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India leads real-time payments market after China and South Korea
Real-time payments, mobile payments, digital payments, e-wallets — they’re often used synonymously, although they’re not exactly the same. Boosted by the growth of smartphone adoption and increasing internet penetration, especially across developing countries in Asia, mobile payments have really taken off since the onset of the pandemic.
Naturally, online sales have rocketed, be it for goods or digital services. The paradigm shift to digital ways of making payment has deeply impacted the way many companies do business.
Not all digital transactions use real-time payments
A recent report by EIU (The Economist Intelligence Unit) explored the digital payments revolution around the world and found that India is leading the real-time payments market, followed by China and South Korea. In terms of the mobile payment market, China leads instead, followed by India.
Whilst all digital payments rely on technology, not all of them are instantaneous like real-time payments. Real-time payments are increasingly popular, with a report recently showing that most Malaysians prefer real-time payments over others, losing only to cash payments.
Real-time payments (RTP) are essentially digital payments that can be initiated and completed instantaneously or near instantaneously. This is different from, say, credit or debit card payments that will take longer to process as they go through layers of queries and approvals.
India’s UPI driving digital payment growth
According to the report, India offers a prime example of the shift to modernize payments systems in order to keep commerce flowing and sustain economic growth. Although the country remains largely rural and therefore cash-centric, the pandemic has lifted digital payments, in terms of both volume and value, to heights far beyond the expectations of policy-makers who had created the enabling environment for their adoption.
Recently, India announced an interesting digital payment system, called e-RUPI. It is neither a cryptocurrency nor a central bank digital currency (CBDC). It is also not a digital or e-wallet either. The digital payment actually comes in the form of a pre-paid e-voucher from UPI (Unified Payments Interface).
India’s UPI illustrates how an enabling policy framework and supportive regulation can create the infrastructure needed for swift adoption. Government institutions, particularly the central bank, encouraged the use of tools such as QR codes for merchants and radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags for toll gates. This paved the way for India’s drive towards real-time payments, according to the EIU.
The prevalence of low-value payments in the Indian economy has led to the highest real-time transaction volumes of this type in the world. Similar trends are visible in other developing countries, however.
In the Philippines, the government is making a concerted effort to achieve a cash-free society by 2025 and aims to make half of its financial transactions digital by 2023. The rewards of this are numerous, most notably in terms of wider financial inclusion.
Following the success of India’s UPI, several countries are currently in the process of building instant real-time payment platforms. Brazil, for example, debuted its fast payment Platform, Pix, in late 2020.
In early 2021, Saudi Arabia unveiled its new version of the instant-payments platform, Sarie, which facilitates a quick transfer of funds using various methods of identification, including mobile numbers and email addresses.
Read More at https://techwireasia.com/2021/08/india-leads-real-time-payments-market-after-china-and-south-korea/


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Hero Maestro Edge
14 Sep 2019·
TVS launches 2019 Jupiter Grande with Bluetooth connectivity
Expanding its two-wheelers line-up, TVS Motor Company has launched the all-new Jupiter Grande in India at Rs. 62,300.
15 Aug 2019·
BS6-compliant Honda Activa to launch in India next month
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) is all set to launch the BS6-compliant Honda Activa 125 in India next month.
01 Aug 2019·
Mahindra Gusto 125, Gusto 110 launched with latest safety features
Home-grown automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. has updated its Gusto 125 and Gusto 110 scooters with the combined braking system (CBS)- a mandatory safety feature as per new automotive norms.
17 Jul 2019·
2019 Suzuki Access 125 SE launched, priced at Rs. 62,000
Suzuki Motorcycle India has launched a new Metallic Matte Bordeaux model of its best-selling scooter, the Suzuki Access 125 SE.
08 Jun 2019·
2019 TVS Jupiter ZX launched in India at Rs. 56,000
TVS Motor Company has launched its all new 2019 Jupiter ZX in India.
28 May 2019·
Honda launches Limited Edition Activa 5G in India: Details here
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India has officially launched a limited edition model of its Honda Active 5G in the country.
08 May 2018·
2018 Honda Dio Deluxe launched in India for Rs. 53,292
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) has launched a new top-spec variant of its sporty, automatic Dio scooter in the country, called the Dio Deluxe, for Rs. 53,292 (ex-showroom Delhi).

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MUMBAI| TelevisionPost.com : In the latest move, Dish TV has issued disconnection notice to 10 channels distributed by IndiaCast UTV, including CNBC-TV18 and IBN7 and some ETV regional channels, claiming low popularity. Dish TV had earlier taken IndiaCast channels on a reference interconnect offer (RIO) deal, after the distribution agreement had ended on 31 December last year.
Since 1 January, it has been offering all the IndiaCast UTV channels (excluding ETV channels) on a la carte basis, sans any charge. The distribution deal with ETV channels is coming to an end on 31 March. However, the DTH player has decided not to offer the 10 IndiaCast UTV distributed channels from 1 April. Instead, it has issued the 21-day notice, as per TRAI mandate.
The channels include ETV MP, ETV Bihar, ETV UP, ETV Urdu, World Movies (Disney UTV), Sonic, IBN7, Disney Junior, Nick Junior and CNBC-TV18. The company has said that the channels will not be distributed. “The channels shall cease to be carried on our DTH platform with effect from 1 April 2014 due to low popularity of the said channels,” Dish TV stated in the notice. It further added that the company is choosing not to continue distribution of these channels from its DTH platform. Dish TV’s strategy is to put pressure on IndiaCast UTV to sign a distribution deal on better commercial terms.
The DTH operator has been claiming that it has been saving on content cost after it put the channels on a la carte basis.
Read more at: http://www.televisionpost.com/dth/dish-tv-issues-disconnection-notice-to-10-indiacast-channels/ | TelevisionPost.com
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Woolworths shareholders won’t shop pokiesPUBLISHED: 22 Nov 2012 11:07:00 | UPDATED: 23 Nov 2012 07:42:54PUBLISHED: 23 Nov 2012 PRINT EDITION: 23 Nov 2012
Woolworths shareholders have put profits before ethical concerns about pokies by overwhelmingly rejecting a proposal aimed at restricting the retailer’s gaming operations, which are estimated to generate earnings of $140 million a year.
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Seattle fire crews receive 20 pet oxygen masks
SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Fire Department has a new set of tools to save some of their most helpless fire victims.
A company called Invisible Fence Brand of Seattle donated 20 pet oxygen masks to the department on Monday. They will be used to resuscitate animals overcome by smoke.
Chief Harold Scoggins says the masks can save animals overcome by carbon monoxide.
Each mask comes with a small, medium and large face piece that is cone-shaped to fit a snout. The can be used on pets as small as guinea pigs and mice as well as larger dogs.
Since the pet oxygen program began, the masks have been used at more than a half dozen fire scenes to successfully resuscitate pets.


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Maybe it's a little early to be getting in line for these gadgets, but they are coming.
In Sydney, a student complains that many people in front of her were letting friends cut in line. She feared she wouldn't get a phone. But then she allegedly caused an obstruction.
A few new TVs are arriving this fall to join the screens already on store shelves. We'll tell you about the ones to which we're most looking forward.
Amazon has unveiled its all-new Kindle Fire line, with a full range of new tablets starting from the 6-inch $99 Kindle Fire 6 model to the $379 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HDX 8.9.
Why do people wait in line for days at Apple stores for the latest iPhones? In Palo Alto, California, the answer is Tim Cook. The Apple CEO walked the entire line thanking customers and posing for selfies.
If you're looking to upgrade your home theater in the next few months, these are some of the new products to look out for.
At Manhattan's marquee Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, a line that stretched several blocks degenerated into a chaotic crowd, many of whom were eager to make a profit on a resale.
At Manhattan's marquee Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, a line that stretched several blocks degenerated into a chaotic crowd. But the chaos didn't consist of super fans -- most planned to resell it.
The wonderful world of wearables and smartwatches snowballed like crazy this year, with manufacturers like Sony, Samsung, and and Motorola vying for the attention of consumers eager to track, quantify and qualify their lives.
Wondering what's coming up in the world of mobile? CNET runs down the handsets making their way through the pipeline that are worth paying attention to.
Fall forward into one of these upcoming tablets.


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Discount gym operator Planet Fitness (PLNT) has been full steam ahead since its August 2015 IPO. On Tuesday, the company -- which operates 1,300 clubs across the country -- announced that it had surpassed the 10 million member mark. It plans to open about 200 new locations this year. TheStreet catches up with Planet Fitness CEO Chris Rondeau on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
More from Video
AMSC CEO discusses that and China challenges.
One of pharma's biggest CEO's talks M&A action on the exchange.
Citi overcame a mixed print to send its stock surging on Monday.
There is a lot of Apple news to chew on Wednesday.


