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Today Xilinx had two major announcements. The first is that the company saw 30% Y/Y revenue increases as it pursues its “data center first” strategy. A surprise was that Xilinx announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire SolarFlare, the SmartNIC company. SolarFlare is well-known in the space as the company has pioneered a number of NIC offload techniques over the years.
Xilinx to Acquire SolarFlare for SmartNIC Capabilities
From a market perspective, Xilinx is signaling that it sees a large SmartNIC market opportunity. Less than a year ago, Xilinx made a strategic investment in SolarFlare. Now the company is taking SolarFlare in-house.
SmartNICs have become important for offloading tasks from CPUs. We saw Microsoft Project Brainwave use Intel FPGAs for AI. We have also seen cloud providers like Amazon offload functions to ensure CPUs are available for rent by customers. We have seen new solutions such as the Intel FPGA Programmable Acceleration Card N3000 for Networking. Intense interest in this space from large hyperscale customers and service providers has led to many hardware vendors getting involved.
Impact on Other SmartNIC Companies
Perhaps one of the more intriguing aspects to the acquisition is that it means Xilinx is directly entering a new market. With NVIDIA’s purchase of Mellanox, Xilinx supplying the FPGA for cards like the Mellanox Innova-2 made sense.
With the purchase of SolarFlare, Xilinx now owns a competitor to Mellanox in the Ethernet space. That leaves NVIDIA-Mellanox with a choice to make. Stay with Xilinx, a competitor in the SmartNIC market for its FPGAs, or go with Intel, also a SmartNIC competitor FPGAs. Beyond NVIDIA-Mellanox, others developing SmartNICs on Xilinx FPGAs may have to make a similar decision.
Who is Next?
The market for smaller NIC companies with solid traction is decreasing with both Mellanox and SolarFlare finding suitors. Chelsio Communications comes to mind and may be a good fit for Intel who is currently lacking in NICs, even with the recent Intel Ethernet 800 Series 100GbE NIC Launch.
Very interesting article
Patrick, in connection to your observations above where do you see a small smartNIC-developer like Napatech position itself in the nearest future?
The company builds SmartNICS running on both Intel and Xilinx FPGA’s. Now that Intel too are producing their own SmartNICS this market is squeezed by Intel and Xilinx.
Napatech has so far approached this squeezed by developing FPGA-software for Intel SmartNICS. Do you think this is a viable approach?
It seems like their acquisition of Solarflare killed that business. It’s hard to find the NICs now.
I don’t understand some of these acquisitions that just destroy businesses. How do they benefit anyone? Like Intel with Barefoot Networks and Nervana – they just destroyed our canceled those products right? What’s the point? And Microsoft with Nokia and Wunderlist or whatever that super popular to-do app was – they just ended up abandoning it. And Google with Motorola. I don’t understand why these companies waste money buying a business only to let it die.


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Amazon is reportedly asking its delivery drivers to take selfies. The move is meant to curb fraud and to verify the driver’s identity.
The Seattle-based e-commerce giant has confirmed to The Verge that it is asking its delivery drivers to take selfies in a bit to avoid frauds. The company is currently asking those drivers who are enrolled under its Flex programme. For those who don’t know, the Flex programme allows the contractors to deliver packages using their own personal vehicle. The programme is fairly popular in the United States and it was introduced in 2015.
As per the report, a message in the Amazon Flex application told the drivers to take a selfie before they start working, though it urges them not to take a selfie while driving. The company has also informed drivers that it may collect their biometric data to confirm their identity.
The new effort will also screen out anyone who is not authorised to delivery packages such as criminals who might use Flex to lurk in one’s home, the report added. Furthermore, the report says that the requirement is only valid for Flex delivers who are getting paid $18 to $25 per hour.
Meanwhile, Amazon is reported to be eavesdropping on one’s conversations with Alexa. Alexa voice recordings are constantly monitored for means to improve the digital assistant and Amazon does so by not just the power of their artificial intelligence but also by having actual humans listen to the recording of your voice queries.

domain: news


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Overall asset performance remains mixed ahead of Powell’s speech tomorrow and a slew of economic data the rest of this week — let’s see what you missed today. 👀
Today’s issue covers U.S. housing, CrowdStrike’s earnings, and more news from China. 📰
Check out today’s heat map:
6 of 11 sectors closed green. Real estate (+1.72%) led, and technology (-0.98%) lagged. 💚
HSBC will sell its Canada business to the Royal Bank of Canada for $10 billion. 🏦
P.S. Our annual Chips for Charity is on Saturday. Have you secured your seat at the table? 🃏
Here are the closing prices:
Wall Street continues to punish software stocks that don’t blow expectations out of the water. And today’s victim was CrowdStrike. 😱
The cybersecurity company reported Q3 adjusted earnings of $0.40 per share vs. the $0.31 expected. Revenues of $581 million also topped the $574 million expected. Additionally, its annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $2.34 billion rose 54% YoY, with $198 million in net new ARR added in Q3.
However, ARR growth was below expectations. CEO George Kurtz said, “Increased macroeconomic headwinds elongated sales cycles with smaller customers and caused some larger customers to pursue multi-phase subscription start dates, which delays ARR recognition until future quarters.” 💬
In other words, its customers feel skittish about the economy, reducing or delaying demand. And with the economy expected to remain vulnerable, many expect those headwinds to persist.
As a result, investors sent $CRWD shares down 17% to their lowest level since August 2020. 👍
The Mother of All Bubbles Is Popping. Profits Could Drop 30% to 45% in 2023
“The Mother of All Bubbles” is officially popping across asset classes.
- $2 trillion in crypto market cap … gone
- $9 trillion in U.S. equity market cap … evaporated
Investment research firm Hedgeye has done extensive work on how the inflating of the bubble has contributed to U.S. GDP.
Hedgeye’s Macro team is forecasting additional market carnage ahead, as financial markets absorb the impact of all this “paper wealth” being eviscerated.
You’re invited to a special 3-part webcast series hosted by former hedge fund manager Keith McCullough, Hedgeye’s Founder & CEO… Get free on-demand access to The Outlook
Keith will cover…
- The global Quad 4 recession
- The calculus of peak inflation
- The U.S. earnings recession
Keith also explains the asset allocations best-suited to take advantage of this market setup.
Don’t miss this alpha-generating webcast. Prepare your portfolio today.
*3rd Party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Stocktwits. See disclosure here.
It’s no secret that the housing market is in bad shape. Higher interest rates and record-high prices have crushed the demand side of the equation, and supply remains tight.
With that said, we got some additional data today so let’s take a look… 👀
First is the S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller national home price index. It dropped for the third straight month in September (-0.80%), with YoY price growth slowing to +10.80%. While the yearly change is still very high, seeing prices cool for several consecutive months is a positive sign for the Fed, which has been trying to bring prices down. 🧊
Meanwhile, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will raise the limits of government-backed loans to a new record level in 2023. The maximum loan limit in some high-cost areas will be over $1 million. Some argue that this does nothing to solve the real driver of the housing crisis, record-high prices, and simply allows borrowers to take on more debt than they might be able to handle.
Last week existing home sales fell for the ninth straight month, dropping 5.80% MoM and 28.4% YoY. The median price of an existing sold home was $379,100, a 6.60% increase YoY. 🏘
So while it’s not happening quickly at the national level, the Fed’s tightening is having a slow but steady effect on housing. Certain markets that boomed during the pandemic have seen significant drops as some froth comes out of the system. And others are simply leveling off as demand dries up.
Lastly, Bank of America’s CEO is predicting two years of pain ahead for the housing market before activity returns to normal. 🔮
Tomorrow we’ll hear October’s pending home sales data, which will give us another piece of the puzzle. But overall, housing continues to correct to the downside. 📉
One minute for a chance to win $100. 💰
Answer a short survey to be entered into a random drawing to win one of five $100 American Express e-gift cards.
Your response will help improve the newsletter experience. You have until Friday, December 9th, at 11 am ET, to complete the survey. There is only one entry per participant. Good luck, and thank you for your participation!
Okay, you probably will believe today’s China news. But that title was too good not to use, so let us have this one. 🤷
With unrest among China’s citizens continuing, there’s a lot to keep up with. 📰
The broader news item is that the protests and disruption to its economy have gotten the government’s attention. As a result, speculation is that many of the harsh covid-19 containment measures implemented will be relaxed.
That sent Chinese stocks soaring today. However, many remain skeptical because these rumors have been flying back and forth for weeks, saying they’ll believe it when they see it.
Video-sharing website Bilibili reported earnings and revenues that topped estimates. 💪
Average daily active users rose 25% YoY to 90.3 million, with monthly active users increasing 25% to 332.6 million. Average monthly paying users rose 19% to 28.5 million.
Like other tech companies, it’s rationalizing its costs and is taking initiatives to accelerate its monetization. The earnings beat and rumors of lockdown rules easing sent $BILI shares rising 22%.
Meanwhile, e-commerce solutions provider Baozun dropped despite beating earnings and revenue expectations.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $0.03 per share vs. the $0.02 expected. And revenues of $244.8 million beat estimates of $244 million. 👍
Like its peers, the company is prioritizing cost optimization and efficiency. These efforts drove higher product sales gross margin, lower operating expenses, and better operating cash flows.
With that said, $BZUN shares faded after an initial pop, closing down 3.60%. 🔻
Bullets From The Day:
📺 AMC Networks faces significant layoffs ahead. Just three months after becoming CEO, Christina Spade is stepping down from her role, with the company looking internally for a replacement. Additionally, it announced widespread layoffs, where an insider says roughly 20% of its U.S. staff will be let go in the coming days. AMC Networks continues to find a place in the TV industry where the linear TV bundle loses share to streaming services quarter after quarter. As its price bleeds, many analysts see it as an acquisition target for its larger competitors. CNBC has more.
👋 Mozilla wants you to host meetings in their mini metaverse. Mozilla’s Hubs offering has been around since 2018 and offered a low-key way to hang out with your friends. It has since expanded to host virtual events, classrooms, art galleries, and several other events. Today it’s introducing a new subscription service where users can customize their Hubs and collaborate for personal or work reasons. This comes as more companies continue their expansion into the metaverse…despite the space’s lackluster results so far. More from TechCrunch.
🛢 Oil prices steady as the market speculates over OPEC+ cut. With oil sliding on reduced demand expectations, several firms expect OPEC+ to cut production when they meet on December 4th to decide on the next phase of production policy. The group has cut its oil demand forecast several times this year and continues to face pressure from the U.S. and other western countries, desperate to fill the energy gap left by Russia’s war in Ukraine. However, the group recently hinted that it could output to help oil prices recover. CNBC has more.
🛒 Black Friday weekend sales hit a record high. The National Retail Federation said 196.7 million shoppers went to stores from Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday, topping last year’s 179 million. That, combined with record online sales, indicates a stronger-than-expected holiday shopping season is upon us. With that said, many retailers offered steep promotions and began advertising sales earlier this month to entice shoppers who have been hit by inflation and other macroeconomic uncertainty. Despite that, the average shopper spent $325 on holiday-related purchases this weekend, up from $301 last year. More from CNBC.
🤔 Yahoo Finance is considering expanding into stock trading. Apollo Global Management-owned Yahoo is looking to reinvent its core businesses to spur growth. Those include publishing, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Mail, and Yahoo Sports. As part of that, executives are looking to build a retail trading platform within Yahoo Finance, allowing retail traders to use its data as part of a full suite of end-to-end trading and execution tools. Internally, the idea is being called a “Bloomberg for retail trading,” though that’s been a tough nut to crack for many of its competitors. Axios has more.


