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Semiconductor stocks have suffered an across-the-board selling in recent months thanks to the rapid deterioration of several end-markets (PC, smartphones…) and new export controls imposed by the US government on chips and equipment shipped to China. But this “implosion” could also create buying opportunities as some end-markets and, more specifically, the data center one enjoys secular tailwinds.
Even if data center spending will not be immune to current macro headwinds, the emergence of accelerators is indeed expected to make Artificial Intelligence (AI) mainstream in coming years and, accordingly, to sustain demand growth for specific chips.
Besides easing our day-to-day lives (targeted advertisement, real-time natural language processing and translation, profile-matching on dating apps…), AI is also expected to help us overcome some global issues like efficient usage of water resources with smart irrigation systems, reduced waste by enhanced material allocation or energy savings through smart grids. Ultimately, AI will also contribute to design fusion reactors and master quantum computing which will instantly put humanity on a whole new technological level. However, this will require an ever-growing need for data storage, more efficient computing power, and lightspeed networking capabilities.
As their name implies, general purpose microprocessors (CPUs) are good all-around processing chips but are rapidly showing their weaknesses for very specific tasks. This is the main reason why engineers added coprocessors inside them to solve this inefficiency. An additional way of unloading “non-pure” computing tasks from CPUs is to couple them with so-called accelerators like, for example, GPUs for 3D graphics processing or DSPs (signal processing chips) for sound enhancement.
In the specific case of AI, the training of state-of-the-art Deep Learning (DL) models, which are now dealing with billions of parameters, also necessitates dedicated accelerators. For example, the management of network traffic and the storage of the huge amount of data needed to run these algorithms is now gradually outsourced to SmartNICs (see our recent article). More importantly, the calculation of the giant matrices (or tensors to be more precise), which are defining DL models’ knowledge, has now also been outsourced to customized components.
Initially, researchers trained their models with CPUs but gradually switched to GPUs as their superior parallel computation power better fits the type of calculations involved in AI. For more flexibility, fully programmable chips, or FPGAs, are also used by some players (mainly by Microsoft). Nowadays, highly specialized chips (ASICs), in which the structure of deep learning models have been directly “hard-coded” in their silicon, are clearly the way to go to stay at the leading edge of AI.
These AI accelerators, commonly called Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) or Neural Processor Units (NPUs), are bringing a very significant improvement in terms of speed and energy consumption during the training phase of AI models (which could last more than a full week for massive DL models, even on the world’s most powerful systems). The huge amounts of data – the necessary “fuel” to train deep learning models – accumulated by hyperscalers like Google, Facebook or Amazon helped them to be at the forefront of last decades’ AI developments. So, designing their own proprietary AI chips was just a natural extension for them. Google started the trend in 2016 with its own TPUs, followed by Baidu in 2018 (Kunlun chips) and, more recently, Amazon with its Trainium NPU.
Web giants are running their in-house developed NPUs exclusively inside their data centers to improve their own products/services (better search results, more accurate product recommendations…) and to rent out their top-notch AI computing platforms to companies, universities, and governments. AI cloud-based services like Google’s Vertex or AWS’ Machine Learning are expected to grow at a CAGR of 21% with a market of more than USD 10 billion in 2026 according to Technavio.
Obviously, legacy CPU and GPU companies like Intel, Nvidia or AMD didn’t stay idle and entered the AI chip race several years ago by either leveraging their existing technologies (e.g., Nvidia’s CUDA) or through acquisitions (Intel’s Habana). Many startups like Cerebras or Graphcore also entered the party of this booming semis segment expected to grow at more than 18% per annum to reach a size of $80 billion by 2027 according to IndustryARC.
Once AI models have been trained to deliver satisfactory results, they are implemented in real-life situations for which they were optimized. This is called inference, as the models infer the most appropriate course of action when presented with stimulus coming from human inputs, sensors, cameras… Practically, the definition (the giant matrices) of the trained AI models are uploaded into specific chips, sometimes called Edge TPUs/NPUs. These are powering the AI features of smartphones like face recognition or the assisted/autonomous flying skills of drones.
Here, on the inference side, engineers are designing these chips with the objectives of very low energy consumption, reduced latency, and small physical size. The edge TPU market is populated by the usual suspects like Intel (Greco chip), Amazon (Inferenzia TPU), Nvidia (which sticks to its GPU-based design), Qualcomm or Apple with its in-house developed Neural Engine. To the contrary of the very complex (both in terms of design and manufacturing) and hence pricey training TPUs, inference TPUs are cheap mass market chips. An armada of IoT devices are already or will extensively use Edge TPUs, another 20%+ annual growth driver for the semiconductor industry.
In conclusion, while we would expect data center spending to decelerate given softening macro trends, we believe it should keep enjoying robust growth thanks to secular tailwinds and, specifically, the increasing adoption of AI powered by accelerators. Companies exposed to this end-market such as AMD, Nvidia, Intel and Marvell should then avoid some of the massive EPS cuts that have plagued the industry recently.
Importantly, their valuations are back to very attractive levels (11.5x 2023 PE on average for AMD, Intel, and Marvell; Nvidia still remaining expensive at 30x), suggesting that most of the current risks are already well priced.


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Is anyone tired of seeing the words "Galaxy Nexus on Verizon" yet? I didn't think so. We said it was coming. We now know it's coming. And here's even more reason to believe that it's coming November 10, just like we heard it would before.
While things are always subject to change, the screen you see above should make more than a few happy. Of course Verizon's still mum on an official date, but as of today, they still have stores and agents preparing for a Nov. 10 launch. And for those more interested in some HTC hotness? The HTC Rezound is still on that same Nov 10 track as well.
That's 20 days and 3 hours (ET) for those keeping score at home.
Everything you need to know about the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro!
OnePlus wowed us in 2019 with an onslaught of excellent handsets, and for 2020, the company looks to one-up itself yet again. Between the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro, here's everything you need to know about what OnePlus is cooking up this year.
Are you looking forward to the Pixel 5?
Even though we're months away from the Pixel 5's announcement, there are already a few rumors about what we can expect from the phone. Based on what we know so far, are you looking forward to the Pixel 5?
OnePlus 8 launch event to go ahead as planned as camera details leak out
A new leak has shed light on the camera hardware of OnePlus' upcoming flagship phone. The OnePlus 8 Pro will have a 48MP primary sensor, 48MP ultra-wide-angle lens, an 8MP telephoto lens, and a 5MP "color filter."
Expand the Note 10+ storage with one of these microSD cards
Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Note 10+ which includes a microSD card slot, despite a base storage option of 256GB. We have compiled a list of the best microSD cards for your new Galaxy Note 10+.

domain: news


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Today, companies have a much better understanding of Big Data and how Big Data technologies can benefit their operation across different areas. In fact, according to our latest survey, in 2019 the number of business areas companies expect to [...]
Continuous developments in Business Intelligence is critical for allowing companies to stay ahead of competition. The latest approach to BI is predictive analytics. Predictive Analytics enables organisations to forecast future events, analyse [...]
WHISHWORKS' Edward Davies discusses with Retail Tech News how systems integration can help retailers tackle data problems head-on, as well as the challenges of effective data analytics.
Ongoing developments in Business Intelligence and Data Science systems are making it important for organisations to understand the differences and the value they can produce for the enterprise. Focus, Process, Transformation and Ownership are [...]


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Reuters are reporting that Cemex Holdings Philippines will raise US$535.8 million in the Southeast Asian nation's third-largest IPO, pricing its shares at the low end of the indicative range.
The Philippines' biggest IPO since 2013 is riding on the construction boom in one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, although the slashed offer price revealed investors' worries about yield and the lacklustre performance of other cement firms.
The offering will raise US$535.82 million, making it the Southeast Asian country's biggest IPO since the record October 2013 share sale by Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc, which raised more than US$620 million.
The company announced last week an indicative range of 10.50 pesos to 12.00 pesos each for the Philippines' second listing this year. It has secured US$125 million from seven cornerstone investors for the IPO.
Cement sales in the Philippines rose 13% to 6.43 million t in the first quarter on strong demand from both government-supported and private sector-led construction.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/asia-pacific-rim/30062016/cemex-holdings-philippines-prices-ipo-low-435/


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Lend-to-save more than doubled last year as savers turned to alternatives amid crumbling bank rates
Minute returns from savings accounts helped the lend-to-save industry lend out more than twice as much in 2013 as the year before, industry figures have shown.
A report by the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association – the self-appointed industry body - shows cumulative lending in the last three months of last year hit £843million compared to £381million in the same period in 2012, a 121 per cent rise.
Peer-to-peer lenders allow businesses and consumers to lend to each other directly, offering lenders attractive rates to boost their savings and borrowers competitive loan rates.
Lend-to-save: Last year was a huge one for the industry as borrowers and lenders poured into alternative finance
The data, which looked at both business and consumer lending, found last year there were over 3,700 business borrowers, 70,000 consumer borrowers and more than 86,000 active lenders in Britain.
The £843.4million is split into £579.8million on consumer lending and £263.6million on lending to small businesses.
Lend-to-save first began in 2005 when Zopa launched in Britain. It really took off when competitors such as Funding Circle and RateSetter appeared in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
Christine Farnish, chair of the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association, said: ‘More and more people now recognise the benefits that P2P lending can offer. No wonder the sector is growing so fast.
‘2014 will be a significant year for the industry. We are about to pass the £1billion milestone of total monies lent and in April we become regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, something we strongly support.’
The best buy easy-access for example has crumbled to just 1.55 per cent, while savers would have to lock away for five years to get the top rate of 3.25 per cent.
Funding Circle – which only lends to businesses - offer investors rates up to 5.7 per cent. It also offers small businesses the chance to grab lending from a pool of investors where it may have been turned down by banks.
RateSetter offers lenders rates up to 5.7 per cent while Zopa offers up to 4.9 per cent. These two lend money to consumers.
Money in lend-to-save investments, in the firms mentioned above, are not guaranteed if they collapse and, unlike with major High Street banks and building societies, are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
You can find out more about peer-to-peer here: Should you ditch the banks and their low savings rates? Why people are flocking to lend-to-save and how it works
HAVE YOUR SAY: Are you one of those who invested with one of the lend-to-save firms last year? Let us know your experiences in the comment section below...
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A Moncton-based software engineer has developed a new word game.
Richard Wilson says he loves games such as Scrabble and loves playing against friends and co-workers.
As a result, Wilson created an app called Quick Wordz in which you create words and steal letters from your opponents.
Wilson says what he wanted to do was “take something that would combine some of the good points of those games or good features and then add them and put our spin on it and come up with something a little bit different, and that’s when Quick Wordz was born.”
Wilson says the app is already available for a preview at quickwordz-dot-com.
He’s currently in the process of adding the app to the Apple Store where it will be available for free.


