Mike Ashley’s retail empire Sports Direct has delayed announcing its financial results, following speculation about a fall in earnings, in a year in which the group pursued several large-scale takeover bids.


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A routine soybean shipment from the USA to China has been made famous as it is the first commodity deal that has been facilitated by blockchain technology. This is the first of its kind.
Pilot runs have been investigated for some time now, but this seemingly insignificant shipment of soybeans marks the first end-to-end real world transaction. The transaction happened on the back of tech, which was developed by the banks themselves. The transactions are normally incredibly paper-heavy, and digitising this transaction shortens this administrative aspect of the trade to around 20 percent of a typical transaction.
This recent transaction shows just how blockchain technology is becoming more accepted and being used for every day transactions. This has dramatically changed from the days in which it was just linked to Bitcoin.
Ironically, banks, who are often very against the idea of blockchain technology are the ones who stand to benefit the most. Santander UK estimated back in 2015 that around $20billion could be saved by employing blockchain technology. An expert agrees, saying;
âDistributed ledger technologies have been evolving rapidly, bringing more efficiency and security to our transactions, and immense expected benefits for our customers and everyone along the supply chain as a result.â
The MD of global IT and Delivery at Gazprom, Catherine Newman, has said;
âAlthough it is early stages yet, the proof of concept with BTL represents an exciting and potentially disruptive prospect in the near future.â
HSBC and Deutsche Bank have both introduced a blockchain technology to trade financing, along with Citi, who have generated a startup geared towards servicing foreign exchange markets via the blockchain platform.
Image Source: Pixabay


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Along with the IPL Season 10, Vivo lovers are offered with Vivo V5 Plus IPL Limited Edition to celebrate the ten years of popular cricket series Indian Premier League. The Chinese smartphone maker, Vivo with an exclusive partnership with e-commerce marketplace Flipkart is set to sell this special edition of smartphone for IPL fans.
Regarding this, Vivek Zhang, CMO, Vivo India, says, " The idea behind the launch of limited edition phone was to offer our consumers with not just the phone but an experience they can cherish for a lifetime. We have given strictest attention to the design and feel of the phone and our focus is to offer an exclusive experience to the cricket crazy audience."
This limited edition phone comes in a special matte Black color and has an 18-carat VIVOIPL logo carved at the back. Not just this, even it offers a dedicated cricket theme for the users, which can later be installed on other versions of Vivo phones.
Though the standard version of this phone was unveiled in India in January with a price tag of Rs. 27,980, this special limited edition is available for Rs. 25,990 from today. One can buy this limited edition of Vivo V5 Plus from Flipkart, retail stores, and Vivo-exclusive stores.
Other than IPL logo engraved on it, the new IPL Edition phone has same hardware specification and features like the standard Vivo V5 Plus. The dual front camera being the biggest highlight of this phone, it comes with a 20-megapixel camera with the Sony IMX376 1/2.78-inch sensor and a f/2.0 aperture in it.
It also comes with an 8-megapixel secondary camera which is mainly meant to capture depth-of-field information. It even sports a 16MP sensor on the back of the device with LED flash in it. With 5.5-inch full-HD display, it is powered by a 2.0GHz octa-core Snapdragon 625 SoC and a battery of 3055mAh.
It offers 4GB of RAM and 64GB of native storage which is non-expandable by default. The device runs on the company's Funtouch OS 3.0 which is based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Like other latest smartphones, it is also packed with a fingerprint scanner which is present on the Home Button. As a connectivity option, it provides Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth 4.0, 4G LTE, and a GPS.


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Oshawa, Ontario (November 5, 2011) - “GM Canada commends British Columbia for its new Clean Transportation Program, which will accelerate consumer adoption of green vehicle technologies like the Chevrolet Volt,” said Kevin W. Williams, president and managing director, General Motors of Canada.
Oshawa, ON –The 2012 Buick LaCrosse with eAssist™, which is expected to deliver up to 21-percent improvement in fuel efficiency over the current 4-cylinder model, will have an MSRP starting at $35,415.
Oshawa, ON – The 2012 Buick LaCrosse, arriving in dealerships later this summer, will be available with a new, more powerful and fuel-efficient version of its direct-injected 3.6L V-6 engine. The 3.6L V-6 engine is standard with an optional 2.4L 4-cylinder with eAssist.
Oshawa, ON. – Anyone who has ever played the game “telephone” knows that the more times a message gets passed along, the less accurate it will be when it gets to its destination. The same thing applies to feeding fuel to an engine.
Shanghai – General Motors and its joint ventures today sold their 1 millionth vehicle in China in 2014. This is the eighth consecutive year that GM has sold more than one million vehicles in a calendar year, and the earliest it has reached the 1 million mark.


