text:
Julia Boorstin joined CNBC in May 2006 as a general assignment reporter. Later that year, she became CNBC's media and entertainment reporter working from CNBC's Los Angeles Bureau. Boorstin covers media with a special focus on the intersection of media and technology. In addition, she reported a documentary on the future of television for the network, "Stay Tuned…The Future of TV."
Boorstin joined CNBC from Fortune magazine where she was a business writer and reporter since 2000, covering a wide range of stories on everything from media companies to retail to business trends. During that time, she was also a contributor to "Street Life," a live market wrap-up segment on CNN Headline News.
In 2003, 2004 and 2006, The Journalist and Financial Reporting newsletter named Boorstin to the "TJFR 30 under 30" list of the most promising business journalists under 30 years old. She has also worked for the State Department's delegation to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and for Vice President Gore's domestic policy office.
She graduated with honors from Princeton University with a B.A. in history. She was also an editor of The Daily Princetonian.
Follow Julia Boorstin on Twitter @jboorstin.
After a long string of disappointing earnings results from the studio drew harsh criticism from CEO Bob Iger, it seems the business is back on track. "Alice in Wonderland" was the second-biggest movie Disney spacer has ever released, with the seventh-biggest global box office of any film.
Blockbuster "Alice in Wonderland" helped Disney beat expectations: every single division posted higher revenue, with revenue 6 percent higher than last year at $8.58 billion. Earnings per share of 48 cents beat analyst expectations, up 12 percent from last year's adjusted numbers.
The ongoing battle between corporate raider Carl Icahn and Lionsgate has yielded yet another update. The movie studio issued a release saying that its shareholders rejected Icahn's offer to buy the company's common shares for $7 per share.
The Twittersphere erupted with protest when it appeared that users are following zero other people on Twitter and have 0 followers. Twitter quickly explained that it's fixing this glitch.
The next three months are without a doubt Hollywood's most important season, generating an average 42 percent of annual box office. And this summer promises to generate the biggest U.S. box office on record — we could see over $4 billion dollars in tickets sold.
Chinese laundry detergent maker apologized for the harm caused by the spread of an ad in which a black man "washed" by its product.
Univision is adding English programming to reach Hispanic millennials and perhaps mainstream America.
Viacom must find a way to generate must-see content, says Viacom shareholder Mario Gabelli.
Recode Executive Editor Kara Swisher says she finds billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel's attack on Gawker Media troublesome.


text:
Japanese Retailer Breaks Barriers To Online Clothes Fitting
Start Today may not be a household name around the world yet, but the retailer is huge in Japan. It’s best known for operating Zozotown, Japan’s largest fashion e-commerce marketplace, which played host to a couple
Start Today may not be a household name around the world yet, but the retailer is huge in Japan.
It’s best known for operating Zozotown, Japan’s largest fashion e-commerce marketplace, which played host to a couple billion dollars worth of transactions. This year, Start Today officially launched its own private label brand, Zozo, which sells inexpensive basics, including plain crewneck t-shirts for 1,200 yen (about $11) and jeans for 3,800 yen (about $34.50). What separates Zozo’s clothes from others in their price range, though, is that they’re custom-fit.
Start Today spent seven years developing its clothes-sizing process, which begins with the Zozosuit—a bodysuit covered in more than 300 stretchable markers that the Zozo app reads to come up with detailed measurements of your body. Today, the company announced that it’s expanding Zozo and its unique sizing solution to 72 different countries around the world. Right now it’s running a campaign to give away 100,000 custom-fit denim and t-shirt sets to promote the global rollout. Full, shoppable sites will go live in all the countries, which include Australia, China, Brazil, India, the US, the UK, and more, on July 30.
Zozo sends out its Zozosuit for free, though shipping charges apply in certain regions. Once you’ve put it on and measured yourself with the Zozo app, algorithms process all the data to determine the fit of your clothes. Zozo says to create all the clothing patterns it uses—meaning the various flat shapes that fabric is cut into before it’s assembled into a three-dimensional garment—it considered thousands of different body shapes.
The company has previously tried to bring its e-commerce business to other markets, including China and the US (paywall), and now appears to be making a run to compete with global clothing giants such as Uniqlo and Gap. It says the response in Japan so far is encouraging. Pre-orders for Zozosuits in its home country started in November of last year, and Zozo tallied a million orders within six months.
Its sales pitch is that the standardised sizing that almost all brands use makes no sense when human bodies aren’t standardised. (And those standardised sizes fluctuate wildly from brand to brand anyway.) “The time where people adapt to clothing is over,” Yusaku Maezawa, Start Today’s founder and CEO, said in a press conference. “This is the new era where clothes adapt to people.”
It’s a major challenge to make individual items of clothing for every customer when you’re producing for countries around the world, but Zozo says it has developed an automated, made-to-order production line. The company uses the body data it collects to calculate how much demand there is for different pattern sizes, allowing it to hold the correct amount of stock for each. Rather than weeks to produce and ship a custom-fit item of clothing, Zozo said when it launched that it can deliver its clothes within two weeks, and in some cases as soon as the following day.

domain: news


text:
Jaitley thanks political parties for making GST possible
NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday thanked all political parties for their cooperation and contribution in making the launch of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) possible.
In a letter to the presidents of the different political parties, Jaitley said: With the cooperation of all the political parties, the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act for Goods and Services Tax (GST) was passed by the Parliament and the same was notified on September 8, 2016.
He said that three laws -- GST, Integrated GST and Union Territories GST -- have already been passed by Parliament while the State GST law has been passed by 25 states.
Jaitley further mentioned that the GST Council, in which all the states and union territories are represented, has met 15 times in the last eight months and has approved the draft laws and GST rates for all the commodities.
He said that the GST is the most important tax reform since the country's independence and is going to substantially ease business in India, promoting new investment and contributing to overall GDP growth.
Jaitley said that GST will also help in removing the cascading effect of taxation and provide relief to the common man by leading to reduction in prices, especially of essential consumer goods, adding that in terms of revenue growth, GST will help all the consumption states.
Highlighting the role of MPs and MLAs in creating mass awareness about the new tax law, Jaitley said: It is important for them to understand the finer points of the new tax regime in order to explain the same to the people at large of the country.
If trade and industry face any difficulty during the implementation phase, the representatives of the people should be better equipped to handle the same if properly trained in this regard, he said.
Jaitley also requested the party presidents of the different political parties to consider organising workshops and training sessions for all the parliamentarians and legislators for which the central government would be happy to provide experts.


text:
Airtel Africa Partners Samsung, Singtel To Launch A Continental Application Challenge
Nairobi July 15th 2015: Bharti Airtel, the world’s third largest telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Africa and Asia has today launched an application challenge for startup developers as it seeks to attract the ‘next big app developers’ into the Airtel group of companies.
The challenge - a partnership between Bharti Airtel, Singaporean Telecommunications Company, Singtel and smartphone company Samsung - seeks to attract developers in Africa and Asia who will partner with the companies to launch applications on the two continents.
Announcing the partnership, Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Christian de Faria said that the challenge reiterates the company’s commitment to empowering the youth to realize their potential in various sectors including Information Communication and Technology.
“This initiative is a great opportunity for developers in Africa to come up with innovative mobile apps that directly touch individual consumer’s needs. We hope to partner with like-minded individuals who will come forward and work together with us to come up with apps that will help us deliver the best smartphone experience for customers,” said Mr. de Faria.
Under the partnership, Airtel Africa will provide all operational support by running the campaign promotions while Singtel and Samsung together will organize a two- day mentorship program for the regional winners and the finale in November 2015.
The five-month app challenge will see participants develop consumer-centric mobile applications that will leverage on mobile network services – mobile, data, carrier billing, location and SMS.
The deadline for applications submission is September 5th, 2015 after which two African winners will be selected to participate in a Startup Mentorship Program in October 2015 in Singapore. The overall winners will be announced in November 2015 and expected to commence assignment with Airtel/ Singtel group of companies in 2016. For more details on the Airtel Africa App Challenge, please, visit www.app.airtellive.com.
According to a 2014 Flurry Analytics study, mobile applications command 86 percent of the time that the average mobile consumer spends on their smartphone while smartphone users spend an average of 2 hours 42 minutes on mobile devices with app usage accounting for 2 hours and 19 minutes of this time.
About Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 3 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 328 million customers across its operations at the end of May 2015. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com


text:
Sawyer & Company Inc purchased a new stake in shares of TJX Companies Inc (NYSE:TJX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 53,908 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,122,000. TJX Companies makes up approximately 2.7% of Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.
Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 278.1% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,791,045 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $490,110,000 after buying an additional 4,994,846 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 43,767,923 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $3,158,729,000 after buying an additional 1,996,874 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 63.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 4,667,352 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $336,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,813,259 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 2,438.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,529,329 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $112,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 9,096.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,380,987 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $101,787,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365,971 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.26% of the company’s stock.
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of TJX Companies from a “conviction-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 5th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Co set a $76.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 14th. Cowen set a $88.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, Buckingham Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.95.
Shares of TJX Companies Inc (NYSE:TJX) traded up $0.77 during trading on Thursday, hitting $76.27. 3,328,400 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,884,643. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $48,920.00, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.75. TJX Companies Inc has a 52 week low of $66.44 and a 52 week high of $80.92.
TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 14th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00. The business had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.86 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 7.01% and a return on equity of 52.79%. TJX Companies’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. equities analysts anticipate that TJX Companies Inc will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.3125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.78%.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION NOTICE: This news story was posted by Dispatch Tribunal and is owned by of Dispatch Tribunal. If you are reading this news story on another domain, it was illegally copied and reposted in violation of US & international trademark and copyright law. The legal version of this news story can be accessed at https://www.dispatchtribunal.com/2018/01/11/53908-shares-in-tjx-companies-inc-tjx-purchased-by-sawyer-company-inc.html.
TJX Companies Company Profile
The TJX Companies, Inc (TJX) is an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States and across the world. The Company operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada and TJX International. T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains in the United States were collectively the off-price retailer in the United States with a total of 2,221 stores, as of January 28, 2017.
Receive News & Ratings for TJX Companies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TJX Companies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.


