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After all the hoopla when Congress criticized General Motors executives for flying to Washington, D.C., to request financial aid, company executives are back in the air, The New York Times reports. They are promoting the sale of GM stock.
The use of chartered flights does not violate the U.S. Treasury Department’s rules that the company can’t own or lease business jets. Until now, company executives have ridden commercial airlines. The company was forced to sell its fleet of Gulfstream business jets as part of the government’s demands in return for a federal loan.
The Times reports that Ford, which did not need a federal bailout, kept its airplanes in 2008 when Chrysler and General Motors were selling theirs. Ford received the same criticism as the other two companies. General Motors was forced to fire 49 employees in its flight department that operated the company fleet of seven airplanes.
Thousands of layoffs remain in effect in Wichita as demand for business jets shrank and manufacturers cut back production in the deepening recession. Recovery is now estimated to begin in 2012. Embraer predicts sales will return to 2008 levels in 2018.


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He says that his phone was hacked.
It featured a photo of a nude 11-year-old holding a phallic-shaped metallic model of a futuristic airplane.
Kim Kardashian West For some celebs, a nude photo is just about feeling confident.
She revealed that she worked in the restaurant industry and was laid off because of the pandemic but recently landed another post.
I'll just fucking put them up.

domain: news


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Hotels in the provinces saw the largest increase recorded in gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) while London showed a general decline with average room rate (ARR) being the only exception.
The North East was among the best performing regions registering a 20.7 per cent increase in GOPPAR, according to Hotstats. Occupancy increased by 2.6 percentage points and a surge of 5.6 per cent in ARR resulted in an uplift in revenue per available room (RevPAR) of 9.3 per cent to £53.28.
Non-room revenue also climbed with total revenue per available room (TRevPAR) up by 6.4 per cent to £93.74, compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, hotels at Heathrow reported mixed fortunes for February with RevPAR up and profits down. Despite a RevPAR increase of 1.5 per cent, driven by an increase in demand and ARR, TRevPAR and GOPPAR levels fell.
There was a general decrease in non-room revenue per available room from food (-6 per cent) and beverage (-0.2 per cent) which resulted in the TRevPAR levels declining to £82.84 (-0.5 per cent). The GOPPAR decline of 0.6 per cent to £24.55 was impacted by a 1 per cent increase in overhead costs.
The City of Manchester performed strongly in February with TRevPAR and GOPPAR levels rising by 12.9 per cent and 30.3 per cent respectively. All key indicators were up for the city with occupancy (+4.7 percentage points to 81.6 per cent), ARR (+9.4 per cent to £82.58) and RevPAR growth of 16.0 per cent. An overall positive performance was recorded in ancillary departments and TRevPAR went up by 12.9 per cent to £112.17.


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Blockchain-as-a-Service project Stratis has chalked up a major victory as its full node is now available on Microsoft’s Azure Workbench.
The development is particularly noteworthy because it brings the Bitcoin cryptocurrency to Microsoft’s ever growing blockchain development platform. This follows the launch of the Stratis ICO platform on the Azure Workbench in late August.
The Stratis C# full node is now available on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace. This greatly simplifies the deployment of our platform and also brings Bitcoin to azure https://t.co/tx3YTHKgxA #bitcoin $strat @Azure pic.twitter.com/IQC1CTjX6D
— chris (@chrisblockchain) September 22, 2018
Stratis, which caters to the large C# developer workforce, numbering in millions, can now begin working on delivering blockchain-based solutions to a much larger market, as Microsoft strongly encourages development in C# and has connections to several parties through its cloud services.
The full node service that Stratis is running on Azure will let enterprises customers consider blockchain as a viable solution to their business needs, including smart contracts for automation, ICO launches and sidechain development.
Founder and CEO of Stratis Chris Trew explained the benefits of its ICO platform solutions:
Utilizing the Stratis ICO Platform on Azure allows ICO Administrators to leverage the advantages of Azure’s PaaS offerings. Removing the headaches with typical standalone virtual machine deployments that are all too common. Our solution tied with Microsoft Azure allows an ICO Administrator to ensure their data is safe and their ICO is always available.
The ICO platform offers a number of features to make it easy for entities to launch their ICOs, like to ability to filter participants by geography. Stratis has developed such features to make it regulation compliance as hassle-free as possible.
Every full node on Azure will be able to validate transactions and blocks. The primary benefit is that development will become much easier, letting developers switch between different networks and choose API endpoints.
To bring developers up to speed on blockchain development, Stratis has also launched Stratis Academy, a comprehensive of source of development documentation.
Stratis Q4 Roadmap Coming This Week
The release of Stratis Full Node on Azure coincides with an announcement that the team will release a roadmap for Q4 2018 this week, which will discuss timelines for staking, smart contracts, Tumblebit and cold staking — in addition to a “secret project.”
The Stratis Q4 roadmap will be released next week containing production release dates for #sidechains #smartcontracts #coldstaking #Tumblebit on Stratis mainnet and the secret project we have been working on $strat #stratis #blockchain pic.twitter.com/7oq4YlvtyZ
— chris (@chrisblockchain) September 21, 2018
Stratis has been remarkably consistent and timely with its releases and development schedule, enjoying an excellent 2018 so far.
Achievements for this year include the launch of smart contracts in C# Alpha, Stratis Academy and an iOS app, and several partnerships. They distinguish themselves from other projects with the punctual accomplishment of milestones, and the arrival of full nodes on the Azure Workbench is a well-deserved result of all their efforts over the past few years.
We can safely assume that one of the main priorities of Stratis has is to foster a developer community — hence, the full node launch and partnership with C#Corner.
Now that a viable mechanism exists for developing blockchain applications, we expect that the team will think of various ways to improve the process, and consider what new features they could possibly add.
With any luck, we’ll now see applications and ICOs launched on Stratis, as we wait for smart contracts to become fully operational.


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To increase broadband penetration by making it affordable for end-users, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has proposed the Ministry of Finance abolish service tax on pure internet/broadband services in Budget 2013-14.
The high cost of internet, which attracts 12 per cent service tax, in line with other telecom services, is one of the factors behind the slow growth of the service in India, DoT said in its recommendations for Budget 2013-14. It has set a target for 175 million broadband users by 2015. As of November-end, the number of broadband users in India stood at just 14.88 million, according to data by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
DoT has also recommended value-added services (VAS) attract service tax, as these should be treated as supply of service.
As the telecom sector was classified as an infrastructure sector, it should get the concessions given to other infrastructure sectors, DoT said. All telecom services should get benefits under Section 80 IA of the Income Tax Act - a 100 per cent tax holiday for l0 years in a block of 20 years - as applicable to other infrastructure sectors. To promote consolidation, this should also be made available in the case of mergers and amalgamation of telecom services, DoT said. It also sought the sunset clause for the telecom sector in Section 80 IA be done away with.
Currently, telecom service providers get 100 per cent tax holiday for five years and a 30 per cent rebate in the subsequent five years in a block of 15 years, in respect of an undertaking providing telecom services. The benefit is available to telecom service providers who started the services between April 1 1995 and March 31 2005. However, telecom infrastructure companies providing towers, ducts, and dark fibre are left out of this.
To promote the use of smartphones and tablets, DoT has recommended the government amend 7(vii) of Rule 3 to exclude the benefit on the use of tablets/iPod/smartphones by employees from the ambit of perquisite', since such devices are merely advanced versions of laptops/computers, provide similar features and are used as tools by employees.
DoT also proposed the government allow deferred payments of excise duties for telecom equipment and their parts on an interest-free basis for five years. Currently, telecom companies pay about 12 per cent excise duty on imported items. However, there is no customs duty levied on these. It also proposed the government declare telecom equipment, including mobile phones and its parts, as deemed exports and offer all export benefits to these.
To promote manufacturing of telecom equipment, DoT has recommended a 10-years tax holiday on a block of 15 years on all profits and gains from the manufacturing industry, including the mobile phone industry and those for its parts and components. It has also proposed a tax holiday for technology imports for the mobile industry.


