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Silicon Valley giant, HP, today announced that it is to purchase the ‘printer arm’ of Samsung in a deal worth $1.05 Billion.
HP Aims to Take on Multi-Billion Dollar Copier Business
Most of HP’s business is focused on selling personal computers, it is the market leader in desktop printers for both business and personal use. This is where HP obtains much of its profit. However, in recent years, the sale of printers and accessories have fallen. Xerox, the other big name in the printer business, reported a drop of 4%. Last month, HP reported that their sales for the third fiscal quarter were down 18% on the sale of ink and toner, while the sale of hardware had fallen 10%. The acquisition of Samsung’s printer business is an effort to reverse this damage.
One market which is on the up, according to Dion Wisler, the Chief Executive of HP, is the A3 printer markets. These are top business markets. Rather than try to set themselves up in business in these markets, they decided to purchase Samsung’s business. They are already well-established in these markets, which means that HP is going to have an instant foot in the door. This market is believed to have $55 billion in potential revenue. Samsung want a slice of this pie.
Deal includes patents
The deal not only involves the purchase of Samsung’s printing business, but it also includes over six thousand patents. This is incredibly valuable to Samsung. While they produce printers, they use external suppliers for their components. This adds a considerable sum of cash onto its price. Samsung, on the other hand, have the ability to manufacture their own components. This brings down the cost of manufacture. Since HP will now have far more control over the manufacture of their products, it should make it easier to produce high quality goods at a lower price point. This should make it easy to break into the market.
New Products Announced
Within hours of the announcement that a deal had been struck, HP announced the latest HP printers in their range. These printers, according to HP, are designed to ‘disrupt’ the $55 billion A3 copying business.
New products include 16 HP PageWide and LaserJet platforms. HP claim that these printers will be some of the most economical that they have ever produced on an ink purchasing level. This is going to be incredibly important as much of the copier market is driven by the cost of consumables. If HP manages to keep the price point low, they will generate a significant amount of cash.
Deal is subject to approval
The deal has not received instant approval. It will be up to regulators to approve the deal between Samsung and HP. The deal is expected to be finalized within 12 months. Upon completion of the deal, Samsung will be required to purchase somewhere between $100 million and $300 million of HP’s shares at the open-market price on the day.


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What you’re seeing everywhere, from Sephora to the drugstore, isn’t marijuana — it’s hemp, or rather a hemp-derived compound.
Other than one prescription drug product to treat rare, severe forms of epilepsy, the FDA has not approved any other CBD products, and there is very limited available information about CBD, including.
How does it actually work? To clarify assumptions, myths and marketing ploys, we’ve tapped numerous experts in the field, including dermatologists and cannabis connoisseurs, to weigh in on what we.
DENVER — A new food truck hosted its grand opening this weekend and it brings a.
“It’s a great way to test a concept. You don’t know if it’s going to work so you’d rather pay $50,000 for an old.

domain: news


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Almost three quarters planned to win new customers over the next six months, two thirds were looking to increase turnover and more than half intended to develop new products and services.
The greatest concentration of home businesses is in London, the East of England and the South East. London also leads the way with the greatest number of home business start-ups during the last year, followed by Leicester, Nottingham, Bristol and Coventry.
Although the findings painted a positive picture of the home business market, the authors said the government needs to do more to support and promoting entrepreneurs who run a company from a residential address.
In particular, the report called on ministers to instruct Regional Development Agencies to include home businesses in their economic strategies, change the planning system, encourage local authorities to invest in home business hubs and networking facilities and to give out clear information about planning permission and business rates.
Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation, itself a home-based business, said: "More home business means more dynamism in the economy, less traffic on the roads and tighter social cohesion as parents stay home to run a business and the household."


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MERIDIAN — Idaho families struggling with hunger just got a big boost from Dairy West. The organization, which represents Idaho and Utah dairy farmers, recently donated a new refrigerated truck to the Idaho Foodbank to increase the nonprofit’s ability to safely store milk and other perishable food products and deliver them to food pantries throughout the Gem State.
Adorned with a vehicle wrap that proclaims “Feeding Families — Building Healthy Communities,” the 26-foot 2020 Kenworth T370 refrigerated truck cost $115,000 and can store roughly 1,800 gallons of fresh milk.
“Dairy proteins are so critical to a nutritious diet and there is a huge demand for milk, cheese and yogurt among those we serve,” Karen Vauk, president and CEO of the Idaho Foodbank, said in a statement. “It’s easy for people to give canned and dry goods, but the perishable nature of dairy foods makes it challenging to donate. Dairy West’s generous donation of a refrigerated truck is a game-changer for the Idaho Foodbank, our partners and the families we serve.”
Meanwhile, Albertson’s customers donated $20,866.79 to benefit the Idaho Foodbank and its clients via a Moo Bucks campaign that the retailer staged with Dairy West in June. The foodbank will use the funds to purchase and distribute dairy foods to clients and give them vouchers to redeem for milk.
“On average, people served by food banks receive the equivalent of less than one gallon of milk per person per year, but you need to drink 68 gallons a year to meet the FDA’s daily recommendations,” Dairy West CEO Karianne Fallow said in a statement. “One in seven Americans relies on food banks for nutritional assistance. Here at home in one of the top agricultural-producing states in the country, more than 210,000 Idahoans — including nearly 70,000 children — are food insecure.”
Fallow says Idaho dairy farm families have worked closely with local food pantries for decades to provide their food-insecure neighbors with the nourishment they desperately need. And since 1998, Dairy West and its predecessor, United Dairymen of Idaho, have supported the Idaho Foodbank with cash contributions for A Chef’s Affaire annual gala, its backpack program providing nutritious weekend meals for kids during the school year, the Cookies from the Heart partnership with the Girl Scouts of Silver Sage, Albertson’s and other efforts.
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Are you normal, arty, or an awkward “2B” youth? A viral Internet meme on Sina Weibo in 2012, which is still making the rounds on various Chinese forums today, demonstrates amusing visual interpretations of stereotypical identity labels applied to youths in everyday situations in three distinct styles. The widespread use of slang terms as a means of defining one’s identity in colloquial exchanges and on Chinese social media portals indicates a growing sense of self-consciousness in relation to class and social status among Chinese millenials today.
Wenqing, originally a term used to describe artistically-inclined youth, have come under fire lately. In June this year, acclaimed Chinese author Zhuang Yating wrote a commentary that leveled strong criticism against China’s growing tide of wenqing, diagnosing the trend as a disease that has to be contained. “Sufferers of the wenqing disease,” she notes, “have several distinct characteristics: they disavow money and materialism completely, they do not consider the consequences of their actions, and they are very much self-delusional.”
Who are wenqing, and how one can tell them apart from the “normal” or “awkward” youth? Photos from Internet memes suggest that they tend to appear or behave in a more sophisticated manner, exhibiting a preference for more unconventional forms of self-expression while not appearing ridiculously out-of-place like the laughable 2B youth. The term 2B is derived from the slang phrase Er Bai Wu, or 205, which is a derogatory expression for people who behave in silly or idiotic ways.
In contrast, the term wenqing has been held up to extra scrutiny recently due to a mounting recognition that they could be the Chinese incarnation of the West’s increasingly trendy, yet at the same time somewhat pretentious, hipsters. While America’s hipsters started out as individualistic counter-cultural 70s hippies, the issue of authenticity has now become a glaring one as the term “hipster” becomes appropriated into an icon of mass-market cool.
Like the label diaosi, which literally means “pubic hair”, the meaning of the phrase wenqing is intrinsically malleable and has various connotations when employed under different situations. While diaosi first emerged as a self-deprecating label of disenfranchisement, used in contrast to terms reserved for China’s privileged class – gaofushuai (tall, rich and handsome) or baifumei (fair, rich and beautiful) – a 2013 survey by Chinese market research firm Eguan has indicated that an overwhelming 40% of China’s population identified with the label diaosi.
Over time, it has become an empowering term reserved for use by ordinary Chinese youth born after the ‘80s (balinghou) in tacit recognition of the underdog’s potential and the circumstances of social inequality that have led to the marginalization of the diaosi, who grew up in less privileged socio-economic circumstances than their guanerdai or fuerdai counterparts, the offspring of government officials or wealthy entrepreneurs.
Though they might be considered successful in economic terms, holding down a stable job and armed with a university degree, they continue to maintain a dismal impression of themselves in terms of social status. Paradoxically, more than 80% of those born after 1980 would regard themselves as diaosi, suggesting that this perception of marginality is actually held by a majority.
In the same way, the term wenqing can be subject to multiple interpretations. As Ms Wang Yanfei, a 23-year-old junior banking officer from Suzhou observes, the trendy and sophisticated image often associated with wenqing has also created a multitude of wei wenqing, or pseudo-wenqing, who are only interested in becoming a wenqing for the sake of it.
“Real wenqing wouldn’t be affected by trends or the people around them. They would assert their own opinions and interests, and enjoy a work by an artist because they genuinely have a passion for it,” she told China Outlook. She also comments that wenqing tend to be able to give an impression of being able to disavow materialism precisely because they are well-off enough to not have to fret about such concerns, and as such tend to be from middle or upper-middle class families.
In many cases, wei wenqing may often be perceived as chaoren instead, which refers to trendy youth from upper middle-class backgrounds with niche and upmarket consumer preferences. Such chaoren would tend to also possess the economic means to indulge in artistic or cultural activities associated with wenqing, such as travelling, reading foreign novels, and taking photographs with Leica or Lomography cameras.
People’s Daily writer Ding Gang has observed in a 2010 Global Times article that chaoren who “stand at the front lines of fashion” tend to hanker after the latest cutting-edge gadgets and brands such as Apple products.
In a 2012 Pew Research survey, 92% of China’s respondents said that they are doing better financially than their parents’ generation, the highest percentage among the 21 nations polled. Additionally, a majority is upbeat about the future, with 82% saying that the current generation of children will be better off then their parents. As young Chinese become increasingly aware of their economical advancement, chaoren or wei wenqing among them are also expressing more individualistic consumer tendencies.
In a bid to elevate their levels of sophistication, they are becoming selective about the places where they hang out, choosing to congregate in neighbourhoods like Beijing’s bohemian 798 Art Zone, and the types of material goods that they purchase, which are often from niche, high-end fashion labels but not mainstream luxury brands.
While popular satirical blog Accidental Chinese Hipsters subtly mocks the unconventional sartorial choices of Chinese people, there has been an increasing awareness of the latest trends in cosmopolitan areas like New York’s Brooklyn or San Francisco’s Mission district among China’s youthful consumers. P1, a private social network founded in 2007, specifically targets such trend-setting chaoren. One has to be spotted by street style photographers from the P1 network to be invited to join the exclusive web portal.
Fashionable fixed-gear bikes, once unheard of in China where bicycles were seen as a merely pragmatic means of cheap transportation, are becoming common in arty areas like Beijing’s Dongcheng district. Despite being labeled as dangerous by China’s transport authorities due to a perception that these lightweight bikes, which travel at a single speed and have no brakes, are difficult to control on the roads, boutique stores and online communities dedicated to the fixed-gear trend have been steadily growing since 2009.
FixedChina’s Weibo page, for example, now boasts more than 130,000 followers. The Shanghai Alleycat bike race, which is dedicated to fixed-gear enthusiasts, has been organized annually since 2009 and attracted over 600 participants in 2012, though the event was cancelled last year due to disapproval from the Chinese authorities.
And at a time when anti-Japanese propaganda and sentiments were being fanned due to territorial disputes in the last quarter of 2012, Japanese fashion giant Uniqlo, a frequent go-to for chaoren, surprisingly held its own, reporting higher-than-expected sales for the three months from September to November 2012.
There has been growing concern on the part of the Chinese authorities that the use of Internet slang terms, as powerful markers of identity, could lead to moral degradation. Cai Guoxuan, vice-president of the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, observed in The Nanfang in February that the volatility of terms like diaosi that have not been properly defined could adversely affect China’s reforms and efforts at development due to their lack of ideological and conceptual clarity.
Zhuang is equally despondent about the perceived arrogance of wenqing: “They have become rigid and inflexible in their perceptions of the world. I once met a couple of literary types who simply refused to entertain your opinions, and are bent on showing off their superiority in taste and lifestyle choices.”
For Shu Yong, an Internet entrepreneur in his early thirties from Chengdu who identifies himself as “a wenqing who sells fruit”, the situation is a lot more simple than that interpreted by Zhuang and Cai. “As long as you enjoy a form of artistic or cultural pursuit, I would consider you to be a wenqing,” he told China Outlook. He earns a few thousand to ten thousand yuan a month from his fruit-selling business on Taobao, and features his original poetry on his Weibo page, which has more than 100,000 followers.
One thing is clear: whether they identify as chaoren, wenqing or diaosi, Chinese millenials seem determined to do things their own way, unencumbered by rigid definitions and often straddling positions that fall somewhere in between this spectrum of malleable identity categories.


