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- Articles tagged "aftershock"
ViewQwest Black explained: A breakdown of ViewQwest's "end-to-end" 10Gbps home fiber broadband service
In case you missed it, ViewQwest was the last among four ISPs to announce a 10Gbps home fiber broadband service. But it arguably also has the most interesting and well thought out plan of the bunch. If you’re still confused by ViewQwest Black, we're going to break it down here once again in more layman’s terms.
It's the last day of the IT Show 2016 and if you are on the lookout for a gaming notebook, here are our recommendations.
Even though Skylake was only officially launched just days ago, several brands have wasted no time in getting Skylake-powered devices out in the market. Here are the ones we saw at Comex 2015 and yes, you can buy one home now!
While other hardware manufacturers are still gearing up to announce their new Skylake machines, Aftershock's beaten them all to the punch with their unveiling of their new machines powered by Intel's new Skylake processors. Find out which models get refreshed inside.
With NVIDIA's recent launch of their GeForce GTX 980 Ti and new developments in the gaming and VR scene, they decided it's time to meet our local hardware enthusiasts and share the good work they've been putting out as of late. Yesterday, NVIDIA execs from Taiwan flew down for a special invite-only event to do just that, so here's what went down.
Lately, Aftershock rolled out its next-gen X and XG series gaming notebooks. Every machine now comes equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 800M series GPU as well as a few other enhancements. We dive in to see what the refreshed X15S-V2 and XG13-V2 models have to offer.
Thanks to advances in CPU and GPU technology, gaming notebooks have never been more powerful. We pit the best of the best from Aftershock, ASUS, Dell, MSI, Razer and Toshiba against each other in a battle to the death to find out which is best.
- Apple may not have enough stocks of iPhone 7 at launch
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- Pokémon Go has lost over 10 million users from its mid-July peak
- Xiaomi launches deca-core-powered Redmi Note 4
- StarHub brings back 12GB mobile data through its 2-in-1 SurfHub bundles
- #ICYMI Friday: Air purifiers, a new Redmi, the beautiful HP Spectre and more
- PSA: You should update your iPhone to iOS 9.3.5 now


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Delta CEO Ed Bastian spent much of the first quarter of 2021 talking about the coming “year of recovery”.
With hopes that the vaccinations will restore consumer confidence in aviation and fuel the fire of pent-up demand, he is preparing to turn a profit by the middle of the year – which is badly needed after record losses of $ 12.39 billion in 2020.
The company saw an improvement at the end of last year: It halved its third-to-fourth-quarter cash drain, and fourth-quarter net losses of $ 755 million paled compared to those of American and United, both around $ 2 billion.
But Delta and its competitors still expect a bumpy road. “It’s always darker before dawn, and that’s exactly where we are,” Bastian says.
He expects the United States to reach an initial stage of herd immunity in early summer, barring the emergence of vaccine-resistant mutations from Covid-19.
“This will be the key to starting the journey, even if it will only be a step, a significant step, as we return to a new normal.”
The same milestone, he says, may be the trigger that allows Delta to reopen reservations for the middle seats, which it has blocked to keep away from social throughout the pandemic.
Another significant step, he said, will be the reopening of international borders. “Specifically in Asia, they will be very conservative (about this),” Bastian says. “But in 12 to 18 months, I think international travel will be back.”
It is a moment to wait. But the upside, he explains, is that travelers will come back to see that the aviation industry has improved in many ways.
The pandemic and the events of 2020 have led businesses and their leaders to reinvent themselves for sustainability, resilience and inclusiveness – industry-wide improvements that will far outlast Covid-19.
Last February, Delta pledged to spend $ 1 billion to green its operations over the next decade, with the goal of becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral airline through the use of alternative fuels, carbon offsets and improved recycling and waste reduction efforts. .
“We need to prepare the ground for the next generations that will follow and follow us,” says Bastian, presenting sustainability efforts as both moral and economic imperatives. “You can’t have a business opportunity and a platform for growth if the world doesn’t see your products and services contributing to society.”
It would certainly be easier for many to accept the socio-economic benefits of the $ 1.7 trillion travel industry if massive amounts of jet fuels were not needed.
“We know that in our industry, the footprint we create represents between 2% and 3% of the global carbon footprint,” says Bastian. “Left unattended, that number will double over the next 10 to 20 years, so the more people who join us on this mission the better.”
Counterintuitively, sustainability is also a cornerstone of restoring business travel after the pandemic.
With ESG (environment, social and corporate governance) investments taking on a more important role than ever, many companies that use Delta for their business trips are reassessing their carbon footprint, especially in the technology sector.
“We don’t want them to go net zero by eliminating air travel,” says Bastian, “so we have to make sure that the work Delta is doing to save its own footprint can be linked. [their] strategies. “
The same can be said of the company’s efforts at diversity and inclusiveness, which have been of personal concern to Bastian since the 2020 protests surrounding the death of George Floyd.
Delta is committed to doubling black leadership roles within the company by 2025, doubling spending with black-owned businesses, and reviewing its talent acquisition strategies to create a better pipeline for the professional development of blacks. (The company also tracks its progress against these goals publicly, out of accountability.)
Like the greening games, these inclusiveness goals are also good for Delta’s bottom line. “We will best serve our customers and connect the world if we reflect the world,” says Bastian.
“We are stronger when we have more views expressed around the table, and we can better anticipate the needs of our customers – better understand them when they board our planes – if they are served by people who look like them. “
In an environment where traditional loyalty – the type of points and miles – has been increasingly devalued, these efforts can also be an important means of attracting and retaining customers.
“Today’s younger generations demand it,” explains Bastian. “Consumers demand it more and more and are loyal to companies that reflect their own values.”
The Changing Definition of Leadership
Waiting for the government to fix the big problems of our time is also not an option, says Bastian, especially since many are so politically fractured. With topics such as sustainability and diversity having a global impact, it is important that global companies take some responsibility in designing solutions.
“We all have our part to play. In such a divided time as I can remember, we cannot leave everything to the government. The business world must step up its efforts and be held to account, ”he said.
This emphasis on sustainability and diversity has earned Bastian plenty of praise, as well as critics who say he has become too political.
But Bastian thinks 2020 has rewritten the rulebook for a lot of things, including how to be a good leader.
“As a corporate CEO, you are trained to stay out of the line of sight of any subject that is generally not specific to your business mission and precise objective,” he says.
“But it is perhaps more broadly defined than ever these days – and I believe our customers, our company and our leaders around the world have a voice when they see inequalities. Or else, silence also speaks.
The future of middle seats
Delta’s pledge to block out the middle seats during the pandemic was a public relations triumph for the company, which is expected to last until April.
Pressed to find out if that expiration date would stay, Bastian admits popular policy will likely be extended until the summer.
“We know it’s safe to just sit there,” Bastian says, “but we’ll follow the confidence and comfort of our customers.
When we see the demand for these middle seats start to increase, that will be the signal for us to start selling them.
While Bastian is bearish on international travel in 2021, he is convinced that domestic air travel will make a comeback this summer, in line with the US vaccination program.
If that prediction comes to fruition, so will its current plan to start reserving middle seats at the same time.
What will not change are all the new protocols put in place around cleanliness and safety. TSA’s antimicrobial tubs, mask-wearing rules, and state-of-the-art air filtration systems are here to stay.
Business travel is reborn
Bastian also sees a new take on business travel supplanting the traditional two-meeting, round-trip road warrior style of years past.
It is a country in which a new generation of digital nomads will benefit from cultural exchange wherever they can connect to the Internet. “People will travel because they can work remotely, and businesses will find that this helps with retention and costs,” he says.
This version of the business trip, says Bastian, “will have a similar scale to what we know, but the purpose and form will be different.”
This, along with the emphasis on private space for leisure travelers, will keep demand high for seats in the front of the plane, he expects, which will result in a model of more resilient business that does not depend so heavily on the stable business of large companies.
Ultimately, Bastian says, once the pandemic is over, “the real value of travel will be clear – and people will put a higher premium on it.”
Read: Massive driving license surge expected to hit South Africa

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Denmark: Latest beverage news & analysis
Carlsberg may have had a difficult 2015, but this year is unlikely to bring much relief for the brewer, one analyst has warned.
The headlines for Carlsberg after its nine-month results release yesterday were bleak: brewery closures on the cards, 2,000 jobs to go in Europe and China and a financial jump into the red.
Carlsberg will release its Q3 and year-to-date results on Wednesday(11 November). Here, just-drinks takes a look at the company's highs and lows in the three months to the end of September.
Earlier today, Carlsberg reported its first-half results, posting a near-12% slide in operating profits and a 4% drop in beer volumes. Here, we look at the company’s performance during the six-month period by region.
Carlsberg will release its H1 results on Wednesday. Here, just-drinks takes a look at the company's highs and lows in the three months to the end of June.
Carlsberg has reported a leap in sales of its non-alcohol beer offering in its domestic market, and has lined up the release of a wheat variant.
North European food and drink group Orkla has secured the takeover of Denmark's O. Kavli.
Carlsberg may have to wait until August to install its new CFO, which it named today.
The chairman of Carlsberg has hinted the brewer may not be in the running to buy Grolsch and Peroni Nastro Azzuro from SABMiller, after telling a Danish newspaper the company is not looking to make acquisitions.
Carlsberg is to make upwards of US$87m from the sale of some land that it owns in Denmark.
Carlsberg has unveiled plans for its UEFA Euro 2016 marketing campaign, which will be fronted by former Denmark international and Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel.
Diageo's incubator fund project, Distill Ventures, has lined up a GBP10m (US$15.1m) spend on a whisky distillery in Denmark.
Carlsberg said it may close more breweries as it outlined new cost-cutting measures that include the loss of 2,000 jobs and a UK restructuring.
Carlsberg is cutting 2,000 jobs as it forges ahead with cost-cutting plans after another tough quarter.
The Danish government's decision to reduce beer excise duty two years ago, coupled with the halving and subsequent repealing last year a special tax on soft drinks, has boosted local sales in the sectors.
“Ah, yes, you've hit upon a very sensitive area,” says Thomas, my guide at the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen last Friday.
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- Consumer and Market Insights: Spirits Market in the US
- Carbonates in India


