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Some believe that bitcoin’s anonymous properties are a bug, not a feature. This past January, New York financial regulator Benjamin Lawsky called for a crackdown on software that anonymizes transactions in the online digital currency, saying it will merely help criminals evade law enforcement. And one of the currency’s biggest supporters, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, believes bitcoin will truly thrive only after it shrugs off anonymity protections.
But some parts of the bitcoin community have other plans in mind.
Even as regulators work to tie new identity restrictions to bitcoin businesses, a collection of projects is moving in the opposite direction, trying to preserve or even upgrade bitcoin’s properties as an ultra-private, untraceable payment system as anonymous as handing off a briefcase of unmarked bills. Last week saw the launch of Dark Wallet, a piece of bitcoin software that represents perhaps the most radical move yet to evade tracking of who spends and receives bitcoin. When it comes to describing the project’s intentions, Dark Wallet’s 26-year-old organizer Cody Wilson doesn’t mince words. “It’s just money laundering software,” he says.
But despite the controversy that surrounds the idea of untraceable digital cash, efforts to make bitcoin anonymous serve a real need. Bitcoin transactions are public by default, visible to anyone who searches the blockchain, the distributed public ledger of all bitcoin payments that keeps it safe from forgery and fraud. Deny bitcoiners the ability to hide their identity, and they’re left with a serious privacy problem. “The problem is not just about how to buy drugs online,” says Ian Miers, a graduate researcher at Johns Hopkins focused on cryptocurrency privacy. “As bitcoin becomes more mainstream, it becomes an issue of how to fix consumer privacy.” The problem may be even bigger for companies. Legitimate businesses, for instance, may want to hide their transactions so that competitors can’t track their sales growth.
Here are a few of the projects seeking a more private way to bitcoin:
Cody Wilson’s project with Amir Taaki and the anarchist group unSystem launched last Thursday with two particular methods for protecting its users’ identities. One is what it calls “CoinJoin.” Every time a user makes a payment with Dark Wallet, the program is set by default to combine the transaction with that of another Dark Wallet user attempting to make a payment around the same time. The communications to set up that multiparty transaction are encrypted, so that detecting who paid whom becomes far more difficult. Eventually, Dark Wallet plans to expand CoinJoin to combine payments of three or more users, creating an even more tangled web of money flows.
On top of protections for senders, Dark Wallet adds another one for receivers that it calls “stealth addresses.” When a user publishes a stealth address instead of a normal bitcoin address as his or her public P.O. box for receiving funds, any money sent by another Dark Wallet user to that address goes through an extra obfuscating process. Instead of appearing in the blockchain as being sent to that stealth address, Dark Wallet encrypts the address in such a way that only the recipient can recognize it and sends the money to that encrypted address. The receiver’s Dark Wallet app scans the blockchain for payments encrypted to his or her stealth address and decrypts them to claim the funds. Crucially, no evidence remains in the blockchain that ties the sender and recipient.
Dark Wallet isn’t the only wallet that offers to mix up its users’ coins to foil surveillance. So does one of the most popular bitcoin wallets already in use: Blockchain.info. An initiative from the company called Shared Coin implements CoinJoin to protect transactions as large as 50 bitcoins. But users have to choose to turn Shared Coin on. Unlike with Dark Wallet, it’s not enabled by default. And Blockchain gives users a warning that, although it doesn’t log their transactions, it’s subject to laws that might compel it to track their transactions in some situations. “The server does not need to keep any logs and transactions are only kept in memory for a short time,” reads a disclaimer on Blockchain’s site. “However, if the server was compromised or under subpoena it could be forced to keep logs.”
The most technically solid method for protecting the anonymity of bitcoin transactions may be to create a new bitcoin altogether, starting with privacy as a first principle. That’s the approach taken by Darkcoin, an alternative cryptocurrency launched in January. Darkcoin has already put 4.1 million digital coins into circulation, which have already gained a value around $1.40 each, one of the fastest ever appreciations of cryptocurrency among the flock of “altcoins” that have chased bitcoin’s success.
Like Dark Wallet and Shared Coin, Darkcoin implements CoinJoin, though it calls the feature DarkSend. It take a different approach to that transaction combination trick, though, using a distributed collection of servers around its network that negotiate CoinJoin’s multiparty payments. Anyone can pay a thousand Darkcoins to set up one of those DarkSend servers and, as compensation, will be entered into a random lottery that periodically pays out 10 percent of all new Darkcoins as they’re mined and put into circulation That incentive function hasn’t been set up yet, but already, 42 Darkcoin users are hosting DarkSend servers, according to Evan Duffield, the 32-year-old programmer in Phoenix, Arizona who servers as Darkcoin’s main developer. And as with Dark Wallet, every Darkcoin payment will be anonymized unless users choose to disable its CoinJoin protection. “The whole blockchain will be a fog,” says Duffield.
Mixing up transactions makes tracing cryptocurrency payments difficult. One team of cryptography researchers at Johns Hopkins wants to make it mathematically impossible. Later this year, they plan to release Zerocoin, another alternative to bitcoin that uses a technique to anonymize its coins that’s much stronger than Dark Wallet’s or DarkCoin’s, and that’s impossible with bitcoin as it currently functions. Zerocoin uses what cryptographers call “zero knowledge proofs,” a seemingly magical but decades-old trick that can prove a mathematical statement is true without revealing the contents of what’s being computed.
That feat allows Zerocoin transactions to be recorded in its blockchain and checked for fraud and forgery without revealing any other information about which coins are being spent or who is spending them. “The only information that ever makes it into the blockchain is the fact that the transaction occurred,” Matthew Green told the audience at the Real World Crypto conference in New York earlier this year. “That’s actually very beautiful.”
Zerocoin was originally conceived as an add-on to bitcoin, but it didn’t find enough supporters among the bitcoin developer community to convince them to adopt its code. But that earlier version of its code is also being integrated into Anoncoin, an independent cryptocurrency project.
Anoncoin, Zerocoin, and Darkcoin are all unlikely to ever achieve the same acceptance for goods and services as bitcoin has. But it’s worth nothing that if exchanges allow the trade of bitcoins for these more private currencies without requiring identification, they could serve as giant laundry services, anonymizing any funds that are traded into and then out of their networks.
The blockchain isn’t the only way to identify bitcoin users. So is old-fashioned tracing of their IP address. John Hopkins’ Miers uses the analogy of an old-fashioned briefcase full of cash: Even if the bills inside are unmarked, the bagman still needs to wear a ski mask and a hoodie to stay anonymous.
That’s where the anonymity software Tor comes in, triple-encrypting users’ internet traffic and bouncing it through servers around the world to obscure its origin. Some bitcoin wallets already integrate Tor, such as Blockchain.info. Dark Wallet plans to add Tor to future versions of its software.
Soon, that Tor integration will be the norm for bitcoin programs. Mike Hearn, a core bitcoin developer and head of the Bitcoin Foundation’s law and policy committee, says he built a prototype of a Tor-integrated version of bitcoinj, the software that powers popular bitcoin wallets like Hive, Multibit, and Android Wallet. That change is now being built into the public version of bitcoinj by another well-known bitcoin developer known as devrandom.
While Hearn says that adding Tor to bitcoinj will represent a significant upgrade to bitcoin’s privacy, he admit it’s not clear whether Tor or any other known protective measure can foil the sophisticated traffic analysis tools of agencies like the NSA, were they to turn their powerful surveillance mechanisms toward tracing bitcoin transactions. “There are no silver bullets in this space,” he says. “But this will make it much harder.”
Provided from: wired.


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We've launched new airline safety ratings to help travellers search for and choose flights based on the health and safety measures being undertaken by airlines, as well as what will be expected from passengers who fly with those providers.
Despite capacity returning to the market, our latest data shows that overall demand remains low, while global consumer polling highlights an ongoing travel confidence concern.
With changing UK quarantine restrictions for travellers looking to visit Spain, we can reveal that the Greek islands of Crete and Corfu have shot up in popularity.
We’ve launched a global advertising initiative to help tourist boards re-attract travellers, free of charge. It’s the latest part in our efforts to support the travel industry on the road to recovery.
Hygiene outranks price and location as the top criteria for global travellers looking to book trip accommodation. We surveyed more than 2,300 travellers worldwide to find out how planning for a stay will evolve in a world after COVID-19.*
As destinations across the world begin to relax their borders, we’re seeing an increase in bookings to many of these newly reopened countries.
We’re collaborating with Skift for its new Recovery Index report.
Here are the insights from our 14th weekly pulse survey of nearly 12,000 travellers across the world, as well as key market trends.
Gavin Harris, our Commercial Director of Strategic Partnerships, took part in an Arabian Travel Market online event on how Covid-19 has led businesses across the travel industry to pioneer new technology and ways of working.

domain: news


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Take-Two and Zynga
Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) announced today that it has acquired Zynga, a well-known major mobile game maker, in hopes of expanding its business and achieving annual savings of about $100 million. The deal continues a trend of mergers in an industry where competition is heating up.
Two major video game makers announced the deal Monday, with Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) buying all of the outstanding shares of Zynga (ZNGA) for $12.7 billion.
Zynga shares jumped 53% before the premarket opened trading, while Take-Two shares fell 10.7%.
Under the terms of the deal, Zynga shareholders will receive $8.50 in cash and $6.36 in shares after the deal closes, totaling $9.86 per Zynga share. The purchase price represents a 64% premium to Zynga's closing share price on Jan. 7.
Take-Two expects the purchase of Zynga to bring it long-term benefits, sales growth and a stronger market position, given that it faces a number of strong competitors, including Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Electronic Arts (EA).
Take-Two will use $2.7 billion in financing from JPMorgan, its own cash and proceeds from a new debt issuance to make the purchase.
The deal is expected to be completed during the first quarter of Take-Two's fiscal year ending June 30, 2022.
Take-Two's purchase of Zynga echoes a move by rival Electronic Arts last year, when EA acquired mobile game maker Glu Mobile for $2.4 billion, as game studios look to expand their mobile game development teams as the number of gamers on mobile platforms grows.
Shares of Take-Two Interactive, the developer of the world-famous $19 billion Grand Theft Auto video game, are down 13.6% for 2021, after a 40% rise in 2020.
Shares of Zynga, developer of such mobile video games as FarmVille, Empires and Puzzles, CSR Racing, and Zynga Poker, with a market capitalization of $6.8 billion, have lost nearly 40% in the past year, after rising more than 60% in 2020.
Analysts attributed the drop in these stocks to what investors saw as excessive growth in 2020, wondering how much of the "gaming boom" will continue after the pandemic ends.


