text:
Meghan Castanaro, Air Products Allentown Chamber Chair
Over the last few years, one can’t help but notice the surge of businesses moving their offices to the Queen City. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as Allentown seems to be rebranding itself to become an economic cornerstone on the East Coast and has access to an ex- tensive, quality workforce.
I think it’s equally important to recognize companies that have been in Allentown for a long time contributing towards the city’s economic success as well as new companies entering our great city with the hope of their employee’s patronage of downtown merchants. There are two organizations I’d like to highlight - ADP and PPL. Both are successful Fortune 500 companies who place an emphasis on corporate social responsibility and giving back to their communities.
Although ADP is not new to the Lehigh Valley, this payroll processing company is a new tenant to downtown Allentown, opening a new location at Five City Center on Hamilton Street. The company was founded in 1949 by Henry Taub who developed the idea to create a manual payroll processing service after visiting a company who wasn’t paying their workers on time because the per- son responsible for payroll was out sick. Now ADP has grown into more than 700,000 clients.
PPL, once known as Pennsylvania Pow- er & Light Company (PP&L), was created in 1920 through the consolidation of eight electric companies with 62 power plants serving central and eastern Pennsylvania. Its headquarters has al- ways been in downtown Allentown and this PPL celebrates 100 years of being in business. To celebrate and educate such a milestone, PPL plans to sponsor and participate in various events throughout the year, including community service activities and providing special grants.
It is wonderful to see new and old businesses thrive in downtown Allentown. I can’t wait to witness how the landscape will change over the next few years as the city continues to attract successful companies and organizations.


text:
Salem, Ore. — What began as a way for Diane Wavra to stay at home with her children has blossomed into a booming nursery business.
“The nursery was started basically as a way for me to stay home with the kids,” Diane Wavra of Wavra Farms and Nursery says, standing near the retail counter in the front of the farm’s greenhouse. Colorful hanging baskets line the nearby paver stone aisles from above, as she explains the nursery’s 18-year history.
“For a fun activity with the kids, I wanted a little tiny greenhouse,” Wavra says. Her husband, Dan, ended up surprising her with a much bigger greenhouse, where the kids had a playground in the back and she could have her plants in front. Over the years, the operation has expanded three times to reach its current size. She currently has 30,000 square feet of indoor growing space and about an acre outdoors.
The Wavra family started out growing cannery crops. Over the years they have expanded to also grow nursery and seed crops and hazelnuts. They recently began an egg business as well and now have 180 chickens and 135 ducks that produce eggs that are sold to restaurants and grocery stores in the Salem area.
The nursery is known for its many hanging baskets — around 3,000 each year — that Wavra plants herself.
“I do almost all of my own baskets. … I am really picky on what goes in my baskets,” she says. The nursery staff consists of Diane, Dan and three part-time employees.
When she first started, Wavra almost exclusively grew wholesale for some of the big nurseries in the area.
However, ultimately, she decided retail was a better fit.
“With wholesale, you never exactly know what other people are going to want. When I am retail I can gauge my customers,” she says. “When I did wholesale … if a nursery was having an off week, they wouldn’t order, so it just gave me extra product.”
Wavra says some people believe operating a nursery isn’t a year-round job, but for the nursery to have inventory during the retail season, Wavra begins planting plugs in early January.
“We grow 95 percent of the annuals. I will ship in maybe 5 percent of our annuals, just to get a broader spectrum,” she says. “On the perennials I am up to growing probably 75 percent of my own. Everything is from start to finish.”
As a former teacher, kids are important to Wavra.
“We are geared towards kids. … We offer classes for the schools during the school year. In the spring we have three different classes that the teachers can pick from,” Wavra says.
In one class at the farm students learn about plants and how they get the nutrients they need. In other classes student learn about worms or about birds. Following all of the classes the students get time to go to the petting zoo.
While Wavra doesn’t see the greenhouse expanding in the near future, she does see the farm continuing to diversify.
“I am hoping in the next five years that we have possibly an organic produce stand as well,” Wavra says. “Just to be able to bring in our experience with the vegetable crops already.”

domain: news


text:
Core Media is to invest €250,000 in the creation of a new data offering for its clients and the group has appointed Brendan Bourke to the newly created role of Chief Data Officer.
Bourke is currently a director of Core’s digital agency, Radical, where he has been instrumental in the development of digital across the Core Media group of agencies which includes Starcom, MediaVest, Clear Blue Water, Radical and Mediaworks. Prior to joining Radical in 2012 he held a number of senior digital marketing positions in Ireland and the Middle East for companies such as Emirates Airlines and Ferrari while he also worked as digital marketing manager for Aer Lingus. As the data agenda within companies continues to gather, big brands are looking to it as a potential engine for growth and agencies are responding to this challenge.
According to Justin Cullen, digital director of Core Media and managing director of Radical, the group recognised this a number of years ago and have been employing a range of data solutions for their clients across competitive analysis, consumer behaviour, data visualisation, attribution modelling and econometrics. He says that such initiatives have delivered significant results for its clients in terms of return on media investment, and have been recognised at industry level through awards at the Marketing Society Research Excellence Awards in 2013 and more recently at this years’ Media Awards.
“This is a really exciting time for our industry, and our business. The last decade of development within the digital sector has been a pre-cursor for how data will transform the media industry. Everything connected is where all this is going, and everything connected will be good for business, if structured correctly. This investment and Brendan’s appointment is one the most significant developments within Core Media in recent years and I am really excited about it,” he says pointing out that over the next 12 months, the agency’s data division will employ up to five staff.


text:
By TOM KRISHER, AP Auto Writer
An electric version of the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck will get an estimated 400 miles of range per charge, General Motors says.
The company announced the range in a webcast April 6 and said the truck would be built at a factory straddling the border of Detroit and the enclave of Hamtramck. It also announced that the plant would build the new 2024 GMC Hummer SUV.
The GM pickup raises the level of competition for future buyers in the hot truck market. Ford already has announced plans to build an electric F-150 starting next year in Dearborn, Michigan, while Fiat Chrysler (now Stellantis) has said it plans to have an all-electric Ram pickup.
GM would not say when the electric Silverado would arrive in dealerships. But the company plans to sell 30 electric vehicles globally by the end of 2025. It also has set a goal of making all of its passenger vehicles electric by 2035.
In addition to conventional automakers, electric vehicle leader Tesla plans to start selling a futuristic “Cybertruck” pickup later this year, and EV startup companies Bollinger Motors, Nikola, Rivian and Lordstown Motors are planning to enter the market.
GM President Mark Reuss said the electric Silverado will be designed from the ground up as an electric truck for commercial and individual users. The Detroit-Hamtramck plant, named “Factory Zero” by GM, is being retooled with an investment of $2.2 billion. Eventually it will employ 2,200 workers to make the two GMC Hummers, the electric Silverado and the Origin, an autonomous passenger vehicle for GM’s Cruise subsidiary.
United Auto Workers Vice President Terry Dittes said that in November 2018, GM announced it would close the factory. But it became part of the 2019 negotiations with the union that resulted in a 40-day strike. It was brought back as one of four North American electric vehicle factories.
In the next two years, GM will build more electric models than any other manufacturer, Dittes said. “It’s always a good day when GM tells us there is more product coming into our location. Because that is more jobs,” he said.
But the future for workers is also a bit of a mystery. Electric vehicles have 30% to 40% fewer moving parts than those run on internal combustion engines, so companies will need fewer workers to put them together. Also, jobs making complex internal combustion engines and transmissions could be in jeopardy when more electric vehicles are on the road.
Pictured: GM President Mark Reuss during a news conference on Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at Factory ZERO in Detroit. General Motors says an electric version of the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck will get an estimated 400 miles of range per charge. The company announced the range on Tuesday and said the truck would be built at a factory straddling the border of Detroit and the enclave of Hamtramck. (GM via AP)
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) may lower the inflation forecast marginally and will not change the repo rate at the upcoming meeting owing to inflation being down and increased liquidity, said a top economist in Bank of Baroda.
“The MPC will not change the repo rate. The inflation is less than five per cent and will be in the coming months,” Chief Economist Madan Sabnavis, Bank of Baroda told IANS.
The consumer price index (CPI) inflation moderated in April-23 to 4.70 per cent year-on-year (YoY) and remained within the RBI’s target range (2-6 per cent) for the second consecutive month.
Adding further Sabnavis said the liquidity has increased and so the RBI-MPC’s stance will also not change.
According to Sabnavis, the MPC may lower inflation forecast marginally.


text:
There are three main ingredients in augmented reality: app, mobile device, and target. So we keep an eye on the quickly developing field of mobile technology because we don’t want to miss a thing. This morning Google snuck in a quiet announcement on its blog. Users can now search Google on their mobile devices by handwriting in search queries using their finger and the mobile screen. We’re pretty excited about this new feature and the reviews that are giving it the thumbs up.
Here’s how to get up and running with the new handwriting tool from Google.
Enable the new Handwrite feature:
1) Go to Google.com on your mobile device.
2) Go to “Settings” at the bottom of the screen for smartphones and behind the gear icon for tablets.
3) Turn on “Handwrite”.
4) Save and refresh the search page.
Once you’ve adjusted your settings, tap the Handwrite icon in the bottom right section of the screen. You’re ready to go. The best part about this new search feature is that you can write anywhere on the screen. Once you start writing, a few autocomplete choices will pop up just like when you type a search into Google. If you see what you’re looking for, click away. If not, just keep writing.
According to the Google blog, Handwriting has been enabled for iOS5+ devices, Android 2.3+ phones and Android 4.0+ tablets.