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Redmi Note 9 by Xiaomi is all set to launch in India on July 20. The device has already made its debut in the European market in April this year. During the global launch of Redmi Note 9, the company introduced two variants 3GB and 4GB of RAM option. But now the latest report suggests another 6GB variant. According to the report, only 4GB and a 6GB variant of the device is going to make its India debut.
As per a report, the India variant of the Redmi Note 9 will have a 6GB of RAM option. In April this year, the device was launched globally which has two options 3GB RAM with 64GB storage and a 4GB RAM with a 128GB storage model. But the report stated that the company is not bringing the 3GB variant. So, in the country, the 4GB variant will be the base variant. However, it did not confirm the internal storage for the 6GB RAM variant.
To recall Redmi Note 9 made its global debut in the European market in April a month after the launch of Redmi Note 9 Pro Max and Redmi Note 9 Pro in India in March. In April only two models of the vanilla model made it to the shelves 3GB RAM with 64GB storage option comes at $199 that translates to Rs 15,100 whereas the 4GB RAM with 128GB storage has been priced at $249 that translates to Rs 18,900. But here in India, we are going to get a 6GB model as a replacement to a 3GB variant. The device was launched in three colour options Forest Green, Polar White and Midnight Grey.
Redmi Note 9 specifications
Redmi Note 9 runs on MIUI custom skin on top of Android 10 OS. The device comes with a 6.53-inch FHD+ Dot display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. Under the hood, there is a 12nm MediaTek Helio G85 chipset paired with up to 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage that can be expanded up to 128GB using a microSD card.
In terms of imaging, just like its sibling, there is a quad rear camera set up that includes a 48-megapixel Samsung GM1 main sensor with f/1.79 aperture. Moreover, there is an 8-megapixel ultrawide angle sensor with f/2.2 aperture, a 2-megapixel macro lens with f/2.4 aperture and lastly a 2-megapixel depth sensor. On the front, there is a 13-megapixel in-display selfie camera. The device equips a 5,020mAh battery with an 18W fast charger inside the box and 22.5W fast charging support. Also, there is a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor for authentication.
For the latest gadget and tech news, and gadget reviews, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For newest tech & gadget videos subscribe to our YouTube Channel. You can also stay up to date using the Gadget Bridge Android App.


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The head of Microsoft’s video game division, Phil Spencer, “doesn’t feel an imperative” to release a major update to the Xbox gaming console. He said this after the annual Xbox Games Showcase in Los Angeles, writes Bloomberg.
“That’s not the feedback we’re getting right now,” Spencer said. “Right now, we’re pretty set on the hardware we have.”
According to Phil Spencer, Xbox is the third largest console after Nintendo’s Switch and Sony’s PlayStation. Microsoft is increasingly diversifying its strategy of “delivery” of games, making them available through the game application for PC and subscription service Game Pass.
At the same time, a representative of Microsoft said that his goal is to let the wishes of the players help him determine the ways of product development. For example, Xbox did not see the need to release projects tied to non-fungible tokens or blockchain games. The gaming community was skeptical of these trends.
“We didn’t go off and start building a bunch of NFT games or blockchain games,” Spencer said. “I just want to make sure that the games are led by the experience that the player feels and nothing else.”
As you know, game console manufacturers traditionally release major updates about three years after they hit the market. The Xbox Series S and X were released in 2020 as part of the ninth generation of game consoles. They compete with Sony’s PlayStation 5.
We will remind that Microsoft announced a new console Carbon Black Xbox Series S with 1 TB of memory. It will be available worldwide starting September 1 and will cost $349.99. The console has the same hardware power as the original Series S. But on the outside, it is finished in matte black, like its older “sister” Series X.


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What it means if Trump names China a currency manipulator
// L.A. Times - Business
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to name China a currency manipulator on his first day in the White House.
There's only one problem: It's not true anymore. China, the world's second-biggest economy behind the United States, hasn't been pushing down its currency to benefit Chinese exporters...
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Swiss Stocks Are Little Changed; Novartis Shares Advance
Swiss stocks were little changed near a four-year high, as shares of health-care companies climbed, offsetting a reduction in the World Bank’s projections for global growth in 2013.
Novartis AG (NOVN) and Roche Holding AG added the most points to the Swiss Market Index. (SMI) Holcim Ltd. rose 0.9 percent after Jefferies & Co. increased its price forecast for the stock. Dufry (DUFN) AG slid 2.4 percent as Global Retail Group sold its entire stake in the company. Barry Callebaut (BARN) AG lost 1.4 percent as the largest maker of bulk chocolate reported first-quarter sales that missed analysts’ estimates.
The Swiss Market Index advanced 0.1 percent to 7,279.17 at 11:15 a.m. in Zurich. The gauge has surged 6.7 percent since the New Year as U.S. lawmakers reached a budget compromise and avoided automatic deficit-reduction measures. The broader Swiss Performance Index was also little today.
The volume of shares changing hands on SMI-listed companies was 48 percent higher than the average of the last 30 days, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
The World Bank yesterday cut its global-growth forecast for this year as austerity measures, high unemployment and low business confidence weigh on developed economies.
The Washington-based bank projected the world economy will expand 2.4 percent, after growing 2.3 percent in 2012. That forecast is lower than its June estimate of 3 percent.
Novartis and Roche increased 0.8 percent to 60.90 Swiss francs and 0.3 percent to 197.70 francs, respectively. The two stocks make up about 34 percent of the SMI by weight. A gauge of European health-care companies was the best performer of the 19 industry groups in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. The measure has jumped 2.4 percent so far this year, compared with the 1.9 percent gain in the Stoxx 600.
Holcim gained 0.9 percent to 67.05 francs. Jefferies increased its price target for the world’s biggest cement maker by sales by 6.5 percent to 82 francs.
Dufry slipped 2.4 percent to 116.20 francs. Global Retail Group sold its entire 13 percent stake in the company at 114 francs a share.
Barry Callebaut slipped 1.4 percent to 897 francs, the biggest drop in more than a month, as it reported first-quarter sales of 1.25 billion francs ($1.34 billion), missing the average 1.38 billion-franc projection in a Bloomberg News survey. The bulk chocolate maker’s first-quarter shipments rose 8.3 percent to 388,160 tonnes.
To contact the reporter on this story: Corinne Gretler in Zurich at email@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at firstname.lastname@example.org


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Let’s review the market trend and events from last week.
This Post has ended its release period. Please check Orbex's latest information and campaign on Orbex's company introduction page.
This article is originally referred from Orbex Market Review.
The euro currency was seen posting strong gains towards the later end of the week.
The jump in the common currency came about following the EU Summit where leaders in the European Union were seen agreeing to the migrant crisis that threatened to split the common union.
The euro was seen posting strong gains on the day and was also helped by the jump in the flash inflation which showed that the headline CPI increased 2.0% while core CPI rose 1.0% in June.
U.S. New home sales rebound more than expected
The new home sales data released last week on Monday showed that activity posted strong gains with new home sales rebounding more than expected in the month of May.
Data released by the U.S. Commerce Department showed that new home sales surged 6.7% to an annual rate of 689,000.
This comes following April’s activity which showed a decline of 3.7% which was revised to 646,000 during the month.
The data beat estimates as economists projected that new home sales increased 1.5%.
The new home sales data comes following last week’s housing starts.
Data showed that housing starts rose to highs of 5.0% on an annualized basis with an increase in construction activity especially in the mid-west region where new home sales increased 62.2%.
Activity in the midwest region. This came amid construction activity in the region rising 62.2% which was the strongest month over month growth in over four years. Building permits were driven On a regional basis, new home sales data was mixed.
While in the South, new home sales surged 17.9%, new home sales slumped in the Northeast and the West by nearly 10.0% and 8.7% respectively.
The overall trend showed that construction activity in the housing market overall increased at a pace of 11.0% in the first five months of 2018.
Building permits on the other hand were revised only slightly to 1.36 million up from 1.35 million as previously recorded.
In a separate report, the durable goods orders data was also released last week. Official data showed that headline durable goods orders declined 0.6% on the month in May.
Although durable goods orders fell, this was slightly better than the estimates which expected headline durable goods orders to fall 0.9%. Core durable goods orders also declined 0.3% missing expectations of a 0.5% increase.
UK GDP revised higher to 0.2% in Q1
The final revised GDP for the three months ending March 2018 was released by the UK’s Office for National Statistics.
The ONS’s final revised GDP showed that the UK’s economy expanded at a revised pace of 0.2% in the three months ending March 2018.
This was a surprise for the markets as economists polled had expected no change to the GDP figures during the quarter.
The slight revision was cheered by the markets and it quickly saw investors scaling up their expectations of a rate hike from the Bank of England at the August monetary policy meeting.
The data underlined the fact that the services sector had gathered momentum in the month of April as it raised expectations that the UK’s economy could pick up pace in the second quarter.
The weak preliminary estimates and the initial PMI numbers had prevented the Bank of England officials from increasing interest rates in May as previously forecast.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand holds OCR steady
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand held its monetary policy meeting last week on Thursday.
As widely expected, the central bank held the overnight cash rate unchanged at 1.75% marking an eleventh consecutive monetary policy meeting where interest rates were untouched.
The central bank was seen turning slightly dovish in its statement as it highlighted the growing risks surrounding the domestic conditions and the impact of global trade uncertainty which had increased in recent months.
The central bank cautioned that these risks could potentially impact the economy which many viewed to be dovish and the possibility that the RBNZ could also be looking to give itself more room for a possible rate cut if the economy continued to deteriorate.
Following the RBNZ’s meeting, the market expectations for a possible rate hike were pushed back to the middle of 2019.
The New Zealand dollar was seen extending declines following the release of the RBNZ’s statement.
Original Source: Orbex Market Review


