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struck a truce with an activist investor that had been pressuring the telecom giant to revamp its strategy, and said its chief executive will stay at the helm through next year.
Longtime Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
has used big acquisitions of Time Warner and DirecTV to turn the company into a major media provider, a shift that activist Elliott Management Corp. had called into question. He said Monday the company would forgo big takeovers in the coming years as executives focus on improving the bottom line.
“I believe we’re on the threshold of something really remarkable in terms of the next chapter of AT&T’s storied history,” Mr. Stephenson said Monday during a conference call with analysts. “I have every intention of being here,” he said.
The company reported another quarter revealing the challenges of moving beyond its traditional telephone business. Overall, quarterly profit and revenue declined from a year earlier. AT&T’s core cellphone business gained subscribers, but more than one million customers abandoned the company’s DirecTV unit.
Line in the Sand
AT&T set a profit goal for 2022 that would mark a sharp improvement from recent years and Wall Street’s expectations.
Adjusted earnings per share*
Cord-cutting has sapped the satellite-TV provider, putting greater importance on AT&T’s plan for a new streaming service called HBO Max that can compete with
and other new video services. Executives said Monday they plan to spend $2 billion next year to launch the service, which they will unveil on Tuesday.
AT&T’s peace deal with Elliott includes a commitment to heavy stock buybacks and a plan to appoint two new directors to its board. The board, led by Mr. Stephenson, has 13 members. AT&T will nominate the new appointments, who will succeed retiring board members, over the next 18 months.
The company pledged to conduct a review of its portfolio and pay down debt from its 2018 takeover of Time Warner. AT&T also agreed to separate the roles of chairman and CEO when Mr. Stephenson retires.
Elliott, for its part, has no restrictions on its ability to publicly criticize the company in the future. Typically, in a settlement, an activist investor makes commitments as well, such as promising to not wage a proxy fight or keeping out of the public eye in exchange for some of its demands.
The resolution was unusually swift. Elliott released its 23-page letter challenging AT&T’s strategy of building a media conglomerate just seven weeks ago.
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The deal solves problems for both sides. AT&T avoids a distracting fight with Elliott, an aggressive investment fund led by billionaire
Elliott, for its part, might profit from the concessions the company is offering without having to mount a costly proxy battle.
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Shares in AT&T were up 4.8% on Monday morning.
In the third quarter, the Dallas company’s entertainment division shed 1.4 million pay-television customers. The losses included 1.2 million satellite and fiber-optic TV customers and 195,000 subscribers at AT&T TV Now, the online channel bundle once called DirecTV Now.
AT&T’s wireless wing delivered a steadier performance, notching a gain of 101,000 postpaid phone subscribers, a valuable category of customers who pay for service at the end of the billing cycle. A year earlier, the company reported 69,000 net additions of postpaid accounts.
last week posted a third-quarter gain of 444,000 postpaid phone connections.
AT&T reported a profit of $3.7 billion for its latest quarter, down 22% from $4.72 billion a year earlier. Revenue fell 2.5% to $44.6 billion, with declines across business units.
New Street Research analyst
said the quarterly results missed Wall Street projections in almost every category, but the company compensated for that with a profit outlook through 2022 that beat expectations “by a country mile.”
The company’s three-year capital-allocation plan announced Monday would retire all of the debt acquired from its Time Warner purchase. The plan calls for AT&T to spend 50% to 70% of its free cash flow after dividend payments on share buybacks.
As the company looks to divest noncore assets, Mr. Stephenson said during Monday’s call that there “there are no sacred cows.” Regarding DirecTV, he said the struggling satellite-TV business will remain important to AT&T’s strategy, though he added, “we’ll approach it with a fresh set of eyes” and “we’ll evaluate multiple options, including partnerships” and other structures as needed.
AT&T became what its CEO calls a “modern media company” in 2018 through its $80-billion-plus purchase of Time Warner, the owner of Warner Bros. studios, Turner cable channels and HBO. Executives said the deal would help AT&T attract and keep customers by offering them top-tier films and TV shows.
The company has spent the past year developing a new subscription service called HBO Max, an online-only package of content from the premium TV brand as well as Warner Bros. movies and TV-audience favorites such as “Friends.” The company will demonstrate the new service Tuesday at a Burbank, Calif., event after several setbacks that pushed the product’s full commercial launch to this spring.
Mr. Stephenson said the company expects the new service will reach 50 million domestic subscribers within five years.
Its challenge is compounded by rival technology and media companies also plowing billions of dollars into streaming video sites that will get the jump on HBO Max.
will start showing the first TV series produced for its $4.99-a-month TV+ service on Nov. 1.
Walt Disney Co.
will follow Nov. 12 with Disney+, a library packed with popular movies from Marvel, Star Wars and its namesake studio for $6.99 a month.
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Cisco's announcement Monday of a Unified Computing System for data centers quickly sparked a bragging battle about which vendor can perform virtualization better.
The best-known vendors of blade servers, HP and IBM, are expected to be the most directly affected by Cisco's move.
However, Cisco's partners in the UCS venture, including BMC Software Inc., described unique characteristics in the new products, which are expected to hit the market in the second quarter.
"The Cisco hardware platform does things not done by others and [BMC] exploits the functionality of their hardware" to provide management, BMC's CEO, Bob Beauchamp, told Computerworld after the announcement.
Beauchamp said BMC had "every possible kind of relationship" with IBM and HP as "fierce competitors and also partners." As such, he predicted that the BMC relationship with HP and IBM would "kind of remain the same" despite the obvious Cisco attack on their blade servers. "In general, this [Cisco news] is certainly more competitive," Beauchamp said.
But officials at HP reacted quickly to the Cisco announcement, noting they had more than 12 years of experience in shipping servers and virtualization technology for use in data centers.
"To be dead honest, the Cisco news is a bit of a compliment for us, I believe," said Matt Zanner, worldwide director of data center solutions for HP Procurve, the networking division of HP. HP laid out a new open networking concept with a new family of switches in January, which provides "strong validation that we are headed in the right direction as well," Zanner said.
For HP, blade servers had been a more recognized product set at HP than data center switching, some analysts said. So while Cisco is moving from its traditional networking base to include servers with UCS, HP was strengthening its data center switching portfolio, analysts noted.
IDC said in February that HP had 36% of the overall server market and 58% of the x86 server revenues of the blade server market. An HP spokesman said, that "makes HP the No. 1 competitor for any entry into this market."
An IBM spokesman dodged the potential controversy over competition for the blade server market with Cisco, calling it a "common dynamic in our industry ... We'll compete with them for blades and partner with them to build out network infrastructure."