text:
Back To School Shopping Season Important For Stores
The US Census Bureau says back to school shoppers will spend $7.7 billion shopping for back to school items. Back to school sales totals could help signal whether the economy is getting better, worse, or staying the same.
The National Retail Federation predicted shoppers will probably end up holding the line on spending.
"We've been in this recession now for several years," said Lisa Haddock, a lecturer at the San Diego State University School of Business. " And parents are going to be doing their homework when it comes to back to school shopping. They're going to practice restraint. They're going to delay their purchases.
The back to school season is the second most important retail season of the year after the holiday season, according to Haddock. If end of summer sales are brisk, that usually bodes well for holiday spending.


text:
Kathmandu, November 12
A startup company has launched wristwatches made of walnut wood targeting the Tihar festival.
Walnuts, called ‘okhar’ in Nepali, hold a significant position in the festival as sisters gift walnuts to their brothers on the day of Bhaitika.
Okharstore.com says they can now gift walnut watch also to their brothers. The company has claimed the watch is handmade. It costs Rs 4,999 and comes with a one-year warranty.
Meanwhile, the company has also promised that it will plant one walnut tree for the sale of every watch.
“This watch is made of wood completely. To compensate for the loss of a tree in making this watch, we will plant one tree for every sale we make,” says the company’s founder Prakash Dahal.
The watch is made in a Japanese model, but it is assembled in Nepal, according to Dahal.
The product is available for purchase on its website, Daraz and other online stores.


text:
Teams of three have to enter before July.
Adventure through Skyrim, fight in space and even punch an octopus with this weekends deals.
Empty servers and sub-par single-player mode let the side down on this arena shooter.
Manic multi-player arena shooter featuring ludicrous physics-based power-ups comes to PlayStation VR.
Get a look at what Smashbox Arena will look like on the PlayStation VR ahead of its release.
It'll arrive in a couple of weeks.
HTC sent two members of it's Esports team to the ZOTAC Cup Smashbox Arena Tournament.
The free weekend starts tomorrow.
It'll be a worldwide launch.


text:
UPDATE: The US PR wing of EA has rubbished the rumours, calling them "patently false". However, there's been no extra information on the Visceral Montreal situation, nor any comment made on Dead Space 3's performance thus far.
Anyone who reached the end of Dead Space 3 could have been forgiven for naturally assuming that there'd be a fourth game in the series, however it's unlikely for the time being.
A new report suggests that EA has canned development on Dead Space 4 after the recently released Dead Space 3 failed to live up to sales expectations.
According to VideoGamer, an anonymous source "familiar with the unannounced project" revealed that "Dead Space 4 had been in pre-production at Visceral Games, with a small team at Visceral Montreal allegedly tasked with developing prototypes and mock-ups for the title, and collaborating on ideas for the game's narrative".
That would be the same Visceral Montreal team that were marched out of their offices as part of EA's 'transition is our friend' shake-up. It seems the details about company restructuring are slowly starting to emerge.
VideoGamer's source reports that "the project was cancelled after Dead Space 3 failed to meet its sales targets, telling the site that "EA executives visited Visceral Montreal last month to inform staff that the project had been terminated and announce details of the company's restructuring".
Last week, EA Labels boss Frank Gibeau said: "This week we let some people go in Los Angeles, Montreal as well as in some smaller locations. These are good people and we have offered outplacement services and severance packages to ease their transition to a new job."
EA also announced that they'll be stuffing all of their games with microtransactions going forward...although one can't help but wonder if this really is the best route to take going forward.


text:
Bully Voice Actor Wants To Reprise His Role In A Sequel (VIDEO)
The 2006 action-adventure game ‘Bully’ undeniably stands up as one of the more classic Rockstar Games titles. While its popularity is of course dwarfed by the likes of Grand Theft Auto, Bully was nonetheless an excellent game and one that may soon be spawning a sequel, one that voice actor Gerry Rosenthal would love to be a part of.
The original voice actor for Bully protagonist Jimmy Hopkins, Gerry Rosenthal – now working as a musician – recently expressed his interest in returning to the gaming industry to reprise his role as the troublesome child from the original game. The news comes by way of the SWEGTA YouTube channel, which recently posted a video titled ‘Gerry’s Message To The BULLY Community’ wherein the titular musician stated that, while he doesn’t really do any acting anymore, he’d happily jump back in should Rockstar Games come calling. The video can be seen below:
“So far, they haven’t come calling,” Rosenthal revealed. “I know there’s lots of rumors floating around there, but so far I can’t confirm.” Rosenthal is likely at least partially referencing a casting call that went out last year, though that isn’t saying much as concept art for a potential sequel was leaked roughly two years ago. The important thing to note here is that, if a Bully 2 does at some point happen, the voice actor for Jimmy Hopkins is fully onboard.
The original Bully is now available for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii.
So, thoughts on the message from Gerry Rosenthal? Would you be interested in playing as Jimmy Hopkins in a sequel, or would you prefer a new protagonist? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers for all the latest gaming and entertainment news! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!
Ryan "Cinna" Carrier2587 Posts
Ryan is the Lead Editor for Don't Feed the Gamers. When he isn't writing, Ryan is likely considering yet another playthrough of Final Fantasy IX. He's also the DFTG cinnamon bun.


text:
All bitcoin currency
Share Tweet Share Reddit Email Shares 787 The Money Project is an ongoing collaboration between Visual Capitalist and Texas Precious Metals that seeks to use intuitive visualizations to explore the origins, nature, and use of money.If you want to buy drugs or guns anonymously online, virtual currency Bitcoin is better than hard cash.
Bitcoin is a digital or virtual currency that uses peer-to-peer technology to facilitate instant payments.
Is Bitcoin a Currency or a Bubble? - June 13, 2017 - Zacks.comBased on black market activity, however, experts estimate that the currency ended the year with inflation of roughly 500%.
The Crypto-Currency | The New YorkerConvert amounts to or from USD and other currencies with this simple Bitcoin calculator.Six years in, the total value of all extant bitcoins is roughly three and a half billion dollars. The Crypto-Currency Bitcoin and its mysterious inventor. By.
After ongoing debates over how to scale the digital currency called bitcoin, some people have decided to make an entirely new currency called Bitcoin Cash.
What Bitcoin needs to do to become a real currency
Bitcoin feud splits the currency in two - engadget.comThis morning, bitcoin split into two currencies -- the original and Bitcoin Cash.Last week, the European Court of Justice ruled Bitcoin is a Currency and Exchanges are VAT-exempt.The bitcoin blockchain is a public ledger containing all the transaction data from anyone who uses bitcoin.Bitcoins, a form of digital currency, has lately come under the scanner of the authorities throughout the world.As the hackers behind the global ransomware attack demand payment in bitcoin, here is a look at the basics behind the electronic currency.
Currently, there are an average of about 1,700 transactions that can be saved per bitcoin block, at about three transactions per second, Manain said.
Bitcoin's 'hard fork': Bitcoin Unlimited and Segregated
Luckily, for those that follow the digital currency closely, those fluctuations were mostly pointed in an upwards direction for 2016.And in the opening days of 2017, the cryptocurrency has already gained a head start on other global currencies.What exactly is Bitcoin, how much is it worth, how to spend it and buying bitcoin as an investment.
Ripple effects from low oil prices caused the Nigerian naira to lose more than one-third of its value throughout the year, making it the worst performing currency (at least officially).
Bitcoin Exchange Rate — Bitcoin Live Converter — PreevFor some, the solution to that is to make a whole new currency using similar software.
ALL currencies involve some measure of consensual hallucination, but Bitcoin, a virtual monetary system, involves more than most.Bitcoin is a new currency that was created in 2009 by an unknown person using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto.
Mike Shedlock - EU Rules Bitcoin is a Currency, US SaysUnlike traditional currencies, which were frequently backed by gold and silver, bitcoin is based on distributed computing.Find all you need to know and get started with Bitcoin on bitcoin.org.
Traders are hoping that center-right President Michel Temer can ease public spending following the departure of Dilma Rousseff.
Fedcoin: The U.S. Will Issue E-Currency That You Will Use
Probably the most visible application of blockchains right now isthe virtual currency Bitcoin.


text:
From changing product preferences to compassionate pricing policies
The Covid-19 outbreak upended daily business operations and consumer habits in nearly every industry. In the world of legal cannabis, restrictions on business and travel are creating seismic shifts that could potentially restructure the unique culture and idiosyncrasies that define the industry. Dispensaries are quickly pivoting to ecommerce to stay competitive, consumers are starting to stray away from inhalable products and an increasing number of corporate acquisitions will transpire in order to maximize resources and supply chains in this period of uncertainty.
It is becoming increasingly feasible that many of these quick responses to health and safety concerns will emerge as lasting industry practices even after the pandemic subsides. Both cannabis companies and consumers have recently transitioned to a less social way of interacting with the plant, a stark departure from the established norms of the industry that predates the legalization movement. Considering how many business leaders and consumers embrace these changes, it is likely that these new practices will pave the way for a more modernized and accessible legal cannabis industry.
Retailers get a digital boost
Before social distancing guidelines swept the nation, the majority of dispensaries were brick-and-mortar operations that relied heavily on foot traffic and cash payments to conduct business. [Read More @ AdWeek]


text:
Unpaired spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band in Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala is more or less now in the ownership of the company, pending approval of the Indian government. The US company says it now plans to roll out a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network, complementing existing 3G HSPA and EV-DO mobile phone networks in the regions.
Qualcomm will soon announce Indian partners for the roll-out, in compliance with India’s Foreign Direct Investment regulations. Apparently Qualcomm’s goal is to cooperate with one or more operators already using either HSPA or EV-DO in a joint venture to build an LTE network. It would leave the venture as soon as the network has been implemented. The 20 MHz spectrum slot will cost Qualcomm US$1,04 billion, no amount was mentioned concerning the planned network venture.
“Our bidding objective was to secure an enabling role in the continued success of Indian operators with 3G and beyond, and we are extremely gratified we met that objective. With its ecosystem partners, Qualcomm will now foster the deployment of LTE, so Indian consumers can enjoy the benefits of 3G now and 3G plus LTE in the future”, stated Kanwalinder Singh, president of Qualcomm India and South Asia.
Qualcomm’s plans can be seen as another nail in WiMax’s coffin. Analysts at WiseHarbor recently predicted LTE will rule the world by 2020 and replicate the success of GSM and CDMA, whereas WiMax is set to go the path of dinosaurs. Simply put, LTE is the 4G mobile phone standard and successor of UMTS and WCDMA, not WiMax, despite companies involved with WiMax trying to pitch it as 4G.


