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UPDATE 10/28/2019 – Leaked a video "mini analysis" showing various details, specifications and features of the drone, as you can see in the video below, including confirming the format, size and weight. The video should go down soon …
UPDATE 10/28/2019 – The DroneDJ website has published a new leak confirming once again the existence of Mavic Mini with photos identical to other leaks, but now with real images of the drone and not of press releases. Other information also indicates slightly different specifications than previously reported, such as weight of 245 grams, autonomy of 18 minutes and size of 140x140x53 when closed. The 12MP 1 / 2.3 "CMOS web camera sensor.
Another point to note that apparently he has no sensors like the other drones of the Mavic line.
New photos and alleged drone specs leaked DJI Mavic Mini to be announced on October 30, next Wednesday. Already practically official the announcement by DJI has scheduled an event for the 30th called "Fly as you are", in addition to a lot of information leaked in sequence, common situation in other cases.
See everything we publish about DJI
As we've talked about in other publications, this will be the first DJI drone to be released this year. By 2019 the company launched gilbals as the new Osmo Mobile 3, the action cam OSMO Action and the Digital FPV System kit, which does not have a drone in the package. It is also worth noting that the Mavic Mini should not bring the system that detects airplanes and helicopters during the flight, in principle the first product that supports this safety system will be launched in 2020.
Less than 250 grams, 18 or 30 minutes of flight and 2.7K camera
Unlike what had previously been leaked, this latest leak has an alleged Newegg Canada announcement worth $ 646 (Canadian dollars), which converted to US dollars would be about $ 499, but it may just be an internal register value, but a higher value. realistic in the face of specifications. As main highlights of the Mavic Mini considering the leaks, a very compact drone weighing less than 250 grams to the point of fitting in the palm when "closed". The company has managed to further shrink the Mavic Air's small size, but it seems to have been able to make significant improvements, and if the leaks are confirmed to fly for 18 or 30 minutes on a full battery charge, yes, the leaks report two. Quite different battery times, if it's almost twice as long as a Spark and 7 minutes longer than a Mavic Air, just 1 less than the Mavic 2. I think it's more likely to be 18 minutes, but …. and how they could achieve it. 30 minutes? In addition to natural evolution, lighter components could help, but as highlighted, for now only rumors.
In addition to the range, the leaks indicate that it comes with a 2.7K camera and 3-axis gimbal system. Visually the camera resembles the Hasselblad model of the Mavic 2 Pro, will we have the second camera developed by the company on a consumer DJI drone? Ahhhh, the leaks indicate that it should cost between $ 400 and $ 500, competitive price for these differentials and for bringing DJI quality. Remember that a Mavic Air currently costs $ 749, but the new "Mini" would bring great advances putting a lot of pressure on the Air, which would have as main differential the 4K camera.
It's a pity that DJI is barely paying attention when it comes to reviewing products, but we will certainly be after getting a model for review as soon as possible.
In the picture below you can see the complete kit with drone, bag, propeller protectors, control, battery charging hub and batteries. Remember that by having less than 250 grams he can "escape" from a series of approvals and certificates around the world, greatly increasing the sales potential compared to any other drone released, certainly the greatest success of all time, I speak. This is considering what has leaked to date of specifications and price.
Below are comparative tables between Mavic Mini (unofficial data), Mavic Air and Spark, DJI's three smaller GPS drones:
(tagsToTranslate) dji (t) mavic mini (t) small drone (t) compact drone (t) gimbal (t) gimbal 3 axis (t) smallest dji (t) dji mavic mini (t) spark air (t) spark (t) cheap drone


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Survey Reveals Impact of Google Shopping on Merchant Sales
By Ina Steiner
Google shook up the ecommerce industry in late May when it announced it would stop including product listings in Google Shopping search results unless merchants paid for inclusion through Google Product Listing Ads program beginning this fall.
A survey of EcommerceBytes readers taken after the announcement found that Google Shopping was a significant source of traffic to their product listings, both on their own ecommerce websites and their marketplace listings. The majority of respondents (86%) said they were currently sending Google Product Search feeds to Google. However, 61% of respondents said they would not participate in Google Product Listing Ads when Google Shopping moves to a paid-only service.
Many online sellers used the comment field to express their disappointment in Google, and some said they would stop using other Google services such as Google Checkout to show their displeasure with the company's decision to end free listings on its shopping search engine.
Impact of Google Shopping on Merchant Websites
Over half of respondents (54.2%) said at least 20% of their website traffic came from Google Shopping. And the traffic Google Shopping is sending to the merchants' website is converting into sales. Half of respondents (49.4%) said at least 20% of their website sales come from Google Shopping.
A significant number of online sellers do not know how much traffic and sales are generated through Google Shopping. Twenty percent didn't know how much traffic Google Shopping generated to their website, and 22% didn't now how much of their website sales came from Google Shopping.
Impact of Google Shopping on Merchant Marketplace Listings
Almost 57% of respondents who sell on marketplaces said at least 20% of traffic to their marketplace listings came from Google Shopping, and 47.6 said at least 20% of their marketplace sales came from Google Shopping.
Participation in Google Product Listing Ads
Only a small percentage (8.9%) of EcommerceBytes readers responding to the survey said they currently participated in Google Product Listing Ads, a paid offering on Google.
When asked if they would participate in Google Product Listing Ads when Google Shopping moves to a paid-only service, 4.8% said they would, 61% said they would not, and 34.2% said they did not know.
Disappointment with Google
Survey respondents were allowed to leave comments, and many expressed disappointment with Google, saying they would find it difficult to pay for exposure on Google Shopping. "I am an online micro-seller. I do use Google Checkout with my own website, with eCrater, and with Bonanza. There is probably no way I can afford to pay Google to have my thousands of products listed when it becomes a paid service." Another said, "All product feeds are submitted by Etsy. How this will affect my two stores there... only time will tell! Just can't be good." Some respondents said they would stop using all of Google's services to protest its new policy.
Some respondents said they would begin using Bing, TheFInd, or other search engines. One seller wrote, "It will depend on where the buyers go. It sounds to me since the biggies are going to pay to play, it would be hard to convince shoppers to use a different search engine."
Another respondent wrote, "I'm a part-time, small-time seller online, and without my listings going to Google Shopping I might as well close my stores. The playing field was somewhat level with the use of Google Shopping for us small-timers, but now? It will soon become a faded memory I fear. Congratulations, big-time e-tailers...you've won."
One seller said the change would be good for eBay: "Google's plan may bring to them more revenue... but in the long-term, I think it will HELP EBAY as well. Sellers like me - who have benefited greatly from the Google product feeds, and who have been able to realize a bit of independence from eBay as a result - are likely to return to eBay in order to recover some of the volume that's likely to be lost as Google eliminates the free product-feeds. eBay may not be the be-all/end-all vehicle for sales (as it once was), but for my purposes, it's still a good place for me to meet new customers and introduce them to my web site for future repeat business."
Other comments include the following:
"There is no way a small merchant like myself can compete with the likes of Amazon, Buy and the other big companies that will be able to monopolize GPLA with big CPC bids, just as they do on Adwords now. Will focus more on the free (for now) shopping engines like The Find. I predict that by the fall, only big merchants will still be on Google Shopping."
"I liked Google Shopping because it fit into our company's start-up budget for advertising: nothing. We gained exposure for nothing up front. We worked hard to make sure that all of our listings were compliant with Google's required format, but now I guess we won't have to spend that time and money doing that. I think that this is pathetic. Is Google in such a bad financial position that it can't seem to manage it's corporation without charging merchants for listing their products in a comparison shopping engine that was originally free? They set the precedence, they should keep things the way they are. This was the one of two ways that we as a small business could get ourselves known without forking out a lot of money. A company would do well to create their own search engine to compete and allow businesses to list their products for free."
"Don't care why kind of "spin" Google puts on this, it's simply another case of large corporate greed. So what this gets down to is that the large companies that have large ad budgets will only get bigger and more dominant and the small e-tailer will have an even harder time getting their product offerings in front of consumers. If this was a flat fee and everyone was on a level playing surface, then it wouldn't matter as much. But you know that the large outfits will simply post large bids and drive the small sellers to the bottom of the pile (just like google search ads)."
"Not likely to use this service. Can't afford to pay."
"My internet store sites rely on whom I list on to send my items to google, i.e. Bonanza, Ecrater, Tias. I have no website of my own. This will hurt my sales tremendously. I am hoping that all the sales I made in the past, that my customers will remember to find me again at my sites. I USED to sell exclusively on Ebay in the beginning, but got away from their many rules in governing how a sale should be made. Hope you might give us some suggestions to be able to survive through this change. Please help!"
"They may be shooting themselves in the foot. Fewer Google Shopping hits = fewer purchases by shoppers = less revenue fees for Google Checkout. Good bye Google search, hello Bing."
"As a small merchant with limited resources and...being a sole proprietor antiques and collectibles dealer with mostly one of a kind items....I don't have the time or resources to figure out keywords let alone bid against the big boys for placement. This will be a further nail in the coffin of small online businesses...and as usual for Google...it will be in place just before the holidays...our best time of the year that usually recoups the rest of the year and adds a cushion for the down months the following year."
"All depends on the cost, have paid for their merchant program before and my sales actually fell. Guess it will all depend on if sales drop off (which they probably will based on times our feeds have been dropped). Currently have found that there is a direct relationship between placement on google shopping and placement on google organic. Really upset to hear this from google."
"This is not being done as an improvement for customer shopping. This is being done to improve the revenue at Google and shareholder price. However, this is going to hurt Google in the long run. Google will be seen as just another paid site with incomplete listings and fall below Yahoo. Nobody has the time to figure all this out or the bottomless pit of cash that Google wants. I will rely more on listing on other sites such as bookfinder.com and viaLibri."
"This is definitely disappointing news, as it will be another expense for small retailers like myself."
"Not only will the new paid model close the door on the small businesses that use the service, it will also limit the shoppers options to find what they seek. If the point really is to provide a better shopping experience it will not work, as there will be many businesses who will no longer be represented due to the cost, mine included. If the point of Google Shopping is to help shoppers find the exact item they are seeking, no matter where it might be, large corporation or one person indie business, then stick with the current model."
"I am dropping Google Checkout and will no longer offer this payment option to buyers in my three on-line shops."
"This is a bad move for consumers akin to eBay pushing "free shipping". These kinds of corporate moves just drive up costs for consumers because it drives up cost for merchants. An economy that is struggling to grow and improve will not sustain such economic costs. Shame on you Google."
"Google is being evil."
"With this change, Google loses all appeal as a shopping search engine. As a buyer, I will no longer utilize Google shopping since their results will no longer offer a broad view of items and prices available. I will not have my selection limited to sellers who will be charging higher prices in order to cover the cost of Google ad listing fees. Time to remove Google from my browser toolbar and replace it with Bing."
"This will kill my business I have worked on for the past 6 years. Google Shopping is our best and steady sales channel, especially since the last Google change to organic search. We lost our ranking and sales and have traffic dropped, for reasons we are not understanding. Most if not all of our sales now come from Google Shopping, it is the only place many shoppers find us as we rank very well on most item listings. Once this goes into effect, our business will probably fail. This is a sad way for Google to treat their sites that always sent in frequent and updated feeds. Greed will continue to ruin small businesses."
"Wow, way to get everyone to play by your rules and then just up and change them like a spoiled child who isn't getting his way. I guess I missed the memo on how amazing the economy is doing. Do small business owners have another dime to donate to Google? I don't."
"I hope Google reverses its decision. I imagine a large percentage of Google searches is for a particular item or items that the person is interested in purchasing. If people no longer are able to search for items, it seems to me it would be detrimental to Google since people will by-pass Google searches altogether and go straight to eBay or Amazon, thus hurting the people/companies which are paying to be seen. Seems like a lose lose situation for all concerned."
"I am a Ruby Lane shop and currently see all my listings in shopping. If RL increases its costs to cover Google paid shopping I will no longer be able to afford selling there. Doing this just before the holiday shopping season shows Google's true, screw you attitude towards the online sites. Too many eBay people working there now - shame on them!"
"Unfortunately it will make Google Products useless by limiting the number of products offered. As a merchant, it is not viable, ROI is too small. As a buyer, it will be a disaster. Bing, here I come."
"Google Chrome is now off my desktop. Google will also be eliminated from my Smartphone."
"Excellent way to rid out freeloaders and make real fashion exchange sellers to pay for their way, or else, hit the road jack!"
About the author:
Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to email@example.com.
You may quote up to 50 words of any article on the condition that you attribute the article to EcommerceBytes.com and either link to the original article or to www.EcommerceBytes.com.
All other use is prohibited.

