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Rent-A-Center Inc. (RCII) Downgraded to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Investment Research
Rent-A-Center Inc. (NASDAQ:RCII) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.
According to Zacks, “Rent-A-Center disappointed investors with its bleak preliminary guidance for third-quarter 2016. The company now expects Core U.S. same store sales to be down nearly 12% in the quarter while Acceptance Now same store sales is estimated to be flat. Core U.S. gross profit is likely to be flat year over year. The company anticipates earnings per share both on the GAAP and non-GAAP basis to be in the range of $0.05 to $0.15 per share. The technical snags and outages after the execution of new point-of-sale system negatively impacted Core sales and compelled management to hold a conservative view. Moreover, Rent-A-Center has been disappointing investors with its top-line performance for the past four consecutive quarters. Accelerated point of sale system rollout, persistent sluggishness across the computers and tablets categories, headwinds across the oil-impacted markets and continued smartphones recast impacted the results.”
Separately, Jefferies Group began coverage on shares of Rent-A-Center in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.72.
Shares of Rent-A-Center (NASDAQ:RCII) opened at 9.55 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $12.38 and its 200-day moving average is $13.00. Rent-A-Center has a 52-week low of $8.00 and a 52-week high of $26.26. The firm’s market capitalization is $507.26 million.
Rent-A-Center (NASDAQ:RCII) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 27th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.08. The company earned $749.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $782.12 million. Rent-A-Center had a negative net margin of 27.93% and a positive return on equity of 14.03%. The company’s revenue was down 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rent-A-Center will post $1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 3rd will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 29th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. Rent-A-Center’s payout ratio is -1.93%.
In related news, CEO Robert Dale Davis bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.87 per share, for a total transaction of $108,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 131,850 shares in the company, valued at $1,433,209.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rent-A-Center during the first quarter valued at approximately $338,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Rent-A-Center by 174.8% in the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 212,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,375,000 after buying an additional 135,446 shares during the period. BlackRock Group LTD raised its position in shares of Rent-A-Center by 13.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Group LTD now owns 81,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after buying an additional 9,402 shares during the period. BlackRock Fund Advisors raised its position in shares of Rent-A-Center by 32.7% in the first quarter. BlackRock Fund Advisors now owns 3,318,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,598,000 after buying an additional 817,206 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of Rent-A-Center by 16.5% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 939,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,897,000 after buying an additional 133,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.58% of the company’s stock.
Rent-A-Center, Inc is a rent-to-own operator in North America. The Company provides an opportunity to obtain ownership of products, such as consumer electronics, appliances, computers (including tablets), smartphones and furniture (including accessories), under rental purchase agreements. The Company operates in four segments: Core U.S., Acceptance Now, Mexico and Franchising.
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Russia May Reportedly Create New Payment Unit for Trade With Friendly Countries
10:01 GMT 30.03.2022 (Updated: 10:03 GMT 30.03.2022)
© Sputnik / Alexandr DemyanchukBanknotes
© Sputnik / Alexandr Demyanchuk/
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A group of Russian economists suggested that Moscow consider creating a new payment unit for trade with friendly countries and the Economic Development Ministry does not rule out such possibility in the future, the Russian RBC newspaper reported.
This opinion was expressed by several economists including experts of the Moscow-based Centre for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting and the Institute of Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).
The countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), China, India, Iran, and Turkey may be interested in the formation of a non-dollar payment settlement system, according to the experts. The overall benefit for these countries will be a reduced dependence on reserve currencies that can be used as geopolitical weapons.
28 March 2022, 13:55 GMT
According to the economists, the internal value of this unit must be provided by the resources available to the participating countries, namely gold and precious metals. The unit’s rate will depend on the weighted average price of resources in the global market, while the conversion of national currencies into the payment unit at the time of foreign trade operations will be carried out by the clearing centre of the system.
It is obvious to Russia that any conflict of a political and economic nature can lead to a decrease in value of dollar and euro reserves, experts said. Using a payment unit similar to the European Currency Unit, a precursor to the euro, would solve the problem.
The newspaper noted that Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Volvach said at a conference on Tuesday that Russian authorities do not rule out the possibility of creating a payment unit with friendly countries but this is a matter for the future.

domain: news


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no hand disinfectant available, or the more colloquial phrase håndsprit is one of the most talked about in this period, where coronavirusset tester the Danish population.
But now it turns out that not all of the products of the kind in which one can rely on the effect.
There is a håndsprit, which have been sold in Matas, T. Hansen and Save stores, which are now being revoked. It writes the TV the SOUTH.
It is the environmental protection Agency, who have chosen to withdraw the product after an inspection of the company Nowocoat that produces the product. It writes the agency in a press release.
‘Nowocoat A/S has not submitted a satisfactory proof, that the product is no hand disinfectant available PER. no. 4263343 is active against bacteria and viruses,’ says Kim Holm Boesen, head of division, Danish environmental protection Agency.
TV MIDTVEST writes that the Rema 100 has already removed the product from their stores, and that it was no longer possible to buy it from Matas’ webshop.
Føtex, Bilka and Netto has also sold the product, but they chose to remove it already, when it was possible to buy regular håndsprit.
All products of the type that have been sold within the last year, are now being revoked.


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Penny Stock Alert: Marine Drive Mobile Corp. (MDMC)
AimHighProfits will give you penny stock information in real-time to put the research to work.
Penny Stock Alert: Marine Drive Mobile Corp. (MDMC)
The Internet’s Newest Sector Is So Young It’s Still Learning To Walk, Yet Coupons Are Already Generating Billions Of Dollars In Brand New Revenues With No End In Site And, Marine Drive Mobile (MDMC) Could Be YOUR EASIEST WAY To Play Coupons Today!
Here is the brutal fact about investing in Internet companies.
You are not investing in their products – no matter how desirable or effective they may be.
No, when you invest in an Internet company you are investing in human capital…brainpower!
You’re putting your money on the brains that run the company… the people who develop breakthrough products and ideas… the people whose breakthroughs propel a company forward.
Groupon Is Already Yesterday’s News...It Will Be Eclipsed By A New Startup Company That Is Set To Emerge
Because of that, this could be the one company you could bet on to make sense out of the super-heated coupon sector that’s currently dominated by companies such as Groupon and Living Social.
MDMC LOOKS LIKE A GAME CHANGER That Means GAME ON For Investors Who Love Internet Startups
And, while it would be fair to note that Groupon and Living Social are responsible for reigniting the world’s love affair with discount coupons…Just as it is with many tech startups, MDMC’s stock currently trades for under $1. But MDMC is set roll out a new, highly evolved coupon delivery service that could send its shares flying… and make dinosaurs out of the coupon sector’s slow moving giants. This is because MDMC’s approach solves the biggest problem in the online coupon industry…
It allows people seeking discounts to avoid being pummeled by a shotgun approach and instead find coupons specific to their interests.
And, unlike the Groupon model, MDMC’s approach is far better for the merchants offering coupons – right down to the ability to collect all their cash at the point of sale.
Marine Drive Mobile Is Poised To Help Drive The Internet Coupon Sector From $6.5 Billion This Year To $31 Billion In The Next Three Years…
Now, here’s why owning MDMC at an incredibly low price today could put you on track to cash out a tremendous gain – perhaps as much a 2,678% in the near term!
Huge stock market buzz and massive media saturation mean that the world is now well familiar with a host of daily-deal coupon sites like Groupon and Living Social.
Their popular coupon model of marketing has created a billion dollar industry in a few short years.
But, while there is huge upside for consumers, the daily-deal coupon model has created a significant downside for businesses and merchants.
You see, while consumers may be getting a great deal, merchants get somewhat of a raw deal.
In most cases they surrender 50% of the revenue to the coupon company and then to add injury to insult, they’re stuck waiting up to 60 days before the coupon distributor, such as Groupon, pays them for the sale.
In short, MDMC developed a transactional Mobile Commerce and Internet application for daily-deal coupons that is merchant-focused and consumer-friendly.
It’s Why MDMC Could Quickly Jump
• Today, 2.1 billion people are wired to the Internet.
• The smartphone in your pocket is more powerful than the computer you used 10 years ago…
• 330 million smartphones will be sold this year.
• There will be 1 billion smartphone users in the next 19 months
• iPads and other tablet computers are set to dominate the computer market… 42 million tablets will be sold this year.
• Smartphones are the future of m-commerce and coupon delivery and MDMC is ready now with its cutting edge m-Commerce platform.
Ultimately, MDMC’s technology should create a positive impact on local economies by driving sustainable, repeat traffic to local businesses.
The Online Coupon Sector Is Expanding At Supersonic Speed
You see, unlike the last Internet bubble, today, the web is jumping off computer screens and into pockets, purses and the palms of our hands… in fact when you think about it, most people today have more computing power in their smartphones than was available in the personal computers back during last century’s Internet bubble.
This translates to a massive number of people across the globe who are now constantly wired to the web… this is the difference today.
And, that means that advertising models have changed…
Daily-deal coupons are a new revenue model that’s revolutionizing advertising on the web and mobile phones…
Because of its people, Marine Drive Mobile looks poised to be a leader of this new revenue-generating revolution.
NOTE WELL: AimHighProfits is not a registered investment advisor and nothing contained in any materials should be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Investors should always conduct their own due diligence with any potential investment. AimHighProfits is a wholly owned entity of a financial public relations firm. We have not been compensated by any of these companies, nor do we own any shares of these companies.


