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Ethiopia is flexing its ambitions to become Africa’s next startup hub.
The country of 105 million with the continent’s seventh largest economy is revamping government policies, firing up angel networks, and rallying digital entrepreneurs.
Ethiopia currently lags the continent’s tech standouts—like Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa—that have become focal points for startup formation, VC, and exits.
To join those ranks, the East African nation will need to improve its internet environment, largely controlled by one government owned telecom. Last week Ethiopia’s government shut down the internet for the entire nation.
Startups, hubs, accelerators
Ethiopia has the workings of a budding tech scene. Much of it was on display recently at the county’s first Startup Ethiopia event held in Addis Ababa.
On the startup front, ride-hail ventures Ride and ZayRide have begun to gain traction (Uber has not yet entered Ethiopia). Their cars are visible buzzing throughout the capital and ZayRide will expand in Liberia in August, CEO Habtamu Tadesse confirmed to TechCrunch.
While in Addis, I downloaded and used Ride—founded by female entrepreneur Samrawit Fikru—which quickly flashed connections to nearby drivers on my phone and allowed for cash payment.
This month’s Startup Ethiopia also showcased high-potential early-stage ventures, such as payment company YenaPay and online food startup Deamat. YenaPay has worked to build a digital payments imprint in Ethiopia’s largely cash based economy. The startup has onboarded over 500 merchants, including ZayRide, according to co-founder Nur Mensur.
Deamat blends e-commerce and agtech. “We connect small-holder farmers with consumers. People can use their phone, pay with their phone, get any kind of agricultural products they want and we deliver,” co-founder Kisanet Haile told me after pitching to judges that included Nigerian angel investor Tomi Davies and Cellulant CEO Ken Njoroge.
Ethiopia has several organizing points for startup, VC, and developer activity. Tech talent and startup marketplace Gebeya is located in Addis Ababa (with offices globally) and offers programs and services for ventures and tech professionals to gain developer skills and scale their digital businesses.
BlueMoon is an Ethiopian agtech incubator and seed fund. Its founder Eleni Gabre-Madhin has extensive experience working abroad and played a central convening role in the debut Startup Ethiopia event.
In terms of developer and co-working type spaces, Ethiopia has iCog Labs—an AI and robotics research company—and IceAddis, one of the country’s first tech hubs. Founded in 2011, IceAddis’s mission is to develop Ethiopia’s IT ecosystem, co-founder and CEO Markos Lemma told me during a tour. The hub runs programs such as Ice180, a six-month startup accelerator bootcamp that has graduated 40 ventures. IceAddis also offers a 24 hour co-working space for techies and startups who want to burn the midnight oil with internet access.
Angels and mentors
Startup Ethiopia featured two angel and support networks for Ethiopia’s startups. Tomi Davies and Ethiopian diaspora returnee Shem Asefaw announced the first Addis Ababa Angel Network, supported by African Business Angels Network, which is expected to accept startups this year.
Startup Ethiopia also showcased Ethiopians in Tech, an entrepreneur support group with Silicon Valley roots. SV based Bernard Laurendeau, a director at data analytics firm Zenysis and EiT founding member, made the trek from San Francisco to meet with local startups. So did Stackshare founder Yonas Beshawred.
Talk of leveraging Ethiopia’s diaspora, which is particularly strong and successful in the United States, for tech was mentioned several times at Startup Ethiopia, including on my panel.
The biggest hurdle for Ethiopia’s startup community (that I could identify) is the situation with local internet.
Mobile and IP connectivity in the country is managed by state-owned Ethio Telecom, though the government — led by newly elected Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Sahle-Work Zewde — has committed to privatize it.
At Startup Ethiopia, I moderated and sat on panels with Ethiopian government representatives to discuss the country’s net situation. This was to the backdrop of the tech event’s WiFi not functioning properly over two days—something that was readily pointed out during Q&A by Ethiopian techies and Liquid Telecom CTO Ben Roberts, who flew in from Nairobi.
Several officials, such as State Minister of Innovation and Technology Jemal Beker, named specific commitments to improve the country’s internet quality, access and choice within the next year, with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Innovation and Technology — Getahun Mekuria — seated in the front row.
Shortly after officials made these public pledges, the government shut down the country’s internet to coincide with national exams.
The government didn’t issue an official reason for the shutdown — and an official in charge of ICT policy did not respond to a TechCrunch inquiry — but press reports and a source speaking on background said the stoppage was done to prevent students from cheating.
Valid reason or not, I received several messages from local techies and startup heads (when the internet was intermittently switched back on) complaining about how the shutdown had totally crippled their businesses.
It appears the situation with internet in Ethiopia may be a bit of steps back before steps forward. After shutting things down, the government announced policy steps last week to break up the national telecom and IP monopoly and issue individual telco licences by the end of 2019.
On the upside of Ethiopia’s bid to become a tech and startup hub, the country has a strong demographic and economic thesis—in its large population and economy—to support the scale up of problem-solving, digital businesses. Ethiopia’s large and entrepreneurial diaspora populations, with strong ties to Silicon Valley, could also become a bridge to capital and capacity for its early-stage ventures.
And another edge Ethiopia could have over other African tech hubs is its advances in developing a manufacturing industry (and higher-paid workforce) that’s now pulling some assembly from China. That includes a mobile assembly plant in Addis Ababa for Tenssion’s Tecno, Africa’s leading mobile phone brand.
Ethiopia’s startup scene will be stuck in the mud, however, without changes to the internet landscape. As we discussed on the Startup Ethiopia stage, the tech and startups of tomorrow—in Africa and globally—won’t just be driven by IoT, or the Internet of Things.
Tech ventures and their end-users are shifting toward an IoEA future: the internet-of-everything-all-the-time. And it’s impossible for Ethiopia’s startups to move in that direction in a market with one state controlled mobile provider and IP that has the power to arbitrarily nix connectivity.
So on the policy side, the single most effective thing the government of Ethiopia can do to provide an enabling environment for startups is open up its internet market to improve penetration, choice, cost, and reliability.
Do that and it’s likely the other tech pieces assembling in and around the country—ventures, angels, hubs, and entrepreneurs—will sort the rest out.
Libra cryptocurrency renamed Diem to add distance from Facebook
The Facebook-backed Libra cryptocurrency hasn’t even launched yet, but it’s already rebranding, with its stablecoin product now set to debut as Diem. The move – which comes as the organization hires a number of high-profile execs – is being seen as an attempt to draw further distinction between the crypto project and the ever-controversial Facebook.
Indeed, the new Diem Association will make its independence a key pillar. The new name “signals the project’s growing maturity and independence,” Stuart Levey, CEO, said today.
It’s not been an easy path to launch for Libra, now Diem. Announced in mid-2019, it was pitched as another bitcoin alternative that would be “a global, digitally native, reserve-backed cryptocurrency built on the foundation of blockchain technology.” Although the currency itself would be independent, it could be stored in a Facebook-subsidiary digital wallet, called Calibra.
Since then, though, things haven’t been smooth sailing. Libra faced early criticism for its plan to base value on the US dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen, Singapore dollar, and British pound. Original partners like Visa and Stripe have exited the project.
Facebook’s wallet, meanwhile, will no longer launch as Calibra, and has been rebranded to Novi. Arguably most important, the cryptocurrency’s value won’t be for one, single global stablecoin any more. Instead, there will be multiple versions, with each based on an individual currency such as the US dollar.
The goal now, it appears, is making financial transactions more straightforward and traceable. “The Diem project will provide a simple platform for fintech innovation to thrive and enable consumers and businesses to conduct instantaneous, low-cost, highly secure transactions,” Levey said. “We are committed to doing so in a way that promotes financial inclusion – expanding access to those who need it most, and simultaneously protecting the integrity of the financial system by deterring and detecting illicit conduct.”
Dahlia Malkhi is joining as the Diem Association’s Chief Technology Officer, Christy Clark as Chief of Staff, Steve Bunnell as Chief Legal Officer, and Kiran Raj as Executive Vice President for Growth and Innovation and Deputy General Counsel. Diem Networks – which will be the regulated payment system operator for Diem – has also named its key exec team.
Still to come, however, is any sort of confirmation on timing for the actual launch of Diem. That’s conspicuous by its absence, though earlier rumors suggested that it could be scheduled for early in the new year, and potentially as soon as January.
Snapdragon 888 revealed – Qualcomm’s 5G flagship for Android in 2021
Qualcomm has announced its latest flagship chipset, with the Snapdragon 888 set to power the next generation of high-end Android devices in 2021. As you’d expect, there’s a big focus on 5G, with the Snapdragon 888 featuring the company’s latest 3rd generation Snapdragon X60 modem.
Full details of the chipset won’t be revealed until tomorrow, Qualcomm says, with only the headline features of the new SoC being shared at the moment. Still, there’s enough to get us more than a little curious.
The Snapdragon X60 5G Modem-RF System, for example, will combine mmWave and Sub-6 connectivity “across all major bands worldwide,” Qualcomm promises. There’ll be support for 5G carrier aggregation along with global multi-SIM, as we’ve seen on previous 5G modems, together with standalone, non-standalone, and Dynamic Spectrum Sharing.
Another big area of fascination for Qualcomm recently has been Artificial Intelligence. The 6th generation Qualcomm AI Engine will feature on the Snapdragon 888, with a “completely re-engineered” Hexagon processor. That should be capable of up to 26 TOPS (tera operations per second), and will be linked with the 2nd generation Qualcomm Sensing Hub. That controls always-on sensors in a low-power mode.
Snapdragon Elite Gaming, meanwhile, will continue to offer things like updatable GPU drivers – separate from OS updates, allowing for more frequent incremental improvements in graphics performance, in some cases on a per-game basis – and Desktop Forward Rendering. Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 888 should be able to handle up to 144 fps games with its new Adreno GPUs.
On the flip side of the phone, cameras are another big selling point for the new chipset. There, the updated Qualcomm Spectra ISP will handle photos and videos at up to 2.7 gigapixels per second, or roughly 120 photos at 12-megapixels. That’s up to a 35-percent speed improvement compared to the last Snapdragon flagship, Qualcomm suggests.
Of course, Qualcomm has some rising ARM competition at the moment. All eyes are on Apple, which has spread its own, homegrown chipsets from iPhone and iPad to the desktop, with Apple Silicon launching in the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 13, and Mac mini. They use the M1 SoC, borrowing heavily from the A-series chipsets in recent iOS and iPadOS devices, but we’re expecting to see more potent Apple chips in 2021.
That’s when we can also likely expect to see Android phones based on the Snapdragon 888, though as always it will be down to smartphone-makers to actually decide when their devices launch. Qualcomm says that ASUS, Black Shark, Lenovo, LG, Meizu, Motorola, Nubia, realm, OnePlus, OPPO, Sharp, vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE are all planning to launch Snapdragon 888-based devices, though we’d expect to see Samsung and others join that list in the new year.
Apple MagSafe Duo Charger tipped to launch this month
In October, Apple unveiled its new iPhone 12 line and announced new MagSafe and MagSafe Duo chargers. The standard MagSafe charger is currently available for purchase, but the MagSafe Duo availability is a mystery. A reseller from Switzerland called Digitec Galaxus, apparently a known and popular reseller, has published a listing for the MagSafe Duo charger suggesting that the charger will start shipping this month.
The reseller’s web store claims that MagSafe Duo chargers will ship between December 21 and December 29. It’s worth noting that Apple has yet to offer an official launch date for the charger. It’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility that a major reseller would have inside information about a potential launch date.
Apple certainly won’t be happy that the company is tipping launch dates if there’s any truth to the listing. Another factoid lending weight to the December 21 launch date is that Apple has sent some MagSafe Duo review units out already. It’s unlikely that Apple would’ve sent review units to members in the media if the device wasn’t ready to launch soon.
For those unfamiliar with the MagSafe Duo charger, it’s designed to charge an iPhone 12 series smartphone and an Apple Watch simultaneously. MagSafe chargers are of the sort that the Apple Watch uses and was a new feature to the iPhone 12 series launched in October.
Apple previously said that the MagSafe Duo charger would sell for $129. As is done with recent iterations of its phones and Watch, no USB-C power adapter is included. Apple will gladly sell you one for an additional charge. Most smartphone users likely have USB-C chargers lying around, but you need one with enough power output to get the ideal charge speed.
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Black and Mobile’s $1M equity crowdfunding campaign is now live
The startup is operating in five cities, and looking to upgrade to custom technology after a seed round next year. Here's how anyone can get in on investing now.