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My client’s birth story and my photos were featured in our local newspaper (online). A few days they were featured in the USA Today (online)!! It’s such a heart-warming story for this Thanksgiving! Check out the story here !
Today, I went shopping at the grocery store and stopped in my tracks when I saw a photo I took on the front page of the Knoxville News Sentinel!!!!! The story is beautiful. It was an honor to take their photos. So excited!!!


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Some of our readers will remember the Project Magazine iPad app that was launched by Richard Branson last November, the App is basically an iPad only lifestyle magazine, and each issue was available for $2.99.
Now it seems that the latest issue of the Project iPad Magazine is now free, and there is a reason for this as the whole issue has been sponsored by American Express.
What this means for Branson and his Project magazine is that many more people will download it as it is now free, and he also doesnt have to give 30 percent of the revenue from the magazine direct to Apple.
Companies like News Corp have offered their iPad only publications for free, in the hope of building readers who will subscribe when they introduce subscription fees.
We could see more publications go this way in the future, offering it for free means a lot of people will read it and this may attract more sponsors, this wouldn’t be good news for Apple and their new subscription model, as they would be unable to take 30 percent of the revenue.
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London: The European Parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly backed the European Union’s first set of rules to regulate cryptoasset markets.
Parliament voted by 517 in favour and 38 against to approve the world’s first comprehensive set of regulations for issuing and trading cryptoassets such as bitcoin.
“This regulation brings a competitive advantage for the EU,” said Stefan Berger, the lawmaker who steered the rules through parliament.
“The European crypto-asset industry has regulatory clarity that does not exist in countries like the US,” Berger said.
EU states have already given the nod to the rules which will be rolled out from mid 2024, requiring firms that issue and trade cryptoassets to be licensed by a national regulator, giving them a “passport” to serve customers across the 27-member country bloc.
Major service providers will have to disclose their energy consumption.
“I hope that our rules could become a model for other countries,” the EU’s financial services chief, Mairead McGuinness, said in a debate on the rules on Wednesday.
Parliament also backed new rules for tracing transfers of cryptoassets like bitcoins and electronic money tokens.
It applies the international “travel rule” already used in traditional financial transactions, meaning information on the source and recipient of the cryotoasset will have to accompany and be stored on both sides of the transfer to help combat money laundering.
The tracing rule also covers transactions above 1,000 euros from “self-hosted” wallet or crypto address of a private user.


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While manufacturers are clamoring – Samsung aside – to undercut Apple’s iPad with their own Android tablets, Cisco seems content to milk their enterprise customers for all they’re worth. A developer FAQ for the Cisco Cius has leaked to CrunchGear, revealing that the company expects the 7-inch Android-based webconferencing slate to come in at under $1,000 when it arrives – in limited numbers – by the end of 2010.
As to why the Cius is roughly double the price of an iPad, Cisco is highlighting their enterprise integration and pointing out that the comparison isn’t really fair. “Cius is not a consumer device so it’s not an equivalent comparison” the FAQ suggests, rather “Cisco Cius is the first-of-its- kind mobile collaboration device.” It’ll run Android 2.2 and Cisco say they’ll be keeping up with Google’s updates, however system admins will be able to lock down Android Market access.
[via Android Community]


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Media consultant and CUNY Graduate School of Journalism professor Jeff Jarvis' book What Would Google Do? will also be published as a video book. The 23-minute video edition, which features Jarvis speaking directly to the camera against different backdrops, will go on sale on Amazon.com today for viewing on personal computers. An iPod and iPhone version is in the works. In the book, Jarvis discusses how businesses can adopt Google corporate practices to improve their operations.
He'll be speaking about the book at tonight's NY Tech Meetup and also at the headquarters in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood of the online news startup Daylife in which he is an investor this Thursday evening.


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Businesswoman and author Sahar Hashemi, co-founder of the Coffee Republic, the UK’s first major coffee shop chain, is to visit Bradford to inspire would-be entrepreneurs.
She will speak at an event for people interested in setting up a franchise. The event is being run next month by Bradford Kickstart, the Council’s enterprise support body.
The free event, organised in partnership with Business Link Yorkshire, will be the district’s biggest franchising fair on Saturday April 4, in the exhibition hall at the Abundant Life Conference Centre, Bradford…
Franchise Invitation Is Issued
March 17, 2009 by Cris | 0 Comments


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Every year, Apple releases a new report that talks about the security measures and protections built into the App Store. Thanks to their App Store policies, in 2021 the App Store blocked nearly $1.5 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions. They also managed to block over 1.6 million risky and vulnerable apps and app updates from defrauding users.
Some of the various measures include App Review, removing illegitimate ratings and reviews, preventing developer accounts fraud and preventing payment and credit card fraud.
Every app that is submitted to the App Store goes through Apple’s App Review process. It is a multi-layered process that combines computer automation with manual human review. According to Apple in 2021 they achieved the following:
- Over 835,000 problematic new apps, and an additional 805,000 app updates, were rejected or removed
- Over 34,500 apps were rejected for containing hidden or undocumented features
- Over 157,000 apps were rejected because they were found to be spam, copycats, or misleading to users
- Over 155,000 apps were removed from the App Store for trying to circumvent App Review by changing the app’s behaviour after it was approved
- Over 343,000 apps rejected for requesting more user data than necessary or mishandling collected data.
Fraudulent ratings and reviews were another area of focus for the App Store. Apple detected and removed 94 million reviews and over 170 million ratings from publication for failing to meet moderation standards. Additionally, 610,000 reviews were also removed after publication based on customer concern submissions.
For developer account fraud, Apple terminated over 802,000 accounts in 2021, and for customer accounts associated with fraudulent and abusive activity, Apple deactivated over 170 million accounts in 2021. Lastly, Apple prevented more than 3.3 million stolen cards from being used to make potentially fraudulent purchases, and banned nearly 600,000 accounts from transacting again.


