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2006 Acura **clean Trade** on 2040-cars
Carrollton, Texas, United States
Acura RSX for Sale
- 2006 acura rsx base coupe 2-door 2.0l(US $9,500.00)
- 2005 acura rsx type-s(US $8,700.00)
- Acura rsx 51k mi low miles 1 owner clean carfax power option key less entry(US $10,650.00)
- 2003 acura rsx base coupe 2-door 2.0l(US $5,500.00)
- 2002 acura rsx 89k highway mileage in good condition sold by female 1st owner(US $6,050.00)
- 2003 acura rsx type s 6speed type-s leather sunroof stick manual 6spd vtec 4cyl
Auto Services in Texas
Top Notch Automotive ★★★★★
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Bumper Fix. Net ★★★★★
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Auto blogMon, 31 Mar 2014 08:43:00 EST
Acura debuted its TLX GT racecar at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show earlier this year, and it looks like the racer is set to get its first competitive outing in Motown as well. The RealTime Racing team is competing with a single car driven by Peter Cunningham for the Pirelli World Challenge rounds during the Detroit Grand Prix from May 30 through June 1.
Honda Performance Development is developing the TLX GT with a direct-injected, twin-turbocharged V6 engine, based on the production, naturally aspirated version, and all-wheel drive helps maintain traction. A second car is being added to the effort later.
The turbocharged Acura sedan will face competition in the series from vehicles like the Audi R8 LMS, Cadillac CTS-V, Dodge Viper, Nissan GT-R, Porsche 911 and more. With the Detroit Grand Prix hosting the sixth and seventh races in the Pirelli World Challenge GT class schedule, it doesn't seem that Acura is expecting to win the series in its debut season, but it will surely gain valuable experience.
Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have been living in a world of sunshine and buttercups after their April-through-June financials hit the newswire, and Toyota is doing pretty good as well. Honda? Not so much.
While Japan's third-largest manufacturer saw $1.9 billion in profits, the 5.1-percent jump was lower than expected thanks to a drop in its home-market sales. US sales also took a sting, as Honda hasn't been able to match the SUV and truck demand that are currently permeating the American market, despite an uptick in Accord sales.
Honda's initial forecasts targeted a take of 209.3 billion yen ($2.1 billion at today's rates), and while a $200 million shortfall is nothing to sniff at, we'd hardly take this as Honda being in trouble. And even with the dip, Honda hasn't adjusted its forecast for the fiscal year, which remains at 780 billion yen ($7.9 billion).
Honda has built two Accords for many years. There's the one we're familiar with here in the United States, and then there's the Accord sold in markets like Europe and Australia, known here in the US as the Acura TSX. But just like Acura did with the TSX, the Euro-market Accord has been discontinued.
The news comes from The Motor Report in Australia, which is reporting that the Accord Euro will be discontinued in 2015. Sold Down Under alongside the US-market model, the discontinuation of the Aussie car indicates an end to Honda's midsize sedan efforts in Europe, where there is no obvious replacement for the four-door and wagon models.
According to TMR, Honda Australia Director Stephen Collins indicated that focus will be placed instead on the US market "wide-body" model, as it's known. That said, this decision doesn't sound like it's sitting too well in Oz.


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GoAntiques Sold to Worthpoint, Will Launch eBay Alternative
By Ina Steiner
Atlanta-based WorthPoint has signed a letter of intent to acquire Ohio-based GoAntiques, an online network for buying and selling antiques and collectibles that has 350,000 registered members and nearly a million visits and thousands of transactions each month. GoAntiques also told users this week it would launch its own auction site in September as a result of eBay's decision to close its eBay Live Auctions platform.
Founded in 1994 by Kathy Kamnikar as Antique Networking, GoAntiques offers 600,000 items from more than 1,300 dealers in 31 countries. It also offers one of the largest antiques and collectibles price guide, PriceMiner, with data collected from GoAntiques, eBay and TIAS.com, as well as auction houses.
GoAntiques was a major user of eBay's live-auction platform that also allowed auction houses to add a real-time bidding component to traditional auctions.
In a letter to users, GoAntiques pointed to eBay's decision to take away third party arbitration and mutual withdrawal of negative feedback as factors in its decision to launch its own platform. "In light of our inability to continue to conduct business in a manner that allows us to satisfy buyers and arbitrate any issues that may occur, and in light of the fact the platform is going away anyway, we have decided to launch our own auction platform in September," the email stated.
GoAntiques President Jim Kamnikar said he, his wife Kathy Kamnikar who founded the company, and the entire staff would be staying on to run GoAntiques. "This is what we have been working for - an acquisition by a company with incredible executive management, access to capital and a shared vision to provide top to bottom services including marketplace, reference, research and community in our vertical. And we strongly feel the timing couldn't be better!" Both companies are privately held and terms were not disclosed.
WorthPoint is a social network for researching the worth of antiques and collectibles and has over 50,000 registered users. WorthPoint offers a rich multimedia experience that helps collectors understand the worth of their items. As well as its team of experts on how to preserve or sell antiques and collectibles, members can share their knowledge and create online collecting communities. Worthpoint was founded in 2007 by Will Seippel.
GoAntiques' Kathy Kamnikar said she is thrilled to be part of the WorthPoint team. "Fifteen years ago my dream was to serve the antiques market. With Jim as President we've come a long way and now with WorthPoint we can go even further."
Edited for clarity on 8/22/08.
About the author:
Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to firstname.lastname@example.org.
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Trulieve is selling its first hydrocarbon product in Florida, an extract created through a newly approved process.
The medical cannabis company launched its Live Resin product line on Monday, with its first sale at a Tallahassee dispensary.
“We’ve spent the last year focused on developing products that highlight more than THC and CBD, creating terpene-heavy, full-spectrum, and single-source oil products including our TruWax concentrate and signature TruSpectrum cartridges,” said Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers.
The release of a hydrocarbon extract makes Trulieve the first medicinal marijuana company in Florida to bring such a product to market. Live Resin products come through an extract lab, derived from the company’s TruFlower product after being frozen immediately after harvest. The extract used a proprietary propane-butane blend. Company officials say the hydrocarbon process results in an extract with high levels of cannabinoids and terpenes, making for a higher-flavor product with a “powerful and richly aromatic experience with a broader sensation of effects.”
“Cannabis is an incredible medicine not only because of the medical properties of cannabinoids like THC and CBD but because of every element of the plant,” Rivers said. “Having an opportunity to utilize an industry-leading technology like hydrocarbon extraction will allow us to expand our comprehensive product catalog and continue bringing innovative, natural, and, more importantly, effective relief to our diverse range of patients across Florida.”
According to MJBizDaily, hydrocarbon is one of several available extraction techniques which can result in different types of products.
“Hydrocarbon extraction typically refers to using butane or propane as a solvent that’s passed through the raw cannabis matter to collect cannabinoids and terpenes,” the trade publication explains. “The solvent with the essential oils is then heated up to evaporate off the butane or propane, leaving behind the extract.”
Trulieve said the process had been employed for the True Resin line because it allows retention of a higher level of flavor from the plant. That makes for a patient experience with an extract that is more similar to smoking the cannabis flower.
Trulieve made its first sale from its hydrocarbon Live Resin line to Nicole Walker, a patient at a Tallahassee dispensary.
“I am excited to be part of Trulieve’s special day,” Walker said. “As a longtime Trulieve patient and someone who benefits from concentrates, I’ve always known I can count on Trulieve for the highest-quality products, and now with hydrocarbon-produced concentrates, I look forward to an even better experience going forward.”
Live Resin in the popular Member Berry and Orchard Nectar strains, are available in 0.5g sizes throughout Florida. All extracts in the product line will be strain-specific, ranging across Indica, Sativa and Hybrid products.


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European governments are having trouble keeping the lights on in their troubled economies. European auto enthusiasts, on the other hand, are still living the good life.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Bentley just released impressive first quarter earnings numbers, and guess what: They’re both selling a surprisingly healthy number of cars in crisis-ridden Europe. JLR reported its best ever quarterly sales, which came in 17% higher than for the same period last year and benefitted from a 5% uptick in Europe. Bentley announced an impressive 26% rise in car deliveries for the quarter, and specifically cited an “outstanding” performance in Europe, where deliveries rose by 14%. Both companies performed especially well in the UK, where sales were up 60% for Bentley and 14% for JLR, according to the Guardian.
As we’ve noted, overall European car sales for the year recently fell to their lowest levels since the fall of the Berlin Wall. But some luxury carmakers are telling a different story. Even as lower-end carmakers like Hyundai complain about Europe’s “squeezed middle,” luxury carmakers like Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world’s biggest luxury-vehicle producer, and Mercedes-Benz, the third-ranked luxury-car maker, have posted strong gains on the continent.
The higher margins and healthier demand for luxury cars in Europe have driven carmakers like Ford to roll out fancier versions of their middle-end models that are tailored to European tastes.
Industry leaders at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt last month were far from optimistic about the future prospects of middling European car consumers. Ditching the little guy for consumers unfazed by regional woes is bound to remain a safer bet.


