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Apple may want HTC to stop selling Android-based phones, but HTC refuses to slow down and launched two new devices Wednesday to great fanfare. The phones may be new to the rest of the world but U.S. users will recognize the devices, called the Desire HD and Desire Z, as variations of the HTC Evo and T-Mobile G2.
But new phones weren’t all HTC was offering. The company also said its Sense UI overlay will get some new features including new e-reading capabilities, revamped camera software and a new mapping feature called HTC Locations. The Taiwan-based phone maker is also launching a new Web-based utility that gives you remote access to your phone and data.
If you ever lose your HTC device, you may be able to retrieve a lot of your data thanks to HTC’s new Web-based utility, HTCSense.com. All you have to do is log on to the website from a mobile phone or PC, and you’ll be able to access you contacts, call history and old text messages. If you’re trying to find your phone at home, you can use the site to get your phone to ring loudly (even if the ringer is on silent) to help you find it.
If your phone has been stolen, you can use HTCSense.com to remotely wipe your phone’s data or lock it so no one else can use it. You can also have your phone calls and texts forwarded to another phone number through HTCSense.com.
HTC did not mention pricing (or lack thereof) for the service or whether older devices would be able to use the site. HTCSense.com will launch in October.
The specs for the HTC Desire HD are fairly close to the rumors that have been circulating about the device since July. The Desire HD has a unibody design built from a solid block of aluminum and features a 4.3-inch LCD display, Android OS 2.2, Dolby Mobile and SRS virtual sound, an 8 megapixel camera with dual flash and 720p high-definition video capture.
The Desire HD will also be the first phone to feature the updated 1 GHz 8255 Snapdragon processor, according to HTC. Detailed specifications have not been published so it’s not clear what kind of storage size or connectivity options the Desire HD will have. The Desire HD will be available in Europe and Asia in October; no U.S. dates or pricing have been announced.
Despite lacking a U.S. launch date, the Desire HD’s specs are very similar to Sprint’s EVO 4G (minus the front-facing camera and kickstand). In fact, Engadget is calling the device the HTC “EVO for the rest of the world.” So if the Desire HD sounds good to you, check out the Evo 4G as an alternative.
The Desire Z is HTC’s latest social-networking focused phone, and features a slide out QWERTY keyboard that features a ‘pop’ hinge for fast access. The Desire Z has a 3.7-inch screen, a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and 720p video capture, Android OS 2.2, and 800MHz processor. If these specs sound familiar, that’s because the Desire Z is the same device as the T-Mobile G2.
Best Buy will start selling the T-Mobile G2 on October 6. The G2 will come with an 8GB microSD card and support cards up to 32GB in size. The new T-Mobile Android phone is also the first smartphone optimized for the carrier’s HSPA+ network, and will be able to handle data speeds of up to 14.4 megabits per second.
Connect with Ian on Twitter (@ianpaul).


text: EA and PopCap have just announced that Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare will be pushed back a week from its original launch date. Originally, the game was due to be released on February 18, but will now launch on February 25. What do you think of the news? Are you upset that you’ll have to wait another week for this game? Let us know in the comments below.

domain: news


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Acer unveiled the Liquid Zest Plus last month in New York, and the manufacturer is now announcing that the phone will make its debut in North America in the month of July for $199. The highlight of the phone is a massive 5000mAh battery, which according to Acer will result in a battery life of three days.
Other specs on offer with the Liquid Zest Plus include a 5.5-inch 720p display, quad-core MediaTek MT6735 SoC with four Cortex A53 cores at 1.3GHz, Mali-T720 GPU, 2GB of RAM, 16GB storage, microSD slot, 13MP camera, and a 5MP front shooter. Not bad considering it'll be available for under $200.
We'll have more to share once the phone becomes available in the U.S. In the meantime, check out our hands-on post:


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Paramount +, the newest participant in streaming wars, launched today, promising a combination of classic TV shows and movies, some early access to some Hollywood blockbusters and some restarts of things you didn’t know you wanted to restart: Welcome back, Frasier Crane.
But in some ways, the things that the new ViacomCBS service offers may be less important than time since its launch. This happens after every other major media company has introduced its own streaming service. Which means Paramount + is entering a very crowded market.
And that means that ViacomCBS is probably not just trying to get someone to pay $ 1
Two years ago, when streaming services still largely meant Netflix and Hulu, that number was 1.25. Which means that although we’ve recently seen the debut of a number of services, most people still don’t pay for them – and even if they take out their credit card to register, they’re likely to stop paying for them after sampling.
The antenna, which claims to use data taken from online bill payment services to assess what people are actually spending money on, has challenged ViacomCBS quite clearly in the datasets below. But the easiest way to summarize it might be as follows: (Almost) everyone already has Netflix.
This chart, for example, tells us that 75 percent of people who received Netflix in the first half of 2020 still pay for the service – a higher survival rate than all major streaming competitors. Meanwhile, only 34 percent of new Apple TV + subscribers in 2020 still pay for the service. (Antenna data does not include streamers that receive free promotional services such as Disney’s Verizon package or the free trial of Apple TV + that Apple offers to customers who purchase Apple hardware, such as new iPhones.)
And yes, some people – maybe the people reading this article – do subscribe to many different streaming TV services. But this is a very small minority.
Meanwhile, Netflix customers are less likely than other streaming subscribers to pay for anything else – which probably has something to do with the fact that (almost) everyone has Netflix. Startup streaming package: You get it first and then maybe consider adding something else.
The good news about ViacomCBS, in a sense, is that people who have subscribed to its existing services – CBS All Access, which is becoming Paramount + and Showtime – are now more likely to subscribe to something else.


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- Bitcoin (BTCUSD on xStation5) slumped more than $400 overnight due to another theft from a cryptocurrency wallet
- Bitcoin has already tested its crucial support at $8000
- Noteworthy findings from a CNBC’s survey on Bitcoin carried out among CFOs
We had a lively Asian session on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies alike as the former declined quite severely on the back of another theft from a cryptocurrency wallet. There was a report that as much as $31 million was taken from the Tether Treasury wallet on 19 November and sent to an unauthorized Bitcoin address, according to the announcement on the Tether’s website. In the statement one may read that the stolen tokens will not be redeemed and the company is in the process of attempting token recovery to prevent them from entering the broader ecosystem. In effect the virtual currency slipped more than 5% or over $400 from its peak from above $8200.
Bitcoin collapsed overnight but it was able to erase almost all of its losses afterwards. Source: xStation5
As you can see at the chart above the Bitcoin price made a long shadow suggesting that a pullback was just short-lived. As a result Bitcoin tested its notable support line placed at $8000 which could open space for further rises ahead. Either way, even as an impact seen in the digital currency has been quite irrelevant thus far, such kind of incidents tend to dent confidence in the security of cryptocurrencies. On the flip side, keep in mind that Bitcoin was able to establish its new highs in the past following major thefts from exchanges including Bitfinex and Mt. Gox.
Dash (DSHUSD) failed to break through $495, the level underpinned by an upper boundary of an ascending channel. Source: xStation5
Beside Bitcoin it’s worth taking a closer look at Dash which took a stab at breaking $495 overnight but it failed to do so. As a result the price has withdrawn and slipped to the channel anew and its limits should constitute the closest support and resistance for traders. Once buyers beat their nearest resistance zone, they could eye as much as $555 as the subsequent objective.
We’ve written many stories regarding opinions of the most prominent people in the financial world so far and today we would like to continue this thread. Cutting to the chase, CNBC conducted a survey on Bitcoin among a group consisting of 97 CFOs, however just 43 of them responded. Firstly 27.9% of surveyed CFOs said Bitcoin is a ’fraud’ while as much as 30.2% said that they don’t know enough about the digital currency to have an opinion. It’s interesting that while in Europe, the Middle East and Africa almost 42% compared Bitcoin to a bubble the outcome was different in case of the US where just shy of 21% did such a comparison. Although there is curiosity among CFOs with regard to Bitcoin many of them have numerous doubts and this could change when customers become more interested in investing in or via Bitcoin.


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GOED International Receives STEP Grant
The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) International Trade Division received a $250,000 State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant. This is the largest grant of its kind the organization has ever received. STEP is a federal trade and export initiative that makes matching-fund awards for states to assist small businesses with entering and succeeding in the international marketplace. The program is funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).


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Whole Foods is recalling cheese sold nationwide from its supplier because it could be contaminated with listeria.
Listeria monocytogenes, the organism that can cause infection, was found by the FDA during routine sampling of the market’s cheese. It was found in a whole, uncut wheel of Papillon Organic Roquefort.
Read more: Kraft Heinz expands recall for cheese slices
According to the FDA, the recalled cheese product can be identified by the scale label that begins with PLU 029536. All sell by dates are affected.
All cheese cut and packaged in clear wrap that was sold with a Whole Foods Market scale label can be returned to the store for a full refund.
No illnesses or infections have been reported. All affected cheese has been removed from shelves.
Consumers with questions should contact their local store or call 512-477-5566 ext. 20060 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST.
Read the FDA recall alert alert.
For a list of all the latest recalls, click here.


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Piyush Gupta, CEO of Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), left no doubt as to what his concerns
were when he warned that “banks in Asia are on a burning platform of competition from mobile and
internet companies” in the DBS News July 2015 article “Banking Disrupted” (DBS, 2015c).
Indeed, with the development of technologies in recent years, a scenario of banking where
customers did not require banks but simply transferred money directly from payer to payee had
become more practically feasible.
The idea of peer-to-peer payment scheme was not new. But its feasibility as a wide-scale implementation had grown with more matured technologies, like secured payments, encrypted network transmissions, digital identity certificate and affordable mobile smartphones. Customers’ need for an intermediary agent such as a bank to effect their payments diminished as payment alternatives grew.
Read the report here.


