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Scientists at TU Delft’s Micro Air Vehicle Laboratory (MAVLab) have developed a 72-g (2.5-oz) autonomous racing drone, deemed the “smallest” of its kind. Even though it’s tiny, its stats make it a viable challenger against larger, state-of-the-art competitors.
Drone racing by human pilots has risen in the e-sport arena, while autonomous drone racing has presented design challenges in control and artificial intelligence (AI). The speed of the autonomous designs has improved throughout the years, up to 2 m/s (4.5 mph) in recent competitions.
Although these drones feature high-end visual perception, most are expensive and heavy, since they include high-performance processors, various cameras, and occasionally laser scanners.
TU Delft’s drone, however, is lightweight and cheap, which opens the doors for “many drone racing enthusiasts to train with or fly against,” according to the university. The drone uses a single camera and little onboard processing. That combination, according to TU Delft, creates something that can “autonomously fly through a racing track with a speed that rivals that of the fastest, bigger autonomous racing drones.”
The university chalks up this design feat to robust and efficient algorithms.
“The wireless images in human drone racing can be very noisy and sometimes not even arrive at all,” says MAVLab Founder Christophe De Wagter. “So, pilots rely heavily on their predictions of how the drone is going to move when they move the sticks on their remote control.”
The prediction model that’s used takes in only the essential bits of information, such as the frame’s drag forces and thrust. The team also created a robust state estimation filter.
Shuo Li, Ph.D. student at the MAVLab on the topic of autonomous drone racing, says, “When scaling down the drone and sensors, the sensor measurements deteriorate in quality, from the camera to the accelerometers. Hence, the typical approach of integrating the accelerations measured by the accelerometers is hopeless. Instead, we have only used the estimated drone attitude in our predictive model. We correct the drift of this model over time by relying on the vision measurements.”
The drone and its algorithms were tested along a four-gate race track. Its average speed was 2 m/s (4.5 mph), which makes it a contender. However, there is still work to be done until this design smashes all of its competition.
“We are currently still far from the speeds obtained by expert human drone racers. The next step will require even better predictive control, state estimation, and computer vision,” says De Wagter. “Efficient algorithms to achieve these capabilities will be essential, as they will allow the drone to sense and react quickly. Moreover, small drones can choose their trajectory more freely, as the racing gates are relatively larger for them.”
Beyond e-sports, autonomous racing drones could use their speed in search and rescue and package delivery applications.


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A Reminder that Small Steps DO Make a Big Impact
Thanks to you-- to everyone who's kicked their bottled water habit-- bottled water sales in the US are slowing! Pretty amazing that the collective impact of a whole bunch of individual decisions to eliminate bottled water purchasing is already having such a noteworthy effect on the market. If you haven't taken the Break the Bottled Water Habit pledge, or if it's been a while since you passed it on to family and friends, now's the time to join this growing movement!
Wondering why all this water stuff's such a big deal? Or need a refresher on talking points for your friends and colleagues? Check out New Dream's Break the Bottled Water Habit page.
U.S. bottled-water guzzling is slowing
Posted at 4:58 PM on 08 Sep 2008
Americans' seemingly insatiable thirst for bottled water seems to be slowing, according to new industry stats. Annual U.S. bottled-water consumption shot up nearly 46 percent between 2002 and 2007, to an average 29.3 gallons per person. But the Beverage Marketing Corporation predicts that bottled-water guzzling will grow only 6.7 percent in 2008, the smallest increase this decade. The editor of Beverage Digest isn't concerned: "If the economy improves and consumers begin to feel better, we're going to see at least some increase in the growth rate of bottled water again." Adds an industry spokesperson: "We have enjoyed meteoric growth in the past, but that's bound to level off." But greens laud an effective Think Outside the Bottle campaign, noting that dozens of cities are phasing out the bottled beverage. Says one tap-water promoter, "Instead of being a badge for health and status, bottled water has now become a badge for environmental wastefulness. ... [B]eing charged for water is like being charged for gravity."
sources: Worldwatch Institute, Christian Science Monitor, BrandWeek
straight to the report: 2007 stats on bottled water [Word doc]
see also, in Grist: Author Elizabeth Royte chats about the bottled-water boom and backlash

domain: news


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(Adds details from panel vote, background on product, stock price, other details)
WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Philip Morris International Inc should not be allowed to claim that its iQOS electronic tobacco device can reduce the risk of tobacco-related diseases, an advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded on Thursday.
Philip Morris shares initially fell as much as 6.8 percent on the news but pared losses to trade down 2.7 percent at $107.59 in early afternoon.
The panel concluded that Philip Morris had not proven that iQOS, which heats tobacco but does not burn it, reduces harm compared with cigarettes.
It did conclude that the product exposes users to lower levels of harmful chemicals but said the company had not shown that lower exposure is reasonably likely to translate into a measurable reduction in disease or death.
IQOS is a sleekly packaged electronic device that heats tobacco rather than burning it. The aerosol produced by iQOS contains roughly 95 percent fewer harmful chemicals than cigarettes according to data presented by the company at a two-day meeting that concluded with the vote.
The FDA is expected to decide whether Philip Morris can sell iQOS within the next few months. It will decide separately whether to authorize the modified-risk claims.
If cleared, iQOS would be sold in the United States by Philip Morris' partner Altria Group Inc. Altria shares were down 2 percent at $70.12 in early afternoon.
Last month, a Reuters investigation described irregularities in the clinical trials that supported Philip Morris' iQOS application to the FDA. (https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tobacco-iqos-science/) and (http://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/pmi (Reporting by Toni Clarke in Washington; Editing by Susan Thomas and Matthew Lewis)


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Emerging markets have been beaten up this year, but the sector still has its supporters.
Richard Bernstein, chief executive officer of Richard Bernstein Advisors, a subadvisor of Eaton Vance Management, isn’t sure why.
High inflation and overly generous growth prospects in the sector suggest emerging market stocks are not undervalued, he adds.
“When I talk about people’s favorite place to invest, it’s emerging markets. But they do have an inflation problem, a very serious inflation problem,” Bernstein says.
India has the highest rate of inflation outside of frontier markets and Turkey, where citizens have been rioting, has the second-highest rate of inflation, he notes. The Arab Spring riots from last year stemmed from high consumer prices, he adds.
“If you can’t afford the bread, you can’t buy the toaster. Everybody believes in the emerging market consumer, but their purchasing power is being eroded. No one cares about that; [instead] they’re concerned about inflation in the U.S.,” he says.
Bernstein spoke as part of a panel yesterday at the Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago that looked at the macro landscape.
Investors who cite the cheapness of some emerging market companies aren’t looking at the big picture, Bernstein says. It’s not just a low price-to-earnings ratio that makes a company cheap. Investors need to see other factors that might be influencing the ratio, including interest rates, inflation and risk premium, he says.
Investors should look at a country’s inflation rate and how that correlates to the stock market, he says. Those two measures are usually inverted.
“One reason why people say [emerging markets] are undervalued is because they haven’t looked at the inflation rate. Emerging markets have the highest inflation rates and the highest rates of money growth,” he says.


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THR Heat Index
Tracking ups and downs in the business of entertainment.
DOWN Robert Zemeckis
The director-producer’s bet on motion capture flames out after Mars Needs Moms flops in spectacular fashion and Disney pulls the plug on his Yellow Submarine remake.
UP Amy Pascal
Sony co-chairman opened a poorly reviewed disaster-filled movie the same weekend as a tragic real-life disaster, and it still grossed $36 million.
DOWN Joe Uva
Less than two months after Univision brought in former NBC and AOL exec Randy Falco as COO, the company’s president and CEO exits.
UP Robert Redford
The Sundance Film Festival is finally expanding, partnering with AEG to launch a London festival in April 2
UP Netflix (NFLX)
Goldman Sachs raises its assessment from “neutral” to “buy” and adds another $90 to its price target, now $300.
DOWN Cumulus Media (CMLS)
Investors don’t like news that the radio giant will purchase Citadel Broadcasting in a deal worth $2.4 billion.012.


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LIBERIA: Commerce Ministry Destroys L$120k Rotten Fish In Ganta
GANTA, June 16 (LINA) – Authorities of the Ministry of Commerce in Nimba County have confiscated and subsequently destroyed over 20 cartoons of fish found to be expired at the Fresh Frozen Food (FFF) Cold Storage in Ganta.
The ministry’s inspector for Nimba County, Nelson Korquoi, said his team received a tipoff from some customers of the business center and moved in promptly to seize the “L$120,000 worth of frozen fish.”
The seizure of the spoiled fish is in continuation of the rigorous exercise the Ministry has embarked on to guard against the entry into the county of products that could harm consumers, said Korquoi.
Local commerce inspectors are said to be deployed in cities, towns and at major border posts across Nimba to ensure that substandard and expired goods do not enter the country, or are not sold on the market.
So far, under his inspectorate, said Korquoi, over 15 business centers in the county have been busted for having in stock outdated consumable and non-consumable items, resulting to the raising of “more than L$2 million into the coffers of government, basically through fines.”
“It is important that traders in the county respect and abide by all laws and regulations in doing business to avoid bearing punitive actions by the Ministry of Commerce,” Korquoi warned.
Nonetheless, he said relationship between the ministry and business people in Nimba is “very cordial, but there will be absolutely nothing that would influence the functions of my office.”
He said as inspectors, members of his team are also on the watch for business people who exploit customers through creating artificial shortages through hoarding of goods to profiteer from basic commodities, including rice, cement, and petroleum products.