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Court orders KMA to allocate shops to traders
A Kumasi High Court has issued an Order of Mandamus to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) directing it to re-allocate stores, shops and stalls at the Kejetia terminal to members of the Kejetia Traders’ Association before Friday January 16, 2009.
This follows the refusal of the Assembly to discharge its statutory obligation of re-allocating the stores to the traders, the original licensees of the facilities.
The court presided over by Mr Justice E. Gyinae, gave the order in Kumasi on Tuesday after Mr Ernest Owusu-Dapaah, counsel for the traders’ association and Mr Patrick Adu-Poku counsel for the respondent had made their submissions on the case.
The Supreme Court on October 31st last year ruled that the original licensees of the stores, shops and stalls reconstructed at Kejetia were entitled to be given the first option in the KMA’s allocations.
It further declared that under the laws of Ghana it was only the KMA that had the authority to allocate those stalls or shops at the Kejetia terminal and it behoved on it to perform such function.
The traders were said to have paid various sums of money to the KMA for the rehabilitation of the shops and the stores but after their completion, the KMA allocated them to other people who were not members of the Association.
The court, therefore, awarded GH¢4,000 against the KMA.


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BT Sport has brought in a new large screen app. It will enable views to enjoy 4K UHD and HDR coverage of BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2, BT Sport 3, ESPN, BoxNation and the BT Sport Extra channels.
German TV streaming service waipu.tv is now available as an app on smart TV sets from Samsung.
In a surprise move, Samsung has announced it will offer iTunes Movies and TV Shows and Apple AirPlay 2 support on 2019 Samsung Smart TV models beginning this spring.
M7 Group’s Dutch operation Canal Digitaal is launching its smart TV app to make watching TV possible without a dedicated receiver or set-top box.
Wurl has entered into an agreement with Samsung to power select programming on Samsung’s TV Plus service.
Plume and Samsung have launched a new initiative designed to improve the delivery and quality of residential Wi-Fi.
The M7 Group and Samsung Electronics are launching their smart TV app in Belgium, to be made available under the brands TV Vlaanderen and Télésat.
UKTV’s on demand and catch-up app, UKTV Play, has been made available on all Samsung TVs sold since 2015.
In the past six months, the Dutch Consumentenbond (Consumers Association) received almost 300 reports of apps disappearing from smart TVs that are less than five years old. The Association contacted the manufacturers to draw attention to this problem.
IFA 2018 BERLIN. During its press conference at IFA 2018, Samsung Electronics has announced its foray into 8K with the unveiling of the Q900FN QLED 8K TV.


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It’s unheard of that you get to watch an Apple product being developed before your very eyes, but that’s exactly what’s happening with Apple’s new mothership headquarters — which we once referred to as the biggest Apple product ever built.
Despite not touching down officially until 2016, we’ve seen a steady stream of new images of Apple’s new campus during construction, many courtesy of the aerial photography of Bay Area traffic reporter Ron Cervi.
In new images posted to his Twitter account, Cervi shows how the HQ is slowly taking shape, with concrete and rebar work continuing, alongside the digging of tunnels, ready for the foundation and retaining walls of the new structure.
Architecture hasn’t really ever been considered too important in the brick and mortar-averse tech industry. It wasn’t all that long ago that digital utopians proclaimed physical geography dead altogether, with a vocal minority apparently pleased to leave the actual world behind them and embrace the cyberspace of William Gibson’s Neuromancer.
It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that the technological breakthroughs of Silicon Valley have advanced almost inversely to the region’s architecture. In a brave new world of lush rolling hills and the always impressive San Francisco Bay, the most that the majority of companies have managed to come up with are drab industrial parks filled with two-story, cubicle-lined buildings.
When you spend thousands of dollars on a new Mac, you don’t want to take it home and put it on anything — you want the desk beneath to look just as good. So, wouldn’t it be awesome if the Mac’s designer, Jony Ive, designed the perfect desk to accompany it.
Well, he has — but you won’t be able to purchase it. Like the special edition Ive-designed Project (RED) Leica unveiled earlier this week, the solid aluminum (RED) Desk is a one-off created by Ive and industrial designer Marc Newson for a charity auction. And it’s likely to fetch a fortune.
Apple’s new “Spaceship” campus has received approval from the Cupertino planning commission ahead of a city council meeting on October 15. The new building, which will become home to 14,000 Apple employees, is now another step closer to fruition, and providing there are no hiccups, Apple will be able to make a start on it next year.
The city of Cupertino this week published updated plans for Apple’s proposed new campus ahead of possible approval next month. A city council meeting is scheduled to go ahead on October 15, and providing all goes well, Apple will finally be able to begin clearing the land that the “Spaceship” campus will be built upon.
Apple just published a report prepared by Keyser Marston Associates that evaluates the “Economic and Fiscal Impacts Generated by Apple in Cupertino – Current Facilities and Apple Campus 2.”
The report was prepared for the City of Cupertino under the contract of Apple, to evaluate the concerns the city has about Apple’s future Spaceship-like campus. The report states its principal objectives as the following:
The on-going economic impact and benefits of Apple to the City of Cupertino;
The ongoing economic impacts and benefits to the City of Santa Clara, City of Sunnyvale, and the broader region of Santa Clara County;
Apple’s recurring annual fiscal impacts on the City of Cupertino;
The construction-related impacts of Apple Campus 2 on Santa Clara County; and
The construction-related tax and fee revenues to be received by the City of Cupertino and other local public agencies from the construction of Apple Campus 2.”
The full 82-page report can be read after the break -
Apple’s new spaceship headquarters look pretty amazing. Even though the mothership is still a year behind schedule, Apple loves the design of it so much, that they want the architectural firm who created the mothership to redesign some Apple Stores too.
Foster + Partners architecture firm has just signed a deal with Apple to work on new designs for some of its retail stores.
The budget for Apple’s “spaceship” campus has ballooned from $3 billion to “nearly $5 billion” since 2011, according to a new report from Bloomberg Businessweek. Five people close to the project say its cost will now eclipse the $3.9 billion being spent on the new World Trade Center complex in New York City.
Apple’s Spaceship campus won’t be ready in 2015 as originally planned.
Apple’s upcoming Spaceship campus, which was presented to the city of Cupertino by Steve Jobs shortly before he passed away last year, has been delayed until mid-2016. Bloomberg reports the new building won’t be finished until later than previously projected, but insists there have been no major changes to the plans that were originally unveiled.