text:
California-based Google has seen its shares soaring to a psychologically new all-time high amid increased corporate confidence. Investors trust in the firm's ability to defend its Internet search dominance.
Google's stock price surpassed $800 (599 euros) per share for the first time on Tuesday, reflecting the company's confidence in its ability to further increase profits through its Internet search business.
The Californian firm took the new milestone some five years after its shares crashed through the $700 barrier only to see the stock tumbling down as the global economic crisis set in and with it the worst recession since World War II.
As analysts applauded Tuesday's early trading stock rally, Google's share price wouldn't be even near current levels had the company had its way. It had hoped to split its stock last year, which would have temporarily halved the trading price by doubling the number of outstanding shares.
Show window tactics
However, the proposed split was put on hold for Google to first resolve a shareholder lawsuit over fears the split could unfairly cede too much power to CEO Larry Page and fellow co-founder Sergey Brin. A trial is scheduled to begin in a Delaware state court on June 17.
For the time being, Google's search engine remains a dominant marketing hub, with its YouTube video site also having established itself as a powerful advertizing instrument. Adding to Google's strength has been its Android operating system, which runs on more than 600 million smartphones.
Media reports said Google was now also considering opening stores of its own across the US, thus following the example of Apple and Microsoft. The "Wall Street Journal" newspaper said on Tuesday it was unclear yet where exactly Google stores would be inaugurated and whether any stores would open still within this year.
hg/dr (AP, dpa)


text:
"We're working to resolve this issue quickly," Amazon tweeted on Tuesday.
The one-day sale, for members of Amazon's $99 per year Prime subscription service, is expected to generate up to $1 billion in sales, more than double the amount last year.
Amazon devices such as Echo, Fire TV, Fire TV Stick and Fire tablet are available at big discounts as are a host of other products from high-end televisions to shoes and toys.
A prolonged disruption of services might prevent Amazon from meeting its sales goals.
Big U.S. retailers such as WalMart Stores Inc and Gap are also offering midsummer promotions online to cash in on the hype around Amazon's Prime Day sale.
Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company's shares were down 0.6 percent at $749.10 in early trading after touching a record high of $757.34.


text:
Ford has said very little about a new car, but an anniversary Mustang is widely expected.
The 1965 Ford Mustang #1 remains an icon as the 50th anniversary of the vehicle approaches. Mark Phelan/Detroit Free Press Detroit Free Press
DETROIT -- Only a handful of people within Ford Motor Co. know the answer to one of the auto industry's most anticipated questions: What will the 50th anniversary 2015 Mustang look like when it goes on sale next year?
Ford's not talking. The automaker won't even confirm the all-new Mustang is coming, though everybody knows it is.
"There's a lot of excitement, but at this point we know very little," said Brian Godfrey, general manager of Pat Milliken Ford in Redford, Mich.
"People come in and ask about the next Mustang every day," said Jim Stevens, a salesman at Royal Oak Ford. "A lot of people want the older look, but plenty of others are looking forward to a new appearance."
"The car must have some visual heritage," said Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics in Birmingham, Mich. It could be anything from a chrome Mustang badge to a profile that mimics an earlier design.
"The design will be determined by who the target market is and what Ford wants the car to be," Hall said.
"The challenge is to address buyers who are old enough to understand the design of the original, and younger ones who don't have any connection with that car," said design consultant David Rand.
"If you create a car that appeals to both, you've got a hit on your hands."
Ford has hit the reset button on the Mustang's design a couple of times before.
"The 1965 Mustang is an icon. It's hard to think of another car that's so recognizable," said Matt Anderson, transportation curator at the Henry Ford in Dearborn, Mich., where the first Mustang ever built is on display. "It's like a pilgrimage for some people to come and see Mustang No. 1."
The '65's design theme evolved through a couple of other classics before running aground with the Mustang II in 1974.
The 1979 Mustang that design ace Jack Telnack created bore no resemblance to the widely reviled Mustang II. The '79 set the tone until 2005, when the current generation artfully modernized elements of earlier Mustangs.
"Ford's done a fairly good job evolving the appearance of the Mustang," Rand said. "The current model has visual ties to the original, but they're not literal. I wouldn't call it retro, but it has historic connections."
Regardless of what people call the 2015 Mustang's design, some will hate it, and they'll be loud. The Internet has given everyone a voice and made feedback much faster than when the '65 Mustang became a hit, Anderson said.
"It's always difficult to evolve a classic design that has retro elements," said Peter Davis, chief designer at Tata Technologies. "The last couple of Mustangs have been very successful, but at some point you have to depart from the formula. That really stirs a designer's juices."
The secret to the 2015 Mustang's success may lie in how designers combine elements that make it recognizable as the latest version of a classic with new touches to keep it fresh.
"We've heard from people both ways about retro versus modern," said Roger Barton, general manager of Reineke Ford Lincoln in Findlay, Ohio. "No matter what it looks like, some people will hate it. The one thing that's certain is that there's massive interest, because it's an all-new Mustang."
Ford will unveil the 50th anniversary 2015 Mustang late this year or early in 2014.
"I expect a lot of changes, but a design that will clearly grow out of the current car," said Mike Rey, president of the Mustang Owners Club of Southeast Michigan. "It won't be some far-out European-looking car."


text:
With a credit card in the palm of your hand, it’s tempting to think you’re just spending your money at the store, saving some cash for the weekend.
But the truth is, you’re actually carrying a ton of cash.
A new study suggests that if you’re carrying a lot of credit cards, it may be more profitable to use your cash to buy a car or rent a house, than to use it to pay your bills.
The research was done by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University at Buffalo and the University in Colorado Springs.
“We looked at whether people were carrying a credit or debit card when they purchased something and how much cash they used,” said Michael R. Johnson, a doctoral candidate in economics at the university and co-author of the study.
“And if you are, then it makes sense to spend a lot more of your credit card money to buy something like a car rather than just using it to buy gas.”
The researchers looked at data from the American Community Survey, which has collected data on the income, education and financial status of people living in the United States.
For instance, the survey found that nearly half of adults in the survey were living paycheck to paycheck and more than half had student loans.
The researchers compared this data with a survey of people who had no credit card debt, which is the data set for this study.
And they found that if people who carry a lot credit card cash actually spent more money to pay their bills, they had a greater chance of keeping a car.
They also found that those who carried a lot debit card cash spent less money than those who had little.
“We think this is an important finding because it suggests that there’s a relationship between credit card use and financial stability,” said Daniel E. Smith, a professor of economics at Wisconsin-Buffalo and a co-director of the Center for the Study of Financial Institutions.
He said that the findings, which he presented in an academic paper, may help explain why some people may have an inflated credit card balance and are unable to make payments on their debts.
“If a credit limit is too high, people may not be able to make a payment,” Smith said.
There are other things that may make a difference, including whether the cards you carry hold more cash, whether you’re borrowing on them or if you buy a loan or other credit.
If you think you may be carrying a high credit card amount, Smith recommends checking with your credit provider to see if it might have a negative impact on your credit score.
It’s important to remember that the research didn’t look at whether the credit card users had the credit cards or the debt, Smith said, “It was looking at how much they used their cards when they did buy things.”
He added that if a card was purchased for $2,000, but you only borrowed $1,000 for the purchase, it might make sense to take out a loan.