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In a conference call hosted by Bernstein Research, Professor Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp, University of North Carolina, discussed the evolution of private label, its potential and what brands can do to fight back.
Steenkamp said private label goods, or store brands as he preferred to call them, have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years moving beyond copycat products into the premium sector.
His preference for the term store brands is explained here. The marketing professor said private label goods have become brands and this should be acknowledged in the terminology.
What sets store brands apart is not their lack of branding but rather that they are products owned by a distributor who markets and sells them.
Quality improvements have helped drive sales and as a result private label is growing not just in recessionary times but over the entire business cycle.
Steenkamp cited research showing the growth path of private label goods over the last ten years. In Western Europe the market share of store brands rose from 20 to 26 per cent between 2000 and 2006, according to Plant Retail.
Looking at the same data, market share growth in the US was less pronounced but is expected to pick up and grow from 22 to 27 per cent from 2006 to 2010.
Store brands have outperformed normal brands every year over the past decade bar one in the US, according to data from AC Neilson.
Store brands usually pipped other brands in the good times but the sharpest difference came through in the bad times.
In 2001 store brands grew 9 per cent and other brands 1 per cent and in 2008 store brands were up 10 per cent and others grew by only 3 per cent.
Steenkamp, who is the c-author of Private Label Strategy: How to Meet the Store Brand Challenge, suggested some ways that manufacturers could fight against this trend.
One of the keys, he said, was a good advertising strategy. He said manufacturers should not allow their advertising budgets to go up and down with the business cycle.
To this effect he quoted the conclusion of a recent study on advertising spending DeKimpe, Deleersynder, Leeflang, Steenkamp (JMR 2009): “Companies that do not tie their advertising spending to the business cycle exhibit an average yearly percentage growth in their stock price that is 1.3 per cent higher compared to firms that exhibit clear pro-cyclical advertising behaviour.”
Looking beyond budgets, Steenkamp said ads must demonstrate the “distinctive functional benefits” of products. Advertising can also be used to partner effectively with retailers. On such example given was an ad for a Crest toothpaste that ran “Something now just sprouted in the Wal-Mart toothpaste aisle.”


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Europe & Russia: Trade
Russian supplies to Europe are on course to rise by 7% year on year in 2016.
Russian gas exports to Europe saw a significant rise in Q1, when they were up by 29%. However, Q2 Russian exports to Europe increased by roughly 2% year on year, and they are expected to rise by less than 1% in Q3. The surge of annual growth in Q1 2016 was caused by low supplies to Europe in Q1 2015, which were reduced to disrupt the reverse flows of gas into Ukraine. However, increased exports to Europe are expected this month. Russian exports to the region are anticipated to be around 13.8 bcm in September, up by 4% year on year.


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What’s the best, most amazing thing you can 3D print?
Well, what about a house? Better yet, a mansion?
Pictures of two large mansions in an expo area in Suzhou Industrial Park were released on China websites Caixin and Netease News, looking very grand indeed. But it’s almost impossible to tell that they were actually 3D printed, thanks to a Chinese company called Winsun.
According to TechInAsia, Winsun was also responsible for the 3D-printed basic one-storey houses from last year.
While it is still unfurnished and barren, a few pictures showed the interior of one of the mansions that covers an area of 1,100 square metres, sporting grand Victorian-styled columns and beautiful staircase railings. The other building, a tall 6 storey building, is adorned with a sign that boasts that it is the tallest 3D printed building in the world.
Each building was made with 3D printed sections that were later layered to create the foundation and structure of the building, some of which were on display at Suzhou Industrial Park. Of course, buildings of that size require a lot of “ink”, which the company was able to make from recycled construction waste products.
However, WinSun isn’t the only company 3D printing houses. An organization that calls themselves the World’s Advanced Saving Project, or WASP, has created a 3D mud printer that is able to build homes out of, yes, mud.
The project was inspired by a mud dauber, a type of wasp that builds it’s nest using only mud, but uses techniques like consolidating and compressing the material to make the structures sturdy and hard. WASP is aiming to eventually create a portable 3D mud printer that will be able to rebuild slums with one of the most abundant resources they have there.
So does that mean that our buildings in the future will be 3D printed? It’s looking pretty likely. And perhaps with these 3D printers turning to abundant resources like mud and waste products, it will spur a brand new saying: one building’s trash is another building – literally.


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Global Gaming Expo Asia (G2E Asia) this year will feature an Integrated Resort Experience (IRE) in direct response to the Macau government’s call to attract a market beyond pure gaming enthusiasts.
Dedicated platforms and non-gaming add-ons set to be prominent
The Integrated Resort Experience (IRE) will be a hot topic this year, as casinos seek new ways to attract visitors beyond gaming purists to Macau, and diversify revenue streams.
Reflecting the casino industry’s increasing reliance on non-gaming amenities and attractions, the IRE will be a surefire G2E Asia 2017 highlight.
In a first for G2E Asia, the IRE will centralize sourcing of new products, technologies and services that drive revenue and value from non-gaming sources from entertainment, clubs, bars, IR technology and business solutions. These will all be geared towards customers looking for the ultimate experience beyond the casino floor.
Evolution towards non-gaming add-ons
G2E Asia 2017 will feature digital display integrated systems, security solutions, augmented reality, big data analytics and CRM, as well as a broad array of solutions that can improve patrons’ experience and boost operational efficiency. As a result, opportunities for tech and solutions providers will be greatly enhanced.
IR technology, business solutions giants to launch new innovations
Hong Kong-based Regal Crown Technology, a Fintech company that offers customized payment solutions and services to clients and merchants worldwide, will showcase its comprehensive system integration solutions at G2E Asia 2017. These allow users to conveniently and securely use payment platforms.
Also onsite, Arbor Networks, a vital line of defense that secures the world’s largest enterprises and service providers from DDoS attacks and advanced threats, will feature network visibility solutions that enable fast malware detection and mitigation. Among its products will be the Arbor Cloud for multi-layered DDos Protection, the Arbor Networks APS which provides out-of-box protection for complex application-layer DDoS attacks, and the Arbor Networks Spectrum which is designed specifically for security teams to search the entire network to uncover, investigate and prove sophisticated attack campaigns within minutes.
The US-based tech corporation, Oracle, will launch Oracle Hospitality, a new global business unit dedicated to helping the hospitality sector accelerate its move to the digital economy. Centered on the technology and expertise of MICROS Systems, a company with over 35 years of experience in the hospitality sector, Oracle Hospitality will offer unprecedented scale and innovation to customers with its solutions in use at hundreds of thousands of hospitality sites across the world including hotels, restaurants, cruise operations and other venues on seven continents, helping those enterprises compete more effectively in a business landscape fundamentally reshaped by disruptive technologies such as social, mobile, cloud and big data.
Value-adding networking activities to enhance show portfolio
Other than seeing exhibits and solutions demonstrated on the show floor, the CIOs, IT and Heads of Operations within the gaming industry have expressed a strong desire for the creation of a networking event targeted at IT heads from Macau and across Asia.
In addition to roundtables and content on major industry issues, the “Future Technology Leaders Get-Together” Networking Event will be another welcome addition to the expo. This compelling opportunity will be the ideal platform for 120 future technology leaders from integrated resorts, suppliers and governments to convene, exchange, and inspire as they discuss the application of innovative tech solutions to drive customer engagement and enhance efficiencies throughout the industry.
Asia Gaming Brief is a news and intelligence service providing up to date market information for worldwide executives on relevant gaming issues in Asia.
ASIA GAMING BRIEF
PO Box 1139, Macau SAR
Tel: +853 2871 7267
Fax: +853 2871 7264


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Microsoft has unveiled a number of major new features for its Azure cloud services at a conference in San Francisco, while also confirming in a keynote the company is launching datacentres for the service in Australia next week.
During the keynote Microsoft revealed 19 regions will get local datacentres by the end of 2014, including two in Australia, which is twice the number offered by Amazon AWS and six times the number offered by the Google Cloud.
The tech giant revealed 20% of the virtual machines running Azure are used to host Linux, while 40% of revenues come from independent software vendors (ISVs) and startups.
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A key new feature is an online marketplace, called Azure Marketplace, where ISVs and startups can sell their cloud-based services or data to other Azure users, while enterprise customers can deploy new services and operating systems with a single click.
A second is its new G-series of virtual machines, which the company says is the most powerful offered in a public cloud service to date, along with a new high-performance premium storage service.
Meanwhile, for businesses running their own datacentres, the company unveiled the Microsoft Cloud Platform System, based on pre-integrated hardware from Dell, that allows them to host their own Azure-consistent hybrid cloud services.


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Oh, Mayor Bloomberg--you make writing a book about libertarian paternalism and nudges too easy. (Thanks!) But seriously, you help show why it's important to write this book, that's it's not just some pie-in-the-sky idea that lives only in the ivory tower, but one that affects the real world.
Yesterday The New York Times reported that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, through his Board of Health, is planning to limit sizes of sugary drinks like soda (other than diet), energy drinks, and sweetened coffee drinks, to 16 ounces. (One person on Twitter remarked that this is still 13 ounces more generous than the TSA.) This applies to prepackaged bottles of beverages sold in bodegas or delis (but not grocery stores or convenience stores) as well as drinks poured by an employee or customer, such as fountain soda sold at fast food restaurants, sports games, and movie theaters.
According to the article,
The mayor, who said he occasionally drank a diet soda “on a hot day,” contested the idea that the plan would limit consumers’ choices, saying the option to buy more soda would always be available.
“Your argument, I guess, could be that it’s a little less convenient to have to carry two 16-ounce drinks to your seat in the movie theater rather than one 32 ounce,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a sarcastic tone. “I don’t think you can make the case that we’re taking things away.”
No, he's not taking away people's soda or limit consumer choices--people are free to buy more, smaller drinks or take advantage of free refills--but he is hoping to affect their choices, or he wouldn't be doing this in the first place. This element of cynical manipulation lies behind all nudges, the idea that regulators can leave your options unchanged substantively but still change your behavior for the better.
This leads to another offensive aspect of nudges: to change behavior without curtailing options, they rely on the same cognitive biases and dysfunctions that its proponents use to justify their imposition. I assume that Bloomberg blames short-sightedness or lack of willpower for New Yorkers' heavy consumption of sugary drinks, but his plan will only work if people were too lazy, hurried, or absent-minded to consider other options for getting more soda. (His sarcasm about the inconvenience of buying two sodas is ironic, since that inconvenience is one thing that he's counting on to drive the success of his plan.)
What do I see coming from this? A lot of delis and bodegas working to reclassify themselves as grocery stores instead of "food service establishments" (a health department classification) and a lot more restaurants that serve fountain sodas offering free refills or "buy one cup get one free" deals. Consumers won't have to "seek out" ways to get their fix; business will be more than happy to provide them. Like most poorly crafted regulation, this ban on large sugary drinks will certainly shift some behavior, but in efforts to circumvent the ban, not to conform to it.
New Yorkers are smarter than you give them credit for, Mayor Bloomberg. Maybe it's all that sugar.


