text:
The Essential Phone was a great deal during Prime Day last month. This deal isn’t quite as good, but if you’re interested in picking an Essential Phone up for just $399.99, the company will bundle up a pair of its Earphones HD, a 360 Camera, and a protective camera case for free.
Dive into this podcast to learn about the Qwerky Writer Mechanical Keyboard, a keyboard dedicated to those who want the greatest typewriter feeling under their fingertips at all times. Thanks to arrangements done by Qwerkytoys, what’s reviewed here is of the latest QwerkyWriter S model.
As you can hear, I could not be more than pleased with the design, build, and overall retro feel of this product. As you also hear, there are some some negatives, such as the right-shift key, but these to me have not detracted from using the device at all. While you can pick up another keyboard claiming a typewriter feel, I truly challenge you in these three qualities produced by the breadth of attention put in by the QwerkyWriter team.
New research finds a way of delivering a sight-protective turmeric derivative efficiently, right where it is needed.
Depending on your region, you can now ask your Amazon Echo for information about the closest business and get the hours, thanks to Amazon’s recent partnership with Yext, a company that’s supplying the tech giant with business data aggregated from Google and Facebook, as well as Apple’s Siri assistant, according to Bloomberg. Since 2015, Amazon has offered similar information through Yelp, and the information pulled from the review site is what allowed people to use their Amazon speakers to, for example, find the most popular restaurants in their area. The data from Yext is pulled directly from businesses that partner with the platform, like T-Mobile, and Rite Aid, who work with Yext to keep their data up to date.
Be My Eyes, a Danish company that allows some 87,000 people who have downloaded the free app to request assistance in situations where vision is needed from 1.5 million volunteers, won the accessibility prize at the Tech4Good awards.
Our genome is made up of 20,000 genes, all of which may cause disease. At present, 4,141 genes have been identified as being responsible for genetic abnormalities, leaving around 16,000 genes with unknown implication in disease. Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, working in collaboration with scientists from Pakistan and the USA — have investigated a recessive genetic disorder that destroys the eyes from developing and results in childhood blindness. After analyzing the genomes of each member of a consanguineous family with affected children, the geneticists pinpointed pathogenic mutations in a new gene, MARK3, as being the cause. They subsequently confirmed their findings — published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics — by modifying the homologous gene in drosophila flies, which resulted in abnormal eye development and blindness. The identification of the MARK3 related disease will help to understand the mechanism of the disease, provide diagnostic services, and initiate efforts for a personalized treatment.
Dolby has announced that Amazon Prime Video will roll out Dolby Atmos support when Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan airs on August 31st, 2018. Amazon’s Fire TV and Fire TV Cube boxes are ready to support the technology right away.
Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have created reprogrammable Braille that could eliminate the need for unique pages without using a braille display. It’s described as “a framework to encode memory, in the form of Braille-like dimples and bumps, onto a blank, lattice-free material.” This material is as dynamic as the words it can contain, changing as needed to reflect new text.
Amazon has new features for deaf and speech-impaired users. It’s called “Tap to Alexa,” and it lets owners of the Echo Show touchscreen smart speaker tap on the screen to access customizable shortcuts to common Alexa tricks, including weather, news headlines, timers and more. Users can rearrange those shortcuts or exchange them for other shortcuts. There’s also a new keyboard icon that you can select, and you’ll be able to type out a specific Alexa command with no need to talk.
Blind and visually impaired students from around the state of Michigan explored the galaxy at a unique weeklong career exploration lab (CEL) held recently at LARA’s Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP) Training Center in Kalamazoo. Offered under BSBP’s Pre-Employment Transition Services, the program featured a NASA engineer, and scientist presenters who introduced astronomy concepts to the students utilizing 3D technology and tactile graphs.


text:
The E. W. Scripps Company, owner of the Home & Garden Television cable network, said today that third-quarter profit fell 36 percent after a decline in advertising sales that was aggravated by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Profit dropped to $22.6 million, or 28 cents a share, from $35.4 million, or 45 cents, in the quarter a year earlier. Sales declined 17 percent to $342.1 million.
Scripps -- also the owner of 21 daily newspapers, including the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, and 10 television stations -- lost profit as advertisers cut spending to cope with the slowing economy.
After the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, most of Scripps's network-affiliated television stations broadcast 36 hours of coverage with no advertisements, the company said in a statement.Continue reading the main story

domain: news


text:
Box and Microsoft are announcing a series of new integrations between Box and Microsoft's 365 and Teams platforms that aim to make it easier for Box customers to access and collaborate on content across the Microsoft product portfolio.
Specifically, the companies have rolled out Box notifications within Microsoft Teams, which allows joint users to receive notifications about Box files directly within Teams. The companies said they plan to expand this integration later this spring to make the Box experience even more embedded into Teams.
Also in the spring the companies will launch the ability to create, share, open, and edit Box files from within Teams.
On the security front, Box said it's building an integration to import Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) classification labels and enforce inline security controls using Box Shield. The feature, which is set to become available in May, is meant to make it easier for joint customers to secure content across the two platforms.
Microsoft and Box have also enabled a new capability for Intune App Protection Policies that allows opening and saving copies of managed documents to Box storage only.
The companies also rolled out new integrations between Box and Microsoft Office Online, including increased support for Excel and PowerPoint file sizes, as well as enhancements to the Box Connector for Microsoft Graph.
Overall, the Box and Microsoft integrations are meant to more tightly integrate user experiences for seamless and secure collaboration, the companies said. For Box, the integrations line up with the company's transition and growth strategy, which is to be the cloud layer for content management via integrations with systems of record in the enterprise.
"Tens of thousands of enterprises globally are using Box and Microsoft together to securely power the way they work from anywhere," said Varun Parmar, chief product officer at Box. "Today's new and deepened integrations will make the Box experience in Microsoft 365 even more frictionless, enabling joint customers to easily access, create, manage, and secure their content wherever they are, in real-time."


text:
Belleayre hosts annual Fall Festival this weekend
The annual Fall Festival at the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center will be held this weekend.
The festival is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission and parking are free.
Seen as an economic boon for the surrounding area, the event draws thousands of people each year, said Belleayre Marketing Director Alexandra Sines.
“We generally expect 5,000 to 8,000 visitors over the weekend,” she said.
Among the attractions is Belleayre’s “Fall Foliage Skyride,” which offers visitors an elevated view of the of the Catskills and their autumn colors.
“We are looking forward to peak fall foliage this weekend for the sky ride,” Sines said.
On the ground, the festival will feature food, vendors, music and more in and around Belleayre’s Overlook Lodge. Bands scheduled to perform include Road House Rockers, 4 Gun Ridge, The Ex Files, the Ben Rounds Band and Thunder Ridge.
Vendors will be display and offer for sale such things as paintings, photographs, hand-crafted jewelry, handmade dolls, clothing and accessories.
There also will be pumpkin decorating, a bounce house, face painting, a clown making balloon animals and visits from Smokey Bear and Ulster County Sheriff’s Office dog Maverick.
Centerplate will offer German food and beverages.
Skiers looking to get a jump on the upcoming season, meanwhile, can buy season passes, lift tickets and equipment during the festival.
The Belleayre Mountain Ski Center is at 181 Galli Curci Road, off state Route 28 in the Shandaken hamlet of Highmount. (The turnoff onto Galli Curci Road is about 33 miles up Route 28 from the Thruway Exit 19 roundabout in the town of Ulster.) For more information about the ski center or the Fall Festival, call (845) 254-6500 or go to the website www.belleayre.com.


text:
|Ironically, our Chamber of Commerce was just getting our new invitation ready|
to welcome visitors back to Provincetown once this is all over, just as our
first virus cases were being reported. And we were doing so well ....
Folks, we will joyfully welcome visitors to Provincetown once again, after
this extreme health emergency is all over, but for now, friends, please don't come.
We who have chosen this spot to live, or who were born here, certainly understand the appeal of Provincetown, and we can't blame people for wanting to hunker down in this gorgeous, serene setting filled with warm, wonderful people who normally embrace all who want to visit, but right now, we simply can't do that. Our governor has issued a stay-at-home order throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He has declared that anyone coming into Massachusetts MUST self-isolate for a period of 14 days, including residents returning home from a trip. A parking ban is in effect in order to further discourage visitors from trying to come to Provincetown. There's NOWHERE to go out to dinner. Dining rooms are closed in all 92 of Provincetown's restaurants. Eggs are being rationed at the supermarket, and there's not a jug of spring water to be found.
You know we love all of you guys, but this
is NOT the time for a trip to PTown.
All non-essential businesses are closed. There are restaurants offering meals to take out, and the Stop&Shop supermarket remains open, but it is short on many items and completely sold out on others. With so many of us staying home and cooking our own meals all day long, and most folks trying to stock up on enough groceries to last at least a couple of weeks at a time, some are panic-buying when they find the stock on the shelves getting low, and that leaves very few grocery alternatives for so many of us who can't afford a 48-pack of Charmin.
UPDATE 3/31/22: Our governor has announced a short-term rental ban on accommodations.
means that no hotel, motel, Airbnb or similar rentals are currently
available to the public anywhere on Cape Cod. Any short-term rentals
still permitted to operate will be serving medical or emergency workers
only, along with some satellite facilities being authorized and adapted
in various locations throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
in order to care for medical patients.
We are all making sacrifices in order to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus. As New York zooms toward the peak of its infection, and people leave that city in great numbers, it doesn't make sense to travel to Provincetown, from anywhere! Our numbers are rising here as well. They will rise exponentially faster and higher if we have an influx of people coming to stay indoors here rather than staying indoors at home.
In the summertime we have extra police officers, paramedics, ambulances, doctors
and sanitation staff on hand, to make sure this little village can look after all of the
extra people coming into town. In the wintertime, we don't have any of that.
We all know that a certain percentage of people traveling anywhere throughout the nation at this particular time will be carrying the virus, whether they know it or not, and whether they
feel fine at this moment or not. Our closest hospital is 54 miles away, in Hyannis, serving many other towns as well. Boston hospitals are 127 miles away, and already feeling the crunch as virus cases are ramping up more quickly. Groceries are in short supply, and, again, there's
not a jug of spring water to be found. And we all know what Provincetown water tastes like.
We're all staying indoors and reading cookbooks, trying to figure out what we can
make for dinner with whatever we could get at the grocery store this past week,
and doing our very best to keep our little town from blowing up.
We're not saying you can't come here. We get it. But at the same time, if we get
a big influx of people, a greater number of us will get sick, and it will take us much longer to clean up and get ready to welcome everybody back again when it's all over.
In that scenario, we would definitely have more businesses, as well as more people,
going under, literally, and permanently. The face of Provincetown could be
changed forever, and nobody wants that.
I'm just sayin' ...
This is not the time to come to Provincetown.
Stay safe at home, wash your hands, protect those around you, wash your hands,
get plenty of sleep, wash your hands, eat well, wash your hands, and wash your hands.
We love you, and we'll see you again, when it's all over.
And don't forget to wash your hands.
The stunning photo of the tidal flats along Provincetown Harbor were taken by Randy Jansen,
a frequent contributor to the Provincetown Photography Page on Facebook.
If you're jonesing for a bit of Provincetown, find many great photos in various corners of Facebook to help tide you over until we're ready to welcome you all back again.