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LIVING IT UP: “I didn’t want a retrospective or a museum show. That can all happen when I’m dead,” said a vibrant Roland Mouret, who’s set to release his first book “Provoke, Attract, Seduce” on Nov. 6 (Rizzoli).
“Twenty years have gone by. I just wanted to consider what I’ve done, look at the clothes again and try to understand them — and my creative DNA,” said the designer from his town house, showroom and shop on Carlos Place in Mayfair.
The coffee-table book was created with Mouret’s longtime collaborator, Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou, the fashion stylist and editor of 10 Magazine, and the writer Alex Fury. In it, Mouret talks about his childhood growing up in Lourdes, France, as a butcher’s son, his early career as a model and move into fashion design, his love of women’s bodies and approach to design.
He looked into his archives and reshot all of the old looks as if they were new, working with photographers including Vanina Sorrenti, Alessio Bolzoni and Cedric Buchet. There are images of his pre-collections in there, too, along with arty collages by Brian Burn and a shoot called “Butcher’s Apron” by Tierney Gearon.
“The butcher’s apron was really the start of everything,” Mouret says in the book. “All my technique came from it. It is because of that apron that I was not frightened to take a piece of fabric and to drape it, because of that education as a child, as a butcher’s son.”
While the book is more of a meditation on his style and approach, rather than a look at the past, Mouret has reissued five styles from his archive to mark the book’s launch and his 20 years in business.
He’s also chosen a further seven looks from past years for an exclusive capsule collection with Matchesfashion.com, called Tools of Seduction.
“This is my scratch book, my journey,” he said of the Rizzoli tome, adding that when he sets out to design, he doesn’t have a grand or complicated plan. “I think of dressing my best friend.”
Mouret also talked about the speed of the industry. He thinks fashion needs to slow down, and that designers need to make fewer clothes that last longer.
Fashion should be about personal style, rather than trends, he said, and designer clothing should be able to live in a woman’s closet “for a minimum of five years, not just six months.” Mouret also thinks customers should also “stick to what they already have and make it last longer,” and focus on mapping out their style and identity rather than chase trends.
Mouret is planning launch events later this month at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York and at Neiman Marcus in Miami and Los Angeles.


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When it comes to pairings, some successful couplings instantly stand out – Strawberries and Cream, Gin and Tonic, Netflix and Chill, to name but a few. But can weed and crypto be added to that list?
There are many parallels between the crypto and cannabis industry. Both have exploded in popularity and worth over the last decade. Both have had and continue to have, issues with regulation and transparency, and lastly, both have enormous appeal to millennials.
Initially slow-paced adoption and price speculations prevented pot merchants from considering Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to be a viable alternative. However, over the last eighteen months, the crypto world has stabilized following the crash of December 2017 with rumblings of the Bull market returning fully as Bitcoin hits new highs. Meanwhile, pot has been legalized in more and more places in the US and beyond, and growing into a multi-billion dollar industry.
The latest news cementing the two industries comes from HempCoin, One of the pioneers in the cryptocurrency world, HempCoin was one of the very first cryptos developed for industries such as cannabis and agriculture farming .In 2017 Q4, HempCoin expanded its utility across other industries such as tobacco and global medicinal agriculture. Now, planned for mid-June the HempCoin is migrating to a Komodo (KMD) Asset Chain.
Serving as a platform for global transactions between farmers and distributors, HempCoin was developed specifically in order to provide liquidity to the agricultural sector.The growth in popularity has seen the digital coin’s usage increase and the Komodo platform was seen as the natural progression.
Users will probably have to transfer their keys or passphrases and a 1THC on Pivx chain = 1THC on KMD chain has been set.
According to the HempCoin website:
Benefits of migration include upsteam update capabilities, (when KMD or ZEC update their chain with a feature THC needs), privacy secured by zk-Snarks is optional, & notary nodes as an option to add an extra layer of security and consensus. KMD’s tech supports HempCoin(THC)’s interest in providing the agriculture, farming & tobacco industries with the tracking capability required to audit & track a whole crop from seed to sale.
The latest move by HempCoin is testimony to the growth in the Weed and Crypto industries fusion and the possibilities it opens up. If you want to join HempCoin, you can here.


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The regulatory agency issued a draft advisory Wednesday that could limit the fees food delivery companies are allowed to charge to 10% or below for each order, rather than the 20% to 30% some companies charge. On an example order listed on Grubhub's website, a taco restaurant's owner was charged $13.95 in total fees on a $44 order, a 31% commission for the company.
At issue is a state policy that requires any entity that shares in a restaurant’s profits be listed on its liquor license. There is an exception, however, for vendors—such as landlords—that collect 10% or less of a restaurant's profit. Groups such as the NYC Hospitality Alliance, which lobbies on behalf of the restaurant industry, have argued the rule should apply to delivery companies that charge fees adding up to more than 10% of an order.


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Google Inc.'s $12.5 billion deal for Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. provides the latest evidence that patents have become the hottest currency in high technology.
Tech companies, particularly in the market for mobile devices, have been furiously snapping up patents to use as weapons in lawsuits and bargaining chips in settlement negotiations. That was a key reason Google cited for buying Motorola Mobility, though some experts disagree about the value of that company's intellectual property.
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Kwik Trip Looks to Hire Former PDQ Workers
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 08/10/2017
As Kwik Trip makes its transition to take over the PDQ gas station locations it purchased last month, more than 300 PDQ workers will be laid off in the interim. However, the La Crosse-based convenience store chain hopes to hire many of those people back
once those stores are remolded.
Kwik Trip recently notified the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development that 313 PDQ employees will be let go between October 9 through October 11.
"It is Kwik Trip's desire to hire any qualified PDQ coworker, both full-time and part-time," said Kwik Trip Spokesperson John McHugh. "Because each store will require more coworkers than are currently employed it will be necessary to hire new coworkers
as well. we hope that many coworkers will choose to remain at their current location."
PDQ operates 34 convenience stores in southeastern Wisconsin. They had previously operated in the Twin Cities area, but has since sold off those properties.
The company also stated that PDQ workers will get credit for their length of service with the company to determine vacation benefits and Kwik Trip's retirement plan eligibility.


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When is Memorial Day 2022?
Memorial Day 2022 lands on Monday, May 30, marking a three-day weekend for many people.
What sales can I expect during Memorial Day Weekend?
Though retailers from every category turn up for Memorial Day, the sales you’re most likely to find are from companies that sell home goods and furniture.
Are Memorial Day deals worth buying?
For the most part, Memorial Day sales won’t be better than those you’d see over Black Friday or Cyber Monday. However, furniture, appliances, and outdoor gear will see price drops that are comparable to those found during the holiday season.
If you’re in the market for Amazon devices like Kindle E-readers or Echo speakers, you’re better off waiting until Amazon Prime Day 2022, the next major sales event on the horizon. We’re expecting it to fall sometime in June or July.
Memorial Day sale on Amazon. Visit this link for more details.
Read more about Memorial Day on


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Italy is feeling the pinch. Not only is its economy still struggling amid the European debt crisis, but factors from politics to competition from China, within its very shores, are complicating its problems.
In the election just past, the most unlikely of parties, comic Beppo Grillo’s Five-Star Party, garnered enough votes to negate both the center-left party, led by Pier Luigi Bersani, and the center-right party, led by Silvio Berlusconi, so that no single party won enough votes to rule. The vote was a resounding mandate against Prime Minister Mario Monti’s austerity program, which has been wildly unpopular since its inception. Bersani refused the idea of forming a coalition government with Berlusconi, and Grillo said he would support whichever party was willing to make the reforms his party called for.
While some officials called for new elections, neither of the mainstream parties is anxious to return to the polls, although Grillo said he believed that the government formed as a result of the election will last no longer than six months. The lira fell after the election results were announced, and stock markets all over Europe registered their displeasure with the outcome, since it puts the continuation of the austerity program, and Italy’s ability to repay its debts, in doubt.
However, some analysts view the turmoil as a buying opportunity, particularly since economists have already begun to voice the opinion that austerity by itself is no solution to Europe’s debt woes. In fact, it could be looked upon as a move toward growth strategies by a government more focused on cutting unemployment than on cutting spending. That could be a very welcome change for a country that’s been in recession since the middle of 2011, with one of the lowest growth rates in the world.
Until the election results shake themselves out for good or ill, there are plenty of other issues on the horizon: the country has also been dealing with the fallout from its share trade tax, rising unemployment, falling car sales, and a blow to its fashion industry.
The share trade tax, which took effect March 1, caused market volumes to tumble as investors registered their disapproval of the levy. Some firms have given orders to cease all trading in Italian stocks as they look to protect clients from having to pay the tax. The extra cost will have to be paid sooner or later, however, since in less than a year the European Commission’s 11-country tax will take effect, hitting a much broader field of investors. And on July 1, Italy’s market situation will become even more complex as it adds a tax on derivative trades to the mix.
An unemployment rate of 11.7% in January, a 21-year high and an increase from December’s 11.3% level, had Italians further tightening their belts. The results showed in the sales of new automobiles, which fell 17.4% YOY in February, according to the Italian Transport Ministry, after losing 17.58% in January. For all of 2012, new car sales lost 19.8%—pretty dismal figures for the fourth largest car market in Europe.
Factory output felt the effects of recession and high unemployment as well, with Markit Economics’ retail and manufacturing purchasing managers’ indices both showing declines. The retail PMI indicated a slower rate of decline in sales than previous months, but, according to the report, the “difference between actual and targeted sales was greater than in the opening month of the year.” The manufacturing PMI, however, indicated that new orders fell for the fastest rate in three years, while job losses were the “sharpest in 27 months” and export orders fell “solidly.”


