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Deewa: The Festival of lights is back this year to celebrate Diwali in style!
This year, Deewa brings to the stage, two sensational Canadian singers, Raghav & Parichay.
Raghav, perhaps the biggest Indo-Canadian singing star, will be headlining Deewa, which takes place this year on October 29th and 30th at the Woodbine Mall, Etobicoke.
Parichay, who recently made great inroads into the mainstream Bollywood music industry, will also be performing at this year’s festival!
Deewa is an endeavour to bring together the South Asian community to celebrate Diwali and have a culturally enriching experience. The weekend long festival will offer free family activities and an eclectic showcase of South Asian culture through musical and dance performances by various artists. Adding to the celebration will be a showcase by some leading brands that will be giving out free gifts and samples to the visitors at the event.
Make sure you go out to the event next weekend at Woodbine Mall in Etobicoke!
For more information visit: www.thefestivaloflights.ca


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The Government has today announced its proposed vaping regulations, which will ban under 18-year-olds from buying vaping products.
However, the Government has moved away from prohibiting flavours despite earlier promises.
Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa appeared on TVNZ1's Q+A with Jack Tame this morning, saying the legislation ensured they regulated the whole vaping industry.
When asked why vaping could not be made prescription only, Ms Salesa said the focus was on public health, "as well to ensure we protect our kids from addictive substances".
"We also know 5000 people die from smoking related diseases in Aotearoa".
She said about 200,000 people vaped and it was successful for people to quit smoking.
"We want more people to give up smoking."
On not restricting the sale of flavours despite earlier pledges to impose a ban, Ms Salesa said it was about "striking that right balance", after consulting with vapers and health officials.
Jonathan Devery of the Vaping Trade Association said the proposals were a "great first step" in regulating vaping.
He said the issue with creating a prescription only vaping industry was that it would "create barriers".
"You're limiting accessibility to this product... which is going to have a negative impact on our smoking rates."
Mr Devery thought there should be a widening on the flavour restriction of just mint, menthol and tobacco flavours that outlets such as supermarkets and petrol stations can sell.
There has been concern not only about the unknown long-term health effects of vaping, but also the promotion of vaping that could entice a new generation of young people into addiction.
In addition to banning sales to under 18-year-olds, the new law will also:
- Prohibit advertising of vaping products and smokeless tobacco
- Restrict the sale of flavoured vaping products and e-cigarettes to R-18 specialty stores
- Limit general retailers, including dairies and service stations, to only sell three flavours
- Introduce a product safety system – which enables the Ministry of health to recall, suspend and issue warnings about vaping products
“Our Government has heard from a large number of smokers who say vaping is helpful for them to able to quit cancer-causing cigarettes. However we have also heard from parents, teachers and principals who want to make sure vaping companies are stopped from marketing to kids," Ms Salesa said.
"The Bill aims to strike the right balance between making sure vaping is available for smokers who want to use it as a quit tool for cigarettes while ensuring vaping products are not marketed or sold to children and young people.
The Bill will be introduced to the House tomorrow.

domain: news


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Christine Duffy has accepted a position with Cruise Lines International Association beginning February 1. Duffy served most recently as Maritz Travel President and CEO and will be replaced in the interim by Jane Herod – COO of Maritz Travel. Maritz Travel, one of the largest meeting, event and incentive travel management companies in the world is headquartered in Fenton, Missouri.
In accepting her new position, Duffy said: “The cruise industry has a remarkable record of growth and success, and tremendous potential for the future. Without a doubt, this industry’s bold, visionary leaders have created the most exciting, innovative and value-added vacation experiences available to consumers today, whether they are singles, couples, families, multigenerational and social groups, or shipboard meetings and incentives. It is an enormous privilege to lead CLIA in the years to come.” Duffy will be based in CLIA’s Washington DC office and also work from the association’s office in Fort Lauderdale.
As president and CEO of Maritz Travel, Duffy managed more than $700 million in client programs, and was responsible for ensuring the highest level of service quality was delivered to clients, to help them achieve their unique business objectives. In charge of the pharmaceutical/healthcare sector for Maritz she also headed a leadership team in developing a Wellness Solution for Maritz clients focused on integrating and customizing healthcare solutions to offer companies in pharmaceuticals, managed care, and medical device manufactures.
Christine Duffy spoke at the Missouri Meetings & Events Expo in early 2009 and was clear about how the incentive travel industry was changing, possibly forever. Watch video interview with Duffy (Spring 2009) http://bcove.me/4d0ehrgo or read a related article in Missouri Meetings & Events Magazine called Putting Out the Fire of Misconception By Michael Humphrey http://www.missourimeetingsandevents.com/articles.aspx?aid=601
For more information on Maritz Travel, visit www.maritz.com


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Many consumers still in the dark over incandescent phaseout
While more than one-third of Americans are aware of the federal phaseout of incandescent light bulbs, the majority of consumers have yet to learn that the 100-watt bulb is scheduled to disappear from store shelves beginning in 2012. This is one of the many findings of an Osram Sylvania consumer survey involving 300 homeowners and renters nationwide.
Overall, the public appears to be optimistic toward the changes ahead: 59% of respondents reported that they were eager to use more energy-efficient lighting solutions. While a large majority still use incandescent light bulbs, 60% plan to switch to LED, CFLs, or halogen varieties when the phaseout officially begins in 2012. But 28% of the consumers polled expressed concern over the loss of the traditional light bulb.
When asked in particular about the elimination of the 100-watt bulb, most planned to switch to a CFL, LED or halogen bulb. Less than one-third (23%) said they would stick with incandescents, but switch to a lower wattage. Only 13% planned to stash away a supply of 100-watt bulbs.
Lowe’s to add call center jobs
Lowe’s will be adding 275 jobs to its call center in Wilkesboro, N.C., according to an article in The Business Journal of Greensboro/Winston-Salem.
The company plans for the new hires to help customers who require assistance with online purchases or service on appliances and outdoor power equipment.
The call center now has more than 700 employees, the article said, up from 350 in January 2010. Adding in another 275 jobs will bring the total close to 1,000 by year-end.
Last month, the Mooresville, N.C.-based home improvement retailer said it would cut approximately 1,700 store-level management jobs across the country, while adding 8,000 to 10,000 part-time positions during peak shopping hours.
Martha Inc. describes Home Depot line as a bright spot
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia posted sales and revenue declines in 2010, a transformative year for the multi-faceted company, according to Charles Koppelman, executive chairman and principal executive officer.
MSLO posted revenues of $230.8 million in 2010, down 5.6%. Operating loss for the full year was $8.7 million, compared with an operating loss of $12.0 million in 2009.
One of the transformations was into a supplier to Home Depot, a relationship the company pointed to as a bright spot. "The Martha Stewart Living line at The Home Depot continued to perform well with notably strong results for the carpet program and the new holiday assortment, which included trees, ornaments, decor and lighting," the company announced.
Fourth-quarter revenues in the company’s merchandising division were $11.6 million, down from $25.7 million in the fourth quarter last year, which unlike 2010 included Kmart revenues.
"Merchandising made impressive strides throughout the year. We just celebrated the first anniversary of our partnership with The Home Depot, which was an important contributor to our performance in 2010. Our Martha Stewart Collection at Macy’s delivered strong results throughout the holiday season," said Robin Marino, president and CEO of merchandising.


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This Kotlin package contains the definitions of custom types used across Readium projects. The latest version is 1.1.4. Readium provides technology designed to accelerate the adoption of EPUB 3 and the Open Web Platform by the Digital Publishing Industry.
OFX, a foreign currency exchange company, last week announced that its OFX Developers program has exited beta and is now open to all developers. OFX Developers offers a Payments API that gives developers 24/7 access to the global currency markets at rates more competitive than banks'.
Big news for bookworms: HarperCollins, one of the "Big Six" New York publishers, has launched its OpenBook API Beta (not to be confused with the "Openbook" Facebook parody site), giving developers access to a wealth of data about their books and authors.


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Technology firm Appier has launched a new marketing solution designed to help mobile developers re-engage with players.
Aictivate will join Appier’s technology suite and not only help with player retention but look to reduce the cost associated with doing so.
The AI identifies users that are most likely to start playing a game again based on their previous online behaviour.
Aictivate recommends which creative assets will be most likely to encourage players to jump back into the experience and move towards making in-game purchases.
Brain mimics behaviour
“The key to Aictivate is the AI brain that mimics human behaviour with regard to how people start and stop playing games,” said Appier VP of product management Magic Tu.
“Aictivate is powered by Appier’s tried and tested AI, helping gaming companies recoup lost revenue by combing through past user behaviour and determining which people will bring the highest return on investment.
"We look forward to supporting game publishers around the region and to contribute to the growth of this exciting market.”