text:
Can I jailbreak iOS 11.2.6 / 11.2.5 or even iOS 11.2.2? What is the current state of iOS 11.2.6 jailbreak? Here is everything you need to know about it.
Now currently, we have the LiberiOS and Electra jailbreaks for iOS 11.0 to iOS 11.1.2. Very soon, there will be something released into the jailbreak community offering support for iOS 11.2.x.
First of all, there is a good reason why the recently released jailbreaks only offer compatibility up to and including iOS 11.1.2. Because of the wonderful kernel level async awake exploit has been discovered and released by Ian Beer of Google’s Project Zero enabled the jailbreak, which we have today in the form of LiberiOS by Jonathan Levin or Electra by CoolStar.
And the same exploit was essentially “burned” when Apple was informed about it, and then subsequently patched it in iOS 11.2. It’s no longer available to be used in any firmware after iOS 11.1.2. With that in mind, in order, to jailbreak iOS 11.2.1, 11.2.2, iOS 11.2.5 and above successfully, someone, or a team of people, will need to have another kernel level exploit capable of allowing them kernel escape privileges.
As we have recently come in front of a jailbreak demonstration by the relatively unknown Alibaba Pandora Labs, with company boss Song Yang detailing that the jailbreak is fully untethered and allows full root access. This is the first kind, and currently, only jailbreak we have that claims to liberate devices on iOS 11.2.x. Unfortunately, Yang also went on record as part of that demonstration to confirm that they have no plans at all to release anything to the public.
So, as a quick recap; the async_awake bug used in iOS 11 – iOS 11.1.2 is patched and no longer available. Apple is no longer signing iOS 11.1.x firmware. Alibaba Pandora Labs clearly has the means to jailbreak iOS 11.2.x and beyond but isn’t currently planning on releasing anything public.
It shouldn’t be a great news but stay tuned as things can, and often do – as demonstrated by the recent flood of iOS 10.3.3 (h3lix) and iOS 11.1.x (to.panga, LiberTV11, LiberiOS, Electra) jailbreak releases – changes quickly where jailbreaking is concerned.
We will surely keep an eye and updated. Stay tuned.
Update x1: Apple has now released iOS 11.2.2 to patch Spectre CPU vulnerability. The aforementioned post has been updated to reflect this change.
Update x2: iOS 11.2.5 final version is out to fix the chaiOS bug, among other things. It will also be updated for it.
Update X3: Apple has now released iOS 11.2.6 emergency-patch update in order to fix Telugu Indian character crashing bug.
You may also like to check out:
- Download iOS 11.2.6 IPSW Links And OTA With Fix For Messages Crashing Bug
- Downgrade iOS 11.2.6 To 11.1.2 On iPhone Or iPad [How-To Guide]
- Jailbreak 11.2.1 / 11.2/ 11.2.5 On iPhone And iPad [Status Update]
- Jailbreak iOS 11 / 11.1.2 On iPhone X, 8, 7, iPad Using LiberiOS [Updated]


text:
Consumer Reports is disputing Samsung’s claim that one of its S7 phones is water resistant.
Samsung advertises its S7 Active as being water resistant, able to survive for a half-hour in up to five feet of water. In its commercials, rapper Lil Wayne is seen pouring champagne over the phone and dropping it into a fish tank.
Consumer Reports, after recent testing, doesn’t agree.
The organization, known for its testing of a variety of name-brand products, does not recommend the Active. Maria Rerecich, Consumer Reports’ director of electronics testing, said that Samsung’s advertising is usually “fairly good” and was surprised that the Active failed its water-resistance test. She noted that only two phones were tested and both failed, with bubbles seen on the camera lenses.
Samsung promised users that it would look into the review. “The Samsung Galaxy S7 active device is one of the most rugged phones to date and is highly resistant to scratches and IP68 certified,” the company said in a written statement. “There may be an off-chance that a defective device is not as watertight as it should be.”
Consumer Reports noted that its other S7 phones, the Galaxy and the Edge, passed the water-resistance test and are rated as excellent. The S7 Active, according to the report, excels in other tests, but cannot be recommended due to Samsung’s alleged false claims.


text:
Flaming rats and exploding cars are the stars at a new museum
WHEN Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old grandmother, sued McDonald’s after scalding herself with hot coffee in 1992, she became the butt of countless jokes. When a jury awarded her $2.7m in punitive damages, the case was held up as an example of frivolous lawsuits and of juries run amok.
In fact the case was less clear-cut. Mrs Liebeck, who needed skin grafts to treat third-degree burns, sued only when the fast-food chain declined to pay all her medical expenses. During the trial it emerged that McDonald’s served its coffee far hotter than home-brewed java. The jury also heard there were 700 other instances of bad burns from McDonald’s coffees served too hot. The jury’s suggested punitive award of $2.7m was roughly the equivalent of two days’ worth of coffee sales. The judge reduced the damages to $480,000. The case was later settled for an undisclosed amount.
Mrs Liebeck’s case became a rallying cry for tort reform, or “tort de-reform” as Ralph Nader puts it. Tort law allows anyone with an injury to seek remedy in court with a trial by jury. It covers a wide range of issues, from product liability to pollution and from workplace safety to police brutality. Tort law became a battleground in the 1990s, when businesses became exasperated with eye-watering damages awarded by juries and moved to have laws changed and unfriendly judges removed. Mr Nader, a consumer-rights advocate and one-time presidential candidate, says the tort-reform lobby has now made it too difficult for people to get their day in court. His response is one of the strangest museums in the country: a shrine to the joy of tort law.
The American Museum of Tort Law uses cartoon graphics to explain complicated lawsuits over asbestos and tobacco. Interactive monitors running old news reports show precedent-setting cases, like Jackie Kennedy Onassis’s lawsuit against a photographer, which placed limits on what paparazzi could do. A room of killer toys, featuring pointy lawn darts, is a reminder of how dangerous playthings used to be. An antique jukebox tells the tale of how a rat helped trigger a fire in 1949, which killed a worker cleaning a coin-operated machine with petrol.
The museum is in Mr Nader’s hometown of Winsted, Connecticut, a struggling mill town with a population of 11,000. Its centrepiece is a shiny red 1963 Chevrolet Corvair, the focus of Mr Nader’s 1965 book “Unsafe at Any Speed”. The book led to congressional hearings and a string of car-safety laws. Mr Nader hopes the museum will become a resource for students as well as a tourist draw. Early visitors included a high-court judge from India and students from China. America’s trial lawyers will hope that it also improves the reputation of tort law: in many states the number of tort cases has declined.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline "Ralph’s house"
From the October 10th 2015 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contentsExplore the edition
Mandatory statements are quickly taking hold of academia
But global warming threatens its future
America’s fragmented and antiquated state systems were an open door to fraud


text:
Providers get smart
YARMOUTH, Maine--Providers spent the last months of 2008 tightening their belts in preparation for a 9.5% nationwide reimbursement cut that goes into effect Jan. 1.
A Medicare bill passed in July delayed national competitive bidding for 18 to 24 months in exchange for the cut, which covers products included in Round 1 of the program. Certain high-end rehab items were excluded.
To survive, providers are making smarter use of technology and implementing process improvements to reduce overhead costs. Provider Don White said better routing technology and careful planning will allow him to continue caring for 7,000 to 8,000 oxygen patients.
“We are proactive about putting patients on delivery schedules,” said White, CEO of Associated Healthcare in Amherst, N.Y. “We will call them to ask â€˜Do you need tanks on Thursday?’ We used to wait for them to call us.”
Provider Todd Tyson says between the reimbursement cut and the oxygen cap, he’s got to make up about $1 million in revenues. One area of renewed focus: CPAP compliance and replenishment.
“We have software which calls our patients,” said Tyson, president of Hi Tech Homecare in Marietta, Ga. “But we only have success connecting with about 20%, so we will add a live call for follow-up and see if we can reconnect with some of these patients.”
Other providers were taking a hard look at their product mix.
“We are looking at expanding into different venues,” said Eric Parkhill, vice president of Home Medical Professionals in Atlanta. “We are putting a big emphasis on self-pay items. We’ve also dropped a few product lines that were unprofitable over the last 18 months.”
When it comes to products they keep in stock, providers are also shopping smarter. Kevin Robison, DME manager for Knueppel Healthcare Services in Racine, Wis., keeps his eye out for specials and has often found better deals through distributors than manufacturers.
“It seems as though manufacturers are reluctant to enter into committed pricing,” he said. “Years ago, I had the luxury of having consistency of product. Now, I’ll dance between (manufacturers and distributors). It’s not what I like to do.”


text:
Shoppers are reacting to surging grocery prices by buying cheaper frozen food and using discount schemes offered by retailers.
Vegetable prices are rising due to the long and heavy rains.
Leafy greens are displayed on the refrigerated shelves of a discount store in Seoul Sunday. The continued heavy rain in Korea is pushing vegetable prices up.
Odd hobbies have gone from goofs to more serious pursuits for many in Korea as the pandemic digs in and people have a lot of time on their hands.
A shopper stands in front of the vegetable stand wearing plastic gloves at a major mart in Seoul on Tuesday. Lately, food prices have been rising sharply as more people are eating at home. Prices are expected to rise further as the mercury rises.