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Posted on June 17 2011 by Mases Hagopian
A GameStop in Ellijay, Georgia is going all out for their Ocarina of Time 3D launch party. They’ve decorated the entire store with an assortment of Ocarina of Time 3D goodies and their store manager is even wearing the bunny hood mask! You can click the image to the left to see a larger image, but jump inside to see a whole bunch of other goodies!
Ocarina of Time 3D is out TODAY in Europe and will be hitting stores across the United States in less than 24 hours! If you got the game already and need any help, be sure to check out our Ocarina of Time 3D Walkthrough.
Unfortunately given the relatively low install base of the Nintendo 3DS, the Ocarina of Time 3D release wasn’t big enough to hold launch parties across the country. Only select locations will be holding midnight launch parties, with some GameStops opening early on Sunday morning. Be sure to check with your local GameStop to find out exactly how soon you can get your hands on Ocarina of Time 3D.


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Contrary to many third-party payment providers' practice of pushing customers to lower-cost payment rails, Regalii wants its end users to pay their bills with credit cards.
The goal of this arrangement is, of course, to make money for banks.
“To route transactions through ACH costs banks money; to route the payment through the card rails makes the bank money,” said Edrizio De La Cruz, co-founder and CEO of New York-based Regalii. “Our API allows banks to move consumers to cards from ACH, turning the cost into a profit benefit.”
It also makes the card networks money, one likely reason why Mastercard brought Regalii into its Start Path Global program. Through the mentorship program Mastercard will give Regalii operational support, plus open up access to its network of partners that Regalii can try to sell its white-label bill management platform into.
Regalii’s API, or application programming interface, sits inside a bank or service provider’s online or mobile application, showing consumers their bills and alerting them of due dates, all within the provider’s current ecosystem. It also aggregates the end user's bill payment history.
The company had to build some of that infrastructure for real-time personal financial management from the ground up, according to De La Cruz. And this attracted Mastercard’s attention, De La Cruz said.
“By helping Regalii tap into our global network of partners, we can together create newer tech-based or social media-based services and solutions that will transform the financial industry,” said Amy Neale, vice president of Mastercard’s Start Path Global program, in an April 19 press release.
The revenue-generating model of Regalii will definitely appeal to issuers, said Sarah Grotto, debit director at Mercator Advisory Group, but some party will have to take on the expense of using card rails.
And that could be Regalii, other processors, the biller or even consumers, she said.
“Maybe the biller is fine with paying something because they know the transaction is guaranteed,” Grotto said. “And there’s room to charge an underbanked consumer for that service, but not much. If it gets too expensive you’ll turn away the consumer.”
Lowering transaction costs for merchants and consumers is the main reason many third-party payment providers, from LevelUp to Dwolla, were encouraging consumers to input their bank credentials and pay through ACH.
Edrizio said consumers will not be dinged with extra charges for using cards to pay billers using its platform. And the cost of transactions is softened by using the Mastercard Send Network for all domestic payments, which is cheaper than pushing payments through as just a regular merchant transaction.
International bill payments will be sent in a closed-loop system. And even though Regalii’s initial focus was on remittance, De La Cruz said cross border bill pay is a small portion of the company’s revenue.
But both avenues make Regalii an enticing company, Grotto said.
“There’s interest in bill pay because it’s just one of those critical transactions that, if you’re able to provide a good experience, you have a pretty loyal customer,” she said. “And in remittance, there’s a ton of organizations, both established as well as a slew of fintechs, that are all looking at improving international money flow.”
With the latter focused on bill pay, there’s less risk because the recipient of the funds is an established utility provider or biller, Grotto said.
Regalii is also targeting the right market, according to Grotto.
“I can’t say I’ve seen much activity in bill payment innovation happening on the institutional side,” she said. “But institutions need to pay more attention to the bill-pay needs, the needs that are so central to their day-to-day activities, of their customers if they want to continue to play the role of critical provider of financial services.”
Without Mastercard’s help, Regalii has signed 12 of the largest financial institutions in North America. According to De La Cruz, Mastercard will help the company gain many times more institutional customers.
14-Day Free Trial
Corrected April 21, 2017 at 8:15PM: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized the nature of Mastercard's relationship with Regalii, and misstated the title of Mastercard executive Amy Neale.


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This seems rather obvious, but it needs to be said: Different companies have different business models. Apple manufactures physical goods, so they need to move boxes to make money. Google and Facebook charge nothing for their services, but they put ads in front of you wherever they can to recuperate their costs. Microsoft, like most software companies, makes money by selling bits either digitally or burned onto a CD. When Google announced that they were going to create Android and make it available to anyone who wanted it at no cost, that was ground breaking. Before Android you had to give money to either Nokia for Symbian or Microsoft for Windows Mobile.
Now licensing fees don’t often get talked about, but they’re critically important since they dictate how a device will be priced. Hardware manufacturers squabble over every penny of the components that go into their devices, because they know that at the end of the day they’re going to have to cough up a significant amount of money to a software vendor. According to VR-Zone, who was in Taiwan for Computex, various sources they spoke to have said that Microsoft is charging $85 for a Windows RT license.
What’s Windows RT? It’s Windows 8, but instead of supporting legacy applications written for Intel’s chips, Windows RT will run on ARM and can only use apps made in the new touch focused Metro style. Make no mistake, $85 is a lot of money. Yes, Windows RT devices will have Microsoft Office built-in, or at least a subset of Microsoft Office, but still … that figure is astronomical when you consider Android tablets don’t have that kind of overhead.
The VR-Zone report goes on to say that first generation Windows RT machines are expected to cost around $549 to $799. If that’s the case, then is Microsoft’s next operating system already dead on arrival?


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Passengers going for a quick pint or three before their flight out of Bristol Airport should savour it - because it’s the second most expensive pint you can buy when compared to the 20 busiest airport departure lounges in Britain.
The cheapest pint of beer at Bristol Airport, according to research by a flight comparison website, is £5.90 for a Stella Artois, which is almost twice the cost of the cheapest pint at some other airports.
Only London City Airport, with an eye-watering £7 for a pint of Truman’s Roller IPA, is more expensive than Bristol, with Belfast’s £5.90 for a Guinness or a Heineken matching Bristol’s second-dearest price tag.
And Bristol Airport also has the most expensive portion of chips for a British airport, along with Cardiff and Leeds - at £4.29 a pop.
you can compare and contrast that with Glasgow, where a pint of Doombar will set you back just £2.99, or Munich Airport where, with a deal, you can get a pint of German ale for just 2.20 Euros.
Despite being the busiest airport in the country, Heathrow has the second cheapest pint, at just £3.79.
The research was undertaken by the team behind flight-comparison site www.jetcost.co.uk, who looked into the cost of various items in the UK’s 20 busiest airports.
A study of over 1,800 Britons that fly regularly was undertaken in conjunction with the research, finding that two fifths (41 per cent) of fliers have an alcoholic drink in the airport before they take-off, helping to get them into the holiday spirit. What’s more, one in seven Britons (15 per cent) admitted to having more than one drink before flying.
Of those that chose not to drink in the airport, one of the main reasons was found to be ‘it’s too expensive’ (28 per cent).
The research looked at the 20 busiest airports in the UK and found the lowest price of a pint in each one.
For the latest news in and around Bristol, check back on Bristol Live's homepage


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OnePlus 8 Launching On Verizon With 5g SupportRelated: FGN, United State Trade And Development Agency, General Electric And NNPC Sign $1.1million Grant To Support Electricity Infrastructure Development In Nigeria
OnePlus phones are usually less priced. It’s worthy to mention that T-Mobile stopped selling the 7T Pro just a few months after it got launched; they went ahead to release 7T in October 2019 which is less priced than the former. Another of their less priced phones is the OnePlus 7 Pro which was released in May 2019 at a price less than its competitors, 699USD.
On customer’s data breaches, OnePlus suffered a data breach in November 2019 when apparently, some customer data got exposed. This came after about forty thousand OnePlus customers’ credit card information got stolen in January 2018.
As it is now, we are all expecting the availability of the upcoming OnePlus 8 in Verizon outlets, and we hope the phone will come with great surprises.


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Before this calendar year, Google blew up the existing Google Pay and started out above with a new codebase that had extra limitations and less features. Now, the corporation is lastly starting off to incorporate characteristics on major of this stripped-down company, starting with the return of a debit card. In accordance to a new report from 9to5Google (Google does not seem to have a blog submit about this however), commencing this week, US Android people can request a “Google Pay out Harmony Card” that will permit them to spend their Google Pay back harmony directly on purchases.
Besides the NFC faucet-and-pay out functionality, Google Fork out also has a P2P payment that allows you trade revenue with other persons. The pool for sending and acquiring this revenue is your Google Spend stability, and beforehand, the key way to spend this harmony was to transfer it out of Google Shell out and into a financial institution account (while it’s also a payment approach on the Play Retail outlet and Google components retailer). This labored fine, and if it was deposited directly to a bank account, there were not any costs. It was just a handful of more faucets and took several times to transfer. The new Google Pay back card is a digital Visa debit card that you can established as an NFC card, so now paying that income a friend sent you is as easy (and presumably swift) as setting your Google Shell out harmony as your NFC card and tapping your mobile phone versus a store payment terminal.
Throughout Google’s turbulent NFC payment history—spanning 2011’s Google Wallet, 2015’s Android Shell out, 2018’s Google Shell out, and 2021’s big revamp—almost anything has been accomplished just before. This Google Shell out Stability Card feels a large amount like the Google Wallet Card (2013-2016), which also allow you spend your P2P harmony in suppliers. That was a physical piece of plastic, however, and it didn’t get the job done above NFC. The Google Spend Equilibrium Card is NFC-only and, in spite of the name, is not a physical card.
At minimum, it is really not a physical card yet. Element of the new Google Shell out initiative incorporates strategies for a Google Financial institution Account that is supposed to launch sometime this 12 months. The accounts, referred to as “Google Plex” (not to be perplexed with the Googleplex or this Plex), will be whole-blown “digital lender accounts” designed in partnership with a selection of banking institutions and credit history unions. If folks are actually intended to use these as their main accounts, it can be tough to visualize some variety of physical Google Card not building an eventual comeback.
If you’re fascinated in a Google Pay Harmony Card, apparently there will be some way to ask for it by means of the app shortly.