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Airbnb has bowed to public pressure and banned bookings for the current coronavirus lockdown period.
The well-known booking firm introduced the ban after complaints were made by Government officials and communities across the West Country.
The company has also offered refunds on bookings for holidays which have had to be cancelled in light of lockdown restrictions.
The move comes after Cornwall Council confirmed it had received nearly 200 complaints from members of the public about places that were still trading, including holiday lets advertised by Airbnb.
The Government is continuing to urge people to "stay home, save lives" in a bid to delay the spread of coronavirus, thus easing pressure on the health service.
Police and local councils in the region have also urged holidaymakers and second home owners to avoid travelling to the West Country over the bank holiday weekend.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Airbnb said the “vast majority” of hosts were already complying with the Government’s rules.
The company has also said that anyone who made a booking before 14 March for a stay between 14 March and 31 May will be able to claim a full refund through the firm’s cancellation policy.
A new scheme set up by the company - Frontline Stays - providing free accommodation for NHS staff and medical workers will not be affected. The company said that 12,000 hosts in the UK had offered their properties for use in the programme.
For the latest updates on coronavirus in the West Country, including case numbers, event cancellations and venue closures, click here.
Coronavirus: Everything you need to know


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On the multiplayer front, there’s a brand new 6v6 map called Rio. The medium-sized battleground features a central shopping mall surrounded by a main street, tram station, market, plaza, café and residential spaces.
Raven has temporarily disabled Warzone’s new Champion’s Quest feature after today’s update launched with a number of issues impacting the performance of the game.
Upon deliberation with our teams, we have decided to temporarily disable the new Champion’s Quest feature.
At the moment, the current state of the update does not meet our standards for quality and gameplay, and we are committed to addressing the issues promptly to ensure that… https://t.co/0hfktpwEYs
— Raven Software (@RavenSoftware) January 17, 2024
New multiplayer modes include Team Gunfight, Infected and Headquarters.
Multiplayer Ranked Play lets players compete in 4v4 matches using the same settings, maps and modes as the Call of Duty League.
And a crossover with superhero franchise The Boys includes a limited time Kill Confirmed mode featuring power boosts, plus a Supe Siege event challenge which lets players unlock a special LMG weapon blueprint.
Zombies players can unlock high-tier loot by defeating new South Korean-born Warlord Dokkaebi, while Warzone is getting a Gulag Night Vision event that lets players battle in the dark.
Champion’s Quest will also make its debut in Urzikstan, challenging squads to win 30 games within a season or five consecutive matches in order to “instigate a devastating end game”.
Raven announced last week that Season 1 Reloaded would no longer include a controversial new Warzone feature called Covert Exfil.
The new win condition, which would have let players call in a helicopter for the chance to exit battle royale matches early, received a significant amount of negative feedback following its reveal.
Following the response, Raven announced plans to delay the feature’s introduction, as well as an accompanying Weapon Case objective, and said it will instead release them as part of a dedicated mode.


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Unitea, the only engage-to-earn music platform built to deepen connections between artists, brands, and fans, today announced a seed round of $7M, led by 1st Class Guernsey, Chaos Capital, TokenSociety, and Fuel Venture Capital. Boasting a board of directors featuring industry titans like Pitbull (Armando Perez) and Claude VonStroke (Barclay Crenshaw), Unitea’s unique platform is innovating the way fans engage digitally within the music industry. By way of an in-app economy, Unitea encourages users to create content with music and branded filters from their favorite artists to earn rewards, creating actionable data for artists and brands and deepening their connections with fans. In the time since the pre-seed round started in 2020 Unitea has accomplished over 2,000 reward activations. Now that the round is closed, Unitea will leverage funds raised to further expand the capabilities of their platform within the music industry and beyond.
Though investments in this type of engage-to-earn technology continue to climb, realizing tangible value has continued to be a challenge across industries. Unitea has created engage to earn platforms in partnership with Procter & Gamble, while also activating through the Unitea App with 42 music festivals including Breakaway, Gem & Jam, and Dirtybird Campout, all while keeping centralized around the technology driving their engage-to-earn model. Unitea fans share music and create content to earn digital tokens called Karma that can be redeemed for exclusive rewards, from custom digital assets to concert tickets and artist meet and greets. The tangible value of rewards drives authentic engagement, which in turn delivers valuable data around fan interactions to artists and brands using the app. Ultimately, this creates a continuous cycle of authentic connections, rewards, and relationships that is poised to fundamentally change the way consumers interact with their favorite artists. By providing reward mechanisms both in the digital and physical space, collaboration with festivals provides a win-win scenario, giving users on the platform unique access to exclusive opportunities at events while also giving festival promoters and performing artists a new audience to reach out to.
“We’ve cracked the code on deriving meaningful benefits through engage-to-earn within the music space. Unitea gives digital assets real purpose across the engagement cycle, empowering artists and brands to cultivate and grow a passionate fan base organically,” said Ketan Rahangdale, CEO of Unitea. “With the support of our investors, Unitea is primed to make fan engagement more authentic, in a way that benefits everybody in the ecosystem. Whether it’s a musician, an artist, or a popular brand, Unitea makes it possible to gamify the engagement process and provide value across the board.”
Unitea’s unique technology has taken a foothold in the music industry and investors have noticed the incredible value that can be derived from organic engagement data. With 12 investors in total participating in the seed rounds, both from traditional venture capital firms and staples in the music industry, continual investment in the platform has been paralleled with validations as to its future potential.
“The unique combination of digital and real-world incentives for fans, along with a rewarding social network, has primed Unitea to take over the music industry. Today’s fans are looking for a different level of interaction from the brands they love, and this technology finally makes that possible,” said Simon Nicholls, Chairman of 1st Class Guernsey. “The level of engagement data collection that is possible with Unitea’s platform is incredibly enticing, and we’re excited to be a part of this movement as it grows.”
The music industry is about to undergo a revolution led by those who matter most, the fans and the artists, and Unitea is ready to lead the charge. In the future, Unitea looks forward to acting as a utility and community building platform for Web3 music collectives such as Dirtybird Flight Club, Dippies and Gay Aliens Society. To learn more, please visit: https://unitea.com/.
Unitea is an engage-to-earn platform that deepens connections between artists and their fans while giving brands access to invaluable advertising opportunities that enhance the end-user experience. The app incentivizes music fans to support their favorite artists in exchange for blockchain- authenticated rewards while providing a platform built for meaningful connection and artist innovation. Unitea believes that data and relationships belong to the people who build them, and developed the Karma Economy ecosystem to help creators regain control of their audience insights. Fans are incentivized to share their data as a way to earn Karma, while Unitea’s transparent data policy encourages ethical data use. Brands use that data in advertising, and artists can also access the data for invaluable insights into their fanbase.


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Q1 earnings season is well underway. 25% of the S&P 500 has reported, and a number of large-cap bellwether technology companies will report this week. So far, the EPS and sales beat rates are above their historical averages, and forward 12-month EPS estimates continue to surge.
An upbeat earnings season
The market has been behaving as expected in reaction to earnings reports by rewarding beats and punishing misses.
The economic dam is bursting and the economy is booming. Demand in the US was described as “very, very strong” and “phenomenal” thanks to strong consumer balance sheets and vaccinations. Supply chains are still disrupted and there are significant inflation pressures.
Reopening continues around the globe“…we see continued progress being made in the health crisis. More businesses are now opening up. Unemployment continues to decline. Consumers are spending at record levels. We are optimistic that expanding economic activity will in turn fuel loan growth as companies borrow, build inventory invest and hire more employees.” – Bank of America (BAC) CEO Brian Moynihan
“China appears to be the furthest along in terms of reopening, with activity levels largely back to normal. The US is not all the way back just yet, but is moving in the right direction. And an increase in vaccination rates across the country appear to be driving some of this progress. Europe is improving broadly. And while certain areas have recently experienced setbacks in the process of reopening, we’ve not seen any material impact.” – Danaher (DHR) CEO Rainer Blair
The US is very, very strong“I would say the U.S. was very, very strong.” – ManpowerGroup (MAN) CFO Jack McGinnis“I saw some commentary sort of questioning demand. Demand out there is absolutely phenomenal, across almost every sector. Very, very strong and it would appear to be there for the rest of this year going into next…So we see strong demand, tight supply, record low supply chain inventories across the space.” – Steel Dynamics (STLD) CEO Mark Millett
“And you heard us before talking about consumer demand, to be honest, in all the years I’ve been doing the earnings call, this is probably the year that I’m most bullish about mid-and long-term consumer demand trends in North America. So I’m not worried about consumer demand. ” – Whirlpool (WHR) CEO Marc Bitzer
Consumers have healthy balance sheets“Our FICO scores stayed extremely stable as have our debt-to-income levels. So it’s showing us that the buyer and the consumer is healthy today. And there are still plenty of people out there that can afford to buy a house.” – D.R. Horton (DHI) VP, Investor Relations Jessica Hansen
The economic dam is bursting“I think as you see the vaccine spread, this economic dam is really starting to burst and it’s going to be widespread in terms of an increase in activity and revenues across most businesses.” – The Blackstone Group (BX) COO Jon Gray
There are rapidly rising inflation pressures“…the inflationary pressures, particularly surrounding some of our key commodities, looks like it is going to be more of a headwind in ’22” – Coca-Cola (KO) CFO John Murphy
“…we’re watching and seeing SG&A inflation in different parts of the world and in different parts of the business, ranging from wage inflation in selective geographies. You’ve got global logistics inflation. You’ve got commodity inflation.” – Genuine Parts (GPC) President William Stengel
“In the first quarter, global semiconductors and resin shortages amplified existing supply constraints, and thus impacted our product availability. Further, we are faced with rapidly rising inflationary pressures, primarily in steel and resins. To address these issues, we swift the responses with the necessary actions to protect margins and product availability. We announced significant cost based price increase in various countries across the globe ranging from 5% to 12%” – Whirlpool (WHR) CEO Marc Bitzer
The tech sector’s acid test
31 thoughts on “Q1 earnings monitor: Reopening giddiness”
Cam, You said that longer-term, the reopening trade is at risk in the US, but not globally.
Why is the reopening trade at risk in the US?
TSLA net earnings were a record $438 Million, but $101 Million was the result of successful BTC speculation.
Thanks. I closed my latest position (opened after hours @ 720) @ 723. I’m not a BTC bull right now – odds are it retests at least 40k.
This alone should immediately raise a big red flag for serious investors in TSLA.
As of tonight, Plan A for Tuesday remains the same as it was for today. Buy any dip in GDX/ TLT and/or growth/ QQQ. Value isn’t working right now.
Patience – always an effective trading strategy.
TLT now -0.72% intraday and back to April 19 levels.
GDX now -1.5% intraday and below its April 19 close.
Assuming no material change in prices, I plan to reopen sized-down positions in RYGBX and RYPMX end of day.
Also reopening positions in GDX and GDXJ.
Reopening QQQ here.
Will reopen a sized-down position in RYOCX at the close.
Opening a position in MSFT after hours ~255.
Reopening positions in QS/ NIO/ PLTR after hours.
Reopened positions in TSLA and NFLX after hours.
GDX/ GDXJ gapping down this morning.
Adding second tranches to both.
Reopening a position in X.
Reopening a position in JETS.
Currently every position opened last night is indicated lower – which happens all the time. My job isn’t to tell the market what to do, but to make probabilistic trades. And when the move against me, my job is to manage them. Right now, I still like the way I’m positioned.
Quick reversals in GDX/ GDXJ from opening gaps down.
Adding to QQQ.
Reopening a position in DISCA.
Reopening a position in VIAC.
Re GDX/ GDXJ. One thing I’ve learned over the years – when taking positions in miners following successive days of declines, any further gaps down should be recognized as potential capitulatory shakedowns ahead of a reversal. Not saying that’s necessarily the case this morning – but it sure feels that way.
Reopening a position in KRE on the intraday pullback.
I’ve been waiting to add a second tranche of TSLA – I think the intraday low of 693 holds; adding here.
Closing RIOT for ~+7% gain.
End of day ramp?
Miners and Nasdaq lifting off…
Claims corporate buybacks plus Fed liquidity injections are what is driving the market higher despite net outflows from equities.
Bollinger bands on the VIX are very narrow, upside breakout in volatility looming? Not much room on the downside with the VIX at 17.66.
Comments are closed.


