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|By Marketwired .||
|February 6, 2013 07:59 AM EST||
SAN JOSE, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 02/06/13 -- DMARC.org, an industry collaborative working to increase email trust, announced today that the DMARC standard now protects almost two-thirds of the world's 3.3 billion consumer mailboxes worldwide. First announced January 2012, DMARC marshals the forces of leading brands and email suppliers to combat rampant email deception and fraud, such as spam and phishing. The mailbox providers who have implemented DMARC represent roughly 80 percent of consumer inboxes in the United States. The standard has also been implemented at leading mailbox providers in the Netherlands, China, and Russia, representing hundreds of millions of mailboxes.
"DMARC is a testimony to private sector and market-driven collaboration to combat a real problem on the Internet," said Trent Adams, chair of DMARC.org and senior policy advisor at PayPal. "The successful adoption of DMARC has been phenomenal. And the effectiveness proves that any brand owner interested in increasing protection of their email stream should deploy DMARC today."
On the sender side, DMARC is seeing wide acceptance, especially by very high-volume mailers. Data provided by DMARC member companies shows that 10 of 20 domains with the highest sending volumes are now implementing DMARC, including many companies beyond the original DMARC.org consortium. The implementation of DMARC by mailbox providers and mail senders is having a measurable impact on consumers -- with more than 325 million messages rejected in November and December 2012 alone, by mailbox providers because they failed the DMARC authentication check.
"Despite being one of the world's largest email senders, we only require a handful of individuals to maintain all of Facebook's email security efforts thanks to DMARC," said Michael Adkins, Messaging Engineer, Facebook. "DMARC's powerful controls protect over 85% of our users from fraudulent email that claims to be from Facebook, and that's after just one year. Add in the visibility and insight provided by DMARC's reporting features and a very small team can have a huge impact on phishing."
DMARC, which stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance, builds on previous email authentication advancements, SPF and DKIM, with strong protection of the author's address (From field) and creating a feedback loop from receivers back to legitimate email senders. This makes impersonation of the author's address difficult for phishers who are trying to send fraudulent email. Brands can use DMARC to easily notify email providers how to recognize and manage fraudulent mail, while also providing a means by which the receiver can report on fraudulent messages to the owner of the spoofed domain. Messages that pass DMARC validation will continue to be evaluated by the mailbox provider to determine ultimate placement of the message according to its spam-detection filters.
DMARC Performance by the Numbers
DMARC successfully addresses concerns that previously hindered widespread adoption and mass deployment of trusted email authentication solutions. The standards-based framework of DMARC establishes a foundational feedback loop so email senders and receivers communicate automatically about potential abuse. As more senders embrace DMARC, global protection against fraudulent email will continue to increase. Compelling data reported by Trend Micro, claims that 91 percent of targeted attacks involve highly tailored spear-phishing emails (http://www.trendmicro.com/cloud-content/us/pdfs/security-intelligence/white-papers/wp-spear-phishing-email-most-favored-apt-attack-bait.pdf). Senders can use DMARC to defend their brands against becoming a vector of attack.
In its first year, DMARC:
- Protects 60 percent of the world's email boxes or 1.976 billion of the estimated 3.3 billion email boxes worldwide. (http://www.email-marketing-reports.com/metrics/email-statistics.htm)
- Has been adopted by the world's largest consumer email providers- AOL, Comcast, Google, Mail.ru, Microsoft, NetEase, Xs4All, and Yahoo!.
- Can claim 50 percent of the top 20 sending domains publish a DMARC policy, with 70 percent of those domains asserting a policy that directs receivers to take action against unauthenticated messages.
- Sender adoption exceeds the original DMARC.org membership, with 60 percent of the top sending domains publishing policy coming from companies not directly affiliated with DMARC.org.
- Rejected hundreds of millions of potentially fraudulent messages from domains publishing a DMARC reject policy. As an example, in November and December 2012, more than 325 million messages were rejected as purporting to be "From" domains with a DMARC reject policy. Of those messages, 49 million were from highly phished domains*.
- Protects 80 percent of US typical consumer mailboxes.
* Highly phished domains = Domains with a DMARC reject policy and more than 10 percent of all messages purporting to be from that domain failing authentication checks.
Service Providers Embrace DMARC
Mailbox providers who have deployed DMARC include AOL, Comcast, Google, Mail.ru, Microsoft, NetEase, Xs4All, and Yahoo!.
"DMARC implementation is of utmost importance to Microsoft as we protect our millions of email users against phishing and online fraud. At Microsoft, we want our users to be able to trust messages that appear in their inbox. The increasing global adoption is a cumulative effect; the more email sending brands that use DMARC, the broader the protection offered against phishing," said Krish Vitaldevara, Outlook.com's principal group program manager.
"We are excited with how quickly DMARC has been adopted in China, and we are pleased to be part of the effort," said Junping Chen, Senior Mail Security Officer at NetEase. "NetEase had more than 530 million mailbox users at the end of 2012 and is the first DMARC implementer in China. We estimate that DMARC protection already applies to over 50 percent of all Chinese consumer mailboxes, and adoption is accelerating."
"DMARC has reduced the risk of phishing for Gmail users by enabling us to effectively reject suspicious, unauthenticated messages that come from DMARC senders with a reject policy," said Adam Dawes, Product Manager at Google. "This capability gives users instant protection against zero hour phishing attacks and provides better assurance that spam classifications are accurate."
"Every day, email users are potentially exposed to a wide range of abusive emails -- from spam, to phishing attacks, to potential malware that can take over a computer. To combat this abuse, Yahoo! helped create the DMARC specification which now helps us recognize and prevent forged or spoofed emails from reaching our users," said Raj Ramaswamy, senior director, Yahoo! Mail. "We're encouraged to see the rapid global adoption of DMARC because it will keep all email users safer."
"DMARC helps protect AOL users from fraud and phishing attacks, which in turn helps our users trust the email they see in their inbox. After year one, we are seeing positive results from these efforts," said Jim Sargent, Anti-Spam Technology Development and Operations Manager, AOL. "AOL is proud to be a DMARC.org founding member and we see worldwide support for the standard. It's very gratifying to see the growth, expansion and innovation possible now with DMARC enabling greater trust in the email channel."
Leading Brands Rely on DMARC to Preserve Reputation and Protect Constituents
Brands, or email senders, have accelerated DMARC adoption. Compelled to ensure their brands' integrity with consumers, brands employ DMARC to ensure the authenticity of their emails and guard millions of would-be targets from popular phishing schemes that attempt to exploit them.
Leading brands across industry use DMARC, including Amazon, American Greetings, Apple, Bank of America, Blizzard Entertainment, Booking.com, eBay, Facebook, FedEx, Fidelity Investments, Google, Groupon, JP Morgan Chase, LinkedIn, LivingSocial, Netflix, PayPal, Tagged, Twitter, Western Union, Yelp, YouTube, and Zynga.**
** Brands in this list have been identified by publicly discoverable DMARC records available in the DNS.
Industry experts have embraced DMARC as a market-driven solution to secure the email channel against phishing and fraud. Active contributors participate through the open DMARC-Discuss email group (http://www.dmarc.org/participate.html). ISPs, brands, and security vendors collaboratively address issues and share information regarding the specification. This participation, combined with the DMARC Interoperability Workshop held at Facebook headquarters in July 2012, and global operational experience has continued to improve the specification in the past year.
Industry Associations Promote DMARC Awareness and Adoption
Leading industry groups have embraced DMARC and encourage their member companies to use DMARC to protect their brands and their audiences against nefarious phishing scams. The Financial Services - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), BITS - The Financial Services Round Table, and the Online Trust Alliance (OTA) have joined the DMARC.org efforts to benefit those most targeted by phishing.
The Messaging, Mobile, & Malware Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG) was instrumental in helping to incubate the DMARC specification, as well as providing ongoing education to its members and the public. As a commitment to the email ecosystem, they released a free video training series published on February 4th (http://www.maawg.org).
"M3AAGW has been supporting the development of DMARC since its inception at our M3AAWG meetings as part of our mission to combat messaging abuse," said Jerry Upton, M3AAWG Executive Director. "In addition, the DMARC training sessions we've hosted over the last year have all exceeded capacity, indicating the industry's high level of interest for this new, exceptionally useful technology."
Founded in 2004 to advance the business and brand protection value of email authentication, OTA provides ongoing education by way of its Email Authentication Training Academy, Email Authentication Deployment Guide for Senders, and annual adoption scorecard tracking adoption of the world's largest banks, commerce sites and social network sites (https://otalliance.org/resources/authentication/index.html). Supporting its commitment to education, OTA is hosting a series of DMARC Webinars planned for February 12th and 18th (https://otalliance.org/events/index.html).
"DMARC brings together the business and technical value and is on track to be a baseline security requirement and essential brand and consumer protection tool. Brands which fail to implement DMARC at their top-level domain are putting their customers and employees at an unacceptable risk to the spread of fraudulent and malicious email," said Craig Spiezle, Executive Director & President of OTA.
BITS is publishing an Email Authentication Guide to its members and supports the effort by offering a Trusted Email Registry program for its members that includes DMARC support.
"Even as other communication channels are gaining momentum, email remains a well-used, established communication channel for consumers. Unfortunately, it also remains a mechanism used by cyber criminals to lure victims into providing private information or to implant malicious software. Email authentication is critical to protect consumers from harm and potential fraud," said Paul Smocer, BITS president. "BITS is pleased to provide ongoing support to DMARC as it progresses its efforts in bringing stakeholders together -- email and service providers with financial institutions -- to enable email senders and receivers to collaborate via DMARC specifications for strong email authentication. These efforts will help all consumers and in particular, customers of financial services institutions."
Interested organizations are encouraged to read the specification, join the dmarc-discuss mailing list at www.dmarc.org, and begin testing and deploying email authentication standards SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. DMARC.org members will be participating in discussions about the specification at MAAWG and RSA conferences in February. See www.dmarc.org for details.
DMARC.org (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) is an unincorporated working group made up of many of the world's leading email providers (AOL, Comcast, Google, Hotmail, NetEase, Yahoo! Mail), financial institutions and service providers (Bank of America, Fidelity Investments, J.P. Morgan Chase, PayPal), social media properties (American Greetings, Facebook, LinkedIn) and email security solutions providers (Agari, Cloudmark, Return Path, Trusted Domain Project). The group is dedicated to developing Internet standards to reduce the threat of email phishing and to improve coordination between email providers and mail sender domain owners.
The DMARC specification and further information can be found at www.dmarc.org.
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When we heard that two Texas companies topped the list for best customer experience, we weren’t surprised!
A recent report by KPMG ranked financial services company USAA and grocery chain H-E-B top two in the country for the exceptional experience they provide to customers.
The companies were evaulated using six different criteria, including empathy and integrity.
We definitely agree that H-E-B and USAA embody those values. During the pandemic, both companies stepped up in a big way to help their communities.
In August, USAA pledged to donate $30 million to 24 charities that are assisting military service members and their families during this crisis.
It’s the largest one-time charitable contribution that the company has made in its history, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
H-E-B also launched an initiative called Texans Helping Texans to support vulnerable Texans during the pandemic. As part of the campaign, the grocery chain donated over $3 million to nonprofits like food banks and Meals on Wheels.
They also started selling ready-made meals from local restaurants. All of the proceeds go directly to the restaurants, giving them some much-needed revenue to get them through the pandemic.
We can’t wait to see what these awesome San Antonio-based companies do in the future, and we think they’ll definitely top the list again next year!

