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The company highlights new Windows 10 devices using its new processors -- including an updated Intel Compute Stick -- during a press conference at the IFA electronics show in Berlin.
As part of a new charm offensive, the startup giant is hoping to attract more than 100,000 drivers from an unlikely place: AARP.
The famously youth-focused tech industry has written big checks recently to companies built around the problems of aging.
Apple, extending its partnership with IBM, will also collaborate on apps to improve the wellness and connectivity of elderly people, starting in Japan.
In the Fine Brothers' latest "Elders React" video, seniors take Snapchat for a spin. "All that sexting, texting, nude photos -- politicians should get on to this thing," says one.
Sporting flashier product displays, TVs with video content and more, the next-generation Apple stores will reportedly roll out this fall.
In the wake of complaints from some users about Apple's new music streaming service, a company exec says "there's a lot of work going into making the product better."
"Oh man! Destruction Derby!" Seniors have fun stealing and wrecking cars, shooting random people and running from the police as they play Grand Theft Auto V in this Fine Brothers video.
Commentary: While nearly all other high-end smartphones now offer 32GB of storage by default, Apple's entry-level model starts at 16GB. And that feels less adequate with each passing month.
What do you think of Google's new logo?


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Browse this animal services provider guide and directory to learn about animal service providers in the United States of America. All directory listings include contact information, category tags, and website links.
Visit this auto service directory to find automobile services that are located throughout the USA. The photograph on this page shows a vintage service and repair sign for a garage that was founded in 1951.
Browse this bankruptcy service provider directory for information about bankruptcy services in the United States of America. All directory listings include contact information, category tags, and website links.
This online advertising guide for the services industry features a discussion of business and consumer services and includes links to various service-oriented websites.
White crockery used for breakfast, including a pitcher, a creamer, and coffee and teacups, sit on a wooden folding table. The folding table allows meals to be conveniently served and removed in areas otherwise not set up for eating.
President Trump has repeatedly said that 'forest management' is the key to preventing out-of-control wildfires. Yet across the West, the government has put on hold millions of acres worth of projects to reduce fire risk.
Yahoo. Wed, 21 Oct 2020 10:29:22 -0400.
DTE Energy's (DTE) third-quarter 2020 results are expected to reflect significant growth from residential customer sales at its service territories.
Zacks Equity Research. Zacks. Wed, 21 Oct 2020 14:25:00 GMT.
PayPal joined the cryptocurrency market on Wednesday, allowing customers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin and other virtual coins using the U.S. digital payments company's online wallets.
Daily Mail. Wed, 21 Oct 2020 14:04:24 +0100.
Netflix's Ted Sarandos is feeling confident that the company's slate of films and television shows planned for release in 2021 will find a place on the streaming service next year.
CNBC. Wed, 21 Oct 2020 12:00:58 GMT.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Three employees of a Tennessee tax service have been charged with filing more than $1 million in false claims for coronavirus-related federal loans, federal prosecutors said. ...
Washington Times. Wed, 21 Oct 2020 04:14:44 -0400.
Greenberg, Peter. The Travel Detective. New York, NY. Villard. 2005.

domain: news


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Yi Feng, founder of Wing Coffee, said, "We hope that in the future there will be one of our coffee shops every five kilometers and a coffee machine every 500 meters."
Chinese smart coffee machine maker Wing Coffee (Chinese: 咖啡之翼) announces the completion of a CNY 100 million (USD 15 million) strategic funding round, led by CCC Capital (Chinese: 中金资本).
According to iimedia data, the size of China's coffee market reached 381.7 billion CNY in 2021. China's coffee market has entered a phase of rapid development and the industry is expected to maintain a rising growth rate of 27.2%, a value much higher than the world average growth rate of 2.5%.
In recent years, the Chinese coffee market has been getting hotter and hotter. According to statistics, 23 investment and financing events took place in China in 2021 alone, with a financing amount of CNY 7.56 billion. Some brands have completed two or even three rounds of financing in the first half of 2021.
Wing Coffee was founded in 2000. In 2016, the company added the business of self-service coffee machines, and this business has become Wing Coffee' main business.
In Europe and the United States, where the coffee industry is relatively mature, self-service retail coffee machines account for at least a quarter of the market, and this value is even greater in Japan and Korea. On the contrary, in China, both the number of machines and outlets are very small. Therefore, self-service retail coffee machines are a fast-growing track with a lot of room for growth in the segment. Yi Feng said in the interview.
Yi Feng added that when the cost of labor in offline shops and the cost of renting offline shops is getting higher and higher, it is necessary to make a "shop" more and more unmanned, which will reduce operating costs and increase the competitiveness of the company and its ability to resist risks.


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Materials distributor Barentz acquires specialty chemical supplier Maroon Group
The deal will expand Netherlands-based Barentz's footprint in North America.
In a move that expands its footprint in North America, Netherlands-based distributor of life-science ingredients Barentz International has entered into an agreement to acquire Maroon Group, a supplier of specialty chemicals and life science ingredients across Canada and the U.S.
The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Maroon was founded in 1977 and is based in Avon, Ohio. The company reportedly generates an annual turnover of approximately US$500 million, has around 300 employees, and a network of more than 40 warehouses.
Maroon CEO Terry Hill and his management team will continue to run the operations.
“Our product portfolios are very complementary,” Barentz CEO Hidde van der Wal said in a statement. “We have no conflicts of interest and we can learn a lot from each other. Maroon Group has significant scale in North America — the biggest economy of the world, where we were small, until today. The combination will immediately make Barentz a leading global distributor with an excellent opportunity to establish new business segments in North America. It is a natural combination that enables us to offer quality and expertise to our combined customer base.”
Founded in 1953, Barentz has operations in more than 60 countries, and employs approximately 1,100 workers.
The deal is expected to close this quarter.


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Expressing serious concern over the discontinuation of Pakistan Pavilion at MAGIC Show in the United States, the Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association recently asked the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) to continue its earlier practice of adding this premier US textile exhibition in its exhibitions calendar.
In a letter to TDAP chief executive Arif Ahmed Khan, PRGMEA north zone chairman Sohail A Sheikh said Pakistani value-added textile exporters have keen interest in this most comprehensive fashion marketplace in the United States, but they cannot afford it due to its high participation cost.
He said that there is a huge potential for the export of Pakistani garments, fashion fabrics, home textile fabrics, finished products and accessories in the US market.
“If TDAP continues to offer subsidized booth in the Pakistan pavilion at MAGIC Show, many Pakistani companies will be able to target the lucrative US textile import industry and bring large amount of foreign exchange in Pakistan,” Pakistani media reports quoted him as saying.
He pointed out that Pakistan’s competitors like Bangladesh, India, China and Sri Lanka have continued to set up their pavilions and exporters of these countries are participating in this mega textile event.
So, Pakistan should not miss this opportunity, particularly at a time when the country needs to boost its foreign exchange reserves through a surge in exports, he said.
Pakistan’s textile exports from January to November last year stood at around $12 billion and is likely to reach just $13.5 billion by the end of December. This is the same export figure achieved in 2012-13, which is much lesser than the textile exports of Bangladesh or Vietnam. In real terms the textile exports have remained stagnant in last six years, he added.


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Purely from a fashion point of view - and I fully acknowledge that designer runways are not the point here - the Miami Dolphins have picked the worst time imaginable to get rid of all that orange in their new uniforms.
You see, orange is red hot these days.
"I say that orange is the new neutral for this season," says Ken Downing, senior vice president and fashion director for Neiman Marcus in town for an event at the Galleria store. "Orange makes everything come alive."
That aside, the rest of the new look is spot on.
First they got rid of that circa-1997 navy, which has no connection to South Florida at all. We are all about "Agua aqua" and "Caribbean blue," not preppy navy.
And the updated dolphin pictured in the logo looks more natural and less...well...Looney Tune-y (what with the noble water mammal sporting a football helmet in its previous incarnation).
Not that that's a bad thing, it's just so firmly old schoolish, as if Sea World were a corporate sponsor or something.
The photos of the logo leaked last month and the images of the uniforms leaked Tuesday is a more minimalist take on the former style. The home uniform is white with aqua numbers trimmed in orange. The alternate jersey is aqua with white numbers, again trimmed in orange, over white pants striped down the flank in aqua.
But here is how this is really, REALLY all about fashion after all. Fashion is all about the new, the next. You better believe that gridiron fans are going to want those new jerseys as soon as they come off the catwalk...I mean come off of the delivery truck.
The uniforms will debut in a free event for fans starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 25 at Sun Life Stadium.
The models of the new look will be Cameron Wake and Ryan Tannehill while former footballers Jason Taylor, Dan Marino and Bob Griese will show uniforms from their respective time on the turf.