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Tomkins brings in big guns
Troubled Tomkins has hired Credit Suisse First Boston and Cazenove to advise on a business review triggered by disclosures of corporate excesses by former boss Greg Hutchings.
Consultants McKinsey have come in to advise on strategy. The review could lead to a break-up of the company.
Chairman David Newlands has ordered an investigation of the perks, including £30,000 salaries allegedly paid to Hutchings' wife and housekeeper.
American shareholder David Herro is calling for non-executives to resign unless they can explain their failure to uncover the excesses.
Herro has already claimed one UK scalp when he led a 1995 revolt that forced Maurice Saatchi out of his advertising group. Tomkins non-executives include Roger Holland and banker Ali Wambold.
Tomkins is also investigating payments made to ex-finance director Ian Duncan, who built a luxury home in Scotland while working at the group.
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Samsung has officially started teasing the upcoming Galaxy S23 Series. The company teased details about the Galaxy S23 camera performance ahead of its launch. The Samsung Galaxy S23 series is launching globally on February 1 and the latest teaser hints at the phone’s space zoom capabilities and more.
Samsung has uploaded a new teaser video with the caption “Get up close in epic detail”. The teaser hints at the new moon-capturing capability of the Galaxy S23 series. In previous teasers, Samsung has claimed that the Galaxy S23 series’ camera system will also feature better night mode capabilities.
However, Samsung appears to be hinting at the new camera capabilities of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Samsung Galaxy S23 pre-reserve website all but confirms the 200 MP primary sensor for the S23 Ultra, teasing “megapixels that’ll make you say Wow”.
Galaxy S23 Series More Teaser
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is tipped to feature a 6.8-inch QHD+ 120Hz refresh rate Super AMOLED display. The device will come powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. The device is said to offer a 200MP main camera, and a 12MP secondary camera. In terms of battery, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is said to feature a 5,000mAh battery with up to 45W fast charging.


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Written by Brendan O’Kane, CEO, OtherLevels
Let’s face it: we know that mobile is taking over. That consumers spend increasing amounts of time glued to their portable screens. That mobile devices are on track to outnumber human beings. The runaway growth of mobile is evident in the 50 million iOS and Android devices activated just during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve 2012. Smartphone and tablet users downloaded 1.76 billion mobile apps during those seven days. Don’t you find that phenomenal?
Yet, even with this massive global boom, a recent survey by Econsultancy found that only 39 percent of Australian marketers were making use of the mobile channel to reach and engage customers last year. Conversely, The Telegraph referenced a study, which predicts that 85 percent of Australians will have gone mobile this year while the Sydney Morning Herald reported that the amount of data downloaded through Aussies’ mobile devices jumped 32 percent between 2011 and 2012.
So it’s clear there’s plenty of room for mobile marketing to grow here. Before marketers deploy full-scale mobile campaigns, however, they would benefit from having in place a process to test and measure their messaging for maximum effectiveness.
Measuring Mobile Messages That Engage and Retain Customers
With the realization that mobile measurement has lagged behind the implementation of mobile campaigns, we produced an in-depth whitepaper, The Mobile Messaging Opportunity, to help educate marketers on how mobile measurement works – and why it’s a must.
Mobile measurement reveals customers’ preferences, which helps marketers craft messaging that is relevant and adds value, which in turn helps them retain those customers.
Not only has mobile’s evolution and growing sophistication created a powerful engagement tool, it’s also created a host of messaging types that marketers can use to reach almost any user – whether his or her device is a feature phone, a smartphone or a tablet. These include:
After selecting messaging formats to reach particular audience segments, it’s time to devise and implement an action analytics plan – the best way to make sure marketers get the most from every mobile message sent. The process that helps marketers identify specific elements – e.g., wording, tone and length – that drive the highest conversion rates includes these three techniques >>>
Finding out what makes customers tick and acting on that information can make a huge difference – quickly, as the Australian parenting and pregnancy resource Kidspot recently found out.
Kidspot: A Real-World Case Study in Mobile Messaging Engagement
The popular parenting and lifestyle site was on a quest to increase mums’ engagement with its BumpWatch app – which includes fertility- and pregnancy-tracking features.
OtherLevels split test the push notifications Kidspot was sending to its mobile audience and found that, across the board, pushes addressing the process of pregnancy and child-rearing in straightforward, almost clinical language drove higher engagement than those with an informal, folksy tone.
Within two weeks of initial testing, the site saw an 87.5 percent increase in the engagement with its mobile app, eventually achieving a lift of between 200 percent and 300 percent after deploying winning pushes to wider audience segments.
Numbers like these are a true testament to the power of mobile measurement.
Eventually, nearly everyone will have a mobile device. Kidspot’s experience makes it crystal-clear that, regardless of what kind of conversions marketers are trying to drive, or what kind of products or services they are marketing via mobile, analytics is the key to unlocking and maximizing long-term engagement and ROI – not just here, but everywhere.


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It looks like I owe Starbucks an apology.
Well, it turns out that that’s not quite true. I received a response from Starbucks:
"We wanted to take this opportunity to respond to what appears to be an inaccurate portrayal of what has occurred.
There has been no lawsuit filed against "Backwash.com" by Starbucks Coffee Company. We merely sent a letter asking that "Backwash.com" respect our rights by ceasing any "framing" of the Starbucks web site."
They were also lying when they claimed that Starbucks were in the process of sueing them.
I’m glad that this has been cleared up. I’m afraid Backwash.com has lost all credibility for me.


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WeChat public number
Links for On-line Shops
Ambassador of Laos in China visited Laos Venue in Jinxia Bonded Area, expecting for ‘better and better cooperation between China and Laos’
In the morning on March 31, Ms. Vandy Bouthasavong, new ambassador of Laos in China (second from left) came to Laos Venue in Jinxia Bonded Area for visit and survey.
“How is it going with sales of rice?” In the morning on March 31, Ms. Vandy Bouthasavong, new ambassador of Laos in China (second from left) came to Laos Museum in Jinxia Bonded Area for visit and survey. In front of the display stand of products, Ms. Vandy Bouthasavong took a bag of Laotian rice and carefully asked the staff in the shop for sales of rice.
2016 is the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relation between China and Laos. With the history stepping forward, comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries are greeting with a new prospect. Ms. Vandy Bouthasavong said she was happy to see Laotian products come into China. Xuanye (Laos) Co., Ltd. signed with Sunward Intelligent Equipment Incorporation and China Aviation Changsha Design And Research Co., Ltd. yesterday. She strongly believed Laos and China would do better and better in cooperation. When it comes to what cooperation else in agriculture Laos would have with China in the future, Ms. Vandy Bouthasavong said agricultural machines made in China would be helpful to agriculture production in Laos.
Laos has enriched natural resource, located in the golden ecological production area in Southeast Asia, where rice produced has good quality without pollution. Rice of Xuanye (Laos) is regarded as a major supported project in Action Plan of the Belt and Road Strategy of Hunan Province (2015-2017) made by Hunan Provincial People’s Government. Rice of Xuanye (Laos) was first launched in China on January 21 this year.
Xu Guowu, Chairman of Xuanye Co, told the reporter that starting from rice, it’s being considered to introduce other agricultural products and artifacts to China in the future so that more people can enjoy Laotian products of original ecology.
(source from New Hunan Client, by reporter Peng Peng)


