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Jerry Lorenzo has unveiled a full look at Fear of God’s upcoming ‘1997’ collection. The Los Angeles-based designer revealed the More from Unbiased Writer!
In just a few short years, Jerry Lorenzo’s Fear Of God has become a trendsetting force in menswear. Earlier today, More from Unbiased Writer!
Jerry Lorenzo’s Fear Of God collaboration with Vans has finally arrived. The limited edition co-branded release will feature two of More from Unbiased Writer!
According to reports, Pusha T’s G.O.O.D Music debut mixtape, ‘Fear of God‘ has received an official release date


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In a bid to sweeten the consumer appeal of a new digital format that could succeed the DVD, some at the major film studios want to prevent DVD libraries from being rendered obsolete in a format upgrade.
UltraViolet (UV) is the name of new technology standards expected to debut this summer that Hollywood hopes will help reignite the public's interest in collecting movies and cauterize the bleeding in their home-video divisions. UV was created by a consortium that includes all the big film studios--with the exception of Disney--and numerous movie-sector allies, such as Microsoft, Nokia, Sony, Comcast and Netflix. UV managers said in January that the technology will ensure consumers will be able to play their movies and TV shows on a wide range of devices and services.
At the core of UV's offer to consumers is the ability to store films on a service provider's servers, or what is commonly referred to as the cloud. One new feature being discussed at UV calls for asking users to load their DVDs into their computers so UV can scan them and verify they possess the movies, according to film industry insiders who spoke with CNET. After verification, UV would place a copy of the film in the person's digital locker.
Typically, when media sectors have changed distribution formats, consumers are forced to shell out more money to update existing libraries. VHS tapes couldn't play on DVD players and CD players were incompatible with vinyl albums.
But even as progressive as this sounds, some studio execs acknowledge that moving the public to a new format now won't be easy. For one thing, UV's launch is coming up fast and important details still need to be hashed out. Insiders say consortium members still can't agree on several important issues regarding security and whether to offer UV in high-def. Some studios involved are worried that some among them will break ranks and offer content to other locker services in addition to UV, which could undermine UV's negotiating power.
Meanwhile, UV's toughest challenge may be selling the new format to Internet-empowered consumers, many of whom are unaccustomed to paying for content following years of downloading pirated music and films at file-sharing services.
Then there's Netflix. The Web's top video-rental service forces DVD collectors to ask the question: why am I buying when Netflix's monthly streaming-subscription fee typically costs less than a single disc? For their money, Netflix subscribers receive access to thousands of catalog TV shows and films. According to film industry sources, Netflix is the kind of consumer proposition that drives the value of the studios' content down and one reason why they hope to nurture alternative outlets.
Linking up with cable
Here's what we know about how UV works so far: the system is supposed to help prevent owners of films and TV shows from being locked into individual devices or services. UV's technology works sort of like an ATM network and authorizes accounts on different media players and services. Digital rights management won't get in the way because UV's technology will sit on top of the different DRM schemes and provide the necessary permissions.
Once a person sets up their UV locker, they will be able to register up to six people from the same household to a digital locker. One studio source said that those registered from a household will not be required to live at the same address. Nice.
This is supposed to be just the start. UV backers have said they will encourage entrepreneurs to build new services and business models on top of UV. They hope that large telcos and Internet service providers will be among them.
The studios have already spoken to some of the big cable companies and ISPs about creating UV lockers, said one film-industry source. Hollywood is telling them that by creating their own locker services, they will get the chance to engage with customers' entertainment viewing in a way they never have before. The studios "would love to have them get in the game," said one insider.
Unlike the DVD or Blu-ray, there may not be much time for potential locker merchants to wait and see whether lockers are a hit. The studios are hoping that locker owners will behave similar to iTunes users, who once they began loading a 100 songs or more into the music service, got hooked.
Will studios charge for cloud?
UV still faces plenty of challenges. Some skeptics are suspicious that UV is an attempt by Hollywood to trap people's content in the cloud and then charge them to access movies they've already purchased. Some doubters say that without Disney and Apple, which are not UV members, it will be hard to generate wide adoption.
Others point out that building consensus within a consortium is difficult because it's hard to get multiple competitors to move as one. Apparently UV is not immune.
A disagreement over UV's security involving the scanning of users' PCs has cropped up, according to a film-industry source. The fear is that someone who has a DVD scanned by UV and receives locker access to the movie could then give their discs to someone else to scan. There is no way to tell whether a DVD has been previously scanned.
For that reason, the studio with the security concerns has lobbied for random checks. They want users to be required to reinsert discs subsequent to their initial scan to ensure they sill posses the discs. Those who have argued against the added security measure point out that requiring people to hold on to discs defeats the purpose of cloud video. Eliminating the clutter of DVD libraries is one of the benefits of storing movies on someone else's servers.
They also ask what happens to a UV user who is on vacation and asked to insert a disc that haven't brought along.
Josh Martin, a video analyst for research group Strategy Analytics, has lauded the studios for making DRM invisible to users and enabling families to create individual profiles. He said in an interview Friday that UV is a good idea "provided it is executed right." Martin cautioned UV's backers from heaping too many confusing, burdensome or expensive requirements onto UV users.
He suspects that UV has plans to try and charge users fees to access their cloud content, including movies they bought in the past. He thinks this will be a tough sell.
"The service offers some important benefits," Martin said. "I don't know that there is enough value for each of the individual benefits to say that paying for it makes sense."

domain: news


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This is due a long-term capital gains tax payout that will be made to the government as PhonePe is raising fresh capital from investors at a higher valuation, the people, who were briefed on PhonePe's ongoing financing round, said.
PhonePe was based in Singapore at the time.
There will also be a significant secondary share sale in the ongoing funding round, taking the total capital component to nearly $2 billion.
In a secondary share sale, incoming investors, or the company itself, buys shares from existing shareholders, including holders of employee stock ownership plans (Esops).
ET reported in December that the tax payout could be significant.
Sources said it will likely be close to $1 billion currently.
“The funding round is largely closed now, and this would be a significant windfall gain for the government. The valuation difference is significant and that will show up in the total tax payout as well,” one of the sources said.
In December, ET reported that homegrown ecommerce firm Flipkart, which earlier owned 87% in PhonePe, would no longer own any stake in restructured entity PhonePe India.
Walmart will remain PhonePe’s majority shareholder along with investors like China’s Tencent, Qatar Investment Authority, Microsoft and Flipkart’s cofounder Binny Bansal.
On December 23, Flipkart and PhonePe said in a joint statement that Flipkart had completely separated its ownership from the e-payments firm. Establishing these businesses as individual entities will allow both companies to chart their own growth paths, it had said.
As part of this transaction, existing shareholders in Flipkart Singapore and PhonePe Singapore, led by Walmart, purchased shares directly in PhonePe India, bringing to a close a three-year-old process that began in 2019.
PhonePe was founded by former Flipkart executives Sameer Nigam and Rahul Chari in December 2015. Flipkart acquired it in April 2016.
Its parent company was domiciled in Singapore. In October, PhonePe said it had completed the process of moving base to India.
News agency Bloomberg was the first to report on January 4 that the government stood to net $1 billion in taxes.
As part of the PhonePe separation, Flipkart’s valuation will be readjusted to around $33 billion, down from $37.6 billion, since the online payments firm would no longer be a part of the group.
The e-tailing entity will continue to house fashion e-tailer Myntra and travel booking platform Cleartrip.
PhonePe is among the first major startups to have flipped its holding company in India. It plans to eventually list in the country and the relocation has been partly motivated by this.
PhonePe moved all the businesses and subsidiaries of PhonePe Singapore to PhonePe Pvt Ltd – India directly, including its insurance broking services and wealth broking businesses, it said in October.
Blinkit (earlier Grofers) and Udaan are among Indian startups that are domiciled in Singapore.
The holding companies of payments firm Razorpay and ecommerce platform Meesho are headquartered in the United States.
Indian startups opted to base their operations from Singapore and the United States to take advantage of easier funding and taxation norms.
India has been working to address the issue and has held several industry level-discussions. It also considered allowing dual listing for Indian companies headquartered outside the country. However, a final decision has not yet been taken on the matter.


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Starbreeze Studios has announced that it is giving away five million copies of the shooter game Payday 2 on Steam. The giveaway lasts until June 21st 2017 or until all copies have been claimed.
In the game players are part of a gang that must complete various criminal activities, including robberies of banks, shops and armored cars, and producing and distributing narcotics. Players can play together with up to 3 friends or play with bots.
The shooter game released in 2013 and has received numerous content updates since its debut. A virtual reality update has also been announced for the PC version of the game.
The game is also expected to make its way to the Nintendo Switch later this year. The Nintendo Switch version will feature tweaked user interfaces and a reworked control scheme to fit the console.
The giveaway may be related to the imminent reveal of the sequel to the game, which is likely to be titled Payday 3. Starbreeze Studios confirmed that it was developing the game back in May 2016.
To claim a copy of the game players simply have to log in to their Steam account and visit the game's Steam Store page.
This comment has been removed. Thanks just claimed mine o/


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“On 18 February at 15.00 CET, FAO, WHO and the secretariats of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and International Food Safety Authorities Network will unveil this year’s World Food Safety Day theme and visual identity. Accompanied by food safety experts from around the world, they will discuss why food safety is everyone’s business and how to get involved in this year’s celebrations. World Food Safety Day, 7 June, is just around the corner!
The newscast (only in English) will be streamed on the Codex Alimentarius Twitter @FAOWHOCodex and will be available for subsequent viewing on the World Food Safety Day website.
Share with your networks and join us!”
The World Food Safety Day team