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City Gear LLC has agreed to pay nearly $2 million to settle allegations that the clothing company labeled managers as salary-based to avoid paying overtime, but continued to dock pay when these employees failed to work 40 hours per week. A current and former store manager filed the class action in December, claiming that the clothing company withheld over $25 million in overtime pay that should have been divided amongst store managers across the Southwest and Midwest. The suit claims that City Gear violated both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Tennessee state laws.
The company also began docking employees’ paychecks.
If approved, the settlement will cover at least 280 store managers and assistant managers who work for either City Gear or its subsidiaries, including Marty’s, Deveroes, CGP, Holliday’s Fashions and The Vault. The settlement will provide for $1.9 million in stocks and payments, with a portion also covering attorneys’ fees. Early calculations estimate that nearly one fifth of the class members will receive as much as $10,000 each, with the remainder of the class collecting varied amounts under that figure, providing “substantial and immediate relief” to the managers, according to the plaintiffs.
In 2009, City Gear introduced a new payment policy where store managers and assistant managers were required to work a minimum 45-hour work week under a set salary. However, at that time, the company also began docking employees’ paychecks who did not work a 40-hour work week.
“An employer is not entitled to pay its employees hourly up to a certain number of hours and then not pay them at all once that limit is reached,” according to the complaint.
City Gear claims it has since changed its policies regarding employee payment to “fully comport with the FLSA and Tennessee law.”


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Upon entry into force of the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2004, 80 percent of U.S. consumer and industrial goods exports to Chile became duty free. Tariffs on the remaining products have been nearly phased out. To be eligible for tariff-free treatment under the FTA, products must meet the relevant rules of origin.
The FTA also provides favorable access for U.S. service suppliers and guarantees of protection to U.S. investors and U.S. copyrights, trademarks and patents registered in Chile. In addition, Chile has opened up significant government procurements to U.S. bidders.
Chile’s open economy and strong democratic institutions make it one of the most stable countries for doing business in the region. The U.S.-Chile FTA also provides a framework that makes Chile an ever better place to do business.
U.S. goods exports to Chile have nearly recovered to the record level of $12 billion in 2008 before the global financial crisis slowed the pace of overall U.S. trade. In 2010, Chile’s economy grew by 5 percent and its inflation remained below 2 percent.
In the seven years since the U.S.-Chile FTA went into effect, U.S. exports to Chile increased by 300 percent, growing from $2.7 billion in 2003 to $10.9 billion in 2010. Principal U.S. exports to Chile in 2010 were machinery, mineral fuel, oil, vehicles, electrical machinery, and plastic. U.S. exports of services to Chile have also grown substantially, reaching over $2 billion in 2009.


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Harrods launches iPhone app
By Ed Owen, marketingmagazine.co.uk, Wednesday, 18 May 2011 09:45AM
Harrods has launched an app that helps shoppers navigate their way around the luxury London department store.
The Harrods app's main feature is a location finder allowing shoppers to navigate through the store and find the department they need.
A history of the store, a 3D visualisation, and an events calendar are also included.
Mark Briggs, store image director, Harrods, said: "The Harrods iPhone app is an exciting new way for us to further engage with our customers.
"We are continuously aiming to offer our customers the optimum level of service through use of new technology. With its useful tools and services, the Harrods app is set to become a vital part of the shopping experience at the store."
This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk
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SCRANTON -- Two more stores are closing up shop at the Marketplace at Steamtown. Both have been there since the former mall's beginning in the early '90s.
Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works, which are owned by the same company, are expected to close in about a month.
The news has some shoppers saying "too bad" while Marketplace officials are hopeful for what comes next.
“That’s sad. I know a lot of people like Bath and Body Works. I like Victoria’s Secret as well,” said Mary Ellyn Fogarty of the Hazleton area.
“I like all the chain stores here. I remember coming when I was little and all these stores being here. For people who shop here all the time might be a big change,” added Brittany Papocchia of Clifford.
Both businesses have locations at other nearby shopping centers in Lackawanna County, but newer tenants at the Marketplace worry without them, some customers may stay away.
“Them closing is going to affect us a little bit because a lot of women come to the store and check the furniture out,” said Evelyn Rodriguez of D & N Furniture.
It hasn’t been known as the Marketplace at Steamtown very long. Of course, the former Mall at Steamtown has been here for a number of years, but with the departure of both stores, the Marketplace is expected to change over the coming year.
“Not only do I expect them to be filled shortly, we’re already speaking in conversations with people who sell and do pretty much what they already do,” said Alan Retkinski with Lexington Realty International, the company that operates the Marketplace.
The new owners have plans for a restaurant. The movie bistro is getting close to opening, and officials expect plenty more leases to be signed in the new year.
Shoppers are looking forward to empty stores filling up including the two about to close to start this year.
“Now we’ll have choices of different things here. I hope smaller businesses and can grow here,” added Fogarty.
Marketplace at Steamtown officials said the stores' closings were expected. Their leases are up.
Those same officials said the stores' parent company is consolidating locations across the country. In this case, going from three stores to two within ten miles of each other.


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Digital music distribution and publishing administration provider TuneCore launched its latest international edition on Wednesday (Apr. 6) with TuneCore Germany. The site will allow German-based artists to collect songwriter royalties, revenue from streaming services, digital download stores and sync licensing opportunities in their own currency and language. The German outlet is the fifth global expansion for the Brooklyn-based service, which already has services in the U.K., Australia, Japan and Canada.
The site will also feature local content that focuses on Germany's independent artist community, according to a release announcing the expansion. Artists in Germany can now include their music in storefronts from global digital partners including iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Amazon Music, Deezer and local German stores such as Musicload, Juke! and Buecher.de.