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Jeff Bezos shared his annual letter to shareholders on Thursday, and, as usual, it’s riddled with hints as to where Amazon will be throwing its weight next.
To be clear, that’s massive weight. Bezos tries to play down Amazon’s size and influence in the market, writing that “Amazon today remains a small player in global retail,” and pointing to the fact that Amazon’s market share remains in the single-digits, as roughly 90 percent of retail remains offline. It’s true, but it’s misleading to cast a company that did $232 billion in sales in 2018 as a small player.
Besides downplaying his company’s tremendous size, Bezos laid out details around Amazon’s first-party vs. third-party retail businesses, future plans for Amazon Web Services (itself a $30 billion business), the state of Amazon’s physical retail, and also gave a glimpse into life at Amazon for employees. Here’s the need-to-know cheatsheet.
Numbers to know
- 58%: The share of physical gross merchandise sales sold on Amazon by third-party sellers in 2018. This percentage started at 3% in 1999, and it’s climbed steadily ever since.
- $160 billion: Total third-party sales in 2018, an annual growth rate of 52%.
- $117 billion: Total first-party sales in 2018, an annual growth rate of 25%.
- $95 billion: eBay’s 2018 gross merchandise sales, in comparison.
- 10: The number of Amazon Go stores.
- 100 million: Alexa-enabled devices that have been purchased to date.
- 150: Alexa-enabled products on the market.
- 80,000: Number of existing Alexa skills.
The rise of third-party sellers
In the letter, Bezos’s first order of business is to highlight third-party sales surpassing first-party sales. He pins the success on seller tools, including inventory management, payment processing, shipment tracking, international shipping and sales reports, as well as Fulfilled by Amazon and Prime membership.
Bezos said this type of investment in third-party seller tools, improving the shopping experience and enabling sellers to compete with Amazon’s owned retail business, is unmatched in retail. And there’s more happening under the surface. Amazon is currently in the process of reworking its retail business across first-party and third-party sellers, with the goal being to shift small to medium sellers off of first-party, focusing that business instead on big-name brands and Amazon’s exclusive and private label brands. The third-party marketplace, in return, will become more autonomous for sellers. It’s a way to both empower them — just this week, Amazon announced it added an improved Brand Analytics program for third-party sellers that included customer demographic data — and free up Amazon’s labors for other endeavors.
“Amazon is moving toward a ‘hands off the wheel’ approach to seller relationships, meaning you’ll see more being done to get third-party sellers operating on their own, as autonomously as possible,” said John Ghiorso, CEO of Orca Pacific.
Leveling up AWS
Bezos also highlighted Amazon Web Services. The cloud-computing arm of Amazon’s business, worth $30 million in revenue, operates specialized databases for client partners as the need to process massive amounts of information has increased. Now, as competitors like Microsoft and Google gun after retail clients for similar businesses, Amazon is adding more capabilities to AWS.
What’s next: Machine learning. Bezos said that Amazon has been working on figuring out a way to help its AWS customers build out machine learning capabilities, leading it to launch SageMaker a year and a half ago. Bezos said its being used now by thousands of AWS customers that are building machine learning models into their businesses. Machine learning — lumped in with AI — has been touted by retailers as the next frontier in the industry; Amazon hitting the gas on this capability for AWS could be a game changer for retailers that have explored alternative partners for their cloud-computing businesses.
From what Bezos is willing to share, Amazon is working to improve the skills of its 250,000 employees. He called out two programs, the Career Choice and Career Skills programs, that pay tuition fees and offer classes in skills like resume writing and computer basics.
He also noted that Amazon’s raised the employee minimum wage to $15 and match employee benefits, calling on retail competitors to do the same.
But there’s more beneath the surface beyond the letter. Amazon’s cutthroat delivery schedule, the abysmal and sometimes life-threatening conditions inside Amazon warehouses, and more. And in response to the minimum-wage challenge, Walmart’s head of comms responded on Twitter, telling Amazon that it should pay its taxes. Amazon reportedly paid $0 in taxes on $11 billion in profit in 2018. Shots fired.
Subscribe to the Digiday Retail Briefing: An email with news, quotes and stats covering the modernization of retail and e-commerce, delivered three times per week.
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Etsy is still growing beyond a blast of mask sales last year and now needs to manage 4.7 million sellers and 90 million buyers.


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The U.S. Mint has released its annual review for 2015, presenting a summary of its activities and revenues for the fiscal year beginning on October 1, 2014 and concluding on September 30, 2015. The report shows that the Mint increased profitability in 2015, despite experiencing a drop in sales of numismatic products. Robust bullion sales countered this setback, however, as did increased revenue from circulating coin sales to the U.S. Treasury.
Revenue generated by the Mint’s numismatic sales dropped 10.2% in 2015 to $453.2 million. The total number of units sold declined as well, dropping 6% to 5.4 million. In his introduction to the annual report, Principal Deputy Director Rhett Jeppson presented a theory on why this occurred, writing, “we believe the decline in revenue and unit sales is primarily driven by the absence of some of last year’s most popular products, such as the Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coins, and the shrinking customer base of numismatic hobbyists.” Earnings on numismatic sales still managed to grow, however, mainly due to an increase in profits from Silver Eagle programs.
Demand for bullion coins saw no such decline; in fact, the 2015 fiscal year was the best ever for the Mint’s bullion program. Overall revenue for investor coins rose 17.2% to $2.1 billion last year, while net income rose 117.9% to $61 million. Gold and Silver bullion sales totaled 49.7 million ounces, 10 million more than in 2014. This discrepancy was due mainly to record-breaking sales for American Eagle Silver bullion coins in the 2015 fiscal year, totaling 47,870,000 ounces.
Circulating coin production hit 16.2 billion coins last year, the most since 2006. The Mint also doubled 2014’s seigniorage total, which considers profits created by keeping production costs for a currency below face value. This allowed the Mint to return $550 million to the Treasury General Fund.
Regarding production costs for circulation coinage, an interesting statistic surfaced concerning Lincoln cents and Jefferson nickels. Both issues have drawn a lot of press for costing more to make than the subsequent values of their denominations, but the Mint has actually made strides toward closing this gap in recent years.
The production and distribution cost for the Lincoln cent is now down to 1.25 cents per coin (from 1.43 cents last year), while the cost of minting a nickel dropped from 6.9 cents to 6.6. Dimes and quarters are getting cheaper to make as well, and their costs remain comfortably beneath the value of their respective denominations. Production and distributions costs for circulating coins are listed on the chart below, provided by the U.S. Mint.
The full 2015 Annual report runs 68 pages long and contains a wealth of fascinating information for anyone interested in combing through it. The complete document can be accessed here.


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A couple of weeks ago we covered a report suggesting that Apple would be using its logo to double as a pulsating notification light. This received a lot of positive feedback, but another, in-depth look at the iPhone 6 back housing suggests otherwise.
The Apple logo lightning notification rumor originated because of the slight recess of the logo on the inside of the housing. It was suggested that this space could fit an LED system that would light up the logo.
Sadly for many who've been hoping, Apple is unlikely to implement such feature. A new report from Tanner Marsh of BestTechInfo, who has iPhone 6 chassis parts in his possession, points out that the iPad Air back housing features a similar logo cutout. This is so that Apple has more direct control over the logo placement after it has finished anodizing and painting the chassis.
The recess also provides further insulation from dissipating heat. You can check out the detailed hands-on of the iPhone 6 back housing in the video below.
yeah right, since the whole world has internet connection everywere, digital download is good, but its better when you have all the information you need even without internet connection.
Voice search..android first..ok google is v.2


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As they say: Good intentions pave the road to, well, you know where. Too often, our legislators can forget that.
This week, Rep. Suzan DelBene, Washington Democrat, proposed the Information Transparency and Personal Data Control Act (ITPDCA), nationwide data privacy standards that would give users more control over how companies use their data. It certainly sounds nice, but here’s the thing: It’s unlikely to make a material difference to consumers. Worse, it’s almost certainly going to level a hefty burden on innovators and businesses at a time when they need all the help they can get.
Collecting data isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be. Indeed, the ability to compile and analyze large volumes of user data has been critical for some of our world’s most important innovations. Understanding and predicting user behavior and need means that businesses can better tailor new goods, services and marketing to what we like. That doesn’t just mean personalized advertisements on your Facebook wall, either.
Data collection shapes innovation in health care, for instance. Thanks to data, we get streamlined treatment plans, calibrated incentives for improving patient outcomes and cost-effective manufacturing. All that could save Americans a whopping $450 billion or more in medical costs.
In urban planning, poverty mitigation and immigration policy, we see data enriching our advancements, too. Satellite imagery, mobile phone data, traffic pattern information and social media analysis alone have made invaluable contributions to research in those fields. National defense also comes into play here. Secure collection and storage of data is important for giving us the confidence to send potentially sensitive information in the era of cyberattacks.
It’s clear that data collection isn’t something we can just shrug off.
Even so, Mrs. DelBene is right in some regards. She notes that over four-in-five Americans report compromised personal information due to data breaches, and seven-in-ten think their data is less secure today than it was five years ago. She thinks allowing users to “opt-in” to data collection is the key to solving the problem.
But privacy research paints a much more nuanced picture. There’s certainly strong demand for privacy and control in specific instances — and data security and storage is already a rapidly evolving field. Private innovations in cloud computing, for example, are increasing physical, electronic and procedural data safeguards without government mandates. After all, users must feel confident and secure enough to send their data if the benefits of the nearly $273.4 billion global data economy are to be realized.
So, what difference will an “opt-in” requirement make? Consider the businesses already permitting users to opt-out or modify data use. For instance, three-in-four Facebook users know about the platform’s privacy controls and four-in-five know how to change them. Awareness about the range of privacy tools available online is particularly high among 18-45 year-olds. Forty-five percent enable two-step verification, a third utilize separate email accounts for different services, and 17% have contracted security companies for information protection.
While people express concerns about their sensitive or private information being compromised, studies show that over half of all consumers don’t mind companies using their data if they gain some benefit from it, and a further quarter simply don’t care about the use of their data at all. That’s 75% of users who aren’t all-in on the “opt-in” experience.
Any data regulation should be focused on making users happy. But in Nevada and California, for instance, entire marketing systems have to be redesigned to comply with targeted advertising restrictions in the state’s privacy laws — including opt-in mandates. That’s making it harder for businesses to target consumer needs and better engage with customers.
Mrs. DelBene’s federal ITPDCA isn’t quite that harsh, so it would be welcome in that it’d replace these less liberal laws. But the compliance costs, including for hiring specialist staff who understand the law, will still reduce available resources for improving goods and services in other aspects.
They’d also disproportionately hurt small business. After the EU’s Global Data Privacy Right (GDPR) was introduced, venture funding for small companies fell, compromising thousands of jobs. By avoiding the GDPR’s exorbitant fine structure and harsher data restrictions, the ITPDCA, fortunately, would be unlikely to cost the U.S. economy up to $122 billion annually, as would be the case were it modeled on the GDPR.
So it’s not all bad. And with states scrambling to enact inconsistent and convoluted privacy and data regulations that threaten companies with huge fines and administrative difficulties, Mrs. DelBene’s federal standard is at least a better alternative. But at the end of the day, it’s competitive and innovative markets — not politicians or bureaucrats — who are already driving privacy and security improvements that consumers actually care about. When it comes to the Internet, we’re better off relying on them.
• Satya Marar is a senior contributor and tech policy fellow at Young Voices.