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Square Enix and Sony announced that a new gameplay showcase for Forspoken is scheduled for December 9, 2022.
No specifics were mentioned in the article, but those who are intrigued by the title certainly won’t want to miss the next broadcast.
The tweet which was originally shared by the tweet shows you the news.
With the 11-minute Forspoken stream, new game will be shown on Friday, Dec 9 @ 10 p.m., 6 AM.
PlayStation (@PlayStation) December 7, 2022
Forspokenfollows Frey as she enters Athia for the first time after being transported from New York City. She discovers a cute and simple bracelet wrapped around her arm. With her new friend named Cuff, Frey navigates the beautiful and sprawling landscapes of Athia while searching for a way home.Forspoken has been designed specifically for the PlayStation 5 and uses this console to create a match that looks like a true next-gen experience.
In the world of Forspoken, the last remaining bastion of the Athians is Cipal. The protagonist Frey can also interact with citizens at the moment that was sparked by a violent war. Quests can be accepted and commercial is taking place in this area known as the bingo space. Pilgrim Refuges can be also found all over the world; they also offer the opportunity to craft and upgrade.
Frey can parkour around the map ensuring cathartic movement, one of the key points to the title’s identity. Belfries are useful for good-looking people. Combat is a form of magic, as well as traps that can meld with all kinds of skills to create devastating effects.
The Forspokenis will be releasing for PlayStation 5 and PC on January 24th 2023. And also TheForspoken: In Tanta, DLC to Go with Thrive will be available in Summer 2023.
- Find out the latest video.
- View the photo trailer from the decade in this time period.
- Magic Parkour trailer.
- Magic Combat trailer.


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Refrigerator is among the most important domestic appliances used in almost every house. Different companies sell different types of refrigerators. People find it hard to choose the best refrigerator for them as various types...
According to the latest tweet by Google, Google & Samsung have teamed up to make a unified wearable platform.
Samsung has teased new display innovations in this year’s Display Week , held in California. Here We are going to discuss these new displays.


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Online social networking Twitter has started testing autoplay videos in their feed in iPhone, iPad Apps. Also Read - Apple delays MacBook Pro, AirPods 3rd gen shipments to October 29, but why?
Twitter has started this as part of a two-pronged test that the company is conducting to see whether people are more likely to watch a video when it starts playing automatically as it does on Facebook, as opposed to the current model requiring a click to play, as it does in YouTube. Also Read - Apple may not launch iPhone SE 3 next year, instead bring iPhone SE Plus with 5G support
According to Ad Age.com web site,in one prong of the experiment, people will see entire videos automatically play in a loop, while in the other, users will see looping 6-second autoplay previews teasing a video. Both formats will play the videos on mute. If people click on either video format, the video will expand to full-screen and play with sound. Also Read - iOS 15.1 update now available: How to download on your iPhone, new features and upgrades
Twitter’s auto play is their latest move to take on YouTube, which has dominated the digital video space for years, as well as Facebook.
Facebook has introduced auto play video in September 2013.


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Winter Rise Music Festival made a grand return this summer after taking a sabbatical in the wake of founder Nathan Cooper's passing. Albeit, the three-day music extravaganza has always had a knack for making the careers of its performers, a new fire has been lit at the core of the organisation. The fire spells Rey Cooper.
This article is AMAZING it has the best websites on how to make extra money/make extra money at home/make extra money online/make extra money fast/make extra money in college/make extra money paid surveys/make extra money websites/make money doing surveys. I'm definitely pinning this.


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Midway Games Inc. plans to publish a "mature"-rated pro football video game with the kinds of violence and excess shunned by the National Football League, the company said on Thursday. The game, called "Blitz: Playmakers," is being designed with the help of a writer from the now-canceled ESPN series "Playmakers," which the NFL condemned for its behind-the-scenes portraits of player drug use and mayhem.
Since the NFL granted an exclusive license to video games rival Electronic Arts Inc., Midway said, it can create its own football game that stretches the limits of what video game players have seen before from sports titles. "No longer bound to the NFL license, there will be no league restrictions on content and gamers will finally experience what makes playing a football video game really fun: off-field controversies, dirty hits, excessive celebrations and much more," Midway marketing chief Steve Allison said in a statement.
News source: Reuters


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On Valentine’s day, Taylor Kinney got down on one knee to propose to his long time girlfriend Lady Gaga, the diva of pop music. His choice of engagement ring was anything but ordinary: A huge solitaire heart shape diamond ring with pave accent stones. The 28 year old singer said yes, and posted a nice picture of couple’s hands with her engagement ring at the spotlight on Instagram for our pleasure. The caption says: “He gave me his heart on Valentine’s Day, and I said YES!”
Lady Gaga, the Italian-American whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, met her fiance on the stage of her music video You & I four years ago. The couple has been inseparable since then. Gaga later revealed she was wearing her mother’s wedding dress in the music video, as if it was a sign of the future to come!
The designer of the unique heart shape engagement ring Lorraine Schwartz has revealed the estimates circulating online for the ring doesn’t come close to the real value of the ring. “The stone is big and quite beautiful, and actually more expensive than some of the estimates I have read,” the jewelry designer of stars commented. “It’s a challenge to get an excellent heart shape with perfections–the shoulders of the gem have to be totally symmetrical; Lady Gaga’s is all that.”
Source: InStyle magazine


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The self-healing, curved smartphone will be offered at $150 with a two-year service agreement.
Justice Department agreed to issue "2511 letters" immunizing AT&T and other companies participating in a cybersecurity program from criminal prosecution under the Wiretap Act, according to new documents obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
Proposal that supposedly increases oversight of the National Security Agency instead could hinder companies trying to challenge warrantless demands for their confidential customer data.
The regional US carrier picks up Motorola's budget Android phone.
The retail store has started selling phones on U.S. Cellular's service in 12 states.
Revelations in new document leaked by Edward Snowden appear to be at odds with privacy assurances from President Obama and other officials.
Top-secret list of potential international cybertargets written by the Obama administration is the latest in a series of high-profile leaks.
Amid the NSA spying scandal, Germany's top security chief warns users to simply avoid U.S. companies. Will that work?
You can buy the two smart devices from the carrier beginning today.
Attacks were allegedly part of an anti-copyright campaign called "Operation Payback," which was in retaliation for the 2010 shutdown of The Pirate Bay.


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It’s steaming up the big screen.
While fashion has managed to remain the focal point of New York Fashion Week, there are still a few key events that grabbed everyone’s attention.
This week, an acclaimed rapper wasn’t pleased with a GRAMMY decision and a late night staple will be looking for a new host soon.
All the chrome has to shine, and the glass must gleam.
The official after-party for the Grammy Awards was a tribute concert for Stevie Wonder, airing Monday, Feb. 16th.
What better place to celebrate your birthday than right here in Pittsburgh? That’s just what Garth Brooks did!
It needs to be someone who can poke fun at a presidential election, but who also understands what’s at stake in an election.
Budweiser has sparked a firestorm with its Super Bowl ad bashing craft beers.
Jon Stewart will be stepping down from his post as anchor of “The Daily Show” later this year, Comedy Central announced Tuesday.
Sony and Marvel/Disney are finally bringing Spider-Man and the Avengers back together.
Bill Cosby’s performance at Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts scheduled for February 21st has been canceled.
Ed Sabol, the NFL Films founder who revolutionized sports broadcasting and reimagined pro football from an up-and-coming league to must-watch theater, has died. He was 98.
Ever text someone using emojis and feel like something’s missing?
So does Taco Bell.
He also said the Kardashian’s should own part of E!.
See the full list of winners at this year’s GRAMMYs.


