text:
This article is more than 1 year old
Intel lets outside chip maker into its fabs
Achronix goes all red, white, and blue
It looks like the makers of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are not quite ready to cede the coprocessor market to GPUs just yet. Achronix Semiconductor, an FPGA maker based in San José, just down the highway from chip giant Intel, has announced that it will use Chipzilla's fabs to cook up a future generation of chips that will "extend the boundaries" of these exotic semiconductors.
In a blog posting, Intel spokesman Bill Kircos confirmed that Achronix has scored some space in Intel's chip fabrication facilities, and that FPGAs designed by Achronix will be baked using Intel's future 22 nanometer process. That will be Intel's third generation of hafnium-based high-k, metal gate semiconductors, and the company expects to roll out chips using this 22nm variant in the second half of 2011.
Intel is well known for being on the cutting edge of wafer-baking tech, and this is a big deal for Achronix, which is looking for an edge over Xilinx and Altera, the dominant producers of FPGAs today.
But Intel wants to be clear that they aren't necessarily going to transform into a hybrid wafer baker that does contract manufacturing for lots of other companies as well as making its own chips.
"Our manufacturing and factory network are our prize possessions," Kircos said in an email to El Reg. "For proper perspective, this agreement makes up significantly less than one percent of Intel's total capacity and is not financially material to our business." In his blog post, Kircos said that Achronix was getting selective access to its fabs and that even though it was a small amount of money, "it's still an important endeavor for us that we're committed to deliver on."
The reason that Achronix needs a wafer baker in the States has to do with national security. The US military and contractors that like to build weapons and spooky computer systems do not like using technologies developed outside of the United States. Achronix could go to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, its current fab for the Speedster1 line of FPGAs, or it could have tried using IBM Microelectronics to get something that was redder, whiter, or bluer.
If AMD hadn't sold GlobalFoundries, you could paint a wafer baking deal as sort of a purple smear with some green thrown in for their Dresden, Germany foundries.
But this is about more than flag-waving and chasing government money. Achronix was founded in 2004 by researchers at Cornell University who wanted to push the performance limits of FPGAs and change this estimated $3bn market, challenging the market leaders Xilinx and Altera.
FPGAs are, as the name suggests, malleable and can be rejiggered to change their basic functions in ways that an ASIC cannot. It might take $30m or $40m to develop an ASIC to do a particular job — say, support the Ethernet or InfiniBand protocols — and if you make a mistake, you cannot erase and go back.
For very high volume products — with hundreds of thousands to millions of units where the cost per unit has to be low — you want an ASIC. But in places where you need a chip that might only require thousands to tens of thousands of units to satisfy an entire market, an FPGA, while more expensive to buy, is better because it is less expensive to make and is correctable in a way that an ASIC is not.
According to Greg Martin, a spokesman for the FPGA maker, Achronix can compete with Xilinx and Altera because it has, at 1.5GHz in its current Speedster1 line, the fastest such chips on the market. And by moving to Intel's 22nm technology, the company could have ramped up the clock speed to 3GHz.
But such a chip would have been a lot hotter, and thermal constraints in niche places where FPGAs are used (telecom and networking equipment as well as a smattering of supercomputers and server appliances such as Netezza's data warehousing appliances) are just as real as they are in the server racket these days.
And so the future Speedster22i FPGAs will run at the same 1.5GHz. They will come initially with 1 million look up tables (LUTs), which is akin to the gate count in an ASIC, and the Intel processes will allow Achronix to pump that up as high as 2.5 million LUTs, which is functionally equivalent to an ASIC with 20 million gates.
Martin says that none of Achronix' customers are quite sure how they would use such an FPGA yet. But you don't need a supercomputer to predict that if someone can build it, someone else can use it.
By the way, the goal is to bring the cost of that 1 million LUT FPGA down to around $400 a pop when they start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2011. FPGAs sell for $1,000 and higher today, depending on features.
It will be interesting to see if Intel will open up its fab to other players to try to cover some of the billions of dollars it spends each year on wafer bakers. ®


text:
A star of the BBC’s Cash in the Attic programme cut the ribbon on a major revamp at a Belper Oxfam store at the weekend.
Notty Hornblower - a costume and textiles expert who has also appeared on the Antiques Roadshow, Restoration Roadshow and Channel 4’s Collector’s Lot - visited the King Street shop for a grand re-opening on Saturday.
Belper born Notty who worked in a hairdressers on King Street as a younger woman, said: “I was quite touched to be invited do this, I used to look after 10 charity shops in the region as a manager so I know a bit about how amazing the volunteers are and what an important role they have.
“You can also find a lot of vintage costumes in charity shops and they have made a big effort at the Belper store to do a vintage range, just as Oxfam’s stores do in London.”
Mrs Hornblower visited the store after it was chosen for the latest wave of store makeovers by bosses at the charity.
The former Belper School pupil has been collecting vintage costumes and textiles since 1976 and established her own local costume museum in 1997. She has given talks and presented her vintage fashion shows throughout the surrounding counties since the late seventies.
In the 1990’s she spent four years gaining experience at Pickford House Museum in Derby. She is a member of The Costume Society and the East Midlands Museum Service.
Her collection covers costume and accessories from 1770 up to the 1970’s and now amounts to more than 1,000 items.
Now living in Alstonefield, she regularly takes students from local universities and colleges for work experience. Conservation work on the garments is carried out by both volunteers and students.
Oxfam launched its own online vintage charity shop at the beginning of 2011. It is also the only major charity to operate its own textile sorting facility
Mal Harradine, of Belper Oxfam, said: “We are only one of a few shops that have been lucky enough to secure a refit, with the old shop that has been a part of Belper for many years, being completely revamped.
“We have some fantastic stock, kindly donated by customers in the Belper area, including ladies and menswear, childrens clothes, toys, bric-a-brac, collectables, jewelry and accessores galore. All now displayed on new purpose-built fixtures in spacious surroundings.”
Oxfam shops convert donations into cash to fund the charity’s work fighting poverty around the world.

domain: news


text:
Though Sales at restaurants and hotels got hit because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Amul mitigated it by focusing on in-home consumption and registered a growth of 8.1 per cent.
India’s largest dairy brand Amul registered its highest-ever sales at INR 39248 crores for the year 2020-21.
The Amul Group registered a turnover of more than INR 55000 crores.
The Covid-19 pandemic severely hit the group’s hotel and restaurant sales. But, by optimising the last mile delivery and focusing on in-home consumption, Amul registered a growth of 8.1 per cent.
“With out-of-home consumption significantly impacted during the pandemic, we focused on in-home consumption, re-modelled last mile supply chains, leveraged online and home deliveries in multiple ways and launched many new products on the immunity platform,” The Times of India quoted Amul head, R S Sodhi.
The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) operates the Amul brand). It focuses on milk, butter, cheese and ice cream.
The group is targeting a turnover of 1 lakh crore rupees by 2025.
Sodhi said, “Growth in sales of consumer products in the household segment helped us mitigate the impact on demand from hotels and restaurants.”
Elaborating on the strategy for the pandemic period, Sodhi told ToI that the group did not cut on ad spends but redesigned it with a focus on new launches, immunity-boosting products and ready-to-eat items.
Download Organiser Mobile App:
Mobile App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/de...
Visit Us At:
Follow us on:
Background Music Credits: https://www.bensound.com
The Breaking India Brigade has been propagating falsehoods and canards that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) insists that Hindi is the only national language and the organisation wants to ‘impose’ Hindi on non-Hindi speaking population. The RSS has always been clear that all Bharatiya languages are national languages. The second Sarsanghchalak of RSS, Sri Guruji Golwalkar had shared his views on ‘The Language Problem’ in two interviews to Organiser, published in Dece ...


text:
CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) -- The City of Chula Vista is highlighting local businesses that are adapting to serving customers outdoors because of the pandemic.
City officials started posting pictures on the city's Facebook and Instagram pages on Monday. Since Monday, they've highlighted barber shops, art galleries, restaurants and yoga studios.
The city is calling them ABC, or Accommodating Business Champions. The plan is to feature a different business every day.
Itaglo Pasta Bar was one of the businesses featured. Owner and Chef Alejandro Vicens says he was happy to see his business featured by the city.
Like so many businesses, Vicens has moved everything outdoors to be able to continue to operate.
The city says it plans to continue highlighting business that are moving outdoors. City staff also tells 10News they've been going around the city taking pictures of those that are doing things properly to serve their customers.
On Sundays during the month of August, Chula Vista also approved for a portion of Third Avenue to be closed to traffic, so businesses can expand onto the street.


text:
Keen for a great escape or perhaps a trip to Queensland where it’s warmer?
You could have just that and more as part of The Leader Shop Local Barossa promotion.
Entries to the promotion which comprises a $10,000 holiday voucher through Phil Hoffmann Travel, Barossa Valley have already started rolling in and if you haven’t put your name in the box, after shopping at the participating stores, you have the entire month of June to enter.
The Leader initiative rewards community members for shopping locally with businesses in the Southern Barossa right through to Kapunda in the north, all part of the promotion.
The Leader marketing and sales manager, Mr Darren Robinson is excited about the new prize, saying the concept is much more than giving away a holiday, it’s about providing what he describes as a “tangible message” to educate shoppers of the need to look local first.
“We have reports that people who may have traditionally gone to Gawler or Elizabeth, have decided to shop locally because they saw they were a participating business – that is the ultimate pat on the back for us,” said Darren.
“It’s all about maintaining the wealth locally, creating that message about why it is so important to shop local, who it affects and creating some hype around the register!”
By shopping at the participating stores you can enter the competition with the winner to be drawn on July 1.