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Amid taxi upheaval, new cab company comes to town
Portland welcomed its newest taxi company to the market Wednesday.
No, its not Uber and Lyft; theyre yesterdays news, after launching here in April.
Its EcoCab, a Longview, Wash. company that expanded into Portland July 22 with 15 taxis and 30 employees.
Three of the cars are Tesla Model Ss, a high-end electric car thats won wide acclaim from automotive reviewers. There are 10 all-electric Nissan Leafs. And there are two wheelchair-accessible vans, running on traditional fossil fuel. We would have bought an electric van if they made one, says Ron Knori, EcoCab CEO.
Some might be scratching their heads why Knori is entering the market at a time of such market upheaval, with Uber and Lyft making huge inroads and taking a bite out of traditional taxi divers income.
But he says all the publicity about the market helps draw attention to him as the new kid in town. Its all over the news, he says. Its a great time to get into the game.
Knori is confident that Portlanders will be attracted to driving one of his Teslas and to driving clean-burning electrical vehicles. EcoCab is buying all its electric power from PGEs wind-power option, so customers can know theyre not adding to the fossil fuel load that causes climate change. Knori also is hiring drivers as employees, not as independent contractors, and he promises theyll provide good customer service.
Fuel costs are a big expense for taxi companies or for Uber and Lyft drivers using their own cars. EcoCabs electric cars will be more expensive to start but far cheaper to operate.
He also plans to charge more than regular taxi companies, at least their rates when they were regulated by the city, which ended in April under the four-month pilot project designed to accommodate Uber and Lyfts entry into the market.
A typical $10 cab ride might cost $13.75 with EcoCab, Knori says. Its the same price no matter which vehicle the customer gets. He figures those prices will be lower than town cars.
And he thinks the widely heralded lower prices of Uber and Lyft arent all they are cracked up to be once you factor in surge pricing charged at peak hours. Thats where all the (Uber and Lyft) drivers make their money. When the surge pricing is up, theyre out there and getting paid, he says. At certain times, EcoCabs a lot better value because we dont surge-price.
Knori is not a newcomer to the business; hes been operating in Longview, and found lots of excitement there about offering taxi rides in Teslas.
Hes starting rather small, with 15 vehicles, but got permits from the city to operate as many as 51. He plans to grow larger as business warrants.
Knori also is offering a free mobile-phone app for customers to call his cab company. Its very similar to the apps that are used by Uber and Lyft, he says.
He is using Taxi Hail, an app used by about 50,000 other cabs around the country. Its integrated to his dispatch center and vehicle charging station in Northwest Portland.
Callers who use the app wont know if a wheelchair-accessible van is available, but if they push a button their phone will automatically connect with a dispatcher to find out.


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Global automotive giant Plastic Omnium boosted sales by 13.9% to €4.8bn in 2012, with its auto business outperforming global automotive production growth.
The Automotive division performed better than Environment, with a 16.7% increase in revenue to €4.3bn.
“With this performance, the business once again grew faster with worldwide automobile production, which rose by 6.6% for the year,” the company said in a statement. “Nearly five million additional vehicles were produced worldwide, of which 2.3 million in North America and 1.2 million in China.”
The firm increased its presence both in the US, following on from its 2011 acquisition of Ford’s fuel tank and fuel system production assets, and China, where it built four new manufacturing plants, during the year. In Europe, the company began operations at a new research centre in Lyon, France.
The France-based company said sales increased in every region, except for in its home country, where revenue fell 7.3%. Sales were up in North America (+31%), eastern Europe (+30.8%), Asia (+28.1%), South America and Africa (+10.3%) and western Europe, excluding France (+2.7%).
However, the majority of Plastic Omnium’s automotive customers – 31% - are based in Germany, with Volkswagen Porsche accounting for 15% of business. US-based customers – General Motors, Ford and Chrysler – account for 25% of automotive business.
The company’s Environment division saw sales fall by 7.4% to €463.2m during the year.


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Wednesday June 23, 2021
Before the boutique fitness craze that landed spinning studios and bootcamp gyms on every corner, there was Steele Fitness, a team of personal trainers who would show up at your home in a BMW and provide one-on-one fitness training. Behind the VIP service was an ambitious entrepreneur named Steele Smiley, whose first exercise in creating a brand was remaking himself into the businessman he wanted to be.
“In 2000, I said: I need to become a different person in order to manifest my life,” Smiley says. “You have to play the part.”
Since selling Steele Fitness to the private equity firm that owned global chain Snap Fitness, Smiley moved into the business of healthy eating. First came salad chain Crisp & Green, and in April 2021, he launched his newest venture, a fast casual plant-based burger shop called Stalk & Spade. “Plant-based eating is the future,” Smiley says. The first Stalk & Spade opened in Wayzata, Minn., where all of Smiley’s businesses have launched. But he’s thinking big.
“Ultimately, our goal is to be the fastest growing restaurant chain in American history,” Smiley says.
He plans to grow Stalk & Spade through franchising, just as he’s done with Crisp & Green, which will soon surpass 60 locations in eight states. But Crisp & Green didn’t take off until the pandemic, thanks to Smiley’s early investment in digital ordering technology, which made it easy to pivot to online purchases when in-store dining shut down in March of 2020. Before Covid-19, 7 percent of customers used the app. Now, Smiley says, more than 60 percent of Crisp & Green orders come through the app. Online orders are holding steady even as dining in returns
Smiley talks about his approach to building companies, and the challenges and opportunities of working ahead of lifestyle trends.
“Ultimately you’re only as successful as your ability to listen to your inner voice,” he says. “The times when I’ve made wrong decisions, I haven’t listened to it.”
Following our conversation with Smiley, we go Back to the Classroom with the University of St. Thomas Schulze School of Entrepreneurship. Associate Professor Mark Spriggs offers franchising advice. “A franchise system is all about replicating the corporate model. The founder has to create a reliable business model that can be learned and operated quickly by a franchisee.” The question for Stalk & Spade, he says, is, “will this concept travel…without Steele?”


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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous effect on the automotive sector globally. With production and logistics operations almost at a standstill and the slowdown in demand amidst economic uncertainty - the current timeline is a pivotal point for the future of the car in its entirety.
But amidst the challenges, COVID-19 is also proving something else the auto industry is excellent at - their unyielding ability to adapt to changing conditions.
It's not all bad though, while not as many cars might be driving out showroom doors - the slowdown has given carmakers a chance to step back and reevaluate other aspects of their business. We see an increase in digitalisation in the buying process, creative ownership programs, and some are even aiding the medical industry in fighting the pandemic.
Kia USA preparing medical use face shields for COVID-19 frontliners
This has also given designers and engineers more time in rethinking the execution of their products. In particular, how this pandemic might influence the interior design and equipment of future cars.
In an interview with Automotive News, Chief Design Officer of Daimler AG said, "The pandemic will change our perception of how we experience safety and luxury in the future,” Wagener says, predicting that the two will become much more intimately intertwined. “This can be a challenging but exciting time.”
Luxury and safety
Carmakers have always tried to strike a balance between the contrasting aspects of luxury and safety, however, in recent time, carmakers are exploring ways of making the interior of the car a zone where the occupants feel safe.
For certain markets, luxury and safety can mean good driver and occupant safety, but in countries like Mexico and Brazil, cars have to protect from robbery and kidnappings.
Now with the pandemic, the criteria for a safe interior must take into account both physical and mental health.
Felix Kilbertus, the head of exterior design for Rolls-Royce adds, besides being safe, the interior of a car needs to allow its customers to do more, like hold business meetings. This is where safety, security, and connectivity become one.
Clean air zone
Now more than ever, everyone wants to breathe clean air. Not just free from viruses and bacteria, but also harmful pollutants and odours.
Today we see an increase of the interior of cars becoming like a fortress of solitude or even a spa - with most high-end premium cars offering scented cabin fragrances, ambient lighting for relaxation, sublime sound systems, and even massage functions on seats.
Volvo CleanZone multi-filter system
But now with the added measure of health, carmakers are looking at ways of not just filtering the air but conditioning it.
Hence, interiors of the future will likely see more complex air management systems.
Examples of this are Volvo's air quality monitors and filter systems, Infiniti's plasma cluster ion generator which sterilizes pathogens, blocks out particulate matter in the air, or even Peugeot-Citroen's negative-ion generator which kills mould and bacteria, and dissolves harmful gases.
Tesla's HEPA filter system undergoing testing
There are others, such as Tesla's HEPA filtration system, or Rolls-Royce state of the art, activated charcoal purifying system.
But Mercedes-Benz is looking even further, such as filtering the air just outside the car As Wagener adds, “We are working toward the idea that the car could actually take bad things out of the air, almost clean the air. It’s an opportunity to address the sustainability issue that we have already been considering."
Privacy and invisibility cloak
A new word that will surely become more prevalent is privacy. Beyond keeping you safe, connecting you to the world, and cleaning the air you breathe, cars of the future will offer privacy to its occupants.
More than just sunshades and blinds, Rolls-Royce is working on ways to totally isolate the outside from its occupants, and provide recording studio levels of quiet.
Hence we may see new materials being used in sound deadening and insulation technology.
But not just for the inside, what if you wanted to disappear entirely - well Mercedes-Benz started working on "invisibility cloaks", using complex LED and camera systems to literally let a car mimic its surrounding, way back in 2012.
This, just in case if you prefer to hide from criminals, prying eyes, or even to keep your car safe when parked.
Felix Kilbertus, the head of exterior design for Rolls-Royce says that the company is already working on it. “It’s a car that could move so quietly, so discreetly, that it would go undetected from outside threat.”
While the technology may still be a few years off, these conceptual ideas will spear forward the direction of car design, and more widely, the car's relevance in daily human life.
2020 Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR - inspired by AVATAR
Once more showing a trait of the industry as a whole that is so intrinsically human-like at its core... the ability to adapt and evolve.