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LSE to launch intra-day auction in 2015
The London Stock Exchanges plans to introduce an intra-day auction process for UK equities from the middle of 2015, as part of group-wide efforts to boost trading in large institutional orders.
Further details on the auction, which mirrors a similar initiative by Norway's Oslo Bors earlier this year, are expected to be announced in the coming weeks, a person familiar with the situation said.
The LSE held a four-week consultation with its members in March and April this year on the potential launch of a new three-minute auction each day at 14.00. The LSE has always run opening and closing auctions but has never offered the service in the middle of the trading day.
In the consultation document, the LSE said the average trade size during its current auction periods was £30,000, compared around £6,000 during continuous trading.
It is the latest move by the UK exchange to attract larger institutional orders amid falling average trade sizes and a loss of business to so-called dark pools operated by brokers and other exchange operators. On Monday, the LSE's own Turquoise trading platform, which offers anonymous trading, launched a new block discovery service with the support of seven brokers, designed to encourage institutional orders to its platform.
Auctions provide an orderly form of trading, and allow participants to place orders at certain buying or selling prices, with matching bids and offers paired together. They are favoured for large orders typically placed by institutional investors.
At the start of the consultation earlier this year, Brian Schwieger, the LSE's head of equities, said the auction was primarily targeted at buyside firms, as it gave them an an "opportunity to trade larger-sized orders in a price-forming environment".
In the consultation, the exchange proposed the new auction for all stocks on its main SETS equity platform, in addition to some emerging market securities on its international order book. If introduced, the LSE said it would review the new auction after three months.
There has been some opposition to the idea of another auction, particularly on its potential impact on volatility during continuous trading.
Speaking to Financial News earlier this year, Paul Squires, head of trading at Axa Investment Managers, said: "My only concern is that it might take away regular activity during the morning session, as people wait for the auction period. This could result in much more extreme price movements during this period, making it difficult to trade."
In a response to the LSE consultation earlier this year, Tim Ward, chief executive of the Quoted Companies Alliance, which represents small and mid-sized listed companies, said there could be "a significant impact on our small and mid-size quoted company members, whose shares are usually order book traded and less liquid securities".
In June, Oslo Bors began a daily auction between 13.30 and 13.35 for less-liquid shares and equity certificates listed on the Norwegian bourse. During the auction, buy and sell orders in the stocks are collected and then matched at a set price. The collation of orders in this way is designed to encourage traders to enter orders in less liquid stocks because there is a higher likelihood of finding a match during the auction period.


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A Canada Style FTA post Brexit – what are the positive and negatives from this arrangement?
By David Hooper, August 08, 2019, Category: General News
In 2016 Boris Johnson, now the UK Prime Minister stated that:
“I think we can strike a deal [with the EU] as the Canadians have done based on trade and getting rid of tariffs. It’s a very, very bright future I see.”
He was at the time referring to the fact that the UK could agree a deal with the EU based on the Free Trade Agreement the EU had agreed with the UK.
Some argue a deal like this could still be reached with the EU either before we leave on the 31st October or afterwards. However, even if a deal like this is agreed which most would agree is better than ‘No Deal’ this is still not the frictionless trade which many Politicians carelessly suggest.
The practicalities and complexities may actually be the same as no deal for other trying to prove that goods qualify under preferential rules of origin it could be even more bureaucratic.
Unlike ‘No Deal’ Tariffs would be eliminated on most products wholly produced or manufactured in the UK and EU – however, see rules of origin under negatives.
Public Procurement – businesses in the both UK and EU may still be able to bid for public contracts
Businesses would need to do a Customs Declaration at import/ export – Incotmers would become even more important in understanding where risk and responsibility starts and finishes.
Businesses would need to meet complex rules of origin to ensure their goods
Duty would still be payable on goods consigned from third countries imported into the UK or EU and then exported out to the UK and EU – due to the UK leaving the Customs Union. E.g. -A shipment is imported from China to the UK goods are repackaged and distributed to EU customers under this scenario duty would have to be paid twice once at import into the UK and again in the EU.
UK businesses will need to pay Import VAT albeit the Government originally stated under a ‘No Deal’ this could be deferred until the VAT return is made – however, for EU customers they may have to pay VAT before they can receive their goods. If they don’t have a deferment account this may lead to cash flow issues.
Any deal may only grant limited access to service contracts by no means comparable to access under the Single Market.
Therefore our advice all along is prepare for ‘No Deal’ now. Independent Freight Solutions Ltd is ready to support all of our valued existing and new customers in ensuring shipments will managed as smoothly as possible in the event of a ‘No Deal’ but preparing now is important to ensure you’re your business is ready. Independent Freight is a HMRC approved Authorised Economic Operator for AEO (C) Customs and (S) Security. Out sister Company Hooper and Co can provide additional support by way of training/audits and consultancy on a whole range of international trade and customs related issues. If you would like to find out more about our Freight, Customs or Training Services – contact us
Please call us on
For more information on Imports and Exports after Brexit, one of our freight experts will be happy to help.
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Petco Black Friday and Holiday Deals That You Shouldn’t Miss – Yahoo Finance
Towering inflation and consumer prices have taken their toll on American pet owners, who have had to deal with the extra burden of providing for their animal companions in addition to themselves and their families.
Pet food, supplies and medical bills have all increased sharply in price over the past 18 months. The pet food index rate has exceeded the overall U. S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the human “Food at Home” index for months. Per the latest CPI numbers, the pet and pet products index has risen 11. 1% year-over-year — plus pet food more specifically has increased in price by 14% since Sep. 2021.
According to a Veterinarians. org survey conducted this past summer, 24% of respondents considered rehoming their pet (or surrendering their pet to a shelter or rescue) as a result of inflation over the past year. With no clear end to the economic turmoil in sight, pet owners owe it to their furry friends to save where they can.
Petco Black Friday and Holiday Deals 2022
Petco’s trying to offer some great sales towards the millions of pet parents throughout the U. S. The pet health and wellness retail giant is ramping up the savings until the end of 2022.
Petco has started its holiday savings early this year. From now until Nov. 19, shoppers can take advantage of Petco early holiday shopping deals like its buy one, get one 50% off discount on all dog and cat treats and toys from Petco’s More and Merrier holiday collection — and 20% off dog training when you use the code HOLIDAY20 (available through Dec. 24).
Between Nov. 20 through December. 3, Petco will be running its annual Black Fri and Cyber Monday sales, which feature 50% off More and Merrier holiday apparel and accessories. From November. 23 through 27, you can grab a $30 savings on dog and cat food and litter when you spend $100.
Petco’s More and Merrier holiday collection will also be discounted during the store’s December Deals event. From Dec. 4 through Dec. 25, shoppers can get 30% off the this popular collection as they browse Petco’s affordable array of pet supplies and services. A $26 holiday grooming package is also available through Dec. 25.
Pet owners might consider becoming a Petco Pals Rewards member. Membership includes cashing in on every tenth bag of dog food for free when buying supplies throughout the year but , exclusive to members through Dec. 24, Petco is offering a buy four, get one free perk when loyalty members use the Petco app. Pals Rewards members can save on dog and cat supplies from favorite brands such as EveryYay, Leaps & Bounds, Reddy, So Phresh, Well & Good and Youly.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates. com : Petco Black Friday and Holiday Offers That You Shouldn’t Miss