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Top beauty tips for the mature woman
LISTENING to an interview on Radio National with Fran Kelly and a Dr. Greg Goodman, dermatologist, associate professor, Monash University and chief of surgery, Skin and Cancer Foundation, would have made many an Aussie woman perk up and listen closely.
According to Dr. Goodman, a team of international scientists has found that Australian women's faces are ageing faster than those of women in the UK, the US and Canada.
The study of more than 4,000 women from around the world found moderate to severe signs of ageing 20 years earlier in Australian women compared to women in other countries.
This is not good news even though Australian women have long been aware of the sun's damage to the skin.
Dr. Goodman stressed that skin-care and skin protection from a very young age is one way to help prevent this premature ageing.
One of Australia's most respected beauty columnists, Stephanie Darling, is also one of the country's loudest advocates when it comes to anti-ageing and agrees wholeheartedly that the consistent use of sunscreen is essential for everyone, no matter the age.
Stephanie has spent her entire career chasing beauty in her work at some of the world's biggest and most luxurious magazines and interviewed countless celebrities.
She has even compared cosmetic surgery with Jane Fonda and discussed pelvic floor exercises with Dam Edna.
In her book, Secrets of a Beauty Queen, Stephanie shares some of the tips she has learnt trialling every new product that hits the market.
"I am a big believer in sunscreen," she said. "We look 10 years older than our European sisters, living in this crazy climate.
"Whether we are talking about a toddler or a 100 year old, sunscreen is a must.
"It should be used on the face, neck, décolletage and back of hands.
"I know people say 'not that message again' but it is the one beauty tip that will help everyone appear younger. That and a smile. That sounds corny but it is not.
"The greatest beauty accessory is a simple smile and it lifts your mood."
While good regimented skin care is an essential beauty tool, Stephanie says it is not necessary to spend a fortune on a jar of moisturiser just because it looks beautiful or bears a big brand name.
"Find a counter person (in the department store) that you can trust, who is good," she said.
"Companies come out with amazing moisturisers and some of these products work but others don't.
"Some women find Sorbolene amazing or Neutrogena excellent, which are brands available in supermarkets. As long as it has SPF 50 plus in it that is the key."
Stephanie admits that most beauty advice is aimed at women 50 and younger and many advisors seem to forget that women are still interested in beauty and glamour in their 60s and 70s and going into their 80s and even 90s.
"There is that awful thing of invisibility (for older women) that a lot of people don't address," she said.
"Look at Jane Fonda at 74, an amazing actor and celebrity and very beautiful. I think women get more beautiful as they age and become more powerful, wiser. I try and address my beauty column to include every age."
Secrets of a Beauty Queen by Stephanie Darling is published by Penguin. It's RRP is $34.95.


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Choosing the right color for the front door of your house can have a significant impact on its selling potential. Zillow, the real estate marketplace, has been studying the effect of different front door colors. They found that homes with dark wood or dark colors have a higher chance of being sold.
A recent Zillow survey of prospective homebuyers found that homes with slate blue front doors scored higher than those without one, making them more likely to be purchased and sold. This color also increased the likelihood that a buyer would pay more for the home. In fact, homes with slate blue front doors sold for an average of $1,537 higher than homes with the opposite color.
The most desirable front door colour was a slate blue one, which is a “chalky light blue-gray.” The survey participants said that they would be more willing to pay a higher price for a house with a slate blue front door than a house with a different color. The least desirable front door colour, meanwhile, was cement gray. This is because it looks “unattractive,” which will lower the asking price.
If you are considering repainting your front door, you’re probably wondering what color would work best. In fact, it isn’t always as simple as you might think. According to a recent survey, houses with a black front door sell for $6271 more than those with a different colour. This is according to a real estate company, Zillow, which analyzed 135,000 photos of houses in the U.S. since 2010.
Zillow, the real estate website, asked potential homebuyers to rank colors of front doors based on their likelihood of buying and how much they would be willing to pay for them. Black front doors were the most popular color, with the most participants willing to pay up to $6,449 more than the listing price for them. However, the study found that black front doors were polarizing, with some participants feeling that the color was negative or imposing.
Whether or not a grey front door will sell your house depends on the neighborhood in which you live. According to Zillow research, prospective homebuyers preferred black or charcoal gray door colors for homes listed last year. article to grow sell my house fast is considered a less popular option if it is a cement shade.
When choosing a front door color for a gray house, make sure you select one that is neutral and accentuates the style of your house. Using this article tells you all you need to know about Sell house fast of gray on a gray house will make the color look muddy and drab.
The color of a house’s front door can affect how well it sells. A pale pink door is often thought of as shabby-looking, and it can lower the price a house can fetch. In a recent Zillow study, respondents said they would be willing to pay $6,516 less for a house with a pale pink front door than for one with a cement gray one.
According to the study by Zillow, homes with a pale pink front door were less likely to sell for the asking price. This is because pale pink looks shabby, according to survey participants. This door color also received the lowest score among participants. In addition to making the house look less appealing, a pale pink front door is also perceived as more dated and lacking charm by buyers.
The color of your front door can have a huge impact on the look of your house, according to a recent Zillow survey. A cement gray door received the lowest overall score, with buyers describing it as unappealing. However, the color of the front door is far from the only deciding factor. The color of the door can also affect the overall resale value of your house.
how to do we buy houses found that homes with a slate blue front door tended to get a higher sale price and were viewed as more desirable by buyers. In contrast, a home with a cement gray front door got the lowest overall score and would sell for $6,516 less than expected.
Del Aria Investments Group
4200 Parliament Pl Suite 430, Lanham, MD 20706


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'Dark Souls II' comic in the works
Namco Bandai producing graphic novel Dark Souls II: Into the Light.
'Metal Gear', 'Remember Me' for PS Plus
The highlights of PS3 and Vita games arriving on PlayStation Plus this November.
Twitter app arriving for Android tablets
Twitter has announced an app for Samsung tablets, with more devices soon supported.
BlackBerry bid considered by co-founders
SEC filing confirms that BlackBerry co-founders are considering a bid for the company.
Instagram video and photo update for Android
Instagram update offers new video and photo features for Android users
'Romeo and Juliet': A history in movies
A collection of the various Romeo and Juliet film adaptations from the past.
'GTA 5's best Easter Eggs and secrets
UFOs, aliens and movie references, here's the greatest Easter Eggs featured in GTA V.
Twitter launches breaking news experiment
Twitter experiments with a direct message breaking news service called 'Event Parrot'.
Samsung SM-W2014 flip phone leaked
Rumoured China-exclusive smartphone will reportedly feature a 13-megapixel rear camera.
iPhone 5S, 5C coming to 35 new countries
The smartphones will launch in Italy, Russia, Spain and more by next month.
Masters of Sex: What the critics say
A review and opinion round-up from across the web of Channel 4's Masters of Sex.
Voice winner leads blind children workshop
Andrea Begley fronts workshop for group of blind and partially sighted children.


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NEW YORK, Sept. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Tapad, the leading cross-screen marketing technology company, and the Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IAB), today announced that Tapad Europe President, Ben Regensburger, has joined the IAB UK Mobile Board.
Regensburger recently opened the doors to Tapad's London and Frankfurt offices. Tapad was the first-to-market cross-screen marketing solution in the U.S., where it currently serves more than 200 Fortune 500 brands. Regensburger is a 25-year veteran of European media and marketing. Prior to Tapad, he served as President of DoubleClick International (EMEA & APAC) until it was acquired by Google in 2008.
The IAB's Mobile Board represents the UK's biggest mobile operators, media owners, and agency groups - leading names in the UK's £1 billion mobile advertising marketplace. The Mobile Board advises and steers all of the IAB's mobile initiatives, drawing on the expertise and experience of the Mobile Board's member companies to ultimately shape the mobile advertising industry.
"Mobile and cross-screen marketing technology continues to transform advertising as we know it," said Regensburger. "Together with the IAB and my fellow board members, I look forward to fostering the evolution of the industry and ensuring a rewarding experience across screens for both marketers and consumers."
Tapad Inc. is a marketing technology firm renowned for its breakthrough, unified, cross-device solutions. The company offers the largest in-market opportunity for marketers to address the new and ever-evolving reality of media consumption on smartphones, tablets, home computers and smart TVs. Deployed by agency trading desks, publishers, marketing technology companies and numerous Fortune 500 brands, Tapad provides an accurate, unified approach to connecting with consumers across screens. Backed by major venture firms, Tapad is based in New York and has offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco. TechCrunch called the powerhouse Tapad team "a hell of a list of entrepreneurs who created some of the most valuable online advertising companies of the last decade."
SOURCE Tapad Inc.


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It’s normal for the major hotel programs to shift award categories annually. With the pandemic and huge reduction in demand you’d think we’d see hotels overwhelmingly shifting categories down to reflect circumstances, but that hasn’t entirely been the case. Instead we’ve seen some hotel loyalty programs conveniently “pause” award category changes.
Many have wondered if Marriott Bonvoy would adjust its hotel categories for 2021, and we now have our answer.
In this post:
Marriott Bonvoy 2021 category adjustments
Every year Marriott Bonvoy has award category adjustments. Essentially Marriott changes which hotels are in which categories, in order to reflect market conditions. In theory these categories are decided based on the cost Marriott incurs from redemptions there, which reflects both the average daily room rates and average occupancy.
Marriott has just released the full list of category changes for 2021, which kick in for bookings made as of March 3, 2021.
You still have about a month to make bookings at the old rates before the changes kick in — this is all about when you book, and not about when you stay, meaning you can book a stay for a subsequent date.
Marriott’s category changes for 2021 are fairly minor compared to previous years:
- 201 hotels will change categories, representing about 3% of Marriott’s portfolio
- 150 hotels will be decreasing in category (~75%), while 51 hotels will be increasing in category (~25%)
- Many hotels changing categories are hotels that opened last year, and now Marriott has additional data that enables the program to price more precisely
- As a percentage, the greatest category changes are in Asia
- 89% of properties will continue to fall into Category 1-5
Las Alcobas Mexico City is increasing in cost
These changes are indeed fairly minor. As a point of comparison, in 2020 about 29% of Marriott’s properties changed categories, with properties overwhelmingly increasing in price.
The minor changes this year are either good or bad news depending on how you look at it:
- Ideally we’d see a lot of hotels going down in pricing to reflect market conditions
- At the same time, at least we’re not seeing many pricing increases, I guess?
Which Marriott properties are changing categories?
For context, here’s Marriott’s award chart:
It goes without saying that everyone has different redemption patterns, so you’ll want to check out the full list to see if any properties you frequent are changing in price.
Looking at the list, there aren’t many properties on there that I’ve either redeemed at, or would consider redeeming at. Admittedly this reflects my bias of wanting to redeem points for high-end hotels where I can get disproportionate value.
These are the three hotel category changes that stand out to me:
- Las Alcobas (Mexico City) is increasing from Category 6 to Category 7
- The Langley (near Heathrow) is increasing from Category 6 to Category 7
- The W Aspen (Colorado) is increasing from Category 7 to Category 8
The W Hotel Aspen will become a Category 8 Bonvoy property
- The Langley already increased from a Category 5 to Category 6 last year, so this hotel is seeing negative category changes two years in a row
- The W Aspen decreased from a Category 8 to Category 7 last year, and now it’s going back to a Category 8
The Langley will become a Category 7 Bonvoy property
Marriott Bonvoy has announced its hotel category changes for 2021. Only a total of 201 hotels are changing categories, with roughly 75% of those properties going down in price.
This is much better than Marriott’s 2020 category changes, which were absolutely awful. At the same time, the lack of adjustments is arguably a negative. Using Marriott’s logic, hotels should overwhelmingly be going down in categories given the pandemic’s impact on hotel occupancy and rates, but instead we’re only seeing a small percentage of properties change in price.
What do you make of the Marriott Bonvoy 2021 hotel category changes, and are there any hotels that stand out?