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The annual Festival of Marketing is always a big event in the calendar, with some of the biggest and best brains in the industry coming together to discuss successes and challenges for the year ahead.
This week we have three takeaways from the 2016 Festival, and how you can feed these insights into your own marketing strategy.
A new way to do customer journeys
Putting your customer journey at the heart of strategy is a focus for many marketers.
At last week’s Festival, KLM took this proposition to the next level, outlining their plans to turn social media conversation threads into a customer journey in their own right.
Here at OTB we recently wrote about KLM’s bid to make chatbots and Facebook messenger the primary mode of contact with its consumers, and once again the brand is pushing this strategy to new heights.
Karlijn Vogel-Meijer, manager of social media at KLM, told The Drum that by being able to suggest hotels, taxi companies and other useful travel tips to its customers, conversation threads ‘can be of much more use than what we are doing right now.’
She continued ‘when you are able to have a relationship during the total journey that someone is travelling, that has a huge impact.’
By capitalising on insights generated and creating a trusting relationship with consumers, KLM could be pioneering a new way to do customer journeys that others could learn from.
Selling yourself in a post-Brexit era
As much as many marketers have tried to sidestep discussions of Brexit and the political quagmire associated with it, it is perhaps unsurprising that discussions of how the industry should deal with the aftermath was a hot topic of the Festival.
He argued that an overwhelming majority of marketing and creative executives had voted against Brexit, and as such had been left ‘discombobulated’ by the result and its immediate aftermath.
He suggested what was needed in the face of uncertainty was a plan, direction and a focus of energy into not only growing creative industries but emphasising their strengths through self-marketing.
Whichever wing of the industry you work in, learning to sell yourself and your attributes is sound advise in this hyper-competitive, globalised world.
Even the best can learn from others
Here at OTB we often argue that drawing insights from the successes of other marketers is useful for improving your own strategy.
But did you ever think that even an industry giant like Unilever would be following the same advice?
Well that’s exactly what Keith Weed, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Unilever, has suggested when he claimed that Unilever was the ‘world’s biggest digital startup’ at last week’s Festival.
Weed argued that in order to adapt Unilever’s business model to the rapid pace of change, they were looking to the rise of the disruptive digital startups for inspiration.
An article by econsultancy highlighted Unilever’s focus on adding value for customers and being accessible to digitally-savvy consumers, pointing to their acquisition of US-based Dollar Shave Club as indicative of this learning.
Through experimentation and skills training Unilever is pushing to be at the front of change, rather than simply following the crowd. If Unilever can learn a thing or two from others in the industry, we’re sure there are some Festival insights you could apply to your own organisation’s marketing strategy too.


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Olympic sites fail to deliver on accessibility & universal design
The winter Olympic games have been an exciting, and sadly tragic, viewing experience for fans around the world. The developers of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter games and CTV Olympics have built sophisticated websites offering a vast amount of information. They’ve also opened up new ways to follow the games by providing streaming broadcasts and real-time results readily available to internet viewers. Unfortunately, those bells and whistles aren’t available to many users with disabilities.
In fact, a thorough review by Joe Clark shows that many people with disabilities have been shut out. Issues range from a lack of alt attributes for images (44 missing on the home page alone!) to videos without audio descriptions. Keyboard users also struggle to navigate their way through the sites.
Evertt Zufelt has written a detailed article outlining his attempts to watch a video on the CTV Olympics website as a blind user. He was eventually able to get the videos to work but the audio started immediately with no way for him to stop it, a big problem for someone who relies on a screen reader.
It may be too late to completely resolve these accessibility issues but there is certainly time for VANOC and CTV to tweak their sites to make the Paralympic games, opening March 12, a more inclusive experience.


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View the article online at http://citywire.co.uk/wealth-manager/article/a728495
FCA to clampdown on hospitality for advisers
by Michelle Abrego on Jan 16, 2014 at 12:32
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out finalised guidance on how advice firms should deal with conflicts of interest caused by receiving provider payments.
The guidance also added a ‘reasonable value test’ to hospitality payments, to ensure that advisers avoid ‘extravagant’ promotional prizes and gifts.
The FCA has said that financial advisers and product providers share the responsibility of managing potential conflicts of interests when receiving and making payments under service and distribution agreements.
The final guidance on inducements states that payments from product providers to advisory firms should be based on reasonable reimbursement for the costs incurred by advisory firms
The regulator’s inducement rules ban the ‘provision or receipt of any fees, commissions or non-monetary benefits that relate to designated investment business carried for a client’, which:
- impair the firm’s duty to act in the best interests of its client
- are not designed to enhance the quality of service provided to a client
- are not clearly disclosed to clients – with some exceptions for non-MiFID business
In September 2013, the FCA published findings of a review into provider payments which examined whether firms continued to be influenced by inducements from product providers despite the retail distribution review (RDR) coming into effect in January 2013.
It reviewed 26 life insurers and advisory firms and 80 agreements and found that just over half the firms it sampled had agreements in place which it considered to breach rules and the objectives of RDR.
Clive Adamson, director of supervision at the FCA, said: 'The rules on inducements and conflicts of interest are not new. However our review made it clear there were certain practices that did not stand up to scrutiny.
'In the guidance published today we are helping firms better understand our expectations. Now it is for firms to make sure any payments are legitimate, are in consumers’ interest and that potential conflicts are well managed.'
In September 2013, the FCA also said two firms faced enforcement over breaches of inducement rules, one of which was later revealed to be enhanced annuity provider Partnership.
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As the UK coalition government strives to rebalance the national economy, so called 'reshoring' looks set to play an increasingly important role in economic recovery.
Today's top headlines
From Nigeria to Pakistan and from Kenya to Kuwait, frontier markets are catching investors' attention as never before.
More about this:
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- Two firms face FCA enforcement action over provider payments
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- Provider payments scrutiny better late than never
- FCA clampdown on provider payments threatens nationals and networks


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The Cheesecake Factory was downgraded to neutral from outperform at Wedbush with analysts saying the restaurant chain, which has many mall-based locations, is especially exposed to retail traffic declines.
Its price target was lowered to $44 from $52.
Wedbush also downgraded Shake Shack Inc.
However, each company also faces unique challenges, the analysts said.
“As income growth of higher-income brackets plateaus, as [quick-service restaurants] and casual dining continue to price relative to muted at-home inflation trends, and as secular headwinds, such as declining retail traffic and growth in third-party delivery continue, we expect transactions in casual dining to remain under pressure relative to what we believe are still moderately optimistic expectations,” Wedbush analysts led by Nick Steyan wrote in a note published Tuesday.
Analysts say that checks of about 20% of Cheesecake Factory’s
Cheesecake Factory shares closed down 0.6% in Tuesday trading.
Recent data from NPD Group shows that restaurants recorded their sixth-consecutive quarter of traffic declines. Casual dining dropped 3%, though NPD said quick-service and fast-casual restaurants were “bright spots.”
In a separate note on the restaurant sector, Wedbush analysts said that, according to its estimates, second-quarter restaurant industry transactions were up 1%, with QSRs up 1.6%, fast-casual down 0.1% and casual dining down 0.8%. QSRs are “relatively sheltered from secular headwinds such as retail traffic declines and third-party delivery,” the note said. These transaction trends are expected to put average check growth expectations at risk.
“Therefore, as we do not see an ability to offset inflation through price increases, we believe current fast-casual and casual dining margin expectations are at risk,” the note said. “While we see the same inflationary pressures in the QSR category, given that most QSR names are primarily franchised, we view the QSR category as relatively insulated from lower margin revisions as we move into the second half of 2017 and into 2018.”
Wedbush also fears cannibalization at Shake Shack as the company expands.
“We believe the risk of another step-down in comp trends may no longer be offset by top-line contribution from new unit outperformance,” Wedbush wrote.
Shake Shack’s price target was moved down to $36 from $40. Shares closed down 5.1% on Tuesday.
At fast-casual chain Habit Restaurants, the concern is that in-line same-store sales would be driven only by promotional activity and cost of goods sold (COGS). Moreover, the company is “close to 100% co-owned,” so the insulation provided by franchising wouldn’t apply.
Habit’s price target was slashed to $14 from $19. Its shares closed down 5.8% on Tuesday.
Cheesecake Factory stock is down 29.5% for the year so far, Shake Shack stock is down 9.0% and Habit shares are down 28.7% for the period. The S&P 500 index


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Buyer beware is ‘hard to defend’, says watchdog boss
The new regulator’s top boss is set to make the comments at a speech later today, his first major address since the FCA was launched.
He thinks suggesting consumers are ultimately responsible for making poor decisions has its limitations.
“‘Buyer beware’ becomes hard to defend when unsophisticated customers are buying seriously complicated financial products, where the risk of failure is far more dangerous than a decision in the supermarket to buy three bananas instead of one.
“There are questions that many investors simply will not ask because they are humans, not automatons,” he will say.
The speech will mark the launch of two behavioural economics papers.
Wheatley is keen to use behavioural economics in the work of the FCA.
“I want the FCA to bring a more human face to the regulation of financial services; a more pragmatic approach to regulation. Not only to defend against sharp practice but also to encourage better decision making among consumers.
“The best financial service companies, the most consumer-focused, go to considerable pains to make sure their customers are steered towards the best products and the most suitable. We should applaud these firms and learn from them.”
However, he will also recognise that this is an area of fledgling expertise and that behavioural economics would not solve every problem – nor should it try to.
“We should not pretend this is a straightforward discipline. There is no mechanical routine to follow when we apply behavioural economics to regulation. It will require us to change the way we identify risks, diagnose problems and troubleshoot.
“It’s also worth pointing out that behavioural economics is not enough, on its own, to guarantee good regulation or strong financial products. It is a part only of the new FCA’s identity.”