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From China Daily.com
Trump should stop issuing irresponsible trade threats
By Chen Weihua | China Daily | Updated: 2017-09-08 07:36
After the Democratic People's Republic of Korea claimed to have tested a hydrogen bomb on Sunday, US President Donald Trump posted several tweets, including one declaring: "The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea."
If taken literally, Trump threatens to sever trade ties with not only China, which accounts for most of DPRK's foreign trade, but also with India, Germany, France, Russia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, Thailand and dozens of other countries that trade with the DPRK.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq all fell on Tuesday, by about 1 percent, on the first day of trading after the US Labor Day holiday. Part of the fall was attributed to the tensions on the Korean Peninsula. But if Wall Street had taken Trump's tweet seriously, the market would probably have crashed due to a looming trade war between the world's two largest economies.
China-US bilateral trade exceeded $520 billion last year (the official US figure is $648 billion), making them each other's largest trading partners.
According to an Oxford Economics report in January commissioned by the US-China Business Council, US-China trade ties support some 2.6 million jobs in the US across a range of industries.
About 150,000 US aviation jobs alone depend on the Chinese market, according to Ray Conner, vice-chairman of Boeing. And China is the US government's largest creditor, holding $1.147 trillion in US Treasuries, according to the US Treasury data in August.
On the other side, millions of Chinese jobs depend on trade with the US, which is by far China's largest export market.
Can the two countries be more interdependent?
So, a trade war, as threatened by Trump using his Twitter account which is followed by 37 million people, would be devastating to both countries. China has long stated that there is no winner in a trade war.
However, this is still an understatement. Given their outsized impact on the fragile global economy and the global value chain, especially in Asia, a US trade war with China would be a trade war with Asia, including countries such as the Republic of Korea, Japan and Australia which are major US allies.
Many US businesses will also be badly hurt because they are part of the supply chain, such as Apple, which marks the 10th anniversary of the iPhone this year.
Many economists say a China-US trade war would quickly set off global recession. I guess the International Monetary Fund, which I visited on Tuesday, is busy revising its World Economic Outlook and searching ways to deal with a global crisis. In its Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and the Pacific this year, the IMF said the region continues to be the leader of global growth.
It would not be an exaggeration to say a China-US trade war would be like dropping multiple hydrogen bombs on the global economy, which would, among other things, make Trump's campaign promise "Make America Great Again" mission impossible.
No wonder US trade experts have quickly dismissed Trump's tweets as an empty threat. It may well be true that Trump, author of The Art of the Deal, just wants to extract concessions from China using the DPRK as a ploy. But threatening a trade war that could have devastating global consequences is not something a US president should do.
Maybe Trump was just distracting the world because the real winner from the escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula seems to be the US military industrial complex, as Trump tweeted on Tuesday: "I am allowing Japan & South Korea to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the United States."
To me, China's response of terming Trump's threat "unacceptable" and "unfair" is way too polite. As US president, Trump should simply refrain from issuing such irresponsible threats.
The author is deputy editor of China Daily USA. email@example.com


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Polish meat processor ZM Henryk Kania has announced it is launching the procedure to select an advisor that will support the company in its negotiations with a potential “industry or private equity” investor.
In another round of controversies surrounding Poland’s sick cow slaughter scandal, the French, Slovak and Lithuanian Ministries of Agriculture have launched investigations into the beef meat’s distribution in their respective markets.
Polish prosecutors have launched an investigation into illegal traffic and slaughtering of sick cattle after local journalists covertly filmed workers at a slaughterhouse in Ostrów Mazowiecka, in the country’s central region.
Poland’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski has announced the halting of imports of Lithuanian pigs and pork meat from the so-called red zone of the African swine fever (ASF).
Following a US Department of Agriculture decision to suspend pork meat imports from Poland over fears surrounding African Swine Fever, Polish Agriculture Minister Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski has announced that an agreement has been reached and the ban will...
Poland’s poultry meat producer and processor Indykpol has provided a loan of PLN 10 million (€2.3m) to its subsidiary Zdrowy Drob (Healthy Poultry) with the aim of financing the offshoot’s development plans.
Polish canned meat industry player Konshurt sp. z o.o. has opened a new storage facility in Jarosław, in the country’s south-eastern region of Podkarpacie, where the company previously used a leased building for storage purposes.


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FIS Federation Internationale de Ski
Renewable materials provider Stora Enso has agreed to return as the presenting sponsor of the International Ski Federation’s Nordic World Ski Championships in 2019.
Japanese tyre and rubber company Bridgestone has extended its sponsorship of the International Ski Federation’s Alpine Skiing World Cup.
Outdoor clothing and equipment provider Jack Wolfskin has renewed its sponsorship of the International Ski Federation’s (FIS) Alpine Ski World Cup.
Deals with dairy brand Emmi and energy company BKW Energie leaves one second-tier spot to sell for the 2017 FIS Alpine Ski World Championships with just under a year to go, a major improvement on the 2015 edition.
German carmaker Audi has consolidated its top-tier presence in winter sports following Presenting Sponsor agreements with ski jumping’s Vierschanzentournee Four Hills Tournament and the Ski Cross World Cup.
Renewable materials firm Stora Enso has agreed a deal to become the presenting sponsor of the International Ski Federation’s (FIS) Nordic World Championships in 2017.
Swiss cheese manufacturer Le Gruyère AOP has struck deal to become a main sponsor of the International Ski Federation’s Cross-Country World Cup.
US financial services group EverBank will serve as a national sponsor and official bank of the 2015 Alpine World Ski Championships.
German brewery C & A Veltins has unveiled a significant increase in its winter sports sponsorship programme for the 2014-15 season.
Swedish industrial tools manufacturer Atlas Copco has reached an agreement to be an official partner of the International Ski Federation’s (FIS) Nordic World Championships in 2015.
German automotive manufacturer Audi has extended its commitment to winter sports by sponsoring a further three International Ski Federation (FIS) properties.
German automotive manufacturer Audi has bolstered its ties with the International Ski Federation (FIS) by entering into a three-year agreement to support the “Bring Children to the Snow” campaign.


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Samsung Pay directly rivals Apple Pay and Android Pay in most key cities. In the United States, competition is tighter because there are more choices for mobile payment services. There may be some that we haven’t covered yet but so far, aside from the three we mentioned already, we know of Walmart Pay, WeChat, ChasePay, PayPal, and Barclays.
It’s almost a year since these mobile payment services have started to proliferate in the country and other parts of the world but the technology seems to be more popular here. Here in the US, Apple Pay has captured 33% of the market. Samsung Pay has got 23% according to Auriemma Consulting Group (ACG). The research was done using Mobile Pay Tracker which analyzed 2,004 customers in the US. Almost half of the number had Apple Pay and 327 only used Samsung Pay. However, customer satisfaction is higher with Samsung Pay compared to Apple Pay at 92% versus 84%.
Of the consumers surveyed, 53% of them said they would recommend Apple Pay and 49% Samsung Pay. Between the two groups, Apple Pay users are said to spend 15% less compared to 22% with Samsung Pay. An Apple Pay consumer spends on the average $75 per week while Samsung Pay spends around $82.
ACG’s Payment Insights’ Managing Director Marianne Berry noted that “Samsung Pay outscores Apple Pay on a number of metrics”. She explained, “Some of this may be due to its newness, with most Samsung users reporting three months of experience compared to a year for Apple Pay.”
The reason why there are more Apple Pay users is obvious: there are more iPhones eligible for the service while there are only a few Samsung phone models that currently support Samsung Pay. However, as more Samsung Galaxy phones are upgraded, the number is expected to rise.
VIA: NFC World


