text:
Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 245 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.
Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,982,300 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,811,510,000 after purchasing an additional 377,871 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,740,430 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,056,805,000 after buying an additional 77,624 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $816,426,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 5,350,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $646,945,000 after buying an additional 41,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,059,501 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $611,741,000 after buying an additional 1,018,919 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.54% of the company’s stock.
In related news, insider Douglas E. Buckminster sold 32,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.08, for a total value of $4,796,244.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,250,961.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 59,352 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.88, for a total value of $8,658,269.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,475,949.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.
Shares of AXP stock opened at $147.13 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.36. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $76.00 and a fifty-two week high of $151.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.
American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 25th. The payment services company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $9.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.32 billion. American Express had a net margin of 8.84% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 31st. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.98%.
Several analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Barclays raised shares of American Express from an “equal weight” rating to a “positive” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $114.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 10th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price objective on shares of American Express from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird cut American Express from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $108.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.38.
American Express Company Profile
American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Global Consumer Services Group, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. Its products and services include payment and financing products; network services; accounts payable expense management products and services; and travel and lifestyle services.
Featured Article: Why does a company issue an IPO?
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AXP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for American Express (NYSE:AXP).
Receive News & Ratings for American Express Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for American Express and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.


text:
Image via Shutterstock
Ryanair expects to carry 100 million passengers this year and has its sights set on becoming the “world’s biggest carrier” and “the Amazon of travel”.
Chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs hailed the success of Ryanair’s ‘makeover’ in the past year, saying: “We did a lot of things Ryanair said it would never do.”
Ryanair carried 90 million passengers in 2014 and Jacobs said: “We changed and it’s backed up by the way we’ve grown.”
Speaking at German travel trade show ITB in Berlin, Jacobs said: “We want to become potentially the world’s biggest airline.
“We carried nine million extra customers [last year]. We increased our load factor by 6% – that is 12 additional customers on every flight. But our unit costs stayed flat.
“We launched a business product. We partnered with Travelport and Amadeus on GDS [global distribution systems].”
He said Ryanair “carried 30% more traffic than a year ago” in January and February this year, insisting: “We’re carrying more business travellers.
“We’re taking market share off all our competitors, including easyJet and British Airways.”
Jacobs pledged: “We’ll further improve the GDS partnership” – although he gave no details.
He said: “By the end of this year we expect the Ryanair website to be the best of any airline in Europe, with the best mobile app, and Ryanair would never have said that before.”
Jacobs promised: “We’ll introduce a new hold-a-fare feature.” This will allow customers to hold a fare for 24 hours for €5 (£5).
He added: “We’ll launch our own live fare comparison [feature] on our site.”
Jacobs suggested Ryanair would become “like the Amazon of the travel business”, saying: “We’re going to start selling ancillaries in a more targeted way.
“We used to say we sell flights. Now we sell travel and we’re becoming a travel retailer which specialises in flights.”
He insisted: “About 50% of our growth in the next five years will be at primary airports.”
The carrier announced details of further changes last week, including new cabin interiors and a ‘customer charter’.

domain: news


text:
Bitcoin will become more popular in the future as there are already so many businesses that use it including credit card companies.
Within this article, you will get a chance to find the most important things that you need to know about the process of Bitcoin trading.
Long-term holders of Bitcoin almost did not react to the recent correction of BTC, but short-term traders succumbed to panic.
Elon Musk has told the crypto community that he has not sold any of his personal Bitcoin, but Tesla has sold around 10% of its BTC holdings.
The South Korean government has reportedly seized around $22 million in cryptos from 676 of the alleged tax evaders in the city of Seoul.
Data retrieved from Usefultulips shows that the usage of Bitcoin's peer to peer (P2P) trading in Nigeria surged by 27%.
BTC users pay Bitcoin network miners a fee for making their transactions accepted. The amount of fee may vary according to the transaction.
Bitcoin has the largest market capitalization and It has increased the potential and interest using its blockchain technology.
A deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China has said the country regards Bitcoin and stalecoins as investment alternatives.
The Bitcoin lightning network system is designed to let users receive and send their BTC payments fast and easily.


text:
Apple and Samsung CEOs met again, though patent agreements still failed
You’d think that after so many lawsuits, embargoes, and the ironic fact that both Apple and Samsung are partners, each company would reach an amicable settlement to the continuous patent disputes that haunt them, and yet, the soap opera continues. We remember the news of a Judge ruling for both leaders of each company to meet and try to resolve the patent disputes that they’re dealing with. Both CEOs met last week according to the mandate, but it seems that the problems continue.
According to ZDNet Korea, lawyers from both sides met on January 6th to prepare the mediation, and then company executives and counselors met last week to finalize the agreement. Sadly though, even though details are not provided, it’s confirmed that there were no agreements by either of the parties affected.
The trial is now set for March 31st and we’re already hearing that both Phill Schiller, Apple’s Marketing VP and even former VP of iOS, Scott Forstall will be testifying. Apple has already defeated Samsung once in court, so let’s see how things end-up in this new drama episode.


text:
After an 18-month investigation, a U.S. security firm recently uncovered what's being called the largest security breach in recent history, conducted by a group of Russia-based hackers.
While Minneapolis-based Hold Security discovered that hacker group CyberVor stole 1.2 billion username and password combinations, along with more than 500 million email addresses, the details surrounding the breakdown are a bit unclear: According to Forbes, it's possible that the passwords could have been old data pulled from a previous hack and not a new, undiscovered breach.
What's more, Hold Security is under criticism for charging companies a $120 subscription fee to use a tool that checks whether or not their information was stolen.
Although one might think capitalizing on consumer fear could throw a wrench in the validity of its findings, The New York Times — which first reported on the story — hired an independent security expert to confirm Hold Security's findings. The firm was also behind identifying the data breaches with Adobe Systems and Target, so it has a strong track record.
Regardless of where the incident stands in the "biggest-hack-ever" rankings, major breaches are becoming more common. Even changing your password every day — and who does? — won't truly protect you from becoming a cybercrime victim because it's unclear what individual companies are doing to protect user information on the back end.
"A very low percentage of companies store your passwords well and most don't even know they've been breached at all," Joe Siegrist, CEO and cofounder of LastPass, told Mashable. "Never trust a website with a password you use anywhere else. Even better, you shouldn't know your passwords because that way you can't be phished."
There are a few steps you can take to better protect your accounts from hackers. To avoid being a victim of cybercrime, it's essential that your overall password strategy is in check — a move that's way more important than changing individual passwords as often as you think you should.
To start, consider using two-factor verification for the sites that offer it, such as Google, Amazon, Apple, Twitter and Tumblr. Two-factor verification (or two-factor authentication) is like double-locking your door at night to decrease the chances of an intruder breaking in. Companies that offer this security feature typically send a specialized code in a text message to users' phones each time they want to log in from a new device.
This is an invaluable precaution because it means your second-step password is never the same, and a hacker wouldn't be able to get their hands on the text-messaged code that expires, refreshes every 10 seconds and changes after each login attempt.
There's no shortage of articles on strong password tips, but what was once considered strategic and clever — such as using symbols, capitalizations and numbers like 3 in place of the letter "e" — are old tricks. So here's what you need to know now: Use a different password for each account you use — you wouldn't use the same key in all of your locks, so the same goes for passwords.
"Only people who use random unique passwords on every site have reduced their risk from this latest breach — if you re-use passwords you are critically exposed," Siegrist said.
See also: The 25 Worst Passwords of 2013
Meanwhile, security firm McAfee suggests avoiding password words that include personal information, like your birthday, pet's name or a favorite color because they're easy for hackers to guess. Passwords should also be long — at least 14 characters — and when you use common replacements (like symbols and letters), make sure they're not tacked on at the end; scatter them throughout.
McAfee recommends using combinations of dictionary words that aren't related to each other, such as “catfolderspaceshuttle” with numbers and symbols, that make it easy to remember and hard to guess. You'll want to avoid common phrases and idioms like “icameisawiconquered,” which are easier to guess.
Many companies lay out too many rules during the password-creation process, forcing users to pick a phrase with a certain number of characters, numbers and uppercase letters. While this strengthens passwords, the complicated ones are easy to forget. And since each account should get its own unique password, remembering which complicated should go where is a challenge.
Password managers such as LastPass, Dashlane or F-Secure make it simpler to get into your accounts quickly without racking your brain for which login information goes where. Sign into their service, and your passwords auto-populate when you visit other sites.
"Breaches will continue to happen and sites will continue to store your password insecurely," Siegrist said. "The question you need to ask yourself is would you trust this site to have a copy of your house key. If your house key could be copied instantly and used anywhere in the world by any person in the world, you wouldn't. It's important to give each site a randomly generated password instead."
If you're up for being loyal to specific browsers and don't want to pay for a password-manager subscription, many offer in-built security features such as Apple's iCloud Keychain, which keeps your Safari usernames, passwords and credit card information only on the Macs and iOS devices you approve. This means a hacker trying to access your data remotely won't have any luck. To set it up, click here.
Other browsers such as Firefox and Chrome have similar syncing security services, as well.
So even if a company's back-end security is at risk, small measures related to password security can go a long way in keeping your data safe.