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- Tilray subsidiary High Park Farms announced Monday that it has received a cannabis sales license from Health Canada.
- Tilray shares are up almost 18% on the news.
- Watch Tilray trade in real time here.
The Canadian cannabis producer Tilray is rallying Monday morning, up almost 18%, after its High Park Farms subsidiary received a sales license from Health Canada.
The license will allow High Park Farms to "supply and sell finished cannabis products within the ACMPR as well as sales in anticipation of the launch of the adult-use market in Canada upon its legalization on October 17, 2018," the press release said.
Monday's surge is the latest in a series of wild swings for Tilray shares — which have gained 750% since their July initial public offering — and the marijuana space in general. Companies in the sector have seen media appearances and press releases add billions of dollars to their market capitalization.
In the middle of September, Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy went on CNBC's "Mad Money" to talk about his company's growth prospects with Jim Cramer. The following day, shares soared more than 93% — to a high of $300 — before giving up the bulk of their gains. The stock settled at $214.06 that day, before bottoming out at $97.12 a few days later.
The "green rush" in the stock market can be traced back to the middle of August, when Constellation Brands, the beverage maker behind Corona beer and Svedka vodka, invested $4 billion in Canopy Growth, giving it a 38% stake in the Canadian cannabis producer. Canopy Growth shares spiked 22% that day.


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Since Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will join India’s Republic Day celebrations on 26 January 2012, she will also take this opportunity to pay an official visit to India from January 24 to 26.
The visit is at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose recent visit to Thailand was made in October 2009 during the Seventh India-ASEAN Summit meeting.
Prime Minister Yingluck will be the third Asian leader to attend the Republic Day celebrations as Chief Guest. The first one was South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak in 2010, and the second was Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2011.
India has shown a clear intention to strengthen relations and forge closer cooperation with Thailand during the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Yingluck. Both countries are expected to enhance their strategic partnership, as Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said earlier that Thailand and India should try to give their relations a forward-looking and strategic focus, and build a partnership for the future.
On the part of Thailand, it has prepared various topics to be discussed with India, such as trade, energy, tourism, and economic cooperation. Water management is another major issue to be raised for discussion.
Thailand and India have enjoyed a close and mutually enriching relationship for a long period. Thailand considers India as an important strategic partner, in addition to being a friend of Thailand. In 1947, Thailand was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with India.
Both countries signed the Thailand-India Free Trade Agreement Framework on 9 October 2003, covering trade in goods, services, and investment, as well as economic cooperation. They began FTA negotiations in 2004 and agreed to start tariff reduction for trade in goods in January 2010.
Since the signing of this FTA, bilateral trade between them has tripled. Foreign Minister Surapong pointed out that both countries should make every effort to conclude the bilateral FTA by the middle of 2012, as well as the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement. Thailand and India have also cooperated in the framework of BIMSTEC, which stands for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
Bilateral trade between Thailand and India expanded from 4.7 billion US dollars in 2007 to 6.7 billion dollars in 2010. Both countries have agreed to double their two-way trade between 2010 and 2014. They have concluded and are implementing bilateral agreements on agriculture, science and technology, ICT, renewable energy, education, and cultural cooperation. Thailand and India will sign the Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation during the visit of Prime Minister Yingluck to India later this month.


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Trove of treasurers: Ridgefield’s Thrift Shop set to reopen
RIDGEFIELD — The Ridgefield Thrift Shop will soon be back, with its gently worn clothing, good-as-new housewares, and those off-beat items that can trigger a creative shopper’s imagination.
The Thrift Shop will be open two afternoons a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays — starting this Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
A charitable volunteer organization that distributes the proceeds from its sale of donated items, the Ridgefield Thrift Shop made grants totaling $750,000 to 92 non-profit organizations in 2020.
To comply with the state’s COVID guidelines, the Thrift Shop’s announcement said, returning patrons will find several things “a little different” in the store. Among the COVID-inspired changes are:
Plexiglass in the checkout areas;
Use of a state-of-the art disinfecting gun to disinfect the store daily;
Temporary closure of dressing rooms and bathrooms;
Maximum occupancy of 30 customers in the store at any given time;
A greeter will be at the door to make sure shoppers are all wearing required face masks, and ensure that no more than 30 customers are in the store at one time.
Some concerns were raised about small children.
“We love our little customers, but until COVID is over, we encourage customers to leave small children at home as it will shorten the wait time for adult shoppers,” the shop’s announcement said. “If a child is brought in the store, he/she must be supervised by the accompanying adult the entire time.”
The Thrift Shop also has new specific hours for accepting donations and is limited to Tuesdays and Fridays from noon to 4 p.m.
“We look forward to adding additional days as we become more familiar with the process of quarantining donations for 48 hours, processing them, and increasing volunteer availability,” the store said in statement.
The organization is also offering an online auction.
“If you prefer to shop from the comfort of your home while still supporting our wonderful mission,” the Thrift Shop statement said. “We are excited to announce our first online auction. Check it out!”


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In its production form, the new MG small electric car will be produced in India specifically for the market here initially. Not much has been revealed about the EV yet except that it will be priced at a starting price of about Rs 10 lakh, making it one of the most affordable electric cars on sale in the country.
We have put together a list of the top long-range EVs that you can buy in India this year under Rs 25 lakh (ex-showroom).
MG Motor recently revealed the new ZS EV and Astor SUV in the international market. The mg zs ev facelift is likely to be powered by a 50.3 kWh battery, offering a claimed range of 461 km. Speaking of the MG Astor facelift, it is expected to make use of a 1.5-litre Naturally Aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine that generates 110 hp power and 144 Nm torque as the current model.
Safety features include, MG Pilot ADAS systems including Active Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist and Driver Attention Alert as standard. The company is also offering Intelligent High Beam Assist and Speed Limit Assist as part of a simple, intuitive package of safety features that protects occupants and other road users.
MG Motor India has announced that the Hector SUV has crossed the 1 lakh production mark in India in a little over 3 years since it went on sale in the country.
MG Motor India has announced that it will increase the prices of all models from January 1, 2022. The price hike will be up to Rs 90,000 across its range. Currently, MG has five models in its Indian portfolio, namely Hector, Hector Plus, ZS EV, Astor and Gloster.
MG Motor India is all set to launch its second electric EV, the MG Air in the Indian market in 2023. After the mg zs ev, the company is entering into the hatchback segment with the MG Air EV that is expected to do exceptionally well for MG. Ahead of its official launch, here are top five things to know about the upcoming MG Air electric hatchback.
Considering its specs, we expect the new BYD Atto 3 to serve as a direct rival to the likes of the Hyundai Kona Electric, as well as the mg zs ev.
2022 saw the introduction of a range of affordable electric cars, with 4 new EVs priced under Rs 25 lakh (ex-showroom).
MG Motor India today launched the new dual-tone ivory interior in its all-new ZS EV Exclusive variant. The company also commenced the bookings of the new ZS EV Excite variant that starts from today i.e- on October 3, 2022. The mg zs ev Excite trim now gets i-Smart features, such as a Park+ Native app, MapMyIndia Online Navigation System with live traffic, live weather & AQI updates and over-the-air (FOTA) updates.
In terms of specs, the internationally sold MG4 EV gets two battery options. The low range gets a 51 kW battery and the long-range version gets a 64 kW battery. These offer WLTP claimed range figures of 350 km and 450 km. The smaller battery pack produces around 165 hp and the bigger one produces around 200 hp.
On World EV Day 2022, MG Motor India has installed 50+ AC fast chargers across 15 cities in India. These EV chargers were installed at over 25 residential areas and corporate offices across 15 cities in the country under the MG Charge initiative.
MG Motor is planning to unveil the MG 4 electric hatchback in the Indian market soon. According to media reports, the company will be revealing the MG 4 EV, the Air EV and the MG Hector facelift at the Auto Expo 2023. Based on the SAIC’s scalable platform, the MG 4 electric hatchback will be powered by two battery options - a 51 kWh and a 64 kWh.
MG Motor India today announced it registered a growth of 27% in retail sales at 4,503 units in June 2022. In the same corresponding month last year, the brand reported a retail sales of 3,558 units. The brand states that the MG Hector SUV and mg zs ev continue to witness interest amongst buyers, with consistent monthly bookings of over 4,000 and 1,000, respectively.
BYD's Atto 3 electric SUV features a single PMS motor delivering 150 kW (201 hp) of power and 310 Nm of torque, it can accelerate from 0-100 kmph in just 7.3 seconds. The Atto 3 has an ARAI-certified range of 521 km on a full charge, it also features regenerative braking.
MG Motor India recently installed and inaugurated the first two residential community chargers in Raj Aangan Society (NRI Colony), Jaipur (Rajasthan). This is a part of the automaker’s plan to install more charging stations in Jaipur. As a part of the MG Charge initiative, the automaker will install 1,000 AC fast chargers at residential localities across India in 1,000 days.
In this article, we have compiled the top 5 interesting features of the mg zs ev.
While the Central government's and other state government EV policies include only all-electric vehicles, Haryana state electric vehicle policy also covers hybrid vehicles, for example, Honda City Hybrid. A 15 percent discount will be applicable at a maximum of Rs 3 lakh on hybrid cars priced under Rs 40 lakh.


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Music news | Njus
In the heat of campaigning, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has decried Kannada superstar Yash campaigning for multilingual south Indian actor Sumalatha Ambareesh, an Independent contesting in..
Get ready to groove to 'Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani' once again as Student Of The Year 2's reprised version drops today
According to director Punit Malhotra, the number fit in organically in the romantic drama, which stars Tiger Shroff, Aditya Seal and marks the big-screen debut of Ananya Panday as well as Tara Sutaria
Podcast | Editor#39;s pick of the day: Reliance retail and Hamleys; Tiktok block; Mindtree Q4 results
Ever since KGF team announced that they are beginning the shoot for KGF Chapter 2, fans haven't been able to contain their excitement. The filming for the sequel commenced a few weeks ago. Besides Yash's acting, plot and the brilliant cinematography,
The Pulitzer Board announced Monday that it was honoring Aretha Franklin with a posthumous award, commemorating the Queen of Soul in the category of “special citations.”At an announcement ceremony at Columbia University, Pulitzer Prize administrator
By Esha Vaish and Simon Jessop STOCKHOLM/LONDON (Reuters) - A vibrant start-up scene, which has spawned stars such as Spotify, Skype and Rovio, is inspiring Nordic pension funds to invest more money with local private equity funds.
Leslie Howard on two-piano concerts, playing in India and being the only person to record the entire works of Liszt
The million-dollar question is whether listeners will stay tuned because they are now increasingly spoilt for choice: apart from JioSaavn, Gaana and Wynk, there are the global streamers YouTube Music, Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music.