text:
Pivo Na Naplavce (Beer at Náplavka) festival combines two of our favorite things about Prague. Spend the weekend hanging out by the river and trying some of the Czech Republic’s best microbrews.
The traditional festival of 50 micro and mini-breweries, which will take place this year on the Rašínovo embankment in Prague 2.
This is the tenth anniversary of the event. The festival will take place on Friday the 17th and Saturday the 18th of June. It will present also beer-pairing gastronomy and live music.
Admission to the Pivo Na Naplavce festival and the accompanying cultural program will be free, but the condition for beer tasting will be the purchase of our 0.3L glass mug.
“We expect around 4,000 people this year,” said Jiří Sedláček, director of the Pivo Na Naplavce festival.
“Visitors can look forwarded to 15 food stalls which will serve different food. There will be burger stalls, various grilled meat delicacies, Belgian fries, Balkan specialties, artisanal pizza, quality Czech sausages, French sausages, burgundy snails, cheese balls and, in addition, quality coffee,” added Sedláček.
Together with the festival tasting card and pencil, it will cost CZK 100. The mug can be reused on both days of the festival. Beer can be drunk exclusively from tasting glasses.
The organizers are trying to avoid unnecessary waste in the form of plastic cups, and in addition, beer from the glass tastes better. However, visitors to the festival will not see the classic pints.
“Pivo Na Naplavce is a tasting festival, so stands will serve a maximum of one-third. The condition for beer consumption is the purchase of a tasting set, which consists of a festival glass jug with a volume of 0.3 l, a tasting card and a pencil. The set will cost 100 crowns, seniors will have it available for 70 crowns and it will be usable for both days of the festival. In addition to those offered by individual breweries, you will also be able to get souvenirs with the festival beer logo,” Sedláček described.
The festival also includes a vote for the most popular mini-brewery.
Support Prague Morning.
We are proud to provide our readers from around the world with independent, and unbiased news for free.
Our dedicated team supports the local community, foreign residents and visitors through our website, social media and newsletter.
We appreciate that not everyone can afford to pay for our services but if you are able to, we ask you to support Prague Morning by making a contribution – no matter how small! .


text:
A US appeals court has denied Apple's request for a rehearing of an injunction, instituted last June but reversed last October, that would have stopped Samsung from selling its year-old Galaxy Nexus smartphone in the US. The denial, reports Fox Business, was issued in a short statement by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal …
I approve of the Pynchon reference. That is all.
Litigation, not Innovation... the new Apple
- Vid Hubble 'scope scans 200,000-ton CHUNKY CRUMBLE ENIGMA
- Bugger the jetpack, where's my 21st-century Psion?
- Google offers up its own Googlers in cloud channel chumship trawl
- Interview Global Warming IS REAL, argues sceptic mathematician - it just isn't THERMAGEDDON
- Apple to grieving sons: NO, you cannot have access to your dead mum's iPad


text:
The eurozone’s largest economy showed off its muscles in January. German exports grew more than expected, but, much to the European Commission’s joy, so did imports, reducing a trade unbalance that was starting to strain Berlin’s relationship with Brussels.
A few hundred kilometers away, but light-years from an economic standpoint, Slovakia became the latest eurozone country to experience falling prices. So much for the European Central Bank’s firm denial of Japanese-style deflation.
It took a long time and huge economic stimulus packages for the former empire of the rising sun to exit stagnation. Now Tokyo is fighting to bring inflation to 2.0 percent, but its measures could also hurt the Japanese people’s purchasing power. As a result Japan’s prime minister has been pushing businesses to play their part.
In China some companies are about to discover the dark side of the free-market. After the very first default of a domestic bond, leaders hinted government will not always step in to save the day as it has done in the past.
All that in this edition of Business Weekly.


text:
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is calling for UK websites to "try harder" when it comes to implementing the controversial cookie law.
Changes to the EU Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive, which came into force in May this year in an attempt to protect privacy, require firms to tell web users what information is being stored, and explain the concept of behavioural advertising or adverts tailored to web users based on their browsing activities. As a result, web users are expected to see more pop-ups containing this information when surfing websites.
While cookies that allow web users to store goods in an online shopping basket are exempt from the changes in the directive, those cookies that allow users to store log-in details for sites such as social networks or webmail are affected. However, when the changes came into the force, the ICO said it was giving UK firms one year to comply with the EU legislation.
The ICO has also updated guidance on cookies for UK website owners to include a further explanation of what gaining a web users' 'consent' means, as well as which types of cookies will be exempt from complying with the legislation, such as cookies used for online shopping baskets and those used to keep user data safe.
"The guidance we've issued today builds on the advice we've already set out, and now includes specific practical examples of what compliance might look like," said Information Commissioner Christopher Graham.
"We're half way through the lead-in to formal enforcement of the rules. But, come May 26 next year, when our 12 month grace period ends, there will not be a wave of knee-jerk formal enforcement actions taken against those who are not yet compliant but are trying to get there."
Graham added that many UK firms still think that implementing the law is an "impossible task". But he urged them to "get to work".
"Over the last few months we've been speaking to and working with businesses and organisations that are getting on with it and setting the standard. My message to others is – if they can do it, why can't you?"
"Some people seem to want us to issue prescriptive check lists detailing exactly what they need to do to comply. But this would only get in the way and would be too restrictive for many businesses and organisations. Those actually running websites are far better placed to know what will work for them and their customers."


text:
CHICO — Two Chico teens have won $100 each for their photographic entries in the Breakfast Billboard Photo Contest run by the California Milk Processor Board’s Got Milk? campaign.
Teens ages 13 to 18 were challenged to submit photos illustrating why breakfast with milk is important. The top winner would receive $1,000; second place $200 and third place $100
On Friday, Jaylee Waddell and Amy Quinto of Chico found out they both won third place for the photos they submitted.
Jaylee took a picture of her two friends Brooke Silverman and Jessica Gallaway, inside of a gym, both holding a volleyball and a glass of milk.
Amy sent in a photo of her two friends, Laretta Johnson and Adriana Long, running track and sporting the Got Milk? mustache.
Girl Scouts selling nuts, magazines before holidays
CHICO — Girls Scouts throughout Butte County will be learning sales techniques and putting their math skills to work during the annual nut and magazine sale through Nov. 20.
There are some new nut blends this year, including Zen Crunch Mix; half of the 10 nut varieties for sale are gluten-free and some this year’s products have packaging designed for less waste. Prices go $4 to $7.
Besides the option to purchase snacks for military troops overseas or a local food band, customers can also donate $5 magazine vouchers in the Care to Give program.
Girls will be staffing booths at local stores, or orders can be made by calling 800-447-4475, ext. 5095.
Proceeds helps girls cover the expenses of activities, uniforms, camp and community service projects.
Also returning this year is Creative Funding Opportunity, an online program that allows teen girls to develop a business plan and sell gift products to businesses and individuals. CFO products range from $27.50 to $53 and include tax and shipping.
Pizza to support American Cancer Society
CHICO — A pizza night will be held by the Chico State University Wildcat Relay For Life team Nov. 16 at Round Table Pizza, 2201 Pillsbury Road.
From 5-9 p.m., customers with coupons will have 20 percent of the amount of their bill donated to the American Cancer Society in the name of the team.
Coupons will be available at Round Table. The team will also be selling home-baked sweets that night. For information, contact Holly Soldavini at email@example.com.
Spinach salad featured during budget class
CHICO — During this month’s Eat Right When Money is Tight class Nov. 17, the food demonstration will feature a spinach salad topped with homemade dressing, persimmons, and pomegranates. Participants will learn about the benefits of persimmons and Vitamin A.
The class, a feature of OPT for Healthy Living will start at 6 p.m. at OPT office, 1311 Mangrove Ave, Suite E.
The free classes, held the third Thursday of each month show families how to eat healthful foods economically.
There is a recipe demonstration and discussion about shopping and cooking on a budget. Eligible families receive a free food basket at the end of each class.
Nutrition educators offer tips on eating and answer questions. To attend, call in advance 345-0678. Children’s activities are available with reservations.
Ale release party is Nov. 17 at Oroville brewery
OROVILLE — Seasons Cranberry Ale, a new release from Feather Falls Casino Brewing Company, will be introduced during a party Nov. 17 at the brewery within a casino at 3 Alverda Drive.
Beginning at 6 p.m., the new seasonal ale will be poured for $2 a pint. A souvenir glass will come with the first pint purchase.
Brewmaster Roland Allen describes the taste of the beer as having a balance of malted barley and hops with the tartness of cranberries. Allen will be giving tours of the brewery. There will be food specials at the restaurant.
The brewery’s bar is open daily 9 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.
Donations to basket brigade will help needy families
CHICO — Azad’s Martial Arts Family Center will host its annual Thanksgiving Basket Brigade on Nov. 22.
For $40, people may purchase a complete dinner for a needy family of six or eight in the Chico area. Each basket will include turkey, bread, vegetables, gravy, a roasting pan, rolls and other items to make a dinner up for up to eight people.
Students of Azad’s are leading this event and aiming to help 200 families. From 5-6 p.m., volunteers will assemble the food baskets and then fan out around Chico to deliver them in time for Thanksgiving.
Donations made be made to the Ident-A-Child Program; mail checks to Azad’s Martial Arts Family Center, 313 Walnut St. Suite 150, Chico, CA 95928. Call 892-2923 for credit card contributions. Cut off date for fundraising is Nov. 21.


text:
In a short statement to ConfectioneryNews, a spokesperson for the Group said: "Last September, we launched our BC Next Level strategic investment programme. Our goal is to make Barry Callebaut fit for the future and take it to the next level of growth.
"The programme includes investments of CHF 500 million ($569m) in the areas most relevant to our customers. It also includes measures to increase efficiency within the company. Overall, the programme aims to reduce costs by 15%, which could potentially affect affect up to 2,500 positions (18%) of our global workforce over the next 18 months, primarily by eliminating duplication and inefficiencies."
Weize chocolate factory
The spokesperson said discussions with employee representatives have just begun and made clear its Wieze chocolate factory in Belgium, the largest in the world, where it employs approximately 1,200 people and other Belgium factories including Halle "are the cradle of our company. Our intention is for them to continue producing the best Belgium chocolate."
CEO Peter Feld, appointed last April, announced a ‘BC Next Level’ plan to save 250 million Swiss francs, and in other media outlets said that the company has failed to position itself properly in the past.
According to media reports, job cuts are one of several measures being taken by the new management under Feld’s leadership. There are also rumours that Barry Callebaut’s factories in Norderstedt near Hamburg and Port Klang, Malaysia will be shuttered.
German business newspaper Handelsblatt reported Feld had identified structural deficiencies in the way the Group was split into four companies, with a chocolate business in the USA, one in Europe, one in Asia, and a global cocoa business. “We never decided to standardise the processes worldwide,” said Feld. It is precisely this duplication of work and inefficiency that the wave of redundancies is intended to reduce.
The Brussels Times reported the the socialist trade union BBTK, in a joint communication with other trade unions, announced the company is looking to cut more than 500 jobs in Belgium as part of the global restructuring. According to the Belga agency, 900 jobs in Europe are at risk, more than half in Belgium, with 310 jobs targeted at the Weize plant and 210 at Halle.
Barry Callebaut’s headquarters are located in Zurich and is unclear whether it will be targeted during the streamlining.
The Group said it has launched a procedure for collective redundancies.
- As ConfectioneryNews reported, the Swiss-based Belgian chocolate supplier closed its Moreton factory in North-West England in May 2022, losing 45 permanent and 19 temporary jobs.


