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The country’s largest luxury EV (electric vehicle) maker Mercedes-Benz on Friday launched India’s first locally-assembled luxury the EQS 580 at the German manufacturer’s Chakan plant in Pune. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari who has been pushing for India’s transition to alternative fuels said that carmakers like Mercedes-Benz are encouraged by the government to produce and sell more EVs in India.
“Today, 35-40 per cent of the pollution is because of fossil fuels. That’s why we’re encouraging the automobile industry to make electric vehicles,” Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways in the Government of India said at the launch. He added that around 30 per cent power in India is solar today. “Our aim is to turn it into 60 per cent,” he said.
The minister added it’s a matter of pride that Mercedes EQS 580 is made in India. He, however, had a request for Mercedes-Benz India. “I would request you to increase production in India, only then it’s possible to reduce the cost for a middle-class person like me,” Gadkari said.
The new Mercedes-Benz EV was launched at a price point of Rs 1.55 crores. “I’m making lot of express highways to create demand for you,” he said to the Mercedes-Benz management.
He added that there is so much to learn from German philosophy. ” Germans are very competent people. There are so many things we should learn from them. One is that their production 101 per cent perfect. This implementation is very important for the country,” he said.
Currently, the Indian Automobile industry size is 7.8 lakh crore, out of which 3.5 lakh crore is export. “My dream is to make it a 15 lakh crore industry. In place of petrol, I dream of turning it to 100 percent ethanol. We want to diversify agriculture into energy and power sector with fuels like bio ethanol and flex fuel. Our government is not going to encourage petrol and diesel vehicles. With electric, green hydrogen and flex fuels, I’m confident that we’ll get a good market in India,” he said.
According to a recent report by BNP Paribas, the next two-wheeler to be bought by a customer will probably be an electric product, but the next car to be bought may not because the two-wheeler industry crossed the inflection for EV adoption in 2021, while it is at least three years away from the inflection point for the passenger vehicle segment.
Gadkari said that today, the government is spending around 16 lakh in the import of fossil fuels . “The dream of our prime minister is for India to become an energy exporter rather than an energy importer,” he said.


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Last year at a Google launch event the new ‘google glass’ was offered to developers for $1500. This year we may well see the launch of many wearable technology ideas. Apple, Microsoft, Sony and Oakley to name a few have patents on wearable technology. Google is aiming to sell this product to consumers before the end of 2014.
Google states “We’re looking for bold, creative individuals who want to join us and be a part of shaping the future of Glass,” . Google Glass is still in early stages, but it has potential to be the next big thing. As you can see from the video, users will have a display on the lens of the glasses allowing them to record video and take pictures with voice command which can then be shared. I can see this will fit in perfectly with google + and will be waiting to see how well this product does in time. It certainly is interesting and a step forward in consumer technology.

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India, Largest Gold Buyer, Raises Import Tax to Cut DeficitSiddhartha Singh, Swansy Afonso and Tushar Dhara
India, the world’s largest bullion buyer, increased taxes on gold imports to reduce a record current-account deficit and moderate demand for the precious metal that’s rallied for 12 straight years.
The duty on gold and platinum imports was raised to 6 percent immediately from 4 percent, Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram told reporters in New Delhi yesterday. A levy on gold ore, concentrate and so-called dore bars for refining will be doubled to 4 percent, and an excise tax on refined gold will climb to 5 percent from 3 percent, the customs said on its website. The tariff will be reviewed if imports moderate, Mayaram said.
Increased taxes may reduce demand in Asia’s third-largest economy after prices jumped 7.1 percent in 2012 as investors and central banks boosted purchases. About 80 percent of India’s current-account deficit, the broadest measure of trade, tracking goods, services and investment income, is due to gold imports, according to the Reserve Bank of India.
“Consumption and imports will fall definitely,” Bachhraj Bamalwa, chairman of the All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation, said in a phone interview from Kolkata. “This will also help the government reduce the current-account deficit.”
Gold for immediate delivery climbed as much as 0.3 percent to $1,694.88 an ounce in London today after the Bank of Japan set a 2 percent inflation target and shifted to Federal Reserve-style open-ended asset purchases to end two decades of deflation. It gained 0.3 percent yesterday. Platinum gained 9.5 percent to $1,685.49 an ounce since the beginning of January.
Standard Chartered Plc said earlier this month that its gold shipments to India soared on mounting concern the duty would be raised. Expectations for the tax increase helped boost premiums in Asia by as much as 50 percent since mid-December, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said Jan. 4.
“There was a pretty clear sign that people were anticipating something was going to happen and trying to bring in some gold beforehand,” said Dan Smith, an analyst at Standard Chartered in London. “The appetite for gold is so ingrained in India, it probably won’t have too much of a dramatic impact.”
Domestic mutual funds, which offer gold-backed exchange-traded funds, will be allowed to deposit part of the bullion they hold with banks to boost availability for jewelry and gem making, Mayaram said. Investments in gold funds totaled 119.9 billion rupees ($2.24 billion) at the end of December, according to the Association of Mutual Funds in India.
“The advantage will be that a part of the gold lying in stock will be brought into circulation and will partially meet the requirements of the gems and jewelry trade,” Mayaram said. “It is hoped that consequently there will be a moderation in the quantity of gold that is imported.”
Last March, India doubled the tax on purchases of gold bars and coins to help narrow the current-account gap. Demand for gold still picked up “significantly” in the July-to-September quarter, the Reserve Bank of India said in its biannual Financial Stability report in December.
The current-account deficit widened to $22.3 billion in the three months to Sept. 30 as a faltering global economy hurt exports, the central bank said Dec. 31. The rupee fell to a record low of 57.3275 against the dollar last year as bullion imports widened the current-account deficit to an all-time high.
Gold imports are “a huge drain,” Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said Jan. 2. Purchases in the nine months through December were estimated at $38 billion, compared with $56.5 billion in 2011-2012, the finance ministry said in a statement yesterday.
Imports may drop as much as 12 percent to 750 metric tons in the year beginning April 1 from an estimated 855 tons this year, Sonal Varma and Aman Mohunta, economists at Nomura Holdings Inc., said in a report dated yesterday.
India’s gold demand slid 28 percent in the 12 months through September, as jewelers held a strike in March and April to protest taxes on imports and as local prices surged to an all-time high, according to the World Gold Council, which ranked India as the biggest buyer in the period. Higher taxes and domestic prices will again be a drag on physical demand this year, said Joni Teves, an analyst at UBS AG in London.
Bullion in Mumbai surged to a record 32,464 rupees per 10 grams (0.35 ounce) on Nov. 26 and gained 13 percent last year. Gold for February delivery was little changed at 30,780 rupees on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. today.
“In India, people have more belief that gold is the best commodity they can invest in,” said Mohit Kamboj, president of the Bombay Bullion Association. “The increase in duty is too small. The tax won’t impact imports and it will only help increase government’s revenue.”
Buying gold is considered auspicious in India during religious festivals and weddings. The festivals start in August and end in November, and is followed by the wedding season.
“The interesting thing will be whether demand holds up now this has actually been announced,” Standard Chartered’s Smith said. “We saw a temporary surge. Maybe we’re going see a bit of weakness now that the implementation has come through,” he said, referring to bullion imports.


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Nov. 21 - SABMiller, the world's second-largest brewer reported a rise in profits for the first half of its financial year, as strength in Africa helped offset declining beer sales in Europe and North America. Hayley Platt reports.
7 percent is today's daily digit - the rise in half-year earnings at SABMiller. The world's second-largest brewer made $3.27 billion dollars, slightly above expectations. It was largely thanks to strong demand in its home market of Africa. Sales there rose 9 percent. Asia Pacific and Latin America also had gains. That offset declines in Europe and North America where sales fell 4 percent and 3 percent respectively. The brewer said is wasn't surprised - trading in Europe has been particularly tough for a number of quarters. It's also been hurt by weaker currencies in emerging markets as it sells its product in local currencies but translates those sales into dollars when reporting earnings. The news pushed shares up slightly after a near 10 percent fall over the past six months.


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Marketplace Tech for Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Episode Teaser Image
Private security firm Mandiant says hacking attacks that originate in China have resumed after an apparent three-month hiatus. One form of hacking that is getting a lot of attention is something called spear phishing. Recently an organization calling itself the Syrian Electronic Army used spear phishing to attack several media organizations. And Microsoft will announce the latest Xbox gaming console. CNET's Lindsey Turrentine says it's about time.
Posted In: hackers, hacking, spear phishing, China
'Spear phishing', a form of targeted hacking, is drawing a lot of attention. How can you protect yourself?