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Global jewellery brand Swarovski has revealed a host of new brand ambassadors for its 2019 #FollowTheLight influencer campaign. The new campaign is a celebration of inspirational women empowering one another to shine bright together and
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The core driver to success at Amazon Web Service (AWS) is its ability to drive new technology, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR) solutions for its clients.
“AWS is working very hard in improving our AI solutions for our customers,” says AWS Managing Solutions Architecture Santanu Dutt.
“We use everyday solutions to solve what our customers need. For example, we have a customer who is a company selling clothing. This company uses Amazon recognition to build a profile for its customers. It targets specific fashion brands, special features, and other intelligent ways to help recognise their customers to build a targeted marketing campaign,” Santanu explains.
IDC Asean estimates that 28-30 percent of companies today would have a digital strategy in the next few years. Of this, 30 percent would use AI as part of their solution
Santanu talks about catering different solutions to established organisations and start-ups.
“Yes, we do acknowledge that startups have the nimbleness to execute a fresh web-based solutions for themselves. Compared against larger enterprises, who have legacy issues, startups are faster in their execution this way,” he says.
“But big corporates do have bigger audience and deeper capital. So while large enterprises are not as nimble as startups, their might and will to adopt new technology is of course greater,” Santanu adds.
“We know that early adopters have done well,” Santanu says. “Some companies do not want to spend time thinking about servers and all that stuff, but instead want to focus on their business and make more sales. So, they transfer all their requirements to web service companies like AWS and this allows them to focus solely on their business.
With all this in play, Santanu foresees exciting growth for AWS and other web services companies, particularly if these solutions involve AI as part of their architecture.
“IDC Asean estimates that 28-30 percent of companies today would have a digital strategy in the next few years. Of this, 30 percent would use AI as part of their solution. By 2021, IDC predicts that all this would add up to 39 billion ringgit to the Malaysian GDP. So the case to invest in this sector is truly great,” he adds.


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Confronted by the global recession, many European managers say this is an unprecedented set of circumstances, and they are being cautious, while American respondents are more confident in their ability to adapt to difficult circumstances.
On the other hand, many companies in the Asia-Pacific region see the current state of the economy as an opportunity for a wholesale review of their long term business models.
50% of managers plan to change their strategy in the next few months, out of which more than half pointed to changing consumer habits as a major factor behind their decision, according to a KPMG International study, analyzing reactions to the recession and strategies for recovery.
A majority of the surveyed managers consider that 2010 is the year in which markets will turn up. Out of KPMG member firms’ clients who participated in the survey, most predict a maximum of 24 months before the economy will recover.
Asia-Pacific businesses are using the global recession as an opportunity for major changes to their operations, in anticipation of the emergence of new international markets, while many European businesses are still undecided on how to respond to the recession, a new study from KPMG International has found.
Nearly 90 percent of businesses in Japan and 84 percent of businesses in Singapore are planning radical changes to their business models in the next decade. In India the figure is 72 percent and in China it is 66 percent.
But among companies in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, only 20 percent are planning major changes to their businesses, rising to 25 percent in Belgium, 30 percent in Hungary and 42 percent in the UK. The highest proportion in Europe is Ireland, where 63 percent expect radical change.
These figures come from “Never catch a falling knife”, a report of research carried out among over 850 senior decision makers from 29 countries on behalf of KPMG International.
Researchers asked business people about their day-to-day experience of the recession, what lessons they are bringing to this recession from their previous experience, and what their plans are for the immediate, and long term future.
“What struck us immediately was the high proportion of people saying that this recession is unique, and there is nothing in their experience to help them,” said Serban Toader from KPMG’s member firm in Romania. “Globally, 15 percent of people took this view. But in Germany and Italy and Hungary the figure was around 40 percent. This suggests that there are a large number of companies in European countries struggling to find a strategy to cope with the downturn,” Toader added.
The immediate response from many companies is to cut costs as best they can and wait until markets begin to recover.
In Europe, many companies are relying on government action to renew their economies, particularly through better regulation of the financial sector. More than a third of respondents from Luxembourg thought this was a way forward, followed by 28 percent of companies in Spain, 24 percent in the Netherlands and 20 percent in Poland.
But among the Japanese no-one took this view, and in Singapore it was chosen by only eight percent of respondents. The preferred option in these countries is to reduce costs, with the Japanese focusing on better risk management and planning, and many companies from Singapore choosing to ride out the recession through looking after their customers.
“There clearly are companies in Europe planning to adapt to new markets, but the difference in approach between the countries of Europe and those of the Asia Pacific region is marked.” said Serban Toader. “Several of the people we spoke to in India, China and Singapore saw today’s problems as nothing new, and simply part of the regular process of renewal and reorganisation that characterises long term economic development,” said Toader.
One area on which there was a broad consensus is when the world economy will begin to recover. Just over half of companies polled expect a recovery in 2010, with 22 percent saying 2011 and seven percent saying 2012. Only a very pessimistic one percent thought we would still be in recession in 2014.
“What I think is needed is an extended period of stability; a period characterised by a lack of further, catastrophic corporate surprises; a period during which people can again feel secure in their employment,” explained Toader, adding that many senior management teams are about to receive an incredible injection of concentrated experience in managing through a downturn. “That shot of experience should hopefully, give us a generation of business leaders well equipped to drive things forward. At the moment though, such experience is very thin on the ground as virtually no senior manager under the age of 50 is going to have any experience of working in anything other than benign economic conditions,” concluded KPMG Romania’s Senior Partner.
In lipsa unui acord scris din partea InternetCorp, puteti prelua maxim 500 de caractere din acest articol daca precizati sursa si daca inserati vizibil linkul articolului How advanced are companies in post-recession planning.


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Scottish Widows is relaunching into protection with a back to basics critical-illness product that sees the firm offer- ing guaranteed rates for the first time.The CII product is stripped of special features and is only available with level decreasing cover, up to 25,000 of child cover and with an optional waiver of premium benefit. Market director (protection) Nick Kirwan says the Straight Talking CII product is designed to address the issue of customers having claims declined because they have misunderstood to what extent they are covered. Research by Widows shows that around half of clients who have had claims declined did not understand the extent of their cover. A borderline claims’ team has been tested over the last four months to probe claims that fall into grey areas and to assess all claims on children. Widows says stripping out extras does not mean that the number of illnesses covered by the product will be reduced. Currently, 28 conditions are covered. The product will be available through intermediaries only, launching on August 22 with quotes on The Exchange from August 23. Further protection products will be launched in the near future. Kirwan says: “This product does not have an endless list of features and benefits. It is clear and simple to understand and forms part of the treating customers fairly initiative.” Life Policies Direct managing director Jason King says: “We are glad to see Scottish Widows back into the guaranteed market. It is a good option for Widows to have this sort of product as they have got to get the basics right first.”
Head of intermediary development Alan Dring is set to leave Standard Life Bank to pursue new opportunities. He, along with sales and marketing director David Macmillan, has been implementing a phased programme of change culminating in the launch of an integrated sales structure. His position is under review.Macmillan says: “Alan has been a valuable member […]
Personal bankruptcies in England and Wales have leapt by 75 per cent to their highest levels in three years, according to credit-rating agency Experian. It says there were 480 new bankruptcies in June 2005 compared with 275 in the same month in 2003. This increase brings the total in the first half of this year […]
The subject of trustee investments has crossed the mind of many an adviser over the years. Especially for those seeking to do business with other professional advisers, working in this market seems like a classic case for effective collaboration. And it is, but it is not easy.
Sesame is publishing an equ- ity-release booklet for members to give to clients with an expected wave of new providers moving into the market. The guide has been produced in response to mounting concerns about equity-release business which have been compounded by the FSA investigation in May. Equity Release Solutions, the referral service set up […]
Peter Saacke, Artemis’ CIO, suggests what may lie ahead and explains how volatility suits stockpickers.
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Scotland has introduced a new set of income tax bands, but pensions experts warn that the changes could cause issues with pension tax relief calculations. In the Scottish Budget today, the Government announced a new starter rate of 19p and then a 21p rate for those earning over £24,000. The higher rate of tax is […]
The scramble to do as many defined benefit transfers as possible while values remain high is unabated, and I am constantly amazed at how some firms have thrown caution to the wind in the hunt for their share of this – admittedly lucrative – opportunity. The problem is that advisers are putting their profits before […]
The FCA working group tasked with setting a template for fund charge disclosure is considering whether one or multiple templates would be more suitable. The institutional disclosure working group, chaired by transparency champion Chris Sier, has been tasked with creating a new template for fund costs and charges following the package of remedies outlined in […]


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Fashion accessories exports in May have ballooned to US $44.87 million, according to MOT statistics.
Bag, wallet, suitcase, hat and umbrella comprise accessories.
Exports figures of these items from January to May represented a year–on–year rise worth $203.60 million.
Accessory exports to more than 40 countries across the globe has witnessed the US market being on top of the pile, followed by Belgium and Russia.
During the first five months this year, accessories exports earnings climbed to $64.09 million, $28.42 million and $22.56 million to the US, Belgium and Russia, respectively.
Click to view accessories export data.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - Vietnam


