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The search giant is looking forward to launch its Music Store in tightintegration with its social platform, Google+. The Senior Vice President of Mobile at Google Andy Rubin has already declared that the company will soon announce its new Music Store and that too ‘with a twist’ that will make it distinctive form other services.
With new service, users will be able to suggest tracks in their online music library to their friends in Google+ circle. Moreover, friends will able to listen to the track for free for the first time before being asked to pay the said amount to download the MP3.
However, we have also come to know that Sony and Warner Music have expressed their concerns over Google’s Music service. Sony is concerned about Google’s acknowledgement of piracy on YouTube and Android platforms, while Warner thinks that Google offerings are not up to the mark.
Facebook doesn’t have its own music service rather it signed deals with other companies including Spotify and Deezer recently to integrate these services in its platform.
Integration of Spotify with Facebook is disliked by many users as all the new Spotify users need to connect to Facebook account first to use the service.
The company recently announced its new social graph implementation, allowing streaming services including Spotify and Deezer to deeply integrate their platforms into the social network to share what its users were listening to, driving music sharing between friends.


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Addison Lee kicks off search for ad agency
Addison Lee is on the hunt for its first retained advertising agency, as the London minicab company looks to expand its business following a £300 million US takeover.
The company, which has 4,500 vehicles in the capital, has shortlisted agencies and plans to increase its investment in marketing activity over the next year.
The process is being handled by AAR and will conclude next month. A PR agency will also be appointed.
Peter Boucher, formerly the commercial marketing director at Vodafone, joined Addison Lee as its first chief commercial officer in September last year.
The Carlyle Group, the US private-equity company, bought Addison Lee in a deal reportedly worth £300 million in April last year. It is looking to expand the company outside London.
This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk
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domain: news


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Mon, 8 January 2018
Net neutrality, it once ruled the American internet, but now it’s gone. So what? Ali Velshi, the Chief Business Correspondent for NBC News offers some looks ahead to a near-certainty of higher consumer costs and the frightening possibility of reduced services and censored content.
The big change in the Trump FCC rules is far less regulation for the oligarchies that dominate both internet service provision and content creation. As the old blues goes…you don’t miss your neutrality till it’s gone.


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New Orleans area hotels had the eighth-highest occupancy rate in November among the top 25 markets, according to Smith Travel Research.
The 57.2 percent rate was down from 63.8 percent from a month ago but up 1.1 percent compared with the same month a year ago.
New York City had the highest rate at 75.7 percent, while the Norfolk-Virgina Beach, Va., area had the lowest at 43.8 percent.
Meanwhile, rooms in New Orleans were the 11th most expensive, at an average of $109.74 a night, down from $123.04 in October and $130.71 a year ago. New York was the most expensive at $245.91, while Norfolk-Virginia Beach had the lowest average nightly rate at $67.95.
The national occupancy rate was 49.5 percent, down from 58.1 percent a month ago but up from 51.7 percent a year ago. The average nightly room rate was $93.60, down from $99.08 in October and $102.10 a year ago.•
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Fair trade practices could have a huge impact on poverty: How Fair Trade Africa Helps Farmers Succeed
November 05, 2019
Credits: Photo: Flickr
Fair Trade Africa, an organization that oversees all the Fairtrade certified producers in Africa, ensures their practices meet fair-trade standards. It currently operates in 33 African countries, representing more than 1,050,000 producers and working in industries that produce goods such as coffee, bananas, tea, cotton and cocoa.
Fifty percent of the organization is owned by farmers and workers and envisions a world in which farmers are able to live their lives to their fullest potential and gain control of their own future. Additionally, Fair Trade Africa also works on numerous projects throughout each year to ensure farmers’ rights are protected.
Read more here


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California residents might be interested to learn about an intellectual property dispute that is going on between two of the largest sportswear manufacturers in the world. In a lawsuit that was filed in Oregon, Nike is alleging that three of its former designers violated non-compete agreements and stole intellectual property by sharing information with Adidas.
According to the lawsuit, the three designers secretly began sharing information with Adidas while still employed by Nike. The designers pitched and sold the idea for Brooklyn Creative Design Studio to Adidas. Nike claims that the idea for the studio replicates Nike’s own design lab called The Kitchen. Nike is also claiming that the three designers shared information with Adidas about Nike’s future design plans for various fashion lines.
Nike claims that Adidas was aware of the designer’s transgressions and even offered to cover the expense of any legal fallout that might arise. In addition to purchasing the idea for the design studio, Adidas offered the designers high-paying employment contracts. As part of the non-compete agreements that they signed with Nike, the designers are barred from associating with Adidas while working for Nike and the first year after their employment with Nike ends. Nike is seeking more than $10 million in damages.
Although proving that intellectual property has been stolen can sometimes be difficult, the existence of a non-compete agreement can help with the process. If a business owner believes that one of their employees has shared important information with a competing company, an attorney might be able to help the business owner to enforce the terms of the non-compete agreement.
Source: Reuters, “Nike accuses former shoe designers of taking secrets to Adidas”, Andrew Chung, December 09, 2014


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The Woof Washer is a Hoop-like Dog Washing Tool
Posted on October 23, 2017
The Woof Washer can be found on Amazon.com. Most of the reviewers like the dog cleaning device. The reviewers who did not like it said they found the design to be too brittle.
Here is the original commercial which shows dogs of various sizes betting washed by the Woof Washer.
Oreo Launches Gluten Free Cookies - posted January 3, 2021
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Roku Launches Limited-Edition Roku SE Streaming Player for Black Friday - posted November 17, 2020
Nintendo Announces Nintendo Switch Black Friday Bundle - posted November 9, 2020
Hess Toy Truck Launches First Plush Toy Fire Truck - posted October 22, 2020


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LaunchVT kicks off second business competition
Vermont-based entrepreneurs can once again throw their hats in the ring, battling for money and business connections through LaunchVT, a competition presented by the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce and its affiliate Burlington Young Professionals group.
Chamber President Tom Torti explained the competition is a means to enhance a culture that already exists in the area, offering a chance for young business leaders to come or stay in the state.
“It’s a way to create a buzz and keep young people in Vermont and draw people to Vermont,” Torti said.
Last year’s winner, Michael Adams, 25, of Richmond-based software company Gredio, won $20,000 cash and $40,000 worth of in-kind services to help his business grow.
The victor this year will get even more, with $25,000 cash and $45,000 in-kind offerings.
Torti thanked the project’s supporters who he said have made a commitment to future Vermont business leaders. FreePressMedia is a sponsor of the competition.
LaunchVT co-founder Nick Grimley said applications for the competition include a 15-20 slide pitch, an executive summary and simple financial model.
Last year 60 applications were received, Grimley said. Twenty-five have been submitted so far this year; the deadline is Feb. 15.
Six finalists will be selected and paired with mentors from within the business community. Those mentors will take competitors through the process are encouraged to form relationships that extend beyond the competition.
Adams was paired last year with Cairn Cross of FreshTracks Capital. Adams said he felt like a winner long before his name was called thanks to that business relationship.
Gredio, the company Adams founded with Andrew Rousseau, allows bakers, food producers and others to add recipes, create production schedules and download ingredient reports in order to better manage products.
Adams said he has owned food-related business for about 15 years, including his latest, Green Mountain Mustard.
Gredio was born when manufacturing became overwhelming and the solutions available were too costly for the small business owner. Adams said the LaunchVT competition offered a way for him to find “my people.”
“We finally had something that celebrated us,” he said of the project, aimed at young businesspeople.
While Adams said he has not yet spent much of his prize money, the in-kind work has created a new, professional-looking Gredio website. The company has about doubled its user base and Adams has gone from running a food company to running a software company.
LaunchVT applications can be submitted by anyone running a Vermont-based company. Visit www.launchvt.com for more.


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It is just a matter of time before folding smartphones hit the market. Apparently, Samsung Electronics will be the first company in the world to present such devices. And there is a high probability that all this will happen next year.
Several companies are engaged in the development of flexible screens for mobile phones. All of them see the technology as very promising: it allows the user to operate the device with one hand, but at the same time does not deprive him of comfortable work on the big screen.
“Subcontractors will begin supplying mobile components to Samsung Electronics starting in November. The company will then begin assembling the smartphone, which is slated to launch next year, ”says analyst Park Hyung-woo at Shinhan Financial.
Kim Jang-Yeol, Research Director at Golden Bridge Investment, estimates the retail price of Samsung's foldable phablet will be around 2 million won (or $ 1,850 ) excluding subsidies.
"It will have a 7.3" OLED screen and when folded down, the display will be 4.5 ", says Kim.
Samsung Electronics spokesman Kim Choon-gon says the company does intend to develop a device with a true foldable display, but declines to comment on other specifications and features of the device so far. Kim Ho-jeong, a spokesman for Samsung Display division, has confirmed that the concept is in development, but the company will not give official comments on it yet. We only know that Samsung has registered several new patents, including the technology of folding the display without the risk of damaging internal components. This patent, dubbed "artificial muscle", relates to the motor components of the screen.
According to Park Hyung-woo, the company will showcase the prototype to major US and European mobile operators in private meetings at next year's technology fair in Las Vegas.
Clearly Samsung wants to be the first foldable phablet manufacturer. The South Korean company cannot allow its main competitors, the Chinese, Huawei and ZTE, to outstrip it in this area, as they are also working on their own projects of mobile devices with bendable screens.
The Topic of Article: Samsung to be the first to launch foldable phablet.