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Google Launches Consumer Ad Campaign In Kansas City
I asked Google last week for information about a new consumer marketing campaign I heard they were planning for Kansas City, to promote Google Local. Still waiting to hear
back for the official line on this. In the meantime, the ads have been spotted by at least one good citizen of Kansas City, as covered in
Google Advertises On The Radio at WebmasterWorld, as Search Engine Roundtable
Here’s a low-res look at the print ads that a contact sent me last week:
It’s hard to make out the bottom portions. They each show a search box followed by a location box, saying as best I can make out:
This campaign follows on Google campaigns aimed at consumers in Korea and
Japan that we’ve written about before. Safe to say, the idea that Google doesn’t advertise to reach
consumers can be safely put to bed now.
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Paid search is considered a lower-funnel tactic but today’s digital landscape changes that. R2i’s Senior Search Engine Marketing Manager shares tips to plug it in throughout customer relationships.
Being SEO smart doesn’t have to cost you a bomb. Ali Faagba highlights small yet effective efforts to help small businesses win the race.
Chief Executive at Go Up Ltd, Edward Coram James shares a strategy to tackle the challenges of international SEO.
Greater uncertainties and tighter marketing budgets mean marketers should invest in paid search to stay connected to customers during the crisis.


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The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) has launched a sustainable programme for enhancing access of SMEs to world markets through e-commerce platforms.
SMEDA CEO Hashim Raza said, "We are going to take all leading organisations of e-commerce into loop to enable SMEs of Pakistan for availing the highest benefits out of the government of Pakistan's official arrangement with e-commerce platforms.”
The first memorandum of Understanding (MoU) towards this programme was signed recently at Karachi with the renowned e-commerce company ‘Extreme Commerce’, which is the country's first EdTech startup with a sole focus on skills development and capacity building within the e-commerce and digital arena.
Similarly, skills development programs to fill the gap of shortage of trained force would also be launched.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2021.


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Yes, Pantone has just added 175 brand new colors!
It’s been eight years since any new colors have been added. The total number of colors is now 2,100. Laurie Pressman, Pantone VP, says these colors,
“reflect today’s global color influences across fashion, home furnishings and interior design [and] enrich the current palette and focus on areas of significant market importance and color trend movement.”
“What is key here is it is not just picking colors that are trend-right,” Pressman explained. “The key is that these colors are technically achievable and reproducible in the real world for all of the markets we serve – from fashion and home furnishings to interior and industrial design. Someone really needs to be able to take our colors and make them a reality.”
You can read more about the new colors here.
For a real treat, I urge you to sit back and watch this video (I wasn’t able to embed, so go to this link page and click on the video..) all about creating colors that are useable, the technical aspects of creating these colors and the importance of color for designers, such as Jonathan Adler, and the global aspect of color. I guarantee you will learn something!
I, for one, am looking forward to buying my new fan deck and having these new colors work for me…


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WOONSOCKET, R.I. CVS Caremark announced on Thursday that sales in December were lighter than the company expected due to unfavorable weather, a weak flu season and a wobbly economy.
However, Tom Ryan, chairman, president and chief executive officer, noted that “given favorable operating expenses and improved margins, we expect to report diluted earnings per share on a GAAP basis for the fourth quarter 2007 in the range of 54 cents to 55 cents, and for the full year 2007 in the range of $1.91 to $1.92, at the high end of our previous guidance of $1.89 to $1.92.”
Same-store sales for the five weeks ended Dec. 29 increased 1.8 percent. Pharmacy same-store sales rose 2.4 percent, and were negatively impacted by about 470 basis points due to recent generic introductions. Front-end same-store sales rose 0.6 percent.


