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- While U.S. cyclical sectors mostly outperformed defensive sectors in recent years, tariffs imposed by the U.S. and China in May 2019 might have led a shift toward defensive sectors.
- We investigate how exposure to revenue from China might have affected U.S. sectors from January through September 2019.
- Analyzing stocks at the industry group level provided a more nuanced understanding of the impact tariffs may have had on cyclical and defensive stocks.
In recent years, U.S. equity investors have seen cyclical sectors outperform defensive ones1 amidst steady economic growth.2 However, we may have seen a shift toward defensive sectors start in May, as the U.S. and China imposed new tariffs and overall economic uncertainty grew. We investigate what those tariffs meant for U.S. sectors and industry groups with high exposure to the Chinese economy.
Defensive sectors showed signs of life
For the three years ended Sept. 30, 2019, the MSCI USA Cyclical Sectors Index outperformed the MSCI USA Index, returning 16.7% versus 13.3% on an annualized basis. Meanwhile, the MSCI USA Defensive Sectors Index returned 6.7% in the same time period. Year-to-date, cyclical stocks’ more than doubled the return of defensive ones (22.2% vs. 10.4%).3
As we can see in the exhibit below, however, the Trump administration’s announced trade tariffs on USD 200 billion of Chinese goods on May 5, 2019 may have been an inflection point. (A week later, the Chinese government said it would retaliate with its own tariffs on USD 60 billion of U.S. goods.)4
Cyclicals outpaced defensives over three years…
…but defensives started to rise in May
Cyclicals more exposed to China
To measure the potential impact from the U.S. and Chinese tariffs, we started with how much revenue exposure each sector within the MSCI USA Index had to China as of May 5, 2019.5 Information technology had the highest exposure (15%) compared to utilities which had none. Notably, the top half of sectors with the highest revenue exposure to China were cyclical except for consumer staples. The sectors ranked in the bottom half of Chinese exposure were a mix of cyclical and defensive sectors.
Revenue exposure to China by sector
MSCI USA Index
Data for stocks in the MSCI USA Index as of May 5, 2019
Trade tariff impact at the sector level
From Jan. 1 through the May 5 trade tariff announcement, five of the seven cyclical sectors (grouped on the left in the exhibit below) outperformed the MSCI USA Index. Industrials and information technology posted the greatest gains, outperforming the index by 9.6% and 4.6%, respectively. In contrast, all the defensive sectors (grouped on the right) underperformed the index.
From May 5 through Sept. 30, most of the cyclical sectors struggled while two defensive sectors, consumer staples and utilities, rebounded sharply from the first part of the year. And real estate and utilities, the two best-performing sectors during this period, had the lowest exposure to revenue from China.
Relative sector performance before and after tariffs
Trade tariff impact at the industry level
Sectors, however, explain only part of the impact of increased tariffs. Within each sector, there were industry groups that had greater exposure to the Chinese economy, and thus were harder hit by the trade tariffs.
We ranked the 24 industry groups in the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®)6 structure by their revenue exposure to China. The top three industries fell within cyclical sectors — namely, semiconductors & semiconductor equipment, technology hardware & equipment (information technology sector), and automobiles & components (consumer discretionary sector). Between the time of the tariff announcement on May 5th and early June, all three industry groups, which included companies such as Qualcomm Inc., Apple Inc. and The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., experienced declines between 9% and 13%. While semiconductors & semiconductor equipment and technology hardware & equipment recovered by the end of September, automobiles & components continued to underperform.
On June 2, 2019, China released a position paper on the China-U.S. trade relations. The paper laid out China’s position on the trade negotiations and stated that “cooperation is the only correct choice for China and the US and win-win is the only path to a better future.”7 This paper’s release coincided with the recovery in the semiconductor and tech hardware industry groups. The auto & components industry group, which was also experiencing secular events (labor disputes and sluggish sales) did not show a similar resurgence.
Returns of top cyclical and defensive industry groups by China revenue exposure
If we look at the defensive industry groups that were most exposed to China by revenue over the same period, there was no discernible impact from the trade tariff announcements through the end of May. All three industry groups: product manufacturers, which included companies such as Procter & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive; food and beverage makers, which included companies such as Coca-Cola and General Mills Inc.; and large retailers, which included companies such as Costco Wholesale Corp. and Walmart Inc., gained between 3% and 4%.
All told, the negative impact of these trade tariffs on the cyclical industry groups appeared to be more significant during May, as highlighted in the exhibit above, whereas the impact on defensive industry groups was minimal. Investors seemed to have dismissed the impact of tariffs on the defensive industry groups.
Taking full measure
While trade tariffs may only directly target certain parts of the economy, they can trigger a ripple effect of economic uncertainty across markets. In much the same way, cyclical and defensive sectors have been good barometers for monitoring broad investor sentiment, and the shift in outperformance to defensive sectors after May’s tariff announcements may be telling. However, going a level deeper into industry groups can provide a more nuanced analysis.
The author thanks Raina Oberoi for her contributions to this blog post.
1Consumer discretionary, communication services, financials, industrials, information technology, materials and real estate are classified as cyclical sectors while consumer staples, energy, health care and utilities are classified as defensive sectors.
2U.S. GDP increased at an annualized rate of 2.6% from 2017-2018 but over the last four quarters ended June 2019 has contracted to 2.3%
3From Jan. 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2019.
4Wong, D. and Chipman Koty, A.. “The US-China Trade War: A Timeline.” China Briefing from Dezan Shira & Associates, Oct. 12, 2019.
5Please refer to the MSCI Economic Exposure methodology document for further information
6GICS, the global industry classification standard jointly developed by MSCI and Standard & Poor’s.
7"Chinese position on the China-US economic and trade consultations." The State Council Information Office of the people's Republic of China. White paper, June 2019.


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TRENDING ON ONEINDIA
- Kerala Congress Invites Rahul Gandhi To Contest From Wayanad LS Seat
- IPL 2019: Indian Premier League Opening Ceremony Funds Donated To CRPF & Armed Forces
- Skoda Superb Gets A Facelift!
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- Salman, Rana & Others Attend The Wedding Of Venky’s Daughter
- Witnessing The Beauty Of Williamnagar, Meghalaya
- 12 Home Remedies To Treat Chapped Lips
- India's Forex Reserves Up By $3.6 Billion To $405.64 Billion
Sony Xperia 10, Xperia 10 Plus and Xperia L3 complete renders leak
Both the Xperia X10 and the Xperia 10 Plus will have a similar 21:9 aspect ratio display panel as the Xperia XZ4 (Xperia 1).
The MWC 2019 is kick starting on 25th February and all the smartphone brands are set to unveil their upcoming smartphones for the masses. Sony, the Japanese tech giant is also gearing up to launch its smartphones during the event. The company is expected to launch its flagship smartphone, the Xperia XZ4 during the event. And like with every other upcoming smartphone, the Xperia XZ4 has also leaked a number of times over the web. Now, just ahead of the MWC 2019, some fresh leaks have appeared online suggesting a bunch of more smartphone on which the company is working.
The other smartphones on which Sony is said to be working on will be high-end variants as well a mid-range smartphone. While the high-end variants will be the Sony Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus, the mid-range Sony smartphone will be the Xperia L3. The renders reveal the specifications and features of these upcoming smartphones. So, let's have a quick look at the rumored specifications and features of these devices.
Xperia X10 and Xperia 10 Plus expected specifications:
Both the Xperia X10 and the Xperia 10 Plus will have a similar 21:9 aspect ratio display panel as the Xperia XZ4. The Xperia 10 smartphone will offer a 6-inch display panel with a 21:9 aspect ratio and Full HD+ resolution. On the other hand, the Xperia 10 Plus will pack a bigger 6.5-inch display panel with a same Full HD+ screen resolution and an aspect ratio of 21:9.
Both the smartphones will sport a dual-lens rear camera setup with 21:9 video recording support. The Xperia 10 will have a 13MP+ 5MP camera sensors and the Xperia 10 Plus will have 12MP and 8MP sensors.
While the Xperia 10 will run on Snapdragon 630 chipset, the Xperia 10 Plus will make use of a Snapdragon 630 processor. The Snapdragon 630 processor on the Xperia 10 will be paired with 3GB of RAM and the Xperia 10 will have 4GB of RAM onboard for multitasking. There will be a 2,780mAH battery on the Xperia 10 and 3,00mAH battery on the Xperia 10 Plus smartphone.
Xperia L3 expected specifications:
The mid-range Xperia L3 martphone is said to come with a smaller 5.7-inch display panel with HD+ resolution. The smartphone will come with a side-mounted rear panel for device security. The Xperia L3 will use a dual camera setup at the rear with 13MP+2MP sensors. Under the hood, the smartphone will run on MediaTek 6762 processor and Android 8 Oreo which is bit disappointing. It will come with 3GB of RAM and a 3,300mAh battery unit.