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Billie Eilish’s style is just as unique as her real name — which is, incredibly, Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell.
She says she dresses “really different from a lot of people” in part because she wants her signature baggy clothes to ward off commentary about her body and sexuality. At the same time, Eilish is a committed vegan and environmentalist who bans plastic straws and single-use plastic bottles at her concert venues.
It should come as no surprise that her new line of clothing for H&M combines androgynous fashion with sustainability. Her collection, which debuted last week, includes oversized t-shirts are made of sustainable fabrics.
H&M has been touting sustainable textiles for years, and it hopes that Eilish’s star power will bring more attention to their policies, created in part to counter criticism that the global retail giant, like other Fast Fashion companies, are dumping cheap, disposable clothing throughout the world.
Many eager consumers may not realize that most of these cheap jeans, sweaters and dresses are made of polyester, a man-made fabric created with a polymer derived from petroleum. The textile industry is already one of the biggest polluters on the planet, dumping more than a billion tons of CO2 equivalent in the atmosphere every year — or about 5 percent of the world’s total man-made greenhouse gases.
Worse still, it’s estimated that 60 percent of polyester clothing is trashed within a year of manufacturing and is then incinerated or heaped into landfills. Less than 1 percent is recycled into new garments.
Eilish’s branded clothing will presumably adhere to H&M’s sustainable guidelines, which call for petroleum-based polyesters to be recycled. Most of the recycled fabric is derived from trashed polyester clothing, but one popular man-made fabric known as polyamide is actually recycled from old fishing nets and carpets.
So, will you be able to wear one of Eilish’s $34.99 oversized hoodies secure in the knowledge that it’s 100 percent recycled? Not quite. H&M is admirably transparent about the fact that not all of the sustainable fabric it orders actually makes it to their shelves intact. Over the long journey of international shipping and manufacture, recycled fabric is inevitably mixed with other textiles.
But the fashion company says that it is like producing electricity from solar panels and adding it to the grid — the sustainable energy may not be responsible for lighting a single, individual lightbulb, but it is helping to improve the overall equation.
If more companies — and celebrity fashion lines — insisted on sustainable fabrics, the number of recycled textiles circling the planet could increase. And that would benefit not just consumers and retailers, but the planet as a whole.


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America’s Favorite Drive-In is going mini! This summer, SONIC Drive-in and ZURU 5 Surprise Mini Brands will introduce all new, exclusive “Mega Mini” toy replicas of some of your favorite SONIC menu items and Carhop accessories.
SONIC Drive-In is bringing back the Shark Week Slush for a limited time to celebrate Discovery Channel’s most anticipated event of the summer. The Shark Week Slush is available at participating SONIC locations starting June 27.
At a time when value is more important than ever, SONIC® Drive-In is kicking off a new Summer Snacking Menu that fits fans’ on-the-go summertime schedules and allows them to make the most of their snacking budget.
SONIC® Drive-In is bringing back the popular Brownie Batter and Yellow Cake Batter Shakes, two authentic, hand-mixed treats made with Real Ice Cream and inspired by the taste and texture of batter that’s straight from the mixing bowl!
SONIC® Drive-In is bringing back its cheesy, classic Patty Melt to drive-ins across the nation. Starting at just $3.99*, guests can experience this savory delight beginning Dec. 27, while supplies last.
Through the Limeades for Learning initiative, SONIC® Drive-In, in partnership with education nonprofit DonorsChoose, is able to provide essential funds needed for learning materials and innovative teaching techniques.
SONIC has added a new, limited-time-only Banana Pudding Shake to its delicious dessert lineup, creating a creamy, sippable version of a classic childhood treat that features the comforting taste of banana pudding.
SONIC released its new, limited time only Shark Week Slush, a diorama of refreshing, tropical flavor to delight the senses while diving into one of the Discovery’s most anticipated programs of the summer.
]This week, SONIC® Drive-In is challenging three popular TikTok personalities to hack the SONIC menu in an attempt to recreate fan favorites using ingredients gathered from other fast-food or convenience store locations.
SONIC® Drive-In puts its own spin on the distinct, slow-burned flavor of Mesquite barbecue and sears rich, indulgent butter into the burger to create its newest menu item: the Mesquite Butter Bacon Cheeseburger.


