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Less than month after its national prohibition order took effect, the state-run Barbados Water Authority (BWA) now says it intends to relax the controversial restrictions, which have been met with strong condemnation from householders and businesses alike.
The BWA’s Manager of Engineering Charles Marville made the announcement during a public consultation with residents in St John last night at which he acknowledged that the ban on the use of water for non-essential purposes, such as irrigation and filling or supplying of tanks, had negatively affected businesses which rely heavily on water.
“General speaking, I can tell you that the relaxations would come in terms of allowing customers, . . . both residential and domestic customers, to use water efficiently, rather than not use at all,” Marville told the gathering.
“We recognize that obviously, people have their businesses based on supply of water and some businesses are very, very water intensive, so they have to use the water. But what we want to do and what we want to encourage you to do is to use water efficiently,” he added.
However, he warned that the three-month prohibition order, which took effect at the start of the month, would remain in force for such things as watering lawns.
“The grass will grow back when the rain comes, but obviously things like your hygiene, we would encourage you to use water efficient devices.
“For your businesses, if you have to do irrigation for your crops, rather than using sprinklers, we advice you to use drip irrigation or some other efficient water use device,” Marville suggested.
He also pointed out that the current supply of water remains limited, as he called on Barbadians to be more conscientious about their water use.
“We are not saying don’t use it, but use it more efficiently. That is where we are now,” he stressed.
The current three-month ban also affects the use of water for the watering of gardens, lawns and grounds, filling or supplying of ponds, baths or swimming pools, washing roadways, pavements, paths, garages, out-rooms or vehicles by hose.
The BWA official promised that over the next few weeks more would be said about the proposed ease in restrictions by way of press releases from the authority.
He also said the BWA planned to engage tourism and agriculture stakeholders, as well as fisherfolk and others, on the efficient use of the island’s water resources.
“So we can’t just turn on the pipe as we used to and let it run all day,” he said, cautioning that the current dry spell was one of the worst ever and that it was not over yet.
Today, the Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association welcomed the latest announcement by the BWA, while stating that hoteliers were most concerned about restrictions placed on the use of water for filling swimming pools.
Springer is therefore looking forward to the promised ease.


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Home Tags Thierry stern
Tag: thierry stern
Thierry Stern says the company tries to avoid selling to people who will flip the watches, but it's not easy to control.
"I’m keen to travel again, to meet all the retailers. It’s not cool to talk remotely like this. I prefer to see them," says Thierry Stern.
Plan is for a boutique-only reference sold solely through Patek Philippe-owned showrooms in London, Geneva and Paris.
However, over 300 retail doors have been cut world-wide to give remaining 440 partners better access to supply.
Swiss watchmaker is increasing production "drop-by-drop" but will never allow Patek Philippe to be pigeonholed as a steel sports watch brand.
Swiss brand Patek Philippe has announced The Art of Watches Grand Exhibition New York which will take place in July next year at Cipriani...
Patek Philippe reopens its Bond Street boutique in London this morning following nine months of expansion and renovation. The London Patek Philippe Salon has grown...

domain: news


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At least three national cannabis companies have either departed the California marijuana market this year or are planning to shutter facilities in order to save on costs – the latest signal that profits are not exactly free-flowing for the industry in every U.S. state.
Rather, many nationally-minded cannabis businesses face significant financial headwinds, and thus are being forced to make tough choices about where to focus their resources for expansion, several industry experts told Green Market Report.
California, in particular, has proven tough for many companies to survive in, let alone thrive, due to an immense underground market, high state and local taxes, and plenty of red tape for businesses to navigate.
So far in 2022:
- Colorado-based edibles maker Wana Brands pulled out of the California market entirely, a spokesman confirmed to Green Market Report.
- Florida-based Trulieve (CSE: TRUL) (OTC: TCNNF) announced on Aug. 10 that it plans to close at least some of the retail stores it owns in California and maybe all three.
- Massachusetts-based Curaleaf (CSE: CURA) (OTC: CURLF) this week confirmed to Business Insider that it had laid off staff at a Sacramento facility and plans to close it down.
“We’d been in California for about two years, and we kind of quietly made the decision to wind things down,” said Joe Hodas, chief marketing officer at Wana Brands, which exited California at the beginning of 2022.
The bottom line was that Wana Brands wasn’t turning a profit in the tough California landscape, Hodas said, and so the company pulled the plug.
“It’s a losing market for us in terms of overall profitability,” Hodas said. “And where we looked at where we could put our resources and our time, there were just significant swaths of the country that we’re growing in that felt like the better place to put our dollars and our resources.”
Hodas cited several factors that many within California have long complained about, and added that so-called “slotting fees” – additional charges tacked on by retailers in exchange for valuable shelf space at brick-and-mortar dispensaries – made growth even harder.
Read more at
Companies Flee California In Latest Sign Of Cannabis Industry Turbulence


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Bracken Tor to be Delayed
Early Q1 2012 now new release date.
Publisher Iceberg Interactive announced today the news that the upcoming PC horror adventure game Bracken Tor: The Time of Tooth and Claw, currently in development by British developer Shadow Tor Studios, has been further delayed. The new expected release date is now "early Q1 2012".
On the delays for Bracken Tor, an Iceberg Interactive spokesperson had this to say: “The developer is and has been working hard on the game, which has become much bigger over the past year than originally intended. We are aware the Bracken Tor release date has been moved back several times now and we do regret missing the Halloween deadline, but Shadow Tor is a small indie developer working on a really big project and as such it can be difficult to actually tie things up." He continued to say: "We're quite sure the developer will finish the project before Christmas 2011 but that will not give us time to release it this year. That being said we are still convinced Bracken Tor will be an adventure game classic. We know we're asking for a lot of patience, especially from customers who have pre-ordered. It has been a long wait, but we want to make that wait worthwhile instead of rushing an unfinished product out. Hence, we have now adapted the more generic Q1-2012 date which basically means 'when it's done', to avoid people focusing on a specific date and getting their hopes up.”
For those that haven't kept up with Bracken Tor, this horror adventure game puts players in the shoes of a bold journalist, looking to make it big on the front page. Livestock have been found torn to shreds and now a murder of a lone hiker has been discovered. Are there beasts traveling about Moorland on a vicious and deadly hunt? What about the strange glowing lights? Investigate the stone formation Bracken Tor to discover what is happening in the darkness. For more information, visit the official website by clicking here.
Some of the features of Bracken Tor includes:
- Explore the desolate moorland & ancient sites, searching for evidence.
- Travel back in time, to The Bronze Age, to learn its secrets.
- A complete interactive world; brought to life on your PC.
- Environmental sounds and weather to heighten the experience.
- An unnerving and eerie soundtrack to chill the blood.
- Experience virtual archaeology, and uncover the past.
- Survive beast attacks using items close at hand. Defend yourself!
- A complex and unusual story to piece together.
- Glean clues from newspaper articles and local radio broadcasts.
- Solve a bloody murder through investigation and detection.


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At the Reuters Tech Summit, Trulia chief executive Pete Flint says private equity investors are starting to pull back from buying U.S. real estate, while overseas buyers are coming on strong once again. Video
- Kanye West wins over critics with 'daring' new album 'Yeezus'
- Angelina Jolie stunt double sues News Corp over hacking
- Massachusetts police search NFL player's home in homicide probe: report
- Journalist who brought down U.S. general is killed in Los Angeles car crash
- Asian markets tense before Fed; Nikkei outperforms
Activision names Yahoo vet to guide Guitar Hero
NEW YORK |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Activision said it named Dan Rosensweig, Yahoo former chief operating officer, to run the unit that develops the video game software maker's unit popular Guitar Hero franchise.
Rosensweig was named President and Chief Executive of RedOctane, the business unit behind Guitar Hero, a blockbuster title whose sales topped $800 million in 2008, according to industry estimates. He will oversee game development, hardware manufacturing, supply chain, logistics and marketing.
The former CEO of RedOctane, Kai Huang, will continue working at RedOctane, reporting to Rosensweig. Kai Huang and brother Charles Huang created Guitar Hero.
Like rival game "Rock Band", developed by Viacom's MTV, Guitar Hero gamers play along to songs with controllers shaped like a guitar, drum set, or microphone.
In a statement, Activision said that Rosensweig, who served as Chief Operating Officer of Yahoo from 2002 through 2006, will help the company expand the franchise globally "in new and innovative ways."
(Reporting by Franklin Paul; editing by Gunna Dickson)
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Beer beer beer
Upper Haight staple Cha Cha Cha is getting into the beer business. Owner Irfan Yalcin has transferred the restaurant’s beer and wine license into an on-site brewing license. (Said license will also allow the bar serve margaritas, Puerto Rican punch, and other cocktails.) According to Hoodline, Yalcin plans to renovate the back bar soon to accommodate a small brewing facility and then start brewing by early November, though he hasn’t hired a head brewer yet.
Chef change at Copita
Joanne Weir’s contemporary Mexican restaurant Copita Tequileria y Comida has a new executive chef: Daniel Tellez. Tellez has already been managing the kitchen at the Sausalito restaurant for two years, but in his new role, he’ll launch new menu items starting Friday, October 5. Before joining Copita, he was an executive chef at Anona Neobistro and Starwood Hotels Westin Santa Fe Hotel, both in Mexico City.
Legendary Sonoma restaurateur dies
Season is out today
Oakland writer and SF Chronicle food columnist Nik Sharma’s much buzzed-about debut cookbook, Season, is finally here. And Eater has a story today with Sharma and prolific cookbook writer Julia Turshen discussing the need for diversity in the cookbook world.
What a mess
Sacramento’s Mexican restaurant chain Casa Ramos is facing a state Department of Justice investigation. The family-run company’s future is being threatened by a lawsuit alleging embezzlement, with the whole disagreement stemming from the sudden death of a family member.