domain: news


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China’s economy is recovering but foundations are not solid, says PM
China will strive to return the economy to a normal path and bring down the unemployment rate as soon as possible, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said.
BEIJING, China — China’s economy has recovered to some degree, but its foundations are not solid, state media said Tuesday (June 28th), citing Premier Li Keqiang.
China will strive to return the economy to a normal path and bring down the unemployment rate as soon as possible, Li said.
“Currently, the implementation of the package of measures aimed at stabilizing the economy is accelerating and taking effect. The economy has recovered overall, but the foundations are not yet solid,” Li said.
“The task of stabilizing employment remains daunting.”
China’s economy showed signs of recovery in May after slumping the previous month as industrial production resumed, but consumption remained weak and underscored the challenge for policymakers amid the continued drag on restrictions COVID-19 restrictions.
China’s survey-based national unemployment rate fell to 5.9% in May from 6.1% in April, still above the government’s 2022 target of less than 5.5%.
In particular, the registered unemployment rate in 31 major cities rose to 6.9%, the highest on record. Some economists expect employment to deteriorate before it improves, with record numbers of graduates entering the labor market in the summer.
Li promised to achieve reasonable economic growth in the second quarter, although some private sector economists expect the economy to contract in the April-June quarter from a year earlier, compared growth of 4.8% in the first quarter. – Rappler.com


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A DEVELOPER has successfully hacked Apple's Watch OS to run a web browser, hinting that a jailbreak could be incoming.
Comex, a former Apple intern and the well-known developer behind JailBreakMe, has posted a video of the Google homepage displayed on the Apple Watch, but has not released any details about the hack.
I always wanted a web browser on my wrist. http://t.co/hh52DsJdje— comex (@comex) May 10, 2015
The demo, which perhaps affirms why Apple chose not to include the Safari web browser on the Watch given its impracticality, shows Comex awkwardly launching the option to copy or define text in the browser, just like the feature available on the iPhone and iPad.
While demonstrating how unnecessary it is for the Apple Watch to feature a web browser, the clip shows that it is possible to get the device to run arbitrary code. This could be the first step towards a jailbreak of the Apple Watch, although Comex makes no such promises.
Comex hasn't released any details, but has hit out at critics who have said that the browser is 'just an app'.
Heh, a lot of people on Reddit think my demo is “just an app” which is easy to write. No, that’s not how WatchKit works.— comex (@comex) May 10, 2015
Apple has said that a native software development kit is in the works and, once finished, will let developers produce native applications which run entirely on the Watch.
Currently, the wearable's apps pull all of their information from the user's iPhone, rather than creating it independently.
Apple revealed last week that the Apple Watch might soon be available for buyers to pick up in store, hinting that the firm will soon overcome the stock problems.
Some people ordering the Apple Watch are now seeing the message 'Pick up: Available soon' next to their local Apple Store location.
However, the option is currently disabled and Apple has yet to comment, so it remains to be seen when buyers will be able to pick up their smartwatch on the high street. µ
Being in a minority of one doesn't make you right
WeWork needs a rework
Because who wants any surprises
Viv-oh no they didn't


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Google has released some sweet new features for its Google Search app for users who are running Android 4.1 or later on their devices. Here’s what’s new:
- Information about shows you’re watching on your internet-connected TV (US only)*
- Saved offers when nearby a redemption location
- New voice action: play music from your phone or the Play Store
- Voice actions tips
- *Requires phone/tablet to be on the same network as your TV
Now users can search and play music via voice commands on their devices, and will be notified of saved offers when in proximity to a redemption location. Look for the update to be hitting your device soon, or head over to the Google Play Store to grab the update.
[Via: Engadget , Google Play Store]


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Here’s an interesting snippet from the Brussels-based independent organisation epamonitoring.net.
Looking at the tariff restructure South Africa is considering for poultry imports, the organisation considered the contention, raised by FairPlay, that EU exporters are able to adjust their prices to counter South African tariffs. What it found from a review of Eurostat data supports that view.
The average prices of EU frozen chicken exports to South Africa dropped by 30% in Euro terms between 2012 and 2016, from €1.18/kg to €0.83/kg. This was the period when EU chicken exports to South Africa really took off.
Then prices rose in 2017, as widespread bird flu outbreaks resulted in shortages. However, that was followed by another price drop, also 30%, from €1.19/kg to €0.88/kg, between 2017 and 2021.
“Such price falls largely negated the impact of safeguard duties introduced by the South African authorities on imports from the EU over this period,” epamonitoring commented.
The publication also notes that EU export prices (of surplus brown meat chicken portions, such as leg quarters) have nothing to do with EU production costs. Prices are based on “costs of shipping minus the cost of alternative methods of disposal of unwanted poultry parts”.
Which means that if it was cheaper for EU producers to ditch those surplus tonnes of poultry in landfill, they would consider it. So much for the pious talk about helping to feed Africa’s starving millions.
European Parliament building. CC-BY-4.0: © European Union 2020 – Source: EP. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0


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The end of SSFFCs?
What observers in the US typically think of as a counterfeit drug—one that is intentionally labeled as something it is not—has undergone a convoluted redefinition in the global context. Since 2011, when the World Health Organization began paying particular attention to the matter, the accepted term has been “substandard/spurious/falsely labeled/falsified/counterfeit,” or SSFC. An SSFFC Working Group was set up, and a monitoring system put in place to enable participating countries to report SSFFC incidents.
Now, an “informal technical working group” of the SSFFC group has proposed simplifying the definition to “substandard and falsified,” maintaining that this term covers the necessary concepts, and this recommendation will be considered at the next World Health Assembly this coming spring. The technical group was deliberating at a Member State Mechanism meeting (which is apparently WHO-speak for an official meeting) held in Geneva, Switzerland on November 23-25.
To take five years to arrive at this conclusion is heartbreaking if not laughable; thousands of patients around the world have died while these deliberations drone on. But there have been more serious undercurrents to the issue. Developing-world countries, especially India, have objected to the term “counterfeit,” asserting that completely wholesome pharma products have been quarantined in global trade only because they were produced without formal marketing agreements between a local manufacturer and other nations’ regulatory authorities—presumably, a nefarious way to protect developed-world producers’ markets and prices. The technical group’s summary document cites the terminology used in the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agreement, where the meaning of “counterfeit” refers exclusively to IP. (TRIPS is a policy of the World Trade Organization; the US is a signatory.) So, following the logic that a prescription pill is not “bad” simply because it lacks agreed-on IP arrangements, “counterfeit” is out.
Curiously, more hair-splitting could follow: why define what is commonly known as a counterfeit drug as one that is “substandard and falsified”? A substandard but authentic product can lack efficacy or be harmful to a patient (for example, an expired drug); and it’s conceivable that a falsified drug (say, one with an unusual excipient but correct API) could be efficacious. Time for more meetings!


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The War Z has returned to Steam after being pulled down over accusations of false advertising. Valve has stated that it has collaborated with ...
The War Z has had a rocky start which saw the game pulled from Steam after accusations of false advertising over the game's features. The game’s ...
Everyone's favorite racist, dino-riding frontiersman is back with a look at the very worst that gaming had to offer us this year.
Valve has removed The War Z from Steam following criticism over false advertising of certain features that weren't in the game.
The War Z beta begins today and Hammerpoint has decided to celebrate Halloween with some significant additions.
Upcoming zombie survival game The War Z is offering players a greater incentive to stay alive by destroying items bought with real money upon death.


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Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler has reportedly filed to register as many as 14 potential new badges for the X-Class range in Australia, including four seemingly set aside to sit in the Mercedes-AMG portfolio.
According to GoAuto, Daimler is seeking to secure trademarks for the 14 badges, even if it won’t actually end up using them all (as is sometimes the case) in this generation.
Despite the Stuttgart-based automaker again recently denying plans to slap the AMG badge on its double-cab bakkie, Daimler has intriguingly applied to register the X43, X45, X65 and X66 monikers Down Under.
Other interesting pending trademark applications include the badges X220, X230, X250, X260 and X550, all likely pointing to possible future additions to the petrol powertrain line-up.
Furthermore, the Australian publication reports that applications to trademark the X220e, X350e, X400e and X450e badges could cover possible plug-in hybrid variants, while “EQX” could end up being used on an all-electric version of the pick-up.
Of course, we must emphasise that an automaker trademarking a badge by no means guarantees that said badge will find its way onto the rump of a production model. Sometimes, the brand in question just wants to stop rivals from snapping up potential nameplates...
Ryan has spent most of his career in online media, writing about everything from sport to politics and other forms of crime. But his true passion – reignited by a 1971 Austin Mini Mk3 still tucked lifeless in a dark corner of his garage – is of the automotive variety.


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Amidst the coronavirus lockdown, Farmers are unable to pluck and sell bountiful harvest of melon due to transportation and labor shortage.
According to media reports, local farmers are suffering due to lack of access to the market.
Farmers say the melon crop is ready, but vehicles are not available to take it to market due to the lockdown and private cars owners are demanding high rates.
The farmers further said that millions of rupees have been spent on the melon crop, but now it has become difficult for us to meet our expenses from this crop. If so, If the crop is not harvested, the melon is rotted by Locusts attack or lying on the ground.
Local farmers have demanded the government to ease the lockdown so the crop will get access to the markets.