text:
January 19, 2012 — The Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ) recently recognized Standard Process Inc. with an NBJ Business Achievement Award for Organic Excellence. Selected for its commitment to organic farming, Standard Process was one of two companies, and the only whole food supplement company in recent history, to receive the award.
“It is a true honor for us to be recognized by the Nutrition Business Journal for our commitment to organic farming,” said Charles C. DuBois, president of Standard Process. “We believe in being a positive example by demonstrating to other businesses and farmers that farming organically provides valuable health benefits, and can be successful on both large- and small-scale farms.”
In growing its crops, Standard Process adheres to strict National Organic Program regulations from the United States Department of Agriculture. In 2011, Standard Process grew more than 6.5 million pounds of vegetables on 420 acres of certified organic farmland located in Palmyra, Wis. In addition, the company welcomed 75 different groups, from farmers to customers and from elementary students to college students, to the Standard Process Farm throughout the year to educate them about organic farming.
In 2010, Standard Process earned an Investment in the Future award from NBJ for its strategic investments in manufacturing efficiencies and outreach efforts to better educate healthcare practitioners and its employees.
NBJ, a monthly executive journal and publisher of in-depth research that reports on strategic issues facing the nutrition industry, presents the NBJ Business Achievement Awards annually to leaders in the nutrition, natural products and alternative health care industries. This year, NBJ had 215 nominations for its award program. All 2011 award recipients will be honored at the NBJ Summit, July 24-27, in Dana Point, Calif.
Source: Standard Process, www.standardprocess.com


text:
Rupee down 40 paise against dollar in early trade
Mumbai: The rupee on Monday fell by 40 paise to 59.96 in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange market, weighed down by dollar's gains against other currencies in global markets.
Forex dealers said besides dollar gains against other currencies overseas, disappointing industrial production and a fall in exports, a higher retail inflation data and a lower opening in the domestic equity market put pressure on the rupee.
The rupee had gained 11 paise to close at two-week high of 59.56 against the US dollar in Friday on fag-end sales of the American currency by exporters amid a strong rally in local equities.
Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex fell by 54 points, or 0.27 percent, to 19,904.47 in early trade today.


text:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Electric will order "tens of thousands" of electric cars in about a week, the conglomerate's chief executive said Friday.
In a speech in London, CEO Jeffrey Immelt said the purchase would be the largest of its kind in history. But he did not specify exactly how many vehicles GE would buy, nor what brand of electric cars would be included in the order.
GE spokeswoman Leigh Farris said the company will release more details on the order at a later date.
General Motors' Volt and Nissan's Leaf electric vehicles are due to hit the market late this year. Ford, Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi are also expected to roll out battery-powered cars in the coming years.
Immelt disclosed the plan in a speech on business and sustainability at the University of Cambridge, Bloomberg first reported on Friday. He said half of GE's sales force will eventually drive electric vehicles.
"We've got to really inspire in business a clean energy future," Immelt said in his speech. "Now is exactly the time, because it's less popular and we're going to have to go for a while without the government at out back."
A big order from a global conglomerate like GE that makes products ranging from jet engines to light bulbs could provide a significant endorsement for electronic vehicles. But it remains to be seen how quickly they will become part of the mainstream car culture.
Analysts at J.D. Power Associates predicted Wednesday that just 7.3% of passenger vehicles sold globally will be hybrids or plug-in cars of some kind over the next decade.
Sales will be higher in the United States, but the vast majority will be "conventional" non-plug-in hybrids like the Toyota Prius or Ford Fusion Hybrid, according to the study.
Michael Omotoso, an analysts at J.D. Power, said the GE order probably would be the largest of its kind in the relatively short-history of electric cars.
"There aren't more then a hand full of EVs on the road right now," he said, adding that the Nissan Leaf is the only electric car currently being mass produced.
Given the relatively small number of EVs expected to roll off the assembly line in the coming years, GE will probably have to space out its purchases over time, or order from multiple manufacturers.
Omotoso said analysts had been expecting fleet orders from big companies and government agencies to give a short-term boost to sales of electronic vehicles. "But over the long run, for the industry to survive, they're going to have to rely more on retail sales," he said.
To get more consumers interested in electronic cars, he said there would have to be a significant increase in gasoline prices, a big reduction in the cost of lithium batteries or additional government tax breaks.
Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More
Honda and General Motors are creating a new generation of fully autonomous vehicles. More
In 1998, Ntsiki Biyela won a scholarship to study wine making. Now she's about to launch her own brand. More
Whether you hedge inflation or look for a return that outpaces inflation, here's how to prepare. More


text:
Plastic and checkout bag pollution are a problem here in Nassau County.
Though plastic bags are banned in NY State as of March 1, 2020, that alone doesn’t stop pollution. It just switches everyone to another throwaway bag.
Counties have the power to eliminate ALL needless checkout bag pollution and have retailers charge a fee for each checkout bag received, which is shown to reduce all checkout bag pollution by 80%. Nassau County can act to avoid this:
please sign the petition to make Nassau a BYO Bag County


text:
These measures are being undertaken as a part of the recommendations made by a Task Force after consulting with experts from different industries in the country as well as industry bodies like The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Scindia stated that the Task Force had suggested 44 measures to reduce the export transaction costs – which are, presently, roughly about seven to 10 percent of the export value.
He stated that the Centre has successfully implemented 23 of the 44 measures suggested by the Task Force, leading to a reduction in the export transaction costs by INR2,100 crore perpetually.
Stressing that the Centre is constantly attempting to reduce business operation costs by simplifying processes, Scindia stated: "Certain steps taken to improve transparency, accountability and simplification of export process include broadening the scope of Electronic Data Interface (EDI) usage, strengthening EDI interfaces with various network partners i.e. Customs, Banks and Export Promotions Councils, laying down time-lines for disposal of various authorisations in the Handbook of Procedures of the Foreign Trade Policy, etc."
Source: SME Times


text:
At its annual user conference in Salt Lake City, Novell Inc. this week unveiled its plans for its next operating system.
The company has renamed its flagship NetWare to Open Enterprise Server, a version that contains NetWare services as well as SuSE Linux Enterprise Server. Open Enterprise Server will ship by year-end.
The company shipped Nterprise Linux Services last year, and will this year introduce a new version - Nterprise Linux Services 2.0. Its functionality will be folded into Open Enterprise Server and be discontinued as a separate product when Open Enterprise Server ships.
Currently customers with maintenance contracts are being supplied with Nterprise Linux Services and SuSE Linux Enterprise Server.
Novell announced its entry into Linux last year. The company has since acquired SuSE and Ximian Inc., two prominent Linux companies.
The company also announced the iFolder Open Source Project, in which an open version of its file management product will be developed. Novell will also continue to develop iFolder as a commercial product.
Further, the company announced that they will release the YAST management suite into the GNU General Public License (GPL). The company will also release its own management suite ZENworks 6.5 mid-year. It will include the Ximian Red Carpet.
Novell claims that BrainShare has drawn 6,000 attendees this year, as many as 25 percent of them are first time attendees drawn in by an interest in Linux.
Novell's claim on Linux is so big that the company built the BrainShare network on 25 SuSE Linux servers running Ximian Desktop and the SuSE desktop.
"We don't got no stinkin' Windows at BrainShare this year," Novell Chairman and CEO Jack Messman says.
Novell internally is rolling out SuSE and the open source OpenOffice productivity suite.


text:
The Cayman Islands has announced that it will implement a FATCA Model 1 intergovernmental agreement with the US and that it will seek similar automatic exchanges of information with the UK. The announcement marks the latest major offshore jurisdiction to enter into a FATCA agreement with the US and, unsurprisingly, also with the UK.
Edit my basket
© Datamonitor 2014. All rights reserved
Terms & Conditions


text:
Next three Battlefield 3 expansions revealed
Infantry-focused Close Quarters hits in June with large-scale Armored Kill and End Game to follow; console versions to support customizable rental servers.
Electronic Arts announced details of the next three expansions for Battlefield 3 at an event in San Francisco last night.
The first of the newly announced content packs is titled Battlefield 3: Close Quarters and will be released in June. The expansion will feature infantry-focused "vertical" gameplay with four new indoor maps and 10 new weapons that can also be used in the original version of the game.
In line with Battlefield 3's timed exclusivity deal with Sony, Close Quarters will be exclusive to the PlayStation 3 for one week, before launching for other platforms.
The next expansion--Battlefield 3: Armored Kill--has no current release window, but EA said it would feature new vehicles and the biggest maps in the franchise's history.
Finally, EA announced a third new expansion titled Battlefield 3: End Game, but gave no further details.
The publisher also announced it would be introducing customizable available-for-rent servers for console versions of Battlefield 3. EA already offers servers for rent for PC copies of Battlefield 3.
Last month, EA revealed a major patch for the shooter, including general, vehicle, weapon, weapon accessory, and game type updates. According to the publisher, Battlefield 3 has sold through 10 million copies to customers as of February 2012.