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APPRENTICE winner Alana Spencer launched her cake business when she was just 17.
The 24-year-old started her company at school, selling home made chocolate to teachers before moving into cakes.
She had unsuccessfully applied for the Junior Apprentice show seven years ago when she launched her company.
What is Alana Spencer’s cake company?
Alana’s cake company is called Narnas Cakes.
Lord Sugar’s new apprentice set up Narnas in a small village just outside Aberystwyth back in 2010.
The company’s website said Alana – then just 16 – became a self taught chocolatier.
After making her first batch of brownies Alana – the show’s youngest candidate – took them into the delicatessen she was working for.
Narnas website states: “The products have developed over the years and now we have 6 well loved products that are sold in Delis across the country.
“She also has a busy events calendar travelling the country bringing her delicious goodies to a large number of food festivals and country shows.”
Where can I buy Narna’s cakes?
You can buy Alana Spencer’s cakes on her website or via the company’s Facebook page.
Narnas is a “travelling cake shop” which means it can be found at food festivals all over the UK. The cake shop has won two great taste awards, according to Facebook.
The company had stalls at Manchester Christmas market, Bolton Christmas market and the Good Food show in the run up to Christmas.
Narnas also sells to cafés and delis around the country.
What does the company sell?
Narnas boasts “the yummiest tray bakes” and has six products for sale.
Their products are peanut butter fudge cake, salted caramel slice, gooey chocolate brownie, creme brulee brownie, sticky toffee flapjack and rocky road.
Apprentice winner Alana Spencer lashes out at Jessica Cunningham and Frances Bishop over lingerie photo shoots
The Apprentice 2016 winner revealed as Alana Spencer wins Lord Alan Sugar’s £250,000 investment
The Apprentice’s Alana Spencer and Courtney Wood to go head-to-head in the final
Who is Alana Spencer? Meet The Apprentice 2016 finalist – here’s what we know


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Nobody Saves the World is now out for PC Game Pass members
The Game Pass library has expanded with a game that will let you save the world!
A new title from the creators of Guacamelee! was released today and it's available Day One with PC Game Pass subscription! If you are a member, you can now download Nobody Saves the World and become a featureless being that can transform into anything you want. Change into a robot, or a rat, and combine powerful abilities to create various builds you can use for the sake of the world.
People who never subscribed to PC Game Pass before, are able to join the subscription for just $1 / 1€ / £1 / 4 zł for first month and play Nobody Saves the World and more within the ever-growing library of quality PC games.
More subscription news
It’s not the complete list yet, but these new games on Game Pass in May sure look tempting!
Members now have a tough nut to crack - which one from the three new titles to play first?
Two freshly released games included in the library on a single day? Now that's superb news!
Members can now claim a new pack with Lost Ark items for free!
A newly released indie game is now up for the members.


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A roughly $5 billion reported settlement between Facebook and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to close an investigation into the Cambridge Analytica data scandal is angering Democrats and tech industry critics who see it as a weak punishment.
Details of the settlement have not been made public by the agency, but The Wall Street Journal and other outlets reported on Friday that Republican FTC commissioners approved the deal in a 3-2 party-line vote last week.
The biggest tech critics in Congress, who had long pushed for tough penalties on Facebook over its handling of consumer data, made it clear that the settlement terms fell short of their expectations.
“The FTC just gave Facebook a Christmas present five months early,” Rep. David CicillineDavid CicillineDemocrats seek to cool simmering tensions Hillicon Valley —Apple is not a monopoly, judge rules Judge rules Apple is not 'illegal monopolist' in high-profile Epic case MORE (D-R.I.) said in a statement. “It’s very disappointing that such an enormously powerful company that engaged in such serious misconduct is getting a slap on the wrist.”
Full details about the terms of the settlement have yet to be released, but media reports indicated that Facebook will have to submit to greater oversight about how it collects user data. The fine would also be the largest the federal government has ever handed to a tech company. The previous record, issued in 2012 against Google, was $22.5 million.
But Facebook admitted in its most recent earnings report in April that it expected to pay as much as $5 billion to settle the investigation. And critics say that will be a drop in the bucket for a company whose first-quarter revenue this year was $15 billion and that reportedly has more than $40 billion in cash reserves.
Facebook’s stock even rose on Friday after the reports, suggesting markets saw little to fear from the fine, although much of the gains were lost during trading on Monday.
“This fine is a fraction of Facebook’s annual revenue. It won’t make them think twice about their responsibility to protect user data,” said Cicilline.
Democratic lawmakers, who had long made clear to the FTC that they didn’t believe the sum was high enough, or that a fine alone would be sufficient to change the company’s behavior after a string of scandals outraged Congress, were quick to pounce on the news.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who has called for Facebook to be broken up, said in his own statement that only “structural, behavioral, and leadership reforms” would fix the problems at the company.
“The FTC is foolish and foolhardy to rely on money alone to punish decades of past privacy violations and ongoing profiteering,” he said. “Facebook’s business model is to monetize personal, confidential consumer information. It is relentlessly and tirelessly expanding its business model to invade our private lives.”
Sen. Amy KlobucharAmy KlobucharHillicon Valley — Presented by Xerox — Officials want action on cyberattacks Senate panel advances antitrust bill that eyes Google, Facebook This week: Democrats face mounting headaches MORE (D-Minn.), a 2020 presidential candidate, added, “Given the magnitude of the Cambridge Analytica violation, the FTC not only needs to impose a more significant fine, they need to be clear about what Facebook must change when it comes to data practices. It appears that they haven’t done that, which is why Congress must take action.”
The criticism of the settlement was bipartisan, with Facebook also in GOP crosshairs over a host of issues from its market size to allegations of anti-conservative bias.
On Monday, Republican Sen. Josh HawleyJoshua (Josh) David HawleySchumer moves to break GOP blockade on Biden's State picks Dems punch back over GOP holdup of Biden SBA nominee DHS chief 'horrified' by images at border MORE (Mo.) joined the chorus of Democrats, saying in a tweet, “To say this was a slap on the wrist for Facebook is too generous. No restrictions on Facebook collecting & sharing user data w/ third parties? Really does make you wonder if FTC jurisdiction should be reassigned.”
It is still unclear when the FTC will release the text of the settlement, which is reportedly under review by the Department of Justice, but it is certain to get more scrutiny and backlash in the coming days.
Two Facebook executives will be testifying in separate hearings before Congress on Tuesday to defend the company’s market power and its plans to launch a cryptocurrency. And next week, FTC Chairman Joseph Simons, a Republican, will testify before the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust.
There are still plenty of open questions about the FTC’s order, including whether it covers other privacy incidents aside from Cambridge Analytica and what other actions regulators will require of Facebook. But the reported partisan split at the agency over the settlement will likely invite further scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers.
And it’s certainly not the end of Facebook’s troubles with regulators. The company is facing investigations around the world, and Cicilline is leading a probe into tech giants’ market power that could expose Facebook to more restrictions from policymakers.
And the settlement is likely to intensify the spotlight on the FTC itself. In recent years, European regulators have been at the forefront of cracking down on tech industry practices. Consumer advocates have accused the FTC of being slow to act and lawmakers have openly questioned the agency’s ability to effectively police Silicon Valley.
The Facebook investigation was widely viewed as a test case for the agency’s ability to crack down on tech giants as Congress explores a potential consumer privacy bill that could give the agency more powers and oversight.
There are already calls for lawmakers to step in.
Charlotte Slaiman, a policy counsel at the consumer group Public Knowledge, believes that the settlement should impose conditions on Facebook’s practices if it’s to be effective. She said Congress has to act if lawmakers aren’t satisfied with the outcome.
“Their legal authority is insufficient,” Slaiman said of the FTC. “They can’t be an especially effective privacy regulator with the authority that they have.”
“Congress should act to give the FTC better authority on privacy and that will allow them to be stronger in situations like this,” she added.