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(Reuters) - London Stock Exchange Group LSE.L said on Tuesday Hong Kong-based AAX would use its technology for cryptocurrency trading, allowing the British exchange operator enter a nascent yet highly speculative industry.
The AAX exchange, which is backed by Atom Group, a fintech firm focused on blockchain technology and emerging digital assets, will use LSE’s Millennium Exchange matching system, LSE said in a statement.
The deal, however, comes at a time when cryptocurrency exchanges in Asia face scrutiny and policymakers have warned about the risks of speculative investments in cryptocurrencies.
Online platforms where virtual currencies such as bitcoin can be bought and sold by individuals operate with lower safeguards than traditional financial markets and are vulnerable to market manipulation.
Cryptocurrency exchanges and traders in Asia are also struggling to insure themselves against the risk of hacks and theft, a factor they claim is deterring large fund managers from investing in a nascent market yet to be embraced by regulators.
Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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Edwin Lau says given the waste that goes into using bottled water, more Hongkongers should carry their own drinking water when going out.
“Convenient and fast” are words often used in marketing as companies push for higher profits. Consumers can be swayed relatively easily by such vocabulary in promotions and advertisements to create consumption desire, whether or not the product is really needed.
Take bottled water for example. Do we in Hong Kong really need it when we can get safe drinking water from the tap? It involves high profit margins, and has a profoundly harmful effect on the environment. According to research, it takes three litres of water to produce one litre of bottled water. That’s quite apart from the energy used and carbon emissions generated from its production and transportation.
This is happening when scientists are warning that climate change will affect worldwide water supplies. Hong Kong already has to rely heavily on the mainland for its supply.
The Environmental Protection Department says Hong Kong throws away four to five million plastic bottles every day. With such a huge amount of waste generated, should we not stop to think why we need to buy bottled water?
One reason is that there’s no penalty for the disposal of plastic bottles. Furthermore, producers of bottled drinks are not obliged to recycle their bottles.
It is not so long ago that we all survived perfectly well without bottled water. I carried a durable Hong Kong-made plastic bottle to primary school and to picnics for my drinking water. But today, when I go to seminars and meetings, bottled water seems a “must have” item on the table.
Is it because the “convenient and fast” culture is so deeply rooted in organisers’ minds?
These bottles can be recycled. But clearly this isn’t happening – Hong Kong recovered only 26 per cent of plastic in 2013. The recycling rates of PET bottles are probably much lower.
Today, almost everybody carries a bag when going out. So it shouldn’t be hard to take with us a durable bottle filled with tap water, to save some money and avoid generating plastic waste. It requires a behavioural change to show our commitment to a sustainable environment by creating a zero-waste culture.
I have urged beverage producers to sell their water through water dispensers to cut down plastic bottle waste at source. But without producer responsibility legislation, this is unlikely to happen.
It is estimated that 663 million people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water. We should feel ashamed to drink bottled water, which takes so much water to produce.
Although Hong Kong is safe from water shortages now, we should not take it for granted that our water supply will last forever. It’s time for everyone to carry their own bottle of tap water.
Edwin Lau Che-feng is executive director of The Green Earth
22 March, 2016 South China Morning Post


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Evolution Gaming has teamed up with multinational gaming provider and operator Intralot to offer their services to a multitude of global markets.
The partnership, which boasts a local presence in 44 regulated jurisdictions around the world, “will leverage state-of-the-art technology and unified player experience” in an attempt to accelerate digital transformation for gaming operators and provide responsible player entertainment.
Evolution chief commercial officer Sebastian Johannisson noted: “We are delighted and honoured to partner with Intralot, a leading player in the gaming world.”
The Evolution-powered live casino services are expected to be implemented in some of Intralot’s current and new operations with a view to debuting the entire suite of the company, including its the range of game show titles such as Crazy Time, Super Ball and Lightning Roulette.
The Executive VP and Group CCO at Intralot, Nikos Nikolakopoulos, commented: “We have always been committed to building a robust set of strategic partners to deliver an outstanding experience to our customers.
“Evolution Gaming is a trusted member of our third-party ecosystem and we are looking forward to rolling out this partnership on many online markets worldwide.”
— Evolution Gaming (@EvoLiveCasino) July 21, 2020


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Stratasys delivers open software platform for production-scale additive manufacturing
Stratasys has introduced the GrabCAD Additive Manufacturing Platform, an open and enterprise-ready software platform that enables manufacturers to manage production-scale additive manufacturing operations.
Additive manufacturing systems are increasingly demonstrating their readiness for volume production of end-use parts. However, 3D printing at production scale also requires new software-driven operational capabilities, such as the ability to manage a large number of 3D printers across multiple locations, monitor output quality, automate materials management, and integrate within the broader enterprise. Traditional manufacturing solutions are not designed for additive workflows, which are digitally native, highly elastic and location independent.
Stratasys’ platform is specifically designed for the unique needs of additive manufacturing across the entire digital thread – from design through production – while also integrating with Industry 4.0 infrastructure and enterprise applications.
Research firm SmarTech Analysis has projected that the total global additive manufacturing software market will reach $3.3 billion by 2026, up from less than $500 million in 2020 as the overall additive manufacturing market continues to scale. Stratasys says the new platform provides it with the opportunity to strengthen what it sees as its leadership position in the additive manufacturing industry through this growing addressable market.
“We see manufacturers moving their 3D printing operations from the lab to the production floor, and that significantly increases operational requirements for everything from productivity to quality assurance,” said Nadav Goshen, executive vice president of software for Stratasys. “The GrabCAD AM Platform, our enterprise software stack specifically for 3D printing, can be a catalyst for the growth of the additive manufacturing software market. It enables customers to efficiently manage ever larger and more complex operations to produce consistent, high-quality production parts at scale. This is an essential part of our vision to digitally transform manufacturing operations around the world.”
Other News from Stratasys GmbH
Latest news about 3D printers & printing


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Despite uproar created by the diesel emissions cheating scandal at Volkswagen, Ford and General Motors are poised to offer new or revamped diesel vehicles to their American customers.
It is a bold move, since only 255 diesel cars were sold in the US market in January, compared to the 5,000 to 10,000 a month rate for most of 2015 — before the VW scandal broke.
GM sold just 1,400 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon compact pickup trucks with small diesel engines in 2016. That represented less than one percent of the trucks GM sold in this segment.
But even as automakers turn increasingly to electric and hybrid engines to meet demand for cleaner cars, and more importantly to meet government efficiency standards, diesel remains an option.
Diesel still produces better mileage than gasoline engines, so it can bolster the fleet-wide fuel economy average, which is critical to meeting US regulatory requirements.
Ford is planning to launch a diesel version of its popular F-150 pickup truck, while GM has two diesel SUV models in the works, and even Mazda is adding a diesel SUV.
GM and Ford sell large diesel engines in heavy-duty pick-up trucks widely used in construction, oil drilling and on farms and ranches in the United States, but American consumers have been skittish about buying diesel models for daily use because they cost more and the fuel is more expensive.
Stephanie Brinley, an analyst with IHS Automotive said selling diesel to American consumers was difficult even before the Volkswagen scandal made headlines.
“There just isn’t a lot of demand,” she said.
VW has had to pay more than $20 billion in fines and buybacks since it admitted in 2015 to outfitting 11 million diesel cars worldwide with software designed to cheat emissions testing, a scandal that has shook the company to its core.
Fiat Chrysler also now faces potentially heavy fines because of similar concerns over the diesel Jeep utility vehicles and Ram pickup trucks.
But Joseph Phillippi, owner of AutoTrends Consulting, said the new diesel-powered vehicles will find buyers looking for power and better miles per gallon.
“I don’t see any reason why diesel can’t mount a comeback of sorts,” he told AFP. “Diesel fans looking for torque and mpg, not overly concerned about prior sins, will still want what diesel can offer.”
– Old favorites in diesel –
Ford is preparing to offer a 3.0-liter diesel engine as an option in the popular F-150 pickup truck when the 2018 version rolls out next fall.
Todd Eckert, marketing manager for the F-150, said the automaker has a long-history of innovation with this vehicle.
“It’s all about continuous improvement,” Eckert said.
The pickup’s diesel engine will be built at the Ford factory in Dagenham, England and will make the truck more efficient, said Jerry Farrell, the chief engineer for the F-150.
Exact fuel economy numbers for the new model are not available yet.
General Motors plans to begin offering a diesel engine in the new versions of the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain, both compact sport utility vehicles due out this summer.
Customers will be able to choose from three engine options, including a 1.5- and 2.0-liter turbo — matched with GM’s first nine-speed automatic transmission — and the European-built 1.6-liter turbo-diesel, which is expected to achieve 40 mpg when the numbers are finished, said Dan Nicholson, vice president of GM’s Global Propulsion Systems.
“With three choices, customers can select an engine that offers more of the attributes that are important to them: efficiency, performance and capability,” Nicholson said.
And Mazda will become the first Asian automaker to offer a diesel to US customers, when it introduces the CX-5 SUV with the SkyActive 2.2-liter clean diesel, beginning in the second half of 2017.
“We’re confident this engine offers a smart new option for North American drivers who want both performance and fuel economy,” Akira Marumoto, Mazda’s executive vice president, said recently.
It provides a torque-rich driving experience, and will make the CX-5 one of the most fuel-efficient vehicles in its class, Marumoto said.
The engine also will use proprietary technologies that reduce diesel knock sound for a quieter ride, he said.
Mazda was preparing to bring a diesel engine to North America more than three years ago but has delayed the introduction several times because the company’s engineers were not satisfied with the engine’s performance, Mazda’s director of communications Jeremy Barnes said.


