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Ford is looking for the toughest challenges in selected markets around the world to test its soon-to-be-released all-new Ranger in real-life conditions.
This global series of events starts in Australia. Individuals can enter this unique competition by detailing what they believe is the ultimate challenge for the all-new Ford Ranger.
Five finalists in each market will each be among the first in the world to drive and test the all-new Ranger in real-world conditions, with one winner from each participating country driving away in an all-new Ford Ranger.
The Global Ford Ranger Challenge kicks off in Australia and will continue through Thailand and South Africa before moving to Europe and South America.
Australian applications and nominations are now open. Entries can be made online via the Global Ford Ranger Challenge's official website, www.fordrangerchallenge.com.au
"All around the world, truck users take their vehicles to task, pushing them hard every day. Whether they are delivering goods, working for the emergency services or driving them in mines hundreds of feet below the surface, we understand they rely on their truck to deliver," Ford Australia's vice president for marketing, sales and service, Beth Donovan, said.
"We want to show exactly what the new Ranger can do so we're putting it in the hands of customers around the world to push it to its limits."
How the Global Ford Ranger Challenge works
Entrants can submit an application to the official Global Ford Ranger Challenge website (www.fordrangerchallenge.com.au) explaining why their challenge is a genuine test for the all-new Ford Ranger's capabilities.
From all entries, five finalists in each market will be selected. They will be chosen by a panel of judges and selected according to the nature of their challenge as well as the quality and creativity of their entry. The five finalists for the Australian competition will be announced at the start of July.
An all-new Ford Ranger will then be loaned to each of the five finalists in each particular market for a period of ten days. During this time, each of them will carry out their nominated challenge, which will be captured in a two-minute video clip.
Footage of each participant's challenge will then be uploaded on to the challenge's dedicated website www.fordrangerchallenge.com.au for the general public to vote on throughout September.
The winner in each country will be the participant who receives the greatest number of public votes. Their prize: an all-new Ford Ranger they get to keep. The winner of the Australian competition will be announced in October.
"The Global Ford Ranger Challenge gives us a unique opportunity to reach out to consumers around the world and ask them either to participate or simply to follow the contestants as they test the all-new Ranger in tough, real-life conditions even before it officially goes on sale," Donovan said.
"We believe the new Ranger is a smart and tough truck and we want consumers to know that too by seeing how our participants put the all-new Ranger through its paces.
"The initiative will also help build awareness and interest in the new Ford Ranger as it launches around the world."


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Operation Sports presents the latest MotoGP 18 news, screenshots and videos. Looking for the MotoGP 18 release date or latest MotoGP 18 features? You've come to the right place.
MotoGP 18 Announced, Scheduled to Release June 7 - MotoGP Esport Championship ReturnsMarch 30, 2018
Milestone has announced MotoGP 18 will be launching on June 7 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam. It...

domain: news


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Retail News Breaks Archives
CVS Caremark to co-host retail/health challenge
April 2nd, 2014
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – CVS Caremark Corp. has agreed to co-host the annual Wake Forest School of Business Retail and Health Innovation Challenge through 2018.
Wake Forest said Wednesday that the challenge, an event of the Wake Forest University School of Business Center for Retail Innovation, is a two-day competition held each fall that selects 20 teams from top business programs nationwide through their submission of innovative business plans.
The university described the challenge as "an opportunity for participants to learn from experts in the field about the graying of America and how that will affect retailers and marketers."
CVS Caremark served as lead sponsor of the 2013 Retail Innovation Challenge, which Wake Forest said focused on the coming "silver tsunami" and how aging baby boomers are impacting the health care system. A team of Wake Forest MBA students won the 2013 challenge with a medication monitoring and alert system.
The school noted that the new partnership will enable the event to continue to focus on innovations for aging consumers at the intersection of retail and health.
"This partnership will allow the challenge to be a meeting place between retail and health, especially as we focus on the aging consumer," Roger Beahm, executive director of the Center for Retail Innovation and professor of practice in marketing, said in a statement. "The commitment by CVS Caremark will help make our event the most robust retail innovation competition of its kind in academia today."
Wake Forest pointed to the breadth of CVS Caremark's health care and retailing reach. The company operates more than 7,600 CVS/pharmacy stores, and its one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers, serving more than 60 million plan members, as well as the biggest operator of retail health clinics, with over 800 MinuteClinic locations nationwide.
"As a pharmacy innovation company that is committed to helping people on their path to better health, our sponsorship of the Retail and Health Innovation Challenge provides a unique way to for us to identify and nurture new ideas and solutions to address the health care challenges of our aging population," stated Rob Price, chief marketing officer for CVS/pharmacy. "We look forward to deepening our ongoing partnership with Wake Forest University School of Business."


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The third Monday of November generally means the heat turns up for online Winter holiday shopping. How does this affect the world of Internet Marketing? Well, generally it means that a lot more activity will be done online. Are you ready for it? We sure hope so!
Internet Marketing News – 2010 11 15 2010
Advertisement on Google is about to get much more visual. Google is about to unroll their new advertisement format (soon for Canada as well), which will display visual images along with the standard text ad setup for Google AdWords. A company spokesperson says that they’ve “found that people are twice as likely to click on a Product Listing Ad as they are to click on a standard text ad in the same location.”
Google Partners With NHL, Adds Real-Time Scores to Search Results
The NHL has now teamed up with Google to display Hockey Scores in real-time! By pulling data results from all the official NHL's site, you can now find snippets featuring links to live scores, live streams, standings and even video highlights! Lastly, NHL has added an option for one to buy tickets for future games with one simple link.
Keep an eye on your Facebook Inbox this season, as a new viral trend could end up to be a gift for you this Christmas! This year, Facebook is projected to be one of the largest traffickers of online gift cards. Major corporations like Amazon, Kmart, and even Starbucks, are allowing people to purchase themed gift cards from their company Fan Pages. Once purchased, these can be easily shared to anyone on their friends list!


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There is a possibility that this year’s rice exports will reach 7.5 million tons, a rise of 300,000 tons compared to last year, Truong Thanh Phong, chairman of the Vietnam Food Association, said.
Speaking at the conference on developing paddy and building rice brands in the Mekong Delta in Soc Trang last week, Phong said the nation as of now has signed contracts to export roughly 7.2 million tons, equivalent to the total volume the country exported last year.
“Local rice inventories now are rather large, at more than 1.7 million tons, so we are able to meet export contracts as well as local demand,” Phong asserted.
Regarding the food price development in the near future, Phong said the global situation is unpredictable due to natural disasters.
“In India, as food prices in the nation are too high, the Government is launching the sale of 10 million tons of rice and wheat in an effort to lower the prices,” Phong noted. He predicted India might stop exporting white rice as their crop’s output volume will drop by 6-7% this year compared to 2011.
If the prediction becomes true, it will create a fantastic opportunity for Vietnamese rice exporters, especially shipments of low-grade types. Moreover, Russia, ranked second in the world after the U.S. in terms of grains exports, is facing a poor harvest slipping by half from the previous crop.
“It is likely that food prices will become higher in the near future but the forecast is also not certain,” Phong told the conference.
The Saigon Times Daily


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(Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are unlikely to dodge regulatory oversight as supervisory authorities respond to the sheer popularity of the phenomenon, according to the governor of Sweden’s central bank.
Though monetary policy officials have voiced near universal skepticism toward Bitcoin and its rivals, cryptocurrencies have continued to build an enthusiastic following. That’s prompted some of the biggest names in finance to move in, as Wall Street banks such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. offer trading services tied to crypto.
Read More: Kuroda Joins Chorus of Central Bankers Casting Doubt on Bitcoin
“When something gets big enough, things like consumer interests and money laundering come into play,” Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves said on Monday. “So there’s good reaso
Read more »


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The swiftness of the U.S. economy's slowdown caught just about everyone flatfooted.
Over the past few weeks, economists have been busily ratcheting down their growth forecasts, with some going so far as to say we've already entered recession. The
Federal Open Market Committee's half-point cut, between meetings, was a tacit admission that it, too, had been surprised by the sudden depth of the downturn.
But if the economists on Wall Street or at the
Fed feel sheepish, at least they know they're in good company. All across the country, companies of every stripe got blindsided by the rapid cooling, leaving them with a ton of merchandise on their hands that they're pretty desperate to unload.
Consumers don't have to go very far to find evidence of America's inventory problem. That PC makers have been aggressively cutting prices, trying to clear their shelves before their current stock becomes obsolete, has been well publicized. A trip to the mall shows how desperate retailers are to unload their wares. If one is looking for harder evidence,
fourth-quarter earnings report provides it -- the chipmaker's inventory-to-sales ratio tacked on 43% over the year-ago period.
The November data on
, released Tuesday, showed, for the second month in a row, a slight decline in U.S. inventories. That wasn't enough however, to keep pace with cooling sales. The inventory-to-sales ratio, which has climbed steadily since March, hit its highest level in 19 months. One sign that the slump is over and the economy is reaccelerating will come when sales begin to sap inventories, reversing the recent trend.
"There's an excess that has to get worked off," says
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
chief U.S. economist Richard Berner. "How aggressively that gets worked off, how long it takes, is going to be the question here."
This is where the good news comes in. Since the last recession, nearly a decade ago, there have been some pretty serious changes in the way businesses do things. Just-in-time practices, where manufacturers only bring production materials in as they need them, have become de rigueur. There have been tremendous advances made in warehousing, production flow and shipping -- in short, inventory control. As a result, the U.S. inventory-to-sales ratio has declined by more than 10% over the past decade.
Tighter inventory control has allowed managers to respond more quickly to slowing demand. The suddenness of the economy's deceleration may, in fact, have had something to do with this -- in a just-in-time world there is little lag between weak auto sales and automakers cutting their, say, ball-bearing purchases. It also means that the whole inventory adjustment process can happen much more quickly, though, and that could lead to the economy healing quickly.
"It will require less time to liquidate inventories," says
Credit Suisse Asset Management
managing director Stanley Nabi. "You can tell that it's already happening. Auto companies are cutting production very quickly. And I'm told that retail inventories were liquidated right after Christmas and that by the time we get to February they'll essentially be in balance."
That jibes with the
National Association of Purchasing Management's
December sounding of manufacturers. Its Inventories Index fell to 39.8, its lowest level in over four years, showing that companies are aggressively working down inventories.
Although economists generally agree that inventory reduction should help speed the economy toward recovery,
director of economic research Bill Dudley does warn, "You have to keep your eyes out to see if there's any second-round effect."
Inventory reduction in a slowing economy generally means cuts in production. Cuts in production often mean job cuts, and a higher jobless rate has a way of making demand for goods even weaker. Think about this long enough and suddenly it seems like the U.S. is spiraling downward into some widening maw -- a good demonstration of why economics is called the dismal science.
In fact, such an aftershock is more worry than likelihood, says Dudley. Sometime in this or, more likely, the next quarter, the inventory-to-sales ratio will begin to rise again. "That will be a sign that you're getting to the end of the process," says Dudley.