text:
South Korea’s exports continued to fall in May, marking a double-digit percentage decline for the second consecutive month, according to a government report on Monday.
The extended decline was largely due to the global economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the ministry explained. Shipments of semiconductor products, however, bounced back, which alleviated the extended decline, it added.
The nation’s outbound shipments in May dropped by 23.7 percent on-year to $34.8 billion, compared to $45.7 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The daily average export amount during the month was $1.6 billion, an 18.4 percent drop from a year ago.
South Korea’s trade surplus in May marked some $400 million, returning from a trade deficit of $1.39 billion in April -- the country’s first trade deficit in 99 months.
The trade surplus came as the nation imported less in May, the ministry explained. The nation’s imports in May totaled $34.4 billion, decreasing by 21.1 percent. Imports of oil and gas products decreased by 68.4 percent and 36 percent, respectively, leading the drop.
Imports of capital goods, on the other hand, increased by 9.1 percent, according to the data. Imports of semiconductor production equipment, in particular, increased by 167.8 percent.
“The increase in imports of capital goods in May shows that local firms are continuing their economic activities,” the ministry said.
Korea’s semiconductor exports began recovering in May, helped by increasing demand in computer products. The shipments of semiconductors increased by 7.1 percent to reach $8 billion. The daily shipments of semiconductor products also rose by 14.5 percent.
Outbound shipments of computer products soared by 82.7 percent due to the increasing demand for solid-state drives as well as the global expansion of online education and telecommuting platforms.
Korea’s exports of bio products also went up by 59.4 percent to reach $1.17 billion, backed by the growing popularity of the nation’s epidemic prevention measures, including COVID-19 test kits.
However, automobile exports plunged by 54.1 percent to $1.8 billion as global demand dipped.
Korea’s exports of petrochemical products fell by 34.3 percent, attributed to a sharp decline in global oil prices. Local petrochemical firms’ maintenance shutdowns also influenced the exports, the ministry said.
By nation, exports to China declined 2.8 percent due to weak exports of machines, textiles, displays and petrochemical products.
Exports to second-largest trade partner the US slumped 29 percent. The sluggish sales of automobiles and home appliances had negative effects, the ministry said. Exports of petrochemical products remained poor, as demand for air travel stayed weak as well.
Shipments to the European Union and Southeast Asian countries fell 25 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
“Korea’s exports to other nations are expected to bounce back when the nation’s key trade partners start to recover from the economic fallout from the coronavirus,” the ministry said.
By Shim Woo-hyun (firstname.lastname@example.org


text:
- The South Korean electronics firm Samsung plans to use Metaverse, AI, and robots to assist it in leading a transformational shift in its business.
- It will actively promote the advancement of robots and metaverse enterprises.
- Samsung is expected to release the Metaverse device soon.
Recently, Samsung has been under fire for various reasons, the most prominent ones being the drop in-app sales and stock prices. The South Korean electronics firm is now considering using Metaverse to help it recover.
The company’s decision to follow the metaverse route was revealed during a general meeting of shareholders earlier this month. A number of acquisitions and mergers will be made and the entrance into the area of artificial intelligence, 5G mobile telecom technology, and robot production.
Metaverse is a virtual world that exists on blockchain technology. It is often compared to the Matrix movies. Samsung plans to use Metaverse to create a virtual ecosystem in which it can promote the advancement of robots and metaverse enterprises.
Samsung announced the decision, noting that the “Game Optimizing Service” (GOS) issue had slowed down the workability of thousands of its gaming apps on Galaxy S22 phones, causing its stock price to plummet.
This would be a major shift for the South Korean company, as it would not only rely on physical products but also focus on virtual ones. It is expected that the Metaverse initiative will be released soon.
This move by Samsung could have a major impact on its business, as it would signal a shift towards a more digital and virtual future.
Samsung considers Metaverse, AI
According to Hankyung, the reason for Samsung’s share price drop is that the firm doesn’t have a new growth engine. Now, it’s time for Metaverse, AI, and robots to become the engine that propels Samsung’s business forward. This is an interesting move, as it would seem to indicate that it believes that the future lies in virtual realities and not physical products. Only time will tell if this proves to be a wise decision.
Since it acquired Harman Electronics, Samsung has not purchased any more firms, and there have been no comparisons between Samsung and its competitors. As a result, Vice Chairman Han decided to invest in Metaverse as a strategy to expand the firm at the shareholder meeting.
Robots person has frequently been regarded by the electronics elephantine as a caller maturation motor for the past two years, aside from Metaverse. At the end of 2020, Samsung created a task unit dedicated to robot commercialization. According to experts, the South Korean company will be the world’s apparent leader in consumer electronics for at least another decade. After a year of trying, this sector expects the company to begin significant operations in this area.
At the meeting, Vice President Han made it clear that it aspires to be a world-class robot technology company in several areas so that future generations of people may live with robots as “companions of life.”
The next-big trend: Metaverse
At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier in February, Samsung’s Vice Chairman Han said that Metaverse is gaining a lot of attention in business settings these days, so the firm will release a Metaverse product. He did not give any hints about a possible release date. However, it is expected that the device will be released soon. This move by Samsung could have a major impact on the global economy, as it would signal a shift towards a more digital and virtual future.


text:
Slow-moving banks face challenge over mobile payments
Concepts such as the digital wallet could leave banks playing a lesser role in transactions
With worldwide mobile payment transactions set to surpass $171.5 billion in 2012 – a 61.9 per cent increase from 2011 – banks are being criticised for their approach to adapting to this new market landscape. Some experts warn they could lose out on consumer business to non-traditional rivals.
While neither Bank of Ireland nor AIB would comment on the emerging threat posed by competition such as PayPal and other payment alternatives, Ciarán Kelly, financial services partner with PwC, says banks are displaying “a lack of awareness of the implications that digital payments are going to actually have” on their industry.
Such inaction could see the less regulatory-entrenched online payment options on the market take away business from the banks according to Kelly, who says “there are payment companies out there that may make the banks normal consumer function less relevant” over the next few years.
The issue of mobile payments is the focus of a Digital Marketing Institute (DMI) members’ event being held in PayPal’s Dublin offices today.
Speakers at The Future of Money will include DMI CEO Ian Dodson, who says the challenge for both banks and those offering online payment alternatives is to “catch up with the consumer” in terms of mobile flexibility.
Echoing Kelly’s point on the approach of banks towards mobile payments, Dodson says that banks are usually “at the slow end of the curve when it comes to adoption” of new technologies.
While Kelly says he doesn’t believe concepts such as the digital wallet will “leave banks in the dust”, they may find themselves playing less of a role in day-to-day transactions.
Kelly says that banks “will still stay involved” as transactions migrate to mobile devices, however “it will be a more B2B relationship than B2C – what I mean by that is that a company like PayPal will have a relationship with the bank and the customer will have a relationship with PayPal”.
By 2016, research giant Gartner projects that the mobile payment market will be worth $617 billion with 448 million users. Elsewhere, Visa predicts that by 2020 more than half of all the company’s transactions will be on a mobile.
This year, PayPal expects to process around $10 billion in mobile payments. Ahead of today’s DMI event at the company’s Dublin HQ, its vice-president of global operations for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Louise Phelan, says: “We’re all striving for the mobile customer. Could we all be doing better? Probably but there’s no blueprint to say this is how it works. This is innovation that will make a difference across the world.”
Mobile wallets and contactless payments, such as those available via certain debit cards or near-field communication-enabled mobile devices from Nokia, BlackBerry and Samsung, are becoming more widespread (figures indicate there are now 45 million contactless cards and 391,000 contactless-enabled payment terminals across Europe).
In addition, alternative payment solutions are hitting the mobile market such as Visa’s Personal Payments service which offers a secure way to send money to others using their mobile phone number rather than swapping account details.
Samee Zafar, a director with global financial services and payments consultancy Edgar Dunn Company, says that banks are “so traditionally risk-averse” that for the foreseeable future, mobile payment infrastructure investment may simply focus on smartphone apps and mobile-enabled websites.
Separating mobile payments into two sides – the first being remote payments from the device to anywhere in the world, the second using a smartphone to physically pay for an item using a near-field communication (NFC) chip linked to an account with a bank, credit-card company or online payment provider – Zafar says that when it comes to the latter, banks and credit card companies still hold the upper hand compared PayPal and other rivals.
“I’ve a lot of respect for Pay-Pal and companies like it but it’s seriously underestimating the challenge it has in that area of in-store transactions compared to banks and other card companies.”
Zafar adds that, until shop terminals are “hooked up to PayPal and other options like it” there won’t be a major revolution for in-store payments using mobile devices.
Yet Phelan is optimistic that PayPal can get a foothold in this space. “Mobile is where we’re trying to go because the reality is 99.9 per cent of people have mobile phones,” she says, adding, “Fifteen years ago in Ireland everything was in cash, no one touched credit cards. Things change, we have a ‘change journey’ to go on.”