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7a Records, the label that specializes in Monkees solo-related projects and more, recently announced that a couple of their titles are now available to stream and download on over 70 different platforms. And on top of that, vinyl lovers rejoice! Peter Tork's 1994 solo album, Stranger Things Have Happened, is coming soon on limited edition green vinyl.
Here's a rundown of 7a's latest activities:
In late 1980 Peter Tork formed a band called The New Monks, and shortly thereafter the group recorded a single, "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone"/"Higher and Higher." Last year, both songs were featured as bonus tracks on 7a's CD and vinyl editions of Peter's Stranger Things Have Happened album.
And now, for the first time, the single is officially available to stream or download:
Back in 2019, 7a revived Davy Jones' long out-of-print early 1980s live albums that were recorded and issued in Japan. Stream or download Davy Jones Live in Japan now:
Don't forget that this collection can still be purchased on compact disc and as a triple vinyl LP, and both of these versions contain exclusive bonus tracks.
In 1994, James Lee Stanley's Beachwood Records released Peter Tork's first ever solo album, Stranger Things Have Happened, featuring several notable guest musicians and friends including Stanley, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Laurence Juber (Paul McCartney & Wings), Mackenzie Phillips, and Timothy B. Schmit (The Eagles). Last year, 7a celebrated Stranger Things with an expansive compact disc reissue while also pressing a limited edition splatter vinyl.
Fans can now pre-order 7a's latest incarnation of the album, this time on transparent green vinyl, which is set for release on September 10:
In Memoriam: Michael Nesmith
Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart returns
Dolenz sings Nesmith - The E.P.
50th Anniversary Editions
Micky Dolenz Live!


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During the ongoing WWDC 2019 keynote, Apple unveiled the macOS 10.15, and it has decided to call the latest update macOS Catalina. Along with a host of new features, the latest version of the operating system has also done away with iTunes, which has now been broken into other apps. Instead of adding more features into iTunes, it was perhaps more sensible to break it up into different apps but this can be confusing for some consumers. However, those who were used to iTunes will find that the latest update does end up making things a little more flexible, even though there are more apps that users will need to recognize.
Apple’s macOS Catalina Also Allows Users to Seamlessly Attach an iPad as a Secondary Display and Control It Wirelessly
News apps that have been introduced in place of iTunes include Apple Podcasts, Apple Music, and Apple TV. Of course, these aren’t new apps per se, but the latest versions have more features. The Podcast app will make use of machine learning to make it easier to search for shows. The TV app has added support for 4K HDR video and also includes Atmos content.
macOS Catalina also has a new tool called ‘Sidecar’ that will allow users to use an iPad as an additional display for the Mac or MacBook. This built-in tool works wirelessly too and also lets you use your slate as a touchscreen controller for your Mac. Just in case you wanted a compact display for improved productivity, Sidecar is the feature you’ll need to check out.
There is also a new feature called ‘Voice Control’ which, as the name implies, will allow users to control their devices with voice commands. Even though macOS supported Siri earlier, ‘Voice Control’ will give control to users on a deeper level. Additionally, on-device machine processing has been used to offer better navigation. All the voice processing is done on the device, which means you do not need to be concerned about privacy issues. With the new OS, ‘Screen Time’ will also be available on Mac, allowing users to sync their activity graphs and screen limits between different Apple gadgets.
Other than that, there is also a new app called ‘Find My’ that is basically a combination of ‘Find My iPhone’ and ‘Find my Friends’. It also turns all the Apple devices into hardware transmitters or beacons, allowing them to broadcast their identifier to other devices, allowing you to locate your offline devices easily. With a slew of new features, macOS Catalina is getting readied to arrive this fall, so let us see if the new changes introduced, make a whirlwind of a difference for users accustomed to using Apple’s desktop OS.
Make sure to check out our other updates from WWDC 2019, as Apple has made a boatload of announcements at its annual developers conference.


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Renesas Electronics Corp. will cut 28 percent of its work force and close some of its factories as part of a drastic downsizing program demanded by its bankers, according to sources.
The company, which has never recorded net profits since it was established in 2010 through a merger of Renesas Technology Corp. and NEC Electronics Corp., had initially planned to ax 5,500 workers, but the figure has now been increased to 12,000 out of a total work force of about 42,800 people.
Another key component of the struggling company’s restructuring plan is to ask the company's three parent companies--Hitachi Ltd., NEC Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp.--to pump 100 billion yen ($1.3 billion) in additional capital into Renesas. Some of that money would be used to cover severance pay and other costs of the layoffs.
However, while Mitsubishi Electric has indicated a willingness to contribute, officials of both Hitachi and NEC have been more reluctant, the sources said. NEC is struggling with its own business difficulties and may not have the financial leeway to make a contribution.
Renesas will implement an early-retirement program, reduce the number of new hires and ask its parent companies to take on some of the workers. The company also plans to close or sell off some of its 19 sites in Japan, including a plant in Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture.
Hitachi, NEC, and Mitsubishi Electric now own about 90 percent of the shares in Renesas.
If the parent companies are unwilling to provide the additional funds, Renesas will be forced to implement further downsizing measures or seek out other potential investors. Some of the additional capital needed for the restructuring could be contributed by an investment fund created by three major banks.
Renesas has about a 40-percent global market share in microcontroller products used in automobiles, and the company's banks have expressed optimism that Renesas can turn itself around as long as it scales back in unprofitable sectors.
When Renesas was established in April 2010, it asked the three parent companies to provide a total of 200 billion yen in additional capital for various downsizing measures, including plant closures. A total of 67 billion yen was spent on laying off several thousand workers and consolidating plants, but most of the remaining money had to be used to restore and rebuild company facilities damaged in last year's Great East Japan Earthquake.
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Walmart’s Top Rated by Kids toy list shows collectibles, fan-favorite licenses, interactive toys and toys that keep kids moving will be big this season
Retailer’s popular layaway program is now open
It doesn’t matter if the kids have been naughty or nice – Walmart knows what they’ll all ask Santa for this year. To kick off the countdown to Christmas, the nation’s largest toy store today unveiled the list of this year’s hottest toys, as rated by a panel of esteemed experts: kids. This year’s Top Rated by Kids toy list revealed toys kids can interact with and collect, toys that keep kids moving, and toys inspired by their favorite movie and TV characters will be big this season. This year, nearly a quarter of the list is exclusive to Walmart.
For parents looking to get a head start on holiday shopping, Walmart also announced the return of its popular layaway program to help customers stay on budget or pay over time for their toys and other gifts.
“We are gearing up for the season by starting with what matters most to kids – toys!” said Anne Marie Kehoe, vice president of toys at Walmart U.S. “With a little over three months until Christmas, we want to help parents get ahead of the holiday hunt for the hottest toys and find the best deals. We narrowed down hundreds of toys to the top 25 we know kids will love…but this is just the start. We never stop looking for the hottest toys – ever! You can count on us having the latest trends at the best prices throughout the season.”
Top Rated by Kids Toy List
Walmart once again enlisted the help of hundreds of kids, from 18 months to 12 years old, to play with hundreds of contenders and determine the hottest toys coming down the chimney. Like other kid toy experts at the event, brothers Ashton, 10, and Collin, 6, helped rate the top toys. “I liked the Monster Jam Grave Digger best because I could make it do donuts,” said Collin. “The Batbot is cool because I love watching Batman cartoons. And it shoots a motorcycle from its foot.” For Ashton, anything customizable and creative was a big hit, including the little bits Star Wars Droid Inventor Kit.
From Ashton, Collin and the rest of the toy-testers, Walmart determined what will be on kids’ wish lists for Santa this year:
Interactive and Collectible: Toys that inspire creativity, as well as the ones your kids will want to collect and trade with their friends continue to be the hottest trending toys in stores and online. “Kids are looking for toys that allow them to bring their creativity to life,” said Kehoe. Taking a favorite from last year to a whole new level, Walmart will have the latest Hatchimals – toys so hot the details are still secret. Collectibles that will soon be scattered on the floors of American homes include:
- Hatchimals Surprise (*coming soon, details to be released Oct. 6)
- Fingerlings (Pictured)
- littleBits Star Wars Droid Inventor Kit
- Num Noms Nail Polish Maker
- FurReal Friends Roarin’ Tyler The Playful Tiger
- Barbie DreamHorse and Doll
- Fisher-Price Zoom ’n Crawl Monster
- L.O.L. Surprise Fizz Factory
- Soggy Doggy Board Game
- Mayka Toy Block Tape
Make ’em Move: Kids and parents alike love toys that keep kids active and moving. Ride-ons like the Frozen Sleigh and Huffy Electric Green Machine Trike will be bigger than ever before, and more will be released later this season. Toys like the Nerf Rival Nemesis and Adventure Force Light Command Light-Up Motorized Blaster encourage kids to run and play. Popular means of moving and grooving include:
- Frozen Sleigh (*Walmart exclusive)
- Adventure Force Light Command Light-Up Motorized Blaster (*Walmart exclusive)
- Monster Jam Grave Digger (*Walmart exclusive)
- Huffy Electric Green Machine Trike
- Nerf Rival Nemesis MXVII-10K
- RECOIL Starter Set
- New Bright Radio Control Tumblebee (Pictured)
- VTech Pop-a-Balls Drop and Pop Ball Pit (*Walmart exclusive)
- Radio Control DashCam (*Walmart exclusive)
- Dusty the Super Duper Garbage Truck
Life-Like Licenses: Few things delight kids like toys that bring their favorite characters from top TV shows and movies to life. Walmart’s toy shelves will be stocked with fan favorites from Paw Patrol, Batman, Cars 3 and more, including:
- Imaginext DC Super Friends Batman Batbot Xtreme
- Paw Patrol My Size Lookout Tower
- Disney/Pixar Cars 3 Ultimate Florida Speedway
- Mickey and the Roadster Racers Transforming Hot Rod Mickey
- Disney Junior Doc McStuffins Baby All in One Nursery (Pictured)
Beyond the Top Rated by Kids top 25 toys, Walmart will have thousands of toys to choose from that are sure to put a smile on every child’s face. Between Walmart stores and Walmart.com, the retailer will offer more than 1,000 new toys, including more than 300 exclusives at prices customers are looking for. “Top toys are evolving every day, and we’re continuing to find those great, new items and bringing them with speed to our customers,” said Kehoe.
In keeping with this year’s trends, Walmart will have a large selection of ride-on toys and electronics, which will be announced throughout the season. Electronics include the latest in VR and drone technology, as well as video game systems and hundreds of video games. Finally, in anticipation of the release of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” the retailer will also have a large assortment of Stars Wars-licensed toys available.
For more information on the Top Rated by Kids top toys list, visit www.walmart.com/topratedbykids.
Free Layaway Returns to Give Customers a Head Start on Holiday Shopping
Walmart’s popular layaway service is once again open, offering customers the opportunity to stay on budget and pay over time for big-ticket items. The top 25 rated toys, along with thousands of other items in Walmart stores, are available to reserve on layaway accounts.
Again this year, there is no opening fee for customers to start a layaway account, and they only need to put down 10% (or $10, whichever is greater). Customers can put items as low as $10 on layaway with a $50 minimum basket. Customers have until Dec. 11 to pay off their account.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online and through their mobile devices. Each week, over 260 million customers and members visit our more than 11,600 stores under 59 banners in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2017 revenue of $485.9 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.3 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity.