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Calyxt, Inc., a consumer-centric, food- and agriculture-focused company, announced that the Company’s high fiber wheat product has been declared a non-regulated article under the “Am I Regulated?” process by Biotechnology Regulatory Services of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This is Calyxt’s first consumer-centric wheat product and second wheat product (following Calyxt’s powdery mildew resistant wheat, which received non-regulated status by the USDA in February 2016), and seventh product overall, to be given this designation.
Calyxt’s high fiber wheat was developed using the Company’s proprietary gene-editing technology, TALEN, and does not contain any foreign DNA. With this USDA confirmation, Calyxt will now continue its trait validation in small- and large-scale field trials and food application development.
“Calyxt’s high fiber wheat flour will have up to three times more dietary fiber than standard white flour, with enormous potential to disrupt the multi-billion-dollar industry at large,”[said Manoj Sahoo, Calyxt CCO.]
Calyxt’s high fiber wheat is currently in Phase 1 of the development process and on track for commercialization as early as 2020/2021. This product is now part of a total of seven Calyxt products that have been deemed non-regulated by the USDA, including powdery mildew resistant wheat, high oleic soybean, high oleic / low linolenic soybean, improved quality alfalfa, cold storable potato and reduced browning potato.
Read full, original post: Calyxt’s High Fiber Wheat Deemed Non-Regulated By USDA


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STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) - Volkswagen’s (VOWG_p.DE) sports car brand Porsche is aiming to match last year’s profits in 2013, the company said on Friday.
In 2012 Porsche posted an operating profit of 2.44 billion euros (2.09 billion pounds).
Porsche said net debt dropped to 1.87 billion euros at the end of December from 2.58 billion at the end of 2011.
Porsche’s sister brand Audi, by comparison, is the only cash positive unit within the Volkswagen group. The Ingolstadt-based premium carmaker said on Tuesday it had net reserves of 13.4 billion at the end of last year.
That was roughly 3 billion euros more than the overall group.
Reporting By Hendrik Sackmann, writing by Christiaan Hetzner


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Today’s solid states drives are already quite fast, but tomorrow’s will be even faster. More than seven times faster in the case of Intel’s new Optane SSDs.
Intel gave the public its first look at Optane yesterday at IDF 2015. Like Samsung’s mammoth 16TB SSD, Optane drives owe part of their performance boost by going three-dimensional. Intel refers to their take as 3D XPoint (cross-point) technology, and it was developed in conjunction with the memory experts at Micron.
Their goal was to develop something that was inexpensive and non-volatile like NAND that also boasted performance that was more on par with DRAM. 3D XPoint comes impressively close: it’s capable of speeds about 1,000 times faster than today’s NAND.
They also reduced latency. In fact, they nearly eliminated it. Intel says the latency of 3D XPoint drives can be measured in nanoseconds — as opposed to milliseconds like today’s SSDs. So not only can Intel’s new SSDs transfer information at a blistering pace, they can locate it in a flash, too.
3D XPoint doesn’t just boost speed: it increases storage density, too. Its stacked design keeps things compact, and the memory doesn’t need to make room for transistors — which DRAM uses to perform reads and writes. Instead, 3D XPoint can read from or write to individual memory cells by simply altering voltages.
How much more storage does that let Intel and Micron cram into the same area? About ten times as much. Theoretically, then, Intel should be able to turn out a drive very soon that packs even more storage than Samsung’s new 16TB behemoth.
And just for good measure, Intel and Micron made 3D XPoint more durable. They say a drive’s lifespan “is not significantly impacted” by the number of writes it performs. That should mean these drives will last like a hard drive while outperforming SSDs and selling for a better price.
Sounds great, right? Now we just have to wait for them to show up on store shelves.


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Coca-Cola has partnered with Twitter to unveil a new custom emoji as part of its “#ShareaCoke” ad campaign. Previously, Twitter had only introduced these custom emojis for special events, such as promoting the upcoming new Star Wars movie and the VMAs, but never as part of an ad deal. The beverage company also seems to be working with social influencers, as evidenced by this tweet from famous racer Danica Patrick.
What Brands Should Do
Given the enduring popularity of emojis, it’s not hard to imagine Twitter continuing to sell custom emojis as a new ad unit to brands that wish to make a splash on the social platform. Brands that wish to try it out would be wise to start early, as the novelty might start to wear off once more branded emojis get introduced.
Header image courtesy of The Coca-Cola Co. on Twitter
Buzzfeed Acquires Kingfish Labs To Better Define User Interest Groups
Twitter Teams Up With Hootsuite To Cross-sell Ads
How Buzzfeed Won Over Madison Avenue
More Bad Facebook News: Users Say the Ads Don’t Work, Usage is Declining
User Reaction To Facebook’s Sponsored Posts
This month the Lab attended a kind of Facebook marketing boot camp, where members of the Facebook team guided us on best practices for integrating Facebook within brand marketing plans. The opportunity is much larger then capturing a portion of the 250 million Facebook users as customers; itâ€™s also a prospect for new ways to be innovative in our marketing.
Most of the conversation of the day centered around two ways you can use Facebook to market your brand: engagement ads and Facebook pages. But the team did talk a bit about whatâ€™s new on the popular site. For instance, they are starting to put demographic and geographic targeting into action: Targeting keywords from status updates and users birthdays are new features.
Continue reading “Facebook marketing boot camp”


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News from The Business Journals
Feb 3, 2014, 1:15 pm EST
Popular jeans company True Religion will open an outlet store at Opry Mills mall in April, according to a news release.
The store will be True Religion's…
Oct 8, 2013, 12:01 pm EDT
More than 20 stores inside Opry Mills mall will host a job fair later this month, according to a news release.
The job fair will be held from 5 - 7:30…
Jul 25, 2013, 2:19 pm EDT
Torrid and Chili's are now open at Opry Mills, according to a news release.
Chili's is now located in the mall's food court. Torrid, a plus-size clothing…
Jun 7, 2013, 7:52 am EDT
More than 350 people stood in line for H&M's grand opening at Opry Mills Thursday, Nashville Scene reports.
Some shoppers got in line as early as 6 a.m.…
May 23, 2013, 2:49 pm EDT
More than a dozen Opry Mills mall stores will hold a job fair May 29.
The following are excerpts from a news release:
The fair will give employment seekers…
Jan 24, 2013, 10:41 am EST
Fashion retailer H&M is opening a store in Nashville at the Opry Mills mall.
Metro Davidson issued a $1.45 million building rehab permit for the Swedish…
Dec 26, 2012, 7:52 am EST
Don't expect the traffic situation around Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center or Opry Mills mall to improve any time soon, The Tennessean reports.
Dec 17, 2012, 3:54 pm EST
Fashion retailer The Limited plans to open an outlet store in Nashville’s Opry Mills mall.
The store is scheduled to open in spring 2013, according…
Nov 6, 2012, 1:44 pm EST
With the holiday shopping season just a few weeks away, three new stores were announced today for Opry Mills mall.
Toys 'R' Us Express has opened a seasonal…
Oct 31, 2012, 7:52 am EDT
Several Middle Tennessee malls plan to get Black Friday shopping deals underway immediately this year with planned midnight openings, The Tennessean reports.
Oct 17, 2012, 11:41 am EDT
Opry Mills will soon be home to one new store and two new eateries, the shopping destination announced in a press release today.
Earthbound Trading Co.,…
Jul 30, 2012, 1:49 pm EDT
Opry Mills mall continues to add new tenants.
The mall, which reopened earlier this year after being shuttered by the flood of 2010, will soon be home…
Jul 2, 2012, 3:09 pm EDT
The Nashville phase of our Social Madness contest is preparing to enter its final stage, with voting in the semifinals ending tonight.
Here's where voting…
Jun 26, 2012, 2:15 pm EDT
The semifinals of our Social Madness competition are now underway.
Our original field of about 70 Nashville companies has been whittled down to 12, squaring…
Jun 19, 2012, 2:14 pm EDT
Let the brackets begin.
The second round of voting in Social Madness presented by Spark Business from Capital One is under way and just as in the March…