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Restate your earnings and it gets you into trouble with investors. Carve out your living in the finance business, and investors worry when there?s the prospect for rising rates. Both are problems for Finova Group FNV, +0.16%, and both possibly overblown. At The Online Investor Web site, Ted Allrich figures the company may have been tarred and feathered along with the entire financial industry, even though it's a slightly different breed. And he says changes in its accounting that shaved previously stated earnings also spooked investors. "When you mess with your accounting, investors don?t like it", and its stock dove by nearly half this year before recovering since its September low.
Finova is a commercial finance company that lends money to mid-sized businesses. But Allrich says because of the way it does business, interest rates are not a risk. The company is mostly "match funded" in the loans themselves which means the loans are made with funds that are matched either on a maturity basis or a duration basis. And that takes most of the interest rate risk out of its loans. The company?s earnings have grown almost 25 percent a year since 1993 and its P/E to growth rate is low.
But Allrich says even armed with the facts, investors need to be careful of the perception of a stock. Higher interest rates still hurt financial institutions in the mind of many investors. And higher rates will hold back Finova, no matter what it delivers in earnings. But if rates start moving lower, investors may see this as a growth stock that?s been punished long enough. Read the full story
These dogs won?t hunt
A fund that?s been embracing the "dogs of the Dow" theory may have some of its investors howling. The O?Shaughnessy Dogs of the Market Fund osdgx is going through some changes. The fund actually follows the dogs of the Dow formula but adds the highest yielding stocks from the S&P 400 midcap index to the mix. But George Benigno at the YourFunds Web site says the fund itself looks like a dog this year. Flat this year, and last year, the fund gained just 9.1 percent after leaping nearly 26 percent in 1997. Recent changes to the Dow Jones Industrials Average haven?t helped. Adding Intel and Microsoft boosted its technology component and stuck fund management with fewer high-yield selections.
Now the fund has been closed to new investors pending a shareholder vote to merge with O?Shaughnessy Cornerstone Value oscvx and current shareholders aren?t getting much reason to hold on since management dropped limitations on the fund?s operating expenses. Read the full story
Charts to watch
Some dot-com's on the move could be moving higher, according to the chart watchers at the Wall Street View Web site. Its Trading Ideas area says Internet stocks are attracting buyers again, including some second tier companies, something the site says was seen back in March and April of this year.
On the watch list is America Online aol, which Wall Street View says looks like its next target might be its previous high of 167. Sentiment is strong and that could push AOLhigher. Shares of DrKoop.com koop are steadily moving higher and it appears the stock might have more to the upside. The site says a close through current levels would complete the breakout.
The site's also watching eBay EBAY, -0.49% which is steadily moving higher. It might retest its previous recovery high of 155 to 158. And InfoSeek SEEK, -99.00% stock looks like it wants to go higher. Shares have been consolidating for the past week or so and might be ready to move up. Read the full story
Raging Bull?s got some advice for those poo-pooing eMachines eeee. Never underestimate the power of "cheaper". With cheap PC maker eMachines expected to make its IPO debut in the next few weeks, Raging Bull?s Kelly Black says eMachines has managed to infiltrate the reigning kings of the PC market, nipping at the heels of Dell DELL, +0.76% and Compaq cpq in quarterly sales rankings. And that?s not bad for a company less than a year old.
No shortage of criticism for the company though, and Kelly acknowledges a lot of it. Its facing lawsuits from Compaq and Apple. Its sagging gross margins are a valid concern for investors. And it will be hard to argue that eMachines makes a comparable investment to Dell, Compaq or IBM. But its growth is astounding and its impact on the PC market has been profound. It forced big PC makers to scramble into the sub-$1000 PC market. Kelly says every now and again a company comes along that?s just plain exciting to watch. In the evolving landscape of PC makers, eMachines faces an uncertain future and an uphill battle. But one thing is certain. Consumers will emerge the winners. Read the full story
Rite Aid; bought it. And still buying it
Would you stand by your investment in a stock that?s dropped 85 percent this year? One money manager?s not only defending his position, he?s saying now is the time to buy more. Rite Aid RAD, +0.99% stock has suffered a horrible pounding in the wake of a wave of news that has shaken investors. But Rite Aid long investor David H. M. Baker, of Rivendell Capital Management, writes for the WorldlyInvestor Web site that he?s buying the stock for risk oriented portfolios and he expects the investment has the potential to generate 18 month returns exceeding 50 percent.
Baker argues that much of Rite Aid?s troubles lie squarely on the shoulders of previous management and investors should focus on the fact that the company?s business model is in tact, it can service its debt, and new leadership will clean up the ship. He thinks Rite Aid is worth the risk at current levels to current shareholders and risk oriented new investors. And he says it wouldn?t be a surprise to see the shares hit 12 or 14 if the market gets a sense that Rite Aid is back on track. Read the full story


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AN apple processing plant now boasts one of Victoria's largest industrial solar power stations.
Nine Mile Fresh apple processing and packing facility at South East Gippsland installed the 1.14 megawatt system to help cut onsite energy use by one-third.
The system is made up of 2850 solar panels installed across 17,600 square meters of industrial roof space in Tynong,
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It is one of several large megawatt-sized solar generators to be powered up over the past seven months that service large commercial and industrial businesses surrounding Melbourne.
The high tech sorting, grading and packing system processes 150,000 kilograms of apples each day that are supplied by 50 growers across Victoria and Tasmania.
It is one of the most sophisticated operations of its type worldwide.
The apples glide through 51 separate channels of bruise-free water as part of the grading and sorting system. It means more fruit can be processed but it uses a lot of power - 5700 megawatt hours each year, or the same amount used by 1000 typical Victorian homes.
Verdia chief executive officer, Paul Peters, said the solar installation would provide clean, emissions free electricity, at a lower price than power sourced from the grid.
"The system will pay for itself in just under six years and then provide a third of on-site electricity for free," Mr Peters said.
"So it stacks up financially. It will also help cut energy use by one third and greenhouse gas emissions by 1600 tonnes each year, so there's a large environmental benefit there too.
"Energy from the sun is helping to grow the apples and its now being harvested to sort and pack them off to the supermarket shelves throughout the east coast."
Competing needs for capital, a lack of specialist resources and the risk of choosing poor quality vendors prevented Nine Mile Fresh from managing the program itself.
Nine Mile Fresh director, James Ryan, said by outsourcing the financial and technical management, the business could remove much of the risk from delivering the program in house.
"Ultimately, it meant we could see the financial benefits sooner and hedge against future price shocks for a large portion of our electricity use," Mr Ryan said.
"We spend more than one million dollars on electricity, so it's a significant outlay and an obvious area where we can be more efficient and reduce our operating costs.
"It is also becoming much more important for consumers and retailers to choose a product that has a lower environmental footprint. Reducing our energy use and emissions and improving our sustainability helps achieve that."
The Nine Mile Fresh project is part of an estimated 68 megawatts of behind the meter solar PV systems being developed and installed by Verdia across Australia.
Although commercial and industrial sized installations are not eligible for state government subsidies, they are still offering substantial financial and sustainable benefits to businesses.
According to The Clean Energy Australia Report there was an 80 per cent growth in medium scale solar pv installations between 100 kilowatts and five megawatts in 2018 across Australia, adding 102 megawatts of solar energy generating capacity.
- Copy supplied by Verdia.


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SAP and Lenovo announced a partnership under which Lenovo will deliver a new enterprise cloud solution created exclusively for customers holding licenses for the SAP HANA platform in China. The solution will be named “Lenovo Enterprise Cloud designed for SAP HANA” and is intended to open a simple and powerful migration path for China customers seeking to leverage their investments in SAP HANA offsite in a cloud environment.
SAP and Lenovo passed the one-year mark of an expanded strategic alliance announced last year in January. The latest announcement follows several other significant milestones achieved in 2016 as part of the companies’ joint commitment to develop new cloud solutions for the Chinese market, pioneer global innovations leveraging SAP HANA and Lenovo server technologies, and executive collaborative go-to-market programs.
The two companies have worked together since 2010, particularly in China. Lenovo’s new solution will be customized with support from SAP, to optimize performance availability running SAP HANA-based applications such as real-time data analytics. The core infrastructure will employ Lenovo’s effective System x3850 and x3950 X6 servers, while the System x3650 M5 will power the application servers.
“This new dimension of our partnership with Lenovo gives China enterprises access to a powerful, highly scalable cloud solution for rapidly and efficiently deploying applications running on SAP HANA off premise,” said Edward Chen, chief business officer, SAP Greater China. “Also, we anticipate that Lenovo Enterprise Cloud designed for SAP HANA will be a compelling option for customers because it leverages the company’s high-performance server technology, as well as its deep skills and experience in delivering these applications.”
Lenovo will build and operate the end-to-end cloud data center infrastructure for the solution in China, while also managing and supporting its SAP HANA database and applications, including customer technical support such as a hotline service. SAP and Lenovo will together expand market presence and offer off-premise solutions to customers in China. SAP will help Lenovo with quality assurance during the deployment and support process.
With the agreement, Lenovo gains a major new channel for its industry-leading capabilities in deploying SAP HANA and delivering its benefits. The company currently is among the largest SAP customers in China and also runs one of the largest instances of SAP HANA in the Asia Pacific region. By deploying SAP HANA in-memory database technology deeply in its own organization using its own infrastructure, Lenovo has developed vast knowledge of how to optimize application performance, as well as implement the technology rapidly and efficiently, which it applies to customer engagements.


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Nvidia announced this week that the latest version of its subscription service, GeForce Now Ultimate, has officially gone live for several cities in the US, rolling out to San Jose, Los Angeles, and Dallas, as well as Frankfurt, Germany. Areas surrounding these cities will also be able to connect to the new Ultimate tier servers.
This version upgrades GeForce Now’s premier RTX 3080 tier and rebrands it to Ultimate membership, offering the same benefits of the RTX 3080 tier but upgrading the cloud rig to an RTX 4080 GPU.
The service is powered by the Lovelace GPU architecture and, according to Nvidia (opens in new tab), streams at up to 240 FPS with NVIDIA Reflex, up to 4K 120 FPS with support for DLSS 3 and RTX ON, and ultrawide support at up to 3,840 x 1,600p resolution at 120 FPS.
We punched in the numbers and found that if you paid for the Ultimate subscription tier in six-month increments for six years ($99.99, about £85/AU$145), it would cost the same as buying the RTX 4080 graphics card at its current MSRP. This makes it an excellent option for those with a solid internet connection who wants the performance of the current-gen graphics card without having to pay over $1,000 for it.
“After the start of the rollout of the RTX 4080 SuperPODs today, it’ll start rolling out to other regions, with wider release expected throughout Q1,” an Nvidia spokesperson told TechRadar. “On our weekly GFN Thursday blog (opens in new tab), we’ll be giving updates each week on which regions are getting RTX 4080 performance.”
Could this be the future of PC gaming?
We previously tried out the RTX 3080 tier for our Acer Chromebook 516 GE review and found the performance on one of the best Chromebooks we’ve tested to be near indistinguishable from actually running a laptop with the best GPU on the market.
And when we went hands-on with the new Ultimate tier for CES 2023, we found that the performance is even better, as it addresses latency issues that have held the subscription service back. Not only would the upgraded servers bring system latency beneath that 60ms threshold, but Nvidia also claims that by incorporating Nvidia Reflex into its server-side processing, it can bring it down as low as 35ms, which is on par with an actual gaming PC running local hardware.
If this turns out to be true, that would be absolutely huge and make an already great service perfect for even hardcore and eventually competitive gaming, maybe even beating out even the best gaming PC you can get for a comparable price.