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Components & Peripherals News
Intel: Xeon Supply Is Not Constrained, Delays Can Happen
'When demand is very strong like in [the fourth quarter of 2019], it can sometimes take a little longer to fulfill orders and support each customer’s desired product mix. However, we believe we have supply to meet market demand in [the first quarter] and the full-year,' Intel says after Hewlett Packard Enterprise warned of a Xeon Cascade Lake shortage last week.
Intel said its supply of Xeon server processors is not constrained, while admitting delays can happen for customers depending on their individual demand level and what kind of products they're looking for.
"Overall, we are not supply constrained in our server business," an Intel spokesperson said in a statement to CRN. "When demand is very strong like in [the fourth quarter of 2019], it can sometimes take a little longer to fulfill orders and support each customer’s desired product mix. However, we believe we have supply to meet market demand in [the first quarter] and the full-year."
[Related: Intel Data Platforms Group: New Executive Office Chases ‘Big Picture’]
The statement was provided after HPE, one of Intel's largest server OEM partners, reportedly said last week that it expects supply constraints of Intel's second-generation Xeon Scalable Cascade Lake processors for the rest of the year after telling customers to seek alternative products to avoid delays.
"Based on demand, we are expecting supply will remain constrained through 2020," according to an HPE statement in The Register. "Server platforms which use these processors are affected. In order to minimize customer impact as a result of these supply constraints with Cascade Lake processors, HPE urges customers to consider alternative processors, which are still available."
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel gave an update on its ongoing CPU shortage during Thursday's earnings call for the fourth quarter. Since the shortage began in mid-2018, Intel's PC and laptop processors have been impacted the most.
In Intel's fourth-quarter earnings call, CEO Bob Swan said while the company is in "pretty good shape" when it comes to meeting demand for server processors, the double-digit growth of the company's Data Center Group in the fourth quarter "depleted our inventory level."
With "that kind of spike in demand, we're not perfect across all products or all SKUs," he said.
George Davis, Intel's CFO, said on the call that supply for both server and client CPUs is expected to improve in the second half of this year as the result of expanded production capacity.
"In the second half of the year we would expect to be able to bring both our server products and, most importantly, our PC products back to a more normalized inventory level," he said.
HPE is likely experiencing a shortage of Xeon Cascade Lake processors for one of two reasons, according to Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy. For one, he said, it could come down to product mix issues, which Swan referred to in the latest earnings call.
"There must be a mix issue because HPE wouldn't make this stuff up," Moorhead said. "Look at the number of Cascade Lake SKUs there are. There's a lot of them."
The other possibility is that HPE has seen so much demand for servers with Intel Cascade Lake processors that Intel wasn't able to fulfill that additional upside because the remaining inventory was going to cloud service providers or Intel's other major OEM partner, Dell Technologies, according to Moorhead.
"If HPE was looking for upside and the cloud guys had already spoken for those, then that would make sense to me," he said.
Daniel Newman, principal analyst at Futurum Research, said HPE's CPU supply issues are likely tied to Intel's breakout four-quarter financial results in the Data Center Group, which saw a 48 percent year-over-year increase in sales from cloud service providers and a 14 percent increase from communications service providers.
"I think some of that surprise high demand can drive some slower delivery, but that happens in any business," Newman said.
But while the CPU shortage is causing some delays for partners, Intel's latest earnings show that the chipmaker has demonstrated resilience in the face of multiple challenges, he added.
"During a [CEO transition] and massive delays in yield and process technology, the company was able to protect the vast majority of its market share, even while its competitors were able to take the lead in process technology and offer greater price-performance metrics," Newman said.


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Kevin Smith signs distribution deal with Phase 4 at Sundance
Kevin Smith — who infamously sold his film Red State to himself for $20 last year at Sundance — has signed an exclusive deal with Phase 4 for up to 12 films per year. Phase 4 and Smith’s company SModcast Pictures will release four of those films in the theater, and the deal also includes a live tour with Smith accompanying each film, the company said in a statement from the Sundance festival.
“We had a terrific experience working with Kevin and his team on Red State in Canada, and are thrilled to be embarking on this new venture with him,” Phase 4 President and CEO Berry Meyerowitz said in a statement.
Earlier this year, Smith partnered with Lionsgate for the digital distribution rights to Red State.
Smith and Phase 4 plan to distribute a variety of independent features, which will be a “handpicked collection of unique independent films that resonate with Smith’s and SModcast’s audience.”
An interactive component will be central to the films the new label distributes, building off Smith’s significant online following, Phase 4 said.
*Correction: The original version of this story said that Smith had failed to get a distributor for Red State. He did not offer the film for purchase by distributors, instead opting to purchase it himself.


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Hummer EV coming With 1000 Horses. Tesla Model Y Arriving Early
In a much-hyped ad during the Super Bowl earlier this week, General Motors announced that the Hummer name was back. But this time, it would be a GMC. And the Hummer would be the Hummer EV. With massive horsepower claims, even bigger torque, and a long time to wait to see the real thing. Meanwhile, EV leader Tesla announced that the Model Y crossover was starting production early and would get more range.
One thousand horsepower. That’s what GMC says the Hummer EV will put to the ground when it hits the road in late 2021. It’s a massive power figure, one that would eclipse any mass-produced vehicle, electric or otherwise, that is currently on the market. Only limited-run hypercar makers like Bugatti and Koenigsegg would be able to beat it. On top of all that power, the Hummer EV is set to make 11,500 lb-ft of torque, GMC says. Though we should point out that the figure is measured at the wheels, not at the engine like most torque numbers you see. So it’s not quite as impressive as the figure sounds.
Still, GMC says that the new Hummer EV should be capable of going from 0-60 mph in just three seconds. No range estimate was given.
GMC showed just the grille of the Hummer EV, which shows the familiar nose of the brand’s boxy vehicles, but with a much more modernized look. LED headlights, and what looks like an LED-backlit grille showcasing the seven-bar visage the vehicle shares with Jeep.
The Hummer EV is set to be revealed in May, it will be built at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant, which is set to be converted to GM’s first electric vehicle only facility. The plant will also build other electric trucks for General Motors.
Meanwhile, Tesla announced that the Model Y, the automaker’s first compact crossover, has hit production ahead of schedule. That means that instead of deliveries starting the end of this year, they’re now set to start at the end of this quarter.
The Model Y will arrive first with the Long Range versions, but that long range is getting a little longer than originally forecast. Tesla says that improved efficiencies in the all-wheel drive model have increased the range estimate significantly. From 280 miles previously to 315. That’s enough for an extra day of commuting before a plug-in for most drivers. Or the equivalent of improving MPG by more than 10 percent.
As production of the compact crossover ramps up, Tesla expects to be able to build a combined 400,000 units of the Model 3 and Model Y per year. With expansions set to be completed this year that would boost capacity to 500,000 units per year next year. Production of standard range and RWD models is still expected to begin in 2021.


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Following last Thursday’s teaser trailer, Warner Bros. Games has released the full, nearly five-minute long trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins, coming to PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC, and PS Vita and 3DS via a side-scrolling sequel, this October.
The studio also confirmed the game’s key voice actors. Batman will be voiced by Roger Craig Smith, known for Ezio in Assassin’s Creed and Chris Redfield in Resident Evil, and his nemesis Joker by Troy Baker, whose most recent role was Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite.
Additionally, the game’s box art reveals that pre-orders for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC versions include Deathstroke as a playable character, as well as two challenge maps and skins.
Watch the trailer below. View new screenshots and box art at the gallery.


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Over the weekend, Microsoft announced that they have inked a deal with original design manufacturer, Compal Electronics, thus making making the number of Android partners that are licensing patents from Microsoft a nice round figure of ten. This adds to the list that currently includes HTC, Samsung, Acer, Quanta, Wistron, General Dynamics Itronix, ViewSonic, Onkyo and Velocity Micro.
Much like the rest of Microsoft’s agreements with their other Android partners, the fee and licensing structure of the deal remains unknown, but according to the press release, this would cover products from Compal such as tablets, mobile phones, e-readers and other consumer devices that run on both Android or Google’s Chrome platform.
It also seems that thanks to Compal, reportedly55% of original design manufacturer’s (Wistron, Quanta and Compal) by revenue now have Android licensing agreements with Microsoft. It looks like even if Windows Phone ends up failing and not taking off, Microsoft should still be able to make a tidy profit from at least one of their competitors – Android.
Next Story: MacBook Pro refreshed specs (Official)
- 2014-04-15: Line Messaging App Announces New Sticons Feature
- 2014-04-13: Google Redesigning Android App Icons [Rumor]
- 2014-04-10: Age Of Empires: World Domination Greets iOS, Android And Windows Phone Platforms This Year
- 2014-04-10: Chrome Beta For Android Updated
- 2014-04-10: Google Expands Security Services For Android
- 2013-04-24: ZTE Is Agreeable To Android And Chrome Patent Licensing From Microsoft
- 2011-10-14: Quanta to pay Microsoft royalties for Android products
- 2011-09-28: Samsung to start paying Microsoft royalties for Android devices
- 2011-09-08: ViewSonic and Acer to pay Microsoft royalties for Android products
- 2010-01-20: Microsoft Patents Quick Pick User Interface


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Kia have launched a new logo and brand identity to mark the start of 2021. It consists of the brand's name written with bespoke angular typography, with the letters connected to give the impression of it being handwritten. "Kia seals its brand promise by developing the new logo to resemble a handwritten signature, the rhythmical, unbroken line of the logo conveys Kia's commitment to bringing moments of inspiration, while its symmetry demonstrates confidence. The rising gestures of the logo embody Kia's rising ambitions for the brand, and more importantly, what it offers customers."
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The result of the ‘great homeworking experiment’ has proven that many jobs can be done from home, with many commentators, analysts and companies citing ‘the death of the office’. Whilst this structural shift is yet to play out, we have already seen a number of organisations consider and plan new ways of working which reduce the need for a city centre office. In response, we are seeing increasing evidence of workers making relocation decisions that focus on lifestyle rather than connectivity to their places of work, and question marks around the viability of public transport and infrastructure.
In addition to this, the pandemic has expedited the structural shift to online shopping that had already been occurring. As we consider the future of physical retail space, and its potential repurposing, and the potential for reduced agglomeration in our key cities, it begs the question ‘do our cities still have a future?’ This and other questions will be posed to our panel:
Darly Perry, UK Head of Research, Avison Young
Andrew Carter, Chief Executive, Centre for Cities
Paul Sargent, Chief Executive, Queensbury
Siena Golan, Assistant Vice President, DWS Group
Chris Murray, Director, Core Cities UK