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Poll: Next big "green" powertrain
What will be the next big "green" powertrain in the U.S.?
Tag: bmw i
05 January, 2016 11:08:00BMW i is presenting BMW i8 Mirrorless at the CES 2016 in Las Vegas. This is the first time a camera monitor system has been launched that offers BMW drivers a pioneering form of rear view with the potential to replace conventional exterior mirrors.
05 January, 2016 12:55:00Vehicles with highly automated driving are an important milestone on the road to Vision Zero, the idea of accident-free individual mobility.
21 December, 2015 11:46:00BMW and Nissan are joining forces to offer public DC Fast charging at 120 locations across 19 states in an effort to support Nissan LEAF and BMW i3 customers and to promote increased adoption of electric vehicles nationwide.
18 November, 2015 03:18:00BMW of North America announces the ChargeNow DC Fast Expansion program in cooperation with EVgo.
13 November, 2015 05:30:00Two years after it went on sale, the BMW i3 has established itself at the pinnacle of its segment worldwide.
18 October, 2015 07:05:00The BMW i ChargeForward second-life energy storage system enabled by Geli has been awarded a 2015 Energy Storage North America (ESNA) Innovation Award for its sophisticated second-life energy storage system.
12 September, 2015 02:00:00BMW i announced that it will loan the Los Angeles Police Department a BMW i3 electric vehicle for twelve months in the first US test of the innovative EV in an authority fleet.
02 September, 2015 11:31:00BMW Group announced a strategic investment in ZIRX under the company’s venture capital entity, BMW i Ventures.
05 September, 2015 06:00:00With the BMW i3 eDrive Experience, BMW became the first premium car manufacturer to offer a specific training course featuring electrically-powered vehicles.
26 August, 2015 09:14:00BMW will be lining up for the FIA Formula E Championship once again in 2015/16. The second season of the race series gets underway in Beijing on 17 October 2015, and BMW will be on hand as the Official Vehicle Partner.
- Geneva 2008: New Diesel Engines for Ford Mondeo, Ford S-MAX and Ford Galaxy
- MIT Scientists Find New Way to Generate Electricity
- Coskata Opens Semi-Commercial Feedstock Flexible Ethanol Facility
- High Performance, 92 Mpg High Mileage 3 Wheel Sport Car
- SolarCity, Rabobank to Build Fast-Charge Electric Car Charging Corridor


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FedEx Company Earnings Okay, Forecast Not So Much
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) reported fourth-quarter and full fiscal year 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The package delivery service reported adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13 on revenues of $11.4 billion. In the same period a year ago, FedEx reported EPS of $1.99 on revenue of $11.0 billion. Fourth-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $1.96 and $11.44 billion in revenue.
On a GAAP basis, EPS totaled $0.95, which excludes employee buyout costs and a noncash impairment charge. A year ago the company's GAAP EPS totaled $1.73.
For the full year, FedEx posted adjusted EPS of $6.23 on revenues of $44.3 billion, compared with EPS of $6.59 and revenues of $42.7 billion in 2012. The consensus estimates called for annual EPS of $6.04 on revenues of $44.39 billion.
The company's guidance for its 2014 fiscal year projects EPS growth of 7% to 13% above 2013 results. FedEx noted that beginning with this report it would "focus on full year projections with quarterly updates." Based on 2013 EPS, FedEx is projecting EPS for 2014 in the range of $6.67 to $7.04. The consensus estimate calls for full-year EPS of $7.36.
As a bellwether for the economy, FedEx's predictive power points to continuing softness. The company's CFO said:
We remain focused on improving margins and returns in all of our businesses. The pace of that improvement is expected to be moderate in fiscal 2014 and then accelerate in fiscal 2015. Our profit improvement program is progressing, but we continue to see the effects of customers selecting lower-rate international services. FedEx Express will further decrease capacity between Asia and the United States in July.
The company's full-year EPS forecast says all that needs to be said about FedEx's view of the coming year. A very slowly improving global economy is weighing heavily on revenues and profits. Adjusted operating income and margins in the company's freight segment were flat with last year in the fourth quarter, and FedEx essentially does not see any significant change in that performance.
Shares are up about 0.8%in premarket trading this morning, at $99.48 in a 52-week range of $83.92 to $109.66. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $114.75 before today's results were announced.
Filed under: Investing Tagged: FDX


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Apple's iAd service to debut next week in Europe
Unilever expected to deliver the Lynx effect
The UK and French markets should be the first in the region to encounter the Lynx effect, as Unilever promotes its new Excite range of products on iOS devices.
Roll on and roll out
Whilst Apples mobile advertising network has been integrated into apps over the other side of the Atlantic since July, iOS customers in Europe will finally get a chance to sample the immersive iAd experience via the Excite promotion.
Users will be able to watch the Lynx Excite TV advert, download wallpapers of Lynx angels, and purchase the accompanying theme song Sexy Boys all from within the app.
"Lynx is always looking for new opportunities to engage with its audience in an innovative and creative way," said Lynx brand manager Selina Sykes.
"As the digital age is upon us, iAd is the best platform for us to launch this new variant Excite to reach our target market.
Leaving a Legacy
And on the subject of iAds, a brand new advertisement for the Disney film TRON Legacy marked another milestone for the six-month old service, becoming the first of its kind to feature on iPad.
Limited to US customers for the moment, the full-screen iPad ad for the sci-fi blockbuster boasts nearly ten minutes of video, still images from the movie, a list of theatre showtimes, and a preview of Daft Punks soundtrack.
A wider launch of iAds for iPad is expected early next year, presumably around the same time as the network goes live in Japan.
[source: Apple Insider]


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First Details On Next-Generation PlayStation Confirm Backwards Compatibility
by Sage Ashford
As we get closer to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One reaching seven years on the market, fans have begun to speculate about what the next-generation of gaming consoles will look like. Both Microsoft and Sony have been rather silent on this front for the most part, but a new article from Wired has changed that. In an exclusive interview with Mark Cerny, lead system architect for the PlayStation 4, we’ve been given a tiny look at what Sony has planned for their “untitled” next generation machine.
The interview goes into detail on a number of things, starting with explaining that the CPU will be a third-generation AMD Ryzen chip with eight cores of 7nm Zen 2, while the GPU will be customized, but based on Radeon Navi micro-architecture. The AMD chip supports 3D audio, allowing for immersive sound that can feel like it’s coming from any direction. Though this sounds like it would require a special audio system, they specify no additional purchase other than the system will be “necessary”, but that the best audio will come from usage of headphones.
Though when Cerny designed the PlayStation 4 he didn’t seem overly concerned with Raytracing, the technique that models the way light travels to create more realistic and complex 3D environments, this time around both he and Sony have completely embraced the technology, and the interview discusses all the benefits of using Raytracing to advance game design.
Most surprising of all however is the addition of Solid State Drives to the next-generation PlayStation. They’ve gone the extra mile to put a specialized “SSD+” in the new system, reducing travel (and fast travel) times at a geometric rate. In the article, they discuss going from fifteen seconds for fast travel in Sony and Insomniac’s Spider-Man to 0.8 seconds.
Still, the biggest two bombshells are saved for last. As it stands, the next PlayStation will both support physical, disc-based media and be backwards compatible with PlayStation 4 games. These have been two of the biggest discussions about next-generation systems–whether they will go all digital and whether the more common x86 architecture would allow Sony to go for proper backwards compatibility, and it seems Sony is once again answering in the affirmative.
This Wired interview features an almost unprecedented amount of information for a console that’s over a year from release. However, there’s still plenty of questions left to be asked about the future of Sony PlayStation. (As the article astutely points out, we don’t even know what the system is called, though it’s most likely the PlayStation 5.) There’s no information about what the system’s launch line-up will be–the PlayStation 4 had a lot of problems if players weren’t interested in indie games and cross-gen sports titles. They didn’t talk about what apps would be available on the console either–Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, and other applications were big six years ago, and they’ve only become a bigger deal since then, when the PS4 launched with absolutely none of the functionality of its older brother.
Of course, there’s the biggest question hanging in the air as well: what’s this thing going to cost? The system specs read like a dream for every techie fanboy, with it’s RyZen CPU and it’s Raytracing and backwards compatibility and it’s Solid State drives–it seems unlikely they’ll be able to hit that $399 sweet spot that made the PlayStation 4 fly off the shelves. As everyone else prepares to make their big moves for 2020, Sony’s going to need to come up with the right answers for every single one of these questions, because as fun as all this new technology sounds, that’s never been what moved the most consoles. Still, it’s hard to argue that this is a good start, and it’s smart of Sony to get out ahead of any potential leaks and drop pretty much anything relevant themselves to kick off the road to the ninth generation.