text:
WebEngage’s Ankur Gattani explains why brands should focus on customer retention strategies early on
During the recently concluded YourStory Brands of India initiative, Ankur Gattani of WebEngage explains why developing and deploying consumer insights is important to survive in the market.
Keeping up with the trends and understanding the customer is the key to branding. At YourStory's Brands of India launch event, Ankur Gattani, VP - Growth and Marketing at, discussed strategies needed for branding.
“Developing and deploying consumer insights isn't about growth, but survival in the market,” he says.
For context, Ankur gives an insight into the 1990s, when TV was the biggest medium. It was a time when consumers had no distractions and were homogenous. According to him, sorting, distribution, and advertising were enough to create a brand back then.
“However, the brands of tomorrow have a different story,” Ankur says, adding that India’s niche sectors have the potential to be Rs 100 crore brands, which means the sophistication in marketing will be much higher than in the 90s.
Today’s customers are distracted, and thus, brands will have limited chances to get their attention. “Not using what you already know about the customers is marketing Hara-Kiri, and instead should be utilising every weapon available to get the users attention,” he adds.
Over the past five years, there has been a D2C explosion, where a lot of capital is invested. By their virtue of business, this capital needs to have an exit. “While many of the startups have IPO ambitions, the majority aim to be acquired by large brands like Global Bees or Mensa,” says Ankur.
This, he explains, will lead to fierce competition, where every brand tries to be outstanding from others to be on the top. Hence, one needs to do something beyond the ordinary.
Moreover, there will be an eagerness to do things better and bigger than others — where you will be bidding against each other in keywords, on search, social media, etc. These platforms will be loyal to the highest bidder, and that’s where retention comes in.
Ankur compares retention to a runway. He says, if a brand focuses on retention early enough, it can extend the runway meaningfully because brands will have all the learning processes, which will make it understand its customers better.
The brand will also focus on spending on customer acquisition better, and eventually, make it a better story for the next round of funding.
“One needs to invest in loyalty to get a strong customer preference and make them like you very much,” Ankur tells YourStory.
He also emphasises the fact that a brand needs to start early on to keep the data models and consumer insights ready rather than waiting for the brand positioning to happen first.
Ankur concludes by saying, as a startup and a D2C brand, one needs to prioritise data-driven marketing as life depends on it.
Edited by Suman Singh


text:
Goldman Sachs upgraded Shopify (SHOP) to Buy from Hold, saying the demand for online services serves as a long-term catalyst. Merwin reiterated his $1,127 (15.4% upside potential) price target on the stock .
Goldman analyst Christopher Merwin believes that Shopify will benefit from the e-commerce wave, which “would provide sustained tailwind to SHOP’s gross merchandise volume (GMV) growth and by extension its merchant solutions revenue.”
US e-commerce revenue is expected to grow by 29% this year, up from a previous forecast of 15%, according Goldman estimates. Merwin noted that “following global shelter-in-place orders in response to COVID-19, e-commerce penetration went from 16% of retail spending in the US in 1Q20 to 40% in May.”
The analyst acknowledged having “missed a significant run up in SHOP shares (up 140% in the YTD)”, but also believes that “SHOP should be able to sustain hyper-growth for longer than the market expects.”
“SHOP has one of the largest TAMs [total addressable market] in software, which we measure at $200 billion globally,” Mervin added.
Shopify will announce its 2Q earnings on July 29 and the Wall Street analyst consensus expects the e-commerce giant to post $513.8 million in revenues.
Currently, the Street has a cautiously optimistic outlook on the stock. The Moderate Buy analyst consensus is based on 9 Buys, 14 Holds and 1 Sell. The average price target of $932.10 implies downside potential of 5.5%. (See SHOP stock analysis on TipRanks).


text:
Ворлд оф танкс рулетка удачи бесплатно
Psyonix will reveal more details about the new system in the next few months. Many players praise the upcoming change for Rocket League. Samuel Johnston, 26, has been playing the game for four years now, and he said he welcomes танкв end of loot boxes.
Epic had already removed loot boxes from the бонус игра рулетка before the lawsuit. The changes to Rocket League will be similar to the redesign for Fortnite, according to the announcement by both Epic and Psyonix.
Threats to regulate loot boxes have been looming on the автоматы которые дают выиграть деньги. State lawmakers in California, Hawaii, Minnesota and Washington have proposed legislation to regulate or prohibit loot boxes. In Belgium, loot boxes have been banned from video games all together. Back in Скачать игра русская рулетка бесплатно, Republican Sen. All games on the three major platforms - Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony - will soon need to disclose how likely it is to receive a certain item from a loot box, according to a statement by the Entertainment Software Association.
The companies plan to implement the policy by next year.
Matthew McCaffrey, 34, is an assistant professor at the University of Manchester and wrote a paper on the challenges regulating micro-transactions in video games. Some players say there are plenty of ways for Psyonix to set up the new in-game store to keep a trading ecosystem. ChevronRightCurrently, players can purchase loot boxes (known as crates in the game) to earn custom wheels, decals or cars to use in the game. AdvertisementStory continues below advertisementBack in May, Republican Sen.
They will be able to play the game as usual or even re-download it from their удчаи library if рулетка карандаши линейка used to have it installed. But new players will волд be able to get the game from the Netflix рулетки игровая. It chose Poland as the initial test market because it has an active mobile gaming audience, which made it seem like a good fit for this early уачи.
In North America, Netflix in Q2 lost a sizable 430,000 subscribers - its third-ever quarterly decline in a decade. It also issued weaker guidance for the upcoming quarter, forecasting the addition of 3. But Netflix downplayed the threat of competition on its slowing growth, instead blaming a lighter content slate, in part due to COVID-related production delays. To then play, members will need to confirm their Netflix credentials.]


text:
The Toe Poke Daily is here every day to bring you all the weirdest stories, quirkiest viral content and top trolling that the internet has to offer, all in one place.
The Old Lady will once again be playing in their iconic black-and-white stripes after abandoning them last year in favour of a controversial half-and-half design (although manufacturers Adidas prefer to describe it as "celebrated" in their press release for the new kit).
Inspired by modern art, the new shirt is intended to have a fresh, contemporary take on Juve's famous stripes while still being respectful of the club's vaunted traditions.
The result is the black bands being given a "brush stroke" aesthetic to update the pattern which is, according to Adidas, "synonymous with the club's core identity."
The trim is also flecked with gleaming gold which is only fitting for Ronaldo and the rest of the reigning champions.
Ronaldo will be hoping it is third time lucky in the new kit for his hopes of becoming Serie A's top scorer in a season. After Juve lost 2-0 at Cagliari on Wednesday, the Portugal star remains on 31 league goals for the season. His main rival to be Capocannoniere, Lazio's Ciro Immobile, scored in a 2-0 win over over Brescia to take his 2019-20 total up to 35.
Ronaldo's teammate Paulo Dybala, who on Thursday announced he has become the 159th player or coach to donate 1% of their wage to the Common Goal charity initiative, also looked resplendent as the jersey was unveiled.
Juve will proudly debut their new home shirt on Aug. 1 when AS Roma visit Turin on the final weekend of the Serie A season.
Spurs go green as new home and away kit released
Tottenham Hotspur have kicked off the day with a bumper product launch as both the new home and away strips for 2020-21 were presented to the world in one fell swoop.
The home kit is familiar fare with Spurs' traditional white shirt furnished with large blocks of navy blue on the sleeves and a yellow pinstripe trim -- very similar to the fairly bland 2016-17 design.
The home shirt does have an "enhanced knit pattern" woven into the fabric which was created by going over the club's old jerseys to produce an amalgam of their various graphics.
Elsewhere, the away kit has raised a eyebrows as Spurs have gone green. We're told the "adventurous" green kit also has subtle flashes of neon yellow and lava glow to help usher in a dazzling change of palette ahead of the new season.
Harry Kane & Co. did wear a green third alternate strip in 2018-19, a "neptune green" affair that was most famously worn when Lucas Moura scored a hat trick in the second leg of their Champions League semifinal at Ajax to send the Londoners into the final.
However, this is the first time they will be wearing green as the default kit whenever they don't wear their home colours.
Salah's smile looks even bigger under new hairdo
Mohamed Salah has celebrated becoming a Premier League winner with a drastic overhaul of his trademark look.
Indeed, the title-winning Liverpool forward shocked fans to the core by posting a photo of his new haircut on social media, revealing that his once bountiful, bouncing tresses have now been tamed.
Salah also posted a snippet of video to his Instagram stories, running a comb through his new high-top, curly fade with a huge smile across his face.
He obviously loves it, and if the positive comments on his posts are anything to go by, Reds fans around the world also seem to approve too.


text:
Apple will be refreshing its iPad range very soon and if you’re curious to find out, Apple has accidentally revealed bits of info through its iOS 8.1 iPad user guide. From the looks of it, the latest iPad will return back to its numeral system with the new models being called as the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3.
As speculated before, both devices will come with a Home button that doubles up as a Touch ID finger print scanner. Another new feature is a Burst Mode for its camera, where you can rapid fire cameras shots by pressing and holding the shutter button.
The latest iPads are also expected to come in a trio of colours which includes the standard Space Grey, Silver, and now Gold. Word also has it that it will be powered by a faster A8X processor which could be mated to 2GB of RAM. Like the latest iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the screens might get bumped to a higher Retina HD display that would boast extra clarity over last year’s iPads of 2048×1536 pixels resolution.
Apple will be announcing these latest iPads along with their new Macs at 1AM early tomorrow morning (Friday, 17th October) Malaysian time. If you have an iOS device or a Mac, you can watch it live from its official live stream page.
[ SOURCE ]


text:
France and Germany reportedly agreed on a joint lithium-ion battery cell consortium for the European automotive industry and sent a Letter of Intent to the European Union.
The idea about launching a European battery manufacturing group to stand against Asian manufacturers was hinted at several times over the last few years and it seems that now things are waiting only on approval from the European Commission.
The group would include French PSA Group (with its new German subsidiary Opel), as well as Total's Saft. Previous reports suggested Siemens from the German side.
"France and Germany have asked the European Commission to green-light state subsidies for a cross-border battery cell consortium involving carmaker PSA with its German subsidiary Opel and Total’s Saft, FAZ newspaper reported on Monday"
No more details were released at this stage but we must be aware that any investment in development of competitive product and manufacturing capacity would require billions of euros.
"France and Germany have earmarked 1.7 billion euros ($1.90 billion) to support several company alliances looking to produce electric car battery cells, a step aimed at reducing the dependence of European carmakers on Asian suppliers.


text:
Huawei, and its subsidiary Honor, have already proven neither have any intention of letting the politically-motivated restrictions placed on them spoil the momentum achieved over the past year or so.
There’s growing evidence the companies are diversifying their product range to ensure continued success and keep the brand names in the public eye by releasing products that are forward-thinking.
This is happening with new wearable and audio products, a strategy that at first could be thought of as a necessity, but it’s much more than that as it fits in perfectly with the Huawei’s future goals.
“There will be more wearable products coming than ever before from Honor in 2020,” Honor President George Zhao told Digital Trends.
The deluge has already begun.
In October, Honor announced the Honor Band Sport, a quirky fitness tracker that takes the best of its new Honor Band 5 wearable, then makes it more stylish and versatile. The body unclips from the strap — which is made from 100% recycled materials — and attaches to the laces on your shoe, for example.
It’s joined by the Honor Sport Pro headphones, a pair of halo-style Bluetooth earbuds similar to the OnePlus Bullets, as well as a software update to the aforementioned Honor Band 5, adding high-level sports tracking features like the measurement of SpO2 data. Honor already has the elusive Magic Watch on its books, but it was never widely available. This will change before 2020, and Zhao also confirmed to Digital Trends that a new Honor smartwatch will launch before the end of this year.
Beyond the obvious wearable products, Honor has already started its push into the Internet of Things (IoT) with the recent launch of the Honor Vision, a TV-like smart screen for the living room. During the IFA 2019 technology show in Berlin, Honor talked about its IoT strategy for the future, which it shares with Huawei, called 1+8+N. This refers to one smartphone, eight categories of additional connected products ranging from headphones to in-car entertainment, and a wide range of third-party linked devices made to integrate with the firm’s ecosystem.
Huawei’s history with wearables and devices other than phones is considerably longer than Honor’s, ranging from the original Huawei Watch to the more recent Huawei Watch GT2, as well as with Wi-Fi routers for the home, and crucially, the new Freebuds 3 headphones. Huawei’s headphones have previously felt like an addendum on the end of its smartphone announcements, but the Freebuds 3 are much more than this.
“The Freebuds 3 are not just another accessory,” Huawei Business Group Senior Product Marketing Manager, Peter Gauden, told select journalists at a briefing in London, adding that there is “distinct reasoning behind what we’re doing.”
Equipped with Huawei’s new Kirin A1 chip, these are technically superior and much more of a competitor to Apple’s AirPods. They provide active noise canceling despite the open-air design, and each bud has bone-conducting technology for an improved listening experience, along with a clever port to reduce wind noise so clear calls are possible when riding a bike at 12mph. Although they will pair with any Android phone, they use Huawei’s AI Life app to sync, and to adjust the level of noise cancellation.
Apart from the Freebuds 2, Huawei is also splashing out on the Huawei Watch GT2, literally, in terms of promotion. It pulled a crazy marketing stunt in London in October, where a free watch was offered to anyone brave enough (or stupid enough) to dive into the River Thames to retrieve one. Marketing like this is more what we expect from OnePlus, but in the absence of the Mate 30 Pro to sell in the U.K., Huawei is exploring new avenues to ensure its name captures headlines.
In China, Huawei and Honor have a range of devices we don’t see internationally. These include smart screens, smart speakers, routers, and even laptops. It’s extremely likely examples of these, and other as-yet-unseen IoT products will make their way out of China over the coming year.
Smartwatches and headphones are only the start.
Taken individually, all these products and news snippets are normal activities for companies like Honor and Huawei. However, none of this is by chance or a knee-jerk reaction to its current predicament. This is where the “direct reasoning” Gauden mentioned comes into effect. Huawei is laser-focused on its long-term goal of producing hardware and software that envelops 5G, artificial intelligence, the Cloud, and the Internet of Things.
By building hardware that makes use of all the aspects, Huawei’s plan is to lead is into what it calls “The Seamless AI life”, where everything is connected and works together in harmony. Connected true wireless headphones and smartwatches, powered by the versatile Kirin A1 chip, are the building blocks that are possible now.
By 2025, Gauden explained, Huawei expects us to regularly come into direct contact with 25 different connected devices, and that voice will be the key communication technology between many of them. Understanding this is the first step to understanding where Huawei is headed, and we can see the path it’s walking by observing its current activities.
Take the Freebuds 3 as an example. While the headphones cleverly reduce wind noise interference, which will mostly be helpful for calls today, in a few years, this technology will be crucial for us to interact efficiently with a voice assistant. The headphones connect to our phone using Huawei’s AI Life app, which will also connect to other IoT devices to act as a controlling hub. This isn’t speculation, the AI Life app already scans for and connects to the Huawei connected devices on sale in China.
Next, all these devices, potentially including Huawei’s future smartphones, will all operate on HarmonyOS, a versatile software platform that adapts for use in headphones, in cars, on smart displays, and a lot more. It’s not an Android alternative, it’s Huawei’s future, and dismissing the new wave of wearables and IoT devices from both companies as yet another product launch misses the point.
What we’re seeing is not just diversification, but the first evidence of a direction change for Huawei and Honor that puts it on the route towards “The Seamless AI Life.” At first, this may sound like another empty phrase by the marketing department, but when looking at the strategy, its a clear endpoint for a gigantic company that isn’t about to slow down or disappear during a time of hardship.


text:
February 11, 2020
The ongoing worldwide friction between legislators and firms operating in the “gig economy” was evident this week as a US judge denied Uber and Postmates a temporary reprieve from California’s new gig worker law. The ruling comes as a setback for both companies as the legislation has the potential to undermine their business models.
District Judge Dolly Gee ruled out the request because, she said, the public interest in letting the law stand outweighs the potential harm it could do to the businesses. The new law, known as AB5 is the equivalent of the UK’s controversial IR35 ruling. Since January 1, it has been more difficult for firms to classify their workers as independent contractors. IN the case of a firm like Uber, compliance would mean making all of its workers full time employees.
Uber has been testing changes in its app to get around the new legislation, including letting drivers set their own prices.
In response to the ruling, an Uber spokesperson said AB5 was passed “using a biased and overtly political process that ignored the voices of the workers most affected by the law and granted preferential treatment to an arbitrary group of industries.”
The ruling does not bode well for gig companies doing business in California
Elaine Turner of law firm Hall Estill says today’s decision is not only bad news for any company that has operations in California that uses the gig economy, but even beyond that, she says she expects to see other states to follow introducing similar laws,
“The ruling does not bode well for gig companies doing business in California. The case has no bearing on companies in other states as the law challenged is a California state law. In my opinion, there will be other states that will eventually follow California. Only time will tell if all states go that direction. States governments have always been suspicious of independent contracting relationships to varying degrees. However, I do believe that there will continue to be a group of states that will be reluctant to pass laws placing similar restrictions on such businesses. The true test will be what happens at the federal level,” Turner says.
Image by freestocks-photos


text:
After redefining the retail marketplace through digital onslaught, Amazon (AMZN) is currently shifting focus to its physical retail strategy. The company is all set to add several new units to the Whole Foods store network this year in an effort to further strengthen its foothold in the sector.
According to reports, the new Whole Foods stores being planned by the e-commerce firm, mainly in the Rocky Mountain region where the food retailer has a relatively smaller presence, will have a design that is different from the regular outlets – dedicated areas for the sale of Amazon products and for pickup of orders placed online. The idea is to woo more Amazon Prime members, whose number has been falling in recent times.
Earlier, the Prime members were offered discounts after the company acquired Whole Foods nearly two years ago, which was later complemented with free delivery of grocery to the premium customers at select stores. With more benefits and additional facilities in the offing for Prime members, the stores are expected to witness heavy footfall once opened.
Moreover, the company intends to operate on thin margins to attract customers and compete more effectively with Walmart (WMT) and Kroger (KR), the traditional retailers who are under pressure due to Amazon’s increasing presence in the brick-and-mortar retail space. Amazon’s unique offers like speedy grocery delivery and pickup service have been a cause of concern for the others.
Amazon shares dropped slightly in the aftermarket trading Wednesday, after closing the regular session up 3%.
Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Wednesday said its fourth-quarter revenues and profit increased in double-digits amid elevated demand. The results also topped the Street view, driving the stock higher during the
Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX) reported second quarter 2021 earnings results today. Total revenue remained flat at $346.4 million compared to the same period a year ago. GAAP net loss was $287.3
Shares of Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) were down 2.7% in morning trade on Wednesday. The stock has gained 37% since the beginning of the year. A day ago, the retailer