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Would you pay $115 for a bamboo steamer that goes for less than half that in the US?
- by Adam Turner
Amazon employees are reportedly providing confidential data and other services in exchange for a fee.
- by Luke Kawa
Workers at Amazon’s first Australian warehouse say they’re too stressed to function and too scared to go to the toilet.
- by Patrick Hatch
The online superstore's market value hit $US1 trillion for the first time on Tuesday - and no one else has benefited more than its founder.
- by Jeran Wittenstein & Tom Metcalf
This milestone would never have come if it weren't for one key decision, analysts said.
- by Spencer Soper
Bezos isn't only the world's richest man. He's also looked after his family, giving his parents a 12 million per cent return for backing him during Amazon's startup days.
- by Tom Metcalf
Instead of talking about a very real issue, the President prefers to lash out at one of his perceived enemies.
- by Joe Nocera
Amazon shoppers can buy onesies for babies stamped with alt-right images, Nazi-themed action figures and anti-Semitic books and music.
- by Mihir Zaveri
A how-to guide on taking sneaky "creepshots" of women, which is available online in Australia, urges readers to take up the "healthy hobby".
- by Simone Fox Koob & Melissa Cunningham


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“Pay for Delay” Drug Manufacturers Vs. the Federal Trade Commission
The Supreme Court will hear arguments starting on March 25th between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the Justice Department and several state Attorney Generals against large drug manufacturers such as Actavis, AbbVie and Paddock Laboratories.
The issue is whether or not brand-name drug manufacturers will be able to continue to settle patent litigation with generic drug manufacturers, in exchange for keeping generic products away from the market for some time after brand name products are already available. The settlements allow for greater profits for both manufacturers, by eliminating competition at different times during a drug's patent life.
This has been referred to as “Pay for Delay” by the FTC, which has fought against the practice for over a decade, with mixed results leading to the case before the Supreme Court now. The FTC, citing anti-trust violations, released a statement, saying, “The continuing stream of monopoly profits is large enough to pay the generic competitors more than they could hope to earn if they entered the market at competitive prices.”
While seen as an illegal practice by the FTC and others, drug manufacturers defend the settlement deals as a way to prevent harmful litigation that prevents companies from marketing their products. Paul Bisaro, CEO of generic drug manufacturer Activis, said, “In every case that we've been involved in that resulted in a settlement, it has resulted in years being taken off the patent life,”
Solvay Pharmaceuticals, now called AbbVie, sued drug manufacturers in 2003 to halt production of generic Androgel, a low-testosterone treatment. Under the settlement, Paddock Laboratories and Par Pharmaceuticals received payments of $30 million annually, while brand-name AbbVie preserved annual profits of $125 million. The generic drug manufacturers subsequently kept their products off of the market until 2015. The patent expires in 2020.
Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Chuck Grassley of Iowa introduced legislation in February to make these settlement deals illegal. However, prior attempts to outlaw settlement deals have been defeated due to strong resistance from both brand-name and generic drug manufacturers.


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Consumer debt 'may be easing'
ROYAL Bank of Scotland today said the numbers of people falling behind with debt repayments may finally be starting to level off.
However, it added that it was too early to say whether consumer debt arrears had peaked yet. The bank, which owns NatWest, said it had also seen a slowdown in the levels of unsecured lending taken out by its customers and a corresponding rise in the amounts they were putting into savings. It said that 'reflected the transition in consumer behaviour which we anticipated'.
Chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin said: 'While market conditions in the UK have clearly changed during 2005, it is pleasing that, as a result of our income streams, the group expects to be able to continue to deliver good results and strong financial metrics for the year.'
He said the bank's overall results would be 'in line with expectations', and highlights would be 'good growth in income, a high level of efficiency, good overall credit metrics and delivery of the expected benefits from recent acquisitions'.
But RBS said the net interest rate margin for the whole of 2005 would be 'slightly lower' than in the first half, principally due to higher growth in large and corporate lending.
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Profits at Wolseley going down the tubes
The US housing market slump has hammered profits at building materials supplier Wolseley and the company warned yesterday that the situation could get worse still.
Hornsby: The American housing market is likely to deteriorate further
Wolseley's shares fell to a five-year low as the company said pretax profits plunged 72% to £79m in the first half of the financial year.
The group's US division's Stock, which has been hit by a slowdown in the number of new houses being built, swung from a profit of £42m last year to a loss of £44m this time. About half of FTSE 100 listed group's sales come from the States.
Chip Hornsby, chief executive, said the American housing market is likely to deteriorate further, and that sentiment there was already 'considerably different than it was before Christmas'. The market for repairs and home improvements is also in decline.
Hornsby said the 'increasingly difficult trading conditions' were also affecting business in Europe, with signs of a slowdown in Ireland, but said there had been an underlying improvement in the UK operations.
Wolseley has cut more than 10% of its workforce - over 10,000 jobs - in the past 18 months. Hornsby said the company would look at all parts of its business to find ways to reduce costs, which could include site closures and more job cuts. He said: 'We want to get leaner so when an upturn comes we can take advantage of it.'
However, he would not say how many more jobs could go, or when he expected to see a recovery in trading. Wolseley is also cutting back on capital expenditure and will be more selective about acquisitions.
The figures included a bigger-than-expected £89m write-down on Stock, to reflect the lower profits. Stripping out the write-down and the cost of redundancies, profits fell 29% to £233m. Currency movements also wiped £81m off sales, which rose 2% to £8.03bn in the first half. Analysts at Evolution said: 'Although the outlook for Wolseley is not negative, growth is going to slow.'
The company increased the dividend by 3.7% to 11¼p a share, though the shares fell 49p to 483p.
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Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has started producing its first NAND flash memory chips on an advanced process, a move that will help lower the cost of memory cards for consumers in time for the year-end shopping season, according to an analyst.
South Korea’s Samsung has started producing memory chips on a 70 nanometer (nm) process technology, the most advanced in the industry for this type of memory, it said Monday.
Flash chips retain data when their power supply is switched off. NAND flash is a type of flash memory commonly used in memory cards and in MP3 players, for example.
The 70 nm process is one stage more advanced than the 90 nm technology commonly used to make many kinds of chips including NAND flash. Memory chips produced by the more advanced process are smaller, faster, and less expensive than those made with the industry-standard 90 nm process, according to Kim Soo-Kyoum, program director for semiconductor research at market research company IDC. The reference to size used to describe a chip-making process refers to the average feature size on a chip built using that process. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter.
Using the new process will enable Samsung, already the world’s biggest NAND flash maker, to produce 50 percent to 60 percent more chips from a single wafer using the 70 nm process compared to the number of chips it is able to get from the same-size wafer using the 90 nm process, he said.
Nearly a third of all the company’s NAND flash production will be on the 70 nm process by the end of the year, according to Park Sung Hae, a Samsung Electronics spokeswoman.
Samsung had nearly a 60 percent share of the NAND chip market at the end of March, while Japan’s Toshiba Corp. was the second biggest supplier with about a quarter of the market, according to IDC’s Kim.
Both companies are aggressively expanding production using more advanced technology and Samsung’s move in particular will force down chip prices, he said.
Samsung is planning to raise its production from about 240,000 wafers per month now to as high as 290,000 wafers per month by the end of the year, he said.
Toshiba produces about 95,000 wafers a month now and will raise its total production by about 20 percent by the end of the year, using a factory it has just finished building, according to Makoto Yasuda, a spokesman for Toshiba.
At the moment the production of NAND flash chips is roughly equal to demand. But the increased production of lower-priced chips by Samsung should lead to an oversupply of chips toward the end of the year, Kim said.
Prices for 2G-bit NAND chips, a common type of NAND chip, could halve from today’s price to about US$7 per chip by December. This price could halve again by the end of next year as more makers produce even more chips, he said.
The lower chip prices could lead to memory cards retailing for about a fifth less at the end of the year compared to what they cost now, Kim said.
“It’s a war … and memory cards are going to get to be a lot cheaper,” he said.