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Mastercard has unveiled an AI-powered suite of tools designed to help banks assess cyber risks across their ecosystem and prevent breaches.
Drawing on the capabilities of RiskRecon, which Mastercard acquired earlier this year, the Cyber Secure suite’s AI combines multiple public and proprietary data sources.
Then, it evaluates this data against 40 security and infrastructure criteria, with the impact and importance of each vulnerability analysed to produce a cyber risk rating and issue priority navigator.
This information can be used by banks to identify and prioritise threats and vulnerabilities as well as to help their merchant clients.
Ajay Bhalla, president, cyber and intelligence, Mastercard, says: “The world today faces a $5.2 trillion cyber breach problem. This is one of the biggest threats to consumer trust. At Mastercard, we aim to stay ahead of fraudsters and to continually evolve and enhance our protection of cyber environments for our bank and merchant customers.
“With Cyber Secure, we have a suite of AI-powered cyber capabilities that allows us to do just that, ensuring trust across every experience, for businesses and consumers.”
9PSB Will Drive Financial Innovation Among Youths And Women- CEO
L-R: Mr. Mohammed Edewor, Board Member 9PSB; Mr. Asega Aliga Board Member 9PSB; His Highness Emir of Bichi, Alhaji Nasir Ado Bayero and Branka Mracajac, CEO 9PSB at the launch of 9 Payment Service Bank (9PSB) in Lagos State recently.
The CEO of 9PSB, Branka Mracajac said the goal of 9PSB to drive financial innovation, especially among the youth and women across Nigeria.
She said the key mitigating strategy that would aid 9PSB in fulfilling the financial inclusion mandate of the Central Bank of Nigeria is by offering compelling products, seamless execution and excellent customer service.
“Financial innovation plays a unique role in fostering sustainable and equitable growth primarily among the unbanked and underbanked within the rural areas in Nigeria, and I am very optimistic that 9PSB will drive financial innovation, especially among the youth and women across Nigeria. This is our goal at 9PSB. It is also why we are here. It is the difference we are committed to making in the Nigerian financial sector,” she said.
While acknowledging the impact of infrastructure deficit and geographical coverage limitations on progress made so far towards achieving financial inclusion in Nigeria, Branka said that the key mitigating strategy that 9PSB is bringing to the table is to create synergies between agent banking as an important driver of financial inclusion and a superior product mix.
Explaining further, Branka said, “9PSB will deploy a wide distribution network that will serve as a channel for financial education for rural and low-income consumers. This will enable them to conduct basic banking services like cash-in and cash-out transactions.”
The Nigerian banking sector has been set on a new innovative course with the launch of a digital lifestyle bank, 9 Payment Service Bank (9PSB), the first of its kind in the financial industry.
Established with the aim of furthering financial inclusion in the country and providing financial services to Nigerians, who were previously excluded, the entrance of 9PSB as a digital lifestyle bank is designed to address critical challenges facing bank customers.
Speaking at a panel discussion at the launch of 9PSB, seasoned Fintech analysts and journalist such as Ashley Immanuel, Tunji Andrews, Tracia Ikponmwonba and Adejuwon Soyinka, offered suggestion that could bolster financial literacy and inclusion in rural and urban areas of Nigeria. The theme of the panel discussion was “Examining the challenges facing Nigerian banks and payment industry and how 9PSB can revolutionize the financial sector.”
9 Payment Service Bank (9PSB) in its uniqueness will leverage on its existing mobile and digital channels, offering a first of its kind wide network of agents as well as web and digital applications and physical structures to provide financial consumers with an experience novel to the Nigerian populace.
In his goodwill message at the event, Chairman Board of Directors, EMTS, parent company of 9PSB, HRH, Alhaji Nasiru Ado Bayero, stated that the launch of 9PSB is the beginning of an exciting chapter in the company’s growth agenda.
“We see 9PSB as yet another opportunity to serve 59 million unbanked adults through the deployment of financial services that will leverage on top mobile technology and distribution network to support the financial inclusion efforts of the Federal Government,” he said.
CIBN Forum: Emefiele To Unveil Banking Scorecard, Regulatory Roadmap
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele is set to provide economic insight into the monetary policy and regulatory direction for the coming year at the 55th annual bankers dinner organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).
A statement by the head, marketing/ corporate communication & external relations, CIBN, Nelson Olagundoye recently, stated that the CBN governor who will be delivering the keynote address is also expected to present the banking industry score card for the current year at the event which will hold on Friday, November 27, 2020.
The event with strict adherence to the protocol against the spread of COVID-19 pandemic will be graced by over 1,500 participants across the world. This year’s edition of the Dinner will also be transmitted simultaneously through Zoom teleconferencing to accommodate participation across the globe.
Also, governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and other state governors, are expected to grace the occasion as special guests of honour. President/Chairman of Council, CIBN, Bayo Olugbemi will deliver the welcome address while Registrar/CEO, CIBN ‘Seye Awojobi will give the vote of thanks.
The organising committee of this year’s edition of the dinner is chaired by the managing director/chief executive officer of Sterling Bank Plc, Abubakar Sulieman.
The annual bankers’ dinner is a thought-led socio-economic event of the Industry and being the biggest high-profile social forum annually organized by the Institute for the banking and finance industry, distinguished personalities including captains of industry, top Executives of Banks and non-bank institutions including CEOs and Chairmen, Diplomatic Missions, top government functionaries, legislators, accomplished businessmen, academics and other stakeholders are usually gathered to interact and network under a pleasant social setting.
9PSB Launches Digital Bank, Targets Six Million In First Year
Nigeria’s new entrant into the digital financial services, 9 Payment Service Bank (9PSB) today went live on its digital banking platform with plans to reach over six million financially excluded over the next one year.
It proposes high-end digital banking and financial inclusion services that will make transactions easier, convenient and accessible for people of all social classes in Nigeria.
Speaking during the launch in Lagos yesterday, the chief executive officer, 9PSB, Branka Mracajac, said, “The initiative which is financially included is in order to influence national economic development to improve welfare, generate standard of living for everyone, particularly in poverty reduction, employment creation.
She noted that, “The product is the first payment service designed to transform financial services in Nigeria by providing VAT and market driven solutions that will address the challenges financially.
“Currently, our key mitigating strategy is to create synergies between age integrity and something important driver of financial inclusion and the superior product mix that we are offering. We strongly believe that we will address the pain points of underpaid, the underbanked and unbanked Nigerians by offering a compelling product, seamless educate execution of processes and an excellent customer service”, she said.
Financial Innovation is a unique role in fostering sustainable equitable growth primarily among the unbanked and the underbanked. Within the rural areas in Nigeria, 9PSB we build job of financial inclusion, especially among the US and across Nigeria.
“Basically, the main difference between us and other platforms is that everyone with a phone number can have a bank account in 9PSB, which means that you don’t have to go to bank, you don’t have to have BVN, you don’t have to go to process and then to memorize your banking details. The last 10 digits of your phone number makes your account number.”
The difference between our platform and other banking platforms are that you can do everything so you can conduct banking services, from the comfort of your home, it’s only needed to have a smartphone or feature device.
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CD Projekt Red's big RPG Cyberpunk 2077 is officially hitting the shelves next week but it seems some players have already received their copies and started posting content from the game on gaming forums and social media.
UPDATE: The photo of the map has been removed from the article as per request of CDPR.
Original story: Some retailers have started to ship Cyberpunk 2077 Collector's Edition a bit earlier than expected which of course means plenty of leaked content will be floating around the social media and gaming forums until the official release.
One of these leaks has been shared over at 4chan and it shows the game's map, mainly the Night City, without the vast open area named Badlands.
You can check out the shared photo of the map in the image above. It does not contain any spoilers so you're free to check out every corner of it.
One thing you'll probably notice instantly is just how cluttered the map is. It's literally jam-packed with different icons which probably represent various activities you'll find in Night City.
It's safe to say that we'll need plenty of time to achieve 100 per cent completion of Cyberpunk 2077 but that's a challenge we'll gladly accept on December 10, 2020, when the game is officially releasing on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Google Stadia.
Until then, read more about the official Cyberpunk 2077 launch party , which CD Projekt Red and Twitter Gaming will host on launch day. They teased some surprises and exclusives so make sure you don't miss it!


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The caretaker government on Sunday made an announcement regarding the increase in prices of the petroleum products for the month of July, as per the reports of local media.
The price of petrol has been raised by Rs7.54, hence increasing to Rs99.5 and that of Kerosene has increased by Rs3.36 per litre, increasing it to Rs87.7, as per a statement released by the Ministry of Finance.
Furthermore, the price of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) has been increased by 14 rupees per litre to reach Rs 119.31.
|Petroleum Product||Price Increased by (Rs)||New Price after Increase (Rs)|
|High-Speed Diesel (HSD)||Rs14||Rs 119.31|
Also Read: Petrol Prices Increased by Rs4.26 per litre
It is relevant to mention that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) also had suggested an increase in the price of petrol by Rs7.54 per litre and diesel by 14 rupees per litre.
As per the statement of finance ministry owing to the tight financial position, the government has taken the decision to pass on the complete impact of the increase to the consumers.
The new prices would be put into effect from today that is the 1st of July 2018.
Last month that is in the month of June the Finance Division said in one of the statement that owing to the increase in global fuel prices the caretaker government has decided to hike the prices by fifty per cent of the actual suggested prices and leave the other fifty per cent as a breather for the fuel consumers in the blessed month of Ramazan. It was also mentioned that at the end of June, the government would again increase the petrol prices as has been noticed in all the earlier months of this year.


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Aldridge had previously been suspended for violating the department’s use of force policies, according to Northeast Ohio Media Group, and was disciplined in 2012 for his role in the deaths of Malissa Williams (see below) and Timothy Russell. He is currently on desk duty. Department of Justice concluded Cleveland police have a pattern of using excessive force, including against people who are mentally ill, and don’t use appropriate techniques to account for mental illness..
This basic error in understanding the test results was compounded by the RNC’s reference to the 2014 New York Times article, which was about a genetic profile of the United States, based on a study of 160,000 people drawn from the customer base of 23andMe, a consumer personal genetics company. With reporters believing that Warren’s genome was only as little as 0.01 percent Native American, the article’s line that “European Americans had genomes that were on average 98.6 percent European, .19 percent African, and .18 Native American” made it appear as if Warren’s sample was even smaller than that of the average American. (Note: an earlier version of this article mistakenly referred to the high end of range, 1.56 percent.).
I can definitely see him talking about Daryl with Morgan. It was confirmed that Dwight was not a soldier before the apocalypse like in the comics but it cool that they gave him the carving soldier easter egg. Also I think that your Dwight should return to the place where he betrayed Daryl since that where it all started..
For more than a century, the federal government backed a residential school system that sought to isolate First Nations children from their families and impose on them the dominant Canadian culture. The system was rife with cases of emotional, physical and sexual abuse, giving rise to mental scars that many victims are still struggling to overcome. Others did not survive the system..
Unforseen Expenses A company may have to borrow money to pay dividends if it has had unforeseen expenses between the declaration and distribution of dividends. Especially in large public corporations, there is usually a substantial lag between announcing and paying dividends. A corporation may declare a dividend in January, payable in April, for example.
Or you can process your products and create edible and delicious condiments like jam, jelly, pickles, relish and many other things. You can then sell these items directly in your own retail store or online ecommerce store; or you can supply to other retailers. Remember that all organic products marketed in the United States are regulated by the National Organic Standards developed by the US Department of Agriculture..


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HCT Group is being recognized this year in the “Agility” category, for producing MAC’s colorful Personality Palettes.
Stacey Dano, vice president of Global Brands Procurement at Estée Lauder praised HCT’s partnership in what was their official turnkey project, saying, “Estée Lauder is always looking to improve our speed to market in order to meet the needs of our customers and HCT helped us do just that.”
The collaboration took the MAC Personality Palettes from concept to finished good, launching globally after only six months.
“I am pleased to say that these palettes are such a success that once only planned for limited life, they will now be a continuous life item in the MAC portfolio, Dano said, before adding, “We look forward to more success with you [HCT].”
In other HCT Group award news, the supplier received the China Beauty Expo’s 2017 CosmeTech Premium Packaging Award. Tony Zhang, director of sales and marketing for HCT Asia accepted the award which recognizes excellence in packaging design and innovation.