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Posts Tagged ‘ATI HD7970’
14 CommentsPosted by Zardon on January 24, 2012 under Graphics, Highlights-new
AMD released their HD7970 on December 22nd last year and we followed up with four separate reviews focusing... more.
29 CommentsPosted by Zardon on December 22, 2011 under Graphics, Highlights 2
Today AMD release the first card in their 7000 series - the high end HD7970, which is built on the latest 28nm manufacturing process. AMD's HD6970 was a huge success for the company, so the replac... more.
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- TSMC: We will start risk production of 7nm chips in 2017... Filed under: APU, CPU, General Tech, Graphics


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- POSTED: 16 May 2014 01:27
Wal-Mart Stores on Thursday blamed disappointing first-quarter earnings on unusually severe winter weather that depressed store traffic and forced the company to spend millions more on snow-removal and heating.
NEW YORK: Wal-Mart Stores on Thursday blamed disappointing first-quarter earnings on unusually severe winter weather that depressed store traffic and forced the company to spend millions more on snow-removal and heating.
The world's biggest retailer notched earnings of US$3.6 billion for the January-March quarter, down five per cent from the year-ago level.
The company cited some familiar factors behind the decline, including reduced food-stamps benefits that again pinched low-income shoppers and higher health care costs.
But executives highlighted the effects of the frigid weather, which has also been cited by the Federal Reserve as a drag on the US economy in the first quarter.
"Like other retailers in the United States, the unseasonably cold and disruptive weather negatively impacted US sales and drove operating expenses higher than expected," said Wal-Mart chief executive Doug McMillon.
Weather-related costs for snow removal and higher utility bills dragged profits lower by US$120 million, said Bill Simon, president of Walmart US.
The company also was forced to pay additional transportation costs and overtime to "keep our stores well stocked" following weather-induced delivery problems, Simon said.
Hard freezes also depressed citrus supply, although this effect was partially offset by strong strawberry and watermelon crops, said Sam's Club president Rosalind Brewer.
Comparable-store sales in the US from its namesake Walmart stores and Sam's Club membership warehouses declined 0.2 per cent from the year-ago period.
Walmart US and Sam's Club account for more than 70 per cent of Wal-Mart Stores's revenues, with the remainder coming from the foreign segment.
But Wal-Mart's results and outlook lagged expectations. Profits translated into US$1.10 per share, five cents shy of expectations.
Revenues rose 7.5 per cent to US$115 billion, below the US$116.3 billion forecast by analysts.
The company projected that second-quarter earnings per share would be between US$1.15 and US$1.25. Analysts had forecast US$1.28.
Wal-Mart chief financial officer Charles Holley said the company's outlook includes extra spending to build its e-commerce business, where the company is also in the market for "strategic acquisitions" to boost technology and talent.
The company is also pressing ahead with a rollout of smaller stores. The company has also unveiled a money-transfer service, introduced its Wild Oats line of organic food and launched a video game trade-in program.
"We believe we're headed in the right direction," McMillon said. "The team is diligently focused on improving sales by introducing increased innovation across the box."
Wal-Mart shares fell 2.2 per cent to US$76.97 in late-morning trade, making it the worst-performing component in an overall lower Dow that was down almost one per cent.


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Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan said that all FCI depots will have online operations by March 2016. He released a logo and a tag line on the eve of launch of Digital India Week. Paswan said that depot online is a part of vision of the government to transform the food distribution supply chain in the country. It would facilitate process automation, standardization and efficiency of the management of food grain distribution.
A contest was held on MyGov platform for designing a logo and tagline for depot online system. Anurag Saxena won out of 500 contestants. Paswan gave away cash award to the winner at Krishi Bhavan today.


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Bounty Hounds Online is talking up its AAA characteristics in the latest press release from Wicked Interactive. According to the blurb, the sci-fi MMORPG "brings triple-A quality to the free-to-play genre" and allows players to choose from five different mercenary class types while directing thei...
Wicked Interactive has partnered with Alienware Arena for the North American launch of Bounty Hounds Online. Players may recognize the game as a sequel to the 2006 PSP title Bounty Hounds. BHO is a free-to-play MMORPG that allows players to delve deeper into the Bounty Hounds universe, which is...
Posted on Dec 24th 2014 2:00PM
Posted on Dec 24th 2014 12:00PM
Posted on Dec 24th 2014 10:00AM


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New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is going to present the country's budget in Parliament today i.e. Tuesday, February 1. Let us tell you all that there is a lot of expectations of all sections of the country from this budget to be presented for the financial year 2022-23. In such a situation, this time the common people of the country want to increase their income and cut down on expenses. Amidst all this, it is being reported that the central government can make a big announcement about electronics in this budget. According to reports, the central government may revise the customs duty on consumer electronics and mobile phone parts.
By the way, if this happens, then the electronics sector as well as the general public of the country can get a big relief from the rising inflation. Let us tell you all that the electronics industry had appealed to the central government to reduce the custom duty on parts. According to the report of a famous website, two persons have informed about the mood of the government regarding the electronics sector on the condition of anonymity. The report also said that the central government may make a big announcement to reduce custom duty on electronics and mobile phone parts to promote manufacturing and local sourcing of spares in the country.
Apart from this, there is also a discussion about making the entire system of custom duty easier than before. This will make local production easier and reduce the burden of compliance. It is being said that in order to promote local manufacturing in the country, the government is also considering to reduce import duty on audio gadgets and worn gadgets such as smartwatches and smart bands. According to the report, this is likely to be one of the new sectors where the government expects exports to accelerate on the lines of success in mobile phone manufacturing and exports. This is expected to lead to a tremendous increase in exports in the electronics components sector.
At the same time, the report also said that with this plan of the government, the export of electronics components is expected to increase to $8 billion by the financial year 2025-26, which is zero in the current financial year. On the other hand, at the same time, the export of electronic products can also almost double from $9 billion to $17.3 billion.


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Mobile Tornado (AIM: MBT), the leading provider of instant communication mobile applications to the enterprise market, today issues a trading update ahead of the announcement of results for the year ended 31 December 2018. The audited results are expected to be announced in the week commencing 15 April 2019.
Trading in the second half of the year, and therefore for the full year, was in line with the Board’s expectations. A good trading performance during the second half has resulted in a significant improvement in adjusted EBITDA* loss during this period, when compared to the first six months. As a result, subject to audit, the Board expects to report revenue and adjusted EBITDA loss for the year ended 31 December 2018 and net debt as at 31 December 2018 in line with market expectations.
Jeremy Fenn, Chairman of Mobile Tornado, said: “Given the momentum generated in the second half of 2018, the Board is optimistic and excited about the opportunities that lie ahead in 2019. Our significant and continued investment in the technical platform has begun to pay off. We have the only carrier grade end-to-end instant communication solution that works over any IP Network, transitioning seamlessly across 2G, 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi. Along with the additional enhancements described below, we are now engaging with multiple enterprises and Government agencies who are attracted to the robustness, flexibility and functionality of our platform.”
The Company’s improved second half trading performance has been driven by:
- progress in relation to a recent contract win with a major Mobile Network Operator (“MNO”) in Israel, which has generated encouraging early sales of a bundled solution under the new Capex model (perpetual license and device); and;
- further enhancements made to the technical platform, both in terms of product offering as described in further detail below and improvements made to the overall operating efficiency of the platform, positively impacting total operating expenses.
The Directors consider that there is increasing interest in the Group’s proposition, driven to a large extent by the continued improvements that are being made to the platform. As the functionality and flexibility of the platform continues to be enhanced, the markets that the Company is able to address increase substantially.
Some of the improvements to the product offering that have been recently deployed include the following:
- The dual redundant server platform can now be deployed for between $20k and $200k, enabling customers to meet the requirements for between 1,000 and 200,000 users. All platforms deliver the full product suite, comprising Push-to-Talk, Push-to-Alert, Push-to-Locate and Push-to-Message. The increased flexibility of the solution is allowing the Group to move into markets previously dominated by Digital Mobile Radio and Land Mobile Radio technologies, which are more expensive and require dedicated devices.
- The Dispatch platform has been further developed and forms a key component of the Company’s end-to-end solution. It is now a major driver for new customers and markets. The platform can now handle simultaneously up to 18 channels, which meets the public safety requirements for most government agencies.
- Government contracts also require higher security platforms and in the latest release of the software the Company has introduced end-to-end encryption based on an improved AES256 encryption standard, whereby the audio is encrypted with a different encryption key on every PoC transmission.
- The technical team has also improved the efficiency of the platform such that the battery consumption has been materially reduced, allowing the device to be used for days between charges, rather than hours. One of the biggest challenges with all mobile devices has always been the battery life, and this is particularly relevant and important in the public safety markets that the Group is now engaged with.
- In March 2019, the Company will be launching its recording server that will enable a customer to record all private and group calls across the platform. This data can be stored for future investigations that are extremely important for public safety customers.
The Directors consider that the above developments significantly strengthen the Group’s proposition across all of its core markets.
*excluding exchange differences and non-recurring items


text: Over 50 per cent of rural households in India have achieved access to tap water supply under the Jal Jeevan Mission. The central government aims to provide safe drinking water through individual tap connections to all households in rural India by 2024. As per Jal Jeevan Mission data, till June 10, 2022, around 96.5 million households (50.38 per cent) across the country have tap water connections. At the state level, Goa, Telangana and Haryana have achieved 100 per cent connectivity to all households. In addition, the union territories of Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu have provided 100 per cent households with tap water connections.


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Fishmongers from Pike Place Fish Market show off their aerial stunts by tossing salmon to Woodland Park Zoo's 750 pound grizzly bears. The salmon toss to the grizzlies is to promote the zoo's annual Bear Affair: Pacific Northwest Conservation on June 8th. Find out more about Bear Affair at Woodland Park Zoo's website: www.zoo.org/BearAffair2013. June 6th 2013.
Read the full story at KOMO News>>
National Fisherman Live is a web video series featuring the latest fishing news, product information and industry analysis by our editors. In this episode:
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is currently soliciting applicants for open advisory panel seats as well as applications from scientists interested in serving on its Scientific and Statistical Committee.
The North Carolina Fisheries Association (NCFA), a nonprofit trade association representing commercial fishermen, seafood dealers and processors, recently announced a new leadership team. Incorporated in 1952, its administrative office is in Bayboro, N.C.