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Zuckerberg dispels Facebook phone rumors
Facebook sees a promising future in mobile phones but the online social networking star is not building its own handset, the founder said in a TechCrunch interview posted online Wednesday.
“Our goal is to have Facebook be everywhere and everything rather than a specific device,” founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was quoted as saying.
“We’re not trying to compete with Apple or the Droid (mobile phone from Motorola) or any other hardware manufacturer for that matter.”
Facebook arranged for the interview to dispel speculation that the Palo Alto, California, company was working on a mobile phone.
Zuckerberg told TechCrunch that rumors may have resulted from mistaken interpretation of Facebook’s efforts to infuse its services and features in the gamut of mobile devices.
“Our goal is to make it so that we can design the best integrations in the widest variety of phones,” Zuckerberg said, stressing that Facebook was not building a mobile operating system or hardware “from scratch.”
Software can make mobile phones more personalized and social by letting people sign in the way they do to customized home pages at Google, Yahoo! or elsewhere on the Internet, according to Zuckerberg.
“Just make it so that you log into your phone once, and then everything that you do on your phone is social,” he said.
“I guess maybe Google or Microsoft could log you into the browser, but we can’t because we don’t build a browser,” Zuckerberg continued. “But, that is the basic strategy.”
Facebook is trying to be the platform for a “social layer” in all Internet-linked devices, according to the founder.
Facebook is investing heavily in weaving its software into iPhones since the Apple smartphones have a commanding presence in the market and has been increasing focus on handsets powered by Google-backed Android software.
“If Windows Phone 7 takes off, I’m sure we’ll put resources into that,” Zuckerberg said.
Microsoft’s latest-generation mobile software platform is to be released next month.
- Ethical AI: The renewed importance of safeguarding data and customer privacy in Generative AI applications
- How Japan balances AI-driven opportunities with cybersecurity needs
- Deploying SASE: Benchmarking your approach
- Insurance everywhere all at once: the digital transformation of the APAC insurance industry
- Google parent Alphabet eyes HubSpot: A potential acquisition shaping the future of CRM


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There are no scary monsters to slay, no enemies to shoot and no cars to hijack. But with more than 100 million units sold since its launch in 2000, "The Sims" is the world's best-selling computer game.
The game's publisher, Electronic Arts Inc., announced Wednesday that the franchise had hit the 100 million mark, making it second only to Nintendo's Mario franchise, which has sold 201 million units across all gaming platforms.
In "The Sims," which can be played online or not, players create homes and businesses for and guide the day-to-day lives of "Sims" characters. It has been published in 60 countries and 22 languages. Its creator, Will Wright, is one of the video game industry's best regarded brains — though he's no longer involved with the title.
Following the game's launch eight years ago, it quickly crossed over from core gamers to a wide audience. Today 60 percent of the game's players are women, still a rarity among video games, which are dominated by first-person shooters and titles aimed at 20-something men and teenage boys.
"It's appealing to a large market that core video games have traditionally ignored," said Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Lazard Capital Markets.
Nancy Smith, who leads EA's Sims Label, said players find a welcome release in creating a world for their characters. She called it a "very creative sandbox" with a quirky humor that shines through when players can't always make their characters do what they should.
Fans have uploaded more than 100,000 "Sims" movies to YouTube — which Smith said is another testament to the players' creativity. Videos include a "Sims" version of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and the Broadway musical "Rent."
The game has ad partnerships with Ford and clothing retailer H&M, and its online community has 4.2 million unique visitors each month, the company said. It even has its own language, Simlish, formed by mixing parts of Ukrainian, Navajo and other languages.
"'The Sims' helped usher in a new type of virtual social game play, and with the increase in online gaming and multiplayer gaming, the social aspect and appeal of gaming is quite evident," said Anita Frazier, toys and video games analyst at market researcher NPD Group, in an e-mail.


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The Google I/O event just got concluded and it just brought along a host of things to smile about. One of the major announcements that it brought with it is the Android One program. The Android One program has been launched with the aim of bringing similarly specced lower end devices at affordable price points. It has been launched with the aim of capturing a share of the developing markets globally which are undergoing a transition from the feature phones to smartphones.
These Android powered devices will run on stock Android versions and will get updates just like the Nexus and Google Play Edition devices. And the companies which have come ahead as the initial partners are our very own Micromax, Karbonn and Spice. That means India is going global too. Giving entry level Android devices updates will surely increase its credibility and let it capture a wider share of market.
It has also showcased a reference hardware for the start of the program. The smartphones launched in the first phase will come with a 4.5 inch display, dual SIM, microSD card slot, FM radio and cost below $100 (about Rs 6,000). Google till now has been catering to only the high end devices with its update schedules. This move might just revolutionize the way we see entry level devices.
Lower end devices launched in direct partnership with Google under the Android One program is just what the doctor ordered for Google to capture the growing markets. Needless to say, India will be the first market to get the Android One devices. More lower cost smartphone manufacturers are expected to come under the purview of Android One program in future.


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Kering sales rose 1 per cent on a comparable basis in the first quarter of 2023 to €5 billion, as its largest house, Gucci, shows signs of a rebound. The brand posted a sales bump of 1 per cent on a comparable basis to €2.6 billion in the first quarter of 2023 after falling 14 per cent in the fourth quarter.
“Is the tide timidly starting to turn?” asked Bernstein luxury goods analyst Luca Solca in a note. “For the first time in a while (since the first quarter of 2022) — Gucci hasn’t produced a negative surprise.” Consensus expectations for Gucci were for it to be flat at 0 per cent.
Performances across Kering’s other brands were mixed. Saint Laurent sales rose 8 per cent, beating expectations, Bottega Veneta sales were flat and “Other houses”, which includes Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen, was down 9 per cent, implying that Balenciaga is not out of the woods yet. Solca pointed out that Kering is behind LVMH’s fashion and leather goods division, which climbed 18 per cent in the first quarter, and Hermès, where sales increased 23 per cent. “Yet, the market knows Gucci is in transition and is prepared to wait for the new creative director stepping in and reigniting consumer interest for the brand. Saint Laurent continues to outperform, while it is clear that Balenciaga pays the price of recent social media problems.”
On Balenciaga, Kering CFO Jean-Marc Duplaix said during the earnings call on Tuesday that it was “a challenging quarter on the back of the controversy”, despite “signs of gradual recovery” and “double-digit growth in Asia”. (Retail sales of the “Other houses” division were down 28 per cent in North America and up 25 per cent in Asia Pacific.)
For the group, retail sales in Western Europe were up 15 per cent, North America was down 18 per cent, Japan up 30 per cent and Asia Pacific was up 10 per cent. Speaking about the slip in the US market, Duplaix told analysts: “It’s a weakness that we have across all the brands,” though he noted Bottega Veneta and Brioni are faring better. “It’s a sign that weakness is with the more aspirational cohort. We are convinced that they will come back.”
In the meantime, focus is on the wealthiest customers. Earlier this month, as part of its “elevation” strategy, Gucci opened its first Salon in Los Angeles, which are permanent appointment-only spaces in either standalone locations or within Gucci flagships dedicated to ultra-high-end offerings. Sales have been positive so far, Duplaix said. More will open in the coming year in key destinations, he added, noting that top clients represent no more than 5 per cent of all customers, but contribute a “very significant” amount of sales. “The concept of Salons is like high jewellery,” Duplaix explained. “In terms of engagement with key clients who are also ambassadors for the brand, it’s absolutely key to invest there. [These sales are what] we want to continue to grow because it’s clearly a way to improve the resilience of the brand performance and to increase the level of loyalty.”
“Kering’s performance in the first quarter remained mixed, as we had anticipated,” Kering chairman and chief executive officer François-Henri Pinault said in a statement. “As we work to augment the desirability of our brands and raise their profile in key markets, we are encouraged by the gradual improvement in activity month after month during the period. A host of initiatives undertaken by all our houses to enhance their appeal and exclusivity lays the foundations for sustained, profitable growth.”
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Fun88 has expanded its esports presence by securing a ‘multi-year agreement’ to become the ‘global betting partner’ of Dota 2 pro-team OG.
The Isle of Man online bookmaker has, therefore, undertaken its biggest esports sponsorship commitment to date by partnering with the back-to-back champions (2018 and 2019) of ‘The International’, Dota 2’s annual world team championships hosted by Valve.
Updating the market, Fun88 said that the OG partnership would serve as a key strategic partner for the planned upgrade of its esports betting markets, as it looks to expand its in-play and pre-play betting options, as well as real-time and post-match insights.
“We have an unswerving desire to develop premium esports content,” read a Fun88 statement. “With OG, we are working alongside the most engaging team in the entire esports ecosystem, we want to offer customers fresh and progressive ways to interact with the games they love.”
Fun88’s planned esports upgrade will initially focus on Dota 2 markets ‘to bring fans closer to the Dota 2 action than ever before’.
Juan M. R. Luna, CEO at OG, added: “The OG Esports Dota 2 legacy is built on the values of Friendship, Trust, and Competitive Excellence. We are thrilled to welcome Fun88 to both esports and the OG Family. This signifies a great tie-up between the market-leading online gaming brand and the TI back-to-back champions.
“As our team-belief of ‘Dream OG’ aligns perfectly with FUN88’s own brand slogan ‘Live Your Dream’, we are committed to partner together to ignite worldwide Dota 2 players, firing fans’ passion and excitement to pursue their dreams.”


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We’ve been hearing rumblings of Nintendo’s hardware plans with the Switch for this year for a while now. But while most speculation so far has been centred on the possibility of a Switch Pro and a Switch Lite, it seems Nintendo may be about to throw us a curveball too—a Switch VR, so to speak.
Nintendo World Report’s Emily Rogers reports that, based on sources from inside the company, Nintendo is preparing to make a VR announcement for this year, and that some first party games may be updated with VR support shortly after. This news seems to tie in to the patent regarding Switch VR Nintendo filed a while ago, as well as Nintendo’s own statements confirming their intent to bring VR to Switch eventually
The question now is how VR on the Switch will be handled. The Switch’s screen resolution is dramatically low for VR at 720p (even PlayStation VR’s 1080p resolution can feel too low at times), and the Switch, while a competent portable, doesn’t seem up to snuff when it comes to powering full blown high end VR. Will it be closer to the VR experiences provided by mobiles than it will be to something like PSVR, then? Is this all just a rumor that will come to nothing?
That all remains to be seen, but the prospect of Nintendo doing VR is incredibly exciting, so I’m keeping my eyes open for this.