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The fashion industry has been undergoing some drastic changes in the past few years. One of the fastest-growing sectors? The luxury resale market. It’s not really a shock, considering that some researchers say luxury items are now a better investment than the stock market. One thing that might surprise you, however, is the consumer base that’s driving these sales—men.
According to midyear reports from Glossy on companies like The RealReal, the men’s Birkin bag sold 100% of its inventory on the consignment site, demonstrating a mounting interest among men in those luxury apparel and bags. “Men are becoming more engaged in consignment,” said Rati Levesque, chief merchant at The RealReal. “They’re thinking more about what they’re purchasing and what has value in the secondary market.” The report also noted that men’s consignment sales overall have more than doubled. It just goes to show that menswear is no longer an afterthought in the fashion world. It’s a rapidly growing market that is going to be truly exciting to watch.
If you’re ready to make an investment, scroll on to shop the best Birkin bags from Hermès.


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Bank of Jordan has recently launched a new promotional campaign which enables its Visa silver credit cardholders to get 5% Cashback of their purchases’ amount when paying with their card exclusively at supermarkets, restaurants and cafés during the campaign that began in early January.
This campaign is a part of Bank of Jordan’s strategy to reward its Visa silver credit cardholders where they can buy what they want and get5% Cashback in their card balance. Additionally they will collect points in their card redeemable at selected merchants
Since it was founded in 1960, Bank of Jordan has become one of the leading banks in the Kingdom. For more than 54 years, Bank of Jordan has adapted continuous development and improvement schemes in all of its activities and areas of expertise. Since its establishment, BoJ has kept abreast with the rapid developments in the commercial banking industry, both locally and regionally. Bank of Jordan believes that social responsibility is realized through incorporating social aspects and the environment in the way business is run and in its interactions with its partners and society at large. In this context, BoJ continued to support and sponsor various events including educational, cultural, sports, and social activities.


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While many companies are doing their best to increase their procurement, production and logistical security, two major world economies have recently pledged to do the same. The European Union and Canada reached an agreement that will ensure supply chain security and protect trade between both parties and companies relying on partners across the Atlantic for materials or manufacturing processes.
The EU and Canada already cooperate to ensure trade between the two runs as smoothly as possible for corporations procuring, manufacturing or shipping their products overseas and have had a customs agreement to aid international trade in place since 1998. However, the new proposal will take this existing policy a step further and increase the partnership between the two areas.
The recently reached agreement will enhance current regulations and serve to better protect all parties involved in the trade. The proposal will ensure commercial information requirements across the EU and Canada are in line with one another and work to guarantee the EU member states and Canada work together to employ better risk mitigation strategies and security practices. It will also help both areas begin to recognize the other's trade membership programs, including the EU Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) and Canada's Partners in Protection (PIP).
"In a globalized world with globalized trade, no country can ensure their security of their supply chain in isolation," said Algirdas Šemeta, EU commissioner responsible for customs. "International cooperation is essential to protect citizen' security while allowing the smooth flow of trade. This agreement with Canada will give us the tools to improve customs controls while cutting red tape for safe traders in both our territories."
The agreement's ratification process is expected to occur within several months.


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Google is planning to offer higher commissions to resellers who sign up enterprise customers for its Google Apps for Work packages, reports the WSJ.
Google plans to boost the commissions it pays some outside firms to sell its workplace software, signaling a more serious challenge to Microsoft’s dominance at larger companies, according to people familiar with the matter.
Google currently pays a 20% commission, typically earning resellers $10 per user per year, but is planning to offer a bigger cut to its most successful resellers in order to encourage companies to further boost sales. The exact details of the new commission structure are not yet known.
The company recently announced that Sprint had become a reseller for mobile-focused business apps. High-profile companies that have adopted the Apps for Work suite include auditors PwC, Squarespace and WordPress.
While Microsoft remains the dominant player in office productivity software, the two companies have been on a converging path for some time, Google expanding its apps suite while Microsoft focuses more on the cloud.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


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BY Fintan Ng - November 27, 2018
Crypto liquidity dries up
Liquidity has fallen off the cliff in the crypto markets as wary traders continue to stay on the sidelines despite cryptocurrency prices having plunged 80% to 95% from the start of the year.
Crypto research outfit Diar says traders “are not taking a punt on the bargain”, with 60% of listed cryptocurrencies trading below January levels and that volumes have plummeted across major exchanges.
“Order books are now filled to the brim on the sell side with November, to date, seeing an acceleration in depreciating volumes,” it says in a Nov 26 report.
“Over 75% of the tokens that have been added to exchange this year have seen their volumes in complete decline October versus November,” it says.
Painting a bleak picture for 2018, it says over 20% of cryptocurrencies that remain listed on major exchanges now have less than 90% of the trading volumes witnessed at peak hype in January.
“More than half of those are effectively dead in the water with no traders looking to buy,” it points out.
Diar says liquidity differ among exchanges quite dramatically, with Asian crypto exchanges having more volume compared to US ones.
It says Hong Kong-based OKEx and Singapore-based Huobi are the outliers by reported volume while Binance has a fairly equal share of trading volumes across percentage bands.
Wilmington, Delaware-based exchange Poloniex’s listed tokens have less trading volume compared to the start of the year and only three of Seattle-based Bittrex have volume.


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2020 has already been a hugely transformative year for the streaming video industry. COVID-19 has accelerated existing, underlying trends and also pushed the video industry even faster into new business models and technologies. Incumbents like Netflix and Hulu have gotten bigger, new entrants like Disney+ have already emerged as streaming leaders and legacy media giants like WarnerMedia and Comcast/NBCUniversal have jumped headlong into the direct-to-consumer marketplace.
As the entire video ecosystem evolves, FierceVideo is recognizing the brightest young professionals under age 35, who are rising up the ranks in the streaming TV industry. These 23 Emerging Leaders were selected among a larger group of candidates, who were all nominated by their superiors and their peers. These Emerging Leaders finalists are at the forefront of all the change in the streaming TV business. Whether they're involved in distribution, marketing, sales, technology or other areas of expertise, they are the ones to watch during these transformative times.
In no particular order, here are this year’s Emerging Leaders. Click on their names to read their profiles. And make sure to join us the last week in July for OTT Blitz Week, where we’ll announce our six winners:


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- Baidu launched Kunlun 2, its second-generation AI chip aimed at areas such as autonomous driving.
- The Chinese tech giant also released a prototype "robocar" and rebranded its robotaxi app, underscoring its ambitions in autonomous driving.
- Baidu, known as China's biggest search engine player, has focused on diversifying its business beyond advertising to artificial intelligence and driverless cars.
GUANGZHOU, China — Chinese internet giant Baidu unveiled its second-generation artificial intelligence chip, its first "robocar" and a rebranded driverless taxi app, underscoring how these new areas of technology are key to the company's future growth.
The Beijing-headquartered firm, known as China's biggest search engine player, has focused on diversifying its business beyond advertising in the face of rising competition and a difficult advertising market in the last few years.
Robin Li, CEO of Baidu, has tried to convince investors the company's future lies in AI and related areas such as autonomous driving.
On Wednesday, at its annual Baidu World conference, the company launched Kunlun 2, its second-generation AI chip. The semiconductor is designed to help devices process huge amounts of data and boost computing power. Baidu says the chip can be used in areas such as autonomous driving and that it has entered mass production.
Baidu's first-generation Kunlun chip was launched in 2018. Earlier this year, Baidu raised money for its chip unit valuing it at $2 billion.
Semiconductors and artificial intelligence are two key technologies in which China is hoping to boost its expertise and strength. Baidu's rivals like Alibaba and Tencent have both invested in semiconductors.
Baidu also took the wraps off a "robocar," an autonomous vehicle with doors that open up like wings and a big screen inside for entertainment. It is a prototype and the company gave no word on whether it would be mass-produced.
But the concept car highlights Baidu's ambitions in autonomous driving, which analysts predict could be a multibillion dollar business for the Chinese tech giant.
Baidu has also been running so-called robotaxi services in some cities including Guangzhou and Beijing where users can hail an autonomous taxi via the company's Apollo Go app in a limited area. On Wednesday, Baidu rebranded that app to "Luobo Kuaipao" as it looks to roll out robotaxis on a mass scale.
Wei Dong, vice president of Baidu's intelligent driving group, told CNBC the company is aiming for mass public commercial availability in some cities within two years.
It's unclear how Baidu will price the robotaxi service.
Baidu also announced four new pieces of hardware, including a smart screen and a TV equipped with Xiaodu, the company's AI voice assistant. Xiaodu is another growth initiative for the company.