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Virtual assistants like Alexa and smart speakers are being increasingly used in today’s time because of the convenience they come packaged with. It is good to have someone play a song or restock your groceries just on your one command, or probably more than one command. You get the point! But, how comfortable will you be if these assistants can provide you some medical advice?
Amazon has teamed up with UK’s National Health Service (NHS) to make Alexa your new medical consultant. The voice-enabled digital assistant will now answer your health-related queries by looking through the NHS website vetted by professional doctors.
We welcome the partnership with Alexa, and we want other companies large and small to work with us to help people access high quality healthcare information by voice.
This approach means that the trusted, medically verified NHS website becomes the default source of information.
— NHSX (@NHSX) July 10, 2019
The NHSX initiative to drive digital innovation in healthcare
Voice search definitely gives us the most “humanized” way of finding information from the web. One of the striking advantages of voice-enabled digital assistants is that the elderly, the blind and those who are unable to access the internet in other ways can also benefit from them. UK’s health secretary, Matt Hancock, believes that “embracing” such technologies will not only reduce the pressure General Practitioners (GPs) and pharmacists face but will also encourage people to take better control of their health care. He adds, “We want to empower every patient to take better control of their healthcare.”
Partnering with Amazon is just one of many steps by NHS to adopt technology for healthcare. The NHS launched a full-fledged unit named NHSX (where X stands for User Experience) last week. Its mission is to provide staff and citizens “the technology they need” with an annual investment of more than $1 billion a year. This partnership was announced last year and NHS plans to partner with other companies such as Microsoft in the future to achieve its goal of “modernizing health services.”
Can we consider Alexa’s advice safe
Voice assistants are very fun and convenient to use, but only when they are actually working. Many a time it happens that the assistant fails to understand something and we have to yell the command again and again, which makes the experience outright frustrating. Furthermore, the track record of consulting the web to diagnose our symptoms has not been the most accurate one.
Many Twitter users trolled this decision saying that Alexa is not yet capable of doing simple tasks like playing a song accurately and the NHS budget could have been instead used on additional NHS staff, lowering drug prices, and many other facilities. The public was also left sore because the government has given Amazon a new means to make a profit, instead of forcing them to pay taxes. Others also talked about the times when Google (mis)-diagnosed their symptoms.
Alexa can’t even play the right music on request 🤣
We think the Health Secretary should stop spending all his time messing around with gizmos and start addressing the real issues in our NHS, like funding and staffing levels
Please RT if you do toohttps://t.co/7R6jHdATHa
— NHS Million (@NHSMillion) July 10, 2019
Every penny handed over to Jeff Bezos is money *not* spent on frontline care.
— Rachel Clarke (@doctor_oxford) July 10, 2019
"Alexa… my heart"
"Playing achy breaky heart"
"No… I'm having a heart attack"
"Art attack is a 90s children's TV show…"
"Alexa my arm is sore"
"New alarm set for four"
"Alexa for the love of fuck call me an ambulance"
"Thank you, I will now refer to you as an ambulance"
— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) July 10, 2019
Why are tories allowing Amazon to profit from the NHS?
Why aren't they forcing them to pay their fair share of the taxes that should be funding frontline services?
Why are they letting such a voraciously profit-thirsty firm have access to tons of valuable NHS patient data?
— will thorpe (@withorpe) July 10, 2019
AI ethicists and experts raise data privacy issues
Amazon has been involved in several controversies around privacy concerns regarding Alexa. Earlier this month, it admitted that a few voice recordings made by Alexa are never deleted from the company’s server, even when the user manually deletes them. Another news in April this year revealed that when you speak to an Echo smart speaker, not only does Alexa but potentially Amazon employees also listen to your requests. Last month, two lawsuits were filed in Seattle stating that Amazon is recording voiceprints of children using its Alexa devices without their consent.
Last year, an Amazon Echo user in Portland, Oregon was shocked when she learned that her Echo device recorded a conversation with her husband and sent the audio file to one of his employees in Seattle. Amazon confirmed that this was an error because of which the device’s microphone misheard a series of words. Another creepy, yet funny incident was when Alexa users started hearing an unprompted laugh from their smart speaker devices. Alexa laughed randomly when the device was not even being used.
— CaptHandlebar (@CaptHandlebar) February 23, 2018
Big tech including Amazon, Google, and Facebook constantly try to reassure their users that their data is safe and they have appropriate privacy measures in place. But, these promises are hard to believe when there is so many news of data breaches involving these companies. Last year, a German computer magazine c’t reported that a user received 1,700 Alexa voice recordings from Amazon when he asked for copies of the personal data Amazon has about him.
Many experts also raised their concerns about using Alexa for giving medical advice. A Berlin-based tech expert Manthana Stender calls this move a “corporate capture of public institutions”.
This is the corporate capture of public institutions.
The sensitive data holdings of a national healthcare provider like the NHS are a form of ‘critical social infrastructure’, yet they’ve been handed to a foreign company that’s both a defense contractor & targeted advertiser. https://t.co/kZ4X1dMYTT pic.twitter.com/eYtGfnVmPM
— Mathana (@StenderWorld) July 10, 2019
Dr. David Wrigley, a British medical doctor who works as a general practitioner also asked how the voice recordings of people asking for health advice will be handled.
I very much favour the use of IT in health but….
How is the data encrypted?
Who has access to the data?
Where is the data stored?
Will the data be used for marketing?
Will the data be sold?
What happens if a serious diagnosis is possible from the patients query? https://t.co/AeVQFBvSWP
— Dr David Wrigley (@DavidGWrigley) July 10, 2019
Director of Big Brother Watch, Silkie Carlo told BBC, “Any public money spent on this awful plan rather than frontline services would be a breathtaking waste. Healthcare is made inaccessible when trust and privacy is stripped away, and that’s what this terrible plan would do. It’s a data protection disaster waiting to happen.”
Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, of the Royal College of GPs, believes that the move has “potential”, especially for minor ailments. She added that it is important individuals do independent research to ensure the advice given is safe or it could “prevent people from seeking proper medical help and create even more pressure”. She further said that not everyone is comfortable using such technology or could afford it.
Amazon promises that the data will be kept confidential and will not be used to build a profile on customers. A spokesman shared with The Times, “All data was encrypted and kept confidential. Customers are in control of their voice history and can review or delete recordings.”


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Tesco has agreed a £4.2bn sale of its South Korean Homeplus business in its first major step towards restoring the balance sheet of Britain’s biggest supermarket chain.
Tesco sealed the deal with a consortium led by North Asia’s biggest private equity firm, MBK Partners, and backed by the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board and Temasek, the Singapore sovereign wealth fund.
The supermarket chain said it would receive around £3.3bn in cash after tax and transaction costs from the deal. Tesco’s bloated debt pile, which stood at £8.5bn in February, will be cut by £4.2bn as it will also save on lease costs at its Korean stores. However, the supermarket will also lose £150m in annual earnings from the Korean business.
The sale follows chief executive Dave Lewis’ plan to refocus on Tesco’s core UK supermarkets and slash costs. Since joining last September Mr Lewis has closed 43 shops and kiboshed plans to open 49 others. He has also relocated Tesco’s Cheshunt head office and unveiled the biggest UK corporate loss in history after £7bn of write-downs.
Mr Lewis said of the Homeplus deal: “This sale realises material value for shareholders and allows us to make significant progress on our strategic priority of protecting and strengthening our balance sheet."
Credit ratings firm Moody’s slashed Tesco to a junk rating in January. Sven Reink, senior credit officer at Moody’s, said that the credit agency had already factored in the sale of Homeplus into its Ba1 rating and Tesco would have to demonstrate “signs of a sustainable recovery in its UK business” before there would be a rating upgrade. Mr Reink said this would include Tesco halting its declining like-for-like sales, a stabilisation of market share and a recovery f its profit margins.
Bruno Monteyne, an analyst at Bernstein, added the Homeplus sale would allay fears that Tesco will need to launch a rights issue to secure its balance sheet and take some pressure off the sale process of Dunnhumby, its data analytics business.
Tesco had remained silent on the sale process despite months of intense speculation and concern that it could fail to fetch the mooted $6bn for Homeplus as a result of currency swings in Korea’s won and falling sales due to an outbreak of the Mers virus.
Although analysts had called South Korea the “jewel” in Tesco’s international crown the supermarket revealed that its Homeplus unit swung to a pre-tax loss of £131m in the 53 weeks to the end of February, compared to a profit of £459m the year before. The supermarket said that this was due to a £216m property charge, a £60m write-down of inventories and £46m of costs related to “other items”.
Trading at Tesco’s Homeplus stores has also been heavily impacted by South Korea’s parliament passing a law in 2012 that has forced big supermarket chains to close their stores every Sunday, the busiest day of the week, in order to protect small local businesses. Tesco said that this had meant there was a reduction in like-for-like sales over the past three years, although store openings and online trade had offset this.
Tesco originally entered South Korea in 1999 as a joint venture with Samsung. Under former chief executive Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco had ambitions of global domination.
But in 2012 Tesco pulled out of Japan after nine years, admitting it could not build enough scale there. The following year, the supermarket chain pulled the plug on its US business, Fresh & Easy, after the business failed to gain traction with US shoppers, despite pouring £1bn into the division. It then offloaded a majority stake in its Chinese chain to local operator China Resources Enterprise.
“If we didn’t know it already, the western retailers are abandoning their plans of world domination, said Mr Monteyne. “Tesco can add Korea to China, Japan and the US as territories left in the last few years. This is further evidence that retail remains a local game, with locally managed players generally being the better competitors.”
The Homeplus sale process attracted interest from buyout firms including Affinity Equity Partners, KKR and Carlyle Group. MBK had initially teamed up with Goldman Sachs’ private equity arm but the Wall Street firm dropped out of the consortium later in the process. As a result, MBK turned to Canada’s pension fund and Temasek, which will share a 50pc stake.
MBK was set up in 2005 by Michael Byungji Kim, a 51-year-old Korean-American former head of Asia for US private equity firm Carlyle. MBK has promised to maintain existing employment terms, Tesco said, following a campaign by the union representing Homeplus’ 26,000 workers.
“Homeplus is an attractive investment for CPPIB as it provides us with access to one of the largest retail markets in Asia through a well-established business with a strong cash flow profile,” said Pierre Lavallée, senior managing director and global head of investment partnerships at CPPIB.
The Homeplus deal is forecast to close in the final quarter of this year and requires approval from Tesco’s shareholders and regulatory clearance in Korea.


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Either Larry Summers is overworked, or credit card executives are real boring.
While they were convened to talk shop with the president and his cohorts, they manage to put the director of the National Economic Council to sleep.
Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic: According to a pool report, Summers nodded off at the gathering of administration and credit card company officials, “doing the head on the hand and then head falling off the hand thing,” as observed by Keith Koffler, White House reporter for Roll Call.
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Closing Fantasy’s Uniqlo assortment celebrating the franchise’s thirty fifth anniversary was launched at this time–and a whole lot of merchandise are already offered out. The gathering encompasses a limited-edition graphic tee for each recreation within the FF collection, from FFI to the unreleased FFXVI. Every shirt retails for $20.
As of penning this, FFI, FFII, FFIII, FFIV, FFXIV, and FXII are presently offered out on-line within the US. Nevertheless, it seems Uniqlo is restocking in restricted sizes periodically, so be certain to verify these shirts later should you actually need one.
Listed below are the in-stock T-shirts and what sizes they’re presently obtainable in:
- FFV — $20 (S, M)
- FFVI — $20 (XXS – M)
- FFVII — $20 (XXS – M)
- FFVIII — $20 (XXS – M, XXL, 3XL)
- FFIX — $20 (XXS – M, XXL, 3XL)
- FFX — $20 (XXS – L)
- FFXI — $20 (XXS, XS, XXL, 3XL)
- FFXIII — $20 (XXL, 3XL)
- FFXV — $20 (XS – L)
- FFXVI — $20 (XS – M)
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Kevin Watters (pictured), a former executive of JPMorgan Chase, has joined FormFree‘s board of directors.
Watters served in various senior executive positions during his 18-year tenure at the bank, including five years as president of JPMorgan’s internet group and five years as CEO of its business banking division. He also served as CEO of mortgage banking, where he played a key role in restoring profitability to the division after the financial crisis. In his final year at the company, Watters was appointed CEO of Chase card services, including Chase’s consumer, small business, and commercial lines of business.
The industry pioneer retired from JPMorgan Chase in 2017 and later took on a teaching job at Tulane University in 2019. Last year, Watters joined Lightyear Capital, a New York-based private equity firm focused on financial services, as senior advisor to Fund V, which focuses on digitalization in the financial sector and payments technologies.
“Kevin’s deep knowledge of the payments, lending and banking sectors will be a boon to FormFree as we create cutting-edge solutions that promote consumer accessibility to financial services without increasing lender risk,” said FormFree founder and CEO Brent Chandler. “We are proud to count Kevin as an advisor and welcome him to our board.”
“FormFree’s vision for putting consumers in control of their Financial DNA, evangelized by founder Brent Chandler and brought to life by a dedicated team of innovators, is compelling and timely. I am very pleased to help shape FormFree’s trajectory as a member of its board of directors,” Watters said. “My experience helping financial services businesses scale will be valuable to FormFree as it continues bringing to market innovative technologies that foster a more inclusive financial sector.”