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The effects of the Cedar fire are felt at ths now faltering grocery store in JulianUNION-TRIBUNE February 27, 2005
A fire is threatening to destroy the Main Street landmark.
A fire that was extinguished more than a year ago.
"Make sense?" asked Tami McKay, who owns Jack's with her husband, Michael Byrd. "Not to me, either. But facts are facts."
The Cedar fire of 2003 already is known as one the worst conflagrations in California history, killing at least 15, destroying more than 2,200 homes and burning more than 273,000 acres. But long after the last embers were quenched, the fire continues to bedevil Jack's.
The disaster started a commercial chain reaction. Residents, many of whom were customers, fled. Some haven't returned. Others grew accustomed to shopping elsewhere. Still others, hampered by their own losses, have reduced their purchases.
Of course, merchants everywhere walk an economic tightrope between narrow profits and relentless competition. A fire, a flood, a lost lease, an increase in insurance premiums, a recession on the far side of the world: The routes to financial failure are many.
Jack's route was unexpected and, if you ask the owners, unbelievable. The store sits in the center of Julian, occupying a building that has housed markets for 111 years. The place is colorful in a black-and-white sort of way, as if it had escaped from a vintage Frank Capra film. Short of cash? Sign the receipt and pay later. Your dog is begging for scraps? See the butcher for a free handout. Bedridden, thanks to the flu? Call in your order and someone will deliver.
"The service here is more personalized," said Rick Malec, who drives a half-dozen miles from his home in Santa Ysabel to Jack's. "It's a community store, a neighborhood store."
It's also on economic life-support. In a commentary published by The Julian News last Dec. 22, McKay warned that she and Byrd may become victims of a local economy choking on 14-month-old smoke.
"We love this town with all our heart and soul," McKay wrote. "We are mortified to think that we might fail at a business that has weathered over 100 years here in Julian.
"But none of those years has seen the catastrophic disaster that is the Cedar fire."
The Special K Syndrome
In fact, merchants who rely on the tourist trade say that the Cedar fire was a temporary setback.
"Business is great," said Tom Kendall, owner of Miner's Diner, another Main Street stalwart that boasts San Diego County's oldest marble-topped soda fountain. "We had some down times right after the fire, but it's recovered very nicely."
For some, the fire provided a tragic, if unexpected, boost. "The things we carry are the things that people need to rebuild," noted Skip Thornburg, a clerk at the Julian Hardware store.
When McKay, 42, and Byrd, 39, bought Jack's Grocery two years ago, business was thriving there, too. Still, they had to work hard to survive in the cutthroat grocery industry. McKay and Byrd cut prices aggressively and occasionally conduct comparison shops at supermarkets; the posted receipts normally reveal higher prices "down the hill," as residents refer to any locale outside Julian.
Jack's also has competition down the street, from the Julian Market & Deli, which enjoys a prime location at the corner of Main and Washington, making it one of the first things visitors see as they enter "downtown."
Moreover, competitive prices alone will not allow a 2,500-square-foot establishment to keep pace with a superstore. There are other obstacles, including the Special K Syndrome.
To understand this malady, walk down Jack's cereal aisle. There are 15 to 20 varieties here, and you'll find Raisin Bran, Life and Special K. In other words, a decent variety.
But drive 21 miles to the Albertsons or Stater Bros. in Ramona. The latter's cereal aisle bulges with more than 150 cereals. There are four varieties of Special K alone: Low-Carb Lifestyle Special K, Vanilla Almond Special K, Red Berries Special K and the original, if no-longer-very-special, Special K.
"That is a problem," admitted McKay. "And a lot of people are going down there to do other things, not just grocery shop."
Fresh meats, bitter whines
When the fire swept through the mountains around Julian, many backcountry residents were forced to evacuate. Leaving behind her home of 25 years, Cindy Boyle stopped at Jack's to buy emergency provisions.
"I left with a truckload of stuff," Boyle said. "The fire swept through my neighborhood and razed everything on my street."
Her house became an ash-covered rubble heap on Oct. 29. More than 14 months later, on this snowy January day, she made her first return visit to Jack's. She seemed happy to be back. "I've been coming to this store for 25 years. Twenty-six now."
The fire knocked out electricity in Julian, destroying Jack's meats, milk and other perishables. McKay and Byrd slept on cots at the store, opening up for residents and firefighters at all hours, guiding them through the dark aisles with flashlights.
When it was all over, there were several months when they believed the ordeal had strengthened the town and their business. The Salvation Army distributed vouchers good for $50 of goods at various stores, including Jack's. McKay and Byrd added an additional 20 percent, so vouchers redeemed at their market were worth $60.
"There were thousands and thousands of dollars of certificates that were cashed here," McKay said.
"It made us feel things would be just fine," Byrd said. "Boy, they weren't."
Gradually, the couple saw a slackening of trade. Some loyal customers simply vanished – more than a dozen families who were Jack's regulars cashed their insurance settlement checks and left the state. Many of those who stayed have trimmed their expenses.
"People don't have the disposable income they had because they are rebuilding and need every penny," said Barbara Braley, owner of The Attic, a Julian fashion boutique.
And this penny-pinching is not just a problem for Jack's Grocery. "We're in the same boat as they are, the same boat, living month to month," Braley said. "We all suffer."
Villa de Valor, a romantic bed and breakfast, only recently began to emerge from its post-fire slump. "I love (Jack's) fresh meats. I get their peppered turkey – that is awesome," said Valorie Ashley, the innkeeper. "But if I don't have guests, I'm not buying."
There are signs of hope. Ashley, who had to take a part-time job as a teacher to keep her B&B afloat, finally enjoyed a busy holiday season. Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, a neighboring preserve that was ravaged by the fire, has reopened to hikers and campers – many of whom frequent Julian's shops. Burned-out residents like Cindy Boyle are returning to Julian's stores as their homes are rebuilt.
Julian Market & Deli claims that its business has recovered. "We're doing fine," said Cynthia Flores, the manager.
Finally, the drive-through trade is back. "Ninety-nine percent of our business is tourist business," said Phil Phillips, co-owner of the Old Julian Book House. "We got beat up pretty bad right after the fire, but this has been an OK year for us."
But a grocery store – unlike a B&B, an apple pie shop, a bookstore or an antique soda fountain – relies on locals, not visitors.
"I have to sell a lot of gum and water to make any money," Byrd said.
If further proof is needed that Jack's Grocery is still suffering, McKay and Byrd offer evidence that wouldn't occur to a supermarket manager: the downward trajectory of their monthly tabs.
"At the end of the month, we'd have about $5,500 or $6,000 that customers would owe us," McKay said. "Now, it's about $3,500."
Byrd shook his head. "We've got maybe one more month."
"I hate to whine," McKay said.
"I don't," Byrd replied. "I'm whining. We've put our hearts and souls into this, working 70 hours a week. I'm whining."


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Ferrero has asked US consumers to dispose of certain Kinder chocolate products that are not authorized for distribution in the country, warning that they may be from the batch recently recalled in Europe due to possible Salmonella Typhimurium contamination.
The confectionery group’s North American division last week recalled the Kinder Happy Moments Chocolate Assortment and the Kinder Mix Chocolate Candy Basket because they were made in a facility where Salmonella was detected.
Tuesday’s voluntary recall involves two products in the United States – the Kinder Happy Moments Milk Chocolate and Crispy Wafer Assortment with an expiration date of July 18 and the Kinder Mix Chocolate Candy Basket with an expiration date of July 30 – and does not affect any other Kinder products distributed or sold by the US branch of Ferrero.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Monday that Ferrero is also recalling certain Kinder brand chocolate products for the same reason.
The company released an update on Tuesday following the US Food and Drug Administration’s request that Americans get rid of Kinder products intended for overseas markets still available for sale in the United States.
Italy’s Ferrero has also recalled several batches of Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs and other products in Spain, Britain and Ireland, while Belgian health authorities have urged consumers not to eat several recalled Kinder products. .
Ferrero said on Tuesday there were no reports of illnesses in the United States from chocolates to date and that he was working with the US health agency to resolve the issue.
News by Reutersedited by ESM. For more A-Brands news, click here. Click subscribe to register ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.


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Yesterday, Google announced its new Fit platform, designed to keep track of your activity and wellbeing. Now, a series of leaks suggest that Adidas is readying a new smartband—which may just tie in directly with the plans at Mountain View.
Evidence from the FCC, LegalForce and retailer Keller Sports suggests that Adidas is soon to unveil a device known as the miCoach Fit Smart. Looking a bit like a hybrid of the Nike Fuelband and Adidas's own miCoach Smart Run, it retains some of the features of a fitness-specific smartwatch, but combines them with an LED dot display.
From the rear of the device, it seems that it monitors heart rate, and the FCC report notes that it packs Bluetooth 4.0 LE, too. The provisional name of miCoach Fit Smart maybe be a mouthful, but it also chimes with Google's new platform. Of course, this is all speculative for now—but we can certainly expect a fresh slew of fitness trackers in the coming months. [FCC, Keller Sports, LegalForce via Engadget]


