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CBS News will launch a new service this week that sends breaking news and entertainment video alerts to mobile phone subscribers. Initially, the news service, called CBS News to Go, will cost 99 cents a month, while a similar service from Entertainment Tonight, called E.T. to Go, will cost $3.99 a month.
CBS News has previously offered free text alerts for mobile users on Verizon Wireless’ V Cast service. The new subscription model is designed to test whether consumers are willing to pay for breaking news events. The entertainment alerts are to be provided by Entertainment Tonight, a Paramount Television production and property of CBS.
At first, each service will send subscribers up to five alerts a day, but the plan is to allow users to customize the alerts to their personal interests, the New York Times reported. An alert service tied to CBS Sports is also in the works.
In the weeks ahead, CBS is planning to introduce several other mobile ventures. Some, including a soap opera in three- to five-minute episodes meant only for mobile phones, hew closely to the company’s existing businesses. Others do not, including a subscription service offering images, games, ring tones and sound effects, and a product that will let people create animated images of themselves that they can send as messages to friends.
In addition to the CBS announcements, FOX Mobile Entertainment has launched Mobizzo, a new destination for mobile content, featuring content from FOX television shows such as "24", "Family Guy" and "American Dad".
Mobizzo is currently available on Cingular and T-Mobile. Pricing for online content on Mobizzo will range from $2 for single program downloads to monthly subscription plans costing about $6. Mobizzo will not only feature television-related content, but also games and music. Feature film content will also be available.
Sprint also announced last week that it would begin offering subscriptions to Comedy Central, MTV and VH1 audio and video clip programming for $5.95 each a month.
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The changing face of cannabis in Northeast Florida
Dr. Chidi Uche cuts a distinctive figure. Tailored suit, Italian loafers, monogrammed Ralph Lauren shirt with French cuffs and presidential seal cufflinks. Even his stethoscope is fancy; it’s white with rose gold where you’d normally see stainless steel. His cool demeanor surely inspires confidence among his clients at Timeless Medical Spa, where he specializes in a wide variety of cosmetic and aesthetic treatments.
We met with him at his office on Southside Boulevard. It’s actually his second office (the other one is on University Boulevard), and it hasn’t been open that long. The rapid expansion of his business has been facilitated, in large part, by medical marijuana. Uche, 54, was one of the first local doctors who became certified to prescribe cannabis, back in 2018, and he’s since grown his client base to include more than 4,000 patients, each of whom checks in with him at least once a year, usually much more.
Uche was born in London to Nigerian parents, giving him an internationalist sort of mindset from the very start. “I used to do general medicine,” he said. “I used to see everyone from pediatrics to adults. When I was in London I did internal medicine, then I came over here and did a residency in general medicine because it gives you a broader feel.” He then spent four years as the medical director for Carnival Cruise Lines before moving to Jacksonville in 2007.
Uche’s interest in cannabis began almost by accident. While practicing family medicine, he noticed that many of his patients with anxiety and chronic pain were testing positive for it. After talking with them, he began doing his own research. “That’s when the whole state started opening up,” he said. The arrival of medical marijuna to Florida provided a massive boost to a medical practice that was already thriving and has continued into the pandemic era.
“I did notice immediately that a lot of patients had almost life-changing circumstances once they got started with medical marijuana,” he said. At the time, Uche was one of only a handful of doctors to get certified for this work here. Since then, that number has grown to 93, just in Jacksonville, and 2,541 doctors statewide serving a base of 705,169 patients. This works out to about 278 patients per doctor, which really drives home how strong Uche’s own business is going right now. (The Office of Medical Marijuana Use, or OMMU, keeps exhaustive statistics about the industry from licenses to output, and those numbers are updated weekly.)
Uche first partnered with Surterra, offering his services to people looking to get certified for medical marijuana and then he began working with Trulieve. “It’s all about the ratios and terpenes,” he said. “Just because something works for one patient, doesn’t mean it’s going to work for another.” Some patients may express religious concerns about using cannabis, which he addresses by explaining to them how the science works. “There’s a system that we have in our body called the endocannabinoid system, where we have CBD1 and CBD2 receptors,” he said, “These are receptors in our body that these cannabinoids lock in to, and that manifests these different chemical reactions in our body, whether it’s elevating levels of neurotransmitters, countering hormone imbalances, boosting our immune systems, lymphatics and all that.” As he puts it, why would it be wrong to use this material, if our bodies are already designed to do so?
A frequent complaint about the industry is about the lack of diversity and representation, which is weird, considering the diversity of the client base. Current laws require businesses to be fully-invested in every stage of the process from cultivation to retail and everything in-between, while the actual licenses to participate are highly expensive and tightly-controlled by the state. This system, known as “vertical integration,” does create a sort of soft monopoly involving just a handful of major firms that are all owned and run almost entirely by white men. But, if you go slightly down the chain of command, demographics switch up bigly.
Anecdotally-speaking, medical marijuana dispensaries often seem to have more female staffers than men with minority representation similar to the population at large. Other states, starting, of course, with California, are seeing a surge in Black and Latinx entrepreneurship in that sector. (See the column about Jacksonville’s own Caron Marcelous, from a couple of months ago.) Women also appear to work predominantly in the marketing and PR operations of the various firms, and that particular investment has paid literal dividends in a state that strictly limits their options.
Cannabis companies are prohibited from directly advertising in the media in Florida, which is highly irritating to alternative media outlets like ours, which would surely be pulling down ad loot in the millions from Middleburg to Miami Beach, easy-breezy, automatic for the people. Alt-weeklies in other states can draw up to half of their ad revenue from such companies, and it’s certain that many of the papers to go under in the pandemic era might still be in business, had these resources been available to them.
They can’t advertise, but they can certainly promote, which they do using merchandise like t-shirts and trucker caps. The products basically promote themselves, as each company has their own unique aesthetic, as well as proprietary equipment like vape cartridges and strains. It certainly helps to cultivate relationships, as surely as they cultivate cannabis. Uche has sent thousands of patients to their dispensaries, so the revenue generated by just this one connection probably runs deep into six figures, at least.
Folio staff got to tour the new Trulieve facility alongside Uche, who’s been working closely with them from almost day one. Located at 8355 Baymeadows Road, this is Trulieve’s seventh location in Jacksonville and 114th across Florida, which is more than the next two firms combined. (For context, there are over 7,000 dispensaries in the U.S.) Those 133 locations sold a combined 93,985,557 milligrams of THC in the first week of April, alone. Oddly enough, there were exactly 416 dispensaries in Florida, as of the April 8 update. As current trends go, we will probably hit 420 right around 4/20, if not the week before.
Trulieve has about 7,000 employees, as of 2021. Their stock price currently hovers just above $20, more than any other such company by a solid margin. Dozens and dozens of cannabis stocks are publicly traded on exchanges around the world, led by the United States and Canada. The top five traded firms have a combined market capitalization exceeding $20 billion, Trulieve is a very close second, with a $4.84 billion cap, no cap. In first place ($4.93 billion) is Curaleaf, which is also heavily invested in Northeast Florida. Competition is super-fierce; dispensaries now dot the landscape like hedcuts in the Wall Street Journal. (Hello, Noli!)
Trulieve’s newest location will be hosting the company’s 420 party on Wednesday, April 20, which includes a DJ, refreshments and promotional items galore. Most importantly, that day sees the culmination of their “4.20 For All” NFT project, which was launched on April 1, exactly 420 hours before 4/20. Each of the 14 pieces depicts a person’s hand, holding a different type of cannabis product. It shows how the culture has spread to encompass all types of demographics, with the diversity of the product line reflecting the diversity of the communities they serve.
One hundred percent of the proceeds will benefit Last Prisoner Project, a non-profit organization that works to help expunge the criminal records of citizens with nonviolent pot possession convictions. As the first cannabis company to step formally into the metaverse, it’s uncharted territory, but success is certain. As said, this isn’t technically “advertising,” in the strictest sense of the word, but it is a highly potent promotional tool, one that carries the added benefit of helping people, and addressing the themes of civil liberties, systemic racism and economic disparity.
The 420 event at Trulieve is just one of several events scheduled for that day. One of the bigger deals takes place at Shantytown Pub, an iconic Springfield nightspot cultivating quirky creatives for well over a decade. That continues on 4/20 with Dillon Vaughan Maurer, a pillar of the underground rap scene in Atlanta and a man with long-standing connections to the River City, most notably through his collaboration with the late great Paten Locke. The two gruff gourmands, who founded the Full Plate record label in 2013, have been vocal advocates for cannabis, which featured prominently across the hundreds of tracks they’ve released over the years, including those on Americancer, Locke’s first posthumous album, as well as Dillon’s Gardenstrumentals 2 both of which will be available on vinyl at the show.
Dispensaries are pretty meticulous about who gets to work there, for several reasons. At this still formative stage of the industry, companies are keen to avoid any negative publicity that could give credence to the kind of skepticism that has helped keep recreational marijuana off the state ballot, for the second electoral cycle in a row. Employees are thus vetted thoroughly.
Also, it’s a lot of information to keep track of. Trulieve has over 250 individual product lines, denoted by stock-keeping units (SKU), the barcodes on the back of every package, and their competitors have as many, or more. In addition, new products debut regularly—new strains, new substrates, totally new methods of delivery.
Dispensary employees have to know everything about what their company is selling, as well as what the competition is doing, and then have automatic recall of that information for hundreds of individual customers per day, all of whom have their own unique and specific needs. Imagine being a librarian, before computers existed. It can be a challenge for even the most Type A employee, but turnover in the industry stays fairly low because, frankly, it’s a great job if you have the aptitude and motivation.
From this journalist’s perspective, it takes real effort to keep up with innovations in that industry, and I’m just writing about it. There are a near-infinite array of books about cannabis, news articles, whole specialty publications, websites, message-boards, reddit threads, YouTube channels, podcasts, social media accounts. Every major social media platform developed to date has been used to cultivate cannabis culture, in its own special way, which really helps delineate the particular qualities of each platform.
There are also dozens of specific cannabis-related smartphone apps that allow people to find doctors and dispensaries, product reviews, mail-order and delivery options, and just plain fellowship. My favorite is WeedMaps, but they all have great names: Leafly, GrowBuddy, Hempire, MassRoot, PotBot, Wiz Khalifa’s Weed Farm, Trym. We also still have Erowid.com, which is without question the greatest drug-related website that has ever existed.
But ultimately the bulk of business gets done via word-of-mouth, and that is the crucial role that folks like Dr. Uche are playing in the group of Florida’s cannabis industry. It’s been quite the journey, already, and he’s just getting started.

