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Thursday trading saw the retail and tech giant, Amazon’s share price rise by more than one per cent as Jeff Bezos is the majority shareholder.
According to Bloomberg’s billionaire index, Bezos’s net worth is now valued more than Microsoft founder, Bill Gates.
In the Forbes’ annual rich list in March, Gates was valued at being worth $86bn for the fourth year running.
Bezos was estimated at being worth $72.8bn in 2016, whilst Amancio Ortega, Zara backer went down two places with a mere $71.3bn in his bank account.
Wednesday Amazon’s share price went past the half a trillion dollar line, with just $1bn between Gates and Bezos the race is on.


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It may not be the first time Porsche's 918 plug-in hybrid has had a chance to flex its 770 horse power for the camera, but when we last saw the
pricey insanely expensive speed demon strut its stuff on record, it certainly didn't look like this. The freakish prototype has emerged as a beautiful, high-performance vision of efficiency, blasting its way past 100 kilometers of terrain for every three liters of petrol (78 miles/gallon). The $845,000 machine pairs a combustion engine with electric motors to achieve that consumption rating, and sports a carbon-fiber reinforced-plastic monocoque (self-supporting) shell, rear-axle steering and that unique upward-venting exhausted system that you may have noticed in the shot above. The 918 Spyder is slated for its initial production run beginning in September of 2013, with the first models making their way to US customers late next year. It's time to start saving -- just a few thousand blog posts to go.%Gallery-155513%
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Development of the Porsche super sports car enters next phase
Atlanta. The Porsche 918 Spyder is on the road: Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, has taken the driving trials of the super sports car of the future a step further with completion of the initial prototypes. The 918 Spyder is planned for production at the end of September 2013, with the first customer deliveries currently scheduled for the United States late in 2013. "What we are doing with the 918 Spyder is redefining driving fun, efficiency and performance," said Wolfgang Hatz, Member of the Executive Board Research and Development of Porsche AG.
The prototypes, their camouflage harking back to historical Porsche 917 racing cars, signal the final touches to the 918 Spyder. The focus is on the interplay between the highly sophisticated individual drive components. The combination of combustion engine and two independent electric motors – one on the front axle and one in the drive line, acting on the rear wheels – poses completely new demands on the development of the operating strategies. "They are therefore a critical component in this vehicle into which we have put all of our expertise and capacity for innovation," said Wolfgang Hatz. These operating strategies and the development of the software to go with them are one of Porsche's core competences. Both of them have a major influence on the extreme driving fun to be had with the 918 Spyder and they make possible a unique combination of minimal fuel consumption and maximum performance. The initial results of the driving trials are in line with the high expectations placed on the 918 Spyder.
The super sports car is designed as a plug-in hybrid vehicle combining a high-performance combustion engine with cutting-edge electric motors for extraordinary performance: on the one hand, the dynamics of a racing machine boasting more than 770 hp, on the other hand, fuel consumption in the region of three litres per 100 kilometres. Moreover, Porsche is breaking yet more new ground with the technology demonstrator with spectacular solutions such as the full carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) monocoque with unit carrier, fully adaptive aerodynamics, adaptive rear-axle steering and the upward-venting "top pipes" exhaust system. In the process, the 918 Spyder is offering a glimpse of what Porsche Intelligent Performance may be capable of in future.

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According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research titled “Wet and Cold Appliance Market, Type – Dishwasher [Built-in Standard Dishwasher (Drying with Ventilation, Drying Without Ventilation), Countertop Dishwasher (Drying with Ventilation, Drying Without Ventilation), Drawer Dishwasher (Drying with Ventilation, Drying Without Ventilation)]; Cloth Dryer (Vented, Condenser); Washing Machine (Front Loading, Top Loading); Domestic Refrigerator [Top Freezer (Static Cooling, Dynamic Cooling), Bottom Freezer (Static Cooling, Dynamic Cooling), Side-by-side (Static Cooling, Dynamic Cooling), Built-in (Static Cooling, Dynamic Cooling), Compact (Static Cooling, Dynamic Cooling)– Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2018 – 2026,” the global wet and cold appliance market is expected to reach US$ 200.8 Bn by 2026, expanding at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2018 to 2026. Asia Pacific held the highest share in the wet and cold appliance market in 2017.
The growth of demand is expected to accelerate with rising disposable incomes. Washing machines and refrigerators are garnering an increasing share of the market due to reduction in prices and higher disposable incomes. Increasing disposable income and the need for energy efficient products is expected to lead to significant sales across regions. Rising incomes in urban areas characterized by increasing disposable income and purchasing power have resulted in high product demand. Increasing globalization and automation has made manufacturing economical, enabling companies to reduce the cost of appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, and dishwasher for consumers. Furthermore, progressively changing lifestyle in rural areas together with the rising disposable income of consumers would build a lucrative roadmap for domestic refrigerators over the forecast period (2018-2026).
Asia Pacific held the major share in the wet and cold appliance market in 2017. Adoption and usage of wet and cold appliances such as domestic refrigerators and washing machines is high in the region; also, demand is projected to be high for smart wet and cold appliances such as smart refrigerators and smart washing machines in this region during the forecast period. Wet and cold appliances in Europe have reached the targeted growth phase due to a strong product pipeline and well-established portfolio management approach.


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§ Mr. Austin-Walker
To ask the Secretary of Sate for the Environment how many tenants have received a voluntary purchase grant.
§ Mr. Curry
Purchase grants are paid by the Housing Corporation to registered social landlords to meet the cost of discounts to help tenants buy their homes. Grants are paid to the landlord after a tenant has completed the purchase. By the end of January eight grants had been paid. The process of purchase and grant payment typically takes some months, and other tenants intending to buy will not yet have reached the stage where grant is paid.


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With Gerber Products Co. officially in its fold, two critical issues-producing a quick return on investment and tapping new markets-have emerged at new Swiss parent Sandoz AG.
Sandoz, a diversified pharmaceuticals firm, paid top dollar, if not a premium, to buy Fremont, Mich.-based Gerber, a deal that officially closed Thursday.
For $3.7 billion, 29 times Gerber's fiscal 1994 earnings, Sandoz indeed paid a steep price. Some observers believe it will take at least a half-dozen years to get any kind of return on that investment.
Gerber does own the baby-food business in this country, holding down more than a 70 percent share. However, further dominance in this category is doubtful, especially with H.J. Heinz, its closest rival, becoming more aggressive.
So it appears that Sandoz and Gerber will have to look outside this country to expand Gerber's business, perhaps in European and Asian markets, where consumption of prepared baby foods is well below the level in the U.S.-and where consumers are still skeptical toward such products.
Gerber has pretty good presence in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Central America. North America accounts for nearly 90 percent of Gerber sales, which totaled $1.2 billion for the fiscal year ended in March.
How the Gerber and Sandoz distribution networks globally will mesh could well determine how successful the parent is in increasing market share outside this country for the baby food lines.
Sandoz, a $10 billion-plus firm also into seeds, chemicals and agricultural products, already sells some supermarket products, such as Ovaltine and Wasa, a cracker.
Purely speculation, Gerber's sales force might wind up selling these products at some point.
- Tim Prosch, managing director on client Leaf North America at Ayer Chicago, on Sept. 6 joins the American Marketing Association's national headquarters here as director of marketing. The association has only had one person holding that title in its 57-year history, in the late 1980s. Prosch will report to Dennis Jorgensen, who recently became the group's chief operating officer.
Separately, Ayer Chicago will more than double its staff this weekend as 18 staffers of Bentley, Barnes & Lynn's consumer division move into its offices here. Ayer two months ago acquired this BB&L business with clients of some $20 million in capitalized billing. Paul Oleff and Gary Young of BB&L become executive VPs at Ayer; Marlene Tornabene will be VP-media. She'll be responsible for the former BB&L clients, and she'll be working with Media Edge, a media-buying service recently established by Ayer New York.
- Jays Foods, under new management headed by the Japp family, is meeting with at least three agencies, including Michael Meyers & Associates and Grant/Jacoby, for its estimated $1.5 million account. Grant/Jacoby is a former Jays agency. New creative advertising of its brands is likely by year-end, says John Cox, Jays' new executive VP, chief financial officer and general counsel. Cox, who will continue to run a Northbrook-based attorney-CPA business, hinted Jays might be hiring a new marketing VP, but there's no firm commitment at this time.
- Kohler Co., the Kohler, Wis.-based plumbing-bathroom fixtures firm, tapped Manhattan agency Deutsch Inc. for TV advertising, a budget to be determined. Grey Advertising-New York, which had been the client's principal agency, continues on print advertising.
- McDonald's Operators Association of Southern California, a 400-unit group, picked the Los Angeles office of Omnicom Group's Porter/Novelli for its estimated $900,000 fee income PR account, following a competition that included Fleishman-Hillard and Burson-Marsteller offices there. Both the latter PR firms have relationships with McDonald's in other markets. This is Porter/Novelli's first major assignment from McDonald's.
On the move: Greg Christoff named VP-marketing at Paterno Imports.... Kathleen Kostel appointed VP-customer service and corporate affairs at Tynan Marketing.... Alison Kingsley joined Good Housekeeping's Chicago advertising sales office as account manager.
Strictly personal: Birthday greetings to Arthur A. Velasquez, Megan A. Sullivan, Cathy Tondelli, Vasso Coin, Bill Barnhart, Mike Kearns and Perry Brand.
Ameritech tapped former Nickelodeon executive Heidi Diamond as VP-consumer marketing and sales for its video and interactive services. Diamond recently was VP-marketing for Nickelodeon in the United Kingdom, based in London.
Mike Lynn, recently VP-media director of McConnaughy Stein Schmidt Brown, joined the Chicago office of media-buying service Western International Media. His responsibilities are in media planning, though his title hasn't been formalized.
Appointment: Chicago Rockers, a new member of the Continental Basketball Association, to Aaron D. Cushman & Associates, for public relations and marketing services.