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The Smartwatch calm before the storm?
It probably all started if you exclude the James Bond secret service type technologies around 1997 with the Seiko wrist computer called Message Watch becoming ausgeliefert.
The Seiko Message Watch was basically a pager condensed into the size and shape of a watch. It had a two line display and short messages could be delivered. The watch experienced quite a boom in popularity in the late nineties. However due to a number of Y2K bugs in the Message Watch system the service was discontinued on 31.12.1999.
It wasn’t until 2013 when the smartwatch (watches with internet connectivity) revolution more or less started with the Kickstarter crowdfunded campaign for the Pebble SmartWatch startup.
The Pebble smartwatch campaign triggered quite a frenzy raising $1 million in the first 30 minutes in the market when Pebble came seeking $100K and got $10.3 Million. Pebble Time’s goal of raising $500K achieved $20 Million from 78.471 investors.
Three out of the four biggest amounts raised on Kickstarter are for the smart watch pioneer’s products.
Having been such a great “ausverkauft” hit with Kickstarter it is shockingly ironic that due to various reasons they became the biggest failure of Kickstarter and burned them badly in the process as it left them looking like a cheap publicity stunt outfit in the financial revolution we were promised.
“Let’s Face it: Smartwatches Are Dead” exclaimed a headline in Variety on 05.12.16. Business insider almost contemporaneously declared “Wearables Are Dead”.
That was just a minor setback for smartwatches with the collapse of Pebble. However Fitbit pounced on the opportunity and quickly took over the company and has been ever since strengthening and consolidating its position with fitness smartwatches.
(image from Amazon)
The actual Smartwatch revolution started with the infamous Apple Watch released in 2015. Expectations were very high for the Apple Watch – which was expected to kickstart the smartwatch revolution, just like the iPhone did with smartphones. Although Apple have taken up the largest share of the smartwatch market, they have by no means brought the level of success to smartwatches which they had done to smartphones with the iPhone. In 2014 there were 4.2 million units in worldwide smartwatch sales according to Int’l Data Corp research and this rose up to 19.4 million units in 2015 when the Apple Watch was introduced with 11.6 million units sold.
Many people wonder why the Apple Watch wasn’t aptly branded as the iWatch which would have put it in line with its other product portfolio lines such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad. However the “iWatch” trademark was owned by OMG Electronics who were crowdfunding a “iWatch” designated device at the time.
So we all have gathered by now that smartwatches have not yet caught on in the way that people expected them to. However in anticipation to the next leg up we visit Baselworld 2018 where traditionally legacy watches and jewellery are exhibited but now tech brands flaunting high-tech smartwatches and hybrids are flocking to.
Big debuts were given to for example:
Hublot Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia
image from www.hublot.com
The referees’ Hublot numbered smartwatch comes with in addition to the features of the Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia features amazing extras connected to goal-line technology and electronic video assistance confirming whether the ball crossed the line or not.
Its gotta be one of the coolest hi-tech adventure watches out there looking really high end and sporty at the same time. Very sturdy and weatherproof suitable for the job at hand.
The bezel is so cool as it is actually very useful in being meant to be used as part of a powerful compass feature to help navigate when out and about adventuring all over the place.
Also included UV indicator, thermometer and various phone and message notifications amongst other useful features.
image from www.techradar.com
A very simple yet elegant looking hybrid smartwatch with limited features including step count and various discreet caller and message notifications linked to your smartphone.
Important contacts can be allocated a number to which both the dials point to with added vibration when there is are phone or message notifications.
Remarkably light and comfortable with an estimated battery life of around 6 months being a hybrid.
The Analogue hybrid smartwatch comes in two versions, one with a dark brown leather strap and a dark blue face and the other a titanium link-style strap with greyish colour dial.
image from www.techradar.com
The new Mondaine Helvetica hybrid smartwatch for 2018 boasts a two year battery life and the watch face dial based on the Helvetica regular font. Very slim and comfortable at 40 mm with ingenious letter notification system on the face dial and discreetly buzzes to help decode what type of alert has been received.
image from www.wareable.com
Only a couple of years ago the smart money was on Apple killing off the Swiss watch industry with the smart watch. Not to say that the Apple Watch has been a success which it has but it hasn’t been the industry defining device that many had imagined it would be.
The reason that some may declare that the smartwatch revolution is over has been nicley articulated by Huawei CEO Eric Xu Zhijun. He said despite making smart phones and smart watches “I am always confused as to what smartwatches are for when we have smartphones.”
Many see wearing the smartwatch which are by default connected to the smartphone unattractive as they only duplicate what is already on the phone. Eric Xu Zhijun goes further to state that he wouldn’t wear a smartwatch, even though his company makes them.
The Apple Watch 2 incorporated fitness tracking functionalities into the watch signalling to traditional Swiss and Japanese watchmakers that the time was right to jump in with both feet in order to create the hybrid smartwatches niche.
In considering what needs potential smartwatch users may have electronics firms like Samsung and Huawei have released their own smartwatches recently in response to the threat of Apple cleaning up the market as they did with the iPhone, iPad and iPod.
In conclusion as the initial excitement of smartwatches allowing all that technology onto your wrist has settled down we await that revolutionary and unique functionality to encapsulate the masses in an embrace which is taken up and takes off like a rocket differentiating itself from the smartphone as it is today.
Maybe this could be in the form of a smartwatch and smart glasses interacting with each other with bluetooth iris command technology.
Or rather would there be any need of the smartwatch if all could be incorporated into such smart glasses with all kinds of 3D augmented, virtual and god knows what else realities!
Until then keep an eye on www.ispebbleshipping.com for the next generation of solutions.


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Cross-border shopping once offered a multitude of thrills for Canadians: trawling for brand names at Macy’s, ogling cheap-chic houseware at Target, bargain hunting for factory discounts at a massive Tanger Outlet mall. But one by one, American brands that once seemed so exotic to Canadian shoppers have migrated north. Victoria’s Secret and Crate and Barrel — both former pilgrimage destinations — opened flashy flagship stores in Canadian malls in recent years. The pace accelerated this year as TJX Cos., which owns the discount clothing store Marshalls, moved north, and Tanger announced its northern plans. The deal that quickened Canadian shoppers’ hearts was Target’s purchase of Zellers stores in Canada.
U.S. chains move to Canada for a dose of northern retail therapy
- By: Emily Senger
- From: Business without Borders
- Date: Thursday August 4th, 2011
Read more about this source on: Business without Borders


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Christine Stoffel-Moffet envisioned a different type of Nascar when she became the sport’s head of enterprise technology a year ago.
She wanted the sport’s partners, which already had a strong history of working together, to increase business-to-business relationships. But in order to do it, she wanted to come up with a unique program that no other sport offers.
“I developed the idea from the company I had been running for the last seven years,” Stoffel-Moffet, who ran Sports & Entertainment Alliance in Technology (SEAT).
Stoffel-Moffet founded SEAT and served as its CEO until last year, when she had an opportunity she couldn’t turn down from Nascar. Her relationships with tech CEOs, plus the ones Nascar already developed, combined for a core proud of 30 brands that seldom had an opportunity to work together.
So Stoffel-Moffet created a new Nascar-centered community for the tech industry called the Nascar Technology Partner Platform. To kick off the program, 28 technology companies attended the platform’s inaugural event at Daytona International Speedway during the Coke Zero Sugar 400 race weekend.
“It revolves around how we can leverage technology in the industry moving forward,” she said. “It evolved organically from what I built in a global platform and, now, I’m bringing something unique to Nascar.
“We were looking at different technologies and how to evolve our sport. We have to evolve the racing industry and take it to a whole new level of success.”
Last year, during the Covid-19 lockdown and the months after, Nascar began the process of handpicking brands that it believed could play a large role in the sport’s future.
Existing partners Comcast, Verizon and Amazon Web Services topped the list, but new companies like HGC Technologies, Okta, Auth0 and Extreme Networks were also identified as possible companies that could align with Nascar.
“Our mission statement is to be looked upon as the most inspiring, future forward, innovative and technology-advanced organization across the sports-entertainment industry,” Stoffel-Moffet said. “The pandemic created opportunity if you look at the negative things in a positive way.”
At Daytona, the 28 tech companies were joined by 11 sports entertainment organizations. The program enabled Nascar to share ideas and listen to new ones from its partners about topics like ticketing, expanding at-track wifi and more.
Stoffel-Moffet’s team took the participants on a tour around Daytona, a 2.5-mile facility. They were shown what the elaborate fan experience is like at Nascar races, and it enabled them to quickly understand how each individual brand could play a part in Nascar’s future.
“It was an explosive opporunity,” Stoffel-Moffet said.
Nascar wants to create a community of sports entities with tech companies — both large and small — to bring the industry a new experience. The new program will help Nascar take more risks when it comes to developing new technology that different groups in the sport can use, whether it be teams, drivers, fans or television partners.
“We want to bring people together so we can collaborate,” she said. “We want to move the needle for sports.”


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Friday, October 2, 2009
Advertising and Graphic Design Students Visited by Saatchi & Saatchi Creative Director
On August 26, Art Institute of California – Orange County Advertising and Graphic Design students had the opportunity to meet award-winning Saatchi & Saatchi creative director, Andrew Christou. Christou’s most recent work includes the Toyota Prius campaign that can be seen in print, television, the internet and outdoors.
“I was so intrigued with the concept and execution of the Prius ad campaign that I had to find out who was responsible for its creation and how ideas like this evolve,” said Advertising and Graphic Design Academic Director Catherine Stickel. “I reached out to Andrew and he was happy to come share his expertise with our students.”
Chistou spent several hours with the students discussing his career in advertising, the clients he has worked with, and what it takes to make it in the industry. He also showed samples of work he had done with clients like Pepsi, Nike, Coca Cola and Reebok.
During the Q&A segment, he eagerly fielded questions from the students. Here are some highlights:
· It takes commitment and passion for the creative process to make it in advertising.
· Having an understanding of the importance of branding and a compelling story behind a campaign helps the consumer to connect with the product/company.
“I can’t wait to see what Andrew and his team come up with next," Stickel said. "The students and I will be happy to welcome him back next year.”


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Enter Metro Bank, which became the first new high-street bank in more than 150 years when its first branch opened in London less than a year ago.
Until its debut, switching from the big banks was not an option as HSBC, Lloyds, Santander, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays, along with the Nationwide building society, had the market pretty much sewn up.
Sitting in his office in Metro’s Holborn headquarters, chairman and co-founder Anthony Thomson, is very happy with the bank’s progress. When it first launched, many industry observers jumped on the fact that Metro welcomed dogs into its branches with bowls of water and biscuits.
To Thomson, the bank’s welcoming attitude towards dogs is just one of a number of differences between Metro and other banks, differences that he says have helped the new lender grow much faster than expected.
“We’ve had people say ‘I’ve opened an account because you’ve let me bring Fluffy in here’. It’s just one of the hundreds of things we do that makes a difference,” he says.
“The fact we can print you a credit or debit card in 90 seconds, open you an account in 20 minutes, we have loos in the stores, safety deposit boxes and local lenders making local decisions, there are a hundred things that make a difference. The dogs is just a fun little one.”
Metro has struck a chord with the public, if its rapid growth is anything to go by. Thomson says Metro originally anticipated having four branches, or stores as they are called, open by the end of year one.
Now just a few weeks away from its first anniversary, Metro has eight branches and more than 15,000 accounts, including 1,000 accounts from small to medium-sized businesses.
According to Thomson, the fact that businesses deal with a locally-based lending officer has proven to be very popular with its commercial banking clients. “It staggers me how little service businesses have had to put up with, and by giving them service how happy it makes them,” he says. “Our experience of dealing with small and medium enterprises is that they want somebody they can just talk to about their business — a human being who knows them.”
The day-to-day demands of running a fast-growing bank has left Thomson with limited time for outside pursuits. He is one of the founders of MoneySpinners, a group of senior financial services industry executives who take part in charity bike rides to raise money for worthwhile causes.
Turning back to Metro, Thomson says the bank cannot grow any faster due to the time and effort it takes to train new staff, as well as the practical issues of finding and fitting out new branches.
The aim is to get Metro to between 200 and 250 branches by 2020, some of them outside London. Places such as Guildford and Brighton could be on the horizon for the fledgling bank. In the meantime, there is plenty of work for Thomson and Co to get on with.


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Beliefs, Perceptions and Reality-Semiconductor Capital Equipment
Years ago, within the semiconductor industry, there was a strategy that merging companies would result in a reduction in the historic overcapacity issue. This trend certainly developed as Texas Instruments sold its DRAM capability to Micron and Hyundai and LG merged their operations. Small players would be wiped out or have to find niches to survive.
Last month, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported that global sales of semiconductors grew last year by 3.2%. It really is an amazing figure given the fact that cell phone unit shipments grew 20%, that laptops grew 32.2%, that LCD TVs grew 50%, and consumer appetite for electronics seems unabated globally.
Total bit shipments for DRAMs nearly doubled in 2007, but total revenues declined by 7.4 percent due to a decline of more than 39 percent in ASPs. NAND flash revenues were up 26 percent but unit shipments grew even faster at nearly 46 percent, while ASPs declined by 13.7 percent.
Increased concentration in the industry simply has fanned the flames of competition and price cutting rather than quell them. To quote Steve Pelayo of HSBC who recently was interviewed in The Wall Street Transcript (subscription required):
"DRAM manufacturing has been in a state of oversupply, which resulted in greater than 75% average selling price (ASP) declines last year. As a result of the significant ASP pressure, many DRAM players today are now reporting operating margins that are significantly in the red, as much as negative 50% operating margins. So clearly too much excess supply in DRAMs and a lack of profitability is causing a massive contraction in their capital spending plans this year."
Post tech bubble, semiconductor capital spending did a face plant, down 40% in 2001 and another 30% in 2002. The equipment companies responded by diversifying their revenue sources into other segments such as solar equipment and flat panel displays. In past cycles, whenever semiconductor demand slowed or caught a sniffle, pneumonia ensued for their capital equipment suppliers. This time may be different!
Growth has slowed but in fact these businesses have improved. Let's look at the capital intensity of some of the semiconductor companies versus that of their equipment suppliers:
Capital spending as a percentage of revenues (TTM)
Micron (MU) 59.3 %
Intel (INTC) 11.25 %
Advanced Micro (AMD) 24.75 %
Applied Materials(AMAT) 5.08 %
ASML Holding (ASML) 7.46 %
KLA-Tencor (KLAC) 5.09 %
Novellus (NVLS) 2.12 %
With this lower fixed cost intensity, equipment companies should not see their margins crater and improved what Pelayo calls their "cyclical resiliency."
All of the semiconductor capital equipment companies I have cited above generated free cash flow in the last twelve months. Pelayo adds:
"The cash flow generation capabilities have proven much more improved too, with some consistently generating 20% plus returns on operating cash flow, and in some cases similar returns even on a free cash flow basis (including cash outlays for capital spending). All of this positive cash flow just continues to add to the companies' treasure chests of cash, which has resulted in many of the larger players starting to pay dividends and buy back stock. The dividend yields are still less than 2% or so, but I think they have the opportunity to increase over time. So far, equipment suppliers have been really focused on buying back their stocks. Companies like Applied Materials have bought back a tremendous amount and decreased their shares outstanding by as much as 15% or so."
The solar opportunity for these suppliers seems to receive very little attention by investors. Solar manufacturing has many similarities to semiconductor production and presumably, can provide significant fewer growth for these companies. As I suggest earlier, getting knocked down, getting beaten up by too high a reliance on traditional customers helped the semiconductor capital equipment companies approach other niches. Changing course and changing the rules of the game has made them better businesses.
Disclaimer: Neither I, my family, or clients have a position in the securities mentioned in this post with the exception of Intel.


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Leading brand Splash Fashion located at Viviana Mall is coming up with a Midnight Shopping Marathon – one of its kind 24 hour midnight fashion sale of flat 60 per cent.
Midnight Shopping Marathon will happen on December 3, 2017 from midnight 00:01 am to 11:59 pm. The retail fashion brand is offering flat 60 per cent off on all of their merchandise.
It’s a good news for night wanderers, late night movie goers or people going to mall for late night dinner who feel like shopping late in the night. They can simply enjoy the retail therapy by picking up their favourite clothing merchandise during midnight hours.
One can opt for pre-registration to skip the queue for the all day and all night sale at Viviana Mall. The fashion store brand is also offering free gifts for the first 200 customers in queue. It’s a concept which offers shoppers convenience to shop at any time of the day.


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The overuse of agro chemicals as well as using untrained hands to administer such chemicals on farmlands has been identified as a great bane to agricultural productivity, inflicting toxicity on the farmland and resulting in inadequate yields and climate-related effects.
Meanwhile, Agriculture has been said to be the mainstay of the Ghanaian economy and employs over 70% of the population, and is a significant contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Mr. William Darko, the Coordinator of Africa Needs International – a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has advocated for strict compliance to the Pesticides and Fertiliser Act (Act 803) to streamline the activities of Agro-chemical dealers and users to safeguard the health of consumers, sustain the labour force of the country and food security, and mitigate climate change effects.
The research and advocacy work is financed by the BUSAC Fund.
Pesticides and fertilisers are major inputs that account for increasing crop yields and farm profits, and the Food and Agricultural Organisation report (2015) estimated that between 20% and 40% of global crop yields are reduced each year due to the damage wrought by pests – hence the increasing demand for the commodities.
The projection made by FAO (2015) also shows that global fertiliser use is likely to rise above 200.5 million metric tonnes due to growing demands for food production because of the population explosion.
Mr. Darko said the importance of pesticides and fertilisers could not be overemphasised in farming, but the proliferation of agro-inputs outlets within all farming communities without requisite skills on mode of application has become a danger to human lives and water resources, a situation that needs to be averted.
He said the imminent danger is the use of unskilled shop attendants with no basic knowledge of calibration and usage of agrochemicals, with most of them being unlicenced.
There are about 700 rural retailers of fertilisers spread throughout Ghana.
He indicated that a research document from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC) stipulated that 80% of agricultural inputs dealers sell fertilisers, 91% sell crop protection chemicals, and 51% sell seeds.
Mr. Darko mentioned these data consolidate the fact that pesticides and fertilisers are sold by all retail outlets, hence frantic efforts must be made to regulate the activities of dealers, retailers, and users at large.
Citing examples of abuse, he mentioned an incident in the early part of 2018 when four people died from residual contamination of agrochemicals at ‘Dua da so’ – a farming community at Akyemansa district – with several people treated and discharged from hospital.
In Accra, in the same year, three children died when their parents sprayed their room with agro-pesticide: “This gives a clear picture of the magnitude of the problem, and the extent to which it affects productivity and threatens lives if its sales are not properly regulated”.
Mr. Darko mentioned that continuous pollution of the environment through pesticides and fertiliser-use and disposal can adversely affect the climate, create environmental hazards, cause pollution of water-bodies and pose food insecurity problems for the country.
He therefore called on the Pesticide and Fertiliser Regulatory Division (PFRD) – the legally mandated entity – to act promptly on the matter to avoid the growing lapses in the agricultural sector.
The Act 2010 (Act 803) enjoins the PERD to supervise and train regulatory inspectors, register and train pesticide and fertiliser dealers, take records and statistics of pesticides and fertilisers, and manage pesticide and fertiliser stocks in the country.
They are also to supervise bio-efficacy trials on pesticides and fertilisers by research institutions, and to remove obsolete and unwanted agro-chemicals from the market.
The Coordinator said: “It appears they are not working to the expectation of farmers and consumers, as many fertiliser and pesticide dealers continue to do their own thing without any punitive measures”.
Meanwhile, the Act suggests a four-year jail term for people who fall foul of the law.
The lack of control and monitoring has resulted in either over-utilization or under-utilization of the chemicals – resulting in crop failure, contamination of food crops, and food poisoning of consumers.


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The Bank of Zambia’s Payment Systems Department made a notable appearance at this year’s Africa Fintech Summit, where they underscored the importance of Fintech innovation in driving financial inclusion and economic growth.
The event gathered esteemed stakeholders, including senior government officials, to discuss the evolving landscape of financial technology and its impact on the country’s financial sector.
The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Zambia began his address by expressing gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the summit and acknowledged the significance of the event in fostering dialogue on the utilization of technology in providing financial services.
In his speech, he emphasized how Fintech has revolutionized daily life, bringing increased efficiency to the financial sector, introducing targeted products and services, and broadening financial inclusion. The integration of modern technologies has contributed to productivity gains and overall economic growth.
The Deputy Governor went on to explain that while the financial industry has witnessed substantial growth due to Fintech innovations, it has also experienced disruptions that have positively affected the sector.
Fintech companies, often viewed as competitors by traditional financial institutions, have evolved into strategic partners. This shift in perception has led to the development of collaborations between traditional banks and Fintech companies, fostering a dynamic and innovative ecosystem.
The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated the adoption of digital financial services as a response to the challenges posed by the crisis. The speed, efficiency, convenience, and cost-effectiveness of digital financial services have made them the preferred choice for both consumers and service providers.
The Deputy Governor emphasized the need for regulators to balance efficiency with stability and security. While financial innovation brings immense benefits, it also introduces risks related to cyberattacks, money laundering, and terrorism financing. Regulatory frameworks are crucial to ensure data integrity and the security of financial systems.
The Deputy Governor discussed the Bank of Zambia’s strategic objectives, with a strong focus on digital financial services. Several initiatives were highlighted, including the adoption of the ISO 20022 messaging standard in the Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) and the introduction of a Regulatory Sandbox to support innovation.
He also discussed the National Financial Switch (NFS), which has enabled instant payment transactions and merchant payment products, driving interoperability and convenience for customers. The Bank’s efforts to promote digital financial services through campaigns like ‘Go Cashless’ were highlighted.
The Deputy Governor outlined future initiatives to enhance financial innovation in Zambia. These include the development of Centralized Know Your Customer (KYC) systems to facilitate digital onboarding, ensuring a 24/7 digital economy, and promoting merchant acceptance of digital financial services.
While considerable progress has been made, the Deputy Governor acknowledged the challenges that need to be addressed. These challenges include cybersecurity and fraud, low levels of financial and digital literacy, and inadequate ICT infrastructure in rural areas.
In conclusion, the Deputy Governor emphasized the Bank of Zambia’s commitment to supporting an innovative financial sector and driving financial inclusion.
He said that the central bank seeks to create an environment that fosters innovation, safeguards consumers, and enables secure and seamless financial transactions, ultimately contributing to a more inclusive and sustainable financial future for Zambia.
The Bank of Zambia’s active participation in the Africa Fintech Summit highlights the central role of Fintech in shaping the future of financial services in the country.


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Apple released the latest update to its iOS software for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad to fix bugs and repair security issues. The iOS 5.1.1 addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks and fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances, as well as security issues concerning Apple’s Safari browser. The update can be downloaded via Apples Website, iTunes or over the air on compatible devices, and takes up about 50MB of space on the device.
The update also contained a camera improvement, boosting the reliability of using the high dynamic range, or HDR, option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut, and fixes an issue where the “unable to purchase” alert could be displayed after a successful purchase. In addition to the bug fixes, the update also patches some serious security vulnerabilities, including a number of patches in the WebKit rendering engine, such as a memory-corruption issue. The patch also fixed a security issue in Safari, which uses WebKit.
In a recent interview with Computer Business Review, Kaspersky Labs founder Eugene Kaspersky said Apple is at least a decade behind Microsoft when it comes to dealing with malware attacks and security, and pointed to the recent Flashback attack on Macs as evidence of the problems facing the company. Kaspersky said that as Apple systems become more popular with consumers and businesses alike, the company will draw more attention from cyber-criminals, and the attacks will become more sophisticated, as was seen with Flashback.
As Apple sells ever more of its popular portable products, iOS is now found in 30 percent of the smartphone market, second only to Googles open-source Android operating system, according to a recent report from the comScore MobiLens service. Much of iOS’s strength rests in the third-party developer community, which has filled the App Store with more than 550,000 products over the past few years. The mobile operating system’s evolutionary drive also comes from thousands of customers demanding all-new features, such as multitasking.
Meanwhile, Apple is likely to showcase the latest version of its OS for its desktops and notebooks at the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June in San Francisco, as well as host development sessions for iOS. At WWDC, developers will be able to explore the latest innovations, features and capabilities of iOS and OS X “Mountain Lion” and learn how to enhance the functionality, performance, quality and design of their apps. Developers can also bring their code to the labs and work with Apple engineers, applying development techniques and best practices to enhance their apps.


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Buy Aditya Birla Capital Ltd. at a price target of Rs 230.0 .
The Aditya Birla Group-owned firm will offer Rs 7,200 crore for Binani even as the bankrupt firm's committee of creditors approved Dalmia-consortium’s plan.
Lenders went with Dalmia-led consortium's bid as it fulfilled all conditions including an approval from the CCI for the acquisition of Binani Cement.
Dalmia has offered Rs 6,700 crore for the 6.25 million tonne cement maker which includes Rs 6,313 crore in dues to lenders and another Rs 400 crore capital infusion for running the company.
Earlier, FPI limit in the company was 30 per cent.
"Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd has commenced operations as a payments bank with effect from February 22, 2018," Reserve Bank said in a release.
Mahindra is already working on four new SUVs - Mahindra U321 MPV, Mahindra S201, Mahindra KUV100 electric and Mahindra Rexton G4 SUV - which are scheduled to be launched this year or next.
The share sale is part of Idea’s stated plans to raise Rs 6,750 crore to cut debt and free up cash ahead of its upcoming merger with Vodafone India.
Grasim is the only producer of the fibre in the country. The company already has expansion projects worth Rs 2,900 crore in process for both its VSF and chemicals businesses.
A total of 481 offers were made by 131 firms of which nearly 50 per cent were from the consulting and finance sectors, the release said.
During the quarter net profit at was at Rs 216.83 crore as compared to Rs 176.19 crore in the corresponding period last year.
Mothercare is the latest brand after Mango, Forever 21 and Sephora, among other global labels, to change hands from DLF Brands.
The only slight negative is when you put the extra 10% on the customs duty, some of our input costs will go up. But we should be able to manage with the price of aluminium and copper.
Karnataka is the first state in the country to introduce a comprehensive and well-designed Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy 2017
The proposal is to mine limestone in a lease area of 632 hectare with production capacity of 2.07 million tonne per annum (TPA).
The greenfield project which is expected to get commissioned by 2020 will have a capacity of 200,000 metric tons and will include heat treatment and pre-treatment lines that prepare aluminium for vehicle parts.
The fund is undergoing a transformation, taking on a more focused approach instead of a diversified startegy but will remain a large-cap offering.
In its proposal, the Aditya Birla Group firm has said the proposed expansion in VSF production capacity will cater the increased demand of man-made fibres in the country.
Pantaloons looks to refresh its branding and marketing strategy in the face of unabated competition from cash-rich online marketplaces and offline value fashion retailers.
Pepe Jeans has an existing joint venture with Aditya Birla Group for retailing the Hackett brand of premium clothing in India.
A fund sponsored by Dutch lender Rabobank has bought out Aditya Birla Private Equity's stake in restaurateur A D Singh-promoted Olive Bar and Kitchen for an undisclosed sum.
Extra security is being provided to company officials ‘so that nothing untoward happens to them outside the factory premises’, company officials added.
When TOI reached out to Hudson’s Bay Company, a spokesperson said, “We do not comment on rumours and speculations.”
Co to focus on SME and consumer durables sectors; to beef up its online digital capability
During 2016-17 the group sales constituted 80 per cent premium income and retail the balance 20 per cent.
Sensex rose 91 points to settle at 33,679 while Nifty50 index closed 41 points higher.
Following the development, the stock fell 1.68 per cent to hit a low of Rs 79 on BSE.
Tune in now for all the market news, views and cues.
Here is a list of top stocks that are likely to be in focus in today's trading session.
The Nifty50 formed a 'Doji' pattern for the third consecutive session on Thursday.
Sebi conducted an inspection of books and records of the broker from April 2010 to August 2011.
The acquisition, whose size was not disclosed, would make the Donear Group the largest branded menswear fabric manufacturer, the company said in a statement.
Sweden is investing heavily in developing textiles made from sustainable raw materials as it seeks to support a globally successful textile industry.
For the first half of FY18, Arvind's sales grew by 15 per cent to Rs 5,103 crore.
The potential deal pegs the value of the loss-making grocery retail business at Rs 5,000 crore, said people familiar with the talks.
While Goldman Sachs made the highest number of offers in finance, the Boston Consulting Group was the top recruiter in consulting in terms of hiring number of students, it said.
A second batch of claims, totalling about Rs 2,000 core, for alleged violations of air and water pollution acts, forest act, and for exceeding mining plans have also been issued.
ABFRL's total income stood at Rs 1,811 crore during the quarter under review, down marginally.
The retail arm of the Aditya Birla Group posted Rs 4,194 crore in sales for the year ended March 2017, while net loss narrowed to Rs 644 crore.
Net profit decline by 31% from Rs 614 crore last year to Rs 423 crore this year in the same quarter.


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Both Samsung and LG kicked off CES 2023 with announcements about their concept of foldable displays, many of which come in tablet-sized form factors. The star of the show was Samsung’s Flex Hybrid, a concept you have to see to fully understand.
It closes like a notebook and opens to reveal a tablet-like screen. But the real wow factor is that you can expand the screen size and even change its aspect ratio when unfolded. The right side of the screen slides out, extending the display size from 10.5 inches to 12.4 inches. During a demonstration at its booth at CES, Samsung showed how the display automatically adjusts to show more content when the screen is extended.
It’s not the first time that Samsung has presented concepts like this. In 2022, Samsung showed accordion-shaped screens and sliding screens, designs also present this year.
Samsung also has other ideas for transforming tablets. Samsung also showed off the Flex Slidable Duet concept at CES, a screen that extends to both sides to provide more viewing area for playing games or watching movies. The screen measures 13 to 14 inches but can expand up to 17.3 inches, according to a press release from Samsung. There’s also a version of this concept that can only extend its screen in one direction, a device Samsung aptly calls the Flex Slidable Solo.
LG had two main foldable tablet concepts to showcase at CES: an 8-inch tablet that can fold inward and outward in both directions, and a 17-inch device that folds in half. LG claims the 17-inch screen is almost entirely wrinkle-free, and the company positions it as either a giant tablet or a more portable external monitor for a laptop.
The gadgets presented at CES are far from the first foldable tablets. There’s Lenovo’s X1 Fold and the newer ThinkPad X1 Fold, while Asus has the Zenbook Fold OLED. LG’s 17-inch concept largely seems to be trying to achieve the same goal that Lenovo and Asus have already started exploring with these devices.


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Nice try, Burger King Worldwide (NYSE:BKW). It was a good attempt, but the home of the Whopper is essentially giving up on its lower-fat, lower-calorie French fries called Satisfries, except in a minority of locations.
While I've been a big supporter of the company's moves over the past year, this one seemed silly, and Burger King should have seen the failure of its diet fries coming, had it learned any lessons from archrival McDonald's (NYSE:MCD). The replacement product, the Chicken Fries, seems like a wiser idea.
The King is where it's at
It seems as if ever since the anti-McDonald's documentary Super Size Me came out, McDonald's has made one misstep after another in a bid to shy away from a junk-food image.
The executives did away with the super-size option, stopped promoting the signature Big Mac, pushed salads and apple slices, and left us feeling guilty for wanting to indulge in a greasy burger and fries once in a while.
That strategy doesn't seem to work. McDonald's domestic same-store sales growth has gone from anemic to negative. When will McDonald's wake up and smell its own sugar-saturated coffee? We go to McDonald's and Burger King for fast junk food. We know it isn't healthy, and most of us don't care.
Burger King seized the opportunity successfully in some areas while dropping the ball on the diet French fries. While McDonald's left its guard down on its Big Mac, Burger King moved in with its very similar Big King sandwich.
Same-store sales growth for McDonald's in the U.S. went from 0.7% in the third quarter last year to -1.4%, -1.7%, and -1.5% in the past three most recent quarters. For Burger King it was almost the opposite.
Burger King saw domestic same-store sales growth in the third quarter of -0.3%, and from there things turned positive. The past three quarters show domestic same-store sales growth of 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.4%. True, this growth is nothing to write home about, but it certainly beats the declines McDonald's experienced during the same time.
Go big or go home
Burger King credited the turnaround to the growth and success of its Big King sandwich, among other things, and there is certainly nothing that says "diet" about that sandwich.
Burger King increased the size of the beef in the Big King to 25% bigger than the Big Mac and flaunted this fact in its advertising, with the tag line "Size matters." Consumers are lovin' it -- fat, calories, and all.
Maybe Burger King would have posted domestic growth numbers that really were worth writing home about if only it hadn't launched those out-of-place diet Satisfries to go with the extra big zillion-calorie Big King that people love.
Burger King does say it sold the Satisfries to 100 million people, but it doesn't disclose how many of those were people just giving them a try, like me, and never ordering them again. Apparently the feedback or repeat orders weren't impressive enough to keep Satisfries on the menu.
You can probably bet that more than 100 million tried McDonald's failed Mighty Wings, too, or even its failed McPizza from back in the day. The challenge is getting them to like new items and return for them again.
Another problem with diet fries is they still aren't exactly health food anyway. Regular Burger King Fries have 340 calories and 15 grams of fat. Satisfries have 270 calories and 11 grams of fat. That's not a big enough difference for consumers to sacrifice taste.
I'll add that, for the most part, most people don't even enter a McDonald's or a Burger King in the first place if they're worried about their diets. A tiny drop in calories and fat isn't going to be a game-changer. What was Burger King thinking?
Going chicken and going full flavor
At the same time Burger King is pulling its Satisfries at most locations, its Chicken Fries are back with a vengeance.
Burger King says they are "back by popular demand." That ought to help. Nobody demanded the Satisfries, and apparently few people want them back, either.
According to Burger King, on Twitter alone the company had seen at times a tweet every 40 seconds demanding the company bring back Chicken Fries. And trust me -- it's not for their low-calorie, low-fat nature.
Burger King says, "Since Chicken Fries were taken off the BURGER KING menu in 2012, the ongoing guest outcries reached a point where they could no longer be ignored." Chicken Fries are really just thin chicken strips that look like potato French fries.
But they're cool, they're yummy, and they're fun to dip. They may not be as equally healthful as a heaping bowl of Brussels sprouts, but they apparently sell like hotcakes. Speaking of which, there's a reason we say that something sells "like hotcakes" instead of "like spinach and cauliflower." Junk food sells.
Foolish bottom line
If I were a betting woman, I would say you'll see a more pronounced improvement in domestic same-store sales for Burger King with this move away from Satisfries and back to chicken fries.
The company got rid of one item that isn't popular and replaced it with another item that seemed to be quite popular even before it returned to the menu. Maybe both McDonald's and Burger King will learn from their diet junk food mistakes and finally see the improving sales trends again that they so desperately desire.


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In the whole of Africa, Nigeria was ranked 7th position over the usage of point of sale (POS), form part of transaction instead of 2nd or 3rd position as I was expecting despite being the country with advanced people in ICT and with most internet users but Nigeria still came out with a shocking result.
According to the report from IndexMundi; The POS was first introduced in Nigeria about 3years ago before the neighbouring country Ghana but Nigeria makes the lowest percentage of just 21% of transaction using POS device, while Tunisia makes 79% of transaction followed by Ghana at 80% but South Africa makes the highest use of POS device at 91%. Hmm, can you see the gap?
However, the reason and cause of this low usage of POS (point of sale) in Nigeria was revealed to be the epileptic power supply, lack of trust, bad and poor network issues and poor enlightenment.
In order to cure this, there should be adequate awareness to enlighten people on the usefulness of paying with a POS and for banks to improve their POS usage security to prevent armed robbers from robbing victims who claim not to have money with them.
What do you have to say about this? Which position do you expect Nigeria to be?


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Prepare to experience a fascinating story told in a truly boring fashion. Decider
The documentary shines a light on the first women who ever trained for space travel – and because of their gender, never got to go.
BlackBerry’s early launch of the new BlackBerry Mercury Android smartphone will give the product a bit of a head start against its competitors. Enstarz :


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Drivers using Android Auto can ask Google Assistant to pay for the fuel at tens of thousands of gas stations..
Tag Archives: Android Auto
Amazon AlexaApple SiriAutomotiveCerenceGoogle AssistantMarket DataSoundHoundVoice AssistantVoicebot Research
In-Car Voice Assistant Users 127 Million in the U.S. with Strong Adoption in the UK and Germany as Well – New Report
Voicebot published the In-Car Voice Assistant Consumer Adoption Report 2021 this morning. The report reflects the third-year Voicebot has published..
Google is bringing voice games to Android Auto, playable by request to Google Assistant. The games are part of the..
Google has updated Android Auto with new and returning Google Assistant features. Drivers can now add custom shortcuts for Google..
Google has begun previewing Google Assistant Driving Mode, a comprehensive reworking of Android Auto on smartphones. Google originally said Driving..
Harley-Davidson motorcycles will be the first two-wheel vehicles to offer Android Auto. The Touring, CVO, and Trike models will start..
U.S. In-car Voice Assistant Users Rise 13.7% to Nearly 130 Million, Have Significantly Higher Consumer Reach Than Smart Speakers – New Report
Total in-car voice assistant users in the U.S. is almost 130 million with 83.8 million active monthly This total reflects..


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Jessica Simpson’s Billion Dollar Success StoryDead celebrity fashion brands litter the retail marketplace, but one brand that is raking in a billion annually is Jessica Simpson’s line. From David Hasselhoff’s Malibu Dave, Mandy Moore’s Mblem and Heidi Montag’s Heidiwood, the list of worthless famous name brands are off the charts. Jessica’s line, however, hasn’t faltered and has bloomed into a successful empire in the past decade.
What makes Jessica’s brand so attractive? There is something for everybody, regardless of size or age. “I have been every size on the planet, and I understand—I feel like I understand women,” Simpson said at Forbes’s annual Power Women’s Summit in 2014. “I know there’s all different kinds, you know. There’s life and a whole entire world beyond L.A. and New York. And I do understand the Middle America, and their mindset.”
Very few celebrities have been able to make the big jump into fashion, and the names are few and far between. Among the few success stories include Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen’s business empire, which includes popular mid market line Elizabeth and James whose estimated value is at a billion dollars while Ivanka Trump’s label sweeps in about $250 million in annual sales.
Jessica is looking to expand her business by teaming up with Sequential Brands Group, according to WWD. Jessica previously worked closely with Vince Camuto, until he passed away earlier this year.


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Osram’s booth design this year was similar to Light + Building 2012, where the company had two separate booths, observed Roger Chu, Director, Research, LEDinside. The separate booths highlighted lighting applications and advanced lighting technology at this year’s show, which will run from March 31 to April 4, 2014 at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Center in Germany.
Osram Lightify wireless lighting system
Osram displayed a smart lighting system Lightify at the Frankfurt lighting show. Similar to other smart lighting systems on the market, the product integrates mobile device interfaces with WLAN. By using a Gateway coupled with wireless technology Zigbee, a bridge of communication and transmission is established between the device and luminaire. A single Gateway currently can control 50 luminaires.
Highly efficient 215 lm/W T8 LED tubes
Through this 215 lm/W T8 LED tube model, Osram showed off its technological strengths in LED manufacturing. By mixing more than two LED color chips including red and green whitish chips with an in-house developed phosphor, the LED tube can achieve color temperatures of 3,000K, luminous flux of 3,000 lumens, while keeping a power consumption of only 18W.
Flexible LED luminaires
It appears flexible luminaires will no longer be solely an OLED trademark. Osram’s display of flexible LED luminaires show even LEDs can bend it like Beckham. The German manufacturer’s flexible LED luminaires uses a different approach from conventional manufacturing where LED and light guide technology is required. Osram simplified the manufacturing process with flexible LED strips, which also can lower costs significantly. The flexible LED luminaire design from a single LED strip shown also offers better design quality.
Advanced automotive lighting technology
Osram’s strength has always been in automotive lighting. The company displayed laser headlamps for advanced automotive lighting technology. The laser headlamps enables farther lighting range and are already being applied in BMW i8 (see left photo). In addition, Osram has also launched a OLED rear lights that consists of OLED panels.. Although, the OLED automotive lighting is still at the R&D stage, the company estimates the product will be officially launched in 2016 (see right photo).


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The event, at Saii Laguna Phuket, began on Tuesday (Sept 13) with talks held between the participating nations throughout the week.
Joining the event today were Indonesian Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita and Dato Sri Mustapa Bin Mohamed, Minister to the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Office.
Also present were Ahmed M Saeed, Vice President of the Asian Development Bank; Chze Cheen Lim, Director of the ASEAN Connectivity Division at the ASEAN Secretariat Office; and Danucha Pichayanan, Secretary-General of the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDB) in Thailand.
Mr Arkhom praised the progress made during the international economic conference “to develop a sharp edge network to connect seamlessly., improve rules to support each other, take into account environmental sustainability and upgrading the potential of workers, which is an important factor in the development of the sub-region”.
The Finance Minister highlighted six main takeaways from the week-long conference.
Under the Physical Connectivity Projects (PCPs), 36 projects with a total value of over US$57 billion (approximately B2.1 trillion) were agreed to, including construction of a road linking the Sadao and Bukit Kayuhitam with a customs checkpoint; construction of the second Kolok River Bridge (Su-ngai Kolok-Rantao Panyang) and a new bridge between Tak Bai and Bangalan Kubo; and improving the motorway from Hat Yai to Sadao.
Other projects discussed included Phuket Airport Development Phase 2 and the construction of the double-track railway from Hat Yai to Padang Besar.
The three countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on rubber industry cooperation. For decades, Thailand has been the world’s biggest producer of rubber, growing 35% of the world’s natural rubber supply in 2019. Malaysia and Indonesia are both also vital producers of rubber on the global market.
The MoU was to jointly formulate policies and strategic directions in driving the tyre industry, to strengthen the value chain of the rubber industry and to strengthen the capacity of the rubber production among the three countries.
“Thailand’s interests in holding this meeting are to facilitate private investors to invest in the rubber, palm oil and halal food industries. The Memorandum of Understanding on the Rubber City Project and the Rubber Industry Cooperation in the IMT-GT sub-region will result in facilitating business operations. and distribution of income to rubber farmers,” Mr Arkhom noted.
The IMT-GT event this week also saw India become the first country outside the tripartite to join the IMT-GT Development Partnership. The three countries will jointly formulate an action plan with India on key goals based on specialised knowledge.
“The MoU also aims to expand cooperation with the Asian Development Bank, the ASEAN Secretariat and other development partners to create strong economic growth of the sub-region together,” Mr Arkhom said.
The three IMT-GT program ministers also approved a five-year implementation plan for 2022-2026.
“This will be under Vision 2036, which will be the framework for the development of the IMT-GT subregion with a focus on energy and food security, digital transformation development of special economic zones, industrial development, cooperation with development partners and all sectors, sustainable tourism driven by the private sector, and balanced growth while reducing inequality and developing more efficient operating mechanisms,” Mr Arkhom explained.
“The results of the IMT-GT Business Council have supported the Instructor Training Program to elevate community tourism into the digital economy,” Mr Arkhom said.
“This is a project that benefits SME tourism entrepreneurs by using digital technology as a management aid, and will strengthen SME entrepreneurs to turn around the tourism business sector,” he said.
BEST OF THREE
Mr Arkhom called for three major developments to be driven forward to help develop the economy, as follows:
- Accelerating the development and extension of projects to support unified tourism;
- Focusing on the production of high-value agricultural and processed agricultural products such as rubber and palm oil; and
- Developing a halal certification system to be accepted by the world market.
Indonesia will host the 29th IMT-GT Ministerial Meeting, IMT-GT Roadmap and other related meetings in 2023.


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Amazon's global CEO Jeff Bezos says Amazon Prime Video is performing in India brilliantly, adding that they have decided to double down the investment for the streaming service in the country.
"It's working great. The number of hours Prime Video is watched in India in the last two years has grown by six times. Prime Video is working well all over the world, and there is no place it is doing better than in India. It's incredible," Bezos said when asked by actor Shah Rukh Khan and Zoya Akhtar about the performance of the streaming giant in India at a starry event in Mumbai.
"It's good in terms of business as well. We also like the business results because it drives people to join Prime, and once they join, they enjoy the fast shipping service, so they also buy a lot of products from us. So, it's a vehicle to make fantastic content, from the business point of view, as well. We have actually just made a decision to double down our Prime Video investments here in India," he added.
Answering SRK on what changes he has seen in India in his various visits over the years, Bezos said that he has been visiting India for 11 years.
"There are no perceptible changes of any great magnitude. I noticed there are certain things that seem to me to be the same. And I love those things, one of the things I notice every time I come here is that there's so much energy here and dynamism," he added.
From drama, crime, suspense to thriller, Amazon Prime will be coming with diverse projects this year. Filmmaker Kabir Khan's "The Forgotten Army: Azaadi Ke Liye", Abhishek Bachchan's "Breathe 2", musical "Bandish Bandits", Manoj Bajpayee's "The Family Man 2" and Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Rasika Duggal's "Mirzapur 2" are some of the projects in the pipeline.
When Shah Rukh asked Bezos when was the last time he visited a grocery store, he responded: "I visited a small 'kirana' store today. It was an incredible experience."
Bezos, who is ranked amongst top most global billionaires, was on a three-day India visit starting from Tuesday.
In a major announcement showing Amazon's support for Indian MSMEs, Bezos said that the company would invest $1 billion in digitising small and medium businesses (SMBs) on its platform in the country. He said that the 21st century will be the century of India.
"I predict that the 21st century is going to be the Indian century," he said, adding that apart from the dynamism it has, India is a democracy which is a major characteristic of the country.
Along with business, he is taking time out to explore the country. He paid homage to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat, and showed off his kite-flying skills on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
However, Bezos didn’t receive a warm welcome from the traders in the country who held nation-wide protests on January 15 when he was in Delhi. PM Narendra Modi and Piyush Goyal too, didn’t give Bezos an audience, despite seeking an appointment.
It has been speculated that both Goyal and PM Modi were not meeting Bezos not just because Amazon faces protests from traders in India, but also because the government was unhappy with the Washington Post's criticism of the government. Bezos is the main investor of Washington Post.
Making matters worse, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said Amazon was not doing a favour to the country by the investments and questioned how the online retailing major could incur such "big" losses but for its predatory pricing.


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Washington, MO, July 16, 2016 --(PR.com
)-- Hilliker Corporation, a St. Louis owned and managed commercial real estate company, recently assisted its client in contracting for the sale of two out of 12 acres.
Wortman-Fortner, LLC has placed under contract two acres at the northwest corner of Highway 100 and Huxel Dr. in Washington, Mo. The development will include a Jack Flash convenience store and gas service station, as well as the possibility of a fast food chain restaurant.
The store will be approximately 8,000-square-feet and feature 20 fueling stations by Phillips 66. It will include two automatic car wash bays, as well as four self-serve car wash bays, plus free vacuum service. CSI Construction Management of Quincy, Ill. will oversee the construction which will begin in the second quarter of 2017 and be completed approximately six months later.
James Fortner of Wortman-Fortner said this is the second project by the company, which is currently working on building a new Jack Flash store in Jefferson City, Mo. Fortner has four of his own stores in Missouri including the Liquor Cabinet in New Haven, Northside Quik Stop in Union, Quik Corner in Gerald, and Everyday Convenience in Jefferson City.
Hilliker Corporation broker Scott Martin represents the seller, River City Center. He also is handling the marketing for the sale of a 1.81 adjacent acre lot, as well as the 8.11 acres on the east side of Highway 100 and Huxel.
Hilliker Corporation, which targets regional and national entrepreneurs, is St. Louis’ largest locally owned independent commercial real estate company located at 1401 S. Brentwood Blvd. The firm’s agents, who each average over 15 years of experience, have completed more than 10,000 sales and leases for industrial, office, retail and institutional clients since its inception in 1985. For more information, contact Scott Martin at (314) 781-0001.


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Local health authorities say Tesla can begin to restart factory operations on May 18 if proper safety plans are in place
- Local health officials announced on Tuesday that
Teslacan begin to increase its activities at its Fremont, California, factory this week and may be able to restart some operations from May 18 if proper safety measures are in place and are properly enforced.
- In a statement shared on Twitter on Tuesday, the Alameda County Public Health Department said it had reviewed Tesla's
COVID-19prevention and control plan for its Fremont factory.
- Tesla has faced backlash for restarting its production in defiance of local orders. The company had filed a lawsuit against Alameda County on Saturday, arguing it should be considered essential.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Local health officials announced on Tuesday evening that Tesla's Fremont, California factory can begin to increase its activities this week and may be able to restart some operations from May 18 if proper safety measures are in place and are properly enforced.
In a statement shared on Twitter on Tuesday, the Alameda County Public Health Department said it had reviewed Tesla's COVID-19 prevention and control plan for its Fremont factory "as anticipated" as part of California Gov. Gavin Newsom's guidance for reopening the state's manufacturing businesses."We reviewed the plan and held productive discussions today with Tesla's representatives about their safety and prevention plans, including some additional safety recommendations," the department said in its statement. "If Tesla's Prevention and Control Plan includes these updates, and the public health indicators remain stable or improve, we have agreed that Tesla can begin to augment their Minimum Business Operations this week in preparation for possible reopening as soon as next week."
Under current California guidelines, only essential businesses are allowed to operate, though Newsom allowed some retail and manufacturing businesses to open last Friday.President Donald Trump supported Musk's insistence that the factory should be allowed to reopen in a tweet on Tuesday. "California should let Tesla & @elonmusk open the plant, NOW," Trump tweeted. "It can be done Fast & Safely!"
Musk acknowledged the risk of reopening against local directives on Tuesday, tweeting that "if anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me."
Internal emails seen by The Verge on Tuesday indicate that Tesla is fully reopening its Gigafactory in Nevada, where it produces batteries for its electric cars.Read the original article on Business Insider
- Adidas launches a new global series to remind its audience that impossible is nothing; features Ranveer Singh, Hima Das and Beyoncé
- Telangana government imposes night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am till April 30 in surge of COVID-19 cases in the state
- Moto G60, Moto G40 Fusion budget smartphones launched in India
- Top 10 TV advertisers during Jan-March 2021, as per TAM AdEx
- Tiger Global invests in healthcare startup Pristyn Care, valuation more than doubles in six months


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Farris Marketing Launches Social Media Tool
BOARDMAN, Ohio – The calendar year of 2022 was a “comeback” year for many clients of Farris Marketing. Revenues and resources also rebounded.
The Boardman-based marketing agency developed branding and digital strategies that helped several clients, especially those in health care, addiction treatment and public services, to expand and reach deeper into markets in and around northeastern Ohio.
Farris added more extensive tools and resources to make digital marketing services more readily available to clients.
“Clients see the advantage of digital marketing in addition to or in place of traditional media for a number of reasons,” says Makenna Ozenghar, vice president. “Cost is easy to control and the added reach and targeting capabilities are attractive to those with niche products and services.”
Farris Marketing has collected its fair share of advertising and marketing awards in Ohio. This year, however, Farris won a national award from American Public Transportation Association (APTA) on behalf of client Western Reserve Transit Authority.
APTA’s membership consists of more than 320 public transit agencies, including New York MTA, the nation’s largest transit system, as well as transportation-related businesses and organizations. The first place award in APTA’s annual competition was in the category of communications educational initiative and special event. The campaign that hauled in the win was the WRTA Holiday Lights campaign.
“The Holiday Lights campaign was created to bring awareness of local nonprofits and what they do for the community,” says CEO George Farris. “More than 30 local nonprofit organizations have been spotlighted since the program began. WRTA donates space on bus advertising, its social media posts and even TV spots to promote these unsung heroes in our Valley.”
Farris Marketing created, developed and managed the campaign, now in its third year. But Farris says it is WRTA’s leadership that deserves the credit. “WRTA’s executive director, Dean Harris, and his team do so much for the Valley, including providing 7,000 rides a day to people going to and from work – free – no fare or cost. But they didn’t hesitate to use their meager marketing budget to support the nonprofits that help Valley residents.”
One of the biggest developments in Farris Marketing in 2022 was the launch of a beta test version of BOPsocial.com. BOP was developed in response to extensive research and tracking of social media practices of smaller businesses and nonprofits.
“One Forbes article caught our eye,” says Ozenghar. “They had conducted research asking small business owners which aspects of their business they would outsource if they could. The No.1 task most would outsource were social media tasks.”
Business owners and managers would sign up on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn but then post once or twice a year. More than 70% of business owners don’t post often enough by their own standards – if at all.
“Business owners know they could generate more business if they posted relevant content more often and engaged the marketplace, but they simply don’t have time,” says Farris. “And how can they compete with businesses that have posts created by ad agencies and marketing professionals?”
Farris Marketing made it the agency’s mission to find a way to make the social media marketing process for small businesses and nonprofits easier, faster, affordable and effective. “We wanted to automate the process to whatever extent we could,” says Ozenghar. “But still generate a good response for them.”
The website is active and accepting customers. Those that fall into a new category have been offered free service to serve as beta testing subjects.
So far, the site has attracted customers as diverse as shipping and packing services, law firms, coffee shops and even funeral homes.
Businesses in new categories are automatically offered free membership for a year if they agree to give feedback on the site’s operational features,
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.


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Defying local and national trends, Wal-Mart’s critics in Raytownactually won a battle
in June to keep a proposed neighborhood grocery from coming to a large downtown parcel there.
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, large groups of Wal-Mart’s supporters and opponents in Kansas City’s Waldo area are expected to discuss whether a similar market will be built at the now-closed site of Bingham Middle School.
Just like in Raytown, Wal-Mart has made moves designed to gain approval for its project near 76th and Wyandotte streets. They include limiting the store’s hours and adding landscaping — again, as was pledged in Raytown.
Critics in Waldo remain opposed for a number of reasons, including concerns about potential increases in local traffic in nearby neighborhoods.
has tried to rally detractors in recent months, as Kansas City Public Schools officials — who own the middle school — decide what to do with it.
But it’s also fair to say that Wal-Mart has a target on its back when it comes to almost any project these days.
A certain amount of NIMBY applies to the large retailer, which has a history of winning over skeptics, at least when it comes to elected officials.
As Iwrote earlier this year
, Wal-Mart locally has prevailed in recent attempts to build supercenters in Mission (taxpayer-subsidized) and in Lee’s Summit.
The retailer promises jobs and tax dollars for the cities it develops in, which is often a winning combination.
Even in Raytown, after months of meetings and hours of testimony pitted neighbor against neighbor, the Board of Aldermen eventually approved the neighborhood market.
By then, though, Wal-Mart appeared resigned to facing more opposition, including at least one court challenge, as some some property owners fought for smaller kinds of development in downtown Raytown. The retailer decided to pull its project.
Whether that eventually happens in the Waldo area — or the grocery gets built — will be decided in the coming months.