text:
The Turkish Travel Agencies Association (TÜRSAB) has won a lawsuit it filed against the popular hotel booking website booking.com, according to news reports on Oct. 18.
An Istanbul commercial court decided that booking.com was guilty of generating unfair competition, and said that the injunction against the website could be removed in the event that it pays it a fine amounting to 500,000 TL.
In 2017, the website was blocked in Turkey on the basis that it violated competition laws, and the injunction was granted. However, users within the country were still able to book international hotels, while it has also been possible to use the site to book hotels within Turkey with the use of a VPN.
At the time, the website defended its stake in the Turkish market, saying it provided a platform for more than 13,000 hotels, hostels and other types of accommodation to offer bookings throughout Turkey.


text:
Chevy Volt Tech Watch: Regenerative Braking
News 11/11/2011 29 comments When you either lift your foot from the accelerator or press on the brake pedal in the Chevy Volt, the main drive motor temporarily operates as a generator, working to partially recharge the battery bank.
Retooling for Compliance
News 11/10/2011 5 comments Manufacturers are turning to PLM platforms and new supplier management processes to keep pace with the shifting compliance landscape and the need to manage more granular data.
Downsized MEMS Aim at Lab-on-a-Chip
News 11/7/2011 2 comments A new glass etching technique could lead to better microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) systems and faster, more reliable optical micro-gyroscopes and other apps.
Science fiction author Isaac Asimov may have the best rules for effective brainstorming and creativity. His never-before-published essay, "On Creativity," recently made it to the Web pages of MIT Technology Review.
Much has been made over the potentially dangerous flammability of lithium-ion batteries after major companies like Boeing, Sony, and Tesla have grappled with well-publicized battery fires. Researchers at Stanford University may have come up with a solution to this problem with a smart sensor for lithium-ion batteries that provides a warning if the battery is about to overheat or catch fire.
In this new Design News feature, "How it Works," we’re starting off by examining the inner workings of the electronic cigarette. While e-cigarettes seemed like a gimmick just two or three years ago, they’re catching fire -- so to speak. Sales topped $1 billion last year and are set to hit $10 billion by 2017. Cigarette companies are fighting back by buying up e-cigarette manufacturers.
Microchip recently released the 3D TouchPad, the first USB PC Peripheral device that couples 2D multi-touch input with 3D air gesture technology. The company seeks the help of developers to further enhance the capabilities of the technology.
Focus on Fundamentals consists of 45-minute on-line classes that cover a host of technologies. You learn without leaving the comfort of your desk. All classes are taught by subject-matter experts and all are archived. So if you can't attend live, attend at your convenience.


text:
Three major automakers have launched auto recalls that have impacted thousands of vehicles across the country. According to the latest reports published by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, these companies may not be known for their high rates of recalls, nonetheless, consumers who own or drive one of the recalled vehicles regularly should not ignore the risks.
The first recall campaign impacts Mitsubishi and Chrysler vehicles. According to the federal agency reporting on the recall, the companies have, jointly, recalled 459,618 vehicles nationwide. Models listed under the latest recall include the 2000 through 2005 Eclipse as well as the 2001 through 2005 Eclipse Spyder. Chrysler vehicles impacted include the 2001 through 2005 Chrysler Sebring as well as the Dodge Stratus of the same year makes.
The official report claims that all impacted vehicles come with certain passenger side sun visors that could folded down in a position that may make passengers vulnerable. In case the air bag deploys, the side sun visor may be folded down in a position that would make it more likely to come detached. As a result, the passenger may suffer a personal injury risk.
Owners of the vehicles impacted by the recall are being contacted soon. According to the official announcement, both Chrysler and Mitsubishi are working to contact all consumers with recalled and potentially hazardous side sun visors. Once the vehicles are inspected at authorized dealers, a tether strap should be installed on the newer vehicles. This fix would make sure the passenger sun visors are retained and passenger are protected.
If you have any further questions or concerns associated with this recall, make sure to have this issue addressed by contacting Dodge, Chrysler, or Mitsubishi to ask for further recommendations on what to do moving forward.
But Mitsubishi’s is not the latest recall announcement launched with the help of the NHTSA.
Subaru Recalls Over 70,000 Vehicles Across America
According to the latest report released by federal regulators, Subaru has launched a recall that impacts all units of the 2015 Legacy, Outback, Impreza, XV Crosstrek, and 2016 WRX vehicles.
Since these vehicles’ Eyesight Driver Assist Systems may have been fitted with certain switches that may not work as intended, certain issues with the brake lights may arise. As a result, the system will fail, and the pre-collision braking component may then fail. As a result, the vehicle may experience an accident, putting the safety of occupants in risk.
A driver assist technology failure may expose drivers who rely on the technology to serious risks. In order to ensure that the pre-collision braking system functions correctly and the technology reacts promptly to an obstacle ahead, the company will be reprogramming the driver assist system in the impacted vehicles. Once that occurs, the problem will no longer expose drivers to possible crash risks.
While over 70,000 vehicles have been impacted, no accidents have been linked to this recall.
You may contact Subaru to ask for further details on how you should proceed to avoid accidents.


text:
This story is available exclusively to Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.
- Future of work startups are booming in a turbulent time, as a growing number of tech companies debate shifting to a remote model permanently.
- While startups outside the remote-work field have been forced to raise 'down rounds' and have been dethroned from their unicorn status, venture capitalists have sent the valuations of hot remote-work and ed-techs startups soaring into unicorn territory.
- Business Insider rounded up 6 startups whose valuations have soared over the past two months. At least half have been catapulted to valuations north of a $1 billion, crowning them as Silicon Valley's latest unicorns.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
A radical transformation of the corporate world is underway as several large companies, including Facebook and Twitter, allow employees to permanently work outside of the office.
And that's spurring a gold rush for the startups selling the tools to make this remote work future a reality.
Hot startups like Notion and Figma have already raised money at eye-popping valuations without even needing to court investors. And more such startups are likely to sprout and attract investor dollars as they fill the need for newer and better tools that empower remote workforces and enable remote learning.
It's a bright spot in a startup landscape that has been ravaged by the coronavirus and the economic downturn. Close to 60,000 startup employees have been laid off over the past few months as startups scramble to cut costs and stay afloat, according to Layoffs.fyi.
Business Insider rounded some of the remote work startups, whose technology and services have allowed them to buck the negative trend and to spark the interest of venture capital investors. At least three on the list have been catapulted into the ranks of Silicon Valley's latest unicorns — startups valued at $1 billion or more — as investors have rushed to fund them.
What it is: Notion aims to be an "all-in-one workplace," where teams can write notes, track projects, build spreadsheets and databases, and get organized.
How much it raised: Notion raised $50 million in a round led by Index Ventures, at a valuation of $2 billion.
Notion's funding history is brief — it last put together a $10 million round from just three angel investors at an $800 million valuation. The latest round not only prompted its valuation to jump by 150%, but the deal terms mean that existing shares are less diluted than the norm, given that it's a late-stage startup.
What it is: Figma functions as a 'Google Docs for web design,' allowing people to work together to create and test web designs from its cloud-based software remotely.
The web-design tool recently created more waves in Silicon Valley thanks to its role in allowing VC Brianne Kimmel to build a virtual layout of Silicon Valley. Hunkered-down tech workers flocked to join the website.
How much it raised: Figma raised $50 million in April, in a Series D round led by Andreessen Horowitz, Forbes reported. The startup's valuation jumped from $440 million to $2 billion.
What it is: Masterclass offers celebrity-led online classes on everything from cooking to leadership.
While Masterclass sells the future of learning, rather than work, its popularity has surged amid the pandemic as consumers look to grow new skills and hobbies from home.
How much it raised: Masterclass raised $100 million in a Series E round led by Fidelity, according to a press release. The startup did not reveal its latest valuation but Bloomberg, which reported the news while the startup was still in talks, reported that the deal would value MasterClass at $800 million, close to doubling its earlier $410 million value.
What it is: Airtable, a cloud-based spreadsheet tool, lets users build their own custom apps without any coding.
It has skyrocketed in popularity over the past two years, as a growing fanbase has used it for everything from project management to spreadsheets distributing layoff news. And its popularity has also left VCs bullish on the startup's ability to continue growing.
How much it raised: Airtable has been speaking to investors about raising $50 million, in a round that would prompt the $1.1 billion startup's valuation to soar by at least 250%, according to an April report by the Information. The startup has yet to confirm or announce the details of the round.
What it is: Quizlet, an online learning platform founded in 2005, creates virtual flashcards and study guides to help students study for tests and exams.
School and university shutdowns have evidently caused the startup's popularity to skyrocket, as students look for new ways to ace tests and exams amid the pandemic.
How much it raised: Quizlet raised $30 million in a Series C round led by General Atlantic in May, TechCrunch reported. The startup's valuation went up more than 400% to $1 billion, admitting Quizlet into a class of startup unicorns.
What it is: Confluent is known for its namesake event streaming software, based on the open source Kafka, which processes events like orders, sales and customer experiences in real time.
Confluent's customers include companies like Walmart, which uses it to manage both its e-commerce, and brick and mortar inventory, to streamline its supply-chain by using real-time updates.
Confluent's service has grown more necessary as companies tweak their businesses amid the downturn, especially as e-commerce has received a boost amid the pandemic.
How much it raised: Confluent announced that it raised $250 million in a Series E round led by Coatue Management in April, just months after its last funding round. The company's valuation jumped by $2 billion to a whopping $4.5 billion.


text:
Video Views on Mobile Constantly Growing in China
While PC is still the main device for digital video viewing in China, the mobile use for the video viewing seems to be growing constantly. According to iResearch Consulting Group, the people viewing video using mobile has increased from 4.5% in September 2012 to 8.8% in May 2013, nearly doubling the viewing share.
On the other hand, the time Chinese people spent to view digital video hasn’t changed much. The average time spent viewing online video was 5.4 hours in October 2012, and 5.3 hours in March 2013.