text:
Led by Mahindra & Mahindra, auto stocks rose again on August 1, buoyed by strong monthly sales data. The largest Indian maker of utility vehicles gained after recording 100,000 orders for the all-new Scorpio-N within 30 minutes of the commencement of bookings.
The Nifty auto index rallied 410 points, or 3.3 percent, to end at record closing high of 12,953.65.
The index has been making higher highs and higher lows since mid-May despite volatility in benchmark indices, rising more than 35 percent since March lows.
Mahindra & Mahindra was the biggest gainer with a 6.2 percent rise, hitting a record high after receiving stellar demand for the Scorpio-N, bookings for which opened on Saturday.
Even its automobile sales increased by 30.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) to 56,148 units, though tractor sales fell 14 percent to 23,307 units in July.
Prabhudas Lilladher raised its domestic passenger vehicle (PV) volume estimates for M&M by around 3 percent and 2 percent, and earnings per share by 1 percent each for FY23 and FY24 respectively, and the June 2024 target price to Rs 1,400 (versus Rs 1,380 earlier), considering the extraordinary response to Scorpio-N and improving chip supplies.
"We are positively surprised with M&M's Scorpio-N clocking over 1 lakh bookings within 30 minutes of its commencement. Scorpio-N’s deliveries will begin from September 26, 2022 and M&M aims at delivering 20,000 units by December 2022 (i.e. average monthly run-rate of around 6.6k units) and this is despite its existing order book of 143,000 units," said the brokerage.
M&M is one of Prabhudas Lilladher's preferred picks in the auto space given (1) a healthy turnaround in its auto segment through back-to-back successful launches in the highly competitive SUV space (2) its proactive leveraging of the electric vehicle trend that can lead to value unlocking (3) its leadership position in the tractor industry and (4) its well-played out capital allocation strategy.
Tata Motors was the second biggest gainer, rising 6.6 percent after the company reported a 51 percent year-on-year increase in July sales at 81,790 units, though on a low base as the year-ago month sales were affected by the second Covid wave.
Commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland rose 3.5 percent as the company sold 13,625 units in the month gone by, up 58 percent compared to 8,650 units sold in same month last year.
Maruti Suzuki climbed 2.6 percent as the country's largest car maker sold 175,000 units in July, registering 8.3 percent growth YoY with domestic sales growing 10.2 percent YoY.
TVS Motor Company gained 2 percent, while Bajaj Auto rose 1.5 percent despite a 15 percent YoY decline in exports, as domestic sales grew by 9 percent YoY to 183,000 units, which resulted into a 4 percent decline in total sales for the month at 354,000.
Technically the Nifty Auto index has seen the formation of a large bullish candle on the daily charts.


text:
How Boulder County restaurants are weathering these challenging times.
By Sara Bruskin
We’ve all had to become a bit more creative to get through life during this pandemic. (A wine bottle will fit in most shower caddies for convenient multitasking!) While nobody has been left untouched, few industries have needed to dig down and find the ingenuity to survive quite like the restaurant industry. Parking lots, streets and rooftops have been converted into dining areas, furniture has been rearranged, takeout menus have been expanded, and it’s now possible to bring mason-jar margaritas home with you. Here are some other ways our local dining scene is evolving and rising to meet the challenge of indoor dining restrictions.
Battling Winter’s Chill
Tents, umbrellas and outdoor heaters are all the rage with restaurants this season. Small business grants have helped local watering holes winterize their outdoor spaces, which means many roads and sidewalks will continue to function as extended patios. Alec Schuler’s Lafayette restaurant Tangerine has embraced this trend with clear, plastic tents or “bubbles.” They act like greenhouses, warming diners up when the sun hits them (with some added help from electric heaters). Schuler plans on adding them to his Boulder location as well.
In Longmont, West Side Tavern owner Westley Myles Isbutt invested in large outdoor heaters that can fend off the freeze even without tents. He described the cozy setup outside his popular gastropub during our unseasonable October storm when temperatures plummeted: “Three friends and I sat in one of our outdoor cabanas last night, at 80 degrees, and watched the snow fall. It was magical.”
Bringing Work Home
Many of us have been working from home during the pandemic, but two chefs in Boulder took this idea to the next level. Brian De Souza and Syd Younggreen live in downtown Boulder, and cooked at Frasca and Corrida respectively before pivoting to a creative culinary vision of their own. Over the summer, they began hosting an exclusive private dinner series—called The Guest—in several locations including the couple’s home. These weekend dinners consist of eight to 10 courses that vary “with the seasons and the moods of the chefs.” The experience costs $175 per person, and guests are informed of the location when they book a reservation and receive their invitation. With a maximum of 18 diners per night, keeping everybody well-distanced is a given.
Boulder’s Restaurant Safe Ordering Service Subsidy
Otherwise known as the Restaurant S.O.S. Program, this subsidy was created to encourage patronage of local restaurants in one of the safest ways possible: delivery. Restaurants reported they were in a bind because they couldn’t afford to pay the service fees charged by third-party delivery services, but they worried business would suffer if they passed those fees on to their customers. In response, the city of Boulder partnered with third-party delivery service NOSH to offset that cost for local restaurants. The city will pay 100 percent of restaurants’ delivery fees through NOSH until Dec. 30, 2020, and ensure a 15 percent cap on delivery fees after that period, until indoor dining restrictions are lifted (up to December 31, 2021).
Several Boulder County cities are allocating more takeout and delivery parking spaces to further help facilitate these safer dining options.


text:
New Delhi: While there are protests against Reliance opening its retail outlets in small cities such as Jammu, talks of the company opening 100 stores there are doing rounds.
However, the company clarified that this is not true. “The talk of 100 stores being opened by us is completely untrue”, a spokesperson said. “We have not opened any stores in Jammu. We have a few delivery points in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and these are set up by our delivery partners to support the small traders”.
Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries (JCCI) has called a strike on September 22 to protest against the expansion of Reliance Retail stores, which they claim will destroy local businesses.
The National Conference party will be supporting the strike. “The administration will see reason in its anti-business and anti-poor policies and take corrective measures, rather than coming up with move after move that hurt the overall interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the party said in a statement.