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PROLOGIS HELPS UNLOCK GROWTH POTENTIAL OF CHINESE APPAREL AND FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY IN TRANSFORMATION
On April 14th, the ANTA Group opened a new distribution center at the Prologis Zhengzhou Airport Logistics Center in northern China, which marks an expansion of the partnership between ANTA and Prologis. Prologis will support ANTA on improving the digitalization of its consumer-focused logistics network.
On July 19, Prologis Foshan Gaoming Logistics Center achieved a significant milestone as its 6 megawatt（MW） rooftop solar project successfully connected to the grid. The project is expected to generate 7.2 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity annually, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 4,100 tons. This new source of renewableenergy stands to not only benefit the customer within the park but also propel the logistics park on an accelerated journey towards green and low-carbon growth.


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The hottest concept mobile phone right now doesn't come from Apple, Google, Motorola or HTC. It was developed by a designer in his spare time as part of a Mozilla Labs project.
If you're sick of buying a brand new cell phone every other year, you're certainly not alone. Consumers are holding on to their phones for longer than ever these days, according to the latest survey from J.D. Power and Associates.
Sony Ericsson won't start updating its Android-based Xperia X10 smartphones until the end of October, according to a Thursday blog post.
Tiered data pricing is coming to Verizon Wireless customers within four to six months, Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg said at an investor conference early Thursday.
Nokia is partnering with AT&T to offer $US10 million in prizes to mobile application developers targeting North American users, in yet another attempt from the mobile giant to make an impact in the U.S.
Optus has announced overnight that it will exclusively sell Dell's Streak tablet in Australia for three months beginning October 1, joining the Apple iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab in the hotly contested tablet market.
Companies are increasingly spending their smartphone dollars on Google Android devices, at least in part at the expense of RIM BlackBerry devices, according to ChangeWave Research’s latest numbers.
An HTC exec may have inadvertently confirmed that Windows Phone 7 is coming in October.
Users of iPhones, iPads or Android-based smartphones can access virtualized Windows desktops using version 3.1 of Kaviza's VDI-in-a-box product, the company said on Wednesday.
Corporations are jumping on the Google smartphone bandwagon, with Android device growth outpacing Apple's iPhone 20-fold in the last three months, a market researcher said today.
Verizon Wireless will push Android 2.2, or Froyo over the air to Motorola Droid X smartphones on Wednesday, though customers can now start updating to the new OS now on their own, the carrier said Tuesday.
Nokia has delayed shipment of the N8, the first mobile phone to run the latest version of Symbian software and a device meant to turn around the company's slump.
AT&T is finally selling its satellite-3G smartphone, the TerreStar Genus, which can be switched from AT&T's network to a satellite for coverage all over the U.S.
Apple on Monday announced that it will launch the iPhone 4 in China on Saturday.
Apple has done enough security-wise with its iPhone and iPad to make many CSOs comfortable with the mobile devices connecting to corporate networks, but Google's Android still has a ways to go.
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Et tu DroneShield? Another Aussie company to sell weapons tech to Saudi Arabia
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Saudi Arabia appears to be the new country of choice for ASX companies to sell weapons and weapons-related technology.
Following Electro Optic Systems’ (ASX:EOS) controversial sale of weapons tech to Saudi Arabia in February, DroneShield (ASX:DRO) has followed by signing an MoU with the state telco.
DroneShield makes anti-drone devices such as the DroneGun — a rifle-style, battery-powered product designed to knock out enemy drone models by interfering with their electronics. It can be used for civilian or State security purposes.
The deal is with the Saudi Telecom Company’s (STC) “specialised” arm, which looks after critical communications generally in the country and counts as clients the military, and the state airline and power company.
STC is in charge of providing secure comms for Hajj security.
The deal is an MoU, promising only to cooperate on sales of drone-killing guns and detection services to Saudi government customers and others outside the country.
EOS’ stock price was hurt by the news that they’re selling into Saudi, but DroneShield’s shares were unmoved, remaining at 11c.
Despite State enthusiasm for the US company’s products, investor interest has died off as purchase orders and actual money have been slow to come in.
The US has to approve sales to some countries and the selling process is more drawn out with national organisations than with private companies.
In 2018, the second full year of selling drone guns and software, DroneShield made $1.2m but also a loss worsened by 16 per cent to hit $6.3m.
The company said in January that it expected sales in this quarter to surge after reports of a drone over Gatwick Airport in the UK meant the area was closed for three days just before Christmas last year. Shares surged to 18 cents at one point after that news broke.
DroneShield has contracts or arrangements with a variety of interesting countries, from Kuwait to an as-yet unnamed Central American state.


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An image of the men suspected of stealing almost $5,000 in smartphones from the front door security camera of the Linden store.
Five men walked into the AT&T store at 689 W. Edgar Road and stole several display devices by pulling out the security cables, according to a news release from city police.
The theft occurred on July 9 at 3:32 p.m. Within three minutes of entering, the men left the store on foot with their haul, and possibly fled in a waiting vehicle.
The men walked into the building and, without saying a word or displaying any weapons, grabbed two Samsung Galaxy S4 phones, a Samsung Galaxy notebook, an Apple I-phone 5, an Apple I-pad Mini, two Motorola HTC One phones and an LG Optimus Pro G phone, according to ...


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Patience isn’t the most popular virtue in Silicon Valley, where companies aspire to move fast and break things, the motto that defined the age of tech excess.
Nothing broke on the day in 2014 when Apple presented a new service called Apple Pay. If the quality of destruction was measured by the speed at which it happened, the flashy innovation from an industry titan would have been considered a disappointment. The idea that it would make the wallet obsolete sounded ridiculous when the pace of Apple Pay adoption underperformed expectations. Wall Street analysts and iPhone users alike were skeptical for the next few years. The experience of using a credit card didn’t seem like a problem that required a solution from Apple.
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In today’s cars, new technology exists to make daily living easier. From Ford’s foot activated trunk release to new ways that vehicles shift, technology has changed in drastic ways since the year 2000.
This technology isn’t exclusive to cars and minivans, it is also found SUVs and trucks. Some trucks, for instance, do come with new technology such as a rearview camera, which makes it easy for the inexperienced to back up without straining the neck or doing guess work. But not all do, and in some cases the new technology costs extra.
Here is some of the new technology you can expect in cars today that you DO NOT have to pay extra for:
*Hands-free Bluetooth: lets you connect your phone to the vehicle’s audio system so that you can keep your hands on the wheel and stay focused on the road
*Built-in GPS navigation: this allows you to always have directions handy on-the-go, instead of using an additional device (Tomcat, your phone, etc),
*Keyless entry: Hit a button on your car key remotely and the car doors unlock, even if you are nowhere near the door.
Other new technology may come at a price, such as rearview camera, rear climate control, and Ford’s Park Assist.
Some technology does have its critics, though. Victor Bast, a Northampton Community College Assistant Professor in Automotive Technology, questions the safety of keyless entry.
“I don’t think it’s any safer than using your own key to open your car door,” Bast said. “Except for the panic button feature, which sounds the horn and flashes the lights on the vehicle, deterring the thief from stealing your vehicle.”
Bast is more of an advocate for the safety of hands-free Bluetooth.
“It is safe,” he says.” Less of a distraction, more of a voice recognition command.”
Robert Migliacco of Milham Ford Toyota Scion agrees.
“Bluetooth can be safer as you can keep both hands on the wheel compared to having one hand on the wheel and one holding the phone,” he said. So, I would say yes.”
But auto features and automobiles as a whole are getting safer. Vehicles now, compared to the safety of earlier models? “Clearly they are better,” Migliaccio said. “Airbag systems are better, child restraint is better, etc. Coded keys prevent theft.”
One of the most technologically advanced vehicles today that is affordable is the all-new Dodge Dart. When it was unveiled in 2012, the Dodge Dart was, and is, the most technically-advanced vehicle for less than $20,000. It can come with GPS, Bluetooth, OnStar emergency services, a 4-cylinder motor with a turbo, and keyless entry for around $17,000-$18,000.
Compared to other vehicles for the size, options and features, the Dart remains a cheaper vehicle for the technology involved. Another benefit for the average college student: this car comes as automatic or stick shift. Based on Car and Driver’s review, the Dodge Dart comes equipped with “an 8.4-inch UConnect Touch Media Center with voice recognition, an Alpine audio system, a full-color seven-inch TFT instrument cluster (the tach and speedo are analog), keyless entry and start, and a heated steering wheel.”
For more information on this vehicle via Car and Driver, go to http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2013-dodge-dart-photos-and-info-news-1.
Unfortunately, certain technology today is only available on certain brands. For example, the foot activated lift gate and park assist is only available on Ford brand vehicles. The 4G LTE WiFi option is only available on Chevrolet and Buick brand vehicles. This is similar to the proprietary nature of all tech companies and brands, much like mobile devices, where they have either developed the tech in-house, or have an exclusive licensing agreement with the maker of the tech. It does make it difficult if you don’t like the style of a vehicle, but that’s where automotive manufacturers and dealers like to pinch customers. Fortunately, other car manufacturers like to find ways around their competitors, so similar options do show up in other brands over time, much like “add-on” features become standard features over time.
While some new technology is only available on certain brands, some features that are exclusive to a certain vehicle. For example, the brand new Chrysler 200C and the Chrysler 300 have a turning knob as a gear selector that Chrysler calls the e-shift. This feature is supposed to make it more ergonomic for the driver to drive their vehicle. However, this feature is no included in all Chrysler cars and trucks.
The question becomes: does all this new technology make driving safer, or more dangerous?
Although the 4G LTE WiFi that comes with Chevrolet and Buick brand vehicles is convenient for the driver and passengers, it can be very dangerous. Recent news articles like Wired.com’s “Jeep hacked on a highway” have spotlighted growing concern that these vehicles, primarily Chevrolet, were falling victim to hackers. If hacked, the driver would no longer be in control of the vehicle, with the hacker about to control everything computer-affiliated within the vehicle. Speed, direction, and functions, all being controlled by a hacker with unknown intentions.
Chris Ecclestone, News Editor for the popular General Motors blog GMAuthority.com, wrote a recent article about the realities of this issue. In the article from Aug. 2015 he mentions the hacker “couldn’t drive the car away after unlocking the doors without having the vehicle’s key or key fob — a security feature available in all General Motors vehicles.” He also added that cars starting remotely during a hack will shut off after 10 minutes, and can only be started remotely twice before the owner would have to physically get in the car and start it themselves. While Ecclestone said these were security features of all GM vehicles (OnStar is wholly owned by GM), but mentions, “…allowing a stranger to track your vehicle’s exact location on a map and unlock its doors isn’t exactly the most comforting feeling.” General Motors, within a day of being aware of the security breach, disabled any ability for hackers to control their systems.
There are still disputes about what can and cannot be hacked, with myths abounding, loopholes being exposed by hackers and then closed by manufacturers on a monthly basis.
So, there are some safe technology used in vehicles, but there are dangerous ways others might abuse a person’s vehicle technology as well. But a buyer has options, and it is recommended to do further research on all prospective vehicles. Buy safe, drive safe.


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Winchester, Va.-based Trex Co. launched the new Trex Enhance high-performance composite decking.
The new product will be positioned between Trex Accents and Transcend in the company's good, better, best decking line-up, according to CEO Ronald Kaplan.
"Trex Enhance will both expand and strengthen our high-performance decking portfolio and provide consumers with a composite product that features a multitude of innovative features," said Kaplan.
Enhance won't rot, warp, crack or splinter, and its three-sided shell protects against staining, fading and mold, Trex said. It comes in a deep charcoal Clam Shell color and a Beach Dune, described as warm, honey brown.


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DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- Zipcar Inc., the car-sharing company that rents vehicles by the hour, said it will seek to raise as much as $75 million in an initial public stock offering.
Zipcar, which has yet to post a profit since it was founded in 2000, will use the proceeds from the share sale to reduce debt and expand the Cambridge, Mass.-based company's fleet, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Funds may also be used for acquisitions, it said.
The offering would come after at least 20 companies worldwide postponed or withdrew IPOs in May as the European debt crisis sent the MSCI World Index of developed-market stocks down 9.9 percent.
Tesla Motors Inc. also is seeking to raise $100 million, while General Motors Co. has said that it may sell shares to the public this year after its 2009 bankruptcy.
“The key for this company is to convince investors it can get to profitability in the not-too-distant future,” said Paul Bard, director of research at Greenwich, Conn.-based Renaissance Capital LLC, which has followed IPOs since 1991. “Investors love growth, but they really want to see a business model that is capable of delivering strong profitability over time.”
Zipcar, which rents its fleet of 7,000 cars in cities and at universities in the U.S, Canada and the U.K., posted revenue of $33 million in the first quarter, a 29 percent increase from a year earlier, the SEC filing showed. The company's net loss widened to $5.3 million from almost $3 million, it said.
The car-sharing company operates in 13 metropolitan areas, including London where it acquired Streetcar Ltd. in April. Zipcar has also invested in Catalunya Carsharing SA, the biggest operator in Spain, and plans to expand in Europe.
Zipcar may have opportunities outside urban areas, including customers who want to rent minivans or pickups for the day, according to Jim Hall, principal of 2953 Analytics Inc. Investing in those markets may curb profits at first, he said.
“They will have to learn vehicle usage cycles for different markets all over the country and all over the world,” Hall said. “They may have to overstock their car fleet in the early days while they are figuring that out.”
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. of New York are managing the share sale.
Zipcar cited Hertz Global Holdings Inc. as one of its main competitors in the filing. The Park Ridge, N.J.-based company's shares have lost 7.2 percent this year, compared with a 2.5 percent decline for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
Tesla Motors, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based maker of the $109,000 electric Roadster, filed for an IPO in January to raise capital for factories, acquisitions and equipment.
GM may choose a lead underwriter for its initial offering as soon as this week and sell shares in the fourth quarter, two people familiar with the matter said on May 28. The Detroit- based automaker is 61 percent owned by the U.S. Treasury.


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On Thursday, Samsung introduced a new universal flash storage chip for smartphones that can hold up to 256GB.
"Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, announced that it is now mass producing the industry's first 256-gigabyte (GB) embedded memory based on the Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 2.0 standard, for next-generation high-end mobile devices," said the company in its announcement. The new chip features "outstanding performance for mobile devices that exceeds that of a typical SATA-based SSD for PCs." It is based on the company's most advanced V-NAND flash memory chips and a specially-designed high-performance controller and can handle up to 45,000 and 40,000 input/output operations per second (IOPS) for random reading and writing, respectively. The previous generation of UFS memory can handle up to 19,000 and 14,000 IOPS, respectively. This chip is capable of supporting seamless Ultra HD video playback while multitasking on phablets and tablets which means users can watch a 4K Ultra HD movie while searching IMDc for the cast in split-screen mode. The 256GB capacity also allows for quite a bit of storage on the device; according to Samsung, about 47 full HD movies can fit on one chip.
"By providing high-density UFS memory that is nearly twice as fast as a SATA SSD for PCs, we will contribute to a paradigm shift within the mobile data storage market," said Joo Sun Choi, Executive Vice President of Memory Sales and Marketing at Samsung. "We are determined to push the competitive edge in premium storage line-ups – OEM NVMe SSDs, external SSDs, and UFS – by moving aggressively to enhance performance and capacity in all three markets."
Photo: © iStock.