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Beer market of Kazakhstan acquired both traits of East European countries and South Eastern Asia taking a transitional position between them by many criteria and consumption style. Yet there is a positive trend in beer production which differs Kazakhstan from most of the neighboring countries. The market has remained consolidated in the hands of two international players because of its small size. However, it faces dynamic processes such as fast growth of draft beer sales, up and downs of regional companies and Carlsberg Group’s ultimate expansion. Excessive mainstream segment has declined over the recent years, yet, Zhigulevskoe and national brands with regional links have yielded their positions to a range of new products. In our review special attention was paid to regional analysis of the markets. In 14 regions of Kazakhstan we compared the companies’ positions, the market price segmentation and DIOT channel development. Besides we have compared the beer market of Kazakhstan to neighboring countries. ...
Beer market of Russia 2018
- General market picture
- Foreign trade setting records
- Demography as challenge to branding
- Aged consumer
- Declining of youth brands
- Nostalgia on trend
- DIOT feels at home
- 5.0 Original is the new face of import
- Positions of Market Leaders
- Carlsberg Group
- AB InBev Efes
- AB InBev
Ukrainian beer market 2018
- Better than yesterday
- Performance by value
- Positions of Ukrainian brewers
The beer market dynamics in Russia is approaching zero, yet major brewers are divided into those who developed considerably in 2017 and those who considerably reduced their volumes. For instance, company Efes has managed to substantially extend their sales due to restrained pricing policy and activity in the modern trade. Heineken has also demonstrated an excellent performance promoted by significant increase of advertisement budgets launching a non-alcohol sort of the title brand and unusual activity in the economy market segment. Carlsberg and AB InBev have been focusing on margins and lost a market share of their inexpensive brands. Serious dependence on PET package and mass enthusiasm about Zhigulevskoe have negatively impacted the most of big regional brewers, that have been for the first time pressed by the leaders in the key sales channels, especially in Volga and Central regions. In the small business there has been a noticeable slowdown in appearing of new restaurant breweries, yet the number of craft breweries has been growing rapidly. In 2018, the beer market is likely to grow a little, while the share of AB InBev Efes may decrease due to the integration. ...
AB InBev goes it alone in shrinking Chinese beer market
China Resources Beer will buy SABMiller's stake in the Beijing-based CR Snow brewing company for $1.6 billion. The sale clears the way for the completion of AB InBev's takeover of London-based SABMiller.
The deal, which removes a major regulatory obstacle to the takeover, will allow AB InBev to focus its operations in China on its own brands like Budweiser.
The move also sets the stage for a fierce battle between AB InBev, the world's largest beer company, and China Resources Beer, China's leading state-owned brewer, in the vast Chinese beer market.
The announcement of SABMiller's sale of its 49% stake in CR Snow, a joint venture run with China Resources Beer since 1994, was welcomed emphatically by investors. China Resources Beer's stock rose as much as 35% in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Jeremy Yeo, an analyst at Mizuho Securities Asia, said investors reacted to the lower-than-expected price of the buy-out, which raised expectations that the Chinese company won't have to borrow much to finance the deal. Analysts had expected a price tag of as much as $3.6 billion.
The main reason behind AB InBev's decision to end the partnership was unquestionably its desire to obtain Chinese regulatory approval for its acquisition of SABMiller.
China Resources Beer, the nation's largest brewer, and AB InBev have a combined share of nearly 40% of the Chinese market -- the world's largest.
Since it made a formal offer to buy SABMiller in November last year, the Belgian brewer has shed several big brands to secure regulatory approval for the takeover, selling MillerCoors to Molson Coors and Peroni and Grolsch to Japan's Asahi Group Holdings.
Some industry observers have speculated that InBev has also been motivated by how it sees the Chinese market evolving, with one commenting that there are plenty of sound economic reasons for the Belgian multi-national to divest the venture, aside from the regulatory factor.
China's beer market has started shrinking after peaking in 2013, due partly to President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign, which has cracked down on graft and profligate spending by officials.
CR Snow saw its net profit for December 2014 drop by about 20% from the previous year and is believed to have continued struggling to lift its bottom line in 2015.
The brewery does not sell any SABMiller brand beer, and the London-based company's stake in the joint venture is an almost purely financial investment for dividends, one industry executive pointed out.
As CR Snow's growth has started faltering, the investment has become less profitable.
Lifestyle changes among Chinese consumers, in particular the dwindling popularity of beer among young Chinese, mean the industry sees little chance of a significant upturn in demand, and slicing into a rival's share is one of the few ways a brewer can force growth in the market.
Despite tougher business conditions, InBev's own beer brands are fairing reasonably well in China, eking out an increase in sales in 2015 to 7.45 million kiloliters. Sales of its two mainstay brands in the country, the high-end Budweiser and the low-end Harbin Beer, remain strong.
China Resources Beer, in contrast, has been going through something of a rough patch. Sales of its staple product Snow beer, a 500ml bottle priced at around 2 yuan ($0.31), have been sluggish and the overall outlook is bleak.
The Chinese market has seen a growing shift in recent years, especially among young consumers, toward higher-priced brews, such as foreign brands and white beers.
With InBev freed from the burden of supporting the struggling joint venture, it finds itself in a strong position to capitalize on the trend. CR Snow's plight, on the other hand, is likely to continue for the time being.
China Resources Beer operates about 90 breweries around China, a legacy of its aggressive, acquisition-focused expansion in the past decade.
But these breweries, mostly aging facilities, are running at only around 50% of their capacity amid weak demand and major restructuring of its operations is required for the company to stay afloat.
In order to regain its edge, "China Resources Beer needs to streamline their production and distribution operations and develop premium products," said Yeo of Mizuho Securities Asia.
SABMiller's sale of its stake in the Chinese joint venture could also catalyze a fresh wave of cross-border consolidation as China Resources Beer may start looking for a new foreign partner.
Despite slowing growth, China's beer market remains twice as large as the U.S., the second largest in the world, and the company could look like an attractive partner for an overseas brewer.
China Resources Beer may also go on a shopping spree overseas to enhance its presence in emerging markets in Southeast Asia and Africa that could have an even bigger effect on the global beer industry landscape.
4 Мар. 2016


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Intel to start a graphical third front against Nvidia and AMD?
Koduri’s appointment comes at a time when for the first time Intel and AMD have collaborated on a chipset. Intel and AMD have collaborated for a new H-series chip which is a combination of an Intel seventh generation 15watt Kaby Lake processor married with an AMD Radeon custom built GPU. This partnership indicates that Intel wants to up the capabilities of its graphics processors which has been its inherent weakness, and the addition of the Radeon GPU stack could create a solution could create a potentially powerful SoC which could be used on high-end notebooks for creatives and gamers.
“We have exciting plans to aggressively expand our computing and graphics capabilities and build on our very strong and broad differentiated IP foundation,” said Dr. Murthy Renduchintala, Intel’s chief engineering officer and group president of the Client and Internet of Things Businesses and System Architecture.
“With Raja at the helm of our Core and Visual Computing Group, we will add to our portfolio of unmatched capabilities, advance our strategy to lead in computing and graphics, and ultimately be the driving force of the data revolution,” he added indicating that Intel will harness the Koduri’s immense expertise in the visual computing space to potentially amp up its graphics capabilities and potentially create a third front in the high-end discrete GPU market up against Nvidia and AMD.
More recently, Koduri worked on AMD’s Vega line of GPUs which will even make their way into Apple’s incoming iMac Pro in December. This GPU has been critically acclaimed and there should be little doubt that Intel would want to emulate something on the lines of Vega for its PC processors.
Visual Computing is also very important for self driving cars. Intel is investing heavily into chips that work well for self driving cars. Even Koduri’s former colleague Jim Keller left AMD in 2015 to join Tesla to lead the unit that builds its self driving technology. It shouldn’t be surprising if Koduri leads initiatives in this space.
Update: A previous version of this article stated that Koduri had worked on the graphics technologies of the iPhone.


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Google has confirmed a bug impacting how ads are served on Gmail desktop with Safari
Believe or not, it actually does rain once in a while in sunny Orange County.
In this video I install the Hansshow lower bumper tail light for the Tesla Model
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes
Ross Moses, Senior Director of Analytics and Insights at the United States Soccer Federation, saw
Consumers are showing greater concern over how data is gathered online and in apps and
In the wake of the first dot-com bubble bursting twenty years ago, Forbes published an