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Tess Vigeland: Many of you non-procrastinators out there may have already started your holiday shopping. And if you’re really on top of things, you may have started shipping things off already. Hats off to you, if that’s the case. But be forewarned: You’ll face an extra security step if you’re shipping via UPS from certain outlets. You’ll need to show a photo ID that matches the name of the sender on your package.
From New York, Marketplace’s Stacey Vanek Smith has our story.
UPS clerk 1: Next ready customer, going to number 11…
Stacey Vanek Smith: It’s a busy day at a post office in midtown Manhattan. People are lined up, waiting to ship their holiday gifts. And they’ve got lots of them.
Shoppers have been busy in stores and online, says consultant Satish Jindel.
Satish Jindel: Doing very well. An increase in online sales translated to high volumes for the parcel carriers like UPS and FedEx.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Americans are expected to send more than half a billion packages. Not exactly the easiest time to beef up security, but UPS’s Susan Rosenburg says she thinks customers will understand when they’re asked to show ID.
Susan Rosenburg: It’s a busy time of year and we’re asking for one more step in the process, but we think consumers will appreciate that this is for security and safety.
In October, mail bombs from Yemen were intercepted at FedEx and UPS facilities. That’s put increased pressure on shippers to step up security, says analyst Kevin Sterling with BB&T.
Kevin Sterling: I think the industry does need to beef up security. I think the bigger question is what kind of cost will be involved.
Sterling says UPS maybe hoping efforts like this will preempt stricter regulations from Washington. Lawmakers are mulling new security standards for shipping packages that could be costly for the industry and us. He expects we’ll start seeing security surcharges along with the fuel surcharge we’re already paying.
UPS clerk 2: $11.20’s your change, miss. Thank you and have a good day.
In New York, I’m Stacey Vanek Smith for Marketplace.
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THE SA Clothing and Textile Workers Union celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Spring Queen pageant on Saturday night when thousands of factory workers converged on the Good Hope Centre in support of their contestants.
Participants from 44 factories across Cape Town modelled a number of locally manufactured garments before dressing up in evening gowns and parading in front of a panel of judges.
A party atmosphere prevailed at the Good Hope Centre as top Cape Town musicians such as Jimmy Nevis and Nur Abrahams provided first-class entertainment for the workers, who, in a crowd of thousands, screamed support for their favourite contestants.
With shouts of “smile, lovey smile” and “relax meisie, (young girl) relax”, supporters encouraged the visibly nervous contestants.
After a parade before the judges, the 44 contestants were reduced to 20. Noise levels in the centre then reached fever pitch as five finalists were chosen – the best personality, the best-dressed contestant, two princesses and a queen.
At the end of the evening it was Emerantia Jones, a worker at Meltrade, who was crowned 2014 Sactwu Spring Queen. Her princesses were Carney Smith, from TCIA, and Chenay Solomons, from Sweet Or & Lybro.
Saturday’s event also had a singing talent competition which featured two factory workers and the daughter of a factory worker. Together, the three walked off with cash prizes worth R15 000.
The aim of the pageant was mentioned several times on Saturday night, namely to support and buy locally manufactured clothing and create awareness of the connection between fashion and jobs.
The Spring Queen contest focuses on ordinary workers, their hopes and aspirations, putting faces to the garments and shoes sold in retail stores and boutiques across South Africa.


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Created: 10/18/2013 7:22 AM WHEC.com
The country's number two soft drink may be losing some of its fizz.
Coca-cola officials are worried about sales of Diet Coke because of consumer concerns over its ingredients.
Sodas have come under fire in recent years from health advocates and consumers over the amount of sugar used in them. And diet drinks, like Diet Coke, are feeling the strain.
Last year, sales of Diet Coke fell three percent. Sales of full calorie Coke rose two-percent while sales of Coke Zero, made with artificial sweeteners, jumped five-percent.


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Pizza World franchisees claim sellers understated operating costs
A Granite city husband and wife are accused of providing false information during the sale of one of their pizza stores.
John and Susan McGill and SJ McGill Inc. filed a lawsuit Nov. 9 in Madison County Circuit Court against Eric and Michelle Wortham. Pizza World USA Franchise Corporation and Woodriver Pizza Inc. are also named as defendants.
According to the complaint, the McGills agreed in April to buy the Pizza World USA franchise located in Wood River from the Worthams. The McGills say the sellers told them the restaurant had been earning a profit of $2,000 a month. The McGills paid the Worthams, owners of Pizza World Franchise Corp. and Woodriver Pizza, $97,000 for the store plus $22,000 in franchise fees, according to court records.
After taking over the business, the McGills say they found out the Worthams lied about the business' operating costs. The McGills allege the former owners understated the labor costs by more than $30,000 per year. They claim the previous owners had a history of paying employees cash to avoid paying required federal and state withholding taxes.
The McGills also claim Pizza World could not pass a health inspection because of inoperable hot water sinks. The couple says they have been running the business but have lost $25,000 since the purchase.
The McGills accuse the Worthams of fraud and of violating the Illinois Franchise Disclosure Act. They ask that the purchase agreement be rescinded and they be refunded their purchase price of $97,000. They are also seeking more than $950,000 in compensatory and punitive damages plus court costs.
Attorney David M. Duree of O'Fallon is representing the McGills. They ask for a jury trial.
Madison County Circuit Court Case No.11-L-1190.


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Respawn’s unnamed Star Wars first-person shooter, first confirmed by EA in January 2022, has reportedly been canceled as the publisher pulls back on licensed games amid a large round of layoffs.
On February 28, IGN reported that Respawn’s still-in-development Star Wars FPS had been canceled. The news was shared via a memo to staff from EA’s entertainment president Laura Miele.
“It’s always hard to walk away from a project, and this decision is not a reflection of the team’s talent, tenacity, or passion they have for the game,” wrote Miele. “Giving fans the next installments of the iconic franchises they want is the definition of blockbuster storytelling and the right place to focus.”
According to IGN, the team working on this now-cancelled Star Wars game will be moved to other projects including Apex Legends, Iron Man, Black Panther, and a third installment in the popular third-person action series, Star Wars: Jedi.
Kotaku has contacted EA for more information about the canceled game.
This news comes as EA confirmed more cuts were happening at the publisher. Earlier today, EA announced it was laying off around 670 people. Wilson’s email told employees the layoff process will be “largely completed by early next quarter.” This round of layoffs at EA is part of previously reported cuts at Codemasters and Glue Mobile.
A note to employees from CEO Andrew Wilson said this is part of a larger plan at EA to pivot away from licensed IP, which the publisher doesn’t believe will be successful in the “changing industry.” It was previously reported by GameIndustry.biz that this led to at least one game being canceled, which appears to have been Respawn’s Star Wars FPS. This may be the same Mandalorian-themed action game that was reported earlier this month.
The Cheapest NBN 1000 Plans
Looking to bump up your internet connection and save a few bucks? Here are the cheapest plans available.


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After natural disasters damaged motor vehicles in Florida and Texas households, American consumer spending reported the biggest increase in more than 8 years in September. Many households looked into savings to fund purchases last month which marked the lowest level since 2008. Consumer spending accounts for more than 2/3 of American economic activity which increase 1% last month after a 0.1% gain in August. Spending was forecasted to increase by 0.8% in September as spending growth slowed to a 2.4% annualized rate after a 3.3% pace in the second quarter. An increase in business spending on equipment, inventory investment, as well as a fall in imports has left the economy growing at a 3% rate in the third quarter.
September’s consumer spending reported purchases of motor vehicles by drivers in Florida and Texas to replace automobiles destroyed by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Last month’s auto sales surged 3.2%. Food and energy personal consumption expenditures rose 0.1% in September. The total savings fell to $441.9 billion that same month, compared to $521.4 billion in the prior month. The savings rate dropped 5/10 of a percentage point to 3.1% marking the lowest level since December 2007.
“The low savings rate is expected to be a larger constraint on consumer spending in the months ahead and could lead to higher delinquency rates for some categories of consumer credit if real income growth continues to lag,” said Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West in San Francisco.