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Learn innovative ways to mitigate the threat of Listeria at the Listeria Detection & Control Workshop | May 31–June 1, 2016 | St. Paul, MN | LEARN MOREOn Friday the news broke that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) was investigating Dole Food Co. over the Listeria outbreak involving packaged salad. The deadly outbreak was linked to salad produced at Dole’s Springfield, Ohio facility. Although the DOJ has not yet commented on the criminal investigation, The Wall Street Journal reports that Dole reported positive Listeria samples at its facility as early as July 2014.
In January 2016, Dole voluntarily recalled all salad mixes produced at the Springfield plant, by which point 33 people in the United States and Canada had fallen ill with Listeria and four had died. The CDC reported on March 31 that the outbreak appeared to be over and Dole restarted production at the Springfield facility in April.
In a press release on the company’s website, Dole stated that the issues FDA reported at its Springfield facility have been corrected. “We have been working in collaboration with the FDA and other authorities to implement ongoing improved testing, sanitation and procedure enhancements, which have resulted in the recent reopening of our Springfield salad plant.” It also acknowledged that it had been contacted by the DOJ related to an investigation and will be cooperating with the department.


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Arch reports dip in sales
Hour Staff Report
Sales may have dropped, but there is still plenty of optimism at Arch Chemicals.
Arch, a Norwalk-based biocides company, announced on Tuesday sales for the first quarter of 2009 of $293.7 million, compared to $347.1 million for the first quarter of 2008. The company said higher pricing and the favorable impact of the Advantis acquisition were offset by lower volumes and unfavorable foreign exchange.
Earnings per share for 2009 were $0.13 per share, compared to $0.23 in 2008.
"Despite the very challenging global market conditions, we are pleased with our first quarter results, which exceeded our expectations," Michael Campbell, chairman, president and CEO of Arch Chemicals, said in a release. "These results were driven principally by our water products and performance urethanes businesses, where we benefited both from price increases and from ongoing margin-improvement plans."
For the second quarter, Arch anticipates earnings per share from continuing operations to be in the $1.15 to $1.25 per share range, compared to earnings per share from continuing operations of $1.33 during the second quarter of 2008.


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The National Association of Realtors reports sales of previously owned properties in February. Current-house sales fell .7% in January from the prior month, the 12th straight month-to-month decline.
Canada’s statistics agency releases February inflation figures. Customer costs rose five.9% in January from a year earlier, down from the prior month’s six.three% rise.
The Federal Reserve announces its most current interest-price selection following a two-day meeting. The central bank is confronting banking-business turbulence and nevertheless-higher inflation. Fed officials will also release updated projections of interest prices, inflation, unemployment and financial output, and Chair
holds a news conference.
The U.K.’s Workplace for National Statistics releases February inflation figures. Customer costs rose ten.1% in January from a year earlier, a slower price of inflation than the prior month’s ten.five% rise.
The Bank of England announces its most current monetary-policy selection. The central bank has signaled that it may well pause interest-price increases quickly, but that additional rises are also feasible if inflation threatens to be higher for longer than anticipated.
The Labor Division reports the quantity of worker filings for unemployment positive aspects in the week ended March 18. Initial jobless claims fell in the prior week, displaying the U.S. labor market place remains sturdy.
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The Commerce Division reports the quantity of new properties sold in February, which make up about ten% of the housing market place.
Japan’s statistics agency releases February inflation figures. Core customer costs rose four.two% in January from a year earlier, the quickest pace considering that September 1981. Japan defines core costs as all costs excluding fresh meals.
S&P Worldwide releases March small business-activity surveys of acquiring managers from about the globe. The February surveys showed activity enhanced in China, the U.S. and the eurozone.
The Commerce Division releases February figures on demand for extended-lasting goods. New orders for tough goods fell sharply in January from the prior month, following a month-to-month improve in December, reflecting volatility in the aircraft sector.
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Great Wall aims 'Cannon' at global pickup market
Honda reveals XN-V Concept at Auto Shanghai 2019, previews upcoming HR-V based EV crossover
What are the odds of the Hyundai Venue arriving in the Philippines?
2020 Nissan GT-R 50th Anniversary Edition debuts in classic Bayside Blue color scheme
There's a new contender in the luxury jumbo SUV arena, and it comes from Mercedes-Benz
Miss the Forester turbo? The boosted 2020 Subaru Outback XT takes its place. Sort of.
2019 Mini Clubman gets a not-so obvious update
Nissan reveals 2020 GT-R NISMO with new turbos, brakes and bodywork
For its 50th birthday, the Nissan Z gets yet another special edition model. All-new model still waiting in the wings.
Volkswagen turns Altas Cross Sport Concept into Teramont X 5-seater SUV.
Chevy brings back Tracker name for new entry-level SUV
Aston Martin ditches V12 power for electric in new Rapide E
The AI:ME is what Audi thinks city cars of the future will be like
Volkswagen Philippines next new model will be an SUV and start with a 'T'
11 years in the making and Lotus is set to give us its first production EV hypercar, the Type 130
Lexus expands line up with new Toyota Alphard-based LM
For 2019, Honda Cars Philippines brings in the refreshed Civic with a new variant
The Ranger Raptor isn't a workhorse but a fun (and surprisingly comfortable) everyday truck
Redesigned Nissan Sylphy cranks up the style points all the way to 11
2020 Chevrolet Trailblazer crossover debuts in China, will unlikely replace the current model in PH


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Orange extends Unik with world-first 3G UMA service
* New 3G UMA platform gives customers simple and affordable access to multimedia services, indoors or on the move
* Orange extends Unik portfolio with two 3G UMA devices from Samsung and Sony Ericsson
Orange today announces the launch of the world’s first 3G unlicensed mobile access (UMA) platform, opening up a new world of multimedia services to its Unik customers. Launching first with two exclusive Orange handsets from Samsung and Sony Ericsson, UMA and 3G network technology will be combined in one device for the very first time.
Orange’s UMA service (Unik) allows customers to use a single handset to make calls by seamlessly switching from fixed WiFi to mobile cellular networks as they leave or enter their home or office. For the first time Orange will bring together 3G and UMA technology in a move that will see customers experience richer content services and faster data speeds on Orange’s 3G and WiFi networks more cost-effectively.
“With the launch of the world’s first 3G UMA service we are making life as simple as possible for our customers, whilst helping them get more from their mobile phone,” says Georges Penalver EVP of Group Strategic Marketing at Orange. “Orange was one of the first to bring the benefits of UMA technology to our customers in 2006 with the launch of our Unik service. Today, with our new 3G UMA platform, our Unik customers will be able to take advantage of 3G’s capabilities delivering exciting multimedia services, such as Orange Music, Downloads, TV and Video. We have increased the benefits of this innovative technology, delivering a simple and cost-effective solution to meet our customers’ needs. That’s why UMA is at the heart of our convergence strategy.”
The first 3G UMA handset to launch will be the Samsung P270. This will be followed by the launch of the Sony Ericsson G705u - the company’s first UMA handset. By combining the best capabilities of fixed and mobile, Orange’s customers can enjoy continuous access to news, information and rich entertainment applications from a single device.
John Delaney, a Research Director with industry analyst IDC, said:
“The introduction of WiFi into high-end mobile phones has been very successful. Users of such phones are taking advantage of WiFi to stream and download multimedia to their phones more quickly and more cheaply than they can over cellular. This usage trend can be supported effectively by making the experience seamless, removing the need for users to think about and switch manually between different access points and network domains.”
Orange’s 3G UMA service will initially be available in France in October followed by Poland, Spain and the UK. Orange’s existing Unik service is currently available to customers in France, Poland (Unifon), UK (Unique) and Spain (Unico).
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In the fast-changing world of science and technology, if you’re not innovating, you’re falling behind. That’s one of the key findings of The Reuters 100: The World’s Most Innovative Universities. Now in its second year, the list ranks the educational institutions doing the most to advance science, invent new technologies and help drive the global economy.
Early reviews of Apple Inc.’s new iPhone 7 were, in a word, "meh." Pundits praised the many improvements in the device, but a consensus emerged that Apple hadn’t given existing iPhone owners a compelling reason to upgrade. Why is that? Why are the iPhone, and other computing devices like PCs and tablets, not changing as quickly as they once did?
In truth, because of its isolation and historical background, China has developed a set of needs and wants that have shaped its online market into what it is today. As you will soon see, thanks to innovations and thorough integration with daily life, the Chinese mobile-first market is leaving its Western counterparts in the dust. By the end of this year, 195 million Chinese people will be using smartphones to pay for goods and services, according to eMarketer. That’s 38% of smartphone users in the country, which has 1.36 billion citizens.
One thing that has become apparent over those years of study is that the innovation imperative in the technology sector is increasing exponentially. There seems to be a treadmill that has an automatic speed-up setting that can’t be changed, because capitalism requires constantly evolving systems and structures to support it. And few companies are able to keep up.
On Wednesday (8/31), Army Secretary Eric Fanning announced a new Rapid Capabilities Office to accelerate the development of cyber, electronic warfare, and position-and-timing gear. Read that to mean: outfitting troops to stand up to the IT and EW prowess of adversaries like Russia, according to one expert who spoke to Defense One. “This office will address capability gaps that we’re seeing in real time, right now from our commanders in the field,” said a statement from Maj. Gen. Walter E.
Bloomberg, citing "people familiar with the matter," recently revealed one of the major enhancements that Apple plans to deliver with its next-generation iPad devices. "The new iPad hardware will include a faster display technology that allows for smoother zooming, panning, and scrolling," Bloomberg reports. Although this doesn't appear to tell us much, it's pretty clear what Apple is planning to intro
Re: Kaitlyn Buss’s August 24 column “Ford stiffens Detroit, Silicon Valley competition”: Michigan might be facing strong competition in the race to define the future of mobility, but we’re far from losing when it comes to being the smart choice for investing in the automotive industry.
Productivity growth, the key to rising living standards, has slowed across rich economies for a decade. And the American economy is no exception, with the annual growth rate averaging just 0.7% over the past five years vs. 2.3% in the postwar era. The difference in those rates is the difference in living standards doubling every century rather than every generation or so.
Internationally, Chinese companies have a reputation for being copycats. Chinese factories, for instance, are known to be great at producing cheap, knock-off goods, but incapable of producing original products. Piracy and lack of respect for intellectual property and copyright are said, with a great deal of justification, to be rife. But now that situation is rapidly beginning to change.