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Families aim for more control at Ford, Nordstrom
By April Hall
At publicly traded Ford Motor Co. and Nordstrom Inc., the controlling families are pushing for major changes.
Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor and great-grandson of founder Henry Ford, feels he didn’t get buy-in for his ideas and has installed a new CEO who he hopes will carry out his vision.
The Nordstrom family is exploring taking Nordstrom Inc. private as their company contends with disruptive change in the retail sector.
Founding families who try to assert control of public companies generally want to maintain a long-term outlook, says Lloyd Shefsky, founder and co-director of the Center for Family Enterprises at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Families hope to sustain their businesses for generations to come, but Wall Street investors want quick returns, Shefsky says. When the goals of the investors and the family diverge too far, a power struggle can result.
Long-term strategy was cited as the reason for the leadership change at Ford, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. Bill Ford has been touting the benefits of new technologies for 20 years, he told the Journal, but has lacked support within the company.
Ford was born in 1957, the year after the American automaker went public. The company’s dual-class share structure gives the family voting control.
As Ford Motor’s CEO in the early 2000s, Ford was unable to turn around the struggling company. He stepped aside for a non-family CEO in 2006 and became executive chairman. His handpicked CEO, Jim Hackett, came to the company a few years ago to run its innovation unit.
Ford told the Journal the board didn’t agree with his plan to invest in nontraditional transportation businesses in 2008. He said he realized the struggling company was thinking about “the next week, not the next 30 years.”
Indeed, the pressure for short-term results has escalated in recent years. That’s kept many companies from even trying to go public.
Nordstrom is one company that’s reconsidering its public status. Six family members -- representing the third and fourth generations -- are exploring a plan to buy back the 70% of the company they don’t already own. They have formed an exploratory committee of independent board directors, which has hired financial advisers and legal counsel. The buyback could cost nearly $10 billion.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the Nordstrom family members wrote, “Because of the changing dynamics in the retail environment, the Group is evaluating whether the long-term interests of the Issuer are better served as a privately held company.”
Nordstrom, founded as a shoe store, went public in 1971. The company now operates department stores across the country, including a discount chain called Nordstrom Rack. It has been one of the few retailers to show positive earnings recently.
Kathy Gersch, a former Nordstrom executive, says the Nordstrom family is aiming for more than just running a private company.
“They have always wanted to run this as a family business,” Gersch told MSNBC. A family takeover would not be a standard leveraged buyout, she said. “It’s really the family buying back their company. It allows for a level of alignment that you don’t get in a standard buyout.”
The moves by Ford and Nordstrom “are different degrees of the same approach,” says Shefsky.
“Ford went public with two different classes of stock. That showed the power [the family] had when they went public, that they were able to do that,” Shefsky notes. “Nordstrom didn’t do that, for whatever reason, and in any event, they aren’t satisfied with [being public] now.”
If he were advising the families, Shefsky says, he would need answers to a number of questions, including who makes up the family, who is in control and if the family is aligned in the current plans.
Shefsky sees Bill Ford’s plan as “more feasible.” He warns that both families could experience repercussions as they move forward, and the stock market will play a role in whether Ford or the Nordstroms are successful.
Ford, Shefsky continues, “has to think about whether the non-family stockholders will walk out on him -- they vote with their feet,” and impact the stock’s value.
The Nordstrom buyback involves “guessing what the market is willing to sell at,” Shefsky says. “If you bid too high, you just lose money. If you’re wrong and go too low, you end up bidding against yourself until you get to the right price.”
Neither Ford’s strategy nor the Nordstroms’ is easy, Shefsky says, but with thorough planning and shareholder support, both plans can succeed.


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These offerings include Yankees on YES, meaning fans in the Yankees' market will be able to watch live YES Network broadcasts of the Bronx Bombers' games live over a computer. The second in-market live game streaming product is expected to be announced next week.
Weeee! Finally, for those of us who want to watch Mariner games and pretty much nothing else on cable TV will have a solution that allows us to avoid paying for cable TV for ~$50/month.
The offering, which will be implemented through an authentication process managed by Cablevision and MLBAM, will be available exclusively to Cablevision customers who subscribe to the Family Cable (expanded basic) level of television service and Optimum Online.
You stupid morons. What's the bloody point? So I can watch games when I am around a computer with an internet connection, in the NY media area, but for some reason not around a TV that can show the game? Wow. That's a gaping need in the market.


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Before the final night of the event at the 18,000-seat Mercedes Benz Arena, contestants will have two weeks to practice posing in front of a camera, perfect their catwalk performance, and attend events hosted by famous fashion brand names and model agencies.
Cindy Crawford, one of the world’s leading models, will be a member of the jury in the final round.
The jury will choose 15 winners, who will be awarded with a US$1million contract with the Elite Model Management agency.
The 1.76-meter Tuyet Lan has experience performing at well-known local fashion shows including Fashion Week, Dep Fashion show, and the ELLE fashion show.
Last year, the 21-year-old model topped the Asian Model Search 2011 contest in Singapore.
Elite Model Look World was created in 1983 by John Casablancas, founder of the Elite Model Management.
Besides Cindy Crawford, the contest has discovered many of the fashion industry’s big names, such as Gisele Bundchen, Linda Evangelista, Inès Sastre, Stephanie Seymour, Tatjana Patitz, Natalia Semanova, Yfke Sturm and Mini Anden.
This year, it has attracted 63 contestants from around the world.
Vietnam has sent contestants to the event twice before: Truong Thuy Thanh Truc represent the country in Tunisia in 2002; while Dinh Lan Phuong participated in the 2008 competition, held in China.


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Friends of Cancer Patients joins hands with Dabur Amla
and Tips & Toes to support hair donation drive
- Hair donated through the month of October will be used to make high quality hair prosthetics for breast cancer patients
- The initiative will then continue till December 15, 2020, to reach out to more patients suffering from hair loss due to different types of cancer
The campaign aims to encourage UAE residents to donate their hair for this notable cause, and seeks to educate community members on the various challenges cancer patients have to face through their treatment journey, including loss of hair.
Marking the International Breast Cancer Awareness month in October, hair collected until the end of October will be used to create prosthetics for breast cancer patients. The initiative will then continue till December 15, 2020, to reach out to more patients suffering from different types of cancer.
Those interested in offering support will be able to donate their hair across 23 participating Tips & Toes outlets in the country, starting October 01, 2020. The donations will be used to produce high quality hair prosthetics, which will be distributed to cancer patients free of charge.