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The $150 Samsung 850 EVO 500GB is a great SSD going for one of its lowest prices ever
Our friends at Thrifter are back again, and it’s time to upgrade your PC’s SSD!
Update: The 250GB version is down to $ 90 from a normal price around $ 105. That’s easily one of its lowest prices ever. Great option if you don’t want to spend more for the extra storage, but the 500GB is still on sale as well.
The Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD is down to $ 149.99 on Amazon. This SSD normally sits above $ 170, and for the last few months has fluctuated between $ 170 and $ 180. The 850 EVO has been around si…
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LIKE hemlines and cocktails, facial features go in and out of fashion, and right now, eyelashes are where it’s at.
Five years ago, we may have wanted a plump, pillowy Angelina Jolie mouth, suffering through stinging lip glosses and shots of collagen for it. But these days the focus has shifted to a fat, feathery eye fringe (ask the Kardashians).
“The goal is drag-queen lashes,” said Amber Katz, 30, a writer who lives in the Flatiron district, describing the look she wants on Saturday nights. “Veering into ‘I sweat glitter’ territory.”
For her, and the rest of us craving disco-ready lashes without using falsies, there is an ever-growing arsenal of tools: over-the-counter lash-enhancing serums, semipermanent mascaras that last up to six weeks and more-traditional formulas that claim to impart tarantulalike spikes.
Latisse, the first federally approved prescription drug for growing longer, lusher lashes, was introduced in 2009, and a wave of similar but less potent over-the-counter serums has followed. There are at least 10, all introduced in the last year, that claim to make lashes look lengthier and fuller, from brands like L’Oréal and Peter Thomas Roth, ranging from $15 to $125.
The products work on the lashes in two ways. First, they contain a molecule similar to the bimatoprost in Latisse, which prolongs the hair growth cycle so that your lashes don’t fall out as often.
“It’s not entirely understood why or how this type of molecule prolongs the growth phase of the cycle, but scientists know that it does,” said Dr. David Colbert, a dermatologist with a practice in the Flatiron district. “And because it does, your eyelashes are in your face longer, so they grow thicker, and there are more of them.”
The over-the-counter serums also purport to strengthen lashes by moisturizing them with ingredients like pro-vitamin B5 and humectants. “It’s really about conditioning and giving the lash T.L.C.,” Dr. Colbert said. “If you moisturize anything, it’s going to look better.”
To be effective, the serums should be applied twice a day to the base of the lashes. Recently, the DuWop Cosmetics co-founder Laura LaRocca and the makeup artist Dawn Watts created the first lash-boosting formula with pigment in it so it can be used as an eyeliner. Called Line N Grow, it comes in black, olive and midnight blue, among other shades. “I thought: You put it on like eyeliner. Why don’t we make it one?” Ms. Watts said. “It was one of those aha moments.”
It won’t stand alone for long. Physicians Formula is introducing a similar product, called Eye Booster 2-in-1-Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum, in March.
But it takes about four to six weeks of twice-a-day use of lash enhancers to see actual growth, and soon after you stop using them, your lashes will revert to their original, sparser state. Established side effects of Latisse include itching, irritation, redness and increased brown pigmentation of the iris; the over-the-counter products, which are not government regulated, are also a gamble.
According to Dr. Colbert, the over-the-counter lash boosters contain a weaker derivative of bimatoprost or a similar molecule. “Most people won’t experience any side effects from the over-the-counter products,” he said, “but I’d never want to go on the record as saying 100 percent of people won’t.” Dr. Colbert tried Line N Grow on his right eye every morning for two weeks and noticed that his lashes looked thicker, but said, “A couple of times it stung a tiny bit, but it went away in seconds.”
Dr. Amy Newburger, the founder of Dermatology Consultants of Westchester, is concerned that these products aren’t undergoing the appropriate scrutiny. “Because they make a cosmetic claim that they ‘appear to lengthen eyelashes’ or ‘enhance looks’ they don’t have to undergo the same testing as drugs,” she said. “But it’s just splitting hairs. I think it’s a very audacious and dishonest thing and it puts the population at some risk.”
A less threatening solution might be LashDip, semipermanent mascara that lasts for up to six weeks. It was created by a makeup artist, Jessica Harley, and a hairstylist, Gina Mondragon, in Chicago. “No-chip nail polish was a huge inspiration for LashDip,” Ms. Harley said. “We thought, How come we can have semipermanent anything now but not mascara?”
Their invention, which is two years old and now available in about 50 salons across the country, is a gel made of black pigment, acetone and stearic acid that’s painted onto the eye fringe. The LashDip application is a three-step process. First, the lashes are cleaned with a sodium-and-aloe soap. Then the gel is daubed on by a cosmetologist or makeup artist to darken and shape the lashes. Finally, it’s dried and sealed with a glycol- and alcohol-based finishing solution. The procedure takes 45 minutes for both the top and bottom lashes and costs about $200.
Courtney Akai, an eyelash extension specialist who owns the Courtney Akai Lash Boutique on Fifth Avenue, was one of the first makeup artists in Manhattan trained to apply LashDip. She heard about the product from one of her extension clients. “As soon as I saw the first demonstration, my heart was racing,” Ms. Akai said. “I just knew this was the missing piece.”
Not everyone sees a reason to toss their wands yet, though. Jenn Falik, who hosts “Beauty BFF” on MSN, prefers regular old mascara to any of the new high-tech options. “I love that ritual of applying black lacquer to my lashes and seeing the difference different formulas can make,” she said. “Adding a lash enhancer would feel like cheating.”
For those like her, there’s the new M.A.C. Haute & Naughty Lash, for $18, with a dual brush that lets you create either defined, combed lashes or thicker, more product-loaded ones, depending on your mood. Ultraflesh Panthera ($26) is made from natural waxes that will keep your lashes soft and has a comb to help give a cat’s-eye look. And Lorac’s Multiplex 3D Lashes ($22), which supposedly triples your lash volume, will be out in the spring.
Of course, by then you may be ready to move on to, say, hot-pink cheeks.


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As the retail real estate industry awaits the fate of General Growth Properties Inc.—will it be dispositions, a wholesale liquidation, a merger or a miraculous recovery-- the uncomfortable question that arises is whether the drawn out credit crisis will claim another victim in the sector. Although General Growth, the second largest mall owner in the U.S., has the largest long-term debt overhang in the sector at $27 billion, the continued illiquidity in the market has made refinancing deals difficult for even the most disciplined REITs.
The good news is that industry analysts insist that General Growth is an anomaly and the rest of the retail REIT universe remains safe. “I don’t see any other REITs heading in the same direction as General Growth and, quite frankly, the problem with General Growth is one of perception,” says Robert McMillan, an industry analyst with New York City-based rating agency Standard & Poor’s. “Credit has definitely become a lot tighter, but they can still get credit. Insurance companies are still lending.”
In fact, despite the credit crunch, many retail REITs have already secured enough loans to resolve outstanding maturities for 2008. The main effect of the credit crunch has been on the type of financing REITs have received. For all intents and purposes the unsecured debt market closed down in April, says Merrie Frankel, vice president and senior credit officer with Moody’s Investors Service, a New York City-based credit rating agency. As a result, most REITs are lining up financing secured by properties.
For example, Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL & Associates Properties Inc., a company some observers raised red flags about because of its debt obligations, announced on Sept. 25 that it had arranged enough new financing to pay down all of its $400 million in debt expiring in 2008. It secured $288 million in new financing and an $85-million term loan. The following week, Santa Monica, Calif.-based Macerich Co. announced that in recent months it had closed three loans and secured commitments for two others for a total of $579 million. Other REITs that secured refinancing deals recently include Glimcher Realty Trust, Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust, Cedar Shopping Centers, Inc. and PREIT.
The lending market, however, is no longer a free-for-all as it was in 2006 and early 2007, says Jennifer Pierson, senior vice president with the Dallas-based retail private client group of CB Richard Ellis. Most of the interest rates CBL and Macerich secured hovered between 6 percent and 7 percent , whereas a year and a half ago, lenders were completing deals in the high 4 percent to mid 5 percent range, Pierson notes. In addition, borrowers should now come to the table ready to accept recourse requirements of up to 50 percent, loan-to-value ratios of no more than 65 percent and debt service coverage ratios of 1.25. As recently as last year, borrowers were able to secure non-recourse loans that featured loan-to-value ratios of more than 75 percent and debt service coverage ratios of 1.05.
“It got really silly,” Pierson says. “Now, lenders are looking at liquidity, they are looking at experience, they are looking at the borrower’s ability to cover the debt service if the income stream from the property doesn’t. They don’t want to make any mistakes now; they have enough on their books.”
That may not detour large public REITs, which for the most part tried to keep their leverage levels low through the most recent acquisition frenzy and have the wherewithal to raise extra cash through stock offerings, according to McMillan, but it’s likely to affect some of the smaller, private players in the sector. REIT executives have told McMillan and other analysts they are getting more and more offers from the private sector for joint ventures and other types of partnerships because the private firms lack the funds to execute their deals.
“There are several companies that have pretty vast exposure to loans coming due and I think they are faced with some pretty difficult circumstances because the vehicles they used to get debt a year or two ago are no longer there to help them refinance,” says Pierson, who declined to cite any names. “We need some kind of CMBS vehicle to get back into the game because it’s difficult to find a lender at this moment.”