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Apple, Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo, Realme & Others Will Have USB-C As Common Charging Port For All Gadgets!
All smartphones will now have the same charging port, making things a lot easier for smartphone users.
All smartphone companies and industry organizations will now introduce a uniform charging port for all electronic devices.
The decision was finalized after a meeting of the inter-ministerial task force, spearheaded by the Consumer affairs secretary, Rohit Kumar Singh.
Uniform Charging Ports To Be Introduced In A Phased Manner
The Consumer Affairs Ministry has confirmed that this uniform charging port will be introduced in a phased manner. There will also be a sub-group that will verify if the uniform charging ports will be compatible with wearables.
At the meeting were officials from business organizations like MAIT, FICCI, and CII, educational institutions like IIT Kanpur and IIT (BHU), and central government agencies like the Environment Ministry.
As per an official statement, “Stakeholders agreed that a phased roll-out of the common charging port may be conducted so that the same can be applied by the industry and adopted by consumers harmoniously.”
During the discussion, there was a majority of agreement among the participants that USB Type-C should be used as a charging port for electronic devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Additionally, it was discussed whether a different charging connector should be used for feature phones, it said.
European Union’s Previous Directive About Uniform Charging Ports
We had previously reported that as per the European Union’s directive, Apple will have to replace the charger for its iPhones and offer a single charging port for the majority of electronic gadgets starting in the fall of 2024.
The new regulations will compel Apple to modify its iPhone and other device charging ports and establish USB-C ports used by Android-based gadgets as the norm throughout the 27-nation bloc.
It will start to apply to computers in 2026. Even though USB-C is widely used, the timeline was set to give manufacturers more time to adapt.
Apple will be most affected. The bright side, according to some analysts, is that consumers may be more inclined to purchase the new devices from an American company rather than those that lack USB-C.
There also has been news that the “Common Charger Policy,” also known as “One Nation One Charger,” is something the government wants to put into practice.
All digital devices, including smartphones, computers, tablets, and other wearable technology, will require a standard or universal charger under this regulation.


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By Jason Steger
Books could be cheaper in Australia if the Federal Government implements recommendations in a report issued yesterday by the Productivity Commission.
But it faces a hostile campaign from the bulk of the book industry, which says the commission's report is flawed and will damage publishers, printers, smaller booksellers, authors and Australia's cultural wellbeing.
The commission urged the Government to scrap territorial copyright protection for writers and publishers to put Australian book prices more in line with those in the US and Britain.
In its final report on the parallel importation of books, it recommended the lifting of all restrictions after a three-year adjustment period; the rejigging of financial assistance to the book industry; a new survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics; and a review of the brave new world after five years.
It said the current legislation, under which Australian publishers have 30 days to publish editions of books published overseas or face competing editions, stopped booksellers from importing "cheaper or better-value-for-money editions".
The recommendations were welcomed by Dymocks boss Don Grover, the driving force behind the Coalition for Cheaper Books. However, he told The Age a three-year delay would cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars, "and that's unreasonable".
Opponents of the change said they would turn their attention to lobbying. The majority of the 560 submissions received by the commission, including those from state and territory governments, opposed the lifting of restrictions.
Scribe publisher Henry Rosenbloom, who has funded much of his local publishing by acquiring rights to overseas titles, said there was no guarantee of cheaper books. "It's crazy to recommend policies now that will lead to the destruction of significant parts of Australian publishing, book selling, writing and printing that are dependent on exchange rates and the behaviour of booksellers."
Penguin chief executive Gabrielle Coyne warned that if the Government adopted the recommendations, it represented a "move away from evidence-based policy".
Authors such as Tim Winton, Richard Flanagan, Kate Grenville and Morris Gleitzman have spoken out strongly against any change to territorial copyright. Yesterday crime writer Peter Temple added his voice. "We won't have Australian authors if we don't have Australian publishers," he said. "If you think Australian publishing is important, if you want them to take risks on authors, backlists, bringing on talent, then you care more about product than simply profit. If you think it's important they stay in business, you don't do this to them."
The Printing Industries Association of Australia claimed the recommendations put at risk hundreds of jobs. PIA policy manager Hagop Tchamkertenian told The Age that Maryborough "would be devastated. One in four workers depends on the book printing industry."
Michael Heyward, publisher at Text, pointed out the irony of the commission recommending changes to benefit the consumer but advocating a review of the grant system that could mean higher taxes.


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Stocks that can benefit from a weak pound
However in the weeks following, while the FTSE 100 regained ground and moved higher than where it was post-Brexit, sterling continued to stay weak providing a significant challenge for UK-facing businesses. That is, those businesses which do little trading overseas and derive nearly all of their earnings from these shores.
The question is, given this environment, are there any UK-based stocks that can benefit from the pound being so weak? We spoke to two experts to find out.
Hugh Yarrow, the manager of the Evenlode Income fund, says he holds few business models in his portfolio which are affected by the rising price of input costs from abroad because of the weak pound. Two examples of companies in his fund that were affected are Halfords and the cosmetics and healthcare company PZ Cussons.
“The majority of Evenlode holdings are UK-based global businesses,” says Yarrow. The management teams of these companies are beginning to indicate the positive impact on earnings if currency rates remain at recent levels: most are set to benefit by between 5-10% for the full year. In some cases, the increase will be higher.”
A good example of one such business is the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. According to Yarrow, Glaxo expects currency to increase its underlying earnings by 19% this year, if rates remain at their current levels.
Adrian Lowcock, investment director at Architas, says not only do the pharmaceutical giants such as Glaxo and AstraZeneca – which have both rallied strongly since the Brexit vote – benefit from having large overseas earnings, they are also advantaged from having stable demand as healthcare costs are rarely cut during a recession as the one thing people always need is healthcare.
Another sector of the UK market which has benefited owing to its global earnings nature and having little exposure to the pound or the UK economy says Lowcock, is tobacco. Stocks in this space he highlights as doing well are Imperial Brands and British American Tobacco (BAT).
“It is not a sector sensitive to the cyclical nature of an economy,” says Lowcock. “Consumer staples are likely to be another beneficiary as these giant consumer goods businesses are global in nature and tend to benefit from rising global demand as well as a weaker pound.”
Other exporters in Yarrow’s universe which should do well include industrials, such as the manufacturing and engineering companies Rotork, Spirax-Sarco, Renshaw, and Victrex.
“While the impact on competitiveness for this group of companies is incrementally positive, it is in many cases not huge,” says Yarrow. “Most have worked hard over the years on developing supply chains and production footprints that help offset global revenues with a global cost base.”
Lowcock agrees that a weak pound should be good news for the UK’s manufacturing sector, with any company exporting goods instantly becoming more competitive.
“Those companies which could easily switch their market focus from domestic to overseas markets could be surprises winners,” he says. “Domestic tourism should also get a big boost as it becomes cheaper to come to the UK and tourists take advantage of it.”
The challenge going forward, notes Lowcock, is looking for those companies that will significantly benefit from currency fluctuations in their bottom line.
“The weak pound will benefit UK commodity producers as commodity prices are all quoted in dollars. So miners, gold miners and oil majors may well benefit as a weak pound will effectively boost the value of the underlying commodity helping to boost profits and perhaps more importantly reduce losses.”
For those investors in UK funds who may be worried about their exposure to companies negatively impacted by the weak currency, Lowcock notes most fund managers who analyse companies will already be on top of the problem and will have repositioned their portfolios to get exposure to the types of companies that will benefit the most.