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Organic SEO losing click share to paid ads?
October 23, 2017
Organic search engine optimization has long been regarded as a better way to generate clicks and leads than paid ads like those offered by Google Adword campaigns. But there’s been a fairly dramatic shift recently that may change the focus of companies trying to generate inbound traffic from search campaigns.
Wayfair.com, an e-commerce giant in the home furnishings and décor space, published some findings on Moz.com earlier this month that demonstrates just how much paid search has impacted their traffic over organic.
In the case of mobile traffic, one of the most important platforms in capturing today’s digital audience, they’ve seen a 55 percent higher click-through rate on paid clicks versus organic from 2017 to 2015 (see below).
If you’re seeing a loss in traffic despite having solid organic keyword rankings, get in touch today and we’ll perform an audit to see how much paid traffic you could expect and what a budget would look like.


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In celebration of its 63rd anniversary, Inserra Supermarkets ShopRite recently honored 151 longtime associates, with a collective total of 2,500-plus years of service, at its Associate Anniversary Dinner at The Venetian, in Garfield, N.J. The honorees marked milestone anniversaries spanning five to 55 years at the family-owned chain’s 22 ShopRite stores in New Jersey and New York.
The 55-year veteran, Bill Gordon, joined Inserra Supermarkets at the age of 19 as a butcher in the meat department, was quickly promoted to meat manager, and has held a variety of leadership roles at the company’s stores, including ShopRites of Hasbrouck Heights, Ramsey, West Milford and Emerson.
“The Inserras are truly good people, who take care of their associates,” said Gordon at the celebration. “You rarely see that type of loyalty and caring from companies these days. As you can understand, it is a main reason so many of us stay for years and years.”
“At Inserra Supermarkets, many associates start, find a home here and stay for years, often decades,” noted Ron Onorato, president and COO of the Mahwah, N.J.-based company. “That loyalty is a reflection of the inspired leadership of each generation of the Inserra family as the company has continued to grow and implement successful change through the years.”
At the event, honorees enjoyed a gourmet buffet dinner before the awards ceremony, which was followed by a Viennese table laden with cakes, tarts, fruits, mousses and other indulgent desserts.
Founded in 1954 and currently operated by the third and fourth generations of the Inserra family, along with Onorato, Inserra Supermarkets provides full- and part-time positions to more than 4,800 associates.


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1.Farmer sues over GM taint
2.Organic farmer sues GM neighbour
1.Farmer sues over GM taint
The Australian, July 28 2011
A WEST Australian farmer plans to sue his neighbour for allegedly contaminating his organic farm with genetically modified canola in a case that could have national implications.
Grain and meat farmer Steve Marsh was stripped of his hard-won organic accreditation over 70 per cent of his property last December. He said the decision forced him to break sales contracts in Australia and overseas.
The case will allege his neighbour, Michael Baxter, was negligent in allowing his GM canola to blow on to the property. Mr Baxter could not be contacted yesterday, but the ABC reported earlier this year he intended to defend himself against the claim.
Mr Marsh told The Australian yesterday that his livelihood had been devastated and the dispute had split the farming community southeast of Perth. "The last thing that I want to do is to do this to a neighbour that I grew up with and went to school with . . . but this is a real serious problem we've got," he said.
"I have to remove all the GM material and seeds off the property, and when you've got hundreds of plants that blow on to your property and each plant has got thousands of seeds on it, how do you remove all those seeds?"
Lawyer Mark Walter from Slater and Gordon would not reveal the size of the damages sought. He said a writ would be lodged in the WA Supreme Court shortly.
"This is a landmark case. It will examine the legal rights of farmers to choose how and what they farm on their land," Mr Walter said.
2.Organic farmer sues GM neighbour
The Safe Food Foundation, 28 July 2011
WA organic farmer Steve Marsh announces retention of Slater & Gordon Lawyers, and fundraising partnership with The Safe Food Foundation, in legal case against neighbouring GM farmer
Steve Marsh, an organic farmer from Kojonup, Western Australia, whose farm was contaminated by genetically modified (GM) canola in late 2010 leading to the loss of his organic certification by the National Association of Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA), today announced he has retained Slater & Gordon Lawyers with the intention to lodge a writ against the GM farmer in the WA Supreme Court to fight for compensation and damages.
Scott Kinnear, long standing organic industry representative and director of The Safe Food Foundation, today announced that the foundation would assist Steve Marsh in partnership with Friends of the Earth Australia.
“Steve has been deluged with offers of help since news of his story broke. The Safe Food Foundation has taken on the coordination of fundraising as a major project in support of Steve and the right of farmers everywhere to grow GM-free foods; which ultimately equals consumers’ right to buy and eat GM-free foods and to avoid potentially dangerous toxic GM foods” said Kinnear.
“There are legitimate concerns, derived from a considerable body of developing research, that GM foods are toxic. A Canadian scientific study published in 2011 and testing the blood of 69 women, found that a GM protein based pesticide toxin was circulating in their bloodstream. Out of these women, 30 were pregnant and 93% of those had the GMO pesticide toxin in their blood. Alarmingly, tests on the umbilical cords of those women after birth established that 80% had the GM pesticide toxin circulating into their babies and out of the 39 non-pregnant women, 69% had the GM pesticide toxin in their blood.
“The GMO industry had previously told food regulators that the GM pesticide toxin would be broken down during digestion. These findings are alarming, and we believe urgent independent research should be commissioned immediately funded by governments to establish the impact on adult, foetal and child health” said Kinnear
Another recently published paper suggests that roundup may be implicated in causing birth defects and that regulators have been aware of this for some time . Roundup ready GM crops are resistant to the application of Roundup which is used on the crops to control weeds, causing Roundup residues to enter our food chain.
“As an original member of the Gene Technology Grains Committee (GTGC) 10 years ago, I’ve been privy to developments in GM, and aware of the potential for GM-contamination. The organic industry has always argued that the protocols around GM that we’re dealing with today would fail. At the GTGC meetings I made representations on behalf of the organic industry to say that the buffer zones of five metres were grossly inadequate. As the founding Chair of the Organic Federation of Australia, in 2000 I commissioned legal advice from Slater & Gordon on the ramifications of an organic farmer being contaminated and losing certification. In 2010, our worst fears came true with Steve Marsh” said Kinnear.
“The Safe Food Foundation is so concerned about GM contamination of organic and non-GM conventionally produced foods that we are making an offer to supply GM test kits to any grain farmer in Australia who is concerned about contamination of their past or future crops. We believe that Steve Marsh’s case is the tip of the iceberg and that unless stopped, Australia will follow Canada’s dangerous lead, where there is virtually no GM-free canola available.”
Steve Marsh said “I am pleased and relieved that the Safe Food Foundation is fundraising to help my cause and making it possible for me to take legal action through Slater & Gordon Lawyers. I just hope my case helps other farmers out there because if this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. I grow food that consumers want to eat and I value their concerns about GM. I just want to be able to meet demand for GM-free, high quality foods.”
For more information:
Bella Gubay, Media Liaison, The Safe Food Foundation
Scott Kinnear, Director, The Safe Food Foundation
 Aris, A. & LeBlanc, S. (2011) Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada. ReprodToxicol,
 Antoniou, M et al. (2011) Roundup and birth defects: Is the public being kept in the dark? Earth Open Source, http://safefoodfoundation.org/RoundupandBirthDefects.pdf


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Tinashe at House Of Blues – New Orleans New Orleans on 2 June 2020
Tinashe New Orleans 2021 tickets: Tinashe is launching a “Tour for You.” The R&B singer has announced dates for a spring tour. Presented by Live Nation, the 19-date trek kicks off April 20 in Detroit and travels across the U.S. and Canada, with stops in Chicago, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and Vancouver, before wrapping May 23 in Seattle.
The tour comes in support of Tinashe’s latest album Songs for You, which she released independently in November featuring appearances from 6LACK, Ms Banks, and G-Eazy.
Tickets go on sale Friday while fan club and VIP packages are available starting Wednesday at 10 a.m. local time.
Vip tickets and premium seating tickets for Tinashe New Orleans tour on sale! See the dates below.