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source: THE HINDU :-
The Karnataka State Wine Board will organise a three-day wine festival in the district stadium in Bidar from December 3, chairman Bakkappa Kote said on Tuesday. After a meeting with district officials, he said the festival would serve as a platform for interaction between grape growers, processors and sellers.
It will also help increase awareness about wine as a recreational drink rather than an alcoholic beverage, he said.
Major wine makers like Sula, Elite, Heritage, Richo, Nesara, Madhuloka, and Enotica will participate. Grape experts will speak to farmers, Horticulture Department officials, and agriculture students. The board has organised eight wine festivals across the State.
" Twitter: #BidarInfo (@BidarInfo) "


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Bitcoin exchange Coinbase announced that it has been able to complete its integration with risk management and payment services specialist company Vogogo. Vogogo is a TSX Venture Exchange publicly traded payment services company with integrated risk management and compliance while Coinbase is one of the leading bitcoin exchange companies in the world.
Vogogo expects to derive revenue from the integration in line with its established business model. The company was founded in 2008 with web-based payment processing technology. It continued to grow its expertise in software development, payments, risk management, compliance and related financial services.
Bitcoin Exchange and Payments
While most of the cryptocurrency enthusiasts have been focusing on blockchain technology applications these days, the bitcoin payments industry continues to grow. This integration between Vogogo and bitcoin exchange Coinbase is in line with the payment services company’s focus on pursuing market opportunities that could offer competitive advantage in terms of positioning and technology.
In addition, the integration could allow Coinbase to expand its bitcoin exchange operations in Canada. “Vogogo is committed to playing its part in enabling and accelerating the growth of global bitcoin exchanges,” said Geoff Gordon, CEO at Vogogo. “Through providing secure, effective and compliant access to global banking and payment networks, exchanges such as Coinbase can focus on being the very best at their business.”
Prior to this, bitcoin payments have encountered a lot of friction when it comes to mainstream adoption, particularly in the traditional banking sector. Established companies like Vogogo can provide risk management and payment processing that allows users to complete cryptocurrency exchanges seamlessly through traditional banks and fiat currencies.
Vogogo has already been involved in helping bitcoin exchange companies such as Kraken and Bitstamp gain traction in Canada. To celebrate the launch, Coinbase is waiving the fees for its brokerage service to Canadian customers until September 6.
Vogogo expects to derive revenue from the integration in line with its established business model. […]


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Here’s your morning roundup of the biggest media industry news and happenings. Send tips, suggestions and complaints to email@example.com
NET NEUTRALITY: Big changes online may be in store for bandwidth-hogging services such as Netflix. A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday threw out federal rules requiring broadband providers to treat all Internet traffic equally, a development which could allow broadband providers to charge more for data-intensive services such as Netflix, or to downgrade their delivery speeds to consumers, WSJ and The New York Times note. The ruling strikes a blow to the concept of “net neutrality,” which has been supported by the Obama administration, and shows how the nation’s big entertainment and telecommunications companies are trying to shape the regulation of broadband services. WSJ considers the implications for online video services such as Netflix and YouTube and dissects a few key passages from the court ruling. More from Bloomberg.
More in the full post.


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Your wireless keyboard may be giving up your secrets.
With an antenna and wireless dongle worth a few bucks, and a few lines of Python code, a hacker can passively and covertly record everything you type on your wireless keyboard from hundreds of feet away. Usernames, passwords, credit card data, your manuscript or company's balance sheet -- whatever you're working on at the time.
It's an attack that can't be easily prevented, and one that almost nobody thought of -- except the security researchers who found it.
Security firm Bastille calls it "KeySniffer," a set of vulnerabilities in conventional, low-cost non-Bluetooth wireless keyboards that can allow a hacker to eavesdrop from a distance.
Here's how it works: some wireless keyboards use proprietary and mostly unsecured and untested radio protocols to connect to a computer -- unlike Bluetooth, a known wireless standard that's been tried and tested over the years. These keyboards are always transmitting, making it easy to find and listen in from afar with the right equipment. But because these keystrokes aren't encrypted, a hacker can read anything on a person's display, and directly type on a victim's computer.
The attack is so easy to carry out that almost anyone can do it -- from petty thieves to state-actors.
Marc Newlin, a researcher at the company who found the flaw said it was "pretty alarming" to discover.
"A hacker can 'sniff' all of the keystrokes, as well as inject their own keystrokes on the computer," he explained on the phone this week.
The researchers found that eight out of 12 keyboards from well-known vendors -- including HP, Kensington, and Toshiba -- are at risk of eavesdropping, but the list is far from exhaustive.
The scope of the problem is so significant that the researchers fully expect that "millions" of devices are vulnerable to this new attack.
Though not all wireless keyboards are created equal and many are not susceptible to the eavesdropping vulnerability, there is an easy fix to a simple problem.
"Get a wired keyboard," the researchers said.


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Research shows Australians often don’t understand the food they’re ordering
If you don’t know what shakshuka is, you’re not alone.
Australians are increasingly unsure of what is on the menu at their local cafe or restaurant, with 74 per cent claiming they’ve needed to ask wait staff for an explanation.
Some of the most misunderstood items include mirepoix, salmagundi, lardo, and meuniere.
Food journalist Wendy Hargreaves told Tom Elliott world-class restaurants don’t need to use fancy terms like that.
‘They’re not using any of those terms – unless they’re in France,’ she said.
‘They’re telling people what they’re getting and what the ingredients are. If they’re not, I think they’re try-hards.’
Click play for the full story


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It’s been an eventful week for Black media with outlets Ebony, Jet, and The Grio being sold to new ownership.
First up, Johnson Publishing sold Ebony magazine (est. 1945) to a large Texas equity firm, Clear View Group, according to an announcement Tuesday. The sister publication Jet magazine (est. 1951) has also been sold, although it has been exclusively digital since 2014. It is the first investment into publishing for Clear View, which is a Black-owned company.
According to The Root, steadily declining print sales and the continued struggled to embrace the growing digital landscape were large factors in the magazines’ sale. “This is the next chapter in retaining the legacy that my father, John H. Johnson, built to ensure the celebration of African-Americans,” Linda Johnson Rice, current chairman of Johnson Publishing, said in a statement.
Much of the current staff and the headquarters in New York City will remain the same. Rice will continue as chairman emeritus under the company’s new name, Ebony Media Operations. The president and CEO of McKissack & McKissack, a women/minority-owned professional design and construction firm, Cheryl McKissack, will be the new CEO of Ebony Media Operations.
Clear View appears to be thrilled with their new acquisitions. “We made this purchase because this is an iconic brand – it’s the most-recognized brand in the African-American community,” Michael Gibson, co-founder and chairman of Clear View, said, according to the Chicago Tribune. “We just think this is a great opportunity for us.”
The current Editor in Chief of Ebony, Kierna Mayo, is leaving the publication to become the Senior Vice President of Content for Interactive One, which is the parent company of HelloBeautiful, while Johnson Publishing will remain in control of Fashion Fair Cosmetics and the Ebony photo archives.
As if the news of a beloved company being sold wasn’t enough to digest, it has also been confirmed that the website The Grio has been sold. As detailed on The Root, The Grio was sold to former comedian Byron Allen’s company, Entertainment Studios. The Grio, a website that focuses on Black news and entertainment, says they are thrilled to be a part of the Entertainment Studios family, which produces TV shows, cable programming, and feature films.
“We are excited to have The Grio join Byron Allen’s ever-expanding Entertainment Studios media empire,” David Wilson, co-founder and executive editor of The Grio, added. “Byron shares our vision of growing The Grio into the leading video content creator and distribution platform for African-Americans. We look forward to developing the next iteration of The Grio, and the fact that it will remain 100 percent African-American owned is very significant.”
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune, The Root | PHOTO CREDIT: Ebony
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Target Preps for Big Holiday Selling Consumer Electronics
Target, according to a Reuters report, is looking for a big Christmas selling video games and gadgets, such as tablet devices, to boost its consumer electronics business.
"Within gaming, it’s been a pretty soft industry over the course of the year, but I do think that given the slate of games this fall we should be set up to have a really strong holiday," Nik Nayar, Target’s vice president of electronics and gaming, told Reuters.
Unfortunately for Target, it’s got a few other challenges ahead of it, as well. For one, there is the continuing problem of keeping its site online. Target.com went offline this week for about two-and-a-half hours. This followed several other outages since the company relaunched its site recently.
Another significant issue, according to a Wall Street Journal report, is that Target and other retailers are going to have some trouble prying away sales of e-readers and tablets from Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble this holiday season.
"Some of these tablets are essentially house brands for other retailers," Shawn DuBravac, chief economist for the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), told the Journal. "It makes for a very tough environment for traditional electronics retailers."
Target also faces some serious price competition for the holidays. Walmart’s "Christmas Guarantee" contains the pledge that it will honor the lowest price on the market for any item it sells between Nov. 1 up to Dec. 25, regardless of when it was purchased in one of its stores or on Walmart.com.
According to the CEA, the average consumer will spend $246 on consumer electronics this year. That’s about one-third of all holiday purchases per person.
"Consumer electronics continue to play a leading role in holiday shopping, with consumer tech clearly being a go-to category for holiday gift spending," said Shawn DuBravac, CEA’s chief economist and director of research, in a press release. "After months of depressed consumer confidence, individuals are indicating they plan to spend this holiday and are looking for technology, as more adults will buy consumer electronics as a gift this year as compared to last year."
- Guns and bloodshed may be the perfect gifts to ensure a merry Christmas for Target Corp. – Reuters
- Another crash at Target.com – Star Tribune
- Retailers to Miss Tablet Party – The Wall Street Journal
- CEA Projects ‘Digital Holiday Season’ With Increased Spending on Electronics, Gifts Overall – Consumer Electronics Association
Discussion Questions: What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Target’s consumer electronics business this holiday selling season? What should it do to win the competitive battle?