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Commentary: China solar firms sandwiched between growing costs and shrinking market
Nuying Huang, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES
China-based solar firms have become a target for Europe- and US-based solar firms that are on the brink of bankruptcies. To protect the domestic solar industry, countries have been setting up measures to keep out competitors with lower production costs...
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Now the Galaxy Note 8 has officially been unveiled, all eyes are back on Apple as the iPhone 8 reveal nears ever closer. Now some leaks have let slip the release date for the new iPhones, and it’s right in line with what we normally see.
French site Mac4Ever reported that French telecoms have leaked the information through notices sent out to employees to prepare for the phone. As the rumor goes, the iPhone 8 will launch on September 12, and go up for pre-order soon after. When all is said and done, you’re looking at the iPhone going on sale around September 22. Now who knows how this will all be affected by the rumors of limited supply, but the biggest iPhone change in years is coming soon.


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small business idea: Dream big, your small business idea is no longer small!
Visionary industrialist, philanthropist and one of the most influential global business tycoons, Rata Tata once said these words and now we can see them turn into reality.
Since the advent of the pandemic in 2020, the way users react to the products and services around them has undergone a huge change. People have realized the many benefits they can derive from integrating automation and technology into all aspects of their daily lives. From ordering food online to receiving medical supplies, makeup products, and household items at home, everyone is interacting with online businesses more than ever today. As a result, many startups that struggled to survive pre-COVID are now poised to conquer markets and transition into the businesses they aspired to be.
Over the years, India has successfully become one of the fastest growing economies in the world. In fact, according to a recent research report published by the State Bank of India, India is currently the fifth largest economy, surpassing the United Kingdom, and is on course to achieve the title of “third largest economy” in India. by 2029 given the current growth rate.
Lately, global investors have viewed India as a nation of exceptional potential. Untapped markets, cutting-edge technologies, large population, low-cost labor, amazing minds, and a variety of government initiatives have made this country the best destination for start-up investments. And clearly, our startup ecosystem has a crucial role to play in facilitating the growth of the Indian economy.
Meanwhile, the current growth rate of smartphones, increasing digitalization, and the unique set of challenges to be solved in our country are also driving innovation among many startups solving for
Since the launch of the “Make in India” initiative in 2014, the central government has put in place several plans and programs to provide the training, skills, technical and financial advice and subsidies needed to fuel the growth of small enterprises. contractors. With massive support from the government, individuals can not only make a name for themselves in local markets, but also benefit from the accessibility to attract the attention of foreign investors.
On January 15, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared January 16 as ‘National Startup Day’ to recognize and accelerate the growth of India’s startup ecosystem. He told young entrepreneurs across the country – “
Don’t just keep your dreams local, make them global”.
Here are some of the best government programs every budding entrepreneur should know about
- SAMRIDH Program– Launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology (MeitY) in 2021, the SAMRIDH program aims to provide a platform that can be instrumental in the growth of software product startups. Through this initiative, the government wants to offer financial support, mentoring, advanced skills, international expansion opportunities and any other assistance to startups ready for the acceleration phase.
It is important to note that the MeitY Startup Hub will act as an implementing agency and take shares in the startup for government involvement through a promissory note, similar to any other accelerator.
- PMMY (Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojna)– The government introduced this program in 2015 to support the growth of small businesses in rural areas. Under this scheme, many Micro Unit Development Refinancing Agency (MUDRA) banks have been established to provide credit facilities to business owners located in the underdeveloped parts of the country. Through this scheme, all small unincorporated and non-agricultural businesses can get a start-up loan of up to INR 10 lakhs.
- Multiplier Grant Program– With the Multiplier Grants Scheme launched by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, the government wants to bridge the gap between research and development and commercialization. MSG intends to encourage companies to collaborate with accredited academic and government R&D organizations for product and package development. Through the implementation of this program, the industry-academia gap can be narrowed and market needs can be better met.
For an individual industry, government grants would be limited to Rs. 2 crore per project, and the duration of each project must be less than 2 years. Whereas, for the industrial consortium, it is Rs. 4 crores and 3 years respectively.
- India Startup Seed Fund Program– Designed to help early-stage startups, the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme has been allocated a total budget of Rs 945 crore. Through this program, around 300 incubators and 3600 startups are expected to receive the funds. Grants of up to 20 lakhs will be offered to startups for developing trials and prototypes, and around 50 lakhs for scaling up their products and services. Also, grants of up to 5 crore will be given to selected incubators.
A notable advantage of this plan is that it provides reimbursement of all expenses. A startup can expect the total reimbursement amount to reach 15 lakhs or 50% of the total cost, whichever is lower.
- Single point recording system – In the long list of initiatives launched by the government, the Single Point Registration System or SPRS is another system you can benefit from. Launched by National Small Industries Corporation, the objective of this program is to help MSMEs as well as facilitate the procurement department in every way possible. By opting for this scheme, MSMEs can be exempted from paying the security deposit or EMD and easily participate in major government tenders.
What makes this program very beneficial is that MSMEs get a third party inspection certificate, which gives them an advantage over others in terms of reliability. All procurement agencies will mark certified MSMEs as trusted, which will ultimately help increase their sales.
Here are some of the schemes and programs introduced by the government over the past few years. You can easily enroll in programs that perfectly match your company’s vision and requirements and can help it reach greater heights.
India as a nation is gradually ushering in the golden age of entrepreneurship by constantly promoting the idea of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The goal of these programs is not only to help and nurture existing small businesses, but also to provide a springboard for anyone who wants to enter the startup ecosystem and make a difference there.
Start small, but think BIG!


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I am a fan of the brand Afrocenchix. I use their products. I’ve even took part in a photoshoot for the brand. Here’s why I luv it. The products unisex and great for any hair type. Just as important brand, founders Rachael Corson and Joycelyn Mate have created a brand that has a conscience. They care about the community which is why I believe investing in them is investing in us in us. Here’s the press release for their crowdfunding campaign.
Rachael Corson and Joycelyn Mate, founders of Afrocenchix have launched a crowdfunding campaign with the aim of changing the black hair industry for the better. The campaign will run throughout April.
The founders met at university and bonded over the struggles of not being able to find natural and effective hair products for their Afro hair. They both suffered from traction alopecia, Joycelyn was becoming health conscious and Rachael has many allergies as well as eczema so they were keen to find natural, hypoallergenic products that worked. This search led to the creation of multi award-winning brand, Afrocenchix.
Thanks to the support of the Afrocenchix community, the brand has grown tremendously since its inception. Last year Afrocenchix became the first brand for Afro hair to be stocked in all UK Whole Foods stores. In February 2018, Afrocenchix was awarded the Black Beauty and Fashion Award for “Best Natural Hair Brand”.
A successful crowdfunding campaign will enable the brand to add two new products to their vegan certified range — their highly requested and long awaited silicone free conditioner and their 100% natural and luxurious Avocado styling butter. They also have concrete plans to outsource their manufacturing in order to scale their production. Supporters of the crowdfunding campaign can preorder the two new products as well as other perks.
Rachael Corson says — “We’re a tiny team of 4 women delivering to over 20 stores and serving hundreds of customers in the UK and 22 other countries through afrocenchix.com whilst manufacturing, advising customers, running social media accounts, blogging, creating strategy, bookkeeping, tweaking our website, marketing and growing the company! It’s exhausting work but seeing the industry change for the better makes it worth it. Demand has increased massively and getting the manufacturing out of our hands will help us focus more on our long term growth goals so we can help more women.”
Joycelyn Mate added — “Achieving our crowdfunding target will put us in better stead to achieve our long term goal of becoming the number one brand for Afro and curly haired families. We want to lift up our community by creating jobs in science, technology, engineering and maths whilst hiring black women in these fields. Legacy is important to us. In our ideal world natural and effective products for black women would be accessible.”
Press release copy provided by Afrocenchix