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By Adam Satariano and Josh Tyrangiel, Bloomberg |
December 6, 2012
Apple Inc. plans to spend more than $100 million next year on building Mac computers in the U.S., shifting a small portion of manufacturing away from China, the country that has handled assembly of its products for years.
OPEC vs. OPEC is a pick-em
Institutional interest in bitcoin surges as trading products mature
Is Fed too close to big banks?
BGC bids for GFI; Eris launches real-time data
Ride crude bear by shorting RBOB...
Getting into gold with bull spreads
Simplifying fibonacci for traders


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In a previous column I asked the question: Is the competition between Indaba in Durban and Africa Travel Week in Cape Town helping or harming us? Does it not dilute visitor numbers to both shows? Now that both trade shows have come and gone, we have seen that visitor numbers to WTM Africa have increased while Indaba has continued its decline in numbers of delegates (both exhibitors and buyers).
When I first typed out the words shrinking Indaba, I accidentally mistyped it sinking Indaba. Freudian slip, perhaps? The show is definitely shrinking, but I wouldn't say it is a sinking ship. Indaba receives a lot of criticism but it is still our flagship tourism trade show, and I believe it should remain so. Indaba is here to stay, and it will remain, at least for next year, in Durban.
For a number of years now we have heard calls for Indaba to be moved away from Durban. Some believe Cape Town would be a better host city, and would better show off some of our country's top tourism assets. Others believe it should be rotated between Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town.
While a rotating Indaba may be well received by visitors and perhaps lower the cost of attending Indaba, it will potentially increase the cost for many exhibitors (except for those in the host city). Many exhibitors store their stand material in Durban until the next Indaba. Transporting everything to a new location (or rebuilding a stand from scratch) every year will push up the already high costs of exhibiting.
Another argument put forward is about the brand – Durban has almost become synonymous with the Tourism Indaba, just like Berlin in the case of ITB and London for WTM.
In the end, the challenges Indaba faces will not be solved by merely moving the show to a different city. Indaba is whatever you make of it, and many people (including myself) had another productive Indaba this year. But, as our Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom acknowledged, Indaba needs a boost. The show needs a radical rethink and facelift.
It's all about numbers
The value of Indaba for exhibitors lies mainly in the number and quality of buyers, in particular international buyers. There were noticeably fewer people this year, again. In fact you have to go back to the late 1990s for similar stats with regard to number of buyers. I remember when the ICC was so packed with people that you could hardly move in the corridors, and you had to scramble for a table or chair outside to have some coffee or lunch. This time the corridors were quiet, and there were plenty of free tables and chairs outside.
Likewise, the value of the show for buyers lies in the number and quality of exhibitors. This year, the number of exhibitors declined for the 5th straight year, down by more than 40% from the peak of 1820 exhibitors in 2010. The SADC tent of course is no longer there, and the SADC exhibitors are all in the DEC now, while many previous DEC exhibitors were now in the ICC. And many others were simply gone. Probably decided to exhibit at WTM Africa instead.
The organisers, of course, claim that their focus is now on quality rather than quantity. However, I have my doubts that any exhibitor or visitor was turned down due to not meeting the required quality standards. Indaba is shrinking for two main reasons – the quality and value of the show, and competition from other shows like WTM Africa.
Quality and value
Indaba seems to struggle to stay relevant and meet the needs of our industry. For buyers and exhibitors alike, the value of the show decreases with shrinking numbers. And the quality has decreased in other ways too. For example, there is no longer a downloadable list of buyers or visitors. This is critical for buyers and exhibitors to be able to set up meetings, especially since the matchmaking tool had severe limitations. The organisers seemed to focus on getting meetings set up between exhibitors and buyers, but they forget that many exhibitors have business to conduct with other exhibitors, and many buyers have business to conduct with other buyers.
I also found the matchmaking tool to be very impersonal. It is easy to decline meetings based on a matchmaking invite alone, before you've heard what someone has to offer. Many people would rather pick up the phone and speak to someone in person in order to set up a meeting, or at least be able to send a personal email. This was a lot harder than in previous years, without the complete list of contacts (exhibitors and buyers).
Competition – good or bad?
Indaba was on a downward trend even before the inaugural WTM Africa in 2014. The competition has been a wake-up call for Indaba, but the declining numbers continue and have perhaps been exacerbated by the new trade shows in Cape Town. While WTM Africa grew significantly in 2015 (and is now also a 3-day show), Indaba continues to shrink. Perhaps it is understandable, because this year these two major shows were a month apart. This forces buyers to choose between these two events, which dilutes the value of both shows. International delegates, even hosted buyers, are not going to attend both, a month apart.
The cost of exhibiting also means that only large companies with big budgets can afford to exhibit at both events. So the value to the buyers is also diluted, because you can no longer meet with all your suppliers under one roof, at one event.
Competition is healthy, but if we want to attract more international buyers to both shows, it would be in the interests of tourism to have Indaba and WTM Africa close together, at most a week apart. If we spread them out, everyone loses. If Indaba remains in the second weekend of May, why not have WTM Africa over the first weekend in May, preceded by ILTM Africa and followed by We Are Africa? Four shows, virtually back to back - a bonanza of travel trade shows for international buyers to attend.
In the end, exhibitors will invest in the show that attracts the most buyers and generates the most exposure and business for their brand, at reasonable cost. And buyers will attend the show with the most exhibitors and best platform for meeting with product owners.


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Elon Musk, owner of Twitter and CEO of Tesla, recently visited China. It was the billionaire's first trip to China since 2019. Musk met with Chinese Foreign Minister Jin Gang and later with Vice Premier Ding Hsüe Hsiyang. During these meetings, he discussed the investment in the newest Tesla factory in Shanghai, as well as issues related to the lithium battery supply chain.
Although officially it was all about business, the political symbolism of the trip was unmistakable on both sides, the author, Zoltán Pataki noted.
Moreover, Musk made several statements that are in stark contrast to the Biden administration's communications and goals. He has openly condemned the US administration's efforts to "decouple" the US and Chinese economies, the journalist pointed out.
Pataki recalled that Musk has already made comments that have shocked Americans. Last year, for example, he told the Financial Times that Chinese electric car makers would be successful because the Chinese have a strong work ethic. "There are simply a lot of super-talented, hard-working people in China who believe strongly in manufacturing," he said. In contrast, he said, "Americans are now trying to avoid even having to go to work".
Beijing has devoted particular media attention to the US billionaire's recent visit, seeking to amplify its significance on all platforms. It has put a lot of emphasis on showing that he is not "just a businessman" in the country, the author added.
This is particularly striking when you consider when a US politician has been so well received in China in recent times. Even the few US officials - Antony Blinken, Wendy Sherman - who have conducted negotiations in China have not received such a warm welcome, he noted.


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See how the newly unveiled Apple iPad Air 2 compares to its Android tablet competitors: the Google Nexus 9 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S.
The Air Umbrella has reached its funding goal and is coming to market. Can it really protect your dome from torrential downpours using a force field of air?
New York's Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum has an eclectic mix of vehicles ranging from the Space Shuttle, the Concorde, a cruise missile submarine, myriad aircraft from different eras, and of course, the aircraft carrier Intrepid itself. Here's a full photo tour.
The Air Force says that the almost one-of-a-kind spacecraft "conducted on-orbit experiments" in the the longest-ever mission for the X-37B program.
What do the Concorde, the Space Shuttle, an aircraft carrier, and a cruise missile submarine have in common? They're all part the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Those iconic vehicles, and many more, in our full tour.
With WWI fighters, seaplanes of the '30s, legendary participants of the Battle of Britain, bombers from WWII, and jets from the '40s to the present day, the Royal Air Force Museum London has examples from every era of flight. Here's a full photo tour.
Sure, Apple's iPad Air starts at $499. But here's why Apple really wants you to pay $599.
A new company called Mesoloft will rocket your ashes to near space, where they will likely traverse the globe before becoming the seeds of raindrops and snowflakes.
Apple, which will show off its newest iPad on Thursday, has to wrestle with the truth that consumers just aren't buying tablets as frequently as smartphones.
The most important things to know when shopping for a new laptop, hybrid, or Windows tablet.


text: They have to have a departure time which allows for passenger arrivals at the airports. Despite our advice, many people still fly in on the day of the cruise. Sales would likely plummet if the cruise line said "arrive a day early so you can check in and we can leave the following morning". It won't sell with the typical Alaska cruise audience. The cruise lines have already pulled several ships from the Alaska market. Requiring people to show up a day early would only send it further down.


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L.A.-based Animax Entertainment has played a key role in developing plush manufacturer Ty’s Beanie Babies 2.0 virtual world.
Animax helped build the user-friendly virtual world that includes multiplayer gaming and social network components. Users unlock the browser-based, download-free, virtual world by entering a code found on each Beanie Babies 2.0 plush.
Animax also created and maintains another award-winning tween-focused virtual world for Ty, Ty Girlz http://www.tygirlz.com. The new Beanie Baby virtual world is up and running at www.beaniebabies20.com.


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Apple today made another big announcement for India by opening the development center for Apple Maps in Hyderabad. The company announced yesterday that it is going to open an iOS app design center in Bengaluru.
Apple's CEO Tim Cook who currently on the tour of India met with Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao and inaugurated the facility. The center is located on the Waverock campus.
“Apple is focused on making the best products and services in the world and we are thrilled to open this new office in Hyderabad which will focus on Maps development,” said Cook.
“The talent here in the local area is incredible and we are looking forward to expanding our relationships and introducing more universities and partners to our platforms as we scale our operations,” he added
The company has been cautious after their initial debacles with Apple maps. They are adding new features as well including 3D views and flyover guidance. Some other utilities include the ability to find shops, restaurants and so on nearby. Apple maps also has transit feature for 300 cities in the world for finding better ways to commute.
“We are honored Apple chose Hyderabad as a home for its Maps development office. This will create thousands of jobs here and is a testament to our proactive approach, quality infrastructure, and the excellent talent base we have in the region,” said Rao.
Cook started his India tour yesterday in Mumbai by visiting Siddhivinay temple. He also met a bunch of start-up founders and CEOs. Bollywood star SRK also hosted a party for him later in the evening. He is expected to meet the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday to discuss the future roadmap of Apple in India.
Contact HuffPost India


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Welcome to WebmasterWorld Guest from 22.214.171.124
Forum Moderators: phranque
The directive demands that users be fully informed about the information being stored in cookies and told why they see particular adverts.
Specifically excluded by the directive are cookies that log what people have put in online shopping baskets.
Cookie law deferred for one yea
UK websites are being given one year to comply with EU cookie laws, the Information Commissioner's Office has said.
The UK government also sought to reassure the industry that there would be "no overnight changes".


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Psyonix has announced that Rocket League‘s Halloween event, Haunted Hallows, is set to land in the game on October 15.
Running from October 15 to November 5, Rocket League players will be able to dive right into Haunted Hallows which is set to offer some exclusive rewards which players can grab by trading in Candy Corn earned during the event.
By playing online matches players will be rewarded with Candy Corn which they can use to exchange for limited Decals, Toppers, Wheels, and much more. There’s also a Golden Pumpkin which players can acquire that’ll feature one Customisation item from the game’s usual Turbo or Player’s Choice Crate.
Once the event ends on November 5, players will have until November 8 to spend any Candy Corn they have left.
A trailer for the event can be seen below which sees a number of the spooky items in action:


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The EU launched new probes today (12 February) into imports of Chinese steel, warning it would not allow "unfair competition" to threaten Europe's industry already crumbling under a flood of cheap imports.
A leading candidate for a free trade agreement with the EU has been accused of a major crackdown on human rights, in what could be a test case for Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström’s new focus on an ethical dimension to FTAs.
EU regulators opened a probe into the solar power panel industry in China, the European Commission said on Friday (29 May), in response to accusations that Chinese companies were dodging import duties by exporting via Taiwan and Malaysia.
The need for fast, accurate and balanced information is always important. We value EURACTIV's good, independent journalism and support this initiative
Mella Frewen, Director General of FoodDrinkEurope
EURACTIV plays a vital role in bringing Europe closer to its citizens. EURACTIV has long recognised that the story of Europe has to be told across the continent, and not just in Brussels. We need to support a truly European and informed debate.


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Mercedes has released the first images of the all-new CLS, which gets its public debut this October at the Paris Motor Show.
The original Mercedes-Benz CLS launched in 2003, becoming the first mainstream four-door coupé and inventing a whole new niche that Audi and BMW are only just beginning to fill.
Set to be unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, these are the first images of an all-new second generation Mercedes CLS – putting the three-pointed star a whole generation ahead of the competition.
Details are scarce so far, but from the complete view of the exterior we can see the new car’s styling is influenced at the front end by the Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing supercar, while the sides resemble the latest E-class and S-class, which in turn take their inspiration from the classic Mercedes Ponton.
New CLS has LED lights
The front of the new CLS also features full LED headlights complete with adaptive dynamic lighting functions for better visibility at night.
This will give the car a very distinctive lighting signature, with three arrow-shaped layers comprising 71 LEDs in total. The advantage to this technology comes from its adaptability and its energy efficiency compared to traditional lighting units.
LED technology is also used for the lights on the rear of the car, but that’s far from unusual these days. LED headlights, however, have previously been the reserve of supercars such as the Audi R8 V10.
Five trim finishes
Mercedes hasn’t yet released any images of the interior of the new CLS, but has explicitly stated it will be available in a choice of five colours and five trim finishes – though how many of those will actually make it to the UK remains to be seen.
We’re promised an ‘exciting mixture of satin and high-gloss finishes’, with other details revealed including ‘matt galvanised’ air vents, and options such as piano black lacquer.
You’ll also be able to choose between three types of leather, and even order a hand-stitched leather dashboard cover. No doubt an extensive list of in-car entertainment and safety equipment will also feature.
CLS only available with V6 petrol so far…
No word yet on engine choices, but the car pictured here is clearly displaying a 350 badge, so that accounts for a petrol V6 at least. Beyond this you can expect the usual range of forced induction petrol and diesel engines, BlueEfficiency technology, an AMG performance model, and in all probability a petrol-electric hybrid as well.
Pricing and standard equipment information will come closer to launch, and we should see the new Mercedes-Benz CLS hit UK showrooms early next year.
Further details of this new four-door coupé should emerge at Paris. Which? Car will keep you informed.


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Friday, January 16, 2015
D-Max and mu-X Help Isuzu Philippines Sales to Surge 19.9 Percent in 2014
Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) steadily built momentum throughout 2014 to finish the year with robust sales performance. The country’s reputed leader in diesel technology last year registered vehicle deliveries of 14,134 units, 2,341 more than the company’s 11,793-unit overall sales in 2013, or a remarkable 19.9% surge.
IPC started 2014 riding on the strength of the ever-popular Isuzu Crosswind AUV and that of the Isuzu D-MAX pickup. The two models sustained their steady demand throughout the year to help IPC push around 1,000 vehicles per month. This contributed to IPC having registered almost every month a double-digit year-on-year growth versus the company’s 2013 tally. In the first six months of 2014, 6,429 vehicles have been sold compared to the 5,757 units recorded during the same period of the previous year, or a 11.7% increase. Except for July’s result, IPC’s month-to-date sales in 2014 also remained higher than in the year before.
From September to December 2014 IPC’s performance shifted to a higher gear with the much-anticipated arrival of the All-New Isuzu mu-X SUV. Replacing the Isuzu Alterra and taking over as the company’s flagship model, the mu-X immediately accelerated IPC’s performance in the SUV segment with astounding triple-digit growth every month from September all through December last year.
Upon its launch in September 2014, the mu-X instantly shifted 357 units, followed by 331 in October, 532 in November and 499 in December. This lifted IPC’s monthly total from just a little over 1,000 vehicles to an average of over 1,400 units. The mu-X’s 1,719-unit total in the last four months of 2014 means the all-new model accounted for more than half of IPC’s sales difference in 2014 versus 2013.
“The immediate success of the All-New Isuzu mu-X demonstrates the domestic market’s strong demand for fresh products that address consumers’ needs and aspirations,” said IPC President Nobuo Izumina. “It is also an undeniable indicator of the market’s optimism brought about by a buoyant economy.”
Complementing the 2014 performance of IPC’s light commercial vehicle models were results posted by Isuzu’s N-Series business-use trucks. The N-Series, which has led the Philippines’ light-duty truck segment for 15 consecutive years, carried on its strength last year and logged month-to-date growth all throughout 2014. The N-Series finished 2014 at 3,135 units sold compared against 2,386 units the prior year.
Building up on the N-Series’s year-on-year figures were those of the D-MAX, which sold 3,803 units last year compared to 2,398 in 2013, and the MU-X, which when combined with the Alterra’s results posted 2,048 units last year versus 577 units in the year before.


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Jeff Mills To Play In Glasgow For Soma’s 25th Anniversary
Jeff Mills will touch down in Glasgow on the 30th of December this year in celebration of Soma's 25th anniversary as a record label. He will appear at SWG3 alongside label founders Slam, Funk D'Void, Silicone Soul, Petrichor and Charles Fenckler. SWG3 has been the venue of choice for Slam when it comes to running parties since the closure of the legendary Arches venue. More details can be found HERE.


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HONG KONG: Great Wall names model launches for 2013
Great Wall has announced a global sales target of 700,000 vehicles for calendar 2013. The Hong Kong-based manufacturer also says it will launch 13 new vehicles this year, some of which are expected to be updates of existing models.
In 2012, Great Wall saw its global sales rise by 28% YoY to 620,000 vehicles, of which 96,500 were in markets outside China, a YoY rise of 16 percent.
The firm has named the following new models as being due for launch in 2013: Haval H2, Haval H8, Great Wall C50 2013, and Wingle 6. The first of these models are expected to be revealed at AutoShanghai in April.
Author: Glenn Brooks
Companies: Great Wall
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Acer boss JT Wang was no doubt summing up the feelings of many when he said Microsoft's Surface tablet would cause headaches for its Windows 8 OEMs, and that Ballmer's crew should think twice before diving headlong into a market it has zero experience in.
Lenovo, however, has a different take on the subject: it's not bothered in the least by what Microsoft does, because it believes its own tablets will be superior.
That's just the sort of thing Wang was talking about, no doubt, but it's still good to hear someone have the cojones to come out with some old-fashioned “may the best man win” talk. Take note, Chris Weber.
Lenovo has every reason to be confident. Its latest earnings figures show a record high market share and profits up by 30%. Not bad considering the rest of us are all skint.
Speaking during the company's earnings call, Lenovo boss Yang Yuanqing said he didn't see Microsoft and the Surface as anything more than one more competitor, and one it has every intention of getting on top of.
“Although we don’t like Microsoft providing hardware, for us, it just adds one more competitor,” Yuanqing said of the Surface. “We are still confident that we are providing much better hardware than our competitors including Microsoft. They are strong in software, but [we] don’t believe they can provide the best hardware in the world. Lenovo can.”
Of course, whether Lenovo's slates trump Microsoft's or not, when it comes to the operating software Microsoft is the winner either way – and Yuanqing clearly knows which side his bread is buttered on.
“Microsoft is still our strategy partner. We are very optimistic on the Windows 8 launch so we will fully leverage that to launch our new products.” Leverage away, my good man...


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7-Eleven franchisees from around the country last week rolled out an accountability campaign to hold Congress responsible for their lack of action to reform for unfair credit-card interchange or “swipe” fees. Last summer, nearly 1.7 million 7-Eleven customers signed petitions demanding legislative intervention. More recently, an additional two million customers at other convenience stores nationwide signed similar petitions, creating an outcry from almost four million.
Almost a year ago, thousands of 7-Eleven franchisees asked customers to support their neighborhood stores by signing petitions calling for Congress to pass legislation prohibiting credit-card networks and card-issuing banks from charging unfair, hidden transaction fees. This year the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) collected another round of signatures.


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Monique Williams forgotten this lady business given that a receptionist from inside the a Detroit flat strengthening this past year in the Covid-19 pandemic. Today she’s learning how difficult it’s discover straight back on track together with her debt burden.
Possibly her toughest problem, she says, has been the high-cost car loan she took in 2016 with Borrowing Welcome Corp., the nation’s prominent company dedicated to so-named subprime financing to have individuals having discolored borrowing from the bank.
Williams mentioned that when she and her husband was indeed having problems fulfilling the loans last year, she requested Borrowing from the bank Welcome if she you will pay a lesser amount of briefly otherwise put-off the lady money. Given that providers provided some Covid-19-associated rentals — halting late charge and you may repossessions — deferrals were not a choice.
«I was buying which auto to possess couple of years — over $twelve,000 — and i didn’t also rating a great deferment,» Williams told you. The automobile died inside the , she told you, but regarding $2,000 into mortgage remains outstanding.
Vehicles are essential for people to make the journey to efforts, grocery stores and you can vaccination stores, nevertheless the bodies has provided no government direction earmarked to possess car money when you look at the pandemic. Stimulus monitors aided consumers prevent non-payments, naturally, and lots of says stopped repossessions, however, providing almost every other leases, like deferments, fell toward lenders by themselves.
There’s no direct direction to have auto loans simply since, in the place of college loans and you can mortgages, there’s no federal control of credit in the auto stadium, said John Van Alst, an attorney from the National Individual Legislation Center, a nonprofit that supporters getting lowest-earnings People in america. Today, once the country reopens to own team, bank rentals are beginning in order to decrease, and you will Van Alst said auto repossessions was rising certainly one of subprime individuals. Just in case you are considering expensive subprime automobile financing, «there’s not much of a good margin, plus the the very least absolutely nothing point could possibly get people for the a standard,» the guy told you.
At the beginning of the brand new pandemic, of numerous lenders filled the newest pit left because of the authorities, giving deferments and you can halting late costs; because of this, car loan non-payments a year ago dropped on their reasonable rates into the fifteen years, told you Jonathan Cigarette, head economist in the Cox Automobile, a buddies that give properties to the car globe.
Borrowing from the bank Anticipate, however, failed to offer such as deferrals. The business claims it froze revealing to your borrowers’ credit history and frozen later charge and you will range affairs, including calls and you will repossessions, to possess ninety days to possess people harm by the Covid-19. After that, not, consumers have to make monthly payments; whenever they dont, the lender’s webpages states, the firm will get resume repossessions and you may late charge.
Credit Greet, mainly based in the 1972, is the state’s largest stand alone subprime automobile bank; it produced $1.seven mil when you look at the cash just last year. Since the pandemic began, the company’s inventory keeps increased because of the more 50 percent. Borrowing Enjoy granted inventory provides to seven best managers value a keen projected $55 million, regulatory filings show.
Past summer, Massachusetts Lawyer Standard Maura Healey prosecuted Borrowing from the bank Desired, claiming the financing and you will range practices was basically predatory and illegal into the the state. The business established Thursday it got provided to accept which have Healey, purchasing $twenty seven.2 mil.
«Credit anticipate made high-desire funds to consumers that the providers realized they would not pay,» Healey informed NBC Reports before payment are announced. «Everything https://empire-finance.com/personal-loans/idaho i envision predatory in the these types of means is the fact they’re specifically targeting insecure somebody, those who is almost certainly not in a position to qualify for regular money, regular financing preparations.»
Since it unveiled the payment, Borrowing Greet plus announced the advancing years of their long time President, Brett A beneficial. Roberts. To the a conference label with investors and you can experts Thursday, Roberts told you he was retiring getting «individual explanations.» Master Financial Administrator Kenneth Booth, a former director out of internal review, will change him, the business told you.


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International volume was unable to build on its solid Q1 growth, falling 1.3 percent in Q2 after posting 3-percent gains in Q1. This decline can be attributed to surprisingly weak shipments in June, with loads falling 6 percent from a year ago. It is unclear if the June trail-off is an indicator of more to come or if the 6-percent dip is an outlier.
Intermodal trailer volumes declined 2.5 percent when compared to 2012's Q2, but this loss was less than half of the decrease in loads experienced in Q1.
"Domestic container volume was the foundation of intermodal growth in both the second quarter and year to date," said Joni Casey, president and CEO of IANA. "Despite some segments slowing in Q2, the Market Trends and Statistics data confirm the industry's underlying momentum."
Second Quarter 2013 Intermodal Volume Comparisons
Intermodal marketing company (IMC) volume slowed and intermodal loads ended up gaining only 1.1 percent, as opposed to 2.2 percent in Q1. However, while weakening imports and related transloads may have contributed to Q2's performance, stronger gains in highway volume helped offset the slower growth in intermodal business.
The Southeast region was the clear leader in the second quarter of 2013, according to IANA's Market Trends data, with intermodal increasing 8.1 percent compared to 2012. Intra-southeast shipments bested the national average, posting an impressive 11.1 percent in Q2.
Regional traffic in the Southeast United States grew 8.1 percent compared to Q2 2012, with domestic container volume leading the way up 12.4 percent, surpassing the industry average of 9 percent growth. Southeast international intermodal also bested industry statistics with a 6.7-percent gain compared to a 1.3-percent drop nationwide.
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China’s biggest travel site, Ctrip, is going abroad itself, purchasing Skyscanner for $1.7 billion.
The move is being cast as mutually beneficial for both sites with the two companies able to share in what the other does best. Ctrip will have access to Skyscanner’s meta-search technology for comparing flights and travel deals across a range of different websites, while Ctrip can help Skyscanner beef up their back-end booking software, getting customers to purchase travel insurance and rental cars, The Wall Street Journal reports.
It will also help to give the Chinese company a much larger foothold worldwide. In October, ctrip.com registered 38.2 million visits, the vast majority of those coming from China, while skyscanner.net boasted around 22 million visits.
Ctrip says that Skyscanner will continue to be managed independently and the British company’s management team will be kept in place.
The acquisition is just one more sign that Chinese tourists are taking over the world’s economy. Over the past decade China has been breaking its own outbound tourism records year after year. In 2015, Chinese tourists lead the world yet again with 120 million trips abroad. Last Saturday, Australia began offering 10-year, multiple-entry visas to Chinese tourists.
As the Chinese middle class grows, so to does Ctrip’s fortunes. The company was founded in Shanghai in 1999 and grew quickly into China’s top travel agency. In recent years, it has received investments from both Baidu and Priceline.
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It’s just like the CBD shipping container, but with parking, indoor dining and beer. That’s perhaps the best the best way to shorthand Charboys’ upcoming outpost in Bulimba, which is scheduled to open in late July.
Late last month, owner Shravan Gautam finally closed the “temporary” container that’s been home to Charboys since early 2017. What was initially meant to be a nine-month stint before the redevelopment of 288 Edward Street became two and a half years.
But that extension had a couple of upsides – it allowed Gautam to secure a reputation with the CBD lunch crowd for flipping some of Brisbane's best burgers, and it gave him enough time to sock away money for a traditional bricks-and-mortar shop. “I’ve been actively looking since January 2018,” he says. “I’ve had a lot of great offers, especially from other big groups that manage shopping centres, but I’ve been very particular.”
Eventually he settled on the Oxford Street tenancy formerly occupied by a Shingle Inn. “I know the area fairly well," he says. "It gets busy. It’s on the outskirts of the city, there’s a lot of parking.”
Gautam says the 40-table venue will have a comfortable, semi-rustic feel and incorporate plenty of greenery. The menu will remain much the same as at the old site – custom ground wagyu beef patties or southern fried chicken slipped inside a fluffy milk bun, with a liberal squeeze of his secret special sauce (the recipe isn’t written down anywhere – “Hopefully I don’t get dementia,” Gautam laughs) – but with the addition of soft-serve ice-cream, milkshakes and beer.
Even without the luxury of a dining room, Charboys managed to build a loyal customer base in the CBD. Gautam reckons Bulimba will thrive too, but he’s encouraging city slickers to make the 10-minute drive east. “There are a fair few [CBD regulars] asking us to move back,” he says, “but maybe now they will make their way down. We have parking here.”
Charboys Bulimba is scheduled to open in late July.


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Suddenly, China has an appetite for American beef.
The world’s second-largest economy announced today (Sept. 22) it’s ready to start importing (pdf, in Chinese) US beef again, after more than a dozen years of eschewing it. China in 2003 stopped importing most US beef products after a mad cow disease scare in the American market. At the time, it was buying about $10 million each year in US beef.
Since then, the country’s rising middle class has started consuming more meat products. The market is now estimated to be worth as much as $1.8 billion per year. That’s good news for American cattlemen, who will finally be able to tap into the growing Chinese market, as the pork and chicken industries have already done.
After 2003, China banned most beef imports from the US, but still allowed veal; the USDA does not maintain separate export numbers for beef and veal. Even combined, beef and veal exports to mainland China are dwarfed by chicken and pork exports.
Before beef exports to China can begin, the US Department of Agriculture must negotiate with Chinese officials to settle on specific conditions, including safety standards, that will apply.
“The United States produces the highest-quality beef in the world, and China’s 1.3 billion consumers are an important market for US producers,” said Tom Vilsack, the US secretary of agriculture in a statement.


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I met AWS one week ago.
Where I work, it was starting a training on “Developing on AWS”, without my knowledge, and a participant weren’t at work for illness, so a manager came in my office and said: 36 more words
Tags » Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced that it will open an AWS infrastructure region in India for its cloud computing platform in 2016.
Senior Vice President of AWS, Andy Jassy stated, “Tens of thousands of customers in India are using AWS from one of AWS’s eleven global infrastructure regions outside of India. 159 more words
I recently needed to provision a reverse proxy in AWS to publish internally protected content out to the Internet. After a little research, I decided that Apache (with the mod_proxy module) would be a sensible choice given its support. 336 more words
Today we started creating a website in the cloud for NET702 at NMIT. The cloud service provider is Amazon with their AWS Web Services. This project involves creating a distributed, highly available web system that is hosted in the cloud. 3,866 more words
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has confirmed its intention to be greener than ever before with the launch of a massive new renewable energy project in the United States. 386 more words


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The 12th of June is International Falafel Day.
Not everyone has tried falafel, but once they do, they tend to love it, and what’s not to love? Crunchy on the outside, soft, savoury and spicy on the inside.
Falafel is a popular street food in many parts of the world. In some parts of the world, you can even get it at McDonald’s.
Do you have a favourite place or falafel truck you get yours from?
What eastern Mediterranean city or country would you most like to be eating falafel in right now?
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/falafelday
See also: Falafel
Activities for today
- treat yourself to falafel for breakfast, lunch and dinner;
- buy a falafel mix from the grocery store and make some; OR
- find a recipe and make falafel from scratch;
- lighter-versions can be made by baking or air-frying instead of deep frying;
- look for deals, maybe 2 for 1 specials.
Falafel Day was started in 2012 by 18-year-old Ben Lang.
“First it was hummus, now it’s falafel. It was serial entrepreneur and IDF soldier, 18-year-old Ben Lang, a recent American immigrant to Israel, who pioneered Hummus Day, held last month on May 15. He’s hoping for a better showing on Tuesday’s International Falafel Day, with thousands, nay, millions eating, tweeting (#falafelday), photographing and Facebooking about falafel, that favorite Middle Eastern fried chickpea treat. Hummus Day, said Lang, was a sorely underplanned event, and he wondered how far he could get with a bit more preparation, given that hummus-related mentions and events “exploded on the event day itself.” Bronstein, Dani. Hummus Day pioneer Ben Lang garners fans for that other chickpea treat on Tuesday’s International Falafel Day. Jerusalem, Israel: The Times of Israel. 12 June 2012. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.timesofisrael.com/lovers-of-falafel-are-never-friers/.
In 2019, Google released a doodle for Falafel Day, which has been archived here: https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-falafel (link valid as of May 2021).
Beck, Leslie. I love falafel. Is it actually healthy? Toronto, Canada: The Globe and Mail. 17 January 2012. (Link valid as of May 2021)
Barrett, Teri Tsang. Celebrate International Falafel Day With Free Taïm. New York, New York: The Village Voice. 9 June 2017. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/06/09/celebrate-international-falafel-day-with-a-free-sandwich-from-taim/
Celebrate International Falafel Day at these 10 Toronto hot spots. Toronto.com. 5 June 2017. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.toronto.com/shopping-story/7352820-celebrate-international-falafel-day-at-these-10-toronto-hot-spots/
Naf Naf Celebrates International Falafel Day with Buy One, Get One Falafel Entrée Offer. Business Wire. 5 June 2019. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190605005163/en/Naf-Naf-Celebrates-International-Falafel-Day-with-Buy-One-Get-One-Falafel-Entr%C3%A9e-Offer
Zalman, Jonathan. It’s International Falafel Day! New York, New York: Tablet Magazine. 12 June 2015. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/its-international-falafel-day
|↑1||Bronstein, Dani. Hummus Day pioneer Ben Lang garners fans for that other chickpea treat on Tuesday’s International Falafel Day. Jerusalem, Israel: The Times of Israel. 12 June 2012. Accessed May 2021 at https://www.timesofisrael.com/lovers-of-falafel-are-never-friers/|


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ForwardAI Has Been Chosen as a Finalist for Banking Tech Awards USA 2023’s Excellence in Tech Awards
We have exciting news to kick off Q2! ForwardAI has been chosen as a finalist for the Excellence in Tech – FinTech Start-up of the Year – Lending at the Banking Tech Awards USA 2023 presented by FinTech Futures. The Banking Tech Awards recognizes outstanding achievements and successes in the banking and fintech industry. We are honored to have been acknowledged as a finalist for our innovative and transformative approach to lending and recognized among these outstanding finalists.
At ForwardAI, we understand the importance of staying ahead of the curve and adapting to the ever-changing technology landscape. Stay tuned for some exciting updates from ForwardAI over 2023 as we further improve our products and launch some groundbreaking new features.


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Supporting Our Troops Overseas
Bogota Savings Bank recently held a collection container from their employees to send a care package to our troops in Afghanistan. The Bank's employees brought in food, snacks, games and items that remind our troops that we are thinking of them each and every day. The Bank packaged these items and sent them directly to our troops. Days later they received a heartfelt thank you note from our troops and a few pictures to go with it. The men were overjoyed and appreciative of all the items that were sent to them, and said it is an overwhelming feeling to know that there are people who think of them back home.


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About 60 miles outside of Chicago, a quaint main street is currently being celebrated for its cheerful holiday spirit! The TODAY Show recently recognized Woodstock, IL for its glimmering Christmas atmosphere.
Filled with an array of historic local buildings, festive activities, and plenty of cheer, the town was recently praised by The TODAY Show for being one of the Merriest Main Streets in the U.S. during the show’s annual Countdown to Christmas.
As for how the town first became nominated? Well, that would be thanks to the local community members who sent in applications and photos, bringing the town to national attention.
What could be more festive than being nominated by community members for one of the @TODAYshow Merriest Main Streets in America? The City of @Woodstock_IL will be featured LIVE Friday for their “Merriest Main Street” series!
— IML (@IMLLeague) December 7, 2022
Woodstock is stacked full of sweet holiday events and an enchanting atmosphere– with thousands of Christmas lights decorating the historic square and gazebo. Film fans might recognize the main street as the location from 1993’s beloved movie Groundhog Day!
The town is brimming with holiday joy as local businesses like chocolatiers, independent bookstores, an opera house, and more dress up the buildings for the holiday.
Address: 214 Main St, Woodstock, IL 60098


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Motorists have been warned to expect festive traffic chaos – and 4pm tomorrow looks set to be the worst time to travel.
Traffic information supplier Inrix have warned that tomorrow will be the busiest time on the roads during the festive period, with congestion set to hit the M4 in both directions between 24 and 32.
The delays expected are due to a combination of Christmas shoppers, leisure trips and people leaving work.
Inrix traffic analyst, Greg Hallsworth, said: “There will be significant disruptions on the road due to the regular post-work peak, the start of the school holidays and people heading home for Christmas, as well as the number of delivery vehicles making their drop offs as e-commerce in the UK reaches a record high.
“Drivers taking to the roads this Christmas would be well advised to take alternative routes or avoid driving during peak times altogether.”
More information needed
AA president Edmund King urged shopping centres to provide more information on the lengths of queues leaving their car parks in the build up to Christmas.
He called for better use of social media and electronic noticeboards to avoid shoppers spending hours waiting in congestion.
Mr King said: “We would hope that shopping centres have contingency plans in place for when their car parks and the roads leading to and from them become gridlocked.
“It is surely better that customers be told of delays and given the option to wait in the warmth of the shopping centre than for hours in their vehicles, moving forward a car length every quarter of an hour.
“There should also be the ability to reduce or waive parking charges when shoppers are stuck through no fault of their own.”
The rail network will also be disrupted over the festive period on a number of lines across the country as up to 200 improvement projects costing £103m are carried out.
Passengers travelling in Cardiff , London and Manchester will be among the worst affected.
A £300m re-signalling project aiming to ease congestion will cause the delays, with disruption having the biggest impact on December 27 and 28 and January 1 and 2, when replacement bus services will run.
Christian Irwin from Network Rail Wales said: “This is the final phase of the highly complex project to re-signal the railway in the Cardiff area as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan, which will modernise the signalling system in South Wales allowing more services to run along the railway, resulting in an increase in passenger capacity, particularly at peak times.
“As part of this project we have replaced ageing signalling equipment, enhanced track layouts, built new platforms and improved stations.
“We would like to thank the general public and rail passengers for their patience and understanding while we complete this essential final phase of this major upgrade project.”
Stagecoach services will also be altered over the Christmas period, with no service on Christmas and New Year’s Day and changed services from December 24 to January 2.


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Owens & Minor (NYSE:OMI), a healthcare logistics company, is exploring a sale of itself after a series of disappointing earnings reports, according to sources quoted by Reuters in an exclusive report.
The $420 million company, by market capitalization, lost 20 percent of its stock value this week after it failed to hit analysts’ targets, Reuters reported.
The company’s shares have steadily lost value since early 2017, tumbling from about $37 per share in January 2017 to $6.32 per share on Thursday in after-hours trading. It is currently trading at just over five times earnings, according to market data.
Robert Sledd, the chairman of the board at Richmond, Virginia-based Owens & Minor, told analysts this week that 2018 was a “perfect storm,” of self-inflicted issues, supply disruptions and natural disasters, according to Reuters.
The company named a new CEO, Ed Pesicka, who starts March 4, the company announced on its earnings call.
Pesicka will heave to deal with a heavy debt load brought about by several acquisitions that were designed to increase revenue, but have thus far failed to impress the markets.