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On the afternoon of July 10, the Joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council held a press conference.
“Novel Coronavirus nucleic acid” was tested positive in the packaging sample of frozen South American white shrimp produced by an Ecuadorean enterprise recently, said Ms. Bi Kexin, director of import and Export Food Safety Bureau of the General Administration of Customs.
The test results showed that the container environment and package of the products of three enterprises in Ecuador were at risk of being contaminated by novel Coronavirus.
This is the third shock to the seafood industry following the virus and the “salmon incident” in southern China.
According to Fan Xubing, a seafood industry veteran, South American white shrimp accounts for 80 percent of the world’s farmed prawns. Ecuador and India are big exporters to China, and the incident will directly affect the white shrimp market.
A seafood industry analyst believes that three different brands of frozen South American white shrimp packaging found problems, the most likely is the safety exposure in the processing plant.
An immunologist also told Business Daily that the infection was probably related to seafood processing or transportation in Ecuador, “which is another wake-up call for cold-chain transportation.”
Ecuadorean processing plant may be exposed
Recently, customs across the country started novel Coronavirus monitoring for imported cold chain foods.
On the afternoon of July 10, Bixin introduced that on July 3, dalian Customs detected novel Coronavirus nucleic acid positive in one sample of the inner wall of the frozen South American white shrimp container manufactured by An Ecuadorian company and in three samples of the outer packing of the frozen South American white shrimp manufactured by an Ecuadorian company.
On the same day, xiamen Customs detected novel Coronavirus nucleic acid positive in two package samples of frozen South American white shrimp produced by an Ecuadorean enterprise.
An immunologist told NBD that the infection was probably related to seafood processing or transportation in Ecuador.
Infected with basic medical college of wuhan university school of medicine, professor, doctoral supervisor of Yang qiu said that the incident and Beijing xinfadi market salmon to detect the cutting board will be coronavirus similarities, at present the results of the survey is not released, cannot determine the specific viral infections, may and transportation, may also and seafood production factory.
Baidu’s real-time big data report on coVID-19 shows that as of the evening of July 10, 2020, Ecuador had 30,100 confirmed cases, 64,200 confirmed cases, 29,200 cured cases and 4,900 died.
One seafood insider said the most likely problem detected by each of the three different brands was a safety exposure to the processing plant.
Ecuador’s economy is relatively underdeveloped, the person said, and regulations may not be in place.
These three are far more than the many processing plants Ecuador has exported to China for South American white shrimp. The current proportion is not high, but the three cases of virus detection are independent of each other, which has raised concerns.
The incident is another wake-up call for the cold chain.
The above-mentioned immunological experts believe that for imported food, the focus should be on cold and frozen food testing, conditions allow, should be appropriate external packaging disinfection treatment.
Professional personage points out, the public should pay attention to the notification and announcement of relevant departments, to avoid contact and use will be coronavirus might pollution items and packaging, but don’t worry too much about, epidemic prevention and control into the normalized phase at present, domestic will be coronavirus detection means is already very mature, despite more than on imported seafood is random, but the customs department will certainly improve the sampling rate of focus on the products.
All parts of the white shrimp market will be collectively “brake”
After experiencing two impacts of “Salmon incident” in south China seafood market and new place, the domestic seafood market is in a very difficult situation.
Not long ago, a reporter from National Business Daily visited seafood markets in seven major cities and found that merchants were experiencing a sharp decline in trading volume and serious losses.
Some people in the seafood industry believe that this may be a shock to the seafood industry.
“The salmon case is something on the chopping board. Now it’s on the packaging. If the next step is shrimp or fish, it will be even worse.”
An industry insider expressed concern for reporters.
“I think people might brake at the same time.”
After the first two shocks, seafood importers, retailers and consumers are likely to act at the same time, Fan said.
With an attitude of “err on the side of kill”, the average consumer may not dare to buy imported frozen South American white shrimp in the short term, while the importer may still be unable to sell their previous stocks, and the decision to increase import will be more cautious.
The incident may affect Ecuador’s market share in China.
The Chinese embassy in the republic of Ecuador economic and commercial counsellor’s office said in a news release at the end of April this year, the urban aquaculture association (CNA), according to data in March 1, 2020, urban shrimp exports reached $908 million, up 12% from a year earlier, China, the United States and Spain for the first three largest export destination countries, exports at $510 million, $130 million and $070 million respectively, year-on-year growth of 59.4%, 18.2% and 75% respectively.
However, since the coVID-19 outbreak began in March, the export of Prawns to Asia in the first quarter of 2020 has only increased by 1% year-on-year, far lower than the 33% growth rate in the same period last year.
“As long as the global epidemic is not completely stopped, prevention and control should not be taken lightly, customs and other authorities should further strengthen testing and epidemic prevention measures, and can also sterilize the packaging of related products.”
With regard to the products of three Ecuadorian factories found by Novel Coronavirus this time, the General Administration of Customs has decided to suspend the registration qualification of the above three enterprises in China from today, suspend the import and export of the products of the above three enterprises, and take measures such as returning and destruction of the temporarily detained goods.
Some imported seafood brands have begun to step up nucleic acid testing.
For example, The Canadian Arctic shrimp importer has been required to do nucleic acid testing and publish the report, Fan said. After that, the importer will start regular testing and provide testing reports every half a month. At the same time, the importer will remind the exporter to strengthen self-testing to ensure there is no hidden danger before export.


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Is Sony about to devote some more time and attention to PC ports? Hopefully, because it just acquired a studio well-accustomed to bringing a ton of modern Crystal Dynamics games to PC.
Dutch studio Nixxes Software has been around for 20 years, and more recently known for working on PC ports for the rebooted Tomb Raider trilogy, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and last year's Avengers game. Head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst announced the acquisition on Twitter, saying "it's a real pleasure to welcome a team with such deep technical expertise and vast experience to the PlayStation family."
"We can't wait to get to work and are so excited to bring our technical and development expertise to an IP powerhouse like PlayStation Studios," Nixxes founder Jurjen Katsman said in a press release. "We're looking forward to working with some of the most talented teams in the industry to deliver the highest-quality gameplay experiences for PlayStation fans." How much Sony paid for Nixxes hasn't been revealed.
This can be nothing but good news for more Sony games coming to PC. Sony Interactive Entertainment boss Jim Ryan said earlier this year that "a whole slate" of PlayStation games would be coming to PC, which kicked off with the release of Days Gone. Last year also saw Horizon Zero Dawn and Death Stranding make their way over, with rumours circulating that Uncharted 4 is the next PC port in the pipeline. Don't expect this to pave the way for simultaneous PC and PS5 releases though—Hulst still wants you to fork out for a console.


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Sony announced plans to bring some of its “iconic IP” to mobile devices during its current fiscal year, which runs until March 2022.
iOS PlayStation Games
Jim Ryan, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, discussed the news during a Q&A session at the company’s investor relations day on Thursday.
In FY21 we will begin to publish some of our iconic PlayStation IP on mobile and we anticipate that in 2021, that will not provide a significant profit flow, but we do anticipate that as we learn from that experience, and as we increase the number of titles that we publish on mobile, the contribution from both PC and mobile will start to become steadily more important as time passes.
A presentation slide (shown above) from Sony shows how the mobile gaming industry created US$121 billion globally in 2020, while the console industry brought US$62 billion. In April, Sony revealed work on a business unit to adapt its popular games to mobile.


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Held in Greenville, S.C., at the Carolina First Center June 19-21, the Southeast Greenhouse Conference is a true regional show, with most of the attendees driving in for the event. Seven state associations and supporting land-grant universities organize the event, representing Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. This was the first year the show was managed by OFA, which also manages the Short Course in Columbus, Ohio, America In Bloom and Ohio Produce Growers & Marketers Association.
One of the conference’s traditions is recognizing an individual who has made a major contribution to the floriculture industry by presenting the Horticulture Initiative Award. This year’s honoree is Anna Ball, president and CEO of Ball Horticultural Co., who also was the keynote speaker, presenting her evolving take on industry trends with a global perspective from one of the world’s leading breeders and distributors in flowering plants.
The conference also presents the Doug Hull Service Award to recognize a dedicated volunteer. This year’s recipient is Loraine Sutton of M&L Greenhouse in Shelbyville, Tenn., who is currently serving as the conference’s secretary on the board of directors.
Dealing With Drought
This topic has been so important at both the state and municipal level, that a full day of seminars was devoted to “What You Need to Know Right Now to Survive the Drought.” The program was facilitated by Dr. Paul Thomas, Extension agent and professor at the University of Georgia (UGA), who has seen more than 40 percent of the state’s wholesale growers close their doors in the last year due to watering bans.
The seminars began with guidance on how to weather any type of disaster that could shut down your business, man-made or natural. While representatives of Nationwide Agribusiness walked attendees through putting together an Emergency Action Plan, UGA ag economist Forrest Stegelin emphasized the importance of cash flow and the need to restructure or scale back your business during recessionary times.
On the water use side, UGA’s Marc van Iersel demonstrated ways growers can implement more efficient irrigation systems, store more water for future use and be more in tune with the amount of irrigation plants require by using moisture sensors. If legislators view growers as water wasters, the burden is on growers to prove they are not, he says.
On the varieties side, UGA’s Bodie Pennisi asked growers and retailers to reconsider their crop mix and promote plants that will perform well with less watering. Varieties came under fire in Georgia when the state legislature adopted a very limited list of annuals and perennials that could be grown and sold in the state as “drought tolerant” species. Our industry supports a best management practices approach and putting the right plant in the right place. Any type of list would be too limiting and not based on research that truly defines drought tolerance.
Sounding Off By State
A panel discussion represented key Southeastern states and the green industry’s experiences working with water districts, municipalities and state government in each. Panelists included Dave Self of Wyld West Annuals in Florida, Robert Milks of Van Wingerden International in North Carolina, Carole Barton of Barton’s Greenhouse & Nursery in Alabama, UGA’s Mathew Chapel representing Georgia Green Industry Association and Chris Butts of Georgia Urban Ag Council.
The take-away message was how important it is for the green industry to have a unified voice at the state level and for state associations to invest in lobbying and promotion. Florida Nursery Growers & Landscape Association has a strong track record, which has led to the industry participating in solutions at the state and water district levels. Barton also suggested engaging municipalities in the America In Bloom program may be a way to get local officials to value our industry and see plantings as essential versus nonessential.
The next day Greenhouse Grower facilitated an industry luncheon and panel discussion, “Seeking Clout In Times of Drought,” sponsored by Fafard. Moderated by UGA’s Dr. Allan Armitage and Fafard’s Dr. Hugh Poole, panelists included Thomas from UGA for Georgia, James Harwell of Alabama Nursery & Landscape Association (ALNLA) and Mark Peters of Piedmont Carolina Nursery & Landscaping representing North Carolina Green Industry Council (NCGIC).
Both ALNLA and NCGIC have conducted economic impact studies, which have shown the huge impact the green industry has on the economies of those states. “It’s opened more doors than anything,” Harwell says. ALNLA also has been able to transform an adversarial relationship with the Birmingham Water Works Board into a partnership to educate consumers about plantings and water use. Advertisements and yard signs communicate that once a week is enough to water turf and plants in the yard. A Young Water Ambassadors summer internship program educates young people about water-wise landscaping at local senior centers.
NCIG is following California’s lead in pursuing tiered water rate structures as a way to assess all water users equitably. The rates go up as consumption increases. The organization also received a $280,000 grant to produce print, television and radio ads and brochures to communicate water-wise gardening and landscaping practices.
The Southeast Greenhouse Conference would not be complete without an extensive offering of seminars that help growers produce better crops. Three hands-on workshops were offered on container gardening, insect and mite identification and disease identification.
Other sessions included:
–Fuel-effcient, low-temperature crop production
–Plant growth regulator for herbaceous perennials
–Best new bedding plants
–Profitable poinsettia production
On the marketing side, our own ranting and raving columnist Laurie Scullin led three hours of marketing mania in a workshop he put on with Brenda Vaughn from The John Henry Co. and Dr. Bridget Behe of Michigan State University. After reviewing some of the more successful marketing programs in the industry, attendees broke into groups to develop their own products and programs for a plain white piece of paper and an abstract plant.
The next Southeast Greenhosue Conference & Trade Show will be June 18-20. For more information, visit www.sgcts.org.