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India on Tuesday introduced plans to launch a digital foreign money by subsequent yr and tax cryptocurrencies and NFTs because the nation strikes nearer to recognizing cryptocurrencies as authorized tender on the earth’s second largest web market.
Earnings from the switch of any digital property shall be taxed at 30%, the nation’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated Tuesday. To seize particulars of all such crypto transactions, she additionally proposed a 1% tax deduction at supply on funds made associated to buy of digital property.
“No deduction in respect of any expenditure or allowance shall be allowed whereas computing such revenue besides price of acquisition. Additional, loss from switch of digital asset can’t be set off in opposition to some other revenue,” she stated in one in all New Delhi’s most exceptional tech and business-focused federal budgets. “Reward of digital digital asset can be proposed to be taxed on the hand of the recipient.”
The proposal comes at a time when the acquisition of cryptocurrencies and NFTs are rapidly making inroads in India regardless of regulatory uncertainty within the nation.
Binance-owned WazirX stated final month that yearly buying and selling quantity on its platform exceeded $43 billion in 2021, at an “1,735%” progress from 2020.
The rising adoption of crypto tokens has additionally led to the emergence of a bunch of startups seeking to innovate within the area — although their aggressive advertising and marketing campaigns have raised many eyebrows.
Andreessen Horowitz made its maiden investment in India final yr by backing cryptocurrency trade CoinSwitch Kuber.
“The magnitude and frequency of those transactions have made it crucial to offer for a selected tax regime,” she stated.
India’s central financial institution may even introduce a digital foreign money within the subsequent monetary yr, she stated. The nation’s central financial institution has been testing its CBDC through a number of controlled trials for a number of months within the nation and has been inspecting its influence on the banking and financial programs.
“Introduction of a central financial institution digital foreign money will give an enormous increase to digital economic system. Digital foreign money may even result in a extra environment friendly and cheaper foreign money administration system,” she stated. In a press word, New Delhi stated its digital foreign money Central Financial institution shall be handled as financial institution notes.
India’s neighbor China stated earlier this month that Individuals’s Financial institution of China has processed greater than 3 million transactions in digital yuan price over $160 million as a part of its CBDC trial. (China, for those who bear in mind, additionally labeled all non-public cryptocurrency-related transactions within the nation as illegal last year.)
India’s proposals right this moment have considerably created extra confusion amongst entrepreneurs, enterprise capitalists and most people alike about how New Delhi plans to sort out cryptocurrencies.
By introducing a tax system for crypto-related transactions, New Delhi seems to be both recognizing such digital property as authorized tender, or as an investor questioned aloud, “take their pound of flesh from all of the motion.”
In a tweet, Randeep Singh Surjewala, the spokesperson for the opposition Congress get together, requested: “Ms Finance Minister, please do inform the nation. Is cryptocurrency now authorized, with out bringing the Cryptocurrency Invoice, as you tax the cryptocurrency? What about its regulator? What about regulation of crypto exchanges? What about investor safety?”
Replace: New Delhi has clarified that it’s at the moment “amassing inputs for regulation.”
“The most important improvement right this moment, nevertheless, was a readability on crypto taxation. This can add the a lot wanted recognition to the crypto ecosystem of India. We additionally hope this improvement removes any ambiguity for banks, they usually can present monetary providers to the crypto business. General, it’s excellent news for us, and we might want to undergo the detailed model of the funds to grasp the finer particulars,” stated Nischal Shetty, chief government of WazirX, in an announcement.
“The tax readability is a welcome transfer. General, it’s an enormous aid to see that our authorities is adopting the progressive stance of going forward within the route of innovation. By bringing in taxation, the federal government legitimises the business to a big extent. Nearly all of folks, particularly corporates, who’ve been sitting on the sidelines due to uncertainties will now be capable to take part in crypto.”
New Delhi additionally pledged to extend the attain of web and digital banks in rural elements of the nation.
Another notable bulletins:


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* Major indexes heading for biggest weekly drops in months
* Housing starts increase 5.9 percent in July after a decline in June
* Green Mountain Coffee Roasters' stock up, to join Nasdaq 100
* Nordstrom latest to report weak retail revenues, shares fall
* Indexes: Dow down 0.1 pct, S&P down 0.2 pct, Nasdaq up 0.1 pct
By Havovi Cooper
NEW YORK, Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday after the largest sell-off in almost two months in the previous session, but homebuilders rebounded on recent housing data.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes were on track for the largest weekly declines since late June, and the Dow industrials headed for the largest weekly drop since April.
"We are unlikely to see a large-scale correction in the market right now, but it certainly is losing the momentum that took it to strong highs earlier this year." said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm Liberty View Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey.
U.S. housing starts rose 5.9 percent in July, compared with a 9.9 percent drop in June. Homebuilders Pulte Group and Lennar Corp. rallied on the news and were among the top percentage gainers on the S&P 500.
In addition, a report on Thursday showed confidence among single-family homebuilders neared an eight-year high in August.
Pulte rose 2.7 percent to $16.37, while Lennar advanced 2.6 percent to $34.17
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 23.08 points, or 0.15 percent, at 15,089.11. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 3.64 points, or 0.22 percent, at 1,657.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 6.01 points, or 0.17 percent, at 3,612.13.
Nordstrom became the latest department store chain to post lower-than-expected second-quarter revenue as its same-store sales slipped, prompting it to lower its full-year sales and profit forecast. Shares fell 3 percent to $57.48
Other retailers have disappointed investors with second-quarter earnings. From Wal-Mart and Gap to Macy's and McDonald's, chains that cater to middle- and lower-income Americans are feeling the pinch of an uneven economic recovery.
Adding to the market's concerns, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in August slipped from July's six-year high. August's reading was the lowest in four months.
Yields on U.S. government debt extended a rise, which could lead to steeper borrowing costs for businesses and consumers and pressure stock prices. After a bond market sell-off on Thursday, the benchmark 10-year note's yield jumped to a two-year high.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters shares rose 3 percent to $75.11 after Nasdaq OMX said the company will replace Life Technologies in the Nasdaq 100 index on August 22.
Pandora Media shares jumped 7 percent to $21.24 following a bullish call on the stock from Goldman Sachs.
J.C. Penney shares fell 3.3 percent to $13.60 as the retailer entered into an agreement with former board member and largest shareholder Bill Ackman, that paves the way for him to sell his stake.


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Yesterday, the Alliance and the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University hosted a Twitter Chat on healthy eating as we age, the impact of nutrition on health, and recognizing the signs of malnutrition. Experts joined in to contribute their answers to a series of questions we presented over the course of the hour. For all of you who had a chance to participate, we thank you!
Show your heart a little love this Valentine’s Day.
Take the Listen To Your Heart Challenge!
Everyone who completes the challenge by Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day
(February 22) will be entered to win a $50 Amazon gift card.


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MANHASSET, N.Y. Memory supplier Micron Technology Inc. posted net earnings of $43 million, or 7 cents per share, on sales of $1.26 billion in the fourth fiscal 2005 quarter ended Sept. 1, compared to a net loss of $128 million, or 20 cents per share on sales of $1.05 billion the previous quarter.
Micron (Boise, Id.) attributed the improved results to improved DRAM and NAND flash memory sales as well as higher sales of CMOS image sensors.
"Micron's efforts to strengthen our product lines through expansion of our specialty DRAM products, CMOS image sensors and NAND flash memory products continue to have a positive impact on our gross margin," said Steve Appleton, Micron chairman, president, and chief executive, in a statement. "We continue to dedicate additional resources to expanding our presence in the mobile, consumer and server markets while remaining a leading DRAM supplier for computing applications."
For fiscal 2005, Micro (Boise, Idaho) earned $188 million, or 29 cents per share, on sales of $4.88 billion, up from $157.2 million, or 24 cents per share on sales of $4.4 billion in fiscal 2004.
Megabit production in the fourth quarter increased 15 percent sequentially. During the fourth quarter, Micron continued to ramp up 300-mm wafer production, reaching its initial target of 5,000 wafer outs per week.
For fiscal 2005, megabit production rose 50 percent over the previous fiscal year, which Micron attributed to manufacturing efficiency improvements and the ramp-up of 300-mm wafer production.


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Suning Sports, the sports division of Suning Holdings Group, China’s largest omnichannel retailer by sales revenue, has laid off 20% of its employees and restarted negotiations with Alibaba to enter a joint venture.
This is the third spree of layoffs at Suning Sports since the beginning of this year, and it is also the largest. Prior to this, Suning Sports had smaller-scale layoffs in June and August.
As the sports video broadcasting platform that has held the most sports copyright resources in the past two years, Suning Sports now struggles with sizable copyright costs. According to incomplete statistics, Suning Sports spent at least 3.44 billion yuan on purchase rights in one year. In August of this year, Wang Dong, executive vice president of Suning Sports, admitted in the media communication meeting that the cost of copyright put them under a lot of pressure and it is urgent for strong partners to share it.
A person close to the top of Suning revealed that Suning and Alibaba may have restarted negotiations to start a joint venture. However, according to the source’s estimation, Suning’s valuation will at least be 30% lower than in the previous round of negotiations. The specific reasons for the restart are still unknown.
Alibaba, whose core business is e-commerce, has stakes in sports assets including streaming platform Youku Sports and Ali Sports, a company with activities in media rights acquisitions, sponsorship and event operation, among others. Suning’s sports assets include Italian football club Inter Milan, Chinese football club Jiangsu Suning, streaming platform PPTV, and a chain of sports goods shops.
The rumored deal follows an agreement last year whereby the two companies began exploring joint work, particularly in respect to their media operations. The two companies have worked together since at least 2015, Lanxiong reports, when Alibaba invested in Suning, becoming its second-biggest shareholder.


text: Nauvoo, IL – Production of blue cheese in Nauvoo could begin in about one month. Plans to build a factory on the site of the Baxter Winery were stalled by zoning issues and concerns from neighbors. Spokesman Bob Hopp says the group negotiated an agreement to stay within an existing building for its artisan cheese production. He says any expansion will be done on another site. Hopp has begun remodeling the building, which once housed a gift shop and a glass blower. The firm will also line up the production equipment. He says the firm is contracting for a milk supply. The town's long-term blue cheese factory was recently sold to a conglomerate, which then closed the plant.