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UAE – Mubasher: The UAE economy showed better-than-expected performance in 2020 despite the global challenges posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Minister of Economy, Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, said.
The initial economic results released by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre showed a slight drop in the GCC nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and non-oil GDP by 6.1% and 6.2%, respectively, at constant real prices, according to a statement on Sunday.
The activation of non-oil economic initiatives has impacted positively the country’s non-oil GDP, which registered AED 1.006 trillion at constant prices in 2020, while the GDP at constant prices stood at AED 1.419 trillion.
In addition, government spending surged by more than AED 1.17 billion year-on-year (YoY) in 2020, while investments resulting from capital additions grew by 3.9%, amounting to more than AED 13.1 billion.
As for the economic activities negatively affected by the pandemic, accommodation and food services activities declined by 23.6% and transportation and storage activities dropped by 15.5%.
In addition, wholesale and retail trade fell by 13.1%, while construction and building activities decreased by 10.4% and financial and insurance activities slid by 3%.
Meanwhile, the manufacturing industries grew by 0.2% YoY in 2020.
The continuation of the recovery plan and support packages is expected to support the UAE’s economy to restore growth with an estimated rate of 2.5% in real GDP and 3.6% in non-oil real GDP in 2021 and 3.5% in real GDP and 3.9% in non-oil real GDP in 2022, Bin Touq pointed out.
The Ministry of Economy aims to double its economy over the next 10 years to reach AED 3 trillion by 2031, he revealed.


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New Production Facility in Kerrville Coming Soon
James Avery Jewelry Announces Plans for a New Production Facility in KerrvilleNovember 26, 2014
KERRVILLE, TEXAS—(November 26, 2014)—James Avery, a family-owned jewelry retailer, announces plans to build a 53,600 square www.jamesavery.comt production facility on 30 acres just across from the Kerrville Municipal Airport on Highway 27 in Kerrville, Texas. The new facility is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2016. The company currently plans to move 180 employees from their main Kerrville campus to the new location. When fully occupied, the new building will accommodate over 500 employees, potentially increasing production to three times that of the current Kerrville facility. The company’s plans to create some 360 new positions in the Kerrville area over time have been well received and made possible, in part by, the strong support of the City, County and local Economic Development Corporation.
James Avery Jewelry offers a comprehensive collection of designs for women and men that are unique to the marketplace and crafted in sterling silver, gold, and gemstones. The jeweler is widely recognized for its inspiring traditional collections, contemporary new designs, and its extensive offering of keepsake charms.
George Lee, Senior Vice President of Supply and Strategic Planning at James Avery, comments on the new facility, “Kerrville is a prime location for our new production facility for four main reasons. First, the new Craftsman Center will consolidate people and operations currently dispersed throughout six buildings on our main campus. Although we have a great team of craftspeople in Kerrville, the current layout makes it very difficult to maintain a smooth and efficient workflow. Second, while the Kerrville community offers an available workforce, our existing facilities are unable to accommodate the needed increase in workers. In addition, our Kerrville facility has a large experienced workforce that will be critical in training new employees in the art of jewelry craftsmanship. Finally, the relocation in Kerrville will also allow us to repurpose existing buildings to support the strong growth we are experiencing throughout the company.“
Nationwide, the company operates a total of 70 stores across the South and Midwest. Customers may learn more about James Avery and find a store near them by visiting www.jamesavery.com/storelocations
About James Avery Jewelry– Established in 1954, the company has grown over the last 60 years from a one-man endeavor in a garage, into a team of over 3,000 employees including designers, craftspeople, sales associates, and support staff. Designs are originated by artisans in the James Avery design studio and then finely crafted and produced by skilled individuals at the company’s five workshops. James Avery jewelry is available at retail stores and online at www.jamesavery.com. More information about James Avery is available online at www.jamesavery.com/about or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JamesAvery.


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Adcock's Largest Stakeholder Declines To Help Sell Firm To CFR
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
South Africa's Public Investment Corp., has decided not to participate in a proposed $1.2 billion sale of Adcock Ingram Holdings to CFR Pharmaceuticals of Chile, possibly dooming the merger.
You may also be interested in...
Mylan and Pfizer’s Upjohn, already facing a delay to their proposed merger, may have to overcome regulatory barriers to get the deal over the line.
National export restrictions on medicines have been slammed by the international off-patent pharmaceutical industry as being “counter-productive” during the coronavirus crisis. The IGBA is instead urging international co-operation and transparency, pointing to a positive example of supply-chain connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region.
Claims circulated on social media that its Cebion supplement could prevent coronavirus has led Italy's Dompé to take legal action.


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Fete offers stalls and more
Grab your girlfriends and head to Matamata for the best Ladies Day Out this summer.
The Piako Fete is being held on Friday, November 15 at Daltons Plantation and will host an eclectic mix of high-quality stalls along with demonstrations, food and drink, a fashion show and live music.
‘‘Piako Fete is all about ladies having a great day out. We’ve rounded up fashion, beauty, cuisine, gardening and shopping against Daltons Planta- tion’s backdrop of 10 acres of beautiful landscaped display gardens,’’ said organiser Lynsey Champion.
Among the demonstrators are top fashion stylist Megan Maher from Repertoire and Jill Mulvaney from Alembics, which promotes distilling essential oils in handcrafted copper stills.
They will be joined by World Organics Skincare, The Nukes Ukulele Band and dozens of stallholders offering exclusive shopping opportunities including plants, clothing and crafts.
Advance tickets are $19, available from eventfinder. co. nz ($ 25 at the gate). A donation from profits will go to the Waikato Breast Cancer Trust.
Gratefully received: Wally Henderson, Kevin Curtis, Alan Munro, Janelle Burnside, Matthew Hart, Carolyn Osborne and Judith Challis.


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BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- Put down the 10-K filings and the stock screeners. It's time to take a break from the traditional methods of generating investment ideas. Instead, let the crowd do it for you.
From hedge funds to individual investors, scores of market participants are turning to social media to figure out which stocks are worth watching. It's a concept that's known as "crowdsourcing," and it uses the masses to identify emerging trends in the market.
Crowdsourcing has long been a popular tool for the advertising industry, but it also makes a lot of sense as an investment tool. After all, the market is completely driven by the supply and demand, so it can be valuable to see what names are trending among the crowd.
While some fund managers are already trying to leverage social media resources like Twitter to find algorithmic trading opportunities, for most investors, crowdsourcing works best as a starting point for investors who want a starting point in their analysis. Today, we'll leverage the power of the crowd to take a look at some of the most active stocks on the market today.
Without further ado, here's a look at today's stocks.
Nearest Resistance: $54
Nearest Support: $48
Catalyst: Apple Competition
Online auction giant eBay (EBAY - Get Report) is down almost 3% this afternoon following the announcement of Apple Pay yesterday. The service stands to become big competition for eBay unit PayPal, which was rumored to be spun off in an IPO as early as next year. With a big installed base and a convenient new offering, Apple's payment service poses a big threat to PayPal if Apple chooses to move beyond facilitating the transaction and into running the actual payment networks themselves.
Then again, eBay's chart has been broken for a while now. Shares broke trend line support earlier in the month, putting a downside target at $48. I'd avoid being on the long-side of EBAY until shares can start posting higher lows again.
Nearest Resistance: $1.60
Nearest Support: $0.70
Catalyst: Wedbush Comments
Troubled electronics retailer RadioShack (RSH) is down 10.5% this afternoon following comments from Wedbush Securities that the firm was a "sinking ship", reiterating an "underperform" rating on shares. Today's leg lower comes as the latest in a series of downward sessions ever since shares failed to hold support up at $1.60 -- now that level is resistance.
I'd avoid being a buyer in this volatile name until it finds some semblance of support, like at 70 cents. If you're risk-averse, don't try to trade RSH.
Nearest Resistance: $80
Nearest Support: $78
Catalyst: Hostile Takeover Bid
Family Dollar Stores (FDO) is seeing big volume today, following news that Dollar General (DG) was cutting management's decision out of its acquisition offer for FDO and was instead making a hostile bid directly to FDO shareholders. Dollar General is offering $80 for every share of FDO.
At this pont, the event risk is high in this stock. While there are a couple of merger arbitrage points to be made at current levels, FDO is a name that's best avoided for most investors.
To see these stocks in action, check out the at Most-Active Stocks portfolio on Stockpickr.
-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.