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Wine and beer and cannabis are still sold in Quebec and Ontario but vapers are out of luck.
In Ontario, real estate agents, small hardware stores and bicycle repair shops can still operate, but not in Quebec.
Canada’s two largest provinces both announced Monday that non-essential businesses should close to help contain the spread of COVID-19.
But, as attention turned to details in each province’s lists of essential services, questions emerged about the discrepancies between Ontario and Quebec, while businesses that were left out of the lists tried to make the case that they should not have to shut down.
“These measures are hard, but they are also temporary,” Quebec Premier François Legault said Tuesday.
Both he and Ontario Premier Doug Ford insisted that there will be some fine tuning. “This list can be adjusted. It’s an open list,” Mr. Ford said.
Ontario’s list is more detailed and explicit than Quebec’s selection. National Bank economist Stéfane Marion estimated that Quebec will shut down 10 per cent more of its economy when compared with Ontario.
“I hope they have found a middle ground because it makes a big difference,” Mr. Marion said.
“If Quebec keeps its list, it will necessarily impact Ontario negatively as the two provinces are big trading partners.”
While some businesses pushed to be added as essential services, the provinces also faced calls from labour to close down more services to protect workers from potential exposure to the new coronavirus.
The Ontario Construction Consortium, which represents unionized workers, called for an immediate two-week shutdown of work sites but on Tuesday, Mr. Ford said that provincial inspectors would ensure safety protocols are heeded.
How the lists were drafted underlined the complexities of society as the two governments said they wanted to protect the economy’s supply chains.
Mr. Legault said allowances will be made for aluminum plants, for example, that were initially ordered closed. The Premier had learned that a minimal operation must be maintained for a quick relaunch once the shutdown is over.
Mr. Ford said his government conferred with 100 people representing business associations and labour groups.
Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca said the Ford government needed to explain why its list is broader than Quebec’s. “We have seen quite a number of businesses declared essential in Ontario that have not been declared essential in Quebec … it would be helpful to know why."
Employees in liquor and cannabis-retail outlets pushed against their continuing operations, saying they needlessly had to be in proximity of the public.
The Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation warned that closing liquor stores could create worse problems. “If you abruptly stop the access to alcohol people will start to jam the ERs with alcohol withdrawal, which is incredibly serious and life threatening.”
Furthermore, Quebec supermarkets and corner stores, which are essential services, also sell beer and cheap wine. "I don't want to see any chaos in groceries to get some alcohol if we close the [liquor stores],” Mr. Legault said.
Similarly, other choices, such as listing dry cleaners as essential services, might seem superfluous but are needed by people with disabilities, Ottawa sociologist Jihan Abbas said.
Dry cleaners are important for people with difficulties controlling their urinary systems, said Dr. Abbas, an instructor at Ryerson University’s School of Disability Studies. “Something might not be essential for you but it might be for someone else.”
The Canadian Vaping Association, meanwhile, asked for the inclusion of vape shops. “By limiting sales to e-commerce only, the black market will flourish, and unsafe products will enter the market,” association executive director Darryl Tempest said.
Rodrigue Escayola, who practises condo law at Gowling WLG, was relieved that Ontario’s list explicitly mentioned property-management companies, a nod to the fact that 1.6 million Ontarians live in condos overseen by 12,000 boards.
With more people home-bound in their units, condos have to manage the increased use of common elements, he said. “Keeping people at home in single dwellings in suburbia is very, very different from keeping people at home in condo land.”
Ontario’s list also mentions real-estate-agent and land-registration services and bicycle shops while Quebec makes no mention of those businesses.
Julie Saucier, president of the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers, said her group wanted to convince the government that excluding them would affect households that need to complete a real estate transaction.
Magali Bebronne, a program manager for Vélo Québec, said her non-profit group, which promotes bicycle use, asked the government to add bike shops to transport services still allowed to operate. Using bicycles would lessen the crowding in public transit, she said.
Some businesses had to persuade lawmakers to designate them as essential. Nancy Raymond, chief executive of Steamatic, said her company, which specializes in post-disaster cleanup, contacted members of the Quebec and Ontario legislatures and reminded them that it would be needed, especially during the spring floods.
Quebec’s association of hardware stores and lumber yards wrote to the Legault government because the first list of essential services included big-box hardware stores, but not smaller retailers. “There are numerous villages where only a small hardware store can answer to critical needs,” association president Richard Darveau said.
“Listen, we’re not the first level of essential service, but if your fuse pops or toilet leaks you have to fix them,” said Serge Blain, owner of Beaubien Hardware in Montreal. Quebec relented and added all hardware stores late Tuesday.
With reports from Nicolas Van Praet and Laura Stone
Sign up for the Coronavirus Update newsletter to read the day’s essential coronavirus news, features and explainers written by Globe reporters.


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Nordstrom reported better-than-expected profits and sales for the holiday quarter, prompting the retailer to offer an optimistic outlook for the coming year in spite of ongoing supply chain concerns and rampant inflation. Shares of Nordstrom spiked more than 35% in after-hours trading immediately following the report. is currently among the most heavily shorted stocks, with 22% of its shares available for trading sold short.
The retailer called out improvements in its off-price business, Rack, amid a report that the company has been reviewing a potential spin-off of the segment following its underperformance in recent quarters.For its fiscal fourth quarter, Nordstrom said net sales at Rack were down 5% on a two-year basis, marking a sequential improvement from the prior quarter when its off-price segment logged an 8% decline compared with 2019. The segment lags behind full-line business, with that revenue stream rebounding to essentially flat with 2019 levels.
Nordstrom CEO Erik said in a statement that the department store chain is focused on three key things: improving Rack’s performance, increasing profitability and optimizing supply chain and inventory flow. Nordstrom net income for the three-month period ended Jan. 29 grew to $200 million, or $1.23 per share, from $33 million, or 21 cents a share, a year earlier. That topped estimates for per-share earnings of $1.02
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The days of home tractor repair are coming to an end with machinery technology and tightening intellectual property restrictions meaning farmers are forced to pay big bucks to fix their machinery.
When Nebraska farmer Tom Schwarz bought a tractor he did not realise he would be bound to his John Deere dealer who holds onto intellectual property rights to fix it.
"When you paid the money for a tractor, you didn't actually buy the tractor … because all of the intellectual property is still theirs," Mr Schwartz told tech journalist Jason Koebler in a documentary released earlier this month.
"You just buy the right to use it … for life."
Farmers and independent machinery repairers across the United States are now campaigning for the right to fix their own machinery.
Mr Schwartz had always bought second-hand parts to keep his machinery going, but is now forced to call a dealer because of its software.
"We will put components on tractors. As farmers we don't like to spend a lot of money so we buy used components if we can," he said.
"It used to be we'd mount them ourselves and we'd utilise the tractor from that point on.
"Now we can't get the component and the tractor to talk to each other. So you literally have to bring Deere out to do all this or your tractor is not going to operate."
Farmers hacking their own tractors
In Nebraska, a "fair repair" law is being proposed to allow farmers to repair their own tractor.
If successful, the Right to Repair Act would make it mandatory for companies to disclose their diagnostic software and sell parts.
Journalist Jason Koebler told the ABC that farmers are using software downloaded from Ukraine to avoid the onerous restrictions.
"Farmers are hacking their own tractors. In places like Ukraine and Eastern Europe the software is sold to farmers without the encryption they have in other countries like the United States," he said.
"So what people in Ukraine are doing is uploading these versions of the software for free online, and people in Nebraska are pirating it and hacking their tractors with it.
"They're essentially able to have access to the same technology the John Deere dealerships have in order to fix their things."
The risk for these farmers is that they will break their warranty.
John Deere declined the ABC's interview request but provided this statement:
John Deere recommends against unauthorised modification of the embedded software code.
The embedded software code is designed and tested to ensure a positive and safe experience for customers.
Manufacturers have invested in developing embedded software code to ensure the equipment operates safely and accurately.
Allowing untrained individuals to modify equipment software may result in equipment that no longer complies with industry and safety standards, or environmental regulations.
Australian farmers 'don't get a choice'
Mr Koebler said the fair repair issue extends beyond machinery companies, with firms like Apple and Microsoft taking interest in the Nebraska case.
"It's also your iPhone. Apple doesn't sell parts to your iPhone," he said.
"Companies have been moving towards this model where they sell you something and you end up having to go to a manufacturer for service on that."
It is already happening to your car in Australia.
The ACCC has found car manufacturers are withholding their technical information and may require them to share with independent manufacturers.
Australian farmers, who have always fixed their own machinery, are keeping a close eye on the US case.
Western Australia farmer Paul Green said Australia might be in even greater need for a "right to repair" movement than the US.
"Australia doesn't get a choice in the types of engines we get. We just get what the Americans and the Europeans build because the Australian market is just too small," Mr Green said.
"If you buy a tractor, you buy a tractor and it's yours. And the big companies are now trying to say if you buy a tractor, it's not yours.
"You have the right to use their tractor and that's the issue I think."


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Finnish design house Marimekko is running a hackathon inviting 50 young creators to challenge the conventions of the textile and clothing industry.
Work in (or with) the fashion industry and heading to Cannes Lions this year? Here’s a list of all the relevant sessions you should attend directly related to this vertical.
This year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is set to marry heavyweight speakers and high profile awards with buckets or rosé once more… here are some tips and tricks to help you get through it.
While anything new in social media normally hits New York and London fashion weeks first, taking several seasons to finally get to Milan and Paris, Snapchat seems to be bucking that trend.
Condé Nast has flexed it celebrity muscle and pulled in influencers ranging from Kendall Jenner to Reese Witherspoon to contribute to a new social media campaign focused on creativity. Referred to as “creativity selfies”, the “Create. Connect. Condé Nast” campaign […]
Last year’s list of the 100 most innovative companies, according to Forbes, saw French luxury brand Hermès sitting at number 13. Though it dropped to 22 in 2015, it can still be credited as a leader in creating desire coupled […]
YouTube launched a creative facility in New York two months ago that is now opening its doors to those in the fashion industry with a dedicated bootcamp ahead of the A/W 15/16 catwalk shows this season. The YouTube Space New […]
This article first appeared on The Business of Fashion Rachel Arthur recaps the highlights of this year’s SXSW Interactive conference and identifies key takeaways for the fashion industry. AUSTIN, United States — The marketing and tech crowd hit Austin, Texas, once […]
Topshop came out guns blazing with the announcement of its partnership with Google for London Fashion Week last night. Showcased via a very cool trailer from the team at Google’s in-house creative labs (as below), the initiative includes everything from […]
Burberry is wishing its fans a”magical festive season” with the release of a short animated film set atop London’s snowy rooftops. “A festive night at Burberry 121 Regent Street”, as it’s called, sees a silhouetted couple travel by umbrella […]
Justin Cooke, CMO at Topshop, took to the stage at Decoded Fashion in London Thursday with one simple message: “You CAN do emotion in digital.” While he pulled on quotes, videos and nuggets of inspiration from the likes of […]
Oscar de la Renta is inviting consumers to become a part of his creative process by launching a virtual pinboard open for anyone to post their ideas to. In a new take on crowdsourcing, “The Board“, says the designer, is […]
Zara has launched a new project called People!, which encourages consumers to collaborate with the brand by sending in their own creative pictures for publication. At people.zara.com, users are asked upload images with looks featuring at least two items from […]