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Plus, LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER continues!
The t-shirt fundraiser for Black Lives Matter is a response to police appropriation of The Punisher's chest symbol.
The campaign for the limited cards will only be live for one week
Kickstarter has had some rough spots in the pandemic crisis, but comics projects remain strong for now.
The artist has a live crowdfunding campaign featuring an exclusive variant cover
November 2019 was a tough month for comic industry deaths. On November 13th, we lost "writer, editor, foundational blogger at The Comics Reporter," and Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) executive director Tom Spurgeon. We barely...
Plus, Homecoming, Future, and A Boxer.
Nominations for the anthology can be submitted via Twitter until Friday.
Peow’s genre anthology focuses on story and art, not conventions.
Comics Crowdfunding Round-Up: The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya, Ecatepunk, & 3 other projects we...
Plus, Dirty Diamonds, Skychaser, and Weird Futures.
The publisher opens the “vault” for a collector’s box for fans of the game
Plus, Windsurfer #1 and a new volume of Action Tank!


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On the heels of a report suggesting the Apple iPad Mini 2 with Retina display will be released in the third quarter, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim came up with another piece of information on Monday claiming that the mass production of the device could begin soon.
Shim told CNET that display suppliers like LG Display are expected to start producing the iPad Mini 2’s screen, “boasting one of the highest tablet resolutions to date” in the coming months. He also said that LG would be the major manufacturer of the Retina display and that Samsung would likely be out of the picture.
"We should see the start of mass production of the panels in June or July," Shim said. "Samsung is currently not in the iPad Mini, and they won't be in the next-generation. LGD [LG Display] is becoming a much bigger supplier than before.”
Although other manufacturers would also supply display panels for the iPad Mini 2, LG Display is most likely the most prominent initial supplier, Shim said.
The analyst also provided some details about the device’s specifications. He claims the iPad Mini 2 with Retina display will feature a 7.9-inch screen with a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels, which is double that of the existing iPad Mini resolution. It will also give roughly the same pixels per inch (PPI) as the Retina screen found on the iPhone 5, “one of the highest densities for a tablet to date,” CNET reported.
Shim said that displays in upcoming tablets would exceed 300 PPI, but he wondered if consumers would be able to notice those extra pixels.
"We're going to start to see a bunch of tablets [coming out] with a pixel density over 300. At a certain point it will be hard to discern that improved image quality," he said.
While both the 7-inch and 8.9-inch models of the Amazon Kindle Fire will be updated with displays featuring more than 300 PPI, Google’s Nexus 10 is already getting closer to that feat with 299 PPI, Shim said.
The analyst claimed in an earlier report that Apple would launch two Retina display iPad Mini models -- one in the second half of this year and the other in the first quarter of 2014.


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Hawaii sales boost Wyndham profit
Isle time-share units helped fourth-quarter net jump 13 percent
PARSIPPANY, N.J. » Wyndham Worldwide Corp., the world's largest time-share company, said fourth-quarter profit rose 13 percent as it sold more vacation units in Florida, Tennessee and Hawaii.
Wyndham reiterated its full-year earnings forecast.
Net income climbed to $104 million, or 58 cents a share, compared with $92 million, or 48 cents, a year earlier, the Parsippany, New Jersey-based company said today in a statement. Excluding a litigation gain, Wyndham earned 46 cents, matching analysts' estimates.
Wyndham franchises Ramada and Super 8 Motels. Chief Executive Officer Stephen Holmes has said he wants to increase the hotel division to about 35 percent of total revenue from 25 percent. The company is marketing time-share units to consumers looking for a lower-priced holiday as rising gas prices and falling home values cause economic uncertainty.
"People still go on vacation, and time shares are a less expensive way to travel," said Eric Green, director of research at Penn Capital Management in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, which manages Wyndham stock. "It's a good business and a profitable business that's good for the consumer."
Revenue increased 6.4 percent to $1.03 billion, Wyndham said.
Wyndham climbed 74 cents to $23.38 at 12:40 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
In mid-December, Wyndham lowered its fourth-quarter profit forecast to 42 cents to 50 cents a share, excluding some items.
Analysts subsequently reduced their average estimate to 46 cents a share, according to a Bloomberg survey. They predicted revenue would be $1.07 billion.
Wyndham reaffirmed today that it expects 2008 profit of $2.23 to $2.38 a share on revenue of as much as $4.9 billion. Analysts predict earnings of $2.32 on revenue of $4.85 billion.
For the first quarter, Wyndham forecast earnings of 30 to 35 cents a share. Six analysts project profit of 34 cents.
Wyndham maintained its forecast from December because the company isn't seeing any slowdown in time-share sales even as home purchases decline, Holmes said in a phone interview.
"The time-share industry does not track the real-estate industry," Holmes said. "The fact is that people looking to pay for time shares are pre-paying their vacations. It's not a real-estate purchase decision."


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Just in time for summer, Ford has added its panoramic glass roof option to its restyled 2010 Mustang Coupe alongside the convertible version of the V8-powered Mustang GT, both of which are now on sale in showrooms across the country. The glass roof is made of tinted privacy glass and features a built-in manual roller blind. This tint makes the glass roof option ideal for those who love the sun but want to cut back on sunscreen use, as 90% of the sun’s harmful rays are filtered out. The glass roof's ability to filter the rays also reduces heat load in the cabin so that occupants remain...
Ford Mustang scores 5-star NHTSA safety rating
The 2010 Ford Mustang (Coupe only) has earned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 5-star rating in the agency's latest round of testing, cementing the Blue Oval's position as industry leader when it comes to safety. The latest results include top scores for both the driver and...Jeremy Weber
2010 Mustang officially priced to start under $21,000
The 2010 Ford Mustang was revealed in full detail at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show, but today Ford released official pricing on the new pony car. Featuring a completely new exterior, thoroughly updated cabin, and a refined engine lineup, the facelifted car is primed to take on the still-new Dodge...Viknesh Vijayenthiran
2010 Ford Mustang pricing leaked ahead of L.A. Auto Show debut
Click here for all the details on the 2010 Ford Mustang. With rising fuel prices and increased environmental concerns pushing customers towards smaller cars, Ford is well aware of the negative image its brawny Mustang projects on new car buyers. Due late next year for the 2010 model year, Ford will...Alex Kaufmann


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After buying Diamond Foods earlier this year, Charlotte-based snack maker Snyder’s-Lance is selling the California company’s nut business to a private equity firm called Blue Road Capital. The deal is expected to close by the end of this year.
The deal will allow Snyder’s-Lance to focus its resources on growing its “core brands,” the company said in a statement Monday afternoon.
Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Snyder’s, known for Hanover’s pretzels and Lance peanut butter sandwich crackers, has said the addition of Diamond to its portfolio is meant to expand its selection of “better-for-you” offerings. Diamond’s brands include Kettle Brand chips and Pop Secret popcorn.
“Diamond of California is a leader in culinary nuts with a bright future, and should benefit from Blue Road Capital’s expertise, strategic assets and prior investments in the category. This is truly a beneficial transaction for both parties and will be a positive for our employees in Stockton, Calif.,” Snyder’s-Lance CEO Carl Lee said in the statement.
Snyder’s-Lance is planning to invest $38 million to expand its Charlotte facilities, where it will add 130 new jobs over the next five years, the Observer reported last week. City Council approved about $631,000 worth of incentives Monday night.


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YPSILANTI (WWJ) – An Ypsilanti Walmart store was evacuated for a time, Thursday, after an employee found a suspicious package with wires attached to it. A bomb squad was called in to investigate, but officials said it “turned out to be nothing.”
WWJ Newsradio 950 listener “Jason” said he had tried to enter the store, before realizing that no one was being allowed in.
“I was stopped by several police and a whole bunch of emergency personnel. They’ve got the parking lot all taped off, and they said there was a suspicious package delivered and they don’t know what it is… They blocked everything off including the parking lot. The cleared out and evacuated the entire Walmart,” he said.
The store, located on Ellsworth Street, has reopened.
No injuries were reported.