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Sarasota attorney Evan Berlin and his revocable trust purchased the 72,795-square-foot property.
BRADENTON — The Fountains shopping center in Bradenton has sold for $7.35 million.
The center is at 4808 to 4848 14th St. W.
According to a press release, Sarasota attorney Evan Berlin and his revocable trust purchased the 72,795-square-foot property.
Nick DeVito II, partner at Ian Black Real Estate, represented the buyer. Steve Horn, also a partner at Ian Black Real Estate, represented the seller, RH Holdings Bradenton LLC.
“The property was incredibly attractive to buyers,” says DeVito in a statement. “It was fully leased at the time of purchase, and all tenants are businesses that will not be affected by the steady rise in online shopping. This offers the buyer steady long-term income with less risk than similar retail centers.”
Tenants at the shopping center include Crunch Fitness, Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, Good Liquid Brewing, Grand Buffet, MobileFix, All Greek, Livingston’s Billiards, Maru Tae Kwon Do and TrailWalker Gear Outfitters, according to a statement. Pizza Hut and Hooters are also in the center as free-standing buildings.
According to the release, the property was purchased in 2013 by RH Holdings Bradenton for $2.1 million. Since then, the group made capital improvements to the 31-year-old shopping center, including updates to the exterior façade, landscaping and irrigation, parking lot upgrades and signage updates. The sellers also replaced the roof on nearly 42,000 square feet of the plaza.


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Future Shop Announces Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Midnight Opening Events
The long-awaited Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is set to release next week, November 12th and Future Shop has announced its plans for midnight openings and special events for the release of one of the PlayStation 3’s and Xbox 360′s best selling shooter franchise.
Find out more about the Future Shop Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 midnight openings, events, and launch parties, as well as the exclusive swag that Future Shop first purchasers can be eligible for after the break.
On November 12th, 120 of Future Shop’s 149 stores across Canada will be open at midnight for the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Unfortunately, the stores in Quebec and Sudbury Ontario will not be opening for midnight releases but will be open regular time (8AM) on the 13th, the official launch day.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a midnight launch without launch parties and three of Future Shop’s biggest stores will be hosting Black Ops 2 events starting at 9:oo PM on November 12.
- Downtown Toronto (325 Yonge St., at Dundas)
- South Edmonton Common (1320 99th St., at Parsons Rd. NW)
- Downtown Vancouver (798 Granville St., at Robson)
And as usual with Future Shop events, all of the customers that the midnight openings are eligible for the random draw for an LG home theatre package. As well, customers are eligible to receive swag (and who doesn’t like swag) and a free digital copy of Zombieland on the Cinemanow service.
For more information about Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 midnight launch events, please visit Future Shop’s website.
Will you be lining up for the Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 midnight launch? Which store will you visit?
Posted on November 8, 2012, in Gaming News and tagged black ops 2, call of duty, call of duty black ops ii, entertainment, future shop, games, gaming, technology, video games. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.


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Laying down the stats
Euromonitor International’s Health & Wellness in the UK (April 2015) report states the 'naturally healthy food and beverages' category was worth £6,205.50m in 2015, and it is predicted to increase to £6,548.20m in 2017.
The gluten free sub-sector is also enjoying popularity - it's worth equated to £320.7m in 2015, and Euromonitor expects this figure will rise to £417m by 2017.
The report identifies the sugar content of food and beverages as a key issue over the next five years [from publication date]. However it states it is unlikely that the government will introduce a sugar tax within the time period, which would see manufacturers adopt new strategies to address the matter.
Mark Stringer, founder of PrettyGreen has witnessed this phenomenon first-hand. "We’ve noticed that food and drink brands are taking significant steps to be much more transparent and open about what goes into their products. From highlighting super food ingredients to running campaigns that help to bring health boosting attributes to life," he says.
"Sugar is the tobacco of a new generation and will undoubtedly continue to be a major topic for 2016, particularly the debate around sugar intake, and especially for children."
On the beverage front, Euromonitor predicts coconut water will maintain its popularity, meanwhile vegetable juice could also be on the rise.
Stringer believes caffeinated beverages will remain at the forefront. "Coffee and caffeine-based products will continue to stay in favour, but again, those with tangible health benefits will champion. An example of this is matcha green tea - the new 'buzz' of choice which offers a boost and as well as something new or exotic for consumers," he explains.
Convenience is key
Kerry Rolston, marketing director at 9Bar believes convenient yet nutritious foods are high on people's agendas. "There’s a general trend towards healthier snacks; Kantar data shows that whilst cereal bars are flat, within that sector healthier snack bars such as 9Bar are in double-digit growth.
"Recent category quality research shows this is due to consumers becoming much more aware that certain breakfast cereals or breakfast replacement bars have incredibly low nutritional value for their calories." she explains.
Rolston notes people are becoming better educated about the nutrients in food, such as the difference between good and bad fats, as well as quick and slow release types of protein.
Saying no to sugar
Rachel Smith, head of marketing at Sodastream agrees that people are more health conscious than ever, and sees social media as a key contributor. "The social landscape and multitude of sharing platforms provides an instant resource for information on sourcing ingredients, and consumers are all the more savvy as a result.
"This means that brands have to adopt an approach of ultra-transparency and meet consumer demands for more natural and ‘less processed’ food and drink products. Brands need to be nimble and adaptable by coming up with new and innovative ways to provide people with healthier alternatives," she says.
Leveraging off experiential
Smith explains Sodastream is using experiential to share its health message. "We recently worked with a food artist to carve sugar statues to illustrate the amount of sugar derived from fizzy drinks that is consumed by the UK population each minute.
"The statues took the form of an adult, a teenager and a young child using the exact volume of sugar from fizzy drinks collectively consumed by these age groups," she adds.
Smith also hints at additional work of this nature. "Sodastream is perfectly placed to respond to the current consumer demand for healthier alternatives to fizzy drinks and we are planning some exciting activity in 2016 to further cement our position as a sparkling water provider," she says.
Rolston says 9Bar’s Super Seed Squad, which has been making its way around London of late, will also visit locations outside of London this year.
"Expect to see the 9BAR Super Seed Squad taking over cities all over Britain this year and passing on their good energy vibes," she says.
"We are on a mission to rid the world of bad energy: taking our super seeds out into the world and replacing 'bad energy' snacks such as classic cereal bars and confectionary."
She adds the brand is sponsoring Tough Mudder events as well as the Great North and South runs this year.
Comment below to let us know what you think.


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Beyoncé Smashes A New Spotify Streaming Record
As any Bey fan knows, the best way to access the singer’s entire discography is through purchasing it on iTunes or streaming her music on Tidal, the streaming platform she co-owns with hubby Jay Z. In 2013, she released her fifth self-titled studio album on iTunes and waited nearly a year before putting it onto Spotify. Her latest visual album Lemonade is still only accessible through Tidal or iTunes purchase.
Since its release, her artist page on Spotify included a note from the streaming service that reads “Beyoncé’s album Lemonade is not currently available on Spotify. We are working on it and hope to have it soon.”
Still, these obstacles haven’t stopped the Beyhive from streaming the shit out of the music she does have available on Spotify. Her 2011 album 4 recently passed one billion streams, which helped the artist earn her new record-breaking title. 4 joins I Am...Sasha Fierce and Beyoncé, while her singles “Love on Top” and “Run the World (Girls)” both have a combined 400 million streams alone.
In other Bey news, the Ivy Park business mogul recently released her line of Valentine’s Day merch, just in time for the holiday. In honor of Queen Bey smashing this new record, go ahead and celebrate by streaming even more Yoncé.


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Workers in Beirut decorate a Christmas tree with the message 'Merry Christmas and Happy New Year' in three languages: English, French and Arabic.
David Cameron, the British prime minister, turns on the Christmas tree lights at No 10 Downing Street in London.
Hundreds of people gather on the traditional Christmas market of Frankfurt, Germany, that was opened with the lighting of the tree.
Thai workers decorate a giant Christmas tree in a shopping mall in Bangkok.
People gather in front of the 30-metre high tree during the lighting ceremony in central Sofia, Bulgaria.
An employee of Japanese jeweller Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry unveils a 150 million yen (£1.2m) Christmas tree in Tokyo.
Visitors walk by a giant Christmas pyramid at the Christmas market in Berlin.
A worker installs a steel tree outside a shopping mall in Beijing.
The Rockefeller centre Christmas tree in New York City.
A street vendor dressed as Minnie Mouse sells balloons by Puerta del Sol Square's Christmas tree in Madrid.
A Christmas tree built of Lego bricks is on display at St. Pancras International station in London.
David Oakley, curator of the Christmas display for the Royal Collection, puts the finishing touches to a tree that is suspended from the ceiling at Windsor Castle.
The giant tree in Strasbourg's Christmas market.
A trumpeter plays during the illumination of the Christmas tree and opening of the Christmas market in Prague.
Fireworks explode over an 85-metre-long floating Christmas tree at the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro.
An illuminated tree stands in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
Fireworks light up the sky to launch the Christmas tree display along a bay walk in Palawan city, Philippines.
The White House tree is displayed in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington.
A Norwegian Christmas tree lights up Trafalgar Square.
The National Christmas Tree is pictured with the White House in the background in Washington DC
A girl poses for photographs in front of a Christmas tree decorated with teddy bears in Seoul, South Korea.


text: ReachNow is no longer just a car-sharing service. The BMW-owned company is now a ride-hailing service too, putting it in direct competition with Lyft and Uber. Today the company launched a new app that combines car sharing and ride hailing while using a shared fleet of cars. Currently only available in Seattle, the app claims to be a one-stop shop for users looking for the best way to get from Point A to Point B while receiving the BMW brand experience. Using a mix of BMW i3 electric cars, BMW 3 Series, BMW X1 SAV, MINI Clubman, MINI 2-door hardtop and MINI 4-door hardtop models, the company plans to expand into other U.S. cities in the near future. ReachNow is waiving the sign-up fee for new members who want to try the ride-hailing service. Ride pricing has a $3.24 minimum, with rides costing $2.40 per mile plus $0.40 a minute. Stay tuned for developments in the coming months!


