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Certainly one of China’s newly minted technology billionaires signed a deal to purchase a managing stake in Grindr, the world’s biggest social-networking app that is gay.
Beijing Kunlun Tech Co., A internet games business that helped introduce Angry Birds to Asia, offered $93 million in cash for 60 % of the latest Grindr LLC, the business said in a declaration towards the Shenzhen stock market. Beijing Kunlun Chairman Zhou Yahui, whom became a billionaire following the company listed stocks this past year, ended up being scouting other prospective assets when you look at the U.S., relating to a business spokeswoman, Sophie Chen.
Zhou, well worth $1.7 billion based on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has overseen seven discounts for Kunlun since April — including Grindr and a minority stake in Uk mortgage company LendInvest Ltd. The addition of this mobile application Grindr will broaden its portfolio of services and produce a brand new way to obtain income, the business said.
In February, designer Rovio Entertainment Oy said it finalized a deal that is exclusive Kunlun to build up a type of the hit mobile game annoyed wild Birds tailored for Chinese players. Kunlun also offers circulation rights for Supercell Oy’s Clash of Clans and Boom Beach, and Electronic Arts Inc.’s importance of Speed, relating to Chen.
“Grindr may be the top platform in their area and it is mostly referred to as data-driven, and for their great individual base,” Chen stated in a email. “It’s important to the Kunlun Internet eco-sphere that is global.”
Beijing Kunlun’s stocks rose because of the maximum daily 10 % visit our website limitation after it announced the pact. The offer awaits antitrust review by the U.S. federal federal government.
“We have actually taken this investment inside our company to speed up our growth,” Joel Simkhai, creator of Grindr, stated in a post. “It will generally be company as always for all of us only at Grindr, however with a renewed feeling of function and extra resources.”
Dating apps are struggling to maintain revenue development, partly because clients have a tendency to stop investing in the ongoing solution once they locate a match. IAC/InterActiveCorp controls nearly all U.S. application that is dating share through its ownership of Match, OKCupid and Tinder, while Grindr’s direct competitors consist of Scruff and Jack’d.
Grindr, which calls itself the world’s largest gay network that is social hosts 2 million visitors daily across 196 nations, in accordance with a business reality sheet. The Los Angeles-based mobile app was launched last year and matches users centered on personal photos and location.
China’s mindset toward homosexuality has withstood a radical change into the decade that is past. When a part of Chinese tradition one of the elite, it absolutely was forced underground throughout the era that is communist as well as the Chinese Psychiatric Association formally classified homosexuality as a psychiatric condition until 2001.
Recently, the homosexual scene has seen a resurgence. Blued, a domestic social-networking that is gay started by a former officer, has attracted significantly more than 3 million daily users and secured capital from endeavor capitalists DCM Ventures.


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By Jackie Bowen
The American baby food industry has seen its fair share of headlines over the past year.
In February 2021, a Congressional subcommittee published a damning report on the levels of heavy metals found in top selling baby food. The report concluded “The Subcommittee’s investigation proves that commercial baby foods contain dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium. These toxic heavy metals pose serious health risks to babies and toddlers. Manufacturers knowingly sell these products to unsuspecting parents, in spite of internal company standards and test results, and without any warning labeling whatsoever.”
In March of 2021, the Baby Food Safety Act was put forward in the House of Representatives. The bill imposes certain safety requirements on infant and toddler food. The bill establishes maximum levels of certain toxic elements (cadmium, and lead, mercury, and inorganic arsenic) allowable in infant and toddler food, defined as food intended to be sold for children up to 36 months old.
Commercial baby foods contain dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium.
In May of 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) released it’s Closer to Zero plan which identifies actions the agency will take to reduce exposure to arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury from foods eaten by babies and young children—to as low as possible. The plan outlines a multi-phase, science-based, iterative approach to achieving the goal of getting levels of toxic elements in foods closer to zero over time.
But most recently, in February 2022, the issue of safety in food marketed toward vulnerable populations came to a head with an FDA recall of top-selling infant formulas due to Cronobacter infections. Cronobacter bacteria can cause severe sepsis or meningitis, with symptoms including poor feeding, irritability, temperature change, jaundice, grunting breaths, and abnormal movements.
Cronobacter infection can also cause bowel damage and spread blood to other parts of the body. Such an infection is rare, but is of especially high risk for newborn infants.
The FDA originally said two children had died and two were sickened after consuming formula from the Sturgis plant in Michigan where the bacterium cronobacter sakazakii was found.
But the agency acknowledged as recently as mid-June that it had received additional reports of children dying or being sickened after allegedly drinking the affected formula. The plant was shut down and a subsequent nation-wide shortage of infant formula coupled with a media frenzy ensued.
While some have pinned the root cause to a quality assurance issue and the infant formula shortage on the presence of cronobacter sakazakii in non-food production areas of the Sturgis, Michigan manufacturing facility, others say that the oligopoly that exists in the infant formula category is the true culprit. While manufacturers Abbott and Mead Johnson currently dominate three-quarters of baby formula sales and with Abbott holding the Women, Infants, and Children contract in 34 states, change is at hand and new emerging players are entering the US market with key differentiators to win the hearts, minds, and market share of consumers and retailers alike.
In the absence of domestic federal regulation of industrial and environmental contaminants in baby food and infant formula, it’s noteworthy to mention that European regulations for contaminants in foodstuffs does exist. COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1881/2006 “sets maximum levels of certain contaminants in food stuffs in order to protect public health and keep contaminants at levels which are toxicologically acceptable”. This regulation is inclusive of infant formulas, baby foods, and cereals. It could serve as proxy for the absence domestic regulations.
While the future of infant formula regulatory reform remains uncertain and new trailblazing brands continue to challenge the status quo, one adage still holds true: A rising tide lifts all boats. For the sake of my family and yours, let’s hope so.
About the Author:
Jaclyn Bowen MPH MS is a food safety and quality systems engineer and executive director of Clean Label Project, a national non-profit and certification organization with the mission to bring truth and transparency to food and consumer product labeling. Through data, science, and benchmarking, Clean Label Project uses retail sampling and testing to benchmark product quality and purity of America’s best selling food and consumer products and award Clean Label Project’s coveted evidence-based Purity Award.

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EU Says Stablecoin Bill Coming in March
The Chinese digital yuan may be the biggest central bank digital currency (CBDC), but a digital euro is coming.
European Union Commissioner for Financial Services Mairead McGuinness announced plans on Feb. 9 to introduce a bill creating a digital euro next year, according to Politico.
Based on current experiences, this means that an EU CBDC could be launched as early as 2025. The EU has been largely bullish on a CBDC for several years. In particular, the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, announced the Twitter in July that the bank had “decided to move up a gear and begin the investigation phase of the digital euro project”.
We have decided to move up a gear and begin the investigation phase of the digital euro project. In the digital age, individuals and businesses should continue to have access to the most secure form of money: central bank money. https://t.co/sGdxTiipsU
— Christine Lagarde (@Lagarde) July 14, 2021
She added that “in the digital age, people and businesses should continue to have access to the safest form of money – central bank money.”
In September, Lagarde said the demand for a digital currency is there, and “we should respond to that demand and make sure that we have a European-based solution, which is secure, which is available on friendly terms, which can be used as a means of payment on reasonable terms… and does not jeopardize the whole banking system, which should be an integral part of the proposal.
Read more: Tackling privacy issues would be key to ensuring EU citizens take up the digital euro
Privacy remains key for the EU, whose General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is one of the strictest and most extensive data privacy laws in the world.
In the United States, anyone expecting a response or even strong opinions from the Federal Reserve Bank’s long-awaited white paper on a US digital dollar, “Money and Payments: The US Dollar in the Age of Digital Transformation”, has been disappointed, Darrell Duffie, a professor of management and finance at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, told PYMNTS this week.
See more : A CBDC in the US will take years, but some benefits may come sooner
“…the United States needs to move forward, develop the right technology and decide later whether or not to use a central bank digital currency,” Duffie said.
But he pointed out that “Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said more than a year ago that it was better to get it right than to be first.”
China, India and Russia forge ahead
Meanwhile, China stepped up public testing of its digital e-CNY yuan at the Beijing Olympics this week. Although a planned official launch was not possible, largely due to the pandemic, the CBDC was widely used as Olympic sponsorships forced a blackout of the two payment apps which hold more than 90% market, AliPay and WeChat Pay.
Another major power aggressively pursuing a CBDC, Russia this week allayed fears that it was planning to ban private cryptocurrencies. In a February 8 announcement, the government and the Bank of Russia agreed on the regulation of cryptocurrencies, just weeks after the central bank called for an outright ban.
See more : Russian Central Bank May Ban Crypto Investments
Last week, another CBDC-eager country, India, eased concerns over an outright ban on cryptocurrencies, though their use as a means of payment remains off the table.
Read more: Crypto comes to India with digital rupee, 30% tax
Kenya asks the public to comment on a CBDC, treading cautiously. Despite being one of the first to experiment with digital currencies – Safaricom’s M-Pesa in 2007 – the central bank is still concerned about various risks, according to Kenya’s WTVB.
See also: Kenya Releases CBDC Discussion Paper While Seeking Public Comments
These include the loss by commercial banks of deposits that fuel loans, the financial exclusion of those without access to technology and its impact on the bank’s ability to combat money laundering. money, the bank said.
Zimbabwe’s central bank is exploring a CBDC while remaining firm in its opposition to private cryptocurrencies, according to bitcoin.com.
The same goes for Jordan’s central bank, Coingeek said.
Read also: Central Bank of Jordan eyes CBDC