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By this time of year, most retail stores are decorated to the nines for the holiday season, creating the annual experiential effect that gets consumers in the buying spirit. Even as e-commerce shopping forecasts continue to set new records (market watchers say Black Friday sales grew anywhere between by 23-28% online this year), there’s no doubt that appealing to consumers strolling down the street remains one of the best ways to generate traffic, engagement and sales for retailers. With total holiday sales expected to surpass last year’s results, the death of retail appears to be greatly exaggerated, even in its physical incarnation.
But for commercial property owners faced with empty spaces this holiday season, even the most optimistic forecasts for brick-and-mortar resurgence don’t help the short term issue. This creates a conundrum: leave prime space empty, even during a season like the holidays; dramatically reduce lease rates; or get creative and fill your space in a more flexible way. Taking a page from the sharing economy strategy to optimize asset utilization – enabled in other sectors by companies like Uber and AirBnB – more and more landlords are choosing the latter, embracing the new reality of retail.
The good news is people still like to shop in person. A 2017 survey of experts pointed to the enduring appeal of in-store shopping during the holidays, including: It’s a ritual for many families and friends and a form of entertainment; stores offer ease of return that many online retailers do not; in-person shopping delivers an instant gratification that doesn’t translate on the web. In-store sales still win in several important categories, including clothing, which makes up more than 50 percent of all holiday purchases.
As Ed Kennedy of Episerver puts it, “E-commerce is not to blame for the ‘death of retail,’ because retail is not dead or dying.” What is clear is that the brick-and-mortar holiday shopping experience is changing, not disappearing.
Fear of commitment
So with a continuing, perhaps re-energized, motivation by retailers to physically get in front of customers during this peak shopping season, filling prime commercial space should be no problem for property managers and owners, right?
Yes, and no. There’s no question that property owners in major markets are seeing a steady decline in long-term leases and struggling to keep store spaces occupied, even in high traffic locations. While recognizing the value of a physical presence, especially during busy shopping periods, jittery retailers and brands are nervous about committing to the long-term overhead that typical storefronts have traditionally required.
Commercial real estate is jumping on the pop-up bandwagon
Short-term rental is an increasingly attractive option for both property owners and tenants. Pop-up is no longer a fad or a one-time tactic by brands and retailers. It’s forecasted to be a $50 billion industry and has become an essential ingredient in many retailers omni channel strategies. It has found a wave of new converts even in the world of digital natives. And, like Airbnb did for connecting property owners and short-term accommodation seekers, the trend is being bolstered by a growing infrastructure of enablers. At Storefront, we try to be this type of enabler by hosting a marketplace containing more than 10,000 listings of temporary retail spaces worldwide.
For property owners, a temporary space rental offers a way to address retailers increasing fear of commitment, yet still generate income from their space, often times at a premium rate depending on the time of year or location.
Jeffrey Yuan of Urban Stone Realty has seen more than a few iterations of pop-up stores. Yuan is the exclusive broker for the building at 107 Grand Street in New York’s Soho neighborhood, which has hosted pop-up stores for the likes of FILA, Canon, Kohls x PopSugar, and Netflix. So what makes this space so appealing to top brands during the holiday season and beyond?
“Not only is this space in a central location in SoHo, where foot traffic is never-ending, but it has something most modern retailers are looking for – a space with character,” said Yaun. With the modern brick and mortar shop being all about customer experience, a unique and compelling presentation is more important than ever. We are starting to see that genuine character being a large part of brand messaging, and what better time to capitalize on this than during the charm of the holiday season.
Yuan also credits the building’s success to accommodating and flexible building management, as well as strategic partnerships. While the ultimate goal of the store is to secure a long-term tenant, having short-term rentals has been a great marketing strategy towards that goal. That is why 107 Grand is listed on our platform.
“Storefront’s client list has been nothing short of phenomenal and their staff has been instrumental in helping us close these deals. All their brands bring exciting and unique ways in transforming the space,” said Yuan. On the retailer side, pop-up shops have been on the rise due to a changing consumer behavior, and brands are experimenting with the best way to present an omnichannel experience to their customers.
Although the concept of a pop-up shop has proven its here to stay, many brands are just now embracing it. As the benefits become clearer and temporary space more available, we will see an increase in brands looking for space to host their first pop-up shop this holiday season. For example, e-commerce giant Wayfair recently opened their first holiday pop-ups. Even eBay, who launched its first toy catalog, Toytopia website, and a pop-up shop in Chelsea, is getting in on the pop-up trend. Retailers are getting creative with how they use temporary spaces, with notable trends such as setting up merchandise pick-up locations for online orders, installing internet kiosks to actually place orders online, and opening temporary post-holiday sales venues to clear out unsold merchandise.
The message to property owners and landlords is clear. Just because you don’t have a long-term tenant in place for the holidays, don’t think there isn’t an opportunity to generate income from your space. A smart move is to list your space on a pop-up marketplace and take advantage of this evolving innovation in retailing.


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Microsoft Security Update MS12-063:
Microsoft’s approach to user responsibility sees the company periodically releasing security updates to address newly identified vulnerability issues affecting users of the Internet Explorer (IE) web browser. The most recent of these is September’s Security Update MS12-063, which has been designed to permanently address a zero-day IE vulnerability.
The vulnerability was initially patched with what the company calls a ‘Fix It’, but Microsoft says that users who have installed the Fix it will not need to uninstall it in order to apply the full security bulletin as it now exists.
Director of Microsoft Trustworthy Computing Yunsun Wee has confirmed that the latest security update comes in response to an issue reported by and impacting only a “small number of customers” in total. While the attacks have been limited, Wee advocates that for increased protection, customers should apply the update as soon as possible if they do not have automatic updates enabled.
Microsoft’s official details on this release state the following, “This security update resolves one publicly disclosed and four privately reported vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer. The most severe vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted webpage using Internet Explorer. An attacker who successfully exploited any of these vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the current user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.”
Older Internet Explorer, greater risk
Interestingly, Microsoft still offers a broad level of support for versions of its browser dating back to Internet Explorer 6 and indicates that some of the older versions are still vulnerable to exploit. Security Update MS12-063 is rated as “critical” for Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9 when used on Windows clients. By “clients” in this case, the company simply means desktop computers.
Moving forward, Microsoft states that Security Update MS12-063 is rated as “critical” for Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9 on Windows servers.
Internet Explorer 10 is not affected and the firm does not offer information on whether Apple Mac computers running a version of Internet Explorer are affected.
The security update (once installed) is said to address the identified vulnerabilities by modifying the way that Internet Explorer handles objects in its memory.
Many users will have “automatic updating” enabled on their Windows machines (and will not therefore need to take any action) to ensure that the security update will be downloaded and installed automatically. Users who have not enabled automatic updating in Windows will need to check for updates and install this update manually.
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Singapore's retail sales down 5% in January
RETAIL sales decreased 5 per cent in January 2015 year on year, the Department of Statistics announced on Friday. This was due largely to a 42.1 per cent dip in retail sales of food and beverages (F&B) compared to last year, when F&B sales were up because the Chinese New Year fell in January.
Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales fell 8.7 per cent compared to January 2014.
Retail sales of petrol service stations also declined 27.5 per cent year on year, partly due to lower petrol prices. Removing price effect, sales of petrol service stations decreased by a smaller 11.3 per cent.
In contrast, sales of motor vehicles and telecommunications apparatus and computers remained buoyant, registering increases in sales of 33.2 per cent and 25.9 per cent respectively in January 2015 over the same month in the previous year.
Retail sales of optical goods and books and watches and jewellery also increased 2.7 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively compared to last January.
Similarly, retail sales of recreational goods, supermarkets, apparel and footwear, department stores, medical goods and toiletries and mini-marts and convenience stores declined between 7.0 per cent and 15.6 per cent in January 2015 over January 2014.
On a month-on-month basis, seasonally adjusted retail sales increased 4.8 per cent in January 2015 over December 2014. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales rose 2.4 per cent.
Sales of motor vehicles went up by 22.8 per cent compared to December 2014, while watches and jewellery sales saw an 11.3 per cent increase over the same period.


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Michael Washburn, vice president of sustainability at Nestlé Waters, made the case for extended producer responsibility (EPR), encouraging it as a way to solve for a whole range of social, environmental and economic challenges. Nestlé is the third largest beverage company in the U.S., using 20 billion PET bottles per year for its beverages and Washburn said the company wanted those bottles back. "Unlike something like carpet, PET [bottles] disappear very quickly and that represents a challenge. (Waste & Recycling News)
Since 2008, beer consumption has fallen as much as 11% in some states. Americans still, however, consume a massive amount of the foamy beverage — an estimated 6.3 billion gallons in 2011. Nationwide, 28.3 gallons of beer a year were consumed for every American of legal age. Some states consume far less than others. In Connecticut, only 21.8 gallons were purchased per resident in 2011. In Utah, it was just 19.2 gallons. In three states, however, the Beer Institute estimates that more than 40 gallons of beer were consumed per person. Based on Beer Institute's report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 states that drink the most beer. (USA Today)
Dark clouds are starting to gather over Anheuser-Busch InBev's bid to buy Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo. Antitrust regulators from the Justice Department in recent weeks have been quizzing beer distributors and craft brewers about the competitive implications of the $20 billion deal, which would give beer behemoth A-B InBev ownership of the nation's most popular import label: Corona. They've started to hear from U.S. senators concerned about the deal, too. Then on Tuesday, a Washington, D.C., antitrust trade publication reported that the Justice Department was putting some of its top lawyers on the case, and appeared “unlikely” to let the deal go through as currently structured. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Carlsberg Group, the world’s fourth largest brewer, and its subsidiary Baltika Breweries, Russia’s largest beer company, are to invest up to 1 billion Rubles (around EUR 25 mln) in environmental projects in Russia related to water, agriculture and climate change. A partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) was signed in St.Petersburg today, witnessed by Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, and a delegation of high-level officials from the public and private sectors.
SABMiller India has appointed Darioush Afzali as Marketing Director. In his new role, Darioush Afzali will be responsible for the management of the entire brand portfolio of SABMiller India that includes Foster’s, Haywards 5000, Knockout, Royal Challenge, Miller High Life and the newly launched Indian specialty beer Indus Pride. He replaces Derek Jones, who has moved on to a new assignment within the SABMiller group. Darioush will be directly reporting to Paolo Lanzarotti, Managing Director, SABMiller India. (Best Media Info)
The new proposals are designed to protect Scotch whisky, by making sure that the “real thing” goes through the five specified production processes of fermentation, distillation, maturation, blending and bottling/labeling. (The Scotsman)


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7 March 2018
Singapore, 7 March 2018 – Senoko Energy, Singapore’s largest power generation company by installed capacity, today launched its retail brand for households and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), giving them access to energy packages tailored to their needs when the market opens up later this month.
The launch comes ahead of the full liberalisation of the retail electricity market from the second half of this year, starting with a soft launch in Jurong in April, which will allow consumers to choose a provider from which they wish to buy electricity.
Senoko Energy’s retail energy products and services for households and small businesses will also aim to help customers reduce energy consumption using smart innovative technology. This includes providing energy consumption data and analytics via an online customer portal, allowing them to track their energy usage and choose an energy package that suits their needs.
These services are built on Senoko Energy’s existing portfolio of supplying electricity and delivering energy management solutions to corporate customers.
Senoko Energy’s President & CEO Bernard Esselinckx said, “With over 40 years of experience supplying Singapore’s power needs, we are one of the most dependable power generation companies locally and are committed to developing innovative energy solutions.
“As the market heads into full liberalisation, we are committed to helping consumers make the best choices and getting the most out of their energy packages. This means that we will continue to deliver efficient energy solutions and leverage technology and data insights to help them better manage their energy usage,” said Mr Esselinckx.
The company aims to bring additional everyday benefits to customers to make their lives easier and more convenient by working with consumer lifestyle partners to provide seamless integrated services.
About Senoko Energy
Senoko Energy Pte Ltd provides energy for life to generations of Singaporeans, delivering safe, innovative, and efficient energy supply to customers since 1977. Integral to Singapore’s development, it is a pioneer in power generation and energy solutions, serving Singapore’s energy needs with proven reliable performance. As one of the largest power generation companies by installed capacity in Singapore, Senoko Energy has a registered capacity of 2,644 megawatts (MW), providing about one-fifth of the nation’s electricity needs. It is owned by a consortium comprising Marubeni Corporation, ENGIE, The Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc., Kyushu Electric Power Co. Inc. and Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Visit www.senokoenergy.com for more information.


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Apple Inc. is battling with five of Australia’s banks that are seeking to negotiate collectively with Apple for access to its mobile payment technology. Over the last several months, the banks have complained Apple is not permitting access to mobile payment technology.
Commonwealth Bank of Austrailia, National Australia Bank, Westpac Banking Corporation, Adelaide Bank and Bendigo have applied to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) seeking approval for collective bargaining in negotiating with Apple.
In a submission to the ACCC, Apple gave reasons why the ACCC shouldn’t enable the banks to collude. It said a cartel would give the biggest banks more of the financial market.
Apple said it does not restrict its partners from developing their own iOS apps. It said every major Australian bank has an iOS banking app and that two provide mobile payment wallets on iOS and other platforms.
Apple said it has tried but failed to negotiate terms with each of the applicant banks except one, which has not been willing to sign a confidentiality agreement. Apple said it cannot offer Apple Pay to the banks’ customers without the banks agreeing to terms with Apple.
Because the banks have resisted engaging with Apple for the past two years, collectively negotiating will further entrench the banks’ position by ensuring that all of them can only advance in lockstep with the slowest, least willing member, Apple argued.
The banks would know they can hold out without the threat that one of their competitors will introduce Apple Pay for their customers. This competitive dynamic, which the banks want to avoid, would benefit Australian consumers, Apple claimed.
If the Commission permits the banks to negotiate with Apple as a collective group, the banks will not agree to offer Apple Pay unless: 1) Apple permits the banks to charge consumers fees for using Apple Pay; 2) Apple offers direct access to its NFC radio; and 3) Apple agrees to “security” guidelines drafted by the applicant banks that apply only to third-party wallets and not the applicant banks’ mobile payment apps.
Apple said it cannot agree to the terms since they undermine the availability, privacy and security customers expect when using Apple devices.
The only effect that the collective bargaining could have is to further delay or undermine Apple Pay’s expansion in Australia, Apple noted. This will stifle new competition in digital presentment methods and retail banking services by stifling the incentive for existing players to develop new solutions that compete with Apple Pay.
The fact that the banks have requested a three-year period of authorization suggests that they are mainly focused on creating barriers for Apple Pay and other third-party wallet providers.
Apple does not believe the banks can substantiate any public benefits that they say could arise from the “boycott.”
Australian consumers will benefit from the evolution of new technologies, as well as the introduction of further innovations by the banks which piggyback off the benefits already available through Apple Pay and other digital wallet solutions.
Apple anticipates that, absent collective negotiations, Apple and some individual banks not currently offering Apple Pay are likely to reach agreements to bring it to their customers. Many of these banks would also offer their own mobile wallet solutions through iOS and other platforms.
This, in turn, will lead to further innovation, not only among third-party wallet providers, but among the banks themselves as they develop new and better offerings utilizing Apple Pay or other mobile wallet technologies.
Apple argued its desire to protect its own proprietary hardware is not anticompetitive.
What the banks are seeking is the right to impose a collective boycott to pressure Apple to grant them access to proprietary hardware and software.
Apple has invested significant resources developing a convenient mobile wallet with the highest available security and privacy protections. It is on this basis that Apple seeks to differentiate its mobile wallet from those offered by other providers.
Mandating access to a third party’s technology is not recognized under Australian competition law, Apple noted.
Apple’s desire to protect the integrity of its own proprietary hardware installed within its own devices is not anticompetitive. It is not “exclusive dealing” conduct to which Australian competition law applies.
Apple claims allowing the banks to control the standards for third-party wallets would, ironically, weaken security and increase fraud costs for merchants compared to what is being achieved through Apple’s and other third-party wallet providers’ solutions.
Also read: Australian banks cleared of colluding against bitcoin companies
The Commission cleared Australian banks of colluding to deny banking services to local bitcoin companies in the country, CCN.com reported.
An investigation requested by Senator Matthew Canavan suggesting the ACCC should look into the possibility of banks colluding together to close the bank accounts of bitcoin companies resulted in the regulator concluding that the banks did no wrong.
The Australian Financial Review previously reported that 17 bitcoin companies in Australia received letters from banks saying they planned to close their accounts.
Images from Shutterstock and ACCC.
Last modified: March 4, 2021 4:50 PM


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Zain, the leading telecommunications company in Kuwait, announced the launch of its latest campaign for online gamers entitled ‘Do Not Disturb’, wherein Avenues Mall visitors can enjoy an interactive and live online gaming experience on Zain’s ultrafast LTE-A network.
The new campaign runs from 26 November – 5 December, and all Zain customers and Avenues Mall visitors are welcome to visit the company’s dedicated booth at Grand Avenue and enjoy trying the fastest online gaming experience on the most advanced nationwide LTE-A network in the country.
Zain is offering an exclusive postpaid package for booth visitors, which is specifically designed to meet the needs of online gamers. The exclusive promotion of KD 23 offers a monthly cap of 1 TB, one free LTE-A router, one free PlayStation 4 device, free one-year PSN Plus subscription, Gamer Pass that allows unlimited online gaming on PlayStation Network without affecting the customer’s Internet plan, as well as one free PSN gift card with $70 credit.
Zain was keen to take an extra step to meet the demands of gamers and provide them with the ultimate online gaming experience, as it offers everyone the opportunity to try its most advanced LTE-A network through eight PlayStation 4 devices available at its dedicated booth. Zain will also be organizing an exciting online video gaming tournament during the last two days of the campaign with valuable prizes to be offered to the winners.
The introduction of this campaign highlights Zain’s eagerness in keeping pace with the ongoing changes of needs and wants of its customers. With this latest announcement, Zain strengthens its leading position in providing special services and offerings designed for the gaming community.
In efforts of providing the best gaming experience, Zain specially designed the latest campaign to surpass customers’ expectations. The company is well aware of the rising demands of Internet usage by online gamers, and thus has presented this campaign and exclusive offer to elevate their telecommunications experience.


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2012 BMW Motorrad GS Trophy Day 2 Results
Following a second-place finish on the opening day of the 2012 BMW Motorrad GS Trophy in Argentina, Team France showed its dominance on day
BMW Motorrad UK has launched a comprehensive new section on its website for owners, which features a full electronic parts catalog, ten years’ worth of owner’s manuals which can be read and downloaded and a tire choosing and fitment guide.
Dunlop has released USA-built Dunlop KR448F and KR449 racing slicks, tires created primarily for motorcycle club-level racers and hard-core enthusiasts who enjoy participating in track days.
2011 World Superbike
Following a three-week break from the 2011 World Superbike Championship, Carlos Checa and the Althea Ducati team throttle into Silverstone in the UK this weekend for Round 9 of 13.
Ducati Inspirational Video
With the aid of Ducati UK, the Sussex Safer Road Partnership has produced a creative and emotional film intended to help reduce the amount of motorcycle related accidents on UK roads and makers hope that its effective message of responsibility will reach around the world.
2011 Silverstone Moto2 Results listed below
The sixth round of the 2011 Moto2 Championship got underway Sunday in wet conditions at Silverstone in the UK.


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According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the battle between Apple and Spotify continues to escalate. "People familiar with the matter" revealed that Apple Music now has more paid US subscribers than Spotify—specifically, more than 28 million versus Spotify's 26 million as of February 2019.
Those sources also claim that Apple Music is expanding more rapidly in the US, at a rate of about 2.6 to 3 percent. Spotify's growth rate is reportedly 1.5 to 2 percent.
It's unlikely that Apple will claim this as a victory, because it, like Spotify, doesn't publicly break out regional subscriber counts. However, if the estimates are accurate, they show that US customers are embracing Apple Music as much as (and possibly more than) its Swedish competitor.
But the numbers in the report only reflect paid US subscribers. Spotify, which claimed 207 million active users globally in December, remains the leader of music streaming. Of those 207 million users, 96 million are paid subscribers or users currently in a trial that will lead to subscription.
Unlike Apple Music, Spotify has a free, ad-supported tier. Globally, Apple Music has 50 million paid subscribers; therefore, the numbers from this recent report show that more than half of Apple Music's subscriber count comes from the United States.
While Apple Music's growth doesn't spell incredible revenue gains for the company in comparison to its other efforts (it costs a lot to pay record labels, artists, etc), it's a sign that the company is moving in the right direction. Lately, Apple has shifted its strategy to creating and offering more services in an effort to offset sluggish iPhone sales. Apple's new TV streaming service TV+ and its gaming subscription service Apple Arcade will join Apple Music in the company's services portfolio when they launch later this year. The company already launched News+, a paid news and magazine subscription service available in the Apple News app.
This new report follows an Apple and Spotify clash in Europe after the Swedish company argued to the European Commission that Apple is abusing its power to give its music streaming service an upper hand. Spotify has been forced into Apple's In-App Purchase service, which gives Apple a 30 percent commission for transactions made in iOS apps like Spotify's. That system forced Spotify to raise its prices in Europe to €12.99 per month, a change that happened about one year before Apple Music debuted at Spotify's original €9.99 monthly price.
As a result, Spotify has tried to circumvent Apple's system by directing users to its website, where transactions wouldn't be subjected to Apple's commission fee. Apple wasn't keen on this strategy and has responded by taking a long time to approve new versions of Spotify's iOS app. Experts believe Spotify has a good case in Europe, but the European Commission has yet to respond to the company's antitrust request.