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Mikhail Dmitriyev, chair of the committee for military-technical cooperation with foreign countries, plans to hold a press conference in the building of ITAR-TASS on February 13. He will tell journalists about the main results of weapons exports. As is seen, the situation in this sector is not bad. Mr. Dmitriyev stated in December 2002 that the sum of Russia’s export contracts would exceed $4.3 billion. Meanwhile, the Rosoboronexport general director stated on February 3, 2003 that his company exceeded this sum in 2002. the weekly Kommersant-Vlast noted that the total sum of weapon export revenues reached $4.7 billion last year. This is a record result in the post-Soviet period. Meanwhile, Russia falls behind the US and some other countries in this sector. For instance, last year the US exported weapons $13 billion worth (the world exports amounted to $21.3 billion).
Analysts note that Russia can increase weapon exports. The committee for military-technical cooperation with foreign countries said that Mikhail Dmitriyev signed an order on February 4, 2003 according to which the Splav state-owned scientific and industrial enterprise (Tula) and the Kvant enterprise (Veliky Novgorod) currently have the right to export military products.
The committee said that these enterprises cannot export up-to-date weapons. All they can do is to sell spare parts and auxiliary hardware, and offer technical services.
As is known, Splav produces the Grd, Smerch, and Uragan volley missile system. The enterprise has offered a program aimed at upgrading its complexes. For instance, an upgraded version of the Grad complex destroys targets at a distance of 40 kilometers (the range of fire of ordinary models is 24 kilometers). A test at an international arms show in Nizhny Tagil last year showed that the complex’s precision is very high. Representatives of the committee for military-technical cooperation said that many countries are interested in upgrading such weapons, which is why the committee has decided to permit the enterprise to realize this program without intermediaries.
Kvant is interested in modernizing countermeasures systems. Over ten foreign armies use products by this enterprise. Kvant and Splav have been added to the register of organizations, which have the right to carry out foreign economic activities without intermediaries. The committee said that before such a right was granted to the Pribor federal scientific and industrial center, the Salyut mechanical engineering enterprise, the Rubin central design bureau, and the Sukhoi aircraft military-industrial complex.
The committee said that President Putin singed a decree on September 16, 2002 according to which issues connected with granting the right to export spare parts and offer technical services to foreign customers are to be supervised by the committee for military-technical cooperation with foreign countries. This will make it possible to speed up the process of realization of foreign economic contracts.
At present there are six enterprises, which have been permitted to export spare parts and auxiliary products without intermediaries. In addition, there are seven enterprises, which have the right to export finished products. These are Rosoboronexport, the Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau (Kolomna), the Instrument-Making Design Bureau (Tula), the MiG aircraft corporation, the Rubin central design bureau, and the Antei concern. (As far as Antei is concerned, its license to export weapons and military hardware has expired, and a new structure – Almaz-Antei – is being created on its basis). In other words, the share of enterprises, which can export spare parts, simulators, auxiliary hardware (and also repair military hardware) in the structure of Russian weapon exports amounts to 5% to 7%. However, if the committee grants such a right to many Russian companies and prevents rivalry between them the share of such enterprises may go up to 30% (around $1 billion a year).


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The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) will be authorized to regulate online credit organizations.
The project is to protect the consumer rights and interests, Georgian Economy Minister Dimitri Kumsishvili told reporters.
“Under the project, the national bank will regulate the sector and we believe this is a correct decision.
Regretfully, our citizens lack for financial knowledge to independently protect themselves.
Consequently, our task is to regulate all these issues so as our citizens receive the due services and at the same time, abstain from taking inappropriate risks”, the Georgian Economy Minister noted.


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Woolworths has not given up on its ambitions to enter the $16 billion pharmacy market, despite federal government policy that has locked out major retailers since 1990.
The retailer has lodged a new application with IP Australia to register the trademark “Pharmacy-in-Supermarket". A previous application lapsed.
The trademark covers six classes of goods and services, including the sale of pharmaceutical and medical products provided by pharmacists.
Australia’s largest retailer has wanted to sell pharmaceuticals and prescription medicines since 2003, when it first registered the Pharmacy-in-Supermarket trademark and outlined plans to sell drugs, medicines, toiletries and tissue products from pharmacies within its stores.
Under the federal government’s Community Pharmacy agreement, which has been in place since 1990, pharmacies must be owned by pharmacists.
Woolworths believes consumers are paying too much for prescription and over-the-counter medicines because of the inefficiencies of independent pharmacies. In 2004, then Woolworths chief executive
Read the full story at The Australian Financial Review.


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It’s fair to say the global dairy commodity market has had a bumpy start to 2023.
In fairness, there probably has been more dips and ups in the market as the Christmas holiday period washed through.
This week, the steady result from the New Zealand-based Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction will, you would expect, underpin and bring a bit more stability to the market.
There have been more losses on the GDT of late, but this mid-January result will help bring a touch of positivity to the market.
Similar to previous auctions, there was about 30,000 tonnes traded.
So this is the New Zealand auction and it’s fair to say the European market is not as forgiving and is probably still on a bit of a dip
According to those in the market coming back from holidays, the European market is still a bit depressed and there is more of a ‘hold’ position at play rather than a ‘I better get business done’ vibe.
So, effectively, we now have a New Zealand auction showing very little change, a European market coming from a high place and maybe getting close to a bottom.
Making a move
European buyers will be looking at the GDT result and wondering is that it and should we move.
We can only wait for another week to see what they will actually do. The experts suggest the GDT result is positive and will place a floor on the EU market to an extent.


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24 August 2020 11:00, UTC
MetaMask updated its license, stating that in order to continue to provide high quality products, it is necessary to have fair compensation to enable them to continue their development.
According to the press release, the new updates will not affect end users, i.e. most developers and nonprofits will be exempt from commission fees. The new rules will affect developers who copy, modify, or fork the MetaMask codebase for commercial use. If MetaMask was copied and offered on a commercial basis to an audience of more than 10,000 monthly active users, then the company will offer to sign a formal commercial agreement to use the product.
The company also clarified that it will continue to publish and iterate the wallet provider API in the public domain, providing a widely cross-compatible ecosystem of applications, and the code will continue to be published in the public repository.
As a reminder, MetaMask launched the eighth update to its Ethereum wallet in July last year, which includes a number of new features, such as improved privacy control and a new account login system.
Image courtesy of Blockonomi


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Chrysler Group announced changes in management that expand the roles of some top executives as well as give a new chief for the Dodge car brand and sales operations in the U.S. These changes are effective immediately. Chrysler has appointed Reid Bigland as the president and CEO of the Dodge car brand and as U.S. sales chief.
However, he will retain the position as president and CEO of Chrysler Canada. Ralph Gilles will no longer head the Dodge car brand and will be the leader of the new Street and Racing Technology brand, Chrysler's performance unit, as well as the car company’s motorsports activities.
But Gilles will still supervise Chrysler Group's design activities for the vehicles from its Dodge, Ram, Chrysler and Jeep brands. Meanwhile, Fred Diaz is the new president and CEO of Chrysler's Mexico operations, which also means that he’s responsible for Latin America.
But while Diaz will not anymore be the leader of the U.S. sales operations, he will still be president and CEO of the Ram truck brand. Since Chrysler exited bankruptcy a couple of years ago, its senior executives have had numerous roles at the same time.
David Buckingham has also been named COO of Chrysler Canada, a new post. Buckingham will be reporting directly to Bigland. Buckingham had previously served as the vice president of sales at Chrysler Canada.
In addition, Joe ChamaSrour, who is the former head of the Mexico operations, was transferred to Chrysler’s international operations. ChamaSrour reports to Mike Manley, the president and CEO of Jeep and head of international operations.


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Brown & Williamson Sells Six Brands to Commonwealth
LONDON (AP) _ Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. said Thursday it agreed to sell six former American Tobacco brands to Commonwealth Brands Inc. to fulfill an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission.
The U.S. unit of B.A.T Industries PLC said the sale price was not disclosed because completion is still subject to FTC approval.
The sale includes the domestic rights to Montclair, Malibu, Riviera, Crown’s, Special 10′s and Bull Durham. B&W retains all international rights to the brands, B.A.T. said. Commonwealth will also acquire the former American Tobacco cigarette plant in Reidsville, N.C.
Commonwealth is a small cigarette maker based in Bowling Green, Ky., specializing in low-priced, unadvertised brands.
Louisville, Ky.-based B&W agreed to sell the brands in 1994 to get FTC approval of its $1 billion purchase of American Tobacco.
The FTC already this year nixed B&W’s plan to sell the brands to Lorillard Tobacco Co., saying the deal wouldn’t help competition and could lead to closing the Reidsville plant.
Liggett Group Inc. had complained that it nearly closed a deal to buy the brands last year when B&W abruptly scuttled the transaction.


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Following May update, June will bring a brand new Summer-themed in-game event with exclusive items and a new licensed premium DLC based on an established property. The theme for that DLC has not yet been revealed. The RLCS Season 5 World Championship will also be going on during June.The last of the major updates for the Summer will be in July, when Psyonix will be celebrating Rocket League birthday. Another new in-game event will include some retro throwback content for the game.
The road map for the game also includes some new features for Rocket League. One of these features will be the introduction of a new cross-platform party system. This new updated system will allow players to www.lolga.com create parties with friends in-game regardless of which system they are playing on.A new levelling system will also be introduced, removing the level cap of 75 in favor of a brand new format. Players will be rewarded with items as they level up and can earn new titles after reaching level 100 in thew new system.lamaSir YouTube video below for more details.
Rocket League Trading is a popular vehicular soccer video game. It is developed and published by Psyonix for several gaming platforms. It's the PS4's most downloaded game title for 2016. according to Sony.
The game is based on soccer; but instead of human players, gamers will be using rocket powered cars. It has single and multiplayer modes that can be enjoyed on different consoles. It also has one of the most elaborate trading systems available in a cross-platform game, featuring many items that players can trade.A Youtuber has complied "Rocket League's" most expensive and rarest items. YouTube user TheLlamaSir made an impressive list that includes four of the game's rarest items.