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Myer and David Jones promising big discounts in the mid-year sales
In a battle to win customers, both department stores are promising millions of dollars in savings.
The slow death of the department store
If you’re in need of a wardrobe refresh or just discovered the kids have outgrown most of their winter clothes from last year, we’ve got good news for you.
Department store giants Myer and David Jones have kicked off their massive winter sales and in a battle to win customers they’re promising millions of dollars in savings.
David Jones launched its mid-season sale on Tuesday and is expected to sell a whopping 200,000 socks and jocks over the coming weeks.
But one retail analyst believes having sales early is a risky move because it means shoppers are are now unwilling to pay full price for anything when they know discounts are coming.
The department stores have kicked off their massive stocktake sales. Source: AAP
"You know you’ll be able to find sale items in every department"
Myer went live with its sale on Tuesday morning, a few days before June 1 when the sale began last year.
But the retailer told news.com.au that the sale was in the “same week” as last year.
It’s expecting big crowds for the first two days of the stocktake event, where even further savings are promised.
“We have two major sales a year, one on Boxing Day and this is the biggest mid-year event across stores,” Myer executive general manager of stores and experience Tony Sutton said.
“We’ll have hundreds of thousands of customers in our stores this week making millions of dollars of genuine savings across the whole store, so you know you’ll be able to find sale items in every department,” he added.
There are massive discounts on Circulon cookware, 30 percent off all lingerie, 40 percent off men’s suits and big savings on brands from Marcs, Basque and Piper.
But shoppers at Myer might notice that the sales seem familiar and that’s because only two weeks ago the department store was offering some of the same discounts for their Click Frenzy event.
Shoppers will be able to score plenty of bargains during the stocktake sales. Source: News Limited
The department stores are ramping up the discounts
David Jones is also pumping out the sales and shoppers can find up to 50 percent off fashion, shoes, accessories, homewares and manchester including brands such as Jac+Jack, Tigerlily, Sheridan, Breville and Nespresso.
They are expecting to sell 10,000 coats, 34,000 pairs of jeans and 200,000 pairs of men’s socks and underwear.
“We expect to welcome more than two million customers into stores nationwide and over three-and-a-half million visitors to our website throughout the half-yearly clearance,” managing director of clothing and general merchandise David Collins said.
The stores may be locked in for a war, but the real winners here are the shoppers.
We’re sure plenty of savvy mums are going to make the most of the sales to get a head start on birthday and Christmas presents while the discounts are high.


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More than 99 per cent voted in favour of Foster’s keeping hold of its beer businesses while spinning off the wine assets, which include brands such as Penfolds and Wolf Blass, into a new company called Treasury Wine Estates.
Both are expected to attract strong interest, with Peroni and Grolsch maker SAB, led by Graham Mackay, tipped as a leading contender for the beer arm. The split is expected to be completed by May 20. SAB already owns Foster’s in India and has its US brewing rights.
Buying the brand outright would provide SAB with a springboard for growth into other Asia markets.
SABMiller faces renewed speculation it is to launch a £7billion bid for Foster’s beer assets
Analysts have speculated it could team up with Molson Coors, which owns 5 per cent of Foster’s, to launch a joint bid. Experts added that if SAB does launch a bid, it could face competition from Asian brewers such as Tsingtao.
The wine business, which has struggled, could attract interest from private equity groups such as Cerberus. It’s already had one bid rejected.


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Jan. 3, 2019 marked the 10th anniversary of the first bitcoin block that was mined by Satoshi, giving birth to the notion that a digitized, anonymized currency sent over a permission-less, distributed ledger could democratize how money would move between people and parties around the world.
Some people believe it is an event worth celebrating: You’re invited to join us to celebrate “Bitcoin at 10!” … was the headline of a message received by your editor the other day from CoinDesk. Accordingly the organizers stated the following: “Ten years ago, an idea that was set out in a white paper went live—sparking a debate about the nature of money that continues to this day. We’ve hung around through some awe-inspiring ups and gnarly downs, but ultimately we still believe in the blockchain – just like you. And to celebrate that decade of growth, CoinDesk is throwing a bitcoin birthday party on January 9, 2019, which is when the genesis block was first mined. Together with Coindesk reporters, editors and loyal community members, we’ll mark the special occasion with drinks, a product launch, special guests for an exclusive edition of CoinDesk LIVE and more!”
The reality however appears to be different: There is nothing to celebrate about. If you follow the most recent commentary not all is well with Bitcoin. “2018 has not been great for crypto prices. Bitcoin is down more than 80 percent, ethereum is down more than 90 percent, and the market overall has shed hundreds of billions (with a b) of dollars in the last 11 months. And yet, even as startups lay off staffers, reduce funding or shut down entirely, capital is flowing into the space and firms are moving forward with their projects.” If you ask me the cryptocurrency Bitcoin has been a failure.
10 Years of Smoke and Mirrors was the headline of an article by Karen Webster of Pymnts.com. Based on her article there is really no cause to celebrate. She stated: “While bitcoin and crypto garner the headlines, innovators are taking the best of distributed, permissioned, secure and private ledger tech, and digitizing assets issued by regulated financial services companies and governments to clear and settle transactions in near real time, globally, at scale. And they are doing it within the existing, secure and regulated environments, using the fiat currencies of the endpoints in between those transactions.”
Plain facts: Bitcoin enthusiasts are still banking on Bitcoin’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) to succeed with Blockchain. Karen Webster said: “Investments in blockchain tech are positively puny. It’s been reported that investments in blockchain and blockchain tech by the enterprise, worldwide, are expected to reach a whole $2.1 billion in 2018 — twice as much as in 2017. Investments in cybersecurity measures, by comparison, are expected to reach nearly $97 billion this year”.
Source: BIIA Research


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Business software maker Red Hat Inc
The company forecast current-quarter earnings of 26-27 cents a share on revenue of $289-$292 million. Analysts on average had expected a profit of 26 cents a share on revenue of $292.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Red Hat's shares have gained 45 percent since touching a year low in August as growing demand from corporate customers for open-source software like Red Hat Enterprise Linux boosted subscription revenue.
However, the muted outlook and a marginal quarterly earnings beat, may have dampened some of the investor enthusiasm over the stock.
The company sells subscriptions to upgrades, bug fixes and helpdesk support for its business software, including the widely used Linux operating system, which is the chief competitor to Microsoft Corp's
Cloud computing, an increasingly popular technology that allows remote access to computing power and data over the Internet, has been a key driver of revenue growth for the company.
The world's largest distributor of the Linux operating system said September-November net income was $38.2 million, or 19 cents a share, compared with $26 million, or 13 cents a share, a year ago.
Excluding items, the company earned 28 cents a share, edging past analysts' expectations of 26 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue rose 23 percent to $290 million. Analysts had expected revenue of $289.6 million. Subscription revenue, which accounts for 85 percent of total revenue, rose by more than a fifth.
Shares of the Raleigh, North Carolina-based company were trading at $42.72 in extended trade on Monday. They closed at $46.05 on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Soham Chatterjee in Bangalore; Editing by Viraj Nair)


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According to a new report published on November 26 in the journal Pediatrics, the rate of injuries to children on inflatable bouncers has risen fifteenfold from 1995 to 2010. Injuries increased from 702 in 1995, to 11,311 in 2010.
Inflatable bouncers such as moonwalks, slides, and bounce houses are very popular amusements are children’s parties or carnivals, therefore parents of young children should consider carefully its findings. According to the study, in 2010, 30 children/day were sent to the hospital emergency department for related injuries. 28% of children under the age of 18 were treated at hospitals for fractures; 27% of children had strains or sprains, and 19% of children had head and neck injuries. This data was obtained from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, operated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
The new findings highlight the need for enhancement of the safety of these children’s inflatable bouncers, many of which present hazards due to negligence in the design or manufacturing processes. Unfortunately, there are far too many consumer products intended for use by children which make their way into the streams of commerce, with the potential to severely injure or kill unsuspecting children. If a family member has suffered significant personal injuries, or wrongful death, as the result of a defective inflatable bouncer or other children’s products, or negligence in the design or manufacture of a children’s product, contact the law office of Swartz & Swartz, P.C. Call (617) 742-1900 in the Boston area, or for clients in greater Massachusetts, New England, or other states across the U.S., call toll-free at 1-800-545-3732.