text:
After launching in beta late 2014, Fresvii raised US$1.8 million to launch their cloud-based social engagement tool platform AppSteroid
Tokyo and Silicon Valley startup Fresvii has just raised US$4 million from Japan’s Nissay Capital, with US angel Guo Wei also pitching in. Nissay is a repeat investor, having first backed Fresvii in October 2014 with US$1.8 million.
According to a release, Fresvii will be using the cash to pay off convertible debt and to add new designs to its suite of social tools. The one-year-old startup already has a stacked team of mobile game developers from Disney, Nintendo and Konami and has plans to hire more engineers with the new funds.
Fresvi are the makers of AppSteroid, a social engagement platform offering tools built exclusively for mobile, such as group messaging, forums, voice-chat and so on. The mission behind AppSteroid is to help save game developers a lot of time while ramping up user engagement and retention.
“For today’s game publishers, simply relying on riveting game play or a unique story line isn’t going to get them very far. The most successful games embrace social elements into their core gameplay, creating a high level of engagement, interaction and loyalty among users,” said Hiro Nakagawa, CEO and Founder of Fresvii in a release.
Also Read: Play this mobile game and get paid with Bitcoin
The cloud-based platform, which is compatible with a number of game engines such as Unity, iOS and Android, can integrate social features (such as gameplay video recording) within hours instead of months.
“We want to help developers to create great games, and our platform will allow them to focus their attention on gameplay rather than spending time adding social features,” said Tony Gascon, General Manager at Fresvii.
To get an idea of traction, take a look at Japanese game developer Liica’s puzzle game Q Universe. AppSteroid tools added video recording functionality and in-game chat, which contributed to Q Universe’s eight million downloads in just six months. The game also scored within the ‘Top 50’ in the US Google Play store.
According to their website, Fresvii had just launched in beta back in October 2014 and now has over 2,500 registered developers globally.
The post Japan/US startup Fresvii raises US$4M from Nissay Capital appeared first on e27.
from e27 http://ift.tt/22bD7tu


text:
So what good is an Apple product release without a little controversy?
Probably not. With more than 3 million iPads sold since its launch on March 16th, there doesn’t seem to be widespread reports of hot iPads.
Consumer Reports has conducted some testing and found that the new iPad can run considerably hotter than the iPad 2 when running an action game. In their tests, they found the new iPad to be about 12 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the iPad 2.
What does Apple have to say about this? According to The Verge, Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller said “the new iPad delivers a stunning Retina display, A5X chip, support for 4G LTE plus 10 hours of battery life, all while operating well within our thermal specifications. If customers have any concerns they should contact AppleCare.”
So, Heatgate? Probably not yet. At this point, this issue doesn’t seem to be of the magnitude of the other ‘gates’.


text:
- PressTV Published on Sep 7, 2018
The US president has threatened to impose tariffs on all Chinese goods imported into the United States, increasing the already tense trade relations with Beijing. In a speech in the American city of Fargo in North Dakota, Donald Trump warned that he would punish China with tariffs on 267 billion dollars in imports. Washington has already slapped punitive tariffs on 50 billion dollars in goods and Trump earlier said another 200 billion dollars “could take place very soon”. That would cover almost all the goods imported from the world’s second largest economy.


text:
News and notes from around the interweb:
- People aren’t spending their Amex points during the pandemic. “They’re not choosing to redeem them for online retail, which they could, they’re just stocking up the points to travel,” according to American Express Chief Financial Officer Jeff Campbell.
- Long-term guests evicted from Denver hotel on one day’s notice because the property is shutting down. But some refuse to leave.
- More Covid test fraud for travel
- Thai Airways is now selling napkins and toothpicks as part of a warehouse sale.
- Royal Caribbean will run human challenge trials, but for cruises.
- How United Airlines thanked a ramp worker for his service


text:
Anxious Markets Await Trade Deal Signing, Futures Are Flat, U.S. Data SurprisesGlobal markets are mixed as traders wait for the Phase One deal signing. The details so far suggest the Phase One deal is far less than the market was expecting.
The U.S. Futures Are Trading Flat In Early Action
The U.S. futures are indicating a flat open on Wednesday as traders await the much-anticipated Phase One Trade Deal. Chinese delegates are in Washington now and expected to sign the deal later today. The market could sell-off in the wake of the signing due to a new reality; the Phase One deal is far less than the market was expecting.
According to various sources, tariffs will not be removed with this deal. Mnuchin says the deal is enforceable, once China proves it will abide Phase Two can begin. The Phase Two deal will remove tariffs; until then China’s economy is burdened by the current load.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ Composite are all hovering near break-even in early trading. Shares of Target, however, are down more than -8.0% after the company reported weak holiday sales growth. Target says holiday sales rose a mere 1.4% in 2019, the consensus for 4th quarter results is +3.8%.
In economic news, Empire State Manufacturing came in better than expected. The survey index accelerated to 4.8 versus the expected 3.6. While tepid, this is the highest level since early spring 2019. On the inflation front, PPI came in at 0.1% higher than last month versus the 0.2% expected.
European Markets Are Mixed At Midday
The European markets are mixed at midday as traders wait on the Phase One deal signing. Likely an underwhelming event, there is a risk the market could begin to sell off once the deal is signed. The DAX and CAC are both down about -0.15% while the FTSE is up a similar amount. Autos are the biggest loser’s on the day, down -1.25% while healthcare stocks lead advancing issues.
In Germany, GDP came in at 0.6% for the last quarter of 2019, the slowest rate in 6 years. Even so, it is far above the negative number analysts expected early this year. Looking forward, the German export economy faces headwinds related to trade conditions the Phase One deal may not alleviate. In the UK, inflation rose only 1.3% versus 1.5% expected. The pound edged lower after the news was released.
Asia Moves Lower, Australia Bucks Trend
Asian indices are mostly lower at the end of the day on Wednesday. The Nikkei, Shanghai, Hang Seng, and Kospi are all down -0.35% to -0.55%. The Australian ASX is the only to move higher, it advanced 0.47%. All eyes are on the Phase One deal signing. Although it is not expected to satisfy expectations it will set the stage for the coming year.


text:
Despite posting losses in the second quarter of 2023 and to date never posting a profitbable quarter, executive leadership of electric vehicle maker Canoo remains optimistic about keeping promises to eventually manufacture products in Oklahoma.
During a Monday afternoon conference call, Canoo Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tony Aquila indicated a major relief was a $1.5 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Now that the gloves are off,” he said after reporting the company’s losses continued but were also trimmed from previous quarters. The second quarter loss was $70.87 million or 14 cents a share, compared with a loss of $164.4 million and 68 cents a share for the same quarter a year earlier.
Aquila said operations at the Oklahoma City plant are close to production and he still promised production of 20,000 units a year, saying things are on track. He revealed that Canoo’s order book for vehicles is valued at more than $3 billion and the waiting customers include Walmart.
“We will only build what we have sold,” Aquila said.
Still, some financial observers say it is a major concern that Canoo has yet to produce new vehicles.
Click here for Arkansas Democrat-Gazette


text:
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) - Sharply higher growth in China helped feed a 13% gain in profit for Yum Brands Inc., parent of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants.
The Louisville, Ky.-based fast-food chain said it made $161 million, or 53 cents a share, compared with $142 million, or 47 cents a share, last year.
Total sales climbed 4% to $2.05 billion from $1.97 billion a year ago.
Yum credited its strong growth in restaurants in China and other international divisions for the gains, but noted that an "isolated ingredient issue" is creating a "significant short-term KFC sales issue" for the second quarter.
"We are aggressively taking every measure to rebuild sales in China and are confident sales will rebound," Chief Executive David Novak said in the earnings release. "We expect this short-term China KFC sales issue to be counter balanced by a number of factors including strong sales performance in our international division and each of our three leading U.S. brands: Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC."
The company also owns the Long John's Silver's and A&W chains.
For the full year, the company expects to earn at least $2.60 a share, which is below the average expectation of analysts reporting to Thomson First Call by 3 cents.
Shares of Yum


text:
MangaGamer’s 2024 Valentine’s Day Sale is Underway
Save money on sweet and lusty titles during the 2024 Valentine’s Day sale on MangaGamer, currently underway until February 21st.
MangaGamer’s New Beginnings Sale Has Begun
MangaGamer’s is celebrating the start of 2024 with the New Beginnings sale, lasting until January 31st.
MangaGamer 2023 Winter Sale is Here
MangaGamer started their annual Winter Sale for 2023, discounting 149 games and visual novels until the sale's end on December 27th.
MangaGamer’s Siblings Day Sale Has Begun
MangaGamer’s Sibling Day Sale, a commemorative sale for titles centered on loving brothers and sisters, is now underway until April 16th.
MangaGamer’s Valentine Day’s Sale 2023 Is Now Underway
MangaGamer has launched their annual Valentine’s Day Sale for 2023, offering over 50 games and visual novels at reduced prices for the next week.
MangaGamer’s 2023 New Year New Waifu Sale Has Begun
MangaGamer has launched their surprise new New Year New Waifu sale, starting 2023 with over 20 discounted visual novels.
MangaGamer’s White Xmas Sale 2022 Has Begun
With the holiday season underway, MangaGamer has launched their White Xmas Sale of 2022, offering over 80 erotic titles at reduced prices.
MangaGamer Black Friday Sale 2022 Is Here!
MangaGamer has launched a weeklong Black Friday sale, expanding the catalog of discounted games available in their still-ongoing 2022 Autumn Sale.
MangaGamer Is Holding an End of Summer Sale
As the season comes to an end, you can enjoy the last of it during MangaGamer’s End of Summer Sale.
MangaGamer's 2022 Valentine's Day Sale Has Begun
Check out deals you can fall in love with during MangaGamer’s 2022 Valentine’s Day Sale, currently live until the 21st of February.