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Mon, 14 May 2018 17:00
BHMA Hotels inks management deal for new X2 Resorts & Residences in Vietnam
BHMA Hotels on Monday announced the signing of an agreement with Vietnamese developer Ixora Real Estate to manage the hotel operations at the new X2 Resorts & Residences, located at the UNESCO World Heritage destination of Hoi An, near Danang in central Vietnam.
Wed, 31 Jan 2018 01:00
Uber and telecommunications operator Ooredoo Myanmar Limited (OML) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) yesterday, announcing the start of a lasting strategic partnership, making mobility and connectivity accessible to more people in Yangon.
Fri, 12 Jan 2018 01:00
Hotel group chases revenue increase
THAILAND-owned hotel brand Grande Centre Point Hotels (GCP) has set a 2018 revenue target of between Bt2.4 billion and Bt2.5 billion, Kitti Worrabanpott, managing director of the brand owner LH Mall & Hotel Co Ltd, said yesterday.
Fri, 18 Aug 2017 01:00
Nexon Thailand banks on Tree of Savior title
Nexon Thailand has launched the Tree of Savior as its first title in Thailand’s online gaming market.
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 18:05
Honda tests new products in Prachinburi
Honda R&D Asia Pacific Co, Ltd (HRAP) held an opening ceremony on Thursday to celebrate the completion of its proving ground at Rojana Industrial Park, Prachinburi province.
Auto & Audio
Sat, 08 Jul 2017 01:00
ReneSola awarded 5MW solar power projects here
RENESOLA LTD, a fully integrated solar project developer and provider of energy-efficient technology products, yesterday announced that it was awarded 5 megawatts (MW) of agricultural projects in Thailand.
Thu, 06 Jul 2017 15:41
Index offers cash refund to those buying with SCB credit card
Index Living Mall Co Ltd has joined hands with Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) to launch “Bedroom Big Bonus” for customers. Those who buy bedroom furniture using an SCB credit card from now until August 28 will get a cash refund of 10 per cent of total spending.
Wed, 10 May 2017 01:00
Max’s Group budgets for expansion inside, outside RP
MAX’S GROUP INC (MGI), a major Philippine casual dining chain operator, is upbeat on growth from the roll-out of more stores at home and abroad alongside rising interest in franchising and the “phenomenal” expansion of its food-delivery business.
Wed, 12 Apr 2017 01:00
Korean duty-free giant Lotte praises Thai govt for opening up sector
LOTTE Duty Free (Thailand) has praised the military-led regime for liberalising the duty-free segment, and says it will open its first branch at Show DC near Rama IX Road next month.
Fri, 24 Feb 2017 01:00
New Charoen Pokphand CEO unveils ‘CP 4.0’ plan
THE NEWLY appointed chief executive officer of Charoen Pokphand Group, Suphachai Chearavanont, plans to transform the Thai conglomerate into “CP 4.0” by embracing innovation and the digital revolution.
Fri, 17 Feb 2017 01:00
Full-service digital agency Dot360 launching soon in Bangkok
A NEW FULL-SERVICE digital agency, Dot360, is launching this month in Bangkok – promising to drive brand growth and business sales rather than continue the current market obsession with vanity metrics.
Sun, 08 May 2016 01:00
Banpu, Change Fusion cooperate on ‘Champions for Change’
Banpu has collaborated with Change Fusion, a non-profit institute with a key role in driving the Thai social-enterprise industry, to roll out “Banpu Champions for Change (BC4C) as one of Banpu’s CSR programmes.


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Ford Falls to #3, Toyota Rises to #2
DEARBORN, Michigan — The Ford Motor Company expects Toyota to unseat it for good next year as the No. 2 company, behind General Motors, in the American car market, a position Ford has held since the 1920s, according to internal Ford projections.
Those projections show that company officers believe that Ford will permanently fall to third place as soon as January. The shift appears to be happening much faster than Ford had previously signaled.
Read more here.


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The Cadillac V-Series Blackwing models will be the first GM production vehicles with 3D-printed parts, including a unique medallion on the manual shifter knob
Cadillac Brings Manual Transmission to V-Series Blackwings with the Help of 3D Printing
Two-thirds of American adults know how to drive a stick shift, and more are interested in learning
Cadillac Press Release
Cadillac’s introduction of the new 2022 CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing will also mark the revival of one of the most popular features for driving enthusiasts – the manual transmission. These manual transmissions were produced using new additive manufacturing applications that will bring 3D-printed parts into the upcoming ultra-high-performance sedans.
The V-Series Blackwing models will be the first GM production vehicles with functional 3D-printed parts, including two HVAC ducts and an electrical harness bracket. In addition, a unique 3D-printed medallion will sit on the manual shifter knob. By leveraging additive manufacturing, the Cadillac team was able to reduce costs and waste when developing the manual transmission.
“A lot of work went into making the manual possible in both vehicles. It’s something we know V-Series buyers want and it’s something we knew we had to have, so we used innovative processes to make it happen,” said Mirza Grebovic, Cadillac performance variant manager. “There are a few ways to really get that connected feel with the vehicle and the manual transmission is probably the most obvious one.”
Both the CT4-V Blackwing and the CT5-V Blackwing will come standard with a six-speed manual transmission and offer a 10-speed automatic transmission as an option. The CT4-V Blackwing will be the only sedan in its segment to offer a manual.
This six-speed manual transmission is both quieter and more durable than the previous generation.
The Current Manual Market
In a recent Harris Poll study conducted on behalf of Cadillac about the current knowledge and adoption of the manual transmission found:
- Sixty-six percent of American adults surveyed know how to drive a manual.
- Of those who do not know how to drive a manual, roughly 40 percent are either somewhat or very interested in learning.
- More than half (55 percent) of American adults say they have owned or leased a car with a manual transmission.
- Interest in driving or learning to drive a manual is higher among those with $75,000 or more in annual household income (64 percent interested) and those between 18-34 in age (62 percent interested).
The 2022 CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing will be available1 starting summer 2021. Visit the V-Series Blackwing future vehicles page on Cadillac.com to sign up for future product updates.


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The UAE’s economic growth is exceeding expectations — its economy expanded at 7.6% last year, which was among the highest anywhere in the world, including a 6.6% expansion in the non-oil sector.
Even its re-export sector is adding to the economy.
According to the Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report, UAE is among the top five countries in global re-export operations, with 2.4% of the total sea container trade passing through the country’s ports.
The country’s container ports exchanged over 19.18 million TEUs in 2021.
Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, stated that the country benefits from the forward-looking vision of its leadership.
In March of this year, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, unveiled the national agenda for re-export development 2030, which includes 24 initiatives and programs. It aims to double the added value of the UAE economy through re-exports by 2030.
In 2022, the UAE’s foreign trade totaled $607 billion, an increase of 17% from 2021. Re-exports totaled $167 billion (27.5% of the total value), indicating its significance to the country’s economy.
With 997 new product investments, it ranks fourth globally, behind the USA, the UK, and India. It recorded an 80% increase in new projects compared to the previous year.
Talking about the main products that the UAE re-exports, Al Zeyoudi said that mobile phones and their accessories were the largest single sector for re-exports in 2022, with a rate of 18.3%. Diamonds, mass transit vehicles, and jewelry follow this.
“The UAE is the world’s largest re-exporter of rice, the third largest re-exporter of diamonds, the fifth largest re-exporter of coffee, and the fifth largest re-exporter of tea,” Dr. Thani said.
The latest studies show that re-export contributes 6.6% of the UAE’s GDP, said the minister. The sector generated around 1.3 million jobs in logistics and trade services, banking, finance, insurance, communications, hospitality, transportation, healthcare, and entertainment.
The total direct and indirect economic impact is estimated at $13 billion.


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Tesco Bank has admitted having to block some customers' credit cards after "suspicious activity" on thousands of accounts was detected by its internal fraud prevention system, with frustrated customers now claiming their balances have been raided by fraudsters.
Tesco Bank, which issued a statement on its website and company Twitter account, said the number of people impacted is "in the thousands, but less than 10,000" and urged anyone impacted to get in contact about any ongoing problems.
However, outraged customers instead took to social media to complain about poor communication with the service and lengthy waiting times when calling. Some customers claim to have already moved their money out of Tesco Bank "as a precaution".
In a statement published on 6 November (Sunday), Tesco Bank apologised to customers "for the inconvenience" and said "we want to do everything we can to protect our customers from fraud".
It added: "Yesterday our fraud prevention systems identified suspicious activity on a number of accounts. As a precautionary measure, we have blocked some customer cards and have contacted affected customers via text message to notify them."
Yet some customers complained about significant financial losses related to the issues. One man, called Christopher Mills, said on Twitter his balance had been reduced by £700 without his authorisation and that he could not reach Tesco Bank representatives by phone.
A woman called Kirsty Brown claimed to be in a similar situation. "We have been hacked, all money gone, no email or text! Appalling response from Tesco so far," she tweeted. Another commenter, Sam Allen,
Another commenter, Sam Allen, said: "This has left me unable to feed my kids in school tomorrow."
Speaking to the BBC, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that banks in this situation must refund all unauthorised payments immediately, unless they can produce evidence the customer was at fault or the payment was more than 13 months old.
In a statement to IBTimes UK, a spokesperson said: "We have taken steps to protect a small proportion of customers' current accounts from fraud following an alert yesterday.
"All our customers can continue to access their account as normal through online banking and can make chip-and-pin transactions. For those impacted, we are working to re-establish a full banking service and we apologise for any inconvenience."
On the Tesco Bank support page, a slew of customers have voiced their outrage at the situation. "I will be moving my money, not because I am worried about fraud but because the response to this incident has been appalling and shows complete contempt for customers," wrote one commenter.
Another said: "We can't get through because Tesco won't give out any information through their website or social media channels [and] thousands of customers are trying to call. If they were more honest with customers about what was going on, people wouldn't need to call and the phone lines would not be blocked."
Have you been affected by the issues? Get in contact: email@example.com or via @Jason_A_Murdock