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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Your local fuel station could be your subsequent go-to spot for clean make. The Metropolis of Austin is performing to reach neighborhoods where healthier food is hard to discover, by teaming up with area organization house owners.
The Austin Financial Development Section is teaming up with the General public Well being Department to broaden the city’s Healthy Corner Retailer Method. Tuesday, metropolis officers will host a free virtual details session for company homeowners intrigued in signing up for the method.
The plan helps usefulness store entrepreneurs incorporate healthier meals into their shops. Factors like new produce, canned fruits and greens, and even some prepared healthy meals.
“Healthy meals are actually critical for a healthy quality of lifetime just set,” explained Carol Fraser, the economic development’s meals devices application coordinator.
This time, the method will focus on the city’s japanese crescent stretching from the northeast aspect of town all the way down alongside Interstate 35 to southeast Austin.
“Many of the ZIP codes in just the city’s jap crescent don’t have a whole-provider grocery retail outlet, and truly have a confined quantity of food stuff retail promoting nutritious create,” Fraser explained.
Info from a town 2018 report demonstrates Austin’s food insecurity price sits at 16%, just 2% greater than the national regular. The jap aspect of town is impacted the most.
The 2018 analyze demonstrates places highlighted in purple facial area the most limitations, like constrained availability of wholesome meals, lower incomes and fewer mobility options.
“We are absolutely intrigued in growing accessibility to wholesome meals and marketing a healthier life-style,” Fraser reported.
Interested small business house owners have by means of the close of October to sign up for the program. Those people who indicator up are asked to commit to the plan for at the very least a calendar year. Metropolis officials explained they will subsidize the nutritious foodstuff expenditures by 50 percent. Fraser also stated they have funding to supply small business house owners with refrigeration models and display screen instances to help their enterprise advertise the healthful foodstuff alternatives.
Tuesday’s digital information session starts at 3 p.m. There is a different facts session scheduled for Monday, Oct. 5.
Places to eat and equivalent companies can sign up for if they at this time offer or want to market clean make and wholesome products directly to customers.


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The first round of Mac mini reviews were published online this morning. Below we’ve highlighted some of the key takeaways from around the web ahead of Apple’s official November 7 launch.
Four years in the waiting, the new Mac mini comes in Space Gray, features 4- and 6-core 8th-Generation Intel Core processors, four Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports, support for up to 64GB RAM, and up to 2TB of solid-state storage. It also includes Apple’s T2 chip for added security.
On the new Mac mini’s largely unchanged design:
Six Colors’s Jason Snell:
In the last few years, Intel has pushed the idea of extremely [...]
In 2011, a class action lawsuit filed against Apple accused the company of operating an illegal monopoly by not allowing iPhone users to download mobile apps outside of its own App Store, reducing consumer choice.
The antitrust case was eventually dismissed in 2013 by a U.S. district court in Northern California, due to errors in the complaint, leading to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit allowing it to proceed in 2017.
That decision led to Apple’s petition for a writ of certiorari, which was granted today, meaning that the U.S. Supreme Court will now review the appeals court’s decision to reinstate the case last year, according to [...]
Recode’s annual Code Conference is underway in Rancho Palos Verdes, California this week, and on Tuesday Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel took the stage to discuss the ephemeral app’s controversial update, Facebook’s copying, and the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Specifically, Spiegel is said to have „poured salt on the wound“ during his 40-minute interview with Kara Swisher as he called out Facebook and its ongoing struggles with user privacy. Referencing Facebook’s decision to copy Snapchat stories in the Facebook app, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp, Spiegel said, „We would really appreciate it if they copied our data [...]
As part of its 2018 environmental report, Apple today unveiled the latest iteration of its recycling robot, named Daisy. Daisy is an upgraded version of Liam, the recycling robot Apple debuted in 2016. Daisy is smaller, faster, and more efficient than Liam, able to disassemble 200 iPhones per hour and obtain their component parts for recycling.
In response to Apple’s environmental report and details about the new robot, Greenpeace has released a statement suggesting Apple’s focus should be on product longevity rather than recycling robots.
Daisy, Apple’s newest recycling robot. In a statement, Greenpeace Senior analyst Gary Cook said Apple needs [...]


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Not a lot has changed since our last markets update four days ago as cryptocurrency markets continue moving sideways in a consolidated pattern. The top five digital assets have seen modest northbound gains this week, with increases between 1-5% over the last seven days. This Sunday, Oct. 21, the entire cryptocurrency economy of over 2,000 […]
The post Markets Update: A Narrowing Range of Consolidation and Lower Trade Volumes appeared first on Bitcoin News.
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The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) said Monday it has filed a complaint with the EU Commission and the EU network of consumer authorities against WhatsApp for pushing users to accept policy updates without explaining the changes.
WhatsApp has failed to explain the implications for users’ privacy, especially regarding sharing of their data with Facebook and other third parties, the consumer protection body said. WhatsApp’s behavior is made worse by the fact that the policy in question is being reviewed by the European Data Protection Authorities for breaches, it added.
“BEUC’s consumer law complaint is separate from this ongoing scrutiny but we also call on the data protection authorities to speed up their investigations. We urge the European network of consumer authorities and the network of data protection authorities to work in close cooperation on these issues,” the organization said.
The new policy, which sets out differences between private and business messages, has already been banned in Germany. WhatsApp has claimed that personal messages are as private as ever, while a business that uses WhatsApp could use the content of conversations with clients for marketing.


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THE part of the brain that becomes active as people make a final choice for one brand over another has been pinpointed.
Using a revolutionary method of imaging the brain, scientists found the right parietal cortex becomes active as the shopper reaches to the supermarket shelf to make their final choice.
The findings, to be published in the journal Neural Plasticity, could reveal the brain processes behind the conscious decisions people make when it comes to important life choices, the scientists said. It could also help shape advertising and marketing strategies, they claimed.
The team from the Open University and London Business School measured the minute magnetic fields around the brain using magnetoencephalography (Meg).
They showed subjects an 18-minute video-tour of a supermarket. During regular pauses subjects were asked to make a choice between different products on the shelves by pressing a button.
The team found that the brain was hugely active during the 2.5 seconds it took for the button press to be made.
"After about 800 milliseconds a region called the right parietal cortex becomes active, which is the region of the brain involved in making conscious decisions," they said.


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Thought Leaders: Gyration Ignition
In an exclusive interview with Asian Trucker, Michael Hutt, Group Marketing Manager Kit Loong Commercial Tyre Group tells us more about the ins and outs of the recently held Gyration 2.0: Kinetic Ignition event.
In terms of timing, some might have raised an eyebrow as it was held right around Chinese New Year. However, according to Hutt, there was a good reason to start the year with a bang. “We have spent last year to re-align our business, the brand and our product and service offerings. And this is how we are planning to communicate this,” explained Hutt. There are to be now three distinct segments of the business and each one will have its own event series.
According to him, one segment is related to Giti products. It is probably the biggest growing tranche for Kit Loong Commercial Tyre Group and this is the reason why the Gyration event series was the first to be initiated with the first instalment taking place last year. In that connection, Kit Loong Commercial Tyre Group is aiming to shift their focus from being purely a tyre-seller towards their service-based business that offers support beyond just product.
Although most people are very aware of how to look after tyres, Kit Loong Commercial Tyre Group realises that certain things will have to be brought back to peoples mind. For instance, heat build-up is highly destructive for tyres and can have a highly negative impact on the re-treadability of the tyre. As an exclusive event for existing customers, the Gyration 2.0: Kinetic Ignition event was to educate users about both heat and the 3R concept of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. “It is important to note that Giti has already made public statements that they want to sell fewer tyres as they want users to be able to run tyres for longer.” In Hutt’s words, this is where Kit Loong Commercial Tyre Group is breaking new ground as they are actively helping to achieve this goal.
A paradigm shift is happening within Kit Loong Commercial Tyre Group as they see tyres as an investment that needs to have planned maintenance in place to ensure that the return on the investment is as high as possible. To demonstrate what is possible, Kit Loong Commercial Tyre Group is giving away their newly developed software for free for the first year. Not stopping there, they are also including a retread voucher for each new tyre sold. The discount on the retread is based on the grading of the tyre when it comes back for retreading. “Essentially, it pays to look after your tyres as you will save on the retreading. And if you don’t look after your tyre, no matter what brand, it will not perform as well as it could, as many are now designed for two or three retreads.”


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Photo Courtesy of Xiu.comWhile other luxury e-commerce sites like Gilt Groupe and Rue La La have currently opted out of shipping their products to China due to the high cost for consumers, entrepreneur George Ji Wenhong and private equity investor Huang Jin saw that as an opening.
When they launched luxury goods and clothing e-retailer Xiu.com in 2008, they decided they didn’t want to spend a significant amount of money on advertising like their competitors. Instead, they put millions of dollars into a team of global buyers to obtain foreign brands to market and sell on their site.
According to Claudia D’Arpizio, a Milan-based partner with management consulting firm Bain & Co., China is the fastest growing luxury market in the world, and will become the third-largest luxury market in the next five years (based on the company’s May Luxury-Goods Worldwide Market Study Spring 2011 Update). The study also revealed that the sales of luxury goods in mainland China reached $13 billion in 2010 and are expected to hit $16.5 billion in 2011.
Because Internet sales only make up a small portion of the market right now, online retailers "need to get themselves in the right price range and assure the Chinese luxury consumer that the product is the same quality and is authentic versus what they get overseas or in the stores in China," Sam Mulligan, director of DDMA Market Research & Consulting in Shanghai told Bloomberg. Due to the country’s high tariffs, the Chinese usually buy their luxury goods overseas.
With new information comes a new strategy for Xiu.com, as Huang and Ji made the move in 2010 from exclusively selling luxury goods to also offering mid-range clothing, accessories, and adding more Chinese brands to their line-up. "We realized that Chinese consumers are still price sensitive," Ji says. "Users won’t necessarily buy the most expensive products, but they’ll buy the most fashionable ones."
With a big increase in revenue from $6 million in 2009 to $39 million in 2010, the new angle appears to be working in their favor. Today Xiu.com has 300,000 unique visitors per day and nearly 2 million registered users. They have also changed their tune when it comes to advertising, recognizing the importance of increasing brand awareness and consumer trust. Three years following their launch, Xiu.com ran its first major advertising campaign with a $1 million price tag, starring TV and film actress Yang Mi.
"She’s like our consumers. She’s not the biggest star, but she’s working hard and rising upward. She takes care of herself. She treats herself but doesn’t always have to buy the most expensive things," says Ji.
They’re currently planning a new ad campaign that will cost close to $3 with funding direct from venture capital firm KPCB China’s $20. Most of the money, however will go into inventory, as they work on obtaining more and more brands, such as Paris Hilton shoes that they hope to have available to consumers in September.


text: Google’s Search Advocate, John Mueller, recently advised website owners to consider ways to block artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot content from indexing. — John Mueller (official) · #NotABot (@JohnMu) August 7, 2023The public service announcement (PSA) essentially provides three different methods of blocking the indexing of AI chatbot responses by Google’s algorithms. AI chatbots are becoming increasingly common on websites across the globe, providing instant customer service and engagement. But AI-powered agents can also produce inaccurate content that website owners may not want to be a part of their human-edited and generated content. AI chatbots may generate content that can dilute the quality or relevance of a site’s indexed content, potentially affecting the site’s overall SEO performance.


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HTC first, 2013 twitter.com/evleaks/status…
— @evleaks (@evleaks) April 2, 2013
The photo obviously suggests that it will be called HTC First and it more or less looks like all the other Android phone on the market, except of course that this one will have the bragging right to the “first” to run the Facebook Home.
HTC First’s (rumored) specs are; Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB RAM, 5 MP rear camera and a 4.3-inch display with 720p HD resolution – I’m not entirely sure if this will indeed be the mythical Facebook Phone, since there was another leaked claiming to be just that as well, and it’s also an HTC phone and similar specs.
I guess well know come Thursday morning.
Last modified: April 3, 2013


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“Economic growth and inflation have led to higher sales tax collections as demand remains strong and businesses and consumers continue to pay high prices for goods.”
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas – Sales tax revenue for the three months ending August 2022 was up 14.7% from the same period a year ago, and “revenue continues to exceed even our most recent forecast as tax collections from all funds ended the year $841 million above projection. in our estimate of certification revenue. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said earlier today, releasing state revenue totals for fiscal year 2022 while announcing the state’s monthly revenue for August.
“This year’s growth rate was almost double the previous record at the time,” Hegar said.
Sales tax is the state’s largest source of funding for the state budget, accounting for 56% of all tax revenue.
- General revenue revenue for fiscal year 2022 totaled $76.47 billion, up 26.4% from fiscal year 2021.
- Revenue from all funds was $183.34 billion, up 7.5% from fiscal 2021.
- Tax revenue from all funds was $77.21 billion, up 25.6% from fiscal 2021.
- Sales tax revenue was $42.97 billion, up 19.3% from fiscal 2021.
- Motor vehicle sales and leasing tax revenue was $6.45 billion, up 12.5% from fiscal 2021.
- Franchise tax revenue was $5.67 billion, up 25.2% from fiscal 2021.
- Oil production tax revenue was $6.36 billion, up 84.4% from fiscal 2021.
- Tax revenue from natural gas production was $4.47 billion, up 185% from fiscal 2021.
Hegar also said state sales tax revenue totaled $3.77 billion in August, up 13% from August 2021.
“Over the past several months, economic growth and inflation have led to increased sales tax collections as demand remains strong and businesses and consumers continue to pay high prices for goods,said Hegar.
The Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF) and the State Highway Fund (SHF) both receive funds from oil and natural gas severance taxes. Within 90 days, the Comptroller’s Office will deposit $3.64 billion into each of these funds, up from $1.46 billion deposited into each fund in November 2021.
The majority of sales tax revenue for the month of August is based on sales made in July and remitted to the agency in August.
“Revenue from the construction, manufacturing and wholesale trade sectors posted double-digit growth for the ninth consecutive month, demonstrating continued strong spending by state-owned enterprises.
“Revenue across nearly all segments of the retail industry was up from a year ago, with online shopping and grocery store sales leading the way. Restaurant receipts also increased compared to last year.
“Revenues in the Sporting and Leisure Stores and Clothing and Accessories Stores segments were down slightly from their August 2021 totals.”
Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending August 2022 was up 14.7% from the same period a year ago.
Texas collected the following revenues from other major taxes:
- motor vehicle sales and lease taxes – $651 million, the highest monthly collections on record, up 4% from August 2021;
- fuel taxes – $320 million, down 3% from August 2021;
- oil production tax – $609 million, up 50% from August 2021;
- natural gas production tax – $525 million, up 144% from August 2021;
- hotel occupancy tax – $69 million, up 6% from August 2021; and
- liquor taxes – $145 million, up 7% from August 2021.
For details of all monthly collections, see the Comptroller’s Monthly State Revenue Watch.. For a detailed history of the evolution of tax policy and fees since 1972, visit our updated income streams post.


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The good news for Publicis Groupe is that it cut it losses in the third quarter of 2020, losses in terms of organic growth which is the only measure of ad holding companies analysts and investors tend look at.
Organic growth improved from -13% in Q2 (one of the weaker performances among the top six) to -5.6%, aheqd of analysts’ forecasts. In the US, where the French-owned company now does 60% of its business, the number was (just) -2.4%, proof it you like that Trumponomics pays off for some companies.
The bad news is that Europe is still a car crash – organic growth down 9% – and may well become worse as partial or even complete lockdowns are introduced to combat a second wave of the pandemic.
CEO Arthur Sadoun (above) who can be rightly pleased with these numbers, struck a cautious note saying: “We believe that these relatively solid business trends should continue until year-end. However, with the current resurgence of the pandemic and the restrictions imposed, we have to be cautious about Q4, which might be impacted further and come below Q3.”
As ever with Arthur there was a bullish note too: “When it comes to our organization, we have built three structural advantages with our global delivery centres, our country model, and Marcel, which enable us to adapt and continue to deliver strong financial performance. We are therefore confident in delivering our (€500m) cost reduction plan, and as a result an operating margin rate slightly ahead of current analyst consensus of 14.3% for 2020.”
Publicis has always been strong on margins against the rest of the field. “Global delivery centres” presumably means the much-hyped ‘Power of One’ (especially via data-based business Publicis.Sapient and $4.4bn Epsilon, Sadoun’s biggest bet) while the much-derided Marcel internal communications app has presumably proved useful in lockdown.
But Publicis still makes money – net revenue in Q3 was €2.3bn only down a bit on 2019 – and Sadoun has done a good job of communicating with the troops (whose numbers are doubtless depleted) while the country managers get on with the heavy lifting of redundancies and cost cutting.
Publicis has also won a lot of new business in 2020, most recently energy giant E.ON’s media business in Europe.


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AYR – Massive does not do justice in describing a new fertilizer plant dominating the northern gateway entrance to the town of Ayr.
A grand opening was recently celebrated at the 36,000-square-foot facility that will be a central hub supplying other FS PARTNERS co-operatives throughout the province.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
The state-of-the-art facility is the first in Ontario to utilize a HIM high-performance mixer for creating fertilizer blends with a 3.5 tonne capacity.
The building has a 15,000-tonne flat storage capacity with eight bulk bins that allow for various fertilizer ingredient combinations. The facility will be capable of mixing up to 2,000 tonnes of product per day, more than doubling the previous capacity at the existing fertilizer plant.
The plant will operate as both a retail and a wholesale outlet, said Frank Barron, division manager for FS PARTNERS. It is a shared asset between Growmark Inc., an agriculture co-operative providing agronomy, energy, logistics products and services as well as grain marketing in Ontario and 40 states in the U.S.


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Today New caps on payday lenders come into force. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
More than a million individuals will understand price of their borrowing fall now that brand new cost caps on payday advances took impact.
But, very early indications are that numerous regarding the sectorвЂ™s bigger players is supposed to be charging you the most allowed to underneath the brand new regime, instead using the chance to set their charges underneath the limit. (more…)


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Individuals Must Change Diet, Exercise Habits
WASHINGTON, April 24, 2013 – Regulation of big sugary drinks and processed foods can help reduce alarmingly high rates of obesity among Hispanics, but changes in individual behavior and support from community organizations are also crucial, according to a new report released today by The Hispanic Institute.
The report, “Obesity: Hispanic America’s Big Challenge,” criticizes the processed food industry for its complicity in flooding stores with drinks that are too sugary and foods that are too salty and fat. It also urges national organizations not to accept funds from companies whose products hurt the people they represent.
“Of course, we’re responsible for what we eat and drink, but we’re also subject to the effects of massive advertising and misleading promotional campaigns – especially on our children and the poor,” Gus West, president of The Hispanic Institute, said in announcing the report. “Education and awareness can make a difference, but we also need the community organizations to walk away from funding by the processed food and big sugary drink companies. Community Organizations did it in the ‘90s, when they broke with tobacco companies; they can do it again now with these companies,” he added.
The report applauds public officials like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose much publicized effort to control the sale of big sugary drinks was blocked by a court ruling on an appeal brought by the sugary drink manufacturers, supported by Hispanic and African American Organizations.
“Obesity: Hispanic America’s Big Challenge” details the impact of diabetes and heart disease on the Hispanic community, which suffers from those obesity-related conditions at rates surpassed only by those of non-Hispanic African-Americans, and it offers some solutions. The positive roles of diet and exercise and technology are also examined


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Can the Middle East be a major market for Korean food makers?
President Park Geun-hye appears to be positive of the prospect. She last week signed an agreement with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, on bilateral cooperation on the production and sales of “halal” food.
Under the agreement, she noted, the two nations will work together to create a creditable halal certificate system, adding it would help expand Korean food companies’ expansion in the region.
A group of food company associations here hailed the decision in a joint statement on Wednesday, expressing high expectation for the region where only a handful of domestic companies sell a limited number of halal-certified products.
The food ministry will soon launch a taskforce, which will work with the Korea Muslim Federation to provide various supporting services. The ministry also plans to build a “halal food complex” inside the food industry cluster, which is under construction in Iksan, North Jeolla Province.
Yet experts seem to be guarding against taking too optimistic an approach. They warned that nothing will be done should the government and companies handle the issue with a short-term strategy. They said this is a project requiring a “long-term investment and cooperation.”
The National Assembly Research Service (NARS) suggested in a report that comprehensive research and studies on the Middle East and its food market be carried out first.
“We have limited information and knowledge about the food business and consumers in the Middle East,” the NARS wrote in the report. “We need to take slow but proven steps, rather than quick and risky one.”
It called on the government to establish a data center collecting and sharing up-to-date information about halal certificate issuers, market trend and related regulations among others.
For food companies seeking expansion to the region, the NARS said it is crucial to study thoroughly about non-business issues such as religion, culture and history, citing the region’s uniqueness.
Halal means lawful or permissible in Arabic and certification is given to only food items that are slaughtered, processed or manufactured in accordance to Islamic law. Muslims are required to consume only halal food. Food makers cannot add pork, alcohol or meat-derived food ingredients such as collagen.
Last year, Korea exported a wide range of halal-certified food products worth $680 million. It plans to increase the amount to $1.23 billion by 2017 as the global halal food market will expand to $1.6 trillion.
Korean gov’t launches specialized halal food agency on Thursday, following recent halal food MOU with UAE
For example they don’t consume pork of any form, alcohol, and animals that are not properly slaughtered under Islamic law.
Permissible food is labeled ‘halal’ as “halal” means “allowed” in Arabic.
And since the late 2000s, many domestic food manufacturers like Nongshim and Pulmuone, have exported some of its food items, such as instant noodles and snacks,.. that earned halal-certifications.
Korea aims to double the nation’s halal foods exports, from some 680 million U.S. dollars last year to over one.two billion dollars by 2017.


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GST Council Likely To Meet In Second Week Of June
The GST Council is likely to meet in the second week of June according to media reports.
The GST Council is likely to meet in the second week of June according to media reports. The Council meeting will discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy of states, among other things.
The meeting of the GST council comes in the wake of repeated requests from state chief ministers in their video interactions with the Prime Minister for releasing dues to the states.
The GST council meeting is likely to discuss steps to raise compensation collections to clear the dues of the states. It is also likely to take up GST revenue trends which have hit rock bottom during the lockdown period following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
The GST Council is an apex member committee which was formed to modify or reconcile any law based on goods and services tax in the country. The council is headed by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprises finance ministers of all the states of the country.
The scheduled GST Council meeting could turn out to be a stormy one in the light of the fact that several states have been batting for higher allocations. Chief Ministers of several states had also stressed on the need to release GST dues in their video interactions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.


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Apple iCloud ransom demands: The facts you need to know. Welcome to the wonderful world of security nuance.
Hackers are demanding Apple pay a ransom in bitcoin or they’ll blow the lid off millions of iCloud account credentials.
Beyond the primary headline, however, there are a bevy of loose ends and nuances to ponder.
So far, we know that a London-based hacker group, calling itself the Turkish Crime Family, has claimed to have access to 250 million accounts (at the time of writing). The hackers are threatening to reset the passwords on those iCloud accounts and remotely wipe iPhones if Apple doesn’t pay a ransom by April 7. Those demands have since changed and increased. Motherboard, which first reported the story, noted that the media-hungry group has approached multiple outlets, possibly to help its extortion efforts.
For its part, Apple has said it hasn’t been hacked. In a brief statement to sister-site CNET, the company said the data came from “previously compromised third-party services,” and that it is “actively monitoring to prevent unauthorized access to user accounts.”
That seems to tie in with what the hackers said in an email to some members of the press late on Wednesday. The hackers denied any direct breach of Apple systems. What muddies the water is that the hackers also appear in some cases to have passwords that have been only used for iCloud. Welcome to the wonderful world of security nuance.
We have worked for the past few days to get to the bottom of this. Here’s what we’ve learned.
ZDNet obtained a set of 54 credentials from the hacker group for verification. All the 54 accounts were valid, based on a check using the site’s password reset function. (You can learn more about how we verify data breaches here.)
Read the rest of the article by clicking the link: http://zd.net/2n7BTzH


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Here you can check out the new online multiplayer mode Gun Game that Call of Duty Black Ops has to offer.
Jesus can't people get some decent capture hardware ffs. >_> Anyway looking forward to this hardened edition for me.
N4G is a community of gamers posting and discussing the latest game news. It’s part of NewsBoiler, a network of social news sites covering today’s pop culture.


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Archive for "Insomniac Games" Tag
Pre-loads apparently go live on June 4.
Is it time for Insomniac to return to Sunset City?
The PS5 exclusive arrives on June 11th.
"Never say never is my approach," says the creative director.
The game also has a New Game Plus-style challenge mode.
Insomniac's Mike Fitzgerald also discusses ray tracing and the benefits of the PS5's SSD.
Insomniac's PS5 exclusive continues to impress in new footage.
Embargoes for hands-off demo impressions are slated to end at 7 AM PT tomorrow.
Here are all the biggest new details on Insomniac's upcoming action platformer.
Insomniac's action platformer receives over 16 minutes of new footage.
Rivet, new weapons, and glimpses of different worlds can be expect.
The console manufacturer is looking to surpass its 2020 performance.
Insomniac's James Stevenson also confirms there will be no microtransactions.
The 15 minute-long show will also include updates on a couple of upcoming indie titles.
Deck out your favourite lombax with cosmetics and show them off in photo mode.
Insomniac reveals the name of the mysterious female Lombax.
Clank is looking like a well-oiled machine.
It is, in fact, Sony's best-selling game over the last twelve months.
"There are plans in place right now for that," the developer says.
The update has gone live a little earlier than it was supposed to.


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STORY: U.S. stocks rallied on Monday, notching their fourth straight session of gains with all three major indexes hitting two-week highs, as investors awaited crucial inflation data due out Tuesday.
The Dow rose seven tenths of a percent. The S&P 500 gained a full percent, while the Nasdaq ended more than a percent and a quarter higher.
The Labor Department's consumer price index, expected before Tuesday's opening bell, is this week's main event.
And Jay Hatfield, chief investment officer for the ICAP ETF, said the CPI report will be heavily scrutinized for any signs of future interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
"Right now, consensus for CPI is -0.1%. We're forecasting a number a little bit lower than that. at 0.2% [FLASH] And I would say the chances of there being a disappointment are rising because we've had a pretty dramatic rally into this print. So, I think people are really expecting it to be that number, consensus or better. So if we print higher then that could be bad for the market."
Market-leading mega-caps including Amazon and Tesla provided a lift to the S&P 500, while shares of Apple jumped nearly 4%, days after unveiling updates to its iPhone and Apple Watch.
Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb rose 3% following the FDA's approval of its psoriasis drug late on Friday. Share of rival Amgen, maker of the psoriasis drug Otezla, dropped 4%.
And shares of Twitter slipped amid its legal wrangling with Elon Musk, who said in his latest attempt to scrap his deal to buy the company that Twitter's failure to seek his consent before paying millions of dollars to a former security chief turned whistleblower violated the merger agreement. Twitter called his latest reasoning to back out of the deal "invalid and wrongful."


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A new Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic game is being developed by Aspyr Media. A Star Wars KOTOR game has been amidst rumors for quite a while now, and it seems like the rumors were indeed true.
The reports of the development of a new Star Wars KOTOR first popped up in a thread on Resetera, where prominent game journalist Jason Schrier mentions that nobody will be able to guess who is behind the next KOTOR game. Star Wars insider Bespin Bulletin also mentioned during an episode of the B.O.B. the Podcast that the game is not being developed by EA or Bioware. This was further corroborated by Wushu Studios’ communications manager Nate Najda who states that the studio behind the game is not as mysterious as people think, however, it is not a household name.
Related: KOTOR Remake in Development, Bioware not Involved
Now it seems like we have finally got some information about the studio behind the next Star Wars: KOTOR game. Earlier today, Embracer Group, the parent company of Koch Media and THQ Nordic acquired Aspyr Media and Gearbox Software. In a press release, it mentions,
“Aspyr currently has several games under development including one major ongoing game development project with an approximate budget of USD 70 million that is expected to become an important for the entire group. These development projects will engage more than 200 internal and external developers with the core team in Austin, Texas, and will contribute to Embracer’s release slate in the coming years.”
Soon after the PR was released, a Resetera thread was started discussing about whether the title in development by Aspyr Media is Star Wars: KOTOR. Jason Schrier once again wrote a couple of comments on the thread, which all but confirm that Aspyr Media is actually working on the next Star Wars: KOTOR game.
With Embracer also stating that the title in development by Aspyr Media is a licensed title, it seems quite likely that the speculations are indeed true. Aspyr Media is known for its ports of Star Wars games, so it remains to be seen how they pull this off. That being said, considering all this is not official, it should be taken with a grain of salt.
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Commerce fueled by cryptocurrencies has as soon as once more began to develop. Knowledge collected by blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis reveals a big enhance of quantity within the first half of the 12 months. The constructive change coincided with the outstanding market restoration that adopted final 12 months’s extended crypto winter.
Additionally learn: Turkey Becomes the Latest Nation to Work on Digital Fiat
$5.5 Million of Crypto Utilized in Commerce Every day
After a string of miserable months in 2018, cryptocurrency-based commerce started to rise once more in 2019, the research quoted by Bloomberg signifies. In line with New York-headquartered Chainalysis, the quantity of cryptocurrency despatched to 16 service provider service suppliers comparable to Bitpay elevated by 65% between January and July. Throughout the identical interval, the worth of bitcoin core (BTC) tripled to over $12,000.
This 12 months’s constructive development contrasts with the findings from final 12 months, when Chainalysis registered a decline in bitcoin-related commerce. The corporate’s 2019 analysis covers not solely commerce based mostly on BTC but in addition funds in bitcoin money (BCH), litecoin (LTC) and the stablecoin tether (USDT). These cryptocurrencies, the report notes, are used to fund every part from online gambling to purchases at pot shops.
In line with Kim Grauer, senior economist at Chainalysis, the rise in bitcoin-denominated commerce suggests that there’s extra belief in crypto now. The general quantity of cryptocurrency utilized in commerce stays small, the publication acknowledges, however but it grew from round $three million each day in January to $5.5 million per day on common in July.
The amount is prone to develop additional as platforms like Bitpay, which permits retailers to just accept funds in BCH and BTC, introduce help for extra digital cash sooner or later. The corporate, which processes over $1 billion in transactions yearly, expects continued development as new currencies are added together with ether (ETH) and ripple (XRP), spokesperson Jan Jahosky advised Bloomberg.
Sluggish Transactions Are a Main Hurdle to Adoption
Numerous cryptocurrencies differ in some ways and the authors level out that inconvenience associated to sure specifics has been a significant barrier to the expansion of crypto funds. For instance, transaction affirmation on the BTC community can take as much as an hour, making it arduous for folks to only stroll in a retailer, purchase a cup of espresso and go away, the article notes.
The attribute volatility of most digital belongings can be a detrimental issue and lots of companies and customers are nonetheless reluctant to deal in crypto for that cause. On the similar time, the researchers have discovered a five-fold enhance in using tether through the examined interval. In line with Chainalysis, the stablecoin whose value is pegged to the U.S. greenback accounted for 9% of all commerce through the seven months coated within the research.
In actuality, a rising variety of retailers settle for direct cryptocurrency funds. As an example, the Bitcoin Cash Map software now lists 1,769 areas of brick and mortar shops that allow you to pay with BCH. And in line with a current report by advertising evaluation firm Semrush, quoted by La Stampa each day, cryptocurrency is the third-most well-liked on-line cost methodology in Italy. Bitcoin is behind solely Paypal and Postepay, whereas it’s extra widespread in Italian ecommerce than direct funds with any of the key bank cards.
What do you think about to be the principle impediment for quicker development of crypto funds? Share your opinion on the topic within the feedback part under.
Photographs courtesy of Shutterstock.
Are you a developer seeking to construct on Bitcoin Money? Head over to our Bitcoin Developer page the place you may get Bitcoin Money developer guides and begin utilizing the Bitbox, SLP, and Badger Pockets SDKs.