text:
Battle of the Motorcycle Expos
It's AIME vs Indy – let's hope AIME is better at math
This story was slated to run immediately following the conclusion of Dealer Expo on February 17, but we’ve been waiting since then for Advanstar to release attendance data. Despite a high-tech badge-scanning system, it took more than six weeks before the company released official show stats. –Ed.
Years ago, with no prior dinner reservation made weeks in advance of the Dealernews International Powersports Dealer Expo, you likely found yourself forced to ingest a cheap, late night meal at Steak ’n Shake. At its height, Dealer Expo overflowed the Indiana Convention Center, spilling into adjoining ballrooms and corridors, Westin conference rooms and, finally, Lucas Oil Stadium. This year’s Dealer Expo fit within the confines of the main exhibit hall with room to spare.
The crippling effect of the financial crisis on the powersports industry shoulders most of the blame for Dealer Expo’s reduced size but does not explain the loss of big-money supporters, such as Parts Unlimited and the Italian Trade Commission, from Dealer Expo’s list of attending vendors. The Italian Trade Commission (an organization that promotes Italian businesses abroad) shifted its support to the American International Motorcycle Expo (AIME) months ago, and while no formal announcement has been made, AIME claims to have also secured the commitment of a “major distributor.”
Although you couldn’t visit a restroom without having your credential badge scanned at this year’s Dealer Expo, for some reason it took Advanstar (owner of Dealer Expo) 1.5 months to aggregate attendance figures. According to the company’s March 27th press release, attendance was down nearly 30% from the 2012 Expo.
Advanstar cites a 36% decline in U.S. powersports retailers since 2009 as the cause for the dramatic decrease. But, wait: if declining retailers since ’09 so severely affected this year’s attendance, is Advanstar insinuating that disenfranchised dealers continued supporting the show when Advanstar reported attendance increases of 7% and 6% in 2011 and ’12, respectively?
The Advanstar press release notes, “The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) estimates that sales of motorcycles, scooters and ATVs in the U.S. market decreased by 54% in 2012 compared to the market’s peak five years ago.” And, according to Dealernews contributing editor Mike Vaughan in the release, “It seems logical to assume that if you have 54% fewer unit sales and 36% fewer dealers, you’re also going to have fewer vendors as well,” he says.
However, it’s not logical to assume that motorcycle sales fell off a cliff last year – the key phrase in the above quote being, “compared to the market’s peak five years ago.” According the MIC, bike sales decreased over the previous year by 40.8% in 2009, 15.8% in 2010 and flatlined with a 0.3% increase in 2011.
In fact, according to a recent MIC report, motorcycle sales for 2012 were up 2.6% over 2011. “For the first time since 2002, all four segments (scooter, dual, on-highway and off-highway) showed increases in year-over-year new unit sales,” the report says.
Yes, the 452,386 motorcycles and scooters sold last year pale in comparison to the 1.1 million sold in 2006, but last year is the first year of increasing sales since the 2006 peak. By our logic, Dealer Expo attendance should contract and expand along with the health of the industry, not the inverse.
AIMExpo’s VP, Larry Little, casts a skeptical eye at Advanstar’s attendance figures. "What is distressing is that the market in general has been predisposed by Advanstar to expect half-truths and openly questionable numbers when it comes to reporting facts and figures about shows,” he told us in a recent email. “Many in the industry have unflatteringly referred to it as 'trade show math.' We at MPE are sensitive to this characterization and will be working extra diligently to be completely transparent when it comes to numbers reporting following AIMExpo or any other shows we may produce in the future."
During the Dealer Expo weekend AIME (coincidentally?) distributed two press releases announcing that both Yamaha and Erik Buell Racing (EBR) will be attending AIMExpo in an official capacity. While Yamaha will not be conducting its national dealer meeting at AIMExpo, the company will reveal new models at the show along with its entire 2014 line-up, using the event to interact with dealers and customers. EBR will be hosting its dealers as well as displaying 2014 products.
In addition to Yamaha and EBR, AIME expects to soon be making a formal announcement regarding a “major European OEM” and anticipates additional OEM announcements in the next few weeks.
According to Mike Webster, president of the trade show division of Marketplace Events, the parent company of AIME, “we are in discussions with many other distributors who, especially following dissatisfaction with Indy, have indicated increased interest in AIMExpo.”
But Dealer Expo is fighting back. Tracy Harris, long associated with Advanstar in one capacity or another, recently returned as Senior Vice President of Advanstar’s Powersports Group, tasked with the responsibility of evaluating the state of Dealer Expo and instigating the changes, if any, needed to maintain the show’s superiority against the upstart AIMExpo. We sat down with Harris in Indianapolis to understand what she’s doing to achieve these goals.
“Everything’s on the table,” says Harris, “location, timing, format, content. We’re putting every part of the show under a microscope to truly understand what customers want from this show.”
Harris wasn’t acting alone in these endeavors. Joining her at the show was a small army of Advanstar employees as well as Advanstar CEO Joe Loggia. The idea was to speak to everyone possible, from big-money vendors to those with only a small booth, as well as attending dealers and everyone in between.
“We want to do this in partnership with the industry,” says Harris. “We don't want to do it in a vacuum. If the industry tells us what they want, we’ll go build it.”
These are undoubtedly good intentions, but is the effort too little too late?
According to Webster in our Cage Match: Dealer Expo vs AIMExpo story, “When we announced the inaugural AIMExpo approximately one year ago, we did so after two years of extensive research of all market segments. That research revealed an overwhelming desire for an event that is properly timed (Fall), in a more desirable location (Orlando).”
Following AIME’s time and location announcement, Advanstar put forth that it would host two shows in 2013, one during the traditional February dates and a second one in the fall prior to AIME’s dates. However, Advanstar was forced to scrap its second show for 2013.
“The decision not to have a show (this fall) was primarily based on the fact that exhibitors were saying, ‘Come on, this is difficult for us to do two shows in the same year,’” says Harris. “We want to make certain that we produce a trade show that the industry wants.”
To hear what Dealer Expo customers are saying, Harris is configuring an advisory board to better communicate what’s happening in the industry and to continue an open discussion between Dealer Expo and its customers.
Back in December, Advanstar announced its intentions to move the 2014 Dealer Expo from its traditional February dates to September 26-28, remaining in Indianapolis. But apparently the details of that event are still up in the air.
“While we plan to hold these dates, we won't be able to confirm them 100% until the end of the 100-day opinion-gathering time,” Tigra Tsujikawa, Advanstar’s Powersports Brand Director, told us in a March 28 email. “Decisions regarding the future show dates and more will be made based on what the powersports community wants and needs.”
In light of the growing threat from AIMExpo, Harris claims to be unaffected by the competition.
“From my standpoint, what the other show is doing doesn’t have any bearing for me. They’re going to do what they’re going to do,” she says. “I will always guard against doing something in reaction to what another show is doing, because it means I’m not listening to my customers and (instead) paying attention to my competitors.”
AIME hasn’t wavered from its original intention to be a combined trade and consumer show, closely following the format of the EICMA and Intermot shows in Europe. This year Advanstar (which also owns the International Motorcycle Show) hosted an IMS show at Indy in another part of the convention center and allowed IMS attendees to enter Dealer Expo – a trial run for future possibilities.
Harris and the rest of the Dealer Expo staff heard from vendors regarding Advanstar’s failure to communicate that consumers would be allowed to enter the historically trade-only show during the waning hours of the show’s last day. Many vendors communicated to us that they were unprepared to deal with consumers.
Harris says that if there is a consumer element in the future of Dealer Expo, they should not be commingled and that dealers coming in during consumer hours need to be aware they’ll be shoulder-to-shoulder with consumers.
“We’ll never get a 100% consensus, but if there’s a strong majority of people who feel there should be a consumer element to the show then that’s what we’re going to do,” she says.
According to Harris, the powersports industry has changed but Dealer Expo didn’t change along with the industry. There are fewer dealers at the show because fewer dealers exist. But left unexplained is the loss of industry heavyweights such as the aforementioned Parts Unlimited and Italian Trade Commission.
An intention Harris made clear, however, is her focus on delivering something Dealer Expo has been missing – excitement.
“I want to bring the fun back into it,” says Harris. “The sexiness, the energy – all of things to make a good show.”


text:
Connect with top gaming leaders in Los Angeles at GamesBeat Summit 2023 this May 22-23. Register here.
HomeKit, macOS, and tvOS weren’t the only platforms that Apple touched on during its 2019 WorldWide Developer Conference in San Jose. Today, it announced SwiftUI, a framework that complements its open source compiled programming language for iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, Linux, and other platforms alongside a reimagined development experience in Xcode 11.
SwiftUI lets developers specify UI with simple declarations. In practice, it reduces hundreds of lines of code to just a few, and it provides default support for common features like localization for right-to-left languages. That’s in addition to built-in support for animated transitions, live previews, and the newly announced dark mode and accessibility tools in iOS.
Apple says it’s fully integrated with the aforementioned Xcode development experience and native frameworks for Apple Watch, tvOS, and macOS apps. Within the new Xcode, speaking of, library views live in a left-side drawer from which they can be dragged and dropped onto the app design canvas; as they’re added, code populates the editor on the left. Meanwhile, views can be adjusted with custom-tailored inspectors or the code converted into a scalable list, and previews can run directly on connected Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.
“SwiftUI is available across all of our platforms, and it provides bindings to all the native controls so you can customize your experiences specifically for each, all while using a common API,” said senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi onstage.
Join us in San Francisco on July 11-12, where top executives will share how they have integrated and optimized AI investments for success and avoided common pitfalls.
Swift, which Apple introduced in 2014 and open-sourced in 2015, uses the Objective-C runtime library and works in Xcode and its Cocoa and Coca Touch frameworks. It’s positioned as the “successor” to C and Objective-C, the dominant languages used to write software for OS X and iOS; Apple has previously described it as “a replacement for C-based languages (C, C++, and Objective-C).”
In 2016, Apple launched Swift Playgrounds, an iPad app featuring interactive puzzles, challenges, and lessons designed to teach beginner programmers how to code. Last year, it gained a sharing feature that allows users to share their creations, support for robots like IBM’s TJBot, and augmented reality (AR) lessons and modules.
More than 450,000 apps have been written in Swift to date, up from 350,000 this same time a year ago. Last year, CEO Tim Cook called it the “fastest-growing programming language out there.”
Swift 5, which was made generally available earlier this year, is source compatible with Swift 4, Swift 4.,1 and Swift 4.2, and Xcode 10.2 has a code migrator that can automatically handle some of the necessary source changes. Official binaries for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 16.04, and Ubuntu 14.04 are available for download, as well as a toolchain, and Apple has released an updated version of the Swift Programming Language guide on Swift.org.
The latest version of Swift Playground, Apple’s iPad coding tool for students, launched in beta in March: Swift Playgrounds 3.0. It adds a new source editor tab, and allows Playground Books to hold “directories of Swift code and resources that can be imported for use by any page in that book.”
Apple has intermittently updated Swift Playgrounds since its first release in June 2016, adding language support, the ability to control accessories, and an ARKit augmented reality spotlight.