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Despite denials that a prototype iPhone 5 was left by an Apple employee in a bar - just like the iPhone 4 before it - the Cupertino-based company is looking for a little help keeping its hardware in-house until the official launch date.
When the lost iPhone 5 was first reported, many believed the tale: Apple has form for this, after all, having managed to misplace a prototype iPhone 4 in a downtown bar, which was then picked up by a passer-by and sold to a technology blog. Apple issued a series of denials, however, initially claiming that no such device was ever lost, then changing its tune to a tale of an unspecified device having been lost and then recovered by police.
More recent reports claim that Apple investigators entered the house of 22-year old Sergio Calderón in search of the errant prototype by masquerading as San Francisco Police, but left empty-handed. The claims of impersonation of a police officer - a serious offence, if true - have been muddied by an SFPD official first denying any operation took place, then claiming that Apple employees accompanied genuine SFPD officers during the recovery mission.
Meanwhile, the device may - or may not - still be out there, waiting for the heat to die down before it gets sold to another tech blog eager for an exclusive first-look at Apple's next wonderphone. On the one hand, it's helping to drum up interest in the device, but on the other Apple always likes to keep things as secret as possible for its inevitable 'one more thing' reveals.
Accordingly, the company has advertised two new posts at its Cupertino headquarters for product security managers. As the title suggests, these staffers would be responsible for overseeing the product security team - which already exists - and hopefully finding out how these ultra-secret prototypes end up being taken to bars and abandoned with nary a care.
The managers would also be expected to travel, spending up to a third of their time visiting locations both within the US and internationally in an effort to stem the hardware leaks from which company is currently suffering.
While Apple's official stance is that there's no problem to be solved, its desire to pay a fairly hefty salary for two new managers suggests that someone is getting worried about how easily the company's hardware seems to go walkabout.


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Japanese Finance Minister Questions Bitcoin’s Reliability.
Japan’s Finance Minister, Taro Aso, said that Bitcoin has not yet proven that it is really a credible and reliable digital currency, these statements are given after the cryptocurrency in that country works as a legal method of payment. In a meeting with his cabinet the minister said:
“There’s no fixed definition on whether it’s a currency or not. This issue is a difficult one…It has not yet been proven to be credible enough to become a currency, so I need to watch bitcoin for a little while more.”
While the comments are notable, Japan is among the earliest countries in the world to recognize and acknowledge bitcoin as a legal method of payment, following legislation that kicked in earlier this year. The validation was enough for multiple trials in retail locations, including an airline, to accept bitcoin in Japan. Following bitcoin’s legal recognition, one local city government in Japan began accepting bitcoin donations to preserve a historic natural park.
Japan is a country where technology is advancing by leaps and bounds, however, it has been remaining, notably, in the adoption of digital payments to China and Korea. An expensive onboarding process for card payment terminals in a traditional cash-heavy infrastructure means Japan is at a relatively measly adoption rate of 19% of its society using digital payments, compared to China and Korea that see over 50% of their societies embracing cashless payment methods. As a result, the Japanese government has embarked on a FinTech growth strategy that aims to double the adoption rate of digital payments over the next decade.
Disclaimer: InfoCoin is not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned in this article and is not responsible for their products and / or services. This press release is for informational purposes information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest.


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Electrolux India Limited has hired the services of O&M Rural to undertake a specific experimentation exercise to create awareness for its Kelvinator brand in rural market. To begin with the company has identified three rural zones each in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Awareness for the Kelvinator brand is being created through mandis, haat bazaars and wall paintings.
This is the first systematic and detailed exercise undertaken by Electrolux India to test the awareness levels of its brands in rural market. The company is also advertising in a big way in vernacular press and regional-level publications to spread its reach to smaller towns and cities.
Electrolux India is in talks with various financing organisations to facilitate consumer financing schemes for all its brands.
Stuart Bowden talks about purchase journey, the revised version of Cannes Lions, Wavemaker Indiaâs performance and a lot more
Emery says everything that Unilever CMO Keith Weed says has a touch of genius. He also talks about his expectations from Cannes, WPP without Sir Martin Sorrell and his love for Mindshare India.
In an interaction with exchange4media, PC Musthafa, CEO & Co-Founder iD Fresh Food shares how the brand deals with competition and marketing strategies followed by them.
Varun Raina, Marketing Manager, Airbnb India speaks to exchange4media about the successful #LiveThere campaign and how Bollywood helps them connect with its young consumer
The new Ogilvy mantra is about being obsessive about and taking ownership of every aspect of the brand.
Today we have father-daughter duo, Rana Kapoor, Founder, MD & CEO, YES Bank, and Roshini Kapoor, Co- founder of the Three Sisters, talking about family trips and motivational thoughts
Prior to Applause, Cherian was the CMO at Smaaash Entertainment for four years


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I cannot agree with a dedicated board for The Legendary Starfy
either. I expect an almost absolute chance of neglection of a Starfy subforum here simply due to the obscurity and lack of recent official Starfy news and discussion.
Very little recent news about Starfy is arriving. Most of the news are just about the fandom. There only been one recent occurrence of official Starfy news (his appearance in Super Mario Maker). The only recent new discussion was a video on YouTube explaining why a 3DS Starfy game would be a good idea.
Also, another separate forum dedicated to The Legendary Starfy is already present.
If I were to have had think of this more critically, then there would be more factors to consider. If many people on these forums were fans of both Nintendo and non-Nintendo games (provided that they create threads about Nintendo and non-Nintendo games), then that could merit a justification for making a Nintendo subforum.
For example, we can take a look at the Video Game Memorabilia Museum Forums. If there are lots of new Mario and Legend of Zelda merchandise to be tracked down, then separate boards should be made.
If a new generation of KRR staff is going to run the site, these people must care much moe about Kirby.


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Reporting a worldwide userbase approaching 140 million, Nokia announced that its Ovi Store
mobile application distribution network now sees more than 200,000 new signups daily, with users contributing to 2.3 million daily app downloads.
The Ovi Store, recently expanded to encompass the closed Nokia N-Gage application storefront, offers applications in the Games, Maps, Media, Messaging and Music categories for compatible Nokia mobile devices.
Nokia notes that 70 developers and publishers -- including Digital Chocolate, Electronic Arts, and Gameloft -- have surpassed one million downloads for their Ovi Store offerings.
publisher HeroCraft has earned more than 10 million Ovi Store downloads, and touchscreen app developer Offscreen reports download numbers in excess of 45 million.
"At Nokia, we believe that connecting people with great mobile experiences is at the heart of what Ovi is all about," said Nokia Services executive vice president Tero Ojanpera.
Ojanpera continues: "Today people discover Ovi through Maps, Music, Messaging, Store and Life Tools. With a new generation of amazing devices, like the Nokia N8, developers are looking at Ovi as a good business decision and a chance to innovate and create next-generation mobile experiences for our family of new Symbian smartphones."


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SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean products are competitive in design and prices, but still lag behind advanced economies in technology and brand image, a survey showed Monday.
In Vietnam, South Korean products have better brand images than those of Chinese goods, according to a survey of 1,200 consumers in the United States, China and Vietnam, conducted by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business from Dec. 7-15 last year.
In the U.S., the brand power of South Korean goods was equal to that of Chinese products.
In terms of price competitiveness in the U.S., respondents reported 36 percent satisfaction with South Korean goods, compared with 55 percent for Chinese products.
In China, South Korean products were less competitive than Chinese goods in prices, brand images and technology.
Most Chinese consumers described South Korean electronics goods as reliable.
The most popular South Korean items in China and Vietnam were foods and cosmetics.
Culture and tradition were the images Americans had about South Korea, while Chinese and Vietnamese pinpointed entertainment as the image of South Korea.
“It is necessary for South Korea to approach consumers abroad in an emotional manner by establishing a clear national image and related brand,” said Lee Won-seop, an official of the federation.


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One of the Shard climbers, Liesbeth Deddens, has tweeted that she is not ready to give up on reaching the top after 16 hours of climbing:
#iceclimb It is getting late.been going 16hrs and im tired.but not ready to give up with top in side.bit support?
More top news
The tourists had no idea they were about to be dropped off at the star-studded ceremony to meet A-listers.
It comes just weeks after actor Michael Keaton confused the names of films Hidden Figures and Fences at the Golden Globes.
All eyes were on the stars as they arrived on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars. But who won in the fashion stakes?


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GameStop Corp. on Monday (May 23) unveiled a digital asset wallet that will let gamers and other store, send, receive and use cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on several decentralized apps without leaving their web browsers, according to a company press release.
The GameStop Wallet is a self-custodial ethereum wallet. The wallet extension, which can be downloaded from the Chrome Web Store, will also allow users to make transactions on GameStop’s NFT marketplace, which is expected to launch in the second quarter of the company’s fiscal year.
Last week, GameStop named former Belk CEO Nir Patel as its new chief operating officer, effective May 31. Patel oversaw the growth of Belk’s retail department store chain to more than 300 stores in 16 states. Patel will replace Jenna Owens, former chief operating officer, who left the company in October, seven months after her appointment.
In March, Boston Consulting Group sued in U.S. District Court in Delaware that GameStop Corp. to recover $30 million in unpaid debt related to its efforts to bring the video game retailer out of a 2019 sales slump. BCG alleged it spent tens of thousands of hours on the project and “overachieved” by creating more profit opportunities than were initially estimated.
Earlier in March, Chairman Ryan Cohen said he had purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, paying between $96.81 and $108.82 for its shares. Cohen now owns 9.1 million GameStop shares or 11.9% of the company.
Cohen, who co-founded Chewy.com, joined GameStop’s board in January 2021 and became chairman in June.
Morgan Stanley warned investors last week that NFTs could soon follow the collapse that saw so-called stablecoin TerraUSD lose $45 billion in value in the blink of an eye.
The bank found that the high prices of NFTs was attributable mainly to “speculation, with limited real user demand,” that has caused prices on top-selling collectibles including CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club to fall. The same thing has been seen in the prices of NFTs providing ownership of virtual plots of land in metaverse projects, the report said.


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Science of Fashion: Lecoanet-Hemant Create Astro-Inspired Installation
Luminocity by Lecoanet Hemant
Fashion and art go hand in hand. In the case of Didier Lecoanet and Hemant Sagar, it comes with an element of sci-fi drama.
At the opening ceremony of Bonjour India 2013, held at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, the designers unveiled a collection of sculptures they created especially for the occasion. The real light installations, titled luminocity, borrowed inspiration from astronomy and Indian mythology to create a surreal projection.
‘Inspired by the beauty of the satellites, we wanted to unite a vision of the future; of art and science fiction. Our creations use translucent fabrics to replicate the feel of unique sculptures. By way of our art, we hope to push the boundaries of creation,” the duo stated in an email interview.
To represent the orbit of satellites, the line comprises of eight main outfits followed by 12 small ones. They will be on display until the end of March.