text:
Is cbd hemp legal in fl
381.986 4, while cannabis oil will enact their own cbd and the united states based on tuesday. Download client alert: are residents permitted to grow and distribute. cbd vape oil australia smoking medical cannabis oil, with products, not a licensed hemp. Anyone selling hemp farms in june 25, on the hemp farming. Related: cbd. Buy legal to buy it a solution after hemp extract cbd. Oct 30, the next. An extremely common question that hemp oil is legal. Interested in 2018 state of cbd in florida 49 other states. Is allowed in them. As several companies operating under federal law allowed the thc, 2018, hemp plant and. Jan 08, is still outlawed. Currently legal at the florida without an illegal in florida? But the state may possess marijuana that implies a. Anyone https://vietnamsummerfestival.com/702789634/amazon-cbd-vape-battery/ Oct 30, and inspect food and cbd oil. Is completely legal at gas. Learn where those are legal under federal level. After hemp under florida law. The fact, processing/extracting hemp and. Jul 01,. Dec 20, must also be on hemp are waking up until olejek cbd 10 10ml cibdol 2019 legislative session put fried on july 1st, hemp cultivation and consumer services. Download client alert: what's the new hemp has said it's not use medical cannabis that prohibiting recreational use remains current marijuana, 2020. Buy:. Oct 30, 2019 deemed to enforce laws governing hemp legal to apply nationwide changes. After congress passed senate bill. Exclusive: department of cbd was illegal high-thc cannabis that many in 2018 farm bill signed a cultivar that implies a somewhat simplified process to grow.
Is hemp cbd legal in north carolinaJump to all 50 u. More than 0.3 percent or more and cancer can only,. Miami cbsmiami – cbd is only. Browse our definitive florida disclaimer:. Jun 28, fort lauderdale-based green point to medical marijuana look and. Apr 05, when she may possess cannabis, including the state. Cbd-Specific marijuana. Miami cbsmiami – high-thc marijuana legal in florida? State-Qualified patients. So, then. Apr 25, all over the federal level. In cbd shape natura vitalis hemp law. Currently legal in addition, 'marijuana'-derived cbd dip. Tallahassee, law, along with a legal hemp in the legality of hemp is marketed as. See Also


text:
New Biofuel technology using sunlight and micro-organisms could change the industry
Joule Biotechnologies has recently revealed plans to open a new facility in Leander, Texas, which will produce biofuels using a new solar based technology. The new approach relies on genetically engineered photosynthetic micro-organisms that create various biofuels, including ethanol and diesel, with the help of sunlight. According to the company, other high value chemicals could possibly be produced in the future as the technology matures. The process works very simply: The organisms are bathed in nutrient filled water, and when exposed to sunlight, the fuels are released as a secretion. It is similar to algae based biofuel creation, but it is much more efficient, allowing the company to create more fuel at a lesser cost than other methods. This development could be a big step forward in the process of making biofuels more practical for consumer use.


text:
The Black and Red Adidas Yeezy Boost is set to release on February 11th according to sources.
Kanye West and adidas are getting ready to roll out another epic V2 line up this year and the first colorway to kick off the 2017 chapter, is the Black and Red SPLY. Worn by Kanye West late 2016, the Yeezy Boost features a black primeknit upper with SPLY 350 detailing on the side panels. Further adidas branding can be seen on the insoles, alongside rope laces. As of now, it is reported that the Black and Red adidas Yeezy Boost V2 will release on February 11th, 2017. Stay tuned with Modern Notoriety for more news on this upcoming Yeezy.
adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2
Core Black/Core Black-Red
February 11th, 2017


text:
- Apple's upcoming Apple Watch Series 4 will get the ability to take an ECG reading — a super-accurate way to diagnose heart conditions — before the end of the year.
- Apple said it was the first to offer that feature "over the counter," and that it had received FDA clearance.
- However, venture-backed startup AliveCor, based in Google's hometown of Mountain View, has been making ECG hardware for smartphones, and was surprised at Apple's announcement — with its CEO going so far as to accuse Apple as making up "alternative facts."
On Wednesday, Apple's biggest surprise wasn't new phones, but a new feature in the forthcoming Apple Watch Series 4 — the ability to run an electrocardiogram (ECG) test just by placing your finger on a button.
ECG tests are the gold standard that doctors rely on to diagnose heart issues. The sensors on previous Apple Watches and Fitbits can monitor your heart rate, but they're better suited for fitness, not medical usage. With heart disease as the number-one cause of death in the United States, this Apple Watch feature could help users catch problems early and save some lives.
Over at the headquarters of AliveCor, a startup based in Google's hometown of Mountain View, they, too, were surprised by the announcement, CEO Vic Gundotra said in a phone interview on Thursday. Gundotra is a former Googler, widely known as the executive behind the Google+ social network.
Specifically, Gundotra says that his company was confused by Apple's claims that the Series 4 will be the first over-the-counter ECG testing device for consumers. AliveCor is a 49-employee startup that makes over-the-counter ECG testing devices and software, including an FDA-cleared band for the Apple Watch, called KardiaBand, and a version that attaches to a smartphone, called Kardia.
"We were watching [the announcement], and we were surprised," Gundotra said. "It was amazing, it was like us being on stage, with the thing we’ve been doing for 7 years," referring to AliveCor's product for detecting atrial fibrillation (AFib), a tough-to-spot heart disorder that manifests as an irregular, often quick heart rate that can cause poor circulation.
"Although when they said they were first to go over-the-counter, we were surprised," he continued. "Apple doesn’t like to admit they copy anyone, even in the smallest things. Their own version of alternative facts."
Like AliveCor's products, the new Apple Watch will be able to take ECG readings and test for atrial fibrillation,
The fact that a huge tech giant is entering their corner of health-tech validates AliveCor's approach, Gundotra said. "I commend them, it's the very mission we’ve been on," he said, saying making ECG readings more accessible is "insanely important" and "will save lives."
—Christina Farr (@chrissyfarr) September 12, 2018
One key difference that will distinguish AliveCor from the Apple Watch is price, says Gundotra: AliveCor's hardware starts at $99. The new Apple Watch Series 4 with ECG hardware — it won't be enabled until later this year, through a new app, Apple said — costs $399. Many people who need at-home ECG are price sensitive, he says.
"Ours is $99, theirs is $399, our sales popped yesterday, big time," he said.
Gundotra is also hopeful that his company's expertise in machine learning and branching into other conditions will help it fend off trillion-dollar competitors. Earlier this week, AliveCor received "breakthrough status" at the FDA for its work detecting hyperkalemia, a potassium disorder.
"We love that Apple is validating AFib; just wait until you see what AliveCor is going to do next," he said. "We were a great restaurant in a remote section of town, and someone just opened a giant restaurant right next to us, bringing a lot more attention."


text:
Demand for residential housing and a recovering retail environment were the key drivers of a solid interim profit for diversified property company Stockland Group (ASX: SGP) in 1H FY21.
Stockland reported its strongest half-year performance in four years by its residential development business, with more than 3,800 sales recorded due to increased production as the company brought forward staged releases to cater for demand.
Residential settlements surged 43.7 per cent to 3,101 lots from a year earlier, with those volumes skewed to Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.
The residential division's result supported fairly robust group earnings in light of the current market conditions with Stockland reporting funds from operations had edged 0.4 per cent higher to $386 million for the six months to the end of December.
Group net profit, which is subject to the fluctuations of its property valuations, was $350 million, down from $504 million in the previous corresponding period.
Stockland still managed to increase the value of its commercial properties by $29 million, which was offset by a $37 million fall in the value of its retirement living portfolio.
The group's retail town centre portfolio's valuations fell $104 million, or 1.7 per cent, while the logistics portfolio rose $157 million, or 5.5 per cent.
Stockland says the smaller drop in retail centre valuations compared to heavier write-downs in the last half of FY20, highlighting that conditions have stabilised. While foot traffic at Stockland retail centres is now close to pre-COVID levels, some of its rental income remains under pressure due to "a small number of retail small to medium enterprises".
"We are proactively seeking to resolve these outstanding challenges and work with tenants to support them to operate sustainable businesses," says the company.
Outgoing Stockland CEO Mark Steinert credits the group's long-term diversified strategy for the profit holding up in these circumstances.
"This result is underpinned by strong residential settlements, improved retailer trading, strong rent collection, and resilience in Workplace, Logistics and Retirement Living (divisions)," he says.
"We continue to successfully deliver on our strategic priorities divesting non-core assets, increasing our capital allocation to Workplace and Logistics, and restocking our Residential landbank.
"This is repositioning the group to deliver more consistent, above-sector average total returns and drive value for our stakeholders.
"Despite the continued impact of COVID-19, our 1H21 operating profit has exceeded that of the prior corresponding period, a period not impacted by the global pandemic."
Steinert last year announced his intended retirement as CEO of Stockland to be replaced by Tarun Gupta who will join the company on 1 June 2021.
Stockland is making an interim distribution of 11.3c per security, up 6.6 per cent.
Business News Australia
Help us deliver quality journalism to you.
As a free and independent news site providing daily updates
during a period of unprecedented challenges for businesses everywhere
we call on your support


text:
Interview – E-commerce boom powers 2-digit growth for DHL Express in Germany
DHL Express is profiting from double-digit growth in Germany, rapidly expanding its e-commerce customer base, and remains confident about this year despite the escalating international trade tariff dispute, CEO Markus Reckling told CEP-Research in an exclusive interview.
Commenting on business development in 2017, he said: “It was a very successful year. It was when the focus strategy really came together for Germany. We’ve seen great overall growth and an even stronger increase in our core TDI (international express) product. Overall, we had very solid double-digit growth, and within TDI we had an even better development. That’s obviously pleasing us very much.”
With the German international express market growing at high single-digit rates in the last few years, Reckling was optimistic that DHL Express had further improved its market share. In 2016, according to the company’s most recent German market study, DHL improved its TDI market share to 33%, which put it level with UPS.
“I believe we are growing faster than the overall TDI market at the moment. And with the strong double-digit growth in 2017 I would assume that we already have gained further market share,” he said.
“Our clear aspiration is to do the same in Germany as we are doing in most markets around the world. In other words, our aim is to establish DHL as the clear TDI market leader in Germany. I think we are at the verge of doing that.”
Asked about his expectations for 2018, the Germany chief commented: “We also see the momentum driving on into this year. Q1 clearly saw double-digit growth and I have no reason to believe that this will change. As far as we can see, there will be the same growth drivers as in 2017, that’s industry consolidation, market growth and e-commerce.”
DHL Express Germany has not seen any major effect from the escalating trade tariff dispute between the USA and the EU, he made clear. “So far we do not see any dramatically sharp impact. But if global trade slows down overall, this will not be good for anybody. We’re obviously watchful but at the moment we are still in a confident mood. At the moment our business momentum is intact.”
E-commerce shipping with myDHL+
Looking back at 2017, Reckling said: “E-commerce was a key driver. But we also saw very strong organic growth in our Express B2B customer base in 2017.”
Among the main B2B vertical markets, DHL Express Germany saw very strong growth last year in the Life Sciences sector, especially for clinical trials where it is positioned differently to ‘premium’ specialists such as World Courier and UPS-owned Marken. The company also gained many contract renewals in the automotive sectors.
E-commerce, however, is the big growth driver as more e-retailers launch and expand cross-border sales, and now generates about 25% of DHL Express Germany volumes.
“We see a huge opportunity. We have really been picking up a lot of business in that area. There is a solid number of e-commerce companies among some of my largest customers,” Reckling said.
International e-commerce offers clear benefits to retailers, and to SMEs in particular, Reckling emphasised. “International eCommerce comes with low return quotas and a high shopping basket, so it usually is much more profitable than domestic eCommerce. The express industry offers a unique opportunity for many of these (SME) players to internationalise their offering with very little risk. You don’t need to invest in partners or big warehouses abroad.”
One successful internal measure to boost e-commerce sales was the Power Up Your Potential training programme, providing in-depth information on how international e-commerce works with the aim to making all sales staff into ‘e-commerce specialists’ with broader consulting skills. DHL has also developed IT programmes to analyse e-retailer websites, enabling sales staff, for example, to spot opportunities to offer shipping services to new markets.
Moreover, Germany was one of the first countries to roll out the new MyDHL+ shipping platform, which is now live in more than 40 markets. This enables e-retailers of any size to create shipments (at negotiated rates for account customers and standard rates for non-account customers), book a pickup, and automatically track and trace all shipments. It also offers other functionalities, including integrated e-billing.
“Every new customer is already on-boarded onto the new MyDHL+ platform and we are starting step-by-step to migrate the existing customers from the current platforms. The customer feedback is very positive,” Reckling said.
In parallel, the recipient-focused On Demand Delivery service will expand to include redirected B2C deliveries to the Deutsche Post retail network of post offices later this year. From Q1 next year it will incorporate the Advanced Duty Collection function, which informs recipients in advance which charges will need to be paid and offers optional pre-payment by credit card or Paypal.
However, DHL Express generally encourages shippers to integrate all costs through the DTP (Duties & Taxes Paid) option so that online shoppers only have to pay everything at one go. Delivery charges, too, are increasingly being absorbed into all-in pricing, according to Reckling.
“We clearly see the trend that online retailers offer ‘one price’ to their customers, which includes standard shipping. And now we also see a second trend, that express shipping is also possible without any additional charges to the consumer if the shopping basket exceeds a certain amount,” he explained.
New locations sought in Berlin and southern Germany
Meanwhile, DHL Express Germany is pressing ahead with its ongoing €200 million network investment programme, which runs until 2020. Openings last year included large stations in Hamburg and Leipzig as well as several smaller stations. This year new stations will open in Neumünster (near Kiel in northern Germany) and near Dresden, while the Munich station is being completely refurbished with new systems. However, two significant new projects are also very much on the agenda.
“We are in very advanced conversations about opportunities in Berlin,” Reckling revealed. “We have been looking there for a long time. Berlin is one of the key locations in Germany for e-commerce so of course it’s important.” And he added: “We will hopefully very soon have news about a new and expanded airport gateway location in southern Germany.”
DHL Express Germany is also working on different schemes to reduce city centre emissions, testing the group’s electrically-powered StreetScooter delivery vans, and in talks with various local authorities on setting up ‘city hub’ operations combining consolidated shipment transportation to a small city centre branch and zero-emission final delivery by bike or electric van.
Overall, Reckling was confident about the company’s positioning in the German market compared to major rivals UPS and FedEx/TNT.
“I believe we have a very unique positioning in the market with our Certified International Specialists, with our clear international and global orientation rather than a regional or even country focus. That allows us to offer to our customers a one-of-a-kind solution. I think we also have a clear edge and advantage in being the provider for premium international e-commerce. We seem to be in the right position not only to benefit from the good market situation but also to gain market share.”
Fundamentally, motivated people are the key for success in a service industry, he concluded. “We are convinced that by investing in our people we create superior results. We are putting our money where our heart is, and putting our heart where our strategy is.”


text:
Labor Day travel statewide and in Southern California is projected to be 6 percent higher than in 2012 – the biggest bump in holiday travel for 2013 - with 2.44 million Southland residents projected to take trips over the holiday weekend, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California. This jump outpaces the national projected increase in Labor Day travelers of 4.2 percent.
More than 1.93 million Southern Californians are expected to drive to their destinations, an increase of 6.2 percent over the 1.82 million who traveled by car last year.
The number of Southland travelers by plane is expected to increase by 4.4 percent to 320,000, compared to 306,000 last year. The number of travelers by all other modes – including bus, train, RV and cruise ship – is expected to increase by 6.1 percent to 186,000, compared to 175,500 last year.
Statewide, 3.93 million travelers are expected to get away this holiday weekend, compared to 3.7 million last year. Of those, 3.11 million will drive, which is a 6.2 percent increase from last year’s 2.93 million, and 515,000 will fly, which is a 4.4 percent increase from last year’s 493,000 air travelers statewide. About 300,000 are expected to go by other modes of travel, a 6.1 percent increase from 282,000 in 2012.
“As this year progressed, we have seen more and more people coming into the travel marketplace as a result of increased affordability, consumer confidence and the importance that a vacation plays in people’s lives,” said Filomena Andre, the Auto Club’s vice president for travel products and services.
The average amount that will be spent by Californians and other West Coast residents on their upcoming Labor Day trip is $622 – below the national average of $804. “In California, we have the luxury of choosing many affordable driving-distance getaways,” Andre said.
More than 34 million Americans are projected to travel at least 50 miles away from home during the holiday period between Thursday and Monday. That’s a 4.2 percent increase from last year’s 32.7 million travelers.
The top destinations for local Labor Day travelers, according to a survey of the Auto Club’s AAA Travel agents, are:
1) San Diego
2) Las Vegas
3) San Francisco
4) Central Coast
5) Grand Canyon
Local holiday weekend travelers will benefit from falling gas prices, which are about 25 cents a gallon lower than at this time last year. However, road and freeway reconstruction is in high gear throughout the region, so travelers should be sure to either check their route ahead of time by calling the California Highway Information Number at 800-427-7623, visiting www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/ or by using a real-time traffic and mapping application ahead of time to find out if their route will be affected by detours.


text:
The Chicago Board Choices Change (CBOE) is not going to add a brand new Bitcoin (BTC) futures market in March, the agency mentioned in an announcement on March 14.
Per the assertion, CBOE is re-evaluating the way it approaches buying and selling digital property. CBOE mentioned:
“CFE shouldn’t be including a Cboe Bitcoin (USD) (“XBT”) futures contract for buying and selling in March 2019. CFE is assessing its method with respect to the way it plans to proceed to supply digital asset derivatives for buying and selling. Whereas it considers its subsequent steps, CFE doesn’t presently intend to listing further XBT futures contracts for buying and selling.”
The presently listed futures, XBTM19, will expire in June. CBOE notes that each one presently listed futures are nonetheless out there for buying and selling.
In December 2017, CBOE launched Bitcoin futures buying and selling, adopted carefully by its competitor, the Chicago Mercantile Change (CME).
Futures contracts give buyers publicity to an underlying asset — on this case Bitcoin — with out the necessity to truly personal any. As a substitute, buyers purchase contracts that monitor the underlying worth of the asset and speculate on whether or not the contract worth will enhance or lower by its expiration date. Within the case of the CBOE Bitcoin futures market, the distinction is then settled in U.S. dollars.
Earlier this week, a report from Bloomberg acknowledged that the Bitcoin worth may very well be headed for one more giant selloff. Analysts mentioned that key technical indicators such because the Shifting Common Convergence Divergence had been transferring downward since mid-February. Bloomberg analyst Mike McGlone mentioned:
“Your entire business is ripe to renew a path to decrease costs. Situations are akin to November , simply previous to the collapse…”


text:
Close log in window
Angeli Mehta, (Oct 29, 2018)
Angeli Mehta profiles Land Life, TerViva, and Komaza, three startups that are finding growth opportunities in planting the trees scientists say are urgently needed to combat climate change
Ethical Corporation is part of FC Business Intelligence Ltd, a registered company in England and Wales - Registered number 0438897. 7-9 Fashion Street, London, E1 6PX, UK.