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Cornish pasty maker Warrens will open a new store in Sutton Coldfield, its first venture outside its West Country heartland.
Friary Mill Bakery is to present the Plymouth Argyle team with a massive pasty as a ‘well done’ from the town for their 0-0 draw against Liverpool last weekend.
Bolton Wanderers staff gave Sam Allardyce a welcome present when he returned to his former club last weekend.
Bakery chain Greggs is introducing sourdough pasties with less than 300 calories and up to two-thirds less fat and saturated fat than its standard pasty.
Cornish pasty manufacturer Proper Cornish has launched a lower-fat pasty aimed at providing great-tasting, nutritional foods as part of a more balanced diet.
West Cornwall Pasty Company has released its latest financial statement, with sales figures of £13m and underlying like-for-like sales increasing by 7.6% for the year ending 25 March 2016.
Chris Peck, executive chairman of the West Cornwall Pasty Company, explains the "turnaround story" for his business since he took the helm in 2014.
Cornish pasty manufacturer, Proper Cornish will renew its Pasty Society campaign this September, following last year’s success.
Cornwall-based family-owned bakery, Philps will be opening up a new shop right in the centre of Camborne.
West Cornwall Pasty Co will open West Cornwall Food Co stores nationally ‘in the coming months’, following a successful inaugural trial in Canterbury.
Helston-based company The Good Food Bakery has launched what it claims is the world’s first gluten-free Cornish pasty after taking four years to develop the product.
The Great British Crisp Company, part of Warrens Bakery in Cornwall, has launched Cornish pasty flavoured crisps.
Pasty operator West Cornwall Pasty Co (WCPC) has reported like-for-like (LFL) sales are up 20% for the year ending 31 March.
Following yesterday’s end-of-year results, West Cornwall Pasty Company (WCPC) has announced a new set of developments that include a gluten-free pasty and a new brand.
Ginsters has launched a limited-edition beef & horseradish pasty to raise money for Help for Heroes.
Warrens Bakery, the Cornish craft bakery, is delighted with its recent victories, which coincide with its expansion.
A “perfectly produced” beef skirt and vegetable pasty has triumphed at the British Pie Awards.
WMC Retail Partners, the company that plans to open the UK's first ever pasty museum, is looking for investors.
The Lewis Pie and Pasty Company, one of the biggest pie and pasty manufacturers in the UK, has collaborated with Welsh Brew Tea to produce the traditional Welsh sweet treat bara brith.
Former MP and journalist Michael Portillo was taught how to make the “perfect” Cornish pasty in Penzance, as part of a television series that aired last week.
Chunk of Devon, the Devon-based pie maker, has launched a Mexican-inspired vegetarian pie.
The UK’s largest pasty operator has announced an underlying profit of £551,000, despite having posted a pre-tax loss of £195,000.
The Lewis Pie and Pasty Company, one of the biggest pie and pasty manufacturers in the UK, has invested £60,000 in new equipment to improve its production line.
Pasty Presto, the Cornish pasty retail chain, has been rebranded as The Cornish Bakery following a successful trial in three stores.
Warrens Bakery, the Cornwall-based bakery, has released a limited-edition mincemeat pasty for Christmas.
Warrens Bakery, the Cornwall-based 50-strong chain, has revealed that retail sales and wholesale have jumped following a rebranding programme.
Ginsters has signed a deal to sponsor the new Football League highlights show, Football League Tonight, on Channel 5.
Pasty concept Phat Pasty has seen sales surge thanks in part to a big increase in the number of universities selling its products and using its branded counters and point-of-sale material.
A Cornish pasty drive-thru to open in the South West could be a world first.
The new owners of West Cornwall Pasty Co have seen like-for-like (LFL) sales growth of 6% in the year since they took over, it has been revealed.
Pasty company Proper Cornish is to open its new £6.5m factory in Bodmin this June.
Proper Cornish, a handmade Cornish Pasty company, has boosted its customer base by launching a student campaign called The Pasty Society.
The Prime Minister David Cameron has given up the Cornish Pasty, just weeks after he announced his decision to stop eating bread.
Warrens Bakery chairman has told British Baker that he has visions of opening 50 shops in London.
Cornish pasty maker Warrens Bakery is to rebrand and expand retail shops, after receiving £1.6m in funding.
High street bakery giant Greggs has said it had a “very strong Christmas”, with own shop like-for-like sales (LFLs) up 4.5% for the financial year.
The European Commission and Defra have dismissed reports that protection for EU products such as Cornish pasties could be weakened under the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement.
Shares in Greggs soared yesterday after the bakery retailer revealed that increased sales would mean better-than-expected profits.
Cornish pasty company Warrens Bakery has declared itself the “oldest Cornish pasty maker in the world” after the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) confirmed that its heritage claims were valid.
A report into food waste in Britain has found that Morrisons turned away more than 9,000 pasties after a delivery van turned up 15 minutes late.
Greggs has launched a new social media campaign, tying its pasty packaging to the internet with its #PastySanta selfies.
The Cornish Pasty has been dubbed one of the top 80 world foods by a team of foodie experts.
The Phat Pasty Co has launched two halal products as part of its exotic range of pastries.
WC Rowe's Bakery has confrimed an electrical fault as the cause of a factory fire, which tore through its Falmouth premises late Friday evening.
Greggs, the BB75 leading retail bakery chain, has this morning reiterated its opposition to the proposed 20% pasty tax, saying the move would cause “new anomalies” and “uncertainties”.
A bid to overturn the changes to VAT charged on takeaway food, dubbed ‘the pasty tax’, was narrowly defeated in parliament last night.


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Saga Cruises has today announced their new cruise ship will be named Spirit of Discovery.
The new ship will carry less than 1,000 passengers, retaining the intimacy and personal touch for which Saga is renowned and will have more than 100 cabins for solo travellers, 20 per cent of the ships capacity.
Saga’s Discovery will be delivered in summer 2019 and will be built by the renowned Meyer Werft shipyard.
Robin Shaw, chief executive, Saga Cruises, said: “We have great pleasure in announcing our new ship will be named Spirit of Discovery.
“In September 2015 we announced that we were to build our first cruise ship – we’re still on a high from that news.
“With the design nearing completion, today’s announcement is the next step on this exciting journey.”
He added: “Key to the whole design process has been our customer insight.
“We know they want to experience new things in a luxurious, small ship environment.
“Our new ship’s itineraries will take customers to fresh, new destinations and will include more overnight stays in key ports.”
Saga has to date operated previously owned ships which have been re-fitted to meet the needs of their customers.
Today, Saga has two small-sized ships, Saga Sapphire and Saga Pearl II, offering itineraries sailing from the UK to Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Baltic, the Caribbean and Canada and offering excellent standards of service, in quality surroundings with inclusive pricing.


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A new study conducted by International Business Machines highlights the rise in demand for hi-tech healthcare products.
The study [PDF] conducted by the IBM Institute of Business Value interviewed more than 1,300 consumers that were using healthcare devices.
The company said that people were demanding newer health devices that are low on complexity and come with a high level of information sharing capabilities.
The demand for next generation healthcare device is being fuelled by a rising need for people to connect better with their doctors and reduce their visits to a hospital or clinic. Users also want to connect with people with similar interests and medical issues.
“People want to take a more active role in managing their healthcare – both to reduce costs and improve their quality of life," said Katherine Holland, general manager, IBM Life Sciences,” said Katherine Holland, general manager, IBM Life Sciences.
"Device makers have a great opportunity to fulfil this need – but to be successful, they must partner to ensure they have the blend of skills, consumer understanding and healthcare expertise", she added.
The company also said that in the near future, healthcare device pertaining to dieting, elder care, blood monitoring, mobility and communication will be available to consumers.


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Major clothing retailer Uniqlo Co. announced a $1.6 million scholarship program to help young Japanese aiming to become business leaders and fashion designers to enroll as graduate students at three prestigious U.S. institutions.
The program, called Tomodachi-Uniqlo Fellowship, offered in partnership with the U.S. government, will enable up to 10 Japanese to study at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons The New School for Design for two years from next fall, Uniqlo said Tuesday.
Uniqlo President and Chairman Tadashi Yanai said at a press conference, “Young people need to be more outgoing,” inviting aspiring youth to sign up for the program.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos said he expects students who will study on the scholarship to enhance their skills and become leaders in the global economy.
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The Silicon Valley firm has been suffering behind the bamboo curtain because of political pressure and declining sales.
Cisco and Inspur said they would invest $100 million in the project, although they offered few other details.
However this deal is typical of a growing number of tie-ups between Chinese and US technology firms which are part of a cunning plan to get government regulators off the backs of the big multi-nationals.
Microsoft is to partner with Baidu and Chinese state-owned private investment firm Tsinghua Unigroup on cloud technology. Dell announced last week it would invest $125 billion over five years in China. IBM pledged to help develop China’s advanced chip industry with a “Made with China” strategy.
Chipmakers Intel and Qualcomm are developing chips with smaller Chinese companies.
Similar to its dealings with the foreign auto industry in decades past, Chinese officials have made clear to foreign technology firms that market access depends on their sharing technology and cooperating with Chinese industry.
Cisco’s market share has fallen in China, where its products have been labelled a cybersecurity threat by state media and government-affiliated experts.


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/// Apple Settles iPhone Water Damage Suit
Apple has agreed to pay $53 million to settle a class action lawsuit claiming it failed to honor warranties on iPhones and iPods. Turns out the Liquid Submersion Indicators built into those devices could be triggered by humidity as well as water damage, and some members of the class may have wrongly been denied repairs or replacements as a result. Wired reports that Apple has agreed to the settlement without admitting wrongdoing. It is expected to be approved in the coming weeks.
Apple Settles iPhone Water Damage Suit
- 11/25/2014 • Steve Jobs Movie Picked Up by Universal
- 11/04/2014 • Google Expands Reach of Disney Movies Anywhere Streaming Service on Android Devices
- 10/30/2014 • Apple CEO Tim Cook Announces That He’s Gay
- 10/20/2014 • Apple Beats Fiscal Q4 Earnings Estimates, as Wall Street Eyes Huge iPhone Sales Pipeline


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Rico has bought a majority shareholding in air freight distribution carrier Circle Express as part of a “strategic acquisition” plan. Circle Express, which has been trading through a CVA since May 2012, had an annual turnover of £29m in 2014, and runs more than 300 vehicles across eight airport-based depots. The company returned to profit in 2013 and reported a 44% increase in pre-tax profit to £194,000 in 2014 (2013: £134,000). Despite this growth, MD Tom Ryan said that the […]
Both DHL and the RHA have urged Grangemouth Refinery owner Ineos, the Unite union and workers at the plant, to swiftly resolve their differences and resume fuel production.
DHL Supply Chain has won a two year extension to its NHS Supply Chain contract and has been set a target to deliver £300m of savings by October 2018, operating in a more transparent manner.
DHL has announced a five-year deal to become the principal partner of rugby union team, Harlequins.