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Kantar TNS Sinotrust’s CONNECT media touchpoint study surveys luxury car buyers in 100 Chinese cities to improve understanding of touchpoint management for luxury car brands.
But lack of public charging infrastructure prevents people from placing orders.
How are Chinese brands doing? Who is the leader in the new energy vehicle sector? Which is the best booth?
A recent TNS Sinotrust survey shows that compared with other generations in China, the 90s generation are least willing to buy cars online.
Over the next five years, Big Data will transform the auto industry, as well as redefine the scope of auto industry research.
41% potential car buyers prepare to spend equivalent of 30,000 euros or more on a new car - a distant leader compared with other markets.
New global study reveals that many consumers are giving up private cars for car sharing in the world’s biggest cities. View more
China became the world’s largest new energy vehicle market in first half of this year. There are three areas that automakers should pay more attention to if they want the segment to grow even bigger. View more
They believe that cars are vehicles of technologies. If cars can keep upgrading themselves, then it should happen to after-sales services as well. View more
After auto sales in China lost its growth momentum, the relations between stakeholders in the auto industry have become more intense. Only when they become equal partners can the growth engine restart. View more
10 Chinese brands significantly lift loyalty among young consumers. The right celebrity makes a difference.
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus remain top selling devices, but Chinese brands successfully lift their shares through Chinese New Year promotions.
Convenient stores in China capitalize the trend by launching their branded coffee products.
Tencent’s investment in Tesla should be transformational in the way that we view Chinese brands.
The advent of WeChat Index has offered a new measurement tool for brand owners to keep track of social buzz and measure social marketing effectiveness.
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The company's PC-recycling program, in which it pays consumers to ship back obsolete machines, has allowed HP to reclaim 1.7 billion pounds of e-wast over the past decade... A decision earlier in this decade to reduce packaging material has paid off by cutting shipping costs... its strong program to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and its efforts to use renewable energy...
The two publicly traded advertising and PR holding companies on the ranking did not fare as well. Interpublic Group ranked No. 474, while Omnicom Group just barely bested it at No. 472.
Four technology companies make up the top five of the ranking: HP, Dell, Johnson & Johnson, Intel, IBM. At the bottom of the 13-page spread in the September 28 issue of Newsweek were several energy companies, including Peabody Energy (500), American Electric Power (494), along with food conglomerates like ConAgra (497), Monsanto (485), and Tyson Foods (479).
Though, as some other outlets pointed out, rankings are fraught with subjectivity, or incomplete and self-reported data. But as Peter Bernstein, who consulted on the effort, told one reporter: "We regard this as a best first effort."


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Ducati and Josh Herrin are taking the leap into the re-formatted Supersport category with the Panigale V2.
Over Klocked Indian
MV Agusta is billing the F3 RR as the pinnacle of the F3's development. We'll just have to find out.
Ducati revealed a new special edition Panigale V2 honoring the 20th anniversary of Troy Bayliss' first World Superbike Championship. The…
The two-stroke is not dead! Yamaha's all-new YZ125 is redesigned from the ground-up.
Electric motorcycle brand Voxan is out to chase more speed records, and Max Biaggi is back as the pilot.
The new EMCE motor makes 126kW, and overall weight of the bike is down 10kg.


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With $ billion of revenue for its fiscal , Microsoft crossed the $ that includes Azure, Office , Dynamics , Windows cloud revenues Officials continue to say that Microsoft has "nearly" million active services and more , and many times (as they have in the past, by the 1 - 2 of In Q2 , Microsoft saw $ billion in revenue, net income of Surface Book i7 unsurprisingly didn't move the needle as much as a Office has now added less than 1 million subscribers for three quarters in a row. Microsoft reports $ billion in Q2 revenue: Azure up 98%, Surface up 1% , and Windows up 4% Office subscribers hit million. Surface revenue increased by 1 percent, and gaming revenue was up 8 percent quarter, but it looks like the Surface Book 2 didn't make much of a dent.
3 months ending 6/30/ Microsoft $ billion, Amazon $ billion; 3 months 15 months, leading to the $million gap opened up by Microsoft last quarter. Definitely not—but that's true for any two cloud companies. We used to invest about $10 billion in research per year, which we still do. Our data There are million SQL databases in Azure. Azure. Google says its cloud now brings in $1 billion per quarter Published PM ET Thu, 1 Feb Updated PM ET Thu, 1 Feb diamondoptika.com and Azure, produced $ billion in revenue for the fourth quarter, up 56 percent year over The G Suite now has 4 million paying customers, Pichai said.
The rate depends on (1) whether it's an Azure or external service and (2) how frequently you want First 1 billion DNS queries/month, $ per million queries. We've never had any data from Amazon, other than abstract figures, such What Microsoft is doing with one million servers, though, is anyone's guess. Azure is no where near the size of AWS, and Bing and diamondoptika.com that's $1 billion of capital expenditure — and that's before you build the data centers. Microsoft now builds much of its data center equipment in factories, and ships the cool while using just 1 percent of the water consumed in a traditional data center. more phases to the Virginia facility, bringing its total investment to $ million. Microsoft Is Said to Pick Xilinx for Half of Azure Servers. The Microsoft Azure platform supports the broadest selection of operating systems, Being able to offer single sign-on (SSO) is key among multiple cloud services, to more than 1 billion customers and 20 million businesses in 76 markets.


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Algarve advertising on UK TV
Turismo do Algarve is set to launch "a strong communication operation" on the UK’s ‘Channel 5’ TV, to "reinforce the message that the region remains a safe destination for holidays".
“From 20th August until the end of October, this popular entertainment channel in the United Kingdom will broadcast a promotional video from the Algarve, with a duration of 50 seconds, which will be shown about 38 times a week and will result in roughly 175,000 weekly views”, claims the Algarve tourism board.
The advert "will be broadcast together with series and other content in the ‘Drama’ category, whose target audience is the upper-middle and upper classes, viewers who value attributes such as safety and luxury associated with their holidays".
“In addition to promoting the Algarve's notoriety as a safe destination, the display of this video will also have a competition aspect, which will allow viewers to participate in a prize draw to win a 7-night stay in the region for two people, in a five-star hotel. This prize will be valid until the end of the summer of 2021”.
The advertising campaign is launched whilst talks take place between governments, to reverse the quarantine restrictions currently imposed on travellers from Portugal returning to the UK. João Fernandes, president of Turismo do Algarve said: “At the same time that we are reinforcing our focus on other markets of great relevance to the region (such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany), in a logic of diversifying demand, on the other hand, we continue to intensify our efforts towards the UK to regain that which is our main tourist market”.
“We are strongly committed to reversing the negative effects that resulted from the decision of the British government and this includes, among other things, reinforcing and repeating the message to this market, that the Algarve is a safe destination and that it is fully prepared for a return to welcoming its tourists with all the quality and well-being that has always accustomed them”.
“We have always been transparent by presenting facts and we believe we will benefit from this in the future and that this partnership with Channel 5 will have a significant impact on our objective. We remain hopeful that the UK will change its decision very soon,” he concluded.
The British market accounts for approximately a third (33%) of the Algarve’s overnight stays – around 6 million – and nearly half (49%) of all passengers arriving at Faro Airport.
Contact our knowledgeable and professional Property Advisors to arrange a visit on +351 308 800 878 or 0800 014 8201 free from the UK. Alternatively, email us on email@example.com.


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Gray Television President Bob Prather that he’s seeing a pick-up in auto advertising for the rest of this month and, if current pacings hold, Gray will be at the low end (the good end) of its Q1 guidance of a 15-18% decline in operating revenues. The company reported a 12% revenue increase for Q4, largely due to a huge jump in political ads.
Chairman and CEO Hilton Howell kicked off the quarterly conference call with analysts, ticking off the cost-cutting measures that the company had taken. By suspending its stock dividend payout the company has saved $5.8 million per year. Executives have had their salaries frozen and there will be no bonuses. Also, employees are getting no 401(k) match and the workforce dropped by 170 people in 2008. But he called the results posted by Gray “some fairly good news in a difficult environment.”
Q4 revenues were up 12% to $94.8 million. Political advertising increased 942% from the previous year to $27.4 million. Internet ad revenues were also up, by 21% to $3.2 million. Meanwhile, local ad revenues fell 17% to $45 million and national was down 24% to $16.1 million. With the political year past, Gray is projecting that Q1 revenues will be down 15-18% to a range of $58.5-60 million. Within that projection is only $700-800K of political advertising, compared to $3.1 million a year ago. However, retransmission consent revenues are projected to be $3.25-3.5 million, compared to $646K.
Later this week the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will begin selling notes under the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) which will securitize consumer debt, including auto loans. An investment manager asked Prather in Q&A whether he expects that to spur any auto advertising. Prather recounted recent conversations with a friend who owns several auto dealerships. That friend said customer traffic was down only modestly, but that sales were down sharply because so few would-be buyers could qualify for financing in the tight market. So, the Gray Television President is hopeful. Prather reported some hopeful signs. “We’re actually seeing some pick-up in auto right now for the rest of this month and into next month.” With top stations in all of its markets, Gray, he said, may have suffered less in cutbacks of car dealer advertising than less-viewed stations.
RBR/TVBR observation: Bob Prather remains a long-term optimist and we recall that he was continuing to buy shares of the company last year, even as he watched his personal net worth sink with the stock price. A filing with the SEC showed that he bought 50,000 shares at 22 cents each back in November. The stock price has nearly doubled since then.