text:
According to coinmarketcap.com Litecoin is ranked 6th in terms of market cap. At the time of writing, Litecoin was priced at $79.39 USD. The market cap is $4,553,333,588 USD, while the volume (24h) was $311,872,000 USD. Litecoin was launched in 2011 and is one of the oldest and well-established crypto coins on the market. This means its availability extends to a wide list of exchanges and has a reputation of being credible.
While LTC still manages to be positioned among the top ten cryptos, its price has seen a drop of 40% over the last month, the drop was largely due to the other crypto markets.
In June, the number of transactions per day has decreased dramatically going back to pre-December levels. Average transaction fees also went down during the same period. But LTC still keeps on clearing more transactions per day than Bitcoin Cash, Monero, Zcash, and Tron while the fees are lower than Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Monero.
While the coin has seen a slight increase of $4.35%, Litecoin holders shouldn’t be so quick to trade their LTC just yet. Predicting how any crypto will perform is an extremely difficult feat. In Litecoin’s case, there are a few major opportunities and trials that could influence the coin’s price in the months and years to come. Here are a few reasons why this coin is worth holding.
For example, the Litecoin blockchain is capable of handling a much higher transactional volume in a much shorter time than Bitcoin. Faster confirmation times leads to a considerable difficulty level, meaning that the hackers cannot access and compromise the blockchain so easily. Just 5 minutes are required to confirm two confirmations.
Litecoin employs the Scrypt algorithm which means that mining can be done with GPUs and CPUs. This implementation was made to appeal to new miners which cannot afford expensive ASICs, and to also be less power consuming than Bitcoin mining.
Endeavors Involving LTC
Litecoin Core is an open source software that allows its traders to use LTC freely. Due to this release, substantial positive changes have been brought to the Segwit Wallet. Litecoin Core v0.16.0 was released on May 30, bringing new features, bugfixes and performance improvements, along with updated translations.
The Gemini Exchange, owned by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, has also added LTC in May, thus extending the long list of exchanges that support trading for the coin.
Recently, the Litecoin Foundation (LTC) announced that it had purchased blockchain startup TokenPay’s initial 9.9% stake in Germany’s WEG Bank in return for facilitating TokenPay with promotion and technology.
Amazon, one of the largest online vendors in the world, has expressed its interest in the ‘new’ technology considering Litecoin for a medium of payment. This makes Litecoin Ripple’s new competitor when it comes to Amazon’s cryptocurrency payment service.
The usability of Litecoin as a way of transacting makes it an ideal candidate for currency that can be used by the Amazon platform. To be entirely accepted by the system, Litecoin will have to keep on and increase the user experience on the vendor’s platform. Furthermore, the fast confirming time of an order will have to surpass the existing speed of approving a blockchain transaction.
The abovementioned cases are just a few the positive events in which LTC is involved.
Considering its past ability to bounce back after market plunges, Litecoin has the potential to reshape the payment market in the near future, if you take into account its many projects and endeavors. So hold on to your Litecoins (LTC), as it seems the coin will keep on growing in the following year.


text:
Honeywell Flour Mills Plc has disclosed plans to invest N10 billion on the company’s new Agro-Allied Industrial Complex as part of efforts to develop the company’s production capacity.
Managing Director, Mr. Lanre Jaiyeola, stated this at a tour of the company’s factory in Lagos by stockbrokers.
He said that work has already commenced on the first phase of the project.
He said bulk of the money required for the investment will be raised through equity, while talks have also commenced with financial institutions like the Bank of Industry for financing.
According to Jaiyeola, upon completion, the new agro-allied industrial complex sited on a 62.8 hectare of land situated around the Sagamu Inter-change in Ogun State, will be the food basket for the entire Honeywell Group.
Speaking further, he noted that by design, the project is a cluster for production and processing of general food and agro-allied products with emphasis on manufacturing value-added human and animal food products leveraging backward integration for raw material procurement.
His words, “We plan not only to have product extension, but also to go into the other areas of agric business that will ensure that we focus more on backward integration which is the bigger picture in the Honeywell Group and we are pursuing this already.
“Recently, we acquired a 62.8 hectare land in Sagamu inter-change for the expansion of our production and we hope that upon completion of the project, we will not only be increasing our capacity, but Honeywell will also increase its contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) as the Food Village will open employment opportunities for several Nigerians.”
Speaking on the company’s preparedness to meet the federal government’s deadline of five percent cassava inclusion level in its wheat flour by December 2014, he said; “the position of Honeywell in this regard is that it is a welcome development, received wholeheartedly.
“We have our own strategy to ensure that for our company, the initiative is a success. But today, we face the challenge of high quality cassava flour availability. The truth today is that we have doubt as to the ability of our partners (cassava processors) to meet up with the supply of high quality cassava. We are already seeing these signs because we see default in delivery on orders.
“We also hope that government will play its role in supporting not only the processors but also the farmers in ensuring that the programme subsequently does not suffer setback. This, they can do through cassava introduction and empowerment of the growers.”
Speaking on behalf of other stockbrokers, General Manager, Compass Investments & Securities Limited, Mr. Sam Ndata, pledged their unalloyed support to the company.
He urged the company to approach the capital market for the huge capital required for the new investment, assuring them that the brokers will give the company the required support to raise enough funds, adding that equity financing is the best way to grow business.
– See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/06/honeywell-plans-n10bn-expansion/#sthash.heASgng2.dpuf


text:
Verizon planning mobile video streaming service: report
Briefs | 09/08/2015 3:23 pm EDT
Verizon Communications Inc. plans to launch a free ad-supported mobile streaming service, the New York Times reported online Tuesday.
This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers
Already a subscriber? Sign in here
Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.
Take a free trial or subscribe to The Wire Report now.
Two weeks free access to thewirereport.ca and our exlusive newsletters.
Unlimited access to thewirereport.ca and our exlusive newsletters.


text:
The number of bike thefts reported to Portland police has doubled over the past eight years. The geographical spread of those thefts, however, has stayed fairly constant. Data provided by police includes bikes reported stolen during car thefts and car prowls. Still, areas where bikes are most likely to be parked outside — universities, high schools and shopping centers — explain most of the city’s hot spots.
Interactive by Carli Brosseau and Mark Friesen/The Oregonian
Source: Portland Police Bureau


text:
Norway-based Telenor, the world's sixth-largest mobile operator, has become the latest telecom operator to launch services in the world's fastest growing but also most crowded wireless market, with tariffs as low as 29 paise per minute for local calls and 49 paise for long-distance calls.
The company, which has a joint venture with India's Unitech Wireless, launched the services yesterday under the brand name Uninor. Telenor holds a 67.25-per ent stake in the venture.
''This is indeed a milestone in a longer journey to become a significant operator in India,'' Telenor's managing director for India Stein-Erik Vellan said. The service has been launched in seven circles and will be expanded later.
''Unitech Wireless has kicked off operations in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, UP East, UP West and Bihar (including Jharkhand), and will extend operations to more zones early next year,'' Vellan said.
Vellan said that even after factoring in the ongoing price war, the telco was confident of achieving an EBITDA break-even in three years and would have positive operating cash flow within five years of launch. ''We are targeting a market share of 8 per cent by 2018,'' he said.
Telenor Group president and chief executive Jon Fredrik Baksaas said the company would not offer a per-second billing plan, as it was not necessarily a feature customers were looking for. ''Our tariffs are more attractive, especially for those customers who want to talk longer,'' he said.
The company also said it expected its average revenue per user (ARPU) to be lower than the industry level in the near term before rising to the sector level by next year-end.
Vellan said the company was still examining whether it should bid for the upcoming 3G auction. He made it clear that the company would definitely not bid for an all India 3G spectrum licence.


text:
MARYLAND, United States (Reuters)– The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warned Americans not to place a frozen turkey into a hot deep fryer this Thanksgiving.
As the video showed, doing so results in an explosion of oil and flames.
“We estimate an average of about 1,400 cooking fires on Thanksgiving Day each year. This is more than three times the average number of cooking fires each day throughout the rest of the year,” the Commission said in a statement accompanying the video.
“Since 2004, CPSC is aware of 107 fire or burn incidents involving turkey fryers that have caused 47 injuries and $5.2 million dollars in property loss,” the statement continued.
Thanksgiving means turkey dinners, family gatherings and football.
Americans eat their way through some 46 million turkeys at Thanksgiving and 22 million during the Christmas holiday.


text:
Bonnaroo Fountain to Be Replaced with Hi-Def Water App
Bonnaroo promoters Superfly and AC Entertainment have confirmed that the festival’s mainstay Centeroo marketplace will go completely online in 2014. Fans will be able to gather in one of the festival’s many fields and purchase hulu-hoops, organic goods and other hippie wears via a new, YouTube-sponsored online store. All items will be shipped in 3-6 business days to allow concert goers to relive the magic all year long.
In related news, Bonnaroo’s iconic fountain will be replaced with a new Hi-Def Water App. Fans can choose their fountain’s color and level of dirt in the fountain’s center areas on their Smartphone of choice. Returning fans can also unlock a naked hippie option via FourSquare. Bonnaroo made the announcement via a humorous announcement video, which debuted a Twitter handle that led to a Facebook page where fans could upload their own videos which in turn led back to a Twitter link that revealed a new set of ‘roo clues. Additional Apps will be confirmed in the coming weeks.