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Jim Cornette filed a lawsuit against The Indie Connection and owner William Molnar. Indie wrestler G-Raver was a part of the lawsuit as well as Shopify. This was all over a t-shirt that said: “F*ck Jim Cornette.”
The lawsuit hasn’t been answered yet, but the defendants in the case might not see much of a threat. They are now selling another defamatory t-shirt with Cornette’s likeness.
The same website that was previously selling the “F*ck Jim Cornette” shirts is now selling one that says: “Clownette.” This shirt depicts Cornette as a clown as well.
You can check out an image of this new merchandise below.
Update: Jim Cornette has commented on this new merchandise and he’s not happy at all.


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The concept of Metaverse has grown by leaps and bounds in recent times, especially after Facebook rebranded itself as Meta. And brands have constantly been using their gaming market budgets to develop captivating activations inside the virtual world platforms like Fortnite and Roblox.
But it actually takes effort for the brands to engage the folks in their digital activations. And these brands realize that they need to carry out activities to generate the users’ interest. One such way to do so has been to work with influencers across the gaming community and even beyond that.
For instance, influencers are an essential part behind CICAVERSE’s marketing and promotion strategy. Cicaverse is actually a Robkox world created by Clarks, the British shoe brand.
The influencers that Clarks brought in to gain traction from the Roblox users were three Gen Z and Gen Alpha athlete influencers, Breakdancing 15-year-old B-Girl Terra, an 11-year-old BMX rider Connor Stitt and 16-year-old Parker practitioner Robbie Griffith.
The space was rolled out recently on May 16, which provides the users with several experiences and rewards. It includes a virtual Olympics stadium, Roblox-ized Clarks Cica sneakers, and a scavenger hunt mini-game that provides the winners with limited-edition virtual Roblox items and real-life prizes for the top 100 winners.
And apparently, this influencer strategy used by Clarks worked quite effectively as within a week as it unblocked, it witnessed a visit by more than 1.5 Million users. Data by Clarks highlights that it has an average of thousand users.
MELON, the metaverse development studio, is the entity behind the development of experiences for the shoe brand.
These influencer collaborations have become an important part as several metaverse projects exist at this point. Providing authentic gaming experiences is another. Otherwise, why would someone enter the Metaverse just to witness what you can do in the real world daily?
Clarks is planning on adding new content to the world of Roblox. It has already gained quite an attention as a new player. Let us see how the project emerges in the future.
With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.


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The Star-Boy boss, Wizkid is one of those Nigerian celebrities that doesn’t mess with his jewelry.
Wizkid recently went on his Instagram page to share a photo of a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sky-Dweller watch that costs about N7.4M.
Asides the very expensive watch, he is known to have expensive designer sneakers and other expensive jewelry.
Wizkid’s photo also featured him wearing a gold and diamond encrusted watch to match his Rolex and captioned it“Dubai! Young Don coming to play!”.
A few days earlier he displayed lots of gold jewelry he acquired and captioned it “Picked up the new set! @josephfrostoflondon baddest!”
Wizkid will be performing in Dubai and then Industry Nite Houston, USA next week.


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In 2023, the tourism industry is gradually recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Tour and activity operators are hoping for a recovery in tourism thanks to widespread vaccination and sanitary improvements. They see hope in travelers’ growing awareness of responsible and sustainable practices. Technological advances offer new opportunities to enhance the travel experience. However, new fears have emerged: geopolitical instability, labor shortages, over-tourism and economic volatility. Competition to attract travelers is fierce, and businesses will need to adapt to new trends to succeed in this new, changing tourism environment.
What we hope for :
- Tourism upturn: After a difficult period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, European tour and activity operators are hoping for a significant upturn in international travel. With widespread vaccination and an improved health situation, travelers are more inclined to explore new destinations.
- More responsible travel: Travelers are increasingly aware of the impact of their trips on the environment and local communities. European tourism operators are hopeful that travelers will favor environmentally-friendly, sustainable and ethical activities and visits.
- Technology and innovation: The adoption of advanced technologies such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence and mobile applications is enhancing the traveler experience. Tour operators hope to attract more customers by offering interactive and personalized experiences.
- Diversifying offerings: Travelers are looking for unique and authentic experiences. European operators have the opportunity to develop diversified and original offers to meet this growing demand.
What we’re afraid of :
- Geopolitical instability: Political tensions and international crises can lead to unforeseen fluctuations in tourism. Tour and activity operators are concerned about the impact of conflicts and geopolitical changes on the flow of travelers.
- Labor shortages: Some European countries are facing labor shortages in the tourism sector, particularly in seasonal areas. This can make it difficult to maintain service quality and meet demand.
- Over-tourism: Some popular European destinations risk becoming victims of their own success by being overrun by tourists. This can lead to degradation of tourist sites, higher prices and tensions with local residents.
- Economic volatility: Global economic instability may influence consumers’ travel decisions. European operators fear a potential drop in tourist spending if the economy experiences turbulence.
There is a growing sense of responsibility among travelers, driving a demand for more sustainable and ethical experiences, which operators are keen to cater to. Embracing technology and innovation, such as virtual reality and AI, opens new doors for enhancing the overall traveler experience. In this dynamic and evolving landscape, fierce competition for travelers’ attention pushes businesses to adapt and diversify their offerings creatively. By addressing the challenges with adaptability and resilience, European tour and activity operators can navigate the changing tourism environment and position themselves for success in the post-pandemic era.


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As indicated by the most recent research from Counterpoint’s IoT Service, smartwatch shipments in India significantly increased in Q2 2021 contrasted with a similar period last year, with 206% YoY and 18% QoQ development during the quarter. Moderate contributions, new players, variable customer preferences, and post lockdown demand recovery were the key factors behind the hike in numbers.
The market is getting competitive as an ever increasing number of players are entering the market, smartwatches are being liked over traditional looks for their feature-rich interface and similarity to get matched with cell phones. This thusly has likewise brought about the accessibility of smartwatches in lower price brackets. Indian brands keep on dominate the market, with the top three brands in the Indian smartwatch market being domestic and have over a three-fifths share of the total market.
The market will increment further, with more brands lined up to enter the market in the future. Around 10 brands have as of now entered since the start of 2021. The significant feature is the domestic production growth. Samsung is now producing smartwatches in India since June 2020. Different players like realme, and Timex are additionally investigating options for domestic production as it would assist with decreasing the costs and reliance on imports.
A Research Associate at Counterpoint Research states, “We are witnessing many new launches in the sub-INR 5,000 segment, which saw its contribution rising to 83% in the overall market in Q2 2021, compared to 67% in Q2 2020. Due to this, the ASP (average selling price) of smartwatches decreased by 36% in Q2 2021 compared to the same period last year. We are also seeing features like Voice Assistant, Bluetooth Calling, SpO2, and Blood Pressure Monitor trickling down from high-end models to the low-end ones.”
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Economy Bee journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.


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MILAN -- For a long time, it seemed that cutting-edge marketers thought the only way to sell jeans was with sex.
Diesel, a denim apparel company here, has other ideas. It has already raised eyebrows in the past with its controversial handling of issues such as gun control, smoking and drugs in its advertising.
With the launch in January of its new print campaign, done in-house with the help of Swedish ad agency Paradiset, Diesel has created its own world that seems to be located somewhere between "Twin Peaks" and Tim Burton's Gotham City.
The campaign consists of four photographs entitled "Gene Manipulation," "The Room," "Fat People" and "Church." Obese men appear to be having the time of their lives in front of plates overflowing with hamburgers and french fries, a disconsolate-looking group of people watch videos by "Dalt Wisney," and tanned musclemen in white bikinis work at high tech laboratory instruments. Included in the shots, sometimes as observers, are somewhat more conventional-looking people clad in jeanswear.
The ads were shot by Danish photographer Pierre Winther, and instead of models, are populated with an off-beat assortment of people scouted on the streets and in the gyms, bars and motorcycle clubs of Los Angeles.
"The campaign doesn't have a text anymore. These are the Nineties, and the new generation doesn't want to be told what to do, what to think," said Maurizio Marchiore, director of advertising and communications for the company."They don't want to resemble their parents in any way, so that means no connection with the legends of the past -- James Dean, the American Dream -- all that has disappeared."
The new campaign is being rolled out around the world, he said. The ads promote Diesel's entire clothing collection rather than just its jeans line.
Diesel, which was founded in 1978 and is based in Vicenza in northern Italy, reported worldwide sales of $412 million in 1993, up 57 percent from the year before. Some 90 percent of its sales are generated by exports to 65 countries. Most of the Diesel product is produced in factories in or near Vicenza, while some 30 percent is sourced in foreign markets, but with an eye to keeping the same level of quality obtained at home, Marchiore said."Our product is a global product, and our public is pretty much the same around the world," he added.
The company invested some $8.2 million in advertising and promotion last year, consisting of print and TV campaigns. This year, Diesel released its fifth TV spot, directed by Jorgen Lof. It's slated to be aired on MTV worldwide.
Diesel has a subsidiary in New York, and a warehouse and showrooms in Miami and Los Angeles. Its U.S. ad budget for 1994 is $1 million. In the first six months, it is advertising in such publications as Details, Rolling Stone, Detour, Premiere, Sportswear International, In Fashion and Out.
Among Diesel's U.S. accounts are Barneys New York, Urban Outfitters, Bloomingdale's, Charivari, Detour, Boogie's Diner, Macy's East and Fred Segal. There are also plans to open a store in New York, Marchiore said.
EXCLUSIVE: @tomford is opening its first-ever beauty store. The boutique, which opens November 20 in London’s Covent Gardens, was designed with the over-the-top glam Ford is known for. Read the full story on WWD.com, link in bio. #wwdbeauty #wwdnews (📷: Simon Wagner) #TomFordBeauty
New York-based DJ @harleyvnewton threw a party to celebrate the holiday collection of her dress and pajama line @hvn at the Ladurée Beverly Hills. It Girls @katebosworth, @rashidajones and more joined in on the fun, which included cocktails, croque monsieur sandwiches and a photo booth. #wwdfashion (📷: Owen Kolasinski/BFA.com)
For the holidays, @Burberry partnered with 20-year-old artist @blondeymccoy on a series of three outdoor murals in downtown Manhattan. The murals are McCoy’s interpretation of a Christmas eve party, the idea of charity and the spirit of family. His third mural, pictured here, is the most personal. The image depicts McCoy’s grandparents and father in London’s Trafalgar Square in the Seventies. “My work often features lots of sentimental objects.” #wwdeye
For spring 2018, designers applied bold colors and cartoonish motifs on everything from sneakers and belts to key chains. See all the top men’s accessories trends on WWD.com. #wwdtrends (📷: George Chinsee; Prop Styling by @rnasti; Market Editor: @luiscampuzano)
The @dior-sponsored @guggenheim international gala pre-party has a history of drawing cool-girl musical acts to serenade the crowd –– and last night was no exception. @haimtheband performed songs both new and old, and lured a star-studded audience with the likes of Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, Mamoudou Athie and more. #wwdeye (📷: @lexieblacklock)
In a partnership between the @metopera and the @englishnationalopera, “Marnie” was born. The opera, with costumes sponsored by @mrporterlive, is an adaptation of the 1961 thriller by Winston Graham. Arianne Phillips, who created the costumes, is no rookie: She’s styled Madonna for her tours and created costumes for a myriad of films in the past. Read WWD’s interview with Phillips, where she talks about her inspiration for the opera’s costumes on WWD.com #wwdfashion
@barneysnyc took a different approach to their holiday windows this year. Instead of Christmas decor, Barneys tapped @thehaasbrothers to tell a story of positivity, gratitude and inclusivity via heartwarming silliness and humor. “It’s about kids and it’s about coming together and being family and loving each other,” said Simon Haas. #wwdfashion (📷: @joshuascottphoto)
Beauty influencer @kandeejohnson makes her foray into hair care with a collaboration with @ogx_beauty — making it the first time that OGX has teamed up for a product creation. The collab includes shampoos and conditioners in three scents. At 39 and a mom, Johnson is a different profile than the emerging social media stars, but is considered one of the pioneers of the digital beauty influencer world. Read WWD’s interview with her on wwd.com, including the strangest beauty product she’s ever tried #wwdbeauty