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This week sees launches for suppliers including Play’n GO, Booming Games, Microgaming, and Pragmatic Play, alongside integrations for Relax Gaming, Nektan, AMANET, 1X2 Network and EvenBet Gaming.
Swedish slots specialist Play’n GO is taking player to the opera with its latest Asia-focused slot, Imperial Opera.
The five reel, 20 payline game puts players in the box seats of an oriental opera house, where they can watch the show played out by performers dressed in traditional costume.
The Princess acts as a wild throughout, helping players on their way to big wins along with various new features and symbols, including the mega scatter symbol which can deliver free spins to fortunate players.
The Harmony feature will occur randomly throughout the gameplay, with two or three reels spinning the same symbols, while Crescendo will convert all symbols on either one or two reels into the Princess wild. Players can also see the Showcase feature, which is active on each spin and stacks a random symbol across the reels.
“We’re excited to launch yet another regionally-targeted slot to our rapidly expanding portfolio in Imperial Opera, and we’re sure players will enjoy the concept and premium gameplay,” said Play’n GO CEO Johan Törnqvist.
“Our games development team have stepped up their output this year, bringing numerous titles to market which have proved popular across the various territories we are certified within, and I expect this to be another smash hit.”
Malta-based casino games developer Pragmatic Play has launched its latest slot, Ancient Egypt.
Taking players back to a time of pyramids and papyrus, the 3x5 reel game features instantly recognisable symbols, including an ankh, Anubis, and the famous Queen of the Nile Cleopatra.
The scarab beetle features as the games wild and scatter symbol, triggering the bonus mode when three or more appear. Casting players as courageous tomb raiders, the bonus game presents players with three treasure chests, with each either containing a cash prize or access to the free spins round.
“Ancient Egypt is a refreshing take on a popular theme, bolstering our reputation as one of the most adept casino game providers in iGaming,” said Pragmatic Play chief commercial officer Melissa Summerfield. “In an intuitive design twist, the game features nine paying symbols rather than the traditional 12 or 14, with exceptional underlying maths making it an inviting treat for new players and long-time slots fans alike.”
Games developer Booming Games is harnessing the luck of the Irish in its newest slot release.
Doublin’ Gold is a 3-reel, 3-row slot equipped with features such as Mix ‘N’ Match, which awards wins for special symbol combinations formed of both identical and different symbols.
In addition, if the cheeky leprechaun helps form a win, he will double it and may lead players to the pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow.
“Doublin’ Gold gives players the best St Patrick’s Day gift you can imagine,” said Booming Games CEO Max Niehusen. “Designed to appeal to players of all abilities, Doublin’ Gold will add a much-beloved theme to our already popular portfolio.”
Online gaming operator Bethard Group has agreed to integrate content from supplier Relax Gaming across its brands.
The Blackjack title allows players to be dealt three hands simultaneously, while Roulette has a realistic ball motion, backed by high spec physics modelling.
"Our players expect the latest and best games on the market so forming this partnership with Relax Gaming will help us offer this,” said Bethard Group casino manager Bjornar Heggernes. “The table games they'll initially supply us with are top-end in quality, and this allows the player a rich user experience on mobile devices and desktop."
Relax Gaming CEO Patrik Österåker said: “The Bethard Group has a strong brand in the Scandinavian market and we’re pleased to provide them with our table games content, with the likelihood of further roll-outs down the line.
“Our table games have been proven to drive incremental revenues for various operators, with players appreciating their realistic gameplay and operators their extremely competitive price.”
Nektan / Tyche Digital
London-listed iGaming solutions provider Nektan has gone live in Asia through a global platform deal signed with Tyche Digital Malta last October.
Tyche has integrated Nektan's content aggregation platform into its Asian partner sites and will be responsible for localised licensing.
"Our platform is now live across Europe, Asia and the US,” said Nektan chief executive Gary Shaw. “We are seeing strong commercial traction with Tyche in its core Asian markets.
“We are pleased with the level of commercial engagement so far and look forward to delivering on the significant pipeline of opportunities that Tyche is developing and gradually ramping up revenue generation through 2018 and beyond."
Tyche's portfolio includes 200 Asian games and other content from a range of suppliers such as Realistic Games, Pragmatic Play, Booongo Gaming and Pocket Games Soft.
"We've been delighted with the speed and efficiency of Nektan's team and platform to deliver the content and technical requirements needed to move forward and further grow in Asia,” said Tyche chief technology officer Vyacheslav Grzhybovsky. “We are now delivering against a number of signed contracts with the prospect of more partner deals over the course of the year."
iSoftBet / 1X2 Network
Online casino content provider iSoftBet has expanded its Game Aggregation Platform (GAP) by integrating games from 1X2 Network’s development studios.
The partnership will give operators using GAP access to slots and virtual games from 1X2 Network’s Iron Dog Studio, 1X2gaming and Leap Gaming studios.
“We are constantly striving to add quality games to the portfolio we offer our partners through GAP, and those from 1X2 Network certainly hit the mark,” said Michael Probert, head of business development at iSoftBet “It’s Iron Dog Studio and Leap Gaming subsidiaries in particular have built a formidable reputation for designing and developing blockbuster games, which are already live in markets such as Italy and the UK."
1X2 Network chief commercial officer Kevin Reid added: “This deal is another great partnership for us as it opens the door to new markets and opportunities. We are excited at the opportunity to put our games in front of players in countries such as Portugal for the very first time.”
This week also saw the launch of 1X2gaming’s latest release The Justice Machine, based on Caliber Comics’ popular comic in the 1980s.
The 5 reel, 3 row slot game sees Challenger, Diviner, Demon and the rest of the team back together as The Justice Machine is gearing up for an explosive return to action.
In the game players can watch the team fight Earth's enemies as they fly across the screen activating special and wild symbols. Take part as Chain turns villains into cash prizes or Challenger creates free spins.
Get a bonus symbol on an activated reel to trigger a Justice Bonus Round and players can watch The Justice Machine team in a fight scene where the heroes use their special abilities to obliterate Megabot and his minions.
AMANET / Pariplay
iGaming solutions provider Pariplay has signed a distribution deal with AMANET, the online gaming arm of Austrian land-based casino games manufacturer AMATIC Industries.
AMANET’s portfolio of more than 100 online casino and slots games will integrate with Pariplay’s FUSION content network, including popular land-based titles repurposed for online play such as the 720-ways Eye of Ra, the 243-ways All Ways Fruit, and the 50-line Arising Phoenix.
The games add to Pariplay’s own collection of over 100 branded and original casino games and titles from 13 different third-party software providers.
“We’re excited to continue to diversify the games available through our FUSION content network,” said Adrian Bailey, general manager at Pariplay. “The popularity and brand-recognition of AMATIC/AMANET’s casino content throughout Europe in general will support our clients’ growth in these all-important established gaming markets as well as emerging global jurisdictions.”
AMATIC online gaming manager Tatjana Bauer-Engstberger said: “Partnering with Pariplay marks an important step in our ambition to expand in other regulated markets.
“We’re excited that our AMANET online games are now available to Pariplay’s gaming clients and look forward to contributing to the industry’s growth with our innovative, land based-proven games.”
Betclic Everest Group subsidiary bet-at-home.com has expanded its online gaming platform with more than 130 games from Isle of Man-based supplier Microgaming.
In a significant expansion of its games offering, the operator has integrated with Microgaming’s Quickfire platform, providing players with access to titles such as Avalon, Ariana, Thunderstruck and EmotiCoins.
“bet-at-home.com is a fantastic addition to the Quickfire platform; they are highly experienced in the gaming industry with a large, global customer base,” said Andrew Clucas, director of Quickfire at Microgaming. “I am sure the collection of games they have taken live will be extremely popular with their players.
EvenBet / InBet Games / Wazdan
Online gaming software developer EvenBet Gaming has agreed a new deal to integrate its poker product with platform provider InBet Games.
EvenBet Gaming CEO Dmitry Starostenkov said that InBet shared the company’s flair for versatile software solutions and was impressed with their capacity.
“There is enormous potential for mutual growth over the coming years, and we look forward to seeing how more and more players embrace our retooled poker games,” he said. “This agreement provides further vindication that we are offering the leading turnkey poker product on the market.”
InBet Games business development director Paul Korolev added: “It’s fantastic news to partner with EvenBet on a deal which I feel equips our diverse suite with its final key component of poker.
“We were drawn to the ease of integration and EvenBet’s commitment to reinventing the poker space with new formats such as Open Face Chinese. Together, we are securing deeper user engagement with maths engines that enhance playability and gameplay.”
EvenBet has also this week agreed a deal to expand its casino platform with content from UK-licensed casino games supplier Wazdan.
The supplier’s portfolio of over 100 casino games include titles such as Magic Target Deluxe, Fenix Play Deluxe, Mystery Jack Deluxe, Wild Guns and Magic Fruits Deluxe.
"In partnering with Wazdan, we have significantly enhanced our casino games offering,” said Starostenkov. “As the iGaming industry is constantly moving towards cross-platform and mobile-centric solutions, Wazdan's Unique Gamble Features and innovative HTML5.0 games have built a very popular base already and we're delighted to be offering that depth of portfolio and technical prowess to our partners and their players."
Wazdan sales manager Lauryn Duncan said: “We are passionate to see innovative platforms with such a prestigious portfolio of partner websites offering Wazdan games, and EvenBet Gaming matches that profile precisely.
“EvenBet Gaming has established a strong base of customers over the years by offering a superior technical infrastructure and enhanced user experience, we are happy that experience will be further strengthened with Wazdan's unique games catalogue."


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Nikola Motor Company Two truck
Source: Nikola Motor Company
Nikola will begin offering an advanced driver-assist system on its electric heavy trucks starting late next year, the company said Wednesday.
The system, made by Plus and called PlusDrive, is similar to the highway driving systems offered by automakers including Tesla, General Motors and Ford Motor – while a human driver must be present and attentive, the system can handle most highway driving tasks on its own, in addition to assisting the human driver in non-highway situations including backing up to loading docks.
Plus says its “autonomous driving technology offers the industry’s best-in-class perception system and deep learning models to quickly, accurately, and safely perceive the vehicle’s surroundings, predict what’s coming next, and control the vehicle to make its next move.”
But a Nikola representative told CNBC the system as it will be integrated into the company’s semitrucks is designed to be an “eyes-on-road, hands-on-wheel” system.
Nikola CEO Michael Lohscheller said in a release that the electric steering and braking systems already used in the company’s trucks will simplify the integration of Plus’ system, which includes radar, cameras and lidar sensors to detect obstacles around the truck.
Plus already provides the PlusDrive system to Italian heavy-truck maker Iveco, a longtime Nikola partner. Iveco began testing its own PlusDrive-enabled trucks earlier this month.
Nikola said that several of its fleet customers, including PGT Trucking and Christenson Transportation, have agreed to test prototype PlusDrive-enabled Nikola semitrucks. The company expects to begin offering PlusDrive on its regular production battery-electric and fuel cell trucks by the end of 2024.
Nikola is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter and full-year results before the U.S. markets open on Thursday.
Clarification: Plus’s advanced driver-assist system as integrated into Nikola’s semitrucks is designed to be an “eyes-on-road, hands-on-wheel” system, according to a company representative. An earlier version of this story mischaracterized the functionality.


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Thinking about EchoStarSiriusXMSatelliteRadio Inc.
This, apparently, hasn’t been lost on EchoStar’s Charles Ergen, who may be getting ready to take over the company.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Ergen has recently acquired part of a $300 million tranche of Sirius debt that matures on Feb. 17: “Sirius recently converted part of the debt to equity, reducing the total debt outstanding to about $175 million. It isn’t clear whether Mr. Ergen participated in the exchange, however. Mr. Ergen could also be buying up senior bank debt, due in May, which trades thinly on the over-the-counter market.”
Given all this, we now offer some food for thought:
- How does Sirius XM’s Mel Karmazin feel about all this? After all, he is a well-known dealmaker. Is he ready to sell? Ergen could be doing him a favor.
- If this does pave the way for an EchoStar takeover, would such a deal even make sense? Is there any business wisdom in combining satellite radio and satellite TV?
- And where would such a deal leave Karmazin? Satellite radio has been his baby, would he leave the game altogether? If not, then how could he work with Ergen? Remember, Karmazin and Sumner Redstone? Not exactly a match made in Heaven.
Keep an eye on:
- Hollywood may at last be having its Napster moment — struggling against the video version of the digital looting that capsized the music business (NY Times)
- Warner Music Group posted better-than-expected results on Thursday, despite falling CD sales and slower growth in digital revenue (Reuters)
- Online DVD company Netflix Incon said one million Microsoft Xbox 360 video game console users have activated Netflix’s movie streaming service in the three months since the two companies formed a partnership (Reuters)
(Photo: Sirius XM Chief Executive Mel Karmazin/Reuters)