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Still not in compliance with the European Union's Restrictions on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive? Still confused about the EU's new and emerging environmental laws?
According to a number of surveys, you're not alone.
Chicago-based distributor Newark InOne found that 30% of the design engineers and component buyers it sampled not too long ago do not believe the EU's RoHS directive will have any real impact on their company over the next 12 months.
"They either don't feel that it affects them in any way, or they don't deal with Europe, or they're dealing with suppliers or customers that are exempt," says Jeff Shafer, Newark InOne's vice president of product marketing. However, Shafter expects that to change. "We think that might go up to 75% to 80%, but that might not happen for another 12 to 18 months."
Arena Solutions, a product life cycle management (PLM) software provider, found that 83% of the respondents to its survey were at severe or high risk of being unable to demonstrate compliance or due diligence with RoHS. Arena also found that 60% were not confident they could track all of the parts and materials in their products.
If Europe doesn't give industry manufacturers a push toward RoHS compliance, China might. China, which already manufactures about 25% of the electronic products imported into the EU, has developed its own RoHS directive. China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII) has pushed through its Management Methods for Controlling Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products Regulation, better known simply as China RoHS, which requires anyone doing business in China will have to comply with China's RoHS laws by March 1, 2007.
China RoHS is the first step in that country's environmental rulemaking process. Future elements are expected to cover industry products in more detail, among other issues. Meanwhile, South Korea also is well on its way to producing and implementing its own national regulations and is expected to adopt RoHS-like legislation that will take effect by mid-2007.
It all comes down to due diligence. How much due diligence a producer has undertaken to avoid putting non-compliant products on the market will be a key factor in their defense against prosecution. In the U.K., for example, a due diligence defense requires that a manufacturer prove that it took all "reasonable steps" to meet compliance. Reasonable steps has been interpreted to mean having a documented and auditable process that shows steps were taken to verify the information that is collected from a manufacturer's suppliers.
Penalties are an obvious concern. The sense of most close observers is that the first major manufacturer to be fined or hit with some other level of punishment that presumably will set the standard for everyone else found to be not in compliance. So far, other than the EU refusing to accept shipments of some Apple Computer and Palm products, that hasn't happened, at least not under RoHS. (A few retailers in Ireland have been fined under the EU's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, which went into effect in 2005.)
Even though RoHS covers six substances, lead is still the big issue for most of the industry. IPC, the Association Connecting Electronics Industries, has released a report that overwhelmingly suggests that OEMs and electronic manufacturing service (EMS) companies view reliability, component acquisition and labeling, and inventory management as the greatest hindrance to lead-free implementation. "Component acquisition and labeling are now, and will continue to be, significant barriers to lead free compliance," says Anthony Hilvers, IPC vice president of industry programs. "Beyond the science that is core to reliability concerns, there is no excuse for some of the labeling and component acquisition complaints we hear in our office on a daily basis."
On the plus side, the EU has recently added new exemptions to RoHS, bringing to 29 the number of RoHS exemptions. According to Raymond Communications, an consultancy and reporting service which tracks RoHS and other environmental activities, says the two new exemptions apply to certain applications of cadmium, lead, and hexavalent chromium. Specifically, the new allowances include:
- Lead alloys as solder for transducers used in high-powered loudspeakers
- Lead oxide in plasma display panels and surface conduction electron emitter displays used in structural elements
- Lead in solders for the soldering to machined through hole discoidal and planar array ceramic multilayer capacitors
In terms of quality, everyone seems to be getting with the program. Shafer of Newark InOne says he hasn't heard of any complaints about the quality of R0HS compliant products. "If you're a supplier and you have a certain percentage of the market, you want to be sure you hold on to it. You don't want to get a black eye right out of the chute. So, I think everyone has done a pretty good job of changing their materials."
On the downside, manufacturers are reporting that electronic parts are becoming obsolete at a quickening pace as more manufacturers switch to RoHS-compliant products. Even manufacturers who initially announced plans to continue to offer leaded devices are rethinking their strategy of maintaining two separate production lines.
Where's The U.S. Response?
So, where does the U.S. stand in developing federal-level RoHS-like environmental legislation? It's a mixed picture, at best. There are a few bills in the hopper in Congress that address e-waste, but it isn't very definitive. This worries a large segment of the industry, especially consumer electronics OEMs, who want to know—need to know—how the U.S. government is going to respond to RoHS, if at all. A recently published study on the state-by-state e-waste patchwork legislation projects $25 million in recurring annual costs or a total of $224 million that will be spent by consumers, state governments and industry in the next eight years if the federal government doesn't come up with a national electronics recycling plan (see related story, "National U.S. Recycling Solution Seen As Critical").
"The study clearly illustrates the need for a national solution to electronics recycling as an alternative to state-by-state mandates," says Parker Brugge, senior director and environmental counsel for the Consumer Electronics Association. "The projected $224 million to be spent through 2012 should be used to recycle hundreds of millions of pounds of electronics, not squandered on state-level non-recycling costs such as policing out-of-state electronics, engaging in dozens of state legislative and study initiatives, complying with multiple and divergent state requirements, and administering duplicative state programs."
Other challenging environmental directives are on the way.
The EU's Energy-Using Products (EuP) and Registration, the End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV), the EU Packaging, and the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) directives will also have a major impact on the global electronics industry. The EuP (Directive 2005/32/EC), scheduled for implementation in August 2007, will require manufacturers to pretty much start their new product designs from scratch in an effort to reduce energy consumption in products throughout their life cycle.


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A “lucky” hair clip worn by one of China’s gold medallists at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has gone viral, with sales of her hair clip and other accessories she wears surging in the past week. Athlete Yang Qian has won two gold medals for shooting, including China’s first gold medal at the games, which has made her into a major celebrity. A yellow duck hair clip she wore has caught people’s attention. Yang, 21, told domestic Chinese media the hair accessory is her lucky charm.Do you have questions ab
, which has made her into a major celebrity.A yellow duck hair clip she wore has caught people’s attention. Yang, 21, told domestic Chinese media the hair accessory is her lucky charm.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with
SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.“Soon after Yang Qian won the first gold medal, we launched a marketing website with a poster carrying her picture and the words ‘celebrating Yang Qian winning the championship’. We also lowered the price a little in the meanwhile,” Hu Jungang, an online shop owner selling the pin, told state media broadcaster CCTV.
China’s Qian Yang celebrates with her gold medal after winning the 10m air rifle women’s final at the Asaka Shooting Range on the first day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Photo: Getty“One hour after the link was released, thousands of the yellow duck hair clips had sold out. More than 10,000 pieces were sold in half a day,” he said. headtopics.com
Before Yang won gold at the Olympic Games, the hair clip had been available on the market for three years, but with a poor sales record, according to Mao Xuxia, a businesswoman at Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu of Zhejiang.“In the past, I could only sell up to 100 such clips a day. Now, the daily sales have surpassed 10,000,” Mao told the
Qianjiang Evening News.Yang Qian of China competes during the Tokyo 2020 women’s 10m air rifle final. Photo: XinhuaEach hair clip costs about 3 yuan (46 US cents) online. Previous monthly sales at one website owned by Chen Gengping were just 800, in stark contrast with the 25,000 per day since Yang shot to fame, the report said.
“I have never seen such a phenomenally hit product before. I should say I have benefited from association with Yang Qian,” Chen said.Online searches for “same style as Yang Qian” hair clip rose 420 per cent at shopping website Taobao, while the searches for a carrot inspired headband she wore at the Olympics also soared 210 per cent, said the report.
Story continuesTaobao is owned by the Alibaba Group which is also the owner of theSouth China Morning Post.“Please send the hair clip and the band to me as quickly as possible,” one buyer said in a message on the platform. “I need good luck. I want to close my distance with the Olympics champion.” headtopics.com
“I’ve bought the same product as Yang Qian’s for my daughter. The kid is happy with that,” another buyer said.In an interview with miguvideo.com, Yang said her favourite manicuring style is pearl, leading to some fashion apps producing video clips on how to make pearl nail decorations at home.
Cooking websites also took advantage of Yang’s fame by writing articles introducing how to make braised prawns, the dish she said she missed and was usually cooked by her mother. Read more: Yahoo Singapore »
Permission to Dance? BTS sing their way through United Nations
NEW YORK — Fully vaccinated South Korean band BTS danced its way through the United Nations (UN) in a Monday (Sept 20) broadcast, promoting global goals tackling poverty, inequality, injustice and climate change ahead of the annual UN gathering of world leaders.
'My best caddie': Chinese Taipei golfer enlists wife for Olympic bidTOKYO: Chinese Taipei golfer CT Pan has found an ingenious way around the 'no family' rule at the spectator-free Tokyo Olympics - he employs his ...
Cycling: Van Vleuten wins Tokyo Olympics time trial goldThis time, there was no mistake. Annemiek van Vleuten is officially an Olympic champion.
Swimming: Overcoming depression, Japan's Ohashi storms to double medley gold at Tokyo OlympicsJapan's Yui Ohashi was a reluctant star after completing the individual medley double with victory in the 200m on Wednesday (Jul 28), but she said ...
Olympics-Judo-Japan's Arai shines with eyes on women's -70 kg gold in TokyoJapan's double world champion judoka Chizuru Arai advanced into the semi-finals of the Olympic competition by pinning German Giovanna Scoccimarro ...
Olympics-Judo-Japan's Arai wins women's -70 kg gold medalJapanese judoka Chizuru Arai won the gold medal in the women's judo -70 kg category in the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, beating Michaela Polleres ...


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Monster Focused On Younger Audience At Daytona Brands Seemingly Reluctant To Sponsor '18 World Cup Marketplace Roundup Turner Sports Selling Single-Sponsor Ad Breaks Monster Easing Into NASCAR Title Sponsorship Could Mookie Betts Be Next Face Of Baseball? Nike Uses Davis For ASG Weekend "Equality" Ads Marketplace Roundup Nature's Bakery Intends To Countersue SHR New NBA Jersey Deals Could Signal Changing Market
SBD/April 30, 2012/Marketing and Sponsorship
Published April 30, 2012
EXPENSIVE COMPETITION: Reebok President Uli Becker acknowledged that Nike "made continuing his company's deal with the NFL too expensive.” Becker “pointed to other professional and college sports still connected with Reebok or associated Adidas names.” However, he said that his company “recognized several years ago that a big part of its future would be in the personal fitness niche, where it began in the early 1980s, as more and more adults worldwide seek to improve their health.” Becker: “We want to create a reason why Reebok will be there and it has a lot to do with the fitness lifestyle.” He acknowledged that company finances and operations “were rough following Adidas’ 2005 acquisition of Reebok.” Becker: “Obviously in a recession the weakest are affected the most. But we’ve been growing ever since. We’ve replaced a lot of our business with really growing business, and the last two years we’ve had really good growth” (BOSTON HERALD, 4/29).
FUTURISTIC FOOTBALL: AD WEEK’s Tim Nudd wrote the Nike Football commercial that broke Thursday night during the NFL Draft was “rugged, stylized, eye-catching.” The spot from Portland-based Wieden & Kennedy was directed by Mark Romanek and “visually, it’s expert stuff -- clean and futuristic, set in a space-agey stadium tunnel.” But despite “the fancy visuals, it’s the percussive copy that pushes the spot forward.” The voiceover in the commercial says, “This game is not fast. This game is faster” (ADWEEK.com, 4/27).
IN THE WORKS: Spanish-language sports site Marca.com is reporting La Liga club Real Madrid is “on the verge of signing a new sponsorship deal with Adidas until 2020.” The figure involved in the deal “has not yet been announced by either side, but the new deal will certainly represent an improvement" on the US$46.3M received by the club for the '11-12 season (GOAL.com, 4/28).
CLARIFICATION: In Wednesday’s issue, THE DAILY mischaracterized details of Procter & Gamble’s recent deal for its Tide brand and the NFL. P&G handled all aspects of that deal with the NFL internally. THE DAILY regrets the error (THE DAILY).


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How fasting food got creative this festive season
If you are devout, you have an array of options to choose from even as you abstain through these austere days.
Delhi digs fast food chains, Mumbai prefers restaurants
Per capita spend on food services by urban population in India is less than one-tenth...
Burgers go past pizzas in fast food war
Industry experts said burger brands are making a faster comeback than pizzas, while sales of both fel...
Consumers tightfisted, fast food companies try out discount recipe
With buyers tightfisted, Big fast-food brands like Costa Coffee, Pizza Hut, Dunkin' Donuts, KFC and Domino's are trying hard to bait them with 'deep' discounts
GST framework on fast track
The first meeting of the GST council, contrary to expectations, made good progress on a number of issues.
Nikkei rises in choppy trade as Fast Retailing surges
The Nikkei ended 0.5 per cent higher after trading in negative territory earlier. The benchmark index was nearly flat for the week.
Call centre kingpin Shaggy loved fast cars
A Thane crime branch team camping in Gujarat returned as they couldn't find Shaggy , who is believed to have gone to Dubai in September.
Facebook adds food ordering feature
Users will also be able to get quotes from businesses, buy movie tickets and book appointments at spas and salons.
Risks to China from 'very fast' credit growth rising rapidly: IMF
The fund has projected the world's second-largest economy would grow 6.6 percent in 2016, but said expansion would gradually slow to around 5.8 percent in 2021.
Government looks to fast-track approvals for clinical trials
The central drug regulator plans to fast track the approval process for clinical trials while ensuring that the contract research organisations.
Germany's fast start a reaction to Euro 2016 loss - Hummels
SOCCER-WORLDCUP-GER-NIR:Germany's fast start a reaction to Euro 2016 loss - Hummels
Data breach threat is real and rising fast in India: Kaspersky Lab
India is among the top five countries in the world to be attacked by ransomware -- malware that forces its victims to pay a ransom.
Navratri special: Eateries that can stir up a feast for fasting in Bengaluru
Eateries like Yauatcha & Indian Kitchen on MG Road are being met with demands for vegetarian dishes during Navratri.
Those who eat fast food have more industrial chemicals in their bodies
Junk food is a significant source of chemicals, which may leach into food from machinery used in processing/packaging, or from gloves worn by workers.
Open up e-commerce, food industries for FDI: US to India
There needs to be work on improving the business environment as continuing the work of creating fairness and transparency in regulation.


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RAGE teaser site relaunched
Bethesda and id Software have announced that they have given the RAGE teaser site a facelift and relaunched it.
To celebrate the relaunch of the site id has furnished it with a selection of brand new screenshots of their latest shooter.
RAGE is set in a post-apocalyptic world as humanity struggles to recover from Earth being hit by an asteroid. Players will be thrust into the midst of it all courtesy of id's brand new Tech 5 game engine that they promise will deliver an experience like no other.
RAGE is expected to be released on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on September the 13th in the US and September the 16th in Europe.
- Thomas Was Alone gets a release date for PS4 and Wii U
- New Warframe update adds space-flight to the gameplay with Archwing mode
- New poll indicates that people believe online gaming is “the least welcoming space” for women
- CD Projekt RED releases The Trail, the opening cinematic from The Witcher 3
- New Project CARS trailer pulls up to the starting grid
- Far Cry 4 dev says linear games will suffer in the new world of gameplay video sharing
- Almost 1,100 developers, students and journalists sign the new #gamediversity petition embracing diversity in games
- Felicia Day breaks her silence about #Gamergate, is almost immediately doxxed
- Ubisoft announces PC specs for Assassin's Creed: Unity and they're killer


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The European securities and markets authority (ESMA) has allocated more than €1 million for monitoring activity in the field of cryptocurrency and financial technology.
These data are published in the work programme of the Agency for 2019, informs Rus.Media.
The document States that ESMA will monitor the current trends in FINTECH – and kryptongatan, to identify various problems and risks associated with financial innovation and to provide necessary guidance to market participants and consumers.
Also, the Agency will ensure compliance with the requirements set out in the EU Directive on markets and financial instruments. The latter, in particular, affect the suppliers of such financial instruments as contracts for difference (CFDs) and binary options. The Directive provides for a ban on the marketing and distribution of CFD trading amongst retail investors and other limitations for this segment of the market.
Earlier, the European banking organization published a report stating that the smart contracts and the blockchain can solve many of the problems of the financial industry.


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The OFT said it was not allowed to name the companies, which it called on to stop "unacceptable" practices or face formal enforcement action.
It criticised the nature of "most of the information given to consumers" and the omission of vital facts about the purpose of the call and the identity of the caller.
For example, some calls misled consumers into believing that they were one of the "few chosen individuals" contacted as part of a government scheme to help wipe out consumer debt.
Some recipients were transferred to a commercial debt management business on the pretext of talking to a not-for-profit debt adviser, and often there was no disclosure that there was a fee payable for both the initial advice and the debt solutions offered.
The investigation was sparked after the OFT received an unspecified number of complaints from consumers about the unsolicited nature of the calls.
The OFT was aided by the Information Commissioner's Office, which is the correct point of contact for complaints about automated cold calls and passed on complaints and evidence.
Some consumers were registered with the Telephone Preference Service, meaning that it was against the law to call them.
Nigel Cates, deputy director of consumer credit at the OFT, said: "Taking advantage of people who are suffering distress through debt problems is completely unacceptable and this practice of illegal or misleading cold-calling for debt management services must cease immediately."
This article was first published on brandrepublic.com


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Company launches legal proceedings following accusations of copyright infringement
Share this article
Angela Game, the team behind sandbox strategy game Myth of Empires, has begun legal proceedings against Ark: Survival Evolved developer Snail Games following the latter’s accusations that the title is built from stolen code.
The lawsuit filed with the US District Court of California names both Snail Games and Ark publisher Wildcard as defendants, and claims that allegations of Angela Game infringing copyright and misappropriating “trade secrets” are “false.” It also seeks damages caused by the game’s removal from Steam.
It claims that the evidence provided to Steam to supplement the


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Torey Pines Scientific has announced the launch if its new stirring
hot plate, which has been designed for use in the chemical,
pharmaceutical, biochemical, and laboratories where reproducible,
accurate, hands-off sample preparation...
UK company Laminar Medica has launched a new shipping container for
pharmaceuticals that according to tests does not deviate from the
set temperature range, even after 450 intercontinental


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First it was Donovon Piscopo, now it’s Oski Rozenberg.
On the same day it’s launched the “Donnie” edition of the Blazer Mid XT, Nike SB has unveiled a special Dunk for Oski Rozenberg. Appearing in Elite form, the kicks not only sport slick white and navy color-blocking to go with an icy outsole, but feature a lightweight textile upper. The Zoom-cushioned kicks even come with two sets of lacing and custom graphics on the insoles.
Expect the SB Dunk Elite “Oski” to drop on May 18 for $115 USD and, if the Piscopo release is anything to go by, a new Rozenberg video part is probably on the way, too.


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Cambria Suites Expands Into North Dakota
Friday June 28th, 2013 - 9:15AM BG
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WEST FARGO, ND—Choice Hotels International and KAJ Hospitality celebrated the groundbreaking of a new four-story, 103-room hotel, which will be connected to a future 15,000-sq.-ft. conference center in the area. The Cambria Suites West Fargo is scheduled to open in spring 2014.
KAJ Hospitality will be the owner/developer of both real estate development projects. The hotel and convention center project represents an estimated investment of more than $17 million and approximately 325 jobs to the greater West Fargo area.
“Cambria Suites is experiencing impressive expansion throughout the country because Cambria Suites hotels meet the demand for stylish, upscale hotels offering tremendous value,” Michael Murphy, SVP of upscale brands for Choice Hotels International, said in a statement. “Right now, West Fargo is seeing tremendous economic growth and that’s attracting major companies and the region’s top talent. So a hotel which understands what these businesses and travelers need is essential.”
North Dakota has become the fastest growing state in the United States, developing at nearly three times the national rate, according to Choice Hotels International. The city of West Fargo reflects that momentum. In 2012, the city issued 480% more commercial building permits than the previous year.
Tags: • Hospitality • Brands • Construction/Renovation •
As we begin 2015, and what is expected to be a healthy year for the hotel industry with expansion, progress and innovation as key catalysts for growth, Hotel Business is right on board with that momentum, bringing you, with this issue, our own updated product.


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The Apple Watch Series 6 has a significant health sensor that allows the users to check their blood oxygen levels.
Apple has included the latest technology in its Apple Watch Series 6 to facilitate people in the coronavirus era. This new feature will help people suffering from Covid-19 to measure their blood oxygen levels and identify if they need emergency help or not depending on the severity of the results.
While revealing the new Apple Watch Series 6 on Tuesday, Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, said: “With Apple Watch Series 6, you can measure your blood oxygen right from your wrist.” The company hosted a virtual event this year due to coronavirus to unveil its latest products. Unlike the previous fall events, this event was limited to online screens due to the pandemic.
Related Reading: Apple Watch Series 5: Specs, Release Date & Price
Originally launched in 2015, the Apple Watch has evolved exponentially. It has transformed from a luxury item to a health device and people are using it to maintain their health. The Apple Watch offers an ECG heart monitor, a step-tracking app, and a meditation app already. Apple CEO Tim Cook said during Tuesday’s event: “Apple Watch revolutionized what a watch can do. We feel a deep responsibility to keep innovating.”
The Apple Watch Series 6 is an upgraded version as it comes with a blood oxygen reader also called oximeter. All the health-related information gets stored in the health app which can be checked regularly. In addition to Covid-19 patients, people with severe asthma issues, pneumonia, and other pulmonary diseases can use the watch to track their health.
Since blood oxygen levels are usually checked by setting the oximeter on the tip of the finger, Apple Watch Series 6 is an upgraded version with new hardware making it more exclusive.


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Male: Boycott of Maldives by Indian tourists is likely to have a huge impact on tourism there, which is the biggest source of income for that country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Lakshadweep and the subsequent derogatory comments made by three Maldivian ministers had prompted a strong reaction from India. Big celebrities had appealed to boycott Maldives tourism and move towards Lakshadweep.
Number of tourists will increase in Lakshadweep and Andaman
Indian tourists visiting Maldives believe that this attitude of tourists will definitely increase the number of tourists to Indian peninsulas like Lakshadweep and Andaman. Indian tourists present in Maldives, while talking to news agency ANI, expressed their confidence towards the Indian peninsulas and kept a positive outlook and said that now Lakshadweep and Andaman are attracting tourists more than before.
Promoting the country’s tourism is positive
After Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep, large-scale campaigns were run on social media for the promotion of Lakshadweep. Along with this, the hashtag of Boycott Maldives also started trending. Kunal Somaiya, an Indian tourist who came to visit Maldives, says that the Prime Minister is promoting Indian tourism for the country. This is a positive thing for India. People should explore tourism in India only. It is not that Lakshadweep was not there earlier. People also knew about it. But Prime Minister Modi went there and promoted it in a very positive manner. Kunal Somaiya, who came to visit Male from Mumbai, had booked Maldives even before this controversy.
Maldives’ tourism industry depends on India
Avoiding any kind of political debate on the rift in relations between Maldives and India, Kunal did say that the current tension may increase the problems of Maldives. Kunal said that I am seeing in Maldives that if we talk about tourism, it is completely dependent on India. I don’t have any exact figures but among the foreign tourists here, the majority are Indian tourists. Some impact of the current tension is being seen. I have also heard that flights are also being cancelled.
Meanwhile, tourist DK Aggarwal, who came from Dehradun, expressed surprise at the current tension. He said that this will also affect those who have already made plans to visit Maldives. Aggarwal said that when we are not saying anything about your (Maldives) country then why are you (Maldives officials and ministers) saying derogatory things towards the Prime Minister of India? They should not do it like this.
The effect will be visible within a year
DK Aggarwal said that when Indian tourists start visiting Lakshadweep or other islands, Maldives will start seeing its impact within a year. After the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lakshadweep, awareness about Lakshadweep increased among people all over the world and people have searched Lakshadweep on Google on a large scale.
Latest World News


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A collection of news and information related to Herb Kohl published by this site and its partners.
Displaying items 1-12 of 68 » View latimes.com items only1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >
It is Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, there are basketballs bouncing all around me, sneakers squeaking and fans cheering. UCLA is playing San Diego State in the Wooden Classic, and I don't care. Being a basketball court, this is Rick...
Company TownSen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) plans to hold antitrust hearings on Universal's proposed merger with EMI....
Money & CompanyHere's your fool-to-cry Friday roundup of consumer news from around the Web: --If you bought a ticket through Ticketmaster between October 1999 and October of this year, you're due for some cash -- $1.50, to be precise. Because of a......
TechnologyThe chairman and top Republican on the Senate antitrust subcommittee have asked regulators to investigate Google Inc.'s search practices, saying they were concerned the company was biasing results to favor its own products. The senators -- panel...
L.A. Times Tech BlogGoogle Inc.'s Eric Schmidt has agreed to testify at a Senate antitrust subcommittee hearing, ending the company's standoff with the panel's leaders over which executive would face expected tough questioning about the Internet giant's role in the online...
Money & CompanyEric Schmidt: Google Inc. Chairman Eric Schmidt denied that the company cooks its search results to favor its products....
By Michael A. Memoli and Kathleen HennesseyWisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl will announce on Friday that he will retire at the end of his current term, adding to Democratic woes in the effort to maintain control of the Senate. -------------------- FOR THE RECORD: Corrected at 9:41 a.m. May 13: The caption...
Washington BureauRep. Paul Ryan, architect of the House Republicans' controversial budget plan and a rising star in the party, announced Tuesday that he won't seek the open Senate seat in Wisconsin in 2012. "Our nation is quickly approaching a debt crisis that will do...
L.A. Times Tech BlogSkeptical lawmakers on Wednesday interrogated the chief executives of AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA about their proposed merger, raising concerns that the $39-billion deal would increase prices for wireless consumers by creating a market dominated by two...
Top of the TicketFull text of and commentary on the Democrat's latest proposal to combat the fading job market before November's midterm elections....
Company TownThere may be a tug-of-war brewing in Washington, D.C., over whether the Federal Trade Commission or the Justice Department will join the Federal Communications Commission in reviewing Comcast's anticipated deal to take control of General Electric Co.'s...
Company TownThe marriage of the nation's largest cable and broadband provider with a Hollywood entertainment powerhouse has sent shock waves through Washington, D.C., as lawmakers and consumer activists are calling for an intense regulatory review of the deal....
Dec 1, 2012 |Column| Los Angeles Times
May 11, 2012 | Los Angeles Times
Dec 2, 2011 | Los Angeles Times
Dec 19, 2011 | Los Angeles Times
Jul 8, 2011 | Los Angeles Times
Sep 21, 2011 | Los Angeles Times
May 13, 2011 |Story| Los Angeles Times
May 17, 2011 |Story| Los Angeles Times
May 11, 2011 | Los Angeles Times
Sep 7, 2010 | Los Angeles Times
Dec 2, 2009 | Los Angeles Times
Dec 3, 2009 | Los Angeles Times
Original site for Herb Kohl topic gallery.


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Canned wines have seen a spike in popularity in populations across Europe and America looking for portability and convenience.
Over half of young people in the UK have consumed them, or plan to in the coming future, and they are commonly stocked in US supermarkets.
Markets renowned for their wine production, such as Italy and France, have held up a considerable amount of resistance. For some, the financial costs of this state of denial have worn thin.
Cacolac, the chocolate milk brand widely consumed by children across France, is using its Bordeaux origins to shed ten years worth of hushed investments propelling this upward trend.
The company will be investing €5 million in a new factory to increase its canned wine production with the hopes of stocking their products across the country.
But is the wine capital of the world ready? Are the French finally ready to embrace aluminium clad vino?
A post shared by Canned Wine Co. (@cannedwinecompany)
Canning the beverage is considered offensive by stalwarts
France’s domestic market could still be a tough nut to crack. The country created the blueprint for how wine is made around the world today, with practices dating back to Roman times adopted by everywhere from Australia to Chile.
Pride is taken in taste and quality control, with stringent standards in place. A visit to Bordeaux’s extravagant, well-stocked Cité du Vin makes that clear to see.
Cacolac are keen to emphasise that none of these elements will be sacrificed in the name of a different shaped container.
“When I first mentioned this project, I felt distrust,” explained Cacolac chairman Christian Maviel to The Times.
“A lot of people here thought we were going to spoil [the wine] but that is not the case at all,”
Their new facility will enable the company to produce forty million cans of wine a year – over four times more than their present output.
The same young people that enjoyed their chocolate milk ten years ago will be their best shot at embracing the change – 48 per cent of 18-24 year-olds in France have said they’d be willing to give tinned wines a chance.
Cacolac aren’t the only ones getting in on the action
Until now, traditional vineyards have pushed for confidentiality when supplying their wine to businesses that use cans.
Several well-established merchants are coming forward to shift the narrative.
Jean-Pierre Robinot, from the Loire, provides Winestar, a French company with supply deals in the US, with his his red Cabernet Franc and white Chenin.
Another, Anne-Victoire Monrozier, is putting her 250ml servings of Beaujolais into red tins.
If more announcements follow suit, it may well be a sign that France is finally ready to embrace the beverage in its new form.


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Cambodia’s blockchain-based payments platform – the digital currency-like system Cambodian central bankers call Bakong – went live on Wednesday, according to the country’s central bank.
- Bakong’s launch grants Cambodians a state-sanctioned platform for conducting instant mobile payments, with QR codes and phone numbers connecting digital wallets over a blockchain.
- The National Bank of Cambodia hosts Bakong atop the Hyperledger Iroha blockchain designed by Japanese technology company Soramitsu.
- Unlike most central bank digital currency projects, Bakong does not involve digitally native money; it is entirely fiat-backed. Users can make payments backed by their dollar or riel reserves.
- Cambodia sees Bakong as a critical step in modernizing its payment system and de-dollarizing its economy.
- Project-lead Serey Chea, an assistant governor at the central bank, also claimed Wednesday that Bakong’s e-payments would help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
- Fidelity Digital Assets Expands Crypto Custody Service to Asia
- IBM-R3 Pact Shows Tech Trumps Tribe in Enterprise Blockchain
- Blockchain Can Give $1.7T Boost to Global Economy by 2030: PwC Report
- Bitcoin News Roundup for June 22, 2020
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.