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Jaeger-Lecoultre is owned by Geneva-based Richemont SA that also owns other luxury watch brands including Cartier and Piaget, jewellery brand Maisons and Montblanc pens. Richemont filed the application with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) on Tuesday, according to the department’s website.
Any single-brand retailer that opts for more than 51% foreign investment must source 30% of its merchandise locally. Many luxury and high-end retailers say the 30% local sourcing norm was a major stumbling block even if they want to raise the equity beyond 51% or to apply for wholly-owned subsidiary in India.
It’s unclear how a luxury product like Jaeger-LeCoultre could honour the 30% local sourcing clause. Jaeger-LeCoultre did not respond to a request for comment till late on Friday.
Jaeger-LeCoultre watches are mostly priced in the US from Rs 530,000 to as high as about Rs 30 lakh for its 2013 collections, according to the company’s US website.
Richemont reported total revenue of 10 billion euro in 2013 with an operating profit of about 2 billion euro that year. Almost 86% of Richemont’s revenues come from Europe and Asia Pacific while the rest comes from the Americans.
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AUSTRIA: Heineken gets BBAG green light
The transaction is still subject to several local customary regulatory approvals. However Heineken said it expects to receive the remaining approvals in the coming months and foresees that the transaction will be completed in October 2003.
Once the transaction is completed, Heineken will launch a public offer for the outstanding shares (the free float) of BBAG and its sub-holding Brau Union AG.
Heineken will make offers at prices of €124.00 per BBAG share and €127.27 per BU share, with such prices implying premiums for BBAG and BU free-float shareholders, based on trading prices as at 30 April 2003, of 34% and 45%, respectively. These offers will be made in accordance with the Austrian Takeover Act, the company said.
Dutch brewer Heineken is rumored to have released a self-chilling beer can....
ING has raised its target for Heineken's share price after analysing the brewer's options to save costs....
Heineken's CEO-in-waiting has no plan to radically alter the brewer's strategy, he said in an interview today....
Heineken has restructured its top management, in a move that includes the retirement of current CEO and chairman Thony Ruys from October this year....
Heineken said yesterday that its Austrian subsidiary Brau Union AG has signed an agreement for the divestment of its Real Estate Division. This division comprises all non-business related real estate ...
Heineken has acquired a 40% stake in a Chinese brewery....
Heineken Espana is looking to invest heavily in a new plant in southern Spain....
Grupo Empresarial Bavaria is not looking to sell up, its president has confirmed....
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Real gross domestic product increased 0.3 percent in 2019 after decreasing 2.4 percent in 2018, according to estimates released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The statistics released today are BEA’s first official release of GDP for Puerto Rico. The release includes updated estimates for 2012 to 2018 that incorporate new and additional source data and methodology improvements to the prototype GDP statistics that were released in September 2020.
The increase in real GDP in 2019 reflected an increase in exports. Although private inventory investment, government spending, and consumer spending declined, these decreases were largely offset by a decrease in imports, which is a subtraction item in the calculation of GDP.
Pharmaceuticals and organic chemicals were the largest contributors to both the growth in exports and the decline in imports in 2019. Exports increased 0.7 percent, while imports decreased 9.1 percent. The primary contributor to the decrease in private inventory investment was the chemical manufacturing industry, which includes pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Government spending decreased 11.4 percent in 2019 as spending on disaster recovery activities slowed. The largest decline was in gross investment in structures by the central government as major repairs to the power grid, which was damaged in 2017 by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, were completed in 2018.
Consumer spending decreased 0.5 percent in 2019. Purchases of durable goods decreased 3.6 percent as disaster-related insurance payouts and government payments to households, which supported consumer spending in 2018, declined.
Puerto Rico GDP includes production owned by nonresidents, such as nonresident multinational enterprises. In Puerto Rico, subsidiaries of large nonresident multinational enterprises operate within the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, as well as the medical device manufacturing and computer services industries. The Box in the Technical Note provides an update of research provided in 2020 that shows GDP excluding exports, imports, and inventory investment associated with these intellectual property-intensive industries.


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LFL ends substantial bid
TORONTO – Leon’s Furniture Limited (LFL), this country’s largest full-line furniture retailer, has closed out its previously announced ‘substantial issuer bid’ paying out some $200 million to buy back for cancellation just under eight million of its outstanding common shares.
The retailer said its “modified Dutch auction” resulted in the buy back of approximately 10.4% of its issued and outstanding shares at a price of $25 per share.
All common shares purchased over the course of bid were cancelled by the company, reducing the total number of common shares issued and outstanding to just under 68.8 million. When the substantial issuer bid was launched in late November, there were approximately 76.8 million shares outstanding. The bid ended on December 30, 2021.
LFL reported an aggregate of 9.8 million common shares were validly tendered, so the bid was oversubscribed. This means 81.5% of the successfully tendered common shares were purchased under the bid. Those not acquired by LFL will be returned to the shareholder.
Now the substantial bid has expired, the company expects to recommence buying back share under its current ‘normal course issuer bid’ which will expire on September 14, 2022. Under that NCIB, the company intends to buy back a maximum of 3.9 million common shares at current market prices.
LFL is the largest retailer of furniture, appliances and electronics in Canada whose retail banners include Leon's, The Brick, Brick Outlet, and The Brick Mattress Store. With The Brick’s Midnorthern Appliance banner and Leon’s Appliance Canada banner, the company is also the country’s largest commercial retailer of appliances to builders, developers, hotels and property management companies. LFL has 304 retail stores from coast to coast under those banners and operates three web sites: leons.ca, thebrick.com and furniture.ca.
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More than 4,000 ransomware attacks occurred every day in the U.S. during 2016, according to an FBI report released in June 2016.
These attacks involve the destruction or theft of confidential data through installing a virus on a company’s security system, thus allowing it to infect the entire network. The prevalence of these attacks highlights the active danger cyber-attacks of all kinds present to U.S. companies and justifies the measures businesses have taken to stop them.
The International Data Commission has predicted U.S. companies will spend more than $101 billion on cyber-security by 2020. Southern U.S. companies believe cyber-security problems need to be addressed.
However, this massive increase in spending will certainly have an effect on investors, alongside the direct damage done to investment accounts and stocks from cyber-attacks themselves.
What has happened?
Between 2014 and 2016, major cyber-attacks on companies, and the effectiveness of their disruption have drastically increased:
– Sony Pictures cyber-attack (2014) — Involved the total erasure of data on company servers, followed by releasing selected confidential files, including unreleased movie scripts/videos and employee emails.
– Anthem Incorporated cyber-attack (2015) — Involved the theft of more than 78 million Americans’ confidential data, including both employees and customers of the health insurer.
– Yahoo cyber-attack (2016) — Involved the theft of more than 500 million users’ personal information, including to emails, phone numbers, and security questions.
In addition to the pervasive nature of these attacks, their effect is by no means short-term. They can affect a company for years after the incident in question, especially on the stock market and in attitudes of investors.
How have cyber-attacks affected the market?
Cyber-attacks on companies categorically influence their trading value, and thereby their value to investors. Companies typically experience a 1 to 5 percent drop in value immediately following a cyber-attack, according to a congressional report, equating to a direct loss of approximately $50 million to $200 million. This clearly emphasizes the direct negative effect cyber-attacks have on the value of a company, potentially exacerbated through investors pulling out as result of the short-term value drop.
However, this short-term effect on the trading value of a company is not the only one. The cost to cyber-risk insurance policies also has a negative effect. Insurance premiums for cyber-risks have increased since 2002, according to the same congressional report, leading to smaller general IT budgets and, obviously, increased spending.
In addition to this, the damage to a company’s reputation, and thereby consumer spending and investment, is significant. During our current “Age of the Consumer,” companies’ policies and success often hinge directly on consumer sentiment. According to one 2016 study, 75 percent of consumers stated they would stop using a company after a confidential data breach. This is likely to have a direct negative effect on a company’s revenue, and thereby affect their real and potential value to investors.
How do cyber-security breaches affect you?
If you are an investor looking for a company in the Southern U.S., any potential cyber-attack should be a major concern. As shown by this article, it’s important to factor in the potential negative effects of cyber-attacks when investing in a company.
Not only do cyber-attacks directly hurt a company through damage to consumer trust, but also indirectly through the cost of cyber-security investment and cyber-risk insurance policies. While you should not entirely forgo making investments, it should surely be a sign for vigilance and careful selection of where your money is going and how much you are willing to risk.
– Cyber-attack rates are increasing, particularly comparing 2016 to earlier years.
– Cyber-attacks are causing major breaches of confidential data in prominent companies.
– Any investor should be wary of risky investments as result of said attacks and the damage they inflict on companies
DISCLAIMER: This article expresses my own ideas and opinions. Any information I have shared are from sources that I believe to be reliable and accurate. I did not receive any financial compensation in writing this post, nor do I own any shares in any company I’ve mentioned. I encourage any reader to do their own diligent research first before making any investment decisions.
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Sports Direct has ramped up its strategic investment in department store giant Debenhams.
According to regulatory filings the sportswear retailer, known for securing stakes in its rival companies, has upped its stake in Debenhams from 13.38 per cent to 16.09 per cent.
The shares were not purchased outright, instead Sports Direct has “options in stock” which allows it to buy share at a future date.
Mike Ashley’s investment drive has seemingly increased recently, seeing Sport’s Direct buy up an 11 per cent stake in the struggling French Connection chain as well as acquiring lingerie brand Agent Provocateur.
Share prices at Debenhams have dropped significantly since last year, now standing at 54.40p per share down from 81.55p last April.