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Facebook Marketplace, the social media giant's attempt to compete with sites like Craigslist and Kijiji as an online bartering zone, formalizes what has already been happening on the social site for years. The new section of Facebook is being billed as "a convenient destination to discover, buy and sell items with people in your community," according to the Facebook blog.
The concept of an online community marketplace isn't new, with Craigslist being the first major example, but even Facebook itself has served as a de facto marketplace. There has been buying, selling, and trading in Facebook Groups for years, but the new Facebook Marketplace is designed to make those actions more efficient. The app is searchable, featuring pictures of items right up front, and it allows users to see the approximate location of the seller or buyer and to chat with them, too.
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Bartering Coworking Spaces
Social Media Reward Programs
Bartering Fitness Machines
Beauty Bartering Platforms
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The arrival of COVID-19 is a “black swan,” a rare and near-impossible-to-predict event that has thrown normal life and the industry into chaos. In the middle of such unprecedented disruption, it’s hard enough for the grocery industry to keep up with day-to-day changes in demand, supply and population health data, let alone to think two, five or 10 years down the road. But looking ahead has never been more important.
By looking beyond current events and short-term trends to identify the technological and sociological forces of change that are shaping them, it’s possible to create scenarios around which to paint a post-COVID-19 picture.
For the past decade, online food retailing experienced a major chicken/egg problem: When consumers tried online shopping, the extra costs and often buggy experience indicated that it wasn’t quite ready for prime time. And when grocers looked at consumer demand for online shopping, much of the data told them it wasn’t there, as such, investment in digital grocery infrastructure remained a low priority.
In 2017, FMI, using up-to-the-minute data from Nielsen, projected online grocery would grow from $20 billion to $100 billion in 2025.
A year later, the FMI-Nielsen team moved the projected arrival of the $100 billion mark up to sometime between 2022 and 2024. And then earlier this year, FMI-Nielsen revised the 2025 projection upward to $143 billion. Keep in mind that this latest revision was calculated more than a month before COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders began.
What were the forces of change that drove such a remarkable shift in consumer behavior over such a short period of time? AI-powered delivery logistics and sophisticated software running on ubiquitous mobile computing devices. A torrent of venture capital helped grease the wheels of consumer adoption. Quite simply, the technology finally, and seemingly suddenly, became affordable enough and good enough for Generation X to start using it.
Chicken, meet egg.
Now, back to the black swan. Consumers are on lockdown. Restaurants are closed, offering food for delivery or pickup only. Demand for groceries, particularly shelf-stable products, is surging, up in many places by double or more, year over year. At the same time, as overall national unemployment numbers are soaring, food retailers are racing to hire hundreds of thousands to service an avalanche of online orders for grocery delivery.
While impossible to predict when this pandemic will conclude, we do know that at some point in the future things will get “back to normal”—that is, restaurants will once again be open for dine-in service, and shoppers will be officially cleared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to roam store aisles free without respirator masks or social distancing. At that point, will people snap back to pre-COVID-19 patterns? Or will the crisis extend long enough to establish a new normal?
Those answers depend in large part on how effectively federal and state officials address this health crisis. One silver lining: FMI-Nielsen’s pre-COVID data showed online grocery growing as an upward curve not a straight line. COVID-19 didn’t cause this shift—but it is accelerating it.
That means today’s emergency investment in scaling up to meet COIVD-level demand for online ordering—including click-and-collect and home delivery—won’t go to waste.
Here are three food industry opportunities that COVID-19 will accelerate:
- Center-Store Reset: increased appreciation for shelf-stable foods will outlive COVID-19, but a can is a can. For the center aisles, virtual shelf space replaces in-store shelf space, freeing up square footage for food/culinary experiences in a post-COVID-19 world.
- Increased Local Sourcing: International supply chains are fragile, and consumers want more than ever to support and connect with food producers at home and in their communities.
- Peer-to-Peer Foodservice: Thanks to shelter-in-place measures, millions of Americans are rediscovering their inner Julia Child. At the same time, communities are finding ways to support local food sellers and restaurants. Those networks and mechanisms will accelerate the rise of community-based food operations already taking hold in urban areas.
Those who can lean into the disruption by building their own infrastructure (rather than outsourcing their entire customer base to cloud-based delivery platforms) and experiences will emerge from the crisis strategically strengthened.
Josh McHugh is the CEO of Attention Span Media, a Boston and San Francisco-based strategy consultancy. Contact Josh at email@example.com and follow him on Twitter.


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State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of Molson Coors Brewing Co (NYSE:TAP) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 40,880 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,862 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Molson Coors Brewing were worth $2,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acima Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Molson Coors Brewing in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP bought a new position in shares of Molson Coors Brewing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pinnacle Bank bought a new position in shares of Molson Coors Brewing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Molson Coors Brewing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Molson Coors Brewing by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.
A number of research analysts have recently commented on TAP shares. Citigroup cut their target price on Molson Coors Brewing from $72.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank downgraded Molson Coors Brewing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $72.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $68.00 target price on Molson Coors Brewing and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Molson Coors Brewing from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Molson Coors Brewing in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Molson Coors Brewing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.23.
Molson Coors Brewing (NYSE:TAP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. Molson Coors Brewing had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 8.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Molson Coors Brewing Co will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.
In other Molson Coors Brewing news, CEO Simon Cox sold 9,497 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.69, for a total transaction of $576,372.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
About Molson Coors Brewing
Molson Coors Brewing Company manufactures, markets, and sells beer and other malt beverage products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company sells various products under the Blue Moon, Coors Banquet, Coors Light, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Lite, Hamm's, Icehouse, Keystone, Mickey's, Miller64, Miller High Life, Milwaukee's Best, Olde English, Steel Reserve, Grolsch, Hop Valley, Leinenkugel's, Peroni Nastro Azurro, Pilsner Urquell, Revolver, Saint Archer, Sol, Terrapin, Crispin, Smith & Forge, Arnold Palmer Spiked, Henry's Hard, Redd's, and Steel Reserve Alloy Series brands.
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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TAP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Molson Coors Brewing Co (NYSE:TAP).
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Kuwaiti Vehicles Market in the 2018 is positive with Year to Date September figures at 78.509 (+6.1%) and a stable outlook. The economy is recovering thanks to oil price over 50% increase, while VAT introduction in the next January should froze demand.
Kuwait’s economy grew 1.9% year-on-year in Q2, rebounding from a revised contraction in Q1 thanks to the non-oil sector as the oil sector declined despite higher oil prices. In July–August, the country raised oil production ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iran effective 4 November, boding well for the performance of the oil sector in Q3. To attract more foreign capital and improve the investment environment, the government continues to modernize the country’s stock exchange, with Boursa Kuwait recently being included in the FTSE emerging-market index.
The economy should grow this year and next, thanks to higher oil prices and production. An infrastructure investment push will likely buttress the economy further. However, slow diversification progress could drag on long-term prospects.
Kuwait vehicles market hit the all-time record in the 2014 with 162.719 sales ending a long positive path. Then, the sudden economic crisis generated by the fall of oil price hit the sector with sales declined for three consecutive years. according to data reported by the Kuwaiti Authority for Transportation in the 2017 light vehicles sales have been 106.913, down 7.8% from the previous year.
In the 2018 the market is recovering moderately with Year to Date September figures at 78.509 (+6.1%).
|Market||September Sales||Sales Q3||Sales 2018 YTD||Variation September||Variation Q3||Variation 2018|
Brand-wise, the leader Toyota sold 21.795 units (+12.4%) dominating the market with 27.8% of market share.
In second place Mitsubishi with 7.566 (+3.2%) followed by Nissan with 7.315 (+1.7%), Chevrolet with 5.977 (+3.8%) and Kia with 5.711 (-1.8%).
Research, Consulting, Data & Forecast
F2M covers intensively this market with several products developed to help any investigation required. Market Researches in PDF are immediately available for download with study on the market since 2005 and with forecast up to the 2025. AutoData in EXCEL are immediately downloadable with annual sales volume, split by month, for all brands and all models distributed in the market. This year data are released year to date, but you will receive a monthly update until the year-end. See details within Kuwait Store.