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Khatabook, a mobile application that enables SMEs to record & track business transactions, has raised USD $25 Mn Series A round from GGV Capital, Partners of DST Global, RTP Ventures, Sequoia India, Tencent, Y Combinator and others.
The round also saw participation from more than 20 prominent angels* including Amrish Rau, Anand Chandrasekharan, Deep Nishar, Gokul Rajaram, Jitendra Gupta, Kunal Bahl, Kunal Shah and others. This takes Khatabook’s total funding to date to $29 million since its inception in December 2018.
By completely automating the traditional business ledger process, the app has helped 5 Mn Indian merchants each save over 600 productive working hours in a year. Khatabook’s UPI based payment platform is more than doubling month on month. The team plans to launch other products for MSMEs in the next few months.
“We are excited to partner with global investors to accelerate our vision of building the operating system/ technology plumbing for India’s small merchants and businesses”, said Ravish Naresh, CEO, and Co-Founder, Khatabook. “India is at an inflection point with dramatically low data costs leading to strong adoption of smartphones, especially amongst its millions of merchants. At Khatabook, we have taken early but significant steps towards leveraging this trend to digitize India’s shopkeepers. For most of our merchants, we are the first business software they've used in their entire life. And we will continue to build more India-first innovations to further enable the growth of what is still a largely untapped sector ”, he added.
Khatabook, which recorded transactions totaling $3 Bn in August, effectively cuts down the receivables of merchants to half within a few weeks of onboarding them. The app has helped its users recover approximately $ 5 bn stuck in credit in the space of six months. This trend can lead to a significant impact on India’s MSME sector.
“Khatabook is having a huge impact on millions of Indian SME’s by becoming the system of record for their business dealings, the equivalent of a business ledger on their mobile phones. In most cases, it’s their first mobile SaaS product and could well be their gateway to using other mobile applications. For example, mobile payments are now growing on Khatabook at a very rapid pace.”, said Shailendra Singh, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital (India) Singapore. “Sequoia India couldn’t be more thrilled with the exponential growth the company has experienced since joining our Surge program. The team is thrilled to double down on the investment in Khatabook and excited to support Ravish and team on their journey.”
Growing by 20% every week and having established its functionality across more than 500 types of business - from kirana stores to mobile recharge shops, garment dealers and jewelers - the company aims to reach the businesses of 25 Mn Indian merchants in the next 12 months.
“We are excited to partner with Ravish the founding team of Khatabook. As a 2nd time founder, he has demonstrated the ability to hire quality team members and identify areas for rapid growth - two essential components to scale. As a global investor, we seek out founders who understand the local market and respond to growth opportunities with speed and agility - we certainly see this with the Khatabook team,” said Hans Tung, Managing Partner, GGV Capital.
One of the highest-rated apps in the business category on Google Play Store in India, Khatabook has on-boarded over 2.9 Mn active businesses and 5 Mn+ registered users since its December 2018 launch. Today, merchants across 3000+ Indian cities, use the Khatabook app in 11 languages. The app has also organically acquired users in Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh.