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Two Years After World’s Strictest Lockdown, India Springs Back to Normalcy
After two years, jostling crowds are again a familiar sight in a popular New Delhi market that offers bargains. But they do not deter Mukta Kapoor from spending an afternoon shopping with her daughter.
“Mentally, I feel free of the pressure to always wear a mask or keep a sanitizer in my hand. That constant worry that I should not touch anyone or change clothes when I return home has gone,” Kapoor said. “It’s good till it lasts.”
The pre-pandemic buzz has returned to mega cities like New Delhi and Mumbai as COVID-19 cases plummet to a two-year low — the vast country has in recent days reported about 2,000 daily new infections.
Roads are crammed, public transport is crowded, markets are lively, schools have reopened, and restaurants are packed.
It is bringing a wave of hope to millions who were badly hit when India imposed the world’s strictest lockdown in March 2020, prompting an exodus of millions of migrant workers to their village homes. For many who worked in cities in its vast informal sector, incomes plummeted as the middle and upper classes worked and shopped online.
“When people come out of their homes and shop, it helps our economy,” said Ashu Arfi, as a steady stream of customers checks out his summer garments at a street stall. Earlier many were hesitant to step into their small spaces and preferred visiting big stores. “People used to tell us to put on a mask, but no one bothers now. Customers also feel everything is becoming normal.”
Economists say the series of lockdowns imposed in the last two years during three COVID-19 waves were a punishing blow for the country’s vast informal sector that had been hit by an economic slowdown even before the pandemic.
“The bottom 60% in India have lost incomes in the last five years while the top 20% have gained incomes,” according to Arun Kumar, a former professor at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University.
He points out that the informal sector supports livelihoods for more than 80% of the population. “No other major economy has such a huge unorganized sector. That is why you never saw this kind of mass migration from the cities to the rural areas in any other country.”
Hairdresser Nitin Kumar recalls that even when the beauty parlor where he works reopened, hardly any customers stepped in earlier. A deadly second wave due to the delta variant that hit India a year ago caused widespread devastation in cities like New Delhi.
“There was no work last summer, I used to sit idle the whole day. I felt everything had come to an end,” Kumar said. “I could not repay the interest on a loan I had taken. It was very hard.”
That has changed dramatically — the third wave in January fueled by the omicron variant was much milder and caused fewer deaths and hospitalizations.
Confidence has also returned as a mammoth vaccination drive picked up momentum after a slow start — about 90% of India’s adult population has now received one shot while about two-thirds is fully immunized.
As fear of the pandemic recedes, Kumar’s beauty parlor is doing brisk business and he has even got a salary hike.
Vendors selling food on streets are seeing customers again. “All the taboos have gone. People no longer hesitate or ask me to wear gloves when I hand ice lollies to them,” said ice cart owner Mustaq Ahmed.
However, a surge in COVID-19 cases in other countries, including several in Asia, has raised concerns. The government says it is intensifying surveillance to identify new hotspots that may emerge. Mask mandates remain in place, although they are often not followed.
Still, health experts are hopeful that the worst may be behind. India has officially counted 43 million infections and more than half a million deaths.
“I think we are in a fairly good place for the present. There is a considerable amount of immunity that exists in the population, conferred either by the vaccine or those who have been previously infected,” said K. Srinath Reddy, President of the Public Health Foundation of India. “So, we are relatively safe from the point of view of a wave touching India with severe infections. But the coast is not completely clear. Let us say we are circling the airport, but we have not yet landed.”
Among those whose livelihoods depend on cities being up and running, that is reason enough for optimism. “Within three or four months, business will grow and work will be good,” Arfi said, but quickly added “I hope.”
Whether that hope is fulfilled remains to be seen amid warnings by experts that the pandemic is not over yet.


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Selling things online is easier than ever. Standing out to shoppers is getting harder.
Kevin Stecko has spent more than two decades selling nostalgic apparel emblazoned with He-Man, ThunderCats and more online at 80sTees.com. But lately, he said, some customers seem to have a hard time finding him. In Google searches for terms like “He-Man shirts,” he said, his site appears beneath paid ads from competitors.
His novel solution: a paper catalog mailed to thousands of homes.
“The print cost plus the postage costs should actually do as well or better than it does to acquire customers online,” Mr. Stecko said. The catalog costs about $86,000 to produce, though he is waiting for more sales to come in before judging its success.


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Inaugural Texcare Asia & China Laundry Expo is a success23 January 2020
With an attendance of 311 international brands from 21 countries and regions, a total of 25,202 visitors came to Shanghai to boost their business and grow their global network
The Texcare Asia and China Laundry Expo (TXCA & CLE), which took place on 25-27 September at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, enjoyed three successful days of business. A total of 25,202 visitors came to Shanghai to boost their business and grow their global network, according to a press release from joint organisers Messe Frankfurt Shanghai.
The attendance of 311 international brands from 21 countries and regions, with a strong presence of exhibitors from Germany and the US, highlighted the international character of the fair. To reflect the trends of the ever-evolving industry landscape, this edition put a strong emphasis on technology and sustainability, specifically underlining the importance of RFID.
TXCA & CLE is an annual event organised by the China Laundry Association and the China Light Industry Machinery Association, as well as Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai) and Unifair Exhibition Service.
Texcare Asia featured seven key German industry brands to the audience, including Bo¨we, Kreussler, Herbert Kannegiesser, Maxi-Press, Miele, Seitz and Veit, who presented their latest technologies and innovations, in addition to several US exhibitors, with brands like Alliance, AquaRecycle, DJ, Ecolab, Hoffman, Maxi, Whirlpool represented, showcasing laundry machines, water treatment techniques, detergents and components.
The development of the IoT and the advancement in production automation is resulting in an increased use of RFID in the laundry industry, and the Chinese market is following this trend. TXCA & CLE featured leading field experts to share their knowledge and experience and brands included Bundle, Datamars, Dresscode, Etexsys, EWELL, Finove, Spotag and Thermopatch.
The 2019 fringe programme aimed on giving attendees a preview of future technologies, and in-depth insight in smart and green laundry solutions. Highlights were the 2019 World Laundry Industry Summit Forum, the Laundry and Dyeing Industry Professional Skills Competition, the Seminar on New Mode and Market Prospect of Leather Care and the Hotel Green Laundry Summit Forum.
“This edition was truly a success,” said Richard Li, general manager at Messe Frankfurt Shanghai. “With more attention for sustainability and technology, RFID in particular, we were able to provide a product range that reflected what is currently going on in the laundry and textile care industry..
“Together with our exhibitors, we were delighted to see so many industry professionals gather in Shanghai. Visitor numbers were a lot higher than expected, and I think everybody will conclude that our show has positioned itself as a valuable asset in the market.”
Feedback from exhibitors was positive. Julien Buros, director products and services, Datamars Textile ID, said: “We attend TXCA & CLE because China is an important market to us. The increase in demand for RFID here is definitely picking up, so this show provides us with an excellent opportunity to tap into this potential. The textile care industry in China is changing. Europe and the US already had a market for renting textile and today, the Chinese market is also moving towards this model.”
Otto Burger, vice president of sales, Herbert Kannegiesser said: “Kannegiesser has been in China for 15 years with its laundry division, and with the textile care division even longer. The market here is huge and it’s developing at a fast pace. Four years ago, customers were mainly focused on investment and price. But this mindset is changing. A lot of companies are prepared to invest more to be able to lower their operation cost, for example. There is a lot more focus on sustainability, which is also being pushed by the government. It’s a must and a very good signal, because it can help develop the laundry business.”
Martin Rauch, chief sales officer, member of the executive management team, Jensen: “We use TXCA & CLE as an opportunity to work on our branding and do a lot of networking. The Chinese market is doing a generation jump from very simple machinery a couple of years ago, to fully automated processes, water reduction and labour savings. All the things that we implemented in Europe, we’re now seeing here as well.”


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We can’t send you updates from Justia Onward without your email.
Yesterday, Google released two new services for mobile phone and wireless device users: Google Local and Google SMS Driving Directions. Google first released Google Local last year to enable users to find relevant local information...
Google first released Google Local last year to enable users to find relevant local information with neighborhood business listings, maps, directions, and useful web pages. Now, Google has extended this service to XHTML-enabled mobile phones, but with a cleaner interface. So, whether you are looking for pizza or Kreisman in Chicago, Google will show you the way.
The search results for Google Local comes from a combination of Google’s index of web pages and Yellow Pages data. If you cannot find your business in Google Local or your information is incorrect, the Google Local Business Center lets you list your law firm or update information about it on Google Local for free.
From the Google Local Business Center you can add a law firm description, they types of payment you take (cash, credit cards, check…), your hours of operation, your contact email and Web site address and the category Services-Attorneys
Once you sign up for updating your listing, Google will send a letter to the address you provided with a personal identification number and activation instructions, activate and Google will add your updated listing to the Google Local database to go live with the next update.


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HBO Max first launched nearly a year ago, bringing the majority of Time Warner Media's catalog under one roof with select high-profile shows and movies from other companies. The service is likely seeing a boost in subscribers, thanks to all the movies Warner Bros. is releasing on HBO Max (alongside limited theatrical runs), and now there are some improvements in store for TV watching.
HBO Max is bringing back the restart button for Android TV, which was removed a few months ago for unknown reasons. The Play Store changelog says now that it's back, restarting an in-progress movie or TV episode only takes one click:
Back by popular demand: we’re thrilled to re-introduce the restart button for Android TV users! We know you’ve been missing it, and now you can quickly restart an in-progress video with just one click. This update also includes new and improved player controls for Android mobile and tablet users, making it easier to jump back into what you’re watching. Plus, we’ve squashed some bugs and made performance enhancements for a faster, smoother streaming experience.
Besides the new button, a recent Reddit post by u/djjsin pointed out that Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound is working again on Chromecasts. Of course, you'll still need a movie or TV show optimized for the format, but at least your streaming stick won't get in the way anymore.