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Diageo sees sales pick up as drinkers in the UK tucked into Guinness during the Rugby World Cup, although it wasn't in stadiums
Diageo posted a pick up in sales for the first half of its financial year, as strong Guinness sales over the Rugby World Cup helped boost the drinks giant - even though it wasn't on sale in stadiums!
UK sales of the 'black stuff' were up 4 per cent, while overall beer sales rose 3 per cent in the six months to December 31. Across the group Diageo also reported a better than expected 1.8 per cent rise in organic net sales and volumes edged up 1 per cent.
But Diageo is still struggling against a weak pound, which hit its first half profits. As a result net sales were reduced by £400million and operating profit by £156million to 1.7billion as it also felt the impact of disposals.
Cheers: Guinness recorded its best UK sales for seven years as drinkers watching the Rugby World Cup piled into the black stuff, drinks giant Diageo said, despite the tipple not being on sale in any of the the stadiums
In early afternoon trading, Diageo shares on the FTSE 100 index were down 1 per cent, or 21.5p at 1,845.5p
Last year the company left the wine trade by selling its Blossom Hill and Piat d'Or brands to an Australian rival. It also sold the luxury Gleneagles hotel to Ennismore, a private investment company, for £150million.
A breakdown of the interim results showed that all six of the company's biggest brands, including Johnnie Walker whisky, Baileys liquer and Tanqueray gin, returned to growth.
Meanwhile the company's luxury spirits business, which includes its premium spirits like Ciroc vodka and Haig Club whisky, saw sales in the UK rise by nearly a third.
Nevertheless Diageo's chief executive Ivan Menezes has had a tough couple of years.
Turnaorund: Chief executive Ivan Menezes believes he can turn the company, notably its US business around
Last year Diageo reported its third year of falling organic sales, although analysts are expecting an improvement this year with a full recovery penciled in for 2017.
Mr Menezes said he believes the company is on the right track: 'Diageo has become a stronger, more competitive business. We have delivered volume growth, a stronger top line, improved the performance of our key brands, driven cost productivity and continued to generate strong cash flow.
'While trading conditions remain challenging in some markets, Diageo's brands, capabilities in marketing and innovation and our route to consumer have proved resilient. I am confident that Diageo can deliver improved, sustained performance.'
He added: 'For the full year we expect volume growth to drive stronger top line performance, margin to slightly improve and strong cash conversion to continue.
'We remain confident of achieving our objective of mid-single digit top line growth and 100bps of organic operating margin improvement in the three years ending fiscal 19.'
Diageo has also predicted a turnaround in its North American business despite sales falling by 2 per cent in the first half.
Diageo is confident sales in its most profitable market would grow in the second half of the year.
The company is working to improve its performance by tweaking its business model to focus more on sales from wholesalers to retailers, rather than its shipments to wholesalers.
The change has put pressure on sales in the near term but is designed to reduce industry inventories and better align the company's shipments with consumer demand.
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GrateFull Soul now open in downtown Hattiesburg
People dining out in downtown Hattiesburg have a new home-style offering, courtesy of Hub City residents Grant Ford and Carmen Hardy Ford.
On Dec. 1, the couple opened GrateFull Soul, downtown’s newest Southern-style/soul food restaurant, at 205 Main St. across from Main Street Books.
The restaurant offers a wide variety of down-home plate lunches, with entrees such as fried chicken, spaghetti, fried catfish, grilled pork sausage, turnip greens, and red beans and rice.
Those main courses may change from day to day — while on any given day there is a choice of two entrees, you’ll most always find beef on Mondays, fried chicken on Tuesdays, pork on Wednesdays, meatloaf on Thursdays and fried catfish on Fridays.
“That’s what we’re going to do for the time being, at least,” Grant Ford said. “If people get bored with that, we may change it up at some point, but right now it seems to be working pretty well.”
GrateFull Soul also offers several types of desserts including banana pudding, white wine cake and sweet potato rolls. One of the more unique items on the dessert menu is the tomato pie, which can be purchased in single slices or as a whole pie to be brought home and baked.
“It’s a pie crust layered with sliced tomatoes with a cheesy crust topping,” Grant Ford said. “It’s an old South recipe. Not too many people serve it anymore, but I think it’s going to take off.”
For the Fords, opening a home-style restaurant was a natural progression, as Carmen Hardy Ford learned the trade from her grandmother at a young age. They’ve also spent the last several years in the kitchen at Lake Terrace Convention Center — Carmen Hardy Ford as executive chef and Grant Ford as sous chef.
“With my grandmother, years and years ago, I learned to cook Southern plate lunches,” Carmen Hardy Ford said. “When this opportunity came about, it was just perfectly matched to set up a restaurant for that, because that’s what I’m good at, and it just worked out.”
Carmen Hardy Ford said she thinks the restaurant will appeal to a wide variety of diners in the downtown area.
“We really like the downtown community,” she said. “It’s a mixture of just about everybody. You’ve got older people, you’ve got the young hipsters and you’ve got the business people down here. So they all kind of come together and enjoy our food.”
If initial response to GrateFull Soul is any indication, the restaurant is fitting in quite quite well with locals, and Grant Ford expects its offerings to complement other downtown businesses.
“We’ve had several people that live in the neighborhood here off of Bay Street that said they’ve been aching for a place like this since Nanny’s (Country Kitchen) closed down,” he said. “I think with us just being a lunch spot downtown blends perfectly with what’s happening down here.
“There are still a few dinner places for nicer dining, and I’m just trying to provide a real good lunch in a comfortable setting.”
Although the restaurant is open only during lunchtime, downtown patrons will be seeing plenty of GrateFull Soul’s offerings outside those hours.
“Since we’re from a catering background, we’re available nights and weekends for catering, and I can serve a private event in the dining room for almost 100 (guests),” Grant Ford said. “And I will be open if there’s stuff going on downtown, like Art Walk and Live at Five.
“If there’s something big going on downtown, I’ll try to be open in conjunction with it to fit in with the downtown feel.”
At a glance
•Opened Dec. 1 at 205 Main St. in downtown Hattiesburg.
•Serves Southern-style plate lunches with items such as fried chicken, spaghetti, fried catfish, grilled pork sausage, turnip greens, red beans and rice, and banana pudding.
•Business hours are 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday.
•For more information, call 336-9186.


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By Emmanuel Afonne
Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo, says the inauguration of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) will accelerate transactions in Africa.
Akufo-Addo, represented by the Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, spoke at the inauguration of PAPSS in Accra, Ghana, monitored virtually by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
According to him, the ground-breaking platform will save Africa more than five billion dollars annually in payment transaction costs, while underpinning the operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He also commended the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and AfCFTA Secretariat for the establishment of the payment system,
The Ghanaian president also commended the bank for citing PAPSS as a major leap in releasing the continent from overdependence on external players and factors in achieving a long yearned-for acceleration in intra-continental trade and investment.
Source: News Agency of Nigeria


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Natural gas home refuelling soon to be available in Australia
Posted by Car Geek on January 1, 2008
Luke at Envirofuel made the discovery that FuelMaker Corporation is planning to soon release their Phill natural gas home refilling unit in a much larger number of countries, including our own. The unit is currently being sold in the US and various parts of Europe, and in some cases is being offered with compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles to help promote sales. CNG-powered vehicles burn cleaner than petrol or diesel and are available in a variety of models overseas, including the Honda Civic and the Ford Focus.
It’s good to see someone trying to break the chicken-and-egg dilemma that faces many alternative fuels, but the question is, will we see cars to support it? The last manufacturer to seriously consider CNG was Ford, who has since chosen LPG as its alternative fuel of choice after producing a limited run of CNG Falcons a decade ago. CNG makes good sense as a short-term solution for increasing fuel prices, in the same league as LPG and ethanol, but despite Australia’s abundant natural supplies we have not taken advantage of it the same way other regions without our resources have. Perhaps this will help change things?
(On a side note, it’s interesting to see that the article about the CNG Falcon’s emissions focused mainly on ozone-forming pollutants, with not a mention of greenhouse gases. It’s interesting to see how far we’ve come in terms of fixing one environmental problem to facing another.)


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Fashion news of the week: plus! Bottega Veneta’s Kate Moss fanzine, Sage Flowers’ new book, Flannels’ exhibition with Corbin Shaw and brand-new Pleasing.
What better way to see in the summer than with the legendary French brand’s first-ever capsule collection, featuring one of fashion’s hottest names? Dive in…
The cult director brought Generation Alienation to the screen, with costumes that reflected the anxiety, nihilism and rebellion of ’90s youth.
A week on from Fear of God’s huge first runway show at the Hollywood Bowl, we meet a Jerry Lorenzo laser-focused on building the next era of American design.
Arthur J. Comely’s book £1 Entry captures the style and subculture of London’s weekend bargain hunters, old and young.
Fashion news of the week: plus JW Anderson’s Wellipets, 66°North and Charlie Constantinou collab and a Vintage Valentino takeover.
Fashion news of the week: plus, Katya’s new claws, Timberland takes over Salone del Mobile, Nike takes its first steps into the virtual world, Saint Laurent embarks on a new cinematic venture and Pitti Immagine Uomo’s next Guest Designer.
Malia and Sasha are mysterious, effortlessly stylish and can pull off a chain-smoking pap shot that makes you want to chuck the vapes. Mary-Kate and Ashley, we’ve found your successors.
Fashion news of the week: Plus, new Palace Evisu, a zine from Dr. Martens, sunnies from Vivienne Westwood and the Lionesses’ World Cup kit designed by Nike.
Fashion news of the week: Plus, Gant’s mega archive pop-up and Nike announces its latest innovation.
To celebrate their fashion hook-up, we quizzed the pair about the all-American collection, old school London and how you really pronounce the pop superstar’s last name.
Fashion news of the week: Plus, get your mitts on Ganni x 66°North and Etro’s first bag designed by creative director Marco de Vincenzo.
Casting in 2023 appears to be getting more and more niche, with Dean Kissick modelling for Heaven and Bella Newman walking the Miu Miu show. No idea who we’re on about? That’s the point.
Exclusive: Mugler H&M have released a mega music video to celebrate their collaboration. To mark the occasion, we had a frankly fantastic chat with one of its stars.
Fashion news of the week: Fila gets up close and personal with young British artists while Baisanz are planning a fundraiser for earthquake relief. Get involved.
The cult clothing shop, in the city’s Northern Quarter, is closing after 20 years. But as its co-founder tells us, there’s still plenty to look forward to in Oi Polloi’s future.
From pirates to royalty, tartan to tweed, the late, great designer's early collections remain some of the most powerful examples of her work. Here, fashion archivist Steven Philip talks us through the Westwood ensembles he's spent a lifetime building.
Just take a look at this stylish lot. We asked Heaven’s most loyal devotees: what’s your idea of heaven?
Fashion news of the week: An upcoming book from Burberry, a Levi’s link-up with NewJeans and Marc Jacobs’ Y2K revival.
We unpack all the biggest moments from Paris and Milan Fashion Week.


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According to a new leak, the next major PlayStation 4 exclusive is releasing soon. More specifically, according to online video games retailer, ShopTo, Media Molecule's PlayStation 4 exclusive, Dreams, which released into Early Access earlier this year, is releasing February 14, 2020 for $30. The news was shared via a Tweet -- which has since been deleted -- that promoted pre-orders being open. It obviously went up too early. As you may know, Sony Interactive Entertainment normally releases its games on Friday, and well February 14, 2020 is a Friday. In other words, the date checks out.
"Dreams release date announced and releasing only on PlayStation on the 14th February 2020. Pre-order now for only £32.85," reads the official, now deleted, tweet."
As you may know, February 14 is also Valentines Day, and is also when the Sonic the Hedgehog movie releases. In other words, if this is truly the release date for Dreams, it's a horrible day to drop it on. Not only is Valentines not a great day to release a game, but to release it during what will be one of the bigger Internet moments of early 2020, well, that wouldn't be very shrewd by Sony. Yet again, Dreams is obviously more of a niche title than say God of War or The Last of Us Part II, so maybe it doesn't really matter when the game drops.
Of course, this date should be taken with a grain of salt, like any leak. Retail listings are typical inconsistent, however, ShopTo isn't a random regional retailer. In other words, this is probably real, but even if it is, release dates change all the time, especially when they aren't even public in the first place.
Dreams is currently available for PS4 and the PS4 only. However, right now it's only available in Early Access form. For those that don't know: it's a multigame video game with game creation systems built right within it. Developed by British studio Media Molecule, it was made available earlier this year on April 16.
"The latest experience from Media Molecule, the award-winning creators of LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway, Dreams is an ever-expanding game universe – exclusive to PS4 – where you explore, experience and play in the limitless imagination of players around the world," reads an official elevator pitch of the game.