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Humbl Inc (OTCMKTS: HMBL) is making an effective reversal off 52-week lows of $0.212 and also moving higher on record volume. On Friday alone the stock exchanged 29,875,248 shares on the day or $8.3 million in dollar quantity. HMBL was just one of the biggest joggers of very early 2021 increasing up the charts to $7.72 post-split from a start point in the three-way zeroes when it was still trading as TSNP. From present degrees HMBL has a considerable gap to fill and has actually got a huge investors adhering to behind it. The Company just recently revived stock whizz George Sharp as Capital Markets Expert who will shepherd HUMBL through the application procedure to up listing to OTCQB tier and afterwards towards a greater exchange. The Firm intends to submit audited financials with the SEC beginning with the yearend statement for 2021.
HUMBL is comprised of employee from Company’s like Moneygram, Visa, Microsoft, Western Union American Express, Epson, Qualcomm and Facebook & was named a Forbes “Increasing Startups to Watch” in June 2020. HMBL is working with Nick Carter; the Grammy-nominated artist that has offered over 130 million records as both a solo musician and also as a member of the Backstreet Boys who was recently brought on as an advisor at Humbl. Nick Carter will be releasing a brand-new EP as well as NFT collection on blockchain. Carter will certainly be collaborating with HUMBL to execute the program. The EP will certainly debut sometime in early 2022, and it will certainly be come before by a HUMBL Holidays listening celebration in December 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Carter will certainly share several of the songs from the forthcoming EP. HUMBL Tickets will certainly be available to the event with commemorative NFTs, together with brand-new BLOCKS Metadata storage space and BLOCKS Windows registry confirmation features.
OTCMKTS: HMBL (TSNP) is a consumer blockchain company functioning to simplify blockchain usage instances in locations such as mobile remittances, ticketing, NFTs and real estate. HUMBL is a brand-new, Internet 3 system being established to effortlessly connect customers and also sellers in the electronic economy, across its HUMBL Mobile Applications, HUMBL Marketplace and also HUMBL Financial departments. HUMBL Mobile Applications will supply extra smooth global transactions, by incorporating several money, payment methods and also economic services right into minimized clicks for the client. HUMBL Marketplace was created to connect customers as well as merchants online, in boosted worldwide business, offer discovery as well as blockchain tokenization programs. HUMBL Financial has established new software application as well as algorithms for the electronic asset trading markets, which are a new international market for blockchain modern technologies, and will certainly additionally offer various other credit score, borrowing and also financial services. HMBL is led by CEO Brian Foote a fixture of the crypto area that has actually lowered the share matter by at least 800 million as well as vowed not to dilute HMBL.
HMBL has actually been dealing with Nick Carter; the Grammy-nominated artist that has actually sold over 130 million documents as both a solo artist and as a participant of the Backstreet Boys. Nick Carter will certainly be launching a brand-new EP and NFT collection on blockchain. Carter will be collaborating with HUMBL to carry out the program. The EP will certainly debut at some time in very early 2022, and also it will be come before by a HUMBL Holidays paying attention celebration in December 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Carter will certainly share several of the songs from the upcoming EP. HUMBL Tickets will be offered to the occasion with celebratory NFTs, in addition to brand-new BLOCKS Metadata storage and also obstructs Computer registry verification functions.
HMBL has been active; the Company partnered with Trevor Etienne, a 4-star running back recruit from Jennings, Louisiana to release the “HUMBL x ETIENNE NFT collection.” In an interactive first for the NCAA college choice process, alumni as well as fans from worldwide will certainly have the possibility to help pick their preferred consistent try to find Trevor, in addition to acquisition commemorative NFTs via the HUMBL NFT Market. Several lucky followers from the winning line of NFTs will have the possibility to win collectible goods– consisting of authorized college gear such as jackets, safety helmets, footballs, and season tickets– and a personal meet and greet. HUMBL launched the NFTs on the HUMBL Marketplace on December 23, 2021.
The Firm additionally incorporated ACH into the “HUMBL Pay” mobile pocketbook. With this new function, consumers can attach their United States checking account to their HUMBL Pay mobile pocketbook, to load balances and carry out numerous functions, such as: Purchase, as well as send up to 20 various digital assets (P2P) Buy, send out and peg to stablecoins such as USDC (USD Coin) Send gasless digital possession repayments between HUMBL mobile wallet clients (P2P) Added HUMBL Pay mobile wallet features now under advancement consist of the addition of other digital properties such as BLOCKS and the BLOCK ETXs, which provide algorithmically driven index, active as well as thematic methods for electronic asset investing.
On December 21, Monster Innovative, a HUMBL, Inc business, introduced it has actually won two awards at the 2021 Clio Awards, in addition to one election. Since 1959, The Clio Awards program has acknowledged development as well as excellence in advertising and marketing, style, and also interactions. The 2021 variation of the renowned awards reveal saw Monster Innovative secure wins for: Theatrical: Trailer– Action/Adventure: 6 Below Ground (Silver Champion) Theatrical: Trailer– Documentary: Val (Bronze Victor) Staged: Collaborations Branded Content Video: 6 Below Ground + Alfa Romeo (Shortlist) Launched by Netflix on December 13, 2019, with a budget plan of $150 million, 6 Below ground is among the most pricey Netflix Originals ever produced. The film stars Ryan Reynolds and was seen by 83 million member homes within the first four weeks of its launch.