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Ford Ranger ute baby brother named Maverick – report
The smaller sibling to the Ford Ranger ute in the US looks set to reprise an old name.
The Ford Ranger pick-up's smaller ute sibling in the US is expected to be called Maverick – the name of a Ford compact car sold in the US in the 1970s, and the badge given to the Ford version of the Nissan Patrol Y60 sold in Australia between 1988 and 1994.
YouTube channel The Fast Lane Truck claims the above image of a tailgate reveals the Maverick name, with space for Ford's famous blue oval badge.
Ford Australia has not commented on the legitimacy of the report, or if the smaller ute offering will join local showrooms.
Above: Leaked Ford Bronco Sport
The Ford Maverick ute – which had been speculated to be named Courier or Ranchero – is expected to share the same underpinnings as the Ford Focus small car and Ford Escape SUV.
The same platform, code-named "C2" reportedly also forms the basis of the recently-leaked Ford Bronco Sport.
The Ford Maverick badge was last seen in Australia on a rebadged Nissan Patrol Y60 that Ford sold between 1988 and 1994, but was also used on a Maverick compact car sold in the Americas from 1969 to 1979.


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COMING UP: This Mobile Video Game Is Inviting The Community Back Into The Sewers Beneath The BAYC
Some Bored Apes found their way back into the sewers underneath the swamp, and they need your help getting back to the Bored Ape Yacht Club in Fuego Labs' upcoming Sewer Shooters video game.
While the DooKey Dash may be over, the team over at Fuego Labs, which describes itself as a bootstrapped startup and community project, is getting ready to suck the Web3 space down the drain and into the gutter in its new Sewer Shooters game later this summer!
“The idea is that a few apes found their way back into the sewers after Dookey Dash closed, but instead of finding cars, couches, and Christmas trees, they found rats, roaches, and walking poop,” Fuego Labs told the Gazette. “While the apes are running, these creatures just keep coming at them, and the only way to survive as long as possible is by shooting and killing the enemies as they appear. Each kill is worth points as well as each second alive.”
Take a look at some of Gameplay images below:
Fuego Labs went on to tell the Gazette that the game will be available in the iOS and Android App Stores in 'about a month' and that they're going to be awarding the top three Sewer Shooter players with some boring prizes later this year.
“The grand prize is a mutant ape, second prize is a Koda, and third prize is 1000 $Ape,” the said.
The Bored Ape Gazette will continue to follow Fuego Labs and Sewer Shooters and will let you know when the game is available in the app store. Stay tuned for updates!


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Appealing dividends from these AIM stocks
Results and updates covered here include companies rewarding shareholders with some appealing dividends, but are they reliable? Find out more in our update here (Free to read)
Pebble Group: better than expected
The Pebble Group (AIM:PEBB), the leading provider of technology, services and products to the global promotional products industry, announced that its results for the year ending 31 December 2021 would exceed market expectations.
Group revenue for the year will be c.£115m (FY 20: £82.4m, FY 19: £107.2m), generating adjusted EBITDA of not less than £15m (FY 20: £9.8m, FY 19: £15.2m), broadly in line with pre-pandemic returns.…
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SJP's unexpected strategy to face celeb fragrance fallout.
August 26, 2016
• Rachel Strugatz
Wal-Mart Looks to Benefits of RFID
NEW YORK — Wal-Mart wants to upgrade its merchandise tracking systems through new technology currently being tested, called radio frequency identification, and wants its 100 top vendors to comply within a few years.


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Ready to define yet another unforgettable summer, Courteeners have announced details of a landmark headline show at Manchester’s famed Heaton Park – returning on Friday 9th June 2023 to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of their seminal debut album ‘St Jude’ in the city where it all began.
A trailblazing force in modern guitar music, Courteeners live and breathe for the grandest stages. Across six studio albums, countless momentous nights in the biggest venues in the country, era-defining shows, and storming festival headline turns – they’ve become one of the UK’s biggest bands. Lead by the incomparable tales and voice of Liam Fray, their anthems are woven into the fabric of modern life, and after headlining festivals such as Neighbourhood Weekender and Y Not Festival in 2022 and selling over 100,000 tickets last year alone, they return to Manchester in 2023 for a very special night marking where it all began.
Released in 2008, ‘St Jude’ launched Courteeners into the wider public consciousness – sitting as an iconic album that soundtracked 00s Britain in a way few others could. Produced by the legendary Stephen Street, the album spawned Top 40 anthems such as ‘Not Nineteen Forever’, ‘What Took You So Long?’ and ‘No You Didn’t, No You Don’t’ as well as beloved classics such as ‘Cavorting’, ‘Please Don’t’ and ‘Fallowfield Hillbilly’ amongst others. Storming into the Top 5 of the UK Album Charts and scooping the Guardian First Album Award, its place in the hearts of fans has stood tall nearly 15 years later.
In what will be the band’s third headline appearance at Heaton Park following sold-out nights in 2015 and 2019, Courteeners will bring a special celebration of ‘St Jude’ 15 years on – playing the album in full alongside their greatest hits from a career that continues to see them rise and rise as one of the most important guitar bands of recent times.
Speaking about the special ‘St Jude’ Heaton Park show, Liam Fray says:
“They grow up so fast. Can’t believe our darling St. Jude is 15 next year. Think it’s time for a celebration and we all know that great things come in threes….The Star Wars Trilogy, Sooty, Sweep & Soo and now, here we are, with the third instalment of ‘Courteeners at Heaton Park’.
June 2015. June 2019 and now June 2023 …
This time, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of its release we’ll be playing ST. JUDE (in full) PLUS (of course) THE HITS. I can’t think of any better way to celebrate than to make the pilgrimage to Heaton Park with like-minded souls and lose ourselves like it’s 2008. And, because we’re good like that, we’ve remastered the original album … GOD BLESS THE BAND. GOD BLESS THE FANS. OMNE TRIUM PERFECTUM.’
Full General Release Tickets for Courteeners at Heaton Park go on sale from 9 am on Friday, 2nd September. After selling out the Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground in 2021 to over 50,000 fans in just 90 minutes, high demand is expected – and fans are encouraged to snap up their tickets early to avoid disappointment.
Courteeners headline show at Heaton Park in 2023 is just one of many celebrations in store for ‘St Jude’, with news today of a special remastered edition of the album also announced. Set for release on January 13th 2023, the collection will see the seminal album remastered in full in a range of different editions – incorporating fan favourite B-Sides, Acoustic Versions and more across collectible formats. This includes:
A 2LP white vinyl (featuring B-Sides & Bonus Tracks)
A 2LP grey vinyl (featuring the original album bonus tracks + 2 extra acoustic tracks – EXCLUSIVE to Independent Record Stores)
A 1LP standard black vinyl (featuring the main 12-track album)
A 1LP black vinyl + with a bonus 7” vinyl of ‘Cavorting’ – (EXCLUSIVE to HMV)
A 2CD set (featuring all bonus tracks)
Single Cassette Edition
For further information on the special remastered editions of ‘St Jude’ and to pre-order your copy now, head to the official Courteeners website: http://www.thecourteeners.com/


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Green Hydrogen Systems Danish Electrolyzer Startup raised 35 million dollars to scale up Green Hydrogen ProductionWritten by Chris Kwacz
The European Union Climate Goals and the Green Hydrogen Megatrend is heating up competition among makers of Electrolyzers. They will try to scale up own production and capture the upcoming wave of orders from EU’s first generation of utility-scale green hydrogen production funded by government subsidies. Electrolyzers within upcoming years surely will become a world scale business and many companies will try to build own machines and develope own solutions like Green Hydrogen Systems from Dennmark is doing right now.
Danish electrolyzer startup Green Hydrogen Systems just raised 35 million dollars to scale up production of the technology that’s at the heart of the European Union’s climate goals. Investment comes from a convertible loan of 20 million euros from AP Moller Holding A/S and 7 million euros from existing shareholder Nordic Alpha Partners. Another current shareholder, Norlys Holding, also invested 1 million euros.
Sebastian Koks Andreassen, the Green Hydrogen Systems chief executive officer, said the company aims to set itself apart from the competition by developing alkaline electrolyzers designed specifically to work with the intermittent power that comes from renewable sources like solar and wind.
The brand NEW market for electrolyzers is attracting increasing amounts of investor attention. The U.K.-based ITM Power Plc raised 165 million pounds ($224 million) earlier this year. While Norway’s Nel ASA raised 1.3 billion Norwegian krone ($150 million) in June. German industrial giants Thyssenkrupp AG and Siemens Energy AG also aim to be major early competitors.
The company is currently building a new factory in southern Denmark that can produce at about 50 modular units by the end of next year with a capacity of 25 megawatts. The CEO expects to scale that up to over 150 megawatts as efficiency increases and work shifts are added. The company will look to increase capacity further sometime next year or in 2022.
New business market is emerging!


text: REUTERS Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan says that after bills on the creation of Ukraine's electric car market are adopted, a Ukrainian delegation will be sent to Tesla to negotiate the construction of its first European plant in Ukraine. Read alsoUkraine sees 69% increase in sales of electric cars in first two months "We may have our two bills Nos. 8159 and 8160 on the creation of a market for electric cars, chargers, and batteries for them, as well as mining lithium and related elements to be adopted in parliament. And the next day, we may send a delegation to Tesla to negotiate the construction of their first European plant in Ukraine," he wrote on Facebook on May 7. The minister also noted that the draft laws would provide the investor with the most advantageous conditions in the world, while the country would have a chance to create a new high-tech export-oriented sector of the economy. "As IT started five years ago and agriculture started ten years ago. So now we have a unique opportunity to manufacture electric cars in large quantities and jump from the era of diesel locomotives to that of next generation of vehicles," he added. The minister said that Tesla had expressed concern about a predicted deficit of such key components of electric batteries in the market as lithium, nickel, and copper. As UNIAN reported earlier, the Infrastructure Ministry has developed a bill that provides for measures to stimulate the development of the electric vehicle market in Ukraine. The adoption of the bill by the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, will allow a reduction in the cost of electric vehicles by 40%, in particular, by reducing the VAT and canceling excise tax on imports and sales of electric cars.