text:
This 13-Year-Old Built a Revolutionary Product -- With a Lego Kit -- to Help Blind People
When Shubham Banerjee learned that the average Braille printer can cost upwards of $2,000, he knew there had to be a way to make a more accessible version. So, armed with a Lego robotics kit, the 13-year-old set to work creating one.
His printer, which costs around $350, took about a month to build and was completed in time for Shubham to showcase it at his school’s 2014 Science Fair, his father, Neil, told USA Today. But the teen didn’t stop there. Using components from a desktop printer and an Intel chip with WiFi and Bluetooth technolgogy, Shubham created a prototype for the printer, which he then took to Intel. A couple months later, the company agreed to back his project.
With help from his parents, Shubham created his own start-up company, Braigo Labs (a combination of the words “braille” and “lego”), which is currently working on a printer design to manufacture on a larger scale.
Shubham’s design weighs just a few pounds, compared with existing versions that can weigh more than 20 pounds, The Associated Press reported.
Shubham’s goal is to make the printer widely available so people who are blind can buy an assembled version in stores.
Watch Shubham demonstrate his incredible invention in the video below.
Want to end the stigma around disability? Like us on Facebook.
And sign up for what we hope will be your favorite thing to read at night.


text:
Going back in history we know that Ford was also first to use a hybrid to start a NASCAR event when the Fusion Hybrid served as pace car for the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2008.
The Focus Electric pace car will be unveiled for the public at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond on April 25. Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling will deliver the Focus Electric to Richmond International Raceway, where it will serve as pace car for that weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event.
“Our fans are customers,” said Jamie Allison, director, Ford Racing. “And just like in racing, they expect both fuel economy and performance from their daily drivers, and that’s what Ford is delivering.”
Focus EV packs 123 hp and offers a range of around 75 miles when fully charged.
- Mansory Stallone tuning package for Ferrari F12 Berlinetta
- Lotus Exige S Roadster with 345 hp now available to order – EU prices start from 55,378 EUR plus local taxes
- Chevrolet Spark EV priced from $27,495 – lease from $199 per month
- Hennessey VelociRaptor SUV based on Ford F-150 Raport revealed – priced from $149,500
- Limited Edition Megane Renaultsport Red Bull Racing RB8 revealed
- Nissan GT-R Gentleman Edition announced in France
- 2014 BMW M5 and M6 line-up launched gets an optional Competition Package with extra 15 hp
- Aston Martin centenary celebrations continue – CC100 Speedster Concept debuts at the ADAC Zurich 24 Hours race
- New redesigned Subaru Forester first to ace new crash test (video)
- Audi R8 V10 by ABT Sportsline packs 600 hp


text:
Rogers, AR - Rogers Police need your help tracking down two men they say are charging up a stolen credit card.
These are surveillance pictures from the police department's Facebook page.
Investigators say the pair are suspected of fraudulently using the lost or stolen credit card to buy several thousands of dollars worth of merchandise at the Walmart on Pleasant Crossing and Home Depot.
Authorities say the men were seen leaving in a dark-colored pick-up truck.
If you know the men or have any information about the case, call the Rogers Police Department (479) 636-4141.
Today marked the 12th Annual Chilirhea Cookoff.
Men, women and children lined the streets on Saturday for…
J.C. Penney plans to close up to 140 of its stores.


text:
Injustice 2’s mobile version has just been soft launched on the Philippines App Store, and it seems to be showing new characters that have yet to be confirmed for the console versions of the game.
Here’s what the game looks like as of now, and the footage below shows Scarecrow, Green Lantern and Cyborg.
Though this does not officially confirm them to be in the main Injustice 2 game, and it’s al;l speculation until NetherRealm says otherwise. Also, the mobile game has also not been officially announced yet.
Injustice 2 comes to PS4 and Xbox on 16th of May.


text:
Eating healthier is on the to-do-list for many people this year, and here are some trends to look out for
Many people are liking the vegan idea when it comes to #food for 2018. According to Whole Food Market, their top trends include “floral flavors, functional mushrooms, and root-to-stem” foods because of society wanting to eat healthier. Here are five food trends to look out for:
These include edible petals which seem to give a wonderful botanical flavor to many #Drinks. The elderflower is the hottest flower on the market due to being able to add them to just about anything, but the bright pink hibiscus tea comes in next.
Powders are booming. They are added to lattes, smoothies, and soups, just to name a few.
Protein drinks are being made out of powders to help with many different things such as bodybuilding, hair, and skin. Those who are wanting an energy boost are buying powders like “matcha, maca root, and cacao,” says Whole Foods Market. If you don’t want to crack open an egg, there are powders that can assist. Ground turmeric powder is rising as well due to the many health benefits it provides.
Mushrooms are becoming mainstream since they have healing powers. These aren’t portabella mushrooms, instead, they are chaga, reishi, lion’s mane, and cordyceps. These mushrooms add great flavor to broth, while some are being added with cocoa, coffees, and soaps. Don’t be alarmed when you see shampoos and hair care in the store created with mushrooms.
These foods are on the rise, especially since it is reducing food waste.
The stems and roots most people are not used to eating are a new trend. There is now broccoli-stem slaw, beet-green pesto, and pickled watermelon rinds, according to Whole Foods Market. The Foodgod claims we can expect to see more of this in restaurants and homes. Do not be surprised when your dinner comes and the carrot still has the leaves on top.
Brownies, cookies, candies, and butter are all being made from cannabis . As the law starts to change, legalizing Marijuana, foods are changing. San Francisco, California has their own cannabis cooking community center. This is because there are nutrients that have been found in the cannabis plant that no other plant on this earth is able to offer. This plant has been found to treat inflammation, help promote weight gain, eliminate some pain, and has even been used to fight prostate cancer. For the states where it is legal, get ready for a new, booming food trend.


text:
Almost three out of four professional forecasters expect inflation to be near the Federal Open Market Committee’s 2% target, according to the Survey of Professional Forecasters released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Friday.
Only eight of the 31 respondents said the Fed would not achieve its goal, and none expected inflation to go higher than 3.05% by 2021.
Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, is seen averaging 2.1% this quarter, up slightly from the last survey’s estimate. When using personal consumption expenditures to measure inflation, the forecaster predicted 2.0% inflation this quarter, up from 1.7% in the last survey.
Annual PCE inflation should average 2.1% this year, up from the 1.9% estimate three months ago, 2.0% next year, as previously estimated, and 2.2% in 2014, up from 2.1%.
Annual CPI inflation is expected to average 2.3% this year, up from the estimate of 2.0% in the last survey; 2.1% next year, down from 2.2%; and 2.5%t in 2014, up from 2.3%.
Year over year, the forecasters predict real gross domestic product growth of 2.3% this year and 2.7% next, unchanged from the previous survey. The forecasters see real GDP gaining 3.1% in 2014 and 3.4% in 2015.


text:
The pace of home price appreciation across much of the U.S. continued to peter out last month. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city price index remained the same in August on a monthly basis after seasonal adjustments. On an annual basis, the index only increased 2% from August 2018. This represents the slowest rate of home price appreciation since 2012. Seattle continued to be the only city where home prices have fallen over the past year, but the rate of home price declines has slowed.
Escalating trade tensions with China undermined consumer confidence in September, underscoring the dangers of a conflict that has harmed key business sectors such as manufacturing and farming and poses a threat to a record U.S. economic expansion. The consumer confidence index fell to a three-month low of 125.1 this month from 134.2 in August.
Shares of Netflix have tumbled over 15% in the last 5 trading sessions as the company continues to get downgraded by Wall St. analysts. In their annual report out in January, Netflix reported 2018 free cash flow of negative $3.02 billion, compared with negative $2.02 billion in 2017, and said it expected negative free cash flow “for many years” as it continues to “significantly increase” investment in streaming content.
WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann has agreed to resign as chief executive of the U.S. office-sharing company but will remain as non-executive chairman, bowing to pressure from some of his investors. The decision, taken at a board meeting yesterday, follows a challenge to Neumann's authority by his biggest investors, including Japan's SoftBank Group.
With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, I'm Tyler Simones