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SAN DIEGO (PRWEB) JULY 14, 2020 Rio SEO, the leading local marketing platform provider for enterprise brands, agencies and retailers, announced a partnership with Nextdoor, the neighborhood hub for trusted connections, to improve local visibility for enterprise brands.
SAN DIEGO (PRWEB) FEBRUARY 12, 2020 Rio SEO, the leading local marketing platform provider for enterprise brands, agencies and retailers, has announced a new Suggestion Engine feature to its Local Manager solution. Built for local governance, Rio SEO’s Suggestion Engine enables
SAN DIEGO (PRWEB) JULY 18, 2019 WHAT: No two customer journeys are the same—mobile technology and big data have forever changed the way customers make decisions about products and services to meet their immediate needs. Next
SAN DIEGO (PRWEB) JUNE 06, 2019 - NEXT THURSDAY, Rio SEO, the leading local marketing platform for enterprise brands, agencies and retailers, will host a free, 45-minute webinar providing brand marketers and agencies the opportunity to ask their most burning SEO questions. The ‘Ask Me Anything’ style event will host a panel of three specialized experts, across a variety of search disciplines, prepared to tackle any SEO question raised.
SAN DIEGO (PRWEB) APRIL 23, 2019 - The vast majority of today’s consumers read online reviews before making a purchase. In fact, 72 percent of consumers will not take action unless they’ve read reviews. Furthermore, Google has prioritized reviews to the point that a company’s location may not be visible in local searches without reviews.


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An earlier version of this story said Valeant would report first-quarter earnings on Thursday, April 28. The company has not yet set a date for its first quarter report. The story has been updated.
The controversy around Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. has put the company in the news for months and is likely to affect the company’s first-quarter earnings, according to the company itself.
Just last month, the company
issued a profit warning, cutting its earnings and sales outlook since, as now-outgoing chief executive officer Michael Pearson put it, “the challenges of the past few months are not yet behind us.”
Valeant became engulfed in a public relations crisis after The Wall Street Journal reported in April 2015 that the company had been buying drugs and then hiking their prices. Then the company’s relationship with mail-order pharmacy Philidor Rx Services LLC came under fire, after the company improperly accounted for a Philidor deal in key financial disclosures.
As a result, the company is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Its pharmaceutical practices are also being investigated by prosecutors, The Wall Street Journal reported.
This week has been characterized by attempts to turn over a new leaf. Valeant appointed a new CEO, Joseph Papa, the ex-CEO of Perrigo Co., on Monday, and the company’s shares rebounded slightly on the news.
Outgoing CEO Michael Pearson testified before a Senate committee Wednesday, saying that the company’s price gouging tactics were “too aggressive.”
Related: Valeant CEO to tell Senate committee drug price increases were ‘too aggressive’
The company has also said it’ll reissue its 10-K financial form, which it filed incorrectly because of a Philidor deal, by Friday.
Read more:New Valeant CEO Papa may step in midway through accounting madness
Here’s what to expect:
Earnings: Analysts expect Valeant to report earnings of $1.38 per share, compared with $2.36 in the same period a year earlier. Estimize, a software platform that uses crowdsourcing to garner earnings estimates from hedge-fund executives, brokerages and analysts, has Valeant earning more, at $1.56 per share.
Valeant missed earnings expectations in the fourth quarter, but exceeded the FactSet consensus every quarter before that.
Revenue: Revenue is expected to come to $2.354 billion, according to the FactSet consensus, up from revenue of $2.191 billion in the same period last year. Contributors on Estimize are forecasting revenue of $2.367 billion.
Valeant missed the FactSet revenue consensus in the fourth quarter but exceeded it in the five previous quarters.
Share price: Shares of Valeant tumbled 63.0% in the last three months, compared with a 11.2% rise in the S&P 500
Analysts on average rate the stock a hold with a price target of $59.23, according to FactSet. The stock was hammered after the pricing scandal broke and regulators began to scrutinize its accounting more closely.
Other issues: In addition to lower growth in various product categories — including dermatology, gastrointestinal and women’s health products—and specific areas, such as Western Europe, the company said that costs surged n the first-quarter as it had to spend more on financial reporting, public and government relations and compliance.
Valeant also warned last month about issues such as management transition problems and “organizational distractions” that would likely hurt first-quarter results.
View more information: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-expect-from-valeant-earnings-2016-04-27


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MADRID, 10 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -
Sixt obtained a net profit of 361.86 million euros in the accumulated of the first three quarters of 2022, which represents an increase of 44.7% in year-on-year terms, according to the financial information published by the company.
The company has indicated that it has "benefited" from a "persistently positive market environment" in terms of demand and prices and forecasts that 2022 will be a "record" year, although it is "very closely" following the current economic situation and warns that it is not "immune" to the risks "as of the end of the year".
"However, we have a high degree of resilience and the ability to invest counter-cyclically in our brand, network expansion and technology. Sixt is already highly diversified, both geographically and in terms of its products, is financed very solid and continues to actively drive the digitalization of its products and services. In addition, we have repeatedly demonstrated the ability of our business model to adapt to changing conditions," said the company's CFO, Kai Andrejewski.
Sixt obtained operating profits of 531.2 million euros in the first nine months of the year, 54.5% more, and a gross operating profit (Ebitda) of 628.9 million euros, 51.61% of increase compared to the same period of the previous year.
In terms of turnover, the German firm accumulated a turnover of 2,321.7 million euros in the first three quarters of the year, which translates into an increase of 42.4% in the year-on-year comparison, while its fleet it increased by 13% until last September, with a total of 136,500 vehicles.
During the third quarter of the current year, the company's net profit increased by 2%, to 201.4 million euros, and its turnover increased by 24.8%, to 997.1 million euros. In addition, the operating profit was 292.1 million euros, 11.2% more.


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RedCloud, a global technology firm, has partnered with Trade Lenda, a financial service provider in Nigeria, to bolster the financial agility of Micro Small Medium Enterprise retailers in the country.
Trade Lenda’s innovative technology has proven to achieve credit underwriting within six hours, which is four times more efficient than other service providers in the market, according to a statement.
“This partnership will seamlessly integrate Trade Lenda’s swift lending services within RedCloud’s intelligent open commerce platform, the Red101® web and mobile app which is currently available on the Google Play Store,” the statement said.
It said the collaboration will revolutionize credit accessibility for the thousands of distributors and merchants on RedCloud’s intelligent open commerce platform, allowing them to secure working capital at competitive rates based on their trading history and Know Your Customer Documentation, which will be used for credit scoring.
According to Head of Product Africa at RedCloud, Adeyemi Ogunyemi, the partnership with Trade Lenda aligns perfectly with the company’s mission to equip its customers with the necessary tools for success.
“It will significantly streamline the credit acquisition process, allowing our merchants to expand and thrive in today’s competitive market. We are empowering our distributors and merchants on RED101 to grow their purchasing capacities, stock more products and increase their profit margins,” he said.
Chief Operating Officer at Trade Lenda, Oyindamola Olaniyan said the importance of the partnership and Trade Lenda’s commitment is to provide accessible credit to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) to help them scale.
“Our collaboration with RedCloud signifies more than a partnership. It is a powerful commitment to empower SMEs. Through Trade Lenda’s steadfast dedication to providing accessible credit and RedCloud’s innovative open commerce platform, we are not just supporting business growth; we are catalysing opportunities for retailers to scale their businesses and significantly enhance their revenue.
“Together, our commitment is clear: redefining success for distributors/merchants and championing accessible credit for lasting business prosperity,” she added.


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Lighting & HVAC
Eye Lighting launches into social media
November 1, 2013 By Alyssa Dalton
November 1, 2013 – Eye Lighting has taken its communications online through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube videos in an effort to better engage with its customers.
Through its digital media strategy, Eye Lighting says it will build stronger customer relations and improve its ability to meet its client’s needs for both its commercial and utility lighting products. Customers can connect with the company through its contact page: www.eyelighting.com/socialmedia. “Since beginning our social strategy, we have already seen a significant increase in followers and likes from new customers,” said Rob Freitag, VP marketing for the company.
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A source of cheap labor
In Asia demand for a new source of cheap labor that powered the cheap production in China, promotes migration and with it human trafficking. Vietnam has sent 107 thousand. Legal workers abroad last year, an increase of 20% from the previous year. China does not disclose official statistics on illegal foreign workers. According to some assumptions at least 30 thousand. Illegal workers are employed only in Dongguan – industrial city of 8 million. People and home to tens of thousands of export enterprises.
Wages in China have almost doubled over the past five years to about $ 450 per month. Some Vietnamese are paid about half that amount. Other Chinese workers earn much, but even then factory owners save on medical and retirement benefits. Workers in factories in Vietnam who make $ 250 per month, the possibility of a better salary in China is irresistible, with some receiving double and even triple what earn at home.
The large influx of illegal workers in China is a sign of an economy that has reached the threshold point. Chinese enterprises depend on abundant cheap local labor to feed the export sector in the country amounted to 2.3 trillion. dollars a year. But the number of people who flow into the work force shrinks, as the Chinese population is aging, while wages are increasing.
Factory owners are faced with a choice. They can outsource production from coastal regions, where wages are higher, or to inland provinces or outside the border to places like Vietnam and Cambodia. Or can pay traffickers to provide them with foreign workers who cost less, no guarantees of protection and can be easily dismissed.