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In terms of specifications, both Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL devices are powered by an Octa-core Snapdragon 835 processor coupled with 4GB RAM. Pre-orders commence on 26th October 2017, and Pixel 2 will be available for sales in over 1000+ stores across the country and online starting November 1st and Pixel 2 XL will be available for sales in 1000+ stores and online starting November 15th, 2017. Our team said, 'if we're going to make the shift, let's make it sooner, rather than later.' a year ago may have been too early.
If you are thinking of buying a new Pixel 2, will these two new features make that more likely?
The feature will have to be activated from the Quickbar Settings as it is optional but you may also keep the regular one. The video includes a number of interesting interviews with the Pixel 2 team. However, it has been confirmed now as it is written clearly in the footnotes of the Pixel 2 listing on Google store. For example, if a user circles a photo of a flower, Google Assistant can give them information about it without the need for text input. You can also convert shots into Motion Photos - that's Google's take on Apple's Live Photos - or crop images.
Trump administration rolling back mandate to cover birth control
Some of the cases reached the Supreme Court and were the object of nationwide attention, such as the Hobby Lobby ruling in 2014 . In expanding the exemption for employers, the Trump administration says there are many other sources of birth control .
Taking great photos and videos is the thing you do most with your phone, so Google has set out to make that even better. The new devices have been optimized to bring Google Assistant to the forefront of the smartphone experience with "Active Edge", which lets users squeeze the sides of the handset to activate the Assistant. The smartphones have also some of the most advanced security features baked in.
The translation is now processed at Google's artificial intelligence-focused data centers, where the audio is first converted to text, translated, and then turned back into speech, Quartz reports. "Google could have easily put two USB-C ports if you wanted customers to shift to USB-C for audio". Instead, it's a feature integrated into Google Photos and Google Assistant.
The company has promised to push the Pixel 2 phones further into the Indian market, but with the hefty price tag in a market where budget phones dominate, it remains to be seen how successful Google's efforts will be. You can always get the chargers from Amazon. While it might seem that we have got a step closer to Star Trek's fabled universal translator, if you haven't already used Google Translate (and if you haven't, you really should) you should know that the app can already do this function anyway.
Remember, too, this year IBM announced that its voice recognition software has finally reached human parity, i.e. less than 5 per cent error - just the same rate that humans misunderstand each other when conversing.


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|Subject||Success stories: Two early adopters of IFRS|
As of the end of last year, a total of 14 domestic companies transitioned to IFRS including 7 KOSPI-listed companies and 7 KOSDAQ-listed companies. Among them, STX Pan Ocean and KT&G grabbed a lot of attention as major success stories.
With the IFRS adoption, they have enjoyed stronger reliability in the global market and the increase in revenues and operating profits. On top of that, the transparency of their accounting information is recognized as high in the international market.
The positive perception in the international market is conducive to the success of their international operations. KT&G is one of few food and beverage companies whose revenues from exports account for 20% of total revenues. STX Pan Ocean, a shipping company, is doing business mainly with foreign businesses.
Byun, Yong-Hee, vice president of STX, said ‘The international market views audit reports prepared using IFRS as highly reliable. In the past, we had to suffer ‘Korea discount’ in one form or another. But our transition to IFRS has contributed to boosting business value to the extent we would like.”
In some cases, the IFRS conversion can strengthen balance sheets, by boosting revenues and operating profits. According to Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, STX Pan Ocean’s performance including non-current assets, current assets, capital, and net income have increased substantially. In particular, the rapid increase in non-current assets is attributable to the IFRS conversion which has contributed to the increase in the value of construction in-progress and book value of ships.
Lee, Won-Sun, a researcher of Taurus Investment & Securities, said “The IFRS conversion is good for global businesses. KT&G and STX Pan Ocean have earned high recognition as they have enhanced transparency of their financial statements. In addition, the adoption of consolidated financial statements gave the companies economies of scale.”
These companies have disclosed faithfully the impact of the IFRS conversion. In that regard, they have set a great role model to prospective IFRS adopters. In particular, their adoption processes provide good examples to learn from for companies in terms of manpower and cost involved in the IFRS adoption.
KT&G successfully integrated the accounting systems of its 14 subsidiaries in only one year since it began system development. It also became the first listed company who disclosed financial statements under IFRS.
One source of KT&G said “At the IFRS early adoption seminar hosted by the Financial Supervisory Service, many participants noticed that KT&G successfully delivered system integration in the shortest period of time. This is mainly attributable to the swift decision making of the CEO.”
According to the FSS, a total of 27 listed companies plan to adopt IFRS in Korea this year. They include 10 LG subsidiaries (including LG Dacom and LG electronics) and 3 Samsung subsidiaries (Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI and Samsung Digital Imaging).
Copyright(c). The Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants. All rights reserved.
Address : KICPA Bldg. 12, Chungjeongro 7Gil, Seodaemun-Ku, 120-012, Seoul, Korea.
Tel : 82-2-3149-0324 Fax : 82-2-3149-0289, E-mail :firstname.lastname@example.org


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Apple is planning to take the wraps off of a brand new Apple TV set-top box, featuring Siri integration and support for a native App Store, at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference this June, according to a new report.
Citing sources familiar with Apple's plans, John Paczkowski of Buzzfeed News reported on Friday that Apple will introduce a next-generation Apple TV in a matter of months. It will also apparently provide developers with a new software development kit to write applications for the new hardware.
In addition to a dedicated App Store with support for third-party software, the new Apple TV will also reportedly support Siri voice input, as well as the company's latest A8 processor found in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Characterizing it as a "significant overhaul," Paczkowski also said that the device will feature onboard storage that goes "well beyond" the 8 gigabytes found on the current hardware.
The Apple TV hasn't been updated in years, though it did receive a price cut to $69 earlier this month. The company has also continuously added new content options to the device even without an App Store, and next month will exclusively bring HBO Now into its lineup.
The A8 processor that already powers the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus is powerful enough to output 4K-resolution video, which means the device could be capable of supporting ultra-high-definition content. Services like YouTube and Netflix are already offering select content in 4K resolution, while 4K TVs are beginning to hit the market at more competitive prices.
Meanwhile, the addition of Siri could bring new smart home control opportunities to the Apple TV, making it a sort of hub for Apple's HomeKit tools for developers. And an App Store opens the potential for games on an HDTV, which would officially enter Apple into the home game console market, competing with the likes of Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
Rumors of a new Apple TV have persisted for years, but Apple is believed to have held back on introducing a new model until it can get deals in place for more content. Recent rumors suggest the tide could be turning in that department, with reports claiming Apple is looking to launch a brand new subscription TV service this fall, which could coincide with the debut of new hardware.
Previously, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities said that a new Apple TV with motion controls would play a "key role" for the company, but Friday's report gave no indication of new input methods for the next-generation device beyond Siri. Speculation about a motion-controlled Apple TV has stemmed from Apple's acquisition of PrimeSense, which also powered the tech behind Microsoft's first-generation Xbox Kinect gaming peripheral.