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NASHVILLE (Aug. 22)—Beginning Aug. 23, Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. will airlift tires from parent company Bridgestone Corp. in Japan to facilitate its recall in the U.S., the company announced. At least 11 flights will take place between Aug. 23 and Aug. 27, and will continue "nearly every day" as long as necessary, Bridgestone/Firestone said. The company didn´t say how many tires would be on those first flights. Since announcing its recall of the 15-inch ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires Aug. 9, Bridgestone/Firestone has smarted under criticism from anxious motorists about unavailability of replacement tires. As of Aug. 21, the company said it had replaced more than 560,000 tires out of the 6.5 million involved in the recall.
Bridgestone/Firestone to airlift tires from Japan to aid recall
Rubber News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].


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Previous rumours shared by an anonymous Twitter account predicted the iPhone models that are expected to lose support with iOS 17. Now, a new report has shared the list of the models that will be supported by the upcoming software update. According to a report by iPhoneSoft, three iPad models may lose support with iPadOS 17. The latest report corroborates with the previous rumour and has outlined the models that will no longer support iPadOS 17.
The report claims that users need to keep in mind that iPad models which were launched after 2017 are expected to be compatible with iPadOS 17. However, older models usually don’t support the latest features and capabilities that are likely to arrive with the upcoming software.
As per the report, all iPhone models that can run iOS 16 will support iOS 17. A previous report claimed that three iPhone models will lose support with iOS 17.
iPad models that may not support iPadOS 17
The report claims that three iPad models will no longer support iOS 17 once the new software starts rolling out for the users. These three models include — iPad 5th gen, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro 1st gen and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro 1st gen.
The list of iPad models that are likely to be compatible with iOS 17 includes — iPad Air 3rd gen and later, iPad 6th gen and later, iPad mini 5th gen and later along with any iPad Pro model which was released in 2017 and later.


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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Fortune Brands Inc. FO, +1.92% said Tuesday that Norm Wesley will retire from his post of chairman, although he will remain a member of the board. The Deerfield, Ill.-based consumer-brands company said that Bruce Carbonari, who is now its president and chief executive officer, will assume the role of chairman, effective Oct. 1.
Have breaking news sent to your inbox. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Bulletin emails. Sign up here.


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John Hannett - Usdaw General Secretary says: ‘We are pleased that this case is going to be heard sooner rather than later because we had feared that it wouldn’t be concluded until autumn next year. This will mark the end of a six-year legal wrangle about workers who were unfairly ruled out of an award for not being properly consulted on their redundancy, simply because of the size of store they work in.
‘Our case is morally and logically robust. It makes no sense that workers in stores of less than 20 employees were denied compensation, whereas their colleagues in larger stores did qualify for the award. These were mass redundancy situations where thousands of workers lost their jobs. How can anyone suggest that the redundancies should be treated on a store-by-store basis when the whole company was closing down?
‘Having won this case at an Employment Appeal Tribunal, we were stunned when the Government appealed the decision, because they had failed to attend the hearing. We hope that the CJEU will ensure that justice can be done by former Woolworths and Ethel Austin workers.’
The Woolworths / Ethel Austin case will be heard by the Court of Justice of the European Union, in Luxembourg, at 2.30pm, on 20 November and will be in a conflated hearing with the Lyttle case from Northern Ireland and Rabal case from Spain.
In January 2012 Usdaw won compensation worth tens of millions of pounds for 25,000 former employees of both companies, but around 1,200 former employees of Ethel Austin and 3,200 former employees of Woolworths were denied compensation because they worked in stores with fewer than 20 staff.
The decision to deny compensation to staff who worked in smaller shops was based on the interpretation of UK law and it was greeted with outrage by former employees, customers, politicians and sections of the media. Usdaw fought the clear injustice of this decision.
Against this background, in May 2013 Usdaw won a landmark legal case at the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) that should have seen those excluded staff back into the compensation scheme. This ruling not only meant that those excluded staff at Woolworths and Ethel Austin would have been entitled to the compensation received by employees from bigger stores, but that the law would be changed permanently in the same circumstances for all future workers from small stores.
Despite the Government’s failure to attend the EAT hearing they sought leave to appeal the decision, which was granted on 10 September 2013. The Government apologised to the EAT for their non-attendance at the original hearing and the Government were ordered to pay Usdaw’s full costs for the forthcoming appeal. The Court of Appeal decided on 21 January 2014 to refer the matter straight to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Notes for Editors:
An employer proposing to make collective redundancies is required to consult in advance with representatives of the affected employees and the consultation must be completed before any notices of dismissal are issued. A complaint of failure to consult may be made to an employment tribunal and if upheld, the tribunal can make a Protective Award. Before this ruling the interpretation of UK law was that the obligation to consult was limited to situations where 20 or more employees are to be made redundant at one establishment within a 90-day period. In the Ethel Austin and Woolworths cases, each store or workplace was regarded as a separate 'establishment'.
Between 10 February 2010 and 11 April 2010, administrators MCR closed Ethel Austin's Head Office and Distribution Centre in Knowsley and 186 stores located throughout the country. In November 2011, Usdaw won a Protective Award for its members after an Employment Tribunal found that MCR had failed in its statutory duty to consult with Usdaw before making the redundancies. The Tribunal limited the award, which was worth eight weeks pay, to workplaces where 20 or more redundancies were made. As a result, only staff who worked at the company's Head Office and Distribution Centre and one store in Edgware, London actually received the award.
Woolworths went into administration on 27 November 2008 and by early January 2009 the administrators Deloitte had closed all of Woolworths stores, offices and distribution centres and made nearly 30,000 people redundant. In January 2012, Usdaw won a Protective Award for over 24,000 former employees of Woolworths after an Employment Tribunal found that Deloitte had failed in its statutory duty to consult with Usdaw before making the redundancies. Once again the award, worth eight weeks pay, was limited to workplaces where 20 or more redundancies were made. As a result, around 3,200 employees who worked in 180 of Woolworths 814 stores were denied compensation.
Usdaw successfully appealed the decision of both Employment Tribunals to limit the awards to workplaces where 20 or more redundancies were made and the two cases were subsequently combined as they concern the same point of law. BIS did not attend or give evidence to the appeal, even though they were named as correspondents along with the administrators. Only after the appeal ruling was announced did BIS engage and they decided to appeal the appeal ruling. The transcript of proceedings, judgment and directions hearing can be found at: bit.ly/1eICOgd
The Court of Appeal immediately referred the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg. It has been set for 2.30pm on 20 November and will be in a conflated hearing with the Lyttle case from Northern Ireland and Rabal case from Spain.
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fourth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with 430,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 17% in the last five years and by nearly a third in the last decade. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the Union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
For Usdaw press releases visit: www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion


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Apr 7, 2021|
JD Holds Steak Campaign to Adapt to Consumption Trends
by Ling Cao
JD held a Super Steak Campaign during Mar. 22 to Mar. 28, in order to match customers’ increasing demand for purchasing diverse, high-end and specialized steaks.
JD’s data showed that 8,929 tons of steaks were sold during the campaign. Customers who bought steak for the first time on JD increased 120% YOY. Additionally, the campaign accelerated sales for other related categories, in which shrimp, fish and meat sales increased 200%, 110% and 80% YOY, respectively.
A report from Nielsen showed that customers tend to buy the freshest and highest-quality produce and meat, 32% of who are willing to pay for meat from big brands. JD’s data showed the same trend, in which popular steak brands such as Hitomorrow and Hondo sales have surged since March to now.
In another trend, data from JD showed that more and more parents buy steak specialized for kids, as these products normally select tender steak cuts, which are more suitable for kids. Data showed that sales of this category increased 3.5 times in March compared with that in February.
Nielsen’s report unveiled another trend for fresh produce consumption, which is that customers tend to consider whether the shopping experience is convenient. To provide tailored service for customers, JD combined the products with a staggered delivery service, in which customers buy a larger volume of steak, but have the option of postponing delivery of some portion of the steak until the customers are ready, in order to ensure freshness.
JD has long been determined to provide best-in-class steak for customers. Ye Kan, sales manager of meat products at JD Fresh shared that they regularly review customer comments, popular key word searches and more, in order to ensure that JD Fresh is addressing customer’s demands. One example is that last year, JD Fresh designed a steak product specifically for JD’s PLUS members, with premium beef collections and packages which is very popular among PLUS members, with a 97% satisfaction rate.