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KuCoin, a cryptocurrency exchange has engaged Mazars, an international audit, tax, and advisory firm, to provide a third-party factual findings report, as reported by an official release.
“This move is the next step in our efforts to provide transparency on our users’ funds, highlighting our commitment to transparency and strengthening industry trust. It is a great pleasure to engage Mazars, a leading audit, tax and advisory firm, to provide users with a safe and credible platform during the turbulent period of the industry and to promote the development of the industry.,” Johnny Lyu, CEO of KuCoin, said.
The company further informed that Mazars will offer KuCoin’s customers and prospective customers additional transparency and reporting on whether their in-scope assets are collateralised.
“After recent events there is a dire need in the industry for additional transparency and we are confident that Mazars’ PoR service offering to KuCoin and other international cryptocurrency exchanges will aid in building trust through transparency,” Wiehann Olivier, Partner and Digital Asset Lead, said.
Furthermore, it will provide the details to showcase KuCoin’s proof of reserves and customer liability, respectively, which will also account for customers’ main, trade, margin, robot, and contract accounts, among others.


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10 fruitful years of Fruitas with 500 stores nationwide
Fruitas Group aims to mark its 10th anniversary in the local food cart industry by opening its 500th store in the country. Fruitas Group, the leading company in the local food cart industry, could very well be making history in a matter of months. As the company behind such successful brands as Fruitas, Black Pearl, Tea-rrific!, Buko Loco, The Mango Farm, among many others, marks its decade-long reign in the market, Fruitas is gearing up to reach a bigger milestone: that is, opening its 500th store in the country.
If Fruitas Group reaches this milestone, Fruitas is proof that a proudly Filipino-owned company can be regarded as world-class and a leader in the food cart industry.
“This year, we chose not to hold or do something grand to mark our 10th anniversary. We want something that’s sustainable. Dapat may katuturan,” says Lester Yu.
More than achieving this significant record, Lester would like to celebrate Fruitas’ 10th fruitful years in the business by giving back to his employees and to the many customers who have supported the company for years.
“We want, of course, to mark our 10th anniversary by thanking our customers, who have been with us through the years,” he says.
This success, after all, didn’t happen overnight. Lester remembers that when he first started the business at SM Manila 10 years ago, the Fruitas concept was unfamiliar to the masa.
“Back then, our concept of a store selling healthy drinks was new to the masa market,” says Lester. “There were other stores back then, but their target market was high-end, so much different from ours.”
Admittedly, it was difficult to compete with such good brands, which already had a strong foothold in their niche. It didn’t help that the masa carried for a time the misconception that “healthy alternatives” were expensive, either.
But as fate would have it, the business landscape of food carts began to change when Filipinos started becoming more conscious about their lifestyle and “healthy living” suddenly became the norm.
“Maganda ang timing natin. Ten years ago, wala pa ’yong tinatawag natin na mga fun runs,” says Lester, attributing his success to good timing. “In short, when Filipinos became health-conscious and fun runs became an in-thing, we were there already.”
Good timing, as Lester calls it, didn’t just bring in the sales, it also drove franchise inquiries up.
“Yes, at first, when you think about how you can double the number of food carts, it was quite difficult,” says Lester. “But when the numbers start picking up, it became easier for me to imagine the business growing double.”
The business eventually did grow. In fact it grew over tenfold. Fruitas now has 477 “ profitable” stores nationwide, and the figures, according to Lester, won’t stop anytime soon.
“Our target is to open our 500th store in the country before the year ends,” says Lester proudly. “Marami -rami na rin tayo. We’re opening stores in Visayas and Mindanao. We’re also looking into new lines of business.”
Part of that expansion is keeping a high standard of product quality. To make this possible, Lester makes sure that only the freshest ingredients would go into his products.
“In this industry, we have probably the most number of delivery and service vehicles, at least 50 of them,” says Lester. “With a good number of fleet, we are able to deliver fresh fruits in a regular manner, at least every other day, to ensure optimal quality of our ingredients.”
Trainings for Fruitas employees are also held regularly to ensure that the kind of service that they give to customers are on par with that of big commercial enterprises, like McDonald’s.
“We are patterning our employees after the employees of big companies, like McDonald’s,” notes Lester. “Kung kaya nila gawin, hindi rin imposible na gawin sa ating negosyo.”
His employees, indeed, are his biggest investment. That’s why Lester has come up with various ways to help them improve their quality of living. Lester is also proud of the fact that he has given jobs to more than a dozen deaf and mute individuals.
Lester believes that in order to steer a company to the right direction, the ones behind the wheel—the employees of Fruitas—must first know where they’re going. And it is Lester’s job to help them see the future the way he sees it.
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For a few weeks, gamers have been reporting that PS5 supply has been improving, but we haven't had any proof until now. New data shows that PS5 supply has skyrocketed over the same period last year, which will no doubt come as good news if you've been wanting to play some of the biggest PS5 releases next month.
Per analyst David Gibson on Twitter, import data shows that Sony Interactive USA imports (that is to say, PlayStation 5 console shipments) for September 2022 were up 400% compared to September last year. That's a pretty significant uptick in console supply, and it's a decent indication that nature could well be healing when it comes to being able to easily get your hands on a PS5. With the God of War Ragnarok release date looming, Gibson also points out that a significant portion of the aforementioned stock will probably go towards bundles for that game, or made available around the game's release date.
According to Gibson, Xbox shipments were up 89% year-on-year, while Nintendo's own shipments dropped 59% against last year (although Nintendo is ramping up production and Gibson's data doesn't include air freight, so the numbers might not be as bad as they look). Still, if you're hoping to get your hands on a PS5 or an Xbox Series X|S, it looks like you're in luck.
PS5 supply has been constrained since before the console was even released, with retailers struggling to fulfill pre-orders as early as September 2020. As soon as the PS5 was launched, scalpers and bots began to run rampant, snapping up the already-limited supply of consoles before regular consumers could (and necessitating changes to the PlayStation Direct queue, among other retail initiatives).
Constrained stock has been a problem for both Xbox Series X|S and PS5, with the Nintendo Switch also hit by shortages at times. An ongoing semiconductor shortage, as well as shipping issues caused by COVID-19, have meant that consoles can't be manufactured or shipped as quickly as they should be. Gibson's data seems to be suggesting that supply is improving, though, so it shouldn't be as difficult to get a current-gen console going forward.


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Last October, Meta promised to allow users of the Quest 2 VR headset to access the device using an account. not your personal facebook account (opens in new tab). We are still awaiting this change today, and a Facebook account is still required on the first launch of the VR headset, but a Meta spokesperson told me that this long-awaited change in policy should take place “soon”.
“We’ve shared on Connect that we’re working on getting you to log into Quest with an account other than your personal Facebook account. We’re making good progress on that work and we’ll have something to share soon,” says Meta.
This will be a welcome change from the current login requirement for a personal Facebook account; Not only does this block users who don’t use Facebook, it also raises privacy concerns about how data was used from the headset in conjunction with a connected Facebook account.
I know a few people who decided not to buy a Quest 2 due to the mandatory Facebook login, and clearly many others were against the login requirement when it was first released. back in 2020 (opens in new tab). some later completely ignored him (opens in new tab). This controversial decision did not stop the headset from becoming the most popular VR device of all time on Steam (opens in new tab)However.
Quest 2 did not require a Facebook account when it was released. This requirement was added later and doesn’t seem to bring much functionality to the table. Users were told they had until 2023 to link their device to their personal Facebook account or lose the headset’s “full functionality”, although it still worked. That didn’t go down too well for a lot of reasons, and understandably so.
Now it looks like we may have an alternative before that crucial date passes.
But it’s not yet clear what Meta’s alternative login form will be. Meta has carefully worded its promise to mention “an account other than your personal Facebook account” and does not claim that it will completely eliminate logins. We hope it’s at least possible to use a Quest 2 without a Facebook account, or a login to one of its sister services under the Meta umbrella, as this is what caused headaches for social media dislikers and users. of business.
Meta sells a Quest 2 to companies that does not require a personal account to log in (opens in new tab)at a premium, and it’s not like Quest 2 always requires a Facebook account connection, so I’m not sure what exactly is taking so long to launch on the rest of its devices.