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This year, Singapore celebrates an important milestone – its 50th birthday. As one of Asia’s Four Tigers, there will be plenty to celebrate. But along with its success in commerce and finance, the city-state also wants to build its reputation as a global design destination.
An important part of the drive behind this is Singapore Design Week (SDW). Following a successful inaugural event in 2014, SDW returned this year from 10 – 22 March at various venues in and around the Singapore Design Centre.
According to organisers the DesignSingapore Council (Dsg), the aims of SDW are simple – to bring together design communities, businesses, students and the general public to “raise awareness of good design, deepen the appreciation and understanding of design innovation and encourage the use of design for innovation and productivity.”
There was something for everyone at SDW, with over 60 events including trade shows, symposiums, exhibitions, installations, public talks and workshops. There was even a whizzy shuttle bus – Design Trails – to whisk you around the garden state’s key design destinations.
There were three main exhibitions at SDW. Fifty Years of Singapore Design celebrated local design from the past five decades. The President’s Design Awards showcased works by recipients of Singapore’s highest design accolade. And, in a particularly savvy piece of programming, SDW secured New British Inventors: Inside Heatherwick Studio.
Presented by the British Council, as part of their GREAT Britain campaign, Inside Heatherwick Studio displayed landmark projects from one of Britain’s most respected design studios whose practice spans architecture, urban infrastructure, sculpture and strategic thinking.
Some of Heatherwick’s recent triumphs include a groovy new take on the iconic London bus, the London 2012 Olympic Cauldron, the Rolling Bridge, and the Seed Cathedral – a cube made up of 60,000 linked clear acrylic rods containing 250,000 seeds from the Millennium Seed Bank. Models of the Seed Cathedral, Cauldron and Bridge were on display as part of the exhibition which will now tour to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Mumbai.
In tandem with the exhibition, the Studio opened its new Learning Hub for Nanyang Technological University.
A bit of Parisian glamour slinked into SDW, with MAISON&OBJET ASIA the high-end French interior and home-lifestyle trade show. The show is traditionally seen as ‘the’ place for industry to spot emerging trends and for up-and-coming designers to grab the attention of retailers.
The show, which was open to the public for the first time, attracted 320 brands and a swarm of international visitors and buyers. A third of the brands were from Asia and included Thai lighting label Ango, Hong Kong accessories label Makaron and Singapore tableware specialist Luzerne.
If a good yarn was more your thing, you could find it at the Singapore Design Business Summit which brought together thought leaders, experts and practitioners from Asia and Europe to discuss, share and reflect on ideas around the business of design.
One panel discussion, Designing Better Experiences, featured speakers mulling over how to consider psychology, ethnography, cross-cultural experiences and social media when transforming product and service design into experience design.
Another panel Design Thinking: Creating Impactful Products, shared eight useful tips for product developers.
One of the most popular events at SDW was SingaPlural 2015, a dedicated platform to celebrate Singapore’s talents across its creative industries – advertising, architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, interior, furniture, graphic and fashion design.
Housed in a former police station, SingaPlural was organised by the Singapore Furniture Industries Council and DesignS, a collective of eight national design associations and industries.
Now in its fourth year, this year’s theme was Process, with graphic designers, urban planners and architects demonstrating how they develop their products and ideas through talks, tours, and symposiums.
The ground floor of the building was dedicated to installations with around 45 designers displaying their work. The global travel accommodation favourite Airbnb took over the basketball court to build a replica of a Balinese house, with a display of their accommodation from four cities.
SingaPlural has expanded from its original brief to just cover furniture.
“Design comes from all areas…and we wanted to show that this year,” Mark Yong, chairman of SingaPlural, told The Straits Times.
Two slightly subtler, but no less important, highlights of SDW came in the form of Layers of Light and Co-Design for Public Value.
Layers of Light, a beautiful lighting installation by Nipek, used ‘Washi paper’ to show how light and shadow co-exist.
Co-Design for Public Value brought together public officials, academics, designers and students to explore how design can be applied to create public value. It was hosted by ThinkPlace, a design consultancy with a presence in Australia, New Zealand and, more recently, Singapore.
SDW’s strong, innovative programming proves it should be considered alongside other major international creative events such as the Venice Biennale, New York-based The Salon: Art+Design, the London Design Festival, Masterpiece London and the Milan Furniture Fair.
Singapore’s ambition to become a design destination deserves to be supported by the global design community because it is becoming a realistic place for designers to live, work and develop their practice – no mean feat in tricky economic times.
Australian designer, Jarrod Lim, who made the move in 2007, told Design Daily last year there are many opportunities for designers in Singapore.
“There are lots of small projects that you just don’t get in Australia with heaps of little bars and boutiques opening every day. These entrepreneurs are willing to use young and fairly unknown designers,” Lim said.
The Taiwanese city of Tapei was named the 2016 World Design Capital, following in the footsteps of Turin, Cape Town, Seoul and Helsinki. Judging by the energy and enthusiasm shown at SDW, Singapore may soon be snapping at their heels.


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PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi told Wall street analysts last week that the company plans to fire 100 of its 150 ad agencies and marketing services companies. The problem is that the agencies themselves won't know until this week whether they still have jobs, according to Ad Age.
It's another stunning gaffe from an embattled CEO who is struggling to convince investors that she's doing something about Pepsi's stagnant North American drinks business. Although the rest of the company is healthy — Q4 2011 sales were up 11 percent to $20 billion — sodas and such were flat at $6.3 billion.
Here's how Madison Avenue found out that 100 of their number were for the chop, per Age:
"But while PepsiCo knows the fate of its partners, it didn't plan to begin notifying agencies of their status until this week. That prompted widespread panic in adland as agencies scrambled to call brand managers. Some were told not to worry, but several others were in the dark."
"Ms. Nooyi made her remarks last week to analysts gathered in New York. She said that in the past five years, advertising and marketing spending in North America has been supporting "too many brands and was spread across too many agencies. ... So we went to work and cleaned house. We reduced agency relationships in North American beverages from 150 to about 50."
Shops on the PepsiCo roster include TBWA, BBDO and DDB; digital shops include Huge, Resource Interactive, Firstborn and VML.
The ax falls during a time of turmoil for Pepsi. At least 26 senior brand managers have left the company since 2008. The company is laying off 8,700 other staffers. And Massimo d'Amore, the former CEO of its Global Beverages Group, retired after a Pepsi rebranding that did not spur sales.
The cuts to its agency roster will be accompanied by an increase of up to $600 million in its global ad budget.


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2020 Ford Explorer St
Like the edge st the explorer st will most likely replace the sport model.
2020 ford explorer st. That new explorer st could come with upwards of 400 horsepower courtesy of a 30 liter biturbo v6 off the continental and mkz. It is likely that performance boosted model will borrow a powertrain from lincoln continental. The 2020 ford explorer st will use a different kind of a drivetrain. There will be an st version.
However the most powerful output will be under the hood of the 2020 ford explorer st. Along with a new platform the 2020 ford explorer will also get a performance oriented st model similar to the edge before it. Bigger things will apparently come next year though when the 2020 ford explorer begins production at fords chicago assembly planet. 2020 ford explorer st spy shots high performance version of the next gen explorer caught in public.
The base explorer will offer numerous drivetrain choices. The new suv should be here sometime in 2019. This new trim level is what will become of the explorer sport. The 2020 ford explorer is expected to launch in the summer of the 2019 calendar year as a 2020 model year vehicle.
Beyond 2020 we expect that 2020 model year will be the first year of production for the all new sixth generation explorer and that an all new future ford explorer will launch well into the future. Ford explorer st confirmed will be released by 2020 for better or worse the future of ford performance is in suvs. Ford hasnt said much about the new explorer but we do know one thing for sure. The 2020 ford explorer is going to be endowed with two ecoboost turbo engine options autonomous parking capabilities an st performance variant and an infotainment system run off what looks like.
The truth about cars reports that not only will the mid sized suv move to a new modular rear drive platform but itll get a hot st version to pair with the recently released edge st. Spiedbilde at a glance you could easily write this explorer st as a regular one. That is a 30 liter v 6. 2020 ford explorer st gets a 400 hp engine.


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When Apple introduced a new security feature in iOS 14, I wondered if Android users would also get a feature that reveals if their camera is spying on them. Well, there’s an app for that. Access Dots is an Android app that lets you know if any of your apps accesses your camera and microphone without your knowledge.
Google is making some changes in Android 11 that you may not like if you prefer third-party camera apps. Soon you will basically be forced to use your native camera app as default even if you’d rather choose a different one. But according to Google – it’s for your own safety.
Yongnuo seems to have a very unusual approach when it comes to cameras. They’re not the first to launch an Android-powered mirrorless camera. Samsung already did that. But their initial dip into their world of camera manufacture. Their latest camera, and probably the only one to actually be released, is the Yongnuo YN450M.
It’s an Android-powered Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera that takes regular Micro Four Thirds lenses, and it’s been teased in one form or another for the last couple of years. But this video from Linus Tech Tips appears to be the first time somebody’s actually gotten their hands on one and put it through its paces.
I don’t remember that a sunset photo has ever caused such a stir like it did earlier this month. The photo bricked phones of hundreds, if not thousands Android users who used it as a wallpaper. But it wasn’t done on purpose. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Scientist and photographer Gaurav Agrawal just wanted to capture a gorgeous last minute sunset. When he edited the photo and published it on Flickr, he didn’t even dream what mess it would cause.
Multiple Android phone users have reported that a certain photo has been making their phone to crash. Ironically, the photo is pretty calming, featuring a lake and a sunset. But when set as a phone wallpaper, it makes it go crazy with the screen constantly turning on and off.
Dark Sky is a popular weather app among astrophotographers, but it’s soon to become unavailable for Android. Apple has acquired Dark Sky and as of July this year, it will become available for iPhone users only.
So, I just read a post over on Digital Camera World stating that Samsung is reintroducing their NX mirrorless camera series. For those that hadn’t seen them, it was an Android-powered interchangeable lens mirrorless camera system that actually looked pretty good. In fact, it was probably a little ahead of its time back when they were still releasing them. Then, pretty much overnight Samsung pulled them.
Rumours of their resurrection pop up every now and again, but they invariably turn out to be false. DCW, however, seems to be reporting this latest story with some confidence, citing “reports” (that they don’t link to) claiming it will use the 108-megapixel sensor from the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Could it be happening, or is it all just an April Fool’s Joke?
Yongnuo’s YN450 was first teased at the end of 2018 and the specs were released a little while later. It was an odd, but interesting camera. An Android-powered mirrorless camera with a Micro Four Thirds sensor but, strangely, a Canon EF lens mount. Visitors to CP+ 2019 managed to see one in person early last year, and it was slated for an April release, but only in China.
Now, though, things have changed. Yongnuo has joined the Micro Four Thirds System Standard Group (MFTSSG) and it looks like they’re releasing an update to the camera that’s a little less… Frankenstein. This time, according to images leaked on Photo Rumors, the Canon EF mount appears to have been replaced by a standard Micro Four Thirds mount to match the sensor.
Moment, the company behind the Pro Camera app, has just published some bad news for its Android users. Due to inconsistency in the OS, it has become too complicated to keep developing the app so that it works on different Android phones. Therefore, Moment has decided to ditch it completely and only keep the iOS version.
There’s been constant paranoia about the cameras in smartphones for as long as smartphones have had cameras. Can somebody hack into your phone, turn on your camera and watch? Or record? Well, it turns out that yes, they can. At least, they can if you’re one of the potentially “hundreds of millions” of Android users on a Google or Samsung smartphone.
The issue was first discovered (at least, publicly) by the security research team at Checkmarx. They say that after a detailed analysis of the Google Camera app in the Pixel 3, they found a way to manipulate certain code to take control of the camera to shoot photos or record videos, even when the phone was locked with the screen off, and without the user knowing.