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The Significance of Blockchain Technology – A Guide
Although coexistent, while the Bitcoin has become a regular thing now, Blockchain is being discussed all over the world, across several industries. The technology hogged the limelight along with the Bitcoin to run the digital currency seamlessly. Blockchain technology shot to fame, primarily in the past two years.
Undeniably an ingenious invention, Blockchain Technology has grown into something significant and all tongues are waving about it. Precisely, it is a digital ledger of all financial transactions that have ever been taken place. It is growing constantly, as new completed blocks are added to it in a linear, chronological order while ensuring that it remains meddle-proof.
(Read Detailed Explanation – What is Blockchain Technology? )
With many peculiar attributes, the technology keeps the tech community hooked:
Aside from Bitcoin, the world’s first crtyptocurrency, Blockchain technology now finds potential uses in the tech community for being incorruptible. It has bring into light a new type of internet by allowing the digital information to be shared, but not copied.
The information contained on a Blockchain exists as shared, continually reconciled, database. The database is not centralized, hence completely transparent and easily verifiable, eliminating the need of an intermediate or a third-party. Hosted by millions of computers simultaneously, the data is accessible by anyone on the internet, but no centralized version exists for the hackers to corrupt.
The underlying concept of blockchain is robust, stores information in blocks that are identical across the network, cannot be controlled by a single entity and contains no single point of failure. The distributed ledgers have irrevocable train of transactions, which makes any hacking attempts unsuccessful. Cost advantages and efficiency come automatically with this feature.
Banks are among the first to exploit the opportunity that Blockchain technology brings along. This distributed ledger technology can reduce the infrastructure cost pertaining to cross-border payments, regulatory compliance and securities trading. Thus, it comes as no surprise that banks are investing resources to explore the blockchain to its core. Additionally, it is expected to impact businesses (private firms, especially) as how they manage data and interact with customers and suppliers.
KryptoMoney.com publishes latest news and updates about Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrencies. To read some of the used and applied cases of Blockchain Technology in different sectors all over the world, visit our Blockhain Section.


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Fair markets blend trends, traditions
ELKHORN--At this year's Walworth County Fair, you can pick up a jar of homemade jam or gourmet pet treats, watch a blacksmith ply his trade, and get a lesson on medieval cooking, all in the same day.
The experiences are all part of a new feature, according to Eileen Walsh Grzenia, Walworth County Fair board director.
The three new main areas, close to Kiddieland on the fairgrounds, and running daily, include a farmers market, an old-world artisan village, and a medieval encampment.
The farmers market features about 20 vendors selling fresh fruit and vegetables, jams, jellies, baked goods, freshly ground nut butters, cheese honey, handcrafted soaps and scrubs, perennials like mums, and more.
There will be a few unexpected vendors as well. In the Old World Artisan Village, craftsmen like a blacksmith and a carver of handcrafted wooden shoes will be at work. Grzenia said items for sale will include jewelry, pottery, stained glass, fiber arts, metal works, photography and artwork.
The nearby medieval encampment will feature participants from the Society of Creative Anachronism, an international group. Many will be in period dress and involved in various crafts, skills and sports typical of the time.
Throughout the market, village and encampment, artisans will offer educational demonstrations at booths, tents and the market's gazebo, so visitors can not only shop and browse, but get an up-close look at old-world craftsmanship.
Grzenia said she's been thinking about a farmers market at the fair for years. She sees its setting as ideal for connecting consumers with vendors in local agricultural businesses.
The market's fresh food offerings make shopping for dinner on site easier for the hundreds of vendors and exhibitors who camp on the grounds during the fair's run, Grzenia said. But are day-tripping fairgoers willing to mix fun with food shopping?
“Part of the fun of being a Midwesterner is how adaptable we are to our weather and summertime adventures,” she wrote in an email. “Fair guests are known already to have packed a cooler in their vehicle for cream puffs and fudge. We encouraged them to please save some cooler space for fresh-pressed apple cider, garden fresh sweet corn and tomatoes, too. I learned years ago a fresh sweet corn stand near the Armory gate was a popular stop for fair guests.”
Grzenia, the official court reporter for Walworth County Circuit Judge David Reddy, has been a board member since 2009. She's got an agricultural history that stretches back to the town of Bloomfield farm she grew up on, 4-H projects, and the family business, The Cheese Box, that once operated in Lake Geneva.
But Grzenis also has another fair role.
“I am the creator of the fair's official pie, which is brought to surrounding fairs for fundraising and promotional purposes,” she said. “This year's pie is the Walworth County Fair Hidden Cream Cherry Supreme pie. “
Her first effort in 2009 was a caramel apple pie. She just exhibited it at the 2013 Wisconsin State Fair in the Kenmore Heritage Fruit Pie Competition, winning second out of 31 pies. It was also selected as the Wisconsin State Fair judge's favorite pie.
Fair pie sales have raised over $7,000 for fair causes since 2009, and they've provided some tasty desserts over the years. All pie recipes are shared on the fair's Facebook page in the “Notes” section.


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New wheelchair prototype allows users to turn by using their upper body strength, a novel steering system helping them "lean in" to bends.
NFL-Trump feud on anthem protests takes over fields across U.S.
Trump defends statements on NFL anthem protesters
Masked gunman kills woman, wounds several others at Nashville church
At least 20 arrested at St. Louis shopping mall
Amateur videos said to show aftermath of air strikes in Idlib


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JoeyCo Online Delivery Service Launches in Toronto and Mississauga
Online-based delivery service JoeyCo has launched in Toronto and Mississauga.
Mississauga’s Restaurant Industry Supports Uber in Quest to Build Smart Regulations
Uber has published a letter that they have written to Mississauga city council.
Anti-Uber Cabbies Disrupt Meeting, Yell “Shame, Shame, Shame” at Mississauga Mayor
A council meeting in the City of Mississauga was postponed due to taxi drivers protesting.
Mississauga Council Calls Uber “Invaders” as “Wild West” Continues on Streets
Mississauga City Council ends up reversing policy after Uber ignores requests to shut down.
Mississauga Council Votes to Halt Uber Operations While City Debates Next Steps
Uber has been asked to halt operations in Mississauga while city council debates the best way forward.
Mississauga City Council to Vote on Fully Legalizing Uber on March 2
Mississauga could be the first city in the Greater Toronto Area to fully legalize and regulate ride-sharing services.


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June 22, 2016, Toronto, ON, Canada- There are thousands of online stores facilitating the buying and selling of products, but few options for those interested in effectively trading goods. In a bid to bring bartering to the 21st century, tBarter is launching its easy-to-use platform to the masses.
The website tBarter.com will be launching in Canada and the United States on June 30. The company hopes to establish North America’s first truly comprehensive online bartering community.
tBarter provides an easy way for anyone with things lying around that they don’t need to extract some value from those items. With an extensive database of items, it should allow most users to find what they’re looking for locally — thus eliminating those pesky shipping fees that come with online purchases.
Even better, tBarter is free to use for both parties in an exchange. Fees are only involved if users need to use PayPal to balance out a deal involving two items of unequal prices. Buyers and sellers can even choose to use Bitcoin instead.
According to the company’s spokesperson, Gustavo Candia, “tBarter was designed to help people who are cash-poor, stuff-rich and those who are in favor of supporting an economy whose capitalism is infused with sustainability. Instead of our old stuff going to landfills, now we will be able to find people who can derive utility from it.”
The start-up has already been generating a lot of activity in its Facebook groups. More than 2,000 real items from real users are being added each day — and the number keeps rising. Whether users are looking for a piece of furniture or a high-end laptop, they’re sure to find it on tBarter.
For more information, visit tBarter.com.
Versions of the site have been floated out since 2011. Recently however some serious time and money was invested to get the platform to a point where it can attract and handle potentially millions of users per day. The thought is that if tBarter can reach that critical mass it will have established a marketplace for bartering here in the 21st century.
Company Name: tBarter
Contact Person: Gustavo Candia, tBarter CEO
Email: Send Email
Phone: (844) 209-1809
Address:100 Consilium Place Suite 200#5


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by Echo Wang and Svaya Herbst-Bellis
NEW YORK, Sept 7 (Reuters) – SoftBank Group Corp’s Arm Holdings Plc told potential investors on Thursday in its nearly $5 billion initial public offering that cloud computing expansion and royalty revenue represent key growth areas for the chip designer .
At a gathering of more than 100 investors at one of New York’s most luxurious hotels, Arm Chief Executive René Haas and his management team gave details about the company’s prospects beyond the mobile phone market, of which it already has 99% of the market. The % stake orders the people who were said to be present.
Arm’s revenue has stagnated due to weak mobile demand during the global economic downturn. Total sales in the 12 months to the end of March stood at $2.68 billion, compared to $2.7 billion in the previous period.
Arm is seeking a valuation on an all-in basis of $50 billion to $54.5 billion, down from the $64 billion it offered to SoftBank last month in a transaction with the $100 billion Vision Fund, which it manages.
Although some investors and bankers Reuters spoke to after the presentation were upbeat, it was unclear how strong the reception to the IPO would be. Arm has already secured the participation of several customers including Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp and Alphabet Inc as investors in the IPO. The books to close and the offer price to be determined are scheduled for September 13.
Arm told potential investors on Thursday that the cloud computing market, of which it has only a 10% share and therefore has more room for expansion, is expected to grow at an annual rate of 17% through 2025, partly thanks to advances in artificial intelligence. Thank you. The automotive market, which accounts for 41%, is projected to grow by 16%, while the mobile market is expected to grow by only 6%.
“He added that Apple uses 100% Arm architecture (due to Arm’s dominance in smart phones). The future growth driver is to expand market share in the Windows PC market,” said Ryuta Makino, a research analyst at Gabelli Funds. Said.
Arm also told investors that its royalty fees, which account for most of its revenue, had been piling up since it began collecting them in the early 1990s. Royalty revenue totaled $1.68 billion in the latest fiscal year, up from $1.56 billion a year earlier.
One area of scrutiny for investors has been Arm’s exposure to China given geopolitical tensions with the United States, which has led to a race to secure chip supplies. Sales in China would account for 24.5% of Arm’s $2.68 billion in revenue in FY2023.
Virtually all revenue comes from Arm China, an independent entity that has exclusive rights to distribute Arm’s technology in the country and is Arm’s largest customer. The company’s IPO filing states that ARM China has a history of late payments and that it presents a “significant risk” to Arm’s business.
Arm said in the filing that it owed $386.9 million to Arm China as of the end of March. Arm’s chief financial officer told investors during the marketing of the IPO that the company was not concerned about getting paid back. (Reporting by Echo Wang and Swea Herbst-Bellis in New York; Additional reporting by Max Cherney in San Francisco; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Richard Chang)