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"Medcan Australia (Medcan) is pleased to announce the receipt of its first cannabis cultivation permits from the ODC (Office of Drug Control).
This is by far Medcan’s most significant milestone to date and positions Medcan as one of only a few Australian licensed companies authorized to actually commence cultivation.
Medcan will now commence their cultivation program and are targeting the end of August 2020 to propagate their first seeds.
Medcan's Facility - One of a Kind in Australia
Medcan’s high tech indoor clean room cultivation, production and manufacture facility is a one of a kind in Australia. The facility is the largest licenced, indoor vertical cannabis cultivation facility in Australia with a combined canopy area once fully operational of over 1690m2. With precise control over environmental conditions, Medcan will be able to achieve up to 6.5 cultivation cycles per year allowing a conservative production capacity of over 6000 kg (6 tons).
Positive Feedback on Medcan Products
This is a fundamental step towards Medcan’s goal of bringing the cost of medicinal cannabis products down for Australian patients. Medcan’s current range of MEDCAN branded products have recently received feedback from both doctor and patients as some of the highest quality products within the Australian medicinal cannabis space. Medcan’s GMP quality cultivation and manufacture facility aims to replicate this high-quality product by using the latest LED, HVACD, environmental control and extraction technology.
This milestone further positions Medcan as a front runner in the Australian medicinal cannabis space."


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Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) has had its best trading day ever (although it’s only been a stock for a week) with the announcement that BofA sees significant upside in the company’s stock. As we’ll see throughout this article, now that the company is officially independent, that’s just the start and we expect the company to generate market beating returns.
WarnerMedia is a crown jewel media asset and in the middle of that crown is HBO Max.
HBO Max has seen its combined subscriber count grow substantially. The company added a massive 13 million customers through 2021 and its growth rate shows no sign of slowing down. With one of the best content libraries around, in our view, HBO Max’s only true competitor in the streaming space is Netflix (NFLX).
Our reason for this is that Disney+ (DIS) has a massive content library, but has been reluctant to spend similarly on content. Apple TV+ (AAPL) has a limited content library. Amazon Prime (AMZN) is an overall subscription and is investing much less in content. However, this is part of the crux of our thesis that Amazon and Apple would both love to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
It’s also worth noting that Discovery has an impressive and rapidly growing subscription service as well. This service now has 22 million subscribers. How this’ll be merged into HBO Max remains to be seen; however, we expect either way HBO Max will become even larger and more valuable to customers than where it is today.
TimeWarner has an impressive and improving financial portfolio showing the company’s asset strength.
TimeWarner watched revenue increasing from $8.6 billion to $9.9 billion from YE 2020 to YE 2021, although the company’s margins were punished. Part of this was the impact from continued investment into HBO Max, along with different costs. However, despite those costs, the company’s business here still earns almost $10 billion in annual EBITDA.
With Direct to Consumer revenues increasing by almost 15% YoY, we see continued growth potential here. TimeWarner’s strong independent financials, combined with synergies and Discovery’s financials, will mean a company with strong combined financial strength.
Combined Company Financial Picture
The combined company will be a financial powerhouse, even when counting the almost $60 billion of debt taken on to form the company.
The combined company is expected to generate a massive $52 billion in 2023E revenue, although due to faster than expected growth, this number was hit in 2021. We expect revenue to be able to grow even faster going into 2023E with combined revenue for the companies passing $55 billion on their way to $60 billion.
The company expects roughly $14 billion in adjusted EBITDA with ~60% FCF conversion, however, we expect the company to outperform both these numbers. The company is working to rapidly de-leverage, and expects to go from $60 billion to $42 billion in debt at +24 months. It’s worth noting how the company reaches this target depends on expected EBITDA growth.
However, one of the takeaways is that the company’s debt load isn’t unmanageable and the company can rapidly pay it down. Depending on the company’s stock price at that point, we expect the company to pivot into shareholder returns.
Shareholder Return Potential
Warner Bros. Discovery has significant return potential for shareholders.
The company post acquisition will be earning almost $10 billion in FCF. From the market cap, this implies a roughly 15% FCF yield off the bat (or 10% by EV). The company’s EBITDA should continue to grow as DTC grows and the launch costs of that business go down. At the same time, the company’s 60% FCF conversion will expand significantly as interest earnings do.
We expect the company to use a combination of buybacks and dividends, although starting with modest dividends so that it can achieve long-term reliable dividend growth. The company could, through a combination of debt pay-down and share repurchases, set itself well to generate incredibly strong shareholder returns for those who invest at this point.
Starting at the ability to generate double-digit shareholder returns, and grow that, helps highlight why the company is a valuable investment.
Warner Bros. Discovery, in our view, has significant acquisition potential. The company is the only large pure-play streaming and content company outside of Netflix. However, Netflix is worth twice as much as Warner Bros. Discovery and the company has a much less significant content library for a potential acquirer.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s size means, in our view, no other major streaming company (i.e. Netflix, Disney, Comcast, etc.) will be able to acquire it. However, we do expect that a major company with small streaming assets (i.e. Apple, Amazon, etc.) would be very interested in acquiring the company.
The largest risk to our thesis is competition. Media and content creation costs are increasing. Many companies are spending $10s of billions on content. Warner Bros. Discovery has the risk that it’ll be forced to compete in a market where margins are pressured or costs go up, hurting the company’s ability to generate shareholder returns.
Warner Bros. Discovery, after months of dreaming for this day, is finally an independent company. Thanks to analysts, the company has had an incredibly strong first week. We expected substantial selling pressure from investors treating the issuance as a free dividend from their core AT&T stock. However, regardless of week-to-week fluctuations the company is undervalued.
The company is emerging with a double-digit FCF yield and it has the ability to continue growing it substantially from there. The company could pay debt increasing its EBITDA to FCF conversion ratio and we expect in the coming years it’ll start to begin looking at shareholder rewards. This combination of assets helps highlight the company’s strength.


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Police seek help in identifying couple
Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, June 20, 2007
The couple was caught on surveillance video at a store in The Woodlands Mall on June 10 allegedly using a credit card stolen from the mother of two small children less than an hour before.
Police say the couple used the card to purchase a $3,000 laptop computer.
Anyone with information regarding the suspects should call Detective Brent Akin at 281-297-6510.
Read the full story in tomorrow's Courier…