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Strict diet 2 days a week ‘cuts breast cancer risk by 40pc’October 6th, 2010 - 12:48 pm ICT by ANI
London, Oct 06 (ANI): A new study has indicated that a strict diet for two days a week consisting solely of vegetables, fruit, milk and a mug of Bovril could prevent breast cancer.
Women who cut back to just 650 calories a day, twice a week, had significantly lower levels of cancer-causing hormones in their blood, the study found, reports the Daily Mail.
The researchers said women at high risk of breast cancer could be put on similar diets for the rest of their lives to try to prevent tumours developing.
The study examined 50 overweight women aged 30 to 45 who were deemed to have a high genetic risk of developing breast cancer, as either their mother or sister had suffered from the disease.
For two days each week they were limited to eating just a third of the recommended 2,000-calorie daily intake for women.
This had to include four portions of vegetables, one piece of fruit, two pints of semi-skimmed milk and either green tea, a diet soft drink or a salty beverage such as a cup of hot Bovril. For the remainder of the week they were allowed to eat as much as they wanted, as long as they stuck to healthy food that was relatively low in fat.
After six months scientists found that the women had far less leptin and
insulin in their blood - hormones that can cause cancer.
Leptin fell by an average of 40 per cent and insulin by an average of 25 per cent.
The women also lost an average of a stone in weight and recorded a 15 per cent drop in levels of the potentially harmful C-reactor protein, which is also known to increase the risk of breast cancer, in their blood.
Another 50 women were put on a diet in which they were restricted to 1,500 calories every day and told to avoid sugary foods, fatty meat and excessive alcohol.
These women also had fewer cancer-causing hormones in their blood six months later, but insulin had fallen slightly less than in women on the two-day-a-week diet.
But the scientists behind this latest study believe that the two-day-a- week diet could be even more effective than general dieting.
They say that when the body is deprived of food the amount of sugar reaching breast cells decreases, which may result in them dividing less frequently and turning cancerous.
The research was published in the International Journal of Obesity. (ANI)
- Strict diet cuts risk of breast cancer - Oct 06, 2010
- Low-carb diets better for easing weight: Study - Dec 13, 2011
- Dessert with breakfast can benefit dieters - Jun 26, 2012
- 10 tips to steer clear of breast cancer - Oct 03, 2010
- Soy food safe for breast cancer survivors - Apr 06, 2011
- What babies eat determines risk of obesity - Aug 31, 2012
- Diet and exercise 'more effective for weight loss when combined' - Apr 15, 2011
- Women born to older mothers may develop breast cancer - Feb 07, 2012
- A drink a day doubles women's breast cancer risk - Aug 24, 2010
- Low-calorie diet can cure diabetes - Jun 24, 2011
- Appetite hormones may predict dieter's success - Sep 10, 2010
- Chances of cancer begin even before conception - Sep 20, 2010
- Junk food could also damage brain, says study - Aug 30, 2012
- High soy intake reduces risk of breast cancer - Jun 15, 2010
- 14 foods that deliver research-documented benefits to health - Jan 16, 2011
Tags: breast cancer, breast cancer risk, breast cancer women, daily mail, excessive alcohol, fatty meat, fruit milk, genetic risk, green tea, healthy food, high risk, hormones, insulin, leptin, overweight women, soft drink, strict diet, sugary foods, tumours, two pints


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For those hoping that the DOOM 4 teaser being shown at QuakeCon later this month will be simultaneously released online for all to see, you’re going to be a little disappointed. The games publisher, Bethesda, has announced that the DOOM 4 showing at QuakeCon is exclusive to attendees only, so if you want to see what the latest DOOM game is all about, you better grab a ticket, and likely a flight, to QuakeCon.
In a statement released by Bethesda, they explain that the DOOM showing, which was teased soon after E3 with a trailer, will be exclusively for attendees, that means that nothing will officially be released online for some time.
“You’ve been clamoring for it for years, and now the wait is almost over,” the post reads. “As announced in our E3 teaser trailer, fans in attendance at QuakeCon 2014 will have the opportunity to get a sneak peek at what’s been going on with the new DOOM game from id Software.”
All hope is not lost however, as Bethesda promise to show more “at a later date,” but if you’re a huge fan of DOOM, and you’re not attending QuakeCon, you’re going to just have to wait.
“This an exclusive thing we are doing for attendees as part of our Annual QuakeCon Welcome presentation. We’ll have plenty more to show everyone at a later date, but we didn’t want another QuakeCon to go by without doing something special for the amazing QC community and id supporters that have been with us for more than 20 years.”
QuakeCon is being held in Dallas, Texas between July 17-20, so get packing and book your flight, you’ve got a QuakeCon to get to!


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Beginning in October, all of Enjoy Life packages will sport bright teal backgrounds that will help the product standout on store shelves with better brand blocking, said Kasey Moss, a company representative who recently attended the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo in Chicago.
Moss explained that as an allergy-friendly brand, Enjoy Life products are not always in the same place in stores, which can make them hard to spot.
“With the teal packaging, it will be easier to find our products on shelves because they will all be one color. Right now, it is kind of hard to tell what is what because depending on the store, we are not always in the same place in the store. We could be in the gluten-free set or the natural set or sometimes the products are actually in line with regular products,” so shoppers who need allergy-friendly options sometimes have to hunt for Enjoy Life products, she said. “But with the teal, it will be better brand recognition and brand blocking on the shelf for the consumers to find us more easily.”
The choice to use teal also is a fast indicator to allergy sufferers that products are safe for them to eat, Moss said, explaining the color “is a nod to the food allergy community, which is obviously very important to us, as teal is the food allergy awareness color.”
The teal also helps the brand’s signature white oval in a red outline standout – a move that aligns with the company’s broader mission to clarify which products it owns, Moss said.
To further support this goal, Moss added the company will eliminate sub-branding, which has confused some consumers.
“Some of our products, like ProBurst Bites and Plentils chips, were sub-branded, and some weren’t. It was confusing for consumers because some people thought Plentils were a stand-alone brand and they were not correlating them with Enjoy Life, and the values the company holds,” Moss said.
She added that as a company with more than 60 products, Enjoy Life wants consumers to know they all fall under the same umbrella brand.
A cleaner label
Enjoy Life products have always been free of the “big eight” allergens recognized by US regulators, but now they also are free-from the top allergens in Canada and the UK – bringing the total list of avoided allergens to 14, Moss said.
With such a long-list, Moss said the company moved the specific allergens from which products are free from to a side panel, which freed up space on the front of the pack to talk about what is in the products.
“A lot of times in gluten-free and allergy-friendly products, brands emphasize what is not in the package, such as no nuts, not dairy, and that can almost be a turn-off to people who don’t have food allergies. And we want our products to be for people who don’t have food allergies to eat, too,” Moss said.
She also noted that the focus on what is not in products has led some people to question what is in the product.
“We use really high quality ingredients and I think that is something that kind of gets wiped to the side. People think we are using a lot of fillers because they wonder what is in our products if we are not using those ingredients,” she explained.
“We want to shift the focus to our high quality ingredients and where we are sourcing them from,” which is why the free-from claims are now on the side and not the front of the pack, she said.
In the spirit of being transparent and having a clean label, Moss said Enjoy Life’s new line of Grain & Seed bars will not use palm oil – an ingredient that many consumers have told the company that they fear production of negatively impacts the environment.
“A lot of consumers are more worried about sustainability, and we are, too,” Moss said.
Some palm oil producers, such as the Malaysian government, say they are making significant strides to make production of the ingredient 100% sustainable in the near future. Moss recognized this effort and said that in the future the company’s position could change, but for today it is not comfortable using the ingredient in the new line snack bars.


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What's really making objects move in that viral craze involving pencils and summoning ghosts? It's not the demon you think it is, freaked-out teens.
AT&T is in the process of eliminating service contracts and subsidies for its retail partners. But they will still be available at AT&T stores.
Technically Incorrect: A Volvo accelerates toward people apparently watching a demonstration. The company says that its owner didn't have the pedestrian detection feature installed.
When Google unveiled its smart and controversial eyewear three years ago, some early tech adopters tried to do their part by eagerly pushing for Glass acceptance. The world pushed back.
Technically Incorrect: If you want to watch porn on your virtual reality headset, go right ahead. At least that's what Oculus' founder appeared to say at a recent tech conference.
The best way to recruit more women into tech? Convince them when they're young that tech is cool.
Brains are less stimulated by food at night, a Brigham Young University study shows. And that, ironically, is exactly what leads to those midnight food cravings.
Following a backlash, Valve says anyone who paid for a "mod," or modification, to Skyrim over the last few weeks will receive a full refund.
Debuting at Google I/O 2015, the photo service lets you store, organize and share an unlimited amount of high-def content for free.
Technically Incorrect: An Australian mom is stunned that her Facebook friends don't like her constant baby updates. How stunning.


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'Since the best parties are the ones that send you home with a present, today we celebrate our birthday with a festive goodie bag full of gifts' says the Android store website
Apple Inc. could be on track to sell 173 million of the devices this fiscal year, according to a new estimate Monday, the same day as the company said users have downloaded more than 40 billion of its apps
While it took less than 24 hours for Mac users to rack up one million downloads from the new store, being able to keep one third of that pace for an entire year is noteworthy, as it represents a willingness among PC owners to purchase software for their desktops and laptops the same way they acquire software for their mobile devices
Readers can use the apps to see newspapers including the Vancouver Sun, Vancouver Province, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Regina Leader-Post, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Ottawa Citizen, Windsor Star and Montreal Gazette on the Apple devices anywhere, anytime.
Want to buy Apple Inc. products from your iPhone? Fittingly, there's now an app for that
Apple's App Store remains the most popular application storefront for top brands, with 86 of the top 100 boasting their own iPhone applications, while just 26 have an application in RIM's BlackBerry App World
With less than 24 hours to go in at the Great Canadian Appathon on Humber campus and the boxes of Doritos have vanished. All the NOS has been chugged, and the campus is littered with empty coffee cups and bleary-eyed 20-somethings
Confident in the belief that people love fighting zombies in day-to-day situations, a group of angels is investing $325,000 in Toronto startup Massive Damage Inc.
Upset by new rules laid out by Apple Inc., Toronto-based digital book upstart Kobo Inc. is offering iPhone and iPad readers a bridge to a new reading reality outside the walled gardens of the App Store
According to several reports, Apple has quietly altered its guidelines surrounding the pricing of in-app subscriptions for applications sold in the company's iTunes App Store, marking a shift in strategy that could improve mobile revenue streams for traditional publishers looking to build digital audiences
Underpinning all of Danier’s woes in recent years was the rise of the now-ubiquitous puffy parka, turned into a Canadian fashion staple by Canada Goose more than five years ago
The artist claims he created portraits of each of Wu-Tang Clan's founders for a fan website but never agreed to their use in the 174-page book that accompanied the album
Economic impact studies are easy to misinterpret, rarely explained, and can make bad public policy look good. Trevor Tombe explores their limitations
If you're in your 20s or 30s, the idea of swiping right to find your next date sounds pretty unsurprising by now. But what about swiping to find your next best friend?
Many have observed that Shkreli possesses what may be the world's most punchable face, but what's really going on inside his head?