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Sorry! It seems your android device has a big and serious security flaw. Well, it’s not just your device that’s vulnerable, but 99% of the android phones made in the past four years. Researchers have done some deep digging and have confirmed that a zombie-like security flaw can allow a hacker to take complete control over your android phone.
Yes! A ‘Master Key’ security loophole has been unearthed in the world famous OS by Bluebox security firm.
Have you packed one of the said android phones?
By now, you might have come across some reports about this flaw that can affect 900 million android phones. Assuming your android phone to be at risk, how worried you have to be? If you are in a hurry, then the answer would be – Not too worried! But, that’s only if you stick to the applications from Google Play Store. If you want to know more about the flaw, then here’s the explanation:
Google has developed a lot in the couple of years to offer the best user experience that is comparable to the Apple’s iOS. Starting from the Android Cupcake version 1.5 to the Android Jelly Bean version 4.2, Google has constantly upgraded its features and has made its mark as the finest operating system in the smartphone market. But, it’s open source and the android fragmentation has let to great concerns about malicious software and security holes. The weakness is so dangerous that it can turn any application on your android phone into a malicious Trojan.
Android Versions at Risk:
This definitely appears to be a serious vulnerability for almost all the android devices with these versions of android:
• Donut 1.6,
• Éclair 2.0–2.1,
• Froyo 2.2,
• Gingerbread 2.3–2.3.7,
• Honeycomb 3.1–3.2,
• Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.X,
• Jelly Bean 4.1.X–4.2.X.
The security flaw revolves only around applications. So, if you haven’t installed any apps (then, what are you doing with your phone), you are probably safe. But, for those who live with the apps on their android phone, there are high chances to fall foul of the hack. It seems that the flaw lies in the verification process of the APK files or Android app packages.
Due to this flaw, the code of these app packages can be altered secretly. Since these apps, when downloaded, comes with privileged access to the android device, the possibility of ‘Trojan’ apps to gain full access to your android phone is extremely high. In other words, this Trojan can take over the various aspects of your device, steal your personal information stored in the device, or even turn your phone into a part of wider botnet.
The problem has not stopped here! In fact the problem is exacerbated by the smartphone manufacturers. Since the android operating system is fragmented to various versions by the smartphone developers according to their need, getting the operating system updates with security fixes out to the android users is more likely to be the most difficult task. And so, the chances that you never get the security fixes are high. Hideous, isn’t it?
It’s really worth noting that this issue pointed out by Bluebox, appears to be serious indeed. But falling as a prey to hackers would certainly require your authentication to download an app with the modified malicious code. To put it across simply, it requires user actions like downloading apps from a non-official source. Then, why not avoid it?
Sources reveal that Google has fixed the Play store and the users are now not allowed to download those apps that are vulnerable to this flaw. But when it comes to apps from third parties or even the apps from the smartphone manufacturers, the chances for this security flaw are really high.
So now, you neither know the actual impact of this vulnerability, nor the timeline for fixing it! Just stay cool with fingers crossed and wait for the smartphone manufacturers to release their patched versions of android OS (something that happens notoriously slowly) to fix this massive security flaw.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The commission help keep the rest of my content free, so thank you!


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The release of Aliens: Colonial Marines has many feeling ripped off due to the demo being of much higher quality than the final version. We spoke with Howard Warshaw, designer of the infamous E.T. video game, on his thoughts about Aliens.
Earlier today, we spoke with Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang about their new handheld tentatively titled Shield.
With Kotaku putting out more inflammatory headlines and stupid opinions (we will not be linking them to give them more hits), we asked former Kotaku editor Brian Crecente about his time working at Kotaku.
Moby Dick Studios, creators behind the The Phantom Pain, have been hard to reach due to their relatively low profile. The only known employee is CEO Joakim Mogren and we were able to get an exclusive interview with him and his family.
Masaya Matsuura revolutionized the music game genre when he released PaRappa the Rapper in 1996. Today, he talks about the current state of the rhythm game genre, the best video game soundtracks and where it went wrong on Major Minor’s Majestic March.
After Jerry Lambert, the actor who plays Kevin Butler, appeared in a Bridgestone commercial that promoted the Wii, Sony has sued him for trademark infringement. We spoke with the actor about the case.
Mojang, the company who developed Minecraft and helmed by Markus Persson, recently entered their office building into a contest. We conducted an exclusive interview with the building designer, Jaakko Gunnarsson.
Inafune’s departure from Capcom in 2010 was a shock to the gaming community. In this exclusive interview, he talks about his departure, his new company and his hatred of Capcom.
After years of silence after they had left Rare, we have obtained an exclusive interview with the founders of Rare. In it, we talk about their personal lives, time at Nintendo and how Microsoft destroyed Rare.


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With helpless customers calling in to postpone the delivery of goods by a few days, even weeks, these providers have no choice but to pile up stock at their godowns.
“As we do not have card swipe machines, customers are compelled to pay by cash for their COD orders. Now, with many facing an acute shortage of valid currency notes, they are requesting us to hold on to their packets till they either manage to withdraw some cash from the ATM or exchange old notes. At present, we have orders worth Rs 1-2 lakh stacked at our centre,” said a delivery executive with Online Express service, an upcoming courier service in Hyderabad.
Reportedly, while some prominent e-commerce portals such as Amazon and Flipkart have discontinued their COD option for the time-being, there are many others who haven’t followed suit.
“We have received a communication from our headquarters about not delivering or booking COD orders. Packets that reached our centres before the currency commotion began, are still lying with us. Since we are not accepting old currency notes, we cannot entertain the request of customers to pay with demonitised Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 notes,” said Mahesh Singh, an executive with First Flight Courier Ltd’s Masab Tank branch.


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Inc. is making big strategic moves as it prepares to be spun off from Time Warner. In the biggest move so far, on Tuesday, newly appointed CEO Joseph Ripp announced the acquisition of all of American
Express Publishing’s magazines, including Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, Departures, Executive Travel
and Black Ink
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed,
but the price tag is believed to be less than $100 million, according to unnamed sources cited by the New York Post.
The AmEx titles will become part of Time Inc.’s Lifestyle
Group, reporting to executive vice president and Lifestyle Group president Evelyn Webster.
Previously, the publishers had a strategic relationship with Time Inc., handling various
logistical issues for the AmEx titles. That partnership was forged two decades ago by Ripp during his previous tenure as CFO of Time Inc. Thus, the timing of his appointment as Time Inc. CEO last
week, and the news of the acquisition probably isn’t a coincidence.
It’s unclear whether American Express cardholders will continue to receive certain AmEx titles gratis.
was a freebie for Platinum Card and Centurion members, Executive Travel
went to Corporate Platinum Card holders and Black Ink
was delivered twice a year to
The promise of a well-heeled audience has helped AmEx Publishing woo high-end advertisers and defy the general downward trend in print ad pages affecting the rest of the
magazine industry, although it is not entirely immune. In the first half of the year, Departures
was up 13.8% to 352 ad pages and Travel + Leisure
was up 4.3% to 460, according to
the Publishers Information Bureau. However, Food & Wine
was down 4.2% to 379. That compares to an overall drop of 4.9% for all titles tracked by PIB.


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By CCN.com: Leading a $20 million Series B round of funding in capital market blockchain technology company Symbiont could arguably be Nasdaq’s biggest crypto play to date.
It comes right after Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman gave further clues to Nasdaq’s commitment to cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption this week. It could also mean Nasdaq will create a platform to issue and trade tokenized securities.
$20 MILLION INVESTMENT AND COMMERCIAL INTEGRATION
Nasdaq Ventures has a led the round of funding to 2015 blockchain startup Symbiont and is joined by Citi Ventures, Galaxy Digital, and Raptor Group.
Symbiont describes Nasdaq as an “anchor partner” which will benefit from developing applications on its “Assembly” enterprise blockchain and smart contract platform. According to the recent release:
Assembly provides the opportunity for new participants to enter the digital asset market and offers existing participants a superior infrastructure on which to build the future of financial markets.
Nasdaq will be using the platform to “explore new business opportunities” with clients looking for smart contract and tokenization solutions.
Gary Offner, Head of Nasdaq Ventures says its investments “help build our future market infrastructure used by more than 100 marketplaces around the world.”
Revealing that as well as supporting a “unique institutional” application of blockchain that this latest investment will:
Include the integration of Symbiont’s enterprise blockchain and smart contract platform into the Nasdaq Financial Framework.
IS A NASDAQ SECURITY TOKEN TRADING PLATFORM IMMINENT?
The Symbiont and Nasdaq partnership could see Nasdaq quickly move into creating tokenized securities for clients as well as trading. Something that has been rumored and connected with Symbiont for the past few months.
NASDAQ’S BIGGEST CRYPTO TECHNOLOGY PLAY YET?
In December Nasdaq Ventures joined Fidelity in a $27.5 million round of funding for cryptocurrency exchange ErisX. The funding split was not revealed and though Nasdaq headlined the investment it does not appear to be lead funder. The Symbiont partnership could possibly be Nasdaq’s biggest financial commitment to the nascent cryptocurrency and blockchain sector yet.
Furthermore, not only are there rumors that Nasdaq will make a move to securities token offerings. Nasdaq is also working with VanEck on plans to bring more bitcoin-based futuresto the US market in early 2019. There is a delay for these plans while Nasdaq and VanEck negotiate with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). And, the CFTC is feeling the effects of the partial US federal government shutdown.
THE NEXT STEP INTO CRYPTO?
In July 2018, while already working to implement Nasdaq technology into several cryptocurrency exchanges, Nasdaq held closed door talks to discuss the future of cryptocurrency. CEO Adena Friedman had said she believed cryptocurrency was the “right next step” for currency.
Speaking on route to Davos, Friedman gave further clues as to Nasdaq’s commitment to cryptocurrency:
The invention itself is a tremendous demonstration of genius and creativity, and it deserves an opportunity to find a sustainable future in our economy.
Friedman believes digital currencies will have a “role in the future.” She picked out Nasdaq’s technology offering to crypto players and its investment in ErisX as examples saying:
At Nasdaq, we are working to help cryptocurrencies gain investors’ trust.
And, back in April 2018, Friedman was asked if Nasdaq had its own direct plans for a cryptocurrency exchange. The CEO called cryptocurrency an “unregulated space” notably added:
Nasdaq would consider becoming a crypto exchange, over time.
One could speculate that a Nasdaq platform for tokenized securities is looking likely for 2019. And that a natural progression from this might well be a cryptocurrency exchange, at some point.


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Huobi News: Bitcoin and Ethereum trading platform Huobi has made a significant change to its user agreement statement. The exchange announced that it will no longer allow users based in China to trade derivatives on its website.
Huobi has closed the doors to its China-based customers
China has been added to the list of illegal jurisdictions for derivatives trading service Huobi. However, according to the notification updated on June 26, users can access the public exchange platform and spot trading.
“The Company may, in its sole discretion, suspend or terminate your account, use of the service, or processing of any digital asset transaction at any time if it becomes aware that you have violated this agreement.”
Announcing that the use of services is also prohibited in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Crimea, the company has announced that derivatives trading services provided through its websites are in China, Taiwan, Israel, Iraq, Bangladesh. , Bolivia, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, Sevastopol and the United Kingdom is prohibited for use only for retail users.
The list of restricted countries or regions may change due to new products or policies based on user agreement.
Twitter account crisis resolved
This update has also caught the public’s attention last week as it followed the news that Huobi’s Twitter account disappeared but reappeared within the week. After the incident, the company tweeted that “everything is back to normal” and “a lot of rumors are circulating in the crypto world right now. Huobi assures that we work under fully legal and compliant standards to best protect users and your assets.” he said.
When the account disappeared, many thought that the Hong Kong-listed Huobi was targeted by regional regulators.