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Coldwell Banker Mason Morse Aspen real estate broker Tim Estin, who publishes a quarterly analysis of upper valley real estate sales, reported in his 2011 year-end Estin Report that the Aspen and Snowmass real estate market was up 15 percent in dollars and 25 percent in unit sales over 2010. (Estin’s analyses also include Woody Creek and Old Snowmass, but exclude fractional sales and all transactions under $250,000.)”…”The prevailing attitude is that 2012 is a significant turnaround year and if you don’t get in now you have missed out on some sort of bottom,” he added. “Even with continued price pressure buyers will have missed out on some really quality properties.”
By Catherine Lutz, Feb. 6, 2012, ABJ
Full article posted below:
Aspen and Snowmass condo sales saw a big jump in sales in 2011; dollar volume was up 40 percent and unit sales up 39 percent. This 4 bedroom, two level, 2,176 sq ft condo on East Hyman–only two blocks from Aspen commercial core–sold in the spring of 2011 for $2.143MM. (Photo courtesy of Mason Morse Coldwell Banker.)
ASPEN CO REAL ESTATE – PITKIN COUNTY, Colo. – Looking at the 2011 year-end report from Land Title Guarantee company, one sees little growth in the Pitkin County real estate market. But separate analyses by at least two local brokers, who parse the numbers further, show much improvement—as well as some areas of lingering concern.
Pitkin County real estate sales in 2011 totaled $1.27 billion in 2011, just one-half percent higher than the 2010 total, according to Land Title. The 756 transactions in 2011 was a nearly 10 percent increase from the previous year’s 689 sales. A sharp drop in sales dollars in December compared to the same month the previous year—38 percent—was the main cause of 2011 ending flat, although previously it had only been up a few percentage points.
But honing in on upper valley free-market sales provides a different picture, one that speaks more to the largely second-home-driven, investment market that fuels the area economy, local real estate experts generally argue. Land Title’s report, which includes all transactions in Pitkin County, includes sales in the Carbondale and Redstone parts of Pitkin County, plus employee housing and fractional sales that, when taken out, reveal some more telling trends.
Coldwell Banker Mason Morse broker Tim Estin, who publishes a quarterly analysis of upper valley real estate sales, reported in his 2011 year-end report [ The Estin Report ] that the Aspen and Snowmass real estate market was up 15 percent in dollars and 25 percent in unit sales over 2010. (Estin’s analyses also include Woody Creek and Old Snowmass, but exclude fractional sales and all transactions under $250,000.)
Andrew Ernemann, a broker at BJ Adams & Company, found that overall sales were up 13 percent in dollar volume and 30 percent in unit sales in 2011. Ernemann includes Aspen, Snowmass, and Basalt transactions of single-family homes, condos/townhomes, and vacant land, and excludes fractionals and employee housing, in his analysis, The Big Red Book.
Overall, most of the gains were in the first half of the year, said Estin, with macroeconomic events such as the debt ceiling debate and the euro crisis putting a major damper on activity beginning in summer 2011.
“The first half of the year was very, very strong with all indicators trending up,” he said, “and then, boom, at the end of the second quarter everything started to drop off, activity fell off sharply. If it hadn’t been for the first six months of the year, 2011 would have been worse than 2010.”
And although the news on a macroeconomic scale has been positive since the end of 2011, “the lack of snow in late December and early January is just one more element of uncertainty in the real estate mix to be considered,” Estin wrote in his report.
Aspen performed better than other parts of the upper valley, both brokers reported. Aspen sales are up 40 percent in dollar volume and 46 percent in unit sales since the 2009 low, Estin reported.
And Ernemann wrote, “2011 was a solid year for Aspen real estate. All of the major trends were up or close to even compared to 2010. Particularly, there were nearly 15 percent gains in the number of sales and sales dollar volume.”
Both realtors pointed out the strength of the lowest and highest ends of the market. A chart in Ernemann’s Big Red Book shows that Aspen single-family home sales of less than $2.5 million were up 91 percent in 2011, compared to the average from 2006 to 2010. During the same time period, sales of homes over $10 million were up 50 percent.
Estin’s analysis was similar: he found 25 sales under $2 million in Aspen in 2011, compared to 13 in 2010 (a 92 percent change), and 16 sales over $10 million in 2011 versus 10 in 2010 (a 60 percent difference). Estin noted that the over $10 million sales accounted for nearly half of the total single-family home dollars spent in 2011, compared to one-third in Aspen in 2010.
But the biggest jump in 2011 was in Aspen and Snowmass condo sales, where dollar volume was up 40 percent and unit sales up 39 percent, Estin wrote. (Comparatively, single-family home sales were up 14 percent in dollar volume and 15 percent in unit sales, according to Estin.)
Snowmass Village had a particularly large jump, but condo sales there were coming off a very low point, he noted.
Ernemann also reported a “healthy rebound” in condo sales from the 2009 lows, in Aspen, Snowmass Village, and Basalt. He noted that Aspen now has a two-year supply of condos, down from more than three years during the low, and that Aspen condo and townhome prices “have started to show some strength,” meaning that the average sales price was up in 2011 (to $1.85 million, compared to $1.69 million in 2010). Ernemann also reported that average price per square foot was up modestly for Aspen condos, from $1,025 in 2010 to $1,043 in 2011.
But overall, price per square foot, and average and median sales prices, are still falling, according to at least two of the reports.
Land Title reported that the average single-family home price in Pitkin County in 2011 was $4.11 million, down 5 percent from 2010, and that the median home price of $2.79 million is down 12 percent from 2010 levels. Estin, who uses median prices as a more reliable indicator of reality, found that median sales prices were down 13 percent in 2011 compared to 2010 in the upper valley.
Aspen and Basalt actually saw a slight increase in average single-family home prices, Ernemann reported (from $6.1 million to $6.3 million in Aspen and $783,000 to $818,000 in Basalt), although he did note that the range of sales prices can be so extreme that average price can be misleading.
Commensurate with the general drop in sales price, price per square foot was also down, except for Aspen condos. Ernemann reported that it dropped 3 to 4 percent between 2010 and 2011 for all single-family home sales in Aspen and Basalt, while Snowmass Village dropped 8 percent. Estin reported that price per square foot for single-family homes in Aspen was off 27 percent from the market peak—$919 compared to $1,263 in 2008. Price per square foot for Aspen condos was off 28 percent, Estin reported, $1,027 versus $1,425 in 2008.
But Ernemann feels that the relatively small drop in price per square foot means that “further price drops will be modest (if any)” in Aspen and Basalt. “The bottom has not yet been established in Snowmass Village,” he writes, “although we feel it is very close.”
Due to strengthening in certain areas of the Aspen and Snowmass markets, Ernemann writes that “prices will likely start to rise in the coming 12 to 18 months.”
Estin is more conservative in his estimates: “In my opinion we will see continued pressure on prices for the next 16 to 18 months, with the exception of exceptionally located premium properties.”
Estin bases his opinion on the fact that there’s still a lot of inventory for sale, a large “shadow inventory” (owners waiting for improved conditions to put property on the market), and deal-savvy buyers expecting substantial discounts. Inventory levels decreased about 19 percent in 2011, he said, “and that’s a healthier market, there’s more selling, but there’s still a lot more properties for sale than there have been for the last seven or eight years.”
There were 1,030 properties for sale in 2011 compared to 597 in 2004, Estin reported.
In dollar volume, however, activity in 2011 was most similar to that in 2004, Estin found—$774 million in Aspen in 2011 compared to $746 million in 2004. But that was on 366 sales in 2004 and 211 in 2011, a 42 percent decrease in number of units.
In fact, said Estin, a lot of information can be derived by looking at the bell curve of real estate sales between 2004 and 2011. During the boom years—roughly 2005 to 2008—things got so inflated so quickly that in hindsight it looks almost like an anomaly.
“If you were to lop off 2005 to 2008, that outsized part of the bell curve, that would give you a realistic level of sales volume and appreciation,” said Estin.
Part of the reason for the bubble, said Estin, “was that money was so freely available, and we’re unlikely to return to anything like that.” And looking at 30 to 40 years worth of cycles in Aspen, the Great Recession was the first time he has seen an actual downturn and correction in the market, as opposed to just a flattening and eventual step up.
All indicators started falling in 2008, and the bottom of the local market, as many brokers now agree, was in 2009. Since then all the metrics except prices are trending positively, he said—sales are increasing steadily 10 to 20 percent per year, and inventory is falling.
Although he has yet to do any analysis for 2012, Estin said it feels like there has been a lot of activity in January, and sees signs of a continuing recovery in 2012—barring any major macroeconomic issues.
And anything that’s new or extensively remodeled will command premium pricing, because the spec market completely shut down after the economic downturn, so there has been very little new construction.
That might mean a turnaround for the vacant lot market, which saw its poorest performance in 2011—nine vacant lot sales, the lowest since 2004, Estin reported. But with vacant lots priced incredibly low (a McLain Flats low that was priced in the $4-5 million range recently sold for less than $1million), savvy buyers are starting to look at land as a better option, even with the average two-year construction timeframe.
“The price of new is in some cases lower than the price of existing,” said Estin, pointing at the lots available in Sinclair Meadows in Snowmass as an example. Someone could buy a lot and build a home there for under $2 million, while buying a mid-1980s-era single-family home in Snowmass and doing a small remodel averages $2.4 million.
Overall, said Estin, “I’m optimistic about what’s ahead. There’s only one Aspen, and wealthy people want to be part of Aspen, they want to have homes and live here.”
“The prevailing attitude is that 2012 is a significant turnaround year and if you don’t get in now you have missed out on some sort of bottom,” he added. “Even with continued price pressure buyers will have missed out on some really quality properties.”
December & 2011 transactions at a glance
(Source: Land Title Guarantee Company)
December dollar volume: $77,740,576
December number of transactions: 56
Decrease from December 2010 (dollar volume): -38%
Decrease from December 2010 (transaction volume) -16%
2011 dollar volume: $1,269,446,586 (.52% increase)
2011 transactions: 756 (9.7% increase)
Bank sales: 4
2011 bank sales: 51, $33.7 million (6.8% of sales, 2.7% of dollar volume)
Average single-family home price: $4.11 million (down 5% from 2010)
Median single-family home price: $2.79 million (down 12%)
December fractional sales: 10 (29% decrease from December 2010)
December fractional dollar volume: $3 million (36% increase over December 2010)
2011 fractional sales: 209 (19% increase over 2010)
2011 fractional dollar volume: $89 million (9% increase over 2010)
December dollar volume: $21.7 million
December number of transactions: 89
Decrease from December 2010 (dollar volume): -42%
Increase over December 2010 (transaction volume) 10%
2011 dollar volume: $259,072,600 (12% increase over 2010)
2011 transactions: 921 (32% increase)
December bank sales: 41 sales, $7 million (46% of sales and 32% of dollar volume)
2011 bank sales: 336, $60.1 million (35% of transactions, 22% of dollar volume)
Average single-family home price: $311,271 (down 20% from 2010)
Median single-family home price: $225,000 (down 24% from 2010)


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BIJC and New York City Jewelry Week Celebrated 50 Years of Hip Hop
New York, NY – Nov. 20, 2023– In a celebration of diversity, excellence, and a commitment to inclusivity in the jewelry industry, the Black In Jewelry Coalition (BIJC) has announced the winners of its first Rock the Jewels Awards on November 16, 2023 at the Rock The Jewels Event with New York City Jewelry Week. This occasion marks a significant milestone in BIJC’s journey.
“As we reflect on the last three years of BIJC’s existence, we can’t help but marvel at the milestones we’ve achieved together,” said BIJC President Annie Doresca. “The 50th anniversary of Hip Hop served as the perfect backdrop to celebrate the cultural phenomenon but also to honor BIJC’s unwavering commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the jewelry industry. That is precisely what the award winners reflect and we are so proud of the impact each of them have made.”
From top left: Jeffery Bolling, district manager of Signet Jewelers and winner of the BIJC Lifetime Achievement Award; Simone I. Smith, winner of Rock The Jewels Award; Sarin Bachmin representing JCK for their Shining Together Award – Company; Jessenia Landrum, jewelry designer of Jevela and winner of the Rising Star Award; Grace Barretti, Senior Marketing Manager at Greenwich St. Jewelers and winner of the Behind the Shine Award; Kecia Caffie, President of Signet and winner of the Shining Together Award – Individual.
The winners of each category are:
Jeffery Bolling, District Manager of Signet Jewelers, was honored with The BIJC Lifetime Achievement Award for his exceptional contributions to the industry over the past 30 years. After his service in the U.S. Army in 1986, Bolling began a career in the jewelry industry that spans retail sales, jewelry design, and owning a store – Jeffery B Jewelers in Denver, CO. Bolling has not only left an indelible mark on the industry but has also been a trailblazer, fostering inclusivity and paving the way for generations of professionals. This prestigious award celebrates a lifetime dedicated to excellence and innovation. Bolling’s legacy continues to inspire and uplift, setting the standard for excellence in our industry.
Grace Barretti, Senior Marketing Manager at Greenwich St. Jewelers, received the Behind the Shine Award for her remarkable contributions behind the scenes in support of BIJC. A two-year participant in the BIJC Together By Design Competition and a key member of the BIJC communications team since March 2022, Barretti’s creativity and tenacity have been instrumental in bringing BIJC’s mission to life.
JCK received the Shining Together Award – Company, for its uplifting and inclusive initiatives within the industry. JCK’s continuous support of BIJC, including providing access and opportunities to Black jewelry and gem professionals through their signature JCK Las Vegas event, has been transformative.
Kecia Caffie, President of Signet, received the Shining Together Award – Individual for her outstanding commitment to supporting BIJC and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. Caffie played a pivotal role in creating initiatives such as the Banter Designer Competition, Zales Designer Competition, and supporting BIJC through the Black Lives Matter and Juneteenth Pendants. Her participation in the IDEA Panel on Diversity further underscores her dedication to making a positive impact in the industry.
The BIJC Rock the Jewels Award went to Simone I. Smith, an inspiring jewelry designer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and cancer survivor. Simone’s exceptional contributions to the jewelry industry, her resilience, philanthropic endeavors, and unwavering support of the Black community have earned her this prestigious award.
Jessenia Landrum has been recognized with the Rising Star Award, acknowledging her as an up-and-coming designer making waves in the industry with her brand Jevela. Jessenia’s journey is marked by exploration and discovery, with her designs reflecting her experiences, including a transformative 3-month backpacking journey through Southeast Asia. Landrum was also part of NDC’s Emerging Designers Diamonds Initiative.
New York City Jewelry Week’s Here We Are Awards were also presented at Rock The Jewels. The Exhibition Award went to Angely Martinez; the Emerging Entrepreneur Award NYC was presented to Ariana Embirikos, founder of Embirikos; and the Emerging Entrepreneur Award USA was presented to Tiffany Vanderhoop, founder of Huckleberry Woman.
For more information about BIJC and its initiatives, please visit Blackinjewelry.org/.