text:
EA game servers have been hacked and are currently being used to steal information which is then used to access your Apple account, according to Netcraft.
There is only 1 server that has been compromised but it is currently being used to store 2 websites on, one of them is ea.com and the other one a web based calendar service, this service is called WebCalendar and it is what allowed the hackers to get access to these servers as security issues haven’t been addressed since 2008, Netcraft says it is likely that the CVE-2012-5385 security issue was the one hackers exploited to get access to the servers, as of now we don’t know who is responsible for the hacks
The hacked server is currently acting as a phishing website which redirects to Apple’s login page on which, if a user tries to log in using his apple Id and password which once submitted the information will be visible to the hackers which can then use it to log in.
This isn’t the first time EA has had security issues as earlier this year hacker group DerpTrolling had managed cause connectivity and login issues. The vulnerable server is still online at the time of publication.


text:
Every Thursday evening starting at 7pm throughout the summer at the Dresden Rotary Memorial Gardens Tiffin Bandshell.
This is a free event!
Amazon.com has updated a policy that limits how many people can share the benefits of each user’s Prime subscription.
Originally, Amazon Prime members were allowed to share shipping benefits with up to 4 family members.
The updated policy: “Free trial or paid Amazon Prime members can share certain Amazon Prime benefits with ONE other adult by forming an Amazon Household.”
Prime membership costs $99 a year. Along with free shipping on most items and exclusive deals, a subscription also provides access to streaming video and music services, plus the Kindle lending library.
Come September 1st, when you walk into a Dairy Queen, you’ll find that pop is no longer the default option for the children’s meal, which will now come with milk or water.
Many believe that DQ’s move to eliminate sugary soft drinks from kids’ meals could signal real cultural change.
— EyeOpenerTV (@EyeOpenerTV) May 16, 2015
And now fans are paying the Price (get it!?)
Tickets to Monday’s game were averaging US$37 each before Price was traded to the Blue Jays on July 30, according to seatgeek.com. However, after Price was announced as Toronto’s starter for Monday’s game the average price rocketed to $69.
Jays ticket prices soar after David Price trade. http://t.co/OHzYTuA9HP
— Blackburn News CK (@BlackburnCK) August 5, 2015
— SeatGeek (@SeatGeek) August 5, 2015


text:
The two countries have paid heed to intensifying defence-security cooperation, especially defence industry, logistics and military medicines while speeding up negotiations on an agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons and an agreement on mutual protection and exchange of information, he said.
He also noted the two sides’ maintenance of political consultations at deputy ministerial and department levels of the two foreign ministries and their sharing of information and experience relating to cooperation with other countries.
He emphasised the progresses the two countries have achieved in their economic, trade and investment partnership, and expressed his hope that Mongolia will make it easy for Vietnam to increase its export of farm and aquatic products, processed food, consumer commodities, machinery and home appliances to the country while Mongolia could ship processed meat, textile and garment materials, minerals, and footwear to Vietnam.
The President suggested the two countries step up political dialogues at all levels and boost people-to-people, cultural, educational, artistic, and sport exchanges to further promote mutual understanding; organize market research tours for businesses; and enhance cooperation in energy, agriculture, and pharmaceuticals and medicines.
Regarding regional and international issues, he suggested the two sides continue coordinating at multilateral forums, like the UN, ASEM, ARF, and more, affirming Vietnam’s readiness to support Mongolia’s connection with other ASEAN member countries.
The Mongolian guest briefed President Quang on the outcomes of his talks with Minister of Public Security To Lam, stressing that Mongolia wants to have stronger cooperation with Vietnam in national security.
He expressed his belief that in 2018, the two countries will sign the agreements that were discussed and reach consensus on the safeguard of national security.
Built on the traditional friendship, mutual trust and understanding, Mongolia wants to boost its economic and trade ties with Vietnam to bring the bilateral ties to a new height, he said.
On the occasion, he conveyed the invitation to visit Mongolia from President Khaltmaa Battulga, who is Chairman of the National Security Council of Mongolia to his host. President Quang accepted the invitation and then asked the Secretary to relay his invitation to visit Vietnam to President Khaltmaa Battulga.


text:
MANGATAREM, Pangasinan – After two years since the pandemic hit, provincial buses have resumed trips from Manila to Pangasinan and vice versa and people -- who do not have other means of transportation -- can finally travel again.
This, as the government continues to reopen the economy to allow more economic activities and aid people in the new normal.
Aside from travelers and transport sector workers, small business owners like Carmelita Fernandez, 38, are also elated over this development.
Fernandez cooks and sells tupig, a rice cake variant made from glutinous rice, coconut milk, coconut meat strips, and sugar which is famous in the Ilocos Region and some parts of Cagayan Valley.
Tupig, which is wrapped in banana leaves and cooked over live charcoal, is usually offered by sellers in bus stations and bus stops.
In an interview by the Philippine News Agency, Fernandez said bus conductors do not allow them to hop in the buses anymore to offer tupig to passengers.
“Dahil po sa pandemic (It’s because of the pandemic),” she said, referring to the social distancing call by the government to lessen the transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Fernandez, who is from this municipality, has been selling tupig for around 20 years, a business she learned from her mother.
From total sales of over PHP3,000 pre-pandemic, Fernandez said average sales since she resumed operations in December 2021 is only about PHP2,000.
“Hindi pa po tubo yun. Kaya swerte na lang kung maubos yung tatlong basket na dinadala namin araw-araw (That’s not the net income yet. We’re lucky if we’re able to sell all three baskets of tupig we sell daily,” she said.
Fernandez said tupig does not spoil easily so they just reheat the unsold items the following day, and prioritize this for selling over the newly-cooked ones.
She is grateful that the government has allowed the resumption of provincial bus trips to Pangasinan, adding that when her business stopped following the lockdown measures in March 2020, their family of seven ate only twice a day --late breakfast and dinner.
“Wala naman po kaming magagawa kundi pagkasyahin yung kita ng asawa ko sa pagtatraysikel (We have no choice but to fit up what my husband earns for driving a tricycle),” she added.
Fernandez said that although two of her kids are enrolled under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), which allows the family to receive around PHP5,100 monthly subsidy from the government, this is not enough to sustain their daily needs.
When movement restrictions were eased and the government allowed more people in malls and theme parks, among other places, Fernandez said she grabbed the opportunity to resume her business with the help of her kids who are still attending distance learning.
Preparing the tupig takes hours, from sourcing and mixing the ingredients until the wrapping process to cooking it, Fernandez said.
She sells her products from 7 a.m. to around 7 p.m. Travel time from her residence to the municipal center takes around 30 minutes, she said.
Fernandez said selling to public transport passengers remains slow so she also takes advantage of selling to people in private cars and those who go to the various food joints within the municipal center.
“Kakayanin po lahat ng hirap para sa pamilya (I will endure all the hardships for my family),” she added.
The Pangasinan provincial government, through Executive Order No. 0027-2022 issued on April 20, 2022, lifted the province-wide curfew as Covid-19 cases continue to decline.
Data posted on the provincial government’s Facebook page show that as of April 25, 2022, there were seven active cases here, with one new confirmed case. Total cases reached 43,106 while total recoveries at 41,767. (PNA)


text:
Bloomberg. The company has been unable to reach a deal with its creditors on restructuring its debt, and has been unable to find a buyer for some or all of its assets, according to the report, and without one of those two options, the company will not be able to continue operations.
Toys 'R' Us filed to reorganize under bankruptcy protection last fall. After a disappointing holiday season, plans were announced in January to close 182 U.S. stores (see "Toys 'R' Us Files to Close 182 Stores"). News leaked out last month that another 200 stores were on the block, which would bring the closings to roughly half of the 800 stores the company had at the time of the filing (see "Another 200 Toys 'R' Us Stores to Close").
The company has foreign assets as well. The UK unit is operating under court supervision; the Europe unit is for sale; the Asia unit is for sale, and it’s unclear what is happening to the Canadian arm.
Toys 'R' Us had over $11 billion in sales in 2016, the last year for which it has issued its financial report. Even though that’s probably declined since then, it’s a massive amount of sales for the market to absorb through other retailers.
Refinancing Deal, Sale of Assets Elusive
Posted by Milton Griepp on March 9, 2018 @ 5:13 am CT
A Year After Their Massively Successful Kickstarter Campaign
December 8, 2023
Catalyst Game Labs will release BattleTech: Mercenaries Box Set into retail.