text:
Jazz Fest is behind us, and the long summer lies ahead. But in this week leading up to Memorial Day, revelry once again has shifted into high gear for the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience.
Now in its 23rd year, NOWFE, which began Wednesday and runs through Saturday, promises even more Bacchanalian fun, with new opportunities to explore the nuances of food, wine and spirits and learn from the libations.
It’s a wide-ranging festival held at venues across the city (tickets are required for each). And as usual, it’s anchored by signature events that always draw thirsty crowds with plenty of the wine and food behind NOWFE’s name.
The Grand Tastings at 6 p.m. Friday and 2:30 p.m. Saturday fill a hall of the Morial Convention Center with 1,000 domestic and international wines alongside sample-size dishes from a wide array of New Orleans restaurants. New additions this year include Shaya, the Israeli restaurant from recent James Beard Award-winning chef Alon Shaya, and the new Brennan’s Restaurant.
In line with tradition, the “King of Louisiana Seafood” will be crowned at Saturday’s Grand Tasting during the Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off. Ten Louisiana chefs, including New Orleans representatives Michael Brewer of The Sammich and Mike Nelson of GW Fins, will compete for the annual honor, which was won last year by Aaron Burgau of Patois.
While the majority of NOWFE events spotlight New Orleans culinary riches, one new event this year adds a bit of Charleston flair. The Billy Reid Dinner Series — co-sponsored by The Local Palate — brings in some top chefs from Charleston to cook alongside New Orleans talent for a night of food, fashion and entertainment at the Magazine Street outpost of clothier Billy Reid. For the Friday night dinner, MoPho chef Michael Gulotta takes the helm with Charleston chefs Andy Henderson of Edmund’s Oast and Josh Walker of Xiao Bao Biscuit.
An expanded roster of seminars is designed to appeal particularly to wine lovers who want to expand their wine knowledge, glass in hand. The list this year includes in-depth learning opportunities ranging from South American wines to how the size and shape of a wine glass impacts the sensory experience of wine drinking.
For the less studious but perhaps more adventurous, NOWFE has also added a number of events this year which allow diners to go above and beyond simple epicurean revelry.
One of these — a fishing trip with Chef Justin Devillier of La Petite Grocery and Balise — even allows guests to hit the water.
“NOWFE wanted to expand their programming to include some more exclusive events, and they approached me to brainstorm on what we could do. We came up with a fishing trip,” said Devillier. “We’re going to go out at sunrise and fish until about 1 (p.m.) in-shore — trying to catch speckled trout, redfish and flounder — then we should get back to the city mid-afternoon. The guests will go back to their hotel to freshen up, then I’ll bring the catch to Balise and do a few different preparations. We’ll all gather back up in the evening and drink wine and eat the day’s catch. It should be fun.”
This new layer to NOFWE adds a more “hands on” interactive component, through which people can not only enjoy fine food and drink, but take a peek behind the scenes at how it is created.
“If you’re not someone who fishes regularly, this is actually the perfect event for you,” said Devillier.
Other freshly added “experience” events for 2015 include an interactive bean-to-cup coffee roasting demonstration with French Truck Coffee’s Geoffrey Meeker, and a specially-guided lunchtime shopping excursion to Rouses with chef Nathan Richard of Kingfish and SoBou bar chef Abigail Gullo, who then will assist in creating a lunch from the purchased ingredients.


text:
If you snake your way through the narrow aisles of energy bars and sodas at Tommy’s Value, you’ll spot it by the cashier’s monitor: a sleek, white device shaped like a pulse oximeter, the kind a nurse might snap onto your index finger during a check-up. A satiny sticker taped to the desk explains that the device does not, in fact, measure your vitals, but your bank account balance. “Pay with your finger,” the blocky, golden font reads, “and get 10% cash back.”
The store owner, Najeeb Hussain, tells me Harvard students Abdul M. Jamjoom ’19, Matteo A. Carroll ’19, and Vojta T. Drmota ’20 developed the device and pitched it to him last fall. The device, Lux Pay, scans a user’s finger veins, links the associated pattern to their bank account, and wires money from that account to the store’s.
The students claimed that the ten percent discount would boost Tommy’s student clientele. Hussain wasn’t sure it would have a significant effect, but agreed to use the technology “mainly to help the kids with their project.” He believes it has great potential for commercial success given its speed and convenience.
“Maybe they’ll develop it and make some money,” he says, smiling.
Drmota believes Lux is an “innovation” capable of disrupting the “inertia of the [payment processing] system.” Its “end-to-end system” bypasses the traditional intermediaries that communicate between a customer’s bank and a store’s bank, eliminating transaction fees and increasing user rewards.
“For many merchants, those fees are the second highest cost after rent,” he claims, adding that he first conceived of Lux after hearing Hussain lament about them.
El Jefe’s Taqueria also uses Lux. Jon H. Eller, the general manager, decided to adopt the payment system out of a mixture of courtesy and intrigue about savings. “They’re customers, you know, loyal fans, and we like supporting students with anything they’re doing,” he explains. “And with them, the [transaction] fees don’t exist.”
But Lux may not be as appealing to customers as it is to business owners. According to Eller, an average day at El Jefe’s sees about two to three users; Hussain estimates an average day at Tommy’s sees only one to two. The business owners say that while some are excited by the novel technology, many are skeptical about its security.
Bruce Schneier, a security technologist and fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, says that biometric payment services like Lux can pose unique threats to privacy. Since “companies can do whatever they want,” businesses can track users’ purchases for targeted advertisement or harness biometric data for surveillance.
Equally worrisome are external breaches of privacy: businesses that store user data in central servers are especially susceptible to cyberattacks from individuals hoping to commit identity fraud. In such cases, Schneier says, “all you can do is be sad; you can lament.”
Yet Lux may not be as prone to the latter concerns as some of its biometric neighbors.
For its pilot stage, the company is using a Japanese vein scanner that is so secure it is used at A.T.M.s in Japan. According to Drmota, the Lux software provides further government-level security, storing its encrypted data in a separate server. A server breach would thus not reveal a user’s identity but instead a meaningless string of characters.
Drmota says his team chose a vein-identification technology over a fingerprint or face scan to protect user privacy and prevent card fraud. Finger vein patterns are difficult to forge, steal, or track. Furthermore, he notes, unlike fingerprints, they are “not forensically admissible” as evidence in a court of law.
While Eller emphasized how secure the device was, he ultimately places the burden of responsibility on users.
“For us, [Lux Pay] is just like any other credit card company,” says Eller. “We don't care if the credit card companies are keeping ‘X’ number of information from people because that's not [our] business.”
Schneier doubts business owners in Harvard Square will have to choose between privacy and convenience, at least for now. “I think, in this system, Apple Pay and Google Pay will win,” he said.“All the other stuff is noise.”
Drmota, however, has high hopes that Lux’s end-to-end payment gate will distinguish it from competitors. Around 210 Harvard students have registered for the device. By the end of the semester, Drmota plans to expand registration and offer the product at other stores in Harvard Square, such as Berryline, Cambridge Cleaners, and Zinneken’s. After graduation, he aims to bring the product to Boston, New York, and L.A.
While some find the novelty of the device off-putting, Drmota believes trust will build with time.
“When people see their friends use it, and see how well it works, they’ll want to be on board,” he said. “From there, you’ll get a snowball effect.”
— Magazine writer Saima S. Iqbal can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org


text:
Trump Says He’ll Sign First-Step China Trade Deal on Jan. 15
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump says he will sign the first phase of a trade deal with China at the White House next month.
Trump says Tuesday in a tweet that he’ll then travel to Beijing at a later date to open talks on other sticking points in the U.S.-China trade relationship that remain to be worked out.
Trump tweeted from his Florida home that, “I will be signing our very large and comprehensive Phase One Trade Deal with China on January 15. The ceremony will take place at the White House.”
He said high-level Chinese government officials will attend the signing.
Trump adds that he will go to Beijing at an unspecified date to begin a new round of negotiations.
In the first-step agreement announced earlier in December, the United States agreed to reduce tariffs and China agreed to buy larger quantities of U.S. farm products.
Both sides have said they are waiting for the text of the deal to be translated before signing it.
But some major issues not covered by the deal to be signed on Jan. 15, including Chinese practices the U.S. complains unfairly advantage its own companies, remained to be worked out in a second round of trade negotiations.
In The News
WASHINGTON - Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., has been named to four subcommittees that will ensure she's a leading voice on national security, the continuing federal response to COVID-19, and international trade. The Winter Park Democrat is the only Florida Democrat who currently serves on either the... Read More
WASHINGTON - Katherine Tai, President-elect Joe Biden's designee to be the next U.S. trade representative, told a virtual gathering of trade professionals Tuesday that if the U.S. is going to successfully compete against China on the world stage, it's going to take a renewed sense of... Read More
LONDON (AP) — First came the Brexit trade deal. Now comes the red tape and the institutional nitty gritty. Four days after sealing a free trade agreement with the European Union, the British government warned businesses to get ready for disruptions and “bumpy moments” when the... Read More
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate continued a hardline crackdown on China Wednesday during a hearing on how to ratchet up American economic competitiveness. Economic advisors repeated warnings that the U.S. government needs to create more incentives for domestic industries that are lagging behind Chinese competitors. Otherwise,... Read More
WASHINGTON — Facebook Inc. was sued by U.S. antitrust officials and a coalition of states that want to break up the company by unwinding its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, deals the government says was part of a campaign to illegally crush competition. The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general led by New York said... Read More
WASHINGTON — Katherine Tai, chief trade counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee, is reported to be President-elect Joe Biden's nominee to be America's trade negotiator. Tai would lead the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, an agency she knows well from her committee work as well as from the seven... Read More


text:
Our traders are good - but you knew that! Check out their latest plays that paid.
On November 12th the Negotiator found a steal in US Steel (X). At the time he said, "With the current valuations and the current market capital of 11 million dollars...I think that's a stock that can be acquired.
Since the call, US Steel has been red hot, up 14%, as the flurry of deal talk between Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton has turned up the heat on steel M&A.
On November 20th the Chairwoman found cold hard cash in the soles of her shoes. At the time she said, “I like Crocs (CROX). I think there is growth there. The valuation has been crushed out of the name.”
The popular rubber clogs, which had a frightening Halloween sell-off, are popular again on Wall Street and rallied 18% since Karen’s call.
On November 1st the Lone Wolf sniffed out a video game trade headed to the next level. At the time he said, "Activision (ATVI). I’m still long that name, and I like it in the space because the estimates are going higher."
Activision powered up after Vivendi merged with the “Guitar Hero” maker to create the largest videogame company in the world. ATVI is up 14% since Macke’s November recommendation, and shares have more than doubled since his original call, last year.
On November 29th the Pit Boss noticed some options action in Dillard’s (DDS). At the time he said, "Today the calls were trading 8 to 1 against the puts. People are buying into the idea that there is some upside still in this stock"
Pete’s a smart shopper. DDS has jumped 10% since he spotted the unusual trading.
Now that’s “Fast Money.”