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Capcom has released a new trailer of the high-definition version of Resident Evil: Revelations showing off the game’s Wii U-specific features.
On Wii U, players can play using both the GamePad and TV screen, with the GamePad acting as a UI and as a means to interact with the environment; play on the TV alone; or play on the GamePad alone. Players can also give enemies voices and speak from the grave via MiiVerse.
Watch the trailer below. The game is due out for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PC on May 21.


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Dec 23, 2015
On this episode we discuss exciting VR Developments, Google/Ford Autonomous Cars and Star Wars success (no spoilers).
In the opening weekend alone, it is estimated that Star Wars generated over $529 million in revenue, breaking the previous record by Jurassic World. With their $350 million advertising budget, it is everywhere and it seems like Disney is definitely getting their money's worth.
Google has been breaking, or "leaking", a lot of news, lately. This is could be a smart move to get ahead of the CES news cycle. Sources are saying that Ford and Google may partner up for a new line of self-driving cars.
Self-driving cars are definitely coming to market at some point. The real questions revolve around whether it will be something you would buy and how the regulations work. While we're in the very early stages of this new tech, we discuss what the end result could actually look like for the consumer.
Google has already made it clear that they would like to take on Uber and Lyft, most likely with an autonomous taxi service. Could we soon have robot taxi drivers, ala Total Recall?
Virtual Reality is most certainly going to be one of the biggest, if not THE biggest story at CES this year. There are a lot of companies, other than Oculus, jumping into the market. Could it become over saturated, or watered down? We discuss this and go in depth regarding what VR content is available now and what the future of it might look like.
MIT has announced that you may soon be able to have your own superhero powers! Well...not exactly, but they have created a way to use wireless signals to see through walls. X-Ray vision is something claim to bringing to the consumer market in 2017. No way that this tech could be abused, is there?
Today's episode features Matt Smith, Dan Gaul, Caleb Denison and Greg Nibler.
Please subscribe and share Trends with Benefits, visit digitaltrends.com and send in YOUR questions to email@example.com. We also broadcast the show live on Periscope.


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Ketera Technologies: Slow Starter?By Baselinemag | Posted 2006-01-14 Print
Ketera Technologies customers like its easy-to-use applications and hosted model, but some say its services took longer than promised to set up.
Ketera Technologies has won customers with a relatively low-cost hosted software model and an emphasis on easy-to-use, Web-based applications. But some say the company has delivered subpar service: At least two customers complain that Ketera took twice as long as promised to complete its setup.
Khalid Baig, senior manager of strategy and planning in Toshiba's purchasing office, uses Ketera's Spend Analysis software to get a handle on spending across 15,000 suppliers used by the company's nine U.S. divisions. However, when Ketera loaded six months of Toshiba's spending data into its system, the process took six weeks, whereas Baig says Ketera's sales team told him it would take two or three. Ketera also has been slow to respond to requests for technical support, according to Baig. "They don't always get back to us in a timely way," he says.
Meanwhile, Ketera's initial setup for Newmont Mining, a gold producer based in Denver, also took twice as long as the company expected. Cayce Rivers, Newmont's manager of supply-chain management enablement, says it took Ketera four months to sort through 1 million purchase transactions totaling $3 billion, instead of the two months he expected.
"They didn't understand the complexity of our data," Rivers says. He adds, though, that Ketera's Spend Analysis tool provides a "robust and easy-to-use interface" that has allowed Newmont employees to run spending-analysis reports themselves instead of funneling requests to the information-technology department.
In response to customer concerns, Ketera CEO Steve Savignano says that with respect to its Spend Analysis service, "the first time you look at an industry, like mining, you have to spend time" adjusting the application manually to categorize data. But once that has been done, he says, subsequent runs are much quicker.
And to be sure, other customers say Ketera works hard to please and delivers fully on its promises. "It's a small company, but a growing companyone that's attentive and responsive to feedback," says Kulvir Gill, manager of supply-chain enablement for Barrick Gold, a Toronto-based gold mining company.
Gill says Ketera's pricing for its Spend Analysis service over three years worked out to be 50% less than proposals from vendors selling similar software: "At the end of the day, Ketera was the best value."
Revenue, 2004: Less than $10M (Baseline est.)
Revenue growth claimed: 100% from 2004 to '05
Total funding to date: $30M
Major investors: American Express, Foundation Capital, Integral Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
No. of customers reported: 70
No. of users reported: More than 80,000
Santa Clara, Calif. (headquarters); Bangalore, India
Financial Services: Capital One Financial, GMAC Commercial Mortgage
Food Service: HMSHost
Transportation: CNF, Delta Air Lines, UAL
Manufacturing: BASF, Cabot Microelectronics, Maytag, Toshiba
Media: Acxiom, The Washington Post Co.
American Express, IBM, Salesforce.com
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The European Central Bank is holding a meeting on April 22 at 14:45 MT time. What to watch?
The Bank of Canada (BOC) will publish the rate statement and the update on the interest rate on April 21, at 17:00 MT time.
Read the daily news and get the fresh tech analysis of EUR/USD, USD/JPY, and gold!
In this article, you'll find the list of the hottest stocks to trade on April 19-23, which will publish their earnings!
While Citigroup reports better-than-expected quarterly data, it is also aims at restructuring its global presence. What will be the impact?
What's moving markets on Friday? What is the hottest news? Let's find out!
Three more corporations reported their earnings today. While the US session is still closed, let's see the data - it's pretty strong!
What's moving markets on Thursday? Jump in and you'll get the full market wrap!
US retail sales will be out on Thursday, April 15, at 15:30 MT. It is a significant release for traders as it will impact the US dollar.
As the earnings season kicks in, JPMorgan is the first to impress us with the better-than-expected data!
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will hold a meeting on Wednesday, April 14, at 05:00 MT.
Coinbase Global Inc., the leading cryptocurrency exchange in the US, will go public on the Nasdaq index on April 14!


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Wizrom Group has announced a consolidated turnover of 6.9 million euro for 2014, up 11% yoy, amid the expansion of the ERP clients’ portfolio, especially on the manufacturing segment.
“Last year we’ve seen the revival of the companies’ confidence in the evolution of the economy and of their appetite in investing in ERP solutions, as in 2012 and 2013, the years after the economic crisis, they have preferred optimization solutions. The ERP segment posted last a two-digit growth rate”, Adrian Bodomoiu, General Manager Wizrom, said.
Wizrom ended 2014 with 3,900 clients, of who over 500 are ERP clients, which are also using other solutions from Wizrom: WizSalary, WizOne, Aski SFA, WMS, logistics and delivery optimization solutions, planning and budgeting, BI, etc.
The weight of the ERP implementations in Wizrom’s turnover has increased with 17% last year, followed by the WMS solution, with 12%.
“In 2014 we’ve harvested the outcome of the communication efforts in the previous years, as 90% of the new clients have proactively contacted us. I am noticing the same trend for the beginning of this year, and it’s a very good indication that Wizrom is a well known and respected brand in the business environment”, Adrian Bodomoiu explained.
Wizrom forecasts a similar 2015 – similar to 2014, this year will belong to ERP solutions, amid two complementary trends: on one hand there are many companies which grew in the last years and need to migrate to solutions more complex and faster to roll out, and on the other, there are new companies entered in Romania which are looking for software and services support.