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On a monthly basis, 2.9 homes sold per 1,000 households at the end of 2017. Home sales have remained basically flat since 2012, with a brief dip in 2014-2015.
Home sales peaked during the Millennium Boom when five homes sold per 1,000 households each month during 2006. This figure plunged to bottom at 2.4 homes sold per 1,000 households in 2008. Home sales rebounded slightly in 2009, and have remained stuck at just under three homes sold per 1,000 households since then.
This dynamic is important to keep in mind when flooded with reports of historically low inventory and rapidly rising prices. While these factors are important to buyers, sellers and sales agents, the flat figure presented here tells a different story about demand.
Chart update 02/02/18
|Nov 2017||Nov 2016||Nov 2015|
|Home sales per 1,000 households||2.9||2.9||2.4|
The chart above shows the number of homes sold each month per 1,000 households. In November 2017, 2.9 homes sold per 1,000 households — including owner and renter households. Home sales vary greatly from month-to-month. Therefore, to get a feel for the trend, this chart shows a 12-month moving average.
California home sales volume has remained relatively steady each year since rebounding from the 2007 housing crash. But is it possible the ratio of homes sold per household is flat because it’s at its historically appropriate level?
It’s possible, but not likely.
The number of homes sold per household is well below the pre-Millennium Boom average, according to Trulia. This points to a lack of homebuyer demand.
There a few reasons for this demand shortage:
- home prices began increasing in 2012 and are near or even past their Millennium Boom peak, depending on their location in California;
- low inventory means fewer sellers are listing their homes, meaning less choice for buyers;
- insufficient new construction exists in desirable coastal locations due to zoning challenges; and
- lingering doubt in the housing market following the housing crash and foreclosure crisis.
Further, rising interest rates mean homebuyers will continue to be discouraged in the coming years as their purchasing power is reduced, even as prices rise faster than their incomes can keep pace.
When will demand regain the steam it had during the Millennium Boom?
The next peak in home sales will occur due to a demographic convergence on the housing market from:
- Baby Boomers, the largest generation of homeowners, who every day are increasingly retiring, selling and buying replacement homes for their golden years; and
- Generation Y (Gen Y), the up-and-coming generation of first-time homebuyers who patiently waited for the economy to recover following the 2008 crash so they could become established in their careers and save up to become homeowners — albeit later than other generations due to their late start.
Baby Boomers will essentially swap homes with members of Gen Y, as Boomers sell their oversized suburban homes in favor of more manageable condominiums near family and services. Gen Y first-time homebuyers will eagerly buy, as inventory swells for the first time in years. This activity is expected to peak around 2020-2021.


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Corbyn lived in Jamaica when he
was 19. Image: Chris McAndrew
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn paid an unexpected visit to Afro-Caribbean beauty retailer Pak’s’ flagship store in Finsbury Park, London, on 12 August.
The politician was given a tour of the store by staff and met with Pak’s CEO Peter Mudahy, before buying some Jamaican beauty products.
Pak’s was holding an in-store promotion of natural and organic Jamaican-made cosmetics and hair care products organised in partnership with Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO).
Mudahy told Cosmetics Business: “From talking with Mr Corbyn it would appear he lived in Jamaica for a while, asking detailed questions about the townships, on top of ‘What’s good for silver fox men with a bit of dry skin?’
“He really made an impact and spent about an hour in the store and purchased products from all the delegates. I was surprised by the growing crowd, people came running in to take selfies, one lady was crying struggling to get her camera.”
The promotion was launched at Jamaica’s High Commission in the UK on 10 August, where companies including Ansel Development, House of Nature, Secrets of Nubia and Irie Rock showcased their products.
A second event will be held at Pak's on 18-19 August.


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By Chris Isidore, CNN Business
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says his company might not be able to keep its bathrooms open to the general public.
The coffee company opened its bathrooms to the public in 2018 after two Black men were denied use of the bathroom in a Philadelphia Starbucks while they were waiting for a friend to arrive. When they then sat down in the store without ordering anything, a Starbucks employee called the police, and they were arrested for trespassing. No charges were ever filed.
But Schultz said at a New York Times DealBook conference in Washington, DC, Thursday, that the company may have to change its policy once again.
He said that a growing mental health problem was posing a threat to staff and customers and making it difficult for Starbucks employees to manage its stores with the current policy in place.
“We have to harden our stores and provide safety for our people,” the Times quoted Schultz as saying at the conference. “I don’t know if we can keep our bathrooms open.”
Schultz said in 2018, when he was the company’s executive chairman, that opening bathrooms to anyone who asked was the right decision because of the implicit bias that occurred when they are denied access to the bathrooms.
“We don’t want anyone at Starbucks to feel as if we are not giving access to you to the bathroom because you are less than. We want you to be more than,” Schultz said at that time.
Schultz recently returned to run the retailer as interim CEO, and he has been contending with growing angst among employees. The company is facing a union organizing drive among its store employees. Although the union has won votes at only a small fraction of the company’s 9,000 US stores, it has been achieving overwhelming success in the votes held so far.
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.