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What’s Christmas without festive lighting and window displays?
Local Flavor’s new issue is out!
“So many clothes and yet nothing to wear…”
Green just happens to be one of the traditional colors of the Christmas season.,
Taos is unique at any time of year.
The weekend is over.
This weekend the New Mexico Artisan Market returns.
Last Wednesday, members of Congress did something that they had never done before.
This Thanksgiving.and throughout the Holidays at Taos Blue!
What would the Holidays be without chocolate?
Thanksgiving (also known as Thanksgiving Day) is celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States.
Floating World Imports and the Cellar


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Is the "Romantic Restaurant" a Thing of the Past?
Is romance dead? When it comes to choosing a restaurant on Valentine’s Day, perhaps.
February 14 is the second busiest day of the year for restaurants (right behind Mother’s Day) — so places tend to go above and beyond to create a romantic atmosphere and make their spot stand out, whether it’s intimate lighting, chocolate fountains or a sultry playlist.
But these days, a lot of those efforts may be in vain. In a survey conducted by Zagat, only 16% of people listed romantic ambiance as their top priority on Valentine’s Day, whereas 51% said they most value going to a place where they know the food would be great. Forty-three percent of people didn’t even list romantic ambiance within their top three priorities — leading us to believe that the traditional notion of the “romantic restaurant,” candlelight, violins, shared spaghetti and all, might now just be an outdated one. In the search to find the best Valentine’s Day restaurant, people might only be interested in having the best possible food experience (Italian is the most popular V-Day cuisine by the way, according to our survey).
Industry folks too, have noticed a similar trend in their restaurants, and not just on Valentine's Day. “Diners these days are much more informed about where their food comes from, and its quality,” says Josh Boissy, co-founder of Sauvage in New York. On Valentine’s Day in particular, he adds, “I have seen a distinct move away from restaurants that try to do a theme and more towards places that just aim to serve good food and drink.” Nathan Duensing, chef of Marsh House in Nashville, has noticed that for his guests, the quality of the food — more so than any outright romantic elements — does the most to set the tone for the evening. While it’s important that the restaurant is “aesthetically pleasing,” he says, “the food is always the driving force behind a great experience.”
But even if the romance factor is waning on Valentine’s Day — chefs and restaurateurs still tend to keep the notion in mind when creating their spaces. During the design process for the Brooklyn Italian spot, Barano, chef/partner Albert Di Meglio went so far as to say that “romance was among one of our top considerations. When you walk into Barano, we want it to feel like a warm embrace. We included a lot of two-tops, for couples, and there are a lot of secluded, intimate spots to sit, which was very much a design choice.” In Chicago, Swift & Sons general manager Matt Sherry’s theory is that while ambiance is still an important concern for restaurants, the definition of what counts as "romantic" vibes has changed. “It used to mean white tablecloths and stuffy waiters,” he says. “Now, the lines are blurred. It can be more comfortable.” Boissy’s take on romance at Sauvage is the opposite of stale and old school: “It's about youthful energy,” he says. “We are inspired by film, theater, art and music. Details like scented candles, good hand soap and fresh flowers are all part of the environment we offer.”
Conclusion: Diners may be prioritizing food quality much more than they used to — but the romantic restaurant isn’t totally dead...it just looks and feels different than it used to.
Jake Novick-Finder, chef of Gristmill in Brooklyn, puts it this way: “Most diners really care about the food, but the ambiance can be a deal-breaker. There’s an abundance of great restaurants with delicious food, so especially on a night like Valentine’s Day, guests are always going to shoot for the best of both worlds.”
To view the full results of our 2017 Valentine's Day survey, click here.


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Some interesting allegations have sprung up via AdAge. According to a source of theirs, Google is looking to implement a subscription-based model for YouTube publishers who want to charge their viewers a monthly fee for the privilege of watching content. It wouldn’t be unlike the magazine subscriptions we currently have on Android or what we pay for the likes of Netflix and Hulu.
As awful as the idea might sound, you should note that Google is only rumored to be trialing this first, and only with a few select YouTubers. If successful, we could expect a widespread rollout to anyone with partner status. AdAge also seems to have it on good authority that a pay-per-view model might be introduced alongside that.
It’ll be an interesting situation to watch unfold, if true. There’s nothing wrong with giving top YouTubers the ability to do this, but you have to wonder whether anyone thinks it’s worth risking thousands and millions of subscribers for the sake of penny-pinching. I would expect a bit of hesitation from any serious YouTuber to start out. Ads alone seem to be enough for most big YouTubers right now.
One route that would be interesting to see Google go is to offer a hybrid experience. Just like with Android apps, users would either put up with ads at the beginning or end of a video, or pay that subscription (or perhaps even a one-time fee) to get rid of them. This sort of flexibility would please the most people at the same time as it gives people a choice rather than being forced one way or the other.
As for the pay-per-view aspect, I see this being ideal for the likes of HBO, UFC and the WWE. These big name entertainment providers can leverage a pay-per-view system to allow more people to watch their premium programming without needing a cable or satellite plan. I most certainly would love to take advantage of such a system as long as they can guarantee quality.
These are all just rumors for now, though. I wouldn’t expect any drastic changes to be made without proper testing first, and even then Google will probably just test the waters to see if any of this is worth doing at all. It’s said that all of this could start happening as soon as the second quarter of this year, so that’s something we could potentially see Google showing off at I/O this upcoming May. What would you say to something like this?


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European Union Proposing Electric Car 'Plan B'
The European Union climate commissioner, Connie Hedegaard, wants her home country to provide 5,000 electric-car charging points by the year 2020 in order to reach stated climate goals.
Hedegaard, who served as climate minister from 2007 to 2009, said that if the 27 member states supply the charging points, electric car sales will increase.
“We can finally end the discussion about the chicken and the egg when it comes to whether the infrastructure needs to be present before the electric car market explodes,” Hedegaard wrote on the European Commission website. “It has to make sense to buy an electric car and it doesn’t if you can’t even drive halfway across the country without running out of charge.”
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Mphasis Tackles Compliance Confusion with Mobile Wallets
The lack of a standard technology model for mobile point of sale payments is not only holding back consumer adoption, it's also affecting regulatory compliance, says Mphasis' Kumail Tyebjee.
"The compliance strategies for mobile payments are still all over the map," says Tyebjee, vice president and business leader for mobility for Mphasis, a business process outsourcing company.
Mphasis is including compliance as part of the consulting and services it offers through its mobility unit. The company helps financial institutions and other payment companies form strategies around device management, application development, settlement and security. The company is also developing a process to help institutions deploy and secure new mobile payment technology faster in response to changing market conditions. It also helps companies handle changes in security and compliance.
Mobile payment systems can be built around Near Field Communication chips, the display of QR codes, the use of cloud-based systems or other technology. "Most of the banks we are working with haven't embraced one form of mobile pay over another," Tyebjee says.
The uncertainty over both technology and compliance requires companies to build strategies without knowing what the standards will be in the future. There are rules, but they lack specifics, Tyebjee says.
"[Standards groups] are telling everyone to make sure they are addressing data protection for mobile payments, but there is still no standard on how data is being dealt with in payments," Tyebjee says, adding the company's experience in the healthcare payments industry—helping develop compliance strategies for HIPAA—will be helpful in managing compliance for mobile payments.
"In the healthcare industry there is a lot more data that has to be secured than in payments. In some ways the healthcare industry is even more complex," Tyebjee says.
There should be a lot of work for compliance consultants, given the confusion over mobile wallet governance as the market matures, according to industry experts.
A large portion of the payments industry is governed under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as well as other portions of the Dodd-Frank law. There are dozens of rules that go into effect in the coming years, covering issues such as mobile payment, person to person transfers and remittances.
"Mobile wallet compliance is very complicated," says Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance, which offers information on NFC and mobile payments.
There are few clear details on the government's regulatory stance on mobile wallets that use cloud hosting to deliver the underlying technology, Vanderhoof says. As these details emerge in the coming years, compliance will be a moving target for merchants, issuers and other mobile wallet players.
"There is no precedent and no standard compliance roadmap," Vanderhoof says. "A lot of these mobile wallet solutions are coming out in the marketplace. As they get more popular and scale up, they're going to have to pass another regulatory hurdle. Not all of the solutions will make the cut, even if consumers adopt them."
There are also other agencies that regulate the different industries building mobile wallets. The FTC regulates consumer products, while the FCC regulates the telecom industry, for example.
"With some rules such as Regulation E (an FDIC consumer protection law) and Regulation Z (which governs financial disclosure to consumers), it seems pretty clear they will move over to mobile. But there are definitely a lot of places where the mobile market is moving faster than the regulations," says Mary Monahan, a research director for Javelin Strategy & Research, adding most of the other companies besides Mphasis that offer mobile wallet compliance services are law firms.
The compliance confusion is also being driven by the source of technology development, Monahan says. "Third parties can innovate because they are not covered as closely" as banks and other financial services companies, she says.


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Apple is updating the online store with new products that will be showcased at today’s event!
The Apple Store just went offline. This means that everything is ready for the arrival of the new iPhone 12!
During these hours that separate us from the Apple event, the company will update its online store by adding new products and preparing everything for pre-orders.
Today 4 new iPhone 12 will be presented. New HomePods and the first Apple Wireless chargers that use magnetic headbands should also arrive.