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Rumors about coming MacBook releases are swirling around the Web. Key predictions include a new Intel Ivy Bridge Core quad-core processor, a very thin 15-inch MacBook Pro, super-fast USB 3.0 and Retina displays.
Some of the reports are based on the appearance on various sites of benchmarks that purport to be from a new MacBook Pro prototype. The benchmarks indicates that the machine is running a new, unreleased version of OS X Mountain Lion, using an Ivy Bridge processor.
50 Percent Faster
According to the alleged specs, a new 13-inch MacBook Pro will use the recently-released Intel Core i7-3820QM, running at 2.7 GHz. One reason for excitement about the possible incorporation of the new processor is that its integrated graphics processing is said to run about 50 percent faster than the Sandy Bridge processors currently in the MacBook Pro.
However, some observers have speculated that, while an Ivy Bridge processor may be planned for the next MacBook Pro, it may not be the 3820QM, but a more recent Intel chip designed specifically for the product.
There are also purported benchmarks for new all-in-one iMacs floating around, which point to a 27-inch iMac running an Ivy Bridge quad-core processor, the i7-3770, at 3.4GHz.
A new 15-inch MacBook Pro is reportedly being readied, based on information from supply-chain sources, and some observers expect it to resemble a souped-up MacBook Air, while others suggest a much thinner version of the current Pro. Another data point backing the idea that new Macs will soon be released is that retailers appear to be cutting prices to move existing inventory, such as discounts of up to $200 by Best Buy.
A key feature of one or more new Mac models, according to reports, will be a so-called Retina display, the next step in spectacular high-resolution technology launched on the iPhone 4 two years ago. The Retina display on the iPad unveiled earlier this year showed the technology in its larger self, and the display type is expected to emerge on Apple's computers sooner or later.
There are also expectations that new Macs will include USB 3.0 ports, offering transfers up to 5 Gbps. Intel's Ivy Bridge processors have built-in 3.0 support.
We asked Michael Gartenberg, research director at Gartner, what his expectations were for Apple computer releases in the near future.
Pointing out that rumors always abound about what Apple plans, Gartenberg said the company was expected to upgrade to the latest available Intel processors, adding that "it also wouldn't be much of a shock if new Apple computers were significantly thinner" than previous models.
Similarly, Gartenberg said that Apple is rolling out Retina displays across its product lines, although he noted that the company "would probably give developers some notice" that such high-resolution was coming to the Mac, in order to give them time to accommodate it. For instance, user interface elements shown on screens with the highest resolution, unless corrected, look smaller than normal.


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Qualcomm Launches Augmented Reality SDK For iOS
Qualcomm had launched a software development kit(SDK) for building Augmented Reality(AR) app on Android. And now it is the turn for iOS.
With the the SDK, developers are able to build all kind of AR games and apps without the need to recreate the wheel by coding their own visual-recognition system.
A beta release of the iOS-compatible SDK was rolled into Qualcomm’ s developer center in the past few hours. It is quite surprising since they previously said that their main focus was building the platform for devices running their Snapdragon chips, not for Apple devices. But now we will have the SDK support for the iPhone 4, iPad2 and fourth generation iPod Touch.
Watch the video if you would like to know more about Qualcomm’s visual augmented reality platform:


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SM Markets focuses expansion to help more communities in the regions
SM Markets is focusing its strategic expansion to help more Filipinos in the regions. SM Markets, the SM Group’s umbrella brand for SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket and Savemore, is adding
How the challenges of his childhood shaped Tatang Henry Sy’s passion for education
The late Henry Sy, affectionately called “Tatang” by those who knew and loved him, was a man who was born to learn. “Even when I was a young boy, I
SM Foundation and Fast Retailing Foundation join hands to protect coastal villages
Mario Flores Canilao thought his world was about to end when Typhoon Glenda (International: Rammasun) struck his village in the province of Pampanga in July 2014 and ravaged a fishing
2GO, DOTr renew call for PH transport modernization
MANILA, 11 October 2022 – 2GO Group, Inc. (2GO) is echoing the call of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for the modernization of maritime transport and logistics services in the
SM and Fast Retailing Foundation Launch ‘Grow Trees Community’ in Nasugbu
SM Foundation, Inc. the social good arm of the SM group, and the Fast Retailing Foundation (FR Foundation), a general incorporated foundation in Japan, formally launched the ‘Grow Trees Community’
Tagaytay Highlands’ Primrose Parks: summer joys and holiday cheer
Summery holidays The holidays bring so much joy to Filipino families as they gather in one home to catch up and share stories, exchange gifts, and indulge in heartwarming traditions
Charting an Empowered Future: SM marks milestones in diversity and inclusion
(30 September 2022, Pasay City, Philippines) SM Investments Corporation (SM Investments) marked important milestones in upholding inclusion and diversity in the organization. Diversity recognizes the uniqueness and variety of the
Costa Del Hamilo, Inc. and World Wild Fund for Nature Philippines Partnership
Costa Del Hamilo Inc. (CDHI) and World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines (WWFP) reinforced their partnership agreement through the ceremonial contract signing on September 22, 2022. The ceremony was attended
2GO joins International Coastal Cleanup Day in 15 locations nationwide
PASAY CITY, 20 September 2022 – As part of 2GO’s commitment to practice good corporate citizenship and demonstrate support to and awareness of marine preservation, hundreds of its employees actively
BSP, SM sign agreement for Coin Deposit Machine project
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and SM Retail Inc. recently signed a Bilateral Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to deploy coin deposit machines at SM’s retail stores. With this, shoppers will
Alfamart takes pride in its people
They are driven by purpose to serve communities where they work especially during this pandemic.
Nature living comes full circle
Nature living comes in full circle with Tagaytay Highlands’ Horizon Terraces’ exclusive Garden Suites, bringing the mountain resort experience to a whole new level.
SM Supermalls continue to provide gov’t with accessible vaccination sites nationwide
Over 2.5 million jabs of COVID-19 vaccines in various SM malls across the country were administered in partnership with the national and local government units.
The Ice Tower cometh: SMDC brings the future today
A virtual launch brought SMDC’s latest, its ICE Tower RESO at MOA, into the media spotlight.
SM says ‘Call to Deliver’ service posting double-digit growth
SM Retail is investing a lot in technology to ensure the best delivery and most convenient service for an enhanced customer experience,
It’s a wonderful life at SM MOA drive-in cinema
SM Cinema Drive-in at SM Mall of Asia always allows us to be part of one of the most exciting cross-cultural events like this film screening of Wonderful Life.
PHLPost issues China Bank commemorative stamps
The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) has released special postage stamps to commemorate China Bank’s centennial, featuring the China Bank building in Binondo, Manila.
Conrad Manila recognizes women champions of sustainability
For their support and meaningful contribution in driving the social, ecological, and economic well-being of communities, Conrad Manila proudly recognized five Filipina women as Champions of Sustainability.
BDO warns clients of fake apps
BDO Unibank Inc. urged its clients to download its mobile apps only from official sources after global cybersecurity and digital privacy firm Kaspersky reported a sharp rise in mobile malware attacks in the Philippines.
SM ramps up support for San Pablo City in the fight against COVID-19
SM Foundation Inc. remains committed to reaching more COVID-19 frontliners by providing them with much-needed medical supplies.


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One of the most elegant M cameras to date.
The newest addition to the Vanquish Zagato family.
“Unprecedented customer interest” means the beautiful V12 concept will soon be a reality.
The essence of an important design relationship.
Leica and Italy’s Zagato craft a pair of collaborative binoculars.
Having collaborated with Europe’s top automakers in the past, custom coachmaker Zagato revisits its
In celebration of its 95th birthday, Italian automotive design house Zagato unveiled its latest
In honor of coachbuilding company Zagato’s 95th anniversary, Lamborghini has collaborated with them