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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A House panel Thursday will take up a package that would provide a wide range of tax breaks but does not include Gov. Ron DeSantis’ big-ticket proposal to suspend the state’s gasoline tax for five months.
The House Ways & Means Committee will consider a bill (PCB WMC 22-01) that includes 14-day sales tax “holidays” in May on gear for the hurricane season and in late July on back-to-school items such as clothes, school supplies and personal computers.
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The bill also would bring back a “Freedom Week” tax holiday around Independence Day. During that period, shoppers could avoid paying sales taxes on tickets to music events, sporting events, movies, theaters, parks, fairs and museums, purchases of items for camping, fishing and boating and purchases of surfboards, canoes, kayaks and bicycles.
A new tax holiday would go for seven days around Labor Day for purchases of items including work boots, power tools, toolboxes for vehicles and LED flashlights.
With the state’s coffers brimming from federal stimulus money and higher-than-expected tax collections, the House and Senate ultimately will have to agree on a final package of tax cuts. But both chambers, at least so far, have not embraced DeSantis’ proposal to suspend the 25-cent-a-gallon gas tax for five months starting in July.
During an appearance Tuesday in Fort Walton Beach, DeSantis said his office was “working with the Legislature” on the gas-tax proposal, which has an estimated cost of $1 billion. Legislative leaders last week expressed concerns the gas-tax break would go to too many non-Floridians who visit the state.
Lawmakers last year passed an estimated $196.3 million package that included 10-day tax holidays for disaster-preparedness supplies, back-to-school shoppers and a first-time Freedom Week.
A House staff analysis said the new proposal would have “significant negative indeterminate impacts” on state general revenue, but economists have not projected the costs of many parts of the bill.
Economists recently estimated a Freedom Week, with many of the items included in the House proposal, could save Floridians about $57.7 million, up from $54.7 million in 2021.
Other aspects of the House proposal include a reduction in the sales tax for new mobile homes from 6 percent to 3 percent, an exemption from the sales tax on admissions to Formula One Grand Prix races, and relief for homestead property made unlivable for 30 days or more by future catastrophic events.
The House also would provide a tax break to what are known as Class II and Class III “short line” freight railroads. They could get tax credits against corporate income taxes equal to 50 percent of the investment in maintaining or improving tracks and based on the total miles of track.
The state has two Class II lines: Florida East Coast Railway, with 351 miles, and the Alabama Gulf Coast Railway, running from Pensacola north to the state line, according to House staff analysis. Florida also has less than a dozen Class III rail operations covering 819 miles.
The package also includes temporary tax exemptions for impact-resistant windows, doors and garage doors for residential properties; children’s books; baby and toddler clothing, shoes and diapers; and Energy Star certified refrigerators, water heaters and washers and dryers.
State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis called the proposal for impact-resistant windows, doors and garage doors “a practical way of saving folks money while incentivizing homeowners to better protect their homes from hurricanes” that “in some cases” could reduce insurance costs.


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Registration to join the Pokmon GO field test has opened for US residents. Note that registration does not guarantee access to the field test.. A beta test for the new Pokemon mobile game, Pokemon Go, has been going on in parts of Registering does not guarantee you ‘ll get access.. IOS beta testers should be receiving emails now, rip for all androids at the moment, confirmed on their. You ‘ll receive a reddit message with an access code, inviting you to join the Silph Pokemon Go Beta for IOSNew Info!.
Related posts to Pokemon Go Beta Access
Pokemon GO Beta. Pokmon GO is developed by Niantic, Inc., scheduled to be released in 2016 for iOS and Android devices. The game will be released alongside the .
The purpose of the Closed Beta is for the development and operations team to test their servers, infrastructure and processes ready for launch..
Sign up for the Pokemon GO Closed Beta for your iOS and Android device here. Travel between the real world and the virtual world of Pokmon with Pokmon GO for .
Pokemon Go Beta is currently on-going and you can take the opportunity to play the beta of Pokemon Go on your Android or iOS devices before everyone else!.


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Last month, Pet Valu announced it was closing all of its 358 U.S. stores and warehouses, as well as its corporate office in Pennsylvania.
And Pet Valu also filed WARN (WARN Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) notices dated Nov. 4 with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry to inform the state of a combined 157 layoffs at two locations in the Philadelphia area.
Pet Valu said it will lay off 64 people at its corporate office at 489 Devon Park Drive, Suite 320, Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, near Wayne. The layoffs are expected to take place on Jan. 6 and Jan. 29.
Pet Valu said it will also lay off 93 people at its warehouse at 2201 Green Lane, Suite No. 7 and 9, Bristol Township, Bucks County, near Levittown. The layoffs are expected to take place during a 14-day period beginning on Jan. 6.
The company has a number of locations in the midstate, including some that have opened in recent years. Pet Valu didn’t file WARN notices for individual stores in the state because it was not required to do so since the stores employ well below the 50 employee reporting requirement.
The WARN Act is federal legislation that offers protection to workers, their families and communities by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of a covered-business closing and covered-business mass layoff.
While Pet Valu’s U.S. locations have closed, Pet Value Canada, a separate company based in Markham, Ontario, is not impacted by the closings. There are approximately 600 stores and franchise locations in Canada and its e-commerce site www.petvalu.com/ca/ will continue to operate.
You can follow Daniel Urie on twitter @DanielUrie2018 and you can like him on Facebook.


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A fact finding mission funded by the European Union was carried out in Kiribati to seek the potential viability and readiness of Kiribati as a fishing destination for Australian visitors.
The initiative was launched as part of the cyclone Pam rehabilitation assistance for Kiribati.
Stefan Hansson, General Manager of Fishabout, a fishing travel specialist agency in Australia, visited Kiribati and conducted an exploratory survey on Abaiang, Nonouti islands and Tarawa.
Hasson’s visit found that Kiribati is an excellent fishing destination with the potential to offer many styles of travel fishing products, including bluewater, marlin, one fish and fly fishing, particularly on the outer islands. However, safety standards and product quality will have to be improved.
Christmas Island, is the only island on Kiribati renowned for its fishing tourism and has a more developed fishing tour operation.
SPTO Chief Executive Ilisoni Vuidreketi said, “We are pleased to be able to offer travelers to Kiribati an insight into one of the best fishing spots in the world and we believe that this will help tourists that love to fish, choose the island as a future fishing holiday destination.”
“Our assistance is also aimed at assisting the Kiribati National Tourism Office with preliminary data that will enable them to look into a feasible tourism product and markets best suited for Kiribati and its visitors”.
“Fishing tourism is a niche market and Kiribati offers the more astute tourists looking to spend their holiday fishing, a great adventure in one of the Pacific’s smallest and most remote islands.”


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Unemployment in Luxembourg
Luxembourg - Unemployment
Unemployment rate drops to 16-month low in June
In July, the number of unemployed workers came in at 16,807, which was up 2.5% from June’s result of 16,402. Meanwhile, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate came in at 5.6% in July, down from June’s 5.7% and the lowest reading since February 2020.
FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists project the unemployment rate to average 6.4% in 2021, which is unchanged from last month’s forecast, and 6.0% in 2022.
Luxembourg - Unemployment Data
5 years of economic forecasts for more than 30 economic indicators.
Luxembourg Unemployment Chart
Source: National Statistical Institute of Luxembourg.
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September 8, 2021
Harmonized consumer prices rose 1.07% month-on-month in August, swinging from the 0.39% drop recorded in the prior month.
August 20, 2021
In July, the number of unemployed workers came in at 16,807, which was up 2.5% from June’s result of 16,402.
August 5, 2021
Harmonized consumer prices dropped 0.40% in July over the previous month, swinging from the 0.30% rise logged in June.
July 20, 2021
In June, the number of unemployed workers came in at 16,402, which was down 5.4% from May’s result of 17,340.
July 8, 2021
Harmonized consumer prices increased 0.30% in June over the previous month, decelerating from the 0.42% rise logged in May.