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Catena Media released its latest report, revealing data regarding the company’s financial performance between January and March this year. In Q1, 2023, the company reported total revenue of €35 million ($37.9 million). This result, when compared to the €36.9 million ($40 million) result from the corresponding period in 2022, marked a decrease of 5%.
Adjusted EBITDA for the company’s continuing operations decreased as well. For the first quarter of this year, adjusted EBITDA halted at €20.5 million ($22.2 million), down by 7% when compared to the €22.1 million ($23.9 million) result from the first quarter of last year. Between January and March this year, the adjusted EBITDA margin decreased slightly to 59%, confirmed the company on Wednesday.
Keeping in mind the decrease in revenue, Catena reported a decline in its new depositing customers. In Q1, 2023, new depositing customers (NDCs) from the company’s continuing operations marked a decrease of 3% to 113,294. In contrast, for the same period last year, NDCs hit 117,286.
“I am pleased to report a satisfactory start to the year for Catena Media.“
Michael Daly CEO at Catena Media
Michael Daly, Catena’s CEO, said that the company has seen a good start to the year. He spoke about the “addition of Ohio and Massachusetts as new online sports betting states,” which helped deliver additional revenue, powering the company’s North American affiliation business segment for the first quarter.
Focusing on the revenue, Daly explained that the slight decrease wasn’t unexpected. Catena’s CEO pointed out: “year-on-year group revenue decreased slightly due to challenging comparatives created by the record-breaking launch of online sports betting in New York in Q1 2022 and the go-live in Louisiana in the same quarter.”
Q1 2023 Marks a Busy Period for Catena
In its recent trading update, Catena highlighted multiple activities during the first quarter of 2023. The company reported strong engagement from players within the sports betting market in Ohio, which launched at the start of the year.
Additionally, Catena acknowledged the strong results from the Super Bowl in February, as well as the launch of sports wagering in Massachusetts in March. The company also confirmed it has seen “positive revenue contributions from the media partnership with NJ.com.”
Daly predicted lags in the launches of sports wagering in more states by the end of the year and in 2024, primarily due to the US federal election cycle. Finally, he said Catena expects to see the growth of sports wagering resume and accelerate along with the new legislative cycle in 2025.


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FED TAPERS, CHANGES CRITERIA FOR A RATE HIKE
Last week, the Federal Reserve disclosed another $10 billion cut for QE3 in April, and a view that declining unemployment would not necessarily prompt interest rate increases. Rather than peg rate hikes on the jobless rate dipping below 6.5%, the Fed will give greater weight to inflation and other economic factors; it sees the federal funds rate at 1% by the end of 2015 and 2% by the end of 2016. Wall Street was startled Thursday by Fed chair Janet Yellen’s verbal guesstimate that the central bank might raise rates about 6 months after the presumed late-2014 end of QE3 (about 6 months earlier than many analysts presume). IHS Global Insight economist Paul Edelstein echoed the prevalent opinion, saying “this could have been a rookie gaffe on Yellen’s part.”
DID COLD WEATHER COOL HOME SALES?
The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell 0.4% in February, leading to the slowest annualized sales pace since June 2012. The median sale price was $189,000, up 9.1% year-over-year. Census Bureau data showed a 7.7% rise in building permits in February, but groundbreaking decreased 0.2% last month.
A MINIMAL UPTICK IN CONSUMER PRICES
February saw the Consumer Price Index rise just 0.1% for the second straight month. The core CPI (minus food and energy prices) advanced 0.1% for the third consecutive month. In the past year, the headline CPI is up only 1.1% and the core CPI only 1.6%.
STOCKS TURN NORTH
A 1.37% weekly gain brought the S&P 500 to a close of 1,866.52 Friday. The Dow rose 1.48% on the week to settle Friday at 16,302.77, and the Nasdaq managed an 0.74% advance for the week to 4,276.79.
THIS WEEK: Wall Street will watch private-sector PMIs for China, Germany and the eurozone Monday. Tuesday offers data on February new home sales, the Conference Board’s March consumer confidence index, January’s S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, January’s FHFA housing price index and earnings from Walgreen’s. On Wednesday, the Commerce Department releases a report on February hard goods orders. Thursday brings NAR’s pending home sales report for February, the final government estimate of Q4 GDP, the latest initial jobless claims numbers and earnings from Lululemon, Red Hat, RE/MAX and Accenture. Friday offers the February consumer spending report, the final March consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan, and Q4 results from BlackBerry.
About the Independent Financial Advisor
Robert Pagliarini, PhD, CFP®, EA has helped clients across the United States manage, grow, and preserve their wealth for the past 25 years. His goal is to provide comprehensive financial, investment, and tax advice in a way that was honest and ethical. In addition, he is a CFP® Board Ambassador, one of only 50 in the country, and a real fiduciary. In his spare time, he writes personal finance books, finance articles for Forbes and develops email and video financial courses to help educate others. With decades of experience as a financial advisor, the media often calls on him for his expertise. Contact Robert today to learn more about his financial planning services.


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This new Xbox PC app feature makes it easy to see if games run well on your computer.
Microsoft has begun testing casual games on Microsoft Teams. We're unsure if this will hurt or help productivity.
The Follina zero-day in Microsoft Office is quite dangerous but fortunately Microsoft has a workaround as we wait for an official patch.
Microsoft is opening Windows 11 Widgets up to developers later this year. That's potentially very good news for Windows 11 users.
The latest Windows 11 patch is causing certain apps to crash or fail to launch. In this article we show you how to uninstall the pesky update.
A fake Windows 11 download page is infecting PCs with malware. Here's what you need to know and how you can avoid it.
Microsoft is taking steps to better integrate its OneDrive cloud storage with Windows 11’s File Explorer. Here's how it can make your work life easier.
If you were looking forward to an update that lets you move the taskbar in Windows 11, then we have some bad news for you.
Windows 11 has arrived and it's a big upgrade. Here are the biggest changes to expect when you upgrade from Windows 10.
The Windows 11 File Explorer is getting some welcome improvements, including tabs, favorites and a homepage.
Windows 11 initially enjoyed a high adoption rate but it seems excitement for Microsoft's latest operating system has tapered off, according to new figures.
Windows 11 has some known issues at launch. Here's a rundown of the most common we've seen, and what to do about them.
Windows 11 system requirements not onerous enough? Soon the software may nag you about them with a watermark on your desktop.
Microsoft is making its DirectStorage API available to developers, bringing Xbox Series X's fast game loading to Windows.
The latest Windows 11 preview build includes a highly-requested upgrade to make File Explorer easier to navigate.
ARM laptops have historically left much to be desired but that may change with the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3-powered Lenovo ThinkPad X13s — here's why.
Windows 11 users are experiencing some technical issues in the wake of a recent update, but one big Start menu "bug" may be a design change.
Windows' data-wiping tool apparently doesn't work as advertised, and often leaves behind personal data after wiping a system and reinstalling Windows.
An upcoming Windows 11 update will eliminate the loophole that allowed Windows 11 Pro users to install the operating system without logging into a Microsoft account.
The latest Windows 11 preview build introduces an Xbox Series X feature that will improve PC gaming.
Microsoft will soon make it harder for end users to enable macros in Office files downloaded from the internet, which should have a huge effect on computer security.