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ATLANTA (AP) — Sam’s Club plans to open a new $142 million fulfillment center in Georgia, creating an estimated 600 jobs.
Executives for the Walmart subsidiary said the project in Douglas County along the Interstate 20 corridor west of Atlanta will enhance its ability to distribute goods to customers in Georgia and across the Southeast.
“This investment is critical to deliver to our members with speed and provide an overall great experience,” Joseph Godsey, chief supply chain officer for Sam’s Club, said in a news release Monday.
- Cause of death revealed for woman who texted friends on the way to dinner party, then vanished
- 3 Ga. deputies hospitalized after driver leads them on 100+ mph chase through multiple neighborhoods
- New clues: New video shows stranger using Ga. man’s debit card after he vanishes on business trip
The announcement comes a month after Sam’s Club unveiled plans to add more than 30 stores in the coming years in its first expansion since 2017. The first of the new stores will be located in neighboring Florida.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s office said that Sam’s Club and Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart already employ more than 66,000 workers in the state.
IN OTHER NEWS:
©2023 Cox Media Group


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$CA 1Q16 Call: We had an encouraging quarter driven by improved sales execution, strong operating margin performance &progress towards achieving our long term goals. Total new sales were down mid-single digit YoverY, enterprise solutions were up low-single digit over the year. This was offset by Mainframe new sales which were down in the high teens
The latest earnings report by $VZ shows how it is losing customers despite offering the unlimited data plans, a record for the company.
$BEBE is closing down all its stores by the end of May.
$WFC agreed to hike its payout in a class-action settlement over unauthorized accounts by $32 million to $142 million for its retail sales practices. The settlement will now include customers who were impacted as early as May 2002.


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The flooding disasters in Thailand that started last year didn't have overwhelming impacts on December quarterly earnings for most hard drive disk manufacturers, but that is surely going to change going forward in 2012.
A complete recovery of production won't happen for months, according to new research from IHS iSuppli.
IHS storage analyst Fang Zhang explained in the report that a recovery for HDD manufacturers has already gotten underway and is expected to ramp up progressively each quarter. Nevertheless, supply and shipments are not expected to return to typical annual growth until at least the third quarter of 2012.
Thus, we are going to see inflated prices for hard drives as most inventory will be very low, and this will likely be the only way that hard drive manufacturers will be able to make it through this crisis.
Prices will remain high for a number of reasons, including the higher costs associated with the relocation of production, as well as higher component costs because of flooding impacts among component makers. Furthermore, PC brands have signed annual contacts with HDD makers that have locked them into elevated pricing deals for the rest of the year.
Yet shipments are expected to increase no matter what. Take a look at the graph below:
Analysts predict that Q1 shipments will increase by 13 percent, "a dramatic turnaround from a 29 percent plunge in the fourth quarter of 2011." After that, shipments will continue to grow by 14 percent in the second quarter, 11 percent in the third quarter, and only 4 percent in the fourth quarter.
Chart via IHS iSuppli
- Is 2012 the year of the SSD? SanDisk, Western Digital disagree
- Thailand endorses Twitter censorship: A step back for democracy?
- Hardware makers slog through hard disk drive shortages
- PC bill of materials creep higher amid hard drive shortage
- Twitter hires Google executive: Asia as its next target?


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Netanyahu says essential services will continue and that there will not be a shortage of food or medicines.
Banking services will also continue as usual and gas stations will remain open.
He says all leisure activities will be halted beginning tomorrow.
Whoever doesn’t have to go to work, shouldn’t, he says — in order to ensure that two-meter “social distancing.”
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Israel reached 193 on Saturday evening, the Health Ministry said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu called on the public not to panic, and said that the food factories would continue working as usual.
“The supermarket chains have a large supply. Imports of food to Israel will continue. There is no need to hoard food. Access to supermarkets and pharmacies will continue,” he promised.


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A team led by Mexican cement company Cemex has built a 140 sq m house in Angola, central Africa. The structure was completed in 30 hours and contains two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a dining room and a living room.
One member of the team was Danish 3D printer maker Cobod. It used its Bod2 construction printer that used mix made up of locally available materials with a 1% addition of its “Magic Mix”. According to Cobod, this is 90% cheaper than printing with mortars.
However, the aim of the project was not to showcase affordable housing, but rather to explore the architectural possibilities of 3D printing.
Angolan company Power2build, another member of the team, had previously printed a 53 sq m house in 48 hours. Ricardo Almeida, the company’s chief executive, said: “There is room for improvement. In the future we will only become better at mastering this technology. We are getting more efficient by the day and closer to achieving our vision to deliver better housing at affordable prices to Angolan families.”
Henrik Lund-Nielsen, Cobod International’s founder, added: “This is a great example of how we and our customers are continuously improving the technology and can build faster, better, and cheaper as our customers and partners become experts at mastering the 3D-printing technology.”


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Fans experience during Australian Open is about to change as the tournament introduces them to Metaverse and NFTs.
Oluwapelumi Adejumo · January 7, 2022 at 7:30 pm UTC · 2 min read
The adoption of blockchain technology by various industries in the world is on the rise, the sports industry just took another step in that direction. This step was taken by the organizers of one of the biggest Grand Slams in the world, Australian Open.
According to organizers of the competition, the tournament is set to become the first-ever Grand Slam to incorporate non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This was first revealed by a Gizmodo report.
Australian Open to incorporate NFTs into the tournament
An analysis of the plan indicated that there are multiple dimensions through which NFTs would be incorporated into the sporting competition.
To start with, a collection of 6,776 NFTs will be made available to the public. This collection has been dubbed “Art Ball NFTs.” Aside from this, there are also clear indications that several small plots would be tied to each Art Ball.
Further analysis indicated that the incorporation of the NFTs would be designed in a way that ensures that for every winning shot made from the tournament’s 600 matches, verified owners will get an airdrop.
This airdrop would also include a film of the point, virtual wearables, Australian Open merchandise, among other things.
It is important to note that if the winning point occurred during a championship match and lands on a plot, the real ball would be handed to the NFT owner in a case with a bespoke engraving. The court location for each NFT will be selected when the collections are minted on January 13 for 0.067 ETH (about $350) per piece.
“The NFT-associated court plot will be allocated at random and disclosed upon ball minting. This means that a buyer is not able to choose a particular spot on the court.”
Australian Open to have its own competition in the metaverse too
The landmark tournament is also structuring an online competition on the renowned metaverse platform, Decentraland.
As the tournament is set to begin on January 17, fans can virtually participate in an AO Decentraland global party, which would be a three-dimensional VR platform that would give tennis enthusiasts opportunities to scout the Australian Open.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic which has held the world at a standstill, physical attendance at events like the Australian Open has been difficult. This, invariably, has led to the rise of virtual events and places around the world.
According to Craig Tiley, the Australian Open tournament director, the surfacing technology wave will give tennis enthusiasts from all parts of the world a chance to participate in the 2022 Australian Open in such a manner like has never been seen before.
Featuring a summary of the most important daily stories in the world of crypto, DeFi, NFTs and more.


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The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is attempting to crack down on stores and store clerks who sell alcohol to people under 21 years of age, the legal drinking age in Florida, according to an article at www.News4jax.com. Jacksonville police officers are sending underage kids into various stores to try to purchase alcohol. If and when the store clerk sells the alcohol, the kid walks outside and hands the alcoholic beverage to the police officer waiting outside. The store clerk is then arrested or given a notice to appear in court for a second degree misdemeanor crime. Apparently, the Jacksonville police officers are targeting stores that have been the subject of a complaint, but they also check stores at random.
The Florida crime of selling or serving alcohol to a person under 21 years of age can be found at section 562.11, Florida Statutes. A person who is convicted of this crime faces a maximum sentence of 60 days in jail.


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Update: Arrotek Technical Sales Manager Ronan Scott will be giving at talk at Virtual MedtecLIVE 2020 on the 6 Step Design Process for Medical Development. Get a ticket and find out more.
This year’s MedtecLIVE event is going virtual, and Arrotek will be there as an exhibitor.
MedtecLIVE is an annual event that brings together all parts of the medical device industry. Last year, there were over 400 exhibitors with over 4,500 MedTech industry and medical industry professionals in attendance.
With the COVID-19 emergency, however, this year’s MedtecLIVE event in Germany had to be cancelled.
There will still be a MedtecLIVE in 2020, however, as the event has now gone virtual.
The virtual event will take place from 30 June to 2 July, and we’ll be there exhibiting and taking part. You’ll be able to meet the Arrotek team, too – all virtually, of course.
We’ll post more details when we have them, or you can visit the MedtecLIVE website.


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Snapchat parent Snap Inc. saw its shares pummeled Wednesday after posting a loss of $2.2 billion in its first quarterly results since its share offering earlier this year.
The loss for the California firm known for its disappearing messages reflects some $2 billion in stock compensation awarded at the time of the company’s initial public offering.
Snap disappointed analysts with reported revenue of $149.6 million in the three months ending in March.
That was a jump of 286 percent from a year ago but below Wall Street estimates of around $158 million, and a significant miss for the fast-moving social media segment.
Shares in Snap plunged 24 percent in after-hours trade to $17.45 following the results.
Snap said the number of daily active users grew to 166 million at the end of the quarter, a 36 percent increase from a year ago but just five percent higher than at the end of 2016.
Co-founder and chief executive Evan Spiegel told a conference call the company has been working on performance improvements and promoting its Android application, which could offer more growth globally compared with the Apple iOS system.
“We still have a lot of work to do but we are excited by the amount of progress we have made in such a short time,” Spiegel said.
But some analysts remained skeptical.
Ross Gerber of the investment firm Gerber Kawasaki said on Twitter: “Snap user growth is almost zero. Losing $50 mil a month. This is so poorly run. Run and hide. This is worse than twitter.”
Analysts have offered mixed views about Snap’s future, debating whether it can mimic the success of Facebook or end up in the tech junkyard.
Although Snapchat is best known for its smartphone messaging, it has also developed partnerships with numerous media outlets eager to reach its audience with news, video and other content.
The company contends it can generate healthy and sustainable revenue with advertising aimed at its users, the bulk of whom are in a coveted demographic of people 18 to 34 years old.
Snap conceded in IPO paperwork that there is no guarantee it will attract older audiences. And it has faced growing competition from Facebook, which has been introducing services similar to that of Snapchat on the leading social network and on Facebook-owned Instagram.


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The suit alleges “America’s chicken producers reached illegal agreements with one another and restrained trade,” which artificially increased prices, from 2008 through at least 2017, according to the complaint.
Carl Buddig is the latest company to join the fight against alleged chicken price fixing that has drawn a federal investigation and numerous lawsuits. Other companies that have filed suits include Chick-fil-A, Target and the convenience store chain Wawa.
Carl Buddig, based in Homewood, makes lunch cuts and other types of meats. It is still owned by the Buddig family and is run by the fourth generation, according to its website.
Carl Buddig is the parent company that distributes Buddig lunchmeat and Old Wisconsin snacks. It also has a licensing agreement to produce Kingsford branded ribs and barbecue entrees.
An attorney representing Carl Buddig declined to comment. Representatives from Tyson and Pilgrim’s Pride could not immediately be reached for comment.
This story has been updated to correct Buddig's relationship with Kingsford and Old Wisconsin.


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When America First Stood Up Against Giant Retailers
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
Because it takes a lot to slay a commercial giant, especially a beloved one.
By Sean Braswell
In the face of widespread popular protests backed by several powerful legislators, a giant retailer steps back, at least for the moment. This could be the story of Amazon in New York City in 2019. But this is a story from nearly a century ago when Americans first rallied against a massive retail chain that was threatening the local economy. The company? Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co. (better known as A&P).
In the early decades of the 20th century, long before Amazon, or even Walmart, A&P stores spread rapidly across the U.S., threatening to take over the retail landscape and put thousands of mom-and-pop stores out of business. Unsurprisingly, the backlash this provoked was intense. “I would rather have thieves and gangsters,” the powerful populist politician Huey Long proclaimed, “than chain stores in Louisiana.” It was that kind of sentiment that very nearly led Congress to take a legislative step in the late 1930s that would have changed American consumer history irrevocably: a ban on chain stores.
The anti-chain movement faded away because Americans saw the advantages of chains.
Marc Levinson, author of The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America
Going to the local corner grocery store in early-20th-century America was not really as charming an experience as it sounds. The product selection was extremely limited. Staples like meat and bread required separate trips to the baker and the butcher. And prices were high. In the 1920s, the average working-class family spent nearly a third of its budget on groceries, more than it spent on rent. “Food distribution was very inefficient, and families paid for that inefficiency through high prices,” says Marc Levinson, author of The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America.
In short, the grocery business was ripe for disruption, and that disruption came in the form of two brothers, George and John Hartford, high school dropouts who transformed their father’s small chain of stores into a corporate behemoth. A&P opened approximately seven new stores every day in the early 1920s. The typical A&P had limited hours and a single store manager. But the biggest cost savings came from the stores bypassing wholesalers and buying straight from manufacturers. Savings were passed on to consumers, who were also given an increasing variety of options to choose from.
It was natural that a backlash from those threatened by A&P’s growing dominance would form — and a powerful one did, known as the anti-chain movement. Independent grocers united with everyone from progressives and women’s groups to the KKK and populist Southerners like Huey Long to oppose the perceived takeover of America’s Main Streets. Newspapers and radio stations were devoted to the David vs. Goliath narrative, 26 states passed taxes on chain stores, and Congress passed the Robinson-Patman Act in 1936, making it largely illegal for manufacturers to give big chains preferential prices. Wright Patman, the folksy Texas congressman and anti-monopoly crusader behind that law, hoped to go even further, advocating for a “death tax” bill in 1939 that would have made business prohibitively expensive for chains.
The death tax bill, however, never came to a vote, and its failure signaled the demise of the anti-chain movement. Part of the reason for this was a massive, piecemeal A&P-led lobbying effort to kill the bill in which each anti-chain constituency was swayed one at a time. Also working in A&P’s favor was the growing popularity of chains with consumers, including its own positive reputation with customers, which only increased with the advent of the mass-consumption economy following World War II. “The anti-chain movement faded away because Americans saw the advantages of chains,” says Levinson. “While people paid lip service to the mom-and-pop store at the corner, by the end of World War II, they were doing most of their shopping at A&P and Sears and Montgomery Ward and J.C. Penney.” A&P eventually fell though: It shuttered in 2015 after what critics at the time called a failure to adapt and modernize.
As modern-day giants like Amazon, Walmart and Google gain oversize market positions thanks to their own low prices and market clout, anti-monopoly forces are again aligning to combat their growing influence. And such giants can borrow a number of pages from the A&P resistance playbook, including hardball tactics like political lobbying — in fact, reports in recent weeks indicate that the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department are preparing antitrust probes of Google and Facebook. But there are also softer powers that can be just as effective. To understand how A&P survived, says Levinson, one should watch the 1931 Little Rascals short Helping Grandma, in which the nice men from the chain store save a sweet grandmother from a swindler. “Walmart and Amazon would probably benefit from watching it,” Levinson says.


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Here Are the Music Stars Who Were at Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023
Music’s biggest stars took over the City of Love for Paris Fashion Week, and if they weren’t attending some of the most prominent designers’ shows, they were walking the runway.
Cher helped Olivier Rousteing close out the Balmain show by walking out, arm-in-arm with the designer. The 76-year-old Oscar winner was all smiles as she strutted down the runway — to screams from the crowds — in a marbled spandex bodysuit, plunging neck, platform wedges and the house’s famed peaked shoulders.
Over at Balenciaga, Kanye West opened the show, tromping through the mud in a black hoodie worn over a Balenciaga baseball cap of the same shade. His look was complete with an oversized security jacket, baggy leather moto jeans and a Balenciaga-branded mouth guard. The runway presentation marked Ye’s first time ever walking the runway for a major fashion house.
Doja Cat attended Mônot’s spring/summer show wearing an all-black ensemble, turned up a notch with arm makeup resembling sleek gloves, white and blue face makeup and bright red lips.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to musicians spending time at Paris Fashion week. See below for all the sleek, stylish looks from Olivia Rodrigo, Zendaya, Halsey, Dove Cameron and many, many more.


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Chrysler will decide in the next six weeks whether to build a diesel Jeep Liberty (Cherokee) sport-utility for a market test in the United States, Automotive News reported, citing senior vice president of engineering technologies Bernard Robertson.
Automotive News said that, if Chrysler builds the diesel Liberty, it would be sold in the US before low-sulphur diesel fuel, which makes meeting emission rules easier, arrives in late 2006.
According to Automotive News, a Chrysler product development executive said, at the Chicago Auto Show in February, that the company was considering the diesel Liberty for the United States as a way to test the market acceptance for a diesel in something other than a heavy-duty pickup.
But, at a Chrysler press event last month, Robertson said diesels fared poorly in a recent Chrysler survey meant to determine what technology customers want, with just 6% of potential customers saying they would consider a clean diesel engine, Automotive News reported.
Speaking at the SPECIALTY EQUIPMENT MARKET ASSOCIATION show in Las Vegas last week, Robertson said the survey would not influence the Liberty decision, according to Automotive News.
Chrysler already sells diesel versions of the Liberty in overseas markets where the line is known as the Cherokee.
The diesels, especially popular in Europe, come only with manual transmission but Chrysler UK officials hinted at the launch last year that an automatic option could eventually follow.


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Dixons Carphone is looking to wearables, its new mobile network iD and improvements in customer satisfaction to build on its strong set of results in its first full year as a combined business.
Black Friday has quickly become known for setting retail sales records despite the annual day of discounting being only a recent import from America, but it has also created stock and website headaches for retailers while costing them full-price pre-Christmas sales.
Fashion ecommerce business Enclothed, whose founders will be speaking at Marketing Week Live on 28 April, rose to prominence last year following an appearance on the BBC show Dragons’ Den.
Cannes Lions may be a reflection of the best connected – rather than best – people in marketing, but when it comes to tackling issues from the reversal of women’s rights to inclusion, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
The building society is on the lookout for a new CMO to replace Bennison, who has been chief product and marketing officer at Nationwide since 2016.
Good morning and welcome to Marketing Week’s round-up of the news that matters in the marketing world today.
Samsung Europe CMO Benjamin Braun explains how post-Covid marketing has become regarded as a “proper sales channel” with measurable impact.


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In line with its current multiple digital offerings, Univision is launching a new digital content house called La Fabrica UCI, with the goal of creating, scripting and producing original video for new digital brands and Univision digital platforms.
The new production arm will have facilities in New York and Miami, and create content through partnerships, acquisitions and in-house content development. Boris Gartner, vice president and general manager of La Fabrica UCI, will lead the venture, reporting to Univision New and Fusion prexy Isaac Lee and senior VP and general manager Mehul Nagrani.
“In the past three years Univision has transformed from a niche network to a leading multiplatform media company with a strong focus on digital,” said Lee in a statement. “La Fabrica UCI speaks to our ongoing commitment to delivering the best and most innovative content in Spanish and English across platforms.”
“La Fabrica UCI will develop digital brands with alternative content offerings in both English and Spanish that will allow us to expand our audience and test new concepts developed with a digital-native audience in mind,” add Gartner.
Its first long-form production is “Medicina Desconocida” (“Strange Medicine”), available on UVideos.com.
Univision is also embarking on the first digital partnership with Variety, Variety Latino, launching Feb. 27.


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20 november 2009
Premier Expo Company announces that the vastest specialized exposition TOOLS & HARDWARE will be hold within the biggest build exhibition KievBuild.
13 november 2009
Not every day you can see how the world-scale or projects that our country can be proud of for many years start.
18 october 2009
Experienced speakers from the Ukraine, Russia and Europe made statements at the conference. The conference was moderated by the international spa expert, the therapist of the highest category, the chief doctor of The Medical SPA resort «More» Yuriy Chaban.
15 october 2009
Public Health 2009 exhibition attracts serious attention of medical professionals from Ukraine and abroad. For the first 2 exhibition days 6 642 persons have visited the exposition, which is 6,58% more than for the same period last year.
6 october 2009
International exhibitions UITT, Hotel & Restaurant Expo Ukraine, Clean Expo are taking part in the 16th International Travel Market «Ukraine 2009».
21 september 2009
By decree No.803 of 29.07.09, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved an order to assign categories to hotels and other temporary stay facilities (motels, resorts, holiday homes, hostels and so on).
10 august 2009
To the eternal questions that have troubled mankind for 100 years or more, «What is to be done?» and «Who is to blame?», we can now rightly add the question «What to give?».
17 july 2009
Âûñòàâêà ïðîôåññèîíàëüíîãî óáîðî÷íîãî îáîðóäîâàíèÿ, îáîðóäîâàíèÿ äëÿ õèì÷èñòîê è ïðà÷å÷íûõ «Clean Expo 2010» ïðåäñòàâëåíà ñ íîâûì ëîãîòèïîì
13 july 2009
Premier Expo (Ukraine) and Primus exhibition + event GmbH (Germany) completed an agrement on joint holding of the 2nd International Forum of Facade Technoolgies WinTecExpo Ukraine 2010.
6 july 2009
At the last exhibition, we managed to introduce visitors to a new product, which our company, PROFOTO, offers in Ukraine. We also studied consumer demand for brands and product categories.
22 june 2009
In 2009, at the International Exhibition Plastex 2009 will be presented for the first time a special section devoted to the design, manufacture and maintenance of forms, molds, dies, Innovation and Technology.
18 june 2009
Igor Krivolapov, director of the «100 best restaurants» project, announced the results at a press conference on Thursday.
10 june 2009
In 2010, the Agricultural and Horticultural Exhibition expects global changes: the first time in the structure of the exhibition will be highlighted the sub-brand KievAgriHort Machinery, presented a new exhibition KievAgriHort Bioenergy and significantly widened the exposition of Animal Farming International Exhibition (AFIE KIEV) and plant cultivation.
9 june 2009
Action Photo is a contest for sport, extreme and touristic photgraphy that popularises healty and active lifestyle. This year the contest gahered 252 participants from different cities of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus who sent bright and dynamic works.
2 june 2009
Adobe Systems Company will present seminar New possibilities of Photoshop CS4 for creative professionals.
28 may 2009
At the exhibiton both documentary and art photography exist alongside as in real life, reminding us that life itself is too multifarious for frames and limitations. Different genres, styles, forms and tecniques create special symbiosis — and this is the peculiarity of the exhibition.


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Were you occupied by other important work and didn't get a chance to catch up on all the tech launches happened this week? Check out our weekly roundup of the top launches of the week
Huawei launched its latest flagship smartphones the P8 and P8 Max this week. Both phones, the P8 and P8 Max feature Huawei’s 64-bit Kirin SoC, 3GB of RAM, FHD display and a 13MP rear camera. Read more about the Huawei P8 and P8 Max here.
Microsoft which is trying to push its Lumia range of phones announced the Lumia 540, which is a Dual SIM Windows Phone. The phone is scheduled to launch in India next month. The smartphone features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 and boasts a 5-inch 720p display. Read more about the Microsoft Lumia 540 here.
Sharp Displays unveiled world's first 4K LCD display for smartphone. The 5.5-inch display boasts a pixel density of 806ppi. The IGZO LCD panel features a resolution of 3840 x 2160p. Read more about Sharp’s 4K mobile display here.
Another Chinese manufacturer Letv has revealed its plans to come to India. The company announced three new phones Le1, Le 1 Pro and the Le Max which will priced between Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 30,000 (approximately) when they come to India. Read More Letv and its phones here
Google has started rolling out ‘Trusted Voice’ smart lock feature that will allow users to unlock their devices via voice. Read more about the ‘Trusted Voice’ smart lock feature here.
After announcing the Asus ZenWatch last year, Asus has come up with another smartwatch, the VivoWatch. The company claims it has a capable battery life of 10 days. Read more about the VivoWatch here.


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British manufacturer Aesthetic Technology Ltd has expanded its UK sales and client support team
The new additions to the team include business manager for the south Kate Harris, who has previously worked in the device sector for companies such as Cutera, Lynton Lasers and InMode. Emma Cobb, business manager for the Midlands has previous experience in the UK and International spa sector. Louise Brown and Stephanie Warrington will be joining the internal sales and client support team, whilst Andrea Taylor joins the senior Aesthetic Technology team as compliance and commercial director from the British Standards Institution.
Director of Aesthetic Technology Ltd Louise Taylor, commented, “This is an exciting and busy time for Aesthetic Technology in the UK and overseas. Investing in the expansion of the team is important to ensure we continue to provide the best sales and support to our clients.”


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SCC Receives Second NSF Grant for Mobile Additive Manufacturing Platform
Published on Oct 22, 2019
Somerset Community College’s (SCC) Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AMCOE) is excited to announce its National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (NSF ATE) grant award for the Mobile Additive Manufacturing Platform for 21st Century STEM Workforce Enhancement (Mobile AMP) to enhance the innovation and entrepreneurship infrastructure in both Tennessee and Kentucky.
Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is changing many aspects of manufacturing, medicine, consumer expectations, and even education, and SCC is proud to be at the forefront of this change. As international companies like Hewlett-Packard (HP), Ford, Airbus, General Electric (GE), Johnson & Johnson, Dupont, and BASF transition to manufacturing 3D printing equipment, products, and materials, we are seeing the beginning of the coming additive manufacturing revolution.
However, from their previous work, SCC additive manufacturing faculty quickly noticed the additive manufacturing skills gap becoming wider within Kentucky’s workforce because many schools, and even companies, were using hobby-level 3D printing equipment in their classrooms and workspaces. SCC also noted that many schools were using 3D printers to only make “keychains and trinkets” and were not utilizing this revolutionary technology to its true potential.
“The problem is that educators and businesses don’t realize that additive manufacturing’s true strength is in making next-generation products, the things that could not previously be fabricated using conventional manufacturing technologies because of the complexity of their design,” says Professor Eric Wooldridge, a professional engineer and director of the AMCOE. “Additive manufacturing’s power is in the freedom for designers to reimagine and reengineer products to be lightweight, have internal moving parts and complex organic shaping, and utilize new advanced materials. We can now make things that we always knew would be the best solutions but were told that we can’t manufacture them because of the limits of the technology at the time. Now, 3D printing means we can. That is why companies like Honeywell, GE, Boeing, Proctor & Gamble, BMW, and their competitors are transitioning to additive manufacturing.”
The goal of this grant is to take the advanced additive manufacturing technology that SCC employs on a daily basis on the road and bring it directly to teachers and businesses. The Mobile AMP project will provide in-depth training on advanced design for 3D printing using cutting edge software and industrial level additive manufacturing equipment.
As part of a multi-state outreach partnership with Tennessee Technological University (TTU), SCC will build a trailer and a mobile education system that will allow for the transport and on-site set up of advanced additive manufacturing equipment. The additive manufacturing equipment will include powder-, resin-, and metal sintering based 3D printing technologies, allowing students, teachers, and manufacturing professionals to receive hands-on training with advanced equipment and materials.
The grant will also allow SCC and TTU to provide training in advanced design technologies in use by companies like HP, Ford, and NASA JPL. In partnership with Autodesk, SCC and TTU will train participants in Generative Design using Fusion 360, as well as other applications that are key elements to creating next-generation products.
“At the end of the three years of the NSF funded Mobile AMP project, we expect a complete 180 degree turnaround in how 3D printing is taught and utilized across Kentucky and Tennessee,” says Wooldridge. “And it will be a signal to all the manufacturing companies out there that this is the place to bring their advanced manufacturing work. That we have the technology and the people with the fundamental skills to make next-generation products that companies and consumers want, as well as homegrown startup innovations.”
For more information on SCC’s Additive Manufacturing program, please visit www.Somerset.kctcs.edu/3dprinting or check out their YouTube channel, The Additive Guru, dedicated to 3D printing https://www.youtube.com/user/cadscc.
SCC currently offers a certificate in Additive Manufacturing/3D printing and offers additional training through the college's Workforce Solutions program. To find out more about SCC's additive manufacturing/3D printing program, contact Eric Wooldridge at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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BARRINGTON, Ill. (May 17)—CTI Industries Corp. recorded a loss of $133,269 in the first quarter ended March 31 compared to net income of $176,210 in the first period of 2000. Sales slid 15 percent to $6.1 million from $7.2 million. The maker of latex balloons, mylar balloons, novelty items and printed and laminated films said the drop reflects a decline in mylar balloon sales. But revenues for both specialty films and latex balloons were up, it said.
CTI reports loss in first period
Rubber & Plastics News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].