text:
Forty years ago, Britain woke up to the fact that the pound had been devalued. After three years of trying to maintain sterling's exchange rate at $2.80 against the dollar, Harold Wilson threw in the towel on November 18 1967 and set a new parity of $2.40.
For Labour, it meant political humiliation. Wilson went on TV to make his famous remark that it did "not mean that the pound here in Britain, in your pocket or purse or in your bank, has been devalued", but bowing to the inevitable was seen as yet another symbol of post-war decline - an economic Suez.
In truth, a cheaper pound was needed by Britain in the late 1960s, because it choked off imports and made exports cheaper. It took three years to turn the trade figures round but by 1970 a deficit of just under £450m had been turned into a surplus of similar size.
Devaluation not only means political trouble - as the Conservatives found in the aftermath of Black Wednesday - it often leads to higher inflation as the price of imports goes up.
Labour was forced to take some tough, unpopular measures domestically after 1967 to prevent the benefits of the devaluation being frittered away by higher inflation, and even that was not entirely successful.
All this is a pleasant enough stroll down memory lane, but is it strictly relevant to where we are today? To which the answer is that it is and it isn't. Sterling is less of a potential political time-bomb for the government because under a floating exchange regime it can't, strictly speaking, be devalued. It can fall like a stone but unless there is a full-scale run on the currency - as there was in 1976 - the decline does far less damage than admitting that defence of a fixed parity has all been in vain.
There are two reasons why the economic crisis wedged between Sergeant Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour is relevant. The first is that there is a need of a significant reduction in the value of the pound to rebalance the economy. The second is that Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, seems to be doing his level best to engineer another one.
What's supposed to happen under floating exchange rates is that the currency adjusts to ensure that the current account stays broadly in balance. In practice, though, currencies have a tendency to overshoot and to become either too cheap - leading to whopping current account surpluses - or too dear, leading to massive deficits. A measure of the over-valuation of the pound is that Britain's deficit in goods is now running at £90bn a year, and more than £50bn once the proceeds from services are taken into account.
The size of the deficit is not only caused by de-industrialisation and lower production from Britain's North Sea oilfields since Labour came to power in 1997. Take travel and tourism, which do not count in the calculations of the trade deficit but do show up in the overall current account data. The Office for National Statistics reported last week that there had been a 6% seasonally adjusted drop in visits to the UK between the second and third quarters of 2007, while the number of visits abroad by UK citizens was up by 1%.
In cash terms, visitors here spent £4bn between July and September and we spent £8.8bn abroad in the same period. At an annual rate that's a deficit of close to £20bn, which is similar to the shortfall in consumer goods other than cars and 50% higher than the deficit in food and drink. Given that the deficit in travel and tourism is now five times higher than when it came to power, one of the best investments the government could make - both for the good of the economy and for the sake of the planet - would be a campaign to persuade us all to take more holidays in the UK. Predictably enough, the budget for promoting tourism was cut in the latest comprehensive spending review.
Back in the 1960s, Britain was gripped by what appeared to be an existentialist crisis every time a dodgy set of trade figures were published. Today the fact that the trade deficit is careering relentlessly towards the £100bn-a-year level seems to concern only a handful of policymakers. One of them, though, is the governor of the Bank of England.
King's comments on the exchange rate at the press conference to launch the Bank's latest Inflation Report were overshadowed by his downbeat remarks on the economy and his raising of a gubernatorial eyebrow at the level of share prices. What he said was that a 40% drop in the dollar's trade-weighted index over the past five years had led to a sharp rise in net exports, which were now at last contributing to American growth. A similar rebalancing of the UK economy was needed, the governor added, which means that consumer spending has to account for a smaller share of the economy's growth rate and exports to make up a larger share.
City analysts quickly got the message. Within minutes one had sent me a text saying "governor is basically inviting mkt to sell sterling". Despite a modest 6% fall since the start of the year, the pound is still 25% higher than it was in the mid-1990s, when the UK last ran a current account surplus. The rebalancing of the economy that King mentioned has no chance with sterling at these levels, and the markets know it.
The process of pushing the pound down to a more realistic level was well under way by the end of last week. For the time being, the weakness of the dollar may disguise the pound's fall against the euro but this may be the last Christmas for some time when unethical shopping in Manhattan offers bargains.
Should sterling continue to slide, the Bank will start fretting about dearer imports pushing up inflation. There is no guarantee that this will be the case; it depends on the spare capacity in the economy, the strength of unions and the ability of firms to pass on cost increases to their customers. In the late 1960s, the devaluation did lead to higher inflation but after Black Wednesday the economy was so bombed out after the grinding recession of the previous two years that inflation continued to fall even with a 30% decline in the value of the currency.
What will happen this time? The fact that the economy has been running at full tilt for the past two years is one reason for fearing that a weaker pound will lead to higher inflation but wage negotiators are weak and strong competition limits the ability of firms to pass on higher costs. Moreover, the economy has already come off the boil and looks set to weaken still more over the winter.
Even so, a lower pound will make some members of the Bank's monetary policy committee wary of cutting interest rates too quickly. They will argue that a depreciating currency and lower interest rates both stimulate the economy, and that holding borrowing costs steady while sterling falls would mean that the benefits accrued to producers, not consumers. That would not be politically popular but it is what the economy needs.


text:
SINGAPORE, 29 MARCH 2016 – The Land Transport Authority (LTA), Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), and EZ-Link have concluded a joint trial with the mobile network operators and public transport operators on the use of compatible mobile phones with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to make public transport payments.
With the new NFC Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), compatible NFC-enabled mobile phones can now be used for payments on MRT, LRT and public buses, as well as at more than 30,000 ez-link acceptance points island-wide, including retail, food and beverage outlets, and on taxis. Please refer to Annex A for the list of compatible mobile phones.
With the embedded ez-link purse, which complies with the specifications of the Contactless e-Purse Application (CePAS), the new NFC SIM turns a compatible NFC-enabled mobile phone into a contactless media for transactions and works seamlessly with the existing contactless infrastructure. Users simply need to turn on the NFC function on their mobile phones to make payments and top up the purse, as they would with an ez-link card. Users can also check their ez-link purse balance, transaction history, and top-up value using the EZ-Link mobile application.
The launch follows the encouraging results from the joint trial which ended in February 2016. Commencing in August 2014 with rail services and extended to buses in September 2015, the trial involved the testing of 15 NFC-enabled mobile phone models with the new NFC SIM, recording more than 30,000 transactions by 1,000 users. This helped the partners refine the performance and reliability of the NFC technology for the public transport system.
Said LTA Chief Executive, Mr Chew Men Leong: “This is a milestone in the use of NFC technology in public transit in Singapore. We have been testing various innovative fare payment systems, and bringing these NFC SIMs and mobile phone models into the public transit ticketing environment bears fruit to LTA’s on-going efforts to leverage on technology to bring greater convenience to commuters through new and convenient ways to pay for travel.”
“EZ-Link is pleased to be the first to make NFC payment on public transit a reality in Singapore. In collaboration with LTA, IDA, M1, Singtel, StarHub and the public transport operators, we have successfully leveraged upon our contactless payment expertise to enable the public to enjoy the convenience and benefits of using their personal mobile phones as ez-link cards. This is an initial but critical step that will open up many other NFC possibilities in the future,” said Mr Nicholas Lee, Chief Executive Officer, EZ-Link Pte Ltd.
Said IDA Executive Deputy Chairman, Mr Steve Leonard: “As one of the first countries in the world to have a nationwide deployment of mobile NFC services by operators, this NFC pilot in public transit further demonstrates how tech innovation can be used in daily life. What is important to commuters is ease and convenience in their daily commute and this allows people to move effortlessly around the island at the tap of a mobile phone. In our Smart Nation journey, innovation will be increasingly vital, using tech to solve big problems and serve our community.”
The new EZ-Link NFC SIM will be gradually made available to the public from today. For availability and pricing, please contact the respective mobile network operators.
More information on the new EZ-Link NFC SIM can be found on www.ezlinknfc.com
Annex A – List of mobile phones approved for use with EZ-Link NFC SIM
1) LG Optimus G
2) LG Optimus G Pro
3) Samsung GALAXY ACE 3 With LTE
4) Samsung GALAXY Note II LTE
5) Samsung Galaxy Note 5 4G+
6) Samsung GALAXY Note Edge 4G+
7) Samsung GALAXY S III
8) Samsung GALAXY S III LTE
9) Samsung Galaxy S6 4G+
10) Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ 4G+
11) Samsung Galaxy S7 4G+
12) Samsung Galaxy S7 edge 4G+
13) Sony Xperia™ Z
14) Sony Xperia™ Z2
15) Sony Xperia™ Z3
16) Sony Xperia™ Z3 Compact
17) Sony Xperia™ Z5
18) Sony Xperia™ Z5 Compact
19) Sony Xperia™ Z5 Premium
Note: Performance may vary according to the different firmware versions.
 Compared to the NFC SIM launched by EZ-Link and IDA in 2012 designed only for retail acceptance, the new NFC SIM is a next generation, full-service NFC SIM that can be used for public transport payments as well.
 The EZ-Link mobile application is available for download on Google Play Store.


text:
In what looks like an unbiased but a free atmosphere to display creativity, wits and talents, Gambia, took participants at the 2018 edition of the Akwaaba Africa Trade Market by surprise as the tiny West African country took away the crown as winner of the famed Jollof Rice Competition.
By that feat, Gambia has put its name in history as the country with the uncommon creativity to prepare the best jollof rice, a delicacy of rice and a mixture of ingredients with its origin in West Africa.
Senator Florence Ita Giwa, the chairperson of The Carnival Calabar and a promoter of African Cuisine, was the Special Guest at this year’s Jollof Rice Competition where in the presence of all, the delicacy took flight from Nigeria and found a conducive perch with the Gambians till the competition would come up again next year .
The culinary tourism contest which involved three West African countries of Nigeria, Ghana and The Gambia was keenly contested but Gambia had the day, with two other Nigerian chefs coming second and third..
Last year, 25 chefs from Ghana and Nigeria participated in the first edition of the competition.
All the chefs from the three countries that contested this year’s competition used ingredients they believed could make their jollof super and delicious but, unfortunately, Nigeria and Ghana could not lift the trophy
The judges, in the bid to make the competition partial free were drawn from countries across the world, including Africa, except the West African countries. These judges attested to the goodness and tasty nature of the Gambian jollof, saying that their judgment was based on criteria including presentation, aroma, and taste.
It was confirmed that the Gambians had “a fine presentation and a better taste for their jollof as compared to that of Ghana and Nigeria.
It was further learnt that Gambia prepared its jollof rice without tomatoes but with mustard, fish and other ingredients, making it yellowish-white as compared to Ghana, who used tilapia, tomatoes and other ingredients to make its own attractive and tasty while giving it a reddish colour.
The Gambia Tourism Board had nominated Mrs. Ida Cham of Yabouy Home Cooking to represent the country for the competition that has again up the small African country on the scale of recognition in tourism.
However, the host country and the winner of last year’s jollof rice competition, Nigeria, put up a very impressive show at the three day event that showcased the glitters, the beautiful and the desirables in the African culture, tradition, fashion and styles.
Under the leadership of Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, Nigeria flag fly so high to catch the envy of participants from far and near as the national Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC) dominates the scene, showcasing Nigeria’s rich artworks, food and culture.
The Director General of NCAC, Otunba Runsewe shed the toga of the big boss to don that of a typical ‘homeboy’ as he demonstrated Nigerian hospitality and receptive nature as a means of drawing the visitors’ interest to the tourism allure of the country. His jovial, receptive, hospitable nature combined with his requisite height, good looks and enticing mien to draw thrills and ecstasy from the crowd each time he stepped out to drop a hint on the beauty of Nigeria and why the country is a must visit for fun seeking tourists across the world.
According to the DG Otunba Runsewe, Nigerians must project their rich culture in different manners, noting that our very rich Cuisine is worthy of global acclaim.
The President of the World Craft Council had once vowed that: “What we did in Russia at the World Cup showcasing Nigerian culture to the World would be the template for use to make the world fall in love with Nigeria and its rich culture.”
And true to his words, that is what Otunba Runsewe did and has been doing to lift Nigeria from the abyss of tourism irrelevance to the present state of awareness and global recognition.


text:
Jon Dunman, vice president of petrol and convenience at Torex, the technology solutions provider, is advising convenience stores maintain stock levels of milk, despite rising prices.
“Independent and convenience retailers are already struggling to keep up with the large supermarkets and the rise in milk prices will only make this harder, particularly as they’re unable to reap the benefits of buying milk in large quantities,” he said.
“Yet, I urge them to not reduce their stock levels to cut overheads. Milk is an essential item for many customers – people often pop into their local shop for a pint when they run out and, while there, will frequently pick up other goods. The average pint of milk purchased will generate a basket of goods worth £6.59 (him! CTP 2010). If a customer comes in and the milk chiller is empty, they are likely to leave the store empty-handed, meaning the retailer will lose out on a substantial sum. It’s therefore even more important to keep on top of stock levels, using stock management and ordering functions in POS systems for example, to make sure there’s always have enough milk to satisfy customers and minimise wastage.”


text:
by Bennett Oghifo
Toyota (Nigeria) Limited (TNL) shone like a million stars when it recently won the Automobile Brand of The Year Award at the prestigious Nigeria Business Leadership Awards organised by Business Day Newspaper.
TNL came tops in the Autobrand Category, after a rigorous assessment by a carefully selected panel of judges, in the keenly contested category.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director, Mr. Kunle Ade-Ojo dedicated the award to the teeming customers of Toyota, assuring them that the company will continue to offer the best in sales and aftersales. He added that the company will continue to put in place structures that will add value to the company’s service delivery to ensure that our customers remain happy and committed to the brand.
In the company’s tradition of making their customers happy, a budget vehicle will be launched in the first quarter of 2021. Expectedly, the vehicle is imbued with the superior quality and beauty of Toyota and worth looking forward to its introduction into the Nigerian market.
He thanked all customers of the brand for their patronage and promised that the company will not relent on its mission of making happy customers.


text:
Showing 1 - 15 Interviews out of 236
In an exclusive conversation with Bhupendra Khanal, founder & CEO of all-natural dog food Dogsee Chew sheds light on the growth strategy of the company.
In an exclusive interview with Jinesh Mehta, Chairman, Scentials sheds light on recent license agreement with Virat kohli’s brand One8
In an exclusive conversation with Vinamra Pandiya, Founder and CEO, Qtrove.com sheds light on the growth strategy of the company.
In an exclusive conversation with Neeraj Bansal, CEO, DHL SmarTrucking sheds light on current logistics Industry and its challenges.
In an exclusive conversation with Manish Gehlot, Director of IT, LOTS Wholesale Solutions shed light on the tech deployment of the company.
In an exclusive conversation Taran Chhabra, Founder, Neeman’s talks about growth opportunity in sustainable shoes segment.
Jay Prakash Shukla
In an exclusive conversation with Jay Prakash Shukla, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, 1-India Family Mart sheds light on the growth strategy of the company.
Cluttered competition and unorganised market are two biggest challenges in healthy food category says Yamnish Kaul
In an exclusive conversation Yamnish Kaul, CEO, Indian Earth Foods Pvt. Ltd & Vita Sana Foods Pvt. Ltd how healthy snacking is reinventing the traditional snacking category.
With over 67 per cent repeat customers and over $8 million in funding in their kitty, Avenue is determined to be the number one e-grocer in Bengaluru.
A pioneer in the industry with Global G.A.P certification, it was only natural that the global fruit suppliers would start their own chain of fruits and vegetables juices.
In an interaction with indianretailer.com, Sounak SenBarat, Designer and Owner, House of Three sheds light on the growth strategy of the company.
‘The margin expectations in the distribution network is the biggest retail challenge’ says Pankaj Agarwal, Just Organik
In an exclusive interview with Pankaj Agarwal, Co-founder & MD, Just Organik sheds light how organic is an emerging category for retail brands.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Retailer, Pristine Organics founder K.C Raghu talks about the dominance of international brands in baby food segment.
A bed that remembers your body shape, refrigerated cold mattress- it’s all about innovation for this startup!
Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Co-founder, Wakefit
Most often, when a customer went to buy a mattress, they were first asked for their budget, irrespective of their needs and body types.


text:
Startup claims near-bare metal NVMe performance by offloading controller functionality to multiple CPUs on back-end storage with an optimised Linux-based operating system
A look at the latest hardware reviews and features from ZDNet.
The updated ZenBook Pro should appeal to business users requiring a fast, powerful laptop that can act as a desktop-replacement system both in the office and on the road.
The University of Reading replaces ageing and difficult-to-manage Red Hat storage with half a petabyte of Nutanix hyper-converged and dodges £1/2 million of VMware costs
Where did it all go wrong for Xiaomi? Xiaomi has unveiled what’s perhaps the best attempt at a MacBook Pro ripoff. Looking at the specs and price of the Mi Notebook Pro, however, it’s clear Xiaomi didn’t merely copy Apple’s flagship laptop. ( Xiaomi | Twitter ) Xiaomi has just announced a new laptop to […]
Could artificial intelligence cause World War 3? Elon Musk fears it might Can an AI tell if you’re gay or straight just from your facial features? A team of researchers created just that, and it’s pretty accurate. ( Kosinski, Michal/ Wang, Yilun ) A team of researchers evidently created an artificial intelligence algorithm that can […]
Hyper-converged appliance maker Scale Computing says it achieved near bare metal performance from NVMe by doing away with controller functionality. Is this the end of the SAN?
New laptops, two-in-ones and tablet dock showcased by Lenovo.
Just because Apple offers something for sale doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea to buy it! Here’s a list of Apple products that you shouldn’t buy, along with one that you can’t buy anymore.
Panasonic has delivered a robust 12-inch hybrid laptop/tablet that’s best in its fully-rugged class right now.


text:
Small Business Saturday
When: November 25, 2017 Where: Downtown Rochester
November 25th marks the ninth annual Small Business Saturday, a day to support the local businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country. Small Business Saturday was created in 2010 in response to small business owners’ most pressing need: more customers.
Created by American Express in 2010, Small Business Saturday serves as the ceremonial kickoff to the holiday shopping season for small businesses across the United States. In 2014, nearly 3,000 Neighborhood Champions rallied local businesses and created events and activities to drive shopping at small businesses around the country. The day was also championed by elected officials in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., including President Obama, and in 2014, Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede officially declared the last Saturday in November "Small Business Saturday."
Check out these participating businesses for the specific details on their offers or activities for Small Business Saturday.