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Another iconic Naples hotel is being sold.
This time it’s the Inn on Fifth in Naples, which a Maryland company is buying for $156 million. The sale is expected to close later this year.
The Inn joins other prominent properties in Naples that have recently been sold: The Naples Grande Beach Resort sold for $248 million earlier this year, and the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club sold for $362.3 million last year.
The new Inn on Fifth owner will be Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, which is based in Bethesda, Maryland, a Washington, D.C. suburb.
Jon Bortz, the chair, president and CEO of Pebblebrook, says in a press release announcing the sale that “The Inn on Fifth exemplifies South Florida’s effortless blend of upscale, laid-back luxury and was developed flawlessly and cared for meticulously by the current owner.”
The Inn was developed by Phil McCabe, who bought a failing bank building on Fifth Avenue South in 1998 for $1 million. He transformed it into the luxury hotel that now is hallmark of tony Fifth Avenue.
Over the years, the Inn has grown in both size and reputation, gaining AAA Four Diamond status in 2013. The prestigious award came after completing a $19.7 million renovation and expansion that brought 32 club level suites to the property. Another $5 million was spent on renovations in 2019.
McCabe did not respond to a request for comment through a spokesperson and he is not quoted in Pebblebrook’s press release.
In a 2013 interview with the Business Observer McCabe said, “I am a risk-taker, although I am a measured risk-taker. Today, I take far less risk because of my age.”
Today, the 199-room hotel is made up of two buildings — the main hotel and the club level.
The main hotel building has 87 guest rooms and suites, 10,000 square feet of meeting space, a 3,600-square-foot outdoor pool deck, a day spa and a fitness center. The club level building has 32 suites along with a private rooftop and exclusive lounge.
According to a financial disclosure from Pebblebrook, the hotel’s revPAR — revenue per available room, a combination of occupancy and average daily rate — for the past 12 months is $431. In comparison, according to the Nashville-based hospitality research firm STR, revPAR in the U.S. for the week ending April 16 stood at $91.25
In addition to the hotel, the property also has 21,000 square feet of retail space which is fully occupied by Truluck’s Restaurant and Ocean Prime, as well as several retail shops.
Pebblebrook, before the Inn on Fifth joins its portfolio, has 54 hotels and resorts — 13,200 rooms — across 15 markets, including the LaPlaya Beach Resort and Club in Naples, according to its website. It had $733 million in revenue in 2021
Once the transaction is complete, Pebblebrook officials say the Inn on Fifth will be managed by Seattle-based Noble House Hotels & Resorts, which operates 20 hotel properties along with restaurants, marinas and spas.


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EXECUTIVE FUTURE FINANCE TRENDREPORT EDITION Q3 2012
NEW BUSINESS MODELS
LINK ENABLES INSTANT PAYMENTS The London-based company GoCardless has launched a new feature called "PayLinks", thus allowing customers to create short, Twitterfriendly links in just a few seconds so that they can then collect payments online. It is ideal for one-off, regular or pre-authorized payments, and the advantage for users is that these payments are not made via credit card companies as the amounts are booked immediately and credited to their own accounts. The links can be shared by e-mail, chat, IM and social networks.
trendexplorer send a trend
The future of banking and finance


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Apple Pay is finally going to arrive in stores.
The iPhone maker has confirmed it will begin shipping devices in early December and that it will be available to all iPhone owners by the end of the year.
The payment system is available for use at grocery stores, liquor stores, convenience stores, and other stores.
Apple is currently working with merchants on its new payment service, which has not yet been released to the public.
However, its also launching its new app store with Apple Pay.
The Apple Pay app is designed for iPhone and iPad, and is currently available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
As of today, the app is available to both iPhone and Apple Watch owners.
Apple Pay can be used with an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch.
Apple will continue to support its Apple Watch and iPhone, as well as its Apple TV, in the near future.


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Miley Cyrus showed off an altogether grungier look this week as she popped out for lunch with friends in Hollywood.
The 19-year-old wore a pair of black tights
, denim shorts and a checked shirt to create a casual style complete with slouchy black leather boots.
Despite not showing off much flesh, the starlet seemed to have forgotten to wear her bra and her jean shorts were cut off very high, meaning that the outfit was surprisingly revealing.
The former Hannah Montana actress and blossoming pop star has recently been sporting a more grown up look, with the help of her now mid-length hair cut with golden ends.
As well as her more sophisticated style, Miley seems to have found love and over the past few months has rarely been photographed without her long-term boyfriend Liam Helmsworth.
Liam joined Miley and her family last week for her 19th birthday, where photographs showed him being welcomed into the family by her country singer father Billy Ray Cyrus.
News brought to you by SockShop. Go On…Treat Your Feet
Give a highstreet dress your own twist with a pair of fabulous fashion tights


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TNT Express is putting Iveco’s new Daily light commercial vehicle to the test on its pick-up and delivery operations, with the arrival of 10 Daily 50C15 chassis cabs into its national fleet.
The Ivecos, supplied by Guest Trucks, form part of a larger trial by TNT Express to assess the suitability of lighter alternatives to regular 7.5 tonne box bodied trucks.
Each Daily has a 5.2 tonne gross vehicle weight and has been mounted with a Cartwright dry freight box body. They will be in operation up to six days a week for the next five years, covering approximately 30,000 miles per year.
Steve Davis, National Engineering Manager at TNT Express, says: “We watched the recent launch of the new Daily with interest and it coincided perfectly with this opportunity to reassess the model’s suitability for our fleet.
“Our depots in Bradford and Nottingham will be putting this initial batch of 10 Dailys through their paces on demanding pick-up and delivery routes, where each vehicle will make around 100 collections and deliveries per day. Despite its smaller size we’re achieving a competitive payload capacity of up to 2.1 tonnes,” he adds.


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Zeacann's Chris Fowlie was interviewed for this Newsroom article by Thomas Coughlan. Read More Here.
Our cannabis industry’s hopes and fears
New Zealand’s burgeoning medicinal cannabis industry eyes big profits, but the barriers to entry are high and international competition fierce, Thomas Coughlan reports.
The nascent medicinal cannabis industry here is gearing up to serve the local market and to export, but it warns against creating expensive rules that could prevent it from competing with already established and large overseas players.
The Ruatoria-based Hikurangi Group raised 300,000 dollars from investors in just three days last week to finance their medicinal cannabis company. The company is also seeking institutional investment and hopes to have $10 million in capital soon.
Helius Therapeutics, another medicinal cannabis company, will complete a $15 million funding round this month. It already has a facility built and IP for products ready to roll out when the Government’s medicinal cannabis bill becomes law.
The Ministry of Health says changes brought in by the legislation will likely take effect in 2019.
Cannabis industry lights up.
Evidence from overseas has shown that the start-up costs and regulation associated with medicinal cannabis businesses can be controversial.
In the United States questions have been raised about the racial divide opening up in the cannabis industry. Black Americans have a long history of being disproportionately affected by punitive drugs policy, leading to high rates of incarceration.Righting this wrong and redressing the imbalance in the prison population is often cited as a reason to decriminalise marijuana.
But in the states where marijuana has been decriminalised, the thriving businesses are overwhelmingly owned by white Americans. A 2016 study by Buzzfeed found less that 1 percent of American dispensaries were owned by black Americans.
The divide has grown so wide that Portland in Oregon voted in 2016 for a cannabis tax to transfer some of the wealth created by the burgeoning industry to communities that had been disproportionately affected by its prohibition.
In many states, the barriers for entry to the industry are high, meaning those wanting to enter the legitimate industry need a lot of money just to be at the table. Those who can’t raise the hundreds of thousands of dollars necessary to move into the business tend to purchase seeds cheaply and sell on the black market.
In Pennsylvania, growers pay a US $10,000 application fee, US $200,000 deposit and need to prove US $2 million in funding, with at least US $500,000 in the bank.
There’s a chance New Zealand’s medicinal cannabis industry could go down the same route.
Ostensibly, the barriers for entry into the medicinal cannabis industry seem low. Unlike some states in the US, which issue licenses for growing cannabis that can cost tens of thousands of dollars, the licensing regime here is relatively cheap and it could change further when the Ministry of Health details the new regime following the law change.
In New Zealand a license to grow cannabis for “cultivation, processing, possession, and supply” can be purchased from the Ministry of Health for $511.11.
This license only applies to low-THC varieties of cannabis already approved by the Director-General of Health. If you want to cultivate another strain for research purposes you must purchase an additional ‘research and breeding licence’ for $153.33.
On top of that, a grower will need a $966 license to deal in controlled drugs and a $13,750 license to manufacture medicines.
But starting a medicinal cannabis company won’t quite be as simple as finding $15,380.44 and growing a few plants in the back yard.
The Ministry requires growers of cannabis to meet certain security provisions. This means growing the plant away from the roadside, away from schools, and installing adequate and expensive security provisions.
The ministry also requires detailed records kept of the number of plants gown, the date sowed and reaped and the weight harvested or destroyed. This is a way of making sure a grower isn’t creaming some of the crop for the black market.
Hikurangi has invested in a high-tech barcode system which tracks each plant as it moves through the cultivation process.
Those who hold a hemp licence must have no criminal convictions. This does not preclude people with drug convictions from entering the industry, only from holding a licence so people looking to move from the black market into legitimate medicinal industry may be out of luck.
I know a guy…
With the bar and cost of compliance set relatively high those in the industry are hoping the law change opens up a reasonably sized market for medicinal cannabis in New Zealand.
Medical Cannabis Awareness New Zealand estimates there are 25,000 people who would use medicinal cannabis products, although the potential market is much larger. A Ministry of Health survey from 2015 found that 400,000 New Zealanders used cannabis and 42 percent of them used cannabis medicinally.
Those numbers were used by Hikurangi in a report issued to potential investors.
CEO of Pharma Cann Chris Fowlie told Newsroom he believed the market could be anywhere between 15,000 and 50,000 people, depending on how the industry is regulated.
Hikurangi anticipates turning a profit in two years and returning a dividend to shareholders in three. Helius director Paul Manning would not reveal what his own company’s projections were, but told Newsroom they were competitive with Hikurangi.
The medicinal cannabis industry has less in common with legalised narcotics industries like viticulture and tobacco, and more in common with the pharmaceuticals business, which is primarily an industry based on intellectual property.
Drug companies spend large amounts of money developing an essential product and invest in expensive patent protection to prevent other companies from copying their product.
The sheer expense of developing pharmaceuticals keeps all but the most well capitalised players out of the market. In the pharmaceuticals businesses, companies need to be able to withstand not seeing income on investment for several years.
Hikurangi Managing Director Manu Caddie told Newsroom that his company was using a mixture of crowd-funding and institutional investment to raise capital. He had received written expressions of interest in the company from institutional investors.
Helius’ director Manning said his company were about to finish their $15 million funding round.
Fowlie said that given the average consumer would need roughly a gram a day, 10.1 million grams of cannabis would be needed to supply the New Zealand market, enough for four or five companies he thinks.
However, he argued that if the Ministry of Health opted for a strict regulatory framework, insisting on clinical trials, New Zealand-grown products could be as far as a decade away from the market.
He said the Ministry should insist on GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) certification, which would mean products had to be manufactured in a facility that met pharmaceutical standards, but had not gone through clinical trials.
Trials add yet another expense to the process.
Caddie said that of the three-stage clinical trial process, the first stage alone would cost $500,000.
Helius has an advantage in the intellectual property stakes. Matthew Rhoden, an American partner, owns IP for 21 products, including six it hopes to launch with. US-based Rhoden developed the products in the North American market, where he was a pioneer in the industry. One product was even developed for the United States military.
The company also owns IP for certain strains of cannabis plants ideal for manufacturing products compliant with medical regulations.
The legislation currently before parliament requires products contain a maximum two percent of non-CBD cannabinoids, including THC. This can be achieved by growing the right kind of cannabis and refining it in the right way, but it’s not easy and means that those with IP ready to go have a huge advantage in bringing products to market quickly.
The international scene
Of course it’s not just local businesses that want to get in on the action. British-made Sativex is already available here under strict controls. Australian companies could be eyeing up a move to the New Zealand market.
This is a sore point for New Zealand cannabis companies, who are prohibited from exporting for commercial purposes under the current legislation, effectively confining them to the small pool of consumers in the local market.
By the end of last year, 20 medicinal cannabis companies had listed on the ASX with a collective market capitalisation of nearly A$500 million.
Stock prices have risen so high that observers including the Sydney Morning Herald have voiced fears of a cannabis bubble. Most of the ASX listed medicinal cannabis companies had yet to turn a profit with investors relying purely on juicy predictions of big money to come.
International players moving into Australia with ready-made IP could also be eyeing up the New Zealand market.
Canada’s Canopy Growth, the largest cannabis company in the world, announced in January that it would “develop research and technical capabilities” in Victoria, Australia in the interest of developing a foothold in the Asia Pacific medicinal cannabis market.
Fowlie believed this meant Canopy was looking to move into New Zealand.
Flush with international finance, expertise and ready-to-go IP, it could mean stiff competition for local competitors.


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New FIDO UX Guidelines and Specification Enhancements Enable Consumers and Enterprises to Meet Growing Demand for Simpler, Stronger Authentication
DENVER–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Identiverse– The FIDO Alliance today announced its first user experience (UX) guidelines and new FIDO2 standards enhancements aimed at accelerating the world’s move beyond passwords. With over 4 billion devices, all major browsers and operating systems now supporting FIDO authentication, today’s releases make it even easier for service providers and enterprises to provide simple, phishing-resistant and privacy-enhancing sign-in experiences.
Today’s announcements come as the widespread support for FIDO Authentication has led to an increased demand from service providers and consumers alike — but they need an implementation path to follow that maximizes adoption and simplifies FIDO deployments. The FIDO UX guidelines provide that path, allowing service providers to help consumers understand, adopt and benefit from logging in with FIDO.
At the same time, the increase in remote work and subsequent increase in phishing attacks on their infrastructure is accelerating enterprises’ digital transformation plans and making strong authentication a priority. The FIDO2 enhancements announced today address enterprises’ unique authentication and device management needs for faster, more efficient FIDO deployments.
“Eliminating the reliance on passwords is now a major objective for everyone offering online services – both to provide a more seamless yet secure access to consumer services, as well as to address the growing threat from sophisticated attacks targeting distributed workforces and systems. Our first UX guidelines and FIDO2 enhancements give consumers and enterprises the tools, protection and roadmap to a simpler, more secure, passwordless future,” said Andrew Shikiar, executive director and CMO of the FIDO Alliance.
UX Guidelines to speed consumer adoption of FIDO authentication
Virtually every modern device and web browser now supports FIDO Authentication, allowing consumers to leverage the same technology they use to unlock their device (a fingerprint or face scan for example) to now sign-in to web services in a secure and private manner. A growing number of large service providers and financial institutions are providing this built-in functionality in order to give their customers the option to log in without the risk and hassle of passwords. These FIDO UX guidelines were created as a set of best practices to help service providers encourage their customers to log in with FIDO Authentication on desktop environments; other FIDO authentication use cases will be addressed through UX guidelines in the future.
The UX guidelines are available to view and download at www.fidoalliance.org/UX-guidelines.
The UX Guidelines were developed following many sessions of moderated and unmoderated consumer research conducted by third-party research firm Blink UX, in collaboration with UX and design experts from FIDO Alliance member companies including Bank of America, eBay, Facebook, Google, IBM, Intuit, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Microsoft, Trusona, Visa and Wells Fargo.
For more detail on this work and recommendations visit Andrew’s blog. FIDO Alliance also has updated the consumer resource site loginwithfido.com with added information on how and where to use FIDO Authentication.
Enhancements to FIDO standards to accelerate passwordless in the enterprise
The FIDO Alliance has announced enhancements to its FIDO2 specifications, which include several new features that will be helpful for passwordless enterprise deployments and other complex security applications. Both FIDO2 specifications were recently updated by their governing bodies – with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) approving WebAuthn Level 2 and FIDO doing the same for CTAP 2.1.
Key to these enhancements is enterprise attestation, which provides enterprise IT with improved management of FIDO authenticators used by employees. Enterprise attestation enables better binding of an authenticator to an account, assists with usage tracking and other management functions including credential and pin management, and biometric enrollment required in the enterprise.
Other updates include support for cross-origin iFrames and Apple attestation, as well as improvements to resident credentials. More details on these and other FIDO specification enhancements are available here.
Join the Optimizing User Experience for FIDO Authentication Panel Live today at 1:30pm MT
About the FIDO Alliance
The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance was formed in July 2012 to address the lack of interoperability among strong authentication technologies, and remedy the problems users face with creating and remembering multiple usernames and passwords. By harnessing the collective expertise of hundreds of leading technology, consumer services and government organizations, the FIDO Alliance is enabling simpler and stronger online experiences and more secure online identities and devices. The FIDO Alliance creates and publishes specifications, executes rigorous certification programs and educates consumers in order to build confidence and trust in FIDO Certified products and services.


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FORT WAYNE, Ind. (NBC33) -- If you've been considering adopting a new four-legged family member, consider doing so at the PetSmart Charities National Adoption Weekend, September 13 - 15, at more than 1,210 PetSmart stores, including local stores in Fort Wayne. Save a pet's life and enrich your own with the pure joy that only a tail wag can bring.
This weekend, for the first time, the Allen County SPCA will be offering same day adoptions for pre-approved applications.
"Now, many adopters won't have to wait to take their new pet home," said shelter director, Jessica Henry. "Some adopters have pre-approved applications on file with us already. We encourage them to come out to PetSmart this weekend, meet with the dogs and cats, and take their animal home the same day."
Adopters not currently pre-approved can still meet with the available animals, and through a streamlined process, when approved, may take the animal home the following day. All animals will be adopted on a first come basis.
"We are grateful to PetSmart Charities for their commitment to pet adoption," Henry said. "They have been a wonderful partner for our shelter, and we appreciate the opportunity to participate in this big, national effort."
Your pet adoption will benefit these local shelters and rescue agencies, including the Allen County SPCA; each will receive $35 in adoption-reward grants from PetSmart Charities for every pet they adopt in stores during this event.
"Adoption is one of the key ways to save pets and end pet homelessness, not to mention enrich our own lives with a loving companion," said Susana Della Maddalena, executive director of PetSmart Charities, Inc. "Thanks to generous donations from our wonderful supporters, PetSmart Charities funds hundreds of adoption events and awareness programs each year that help find homes for thousands of lovable and healthy pets."
How to Adopt Locally:
Visit any of the three local PetSmart Stores (Lima Road, Maysville Road or Apple Glen) from noon until 4 p.m. on Friday, September 13; Saturday, September 14; and noon until to 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 15. To learn about fees and guidelines, visit www.acspca.org or call (260)744-0454.
What are your thoughts CLICK HERE to leave us a "QUESTION OF THE DAY” comment.
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Regulators in Texas are getting serious about protecting credit and debit card transactions. This Computerworld story on Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards reports on a 139-0 vote in the Texas House of Representatives in favor of HB 3222, which mandates that a non-compliant company reimburse banks or credit unions for the cost of blocking and reissuing cards if a breach occurs. The initiative now goes before the state senate.
PCI, the story says, features 12 rules that are backed by the big players in the credit card industry, such as Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express. The story provides a lot of good background on PCI and what legislators in Texas have in mind. Apparently, there is not a groundswell of support for government involvement in PCI. At the end of the story, the writer says that a representative in Massachusetts has proposed a similar move. That suggests that little is happening elsewhere.
There are varying assessments of the overall progress toward compliance. This story at The Green Sheet quotes Visa U.S.A. as saying that only about one-third of large retailers comply with PCI rules.
Smaller companies may be doing a bit better, at least if this press release from Hughes Network Systems is any indication. The company ran an informal survey of restaurants at the Hospitality Magazine's 2007 MURTEC tradeshow. The survey found that four out of five eateries made "significant" progress toward compliance. These efforts are focused on point-of-sale and back-office systems, the piece says. It did add that full compliance had not been achieved by the "vast majority" of companies.
As the dust begins to settle from the massive TJX breach, attention is turning toward better protection of credit and debit card information. It seems that progress is sporadic and inconsistent. Players in the credit/debit card structure include financial institutions, companies that execute transactions and the retailers themselves. Mutli-layer sectors usually feature buck-passing and political intrigue; PCI seems to be no different. The bottom line is that everybody realizes that financial transactions must be better secured. Hopefully, the industry will work through the issues and take care of business.