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Tesla in New Jersey: FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
On Tuesday, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJMVC) passed a ruling that essentially prevents the sale of Tesla vehicles in the state henceforth, and, boy, is Elon Musk pissed. The ruling bans the direct sale of vehicles in the Garden State, meaning that Tesla can now only sell cars if they move through dealership hands. Given the fact that dealerships are about as frightened of anything with the name Tesla on it as Thomas Edison was of the actual Tesla, it’s as good as a closed door for the automaker in a state that’s widely considered the poor man’s New York. The banning of Tesla in New Jersey is just the latest instance of a growing contingent of states fighting the automaker and their direct sale business model, but if reading Tesla’s word on affairs is any indication, this one might sting just a little bit more than the others.
A blog posted on Tuesday by Tesla doesn’t pull many punches:
Unfortunately, Monday we received news that Governor Christie’s administration has gone back on its word to delay a proposed anti-Tesla regulation so that the matter could be handled through a fair process in the Legislature. The Administration has decided to go outside the legislative process by expediting a rule proposal that would completely change the law in New Jersey. This new rule, if adopted, would curtail Tesla’s sales operations and jeopardize our existing retail licenses in the state. Having previously issued two dealer licenses to Tesla, this regulation would be a complete reversal to the long standing position of NJMVC on Tesla’s stores. Indeed, the Administration and the NJMVC are thwarting the Legislature and going beyond their authority to implement the state’s laws at the behest of a special interest group looking to protect its monopoly at the expense of New Jersey consumers. This is an affront to the very concept of a free market.
The blog goes on to call the dealership model one that is reliant on “middlemen,” point out some shady tactics of Governor Christie’s administration, and chide the state of New Jersey for stunting the public’s continued education on what benefits electric cars offer.
“We urge the Christie administration to act in good faith and withdraw the proposed amendment, or amend it so that it reflects the true intent of the Legislature and the people of New Jersey.”
Gee, Elon. Tell us how you really feel.
Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts said that the only way Tesla would make its way back into New Jersey would be by getting legislation passed that “unilaterally change[s] the way cars are sold in New Jersey.” (It’s my assumption that his quote was only barely audible over the sound of dealership kickback cash rustling in his pockets.)
This marks yet another state that is adamantly refusing Tesla and all their gaulddurned crazy talk of creating jobs and infrastructure. New Jersey’s ban makes them the third state to exile Tesla, right behind Texas and that bastion of sanity and reason, Arizona.
So what’s your take: is Tesla’s business model a future that those trapped in the present are reluctant to accept, or is it simply another fad that will flame out after a few years?


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The announcement on Aug. 8 that the Hopkins Student Government Association (SGA) was sponsoring an Avicii concert at Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore on Sept. 21 sent students rushing to purchase tickets. The event, which holds 4000 people, quickly sold out, leading to ticket scalping on sites such as Facebook and StubHub, a company owned by eBay.
This high profile concert was made possible through the work of sophomore Joshua Goodstein and senior Wyatt Larkin. Goodstein and Larkin, along with the assistance of Dean Susan Boswell and Janet Kirsch at the Office of Student Affairs as well as associates from the Pier Six Pavillion, spearheaded the organization of the concert.
“As members of Student Government last year, Wyatt and I believed bringing a major artist to Baltimore would be transformative to the student experience and to student life,” Goodstein said.
After the concert announcement, Hopkins students were given the chance to purchase tickets at the discounted price of $25. The organizing committee only reserved 1000 tickets to be offered at the discounted price; however, after high demand, the committee raised that number to 2000 tickets. The General Admissions tickets sold to the general public through the Pier Six Pavilion website sold for $45.
Now, in the days before the concert, students are eagerly seeking tickets to Avicii on Facebook and StubHub. The ticket scalping on these sites has led many to question just how much seeing Avicii live is worth.
As of Sept. 19, StubHub offers Avicii tickets ranging from $98 to $300. However, many students are reluctant to pay the StubHub prices. Ticket prices sold through the “AVICII COMES TO HOPKINS” Facebook group have gone from $50 to around $200.
While some of these prices may seem very reasonable, they are expensive compared to the original student price of $25.
“I didn’t think it was going to sell out so fast,” freshman Adam Eckstein, who missed the window to buy discounted tickets, said. “I was really looking forward to going.”
Eckstein is not alone. Across campus, a sentiment of frustration in the lack of affordable tickets has accompanied the general excitement of the student body.
Many students initially thought that ticket sales were exclusive to Hopkins students and that the event was not open to the public. Instead, due to negotiations with the Pier Six Pavilion, those who were proactive about purchasing their ticket, whether a Hopkins student or not, got the tickets.
“I guess what I didn’t realize was that this concert was open to the public. I thought it was just for Hopkins,” Eckstein said.
Goodstein and Larkin hope that the Avicii concert starts “a new Hopkins tradition” for Johns Hopkins Concerts, an organization that will be based out of the Office of Student Life.
“The high demand for tickets just goes to show what events like the Avicii concert are exactly what Hopkins students are looking for,” Larkin said.