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Bitcoin Stocks to Buy 2019
- Top Bitcoin Stocks 2019
Bitcoin Stocks 2019 - Bitcoin Stocks
continue to drop in 2019 as Bitcoin trades down to the long term trendline around $3300. The good news in early 2019
is Bitcoin has bounced twice off this trendline but we will soon need to see a rally and hold of $4,000. Positive catalysts
for Bitcoin in 2019 include an ETF, institutional money flow, higher usage of the lightning network, and some kind of debt
crisis. Bitcoin is gold 2.0 and the best bitcoin stock right now is Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Below is a
list of the top bitcoin stocks for 2019.
Bitcoin Stocks to Buy - Bitcoin
Investment Trust (GBTC) is the best bitocoin stock to buy in 2019 because it tracks the blockchain currency fairly
well. GBTC has been trading at a premium to actual Bitcoin prices and right now the dollar amount premium is very low.
For example, when the price of Bitcoin soared to a record high of $20,000, GBTC traded up into the $38's or almost a 100%
premium to the price of Bitcoin. In dollar terms, for every Bitcoin at $20,000, you were paying an extra $18,000 premium
to own 1 bitcoin in GBTC. Fast forward to 2019, with Bitcoin at $3400, you only have to pay a $600 premium per Bitcoin.
This is a huge deal and is why you want to be purchasing GBTC in 2019.
Best Bitcoin Stocks - Another bitcoin stock to watch
in 2019 is NVIDIA (NVDA). NVDA makes the chip that power
a lot of the bitcoin mining machines and as the price of bitcoin dropped, so did NVDA. NVDA is currently trading at
$135 and I believe the stock can hit $170 over the next 12 months. NVDA should do very well on the next cryptocurrency
Other Bitcoin Stocks to Buy - Below is a list of additional bitcoin stocks to watch
Net Element, Inc. (NETE) - NETE is another bitcoin stock to watch in 2019. Net
Element, Inc. (NASDAQ:NETE), a global technology and value-added solutions group that supports electronic payments acceptance
in a multi-channel environment including point-of-sale (“POS”), e-commerce and mobile devices, announced in early
2019 that the launch of its multi-channel blockchain-powered payments application across multiple touch points including face-to-face
via smart payment terminals and electronic commerce as well as via API.
NXT-ID (NXTD) - NXT-ID Inc (NASDAQ: NXTD) announced last year that its subsidiary FitPay and
Cascade Financial Technology are jointly developing a platform allowing cryptocurrency holders to make purchases at millions
of retail locations worldwide.
Overstock.com (OSTK) - OSTK has dropped with the price of
Bitcoin but the company began live trading of tZero in 2019.


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Just yesterday, the NPD reported that game sales were up nearly 16 percent for the month of April. Now more good news is coming from Sega Sammy and Vivendi Games. Today, Sega Sammy posted a net profit of $602.5 million, a jump in profits of 31 percent compared to the $460.5 million posted in 2005. Part of the increase is attributed to Shadow the Hedgehog, which has managed to sell more than 1 million copies since its release.
Vivendi Games posted big increases of its own. The game publisher announced that their first quarter earnings came in at $30 million, a 109 percent increase from last year's first quarter earnings. A big chunk of this is thanks to the one and only World of Warcraft. With two new consoles on the way and all the great-looking games we saw at E3, we could be looking at a pretty decent holiday shopping season at the end of the year.


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BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Total health care spending in the U.S. climbed to $3.4 trillion in 2016 and is expected to reach $5.5 trillion by 2020, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. With these costs on the rise, the adoption of wellness incentive programs by health care plans is becoming very popular.
Earlier this month, Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) announced that its new patent-pending payment solution, Advanced AuthControl, which recognizes qualified purchases determined by a consumer’s health care plan, will be implemented at Walmart and Sam’s Club locations nationwide.
The TSYS Advanced AuthControl solution — combined with Walmart’s proprietary, point-of-sale decisioning capabilities, known as “Directed Spend” — enables TSYS health care clients to provide incentive dollars to members through their health care plan wellness incentive program.
A major benefit of Advanced AuthControl is program customization, linking customizable rewards to healthy behaviors. Through the unique features of the new payment solution, TSYS provides a wide range of options for where the rewards card can be accepted, which is determined by merchant category and product level.
“The addition of Walmart and Sam’s Club to our growing network of retail providers is a huge testament to the capabilities and benefits of Advanced AuthControl,” says Trey Jinks, TSYS’ group executive for loyalty, health care and emerging markets. “The geographic coverage and breadth of merchandise these retailers offer, combined with TSYS’ innovative payment solution, create tremendous opportunities to be healthy and reduce the growth in health care expenses by incenting healthy and preventative behaviors versus expensive treatments.”


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Taking a holistic view of Scania’s goals over the long-term, Volkswagen Group said today that Scania’s 2013 sustainability report highlights the importance of sustainability for business success in the future. The goal, says Volkswagen, is for Scania to be the leader in sustainable transport solutions.
Sustainability will create greater value for customers of Scania, Volkswagen said, as well as shareholders, society and overall for the company itself. But, how will Scania achieve its goals?
It’s a new age, and Martin Lundstedt, president and CEO of Scania, says it is imperative that future growth take a new path. “We need to chase down every opportunity we have to shift the sustainable transport needle, cut carbon, improve logistics flows and make clean mobility easier.” Sustainable transport is profitable transport, Lundstedt said confidently, and added that focusing on becoming a leader in sustainability in the industry will deliver good business results.
There are three areas that the 2013 report indicated should be the focus of Scania’s sustainability challenge: Proactively engaging in transforming the transport industry; raising standards and addressing risks in emerging markets; and embedding sustainability across the organization.
The report revealed several areas that will play large roles Scania’s future sustainability plans. They included the following:
- Scania production and logistics operations defined a 2020 target to halve its energy use per manufactured vehicle, using 2010 as its baseline.
- Increased sales of Ecolution by Scania, which is a toolbox of services that help customers dramatically reduce cost and carbon footprint while improving road safety. At the end of 2013 more than 3,000 Ecolution by Scania vehicles were on the road.
- Increased focus on gender diversity. In 2014, Scania's global management teams will identify and initiate actions to increase the share of women in executive positions, setting clear targets for change.
- Developed an updated sustainable sourcing program, formally adopted by the Executive Board in 2014.
In January, Scania was listed among Corporate Knights’ Global 100 most sustainable companies in the world. Ranked 38th, Scania was the highest ranked Swedish company, and the second highest in the automotive industry after BMW.
Volkswagen currently has a deal on the table with Scania, to buy out shareholders and own at least 90% of the company; the deal must be completed by April 25, but as of now some minority shareholders are rejecting the cash offer.


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We reported yesterday that Chinese search engine plans to launch smartphone as well as its own Cloud operating system, the company has announced details of its yet-to-launch new smartphone and the cloud-centric operating system that will power it. The Foxconn-built Changhong H5018 will be the first device powered by Baidu’s ‘Cloud Smart Terminal’ platform, and the company has heralded the phone as marking ”the arrival of a new era” of sub $150 (1,000 RMB) devices in China.
The H5018 supports 3G, and sports a 3.5-inch touch screen and 3 megapixel camera. Baidu stresses that it will provide a quality mobile Web and personal entertainment experience, and the mobile Web experience is clearly a massive focus for the initiative. Every H5018 phone owner will be given a generous 100 GB of storage on Baidu’s Netdrive, a beta service known locally as Wangpan. There are no details regarding the launch date although it is expected that phone will be released in the very near future.


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IBM wants to make the connected products, robots, and other gizmos of the future as smart as they can be — and it’s Jeopardy!-champion robot Watson could help make it happen. That’s why the company announced last week that Watson will be made available to more developers than ever thanks to Project Intu. If people take advantage of this program, Watson could make sure their supposedly “smart” products aren’t quite as elementary as they are now.
Project Intu is supposed to expand Watson’s influence even further. IBM said that the platform “enables devices to interact more naturally with users” by “triggering different emotions and behaviors” in response to stimuli. This is supposed to “[extend] cognitive technology into the physical world” by making internet-connected products more clever than ever.
IBM isn’t alone in these efforts. Amazon is offering up $2.5 million in a competition to teach Alexa, the A.I. that powers its Echo products, how to hold a conversation for 20 minutes. Both companies are basically trying to make A.I. seem less robotic so more people will be comfortable interacting with it.
They’re also targeting a growing market. The IDC research group said that 75 percent of developers are likely to include A.I. of some sort in at least one product by 2018. The question is whether those groups will tap Watson, Alexa, Google’s DeepMind, or some other service to provide those A.I. capabilities.
Project Intu could help IBM make sure those developers choose Watson. An experimental version of the service is available now, and the company said it’s going to use early feedback “as the basis for further refinements” as Project Intu moves closer to a beta release. Watson is about to get a lot busier.


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Praise be! Just as we were beginning the search for the perfect replacement for American Apparel — that stretchy Spandex empire left behind — the retailer is back from the dead. Well, kind of. After two bankruptcies, Gildan Activewear bought the company, saving it from yet another foreclosure before shutting down all of its stores. They did promise to return online soon, but no one knew when.
Well, the website is up and running, backed by a brand new design, production, and distribution operations that Gildan built from the ground up, according to Racked. As for what’s featured, no, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you: the clothes look exactly the same as the original. Racked reported that the reboot “will be based on pieces that American Apparel has historically sold,” which may explain why there's tons of bodysuits and cropped hoodies.
Ahead, click through to see the pieces we’ve already added to cart, including one pair of leggings that could be dupes for Kim Kardashian's.


text: Mexico intends to impose duties of 25 to 30 percent on shoes imported from China and other countries with which it doesn't have a free trade agreement. The country is also reducing the number of entry points for the importation of shoes and the inspection of the cargoes, in order to reduce counterfeiting and under-invoicing at the border. Mexico has FTAs with the European Union and 44 other countries. Vietnam, the second-largest exporter of shoes to Mexico, may soon be included through the Trans-Atlantic Partnership being negotiated by the three member countries of Nafta - the U.S., Canada and Mexico - and Chile and Peru with a number of states across the Pacific Ocean: Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam. Observers feel that it's not going to be signed before next year.