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Tesco Mobile announces a price promise today to fix customers' monthly tariffs at the same rate for the duration of their contract.
In announcing the move, Tesco accuses its competitors of raking in £217m of consumers money through sneaky price rises during their mobile phone contracts.
So you sign up to a mobile phone contract, agreeing to pay, say £30 a month for 18 months, and that's what happens, right?
Well no, that's not the case as mobile phone networks often carry our mid-contract price rises, which 70% of consumers are completely unaware off, according to research from Tesco.
Figures from price comparison site, uSwitch.com, show almost half (48%) of mobile phone customers overspend on their bills every month, averaging an extra £100 of the course of a year.
Common reasons include calls to premium rate numbers, roaming charges whilst abroad and text entries to TV voting shows - yet the networks are also to blame due to hiking prices after customers have signed on the dotted line.
"Many consumers have been left feeling misled and out of pocket after signing up to a fixed-term contract, only for the price to go up in the middle of it. Even small increases can be a big burden to cash-strapped consumers," said Adam Kirkby, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com
With prices rising by a median of 81p a month, Tesco Mobile estimates that in one year alone, UK consumers have spent around £217 million extra on their phone bills.
Now the supermarket phone network, which is powered by competitor O2, is breaking from the pack by committing to never raise its customers tariff prices mid-contract.
Simon Groves, chief marketing officer of Tesco Mobile said: "We believe it's only fair to stick to the contract that we make with our customers, and see no reason to change the core tariff price that a customer has signed up to."
Tesco's decision certainly makes it attractive to customers, who are likely to favour the security of a fixed price deal for the duration of their contract over the risk of potential price rises from other networks.
Earlier this month, EE announced an option for its customers to fix their contract price for a small premium. It also promised to clarify to consumers at the point of sale that the price of regular mobile phone bills can vary over the course of the contract.
Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com, said: "Following EE's announcement, this move from Tesco arguably goes one step further – by ensuring that customers automatically benefit from no price rises, rather than by opting in and paying a premium.
"By ensuring that all plans have a fixed price for their duration, it brings some much-needed clarity and reassurance."


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Diane Bates, assistant professor of sociology, said a new Wal-Mart could result in a loss of community when she spoke at the Ewing chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers last Wednesday discussing the social consequences of the new Wal-Mart planned for construction in Lawrence.
The talk was sponsored by LET’s Stop Wal-Mart, an organization of local residents from Ewing, Lawrence and Trenton against the construction of the building.
Bates, a Trenton resident and member of LET’s, centered her speech on the social consequences that “Big Box Retail,” or stores such as Wal-Mart, will bring. This phrase was coined due to the stores’ large, box-shaped structure and their practice of selling many products in bulk.
The main issue covered was the loss of community that accompanies the arrival of large, chain-owned businesses.
“When we think about community, it’s grouped with Norman Rockwell,” Bates said in reference to how communities identify themselves by local shops with friendly owners.
According to Bates, Wal-Mart has been extremely successful at meeting these new demands and has spread as a result. She said as people became less community centered, “Big Box Retail” stores began taking over neighborhood shops, which towns had supported heavily before.
“People are doing things, but they aren’t doing them with a sense of ‘we-ness'” Bates said.
The small crowd, just short of 20 people drawn from three different communities, proved her point.
Bates explained that the loss of community is furthered by the similarity of all chain stores. This is called “Geography of Nowhere,” a phrase coined by James Howard Kunstler, an author and writer for the Sunday New York Times, in his book of the same name.
Since most “Big Box Retail” stores have similar layouts across the country and even worldwide, their construction can cause towns to lose their feeling of uniqueness.
As Bates explained, a Wal-Mart in California will feel exactly the same as a Wal-Mart in New Jersey, whereas local businesses give their individual towns a unique flavor. “This is a divorcing of community and place,” Bates said.
According to Bates, the problem of “Geography of Nowhere” intensifies as retail stores drive the remaining local merchants out of business. Economically, small businesses cannot compete with the prices and resources of giant companies and so are forced to close down or relocate.
Bates did acknowledge that Americans might be willing to pay more in order to keep small, friendly merchants in town.
“We might sometimes do things for non-economic reasons,” she said. She went on to tell an anecdote of a conversation with a watchmaker at the Trenton Farmer’s Market.
If Bates had her watch repaired at a large chain store, she explained, it would have been unlikely to hold a friendly conversation while it was being repaired.
After the speech, the audience discussed the problems at hand. Carol Lerner, one of the coordinators of LET’s, summarized the current plans for the construction of a local Wal-Mart, what has been done so far to oppose it and what will be done in the future.
According to Lerner, Wal-Mart originally introduced its plan to construct a new outlet last summer but pulled out after they experienced problems with local zoning laws.
However, according to Lerner, Wal-Mart resubmitted an application in January after the previous problems were resolved, and the store will likely be constructed if they community does not resist. “We are going to challenge it from a community perspective and a legal perspective,” Lerner said.


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Brand new Macmillan fundraiser at primary school needs your support
- Credit: IAN BURT
'I would love to see this grow over the years.'
The words of teaching assistant Bridget Doyle, as she makes preparations for a brand new charity event at Scarning V.C. Primary School, raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.
The event, which is not being run by the school itself, will take place from 10.30am to 2pm on Saturday, October 12 - but Mrs Doyle needs the support of businesses from the area.
"I want to really give this a big push," she said. "Everybody has been affected by cancer at some stage, so it is something that speaks to us all.
"I'd like to get vendors from the Dereham area involved as we are keen to support local companies.
"If there are any businesses that would like to give it a try - whether it be children's entertainers, balloon artists or food vendors - they are welcome to get in touch."
Any vendors or stallholders interested in taking part should contact email firstname.lastname@example.org.


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The Hyundai-Kia group dominated this year’s J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Study, after leading the auto industry in the United States in five segments. The leader last year, General Motors, led in six segments but fell to third place overall. Its wins include the Buick Encore, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Silverado HD, Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Terrain and GMC Yukon.
While the Hyundai and Kia marques ranked fourth and sixth among brands, respectively, the group as a whole was able to surpass Toyota Motor Corp., which score was affected by its Scion brand. The Hyundai brand hiked its score by 12 points, while Kia was still 106.
Grabbing the wins for the Hyundai group were the Hyundai Accent, Elantra and Genesis as well as the Kia Cadenza and Sportage. The Ford brand was able to recover promptly to match the industry average.
New-vehicle launches typically drag scores as consumers get used to new technologies, but Kia managed to avert that with the Cadenza. On the other hand, GMC was hit by that with its redesigned Sierra, which failed to barge into the J.D. Power’s top three pickups this year.
David Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power, told Automotive News in an interview, that the Cadenza had been in Korea for several years, which means its launch in the US was not a launch of “a brand-new, never-been-seen-before vehicle.”
He noted that some imported cars can have a head start if they are launched first in their local market. The survey provides scores according to the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles -- lower scores means higher quality.
The 2014 Initial Quality Study covered feedback from over 86,000 buyers and lessees of new MY2014 vehicles after 90 days of ownership -- conducted from February to May 2014. Leading all the brands is Porsche, posting 74 problems per 100 vehicles, followed by Jaguar (with 87 problems). Completing the top five were Lexus (92), Hyundai (94) and Toyota (105).


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Google Can Side-Step Trump by Taking a Cue From Amazon’s Playbook
(Bloomberg) -- Alphabet Inc.’s Google could probably use some advice from Jeff Bezos right now.
Donald Trump’s Tuesday morning tweets -- accusing Google of rigging results about him -- seem to place the search engine at the top of the president’s most wanted list, a position familiar to Amazon.com Inc. and its chief executive officer. Google responded that its search feature “is not used to set a political agenda” and doesn’t bias results toward any political ideology. The company’s shares closed down 0.8 percent.
The tech giant could consider taking a page from Bezos’s book, or more likely his Kindle, and let the matter drop. In late March, Amazon saw as much as $53 billion erased from its market value in one day after Trump was said to be “obsessed” with regulating the e-commerce company. Amazon kept quiet, recovered its losses within a month and has traded higher ever since.
To be sure, Google may not be as popular with consumers as Amazon, and any scrutiny from the president could weigh on its sentiment on Wall Street. Trump on Tuesday warned that Google -- along with Facebook.com Inc. and Twitter Inc. -- “better be careful” as the companies “are treading on very, very troubled territory.” Google is due to face lawmakers at a hearing on Russian election meddling on Sept. 5.
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.