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The production of Paw San rice is low as it can only be cultivated in Ayeyawady Delta and Bago and some parts of Sagaing Regions in monsoon, said the federation.
In previous fiscal year, only around 20 tons of Paw San rice were exported to the United States.At present, Paw San rice is priced at around 900 U.S. dollars per ton in its export.
Meanwhile, the European Union is seeking import deal of two types of aromatic rice — Lone Thwal Hmwe and Paw San as demand in Europe is on rise.
Officials of the MRF said Myanmar can grow both short and long grain aromatic rice to meet EU demand through the country’s contract farming system, pointing out that exporting to Europe would enable Myanmar growers to diversify their markets.
Paw San was regarded as the world’s best rice at the World Rice Conference in 2011.
Myanmar official statistics indicate that the country’s rice export reached nearly 2 million tons in the fiscal year 2014-15 which ended in March, up 40 percent from the previous year.


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Apparently I wasn't the only person bothered by the online ad for Apple's new iMac that read: "The new iMac. You can't be too thin. Or too powerful."
After some scolding by the Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness, who asked Apple to rethink the campaign, Apple has taken down the ads, which now just read "The all new, all-in-one iMac." Prior to the edit, the Alliance sent out a strongly worded press release noting that one can be too thin:
"What kind of message is Apple sending our youth with an ad campaign of this nature?" The truth is one CAN be too thin. According to the American Psychological Association, in the United States alone 7 -10 million individuals are struggling with eating disorders. Of that 10 to 20 percent of them will not survive their struggle. Eating disorders not only have extreme physical and mental repercussions - including the highest mortality rate among all psychological disorders but they also act as a barrier for personal growth, achievement, education, and success. We live in a society in which Messages from the media are influential and they do make a difference.
The release goes on to quote the Executive Director of The Alliance, who notes she's also a recovering anorexic and exercise bulimic.
"I must say that I find the new IMAC campaign troubling and extremely triggering," said Johanna Kandel. "Apple's revamping of the Duchess of Windsor's adage draws a direct connection between being thin and being powerful. While this concept may work well from a technological perspective, it can become deadly in the eyes of an individual that is genetically predisposed to developing an eating disorder."
I'm honestly a little surprised Apple made the edit, and even more surprised that the tagline was approved by what must be a near endless board of marketing and ad consultants. What do you think, did Apple make the right choice?


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Next has boosted its full-year profit expectations, and says it now believes that online sales will grow faster and in-store sales will fall slower than previously expected.
The fashion-to-homewares retailer said in a second-quarter trading statement today that total sales – including discounted items – grew by 3.8% in the first half of the year, to July 27, with full-price sales up by 4.3%. In-store retail sales were down by 3.9% over the six months but online sales grew by 11.9%.
For the full-year, to January 2020, the retailer now expects that in-store retail sales will decline by 5.1% – lower than the previous forecast of 8.5% – while online sales will grow by 11.8% – higher than previous forecasts of 11%. As a result it expects full-price sales to grow by 3.6% in the year, higher than its previous expectation of 1.7% growth. Pre-tax profit is now forecast at £725m, from £715m previously. That represents growth of 0.3%, compared to the previously-forecast decline of 1.1%.
Next, ranked Leading in IRUK Top500 research, said that full-price sales in the second quarter of the year were better than expected, rising by 4% on last year. That’s well ahead of the expected 0.5% decline that the retailer forecast in May. While full-price sales grew by 3% in May and June combined, they were 6.8% ahead in July, influenced by lower markdown prices in the end-of season sale. The retailer went into the sale with surplus stock 1% down on last year, but clearance rates were 2% lower than expected. However, Next said that it would base its forecasts on the May/June rate of growth rather than the July outcome.
The move to predict that sales will rise by almost double saw shares rise 8% in morning trading, said Sofie Willmott, lead retail analyst at data and analytics business GlobalData.
“Ongoing channel polarisation is is evident and we forecast that Next’s online channel will have overtaken stores in H1,” she said. “However the shift to online is slowing and notably the biggest change in Next’s full-year guidance has come from the store division with retail full-price sales growth adjusted up by 3.4 percentage points (ppts) (although still expected to be negative at -5.1%) versus a minor adjustment of 0.8ppts for online sales growth. Next has worked hard to improve the appear of its stores, adding coffee shops and concessions to create interest while also driving footfall by offering one-hour click and collect and partnering with Amazon by acting as a collection point. Although these initiatives are not enough to reverse the trend of falling footfall they are going some way to slow the decline and other retailers should take note of Next’s creativity and willingness to trial ideas.”
Image courtesy of Next


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August 14, 2012
Black Boxes, the data recording devices used in commercial aviation, may be coming to new vehicles soon.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced today that new federal standards for automobile data recorders will take effect as planned this year.
For now, the standards for the devices that record information preceding auto collisions or other events only apply to vehicles that have been voluntarily equipped. Such information may be useful in determining fault in contested accidents. It may also provide insurers with information relative to underwriting.
The NHTSA has publicly considered requiring all vehicles to have black boxes installed. However, Congress has not yet taken action to approve such a plan amid opposition from privacy groups and auto manufacturers.
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