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• People under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian after 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
• A parent or guardian must be 21 or older and cannot be responsible for more than four unrelated youth.
• All guests must abide by the mall's rules of conduct. Failure to do so may result in expulsion for a period of time.
• Mall security personnel may request to see a valid photo ID (i.e. a state-issued driver's license or ID card, visa, passport or military ID) to verify age. (Teens employed at the mall must present proof of employment).
• Unaccompanied youths unable to prove they are 18 or older will either be directed to a designated waiting area to await transportation or instructed to return home the way they arrived.
SOURCE: Mall of Abilene
• "It is annoying seeing a bunch of kids making out or running people down with their horseplay. The problem is the parents that dump their kids off at the mall as a free easy way to get rid of them for a few hours. I think it's a great idea."
• "What a crock! This is absolutely the worst thing I have seen them do yet."
• "I'm guessing a rise in shoplifting probably has a lot to do with this."
• "For those of us that don't rely on the mall to baby-sit our children, this is a WONDERFUL idea! My husband and I are much more likely to visit the mall on weekends now."
• "I kind of like the idea. I hardly go to the mall and the main reason is because I don't want to be around a bunch of teenagers that are all flocked together cursing and horsing around. Then you go somewhere to eat and they've taken over all the tables and just sit there, not even eating any food."
• "I think that it's a load of Oscar Meyer Bologna (nice sponsor plug there) that a lot of well-behaved kids will be excluded from the mall."
To read more comments, click on the online version of this story.
Youths who like hanging out at the Mall of Abilene on Friday and Saturday nights soon will be out of luck -- unless they don't mind their parents tagging along.
Beginning Oct. 17, those under 18 will be prohibited from running unaccompanied throughout the mall without a parent or guardian from 5 to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
However, there will be an exception for Premier Cinema 10 moviegoers. They will be able to enter unaccompanied 30 minutes before showtime and must remain on the theater premises and leave immediately after their movie ends.
For some, such as high schooler Chandi Perez, the rules are "a little ridiculous."
"It's sending a negative message, and it's just not right," said Perez, an Abilene High School senior. "They'll probably lose a lot of business."
For others, such as Abel Castillo, it is a "good idea."
"They obviously did something to make the mall not trust them," said Castillo, another AHS senior. "It's a privilege -- if you do something wrong and it gets taken away, you have to prove yourself to get it back."
The mall's new "Family-Friendly Hours @5[""] program was the result of concern expressed by some customers and merchants over the large number of unaccompanied youth on weekend nights.
"They felt intimidated," Mall of Abilene Vice President and General Manager Steve Majors said, adding the policy is not the result of any incidents but is rather a proactive move.
The Mall of Abilene is the fourth mall in the company to institute the policy, Majors said. At the other malls, sales generally increased after an adjustment period.
"As you can imagine, our new family-friendly hours are the result of careful thought and consideration, and we feel it presents a positive solution," said Sandra Minnick, senior marketing manager for the mall. "We believe encouraging households to enjoy the center together actively promotes a pleasant, family-focused atmosphere."
Lacey Cook, shift manager at Bath & Body Works, said that she wasn't aware of the change but that it likely will help her business.
"We have a lot of children who come in who aren't shopping," Cook said. "They'll come in, running around unaccompanied."
Cook said her store doesn't really have any problem with "the high school children," noting that the 17- and 18-year-olds who peruse are typically polite and that "they're just not coming in to hang out."
Those 15 and under, Cook said, are "more middle school children" who are "hyper, just running around."
"We could have more people walking in that would be paying customers or at least who are being polite," Cook said.
Samantha Smith, co-manager of Pacific Sunwear, said the change might end up hurting her business "a little bit."
Parents frequently drop their children off to go shopping or to a movie and "half the children nowadays have the money" to purchase items, Smith said.
"I don't mind them coming in, but it's just when they're rowdy," Smith said.
Last week, Smith said, one youngster came in with a balloon and popped it, startling others, and just made "ridiculous noises."
Typically, she said, the most disruptive are the 12- to 14-year-olds who "come in and feel they have to prove something.
"And they're just silly," Smith said.
However, she said, there are instances where children act correctly and make purchases, including one 13-year-old who regularly plops down $100 on items.
Anita Schnier, assistant manager at Spaghetti Warehouse, wasn't familiar with the new policy, but she said she didn't believe the measure would hurt the restaurant's business.
"It's mostly families, couples and adults," she said of the restaurant's clientele.
College students are common because the eatery offers them discounts, she said, but groups of teens under 18 are not common.
"We're not fast food. We're not Chuck E. Cheese," she said. "We don't have a game room."
Meanwhile, Minnick said, mall workers under 18 will be able to enter with proper employee identification on Friday and Saturday nights.
"However, they must report directly to their job and leave once their shift concludes," Minnick said.
According to Minnick, mall security officers will be "visibly posted at public, common mall entrances, anchor tenant entrances into the common area and populated funnel points/corridors, for as long as deemed necessary.
"Younger shoppers may be asked to present photo identification to verify their age," she said. "A valid photo ID includes a state-issued driver's license or ID card, a military ID, visa or passport."
Additionally, Minnick said, school buses coming to the mall won't pose a problem because schools "usually have ample sponsors."
"We don't see it as an issue," she said.
However, mall officials are contacting schools in its 22-county region "just as a courtesy so they will be informed and inform their communities as well," she said.
"This is a very positive program for our consumers and tenants," Minnick said.
On Wednesday, Mall of Abilene officials unveiled the program logo and signage that will soon appear throughout the property to inform shoppers about its new "family-friendly hours." The mall is also running print ads, billboards and radio station ads, and will distribute a dedicated "Mall Mail" e-mail blast to subscribing consumers in addition to working with its community partners to spread the word.
Staff writers Brian Bethel, Sidney Levesque and Nathaniel Ellsworth contributed to this report.
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We Buy Any Car, Sports Direct and Saga fined £495,000 after sending millions of ‘frustrating and intrusive’ nuisance messages.
The ICO has announced (15th September) fines totalling £495,000 to well-known companies that between them sent more than 354 million nuisance messages.
We Buy Any Car was fined £200,000 for sending more than 191 million emails. The firm also sent 3.6 million nuisance texts. Saga Services Ltd and Saga Personal Finance were fined £150,000 and £75,000 respectively for instigating more than 157 million emails between them. Sports Direct has been fined £70,000 for sending 2.5 million emails.
None of the companies had permission from people to send them marketing emails or texts. This is against the law.
Andy Curry, ICO Head of Investigations, said:
”Getting a ping on your phone or constant unwanted messages on your laptop from a company you don’t want to hear from is frustrating and intrusive.
“These companies should have known better. Today’s fines show the ICO will tackle unsolicited marketing, irrespective of whether the messages have been orchestrated by a small business or organisation, or a leading household name. The law remains the same and we hope today’s action sends out a deterrent message that members of the public must have their choices and privacy respected
“Companies that want to send direct marketing messages must first have people’s consent. And people must understand what they are consenting to when they hand over their personal information. The same rules apply even when companies use third parties to send messages on their behalf.”
The ICO’s investigations into the companies were sparked by complaints from the public.
We Buy any Car sent emails to people who had requested an online valuation of their vehicles. The Information Commissioner found that the initial emails sent after a valuation request were made within the law, but that subsequent emails which also promoted the We Buy Any Car service were unlawful because they contained marketing as well as being sent without consent.
The company sent more than 191 million emails between April 2019 and April 2020, plus 3.6 million text messages. It has been has been fined £200,000.
Both Saga Services Ltd (SSL) and Saga Personal Finance (SPF) instigated emails using partner companies and their affiliates. These companies used data lists of people who had not given the companies permission to contact them. SSL instigated more than 128 million emails between November 2018 and May 2019 and SPF more than 28 million over the same period.
The companies say they relied on indirect consent, however the laws around electronic messages are stricter as they are more intrusive and this form of consent is not adequate. SSL has been fined £150,000 and SPF £75,000. Both companies have also been issued with Enforcement Notices ordering them to stop any illegal direct marketing within 30 days or face court action.
Sports Direct sent 2.5 million emails as part of a re-engagement campaign between December 2019 and February 2020 with people they had not contacted for some time.
They were unable to show any evidence of consent to contact the recipients. The company has been fined £70,000.
The ICO has issued 17 fines totalling more than £1.7 million so far this year (2021/22) for breaches of direct marketing laws.
Andrew Stevens, Principal at Quadient, commented,
“Of course many nuisance calls and texts come from spammers and scammers; however some also come from legitimate businesses, and they must take steps to prevent them from occurring. When it comes to any contact with customers, it’s critical to have their consent and know their communication preferences – whether that’s somebody who is losing their hearing and needs to be contacted by letter or email, or knowing whether customers will be happy to have certain topics, such as Father’s Day, mentioned in communications.”
“Ultimately, following customer wishes is the best way to have a healthy long-term relationship, reducing the risk of ICO fines, and retaining as many customers as possible.”
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) upholds information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
The ICO has specific responsibilities set out in the Data Protection Act 2018, the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003.
For additional information on The ICO Visit their Website


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Pragmatic Play, a leading supplier of iGaming content, has agreed to provide games to Hommerson Casino, one of the newest actors in the Netherlands’ online gaming market. As agreed, the former company will supply the newly launched casino brand with its portfolio of cutting-edge slots.
The addition of Pragmatic Play’s content will provide Hommerson with a strong initial boost, allowing it to engage gamblers with iconic fan favorites such as Sugar Rush and Sweet Bonanza. In addition to beloved hits, Hommerson players will also get to play new releases, such as the recently released Big Bass Amazon Xtreme and Gates of Olympus 1000.
Pragmatic Play also agreed to inject additional content into the operator’s content offering, including its full portfolio of live casino titles. Thanks to that, Hommerson players will be able to enjoy classic table games such as roulette and baccarat or immerse themselves in exciting game shows like Treasure Island and Sweet Bonanza CandyLand.
Hommerson is a well-established land-based brand that will foray into the thrilling world of online gambling for the first time in its 125-year history. The company is best known for its high standards and robust player protection tools.
For Pragmatic Play, this launch is yet another opportunity to expand its European presence and launch more content in the Netherlands.
Pragmatic Play Is Excited to Support Hommerson’s Foray into iGaming
Hommerson Casino’s chief executive officer, Remco van den Berg, commented on the partnership, saying that the deal will provide his company’s players with access to “some of the most popular and entertaining slot titles on the market.” Van den Berg added that Hommerson Casino boasts 125 years of experience and knows the Dutch players “inside out.”
We are confident Pragmatic Play’s diverse slots portfolio will resonate strongly with our players’ preferences and drive significant engagement. This is an important step for us as we make our mark in Dutch iGaming, and we look forward to a successful partnership with Pragmatic Play.
Remco van den Berg, CEO, Hommerson Casino
Pragmatic Play’s chief operating officer Irina Cornides also commented on the matter, expressing her excitement about Hommerson Casino’s foray into iGaming. She said that her team is thrilled that the experienced operator selected Pragmatic Play’s award-winning content for its launch.
The operator has a long-standing history in the Netherlands, which is a key regulated market for us.
Irina Cornides, COO, Pragmatic Play
In February, Pragmatic Play also expanded its deal with Playbook Engineering, agreeing to add bingo to the arrangement.