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The DaVinci Group (TDG), a specialty supplier of custom integration gear including architectural speakers, amplifiers and more, has taken extraordinary steps to offer their dealers responsibly sourced personal protection equipment (PPE), such that their work crews can safely continue to access job sites and clients’ homes fully protected. An example of creative thinking, TDG used their sourcing prowess to find a reliable resource for a range of PPE gear that is desperately needed by integrators…many of whom report a lack of local supply.
Learn more about this new The DaVinci Group PPE service…
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, many cities and states began enforcing Stay-at-Home or Shelter-in-Place protocols that forced businesses to shut down and economic activity to largely come to a halt. Fortunately for the custom integration community, integrators were deemed to be essential services, which meant that they could continue to operate.
Since most integrators were already working on existing projects, there was certainly work to do. Not only that, but ongoing in-home tech support was continuing as well. However, activities on job sites or in clients’ homes faced a complicating factor…a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). Dealers needed PPE to both protect employees and clients.
Shortage of PPE Supplies Complicate Integrators’ Lives
Adding to the challenge is that many local and state municipalities around the country began mandating the use of PPE – which only served to exacerbate availability problems. Integrators were forced to scramble to find face masks, face shields, disinfectant, etc.
In a brainstorming session at TDG, company management started spitballing ideas for ways it could help dealers stay in the game in the face of this shortage. The group decided that they could apply the same sourcing prowess they use to design and build fine products, to find and acquire PPE to offer its dealers – and that’s just what they set out to do.
Trickier to Do Than You Might Think
Company President & CEO Jeff Francisco told me it took about a month to work through the process. It turned out to be a little trickier than they originally thought.
“It was like the Wild West out there. We wanted to avoid anything that was a risk or irresponsible. We waited for something we could put together that we felt good about and was of high quality and reliable – and not supplied at the expense of the medical community.”Jeff Francisco, President & CEO, The DaVinci Group
Dealers Just Add PPE SKUs to Orders Like Any Other Item
TDG found that source and now offers a full range of PPE including standard medical face masks, eye protection, hand sanitizer, and even the upgraded KN-95 face masks. All products are now available on the company’s dealer portal and TDG dealers can simply add these items to their regular orders…simplifying their lives and keeping their crews and clients protected.
“We’re not out to make this a profit center,” Francisco told me. Rather, they were focused on finding a reliable, legitimate supplier for their dealers. The partner they’ve chosen is a large U.S. medical industry supplier that, as Francisco told me, “This is what they do.”
Genuine Appreciation from Dealers
The reaction from their reps and dealers has been one of genuine appreciation. Within hours of an internal announcement of the availability of PPE from TDG, the company began receiving messages of thanks from dealers.
Having ready access to a reliable supply of PPE, ordered right alongside the other TDG gear they use regularly is a tremendous convenience for dealers…and relief.
Learn more about The DaVinci Group by visiting: www.tdgaudio.com.


text: Continuum Club is bringing a new-age wellness club to Greenwich Village. The luxury member's only spot spans 25,000 square feet inside the historic Archive Building. Head by world-renowned experts, including fitness guru Jeff Halevy, the center will offer leading services ranging from personal trainers and massages to IV therapy and hyperbaric chambers. They'll even have AI technology to create bespoke training programs for members. Continuum Club will open in Spring 2024.


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(Bloomberg) — Hublot’s Big Bang watch, worn by Usain Bolt and Jay-Z, will soon be offered at an even higher price.
The Swiss watchmaker is raising the prices of all of its watches, Hublot chief executive Ricardo Guadalupe said in an interview. Rising commodity costs for gold and diamonds will drive price increases of 3% to 4% in April or May, he said. Hublot products sell for an average of around 20,000 francs ($21,500).
“Almost all of our suppliers are raising prices,” Guadalupe said, noting that steel and titanium costs are also rising. Diamond suppliers have raised their prices by 10-15%, he said.
Hublot’s move shows how even the luxury industry is facing inflation amid rising commodity prices and supply chain issues caused by the pandemic. At the same time, deep-pocketed consumers who cut back on spending during the lockdowns are now snapping up high-end products, including Swiss watches, driving up demand.
“The main issue is production and the supply chain,” Guadalupe said, adding that almost all of Hublot’s high-end Swiss rivals are expected to raise prices. “We have to do it anyway, and since everyone is doing it, it’s okay.”
Speaking in a Bloomberg Television interview last month, Dior CEO Pietro Beccari said the couture brand will have to raise prices to match rising input costs, following in the footsteps of its rivals.
“It is true that desirable products have a certain price,” said Bernard Arnault, who heads LVMH, the owner of Hublot, during the presentation of the company’s annual results on Thursday.
The French billionaire said the group will be “reasonable” and “respect” its customers on price increases. But he acknowledged that some of the group’s products have a special allure, citing a Nautilus watch model launched by Tiffany with Patek Philippe with 170 pieces. Its retail price of $52,635 was greatly exceeded at a charity auction for more than $6.5 million last month.
Chanel recently made headlines for price hikes on some of its best-selling bags, increases that have far exceeded inflation rates over the past two years.
Hublot’s CEO said a rebound in demand made 2021 a year of record sales. It expects production to grow to single digits in 2022.
“We have more of a production problem today than a sales problem,” he said.
Stocks of Hublot watches have been reduced by 30% to 40% in 2021 in its boutiques and retailers, according to the CEO.
“The last three months have been incredible from a sales perspective,” he said.
Swiss watch exports have rebounded to record highs in value in 2021, amid strong sales in the United States and increased demand for watches priced above 5,000 francs. Hublot’s entry-level watches cost around 6,000 francs.
Hublot, which has a marketing relationship with tennis star Novak Djokovic, said there were no changes after he was forced out of Australia and unable to compete at the Australian Open because he was not vaccinated.
“At the moment we are supporting our ambassador,” he said.
The company has been in contact with the Serbian athlete after he left Australia and is waiting for him to make a statement regarding his playing future.
“If he can’t play anymore, that could be a problem, but let’s see,” Guadalupe said.
©2022 Bloomberg LP


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Market watchers have heaped much praise recently on Ed Lampert, who engineered the
merger last year and became Wall Street's highest-paid hedge fund manager. But what about the executives that were actually running the companies where he struck gold?
Lampert's presence as an activist stakeholder has been the common thread at retailers delivering dizzying investment returns in recent years, like Kmart,
and now Sears Holdings. Meanwhile, the management teams in place at these companies have often gone ignored amid all the hagiography.
One of those executives, Lampert's handpicked chief executive at AutoZone, Steve Odland, is embarking on his own cost-cutting mission at
. Investors are curious to see if Odland can work his magic there without taking cues from the Guru of Greenwich.
Office Depot plays second fiddle to
, the best-in-breed retail chain in the office-supply space. Its stock price was in a funk until Odland came aboard in March, when it subsequently jumped 19% in five days, crossing the $20 mark for the first time since 2002.
Before that, the three-year reign of its former CEO, Bruce Nelson, was viewed with disappointment. Nelson resigned in October, after Office Depot lowered its guidance for its third quarter and the full year, and reported a second-quarter earnings miss. It suffered 16 straight quarters of declines in sales at stores open at least a year from 2000 through 2003.
"Bringing in Steve Odland was a major coup for Office Depot that pretty much solidified their spot as the No. 2 player in office-supply retailing," says Morningstar analyst Anthony Chukumba.
Previously, there was speculation that the company's competitive position could be under fire from a third player,
. However, the reputation of OfficeMax's new chief executive, Sam Duncan, isn't that of Odland, and the company is already under investigation by the
Securities and Exchange Commission
for accounting problems that came to light last year.
Meanwhile, few observers see a chance for Office Depot to overtake Staples, but there is opportunity for Odland to cut costs.
"Clearly, there's room here for operating margin improvement at Office Depot, and given his track record, I'd say Odland is just the guy to do that," Chukumba says.
At AutoZone, Odland took the focus off sales growth and whittled down the company's cost structure, a strategy that was famously employed by Lampert at Kmart as well. On Odland's watch, AutoZone's operating margins doubled, while its stock price more than tripled.
That could be ported to Office Depot. In the first quarter, Staples logged a 7.8% operating margin, compared to 4.2% at Office Depot.
Office Depot spokesman Brian Levine said the company is reviewing opportunities for improvement in its cost structure, although no targets have emerged. Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Gary Balter said in a recent research note that the company has the potential to reach operating margins of 5.8% in 2007.
If the company reaches that goal with minimal sales growth, according to Balter, it might earn $2 a share in 2007. With a conservative valuation of 15 times earnings, that would push shares of Office Depot up to $30, giving the stock an upside potential of roughly 30% at current levels. These days, the stock trades at 16 times its earnings estimates through 2006.
"While we believe margin expansion will be the key to
Office Depot shares initially, the longer-term question is whether Odland can build a leading growth retailer, as his prior success at AutoZone involved higher margins but declining market share over the past couple years," Balter says. "That remains a key question, but not one that will prevent shares from rising with better margins, and cash flow that can fund share repurchases and drive EPS."
Balter expects operating margins to decline for the retailer this year, only to rebound to 4.5% in 2006 as Odland's strategy takes hold. The company could take a hit in the near term from restructuring charges in its European operations, where the retailing environment is ailing from a stalling economy and the rise of the dollar against the euro.
"In Europe particularly, we believe we have a solid opportunity to take costs out of our existing cost structure," Levine says.
Office Depot is the leading office-supply retailer in Europe, where it derives around a quarter of its total revenue.
Meanwhile, the company still feels it has potential to grow its top line in North America, where it operates 1,000 stores. In 2005, it plans to open 100 more stores, and in 2006, it plans to add 100 more. However, some of those openings are expected in the Northeast, where Staples has its most potent foothold, and analysts question whether Office Depot will be able to make much of a dent.
Staples, on the other hand, is poised to open 20 new stores in the Chicago area.
"That could hurt Office Depot," Chukumba says. "At the end of the day, the office-supply market is just not growing that quickly, so I think we're getting pretty darn close to saturation and that could hurt margins at all three of these guys."
Early next month, Office Depot is expected to report second-quarter earnings of 24 cents a share, according to consensus estimates reported by Thomson First Call. That would mark a slight improvement over a year earlier, when it reported earnings of 23 cents a share. For 2005, analysts expect the retailer to earn $1.25, which would mark a 14% increase over its 2004 results.
By comparison, Staples is expected to earn $1.10 a share, an increase of 18% over last year. Its superiority is mainly evidenced by revenue gains across all of its business units and comparable-store sales gains that reached 4% in North America in the first quarter. Office Depot's comps were up only 1%, and its total revenue gain missed estimates.
Still, Lampert's companies have routinely turned seemingly lackluster sales gains into extraordinary returns on investments. If the market is really nearing saturation, an investor's best bet for finding value could lie in Office Depot's bloated cost structure and Odland's ability to cleave it back.


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Slow down for coffee with a twist
PANAMA CITY — Twisted Brew co-owners Jason Krivda and Nykki Hines talked about opening a business together for years. But it was while they were on a recent cruise — “our last vacation together for a while,” they call it — that the idea coalesced.
“I said, ‘You love coffee, and I know the best coffee roaster,’” Hines said, referring to a Tampa-based roaster that she got to know while living in that area. “Let’s bring it to Panama City.”
The shop, located at Coronado Village on 23rd Street between Granny Cantrell’s restaurant and The Wine Dog, offers coffee in all its forms, from espresso and pour-overs to iced and frozen, as well as tea and craft beer. The menu includes gourmet sodas and smoothies. Breads, cakes and pastries are prepared fresh daily in-house, including beer and bacon muffins, Guinness Stout muffins, Espresso Cheesecake, homemade pretzels and more.
They also sell coffee by the bag, coffee-based soaps, chocolate espresso beans, and other merchandise. Patrons over the age of 21 can also get alcohol-mixed coffees.
“We’re not trying to be a restaurant, just a place to bring a friend or a group and have a nice coffee, or a beer and a pastry,” Krivda said.
“It’s like that TV show, ‘Friends,’” Hines said. “Just come in, hang out, have a quality cup of coffee.”
Their idea for Twisted Brew was to create a warm atmosphere for people to enjoy quality fair-trade coffee, a place to socialize or surf the web, and “to escape the norm.” According to their website info, they envisioned a hybrid coffee shop, one with the retro feel of late 1980s/early ’90s coffee house, with live performances, special events, great customer service and quality products.
Twisted Brew will host special events on a regular basis, beginning with Cars & Coffee this Sunday, during which car enthusiasts can gather in the parking lot, enjoy a morning roast, and then go for a cruise together. The shop will host a painting party Oct. 28, and a craft beer tasting on Oct. 29. (Check Facebook.com/TwistedBrew for details.)
Krivda retired from the U.S. Air Force after 21 years, including assignments from cook to combat advisor. Hines applied her master’s degree in business and management.
“She’s got great marketing skills, and I bring the chef side to it,” Krivda said. “We mesh well.”
The shop’s color palette is earthy, the theme is rustic, and the concept is comfort. Krivda and Hines built the counter tops from old wooden pallets and collected furniture that they would want in their home. They hand-picked glasses, cups and dishes.
“This is our life,” Hines said. “We love color. This is who we are. This is us.”
Because of their insistence on a certain standard of quality, they’ve found they have to offer a short course in what Hines calls “coffee-cation.”
“We have to retrain the public,” Krivda said. “We are not ‘fast-food coffee.’ We give you more bang for your buck. We buy the best so we can provide the best. And what does ‘fast-food coffee’ mean? If you have a drive-through, then you’re fast-food.”
What: Coffee, tea, craft beer, pastries and more
Where: 103 W. 23rd St., Panama City
Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday
Details: Facebook.com/TwistedBrew, (850) 640-3087, or Twisted-Brew.com


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Activision have revealed that they will be having a public beta for Bungie’s Destiny in July. The news came through Activision’s latest financial call, where it was also revealed that the Beta would be coming to PS3 and PS4 first, with Xbox One and Xbox 360 versions to […]
If you feel that the Assassin’s Creed franchise has become too stale, even after the excellent Black Flag, then this tidbit may just be enough to pique your interest once again. According to Twitter user Shinobi602, Ubisoft have two demos planned for Assassin’s Creed: Unity this year, one […]
A curious image has surfaced on the magical Internetz suggesting that a sequel to Dishonored will be announced at E3, and that furthermore the game will set in Tyvia. However, the image has arrived under what would appear to be rather odd circumstances, further confusing the question of […]
Halo fans will finally be getting some news at E3 this year, according to Phil Spencer of Microsoft, but exactly what that news will be remains a mystery. When questioned via Twitter as to when eager gamers could expect some news about the beloved franchise Phil Spencer replied […]
Another pretty surprising, and very exciting announcement, to come out of E3 is DICE are officially working on Mirror’s Edge 2, which will be out, “when it’s ready.” The trailer simply shows us Faith leaping around like a hyperactive toddler and beating up some police, but then that’s […]
Square Enix have just sent out a press release detailing their full line-up of games for E3, featuring the likes of the new Thief game and the companies newest IP, Murdered: Soul Suspect. On a personal note I’m most looking forward to seeing more on Thief as it’s […]
The latest Need For Speed title seems to be bringing some big changes with an emphasis on some big action sequences. Oh, and those dastardly quick-time-events.
In the least surprising announcement of E3, Microsoft have announced the next game in the huge franchise known as Halo. The new game is to be titled…..wait for it…..Halo 4! Anyway, details are still thin on the ground regarding the game, but from the trailer we do know […]
Microsoft have announced that on November 15th 2011 they’ll be brining back one of the biggest names in gaming history, Halo: Combat Evolved. This new release for the game is set to be a remastered edition with new additions thrown into the mix. Here’s the bulletpoints: Stunningly remastered […]
The newest title from the creators of Doom and Quake is by far one of the most graphically impressive games around, it’s certainly rocking that now popular wasteland vibe and the shooting is looking nice and meaty.


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Battlegrounds Mobile India is up for pre-registrations via the Google Play store. The game is the Indian version of PUBG Mobile and will follow the same free-to-play battle royale formula. Battlegrounds Mobile India has been developed by…
Google Play Store
Playrix, the developer of Homescapes and Gardenscapes, two hugely popular games for Android and iOS devices, has been pulled up by the UK's advertising regulator for showing misleading advertisements. The developer has been accused of…
As of now, Play Store’s lookup capabilities are quite basic. Google Play is now testing filters in search that can refine results by only surfacing the top apps.
Kingdom: Two Crowns one of the most anticipated sequel of Kingdom: New Lands, is now available on Android.
Fortnite which is one of the most popular royale games that debuted on PC is finally available for Android users to download via Google Play Store.
Google is adding a new section to the Google Play Store specially dedicated to Kids. This new section will offer a selection of so-called “Teacher Approved” apps.
Google is testing the Play Store with some new tweaks to give it a clearer look. In this testing, the tech giant has removed the Installed and Library tabs from the 'My apps & games' section to give it a cleaner look.
Google has finally removed the Infowars Android app from Play Store, the company confirmed to Wired on Friday.
Google is adding a new toggle in Google Play Store that will be available for most of the Android devices to use dark theme on their play Store.
Google has removed almost 600 “disruptive” Android apps from the Play Store and banned their developers in its latest effort to counter in mobile ad fraud.


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According to analytics, Samsung is estimated to lost a chance to sell 2 million more Galaxy S III smartphones at the launching because Samsung didn’t expect that the demand is far beyond the estimation made by Samsung.
Another reason is the delay of Pebble Blue Samsung Galaxy S III devices. Analytics says that Samsung can sell more than 10 million units of its flagship smartphone in the first two months.
However, Samsung had chosen the best time to launch GS III. The phone was launched some months before the launching of Apple iPhone 5. At the launching of GS III, there’s only one big rival, HTC One X. Another phone manufactures couldn’t make a smartphone that can compete with Galaxy S III. While Nokia is trying to increase the sales of Lumia smartphones.
Carolina Milanes, Gartner analytics, said that maybe Samsung has wrong in predicted the demand of its flagship device. But, this is not because Samsung doesn’t trust its own device. The company predicted tighter competition in high-end smartphone market.
Samsung is the current biggest phone manufacturer in the world, ahead of Nokia in the second place. In smartphone industry, Samsung is ahead of Apple in terms of shipment.


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Upscale Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurant restaurant saw opportunity with Lakewood Ranch's expansion south.
The arrival of Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurant, which opened June 28, is more proof of the drawing power of Lakewood Ranch.
Those driving along Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, which was extended south to Fruitville Road in March, 2020, will find the new "upscale casual" restaurant on the boulevard just before it intersects with Fruitville Road.
While the address officially will be Sarasota, the Lakewood Ranch sprawl southward with the Waterside development is a big reason Cooper's Hawk chose the location.
"I was on the committee when we researched this site and we knew about Lakewood Ranch," said Tom Koenigsberg, the chief operating officer for Cooper's Hawk. "We see this as an up-and-coming area. There is a lot of interest in wine, There are great incomes. The retail is developing here.
"And there are great people."
When Cooper's Hawk began looking at the area, not much existed on Fruitville Road just east of Interstate 75. With the knowledge Lakewood Ranch was building closer to Fruitville Road and with the Sarasota County urban sprawl headed east, it was perfect for the restaurant.
"This is what we call a greenfield project," Koenigsberg said. "Everything builds around you. "
Cooper's Hawk General Manager Pedro Torres said the area is perfect.
"Restaurants often go to high traffic areas, such as UTC," he said. "We look for areas where we can create community. If you come to us, we are going to wow you."
Torres said the area around the restaurant is still beginning to be developed and "that is our sweet spot."
From State Road 64 to Frruitville Road, Lakewood Ranch has just a handful of restaurants that would be considered fine dining. Cooper's Hawk will add to lineup.
"There are no table clothes, but this is fine dining," Koenigsberg said. "We did want to make it unintimidating. We wanted to make it look approachable."
It is the 13th site in Florida for Cooper's Hawk, but the closest one to the Sarasota location is Tampa. The Cooper's Hawk winery is located in Woodridge, Ill., although the wine actually comes from California.
The restaurant has 135 employees. Koenigsberg said hiring was tough until about two weeks ago when applications picked up and they filled all their positions.
The restaurant includes an outdoor dining area, a tasting room and a wine store. All the food on the menu is "made from scratch."
The wines at Cooper's Hawk are all produced by the company. The restaurant, which has 46 locations in the U.S., has 450,000 members in its wine club.
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Israeli startup TriEye, a developer of short-wave-infrared (SWIR) sensing chips that enable drivers to see in adverse weather and at night, has raised a $74 million funding round with investors such as Intel, Porsche, and Samsung, according to a company announcement this week.
The investment was led by London-based firm M&G Investments and United States company Varana Capital, with the participation of Samsung Ventures, Samsung’s investment arm, Israel’s Discount Capital, and follow-on investors Intel Capital, Porsche Ventures, billionaire entrepreneur Marius Nacht (co-founder of cybersecurity giant Check Point), and Israel’s Grove Ventures.
The funding round brings TriEye’s total capital raised to $96 million. The firm raised seed investment of $3 million led by Grove Ventures in November 2017. In 2019, TriEye raised a Series A funding round of $19 million led by Intel Capital, with Nacht, Grove Ventures, and Porsche.
TriEye was founded in 2017 by Avi Bakal, the CEO, Omer Kapach, a VP of R&D, and Prof. Uriel Levy, the chief technology officer, after nearly a decade of advanced nanophotonics research by Levy at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
The company developed a high-definition SWIR camera that is smaller in size, has a higher resolution, and costs a fraction of the price of current technologies, TriEye says.
Its product, SEDAR (Spectrum-Enhanced Detection And Ranging), is an imaging and ranging solution for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) which the company says is “the first complete solution capable of producing both HD image-data and a detailed depth-map in all visibility conditions.”
SEDAR allows ADAS and AV systems to achieve “unprecedented vision capabilities” under common adverse weather and low-light conditions such as fog, dust or night-time,” the company has said.
According to the announcement, TriEye will use the new investment to commercialize the product.
“We believe SEDAR will change the automotive perception market as we know it today. And this is just the beginning,” said Bakal. “Thanks to the support of our new and existing investors, TriEye is accelerating its growth as we look to become a critical player in smart, safe, reliable, and cost-effective automated vision systems.”
Patrick Huke, head of Porsche Ventures in Europe and Israel said the organization was “more convinced than ever of TriEye’s unique sensor technology, the exceptional team, and the huge market potential. Our early investment and the partnership between TriEye and Porsche are… example[s] of success for the exciting innovation ecosystem that Israel has to offer, which we will make use of increasingly in the future.”
TriEye already works with manufacturers based in Europe, Asia, and the US, including Porsche, Continental, Japanese auto parts maker DENSO, and US hardware company Trimble.
In addition to the automotive industry, TriEye says it is also working with leading players in other industries such as biometrics, industrial imaging, agriculture, and heavy machinery.
Shoshanna Solomon contributed to this report.


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Tag Archives: Patrick Soderlund
Mon, Dec 02, 2013 | 10:06 GMT
Battlefield 4 has a lot of dynamic weather effect, but what about real-time weather based on the skies above your location? It’s entirely possible, DICE CEO Patrick Soderlund has suggested.
Thu, Nov 28, 2013 | 16:17 GMT
PlayStation 4 is out tomorrow across the UK and Europe, hot on the heels of Xbox One. It’s a crazy time, but EA’s executive vice-president of EA Studios Patrick Soderlund reckons that we’ll be doing the next-gen dance all over again by 2018-19. He feels it’ll be a shorter cycle.
Thu, Nov 28, 2013 | 03:10 GMT
Fri, Sep 20, 2013 | 06:40 BST
Patrick Soderlund, EVP of EA’s games label, has said the firm isn’t going to give up until Battlefield bests Call of Duty as the number one shooter.
Fri, Sep 06, 2013 | 11:21 BST
EA Games head Patrick Soderlund has stated that the company has between six and eight new IP in the works, following claims that it’s not making enough original titles.
Wed, Sep 04, 2013 | 11:06 BST
Frostbite Go will debut in DICE’s Commander Mode in Battlefield 4 later this year, but EA Games Label EVP Patrick Soderlund has teased bigger plans to disrupt the mobile sector with the tech down the line.
Thu, Aug 29, 2013 | 20:55 BST
Second screen gaming is becoming more important to EA as the way media is consumed changes, and if games label head Patrick Soderlund has any say, he’s going to make sure his development teams implement it as “a meaningful extension” to games.
Wed, Aug 21, 2013 | 23:06 BST
Mirror’s Edge is a “true next-gen idea” which would not have been possible on current platforms, according to EA Games vice president Patrick Söderlund, who said bringing it to next-gen “felt right.”
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 | 12:06 BST
Mirror’s Edge got a reboot announcement at E3 last month after years of fans asking what DICE was planning to do with the IP. EA Game’s executive vice president Patrick Söderlund has shed new light on the matter in an interview.
Fri, Jun 28, 2013 | 13:22 BST
Battlefield 4 developer DICE is looking to address the disparity between the series’ campaign and multiplayer modes, by bringing key elements of online play into the single-player component. The studio has shed light on what this means in a new interview.
Mon, Jun 24, 2013 | 14:24 BST
Star Wars: Battlefront is being revived by DICE and the pairing has made a lot of people happy, especially EA’s Patrick Söderlund, who has shed light on how the Battlefield studio came to work on one of the most regularly requested returns to gaming in years.
Sat, Jun 15, 2013 | 14:35 BST
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 | 22:51 BST
The DICE-developed Star Wars game isn’t a sequel to previous games in the series – it’s something new.
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 | 22:46 BST
Medal of Honor developer Danger Close has been disbanded, EA has confirmed, with DICE LA taking its place and serving a support role for the main Swedish studio.
Wed, Jun 12, 2013 | 23:46 BST
Respawn Entertainment wants “to make everybody happy”, and hasn’t ruled out the possibility of bringing Titanfall to PlayStation platforms. EA, on the other hand, is diplomatically cagey on the subject.
Wed, Jun 12, 2013 | 02:06 BST
Battlefield 3 was good, but it might have been better if DICE hadn’t been so conscious of Call of Duty, studio boss Patrick Soderlund has admitted
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 | 15:29 GMT
EA Games vice-president Patrick Soderlund has said DICE is working on more than just Battlefield games at the Stockholm studio.
Wed, Oct 03, 2012 | 15:21 BST
EA Europe’s label boss Patrick Soderlund has said the firm is “innovative” despite criticisms to the contrary, and cited Battlefield 3 and Need for Speed: Most Wanted as two such examples of the firm’s commitment to innovation.
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 | 22:16 BST
Patrick Soderlund, executive vice president of EA Games, believes boxed games will commercially go the way of the dinosaur within 10 years as digital becomes the norm.
Tue, Aug 21, 2012 | 12:46 BST


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Salesforce's partner boss has claimed her firm's strategy is superior to that of rivals such as Microsoft and Oracle because its own "pure cloud" approach bypasses "tension" felt by others.
Just under half of Salesforce's business is touched by its partner base, which consists of ISVs and consulting firms, and it operates a "true indirect" model only in emerging markets.
Salesforce's senior vice president of partner programmes and enablement Neeracha Taychakhoonavudh told CRN at today's Salesforce World Tour in London that she believes the company's partner strategy avoids a lot of its rivals' pitfalls.
When asked what her advice would be to a new partner wondering what cloud strategy to take, she said:
"I think if it is a new partner, they are already thinking about cloud.
"The question is, do they want to go to a company with a very hybrid model – where there frankly is a bit of tension oftentimes between the classic on-prem business and the cloud, and shareholder pressures and all – or do they want to come to Salesforce where we have been growing at a phenomenal rate – still, after many years – and where it is pure cloud.
"We are the market share leader on so many fronts on the cloud if you look at the Gartner things and the Magic Quadrants; we are in the top end for a huge variety of solutions and that basically is our value proposition. What's been really nice for me and what never fails to amaze me is just how much customers like using our products. That's a big part of... working with partners. It is a so much better place to be. When we talk to partners, we talk about a world where clients are talking about digital transformation."
She added that she believes that the way Salesforce organises its partners is superior.
"I run the partner programme so I look at the comparable Oracle partner programme, and the Microsoft and SAP ones, and it is funny because their tiering is based on how 'cloud' you are, as opposed to where we start where everyone is cloud," she said.
"Thhere is a revenue component, obviously, but then there is a huge measure of expertise. If you're focused on customer success, you want skilled resources. So we measure our partners on their certified individuals."
Salesforce releases its financial results for Q1. For the three months to 30 April, the firm's revenue rose 27 per cent annually to $1.92bn (£1.31bn), while net income skyrocketed to $38.8m, compared with just $4m a year ago.
On the earnings call, Salesforce's chief executive Marc Benioff thanked the company's partners which he said are "second to none", while its chief operating officer Keith Block added that driving its partner ecosystem has been a recent priority.
We weed out the key information from the networking giant's Q1 numbers
CRN's Women in Channel role model Logicalis COO Natalie Matthews explains the impact of mentorship, 'imposter syndrome' and why the channel has to do a better job at selling the industry to young people
Mohit Aron claims Cohesity is having the same impact on the back-up market as the smartphone on its own space, while taking shots at the likes of Veeam
Outsourcer says the size of the operation should be considered before criticising the error that affected 43,000 women


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The luxury giant will support a series of initiatives focused on developing more climate-friendly luxury design, including a scholarship programme, a new course on regenerative design and funding for research and development. The five-year programme builds on LVMH’s existing partnership and scholarship fund with the prestigious fashion school, which started in 2011 to promote sustainable development and innovation in the luxury industry.
The programme will have a particular focus on biodiversity and regenerative materials, through open innovation challenges and prizes awarded to top student projects in the field.
The news comes at a time of growing industry-wide interest in the issues, as fashion players look to redress and improve their contributions to the climate crisis at the raw materials stage. Touted as a way to offset carbon emissions and replenish the natural resources extracted during the farming process, regenerative agriculture helps restore soil health and biodiversity, allowing more carbon to be sequestered into the ground and vegetation. LVMH recently announced new commitments to biodiversity and regenerative agriculture programmes, with the aim of restoring 5 million hectares of natural habitat by 2030.


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The Malta government has finished signing an agreement with Microsoft Corporation that officially sealed the partnership for a Microsoft Innovation Centre (MIC) in Malta in 2012, which will have its primary focus on the cloud computing infrastructure.
For this project alone Malta government and Microsoft will be investing a huge €3 million.
The partnership will take advantage of cloud computing features such as virtual data storage and the pay-per-service products.
Other initiatives that will be developed by the partnership is to develop more software that can offer the products to students and teachers at a much lower cost.
The agreement was signed by Minister Austin Gatt for the Infrastructure, Transport and Communications department of Malta and Jean- Philippe Courtois, president of Microsoft International.
The MIC in Malta is expected to be launched before the end of 2012. This hopes to boost start-up businesses and software houses; it also sees this as an opportunity for IT students and professionals to perfect their craft and to contribute to cloud computing in the near future.
“The setting up of an innovation centre will be a critical enabler for the development of ICT competences in this technology and will nurture the development and proliferation of related solutions and services,” Gatt said.
The innovation centre’s primary goal among others is to assist local businesses in Malta. The centre will have better access to economic stats since they are expecting to get the higher consumer use in the area. This will give them an advantage to see what products and features are on demand. MIC also hopes to develop new talents who will acquire better cloud computing competencies and therefore create more jobs in the future.
As part of the working plans a strategic location will be named, where the state of the art technologies will be used including research labs, meeting rooms and dedicated training areas.
To initially support ICT students a 50% discount is given for the Windows 7 Professional Upgrade and Office Proficiency 2010 plus other software offered at huge discounted prices. Live@Edu and Dream Spark is now also being offered for post graduate education students free of access.
Curtois said “I travel to more than 30 countries per year and see many cultures, governments and businesses. We’re seeing some exciting developments with governments embracing public and private cloud solutions around the world. Though we have several examples of large countries embracing cloud computing, there are not as many of these examples in the smaller developed countries and emerging markets. Malta is in a position to be a showcase and role model in this area.”


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Governor Steve Beshear's Communications Office
Gov. Beshear Announces Mingua Beef Jerky to Add 10 New Jobs in Bourbon County
Company to expand product line, invest more than $2 million in the Commonwealth
FRANKFORT, Ky.– Governor Steve Beshear today announced Mingua Beef Jerky Inc., a family-owned manufacturer of assorted flavors of beef jerky, will expand into a new 30,000-square-foot building in the Paris/Bourbon County Industrial Park. The move will accommodate an increase in demand for its natural-style products, creating 10 new jobs and a more than $2 million investment.
“The expansion of Mingua Beef Jerky plant is a great success story for the company, the community and the Commonwealth,” Gov. Beshear said. “It demonstrates the perseverance of small businesses and their ability to have a strong impact on their communities. These 10 new jobs and the more than $2.2 million investment is a win-win for everyone.”
Mingua Beef Jerky began in the bluegrass fields of Paris, Ky., in June 1994, when the founder, Ronnie Mingua, began selling his beef jerky to local farmers. His recipe and business is now becoming a family tradition, passed down from generation to generation. Today, Mingua Beef Jerky can be found in retail outlets across the country. The Paris operation currently employs 20 people.
“We are excited about our new facility and being able to provide our community with new jobs,” said Holly Mackley, secretary and treasurer of Mingua Beef Jerky. “This new facility will give us a chance to expand our business into territories we have yet to explore.”
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved Mingua Brothers Beef Jerky for tax incentives up to $150,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows the company to keep a portion of its investment over the term of the agreement through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.
“This is not just an investment in Mingua Beef Jerky but also an investment in economic development for our community,” said Sen. R.J. Palmer II, of Winchester. “These additional jobs will provide new opportunities for our workforce and a boost to our economy. I appreciate Gov. Beshear taking the lead to support this industry, their employees and their families.”
“I’m always happy to see our community grow economically, because our workforce is truly second to none,” said Rep. Sannie Overly, of Paris. “This will be a big help for the 10 families who benefit.”
“Mingua Beef Jerky has become a household name and we’re blessed to have them in Paris, Kentucky,” said Paris Mayor Mike Thornton. “It’s gratifying to watch a homegrown industry prosper. Our local economic development team has been working closely with Mingua to make this happen and we’d like to thank Gov. Beshear and the entire Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development for their assistance during this process.”
“Creating jobs and investment during economic hard times is always a good indicator of better days ahead,” said Bourbon County Judge-Executive Donnie Foley. “Mingua Beef Jerky is a valued corporate citizen and their confidence to expand in Bourbon County is deeply appreciated. I would like to thank Gov. Beshear and Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development for the financial incentives to assist in this expansion.”
For more information on Mingua Beef Jerky, visit www.minguabeefjerky.com.
Information on Kentucky’s economic development efforts and programs is available at www.ThinkKentucky.com. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ThinkKentucky or follow on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/ThinkKentucky.
A detailed community profile for Paris (Bourbon County) can be viewed at http://thinkkentucky.com/EDIS/cmnty/index.aspx?cw=086.


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Agfa, Eastman Park sign microfilm products alliance
BRUSSELS Jan 10 (Reuters) - Belgian imaging technology company Agfa-Gevaert said on Thursday it had signed an alliance with Eastman Park Micrographics (EPM) in micofilm products.
Under the deal, Agfa will manufacture microfilm and related photochemicals for EPM, and EPM will distribute these products worldwide under its own brand name Imagelink.
"As a result of the new arrangement, EPM will be able to assure the long-term continuity of supply to the market and Agfa will increase its microfilm production significantly," the companies said in a joint statement.
No financial details were disclosed.
EPM was formerly a unit of Eastman Kodak Company.
- IPhone emerges from 'bygone era', reviewers hail bigger handset
- Fed may hint on rate-hike plan as it prepares for policy turn
- Scots' support for independence lags on eve of referendum |
- Boeing, SpaceX win contracts to build 'space taxis' for NASA
- Islamic State campaign tests Obama's commitment to Mideast allies


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In a significant stride towards bolstering digital payments and financial inclusion in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), a subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has inked a landmark agreement with Al Etihad Payments (AEP), an indirect subsidiary of the Central Bank of UAE. The strategic partnership paves the way for the implementation of the Domestic Card Scheme (DCS) in the UAE, powered by India’s highly RuPay card network.
The signing ceremony, held in AbuDhabi , was witnessed by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry of India, and Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,managing director of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, marking a momentous occasion in the technological collaboration between the two nations.
Under the agreement, NIPL and AEP will collaborate closely to construct, deploy, and operationalize the UAE’s national domestic card scheme, which aims to accelerate the growth of e-commerce and digital transactions, advance financial inclusion, and align with the UAE’s ambitious digitization agenda. This partnership also seeks to diversify payment options, reduce transaction costs, and enhance the UAE’s global competitiveness in the payments industry.
RuPay, a secure and widely accepted card payment network indigenous to India, will serve as the foundation of the UAE’s DCS. RuPay cards encompass debit, credit, and prepaid options, with over 750 million cards currently in circulation. Remarkably, more than 60% of all cards issued in India are RuPay cards, demonstrating their widespread adoption across public and private sector banks.
India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) framework, comprising digital identity, digital payments, and digital data exchange layers, has played a pivotal role in driving fintech innovation within the country. With nearly every adult in India having access to banking services, remote authentication through Aadhar, and affordable mobile internet connectivity, India boasts the third-largest fintech ecosystem globally. Over the past five years, India has witnessed a staggering 367% surge in digital transaction participation, with an active customer base exceeding 340 million.
This strategic partnership between NIPL and AEP not only marks a significant milestone in the UAE’s payment systems but also signifies a groundbreaking era of technological cooperation between India and the UAE. By leveraging the RuPay card stack and the expertise of NIPL, the UAE is poised to revolutionize its payments landscape and pave the way for a digital future.The collaboration aligns with NIPL’s mission to share its knowledge and expertise to assist other nations in establishing efficient and secure payment systems, fostering economic growth, and enhancing financial accessibility.


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New Zealand Doctors Want to Ban Alcohol in Supermarkets
The New Zealand Medical Association has called for a ban on the sale of alcohol in supermarkets, the Guardian said.
According to the medics, the bottles sold alongside fruit, vegetables and other food products create a feeling that this "dangerous drug" is normal. People throw a Sauvignon blanch in the stroller in the bread, milk and toilet paper and do not even think about it for a second, they say.
In New Zealand, wine and beer are sold freely in most supermarkets since 1990, while hard alcohol can only be bought in bars and licensed stores. According to the association, over half a million New Zealands use alcohol in a risky fashion, and emergency wards are filled with people on Friday and Saturday nights.
The position of the medical association is shared by many representatives of the health authorities, scientists and non-governmental organizations. Dr. Kate Badkak, president of the association, even claims that alcohol is worse than methamphetamines, marijuana and heroin, because it is cheap and addictive. "Alcohol contributes to domestic violence, many forms of cancer and catastrophes," she said. According to her, the sale of alcohol in supermarkets is also a great temptation for alcoholics who are struggling with their dependence.
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Disney Debuts New Cloth Face Masks For Sale to Help Charity
Now the hard part…Baby Yoda or Mickey Mouse? Disney will donate up to $1 Million to a charity MedShare with the sale of these adorable masks!
Disney is now selling face masks with Baby Yoda and Marvel characters https://t.co/lF3nrscML2
— CNET (@CNET) April 30, 2020


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This month we welcome the Galaxy Note 7 onto the list, as the faulty battery issue is fixed and the device is now deemed safe to use.
Good thing, too, because it would be a shame to leave out such an otherwise excellent smartphone.
Here's our ranking of the best phones you can buy.
Turing Robot Industries (TRI) has huge plans regarding its new phone. The third in the series phone, has such high-tech plans lined up for it that these plans itself make you cringe on the grounds of practicality and reality. The plans of the company for this phone include an 18 GB RAM, three Snapdragon 830’s, 6.4-inch 4K display, 1.2 TB storage 60MP iMAX 6K Quad Rear Camera Triplet Lens at f/1.2, and a 20MP front camera.
Android already commands over 80 percent of the mobile OS market share globally, and just under 60 percent in the US. But you wouldn’t know it here in Silicon Valley — almost everyone I know has an iPhone. As the consumer technology landscape evolves over the next five years however, there are a number of reasons to believe that Android, and the Google stack more broadly, could take an even greater share and become the platform of choice, even here.
This review is aimed to introduce the best models of Qi wireless chargers for smartphones. Some of them are suitable for different smartphones, others fit not fully, while some of them may not suit at all.
Microsoft is going to surprise us with its new invention. However it won’t be a new tablet or a smartphone (though they are expected to be released soon). Microsoft is developing its own SIM card that allows Windows 10 based devices to access different cellular data networks without the need for a contract with them.
The developers of modular Fairphone 2 announced the coming start of the first batch of smartphones' delivery. Let us recall, this summer the prototypes were presented, and in October the accepting of pre-orders for this unusual model started. The first batch is quite small - only 200 units. The second one will contain 800 ones. Those who ordered a smartphone in December, will get it in January. On the official website of Fairphone 2 (fairphone.com/phone/), it can be ordered for the price of €529.
Market research firm Strategy Analytics has conducted a survey dedicated to discover the most preferred bias by current users. Being released in 2007, the first iPhone model has been considered as a smartphone model with perfect display measurements – 3.5-inch. However today the smartphone displays’ standards have been considerably changed. Even Apple departed from its 3.5-inch standard now.
There are tons of apps in Google Play and the App Store for you to choose from, but the question is…Which one of these apps is actually the best? There are tons of tops out there, presenting various apps, from all categories, but we like to think that we managed to pick the best out of the best. Let’s begin, shall we?


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VW Golf GTI pictures: 1975-2013
To celebrate the launch of the new 217bhp VW Golf GTI Mk7, we take a look at the previous performance Golfs
Volkswagen has just launched the all-new Golf GTI Mk7 at the Geneva motor show, where we found out that the GTI will be offered with a new Performance pack - adding 10bhp, a limited-slip-differential and a few more upgrades. The full 2013 VW Golf GTI UK prices and specs have also been announced, with prices starting at £25,845.
Launched at the Frankfurt motor show in 1975, perhaps even Volkswagen couldn't have predicted how much of an impression the GTI made on the automotive industry. Here’s a gallery of some of the best high performance Golfs through the years – right up to the new Mk7.


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Sam Ayoub knows a thing or two about making money in an unlikely place.
He has been convincing companies for the last 24 years to drop cash on a marketing medium from a previous era: fax advertising.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Ayoub and his InFax business operate seven offices across Canada that fire off more than 60 million faxes a year for clients advertising everything from events and financing services to travel packages and education seminars.
Ayoub knows his business and others like it are “the underdog.”
Their missives sometimes spit out of machines that are covered with a thick layer of dust and reaching a wide audience can now be done with a few clicks and amplified even further for a couple extra dollars via email and social media.
Still Ayoub believes his business is surviving due to his ability to deliver messages right to the heart of offices and avoiding the main trouble of online advertising: the human tendency to scroll past it.
“The perception is getting higher that fax broadcasting is irrelevant,” Ayoub admitted. “Clients have tried many marketing tools in order to get some returns. They always come back to fax broadcast because the returns are still there.”
InFax’s website shows it charges 30 cents a page when a customer is sending 200 to 400 faxes, but the rate drops as low as two cents a page for clients sending 100,000 faxes or more.
By contrast, you can run campaigns on Facebook and Twitter for as little as a few dollars, though reaching a larger or more targeted audience can be more expensive.
The strength of the content and the frequency with which someone encounters it determines how much traction an advertisement can get, though it can be hard to know what kind of returns it generates because fax technology isn’t rooted in clicks and analytics.
However, Ayoub suspects clients are still finding returns because he has customers who pour considerable money into a campaign every week or month.
Not everyone agrees.
Ryan Moore, the owner of a Toronto-based jewellery business that specializes in custom pieces, says he spent about $400 for a company to send about 2,000 faxes every week for three months, but found the results disappointing.
“There is no return on it,” he said. “I prefer Facebook and Instagram. We get more business from that than fax marketing.”
David Soberman, a University of Toronto marketing professor, said direct mail and traditional media advertising have been hit hard by the digital era, but fax marketers have suffered mainly because reliance on fax machines has dwindled at offices outside the health care and legal professions, which still use them for sensitive documents.
“Marketing relies on having significant penetration within a segment,” he said. “It’s an older demographic that has fax machines. I have never heard of young adults or millennials having a fax machine.”
Diego Diaz, president of Toronto-based Fax Marketing Canada, said clients are still finding returns on fax marketing, but that doesn’t mean he thinks the industry is as rosy as it was in its prime.
Diaz has had to restructure his company, close two of its offices and invest in other ventures because of a 70 per cent drop in business.
He’s watched travel companies turn away from fax marketing to use Expedia or other travel websites for advertising instead. Private health-care businesses used to bring in anywhere from $25,000 to $45,000 a month in sales because they used fax marketing to advertise to U.S. customers without insurance, but many of them went out of business after the introduction of Obamacare.
Now, he said he’s left with “mom-and-pop” businesses and medical companies advertising seminars, supplies and research directly to doctors.
“There is still room to make money, but I think one day, maybe in the next 10 years, it will be gone,” he said.
“It was a good ride while it lasted.”
Follow @Tara–Deschamps on Twitter.


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To many people from different walks of life, being “rich” can mean many things. To some, the mention of the word rich easily conjures up images of owning a mansion, staying at luxury hotels, and dining at five-star restaurants while for others, it’s simply having consistent meals every day. For some, it can mean a brand-new apartment downtown while for others, it can be having something as simple as financial security, where they won’t have to worry about bills every month.
According to Business Insider, however, a survey reveals that most Americans think that being rich is having an average of $2.4 million, which, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is 30 times more than the actual median worth of most U.S. households.
The government, on the other hand, will define wealthy individuals as those that earn at least $500,000 annually. The truth, however, is far more attainable than you think, and it highly depends on your place of residence.
As a matter of fact, depending on the city you live in, earning somewhere in the $60,000 to $100,000 bracket at an annual level automatically puts you in the 20 percent, giving you a spot in the upper class. This is because even though the dollar bill looks exactly the same all throughout the different states, its value is different depending on where it’s spent.
Real estate and different costs of living in the US
Typically, the value of a dollar goes up in a place where goods and other services are much less expensive. For this reason, areas in the south have a low cost of living. In contrast, expensive states that are home to the country’s largest urban clusters are where the dollar is worth least. So for example, a high salary can get you your own house in the South, while in downtown New York, it can only get you a one-bedroom apartment.
The same Business Insider report released a list of America’s cities, ranked from lowest to highest based on how much income you need to get in the upper class. From the list, which included more than 50 cities, Detroit, Michigan, ranked the lowest, needing only at least an annual $50,000. Birmingham, Jackson, and Newark follow closely behind, with all three cities just around the $60,000-$70,000 range.
Meanwhile, Anchorage in Alaska earned the top spot with its $160,000 and up range. Placing second, third, fourth, and fifth spot, respectively, are Seattle, Washington, Virginia Beach, and Urban Honolulu CDP in Hawaii, which are all in the $120,000-150,000 range.
Considering that the median annual household income in the U.S. is $61,372, then it’s safe to say that even those cities that placed much lower in the list will still have enough for discretionary spending or saving. Those that placed higher, however, require much more, with the top cities needing at least twice the median annual household income.
And seeing as home prices and interest rates are back on the rise, along with job opportunities opening throughout the entire country, this may be the perfect time to think of relocating somewhere that can serve your financial standing.
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Butterball, Kroger Ground Turkey Recall Prompted By Foreign Matter Contamination WorriesSome ground turkey products under the Butterball and Kroger brands are being recalled due to possible contamination.
Person Charged In Killing Of Argyle's 'Town Turkey'The Argyle Police Department said Thursday its "town turkey" was killed this week and that a person has been charged for the offense.
Texas Man, Ex-Nebraska Outfitter Sentenced In Hunting StingFederal prosecutors say 32-year-old Jordan Cook, of Boerne was sentenced Tuesday in Omaha's federal court after he pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts.
Salvation Army Opened Arms, Filled Plates For North Texans In Need This ThanksgivingThe Salvation Army celebrated Thanksgiving today by passing out meals to people who are homeless and to families who just couldn’t afford turkey and all the trimmings this year.
Butterball, Kroger Recalls Ground Turkey Because Of Possible Salmonella ContaminationButterball is recalling more than 78,000 pounds of its raw ground turkey products that may be contaminated with salmonella.
Health Warnings Concern Families Heading Into ThanksgivingAs millions of Americans prepare for Thanksgiving on Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning people to keep some things off the menu.
Texas-Sized Giving: Community Food Bank Provides Thanksgiving Meals For Families In NeedThis is the busiest time of year for many North Texas food banks - helping families in need, get what they need for Thanksgiving dinner.
Turkey Safety Concerns Has North Texas Tamale-Maker Extra BusyIn Arlington, the staff at Marquez Bakery say they’ve seen a significant increase in orders for their tamales by clients who are deciding to skip the turkey this year.
5 Tips To Make Sure Your Thanksgiving Turkey Is Safe From SalmonellaWith the big holiday coming up, experts are urging consumers to be especially careful when handling raw turkey in the kitchen.
Don't Let Salmonella Ruin Your Thanksgiving Turkey DinnerIt's a good reminder to be especially careful when handling raw turkey in the kitchen this holiday season.
Pringles Selling Thanksgiving-Flavored Chips For Limited TimeThose who crave the tastes of Thanksgiving will be able to get the meal in a can this year -- sort of. Pringles is selling chips that taste like turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie.
Feline Takes "Catwalk" Term Literally, Crashes Fashion ShowA playful cat decided it was its moment to shine when it hopped up on the runway of a live fashion show in Turkey.
2 Women Fall Through 'Cloud Of Dust' After Sidewalk CollapseTwo women were slightly injured in southeast Turkish province of Diyarbakir on Wednesday after a sidewalk they were standing on collapsed.
Trump Celebrates Return Of American Pastor Who Was Held In Turkey For TerrorismAmerican pastor Andrew Brunson met with President Trump at the White House on Saturday, the day after he was released from Turkish custody.
US Pastor Andrew Brunson Freed After Conviction Of Terrorism In TurkeyA Turkish court freed American pastor Andrew Brunson on Friday after he spent nearly two years in jail and more time under house arrest on charges related to terrorism and espionage.