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Eagle Materials Inc. reported financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2017 ended Sept. 30, 2016. The company’s construction products and building materials businesses performed well during the quarter, with the Cement business reporting record second quarter operating earnings of $50.7 million. Second quarter cash flow from operations improved 22 percent and was used to fund capital improvements, pay dividends, reduce debt and repurchase shares.
As previously announced, on Sept. 11, 2016, Eagle entered into a definitive agreement with a subsidiary of Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. to purchase Cemex’s Fairborn, Ohio, cement plant and related assets. The purchase price is $400 million, subject to customary post-closing adjustments. Eagle expects that the acquisition will increase its U.S. annual cement capacity by approximately 20 percent to nearly 6 million tons. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of calendar 2016, or shortly thereafter. Eagle intends to finance the acquisition through a combination of cash on hand and borrowings under its existing bank credit facility.
Cement revenues for the second quarter, including joint venture and intersegment revenues, totaled $166.8 million, which was 1 percent higher than the same quarter last year. The average net sales price for this quarter was $99.95 per ton, 3 percent higher than the same quarter last year. Wholly-owned average net sales prices improved 5 percent from the second quarter last year. The average net cement sales price at the joint venture declined year-over-year reflecting the shift from oil well cement to construction-grade cement over the past year; however, profitability improved 4 percent at the joint venture. Total cement sales volumes for the quarter were 1.4 million tons, 3 percent lower than the same quarter a year ago. Cement sales volumes were negatively impacted during the quarter by above average rainfall in Midwestern markets.
Operating earnings from Cement for the second quarter were a record $50.7 million and 4 percent greater than the same quarter a year ago. The earnings improvement was driven primarily by improved average net cement sales prices.
Concrete and Aggregates reported revenues for the second quarter of $38.8 million, an increase of 7 percent. Second quarter operating earnings were $4.8 million, a 25 percent improvement from the same quarter a year ago, reflecting improved aggregates sales volumes and improved concrete and aggregates sales prices.


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Johnson & Johnson settles New York opioid lawsuit for $230 million
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has settled an opioid lawsuit with the state of New York for $230 million days before the company was set to be put on trial.
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) announced the settlement on Saturday, saying the payments would be given over a nine-year period.
The payment plan depends on multiple factors, including if new legislation is signed into law creating an opioid settlement fund.
Along with the cash settlement, J&J also must leave the opioid business across the country and no longer manufacture or sell opioids in New York, James said.
“The opioid epidemic has wreaked havoc on countless communities across New York state and the rest of the nation, leaving millions still addicted to dangerous and deadly opioids,” James said in the announcement of the settlement. “Johnson & Johnson helped fuel this fire, but today they’re committing to leaving the opioid business — not only in New York, but across the entire country.”
The $2 billion lawsuit began in September 2020 when New York sued J&J for allegedly committing insurance fraud by promoting addictive painkillers.
J&J said in a press release that the settlement covers attorney fees and cost as well as funding for opioid-related issues while noting, “The settlement is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing by the Company.”
“Janssen developed two prescription opioid medicines – a patch and a crush-resistant tablet – designed to help patients suffering from pain. DURAGESIC®, NUCYNTA®, and NUCYNTA® ER have accounted for less than one percent of total opioid prescriptions in the U.S. since launch,” the company stated.
As part of the agreement, the New York attorney general will be taking J&J off the opioid trial set to begin next week and will resolve lawsuits from New York’s Nassau and Suffolk counties if their legislatures approve the agreement in July.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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In order to make Facebook more user-friendly, the social media giant introduced a few attractive new features. Recommendation tool, call-to-action buttons, and new section pages are expected to attract more users in a world where there are more mobiles than human beings.
The long wait for high-speed 5G will end by 2018. The Winter Olympics in South Korea will be the launch pad for the new technology.
announced the ban of Samsung Note 7 phones in all airlines. FAA instructed travelers not to carry the device. Recalled or replacement handsets will not be allowed in checked baggage also. Violation of the direction may attract criminal prosecution and fines.
Air Canada also notified customers not...
Hoping to retain its customers and to control further damages, Samsung Electronics on Thursday offered financial incentives to customers exchanging its damaged Galaxy Note 7 smartphones for other Samsung models.
American Civil Liberties Union or ACLU of Northern California revealed that data from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter were shared with Geofeedia, a social media intelligence platform. ACLU also accused that Geofeedia marketed these data to law enforcement agencies to monitor activists and protesters.


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The American government should not own a car company.
That was a wise stance back in 2008, before Barack Obama was elected president; it was a wise stance from 2009 through 2013, when the U.S. government owned a large but gradually shrinking portion of General Motors stock; and it is a wise stance today. Sadly, those who liked the era of “Government Motors” are determined to avoid any serious examination of that policy — perhaps because President Obama and his fans have persuaded themselves that the auto-industry bailout was one of the biggest successes of his presidency.
That argument was metaphorically kicked in the crotch this month when the public learned that GM continued to make cars with a life-threatening defect during the era of government ownership. Joe Biden liked to boast, “Osama bin Laden is dead and GM is alive!” Indeed he is dead, and so are 13 people who were involved in car accidents linked to a defective ignition switch.
Automakers recall cars with some regularity, but this episode is different in scale, seriousness, and skullduggery. In mid-February, GM announced the recall of almost 800,000 Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac G5s, because of a flaw in the ignition switch. GM explained that a heavy key ring or key chain can pull the key into the Off position if the car hits a bump. This would turn the engine off, creating high risk of an accident; even worse, the car’s power steering, power-assisted brakes, and airbags won’t function with the engine off.
Every few days, GM expanded the recall to more models and model years; the recall now includes all 2005–2010 Chevrolet Cobalts, 2005–2010 Pontiac G5s, 2003–2007 Saturn Ions, 2006–2011 Chevrolet HHRs, 2005–2006 Pontiac Pursuits (manufactured in Canada), 2006–2010 Pontiac Solstices, and 2007–2010 Saturn Skys. GM’s total recalls now exceed 6 million vehicles.
But most disturbing is that at least some GM engineers knew about the problem for years. In 2002, the automaker approved the design for the new ignition switch from manufacturer Delphi even though the supplier told them that initial tests showed the switch didn’t meet GM’s specifications. The company investigated the switches, and found them faulty, for at least a decade. Perhaps the most jaw-dropping detail is that the cost of replacing each switch was 57 cents.
The New York Times reported that engineers at GM reviewed data in the black boxes of Chevrolet Cobalts at a meeting on May 15, 2009, and confirmed that the potentially fatal defect existed in hundreds of thousands of cars. The Obama administration and GM’s management finalized the terms of the bailout at the end of that month. It’s not yet clear who at GM knew this shocking and scandalous information, but at least some GM employees knew they were selling dangerous cars at the precise moment they were asking for taxpayer money to stay in business.
This is a gargantuan problem for GM, but so far the press is covering it as a corporate scandal, not a government scandal. Very few individuals in the Obama administration, the auto industry, or the press want to reexamine the bailout and the government’s role in helping to keep these unsafe cars rolling off the assembly line and onto the nation’s roads.
During the bailout the federal government pumped $49 billion into General Motors, accepting shares of GM stock in return. The stock was gradually sold from November 2010 to December 2013; taxpayers ultimately lost $10.5 billion on the deal. (When the government sold its first shares, President Obama boldly predicted, “American taxpayers are now positioned to recover more than my administration invested in GM.”)
There are still plenty of unanswered questions about who knew what about the faulty switches and when; right now the best-case scenario for the Obama team is that GM’s management played the administration and the taxpayers for suckers. The worst-case scenario is that the government, which was literally invested in the success of GM, didn’t look too hard or at all at problems within the company.
Shortly after taking office, President Obama established an Auto Industry Task Force to review the crisis America’s automakers were facing and set up a response plan. Steve Rattner, a founder of Quadrangle Group, a private-equity firm, was chosen to head the task force although he had little or no experience in the auto industry. Usually a ubiquitous television talking head on economics issues, Rattner has declined comment in response to media inquiries since the GM recall scandal broke.
An unnamed source told Bloomberg BusinessWeek that GM didn’t tell the task force anything about the defective switches. It’s an unsurprising excuse, but not quite as exculpatory as that unnamed source may think. The task force’s job was to get an accurate portrait of GM’s assets, liabilities, and problems, and the source said GM’s board and the task force did discuss product-liability claims. The Obama administration bragged about the thoroughness of its review. At this point, it is unclear whether the task force spoke with anyone in the engineering department. It appears that at the precise moment the president’s task force was supposedly confronting GM about a dysfunctional corporate culture that had brought the company to the brink of ruin, it accepted everything GM’s leaders told it at face value.