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Our guide to this week's (and last week's) album releases also features the week's top new music videos from artists like Kendrick Lamar, Grimes, and Joanna Newsom, plus brand new streaming music from Karen O, Bob Dylan, and more. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at Metacritic
Music streaming was supposed to have come of age with the public listing of Deezer, but the French company's postponement of its stock offer demonstrated investors still have concerns about its economic model. Deezer hit the pause button on the first initial public offering of a music streaming firm at the last minute on Tuesday, citing "market conditions", sending a bad signal for companies in the sector which have so far been dependent on venture funding. Despite a number of major investors being interested, Deezer was unable to fill the order book for the operation which would have valued it at over $1 billion.


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Designer News is where the design community meets.
6 years ago from Frederik Højfeldt Nielsen, Student
Nailed it! Big improvements over the last version. I'd be surprised if you didn't get a great internship with this.
Where the design community meets.
Designer News is a large, global community of people working or interested in design and technology.
© 2023 Designer News Ltd.


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Saxo Bank boosts Crypto FX offering after $2.5b in turnover since May
Saxo increased maximum position limits and several new crypto instruments, including the first ever US Crypto ETF issued by Proshares last week under ticker BITO.
Saxo Bank has reported crypto trading turnover exceeding 2.5 billion USD since launching Crypto FX products in May 2021.
Clients have quickly responded to the launch by adhering to the new offering, prompting the Danish online broker to increase position limits and add new crypto products in response to significant client demand.
The online trading and investment specialist is further enhancing its crypto offering by adding new crypto products.
Saxo is now offering nine leveraged Crypto FX pairs and more than 50 exchange traded products (ETPs) tracking tokens such as Cardano, Solana, Polkadot, Stellar, Ripple and other popular digital assets.
One of the latest additions also includes the first ever US Crypto ETF issued by Proshares last week under ticker BITO.
Saxo is also increasing maximum Crypto FX position limits from 50,000 USD to 200,000 USD for Retail clients and 200,000 USD to 500,000 USD for Professional accounts.
The original Crypto FX offering enables Saxo clients to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin against EUR, USD and JPY from a single margin account without the need to maintain a crypto wallet.
Cryptocurrencies are seen by some as an avenue for diversification and potential hedge against rising inflation. For other investors it is an opportunity to gain exposure to an extremely volatile asset class.
Stanislav Kostyukhin, Commercial Owner for the Trader segment, said: “Saxo Bank set out to provide a product which offers the security and ease of use associated with more traditional asset classes, coupled with the market trends and price dynamics of the crypto space. The exceptional response and activity seen in the six months after the launch of our Crypto FX offering clearly shows that crypto is an increasingly important asset class for our clients.
“As more investors look towards crypto-related assets as a potential hedge against inflation and avenue of diversification, we are excited to support our clients with a broad range of products which provides reliable, regulated and secure access to the crypto market. We certainly expect interest to grow further as the crypto industry continues to mature, and we are planning to grow our offering to cater to the market as investor demand evolves.”
Crypto FX pairs are available during FX trading hours from Sunday evening to Friday evening with the ability to open both long and short positions.


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Qatar Airways Cargo has been named ‘Global Air Cargo Airline of the Year’ by STAT Trade Times. The award was given at this year’s ‘Air Cargo Africa’ air freight industry trade exhibition and conference, held in Johannesburg, South Africa from 19–21 February 2019. The cargo carrier was also runner-up for the ‘Global Air Cargo Brand of the Year’ and ‘International Cargo Airline of the Year in Africa’ awards.
Qatar Airways Cargo Senior Vice President, Cargo Sales and Network Planning, Mr. Peter Penseel, received the awards on behalf of the airline at a glittering awards ceremony organised by STAT Trade Times on 20 February at the Barnyard Theatre in Johannesburg. This is the second consecutive year that the cargo carrier has won the Global Cargo Airline of the Year award, following the ceremony that took place in 2017 at Air Cargo Africa.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “It gives us great honour and joy to receive these awards. Qatar Airways Cargo has come a long way to be ranked as one of the leading air cargo carriers globally. Being voted by the air freight community means a lot to us. It is for our global customers and employees that we strive to build our success upon the foundation of service excellence, always ensuring that our customers’ needs are of primary importance. Our business partners and dedicated team at Qatar Airways Cargo are the ones who have made this achievement possible, and we extend our special thanks to them.”
Ethiopian: African Cargo Airline of the Year
Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services was given ‘African Cargo Airline of the Year’ and ‘Air Cargo Brand of the Year in Africa’ awards for the fourth year in a row.
Ethiopian Group CEO and MD Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services receiving the awards
Regarding the awards, Group Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, remarked, “We are honored to have received the ‘African Cargo Airline of the Year’ and ‘Air Cargo Brand of the Year in Africa’ awards which are testimony to the leading role Ethiopian is playing in air cargo service in Africa.
In line with Vision 2025, we have been investing heavily in expanding our cargo services, building the largest trans-shipment terminal in Africa with an annual capacity of about 1 million tons and deploying 9 dedicated freighters. Our cargo services today span across 44 international destinations in Africa, the Gulf, Middle East, Asia, the Americas and Europe, augmenting the export of perishables from Africa and import of high value goods. I’d like to extend my gratitude to Air Cargo Africa for recognizing our efforts with these awards, and I’d like to congratulate my 16,000 plus colleagues at Ethiopian Airlines on the success they achieved through their dedication and hard work.”
For more information:


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New Fender guitar experience at Wentworth Music
Your dream guitar is waiting...
And you may just find it at Wentworth Music in Kelowna, after they opened their Fender "Shop in Shop" experience on Thursday afternoon.
Brock Andrews, District Sales Manager with Fender, says guests can try out any of the dozens of Fender guitars hanging around in the display.
"It's basically a guitar petting zoo," laughs Andrews. "There's a lot of inconsistency with music stores as you go across the nation; some of them are just pawn shops, and some of them are just not great experiences for musicians. What we wanted to do is make sure that people can come in, sit down, and find their next musical instrument by just being surrounded by inspiration."
He says a sales boost isn't the main goal here.
"Our hope is that it leads to a boost of inspiration and a boost of creativity," says Andrews. "That's what it's meant to inspire."
The longtime relationship between Fender and Wentworth led to this new experience, which is also featured in Toronto.
Fender remains one of the biggest music companies in the world, having started up in 1946.


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A state-of-the-art fast-food restaurant was opened at Parraypora (Airport Road), here.
The restaurant with a spiralling 1800 square feet sitting area, is the first facility in the area primarily developed for the families to enjoy food together outside home.
The restaurant has modern facilities with imported machinery equipment to hygienically prepare the food.
"We have brought chefs from Hyderabad, Delhi and some other places. We have also imported machinery so that the food lovers here find the hygienically prepared food," Ashfaq Hamdani, MD Crimson said. He said the restaurant has also imported a coffee machine from Spain. "Coffee lovers would satisfy their taste buds while being at our restaurant," he said.
He said the ambiance in the restaurant has been developed in a way so as it suits to the family culture. "The families will definitely feel comfortable while being at Crimson," he said.
About the services and products he said: "This is the first restaurant of its kind where you will have self-service and regarding the foods, we will be having a huge fast food range available for our customers," he said.


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Aichi Machine Industry Co., Ltd. Business Report FY ended Mar. 2018
|(in million JPY)|
|FY ended Mar. 31, 2018||FY ended Mar. 31, 2017||FY ended Mar. 31, 2016|
|Sales (million yen)||126,863||132,641||119,000|
Investment in Japan
-The Company will invest about JPY 12 billion in plant facilities and equipment in the fiscal year ending March 2019 (FY 2018). The investment will be about JPY 5 billion higher than the FY 2017 investment amount. The company will handle increasing orders for power generation engines, multipliers and reducers for Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.'s e-Power series hybrid system, as well as casted engine parts for new mini vehicles (under 660cc) that will be released by Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in FY 2018.


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The International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades, better known as ICAST, earned three top rankings on Trade Show Executive Magazine’s annual Fastest 50 list.
Produced by the American Sportfishing Association, ICAST hosts more than 11,000 representatives from the global sportfishing community.
Each year, the magazine honors the 50 fastest-growing shows in three categories: net square feet of paid exhibit space, the number of exhibiting companies and total attendance.
ICAST was one of only 16 trade shows that were the fastest-growing across all three categories. The magazine based its recognition on each show’s 2014 numbers, compared with the previous year.
“Earning a place on the TSE Fastest 50 ranking is a result of hard work in all facets of show planning, marketing and execution,” the magazine said in a statement. “The people behind these shows are making things happen, and the Fastest 50 Awards & Summit is the time when they take their well-earned bow to their peers, colleagues and friends.”
The awards will be presented in May during the magazine’s annual Fastest 50 Awards & Summit in Chicago.
“Each year, there are literally thousands of trade shows that take place throughout the U.S. and North America,” ICAST trade show director Ken Andres said in a statement. “To be one of only 16 shows to be recognized in all three categories is rare and a great honor. On behalf of the sportfishing industry, I want to thank TSE for this recognition.”
“ICAST’s growth is a direct result of our value-added efforts, which includes incorporating expanded networking opportunities and product demonstrations to world-class business development seminars for buyers and exhibitors,” he said.
ICAST will be held July 14-17 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.


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Make DowntownDC your destination to ring in the New Year this holiday with drinks, food, entertainment and so much more! At the top of our list is the 6th Annual DC […]
DowntownDC Holiday Market was featured as the #3 destination by MSN Lifestyle of the 20 U.S. cities with the most enchanting holiday markets.
December 11, 2017 By Cassia King The holiday season has arrived in DowntownDC and the neighborhood is brimming with holiday programming, dining options, performances and more. Check out the holiday […]
December 8, 2017 By Cassia King The DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) recently hosted the first of two all-hands-on-deck “clean sweep” days where all BID ambassadors took to the streets […]
November 9, 2017 The DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) announced today that longtime homeless services advocate Linda Kaufman will serve as the BID’s Director of Homeless Services, where she will […]
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While cannabis was legalized last year on October 17th, it was just last month that Health Canada released the proposed rules and regulations surrounding the use, production, sale and packaging of cannabis edibles, beverages, concentrates and topicals.
These new products will become available by the end of this year. All products will have to follow the strict guidelines stated in the proposed rules and regulations, concerning the packaging, branding, labeling and other important features.
What are the Regulations Regarding Concentrate Packaging?
Before we discuss how these proposed regulations will affect the cannabis industry and the consumers, we need to go over some of the most important points companies need to stick to in order to stay within what’s legally allowed, yet still be able to find a way to stay ahead of their competition.
Although it might seem like a hard mission to accomplish, many companies are looking for smart solutions and ways to walk the thin line between what’s allowed and what isn’t in order to create a product that stands out.
So without further ado, let’s have a look at what some of those final proposed regulations look like when it comes to cannabis concentrates:
- Ingestible cannabis concentrates can have only up to 10 mg of THC per unit, or 1000 mg of THC per package
- Vape containers can also have up to 1000 mg of THC per package
- The product cannot have any added vitamins, caffeine, nicotine or alcohol
- The packaging must be child resistant and not appealing to youth
- The product must be packaged in plain packaging with a maximum package size of 90 mL for liquid concentrates and 7.5 g for solid concentrates
- The label must show the cannabis symbol, a health warning message, the THC/CBD content, an ingredient list, intended use and the product’s equivalency to dried cannabis flower
- The label cannot contain any additional information, like health claims and benefits of use
How Will These Regulations Affect Cannabis Producers and Consumers?
Although many have noted that the regulations surrounding the packaging, physical look and appeal of the product and many other restrictions are quite strict and not very clear, the Canadian Government has stated that their main goal is not making more profits and sales, but protecting the health and wellbeing of the citizens, which is why they feel that these strict regulations are necessary.
The Government of Canada has placed these strict regulations in an attempt to keep cannabis out of the hands of the youth and reduce any unwanted health risks.
One of the downsides to these strict regulations is the maximum amount of THC allowed, specifically in edibles, which is limited to 10 mg. Although the need for limiting the dose of THC available is quite reasonable, many find the amount to be very restrictive since a lot of users will need to buy more than one chocolate bar or cookie per session, which can be a big waste of packaging. Another issue that many producers have pointed out is the fact that there is a lot of excess packaging, which is difficult to recycle, since it’s mostly made out of a few different materials. Along with the limited doses of THC available per package, these are some of the main issues that will hopefully be addressed in the future.
Although the Canadian Government has placed very strict regulations in regards to packaging and product appeal, only time will tell how these regulations will evolve and change. In the future we may see a much bigger selection in the types of products available, as well as more diversity in the type of packaging and labeling of the products.


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Russia withdraws from Black Sea Grain Initiative
Russia recently pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Deal, which was launched to mitigate food inflation caused by conflict in Ukraine.
What is Black Sea Grain Initiative?
The Black Sea Grain Initiative was an agreement between Russia and Ukraine with Turkey and the United Nations. It sought to create a safe passage of food grains exported from Ukraine, which is currently in war with Russia. Under this agreement, export of grain, food and fertilizers will be allowed to resume from Ukraine via a “safe maritime humanitarian corridor” from three key Ukrainian ports i.e., Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi. A Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) having representatives from signatories of the Black Sea Grain Initiative was set up to implement this deal.
Why was the deal signed?
Ukraine exports around 45 million tonnes of grain to the global market each year. However, after Russia launched military campaign in February 2022, Ukraine was left with large amount of grains stored in silos unable to be transported to other parts of the world.
This has severely affected the global supply of grains. With the energy prices and food prices increasing because of the conflict, many countries, especially those in Africa, were at the brink of famine. The Black Sea Grain Initiative sought to address these issues.
By mid-September, over three million tonnes of cargo left Ukraine under this deal. About 51 per cent of the total cargo was corn, 25 per cent was wheat, 11 per cent sunflower products, 6 per cent rapeseed and 5 per cent barley. The rest of the cargo included soya beans and other food commodities. About half of the total cargo went to high-income countries like Spain, Netherlands, Korea, Germany, Ireland and Israel. India received 4 per cent of the total wheat exports from Ukraine since the war broke out.
What is the current status of the Black Sea Grain Initiative?
Black Sea Grain deal was set to expire on November 19, 2022. The renewal negotiations were led by the United Nations throughout October 2022. However, Russia pulled out of this agreement on October 29 due to drone attack on its naval ships in the port of Sevastopol. Despite Russia withdrawing from the deal, several grain ships continued to depart from ports in Ukraine with support from Turkey and UN. However, it is unclear if this safe passage will remain intact indefinitely.
Category: International / World Current Affairs
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In honor of India’s Republic Day fast-rising mobile handset maker Xiaomi will let its flagship phone Xiaomi Mi 3 go on sale exclusively through Flipkart tomorrow January 26, 2015.
The Chinese company posted robust sales last year thanks to its high-end yet very affordable smartphones and it is perfect time to start the first month of the year with a bang.
Just like in the previous flash sales of the Xiaomi handsets, there will be limited number of Mi 3 units that will be up for grab and it will be on first-come-first-serve basis.
There registration for the device for the would-be buyers will begin tomorrow from 12 pm to 2 pm on Flipkart.
The participants that are lucky enough to pull through will able to add the device to their cart by 5 pm on the same date.
Xiaomi has requested the customers to like the Mi India Facebook announcement post and share it with not less than 3 friends. The post mustered enough likes and shares and as a result the Mi 3, which has the features of high-end phones but are significantly priced lower, is now placed on sale.
The Xiaomi Mi 3 is beefed up with cool features such as a 5-inch full-HD LCD screen panel display with 1080×1920 pixels, a fast 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM; Adreno 330 GPU, 16GB of inbuilt storage capacity, 13MP rear camera, 2MP frontal camera and decks in a 3050mAh battery.
Xiaomi is also making it a double treat as it is set to roll out Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G along with the Mi 3 but without registration. The number of Mi 3 snd Redmi Note 4G that will be put on sale is not yet disclosed though.
Xiaomi is also poised to unveil the highly anticipated Mi 4 in India as the company has already handed out invitations that comes with the message that the upcoming flagship handset will finally make its debut on 28th of January at an event in New Delhi.
The Mi 4 is tipped to be released exclusively on Flipkart, just like the other Xiaomi smartphones that enters the lucrative market India. But it still not yet known whether Mi 4 will be available via through flash sale or not.


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Mississippi economy grows at 1.9 percent rate in late 2015
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – New figures show Mississippi’s economy grew at a 1.9 percent annual rate from July through September, exactly equal to the national growth rate.
Gross domestic product numbers released Thursday by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis try to measure all economic output of each state.
Mississippi’s performance slowed from 2015’s second quarter, when the economy grew at a 3.6 percent rate. It improved from 2014’s third quarter, when output shrank at a 0.8 percent rate.
The Magnolia State’s economy was flat in 2014. State economist Darrin Webb has predicted 1 percent growth for 2015.
Agriculture and forestry, non-durable goods manufacturing and retail trade were the biggest drivers of Mississippi growth. Wholesale trade was the worst drag.
Mississippi, which has a roughly $108 billion economy, ranked 32nd for growth among states.


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Intel on Tuesday introduced the Crystal Forest chipset, which the company hopes will fill a networking gap as it tries to build an integrated technology stack for data centers.
The chipset has specific hardware and software-driven features that could speed up data processing on a network, said Steve Price, director of marketing for Intel's Communications Infrastructure Division. The chipset could aggregate network data quicker from servers inside data centers without compromising performance or security.
Intel is trying to make a mark in the network processor market with the new chipset, where it could compete with companies such as Cavium, AppliedMicro and Tilera. Intel previously offered ARM-based network processors as part of its communications unit, which it sold to Marvell for US$600 million in 2006.
A lot of cloud transactions are processed in data centers and network processors bring together data quicker so results can be delivered faster to users, said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64. The new chipset could be Intel's attempt to pair the networking element to its microprocessors and components as the company tries to fill the data center technology stack, Brookwood said.
The chipset could be a replacement for custom silicon currently being integrated in servers to handle complex networking tasks, Brookwood said. Intel is always trying to integrate more components at chip level inside servers and Crystal Forest could be a high-margin product for the company, Brookwood said.
Intel's chipset can handle up to handle 160 million packets per second on a dual-processor server platform, Intel's Price said. The company is targeting Crystal Forest at 3G and 4G network and security product providers.
"When you compare it to dedicated network processors, it's very competitive," Price said.
The chipset includes a CPU based on the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture, I/O, Ethernet interface and new hardware called QuickAssist, which accelerates cryptography, packet processing and deep-packet inspection. QuickAssist was derived from software technology that previously performed similar functions, Price said. The company also provides a set of software libraries to takes advantage of Intel instruction sets for faster network processing.
Crystal Forest succeeds Jasper Forest, a Xeon chip that had an integrated I/O hub and found adoption in storage devices and server appliances. Beyond being a network processor, the new chipset can serve general purpose, storage and security needs.
Intel in July agreed to buy networking firm Fulcrum Microsystems, which makes 10 Gigabit Ethernet and 40 Gigabit Ethernet switch products. Intel is looking to integrate Fulcrum switches with Crystal Forest chipsets at the rack level, Price said.
Companies like Cisco and Juniper offer custom chips that are designed to handle extremely high data rates, Insight 64's Brookwood said. Intel will benefit if one of the big networking companies buying its technology, Brookwood said, adding that network processors will remain a small project inside Intel compared to its main chip business.


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Akasol announces a new order with a volume in the mid double-digit million euro range. The manufacturer of lithium-ion battery systems has signed a long-term framework agreement with the largest Turkish commercial vehicle manufacturer. “From 2021 to 2025, the company will supply the second and third generation of its high-energy battery systems for an existing and a new type of bus belonging to the customer, thereby expanding its customer portfolio,” said Akasol. For the Darmstadt-based company, the order means entry into the Turkish market.
Akasol boss Sven Schulz said on Thursday that the framework agreement had prevailed against strong European and Chinese competition. “The fact that the framework agreement already includes the transition to our new ultra-high-energy battery system is a great sign of confidence in our extensive expertise in the field of high-performance Li-ion batteries and shows that we are now another global customer as a strategically reliable partner for the sees rapid electrification of his portfolio ”, says Schulz.
Live stream today from 6 p.m .:
European champion in e-mobility – how the automotive industry combines climate policy and structural change


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Bengaluru, Sept. 1 : For the first time in India, an independent equity research firm and a broking house have come together to give a world class research information to investors.
5Paisa.com, the discount broking arm of IIFL, is going to integrate MarketSmith India in their app to give access to an independent and world class research to its customers. This will benefit the customers of 5Paisa.com in a big way from next week as they will now get access to all the research content of MarketSmith India, helping them to take informed investment decisions.
‘It is indeed going to be a first of its kind of integration and tie-up. As of now, none of the discount broking houses are offering research in any form to their customers, and 5Paisa.com will lead the way by giving world class research to its customers’, says Anupam Singhi, CEO, MarketSmith India (part of William O’Neil India).
The tie-up is an extension of its customer acquisition exercise for MarketSmith India to help people take informed trading / investment decisions at a very affordable price. With an aim to make larger investor community in India about William O Neil’s empirical research of growth investing, 5Paisa.com will bring in their customers and its deep geographical reach to MSI’s customer acquisition activity. In near future, MarketSmith India’s customers might directly be able to place their trades on MSI’s research using 5Paisa.com’s trading platform.
“We are happy to associate with MarketSmith India as we believe that our customers will greatly benefit from the world class research that will be offered by MarketSmith India,” said Mr. Prakarsh Gagdani, CEO, 5Paisa.com.
Benefitting from the tie-up, 5Paisa.com customers will get access to world class independent research which has proven its merits in different market conditions across different geographies across the world. 5Paisa.com customers will have to pay Rs 12499 per annum (less 10% inaugural discount) to access the premium features of MarketSmith India. However, each and every customer of 5Paisa.com will have access to Free Content of MSI without paying any subscription fees.


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For the past couple of weeks, Tesla Giga Berlin’s Model Y production was paused. But it was not due to Tesla’s own strategies. Instead, the production pause was triggered by supply chain issues that arose due to tensions in the Red Sea. From January 29 to February 11, Giga Berlin stayed silent, but as could be seen in a flyover of the complex on February 12, the facility came back swinging when Model Y production resumed.
Aerial footage captured by The Wolfpack Berlin, a group that has been chronicling the progress and development of Giga Berlin, reveals that the facility was very busy on February 12. The employee parking lot had a good number of vehicles in it, and numerous employees could be seen walking around the complex. Employee shuttles could also be seen transporting workers to the facility.
And in the facility’s holding lot, one could see that Model Y production has resumed at Giga Berlin. Car carrier trucks could also be seen in the holding lot, waiting to be loaded with the all-electric crossover. Overall, Giga Berlin was a hub of activity during the flyover, which was quite encouraging as it suggested that the facility would likely be able to return to its full output without much difficulty — and likely in a short period of time.
Giga Berlin plays a pivotal role in the company’s operations. It is Tesla’s primary electric vehicle factory in Europe today, and it also produces the company’s best-selling vehicle, the Model Y. As per comments from Tesla employees on social media, Giga Berlin was able to reach a new milestone before its vehicle production was temporarily shut down in late January. As per Tesla employees, Giga Berlin had actually reached a production rate of 6,000 Model Y per week before its vehicle production was paused.
This was highlighted in a LinkedIn post from Tesla Director of Quality Bob Foulkes, who posted a supportive message to a fellow Giga Berlin worker who purchased a Model Y. “The hood of your new beautiful Quicksilver Model Y scattered with trophies of our achievements – 1K all the way to 6K and beyond. I believe this feeling comes from the blood, sweat, and tears of getting to where we are. We all chose the opposite of easy. We chose to fight, to pioneer, to build to go our own way and create,” Foulkes wrote.
Watch the recent aerial footage of Giga Berlin in the video below.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to email@example.com to give us a heads up.


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Whether you're venturing across fantasy landscapes or deep space, there's no shortage of first person shooting action this year.
CrossfireX's first major update will include over 80 bug fixes, two new maps, silenced weapons, and more.
A misstep at almost every turn.
Smilegate Entertainment has revealed that they have started working on updates for CrossfireX based on player feedback.
The popular multiplayer shooter is finally available for consoles with two single-player Operations developed by Remedy Entertainment.
Control, Code Vein, Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age, The Medium, The Falconeer and Project Winter will be leaving on February 15th.
The FPS is available to preload on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One but only Operation Catalyst will be available to Game Pass subscribers.
After a relatively quiet start to 2022, February is full of heavy-hitters and eagerly awaited releases. Take a look at 10 of the biggest games coming up.
Based on Smilegate's Crossfire franchise, CrossfireX features a campaign developed by Remedy. Here's everything you need to know.
With the new year upon us, there are tons of highly anticipated games to look forward to. Here are 45 big releases coming in 2022.
The technical test will feature two maps and factions along with PvP. A third faction, leaderboards and much more will be revealed in the coming months.
New gameplay footage and several new details for the upcoming shooter have emerged thanks to a recent round of hands-on previews.
New trailer showcases the campaign developed by Remedy Entertainment. The shooter is exclusive to Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
Remedy Entertainment, which developing the Xbox-exclusive shooter's campaign, recently indicated that it's close to release.
According to Remedy's latest business report, CrossfireX has been steadily making progress in development as it moves closer to its release date.
Even with many of its big-name exclusives yet to showcase gameplay, the Xbox Series X has a number of good-looking titles to behold.
Remedy Entertainment's headcount has grown to nearly 300 people, and the developer has provided updates on several upcoming projects.
Executive producer Boo showcases Babylon, Invasion and Babylon Lab in new videos along with changes to the Tactical Growth system.
Blackbird Interactive is working on a "modern refreshed real-time strategy" title with "fast-paced action" and fully customizable armies.
This year has plenty of visually amazing titles to look forward to.


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LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Britain’s energy market faces an absolute massacre that could force at least 20 suppliers into bankruptcy in the next month alone unless the government reviews the energy price cap, Scottish Power Chief Executive Keith Anderson said on Thursday.
Natural gas prices have spiked this year as economies reopened from COVID-19 lockdowns and high demand for liquefied natural gas in Asia pushed down supplies to Europe, sending shockwaves through industries reliant on power.
Around 13 British suppliers have collapsed in recent months, forcing more than 2 million customers so far to switch providers. Before the crisis, there were more than 50 small- and mid-sized independent energy suppliers in Britain with around a 30% share of the market.
“There is a significant risk you could see the market shrink all the way back to five to six companies,” Anderson told the Financial Times.
Scottish Power, owned by Iberdrola (IBE.MC), is Britain’s fifth largest energy supplier with around 8% of the domestic gas supply market, according to data from regulator Ofgem.
“We expect, probably in the next month, at least another 20 suppliers will end up going bankrupt,” Anderson told Sky. “We are now going to start seeing some relatively well-run, good, commercially sound businesses going bankrupt because they just can’t pass the cost of the product through to customers.”
The soaring natural gas prices have strained Britain’s retail energy markets to breaking point, putting into question 30 years of energy deregulation which began in 1989 under then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Anderson cast Britain’s energy market as facing months of tumult that could shrink the market all the way back to just five or six companies unless the price cap, set by Ofgem, was reviewed.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…