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January 19, 2017
While global holiday online transactions grew 16 percent from 2015 to 2016, fraud attempts grew at nearly twice that rate, according to payments processor ACI Worldwide. The Naples, Fla.-based company said fraud attempts from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve grew 31 percent from last year and peaked on Christmas Eve, shipping cutoff day and express shipping cutoff day. This year, ACI found 1 out of every 97 transactions was a fraud attempt, compared to last year when a fraudster was behind 1 out of every 109 transactions. Also, the average ticket price of a transaction on which fraud was attempted decreased from last year ($243 in 2015 vs. $228 this year).
In addition to shipment cutoff days, on which merchants obviously have less time to screen a transaction for fraud before they have to ship the item, ACI said “buy online/pick up in-store” purchases generated the most fraud attempts.
“Over the 2016 holiday shopping season, merchants experienced significant growth in their digital channels, coupled with a substantial increase in fraud,” said Markus Rinderer, senior vice president of platform solutions for ACI Worldwide. “Given the consistent and alarming uptick in fraudulent activity on key dates, merchants must be proactive in their efforts to identify weak points and define short- and long-term strategies for improved security and enhanced customer experience.”
For a more extensive look at holiday numbers click here.


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The 6 Best Things to Buy at Memorial Day Sales
By Cameron Huddleston
Memorial Day sales typically offer great savings opportunities on a variety of items. Some of the best deals are on spring clothing, appliances and mattresses, says Offers.com Vice President Howard Schaffer. Retailers trying to unload warm-weather apparel that didn't sell because of the prolonged cold weather will offer discounts of up to 80 percent, with coupons bringing down prices even more. And Schaffer says that consumers can save 30 percent to 70 percent on appliances and mattresses during Memorial Day sales. Residents of Texas can take advantage of the sales-tax holiday on Energy Star appliances and products May 24-26.
You'll see lots of sales on outdoor items, such as grills and patio furniture. However, Schaffer and the deal experts at dealnews.com recommend waiting a few months until these items are marked down much more at the end of summer.
Plenty of retailers will have sales Memorial Day weekend. Start by checking out the lists of Memorial Day sales and coupons at Offers.com. Amazon also has a long list of Memorial Day deals. You might also want to visit some of our favorite deal sites.


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Meet the Sunderland traders marking 80 years of serving Pallion between them
Two businessmen are celebrating serving the people of Pallion for 80 years.
The financial climate may never have been tougher for local high streets, but Michael Hughes and Steve Hodgson have bucked the trend by trading for eight decades between them.
Hairdresser Michael has seen countless traders come and go in his 50 years at the helm of Hughes Hairdressing, but he says giving customers what they want is the key to his success.
The 73-year-old said: “As long as you give the customers what they want you know you are doing a good job and we’ve never had a problem in all these years.”
After falling in love with hairdressing in his 20s, Michael set up his own salon in Martin Terrace and ran it for seven years before moving to Pallion Road where he’s been cutting hair ever since.
He said: “When I got into hairdressing I loved it, and I still love it now, I really get job satisfaction from what I do and it’s so nice when people appreciate it. People who came in as kids now come in with their kids and it’s great to have that personal relationship with the customers.”
To mark the milestones, Pallion Traders hosted a celebratory day for the two traders which was attended by loyal customers from over the years.
Steve, who runs Master Services in Martin Terrace, said: “It was a great day, loads of people came along and we had a great response on Facebook. We’ll have been in business for 30 years in December and have had so many customers through the door in that time.”
Steve began as a shoe repair business before expanding the site and becoming a specialist work wear and printing service, creating personalised work wear, which has proved successful.
“The key to success is to invest in your business and move with the times,” he explained.
The celebratory day, held at Hughes Hairdressing, raised £336 for Sunderland Royal Hospital’s Head and Neck Cancer Charity, a cause close to Michael’s heart after he was successfully treated for cancer at the unit.


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Driven by innovation
Microphyt is created by Arnaud Muller-Feuga, an international expert with more than 25 years of academic expertise in microalgae biotechnology. In 2008, Michel Lemar is jumping on board bringing along deep industrial expertise in bioprocesses.
Original technology patented
Camargue PBR technology is the first hydro-biomimetic microalgae production technology in tubular photo-bioreactor based on a patented two-phase flow process.
A project endorsed by investors
Microphyt is raising more than €2M through investors specialized in seeding innovative companies :DEMETER PARTNERS, SUPERNOVA INVEST (ex-CEA Investissement), SOFIMAC INNOVATION and IRDI-SORIDEC.
New Managing Director
Vincent Usache is joining Microphyt to develop a new strategy for food supplements and cosmetics.
Europe Horizon 2020 support for SMILE
Microphyt is launching the SMILE project to develop nutritional active ingredients in the strategic areas of weight management and preserving cognitive functions.
Sharing a common vision and ambition, APG Group and Microphyt are deciding to join forces to leverage production site synergies in the field of microalgae-based products for food, dietary supplements and personal care industries.
Microphyt is receiving ENVOL certification – a label based on the NF X30-205 norm for small companies committed to controlling their environmental impact.
Microphyt secures €28.5million, one of the largest fundraising in the microalgae sector to develop its portfolio of microalgae-based natural solutions for nutrition and well-being. The round is co-led by Sofinnova Partners and Bpifrance, through its SPI Fund.
First ingredient approval by the FDA
Microphyt receives New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) Status from the FDA for PhaeoSOL – BrainPhyt, which allows this nutritional ingredient backed by proprietary efficacy data on cognitive applications to be sold in the US dietary supplement market.
Microphyt enters the French Tech 120 program
The French government selected Microphyt as one of the most promising startups to join the French Tech support program, which is dedicated to fast-growing companies and potential global leaders.


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Take a look at the beta version of dw.com. We're not done yet! Your opinion can help us make it better.
Anyone who has lived in China for a long time should travel during the annual "Golden Week." It's the only way to really understand what it means to be among the Chinese, says DW’s Frank Sieren.
Anyone who came to Beijing to see the Forbidden City will have been disappointed on the second day of the national holiday week. The Golden Week began on October 1, the anniversary of the 1949 foundation of People's Republic of China.
The daily contingent of 20,000 of tickets was sold out within two hours - 166 tickets were sold per minute. It's the kind of sales numbers museums around the world can only dream of.
There are currently some 600 million Chinese tourists out and about - that's 7.5 times the population of Germany. And they're not only in Beijing but visiting the Terracotta Army in Xi'an and Huashan Mountain in Shanxi province. Some 500 tourists had to sleep at the top of the mountain itself because strong winds made it temporarily unsafe to use the cable car. Pictures showed masses of tourists at the Great Wall of China, packed together like sardines.
No longer the factory of the world
The government will be particularly pleased by the pictures. It wants to shake off the image that China is the factory of the world and show that the country is transforming into a services economy. To show that this is a "golden" era. On the first day of the Golden Week, over 14 million people took the train. Chinese state television said that over 500 extra trains had been put into operation. Even though tickets were twice as expensive as normal, there were still takers.
While there were 15 percent more train passengers than in 2015, the number of air passengers rose over 6 percent to 960,000. By the end of the holiday week, 600 million tourists will have spent the equivalent of over $70 billion, an average of $125 per family, according to the National Tourism Administration. That is an increase of 13.5 percent compared to 2015. Not peanuts, even by Western standards.
Boosting the economy with national holidays
The Golden Week was introduced in 2000 to boost domestic consumption. Apart from the New Year's vacation, it is the only time when workers have a week off. The fact that it is better for the economy for them to consume rather than work may appear strange at first, but in a time of overproduction this is not so surprising. On the contrary, state companies are stockpiling less while seasonal workers earn more income during the week. China's inhabitants, especially those in rural areas, have to get used to consumption.
Some of the money will not help the Chinese economy, however, since it will go into the economies of Japan, South Korea or Thailand, which number among the 10 most popular destinations for Chinese travelers. Ctrip, an online travel portal, reported that Morocco is one of the popular destinations this year. Visa applications have increased by 3,500 percent since last year. Britain, Russia and New Zealand have also seen a 60 percent increase in tourism from China. About 60 million Chinese people traveled abroad in the first half of the year.
The economy is not suffering to such an extent that the government would do well to restrict travel abroad. Moreover, if there are more Chinese tourists abroad, the domestic tourism industry might not collapse under the pressure. Chinese tourists seem to like gathering in huge numbers in one place, the louder and more closely packed together the better. So for me and a few others who are happy to see the Great Wall of China from the outside, there is heavenly peace. Then again, maybe life isn't that different for German tourists on the island Mallorca. Even in the high season, they can choose between the busy streets and secluded bays.
DW's Frank Sieren has lived in Beijing for over 20 years.