text:
One of Britain's most recognisable brands, The Radio Times, will be sold to a German media giant.
The television listings magazine's publisher Immediate Media will be sold this week to Germany's.. City A.M.
Jan.05 -- Meredith has contacted Time to express interest in a potential merger, according to people familiar with the matter, rekindling a possible tie-up that died in 2013. Bloomberg’s Alex Sherman.. Source: Bloomberg Global Business -
Wall Street bagged new records as a broad rally in equities resumed. Thursday's close marks the fourth record close in a row for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500's second. Time Inc... Source: The Street -
Dec 8 (Reuters) - Time Inc, the publisher of Time, People and Fortune magazines, has tapped Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp to help field takeover or partnership interest, the Wall Street... Reuters
Nov 28 (Reuters) - Time Inc, the publisher of Time, People and Fortune magazines, has rejected a takeover bid from billionaire investor Edgar Bronfman Jr., the New York Post reported on Monday. Reuters
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Time Inc.’s (NYSE:TIME) INVNT, a global brand communications agency, announced Tuesday that Tracy Thompson-Harte has joined the company as Director of Strategic Accounts... Business Wire
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The fifth Fortune Most Powerful Women (MPW) International Summit London, a Time. Inc. event, will bring together the most prominent global women leaders in business in Europe,.. Business Wire
Everyone knows that using the same password for all your online accounts makes it ten times easier for hackers to access your information - but even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg can't help taking.. City A.M.
Cyber criminals reportedly shut down the London Stock Exchange website last week, keeping it out of action for more than two hours.
According to the Mail on Sunday, hacker group Anonymous carried.. City A.M.
Social networking site Myspace was hacked over the weekend, with user login data made available in an online hacker forum.
Myspace's owner Time Inc confirmed the data breach today, and said the.. City A.M.


text:
- Top 10 Recession-Proof IT Jobs
- 7 Hot IT Jobs That Will Land You a Higher Salary
- Link Building Strategies and Tips for 2014
- Top 10 Accessories for Your iPad Air
IDG News Service - Advanced Micro Devices on Wednesday announced new mobile processors as it tries to bridge the power and performance gap with Intel, while trying to lower laptop prices.
The company's new processors include its first triple-core and quad-core laptop processors as part of a new Phenom II line, which will boost application performance while reducing power consumption, AMD officials said. Mainstream laptops mostly come with dual-core chips, and adding cores brings more performance to users at lower prices.
"We're able to hit triple-and quad-core price points at $799," said Leslie Sobon, vice president of marketing at AMD. Between 130 to 150 products are being designed around the new chips, which is a record for AMD.
The three quad-core and two triple-core Phenom II processors run at speeds between 1.6GHz and 2.3GHz and draw between 25 watts and 45 watts of power. The chips will be available in laptops from vendors including Dell, HP and Lenovo starting later this month.
AMD also announced low-voltage Athlon II Neo and Turion II Neo processors for ultrathin laptops that run at speeds between 1.3GHz and 1.7GHz. The processors come in single-core and dual-core variants and draw between 12 watts and 15 watts of power.
The new laptop chips are an attempt by AMD to improve its weak market position and gain ground on Intel. AMD held a 12.1% market share in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 15% in the first quarter of 2009, according to IDC. Intel was the leader, holding an 87.8% laptop microprocessor market share in the first quarter of 2010, compared to the 84.3% market share from a year ago.
AMD's CEO Dirk Meyer last month acknowledged that the company was underrepresented in the laptop market, but added that the company was making architectural improvements to its chips that could improve battery life and performance of the machines.
Intel last year gained a competitive advantage by moving to a new manufacturing process to make chips faster and more power efficient. Intel in January launched new Core i3, i5 and i7 dual-core mobile processors for laptops. The company will soon release new laptop processors for ultrathin laptops.
AMD's triple- and quad-core offerings provide more options to buyers, AMD's Sobon said. Computing tasks like antivirus can be off-loaded to the third core, while leaving two cores to process other applications.
PC makers including HP and Dell said Intel's package of chips facilitate longer battery life and better performance, but AMD's new chips provide better graphics and bang-for-the-buck with performance relative to price. Meanwhile, AMD has taken big steps to close the gap with Intel, executives from the PC makers said.
HP last week launched seven new ProBook business laptops based on AMD's new processors. Some power improvements have stretched AMD-based laptops' battery life beyond five hours, a 72% improvement from laptops with AMD's older chips. Intel-based laptops still offer performance advantages and battery life in excess of six hours, said Joanne Bugos, business notebook marketing manager at HP.


text:
Mindham Fine Jewellery named the first jeweller to join Art Toronto
From October 27-30, Mindham Fine Jewellery showcased an extraordinary exhibit at Art Toronto that took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. For the first time in 18 years as a prestigious art fair, Founder and Creative Director Myles Mindham was the first jeweller to be a part of the event alongside a plethora of artists from all backgrounds of study and galleries from all over the world.
Mindham’s Fine Jewellery exhibit was located at the beginning of the fair, where he and his team presented several pieces that exuded artistry, some of which included pieces from Mindham’s 25th anniversary collection, and exquisite pieces by Verdura in collaboration with the surrealist artist Salvador Dali. From beautiful Australian pearls to sparkling, one of a kind designs, each piece carried a precious personal story just as valuable as the precious stones and metals used to create each design.
Check out some of the stunning pieces that were featured at Art Toronto:
As Mindham Fine Jewellery continues to create and experiment with artistic expression, the Toronto-based boutique is now entering the accessible jewellery category for everyday wear that ranges in price from $300- $5,000. The collection will offer a wide selection of contemporary pieces—including necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings—that are easy to style for any day of the week.
To celebrate their new designs, Mindham Fine Jewellery will be hosting a pop-up event in the heart of Yorkville Village called Hazelton by Mindham Fine Jewellery. Beginning November 6th-December 24th, the salon-style shopping experience will showcase the new designs as well as the Nest series in honour of Mindham’s 25th year in business.
“I’ve enjoyed working with our team of expert gemologists and jewellers to create this new jewellery collection,” says Mindham. “Hazelton at Yorkville Village will be a fun, playful moment for new and existing clients to experience Mindham Fine Jewellery outside of our permanent showroom and atelier.”


text:
Here are five things we know about the 2017 MINI Countryman, which is undergoing tests currently.
The MINI Countryman will undergo an evolutionary redesign moving to its second generation. It will be the last of the five models that are to stay in MINI's trimmed model line-up. Expect design cues to come from the MINI 3-door, MINI 5-door, MINI Clubman and MINI Convertible. The interior, spyshots have revealed, will be in-line with these latest MINI models.
The next-gen MINI Countryman will be based on the the UKL front-wheel drive platform. It will be the last MINI model to switch to this platform after the 3-door, 5-door, Clubman and Convertible. The MINI Roadster and MINI Coupe are already axed, while the MINI Paceman will not move to a second generation.
The 2017 MINI Countryman is expected to be offered with the same MINI TwinPower Turbo three- and four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines from the aforementioned new generation MINI models. Additionally, the all-new Countryman range will include a plug-in hybrid variant too. The MINI Countryman will be the first MINI model to be offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic should be among the transmission choices offered in the standard variant.
While reports state that the 2017 MINI Countryman will debut at the 2016 Paris Motor Show, some latest reports from European media claim the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show to be the venue. A November 2016 debut would mean that the sales of the 2017 Countryman would commence in early-2017.
The first generation MINI Countryman is built by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria. The second generation MINI Countryman will reportedly be built by VDL Nedcar in Born, Netherlands.


text:
Deep Dive: Singles’ Day Shopping Festival 2017 Review Survey
Singles’ Day has grown to become the single-most significant online shopping day in China and the biggest shopping event globally. Following our Singles’ Day Shopping Festival 2017 preview survey in October, which detailed consumer sentiment and buying preferences ahead of the 11.11 event, we conducted a post-Singles’ Day survey to gauge shoppers’ satisfaction with key retailers in China. We detail our key findings in this report.
- Alibaba’s two main marketplaces Taobao and Tmall continue to dominate Singles’ Day sales, but JD.com is gaining traction. While nearly every survey respondent said they shopped on Taobao or Tmall during this year’s 11.11 event—with an impressive 74% saying most of their money was spent at either one of these marketplaces—it is interesting to note how quickly JD.com is making its mark. Some 65% of survey participants said they bought on JD.com, with 19% saying they spent the most there this year.
- In terms of overall customer satisfaction, Tmall and JD.com scored well, while Taobao lags behind. Tmall tops the league with a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 30, higher than both JD.com at 24 and Vipshop at 9. Taobao, however, fared poorly with an NPS in negative territory, at (7).
- Survey participants scored Tmall and JD.com well on product quality, which, according to our analysis, is the ultimate driver of customer satisfaction. In terms of
delivery speed, JD.com outperformed both Tmall and Taobao, however, our survey results show that this factor has less impact on customer satisfaction.


text:
Much awaited Saudi Aramco IPO open for subscription on 17 Nov 2019.
The state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco announced on Nov 3 that it will be floating its IPO on the Riyadh stock market. This is more than three years after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman first raised the idea to offer shares in the world’s largest oil producer.
Aramco will mainly rely on local demand — one third of the offering is reserved for Saudi retail investors. They could offer 1-2% of its shares on the local bourse, raising as much as $20-40 billion.
Since 2016, the company is targeting a $2 trillion valuation — more than twice that of Apple. But on Sunday, Saudi Arabia put a valuation on Aramco of between $1.6 trillion and $1.71 trillion.
Saudi Aramco said it would sell 1.5 percent of the company in a blockbuster initial public offering worth between $24 billion and $25.6 billion. This could just beat Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s record $25 billion New York stock market debut in 2014 — currently the world’s largest IPO.
The world’s biggest initial public offer opened on November 17, for institutional investors and will be open for subscription throughout the week till Dec. 4. For retail investors, the issue will open on November 28. Being an Indian citizen, you can still invest in the IPO
Indian can invest in this IPL by two way
- Invest in mutual fund which promising for investment in this IPO. Kotak Global Emerging Fund or Franklin Asian Emerging Fund. Buying an international mutual fund would make it possible for investing in the IPO and later on Saudi Aramco shares after the listing
- Open Dmat account with brocker which also have operation in Saudi Arabia


text:
‘The last-minute delay to Brexit helped encourage UK consumers to loosen the purse strings in April after a period of hoarding cash. When compared with the previous year, the quantity of goods bought in April 2019 increased by 5.2 per cent, with growth across all sectors except household goods.
‘Consumers were lured back in part by retailers discounting goods that had been stockpiled in preparation for Brexit. The good weather also helped to boost clothes sales as shoppers sought to refresh their summer wardrobes, with online only retailers benefitting the most.
‘Looking ahead, the pressure remains to drive down stock levels amid the continuing challenges facing the high street operators, the effects of which are now extending to the commercial landlords. Many have been forced to accept lower rents to keep units occupied and to write down property valuations.
‘Many retailers will be hoping for a resolution to the current political impasse so they can return to more normal seasonal trading, but the reality is that they may be waiting some time.’


text:
Editor Daniel Lai email@example.com
USA Today features reality show based in Dearborn on front page of Monday's paper.
News that Lowe's and other companies were pulling advertising from TLC's "All-American Muslim"—a reality show that features Lebanese families from Dearborn—drew heated reaction on Twitter.
Controversy erupts over reality show that features five Lebanese families in Dearborn.
Arts, Holiday Guide
The husband-and-wife team of Perfect Laughter will be selling their prints this weekend at the area's largest annual holiday craft event.
Cardholders in Michigan get a holiday boost with one free admission Dec. 3-4 to The Henry Ford, the Motown Museum, Detroit Science Center and other local cultural venues.
The lawsuit alleges that the original creators of show were not credited or paid for their work.
Advertise on Patch and reach potential customers in your backyard and beyond. Click here for more information.
Learn more »
If you want to help local causes, or your cause needs local help, your next click should be right here.
Learn more »
Enter your tip here and it will be sent straight to
Daniel Lai and Jason Alley,
Dearborn Patch's (incredibly grateful)
Dearborn news, events, and deals sent to you daily and breaking news as it happens.
See more options
You’re now signed up!


text:
Recently, the Tesla (TSLA) website released the recruitment of a humanoid robot production director. The job category is under manufacturing, with more than 100 jobs already required, once again confirming Tesla’s synergy and determination to develop autonomous driving and robotics.
Industry insiders believe that Tesla’s humanoid robot is expected to be used in the automotive production sector for the first time, the most notable is that the robot will manage the entire production line and achieve full unmanned production.
The field of humanoid robots is full of surprises
It has to be said that in the past three quarters, the humanoid robot product end showed many bright spots, which refreshed everyone’s cognition again and again. In May 2023, John Huang, founder, and CEO of Nvidia (NVDA), said at the ITF World 2023 Semiconductor Conference that the next wave of AI will be “Embodied AI”, an intelligent system that can understand, reason, and interact with the physical world.
He also unveiled Nvidia VIMA, a multimodal embodied AI system capable of performing complex tasks guided by visual text prompts. The development of embodied intelligence will have a significant impact on industries such as artificial intelligence and robotics, and it will promote robotics technology in a more intelligent, flexible, and autonomous direction. At the same time, the development of embodied intelligence will also provide more interactive ways, making the communication between people and machines more natural and efficient.
In September, Tesla’s humanoid Optimus demonstrated its ability to classify items and keep balance on one foot. According to Tesla, Optimus’s neural network training is “fully end-to-end” —— can realize video signal input, and control signal output, without preset code, and the industry progress is more than expected.
Golden opportunity for humanoid robots
Institutions have also been optimistic about the golden track of humanoid robots. It is widely believed that Tesla’s humanoid robots are expected to be used in the field of automobile production for the first time, which is complementary to the modular car building concept previously released by Tesla. Introduce robot-assisted production from the model design, and it is expected that related industrial chain companies will benefit from this development.
At present, the humanoid robot industry chain mainly includes the software end (environment sensing module, intelligent AI chip module, operating system module) and the hardware end (motion control module). For now, powering robots is still the most difficult problem in engineering, and this link is seen as an opportunity for the local industrial chain. Citic Securities analysis believes that in this context, OpenAI, Google, Tencent, Weimei Holography, and other technology enterprises continue to increase their investment in the field of robots and promote the process of robot technology innovation and cost reduction and mass production.
AI algorithms to help the robot industry booming
It is understood that WiMi Hologram Cloud (NASDAQ: WIMI) has listed the humanoid robot as a key development project. Under the boost factors of AI technology such as the GPT big model, WiMi Hologram Cloud tries to use the multi-modal large language model as a bridge between human beings and robots. Given the gradual improvement of the end-to-end deep learning framework and the continuous enhancement of the generalization ability of AI algorithm, WiMi Hologram Cloud robot recognition interaction and execution ability is expected to accelerate the qualitative change under the background of rapid quantitative change in data development, and the in-depth of practical research and development is expected to accelerate the application of humanoid robots, which makes WiMi Hologram Cloud gain higher attention.
Up to now, WiMi Hologram Cloud has accumulated rich patents and technology reserves in the research and development of humanoid robots. It is reported that the company’s robot research and development team has rich experience in operation control algorithms and human-computer interaction. WiMi Hologram Cloud The development based on large models can make humanoid robots better adapt to human life scenes. The AIGC supported by the large model enables the robot to control itself and finally forms a closed loop of perception, decision-making, and control.
Previously, the GPT-4 took natural language-based human-computer interaction as the core, with multimodal data processing capabilities, enabling humanoid robot applications to have a huge impact. As an AI leader, WiMi Hologram Cloud has the innate advantage, the company’s GPT multimodal model research progress will help humanoid robots better interact with the environment and humans, the future can better understand and process human language, and have more powerful perception, decision-making, and execution ability, to promote the development and application of humanoid robot technology.
To sum up
The humanoid robot, a concept of “enclosure since sprouting” in the academic circle a few years ago, has continued to rise this year, even more than the previously popular collaborative robot. Some even say that 2023 is the “first year of humanoid robots”. With the help of the big model of explosion, people are no longer satisfied that the robot is just a “big toy”, but also hope that it can master various skills through self-learning, interact with the surrounding environment more naturally and intelligently, complete various tasks, and become a truly conscious intelligent form. In short, with the gradual digestion of relevant information by the market, humanoid robots are riding the waves, and the future can be expected.


text:
Good lord, could things drag out any longer for the proposed James Hotel on Sunset near San Vicente. The 196-room hotel project has been in the works since 1999 (back then it was a Hotel Astra; James bought it in 2005) and now the site has just sold to "a European hotel developer that has built luxury hotels in the Middle East," reports the LA Business Journal (sub. req.). It's hard to believe there'll ever be action on the property, but sources say the new owner plans to start work on "a five-star hotel" by October lest West Hollywood slap it with a $1 million penalty. Still, the city has extended the entitlements for the hotel six times already. Those entitlements allow for "a six-story, 196-room hotel with four extended-stay or residential units," plus 26,000 square feet of groundfloor restaurant space. The new owners paid $28 million for the property.
· New Owner Takes On Sunset Strip Hotel Project [LABJ, sub. req.]


text:
CHATHAM, ONT. — Barry Callebaut is adding liquid and molding lines, as well as enhanced dairy-free production capabilities, as part of its latest expansion in Chatham, Ont. White compound production will be added in 2023, the company said.
The Zurich, Switzerland-based chocolate maker initiated its multi-year expansion project at the Chatham plant in 2018 with an investment of $30 million for additional liquid storage capacity. An additional $70 million will have been invested in Chatham’s product portfolio and enhanced manufacturing capabilities through the 2022-23 fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2023. The ongoing investments will bring the total investment in the Chatham factory to $100 million, the company said.
“This new capacity will satisfy growing demand from both food manufacturers and gourmet customers for our compound solutions in this dynamic consumer market,” said Balaji Padmanabhan, vice president of operations and supply chain for the Americas, Barry Callebaut.


text:
A note from NRO
- " Amazon.com is making news this week, as its 10th anniversary approaches.
The online bookseller has published its top 25 list of authors, based on
sales. Most of the usual suspects appear: J.K. Rowling, Dan Brown, Tom
Clancy, etc. Also making the cut: J.R.R. Tolkien (#8) and C.S. Lewis (#13).
Not bad for a couple of guys who died a generation before Amazon.com was


text:
In a drive to invest in leaner facilities, Saint-Gobain Calmar Inc. will shift injection molding from its California headquarters to a new site in Mexico and also move to a more modern plant in Missouri.
Both decisions were made after Calmar conducted a review of its business, said company President John McKernan in an Aug. 20 news release. Calmar injection molds nonaerosal dispensing and spraying systems, products that have been affected by foreign competition and strains on profit margins, Calmar officials said.
The company, based in City of Industry, Calif., decided that continued production at its California plant was cost-prohibitive due to the high costs of such external factors as sales and property taxes, insurance, energy and workers' compensation, McKernan said.
The company will retain its offices and research and development facility in City of Industry.
``This is a highly competitive industry, and there is constant price pressure locally as well as from overseas,'' McKernan said.
To counter that, the company will transfer production from the 117,000-square-foot California facility to a new plant in San Luis Potos¡, Mexico. The plant is not scheduled to break ground until July 2004 and will open for business by the end of 2005, said Calmar spokesman William Seiberlich.
It is slated to have a minimum of 120,000 square feet, he said.
The California manufacturing plant will close in about two years, Seiberlich said. The Mexico plant will be built in stages over an extended time period, he added. He would not disclose investment costs.
The company also plans to move out of its existing molding plant in Lee's Summit, Mo., to a new, highly automated site nearby, Seiberlich said. The company is scouting for sites, he said. The Lee's Summit facility, with 350 employees, makes trigger and finger sprayers.
``The products manufactured at the Lee's Summit facility are subject to intense, competitive-pricing pressures from Asia, and it is our commitment and belief that we can compete on a global basis in the Kansas City [Mo.] area,'' McKernan said.
Calmar is a subsidiary of Paris-based Cie. de Saint-Gobain and recorded about $300 million in sales last year.


text:
Home Depot reported fourth-quarter sales and earnings that beat Wall Street estimates as the retailer continued to benefit from a strong U.S. housing market.
Excluding certain items, the company earned $1.74 billion, or $1.44 per share, on revenue of $22.21 billion. Analysts had forecast earnings of $1.34 and revenue of $21.8 billion.
Comparable store sales showed a 5.8% increase, beating analysts’ average estimate of a gain of 3.5%, percent. Same-store sales in the U.S. rose 6.3%.
“Home Depot is gaining share in a number of high value categories, including appliances,” GlobalData Retail analyst Håkon Helgesen wrote in a research note, attributing part of the gain to “the poor performance of Sears, which has traditionally been a destination for appliance purchasers, but is now ceding share.”
As CNBC reports, Home Depot “has benefited from a stronger economy and rising home values, which have encouraged shoppers to invest in their homes. Even as the company faced tough comparisons from the prior-year period, analysts expected it to perform better than the broader retail space due to this ongoing shift in consumer spending.”
America’s largest home improvement retailer said transactions over $900, which represent about 20% of U.S. sales, rose 11.6% during the holiday quarter, as customers spent more on flooring products and appliances.
For full-year 2016, overall sales rose 6.9% to $94.6 billion, while earnings increased 18.1% to $6.45. “Our focus on providing localized and innovative product selection, improving the interconnected customer experience, and driving productivity resulted in record sales and net earnings for 2016,” Home Depot CEO Craig Menear said in a news release.
The company also forecast 2017 sales would rise 4.6% to $98.95 billion, topping analysts’ estimates of $98.45 billion.
“There really is a moat around the home improvement category that protects it from online competition,” Oppenheimer analyst Brian Nagel told CNBC. “The other big piece is … this is an area of demand growth within retail. People are spending on their homes.”


text:
On November 14, Nissan announced that Infiniti will make the North American debut of the VC-T, the world’s first mass market variable compression ratio engine, at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show, which opens its doors November 16.
This new engine made its world debut in France at the 2016 Paris Motor Show in September, 2016. With this technology at the core of its next-generation combustion engine powertrains, Infiniti wants to spread its appeal to its flagship market, the United States by showing it at the show.
This variable compression technology uses the latest multi-link system to seamlessly change the piston’s top dead center according to driving conditions and information inputted by the driver, allowing it to quickly change to the most appropriate variable compression ratio. The driver can also change at will between the compression ratios of 8:1 to 14:1.
The 2.0L in-line 4-cylinder gasoline turbo engine with VC-T (T stands for “turbo”) puts out 272ps and 39.8kgm maximum torque. According to Infiniti, its performance is on the level of a V6 gasoline engine and it offers even higher efficiency.
The 4-cylinder VC-T engine also offers less noise and vibration than existing internal combustion engines like diesel engines, and compared to high-output V6 engines, it is lighter and more compact.
(Translated by Greg Scott)


text:
The Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) has announced the provision of a new marketing window for the agro-processing industry. The new service was inaugurated by Minister for Trade and Industry, Melaku Alebel. 16 processors registered with the Ministry have entered the trading system.
Soybean production is the main produce being covered by the special window service and the processors have been given training in the legal and technological aspects of the new market. With this, traders are going to be able to buy goods through an electronic platform.
In the preliminary trading that ECX conducted from the 4th to the 26th of November, 26,455 quintals out of the 141,857 quintals supplied to the processors. The exchange expects more industries to join the market soon; ginger beans and white pigeons have already been added to the trading system raising the number of items to 12.
According to ECX adding more industries to the trading system is expected to fetch better prices for products and increase the bargaining power of farmers. Experts identify such developments, coupled with Ethiopia’s agriculturally conducive ecosystems, as crucial for bringing the country’s industries to the modern trading sphere.
ECX plans on trading 784,000 tons of produce during the current fiscal year which the company says it is on track to meet based on an analysis of numbers from the first quarter.
The company is also undertaking endeavors to fulfill its social and national responsibilities like filling the gap in the oilseed trading market due to the ongoing conflict in the Tigray region. Oilseed trade is one of the main sources of foreign currency for Ethiopia. Three oilseed crops (soybeans, sesame seeds, and niger seeds) account for 20 percent of the nation’s agricultural export earnings, second only to coffee.


text:
A summary of our outlook for economies and markets.
Beyond Covid – policy-led reflation
The global economy remains on track for a rapid and broad-based economic recovery from the Covid pandemic.
Notwithstanding concerns around new variants of the virus, restrictions are generally being eased, as the vaccine roll-out progresses well, allowing economies to more fully re-open. Moreover, the tightening of restrictions in many countries earlier this year proved to be less economically damaging than feared, as governments, businesses and individuals found ways of limiting the number of jobs and industries impacted. At the same time, the extension of fiscal packages has ensured, household incomes have remained supported and that consumer demand has stayed robust.
As a result, we have revised up our growth forecasts for 2021 to reflect the better start to the year than we expected, locking in the higher level of activity. Looking further ahead, our growth expectations remain strong for this year and next, somewhat above consensus across all the major regions. While there are risks on both sides of that outlook, we judge that the balance of risks to the growth outlook are to the upside, with still significant pent-up demand and excess household savings that could be deployed over- and-above our relatively conservative estimates.
China and the United States have led the way
We expect global growth of around seven per cent in 2021, followed by 4½ per cent in 2022, with the level of activity rising above the pre-Covid level across all major economies at some point this year. Among the major economies, the quickest recoveries in activity have been in China, the United States and Canada, where the amount of policy support has been greatest. Recovery in Europe is expected to be a little behind those economies, but should see activity back to pre-Covid levels by 2021Q4. Our growth outlook for the major economies is shown in Figure 1. We expect the high point in quarter-on-quarter growth to be 2021Q2, when the impact of re-opening is likely to be largest, with a steady return to more normal quarterly growth rates by the end of 2022.
Figure 1. Major economy GDP growth projections
The role of both monetary and fiscal policy in supporting the recovery remains key.
Monetary policy is expected to remain easy for some time, especially in those economies where inflation has been below the central bank target in the years before Covid (although, as discussed, below recent inflation outcomes have raised some questions). With the worst of the lockdowns likely behind us, the vast amount of support for household incomes through furlough and/or enhanced unemployment benefits can recede. That is not a fiscal tightening, but rather a natural consequence of these schemes having been designed to support incomes when needed given government restrictions on activity, but to then wind down when activity returns. But beyond the income support schemes, pro-cyclical fiscal policies are underway or planned across all the major economies. Many of these policies are focussed on the goals of meeting climate change targets and reducing economic inequality. As such, significant government infrastructure plans are already agreed in the euro zone and United Kingdom, with the United States Congress expected to pass an even more sizeable (as share of GDP) infrastructure bill later this year. Some increases in corporate and high-income earners tax rates are also expected, but much of the revenue from these measures is expected to be directed to spending programmes for lower-income households.
Supply-chain bottlenecks are leading to higher inflation
There have been many aspects of the Covid-induced recession and subsequent recovery that have been unconventional. Unlike a more typical economic shock, where the hit to demand is the dominant factor, leading to increased spare capacity and lower inflation, the Covid shock has impacted both demand and supply. While that was clearly disinflationary in 2020, more recently the acceleration in demand (supported by excess savings and re-opening) has outstripped the available supply in some industries, creating so-called supply-chain “bottlenecks”. That has put upward pressure on commodity prices, as well as further along the manufacturing supply chain and into some consumer goods. Part of that reflects the impact of lockdowns on production in 2020, resulting in insufficient inventories to meet the rise in demand. But part of it may also reflect the unexpected speed of recovery for many businesses. Business surveys indicate supplier delivery times will remain challenging over the next six months, suggesting that some bottlenecks may persist through to the end of 2021 (Figure 2).
Figure 2. US surveys of supplier delivery times
We expect elevated consumer price inflation to persist through to early 2022 (Figure 3), by which time the supply disruptions should be alleviated, with stronger employment and increased capacity. Moreover, the year-on-year change should fall back as it has been boosted by the unusually weak inflation outturns in 2020. Some may describe that outlook as one of transitory inflation. But rather than getting hung up on the description, we think it is more important to focus on the likely underlying inflationary pressures as we head into 2022 and the balance of risks to that outlook.
Figure 3. CPI inflation outlook
Figure 4. Monetary policy to stay loose
We think that underlying inflation pressures will be somewhat stronger in 2022 and 2023 than they were pre-Covid. That reflects our view of limited spare capacity, particularly in the United States, by early 2022. Alongside that, with wage growth (once adjusted for composition effects) remaining remarkably resilient through the Covid shock, and with inflation having been boosted by bottlenecks in 2021, we think there is greater potential for that limited spare capacity to drive wage demands and household and business inflation expectations higher. While in our central case that only leads to modestly higher underlying inflation compared to pre-Covid, we think the risks are tilted to the upside given our upside risk to demand and potentially greater pass-through into pricing.
Despite the risks of higher inflation, we expect the major central banks to be willing to accommodate that in order to deliver a more robust recovery and a sustained increase in actual inflation and inflation expectations.
The new framework adopted by the Federal Reserve in 2020, known as Flexible Average Inflation Targeting (FAIT), will require them to start raising interest rates only once inflation has been above two per cent for a period of time and full employment has been reached. That does not mean they will be oblivious to the risks and may therefore signal lift-off somewhat earlier should the economic situation warrant it, but that they will wait until those criteria are met before moving. We expect that to be in 2023.
The European Central Bank is due to announce the outcome of its own framework review later this year, whereby they are also expected to be more tolerant of somewhat higher inflation. However, with the euro zone economy likely to take quite a lot longer than the US to eliminate spare capacity and create sustainably higher inflation, the prospect of rate rises is more remote. The Bank of England finds itself somewhere in between the two in terms of the expected speed of recovery and elimination of spare capacity, and has not had the same issue of inflation shortfalls over the past decade. In many emerging market economies, the hiking cycle has already begun, reflecting the impact of currency depreciation and producer prices on domestic inflationary pressures.
Preference to be overweight equities
The combination of our global reflationary outlook, alongside supportive monetary and fiscal policy leads us to be overweight global equities. That is despite somewhat lofty valuations, reflecting our expectation of positive earnings surprises, rather than further multiple expansion. In terms of regions, we are slightly more overweight in the US and UK, with an underweight in emerging markets given they offer too little valuation cushion given the increased risks there of rising US bond yields, weaker local currencies and tighter domestic monetary policy.
Modestly underweight duration and credit
Government bond yields have moderated somewhat from their highs earlier in the year, possibly reflecting a combination of over-extended market positioning and some concern about the Federal Reserve raising rates too soon. Despite this, we continue to expect the growth and inflation backdrop to once again put upward pressure on yields, particularly as we see the Fed sticking to their FAIT framework. As such, we are somewhat underweight duration, mainly expressed through US Treasuries (Figure 5). The upside from tighter credit spreads appears to be limited given the narrowing already seen, and therefore we are also slightly underweight investment grade and neutral in high yield. Finally, we have a neutral view on currencies (Figure 6).