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A group of retail stocks were trading sharply lower Monday, after a series of sales and profit warnings that further cemented the perception that it was a mixed holiday season for the sector.
The warnings came from companies who are presenters at the ICR Conference in Orlando, Fla., an invitation-only event that focuses on consumer trends and continues through Wednesday. They came after Macy’s Inc.’s stock last week suffered its biggest-ever one-day percentage decline, after the department-store chain posted lackluster holiday sales numbers and lowered its full-year guidance.
Analysts are increasingly betting that the sector is creating clear winners and losers as companies battle juggernaut Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, -0.27% and struggle to find innovative ways to reach consumers. Macy’s was criticized for failing to offer a lively holiday assortment and make its stores enticing.
“Some stores had virtually no holiday cheer and were crammed full of dull merchandise,” said Neil Saunders, GlobalData Retail’s managing director. “This unpleasant and uninspiring shipping environment meant Macy’s was not able to capitalize on strong footfall to malls and cities.”
Tailored Brands Inc. TLRD, -16.18% led the pack, falling 15% after it lowered fourth-quarter guidance to reflect weaker-than-expected same-store sales at its Jos. A. Bank chain. The company, which also operates Men’s Wearhouse, K&G Men’s Co. and Moores, said it now expects Jos. A. Bank same-store sales to be flat, versus prior guidance of a percentege rise in the low single digits.
Overall, same-store sales for November and December fell 1.4%, as same-store sales were down 0.1% at Jos. A. Bank and fell 3.6% at Men’s Wearhouse.
Tailored Brands is now expecting its overall adjusted per-share loss to range from 29 cents to 34 cents, versus prior guidance of a loss of 24 cents to 29 cents. The FactSet consensus calls for a loss of 26 cents.
Full-year fiscal 2018 adjusted EPS is expected to range from $2.25 to $2.30, compared with prior guidance of $2.30 to $2.35. The FactSet consensus foresees full-year earnings per share of $2.33.
B. Riley initiated coverage of Tailored Brands on Dec. 18 with a buy rating and said the company has taken steps to capitalize on a fashion shift toward more customized and branded clothing.


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Forget Internet censorship and cybersecurity for the moment.
Contemplate this: China will own a majority of the world’s web addresses in the next few years and likely a huge chunk of its live websites.
This is not speculation. It’s reality.
The numbers speak for themselves.
At 721 million online users, China has the world’s largest Internet population. All of them need access to information, products and services. The majority of them access the Internet through hundreds of smartphones and devices, each with their own apps and browsers. China’s largest online shopping spree, Singles’ Day, research showed that a third of users planned to use their desktop/laptop to purchase, and almost a fifth planned to use their mobile browser.
China already owns more than 54% of domain names on the world’s new domain name extensions since they were introduced two years ago. The vast majority of Internet addresses that aren’t on .com or .net are probably already owned by Chinese citizens.
When the market matures and the dust settles, China will be best positioned for growth on the web through these new extensions. Even Alibaba has joined the bandwagon and currently runs an auction site that sells domain names and has owned its own registrar platform similar to GoDaddy under the umbrella of its cloud service, Aliyun (阿里云). Google only recently caught up to Alibaba with its on registrar service at domains.google.
In the past year alone, new domain extension registrations (see this for a simple primer) have increased from 8.96 to 25.57 million registrations, and 7.6 million of them are being used by their registrants in some way, meaning they aren’t parked on a blank page. .COM, .NET, and .ORG still take 81.5% of market-share in terms of domain names, but it is only a matter of time before choice becomes more important than legacy. Though they cannot legally host non-.COM or .CN websites yet in China due to government regulations, Chinese are still buying domain names in droves in anticipation of the opening floodgates.
Consider the following five points:
China has a massive Internet population
Over 58% of China’s users came online in the past 8 years, starting when China surpassed the US in 2008 at 298 million users.
China now makes up a fifth of the entire world’s Internet population and only at a penetration rate of 52%. For comparison, the US still only has 288 million users, and though India is catching up fast, its Internet speeds are still the slowest in Asia at 3.6mbps compared with 5.2mbps for China.
If China were to bring online 88.5% of the rest of its 660 million its population–the current penetration rate of the USA and Canada–it would represent more than one-third of the world’s Internet population, or 36% (1.22 billion). China brought on 30.8 million new Internet users in 2015 and is on track to do the same this year.
Though China has had lulls in Internet growth in 2004 and 2005 and is becoming more and more saturated, there is no indication of a slowdown in service sector and online growth, particularly as Chinese companies seek to expand out of China.
Global Internet policy is about to become multistakeholder
Starting October 3rd, the US government began formal procedures to relinquish its oversight of the Internet’s domain name system to a multistakeholder body called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) (for a guide, see this excellent Slate article explaining the DNS system and ICANN), headquartered in Los Angeles since 1998.
This means that Internet policy decisions will involve public and private leaders collectively deciding policy from now on. Certainly China wants to take a large part in this process and you can bet that their government will be pushing for greater access, but government oversight is prohibited, so they will be a voice, not necessarily the decision-maker. China is fine with this. Their Cybersecurity Administration expressed support for the transition a month ago at a press conference in anticipation of the World Internet Conference. That conference begins today in Wuzhen, and we can expect more statements of support to come out of it.
ICANN and the founder of the Internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, assure the world that governments and private interests will not gain inordinate control over the Internet, but there will certainly be more decision-makers involved. ICANN has no control over cybersecurity or censorship. It is a decision-making body for the DNS system. In theory privatizing the Internet for governments and industry leaders to collectively decide policy will make the Internet more open and efficient.
There is no denying that China has and will shock the domain name system with a huge influx of money. The tech mergers & acquisitions started last year in earnest and will likely continue, with speculation that a Chinese company may attemp to purchase Twitter.
China’s app market and QR code system isn’t killing domain names
App usage is severely hindered by phone storage space and data transfer speeds on mobile. Particularly in China, data has not reached the point of
WeChat has an internal browser. Most pages in WeChat are displayed on an internal API that often displays mobile sites from URLs. QR codes are scanned IN ORDER TO go to a website, and advertisements often include both QR codes and website URLs.
China’s UC Browser is the world’s second-largest mobile browser by market-share at 17.9%. Opera, the world’s 4th largest at 17.9%, was recently acquired by Chinese firm Kunlun.
China follows trends, particularly from the government
When the Communist Party sets goals, business leaders respond in step. Typically trends develop quickly when government incentives hit the scene and especially when it involves economic growth and development.
Introduced in 2015, the “Internet Plus” policy of China’s central government outlines expansionary goals for the Internet over the next 5 years.
Large Chinese companies are on-board
Alibaba has quietly built up its web-hosting business since 2009 when it purchased HiChina (万网). Over the past few years, they’ve become one of the largest and most respected web service providers in China. They are also the 6th largest registrar in the world, rapidly gaining markershare against the likes of GoDaddy and others.
Another hosting provider and registrar, West.cn (西部数码) in Chengdu, alone owns literally a fifth of the world’s new domain extension registrations, or about 4.78 million domain names.
Websites hosted in China are increasing at 7.4% every 6 months
China self-reports about 4.54 million websites hosted within its borders. This, however, does not account for websites hosted outside of China or websites hosted on unauthorized domain name extensions.
This represents a tremendous growth potential.
Though China represents about 2.6% of websites online today, a very large amount of websites will be launched or owned by Chinese in the next decade.
Chinese invest heavily in fixed assets, and domain names and websites are effectively “online real estate”. WeChat alone accounts for an explosion of mini-websites and live apps that load in its native web browser. If you aren’t building a mobile website for China that loads correctly in WeChat links or QR codes, as one web design blog explains, you are effectively irrelevant to a majority of Chinese users. All of these websites need design work, hosting services and web pages.
So this isn’t the 80s
This is an entirely different going-abroad game than Japan in the 1980s. The Internet didn’t exist back then, and Japan’s economy was showing weakness much earlier.
If you’re an online business, you should be considering China. Chinese businesses will soon be advertising incessantly on Facebook and Twitter, setting up hybrid English/Chinese websites, media companies, e-commerce shops, groups and clubs of all sorts with millions of new brands and services on the Internet. They have the capital and the technology to make significant inroads in the next decade.
Internally, China’s Internet takes on a life of its own, integrating with with a lot of pent-up demand for integration
As of October 2016, the world has 177.2 million active websites. A vast majority of those are hosted in the United States, but the next largest wave of Internet growth is owned largely by China. Take note.