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Apple Is Testing its Own ChatGPT like Artificial Intelligence Chatbot
Apple is testing a new Artificial Intelligence tool to compete with Google’s Bard and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. According to reports, the iPhone maker company is developing a chatbot that could be named Apple GPT.
There is no confirmation about the release of the Apple AI tool, but there are higher chances that it will be announced next year. According to a report by a Bloomberg representative, Apple is developing its framework named “Ajax.”
Just like Bard and ChatGPT, Apple’s chatbot will work similarly. It will answer questions and summarize text inputs based on the trained dataset.
According to reports, there is no unique selling point, and it is 100% identical to Bard, ChatGPT, and Microsoft’s Bing AI. We will see details about the Apple GPT when it goes live next year.


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BCC: UK economy growth at fastest since 2007
FXBAZOOKA.com - Great Britain's economy will grow at its fastest pace since 2007 this year, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said. BCC upgraded its 2014 UK GDP forecast from 3.1% to 3.2%. The 2015 forecast was also revised up from 2.7% to 2.8%. However, the body expects growth to slow in 2016 with economy growing by only 2.5%.
"Our forecast confirms that Britain has become one of the fastest-growing developed economies. We are leading, rather than following, other major economies when it comes to short-term growth," BCC says.
However, the assosiation warns: the economy is too reliant on consumer spending to accelerate GDP growth. The government has to support investment and exports.


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Under rules set by China in 1994, foreign firms that want to make cars in the country must do so in partnership with a local company. BMW reached an agreement with Brilliance Auto in 2003 to form the BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) joint venture, which currently produces around 400,000 vehicles per year from two plants, Dadong and Tiexi, in Shenyang province.
China is in the process of relaxing its foreign ownership rules, with the joint venture requirement for car producers due to be phased out in 2022. BMW has now signed a new 22-year extension to its deal with Brilliance, running until 2040, during which time it will increase its stake in BBA from 50% to 75%, at a cost of £3.1 billion.
BMW will also invest more than £2.6bn in BBA’s production facilities, including the construction of a new plant on the current site in Tiexi that will increase its Chinese production capacity to 650,000 units. These upgrades will allow Tiexi to produce both combustion-engined and electric vehicles.
The Dadong plant will also be modernised and expanded, and become the sole global production location for the BMW iX3 electric SUV, which is due in 2020. The car's batteries will be produced at BBA's battery production facility at Tiexi.
Fully taking over BBA will give BMW much greater control of its expansion plans in the vital Chinese market, where it sold 560,000 cars last year – two-thirds of which were made at BBA plants. BMW is in the process of launching 16 new products in the country this year and has announced a second joint venture with Great Wall to produce the Mini Electric for the Chinese market.
BBA's Dadong plant currently produces the long-wheelbase 5 Series – including a plug-in hybrid version – and the X3, while Tiexi is home to the 1 Series Saloon, 2 Series Active Tourer, 3 Series (including the long-wheelbase version) and BMW X1.


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MEXICO CITY — Mexico's maquiladora industry says it will press for amendments to a far reaching tax law approved by senators in late October two weeks after its successful passage through the lower house of Congress.
The so-called Reforma Hacendaria is scheduled to take effect in January, although it has yet to be signed into law by President Enrique Peña Nieto. In its current form it will remove the generous tax exemptions that have benefited the maquiladora industry since its inception in 1965.
The National Council of the Maquiladora & Export Manufacturing Industry, which represents 20 maquiladora associations across Mexico, said in a Nov. 4 statement that Peña Nieto can soften the law's impact if he wishes.
“The president of the republic has the power to retain the income tax and value added tax exemptions for the maquiladora export industry,” it said.
It also argued that the fiscal measures affecting the sector's 5,111 companies and 2 million-plus employees were inadequately debated by legislators over 54 days.
“Having to tell multinational corporations that the programs for attracting foreign investment have been modified and restrictive criteria that do not favor our country as a safe foreign trade destination introduced will have negative repercussions on Mexico's international image,” it said.
In the maquiladora council's economic report for September, Council General Manager Carlos Palencia wrote that, under the new law, the sector will be required to pay $25 billion in value-added tax for temporarily importing raw materials and machinery.
In 2012, maquiladora program companies imported supplies and machinery valued at $156.3 billion, according to government statistics.


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Cabovisäo to launch digital platform
May 5, 2008
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Portuguese cable operator Cabovisäo will launch its digital platform at the beginning of May.
The new service will permit clients to select the moment when to watch their favourite programs, higher audio and video quality as well as internet access functions and game consoles that can be accessed via the remote control. The Cabovisäo Digital package will provide more than 80 TV channels for E28.99 a month.
During the promotional period, the triple-play operator will offer new clients three months free viewing of the Sport TV channel, which coincides with the Euro 2008 and Beijing Olympic Games. Those acquiring the triple-play package will get an additional E10 discount during nine months.
Portugal’s second largest cable operator, Cabovisäo, is owned by Canada’s Cogeco Cable and has a total of 712,544 customers (301,660 for the basic cable service).


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Jul 9, 2020
Amazon removes Washington Redskins merchandise from website
Jul 9, 2020
Amazon is pulling Washington Redskins merchandise from its website, with sellers given 48 hours to review and remove any products flagged by the e-commerce giant, according to a note sent to sellers by the company.
An Amazon spokeswoman confirmed the move by the company.
Under mounting pressure from sponsors and Native American rights groups, Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder said last week he would consider changing the name of the National Football League team whose roots date back to the 1930s.
Controversy over the team’s name, which is widely seen as a racial slur against Native Americans, resurfaced in recent weeks amid widespread racial and social justice protests across the United States after the death of George Floyd in police custody.
Amazon’s action follows that of other retailers such as Walmart Inc, Target Corp and Nike Inc.
Top sponsors, including PepsiCo Inc and FedEx Corp, who have the naming rights to the NFL team’s Landover, Maryland, stadium, called for a change last week.
© Thomson Reuters 2022 All rights reserved.


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The parents of a shop manager stabbed to death at work are to be reunited with one of his most treasured paintings.
Thanks to the Echo, the family of Duncan Clarke - who was murdered at Cardiff's Littlewoods store in 1994 - will get back artwork donated to the retail chain after his death.
Mr Clarke, a manager at Littlewoods' Baggage Centre franchise, was fatally knifed when he tried to stop teenager Carl Hughes stealing a £5.99 Lego set from the store.
After the tragedy, his parents, Brian and Maureen, donated one of the aspiring artist's works to his colleagues, who hung it first in the Queen Street branch, and later Littlewoods' Liverpool HQ.
But now, with the closure of Littlewoods across the UK, staff are keen to give it back - and following the Echo's appeal last week, they can do just that. Mr Clarke's former boss, Moyra Travers - who was with the 34-year-old when he died - spotted our article and called the Clarkes at their home in Haslingden, Lancashire.
Mrs Clarke, now 69, said: 'I'd love to have the painting back. My sister, Julia, loved it so now it can go to her.
'I'm really glad Moyra called. The anniversary of Duncan's death is on November 11. We never got over it. You just have to get on with it somehow.'
Mrs Travers, 65, of Pantbach Road, Rhiwbina, Cardiff, still thinks about Mr Clarke often.
'You couldn't meet anybody nicer. He had so much talent and was such a kind person.'
Littlewoods spokesman Frank Philipps said: 'We are delighted that the Echo has been able to help us locate Duncan's family.
'We will be contacting them to arrange the return of the picture and sincerely hope his parents will gain some comfort from it.'


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With the lore of Star Wars expanding, toy companies bring plenty of figures from "The Force Awakens" and the original trilogy to the New York Toy Fair.
The characters from "The Force Awakens" had a big presence, literally, at the New York Toy Fair with these life-size Lego statues.
Rey and BB-8 are ready to roll at the New York Toy Fair.
This little BB-8 droid still looks cute when made from many, many Lego bricks.
This Captain Phasma Lego statue stands tall in the Jacob Javits Center.
Poe Dameron's Lego statue is ready to fight and fly an X-Wing.
Former First Order Stormtrooper Finn is ready to rush into battle with this lightsaber.
Kylo Ren's black helmet conveys the dark side, even in Lego.
This Rey toy was on display at the Comic Images booth at New York Toy Fair.
Schylling's BeBot line of Star Wars toys includes "The Force Awakens" characters like Rey.
Also in Schylling's BeBot line are classic characters from the original trilogy.
Admiral Ackbar, Finn and Han Solo BeBot figures are on display at the Schylling booth.
These Star Wars plush toys are on display at the Comic Images booth.
Star Wars papercraft characters are on display at the Zoofy booth.
This Rey Funko figure was on display at the Toy Fair. It was released before "The Force Awakens" debuted.
These Star Wars Funko figures were all released before "The Force Awakens" premiered in December 2015.
These Funko figures, including older Han Solo and General Leia Organa, were released in January.
Star Wars toys on display at the Diamond Select Toys booth.
Furbacca is a Chewbacca-inspired take on the Furby. The toy was released last year and is seen here at the Diamond Select Toys booth.
Smaller plush toys of several "The Force Awakens" characters at the Comic Images booth.
Rey, BB-8 and Yoda figures at the Underground Toys booth.
Big and smaller BB-8 toys at Underground Toys.
Underground Toys' large BB-8 plush with voice and rotating head is currently scheduled for a fall 2016 release.
These Star Wars toys were on display at the Egg Attack booth.
A depiction of Captain Phasma (left) at the Egg Attack booth.
This Lego set coming in June provides a sneak peek into the upcoming "Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures" television show.
Each of these Lego sets lets you build one Star Wars character.
After facing backlash, Hasbro debuted the Star Wars Monopoly token for Rey during the New York Toy Fair.
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