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We keep hearing that privacy doesn’t exist anymore, and that we should no longer even expect it. But while most of can understand the need for monitoring the public in some situations, do any of us really want retailers following our movements when we’re in their stores?
It’s already happening. The cosmetic chain Sephora uses Bluetooth to connect to customers’ smartphones and track what they look at. Once that data is gathered, promotions geared to the shoppers’ preferences are sent to their smartphones. Other technology tracks shoppers if they use in-store Wi-Fi, which enables the business to capture shoppers’ data and private information. While Target, Walmart, and Lowe’s have not yet adopted facial-recognition systems that can, among other functions, identify former shoplifters in its stores, these retailers are considering such Big Brother intrusions.
Stores claim technologies that track shopping behaviors help them stay competitive with online retailers. They argue such tracking is being explored to enhance shoppers’ experience. However, privacy advocates claim the risks of abuse from tracking customers physically are too dangerous, and that if allowed to continue, could result in massive data collection that inevitably would be stored and shared. This sharing could theoretically lead to unknowing shoppers being blacklisted, misidentified, or otherwise labeled. If you were purchasing a lot of liquor for a large party, for example, that information could be stored and retrieved by a potential employer who may consider that purchase in a negative light.
Congress is currently considering legislation to protect privacy online and in brick-and-mortar stores. Should lawmakers stop businesses from using our faces and track our every step without permission?
- If retailers use facial recognition tracking in stores, should customers be informed or allowed to opt out?
- Should stores be allowed to use facial recognition technology to monitor employees as a way to cut down on theft or other issues?
- How would you feel about a store that used sensors in shopping carts that could track your eye movements?
Floating islands of plastic are no one’s idea of a good thing, and now major brands like Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Unilever, and PepsiCo are looking into reusable containers to address consumer concerns about disposable plastic and the waste it creates.
Single-use packaging is much of the culprit in creating islands of trash in the Pacific. In response to consumers’ complaints about this waste, manufacturers of shampoo, detergent, and packaged food will begin testing this summer to see if they can sell their products in glass, steel, and other materials designed to be returned and refilled.
Unilever will put deodorant in refillable steel containers. PepsiCo will sell orange juice in a glass bottle. P&G will sell its Pantene shampoo in an aluminum container. The products will not change, but their outward packaging will, and in so doing will respond to demands for recyclability and reuse.
Although the products in the reusable packaging won’t cost more, they willrequire consumers to pay for a deposit and arrange to return the refillable containers. The companies testing the packaging are waiting to see if their investments in the sustainable packaging will fly. Because unless a lot of people—not just the most eco conscious—are willing to do more than complain about waste, the mountains of plastic will just keep growing.
- Why is it in the interest of big companies to offer reusable containers?
- What kinds of entrenched human behavior will these big brand manufacturers have to combat for reusable containers to become mainstream?
- What do you think motivates these companies to curtail plastic waste?
Would you blast your playlist in a communal work space? How about microwaving leftover fish so everyone in the office could “enjoy” your reheated leftovers? Probably not. But what about vaping?
As e-cigarettes become more popular, people in the workplace are steamed about having to unwillingly smell the scented vapors the devices emit. In fact, even the e-cig manufacturer Juul had to ban its own employees from vaping while at work to comply with a 2016 California law prohibiting vaping in the workplace.
California is one of twelve states and many cities that have enacted laws against vaping, the practice of inhaling vapor from a battery-operated device that contains liquid with nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals. However, the regulations haven’t been broadly publicized and are not regularly enforced, leaving many non-vapers unhappily inhaling the scents, just as non-smokers were forced to breathe in second-hand smoke years ago. And while inhaling the exhaled vapors from e-cigarettes has not been shown to cause medical problems, it is most definitely causing workplace irritation.
Some find the sucking sound made when inhaling the vapor disturbing, while others grouse about the odor creeping its way into their spaces. Still, the practice is not prohibited in many states, and so vapers continue to vape, whether it’s sneaking a puff in the bathroom or ignoring the building policies requiring smokers of anything—e-cigarette or tobacco—to take their habit outdoors, often to a designated area.
Whose rights should take precedence?
From The Wall Street Journal
- If vaping hasn’t been proven to cause medical harm, should it be allowed in public spaces?
- Should employers enforce anti-vaping regulations to the point of punishing or firing those who don’t comply?
- What would you do if you were in the situation of having to breathe the exhaled vapor of an e-cigarette against your wishes?


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BATTOJUTSU Dated For Switch
CareuX have announced that the fighting game BATTOJUTSU will release on the Switch eShop in Japan and Europe on 12 December priced at ¥550 or €4.99, and then in the Americas on 30 December priced at $4.99. There’s still no screenshots nor trailers for the game. Thanks to Naruki. Edit: main image updated with the two protagonists with the debut trailer added below!


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Ngmoco, the company behind Rolando, Wordfu, Topple, and several other iPhone games is taking their company to the next level by raising $10 million in funding. The company has been around for about 9 months and this is their second round of funding. The funding was led by Norwest Venture Partners.
This investment further proves that iPhone game development is a good way to go. Ngmoco is based in San Francisco and was founded by former Electronic Arts executive Neil Young. ?Everything in this market happens so quickly,? stated Young. ?The iPhone is really the first wave of new phones that have the same capability to play games as the handheld game systems have.?
Ngmoco’s previous round of funding was about $5 million from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers along with Maple Investments. The new round of funding will be used to expand Ngmoco’s premium games such as Rolando, which sells for $9.99. Ngmoco has made five top 10 games for iTunes thus far.


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Local video rental store closes, owner blames internet
One of the last video rental stores in Milwaukee will soon be closing its doors.
Video stores across the country are disappearing and one store owner blames the internet.
\"Blockbuster is gone, Hollywood is gone. We (Southhouse Video) are the last one on the north side,\" said Andrew Berling, owner of Southhouse Video.
He isn't renting his movies anymore, he's trying to sell them and fast. His store will be closing in three weeks after being open since 1983.
He said the success of Netflix, Redbox and OnDemand are the reason he can't keep his doors open.
CBS 58's Lila Carrera reports.


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Shares of Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) were trading down 4% at one point during Friday’s session following the company’s fiscal third-quarter earnings release on Thursday evening.
The California based company is known for producing the graphics processing units and chips used in the gaming, data center, and cryptocurrency mining industries and their earnings have waxed and waned with the fortunes of these industries.
Thursday’s report showed that Nvidia’s revenue has now declined four quarters in a row. Guidance for their fourth-quarter revenue came in lukewarm too, below what analysts were expecting while forecasted expenses were higher than expected. Revenue from their largest segment, gaming, was down 6% but still above analyst estimates as was EPS.
Despite this sense of neutral if not negative internal momentum, shares only saw moderate selling on Friday and were quickly bought off the lows. However, they are still fighting to claw back 2018’s 60% selloff. The lack of panic in the stock after this latest release suggests 2018’s selling might have been overdone and investors are comfortable with the stock at these levels with the company’s performance.
Nvidia stock has certainly had its fair share of highs and lows in recent years. Shares went through a hyper-growth period with the cryptocurrency boom in 2016 and rallied over 1,200% in less than 3 years. Nvidia’s cards and chips established themselves as the most reliable product for mining. However as mining became less and less lucrative, demand fell.
The subsequent bursting of the cryptocurrency bubble wiped a huge chunk of revenue off the books and the stock was dumped as a result. Nvidia’s reputation for pleasantly surprising investors and analysts quarter over quarter in 2016 and 2017 has been significantly tarnished.
Demand has also been hurt by the continuing standoff in the US-China trade war. This has made accurate forecasting all the more difficult.
Learning to Pivot
However, Nvidia has a history of being able to successfully pivot and adapt to changing demands. Having supplied the chips for Sony’s Playstation 3 gaming console in 2006, investors were surely licking their chops at the prospect of a multi-year partnership. This was not to be however and Nvidia was dropped as the supplier for the Playstation 4 console.
So the company then successfully swung to providing the graphics processors used in PCs. A decade later they were back tapping into the console market, this time as suppliers for the Nintendo Switch. Looking ahead to 2020, the company is planning to continue its expansion into providing the chips used in data centers and is predicting strong revenue growth.
They beat Intel in a $7 billion bidding war for Israeli based chip maker Mellanox in March, suggesting management are on their A-game and boxing clever.
For investors looking to get involved in Nvidia stock, it’s worth noting that shares have strong support at $130. This was where the sellers hit the brakes after 2018’s selloff as buyers constantly stepped in at level. Shares have spent most of 2019 consolidating and have been climbing steadily in recent months. Shares have now reclaimed about half of the territory they lost in 2018’s big fall and are up 70% so far this year already. Investors must surely be sleeping a little easier.
August’s earnings, in particular, were the catalyst for this latest push and the moving averages had a bullish crossover following them. Based on Friday’s trading session, it doesn’t look at if this latest report is going to upset the apple cart too much.
Having survived a big scare following the crash in the cryptocurrencies, the future is starting to look brighter. All things considered, Friday’s price action indicates that shares are good value at these levels. Because investors didn’t run for the door at the continued lack of revenue growth, it looks like they think growth is going to come soon. If the company continues its track record of innovating and expanding into new markets, investors would do well to keep Nvidia on their watchlists.
Companies Mentioned in This Article


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Good Bye PSP Go, Hello Sony NGP!
Sony has confirmed that the PSP go has been discontinued and all efforts are on the development of the NGP console. The NGP was announced on January 27th this year and sure to be on a great number of Christmas lists this year when it is released at the end of the year.
Whats the difference?
Well UMDs have been scrapped and a new format called NVGs have been introduced. NVGs are flash card devices which games will be downloaded onto from the NGP.
Look and Style
The new Handheld machine boasts a massive 5-Inch 960×544 OLED screen, Touch-sensitive back pad, Dual Analogue sticks, front and rear camera, an improved HD display, microphone. The most fascinating of these is the Touch-sensitive back pad. Using this you will be able to control actions on the screen without worrying about your porky fingers covering the screen or leaving fingerprints on your new 5 inch OLED screen.
There will be Wi-fi, Bluetooth connectivity and a more expensive version that will have in-built 3G.
Sony have introduced a new feature called “Livearea” which allows a user to connect with friends, social networks and access to the playstation network store and browser almost anywhere.
Ubisoft estimated that prices were to be around $350 for the built-in 3G Wireless radio and $250 for the NGP without 3G . There are a number of big games in development for release also including: Uncharted Portable, Killzone, Call of duty.
Visit CNET for more information on the NGP.
Be sure to check back at www.console-deals.com when the NGP is released so we can find you the best deals!