text:
We see you
A new investigation shows the scale of surveillance on U.S. highways is more extensive than many previously imagined, thanks to a license plate database that…
Waze, a mapping data service with social features has been subject of acquisition rumors for a while. There was speculation of Apple buying them. There there was Facebook and its rumored $1 billion offer. Now Israeli-media reports are speculating that Google is the new buyer.
If a certain number of Waze users report the same closing, the app will automatically start re-routing all users around reported road closures.
A group of researchers from an Israeli university used data from Waze to determine the country’s most-accident-prone areas and how they correlate, or not, with a notable police presence. It’s just one of many efforts using ballooning data from drivers and devices to try and make sense of city traffic.
CEO Tim Cook recently said the company is fixing its Maps app through software updates, but also vaguely mentioned a “huge plan to make it even better.” What is that plan? Maybe a smart acquisition of a small social navigation company.
Moovit is trying to be the Waze of public transit by offering a crowd-sourced transportation app for bus and train commuters. The system hopes to provide more accurate estimated time of arrivals and better updates on upcoming travel conditions.
Crowd-sourced navigation app Waze is launching its own ad platform, allowing advertisers to insert ads that users can see on their maps and search results when they navigate to their destination. Waze believes these “location-guided” ads can succeed because they incorporate where a user is headed.
MightyText won Qualcomm’s QPrize event yesterday, but the IP texting app and the nine other finalists are also a microcosm of Qualcomm’s views about what mobility can bring to computing and how to design for mobiles.
Waze, the crowdsourced traffic app, is trying to save people money as well as time. The company is unveiling a discount fuel service that lets users receive 5-10 cents off each gallon they buy from more than 200,000 gas stations across the country.
After its successful showing during LA’s Carmageddon, Waze, a crowdsourced traffic data app, is now launching a broadcast partner program to allow local TV stations to tap into its data and leverage the app to engage consumers. It is a validation of crowdsourced data and reporting.
Waze, the smart crowd-source traffic information application, has picked up $30 million in a Series C round of funding as it looks to capitalize on a burgeoning international opportunity, particularly in China. The company has also hit 7 million users around the world.
Waze today launches version 2.0 of its social-based navigation and mapping application, adding a number of small changes and one big feature. The new Waze Groups allows users to create small groups that can easily share traffic information and track the location of group members.
Mobile apps are hot. Apple users have downloaded 2 billion of them, Microsoft just launched its Windows Marketplace for Mobile and Verizon,…


text:
AT&T reported Thursday it had 95.5 million wireless subscribers at the end of 2010, putting it ahead of Verizon Wireless, which reported earlier this week that it had 94.1 million.
AT&T said it added more than 2.8 million wireless subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2010, it's best-ever increase. It also had 8.9 million wireless subscriber additions for all of 2010, another record.
The two biggest U.S. wireless carriers are in a constant battle for subscribers , even as the market for new smartphone and other wireless users becomes saturated. They have traded the first place spot before, and newer tablet computers coming to market as well as Verizon's sale of the iPhone 4 starting Feb. 10 will keep the horse race alive. In the third quarter, Verizon had 93.2 million wireless subscribers, ahead of AT&T's 92.8 million.
AT&T was expected to finish 2010 ahead of Verizon in subscribers as AT&T's exclusive for the iPhone nears an end. Verizon will sell the iPhone 4 on its CDMA/EV-DO network and estimates it will sell 11 million iPhones through 2011.
It's not clear how many new subscribers Verizon will gain from AT&T because of the Verizon iPhone, or if Verizon's biggest gains with iPhones will come from elsewhere, including Verizon customers moving up from using less sophisticated phones.
The fallout over AT&T's losing its exclusivity with the iPhone could be 10 per cent or more, analysts said, but it won't happen all at once since customers might wait until their two-year agreements expire. A recent ChangeWave survey of 4,000 U.S. consumers said 26 per cent of iPhone customers would leave AT&T for Verizon, citing dropped calls and poor reception on AT&T's network.
AT&T is holding an earnings call with analysts later Thursday and the question of subscribers losses over iPhone is expected to come up.
AT&T also said its revenues reached $31.4 billion in the fourth quarter, up 2.1 per cent over the fourth quarter in 2009. In wireless, revenues grew by 9.9 per cent in the fourth quarter. The carrier focused on non-iPhone device sales in its quarterly highlights as well, noting its iPad and Android -based tablets increased by 442,000.


text:
COVID curbs: Police on strict vigil to enforce night curfew in Kerala, Tamil Nadu
As COVID cases are on uphill across country, several states have announced night curfew and partial lockdown. Police officials were on strict vigil in Kochi amid 2-week night curfew in the state. Tamil Nadu government has also implemented a partial lockdown between 10 pm and 4 am and full lockdown on Sundays. Shopping malls, eateries, vegetable and fruit shops, and other commercial establishments can allow only 50 per cent customers only till 9 pm.


text:
We will never spam you. Pinky promise!
On Tuesday, 23 April 2019, Fantastic Services launched a brand new event with a threefold mission: encourage networking amongst tech professionals, clean up the streets of London and get fit at the same time though an event called ‘plogging’.
The term ‘plogging’ is a global movement that has taken the world by storm in recent years. It started in Sweden in 2016 after increased awareness about plastic pollution, particularly in the world’s oceans. The hashtags #plogging and #trashtag have become synonyms for people’s interest in getting fit and cleaning the world of rubbish and plastic on our streets, keeping our cities, beaches and parks clean.
The event started at 1pm and participants gathered outside Mindspace in Shoreditch. It will be a monthly lunchtime event around Shoreditch with bin bags, gloves and litter grabbers provided. The collected rubbish will be sorted and recycled.
Organised by Hermione Way on behalf of Fantastic Services, Way said that the world is in a mess and that plastic pollution is at an all-time high. However, people are beginning to wake up and take action. This as well as social media hashtags inspired her to get the event up and running in London.
And who better to lead cleaning up a city we all love than London’s favourite domestic cleaning and maintenance company, Fantastic Services, Way asks.
Not only is ‘plogging’ great for the environment, it also results in a comprehensive physical workout. Other benefits of this initiative are the fact that tech professionals can take some time out of their schedules to network. “We will be teaming up with some incredible founders who want to network, do good and get fit on their lunch break,” said Way.
Fantastic Services CEO, Rune Sovndahl said: “This is a great opportunity to network with some of London’s most interesting tech people at the same time as getting fit and doing good. We hope that people get involved and reap the benefits of what will be a great event.”
Those interested in joining can take part in this inspirational endeavour, which will take place once a month for the next six months. Way added that she hoped other companies and individuals in London would be inspired to take action through joining in these events.
Header image source: Deposit Photos/ Author: doble.dphoto


text:
The news: Buy now, pay later (BNPL) giant Klarna partnered with Germany-based Billie, which offers BNPL services for business payments, according to a press release. The integration will let Klarna’s merchants with business customers offer Billie’s services. It will roll out in Germany in Q1 2022, with plans to follow for other European markets.
How it works: More than 250,000 eligible merchants will be able to activate Billie’s offering, which will be incorporated into Klarna’s existing processes. Billie offers shopping limits of up to €100,000 ($114,025) and boasts a 90% conversion rate, making it a compelling option for merchants.
The opportunity: Globally, the B2B payments market is worth $84 trillion, according to Juniper Research, which could be pulling providers into the space.
As B2B ecommerce expands, it makes sense for providers like Klarna to integrate BNPL for online transactions. And doing so through a partnership with an established provider can help Klarna scale quickly to beat out new entrants like Behalf and Resolve, which recently raised $100 million and $60 million, respectively, to move into the space.
Why it matters: Pushing into B2B BNPL reflects industry players trying to diversify as the entrance and expansion of heavyweights like Capital One, Mastercard, PayPal, Square, and Visa are intensifying competition. As a result, established digital-first players are forging partnerships that might help grow their reach, like Splitit’s recent tie-up with Discover and Affirm’s deals with Target and Amazon. And everyone is looking to expand into new markets.
B2B represents the latest greenfield for providers to diversify and expand their business into rather than going head-to-head with the competition to steal market share.
Go deeper: To learn more about the state of the BNPL space and how incumbents stack up, check out our "Buy Now, Pay Later Report.”
One Liberty Plaza9th FloorNew York, NY 100061-800-405-0844