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Chicago, June 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ – Grubhub today announced the company’s latest plan “We Serve Restaurants”, reiterating our commitment to restaurants and support for the industry. The plan is based on in-depth research on restaurant owners and diners, and marks Grubhub’s return to its roots, helping restaurants build business by using digital tools to strengthen relationships with diners and drive demand.
“Since I knocked on the restaurant door in my early years Chicago More than 15 years ago, Grubhub’s sole focus has been to help restaurants grow.The restaurant is vital to our every day, and now their recovery is vital,” said Matt Maloney, The founder and CEO of Grubhub. “As the community reopens, we move on to the next chapter, where we are committed to helping restaurants do what they like to do while successfully building their business.”
“We Serve the Restaurant” launched a 360-degree marketing campaign based on recent product updates and partnerships. At its core, the event features a “love letter” written to the restaurant, a national TV show that highlights the true labor of love in every order. Filmed in pizzerias, burger joints and high-end white tablecloth restaurants, the content focuses on the mouth-watering dishes that diners know and love, and the care behind the scenes by the restaurant owner makes them unique. In addition to TV commercials, the event will also be promoted through other channels (including social media and outdoor activities across the country).
The creation of “We Serve the Restaurant” stems from Grubhub’s commitment to put restaurants and their needs first. In conversations and surveys with owners and diners of small and medium-sized restaurants that use food delivery services, we heard that they are eager to learn more about how the Grubhub program can help the catering industry flourish. In response, Grubhub is showing small independent restaurants that they are the company’s top priority.
In addition to national marketing activities, “we serve restaurants” also includes restaurant-centric partnerships and product offerings, including the recently launched Grubhub directly, A platform that helps independent restaurants to better compete online through commission-free ordering and access to customer data, and Restaurant Stronger Grant Program of the Restaurant Stronger FoundationIn the next few weeks, Grubhub will announce additional product updates, prioritizing important restaurant-diner relationships.
“We Serve the Restaurant” was filmed by an Oscar-nominated American filmmaker and an Emmy-winning commercial director Henry-Alex Rubin And developed in cooperation with 72andSunny and APCO Worldwide.To watch TV shows, please visit Youku page.If you are interested in learning more about Grubhub Direct’s restaurants, please visit https://get.grubhub.com/grubhub-direct.
Grubhub (New York Stock Exchange code:Grub) Is the leading online and mobile food ordering and delivery market, with the largest and most comprehensive restaurant partner network and 33 million active diners. Grubhub is committed to connecting diners with the cuisine of their favorite local restaurants, enhancing food ordering through innovative restaurant technology, an easy-to-use platform and an improved delivery experience. Grubhub has more than 300,000 restaurants and is honored to work with more than 280,000 restaurants in more than 4,000 cities in the United States. The Grubhub brand portfolio includes Grubhub, Seamless, LevelUp, AllMenus and MenuPages.
View original content and download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/grubhub-launches-we-serve-restaurants-as-restaurants-reopen-their-doors-and-evolve-post-pandemic-301310359.html


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The NFC World team will be at the Cartes 2012 tradeshow in Paris next week, on stand 4-L-019. Do stop by and introduce yourself to Sarah, Laurence and Joe — and look out for a very special offer on The Mobile Wallet Report for subscribers who sign up at the event.
- Partnership deal for contactless payment wearables
- Visa opens up its tokenization platform to third party suppliers
- Apple Pay goes live in Japan
- Alipay targets 2bn global users
- PayPal talks up in-store mobile payments and One Touch adoption


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Bauer Media’s storytelling division, Story54, has launched a digitally-led campaign for the new Holden Equinox.
The four-part video series, developed in conjunction with Woman’s Day; Holden’s main agency, Carat; and Lacuna Agency is broadcast across Bauer’s digital brand network, Now to Love.
Comedian and Instagram sensation Celeste Barber is the co-creator and star of the campaign, delivering her brand of satire across the series.
Holden engaged Bauer and Story54 to develop a campaign that resonated with its diverse female audiences, based on the insight that Holden Equinox drivers have ‘nothing to prove’.
Bauer Media’s general manager of Story54, Jane Waterhouse, said: “Story54 allows clients to work with an experienced team of channel-agnostic strategists, creatives and producers, dedicated to delivering stand-out campaigns by women that influence and engage with women.
“Women as consumers are recalibrating what’s appropriate in advertising communications.
“They are responding to brands that are abandoning stereotypical and predictable communications, and want to be spoken to in a more authentic language that shows truth in their lives.
“We couldn’t think of a better creative partnership for the Holden Equinox than one with Celeste Barber. Quite simply, her work says it all.”
Barber said: “I’ve built a career on the idea of having ‘nothing to prove’, so this campaign was a perfect fit.”
Holden’s senior marketing manager for media, brand and partnerships, Nancy Del Monaco, said: “Bauer’s Story54 delivered both the insights and the solution to help us celebrate the thousands of women who have nothing to prove by driving the new Equinox.
“Celeste was a perfect fit for the campaign. The campaign’s tagline, ‘nothing to prove, prove it’, aligned seamlessly with Celeste’s parody prowess and her ability to reflect the real lives of Australian women, and the moments where they can be unapologetically themselves.”
The campaign was part of a multi-layered communication plan, which began with a brand campaign by creative agency The Monkeys.
Kay Bretz (main photo), author of Turning Right: Inspire the Magic, is a facilitator of transformation, executive coach, inspirational speaker and ultra-marathon runner in his spare time. In this guest spot, he dissects the merits of the “fact VS gut” instinct debate… Throughout my life I learned that being rationale was paramount. My parents taught […]


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Many multinational food and beverage brands are missing their biggest chance to address climate risks, according to the global non-profit group CDP, which says companies need to work closer with suppliers to improve agricultural emissions.
The results of a new study show PET plastic bottles outperform aluminium can and glass bottles in terms of environmental footprint by using less energy, generating less solid waste, and creating significantly fewer greenhouse gases, claims the PET Resin...
Light-weight packaging is one of a number of initiatives global packager Sonoco is employing to cut its environmental footprint and production costs, claims the company in its first annual sustainability report.
UK food and drink companies are part of coalition of government,
business and environmental groups, who yesterday issued a manifesto
calling on the EU for clearer directions on the bloc's carbon
emissions trading scheme.
Coca-Cola said nearly all of its new refrigeration equipment for
sales and marketing will work without puffing out powerful
greenhouse gases, as the group jumps aboard the trend for


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We all know how animals feel.
But does a designer actually feel them?
We’re going to look at the research that has found that animal designs can be more effective at influencing how animals behave, according to a new study.
The study looked at a wide range of designs from different species, such as goats, rabbits, cows and cats, and found that they all tended to show the same effect on animals’ behaviour.
“The fact that we found that these designs show a more positive impact on the animals’ well-being than other designs means they can be used as a model for designing animal-safe products,” said Dr Rebecca Hildebrand, an animal design researcher at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.
Animal designs were more likely to have positive effects on the behaviour of animals when they were displayed in front of other animals or in a lab environment.
What is animal design?
Animal designs can often be found on clothing, shoes, accessories and other accessories.
These designs can show how animals look when they are being cared for, and how they interact with other animals.
Animal design is an important part of animal welfare.
It can also help to make sure that animals’ welfare is not overlooked or neglected.
Animal welfare is a key part of the design of all products that go into your home.
It is also important to design clothing that has the right balance between comfort and performance.
“Animal designs are often more appealing because they are designed with a design element that the animals would actually see,” Dr Hildebebrand said.
“So they’re designed in a way that it would be difficult for an animal to mistake the design for something that’s actually inappropriate.”
A more effective design Animal designs, like cats, rabbits and goats, tend to be more efficient and more sustainable than traditional designs.
“It’s a good idea to look for ways to design animal-friendly products that are also environmentally friendly,” Dr Andrew Smith, a professor of animal science at the Australian National University in Canberra, said.
So what makes animal designs work?
Animal design may work by combining a design with an animal or a behaviour.
For example, a cat’s tail may be made of feathers, and the tail has a design that looks like a cat.
“But the tail is actually a kind of plastic, and if the plastic becomes tangled in the cat’s fur, it can cause the tail to get caught in the tailbag,” Dr Smith said.
Another example could be a goat’s fur.
“They tend to have the feathers coming down through the ears and down into the nose, which makes the goat look like it’s moving, rather than just walking,” Dr Anderson said.
Dr Haggerbrand said that the design was often linked to a social element.
“What happens in a group is that there’s a lot of other people interacting with it, so the animal design helps them to form an emotional connection with the other members of the group.”
What is the best way to design an animal?
The best way for designers to use animal designs is to consider how the animals feel when they’re seen in front the camera, said Dr Higgarebr.
“I think that’s a really good way to think about how they might feel,” she said.
This means that designers need to think through what they’re trying to achieve.
“You want to create something that has a good balance between safety and performance,” Dr Howard said.
What about design trends?
What animal designs do you think are currently the best?
Share your thoughts in the comments section below.


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The Chicago Toy & Game Group (CHITAG) announces that it will acquire and assume ongoing publication of toy industry news standard bearer, the Bloom Report. The transition will occur on May 30 upon the retirement of Phil Bloom, who founded and published the report for more than 20 years alongside a long career with Toys ‘R Us.
Cookbook Media, formed by industry executives Claudia Scott-Hansen and Rob Bencal, has signed Thailand’s T&B Media Global and Island of Misfits “IoM” Media Ventures Inc. in Canada.
WildBrain CPLG’s representation of confectionary brands Chupa Chups and Mentos was renewed, while Smint was added to the partnership.
Cartoon Network and Boomerang are preparing to serve up animated children’s series Cupcake and Dino to audiences in Australia and New Zealand.
Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) has launched a new collection of toys, apparel, home goods, pet products and even Scooby Snacks, inspired by the upcoming animated feature film SCOOB!


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THE MARCOS administration launched 14 farm-to-consumer stores across the Philippines on Wednesday, as the country faces increasing food prices due to supply issues and expensive fuel.
Eleven of the temporary bazaars under the so-called Kadiwa program of the Department of Agriculture are located in Metro Manila and one each in Tacloban City, Davao De Oro, and South Cotabato.
The Kadiwa stores sell agricultural products as well as other locally-manufactured goods at a lower price since the state shoulders costs for transportation and other expenses, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said at the ceremonial opening attended by Filipino farmers in Mandaluyong City on Thursday.
“We will continue this even after Christmas,” the president said in Filipino, referring to a campaign called Kadiwa ng Pasko, which takes off from the Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita program rolled out during the pandemic.
Headline inflation rose to 7.7% in October from 6.9% a month earlier. Economists said higher prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages reflected the agricultural damage caused by recent typhoons.
Three storms hit the country in early October and their corresponding agricultural damage costs were: Super Typhoon Karding, P3.12 billion; and Tropical Depression Maymay and Typhoon Neneng with a combined P594.02 million.
Another destructive storm which swept through the country in the last four days of October, Severe Tropical Storm Paeng, caused an estimated agricultural damage of over P6.4 billion.
Mr. Marcos, speaking before farmers, said the government cannot do anything about the price increases, noting that they’ve been triggered by global headwinds. “But we are helping in terms of the people’s capacity to buy,” he said in Filipino.
The government plans to put up more Kadiwa stores where producers can directly sell their goods to consumers. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza


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|The new brand from China sets out to conquer the highly saturated smartphone market in Vietnam|
The brand calls itself a “young, fun and innovative partner of young Vietnamese consumers,” targeting the price-conscious and trendy millennials in the ASEAN’s fast-growing economy.
Following the trend, Honor makes sure to emphasise the prowess of its smartphone cameras: competitive dual-lens 13MP + 2MP cameras on both the front and back of the phone.
“Vietnam is one of our key target markets in Southeast Asia, a strategic ground for Honor to continue offering the best state-of-the-art products and innovations," said Akin Li, president of Honor in Southeast Asia.
To boost its growth in Vietnam, Honor has announced strategic a partnership with Vietnam’s top gaming firm VNG, the distributor of the popular battle royale game Rules of Survival. Other partners include Singapore’s IGG, distributor of real-time strategy game Lords Mobile and the action-packed game inspired by manga series Honkai Impact 3, as well as Bigo Live, an app for live-streaming services.
Honor phones are also available for sale on top e-commerce websites such as Lazada, Shopee or Tiki, with flash sales to attract the first customers.
Upon entering Vietnam, Honor and Huawei will have to compete with fellow Chinese rivals such as Oppo, Xiaomi or Vivo. While Oppo goes down the celebrity endorsement route, Xiaomi chose to partner with Digiworld, a domestic distributor, to conquer the Vietnamese market.
According to market research firm GfK, 13.6 million smartphones were sold in Vietnam in the first 11 months of 2017, an increase of 3.1 per cent compared with the same period of 2016.
The top selling brands are Apple’s iPhone, Samsung’s Galaxy series, and Oppo.


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Elon Musk’s tweets about Bitcoin are moving markets, is that even illegal?
Musk should be fine by now, as the lawyers say, but he should be extra careful.
In July of 2020, a Twitter user asked Elon Musk for some Bitcoin. It was almost most particularly a gag and Musk responded in kind, pointing toward a more unsung digital asset:
The best example is the Dogecoin, the “meme coin” created by two bored tech workers back in 2013 as a sort of commentary on the trust-as-value proposition underpinning the broader crypto-verse.
However, because of Musk’s endorsement, the price of a single Dogecoin has wildly fluctuated. His tweets about Bitcoin have also made market movements.
Now that Tesla is $1.5 billion deep in Bitcoin, Musk is publicly sharing his perspective on the crypto markets is more complicated. Musk’s penchant for seemingly spontaneous tweets will always have the ability to cause trouble, but the lawyers said that he is still probably within legal bounds.
In the wake of last month’s Reddit-fueled GameStop short squeeze, Musk pushed slogans like “Dogecoin is the people’s crypto,” and “🎶Who let the Doge out🎶.” He tweeted out a poll named “The future currency of Earth,” with two choices: “Dogecoin to the Moooonn” and “All other crypto combined” (the former received 71.3% of the vote). There is also a photoshopped image of Elon Musk as Rafiki, from The Lion King, holding up a Simba-Doge hybrid, which has been liked for a million times.
Musk who has 46 million followers on Twitter, had clarified that his Dogecoin posts are “really just meant to be jokes,” however according to a recent study from the Blockchain Research Lab, they still exert significant influence in the market: one December tweet sent the price up by 8% in five minutes.
And then the same goes for Bitcoin – when Musk added the Bitcoin hashtag to his Twitter bio, the market pumped around 20%. Is this market manipulation?
Since Tesla announced its $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin early this week, the question of whether Musk could continue to tweet reckless things about the cryptocurrencies is less clear-cut.
Musk had been a Twitter troll for many years, and it has faced scrutiny for careless posts and misinformation in the past: last year, his infamous suggestion that “tesla stock price is very high” sent shares down by $60 in minutes. Last 2018, he wrote that he had planned to take the company private at a shared price of $420, which resulted in a scolding from the SEC.
“CEOs of companies with substantial Bitcoin holdings will need to be very careful before talking their Bitcoin books in a fashion that might move the markets to ensure their statements are not part of anything which might be viewed as a manipulative or deceptive device or contrivance in the context of either the commodity or securities domains,” he stated.
An example of a “deceptive device or contrivance” could be a typical “pump-and-dump” scheme, which involves talking up a particular asset, suckering in new buyers to raise the price, and then exiting your positions before the inevitable crash. In this case, the schemes would be handled by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), instead of the SEC, since Bitcoin isn’t considered a security. Other cryptocurrencies, like Ethereum-based tokens, could be considered securities and regulated by the SEC.
Both the SEC and CFTC and also the US Department of Justice, can investigate and bring forth charges if they suspect fraud – even about crypto assets, Byrne stated.
Eric Goldman, a law professor from Santa Clara University, elaborated that questionable tweets, however, offer a single wiggle room, thanks to what he named “the fast-and-furious nature of online discourse.”
“In general, courts routinely assume that most readers of Internet content—especially in a forum like Twitter—do not take social media posts seriously,” he stated, adding that former President Trump has avoided lawsuits on this basis. “Having said that, market regulators—especially organizations like the Securities and Exchange Commission—are very much alert to the risks of pump-and-dump schemes.”
Goldman said that Musk’s adding the Bitcoin hashtag to his Twitter bio “is probably nowhere close to that line.”
While Musk can be safe from government regulators, for now, his addiction to erratic, meme-based posting remains a potential liability.
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Business News of Saturday, 31 December 2016
The 2017 edition of the Africa Mobile and ICT Expo (Mobex) has been launched in Accra.
The event which will take place somewhere in June next year is also expected to leverage on some of Ghana’s, and Africa’s greatest innovations which have been forgotten
Speaking at the event, the outgoing Deputy Minister of Information Felix Ofosu Kwakye assured of the government’s commitment to the Mobex and also ensuring that that IT and innovation is given the kind of support that it deserves.
“The government is still committed to expanding ICT in the country and is collaborating with the private sector to establish the needed ICT infrastructure to accelerate national economic development. We are currently working with a private sector firm to set up a $400 million ICT park to serve as an integrated technology ecosystem like the Silicon Valley, with the capacity to create over 40,000 direct jobs.”
“As a government, we pledge the ministry’s unflinching commitment and support to the organizers to see this baby blossom and take its rightful position as the vehicle of economic change in Ghana,” he said.
The 2017 Mobex will have the Mobex Africa Innovation Awards which will seek to reward enterprises and individuals deploying the use of technology to create jobs, enhance customer delivery efficiency, among others.
According to the organizer’s the Mobex17 will be a three-day event that will be held at the Accra International Conference Centre.
Alain Gbeasor, who is part of the organizer’s said “Mobex2017 will leverage on some of Ghana’s, and Africa’s greatest innovations which have been forgotten. Mobex Africa Innovation Awards will empower industry players in building global brands and services.”
This comes after the Africa Mobile & ICT Expo (MOBEX) train is expected to land in Liberia in 2017,
The organizer’s announced in August this year as a deal is reached between them and the Liberian government.
A statement released by the organizer’s, Coasters Company Limited, said a partnership agreement with the Liberian government had been struck to promote Information and Communications Technology and showcase new trends in the ICT and Telecommunication industry within the Liberian market.
Under the agreement, Coasters will replicate in Liberia its flagship ICT trade show, MOBEX, was first held in Ghana in July 2015. The show is the biggest ICT oriented exhibition and trade show in Ghana.
MOBEX-Liberia partnership follows a successful second edition of MOBEX Africa 2016 held in June this year at the Accra International Conference Centre, which was graced by President John Dramani Mahama.
The 2016 edition of the African Mobile and ICT Expo took place in June 2016, at the Accra International Conference Center.
It featured a thought-leadership conference and Masterclass sessions. The main emphasis of that Expo was on Digital Entrepreneurship with some exciting technologies were also exhibited during the period.