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Gun sales are up in Virginia following the repeal of the state’s long-standing one-handgun-a-month law.
Firearm transactions rose by 17 percent in July compared to June, according to the Virginia Firearms Transaction Center said. The limit was lifted July 1.
Firearm transactions in July totaled about 29,000, up 29 percent from 22,547y transactions recorded in July 2011.
The recorded transactions do not reflect the actual number of guns sold. They are only the number of times a registered dealer conducts a background check on a buyer. Guns sold privately without a background check aren’t included in the total.
Read more at The Washington Post
Gun sales are up in Virginia following the repeal of the state’s long-standing one-handgun-a-month law.…
by Tactical-Life.com / Aug 9, 2012


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Video Of Samsung's Galaxy S4 Leaks
Don't forget: Samsung will officially announce the Galaxy S4 at a big press event March 14.
Also, notice how the video promo for Apple's iPad Mini is playing in the background. Kind of funny.
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WARDY IT Solution’s Business Intelligence consultancy has partnered with the A2 Milk Company to help them implement services, improve efficiencies and reveal deep insights into international sales performance.
The solutions package delivered insights across global sales revenues and analytics, a business intelligence platform, training and technical (knowledge) transfer and a complete QAD ERP to Microsoft SQL Server data translation solution.
Peter Ward, Managing Director of WARDY IT Solutions said, “We are extremely proud to partner with the A2 Milk Company and create tailored solutions that enable them to maximise returns. Helping businesses unlock the value of big data is important to us, and helps them turn growth challenges into opportunities.”
A2 Milk now benefits from detailed sales reporting across their global organisation which includes sales across USA, UK, China and Australasia.


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Consumers for years have had to manage a bewildering array of set-up boxes, cords and television ports to get all of the online shows that they want to watch on the biggest screens in their homes. No single TV device, for instance, easily plays content from Amazon Online Video and iTunes – the video offerings from Amazon and Apple that happen to be vying with each other for dominance in the living room.
That’s been inconvenient for folks who subscribe to Amazon Prime and own an Apple device – a population that is likely in the tens of millions. If you’ve bought a video through either company, you generally have had to switch between two television set-up boxes to watch those shows in a reliable way on the big screen in the living room. And we only have so many HDMI ports on our TVs after all – it hasn’t been fun to have to crawl behind the screen just because the show you want to watch isn’t available through whatever you have plugged into a port at the moment.
But the new Apple TV, which launched this week, offers a tantalizing breakthrough: It has the potential to be the only set-top box you will need.


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With this text, we would like to kick off a column dedicated to updates from Asia, an area of great interest for those wishing to expand their business in this part of the world where, according to estimates, the average growth rate for the AV sector verges on 5% (source: AVIXA).
Events, updates, interviews, fairs and much more, and that’s right where we’ll start. Last week (5-7 September), the first edition of InfoComm Chengdu took place, created alongside the edition in Beijing, with the objective of covering the immense – and strategic – western Chinese territory. In an area where the government is investing resources in growth, already a region of great economic interest given that it is a focal point of the country’s transportation and communications, the event was an enormous success, already surpassing the first edition’s 8,000 visitors, of which over 5,000 attended the 40 scheduled training sessions. 150 brands were present, with the likes of names such as Intel, Epson, Yamaha, Harman and Bose, etc., who showed solutions and applications in numerous environments, from digital signage to 3D projections, security and video surveillance, education, entertainment, collaborative communication, and even still healthcare and hospitality—not to forget the “classic” corporate applications.
A cross-sectional event, which was able to suggest ideas and inspire innovation, as in the testimony of Jonson Wu, TV Division Vice Gen Manager of Alibaba Group’s OS Business Unit: “It was a very good show, definitely one of the most professional trade shows I’ve attended in China. […] I learned quite a few new ideas, like the integrated solutions for enterprise meetings which I can immediately implement for a few conference room projects I’m working on for my clients. The show also brings together many of our potential future customers, as well as competitors. At the same time, I can size up competitors’ product offerings and stay competitive.”
Also noteworthy was the final word from Richard Tan, Executive Director of InfoComm Asia: “These visitor numbers are beyond our expectations and we are heartened by the turnout. The response has shown that we have underestimated the need for a platform like Chengdu InfoComm China, which brings the best of Pro-AV and Integrated Experience from all over the world under one roof to satiate the pent-up demand for such cutting-edge technologies in the emerging Western China region.” InfoComm Chengdu was undoubtedly a further confirmation of the thirst for innovation in the Chinese market that, as demonstrated over time, has been able to welcome products and solutions of companies from around the world.
All that remains is to get ready for the next event that will bring us to Mumbai: now in its 5th edition, InfoComm India will open its gates on 18 September in the atmosphere of excitement for the just-finished show. The Connessioni Team will be present with a booth, but most of all to give support to this year’s Italian participants: PowerSoft and Totem of Design. Follow us and we’ll tell you everything…about them and the excitement for the Indian market.
This post is also available in: Italian
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text: © . Signs in Russian are seen in shops in Laleli district, a clothing district in Istanbul, Turkey, March 4, 2022. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya By Ceyda Caglayan ISTANBUL () – Textile and leather goods makers feel in Istanbul’s clothing district the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as customers in Moscow and Kiev canceled $200 million worth of orders in the past week, industry officials say. The loss of trade is putting additional pressure on Turkey’s economy, with officials estimating that more than $1 billion is at immediate risk to the textile industry alone if the conflict in Ukraine continues. Mustafa Senocak, head of the Istanbul Leather and Leather Products Exporters Association, said orders for “hundreds of thousands of pairs of shoes and thousands of leather jackets” have been cancelled. “Some Russians say they can pay with the old exchange rate of the ruble. Otherwise they can’t pay,” he said. Russia and Ukraine accounted for more than $1 billion in Turkish exports of leather shoes, jackets and finished and unfinished clothing last year, and nearly triple that in Istanbul’s unofficial “suitcase trade,” officials say. The blow to trade is putting further pressure on the Turkish economy after a currency crisis in December and the ensuing inflation spiral. Falling export earnings are contributing to Turkey’s current account deficit, which is widening after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week due to rising energy prices and an expected blow to tourism this year. Following a string of orders and contracts with Kiev and Moscow in February, “we are facing cancellations…worth about $200 million (to the industry) so far,” said Seref Fayat, head of apparel maker TOBB Clothing and Apparel Industry. Assembly. “If this situation continues, it could exceed $1 billion.” Turkish trade with Belarus, Moldova and Romania has also cooled amid uncertainty, industry heads told . Some Polish customers asked for orders to be suspended, while some Russians asked for payments to be made based on exchange rates prior to the invasion and the ruble’s collapse. Turkish clothing, textile and leather exports totaled $718 million to Russia and $308 million to Ukraine in 2021, data shows. The estimated $3 billion “luggage trade” — in which small merchants from Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet states buy goods in Istanbul, pack them in empty suitcases, and resell them at home — has also taken a hit. “We had already started production for the new season, but now we have all stopped,” said Giyasettin Eyyupkoca, head of the Association of Industrialists and Business People of Laleli, the district in Istanbul that is the center of the suitcase trade. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s unorthodox economic plan aims to stabilize the lira by offsetting the current account deficit. But given the conflict in Ukraine, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:) has revised its deficit forecast for this year from 1.5% of GDP to 2.5%. Russians and Ukrainians are responsible for half of Laleli’s annual trade volume, Eyyupkoca said. “I have had the same Ukrainian trading partner and an open account with him for years. How can I ask him to pay me money while he is struggling to stay alive?” Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data on this website is not necessarily real-time or accurate. All CFDs (Stocks, Indices, Futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and therefore prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price meaning prices are indicative and not suitable for trading purposes . Therefore, Fusion Media does not bear any responsibility for any trading losses that you may incur as a result of using this data. Fusion Media or anyone associated with Fusion Media assumes no liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any information, including data, quotes, charts, and buy/sell signals on this website. Be fully informed about the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest forms of investment possible.


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Now you can jump the line at Starbucks stores in the US and UK!
Although Starbucks has its detractors, its popularity has not been diminished one bit in the two locations near our Midtown New York City office. Starbucks seems more popular than ever among New Yorkers and tourists alike, with a line often trailing out the door during the morning rush, even as late as 10:00 a.m.
For those of us who hate lines or are too grumpy to speak with others before we have had our morning coffee, Starbucks has given us the ability to place our orders via its smartphone app, and jump the line. Orders go directly into the order queue, and a barista calls your name when your order is ready. The price is deducted from the balance on your My Starbucks Rewards card.
Starbucks appears to have put a lot of thought into developing this function. It initially tested the service in the area around its Seattle, Washington, headquarters, and then expanded the service area before finally offering it to demanding New Yorkers and the rest of the country. Another benefit of the app is that it makes the ordering process easier for parents with small children and customers with speech and hearing impairments.
The company started testing Mobile Order & Pay in 150 stores in Portland, Oregon, in December 2014 and launched the service in 3,400 additional stores in the Pacific Northwest in March 2015. Starbucks added the service in 17 more states in June 2015. And on October 1, the company announced that the service is available throughout the entire US, in more than 7,400 stores, for iOS and Android devices.
Mobile Order & Pay allows customers to locate the nearest store, select and customize their food and drink items, receive an estimate of when the order will be ready, and prepay. The menu also highlights products available in certain geographic regions and stores. Naturally, purchases are also recorded in the My Starbucks Rewards program database.
The new function has been a strong driver for Starbucks’ business. It enables the company to serve customers more quickly and efficiently, and has reduced attrition from the line. Shorter wait times also equal greater customer satisfaction.
Although the expanded rollout occurred only a couple of weeks before the end of Starbucks’ fiscal third quarter, the company was already seeing revenue and profit growth from the new service. It is a way for Starbucks to capture more business from on-the-go customers. Management believes that its decision to enhance the technology two years ago was a major driver of the 4% increase in store traffic in the fiscal third quarter, and that future strong growth is likely to come from initiatives such as suggested menu recommendations (currently in beta testing) and a planned delivery service. To broaden the value of its rewards program, Starbucks has forged partnerships with Spotify, The New York Times and Lyft, with more to come.
The addition of mobile services has made Starbucks a mobile powerhouse. In its fiscal-third-quarter earnings call, the company said that mobile payments now account for 20% of the transactions in its stores, a figure twice as high as two years ago, and that it is now processing nearly nine million mobile transactions a week.
As of today, UK Starbucks fans can skip the queue and preorder their Pumpkin Spice Lattes as well. Starbucks just started the first phase of a trial test of Mobile Order & Pay in the UK. The service will be available at 150 stores in London, although initially only through iOS devices. The UK press release claims that customers can save 10–15 minutes by ordering via the app.
The new Starbucks Mobile Order & Pay function is really about more than just jumping the line. It shows the vision of the management team in bringing electronic and mobile commerce to the ordinary-seeming business of selling coffee and, at the same time, demonstrates the effective use of technology to increase revenues and earnings while increasing customer satisfaction, too.


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Growth anticipated for online retailers who offer next day delivery services
UK retailers who fail to offer basic services such as next day deliveries and free returns to consumers will experience minimal online growth according to research by Ampersand Commerce.
Retailers should accommodate the needs of consumers
The survey of 2,362 adults found that over a third of retailers do not provide next day delivery and a further fifth failed to offer free returns.
Econsultancy e-commerce identified that the UK has the third highest dissatisfaction rate with online shopping in regards to flexibility to choose delivery dates and time.
Retailers should focus more on providing next day delivery as 46 per cent of respondents said they prefer it to the ‘click and collect’ and same day delivery options. Sixty per cent of retailers offer click and collect and only a tenth provide same day delivery.
Forty four per cent of consumers said they would not pay for next day delivery and a further 42 per cent said they would not pay more than £5.
Half of respondents said they have tried ‘click and collect’ – a quarter of whom were over 55.
Darryl Adie, managing director at Ampersand Commerce, said: “How online retailers optimise their delivery service will become a key differentiator in the next 12 months as market leaders are already changing the definition of what next day means by offering later and later cut off times.
“The consumer demand and expectation for same day delivery is coming and online retailers who streamline their next day delivery now will be best placed to compete in that space.”
Ampersand Commerce, founded in 2009, is an ecommerce agency that helps retailers build better online stores using open source technology.
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Ampersand is an award-winning commerce agency that helps major retailers build better online stores using open source technology. Founded in 2009 and based in Manchester, Ampersand has helped international multichannel retailers, such as Harvey Nichols and Bensons for Beds, increase conversion and efficiency through the strategic use of open source technology.Find out more


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𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗡𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗮
After the market closes today, $NVDA (NVIDIA Corporation) is reporting. Revenue is expected to grow by 42% to $8.09B for the quarter.
Revenue from the data center is expected to outperform the gaming revenue for the first time since the company was founded.... 显示更多 翻译
The Durable goods numbers today were decent. The U.S consumer continues to spend more in services rather than goods. What the big retailers couldn't predict last quarter was that as the pandemic fears fade away, people will spend more on travelling and entertainment. The luggage sales were up 50%... 显示更多 翻译
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗦𝗡𝗔𝗣’𝘀 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗜𝘁𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 ?
It’s easy to understand why $SNAP (Snapchat Inc) stock dropped like a lead balloon following its messaging to shareholders that the “macroeconomic environment” could pile pressure... 显示更多 翻译


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PARIS – Switzerland’s Swatch Group, the maker of Omega, Swatch and Breguet watches, on Friday said “outstanding” double-digit growth in Asia and the Middle East drove its full-year sales ahead a better-than-expected 17.6 percent.
Swatch, whose other brands include Jacquet Droz, Blancpain and Glashutte Original, said unfavorable currency exchange and rising raw materials costs had “squeezed” margins for the year.
But it said that it expected to report “above-average” increases in operating profit and net income for 2007. Meanwhile, it predicted that strong market conditions for high-end watches would continue this year.
“Despite the current wave of turbulence in financial markets, [Swatch] expects the positive trend to continue,” the company said, predicting double-digit growth for January.
Swatch said sales of its watch and jewelry division last year gained 20.4 percent to 4.71 billion Swiss francs, or $3.93 billion at average exchange rates for the period. Though growth was exceptional in Asia and the Middle East, Europe and America also “recorded solid double-digit growth sales,” Swatch said.
Demand for movements from outside companies contributed to a 20.9 percent rise to 1.68 billion Swiss francs, or $1.4 billion, in sales at Swatch’s production division, while sales at its electronic systems grew 6.2 percent to 630 million Swiss Francs, or $525.6 million.
For complete coverage, see Tuesday’s WWD.


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Kakaobank: The single application is everything
With 10 million-plus customers and only two years under its belt, this purely digital bank is one to watch in South Korea – and beyond.
Kakaobank's chief executive Hoyoung Yun
South Korea’s kakaobank is one of the world’s largest, purely digital banks. It passed the 10 million customer mark on July 12, and at the end of June it held W17.6 trillion ($14.5 billion) of deposits and had issued W11.3 trillion of loans. That is no mean feat for a bank that only launched in 2017.
Head office, in Pangyo about an hour south of central Seoul, doesn’t look much like a Korean bank. The office floor has massage chairs and a sleeping room. IT-related staff represent 40% of the workforce, and it shows; even the fact that our interview takes place over mango smoothies feels more tech than banking.
So what is it? Bank or tech play? Chief executive Hoyoung (Daniel) Yun differentiates kakaobank from China’s tech firms Tencent and Alibaba.
“They are techfin businesses,” he says. “They are tech-oriented and they don’t like regulation.
“In fintech, finance is the core, the centre. If we like to make some disruptive innovation in the finance sector, that means we need a licence.”
Korea is somewhat distinctive in this respect because it requires digital banks to seek a full set of licences in order to set up, rather than a slimmed-down version as is common in the UK and Japan, for example.
This is the case even though the whole kakaobank model is based on a single app.
“The primary strategy is speed and convenience in mobile applications,” says Yun. “We focus only on mobile applications: we want to be a mobile bank, not a website bank. The single application is everything for us.”
That creates considerable pressure to get it right.
“We have to be a survivor, so we have to be different,” he says. “Our difference is that incumbent banks are selling their products, not solving the problems of customers. We are about service, not product.”
The commitment to service has made it the most convenient app of its type in the country. On most bank apps in Korea, one has to go through a process of clicking for certification, then a password, and then the app. On the kakaobank app, a fingerprint gets you right to the account page, and the certification step is removed.
Like the best Chinese apps, it makes it extremely easy to transfer money among friends or to split a meal, but it’s also got a wider range of available services, including cross-border remittance and lending.
Kakaobank had two considerable headstarts in life. One was that South Korea has the highest penetration rate of smartphones in the world, with a population that is both able and comfortable using the internet and mobile systems to transact.
The other was because Kakao Corp, a big shareholder, operates South Korea’s dominant messaging app, KakaoTalk. The power of this messenger system cannot be overstated: customers are the equivalent of 88% of the Korean population, although some users will have multiple accounts of course.
Kakaobank turned profitable in the first quarter and feels ready for an IPO after two successful funding rounds
Putting the kakaobank app onto KakaoTalk was transformative: it was the perfect platform to penetrate the market, even though the two are separate companies. The combination of the two – digital bank and messenger platform – is also a useful illustration of the power of a brand.
You wouldn’t yet say that kakaobank has shaken up the market in asset terms: according to Moody’s, the two digital banks (the other, K bank, is a considerable way behind) account for only 0.6% market share in domestic loans. But the Financial Services Commission says it has had an impact in other ways.
“The conventional banks are very much influenced by the innovative and new services launched by the digital banks,” says Yoseop Jun, director at the FSC. “We think the digital banks are a great influence.”
Kakaobank turned profitable in the first quarter – earning W6.3 billion net in the first three months of the year – and feels ready for an IPO after two successful funding rounds with its existing shareholders in September 2017 and April 2018 that raised a combined $1 billion.
A listing will probably take place next year.
Despite the bank’s landmarks, there is plenty more to do.
“Economy of scale is key in a bid to make sizeable profits,” says Yong-woo (Yan) Lee, co-chief executive “Although the asset size of kakaobank is growing faster than any other conventional banks in South Korea, it is still lagging far behind big players such as Shinhan Bank and KB Kookmin Bank” in many areas, he says.
“However, it is just a matter of time,” Lee says. “We believe kakaobank has many strong points that other banks to not have, such as a young workforce and flexible corporate culture.”
The bank intends to generate more fee income rather than depending on interest income, Lee says, by finding partners to leverage the platform to attract customers.
Lee describes the finance platform model as “kakaobank’s destination”.
The bank wants “to become a platform like Amazon or Facebook in the finance sector,” he says. Through partnership, the bank “provides a virtual place where our customers and financial companies can meet and buy and sell activities.”
Having covered so much ground domestically, the next step is international, probably starting with those countries with a Korean immigrant population and well-developed IT infrastructure.
“Later we can expand into global markets, especially southeast Asia,” Lee says. “We don’t have a timeframe yet, but after we establish our business model in Korea, then we can have some partnership with global partners.”