text:
Nano Interactive, the ad tech business founded by two former ValueClick executives, has received a £3.5 million growth capital investment from leading independent infrastructure and private equity investment manager Foresight.
Founded in 2014 by two former executives of ValueClick (now Conversant), Christian Geyer and Carl White, Nano Interactive came to market to capitalise on the emerging growth of the search and intent-based targeting sector, where online advertisements are served to users based on recent search history.
With the search targeting display market now estimated to be worth over half a billion dollars, Nano has since developed a network comprising 500 million unique profiles and captures more than five billion searches per month working with over 500 clients including T-Mobile, Volkswagen and MediaMarkt across multiple European offices.
‘An important stage’
Off the back of the investment by Foresight, Nano looks to speed up its plans to expand internationally, while making further investments in sales, marketing and product development.
Geyer, the group’s co-founder and CEO, called the Series A investment “an important stage in our development” and equipped the business for further growth.
For Foresight, the investment in the ad tech business represents the first of 2018 for the private equity team. Following 12 investments completed in 2017, Nano’s funding represents the investor’s first foray back into the tech sector since achieving a 3x return on the exit of Simulity to ARM.
Commenting on the group’s decision, Foresight Group’s senior investment manager, Rodney Appiah, said; “In a relatively short period of time, Nano has delivered exceptional growth, built fantastic client relationships and developed market leading proprietary technology in the area of search and intent-based targeting.”


text:
As the expiration date for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) of 2000 approaches in September, members of Congress are calling for a rapid-fire renewal process to protect the work that AGOA has accomplished so far.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) and Sander Levin (D-Mich.) have introduced The AGOA Extension and Enhancement Act of 2015 that will renew the act for ten years.
Originally signed into law in May of 2000, the AGOA was a bipartisan initiative intended to strengthen economic relations between the United States and Africa. By creating trade preferences for African products that allowed for duty-free entry into the United States, the AGOA sought to provide an exclusive economic partnership with budding African industries and American consumers. The Brookings Institution, a Washington, DC-based think tank, estimates that the AGOA has created several hundred thousand direct s in Africa—particularly in textiles.
Under the agreement, eligible African nations would receive “unlimited duty free and quota free access to the U.S. market for apparel made in Africa from U.S. fabric and U.S. thread.” Several African nations saw unprecedented growth in exports to the United States. For example, Kenya saw a 1,375% increase in exports to the U.S. between 2000 and 2001.
“The legislation [AGOA] has helped transform the economic landscape for Sub-Saharan Africa by stimulating new trade opportunities for African and Americans businesses, creating new jobs, and investments worth hundreds of millions of dollars,” wrote a U.S. Administration 2002 report.
The AGOA was initially set to expire in 2008 until a new round of legislation pushed the expiration date back to September 2015.
In addition to the African jobs created by the AGOA, there are many American jobs dependent on the trade network that this legislation has formed. The United States Trade Representative has estimated that exports to Africa are responsible for more than 120,000 American jobs. The AGOA has provided a level of security that have lead to a four-fold increase in exports to Africa—something that helped to pay thousands of salaries stateside.
“This legislation will promote American trade and strengthen our economic ties with important countries,” said Sen. Paul Ryan in April. “It will encourage our friends in Africa and Haiti to pursue free enterprise and solidify the rule of law. This legislation demonstrates that more trade can create opportunity at home and promote our economic values abroad.”
Brookings has argued that uncertainty over the act’s renewal could halt the progress made so far by the AGOA. Without the stability of the legislation, textile factories are less likely to receive orders in enough time to produce clothing for a new season of shopping. In the void left by the AGOA, competing manufacturers like China will be eager to step in and soak up the businesses that were once protected by the AGOA.
– Emma Betuel


text:
Craft bourbon, like craft beer, is in the midst of a boom: In the past 15 years, the number of distilleries in the U.S. has surged from just a handful to around 600.Why are Americans buying more bourbon?
According to author Reid Mitenbuler, one reason is that we’re being seduced by clever bottles and throwback labels. Along with enticing branding, some of these bottles of “craft bourbon” boast hefty price tags. Take Pappy Van Winkle, a craft bourbon with “family reserve” editions that retail for thousands of dollars.
And yet “the term ‘craft’ is little more than an ambiguous buzzword,” Mitenbuler writes in a new book, Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America’s Whiskey. Behind all the craft buzz, Mitenbuler says, are actually just some “carefully cultivated myths” created by an industry on a roll.


text:
There’s a brand new crop of influencers on the horizon for marketers after the NCAA’s latest adoption of a coverage permitting faculty athletes to profit from their title, picture and likeness (NIL).Basically, the long-awaited ruling means faculty athletes can begin making a living for his or her affect. Marketers have been wanting to pony up.
In the week for the reason that rule modified, Unilever, PetSmart and Boost Mobile and lots of extra stumped up the money for among the hottest faculty athletes throughout the U.S.
The causes for this pent-up demand are clear: Instead of choosing high-ticketed skilled athletes, these offers let marketers get in on the bottom flooring earlier than faculty athletes head to the massive leagues. Those athletes may resonate in areas the place there aren’t skilled athletic groups. In a way, they’re a cost-efficient route for advertisers to get in entrance of youthful audiences like Gen Z.
“It’s probably the most vital story for the enterprise of school sports activities since [the federal civil rights law] Title IX in 1972,” stated Jarrod Jordan, chief advertising and marketing officer and chief digital officer at vitamin firm Iovate Health Sciences, in an e-mail. “It means we will hyper-target communities by working with athletes at a given college in a given area.”
Consider what this implies: If the likes of Unilever and Boost Mobile are literally on the lookout for actual returns (not simply wins for his or her favourite college), they’ll need to do offers with people who connect with their focused shoppers, and social media in lots of instances will probably be an avenue to try this.
It definitely was for Unilever’s marketers.
The CPG advertiser will launch a search on Instagram later this week (July 13) to find the following member for its #BreakingLimits crew of school athletes for its Degree deodorant model.
“It was vital for us to look past the star gamers or draft picks, and determine faculty athletes with untold or neglected tales about how they’ve devoted their lives to inspiring others to interrupt limits,” stated Rob Master, vp of media and digital engagement at Unilever North America. “Any notable social following amongst our faculty athlete companions was an added bonus to assist additional amplify our work collectively, however discovering people with compelling tales and voices was our major focus.”
The transfer is a part of a wider $5 million recruitment drive over the following 5 years at Unilever that may use athlete advertising and marketing platform Opendorse to determine and signal faculty athletes. So far, 14 athletes have been signed.
“I feel the butterfly impact, or the ripple impact of all this, is you get into that subsequent technology of creators who’re athletes proper now,” stated Bryce Adams, director of name partnerships at influencer advertising and marketing company Captiv8. “I feel the profit goes to be multi-layered, as you consider that for manufacturers, for the athletes and the enterprise as a complete.”
Brands now have a leg up within the working relationship with faculty athletes ought to they make it as an expert, stated Adams. Furthermore, these offers increase the definition of the vary of influencers from life-style bloggers to varsity athletes, and all the things in between. Looking forward, these identical faculty athlete influencers could very effectively change into the following technology of marketers.
That is to say that usually these athletes have an innate understanding of how these platforms can elevate their very own profiles. After all, they’ve grown up watching their favourite celebrities do the identical factor through the years. A latest incident between members of the Duke Blue Devils males’s faculty basketball crew backed this up.
“We had been doing a video shoot just lately and the category principally stopped the shoot after which obtained collectively on their very own to make their very own group TikTook video, which has already obtained half one million views,” stated the school basketball crew’s inventive director David Bradley. “The athletes we’re working with at this time acknowledge greater than ever that their model and subsequently a presence on social media are their storefront window now.”
Bradley is healthier positioned than most to remark. He has been advising the crew’s gamers on these issues since 2018. At the time, he felt the crew ought to formalize its in-house social media experience given the curiosity its gamers had been exhibiting. Now, Bradley meets with the freshman group each week for an hour to speak by way of a spread of matters.
“The youngsters listed here are extra in tune than they’ve ever been so we’re available to assist them perceive the market,” he added.
Understandably, these modifications are shifting the dynamic between an athlete and the college they play for. Previously, a school might declare that its model was accountable for an athlete’s reputation. Now, faculty athletes are cultivating massive audiences of their very own earlier than they step foot on campus who’re prepared to advertise each themselves and the college they signify.
“If Dale Carnegie wrote ‘How To Win Friends and Influence People’ in 2021 it will be all about easy methods to elevate one’s TikTook and IG engagement,” stated Jarett Sims, co-founder at enterprise capital agency for sports activities and media companies Turn2 Equity Partners. “If your social recreation is weak, neglect product endorsement offers. This nonetheless doesn’t must imply tens or tons of of hundreds of followers.”
So it stands to purpose that these endorsement offers are beginning to resemble the offers advertisers strike with influencers.
“Most NIL offers, even traditional-looking endorsements, could have a social media part (if they don’t seem to be fully based mostly on social media),” stated Jon Isreal, a companion on the legislation agency Foley & Lardner LLP, which works on contracts within the sports activities and leisure trade. “This doesn’t imply that student-athletes not lively on social media will probably be excluded — there will probably be conventional alternatives obtainable — however their visibility and worth will probably be enhanced by a social media presence.”
In reality, Captiv8 just lately launched a program on the University of Arkansas, facilitating the brand new market between advertisers and faculty athletes. The program covers entrepreneurship fundamentals, NIL laws, info on influencer advertising and marketing and private branding, pitching and different enterprise fundamentals.
Ultimately, the influencer advertising and marketing company hopes to work with student-athletes and seize knowledge and insights to take again to manufacturers.
“We’re actually attempting to marry the 2 in a method that enables the student-athletes to lastly reap the advantages of their work by way of financial, and permits manufacturers to actually really feel snug and need to have interaction with student-athletes,” he stated.
Doing so, goes the pondering, might additionally assist to “make manufacturers really feel snug with [the ruling] on the enterprise stage,” per Adams.
Indeed, the NCAA’s NIL coverage continues to be new sufficient to be thought of the Wild Wild West. There are two causes for this: working with student-athletes could also be vastly totally different than working with the everyday influencer who already is aware of the ins and the outs of the advertising and marketing recreation: there’s additionally the truth that the NCAA’s NIL guidelines differ state by state.
Still, marketers shouldn’t sit on the sidelines. There will probably be a first-mover benefit because the market opens up.
“It’s just a little bit unnerving to not essentially know the precise end result,” stated Tony Pace, president of Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB). “But if you happen to permit the children to be inventive, and you’ve got a course of, I feel you may truly do some fairly attention-grabbing issues,” he stated.