text:
Mzanzi, get ready for the new Mampintsha gin that will hit shelves
Mzanzi, get ready for the new Mampintsha gin that will hit shelves in December.
Mampintsha has become the latest South African entertainer to come up with his own alcohol brand.
The beverage is called, the Original Shandis Gin.
The Kwaito and Gqom' musician describes it as a "strong soothing gin with an African vibe".
It will be available for sale from December.
Other South African celebrities with alcohol brands include:
Image courtesy of Instagram/ @mampintsha_shimora
You've had a long week, it's time to treat yourself!Vic Naidoo 2 minutes ago
Turns out Natasha isn't just a phenomenal actress, but a woman of many t...Vic Naidoo 25 minutes ago


text:
Nationwide has launched an Android Wear smartwatch app, becoming the first financial services firm in the UK to provide account information via a wearable device.
The smartwatch works in conjunction with the bank’s Android mobile banking app, allowing customers to view their account balance and set aside small amounts of money using its ‘impulse saver’ feature.
Users can access the app by either speaking directly into the device, or by navigating through the smartwatch menu, while balance notifications can be sent to the watch automatically each morning.
The app is available via the Google Play store, and can be used on devices such as the Motorola 360.
Many analysts predict that the market for wearable devices is set to boom in the coming years, though growth of smart watches is expected to be kick-started by the release of Apple’s offering, expected to go on sale in mid-2015.
“What we saw with the smart watch is that there is a growing number of people that like to receive information on their wrist, and people who use these devices enjoy the convenience of notifications in this way,” said Daryl Wilkinson, Nationwide's group head of digital development.
“The smart watch shows to customers with that appetite that their bank is responding and it is offering the modernity that they look for.”
Although others in the UK, such as Barclaycard, have launched payments wristbands as interest in wearables has grown, this is the first fully-functioning smartwatch app to be developed by a bank.
However there have been similar attempts. British Software firm Intelligent Environments has produced an app for the Pebble device, while others outside of the UK, including Caixa Bank in Spain, have started developing wearable-friendly products.
In addition, other forms of wearable devices have begun to capture the imagination of the financial sector, particularly Google Glass, with Australia’s WestPac one of those focusing on the eyewear.
Wilkinson believes that wearables will play a role as banks seek to provide more personalised services to their customers. This could work in conjunction with proximity systems such as Apple’s iBeacon to target offers to users.
“It is important as an ecosystem that we look at wearables, notifications and commerce together," he said.
"When you walk down the high street, probably within the next two years you will receive notifications either from retailers on the high street and/or your bank, about activities that are available to you in those stores, or surrounding the transaction in your bank account.
“It might be that there is a loyalty discount to be claimed in a coffee shop or a retail store, and with a notifcation received on your wristwatch, and when you accept it you can get balance snapshot on your wristwatch saying that if you make that purchase these are the funds available. It is just about convenience.”
As well as developing a version of the app for the forthcoming Apple Watch launch, Nationwide is also considering adding additional 'actionable' functionality via its app, such as the ability to make mobile payments in future. This would require additional security measures over the current incarnation, which provides 'read-only' services, Wilkinson said.


text:
Philippe Dauman says TV division has attracted interest from creative community
The entertainment network will deliver 3,000 titles on demand to TWC and Bright House Networks digital customers for the first time
How conservatism and "Red Dawn" stalled John Milius' career
Redbox is entering the streaming market, and its $8 subscription price makes it clear that it has its eyes fixed on Netflix
Deal helps end EPIX's exclusive pact with Netflix
"Lillyhammer" getting second season; "Arrested Development" and "House of Cards" premiering in 2013
The technology giant will offer new entertainment partners such as HBO Go, Verizon Fios and Epix
Postage and streaming costs were killing the subscription giant, and it had no choice but to change
The premium network also pays homage to the Internet meme "Khaaaan!"
Cable company says the pay-TV channel's deal with Netflix cheapens its value
Riding a wave of box-office hits and Emmy wins, the embattled studio looks to turn a page on its costly proxy fight
ANALYSIS: Less than three years since the subscription rental company launched its streaming service with less than 2,000 titles of dubious quality, Netflix is clearly...
Multi-year pact will allow Netflix members to stream Paramount, Lionsgate, MGM movies
First program under multi-project first-look deal will be a behind-the-scenes look at U.S. Olympic gold medal-winning skier Lindsey Vonn
Also, Verizon bids farewell to "Lost," DIY makes renovation interactive, Ovation heats up for summer and MTV goes inside the hiring process
First project will be hourlong series based on Bruce Wagner's novel "Still Holding"
First national distribution deal for joint venture
Starting in April, Cox viewers will have access to Epix' library of 15,000 movies
May add carriage on Dish Network in next few weeks
Will executive produce music for new service's first original series.
Indication fledgling service will pursue established talent.
Premium pay cable venture to start programming Oct. 30.


text:
Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most awaited upcoming video games with gamers eagerly waiting. Hyping the game, CD PROJEKT RED has released a number of new videos for the game, including a feature trailer focusing on the legendary rockerboy played by Keanu Reeves.
All of the footage released was a part of the latest episode of Night City Wire. The show started with a trailer focusing on Johnny Silverhand and his connection to V. The trailer jam-packed with action sequences and some back story. The trailer was then followed by a behind-the-scenes video helmed by Reeves, during which he walks viewers through his transformation into Night City’s iconic rebel rockerboy.
This video was followed by a discussion between Marcin Przybyłowicz, P.T. Adamczyk, Paul Leonard-Morgan and other musicians. They discussed about how they went on to create atmospheric original music for the game. The Original Score EP for the game has already been released, featuring six tracks for a total of 22 minutes listening time.
Just before the show ended, the company officially debuted the Official Gameplay Trailer for Cyberpunk 2077. The five-minute long trailer features highlights from the open-world aspect of the game. Apart from it showcases the dynamics and how the gamers will engage inside of the Cyberpunk 2077 world.
Cyberpunk 2077 is slated to release on December 10, as of now. But seeing its past record, a delay cannot be ruled out. To recall, the game was supposed to originally launch on April 16, but it faced multiple delays due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The game will be made available for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Stadia. The game will also be playable on next-gen Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 5 consoles. The company has announced that it will be providing PlayStation 4 and Xbox One gamers with a free upgrade to a version of Cyberpunk 2077 that takes full advantage of next-gen hardware.
Express Tech is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@expresstechie) and stay updated with the latest tech news.
📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines


text:
Wheels India Ltd. (WIL) reported that its standalone net profit rose 30.4% to ₹12 crore for the third quarter ended December 2020. Revenue from operations climbed almost 10% to more than ₹640 crore. While the revenue from automotive components grew by ₹99 crore, it contracted for industrial components by ₹5 crore. WIL began its first shipment of cast aluminium wheels to the U.S. in Q3 from its newly-commissioned plant in Thervoy Kandigai. Exports constitute about 20% of its sales and the firm has a diversified customer base with more than 40 customers globally, WIL said in a statement. “We have seen a decent performance in all segments other than commercial vehicles [buses in particular] and railways,” MD Srivats Ram said.
“The tractor and construction equipment segment saw strong demand. We have been able to grow our exports reasonably in this period,” he added.
On the outlook, he said they expected the momentum in exports to continue although there was some concern on account of escalation in commodity prices.
Source: Read Full Article


text:
- Related Games:
- Cyberpunk 2077
UPDATE (11/10/2020): CD Projekt Red has now commented on the rumors surrounding a potential Cyberpunk 2077 delay. Read more here.
UPDATE (11/9/2020): There is mounting speculation that CD Projekt Red removed the Cyberpunk 2077 release date from the game’s official Twitter account. However, CDPR never added the December 10 date to its Twitter bio after the game’s previous delay, while the account’s Twitter banner still features its current target release date.
ORIGINAL STORY: Cyberpunk 2077 is rumored to be delayed into 2021, with a noted video game leaker hinting that CD Projekt Red may once again postpone the launch of the game.
Cyberpunk 2077 was seemingly set to retain a 2020 release date, with CD Projekt Red confirming that it would launch on December 10, 2020. This followed a previous delay which had shifted its release date from September to November. However, a Twitter leaker with a successful track record has hinted that another delay could be imminent.
The rumors stem from a tweet by ‘Tiffany Treadmore,’ the Twitter user who previously correctly leaked that E3 2020 would be canceled, announced the date of a long-awaited Nintendo Direct before it was officially confirmed, and teased the existence of Half-Life: Alyx before Valve’s announcement.
Posting from the @HotGirlVideos69 Twitter account, Tiffany tweeted: “So what if #Cyberpunk2077 gets delayed….. Again. Like what if it doesn’t launch this year. Like uh until 2021.”
In response to a follower asking her for more details, Tiffany replied: “I’ve heard unhappy things.”
Another Cyberpunk 2077 delay?
CD Projekt Red has yet to respond to the rumors, and at the time of this writing, the game is set for its December 10 launch. However, given that its previous delay was announced less than a month before its launch, there is still potential for another unexpected delay.
The developer previously stated that it was experiencing issues with shipping Cyberpunk 2077 on current-gen, next-gen, and PC at the same time, which required the company to produce nine test versions of the game while working from home.
CDPR’s Adam Badowski and Marcin Iwinski said that the priority was ensuring the game was a smooth experience on all platforms, and that the extra 21 days of development time would afford them the opportunity to make this a reality. However, if the rumors of a further Cyberpunk 2077 delay are correct, this would indicate that CDPR has again undercalculated the amount of time necessary to achieve parity across all versions of the game.
We have reached out to CD Projekt Red, with the company stating that there was “no comment to provide on rumor and speculation.”


text:
Central banks creating digital currencies remains an intriguing concept. It makes a lot of sense to pursue this opportunity, at least on paper. Citi’s Morgan McKenney certainly feels there are some exciting possibilities ahead. In fact, she believes the ultimate success of DLT hinges on issuing national digital currencies. That is quite an intriguing statement, although no one knows for sure if there’s any truth to it. Citi certainly keeps all options on the table for now.
It is no secret quite a few banks would love to issue their own blockchain-based fiat currency. Several governments are leaning toward this idea as well. Morgan McKenney, head of core cash management Asia Pacific for Citi, certainly thinks so as well. While it remains to be seen if anyone will do so, the concept will always remain a possibility. In McKenney’s opinion, blockchain can only succeed if it is used to issue digital fiat currencies. So far, the technology is doing just fine without these cumbersome and pointless efforts, though.
Citi Things Blockchain-based Fiat Currency is the Future
Hearing such a statement is anything but surprising, though. Citi is working on their CitiConnect Blockchain project. It is designed to address liquidity concerns in the private securities market It is in the best interest of Citi to see blockchain succeed in this regard. A successful trial would validate the potential of DLT-based fiat currencies. Tether has already shown this is certainly possible with their USDT offering. In fact, USDT is pretty popular among cryptocurrency enthusiasts all over the world.
Interestingly enough, Citi’s head of core cash management Asia-Pacific is also a fan of atomic swaps. This particular technology is currently being explored by Litecoin developer Charlie Lee. Cross-chain atomic swaps for cryptocurrency will be pretty significant. It removes the need for centralized exchanges in a way. That is a good thing, mind you, as exchanges are a weak link in every meaning of the word. Having a way to convert blockchain-based fiat currency to cryptocurrency through atomic swaps will be exciting to look forward to.
The bigger question is which banks will be the first to provide such a service. The digital Dollar already exist, thanks to Tether, However, they are not officially linked to the Federal Reserve in this capacity. Bank of England is a big contender to beat others to market in this regard. Native digital currencies make a lot of sense, but they aren’t easy to bring to market either. After all, they won’t replace traditional currencies by any means. It is more of a complementary solution to traditional currencies in this regard.
Header image courtesy of Shutterstock


text:
Uber cost in Kristianstad in Skane Lan, Sweden - Taxi Allo
The platform is legal, provided the 10 Best Uber-Like Ride & Taxi Service Companies in Ethiopia 1. RIDE. Samrawit Fikru, born in Assela, is the brains behind Hybrid Design, the company that owns and operates the most 2. ZayRide. ZayRide, was released in 2016, by the founder Habtamu Tadesse using his parent company ZayTech Sign In Email or mobile number. Next. Or Pages Businesses Travel & Transportation Transportation Service Taxi Service Uber Fit English (US) · Español · Português (Brasil) · Français (France) · Deutsch Privacy · Terms · Advertising · Ad Choices · Cookies · 2017-01-26 · Uber has faced protests in a number of cities around the world, but a new study from Oxford University finds that the company has a minimal impact on the income of licensed drivers.
- Försäkringskassan postadress bostadsbidrag
- Mats halvarsson
- Cliens kapitalforvaltning
- Solving inequalities
- Hur många konton
- Kämpar för sitt liv
Uber Jordan today has announced the launch of taxi-hailing service ‘Uber Taxi’ in the country. Jordan is the first country in the Middle East to get Uber Taxi. Careem that was recently acquired by Uber recently, however, has taxi-hailing services in many of its markets in the region including Jordan. Uber in a statement said that the launch of Uber In the UK there’s an ongoing battle between Uber, taxi firms and Uber alternatives. We’ve investigated how they compare when it comes to cost in 16 cities across the UK. The most expensive city to get a taxi in the UK is London, costing £3.73 per km.
Uber buying up to 24,000 self-driving cars from Volvo
uber has been getting a lot of attention online and they claim that they are "better, faster, and cheaper than a taxi." i decided to put that to the test. fi 2017-01-29 · An Uber customer uses the phone app at a black-taxi rank in London. But demand for cars greatly exceeded supply and so taxi service in San Francisco famously sucked.
Uber – Wikipedia
Tjänster i Sverige har omfattat Uberlux, Uberblack och Uberx där skillnaden är typ av bil, service och pris.
And with Uber, your destination is at your fingertips. Just open the app and enter where you want to go, and a nearby driver will help you get there reliably. FIND A RIDE FROM ALMOST ANYWHERE Request a ride from 600+ airports and in 10,000+ cities around the
2021-04-11 · Its warning this week came after about 2,000 taxi drivers joined Uber Taxi, a service launched last October and charging flexible, rather than metered, fares.
Begränsad bruttovikt skylt
However, Uber does charge surge rates (for 2020-12-08 · The move will allow Joby to use Uber's app to offer air taxi rides when the company's aircraft eventually enters service, which could be as soon as 2023. Benefits of Uber Taxi Service #1. Benefits for Customers. Uber is the perfect choice for riders. This Taxi dispatch software is a problem solver because it provides a ride for those individuals who need taxi cab services at affordable prices.
Beställ din taxi på 044 - 24 24 24. Omdömen. Innehållet i denna sektion är skapat av användare. Uber taxi service, European Union, EU Uber ruling, European Court of Justice,.
Himalaya restaurang linne
bara bentala indonesia
360 solutions group
västra vingåker gårdar
hur manga prenumeranter
Uber Taxiförsäkring Aon
It wasn't the first ridesharing app in the market. In fact, it started as a taxi service primarily catering to an elite 27 Feb 2019 Uber. One major difference between the way Uber and taxis charge customers is that Uber don't charge based on moving or stop-and-go traffic 19 Mar 2020 Of course, taxis and cabs stand apart from rideshare services. They're regulated by the Philadelphia Parking Authority and see some guidance 12 Dec 2017 The ride-hailing company is steadily inking deals with cab providers, in the face of rivalry and unfavorable regulations.
Bostadsformedlingens interna bytesko
frösö hotell park
Uber har lanserat motorcykel-taxiservice i Bangkok - Fastbikes
Usługi transportowe na i z lotnisk (Eindhoven, Dusseldorf) w rejonie Limburgii i Nadrenii oraz w okolicach Venlo/ Nettetal. Szybko, As Uber is not a taxi service, but rather, a ride sharing service, it is not subject to various taxes and license fees. Uber has chosen to do away with expensive transaction costs, such as reservation costs, and enjoys the benefits of contracting its drivers as agents — not as employees. Zagreb Taxi Service and Uber are operating in Zagreb. They offer great service at affordable prices. TIP: TIPS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME, BUT NOT OBLIGATORY.


text:
China wants to enter into Central America with cooperation of Panama
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told reporters that Xi and his Panamanian counterpart, Juan Carlos Varela, on Monday reached broad agreements and achieved positive and productive results during their meeting at Presidential Palace in Panama City.
The spokesperson said Beijing would give the Panama Canal more importance in its trade as due to its strategic location, Panama could become the gateway and point of connection between China and Central America, Efe news reported.
He also stressed that Xi's visit -- the first by a Chinese leader to Panama -- had led to bilateral cooperation in economy, tourism, logistics, infrastructure, education and health.
China, with whom Panama was negotiating a free trade treaty, already has an important presence in the Central American country.
Xi's visit to Panama after attending the G20 summit in Buenos Aires was part of China's plans to expand its influence in Latin America, a region which has historically been in Washington's sphere of influence.
Since June, when Panama broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan and established relations with China, Beijing has increased its presence in the Central American country with its companies getting multi-million dollar contracts.
(With inputs from agencies.)
- READ MORE ON:
- Panama City
- Panama City Beach
- Panama Canal
- Panama broke diplomatic ties
- Beijing's gateway
- largest user
- bilateral ties
- Latin American country
- largest free port
- Central America China
- President Xi Jinping's visit
- Panama's Colon Free Trade Zone
- Politics News
- IANS News


text:
In your life, you will come across things you think are going to be adorable but end up being downright terrifying. Such...
MSI announces new curved and portable monitors
Apple plans on pushing back on the EU over the Lightning Cable
Live facial recognition cameras are going live in London


text:
With the growing consumer preference for electric vehicles, retrofitting conventional fuel-powered vehicles to electric vehicles is a trend that has witnessed increasing adoption over the past few years. However, a similar treatment appears to apply to older military vehicles, as does the British Army. The UK Ministry of Defense has signed a one-year contract with Babcock International to electronically retrofit old Land Rover Defender SUVs used as military vehicles.
The British Army is dubbing the entire project Lurcher, under which the gas-guzzling Defender will be fitted with a zero-emissions powertrain to test the benefits and challenges of electric vehicles in the segment. Babcock has partnered with Electrogenic to reverse power the British Army’s Land Rover Defenders. A total of four SUVs were selected to be converted into electric vehicles.
Also read: Bentley electric car will offer double the power of the W12 model.details here
Of the four Defenders still in service, two are protection vehicles and two are general service vehicles. All are powered by old diesel engines that will quickly become obsolete as the global auto industry booms into an era of zero emissions. Keeping this fact in mind, the British Army is trying to find new ways to extend the life cycle of its aging fleet. Additionally, it has been exploring defense applications and limitations of electric propulsion.
The electric conversion will include a drop-in kit and a modified battery system that will replace the original diesel engine in the SUV. Additionally, the electric powertrain is said to be more powerful than the diesel-powered mill.They claim to provide sufficient range of necessary applications for military vehicles
First published date: April 16, 2023 at 14:21 PM CST


text:
I know that some smartphone companies come up with a “mini” version of their flagship devices, such as the HTC One Mini, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, the Sony Xperia Z1 Mini, and most recently, the LG G2 Mini which seems to be the closest to its full blooded sibling in terms of hardware specifications and performance out of the lot. Show More Summary
Samsung's Galaxy S5 looks like it's going to be a pretty minor update over the Galaxy S4. But is it an upgrade over the latest Nexus? Let's take the features and specs of the GS5 and Nexus 5, put them in our magical comparison machine, and see what happens... Continue Reading Samsung Galaxy S5 vs. Show More Summary
Samsung has just unveiled its Galaxy S5, and so now in good ol’ SiliconANGLE fashion, let’s take a look and see how the latest must-have shiny gadget compares with some of the other top-of-the-range devices out there. Will the Galaxy … Continue reading ?
Now that the Samsung Galaxy S5 is official, it's time to see how it compares to some of the other flagship smartphones on the market. We've compared the Galaxy S5 with the iPhone 5S, the Nexus 5 and the Nokia Lumia Icon See also: 25 Best Free Android Apps Spec-wise, the Galaxy S5 is largely similar to its Android and Windows Phone competition. Show More Summary
The operating system will run on some devices in the Nexus, Samsung Galaxy and Sony Xperia lines, and before that comes out a Sailfish launcher will be made available so users can get used to the UI.
It took a while for hardware manufacturers to squeeze high-resolution screens into smaller tablets, but those floodgates are now wide open. Let's take the features and specs of one of the first razor-sharp mini-tablets, the 2013 Nexus 7, and compare them to those of the new Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4... Continue Reading Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 vs. Show More Summary
Samsung released its highly anticipated smartwatch last year. The Galaxy Gear was unveiled alongside the Galaxy Note 3, at first the phablet was the only Samsung device compatible with the smartwatch. Over time, Samsung has added support...Show More Summary
A little hackery has most Gear functions working with Google's latest smartphone One of the major barriers to Galaxy Gear ownership is the watch's lack of support for non-Samsung smartphones. But now it seems it's possible to get most...Show More Summary
Take a pic of radiation? There's an app for that Late last year, an app called GammaPix garnered some media attention as a kind of low-cost geiger counter. Now, a US test lab has confirmed that yes, smartphone cameras can detect radiation.…
Nearly two years ago, Google launched the Galaxy Nexus smartphone. Developed in collaboration with Samsung, it was the first smartphone to run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Since then multiple Nexus smartphones have come and gone, and so have major Android OS updates. Show More Summary
In the world of Android flagship phones, there's plenty of competition and even more opinions about which phone(s) are best, but it's undeniable that two of the phones that generated the most hype and attention in 2013 were Samsung's...Show More Summary
The Google Play Edition variants of Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One were released earlier this year, they were said to offer the “Nexus” experience. What this basically means is that both devices run vanilla Android OS and will receive the latest Android updates earlier than the other variants. Show More Summary
Eric Schmidt: Many of my iPhone friends are converting to Android. The latest high-end phones from Samsung (Galaxy S4), Motorola (Verizon Droid Ultra) and the Nexus 5 (for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile) have better screens, are faster, and have a much more intuitive interface. Show More Summary
By Dennis Crouch Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Appeal No. 2013-1129 (Nov. 18, 2013) In a unanimous opinion, the Federal Circuit has vacated Judge Koh's decision denying Apple injunctive relief to stop Samsung's ongoing infringement of Apple's utility patents....
It almost goes without saying that the Google Nexus 5 is one of the most anticipated Android phones to launch in 2013, save perhaps for Samsung's Galaxy S 4. Previous generation Nexus devices from Google, whether phone or tablet, have proven to offer a lot of bang for the buck, excellent design and build quality and a pure representation of...
The end of the year is closing in fast, and in case you’ve waited for the most powerful flagship phones of 2013 to hit the market before making a purchase, there’s no need to wait any longer. Now that the LG Nexus 5 has been released,...Show More Summary
Two best-selling smartphones, plus Google's Nexus 4, were quickly broken into at the Mobile Pwn2Own hacking contest.
Security researchers have compromised Microsoft Surface RT, Nexus 4 and Samsung Galaxy S4 devices by exploiting previously unknown vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer 11 running on Windows 8.1 and Google Chrome running on Android. The...Show More Summary
Sprint customers are in for a treat this month. The carrier has launched a number of popular Android devices. This time around, it also got the new Nexus smartphone. That’s right, the new Nexus 5 is available from Sprint now. Apart from that particular device, Sprint has also launched the LG G2, Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 as well as the Galaxy S4 Mini. Show More Summary
Remember when I said I couldn’t put Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 down? Well, I put it down. After months of rumors, leaks and speculation, Google finally took the wraps off of its new Nexus 5 smartphone last week and Android fans were elated. Show More Summary


text:
The US Navy has christened the first of three cutting-edge Zumwalt-class destroyers. But the next two may have weaponry straight out of science fiction.
One of Twitter's co-founders has come back to help the troubled social-networking company. Seen as part artist, part visionary, the question facing Dorsey now is whether he can turn the company around.
The extraordinarily comfortable Mercedes-Benz S-class can now be had with a convertible top, adding to the previous sedan and coupe versions of this flagship model.
Pricing not available
The 2015 Mercedes-Benz S550 Hybrid adds reasonable fuel economy and a few miles of pure electric driving to an already extraordinarily comfortable, capable and high-tech luxury sedan, brought down only by slow-to-connect onboard data.
Mercedes-Benz announced details of its new GLC SUV today, formerly known as the GLK, which receives a total redesign and includes the most advanced driver assist features available.
Mercedes-Benz espouses the versatility of its new S-class flagship by first offering it as a sedan, then a coupe, and now as a cabriolet, opening up the roof for four passengers.
Ride-hailing service requests appeal of class status ruling that expanded employee vs. independent-contractor case from three drivers to thousands.
Nissan boosts the zero-emissions range of the 2016 Leaf to the head of the class by cramming in a bigger battery.
A California judge rules that the employee vs. independent-contractor case that was limited to three drivers can now be expanded to thousands of drivers.
Cooley isn't sure who this car is for, but it remains a watershed in the Mercedes line.


text:
The car plants are halting production. The tech giants are postponing product launches. New computers and tablets won’t be available very soon, and before long there will be a waiting list if you order a new fridge or TV.
A critical shortage of microchips is bringing the global economy to a halt, and revealing our dependence on the most crucial cog of the industrial machine. We can debate endlessly the reasons for that, from the closure of the Suez Canal, to the booming market for devices during lockdown. But the most important question is: how do we plan to fix it?
Over the past 20 years we have become far too reliant on Taiwan, China and South Korea for supplies of microchips. In the last year, the UK has created a world-class vaccine industry. Why not a microchip industry as well?
With freeports, tax breaks, a research and manufacturing hub, and a little state aid now that we don’t have to submit any plans for that to the European Commission for approval, it would certainly be possible. A stretch? Sure. But it could be done.
It is of course nothing compared with the total carnage inflicted by Covid-19, but the shortage of chips is still a nasty surprise for the global economy.
Ford will make a million fewer cars because it hasn’t got enough slithers of silicon to control each vehicle. BMW’s Mini plant in Oxford is stopping work for three days to make dwindling supplies last longer.
Apple warned this week that earnings will come under pressure because even though you might really want a new iPad it may not be able to get one to you. Samsung has postponed the launch of its Galaxy Note 21. We are about to get a painful reminder of just how ubiquitous that little box of switches really is.
An alarmingly high percentage of the products we buy have some form of microprocessor inside, and as the shortage gets worse prices will rise and fewer products will be on the market. Just as we come out of lockdown, desperate to spend some money again, lots of things won’t be available.
There are plenty of reasons for that. The temporary closure of the Suez Canal disrupted supply. Storms in Texas and an earthquake in Japan took out some production capacity. A surge in demand for tablets and PCs as we all worked from home during lockdown meant factories struggled to keep pace with orders. A whole series of factors have come together to create a shortage.
The important point, however, is this: medium-sized economies such as the UK need to start beefing up their own chip making capacity. Over a decade, production has shifted decisively to Asia.
Microprocessors are complex products to make, and they go through a series of different processes. But according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, Europe as a whole now accounts for only 10pc of production (against 20pc of consumption).
The US still accounts for 38pc, while South Korea is at 16pc. Taiwan by itself – with a population of 23m – matches the whole of Europe. In 1990, the US and Europe had the same share. Europe has been in steady decline since then. And yet it wouldn’t be impossible to claw that back.
After all, a year ago we didn’t have much of a vaccine industry. GlaxoSmithKline was a major force in a partnership with Sanofi, but most of the manufacturing was done elsewhere. In coping with the pandemic we have created a vaccine manufacturing industry virtually from scratch with capacity for hundreds of millions of shots a year coming on stream. We are turning into a world leader. Surely we could do the same with microchips.
There is already an industry to build on (just as we had a major life sciences industry before pushing into vaccines). Arm has always been a world leader in the technology, even as its sale to Nvidia is still in the balance.
Newport Wafer in South Wales, the largest UK manufacturer, is already expanding its capacity. But we could be doing a lot more.
For starters, we could expand the size of the new tax-friendly freeports so that chip plants could be created within the zones: with looser labour laws, relaxed planning rules, and fewer government levies they could be an attractive base for manufacturers.
Next we should create a research and manufacturing hub, modelled on the new Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre in Oxfordshire (except this time near Cambridge, because that is where all the computing brainiacs are).
Finally, we should take advantage of our departure from the European Union to target some well-designed state aid at the industry, with some fact-finding mission to Taiwan to work out how it is done. The Brussels commissioners would have vetoed that, not least because the French and Germans would have complained it was unfair, but thankfully we don’t have to worry about that any more.
The world will need more and more microchips. As everything from our cars to our homes to our workplaces are connected, demand will keep on growing. There is no reason why a mid-sized economy cannot compete.
The UK has shown it can do that with vaccines, creating a new industry at high speed. Microchips should be the next target – because the prize will be a rich one.