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How Bitcoin Is Freeing People in China, Venezuela, Iran, and…America
Cryptocurrency is a human rights issue, explains Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation.
Since launching a decade ago, the decentralized, peer-to-peer cryptocurrency bitcoin has been lauded (and denounced) for its potential to route around traditional state-based monetary systems and allow individuals to trade directly with one another.
Much of the discussion has understandably focused on how it is transforming economic exchange. But Alex Gladstein, the chief strategy officer of the Human Rights Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes and protects civil liberties in closed societies, is interested in how it empowers people in autocratic countries to escape government control. Only about 8 percent of global transactions use cash and the switch to digital payments means that authorities can track what individuals are up to with greater ease than they used to.
Bitcoin, its underlying blockchain technology, and the emerging Lightning payment network are allowing people to escape surveillance, says Gladstein, who has co-authored a brand new book on the subject, The Little Bitcoin Book: Why Bitcoin Matters for Your Freedom, Finances, and Future.
In today's Reason Podcast, he tells Nick Gillespie how bitcoin is changing the way people live and transact in places such as China, India, Iran, and Venezuela. He also explains how in an increasingly cashless America, cryptocurrency is helping us to escape what's been called "surveillance capitalism," why Human Rights Foundation's annual Oslo Freedom Forum is more important than the World Economic Forum in Davos, and how bitcoin and associated technologies will "really bankrupt the ability of authoritarian regimes to do what they do and basically force their hand to reform."
Audio production by Ian Keyser.


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A taxi app. A ride-sharing company. A mobile-based car service.
Uber, invariably described as one of the above, will face city hall’s lawyers on June 1 to argue over whether it operates as an unlicensed cab service in Toronto. But don’t let the regulatory fight distract you: Uber isn’t really about cars.
Uber’s app now connects ride-seekers to drivers in more than 300 cities. But the explosive success of its business model — service delivery at the tap of a touch screen, usually provided by casual contractors — is so widely imitated that “It’s like Uber for X” has become an eye-rolling cliché among the tech press corps.
Among the range of what are sometimes called “on-demand mobile services,” there are Uber-like apps for groceries, babysitters and valet parking. There are others for manicurists, bodyguards and medical marijuana. Uber itself offers food delivery in four cities, including this one.
You don’t have to like Uber — and the aggressively expanding company has attracted its fair share of criticism. But you should know that any licensing-and-standards squabble is just one corner of a bigger conversation about technology, jobs and digital disruption.
Here are some of the other services the Uber model has spawned. (Unlike Uber itself, few are available in Toronto — so far.)
A startup’s struggles
For a few weeks last winter, Uber seemed to be lurching forward rather than growing up. At the end of a year that saw the company sextuple in size, CEO Travis Kalanick cited rapid expansion as a cause for growing pains. Whatever the cause, seeing Uber totter under the weight of its missteps was like watching a PSA on how not to manage an aggressive tech company expansion. There are other, ongoing criticisms: for instance, that Uber and other on-demand mobile services are contributing to the rise of precarious employment.
Labour lawyers have taken ride-sharing companies to court over the practice of treating drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, and unhappy drivers have gone on strike in multiple cities. (Happy drivers, of course, don’t make headlines.) Uber says it is creating thousands of flexible jobs; critics say Uber, Lyft and similar services are driving an economy built on temporary, unstable, and benefits-free employment. One judge noted that 20th-century labour laws are “woefully outdated” in addressing 21st-century markets.
On Wednesday, a local Uber driver was arrested and accused of sexually assaulting a passenger in Vaughan. A driver in New Delhi was charged with raping a female rider in December. That victim is suing the company in the U.S., claiming safety checks were lax. For a business model based on trusting strangers, violent crime is a deal-breaker. Uber’s head of global safety, Phillip Cardenas — formerly of Airbnb — vowed improvements and implemented safety upgrades, including incident response teams.
In November, a Buzzfeed journalist reported that a top Uber NYC executive had cheerily described “tracking” the journalist’s ride to the company’s headquarters. Earlier that year, the company suffered a large data breach. When companies collect data on customers’ every move and purchase, privacy is paramount. Uber enlisted external experts to review its privacy policies and rolled out improvements.
Buzzfeed also reported in November that another executive discussed digging up dirt on a journalist who had been critical of the company. The remarks sparked censure from Kalanick, but not before the press branded Uber as villainous. Soon after, Kalanick blogged that aside from financial growth, “we also need to invest in internal growth and change.”
During the hostage crisis at a café in Sydney, Australia, in December, Uber riders reported they were charged four times the usual fare. “Surge pricing” is automated and meant to attract more drivers to areas of high demand, the company said, but the move looked like callous gouging, not exactly strengthening Uber’s community-building image. Uber refunded the fares and apologized.
Running roughshod over regulatory systems is less of a bug in Uber’s business model and more of a permanent feature. Even some outside the company say that taxi licensing systems are outdated and ripe for disruption. Nevertheless, in the same post that addressed internal growth, Kalanick wrote that Uber would become a “smarter and more humble” company that “gives back more to the cities we serve.”


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Summer jobs for teens can be an excellent way to earn cash during the off-school months for things they want or need, like their first car or college savings. But working over summer break can benefit teens in many other ways, too.
“They learn valuable soft skills like showing up on time, demonstrating a really strong work ethic,” Monster career expert Vicki Salemi told “The List,” a daily TV show covering pop culture and lifestyle topics. (Check the show’s website to find out when it airs in your area.)
A summer job can boost a teen’s confidence, teach time management skills and even help them perform better in school.
“Our research showed that a summer youth employment program has positive and significant effects on academic outcomes, as well,” Stanford researcher Jacob Leos-Urbel said in a report by the Stanford News.
But not all teenagers want to take on typical roles like working at a fast-food drive-through. So, “The List” asked Salemi for suggestions for summer jobs for teens with the “wow factor,” and she shared some ideas they’ll love.
We did some digging to find even more enticing employment options. Check out nine enjoyable and profitable summer jobs for teens.
Teens who want to get out of town and into the great outdoors might enjoy a job as a summer camp counselor.
“Working at summer camp allows you to reacquaint yourself with nature and disconnect from all those screens,” Salemi told “The List.”
Plus, they can enjoy activities like swimming and horseback riding, all while learning leadership skills.
If you’re a teen with a green thumb, consider advertising your services as a plant sitter. When some “plant parents” go on vacation or travel for work, they need someone to care for their leafy little friends so they don’t come home to a house full of shriveled brown plants.
Every job will be different, but tasks may include watering, misting, cleaning plants, removing dead leaves and even talking to the houseplants.
Teens who love animals and enjoy exercise can make money walking dogs. A dog walker will arrive at clients’ houses to pick up the pups and take the dogs on designated routes for an agreed-upon rate. If they have experience training their own pets, teens can offer additional services like teaching or reinforcing leash manners.
“You’ll get the great outdoors,” Salemi told “The List.” “You’ll get some exercise as you’re walking those dogs and breathe some fresh air. But also punctuality, customer service, communication skills, all rolled up into one.”
Tutor Or Teacher
Parents looking for someone to help their child improve or keep up on math, reading or other subjects over the summer may hire teens as tutors. They can help younger students in the neighborhood or provide services online.
Another option is for teens to teach younger kids (or even their peers) skills that they excel at, such as playing an instrument or sport.
Parks And Rec Worker
Salemi suggests teens check their city job boards for enjoyable summer jobs.
“Think about park and rec jobs,” she told “The List.” “You can work as a lifeguard, umpire local ball games, be outside. And you’re learning skills in the process, but you’re also having fun.”
Kids’ Party Entertainer
While it might not be a full-time gig, teens could earn extra cash over the summer as a children’s entertainer. For example, they can advertise their talents as a face painter, balloon animal artist, magician or beloved character (like a fairy tale princess) and be paid to spend a few hours at a kids’ birthday party, wowing a highly enthusiastic audience.
National Park Worker
If you are fortunate enough to live near a national park, the Park Service has a program with summer jobs for teens.
Teens can become entrepreneurs by selling everything from books to furniture to clothing and more online. People have made large sums of money by buying items from stores like Walmart and selling them on Amazon. Another option is to shop thrift stores for fashion pieces and sell them on sites like Poshmark.
You can also sell things locally using services like Facebook Marketplace or Offer Up.
Teens with a passion for reading might love getting paid to spend their days at the local library. Many libraries will hire students to work as library pages or aides. In these positions, workers often return books to shelves or help patrons at the circulation desk.
Some libraries also hire online aides to answer questions or provide information, especially since the pandemic.
Coffee-loving teens can spend their summer getting paid to make a variety of beverages at their local coffee shop.
“Barista jobs are great, first and foremost, because you could take that job anywhere,” Salemi told “The List.” “If you’re going from one city to another, once you have the skill set in your back pocket, you can have it on your resume and ace that interview.”
This means that even when they go off to college in a new town, they could seek out another part-time barista job while going to school.
“These summer jobs are off the beaten path,” Salemi told “The List.” “Look for them now before they’re going, going, gone.”
Simplemost and “The List” share a parent company, The EW Scripps Company.