text:
As E WEEK progresses, we can see the passion with which each college is celebrating entrepreneurship at the campus. One such institute is Amity University, Noida. Amity is celebrating Entrepreneurship Week in an interesting manner, which involves both celebrations and the sensitization of entrepreneurship.
The main events of Amity University on 14th of February were the ‘International Conference on Entrepreneurship’, ‘B-Plan’ and ‘Startup Expo’. The flow of the events showcased not only the upcoming entrepreneurs but also emphasized on the backend efforts taken by the campus to make the event a huge success.
The International Conference on Entrepreneurship saw various business professionals and entrepreneurs, alike. Additionally, there were 21 participants in the B-Plan competition, 8 of whom were students from across the country, while 13 of them were from Delhi and NCR. Participants of the B-Plan competition presented some fantastic business plans for the jury to assess and the students to ponder upon.
The Startup Expo witnessed various student and alumni startups who got the chance to showcase their models and prototypes. In a conversation with the faculty regarding entrepreneurship on campus, they stated that MSME, NSIC and WF NEN are playing a significant role in promoting Entrepreneurship on campus.
“Courses for Entrepreneurship are not only open for business students but also for each of the 37,000 students on campus. We are currently also setting up a Design Centre and manufacturing Centre at the University to promote Entrepreneurship,” said Dr Sanjeev Bansal, Director, Amity Business School


text:
SATRA reports successful A+A Show
The SATRA team hosted many constructive technical discussions about PPE testing.
SATRA recently exhibited once again at the biennial A+A Show in Düsseldorf, Germany. This event is widely known as the world’s largest and best-attended health and safety expo.
Many of the world’s leading brands and manufacturers of personal protective equipment (PPE) investing heavily in impressive visual displays and live demonstrations at the exhibition. According to the event organisers, 2,200 companies from 58 nations presented their products and innovations in 12 exhibition halls. Some 62,000 trade visitors from 140 countries travelled to Düsseldorf to obtain information on all relevant topics concerning safety products in the work environment.
Members of the team on SATRA’s exhibition stand hosted many constructive technical discussions with both new and existing clients over the course of the four-day show.
“For us, the event was a phenomenal platform to engage with our global customer base,” commented Oliver Chandler, SATRA’s divisional manager for PPE. “Not only did we showcase our extensive range of PPE testing and certification services, but we also promoted our recent investment in a state-of the-art respiratory protective equipment (RPE) laboratory, located at our UK headquarters.”
The next A+A exhibition will take place in Düsseldorf in November 2025.
This article was originally published on page 4 of the November 2023 issue of SATRA Bulletin.


text:
Pharmalucence, Inc. has entered into an agreement with Lantheus Medical Imaging to manufacture DEFINITY Vial for (Perflutren Lipid Microsphere) Injectable Suspension for contrast-enhanced echocardiography. Pharmalucence will provide manufacturing at its new drug production facility in Billerica, MA for a minimum of 10 years.
Ed Connolly, chief operating officer of Pharmalucence, said, “Pharmalucence has established a world-class manufacturing facility here in New England, which has been recognized by companies who choose to outsource their manufacturing. We are extremely pleased to partner with Lantheus, a local company with a reputation for exceptional product innovation and quality, for the supply of DEFINITY.”
“Our manufacturing agreement with Pharmalucence is a vital component of our plan to secure long-term supply of DEFINITY,” said Jeff Bailey, Lantheus president and chief executive officer. “We look forward to working with Pharmalucence, who has a shared commitment to deliver the highest quality products to the customers and patients who benefit from DEFINITY.”


text:
Also in this playlist...
This transcript is automatically generated
-- Choi is going to be telling us about some other exciting things happening.
We didn't technology and the gaming community I know most people could spend all day talking and actually playing these games right what's your personal favorite right now by the way.
So this week who he had just announced a kick starter project and this console starts at less than a hundred dollars.
And it goes on the android platform operating system.
And the phenomenal thing is they're taking the original.
The TV two video game concept and bringing what.
Mobile games have done to indie developers and bringing them to your living room.
And it's -- substantial success story for crowd sourcing because.
Web sites like kick starter.
They've they've been able to raise their funding goal within eight -- time and they've got 28 more days left.
And they've already exceeded four million dollars in terms raising revenue to jump start this project.
They're embracing hackers which Xbox and PlayStation have long.
Kept out of the market.
There'll they're allowing them to enhance.
The gaming console and build games on -- It's it's by far.
The most involving -- of all the operating systems for the gaming world.
And it's really exciting to see because you don't know -- the possibilities will take you because.
You know any kid -- in a garage can essentially build a game and go from there where today.
You have to go through a publisher and -- and in the types of games you want to build.
And the types of games that people want to see so it's going directly to the consumer and that's a really exciting.
-- it's so funny that you say that about kids in their garage because I recently spoke to a group of teens and tween is about career -- in the future.
And I asked a couple of the kids what do you wanna be when you -- -- do you know yet and it young man who has maybe nine or ten years old said.
Video game -- And they're actually are now a days a lot of careers that you can do it video gaming but is or other technique news that people should be following.
Especially on the job front to see the trends.
What we learned this week for example.
Of new areas where people might be able to get involved -- show interest.
And video games we've got the developers.
In Amazon were looking out there are also getting into these cell phone business.
The rumors are with.
That they're going after you know the Google market they're going after apple IOS and we know that blackberries and a lot of trouble this past -- and and the last few months windows is getting into they gave -- into the into the phone market.
So Amazon is trying to take a stab at it Google has gone after the Amazon Kindle fire in the same price point.
So Amazon is firing back as well with their own version of a phone.
It may be based off of the android system itself but we're excited to see what's coming.
Obviously they have a huge phone -- market on their website.
They've got a a massive media and book market.
And and they can take a big step in the phone industry.
-- watching ram.
Wondering whether or not they're gonna stay in business and then they come along with the Blackberry ten.
What kind of features doesn't have isn't going to capturing new market will help -- the one they have -- mean very little.
Well that's the big questions so rim has delayed Blackberry ten again.
And it is now -- it's -- release in January.
And the world of mobile operating systems mobile operating systems -- to more sales in hardware.
And for Blackberry the last time they came out with an operating system was last August.
And on a cycle of operating systems we see them on a yearly basis or or less.
And if you look at third calendar they're pushing a year and a half.
And it's so it's a little bit daunting for Blackberry a lot of their customers have left and and joined.
Apple IOS or Google's Android.
And windows has gotten into that market as well and they've taken -- -- to go in and fill that void that Blackberry has.
And I T managers and CIO's love windows and Microsoft because of their systems are already built to support those business needs.
So it really is a difficult situation for Blackberry but what we've seen from the Blackberry ten.
-- rumors and the leaks images.
It looks nice it looks great.
And -- and the needs of the business world still rely heavily on Blackberry.
A lot of younger generation.
Users will tend to gravitate towards.
The Apple iPhone or of Google's Android system and it is interest staying.
How Blackberry will embrace that market.
And what do you think.
It's a very tough situation Blackberry is.
Promising to release a -- -- number of handsets so that they can focus more on their core products.
And and and evidence of that is they've shut down seven of their ten factories in Canada or are planning to in the near future.
They -- and all rumors point to.
Licensing the product out to other manufacturers.
So you're looking at Samsung HTC or Nokia making.
Like very branded phones.
And that move that may entice some users who are loyal to Samsung and they're loyal to HTC to jump over to Blackberry phone.
It is kind of a daunting task they've taken a lot of missteps over the past.
Few months and over the past year and well they've been losing a ton of market share and that's -- -- that's -- -- goal of the new CEO.
To gain -- that that lost market share and expand the Blackberry network.
What it is quite daunting.
The certain features that we all miss those of us who are now on the iPhone -- be a tough market to recapture it -- -- nice to meet you thank you so much.
Thank you are.
Filter by section


text:
Americana at Brand developer Rick Caruso wants to expand his 15.5-acre retail center and is gunning for two adjacent properties to do it.
Caruso is angling to acquire the Golden Key Hotel at 123 W. Colorado Blvd. and an adjacent building. He would replace them with 60,000 to 140,000 square feet of new retail space, landscaping and a plaza.
"It's an important last piece of the puzzle because it really rounds out that corner there," Caruso said. "We have $400 million invested in the Americana. We would like to invest more in Glendale, and I would like to have those properties that are not now part of the Americana become a part of it."
Caruso said the improvements would remove blight, raise $80 million in annual sales revenue and create jobs. And the Americana would pay all of the estimated $50 million for the changes.
In a letter to the Redevelopment Agency, Caruso pointed out that "while other projects in Glendale are stalled or have simply died, we are prepared to invest more, and do it now."