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Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Hisashi Maruyama announces the launch of mass production and sales of quantum dot film, an optical technology that realizes a wider color gamut in liquid crystal display (LCD).
Since December 2015 Hitachi Chemical has accelerated the development of quantum dot film by introducing the technology of the leading quantum-dot company, Nanosys. This partnership has allowed us to combine Nanosys's quantum dot technology and Hitachi Chemical's strength in polymer science, thus enabling mass production and sales of quantum dot film in about one year after the start of development.
Chris Chinnock of DisplayDaily recently caught-up with Nanosys CEO Jason Hartlove to learn about the company's CES plans:
To get a jump on our CES coverage, we decided to have a call with Jason Hartlove, CEO of quantum dot supplier, Nanosys, to learn more about their activities, what they will show at CES and their expectations for quantum dot development.
One of the key demos Nanosys will be showcasing in their suite in the Westgate will be a color volume demo...
Chris Chinnock, writing for DisplayDaily:
Samsung has not officially revealed any details about it TV plans for 2017, which they will unveil at CES. But a news story in the ET Times of Korea and some info from other sources suggests the company’s new TVs will offer some impressive gains. So impressive, I suspect their performance will be one of the hot topics of discussion at CES.
Quantum dot technology is now fueling a range of LCD displays, offering a WCG that can be larger than that offered by OLED displays and other LCD technologies. When coupled with HDR, quantum dot displays offer some of the best picture performance on the market.
Trevor Long, writing for Australia's EFTM Magazine calls the Hisense ULED TV with Quantum Dot technology from Nanosys the Best TV of 2016:
I’ve gone for the Hisense ULED for two reasons – their game has stepped up big time on picture quality, and their bang for your buck is unmatched.
Cute cartoon from Samsung tells the story of the billions of tiny Quantum Dots that "live" inside each SUHD TV and work hard to produce beautiful, accurate colors.
“Quantum dots are amazing materials with potential we are just beginning to explore,” noted Chris Chinnock, president and founder of Insight Media. “This white paper profiles the great opportunity that quantum dots offer in displays, especially as displays stretch their color capabilities to achieve the wide BT.2020 color gamut. But they can also be used in other applications ranging from solar cells, to lighting and bioimaging, so this is clearly a technology to be tracking.”
Click here to download the paper from InsightMedia's website: Quantum Dot White Paper
Joel Lee, writing for MakeUseOf.com
The closest competitors to the quantum dot display, at least in terms of picture quality, are plasma displays and OLED displays — and for the most part, quantum dot seems like it will be the winner...With quantum dots, we’ll finally be able to enjoy the features of OLED and plasma displays at LCD prices.
"Oh, my." "Wow!" "Whoa!." And at least one “That’s freakin’ awesome!”
Keep in mind, these aren’t high-school kids, but seasoned professional journalists. The combination of HDR's heightened contrast and dynamics and quantum-dot technology elicited the oohs and ahs, not just the extra pixels in the 3840 x 2160 display.
That's the response from a group of tech journalists reacting to the Quantum Dot-powered Samsung SUHD 9800's awesome HDR image quality according to reviewer Jon Jacobi. Continue reading at TechHive for a full break-down of this year's hottest HDR TV.
Part II – Electronic Design's Q&A round table on the state of the TV display industry continues this week with more discussion on Quantum Dots, OLEDs and more from industry experts.
Kim: What technologies have the potential to drive customers to replace their existing TVs?
Yurek: UHD with HDR is highly compelling. We see quantum dots as the key enabling technology for UHD. Quantum-dot TVs deliver a better experience with more of the features that consumers care most about, like high peak luminance and wide color gamut, at a much lower cost than the alternatives. This is because quantum-dot technology is able to leverage all of the existing LCD capex—more than $180 billion—without requiring any changes to the manufacturing process. This makes it very easy to deploy at mainstream scale, so we see quantum dots playing a significant role in UHD TV as the market takes off.
Consumers shopping for a new TV or mobile device today are faced with a wide array of display technology options. From curved vs flat to Quantum Dot vs LED vs OLED vs Micro LED... the choice is no longer as simple as LED vs Plasma.
Yong-Seog Kim, President, Society for Information Display, is trying to get to the bottom of this question. To do this, he's reached out to the top technology companies behind the latest, greatest display tech to ask them directly "what's the difference between all these new display technologies?"
A compilation of Dr. Kim's interviews has just been posted at Electronic Design and Nanosys is the featured representative for Quantum Dots.
Geoffrey Morrison, writing for CNET about the state of emissive display technology for TVs, highlighted the promise of printable, electroluminescent Quantum Dot technology to reduce manfuacturing costs and bring emissive displays to even more devices.
Down the road a little farther is the electroluminescent version of this technology. No LED backlight at all; just pixels made of quantum dots. These direct-view quantum dot displays, "QLED" if you will, should offer all the benefits of OLED at even cheaper prices. This is something Samsung is looking into, since they couldn't get OLED to work in large screen sizes.
Tim Moynihan at Wired just took an early look at the latest HDR TV from Hisense, the H10, calling it "a great TV for not a lot of money." The set features Quantum Dot technology from Nanosys, a huge number of dimming zones and HDR10 make it a bargain relative to other, similarly feature-rich TVs:
The flagship 70-inch H10 is a flat-screen (as in, not curved) 4K HDR set. The H10 boasts quantum-dot color enhancement and a full-array backlight system that ramps up to 1,000 nits of luminance. The 320 zones of local dimming (that’s a lot) keep contrast sharp.
Hisense is getting ready to launch it's biggest-ever TV's including a new flagship 70" HDR model featuring Nanosys Quantum Dot technology. According to Lee Neikirk of Reviewed.com, the new sets will be available early next year and retail for $3,499.
The 70-inch H10 is technically the company's flagship TV. Boasting 320 local dimming zones alongside quantum dot color and THX certification, it's Hisense's biggest challenger to the premium competition from brands like LG, Samsung, and Sony.
Daniel Cooper, writing for Engadget:
Samsung has announced a trio of high-end curved gaming monitors that brings its quantum dot technology to the masses. There are two devices, the CFG70, which is available in 24-and-27-inch sizes, as well as a super premium CF791 that packs a 34-inch, 3,440 x 1,400 display. The devices promise to create more immersive gaming experiences that look as good as they possibly could...
Samsung’s exhibition at IFA 2016 showcases how the company is working to redefine the consumer experience. One way is through its new range of Quantum dot SUHD televisions, which offer the ultimate in picture quality, brilliance and energy efficiency.
Nanosys, Inc., the world’s leading supplier of quantum dots and long-time partner of Samsung, has played an integral role in accelerating the development of nano-architected materials for these industry-leading displays.
President and CEO of Nanosys, Jason Hartlove, explained during an interview at IFA 2016 how quantum dots are changing the way we experience television.
DigitalTrends just posted an in-depth look at how Quantum Dot technology from Nanosys and Samsung is about to change the display industry.
Quantum dots are about to take on a new role, Nanosys CEO Jason Hartlove told Digital Trends at the IFA 2016 tradeshow, after revolutionizing LCD TV technology. And it may put OLED TV squarely in Samsung’s cross-hairs.
To appreciate how Samsung’s promising new TV tech will work, however, we first need a primer on how quantum dots currently work in Samsung’s TV lineup...
Samsung reinforced its commitment to Quantum dot display technology at IFA 2016.
Samsung is the only company able to offer consumers cadmium-free Quantum Dot TVs – a point made by guest speaker, Jason Hartlove, President & CEO of Nanosys and one of the world’s top authorities on Quantum dot technology...
Unlike Plasma and OLED, Quantum Dot TVs do not suffer from burn-in reliability issues. It's great to see Samsung stand behind their products with a major new warranty like this
Good news, TV fans – Samsung has announced a mega 10-year ‘screen burn’ warranty for its entire range of 2016 SUHD Quantum dot TVs. Samsung Electronics has pledged to repair or exchange TV panels at “no cost to the owner” if any of its new SUHD Quantum dot TVs experience “screen burn-in effect” within the first 10 years after purchase, in what Samsung describes as an “industry-changing warranty”.


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Magyar Posta prepares for postal market deregulation
State-owned Hungarian postal company Magyar Posta is preparing to expand its investment and telecommunications services, while outsourcing post offices in the countryside before the deregulation of the market in 2013, CEO László Geszti said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Magyar Posta is preparing to introduce accounts for and sell dematerialized securities, Geszti said. It is also wants to enter the data transfer segment of the telecommunications market, he added.
In spite of the deregulation, Magyar Posta wants to remain a part of the national infrastructure and prevent the number of staff, at 35,000 at present, from falling.
Deputy-CEO Dezső Varga said Magyar Posta would put higher added-value products in the forefront together with services tailored to individual needs. It will start offering clients "hybrid letters" that it transcribes from email to paper or vice versa, he said, citing an example of such products.
About 70% of Magyar Posta's revenue already comes from the private sector, said deputy-CEO Attila Rajnai.
Magyar Posta does not want to become a bank, but it wants to offer the same day-to-day financial services offered by banks to retail clients and small businesses, said deputy-CEO Gabor Bakati.
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Need for new IV board
GE/General Electric is one of the oldest companies in the US. It used to be in Dow 30 but was thrown out recently and now is splitting up into 3 separate companies the first being GEHC which is a huge health care company with $billions in assets.
Its symble is GEHC. We need a new Inv Village board for this. Can some one out there make a new board for postings about GEHC? It has had large appreciation since its founding and daily news but we need an IV board to post the latest and follow its progress.