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Published on December 11th, 2023 | by Adrian Gunning
SEGA Dives Into its Legacy for New IP Initiative
SEGA of America has unveiled an initiative to produce brand new titles from the publisher’s treasure trove of beloved IP. New games are currently in development for five of the company’s legacy franchises: Crazy Taxi, Golden Axe, Jet Set Radio, Shinobi and Streets of Rage – all reimagined for modern audiences.
“In recent years, Sonic the Hedgehog has forged new paths for SEGA, bringing the franchise to life and reaching new audiences in ways we had only dreamed of in the past. Building off that success, we are digging into our legacy and reimagining several franchises to bring these games to more audiences around the globe,” says Co-COO of SEGA Corporation and CEO of SEGA of America, Shuji Utsumi. “Today’s announcement is just the start of our initiative. First and foremost, our ambition will be to create great games with memorable characters and worlds. We hope fans of all ages will look towards our future with anticipation as we release these projects in the coming years.”
The upcoming projects, spanning a range of genres, are currently in different stages of development and will release over the next several years. The first of these games will be based on the following legacy franchises:
- Crazy Taxi franchise – A whacky, high-octane driving adventure series where players must weave through traffic in an open play environment to deliver passengers to their destinations before time runs out.
- Golden Axe franchise – A “hack and slash”-style series with close melee combat set in a fantasy world of beasts, swords, and magic.
- Jet Set Radio franchise – This franchise combines action-packed traversal around vibrant Tokyo-to with skating, and self-expression through graffiti, street culture and rebellious themes.
- Shinobi franchise – A series that utilizes ninja shuriken, ninjutsu, special attacks and more to defeat enemies in a mix of side-scrolling action and challenging environments.
- Streets of Rage franchise – A “beat ’em up”-style series that pairs fast-paced fist fighting with fresh music set in a lawless urban environment.
More details on each of these upcoming games, including official game titles, release dates and platforms, will be shared in the future. To stay in the loop, fans can visit nextlevel.sega.com to sign up and receive all the latest updates on these SEGA projects and more.


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Irish dairy outputs are set to continue to increase in the coming years, though at a slower pace than in the past decade, according to the 2016-17 Annual Review and Outlook by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). By: Joe Dermody
The latest DAFM review, launched by Agriculture Minister Michael Creed, predicts that Irish dairy outputs will increase modestly in the coming years, taking account of targets to reduce carbon emissions. A likely rise in global demand will help offset the effects of specific issues such as Brexit and price volatility, the review predicts.
While EU dairy outputs have increased steadily since the abolition of milk quota restrictions in April 2015, the European Commission is now anticipating a more moderate rise in overall EU milk production during the next decade when compared to recent years.
The department’s outlook report states: “The longer term expectation is for the EU to become the world’s top exporter of dairy products by 2026 — just ahead of New Zealand. However, despite the expected strong increase in exports, by 2026 more than 85 % of EU milk and dairy products will be consumed within the EU.
“The [global] decrease in fresh milk consumption is expected to continue, but the use of cheese and butter by households and for processing is expected to increase further, which — together with expected population growth — would support consumption.”
The report notes that environmental constraints will also play role in the future, limiting production development in certain areas of Europe and globally. The EU Commission’s prediction of a modest rise in dairy outputs balances global environmental concerns with an anticipated sustained increase in world demand for dairy.
The DAFM review also notes that world dairy markets have been subject to acute volatility in the recent past, as the introduction of the Russian import ban and the sharp decrease in Chinese purchases coincided with imbalances in world supply and demand.
“Further short-term imbalances between global supply and demand cannot be excluded and could contribute to price volatility, as observed in the EU since 2007,” the review notes.
“After more than 30 years in a production quota environment, market fundamentals will the main drivers of EU supply developments.”
The decrease in fresh milk consumption is expected to continue, but the use of cheese and butter by households and for processing is expected to increase further, which, together with expected population growth, would support consumption.
Mr Creed is confident the data in the DAFM’s Annual Review and Outlook will inform policy analysis and debate over the next year.
“This very useful publication brings together information and statistics on a variety of key topics which impact on the agri-food sector,” he said.
Agri-food is Ireland’s largest indigenous industry and continues to play a crucial role in Ireland’s economy, with a turnover of €26bn, contributing 7.6% of GDP and generating 10.3% of all exports in 2016.
The value of exports increased by about 2% in 2016 to reach €12.2bn, marking growth of over 56% since 2009. The sector also makes a huge contribution to employment, particularly in rural areas, accounting for 8.6% of total employment.
Source: Irish Examiner


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It exempted smartwatches from Apple and Fitbit and other consumer products such as bicycle helmets and baby car seats.
The?Audi?e-tron midsize SUV will be offered in the United States next year at a starting price of $75,795 before a $7,500 tax credit.
Yields on U.S. government securities and consumer prices overall have been moving higher, although they remain relatively moderate.
Apple's newest mobile operations system, iOS 12, rolls out Monday to compatible iPhone and iPad devices.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley accused Russia on Monday of “cheating” on U.N. sanctions on North Korea and said Washington has “evidence of consistent and wide-ranging Russian violations.”
The king of online commerce enters the business-to-business variety.
A second trial between Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. before the U.S. International Trade Commission began Monday in Washington, D.C., with the iPhone maker squaring off against the world’s biggest mobile chipmaker over whether Apple should be banned from importing several recent iPhone models to the United States.
The federal government has set aside $22.2 million to develop and co-ordinate sanctions while educating Canadians about their obligations. Where to start is the first question.
It is thought that it doesn't help much to cut official interest rates toward or beyond zero, and maybe it doesn't, but new research suggests the answer has a lot to do with the housing market.
A Lex Machina report found securities lawsuits filed over cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, have risen sharply in 2018 as SEC announced a crackdown on the industry.
The United Kingdom is due to leave the EU on March 29 and yet, there is no full exit agreement and some rebels in May's Conservative Party have threatened to vote down a deal if she clinches one.


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Supermarket Sweep – How the big 4 are losing out at the checkout
The 2014 BrandIndex buzz score rankings have recently been announced by YouGov, and budget supermarkets Aldi & Lidl have dominated it.
These results will prove a big blow to the UK big four (Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrison) who don’t even feature in the top 10, showing that consumers are rapidly losing confidence and loyalty in the big brands that have dominated for decades.
These results also indicate that consumers are more happy to spend time shopping around for the best offers, and not necessarily the premium brands, with high profile marketing campaigns combined with good value, low cost produce proving this trend over the Christmas period.
The recent misfortune for brands such as Tesco with recent negative press such as the horse meat scandal and discrepancies in it’s finances seems to have damaged trust and brand loyalty with it’s customers, showing that perhaps it’s time for them to rethink their own brand image. Maybe ‘every little helps’ is no longer relevant, having recently been adopted by Lidl in their ‘every Lidl helps’ campaign to great effect!


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AT&T-DIRECTV IS ABOUT TO DROP UP TO 23 VIACOM CHANNELS
Viacom has made many offers to AT&T-DIRECTV that would:
– Keep these channels on the air
– Enable AT&T-DIRECTV to lower customer bills now
– Give consumers more choice
Rather than work on their customers’ behalf, AT&T-DIRECTV continues to raise prices while taking away channels.
Call 888-250-5557 now to stop AT&T-DIRECTV.
AT&T-DIRECTV IS RAISING PRICES WHILE REMOVING CHANNELS
READ ABOUT THIS AND MORE IN THE NEWS
AT&T-DIRECTV CUSTOMERS WANT THEIR CHANNELS
SEE WHAT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE SAYING
DON'T MISS HENRY DANGER ON NICKELODEON
SEE OTHER SHOWS AT&T-DIRECTV WON’T LET YOU WATCH


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The best way to start on an anti-aging routine is in your teens — roughly as young as you can go. So, is being 30 or 50 too late? There’s no better time than now than to hit up your lifestyle and your skin care routine to get the best skin (and the ... ( read ...
According to the report, global anti-aging market was valued at USD 140.3 billion in 2015, is expected to reach USD 216.52 billion in 2021 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% between 2016 and 2021. Sarasota, FL, June 05, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE ... ( read original story ...)
There are a few rules to abide by to ensure you get bang for your buck. For starters, the label should always say “non-comedogenic,” which means it won’t clog pores. “The worst culprit is silicone for those that are acne-prone,” says Dr. Julia ... ( read original story ...)
Restoring the younger looks and thereby finding solutions against signs of aging has been a mission for cosmetologists and health care professionals for centuries. As a result, market for anti-aging products is experiencing continuous growth since decades. ( read original story ...)
Welcome to 2017, a time in which eight billion anti-aging products currently line the shelves of every beauty aisle in the world, promising to magically erase any and all signs of wrinkles and fine lines from your face. But let us also welcome you to ... ( read original story ...)
Aging is inevitable for living organisms and part of the course of life. With modern medicine life expectancy can be extended and there are various ‘tricks’ to give the appearance of not aging. But is true slowing down of aging possible? The fountain ... ( read original story ...)