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‘Amazon on tour’ with WWF/Sky’s rainforest pod
28 May 2010
People across the UK have the chance to get up close and personal with the Amazon rainforest by visiting the Sky Rainforest Rescue Pod, which is about to embark on a UK tour.
WWF and Sky have created the Amazon pod to raise awareness about deforestation in the Amazon and encourage people to support Sky Rainforest Rescue, a project that aims to save one billion trees in the Brazilian state of Acre.
Visitors will be able to step into the magic of the Amazon, as they experience the sights and sounds and take a 3D tour through the rainforest, all for free.
The pod is at the Hay Festival in Wales from 28 May to 1 June, then will travel around the UK. Make sure you keep an eye on the Sky Rainforest Rescue website to find out when it’s coming to a location near you!


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Kengo Kuma designs a shop in Tokyo for Japanese soy sauce company Kayanoya, complete with giant barrels on the ceiling.
30 July, 2014
Kayanoya is an artisanal soy sauce manufacturer with a history that goes back more than 120 years.
In designing the Kayanoya flagship store in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Kengo Kuma has drawn inspiration from the company’s traditional warehouse in Kyushu, Southern Japan.
Giant wooden barrels, which are used to make shoyu or soya sauce, hang from the ceiling, while Koji Buta, a special tray that is used in the making of koji (malt rice) has been turned into furniture.
Underscoring the importance of community-oriented design, all the cedar materials have been sourced from Kyushu, and the barrels and trays have been produced by local craftspeople.
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The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
In the last decade, a growing spotlight on early childhood education has birthed a more diverse conversation about how to best nurture our young ones. What role does design play in this dialogue and how can it further the agenda of a richer, more holistic education?


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The French automaker has come short of expectations for its range of battery-operated vehicles, but seeks to increase sales of its dedicated Zoe model by appliying certain technical tweaks.
The company has managed to lift the vehicle’s battery range by 30 km to a total of 240 km (149 miles), with the subcompact hatchback being among the few electrically driven cars built from the ground up. The new, better-ranged Zoe will become available in Europe this spring, and what might be the greater news is that it would also cost less. In France, the car will have an upfront price of 22,400 euros – while a government subsidy can further drop the model’s cost to just 16,100 euros. The company used a lighter and more compact electric motor, together with an updated electronic management system to lift the overall driving range. The incremental update also comes after earlier this month on the sidelines of the Geneva Motor Show, Renault Nissan alliance chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn announced the company would move to gradually lift the range of its two best-selling electrics – Zoe and Leaf, to around 300 km. Now, the Nissan Leaf’s range is at 199 km, with the model being the world’s best-selling electric vehicle. Ghosn added that stages of 30-40 km will be used to achieve the new figure and their introduction will be accelerated in time.
The top executive also said that eliminating the consumer’s “range anxiety” – one of the main reasons buyers avoid electric cars – would not be resolved by simply lifting the total driving range of electric vehicles. “Today, you don’t worry when driving your car when you know that you can find a combustion engine filling stations almost anywhere but this is not yet the case for EVs,” said Ghosn. He added that charging stations should be just as widely available as the combustion engine filling stations and the tally could become even in around three to five years.
VIa Automotive News Europe


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The company said that sales during its first quarter, ending in September, fell by 1.9 percent to $1.83bn, compared to $1.90bn.
The figure was negatively impacted by a strong US dollar hitting sales from its international markets, which helped to explain for the fact that on a reported basis sales fell by 3.7 percent during the period.
Conversely net profits rose steeply to $140.7m, compared with $51.1m in the same period last year, which the company attributed to aggressive cost cutting, part of a four year program to improve operating margins.
Results ahead of expectations
Both the jump in profits and the sales figures were ahead of market expectations, which helping to push sales up by 5.7 per cent at the close of business on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.
“We capitalized on our solid pipeline of innovative products, initial improvements in certain areas of our business and increased cost discipline, which led to a significant improvement in operating margin,” said Estee Lauder CEO Fabrizio Freda.
On the sales side, the company underlined the importance of its Advanced Night Repair anti-aging skin care line, which launched globally in July, and has proved to be particularly popular in the China market.
China skin care drives sales
Geographically, sales of skin care products in China drove sales in the Asia Pacific region, whereas sales were flat in Europe and fell slightly in North America.
The company said that the fall in sales in its mainstay North American market had forced it to focus on key high-margin fragrance brands, including the Donna Karen-branded fragrance, in preparation of the holiday season.
Looking ahead to the all-important holiday quarter, the company says that it is expecting to encounter tough trading conditions in key developed markets and says it remains cautious.
Holiday quarter will be challenging
"While satisfying, these strong results should not mask the challenges and uncertainties we still see in the global economic environment," said Freda.
"Additionally, we are at the beginning of our four-year strategic plan, which involves significant cultural changes and multiple initiatives, and we still have a lot of work ahead to achieve our goals."
However, despite the short-term challenges of the next quarter, the company says that it remains more optimistic for the full financial year 2010, and in turn raise the forecast for earning per share estimate to $1.95 – $2.10, compared to the previous outlook of $1.55 - $1.70.


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PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — Local charity organization, Save The Closet, has made a name for itself providing clothing to Hurricane Michael victims and others in need, but the charity is moving to a new location and looking to give back once again.
Save The Closet’s next community clothing giveaway will take place January 16, from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m., at the organization’s new location on Hutchison Boulevard.
Katy Pinson, Save The Closet Founder and Executive Director, said the public will be able to choose from new or gently used clothes, shoes, accessories and some children’s toys.
Pinson emphasized the giveaway comes at no cost to the community and only asks those who attend follow social distancing precautions at the event.
Save The Closet also will have bags available for the public to use when picking out their items.
Watch the included segment from News 13 This Morning to learn more.
Pinson said they are looking forward to adding a retail store and finishing the new location in the future, but need volunteer help to continue operating.
For those interested in volunteering with Save The Closet, send an email to firstname.lastname@example.org or visit the charity’s Facebook page to learn more.


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For those who have been eyeing the NES Classic that has been touted around by Nintendo, you might want to get your debit and credit cards ready. According to Amazon, the console is set to go on sale on Nov. 11, at 2 p.m PT.
According to an email posted by Wario64, the NES will be limited to one console for a person and has limited quantities. It was not stated just how many are being sold, but Amazon is disabling 1-Click ordering for it. The console should be sold for $59.99, which is the set price shown on the official Nintendo website.
The console is basically a smaller version of the original NES, but this one will come with 30 pre-installed games such as Super Mario, Donkey Kong and several other classic Nintendo games. There are also several reviews out already about this new classic edition, so it makes sense that the release date would soon follow.
The same tweet also goes on to say that Amazon will be taking more orders in the upcoming weeks, so no need to freak out if you don’t get it the first time. If you cannot get there in time to order off Amazon, there are still two other retailers that will sell the NES Classic: Best Buy and Target. It is not known if they will take orders the same day or around the same time.


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A new report shows that US Cellular should soon begin selling the Samsung's ATIV Odyssey smartphone, which should be the first Windows Phone 8 device for the US's fifth largest wireless carrier.
The Ashley Madison hack: a confusing battle between good and evil
...of Lumia flagships, Windows milestones, and Samsung's reminder to RTFM
One month on, what do you think of Windows 10 so far?
Windows 10 Insider Preview build 10532 rolls out
Samsung confirms devices it plans to upgrade to Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Known issues with Windows 10 Insider build 10532
A analyst has suggested today that Samsung may be deliberately taking away resources from Microsoft with Windows Phone 8 as a way to keep Microsoft in check while Samsung develops its own mobile OS.
Leaked specs for Verizon's upcoming Samsung ATIV Odyssey have basically confirmed that this Windows Phone 8 device will be mid-range, as opposed to it being a version of the high-end ATIV S