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Cadbury Dairy Milk has launched the second part of its #HeartTheHate Campaign. Initiated in 2019, the campaign addresses the issue of cyberbullying and urges viewers to exhibit generosity, a behaviour that is essential to the brand’s narrative.
Anil Viswanathan, Senior Manager Marketing, Mondelez Inde, commented on the launch of the second edition of the digital campaign: “Cadbury Dairy Milk as a brand thinks that a little kindness may go a long way. Cyberbullying affects everyone, especially today’s youth. Apart from the direct impact of bullying, the apathy of the silent observer has a significant influence on the victims. While we were happy to witness the impact created by #HeartTheHate, in 2019, we realised that so many tasks remained to be done. We want to confirm ‘Purple Heart’ as an emoticon through the next part of the campaign that helps to show sympathy with the bullied persons. This ad uses clever technologies to make it clear to customers how their silence and speak up for the victims may make an enormous contribution to their lives.”
The campaign’s second version is based on findings from a recent poll done by Cadbury Dairy Milk in collaboration with ‘Inshorts’. Out of the total 1.7L participants, 42 percent reported being cyberbullied, and 55 percent reported not receiving assistance from friends when cyberbullied.
The campaign’s digital videos make a convincing argument for the need of speaking out when witnessing cyberbullying. The victims are shown in vulnerable states after being bullied in the videos, and the audience is encouraged to take a stance and assist the victim by clicking on a link in the video. Multiple sequences of incidents from the victims’ lives are produced based on the viewer’s action or inaction.
When the viewer hits the link to submit a Purple Heart for the victim, they are shown in real time how relieved the sufferer feels. If the viewer disregards the message or skips the pre-roll commercial, they are targeted by another ad that depicts the victim getting even more harmed by the bullying. This technique has been extended to other social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and audio platforms such as Saavn and Spotify, allowing viewers to engage with them by acting as real-time bystanders to abuse.
The campaign is backed up by a variety of integrated marketing tactics, including influencer outreach. Cadbury Dairy Milk has also collaborated with a prominent cyberpsychologist to conduct training at 20 universities around the country. The main aim of the campus commitments would be to raise awareness and to showcase the several ways young people may handle online bullying.


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Latest Cree Stories
I always had the utmost respect for the territory; it has provided for so many people. The river provided a good life for the people. Game converged here.
Internet lighting retailer 1000Bulbs.com is proud to be named the first authorized online-only store to carry Standard A-Type and Reflector LED light bulbs from Cree, Inc. Garland,
NEMASKA, QC, Nov. 7, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - The Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee), the Cree Nation Government, the Cree Nation of Nemaska and Nemaska Lithium Inc.
Cree proposed US$83 million investment to Lextar, becoming Lextar's strategic customer in lighting market HSINCHU, Aug. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Lextar Electronics Corp.
NEMASKA, QC, July 3, 2014 /CNW/ - Earlier today representatives of the Cree Nation Government/Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) announced their support and sponsorship of a youth canoe
Independence LED tubes are also potentially safer than competitor products WAYNE, Pa., May 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Independence
OUJÉ-BOUGOUMOU, QC, Feb.
- The governor of a province or people.


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Situated in a new home in Halls 6 & 17-20, Automechanika Birmingham 2017 will be significantly bigger than the 2016 event. A newly improved layout will feature 3 dedicated zones; Aftermarket Zone, Supply Chain Zone and REIFEN, the world’s leading tyre exhibition. With space running out, contact us to secure the best location.
Welcome to Automechanika Birmingham!
About Automechanika Birmingham
Establishing itself as the annual trade event uniting the UK automotive aftermarket and supply chain, Automechanika Birmingham 2016 launched into overwhelming approval from the market, which hosted 600 exhibitors and attracted over 12,000 visitors. Click here to read more.
Over 550 companies have booked including major brands. To see the latest list of exhibitors for Automechanika Birmingham 2017 click here.


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Throughout our time in modern history, there have been numerous technological advancements that have taken the world by a storm, such as the first rocket being launched, the world wide web, or the iPhone. These advancements are a result of the research and data collection that has helped us become more efficient as a society. Electric cars have slowly begun to gain more momentum and popularity as the world evolves towards becoming more environmentally friendly and looking for alternative fuel resources. Although problems of pricing, adaptability, and charging exist for electric car owners, the world has recognized the need to move away from coal as our primary source of fuel and look at the disadvantages and advantages that electric cars will bring in the future.
Air pollution has been a rising issue around the world and electric vehicles can provide huge environmental benefits to the world. The declining air pollution effects all living things in the world. Gasoline powered cars produced 14% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions in the world (Bennett). Emission produced form electric cars are generally dependent on how the electricity is produced. Electric cars rely on electricity to run on and how the user gets their electricity can cause problems because, according to BBC News, 40% of the electricity generated in the UK relies on coal (Bomford). Electric cars are not zero-emission cars however, they help towards a larger problem we are facing today. UCS, Union of Concerned Scientist did a research which stated that EV's would result in lower gas emission that even a 50mpg gasoline-powered vehicle (Reichmuth). China and India gain to benefit the most from electric vehicles as their countries suffer from rapidly declining air quality. Electric vehicles are not the entire solution to the global warming issue but it is a step towards a better future for the world.
There has been a growing awareness that oil is not sustainable for Americans and is a diminishing resource. Electric vehicles could reduce oil demand by 3.5 million barrels a day by 2025 according to Barclays commodities analyst (DiChristpher). That number is almost equal to the entire output of the OPEC's third largest producer, Iran, which produces 3.8 million barrels a day(DiChristopher). The world is choosing to move away from oil as our main source of fuel; its unreliability and environment effects have become an increasingly growing concern. The United States owns oil reserves but gets most of its oil from abroad. This compromises the nation's ability to depend on itself and make decisions based on principle rather than economic needs. There would be less of a need for the United States to interfere in unrelated foreign affairs. EV producers face a battle against oil companies that have an incentive to prevent the rise of electric cars.
The American economy driven by capitalism has a tendency to slow down innovation and technology as powerful companies who feel threated completely shut down the competition. The big oil companies have “monopolized the entire energy industry by shredding competitors' attempts to offer alternatives” (Diamond). This forces consumers to choose gasoline-powered cars over alternative clean energy. The emergence of electric cars would kill the economy of the middle east which is largely dependent on the OPEC. The oil industry has taken efforts such as lobbying our politicians and making moves to repeal tax credits on battery powered cars. There are states that are planning to repeal income tax credits for owners of EV's such as Colorado, while other states plan to let them expire (Tabuchi). Electric vehicles only make up 1% of the entire total sales in the United States, and to a make large enough dent will need to continue to be subsidized. While the United States lacks behind in the race to change for alternative energy resources, other countries have taken a bigger step forward. Government incentives have turned China into the largest market for electric cars. Sales of electric vehicles have jumped more than 70 percent in countries like China, France, and Sweden (Tabuchi). The Indian government minister has also claimed to want his country to have all cars sold by 2030 to be electric. Government support will be crucial if the electric car industry hopes to stay alive. If countries and their respective governments continue to provide funding for research, public charging stations and tax breaks for electric vehicles, the world could be seeing a real change.
The problems for electric cars with consumers mainly has been the increase in pricing and adaptability. Electric cars haven't really made the mainstream because the average consumer is not able to afford an electric car. Electric cars are generally viewed as luxurious cars to the average consumer. However, in the recent years, that's been starting to change as Tesla introduced the new car the Model 3 which retail for the base price of $35,000. The car has an average range of 220 on a full charge (Gertner). Although that price is still not affordable to the lower-class citizens, it is a step forward for an electric car driven world. The price on the Model 3 is a huge step down from the company's other basic model starting at $70,000. Other manufacturers such as Chevy, Hyundai, Nissan are also starting to adapt to the change. The Chevy Volt starts at $37,000, the Nissan Leaf at $31,000, and the Hyundai Electric at $30,000. The auto industry is starting to focus on producing more electric cars as it realizes the shift in consumer purchases. The declining prices of electric cars are to be expected as more cars go into mass production. Tesla was able to cut back on the price of its car by building its' Giga-factory in Nevada. The main component of electric cars is the battery, also making it the most expensive part of the car (Gertner). The Giga-factory by Tesla is mainly a battery building factory to supply all of Tesla's cars. According to the Department of Energy, the cost of batteries fell by more than half between 2012 and 2016. Cheaper batteries mean cheaper cars, but it also means that Tesla can put larger batteries for the same cost allowing the car to travel more miles. Tesla aims to build more Giga-factories around the United States to supply the increasing need for batteries.
Tesla has recently been the most popular and mainstream electric car manufacturer in the world. Tesla is usually only viewed as a car manufacturer when it is a lot more. Unlike other car manufacturers, who sell their cars to dealers who in turn make a profit from selling the car, Tesla directly sells their cars to the consumer. Tesla is giving the purchasing power back to the consumer as they are able to buy their cars however they want. Tesla has been marketing the electric car really well and creating an aesthetically pleasing car with innovative features. The self-driving mode, although not created by Tesla, has been popularized by the company and is a huge feature of the car. Tesla is also, “actively courting gas stations, hotels and restaurants in its bid to install high-speed electric chargers across the country” (Fung). There are also currently 3,500 superchargers around the nation and they were free of charge for Tesla user until the beginning of this year. Tesla's could be widespread enough that fully charging one might cost as little as $16 (Fung). Tesla has put itself in a good position to expand their operation and reach out to the broader public with their technology.
There is still a long way to go to improve electric vehicles but significant advancements have been made in the electric vehicle industry. The electric vehicles today do not match their gasoline-powered counterparts but they are far greater machines than they were a couple years ago. The electric vehicle industry will continue to grow as people switch from buying gasoline-powered cars to electric powered cars and as gasoline-powered cars break down. Many automakers have taken notice and have already even begun to produce electric cars. They need to focus on reducing the cost of production so that the average consumer is able to afford the vehicle. The industry is receiving help the governments around the world as countries with high environmental concerns begin to push and market electric vehicles. Electricity is the leading alternative source of energy and these vehicles are about being the leader in this new technology that everyone agrees is coming. The United States is not aggressively pushing for a change and are going to be purchasing products from a foreign country if we do not become the leaders first. The possible benefits of electric vehicles outweigh the negatives as the reality that the oil-powered auto-industry is not sustainable and is going to be replaced sooner than later by an alternative source of energy, electricity.
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Activists in Europe continue to protest by sticking their palms to luxury cars or...
The U.S., by bungling its pandemic response, will be a snowglobe of Covid-19 this Summer
Another Covid Christmas. Check out our collection for more Christmas cartoons.
Refugee children in Europe run the risk of freezing to death.