text:
Watch a McLaren P1 Street Race a Nissan GT-R (W/Video)
Stoplight drag races are rarely newsworthy. But when you have a Nissan GT-R lined up with a McLaren P1, that's a different story. Such a match-up took place recently on the streets of Southern California, and most of it was caught on camera.
The video begins with the cameraman, behind the wheel of a newer Ford Mustang, spying a bright yellow McLaren P1 as he pulls up to a light. As the cars slow, the camera pans right to reveal a white Nissan GT-R in the lane next to the P1. The drivers chat a bit, but once the light turns green both cars roll onto the throttle, with the GT-R getting the jump on the McLaren by the end of the intersection. The GT-R continues pulling, maintaining the lead until the cameraman decides to shakily point his lens at his gauges. When the camera finally focuses, the speedometer reads 60 mph. The last speed limit sign that whizzed by read 50 mph, but pay no attention to that, officer.
What happens in the last few seconds of the race is unknown, but we can guess the P1 gives up at some point off camera, as the Mustang driver catches up to it shortly after giving viewers a peek at his extralegal speed. It's unknown how hard the P1 driver was trying, as we've clocked the hybrid hypercar at 2.6 seconds to 60 mph -- making it the quickest production car we've ever tested. Granted, the GT-R is no slouch either. The model in the video appears to be a Black Edition like our 2013 long-termer, which recorded a 2.8-second 0-60 time in testing, and we don't know if this particular example is modified. We'd love to line these two cars up in a closed environment and stage our own drag race. Here's hoping we get that chance, but until then check out the video below. And of course, note that Motor Trend doesn't condone street racing of any kind. Keep it at the track. Always.


text:
Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. is in advanced discussions to lead a $100 million round in software-as-a-service firm Mindtickle, marking its first SaaS deal from its India team, said two people aware of the matter, requesting anonymity.
The investment will value Mindtickle at $500-600 million, double the $250 million it was valued at in July last year, when Norwest Venture Partners led a $40 million round.
Pune and San Francisco-based Mindtickle, founded in 2011 by Krishna Depua, Mohit Garg, Deepak Diwakar and Nishant Mungali helps companies build sales capabilities including sales training and onboarding, and working on each aspect of sales, practicing and improving it using technology.
Its products help onboard clients, provide data-driven coaching to tighten a sales pitch, host virtual events and track relationships with business partners, among other things.
According to sources, it has a revenue run rate for FY21 of about $20-25 million. This metric takes the current month’s revenue and multiples it by 12 to forecast an annual figure.
Mindtickle’s other investors include venture capital firms Accel, Silicon Valley-based Canaan Partners, Qualcomm Ventures and New Enterprise Associates.
A SoftBank spokesperson declined to comment while Mindtickle did not respond to an email seeking comment.
“SaaS is being seen as the safest bet in tech investing right now. While the economics have always been better than the consumer internet companies, today there is a lot of room to grow even for mature companies. Which is why valuation multiples are rising,” said a person tracking the space, who did not want to be named.
In the last year or so, a number of publicly listed SaaS companies in the US have seen their valuation multiples jump from 10 times of revenue, which used to be the norm earlier, to 20-30 times of revenue. The successful IPO of software service firms such as Slack, Zoom, and more recently Snowflake, and the fact that they are showing a high rate of growth even as mature firms, is driving valuation multiples higher, investors say.
“SoftBank India has been evaluating the space for a while, and SaaS or even business-to-business is a sector they haven’t invested in so far,” said another investor aware of plans, requesting anonymity.
After doing no fresh deals in India for a year, Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank seems to be closing more deals actively. Last month it led a $150 million round in online learning firm Unacademy, nearly tripling its valuation to $1.45 billion in barely six months.
While SoftBank is technically investing from its second Vision Fund-touted to be the world’s largest private investment fund- it is money from SoftBank’s own balance sheet that has been structured into a fund, sources said. SoftBank’s plans to raise a second mega fund from external backers was marred last year by a number of loss-making firms whose valuation had to be cut, led by co-working upstart WeWork, whose proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO) came unstuck.
SoftBank’s current portfolio in India includes ride hailing firm Ola, hotelier Oyo, financial services firm Paytm, insurance aggregator Policybazaar and eyewear retailer Lenskart, among others.
2020 is also turning out to be a busy year for SaaS startups, which have rapidly raised funds at increasingly higher valuations during the pandemic. API startup Postman’s valuation rose from $350 million last year to $2 billion this year, while Freshworks was valued at $3.5 billion and has raised over $200 million this year.


text:
Apple has revealed a new addition to its desktop offerings – the upgraded 24-inch iMac, now equipped with the M3 chip. This latest iMac model, announced at Apple's recent Scary Fast event, bypasses the M2 chip, signaling the tech giant's attempt to carve a niche in the gaming industry. The incorporation of hardware-based ray tracing and mesh shading technologies has enhanced the system's rendering capabilities.
New M3 Chip Boasts Significant Improvements
As I reported earlier today, the M3 chip sports key upgrades, including an 8-core central processing unit (CPU), a 10-core graphics processing unit (GPU), and a 16-core neural engine, along with support for up to 24GB of memory. Apple states that these enhancements allow the system to achieve 2x the performance of the M1 chip. However, the newly announced M3 Pro and M3 Max chips will not be integrated into the refreshed iMac, as they are reserved for the forthcoming Mac Studio and potential upgrade to the iMac Pro.
iMac Users Can Look Forward to Increased Productivity
Apple's new 24-inch iMac supports greater efficiency in video editing, allowing users to edit and playback up to 12 streams of 4K video, three times more than its predecessor. Processing of images in applications such as Adobe Photoshop is anticipated to be twice as fast, while video projects in Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro can be completed in half the time.
The new iMac features a 24-inch 4.5K Retina display, a 1080p FaceTime camera, a six-speaker system with support for Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 compatibility, four USB-C ports, and Gigabit Ethernet support. The desktop is available in an array of colors to incline to customer preferences. The M3 iMac with an 8-core GPU and 8-core CPU is priced at $1,299, with an upgrade available at an extra cost. Preorders are available now with shipping beginning next week.


text:
Yes, the rumors are true. The Golf Alltrack is done after the 2019 model year.
Volkswagen of America announced today that the critically-acclaimed Volkswagen Golf Alltrack and Golf SportWagen will end production with the 2019 model year. Volkswagen will continue building the Alltrack at the Puebla, Mexico plant through December 2019 to provide enthusiasts additional opportunity to own an affordable, European-designed wagon.https://media.vw.com/releases/1180
Also leaving us is the Alltrack’s sister, the Golf Sportwagen.
That leaves the world with just three years of production, model years 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Short answer: SUVs. VW says SUVs accounted for more than half of its total sales in the first half of 2019. Road & Track puts it in perspective:
Last month, Volkswagen sold 1314 wagons, accounting for a little over a third of total Golf sales (the automaker doesn’t break down Sportwagen vs. Alltrack numbers). That number pales in comparison to the 9378 Tiguans the brand sold in the same time period.https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/a28421951/vw-golf-sportwagen-alltrack-dead/


text:
Is Verizon next with an Android phone? See previous remarks
A report in yesterday's Wall Street Journal cited "people familiar with the matter," who said a new Android Phone from Motorola would be coming to Verizon before the end of the year. The report gathered most of the commonly-known evidence, such as Motorola Co-CEO Sanjay Jha's statements from last year that the company would have Android devices out by the end of 2009, to portray the certainty of this new, unnamed device.
The device that everyone is expecting to hit Verizon is what is currently known as the Motorola "Morrison," a blue and white slider which was first leaked last week in unauthorized spy shots.
Betanews contacted Verizon yesterday, and the company declined to provide any new information, but instead deferred to CEO Lowell McAdam's keynote at the JavaOne conference where he said that a variety of first-time Verizon devices were on the way in the next six months, including an Android handset and the Palm Pre. Motorola had no comment.


text:
Teen retailer Hot Topic Inc., which earlier this month hired a consultant to review its struggling business, late Monday said that Betsy McLaughlin resigned as chief executive and a board member has been appointed to permanently replace her.
McLaughlin, 49, had been with the City of Industry company since 1993 and became chief executive in 2000. She will be replaced by Lisa Harper, 50, a former chief executive at specialty retail chain Gymboree Corp., who joined Hot Topic’s board in 2008. McLaughlin will assist in a three-month transition.
“We thank Betsy for her many years of dedicated service to Hot Topic,” said Chairman Bruce Quinnell in a statement. “We also welcome Lisa to the management team and look forward to her guidance and leadership.”
Hot Topic, which operates mall stores under the Hot Topic and plus-size Torrid brands, announced in November that it would close 40 to 50 stores – about 5 to 6 percent of its total store base – by the end of the first quarter. On March 7, it said that it hired a consulting and financial advisory firm to review its business and operations. The board reviewed those recommendations at a special meeting last week.
The company reported a fourth quarter loss of 1 cent per share, but adjusted for $9.8 million in closings and other cost-reduction expenses the company had net income of 12 cents, a penny short of the Wall Street consensus.
Shares, which earlier closed up less than a percent, to $5.16 on the Nasdaq, rose nearly 4 percent in after-hours trading.