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For over two decades, the Catalyst family of switches has been known for pushing the limits of what the network could do. Last year, Cisco’s Catalyst 9000 switches pushed those limits even further by introducing the world to intent-based networking, helping big networks learn, adapt and evolve. Now, Cisco is expanding its iconic Catalyst portfolio, giving access to all organizations including their branches in the Middle East, across wired and wireless. It is bringing intent-based networking to deployments of all sizes, delivering a smarter, simpler and more secure network to more customers than ever before.
Finnish telecommunications vendor Nokia has announced that it has signed a lucrative patent license agreement with Chinese consumer electronics behemoth OPPO.
A Chinese court ordered a ban in the country on iPhone sales in a patent dispute, said US chipmaking giant Qualcomm.
Nokia has deployed its 5G site for the South African operator rain. The launch and subsequent rollout are well aligned with the government’s strategy to connect the unconnected and improve the lives of citizens, and match rain’s main objective to provide affordable broadband internet to the masses in South Africa.
Following the remarkable success the brand has been achieving in the Lebanese market, Huawei Consumer Business Group (CBG) announced recently plans to inaugurate the first new experience store (HES) in Beirut, Lebanon. The store will be designed with futuristic space and aims at offering an intelligent high-tech experience for consumers to have access to Huawei’s latest products and services under one roof.
The 9th Global Mobile Broadband Forum – "5G Inspiring the Future" – kicked off in London today, gathering more than 2,200 leaders and analysts from mobile telecom operators, vertical industries, and standards organizations around the world.
European telecommunications vendor Ericsson has compiled another comprehensive Mobility Report and the strategic forecast is projecting that 5G will reach 1.5bn subscriptions by 2024.
Nokia announced its latest CloudBand Infrastructure Software to give communication service providers (CSPs) and other customers sharper cloud management solutions that improve service delivery and significantly reduce operating costs as 5G deployments get underway.
Huawei officially released the Mobile Automation Engine (MAE) solution during its first wireless automation roundtable which was held during the 2018 GMBBF. The solution aims to accelerate full-scenario autonomous driving in mobile networks.
King Khalid Responsible Competitiveness (RC) Award has honored Huawei, a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, with the first place prize of the prestigious King Khalid Responsible Competitiveness Award. This announcement was made during the illustrious annual Award Gala which took place on 12th November at Al Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh. During the event, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman recognized Huawei for its excellent sustainability practices and responsible competitiveness leadership, as well as its exceptional management capabilities and innovative social and environmental initiatives.


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The online auction house said it earned $109.7 million, or 33 cents per diluted share, in the second quarter, compared with $54.3 million, or 19 cents per diluted share, for the same quarter last year. The company reported second-quarter net revenue of $509.3 million, a 91 percent increase over $266.3 million in the year-ago quarter.
The company's results topped analysts' expectations by 2 cents, according to a survey of analysts by First Call.
eBay also said its board had approved a 2-for-1 stock split that would go into effect Aug. 28 for shareholders of record as of Aug. 4. In addition, the company raised its outlook for the year, saying its revenue could be as high as $2.08 billion in 2003, a $25 million increase above what it had previously predicted, saying it saw strength in both its U.S. and international units.
"Our thriving community of buyers and sellers continues to spread the word that eBay is a great place to trade, build a business, make friends, and have fun," eBay CEO Meg Whitman said in a statement.
eBay is looking to new revenue opportunities to boost earnings in coming quarters
Taking asuch as Google and Overture Services, eBay introduced a keyword advertising program for members last month at its annual member conference in Orlando, Fla. As with so-called pay-for-performance search, eBay store owners can bid for rights to certain keywords, such as "baseball" or "computers," related to their products. The highest bidder would then display a simple text promotion at the top of those keyword search results. Bids start at 10 cents.
"The banner ad business was not met with the same level of success" as paid links have recently, eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove said. "This is another way to look at advertising on our site, with that strategic goal of driving more buyers to eBay sellers and increasing transactions."CNET News.com's Stefanie Olsen contributed to this report.


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Spending too much on holiday purchases can not only wreak havoc on your credit, it can also strain your sanity.
A recent survey by coupon website RetailMeNot.com found some serious buyers’ remorse when it comes to missing out on discounts. Holidays aside, 72% of consumers said they’d be disappointed to learn they paid more than they should have when shopping for themselves. In fact 74% said they won’t buy something for themselves because they would feel guilty about it.
But when it comes to seasons of mass gift-giving, the regret worsens. Nearly 9 in 10 shoppers said if they found out they could have gotten a discount on a purchase they already made, they would regret having made it. When combined with the finding that 87% of holiday shoppers realize they missed out on savings when buying gifts, it seems there are a lot of people experiencing bouts of consumer angst instead of holiday cheer.
The survey was conducted Aug. 29 to Sept. 4 via The Omnibus Company. A nationally representative sample of 1,006 Americans ages 18 and older were polled, and the results carry a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. In an email, RetailMeNot said the full results will be released in the coming week.
The Holiday Hangover
In a preview of this survey, RetailMeNot said consumers are likely to overspend and break their budgets on gift purchases, triggering feelings of guilt and anxiety.
It also leads to what we like to call the holiday credit hangover, when the bliss of bringing others joy wears off, and it’s time to pay the credit card bills. Considering how much shoppers are beating themselves up after the fact (63% said they would feel regret over a missed discount of less than 25%), it would seem they’d be more prudent during the shopping process.
For whatever reason, they’re not. But these figures don’t mean gift-givers are doomed to suffer anxiety come January.
Saving early (i.e. now) for holiday spending is one way to spare your credit, which could take a hit if you rack up a ton of debt while showering your family with fancy gifts. And as busy as you may feel, you should take the time to research potential deals.
At the same time, obsessively scouring ads a la “Extreme Couponing” won’t do much for your stress levels. The bottom line is to know your spending limit, do your best to maximize it with a little research and stick to it all the way until you’ve wrapped your last gift.


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Bollywood icon Kareena Kapoor signs as the latest brand ambassador for sports giant Puma’s India-wide campaign.
PUMA has announced Bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor Khan as their latest brand ambassador in India. After signing with her step-daughter Sara Ali Khan last year, PUMA has now taken Kareena on board.
The 39-year-old actress will now join the likes of MC Mary Kom, Dutee Chand, Sara Ali Khan and Selena Gomez, among others.
PUMA has a league of power-packed women featuring as the face of their brand. Through this, the brand aims to ignite a stronger narrative for women, by women.
For Andhra Pradesh news: https://www.vaartha.com/english-news/andhra-pradesh-news/


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UK headquartered international supply chain specialist, Advanced Supply Chain Group (ASCG), has expanded its operations with a new base in Dubai trading as Advanced Intelligent Supply Chain.
The company, which counts many of the world’s fastest growing retailers amongst its customer base, has made two senior appointments to grow the business in the Middle East. Russell Treadwell brings 15 years’ sea and airfreight experience and Manraj Ahdan has worked in the sector for nearly two decades. The recruits will work closely with CEO, Mike Danby MBE and Commercial Director Ben Balfour to build ASCG’s Middle East operations.
With exclusive links to Dubai World Central (DWC) Airport, ASCG has enhanced its air-global freight capabilities with this move and already secured work with customers in the region. The business will use the base as a strategic global hub for its blue-chip retail, manufacturing and oil and gas clients.
Mike Danby MBE (pictured), CEO of ASCG commented: “International trade centres are shifting. Whether you look towards Europe and Brexit, the trend of production shifting to South East Asia, Mexico and Central Europe or the new trade tariffs between the US and China, it’s an unprecedented period of change. But change brings opportunities, so we’ve made the investment to build a meaningful operation in the Middle East.
“We have grown the business by being faster, better and cheaper than the competition. The new hub will complement our existing network and position us to offer better service and more options for existing customers, as well as working with the growing e-commerce and retail businesses in the Middle East.”
Manraj Ahdan, who has been working in the region for nearly a decade, added: “I have 18 years of experience in air and sea freight – most recently in the Middle East. In that time, we’ve seen rapid growth of the industry in Dubai itself and as a global hub. ASCG will be a compelling option for organisations in the Middle East as our point of difference in the market is our proprietary technology and the business’ truly global network.”
Russell Treadwell added: “My experience is in identifying and integrating bespoke multi-modal solutions, which will drive down costs while improving route and speed to market. ASCG’s existing track record is being very well received in the market.”
ASCG has recently announced the appointment of CFO, Claire Webb in the UK who joins from retailer, Go Outdoors and will support the organisation’s international growth ambitions.
With seven UK sites and operations in the Czech Republic, Germany and China, ASCG facilitates the transportation of goods and other products from their source to final destination ensuring that they arrive in the most timely and cost-effective manner, retail-ready and with complete traceability at all points along the journey.