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The MoU was signed between Pinky Reddy and Nisha Biswal, President, USIBC.
A 45-member business delegation of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), the women business wing of trade body FICCI, comprising women entrepreneurs and professionals led by FLO president Pinky Reddy is currently on a visit to the US on a 11-day business trip to strengthen Indo-US trade relations. They are visiting the US with the objective of strengthening mutual understanding, cooperation and exchange of ideas between Indian and American women entrepreneurs. Washington DC, New York and Boston are a part of the 11-day itinerary for the delegation.
“During the first couple of days, FLO organised a round table discussion and FLO signed an MoU with US India Business Council (USIBC), the business advocacy group of America, to find new business opportunities, building markets, job creation, as well as developing strategic networking and bringing growing women-run enterprises into mainstream business between the two countries,” said FLO President Pinky Reddy in a statement from the US.
The MoU was signed between Pinky Reddy and Nisha Biswal, President, USIBC. “The major highlight of the visit is a FLO session in United Nations with discussion on feminism titled ‘Beyond Gender’. The business interests of the delegates varies from education, health care, textile, chemicals, art, tourism, fertilisers, fashion, real estate, IT, advertising, photography, construction, hospitality and jewellery amongst others,” said Reddy.


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Report: Circular economy could cut 75% of embodied emissions for built environment
Reusing components, recycling materials and boosting material efficiency will be crucial to the building sector’s net-zero transition, a new report endorsed by the World Economic Forum reveals.
The report from McKinsey and the Forum, published ahead of the highly anticipated annual summit in Davos next week, concludes that embedding circular economy principles could cut up to three-quarters of the sector’s anticipated emissions in 2050.
The term ‘embodied emissions’ is used to refer to emissions generated before the building or infrastructure project begins operating, including those attributable to construction processes and to the supply chains for materials and components.
At present, one-third of the world’s material consumption is attributable to the built environment.
According to the report, four gigatons of these emissions can be prevented through to 2050 on a cumulative basis. At the same time, an annual profit net gain of up to $360bn could be created by mid-century due to the establishment of closed-loop value chains.
This is possible even as urbanization and population growth contribute to increased building rates, particularly in emerging market economies.
The figures are based on creating a circular economy for six key materials: cement and concrete, steel, aluminium, plastics, glass and gypsum.
Circular economy principles include minimising material use in the first instance; using innovative materials with recycled content; designing for durability and longevity; and designing for disassembly, reuse and/or recyclability.
The McKinsey and WEF report’s headline findings are also based on scaling up carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) in the value chains of emissions-intensive materials. This is particularly important, the report argues, in cement and concrete manufacture.
Report co-author Jukka Maksimainen, of McKinsey’s Helsinki office, said: “Our analysis of the construction sector shows an extraordinary potential for circularity – not only through carbon dioxide savings but also on a financial level.
“Nevertheless, we see hardly any solutions in the market that address this issue at scale yet – this makes it even more essential that we identify scalable solutions and make them visible.”
The report highlights how collaboration between governments, standard-setting bodies and businesses across the built environment value chain will be needed to commercialise and scale circular solutions.
These include the use of innovative feedstocks to create concrete; modular building design innovations that enable the reuse of steel, glass and aluminium, and industrial manufacturing equipment that is electric or can run on low-carbon fuels.
Some technologies are available commercially already. These include systems to capture and reuse heat at material manufacturing plants. The report compels larger businesses in particular to continue pioneering these solutions, highlighting cost savings as well as decarbonisation benefits.


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- XPENG G3 hits the market on Dec. 12 with price starting from RMB135,800 with subsidies
Chinese EV startup XPENG Motors will officially launch its first mass-produced model—the G3 into market tonight. Offering three variants based on different configuration combination, the G3 will be ...
Dec. 12 , 2018
- XPENG Motors forges strategic partnership with NVIDIA for Level 3 autonomous driving
On November 21, XPENG Motors signed a tripartite strategic cooperation agreement with NVIDIA, a leading company in AI computing hardware domain, and Desay SV Automotive to jointly develop Level 3 auto...
Nov. 22 , 2018
- XPeng Motors likely to hand over G3 production cars at the end of 2018
Chinese EV startup XPeng Motors is going to showcase the G3 production SUV at the upcoming Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition and officially hand over the G3 vehicles at the end of the year...
Oct. 26 , 2018
- Xpeng Motors ambitious to raise RMB 30 bln funding by end of 2019
Xpeng Motors showed its ambition in raising a total of RMB 30 billion funding by the end of 2019 at its brand day on Aug. 15.
Aug. 16 , 2018
- Xpeng Motors raises RMB 4 billion in Series B+ with valuation up to RMB 25 billion
China-based EV startup Xpeng Motors announced on August 2 that it has completed a RMB 4billion worth of Series B+ round financing, which was the largest single round of financing so far this year amon...
Aug. 02 , 2018
- XPENG Motors, Desay SV team to develop L3 autonomous driving system
On June 23, Chinese EV startup XPENG Motors inked a strategic agreement with Desay SV Automotive (Desay SV), a Huizhou-based Chinese automotive electronics provider, to jointly develop L3 autonomous d...
June 25 , 2018
- Xpeng Motors, BASF reach agreement on 6 projects
Xpeng Motors and German BASF Corporation (BASF), one of the world’s largest chemical producers, jointly held a technology innovation day on June 20 at Huangpu accelerator industry park, Guangzhou, G...
June 22 , 2018
- XPENG Motors likely to mass produce cars in 2020
Guangdong Junhui Automotive Technology announced that the company has received the sign-on instruction to open a new mould from XPENG Motors. Besides, it predicts that the EV startup will start to mas...
June 13 , 2018
- Xpeng G3 to be showed off at Auto China 2018
The Xpeng G3 made its China debut on Apr. 23, and will start preorder at the Global Mobile Internet Conference (GMIC) 2018 on Apr. 26 as well as finish a small-scale delivery of the model by the end o...
Apr. 24 , 2018


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Windows under Linux: CodeWeavers Has CrossOver Plans for 2009
Commercial Wine variant provider CodeWeavers peers into the crystal ball and sees Direct X 10, PhotoShop CS3 and Quicken 2009.
CodeWeavers Inc. offers with its CrossOver product a commercial Wine variant for Linux and MAC OS X. The company is giving away thousands of units of its software due to a losing bet with the Great American Lame Duck Challenge they submitted in November 2008. Now, shortly after release of CrossOver 7.2, CodeWeavers provided a glimpse of their future plans for 2009, while reviewing the last year's accomplishments.
Whereas end-users hardly noticed the changes in 2008 (.NET support, DIB Engine and Gdiplus), CodeWeavers intends to make more of a market presence in 2009. The new version should support more games, Internet Explorer 7, modern QuickBooks versions, Quicken 2009 and Photoshop CS3. Even Outlook and the MS Office suites should function better.
CodeWeavers CEO Jeremy White revealed in his Outlook for 2009 blog entry that work will gradually go into Direct X 10 support, now that the one for version 9 is relatively stable. Per White, they also plan to "dramatically improve the CrossOver GUI," among other enhancements. Not least of all, the Compatibility Center will give a better overview of supported and unsupported Windows applications.
CrossOver and DirectX 10Thanks for the mention of CrossOver--we appreciate it!
Mozilla’s product think tank sinks silently into history.
TODO group will focus on open source tools in large-scale environments.
New tool will look like GParted but support a wider range of storage technologies.
New public key pinning feature will help prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.
Carnegie Mellon researchers say 3 million pages could fall down the phishing hole in the next year.
The US government rolls new best-practice rules for protecting SSH.
Klaus Knopper announces the latest version of his iconic Live Linux system.
All websites that use these popular CMS tools could be vulnerable to denial of service attacks if users don't install the updates.
According to a report, many potential victims of the Heartbleed attack have patched their systems, but few have cleaned up the crime scene to protect themselves from the effects of a previous intrusion.
DARPA and NICTA release the code for the ultra-secure microkernel system used in aerial drones.