text:
But Amazon is not limited to online sales. Its cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services, saw a 37% increase in revenue and 59% in operating profit, more than offsetting weakness elsewhere.
Every start-up today will have a different game plan. But cash generation should be at the heart of their survival kit.
FOCUS ON THE PLAYGROUND
Thinking back to the dot-com era, perhaps the mistake many investors made was not that they believed the internet was going to change everything, but that they underestimated just how much the internet would become 20 years later.
In 1997, Amazon’s stock price was $1.70. It rose to US$107 in 1999 before losing 85% of its value two years later.. Today, the shares are worth more than US$2,000 each. But for every Amazon, there were plenty of dot.com wrecks.
That said, no one could have predicted in the 2000s that the internet would become the backbone of our economy and our way of life, powering the way we work, shop and transact. Even though investors then saw the potential of internet companies, it still took 15 years for the Nasdaq to regain its pre-dot-com glory.
For today’s tech entrepreneurs, patience and concentration are essential. Warren Buffett said games are won by players who focus on the playing field, not the scoreboard. This is why tycoons like Forrest Li lose billions is normal.
Today’s disruptive companies need to hunker down and focus on generating cash rather than obsessing over their stock price. Without cash, they will not be able to survive and take advantage of the opportunities that new digital technologies could bring.
David Kuo is co-founder of The Smart Investor and former CEO of Motley Fool Singapore.


text:
LogiNext: The software of choice for QSR Chains at QSR Media Asia Which is your favourite fast casual restaurant? McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Subway, Starbucks? You name the brand and that brand has digitization high up on its priority list. The biggest names in the QSR chain industry have been redirecting all focus […]
Many quick service and fine dining restaurant owners are jumping ship on third-party aggregators. They are now establishing in-house delivery platforms. While this is helping them in the ongoing fight against the pandemic, could this be a feasible option in the long run?
Cargo Expreso, a Grupo Almo company in the business of delivering parcels and couriers in Central America, has partnered with LogiNext, a global logistics deep tech company. The main driver of this partnership is to accelerate its digital transformation and deliver a superior customer experience, a process that is led by KPMG.
LogiNext Mile is the most comprehensive delivery management software. This delivery management software is used by 200+ enterprises across industries like Courier, Express and Parcel, eCommerce & Retail, QSR Chains and Transportation. Choose the best Delivery Management Software!
3 Ways in Which Artificial Intelligence is Changing Transportation Management Systems The process of training computers and machines to mimic human brain’s problem-solving abilities is called Artificial Intelligence. The field of AI was formally founded in 1956 at Dartmouth college and since then, it has found increasing adoption in the mainstream world from the defense in […]
Data security is one of the bedrocks and foundational pillars that hold the LogiNext Transportation Platform. A dedicated team of engineers and analysts continuously ensure rigorous testing and stay up to date with the latest technology to ensure all data within our systems is safe and secure.
With more heavy-goods deliveries, will come more heavy-goods returns, and now is the time that brands should focus on refining the black diamond (reverse logistics) by making the process more efficient, optimized and automated
McDonald’s BTS Meals and lessons for last mile delivery management World’s largest QSR chain, McDonald’s collaborated with world’s biggest boyband, BTS, and broke the internet earlier last month. Fans across APAC in the countries this was launched flooded McDonald’s with on demand delivery and through food aggregator apps. It became one major logistics management […]
WHAT THE TRUCK?!? is FreightWaves’ irreverent award-winning podcast breaking down the biggest stories in transportation and logistics. WTT?!? is all about the people that make freight move. In their latest episode, hosts Dooner and The Dude caught up with Manisha Raisinghani, the CTO at LogiNext to talk about a woman’s journey in freight tech.
Curbside Pickup has been picking up pace from a couple of years now and the pandemic has given the trend a push. Large enterprises have adopted to giving customers more options and curbside pickup is an innovative low-touch solution that customers are choosing. Even SMBs are leveraging the trend and figuring out ways to enable such pickups. At LogiNext, we’ve helped several firms in their digital transformation journey and enabling a smooth curbside pickup is one of the crucial factors in this journey.


text:
Senate backs bottle bill
In 1971, Oregon blazed an environmental trail by becoming the first state to place a nickel deposit on beer and soda pop bottles and cans in a bid to reduce roadside litter. But over the years Oregon's law has been overshadowed by other states with broader deposit laws covering more containers.
Oregon is trying to catch up. And on Monday, the state Senate voted 23-7 to add plastic bottles of water and flavored water to Oregon's landmark bottle bill, the first change since it became law 36 years ago.
Environmentalists and recycling advocates had hoped to expand Oregon's bottle deposit law even more to include all the bottles from teas, sports drinks, gourmet coffees and juices now littering Oregon roadsides and which are covered under some of the other states' laws.
Still, proponents of the bill called it a significant expansion of a law that has already resulted in the recycling of billions of containers.
They noted that last year, Oregonians threw away more than 128 million recyclable water bottles that would be covered by the new law, if it passes the House and is signed by the governor, who supports the expansion.
The effort to expand Oregon's bottle law has been helped by the fact that this is the first time in 16 years that Democrats control both houses of the Legislature as well as the governor's office, as a result of last November's election.
Even though Oregon's bottle bill has fallen behind similar laws in other states, the state still has a strong reputation for having an environmental conscience. Supporters of the bill passed by the Senate say it will help fortify that reputation.
"This legislation is a part of Oregon's DNA, and although I am not a native Oregonian, at least I can say I voted for Oregon's bottle bill," said Senate President Peter Courtney.
The measure passed despite opposition from some Republican senators who said grocers shouldn't be forced to accept an expansion that brings more empties into their stores, creating potential health problems caused by unsanitary containers.
"This is a huge public health and safety issue," said state Sen. Larry George of Sherwood, one of seven Republicans who voted against the bill.
The bill sets up a task force to study whether the state should create redemption centers where beverage containers could be taken, and whether the nickel deposit should be increased to a dime to encourage more recycling of containers.
Other states with bottle laws are Vermont, Maine, Michigan, Iowa, Massachusetts, Delaware, New York, California and Hawaii.


text:
It looks like Lenovo has been installing adware onto new consumer computers from the company that activates when taken out of the box for the first time.
The adware, named Superfish, is reportedly installed on a number of Lenovo’s consumer laptops out of the box. The software injects third-party ads on Google searches and websites without the user’s permission.
Potentially more troubling:
With Superfish, it’s been claimed Lenovo is using a self-signed certificate to appear as a trusted party (which it no doubt considers itself to be) along the chain. In theory, it is therefore able to see users’ traffic and alter it in whatever way it sees fit. This method, according to Robert Graham of Errata Security, makes Superfish the root Certificate Authority (CA) – essentially the link that decides what encrypted communications to trust.
“It means Superfish can generate a valid (from the browser’s standpoint) encryption certificate for Facebook or Google, or any other site using HTTPS,” noted security analyst Andreas Lindh.
From a privacy perspective, this isn’t ideal…
Uh, no, that isn't ideal.


text:
Gamers who like to keep up with the Jones might be interested in learning that the Nintendo Wii is the console to head for, at least according to research by Nielsen as it launched GamePlay Metrics, a games industry data-tracking service.
Though better known for tracking TV rating, Nielsen has moved into games and with the move has hit the industry with a few interesting facts that are sure to have an impact in areas like advertising.
GamePlay Metrics takes data from over 12,000 households (about 33,000 people) to monitor gaming console and PC game use.
The company says GamePlay Metrics demonstrates, "Who is playing games, on which systems, at what times, and, when integrated with other Nielsen data, illustrates which other media platforms are also engaging gamers and which consumer goods they're likely to buy".
So, back to the Wii news. It seems that though it is the cheapest of the next-gen consoles, it is in fact more likely to be found in households where the annual income is over $100,000.
Following sales figures, the report also shows that PS2 is still leading the way as the platform had the heaviest usage of all consoles as recently as this past June with 42.3% of all console playtime.
The Xbox followed with 17%, the 360 with 8%, Gamecube with 5.8%, Wii with 4% and PS3 at the back with just 3%.
The information gleaned from the PCs bring little surprise as it shows that World of Warcraft was the most-played PC game in June. Players having been playing an average of 17 hours a week, the title accounted for 18% of all PC gaming time.
"This is the first glimpse of metered in-home video game player data, providing game publishers, console manufactures, advertisers and competing entertainment media with the most accurate, objective, and quantifiable metric available", said Nielsen Games and Nielsen Wireless vice president Jeff Herrmann in a statement.
"We believe this will change the discussions surrounding which games get developed for what consoles and how publishers represent their actual audience to advertisers."