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The group that oversees Internet domain names is shaking things up for no good reason. For details, check out www.mass.confusion.
Will cheap natural gas give us an opportunity to reduce emissions while inventing new technologies? Or will we simply become addicted to another fossil fuel?
Gadgets aren't made hackable enough to encourage young people to become innovators in computing.
Novel engine designs could help meet our growing demand for energy.
An improved catalyst could lead to cheaper ways of producing hydrogen from water
Maes, whose research group studies human-computer interaction, says mobile devices may soon eavesdrop on their owners to anticipate their needs.
Germany has decided to pursue ambitious greenhouse-gas reductions—while closing down its nuclear plants. Can a heavily industrialized country power its economy with wind turbines and solar panels?
Local programmers and homegrown business models are helping to realize the vast promise of using phones to improve health care and save lives.
A nanoscale pattern could lead to more efficient solar cells
An experimental form of data storage can now be made cheaply using conventional manufacturing methods


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Construction of the plant located in Industrial Park 304 in Prachinburi, about 150 kilometers northeast of Bangkok, began in the second half of 2019 and proceeded largely as planned, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. of Covid-19. The recruitment and integration of new employees was successful. Investments (CAPEX) amounted to approx. 400 million euros.
“We are very proud of this achievement. Our sincere thanks go to the entire Lenzing team and in particular our staff in Thailand but also to many external stakeholders, who joined forces in times of global pandemic to make this key project a reality. Delivering such a massive project on time and on budget is an exceptional achievement considering the challenges of the global pandemic,” said Cord Prinzhorn, CEO of Lenzing Group.
Robert van de Kerkhof, member of the Management Board, agrees with him and adds: “The demand for our special biodegradable wood-based fibers under the brands Tencel, Lenzing Ecovero and Veocel is progressing very well. In Asia in particular, we see enormous growth potential for our brands based on sustainable innovation. With the start of production at the lyocell plant in Thailand, Lenzing has taken an important step in its growth journey, supporting our ambitious goal of making the textile and nonwovens industries more sustainable.
Environmental pollution – especially marine pollution – is one of the biggest problems of our time. The fashion industry has an extremely negative impact on the environment with its fast fashion business model and the increasing consumption of fossil resources. The lyocell production process is the most modern way to produce fibers from wood. It has been successfully applied on an industrial scale for around thirty years and is particularly environmentally friendly. The idea behind the lyocell process is to dissolve and process pulp in a closed loop without any chemical bypass.
Lenzing will continue to expand its lyocell fiber production capacity in line with its sCore TEN strategy, which aims to generate 75% of its fiber revenue from eco-responsible specialty fibers such as Tencel, Lenzing Ecovero and Veocel fibers. ‘by 2024. The Thai site offers space for several production lines. Investment in the first phase already includes general infrastructure that would benefit future expansion. However, Lenzing will continue to seek opportunities to expand lyocell production in other parts of the world as well.
“Investments in Thailand and other Lenzing locations around the world support us not only in our transformation to become an environmentally friendly specialty fiber supplier, but also in the implementation of our ambitious climate goals, thereby increasing further the value of our company,” said Prinzhorn.
In 2019, Lenzing made a strategic commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of product by 50% by 2030. The goal is to be climate neutral by 2050. Thanks to the infrastructure established, the site in Thailand can be supplied with sustainable energy. biogenic energy and make a significant contribution to climate protection.
With the key project in Brazil and the substantial investments at the existing sites in Asia, Lenzing is currently implementing the largest investment program in its company history (with more than around 1.5 billion euros). Lenzing will continue to drive the execution of its strategic projects, which are expected to make a significant contribution to results from 2022.


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The Fed is expected to cut rates Wednesday, but it is unlikely to tell markets what they want to hear on future rate cuts.Market Insiderread more
Pelosi said Trump should not have tried to address China's trade practices in a way that opened Americans up to financial pain.Politicsread more
The fallout from two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 Max planes has ensnared the manufacturer's most-loyal customer: Southwest Airlines. The carrier has canceled thousands of...Airlinesread more
Brent crude oil jumped the most in history in the previous session after attacks on Saudi's oil industry disrupted the kingdom's production.Marketsread more
In the survey, conducted after the third in the Democratic Party's series of debate, the former vice president draws 31% compared to 25% for the Massachusetts senator. At 14%,...2020 Electionsread more
Stocks rose slightly on Tuesday, but gains were capped as the Federal Reserve kicked off a two-day monetary policy meeting.US Marketsread more
The U.S. Air Force's top general says he hasn't received direction to send additional bombers to the Middle East after what is believed to be Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabian...Defenseread more
Facebook has partnered with Ray-Ban maker Luxottica to develop augmented-reality glasses code-named 'Orion', people familiar with the matter told CNBC.Technologyread more
"I believe the path to 'health care for all' is a path following the lead of the Affordable Care Act," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tells Jim Cramer.Health and Scienceread more
The pet food and product retailer posted net sales of $1.15 billion, topping estimates of $1.13 billion, according to a survey of analysts by Refinitiv.Retailread more
E-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc.'s sales have been halted on two websites in China, just days after it launched in the world's biggest tobacco market.Biotech and Pharmaceuticalsread more
You're likely to shell out more cash for consumer electronics over the next five years as connected hardware grows in popularity, according to Euromonitor.
In a report released on Tuesday, the market intelligence firm noted that a shift in consumer preferences will boost both sales value and volume of high-end products such as smart wearables and LCD televisions by 2021.
"Consumers are much more sophisticated and thus, their expectations have risen too," explained Loo Wee Teck, Euromonitor's head of consumer electronics.
For example, consumers made do with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and third generation (3G) internet data speeds in the past but they are now demanding for Long-Term Evolution (LTE) services for high speed access, he noted.
Here are some of the products expected to be in hot demand by 2021.
Retail value of this sector is projected to hit $45 billion in 2021, versus the estimated $18.7 billion for 2016, Euromonitor found.
"The appeal of wearables extends beyond the niche demographics of techies and fitness enthusiasts. Consumers are buying wearables as fashion accessories and to look cool," noted Loo.
Smart wearables in particular, which include the Apple Watch, are poised to reap healthy sales.
Value sales of smart wearables are expected to hit $37.2 billion by 2021, from $12.2 billion presently, Euromonitor said. In comparison, activity wearables are set to rise to only $7.4 billion in 2021 from $6.5 billion currently.
Unlike their smart counterparts, activity wearables such as the Fitbit fitness trackers only boast one function and don't allow for installation of third-party apps.
Sales of wireless speakers are projected to reach 73 million units by 2021, a whopping 25 percent growth between 2016-2021.
Wireless speakers still remain a relatively niche product compared to more in-demand items like smartphones, but the product's growth isn't based on quantity.
"For consumers who buy wireless speakers, the quality of the speakers will be a primary purchase criterion. Established brands like JBL and Bose stand to benefit, as consumers are willing to fork out a higher price for proven quality," said Loo.
Retail value sales of LCD TVs are set to outperform volume sales by 2018, the report noted.
"The push for ultra-high-definition (HD) is paying dividends for TV manufacturers, as consumers are easily sold on the pretext that more pixels, i.e. higher resolution, equates to better video quality," explained Loo.
Declining cable TV subscriptions and the explosion of internet television isn't expected to derail LCD TV growth either, he added.
"The fact that consumers are watching more shows on their mobile devices will also help sales as consumers have acquired the habit of multiscreen viewing."