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IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, September 21, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — Irvine, CA. September 2023: Southern California Surrogacy, a leading Californian surrogacy agency, announced a partnership with top-rated digital marketing agency Bliss Drive. With this new partnership, Southern California Surrogacy aims to expand its services and help more people achieve their dream of becoming a family.
About 1 in 6 people globally are affected by infertility. In such instances, surrogacy is a profound and life-changing journey that allows individuals and couples to fulfill their dreams of parenthood. The process involves a woman agreeing to become pregnant and carry the pregnancy to term for another individual or couple, who will then become the parents of the newborn child. South Coast Surrogacy has been instrumental in helping countless parents navigate this journey successfully.
Southern California Surrogacy has a longstanding reputation for its commitment to confidentiality, expertise, and unwavering support throughout the surrogacy process. The agency’s primary goal is to help individuals and couples realize their dreams of starting a family. With a team that collaborates with some of the world’s leading fertility doctors, attorneys, psychologists, and psychotherapists, Southern California Surrogacy ensures that every step of the journey is handled with utmost care and professionalism.
The partnership between Southern California Surrogacy and Bliss Drive, a renowned digital marketing agency, promises to usher in a new era of growth and digital presence for the surrogacy agency. By leveraging Bliss Drive’s expertise in digital marketing strategies, Southern California Surrogacy can expect enhanced online visibility, reaching a broader audience of potential surrogate mothers and intended parents. This collaboration not only signifies the agency’s commitment to innovation and adaptability but also ensures that clients receive up-to-date information and resources, making their surrogacy journey smoother and more informed. Through this partnership, both the agency and its clients stand to benefit from the combined strengths of surrogacy expertise and digital marketing prowess.
“We are thrilled to begin our new venture and take our services to the next level. In today’s digital age, it’s crucial for us to connect with our audience in meaningful ways. With Bliss Drive’s expertise, we are confident that we can elevate our digital presence, ensuring that more families have access to the invaluable services we offer. This collaboration is not just about growth; it’s about making dreams of parenthood more accessible to all,” said a spokesperson from the company. “We hope to use this enhanced digital presence to provide an even more comprehensive support system for both surrogate mothers and intended parents.”
At South Coast Surrogacy, personalized assistance is paramount, with the dedicated SCS staff always on hand to address any inquiries or concerns that may emerge throughout the surrogacy journey. The agency takes pride in its unwavering trust and reliability, holding an impeccable record of successfully completing the process. To learn more, readers can visit: https://southerncaliforniasurrogacy.com/become-a-surrogate/.
Bliss Drive’s expertise lies in using its professional digital marketing strategies to help companies improve their reach online. “We are looking forward to moving ahead on this new partnership with Southern California Surrogacy,” said Richard Fong, Founder, and CEO of Bliss Drive, “they are doing great work, and as a strategic digital marketing partner, we hope to help them expand their digital presence so more people can benefit from their professional services.”
The partnership is expected to bring new avenues of growth and opportunities for South Coast Surrogacy, further solidifying its position as a premier surrogacy agency in Southern California. Readers interested in learning more about the search engine optimization and digital marketing services provided by Bliss Drive can visit their website at https://www.blissdrive.com/.
Southern California Surrogacy is located at 300 Spectrum Center Dr. Suite 400, Irvine, CA 92618. For more information about South Coast Surrogacy and its services, please visit https://southerncaliforniasurrogacy.com/.
Southern California Surrogacy


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If you’ve noticed the subtle change to your Instagram icon on your home screen in the last few days, we’re here to tell you that you aren’t crazy. This week, the app dramatically increased the saturation of its logo, and it definitely ruffled some feathers.
Many people are speculating as to why the design team at Instagram is acting like a 13-year-old girl who just learned what the saturation filter is. The reactions across the globe have been overwhelmingly negative.
Some people have also noted that the frames around IG stories and the green “Close Friends” indicator have also increased in brightness.
While the people who have time to be genuinely upset by this news are probably the same demographic who should re-evaluate their screen time, logo changes are nothing new. This is hardly the most dramatic change in branding from the Meta conglomerate in the last few months, and it won’t be the last.
There’s actually some pretty compelling research that brighter colors make people feel happier and attract more attention, so it’s not totally surprising that one of the most influential tech companies is starting to use brighter colors in their aesthetic. Why wouldn’t Instagram want to make its logo as bright as possible? It will likely have more people noticing the app on their home screen and spending more time there. Maybe we should all take the advice of this TikToker and take colors off of our phones completely.


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One of the main reasons Apple has been so successful as a tech company is its focus on usability. Even as competitors’ smartphones screens are approaching tablet screen sizes, Apple has stuck with 3.5-inches — an optimal size for operating the phone with one hand. John Gruber of Daring Fireball just published his review of the iPhone 4S today, and writes that Apple focused on speed as one of the main improvements featured in the iPhone 4S camera:
The most profound difference between the 4S and 4 cameras has nothing to do with image quality. It’s that you don’t have to wait nearly as long. That closed iris comes up for a moment and then it’s gone, and you’re ready to shoot. And after you shoot, the camera is ready to snap additional photos almost instantly. The difference is huge, and it’s especially nice in conjunction with iOS 5’s new lock screen shortcut to jump right into the Camera app.
I spoke to some friends familiar with the development of iOS 5 and the 4S, and word on the Cupertino street is that camera speed — time from launch to being able to snap a photo, as well as the time between subsequent photos — received an enormous amount of engineering attention during development. The stopwatches were out, and every single tenth of a second that could be shaved was shaved.
I wonder whether compact camera manufacturers spend as much effort shaving tenths of a second off their cameras’ startup and in-between-shot times. They’ll want to now.
The iPhone 4S [Daring Fireball]


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Any day that starts at Balthazar is a good day in my book, so I’m happy to take designer Rafe Totengco’s suggestion that we meet last Tuesday at the Soho restaurant for breakfast. Armed with double cappuccinos, we talk about the latest happenings in his footwear and handbag brand, Rafe New York. For fall, the designer says his typically uptown girl has moved downtown. Embracing his edgier side, Rafe went for grittier hardware and tractor soles.
There have also been other big developments with the brand. Rafe New York recently became the first U.S. licensee for Italian holding company AP Bags, which works with such lines as Francesco Biasia, Coccinelle and Mandarina Duck. “It’s really exciting for us,” Rafe said. “This not only gives me the breathing room to concentrate on what I do best but also allows us to take it to the next level with international distribution.” AP Bags will take over the sales, production, distribution and marketing for Rafe, who will continue to design with his own team in New York.
Throughout breakfast, Rafe’s enthusiasm for this new venture is apparent. He also lights up when I ask about his blogging, which has accelerated recently. In fact, Tokyo-based SPUR magazine picked up his blog, Canitellyou.rafe.com, for their own site, after reading it at the suggestion of Japanese model Anne Watanabe. “They say their translation isn’t always spot on, but they get it,” Rafe laughs. And Daman magazine out of Jakarta, Indonesia, also purchased the right to print particular posts. They even want to have a blog party for the designer in Jakarta. “It’s great because it brings attention back to the brand, but it’s never in your face,” he explains. Rafe also participates on Lookbooks.com and Twitter. What’s next? “I don’t know,” he jokes. “I’m back-blogged.”
Funny, but seemingly untrue. The designer’s newest blog concept has been brewing since he accrued a following on his Facebook fanpage. Postings of women wearing his accessories piqued his interest. “Everybody wants to know about the real people,” Rafe says. “The New Yorkers, the Hong Kong girls. People are asking, ‘Who is that girl? What’s her story?’” So the newest blog in the Rafe portfolio will be “Rafe loves …” Starting soon, the designer will post every two weeks a picture of a featured person outfitted in a Rafe bag or shoes, with answers to questions such as her favorite bar, guilty pleasure or raison d’etre. The “Rafe loves…” blog will be hosted by Blogger with links to Rafe’s other pages.
Rafe tells me he has scheduled a photo shoot later in the day in Washington Square Park with the debut “Rafette,” a New York University grad student who resembles a young Brigitte Bardot.
After breakfast, Rafe and I walk up Lafayette Street to the vintage mecca Amarcord. I am struck by a sequined bib necklace that I can’t leave behind, while Rafe inspects a two-tone leather overnighter. He leads me to the “inner sanctum,” where they store a plethora of vintage bags and out-of-season racks. What is he looking for? “I’ll know it when I see it,” he responds.
Rafe, who says he got his start from “being in the right place at the right time” still considers his brand to be flying under the radar, although his Target handbag collaboration two years ago was a home run. “I was the first accessories brand to work with them, so we were still figuring out the formula. I passed at first, thinking, ‘I’m not a household name.’ And then I realized that’s exactly why I should do it!” The designer says he was impressed with the quality of the samples and found Target to be a flexible partner. Most of all though, Rafe says, “I don’t know if you can put a value on what they did for me from a marketing standpoint.”
We take a quick cab ride to Rafe’s studio on Fifth Avenue at 17th Street and arrive just in time to meet with a representative from Milaaya Embroideries, a Mumbai, India-based embellishment firm. The designer quickly runs through the swatches and arranges to keep the samples until he can edit them down further. That done, Rafe asks, “Now, shall we do a shoe fitting?” The fall samples for production approval have arrived, and Rafe takes detailed pictures of the necessary adjustments. Overall, he is satisfied, “The Chinese have figured out a way to manufacture close to perfection,” an outcome he suggests is not guaranteed in Italy and no longer possible in New York. “Twelve years ago, when I started, they had all the infrastructure in New York — leathers, hardware. Now, the machinery is outdated and labor is too expensive.”
After lunch at Tarallucci e Vino on 18th Street and the mini photo shoot at Washington Square Park, Rafe and I check in with our respective offices before meeting again at the Afghan Hands event. There we are joined by fellow designer and friend Peter Som. As we visit on the roofdeck, Rafe tells Peter about his serendipitous meeting with Mexican sculptor Jose Davila at a friend’s barbecue in Los Angeles over the weekend. Both designers gush about their love of his work and we decide life is all about serendipity.


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This coming Thursday, December 3rd, will be the annual VGAs — now known as “The Game Awards.” Every single year, it provides the industry with a bevy of new announcements and footage. And this year is no different.
It was reported last week that the Game Awards will have as many as 10 world premieres, one of which has just been announced by the show’s Twitter page. Quantum Break, the new game from the studio that brought you Alan Wake and Max Payne, is premiering new footage of the game at the event.
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) November 29, 2015
It has also been reported that both Far Cry Primal and Mortal Kombat will have brand new content being premiered at the show, as well as a new announcement from Oculus Rift.
This is the second year that the Game Awards will be completely streamed online, after Spike TV decided to drop the awards following a ten year stint. The show’s organizer, Geoff Keighley, decided to revive to show and has promised to bring an even bigger and better event.
There will be ten new world premiers, ten awards, and many guest stars — including Shaq, Mark Hammil, and Kiefer Sutherland.


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A NEARBY business has slammed dramatic changes proposed for Invermay Lane under the Marketplace's $30 million expansion.
The one-way lane will become a two-way thoroughfare and be transformed into a shared zone as recommended by Wagga City Council’s (WWCC) traffic committee.
The changes form part of 16 conditions on the Marketplace redevelopment, which includes 20 new stores across an additional 3200 square metres.
Country High Tea House owner Sharon Hagen believes the changes will impact business by squeezing out customer parking and holds concern over pedestrian safety.
“It will definitely affect us,” she said. “We’ve seen so many near misses for people crossing the lane.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous.”
While staff parking won’t be affected, Mrs Hagen is worried cars won’t be able to stop along a 70m stretch on the southern kerb alignment of Forsyth Street.
Mingalar Asian Grocery co-owner Su Wai shared concerns over pedestrians, but hoped increase traffic would boost business.
“With a double lane, I think it will increase traffic,” she said.
“My concern is for pedestrian safety because if you’re coming from McDonald’s side, you’re blinded.”
But Specsavers Wagga has welcomed the changes to promote foot fare and shared access.
Store partner Richard Skidmore and optical assistance Linda Stig said improved access would help new and existing customers take advantage of services, and eliminate difficulties when crossing.
WWCC plans to increase safety signage and install convex reflective mirrors on the Forsyth Street entrance to increase safety.
A two-metre wide median strip will be constructed to join with the eastern end of the existing splitter island at the Baylis and Forsyth streets intersection.
Industry Superannuation Property Trust, Marketplace owners, general manager of development Chris McCluskey expects construction to begin ahead of Christmas with a completion date around next April.
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Not in the UK
The UK government wants to move ahead with plans to restrict how supermarkets sell and advertise chocolate, soda and other foods that are high in sugar, salt and fat as part of a wider push to tackle obesity according to CNN Business. The food and drink industries are up in arms and has warned of "devastating" results for consumers and businesses if the legislation becomes the rule of law.
The new rules will apply to all food retailers in England with more than 50 employees and are scheduled to start in April 2022, according to the Department of Health and Social Care. Stores smaller than 2,000 square feet and specialty retailers, such as chocolatiers and sweet shops, will be exempt from some of the restrictions.
Promotion offers on unhealthy foods that require shoppers to buy more items to take advantage of the discount — such as "buy one get one free" or "3 for 2" promotions — will be prohibited in stores and online. The constraints extend beyond chocolates, soft drinks, sweets to include potato chips, pastries, breakfast cereals, pizzas, ready to eat prepared meals and breaded chicken and fish.
Unhealthy promotions will no longer be allowed in "key locations," such as checkout counters, store entrances and at the end of aisles. Free refills of sugary soft drinks in restaurants will also be banned. Public Health Minister Jo Churchill stated that the new measures will ensure that "the healthy choice is the easy choice.Creating an environment which helps everyone eat healthier foods more regularly is crucial to improving the health of the nation."
The Food and Drink Federation, the equivalent of our Consumer Brands Association feels quite differently and said the policy will have "harsh economic impacts" for producers and consumers. Chief Operating Officer Tim Rycroft said "The proposed restrictions will not only increase the cost of food for families but it will have harsh economic impacts for food and drink manufacturers who are already bracing themselves for the new costs of Brexit and the repercussions of the global pandemic." The restrictions are the latest attempt by the government to tackle Britain's rates of obesity, which are among the highest in the world, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Britain introduced restrictions on television advertising to children of unhealthy foods in 2007 and implemented a tax on sugary soft drinks in 2018. Earlier this year it launched a new campaign to address obesity, which includes proposals to require restaurants to add calorie labels to menu items. Almost two thirds of adults in England are overweight and one in three children leave primary school overweight or obese, according to the government, which said obesity-related illnesses cost the National Health Service £6 billion ($8.1 billion) a year.
Here’s the reality – if nothing else has been learned during the pandemic=c is that its time to be transparent, tell the truth, help each other and for these lobbyists and trade groups to understand that the shopper comes first. In order to get the maximum sales from them, they must be alive and well – otherwise there will be no profit. If our food industry continues to shovel additional salt, sugar and fat into our diets – science has shown us our lifetime will be shortened. Topline – no customers – no profits. Wake up, We applaud the move in the UK and can only hope that here in the US we will take similar steps to help our citizens live long, healthy lives.


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July 23, 2010: The National Teamsters Hispanic Caucus passed a key resolution at its annual conference last week, committing to fight the exploitive business practices by online grocer FreshDirect as its workers seek union representation.
FreshDirect has been at the center of controversy surrounding its warehouse in Queens, N.Y., for more than three years. Over that time, elected officials and organized labor have exposed the company as union-busters and of possibly alerting immigration officials to the status of some of its own workers—all to thwart fair wage increases and better working conditions for employees at the facility.
The company has grown to employ more than 1,000 mostly Latino and African American workers at the facility. The company also recently announced that it would earn $300 million this year, and is looking for new investors to expand to other cities across the country.
Click here to read more at PR Newswire.


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- POCO X5 Pro 5G will be unveiled on February 6th, 2023, in India
- POCO X5 5G will also debut on the same date for the global market
- POCO X5 Pro’s landing page is now live on Flipkart
POCO X5 and POCO X5 Pro will debut on February 6th, 2023. The company will hold the launch event for the global and Indian markets at the same time. The online global launch event will be carried out at 8:00 pm GMT+8 on the said date. It will be live-streamed through the company’s global YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook accounts. The tweet released by the company’s global Twitter handle confirms that it will announce the POCO X5 5G and the POCO X5 Pro 5G.
The launch poster released by POCO India’s Twitter handle only mentions the POCO X5 Pro. Furthermore, the landing page available on Flipkart showcases Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya endorsing the Pro. Hence, it is unclear whether the company has any plans to announce the vanilla along with the Pro model on February 6th. Here is a look at what to expect from the POCO X5 series.
Also Read: POCO F5 5G serial production reportedly begins, launch seems imminent
POCO X5, X5 Pro specifications (rumoured)
The POCO X5 5G is said to be based on the Redmi Note 12 5G. While the Redmi phone has the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chip, the Poco model is said to be equipped with the slightly faster Snapdragon 695. The X5 may borrow the rest of its specs from the Redmi model.
Hence, it is expected to feature a 6.67-inch AMOLED FHD+ 120Hz display, a 13-megapixel front camera, a 48-megapixel (main) + 8-megapixel (ultra-wide) + 2-megapixel (macro) triple camera unit, a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support, up to 6GB of LPDDR4x RAM, up to 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage, and a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support. Shown below are the leaked renders of the POCO X5 and X5 Pro that were recently shared by tipster Snoopy Tech.
According to rumours, the POCO X5 Pro 5G could be a rebranded version of the Redmi Note 12 Pro Speed Edition, which is only available in China. The X5 Pro is likely to feature the same display that will be available on the X5. It may feature the Snapdragon 778G chipset, up to 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM, up to 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage, a 5,000mAh battery with 67W fast charging, a 16-megapixel front camera, and a 108-megapixel (main) + 8-megapixel (ultra-wide) + 2-megapixel (macro) triple camera unit.
The POCO X5 series may run on MIU 14-based Android 13 OS. Both phones may come equipped with a side-facing fingerprint scanner. The leaked renders show that the POCO X5 may arrive in black and green, whereas the Pro model could be coming in black, yellow, and blue. There is no word on the prices of the POCO X5 series for the Indian market.


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Today’s highlighted blog post from the Council on Better Business Bureaus (CBBB):
What will it mean if Facebook, currently a private company, goes public this May or mid-2013, or at some other date predicted by pundits?
For investors, plenty. Experts disagree as to whether or not the high-priced stock will be worth it. Some think obscene wealth will be within reach; others think that the company may burst like a dot-com bubble. Remember the rules. Don’t invest more than you can afford to lose, investigate before you invest, and do your homework. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is a good resource for learning about the stock market.
For Facebook users? The Internet verdict (from blogs and news articles) is almost unanimous: Less privacy. According to an article in the L.A. Times, Facebook will most likely “step up its efforts to harvest its users’ information as it tries to meet Wall Street expectations.
“The richest IPO in history is all based on the harvesting and sale of users’ information,” [says Jeffrey]Chester, [Executive Director of the Center for Digital Democracy]. “The IPO makes clear that Facebook intends to further friend the most powerful advertisers on the planet, help them better target the vast social network audience.”
(Speaking of preferences, did you know that your friends’ “likes” influence yours? The U.K. Guardian states: “…if I “like” Whole Foods on Facebook, you, as my friend, are presumed to harbour a preference for organic food as well – hence you are more likely to see a Whole Foods advertisement when you log on.” My best friend and I must be skewing their system—we are complete opposites.)
A Little Bit of Background
As the company prepares to become an even bigger deal in our marketplace, here are three things you should know about Facebook.
First, where does the money come from? An article in PC World quotes the company’s SEC filing as listing “digital cows, crops, and mafia hit jobs” as large revenue streams for the company. “Social game maker Zynga was responsible for about 12 percent of Facebook’s [some reports say $3.71 billion] revenue in 2011.” If you’ve played Farmville, you’ve supported Zynga.
Second, who are Facebook’s current shareholders? The Washington Post lists companies like DST Global, Accel Partners, Goldman Sachs, and T. Rowe Price along with company executives and its board of directors (including the Post’s CEO Don Graham). Another famous shareholder is Erskine Bowles, a former White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton. Facebook’s Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg owns 56.9 percent of the voting shares.
Third, who are FB’s major advertisers? According to the Huffington Post, the top five include AT&T, www.match.com, and Google. This January there was a bit of an imbroglio over an alleged scam site, but that has since been removed.
“When Facebook goes public it will be under increased scrutiny, held more accountable, and required to be more transparent,” says the Guardian. “But, at the same time, the need to maximise returns means the use of personal data is likely to increase, only raising privacy concerns.”
In November the company settled with the Federal Trade Commission over alleged “unfair and deceptive” practices of making public information that users thought was private.
DSEF and Council on Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) fosters honest and responsive relationships between businesses and consumers—instilling consumer confidence and advancing a trustworthy marketplace for all.
About the Better Business Bureaus
As the leader in advancing marketplace trust, Better Business Bureau is an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. Every year, more than 87 million consumers rely on BBB Business Reviews® and BBB Wise Giving Reports® to help them find trustworthy businesses and charities across North America. Visitwww.bbb.org/us for more information.


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For those of you that are unfamiliar, iOS 6 received some beefed up Restriction settings when it was released, allowing users to select “Don’t Allow Changes” for an entire account linked to an iOS device. This option was particularly useful for schools and other organizations that wanted to limit a device to a specific account and keep students and others from installing apps not approved by the institution. Without the restriction, students or employees could easily change the iTunes account linked to the iOS device. Unfortunately, as noticed by one frustrated 9to5Mac reader, it appears there is several backdoor methods of bypassing the setting…
As highlighted in the video, while users can no longer change the account in the Settings app after enabling the “Don’t allow changes” setting, they can still change accounts directly in the App Store and iTunes apps. For teachers and organizations trying to prevent users from installing unapproved content, the bug is clearly an oversight on Apple’s part.
Apple has confirmed to our source that the problem is indeed a bug that needs to be fixed. However, Apple didn’t confirm when a fix for the “Don’t allow changes” bug would arrive. Apple’s temporary solution is to turn off the “Installing Apps” option within Restrictions. Unfortunately, as noted in the video above, that prevents organizations from pushing apps and allowing users to update apps.
We’ve reached out to Apple and will update if we hear back.
A number of other bugs have popped up in recent weeks, including the “Continuous Loop” Exchange bug and a passcode vulnerability both related to iOS 6.1 bugs. Apple has confirmed fixes for these issues are in the works and a 6.1.2 software update is expected as early as next week.
For more and to watch a video demonstration click the source link below:
Source: 9 to 5 Mac


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(NOTE: The recall has been expanded to include all Chevrolet Bolt models, and GM has suspended production of new Bolt EV and Bolt EUVs until sometime in early 2022 as it concentrates on supplying enough batteries to replace the 140,000-plus that have been recalled.)
General Motors is recalling 50, 932 of its 2017-2019 Chevrolet Bolt EVs after five confirmed Bolt fires that started in the electric cars’ battery compartments.
The recalled vehicles all have batteries manufactured for GM by LG Chem of South Korea.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it has investigated three Bolt fires, involving one vehicle from each of the 2017, 2018 and 2019 model years.
The Bolt fires appeared to have started in the battery compartment – the Bolt’s batteries are housed beneath the rear seats. NHTSA said fire damage in each case involved the passenger compartments and emanated from under the rear seats.
The cause of the fires is listed as “unknown” at present.
The agency said Friday it has confirmed five Bolt fires so far and that two injuries have been reported. In one case, flames spread from the vehicle to a house.
In each case, the Bolts’ batteries were fully charged or nearly fully charged.
GM is warning owners or the recalled Bolts to park them away from homes and other buildings until their batteries are replaced.
The automaker said it is working on a permanent fix and in the meantime is preparing a software patch, to be issued to dealers on Nov. 17, that will limit charging to 90 percent of battery capacity.
Bolt owners are being asked to make appointments to take their cars to a dealership for installation of the patch on or after Nov. 17.
Meantime, the company said owners of 2017 and 2018 Bolt EVs should change their vehicles’ charge setting to the “Hilltop Reserve” option. Owners of 2019 and later Bolts should change the charge setting to “target charge level at 90 percent.”
The company has prepared a video with instructions for making the settings.
NHTSA said it has opened a preliminary evaluation to assess “the scope, frequency, circumstances, and safety consequences” of the battery fires.


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Recently, it was leaked by a retailer that Dead Ialand: Riptide will be releasing in April next year and that it will have a special edition that offers some bonus content.
Deep Silver has now confirmed that the Techland developed sequel to the surprise hit Dead Island will indeed release in April 2013- April 23, to be precise. For the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. No, no Wii U release.
The special edition of the game will include, in Deep Silver’s words, “a pack of exclusive weapon mods (for more creative undead destruction!), a digital strategy map (for the best expert advice on how to own the approaching hordes!), and a unique character skin (looks good and helpful for recognition among the undead).”
The special edition will be sold till stocks last.
Will you be buying Dead Island: Riptide? Tell us in your comments below!
Share Your Thoughts Below (Always follow our comments policy!)


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Facebook makes it easier to identify scammers with this neat trick
Wednesday saw Facebook’s most recent initiative to tighten security; the social network has rolled out a feature that shows a list of recent emails sent by Facebook, in order to discern genuine PSAs from phishing scams.
It’s not uncommon for hackers to send messages under the guise of companies like Facebook, tricking vulnerable people into sending their login and password information. Ameliorated technology means these emails are often quite sophisticated in presentation, with even discerning users occasionally thrown off by them.
Known as phishing, the technique abounds among cyber-criminals, who use it to glean personal information from Facebook’s users. The social media giant, whose previous vigilante endeavours have included attempting to rid the side of fake news, yesterday unveiled a new feature that permits users to tell whether emails from Facebook are legitimate.
If you receive an email ostensibly from Facebook, but its content feels a little dubious, you can check its recent list of sent emails in the Security and Login section of Settings. If the email you received isn’t on this list, you know it’s fraudulent.
Facebook is known for sending security emails from the domain name “Facebookmail.com”, which is another means of testing whether a message is legitimate or not. Meanwhile, those that have been unearthed as fraudulent can be reported to Facebook itself, with product manager Scott Dickens urging victims and potential victims to report instances to “[email protected]”.
The move comes as one of the latest efforts to ameliorate the site, including the decision to disincentivise brands from soliciting likes and comments via spammy posts, and the omission of the Ticker – the live stream feature that showed the minutiae of friends’ social activity, which some (understandably) deemed “creepy”.
Meanwhile, the crackdown on phishing is a laudable – and necessary – one; CNN reported that global losses from phishing are estimated to exceed $9 billion (£6.7 billion) next year. Turns out fishing for likes isn’t the only harmful bait-induced undertaking associated with the site, then.


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Experiencing both growth and shrinkage at the same time, wearable technology could see revenues reaching beyond $3 billion by 2020, wearabletechworld.com reports.
An expanding market for increasingly smaller wearable tech, including wrist-worn fitness bands and smart watches to temporary tattoos and patches that affix to the skin to administer medication and transmit data via Wi-Fi to medical practitioners. These applications continue to see rapid growth, the report says—so quickly that a recent study from Tractica, a Boulder, Colo., market research firm that specializes in human-technology interface, predicts the current rate of 67,000 annual shipments for wearable patches will grow to 12.3 million by 2020 and propel revenue to $3.3 billion.
The study notes there will be no shortage of populations, from the aging to the chronically ill, who will have unique medical needs, so there will always be applications for these devices. As the medical community seeks ways to make treatments easier and more effective, the new devices hold the potential for wearables to follow patients from the hospital into their homes.


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Lithium is an elemental metal primarily used by electric vehicles, or EVs, to manufacture batteries. Given that EVs are expected to gain traction in several global markets, you can consider investing in lithium and benefit from the rising prices of this commodity.
Lithium prices surged 400% in 2021, and you can gain exposure to a rapidly expanding commodity market by purchasing shares of companies that mine the metal.
One such company that is involved in the lithium mining space is Lithium Royalty (TSX:LIRC), which also went public this week.
Lithium Royalty IPO: All you need to know
Lithium Royalty Corp. (LRC) went public on the TSX after it raised $150 million, which was the largest initial public offering (IPO) in Canada in almost a year, according to Bloomberg. The company sold 8.82 million shares at $17 per share and listed on the TSX yesterday (March 9). Lithium Royalty stock fell over 4% on its first day of trading, valuing it at a market cap of $870 million.
Lithium Royalty earns revenue on the back of royalties it generates from lithium projects located in Canada, the United States, and Australia. This business model provides Lithium Royalty with exposure to commodity prices and volumes without having to wrestle with capital expenditure investments and cost inflation related to operations.
The worldwide adoption of EVs and rising demand for energy storage technologies will act as a key tailwind for Lithium Royalty in the upcoming decade. Right now, the company aims to finance and partner with battery material companies and related projects, allowing it to earn regular income via royalties.
Last year, Lithium Royalty entered a partnership with Core Lithium. LRC paid A$8.125 million in exchange for 2.5% of gross revenue from the sale of products part of the Finnis Lithium Project.
Core Lithium recently announced Tesla as a future customer for the supply of lithium spodumene concentrate from the Finnis Lithium Project.
Is Lithium Royalty stock a buy?
According to its prospectus filed with the regulators, Lithium Royalty reported a profit before tax of $11.37 million in the first nine months of 2022 compared to the prior-year figure of $5.47 million.
So, if the company ends the year with $15 million in net profits, Lithium Royalty stock will be valued at 58 times trailing earnings, which is quite steep. However, Lithium Royalty is acquiring properties at a fast pace, which should drive royalties and earnings significantly higher in 2023 and beyond.
Moreover, its asset-light business model will allow the royalty company to benefit from high operating leverage, especially if demand for lithium continues to soar, resulting in consistent price hikes over time.
Investing in mining royalty companies provides investors with several advantages, such as diversification and high profit margins. You get exposure to a quality portfolio of lithium mines, which reduces overall risk.
On the flip side, Lithium Royalty and its peers will have to keep raising capital via debt or equity to enter partnerships and fund mining projects. This will either result in equity dilution for existing investors or increase balance sheet debt, resulting in rising interest expenses.
Lithium Royalty stock offers an enticing risk/reward profile for investors, as it is well poised to benefit from multiple secular tailwinds across industries and sectors.


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While Microsoft found revitalized success with business-to-business (B2B) clientele in the cloud computing arena, Apple has extended its consumer products portfolio. These divergent strategies make for an intriguing answer to the question: Which is the better buy today? Let's examine each company to determine the answer.
Microsoft's formula for success
Let's begin with Microsoft, in honor of Bill Gates, the co-founder and face of Microsoft for most of its existence, who resigned from the company's board on March 13. An indicator of Microsoft's evolution beyond Gates' guiding hand was the March 19 news that the company's Teams collaboration software had grown by 12 million users over the previous seven days to total 44 million daily users. Certainly, the coronavirus-induced, work-from-home requirements for many companies drove the sudden surge in users, but it's worth noting that this one-week addition equals all 12 million users that competitor Slack reported in September.
Teams' success is just one example of the company's accomplishments in transitioning to an ecosystem of cloud-based B2B products. As a result, its fiscal second quarter, ended Dec. 31, delivered a 14% year-over-year revenue increase to $36.9 billion. Even better, the company's net income grew an impressive 38% to $11.6 billion.
The heart of Microsoft's B2B cloud ecosystem is Azure, a bundle of cloud computing services that saw astounding year-over-year revenue growth of 62% in the most recent quarter. But that's not all. Microsoft's Windows and Office product suites have made successful transitions from traditional software purchased one time into cloud-based applications with recurring subscription revenue. The commercial version of Windows products and cloud services saw revenues increase 25% from the prior year in the most recent quarter. Office's cloud version for businesses, called Office 365, enjoyed a 27% jump in year-over-year revenue. Teams comes bundled into Office 365.
The B2B hits keep coming. Dynamics 365, its cloud-based customer relationship management system and competitor to Salesforce, saw a 42% year-over-year revenue increase. Microsoft's enterprise services experienced a 6% revenue jump. These products contributed to Microsoft's overall commercial cloud revenue growing 39% year-over-year.
The ecosystem strategy makes sense. Many businesses already use Microsoft's Office and Windows products. It's logical to extend into Dynamics 365 or Azure rather than use other vendors like Salesforce or Amazon.com. The strategy has allowed Microsoft to grow revenue for three consecutive years. Even in these turbulent times, Microsoft's success with its cloud-based products is likely to continue as more businesses transition to cloud services.
Apple's approach to success
Apple's fiscal 2020 first quarter delivered record-setting results. An all-time high of $91.8 billion in quarterly revenue was a 9% increase from the same period last year. Apple's net income also reached an all-time high of $22.2 billion, nearly double Microsoft's result.
The company's growth was fueled by sales of its iPhone 11; its services business, including Apple Music; and its wearables, Home, and accessories division, which includes the Apple Watch. This last segment grew to $10.01 billion in the quarter from $7.31 billion the year prior. This represents the first time the division including wearables exceeded the company's iconic Mac division, which brought in $7.2 billion.
Now that the wearables division is steadily growing, this trend could signal Apple's evolution beyond the iPhone. Only time will tell if wearables continue to win consumers' money. So far, the trend has been noteworthy, as this table shows.
|Wearables, Home, and Accessories Revenue
Which company wins?
When it comes to technology stocks, both Microsoft and Apple are great companies to own. Microsoft's advantage is that it plays in the B2B market where customers possess deep pockets. Apple, meanwhile, is just getting started with its wearables business.
If I had to choose a winner, I'd give the edge to Apple. The company is undergoing another transformation as a market leader in wearables, and its growing services division is also of note. In the wearables space, no competitor has yet proved as successful as Apple. Like it did with smartphones, Apple is positioned to be the industry leader for wearables. Apple has the long-term edge and is the better buy.


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Kevin Gotthard has joined WHSmith North America as Chief Financial Officer, overseeing finance activities for the retailer’s regional division that incorporates Marshall Retail Group (MRG) and InMotion.
Gotthard was most recently CFO at Neiman Marcus Group, where he was responsible for all commercial finance activities across shops and e-commerce operations.
Having begun his career with Deloitte in New York, he moved to Ralph Lauren Corporation where he spent almost nine years leading the EMEA region.
His appointment at WHSmith comes amid a period of rapid expansion for the company across airports and resorts in North America.
“I am thrilled to welcome Kevin to our team as Chief Financial Officer,” said North America CEO Toby Keir. “Kevin joins us with more than 20 years of experience in finance, with 12 of those years in retail. His experience and leadership in both industries will be invaluable to our business as we continue to see unparalleled growth and success.”
Gotthard added: “It is so exciting to join the business at this point of phenomenal growth. The opportunity to capture market share and execute the deep pipeline of already won new stores, as well as win tenders for new shops and concepts is incredible.
“I look forward to working with Toby and the team to move the company forward on its financial and strategic goals and support this period of rapid growth.”


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Macron re-sounds the alarm over US law
French President Emmanuel Macron considered that the law “To reduce inflation in America”, which provides for huge support for American companies, poses a threat to the industry in Europe.
“Europe is going through a difficult period because of the war (in Ukraine) and also because of the trade decisions made by our allies in the US. If Europe does not respond, the acceleration of the recovery of the American economy will mean a recession, Macron said at a joint press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pietro Sanchez in Barcelona on Thursday. Production (in Europe).
Earlier, Macron described the US law as “unfriendly” and “aggressive”, saying that Europe needs to speed up action to support the business sector, which, according to Macron, is 3-4 times smaller in the EU than in the US.
The French President noted that Paris expects Europe to respond to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by early 2023.
Last week, European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton said the EU was working on measures “similar” to massive US subsidies to protect European markets from unfair competition.
And the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in August 2022, provides for an increase in tax subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles that are assembled in North America and use U.S.-made batteries from local materials, and the law allocates $370 billion. for clean energy and climate goals and $64 billion for cost reductions in electricity, medicines and health insurance.


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Fears mount of Oasis, Coast and Warehouse store closures under new owners
With turnaround specialists Endless and Alteri reportedly hoping to buy Aurora Fashion Group, there are fears that its three chains - Oasis, Warehouse and Coast - could see mass store closures after a deal is done.
The chains have been up for sale since last autumn and accountancy firm PwC, which is handling the sale, received preliminary bids last week. But given the tough times for UK physical stores and the general move of the UK consumer online, it’s likely that there will be large numbers of stores on the closure list.
Warehouse is seen as being particularly at risk as the chain, which has been reinventing itself with a much higher trend focus, was lossmaking in the last year for which accounts are available. It lost £1.3m. Oasis was profitable (£6.3m) but profits were flat, while Coast saw an earnings increase, turning its fortunes around from a £10.8m pre-tax loss to a profit of £1.3m.
The concerns come as the saga of Iceland’s financial crisis last decade continues to play out on UK high streets. The chains had been owned by Mosaic Fashions, which was swept up in the crisis that engulfed its backers, investment firm Baugur and Icelandic bank Kaupthing. Aurora is now controlled by the administrators of Kaupthing.
Sources told The Telegraph that if either Endless or Alteri won the race for the trio, both would be likely to shut stores. But how many would they close lossmaking sites would clearly be highest on the list but profitable stores are also potentially at risk as the companies would look to maximise productivity from omnichannel operations with a large store estate no longer seen as crucial for achieving strong sales. That could mean some flagships on key shopping streets being shuttered.
And what of the potential new owners? Alteri is not afraid to take tough decisions and was recently in the news after its exited Brantano and Jones Bootmaker, both of which have seen a raft of store closures.
Meanwhile Endless is known to be acquisition-hungry with the Bathstore owner recently buying Arran Aromatics and having acquired Jones Bootmaker at the 11th hour before an administration filing. It closed over 30 if its stores.
The newspaper said up to 5,000 people are employed by Oasis, Coast and Warehouse, which means the the stakes are high for the UK fashion retail sector employment scene.
There has also been speculation that the group could be broken up after acquisitions with individual chains separated out, although this could complicate things as the three share one head office.
Copyright © 2023 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.


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US consumer sentiment slumped in November amid persistent worries about inflation and higher interest rates, according to a survey on Friday, which also hinted at a sharp slowdown in spending on goods.
The University of Michigan’s preliminary November reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment came in at 54.7, down from 59.9 in the prior month.
The 8.7% decline, which erased about half of the gains since the index’s tumble to a historic low in June, also came as gasoline prices pushed higher.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a preliminary reading of 59.5. The survey’s reading of one-year inflation expectations edged up to 5.1% from 5.0% in October. The survey’s five-year inflation outlook rose to 3.0% from 2.9% in October.
That suggested that inflation could remain uncomfortably high, even though price pressures showed signs of starting to subside in October. Data on Thursday showed consumer prices rose less than expected in October, pushing the annual increase below 8% for the first time in eight months.
“The Fed telegraphed their intentions to slow the pace of rate increases and this report will not likely alter those intentions,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“However, those views could change if inflation expectations reach the elevated levels (of) earlier this year.”
The deterioration in sentiment this month was across the board, with buying conditions for long-lasting manufactured goods falling 21% “on the basis of high interest rates as well as continued high prices.”
While that is consistent with a shift in spending to services from goods, some economists do not expect a collapse in consumer spending. The University of Michigan survey continues to struggle below its pre-pandemic levels.
In contrast, the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index remains above early pandemic lows.
“The correlation between changes in monthly consumer sentiment and real consumer spending is low, especially for this measure and especially in the short run,” said Scott Hoyt, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “Further, consumers have abundant excess saving, and recent data suggests they are willing to dig into this pile of cash to keep their real spending at least stable.”