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Orlando is targeting younger travelers with a new World's Fair for Kids.
The first annual World's Fair for Kids is set for March 25 through April 3 in Orlando. Developed by the Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau and World's Fair for Kids LLC, an expo production company in North Carolina, it is billed as the largest interactive exposition for children and families. It's the centerpiece of a marketing initiative that will tout Orlando as the world's top family spring break destination. Aimed at children ages 3 to 13, the fair will include activity pavilions with themes such as sports, cooking, technology and travel, as well as live entertainment.
Why the big push for kids? Count the numbers. Travel spending nationwide is predicted to hit $585 billion this year, $33 billion more than in 2003. Families traveling with children already make up about 43% of Orlando's domestic leisure travelers and almost 30% of overseas visitors, state and national figures show.
During the spring break period alone, central Florida annually sees about 350,000 visiting families, according to the visitors bureau.
This summer, 38% of all families with children nationwide are expected to travel, spending $1,101 per person per trip, according to the Travel Industry Association of America.
That's why tourism leaders aren't waiting until spring to start working on Junior to get his parents to come to central Florida. Orlando has launched a $7-million, 14-city advertising campaign -- its largest of the year -- with the theme "Orlando. Bring Your Family. Together." The TV and newspaper ads target families in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Tampa/St. Petersburg and West Palm Beach.
Targeting kids is nothing new for theme parks. The challenge is to keep creating attractions that raise the bar and capture the attention of young people used to fast-action films and video games. In the four years it took to construct The Mummy attraction, which opened at Universal in May, the creative team enlisted fruit-packing plants, missile manufacturers, warehousing technology experts and undersea researchers to help make special-effects equipment for the roller-coaster ride. The integration of those technologies with Maglev electric train concepts, pyrotechnics and computer-generated imaging gives the ride a "wow" factor, says Mike Hightower, Universal's vice president of project management. Universal is whispering about a new attraction in the works but won't divulge details.
Meanwhile, attendance is up 15% over last year at Universal's domestic theme parks and up 18% at Walt Disney World, attractions officials say.
To help combat childhood obesity, restaurants at 57 Ritz-Carlton hotels worldwide have introduced healthy menus for kids. Chefs at different properties have added their own delicacies such as "ants on a log," celery stuffed with peanut butter and studded with raisins; chicken and veggie kabobs served with air-popped popcorn, fresh fruit and low-fat yogurt; and a dessert of crushed granola in a small plastic sandbox with a tiny shovel to use instead of a spoon.
Marriott International is set to open Tampa's first Renaissance Hotel on Aug. 2 adjacent to the International Plaza near the airport. The $45-million hotel will have 293 rooms.
St. Petersburg-based Payless Car Rental System has expanded its rental fleet by 2,000 vehicles, adding franchises in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and Sacramento, Calif.
The top destinations domestic vacationers say they'd like to visit this summer, according to the Travel Industry Association of America:
Florida 38%, California 29%, Hawaii 16%, New York 15%, Colorado 12%, Texas 11%, Nevada 9%


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DHAKA, Dec 6, 2017 (BSS) - Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed today invited Saudi Arabian businessmen to invest in special economic zone taking the opportunity of Bangladesh's invest friendly facilities.
He made the call at a business meeting with the visiting 21-member high level business delegation of Saudi Arabia in a city hotel organized by the FBCCI.
Citing the initiative of the Prime Minister of developing 100 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the country, the commerce minister said: "Saudi Arabian businessmen could invest here as Bangladesh government is offering special facilities to the foreign investors."
He said foreign entrepreneurs are getting cent percent investment opportunity in Bangladesh. "Foreign investors could bring back their investment with profit any time and the government has secured the investment by law."
Under the 7th five year plan, Tofail said, the government has taken special initiative to increase the export items along with expanding export market.
The commerce minister noted bilateral trade is remained stagnant at $ 800 million, but it could be boosted further if businessmen of both the countries make steps forward.
FBCCI leaders, members of business delegation and high officials, among others, also spoke on the occasion with FBCCI President Shafiul Islam Mahiuddin in the chair.


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As the run-up to holiday shopping intensifies, Target Corp. is saying its stores will open at midnight on Thanksgiving Day for the first time this year.
That’s four hours earlier than last year.
The stores will stay open for 23 hours and close at 11 p.m. Friday, November 25. Target spokeswoman Susan Kahn said the change was a response to customers’ demands.
Retailers have expanded their Black Friday hours each year recently.
The season kickoff overtook Thanksgiving Day last year, when most Sears and Kmart stores opened Thanksgiving morning for the first time. Toys R Us stores opened at 10 p.m. Many Gap Inc. stores were open. And Wal-Mart, whose supercenters already operate around the clock, opened most other stores by midnight Thanksgiving evening.
Target is based in Minneapolis.
More breaking news
- Cuomo launches $1.4M climate-resilient farming pilot program
- Tech tracking the bad guys
- Reality Chek
- Open houses for Sandy-damaged homes auction
- Q&A with Madeline Singas
- Stew Leonard’s opens Farmingdale pumpkin patch
- American angels
- LI developer sells new center for $133M
- Stop & Shop begins A&P store conversions
- County execs are keynote speakers at LIBN Hall of Fame gala


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Absolics Inc. partners with a local U.S. educational institution to develop human resources for semiconductors.
● Absolics Inc. signed an industry-academia collaboration agreement with Georgia Piedmont Technical College to set up an education/training program and jointly structure the curriculum.● The collaboration is aimed to develop technical talent that the glass substrate business could benefit from and contribute to reinforce the competitiveness of the local semiconductor industry ecosystem.Absolics Inc., a semiconductor glass substrate business in which SKC (CEO & President Woncheol Park) has invested, partnered with a local U.S. educational institution to develop human resources for the semiconductor industry.Absolics Inc. signed an industry-academia collaboration MOU with Georgia Piedmont Technical College (GPTC) on March 9 (local time) to jointly set up an education/training program for human resources development of the semiconductor industry. The signing ceremony, held at GPTC’s Newton Campus in Covington, Newton County, Georgia, was attended by key officials from both sides including Absolics Inc. CTO Seongjin Kim and GPTC President Tavarez Holston.This MOU will serve as a basis for Absolics Inc. and GPTC to structure an education/training curriculum of industry-academia collaboration customized for jobs such as semiconductor quality management and defect analysis. The goal sought through this arrangement is to develop the human resources that the semiconductor glass substrate business need and contribute to reinforcing the competitiveness of the overall local semiconductor industry ecosystem in the long term.Absolics Inc. is the first company in the world to promote the semiconductor glass substrate business that is building a manufacturing facility on an SKC inc. site in Georgia since last November. A first-phase investment of USD 240 million was made to complete the manufacturing facility next year with an annual production capacity of 12,000 square meters. A second-phase investment of USD 360 million will also follow to expand the annual production capacity to 72,000 square meters.The semiconductor glass substrate business also started through local industry-academia collaboration. Commercialization of the business was built on the combination of GPTC’s basic glass substrate technology and SKC’s processing technology and manufacturing know-how. This additional industry-academia collaboration with GPTC laid the groundwork for Absolics Inc. to participate in talent development and achieve recruitment stability.Founded in 1961, GPTC is one of the largest and most historic community colleges in Georgia specializing in tech education. Over 1,000 students in fields such as industrial technology and computer science graduate from the college each year. GPTC President Tavarez Holston expressed his anticipation saying, “We look forward to a successful, long-term industry-academia collaboration with global companies SKC and Absolics Inc. that will contribute to local community development.”An Absolics Inc. executive said, “This industry-academia collaboration with GPTC, which is the best industrial technology education institution in the region, will contribute to develop talent needed for the future semiconductor industry and build a local semiconductor ecosystem,” and added, “We will continue to expand industry-academia collaborations to ensure the future availability of talented manpower.” [End of document][Absolics Inc. CTO Seongjin Kim (right) and GPTC (Georgia Piedmont Technical College) President Tavarez Holston holding the industry-academia collaboration MOU for semiconductor human resources development after signing it at GPTC’s Newton Campus on March 9.].jpg
SKC solmics renamed SK enpulse, bracing for a new leap forward
Officially adopted this year, the new
corporate name stands for dynamic growth and commitment to usher in a new trend
in the chip material industryIn high gear on the fast track to localize high-value
materials such as CMP pad, and blank mask···
to evolve into a global semiconductor ESG solution provider
SKC solmics, an investee
specialized on semiconductor materials of SKC (President: Woncheol Park),
is renamed SK enpulse, bracing for a new leap to join the league of global
semiconductor ESG solution providers.
this year, SK solmics’ new corporate name, SK enpulse, is a compound word
combining the English prefix ‘en’ as in ‘enable’ with ‘pulse’ indicating trend
and wave. It epitomizes the company’s commitment to fostering dynamic growth
and creating a new trend in the chip material industry.
SK enpulse is the
key semiconductor-making arm of SKC. The company has spearheaded the
localization of fine ceramic for chip applications with over a 30-year-long
R&D history. Affiliated a subsidiary of SKC in 2008, the company has been
rapidly innovating its business model, expanding its reach to cover high-value
chip materials including CMP pad and blank mask.
Under its new
name, SK enpulse vows to put new business growth into high gear. CMP pads are used
to flatten the surface of semiconductor wafers to increase the degree of
integration in chips. SK enpulse has been growing fast, carving out niches as
primary suppliers of SK hynix and DB HiTek in the CMP pad market, 80% of which
was dominated by global chemical giant Dupont.
Blank masks serve as
the canvas of the exposure step in chipmaking process where ultra-fine circuits
are drawn at nanometer spacing. SK enpulse succeeded late last year in localizing
high-end blank masks 90% of which was dominated by Japanese competitors. That has
drawn significant attention from chipmakers.
In addition to
adopting the new name, SK enpluse plans to further accelerate its growth by
consummating the merger with SK telesys this February. The company will also
seek to transform its identity from being a pioneer in the localization of
semiconductor materials/components to a global semiconductor ESG solution
provider committed to ESG management and global expansion.
“We have decided
to adopt a new name aligned with SKC’s vision for the semiconductor material
business and new corporate identity,” said a source in SK enpulse. “We will be
reborn as a provider of high-value semiconductor materials, increasing our market
cap. to 1.5 trillion won by 2025.” [End]
[SK enpluse CI]
SKC, announces the world’s first commercialization of glass substrate: a game changer for semiconductor packaging
Data processing improved greatly while power consumption is reduced
followed by tech certification by a global semiconductor manufacturer SKC to build a 12,000-square-meter production plant in Georgia, U.S. by
2023 and target to expand it into a 72,000-square-meter production plant by
SKC (CEO Lee Wan-jae) is starting to commercialize high-performance computing glass substrate that it has developed for the first time in the world. Glass substrate is a futuristic material that is considered a 'game changer' in the semiconductor packaging field because it can significantly increase the performance and power efficiency of computer chipsets.SKC held a board meeting on the 28th and decided to build a semiconductor glass substrate production base within the premises of SKC inc. in Georgia, USA by investing a total of US$80 million, including a technology value of US$70 million. It is aiming to complete the 12,000-square-meter mass production facilities by 2023.SKC's glass substrate for high performance computing (HPC) is expected to change the game for semiconductor packages. When a glass substrate is applied, the package thickness is cut in half and so is power consumption. Data center footprint can be significantly reduced as data throughput is dramatically improved. The company’s prototype has already been certified technologically by a global semiconductor manufacturer.In general, semiconductors such as CPU, GPU, and memory are packaged as one component on a substrate together with several MLCCs before being connected to a PCB. Plastic substrates were widely used, but their uneven surface turned problematic for high-performance semiconductor packaging involving repetitive miniaturization. An alternative method was developed in which silicon with a smooth surface was used as an intermediate substrate(interposer).However, compared to a glass substrate, this method has low efficiency and limited uses; The package gets thicker due to an interposer, making it hard to be used for mobile applications; The increased distance between the semiconductor chip and the PCB results in larger power consumption, too. In addition, it is difficult to economically produce large-area rectangular substrates required for high performance in round silicon.By contrast, the SKC glass substrate has a smooth surface and can make a large square panel, so it can respond to the trend of larger size products as well as the miniaturization of semiconductor packaging. The glass substrate does not require an interposer, reducing its thickness and raising its power efficiency. So it can be applied to mobile products easily. It is particularly advantageous for high performance products as MLCC, which had to be installed on the surface of the board, can be placed inside the board so that larger CPUs or GPUs can be mounted on the surface with more memory when necessary.SKC has decided to consider expanding the production capacity to 72,000 square meters per year by 2025, given that the semiconductor packaging market for high-performance computing is rapidly growing due to a surge in data throughput such as AI and data center servers. According to multiple market research institutes, the market will nearly triple from US$3.5 billion in 2020 to US$9.7 billion in 2025.An SKC official said, "SKC's glass substrates are receiving great attention from global semiconductor material suppliers and semiconductor manufacturers alike as they are produced with the groundbreaking technology that enables chip designers to achieve the maximum performance they can ever aspire to,” adding, “We will build a stable business base in collaboration with our business partners so we supply our innovative products to global semiconductor manufacturers while contributing to innovations across the industry using high-performance semiconductors.”
substrate for semiconductor packaging developed by SKC for the first time in
the world. It is called the ‘game changer’ in the field of semiconductor
packaging due to its thin thickness leading to high power efficiency on top of
its outstanding data processing performance.]
with a glass substrate developed by SKC for semiconductor packaging for the
first time in the world.]