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While biofuels present a technically simple decarbonisation solution for shipping, they are not without their challenges.
This story is part of a TradeWinds Business Focus exploring shipping companies that are early adopters across a range of green shipping technologies and fuels.
Biofuels are not only expensive, but they are also in limited supply, and Quadrise Fuels chief executive Jason Miles told the Green Seas podcast that shipping will find it difficult to compete with industries that have access to existing subsidies for those volumes.
So Quadrise, a London-listed technology company that has developed a way to make synthetic oil-in-water fuel oil equivalent that comes at a lower cost, has taken that technology to biofuels.
It uses 40% renewable glycerine to make synthetic biofuel bioMSAR, which the company says leads to a 25% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to conventional fuels.
After Quadrise carried out testing on engines, it is now gearing up to test it on a vessel.
In July 2022, the fuel company signed a framework agreement with MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world’s largest container ship operator, to put bioMSAR to work on a vessel.
That followed an agreement earlier in the year to do the same with MSAR, Quadrise’s synthetic heavy fuel oil.
Switzerland-based MSC, which declined to be interviewed for this report, has signed up to buy 25,000 tonnes of each of the fuels for use in the trials.
“The biofuel that we produce is behaving quite similarly to our conventional synthetic fuel … which is comforting, with all the testing we’ve done so far,” Miles said.
The bioMSAR trial is expected to take place this year on the 4,500-teu MSC Leandra (built 2007).


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Attacks by Houthi rebels along the trade route have led to firms pausing shipments, raising the possibility of a shock to the world economy
The world’s largest shipping firms are continuing to pause shipments through the Red Sea after attacks by Houthi rebels along the crucial international trade route.
As container ships are diverted around the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa, adding thousands of miles to journeys, the disruption is driving up the cost of shipments from Asia to Europe, raising the prospect of a renewed inflation shock for the world economy.
What is happening in the Red Sea?
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have significantly stepped up a campaign of attacks against commercial vessels in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait between the Arabian peninsula and the Horn of Africa since late November.
Launched in response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, the attacks have escalated in the past week. Helicopters launched from US navy warships were used to repel an attack by militants on a ship owned by Maersk over the weekend, leading the Danish shipping line to continue to pause all cargo movement through the area until further notice.
Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd has also said its container ships would continue to avoid the route, which is a central artery for global trade on the passage from Asia to Europe via the Suez canal and the Mediterranean.
How significant is the Red Sea trade route?
The Suez canal handles about 12% of global trade and is accessed by vessels travelling from Asia via the 30km wide Bab-el-Mandeb strait. About half of freight shipped through the canal is made up of containerised goods. The route also provides a vital passage for shipments of oil from the Persian Gulf to Europe and North America.
Rerouting shipments around the Cape of Good Hope adds about 3,000-3,500 nautical miles (6,000km) to journeys connecting Europe with Asia, adding about 10 days to the duration of the trip, according to the Dutch bank ING.
With the prospect of lengthier shipping times, there could be a knock-on impact for turnaround times at ports in the UK and large European hubs such as Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg.
Could it drive up inflation?
Redirecting ships is expected to cost up to $1m in extra fuel for every round trip between Asia and Europe, while insurance costs are also rising, adding to the overall cost of shipments.
Tankers transporting diesel and jet fuel from the Middle East and Asia are being diverted, while container shipments of consumer goods, commodities, clothing and food are also likely to be delayed.
Global oil prices rose on Wednesday as concerns over delays in the Red Sea were compounded by reports of disruption to Libya’s biggest oilfield. However, crude prices have remained relatively stable and are still significantly lower than in recent months, having fallen by almost $20 a barrel since the autumn.
Shipping costs can have a big inflationary impact. During the Covid pandemic, the International Monetary Fund estimated that global supply chain bottlenecks added about 1 percentage point to inflation. During normal times, freight costs contribute about 7% of the costs of long-haul imports. This jumped as high as 25% during the Covid disruption.
Rhys Davies, a former government trade adviser who now advises clients at the consultancy firm Flint Global, said freight costs had clearly been affected by tensions in the Red Sea, but that the impact on inflation would probably be limited.
“The effect feeds into the economy pretty slowly, taking about 12 months after the spike [in shipping costs,” he said. “So if the disruption is time-limited, as we would expect, it will probably be drowned by wider disinflationary impacts.”
How much does context matter?
Unlike when the Suez canal was blocked by the Ever Given container ship in 2021, triggering mass problems for world trade, the economic backdrop to the current Red Sea disruption is markedly different.
Two years ago global supply chains were creaking under the pressure of red-hot demand for manufactured goods from consumers who were blocked from spending on services by lockdown restrictions, while factory output and global freight were unable to keep pace.
Today, inflation is cooling as the world’s leading central banks use higher interest rates to crush demand. With households and businesses under pressure, world trade volumes and economic growth have slowed, raising the prospect of recessions in the US, UK and EU nations.
Although global freight costs have risen sharply in recent days thanks to the Red Sea disruption, they remain significantly lower than two years ago. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, the most widely used index for sea freight rates for imports from China worldwide, is down by more than half.
James Smith, an economist at ING, said: “It brings back memories of the pandemic when supply chains were obviously messed up, and there was the Suez canal blockage as well. The circumstances, at least for now, are quite different.”


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Memorial Day marked the unofficial start of summer, which means millions of Americans are planning to hit the road in their cars. According to AAA, more than 56 percent of Americans are planning a road trip this summer, thanks to the lowest gasoline prices since 2005. If you’re among the prospective road-trippers, get your car ready for the heat with a summer checkup.
If your car overheats, you could easily destroy the engine, leaving you stranded. So have a mechanic check warm-weather engine systems — including the radiator, cooling system and thermostat — to help your car and your family reach your destination without breaking a sweat. Read more about a summer checkup for your vehicle at Car Talk.
Heading out of town for several days? Find out how to keep your home safe while on vacation.


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It is a common misconception that Bitcoin provides users with the anonymity that it has become a place where illegal transactions can be made that authorities cannot track. However, this is the opposite of what Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, known in the real world as nChain Chief Scientist Dr. Craig S. Wright, envisioned for Bitcoin. And this is evidenced in the Bitcoin white paper, upon which Bitcoin was based.
In an effort to educate the public and correct misinterpretations, Dr. Wright and engineering head of tokenization entity smart wallet at the Bayesian Group and Money Button founder Ryan X. Charles have created a YouTube series entitled “Theory of Bitcoin” featuring enlightening conversations about Bitcoin and blockchain technology. In order to get back to the basics, they created a 10-episode special discussing the Bitcoin white paper line by line.
In the first episode, the duo talks about the root of this misconception that Bitcoin is anonymous; and this is the fact that the network uses digital signatures to validate transactions. People think a digital signature provides anonymity to the user and allows their identity to remain hidden forever. But this is not the case at all.
“Digital signatures require identity. It doesn’t need to be public, that’s what people misunderstand. You don’t need to publicly attest, you need to attest before you use any of these things—and only from that point forward…. You can’t have a signature without an identity. The meaning of the word doesn’t allow that,” Dr. Wright explains.
A digital signature requires an identity—whether partial or full—it just not made public. But once a law enforcement agency orders for the identity to be given to them due to suspicions of criminal activity, then Bitcoin has no choice but to comply. As Dr. Wright has said from the beginning. Bitcoin needs to follow the rule of law in order for it to be valid.
“You don’t need to give away your full identity, you can remain pseudonymous. I’ve talked about this in the past. But you still have a legal identity. So, the law recognizes partial identity. It has in Britain for hundreds of years now. We have a thing like pseudonymous author payments. But notice when I say, “pseudonymous,” not “anonymous.” As an author using a pen name, you can still get paid for your copyright. And no one knows who you are,” Dr. Wright clarifies.
Here, it is clear as ever that a digital signature may be pseudonymous, but not anonymous. Saying that Bitcoin is anonymous is akin to entering into a legal agreement and signing as “nobody,” which is not valid in any court of law. Hence, authorities can definitely track down a Bitcoin user who has committed a crime.
What’s more, all Bitcoin transactions are recorded on the blockchain, which is an immutable public ledger that stores information in a chronological manner. A master copy is kept on all the nodes on the network, so it is impossible to erase the record of a fraudulent transaction. To all those who wish to use Bitcoin for illegal purposes such as money laundering, they better think again as all their transactions are being recorded on hundreds of computers.