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There was a tenfold increase in Bing app downloads after Microsoft’s AI announcement
After reports surfaced this week that Microsoft was considering adding ChatGPT-like features to its search engine Bing, the app that goes along with it quickly rose to the top of the App Store’s charts on Wednesday. The Bing app has risen to the No. 12 spot among all free iPhone apps, while Microsoft’s Edge browser has climbed to the No. 3 spot among Utility apps in the U.S. App Store. Data.ai, an app intelligence firm, estimates that the number of downloads of the Bing app around the world has increased by a factor of 10.
This shift suggests there is significant consumer demand for these innovative AI experiences, and that users may be willing to experiment with alternative search engines and browsers to gain access.
This next-generation OpenAI large language model was first unveiled in Microsoft’s new Bing.com, which was unveiled on Tuesday. With the new update, users can have a ChatGPT-like experience right within the search engine itself for assistance with more complex queries and for assistance with certain content creation tasks, such as writing a LinkedIn post. Microsoft also showcased an updated version of its Edge browser, which includes the same AI features integrated into the browser’s sidebar for quick access.
See Also: Some Of The Best High Fiber Foods
Although Bing’s updated version is now available, for the time being it is only available to a select few in a preview mode. Users who are interested in testing out the latest AI enhancements must first sign up for a waiting list. It was announced by Microsoft that “millions” of users on the waiting list will be invited to join in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the company has introduced a clever new way to jump the queue. Microsoft suggests additional steps on a landing page that, once taken, will grant users instant access to the new Bing. In addition to making Bing the default search engine on their computer, they can also install the app by scanning a QR code.


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Sony Pictures Entertainment remains “100 percent committed” to theatrical releases for its “premium” films, but it is also moving forward on a full slate of “moderately-priced” titles being developed for streaming services.
Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra discussed his group’s outlook in an investor presentation Thursday.
In the slide deck, Vinciquerra emphasized Sony’s role as an independent studio, one that was aggressive in selling films and TV shows to all the major streaming services and TV networks. “Competition in spending among streamers to fuel their platforms will only intensify,” he predicted, citing Warner Bros. Discovery’s commitment to build. global streaming service.
But he also made light of Sony’s commitment to theatrical distribution, highlighting both its tentpole releases (like the Spider Man franchise), and more independent fare like Where the Crawdads Sing.
Sony is now “the only major studio 100 percent committed to the theatrical window for premium IP,” Vinciquerra said. “That makes us an incredibly attractive home for top talent and creators who want their films to follow a traditional theatrical release.”
But he also acknowledged that the box office is “still not back to pre-pandemic levels,” and that there continue to be challenges, with many traditional studios “prioritizing their streaming platforms over theatrical releasing,” and “geopolitical factors like China and Russia… where theatrical releasing for U.S. studios has become increasingly difficult.”
He also highlighted those less expensive film projects, which are being developed with “more flexible distribution options to meet streaming demands for content.”
But by far the greatest opportunity, Vinciquerra told investors, was continued use of Sony’s IP, not only from its current film and TV library, but from the Sony Music and Playstation divisions as well.
He noted the two spinoffs of Amazon’s The Boys that are currently in production, as well as titles based on Playstation franchises like Twisted Metal, The Last of Us, and Ghost of Tsushima, and added that there are 10 more Playstation titles in various stages of development for film and TV.
On the TV front, Sony also plans to further exploit its two largest game show brands: Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.
“We have already began expanding these beloved brands with primetime specials like Celebrity Wheel of Fortune and the Jeopardy! National College Championship, and we are going to do more,” Vinciquerra said.
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NovaCentrix, the industry’s leading provider of photonic curing tools, high-intensity, pulsed-light soldering solutions, and conductive inks enabling the development and production of next-generation printed electronic devices, today announced the appointment of Mr. Don Dennison as their manufacturers’ representative. PIT Equipment Services, LLC will represent NovaCentrix PulseForge® Soldering tools in Southeastern New York, New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania.
PIT started in 1988 with a mission to assist electronic assembly companies in the New York/New Jersey/Eastern Pennsylvania metropolitan area. The key to their long-term success is service and support of each product sold.
“We are excited to be part of this new game-changing approach to soldering,” stated Dennison. This technology provides solutions to many of the current challenges to the PCB assembly process. PIT has always been part of new developments within the industry. “
NovaCentrix’ PulseForge® Soldering tools reflow off-the-shelf solders including SAC305 in seconds on low-temperature, flexible substrates such as paper and plastic. PulseForge Soldering tools enable new types of products in applications like consumer electronics, automotive and medical wearables. Product innovators and manufacturers can utilize flexible, low-cost substrates and deliver functionality not possible when using conventional ovens and lasers.
“We are already working closely with Don to introduce this new soldering capability to customers facing advanced manufacturing challenges,” said Stan Farnsworth, Chief Marketing Officer at NovaCentrix.
NovaCentrix has partnered with customers for 20 years in taking products from inception to full production. To learn more about NovaCentrix and their innovative products, please visit www.NovaCentrix.com.


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Proposed Bill Could Clear The Way for Uber in Most Washington Cities
Currently, Pasco is without Uber services because the grassroots transportation giant resists requirements that their drivers be fingerprinted. But a new bill could change that.
Unlike Kennewick and Richland, Pasco has a fingerprint requirement for cab drivers. The cost is $5. However, Uber has resisted such efforts, and in fact pulled it's services from Austin, Texas over a related issue.
But according to sources, a proposed Senate bill could eliminate that issue. Senate Bill 5620 (Substitute Senate bill 5620) is working it's way through committees. If it ends up passing, it would require statewide regulation of transportation companies such as Uber and Lyft, which operate off smartphone or website applications. Services where consumers utilize the site to arrange transportation.
The bill would apply the same local and national criminal backround checks for prospective drivers and also review their driving record. It does not include proposals for fingerprinting. The bill would impose a $.10 cent cost to cover the implementation and operation of the statewide regulation of the industry.
It would not apply to taxis, limos, or other community ride-share programs. Officials say fingerprinting is one the few solid ways to confirm identity and security with drivers, especially when it comes to criminal backrounds.
The Pasco City Council has a been deadlocked on the issue of fingerprinting so far.


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Game Stop Shutting Down Close to 200 Stores by Month’s End
It looks like another national retail chain is in trouble. This week, video game giant Game Stop announced that it will be closing somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 stores across the United States and abroad.
The game and accessories buy, sell, and trade leader will shut the doors on 180-200 stores before the end of the current fiscal year - which just happens to be the end of this month. According to CNBC, the video gaming juggernaut has already closed 195 stores since the second quarter of last year. What's worse, officials with Game Stop say that it is likely the company will close even more stores.
Executives with Game Stop say that they are targeting under-performing stores, but would not say which stores would be shutting down or how many employees would be affected.
Currently, GameStop operates more than 5,700 stores in 144 countries - 3 are located in the Shreveport / Bossier City area.


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04:30 Japan Industrial output (October) final -2.0%
04:30 Japan Industrial output (October) final Y/Y 4.3%
The dollar was near a one-week low against the yen on prospects yields on U.S. assets will shrink as Federal Reserve policy makers prepare to discuss interest rates and bond purchases.
The greenback held yesterday’s loss against the euro on speculation the Fed will signal today it’s open to increasing debt purchases beyond the $600 billion already announced.
New Zealand’s dollar was near a 10-year low against Australia’s currency after a report showed retail sales in the smaller nation slid by the most since 1997.
New Zealand’s retail sales declined 2.5 percent in October, Statistics New Zealand said in Wellington. The drop was the biggest since May 1997.
U.S. retail sales rose 0.6 percent in November after adding 1.2 percent in October, according to the median estimate of economists in a survey before Commerce Department data today.
The euro was little changed ahead of data forecast to show German investor confidence rose for a second month and a confidence vote in Italy that may topple Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s government.
An index of German investor and analyst expectations increased to 3.9 this month from 1.8 in November, according to a survey of economists.
EUR/USD: at the morning the pair become stronger above a mark $1,3450.
GBP/USD: at the morning the pair become stronger above a mark $1,5900.
USD/JPY: the pair decreased in around Y83,20.
UK data at 0930GMT includes the latest DCLG House Price Index as well as inflation data, where CPI is expected to come in at 0.3% m/m, 3.2% y/y with core CPI at 2.7% y/y.
The main European data release for Tuesday is the ZEW data for December, where the expectations index is seen rising to a reading of +3.8 with the conditions index rising to +84.0. At 1000GMT, EMU industrial production
is expected to come in at 1.1% m/m, 7.4% y/y.
US data starts at 1245GMT with the weekly ICSC shopping center sales data, although the main data starts at 1330GMT with retail sales and PPI. Retail sales are expected to rise 0.7% in November. Industry auto sales stable in the month, while gasoline prices rose further according to AAA. Sales excluding motor vehicles are expected to rise 0.7% on the higher gasoline prices as well as solid early holiday sales. Producer prices are expected to rise 0.7% in November. Both food and energy prices are expected to move higher. The core PPI is expected to rise 0.3% after the surprise 0.6% drop in October, when seasonal adjustment issues with vehicle prices were a key factor.
The much-awaited FOMC announcement will be the main feature of the US session with the announcement due around 1915GMT.
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