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Bitcoin Exchange Guarantees Clients Crime-Free Trade in DenmarkNiklas Magnusson
Denmark is about to get a new Bitcoin exchange, promising future clients a crime-free platform on which to trade the virtual currency.
The CCEDK Crypto Coins Exchange Denmark ApS, which is due to open this month, is offering its trading platform to people across the globe, Chief Executive Officer Ronny Boesing said in an interview. The exchange will initially provide customers with the possibility to trade Bitcoin and Litecoin against each other, as well as in exchange for Danish and Norwegian kroner, British pounds, dollars and euros.
Safety has emerged as a key theme in determining Bitcoin’s fate as a viable payment form. The software was at the center of a money laundering scandal in January, when Bitcoin Foundation Vice Chairman Charlie Shrem was charged by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for allegedly attempting to sell the crypto-currency to narcotics traffickers. He denied the charges in April. The trial starts in September. Bitcoin then suffered a further setback in February when Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy in Japan after it couldn’t account for 850,000 units of the virtual currency.
“Our strongest selling point will be that clients will know where we are, that the jurisdiction is Danish and that there’s complete transparency,” Boesing said. “We link to our lawyer on our website in case anyone feels they need one.”
The European Banking Authority in December cautioned against using Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, noting that no “specific regulatory protections exist that would cover you for losses if a platform that exchanges or holds your virtual currencies fails or goes out of business.”
Boesing said his exchange will operate as if it were overseen by a financial watchdog, because “there could be a decision to regulate this kind of business in the future. We are also ready for that.”
Denmark’s Financial Supervisory Authority said in December it was looking into the need for regulation. Michael Landberg, the watchdog’s chief legal adviser, said then the most likely outcome would be an “amendment to existing financial legislation so that we have regulation covering it.” Danish regulators will “seek to follow the mainstream,” he said, adding “it just needs to be regulated.”
Bitcoin has already encountered some hurdles in Scandinavia. A number of the region’s biggest banks have distanced themselves from the payment form and rejected requests from clients seeking to set up accounts amid concern the software could be used to aid crime.
SEB AB, the Nordic region’s largest currency trader, cited “large uncertainties” surrounding Bitcoin’s status, in a January interview. The bank said then it won’t offer transactions, accounts or currency exchange services in Bitcoin for that reason. Nordea Bank AB, Scandinavia’s biggest lender, said the same month it won’t offer any services related to trading Bitcoin and is advising clients of the risks associated with the payment form.
Boesing says his exchange will set aside 30 percent of revenue generated from trading crypto-currencies to create a buffer to protect clients from crime-related losses.
“The only way people will be able to lose money on our exchange is as a result of an investment loss,” Boesing said. “They’re protected from criminal acts.”


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Austria-based fintech Bitpanda announced on Wednesday it is set to launch its new global digital asset exchange. This news comes just after the company raised €43.6 million through its Initial Exchange Offering (IEO). As previously reported, Bitpanda claims to be Europe’s leading retail broker for buying and selling Bitcoin, Ethereum, IOTA and other cryptocurrencies. The platform now has more than one million users.
“At Bitpanda we are firm believers in the innovative power of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology. Our mission is to be the key driving force in the ongoing fintech revolution by providing easy-to-use, safe and trustworthy access to any digital assets for both new and experienced users.”
Bitpanda’s product allows crypto-to-crypto trading around the world and fiat-to-crypto trading in more than 54 countries. It has been developed 100% in-house over the past two years. Bitpanda CEO Eric Demuth, stated;
“Our goal is to establish the Bitpanda Global Exchange as the largest Euro exchange with the lowest fees for fiat-to-crypto trading in the industry. Bitpanda has been around since 2014 and holds an excellent reputation. We can build on a lot of synergies and experience.”
Bitpanda went on to add that it will use the €43.6 million raised to drive expansion beyond Europe and cryptocurrencies. The company is continuing to work hard towards a fairer, more transparent and easily accessible world of personal finance.


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UPDATE 2: Well, the hammer has fallen. “After careful deliberation, Microsoft Studios has come to the decision to end production for Scalebound,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to Polygon. “We're working hard to deliver an amazing lineup of games to our fans this year, including Halo Wars 2, Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, Sea of Thieves and other great experiences.
UPDATE: Eurogamer has noted that Microsoft and Platinum Games have gone their separate ways on the project, with work concluding on it at the end of 2016. The site noted that the relationship between the two companies soured following an appearance at GamesCom 2016 a few months back, and several staffers opted to take a month off following reports of the game's insanely heavy workload. When they returned, issues arose with Scalebound's development in terms of scheduling and progress, and a decision was ultimately made to stop development.
Again, we're still waiting for Microsoft's official word, but things aren't looking good...
ORIGINAL STORY: Over the past couple of years, Microsoft has been slowly but surely hyping Scalebound, an action/adventure developed by Platinum Games (Bayonetta 2) revolving around a heroic warrior and a mighty dragon that follows him into battle. As of late, though, we haven’t heard much about the game…and that could be distressing news.
Various sources indicate that Scalebound has been cancelled by Microsoft. The game wasn’t featured in Microsoft’s previously posted 2017 round-up on its Xbox Wire page, and the game’s official page appears to have been taken down.
Microsoft stopped just short of confirming the game’s cancellation, though, noting, “We’ll have more to share on Scalebound soon.”
This isn’t the first time that Microsoft’s taken a highly hyped product and scuttled it for the sake of business. Last year, the company folded up the Fable Legends project in the midst of its beta, and shut down Lionhead Studios soon thereafter – the developers that brought the Fable series to life in the first place.
But Scalebound is a much bigger deal. Microsoft has been showing off bits and pieces of gameplay over the past few months, getting players excited for the magnificent battles between your player’s dragon and a much larger boss dragon, amongst other fights. And the game has received a heavy bit of hype following its gameplay reveal last year, indicating that it could be one of the company’s bigger titles for 2017.
We’ll keep you posted once more information becomes available on the fate of Scalebound. But here’s hoping it’s not cancelled. After all, any good game by Platinum is worth its weight in gold – just ask anyone who’s ripped through Bayonetta 2 or Transformers: Devastation.
You can check out the latest gameplay from Scalebound below. It was initially set for release on Xbox One and Windows 10, as part of Microsoft’s Play Anywhere program.


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Paramount Q3 profits drop despite strong nine-month performance
DESPITE A strong nine-month performance, manufacturing and distribution company Paramount realised less profit for the third quarter ended February 2023. Third quarters are typically weaker at Paramount. The company has seen year-on-year declines...
DESPITE A strong nine-month performance, manufacturing and distribution company Paramount realised less profit for the third quarter ended February 2023. Third quarters are typically weaker at Paramount.
The company has seen year-on-year declines in third-quarter profits except for Q3 2020 and Q3 2022. For Q3 2023, Paramount registered just over $30.36 million in profits, a $17-million, or 36 per cent, decline.
CEO Hugh Graham attributes this typical third-quarter decline to the seasonality of revenue flows which feed in to profits. He says coming out of the second quarter, most of Paramount’s clients have sufficient stock that they rely on for the September-December period, with significantly reduced business in December.
Even as the company did marginally less business for the third quarter, it was aggressive in pumping more into its equipment. Cash flow statements for the nine-month period indicate that Paramount spent $39.9 million, or nearly $19 million dollars more than the $11.08 million, on the purchase of property, plant and equipment.
Graham says some of the company’s machines are getting major overhauls so as to comply with modern standards.
“We’re upgrading the plant to include both the bleach plant and the old Diversey plant that covers institutional and industrial chemicals. We’re bringing those plants up to First-World standards,” Graham said.
Paramount Trading started life as a distributor of industrial, institutional and precursor manufacturing chemicals for both food and heavy industry. The company bought a bleach manufacturing plant from Seprod Limited in 2018, having previously acquired the Diversey chemicals manufacturing plant around 2010.
Its business is organised under five operating segments: chemicals, construction and adhesive, manufacturing, transportation, and lubricants. Graham says the company’s growth strategy is hinged on extracting efficiency from its manufacturing side, while equipping team members with the tools that will allow them to produce at higher levels.
Paramount booked $438.11 million in third-quarter revenues. This was $24.85 million, or five per cent, less than the similar period in 2022. The decreased revenues and increased spending affected profits, which showed up in the dip, Graham said. At the same time, he is emphasising that the situation is temporary.
He says the lacklustre showing for the third quarter was made brighter by the nine-month performance. For the nine-month period which ended in February 2023, Paramount booked revenue of just over $1.63 billion. This was about $400 million, or 32.4 per cent, more than the $1.23 billion for the similar period in 2022. This drove net profit to $179 million, $84 million, or 88 per cent, more than the $95-million profit for the similar period in 2022.
The nine-month revenues are just $400 million shy of the stated two-billion target for the 2022-2023 financial year.
Graham says he wants to double present revenues every year, to achieve $8 billion in another four years. He says revenues for 2023 are projected at $2 billion, and the company has to move aggressively in equipping its manufacturing processes and team members with the necessary tools to hit the targets.


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Xperia Z5 Family Gets Stamina Mode via Firmware Update
Stamina Mode is back at last in the Xperia Z5 family, after it mysteriously disappeared when Android rolled their latest 6.0 Marshmallow update. Today we have a new software update (a firmware update actually), under the build number aka proud name ofÂ 32.2.A.0.224; this baby is essentially what bringsÂ Stamina Mode back to life, a super-cleverÂ gimmickÂ that will turn your Xperia Z5 smartphone immortal, or close. The new firmware update is rolling as we speak and it will be available for Sony Xperia Z5, the Xperia Z5 Dual, and lastly, the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact. Rest assured if you’re the owner of an Xperia Z5 Premium, you’ll get an update as soon as possible, just not these days. As the good book reads,Â So the last will be first, and the first will be last.Â Basically, theÂ 32.2.A.0.224 firmware update will make your Xperia Z5 to run on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow but, more importantly, it will bring back Stamina Mode.
For those of you wondering what’s up with the Stamina Mode, well, this application is the definition of long battery life, Â being that magic piece of software that turns your power-hungry droid into a low consumption device, just like a bulimic super-model visiting a Carl’s Jr. restaurant with her future billionaire husband. Here’s a screen-shot with the new Stamina Mode settings, and rest assured, even if you can’t see the update as being available just yet for your precious droid, keep calm and carry on refreshing, don’t dial 911, because it will definitely take for a few days for the update to reach all the Xperia X5 smartphones Â roaming free out there in the wild, as Sony sells its Xperias in over 130 countries all around the world. According to my secret sources, theÂ 32.2.A.0.224 firmware update is confirmed already in countries like Singapore, Turkey, Thailand and Australia and it’s available using the Xperia Companion.
Source — XDA


text: As Berlin gears up for its annual ITB tourism fair a new tourism barometer released on Wednesday says the travel industry is picking up after two years of crisis. The study, which surveyed 1,027 travel companies in the 20 most important travel destinations around the world, said that about 67 percent of travel companies are expecting more passengers and guests. Even the German travel industry shows signs of optimism. "The positive results about travel plans of consumers will surely be shared by international travel agencies, airlines, bus, rail, car rentals, hotels and tourism ministries," Martin Buck of the Messe Berlin, which is organizing the ITB, said. With over 10,000 exhibitors from 178 countries, the ITB, which opens this Friday, is the world's largest tourism fair.