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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), the world's largest contract manufacturer of semiconductors, will make chips for the next generation of Microsoft's Xbox game console.
TSMC will manufacture system-on-chip (SOC) semiconductors for future versions of Microsoft's Xbox console. SOCs are highly specialised chips that integrate multiple electronic components required for a product on a single piece of silicon.
The manufacturing agreement also gave Microsoft "direct access" to TSMC's process technology, the companies said. The SOCs will be manufactured by TSMC, using its Nexsys technology.
Nexsys is the brand name that TSMC has given to its most advanced process technologies, including the 90-nanometre process that is currently in pilot production and its 65-nanometre process, which is still in development.
The most advanced process technology used by TSMC for commercial production is its 130-nanometre process.
A spokesperson for TSMC in Hsinchu, Taiwan, J.H. Tzeng, declined to comment on the specific process that would be used to make the Xbox chips.
He did not disclose whether the SOCs that TSMC will produce would be designed by Microsoft or another company.
If the Xbox chips are made using a 65-nanometre process, that would match the technology that Sony plans to use for production of its Cell microprocessor, which will be used in the company's PlayStation 3 game console.
While the first generation of the Xbox mainly uses off-the-shelf PC components, Microsoft has taken a more active role in the development of chips for the next generation of its game console.
In November, the company announced that it had signed technology licensing deals with several companies, including graphics chip vendor ATI Technologies, chipset vendor Silicon Integrated Systems and IBM, which makes the Power PC processor. Those licensing agreements enable Microsoft to incorporate technology from these companies into SOCs for the next generation of the Xbox.


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Christopher Peterson / Splash News
Did you get what you wanted this Black Friday?
If you answered yes, then you might have a brand new pair of Ugg boots.
Yep, the sheepskin shoes ranked among the top five most-searched for items on Google Shopping on the discount-hunting day—and that's counting all categories, including the popular electronics one that drives much of the Black Friday frenzy.
And when it came to the fashion category, the fleece-lined boots, which became trendy in the late ‘90s, came in at number one midday Friday. So much for the hot over-the-knee boots that designers sent down fall runways!


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The gaming industry has been very active recently. Major contributors currently are the recently held Game Awards, multiplayer titles (Among Us), and the release of the next gen consoles: Sony’s Playstation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X.
For this article, however, the sole focus is on the PS5 and Sony’s clever marketing that preceded it. The PS5 sales numbered up to 2.1-2.5 million units in just the first two days of its release. Additionally, the sales of the console for the entire month of November trumped its competitor- selling a whopping 3.3 million units.
How did Sony manage to do this? Did the pandemic not affect its sales adversely? Let’s have a look at how Sony marketed this next gen.
Building up Hype
Sony’s reveal of the PS5 was slow. They had not revealed the look of the console or the price until two months prior to release. The specifications of the device, although, was released and the appearance of the controller came shortly after. As a result, curiosity and hype among users came into being and the incessant discussions about the console always kept it trending on the news. People were yearning for every little bit of information that Sony disclosed.
Revealing Two Versions
Sony released two versions for the customer; a digital and a disc version. The digital version was priced $100 dollar cheaper than the disc version. The customers got more options to choose from depending on what was more comfortable for them. Moreover, it was also a subtle hint by Sony to go for the digital version. Ultimately, it was an economically smart decision as costs were saved in terms of distribution, retaining more revenue in the process.
Exclusives refer to specific game titles that are only available on the Playstation and not on any other gaming platform. Sony has always delivered on these exclusives, and in my opinion, these are the stepping stones that urges one to buy the Playstation 5. Sony has held on to a vast majority of its customers, by announcing the release of sequels to popular titles already released on the past playstations. These include the God of War sequel, Horizon Zero Dawn sequel and the Spiderman sequel to name a few. Sony had already established a strong foundation and trust among the customers with the exclusives they released previously. Fans are eagerly waiting for the sequels to these popular games, and that provides a very strong incentive for those customers to buy the PS5. As for new customers, the inquisitiveness that forms in them due to constant discussion about these exclusives impulses them to go for the console and experience it for themselves.
Sony also adapted to the pandemic. At a time where people were at their homes, a majority of people had gotten active in the digital world, and there was nothing substantial going on, Sony availed the perfect opportunity to reveal the final look of the PS5. This was done through a massive livestream which was attended by 7.32 million people, easily becoming the most watched gaming stream in YouTube history.
All these reasons contributed immensely to the success of the PS5. In May, Sony CFO Hiroti Titoki was asked if the company was failing to keep up with Microsoft’s push considering its lack of promotion compared to the Xbox Series X. The answer he gave at that time is very transparent now,
”We consider things strategically and we are doing our best. As for pass or fail, I would wait for the PS5 sales to make that judgement.”


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Scottish food exports surpassed the £1.1bn mark for the first time last year, Scotland’s food secretary has announced.
Richard Lochhead shared the figures, which were extracted from last year’s official HMRC export statistics, during a visit to Edinburgh’s Mara Seaweed this week.
However, falling international sales of the nation’s top export, whisky, meant total food and drink exports remained flat at £5.1bn. The Scotch Whisky Association said in April that, after a decade of continuous growth, whisky exports had last year fallen 7% to £3.95bn.
The number one export destination for the industry in 2014 remained the US, worth £800m - with France just behind, at £734m. They were followed by Spain (£247m), Germany (£208m) and Singapore (£202m).
The relative size of other markets indicate where the priorities may lie for Scottish food producers in the coming years. Food exports to the UAE rose 25% to £124m, while sales to China shot up 82% to £46m.
Fish & seafood contributed £613m to the total - £38m more than in 2013, and more than half the total food exports.


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JACKSON — Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Greater Atlanta has changed its name to CredAbility. CCCS, which operates in Jackson, said the new brand provides a distinct, new identity and better reflects the organization’s national presence and leadership in consumer credit counseling and education.
The organization has also adopted a new logo and launched an enhanced website, www.CredAbility.org, which makes it easier for people in financial distress to find and use the agency’s services.
Founded 46 years ago in Atlanta as a community credit counseling agency, CredAbility is one of the nation’s largest and oldest nonprofit credit counseling organizations. In recent years, it has expanded to provide services in all 50 states over the telephone and the Internet, in both English and Spanish. Last year alone, the organization delivered counseling and education to more than 754,000 people and is recognized as one of the nation’s leading service providers in foreclosure prevention, reverse mortgage, bankruptcy pre-filing counseling and debtor education.
“Under the new CredAbility name, our organization will have a distinct identity that better reflects our national presence while staying true to the values and mission that have defined us since 1964,” said Suzanne Boas, president of CredAbility. “At the same time, we’re proud of our roots and community service in metropolitan Atlanta and cities across Florida, Tennessee and Mississippi where we have local offices and employees. Our new brand will enable us to serve these communities better than ever before.”
Later this year, CredAbility will launch a multi-media advertising campaign that will extend nationally to raise awareness of its services for consumers in financial distress. In the four states where CredAbility has in-person counseling offices, advertising will focus on the name change from CCCS to CredAbility.
Boas also believes the new brand will make it easier for potential donors to recognize CredAbility as a national credit counseling and education organization. CredAbility has received financial support from a variety of national and local foundations, businesses and government agencies, including the Ford Foundation, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and The Goizueta Foundation. Funding from the latter organization has allowed CredAbility to become one of the leading providers of counseling and education in the U.S. to Spanish-speaking people.
In a related announcement, the organization launched the CredAbility Consumer Distress Index, a new quarterly measure of the financial distress of American consumers. The proprietary index tracks shifts in the financial condition of consumers based on data sets including employment, housing, credit, household budget and net worth.


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Nowadays, those of us who shop for everyday goods online are accustomed to said goods arriving on our doorstep 24 to 48 hours after we click ‘buy.’ That’s because of Amazon; the e-commerce giant’s next-day delivery feature is a sweet, sweet deal, but for smaller e-commerce businesses that are trying to compete with Jeff Bezos it’s, well, tough.
ShipBob is here to help. The Chicago-based startup has raised a $40 million Series C to help small e-commerce businesses streamline the fulfillment process and manage inventory.
The company was launched through Y Combinator in 2014 by CEO Dhruv Saxena and Divey Gulati, a pair of engineers that met after college.
“Once we graduated, we thought up this e-commerce store and we were able to automate basically everything in the operation except for shipping and logistics,” Saxena told TechCrunch. “We realized none of the existing solutions out there worked. So, we applied to Y Combinator with this idea that there has never been an easier time to start an e-commerce brand online and these brands need shipping, logistics and back office solutions.”


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Port Authority to lease office space for visibility
YOUNGSTOWN – Economic Development efforts for the Western Reserve Port Authority soon will be based out of a more visible downtown Youngtown office, the port authority board decided Wednesday.
Port Executive Director Rose Ann DeLeon, whose main base of operations has been in an approximately 250-square-foot office inside the Youngstown Business Incubator, now will operate out of about 2,000 square feet at the corner of North Champion Street and Rayen Avenue near the Youngstown State University campus.
DeLeon, who handles economic development and financing efforts for the port authority, said visibility will increase with the first-floor location, signage, conference room space and handicapped accessibility. Rent, however, also will increase from about $145 per month to $833 per month.
DeLeon will share the space with Senior Manager Sarah Lown, the Mahoning River Consortium and planned college interns.
The move became necessary, port officials said, because the Youngstown Business Incubator, or YBI, was in need of the port authority’s existing leased space to accommodate growth brought about by the downtown addition of the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. Barb Ewing, chief operating officer of YBI, was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
The port authority board voted 5-0 in favor of the move, with board member Andre Visnapuu abstaining and Richard Schiraldi recusing himself due to a conflict of interest. Richard Musick was absent.
In other business, the port authority voted unanimously to authorize DeLeon to finalize and execute financing for Simon Property’s energy upgrades at the Southern Park Mall in Boardman.
Property general manager Pam Ferguson said plans to upgrade the mall’s roof, lighting, heating and air conditioning systems will be done in two phases. The company intends to finance between $3 million and $4 million through the port authority.
“It certainly will improve the aesthetics as well as energy efficiency,” Ferguson said of planned upgrades to more energy efficient lighting throughout the shopping center.
Work is expected to begin in early 2014.