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What does 2019 look like for Samsung TVs? The South Korean manufacturer is, as always, firing on all cylinders.
We’re seeing Samsung driving new modular panel technologies, pushing the limits of 8K resolution, and expanding the scope of its in-house Bixby AI, without forgetting to offer some of the best mid-range televisions out there.
For now though, there’s little by way of concrete product names or release dates for 2019 – with one or two exceptions. At the CES 2019 tech expo we caught sight of a new 75-inch MicroLED TV named ‘The Window’, as well as a 98-inch version of its existing Q900R 8K QLED television.
Samsung is pushing its designer series of televisions like The Window, The Wall, and The Frame, and we’re likely to see upgrades and enhancements to existing models over the coming year.
We’re also expecting upgrades to last year’s range of high-end QLED (quantum dot LED) televisions, which included the Q9F, Q8F, Q7C, Q7F, and entry-level Q6F, which we’ve listed for you below. There’ll certainly be more of Samsung’s UHD models – now prefaced with the letters ‘NU’ – and, at the cheaper end, some more traditional HD TVs.
With so many models to take in, we thought it’d be beneficial for to see the entire line-up, from the high-end QLED to the entry-level TVs, all on one page. Most are sets released in 2018, but we’ll update this page as their new variations get announced.
It’s worth noting that a lot of the specs listed below could potentially change as we get closer to the retail release of these screens, but for the most part the specs you see here should be the components that make it in the final product.
Samsung 2019 TV technology
Most of the technical advances we see in 2019 will be iterative, rather than anything wholly new from Samsung.
Samsung is pushing forward with its MicroLED panels, which feature millions of microscopic blue, red, and green LEDS for an incredible level of color and light control. On the large end, there’s the new 219-inch model of Samsung’s The Wall, and on the less-large-but-still-large end, the 75-inch The Window – made possible by smaller, more compact clusters of LEDS – with both looking ahead to a flexible future where you can customize your TV shape for any size or aspect ratio you please.
The virtual assistant Bixby will be one of the few common features across Samsung’s MicroLED, QLED, and Ultra HD lineups – alongside various Samsung smart appliances, phones, and speakers.
An ‘improved AI algorithm’ will make your Samsung TV better at recommending and displaying relevant TV content and apps, with expanded use of Bixby voice controls through your Samsung remote – as well as compatibility with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant smart home devices. Not to mention some smart Remote Access features for connecting to other devices through your TV.
The addition of Bixby will also allow the TVs to be compatible with Samsung’s SmartThings smart home platform. Together, Bixby and SmartThings will allow you to control your home from the comfort of your couch, giving you voice control over everything from smart lights to your Samsung SmartThings-enabled refrigerator. This may not be as beneficial for those folks who aren’t quite ready to buy into smart home tech yet, but it’s a nice addition to those of us who already have.
On the software side, Samsung sets will be getting AirPlay 2 support for streaming iTunes content from Apple devices. 2019 will also be the first time Apple has offered a dedicated iTunes app for movies and TV shows for a non-Apple manufacturer – for now exclusively on Samsung TVs.
Of course, the star of the show for Samsung in 2019 is still the QLED TV screen – essentially a variation on traditional Quantum Dot LED-LCD panels that feature a peak brightness between 1,500 and 2,000 nits. For a reference point, that’s about twice as bright as the competition from 2017 and four to five times as bright as the HD/SDR TV you’re used to watching.
We’re likely to see wider expansion of Samsung’s Ambient Mode. When the TV is turned off, Ambient Mode helps the TV mimic the color and pattern of the wall on which the TV is displayed, so that it blends seamlessly into home décor.
It can also play music and display information about the news, weather, and traffic as well. While at first limited to QLED TVs, we’re hoping to see the mode trickle down into more affordable devices too.
Many high-end Samsung sets also feature the OneConnect box, which outsources all of your HDMI, power inputs and the like into a piece of hardware separate from the TV, preventing a mess of cables hanging down from your new display.


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BANGOR, Maine — A Miami man was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court to 3½ years in federal prison for identity theft and credit card fraud against multiple Mainers, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Ariel Perez-Calvo, 28, also was sentenced to three years of supervised release.
In addition to prison time, U.S. District Judge John Woodcock, ordered Perez-Calvo to pay more than $35,000 in restitution, a press release issued Wednesday said.
According to court records, Perez-Calvo and Roberto Lueje-Rodriguez, 30, of Miami in January 2016 used debit and credit card account numbers belonging to Maine bank customers located in Penobscot, Knox, Hancock, Piscataquis, Franklin, Somerset, Kennebec and Androscoggin counties to make unauthorized purchases totaling more than $35,000.
The investigation into the men’s activities began in 2015 when a Saco police detective noticed there were four unauthorized purchases on his debit card.
The defendants, who were born in Cuba, engaged in similar conduct in Manchester and Concord, New Hampshire in November 2015 when they used debit and credit card account numbers belonging to New Hampshire bank customers to make unauthorized purchases totaling more than $1,000, the press release said.
The name embossed on each fake card was “David Cuan,” which was not the name of any of the victims. Each fake card bore a unique account number and appeared to be an authentic debit or credit card, but their magnetic strips were encoded with the true account numbers of the victims, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Perez-Calvo and Lueje-Rodriguez pleaded guilty last year to one count each of access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.
A sentencing date for Lueje-Rodriguez has not been set.
The investigation was conducted by the Maine State Police; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; and the Bangor, Brewer, Dexter, Dover-Foxcroft, Ellsworth, Hampden, Lincoln, Millinocket, Newport, Pittsfield, Rockland, Saco, Waterville and Londonderry, New Hampshire, police departments.


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New research by citrix suggests that 50% of large UK businesses have accumulated a stockpile of digital currency in case of a ransomware attack — and just 7% are only stockpiling Bitcoin — the vast majority, 93%, are spreading their risk by investing in other digital currencies as well.
The research — commissioned by Citrix and carried out by OnePoll — is based on interviews with 750 IT decision makers in companies with 250 or more employees across the UK, to uncover the extent to which large British businesses are accumulating stores of digital currencies, the impact of the fluctuating price of digital currencies, and how organizations plan to keep these investments secure.
The poll revealed that 9/10 (90%) of respondents that do keep a ready stockpile of digital currency stockpile Bitcoin. While Bitcoin has proven extremely popular, the vast majority of these companies have also invested in additional digital currencies. More than half (54%) have bought Litecoin, but a significant proportion of these organizations have also invested in Ethereum (43%), Ethereum Classic (33%), Ripple (33%), and Dash (29%). In fact, as noted above, just 7% of large UK businesses are choosing to accumulate Bitcoin only.
While more UK companies are building a ready stockpile of digital currency — rising from 42% in 2016 to 50% in 2017 — the number of Bitcoin kept on standby has remained largely consistent: Large UK businesses now stockpile an average of 24 Bitcoin — only one more than the 2016 average.
This consistency in terms of the amount of Bitcoin kept on standby may reflect many organizations’ decision to cash in on fluctuating prices to make a profit. The poll uncovered that more than half (57%) of those companies stockpiling Bitcoin have sold some of their supply to make a profit. An additional 2/5 (38%) of these businesses are currently considering making a sale — leaving just 5% choosing to keep all their Bitcoin.
Almost 2/3 (64%) of those companies keeping a ready supply of Bitcoin


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57% of respondents also indicated spending more than three hours online per day, suggesting a high degree of exposure to cyberthreats.
A confidential Facebook document reviewed by The Intercept has revealed that the social networking giant is offering private data of its users without their knowledge or consent to 100 different telecom companies and phone makers in 50 countries.
The database contained network name, password and even it’s location
For professionals and tourists alike, connecting to a public Wi-Fi is a boon keeping the high roaming data cost in mind. But connecting to any available free network can easily expose your data to hackers who are waiting for you to log into.
The company claims that the router immediately and automatically helps secure all connected devices at the network level in a home, including non-display IoT devices, providing an additional layer of protection from potential hackers and for members of the home using devices and accessing online content.
The chief scientist at cyber security firm McAfee, Raj Samani, said enterprises, government bodies and SMBs in India will need to be wary of phishing, spyware and cyber frauds in first few quarters of 2018 and also should be transparent while collecting user data.
The cyber cell of Lucknow police has recorded a 40% increase in registration of cyber crime cases since 2016.
For in-flight Wi-Fi, Honeywell's satellite communications hardware is fitted on the aircraft so it can receive true broadband class connectivity via Inmarsat satellites.
The risks are escalated when using the connection for business purposes, considering the sensitivity of business data.


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The husband and wife co-founders behind the direct-to-consumer cookware and dinnerware startup retailer OurPlace are big believers in the notion that the doorway to inclusive communities opens through the kitchen.
Amir Tehrani, the company’s co-founder and chief executive spent, his life in the cookware and kitchen business, while his wife, Shiza Tehrani, is the co-founder of the Malala Fund, supporting educational initiatives for young women around the world, and Now Ventures, an impact seed investment fund based in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles-based company is taking Shiza’s belief in social missions and the power of entrepreneurialism to transform communities, and Amir’s knowledge of the multibillion-dollar cookware and dinnerware business, to create a consumer-focused business that celebrates the culture surrounding cooking and uses it as a way to educate and inform — all while selling high-end pots, pans, plates and glasses to an audience of socially conscious consumers.
The project has received its initial capital from some pretty high-end backers. So far, the company has raised $2.35 million in financing from investors, including the venture arm of Los Angeles’ startup retail giant, FabFitFun, and Will Smith’s Dreamers VC.
The company’s initial line of dinnerware and cookware is manufactured in China and its glassware is manufactured in Thailand.
But the two executives have plans to source its future collections from artisans living in emerging markets around the world. “Our next collection is sourced from Oaxaca,” says Tehrani. “The Oaxaca line… it’s artisans making things out of their home. They’re making everything by hand and there’s no sophisticated machinery to speak of.”
The challenge, says Amir Tehrani, is to help these artisans begin producing products at scale while staying true to the artisanal nature of the products.
Ultimately, the idea is to educate and inform consumers about the cultural context behind the products they buy, according to the company’s two founders.
There’s also a financial incentive to launch a direct-to-consumer brand, the founders say. It’s an industry that has yet to be disrupted by the technological innovations that have reshaped so many other retail markets, they say… and one that’s equally as large as the mattress industry.
By 2021, the cookware and dinnerware market is projected to be $12.7 billion, according to a study by Freedonia Focus Reports. By comparison, mattresses are about a $14 billion market in the U.S.
And it’s a market that Amir Tehrani knows well. His grandfather founded Tabletops Unlimited, one of the largest white-label suppliers of kitchenware, cookware, and dinnerware in the U.S. That experience is what brought investors like FabFitFun to the table.
“They understand our capabilities around the family business and they want to help bring it to their community as well,” says Amir Tehrani. “Aside from what they were already doing around fashion and cosmetics the largest opportunity they weren’t already doing was around cookware.”
This article is inspired by Techcrunch.