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The UK’s competition watchdog has formally blocked the proposed merger of supermarkets Sainsbury’s and Asda.
In its final report published today, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that UK shoppers and motorists would be “worse off” if the two supermarkets were to merge.
The CMA said the merger should not go ahead because of “expected price rises, reductions in the quality and range of products available, or a poorer overall shopping experience”.
As a result, Asda, its parent Walmart and Sainsbury’s have mutually agreed to terminate the transaction.
Stuart McIntosh, chair of the inquiry group, said: “It’s our responsibility to protect the millions of people who shop at Sainsbury’s and Asda every week. Following our in-depth investigation, we have found this deal would lead to increased prices, reduced quality and choice of products, or a poorer shopping experience for all of their UK shoppers.
“We have concluded that there is no effective way of addressing our concerns, other than to block the merger.”
Roger Burnley, CEO of Asda, commented: “We’re disappointed with their findings but will continue to find ways to put money back into customer’s pockets and deliver great quality and service in an ever-changing and demanding market.
“I have always been hugely aware that the last year has been an unsettling time for all of our colleagues and am immensely grateful for their commitment and dedication during that time. Our focus is now on the most important job we all have – delivering for our customers.”
Sainsbury’s CEO, Mike Coupe, said: “The specific reason for wanting to merge was to lower prices for customers. The CMA’s conclusion that we would increase prices post-merger ignores the dynamic and highly competitive nature of the UK grocery market. The CMA is today effectively taking £1 billion out of customers’ pockets.
“Sainsbury’s is a great business and I am confident in our strategy. We are focused on offering our customers great quality, value and service and making shopping with us as convenient as possible.”


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What you need to know
- Apple released macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 to developers earlier today.
- That update has some new wallpapers included.
- They're drawn, similar to those that appeared in iOS 14.2's recent beta, too.
Apple released macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 to developers earlier today, giving them chance to test it ahead of launch. Ignoring the fact that the first macOS Big Sur release still isn't public for a moment, this update brings with it a nice surprise – new wallpapers.
As shared by 9to5Mac, these wallpapers are drawn in a similar way to those which debuted in iOS 14.2's own recent beta release.
There aren't just one or two, either. Ther are 40 in total.
Overall, macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 brings 40 new wallpapers. There are four new drawing wallpapers and another four new wallpapers that are pictures of mountains. The drawing wallpapers, however, have eight different phases each that are displayed during day and night. Prior to that, macOS Big Sur 11.0 beta 10 brought 11 new wallpapers.
The folk at 9to5Mac have even made them all available for download. And download them you should because they're absolutely stunning. I can't decide which is my favorite yet, bit it's definitely one of the drawn ones rather than the photos.
There's no telling when Apple will release macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 but we're still waiting for macOS Big Sur 11. Will that ever be released or will Apple skip it? At this point, it's impossible to tell!
Which is your favorite new macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 wallpaper?


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Creations that look like they’ve come straight out of a 1970s cake decorating book are having a moment. Charlotte Muru-Lanning chats to three talented local cake makers about why they’ve embraced the trend.
For the last 10 years (at least), “naked cakes” have been a persistent force when it comes to cake trends in New Zealand. Classy, pared-back cakes left largely unadorned but for a dusting of icing sugar, a layer of freshly whipped cream and a few fresh blooms.
But there’s a new cake in town, and it’s in near-direct opposition. Minuscule, hyper-feminine creations topped with ribbons of unnaturally tinged frosting and old-fashioned cursive messages. Occasionally they’re studded with kitschy glacé cherries or a ring of primary-coloured candles. They still look like cakes, but they also look deliciously hyper-real.
Before the pandemic, the ornately decorated style of cake was already trendy in South Korea. Perhaps fuelled by quarantine and lockdowns, the trend seemed to take off globally early last year. Now, local bakers have picked up on the vintage-styled cakes, and cuteness is a requisite.
“The cakes that we make are the cakes of our childhood dreams,” says Nicholas Maestranzi, who makes cakes with his business partner Paloma Harada through their Instagram cake shop Zi.
The pair met in 2019 while working at a supermarket and realised they shared an interest in cooking and baking. “Every time we hung out we’d be baking, baking, baking,” Maestranzi says.
Over summer, their shared dream of running a food business became a reality. They quit university and their supermarket jobs and began selling their retro-styled cakes full-time in January this year. And already, they’re nearly at capacity for orders.
Most of the decorating side of the operation is done by Harada from their East Auckland kitchen. She’s not had any previous experience with cake making or pastry but credits baking with her grandma as a child for some of the basic skills she started out with. Inspiration for their whimsically decorated cakes comes from vintage ornaments and ceramics found while op shopping, cake images on Pinterest and Instagram and from memories of bakeries in Japan. Colour combinations are particularly important to the pair, and sources of inspiration can come from “absolutely anywhere”, says Harada – sometimes even a strange combination of colours spotted among food in their waste disposal.
If you look back across the history of cake making, the origins of the elaborately piped cake can be attributed to Marie-Antoine Carême. Considered the father of professionalised French cuisine, he’s widely recognised for his methods of creating fanciful, decorative, sculptural cakes in the 19th century.
Fast-forward a hundred years or so and British pastry chef Joseph Lambeth published his 1934 book Lambeth Method of Cake Decoration and Practical Pastries. In America, Lambeth is credited with popularising what’s known as “over-piping,” a centuries-old technique of overlapping lines to create intricate and layered dessert decorations.
Wedding cakes aside, the Lambeth style of over-piped cakes began falling out of fashion in the 1950s, but the influence of his techniques have lived on. In the 1970s and 1980s, cakes abundantly frosted with colourful icing made a return. It’s these that seem to be the direct predecessors of this cake trend gaining traction today.
Another Auckland baker making kitschy frosted cakes, Stella King, started selling cakes during Auckland’s level three lockdown last year through her cake Instagram From Sugar. Unable to work in her job as a food truck manager and bored at home, she stumbled across pictures of retro-style cakes online from bakeries in Japan, South Korea and Indonesia. “I thought they’re cute, that could be a fun little idea, no one’s really doing that, ” she says. “And it just blew up.”
What really drew her to the sweet treats was their size. “It just seemed like the perfect time for bubble-sized cakes,” she says. The teeny cakes, best suited for sharing between three or four people, were ideal for Aucklanders who were, for the most part, restricted to socialising within their own households. Rather than the typical celebratory messages, during lockdown King was meticulously icing cakes with messages like: “I hope you’re enjoying isolation”, “I miss you”, and a lot of “fuck Covid”.
King has worked professionally as a cake maker and studied pastry for two years previously, but the techniques of intricate buttercream decorating were new to her, so she spent time in lockdown honing her skills. Part of what makes these cakes so cute is that they’re tiny, she explains – usually just 10cm in diameter and typically served in a takeaway bento box. But that also creates challenges for decorating. “It was quite difficult to figure out how to do intricate wording and piping on such a small surface,” she says.
Her cakes are delicately iced with old-timey ruffles and lots of pastel-coloured Swiss meringue buttercream. It’s one of the trickier types of icing to make, and involves combining cooked egg whites with sugar and butter. But it’s worth the effort, she says, because “it’s a little bit lighter, a little bit less sweet than American buttercream and it pipes really, really well – and also I just think it tastes better”.
Her inbox has been buzzing since the beginning. Order slots for her cakes fill up weeks ahead of time. On Valentine’s Day she had to turn down more than 50 people hoping to make orders and recruit friends to help with deliveries. King explains that the popularity of her cakes has relied largely on word of mouth. “Not to toot my own horn but they’re quite pretty and cute, so people want to post about them,” she says.
South Auckland cake maker Monica posted the first picture on the Instagram of her cake business, One Wish Cakes, on December 30 last year. Covered in impressive scalloped frosting and dotted with fresh cherries, the cake appeared to have been made by a seasoned pro. But Monica is entirely self-taught.
In fact, Monica didn’t even have an oven until she moved out of her parents’ place last year. It was only during last year’s lockdown that she made her first iced cakes. She attributes her skills to watching television shows like Cake Boss and Masterchef as a child. Since February, she’s been balancing her newly acquired job at a local cake shop with selling her own creations.
And she’s hoping that she’ll be able to turn her Instagram operation into a full-time job. “It’s always been my dream to have a cake shop,” she says, “so it’s really important to me that I pursue my dream.”
Over the last couple of years, aesthetic subcultures like cottagecore, softcore and balletcore, which romanticise domesticity, cuteness and ultra-femininity, have gained a foothold. Whatever your opinion is of these trends, their influence has pervaded fashion, interiors, pop culture and, of course, food. Think those bucolic dresses with puff sleeves and ruffled hems, the return of ballet flats, soft linen interiors and arguably, sourdough. Monica sees parallels between these and the retro cake trend. “They fit that aesthetic,” she says. “That’s what I think of when I see these vintage cakes, I’m just reminded of cottagecore picnics.”
One of the impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak has been an absence of the celebrations we once considered normal. Weddings, new years, birthdays, graduations and any other kind of get-together that would have called for cake have become potentially risky.
Unquestionably celebratory looking cakes like these tiny ornate creations fill that void – even if they’re shared with one, or kept for yourself. They’re a safe form of celebration that can be delivered directly to your doorstep. And at a time when we could all do with some cheer, it’s therapy in the form of cake.