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The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will be relaunched in India early next month – October 7 to be precise, according to a recent report out of the country. Interestingly, the new iPhones will also go on sale in India on the same day.
As we already seen, Recall was made official in India back in August, and was supposed to go on sale in the country on September 2, the day the South Korean company issued a global recall for the phablet over battery fire hazard.
The Galaxy Note7 stock that will go on sale in India will be newly-manufactured, the report notes. This means that there won’t be any refurbished versions of the handsets that were earlier manufactured.
Moving to specifications, Samsung note 7 features a 5.7 inches 1440*2560 pixels display. It has 64 GB of inbuilt storage coupled with 4 GB of RAM. The device packs a 3500 mAh battery under the hood and powered by Exynos 8890 processor paired with Mali-T880 MP12 GPU. As far as camera is concerned, it has 12 MP f/1.7, 26mm, phase detection autofocus, with OIS rear shooter along with 5 MP front facing camera.
For pricing, it was launched at Rs. 59,990 back in September and the price will remain same this time as well. Samsung already started shipping new Note 7 devices in US and starting to ship other parts of the world. Though, Note 7 already damaged Samsung’s fame badly.


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While Apple claims manufacturers copied its iPad design, Samsung alleged it was already done in 2001... er, 1968.
Read More »
Shantanu Narayen disclosed in an interview that the iPad will fall just like the iPhone.
17-year-old boy in Anhui Province regrets selling an organ for a shiny Apple tablet.
Awful device has awful unveiling.


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Operators will be able to rent TurboChef ovens from £55 a week and combi ovens from £61 under a new rental scheme introduced today by Lincat and Middleby UK.
The company is aiming to appeal to users that are facing cash constraints coming out of Covid or having to utilise capital elsewhere in the current climate.
The rental scheme is operated in partnership with Instant Equipment Rental (IER) and will be available through both Lincat and Middleby UK’s distribution partners.
Although equipment rental is not necessarily an area that either business is known for, Lincat sales and marketing director Paul Godfrey said it would provide new businesses or those looking to expand rapidly with access to the latest equipment without capital outlay.
He explained: “The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the foodservice industry hard. We realised one way to help our distribution partners to grow their businesses is by enabling them to reach a market that does not normally have access to our products due to cost barriers or where they are serving operators looking to utilise their capital elsewhere.
“We were keen to work with a company who share our ethos of being easy to do business with and IER are the perfect fit. When a partner receives an enquiry from a potential customer, they can access the IER online rental calculator to obtain an instant rental estimation. If the customer wishes to proceed, the partner will be advised within the hour of IER’s finance decision.”
Contracts are available for periods of between one and five years, and can include emergency breakdown cover and preventative maintenance.
Rental prices for a Lincat Combi are from £61 per week while an Opus fryer costs £30 per week. Users can get a Turbochef Eco from £55 per week and a Concordia coffee machine from £149 per week.
Kirstie Lassallette Desnault, group head of Instant Equipment Rental (IER), said: “We are delighted with the fantastic response we have received to the rental scheme from Lincat and Middleby UK’s distribution partners, we are already gaining real traction.
“The extensive product training our team has received from Lincat and Middleby UK has proved invaluable in supporting the distribution partners and their customers. It is exciting times for all parties.”


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By Siya Ncube
Gokwe’s white gold hub status is currently under siege due to growing sentiments by residents from the area who are threatening to abandon growing the crop.
Cotton production in Gokwe dates back from the 1950s and 1960s under white minority rule.
Prosperity in cotton production is one of the reasons why some of the people migrated from areas such as Masvingo, Mvuma, into the area.
However, cotton producer prices have made it difficult for the farmers to sustain interest in its production.
Currently the price is pegged at USD$0.34 cents per kg.
“The current prices makes cotton farming a joke. We venture into farming to make money, but the current model makes it difficult for us to realise any profit”, said Chipo Hungwe a farmer in ward 4, under Chief Nenyunka.
“Our problems have been compounded by the fact that cotton companies such as Cottco are yet to pay us cotton delivered during 2019/2020 farming season, making it difficult for us to continue with the cotton project,” revealed Dambudzo Muzira, a farmer from Gokwe North.
Poor remuneration can be attributed to the fact that Cottco is the only buyer in the area. This monopoly has resulted in the government aligned company abusing its privilege.
A number of shopping centres such as Chitekete, Chiutsi developed from cotton proceeds in the 1990s. In addition Gokwe town is indebted to cotton production in the area.
However, farmers indicated that they are now abandoning ‘white gold’ for other crops such as maize, groundnuts and small grains.
Cotton is labour intensive. A lot of work is involved from growing, weeding as well as spraying insects.
“It’s not easy to carry a 15 litre spray at the back and in the process chemicals such as lampida, fenkill cause irritation on our skins and have life threatening effects”.
Majority of cotton farmers complained that pesticides which they use expose their lives to risks such as inhaling problems.
Due to poor remuneration. Parents struggle to pay school fees for their children.
However, some argue that the poor cotton prices have saved the community from cotton triggered suicides.
“In the past some men would spend money from cotton proceeds with their girlfriends whilst neglecting families who provided labour.
“A number of women took their lives due to such disputes. At least we now have peace in the area,” said one of the villagers.


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Bank of America's recent decision to back down on new checking fees next year is further proof debit card swipe fee reform has resulted in greater marketplace competition benefitting consumers.
It also demonstrates that bank charges to customers have nothing to do with bank charges to merchants, despite the banking industry's repeated assertion that debit reform -- also known as the Durbin Amendment -- is to blame for recent hikes in checking, overdraft and other customers' fees by some banks.
Wisely, Bank of America is searching for other ways to make more money through new offerings, like mobile banking, and other services for higher-income customers. Listen to its CEO Brian Moynihan during a recent CNBC interview:
"So, a lot of the fee stuff that we talked about for years is overdraft fees and the interchange (swipe) fees, and even the Card Act ... that's been out of our P&L for over a year. So literally, quarter by quarter, the fees are stable and growing. One of the areas we've invested a lot is mobile banking. And why mobile banking? It's because what that allows the customer to do is have a much more intimate relationship with us in much more real time."
Suddenly, the CEO of one of the largest U.S. banks is talking about developing a warm and fuzzy relationship with his customers, instead of blaming fee hikes on Congress. This from the bank that drew consumer outrage when it tried to force a $5 fee on debit cards in 2011.
Could it be this change of attitude results, in part, from debit reform providing a more level playing field where smaller banks and credit unions can compete with the nation's largest banks? Debit reform limited the amount of fees that the largest 100 banks could charge through centralized price-setting and pushed them to compete on price instead.
In 2011, during the height of the debate prior to passage of debit reform, BofA said they had considered higher fees on checking, overdraft and debit card use in the past but had never figured out how to "message" it to customers. In other words, the bank couldn't blame anyone else for fee hikes. Debit reform became a scapegoat, until the marketplace proved otherwise and made it clear bank fees have nothing to do with debit reform and consumers are reaping the benefits in lower prices and improved services.
Consider these findings: Data compiled by Money-Rates.com and Bankrate.com uncovered a much different story. Big banks -- the only banks impacted by debit reform -- have not raised their checking fees as much as small-sized banks that were exempted from the reductions in debit card swipe fees. So this means the banks making less from debit card use have been less likely to increase their checking fees as the banks making more from debit cards. What's going on?
The truth is, checking fees are set by competitive market dynamics, while swipe fees on debit cards haven't been. The fees were decided by Visa and MasterCard and every bank that belonged to one or the other charged the same thing - that looks just like price-fixing in every other part of the economy. The fact that swipe fees tripled over the past decade didn't prevent banks from increasing checking fees at the same time. Fluctuations in checking fees and other banking fees since debit reform are fundamentally the same as what was happening in the consumer banking market before the reforms were enacted with checking fees going up at the same or a lesser rate.
The bottom line is banks save money when their customers use debit cards. That's why banks came up with debit in the first place. The cards save the banks from handling paper checks or having tellers handle withdrawal slips. Those methods are much more expensive for banks than debit cards. And, according to the Federal Reserve's own survey data, it costs banks an average of $0.04 to process a debit transaction. After debit swipe reform, big banks could still charge merchants more than $0.21 per transaction. On top of these fees are the astronomical amounts of profits from credit card swipe fees that have not decreased. Americans paid around $60 billion in credit and debit card swipe fees in 2011, dwarfing every other fee banks charge -- including late fees, overdraft fees, ATM fees and the like.
Do the math. Any way you slice it, that is still a significant profit for banks.
BofA's decision will likely drive other banks to follow its lead. An analyst with The Street.com wrote: "Bank of America's decision to back away from fee increases for many of its customers is likely to persuade competitors to take similar steps if history is any guide."
And, that can only be good news for consumers.