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When selling shares by post what guarantee is there of the price offered? More to the point, can we guarantee receipt by first-class post only? ID, Ashford.
Martin Hammond, analyst at Barclays Stockbrokers says: The vast majority of sales are confirmed on the phone when the price is established. The certificate would be sent to the broker once the relevant sale transfer form has been received from the broker.
Very rarely firms offer a 'postal only' service where the investor sends the certificate to the broker and the deal is completed when the certificate is received by the broker. Brokers may pay out funds by cheque but investors would be advised to provide their broker with bank details so that the potential risk of the payment being lost is avoided.
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A wave of companies will leave the UK if the government’s Regulation and Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill is passed without major amendments, business leaders claim.
UK ISP’s are particularly concerned with the Bill. In the last few days, Poptel, Wellance, UUNet, ClaraNet and Greennet have all said they will move parts of their business abroad if the Bill becomes law.
Other critics of the Bill, including the British Chamber of Commerce, Institute of Directors, London School of Economics and the Trades Union Congress have called it "ill-conceived".
Civil-liberties groups nationwide condemn the RIP Bill, which has become know as the "cybersnoopers bill". RIP requires ISPs to install expensive hardware on their servers – at the ISPs own expense.
Steve Rawlinson, of UK ISP Claranet, says: "Unless the government is prepared to deliver a more supportive regulatory environment, businesses will choose to base their Internet activities overseas."
Like Poptel, Claranet - which has 350,000 customers - will move parts of its infrastructure to Europe if the Bill is passed without key amendments being made. The company is in discussions with key customers who wish to base their Internet services outside the UK to protect themselves from the Bill.
Silicon.com reports that corporate ISP Wellance was to use Britain as a base for European expansion, but these plans will be shelved if the Bill becomes law. Wellance provides secure online-transaction technology to corporate customers, including 3I and ING-Bank. Silicon.com also quotes IT consultant Gary Miles as saying: "I for one will not use UK Web services, nor would I recommend any of my customers host electronic activities in the UK post-RIP, the risks are too high."
The Home Office made several amendments to the Bill on its presentation to the House of Lords in June. Despite this, the Lords passed a major amendment to the Bill, reversing its burden of proof element. In its original form, this required that individuals prove whether or not they had access to encryption codes if asked by the security services. The Lords have passed this burden of proof back to the security services.
The European Union has also condemned the government’s "hasty and ill though out" attempt at Internet regulation. Tim Fenoulhet, director general of the Information Society planning unit in the European Commission, believes that many of the RIP Bills aims are already covered by existing laws. He says: "The government has to strike a difficult balance between catching those carrying out cyber-crime, and protecting data and the vulnerable."
The government recently announced that it intends funding the National Computer Crime Unit, which will be created by the legislation, to the tune of £50 million. This unit, which will be housed in the headquarters of MI5 at Vauxhall, will be non-accountable, and staffed by representatives from the National Criminal Intelligence Service, the National Crime Squad and Customs and Excise, Silicon.com claims.
The UK government says it aims to make the UK the most attractive environment for e-commerce in Europe. With some of the UK’s largest ISPs threatening to quit the country, this seems unlikely, according to analysts.
Rawlinson says: "If growth in the use of the Internet by businesses for internal, business to business, and business to consumer applications continues as forecast, then you can be sure that British jobs are going to be lost. For any international company, it really doesn’t matter whether Internet services are based in France, Germany or the UK. It does matter to the UK economy – jobs will be lost, or at least created elsewhere in Europe, directly as a result of this legislation."


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In the days of convergence, the conventional wisdom was that online and broadcast signals would be merged into one device. Then the debate was what the final merged form factor would be: a TV screen? Laptop screen? PDA screen? New stats suggest that instead of a merged screen—or morphed content from one device to the next—the current reality is simultaneous viewing of multiple screens of content.
In-Stat reported that more than 66 million consumers watch television while interacting with Internet-delivered content. That broke down to between 33 percent and 50 percent of all men and 25 percent of all women surveyed. About 20 percent of all respondents said they sent and received IM messages while watching TV. What are the E-Commerce implications? What if a Web site is synchronized with a TV broadcast, so that it can show additional content? What if the site allowed consumers to buy what was being made, worn or discussed in a show? It could give simulcast a radically new meaning.


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A new bill proposed in the Senate in March would require boards of directors at public companies to disclose their cyber security risks and competencies to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Cybersecurity Disclosure Act of 2017 (S536) would require board members to detail what a company is doing to protect itself from data breaches.
According to Accenture, 70 percent of global companies consider security a board-level concern. Awareness of the impact of poor cyber security is at an all-time high — as it should be, even among smaller and privately held companies. Whether or not you would have to report your cyber security plans to the SEC, you should be taking steps to improve your security stance. We’re happy to help you create the best approach for your risks and budget.


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Half of Leading Australian Retail Brands Have Worried About Losing Business to International Competitors in the Past Year
The vast majority of respondents to a survey at SLI Connect Sydney (96 per cent) have taken action to ensure they remain relevant in an increasingly competitive market
- 67 percent of respondents say they have optimised their site for mobile and tablet to become more competitive in the past 12 months
- One in five retailers have ventured into cross border trade
- More than two thirds of retailers report that improving site search is a key priority this year
- Almost four in five retailers have some level of sophistication in their site search
Sydney, Australia – 1 April, 2015 – Half of leading Australian retail brands believe the industry has become more competitive with international entrants taking market share, according to a survey from SLI Systems.
The survey, conducted at e-commerce summit SLI Connect AU in Sydney, determined the trends, challenges and opportunities online retailers expect to face over the coming year.
A growing fear of competition has led retailers to implement a number of changes to their e-commerce strategies in the challenging retail environment:
- 67 percent have optimised their site for mobile and tablet
- 50 percent have upgraded their e-commerce platform
- 38 percent have offered free shipping
- 21 per cent have started selling internationally
Mark Brixton, Regional Vice President, SLI Systems said, “The results show local retailers are concerned by the increased willingness of Australian shoppers to interact with international retailers.
“Successful retailers can offer the customer the same value, benefits and service options whether they’re shopping on a PC, in-store or on their mobile. International retailers are already doing a great job at this; the local brands that get this right will make a compelling case for Australians to shop closer to home.”
More than half of those surveyed are already on the right track, having identified the omnichannel experience as a key priority this year. Getting this mix right is just as important when it comes to converting sales. The results of the survey show more than 95 percent of retailers consider e-commerce to be the most effective channel for sales conversion, while just 46 percent selected bricks and mortar stores.
The survey found that 96 percent of online retailers recognise the important correlation between sales conversion and an effective site-search mechanism. This is supported by 71 percent of retailers that identified improving site search capabilities as a key business priority this year.
“Our survey found almost 80 percent of retailers already have some level of sophistication in their site search capability. It’s encouraging to see that so many businesses are leveraging the power of site-search to drive conversion rates for their business,” Mr. Brixton said.
Sophisticated site search capabilities include auto complete, accounting for spelling errors, reporting and others.
Duncan Brett, General Manager eCommerce, Bras N Things commented on the research findings: “Your brick and mortar store and your online store should be a joint force and not another source of competition. The integration of the online and offline customer experience is fundamental to our business. In order to remain competitive, we focus on creating a seamless and positive customer experience. The survey results show we’re not the only ones.”
The survey was conducted in Sydney on 31 March at SLI Connect, an invite-only summit for e-commerce thought leaders presented by SLI Systems, a global leader in e-commerce acceleration services.
About SLI Systems
SLI Systems (SLI.NZ) enables the world’s leading e-commerce retailers to accelerate sales by connecting shoppers with the products they’re most likely to buy. With offerings that include site search, navigation, merchandising, mobile, product recommendations and user-generated SEO, SLI is the most chosen cloud-based site search provider to U.S. Internet Retailer Top 1,000 retailers. The company’s patented technology continuously learns from the actions of visitors to deliver the most relevant results possible. Whether via PC, tablet or phone, a site powered by SLI delivers the kind of satisfying search experience that increases conversion rates, secures brand loyalty and results in higher order values. SLI operates on five continents. For more information, visit www.sli-systems.com.


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Bill to stop bans on plastic bags nixed
An effort by the plastic bag industry to prevent local prohibitions on the handy but polluting sacks crashed this week in the South Carolina Legislature.
Environmentalists were ecstatic the state House voted to stop a bill preventing cities and counties from banning plastic bags. The House voted to end debate on the legislation. The 50-49 House vote likely kills the bill for the year.
State Rep. James Smith, D-Richland, said a coalition of Democrats and Republicans worked to derail the legislation.
“We clinched it; it is completely done’’ for the legislative session, Smith said. “We had strong bipartisan support.’’
Novolex, a national player in the plastic bag industry, has spoken in favor of banning local prohibitions on plastic bags. The company, headquartered in Hartsville, employs more than 7,000 people at 49 North American sites. The corporation makes plastic bags, as well as other products.
Continuing to let cities ban plastic bags would be confusing and costly, industry supporters argue. Industry backers say they favor uniform state standards for the easy-to-carry shopping bags. State Rep. Eric Bedingfield, R-Greenville, led efforts to stop local plastic bag bans.
But plastic bags are substantial sources of litter across South Carolina’s landscape and in the ocean. Rare sea turtles that mistake plastic bags for prey can die as the material clogs their insides.
On the coast, Folly Beach and the Isle of Palms have adopted ordinances restricting the use of plastic bags. Bans adopted across the country often make it illegal for stores to distribute the bags. That means people must bring their own bags or use paper bags that stores supply.
The S.C. Coastal Conservation League and the Conservation Voters of South Carolina said cities and counties should have the ability to decide whether they want plastic bags in their communities. The bill, H3529, would have prevented that.
“The plastic bag bill was an affront on home rule, an attack on the ability of local communities to find local solutions to local problems,’’ said John Tynan, director of the Conservation Voters of South Carolina.
Katie Zimmerman, a program director at the Conservation League, said lawmakers got the message that people wanted to retain the right locally to adopt the bag bans. She said the league appreciated the lawmakers who “stood up for coastal communities and the fishing and tourism businesses that support them.’’