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Customers now have to dig deeper into their pockets to purchase poultry products.
Nutrimix Group of Companies director Ronnie Mohammed confirmed to Guardian Media on Tuesday that the company on Monday adjusted the prices of their products.
«It (price adjustment) depends on so many different types of products we carry, so the variation is very much skewed. I don’t have a number in front of me but predominantly, I think what would be considered a whole chicken, which I guess is household, the others will be considered more speciality cuts, would have been about six per cent,» Mohammed said.
Explaining that several factors contributed to the adjustments, he said, «There has been a series of adjustments in the marketplace and definitely significant incremental costs relating to hatching eggs, grains, packaging materials, fuel, and our adjustments are a reflection of those costs.»
However, he said Nutrimix was «exceedingly tardy» in adjusting their prices, but «you get to the point where you have higher cost inventory coming in.»
Poultry Association of T&T president and Arawak marketing director Robin Phillips said there was an average price increase of five per cent in the last week of April. He said the adjustments were necessary since they have been running at a loss in their processing division since March.
«Since coming to the end of March when there was a big surge in the price of grain as a result of what is taking place in Ukraine, so we had to make some of the adjustments. A lot of the other inputs have gone up but grain was the main driving force,» he said.
Given the strain on the supply chain, Phillips said a lot of their customers were happy that they could continue to supply chicken.
«At least we have been able to manage that, in terms of sourcing our grain and our hatching eggs, which are the two critical things in our industry. The local poultry industry has been successful in managing that aspect of the business, securing the grain supply and the hatching eggs supply,» Phillips said.
Meanwhile, poultry depot owners admit their customers are complaining and there has been a decline in sales.
«Is like every week going by, chicken going up, it will be like 15 cents, 20 cents, accordingly. There are other businesses paying more money than us. Is like feed gone up, you can’t get baby chicks, eggs…not only chicken, you hardly getting ducks, shortage of eggs,» said Anthony Mohip, owner of 786 Meat Supplies.
Noting that last week he increased his prices, he said: «I doubt I will increase again. I will hold this price until (but), if next week prices go up again well we will have to increase.»
Mohip said a chicken priced at $50 last month could now cost $60 and up.
R&N Poultry and Meat Supplies owner Nalini Jitta is now selling chicken at $8 per pound, 50 cents more than last month’s price.
«It affecting the business. People hardly buying because of the price. So instead of buying five chicken, some of them buying two or one. Some people just walking in, asking the price and then walking back out because they cannot afford it. If wholesale (price) wasn’t that high we would not have to raise it. Because of the shortage of chicken the prices keep going up.»
Explaining that suppliers have been unable to meet their orders, Jitta said she only receives about half of what she orders now.
«You getting a little bit (of chicken) every day. Is not like you getting the full amount,» she added.
Jitta said the price of feed also went up from $180 per bag to $250 in some places. Several customers also complained to Guardian Media about the increases.
Consumer Rajpattie Ramnath complained, «It affecting me real bad because my husband don’t have a regular job and I not working really and the prices of chicken is more than we use to pay before.»
She said she has been forced to reduce her chicken consumption. «Let we say before I used to buy five, six. Now I can only buy about four. So I cannot afford to buy how much I used to buy,» she added.
LINK ORIGINAL: The Trinidad Guardian


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Wood bioenergy companies can reduce feedstock price risk and increase financing options by indexing their supply and power purchase agreements to Forest2Market’s Delivered Price Benchmark.
Energy companies using fossil fuels reduce the price risk associated with their raw material costs by indexing agreements to an industry-accepted energy source price service. Now, Forest2Market—a provider of market price reports, benchmarks and forecasts for the forest and wood products industry—delivers the same service for energy companies using wood as a feedstock.
With Forest2Market’s Delivered Price Benchmark, companies producing energy from wood can reduce the price risk caused by the natural ups and downs of the wood fiber market. Just as they hedge their operational costs by tying adjustments to the Producer Price Index (PPI), they can use the benchmark to hedge the risk of changing feedstock prices.
“When you look at what we do and what wood bioenergy companies need to succeed, the fit is a natural one,” says Pete Stewart, industry expert and President/CEO of Forest2Market. “By indexing their power purchase agreements (PPAs) to changes in wood feedstock costs via Forest2Market’s benchmark, wood biopower producers can be sure their feedstock costs are in line with fair market prices.”
Indexing feedstock costs also increases the chances a biopower project will be financed. “These projects are just more bankable,” says Stewart. “Investors who are assured that both the power producer and the power purchaser are paying fair prices for feedstock are much more likely to back a project.”
Introduced in 2006, Forest2Market’s Delivered Price Benchmark service is the prevailing standard in the traditional forest products industry. In the U.S. South alone, the benchmark data reported to participating customers represents over 75% of the market, with 200 million tons of forest products annually, including wood fuel, saw mill residuals and chips. In the South, over 25 million tons of raw material move under supply agreements indexed to this price service annually.
The database contains 22 million actual sales records, on a load-by-load basis, and includes delivered cost components like freight and haul distance. Forest2Market's Pacific Northwest benchmark contains similar, though regionally specific, data.
Forest2Market has been tracking the bioenergy industry since 2007. The number of announcements for new facilities grew quickly through the first half of 2008. After oil prices dropped, however, the political will for rapid development declined. In September, as the extent of the recession became clear, financing dried up. Now, it appears momentum has returned.
Says Stewart, "With the incentives offered in the stimulus legislation and the policies of the new administration, including a promise to streamline the funding process for both loans and grants, we don't think this is another false start. As a result of this growth, Forest2Market's client base is expanding. Biopower companies are relying on Forest2Market for the information they need to index their agreements, they also turn to us for resource studies to help them determine feedstock availability, plant locations and procurement strategies."
The benefits of a growing bioenergy industry extend beyond energy. As risk is removed from the system and financing becomes more available, viable markets will open for landowners, loggers, dealers, brokers, consultants and sawmills, many of whom are struggling in the current economy. Even pulp and paper companies, which currently produce 90 percent of all renewable energy in the United States, are positioned to take advantage of this new market, says Stewart. "I can envision energy and paper companies working together to produce electricity from wood on a commercial scale."
Suz-Anne Kinney: +1 980 233 4021 or firstname.lastname@example.org