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Artificial Intelligence Explained
Moving with the cloud is the latest campaign for businesses to remain effective and efficient. Any businesses which do no keep abreast of the current and latest happenings in the world technology might be out with no time. Do you own a company? are you a CEO or you are a representative? If yes, this post about artificial intelligence and its impact on business is for you.
For businesses and the society to explain the process used to arrive at a decision can be critical. Given that an AI system is fundamentally designed to collaborate with people, companies must build and train their AIs to provide clear explanations for the actions the AI system decides to take in a format that people understand.
Some executives have raised this: 88% of those surveyed agree that it is important for employees and customers to understand the general principles used to make AI-based decisions by their organizations.
Drive PX, NVIDA’s AI-infused self-driving car platform, can teach itself to drive but until recently, the way it did so was a mystery. In an effort to improve the system, NVIDA engineers prioritized opening the AI black box, and developed a way to get a Drive PX vechile to visually explain its driving style.
The platform does so by displaying a video of recently driven streetscape, over which it then highlights areas that it gave the most weight to driven navigation.
In other instance, Capital one is researching ways to review credit card applications since banking regulations require that financial companies furnish an explanation to customers when their application is denied.
The government policy makers are considering rules to govern the decision-making area of AIs too. The spirit of European Union General Data protection which takes effect in 2018, gives individuals a ‘right to explanation for decision made by AIs and other algorithms.


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EVERY rib eye, captured by digital technology, and objectively measured. That's reality of a new camera used at the inaugural Wagyu Challenge, held as part of the prestigious Paddock to Palate competition at this year’s Ekka.
The camera is being developed by Meat Image Japan (MIJ) to objective measure carcase traits including rib eye area, meat colour and fat colour, marbling (intramuscular fat) and the fineness of the marbling.
The competition attracted 16 entries of seven animals. The 256 F1 to fullblood cattle were fed at Mort and Co’s Grassdale Feedlot for 350 days and processed at Oakey Meat Holdings.


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Zoltek to open new prepreg operations and Tech Centre
Carbon fibre manufacturer Zoltek is expanding into a new 135,000 sqft. facility just outside of St. Louis, MO.
The new facility will house Zoltek’s prepreg manufacturing and new Technical Centre, the company is making the move in response to the growing demand of a low-cost carbon fiber prepreg supply in wind energy and other applications.
CEO Zsolt Rumy said;
Our strategy has been to commercialise carbon fiber and broaden its use in industrial applications through low-cost and supply availability, Unfortunately, the current carbon fiber prepreg supply is fragmented and geared towards aerospace markets rather than industrial use. We are addressing this shortfall by consolidating the supply chain and forward integrating into prepreg manufacturing for select industrial applications.
In addition to manufacturing prepreg carbon fibre, the new location will also serve as a technical centre for carbon fibre applications, specifically targeting wind energy and automotive applications.
In addition to the two production facilities in St. Louis, Zoltek has carbon fiber manufacturing facilities in Hungary, Mexico, and Texas.


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NEW DELHI: In a surprise announcement, Google
said that it was selling Motorola's hardware (phone) division to Lenovo
. But this will not affect the launch of Moto G, Motorola's budget phone in India, expected to take place in the coming days.
The deal between Motorola and Lenovo comes days ahead of Motorola's expected announcement to re-enter the Indian retail phone market. On January 22 Motorola said that it would detail the launch plans for Moto G, its budget phone, in India on February 5.
After the deal announced, sources told TOI that the Moto G launch plan is still on schedule and will not be affected by the deal with Lenovo. "India plans are still on, India is still important to us," said a Motorola executive familiar with the Moto G launch plans.
This also confirms the statement that Google CEO Larry Page made in his blog announcing the Lenovo deal. "The deal has yet to be approved in the US or China, and this usually takes time. So until then, it's business as usual," Page wrote.
Earlier in Las Vegas, Motorola executives told TOI that the company would launch Moto G in India in partnership with a distributor that will handle the supply chain for the device in India. The company will also work with another partner to provide after sales service for the device.
In fact, Motorola senior executives, including CEO Dennis Woodside, held several meetings with journalists in Las Vegas during CES to talk about the future of Motorola's and its current business strategy. The meetings gave no impression that the company was up for sale in the market.
"Google's mission is to connect as many people as possible to internet... Motorola is a hardware manifestation of this goal. We want to build devices that connect millions of new users to internet and want to do it in a way that doesn't compromise quality of products and user experience," Steve Sinclair, vice-president of global marketing at Motorola Mobility
, told TOI at that time.


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Tinned seafood arrangement during Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Nov. 3, 2015 3:02 p.m. ET
At Bar Vivant, “a correct tapas bar” in Portland, Ore., a $10 appetiser of scallops in tomato salsa is prepared in 30 seconds flat.
A server opens a can behind a bar, places it on a image and afterwards presents it to a diner, displaying a hand-packed arrangement of ethereal mollusks inside. Diners stalk them with a flare or a toothpick.
Restaurant owners Cheryl Wakerhauser says she combined a dish, famous in Spanish as conservas, for a simplicity. “We wanted peculiarity bar food that didn’t need a whole lot of preparation,” she said.
Adventurous diners on a stalk for a subsequent smart appetiser have detected conservas, alien seafood like clams, anchovies, oysters, mussels and octopus that are recorded in brine, oil or a tomato-based salsa and mostly served true from a vintage-style tin.
Tapas bars and Spanish-inspired chefs find U.S. diners are peaceful to spend tip dollar for a delicacies. Restaurateurs like a 0 prep work as good as a death dates that are years, not days, away.
Chef José Andrés sells a line of conservas during retail, including sardines in olive oil and mussels in escabeche sauce.
Greg Powers/Thinkfood Group
The conservas served during Donostia, a Basque-style bar with dual New York City locations, embody sea razor clams and olive oil-soaked spike sardines—many alien from regions in a north of Spain.
“Canning itself is an art form,” says co-owner Jorge de Yarza, whose menu facilities some 65 kinds of conservas. Many are displayed like a kaleidoscope and accessible for sell purchase. This fall, Donostia became a solitary U.S. distributor of a Espinaler seafood brand.
Tinned seafood is a specialty of a Basque, Galicia and Cantabria regions in northern Spain, and a renouned charity in tapas restaurants, says Joseba Encabo, associate highbrow of culinary humanities during a Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. who specializes in Basque cuisine. “Americans are waking adult to a intensity of tasty food out of a can,” he says.
Depending on how conservas are served, diners don’t always comprehend that a seafood isn’t fresh. Rajani Tewari, a 54-year-old therapist, says she suspicion a fish she had systematic on her initial few visits to Donostia were “locally sourced ingredients.” “Tinned food was something we did if there was a hurricane,” pronounced Ms. Tewari. She says she enjoys a crook flavors of a tinned fish, including hard-to-find sardines, interconnected with a sherry wine.
A accumulation of tinned shellfish from Spain’s Galicia region, accessible during online tradesman La Tienda.
Some U.S. restaurateurs are starting to run good side businesses offered a colorful tins during retail. José Andrés, a Washington, D.C., chef, began offered a tins dual years ago during his restaurants to fans in a know, and now has partnered with Los Peperetes, a Spanish cannery. The full operation is accessible by an online Spanish food retailer, La Tienda, and in some Whole Foods
stores. Mr. Andés’s line also includes recorded vegetables, such as roasted Piquillo peppers.
“While a uninformed clam is delicious, a clam that has been canned has turn a opposite product,” says Mr. Andrés, whose restaurants embody The Bazaar by José Andrés in Los Angeles, and Oyamel Cocina Mexicana in Washington D.C.
Rather than masking a seafood with complicated sauces, Mr. Andrés serves conservas with usually a drizzle of olive oil, a fist of lemon, a splash of paprika or a handful of potato chips—the arrange of elementary preparations Basque pintxo bars are famous for. Even bread is optional, Mr. Andrés says. “You can be climbing Mount Everest and in reduction than dual mins we are enjoying a high peculiarity snack.”
Seafood becomes proposal when recorded in olive oil, a tomato-based salsa or a possess brine, chefs say. Small producers in Europe and elsewhere purify and container a fish during a peak, and a tins can be non-stop and essence served years later.
Ramon Pena cockles in brine from Maiden Lane bar in New York.
Most enclose a apportionment of usually several ounces of fish, small adequate to eat in one sitting. “The Spanish have always looked during [tinned seafood] as a oppulance ingredient,” says Gareth Maccubbin, co-owner of Maiden Lane, a New York cocktail bar that non-stop dual years ago and now offers some-more than 50 varieties of conservas. In further to Spanish imports, Mr. Maccubin offers smoked oysters from Ekone Oyster Co., formed in Bay Center, Wash., that sell for $15 a can. He says Icelandic cod liver with a “mild” ambience is a best-seller during $9 a can.
Smoked oysters from Maiden Lane
Four months ago, Matt Wixter non-stop Wixter Market in Chicago, a seafood emporium specializing in flash-frozen fish. Spanish-style canned seafood now creates adult 30% of sales, he says. The store competence open adult an $8, 4-ounce tin of ventresca, or tuna belly, for business to representation in hopes they will splurge. Last month, he started a placement association for alien tinned seafood and is operative with internal restaurants to offer it on their menus.
Many Americans find out conservas for a initial time after a Spanish vacation. Home from a new outing to Barcelona, Anthony Luzius went online to systematic dual cans of razor clams from La Tienda. He found a product can take some removing used to. It “wasn’t a many appreciative thing to demeanour at,” he says, about opening a can. As Mr. Luzius was creation cooking with his wife, he served a clams as an appetiser with a potion of wine. Before picking adult a long-shaped clam, “she done a face,” he said.
At Aatxe, in San Francisco, cook partner Ryan Pollnow says diners feel “safer” about a thought of conservas when it is internal seafood recorded in potion canning jars.
Mr. Pollnow is formulating appetizers that he says “mimic a Spanish technique.” He smokes his possess albacore tuna, steams clams with a parsley-filled salsa verde and uses paprika to ready mussels escabeche. In November, he’ll start charity house-prepared mackerel and sardines.
A display of conservas, including Jose Gourmet octopus with garlic and olive oil and La Brujula sardines, accessible during Wixter Market, in Chicago.
Mr. Pollnow, who non-stop Aatxe in April, says his $12 mixed mussels appetiser is one of his many renouned dishes. “Almost each list was starting their dish with a jar of mussels,” he said. “People were going nuts over it.”
Some retailers foster canned fish as “aged,” a routine that creates a fish some-more proposal and mellows out flavors. Two years ago, Zingerman’s Delicatessen, in Ann Arbor, Mich., introduced five-year-old French selected sardines. Customers are speedy to taste.
Now, Zingerman’s facilities a “tin of a month,” says William Marshall, Zingerman’s sell manager. He estimates 20% of sales during a deli now come from tinned seafood, that Zingerman’s sells in a store and online. “We kind of combined a small disturb for it,” Mr. Marshall says.
Write to Alina Dizik during email@example.com
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A row has erupted between Nissan and trade unionists after the car giant announced plans to shed 60 workers.
The Japanese company appears to be heading for a showdown with Amicus - which could launch a legal challenge against the cuts.
Nissan deny redundancies are being made - as the workers were on fixed term contracts which had expired.
This dispute comes less than two months after the firm came close to its first strike at Sunderland in its 18-year history, over a pay battle.
Amicus' general secretary, Derek Simpson, yesterday met with workers at the plant to discuss the situation. He said: "This is a significant decision by the company and will create uneasiness among the workforce.
"We believe the company has gone about this announcement in the wrong way by advising the work's council when, in fact, they have a legal duty and responsibility to consult with Amicus.
"We are seeking legal advice to see if we can challenge the method they used for redundancy selection."
Mr Simpson said the union believed the job losses have resulted from sales of the new Micra failing to reach expected levels.
A spokesperson for Nissan said: "We are disappointed with the reaction of Amicus to the recent ending of a number of fixed term contracts at Sunderland.
"However, we have excellent relationships with Amicus and see no reason for these not to continue.
"It is normal in the motor manufacturing industry to hire a number of temporary employees to support new model launches and Nissan is not terminating any contract ahead of its agreed expiry date.
"Nissan is also surprised to learn that Amicus believes it was not properly consulted about the non-extension of these contracts. We consulted with Amicus shop stewards and branch secretary at a local level.
"Furthermore, it is wholly inaccurate to suggest this move is linked to poor sales of the new Micra. Orders for the new car have far exceeded all of Nissan's forecasts - 40,000 orders were taken across the European main markets in the first month alone - and the car continues to sell extremely well.
"In reality, the natural expiry of these contracts represents the completion of the highly successful launch of the new Micra and the end of the need for additional temporary staff."
Nissan employs 4,700 people at the Sunderland plant - 250 are on fixed term contracts.