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Industrial output grows at strong pace
U.S. industrial production increased in December at the strongest pace in two years, as auto factories cranked out more vehicles and power plants helped heat homes and businesses.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that output at America's factories, mines and utilities rose 0.8 percent last month, the largest percentage gain since November 2014.
The report suggests that the U.S. industrial sector is recovering from a prolonged slump. The combination of falling energy prices and a strong dollar hurt manufacturers, who saw orders for pipeline and drilling equipment cancelled as their goods became more expensive abroad. The Fed measure of industrial output began to slump at the start of 2015 and only began to show signs of rebounding in the middle of last year.
In December, manufacturing output improved 0.2 percent, led by gains in motor vehicles and primary metals that offset declines in textiles and chemicals. Factory production has increased 0.2 percent over the past 12 months, a sign that manufacturers may have adjusted to the headwinds caused by the energy sector and sluggish global growth.
Target Corp. trims forecast
Target Corp. cut its fourth-quarter earnings forecast after sales were hurt by "disappointing" customer traffic, signaling that the holiday pain that rocked department-store chains took a toll on discount retailers as well.
Profit will be $1.45 to $1.55 a share in the quarter through January, the Minneapolis-based company said Wednesday in a statement. That's down from a previous projection of $1.55 to $1.75.
The forecast suggests that customers' migration online and away from brick-and-mortar locations during the holiday season hurt discount retailers.


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Sichuan Medical Team Fighting COVID-19 Pandemic to Receive 1 Year Free Hot Pot
The medical team sent from Sichuan Province to Wuhan, a city in Hubei Province, is set to receive a year’s worth of hot pot for free once the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
The decision was made by the Hot Pot Association of Sichuan province as a way to pay tribute to those risking their lives on the front lines, according to People.cn.
More than 400 restaurants from over 60 different hot pot brands in Sichuan gave a positive review of the suggestion. Many of them are actively responding to the request as they prepare to provide free hot pot to the medical workers when they return home.
The Hot Pot Association of Sichuan said the medical workers would only need to bring their relevant work certificates to the restaurants to receive the free hot pot.
“We will enjoy a dinner party together after the epidemic so that we will know how our comrades-in-arms look like,” a volunteer said, adding that they have never seen each others’ faces as they all wear protective gear while working.
Tourist spots have opened their doors for free to all medical workers battling the virus on the front lines.
As of Feb. 20, medical workers have received free tickets to 1,067 scenic locations. In Hubei, all Class-A tourist sites will provide free limitless passes for the medical teams for five years once the pandemic is over.
Many people might not know this, but despite our large and loyal following which we are immensely grateful for, NextShark is still a small bootstrapped startup that runs on no outside funding or loans.
Everything you see today is built on the backs of warriors who have sacrificed opportunities to help give Asians all over the world a bigger voice.
However, we still face many trials and tribulations in our industry, from figuring out the most sustainable business model for independent media companies to facing the current COVID-19 pandemic decimating advertising revenues across the board.
We hope you consider making a contribution so we can continue to provide you with quality content that informs, educates and inspires the Asian community.
Even a $1 contribution goes a long way. Thank you for everyone’s support. We love you all and can’t appreciate you guys enough.


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Vehicle safety recalls: Why drivers don't heed them
A new national survey from the University of Michigan explores why many consumers don't heed vehicle safety recalls and what steps might boost compliance. Safety recalls related to cars and light trucks are substantial. For example, in 2015 about 51 million vehicles and 34 million vehicle-related pieces of equipment were recalled, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
7701 Las Colinas Blvd., Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063


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Bitcoin’s blockchain expertise has the potential to vary all the pieces. This article explains how that is already occurring.
Many governments, together with that of the United States, have tried to cease the wave of Bitcoin. China has banned all cryptocurrencies, making it unlawful to make use of Bitcoin within the nation. Yet, the federal government then launched its digital foreign money, the Digital Yuan. The rising efforts to finish or cease Bitcoin show its means to vary all the pieces.
But it’s not Bitcoin itself that’s the foremost trigger of those adjustments. It is the expertise behind it, the blockchain. Blockchain is by far one of many applied sciences inflicting shock waves in as we speak’s world. Its decentralized peer-to-peer community gives a wonderful different to conventional methods.
Thanks to Bitcoin expertise, we are actually realizing new alternatives in virtually each trade. From the monetary trade to the actual property sector, blockchain is inflicting disruptions that many couldn’t have imagined a number of years in the past.
Blockchain and cost system
Major world manufacturers like Microsoft, Starbucks and WordPress now settle for funds in Bitcoins. The authentic intention of Bitcoin expertise was to develop an alternate cost system. Today, you should utilize Bitcoin to pay for companies and gadgets in lots of locations. The implications are vital.
Bitcoin expertise has made funds sooner and cheaper. Technology eliminates middlemen akin to banks and bank card firms. And meaning now you can ship Bitcoins immediately and at negligible value, due to the underlying blockchain expertise. Your location does not matter. As quickly as you make a cost, it’s mirrored on the opposite finish.
As extra entities undertake bitcoin expertise and begin accepting bitcoin funds, we anticipate extra people to make use of this cost possibility. Traditional cost methods akin to money, bank cards and banks will change into much less and fewer related.
Blockchain and funding
Bitcoin expertise can also be altering the funding surroundings. Prior to its inception, we solely had conventional funding property like gold, shares,ETF trading bonds and CDFs. Bitcoin expertise has made Bitcoin a viable funding asset. Millions of traders have invested in Bitcoin, particularly by Bitcoin buying and selling.
Bitcoin has a better worth than most conventional funding property. The worth of Bitcoin reached over $68,000 in November 2021. Some crypto fans say that the worth of Bitcoin could even attain $1 million sooner or later. And that is attainable contemplating that Bitcoin is restricted, and solely 21 million cash will ever be accessible.
With the upper worth and promising progress within the worth of bitcoin, we’re prone to see extra folks turning to investing in bitcoin. There are already many cryptocurrency buying and selling platforms to assist anybody desirous about buying and selling Bitcoin. One of those platforms is https://oil-profits.com/fr/ which helps you commerce Bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies.
Transformation of various sectors
Bitcoin expertise can also be reworking totally different sectors, with the monetary trade being essentially the most affected. This expertise is altering the function of presidency and banks within the monetary system and the way in which people conduct monetary transactions. Who is aware of what awaits us? Perhaps expertise will substitute the present financial system.
In the actual property sector, Bitcoin expertise is inflicting many adjustments. It adjustments the way in which traders function. Instead of bodily shifting and assembly, Bitcoin expertise permits stakeholders to carry out digital transactions in a secure and dependable method. The Blockchain permits the appliance of good contracts within the sector.
There is little doubt that Bitcoin expertise is altering virtually all the pieces on this planet. From easy transactions in your neighborhood retail retailer to massive actual property transactions, blockchain is shaking up previous methods. We have but to see and perceive all of the adjustments and their magnitude as blockchain continues to be an rising expertise.


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Over the past several quarters, Apple has consistently outpaced PC sales both in the US and world-wide. Apple has kept a laser eye on it's well crafted product and offerings, literally owning the $1,000 and above market space. Moving forward Apple is setting the stage to dominate overall PC sales, leaving only remnants of former US powerhouses as mere shadows. Here's how it's happening:
- The entire globe is moving toward mobile form factors — both smartphone and tablets. This shift is slowing down desktop and laptops sales, as specifically, the iPad lineup is seen as a strong enough product to replace the laptop for many users.
- As Apple iPads and iPhones world-wide sales continue grow, over 200 million of these devices are expected to sell in 2013. This hurts legacy Windows PC sales.
- While PC sales slow, Mac sales continue to pick up halo-effect sales from iPhone and iPads being purchased. The hub model, or what Steve Jobs called the "Truck vs Car" analogy kicks into full swing.
- The market is buying Windows PC's at an ever slower clip, and when they do purchase a legacy computing OS product, more and more are shifting to make a Mac their hub for their mobile Apple devices.
If haven't yet seen any Microsoft Surface ads, with dubstep music trying to attract the youth crowd, you are living under a rock. Microsoft is in all-out panic mode to sell Surface tablets and Lumina handsets, as Apple's vertical solutions are set to begin the end of the Redmond-based software giants dominate monopoly.
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- Details of Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program
- Apple's $32 a month iPhone plan is shaking the industry to its core
- What's next for iPhone 7?
- How Apple Should Realign Their MacBook/Air/Pro Line-Up


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SUPPORT your local farmer’s produce this holiday season.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) 7 has appealed to consumers to buy directly from the region’s farmers not only to augment their income but also to promote healthy eating.
“We have set up Kadiwa Farmers Market stalls in various malls in Cebu, and many exhibitors wanted to participate. This is also one way to give back to our hardworking farmers,” DA 7 Director Salvador Diputado told SunStar Cebu.
He said people now are leaning more on a plant-based diet to boost their immune system amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our products remain attractive because people want fresh, affordable and more importantly, healthy food to protect themselves more during this time. Buying local products directly from farmers and not from middlemen has also been ingrained in the public’s mind,” he said.
The DA 7 continued to conduct massive information dissemination to help farmers market their goods.
“The public will realize that once they patronize local products, it gives the farmers the incentive to produce more and better goods,” he said.
Diputado said they have a current tie-up with Ulay Agro Industrial Enterprises, a Cebu City-based trader and buyer network that markets fruits, vegetables and other produce.
The DA 7 and the Ulay Agro Industrial Enterprises signed a memorandum of agreement that stipulates that Ulay will participate in the DA’s Kadiwa Program through market linkages of farmer groups and food consumers, bypassing the middlemen.
“Ulay has been assisting farmer groups in Cebu not only in production but also in marketing,” Diputado said.
He said Cebu has conduits for this kind of initiative and they are working on more tie-ups with malls to feature farmers’ produce.
“We also have a tie-up with Robinsons Galleria to join our farmers market initiative. What’s good about this is we don’t display only vegetables and fruits but also other products like fish,” he said. / JOB