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Welcome to the War. With E3 coming up fast, we’re seeing the moves from the big industry players to come out on top in the next generation of consoles. We’ve also got the next round of platformers from Sony and many little newsbits about the PSP, the 800lb gorilla known as EA throwing down yet another hammer, and the Next-gen X-BOX round-up. Let’s get dirty!
JAK X: COMBAT RACING
Part of the reason for Naughty Dog going with this new take on the Jak and Daxter series is that the developer considers the original Jak storyline to be complete at this point. There was a lot of talk about Jak 3 being the final game in the Jak trilogy, and for now at least, Naughty Dog is staying firm with that line.
That doesn’t mean, however, that Jak X will be devoid of story elements. In fact, it will be one of the most story heavy racing games around, with an adventure mode players can follow that includes a new story for players to follow.
If however, you just want to jump into multiplayer racing, there will be plenty of opportunities to do so in either an offline or online game. In addition to standard options like deathmatch, players can expect creative modes as well. “One is temporarily called Death Race,” says Wells.
“We’ll probably come up with a cooler name for that. The idea behind that is to throw the player onto the track with a bunch of drone cars, which are basically fodder — they don’t fight back; they don’t shoot weapons back. They’re just there for you to destroy. You have to race around the track and try to get the highest score possible to beat your opponents, who are also trying to rack up their score.
The idea is still the high speed racing around the track, because each lap you make actually increments the score value of those drones. You want to get to the second, third, fourth lap as fast as you can so that the point values are higher. So you’re racing around like a madman and just blowing up hundreds of these guys that are constantly populated all around you.”
Having Jak X as Naughty Dog’s first online game is an important part of how this game came together as well. “Jak X started in earnest as Jak 3 shipped and once everyone got a well deserved vacation,” says Wells. “But we had hired a programmer who just had extensive networking experience sometime — I guess it was June of last year.
A lot of that time we were thinking we needed to get more experience with online gaming and were trying to decide what we might do next, so we had him start on getting some of these vehicles networked, and he got that going really fast right away, and it was really obvious that this was the next game we had to work on. He was carrying the torch as a one man team for quite some time. Around the start of November is when the whole team started working on this together.”
Jak X will hit stores sometime close to November 2005 (the official release date is currently “fall”), and players can expect to uncover extra content such as hidden characters by downloading data onto a memory stick from the upcoming Daxter PSP title. (Courtesy 1up.com)
The innovative guys at Insomniac are taking another step forward in their popular franchise, with more than a few changes on the horizon. the team took the success of the multiplayer mode into account when coming up with the single-player game. The result: a darker, more action-focused game, but one still filled with the gameplay fans have come to expect from the Ratchet series.
One of the new features to help players out in the single-player mode is that you now have squad members that follow you around while you play. Like in tactical shooters along the lines of the Rainbow Six series — but far simplified — you can guide your squad members with a context sensitive button that allows you to tell them to use turrets, revive each other, destroy certain objects, flip switches, etc.
If, however, you decide to play in the game’s new split-screen co-op mode, your partner will take the place of your squad friends and the two of you can take on the game together (both players play Ratchet).
Another significant shift for the series is in the overall story, which takes on a darker approach this time around. Instead of saving the galaxy again, the main plot of the game sees Ratchet and sidekick Clank stuck in an underground sports combat television show where they have fend off various challenges in order to stay alive.
Ratchet’s outfit is hidden under battle armor and much of the puzzle solving from the previous games has been toned down. We should note that you don’t get to play as Clank this time around, and as a result the game is heavily focused on Ratchet’s action-oriented abilities. (Courtesy 1up.com)
According to independent research conducted by Enterbrain, Sony’s PSP bested Nintendo in handheld console sales in both February and March of this year.
The most popular handheld in Japan is still the Nintendo DS, however: the DS sold an impressive 1.09 million units during December, a total that Sony has only just now reached after four months of sales.
The PSP, suffering from production delays, sold only 330,000 units in December. The DS continued to beat the PSP in January, selling 450,000 units to the PSP’s 360,000 units.
But the tables turned in February, when 195,000 PSP units were sold, edging out 121,000 DS units. PSP sales increased by a small margin in March, reaching 202,000 units, and DS sales also increased, reaching 136,000 units.
While these new numbers are encouraging for Sony, the PSP still lags behind the DS in overall penetration: Japanese consumers currently own 1.09 million PSPs and 1.8 million DSs.
So what does all this mean? Well, if you’ve seen the two side-by-side, and seen one game for each, you already know who’s going to win out this one…
Also, there’s a Daxter game coming for the PSP, as well the upcoming Grand Theft Auto…
Confirmed Movies for 2005:
Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
Reign of Fire
Kill Bill Vol. 1
Rambo: First Blood
Step Into Liquid
National Lampoon’s Van Wilder
House of the Dead
The biggest publisher in the world made more news today with the annoucement of an exclusive deal with the Collegiate Licensing Company for the exclusive rights to NCAA-themed football games. Under the agreement, EA will be the only publisher allowed to use NCAA brands in console and handheld games for the next 6 years.
This leaves Take-Two with no pigskin games for a while. So, you’ll be seeing An ESPN presentation of NCAA and NFL football. This is a good thing for EA, and it will be for the consumer too, as I’m not anticipating a drop in quality for two of their biggest franchises.
Whenever they’re not destroying competition, they make very good games. Two of their racers, Burnout and Need For Speed: Underground have sequels coming down the pipeline. Details below.
The upcoming Burnout Revenge, in development at series creators Criteron Games, offers a new mode where frustrated real-life commuters (or anyone who wants to see a little automotive destruction) can take out their frustrations on simulated rush hour traffic.
The new title will officially debut at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles on May 18. Burnout Revenge will be available for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in September.
NEED FOR SPEED: MOST WANTED
Need for Speed: Most Wanted is the next installment in EA’s popular racing series.
A high pursuit racer in development at EA Canada, Need for Speed: Most Wanted aims to combine the thrills of illegal street racing with the glamour of a Hollywood-style police pursuit.
“Players instantly will feel the thrill of the ride as they hit the streets in an open world environment where drivers can tune their cars to compete against any class of vehicles or use their wits to out-fox the law to satisfy their need for speed,” says said Larry LaPierre, senior producer, EA Canada.
In the game, players will have to build a reputation on their Rap Sheet, and eventually move up on the universal Black List. In addition to taking on the toughest drivers in the world, the police will be in hot pursuit of your shady activities. You’ll have to outrun them with your tuners, supercars, muscles and sports cars.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted is in development for an unnamed next generation console, PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and PC.
Actor Sean Connery will lend his likeness and voice work to Electronic Arts’ video game adaptation of From Russia With Love, the second James Bond film Connery starred in, reports Reuters.
In addition to Connery, From Russia With Love will feature more talent from the original film cast, including Q (Desmond Llewelyn), Donald “Red” Grant (Robert Shaw), Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya), Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi), Kerim Bay (Pedro Armendariz) and Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell).
Connery sees his involvement as an important part of the creative process. “Video games are an extremely popular form of entertainment today, and I am looking forward to seeing how it all fits together,” he said.
From Russia With Love is scheduled for a fall release on PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. Casino Royale, the next James Bond film, will be released in 2006 (hopefully, seeing how they have no Bond yet).
XBOX 2 COMING SOON!
While new game consoles are traditionally unveiled at industry-only events like the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Microsoft’s next-generation game console will make its debut in front of a global television audience on MTV.
“Just as MTV revolutionized the way the world experiences music, the next-generation video game console from Xbox will spark a revolution in how consumers experience games and other forms of digital entertainment,” says Peter Moore, corporate vice president of worldwide marketing and publishing for Xbox at Microsoft.
Elijah Wood, internationally known for his role in the Academy Award-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy will host the event. The special will provide a look at upcoming games, a behind the scenes look at the making of the console, live performances by Los Angeles rock group The Killers and celebrity interviews.
The special will air in North America on May 12 at 9:30 Eastern, followed by broadcast in Asia Pacific and Europe over a 24 hour period.
Now here’s the other stuff that isn’t being said loudly.
Who’s going to make games for it?
Electronic Arts, Activision, Ubisoft, Capcom, Rockstar Games and Konami are some of the biggest names. Korean online content company Webzen, who’s MU Online has over 56 million users in Asia alone, may be the most substantial newcomer.
“This stellar lineup of publishers and developers is poised to deliver games experiences our customers only dreamed were possible, and is ultimately committed to elevating video games to be the No. 1 form of entertainment,” said Microsoft’s Peter Moore.
Other publishers on the list include 2K Games, Atari, Bandai, Bethesda Softworks, Buena Vista Games, Codemasters, Eidos, FromSoftware, InterServ International, KOEI, LucasArts, Majesco, Midway Games, Namco, Phantagram, SCi Games, Sega, Tecmo, THQ, TWP and Vivendi Universal Games.
What’s gonna be different?
Let’s see, it will be more powerful, faster, yadda, yadda. Biggest thing may be it’s wireless controllers, and online functionality right out of the box.
We’ll have a preliminary Head-to-head of both systems soon!
Till next time…


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As a small business, it can be tempting to go with the obvious and well known. Take PayPal, for example. It’s ubiquitous, it’s got brand recognition and, despite the vocal dislike of some, is generally trusted by shoppers. So if you’re a small business doing business internationally, why wouldn’t you go with this simple and obvious option?
For Meghana Rao, co-founder of Aniika.com, researching alternative options around logistics and payment was the difference between keeping and losing customers. And it slashed her cart abandonment rate from around 60 percent to about 5 percent.
Going With the Expected
Rao started Aniika.com along with her co-founder Shamim Tiruvang a year and a half ago to bring jewelry, accessories and home décor from emerging Indian designers to American customers. Rao is based in America and Tiruvang in India. They got their website up and running with a seed investment from India, a fact that necessitated them forming an Indian company initially. That meant finding a means to ship goods internationally and a payment gateway that would work with Indian banks, while pleasing American customers in compliance with India’s strict inward remittance laws.
The legal challenges didn’t worry the founders. “That’s fine. We’re not doing any illegal stuff here,” Rao said of the tight controls. But finding a payment gateway that satisfied the needs of both Indian banks and American buyers proved trickier.
“Indian payment gateways were asking for information like ‘issuing bank.’ People here weren’t used to giving that kind of information. It would be unsettling,” she explained. Their startup was too small to lean on giant banks like Citibank for a gateway, “So we said, ‘OK, people know PayPal, how bad can it be?’ ” Rao said.
An Unforeseen Problem
In short, much worse than she imagined. Some, such as the unavailability of PayPal Pro, were country specific to Indian companies. Others, such as the inability to do single transactions in excess of $500, were temporary.
“The most ridiculous problem was, if you have ever opened a PayPal account in your life and you happen to use that email address to checkout on my website, they don’t let you use a credit card,” Rao said.
The end result of all these hassles was crystal clear. “Our cart abandonment rate at the payment page was something like 60%,” Rao said. “We would actually get emails saying, ‘I’m frustrated. Please help me.’ ”
The Search for a Solution
For a brief time, Rao resorted to using a Square credit card reader that she had from her days selling at flea markets to manually input payments. But after watching so many sales slip through their fingers, and spending large chunks of their days calling and emailing thwarted customers, the founders were determined to find a better way.
“We said, this cannot continue. So we got in touch with a really good international tax consultant here [in the States] and a lawyer and said, ‘OK, what can we do?’ ” Rao said.
With no other Indian payment options presenting themselves, they were advised to open a United States LLC to process payments and manage shipping. With this company set up, she could use an established U.S. payment gateway and decided to go with Authorize.net.
That might seem like more work than it’s worth for a small business that hasn’t yet reached its second birthday, but they’d taken this approach before with their shipping partner, going through a process of trial and error before finding the right one.
“The cost of shipping and related logistics can break a business model,” Rao wrote recently on women 2.0.
A 2013 study from UPS on online shoppers indicates Rao was smart to make shipping and payment easy for her customers. The study found that delivery dates, shipping costs and variety of payment options were among the top things customers said were important to them in the online check-out process.
Rao conceded there were some challenges: setting up an LLC was simple, but she did have to negotiate “the hassle of getting someone to manage it and the paperwork that is involved with the tax, etc.” But, she said, “It’s totally justified by the increase in sales.”
The numbers speak for themselves: cart abandonment is now down by 90 percent.
“For the last six months we’ve had both Authorize.net, where you just pay directly on our site, and PayPal for those who love PayPal,” she said. “We barely have any cart abandonments anymore.”
More from UPS:


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Uber will not take any commission from its drivers in the national capital until uncertainty over how it can operate in the city is cleared up, the US-based online taxi-hailing company said on Tuesday.
The government banned Uber in the capital city following rape allegations against one of its drivers. The company, however, restarted services there last week and applied for a radio taxi licence. A transport official said on Friday that Uber remained blacklisted.
The taxi service provider said on Tuesday it had adopted a business model similar to a government-approved smartphone app called 'Pooch-O', which connects customers with commercially-licensed auto-rickshaws and does not charge any fee.
"Uber has modified its business model in line with the above framework, and is currently operating without commission or fees until the regulatory ambiguity is resolved," the company said.
Uber was taking a commission of 20 per cent from its drivers in New Delhi, and started offering additional incentives including a Rs 250 bonus per trip after resuming operations last week.
"This allows Uber to legally operate... While working out the details of a long-term solution with the government," Uber said.
"Definitely it hurts our business as we are not to going make any money. We will in fact spend money to run Delhi operations for our riders," a senior Uber executive, who did not wish to be identified, told Reuters.
Officials at the transport department in the national capital were not immediately available to comment.
The company is also fighting bans in France, Spain and South Korea, imposed because some of its drivers were not correctly licensed. It has had to contend with further rape allegations against drivers in Chicago and Boston.
India is Uber's largest market outside the United States by number of cities covered, and the country's radio taxi market is estimated to be worth US $6 billion to US $9 billion.
Uber, valued at US $40 billion in December, said last week it would introduce additional safety measures including more stringent driver checks and an in-app emergency button.