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Global meat production and consumption have reached unsustainable levels, with 2.4 million deaths globally in 2020 predicted to be linked to overconsumption of red/processed meat and around 70 billion sentient land animals killed for food each year.
The New Scientist reported in July 2020:
The amount of nitrogen pollution emitted just by global livestock farming is more than the planet can cope with, prompting scientists to say we need to eat less meat and dairy produce.
Fertilisers made for agriculture are high in nitrogen, but their use can contribute to air and water pollution, climate change and ozone depletion. Livestock waste is also a source of nitrogen pollution.
Aimable Uwizeye at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and his colleagues found that the livestock sector accounts for about a third of all humanity’s nitrogen emissions, which are also released by burning fossil fuels and other activities.
The emissions from livestock farming amount to about 65 teragrams (Tg) of nitrogen a year. That means meat and dairy production alone breaches the lower limit of the 62 to 82 Tg a year considered to be the “planetary boundary” for nitrogen emissions, or the safe global level beyond which humanity’s future prosperity is endangered. Nitrous oxide, for example, is exacerbating global warming.
“The livestock sector contributes substantially to nitrogen emissions,” says Uwizeye. His team says that while there are technical fixes in agriculture, they may not be enough on their own to keep within planetary boundaries for nitrogen pollution, and some parts of the world will need to eat and produce less meat and dairy.
The group has called for a global initiative to tackle the problem. Rich countries in Europe and North America, as well as middle-income ones including Brazil, are among those that should consume less, says Uwizeye. The overwhelming bulk of the emissions, 68 per cent, comes from crops grown to feed animals, followed by nitrogen released by the build-up and management of manure.
Source: Laura Wellesley, Research Fellow, Chatham House’ Plant-based ‘meat’ and cultured meat, 2020.
How Alternative Protein Could Be Key To Tackling Food Insecurity In Britain – Article by Lord Sarfraz, Conservative Peer
As the world looks on in horror at the events continuing to unfold in Ukraine, countries around the world, including Britain, are beginning to reassess their own domestic security. We’ve seen it in energy policy, as the true scale of Europe’s reliance on Russian oil and gas becomes clear. But we’re seeing it in yet another staple of everyday life: the food we eat.
Britain’s intensive animal protein sector is, perhaps surprisingly, tied to Russian industry. In rearing cattle and producing animal-based proteins like eggs and milk, British farmers currently rely on Russian and Belarussian exports for a high percentage of the fertilizers and animal feed additives, which are essential components of intensive animal agriculture.
A third of all crops grown in the UK are used to feed animals. Farmers use fertilizers, including ammonium nitrate and potassium, to produce greater yields. According to the government’s Food Security Report, we import around half of our ammonium nitrate, “with 75 percent of imports for fertilizer use coming from the EU and the remaining 25 percent from Georgia and Russia.”
The UN estimates that the UK imports over a third of its nitrogenous fertilizer from Russia and Belarus. And the International Food Policy Research Institute estimates we rely on these countries for almost two thirds of our potassium fertilizer.
We also depend on Russia and Belarus for animal feed; currently they account for 33 percent of all global potassium hydroxide exports, which are used to boost the nutrients in animal feed. And whilst a quarter of the food Brits eat comes from Europe, Europe’s reliance on Russia for energy is having knock-on effects on UK food prices.
There is a solution to this food security issue, and a growing number of British consumers are starting to choose it. Indeed, instead of depending on intensively reared animals for food, which rely on these fertilizers and additives, more and more people are consuming protein-rich ingredients sourced from plants instead.
A recent science journal study found the number of Brits eating plant-based alternative foods nearly doubled from 6.7 percent in 2008 to 13.1 percent in 2019. It’s better for our planet, our health, our animals, and can provide long-term opportunity for British farmers.
Food security and alternative protein
Alternative proteins are foodstuffs made from plants, fungi, or tissue culture that provide a genuine different choice to conventional intensively farmed animal proteins. They rely on what British agriculture does best: crops. Britain is the second largest pea producer in Europe, and so self-sufficient in wheat that we are a net exporter.
According to the Food Security Report, “the UK is a net importer of dairy and beef” but is “largely self-sufficient in production of grains” (producing 100 percent of its own oats and barley, and 90 percent of wheat). And, it “produces over 50 percent of vegetables consumed domestically.” Supporting alternative proteins means backing more British produce and greater food security at home.
By 2025, one in four of us could be vegetarian or vegan, according to a recent Global Food Security Programme report. And if we include flexitarians – those who follow a primarily plant-based diet – it could be as many as one in two of us.
Dietary change is coming, British consumers are leading the way and we need a world leading regulatory framework and forward-looking investment so that British industry can lead and guarantee UK food security long into the 21st century.
Supporting the alternative protein sector is urgent if we want Britain to secure a world-leading position in a long-term market that AT Kearney research predicts could take up to 60 percent of the global meat market by 2040.
Instead of using vast amounts of land to produce food for animals, we can produce the same amount of food on 93 percent less land, using 95 percent less water and with far less Russian fertilizer – safeguarding British farming through more efficient use of arable land. And it’s greener too: alternative proteins produce an average of 88 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than animal proteins, helping us on our way to Net Zero by 2050.
Boosting Britain’s economy
And as well as giving us food security, this could reduce the cost of living through lower food prices and create tens of thousands of jobs. Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy estimates that UK alternative protein manufacturing could create 10,000 new factory jobs and 6,500 farming jobs. And the Department for International Trade has identified that “companies in the North East will be in a prime position to take advantage of the growing demand for plant-based and alternative protein products” as a result of their world-class universities, abundance of land, and manufacturing cluster. What a great way to deliver on the government’s leveling up agenda!
So as we await the government’s National Food Strategy, it’s our sincere hope that alternative proteins are put right at its heart. That’s why British businesses, academics, scientists, investors, and NGOs have joined forces to create the Alternative Proteins Association, which we recently launched in Parliament.
Let’s support our homegrown industries, back British farmers, go green, lower food prices, create thousands of jobs, and most of all, safeguard Britain’s food security.
Alt-Rock DUO S&M


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Why it issues
The operators of a fraud that processed more than $5.2 million in re re re payments from customers for pay day loans which were perhaps maybe not owed to your operators are actually prohibited through the commercial collection agency business, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced. In 2012, the agency filed a grievance against California-based Broadway worldwide Master Inc., In-Arabia possibilities, and a relevant person, alleging that the defendants employed callers that harassed consumers into having to pay fake debts. A number of the phone phone calls law that is even impersonated officials or advertised to be through the “Federal Crime device regarding the Department of Justice” to intimidate customers, the FTC stated. The defendants’ operations made more than 2.7 million calls to at least 600,000 different phone numbers across the country and collected more than $5.2 million in less than two years. The defendant that is individual accountable to mail and cable fraudulence in a different unlawful proceeding and had been sentenced to 1 12 months in jail. The defendants agreed to a ban from the debt collection business, a prohibition on misrepresentations about any products or services, and a judgment of over $4 .3 million, suspended upon payment of $608,500 to settle the FTC action.
The debts gathered by Kirit Patel and two businesses under their control, Broadway worldwide Master Inc. and In-Arabia possibilities Inc., presumably are not genuine, however the regulatory action against them definitely ended up being.
In 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a federal court problem against Patel together with two businesses, asking these with violations of Section 5 of this FTC Act for tricking customers into spending debts they failed to owe. The agency said the defendants demanded several hundred dollars at a time after somehow obtaining consumer information from payday loan applications.
The defendants utilized harassing strategies and obscene language, the agency said, over repeatedly calling customers and impersonating police force agents or claiming become from nonexistent federal government agencies including the “Federal Crime device of this Department of Justice.” One customer told the agency that a caller threatened to own her young ones removed if she failed to pay while another stated that she was contacted by the defendants next-door next-door next-door neighbors.
The defendants processed more than $5.2 million in payments from consumers on purported payday loan debts they did not owe and in many cases did not have the money to pay, the FTC said, having made more than 2.7 million calls to over 600,000 phone numbers nationwide over the course of just two years.
The California court that is federal halted the defendants’ operations and froze their assets. In an independent unlawful proceeding brought by the Department of Justice (DOJ), Patel pleaded guilty to mail and cable fraudulence fees and ended up being sentenced to a prison term that is one-year.
The defendants agreed to a permanent ban from the debt collection business, whether directly or through an intermediary to settle the FTC’s action. They even promised to not make future misrepresentations about any products or services, benefit from the private information of clients, and precisely dump client information.
The settlement order imposed a judgment of over $4.3 million. On the basis of the defendants’ incapacity to cover, the total amount had been suspended upon re re payment of $608,500, that the FTC stated will be useful for customer redress.
To see the stipulated purchase in FTC v. Broadway worldwide Master, Inc., view here.