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Jesseca Dupart’s patience was pretty much spent. What her manufacturer had termed “growing pains” were wearing her down. There was the shipment of Miracle Drops that never arrived at a beauty supply store in Chicago; the furious shop in Oakland, California, that received two orders of Edge Control instead of one; damaged deliveries of styling gels that were returned to her business, Kaleidoscope Hair Products, at full cost; and boxes of shampoo that were so chemically pungent, the fumes gave her staff headaches.
Jesseca Dupart started Kaleidoscope as a simple hair salon in the northeastern section of New Orleans, called Little Woods, back in 2012, when she was 30 years old, and by the time I visited her six years later, Kaleidoscope was a rapidly growing brand in the African American beauty market. Salons and beauty supply stores in every state, as well as Canada, the Caribbean, and the UK, sold its products. All of that was driven by Dupart’s relentless marketing on social media, particularly Instagram, where her handle @DArealBBJUDY was about to gain its millionth follower.
Dupart stands little more than 5 feet tall, with big eyes and a wide smile. “BB” stood for Big Booty, a God-given asset that Dupart wasn’t shy about deploying in the steady stream of photos and videos she cranked out around the clock in the service of her business. “If I knew what I was doing was going to be hair, I probably would have changed it,” Dupart says about the @DArealBBJUDY handle, with a grin. This morning she is wearing a pair of Adidas workout tights, Yeezy sneakers, and a bejeweled T-shirt that says Pray Girl, Pray. Her hair was straight and black (one of many extensions she rotates through each week), and her fingernails on this day are nearly 3-inch-long glittering gold, purple, black, and jeweled talons.
In 2018, Kaleidoscope’s growth exploded, with sales going from $100,000 a month at the start of the year, to $1 million by the end of March. The company in Houston that manufactured and distributed Kaleidoscope’s products simply couldn’t handle the speed and volume of the scale, and these problems were irritating Dupart. “We don’t have room for error,” she tells me, as she sits behind her desk at the company’s office, which occupies a few units of the strip mall where her salon had once been. “A mess-up now costs thousands of dollars, where just a few months ago it was a few hundred. We went from having a two-day turnover to 12 days,” she says, flipping between her two phones and her computer. “That shit won’t work!”
Dupart is conflicted, because the man behind these mess-ups was her mentor in the business. He personally convinced her to start selling products when she was a hairstylist, launching her from one of the many African American women with a salon in New Orleans, into a nationally recognized figure in the black hair community, with a rapidly growing multimillion-dollar business.
Kaleidoscope’s demand was growing faster than the company could manage. People would call daily and even show up at the doors trying to buy products that were sold out. But her distributor was on an extended trip to Africa, and failing to help her sort out the growing logistics mess over the phone.


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In the Canton of Valais, breeders of Herens cattle let their strongest animals engage in friendly cow fights. The fights have become a tourist attraction. Here it's the females who take the bull by the horns!
The Maldives are on a construction drive, aimed at boosting tourism. New airports, artificial islands and luxury resorts are springing up everywhere, exacting a huge toll on the environment and the lives of the local people.
Being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender in Uganda means living in fear. The church says homosexuality is immoral. Now the government is said to be considering plans to introduce the death penalty for gay sex.
At 500 kilowatts, this is the most powerful production Cayenne that Porsche has to offer. And it's a hybrid. This monster of a car has an electric motor. The 2.5 ton Cayenne can travel 40 kilometers on all-electric drive. Then the 4-liter V8 takes...
2019 is shaping up as a record year for recreational vehicles. The proof can be seen at the Caravan Salon in Dusseldorf, one of Europe's most popular RV trade fairs. This year's fair-goers are interested in the compact models.


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Titleist is taking the next step in the launch of the next generation of its Pro V1 golf ball franchise with the release of prototype models to its tour staff on the PGA Tour at this week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
Following a two-year development process, the next generation of Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x balls will be put into competitive action for the first time on Thursday, when the first round gets under way at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.
Titleist’s staff will be on site to work with players as they test the new products and determine the model that best fits their game.
TPC Summerlin is also where Titleist’s original Pro V1 prototypes were first introduced to PGA Tour players in 2000, at what was then the Invensys Classic. Eventual winner Billy Andrade was one of 47 players who immediately put the ball in play that week, marking a ground-breaking shift in equipment usage at a single event that has yet to be surpassed.
Today, Titleist’s Pro V1 range boasts a 74% useage rate across all players on the major worldwide tours. The percentages are even higher at the game’s biggest amateur, college and junior events.
Details of the new balls on sale date at retail have yet to be announced.


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Union Coop offers up to 75% discounts this Ramadan
Union Co-op, the largest cooperative in the UAE, has announced its promotional campaigns in preparation for the holy month of Ramadan, with price reductions of up to 75% on over two thousand basic commodities. The Co-op highlighted that its campaigns come in line with its annual efforts to spread the spirit of good doing and ease the costs on consumers by availing high quality commodities at competitive prices, noting that it has allocated a budget of AED 30M for this noble purpose.
The announcement came in a press conference held by union coop on Wednesday May 10th at the Union coop’s head office at Al Aweer. The press conference was attended by HE Dr. Hashim Al Nuaimi, Director of the Consumer Protection at the Ministry of Economy; Mr. Harib Mohammed bin Thani, Director of Operations division , representing the CEO of Union Coop ; Mr. Suhail Al Bastaki, Director of Happiness and Marketing department ; and a number of media representatives and union coop officials .
Commenting on this, Mr. Harib Mohammed bin Thani, Director of Operations division at Union Coop, said: “This step comes in line with our quest for realizing consumer happiness, as we launch 5 promotional campaigns compared to 3 last Ramadan, representing a 76% increase in campaign number and 40% increase in budget over last year’s AED 18M. Our goal has always been to ease the financial burden on all citizens and residents of the UAE, and instill the spirit of giving and good doing in the coop.”
Bin Thani noted that “the campaigns will cover around 2000 basic Ramadan commodities, with discounts of up to 75%.” He also highlighted that the promotions will be launched before the holy month, inviting consumers to shop days ahead to avoid crowding and inconvenience on the first day of fasting, and allocate their precious time to observing the rituals of this holy season. He also revealed that the Co-op has concluded all preparations and provisioning processes and contracts, making sure all the basic needs of the consumers are available in abundance at all its outlets.
On the main commodities covered by the campaigns, Bin Thani highlighted rice, oil, poultry, meat, canned food, and various other Ramadan commodities.
Bin Thani also noted that the success of the open basket campaign in the past years has motivated the Coop to relaunch this year. Compared to 1000 commodities last year, Bin Thani said, the open basket will include 2000 commodities this year. “This 100% increase over last year allows shoppers to select their own baskets regardless to price or number of goods, which enhances our policy in consumer happiness, especially with the diversified communities that live in Dubai, and approach the coop for their shopping needs.”


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Specialists of German studio GeigerCars prepared a new upgrade program for high-performance American coupe Dodge Viper ACR. The car has received an optimized aerodynamic body kit and upgraded engine generating 765 horsepower.
It is worth mentioning that the model Dodge Viper in ACR modification is equipped with a powerful 8.4-liter V10, which in capable of producing 645 horsepower. However, tuners from GeigerCars believe that this is not enough.
Upgraded coupe Dodge Viper ACR by GeigerCars received a new intake valves, modified camshaft, new catalytic converters and a number of other improvements, including a stainless steel exhaust system and readjusted electronic control unit. As a result, the engine power increased by 120 forces, and now stands at 765 hp. In addition, the 765-strong model Dodge Viper ACR by GeigerCars can boasts of a new optimized aerodynamic Extreme Aero Package, an aggressive rear diffuser and unique alloy wheels made of light alloys. According to the representatives of the company, the cost of a new tuning package for the Dodge Viper ACR is about 40 775 € (around 46 165 $). Thus, fully upgraded car Dodge Viper ACR by GeigerCars will cost quite a lot – 219 000 € (about $ 247,973).


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November 17, 2006
British smartphone middleware firm Intuwave Ltd. has gone into administration, the equivalent of the U.S.'s Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The company is currently being run by two administrators from Baker Tilly . A statement on the company's Website reads: "Graham Bushby and Geoff Carton-Kelly were appointed as joint administrators over the company on 13th of November 2006, to manage its business and assets. The joint administrators act solely as agents to the company without personal liability."
The administrators were in meetings all day and unable to take calls, according to Baker Tilly.
Intuwave developed middleware designed to help companies and mobile software developers extend PC-based applications so they would work on smartphones and enable interaction between the mobile devices and computers. Intuwave boasted relationships with the likes of Symbian Ltd. , Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications , and Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. (Nasdaq: SANYY).
But the company failed to gain enough traction, and, according to a source close to the company, who requested anonymity, the firm's 30 staff had been laid off after the company "basically ran out of cash."
The source says a major concern among creditors is that Intuwave's only real remaining valuable asset, its intellectual property, would be "ripped out" and not be made available as a source of returns for the company's creditors.
It's not known how much Intuwave owes its creditors.
Intuwave raised about $25 million in three rounds of funding, the latest being a $4.5 million round in September 2003 from 3i Group plc , GIMV , NIF Ventures , and Sum International .
— Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor, Light Reading
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The 13 days of the taxi strike in Madrid has had a clear winner, the VTC companies. According to data that CincoDías has had access to, downloads of the Uber and Cabify applications have tripled in the last two weeks. Also the number of routes contracted with both platforms has been triggered, causing that in many moments all the cars of some of the companies of the sector were occupied.
In particular, trips with Cabify have grown in the last 14 days around 25%, and this discounting any seasonal effect, say knowledgeable sources. The figure would reach almost 30% the case of Uber. Another derivative effect is that the number of cash payments has increased considerably (in this case in Cabify, which recently included this option), "and this is due to the fact that there are many customers who had never used the application and prefer to do so. "
In addition, some customers also stress that prices have risen in recent days. Although the rates were practically unchanged in the first days of the strike, now the journeys have become more expensive, possibly also due to the increase in demand.
While Uber and Cabify raise their routes, the taxi drivers continue their strike, although some (few) start to work, because the cost is very high (every day of the strike they lose between 170 and 200 euros) and also because they fear that the citizens will give them the back, after so many days of strike and some unpopular actions like cuts and blocks of streets.
The taxi drivers presented at the last minute a new proposal to the Community of Madrid in which they do not set pre-contracting times or minimum route in the journeys of the VTC, but suggest that it is the municipalities that address the first issue in their ordinances. The taxi has lowered its demands to the community to get it to negotiate and approve its proposal, but the president of Madrid, Angel Garrido, said that they will not accept the proposal if they intend to obtain pre-employment through the "via Colau or the Carmena way ". "We will not accept anything that supposes the disappearance of the VTCs in the community, because it is positive for the competition and it is a service demanded by the citizens," he stressed.
Another blow to the taxi came from the Provincial Court of Madrid, which has confirmed the ruling of a commercial court that considers that Maxi Mobility (Cabify) does not exercise unfair competition to the taxi.