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It’s official the Twitter dispute has come to an end over the word “tweet”. Twitter has been working since early 2009 to trademark the word “tweet”, but part of the problem that kept them from doing so was that there were two companies that had variations of the word,Twitter and Twittad. Twittad, an online advertisement service for Twitter users, coined their tagline “Let your ad meet tweets.” Twittad tried to trademark their version of “tweet”, but were rejected by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) twice, just like Twitter. Soon thereafter, Twitter decided to file a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California against Twittad over “tweet”.
Twitter claimed that the word “tweet” was famous before Twittad filed their trademark application to the USPTO and that the term rightfully belonged to Twitter. Yet on the other hand Twittad argued that users came up with the term “tweet” therefore it was open for anyone to trademark. This led to the two sides deciding it would be better to settle the suit out of court, which is where the clash finally came to a halt.
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Twitter will drop the lawsuit and Twittad will transfer the registered trademark of “tweet” to Twitter. Also, the suspended Twittad Twitter account will be reinstated after being suspended during the quarrel.
Obviously retaining Twitter’s brand name is important to the company and they have displayed that they have “‘no intention of ‘going after’ the wonderful applications and services that use the word [“tweet”] in their name when associated with Twitter.’…‘However, if we come across a confusing or damaging project, the recourse to act responsibly to protect both users and our brand is important.’”
Therefore, even if Twittad was not going to be confused with Twitter, the bigger issue was in fact damaging the advertising revenue for Twitter. Now that this dispute is over Twitter will reap benefits from the added attention in the media by helping its publicity, as well as continuing to expand its boundaries past the recently reached 100 million active users as of September 8th, 2011.


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Mao Zedong must be chuckling in his grave to see one of his successors as Chinese leader espousing the cause of global free trade and capitalism while the new president of the US argues for protectionism, insularity, and what appears to be state direction to create jobs.
The changing nature of the world can be summarised by comparing key sections of Donald Trump’s inauguration speech with phrases from Chinese president Xi Jinping’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Xi Jingping declared: “Whether you like it or not, the global economy is the big ocean that you cannot escape from. Any attempt to cut off the flow of capital, technologies, products, industries, and people between economies, and channel the waters in the ocean back into isolated lakes and creeks, is simply not possible. Indeed, it runs counter to the historical trend.”
Donald Trump’s view is the exact opposite: “We will follow two simple rules – buy American and hire American.”
To that end, Trump pulled the US out of negotiations for the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on his first working day in office. That may well be the start of the burning of many trade agreements.
Renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement has already been declared a priority with Trump scheduled to begin talks soon with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto.
That philosophy makes the UK’s ability to craft an attractive post-Brexit trade agreement with the US a struggle at best and wishful thinking at worst - as the UK may discover despite the promises made by Trump during UK prime minister Theresa May’s visit last week.
There has been much criticism of China’s trade policies and concern that China is not playing fair by “dumping” products such as steel on the world’s markets. Whether countries such as the US are better off by accessing cheap steel from China to rebuild its infrastructure, or producing more expensive steel locally is clearly debateable.
What is more striking is the stark contrast in attitudes to the idea of global trade.
Xi Jinping declared: “We must remain committed to developing global free trade and investment, promote trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation through opening up, and say no to protectionism. Pursuing protectionism is like locking oneself in a dark room. While wind and rain may be kept outside, that dark room will also block light and air. No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war.”
For the leader of a supposedly communist party, accepting global trade in goods with prices set by markets would have been inconceivable 40 years ago.
Yet what Donald Trump had to say would have been inconceivable just a year ago – no other candidate had such extreme ideas: “From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first, America first. Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs.”
Trump ended his speech by declaring: “Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength.”
Yet such ideas run counter to both mainstream academic theory and the historical experience of the 1930s’ Great Depression.
Where this will all end, no one knows. But as the apocryphal Chinese curse goes: “May you live in interesting times.”


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During the Wonderlust event, Apple talked about how the new iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are easier to repair thanks to changes made in the phone's design and construction. Compared to the older models, the back glass of new iPhones can easily be removed. This is not the first time Apple has made these changes as the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus also had the same design, and now it is extending to the Pro variants as well.
New construction design on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max allows for an easier and cheaper back glass repair
An easier-to-remove back glass means that it would be cheaper to repair if the back glass cracks, and that speculation turned out to be true as Apple has updated its website with the new iPhone 15 repair charges. If you do end up damaging the back of your phone, you are going to have to spend $169 or $199 for the back glass panel, depending on whether you have the Pro or the Pro Max variant. This might feel like it is still higher than what other companies are charging, but for the sake of comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro's back glass repair was $499, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max's back glass repair was $549.
Compared to the older iPhone models, the new iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are comparatively cheaper to repair. The new iPhones are slated to hit the shelves on 22nd October, and hopefully, we will get to see just how repairable these phones are overall. After all, repairing an Apple device has never been an easy job, but I am really looking forward to seeing if Apple has made the needed changes to the new devices.
I had a debate with my cousins yesterday about how the new IPhone 15 series might not look like an attractive package for anyone who is still running on an older iPhone 14, but there are a lot of changes under the hood that Apple has made, and these changes are only going to help the new iPhones achieve what was previously not possible on a mobile device. I mean, the iPhone 15 Pro series alone is very commendable in terms of performance and offers everything that you would want from a high-end phone. At the time of writing, I cannot think of a better phone than the new iPhone, regardless of the variant you are picking up. So, if you have been looking for something new, this is definitely going to sort you out.Continue Reading


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Three indicted in $80K credit card theft scheme
BATON ROUGE – Three people tied to a scam involving the theft of credit cards around the Baton Rouge area were federally indicted Monday.
Kiarra Yates, Ed Lee, and Christopher Payne were formally charged with one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and one count of access device fraud, respectively.
Yates, Lee, and Payne are accused of using the stolen credit cards to purchase $80,000 in gift cards at multiple Walmart and Walgreens locations back in August of 2018.
The U.S. Secret Service worked with local law enforcement to capture and arrest the three.
Click here for WBRZ's original report on the case.
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June 01, 2020
Customer experience is about fulfilling the customers’ needs and creating those ‘wow‘ moments. But at the same time, customer expectations are rising fast. The cruise industry is a highly competitive industry with customers having better choices. How are cruise lines preparing to cope up with the COVID situation? This report throws light on the key drivers of customer experience on the cruise ships.


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The final stage of Brest Junior Fashion, regional fashion festival and young designers’ contest, took place at Brest State Regional Youth Creativity Center in mid-April.
More than 200 students from Brest region additional education institutions and general secondary schools participated in the contest. In total, the jury evaluated 24 clothing fashion collections that were shown in such categories as "Fashion Theater", "Fashion School", "Young Designer" and 23 collections of accessories that were presented in "Stylish Accessory” category.
Young fashion designers applied non-standard solutions to create their clothing collections using different materials and techniques; they demonstrated well-developed skills essential for acting. The exhibition of clothing accessories (hats, bags, jewelry) that was presented for the first time aroused great interest.
The New Generation Charitable Foundation sponsored this event and awards for the winners.


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LONDON (AP) -- SABMiller PLC, the world's second-largest brewer, said Tuesday that lager sales volume was flat in the last three months of 2009, its fiscal third quarter, as a drop in European markets offset gains in developing regions.
SABMiller, brewer of Grolsch, Pilsner Urquell and Peroni Nastro Azzurro beers, also reported that soft drink volume was up 2 percent in the third quarter.
The company did not report earnings in its trading update. The volume figures excluded acquisitions and disposals since last year.
SABMiller said third quarter lager volume was up 7 percent in Africa, 5 percent in Asia and 4 percent in Latin America, but down 2 percent in Europe in the third quarter.
In North America, sales to retailers by MillerCoors, the joint venture with Molson Coors, were down 3.6 percent for the quarter, and sales to wholesalers were down 4.2 percent.
For the first nine months of the financial year, the company said lager sale volumes were down 1 percent from year-earlier levels.


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US consumers are borrowing again, and that’s a good thing. Really.
Consumer borrowing rose by $19.6 billion in May from April, to a seasonally adjusted level of $2.84 trillion.
The bulk of the gain came from nonrevolving credit—a category that includes student and auto loans. That category jumped by $13 billion in May. Revolving debt—mostly credit cards—posted one of the biggest jumps since the most recent recession, rising $6.6 billion. That bodes well for both consumer confidence and retail sales. Back in the go-go years of 2006 and 2007, revolving debt used to increase by an average of $6 billion a month. Oh, and for the record, the Fed’s consumer debt report released this afternoon doesn’t cover the largest category of American retail borrowing: mortgages and real estate loans. Here’s a look at the revolving and non-revolving numbers.
Debt’s gotten something of a bad name in recent years. Virtually any uptick in borrowing prompts people to cry bubble. And there are some reasons for concern. As we’ve reported before, the staggering growth in student borrowing has been one of the only areas consumer borrowing that never shrank in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Here’s a look at the most recent detailed quarterly numbers, released by the Federal Reserve back in May.
But the consumer-driven US economy runs on credit, which helps boost growth. Easy access to automotive credit has been one of the key reasons the US auto business is going gangbusters at the moment. In June, auto sales hit a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of nearly 16 million. That’s the best pace for sales since way back in late 2007. Take a look.