text:
Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Tourism has launched yet another promotional initiative by conducting a month-long video sequencing contest that puts peoples technical skills and creative abilities to test by getting them to order video clips of a movie.
In this era of internet and smartphones, websites have become one of the most popular media for cost effective tourism promotion. This will become a global competition and the contest aims to attract maximum participants from various destinations, said Tourism Minister A P Anil Kumar.
He also said that it was a matter of pride for all that Kerala Tourism website gets the maximum visits among the tourism websites of India and comes within the top ten positions in website traffic among all countries of Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
A total of 30 videos, each of two minutes duration will be created for the contest, highlighting diverse aspects of Kerala. Each video will be then divided into six portions of 20 seconds each and uploaded to the site. These divided portions will be in jumbled order.
Tourism promotion is an area where there is heavy competition, and each destination is vying to increase traffic to their website. In this context, the video sequencing contest will serve as a major promotional tool for the tourism department, said Kerala Tourism Director P I Sheik Pareeth.
The competition will run until March 17, he said.
We pioneered the use of online video for destination promotion has embarked on timely actions and state of the art technology to maintain its current supremacy, said Kerala Tourism Secretary, G Kamala Vardhana Rao.
Kerala Tourism had conducted the Clint Memorial Global Painting Competition last year which drew huge responses from across the globe.
Subscribe to our email newsletter.


text:
Couples are driving last minute, multi-destination bookings for this summer, according to Travel Counsellors.
Thirty-six per cent of late bookings in May were made by couples, mostly empty nesters and middle-aged adults.
Almost half (47%) of all package holidays sold by the home working firm last month were booked by couples.
Summer bookings made in May were 7% up on the same period last year, with almost 300 made in the last week for departures in June.
Data from the company shows that 41% of young couples who have booked so far this year have done so for a premium leisure holiday, ranging from trips across the whole of south-east Asia to shorter trips to Iceland that include multiple tours.
The top late booking destinations include Italy and Spain, while United Arab Emirates, Bali and Mauritius are most popular for beach holidays.
Cruise has also been in demand with 14% of sales in May coming from a booking including a cruise component.
Sales of cruise were up 32% during May compared to last year, of which 27% are set to depart this summer.
Global sales director Jim Eastwood said: “The increasing popularity of last-minute, multi-destination trips and experiential travel shows a shift in consumer preferences.
“It’s not just about booking last minute holidays to save money but about people waiting longer before securing premium leisure breaks that offer them unique travel experiences.
“With our personal digital platform and the expertise of our community, holidaymakers can secure bespoke, tailor-made journeys and trust that they will be cared for on their journey by booking with us.”


text:
Tag Results for "Urban Entrepreneurs Series"
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, minority-owned businesses have increased nearly 50 percent since 2000, fully twice the rate of all U.S. businesses. continue reading »
Understanding the importance of small businesses and their contribution to economic development, MillerCoors continues its legacy of support by announcing the 2010-2011 MillerCoors Urban Entrepreneurs Series (MUES) competition winners. continue reading »


text:
We are all concerned about the economy. Is inflation going to return to the devastating levels seen in the late 1970s and early 1980s (for those of you who were not around at the time, we saw interest rates rise to the high teens/low 20s)? When will demand ease and what are the implications for steel prices once it does? Where are we in the business cycle and what should my company be doing to prepare for 2022 business conditions?
Steel Market Update asked Alan Beaulieu of ITR Economics to briefly answer these questions and to prepare us for what he will discuss during his presentation at this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference.
Here’s what he had to say:
Inflation, demand and prices are on the minds of business leaders in many industries and especially in the steel industry, given its primacy to many industries.
Inflation is a major concern, and many people understandably wonder if this is the beginning of a larger inflationary trend that will mimic the late 1970s/early 1980s. The answer is “no.” Then the question shifts to whether we have initiated a systemic inflationary trend that will ignite interest rates. The answer is “not yet.”
Steel prices are a function of supply and demand, with most of each coming from forces in the private sector. There are indications of a lessening in the demand pull later this year and that supply issues will improve. This will naturally lead to a noticeable reduction in pricing pressures. We will be discussing the reasons for these changes, and the expected impact on prices, at the August SMU Steel Summit Conference.
Demand for houses, automobiles and a host of other consumer and business durables is booming. The appetite seems insatiable, yet that is never the case. It is always a case of when demand will ease (normalize), not if there will be a shift in demand. There are early leading indicators of a shift in the demand curve, including changes going on in China. Expect the change to occur gradually, but you should be experiencing fewer demand-pull pressures later this year and as we move through the early stages of 2022. The reasons and the implications for your business and prices will be presented at the SMU Steel Summit Conference.
Most firms are in Phase B of the business cycle. Business is accelerating, and there are internal and external pressures to contend with. Cash and inventory levels must be balanced while looking for that elusive next hire. The hiring situation should improve later this year, which will help with some of the internal pressures. The larger concern is overestimating the inventory and production requirements for 2022. It is best to think in terms of a more normalized rate of growth in 2022.
More information on ITR Economics and on our forecasts and accuracy can be found at itreconomics.com.
You can see Dr. Beaulieu at the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference, which will be held live and in-person in Atlanta on Aug. 23-25. You can learn more about the conference and how to register by clicking here or going to the Steel Summit homepage: https://www.events.crugroup.com/smusteelsummit/home
John PackardRead more from John Packard
Latest in Economy
Ford of Canada Union Workers Ratify Three-Year Labor Pact
Ford of Canada union workers represented by Unifor ratified a new, three-year labor agreement on Sunday.
ABI Index Drops in August
August’s Architecture Billings Index (ABI) reading from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek showed a moderate decrease.
Beige Book: Economic Activity Appears Stable
The US Federal Reserve said that although overall economic activity was modest in July and August, per its latest Beige Book Report released on Sept. 6, the report was still slightly more optimistic than the previous one.
Dodge Momentum Declines in August on Tighter Lending
The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) moved lower in August, driven by a slowdown in planning from tighter lending standards, according to the latest data from the Dodge Construction Network (DCN).
ISM PMI Shows 10 Months of Decline in Manufacturing Activity
Activity in the US manufacturing sector continues to slow, according to the latest monthly report on business from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).


text:
Britney Spears is rollin' back the prices on her holiday shopping -- with a low budget excursion to a Los Angeles area Walmart yesterday ... yes, they have Walmarts in L.A.
Store employees tell us Brit Brit usually comes by every year around the holidays to buy Xmas toys and other seasonal goodies -- no word on what she bought this time.
Britney's BF Jason Trawick was MIA for the shopping spree -- but Brit did have a bodyguard watching her back as she cruised through the aisles.
Britney Spears -- Christmas Time at Walmart
12/8/2010 9:30 AM PST BY TMZ STAFF
Get TMZ Breaking News alerts to your inbox


text:
KSUBI’S latest ad campaign was so cheap to make, you could almost call it a steal.
The Aussie fashion label is having the last laugh on brazen thieves who raided its new Soho, New York, shop last week.
The store — just six-weeks old — was robbed of $4000 worth of clothing.
Despite police not being able to track down the goods, Ksubi is using an image of the offenders fleeing the scene in its sale campaign, which kicks off in stores and online tomorrow.
“The shot was actually taken by one of our staff with their phone as they ran off from the store,” Ksubi chief executive Craig King told Confidential.
“Turning a negative into a positive, we saw the humour in using them as part of our marketing campaign.”
Ksubi has long been a favoured brand of celebrities. The New York store has become somewhat of a local landmark, thanks to numerous celebrities visiting, including Hailey Baldwin, Bella Thorne and Josh Hutcherson.
NYPD were called to the store when rapper Travis Scott performed on site on October 12, launching a collaboration with the label.
Scott is Kylie Jenner’s rumoured baby daddy.


text:
The Lake District is now the most popular destination for cottage holidays, surpassing Cornwall for the first time. That's the biggest change reported by Cottages.co.uk the cottage holiday planning site.
After a recent poll by Tripadvisor reported 30% of Brits stating currency exchange rates are impacting their holiday plans, it seems that the cut-price delights of walking and sight-seeing in the spectacular Lake District has more appeal than ever, with enquiries up over 45% in May, compared to 2007. Other risers include cottages with hot tubs, cottages in Wales, and log cabins.
"Enquiries are up across the board," says site director Jon Cockerill, "but typically 10% to 15%. Cornwall has long been the most popular area, but the Lake District has now surged past it. It looks like being a busy summer in Cumbria!"
Note to editors:
The site www.cottages.co.uk features over 150 independent holiday cottage agencies across the UK, enabling people to find the local specialists for any area. Established in 2004, it assists over half a million unique visitors per year.
Jon Cockerill, Cottages.co.uk
Tel: 07775 856885
This press release was distributed by ResponseSource Press Release Wire on behalf of Ashleworth Ltd in the following categories: Leisure & Hobbies, Women's Interest & Beauty, Travel, for more information visit https://pressreleasewire.responsesource.com/about.