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The price of battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide in China in May skyrocketed from less than CNY 200,000/ton (~USD 28,000) to over CNY 300,000/ton (~USD 43,000), TrendForce says.
The ASP of battery-grade lithium carbonate surged by more than 28 percent, hitting CNY 254,300/ton. In contrast, battery-grade lithium hydroxide saw a 4 percent drop in ASP to approximately CNY 254,900/ton in May. The price differential between these two types of lithium salts has now been significantly reduced.
Despite the sharp increase in lithium salt prices boosting battery cell costs, this hike hasn’t yet translated into an immediate rise in li-ion battery prices. The prices of other crucial li-ion battery materials, such as cathode precursor materials, anode materials, separators, electrolytes, and PVDF, are facing downward trend. This combination of factors has led to a continued decline in li-ion battery prices throughout May, TrendForce says.
There was a 9 percent price drop in EV square ternary cells, LFP cells, and pouch ternary power cells, settling at CNY 0.75/Wh, CNY 0.67/Wh, and CNY 0.79/Wh, respectively.
In the energy storage cell market, prices dropped by 12.6 percent to CNY 0.65/Wh, with demand in the LFP storage cell market rebounding well, particularly due to increase in orders from leading companies.
In the consumer battery cell market, prices fell by 11.5 percent, with LCO cells pried at CNY 7.55/Ah. However, with consumer markets picking up and an expected surge in e-commerce sales in June owing to the 618 shopping day festival, LCO cells are likely to see a price rebound.
In May, lithium salt prices began surging — at its peak rising by CNY 10,000/ton per day. Multiple factors contributed to this irrational price increase, which is not a result of a rapid surge in actual demand, but a steady recovery. June is expected to be a period of peak market demand, TrendForce said.


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American Financial Solutions Blog
NFCC Offers Consumers Five Steps to Finding $1,000 for Holiday Spending. With the holidays five months away, now is the time to take action
Posted on Jul 25, 2014
If you are nervous about getting your kids the clothes and supplies they need to go back to school, you’re not alone. Zulily, a retailer that focuses on women, went outside the retail realm and surveyed more than 6,000 parents about their biggest fears regarding their children as they prepare to head back to school.
Posted on Jul 24, 2014
For years many financial experts have been warning against using “debt settlement” strategies to battle high credit card debts. According to a June 2014 report from the Center for Responsible Lending, despite changes in federal and state laws, the warnings will continue.
Posted on Jul 21, 2014
When you check into a hotel or rent a car you are required to present a credit card as security. This reality is troubling in light of the news that a single hotel in Houston reported it had been the victim of a data breach that potentially affected about 10,000 customers.
Posted on Jul 16, 2014
We've all had the pitch, "do what I do and you'll make thousands of dollars a month." Are any of these schemes real and how can we tell?
Posted on Jul 11, 2014
If you have kids there is a good chance they’ve left school and have the next couple months free of backpacks, text books and gym shorts. Assuming they are going back to school toward the end of summer, you might consider planning for and buying some of the clothes they will need when school welcomes them back, now.
Posted on Jul 09, 2014
The news that lenders are sending offers to riskier borrowers should remind you of one truth we all should have learned from the financial crisis five years ago; just because you can borrow money doesn’t mean you should.
Posted on Jul 07, 2014
Happy 4th of July from our Family to Yours!
Posted on Jul 04, 2014
Put the lighter down this year. Let someone else put on the show. You’ve got another kind of independence to celebrate. Before you go out and spend money on fireworks this year, let us propose a few alternatives.
Posted on Jul 02, 2014
What can you do to free yourself from debt this 4th of July holiday? Get the tools and the help you need to free yourself from debt.
Posted on Jul 01, 2014


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Dark Souls Network Test Dated for Switch
Bandai Namco has confirmed the time slots for the network test for the Switch version of Dark Souls Remastered. The client, which is currently available to download from the Nintendo eShop, will be active in North America each day between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. PDT from September 21 to September 23, 2018. In Europe, the test will run through the same dates but at 7 p.m. CEST through 11 p.m. CEST.
During the network test, the Undead Parish will be available with full multiplayer support. A subscription to the recently launched Nintendo Switch Online will be required to participate in the network test and save data from the test will not carry over to the final game, which releases on the platform on October 19, 2018.


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I am thrilled to announce that the exhibition in Port Washington New York that I am featured in has been published in WWD (Women’s Wear Daily)
As stated on her Twitter account, it is difficult to classify Lydia Hearst in one category only. Heiress? Model? Writer? Philanthropist? Actress? Whatch her exclusive video interview for Harper’s BAZAAR en Español and Benjamin Kanarek Blog.
Benjamin Kanarek lenses Super Model and Actress Lydia Hearst under a modern ethereal Flapper and “The Great Gatsby” influence, for the Cover and a fashion editorial for Harper’s BAZAAR en Español, May 2012.


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Digital Angel? is no longer pursuing implant technology for humans, a spokesman for the company said yesterday.
Dr. Lawrence Webber of Digital Angel Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions, told WorldNetDaily the company has “no plan at this time for implant technology.” Rather, the company’s patented sensor technology is being used in externally worn devices only, such as watches and pagers.
The company had been developing implants for humans that would monitor a wearer’s location, pulse, blood-oxygen level and other vital bodily functions, but has instead put the tiny sensors in externally wearable devices. The company’s earlier projections of Digital Angel? also described it as an identifier for e-commerce by sending a signal from the person wearing the device to either his computer or the e-merchant with whom he is doing business to verify his identity.
Webber’s comments were prompted by WND’s Thursday story that implied Digital Angel? implants were about to be tested on humans. The story also claimed such testing was to begin yesterday. In fact, the company will begin testing its first generation of products – watches for children and adults and a pager – on selected volunteers beginning July 15. The devices contain sensors that perform monitoring tasks of the original prototype, including alerting subscribers to medical emergencies.
Digital Angel? technology requires a monitoring system and an end-user. Subscribers to the monitoring system can include medical groups and hospitals hoping to keep an eye on patients, and parents who can use the system to locate their kids. End users are those people wearing the sensor – from people to animals to inanimate objects. The various applications of the tracking and monitoring system are virtually endless, according to Applied Digital Solutions, which believes the device will tap into a $70 billion dollar market in North America alone.
Testing of the watches and pager will be conducted using individual participants selected from all pre-registered subscribers expressing interest in the technology. Testing participants will be chosen by June 30 and will be notified of their selection by July 6. The testing is expected to extend for a period of 90 days.
“While this is just the first production run, we have incorporated many of the suggestions of those who have pre-registered, resulting in the delivery of Digital Angels that are very close to final design specifications,” said Mercedes Walton, president and chief operations officer of Applied Digital Solutions.
Critics of the monitoring technology fear the development of Digital Angel? as an implant for humans, claiming the device could be a fulfillment of biblical prophecy regarding the “mark of the beast.” Others believe the device could lead to the erosion of personal liberty, particularly if government chooses to adopt the technology for various uses, such as the monitoring of military personnel and civilian identification.
Digital Angel? will be available to the general public in October.