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Valassis, a leader in intelligent media delivery, has shared their 2018 Business Marketing Predictions, including some interesting retail trends that will become predominant in the coming year, such as:
- The borderless shopping experience
- Continued growth in big data
- Emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) across the marketing and retail landscapes.
According to the release “The marketing and retail landscapes experienced immense disruption throughout 2017.”
This is in reference to several announcements and acquisitions from Amazon that have begun to change the way marketers and brands view the connectivity between e-commerce and brick-and-mortar businesses. The also call out the growing adoption in AI (Artificial Intelligence) in both the marketing (through the use of chatbots, assisted phone sales, and in-store shopping assistants) and consumer landscapes (via smart home speakers such as Amazon Echo and Google Home).
With these recent trends in mind, what will 2018 hold for marketers and retailers? Valassis’ leaders weigh in:
Consumer experience will be paramount as their borderless shopping journey continues.
“Consumers will expect even more value from brands, restaurants and retailers – getting access to relevant savings, convenience and an easy shopping experience. It will be critical that marketers improve consumers’ shopping experiences – online and in-store. This also means they need to have a consumer-centric approach to marketing – blending first-party and third-party data to reach, engage, influence and activate consumers.” – Curtis Tingle, Chief Marketing Officer, Valassis
The abundance of data challenges marketers to drive relevancy in a fast-paced, disruptive industry.
“We’ll see the continued growth of data, stemming from Internet of Things (IoT) devices, expanding media options and the low cost of storage to the point where marketers may feel overwhelmed. As innovation continues, change will be constant, markets will be disrupted and consumers will have more options and want more control. Marketers and advertisers may face an additional challenge as consumers become more hesitant to share PII data.” – Greg Green, Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Harland Clarke Holdings
AI and chatbots evolve, continuing to grab headlines in 2018.
“We expect the AI market will continue to evolve as advertisers increasingly understand how the technology can fit into their customer engagement plans and consumers seek more engaging and convenient brand interactions. The key is to deliver relevant messages and engagement through this new media. Next year, marketers will test and learn even more in order to integrate these programs naturally and effectively into their omni-channel initiatives.” – Pehr Luedtke, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Valassis Digital
Looks like it’s going to be an interesting year ahead!!!


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VWR International has entered into an agreement to distribute Illumina's qPCR products in the US.
The products include Eco real-time PCR instrument, designed to perform any qPCR application directly on their bench top, and NuPCR probe-based qPCR technology for providing improved specificity and sensitivity to complex gene targets.
Illumina’s molecular biology and PCR business senior vice president and general manager Mark Lewis said, "We are very excited to join forces with VWR to accelerate adoption of our qPCR portfolio, particularly into the pharmaceutical and industrial markets where VWR has a strong presence."
VWR International management life sciences vice president Bill Molnar said Illumina’s qPCR portfolio adds value to the company’s existing PCR solutions portfolio.
"Both of our companies are committed to enabling the world’s scientists to accelerate research," Molnar added.
"The addition of the Eco System and NuPCR reagents provides an essential element to our product line, empowering us to effectively support key customer segments."


text: Trade exchange between the UAE and Italy, including the free zones, rose last year to US$ 7.3 billion thanks to the growing bilateral trade and economic cooperation, Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, said here on Tuesday. Al Mansouri noted the trade figures had placed Italy as the second largest European trade partner to the UAE. He called the business communities in both countries to enhance bilateral cooperation and explore areas of potential partnerships so as to expand into new markets. In his address to the forum, Italian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda hailed the UAE as a\'\' strategic partner\'\'. The UAE- Italy business forum hosted by Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI), began sessions here Tuesday in presence of Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, and Italian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda in addition to 400 representatives of Emirati and Italian companies , according to UAE \"Dar Al Khaleej\" daily newspaper.


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Master Chief is getting back in the saddle, with Halo 5: Guardians set to be released next year.
The fifth instalment of the core Halo franchise, which is being developed by Halo 4-maker 343 Industries, is due out "in fall of 2015" (that's "autumn" for UK readers), and will be released on theconsole.
"Halo 5: Guardians is a bigger effort than Halo 4," 343 Industries General Manager Bonnie Ross said in a statement. "That applies to the content and scope of the game, as well as the technology in what's now a brand-new and more powerful engine.
"Certainly there are some core elements carried over from prior games, but we've invested a huge effort in retooling our tech to take full advantage of the Xbox One's hardware and ecosystem to create worlds and experiences worthy of next-gen," Ross said.
343 Industries did not say whether the game will only be available for Xbox One, or whether a version will also be released for the ageing Xbox 360.
Microsoft's Xbox One console is currently locked in a fierce battle with. Microsoft will be hoping more information concerning a new Halo title will persuade gamers to splash out on the Xbox One -- or at least, not buy a PS4 just yet.
Estimates suggest the PS4 is. Microsoft this week that will be sold without the Kinect motion-sensor accessory.
For now, there's no more info, except that we're likely to see more of Halo 5: Guardians at E3, a major videogame show that takes place in LA in June.
What do you want to see in a new Halo game? Let me know in the comments, and to learn more about how Halo become instrumental in Microsoft's console success, check out the video below.


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The move is aimed at providing tourists greater convenience, particularly those who are younger and often use social media or QR code scans to seek travel information.
Tourism & Sports Permanent Secretary Pongpanu Svetarundra said it took two months – November and December last year – to collect information on tourist attractions and services across the country, now documented in the new platform. (To see the Thailand Tourism Directory, click here.)
“The new application features a lot more tourism information, especially from local communities, so Thais and foreign tourists can get real-time information and plan their trips more easily,” Mr Pongpanu said.
He said all of the information has been stored in the National Tourism Centralised Database for Services, which consists of more than 3,000 tourism products and is expected to increase gradually every day.
Both the directory and database were created to serve tourism operators and investors with verified information and data. Apart from aiding travellers, the data can also aid business planning. All of the information is available in Thai, English and Mandarin.
Mr Pongpanu said that in many instances tourists and business owners use partially incorrect or outdated information, causing them to make inaccurate decisions.
“With multiple languages and reliable data, this information will help both tourists and investors access and use [the directory] as needed,” he said.
On Feb 16, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said he had ordered tourism authorities to develop a new tourism database to offer the public more reliable information and enhance tourism competitiveness as part of the government’s national economic policy, focusing on Thailand 4.0.
Mr Pongpanu said the ministry is planning to invite tourists, business owners and other interested parties to participate in the scheme by providing or reviewing their attractions and products.
“We will allow the public to produce information and share their experiences on the application,” he said. “One objective is to help local operators or communities create their own space online so that they can have more opportunities to grow.”
The ministry said international arrivals to Thailand from Jan 1 to Feb 28 totalled 7.1 million, up 15.5% year-on-year.
China remained the top source market with 2.1mn visitors, while Malaysians accounted for 580,000 and Laos supplied 440,000.
Read original story here.