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John McAslan + Partners has been working on costed design proposal to help Britain’s theatre sector reopen in the next 6-months. With the pandemic already costing the UK theatre industry £500 million, ongoing requirements for social distancing have made it seem impossible for many of Britain’s theatres to viably reopen.
John McAslan + Partners has sought to see how the innovative design can help secure the future of theatres through creating a design blueprint that allow theatres to reopen at 60% capacity, focusing initially on London’s West End. The proposal is based on a combination of rethinking seating design and layouts, integrating a range of spatial strategies for social distancing and a new innovative type of theatre seat. You can read more detail about JMP’s design proposal here.


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Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Ocado Group to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 18th. Numis Securities raised shares of Ocado Group to a buy rating and set a GBX 700 ($9.12) price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on shares of Ocado Group from GBX 585 ($7.62) to GBX 930 ($12.11) and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, May 18th. Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ocado Group to a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 11th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a buy rating on shares of Ocado Group in a report on Wednesday, May 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Ocado Group currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of GBX 533.20 ($6.95).
Ocado Group stock traded down GBX 7.60 ($0.10) during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting GBX 914.80 ($11.92). The company had a trading volume of 1,990,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,950,000. Ocado Group has a 1 year low of GBX 233.10 ($3.04) and a 1 year high of GBX 603.20 ($7.86).
In related news, insider Duncan Tatton-Brown sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 866 ($11.28), for a total value of £866,000 ($1,128,044.81). Also, insider Tim Steiner sold 4,791,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 1,060 ($13.81), for a total transaction of £50,786,720 ($66,154,383.22).
About Ocado Group
Ocado Group plc operates as an online grocery retailer in the United Kingdom. It sells general merchandise products on its Ocado.com hypermarket through three specialty destination sites, including Fetch, a specialty pet store; Sizzle, a kitchen and dining store; and Fabled, a premium beauty store. The company also engages in the development and monetization of intellectual property and technology used for the online retailing, logistics, and distribution of grocery and consumer goods.
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Colombian designer - Andrea Landa bagged the IAF Designer Award at the recently concluded IAF World Fashion Convention in Colombia.
For the first time, the IAF Designer Award was not announced during a traditional catwalk show of the nominees.
Instead, the nominees’ best pieces were displayed on mannequins in one of Medellín’s prime shopping centre - El Tesoro.
Also present was last year’s winner, Marga Weimans from the Netherlands with her latest Spring Collection.
Andrea Landa too will be invited to attend next year’s convention and also present her collection.
Leslie Holden, Head of Faculty of Department of Design and Management at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute and head of the jury announced the winner of the IAF designer award.
He praised Andrea Landa for her collection - Tribal Queen, in which she used local materials in a very elegant way.
The nominees for the award included; Saurabh Kumar – India, Sonal Verma – India, Fernanda Da Silva – Brazil, Andrea Landa – Colombia, Love Citizens – Colombia and Yeo Ting Ting Jolene – Singapore.
The judges for the award were Leslie Holden, Martha Cálad - Fashion Lab Director at Inexmoda and Ed Gribbin, CEO of Alvanon. (AR)
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India


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German Christmas markets thrive despite the pandemic
29 Nov 2020
An overview of a traditional Christmas market last year. AP
Gulf Today Report
Although the pandemic didn’t stop the Landshut Christmas market in southern Germany from opening, it came with a different twist this year.
Purchasing of roasted chestnuts, mulling steamed drinks and enjoy Christmas carols were all done from inside the car to curb the spread of the virus.
Since the opening, several cars roll into the drive-in market after dark to enjoy the atmosphere.
People visit with their cars a drive in Christmas market in Landshut. AFP
In an orderly manner, the occupants are expected to wait for an employee to knock on their window with the menu. After placing their savoury orders, they can drive to the next hut to get sweets.
Patrick Schmit, market organiser and owner of the Zollhaus Landshut restaurant said despite the pandemic, they wanted to give people a bit of Christmas cheer and also help business owners get through tough times.
"We take our inspiration from fast-food chains," he added.
An employee in front of a sales booth at the Christmas market. AFP
Currently, Germany is battling with the second wave of COVID-19, it has placed strict restrictions including limiting annual Christmas markets.
The markets have been part of Germany’s Christmas tradition since the 15th century.
Therefore, cities across the country have come up with different innovations for the Christmas market tradition to thrive despite the pandemic.
In Berlin's Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district, small clusters of huts have been spread across several streets, though food and drink cannot be consumed on-site.
People at the Landshut Christmas drive-in market. AFP
Nuremberg Christmas market has been cancelled but an online traditional opening ceremony was held.
Kalkar Christmas market is open but it is a drive-in.


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Famed newspaper designer Mario Garcia has seen a lot of changes in the 18 months since the iPad hit the market. In fact, more than half of the work he is doing currently is in tablet design.
One of those projects is for The New Straits Times in Malaysia, which will launch its tablet edition Nov. 11.
"We will launch in Malaysia on 11-11-11," he told News & Tech in an interview. "That is a very special date."
After 40 years in the business, Garcia has recently gone from the most sought-after newspaper print designer to the most sought-after tablet designer. And he has some strong advice for newspapers as they make the transition.
"The tablet is a very unique medium, and you simply do not dump content from the newspaper into it," he said. "Print is designed for the brain and the eye - the tablet is designed for the brain, eye and finger."
To get it right, he said, newspapers must devote the proper manpower to tablet development, including a content editor, photo editor and videographer.
Garcia raised some caution flags about the distractions newspapers should avoid in tablet design.
"You don't want this to be Christmas morning, the 4th of July and Disneyworld all at once."
For News & Tech's complete interview with Garcia, see the January/February 2012 issue.


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The Pokémon Mystery Dungeon franchise is one of the better-known 'mon spin-offs, which had various entries on the DS and most recently Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity on the 3DS; according to Nintendo the sub-series has sold over 13 million copies overall.
The big N and the Pokémon Company International have now announced Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon for the 3DS; it's coming to retail in North America towards the end of this year, though Europeans need to wait until early 2016. As before there'll be randomly generated dungeons, with the press release saying the following.
Players can look forward to even greater, randomly created dungeons that change each time they enter. In Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, players will battle alongside Legendary and Mythical Pokémon to save the world in a sweeping tale of adventure and mystery.
There are no real details yet, but are you pleased that another entry in this franchise is on the way? Let us know in the comments.


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Samsung this morning has dropped as temporary teaser about their next-generation Exynos SoC. Dubbed “Exynos is again”, Samsung is revealing that there will probably be a correct announcement for the brand new SoC on January 12, which might fall on the primary full day of CES.
Being that this can be a teaser, any particulars are non-existent. However it’s price noting that Samsung is promising “An entire new Exynos is coming”. Which hopefully is an indication that Samsung has spent the final couple of years exhausting at work on bettering their future designs.
Though the latest high-end Exynos designs (e.g. Exynos 990) have been first rate, they’ve been overshadowed by rival Qualcomm’s designs – to not point out Apple’s personal market-leading components. The previous couple of iterations of the chip have used Samsung’s personal in-house CPU core design, which by no means labored out fairly in addition to Samsung hoped for, each in total efficiency and in holding forward of Arm’s personal licensable designs.
Fittingly, Samsung has beforehand confirmed that they will be (again to) utilizing Arm’s cores in future designs, significantly the the Cortex-X1, Arm’s massive effort to double-down on total CPU efficiency. So it is just about assured that Cortex-X1 will present up in Samsung’s next-gen SoC – particularly in the event that they need to compete with Qualcomm’s X1-equipped next-gen Snapdragon.
In any case, we’ll have extra on the matter in a couple of weeks, when Samsung makes their announcement. So keep tuned.
— Samsung Exynos (@SamsungExynos) December 18, 2020


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TfL has “no plans” to reinstate a dedicated freight team for London, according to TfL transport commissioner Mike Brown. Speaking at a session of the London Assembly’s transport committee last week, Brown said TfL’s decision to disband the freight team last year and embed its former members across the organisation is producing “significant progress”. Brown was responding to the transport committee’s concerns that the lack of a dedicated freight team would impact on the delivery of London’s Freight Servicing Action […]
Wilson James has won a five-year contract with University College London (UCL) to act as logistics partner for the university’s Bloomsbury Transformation Programme.
Direct Vision Standard is not the best approach to reducing road deaths, warn transport associations
Both the RHA and FTA have reiterated their opposition to TfL’s Direct Vision Standard (DVS) arguing there are more effective ways to reduce vulnerable road user casualties on the capital’s roads.
London mayoral candidate Diane Abbott has called for the introduction of an ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) in the capital by 2018, two years ahead of plans proposed by current mayor Boris Johnson.