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In Demand, the cable-operator-owned VOD and pay-per-view programming distributor, has named Dale Hopkins as president and CEO.
Hopkins will relocate to In Demand’s New York City headquarters from Los Angeles. She takes over for Bob Benya, who exited at the end of June after seven years with the company.
Most recently Hopkins worked for GSN, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and AT&T Entertainment Group, where she held multiple roles during her more than eight-year tenure, including executive VP of distribution and chief marketing officer. Previously, she was interim CEO at Championship Gaming Series (CGS), an international eSports league, and spent eight years at Comcast-owned G4 Media, where she most recently was chief operating officer.
Earlier in her career, Hopkins was president and co-founder of the online gaming company iWin.com. She also was CMO for E! Networks and part of the launch team; served as VP of sales for the initial launch of CNBC; and held several ad sales roles at CBS.
“In Dale, In Demand is gaining a multifaceted leader, someone with superb business acumen who has successfully delivered value and growth throughout her career,” Tom Montemagno, In Demand’s chairman and Charter Communications executive VP of programming acquisition, said in a statement. “She has a deep well of knowledge from across several business sectors, and is well known and respected within the media industry.”
Hopkins is currently on the board of advisers of Havoc TV and several other entertainment and tech companies.
In Demand is owned by Comcast, Charter and Cox Communications. Its VOD products include first-run and library movies and TV shows; the company’s PPV programming lineup includes boxing, wrestling and mixed martial arts events and the digital out-of-market subscription professional sports packages for MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS.


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Punta Arenas port authorities, in the extreme south of Chile, are optimistic about the coming cruise season and its impact on the local economy.
According to the Austral Port Company, the last 2018/19 cruise season was satisfactory but the coming one is even more encouraging, since 160 calls are scheduled between next October and March 2020, with an estimated 100.000 passengers.
This compares to the 135 calls and 70.000 visitors of the last season, and can be anticipated as a 40% increase, which again confirms Punta Arenas as the leading cruise hub in Chile.
For this season Punta Arenas port has acquired a docking dolphin, which will help with vessels up to 250 meters long. Likewise one of the jetties has undergone a structural investment, some US$ 3 million that will help with even larger cruises.
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Retail Giant, Wal-Mart is Taking ‘Green’ to a Whole New Level
LUXies, what could be more LUX than large corporations starting to take conscious actions towards reducing their global footprint and carbon-emissions?! Well, that’s exactly what Wal-Mart just announced last week!
It seems the retail giant has made a public eco-declaration to take a much closer look at over 100,000 of their suppliers in terms of their environmental impact in the products they provide! The inquiry will touch upon subjects such as ‘greenhouse gas emissions, manufacturing waste and natural materials used.’ How LUX-tastic is this?? Definitely a clear statement of shifting values and a win-win for our planet and future Wal-Mart consumers!!
This inspection is just the beginning of a whole new program to be implemented at the store level in the next 5 years! Eventually, each store product will have a ranking on it that reflects the environmental impact of that product!! Wal-Mart is referring to this program as the ‘single, open-source platform’ that will help to educate every consumer about the products they are purchasing!! Equipped with this information, the responsibility will be put back on you as the consumer to understand the impact of your own purchasing power.
And Wal-Mart’s size and purchasing power could drive change in the industry, even for non-suppliers, said Elaine Delgado, manager of sustainable product stewardship at Boston-based New Balance. “This is a great opportunity for the rest of us who are involved in making shoes in China,” she said. “Wal-Mart speaks and people listen because of their extreme volume. They could impact all industries.” –via Press Release
We hope this move will influence other large organizations to look at their global impact as well—movements like this can trickle down and can start huge shifts in global citizenship and conscious business practices!!
LUX Nation, can you imagine how this eco-info would affect your purchase decisions??


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Incredible Hair Loss Cure 2020 Japan Ideas
Hair loss cure news blog. Hair cloning and multiplication for baldness. The latest news in hair regeneration treatments for androgenetic alopecia. Hair Loss Cure 2020.. April 28, 2020 — Culturing human hair follicle dermal papilla cells in a 3D self-assembling peptide scaffold. The results of this study suggest a new potential 3D culture.
The future seems bright for hair loss sufferers, there are two up and coming products that may revolutionize the hair loss industry. Breezula (clascaterone) has surfaced as a topical anti-androgen that on paper may be more effective than Propecia (finasteride). Replicel (RCH-01) is being touted as a hair loss cure.
2020: The Year We Have A Cure For Baldness?. Japan’s largest research organization, is working with two companies to find a solution to hair loss with the regenerative medical tool of the.
The most popular hair loss shampoo in Asia that is manufactured by renowned Japanese cosmetics manufacturer Shiseido (which also happens to be working on a cell based hair loss cure). More importantly, Adenovital’s key ingredient adenosine has strong scientific backing when it comes to benefiting hair growth.
Tag: Hair Loss Cure 2020. 181 Comments. Updated on June 4, 2020 Histogen Announces HSC Trial Plans In 2020.. Histogen, Japan Regenerative Medicine, Ralf Paus, Replicel, Sanford Burnham Hair Research Tags: Aclaris Hair Growth,.
Elections 2020 World news Environment Soccer. But despite the prevalence of hair loss. “There’s more investment in hair research in Korea and Japan, I think due to cultural differences.
A stem cell hair transplant is similar to a traditional hair transplant.But rather than removing a large number of hairs to transplant to the area of hair loss, a stem cell hair transplant removes.
Reddit gives you the best of the internet in one place. Get a constantly updating feed of breaking news, fun stories, pics, memes, and videos just for you. Passionate about something niche? Reddit has thousands of vibrant communities with people that share your interests. Alternatively, find out what’s trending across all of Reddit on r/popular.
Existing medication can slow hair loss, but it does not necessarily reverse the problem, he added. New treatment using the technique may be available in 10 years, the professor added.
Hair cloning and hair multiplication are novel technologies currently being researched for the treatment of hair loss. The concept of cloning hair is to extract healthy hair follicle cells from a patient and cultivate multiple copies of them in vitro. The multiplied cells are then placed them back into the balding scalp, where they resume. Read moreHair Cloning News In 2020 – When Will It.
Article Summary: Organ technologies is developing what many expect to be the most viable option for creating an unlimited supply of new hair follicles from hair loss sufferers own heads. They are targeting commercial availability of 2020. Their technique uses your own cells to harvest, multiply, and then inject into areas of the scalp which are losing hair.


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Enterprise AI Developer Chatlayer.ai Acquired by Sinch
Enterprise conversational artificial intelligence developer Chatlayer.ai has been acquired by mobile cloud communications firm Sinch for an undisclosed sum. Sinch plans to bring Chatlayer.ai’s voice and text AI platform to its international customers.
Chatlayer.ai provides businesses with an AI that uses a natural language understanding engine to interact with customers through text and voice. The Belgian startup’s platform is currently used by insurance provider Foyer, the Belfius bank, and other companies that have a lot of customer interaction. The AI can handle routine questions and conversations with those customers, freeing up a lot of people who would otherwise need to staff the phone and digital chatrooms non-stop.
“We have built a platform that leverages AI and NLU to improve customer experience and drive measurable business outcomes,” Chatlayer.ai CEO Rick van Esch said in a statement. “We are excited to partner with Sinch who adds deep mobile expertise and can help scale our offering to an international audience.”
The three-year-old company claims its software can speak with people in more than 100 languages. That’s an especially useful trait for international conversations, and Sinch, although based in Sweden, has offices in more than 30 countries. The AI is designed to work out what the customer’s goal with the conversation is while engaging in a dialogue that feels natural. The platform then analyzes the interaction to provide insight to the company about its customers.
“Cloud communications and mobile technology fundamentally transform how brands can engage with their customers,” Sinch CEO Oscar Werner said in a statement. “We are now seeing how next-generation messaging channels, which are designed to be conversational, are creating new opportunities for brands to enrich their customer experience. Growing our capabilities in AI and NLU is an important way for Sinch to ensure that our enterprise customers and channel partners can fully realize this opportunity”,
Applying AI to handle and analyze customer interactions is becoming the norm in business. Companies like Gridspace, which uses its Sift platform for transcribing and examining conversations with customers for useful information in real time are in high demand, as evidenced by how it provides technology for Twilio’s real-time call analytics service Media Streams. Big companies are eager to invest in or acquire smaller firms with that kind of technology, such as Observe AI $26 million funding round or the $75 million that Goldman Sachs invested in CallMiner. The utility goes beyond the purely financial as well. Orbita created an interactive chatbot and voice assistant for healthcare organizations to help deal with people wanting to ask about the COVID-19 pandemic. The AI answers questions and helps triage people who may have been infected.


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New risks of hacking are being faced by VODACOM GROUP PTY LTD (FRA:5VD) and
(NYSE:T) concerning illegal SIM card swapping, which allows customer validation on mobiles. Hackers gather personal data of the company and its users by calling the SIM owners and controlling personal accounts and chips; by doing this these hackers are coming up with a new method to commit online banking fraud and global calling theft.
Communications Fraud Control Association believes that this particular type of hacking could be a threat to the telecommunications industry worldwide. It is expected that the global industry might lose around $46.3 billion or 2% f its total revenue to fraud in the year 2013. The CFCA believes that SIM swapping may triple the loss (probably $3.6 billion in losses) faced by the telecommunications industry worldwide back in 2011.
The hackers who use SIM card swapping have come up with convincing stories to support their crime. They carefully research the names and addresses of their victims after which they call victims’ wireless providers and provide them with all the personal information of their victim and inform the providers that their victim’s SIM card has been switched to a new device. After this confirmation, the victim’s phone goes dead and all activities are carried out through hacker’s device.
According to the Principal researcher for security at Lookout Inc, Marc Rogers the SIM car scamming is still quite new, however it will soon extend to wireless networks specially targeting smartphone users more. This puts wireless carriers in a position where they have to learn ways to indentify a legal SIM from a swapped illegal one. This scamming is extremely easy for hackers because customers shift their SIMs whenever they buy a new device.
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) says that they are doing everything to protect their customers by spreading awareness among them regarding the SIM swapping scam. However, whether the company has taken any new safety measures against this scam is still unknown. Vodacom spokesperson, Richard Boorman said that they send text messages to warn all their customers about the SIM swap scam.
Spokesmen of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s spokesperson Tom Pica, Stephanie Vinge Sprint Corporation (NYSE:S)’s spokesperson and Anne Marshall T MOBILE US INC (NYSE:TMUS)’s spokesperson have not yet offered any information about the scam. Spokesperson for the agency, Mike Snyder reported that the United States Federal Communications Commission has not issued any particular consumer guidance regarding the SIM swap scam.
A case with the FCC was filed against AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by Mari and Candace claiming that AT&T didn’t warn their customers about the SIM swap scam.