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Tesla's cheapest car yet to roll off assembly line
THE first Tesla Model 3 electric car for the masses should come off the assembly line by this weekend with the first deliveries in late July, the company's CEO says.
Elon Musk says the new car passed all government regulatory requirements for production to begin two weeks ahead of schedule.
The company plans to hold a party to hand over the first 30 Model 3s to customers on July 28, Musk wrote in a tweet.
But the biggest novelty is that in the US the basic version of the Model 3 will cost $US35,000 - $US27,500 ($A45,700 - $A35,900) after knocking off the subsidy for buying an electric car - and, according to Musk, will therefore be the best vehicle for the money and will appeal to a mass market.
Up to now, Tesla has manufactured and marketed only luxury autos whose lowest prices have been double that of a Model 3.
Tesla says the five-seat car will be able to go 346 kilometres on a single charge and will be sporty, accelerating from zero to 100km/h in under six seconds.
Musk tweeted that the company expects to produce 100 cars in August and more than 1,500 in September.
"Looks like we can reach 20,000 Model 3 cars per month in December," he wrote.
Handover party for first 30 customer Model 3's on the 28th! Production grows exponentially, so Aug should be 100 cars and Sept above 1500.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 3, 2017
Tesla has made a high-stakes bet on the success of the Model 3, of which the manufacturer expects to be producing a half million a year by 2018.
Musk's tweets about the Model 3 appear to erase doubts that Tesla would be able to meet deadlines for mass producing the cars, which is key to the company making money. Previously it has faced delays in getting vehicles to market.
Tesla's last new vehicle, the Model X SUV, was delayed nearly 18 months. Musk says the Model 3 is much simpler to make, but 14-year-old Tesla has no experience producing and selling vehicles in high volumes.
Tesla made just 84,000 cars last year. Bigger rivals like General Motors, Volkswagen and Toyota routinely sell around 10 million vehicles per year.
Even if the Model 3 is on time, servicing all those vehicles will still be a challenge. Model S and Model X owners are already worried about having to share Tesla's company-owned charging stations with an influx of new cars.
And while Tesla is promising to increase its network of stores and service centres by 30 per cent this year, it began 2017 with just 250 service centres worldwide. That leaves many potential owners miles from a service centre.
Musk has said a new fleet of mobile service trucks will be deployed to help customers who are far from service centres. Tesla also plans to double its global high-speed charging points to 10,000 by the end of this year and increase them by another 50 per cent-100 per cent in 2018.
Until recently, Tesla owned the market for fully-electric vehicles that can go 200 miles (322 kilometres) or more on a charge.
But that's changing. GM beat Tesla to the mass market with the Chevrolet Bolt, a $36,000 car that goes about 383 kilometres per charge.
Audi plans to introduce an electric SUV with 483 kilometres of range next year; Ford will have one by 2020. Volkswagen plans more than 30 electric vehicle models by 2025. Automotive competitors like Mercedes and Volvo - not to mention tech companies like Google and Uber - can also match Tesla's efforts to develop self-driving vehicles.
And they have deeper pockets. Tesla has had only two profitable quarters in its seven years as a public company.


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Report says LG might skip G Flex 3, release V10 successor in H2 2016
Given that the LG G Flex and G Flex 2 were unveiled at the last two CES events, it would have been reasonable to expect a G Flex 3 announcement at CES 2016. However, if a latest report from South Korea is to be believed, that's not happening.
In fact, the report says that the company might even skip the G Flex 3 smartphone altogether, although there's no word on why LG would that. This is also contrary to some previous rumors that suggested the device would be unveiled in March next year, and even revealed some of its key specs: SD820 chipset, 6-inch QHD touchscreen, and metal construction.
Among other prominent devices from LG's 2016 line-up, the report notes that the G5 will be made official in April 2016, and we will also see a successor to the LG V10, which will be launched in H2 2016.
- 04 Nov 2016
i really hope that they bring in the LG G FLEX 3 it would be a big hit because it will come in with 4k and with a beautiful HD display and they should make it a little more with a curve and they should bring back the icons from the lg flex to the new...
- 04 Jun 2016
how come your g flex 2 died after 23 months while it has been released just for around a year?
- 03 Apr 2016
I owned the g flex 1 for 2 years and decided to get a nexus 6p for all the new android features since LG didn't update the software on the flex pass KITKAT but i miss the flex so much... I am hoping they do release a 3rd one and that they keep it up...


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Shares of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL) rallied 5.17% to touch an intraday high as well as a new 52 week and all-time high of Rs 2,264 on BSE today. Its previous 52-week high of Rs 2,204 was recorded on February 4, 2020.
Due to the sharp rally in the large-cap stock, its market capitalisation surged to Rs 4,82,537 lakh crore, closing the gap to the Rs 5 lakh crore mark.
Volume-wise, 1.1 lakh and 30.5 lakh shares are changing hands on BSE and NSE, both above the 5,10 and 30-day average volume. The rise in the price of HUL is in line with ‘FMCG’ sector, that has risen 2.83% today, and Sensex that has risen 0.87%.
The Hindustan Unilever stock has risen 4.5% in one week, over 15% in one month and 25% in a year. Currently, Hindustan Unilever share price is trading higher than its 5, 20, 50, 100 and 200-day moving averages.
India’s largest consumer goods company has achieved remarkably rapid growth in the recent years despite weak monsoons in recent years, significant slowdown in pace of rural growth in the recent months, poor performance of the wholesale business across the country and a sharp decline in performance of personal care category growth in recent quarters, according to a Motilal Oswal report.
Commenting over the near-term perspective, MOFL added, “Favorable base in the next few quarters, the expected recovery in the demand environment from 2QFY21, synergies from the GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited (GSKCH) merger, the price increase in soaps and lower crude costs are likely to boost earnings.”
The brokerage house added that the HUL stock price performance has been splendid with returns in CAGR of approx 25% in the last 10 years, 19% in 5 years and 36% over the past 3 years, respectively. “Taking into account the best Return on Equity (RoE) among consumer peers, we believe that the stupendous wealth generation track record of HUL is likely to continue. We raise our target multiple to 50x FY22E EPS on the merged numbers resulting in our target price changing to Rs 2,490 (16% upside),” said Motilal Oswal while maintaining ‘Buy’ rating.


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Soon after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an emergency declaration in March amid the coronavirus pandemic, state Attorney General Ashley Moody activated Florida’s Price Gouging Hotline for consumers to file complaints related to essential commodities needed to prevent contracting the virus.
On Thursday, state Attorney General Ashley Moody announced that over $700,000 has been recovered for consumers contacting the Florida Attorney General’s Office regarding COVID-19 related purchases and scams.
“As Florida’s attorney general, I will always do whatever it takes to help consumers that have been taken advantage of—especially in times of crisis. That is why even before the emergency declaration went into effect, we were working with businesses and consumers to secure refunds, remove online posts offering items for outrageous prices and stop deceptive business practices. I am pleased with the results we are getting for consumers, but rest assured, our work is far from over and we continue to wake up early every day and focus on building a stronger, safer Florida,” Moody said on Thursday.
In addition to securing $703,043 for consumers since activating Florida’s Price Gouging Hotline, the Florida Attorney General’s Office:
- Received approximately 4,800 consumer contacts about the price of essential commodities
- Made more than 7,800 referrals and contacts to merchants about allegations of price gouging, refunds and scams
- Issued 82 subpoenas to further price gouging investigations
- Worked with online platforms to deactivate 224 posts offering items for outrageous prices
According to the attorney’s general office, violators of the price gouging statute are subject to civil penalties of $1,000 per violation and up to a total of $25,000 for multiple violations committed in a single 24-hour period.