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ARRIVES IN CHINA FOR 15TH EVENT
CPhI China opens for a 15th year and celebrates a decade in partnership with P-MEC China, together they co-locate with ICSE, BioPh, Innopack, LABWorld, Fi Asia China and Hi China. These eight-shows-in-one provide a diverse range of opportunities across the pharmaceutical industry from packaging solutions and machinery to outsourcing and biotechnology.
This export oriented event is the number one pharma sourcing and networking hub in the entire Chinese region, 30,000+ industry experts – including C-level industry leaders – are expected to attend from over 100 countries worldwide.
Running across three days at the SNIEC, Shanghai, China from 24th-26th June 2015 the event has grown considerably, mirroring the huge changes across China’s pharma industry. Over the last two decades, China has undergone a dramatic transformation, rising up within the global pharma industry to become an influential market player. China is a leading international producer of pharma ingredients and with consistent Government backing, an advancing economy, a gentrifying population and increasing exports the industry is set to continue its formidable expansion.
CPhI & P-MEC China provides the ideal platform to harness these considerable opportunities, meet with existing contacts and establish new business relationships in this burgeoning pharma market. Attendees at CPhI China and P-MEC are actively shaping China’s position as a pharmaceutical hub and it remains the must-attend event for pharma executives in the region.
A well-defined zoning system ensures that visitors match their business objectives with the most suitable exhibitors. This higher-visibility layout concentrates businesses within a specific industry sub-sector together, making the whole event easier to navigate for visitors.
The 5th Buyers Sourcing Event will help both visitors and exhibitors to arrange one-to-one meetings, gather new leads and cement existing business contacts. The exhibition also includes an extensive programme of 80+ hot topic conferences, summits and seminars, covering topics including: trends in the Chinese pharmaceutical industry, market developments, government regulations, innovations and R&D to name just a few.
A variety of country pavilions will feature at CPhI & P-MEC China, including a new addition for 2015, the Russia Pavilion; and finally, the inaugural CPhI China Pharma Awards will also be taking place.
For further information on CPhI China and P-MEC, please visit http://www.cphi.com/china/home/


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The most newsworthy portion of Microsoft's week came April 27, when the company announced an intellectual property agreement with HTC that will see the phone manufacturer license Microsoft's patented technology for use in its smartphones running Google Android. The deal has implications not only for Android and HTC, which will pay undisclosed royalties, but also Apple.
Microsoft originally launched its IP licensing program in 2003, eventually entering into more than 600 licensing agreements with a broad range of companies including Apple, Hewlett-Packard, LG Electronics and Nikon. Ostensibly, such deals allow companies to create stronger partnerships and avoid the patent-infringement lawsuits that occasionally plague the industry, such as the battles currently underway between Apple and both HTC and Nokia.
HTC has been gaining momentum as a top smartphone maker for the U.S. market, primarily on the strength of Android-based devices such as the HTC Droid Incredible and the Nexus One.
Microsoft, for its part, took pains to paint the HTC agreement as simply the natural evolution of a long-running partnership. "We are pleased to continue our collaboration with HTC," Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of IP and licensing, wrote in an April 27 statement. "HTC and Microsoft have a long history of technical and commercial collaboration."
But the agreement may be more geared, ultimately, towards both companies' respective opponents. HTC is currently preparing to face down Apple's patent-infringement lawsuit, which alleges violations of some 20 patents surrounding the iPhone's interface, architecture and hardware. The general assumption is that Microsoft's patents, while not delineated in either HTC's or Microsoft's public statements on the matter, will give HTC more ammunition in its Apple battle.
In an April 28 statement emailed to eWEEK, Gutierrez wrote: "We have built a significant patent portfolio in this field, and we have a responsibility to our customers, partners and shareholders to ensure that competitors do not ride free on our innovations."
Gutierrez added: "We have also consistently taken a proactive approach to licensing to resolve IP infringement by other companies, and have been talking with several device manufacturers to address our concerns relative to the Android mobile platform." In that spirit, apparently, Microsoft is negotiating with other, unnamed phone manufacturers to extend to same licensing agreements as HTC.
Android relies on the open-source Linux kernel v2.6 for core system services "such as security, memory management, process management, network stack, and driver model," according to the Android Developers Website.
Microsoft's philosophical position on open-source products is a well-documented one. During an October 2007 meeting of Web 2.0 developers and partners in London, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was quoted as saying, "I think it is important that the open-source products also have an obligation to participate in the same way in the intellectual property regime." Ballmer has also suggested in speeches that Linux violates a number of patents.


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In the summertime, Wednesday nights in Philly are arguably the best night of the week to grab an after-work drink.
Drink deals abound every Wednesday evening from June 7 through August 30 for the weekly happy hour series Center City District Sips.
CENTER CITY SIPS FAST FACTS
- Sips happy hours are Wednesdays, June 7-August 30, 5-7 p.m.
- Deals include $3 beer, $4 wine, $5 cocktails and half-priced appetizers.
- 80+ bars and restaurants participate. Click here for all the venues.
This year, the happy hour to end all happy hours will be observed at more than 80 bars and restaurants in Center City.
During the happiest hours — 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. — those dozens of establishments offer $3 beer, $4 wine and $5 cocktails (expect sponsor Effen Vodka to appear in many of the bar creations). Half-priced appetizers round out the excellent value.
New this year, deals extend to the hours pre- and post-Sips. Before happy hour, shop the stores participating in CCD Sips Style for deals on clothes, beauty goods and more.
After happy hour, Sips After Dark, hosted by Rumor, keeps the $5, $4, $3 deals flowing after 9 p.m. every Wednesday, June 7 through August 30.
While the official season doesn’t begin until Wednesday, June 7, the preview event takes place Wednesday, May 31 on the Marathon Grill patio at 1818 Market Street with a taste of what’s to come.
Find the complete list of Sips venues right here.
Cheers to summer!


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The Korando e-Motion (Ssangyong E100) was expected to be released in the first half of 2021 in the home market. With SsangYong’s future hanging in the balance, it’s anyone’s guess when the launch of the E100 will happen.
Regardless, expecting a series of positive developments, YouTube channel 하이테크로 [HITEKRO] has created a rendering of the SsangYong electric SUV, which readers can see in the video below:
Video Source: YouTube/하이테크로 [HITEKRO]
After Mahindra & Mahindra’s failed attempt to find a buyer for SsangYong, the Korean automaker was placed under court ownership once again, Yonhap News Agency reported on 15 April 2021. M&M intends to exit Ssangyong and one of the potential companies identified for a stake sale was USA’s HAAH Automotive, but the deal didn’t go as planned.
The Seoul Bankruptcy Court will take a call on whether to revive SsangYong and, if so, how. EY Hanyoung has been tasked with conducting due diligence on its financial status for the same, and it has been asked to submit findings to the court by the 10th of June. Timelines are being pushed to keep the company afloat, even as local media reports say that HAAH and local manufacturer Edison Motors could be the interested buyers.
On the range of the Ssangyong E100
Ssangyong Motor’s first electric car, the Korando e-Motion, has been certified in South Korea. According to the government agency Korean Energy Management Corporation, the Korando e-Motion 2WD can drive 306 km in one full charge of battery.
The electric motor of the Korando e-Motion, mounted on the front axle, has a maximum output of 190 horsepower transferred to the road via 215/65 R17 wheels. Korean portal Top-Rider notes that the range of the Korando e-Motion is lower compared to competitors. The Kia Niro EV and Soul EV, which use 64 kWh batteries, do 386 km. Hyundai’s Kona Electric has a range of 406 km, and the recently launched Ioniq 5 runs up to 429 km, as per the local certification.
In January, SsangYong completed exhaust gas and noise certification from South Korea’s Ministry of Environment of a model labeled ‘Korando e-motion 2WD heat pump’. This confirmed that the e-Motion electric SUV would be available in a single-motor two-wheel-drive variant. The range of an EV can significantly reduce during winter as low temperature increases the internal resistance of Lithium-ion batteries. On top of that, more energy is spent on cabin heating. A heat pump is used to overcome this natural shortcoming of reduction in efficiency during winter.
Source – Youtube.com/Mocar
In December, South Korean Youtube channel MOCAR featured a short clip of a Ssangyong E100 test mule from a parking facility. The channel talked about how soft touches like blue accents in the lamp, closed grille, and different bumpers express the Eco-friendliness of the C-Segment SUV.
Unique styling for the Ssangyong E100
Spy shots posted on Korean forum Autospy.net in July 2020 showed the SsangYong Korando EV having headlamps in a design nearly identical to the standard variant. However, they revealed a unique blue accent instead of the standard variant’s chrome accent in the assembly. The light structure, on the other hand, would be the same. Unique alloy wheels in a more aerodynamic design are also expected on the upcoming electric SUV apart from an aluminium bonnet and a closed-off grille area.
Ssangyong E100 (codename) teasers & preliminary information
SsangYong said the upcoming electric SUV takes a new route to body design and uses different materials for maximum efficiency while releasing renders last year. A voluminous yet aerodynamic outline is used, and styling is adopted for urban driving. Improving energy efficiency is a hood made using aluminium and a closed radiator grille, among other changes, to decrease weight, improve aerodynamics and enhance the car’s centre of gravity.
Ssangyong said the e-SUV’s design is inspired by nature, particularly animals that have adapted to their environment through evolution, such as a shark’s fins and scales to reduce water wind resistance, thus displaying a design maturity with a dynamic style. Ssangyong’s electric vehicle is promised to deliver “a new level of product quality.” The E100 is regarded as the most important product launch for the financially troubled auto company in recent years. Still, a single model in the emerging EV category may not be enough for the S.Korean brand’s complete turnaround.
Korean auto site Auto Herald reported in May last year that Ssangyong had completed the registration of the name Korando e-Motion. The design prototype e-SIV presented at the Geneva Motor Show 2018 articulated the future of the Ssangyong electric SUV with a closed-off grille lined with a connected chrome bar and a horizontally styled ‘intake’ flanked by lamps with a blueish hue. These styling changes will set the Korando e-motion apart from the ICE-powered variant, it said.
Inside, the e-Motion will feature a 10.25-inch fully digital instrument cluster, Level 2.5 autonomous driving functionality and IoT features, Korean reports claimed.
‘MESMA’ power for the Ssangyong E100
Ssangyong started testing its electric SUV prototypes in 2019. Powered by Mahindra’s MESMA electric architecture, a prototype was spotted at Alice Springs, Australia last year, signaling that the company was testing the car internationally involving various consultants.
The Korando E100 will be driven by a single motor, powered by a 61.5 kWh battery, Auto Express said in January last year. The top speed is expected to be limited at 153 km/h to offer better range but the acceleration is best in class, as per Auto Express.
Featured Image Source: YouTube/하이테크로 [HITEKRO]