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Scottsbluff Papa John’s closing Sunday, owner cites declining sales
The Scottsbluff Papa John’s has suffered a tough year and will shut its doors Sunday, its owner said Wednesday.
Owner Brett Griner, who has operated the local franchise for the last 11 years, said that the business saw sales decline by 30 percent.
Griner said that sales began to take a slump last year, almost immediately after Kmart closed in December 2016. It’s not uncommon for sales to slump in January, he said, but “Unfortunately, it continued throughout the entire year, no matter how hard we tried, nothing helped.”
A good portion of the pizza business’ foot traffic decreased with the closure of Kmart and it was the sole occupant in the shopping center. With the lack of other occupants, problems with the condition of the parking lot, Griner said he tried unsuccessfully to relocate at another location.
Typically, Griner said, the business sees an increase in sales during the football season. However, he said, controversies in the NFL and even a poor Broncos season meant that annual bounce back did not occur.
The store is operating with a smaller staff, with most of the employees having found other jobs, Griner said. The business is still offering service, including delivery through Sunday, though he said wait times may increase.
“We appreciate everyone’s business,” he said.
Griner, who has been with the franchise since 2002, said he is exploring some other opportunities with Papa John’s on the corporate level, however, because he has family in the area, he expects that he’ll stay in Scottsbluff.
The store will close Dec. 3, at 10 p.m.


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Solana Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and FTX announced Friday a $100 million fund to invest in startups focused on building blockchain gaming studios.
The announcement comes at a time when the concept of metaverse or virtual worlds is growing in popularity. Last week, Facebook changed its corporate name to Meta as the company has been developing new technologies that will help people connect and explore in the metaverse.
According to some reports, the metaverse will also play a key part in gaming's future. Essentially, a theory is that the metaverse will allow users to meet, chat and play games together.
To that end, blockchain gaming startups have been raising a lot of cash recently. Venture capital firms believe that gaming will help bring more people to the crypto world.
"Gaming has a massive opportunity to bring the next billion users to web3," said Amy Wu, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. "We are excited to partner with FTX and Solana Ventures to play a leading role in growing this ecosystem."
Lightspeed has invested in several gaming startups like Epic Games, 1047 Games, TripleDot Studios, and Faraway Games. It invested in Faraway Games along with FTX and Solana Ventures as part of the new $100 million fund and as the first investment.
The fund is denominated in dollars, meaning cash will be invested in startups focused on web3 gaming on Solana and other blockchains, a spokesperson for Solana Ventures told The Block.


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Like any eight-year-old, Ryan Kaji wants to play with toys. Be that as it may, when Ryan plays, millions watch.
From the age of four he’s been the star of his own YouTube channel. All up his recordings have increased in excess of 35 billion perspectives. This helped make him YouTube’s most noteworthy acquiring star in 2018, gaining $22 million, as per Forbes.
It’s s more than entertainer Jake Paul ($21 million), the stunt shot games group Dude Perfect ($20 million), Minecraft player DanTDM ($18.5 million) and make-up craftsman Jeffree Star ($18 million).
Ryan is obviously experiencing the fantasy of numerous children – and grown-ups.
As indicated by a Harris Poll/LEGO study covering the United States, Britain and China, 29% of kids matured eight to 12 need to be a “YouTuber”. That is three fold the number of as the individuals who need to be space travelers.
Different surveys propose a significantly higher level of youngsters try to acclaim and fortune by means of YouTube or another internet based life stage. An eye-snatching news report out this month recommended an incredible 54% of Americans matured 13 to 38 would turn into an “influencer” given the opportunity, with 12% previously thinking about themselves influencers. These numbers may be addressed, yet given the obvious fortunes to be made by messing about, messing around, applying cosmetics or unpacking toys, it’s nothing unexpected such a significant number of are besotted with the influencer dream.
In any case, there’s an unmistakable separation between the lustrous façade and truth of this new industry. The truth of the matter is most wannabe influencers have as a lot of an opportunity of strolling on the Moon as they do of imitating Ryan Kaji. They’ll be fortunate, truth be told, to procure as much as somebody working at inexpensive food joint.
How about we investigate the numbers.
Advertising’s new troopers
Showcasing writing characterizes an influencer as somebody with an enormous after on an online life stage, principally YouTube and Instagram As individuals expend less customary media and invest more energy in social stages, sponsors are progressively utilizing these influencers to sell their items. A uber influencer like Kylie Jenner, with 139 million devotees on Instagram, can purportedly charge more than $1 milllion for a solitary special post.
In 2017, an expected $570 million was spent all inclusive on influencer promoting. In 2020, as per the World Advertising Research Center, it will be between $5 billion and $10 billion.
A key driver of this blasting business sector is that about portion of purchasers use promotion blocking innovation, which confines the compass of conventional publicizing.
Keeping up appearances
One organization to truly grasp the social influencer pattern is beauty care products goliath Estee Lauder. In August the organization’s CEO, Fabrizio Freda, said 75% of its promoting spending plan was presently going to internet based life influencers, “and they’re uncovering to be profoundly beneficial”.
In any case, while some portion of the organization’s financial limit is going to “miniaturized scale influencers” – those with less than 10,000 adherents – it’s probable the build is as yet enveloped with manages huge name “spokesmodels” and “brand ministers” like Karlie Kloss, Grace Elizabeth, Fei Sun, Anok Yai and Kendall Jenner.
It might be said these big name bargains aren’t very different to what the beautifying agents organization has accomplished for a considerable length of time with any semblance of Gwyneth Paltrow, Elisabeth Hurley and Karen Graham.
Unpaid temporary jobs
So far the majority of the signs are that the new financial matters of influencer promoting are not very extraordinary to the old financial matters of advertising. As in the acting, displaying or music industry, there’s a minor A-rundown of hotshot influencers making millions. At that point there’s a to some degree bigger B-list bringing home the bacon. Be that as it may, the huge greater part of influencers would be in an ideal situation finding a normal line of work.
In 2018, a teacher at the Offenburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany, Mathias Bärtl, distributed a measurable investigation of YouTube stations, transfers and perspectives over 10 years. His outcomes indicated that 85% of traffic went to only 3% of channels, and that 96.5% of YouTubers wouldn’t make enough cash to arrive at the US government neediness line ($12,140).
Cornell University partner teacher Brooke Erin Duffy recommends the bait of being a social influencer is a piece of a bigger fantasy about the computerized economy giving the chance to satisfaction, acclaim and fortune in doing what you love through building up your “own image”.