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Sometimes all it takes is a phone call.
If you're trying to save a few bucks -- and who isn't these days? -- one place to review is what you're paying for cable or satellite TV, high-speed Internet and your home phone.
If you're not already locked into a pricing bundle for your TV, Internet and phone, switching into one can often shave a significant amount off these bills.
"Bundling is the smartest way for consumers to go if they're looking for value," said Tim Ransberger, a Charter Communications spokesman for Michigan, who said three service packages begin at $109.97.
Costs of Internet, TV and phone service bundles have fallen by up to 20 percent in the past year, with bundles available for as low as $80 a month, according to a recent Consumer Reports survey.
Area cable providers such as Comcast and Charter offer bundles for cable TV, Internet and phone service (or minibundles for two services) and give discounts to customers who buy multiple products.
AT&T U-verse also offers TV, high-speed Internet and home phone packages, and satellite providers DISH Network and DIRECTV often have promotional, low-price offers.
Charles Younglove, 53, of Flint Township is adding Comcast high-speed Internet to his Comcast cable and will save money, too.
"We have dial-up now. That's the only thing we use our phone for," he said. "If this all works, when we get done, we'll be canceling out our phone and AOL."
By switching and canceling the other services, the bills will drop from about $120 a month to about $70 a month, Younglove said.
Comcast's Patrick Paterno, director of communications for the Michigan region, said the company offers everyday low prices and bundles.
"There are many options out there for customers," he said.
In new pricing the company rolled out earlier this year, Comcast customers can get an economy phone, Internet and TV bundle for as little as $79.85 a month, Paterno said. The services, such as digital TV with nearly 50 channels, also are available on their own at a slightly higher price.
More than 65 percent of Comcast customers take two or more products, Paterno said.
"We want to put people in the right packages for them," he said.
Ransberger said Charter has a two-year price guarantee for bundles and also a two-year price guarantee for just Internet service at $29.99 a month.
Counselors with GreenPath Debt Solutions Inc., which works with consumers who need help getting out of debt, have several money-saving suggestions for Internet and cable, such as cutting back service to lower-speed Internet, getting only basic cable or asking for a new offer.
Earlier this month, I opened my monthly Charter bill only to notice a price jump of more than $40.
About a year ago, I signed up for one of Charter's minibundles for digital cable and high-speed Internet. My bill with a modem lease and taxes ran about $81 a month for the past 12 months.
Knowing companies these days want to keep customers, I called the toll-free number. And with the help of an associate, we went over my TV and Internet usage habits, and I explained that while I wanted to keep my service, I wasn't in a position to pay that much more.
Fifteen minutes later, I was quoted a new price of about $87 a month for six months for the same service (minus a couple of movie channels but with several new channels, too).
But maybe you don't watch much TV and you want to scrap cable or satellite altogether?
Marc Hedlund, chief executive officer of a free money management Web site, www.Wesabe.com, said he and his wife are canceling their basic cable.
Hedlund and other Wesabe users have posted money-saving TV-watching ideas on the California-based site, such as viewing shows for free over the Internet on sites such as www.Hulu.com.
Hedlund said his cable bill jumped from an average of about $28 a month in 2006 to $71 a month in 2008.
Hedlund said he is watching free video from channels such as Comedy Central and CNN through www.boxee.tv.
He's pairing that with streaming video over the Internet that is connected to his TV through a Roku box. A Roku box, or digital video player, costs $99.99.
Hedlund said he is able to watch movies and TV shows through the Roku box with his Netflix subscription, which costs about $15 a month, and Video on Demand rentals from Amazon.com that are as cheap as a couple of bucks each.
"It's a much better deal," he said. "I don't need all the (cable) channels."


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Crestron adds public relations manager
ROCKLEIGH, N.J.—Crestron on Oct. 28 announced the appointment of Joyce Essig as its new PR manager. In this new position, Essig will be responsible for leading media driven traditional and social campaigns, events and product launches to further elevate Crestron’s presence among its core audiences.
Essig began her career at Coyne Public Relations where she was instrumental in the success of her client, Casio’s participation at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and launch of the company’s line of high-speed digital cameras. Essig has cultivated relationships with top-tier media outlets in traditional and social media that have led to detailed product feature stories, product reviews, company and executive profiles and retail partnerships.


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2 min read.Updated: 21 Nov 2020, 06:36 PM IST Written By Anulekha Ray
Ashok Leyland board of directors, at a meeting held on 6 November, approved the VRS scheme
The company posted a net loss of ₹147 crore in the September quarter due to weak demand for commercial vehicles in the wake of the pandemic
Ashok Leyland, a Hinduja Group flagship, said on Saturday that it has started a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for its employees. Its board of directors, at a meeting held on 6 November, approved the scheme, Ashok Leyland said in a BSE filing. The VRS scheme is open for all those who have completed a minimum one year service with the organisation. The scheme will be implemented over a period of nine months, the company said.
"Upon implementation and execution, the VRS would help optimise the capacity and resources of the company," the heavy vehicles-maker said in the filing.
"The current landscape of the global pandemic provides scope for people to pursue flexible career opportunities and this will provide a window for the same," said N V Balachandar – President HR, CSR and Communication. “There have been many requests from employees for early retirement, and this scheme provides them with a viable exit," he added.
Last year, Ashok Leyland introduced two schemes — a Voluntary Retirement Scheme and an Employee Separation Scheme (ESS) for those employees not eligible for VRS. Under the ESS, compensation payable to an executive under 'A' category will be ₹30 lakh or lower, while in the 'B' category, it will be ₹60 lakh and above. "An executive who opts for separation under ESS will be eligible for a lump sum compensation", the company said.
The auto major posted a net loss of ₹147 crore in the second quarter ended September due to weak demand for commercial vehicles in the wake of the pandemic. Revenue during the quarter under review fell to ₹2,837 crore. Commenting on the performance in the second quarter, Ashok Leyland Ltd managing director and chief executive officer Vipin Sondhi said: "While the challenges in the market due to COVID-19 continue, the company has seen a marked improvement in the company's performance in this quarter."
It reported 1% increase in total commercial vehicle sales at 9,989 units in October. Domestic sales declined 2% to 8,885 units in October, the company said. Total heavy and medium commercial vehicle sales were down 11% at 4,588 units last month. The slowdown in the automotive industry and COVID-19 pandemic forced many manufacturers to downsize employees.
Ashok Leyland also announced that it has floated a wholly-owned subsidiary to build bus bodies and coaches. The company said in a regulatory filing that it has invested ₹60 crore in the equity of the subsidiary, Vishwa Buses and Coaches Ltd, and the company is yet to start commercial operations.