text:
Food pantries and food banks are a key economic indicator for tracking poverty levels and financial instability in the US, and in the past few months they have been ringing alarm bells.
Stagflationary pressures have all but wiped out the savings of the average American and driven up credit-card debt to historic highs. Only in the past month have credit spending and debt levels begun to slide, but this is more a sign that consumers are tapped out rather than a sign of a return to normalcy. High prices are slowly but surely overwhelming lower-wage workers in particular. The average living wage across most US states is around $16 an hour; over 30% of American workers make less than $15 an hour.
Democrats and leftists will of course claim that this is because the Federal Minimum Wage is too low and needs to be increased, but the minimum wage has become irrelevant in the post-covid economy. Many retail and service companies now pay around $11-14 an hour, well above minimum wage, in order to retain workers. And STILL prices are too high for many of these people to keep up with expenses.
Can average workers demand more money? Probably not. Low-skill and no-skill workers are going to have a hard time rationalizing $16-$20 an hour for flipping burgers, brewing coffee or running cash registers. Such a broad wage increase would also trigger even higher prices on most goods, defeating the purpose of higher pay.
The notion of a low-wage worker revolt is a bit of a fantasy, and in some ways it can be dangerous for those who believe in it. The trillions of dollars in covid stimulus unleashed in 2020 may have boosted retail sales and employment for a couple of years, but that’s coming to an end quickly. Workers can only opt out of certain jobs for a short time (as long as their parents will let them freeload), and bargaining for more money is dependent on their ability to get employment elsewhere. It’s a sure bet that by mid-2023 many “wage revolutionaries” will be begging for their old burger jobs back.
Stagflation is not a wage issue so much as a money supply issue. There are too many dollars chasing too few goods. This is coupled with numerous supply chain problems caused by covid hysteria in export nations like China that are holding up a large number of cargo ships for weeks or months at a time. When it comes to food in particular, there are weather issues, war issues and governments sabotaging food production within their own countries using nonsensical climate change restrictions (as we are seeing in places like the Netherlands).
So, if people aren’t going to get higher wages, and prices are going to continue climbing, what are they going to do? They generally turn to charities to help get through the month.


text:
Many fans around the world have already seen “X-Men: Apocalypse” but fans in Japan have been waiting for the movie to arrive in theaters. The good news is that they won’t have to wait much longer because the movie opens on August 1 and Fox has unveiled a brand new trailer hyping up the release.
The trailer shows several clips of footage that fans have already seen, but at the end there’s an appearance from a special guest. Deadpool shows up out of nowhere to point out five things you might have missed in the trailer and as you can imagine, the whole segment is very Deadpool-esque.
In the clip Deadpool talks about a few of the film’s “plot twists” and a whole lot more. You can check it out in the clip below.


text:
The Disruption Hype
Last month, we became first-time grandparents when my son and daughter-in-law gave birth to identical twin boys. Bringing two new precious lives into the world is nothing short of miraculous and inspiring. It also makes me think about what the future may hold for these two newborns and their parents.
My son works in the auto body industry as the general manager of a very large shop in Southern California. So, thinking about the future for this new family naturally leads to thoughts about the future of the body shop business. It is very clear that we are in a state of disruption in our industry, but I’m wondering how much disruption is actual reality and how much is hype.
Let’s talk about some of things we are hearing and compare them to facts and probabilities. Some of these predictions might resonate with you and some you may have already dismissed as improbable. Either way, let’s have a little fun and dig a little deeper into a few predictions I’ve read or heard recently.
“A baby of today will only see personal cars in museums. The very young children of today will never get a driver's license and will never own a car.”
Let’s see what some actual independent research from AAA says about this prediction: “Ride-hailing services are a popular and convenient transportation option, but a new AAA analysis shows they are not a cost-effective replacement for vehicle ownership. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the average driver in an urban area drives 10,841 miles per year. While urban drivers travel fewer miles than those living in smaller towns or rural areas, relying on ride-hailing services as a primary mode of transportation would cost $20,118 annually. This equates to more than twice the cost of owning a personal vehicle, even when factoring in the expense of fuel, insurance, parking and the vehicle itself.”
At this time, autonomous vehicle testing on public roads has really scaled back since the fatality in Arizona involving an autonomous Uber vehicle. When will these vehicles be available in urban areas as a viable transportation option? Probably only when they can be proven to be safer than human drivers and that is a pretty tall order. Sadly, in the U.S., last year there were about 37,000 deaths on the road. Research shows that Americans drove over 3.2 trillion miles last year, which equates to 90 million miles being driven for each motor vehicle fatality. When autonomous vehicles can be driven 24/7 for over 300 years without causing a fatality, maybe then the American public will actually believe they are safer than vehicles piloted by human drivers. Until then it will be a while before this mode of transportation is fully embraced.
“Auto repair shops and dealer service centers will go away. A gasoline engine has 20,000 individual parts. An electrical motor has 20. Electric cars are sold with lifetime guarantees and are only repaired by dealers. It takes only 10 minutes to remove and replace an electric motor. Faulty electric motors are not repaired in the dealership but are sent to a regional repair shop that repairs them with robots.”
It is a certainty that electric vehicles will become the predominant transportation choice for consumers. Volvo announced that it will only produce hybrid and electric vehicles beginning in 2019 and plans to only produce EVs by 2030. Many other manufacturers are following suit for economic, environmental and CAFE Standards reasons. I don’t think internal combustion engines (ICE) are going to completely go away. Too many people love their Mustangs, Camaros, Challengers, and other high-performance models. I work on a lot of Teslas and they are really fast, and fun to drive. I also know there’s no way my factory-trained techs could change out a Tesla motor in 20 minutes.
Google let me down when I tried to find out how many parts there are in a conventional internal combustion engine, but it is obvious that the electric motor is simpler and has a lower part content. Does this mean the dealership service centers won’t have anything to do in the future? Here is what Wes Lutz, the chairman of the National Auto Dealers Association told the Automotive Press Association last month regarding the notion that dealers are holding up the move to electric vehicles:
"I want to sell anything my customers want to buy. Period. In fact, there is nothing I would want to do more than sell every American a new electric vehicle."
Aside from selling new vehicles, Lutz said it's still in a dealer's financial interest to sell EVs, challenging the accusation that auto dealers won't make money on servicing them.
He said most of his service revenue comes from tires, brakes, suspensions, alignments and electrical systems––all of which EVs have.
Hmmm, sounds like dealerships aren’t too worried about the future relative to impending escalation of EV sales.


text:
UK’s biggest companies pull away as profits for rest of pack plunge
Average profits at the UK’s 40 biggest companies rose by 11 per cent in the first quarter of the year while those outside the group saw a fall of 18 per cent, new analysis has shown, laying bare a stark division in the fortunes of British companies.
Read more: 'Zombie firms' dragging down UK economy, warns KPMG
Pre-tax profits among UK companies rose by four per cent in the first quarter year-on-year, the tenth quarter of growth in a row, analysis released today by stockbroker the Share Centre has shown.
However, the first quarter profit figure was a much weaker performance than recent scores of double-digit growth, the Share Centre said.
The top 40 “super-league” of companies far outperformed the wider index, the Share Centre said, with companies such as HSBC, Diageo, British American Tobacco, and GlaxoSmithKline pulling away from smaller firms.
Economists have long worried about the phenomenon of “frontier firms” outperforming “laggards” due to their access to superior technology and opportunities helping them pull away from smaller rivals.
Banking profits more than doubled in the first quarter as RBS swung from loss territory this time last year into profit, the analysis showed, with Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC all sharply increasing their earnings.
Indeed for the whole of 2018, banking profits reached their highest level since 2007, rising to a total of £27.7bn, according to the Share Centre.
The analysis shows that margins were increasingly squeezed in the first quarter of the year, with companies bringing in eight per cent more in revenues but with profits rising by only four per cent.
Again the biggest companies beat their competitors and enjoyed expanding profit margins while the rest collectively endured a squeeze, the Share Centre said.
Richard Stone, Share Centre chief executive, said: “The divergence of late between the performance of the largest 40 companies and those outside the super-league is quite stark.”
Read more: UK economy 'treading water' as services sector struggles
“The one sixth drop in profits for the latter group in the latest set of results was exaggerated by big losses at a handful of companies, but even without the more extreme cases they still underperformed,” he said.