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Denham Springs Rite Aid opens temporary pharmacy to serve patients following flood
DENHAM SPRINGS – Rite Aid announced the opening of a temporary pharmacy inside one of its Denham Springs stores to serve the pharmacy needs of patients who have been affected by the recent historic flooding.
The temporary pharmacy will operate out of the Rite Aid store located at 2308 South Range Avenue, which is currently being rebuilt.
The pharmacy will fill prescriptions and will also have diabetic supplies available.
The hours of operation are :
Monday through Friday: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Patients can use the regular store phone number, 225-664-5099, to reach the pharmacy.
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One transported after pedestrian hit on Thomas H. Delpit Drive
Virgina College's Baton Rouge campus to hold las day of classes today
NFL player from Baton Rouge buys out Burlington Coat Factory layaways
Some Baton Rouge area Amazon customers still report delivery issues
DOTD using holiday humor to promote road safety


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With the upward curve in the game industry, the onset of 5G, Cloud-based gaming will eliminate the investment in hardware.
That means that games like “Call of Duty,” “Counter-Strike”, “Assassin’s Creed,” or “Fortnite” are contributing already to sales of $135 billion globally, and over $890 million in India only last year.
In this regard, Google has introduced this month its own Cloud-Stadia. The goal is to help the developers to create games without depending on hardware and computing. So they could design, write and run the games directly on the Cloud-based infrastructure of Google’s data centers. Also, Stadia will come with a game controller, and it’s named after the platform.
Moreover, the Cloud-gaming is realized like the one for videos or file streaming. Is it required a high-speed Internet connection instead so you can experience the gaming arena they want to provide. But the transition from hardware to Cloud gaming will take time and advanced technology for the game area.
However, the Cloud-gaming could be accelerated in three to four years by the new technologies like Extended Reality (XR) that runs on 5G. Also, for the transition, they will make favorite games available on the game streaming service.
Nevertheless to say is that mobile phones are the most common devices used for games. This device has become the most preferred ways of downloading and playing games.
Jaheer Abbas, the Senior Regional Director of South East Asia and India, from Limelight Network, has declared that it will become a serious need to transfer data to the cloud services.
This trend is making the social network giants to developed their one Cloud-based gaming and dedicates them on their platform. We are talking about Facebook, Snapchat, Youtube, who are trying to increase the user-engagement.
On the other hand, Apple is promising over 100 new games on the Apple Arcade platform, part of the App Store for iOS devices.
With Cloud-based games services like Google Stadia or Apple Arcade and the in-app games from social networking, the trend of brands merchandising will be eliminated.
Joe Dubois is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Yahoo Tech and Android Authority. In regards to academics, Joe earned a degree in business from Fordham University. Joe has passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.


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West Salem Goodwill opens Thursday
Goodwill’s new West Salem location at Wallace Road and Edgewater Street NW will host a four day grand opening starting Thursday, Sept. 15 at 7 a.m and running through Sunday, Sept. 18.
The event will have 16 gallons of coffee and catering on hand for customers – an essential offering for those early comers before sunrise, said David Roberts, senior marketing services manager for Goodwill Industries of the Columbia Willamette.
“We overstocked by four times as much because we’ll know how busy we’ll be, so we’re not disappointing anyone,” Roberts said.
The 25,000 square foot building is the non-profit's 51st store and third store in Salem.
The store is impossible to miss with a gargantuan black spider crawling on the exterior of the building, as part of Goodwill’s push to catch passersby attention to the new store and to the looming Halloween season.
For the past two weeks, Goodwill employees from the new location and nearby locations have been stocking the shelves, filling the racks and merchandising for the Halloween season.
Hundreds of customers are expected to wait in line prior to the store’s opening, said Tami Stubblefield, southern district manager for Goodwill Industries of the Columbia Willamette.
“We’ll arrive at 5 a.m. to set up, but I’m guessing that people will start lining up by 3 a.m.,” Roberts said.
When Goodwill opened its store on 3840 River Road N. in Keizer in 2003, more than 220 customers rushed through the doors within the first 15 minutes alone. The line for the opening stretched across the Keizer Village shopping center.
Even as far back as 1999, when Goodwill opened its South Salem location at 1125 Crowley Ave. SE., the parking lot overflowed and customers were forced to lug their purchases 100 yards away in a nearby Albertson's parking lot. An estimated 3,000 customers visited this location on its opening day.
There will be parking attendants dressed in glow vests to help customers enter and exit the West Salem parking lot every morning of the grand opening, Roberts said.
Kevin Hottmann, city traffic engineer for Salem, said he believes Goodwill can handle the spike in traffic that will result from the already busy rush hour traffic coupled with the opening, but the city constantly monitors traffic from its office.
In the event that traffic appears to be unmanageable, the City of Salem Traffic Engineering Section may contact the store to either offer advice or even send some of their own traffic controllers to assist with parking.
Stubblefield said each day of the opening will provide different merchandise, as the daily stock will most likely be cleared by the first few hundred customers.
“We have to refill every day but we have some fantastic things in our back stock,” Stubblefield said.
The store’s 11,385 square feet of retail space is currently stocked with clothing, shoes, jewelry, home goods, furniture, Halloween costumes and more. The store’s back stock has rows of boxes filled to the brim with more merchandise.
The event also provides customers the chance to win an iPad Mini or one of three $100 shopping sprees at Goodwill.
The prize drawings will be done at random on Monday, Sept. 19. Winners will be contacted as long as they include their name and contact information.
For those interested in donating, the store is accepting donations behind the store lot between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Planning on attending? Here's what you need to know:
What: West Salem's Goodwill Grand Opening
Where: 585 Edgewater Street NW, Salem
When: Thursday, Sept. 15. Doors open at 7 a.m.
How: Parking attendants wearing glow vests will help customers safely park and exit the store parking lot. Coffee and catering will be provided as long as supplies last.


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Runescape players had expressed anti-Venezuelan opinion
Gold Farming on a MMORPG is contrary to the principles in RuneScape gold and many other online role-playing matches. Additional just recently someone posted a manual on Reddit detailing how to eliminate the Venezuelan gold farmers.
Runescape gold along with other MMORPG online items are sold on the black market in the nation, and in addition, there are online sites which purchase the in-game gold to get bitcoin. A website called Papusgold.com is one particular business who purchases Runescape gold for BTC and Netflix credits.
Papusgold’s operators seem to want to remain anonymous as the website’s”about us” section isn’t very informative. The business seems to be based out of Caracas and has a Facebook page with near 4,000 followers. One Facebook post describes a”scammer” trying to sell the company phony Runescape gold, and the company warns its customers to”be careful.”
The business says it has been from the Runescape gold marketplace for 2 years today and aims to”innovate the Venezuelan marketplace by offering better deals to vendors.” According to a report, the gaming company Jagex which generates Runescape was contacted concerning the influx of gold farmers but has yet to comment on the issue.
Why Menaphos is the Main Runescape update in four years
In the times of DeviousMUD to the launch of Old School Runescape, Runescape continues to buy OSRS gold grow and morph around minor and major updates alike. Menaphos, the hottest expansion-style upgrade to the MMO because 2014, marks the beginning of a new era for this beloved MMO, among huge add-ons released every few months instead of devoting weekly updates.


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Mt. Gox Crypto Battle Continues To Rage Over Who Gets Lost Bitcoin Funds
In 2014, Japan-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox declared bankruptcy following a devastating hack where it lost hundreds of thousands of bitcoins.
Today, the court battle over the Mt. Gox disaster continues to unfurl in Japanese courtrooms. The trial involves Mark Karpelès, who presided over Mt. Gox during the collapse, and the stash of bitcoins held by the exchange in the days before it declared bankruptcy.
Karpelès is on trial in Tokyo for embezzlement and manipulation of records. In a strange twist, however, as explained by Bloomberg, there was a chance that Karpelès could have received an enormous windfall through the Mt. Gox trial. In fact, due to a strange bankruptcy rule, Karpelès could have become a bitcoin billionaire.
In 2014, Mt. Gox lost 850,000 bitcoins. As the world’s largest bitcoin exchange at the time, Mt. Gox was handling nearly 70% of all bitcoin transactions on the internet. The exchange was forced to declare bankruptcy.
Mt. Gox later located approximately 200,000 bitcoins in storage.
Here’s where things get interesting: at the time of the Mt. Gox hack, bitcoin was worth approximately $500. Over 2017, the price of bitcoin skyrocketed to a high of $20,000 before settling to a range of around $6,300 today. That means the discovered coins have more value today than the total coins that were originally lost in 2014.
Some of the found coins, including bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) have already been sold by the bankruptcy trustee. That trustee sold about $387 million worth of Mt. Gox’s bitcoins starting in January. Many analysts believe this is the reason markets have slumped since January: it’s rare for a single entity to sell off such a massive sum of bitcoins. The Mt. Gox trustee has been selling bitcoins in packets, but it still has a considerable impact on the market.
The value of the remaining bitcoins, meanwhile, is around $1.2 billion. That’s more than enough money to pay off the thousands of people who lost their bitcoins in the Mt. Gox collapse – based on the price of bitcoin in 2014.
In a bankruptcy, the surplus of more than $1 billion would have gone to Mt. Gox’s shareholders.
Mt. Gox’s primary shareholder is Mark Karpelès, who owns 88% of Mt. Gox through a company he controls.
When it was revealed that Karpelès was the primary shareholder of Mt. Gox, and that he could stand to become a bitcoin billionaire as a result of the bankruptcy, people “were up in arms”, as Bloomberg explains. Karpelès, who had already received death threats in the months following the collapse of Mt. Gox, received more death threats – some of which were very specific.
Mt. Gox’s creditors, meanwhile, petitioned the Tokyo District Court to change from bankruptcy to a process called civil rehabilitation. Under this process, creditors may be able to receive compensation in bitcoin. These creditors would get back fewer bitcoins than they had lost. However, based on the appreciation of bitcoin since 2014, the creditors could still end up with more money by selling into fiat currencies.
The Tokyo court approved the switch on June 22, allowing Mt. Gox’s creditors to receive their compensation in bitcoin.
“I was quite happy about this,” said Karpelès, as quoted by Bloomberg.
Karpelès isn’t being accused of being behind the hack. Instead, he’s being accused of spending company and customer money and of fiddling with trading records on his exchange – including the use of tactics like price manipulation. If convicted, he could face years in Japanese prison.
Karpelès, meanwhile, maintains his innocence:
“I am innocent of all charges,” said Karpelès in a statement to the Japanese courtroom in July 2017. “I never improperly used any funds during my work at Mt. Gox.”
Karpelès claims the money he’s accused of embezzling was borrowed, and that borrowed money was recorded as such in Mt. Gox’s books. Karpelès disputes the manipulating records charge by stating that he wasn’t doing anything wrong or enriching himself: he was just managing the company’s debts.
Many people are unaware that Mt. Gox had lost customers’ bitcoins prior to the hack. As early as 2011, the world’s largest bitcoin exchange had run into significant problems. The exchange had already lost 80,000 of its customers’ bitcoins, but kept the news a secret to avoid a run on the exchange. Karpelès claims the exchange lost those bitcoins before he acquired the exchange from Mt. Gox’s founder, Jed McCaleb, in 2011.
The fate of Mark Karpelès is up to three judges in Japan. As explained by Bloomberg, “he has little reason for optimism” because “in Japan, prosecutors win 99 percent of the time.”
Creditors, meanwhile, can expect to get bitcoins heading their way in the near future. Creditors have until October to file a claim, and Mt. Gox must submit a proposed rehabilitation plan by February 2019.