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Meetings and conferences are bigger business than ever for hotels and unusual venues. According to Conference Cambridge, 2007 saw the number of enquiries received by the venue management company increase by 14% to 2,459, resulting in the total value of business rising by 37% to £3.3m during the year.
And it’s a similar story elsewhere. Laurence Wiltshire, Silverstone sales development manager, adds: “Our conferencing is growing at about 20% per year. We are finding that Silverstone is a particular draw to clients, as the venue is ‘something different’ and brings glamour to events that might otherwise be a little uninspiring.”
Andrew Coupe, managing director of the Portland Spa Conference & Banqueting Centre, agrees that people are looking for something out of the ordinary. “Although we’re a new venue, all the research we carried out during the development and launch phase of The Portland Spa indicates that event organisers are looking for something unique and new. We have generated a great deal of business on this basis and it has given us huge confidence in our ability to succeed.”
Esther Conn, head of sales at Macdonald Hotels, believes there are also wider economic and social drivers behind the growth in the sector: “More people are looking for venues in the UK rather than Europe for a number of reasons, from carbon footprint to the current economic climate, and this is something I anticipate continuing to develop throughout 2008 and 2009.
“In past 12 months,” she continues, “we’ve seen rising property costs, which means businesses are using their full office capacity and need to outsource meetings. There has also been an increased demand for conference space from a wider range of businesses, including the public sector.”
To capitalise on this business, it’s important these venues can offer the latest technology to their clients. “Grange Hotels recognises that the conference and events industry is continually evolving and growing,” says group’s sales director Barry Wishart. “Accordingly we have invested in the very latest meeting and conference facilities to ensure we can accommodate a broad spectrum of events, ranging from small meetings to large complex high-profile conferences.”
Grange Hotels provides most facilities in-house and has an experienced technical team on hand to assist with the latest technology in the events industry.
It’s a similar story in Portland. “Everything is in house,” says Coupe. “Our philosophy is to build a loyal and focused team of staff who are highly trained and motivated to ensure our customers receive the highest levels of service. The Portland Spa Conference & Banqueting Centre has been purpose-designed to incorporate high-spec technical audio-visual equipment and staging, and we have technical support on hand should companies need it.”
So are these venues planning to further develop their presence in this market? “Grange Hotels will be opening the Grange St Paul’s Hotel towards the end of 2008, which will provide the very latest in meetings and conference facilities in a key commercial part of London,” says Wishart.
The message is echoed by Wiltshire. “There are currently plans in place to redevelop Silverstone over the next three years, and these plans include a state-of-the-art conference and exhibition centre that will be able us to cater for 4,000-plus delegates, along with an onsite hotel,” he reveals.
Coupe also highlights his expansion plans: “We are adding an 80-bedroom, four-star hotel to the venue in 2008. Building work is underway and we will be unveiling show bedrooms for potential customers to view prior to the hotel opening later in the year.”
Conn’s view is also one of capitalising on the growth in the sector: “We are always looking to develop and grow both our brand and our facilities and will be looking to invest around £200 million over the next four to five years to consolidate our position at the upper end of the four and five-star market,” he explains. “We have recently relaunched our meetings@ product, which includes wi-fi and broadband capacity.”
So for whatever reason, the conference and meetings market is buoyant, but the needs of that market and the call for more technology to support our increasingly hi-tech tastes are far from going unheeded. If your chosen ‘unique’ venue doesn’t have the facility to cope with the latest conference and meetings technology, then there’s probably one just around the corner that does.


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Tired of wandering around the world of Skyrim killing dragons and filling houses with cabbage all by yourself? You won't have to stay lonely for long, as Zenimax Media has announced The Elder Scrolls Online, which will take the franchise in a massively multiplayer direction for the first time, starting in 2013.
Game Informer managed to snag the exclusive reveal of the PC and Macintosh game, which will be featured in the magazine's June issue. The game will reportedly take place "a millennium before the events of Skyrim," and will feature three warring player factions that can quest alone or in groups and engage in player-vs-player combat. The magazine promises more details will be slowly dripped out through trailers, screenshots and interviews with the team behind the game in the coming weeks.
The new MMO will be developed by Zenimax Online Studios, founded back in 2007 under the direction of Matt Firor, a Mythic Entertainment veteran known for his work on Dark Age of Camelot. The Maryland-based studio has yet to release a game, but last year announced it was looking to hire hundreds of people for an Ireland-based customer support center.
"It will be extremely rewarding finally to unveil what we have been developing the last several years," Firor told Game Informer. "The entire team is committed to creating the best MMO ever made—and one that is worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise."


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First comes the fallout at Dash
, and now this. Apparently GPS manufacturers are finally caving to the realization that the vast majority doesn't want yet another monthly fee tacked on in the form of a connected GPS -- particularly when so many of the non-connected navigators work so well. TWICE
has it that Magellan has "suspended development" on its Maestro Elite 5340
with Google Local search, noting that even though it "believes there is great promise in connected navigation, in the near term, consumers have shown an unwillingness to pay a steep price for PNDs, especially with the recent economic downturns." If you'll recall, we actually toyed with this very unit back at CES, and sadly, it seems those hands-on shots
are as close as any citizen outside of the company will ever get to it.


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By any standard, it was an a crazy week for DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) but there was also a large amount of fundraising that caught our attention. We have a lot to cover so let's dive deeper.
In this weeks update:
- ConstitutionDAO to buy a copy of the US Constitution
- Blockchain gaming platform Forte raises $725 millon
- Marathon Digital borrows $500 million to buy Bitcoin
- MetaMask's creator raises $200 million
ConstitutionDAO to buy a copy of the US Constitution
Recently we have been talking mostly about cryptos and NFTs but last week there was significant new related to DAOs.
A DAO was formed to buy one of the US's most important artifacts - one of the first copies of the Constitution printed back in 1787. The historic document is one of only 11 surviving copies and during the last 30 years was part of Goldman's family collection.
Recently Dorothy Tapper Goldman has decided to put the copy up for auction and was going to donate the money received. The document was valued at between $15 million to $20 million.
The interesting idea of buying the US Constitution grew in popularity fast. In less than a week, the DAO raised over $45 million and more than 17,000 people joined there Discord channel.
The auction was scheduled for Thursday and the purchase amount raised just kept climbing. Unfortunately, it seems that the money raised was not enough for the ConstitutionDAO to buy the document.
Later the DAO announced that it will create a governance token and spread it to its contributors in order to vote for future decisions.
All in all, what happened is still a remarkable step forward in the DAO future.
Blockchain gaming platform Forte raised $725 million
It's been a pretty insane year in the NFT space but the hype has impacted blockchain games as well. Last week Forte, an infrastructure company, raised $725 million.
Forte is aimed to help blockchain games with infrastructure such as building wallets where a gaming tokens could be stored and the the company plans to create a "Leisure Economy" where you can earn money while playing crypto games.
Marathon Digital borrows $500 million to buy Bitcoin
To mine Bitcoin is profitable, but apparently not enough for Marathon Digital Holding. Last week the company revealed plans to sell hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of debt and use the funds to buy Bitcoin.
This month the company published its financial results for Q3 2021 and pointed out a 76% increase in revenue from the previous quarter. Despite that phenomenal growth, the company noted that it was hit with an SEC subpoena to its data center in Hardin, Montana.
MetaMask's creator raised $200 million
Another significant fundraising but this time related to Ethereum. The company behind the Ethereum wallet MetaMask raised $200 million. Currently, the application has over 21 million active users, compared to 5 million active users in April. The company is showing 420% user growth up in just seven months and it seems that the number of newcomers are likely to keep growing.
Militsa Dimitrova is a crypto enthusiast with experience in content creation & social media, who produces her own Cryptocurrency Newsletter and Podcast both in English and Bulgarian. She joined FXCM as an Accountant in 2020, after obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of National and World Economy of Sofia.


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Marvel.com Update: Who's to Blame?
[UPDATED WITH PART 3] On Tuesday, Nov. 13, Marvel Comics unveiled the largest collection of comics ever assembled online—Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited. The release generated intense public interest. Traffic to Marvel.com brought the site to a crawl. Now, Marvel allows fans behind the closed doors of that day to reveal what transpired.


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Google Sync for WP7 Now Supports Multiple Calendars
Google today updated Google Sync for Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.5 Mango platform. The most important new feature is support for multiple calendars, which lets users select which of their Google Calendars are synced to their WP7 smartphone. Previously it only supported one calendar. Google Sync for WP7 also now supports sending email from multiple email addresses. Last, Google has improved the search capabilities within its services on WP7 devices. To access these features, WP7 device users need to point their browsers to m.google.com/sync and make the appropriate changes.
Microsoft Redesigns Mobile Outlook App for Android and iOS
Microsoft has released an overhauled build of its Outlook mobile email application for both the Android and iOS platforms. The update targets several specific functions of the app to smooth over performance.
Android Wear App Gains New Design
Google has updated the Android Wear app for smartphones ahead of the Android Wear system update for smartwatches. The smartphone Android Wear app has a brand new design that more closely matches Google's Material Design concepts.
Gmail for Android Gains Microsoft Exchange Support
Google today said the global Android Gmail app is set to add support for Microsoft Exchange. "Whether you're on Google Apps or Exchange, you can use the Gmail app on any Android device to send and receive mail," said Google in a blog post.
Chrome Beta for Android Adds Material Design
Google today delivered a new beta version of its Chrome browser to the Android platform. The chief new feature of the updated app is broader support for Google account sign-in.


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PS5 Reveal Event Will Have 4K Trailers Available After The Show
For its initial PS5 livestream, though, it will be broadcasted in 1080p and 30 frames per second.
After re-announcing the date for its PS5 reveal event, Sony's senior director of content communications, Sid Shuman, confirmed that 4K trailers from the livestream will be available after the show airs.
Shuman, in a reply to a comment on the PlayStation Blog, said that "the majority of trailers will be in 4K on YouTube after the show." This is significant because the livestream itself, which is set for this Thursday at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET, will be broadcasted at 1080p and 30 frames per second. Sony had a reason for this visual downgrade, saying it "eased the show’s production process during a time when many of our team and developers are working from home." The company assured that the games shown off on June 11 will look "even better when you play them on PS5 with a 4K TV, as you'd expect."
It's unclear what Sony intends to unveil during the upcoming livestream, which is presently dubbed "The Future of Gaming." We may see PS5 games from some of Sony's first-party studios, a group of developers the company now calls PlayStation Studios. Apart from this, very little information on what we can expect from the PS5 livestream remains a mystery.
PS5 And PS4 News And Announcements
- PS5 Games Can't Be Played With PS4 Controller, But Here's What Accessories Are Supported
- PlayStation August State Of Play Today: How To Watch, Start Times, And What To Expect
- PS5 Reveal Event: All Games And Console Details Announced
- All The PlayStation 5 Games Confirmed (And Expected) So Far
- PS5 Pre-Order Guide: Retail Listings, DualSense Controller Info, And More
GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All--a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer's hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.
Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email firstname.lastname@example.org


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Our partner required a data-driven solution capable of shoe-size recommendation and with support from PowerGate, we together digitalized the online shoe-trying experience with augmented reality technology. PowerGate team also added AR Footwear Try-on, Mobile foot 3D scan, and Size suggestion function this way, customers can scan their feet by 3D scanning, so they can try on many kinds of shoes virtually and choose which is the most comfortable size for every type of foot.
Moreover, customers can save the shoe information of all members of the family by creating only one account that helps them easily remember other members’ information synchronously on different devices.
As a result, the platform has gained popularity in the fast fashion industry and helped customers to save about 50 percent of their time visiting offline shopping.
March 11, 2019


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PHOENIX — Some people are questioning the legitimacy of one offer that promises a free way to help keep you safe, and another that guarantees easy money.
The free offer involves Hanes working with the state to provide up to five free masks to people aged 65 and over or those who have medical conditions.
It's supposed to take two to four weeks for delivery.
We've heard from some people who say they had to wait a few additional weeks, but eventually received them.
But, Pat emailed saying she gave up. She says she put in a request when the program first came out in July and still has not received the masks.
Pat says she was told a glitch with the state was fixed but "the first people who applied for masks.. were impacted."
Hanes is telling a different story.
In a statement, the company says "most masks are shipped from our warehouse within one day of receiving an order and, to date, the company has fulfilled all orders within this time frame."
HanesBrands has shipped 1.2 million masks to high-risk residents in Arizona. This includes distributions to homeless shelters, assisted-living centers and households with school-age children, among others.
If you ordered a mask and have waited a long time, go to the Hanes help number through the state site and Let Joe Know if you still don't receive them.
Some people are also emailing about another offer having to do with wrapping your car in ads and making money.
Gary says "they send you a check for a car wrap, you take $500 and send the rest to the car wrapper."
Anytime you get a check and are asked to send money back, its a scam. And, this is one where a lot of people have lost a lot of money so stay away from those car wrap texts or emails you may receive.
There are some legitimate car wrap sites where people say they have made money.
Make sure to check out their reputations online before signing up.
The Federal Trade Commission has warned about car wrap scams.


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Here’s me going all Ben Goldacre on you. Today’s Guardian has a report (under the byline of Charles Arthur who is apparently their Technology Editor) that yells “Security leak leaves US Apple iPad owners at risk”. What does it leave them at risk of? Being sent spam. Because all that has actually happened is that AT&T’s servers have been hacked and the email addresses of iPad 3G owners harvested. Nevertheless, Arthur does his best to convince his readers that it is the iPad itself that was targeted:
The news that the 3G version could have been liable to hacking could depress sales of the more profitable version.
The editor in me is coming out in hives over “liable to hacking”, but that’s a minor problem compared to what Arthur is erroneously suggesting here. For a comparison with a responsible and knowledgeable report, here’s Mashable, whose piece also correctly describes the issue as a “security breach” rather than a “security leak”, which suggests an insider job.
Of course there are potential knock-on issues here, as the web addresses that have been harvested could have been used as user names in all sorts of places, but a hacker wanting to make use of this would still need to crack passwords.


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Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.
"Mesquite has generated significant value for New Gold, averaging more than 135,000 ounces of gold per year over the last 10 years since Western Goldfields, a predecessor to New Gold, brought the mine back into production," stated Renaud Adams, CEO of New Gold.
The company said the proceeds will be used to "strengthen the balance sheet and enhance the overall financial flexibility of the company."
RNC Minerals (RNX-T) announced an updated estimate of gold production from the “Father’s Day Vein” discovery at its Beta Hunt Mine.
"It is now estimated that 24,000 ounces of high-grade gold has been produced from development on the 15 level at the Beta Hunt Mine," the company said. It said the 24,000 ounces are worth $38-million.
"The updated estimate includes additional in-process material from the initial discovery area, specimen stones and coarse gold recovered from the expanded development area... and an increase in production over original estimates based on final out-turns received from the Perth Mint. Estimated production from the Father's Day Vein is expected to increase as the remaining material from the expanded development area is processed and development continues to be extended."
Organigram Inc. (OGI-X) said it received approval as a cannabis supplier in Newfoundland and Labrador and has signed a two-year supply and distribution agreement with and Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED-T; CGC-N).
“Organigram will become a key supplier of branded, finished cannabis products to Canopy Growth’s Tweed-branded retail operations in Newfoundland and Labrador once adult recreational cannabis is legalized in Canada on October 17,” the company said.
Echelon Financial Holdings Inc. (EFH-T) says it will “vigorously defend legal proceedings” commenced against the company in Denmark.
It said New Nordic Advisors Limited (NNAL) submitted a statement of claim to the Danish Institute of Arbitration naming the company as a defendant in a proceeding related to the sale of the company's European Operations to New Nordic Odin Guernsey Limited (NNGL).
"The company continues to deny all allegations made against it by NNAL and states that there is no merit to NNAL's claim for €45.8 million in damages," it stated. "The company believes that the litigation is an attempt by NNAL to access funds from the company by means of a settlement to inject into NNAL's financially distressed insurance operations."
The company said "various options could be considered as part of such initiative, taking into consideration the interests of the shareholders, clients and employees of the corporation, while ensuring its sustainability. The board of Directors has formed a special committee to assist management with this undertaking."
TMAC Resources Inc. (TMR-T) says it plans to raise $90-million through a $66.5-million private placement that its largest shareholders have committed to and a further $23.5-million through a concurrent marketed overnight public offering.
The company said certain members of the board and management of TMAC have also committed to approximately $4.7-million of the public offering “and their commitment, together with the private placement is expected to represent approximately 80 per cent of the shares issued under the financing tranches.”
After closing the acquisition of Garaventa Lift, Savaria is now forecasting revenue of $285-million and adjusted EBITDA in a range of $44-million to $45-million for 2018. It also forecasts revenue of $400-million and adjusted EBITDA in a range of $60-million to $62-million in 2019, excluding any new acquisitions.
“Our financial position following the acquisition of Garaventa Lift remains strong, and we are optimistic about the growth of our industry supported by the aging of the population and the need of our products to improve mobility,” said Marcel Bourassa, chairman and CEO of Savaria.
FSD Pharma Inc. (HUGE-CN) says Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. (XLY-T) has made an equity investment into the company at $1 per Class B subordinate voting share for total proceeds of $7.5 million. “Proceeds of the financing will be deployed toward construction of the 220,000 square foot cultivation footprint that FSD and Auxly are jointly developing pursuant to their strategic alliance and streaming agreement previously announced on March 5,” the company stated.
Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. (TVE-T) increased production guidance for 2018 annual, 2018 exit and preliminary 2019 budget by 500 boe/d for each period “with no corresponding change to the capital expenditure forecasts.” Tamarack said its 2018 capital budget remains unchanged from previous guidance at $223-million to $233-million.
Covalon Technologies Ltd. (COV-X) plans to acquire AquaGuard, the Seattle, Washington-based division of medical technologies company Cenorin, LLC. for $16.1-million. AquaGuard’s specialized products provide patients with crucial moisture protection for wound, surgical, and vascular access sites throughout the body while showering, the company said.
"The acquisition would constitute a reverse take-over under Rule 14 of the AIM Rules for Companies and would be subject to Shareholder approval," the company stated.
It said its shares have been suspended from trading on AIM will remain suspended until an AIM admission document has been published or until the company confirms that the acquisition is not proceeding.
Trading in the shares of the company on the TSX Venture Exchange.
Bruce Linton couldn’t have dreamt of a better time to take another cannabis company public. On Thursday, the co-chief executive of industry giant Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED-T) is listing shares of its sister firm Canopy Rivers Inc. on the TSX Venture Exchange amid a trading frenzy in pot stocks that has lifted valuations across the space for weeks. Mr. Linton, who’s also the acting CEO of Rivers, is hoping fans of Growth, whose Canadian shares are up 110 per cent since mid-August, will flood into Rivers.
- Christina Pellegrini