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From BBC Radio 1Xtra to Apple Music, What New Recruit Means for the Streaming Service
Hip-hop has now become a key genre in the battle between various streaming music services, with companies like Spotify and YouTube moving through different strategies to attract new listeners who are passionate about this genre. Now, even Apple does the same.
The Cupertino company has in fact hired Ryan Newman , now an ex-editor of the BBC and Radio 1Xtra for hip-hop. Over the past few years, Newman has been responsible for creating and implementing the BBC’s and radio station strategies for hip-hop music. In Apple Music she will have a similar role on both the platform and, most likely, on Beats 1.
Incidentally, Newman is not the first former BBC to go to Apple, as it has also happened with Zane Lowe , now a major Beats 1 DJ.
Moreover, his assumption confirms that hip-hop is one of the key genres to conquer new users and keep it on the platform, given that a few other genres on Apple Music have such important publishers.
Personally I do not like the hip-hop genre, let alone the grime. I think that Beats 1 is full of rap and odd content and this convinces me more and more not to follow the Apple radio. I remind you that this is free, even for those who are not subscribed to Apple Music, and airs 24 hours a day.


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Amazon's holiday-quarter forecast disappoints, shares dive
By Deepa Seetharaman
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc's (AMZN.O: Quote) sales projections for the crucial holiday quarter disappointed Wall Street and third-quarter results missed forecasts, sending the online retailer's shares 9 percent lower on Thursday.
After an unusually busy first half of the year that saw the online retailer spend on developing everything from mobile phones and Hollywood-style production to grocery deliveries, investors were ready to see it curtail its ambitions and start delivering sustainable profits.
But not only did it post a much larger loss than expected, Amazon also projected 7 to 18 percent revenue growth over the busiest shopping period of the year, a far cry from the 20 percent-plus pace that had convinced investors to overlook its persistent lack of profit in the past.
"That kind of takes the topline growth story off the table. And now they've got to deliver on profit margins," said Rob Plaza, senior analyst at Key Private Bank.
"Because of all that money they need to spend to drive growth, it becomes an expensive proposition."
Thursday's after-hours share losses wipe more than $15 billion off of Amazon's market value. The stock had already been down 13 percent since Amazon's last quarterly results announcement in July, when it also missed targets and ignited a debate about its free spending ways.
Some analysts fear that the U.S. holiday shopping season, the biggest quarter for most retailers, might turn out weaker than anticipated.
Amazon projected on Thursday net sales of between $27.3 billion and $30.3 billion for the holiday quarter, lagging the $30.89 billion analysts had expected on average. Continued...


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The news of Google's $10-billion investment in India over the next 5-7 years could not have been more well-timed. The search engine giant's investment plan is in line with big-tech’s bullish outlook on India. Despite the pandemic wreaking havoc on a sluggish economy, India has attracted investments from giants such as Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft this year.
Earlier this year, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, while on his India visit, announced that the e-commerce major will invest $1 billion (Rs 7,000 crore) in digitising small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India. In April, Reliance Industries commenced its fund-raising spree with $5.7 billion from Facebook. Last month, Microsoft’s venture fund M12 said it would open an office in India to pursue investment opportunities focusing on B2B software startups.
New-found love for India?
The love for India is not a new-found phenomenon. Instead, the western companies were always vying for a share in the 1.3 billion consumer market, a literal gold mine. Nevertheless, New Delhi's proximity and preference for Chinese companies were the main hurdles in capturing the Indian market. The fact that Chinese companies were more successful in creating apps, devices and content that Indians preferred should not be overlooked here.
This, however, changed with the friends turning foes after the recent bloody scuffle at the Galwan valley. In a retaliatory move, India's act of banning 59 Chinese linked apps, including the widely popular TikTok. The US companies are pouncing on the opportunity thrown open after New Delhi's indifference towards Beijing.
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a more accelerating factor for India to jump on the digital bandwagon. "Covid accelerated some of the long-term trends, be it e-commerce or speed delivery, or how we are doing this meeting and getting work done. It’s part of the reason why we are doing the fund at this time. I’m really excited by it," says Pichai.
No doubt, digital commerce will present a new growth avenue for India. Even as Jio gobbled up half of the investment in global telecom deals this year, Google’s payment app as well as WalMart’s PhonePe have been quietly scaling up.
"We expect a large portion of this ($10 billion fund) to go into actually investing in Indian companies," Sundar Pichai, the India-born CEO of Google and its parent firm Alphabet, told in an interview to The Economic Times. Google's plan is to spend $10 billion on operations, infrastructure and investments as a “reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy,” he added.
On Tuesday, there were unconfirmed reports about Google in advanced talks to invest $4 billion (roughly Rs 30,140 crores) for a stake in Reliance Industries' Jio Platforms, which has been the milch cow for India this year. The telecom company has raised a combined of Rs. 1.17 lakh crore ($15.64 billion) since April from investors including Facebook, KKR, Qualcomm, Silver Lakes and General Atlantic Singapore.
On Monday, while announcing the $10-billion fund, Pichai said Google would focus on areas such as enabling affordable access to the Internet and to information for every Indian in their own language; building new products and services in segments like consumer tech, education, health and agriculture; empowering businesses, especially small and medium ones, to transform digitally; leveraging technology and artificial intelligence for digital literacy, outbreak predictions, and support for rural economies. These investments will be made through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, operations, infrastructure and ecosystem investments. These include Google’s existing projects such as Internet Saathi for spreading awareness of the Internet in rural villages and an artificial intelligence-based flood forecasting system, among others.
"I’ve always felt India is a unique opportunity. The foundation of the country, the strong interest in technology, which I feel every time I come there. From the Prime Minister’s office, having laid out a vision for Digital India, all these are unique factors as also the size of the market," said Pichai.
Google's plan is also a shot in the arm for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for Atma Nirbhar Bharat. "India has local talent, access to a large market, strong entrepreneurial and venture capital foundation to see this through. As a company, we are committed to it. We are trying to develop apps in India. We want to invest in companies that are doing that. We are excited by that vision and want to help play a small role in accelerating that trend," Pichai said.
Such investments are truly a win-win for both India as well as the tech companies eyeing more market share.


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One Singapore real estate agent has launched an online petition in a bid to force consumers to pay the GST on their rental fees.
Jason Lim of Vestor Realty is one of a growing number of Singapore real estate agents who are increasingly frustrated at having to absorb the tax element of deals when clients refuse to pay. He has now taken to online channels and is petitioning the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) to take action.
Lim says: “GST isn’t and shouldn’t be an optional extra, but it seems like every time a rental is transacted, realtors will be arguing with the landlord to pay their GST. Invariably these landlord and consumers get their own way, but why should realtors subsidise them at all?”
In March PropertyGuru first reported how increasing number of real estate agents are being forced to absorb GST.
At that time a spokesperson for the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) said: “All GST-registered businesses have to charge GST on the sale of goods or the provision of services. They are required to quote GST-inclusive prices, whether written or verbal, to their customers. The above principle applies to the services that GST-registered property agents provide in arranging or brokering property transactions.”
To minimise disputes, IRAS suggest that GST-registered property agencies and landlords should reach an upfront agreement on the GST-inclusive agent fee payable on the services rendered, and to formalise this in their contractual arrangement for property-related services.
In his online petition which was launched yesterday, Lim adds: “We ask that CEA make GST non-negotiable and compulsory for all consumers on all transactions, and to pay their rightful GST when paying commission to realtors.”
Yeap Soon Teck, Deputy Director (Licensing), Council for Estate Agencies, told PropertyGuru: “The CEA has constantly highlighted in its consumer education resources and messages that a GST-registered estate agent is allowed to charge and collect the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a requirement for GST-registered businesses under the guidelines of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. Consumers are also advised to clarify with their salespersons if the GST payable is factored into the commission amount stated in the estate agency agreement.
He added: “CEA also has in place Prescribed Estate Agency Agreements, which are standard forms prescribed in the Estate Agents (Estate Agency Work) Regulations, that allow the estate agent to indicate whether it is GST-registered and whether GST is applicable or payable upon the transaction.
He confirmed that CEA has previously received similar feedback and is currently reviewing the standard forms to emphasise that if the estate agent is GST-registered then GST should be payable to the estate agent.
Source: PropGuru – 14 jun 2013


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Amazon App Quiz answer October 28, 2020
Here are five questions of today’s quiz along with their respective answers than can help you to win 50,000 in Amazon Pay balance.
1.In October 2020, a rare first edition of which children’s book has sold for £75,000 at an auction?
Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone
2.Padma Shri Recipient Shobha Naidu, who recently passed away, was known for which dance form?
3.According to the World Bank’s International Debt Statistics 2021, which country became the largest creditor?
4.This player scored his one and only IPL century against which team?
Kochi Tuskers Kerala
5.Which North American country’s national animal is this?
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There have been plenty of media outlets that have premiered their shows online before it aired on TV. Now you don’t even have to wait for the commercials.
The California Milk Processor Board, who brought us the long-running “Got Milk?” campaign, are trying to make milk cool to sports-minded kids with their latest campaign, which touts milk as a performance-enhancing substance.
The ads, which parody the steroids scandal in baseball, were released on the CMPB Web site before they begin airing on TV during the MLB playoffs.
On Thursday, Twitter reported its earnings for Q4 2016, and the results have raised questions about the company's long-term future.
From its $1.5 billion air cargo hub to its growing network of contract last-mile delivery drivers, Amazon is increasingly looking like a logistics company; but shipping and logistics giant FedEx isn't sitting idly by.
Havas Group's Meaningful Brands report delivers sobering news for brands: consumers wouldn't care if 74% of the brands they use disappeared off the face of the earth.
Last week, PageFair released its 2017 Adblock Report, and the news was not good for publishers and advertisers.