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The iOS 8.0.1 update that curtailed users' cellular signals may have a connection to the roll out of the new Apple Maps platform.
58 Recent Stories
Apple will be rebooting its Maps apps for iOS to better compete against Google, a new report suggests.
Apple's CarPlay infotainment system will include support for four third-party apps -- Beats Music, iHeartRadio, Spotify and Stitcher -- at launch, which is "sometime in 2014." That's in addition to Apple's Music, Messaging, Podcasts and Maps apps. Maps are a no-brainer for in-car apps.
You probably remember the Apple Maps memes that exploded across the Internet when the app was first released as part of iOS6 in September 2012. They were legion: Columbus discovered America because he was looking for India on Apple Maps. Luke Skywalker turned off his targeting computer while attacking the Death Star because it was using Apple Maps. Heard who the Apple Maps development team was? The cast of Lost.
Apple's location startup buying spree isn't over yet -- the company has acquired transit company Embark for an undisclosed sum. The news, first reported by Jessica Lessin, comes about a month after the acquisition of another transit app, HopStop. See also: Apple Stock Soars 22% Over the Summer Embark currently has transit apps for 10 different transit systems in the App Store. The startup has received money from Y Combinator, SV Angel and BMW.
Not long after transit navigation app HopStop was purchased by Apple, the service has been discontinued for Microsoft Windows Phones.
Good news, iOS transit users: Apple acquired transit and navigation service HopStop as part of its continuing bid to improve its mapping software. The deal was first reported by Bloomberg and confirmed to Mashable by Apple. The company declined to share details of the acquisition or its purchase price. See also: Apple Acquires Locationary to Improve Maps Also on Friday, Apple confirmed it acquired location data startup Locationary for an undisclosed sum.
Apple has acquired Locationary, a Toronto-based startup that organizes data on local businesses, for an undisclosed sum.
The road to success is paved with speed bumps -- or something like that. Take a look at our list of themost disappointing software updates we've seen yet.
Apple announced that some key iOS apps would be coming to the Mac in OS X 10.9 Mavericks: Apple Maps and iBooks. Both are stand-alone apps that will be downloadable from the Mac App Store. In Maps, features such as Flyover and Yelp integration are included. It also integrates with the Calendar, sending you an alert for when you need to leave to get to a destination. You can also save locations as bookmarks in Safari.
Evidence is piling up that Apple is working on tightly integrating iOS 7 apps such as Siri and Apple Maps into car consoles.
Facebook has hired the manager who led the development of Apple's widely criticized Maps app. Richard Williamson joined the social network as its director of engineering this month, according to his LinkedIn profile. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that he has been at Facebook for the past few weeks. Last November, Williamson was fired by Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice-president of Internet software and services, following numerous user complaints that Maps had major bugs.
Apple Maps wasn’t very good. This is not news. Even company CEO Tim Cook admitted it fell short. The folks at crowd-sourced, turn-by-turn navigation competitor Waze weren’t surprised, either. On Monday, company CEO Noam Bardin told an audience at All Things D’s Dive into Mobile conference that they never actually expected Apple Maps to be that good. So then why was Bardin surprised? Bardin said they knew Apple Maps was coming, and saw it as a "nightmare" for the Waze business.
An Apple patent filing indicates the Cupertino tech giant is building a Street View product of its own.
As a part of a larger effort to improve and grow its mapping services, Apple has acquired mobile location startup WifiSLAM.
Apple has been rolling out some minor updates to Apple Maps, such as adding toll road notifications and satellite imagery, to make the app more reliable.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has personally acknowledged the numerous problems with the Maps app, launched late last year. He's in the midst of devoting considerable resources to fixing it. He has deputized Apple's Mr. Fix-it, Eddy Cue, to sort out the problem. So we feel a little bad pointing out yet another error in Apple Maps -- but this is one we just couldn't resist.
We've all seen that Apple Maps is a far cry from perfect, but the Wall Street Journal's Kabul bureau chief may have just discovered some of its most amusing glitches while browsing on his iPad. Yaroslav Trofimov discovered a street named "Bad Monkey" and another named "MoJo Way." After discovering these unlikely streets on Apple Maps, he shared his findings to Twitter, UN Dispatch reports.
For iPhone users, Google Maps is back. The revamped app, launched last week, is being downloaded in the tens of millions. As a result, iOS6 activations are on the rise. And Apple finally has the breathing room it needs to overhaul its much maligned Maps app, the default on the platform. But just how much of a hill does Apple still have to climb in order to compete? Quite a steep one.
If Apple is the Superman of tech companies, the iOS 6 Apple Maps app would have to be its kryptonite. The company revealed its iPhone 5 and iOS 6 at a ballyhooed press event in September. Ever since, all anyone seems to want to talk about is the shortcomings of Maps. To make room for its own version, Apple eschewed the reliable Google Maps app. At Mashable, we showed you some of the most comical failures of Apple's Maps.
Dear Apple Maps, We've had a good run, you and I. So many memories. Remember that time we didn't get lost? Thank you for all those great turn-by-turn directions in your Siri voice. Good times. I've got something difficult to tell you, but we'll get through this. Inside, I think we both knew this day was coming. You see, I met another Maps app last night. No, not another one of those inferior replacements I kept trying before crawling back to you.
Google Maps for iOS is back! The app appeared in the App Store late Wednesday evening, providing joy and comfort to disgruntled Apple Maps users everywhere. Rumors of the app's impending release appeared earlier this evening by way of AllThingsD. Google Maps for iOS [iTunes link] looks and functions more similarly to its Android counterpart than it does to the version that used to be bundled with iOS.
The days of Apple Maps are about to be over. If a report saying a Google Maps app for iOS will become available Wednesday night is correct, all iPhone users who have complained about the buggy Apple Maps can go back to their preferred mobile maps app. A source familiar with the matter told AllThingsD the Google Maps app will again become available for iPhone users.
Apple has fixed -- partially, at least -- its map of Mildura, Australia, after local police advised people not to use the company's Maps app because it showed the city in the wrong location. According to the Australian, Apple Maps now shows the correct location of Mildura for travelers coming from South Australia, but not Melbourne. "If you're coming from Melbourne it still puts Mildura in the middle of the Murray Sunset National Park," said Mildura police inspector Simon Clemence.
The Police department of Mildura, Australia, is warning drivers not to rely on Apple Maps, since the location of that city in Apple's mapping app is incorrect. According to the Mildura Police, Apple Maps puts Mildura in the middle of Murray Sunset National Park, some 70 km away from Mildura's actual location. To make matters worse, temperatures in the park can go as high as 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit), and there is no water supply.
Apple has reportedly fired the manager in charge of its mapping software after a barrage of complaints from users.
Nokia recently unveiled its new take on mapping services, called Here. Today, the first version of Here arrives in the Apple App Store. We've been checking it out this morning, and we're so far impressed with its many features, although the overall experience needs polish. Let's start with the good news: Here is responsive and intuitive. Icons are in logical locations, and the do generally what you expect. Slide your thumb across the screen, and the map fluidly moves with it.
Early builds of Apple's upcoming desktop operating system, OS X 10.9, have Siri and Apple Maps integration, 9to5Mac reports citing "reliable" sources. Both features are in early stages of testing, and it's unclear whether they'll ever reach the final product. This especially goes for Siri, 9to5Mac argues, which might ultimately available only on some devices. In the iOS world, Siri is only available on newer iPhones, iPads and iPod touches.
Google is prepping Google Maps for the iPhone, offering a fix for customers dissatisfied with Apple's poorly received Maps app, according to a report. Citing "a person with direct knowledge of the matter," The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is distributing a test version of its mapping app to people outside the company. Google is "putting finishing touches" on the app before it hits the App Store.
Welcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. Today, we’re looking at three particularly interesting stories. Lenovo Reports Stellar Results for Q2 2012 Lenovo's financial report for Q2 2012 is in, and the numbers are very good for the Chinese PC maker. Lenovo reported a record $8.7 billion in sales -- an 11% year-over-year increase -- and a $206 million operating profit.
A San Francisco-based developer posted screenshots on his blog late last night that are allegedly from the Google Maps app for iOS 6, which is rumored to be in the works. The developer, Ben Guild, doesn't reveal how he obtained the screenshots in his blog post, and they're quite blurry (a sample is below). Nonetheless, they clearly show some kind of map app for iOS that has Google iconography (the car icon is a giveaway).
Out there beyond the towns and cities, beyond the reach of 3G and Wifi, are the places where map apps on your smartphone are most needed. It's also where most of them run into problems. Try calling up a Google or Nokia map when you're outside digital civilization, and you'll find little if any information has been preserved.