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Microsoft and Intel are backing a standardization effort to connect all manners of devices, from computer peripherals to consumer electronics, using Web services protocols. The companies, along with Canon and Java software maker BEA Systems, on Tuesday published a technical specification, called WS-Discovery. The protocol is designed for situations in which network connections between devices are done in an ad hoc way. For example, the software will enable a personal digital assistant to locate available services such as printing or file sharing on a wireless network. The announcement was made in conjunction with the Intel Developer Forum, which is taking place in San Francisco this week. "Web services is coming home," Louis Burns, corporate vice president at Intel, said at the forum.
The companies intend to submit WS-Discovery to a standards organization but did not say when such a move will occur. Products incorporating the standard are expected to show up next year, Burns said. The companies said WS-Discovery is intended to work with existing Web services protocols--a set of Extensible Markup Language-based standards that simplify information sharing--for finding available services. WS-Discovery will demand less bandwidth and won't require a constant network connection, as the Universal Description Discovery and Integration (UDDI) protocol does, the companies said. The companies said current Web services specifications have simplified computer-to-computer data exchanges but have not addressed noncomputer devices such as peripherals, computer appliances and consumer electronics. WS-Discovery is intended to be a simple method for providing Web services to these devices, which tend to have temporary network connections and limited processing power, according to the companies.
News source: C|Net News.com


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This trial will determine the fate of the organic dairy operation.
by David Peterson
For decades, County Road 2 has represented a tranquil rural existence on the edge of the metro area to Dave and Florence Minar.
Today, a row of steel towers 15 stories tall marches down that road and across the land near New Prague that has been in Dave’s family since 1926, casting a shadow the Minars contend clouds the future of one of the state’s leading organic dairy farms.
The 450-acre Cedar Summit Farm has been organic since 1974, and in addition to the herd of about 130 cows, includes a retail store and a commercial dairy that ships nostalgic cream-on-top milk bottles all across the Midwest.
In Scott County District Court this week, the Minars, who are both in their 70s, will describe their fears that the high-voltage power lines could cause health problems for their cows and scare customers away from visiting the bucolic and pastoral patch of the county. Read Full Article »


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Fiserv Research Shows Brazilians Embracing Virtual Banks
Almost 20% of Brazilians now have their main account at an online-only bank, with
18- to 34-year-olds leading the way
Brookfield, Wis. and São Paulo, Brazil, January 2, 2020 —Thanks to advances in technology and changing consumer preferences, virtual banking is moving closer to the mainstream, with a 2019 survey revealing almost 20% of Brazilians now have their primary financial account at an online-only virtual bank.
The survey of 600 Brazilians, commissioned by global financial services technology provider Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV) and carried out by Toluna Insights, found that while 61% of consumers maintain their primary financial account with a large national bank, 18% have their primary account at a virtual bank. The percentage of virtual bankers topped the 11% of consumers who have their primary account at a regional bank.
The survey shows that virtual banks are most popular among consumers between the ages of 18 to 34, with 21% of consumers in that age range maintaining their primary account at a virtual bank.
The popularity of virtual banking underscores changing consumer preferences and a growing affinity for digital financial interactions in general. Regardless of where they bank, survey respondents overwhelmingly prefer to interact with their primary financial organization via mobile banking (43%) and online banking (25%), while traditional branch interactions were preferred by 16%.
“No matter where they bank, consumers increasingly expect experiences that are modern and intuitive,” said Rene Salazar, vice president, Bank Solutions, Latin America.
In many cases, financial institutions can learn from the fintech companies that are setting the bar for consumer digital experiences. Sometimes, this means collaboration, and sometimes it means deploying technology that can level the playing field, enabling digital financial experiences in line with today’s consumer expectations.
“With DigitalAccess from Fiserv, financial institutions can serve their customers more effectively, providing them an enriched online experience while remaining in complete control of their strategy,” said Salazar. “DigitalAccess enables a seamless customer experience across every device, from smartphones to tablets to laptops and desktops, helping to position our clients to compete effectively in an ever-changing digital world.”
Wisconsin-based Fiserv entered Brazil in 2009 and offers a range of award-winning, financial solutions that can be integrated into a pre-existing system or deployed as standalone solutions. DigitalAccess is a single solution for all online and mobile needs. It helps financial institutions deliver the full range of digital banking and payment services that today’s consumers demand — quickly, securely, and effectively.
In a world moving faster than ever before, Fiserv helps clients deliver solutions in step with the way people live and work today – financial services at the speed of life. Learn more at fiserv.com.
Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV) aspires to move money and information in a way that moves the world. As a global leader in payments and financial technology, the company helps clients achieve best-in-class results through a commitment to innovation and excellence in areas including account processing and digital banking solutions; card issuer processing and network services; payments; e-commerce; merchant acquiring and processing; and the Clover® cloud-based point-of-sale solution. Fiserv is a member of the S&P 500® Index and the FORTUNE® 500, and is among the FORTUNE Magazine World’s Most Admired Companies®. Visit fiserv.com and follow on social media for more information and the latest company news.
For more information contact:
+ 55 11 3526-4539
Sr. Manager, Public Relations
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BMO Financial to buy Diners Club from Citigroup
BMO Financial Group said Tuesday that it will buy the Diners Club North American franchise from Citigroup Inc., more than doubling its corporate card business.
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NEW YORK–BMO Financial Group said Tuesday that it will buy the Diners Club North American franchise from Citigroup Inc., more than doubling its corporate card business.
The move alleviates Citigroup of all Diners Club operations, as it sold of the company's international business to Discover Financial Services last year.
BMO said the deal will add $7.8 billion in card transactions and gives it net receivables of nearly $1 billion, making it more competitive in the North American commercial card market.
Further terms were not disclosed.
Citigroup said the sales will likely lower its assets in Citi Holdings by about $1 billion, but should not have a material impact on its net income or capital ratios.
The acquisition gives Toronto-based BMO exclusive rights to issue Diners Club cards to corporate and professional clients in the U.S. and Canada. It includes the Club Rewards program and the Diners Club professional card.
"The Diners Club North American franchise brings new card members to our company, provides attractive additional options for our existing customers and makes us an even more compelling choice in the market for prospective commercial customers in Canada and the United States," Frank Techar, president and CEO of personal and commercial banking at BMO Bank of Montreal, said in a statement.
Citigroup will support Diners Club operations until they fully transition to BMO.
The acquisition is expected to close before March 31, 2010.
In premarket trading, shares of Citigroup slipped 3 cents to $4.25.
- Stephen Harper gets rare reprieve in Senate saga: Hébert
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‘More subdued trajectory’ over coming years could impact jobs, renovation industry and consumer confidence, bank report warns.


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- Nvidia reported third fiscal quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday.
- Nvidia stock has had a massive run over the past year, with shares up more than 123% year-over-year so far.
Nvidia stock rose more than 3% on Wednesday after it reported earnings for its third fiscal quarter, which beat both earnings and sales expectations.
The company also issued a bullish forecast for revenue for the current quarter ending January.
Here’s how it fared against Refinitiv’s consensus expectations for the quarter ended October 31:
- Income: $1.17, adjusted, versus $1.11 expected, 60% year-over-year
- Revenue: $7.10 billion, versus expected $6.82 billion, up 50% year-over-year
Nvidia said it expects to report about $7.4 billion in the current quarter ending January, which exceeded analysts’ expectations of $6.86 billion.
Nvidia stock is trending massively with more than 124% of the shares so far. The company’s demand is higher than it can fill, especially for its hard-to-find GeForce graphics cards, which have been popular with gamers.
The company is also making significant gains in data centers, where cloud providers and large enterprises are increasingly turning to graphics processors made by Nvidia for artificial intelligence applications.
Nvidia reported $2.9 billion in data center sales, up 55% from $1.9 billion in the same quarter last year. Nvidia CFO Colette Kress wrote that the growth was driven by GPU sales for “hyperscale customers,” an industry term used to refer to cloud providers such as Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
Kress said customers were using the chips for tasks such as crunching data to understand human speech and offering customers recommendations.
Nvidia’s biggest market, gaming, reported sales of $3.2 billion, up 42% from $2.27 billion in the same quarter last year. The company said this was primarily due to increased sales of its GeForce consumer graphics processors.
Nvidia’s gaming graphics cards now have software that prevents them from being used for cryptocurrency mining, the company said. Nvidia introduced dedicated graphics cards for crypto mining earlier this year to help meet some of the demands. Nvidia said it sold $105 million in cryptocurrency-specific graphics cards, down from $266 million in the quarter ended August.
Nvidia’s automotive business remains a small part of its sales, even as rival chipmakers invest heavily in the hope that it will become a multi-billion dollar market over the next decade.
Nvidia said automotive sales were $135 million, up 8% year over year, but down 11% from the previous quarter. Nvidia said the gradual decline was because automakers had other supply constraints, but self-driving programs using its processors continue to accelerate.
Nvidia’s professional visualization product line grew 144% annually to $577 million. That business is primarily high-end graphics processors for professionals, and has benefited as firms have purchased powerful laptop workstations for their employees to use at home.
Last week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huango suggested The company may be one of the main suppliers to technology companies building “metaverses,” or a virtual world that some believe will be home to an increasing amount of commerce, entertainment and advertising. Nvidia also introduced new software products called “Omniverse Enterprise” that can be used to create virtual characters, interpret speech, and create new 3D worlds.
Nvidia is in the process of buying Arm, a British vendor for Core mobile semiconductor technology. The European Commission launched a thorough investigation into the transaction last month.
In his filing on Wednesday, CFO Kress said the US FTC had expressed concerns about the transaction, and the company was in talks with the regulator to address those concerns.
The company said in its third-quarter earnings report, “While regulators and some Arm licensees have expressed concerns or objections to the transaction, we continue to believe in the merits and benefits of the acquisition of Arm, its licensees and the industry.” keep.”
Nvidia said it paid $100 million in dividends during the quarter.


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NEW YORK —
Tech behemoths IBM and Google are set to announce their earnings results after the market closes. Tech companies' results are being watched closely because many of them have warned about a weak fourth quarter. Apple reports after the closing bell Wednesday.
Railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern also announce after the close. Rail companies are seen as a bellwether for the broader economy because their results track the demand for transportation of materials used in manufacturing and goods sold to consumers and businesses.
Some homebuilder stocks fell after the National Association of Homebuilders said sales of previously occupied homes dipped to an annual pace of 4.94 million from 4.99 million in November. November's figure was revised lower, but was still the highest in three years.
PulteGroup Inc. lost 17 cents to $20.32. D.R. Horton Inc. lost 24 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $21.27. Standard Pacific Crop. Dropped 5 cents to $7.86.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was unchanged at 1.84 percent.
Asian indexes closed mixed after the Bank of Japan announced a new round of bond purchases that many observers thought was too weak to have much effect on the economy. The BOJ set a 2 percent inflation target and announced open-ended asset purchases starting in 2014.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.4 percent, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.3 percent. China's Shenzhen average fell 1.5 percent.
European stocks also were mixed. Germany's DAX closed down 0.7 percent despite strong results from an investor confidence survey in that country. Britain's FTSE 100 was flat; France's CAC 40 fell 0.6 percent.
Benchmark oil rose 66 cents to $96.22 at midday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as global economic reports remain generally positive.