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Marketing Edinburgh suffers fresh criticism over cuts to film arm
Marketing Edinburgh has been criticised by politicians at Edinburgh City Council following its decision to make cuts to Edinburgh Film Focus, a branch of Marketing Edinburgh dedicated to bringing film and TV productions to the city.
Edinburgh City Council, which gives the organisation more than £1 million every year, attacked senior management with members for making job cuts.
SNP councillor David Key said that Edinburgh Film Focus was a “kernel of creativity” in the otherwise troubled and “monochrome” marketing agency.
Key went on to describe the website of Marketing Edinburgh as “appalling”. He said: “I don’t know if any of you have ever seen the Marketing Edinburgh website, and I do encourage you to do so, because it’s the dullest website I’ve seen this year. It’s appalling actually. This is the shop front of Edinburgh. Half the page is a disclaimer about privacy.
“Eventually when you look hard you find the Edinfilm.com link and you go through a cinematic transition to this vibrant, colourful, Oz-like world.
“That sums up the wider situation completely. [Marketing Edinburgh] is a monochromatic, corporate body and inside there’s this kernel of creativity which we are about to chop in half - and I think now is the wrong time to do that.
“Given that we fund Marketing Edinburgh substantially, what can we do to make them change their mind on this one?”
In response, Andrew Burns, the Labour council leader, said: “I’m under no illusion about the importance, in terms of finance to the Edinburgh economy, of supporting the film, industry”.
“You’re not the only person who has raised the reduction in staff at Film Focus with me.
“Indeed we had a round table discussion directly with the [council] chief executive about these very issues. There is no question that this decision may be reviewed. It will be reviewed.”
Edinburgh Film Focus generates roughly £5 million each year for the capital city’s economy, meanwhile Glasgow brings in about £26 million from the same industry with recent deals seeing Brad Pitt film multi-million pound World War Z in the city centre.
A spokeswoman for Marketing Edinburgh commented: “We have had to make some difficult decisions in order to make sure Marketing Edinburgh has the breadth of skills and resources it requires to meet the numerous opportunities to promote Scotland’s Capital.
“We believe that we’ve made the right decisions in balancing all aspects of our remit from the film unit to supporting the Council and other businesses across the city. We will continue with this structure and of course review and measure performance as we go to make sure that the organisation as a whole thrives, whilst delivering significant economic return to the city of Edinburgh.”
The comments come following a disastrous year for Marketing Edinburgh after its 'Incrediburgh' initiative was blasted by MPs which culminated in many senior members of management leaving the company. Director of marketing, Alan Gibson, resigned in February this year while CEO Lucy Bird left the organisation late last year.
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Sony slashed its annual profit targets after posting sharp quarterly losses. The loss in the last period was $ 197 million. The image division, responsible for the production of films, recorded a loss of US $ 181 million.
Revenue in the period grew 10.6%, reaching US $ 18.1 billion, with the mobile device sector accounting for US $ 4.27 billion – an increase of 39% in the annual comparison.
The previous profit projection for 2013 (until March) was 230 billion yen and increased to 170 billion yen.
The company expects lower sales in the division of TVs, digital cameras and PCs. The gaming arm remains with the same projections, and the smartphone segment is expected to grow in the coming months.
The forecast is below the average of 221 billion yen expected by 22 analysts fromThomson Reuters I / B / E / S.


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Elon Musk has once again claimed the title of the world’s richest person, following a period of controversy surrounding his wealth. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk’s net worth reached $181 billion, surpassing that of Bernard Arnault, whose family owns LVMH, the world’s leading luxury group. Arnault’s net worth was estimated at $185 billion.
Musk’s return to the top of the rich list is due in part to the resurgence of Tesla’s stock, which has doubled in value since hitting a low point on January 6th. Despite recent setbacks, Musk’s innovative ventures continue to capture investor interest and fuel his wealth.
Meanwhile, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos remains in third place on the list with an estimated fortune of $117 billion.
image credit: forbes


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Electronic Arts, one of the largest publishers in gaming, won’t be having its E3 season showcase this year, saying that it won’t be able to present games to fans on time.
In a statement given to IGN, EA said that it will instead share more details about its ongoing projects “when the time is right.” EA’s full statement can be found below.
“We love EA Play Live as it’s our way of connecting with our players and sharing what’s new with all of you. However, this year things aren’t lining up to show you everything on one date. We have exciting things happening at our world-class studios and this year we’ll reveal much more about these projects when the time is right for each of them. We look forward to spending time with you throughout the year.”
EA has been a staple of E3 for years now, though the company’s presentation separated from the expo in 2016, receiving an EA Play Live branding. E3, notably, won’t be in-person this year, even as other games industry events, including GDC and Pax East 2022 press forward. The Entertainment Software Association canceled E3’s in-person event this past January, citing the COVID-19 Omicron variant. EA skipped out on presenting at E3 2021 and instead hosted its own separate EA Play Live event.
However, EA’s statement makes it clear that COVID isn’t why the company isn’t having a show; its games simply aren’t ready for the public just yet. EA’s developers currently have a number of games in development, with Motive Studio’s Dead Space remake releasing sometime next year and Respawn working on multiple Star Wars titles, including a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
- The future of E3 is in question again as ESA reportedly seeks a 2025 reinvention
- With E3 2023 gone, other gaming events need to step up
- Ubisoft will not attend E3 2023, but it will still host a summer live stream
- Here’s what E3 2023 could look like without Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft
- Summer Game Fest returns just before E3 2023 next June


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Twitter's management team goes on the road Friday to promote its highly anticipated Nov. 15 listing on the New York Stock Exchange. But the 8-year-old Internet messaging company's Initial Public Offering is already being overshadowed by a bigger public offering that hasn't been formally announced.
Sometime after Twitter's moment in the Wall Street spotlight, it's expected billionaire Jack Ma will step to the podium in New York to ring the bell heralding his Alibaba Group Holding's listing in New York, the biggest U.S. IPO for a Chinese technology company, and one that dwarfs Twitter in size, revenue—and significance.
"Alibaba is a one-time thing," said Benjamin Joffe, an angel investor and founder of Asia-focused consultancy Plus8Star in Beijing. "How often do you list a $100 billion company?"
Alibaba, an e-commerce platform in mainland China that includes features of Amazon, eBay and hosting sites for small businesses, could reach revenue of $5 billion this year and $1 billion in profits. Alibaba CEO Jonathan Lu said recently the company expects to triple the volume of transactions on its marketplaces to about 3 trillion yuan ($490 billion) by 2016, overtaking Wal-Mart as the world's biggest retail network. Analysts have estimated it will raise $10 billion to $15 billion in its IPO that should happen in the first quarter of next year and value Alibaba at as much as $100 billion. That would make it the biggest IPO since Facebook's debut last year.
By contrast, Twitter is looking to raise $1 billion at a valuation of $10 billion to $15 billion. Twitter's first disclosure on the way to an IPO reported $422 million in revenue through Sept. 30, up 106 percent—and a net loss of $134 million, also up 89 percent.
Alibaba's IPO will be the culmination of a fierce behind-the-scenes battle among the world's stock markets for the right to take the Chinese e-commerce giant public. Whether Alibaba goes with the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, stock markets in London and Hong Kong will lose out on an IPO that could deliver millions of dollars in fees to bankers, brokers, and attorneys. "It's a pretty competitive landscape out there," conceded Alistair Walmsley, head of primary markets at the London Stock Exchange Group, which has not been in the running for the Alibaba listing.
But New York may get the coveted prize. Alibaba decided not to go with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after it rejected the Internet company's unusual governance structure, which would keep management control of the company in the hands of a minority of 28 founders and shareholders. "Our overarching objective is to maintain our culture," Alibaba Executive Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai wrote in a recent blog posting.
"Alibaba's decision to turn outside of Asia is notable," said Benny Pang, managing partner of the Hong Kong office of Loeb & Loeb, an international law firm long involved with Chinese IPOs. "For a Chinese company to go offshore, the first choice is going to be Hong Kong," he noted, because of language issues, compliance costs and proximity.
Pang admits a listing in New York would give Alibaba a lot of visibility. "A major attraction for the Chinese Internet giant is the robust U.S. market, and the sheer size and depth of the U.S. exchanges," noted Kathleen Smith, principal of Renaissance Capital, an international IPO market research firm.
In the first three quarters of 2013, companies raised $36.5 billion in 104 deals on New York Euronext. By contrast, Nasdaq OMX trailed with $11.3 billion in 87 IPOs. Hot on its heels was the London Stock Exchange and its smaller-cap AIM market, where 64 companies raised $7.85 billion. It was followed by the Hong Kong exchange, where companies raised $7.5 billion in IPOs in the first nine months of this year, up 30 percent from the same period in 2012.
In the Big Apple, it's yet to be seen if the NYSE will sweep its archrival. This month it scored a big win when Twitter announced it would list on its exchange instead of Nasdaq, the traditional home of tech start-ups. Tech companies have cooled on Nasdaq since the botched launch of Facebook last year. In May, the Securities and Exchange Commission fined that exchange $10 million for bungling the social network's stock offering. Just three months later, another technical glitch halted Nasdaq trading.
So far, Alibaba has been silent on any plans to go public. A spokesman for the company told CNBC that no underwriters have been hired, and that no listing location has been chosen.
Alibaba's IPO is an important breakthrough for Chinese companies, which have been shunned by foreign investors since a series of accounting scandals broke in 2010. "Up to 2010, everybody wanted them," said attorney Mitchell Nussbaum, head of capital markets and Asia for Loeb & Loeb. "It went cold on them very, very quickly." But Alibaba's association with Yahoo, which holds 24 percent of its shares, has given the e-commerce giant transparency that many other Chinese companies can only envy.
- Twitter quitters dog IPO
- Alibaba gets clearance to list in the US
- Alibaba to transform China's 'e-conomy' with $500 bln marketplace
- NYSE to test system before Twitter IPO
- Faber Report: Yahoo's ownership of Alibaba