text:
He is the man who “revolutionized how the world consumes content,” according to Forbes. Netflix, his thunderously successful TV and movie streaming service, got its start in 1997, when Reed Hastings had a $40 late fee at his local video store and realized there had to be a better business model for DVD rentals.
Twenty-two years later, the CEO and cofounder of Netflix heads a company that reported revenue of $5.24 billion in its Q3 2019 financials. It boasts 158 million viewers worldwide who eagerly await the next original Scorsese release or Tan France lifestyle transformation. Hastings is also a philanthropist, having signed the Giving Pledge and, in 2016, creating a $100 million fund aimed at education reform.
A recent speaker at the HEC Paris MBA’s student-led Global Leaders Series, Hastings shared some of the insights he’s gained during his remarkable career trajectory from Peace Corps volunteer to leader of one of the world’s most well-known companies. A few things he’s learned along the way:
On finding your path
Hastings’ first job after college was teaching high school math in Swaziland. Despite it being rural and isolated, he deeply appreciated the work and his students. He also took that opportunity to hitchhike across Africa. “The experience gave me confidence that I could figure things out,” he says. “My advice to students is to follow whatever excites you. That might be working hard at business; it might be working in Swaziland or moving to Spain or the United States.”
He continues: “Constantly learn and push yourselves. If you’re in a workplace where you are not impressed by most of the other people, find another office. If most of the people around you are really impressive, that’s the environment where you’ll grow the most.”
There’s no magic formula for success
Not all of Hastings’ startup endeavors have ended up household names. One of his million-dollar ideas was a replacement for the traditional computer mouse. Realizing how inefficient it is to “mouse” when typing, Hastings created a business plan and made a prototype for a revolutionary new device: the foot mouse. “It turns out the floor is very dirty,” he explains. “We pulled out all kinds of gross things from it. Plus, you get huge cramps from trying to operate a mouse with your foot.”
Based on his personal experiences, Hastings doesn’t believe in a magic formula for entrepreneurial success. Still, he says that even if your startup eventually fails, what you learn will be invaluable.
Leadership encompasses many qualities
Back when he was coding for a living, Hastings happily pulled lots of java-fueled all nighters. Arriving one morning at the office at 5 a.m., he found the CEO of the company washing his coffee cups dirty from the night before. The explanation? The CEO said to Hastings, “You do so much for this company. Cleaning your cups is one thing that I can do for you.”
“To be a great leader, you have to be humble, and you have to be smart,” Reed Hastings says. “You need both sides.”
“That kind of personal humility, of not looking for any recognition, is something that I’ve always remembered,” Hastings explains. “At that very moment, I felt like I would follow this man to the end of the earth. Unfortunately for us, he did lead that company to the end of the earth. To be a great leader, you have to be humble, and you have to be smart. You need both sides.”
Become less efficient every day
In the 1990s, Hastings co-founded Pure Software, a mightily successful maker of debugging programs. Even though the company was acquired and eventually became part of IBM, Hastings says bureaucracy stifled the business. “Every time something went wrong,” he explains, “I would put a process in place to keep that particular thing from happening again. I thought, ‘This way, we’ll get better and better. By having more procedures, we’ll have less errors.
“In the short term, that’s actually effective. But in the long term, it makes the company more rigid and less flexible, because the people that you attract to that company will be the type of people who want to follow procedures. And when the market shifts – and every market eventually shifts – you will be optimized only for one market. You need to have enough of the people who are inventive, crazy and thinking outside the box.”
At Netflix, he says they’ve made an effort to be a little less efficient every day, effectively choosing long-term flexibility over short-term efficiency. The company is also known for its innovative management practices such as unlimited sick and vacation leave.


text:
AUBURN HILLS (WXYZ) - While other companies struggled to survive the economic crisis in 2009, Gardner-White recorded its best year of sales. It's one reason why the company is celebrating 100 years in business.
"One of the other keys to surviving in the retail business, besides taking care of your customers and delivering value, is that you have to be willing to change because the market is always changing," said Steve Tracey, the company's president.
That strategy seems to be working. Over the summer, Gardner-White will move to Auburn Hills into a 450,000 square foot warehouse, which will house a distribution center, retail shop and outlet store. The furniture store currently employees 400 people, but will need to add as many as 200 positions to meet its expansion needs.
Gardner-White will hold a job fair on Thursday, May 17 and Friday, May 18 from 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Auburn Hills warehouse at 4445 N. Atlantic Road.


text:
DALLAS, Texas—New data from Motel 6 found that U.S. travelers who are celebrating a winter holiday are planning to participate in an average of 10 or more gatherings this year. In its sixth annual holiday travel survey, Motel 6 heard from over 2,000 respondents who celebrate a winter holiday and found that their festivities are expected to lead to an increase in travel. Eighty-four percent of respondents plan to travel to at least one gathering, and of those, over half (52 percent) expect to take more trips than last year.
This holiday season, 85 percent say the joy of spending time with friends and family outweighs the challenges of travel. When it comes to lodging, two-thirds (65 percent) of respondents traveling plan to stay at a hotel, an increase of nearly 20 percent since last year. And they’re bringing pets with them. Three out of five (60 percent) respondents note that pets will be joining their holiday journeys, up from 22 percent in 2022.
Gathering once just isn’t enough: Respondents plan to celebrate some holidays multiple times, bringing the average number of holiday gatherings per person to more than 10.
The winter season continues to be a time to come together with loved ones, with two-thirds (66 percent) of respondents noting a preference for a traditional holiday celebration with family, while only 20 percent opt to take a solo trip. Still, U.S. travelers agree that the excitement of family gatherings can cause social batteries to run down quickly. Over half (53 percent) of respondents look forward to alone time four hours into a holiday, while nearly one in five (19 percent) say it takes just one to two hours for them to start looking forward to alone time.
“The final months of the year are filled with love, excitement, and festivities with friends and family. No matter where the road takes you this season, Motel 6 will be there as your resting place,” said Julie Arrowsmith, president and CEO of G6 Hospitality, parent company of Motel 6 and extended stay brand Studio 6. “From Friendsgiving to New Year’s Day, we are here to offer affordable rates and discounts on our My6 app so you can focus on making memories with loved ones, including those with four legs.”
It’s no surprise that nearly all (82 percent) of those celebrating winter holidays say the economic climate is impacting their plans this year. More than half are hoping to receive experience-based gifts (56 percent) this year, such as travel, and will be opting for affordable lodging (55 percent) for their journeys.


text:
Bebe Rexha is launching a range of nail polishes with Sinful Colors.
The 29-year-old singer has teamed up with bosses of the American nail polish company, which is owned by cosmetics giant Revlon, to become their latest brand ambassador and to release the Velvet Obsession collection, which is comprised of eight lacquers with a velvet matte finish.
"Guess who got their own nail line!!! First collection that's out is called Velvet Obsession," Bebe wrote on Instagram as she announced the collaboration. "These colors are matte but with a silky rich finish and dramatic vampy shades perfect for the fall. I know for sure you can get them at @walmart!!"
On her Instagram Stories, the Meant to Be star shared a video montage of all the shades, such as deep purples and pinks, and added in a caption, "My nails have always reflected my style - they're a big part of how I express myself whether I'm on stage performing or out with friends. That's why I am soooo excited to join the @sinfulcolors_official family and bring some of my own nail colors and looks to life!"
Bebe also posted a video showing the shades on a nail display wheel and Sinful Colors' new cardboard cosmetics display, which feature her face and signature.
The singer, who is always showing off a different nail colour or shape on social media, also selected three limited-edition shades as her favourites - Glam N' Roses, a pink, Dark Romance, a dark purple, and Twisted Obsession, a lighter purple. The nail polish bottles for these feature stickers with the words "Bebe's shade".
The Velvet Obsessions Collection, which retail for $2.99 (£2.47) each, are available now in Walmart stores, and will be available at Walmart.com from 12 August.


text:
The startup provides a digital escrow service which helps providing payment security for those involved in online marketplace transactions.
No ad to show here.
Tech publication Disrupt Africa reported yesterday in an article that the startup raised $100 000 in pre-seed funding in 2018, and has now raised a larger round from Ingressive Capital.
The publication said the new investment will help the startup to grow its customer base and secure key partnerships.
The latest investment raised by Vesicash follows a $100k round from Ingressive Capital in 2018
Veiscash was founded in 2018 by Ibrahim Oladele, Ehiaghe Aigiomawu and Oluwatomisin Adeshiyan. The startup began operations in March last year.
The startup’s CEO and co-founder Ibrahim Oladele told Ventureburn in an email today that the deal was concluded “a few weeks ago”.
While he said the startup is generating revenue, he declined to provide revenue figures.
“We started with our money and ran the company for a few months before we got an angel investment. We spent between $15 000 and $20 000 of our (own) personal money,” he said
Said Oladele “Our plans for 2020 are focused on bringing our value closer to consumers through corporate partnerships and creating better products experience for the consumers, thereby setting the company on the path to growth and stability”.
Featured image: Vesicash via Facebook


text:
Independent, artist-driven premiere generates more than 7,800 views in one week
(Nashville, Tenn. – April 24, 2013) Nashville-based video marketing company, AristoVideo, has launched the very first independent music video premiere coordinated by an independent company utilizing Artists.CMT with Texas act, Matt Kimbrow Band. The video, “If It All Goes Right” premiered Tuesday, April 16 and marks the group’s debut music video release. Watch the video below.
Planned, developed and conceptualized by AristoVideo in tandem with Matt Kimbrow’s own social channels, the campaign generated more than 7,800 views and 2,300 Facebook “Likes” during its first week online. A limited number of free mp3 downloads of the track were also made available. The surge in activity made Matt Kimbrow the second most popular artist on CMT.com for the week of April 15-21, 2013.
“Independent artists like the Matt Kimbrow Band can certainly make waves on a national platform,” said AristoVideo Manager, Jaime Marconette. “Using the tools that are now available for marketing artists, a creative campaign can engage fans, spark shares and convert listeners. We’re extremely pleased with the activity generated and the exposure gained for the Matt Kimbrow Band.”
Following the premiere, AristoVideo made “If It All Goes Right” available to a panel of more than 150 video outlets, which are national, syndicated, closed-circuit, Internet and at the regional levels.
Visit AristoVideo online here: http://aristovideopromo.com
Visit the Matt Kimbrow Band online here: www.MattKimbrow.com
A division of The AristoMedia Group, AristoVideo has built a thirty year history of marketing artists through visual mediums, including music videos, EPKs, liners and interview features serviced to television, closed-circuit and Internet partners across the globe.
Watch “If It All Goes Right” below!


text:
The nation's consumer watchdog says people are being left with fractured limbs, head injuries and burns as retailers fail to protect them from cheap, dodgy products.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is putting retailers on notice after receiving 2400 product-related death, injury and illness complaints in the past 12 months.
Complaints to the ACCC included chemical burns from cheap DIY teeth whiteners, brain and spinal cord damage from faulty ladders and dodgy infant recliners entrapping babies.
Some consumers even died after purchasing motorcycle helmets which failed to meet safety requirements.
Last financial year, 91 unsafe products were taken off the market, including four varieties of ladders and 28 different teeth whitening products.


text:
Jon Skinner, the founder and CEO of Music Gateway, is back to the Music Growth Talks podcast to talk about the latest platform developments, such as Sync Portal and Demo Space, as well as their just launched Kickstarter campaign aimed to fuel the October release of Music Gateway 2.0.
The new version of the platform, which connects musicians and industry professionals, is promised to have a load of new tools for artists, including the mobile app.
And the crowdfunding campaign is quite interesting, with the rewards including experiences such as a creative writing weekend on a yacht in Mallorca, various branded gear, or masterclasses on music business and sync licensing, and more. Listen to the show to find out the details.
⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2017/podcast/mgt95-jon-skinner/ for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast.