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ViacomCBS on Friday reported mostly better-than-expected third-quarter financials, including a 6 percent drop in advertising revenue, a clear improvement over the 27 percent decline in the second quarter.
In the latest three-month period affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the company’s film unit profit dropped though compared with the year-ago period as the theatrical business was hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
In the company’s TV Entertainment arm, which includes the CBS network, advertising revenue declined 1 percent after a second-quarter decrease of 27 percent. Cable networks unit ad revenue fell 11 percent after a 26 percent decline in the second quarter.
The company, created in December via the recombination of Viacom and CBS Corp., also reported continued growth in its streaming business. As part of its second-quarter earnings update, the company had raised its U.S. paid streaming subscriber target for the end of 2020 to 18 million from 16 million.
As of Sept. 30, the company had nearly reached that goal, with domestic subscribers rising to 17.9 million, up 72 percent over the year-ago period, and Pluto TV’s domestic users reaching 28.4 million, up 57 percent. Streaming and digital revenue reached $636 million, up 56 percent from the third quarter of 2019.
The company said that its planned rebrand of the CBS All Access streaming service as Paramount+ was on track for early 2021.
ViacomCBS, led by CEO Bob Bakish, had previously said that the biggest advertising hit was expected in the second quarter, with trends improving from there, while streaming momentum was strong early in the virus crisis.
The company’s third-quarter financials exceeded Wall Street estimates on several fronts.
Bakish in the earnings report lauded the progress made by the company as it nears the one-year anniversary of the merger that created it. “As we near the first anniversary of the ViacomCBS merger, I’m thrilled about the way our organization has come together to realize the power of the combination and seize our unique global opportunity in streaming,” he said. “Our company’s transformation is ahead of schedule, and we are incredibly excited by the opportunities ahead.”
ViacomCBS has since the recombination rejigged its operations and executive teams. This summer, it raised its 2020 merger synergy target to $300 million from $250 million, and its three-year run-rate cost savings target to $800 million from $750 million. Bakish previously also highlighted that the pandemic means there was potential for cost reductions beyond that, with the firm looking for “continued cost and operating opportunities that will create both immediate and lasting benefits.”
ViacomCBS’ third-quarter revenue fell 9 percent to $6.1 billion, with earnings from continuing operations down 2 percent to $612 million. On an adjusted basis, quarterly earnings fell 18 percent to $561 million, or earnings per share of 91 cents.
Film unit revenue decreased 31 percent, “reflecting the decline in licensing and theatrical revenue.” The latter was “immaterial in the quarter due to the closure or reduction in capacity of movie theaters in response to COVID-19,” the company said. Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) in the film segment fell 18 percent due to the decline in revenue, partially offset by lower distribution costs from fewer theatrical releases in the quarter.
Cable networks revenue declined 7 percent “due to lower advertising and content licensing revenue, partially offset by 4 percent growth in affiliate revenue. That gain was driven by “growth in subscription streaming revenue, expanded carriage with YouTube TV and contractual rate increases, partially offset by linear subscriber declines. Adjusted OIBDA in the cable networks unit grew 3 percent as the decrease in revenue was more than offset by lower costs from the airing of fewer original programs “and the benefit of cost savings, including from restructuring activities.”
TV Entertainment unit revenue fell 4 percent due to lower content licensing revenue, partially offset by growth in reverse compensation and retransmission fees, as well as subscription streaming revenue. Adjusted OIBDA in the unit declined 26 percent driven by the lower revenue.
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One year ago today, Mr. Michael Larabel who runs a Linux news site reported that a source from Blizzard had told him there would be a product release during the summer of 2013. With Blizzard being one of the most popular companies in the gaming community, naturally this new would raise a lot of hopes of Linux gamers who have been requesting for years now that Blizzard bring their games to Linux.
The day before the end of summer 2013, Mr. Larabel made a post that big news would be coming the following week. Having sent him numerous messages through Twitter asking for updates if the release of a Blizzard product on Linux was still going to happen, I decided to question him on his honesty. FINALLY Mr. Larabel replied stating that Blizzard hit a few snags. Fine, I completely understand that problems can occur with the development of anything but it was a little upsetting that it took the questioning of whether Mr. Larabel is honest or a lier.
Now, around 4 months later and one year since the initial announcement, there has not been one peep about Blizzard and the mystery product they plan to bring to Linux. As like I did back in the summer, I have message Mr. Larabel several times, both through his online contact form and through Twitter hoping that he would atleast post a new update today but as of this writing, and the day being almost over, there has not been any update on Phoronix.
It is pretty sad that someone like Mr. Larabel will only provide updates when you put his honesty in question.

domain: news


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Namaste Technologies Inc (CVE:N) (OTCMKTS:NXTFF), which operates the largest global cannabis e-commerce platform, revealed on Tuesday that it was expanding its Cannabis 2.0 offerings with a new butane hash oil (BHO) live resin product line to be sold under the Phyto Extractions brand.
In addition, Namaste said its wholly-owned subsidiary CannMart Inc, has struck an exclusive agreement with licensed producer and processor Stigma Grow, to distribute shatter, crumble, and live resins through its B2B channel and its business-to-consumer online medical channel.
"This agreement with CannMart is in perfect alignment with our promise to Canadians and builds on the momentum that we have already seen in the provinces where our products are currently sold. We're excited to bring our unique live resin, full-spectrum BHO products to as many stores across Canada as possible," Stigma Grow CEO Travis McIntyre said in a statement.
Stigma Grow uses an advanced butane hydrocarbon extraction system at its Red Deer facility, in Alberta to process some of the only full-spectrum concentrate products available on the legal market.
Namaste CEO Meni Morim said that with its new Phyto-branded BHO live resin and Stigma Grow's shatter, crumble and live resins, the company is “leading" the market with Cannabis 2.0 products.
"Stigma Grow's shatter, crumble and live resins are known for their quality and are an excellent addition to CannMart's line of cannabis products and accessories. Phyto is a leading legacy brand in Canada and their hydrocarbon extracts are a hit with cannabis enthusiasts,” added Morim.
The Namaste boss said Stigma and Phyto products will be available across Canada online at CannMart.com medically, and through its business-to-business distribution channels starting in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
“We believe there is pent-up demand for these high-quality, higher-margin products and we will look to leverage the past success of the Phyto brand to continue to grow our sales," added Morim.
In December last year, Namaste's subsidiary CannMart Labs stuck an exclusive licensing deal with Phyto Extractions to use Phyto trademarks on some of its cannabis vaporizing pen cartridges and batteries, cannabis capsules, and cannabis tinctures. Phyto vaporizing pen cartridges are now one of CannMart's bestsellers, according to the company.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at firstname.lastname@example.org
Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive


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The Commerce Department said retail sales advanced to a seasonally adjusted $304.28 billion, while sales outside of the auto sector grew by a smaller 0.2 percent to $228.45 billion. Both the overall figure and sales excluding autos were precisely in line with Wall Street expectations.
July's sales increase was led by a 4.2 percent gain in auto sales as consumers continued to take advantage of zero percent financing deals. Auto sales posted the same gain in June.
Many economists saw the data as positive news and said it should lay to rest any expectations that the Fed will lower interest rates.
"It's a reminder that the consumers are not dead yet," said Christopher Low, chief economist at FTN Financial in New York. "This suggests that consumers are spending happily albeit they are spending on cars at the expense of everything else."
The sizable increase in car sales outweighed cutbacks elsewhere. Shoppers trimmed spending on furniture and home furnishings, electronics and appliances, building and garden supplies, and clothes, a sign that consumers have grown more cautious amid stock market turmoil and economic uncertainties.
Economists worry that a wave of accounting scandals that has shaken Americans' confidence in corporate leaders, the roller-coaster stock market and a sluggish job market could chill consumers' willingness to spend in the months ahead, something that would slow economic growth.
The recovery has lost considerable momentum from the beginning of the year. The economy grew by just 1.1 percent in the spring, down from a brisk 5 percent pace in the first quarter.
Some economists are predicting lackluster growth for the second half of this year as well.
The July sales figures were boosted by the fact that automakers, worried about sales, recently brought back generous incentives, including free-financing deals, to lure buyers. Sales at automobile dealers rose by 4.2 percent in both June and July.
Another factor contributing to higher overall retail sales in July was a 2.7 percent increase in sales at gasoline stations. That followed a 0.1 percent dip in June.
Shoppers also spent more at health and beauty stores, pushing sales up by 1.1 percent in July, after a 0.3 percent advance. And, sales at bars and restaurants went up 1 percent last month, on top of a 0.7 percent gain in June.
At department stores and other general merchandise outlets, sales edged up 0.3 percent, down from a 1.1 percent rise in June.
Shoppers were more selective when it came to buying other goods.
Sales at furniture and home furnishing stores dropped 1.4 percent in July, the biggest decline since September. In June, such sales decreased by 1.1 percent.
At electronics and appliances stores, sales fell 1 percent, the worst showing since January, and nearly erasing all of the 1.1 percent increase reported in June.
Sales of building materials and garden supplies went down by 1.2 percent in July, the largest decline since December. That followed a 0.6 percent increase in June.
At clothing and other accessory stores, sales fell by 1.3 percent in July, down from a 2.5 percent advance the month before.


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Apple Delays Funky Wireless AirPods, October Launch Window Shattered
Apple originally expected to ship the AirPods this month, but with October now quickly coming to a close, Apple has confirmed that there has been a delay in getting the quirky gadget to customers. In a statement to TechCrunch, Apple explained:
The early response to AirPods has been incredible. We don’t believe in shipping a product before it’s ready, and we need a little more time before AirPods are ready for our customers.
In other words, “We’ll ship it when it’s done.” The fact that Apple is encountering some last-minute issues with the AirPods isn’t too surprising given how much technology is packed into the tiny ear danglers. Each individual AirPod comes equipped with a custom, Apple-designed W1 chip and includes infrared sensors that are able to detect when they’re inserted into your ear. AirPods also include accelerometers and are responsive to touch gestures to invoke features like Siri.
The AirPods can provide up to five hours of listening on a single charge, while the wireless charging case can provide an additional 24 hours of battery life.
Interestingly, Apple introduced the AirPods in part to usher in a new wireless era for audio on the iPhone — now those that want to be on the bleeding edge with these $159 earpieces will have to wait a little bit longer. On the other hand, iPhone 7 users can always fallback on the included Lightning EarPods or use the Lightning to 3.5mm adapter with your favorite set of cans.
And for those of you who pre-ordered the AirPods, you might want to prepare to be the butt of many jokes once you get your
hands ears on them:


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Security appliance maker NetScreen has been forced to "look after" a reseller after a customer bought its products direct in the US and shipped them to the UK, cutting out the UK reseller.
The customer, UBS, has a direct relationship with NetScreen in the US and normally buys through reseller Netwise in the UK.
Gerard Allison, NetScreen's UK country manager, confirmed that UBS had bought products in the US and transferred them to Europe.
He admitted that the move was inappropriate, but unavoidable in this case.
"We could not stop UBS from buying direct in the US, because it is an existing direct customer. But we feel we have looked after the reseller involved," he said.
But one NetScreen reseller insisted that the vendor should ensure that this type of activity is prevented if it is to retain the trust of the channel, which has played a key role in its success over the past 12 months.
David Ellis, director of e-security at distributor Unipalm, indicated that talk of the incident is rife in the channel and agreed that NetScreen should clean up any channel conflicts.
"I am very surprised that, after spending a lot of time building a good channel, NetScreen would risk tearing it all up for a short-term gain," he said.
However, the vendor explained that, when existing direct contracts are finished, it will attempt to transfer to a purely indirect model globally.
Peter Crowcombe, NetScreen's director of marketing for Europe, Middle East and Africa, claimed that the European and Asian indirect sales strategies have been a "huge success" and that the company is looking to adopt the model globally.
"When any vendor gets big, a conflict occurs. But the most important thing to us is our channel," he said.
Electronics and computer chain the latest high street retailer to fall into difficulties
Incisive Media and Investec Asset Management supported fundraiser crosses Atlantic in 40 days
Alphabet's health sciences division Verily have been messing with AI algorithms
North Korea's cyber attack capabilities are expanding fast - and turning their fire on a wider range of targets


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States endorse Internet sales tax reforms
- By William Welsh
- Nov 13, 2002
Thirty-two states have approved a model agreement to streamline the nation's sales tax system, the National Governors Association announced Nov. 12.
The agreement now goes to each state, which must enact legislation to bring its state and local sales tax into conformity.
The agreement, which would become operable as soon as 10 states enact legislation, would establish uniform definitions for taxable goods and would require participating states and local governments to have only one statewide tax rate for each type of product effective 2006.
If successful, the effort would be the first overhaul of the nation's sales tax policy in 40 years, and the first time states had acted together to significantly restructure the system, the association said.
One of the problems with so many taxing jurisdictions is that they often have different laws or definitions of what is taxable. This makes it difficult for remote sellers, such as mail-order and e-commerce companies, to calculate, collect and remit sales taxes at varying rates to different state and local governments.
The agreement would save businesses millions of dollars in efficiencies by removing the burden of complying with existing laws, rules and regulations in thousands of jurisdictions, the association said.
It also would create a level playing field between "remote" sellers and "Main Street" sellers. The former are not obligated to collect and remit sales taxes, while the latter must collect sales taxes.
The nation's sales and use tax system comprises 7,500 state and local taxing jurisdictions throughout the country. Lawmakers and state tax officials believe that this system is antiquated, complex and cumbersome.
William Welsh is a freelance writer covering IT and defense technology.


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State's unclaimed treasures make pit stop in New Bedford
NEW BEDFORD — There was extra loot at the Lottery office in the Business Park Wednesday as state Treasurer Stephen Grossman sent his traveling show of property unclaimed from abandoned safe deposit boxes.
Rings, watches, gold and silver coins, jewelry and paper currency were laid out for visitors in locked glass cases to give them an idea of what's typical among the 1,200 items that will be auctioned on eBay starting Saturday.
James F. Roy III, manager of the treasury's Unclaimed Property Division, said that last year $554,000 was raised this way.
"On May 3, we'll put up the first 100 (items) for seven days. Every other day we will put up an additional 100 and then slow things down to make sure we're up to speed with all the mailings and we're delivering on time," he said.
The items have been removed from safety deposit boxes that were unpaid for at least a year and drilled open by the banks, inventoried, and stored an additional eight years before the state was invited to come in and collect it for auction.
If owners recognize an object in the auction as theirs, they may contact the treasurer's office and stop the auction while the claim is verified, which Roy said is a very thorough process.
Jerry Brooks, who called himself the "facilitator" of the auction, said that while there are some spectacular items, such as a 5-ounce Canadian "beaver" coin, other things aren't suitable for sale.
That would include a bag of teeth with gold fillings, pictures of mistresses, documents hidden from prying eyes, guns and knives, deeds and bonds.
One fascinating item was the diary of a World War I soldier sent to France, Brooks said.
This is the ninth year of the eBay auction. Prior to that, the items were sold in a live auction that netted the state treasury far less money, officials said.


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The State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill requiring retailers to preinstall Russian software on smartphones. If the bill is passed, smartphones and computers without domestic software will no longer be sold in Russia, Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes. The government has already approved the bill in a bid to support Russian software developers. It is also expected to protect Russians from spyware allegedly installed by foreign manufacturers.
There is no list of specific apps that will be installed on smartphones yet. However, it is going to be compiled by next summer when the bill can come into force.


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Bridgestone announces new BT-003RS tyre
Bridgestone has launched the Battlax BT-003RS tyre for fast road riders and track day fans. The new multi-compound rubber is designed for all sports bikes of 250cc and higher.
Bridgestone claim “noticeably better contact feel, feedback, stability and grip – as well as longer wear life”, compared to the BT-002RS it replaces.
We’re testing the new tyre at the end of March. Be first to read our test online and in the April 1 issue of MCN.


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Neural Sleeve is a bionic leg wrap that uses AI to correct walking patterns
California startup Cionic and Yves Béhar's design studio Fuseproject have developed a bionic wearable that uses electric pulses and artificial intelligence to correct muscle movements in people with limited mobility.
The Neural Sleeve is designed to be wrapped around the leg and uses functional electrical stimulation (FES) to help with the walking difficulties that can be caused by multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries and strokes.
"Think of it as a way to sort of remote control your own leg," said Béhar, who worked with Cionic to make the FES technology usable and scalable.
"What the algorithms do and what the electrodes do is they deliver that right sequence. And when the brain has relearned and re-acquired the knowledge of how to fire those muscles, the sleeve is not needed anymore."
The wearable consists of a lightweight fabric sleeve that wraps around the user's leg, holding a series of electrodes in place above the muscles.
A receptor module, tucked away in an integrated pocket on the thigh, picks up information on the user's gait pattern and transfers this to the electrodes, which stimulate the muscles to elicit micro-corrections in their movement.
The whole process is managed by an app, allowing the user a degree of control over the process.
"Building bionic clothing that can augment human movement takes a thoughtful and holistic approach," said Cionic founder Jeremiah Robison, who developed the product after witnessing the walking difficulties his daughter experienced due to cerebral palsy.
"It starts with advanced technology capable of adapting to each user's mobility needs to deliver meaningful outcomes."
Béhar said the project was challenging because the electrodes had to be placed precisely while also ensuring that people with limited mobility find the device comfortable and easy to put on.
This is what informed the sleeve's wrap-around design, which is fastened in place using a simple Velcro closure.
Production of the Neural Sleeve began with 50 prototypes that were used in a controlled situation for a year of testing.
The initial trials targeted foot drop, meaning difficulty with lifting the front part of the foot. The tests saw an average improvement of nine degrees of movement for participants, which Cionic says is clinically significant.
"Not only has reported mobility improved for many of these users but the number of users experiencing moderate to severe pain was reduced by 60 per cent and the number of users experiencing moderate to severe anxiety or depression was reduced by 75 per cent," Cionic claims.
To stop the wearable from feeling too much like a medical product, Béhar and his team created a variety of different colourways for wearers to "show off".
"We want it to be something that people celebrate," he said.
The Cionic Neural Sleeve was recently cleared by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and deliveries will begin in 2023.
Cionic believes that this technology could also be carried over to other areas of the body.
"With more than 35 million Americans living with mobility impairments, the need for customisable full-spectrum solutions is growing – particularly within the ageing population," the company said.
Fuseproject and Cionic have been collaborating on medical and wellness technologies for more than a decade.
Yves Béhar founded Fuseproject in 1999 and has since created a number of products for people with limited mobility, including a collection of clothing with "electric muscles" for the elderly.


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Sporting goods retailer Decathlon is gearing up for the opening of a new branch in west London .
The Kensington High Street store, which opens at 3pm on March 15, will be the retailer's most centrally located branch in London.
The popular shop which will cater for 50 different sports, pastimes and leisure activities and employ 23 people.
Based over two floors, its main sales floor will be on the first floor.
It will focus heavily on running, fitness and skiing, as well as hiking, trekking and outdoor gear.
The shop will also have its own dedicated track shop of cycling, a racket re-stringing service and also a scooter workshop.
Store manager Adrian Lahoz cannot wait to throw open the doors. He said: "I'm really excited to be honest.
"This is going to be our most central store in London and its on a very, very busy street.
"We want to be closer to the customer and I think High Street Kensington will help Decathlon become more well-known in London."
The branch will employ 17 full time members of staff and six part-timers.
Anyone interested in working at Decathlon can click here .
For other opportunities, head to our jobs platform Fish4Jobs .
Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.
You can even set it to receive push notifications for all the breaking news in your area


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Trewin Restorick considers the threat the coalition's austerity measures pose to its dream of a Big Society
David Cameron and Nick Clegg reminded their Ministers this week that reducing the Government's debt is the only game in town, but are they focusing on the wrong type of austerity? Economies always...
America's twin economic hubs have started a race to electrify their buildings - and so far the Big Apple is winning
Less than one per cent of clothing material today is refashioned to produce new clothing - but some top brands are exploring one potential solution.
But smart charging won't take off unless it works for the user, warns TechUK's Susanne Baker
Former We Mean Business CEO tasked with getting businesses, investors, organisations, and cities engaged with the COP26 summit happening in Glasgow in November


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by calculated risks 1/14/2023 08:11:00 AM
The main reports this week are December retail sales, home construction and existing home sales.
For manufacturing, the December industrial production report and January manufacturing surveys will be released in New York and Philly.
—–Monday, January 16th—–
All US markets will be closed due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day
—–Tuesday, January 17th—–
8:30 a.m.: New York Federal Reserve The Empire State Manufacturing Survey for the month of January. The consensus read -8.7, up from -11.2.
—–Wednesday 18 January —–
7:00 a.m. ET: The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release results Index of mortgage applications.
8:30 am: retail In December it is scheduled to be released. The consensus is for a 0.8% decline in retail sales.
This graph shows retail sales since 1992. These are monthly retail and food service sales, seasonally adjusted (gross and former gasoline).
8:30 a.m. ET: IN Producer price index for the month of December from BLS. The consensus is for a 0.1% decrease in PPI and a 0.1% increase in the core PPI.
9:15 a.m.: The Federal Reserve will release Industrial production and capacity utilization for the month of December.
This graph shows industrial production since 1967.
The consensus is for a 0.1% drop in industrial production, and capacity utilization is down to 79.6%.
10:00 am: January NAHB survey of housing construction. The consensus read at 31, unchanged from December 31. Any number below 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as bad than good.
2:00 in the afternoon: Federal Reserve Beige BookAn informal review by the Federal Reserve Banks of current economic conditions in their regions.
—–Thursday, January 19th—–
8:30 am: Initial weekly unemployment claims The report will be released. The consensus is 212,000 initial claims, up from 205,000 last week.
8:30 am: housing beginnings for the month of December.
This graph shows single- and multi-family housing started in 1968.
The consensus is at 1.358 million SAR, down from 1.427 million SAR.
8:30 am: Fedly Fed Manufacturing Survey for the month of January.
—–Friday, January 20th—–
10:00 AM: Existing Home Sales For the month of December from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The consensus is 3.95 million SAR, down from 4.09 million.
The graph shows existing home sales from 1994 through last month’s report.


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NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Cutter and Buck cbuk reported fourth-quarter earnings of $5.6 million, or 49 cents per share, up from a loss of $1 million, or 9 cents per share, a year ago. The Seattle-based sportswear provider said it is beginning a process of "transitioning" its CEO Fran Conley out of her role and finding a replacement. Conley said she will remain CEO until a successor is found. Looking ahead, Cutter and Buck remains "cautious about sales levels" in fiscal year 2005, saying it is not "anticipating strong growth this year." The company also anticipates incurring additional expenses to "support and manage our planned sales and marketing efforts for the coming year." Shares of Cutter and Buck closed Wednesday up 6 cents at $10.41.
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“In a potential landmark ruling that could have a dramatic effect on the media landscape, a US federal judge has suggested that an online TV service should be treated like a traditional cable company,” James Vincent reports for The Verge.
“District Court Judge George W. Wu ruled that streaming company FilmOn could ‘potentially’ be entitled to a compulsory license to retransmit broadcasters’ copyrighted content — a privilege that has previously been denied to other internet streaming services including Ivi and Aereo,” Vincent reports. “The advisory is not final however, and in recognition of its ‘significant commercial importance,’ Wu has submitted it to a higher court of appeal for further scrutiny.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We’ll see if it survives the court of appeal.


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RACV Motorclassica event organizers have received an overwhelming number of applications to be part of this years’ Australian International Concours d’Elegance, with more than 200 received from around Australia.
With a 40-per cent increase in applications from last years’ event, Motorclassica 2011 will have a completely different look and feel to last year, whilst a number of exciting additions have been made to the program to increase the appeal even further.
Event Director and classic car enthusiast Paul Mathers said he was thrilled by the number of applications and was excited to have many more Vintage and Pre-War era exhibits on show.
“The 98 cars chosen so far to be on display consist of the beautiful, the spectacular and the unexpected.”
“The diversity and quality of entries received this year has ensured the event will be even bigger and better than 2010.”
The annual event, which attracts car enthusiasts from all corners of the globe, will run from 21 – 23 October 2011 at Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building and will bring together more than 100 of the world’s rarest and most desirable classic, vintage and veteran cars.
One highlight of RACV Motorclassica 2011 will be a special celebration to mark 125 years of Mercedes-Benz. A large display of these well loved vehicles will be on show, including the oldest genuine Benz in Australia, an 1896 Velo.
The 50th birthday of the Jaguar XKE and the 60th anniversary of Porsche in Australia will also be celebrated. A parade of Porsches featuring the famous 935 “Moby Dick” and Derek Bell’s 1987 Le-Mans winning 962 will star on the Concours floor while up to 50 E-Types will gather at the Royal Exhibition Building forecourt.
One of the very special cars of the show this year will be a 1921 Ballot 2L Sports. This preservation class car with a magnificent patina has been in the same Australian family for 85 years and is one of only five remaining world-wide. The Ballot joins a bevy of other forgotten marques including Cord, Delage, Facel, Marmon, NSU, Salmson, SS, Sunbeam and Wanderer, all of which will share the limelight at the Australian International Concours d’Elegance.
Another unique feature this year will be the start of Constantine Mandylas’ epic journey from Melbourne to Moscow in a Ford Model-T – a journey of almost 20,000 kilometres traversing more than a dozen countries across four countries.
Additional highlights will include:
1932 Chrysler Imperial Sedan – An imposing preservation example, with paperwork to verify its ownership by infamous US gangster “Legs” Diamond.
1973 Holden Torana XU-1 – Peter Brock’s first Torana in which he won his first Australian Touring Car Championship in 1974.
1914 Victor Motorcycle and side car – Australian company Victor created low-volume, bespoke motorcycles from a small inner-suburban garage. These examples are very rare within Australia, let alone outside the country.
For more information or to purchase your ticket for Motorclassica 2011, visit www.motorclassica.com.au.


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This idyllic tropical island stay costs a minimum of $1.3 million for just four nights. So what’s so good about it?
In a destination already famed for luxury and exclusivity, a new resort for the rich and famous takes things to a whole new level.
Tourists can now return to one of the world’s dreamiest holiday destinations after it relaxed border rules, despite a recent virus spike.
This journalist took a trip to one of the world’s most romantic holiday destinations. Except there was a pretty crucial thing missing.


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Taco Bell Has a Chicken Sandwich Taco That’s Coming to the Hudson Valley
It appears everyone's jumping on the bandwagon now. Taco Bell does chicken sandwiches? The fast food franchise announced Monday that they're rolling out a new menu item in two select markets, and will then plan to expand it nationwide to all locations, including the Hudson Valley. But isn't Taco Bell known for tacos and burritos? As the demand for these crispy chicken sandwiches continues to increase, Taco Bell has jumped on board with their own version of a chicken sandwich inside a flatbread.
CNBC is reporting that the new Crispy Chicken Sandwich Tacos will come inside a flatbread with chicken and chipotle sauce for $2.49 each. It's basically a chicken sandwich but just no bun. There is also a spicy version with jalapenos that you can choose from as well. Taco Bell restaurants in Nashville, Tennessee, and Charlotte, North Carolina will see the chicken sandwiches March 11. CNN says a nationwide roll out will come later this year.
This isn't the only item coming to Taco Bell menus March 11. In January, the chain announced that they plan on bringing back both their popular Spicy Potato Soft Tacos and the Fiesta Potatoes to their restaurants in the Hudson Valley, and the rest of the country. This comes after many customers complained about the potato tacos being removed from menus in 2020. How much to people love these potato tacos? One guy from Missouri was so hard up for these things that he bought a few of the last remaining ones, froze them, and put them up for sale Facebook Marketplace as a three pack for $200.
Now, as far as the so-called chicken sandwich wars go, McDonald's will debut three of their new sandwiches February 24. QSR Magazine is reporting that Mickey D's will introduce the Crispy Chicken Sandwich, the Spicy Chicken Sandwich, and the Deluxe Chicken Sandwich to restaurants across the country, including all McDonald's here in the Hudson Valley.


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With Fortnite's new season just around the corner, players may be wondering what to do with all the Bars they have saved up.
At the start of the new Season, Bar balances will be reset, and the next Wild Week will give a reason to spend them all before they're lost.
The Bargain Bin event will run until the downtime for Chapter 2 Season 7, which is on June 8, 2021. During this time, players can purchase items from vendors for 50% off. For the next week, all Exotic weapons and many of the services will be half price.
Players can use this as a chance to gain more powerful weapons, or to simply have fun without the worry about overspending. With 50% off the Grappler Bow and 50% off Bushranger’s prop disguise service, that is just going to lead to plenty of entertainment!
The event is live now, and will last until next Tuesday.
The new alien theme to Fortnite has reached a new milestone, as they become a threat. Players are reportedly being abducted by UFOs in-game.


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Flipkart bought back eKart from WS Retail in September 2015. The acquisition was made through a new entity called Instakart Services Pvt Ltd, and has Ankit Nagori (Chief Business Officer, Flipkart) and Rajnish Singh Baweja (Finance controller of Flipkart) as the company’s shareholders and directors.
Flipkart that boasts of about 8 Mn shipments and over 50 Mn registered users on its platform, has infused the funds in its logistics business for the second time. Prior to this, in July 2015, Klick2Shop Logistics Services International invested $18.7 Mn (INR 127 Cr) in Instakart Services. The company is targeting sales worth $10 Bn on its platform by the end of 2016.
Besides, understanding the importance of last mile delivery, Flipkart is offering its logistics services to third party ecommerce firms.
Flipkart is equipped with 17 fulfilment centres (FC) and has a total warehouse space of up to 1.6 Mn sq ft. Last yeat, Flipkart had set up its largest fulfilment centre at Gundla Pochampally, on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The company further plans to add 50-100 warehouses over the next four to five years.
eKart is being pitched to other ecommerce-focused logistics firms such as Delhivery (SSN Logistics Pvt. Ltd), Ecom Express Pvt. Ltd and Dotzot, the ecommerce arm of DTDC Express Ltd, among others, to provide last mile delivery. Myntra, which was acquired by Flipkart for $330 Mn in May 2014, has already been using eKart services. According to sources, technical integration with Jabong is underway, while Shopclues will come on board in the next two weeks.
Lately, ecommerce companies in India have been concentrating on improving their logistics. Amazon currently has over 21 FCs across 10 states with a total of over 2 Mn-sq-ft of space, which according to Akhil Saxena, director operations of Amazon India, is said to be the largest storage capacity and warehouse infrastructure created by any ecommerce company for sellers across India. It added 13 new FCs in 2015 alone, along with launching its biggest fulfilment centre (warehouse) in Kothur, Mahbubnagar district.
On the other side, Snapdeal bought a large stake in its logistics firm GoJavas to improve its speed of order deliveries. It infused about INR 237 Cr in GoJavas for a 42% stake, in October 2015.
Welcome to Flash Feed, your essential source for breaking news and innovation from around the web – bite-sized and updated all day.


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Electric cars have been around since the early 1900s, the turn of the 20th century. So, it really should come as no surprise that several prominent automakers have tinkered with the technology for decades. Luxury automaker BMW has been at it since 1972.
….2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the first all-electric BMW. To celebrate, BMW has put out a brief primer on its EV efforts, starting way back in 1972 at the Munich Olympics.


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Global sportswear company, BLK has launched a new consumer-facing website as it looks to expand its e-commerce footprint with a new B2C range.
Australian-based retailer, BLK has released its first consumer apparel range, marking its transition from only selling team wear and equipment to sporting teams and businesses to an e-commerce model that’s also targeted at the everyday customer.
As part of the business’s new focus, it has introduced three new collections for both men and women, as well as a comprehensive online store that comes with all the bells and whistles, including a partnership with buy now, pay later solution provider, Afterpay, and free shipping for orders over $99.
The Tek, Journey and Performance ranges reportedly encompass more than 100 individual designs and colours and have been designed with comfort and performance in mind.
According to BLK’s Head of Product and Innovation, Sunelia Casey, the new website and product range marks the beginning of the company’s exciting journey to transfer its “technology smarts” form team wear to consumer clothing.
“Technology has always been at the forefront of our team wear product designs, so it’s no surprise that commitment to innovation is at the heart of these new collections,” she said.
“BLK has long been considered a market leader when it comes to sportswear and we are excited to now offer even more people the chance to discover exactly why that is.”
While the sporting and apparel retailer has a new consumer-based focus, it will still be operating the B2B branch of its business. This includes a new partnership with Squash Australia for the supply of team uniforms until 2021, as well as a relationship with the Brisbane International and Australian Summer of Tennis.
“We’ve always provided athletes with the ability to perform at their physical best,” Casey said. “Now, thanks to our new consumer range, we’re ensuring people can look and feel their best off the field as well.”
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New Delhi: Reliance Industries Ltd, owner of the world’s third-biggest oil refinery, may increase fuel exports this year to offset losses from the domestic market, traders and a government official said.
Overseas shipments may rise 17% to 20 million tonnes this year, according to the average of four traders’ estimates in a Bloomberg survey. The refiner may sell all of its petrol and diesel overseas and buy lower-grade supplies for retail outlets from domestic producers, a petroleum ministry official said, asking not to be identified because of government policy.
Chairman Mukesh Ambani’s 6,60,000 barrels-a-day plant is incurring losses in India because state-run rivals sell fuel at below cost under government orders. Reliance cut domestic sales of petrol and diesel last year as it couldn’t compete with Indian Oil Corp. (IOC), the biggest refiner.
Of the total losses of state-owned refiners, a third is reimbursed by the government as bonds, an equal amount is paid by companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corp., and the refiners bear the remainder.
Non state-run retailers, such as Reliance, aren’t compensated for any loss because the government doesn’t order them to sell fuels at below-market rates.
“They don’t want to sell in the local market where they are losing money,” said S. Raghunath, country head of the oil division at Trafigura Beheer BV, a trading company.
“They would rather export the premium grades and make more money on it than sell in the local market.”
Reliance spokesman Tushar Pania declined to comment. The company’s eight-year-old refinery produces the Euro IV motor fuels that meet regulations of countries such as the UK and the US.
Losses on retailing oil products prompted Reliance to stop sales at some stations, cutting its market share to 2% in September from 13% in April 2006, the company said on 26 April. Its market share was at 6.3% in March.
The refiner last year sold about 4,30,600 tonnes of petrol and 2.07 million tonnes of diesel through its retail stations, according to data from the petroleum ministry.
Reliance’s exports rose 63% to 17.7 million tonnes in the year ended 31 March from 10.8 million tonnes a year ago. That accounted for 57% of the company’s production.


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Infiniti has just unveiled the new 2008 Infiniti QX56, the company’s full-size luxury SUV. The new 2008 Infiniti QX56 is powered by a 5.6 liter V8 engine that produces 320 horsepower giving the car the ability to tow up to 9,000 pounds. This is the first major overhaul the QX56 has recieved since its launch in 2004 with the interior getting LED details, wood grain trim, heated steering wheel, new instrument panel and a third row power folding seat.
The SUV also has Burr-Brown Digital Audio Converter and 9.5-gigabyte Music Box hard drive, a compact flash slot for MP3 files and Infiniti”s navigation system and intelligent key. The new 2008 Infiniti QX56 will go on sale at Infiniti dealerships in April of this year.
[tags]Cars, Car, Auto, Automobile, Vehicles, Technology, Auto News, News, Infiniti, Nissan[/tags]


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iPhone game controllers cropping up Video
iPhone game controllers cropping up Video Transcript
Here comes the iPhone game controllers. I'm Bridget Carey and this is your CNET Update. Logitech and other companies are working on creating game controllers that will work with iPhones and iPads with iOS 7. Nothing has been announced from Logitech but a photo of a possible Logitech controller has been posted to Twitter by the account @evleaks who has proven to be a credible source. The controller is like a case that hugs the iPhone. It supports a directional pad, four action buttons and shoulder buttons and on the back of the casing there's a hole for the camera and this isn't the only game controller that was teased. The case maker ClamCase showed off a design for the iPad Mini that can potentially also work on the iPhone 4S and later. There's no word on price or release date but it's a Bluetooth device that slides on the iPad and it will allegedly have its own battery supply. Also in the world of gaming, Nintendo made a few announcements regarding games coming to the Wii U and 3DS. Super Mario 3D World will feature a few new power-ups for the multiplayer game, along with the Catsuit that lets players climb walls and scratch, there's a double cherry that gives you duplicate characters and you can keep adding another clone of yourself every time you collect cherries. In a demo I tried, I was able to get 5 princess peaches on the screen shooting fireballs. It was pretty amazing. Another big holiday game will be Wii Party U, which comes out October 25th. It has more than 80 mini games and it will be sold as a bundle with a Wii Remote Plus controller and a new horizontal stand for the Wii U game pad, which can be used for several two-player tabletop games that only use the game pad. And Sonic is spinning into a few games. Their Sonic Lost World at the end of October and he'll be with Mario in a new Olympic Winter Sports Games Edition that has an online feature for competing with other players around the world to win points for your home country. And Sonic will also be coming to Super Smash Brothers next year. And how about some gaming nostalgia? For those of you that had a Windows 95 computer, you might remember the game Hover. It came with Windows 95 and that game is back, but now updated with better graphics and playable on a web browser. Microsoft revived this Capture the Flag Hover Craft Game to highlight the perks of its latest Internet Explorer browser but it can be played on other browsers as well. Just go to hover.ie to play and here's a little hit in Easter Egg, when you get to the main single or multiplayer choice page, just type Bambi on the keyboard and you can relive the original game that came out 18 years ago. That's your tech news update but you can get more details at cnet.com/update. From our studios in New York, I'm Bridget Carey.
The social network launches autoplaying video advertisements, Samsung gets into the phone controller game, and Apple reveals the top downloads of the year.
Want to be able to control the windows on your desktop without pulling them into focus? Mouse Hunter lets you scroll any window that your mouse is hovering over, without needing to click on it first. Veronica shows you how it works on today's Tekzilla Daily.
Microsoft reveals more details about the Xbox One, YouTube's founders launch video app MixBit, and an '80s game gets hidden inside YouTube for Geek Week.
Microsoft previewed its upcoming Mango update for Windows Phone at a special event in New York today. The update brings more than 500 new features. CNET brings you some of the main highlights in our First Look video here.
Should there be more detailed ESRB descriptions on the back of video game boxes to allow parents to make a more informed buying decision? An article on Fox News provokes a fiery conversation about violence in videogames and the potential for mental damage for young gamers. We also chat about questions to ask on first dates and the Catholic Church's new confession app for the iPhone!
Microsoft and Yahoo are going to try to work things out. See how the happy couple is getting back together. Apple wants more ring tones. See what the music labels are hinting about for the next generation iPhone. And another way to waste time on Facebook using Kongregate's new game play application.
Microsoft's Robbie Bach gives details on a new platform called Windows Phone, which features a mobile app store. The company also unveils updates to Zune HD and Xbox 360, including the ability to stream HD video to Microsoft's gaming console.
Some popular iTunes apps and games are free, Garmin's new device projects directions onto the windshield, and an upcoming Nokia Windows Phone will pack a 41-megapixel camera.
Since Jeff can't attend the 26th annual Game Developers Conference on March 5 in SF, we're doing the next best thing and bringing part of the show to him! General Manager Meggan Scavio is our guest today and we're getting all the details on the upcoming show, like how it got its start back when it was called the Computer Game Developers Conference back in 1988 and how the gaming industry has evolved into separate silos for console, PC, and mobile developers.
Apple's iRadio service is coming this summer. The Apple game controller is not happening, and rumors point to the iPhone in August.


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- Apple must feel like it has a “bullseye” on its back after the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, analyst Dan Ives told the BBC.
- He said the arrest is likely to further stoke rivalry between the US and China, from which Apple could end up feeling the backlash.
- This comes at a dangerous time for Apple. Goldman Sachs said last month that Apple is facing “demand risk” in China.
Apple must feel like it has a “bullseye” on its back following the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, an Apple bull told the BBC.
Dan Ives, from investment firm Wedbush, said the arrest of the tech giant’s CFO in Canada at the behest of the US is “the straw that could break the camel’s back,” as it could stoke rivalry between China and the US, which in turn could affect Apple’s Chinese sales.
China has long been at odds with the US over Huawei, which recently surpassed Apple to become the world’s second-largest phone manufacturer behind Samsung.
Huawei is effectively locked out of the US market, and Washington has lobbied allies to similarly limit Huawei’s growth. Australia and New Zealand have already blocked Huawei from expanding its upcoming 5G network.
Ives believes that the Huawei arrest could provoke China to retaliate. “The last thing tech investors wanted to see was this news about the CFO of Huawei,” he told the BBC.
This comes at a potentially precarious time for Apple in China. Analysts at Goldman Sachs said in November that Apple could see “demand risk” in China during December and beyond. Citic Securities, a Chinese investment bank, added that iPhone sales “may decline by high single digits.” This was despite Apple’s revenue from China growing 16% year-on-year to $US11.4 billion in Q4.
But Ives pointed out that Apple does have some security, as it manufactures many of its phones in China.
Business Insider contacted Apple for comment.
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CUTTY SARK WHISKY RE-ANCHORS ITS MARITIME HERITAGE WITH “THE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE” CAMPAIGN
“The Spirit of Adventure” new advertising campaign represents a milestone for Cutty Sark Scotch Whisky, and confirms its strategic ambition to pursue its international conquest and recruit the next generation of Scotch drinkers.
The script depicts the famous eponymous three-masts, sailing on a rough sea to the rhythm of an epic music. This campaign, an optimistic celebration of sailors at heart, encourages those who have the courage to follow their dreams, no matter how challenging they may be.
“This campaign celebrates the spirit of adventure. The idea is to re-iconize Cutty Sark and anchor the brand to its legitimate maritime heritage.”claims Nadège Perrot, global Whisky manager at LA MARTINIQUAISE.
“The Spirit of Adventure” will rely on a strong digital presence to maximise its visibility on social media, leading the way to adventure-based local activations and sponsorships.


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Do you love toast with your chocolate? It’s the hot new thing if you believe the verdict of 15 leading food experts who have chosen New Zealand’s finest chocolate. The Supreme Winner of the 2018 NZ Chocolate Awards is Hogarth Chocolate, Buttered Toast & Sea Salt Judges described this chocolate as “irresistible, exceptional, unique and flawless.” […]
After judging more than 120 New Zealand made chocolate bars, bonbons and truffles last year, the NZ Chocolate Awards is back for 2018, bigger and better than ever. The NZ Chocolate Awards 2018 will be judged on Wednesday 12 September at Auckland’s Fresh Factory, with the results to be announced during NZ Chocolate Week, on […]
Whittakers And She Universe Chosen by Chocolate Loving Kiwis’ as Their Favourites Thousands of chocolate-loving Kiwis have voted in the first Chocolate Lovers’ Awards, naming Whittakers and She Universe as New Zealand’s finest purveyors of chocolatey goodness. Read More
Greytown artisan chocolate studio Schoc Chocolates won five awards at the inaugural New Zealand Chocolate Awards last week. Schoc business owner and chocolatier Murray Langham said he was delighted to win a gold award for his lavender, salted caramel; two silvers for his lemon white tablet and orange and geranium stirrer, and two bronze awards […]
Following intensive tasting and judging of 125 chocolates, the country’s best have been named. The Supreme Winners are: Marvellous Marketing Best Chocolate Bar, Honest Chocolat Salted Caramel & Buckwheat Milk Chocolate Tablet and for Chocolate & Coffee Show Best Filled Chocolate, Jo’s Sublime Chocolate Salted Sesame and Caramel Bonbon. Read More
An Auckland husband-and-wife team of chocolatiers are looking to expand, after taking out a top industry award. ‘Honest Chocolat’ was a supreme winner at the inaugural New Zealand Chocolate Awards, with a salted caramel and buckwheat flavour. Owner Nico Bonnaud said he started the company with his wife a year ago, and has seen the industry grow. Read […]
There are just two days to go until entries close for this year’s inaugural New Zealand Chocolate Awards, so time is of the essence! Make sure you enter now to ensure your chocolate brand is in the running to be voted New Zealand’s Favourite Chocolate brand and/or producer. The accolade is one of two Chocolate Lovers categories being decided by public vote. […]
With just three days to go until entries close for this year’s inaugural New Zealand Chocolate Awards, time is of the essence! Make sure you enter now to ensure your chocolate brand is in the running to be voted New Zealand’s Favourite Chocolate brand and/or producer. Read More
The success of the country’s growing artisan chocolate makers will be celebrated at the inaugural New Zealand Chocolate Awards.
New Zealand artisan chocolate makers are waiting nervously as the judging commences for the inaugural New Zealand Chocolate Awards in Auckland. A lucky judging panel of 18 chocolatiers, food writers and celebrity guests will taste their way through 120 New Zealand-made and international chocolate products from 36 different producers. The judges are spoilt for choice […]
Judges in New Zealand’s first national chocolate awards have been asked to keep “their palates in peak shape” as they devour endless amounts of the sweet treat. The event’s been titled “the Oscars of chocolate”, and with 120 samples to sniff, taste and rate, the awards is a glutenous marathon for the judges. “The Oscars of […]
World Chocolate Day was celebrated on Friday 7th of July and this country’s growing artisan chocolate makers received good news, with the announcement their hard work will be celebrated at the inaugural New Zealand Chocolate Awards.


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According to the Commission, the current Data Directive – which was issued in 1995 – requires reformation following drastic changes in the ways individuals’ data is now being collected and used, particularly online. The Commission’s formal Communication to the European Parliament, which contains its outline for proposed changes, specifically cited social networks and online advertising companies.
“Social networking sites, with hundreds of millions of members spread across the globe, are perhaps the most obvious, but not the only, example of this phenomenon,” said the Communication, adding, “Ways of collecting personal data have become increasingly elaborated and less easily detectable…. Both the proliferation of actors involved in the provision of behavioral advertising and the technological complexity of the practice make it difficult for an individual to know and understand if personal data are being collected, by whom, and for what purpose.”
The Commission has therefore proposed laws giving individuals greater access to – and control of – the data that is held on them by organizations, as well as the ability to entirely delete that information. “The Commission will examine ways of clarifying the so-called ‘right to be forgotten,’ i.e. the right of individuals to have their data no longer processed and deleted when they are no longer needed for legitimate purposes,” it said.
The Commission also questioned what constitutes user consent for the collection of online data, echoing the discussions currently being held around the revised e-Privacy directive regarding the placing of cookies on users’ machines. “Clarification concerning the conditions for the data subject’s consent should therefore be provided, in order to always guarantee informed consent and ensure that the individual is fully aware that he or she is consenting, and to what data processing,” it said.
In a press release announcing the revision plans, European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding, EU commissioner for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship, said, “The protection of personal data is a fundamental right. To guarantee this right, we need clear and consistent data protection rules. We also need to bring our laws up to date with the challenges raised by new technologies and globalization.”
The Commission is now calling on stakeholders and the public to comment on the proposals until 15 January 2011, after which it will present proposals for a new general data protection legal framework in 2011. Those proposals will then need to be negotiated and adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, before they are implemented locally by EU member states.
The Commission said it will also examine other measures, such as encouraging awareness-raising campaigns on data protection rights and possible self-regulation initiatives by industry bodies.
Emily Ma, product director of Tencent’s advertising platform products department, was a keynote speaker at ClickZ Live Shanghai where she discussed the ... read more
Nurcin Erdogan Loeffler, head of strategy and innovation, Vizeum China, outlines the seven ways businesses can future proof their digital strategies.
Chief marketing officers have shared their views on technology, innovation and how they see their roles transforming into the near future at an ... read more
Every brand would love to see its hashtag trending on social media, but what if it’s for the least expected reason? Should you ... read more


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How Ningbo is redefining fashion?
BEIJING, November 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Finding ourselves surrounded by an ever-increasing number of advertisements for designer brands and expensive handbags, we often ask the question, “What is fashion, anyway?” Ningbo to China found different answers in rethinking the city’s neighborhoods and its fashion industry.
Located to the southeast China Zhejiang Province, Ningbo has historically been an important hub of international trade for over a millennium. Starting point of the maritime silk road, the coastal city was the first in China who made western costumes in the 1800s.
As one of the largest apparel manufacturers in the world, Ningbo is home to several fashion companies and annually hosts an international fashion festival.
But Ningbo’s fashion industry does not stop at clothing and “style” in the traditional sense. From renovating the architecture of the city to sailing the waves on the side of the coast, Ningbo has made its fashion culture the theme of the town. Projects like “urban renewal” transform the ruins of the city into fresh, vibrant communities, restored with new energy and purpose.
Nearly 2,000 kilometers of coastline, more than 600 islands and beautiful blue waters also make Ningbo an amazing place for boating, sailing, kayaking and other water sports. It has become a privileged place for many international sporting events, such as the sailing competition for the Asian Games.
American video host Jack Klump goes to Ningbo to experience its ever-changing fashion culture. He made a T-shirt all by himself for one of the Ningbo’s top design firms, visit a community that has been transformed from an abandoned factory, and hop on a boat with an experienced sailor from the UK. How unique personalities and diverse lifestyles make Ningbo special? How it works Ningbo continue to renew and evolve?
Contact: Jack Klump
Video – https://youtu.be/LP3IqG8tn8s
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1735490/China_Matters_Logo.jpg
SOURCE China Matters


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These are the words of Jessica Rich, the Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection as part of a release detailing the resolution of the FTC’s settlement with Asus over their sale of consumer routers that had major security flaws.
Saying that home routers have security flaws is really nothing new, our website details many of them. What is new and groundbreaking is the fact that the issue has reached the levels that it has, and that a major vendor is being punished for behavior that until now has simply been viewed as “that’s how everyone in this industry does business”.
The complaint that caused the FTC to take notice detailed an incident in 2014 where Asus routers were responsible for allowing hackers to access people’s personal data due to poor security. The problem stemmed from services called AiCloud and AiDisk which allowed users to plug a hard drive into the router to make files accessible to other connected devices. The poor security surrounding these features as well as the cloud service that Asus offered didn’t stop hackers from not only accessing people’s files, but also leaving their own file behind that celebrated the attack.
The proposed punishment for Asus includes a 20 year period in which all of their software must be inspected by security experts. They’ll also need to set up a mechanism to promptly alert users to known problems as well as security fixes.
Here at RouterCheck, we say “It’s about time!”. We’re happy to see home router security being taken seriously at such a high level. Unfortunately, despite the advancements that were made due to this decision, there still exist some real hurdles to home router security. Our data shows that home router security problems that can be traced to poor vendor practices is small as compared to the security problems caused by consumers who don’t properly configure their devices. Despite the warnings, people still leave a default administrator password. This is why we’ve been proponents for providing consumers with a third-party testing tool to allow them to see where the real security problems in their home networks are and how they can be fixed. We believe that this will allow consumers to take charge of their own home network security and be mindful that their router is also a computer that needs to be protected.


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Singapore, Nov 15 (GCCurrentAffairs) The 21st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Three Summit held here on Thursday called for collective efforts of members to tackle common challenges and maintain multilateralism.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, whose country holds the rotating ASEAN chairmanship this year, hosted the summit which groups ASEAN and its three external partners of China, South Korea and Japan.
“We must continue to maintain an open, rule-based and inclusive global trade environment” for all members, said the prime minister in his opening remarks, adding that the group should redouble its efforts to uphold the multilateralism so as to tackle the common challenges of growing trade tensions, digital revolution and cyber security.
Lee hailed that the group has made impressive progress in fighting against SARS in 2003 and global financial crisis in 2008, adding that trade flows amongst the group also accelerated drastically.
The efforts are “transforming East Asia into one of the world’s most prosperous regions,” the prime minister said.
He noted that ASEAN’s trade in goods with the three countries totaled over 800 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for some 31 percent of ASEAN’s merchandise trade in 2017.
The ASEAN Plus Three summit is considered as a main channel for the cooperation in the East Asia, aiming at regional economic integration in different domains such as culture, education and exchanges between youths.
The mechanism began in late 1997 and was institutionalized in 1999. ASEAN is a regional group including countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.


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The Minority in Parliament has called on the government to immediately take practical steps to open Ghana’s land borders to facilitate the free flow of persons, goods and services within the ECOWAS and the rest of the world.
According to the Minority, there can be no justification for the continued closure of Ghana’s borders.
Speaking to the press in Parliament on Tuesday, 15 March 2022, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, said, “Post-Covid, we are not out of the woods yet but we want to see a return to normalcy with the movement of goods and services to our borders and, therefore, whatever proactive measures government needs to take, there can be no justification for the continued closure of Ghana’s land borders.”
“As a minority, our primary concern is to call on the president as chair of ECOWAS to do that which is needful to give meaning to the resolution he so chaired for ECOWAS to pass to allow and facilitate the free movement of goods and services between us, our neighbours and the rest of the world,” he added.
Ghana’s land borders were closed in March 2020 when the country recorded its first cases of the Covid-19.
The decision was part of efforts to prevent a spread.
Only cargo is allowed into the country.
Residents of Elubo and Aflao borders have been demanding the reopening of the entry points so they can engage in commercial activities since the closure has affected their livelihoods.


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The Truth About Cars http://ift.tt/2k7ea41
Consumer products and vehicles produced outside of the U.S. could see a big hike in sticker price if the Trump administration goes ahead with a proposed plan to tax Mexican goods â€” and eventually all foreign goods â€” to the tune of 20 percent.
The White House said today the measure is being looked at as part of a wide-ranging tax overhaul package under consideration by Congress. The announcement came after an anticipated visit by Mexican PresidentÂ Enrique Pena NietoÂ went south.
The meeting between Trump and Nieto, scheduled for next week, fell apart today, with the Mexican leader taking to Twitter to announce the update. Of course, Nieto’s tweet came after one fired off by Trump, where he said the meeting should probably not go ahead if Mexico isn’t willing to pay for the administration’s proposed border wall.
Earlier this week, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the fledgling Trans-Pacific Partnership and announced his intention to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. The president has clearly expressed his desire to reach bilateral deals with individual nations. Mexico sends 80 percent of its goods to the U.S.
“I’ve said many times that the American people will not pay for the wall,” Trump said after the visit’s cancellation. “Unless Mexico is going to treat the United States fairly, with respect, such a meeting would be fruitless and I want to go a different route.”
Yesterday, Trump signed an executive order to begin construction of the wall â€” a key election plank proposed as a method of stemming illegal immigration. Nieto tweeted that his country is still hoping to reach a trade agreements “that favor both nations.”
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the import tax is one of a range of options for paying for the wall, and it could eventually be applied to other nations. He added the tax could be targeted at specific industries.
Even if the 20-percent import tax was only applied to Mexican-made goods, it would still cause a shakeup in automakers’ production plans. Car manufacturers, both domestic and foreign, move production of low-profit vehicles south of the border to avoid the expense of opening costly assembly American plants to serve the U.S. market. Earlier this week, Trump proposed decreasingÂ corporate tax rates to between 15 andÂ 20 percent.
While Mexico and other countries stare down the barrel of a serious economic disruption, Canada, on the other hand, could make out like a banditÂ â€” assuming that country’s free-trade agreement with the U.S. stays intact.
After Trump pledged to reopen NAFTA, the head of his business advisory panel said that Canada shouldn’t worry about collateral damage.
“Canada is very well-positioned for any discussions with the United States,” said Stephen Schwarzman, adding that the U.S. holds its northern neighbor in “very high regard.” Canada sends 75 percent of its goods to the U.S., including vehicles produced by the Detroit Three, Honda and Toyota.
via The Truth About Cars January 26, 2017 at 09:11AM


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Serif fonts, holdovers from the days of print, are on the chopping block in the age of mobile.
Google’s recent shift to a simpler, more colorful sans-serif logo earlier this month was as much a practical decision as it was an aesthetic one. Google said that its previous logo, based on the serif typeface Catull, was too large and cumbersome, making it hard to display on smaller screens, particularly those with slow Internet connections.
Google isn’t alone. For publishers, type choice is one of the many previously considerations that have moved from matters of taste and sensibility to the optimization side of the ledger. Performance is top of mind on mobile, where speedy connections are rarely guaranteed and users will give up quickly when faced with a slow load. Publishers, tormented by the specter of ad blocking, are eager to do as much as they can to speed up their pages and reach performance parity with the big platforms. Doing so means making sacrifices, including doing away with serif fonts, print-era vestiges that often feel out of place on the modern Web. (Fonts named such because of the small lines attached each to each stroke of their letters, which improve readability on the printed page.)
“So many sites now are looking to add these large photos, so the performance savings are going to have to come from somewhere,” said Chris Pace, chief creative officer at design firm Charming Robot “Typefaces are definitely going to take a hit. You have to optimize when you can.”
For many sites, this means doing away with serif fonts, which are more complex and hence larger than their sans-serif counterparts. The typical serif font can be as heavy as 400 kilobytes across its various font family members. Sans-serif fonts, on the other hand, are often a fifth of that, said Pace. For publishers such as The Washington Post and GQ trying to squeeze out tiny optimizations from their images and other page elements, these small changes add up.
From the tech-company perspective, sans-serif is the way to go on mobile. Google opted for the sans-serif Roboto as its Android default and Apple chose Helvetica Neue for iOS (though it’s switching to its custom “San Francisco” with iOS 9), both training mobile users to expect sans-serif across all their devices.
“On the mobile side, everyone is definitely distancing themselves from serif fonts,” said John Newman, creative director at digital agency Imulus. “There was a debate around it for a while, but we seem to agree that in the digital environment, sans-serif is is generally better for reading.”
Beyond performance and readability concerns, the font a publisher chooses says a lot about its brand. Fonts have their own personalities. Vox (Balto), BuzzFeed (Proxima Nova), and Vice (Arial), for example, have all opted for clean sans-serif fonts in an effort to appear more modern. Sites such as The New York Times, Washington Post (and even Digiday), meanwhile, have opted for classic serif fonts such as Georgia and Baskerville that are meant to evoke the aesthetics of print.
Charming Robot’s Pace said this is why publishers have to balance the need optimize their sites’ performance with the less quantifiable effects that fonts have on their brands.
“Once you scroll down a site and no longer see its logo or photos, you’re just looking at the text on the page. There’s a lot of personality and character that even that can bring, and sites don’t want to lose that,” he said.
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"It's tough to say goodbye to the McFamily, but there is a time and season for everything," Thompson said in a McDonald's statement announcing his departure.
McDonald’s replaced its U.S. president last year. Mike Andres, who took over in October, is overseeing a revamp of the chain’s menu, which franchisees, investors and the media have blamed for longer wait times at drive-thru windows and at the counter, a more complicated kitchen and ultimately, declining sales. The fast food giant is cutting eight items from its menu, which had ballooned to more than 100 choices in recent years.
But the efforts haven’t done much to move the needle. Ongoing fallout from a supplier issue in Asia also continues to weigh on the company. McDonald’s profit dropped 21 percent in the most recent quarter from the same period a year earlier, the company announced last week.
McDonald’s struggles aren’t limited to getting diners interested in its food. The chain has been the main target of growing protests to raise wages in the fast food industry.
source: huffingtonpost.com by


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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook said the following the court order requiring the company to provide “reasonable technical assistance” to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to unlock the iPhone 5C owned by one of the shooters in San Bernardino would be “bad for America.”
In an interview with ABC News, Cook explained that the only way for the company to help the FBI unlock the iPhone 5C owned by Syed Rizwan Farook is to create a new software.
Farook and his wife Tashfee Malik killed 14 people and injured 22 others in a mass shooting and attempted bombing at a training session and holiday party in San Bernardino, California in December.
Apple will never write software to unlock the iPhone
“The only way to get information — at least currently, the only way we know — would be to write a piece of software that we view as sort of the equivalent of cancer. We think it is bad news to write. We would never write it. We have never written it — and that is what is at stake here. We believe that is a very dangerous operating system,” said Cook.
He reiterated that Apple cooperated fully with the FBI in its investigation and gave all information in its possession about the iPhone. He emphasized that the company is refusing to comply with the court order because the “case is not about one phone” but it is “about the future.”
According to Cook, what is at stake is bigger since the case could set a legal precedent that could put hundreds of millions of customers at risk and “trample” civil liberties, the basic foundation of the United States.
“If a court can ask us to write this piece of software, think about what else they could ask us to write — maybe it’s an operating system for surveillance, maybe the ability for the law enforcement to turn on the camera. I don’t know where this stops. But I do know that this is not what should be happening in this country,” said Cook.
Cook said the case is not just privacy but also public safety
The Apple CEO also pointed out that the case is not just about privacy but also public safety. Cook said explained that users probably have more information about them in their smartphones than in their house. According to him, the smartphones contain people’s intimate conversations, financial data, health records, and even the location of their kids in most cases.
Cook said, “Some things are hard, and some things are right, and some things are both – this is one of those things.” He also stated that Apple will stand tall on its principle.
It was recently reported that Apple will likely use the First Amendment as its primary legal argument to fight the court order with the help of well-known free-speech lawyers, Theodore Olson and Theodore Boutrous.
On Monday, Apple urged the U.S. government to withdraw its demand under the All Writs and to form a Commission or a panel of experts on intelligence, technology and civil liberties to discuss the issue.
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At last! Something clear I can understand. Thanks!


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A business in Market Place, Rugby, with a lot of sole is helping to raise money for Warwickshire Young Carers.
That’s Shoe Business is celebrating a year of trading in Rugby town centre.
Owner Mark Sharman said: “We have given a good service and survived.
“So on Saturday, June 7, we will be donating the day’s takings to charity Warwickshire Young Carers.”
That’s Shoe Business deals with shoe repairs, key cutting, watch straps and batteries and engraving etc.
Mark added: “It will all be for a great cause and is a way of us saying thank you and giving a little back to the town.”


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NEW DELHI : Logistics aggregator Raaho is looking to expand its services across India and is aiming to raise $20 million in the next 12 months to fund its expansion, the company’s co-founder and chief executive officer Mohammed Imthiaz said. “We are planning to expand our operations from the current eight cities to 20 cities next year,” Imthiaz said.
“The $100-billion trucking industry in India is unorganised, largely offline and plagued with massive deadhead and wastage. We are looking to tap into the marketplace and become the largest digital freight marketplace in the country,” Imthiaz said.
He added that Raaho, which uses technology to enable real-time tracking of freight, is also looking to become EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation)-positive in the next two years.
Imthiaz said that just 10 percent of the Indian trucking industry currently works online, which presents a large growth opportunity for Raaho. “It is estimated that around 200,000 trips are taken by trucks in India every month to transport goods and less than 10,000 trips are organised digitally,” Imthiaz said.
He said that despite the government’s initiative to shift cargo movement away from roads to railways and inland shipping, trucks will be essential for last-mile connectivity and the industry is only expected to keep growing as the economy grows.
Imthiaz added that the Indian trucking industry will adopt the use of electric commercial vehicles as soon as mass production of such vehicles starts. “Fuel costs for truck operators have risen substantially in the last few years and now make up around 47 percent of the total expenses,” Imthiaz said, adding that if diesel prices keep rising, the industry’s switch to electric vehicles will be faster than expected.
Towards this end, he suggested that fuel stations on national highways also start offering electric charging infrastructure to enable long-distance journeys using electric commercial vehicles.
“On an average, a truck stops every 400-500 km to refuel in India. If fuel pumps have fast charging infrastructure, electric commercial vehicles will also be equally efficient,” he said.
Imthiaz said that Raaho is also working with most logistics companies in India to provide trucks for transportation.
The Gurugram, Haryana-based company operates in the national capital region in the North, in Chennai, Bengaluru, Coimbatore and Hyderabad in the South, Kolkata in the East and Pune in the West. The company had raised Rs 12.5 crore ($1.65 million) as a part of its pre-Series A funding round in 2021.
Since its inception, Raaho claims to have successfully covered 20 million kilometres with over 15,000 trucks, catering to a customer base of more than 350 shippers. The company claims to have doubled its business compared to the pre-Covid figures with profitable unit economics.


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CHICAGO – Comcast kicked off a major customer care initiative Tuesday, announcing that it will hire 5,500 customer service reps over the next three years, unveiling a prototype Studio XFinity store where customers and potential customers can try out the latest technology and announcing new programs aimed at enhancing the customer experience.
Comcast said it will hire about 5,500 CSRs across the country, 2,000 of them at three new call centers in Spokane, Wash.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Albuquerque, N.M. The Albuquerque center will open first, staffed with bilingual employees that will speak with Spanish-speaking customers across the country. The other two centers will open later this year.
In addition, Comcast revealed a prototype Studio Xfinity store in Chicago – slated to officially open in June – which will allow customers and potential customers to explore XFinity products and services and purchase them if they want. But the emphasis will be more on educating customers rather than the hard sell.
“We’re looking at this as a huge opportunity,” Comcast chairman Brian Roberts said of the Studio XFinity stores and the customer care moves. “As we improve the service and offer more and more products, customers are saying ‘Gosh, I didn’t know I could do that.’”
Comcast has about 500 retail stores across the country and has revamped 125 of them. The Chicago Studio XFinity is a flagship store, so chances are other converted locations will not look the same.
Comcast Cable CEO Neil Smit said the stores are only part of the changes in store for Comcast, all aimed at making the customer experience better. He added that the customer care unit has a budget of about $300 million and the additional employees will be added to that.
But among the bells and whistles – including on-screen notifications that the batteries in the customer remote need changing, and mobile tracking of service technicians – are several back to basics initiatives. Those include an always on time pledge that will take effect in the third quarter, which would automatically credit a customer’s account $20 if a service technician is one minute late for an appointment.
Comcast EVP of customer experience Charlie Herrin said its customer care plan is broken down into four basic tenets: seeing things through the customer’s eyes; simplifying transactions; using creative technology to help customers enjoy the experience and giving employees the tools and training the need to deliver a top-notch customer experience.
Comcast has taken it on the chin on the customer service side especially during the approval process or the Time Warner Cable merger that was terminated late last month. Roberts acknowledged that there have been some black eyes on the service front, but added that they inspired the Comcast team to do better.
Roberts said that while those highly publicized slip-ups were minuscule compared to the 350 million customer calls the company receives each year, they were totally unacceptable.
“It was a rallying cry inside the company, that we are going to top to bottom rethink every way we do business,” Roberts said. "Will we ever be perfect? I think the bar is always rising.”
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In this second and final part of China's growing involvement in the Malaysian economy, The Straits Times looks at the major port proposals that were supposed to involve companies from China, and what is happening to them. The first part published yesterday discussed the incoming China projects and their effect on Malaysian players.
Beijing's apparent support for new Malaysian ports has sparked Kuala Lumpur's optimism that it can supplant Singapore as South-east Asia's shipping hub of choice. But the main proponents of these ports are not the huge Chinese companies being talked about.
Instead, they are actually cash- strapped Malaysian players hoping to secure a leg-up in efforts to expand quickly. And while Beijing is supportive of Malaysia's plan, The Straits Times understands that China's state-linked firms earmarked as partners have doubts about the viability of pouring billions into an already over-supplied sector.
"Port Klang is already expanding despite not running at full capacity. It makes no sense to pursue both the Melaka Gateway and Carey Island Port so close to each other in the Malacca Strait," said former Port Klang Authority (PKA) chief Lee Hwa Beng.
At least three new port projects, said to involve China and worth some RM155 billion (S$50 billion), were in the offing as of early this year.
But the massive Carey Island project beside the main Port Klang in Selangor, valued at RM100 billion and which was supposed to bring in a Chinese partner, instead acquired an Indian partner during Prime Minister Najib Razak's visit to India last month.
Industry and financial sources with knowledge of the plan told The Straits Times that MMC Corp, the Malaysian conglomerate proposing the deal ahead of plans for a public listing of its ports business, found China Merchants Group's (CMG) terms too demanding.
"MMC can't afford to finance the project on its own. But CMG doesn't just want to be a bankroller," a source said of the port on an island next to the established Port Klang.
Industry players and government officials are also doubtful that the RM43 billion Melaka Gateway, spearheaded by the little-known KAJ Developments, will take off, due to uncertainty among its Chinese partners, chief of which is PowerChina International.
The Chinese firms are still evaluating the potential returns from having to build the harbour on one natural island and three reclaimed ones. "In three years, they've invited ministers including the premier to several launches and signings, but are still short of a legally binding agreement," a government source told The Straits Times.
It is only on Malaysia's east coast town of Kuantan in Pahang that there is a Malaysian port project which has long started work with the help of a Chinese company. The Kuantan port is being expanded at a cost of RM4 billion with the involvement of China's Beibu Gulf Port Group.
For China, not only does most of its trade pass through the Malacca Strait, but also up to 80 per cent of its imports of oil and gas needed to power up its economy. This prompted then Chinese President Hu Jintao to make the "Malacca Dilemma" a key strategic issue as far back as 2003.
But Malaysia is not China's only solution to securing a trade route from Europe and the Indian Ocean. Beijing has also embarked on port-and- rail, and oil-and-gas pipe links in Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh and Eastern Europe. Last November, Chinese cargo was successfully carried overland to Pakistan's Gwadar Port to be shipped out.
"Yes, China is friendly to Malaysia now and wants stronger allies in Asean. But it also has other strategic interests, and we cannot assume Malaysian ports are its top priority," said former PKA boss Datuk Lee.
Analysts also believe Beijing could be cooling its long-standing policy of funding mega projects abroad.
"The Chinese government itself may now be concerned about its global image and, most importantly, about capital flight," said Dr Johan Saravanamuttu of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.


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The New AI-powered, high-res maps to help humanitarian aid and relief agencies better assist people in need. Facebook (www.Facebook.com) is working closely with key non-profit and research partners to use artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to address large-scale social, health and infrastructure challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. These efforts range from rural electrification in Tanzania to […]
IX Reach has announced the expansion of its network into East Africa in partnership with the award-winning Djibouti Data Center, which was selected as the strategic hub for IX Reach’s African expansion thanks to its excellent reputation and unique position as the first and only Tier III carrier neutral ecosystem in east Africa with direct […]
Kenya’s Huddah Cosmetics has been selected by Pan-African Payments company, Cellulant to launch the first Augmented Reality (AR) powered try-on experiences on Facebook Messenger.
Sophos (LSE: SOPH) today launched its 2019 Threat Report providing insights into emerging and evolving cybersecurity trends. The report, produced by SophosLabs researchers, explores changes in the threat landscape over the past 12 months, uncovering trends and how they are expected to impact cybersecurity in 2019.
From cybercriminals to their own government, employers and even family, people worry about who could access their online life
Ajay Banga, President and CEO of Mastercard, visited Uganda this week where he met with Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, Prime Minister, Republic of Uganda. During their meeting, Mr. Banga reinforced Mastercard’s ongoing commitment to the country and also emphasized the role that digital payment ecosystems can play in enabling economic growth and driving financial inclusion, supporting Uganda’s Vision 2040. During his visit, Mr Banga […]
The Outlook is a comprehensive source of analyses and five-year forecasts of consumer and advertising spending across five countries (South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania) and 14 segments: Internet, data consumption, television, cinema, video games, e-sports, virtual reality, newspaper publishing, magazine publishing, book publishing, business-to-business (b2b), music, out-of-home (OOH) and radio.
The accelerator, which is housed in Lagos, Nigeria, has already demonstrated its value. The first Launchpad Accelerator Africa class saw 12 startups graduate, with more than 20 teams from Google and 40 mentors from nine countries supporting them. The startups have directly created 132 jobs and, between them, have raised over US$7 million in funding. Their products are being used by approximately 4.5 million people.


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Target Corp. is temporarily suspending its efforts to sell its credit card receivables portfolio but plans to pickup talks later this year.
The move comes after news last January that it was “actively” pursuing the sale of its credit card receivables. On its third-quarter earnings call in November, the Minneapolis-based retailer said it anticipated a deal closing before chief financial officer Doug Scovanner retires at the end of March.
Today, Target indicated it would pay roughly $2.8 billion to Chase Card Services to retire receivables financing from 2008. The payment, along with a premium, is expected to shrink Target’s fourth-quarter earnings by about 8 cents a share.
Earlier this month, Target lowered its fourth-quarter guidance to between $1.35 and $1.43 a share, from $1.43 to $1.53 a share.
“Our desire to sell the portfolio on appropriate terms remains the same today as it was when discussions began, but we believe that now is not the time to finalize a transaction,” said Scovanner, executive vice president and cfo. “We believe a pause in discussions until later in 2012, combined with repayment of the Chase Card Services financing, will enable Target to reach an agreement with a high-quality financial partner on acceptable terms.”
Target now believes it will be able to get a deal and sell the portfolio in late 2012 or early 2013.
According to Deutsche Bank analyst Charles Grom, today’s news is “negative” because it will “reduce the amount of capital that management can free up to repurchase stock and invest in its business.”
Target’s “inability” to secure a buyer suggests that management is “overvaluing” the business, he said, adding that if the economy continues to erode, holding the credit business could “expose total company EPS” to further augmentation as the year progresses.
“Given the upcoming retirement of long-standing cfo Doug Scovanner, that the sale of the credit unit will not transpire on his watch is discouraging to us given his knowledge of the segment and the high degree of complexity such a transaction will entail,” Grom concluded.
Etro’s show, titled “The Tree of Life,” was a celebration of the house’s 50th anniversary. “My father founded the company in 1968, which was the year of counterculture and psychedelia. It’s really a show that celebrates that and the paisley design of India and its origin,” said Veronica Etro. #wwdfashion #mfw #ss18 (📷: @delphineachard)
For @msgm’s spring 2018 show, creative director @massimogiorgetti said “Words, sounds, colors. Synthesis and therapy of a collection,” were the inspirations behind the collection, showing today. Read the rest of Milan spring 2018 inspirations on WWD.com. #mfw #wwdfashion #ss18
For her first solo album in over 10 years, Fergie tapped Carine Roitfeld, Mert and Marcus, Giovanni Bianco and more to create a fashion-focused video approach for the record, Double Dutchess. "Giovanni really helped me get back in touch with my tomboy side, my hardside," said the singer. #wwdeye #wwdfashion ( : @slovekinpics)
“Volumes and Graphic Art of the Nineties are the main inspirations of the new Aquilano.Rimondi SS 2018 collection,” said cocreative directors Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi. #wwdfashion #mfw #ss18


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Order Panera online? Credit card, SS numbers exposed, report says
Panera Bread's website leaked the information of customers who used its website to place orders for the past eight months, according to an internet security website.
KrebsOnSecurity.com reported that the website had leaked names, addresses and the last four digits of credit card numbers until yesterday. The site was taken down early Monday, according to the report.
According to the report, the chain was notified about the breach by security researcher Dylan Houlihan in August but his concern was initially dismissed. A company investigation confirmed the breach to Houlihan and told him the IT team was working on a fix.
Houlihan said he checked the site monthly and found the leak had not been fixed as late as Monday. KrebsOnSecurity said it contacted Panera on Monday and the website was taken down.
The site was back up as of 11:15 a.m. on Tuesday and was accepting orders. There was no mention of the breach on the website or social media platforms. The app was also accepting orders.
In a statement to Reuters, Panera Bread Chief Information Officer John Meister said that there was no evidence of payment card information being accessed. Meister said less than 10,000 customers were affected.
Panera has not yet returned a message from New Jersey 101.5.
Panera has 73 locations in New Jersey and 2,100 locations nationwide.
Hudson Bay Company, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor, announced Sunday that its store payment systems were breached after 125,000 hacked records were put up for sale on the dark web. Around 5 million credit and debit cards may have been affected.
The company said it was investigating and taking steps to contain the attack.