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KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 — Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok Suh Sim will share her views on trade as well as the challenges faced by Malaysia in exporting palm oil, particularly to India, at a vegetable oil and feeds conference in Mumbai this week.
She will thereafter lead a delegation to Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia as part of a palm oil economic and promotion mission, her ministry said in a statement today.
Kok’s visit to Mumbai is her second in just three months, this time for the Globoil 2019 Conference from Sept 25 to 27 where she will deliver a keynote address. The event is attended by representatives from the Indian oils and fats industry as well as other major producers.
The short span between visits to India reflects the importance Malaysia places on the collaboration and trade with the country on palm oil, the ministry said.
In Mumbai, the minister will also witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and two organisations — the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) and Solidaridad Network Asia Limited (SNAL).
From Sept 28 to Oct 4, she will lead a delegation to Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia accompanied by officials from the Primary Industries Ministry, MPOB and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council.
For this mission, Kok is expected to convene a bilateral meeting with her counterparts and relevant stakeholders, including trading partners, in the three East African countries.
The ministry said the mission is part of the ongoing effort undertaken by Malaysia to strengthen bilateral trade relations and commitments with these African countries.
It also aims to disseminate clear and accurate information to important stakeholders in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia on the discriminatory trade barriers and issues affecting palm oil trade as well as strengthening business networking and exploring new market opportunities.
Currently, Kenya is one of the biggest importers of Malaysian palm oil and palm-based products in Africa.
Last year, Kenya imported 243,887 metric tonnes of palm oil and palm-based products from Malaysia, amounting to RM614.1 million.
Meanwhile, Tanzania imported 204,802 metric tonnes of palm oil and palm-based products from Malaysia worth RM556.2 million.
Oleochemicals products from Malaysia are expected to capture a bigger market in Tanzania in the near future, the ministry said.
As for Ethiopia, the ministry said it imported 149,435 metric tonnes of palm oil and palm-based products valued at RM457.17 million.


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Samsung is set to launch its Galaxy Buds Live and Galaxy Watch 3 in July, according to a SamMobile report. The products are expected to arrive ahead of another, more formal virtual Unpacked event in August 2020.
It seems that Samsung might have plans to launch two new wearables next month. According to SamMobile’s sources, the two products will only be unveiled in July but might not actually go on sale until August 5, a date rumored for the next Samsung Unpacked 2020 virtual event.
Reportedly, the Galaxy Buds Live are expected to be bundled with the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and/or the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 as a pre-order bonus. According to the source, the Galaxy Buds Live will have a light price tag of <$150. If the earbuds do come with the features of the latest Samsung Galaxy Buds+, they will definitely fly off the shelves.
As for the Galaxy Watch 3, it seems that Samsung could be looking at a higher price point for this wearable. While a specific figure hasn’t been shared yet, you may assume something pricey when a Titanium variant and rumored physical rotating bezel are among the features.
While there is no specific date mentioned, it is perplexing as to why Samsung would host a July event and then a bigger one in August. Then again, it did something similar in 2019.
Fans are no doubt excited for a refresh on the Samsung Galaxy Buds and the Samsung Galaxy Watch. Let us know what products you’re most excited for in the comments section below!


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December 15, 2004
InfoSpace Signs Agreement to Acquire Mobile Games Company Elkware GmbH
InfoSpace, Inc. (Nasdaq:INSP) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Elkware GmbH, a German mobile games company, for approximately $26 million payable in cash. In the three months ended September 30, 2004, Elkware generated approximately $1 million in revenue. The transaction is expected to close in early January 2005.
"We are excited about expanding our presence in the European mobile market," said Jim Voelker, chairman and chief executive officer of InfoSpace, Inc. "Elkware's interactive, role playing games and successful strategy titles are a great complement to our casual games from IOMO and growing slate of multiplayer tournament games for prizes. Together we will be able to leverage our products, technology and broad distribution with mobile operators to reach mobile subscribers around the world."
Elkware brings more than 90 original and branded J2ME games titles and strong international mobile operator relationships to InfoSpace. Elkware has one of the largest portfolios of J2ME games in multiple languages across a broad spectrum of mobile handsets. Elkware features such games as "Anno 1503 A.D. -- The New World," "Sacred," "Port Royale 2," "X-Files," "Pamela Anderson-Exposed!" and the upcoming Miami Vice games. Elkware games are available in over 10 European countries through relationships with major mobile operators including Vodafone, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Telefonica Moviles, 3 and TIM. They also are pre-installed on handsets from Siemens.
"Mobile gaming is a rapidly evolving and growing market. We are excited to have the significant resources of InfoSpace to expand our product portfolio and continue to develop exciting immersive gaming experiences for mobile gamers," said Jan Andresen, CEO, Elkware. "As part of InfoSpace Mobile, we will also be able to leverage its multiplayer tournament technologies and its North American distribution."
An award-winning developer and publisher of high-quality mobile games, Elkware is known for its extensive distribution and technology that enables it to deliver exceptional 3D graphics and game-play on a wide array of mobile handsets for mobile operators worldwide. The acquisition marks InfoSpace's third mobile gaming acquisition in 2004, following its acquisition of the multiplayer games for prizes company Atlas Mobile and its recent purchase of U.K. based IOMO, Limited.
Source: Infospace Mobile
back to news


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The newest edition of The Daily Summer is here, and this time, we are all about beauty and the body! Cover girl Josephine Skriver opens up about her LGBTQ+ advocacy, and is shot by Gilles Bensimon in the season’s hottest looks. Inside, makeup artist Vincent Oquendo divulges what it really takes to get a red-carpet beauty look. Meanwhile, a bevy of Hamptonites explain how they juggle their side projects, and supermodels dish on the best beauty advice they’ve ever received. Plus, the best properties in the Hamptons, and our favorite couture collections!
Read the complete new issue of The Daily Summer below, or pick up a copy in the Hamptons now!
Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on all the latest fashion news and juicy industry gossip.


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Ad landscape changed after Google-DoubleClick deal
Three years ago, Google closed its biggest acquisition ever: The $3.1 billion purchase of online ad powerhouse DoubleClick. Google's goal was to grow beyond search advertising, and grab a chunk of the potentially much larger market for display ads - those graphical come-ons that appear along the tops and sides of Web pages. Within two months of the deal, Google's stock soared 35 percent, to $595.
Since then its stock hasn't moved much, closing at $576.71 on Friday. Google's ad practices have angered privacy advocates and attracted the attention of U.S. and European antitrust regulators.
The competition has changed a lot, too. Back then, Yahoo was the biggest player in the fragmented market for display ad dollars; now Microsoft is a serious contender. Facebook has become an advertising-friendly colossus, and Twitter is poised to grab a larger share of marketing budgets. Even Apple entered the display advertising game.
Google nonetheless calls the acquisition one of its best ever. As of October, it says, display sales were on track to bring in $2.5 billion annually. It also says its display network reaches about 80 percent of all Internet users, and that 99 percent of its 1,000 largest advertisers run display spots as well as text-based search ads.
Analysts say the success of the deal is hard to judge because a big chunk of that $2.5 billion in annual revenue comes from ads that run on Google-owned YouTube. Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney says YouTube would likely be doing big business even without DoubleClick, and that Google's display ad network probably generated between $1 billion and $1.5 billion in revenue last year once the video site is excluded.
"It's clear that Google is better positioned as a platform for Internet advertising now that it has a display advertising network," he says. "I just don't know whether that justifies the price they paid."
Since the DoubleClick deal, Google's display team has developed services and software to help advertisers create, sell and monitor the performance of their ads, and in the process reinvigorated the online privacy debate.
Figuring out which ads work with which Internet users requires the use of "cookies" - small data files that track browsing habits. Cookies are nothing new; companies have been using them - and privacy groups have been complaining about them - for years. But DoubleClick had previously halted its behavioral advertising, as this part of the business is known. After the acquisition, Google brought behavioral techniques back and reintroduced cookies to the DoubleClick network.
The biggest threat to Google's display ambitions may be Facebook. The social network will bring in revenue of around $4 billion in 2011, according to research firm eMarketer, almost entirely from the small, ignorable display ads it runs on its members' pages. Those ads are sold by Facebook itself, which doesn't allow Google into its rapidly growing universe of over 500 million members.


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As mentioned several times in the past, MOTHER EARTH NEWS is in the process of developing a small, two-seat, 60 mpg town, three-wheeled car that weighs only a quarter as much as a “standard” Detroit automobile and costs a great deal less — in both dollars and resources — than any Motor City vehicle now costs. Work is now progressing nicely on that car and we should have some knockout photos to show you soon.
In the meantime, however, it’s only honest to tell you that a whole bunch of other folks are also working on ultra-light, ultra-efficient, ultra-etc. town cars too.
People like Bob Way as a matter of fact. And the reason Bob lives at the station (well, almost lives there anyway) is because he’s just spent a long, cold winter designing and building a little two-place town car of his own.
“My little bug has less than 90 parts including the body, engine, drive train, etc.,” says Bob. “The body is 4-oz. Dacron over plywood frames which, in turn, are bolted to a steel framework. The machine is driven by a 293cc single-cylinder engine geared through a torque converter to give both snappy initial acceleration and a top speed of 70 mph.
“I’ve designed the vehicle as a three-wheeled car because, in most states, anything with three wheels is considered a motorcycle instead of a car . . . and is therefore subject to less red tape and restrictions. I was also shooting for a vehicle that would cost less than $1,000 and which locally trained people could produce from locally available materials at the rate of five or ten units per week in a space no bigger than the average muffler shop.”
And if nobody is interested in such a “backyard” manufacturing opportunity? Bob says he’ll be happy to redesign his little machine for mass production. “All I want in such a case,” he states, “is an engineering fee and a 1% royalty on the retail price of each vehicle sold.”
Fair enough. So, whether you’re interested in producing five little town cars a week or 5,000, here’s a red-hot lead on a feller who’s already started down that road and who’s interested in working with you. There’s no question about the fact that Bob’s got a lot of work ahead of him yet . . . but we think he’ll get it all done. Why? Because we know this boy. After all, he helped us a year ago when we were putting together the prototype of the prototype of MOTHER’s own little urban vehicle!