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Today gamers can join in the celebration of 50 years of James Bond with the release of 007 Legends from Activision. Available at North American retail outlets today, across Europe on October 19th and in Australia on October 31st, 007 Legends is the latest installment in the esteemed franchise, delivering a first-of-its-kind Bond video game experience featuring a story inspired by five classic Bond films – Goldfinger, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Moonraker, Licence to Kill, Die Another Day. Additionally, 007 Legends will feature a sixth mission based on this year’s highly anticipated Bond film –SKYFALL – which will be available to unlock as downloadable content. Timed to the North American release of the feature film, PlayStation®Network subscribers will gain exclusive early access to the SKYFALL mission on November 9, 2012, and then on November 20, 2012, the mission will be available on Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network.
The team at Eurocom has really outdone themselves this time with 007 Legends, delivering a very unique and comprehensive Bond video game we’re sure fans will enjoy playing,” said David Oxford, EVP/General Manager, Activision Publishing. “Fans not only get to experience these great, defining moments from Bond’s past that have made him the spy he is today, but they also get to become Daniel Craig’s modern-day Bond, and play through an all-new, contemporary story mission based on the upcoming SKYFALL film that comes out as DLC. This really is the most robust and unique Bond video game experience to date.
For more info on 007 Legends, check out the trailer below and go to their Facebook page here.
[youtube id=”oJQV9tQ4XbA” width=”600″ height=”350″]


text: In its perusal of records from the 2018 fiscal year, the Audit Office of Guyana (AOG) has found that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) increased its collection of taxes by billions, so much so that it was able to cover for decreased revenue in certain categories.The Guyana Revenue AuthorityAccording to Auditor General Deodat Sharma in his 2018 report which was seen by this publication, $217 billion in taxes was collected and deposited in the consolidated fund. This is an increase compared to 2017, when a total of $171 billion in taxes were collected by GRA.Some categories that saw more taxes being collected than was expected are customs and trade, value-added tax (VAT) and internal revenue. internal revenue collection accounted for the most, $88.7 billion, compared to the $80.4 billion that was expected.The report notes that while $19.3 billion was estimated for customs and trade tax collection, an actual $22.1 billion was collected. In the case of VAT, $48 billion was actually collected, exceeding the estimated $43 billion.Excise tax collection also accounted for a significant portion of the overall sum, as $39.6 billion was collected. On the other hand, the AG recorded shortfalls in fees and fines (by $99 million), rents and royalties (by $321 million), as well as dividends and transfers (by $2.6 billion)However, the AG also noted that the overall increase was able to cushion the effects of the shortfalls in the varying categories of tax collection. In total, GRA surpassed its budgeted tax collection target by $15.2 billion.Meanwhile, GRA, when given a chance to respond, attributed all the increases to the higher value of some of the commodities that were imported. They also reported that 208 more importers have started making VAT payments.“Custom and trade taxes categories grew by $2.8 billion, reflecting higher revenue collections of import duties of $2.3 billion and environmental levy of $200 million. However, dividends and transfers to consolidated fund declined by $2.7 billion mainly on account of lower transferred amount by Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.”“The main contributors were internal revenue, value-added taxes, customs and trade taxes and excise taxes that exceeded the budgeted amount by $8.3 billion, $5.0 billion, $2.8 billion and $1.3 billion respectively. The increase from the internal revenue category were withholding tax $4.5 billion and personal income tax $3.8 billion.”GRA also noted that the increased collections from withholding tax was due to more companies making payments on overseas remittances. They also said that personal income tax collection showed increased receipts due to arrears payments from self-employed persons.According to the authority, there were additional initiatives that led to 193 employers and 171 self-employed persons making payments in 2018.While increased tax collection amounts to money for the state coffers, the parliamentary Opposition has long argued that from an economic sense, tax collection without corresponding growth in the economy is a bad combination.Back in 2017, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo had pointed out that when the 200 new tax measures which he said were introduced in 2016 fully kick in, Guyanese will feel the squeeze.“You will see the cost of living going up, the business community will be unable to survive in the new tax environment,” he had prophesied, adding that with the pressure from GRA, these businesses will not feel driven to invest and create more jobs in the future.“So, you would see not only deterioration in terms of cost of living going up, but less jobs being produced in the future because no one wants to invest in this country. And right now, people are losing jobs rather than them creating jobs that they (Government) promised,” Jagdeo had further stated.Over the past few years, industries like the agriculture sector and mining have shown contractions. Notwithstanding the poor performance in the various productive sectors, Guyana experienced a 4.1 per cent growth in the economy in 2018.In addition, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had projected a 4.4 per cent growth for last year, with an even steeper growth curve projected by them after oil production starts. It has been observed by financial analysts, however, that this does not necessarily mean life has improved for ordinary Guyanese.


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Square Yards, a Gurugram-based real estate company, conducted a city-wide OOH promotional effort in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Delhi-NCR, and Bengaluru to retain buyer attention, increase brand visibility, and build consider among its target socioeconomics.
Kanika Gupta Shori, COO, Square Yards, said, “Buying a home has become a prerogative for millions of Indians post-COVID-19. With technology and digital platforms playing a critical role in the home buying journey now, taking our full-stack proposition to consumers has been core to our brand approach over the last 12 months. Through this impactful OOH branding exercise, we have tried to create a long-lasting impression in the minds of our consumers.”
For this campaign, Square Yards claimed to have used guerrilla marketing and advertising tactics, including the usage of call-to-action terms over a yellow background. According to the corporation, those billboards are located in the most prominent areas of target towns to elicit as much interest from potential clients as possible and build commitment to the company’s digital stage and traditional distribution networks.
The marketing campaign emphasises how the brand is committed to improving the buyer experience through its 360-degree property contributions, making home-hunting more efficient, productive, and secure. The corporation claimed that this high-powered promoting effort shows a suitable explanation to Square Yards’ challenging business as usual, with 450+ boards strategically placed throughout locations.


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Income from high export potential products dropsExport earnings from nine high export potential products identified under Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) declined by 15 percent in the first three months of the current fiscal year, largely due to exports hurdles and too much involvement of middlemen.
Export earnings from nine high export potential products identified under Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) declined by 15 percent in the first three months of the current fiscal year, largely due to exports hurdles and too much involvement of middlemen.
Except tea, hide and medicinal herbs, other items included in the NTIS products list performed poorly.
The NTIS 2016, a revised form of NTIS 2010, has identified nine products including cardamom, tea, woolen carpet, animal hide, ginger, medicinal herbs, pashmina items, footwear and all fabrics, textile, yarn and rope under the high export potential products.
According to a Nepal Rastra Bank report, export earnings from these goods dropped to Rs4.85 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year from Rs5.71 billion in the same period last year.
Tea exports grew 67.5 percent to Rs118.1 million. Similarly, the export of animal skin increased 66.65 percent to Rs81.8 million and medicinal herbs increased 36.52 percent to Rs132.7 million.
However, ginger witnessed the largest fall of 81.81 percent. As compared to the export earnings of Rs117.7 million in the first three months of 2016-17, ginger export stood at only Rs21.4 million during the review period.
The fall in ginger export can be attributed to the hurdles that the traders faced time and again with India, according to traders. India is the main key market for Nepali ginger. Around 94 percent of Nepal’s fresh ginger is exported to India.
Ginger export to India was disrupted after Indian customs officials started imposing 5 percent goods and service tax (GST) on Nepali produce. The Indian authority has asked Nepali traders to get necessary permits from India’s central government to get a waiver on import duty, traders said.
This trade barrier led to the loss worth millions of rupees. Only last month, the Indian authorities removed the GST on Nepali ginger.
Last year too, the Indian authorities had halted Nepali ginger exports to India, stating that Nepali ginger contained traces of harmful pesticide.
Cardamom was the second among the NTIS products that witnessed heavy plunge in its export. Export earnings from cardamom plunged 54.2 percent. Likewise, export earnings from footwear and pashmina items dropped 15.41 percent and 10.62 percent respectively.
The earnings from woolen carpet and textiles and yarns also fell 10.10 percent and 9.26 percent respectively.
Commerce Ministry Spokesperson Ravi Shankar Sainju said that due to lack of coordination among the stakeholders, including the government agencies, the NTIS products have performed poorly. “Lack of products diversification and failing to explore new market are also the reason. Likewise, involvement of middleman in the agriculture produces, rather than the main buyers, have also hit the exports,” Sainju said.
According to him, Nepali goods to India are being traded by many Indian buyers, who do have official licences for trading. “As a result, Nepali products have been facing problems time and again,” said Sainju.


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Snowmaking has begun at Beech Mountain Ski Resort! With the arrival of a much anticipated cold snap, Beech Mountain Resort has begun snowmaking for the 2010-2011 season. Stay up to date with the progress, by viewing Beech Mountain ResortÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s new webcam. It won’t be long now till opening day, so please continue to check skibeech.com for updates!
Posted in News.


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The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp today said its Senior VP (Sales & Marketing) Anil Dua has put in his papers. Dua has decided to pursue an opportunity outside of the company and will continue in his current role till the 24th of June, 2014.
Dua confirmed the development saying, "I have accepted an exciting opportunity outside of the country to begin a new chapter in my professional career. I will, however, always cherish my days at Hero."
Even Pawan Munjal, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Hero MotoCorp said, "He played an important role in doubling of sales volumes and increasing market share during the past eight years. I thank Anil for his contributions, and wish him all the very best in his future endeavour."
The two-wheeler manufacturer confirmed that the national marketing and sales functions will continue to be headed by Sanjeev Shukla and A Srinivasu respectively, while the national dealer development and after-sales service functions will remain with Ajay Dikshit and Rajesh Mukhija respectively.