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We’re a little slow on the newscast this month as Bre is flying around the US spreading Etsy video awesomeness. Instead of waiting for his return, we thought it was a good idea to at least give you the Weather Report for February. We track a lot of numbers, but there are five in particular that we pay close attention to and share with the community:
- New Items listed: 612,641. In January, there we 575,174 new items listed, so this is a new record and an increase of 7%. In February 2007, 148,422 new items were listed. Wow — 312% more than a year ago!
- New Users: February saw 75,458 new users join Etsy, up from 68,013 in January — an 11% increase. In February 2007, 22,392 new users joined — a 236% increase.
- Items Sold: We sold 349,092 items in February, an increase of 11% over January and a whopping 273,043 more than February 2007!
- $ Sold: We sold $4.8 million worth of goods in February, 13% over January and $3.8 million more than February 2007.
- Page Views: We crossed the 250,000,000 page views mark for the first time in February — 7% more than January.
Thanks for all you hard work in making February another record month here at Etsy!


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German Ambassador to Pakistan Cyrill Jean Nunn pointed out that the GSP Plus Status was not just textile-specific but also offered opportunities to other sectors of the economy, and therefore, Pakistani businessmen should enhance their interaction with their European counterparts.
The ambassador was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday.
“The GSP Plus will boost Pakistan’s business with the European countries in almost all sectors of the economy including leather and sports goods,” he said. “Germany intends to develop and strengthen mutual trade relations with Pakistan and will make all-out efforts to ensure access for exporters to the European Union (EU) and German markets.”
He was hopeful of future investments by German companies that showed a keen interest in Pakistan, especially in the energy sector.
“Several German companies are ready to establish joint ventures with the business community of Pakistan in different trade fields. Both countries have enjoyed friendly and cordial trade relations, and the time is ripe to further strengthen this,” said Nunn.
Apart from bilateral trade and economic relations, LCCI President Engineer Sohail Lashari shed light on the rich German history, culture and its contribution to the international society particularly after the second World War.
Lashari said that a consistent rise in two-way trade was evident of the fact that the joint efforts made at the public and private sectors level were paying off. Therefore, there was a need to maintain that positive trend to minimise the trade deficit gap.
“Pakistan has been experiencing a positive balance of trade with Germany but in 2012, it was not the case. However, we are hoping to go back to the same scenario,” Lashari said.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 26th, 2014.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.


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Lured out of “retirement” by the opportunity to oversee some of the industry’s top-selling brands, RV veteran and former Heartland RV LLC co-founder Tim Hoffman was named as a new general manager at Goshen, Ind.-based Keystone RV Co.
According to a press release, Hoffman takes leadership of Keystone’s Montana, Outback and Fuzion product lines and will spearhead new innovations to ensure these brands remain at the forefront of their respective product categories.
Known for ground-breaking product introductions and close dealer relations, Hoffman brings a depth of experience to the Keystone family, according to Keystone President Matt Zimmerman. “We already had a strong, talented team in place at Keystone,” said Zimmerman. “Attracting Tim makes us even stronger and provides us with a new perspective. With the addition of Tim and other recent leadership changes, our dealers can expect an Open House like never before. I’m excited to show them what we have in store.”
Hoffman noted, “I have followed the industry closely and am excited to see all the growth in the marketplace. What attracted me most to Keystone was the opportunity to join an organization with strong backend support, quality people and the best dealers in the industry. I have a lot of ideas and thoughts on how to continue advancing the No. 1 selling high profile fifth-wheel in the nation, Montana, along with one of the most recognized brands in the industry in Outback and a resurging Fuzion toy hauler. I am excited to share these with our Keystone dealers.”
For the ninth consecutive year, Keystone RV Co.’s Montana has been named the No. 1 retailing fifth-wheel, according to Statistical Surveys Inc. In addition, retail sales numbers for the first two months of 2010 show Montana with an 18% market share increase, outselling the nearest competition by nearly two-to-one, according to a news release from Keystone.
In a letter to Keystone, Tom Walworth, president of Statistical Surveys Inc., recognized Montana:
“We at Statistical Surveys Inc. congratulate Keystone RV’s Montana division for achieving number one retail sales leadership in 2009 calendar year. According to our records, this is the 9th consecutive year Montana has earned the No. 1 ranking; it is very rare for an RV company to hold the No. 1 brand ranking for this period of time. This is something that happens due to the hard work of the Keystone team.”
“We are grateful to our strong dealer network and loyal customers for Montana’s ongoing success,” added Montana general manager Aram Koltookian. “The entire Montana team is looking forward to making it 10-in-a-row. January and February sales increases certainly start us off with great momentum.”
Among the steps Montana is taking to further solidify the brand’s leadership position:
- Ramping up production by 25% during the coming months in order to meet growing wholesale and retail demand.
- Continuing to introduce new floorplans that deliver what the customer is asking for, floorplans like the 3750 FL (front lounge) and the 3580 RE (walk around island kitchen).
- Accelerating shipments of the Montana High Country models which offer customers luxury features and quality while saving over 2000 pounds in weight.
- Progressing with plans to open a new Montana factory that is 30% larger than the existing Montana facility and that will further increase Montana production.


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Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News is going all-in for “Throwback Thursdays,” leveraging our archives to revive key headlines from the past. Turn on the time machine, turn on the sepia tones, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
LightSquared scrambles amid spectrum troubles
LightSquared has reportedly received a six-week extension from Sprint Nextel to gain approval to use its 1.6 GHz spectrum assets from the Federal Communications Commission, which are currently mired in interference issues with the GPS community. The six-week delay follows a one-month extension granted by Sprint Nextel, which was to give LightSquared additional time to fix its interference issues that have so far prevented it from accessing its 1.6GHz spectrum assets. LightSquared had signed a network and spectrum hosting agreement with Sprint Nextel last year that relied on LightSquared’s access to its spectrum assets. Sprint Nextel touted LightSquared’s spectrum assets for allowing the carrier to expand its traffic capacity from 2014 with its own holdings through 2015 when the LightSquared spectrum is included. However, the airline has since moved closer to its subsidiary Clearwire as a potential home base for future spectrum needs. LightSquared held a media conference call earlier this month to retaliate against leaks from tests showing that using mobile devices on its network would disrupt some GPS systems. … Read more
AT&T shakes up executive lineup
AT&T (T) reconfigured some of its leadership roles, a move that followed a fiscally difficult fourth quarter highlighted by a failed bid to acquire rival T-Mobile USA. The telecom giant reported that John Stankey has transitioned from president and CEO of AT&T’s Business Solutions business to a new position of group president and chief strategy officer. In his new role, Stankey will be “responsible for developing the roadmap to maximize future growth opportunities, including business development, addressing long-term wireless capacity needs, capital allocation strategies and identifying the best strategic paths for low-growth and non-strategic assets.” The current head of AT&T Mobility, Ralph de la Vega, appears to have lost control of AT&T’s wired consumer broadband business and will now focus exclusively on the company’s mobile business as president and CEO of AT&T Mobility. De la Vega’s previous position as head of AT&T’s wired consumer broadband business was transferred to Andy Geisse, who was named senior EVP of AT&T Business and Home Solutions. In that role, Geisse will be responsible for “serving the enterprise segment — from global enterprise customers to small businesses,” and will also lead AT&T’s Home Solutions team that provides U-verse, broadband and voice services. the company operates AT&T’s local phone line in 22 states. activities. … Read more
Senators ask FCC to address call quality issues in rural areas
Twenty-four U.S. senators from across the country recently wrote to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to address the problem of the loss of incomplete, poor-quality phone calls to rural America. The senators called on “the FCC to continue investigating the issue, which is preventing a growing number of calls from reaching national telephone company customers, with complaints rising by as much as 2000%.” “As you know, representatives of national carriers have reported a staggering 2000% increase in complaints between April 2010 and March 2011 from consumers who have experienced calls that were not completed, were delayed, have poor voice quality, no correct caller -Have ID information, or where the original carrier simply refuses to call certain rural areas. Commonly referred to as ‘call termination’, ‘dropped calls’ or ‘call rounding’, this issue is widespread and has been reported by local telephone exchanges in 36 states,” the letter said to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. The letter states that despite growing reliance on high-speed Internet and mobile communications, it’s important to recognize that many Americans still use their traditional landline phones to conduct business, communicate with friends and family, and call emergency services. … Read more
Obama campaign’s embrace of technology includes Square payments
Obama’s re-election campaign will equip its staff in the field with Square, the fast-growing system for collecting payments via Android or iOS mobile devices. Media observers so far have focused on the move as a symbol of Obama’s embrace of tech innovation, but perhaps more importantly, Square makes it fun to give someone money. Founded less than three years ago, more than 1 million merchants now accept payments through Square, at a rate of $11 million per day. People marvel at the attractive little plastic card readers that plug into the headphone ports of phones and tablets. After the first time you pay with a Square, whether that be with a taxi driver, a professional or an independent provider of another service, the system has registered your email and the process is even smoother. Square CEO, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, is considered by some to be the heir to Steve Jobs’ design throne. … Read more
Samsung gains ground in the smartphone race
Samsung Electronics was neck-and-neck with Apple in the fourth-quarter race for top spot in the scorching smartphone market. Estimates based on Samsung’s fourth-quarter earnings report put the company’s smartphone sales at 36.1 million, just below Apple’s 37 million reported earlier this week. Samsung said mobile phone sales were up “about 30%” in the fourth quarter. (Based on Reuters’ estimate of 27.8 million Samsung smartphones sold in the third quarter, smartphone sales in the fourth quarter would be 36.1 million units, but the company did not provide a specific number.) throughout 2011, Samsung says sales were $146.5 billion, making it the largest company in Korea by a wide margin. Operating profit was $14.4 billion, a slight decrease from 2010, mainly due to higher cost of goods sold in 2011. Samsung also took the number one spot in smartphone sales for 2011 as a whole. “Samsung made progress in 2011 through its strategy to offer a complete line of smartphone products, with a variety of price points, features and operating systems,” said Wayne Lam, senior wireless analyst at IHS iSuppli. “This enabled Samsung to move past perennial market leader Nokia and slightly outpace Apple’s total for the year.” … Read more
Nokia positions Lumia as a cheaper smartphone
The world’s largest mobile phone maker ended weeks of speculation today about sales of its Lumia smartphones and what those sales would mean for its financial results. Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) lost $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter, and the struggling Finnish company says it has sold “more than a million” of its Windows-based Lumia smartphones so far. That number pales in comparison to the 37 million iPhones Apple sold in the fourth quarter, but Lumia has only been on the market for a few months. “iPhone only sold 2 million units in its first year, and you saw the same thing for Android phones,” said Argus Insights analyst John Feland. Feland welcomes Nokia’s strategy of positioning its Lumia 710 (the cheapest model) with T-Mobile, which is marketing the phone as a cheaper alternative to the estimated 60% of Americans who have not yet upgraded from feature phones to smartphones. Nokia has dominated the feature phone market for years, so switching to a Nokia smartphone could be a natural progression for many consumers. But those attractive sales prices naturally put Nokia’s operating margins under pressure. “They are under some pressure on the profitability of their handsets. Average selling price has fallen in recent quarters,” said Wayne Lam, senior analyst at IHS iSuppli. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
This post #TBT: LightSquared spectrum issues; Complaints about the call quality in rural areas; Samsung gains ground in the smartphone race…this week in 2012
was original published at “https://www.rcrwireless.com/20220127/archived-articles/tbt-lightsquareds-spectrum-issues-rural-call-quality-complaints-samsung-gains-ground-in-the-smartphone-race-this-week-in-2012”


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Yamaha Motor India is currently working on a new motorcycle to be introduced in the country, and it has been revealed by the leaked type approval certificate. As per the document, the brand is preparing to launch another version of the R15 motorcycle in India. It is also visible in the document that the bike will have the same features as the R15 V3, hence we can assume it will be the rebranded version of the R15 V3 with some new colour choices. In addition, the new version will have an ‘S’ tag.
Looking forward to the other details found in the document, this bike will be powered by a BS-VI compliant 155cc engine which will be able to churn out 13.7 kW of power at 10000rpm. Moreover, the body dimensions of the base model are mentioned as 725mm in overall width, 1990mm in overall length, 1135mm in overall height, and a wheelbase of 1325mm, and these can be continued in the upcoming variant too.
It’s worth noting that the previous-generation model R15 V3 has the same max power output as the R15S. This has fueled the assumption that the new version will be the previous-generation model, and will be launched in India at a cheaper price than the current-generation model. Given that the R15 V4 has a high starting price of Rs. 1.71 lakh, it can be a smart move.
After being launched, the forthcoming R15S is going to rival the KTM RC125 and Suzuki Gixxer SF, just like the other R15 range bikes. The recently launched Bajaj Pulsar F250 also emerges as its competitor with enhanced power and an affordable price. At the present times, when bike prices are becoming really aggressive due to rising costs of raw materials and new taxes, it is challenging for the bike makers to sell the bikes at reasonable prices to preserve the selling rates.


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Assetto Corsa Competizione continues to evolve and with some solid DLC packs, the game is maintaining a committed community enjoying all things GT. News this week that a British GT Championship pack would be released imminently has come as a welcome surprise. The pack has been highly anticipated for some time and now appears to be the perfect window to release while many of us are still at home with the time to enjoy it.
This update will feature 3 new circuits: Oulton Park, Donington Park and Snetterton. All great tracks and legendary for their BTCC heritage. Always fun to drive and a challenge to maximise performance, these circuits not only form as a solid addition but really help to expand the scope of the overall game.
Besides the new circuits, players can expect 40 new liveries and 70 drivers from the 2019 campaign. However, pricing details have not been provided at the time of writing this article. The British GT pack DLC will launch 10th February on Steam, with the console version coming to console in late Spring.


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SimEx-Iwerks, specialists in designing, building and operating special F/X driven cinematic attractions that feature blockbuster content, have announced the creation of two new 4-D Express attractions at Phoenix Zoo and Downtown Aquarium.
A showcase for both branded and nature-based content, the new 50 seat 4-D Express Theater at Phoenix Zoo has been designed to fit in with the Zoo’s brand and provides additional revenue streams and promotional opportunities.
Commenting on the new theater, Jennifer Flowers, Director, Guest Services and Membership, Phoenix Zoo said, “We are excited to bring this new experience to our guests. We opened during our peak season and the 4-D Theater has been so easy to operate. We are thrilled to offer these high-quality shows to boost our seasonal promotions.
“Another big benefit from the 4-D theater, we are utilizing the 4-D queue to promote Membership sales, food and beverage, retail and to inform guests of upcoming events at the Zoo.”
Currently showing Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – The 4-D Experience® and Grizzly Bears 4-D Experience®, the theater will also feature seasonal content for Halloween and other holidays.
Chad Ashley, General Manager, explains, “We wanted to refresh our attraction offering and knew we wanted to continue our relationship with SimEx-Iwerks. This new 4-D Theater Experience will appeal to our family audience and be a strong component in our new Value Ticket.”
Downtown Aquarium’s 4-D Express Theater currently features SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D: The Great Jelly Rescue and Planet Earth: Shallow Seas 4-D Experience®, and will be showing The Polar Express 4-D Experience® as part of their annual Holiday offer.
For more information about SimEx-Iwerks' variety of 4-D Theater options and configurations, please contact Susan Schloeder at 443-318-7603.


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POS Behemoth ShopKeep acquires ChowBOT.
One of the most obvious trends in the restaurant business, is the move to delivery. Even quite upscale restaurants are now starting to offer delivery. ChowBOT is an awesome system, that allows restaurants to take orders online. It also integrates their online ordering with apps like GrubHub and DoorDash.
But what led to this? People feel drawn to simple and convenient solutions. What’s better than a night at home? One where you don’t have to cook! Online ordering is also another big perk. People like being able to go online, select what they want, and pay. They don’t like calling and ordering with someone who’s writing it down. Too much margin for error. Not enough choices. Too much pressure. Much easier to order online.
But the biggest shift I see coming, is the perfection of driverless cars and drones. This is going to be the delivery method of the future, and it’s best to get ready for it now. Make sure your online delivery solution is ready now. Then it will only be easier to integrate later with automated delivery.
ShopKeep isn’t one of the top POS companies because they’re run by fools. They’ve seen the trends, and they know which way the industry is moving. The best way to be on the forefront of technology is to shape it. The second best way, is to buy tech companies that are shaping technology! Revel Systems’ recently partnered with Dragontail Algo. So it seems like automation is the wave of the future in delivery and in kitchens.
The Washington Post recently wrote an article (read here) about the minimum wage. It’s about how raising the minimum wage will drive the food industry to automate kitchens. That could affect millions of jobs.
But while those are concerns, that’s still not happening next week. So in the meantime, the restaurant industry will drive to what their customer wants. And for now, it’s something simple, and delivered!
Make sure to check out our other restaurant blogs here!


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3D model made from iPhone 8's schematics leak reveals rear placement possible for Touch ID
Today, a photograph discovered on Chinese micro-blogging site weibo reveals what the back of this premium iPhone would look like if the leaked schematics contain the design selected for use by Cupertino. Made from aluminum, the 3D model of the rear casing reveals one feature that the iPhone 8 and the Galaxy S8 might share in common.
Unable to work out the kinks that prevented it from embedding the fingerprint scanner under the Galaxy S8 display, Samsung positioned its biometric reader on the back of the phone right next to the rear camera. Apple appears to be having its own issues with its attempt to embed Touch ID under the iPhone 8 screen. According to one analyst, the company's AuthenTec unit is reporting very low yields with this technology, and Apple does not want to switch to a third party vendor to supply it. In fact, the analyst says that Apple would rather have the feature delayed until 2018 than turn it over to a third party manufacturer. And to make matters worse, the 3D sensor for the front camera that is supposed to use face detection to unlock the phone is also running into problems, and could also be delayed. Thus, a rear-facing Touch ID button just might become reality yet.
The difference between Samsung and Apple here is that Samsung put its fingerprint scanner on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy S8+ so close to the camera lens, that wayward fingers seeking the scanner could end up depositing fingerprints on the lens instead. The schematics show Apple putting a rear-facing Touch ID button in the middle of the rear casing, away from the vertical dual camera lenses.
While a CAD CAM schematics leak did out the Apple iPhone 6 half a year before it was unveiled, we still would suggest taking this story with a grain or two of salt.
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