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Private inland container depots (ICDs) are now overburdened as businesses started sending export containers seven to eight days before the scheduled shipments to avoid being affected by the nine-day Eid-ul-Azha vacation starting from today.
Nearly five days ago, they started sending export cargoes to the 19 ICDs, where 15,010 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of export containers found lying yesterday, up from around 8,000 TEUs any regular day, according to Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (Bicda).
At present, the ICDs have over 69,000 containers, including empty ones and those laden with export and import goods, though the combined accommodation capacity in paper is 65,000.
This has apparently slowed down daily delivery of import cargo from the ICDs, adding to the congestion.
According to Bicda, 1,000 to 1,100 TEUs of import cargo is usually delivered from the ICDs on a normal day but it came down to 820 on August 7; 888 on August 8 and 754 on August 09.
Till yesterday noon around 300 trucks carrying export goods from Dhaka and surrounding areas were in queue to enter the ICDs.
Some 90 percent of the country’s exports are stuffed into containers at the ICDs before being sent to Chattogram Port while the remaining goes to the Kamalapur ICD and different export processing zones.
To ensure that shipments are made timely on the eve of Eid, Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) is allowing export containers to arrive at the port three hours in advance of ship departure schedules.
The rule will remain effective till September 1.
Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, chairman of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association’s standing committee on port and shipping, said most garment factories would stay shut for eight to 10 days during Eid.
To ensure that shipments were made on time, they got their export cargo into the ICDs long before the vacation started, he said. Chattogram-based factories had sent their containers by August 6-7, said Chowdhury.
He alleged that many of their trucks had to wait for at least three days to get a scope at unloading the cargo as the ICDs had an insufficient number of labourers. The exporters also had to bear the extra cost of the trucks’ overstay.
This was confirmed by Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association Director Khairul Alam Sujan. He said the ICDs should speed up loading of cargo into containers to avert shipment delays.
Secretary to Bicda Ruhul Amin Sikder said the ICDs were working round the clock to ensure shipments were made on time.
Disclaimer: The original publisher, as mentioned above, holds the responsibility for the content. Hence, BizDataInsight doesn’t hold the accountability.


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Although the Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) has been in force for over six years, competition law enforcement has only considerably intensified in the past several months.
Since the first quarter of 2014, the Shanghai Government has issued three circulars regarding changes to the industrial land supply rules.
China’s huge consumer market is now attracting more and more foreign companies to take control of their distribution and manage their own retail sales. China has historically been an ideal destination for outsourcing manufacturing operations. Rogier van Bijnen and Maarten Roos of R&P China Lawyers discuss the…
In today’s commercialised society the role of advertising has become hugely important for companies.
There have been a number of recent regulatory developments concerning finance lease companies in China.


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Chrome for Android Earns Its Material Design Stripes
Google recently updated Chrome for Android devices. The update makes several changes to the browser. For example, signing into Chrome automatically signs users into all Google sites they visit. The app has also been updated with Google's Material Design, which has a new look and feel. The update also fixes bugs and improves performance. Chrome for Android is free to download from the Google Play Store.
Google Adds Android Pay to Chrome
Google recently updated its Chrome browser for Android devices with several performance improvements. Fire and foremost, Android users can rely on Android Pay to make purchases online when browsing.
Chrome for Android Now Supports Push Notifications
Android users can now tap into push notifications from their favorite web sites. Google updated its Chrome browser this week with support for personalized notifications that come directly from the web.
Chrome for Android Speaks More Languages
Google today announced several improvements headed to its Chrome browser for Android devices. Primarily, the newest version of Chrome is better at translating languages.
Google Chrome for Android Becomes More Efficient
Google today updated its Chrome browser for Android devices with new tools to help reduce data usage, download pages for offline use, and discover more personalized content. To start, Data Saver has expanded to video.


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Soundcloud Surfing is a weekly feature that is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of focusing on brand new music, we dig into the Soundcloud archives and pull out some gems. Enjoy, and check out previous editions here.
Outkast began their gigantic comeback tour at the two weekends of Coachella earlier this month and they celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of their debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik today, April 26. Outkast are one of the most influential groups in hip-hop history, opening up a lane for weirdos, innovators, and the creative many years before Kanye or Young Thug were putting on skirts or dresses.
Remixes of Outkast are many, and of wildly varying quality, but here are 9 of the best remixes, and one great cover.


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Third party receivers are a way to use CarPlay in vehicles that don’t have it built in.
Three high-end car manufacturers will be the first to install Apple’s CarPlay in their new vehicles.
This feature was previously known as iOS in the Car. It essentially offers a special dashboard for drivers who plug in their iPhone through which they can control vital functions. CarPlay was finally activated with iOS 7.1 which was released a few weeks back.
Apple says that CarPlay has been designed to give drivers a “smarter, safer and more fun way to use iPhone in the car.” It has been designed from the ground up to link the iPhone to the car. Users will be able to access voice navigation through Siri, and even get the system to read out text messages, take dictation for replies as well as speak out directions and notifications. Ferrari, Mercedes and Volvo will be the first auto manufacturers to put CarPlay support in their new vehicles.
But that doesn’t mean anyone who wishes to use CarPlay is going to have to buy a new car. While the in-dash systems in the new cars will come with CarPlay support, interested users will also be able to pick up third party receivers that support the feature. Pioneer is the first company to add support. The 2014 NEX series with receivers ranging from $700 to $1400 will receive support for CarPlay through a software update this summer. Apple has confirmed the same. Moreover Alpine is also said to be working on CarPlay-supported receivers of its own.
Apple is known for strictly controlling hardware and software but it may not have that luxury as far as cars are concerned. Competing services are already being developed by Google and Microsoft so it would make sense why Apple would want to be first to the market.


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SAP specialist integrator UXC Oxygen has implemented a customer web shop for DB Breweries, which it claims is the first of its kind in Asia Pacific to use SAP’s latest web channel experience management (WCEM) software.
DB is partnering with Oxygen to roll out several new SAP solutions aimed at improving business efficiency. The web shop, which services DB’s trade customers, went live on time and on budget in December, Oxygen says.
DB’s knowledge management team leader, Mike Rawson, says the brewer recently upgraded its core SAP system and is now commencing a programme of CRM work to further strengthen key customer service functions.
“As a result of the web shop going live, we now have SAP CRM installed and we are ready to use it to address a number of key sales and marketing processes.”
Rawson says the web shop will help DB better service trade customers by providing them with a more direct and consistent means of engagement with the brewer.
“Customers will be able to order from us through the web shop at any time of the day or night – not just during business hours. All our DB beer products, as well as associated merchandise – such as glasses, coasters and other branded items – will be available for ordering online at a time that suits the customer.”
Over the coming months DB plans to further deploy SAP CRM functionality to provide field representatives with a mobile sales application, improve contact centre operations and more easily manage trade promotions.
Rawson says selecting SAP’s latest web technology was a logical step forward for the brewery. “We are an SAP-oriented vendor and we opted for the best technology available. Although the product was untested in the local market, we undertook a proof of concept at the start of the project to ensure we mitigated any potential issues.
“The go-live of the web shop has gone very smoothly and the transaction load is continuing to increase. It has been a successful first step in the implementation of our comprehensive CRM roadmap, and the feedback we are getting from customers and users is very positive.”
Oxygen CEO Stuart Dickinson says the implementation was important for both Oxygen and SAP, who worked together closely to prepare the software for implementation at DB.
“It will be the solution SAP customers turn to if they want a straightforward means of deploying a B2B e-commerce capability that can be easily integrated with their existing financial and customer management functions,” he says.