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Sterling hits five-week high versus dollar
LONDON Dec 12 (Reuters) - Sterling hit a five-week high against the dollar on Wednesday after the number of UK unemployment claims fell unexpectedly in November.
The pound hit a high of $1.6134, its highest level since Nov. 1, before paring gains to last trade close to flat on the day at $1.6120. (Reporting by Philip Baillie, Editing by Nia Williams)
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India's battle with inflation and weak economic growth became more challenging on Thursday with a sharp spike in the cost of food driving the highest retail price rises on record and a worse-than-anticipated contraction in industrial production. Full Article
Amount of dirty money leaving developing world jumped 14 pct in 2011 - report. Full Article


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New information is available about the ultra-thin LCD panels that LG has recently unveiled in Japan. These 42 and 47 inch screens measure just 0.23-inches thick. They use edge-lit LED backlights and LG’s own light guide sheet technology to reduce thickness, and also reduce the weight by about half of a regular LCD TV.
The International Energy Agency based in Paris has released a report outlining the future energy consumption of consumer electronic devices, and it doesn’t look pretty. By 2030, consumer electronics, which includes flat panel TVs, will consume 1,700 terawatt hours – which is what the US and Japan currently consumer in total home electricity.
New HDTVs are going to hit the market soon from Sharp: the Aquos D Series. These TVs include 32-inch, 40-inch, 46-inch and 52-inch Full HD LCD screens and will be available to the Japanese market on June 10th.
iSuppli is reporting that Vizio has overtaken Samsung as the North American leader for LCD TVs. Vizio has increased its market share from Q4 2008, going from 13.8% to 21.6% in Q1 2009. Samsung went from 16.5% to 19.9% in this same period.
A new report from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) shows that consumers are increasingly demanding web-enabled HDTVs. The survey showed that about 14.5 million people want to buy a web-enabled TV – half of all those looking to buy a TV in the next year.


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Stats: 2,991,564 members, 7,285,927 topics. Date: Wednesday, 01 February 2023 at 02:13 PM
The World Should Prepare For More Pandemics Like Coronavirus / How 5 Of History's Worst Pandemics Finally Ended / Coronavirus: Nigerians Trapped In Wuhan, China Cry Out "Bring Us Home" (Photos) (2) (3) (4)
|‘business As Usual’ Will Only Bring Us More Pandemics, This Oxford Economist Say by Buddiesy: 2:44am On Jun 11, 2021|
The seven world leaders gathering on Friday in Cornwall, England, for the G7 summit face some of the toughest problems in years: staving off climate disaster, figuring out how to vaccinate the world against COVID-19, halting Russian cyberattacks, instituting a minimum global corporate tax; resolving trade disputes—to name just a few items on the table.
That’s a daunting list, even for seven very rich countries—the U.S., the U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Italy. In the end, their talks could fall far short of what’s needed.
So says Ian Goldin, professor of globalization and development at Oxford University and the founding director of the Oxford Martin School, the university’s interdisciplinary research center. Goldin, an economist, was vice president of the World Bank until 2006, was once an economic adviser to Nelson Mandela, and has served as a consultant for dozens of Fortune 500 companies, the United Nations, and the International Monetary Fund.
groundbreaking change—and it had better come fast to stave off spiraling global crises. The book offers a blueprint for choices governments and businesses need to make. “This needs to be acted on before the impact of the pandemic fades and we are lulled into complacency,” he writes.
In an interview, shortened and edited for clarity, Goldin laid out for Fortune what he thinks needs doing:
Keeping on the current track, there will be more pandemics, more climate change, more geopolitical tensions, more inequality—and a massive reversal of globalization.
“Business as usual” brought us this pandemic. We’ve come close to a global pandemic several times in recent years: Ebola, SARS, H1N1, and others. Unless we make a big commitment to stop them there will be many more, possibly much worse than COVID-19. They come from more and more people globally, living more densely, close to domestic and wild animals, and with global connectivity through airports and other travel spreading any virus more quickly. They [pandemics] can be stopped if countries work together.
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A donkey meat product sold in China has been recalled by supermarket chain Wal-Mart after investigations found it contained the DNA of other animals.
Donkey meat is popular in China, but the product was found to contain traces of fox as well.
The Shandong Food and Drug Administration examined the Five Spice donkey meat product before coming to the conclusion that it included DNA from other animals as well.
Wal-Mart announced that it will reimburse all customers who have bought the product and the chief executive of Wal-Mart's Chinese operations Greg Foran stated that the company has a "deep lesson" to learn on the back of the investigation.
He explained that the firm will have to pay closer attention to supplier management, increasing its investment in this part of the business, if it is to be able to avoid these issues occurring again.
Shaun Rein, Shanghai-based managing director of China Market Research (CMR) Group, stated that wealthy shoppers may start to lose trust in Wal-Mart as a result of this event.
CMR estimates that Wal-Mart's market share in the Asian nation fell from 7.5 per cent to 5.2 per cent over the last three years, with Mr Rein adding: "This is another hit on Wal-Mart's brand."
The donkey meat story comes only a year after a similar scandal erupted in the UK, when supermarkets such as Tesco were found to be selling products such as ready meal lasagnes that contained DNA from horses. Wal-Mart is the parent company of UK chain Asda.
Despite Wal-Mart having to issue an apology over the presence of fox meat in the Fixe Spice product, the share price of the company rose today (January 3rd).
Stocks in the firm were up by 0.28 per cent to reach 78.91, which is not far away from the firm's 52-week high share price of 81.37. Stocks in Wal-Mart have been steady over the course of the last year, only falling as low as 67.72 in the last 12 months.
Find up to date information on the FTSE 100 and spread betting strategies at City Index


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Brent crude 0.22% higher to US$49.37 per barrel at 3.40pm.
Ringgit down 0.27% to 4.0560 versus the US dollar at 4pm.
Top foreign stories
EU to hand Apple Irish tax bill of over 1bil euros: The European Commission will rule against Ireland’s tax dealings with Apple on Tuesday, two source familiar with the decision told Reuters, one of whom said Dublin would be told to recoup over 1 billion euros in back taxes. The EC accused Ireland in 2014 of dodging international tax rules by letting Apple shelter profits worth tens of billions of dollars from tax collectors in return for maintaining jobs. Apple and Ireland rejected the accusation; both have said they will appeal any adverse ruling. — Reuters
Japan top govt spokesman Suga signals readiness to stem yen gains: Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday the government is watching market moves carefully and is ready to respond “appropriately”, when asked whether Tokyo could intervene in the currency market to stem excessive yen rises. — Reuters
Investors criticise SGX as it moves towards dual-class share system: Singapore Exchange is set to allow listings of companies with different classes of shares as it looks to attract initial public offerings, sparking criticism from investors. — Reuters
Minister: France to call for halt to talks on EU-US trade deal: France will ask the European Commission to halt negotiations on a massive trade deal between the European Union and the United States, the country’s Junior Minister for Trade Matthias Fekl said on Tuesday. — AFP
Top local stories
TM posts RM139.4m earnings in second quarter: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM)’s earnings were down 34.2% to RM139.45mil in the second quarter due to lower operating profit, higher finance cost and foreign exchange losses. TM’s revenue rose 7.2% to RM3.04bil mainly due to higher revenue from Internet and multimedia, data, other telecommunications and non-telecommunications-related services. It declared a single-tier interim dividend of 9.3 sen per share. — StarBiz
Anwar Syahrin to resume duties as UEM Sunrise CEO from Sept 1: Sunrise Sunrise Bhd said on Tuesday Anwar Syahrin Abdul Ajib will resume his duties as managing director and chief executive officer from Sept 1 after a leave of absence since April 16, 2016.
* The property firm’s earnings for the second quarter were down 34.5% to RM54.66mil on a 44.4% higher revenue of RM537.81mil Its earnings per share were 0.93 sen compared with 1.85 sen a year ago. — StarBiz
PPB Group sees Wilmar losses as short term: Diversified PPB Group Bhd believes the losses suffered by its 18.55%-owned agro-based Wilmar International Ltd as merely a short term setback in the operations of the Singapore-listed firm. — StarBiz
AirAsia to sell leasing arm as early as December to cut debt: AirAsia Bhd expects to sell its aircraft-leasing unit as early as December as group aims to net as much as US$1 billion from the transaction and pare debt. Proceeds from the sale may be used to reduce debt or pay a dividend, group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said in a Bloomberg Television interview. — Bloomberg
Pestech posts quarterly earnings of RM22.4m: Pestech International Bhd posted earnings of RM22.46mil in the quarter ended June 30, 2015, on the back of RM190.66mil in revenue and plans to increase its share of power infrastructure project. — StarBiz
July producer price index down 2.1%: Malaysia’s producer price index (PPI) for July fell 2.1% to 99, the Statistics Department said on Tuesday. It said the highest drop was recorded by the mining index (minus 17.5%) followed by the manufacturing sector (minus 2%). — Bernama
Retail sales growth seen at 3.5% this year: Retail Group Malaysia sees retail sales growth at 3.5% for 2016 or RM99.5b in retail sales value. — StarBiz
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