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Coinbase new york coiny
Gemini obtained a trust charter from New York’s Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) in 2015, and Coinbase is registered as a money services business with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
Here is an exclusive study of what makes these assets Coinbase worthy and how the announcement has impacted the coin price. Coinbase has announced the possible addition of eight new tokens to its current collection. Per a blog posting from the exchange, Coinbase is exploring the addition of Algorand, Cosmos, Dash See more of New York Coin. NYC Coin NO FEE Crypto. on Facebook Nov 29, 2020 · According to a report by the New York Times, former employees at Coinbase are speaking out against an alleged pattern of discrimination at the company.Coinbase was founded in 2012 to serve as an exchange for emerging cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Feb 25, 2021 · Digital currency exchange Coinbase has officially filed to go public, riding a wave of bitcoin enthusiasm that has sent the cryptocurrency markets soaring. Founded in 2012, Coinbase helps users Jul 31, 2020 · Coinbase’s goal is to offer support for all assets that meet our technical standards and which comply with applicable laws.
Coinbase made a similar announcement in late 2018 as it revealed it was adding a plethora of new tokens including Cardano, Tezos and XRP. For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has been on an altcoin listing spree. And the Coinbase listings have shown to have a positive impact on the price of the digital asset immediately following the announcement. Recently, COMP token was the one that experienced a significant jump in its prices. Before that, Maker and OmiseGo recorded good returns. […] Oct 30, 2020 · News Coinbase Adds Attorneys From Google, Dyson to Legal Department Katherine Minarik and Milana McCullagh will work with Paul Grewal, a former Facebook lawyer who joined Coinbase as chief legal Coinbase - New York.
Coinbase could go public at a higher initial valuation than any other U.S. tech company since Facebook. Coinbase generated $141 million of net income on $691 million in revenue for the first nine months of 2020, according to documents shared with investors. Coinbase last month launched a secondary share sale via Nasdaq Private Markets (f.k.a.
Coinbase: Cryptocurrencies Under Review […] Coinbase is headquartered in San Francisco, CA and has 6 office locations across 4 countries. See the full list at Craft.
28 Feb 2021 News: NY gives Tether the boot, Tether leaks, Coinbase financials, is going public via a direct listing on Nasdaq under the symbol COIN.
New York's Department of Financial Services granted the company a BitLicense in 2017, and the platform is now licensed to operate in 44 states and Washington, D.C. It's also Staying true to his word, Armstrong’s Coinbase is setting its sights on Wall Street in a new expansion move aimed at growing the staff at its newly opened New York City office. According to a new report , Coinbase is planning on hiring over 100 new employees for its New York City office over the next year, increasing the head count Coinbase Pro is constantly adding new listings to their platform to broaden the services that they can offer to customers. In a recent post from the Coinbase Blog , the platform has announced several new additions that consumers can benefit from – EOS ( EOS ), Augur ( REP ), and Maker ( MKR ). Coinbase is an online digital currency platform that allows customers to send, receive, and store certain digital currencies. Archer opened a Coinbase account to purchase, trade, and store cryptocurrency.
Coinbase will also NEVER make outbound phone calls.
Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong is set for a hefty payday as his company 10/3/2020 Coinbase Founder and CEO Brian Armstrong attends Consensus 2019 at the Hilton Midtown on May 15, 2019 in New York City. Steven Ferdman/Getty Images Coinbase, a leading US-based crypto exchange, has launched trading services with USDC and Zcash for its New York-based clients. Announced on Twitter, the exchange opened trading with the two digital currencies across all its platforms – Coinbase.com and mobile apps for both iOS and Android. 2/25/2021 Coinbase New York City, NY, US. Apply on company website.
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12 Feb 2020 The San Francisco-based crypto exchange also revealed the addition of the dollar-linked USDC stable coin. Coinbase and Circle Financial first
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To stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market, manufacturing firms have no choice: they’ve got to leverage the power of technologies like artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Given the current pace of technological transformation, these solutions are essential for their growth—and even their survival!
And yet, many manufacturers have been slow to get on board. According to a 2017 BDC survey of 1,000 Canadian business owners, just 3% of small and mid-size manufacturing companies have fully digitized their production. Partial digitization was reported by 36%, leaving 17% in the planning phase and 41% still at square one, without a single action taken yet. These numbers are in line with the findings of our fourth annual publication, IT Trends in Medium and Large-Sized Canadian Companies, produced in collaboration with Léger.
This article summarizes how the manufacturing sector is coming along in four key areas: artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, human resources and cloud computing.
1- Artificial intelligence: Making slow inroads
Most manufacturers haven’t adopted artificial intelligence or advanced analytics yet, but many are giving it serious thought. For the time being, just 15% of manufacturing-sector companies reported feeling AI-related pressure. However, 44 % said they expect it will impact their business within 1 or 2 years, while another 37% see it happening within 3 to 5 years.
A 2019 Léger survey conducted for the Quebec Ministry of Economy and Innovation found that artificial intelligence ranks third (45%) among the types of technology that manufacturers are interested in. Of those that expressed interest in artificial intelligence, 65% were from the Quebec City region, followed by Central Quebec (54%) and Montreal (43%).
One third of manufacturing businesses plans to make AI investments in the next two years. Current AI users say they implemented the technology to increase productivity (59%) or reduce operating costs (52%). “This isn’t surprising,” says Patrick Caron, Director of Industry 4.0 Solutions at NOVIPRO. “Improved operations and competitiveness are the main drivers of technology investments.”
Even though AI isn’t widespread in the manufacturing industry, there’s no doubt that it will be used more often in the coming years.
2- Cybersecurity: Manufacturers at risk
According to BDC, manufacturing is essential to the Canadian economy, generating $648.9 million in 2017 and accounting for 10% of GDP. And since so many suppliers and manufacturers depend on this sector’s products and services, it has the potential to affect other industries and markets.
That makes manufacturing businesses choice targets for cyber criminals. Hackers know that stealing manufacturing data could seriously destabilize markets.
Yet just 41% of manufacturing businesses reviewed their data security practices after the widely publicized leaks in the banking sector in 2019. That’s less than the national cross-industry average of 48%. Among those that tightened up their security practices, 68% invested in hardware and 59% added software.
What’s concerning is that cyberattacks on Canadian companies are on the rise, striking 37% in 2019, compared with 28% in 2018. The victims included 35% of all manufacturers. When asked about the source of IT threats, 41% said it was internal, meaning unwitting employees were the problem. “Threats from inside an organization are very real. Security breaches often occur unintentionally, with too few employees trained to identify risks,” says Roger Ouellet, Solutions Designer and Security Practices Manager at NOVIPRO.
This suggests that businesses should provide employees with regular and comprehensive training on best practices in cybersecurity. In reality, 72% manufacturers have done so in the past year.
3- Human resources: Training remains an issue
Another major challenge for manufacturing firms is human resources management. The pinch of Canada’s labour shortage is being felt.
According to a 2018 BDC survey, 56% of manufacturers had trouble filling positions in the past 12 months. However, our study found that the shortage of IT specialists is less of an issue than before.
When asked about the biggest challenges affecting their IT departments, 61% of respondents cited a lack of training and skills development opportunities. The same proportion complained of a lack of vision in career management. Meanwhile, 64% of Canadian businesses (from all sectors) said a lack of training and skills development was their biggest human resources concern.
4- Cloud computing: The preferred solution
Cloud technology has won over the majority of manufacturing businesses because it’s less costly. While 53% of businesses use cloud solutions, this proportion rises to 65% among manufacturers. The survey commissioned by the Quebec Ministry of Economy and Innovation asked business leaders which type of technology was of greatest interest to them, and respondents in the manufacturing sector ranked cloud computing (50%) second after automation (57%). Interest in cloud computing was higher among businesses in Western Quebec.
In addition, 30% of manufacturing firms admitted that cloud computing was the way of the future, but that they simply weren’t ready to make the switch yet. Just 12% of manufacturers remain unconvinced that this technology is suitable for their needs.
Why are manufacturers investing in cloud technology? More than half (55%) said that it was primarily for data backup, followed by analytics (40%) and website optimization (40%).
The short-term priority for companies should be to seek effective protection for their data. Cyberattacks are becoming increasingly diverse and complex, and they’re evolving faster than most companies’ security solutions. Then, over the medium term, businesses should explore new technologies to help them stand out in a fiercely competitive global market.
Learn more about the 2020 TI NOVIPRO/LÉGER study: download the full study.


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June 8, 2019 Staff Report
The police are looking for two suspects who robbed a 26-year-old man at knifepoint in Ridgewood Tuesday night.
The suspects allegedly approached the victim on the corner of Woodbine Street and Woodward Avenue on June 4 at around at 7:20 p.m., with one of the perpetrators displaying a knife.
The alleged perpetrators, both men, then took the victim’s bag which contained $100 and a cellphone.
Police released a video of the suspects.
Anyone with information in regard to the identity of the suspects is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com
These kids need jobs. Shame on you OAC and Debliasio demoncrats for destroying 25,000 Amazon Job Opportunities
Sarah, Democrats have been destroying minority children for years. Why would they stop now?
I mean, you’re usually completely wrong; but you didn’t even TRY to provide a shred of evidence for your cute little rant about “muh libruls.”
On the contrary, it is Amazon who is destroying the mom and pop stores and retail stores that might offer our kids jobs. Then Amazon further screws our country by paying zero in taxes! OAC’s complaints are spot on.
OAC is a legend … in her own mind (if she even has one).
Is it because of how mature our Groper-in-chief’s tweets are? Lmao
You know “AOC” stands for her initials right? Stop being so emotional, it will give you time to think.