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At long last, a new teaser trailer for Elden Ring has finally been released. In a stunning turn of events after it had been MIA for so long, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware released the new video as part of the . You can watch it below. The video is capped off with a release date of January 21, 2022.
The trailer featured much more acrobatic combat than we’re used to in the Souls series or Bloodborne, with characters leaping up into the air and slamming down their swords to deal massive damage. There will be a mix of sword, magic, and gadgets as we saw in Sekiro, but the huge bosses seem to harken more to From’s earlier games than the duel-like bosses in its latest title. One boss appeared to be made up of multiple corpses, which is a FromSoftware trope that seems to make its way into nearly every game the studio touches.
There will also be mounted combat, which we haven’t seen from the studio’s other games, and FromSoftware previously said it will have a more open structure than its past games–but the walking pots and other grotesque beings make it very clear this is still From at heart.
It was unclear in advance of E3 whether the game would be making any sort of appearance. Publisher is scheduled for Tuesday, June 15, but it’s made no promises about what we’ll see there–be it Elden Ring or otherwise. That a new Elden Ring teaser has emerged is an exciting development, as Bandai Namco and From have been exceedingly quiet about the project since it was first revealed back at E3 2019. did make their way online earlier this year, but they were very low quality and said to be from older versions that were no longer representative of the game.
Elden Ring represents a collaboration between FromSoftware and A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones creator George RR Martin, who consulted with From on the game’s lore. Xbox boss Phil Spencer told us last year that he had already been playing Elden Ring, describing it as It’s set for release on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Check it out


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11th September 2021, Mumbai:
Asics, a Japanese sportswear company, has begun a program to help young athletes in the nation by giving them the performance equipment and support they need to compete at the top level.
The sports major will aim to increase its focus on the sport of wrestling and supply clothing, footwear, and other performance gear to young players. In the presence of star wrestler and Asics brand ambassador Bajrang Punia, the announcement was made at the Asics India Connaught Place store.
“India is continuously generating great wrestlers with a presence on global stages and therefore, an even better moment for wrestling to thrive as a popular sport,” Bajrang Punia said in a statement.
Knowing that the Asics brand is behind me is a big boost in terms of seeing my vision for wrestling in India become a shape.” “At Asics, we are committed to supporting sports and enabling young athletes of today to become the Bajrangs of tomorrow,” said Rajat Khurana, managing director of Asics India.
We aim to take sports and athletics to new heights and increase their awareness so that young people may accomplish their sporting goals.” Asics first opened a store in India in 2015, and it now has over 55 locations across the nation. It also sells on popular e-commerce sites such as Flipkart, Myntra, and Amazon.


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Las Vegas, Oct 17 (ANI/Business Wire India): Recharger Magazine's much anticipated ReIndia Expo will be held in Mumbai from March 5-7, 2009.
The second annual show which promises peer-to-peer networking, innovative products and promotion in the latest global growth market, has already garnered interested from key businesses.
"We are delighted to return to Mumbai as the show organizers for ReIndia Expo 2009. The 2008 inaugural show was unprecedented. The event brought together the remanufacturing world in a global industry area. Businesses world-wide are anxious to gather in India which is one of the fastest financial growth sectors," said Patricia Ames, director, global events.
Mumbai is recognized as one of the biggest IT hubs. With its proximity to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, ReIndia Expo 2009 provides a unique opportunity to share information in a global, regional and domestic industry.
ReIndia Expo, in association with Trade Expo India Promotion, is recognized as one of the most important imaging supplies aftermarket industry and business-to-business technology events in the region.
The show which is free to attendees also represents an enormous learning platform in the area of technical, sales and marketing at no additional cost. Exhibitors, attendees and instructional offerings range from the roots of the industry in cartridge remanufacturing to cutting-edge strategic offerings such as content management software and managed print.
Even in the face of change, key industry companies and business leaders remain unified in their commitment to meeting the challenges by creating opportunity.
According to Cartridge Recyclers and Traders Association of India (CRTAI), the aftermarket industry in India has a history of more than 20 years when it began refilling printer ribbons.
The size of the printer cartridge industry in India is said to be of Rs 1500 crores or USD 375 million (2006 - 2007) of which 48 per cent share by volume is of recycled cartridges. The scope has increased to inkjet cartridges and laser toner cartridges and now digital printing.
Recharger Magazine, an 1105 Media publication, is the leading monthly trade journal for the document printing industry aftermarket. Recharger Magazine's complement of global events includes Reciclamais Expo, South America's longest running and most successful industry event; ReChina Asia Expo, the leading event showcasing the Asia Pacific regions; and World Expo, the world's largest gathering for the aftermarket document printing industry.


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It is a case of vintage revenge. Wine merchants in Delaware and South Jersey are now clearing shelf space for their old nemesis: Jonathan Newman, former chairman of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
The “xChairman Selections,” as one shop calls them, are the discounted wines that Newman’s new company will introduce in Pennsylvania border states this month.
Newman had risen to the unlikely status of folk hero among Pennsylvania wine lovers, partly because of his celebrated Chairman’s Selection specials. But one year ago, he resigned in protest after Gov. Rendell’s controversial appointment of Joe Conti as chief executive officer of the LCB.
While Newman’s entry into the private sector is intriguing the sip-and-swirl crowd, it also casts a spotlight back on the LCB. The $1.69 billion-a-year agency has been the subject of skepticism and upheaval since Newman left.


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The Congressional Black Caucus was founded to focus on “positively influencing the course of events pertinent to African-Americans and others of similar experience and situation.” The War on Drugs has devasted black and brown communities. U.S. Rep Charles Rangel, who with some others in the CBC initially backed the modern drug war that was launched by President Nixon, should admit he got it wrong and lead the CBC in pushing the Congress to reverse the tragedy.
Churches have the power and responsibility to address institutional racism by transforming the minds of African-American communities.
When the Obama-bashing conservative activist lost his gig as the president of a Christian college, it was just the latest example of how right-wing conservatives pimp evangelical Christians for personal gain.
The church has allowed the world to turn sex — what God intended to be beautiful — into ‘the nasty.’ This is part one in an occasional series on bringing God back into your bedroom.
Amazon announced this morning the launch of a new store on its site that’s dedicated to selling STEM toys and games. The shop will feature a variety of items for children of all ages, the retailer says, which are focused on encouraging kids to develop science, technology, engineering and/or math-related skills. Some of the toys include those from Snap Circuits and LEGO. And some are… Read More
Online code repository GitHub continues to face a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on Monday, which the company reported is the largest attack in GitHub.com’s history. The attack began on Thursday and still continues, according to GitHub’s status page and Twitter accounts, though the company says now that all its systems are reporting at 100%. However, the attackers… Read More
MyCheck, another startup that wants to make it easy to pay your restaurant bill using your mobile phone, has closed a $5 million Series B. However, perhaps more noteworthy is the company’s new backer: the Spanish bank Santander via its recently launched Santander Innoventures Fund. Read More
France’s nationalist fringe party say it’s softening its image. But is it for real? …read more
Google and Johnson & Johnson have announced that the will team up to develop an advanced, robot-assisted surgery platform. The team effort will involve “capabilities, intellectual property and expertise” from both companies, and will involve Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon, maker of medial devices. All of the language in the announcement of the partnership suggests… Read More
Smart Lock purveyor August has raised another $38 million in funding, bringing the company’s tally up to $50 million, the company’s co-founder Jason Johnson told TechCrunch. August’s Smart Lock attempts to reinvent the front door and rid the world of physical keys by relegating that duty to a smartphone. As Johnson noted, “Hardware is expensive,” however the new… Read More
Oyster, a Netflix-style service for e-books, has brought on its first chief financial officer, Jeannie Mun.
Before joining Oyster, Mun spent a lot of time in the ad world, having recently served as CFO at ad company MediaMath, and before that working as vice president of finance and strategy at ad software company Operative. Read More
Cribspot creating the most comprehensive search engine for apartments on or near university campuses. It’s doing that by collecting rental information from thousands of different sources and working directly with landlords who don’t have websites or other ways to find out about their apartments. Read More
Buzzy live streaming video app du jour Meerkat does include an option to save your video once you’ve killed the stream — but hey, in the slick environs of frictionless social broadcasting who has time for after-the-fact uploading? So here’s Katch to take the incremental strain out of your post-Meerkat experience via a hashtag-triggered auto-upload. Read More


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Published on Oct 21, 2016
Alberto Cavallo, Associate Professor of Applied Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management, explains how online and offline prices compare. Everyone has their own personal opinion, but Prof. Cavallo and his team wanted to collect data in a large number of countries to answer the question with objective evidence. Is it actually cheaper as we like to think? And how are the internet and mobile phones playing a role in setting today’s retail prices?


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Instagram has announced that it is testing Reels in India. It is a short form video-sharing feature. It allows users to create 15-second videos. The move comes after TikTok was banned in India. Hence, Instagram Reels can emerge as the new platform for TikTok creators in the country.
India is the fourth country after Brazil, France, and Germany, where Instagram Reels is currently being tested. Moreover, the company will start rolling out Reels in India starting 7:30 PM IST today. It will be integrated into the Instagram app itself.
To create Instagram Reels, you would need to open the camera option in the app. After clicking on Reels from the bottom of the screen, the app will show several easy-to-use tools to record and edit a 15-second video. Users can choose to use the in-app music tracks, or use custom audio for their videos. They can also speed up or slow down parts of the video.