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Budgeting For Back To School
It’s time once again to buy new school supplies, clothes and other necessities your kids need for the school year. This can be a big financial undertaking for many families, making back-to-school shopping a great opportunity to talk to your kids about important money management topics like budgeting and saving.
“This year our annual back-to-school survey found that only 15 percent of parents have created a back-toschool shopping budget with their child,” says Shelley Solheim, Director of Financial Education at Capital One. “Back-to-school shopping season is often overlooked as a financial education opportunity, but it’s an optimal time for parents to teach teens about budgets and smart spending in a realworld situation.”
Here are some tips to help you and your teen budget for back-to-school supplies:
Make it a family affair: Sit down and compile a list of supplies your child needs. Then see if you have any leftover supplies from last year, such as binders that can be re-used or glue sticks and crayons.
Do reconnaissance: In addition to contacting the school and visiting their website to find out what supplies your kids will need, consider talking to teachers and parents of older kids to find out what students actually need for each grade level.
Create a budget: Ask your teens how much they think is reasonable to spend on supplies. Then draft a list and price each item using the Internet or a mobile app. If you or your teen exceeds the projected estimate, work to divide the list into needs and wants, explaining why it’s important to prioritize.
Be flexible: If your teens really want those big-ticket items, work with them to find the money. They can find ways to cut costs by clipping coupons, looking for sales or buying used books. Any extra earnings can be put into a savings account, which lets families work towards savings goals together.
Parents can also help kids develop financial planning skills throughout the year, using methods and tools that resonate with them, such as online and video games. In fact, 76 percent of teens say educational video and online games are a good way to learn, according to the study from Capital One. One such tool is a new kid-friendly website, JA Finance Park Virtual, which tasks kids with meeting real-life needs, such as developing a budget, maintaining a household, supporting a family and pursuing a career through virtual simulation. To learn more, visit www.financepark.ja.org.
After all, 55 percent of teens said they want to learn more about money management skills, according to the study. So take advantage of this opportunity to begin talking to your kids about money today.


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“In China, food safety is threatened by an increasingly opaque political system.” That’s a daring headline for any Chinese writer to publish. But Yanzhong Huang published this criticism today in the South China Morning Post, a newspaper circulated widely in China.
January 10, 2021 — Yanzhong hits Chinese authorities hard: “The task of improving what goes on the table is hampered by a system hungry to cling to power.”
China’s booming imports of corn, soybeans and wheat from the U.S. and other suppliers exposes part of the Communist party’s problem of raising enough food. The essay by Yanzhong also describes serious health issues arising from soils polluted with pesticides, heavy metals and other toxic chemicals.
He notes that members of the Communist party, military and wealthy elite dine on the finest organic foods delivered through exclusive channels.
Average factory workers and poor rural families subsist on rice, vegetables, meat and seafood of questionable nutritional value and safety. In August, President Xi Jinping launched a new “Clean Plate” campaign aimed at convincing Chinese people to avoid wasting food. One of Xi’s previous food campaigns in 2013 cracked down on Communist officials who flaunted lavish parties and feasts, heating resentment among ordinary citizens.
Soil degradation, food contamination during processing, and declining nutrient content from heavy artificial fertilizer use remain a systemic challenge across China. Xi Jinping’s short-term answer is tougher environmental and food safety regulations. China’s long-term answer is expanding control over multiple sources for imported food, especially in Latin America and Africa as well as neighboring Asian nations.
We recommend that you follow the link to the South China Morning Post, and read Yanzhong Huang’s insights. Typically, the South China Morning Post allows you free access a few times before restricting part of its reports and asking you for a subscription.
Update March 17, 2021 Canadian outlook specialist Mike Jubinville reports this morning:
“The main feature in the market this week has been China’s purchase of US corn (1.156 MMT) which has been widely rumored since last week. Trade pundits are suggesting the purchase took place last week, but the announcement was delayed till yesterday. This latest purchase by China takes their total known commitments of US corn to 19.859 MMT, although most believe at least half of the 5.639 MMT sitting in the unknown category also belongs to them. Even with the weakness in Chinese Dalian futures during January and early March, Chinese corn prices are still north of US $10.50/bu, offering plenty of incentive to take the cheaper priced US supply.”
Update June 12, 2021 U.S. ag outlook specialists note that China has silenced traditional reports on the nation’s grain inventories, livestock production and interior price movements. Here’s a comment from AgWeb:
Dermot Hayes, an economist with Iowa State University, says the Chinese used that tactic to their advantage recently. He says China’s strategic decision to protect market intel helped the country buy grain at a cheaper price.
“China bought almost a billion bushels of corn from us at a relatively low price, or prices much lower than we would have sold it to them if we knew that they were going to buy a billion bushels, so it’s playing to their advantage and our disadvantage,” he adds.
For AgWeb’s complete story, follow this link:


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Bogle took over the Whangarei store earlier this year and has since been committed to social responsibility, regularly participating in charity events.
“We’ve continued to support the Cancer Society in their local fundraising initiatives including the Relay for Life and the Annual Daffodil Day Golf Tournament, and now we also sponsor the Whangarei Girls High School first and second eleven hockey teams,” Bogle said.
He added that the Mr Rental team was an active participant in the events and often donated services and prizes.
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A long touted Apple project to develop microLED displays within its native production capacity has come to its end as the company recedes with its plans.
The development surfaced from Mark Gurman, a prolific reporter who extensively covers Apple products and much more surrounding it. The report of the initialisation of this project also came from the similar source.
The Bloomberg correspondent, Gurman, claimed that the microLED displays were deep into production and had caused a toll of billions in investment when the Cupertino-based tech firm ceased this project. According to Gurman, the display technology was slated to be first featured on Apple Watch Ultra.
Read more: What to expect from new iPad Air
The discontinuation of microLED is reportedly being attributed to more-than-estimated cost incurring on the technology, which has also led Apple to shift the project's designated workforce to other projects as well as subject a few to layoffs. Employees being laid off will be provided severance pay, while others will be entrusted with different roles within the company.
The development of microLED display for Apple Watches was initially brought to light in February this year, when supplier ams OSRAM said that a "cornerstone project" associated with microLED was cancelled.
Corroborrating on the cancellation of the project last month, both industry analysts Ming-Chi Kuo and Display Supply Chain Consultants confirmed that the iPhone maker has put an end to the development of microLED Apple Watch.
On the contrary, Gurman last month posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the technology was still in the works. ams OSRAM was "one supplier" on the project alongside several other suppliers Apple was collaborating with, Gurman wrote in his post. "I doubt it was canceled," the post added.
MicroLED technology utilises tiny LEDs for individual pixels, offering greater energy efficiency compared to traditional LED, improved contrast, and quicker response times. It delivers brighter and better colors without the risk of burn-in seen with OLED. Reports suggest that Apple has discontinued its MicroLED project due to lack of economic viability.
Gurman suggests that Apple will continue using OLED display technology for the Apple Watch "for now," but is "eyeing microLED for other projects down the road," while identifying "potential new suppliers and processes for microLED, but it "won't likely happen anytime soon."