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By Althea Legaspi | Yahoo News
Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Capitol, and other record labels filed a copyright lawsuit on Friday against Internet Archive, founder Brewster Kahle, and others over the organization’s “Great 78 Project,” accusing them of behaving as an “illegal record store.” The suit lists 2,749 pre-1972 musical works available via Internet Archive by late artists, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Chuck Berry, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, and Bing Crosby, among others.
The suit, which was filed in federal court and reviewed by Rolling Stone, claims the Internet Archive’s “Great 78 Project” — launched by Internet Archive as a community project for “the preservation, research and discovery of 78rpm records,” according to its blog — has violated copyright laws. By “transferring copies of those files to members of the public, Internet Archive has reproduced and distributed without authorization Plaintiffs’ protected sound recordings,” the suit alleges.
“A quick look at copyright timelines for works created between 1964-1977 reminds us that works are protected for up to 95 years. Because of the ever-changing copyright laws and retroactive application, it can be difficult to determine what’s subject to copyright. Nonetheless, these works at issue are likely still under copyright protection and the court will have to grapple with whether defendant’s historical archive justification constitutes fair use in these circumstances.”Trista Snyder, business and corporate transactions attorney at Rose Law Group


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The latest all-electric luxury vehicle from Mercedes-Benz has the possible to enhance the understanding of the entire brand name and will be a “Tesla fighter,” according to Deutsche Bank.
Experts at the bank said on Monday that the launch of the full-size luxury EQS sedan “could be a video game changer” for Mercedes-owner Daimler, in addition to other German original devices makers (OEMs), like competitors Volkswagen Group and BMW.
Daimler DAI, +1.42% stock increased near 2% in Frankfurt trading on Monday and shares in Tesla TSLA, +3.69% were up more than 3% in New York by midday.
The EQS is set to release on Thursday, and Deutsche Bank experts led by Tim Rokossa “think the automobile will likely set the benchmark in regards to technical features, as well as design and quality” across battery-electric lorries (BEVs).
Also check out: How completion to a South Korean Battery Fight Paves the Way for Ford and Volkswagen’s Electric-Vehicle Race
The car will be Mercedes’ first on its brand-new dedicated electric-vehicle architecture and will have a range of approximately 770 km (478 miles). That will make it the longest-range BEV on the marketplace, the experts stated, taking on maybe just Tesla’s Design S Plaid+.
Tesla’s Plaid has a projected series of 628 km and the Plaid+ should have the ability to run for 837 km, however the Deutsche Bank experts noted that these are estimated figures from the business.
The quality of the EQS’ interior and the addition of the brand-new hyperscreen “makes the EQS probably the first real ‘high-end BEV,’ on the market,” the experts stated. Mercedes’ hyperscreen, introduced previously this year, turns almost the entire control panel into a screen user interface that utilizes artificial intelligence-enabled software application.
The group at Deutsche Bank also said that the new sedan could help move the public perception of Mercedes from tradition carmaker to high-end electric-vehicle business, “which ought to be appreciated by investors.”
Deutsche Bank is mostly bullish on Daimler, and has a target price of EUR80 ($95) on the stock– recommending the shares have legs to climb more than 6% greater. The German bank likes the group’s electric-vehicle technique, which concentrates on the luxury Mercedes-Benz brand name to increase profits, as margins are broader at the premium end of the automobile market.
More: Renault Sells Its $1.4 Billion Stake in Daimler. Why It Was Great Timing.
Daimler, like other European car makers, is leading a monumental shift to transition away from automobiles powered by internal combustion engines in favor of electric cars.
Europe ended up being the world’s largest market for electrical lorries in 2020 amidst a pedal-to-the-metal push to increase EV adoption, with extreme fines for cars and truck markers whose fleets don’t satisfy new emissions targets and generous incentives for purchasers to sell their gas drinkers.
The pivot toward electrical lorries in Europe has actually benefited domestic producers and largely come at the expense of Tesla. Tesla’s shipment volumes in the 18 crucial European markets fell by 12% in 2020 from 2019 levels, according to information put together from main sources by automotive expert Matthias Schmidt.
According to Schmidt, who releases the European Electric Vehicle Report, this saw Tesla’s market share of the essential European battery-electric-car market more than halved– from 31% in 2019 to 13.2% in 2020.
Tesla controls 7.5% of the European market to Daimler’s 7.7% so far in 2021, according to Schmidt, though the American business led by Elon Musk is expected to capture more market share as the year advances, because its delivery schedule is weighted towards completion of each quarter.
Plus: Zero-Emissions Cars Are Bringing Interruption to the $1.5 Trillion Trucking Market. View These Stocks, Says UBS


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Love the new Mac Pro but concerned that it's not dishing out quite enough power? Transcend has some good news for you. As of today, the memory manufacturer has announced the release of a new set of high-density DDR3 RDIMM RAM modules that bump up the Mac Pro's memory to an impressive 128GB.
One of the big stories from the general tech sphere yesterday centered on Ars Technica's discovery that Samsung artificially inflated the CPU speeds for the Galaxy Note 3, leading the normally Twitterphobic Apple executive Phil Schiller to tweet "shenanigans" in response. But as Anandtech reported today, the rabbit hole goes far deeper than that. According to the site's research, almost all smartphone manufacturers--with the exception of Apple and Motorola--employ GPU and CPU tweaks to cheat on benchmark tests to make smartphones appear more powerful than they are.
When applications are loading at a slow pace, there can be a number of factors contributing to the pokiness. One of the first places you’ll want to check is Activity Monitor (located in the Applications > Utilities folder). This application can be used to check the vital signs of your system’s performance while it’s running.
Tired of the relatively poky broadband speeds offered by telephone and cable companies? You can now get download speeds up to 300Mbps (and upload speeds up to 65Mbps) -- but only if you live in an area served by Verizon's FiOS.
Most of us are familiar with the term 3G, which refers to the third generation of wireless technology standards used in the last three models of the iPhone (not to mention every other smartphone produced in recent years). But did you know that a lot of what carriers are currently touting as “4G” is actually just a souped-up version of 3G?
Apple introduced new MacBook Pro models packing Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge processors, which means it didn’t take long for them to be put on the bench and speed tested -- by which we mean GeekBench, of course!
Apple was firing with all chambers on Wednesday, with the majority of the focus on its “Back to the Mac” media event. But the company also found time to unleash a few software updates and even quietly offer a speed bump on its MacBook Pro.
With the newly announced (but not yet released to the public) version of iOS, the iPhone 3G bugs have mostly been squashed. Apple made a point in saying that this forthcoming update (iOS 4.1) would alleviate some of the problems iPhone 3G owners had when first upgrading to iOS 4.0 a few months ago.


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The internecine war between Google and Apple took a further twist when it emerged that the Cupertino company now holds the pole position on indoor location technology likely to be widely used in shops.
ABI Research said that “Apple has taken the bull by the horns” in the retail market with several firms vying to win the war. Technologies using LED from ByteLight, Qualcomm and Philips and magnetic field technology from companies like IndoorAtlas are going to change the way shops look.
Apple leads the way with its iBeacon, otherwise known as Bluetooth Smart or BLE. Other vendors can license this name for their own products.
Electronic shelf labels using protocols like NFC and BLE are set to increase and app companies are filling the gaps.
Patrick Connolly, a senior analyst at ABI said the world is likely to see the first deployments of light systems next year.
Connolly said: “The widespread availability of BLE beacons makes it very easy for retails to deploy a light system to test the water and measure shopper acceptance.”
He added that Zebra/Motorola, Ruckus and Aruba will combine wi-fi with BLE and other location technologies.


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WATCH:5th Mahaseel Festival
The Mahaseel Festival, which lets local farmers directly sell their farm produce to people, is taking place at the Katara Cultural Village until March 31, 2021.
The festival runs every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 9:00 am until 9:00 pm.
Upon arrival, visitors must present their Ehteraz App’s ‘Green’ health code at the entrance. Entry is free of charge.
The popular festival, aimed at supporting and promoting the agricultural and livestock sectors in Qatar, has been a massive hit in the past.
The market features 28 Qatari farms selling various types of fresh fruits and vegetables and local companies offering food products related to livestock, in addition to natural honey and the best varieties of local dates produced by Qatari farms.
Additionally, there are also eight stands of nurseries displaying beautiful flowers: roses, lilies, orchids, and ornamental plants.
Those who love taking pictures can find several picturesque spots around the festival.
Qatari farms participating in the fifth edition of the festival display a distinguished bouquet of its finest agricultural products from fresh vegetables and are subject to supervision by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) to ensure that they are free of chemical fertilizers.
These initiatives support the efforts made in achieving food security and self-sufficiency and strengthening the national economy’s independence.
Visitors can reach Mahaseel Festival by using Doha Metro. Both Al Qasser and Katara station on the Red Line can be used to reach the festival.
Will you be visiting the Mahaseel Festival this year?
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