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He also says future Mercedes cars will have a telematics app called CarTogether that can help drivers find people with whom to share rides.
Mercedes wants you to share cars like a Communist
Viva la revolucion! Mercedes channels Che Guevara for car tech
January 10, 2012 12:34 PM PST
Photo by: Sarah Tew/CNET
| Caption by: CNET News staff
Conversation powered by Livefyre


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TOKYO (REUTERS) - Four Japanese automakers including Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co are recalling a total of around 3.4 million vehicles worldwide due to defective airbags supplied by Takata Corp, the companies said.
Takata has also supplied the faulty airbags to foreign carmakers, said Toyohiro Hishikawa, spokesman for the Tokyo-listed components maker, declining to identify them. The firm's shares tumbled almost 10 per cent on Thursday.
This recall - the biggest since Toyota pulled back more than 7 million vehicles last October - underscores the risk of huge global supply chain problems as automakers increasingly rely on a handful of suppliers for common or similar parts to cut costs.
Globally, the world's biggest selling automaker Toyota is recalling about 1.73 million vehicles produced between November 2000 and March 2004, including 580,000 vehicles in North America and 490,000 vehicles in Europe.
Some airbags at the front passenger seat may not inflate correctly because of a problem with the propellant used in the airbag inflator, Toyota spokesman Ryo Sakai said.
Tokyo-based Takata supplies airbags and seatbelts to major automakers including Daimler AG and Ford Motor Co as well as the Japanese brands.
A second Takata spokesman Hideyuki Matsumoto said the defect was caused by problems in the manufacturing process.
There were no injuries or deaths reported as a result of the faulty airbags, Toyota said. The automaker said there was a risk of fires starting or passengers being injured because of the flawed inflators.
Toyota will exchange the faulty inflators for new ones, a fix that is expected to take about an hour to two-and-a-half hours for most models, spokesman Sakai said. He declined to give the costs related to the recall.
"The inflators themselves are not so expensive, but there is the cost to cover for the hours spent to fix the problem," said Mr Kohei Takahashi, an automotives analyst at JP Morgan in Japan.
Honda said it is recalling around 1.14 million vehicles worldwide. Nissan Motor Co said it is recalling about 480,000 vehicles globally, and that there may be more.
Mazda Motor Corp said it is recalling about 45,500 vehicles.
Takata estimates there are about 2 million vehicles using the defective airbag, spokesman Hideyuki Matsumoto said.
The airbag problem, announced during Japanese trading hours, hit Takata's shares much more strongly than it did the automakers.
Takata's shares plunged 9 per cent to close at 1,819 yen.
Shares in Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda, which continue to be supported by a weakening yen and Japan's new economic policies, were up between 3.1 and 5.8 per cent, outpacing a 2 per cent rise in the benchmark Nikkei.


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Apple Inc. has been in and out of the courtroom a number of times this year for patent infringements, product defects and mostly to defend its iPhone. This week, Apple finds itself in the courtroom again, this time facing a class action lawsuit alleging the LCD screens on its MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops are substandard. The claim also alleges Apple advertised its screens as being superior, but knowingly shipped screens that did not meet its original claims.
The class action lawsuit points out the glossy screens Apple introduced with the launched of its MacBook last year. Apple advertised that the new glossy screens provided users with deeper blacks and whites that are more vibrant. However, many customers experienced graininess and sparkling effects common to dithering techniques, according to the lawsuit.
According to the complaint:
Many such dissatisfied purchasers were chastised by Apple agents and employees for being too picky about their assessments of the quality of the display. Other dissatisfied purchasers were told that they were imagining the complained about defects.
The complaint also points out that many of the disgruntled customers posted messages on Apple’s own forums only later to have their posts moderated or completely removed by Apple forum administrators.
“It appears that Apple has engaged in substantial editing of the posts on the discussion forum,” the lawsuit indicates.
The lawsuit alleges Apple uses dithering techniques to create an illusion of colors that don’t actually exist. In fact, the lawsuit claims if a MacBook or MacBook Pro users installs Windows XP, they will notice superior image quality in areas such as gradients. The test seems to indicate Apple is using some sort of software at work in OS X.
“The displays are only capable of displaying the illusion of millions of colors through the use of a software technique referred to as ‘dithering’,” the lawsuit claims.


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Even if the Cyberpunk 2077 world ends up being about the same size as The Witcher 3, we would be satisfied but CD Projekt RED has no intention of stopping there. With the success that they have gotten with the release of The Witcher 3, the developers seem to be adamant about creating a game that would make The Witcher 3 look small.
We know that CD Projekt RED is working on the new Cyberpunk 2077 game but there is still very little details about the game. The developers mentioned that they plan to make the upcoming game bigger, better and “more revolutionary.
We were already impressed with how big The Witcher 3 was and we can’t wait to see what this even larger game will have to offer. Unlike The Witcher 3, the new Cyberpunk 2077 will bring us to the future.
The game is still far from ready and we are already getting so excited. Let’s hope they deliver.


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The official meeting at the Torkham border on Tuesday between administrative officials and security has decided the addition in a number of trucks going to Afghanistan.
A coordination meeting between administrative officials and security has increased the number of goods trucks going to Afghanistan, the number has been increased to 150 along with the improved protective measures against the virus at the crossing of the border. The meeting was presided by sector commander Brig Shaukat Rana. Deputy Commissioner Mehmud Aslam Wazir, DPO Muhammad Iqbal, Commander Khyber Rifles Col Bilal, and NLC, representatives of transporters and officials and customs also attended the meeting.
Repeated complaints had been received concerning the issue of the slow process of customs clearance of trade goods to Afghanistan. Finally, the decision was taken to increase the total number of goods trucks to 150 instead of 100 on a daily basis.
The meeting also decided and ended up by asking the district administration to repair the road between Nadra chowk near border nearby Bacha Maina in order to have a smooth flow of heavy traffic.
Image source link


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2017 was a successful year for Vietnam in areas from socio-economic development to elevating its international status.
Diplomats and foreign investors said Vietnam will have new opportunities and advantages in 2018.
Dynamic economy in ASEAN
Bloomberg News called Vietnam an emerging economic development model in ASEAN.
It described Vietnam as a good example for countries transforming from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy led by services and tourism.
|Professor Hidetoshi Nishimura
Professor Hidetoshi Nishimura, Executive Director of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, said, “Vietnam is a rising surge of the ASEAN economy. Many manufacturers like Canon, Samsung, and Toyota are locating to Vietnam. ASEAN provides market opportunities to Vietnamese businesses. Not only manufacturing but also other industries including tourism, real estate, construction, and others are expanding. The point now is how to make better use of ASEAN.”
Vietnam combines many factors to make itself a dynamic economy in the region, thanks to development directions set by the government, said Indonesian legislator Rahayu Saraswati.
|Indonesian legislator Rahayu Saraswati
She added Vietnam has proven it can fulfill its potential to become an attractive destination for foreign investors.
“I think that Vietnam has done a wonderful job. As some of my friends who have come here before say: ‘Wow, in the past 10 years, Vietnam has made tremendous progress in terms of infrastructure and investment’,” said Rahayu.
Potential for development
According to the World Economic Forum, Vietnam’s Global Competitiveness Index has risen 20 places in the past 5 years. It now ranks 55th out of 137 countries.
The Asian Development Bank said the Vietnamese economy performed relatively well in 2017 despite many challenges.
Aaron Batten, an ADB economist, said he hopes Vietnam’s growth will slightly further to 6.7% this year, adding its export growth is to remain relatively strong in a double digit, about 10%.
“Vietnam continues to remain one of the strongest performances within the ASEAN region. That is due to a number of strategic and structure advantages that it enjoyed,” Batten said.
Vietnam has had the world's second-fastest growth rate per person since 1990, behind only China. Many international experts agreed that if the growth rate is maintained, Vietnam will soon become an industrial nation.
Important partner of many countries
With a stable economy and improved status in the international arena, Vietnam has become an established partner in the global community.
Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Hong Xiaoyong said, “Vietnam has made encouraging economic progress, with last year’s growth reaching 6.8%. All economic goals were surpassed. By successfully hosting the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week, Vietnam raised its status internationally. These achievements are impressive. China is ready to enhance its cooperation and development strategy with Vietnam.”
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in his 2018 New Year message that Vietnam is trying to create a more peaceful and safer environment, and raise the living standards for the people, especially for poor and vulnerable groups. With a population of 95 million and impressive achievements after the 30 years of reform, Vietnam is building a dynamic and sustainable economy.


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October 29, 2009 BY Aaron Kr.
As you may already be aware, the Reebok Pump is celebrating a big birthday this year. The innovative Pump technology was first introduced in 1989 and not only made a big splash at the time, but left a legacy of fond memories in the minds of those who were around to appreciate the first go-around of Pump sneakers. To celebrate the Pump’s 20th birthday, Reebok will be teaming up with 20 different sneaker shops from all over the world, allowing each to bring their own vision of the Pump to life. We have already given you some sneak peeks at a couple of the upcoming collab editions of the OG Pump, but now we get a look at the entire list of contributors, as well as a video showing some of the Pump20 collaborators discussing their thoughts on the project. Keep reading for a full breakdown of all the shops that will be involved with the upcoming collection, and stay tuned on November 19th for the official unveiling of all 20 designs.


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Walgreens Turns to Technology and Stops Non-Essential Projects
In June, Attorney General William Tong announced the final approval of $17.3 billion in opioid agreements with drug makers Teva and Allergan and pharmacies CVS and Walgreens.
Last week, Walgreens reported Q4 2023 earnings that missed Street estimates. For the full year, Walgreens had sales of $139.1 billion, up 4.8% from the year-ago period. It has a net loss in fiscal 2023 of $3.1 billion, compared with net earnings of $4.3 billion in fiscal 2022, partially driven by a $5.5 billion after-tax charge for opioid-related claims and lawsuits.
Ginger Graham, interim CEO, Walgreens, said on the retailer’s earnings call that the company expects over $1 billion of cost savings during fiscal year 2024 based on actions already taken and in progress. Some of the actions Graham cited included reducing headquarter costs going “line by line, expense category by expense category,” and reducing all nonessential spend.
“We've reviewed and are reducing areas for contracted or project work. We are altering our store operating hours based on local market trends,” Graham said. “We are closing unprofitable stores. We're driving supply chain efficiencies, including using artificial intelligence (AI) to more accurately forecast demand and optimizing our transportation network. We're also implementing centralized services that control inventory, reduce workload, and provide better customer support. We're taking a hard look at all projects and stopping those that are not essential.”
Walgreens has also introduced a perpetual pharmacy inventory system across the chain, available to all 9,000 stores as of last week. The technology provides complete visibility of inventory in the pharmacies and supports Walgreens work to reduce excess inventory and free up working capital.
Graham noted it has many benefits for the pharmacy staff, and feedback has been “overwhelmingly positive as it simplifies workflows reducing store level activities.”
Walgreens is also reducing implementing regional micro fulfillment centers to improve product availability, while, at the same time, reduce total inventory levels. The retailer’s 11th micro fulfillment center opened three weeks ago and these MFCs support more than 4,300 stores, filling over 2.3 million prescriptions each week across 29 states.
“As we fill more prescriptions centrally, it frees up our staff to spend more time with customers, offering other health-related products and services and it relieves some of the pressure on store staffing,” said Graham.


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Supporters of Donald Trump's presidential campaign are furious over a Home Depot worker who was spotted wearing a hat critical of the US.
The hat reads "America was never great" — which is a play on Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America great again."
Someone snapped a photo of the employee wearing the hat at a Home Depot in Staten Island, and shared it online.
The photo went viral on social media.
Hundreds of Trump supporters are now threatening to boycott Home Depot in response.
"This is disgusting," customer Trevor McNulty wrote on Home Depot's Facebook page. "If we do not hear what action was taken against this employee and the manager, I will never step foot in any of their stores again. You've got until Monday HD." The comment has been "liked" 54 times.
Another person wrote, "If this woman is not fired I will never shop at Home Depot again. She represents everything that is wrong with our country!"
—District✪fCriminals (@DistOfCriminals) May 18, 2016
Home Depot has swiftly responded to critics on Twitter and Facebook, saying the hat was inappropriate.
—The Home Depot (@HomeDepot) May 18, 2016
Home Depot spokesman Stephen Holmes spokesman told Business Insider that it's against company policy for employees to wear items that reflect political statements, regardless of candidate or party.


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Another Sheetz location in Luzerne County will be torn down to make way for a new larger store with a new design.
Work began to tear down the Sheetz store on Route 315 in Plains Twp. and it will be replaced by a larger 5,475-square-foot building with indoor and outdoor seating, said Sheetz spokesman Nick Ruffner. The store will have 16 fueling stations, the same number of gas pumps as it previously had, he said.
The project should be complete by Aug. 22, Ruffner said. There are plans to sell beer at the store but he could not yet say the timeline. The new store will be about 1,000 square feet larger than the current store.
Work on the Plains Twp. Sheetz has begun after the Sheetz store on Memorial Highway in Kingston Twp. was demolished.
The new store being built in Kingston Twp. also will be about 1,000 square feet larger than the former 3,900-square-foot store and will include a new design and enhanced seating.
The seating will be an added amenity for people who purchase items like subs, sandwiches, salads and more from the convenience store’s extensive made-to-order menu, Ruffner said. Customers order items through touch-screen terminals.
Gas pumps also will be reconfigured as part of the Kingston Twp. project. The current Sheetz has 16 gas pumps under two canopy areas and the new store will have 14 gas pumps under a single new canopy. The project is on track to be completed by Sept. 27, Ruffner said.
Contact the writer: email@example.com; 570-821-2115


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The beer wars have entered another phase of action, with Budweiser recently announcing that it was seeking permission to re-label its beer as “America” for the duration of the U.S. election season. In what can only be deemed to be a gimmick to draw market share away from craft beer, which has become a fierce competitor, the company is making it clear it has dedicated itself to finding new ways to get consumers’ attention.
Declining Sales Numbers of Big Beer
Over recent years, Big Beer sales numbers have taken a beating, as craft beers come to the notice of consumers. The decline in sales numbers have been particularly severe with millennials, who prefer the distinctive flavors and aromas of craft offerings. In addition, Budweiser has battled a bad image as one of the lower quality beers on the market. While the company thought the recent recession and other economic factors were affecting their sales, craft beer was coming in to fill the gap, with young people choosing to spend their hard-earned dollars on a more flavorful, high-quality products. Budweiser’s market share was down to 8.7 percent in 2013, down from 14.3 percent in 2005.
Budweiser Fights Back
In response to the declining numbers, the company resolved to take on other producers, as well as the craft beer industry, increasing sales and marketing budgets by 9 percent. So far, the company’s efforts have been in vain. By the 4th quarter of 2015, revenues were down another 10 percent, causing the company to look at new marketing efforts to boost sales numbers.
Riding the Election Train
The Leuve, Belgium based company has chosen to use the current election season to heavily market its beer with the temporary “America” brand. Perhaps, this choice is an attempt to ride the coattails of Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump with his “Make America Great Again” slogan. Or perhaps, they feel the election itself will provoke renewed patriotic feelings sufficient to boost their sales. Budweiser has offered American themed cans and bottles in the summer months before without significant interest. This time, they will add words from the Pledge of Allegiance and lines from the Star Spangled Banner along with the name change. Whatever the thinking behind the new name and marketing campaign, the move has already put the company in the news and has created renewed awareness in the public consciousness.
Whether this move is a sign that Big Beer intends to offer more seasonal promotions of its products, much like McDonald’s offers McRib sandwiches, will be interesting to see. It’s unlikely to affect the wide popularity of craft beer.


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Our 60 Second Security videos are back!
We're aiming for a weekly roundup that's quick, fun and useful.
But there is a serious side: security anecdotes to use in your own "elevator advocacy."
The call has gone out to Yahoo Japan's 200 million users to change their passwords, after the company warned that it suspected hackers had managed to access a file containing 22 million user IDs.
It has taken Yahoo a ridiculously long time, but it is finally rolling out an option that will help protect users' privacy when accessing their web-based email - HTTPS.
A hacker is selling a $700 zero-day exploit for Yahoo Mail that lets an attacker leverage a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability to steal cookies and hijack accounts.
Michael Argast rejoined Chet this halloween to catch up on the week's news including new DMCA exceptions, Hurricane Sandy scams, Yahoo! ignoring do not track, Barnes and Noble credit cards skimming and Facebook's donation to spam research.
Yahoo! has decided to ignore Internet Explorer 10 users privacy choices. Are IE 10 users losing out on a tailored advertising experience?
Here you go. All the stories we wrote in the past seven days, in case you missed anything (or just want to read them again).
Hotmail lets down its over 350 million users when it comes to security, by not giving them an easy way to tell if their account has been accessed by unauthorised third parties.
The case involves a woman's hacking into her former boss's Yahoo account to uncover evidence of his extramarital affair. Judges decreed that email stored in the cloud, such as Gmail or Yahoo Mail, doesn't meet the definition of "electronic storage" as written in the Stored Communications Act.
Beware any emails which claim to come from email@example.com - it could be that you're being targeted in an attack designed to steal your AOL, Gmail, Yahoo or Windows Live password.
Shouldn't Outlook.com be giving users the option of having longer passwords?
That's what Yahoo and Gmail do..
Ninja? Princess? 123456?
Too many internet users are making poor decisions when choosing their passwords.
Yahoo Voices suffers a serious security breach, with over 450,000 unencrypted usernames and passwords posted online by hackers.
There is quite a lot of debate out there about Android devices participating in spamming botnets. Chet Wisniewski tries to clear the air about what we are seeing in SophosLabs.
Prosecutors are calling for nude photo hacker Christopher Chaney to be sentenced to six years in jail, and pay damages to exposed celebrities.
Yahoo just released a new iOS browser called Axis, along with corresponding extensions for desktop browsers. The Chrome extension came with a little something extra: Yahoo's private key.
US courts find in favour of Yahoo in a recent spam case, awarding the company a gob-smacking $610 Million. While this figure makes a great headline for the fight against fraud and spam, it begs the question, will Yahoo! ever actually see any of the cash?


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Shanghai (Gasgoo)- FAW Volkswagen Tianjin factory officially started construction on May 18th last year. According to plan, the fifth FAW Volkswagen factory will be put into production next year, since the main project construction is coming to an end. Currently, FAW Volkswagen has four vehicle manufacturing plants. Once the fifth one begins production, the joint venture’s annual capacity will be up to 3m units.
It’s known that Tianjin factory will have an annual capacity of 300,000 units after completion with annual sales revenue reaching RMB 55b and staff number exceeding 6,000. It’s also predicted that nearly 40 part providers will locate in Tianjin and their total production value would reach RMB 30b to 40b when mass production is achieved.
Tianjin NDRC released its project plan for Volkswagen transmission DQ400e on September 28th with a total investment of RMB 281.3m and an annual capacity of 180,000 units for two periods.
Volkswagen Tianjin company, registered on July 16, 2012, is responsible for producing several transmission projects including DQ380, DQ500, DL382, DQ381 and DQ400e. In the meantime, Volkswagen Tianjin also introduces the high-technology new pure power motor project APP 290 from Germany with a total investment of RMB 1.149b. The project will be put into production in December, 2018, with an annual capacity of 120,000 units, which is an important part of Volkswagen Group’s pure power motor strategy in domestic market.
Gasgoo not only offers timely news and profound insight about China auto industry, but also help with business connection and expansion for suppliers and purchasers via multiple channels and methods. Buyer service: [email protected] Seller Service: [email protected]
All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce, copy and use the editorial content without permission. Contact us: khoahocxaydung.info.


text: Nokia has a press event on Monday but a teaser posted on the Nseries blog has revealed something that could have been the biggest surprise by Nokia at the event. The post titled ‘Check out this picture!’ wants us to check the – skateboarder? – definitely not. It’s the EXIF data. Probing the image’s EXIF info shows the presence of Carl Zeiss lens and image resolution at 3274×2448 pixels which equals to 8 megapixels. Yes, it looks like an 8MP phone will finally come from the Finnish company. The model number is still unknown and the model number is rightly kept under wraps so as to keep the buzz going.


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ForeverGreen Worldwide Corporation Accelerates Business In India
ForeverGreen Worldwide Corporation, a leading direct marketing company and provider of health-centered products, announced a number of ForeverGreen's management team members traveled to India in November to meet with top leaders and accelerate business in the region. Among ForeverGreen's leadership were Jack Eldridge, CFO; Joe Jensen, Vice President of Sales; and Bob Mower Steed, President Asia Pacific.
On the first day of the visit, ForeverGreen hosted a fly-in event at the ForeverGreen India's office in Ahmedbad. Over 350 members attended as well as a number of high profile leaders from other direct marketing companies.
The next few days were dedicated to the Nirankari Wellness Mission event in India's capital, Delhi. The charitable event is a bi-annual gathering where close to two million people can access free medical care, thousands can eat at an open-air soup kitchen and all can gather to hear Baba Ji, the spiritual leader of one of the largest sects in India.
We partnered with Life Chiropractic College, The International Association of Chiropractors and the Indian Association of Chiropractors to provide pain relief to the masses through chiropractic adjustments and the application of PowerStrips by chiropractors to several thousand patients over the three days of treatment at the event, said Mr. Jensen.
During the event, ForeverGreen was also able to connect with a number of government officials and heads of large medical associations in India, including the President of the Indian Association of Physical Therapists; the President of the largest dental association in India; the President of the Indian Yoga Association, who is also a published Harvard researcher working in conjunction with traditional medical professionals in India to improve recovery outcomes.
The trip concluded with a full-day conference with the Indian Association of Physical Therapists at the AIIMS College and Hospital. ForeverGreen had the opportunity to present PowerStrips and how to create a business model incorporating the product to an audience of 250 physical therapists.
Moving forward, ForeverGreen plans to continue enhancing its business strategy through new-found partnerships, training calls, public events and even greater logistical and operational support from the India office.
India is among the fastest growing countries, measured by revenue growth, for ForeverGreen. The company expects India to become one of its largest overall markets during 2015. The direct marketing industry has been growing at 10% in India, but it is expected to grow at a scorching pace over the next few years.
According to Rajandeep Singh, Manager, Strategy & Operations, Management Consulting, KPMG, The direct selling industry will see fast growth in India in the next ten years.
The industry will grow from Rs7200 crore (about $1.16 billion) to Rs64000 crores (about $10.29 billion) by 2025, said Mr. Singh at a FICCI Roundtable on the direct selling industry. According to Mr. Singh, a burgeoning middle class in India and growing working age population in the coming years could boost direct selling industry, and the number of direct sellers in the country could go up from six million at present to 18 million by 2025.
ForeverGreen Worldwide Corporation develops, manufactures and distributes an expansive line of all natural whole foods and products to North America, Australia, Europe, Asia and South America, including their new global offerings, PowerStrips, SolarStrips and BeautyStrips. They also offer Azul and FrequenSea, whole-food beverages with industry exclusive marine phytoplankton, the Versativa line of hemp-based whole-food products, immune support and weight management products, Pulse-8 powdered L-arginine formula, TRUessence Essential Oils and Apothecary, 24Karat Chocolate and an entire catalog of meals, snacks, household cleaners and personal care products.


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Ford Motor Co. announced it is acquiring Sperry New Holland, the world's largest manufacturer of specialized farm equipment, from Sperry Corp.
Chairman Donald Petersen said Thursday the transaction is "consistent with our efforts to continue to improve Ford's worldwide tractor and farm equipment business."
Petersen said Ford is paying about $300 million for the Sperry New Holland agricultural equipment business, including worldwide assets, wholesale receivables, facilities in 10 countries and New Holland trademarks.
Ford also will assume an estimated $110 million in liabilities, Petersen said. The final purchase price will be adjusted at closing, and the transaction is subject to obtaining the necessary government clearances.
With the acquisition of Sperry New Holland, Ford's tractor and farm equipment business will have combined annual sales of more than $2 billion, 18,000 employes and sales outlets in more than 100 countries.
In New York, Sperry said the sale will result in an estimated after-tax loss on the disposal of discontinued operations of $220 million, or $3.86 per share, which will be reported in the corporation's results for the second quarter.
New Holland is the world's largest manufacturer of specialty farm equipment, with 9,600 employes and revenue of $715 million in the fiscal year ended March 31. Sperry acquired New Holland in 1947.


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Home Tags Red Meat
Tag: Red Meat
Experts had already pointed out flaws in the report's methodology and conclusions, and continue to stand by recommendations to limit red meat intake.
Bowel cancer rates continue to rise in young people, and obesity, genetics, and diet may be to blame
While it's still a lot more common among people 50 years old and older, colorectal cancer in younger populations has researchers concerned.
Increasing red meat intake, particularly when it's processed, was associated with a heightened risk of death of 10-13%.
We already knew Lone Star ticks made people allergic to red meat and other products from mammals, including dairy. But it turns out their bites may also increase heart disease risk.
The Lone Star tick's alpha-galactose, or alpha-gal, allergy, is still new enough that it's not counted by the CDC on their lists of tick-borne diseases. It makes people allergic to red meat and mammal products and can cause life-threatening reactions.
A study of more than 81,000 people in the US and Canada found that eating more nuts and seeds may help heart health and that meat could hurt it.
The symptoms are severe, with hives and shortness of breath being common and a dangerous anaphylactic reaction possible, but they seem to appear out of the blue.


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Dr. Skott Ahn, LG CEO, just introduced LG's latest Optimus One and Optimus Chic smartphones in an interactive digital press conference held online. The Optimus One is designed to be "your first smartphone", but it should cater for the experienced smartphone user as well.
You've probably already read some bits about Optimus One (LG P500) and Optimus Chic (LG E720). These are the phones that will hopefully bring LG back on the smartphone market map. LG has already hinted of their existence and even provided a couple of photos, but that was pretty much all.
However, as of today, we now have their full tech specs plus some new juicy images.
Both Optimus One and Chic run on the latest Android OS v2.2 Froyo and feature 3.2-inch capacitive HVGA TFT touchscreens, 600 MHz processors and all-round connectivity package – 3G with HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS with A-GPS support and digital compass, 3.5mm audio jack and FM radio. A 2GB microSD card is included on both retail packages.
LG Optimus One sports a 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera with VGA@18fps recording. It’s also capable of playing DivX and Xvid videos.
LG Optimus Chic on the other side packs 5 megapixel snapper and captures VGA@30fps videos. Unfortunately, according to its official specs Chic is only DivX compatible and we're still yet to see if it will play XviD movies too.
In addition to its piano black version, Optimus Chic will also be released in white color (at least for the battery cover).
LG Optimus Chic will be available even in white
And to spice things a little bit, we have our own live images of LG Optimus Chic.
Aiming for the mass market, LG Optimus One will be available in more than 90 countries world-wide. October is the month to get it in most of Europe. LG Optimus Chic will launch in Europe starting this November.
LG new launched phone LG optimus one review... http://www.youtube.com/themymobiletv#p/u/0/aBB-diSWziY
So does it support multi-touch?
Even 2.2 (from a custom ROM) on the archaic G1 runs extremely well, and the ports on the iPhone aren't bad at all.
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A senior member of the U.S. Senate plans to introduce legislation that would require websites and online advertising networks to stop tracking Web users who ask to be left alone.
A state senator in California has introduced a bill that would allow Web surfers to opt out of online tracking efforts by websites and advertising networks.
A bill that would direct the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to create a mechanism to allow consumers to opt out of online tracking efforts tops a list of proposals that would be bad for the Internet, according to e-commerce trade group NetChoice.
A senior Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives will soon introduce legislation designed to give Web users more control of their personal data and to give the U.S. Federal Trade Commission power to enforce voluntary privacy standards ...
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P.M.EXPRESS Ranked Among Nigerian Digital News Platforms Which Attracted 1.6 Billion Visits
Posted on February 13, 2024
One of the online news websites with huge readership, P.M.EXPRESS, has over time grown to become one of the most visited news platforms for authentic stories.
RANKED, a digital news ranking report by SquirrelPR tracked 80 of Nigeria’s most influential digital news platforms from January to December 2023 and found that they attracted 1.6 billion visits within the period with pmexpressng.com among the most visited websites.
The digital news platforms covered in the report cut across four major categories including News and Current Affairs, Business and Finance, Technology and Startups, including Entertainment and Lifestyle.
The News & Current Affairs accounted for 83% of the total visits, with over 1.3 billion visits, while Entertainment & Lifestyle – 166 million, Business & Finance – 74.6 million, and Technology and Startups – 34.6 million accounted for 10%, 5% and 2% of the total visits respectively.
Outside the topmost five, the report also highlighted the rising stars, which included media platforms with less than 10 million quarterly volume under the News and Current Affairs category that made impressive progress within the year under review. These platforms included P.M.EXPRESS, Okay.ng, Truetells Nigeria, Eagles Path, Business Hallmark, News Online NG, Newsdirect.ng, New Telegraph Online, and Blueprint Online.
Commenting on the report, the Co-founder of SquirrelPR, James Ezechukwu said, “I am immensely proud to see the impact of our RANKED report on the Nigerian digital news landscape. The comprehensive analysis provided by RANKED offers invaluable insights for media relations practitioners, enabling them to make informed decisions in a dynamic and competitive environment.
“The significant findings of the report underscored the vital role played by digital news platforms in shaping public discourse and influencing consumer behaviour across various sectors. With 1.6 billion visits recorded within the year, it is evident that these platforms wield considerable influence and reach a vast audience.”
Speaking further, he noted that “the breakdown of visitation numbers across different categories highlights the diverse interests of digital news consumers, with News & Current Affairs emerging as the dominant category, followed by Entertainment & Lifestyle, Business & Finance, and Technology and Startups. Moreover, the identification of top leaders and rising stars within each category provides valuable benchmarks for media practitioners to gauge performance and explore collaboration opportunities.”
He added, “Overall, the RANKED report serves as a vital tool for navigating the complexities of the digital news landscape, empowering stakeholders to optimize their strategies and maximize their impact in the ever-evolving media landscape.”
Beyond providing unfettered access to Africa’s most credible newsrooms and journalists, RANKED is part of a strategic initiative by SquirrelPR to provide deeper, invaluable, and measurable tools needed by communication professionals to drive targeted media placement campaigns that deliver on marketing objectives.


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We're happy to announce our recommendations will be included as part of a proposed legislative package of small business relief bills
As you know, the NYC Hospitality Alliance has been advocating around the clock for our restaurant and nightlife industry. We're happy to announce our recommendations will be included as part of a proposed legislative package of small business relief bills at their first ever remote Stated Hearing on Wednesday April 22nd.
- Suspending Personal Liability on Commercial Leases: The Council will consider legislation to temporarily suspend personal liability provisions in leases known as "good guy clauses" and other rental agreements of COVID-19 impacted businesses for the period of time that the state of emergency was in effect, ensuring that City business owners don't face personal financial ruin or bankruptcy over the business's inability to pay rent due to the emergency orders.
Suspending Sidewalk Cafe Fees: Fees for the entire 2020 year to be suspended and refunded if already paid. This is one simple way that the City can extend relief to small businesses through the suspension of fixed-cost fees. Though a small step, suspending these fees will translate to reducing fixed costs for the City's cash-strapped restaurants, bars and nightlife.
Commercial Tenant Harassment: As availability of federal loans is limited, many businesses impacted by this crisis are unable to pay their rent. The Council will consider legislation to make threatening a commercial tenant based on their status as a COVID-19 impacted business or person a form of harassment punishable by a civil penalty of $10,000 to $50,000. The threat of harassment will particularly impact the City's small, independently-owned, and immigrant-owned businesses, many of which were operating on thin margins and struggling to pay rent even before this crisis.
The City Council's press release announcing the legislation included the following quote the NYC Hospitality Alliance's Andrew Rigie and Robert Bookman:
"It's clear the City Council and its leadership have listened to small business owners and are taking quick action to support local restaurants, bars and clubs during the COVID-19 crisis. This package of small business relief bills is a critical step in our effort to save our beloved eating and drinking spots. We thank Speaker Johnson and the Council for their support and urge the swift passage and enactment of this legislation."
The NYC Hospitality Alliance will continue to fight for the future and survival of our industry.


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31. August 2021
Hugues Chevalier, Economist
The European Commission is expected to announce on July 14 that it will ban thermal engines from 2035 in the European Union. The new regulations would not ban heat engines per se, but the authorised levels of CO2 emissions would be so low that only electric vehicles could be permitted. The level of CO2 has not yet been decided and this point is crucial for the thermal engine industry. Indeed, at 30 g / km, only fully electric engines would be allowed, while at 50 g / km, hybrid motorisation would also be possible. The thermal engine industry still has tens of thousands of employees in Europe and car manufacturers are asking for more time to adapt. If automotive manufacturers are currently lobbying very actively to obtain at least a level of 50 g / km, they have already started to adapt and to invest at a forced pace (with the help of public subsidies), as it is the case currently in Germany and France. After the VW group, BMW and Daimler, it is the turn of other French manufacturers to announce massive investments toward engine electrification. Thus, Stellantis, the Franco-Italian-American manufacturer, resulting from the merger PSA – Fiat Chrysler, presented last week a plan of 30 billion investments over the next five years. The vehicles of the 14 brands will be manufactured on four platforms and will share three types of engines. In addition, Stellantis is expected to create five battery building units to achieve a capacity of 260 gigawatt hours (GWh). In less than 10 years, no less than 700 GWh of capacity should be installed in Europe, of which a third by the Volkswagen group. In total, over the last twelve months, 330 billion euros of investments have been announced, up 41% compared to 2019-2020.


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"Thanksgiving Day Parade" stamp set available now
NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2009 The United States Postal Service has
issued a commemorative stamp in four designs celebrating Thanksgiving
Day parades and prominently featuring a marching band.
The stamp is titled "Thanksgiving Day Parade" and features iconic scenes
inspired by America's variety of holiday celebrations, including the
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The four designs create a continuous
scene when viewed in a strip side-by-side.
"Thanksgiving Day stems from a rich history of American celebrations,"
said Joseph Corbett, U.S. Postal Service chief financial officer and
executive vice president, who dedicated the stamp. "The best known of
these is the first harvest festival at Plymouth, where in autumn 1621,
some 50 colonists and 90 Native Americans gathered for a three-day feast
to offer thanks for a bountiful harvest.
"In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a Proclamation of
Thanksgiving, marking the beginning of national recognition of an annual
U.S. Thanksgiving holiday," Corbett said. "The Postal Service is proud
to carry on this rich tradition through the issuance of these colorful
Thanksgiving is observed on the fourth Thursday of November and is a day
when Americans of all backgrounds gather to reflect and give thanks for
all they presently enjoy, especially family and friends. Thanksgiving
Day parades in large cities and small towns throughout the U.S. have
been an important part of this tradition since the early 20th century.
The four stamp designs illustrate the elements commonly found in a
Thanksgiving Day parade, including marching bands, colorful floats,
large balloons, and crowds of delighted onlookers. The artwork was
created by Paul Rogers of Pasadena, CA, who based the style on American
advertising and poster art from the mid-20th century. Rogers used a
combination of airbrush and digital media to create the colorful and
nostalgic images featured on the stamps.
The stamp dedication ceremony was held September 9 at Macy's Herald
Square in New York. Joining Corbett at the ceremony were Robin Hall,
executive producer, Macy's Parade and Entertainment Group, and Jean
Picker Firstenberg, chair, USPS Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee.
The new stamp successfully captures both spirit and tradition,
according to Hall.
"Paul Rogers' beautiful rendering of a New York street teeming with
energy and life under a winter sky filled with giant helium balloons
captures the spirit and the purpose of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day
Parade perfectly," said Hall. "And like the Macy's Parade itself, it
mirrors a moment in time; it's both a snapshot of popular culture and a
reflection of our enduring traditions."
The stamp is now widely available at local Post Office locations around the country.
Collectors have until November 10, 2009 to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark
for this new stamp release. First-day covers and additional memorabilia are also available.
(See details and ordering information below).
View a larger image of the stamp strip
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by
mail. They may purchase new stamps at a local Post Office, at The Postal
Store website at www.usps.com/shop
or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They
should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the
envelopes to themselves or others, and place them in a larger envelope
Thanksgiving Day Parade Stamp
421 Eighth Ave., Room 2029B
New York, NY 10199-9998
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will
return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the
postmark. All orders must be postmarked by Nov. 10, 2009.


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The beginning of the year tends to herald a time for new technology, with exciting innovations from all manner of companies. Nikon even showed some innovations during CES, but has taken the week after to show that it isn’t spending much time for updates to its entry-level cameras.
The new cameras are follow-ups to models Nikon has released over the years, with Nikon upping its S2800 to the S2900, the S3600 to an S3700, and the L29 (because we never really saw much of the L30) with the L31.
Yes, it’s a time for follow-ups, and follow-up they do, with minor differences between most of the cameras, though we suspect there will be new software, new special effects, and a new box to go with that new name. Possibly even some new colours.
First up is the Coolpix S2900 (above), a 20 megapixel shooter with 5x optical zoom equivalent to 26mm to 130mm, a 2.7 inch LCD, and a rechargeable battery, with the package arriving in a fairly svelte package at a little less than 20mm.
Differences between it and the the model it is replacing (S2800) seem to be fairly scarce from what we can see, with the only real change we can see being a new digital zoom mode that can provide 10x digital, up from 4x on the S2800.
Then there’s the S3700 (above), which takes the design and features from the S3600 a year before basically adds WiFi to the package.


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What you need to know
- The U.S. ban on the Chinese giant is finally starting to hurt Huawei.
- Despite stellar performance in 2019, the company expects a massive 20% drop in smartphone sales this year.
- The underlying cause? Lower demand in foreign markets due to the lack of Google services on its newest phones.
Despite holding strong for nearly a year since it was first added to the U.S. Entity List, Huawei's fortunes may finally be starting to turn as the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign starts to yield tangible results.
Even though most of its new phones lacked Google services last year, Huawei was still able to report a 20% year-on-year increase in smartphone sales in 2019, owing to strong domestic demand, as well as its reliance on phones that had already been certified for Google Mobile Services before the U.S. ban went into effect.
2020, however, is going to be a different beast altogether, with The Information reporting that the Chinese giant expects sales to drop from 240 million last year back to 2018 levels of around 190-200 million units. Those numbers, shared with the publication via unnamed sources, come from Huawei's internal projections, shared with a select few managers in the company's consumer electronics division.
The driving force behind the flagging sales is the waning appeal of Huawei's smartphones in foreign and European markets due to the lack of Google Mobile Services. And while both Google and Huawei are taking measures to deal with this new reality, it's unclear if any of them will save Huawei from the dire predicament it currently faces.
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