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Rapid growth in the number of connected devices – more specifically Internet of Things (IoT) devices installed in smart homes – has people concerned about the personal data and security risks those devices pose. But a new survey found a substantial willingness to share smart home data.
Based on interviews with 9,000 consumers spread across North America, the U.K. France, Germany, Brazil, India, and Australia, Intel Security found that while over 9 in 10 (92%) said they were concerned about the risk that smart home data might be hacked by cybercriminals, more than half (54%) indicated they might be willing to share personal data collected from smart home devices for money.
Seven in 10 agreed that companies should give coupons and discounts to customers in return for gaining access to personal data gathered from their connected devices, Intel Security highlights in summarizing the results of its ¨Internet of Things and the Smart Home Survey,¨ which was carried out by Vanson Bourne.
Willingness to Share Smart Home Data
Nearly 8 in 10 respondents (77%) believe that by 2025 smart homes will be as common as smartphones are today. Nearly 200 million Americans owned smartphones as of end-January, a 79.1% penetration rate, according to comScore’s latest MobiLens and Mobile Metrix report.
Two-thirds of respondents said they weren’t just concerned, but ¨very concerned¨ about the risk that their personal data and security could be compromised by sharing smart home device data. Nearly 9 in 10 (89%) said they would likely prefer to secure all smart home devices by using a single, integrated security package.
¨Smart homes and their associated data have the potential to improve consumers’ everyday lives,¨ Intel Security CTO Steve Grobman stated for a press release. ¨Security has to be foundational to the Internet of Things and when done right, it can be an enabler of IoT,¨ he continued.
Delving into IoT-smart home security methods and techniques, Intel Security found that 4 in 10 consumers thought using passwords would turn out to be frustrating. Three-quarters indicated they were somewhat anxious regarding the number of passwords that might be required.
In a market research report released March 30, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) found that 62% of U.S. adults who made use of biometrics were comfortable with the technology. Asked to choose among a set of biometric security methods, more than half (54%) chose fingerprints. Forty-six percent opted for voice recognition and 42% for eye scans.
Other highlights of Intel Security’s ¨Internet of Things and the Smart Home Survey¨ include:
- As for willingness to share smart home data, Millennials were more comfortable than other age groups about the idea. They indicated they might be comfortable taking money, discounts and coupons in exchange for sharing their behavioral data from their smart home devices (63 percent for money, 44 percent for discounts and 29 percent for coupons).
- Three-quarters (75 percent) of consumers expect to see personal benefits from living in a smart home.
- The most commonly considered smart devices are smart lighting (73 percent), smart kitchen appliances (62 percent) and smart thermometers or boiler systems (60 percent).
- Over half of respondents expect gas and electric (57 percent) bills and heating and cooling (55 percent) bills to be reduced in a smart home.


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European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will meet President Donald Trump in Washington next week to explore the possibility of starting negotiations on reducing car tariffs for several key trade partners, according to two people with knowledge of the plans.
Juncker will likely signal the EU's willingness to consider a so-called plurilateral sectoral deal to reduce car tariffs between the two sides as well as other major car-exporting countries, said one of the officials, who asked not to be identified because preparations for the meeting are ongoing.
Such a deal, which would have the potential to upend the auto industry, would take time to complete and officials said they aren't optimistic Trump would accept it. The EU is seeking to head off a U.S. probe into whether imports of light vehicles and auto parts damage national security, which could culminate in a Trump proposal to impose a 20 percent tariff on cars and light trucks.
Washington has already hit the EU with duties on steel and aluminum exports using the same national-security justification. Juncker is seeking to tamp down the brewing conflict a month after the 28-nation bloc imposed levies on 2.8 billion euros ($3.3 billion) of American imports due to the metal tariffs.
"President Juncker and President Trump will focus on improving trans-Atlantic trade and forging a stronger economic partnership," the European Commission said in a statement Tuesday announcing the July 25 meeting. The stand-off over light-vehicle duties has rattled automakers, with the Stoxx 600 Automobiles & Parts Index down about 9 percent this year.
The EU will use Juncker's meeting to work out how to proceed, with member states divided, according to the other official. Germany, which shipped 640,000 cars and light trucks to the U.S. last year, is eager to negotiate a solution with Trump while French officials consider the new auto tariffs a foregone conclusion.
While some EU member states, including France, resist such a sweeping global deal on cars, there’s no other legally possible concession the bloc can offer to appease Trump, according to one of the officials. Even as Juncker won’t have a mandate to make a binding offer to Trump, he will float this option as this is the solution that the EU’s executive arm considers to be realistic, the official said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a July 5 speech that the EU could reduce car tariffs as part of a broad free-trade agreement, which would have to include about 90 percent of commerce between the two regions. Alternately, the EU and U.S. could lower duties, which would be offered to all other WTO partners, she said.


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5G is the next big standard for mobile mobile communications. It has been a hot topic for a few years, but it’ll take a while longer until carriers actually upgrade their networks to support fast gigabit speeds. Device makers are also working on components that can handle these next-generation networks, and Apple is of course among them. Now, a new report says that the iPhone maker is already working with Intel, not Qualcomm, on the ultra-fast 5G iPhone X of the future.
Even if it’s just a rumor sourced from “people familiar with the matter,” it’s not surprising given what’s happening right now in the mobile chip universe. Qualcomm is involved in a huge legal brawl with the iPhone maker, and Apple seems to be looking to replace Qualcomm chips with Intel in the near future.
According to Fast Company, Apple and Intel engineers have started the early work on 5G, while Apple’s dialog with Qualcomm “has been limited.”
Intel apparently has a “small army” working on 5G, with “multiple thousands” of engineers engaged in the process. The iPhone is a “must-win” for Intel, which has bigger plans in mind than just replacing Qualcomm on all iPhones. Right now, Apple uses both Qualcomm and Intel modems that allow the iPhone to connect to wireless networks:
All of this seems to point toward the possibility of Apple looking to Intel as the sole provider of 5G modems for the iPhone. The end game, multiple sources have said, is to build the Intel modem onto an integrated system-on-a-chip (SoC) that would also contain the CPU, GPU, and other iPhone components. The SoC would be co-designed by Intel and Apple and would be fabricated at an Intel facility.
That’s certainly an interesting tidbit. Apple has been designing its own CPU for years, and it now develops its own GPU for the iPhone. The A-series chips are superior to anything available on Android devices, and the A11 Bionic in the iPhone X scores better in benchmarks than some of the Intel chips that power MacBooks. Also, TSMC is the company that’s manufacturing those chips right now, and it’ll continue to make iPhone and iPad silicon for years to come.
Intel, meanwhile, unveiled its 5G modem plans at CES earlier this year, and on Thursday announced that it has “successfully completed a full end-to-end 5G call based on its early 5G silicon … a key milestone in its development.” However, the first 5G iPhone might not launch until 2019 or 2020, the report says. Intel did not comment on this new 5G iPhone rumor, but did say that it’s “making great momentum on our 5G roadmap to accelerate the adoption of 5G.”


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The concept store was instituted keeping with the agenda of strengthening its position in the country's fitness market which is expected to reach Rs 50,000 crore by 2030.
The motive behind the 'Fit Hub' stores is to provide the best in whatever it takes to inspire consumers to move, train and get fit, Reebok noted.
The store which is designed on the lines of fitness studio aims to help the customers find right products from running, training to yoga, dance and aerobics and offers different slections for men and women.
Somedeb Basu, Brand Director, Reebok India said, "We are determined to keep our commitments to the West Bengal market and emerge as a leading fitness player in the country."
Basu said, "In this endeavour, we have come up with the concept of Fit Hub stores which focus mainly on the requirements of fitness freaks who are not necessarily from the background."
Talking about Reebok's market strategy, he said, "This is where we differ in positioning from Adidas and Nike which are multisport brands and Reebok is a multi-fitness brand."
"We are differentiating ourselves and we are talking to completely different consumers in the same perspective," he said.
"You might be picking something from Adidas store for playing badminton, but the moment you think about fitness you think about Reebok," Basu said.
'Fit Hub' which is an international concept present already in US, Australia and Russia is brought to India as part of Reebok's repositioning approach.
"This strategy had been adopted globally two years ago. In India, it has been launched at the beginning of 2013," Basu added.
Reebok plans to come up with 100 such stores throughout the country with six more stores in West Bengal in addition to the stores at Siliguri and Kolkata.
--IBNS (Posted on 26-10-2013)


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For the Today at Formnext in Frankfurt, we received our award for the Formnext Start-Up Challenge. We are excited to be among the winners and that we could convince the jury with our start-up and our technology! Additionally we had the chance to Pitch our idea again to the audience and got a lot of positive feedback.
Every year the Formnext is looking for young and innovative startups in the additive manufacturing industry. During the fair and accompanying conference, the newest advancements in the field of 3D-printing are presented, whether there are new manufacturing machines, special material developments or new software solutions. Besides existing and well-known companies there are also several young companies which found a solution for specific problems from which the most innovative ones compete for the Formnext Startup Award. Companies which are not older than five years with an innovative product can apply for the start-up challenge.
From the applications the winners are chosen by a decorated jury of well-known key-players of the 3d-printing industry based on the start-ups input and a pitch a the fair.


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Cutting-Edge Technology Transforms Digital Marketing Strategies with Personalized and Data-Driven Campaigns
Voixly, a cutting-edge marketing agency, has announced today the launch of its AI-driven marketing solutions designed to help businesses of all sizes grow their online presence. This innovative move will transform the way businesses approach their digital marketing strategies.
By utilizing advanced AI algorithms, Voixly’s clients will benefit from personalized and data-driven marketing strategies that can adapt to the ever-changing digital landscape. With its state-of-the-art technology, Voixly can help its clients achieve their business goals more efficiently, effectively, and quickly than ever before.
The Voixly team of experts has spent years researching and developing AI technology that can analyze vast amounts of data and generate valuable insights into consumer behavior. They have designed a proprietary AI system that can create targeted and customized marketing campaigns that resonate with each client’s specific audience.
According to Colton, CEO of Voixly, “We are excited to introduce our AI-driven marketing solutions, which are designed to help businesses thrive in today’s digital age. With our technology, we can provide our clients with a competitive edge in their industries by delivering personalized and effective marketing strategies. Our AI technology also enables us to adapt and adjust our campaigns in real-time, ensuring that our clients always stay ahead of the curve.”
Voixly’s AI-driven marketing solutions are now available to businesses of all sizes and industries. For more information, please visit voixly.com or contact email@example.com.
Voixly is a marketing agency that specializes in helping businesses grow their online presence through innovative marketing strategies. With a team of experts in SEO, PPC, social media, content marketing, and more, Voixly offers a full range of marketing services designed to help businesses achieve their goals. For more information, please visit voixly.com.


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By Johnny Wills | Oct 23, 2012 09:46 AM EDT
On Monday, Oct. 22, LG India's head of mobile product planning, Amit Gujral, shed some light on Google's plans. Gujral revealed that LG Nexus is the device that Google will unveil in a media event scheduled on Oct. 29 in New York.
In an interview with IBN Live, Gujral also revealed some specification and feature details of the device. He also shed some light on LG's plans to release the device in India.
"Google will unveil the LG Nexus on October 29 and the phone will be available in the Indian markets by the end of November," said Gujral.
The LG Nexus 4 features a 4.7-inch display and runs on a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, which is likely a Snapdragon S4 Pro by Qualcomm. In addition, the Nexus 4 will bring the highly-rumored Android 4.2 Key Lime Pie to life.
Gujral did not reveal any other specifications, but there are plenty of rumors on the device. Incidentally, the specifications that Gujral confirmed are in keeping with the rumors that have surfaced on the Internet. According to rumors, the device will boast 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a non-removable battery.
Till now, multiple OEMs were rumored to be working on the Nexus phone, including HTC and Sony. However, it looks like LG cracked the deal. Undoubtedly, the best-selling point of the device will be the newer version of Android.
Based on available information, Key Lime Pie cannot be called a major overhaul over Jelly Bean; however, it will bring several security enhancements to make Android OS a bit secure.
The leaked Android 4.2 Alpha code, obtained by Android Police, reveals new Android 4.2 features like the SELinux (Security-Enhanced Linux) kernel add-on that secures confidential user data against force access by apps. Some other new features are VPN lockdown, or always-on VPN, and a new security feature to block outgoing spam messages without a user's approval.
Android OS is considered one of the least secure mobile operating system. Spamware and malicious apps are on a rise. However, it looks like that Google has found a solution to deal with the problems.
© 2013 Mobile & Apps All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.


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The massive email hacking news that roamed around created panic over online community. But worry no more because even your email was included on those hacked accounts, it can’t still be accessed especially when it has been...Read More
Recently, Wired Senior Editor and a well-known tech writer Mat Honan’s life was turned upside-down when hackers broke into his online accounts including Amazon, Gmail, and iCloud.Read More
BitDefender said in a blog that a new scam is targeting Facebook and Gmail.
The fresh scam asks unwary users to “link” their credit card information with either Facebook or Google and transform these accounts into digital wallets.Read More
Search giant Google has warned users that their accounts may be “targetted” by state-sponsored cyber attacks and asked them to take immediate steps to protect their data.Read More


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The Hush Post | 7:37 pm | One-minute read |
For those who are reeling under a cash crunch amidst coronavirus crisis, here is some good news. The Income Tax Department has decided to release all pending income tax refunds up to Rs. 5 lakh immediately. The move will benefit around 14 lakh taxpayers in the country.
The state government will also issue pending GST and customs refunds of Rs 18,000 crore. This will come as a major relief to provide relief to business entities.
“All GST and custom refunds will also be released, which will provide benefit to around 1 lakh business entities, including MSMEs,” the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.
The government has taken this decision in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. The revenue department said it has taken the step with a view to provide immediate relief to the business entities and individuals.
Besides, the department will also issue all pending GST and Custom refunds which would provide benefit to around 1 lakh business entities, including MSMEs.


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Sajeesh Kumar, a technician
working with Muthoot Motors, a part of the Muthoot Pappachan Group (MPG), (also
called as Muthoot Blue), won the coveted Global Technician of the Year 2018
Jaguar Land Rover Award at a ceremony held in Fen End, UK recently.
More than 16,000 workshop
experts from 30 countries participated in the competition demonstrating highest
levels of technical knowledge and skills. The participants were judged on five
parameters – Powertrain, Electrical, Procedure, Chassis and Knowledge. There
was a final round of troubleshooting a vehicle with a time limit of one hour.
Sajeesh Kumar received
appreciation from the judges for his technical capabilities and top level of
competency thereby scoring the highest points across all Jaguar and Land Rover
contestants. Sajeesh received a Snap-on toolkit worth approximately Rs 3 lakhs
along with cash reward and a trip to Japan to be a part of the Rugby World Cup
Appreciating the dedication of
all Muthoot Motors employees, Thomas Muthoot, Managing Director, Muthoot Motors
and Director, Muthoot Pappachan Group (MPG), said, “It is a matter of utmost
joy and pride that Sajeesh, as a member of our Muthoot Motors team, has won
this honourable award for the company and the entire country. We have
constantly strived to invest in quality training for our personnel and we are
proud of the outstanding skills and expertise our technicians display...My
heartiest congratulations to Sajeesh and I am certain his achievement would
serve as an inspiration for all our employees.”
Global Technician of the Year
award is an annual competition in which technicians from Jaguar Land Rover
network across the world participate in a battle of technical expertise. Top 50
technicians from respective markets contest for the final awards. The winners
are decided on the basis of the performance in the on-ground task, with scoring
spread across multiple paramters including proficiency and knowledge level of
There is no end to fancy accessories for your car, be it for the interiors or the exterior. Can you imagine, you can also change your car key to a real fancy one? Keydroid India, the pioneering brand ...
Axalta Coating Systems, a leading global coatings company, announced its 2024 Global Automotive Colour of the Year – Starry Night. The latest edition marks the 10th year Axalta has introduced its auto...
Greencore Electronics, a trailblazer in advanced automotive solutions, has unveiled a car vacuum cleaner and puncture repair kit which are fully made in India.


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Thuraya unveils “unbreakable” satellite phone
UAE-based mobile satellite operator Thuraya launched a new rugged handset that it claims is the world's toughest satellite phone yesterday, as it confirmed its intention to continue expanding into corporate markets and government
UAE-based mobile satellite operator Thuraya launched a new rugged handset that it claims is the world's toughest satellite phone yesterday, as it confirmed its intention to continue expanding into corporate markets and government.
The company used GULFCOMMS as a platform to introduce Thuraya XT, which is the only satellite handheld that is splash resistant, and dust and shock proof. The device also boasts a battery life that outlasts any other satellite phone with talk time of up to six hours and a standby time of up to 80 hours, according to Thuraya.
The device is also tailored for the MEA region, with a glare resistant display designed to allow the user to see it properly even in extremely bright light.
Thuraya's Fahad Kahoor describes the device as "an unbreakable handheld" that is an exciting addition to the company's product portfolio.
Throughout GULFCOMMS, Thuraya is providing a series of live demonstrations of broadband-based solutions to meet the needs of the military, government, NGOs, broadcast media and other sectors. Based on ThurayaIP, the demonstrations include video streaming with a solution called Quicklink, which allows transmission and delivery of extremely low latency, real-time broadcast video.
Another service on show is Globecast, which Kahoor says is as an ideal tool for freelance broadcast media correspondents who need to stream live video to a content exchange server from areas where there is no access to terrestrial networks. Also on show is Performance Enhancement Proxy (PEP), which provides enhanced browser experience and data transmission speeds.


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Social Media is now part of every day life. If you spend a percentage of your day online then you will almost certainly have a social profile of some sort. Twitter and Facebook are sites a majority of people are active on, with the likes of Google Plus also now very much in the game.
These sites are now so set into our lives that most of us no longer think twice about what we say on them, making them a common place for us to moan. We don’t even give it a second thought. If something has annoyed us then we will Tweet about it.
Just when the world of social networking seemed to be channelling towards Facebook and Twitter, the old guard have taken new steps toward regaining prominence. Swiped from under the noses of Facebook, MySpace are on the verge of purchasing iLike.
To most that probably doesn’t mean a great deal; however iLike is one of the most popular apps currently featured on Facebook. It allows users to share their favourite songs with friends and give an insight into their musical taste. MySpace is already very much the social networking site of choice for many music and video aficionados; by being able to provide exclusive access to iLike, they could well corner this market and subdue Facebook momentarily.
It appears that America’s politicians are having a few communication issues this week. Following hot on the heels of warning teenagers about the dangers of sharing too much information on website’s such as Facebook; it is now Barack Obama who has fallen foul of a random outburst. Read more
With the dust barely settled on Google +1, it appears Bing is also looking to use social data to help provide more personalised results. The developments will see Facebook likes being incorporated into SERPs, friend recommendations being used and the sharing of events, deals and even shopping lists.
Essentially this signals a more collaborative approach between Bing and Facebook, with both using shared data to provide users with a more personalised and targeted experience. The three different components to this update have been titled, ‘Trusted Friends’, ‘Collective IQ’ and ‘Conversational Search’. If that doesn’t mean a whole lot to you, I’ll try to explain a little further now.
Last week saw the world of social networking heat up. Google’s decision to open their new social network to the wider world came the same week that Facebook unleashed a number of new upgrades (ones that look alarmingly similar to Google+’s, but that’s another story).
Not to be outdone by their rivals, Google are determined to make their social network a success. This week there has been another update about their eagerly anticipated business profiles, something that currently gives Facebook the upper hand in the battle for social networking dominance.
The leading social network company, Facebook, are aiming to go public in the first quarter of 2012 at an eye watering valuation of $100 billion. Facebook’s IPO is being described as the most eagerly anticipated stock debut ever.
The Palo Alto based company boasts 600 million users and is currently trading at a valuation of $80 billion (a figure based on current investment levels). However as the company surpasses the 500 investor threshold, their valuation is set to soar.
It’s official, Facebook was a bigger hit than Google in 2010. The social networking site was crowned the top visited site of 2010 in the US according to data released by Experian Hitwise [Facebook was the top search term in 2010 for second straight year]. Facebook topped the rankings with 8.93% of all US visits between January and November 2010 in comparison to Google who came second with 7.19% of US visits.
With the festival season well under way every man and his dog are trying to promote their event on Facebook. This blog post will explain how to harness the right social media audience and avoid the scattergun approach. Read more
According to recent reports, Microsoft Corp is believed to be close to buying Skype, the internet communications provider.
The news comes from several sources, first reported as a rumour by GigaOM, and later updated as a done deal, the news was also reported in the Wall Street Journal. According to these sources, the deal is thought to be worth $7 and $8.5 billion, making it Microsoft’s largest acquisition.
Facebook held a Webinar on the 17th June detailing the new features they have recently added as well as new items for advertisers to get to grips with. As part of our Facebook Management campaign we attended the webinar to bring an update on new features. This post includes:
The world’s largest social networking site look set to take on Google at their own game. Google’s business model of targeted keyword Pay Per Click advertising helped them accrue $23 billion in total advertising revenue back in 2009, and now Facebook are vying for a larger slice of the online advertising pie.


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The Apple Watch Series 5 might not be a massive change over the Series 4, but Always On is killer and enough to make it stand out.
We tried out every always-on display for the Apple Watch Series 5 and ranked them all.
Analyst Ming Chi-Kuo is already looking ahead to 2020, and he predicts a major overhaul for the iPhone.
The Apple Watch still doesn’t have native sleep tracking, so you’ll need to jump through a few hoops if you want to wear it overnight.
The iPhone 11 hasn't just caught up with the Pixel 3 XL and Galaxy S10+, it's surpassed them.
If your home/away triggers aren't working in iOS 13, you need to check your location settings.
Apple has unveiled watchOS 6, and it makes the Apple Watch more independent than ever.
The early reviews of the iPhone 11 are out; are Apple’s new phones winners? Apple Arcade is here. Plus, your hot takes! That and more are all in this episode of the Macworld Podcast.
Apple Watch Series 5 reviews love the new always-on display, but caution against upgrading just for that feature.
The first crop of iPhone revivews are in and everyone loves them.
Amazon is selling the 128GB 10.2-inch iPad for $400, $29 off its list price.
Some models of the iPhone 11 Pro have already begun to slip past their Sept. 20 ship dates.
Apple’s big surprise during its “By Innovation Only” event wasn’t the iPhone 11 or the launch of Apple TV+, it was how much they cost.
There are a few things you need to know if you’re using the iPhone Upgrade Program to buy your new iPhone 11.
The iPhone 11 Pro Max and the Galaxy Note 10+ are both giant phones with price tags to match. But which one is the one for you?


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March 10th, 2008
Cable Firms Join Forces to Attract Focused Ads
By Tim Arango
The New York Times
In an effort to slow Google’s siphoning of advertising dollars away from television, the nation’s six largest cable companies are making plans for a jointly owned company that would allow national advertisers to buy customized ads and interactive ads across the companies’ systems.


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Latest date from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), indicates that Nigeria’s consumer price index, which measures the rate of increase in the price of goods and services, rose to 15.70 percent year-on-year in February 2022.
With the development, it means that the headline inflation rate slowed down in February when compared to the same month in the previous year.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said this in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for February 2022 released on Tuesday.
The rate is 1.63 percent points lower compared to the rate recorded in February 2021 (17.33) percent.
The ‘’All items less farm produce’’ or Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce stood at 14.01 percent in February 2022, up by 1.63 percent when compared with 12.38 percent recorded in February 2021.
On month-on-month basis, the core sub-index increased by 1.33 percent in February 2022. This was up by 0.08 percent when compared with 1.25 percent recorded in January 2021.
The highest increases were recorded in prices of Gas, Liquid fuel, Wine, Tobacco, Spirit, Narcotics, Solid fuels, Cleaning, repair and hire of clothing, Garments, Shoes and other foot wear, Other services in respect of personal transport equipment, Clothing materials, other articles of clothing and clothing accessories and Other services n.e.c.
The average 12-month annual rate of change of the index was 13.46 percent for the twelvemonth period ending February 2022; this is 0.13 percent points higher than 13.33 percent recorded in January 2021.


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iPhone and iPad App Prices Raised For UK
You’d think with the high price of the iPhone and Apple iPad, Apple would be quite happy with the revenue they pull in when you take into account the price of the device and then revenue for the numerous iOS apps the iOS faithful purchase, but it appears that Apple isn’t that satisfied as word is they have just increased the price of iOS apps outside the USA.
According to the guys over at Tap Mag, Apple has raised pricing of iOS apps in the UK App Store some 26 percent, although apparently other countries have seen app prices fall, so perhaps Apple is just targeting the UK as a soft touch?
Apparently the price hike is due not to any developers making modifications but to a pricing tier update from Apple, which basically means that although US app prices remain the same a 59p iOS app will now cost 69p a raise of 16.9 percent.
A US iOS app that costs users $1.99 would cost UK users Â£1.19 but now will cost Â£1.49 a raise of some 25.2 percent, while at the other expensive end of the app tier, a US app costing $999.99 would have cost UK users Â£599.99 however that same app will now cost you an extra 100 quid, a 16.7 percent hike.
When an app developer submits an application to the App Store, they don’t have control over the final price the customer will have to pay and are assigned to an app price tier, which gives Apple the final word on pricing for apps.
If UK iPhone and Apple iPad users stick to the lower price tier app then the price hike shouldn’t hit your pocket a great deal, but if you do want one of these rather expensive higher tier app then no doubt you will feel the pinch as a 100 quid hike is bound to hurt.
Having said that, personally I would never fork out Â£699.99 for a mobile app no matter how good it was, and in these harsh economic times these price hikes could make users think twice about purchasing a particular app.
Apple’s pricing doesn’t effect me personally because I am not one of the iOS faithful but rather an Android faithful and have found that Android apps usually come free, just look at Angry Birds for instance, iOS versions cost while Android versions don’t, enough said.


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Apple CEO Tim Cook,
In less than two years, the rechargeable lithium-ion battery found in your AirPods is due to die an untimely death. Once their battery dies, AirPods can’t be repaired. So what is there to do?
Buy another pair of AirPods. And then buy another: Buy, die, repeat.
AirPods are designed to fail. And with over 400 million sold, they’re generating a tidal wave of electronic waste.
I urge you to redesign AirPods with replaceable batteries and to commit to release only repairable products in the future.
By offering products that are designed to last, Apple has an opportunity to use its resources and popularity to shift the tech industry toward more sustainable products, which will stay in our ears, in our hands and on our desks — not in our trash.


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International IT services company Atos Origin has said it will have eradicated email within the company by 2014. Speaking at a web conference this morning, Atos chairman Thierry Breton said he planned...
High profile attacks like WannaCry have pushed cybercrime into the public eye
Don't panic! Oracle releases 237 patches fixing 153 vulnerabilities in business-critical applications
Critical flaws in Fusion Middleware, PeopleSoft and MICROS retail applications fixed in Oracle's latest Critical Patch Update
Hackers are becoming craftier and focusing on identity theft
Google removes fraudulent extensions


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09:03 | 10/02/2020 Companies
(VEN) - Vietnamese dairy products were officially exported in 2019 for the first time to China - the world’s second largest dairy consumer (after the US), following efficient efforts by the government, industry and farmers.
TH Milk Joint Stock Company (TH Milk) of the TH Group has become the first Vietnamese firm to receive approval from the General Administration of Customs of China to export dairy products to China. According to the Vietnamese Embassy in China, China has granted transaction codes to TH Milk’s sterilized and modified milk products. The Chinese General Administration of Customs will continue considering applications from other Vietnamese companies, said the embassy.
The embassy explained that the Vietnamese exports must meet the requirements of China’s Food Safety Law and the Law on Animal and Plant Quarantine, the protocol between the two countries, and other regulations concerning the supervision, quarantine and import and export of dairy products.
Vietnam began preparing for exporting dairy products to China in 2013. It took almost six years to accomplish risk assessment dossiers, and on April 26, 2019, the Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Director of China’s General Department of Customs signed a protocol on veterinary and public health requirements for dairy imports from Vietnam. Six months after this important event, China granted transaction codes to TH Milk’s sterilized and modified milk products.
Agricultural expert Hoang Trong Thuy says China’s licensing of Vietnamese milk products through official trade is of great significance, paving the way for agricultural products from different Vietnamese localities to join farm produce chains.
Le Thanh Hoa, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Agro Processing and Market Development Authority said China has applied strict labeling, origin traceability and food safety and hygiene regulations while restricting border trade. The penetration of Vietnamese dairy products into China proves that Vietnam’s dairy sector is growing and integrating into the global dairy industry. Vietnamese dairy enterprises have built central farms, applied advanced production and management technology, and their products meet strict standards. One Vietnamese dairy product reaching China through official trade will open up opportunities for other Vietnamese milk products to access China and even other foreign markets, Hoa said.
With a population of more than 1.4 billion, China has become a world leading dairy importer and consumer, importing products worth almost US$10 billion in 2018. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), China’s demand for milk products will continue to increase, about 45 percent until 2025. Economists say the fact that a Vietnamese enterprise licensed to export sterilized and modified milk products to China will open up great development opportunities for Vietnamese dairy farming and production industries.
Pham Van Dong, Director of the Department of Livestock Husbandry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the ministry would propose that China’s General Department of Customs review and verify applications of four other Vietnamese enterprises that applied at the same time as TH Milk. The ministry will guide them in improving profiles to ensure Chinese approval.
The ministry will also continue inspecting and supervising the veterinary sanitary conditions, disease control, and chain-based food safety and hygiene supervision in dairy farms and production facilities that wish to apply for Chinese import licenses in the future in compliance with the signed protocol. The ministry will also provide specific guidance for enterprises to apply to the General Department of Customs of China in accordance with the protocol.
Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo believes that more Vietnamese enterprises will be licensed to export milk products to China and hopes the two countries will work together to further promote cooperation, especially in agriculture.
Dairies are among the farm products that face the highest food safety, hygiene and nutrition export barriers. The Department of Livestock Husbandry is expected to send the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) applications for certifying Vietnam’s disease-free dairy farming areas in December 2022.
|China’s opening of its doors to Vietnamese dairy products is expected to help Vietnam increase its dairy export value to this market from US$120 million to US$300 million by 2020.|


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A patent filed by Apple in August 2011 reveals the company's plans for a device that can display content from other Apple devices and be worn like a wristwatch. The patent describes that the iWatch will feature a slap bracelet mechanism that will wrap itself around the wearer's wrist. The iWatch will also comprise of a flexible display that will change the visible area according to the size of the wearer’s wrist.
Apple Insider first spotted the patent application and point out that the iWatch will not just act as a display but will also be able to provide basic interaction that could let the wearer browse and control music playlists, go through call and text notifications and even reply to a text using a virtual keyboard. Apple also plans to include a kinetic energy gathering mechanism and solar panels so that the wearer's movements and ambient light would be enough to power the device. Apple also plans to utilize AMOLED technology to ensure that the display on the iWatch isn't power-hungry. The iWatch is expected to mostly rely on wireless connectivity but may also feature ports for wired charging and syncing.
Rumours surrounding the iWatch have gathered momentum in 2013 with sources close to Apple stating that there's already a 100 member strong team within Cupertino working on the iWatch. Other sources have stated that Apple have already asked Foxconn to begun work on the device and a suitable display for it.
With Google Glass also on the horizon, it looks like wearable computing will be an important trend in the near future.
Source: Apple Insider


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The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) issued a new circular directing all owners and managers of licensed money exchange and money transfer shops in Abu Dhabi to apply social distancing measures between its customers and staff. The move falls in line with the precautionary and preventive measures being implemented to help prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
The circular, which was issued today, emphasized on the importance of installing ground markings or floor stickers at the shop entrance and in front of the cashier to avoid congestion and organize this through special security services. These shops have also been ordered to implement key sterilization measures for their staff prior to starting their shifts as well as sterilizing the desks’ surfaces continuously throughout the day.
ADDED explained that the order is part of a series of circulars issued recently in line with implementing precautionary measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in compliance with the directives of The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA).
The circular also states that ADDED inspection teams will follow up and inspect the implementation of these directives wherein non-compliance will be subject to a fine based on the set laws.


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Porsche is taking a page out of Tesla’s playbook by offering buyers of its Taycan all electric 4 door sedan free charging for the first three years using the high power chargers available from Electrify America. The Taycan, which will have an 800 volt battery, will be able to add 60 miles of range in just 4 minutes using a 350 kW charger.
That is significantly faster than what Tesla owners can achieve using the company’s Supercharger network. However, Tesla is planning to increase the power of its chargers soon. It is believed the Model 3 is capable of using higher power chargers and the company may have other news regarding its Model S and Model X vehicles pending after it stopped taking orders for those cars equipped with the 75 kW battery recently.
According to TechCrunch, Electrify America plans to have 300 charging stations in 42 states available along America’s major highways and an additional 184 charging points in metropolitan areas. Each location will have an average of 5 chargers while some may have as many as 10. All of the locations will be under construction by July 1 of this year, says Electrify America.
The high power chargers will use a liquid cooled charging cable manufactured by Huber+Suhner. But the supplier has identified an issue with the cables that could be a safety concern. As a result, all the high power chargers in completed locations have been shut down until the problem is identified and a solution implemented, according to Engadget.
Electrify America CEO Giovanni Palazzo has issued a statement saying, “Out of an abundance of caution, Electrify America is shutting down all of our stations that use the HUBER+SUHNER high-powered cables until we can confirm that they can be operated safely. We are confident that HUBER+SUHNER will investigate and resolve this issue as quickly as possible.”
It’s rather a moot point, as the Taycan won’t arrive in America until later this year. Presumably, all the glitches with the new chargers will be ironed out long before there are any cars on the road that can take advantage of such high power chargers. The remaining question will be whether Porsche Taycan owners try to use the Electrify America network for their daily charging needs, something early Tesla owners liked to do until Elon put the kibosh on the practice.
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The latest battle in the global sneaker wars is figuring out what a "Chinese" style looks like.
In efforts to woo China's consumers, Nike Inc., the country's market leader in sportswear, and Adidas AG are both aggressively promoting apparel and shoes with designs incorporating Chinese elements -- a departure from the mostly Western-influenced styles they have marketed in the past.
They are betting that the Beijing Olympic Games in August will be a prime opportunity for sportswear to ride a wave of Chinese national pride. At an Adidas fashion show in Beijing in January, costumed Peking Opera performers provided a backdrop for models showing uniforms for Olympic staff and volunteers, featuring polo shirts decorated with ancient Chinese swirling "lucky cloud" patterns.
Start your workday the right way with the news that matters most. Learn more


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In late September, the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) and the Pet Food Institute (PFI) held their joint conference in Indianapolis. Much of the discussion at the event centered on the looming final draft of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and its impact on the feed and pet food industries. During his presentation, Brian Waldman, partner with Washington, D.C.-based law firm and lobbying group, Arent Fox, outlined how feed and pet food manufacturers can influence the outcome of the final rule.
To date, FSMA has presented more questions than answers — as “it’s not clear or it depends” has typically been Waldman’s response when asked about the ramifications of the proposed rule. He assured the audience that the goal of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not to hurt the industry while it enhances food safety; however, its proposed regulations are based on limited knowledge of the industry. For this reason, the feed industry cannot afford to take a back seat while the rule is being finalized.
“FSMA is a game changer,” Waldman says, stressing that individual companies have the responsibility to become involved in the process by submitting comments to the FDA.
In Waldman’s opinion, it’s the industry’s job to explain the implications of the proposal; clarify where the requirements are not feasible; and offer reasonable alternatives to enhance food safety without imposing unreasonable burdens.
Waldman’s message to the feed industry is: “How you go into the process really affects the output.” Through FSMA, the feed industry is partnering with the FDA and should be in education mode — not to “skirt its responsibilities” to the food chain, but to make it implementable.
“It’s easy to identify what will not work — that’s half the challenge — but be ready to propose alternatives,” Waldman says. For complex, technical issues, he suggests companies invite the FDA to the facility to explain their stance, the unintended consequence of the proposed rules and why they may have a “chilling effect” on the industry.
When submitting comments to the FDA, prioritize the most important issues and “don’t distract the FDA with 700 pages of comments,” Waldman says. Open docket items can be viewed and comments submitted on the FSMA page of the FDA website. The 2014 edition of the Joint Feed and Pet Food Conference will be held in Omaha, Neb, Oct. 7-9. For more information, visit ngfa.org.
Arent Fox’s Brian Waldman provided this “FSMA to-do list” for feed manufacturers: – Get involved. – Thoroughly understand the rules. – Make sure you have the right people at all levels in the company reviewing the proposal. – Monitor enforcement actions. – Revisit your company’s inspection SOP — and train your employees on it.