text:
Spyshots: 2011 Mercedes E-Klasse Cabrio, Top Down
Otherwise, not much more information surfaced since then. Apart from the very important fact that the car did not star at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show, as previously believed. Caught in the excitement caused by the release and presentation of the SLS AMG, Mercedes Benz pushed the release of the new cabrio to the now more likely Geneva Auto Show in 2010.
The front of the car features the new grille design adopted by Mercedes-Benz, with the headlights sourced from the coupe version extending to the upper edges of the wings, while the nose of the E-Klasse points to the ground. The rear of the cabrio is likely to wear the taillights featured on the coupe as well.
As we said the cabrio was expected to make its entrance at the Frankfurt Auto Show, but got sidetracked. However, the car does look like it is in its final testing stages, so an official launch may be just around the corner.
❐ Check out the Spyshots: 2011 Mercedes E-Klasse Cabrio, Top Down photo gallery


text:
The lack of PayPal support on the PlayStation 3 is one of life’s greatest mysteries. Users have been utilising the online payment service to add funds to their Sony Entertainment Network wallets through the browser-based store for months now, but the service has been curiously absent on the company's black box itself.
Any festering grudges can now be put to bed, though, as it seems that the long-running absence has been addressed. A post on the PlayStation Blog has confirmed that, starting today in North America, you'll be able to add any amount between $5 and $150 to your virtual balance via the console.
This news should come as a welcome relief to those of you without access to a credit card – especially if you're too lazy to purchase PlayStation Network vouchers. But what about you – is this the announcement that you’ve been waiting for? Have you been begging Sony to add PayPal support for years? Scream and shout in the comments section below.


text:
Google is poised to pay a modest $13 million (roughly Rs. 90 crores) to end a 2010 privacy lawsuit that was once called the biggest US wiretap case ever and threatened the Internet giant with billions of dollars in damages.
The settlement would close the books on a scandal that was touched off by vehicles used by Google for its Street View mapping project. Cars and trucks scooped up emails, passwords and other personal information from unencrypted household Wi-Fi networks belonging to tens of millions of people all over the world.
The debacle became known as "Wi-Spy," and it caused almost as much of an uproar as Facebook's more recent Cambridge Analytica scandal.
The accord still requires approval of a San Francisco judge. But under the settlement, proposed Friday night with no fanfare, the owners of the Wi-Fi networks whose information was captured by Google won't get individual payouts, except for about 20 plaintiffs who filed the complaint as a class action.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs said it would be difficult to identify masses of affected people, a decade later, from the random snippets of data that the company collected when its vehicles drove by their homes.
Instead, what's left of the $13 million - after administrative costs and the lawyers who brought the lawsuit get a commission of as much as 25 percent - will be distributed to a handful of consumer privacy advocacy groups, according to a court filing detailing the terms of the deal.
Also, Google will destroy all the data it still possesses and commit to teaching people how to protect their privacy on the Internet.
The amount Google is offering is less than one-sixth the net income the Alphabet unit generates on average in a single day. That is in line with the relatively small settlements that Google, Facebook, and other Internet companies have paid over the last decade to end a variety of lawsuits over alleged privacy violations.
One challenge to larger settlements is the hurdle consumers face to prove they were actually injured and are legally entitled to damages.
The Street View lawsuit is one of the few where consumers gained the upper hand, notably when the US Court of Appeals in San Francisco in 2013 rejected Google's argument that it was legal to intercept open Wi-Fi networks because they were akin to AM/FM radio transmissions. The court's conclusion that the federal Wiretap Act applied meant that if Google went to trial to fight the allegations and lost, it could be hit with $10,000 in damages for every violation.
But in Friday's filing, the plaintiffs' lawyers said the settlement was justified, in part, because there was a risk that they could still lose the case - and end up with nothing. They also argued that the accord will act as a deterrent and that the funds designated for privacy-oriented groups will help educate future information technology workers to "to become safeguards of Internet privacy rather than exploiters of personal information communicated over the Internet."
Google declined to comment.
© 2019 Bloomberg LP


text:
Rumours are swirling that 2023 might be the year when the San Francisco-based tech giant will finally go public.
Reddit filed to go public in 2021, aiming for a valuation of $15 billion dollars at that time. During that year, the coronavirus pandemic reached its peak, creating a nation of “armchair traders”. As a result, interest in online forums such as Reddit skyrocketed. Reddit’s investing forum WallStreetBets became the platform driving the meme stock market frenzy that included relatively obscure stocks such as GameStop and AMC.
In February 2021 and at the height of the meme stock frenzy, Reddit’s value doubled to $6 billion from a year earlier. Six months later, in August 2021 Reddit was valued at $10 billion in a private fundraising round.
|Headquarters||San Francisco, California, United States|
|Number of employees||700|
|Revenue 2021||$350 million|
|Stock Exchange||New York Stock Exchange|
|Potential Valuation||$6.6 billion|
Source: Wall Street Journal
Reddit was founded in 2005 by the University of Virginia roommates Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian. In 2006 it was sold to global media company Conde Nast, which owned it until 2011 when it became “an independent subsidiary” of Advanced Publications, the company that owns Conde Nast.
As of 2022, it has around 52 million daily active users across 100,000 online communities and 1.7 billion global monthly visitors. The self-declared ‘front page of the internet’ contains a massive collection of forums where people can share news and content or comment on other people’s posts.
Reddit has a young demographic - the biggest age group is people between 18-29 years old. In 2022 Reddit ranked as the 20th most visited website in the world. It makes money primarily by advertising, premium subscriptions, and the sale of digital items like NFTs.
For the second quarter of 2021, Reddit had revenues of $100 million, representing a 192% increase compared to the same period in 2020. Its 2021 total revenue from advertising was $350 million.
Reddit’s IPO was initially expected to happen in Q4 2021, but like many listings that have been affected by market volatility, it has been continually pushed back. It is now expected to list on the New York Stock Exchange sometime in 2023 if market conditions allow it.
When it first filed for an IPO in December 2021, Reddit hoped for a $15 billion valuation, but it is now likely to be worth less if a listing takes place in 2023. Asset management firm Fidelity has valued the IPO at $6.6 billion, more than half its previous reported value.
An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is an investor’s first chance to gain exposure to an organisation. An IPO is an important milestone for a company looking to raise capital and an opportunity for investors to get involved in a hopefully growing business.
With Axi you can get exposure to Reddit IPO as soon as it’s listed on a specific exchange and prices from the exchange become available to our liquidity providers.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Business Insider
Ready to trade your edge?
The data is sourced from third-party providers. This information is not to be construed as a recommendation; or an offer to buy or sell; or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security, financial product, or instrument; or to participate in any trading strategy. It has been prepared without taking your objectives, financial situation, or needs into account. Any references to past performance and forecasts are not reliable indicators of future results. Axi makes no representation and assumes no liability regarding the accuracy and completeness of the content in this publication. Readers should seek their own advice.
Learn everything you need to know about different stock chart patterns and trading graphs and how you can take advantage of them when trading.
FAANG is an acronym for a group of stocks made up of some of the largest companies in the American tech sector including Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google.
The top 10 largest and most valuable companies in the world by market capitalization, number of employees, revenue, earnings, and assets.


text:
In the wake of the Ukraine war, Russia is facing more and more sanctions. Now Taiwan, which is home to TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturing plant, is also being added to the list. And from now on, it will no longer supply chips with clock speeds of more than 25 MHz to Russia and Belarus.
Russia sanctions: Taiwan prevents export of fast processors
The government of Taiwan has published a list of high-tech products that will henceforth no longer be exported to Russia and Belarus, according to a report by DigiTimes. Belarus is on the list because the country could help Russia import relevant chips, according to Taiwan’s government.
Among the products affected by the sanctions are advanced chips and processors from categories 3 to 9 (which includes electronics, computers, telecommunications, sensors and more) of the Wassenaar Arrangement.
In it, 33 founding nations (now 42 member states) established “export controls on conventional weapons and dual-use goods and technologies” in Wassenaar, the Netherlands, in November 1996. Specifically, the agreement covers all processors with clock speeds greater than 25 MHz, data rates of 2.5 MB/s and computing power of 5 GFLOPS.
No chips for Russia
What sounded like absolute high-tech for those days are nowadays values that sound almost ridiculous in view of the current technology. And thus virtually make the export of all chips impossible for Russia and Belarus.
TSMC, based in Hsinchu, Taiwan, is considered the world’s largest contract manufacturer within the semiconductor industry and supplies companies such as AMD, Apple, Qualcomm, Broadcom and many more with chips.
As a result of the new sanctions, exports to Russia are no longer possible. Corresponding chips are also used in the war machinery, which should at least slow down Russia’s rearmament significantly.
However, the country is not completely alone. Russia can continue to order and import high-tech chips from SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation) in China and, with restrictions, also from Samsung in Korea. However, production at the Russian microprocessor company MCST (Moscow Center of SPARC Technologies) is likely to slow down, at least noticeably, in the long term.


text:
Amazon.com Inc. launched a tracking system based on artificial intelligence on Tuesday to enforce social distance at its offices and warehouses to help reduce any risk of contracting the new coronavirus among its workers.
The unveiling comes as the world’s largest online retailer faces intensifying U.S. lawmakers and unions scrutiny as to whether they are doing enough to protect staff from the pandemic.
Monitors set up in the warehouses of the company will highlight workers keeping a safe distance in green circles, while those closer to them will be highlighted in red circles, Amazon said.
The program, called the Distance Assistant, also uses camera footage in Amazon’s buildings to help locate areas of heavy traffic.
Amazon is also developing a wearable system that lights up and makes an audio warning when, according to an internal memo, the staff is too close to each other. The unit is to be piloted at a warehouse outside of Seattle from Wednesday.
According to internal work posts checked, the organization has employed positions such as social distancing ambassadors and guardians. The responsibilities of such hires range from frequent warehouse audits to verify that the headcount in breakrooms does not exceed seating limits.
Amazon did not comment on the memo and posts immediately.
Amazon, which will open the technology behind its Distance Assistant program, is not the first organization to turn to AI to monitor social distancing enforcement.
Some companies have said that AI camera-based software will be critical to remaining accessible, as it will allow them to demonstrate not only staff and consumers but also insurers and regulators that they are tracking and implementing healthy practices.
Privacy advocates have, however, raised concerns about increasingly precise human monitoring, and urged companies to restrict the use of AI to the pandemic.
Amazon said on Tuesday that its tracking device is live in a handful of buildings, adding that over the next few weeks it plans to deploy hundreds of these devices.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *