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CityMall is looking to hire 400 people this year with its latest fundraise
CityMallhas raised $75 million to double down on its current workforce and expand to newer cities.
- The company also plans to introduce newer categories on its platform and expand existing ones.
- Though the company has not disclosed its valuation, cofounder Angad Kikla confirmed that it is above $300 million.
AdvertisementIndian social commerce platform CityMall on Wednesday announced its $75 million fundraise to double down on its current workforce and expand to newer cities. The company plans to hire 400 people in leadership and engineering positions in the next 12 months.
The company also plans to introduce newer categories on its platform and expand existing ones, along with building a stronger supply chain and tech stack.
It is also looking to expand its geographical presence to 60 towns in the next 12-15 months, the company’s cofounder Angad Kikla told Business Insider. Overall, the company plans to enter 100 towns in the next 18 months. These towns will be shortlisted based on the digital literacy in the region, per capita income and penetration of other ecommerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart.
The three-year-old startup’s latest Series C round is led by Norwest Venture Partners. General Catalyst, Citius, Jungle Ventures, Arena Ventures, Elevation, Accel and Waterbridge also participated in the round. Though the company has not disclosed its valuation, Kikla confirmed that it is above $300 million.
Overall, the company has raised over $110 million.
CityMall enables micro-entrepreneurs — known as community leaders on the platform — to set up their virtual stores on WhatsApp and sell products to their close networks using ecommerce tools and customer analytics. The company currently claims to have a network of 30,000 community leaders across 25 towns and cities, including Sonipat, Panipat, Rewari, Faizabad and others.
The company — founded in 2019 by Kikla and Naisheel Vardhan — deals in grocery, fresh and packaged fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) products, electronics and fashion products in the small towns and villages. “80% of our customers do not use any other ecommerce apps,” Kikla said.
CityMall currently competes with DealShare, Glowroad and Simsim. Meesho too was in the segment, but the company changed its business model to a full-fledged ecommerce platform.
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Under a new ten-year agreement, Nordic energy company Gasum will supply renewable wind energy for the electricity Nokian Tyres uses in its factory in Finland as well as its Vianor operations within the country. Supply of power produced at a new wind farm in North Ostrobotnia will start in 2023.
Nokian Tyres has equipped its logistics centre in Nokia, Finland with solar power capabilities. The plant consists of 3,160 solar panels with a combined output of more than 1,100 kilowatts (kW). All electricity generated by the solar panels is used by the logistics centre, including to provide lighting and ventilation.
Emit less gas in the workplace, be nice to others, be safe – and save money by doing so. Sound like a good idea? Nokian Tyres thinks it is, so much so that the company has signed a sustainability linked loan agreement with the OP Corporate Bank. The 100-million-euro loan with a five-year term is being used to pay off a similar-sized loan that is due in May.

domain: news


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The company is describing the hashtags in an update to its iOS app to give those not in-the-know some insight into what they mean.
Selfie sticks are often seen as either handy photographic tools or signs of rampant narcissism in popular culture. But there's plenty of room for both viewpoints, argues Crave's Amanda Kooser.
If you like your horse-themed toys with more skulls and less sunshine and rainbows, then you might want to enjoy "Four Horsies of the 'Pocalypse."
It's only $10 per month -- but is it worth it?
Confide, a startup whose app sends messages that reveal a single word at a time and then destroys the entire conversation, announces the business version of its app through an ad aimed at Sony execs.
Not only did US officials view the upcoming film, they were fine with Sony keeping the final assassination scene, according to a new report.
Almost 2 billion people around the world use smartphones -- typically worth hundreds of dollars a pop on the black market. A former smartphone thief explains their allure to street criminals.
The Rosetta mission has picked up on a strange "song" being emitted from its comet buddy and it sounds an awful lot like a famous sci-fi alien.
That's a huge savings on this popular POV camera, which features GPS, Wi-Fi and NFC.
You don't need a new hotel booking site? Oh, but what about one that will get you a better price? And LIfestyle Cash to spend.


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Even though blockchain technology is very much appreciated for the last couple of years, while major companies and tech giants like Microsoft and IBM, and even the social media magnum like Facebook, have started working on different projects related to the foundational and perhaps disruptive technology that blockchain represents.
Perhaps blockchain wouldn’t even come as interesting to numerous start-ups and companies if it wasn’t for Bitcoin (BTC), the first application of blockchain that soon went to make its peak of 20k USD per one unit, and even sooner went down to the value of around 3,800$ with the November dip in 2018.
While investors seem to prefer to play safe with investing in blockchain through cryptocurrency and tokens, there are safer ways of investing in blockchain other than exchanging fiat for crypto.
Ways to Invest in Blockchain with Mitigated Risk
Cryptocurrency investments are still being made within the market of digital assets, while Bitcoin alone is worth above 70 billion dollars in total market capitalization concluded with March 2019, however, investors are looking for secure and safer investments where 10,000% of return won’t quickly turn into major losses of above -90%.
That is how investors are turning to ETFs as a much safer option for placing their investments, as here is where the risk factor appears to be reduced to the greatest extent possible.
ETFs are where investors can play with placing bets on development and evolution of blockchain instead placing their investments based on the hype.
Still, investing in blockchain by investing in blockchain-based start-ups is another one among favorite safer options as many of these start-ups have grown to become major players even outside the industry of blockchain by making partnerships with prominent companies that have a proven history of progress, growth potential and profit.
Cryptocurrency start-ups like Stellar (XLM), Ethereum (ETH), IOTA (MIOTA), Verge (XVG) and their top-rated crypto peers are already “borrowing” their technology to major companies or have managed to create a value for their platforms even outside the price in the market.


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Panasonic has announced it will hold an online launch event for its new full-frame mirrorless camera, the Lumix S5, on Wednesday, September 2, 2020, at 10 AM EDT.
Aside from the date and time, no further information was shared about the camera or launch event. Panasonic suggests keeping an eye on its Lumix S5 webpage and Instagram account, but we will also update this article with a link to the event when it goes live.
New LUMIX Full-frame Mirrorless Camera to be Unveiled at an Online Launch Event
Newark, NJ (August 19, 2020) – Panasonic is pleased to announce that they will hold an online launch event for the new full-frame mirrorless camera LUMIX S5. It will be unveiled at www.panasonic.com/global/consumer/lumix/s/s5.html on Wednesday, September 2, 2020, at 10:00 EDT. Panasonic is committed to meeting the passionate demands of all creators through its LUMIX brand, and the new LUMIX S5 is one of the embodiments of this commitment.
More information will be added and updated at www.panasonic.com/global/consumer/lumix/s/s5.html and the official Instagram account @lumix ( www.instagram.com/lumix/ ) on September 2, 2020.
Author: Go to Source


text: Hundreds of thousands of traffic signs are replaced in the market every year, and with that, our sustainable alternative can make a big impact. Instead of conventional aluminum, the Nabasco®sign traffic sign consists largely of residual materials. This is important, because worldwide the use of energy and raw materials for products is increasing. Fossil energy sources and conventional raw materials are finite, increasingly difficult to extract, and cause environmental problems and CO2 emissions. With the launch of Nabasco®sign on the market, Pol Heteren and NPSP have an answer to this.


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HANOVER, Germany (Oct. 12)—Continental A.G. and Iran´s Kerman Tire & Rubber Co. have created a partnership whereby Kerman will produce Continental-brand radial passenger and truck tires for sale throughout the Middle East and central Asia. The deal calls for Continental to supply Kerman with radial tire technology for its plant in Kerman, in southwestern Iran. ``In line with our globalization strategy, this agreement opens a faster path to the Iranian market and surrounding regions where up to now we have not been adequately represented,´´ said Hans-Joachim Nikolin, Conti´s board member responsible for truck tires and international business, in a prepared statement. Conti did not disclose the value of the contract, nor a timetable for its implementation.
Conti, Kerman enter production, marketing agreement
Rubber News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].


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UK: Tesco tops fines list for environmental offences
British supermarket behemoth Tesco has been fined more than any other high street for environment offences last year, according to figures released by the Environment Agency this week. The Agency, which operates as a pollutant regulator, noted that Tesco was fined £30,000 for failing to prevent people leaving shopping trolleys in a river in Chelmsford.
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- General Mills sales woes continue - analysis
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- Fonterra cuts earnings forecast


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• Tesla Reports More Than 100,000 Battery Reservations, Worth $1 Billion
• Batteries Sold Out Through 2016
• Musk Predicts Battery Sales Of 'At Least A Few Billion Dollars' In 2017
But that doesn't mean Tesla needs renewables to sell batteries, founder and CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday.
"It seems like people link this too much to renewable energy," Musk said during Tesla's Second Quarter earnings call. "Of course we are great believers in renewable energy, but that is not the gating function for stationary storage."
Ultimately, said Musk, storage allows utilities to turn off power plants or defer new ones.
Utilities currently have to build power plants to meet peak demand, and then some. Batteries allow utilities to store energy when demand is low and use it when demand is high, without turning on more power plants.
"The fundamental economics of cost are always true, meaning there's always a cost advantage of system-wide implementation of stationary storage because of high peak to trough of electricity usage."
Tesla has received more than 100,000 battery reservations that would be worth more than $1 billion, Musk reported, if they translate to sales.
"These are reservations so reservations may be an order or maybe not," Musk said. "But this is what people say they want."
The company plans to ramp up, produce and sell $40-$50 million in batteries in the Fourth Quarter.
"It's probably at least a few billion dollars in 2017," Musk said.
"I do want to bracket this with some degree of uncertainty because this is quite new, and again we've got that challenge of exponential ramp.… The actual numbers in any given quarter could be quite different."
About 70 percent of the reservations have been for the commercial and industrial scale Powerpack, said Chief Technical Officer JB Straubel, and 30 percent for the residential Powerwall.
Yet the Powerwall is doing better than they expected, he said.
The Powerwall makes sense in markets where the price of electricity varies with its cost—cheaper at night, for example, and more expensive during the day, Musk said — "but the Powerpack makes sense everywhere."
Tesla pioneered a new low cost for stationary storage when it announced the Powerpack would have a capital cost of $250/kWh. That brings the battery below the threshold—which one study pegs at $350—at which utilities can not only afford storage, but can save money by using storage to idle power plants and defer other capital costs.
That has market observers speculating about the expected impact of the Tesla Powerpack on the cost of electricity.
"Grid parity is the wrong analogy here," Straubel said, "but it's something to think about."
Grid parity is the point at which the cost of alternative energy is equal to or less than the price of electricity from the grid. For a utility-scale battery, something like grid parity arrives when the capital cost incurred by the utility is offset by the savings it enables.
"At grid parity the market is staggeringly gigantic," Musk said—in the multi-terawatt hour range.


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Washington State’s family farmers and packers are readying for the 2022 season with its fresh asparagus available at regional supermarkets, farmers markets and restaurants.
In 2021, approximately 15 million pounds of asparagus were harvested, with an economic impact of $30 million for growers and packers.
“We’re working in earnest to return to harvesting more than 20 million pounds this season. Last season was the first time we did not harvest at least 20 million pounds in more than 50 years. Pressure from import competition and unseasonable weather factored into what would otherwise have been a much more productive and lucrative year,” said Alan Schreiber, executive director of the Washington Asparagus Commission.
Enhanced growing techniques and stricter rules on chemical inputs have researchers testing new varieties that are naturally more resistant to soil disease. The commission said that Washington’s organic production of fresh asparagus remains strong, accounting for approximately 8 percent annually.
Washington fresh asparagus exceeds USDA standards with an “Extra Fancy” designation. Local fresh asparagus is identified with “Washington” bands on asparagus bundles, shelf talkers or by asking local stores.
Research has found asparagus can protect the body from chronic diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. It’s fat-free, cholesterol-free and its amino acid helps cleanse the body of toxins. It’s rich in fiber, Vitamins A, C, K, E, folate and glutathione, which is an anti-carcinogen and antioxidant.
The Washington Asparagus Commission promotes the local produce domestically while monitoring and addressing trade issues. It most recently has focused on advancing environmentally sound production practices through research since its founding in 1991.
For more information, visit waasparagus.com.
For more produce news from The Shelby Report, click here.


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Pubs, restaurants, shops and other businesses affected by the pandemic will be kickstarted with a £5 billion funding plan to help them reopen when the restrictions relaxed.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will announce the details in his Budget on Wednesday.
Hospitality businesses, hotels, gyms, care and leisure centres will be entitled to up to £18,000 per building, while the “restart grants” will be worth up to £6,000.
The Treasury estimates there will be 230,000 businesses eligible for the higher band based on their rateable value, and another 450,000 businesses will also be able to apply.
Local authorities will be responsible for distributing the grant and will receive the funding in April.


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McDonalds pulls ad after pit bull owner outrage – Yahoo! News
Posted by exitlanguages
LOS ANGELES AP — McDonald’s has apologized and pulled an ad that came back to bite it.
The ad said eating a Chicken McBite was less risky than petting a stray pit bull, shaving your head, naming your son Sue or giving friends your Facebook password. It enraged pit bull owners and their supporters.
The radio ad for Chicken McBites only ran for a few days in the Kansas City area before the complaints started. The campaign against the ad circulated on social media sites, and the apology was delivered the same way. People who called a well-publicized toll-free number got a recorded apology.
“The ad was insensitive in its mention of pit bulls. We apologize. As soon as we learned of it, we tracked the source and had the local markets pull the ad immediately. We’ll do a better job next time. It’s never our intent to offend anyone with how we communicate news about McDonald’s,” Ashlee Yingling, spokesman for McDonald’s Corp., said Monday, quoting from the apology.
“I found it extremely offensive and reckless,” said Rachele Lizarraga of Sacramento. “Why would you try to promote the safety of food?”
Strange Random Pit Bull Quote:
“Pit bulls are the least likely to be human aggressive. On the whole, you have to do a lot of work to make them aggressive to people.” – Sue Frisch, Dessin Animal Shelter manager
- McDonald’s pulls U.S. ad after pit bull owner outrage (ctv.ca)
- McDonald’s apologises to dog owners after ‘insensitive’ ad claims eating a Chicken McBite is safer than petting a pit bull (our-compass.org)
- McDonald’s Apologizes To Pit Bull Advocates (victoriesfortheanimals.wordpress.com)
- McDonalds pulls ad after pit bull owner outrage (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
- McDonald’s yanks ad after outcry from pit bull backers (mercurynews.com)
- McDonald’s Pulls Ad That Activists Say Fed Into ‘Media Hysteria About Pit Bulls’ (huffingtonpost.com)
- McDonalds Pulls Radio Ad (pitbulltopics.wordpress.com)
- McDonald’s Says Pit Bull Ad Not Meant to Offend (ecorazzi.com)
- McDonald’s Pulls Anti-Pit Bull Ad – We’re Lovin’ It! | Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan (worldwright.wordpress.com)
Posted on February 8, 2012, in Article and tagged Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Chicken McBite, Facebook, Kansas City metropolitan area, McDonald, Pit bull, Radio advertisement, Sacramento California, Social media, Toll-free telephone number. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.


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The Google Pixel C was announced by Google during a media event in September 2015 and went on sale later that year also. The Android tablet features a 10.2-inch display with a 2,560 x 1,800-pixel resolution, and runs on the Nvidia Tegra X1 system-on-a-chip. It comes in 32GB and 64GB storage variants, but all models feature the same 3GB of LPDDR4 memory.
Google set the price for £479, bringing the price down to just £404, that’s a £75 off. Google Pixel C will go head to head with Samsung Galaxy Tab S3, this tablet is one of the tablets of all time.
The Google is not available for all countries, so if you cannot access the page, just know that your country is not enabled by Google. Just change your IP or Use VPN


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How to purchase an electric bike for kids?
That is the question that parents are now being asked.
While parents of youngsters can make it easy for their children to buy electric motorcycles for less than Rs 500, parents of adults should be prepared for the same, a senior official from the Child Development Ministry said.
“As per a report, there are several reasons why adults and children do not buy electric bikes.
They prefer to go for the traditional model which has a price tag of over Rs 500.
They are also afraid of the high costs of maintenance and insurance.
This has led to the lack of interest in buying an electric cycle,” a senior education official told PTI.
The government has announced a scheme to help people buy electric bicycles and electric motors.
It has launched a scheme where all adult citizens of India can buy an electrics bike, and an electric motorbike, with a fixed price of Rs 500 per cycle, which are also called electric bikes, the government said.
The scheme, which is open only to Indian citizens, allows them to get their first electric bike within 30 days, while it takes about one month to buy the first electric motor.
The new scheme aims to attract more consumers.


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VICTORIA – British Columbia’s food producers are looking forward to a new
year filled with opportunities as a result of the Province’s 2011 record-
setting food exports to China, strengthening of the Agricultural Land
Commission and the government’s role in investing more than $44 million to
support B.C. farmers.
These are just a few examples of significant progress made by government in
the last year to improve the lives of British Columbians and their families
by creating and protecting jobs, by becoming more open and transparent, and
by continuing to be fiscally responsible in these uncertain economic times.
B.C. broke its own record this year, with agriculture, fish and seafood
exports to China from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31, 2011 totalling $124 million,
eclipsing the record-setting 2010 year-end total of $118 million with two
months of trade statistics still to be counted. As part of Premier Christy
Clark’s Asian trade mission in November, two memoranda of understanding
(MOUs) were signed between the sister-provinces of British Columbia and
Guangdong to increase trade in seafood and agri-food products.
The Province continued to support farming families in 2011 by partnering with
the Government of Canada to target more than $6 million since April 2011 to
support business development, innovation, food safety and sustainability. The
Province also invested about $38 million in payments to farmers and ranchers
in various risk-management programs this year.
Agriculture Minister Don McRae said, “2011 was a very successful, profitable year for many B.C. farm families. And with the B.C. Jobs Plan focusing on increased trade and market development, particularly in Asia, we expect that trend to continue in 2012, bringing new
dollars and new jobs to our communities.”
Brendan Harnett, president of Vancouver-based Flying Fresh Air Freight said,
“In China, government opening the door is extremely important. Often, higher-
end customers will refuse to do business without it. Once government has done
that, we can do the rest. We’re really glad the B.C. government was here this
year in such a visible way.”


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Notably, Alphabet’s Waymo has partnered with Volvo to develop a new self-driving electric vehicle for use in a ride-hailing service. Per the deal, Volvo will take care of the design and manufacture of the vehicles, while Waymo will work on artificial intelligence. We believe that Alphabet’s expertise in data collecting, storing and monetizing makes it a formidable player in the autonomous driving market. The latest move of Alphabet is a testament to its aggressive stance toward strengthening presence in the booming self-driving vehicles market.
is reportedly working on rolling out a new feature — called Voice Note — to its Thread. app. As per a tweet by tipster and mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi, the feature is spotted on Instagram. As per his tweet, “this feature will turn the audio of the video into live captions that will be shown in time with the recording.”. Right now, there is no word on this feature from any company representative so it is hard to say when it will be rolled out to users. For those unaware, the Threads app was launched last year in October as an extension of Instagram app’s Direct Messaging feature. With the Threads app, Instagram users get the option to share photos, videos, messages and Stories to a limited set of people by taking control of its reach, which is unlike Instagram’s main app where it’s visible to a more broad set of people.
A growing list of Facebook Inc’s advertisers is set to halt spending on social media, undermining the company’s sales outlook and putting its stock price under further pressure. No single company can significantly dent growth at Facebook, which generated US$17.7bil (RM75.84bil) in revenue last quarter alone. But a rising tally adds to pressure on other brands to follow suit, and when combined with a pandemic-fueled economic slowdown, the threat to Facebook deepens. "Given the amount of noise this is drawing, this will have significant impact to Facebook’s business,” Wedbush Securities analyst Bradley Gastwirth wrote in a research note. "Facebook needs to address this issue quickly and effectively in order to stop advertising exits from potentially spiraling out of control.”. As more brands publicize plans to join boycotts or otherwise rein in ad spending, Facebook shares remain under pressure. The stock tumbled 8.3% on June 26 after Unilever, one of the world’s largest advertisers, said it would halt spending on Facebook properties this year, eliminating US$56bil (RM239.96bil) in market value and shaving the net worth of Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg by more than US$7bil (RM30bil).
Thought Machine, the cloud native core banking technology firm, has today announced that its core banking platform Vault now runs on every major cloud infrastructure provider including Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and IBM Cloud. Thought Machine’s expanded compatibility enables banks to migrate with the freedom to pick the cloud infrastructure partner of their choice - while adhering to any regulatory and legal requirements they might have in place. As a cloud agnostic business, Thought Machine continues to expand its list of compatible cloud providers. Vault initially rolled out on GCP and AWS before progressing to run on the four leading cloud hosting providers, enabling far greater flexibility than peers in core banking and financial services technology. Vault works with financial institutions and technology companies across the spectrum - from tier one global banks, to smaller regional banks, greenfield offerings as well as fintech players who offer banking capabilities to their customers.
In times of economic uncertainty - when stock prices become erratic - good quality stocks can become cheaper. Buying good quality stocks at cheap prices is a tried and trusted stock market strategy - but it isn't always easy to tell the difference between a genuine bargain and a value trap. The Anglo American share price is currently trading at 1848. And the good news is that it scores well against some important financial and technical measures. A rule of thumb for a reasonable Earnings Yield might be 5%, and the Earnings Yield for Anglo American is currently 14.7%.In summary, good quality and relatively cheap valuations are pointers to those stocks that are some of the most appealing to contrarian value investors.
The Anglo American (LON:AAL) share price has risen by 10.1% over the past month and it’s currently trading at 1848. For investors considering whether to buy, hold or sell the stock, the question now is whether this price run will continue. According to the company’s analysts, there are certainly reasons to think it will continue to perform well in the year ahead. At its current price of 1848, shares in Anglo American are trading at a discount of -19.8% to its 52 week high price. The 1-year performance of the shares has been -16.8%. While analyst forecasts can be a useful guide to what City 'experts' think about a stock's near term future, they can be unreliable.
(Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc. fielded criticism from a growing number of consumer companies over harmful content on its sites, with Starbucks Corp. and Diageo Plc pulling back on ad spending and General Motors Co. planning to review its social media marketing strategy. Microsoft Corp., which was Facebook’s third-largest advertiser last year, has paused global ad spending on the site because of concerns about ads appearing next to inappropriate content, according to a person familiar with the matter. Britvic Plc, which supplies a wide range of soft drinks, Patreon Inc. and The Clorox Co. all said they will stop advertising on Facebook while GM said it’s “reviewing and reinforcing” its marketing guidelines. While a single advertiser can do little to hurt a company that generated $17.7 billion in revenue last quarter, the rising tally creates peer pressure on other brands, and civil rights groups say they expect more corporations to join a boycott. Advertiser boycotts in July could cost Facebook more than $250 million in the third quarter if 25% of its top 100 buyers pause spending, and as much as $500 million if 50% of the top advertisers stop, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Jitendra Waral.Zuckerberg announced changes Friday designed to appease critics, but the Anti-Defamation League, one of the groups calling for the boycott, called the amendments “small.”. Some analysts have said the financial impact of recent exits will be limited, citing past advertiser revolts. Even so, this exodus is distinct in key ways, Bernstein Securities analyst Mark Shmulik wrote in a research note Saturday.
BT has claimed that Boris Johnson's plan to give all Britons superfast broadband by 2025 will require a 'Herculean effort' as doubts grow about the ambitious target. The Prime Minister revealed his plan last year to connect the whole of Britain to one gigabit per second broadband by 2025 and committed £5billion to the goal. But industry sources say the already ambitious plan has been thrown into doubt by coronavirus delays. BT said the goal – which it is estimated will cost £30billion in total – will require effort from all sides, including the Government and regulators. BT said: 'To provide full fibre or other gigabitcapable broadband to the whole country by 2025, we've stepped up to play our part by setting our target for Openreach to reach 20million premises in a similar timeframe.'.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) (“Microsoft”) today announced a strategic change in its retail operations, including closing Microsoft Store physical locations. The closing of Microsoft Store physical locations will result in a pre-tax charge of approximately $450M, or $0.05 per share, to be recorded in the current quarter ending June 30, 2020. “Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location,” said Microsoft Corporate Vice President David Porter. “We are grateful to our Microsoft Store customers and we look forward to continuing to serve them online and with our retail sales team at Microsoft corporate locations.”. Since the Microsoft Store locations closed in late March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the retail team has helped small businesses and education customers digitally transform; virtually trained hundreds of thousands of enterprise and education customers on remote work and learning software; and helped customers with support calls.
Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Apple, Facebook, Tesla And More. It was a week in which the iPhone maker held its annual developers conference, the e-commerce leader made a big acquisition and America's bestselling vehicle got a makeover. "Apple's Patent Activity Points To Broad Product Development, Says Bullish BofA" by Priya Nigam suggests that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) investors could be overlooking the level of its innovation. Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP) is well-positioned in the social media space, according to Jayson Derrick's "No Evidence Of TikTok Cannibalism, Says Snapchat Bull Wells Fargo." For additional bullish calls, also have a look at "Can FANG Stocks Continue To Outshine The Broader Technology Sector?" and "Johnson & Johnson Option Trader Makes .7M Bet On 17% Upside."


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The FoodMinds monitoring committee put together a trends report from the third trimester of the year. There were five prominent trends that they noticed, as well as some trending words that showed up a lot throughout different platforms. Read our trend report below.
Trend 1: Food Safety is a Growing Concern for Industry and Consumers
Food safety issues are impacting food manufacturers, retailers and consumers due to the occurrence of food recalls. Industry is responding with increased transparency and preventative measures.
- Food recalls are showing up in all areas of the industry including snack foods, produce and fast-service restaurants.
- Retailers, such as Walmart, are taking a stance on food safety by implementing outbreak prevention plans to help stop the spread of E.coli and similar contaminations.
- The current administration is proposing to move food safety oversight out of the U. S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in an effort to centralize the agencyresponsible for overseeing food safety regulation.
Bottom line: As food recalls and food safety issues continue to appear in the media, industry and government are moving faster to ease consumers concerns. Industries seem to be stepping up internal efforts to address food safety concerns before they are regulated to increase transparency in the food system.
Trend 2: Technology is Driving Innovation in the Food Industry
Tech innovations are driving the personalized nutrition trend and large food companies are partnering with smaller start-up firms.
- Companies like Nutrigenomix offer genetic testing to deliver personalized nutrition recommendations while Nestlé is combining artificial intelligence and DNA testing to tailor nutrition plans for Japanese customers.
- PepsiCo started new initiatives to foster growth within their brands. The Hive is an entrepreneurial group that fosters the growth of smaller, niche, “new age” brands while The Nutrition Greenhouse accelerator seeks sustainably-minded start-ups.
- Other brands like Chobani, Kraft Heinz, Land O’ Lakes, and Tyson Foods have been utilizing accelerators and incubators to research and develop new products to keep customers interested in their brands.
Bottom line: Companies large and small are forming mutually beneficial relationships driven by technology to provide more customized and innovative products and services for consumers.
Trend 3: Uncertainty Still Surrounds Bioengineered Foods and Lab Grown Meat
Bioengineered foods remain a hot topic as industry and government agencies seek to regulate and define GMOs and plant-based meats amidst growing consumer concern.
- The debate over GMO labeling continues as industry and farmers offer input and the S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) missed the GMO labeling deadline at the end of July. USDA hopes to have a final rule by December.
- Surveyed consumers are willing to consider consuming lab grown meat as long as it’s labeled. Meanwhile, the FDA and USDA have set a joint meeting in October to discuss oversight considerations and labeling of these types of products.
- The number of consumers concerned about and avoiding GMOs has tripled since 2007 reflecting a growing desire to eat food closer to its natural form.
Bottom line: Currently, there are more questions than answers surrounding bioengineered foods and lab grown meat as consumers, industry and government continue to weigh in on the issue
Trend 4: Sustainability and Nutrition Converge for Greater Impact
Sustainability across food supply chains continues to differentiate food and farm businesses, as many consumers are increasingly interested about these commitments from the private sector and new research identifies a pressing need to adapt to environmental concerns.
- A recent partnership between Danish food manufacturers, retailers and NGOs aims to cut food waste in half by 2030.
- Improved sourcing practices, including in the cocoa industry, address both environmental and social measures of sustainability, while some palm oil suppliersrequire advances to their deforestation and labor practices.
- As sales of plant-based foods rise, companies are expanding their portfolios by acquiring plant-based brands.
- There are growing commitments from farmers and the animal and dairy industries to improve sustainability over time.
- The recent IPCC report on global climate change presents a strong message and a necessary call to action from all sectors. The same week, a study released in Naturepresents a suite of measures to sustainably feed 10 billion by 2050.
Bottom line: Sustainable food systems continue to be a part of the conversation and actions at a local, regional and global scale, with the public and private spheres both playing important roles.
Trend 5: The Political Roundup: Progress in Advancing Nutrition Policies while Farm Bill Continues to Stall
- USDA and U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are moving ahead with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) process and finalizing the topics they’ll focus their research on next year. The call for nominations to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) closed in early October. We’ll see the appointments to the DGAC by January with public meetings starting soon thereafter.
- FDA held a meeting in July on its new Nutrition Innovation Strategy, including a public comment period to receive input on the strategy elements. These areas include modernizing ingredient labels and nutrient claims (including a potential on-pack symbol for “Healthy”), conducting a labeling education campaign, and updating FDA’s approach to standards of identity.
- FDA has requested public input on the labeling of plant-based products that use terms such as “milk” and “yogurt,” opening up the possibility for updates to federal labeling requirements.
- The 2018 Farm Bill expired at the end of September and Congress’ path to funding many of the key food and farm programs within the bill is still unclear. Changes to SNAP continue to be at the heart of the contention between legislators.
Bottom line: Nutrition policy efforts continue to rapidly evolve, with a focus on encouraging the industry to innovate healthier products and empowering consumers to make better and more informed decisions about their diets and health. Industry involvement in these efforts remains prominent.
What’s the Word?
“In the year 2040, a lot will have changed in my life. I’ll be just shy of my 60th birthday… and based on the IPCC’s alarming report, our world could look very different too. If significantly accelerated action isn’t taken by all sectors of society – including the agriculture and food sectors – we could face catastrophic consequences. Food and sustainability are inseparable from one another; achieving “Zero Hunger” is reliant on building healthy, sustainable and thriving food systems. The IPCC report is a timely and powerful call to action. The time to act is now, and I’m optimistic about the innovative efforts being led by the agriculture and food sectors to mitigate climate change and food insecurity.” – Elizabeth Stoltz


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Sports fans and concert goers can now purchase a locally-made beer for only five bucks at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium starting Sunday, September 16 during the Falcons home opener. Wild Heaven Beer partnered with the Benz to create a new beer for stadium patrons — ATL Pale Ale — to be on tap and, eventually, in 16-ounce tall boy cans.
Wild Heaven owner Nick Purdy tells Good Beer Hunting contributor Austin Ray, ATL Pale Ale is not a cheap beer made just for the Falcons. It’s a partnership between the stadium and the brewery that’s been in the works for some time. He says the beer is on 20 taps around the stadium.
$5 gets beer drinkers 12 ounces of ATL Pale Ale. For those wanting a little more beer in their glass, 20 ounces sets the wallet back seven bucks.
ATL Pale Ale weighs in at the sessionable threshold of 5% ABV and is part of the “fan first” initiative kicked off at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium by Falcons and Atlanta United soccer team owner, Arthur Blank.
In addition to more affordable beer options, the Benz is offering slightly less expensive food items like the ATL Bud burger for $8, free-range fried chicken sandwich for $10, and chili cheese fries for $9.


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Energous’ WattUp chips deliver over-the-air power and charging of electronic devices at a distance.
Dialog and Energous developed the DA4100 wireless power transmitter which has now been integrated along with Dispalog’s SmartBond BLE DA14681 chip to form an FCC-approved WattUp near field transmitter system.
On the receiver side, Dialog has completed the qualification of two RF-to-DC receiver ICs enabling designers to add WattUp wireless charging to a wide range of devices, including smartphones, wearables and hearables.
“Dialog believes that there is a large demand for completely untethered wireless charging, as more consumer electronics manufacturers seek to add new capabilities to their devices to differentiate themselves,” says Dialog’s Mark Tyndall.
Because Energous’ WattUp technology sends energy through the air using radio frequencies, it is able to deliver intelligent, scalable power.
It differs from older wireless charging systems in that it delivers power at distances of up to 15 feet, to multiple devices, in any orientation.
Its small form factor antennas utilise the existing device’s printed circuit board, removing the need for larger, more expensive coils and enabling broader adoption of wireless charging in a larger range of connected devices that can be used in the home, office, car and beyond.


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AI Becomes the Human-Machine Bridge That Makes Payments Safe and Smart
As the world buzzes about ChatGPT, the payments and financial sectors are already sizing up advanced new artificial intelligence (AI) tools relating to how they can move from parsing vast amounts of data instantly to detecting fraud to having human-like service interactions.
Speaking with PYMNTS for the Nuvei PYMNTS Merchant Series on the application of AI innovation in the payments and financial services space, PayU Global Payments Chief Product Officer Daniel Cohen said he sees a world of possibilities around AI, from the back office to consumer-facing uses.
The FRPA alert system distinguishes us from other groups by gathering and providing information to law enforcement, retailers AND financial institutions.more information
Your electronic library to help in fighting financial fraud for all of our partners.more information


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The Etrian Odyssey series is celebrating 10 years of dungeon-crawling goodness this year, and Atlus announced that it is hosting a special talk show on December 13, 2017.
The talk show will feature voice actors Yoshihisa Kawahara and Ayumu Mursae, series composer Yuzo Koshiro, series illustration Yuji Himukai, and director Shigeo Komori. The event will take place at the Shinjuku Loft Plus One on December 13 at 8:30pm JST. Tickets are going for 2,000 yen for early purchases and 2,500 yen at the door.
From now through November 30, Atlus is taking tweets from fans who’d like to share their thoughts on Etrian Odyssey using the hashtag “＃世界樹ロフトプラスワン” for the event.
Etrian Odyssey first released in January 2007 in Japan for Nintendo DS.


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EIGHT enterprises inked deals totaling 8 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) with Invest Shenzhen to set up headquarters or high-tech research centers in the city at a Monday signing ceremony during this year's China Hi-Tech Fair.
Two hundred representatives from 150 enterprises or institutions attended the ceremony.
SK Group, the third-largest conglomerate in South Korea, will set up its China headquarters in Shenzhen, and China Certification Inspection Co. will set up its regional headquarters here.
Three companies - including Feishang Group and Hwa Create Corp. - will set up high-tech research centers in the city, while three financial institutions - including Morgan Stanley and HK Ever Success Inc. - will set up local financial service offices.
Shenzhen high-tech parks also signed deals totaling 4 billion yuan with more than 20 enterprises in fields including high-tech manufacturing, biological medicine and Internet development.
The cooperative projects include a joint lab that will link Shenzhen Zhigao Telecommunications with IBM and the research and development arm of SonoScape Technologies Co.
The total value of high-tech products with ties to Shenzhen reached 1.29 trillion yuan in 2012. Products with local intellectual property rights accounted for 61 percent of that total. Local research and development efforts accounted for 3.8 percent of the city's GDP, the top figure among cities nationwide.
Shenzhen Hi-tech Industrial Park contributed 486 billion yuan in industrial production last year. The city has 84 public listed companies and seven companies with annual production values of more than 10 billion yuan.


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Debenhams First Half Profit Hurt by Snowfall
March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Caroline Hyde reports that U.K. department store Debenhams Plc said fiscal first-half profit will miss estimates after January snowfall hurt sales and forced it to offer deeper discounts on winter stock. She speaks on Bloomberg Television's "The Pulse."
Most Recent Videos
We're Like Expedia But With Wings: NewLeaf CEO
10:31 - Jim Young, president & chief executive officer at NewLeaf Travel, joins Bloomberg TV Canada's Rudyard Griffiths to discuss the launch of the travel company's flights in the Canadian market. (Source: Bloomberg)


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Just over half (51 percent) of survey respondents say they’re likely to bring a laptop computer on a future vacation. Thirty-four percent report they’ve already done so.
Taking the laptop on vacation isn’t just for workaholic vacationers, though 43 percent do admit to sending and checking work-related email. The most popular use of a laptop while on vacation is to check personal email; 72 percent have checked or sent personal messages while on vacation.
A recent America Online survey on email addiction reports 60 percent of Americans check their email while on vacation, though 13 percent of the time it’s for business, 47 percent of the time for pleasure.
Beyond satisfying their email addiction, 56 percent of respondents also take advantage of their technology to go for entertainment purposes including: games, movies, and music.
Thirty percent use their laptop to view, edit, or send travel photos, and 45 percent of respondents used the laptop to gather online information about their trip while traveling.
“People are more reliant on their laptop to become their concierge,” Intel spokesperson Barbara Grimes told ClickZ.com.
A small number of travelers, eight percent, said they author a travel diary or blog while on the road.
|Popular Laptop Uses on Vacation, June 2005|
|Check/send personal email||72|
|Gather trip information online||45|
|Check/send work-related email||43|
|View, edit or send travel photos||30|
|Attend to personal finances||27|
|Use an instant messaging tool||27|
|Create a travel diary/Weblog||8|
|Source: Intel, 2005|
Sixty-two percent reported long battery life is high among desired laptop features while on vacation. Lightweight design is noted by 58 percent, and wireless Internet connectivity a must for 55 percent.
Intel also highlights the increasing availability of Wi-Fi (define) at various travel hotspots worldwide. Another recent Intel-sponsored Harris Interactive survey found that almost 20 percent of online adults have connected to the Internet via a wireless hotspot in a public location.
The survey polled 2,547 Americans adults between June 23 and June 30th, 2005.
Recently, I visited my alma mater, University of Florida in Gainesville, FL, to speak with advertising students about digital marketing, analytics and how to start a career in our field.
Sandy Rubinstein is the CEO of the independently female minority-owned marketing and advertising firm DXagency. ClickZ caught up with her to find out about her role as CEO, and what advice she would give to women who want to work in the digital industry.
Many companies use SMS, email and push notifications to deliver updates to customers and stakeholders, and such notifications are especially important to publishers ... read more
Effective app marketing is not about generating app page traffic, but rather about ensuring your app is discovered by targeted and relevant users who will install your app and use it regularly.


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Tesla Motors have been at the forefront of the electric car movement. Their mission, to accelerate the world’s transition into sustainable energy, is a much needed mantra for the environment and the Earth as a whole. Their latest announcement is set to be a game changer for the environment.
Although no official numbers have been released, there are rumours Tesla cars are set to get closer to the $USD35,000 dollar price tag. They’re aiming to do this when they release the Model 3. By making electric cars more affordable to the general public, there is little to no reason as to why they shouldn’t be a huge hit.
Henrik Fisker, legendary car designer and the F in VLF Automotive (a luxury American sports car company), had this to say about the innovation at Tesla and the reputed price of the Model 3:
“As far as the pricing, I think it represents a good achievement. The car also looks like it will get you more for your money than from any other car that’s around $35,000. The way it sits and looks – I think it’s quite a good achievement. I also think they got right not making the car look strange. It’s a look that a lot of people feel is a good, acceptable look.”
Fisker also spoke about the appeal of electric cars and the Tesla brand:
“It’s clear from (the Model 3 unveiling) that consumers, when it comes to electric cars, they’re looking at maybe newer players that have more experience in new technology and are ‘cooler’ as a brand to be associated with and aren’t from the older car world.”
You can watch the unveiling of the Model 3 here.


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Bobst, the global packaging equipment and services company, has introduced the latest mobile workforce management technology from BigChange to improve its customer service offer. The app-based system has eliminated traditional paper timesheets and Bobst Technicians and product specialists now manage all work activities and travelling time on their smartphones. The workforce app links in real-time to the BigChange cloud-based back-office management software that handles everything from work scheduling and routing, to fleet tracking and machinery safety alerts.
Thirty Bobst personnel operating across UK, Ireland and Scandinavia, are using BigChange-equipped smartphones. The introduction of electronic timesheets has boosted customer service for Bobst, as well as saving considerable time and ensuring quicker, more accurate invoicing. Previously they completed paper carbon-copy-type timesheets that were posted to the office by the field service personnel and manually transcribed by a team of three people, prior to invoicing.
“The introduction of the BigChange system to replace paper-based processes has had a significant and far-reaching impact across the business and especially in customer service,” says Alan Letford, Head of Customer Services, Bobst UK and Ireland Ltd. “We now have up to the minute, accurate data reporting, with Time sheets signed-off by customers on the app. That means we can send an immediate confirmation to the customer and raise an invoice straight away.


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Following emotional abuse allegations brought against James Alex of Beach Slang by his former manager Charlie Lowe, his former record label Polyvinyl Records released a statement on January 12 announcing that they will be removing all Beach Slang and Quiet Slang releases from distribution and streaming services. The label released two full-length albums and three EPs from Beach Slang and an album by Quiet Slang. A statement from Polyvinyl Records that originally appeared on Billboard reads,
“Polyvinyl stands in solidarity with those who have come forward about their experiences with James Alex of Beach Slang. We have begun the process of discontinuing our involvement in the sale and distribution of Beach Slang and Quiet Slang releases. We have said it before and it bears repeating: Our company operates on the core principle that everyone deserves to be treated with fairness and respect. Active accountability builds safer and healthier communities.”
The label went on to add in a statement to Stereogum,
“For the Beach Slang and Quiet Slang titles in our catalog, we have started the process of discontinuing the releases from physical distribution and begun to facilitate the transfer of rights on digital and streaming services back to the band.”
The family of James Alex released a statement announcing the band’s break up and responding to abuse allegations on January 11.


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WASHINGTON (AP) _ After shopping up a storm in April, consumers were more tightfisted in May, boosting sales at the nation's retailers by a tiny 0.1 percent.
The smaller-than-expected increase in retail sales followed a big, 1.4 percent jump in April, according to revised figures, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Many analysts were forecasting a 0.3 percent rise in retail sales for May.
Economists were predicting that consumers would be more selective shoppers in May, given the weakening labor market, higher energy costs and lingering concerns from consumers about the economy's prospects.
In May, consumers cut back on purchases of cars, clothing, building supplies and electronics. But they spent more on gasoline, furniture and sporting goods.
In an effort to stave off recession, the Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates five times this year, driving down borrowing costs for millions of Americans to the lowest point in seven years.
The Fed hopes its rate cuts will spur spending by consumers and investment by businesses, thus boosting economic growth.
Consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity, has held up during the economic slowdown, which began in the second half of last year.
But some economists worry that consumers might sharply cut back spending and tip the economy into recession should the labor market seriously deteriorate in the coming months. Others say consumer spending won't collapse and will be boosted later in the year from tax-cut refund checks expected to arrive in mailboxes between late July and September.
In May, sales of cars and automobile parts fell by 0.7 percent, after a 2.3 percent gain. Excluding this category, overall sales rose 0.3 percent, slightly less than many analysts were forecasting.
Sales at clothing stores declined by 1 percent, after a 0.6 percent increase in April. At general merchandise stores, including department stores, warehouse clubs and superstores, sales fell by 1.3 percent, down from a 2.6 percent rise.
Sales at building supply stores dipped 0.6 percent in May, following a 3.3 percent gain, and sales at electronics and appliances shops slipped 0.1 percent, on top of a 0.6 percent drop in April.
These declines blunted gains elsewhere.
Sales at gasoline stations rose 1.4 percent in May, following a 4.2 percent increase. The figures, which aren't adjusted for inflation, reflect higher prices at the pump.
Furniture sales rose 1.2 percent, after a 0.2 percent drop in April. Sales of sporting goods, books and music increased 1.5 percent, up from a 0.1 percent rise. At bars and restaurants, sales went up 1 percent, following a 0.2 percent increase. Sales at pharmacies and drug stores rose 1.1 percent, after a 0.1 percent dip.
Wednesday's monthly retail sales report is the first using a more detailed system for classifying businesses that are tracked by the government.
For instance, electronics and appliance stores are now broken out, rather than being embedded in a broader category. Bars and restaurants continue to be included but in a new category of ``food services.''
Last week, the nation's largest retailers reported disappointing sales in May, after experiencing a bounceback in April. Chains such as Target and Kohl's said sales were below expectations. Clothing stores, particularly the Gap and Ann Taylor, and the big department store chains fared the worst.


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First, the good news for e-commerce merchants: card-not-present (CNP) channels in the US continue to outpace total retail sales, according to the Dept. of Commerce. CNP transactions increased nearly 11% last month, compared to 2015, with sales totaling nearly $47 billion. June and July saw increases of 14% each compared to last year. In addition, as a result of EMV, card networks are reporting that counterfeit fraud has declined by more than 50% compared to a year ago. One top retailer even reported a decline of 90% in their counterfeit fraud just 30 days after implementing the EMV technology.
Now, the bad news: as predicted, the EMV liability shift which occurred a year ago has resulted in a surge in CNP fraud, with fraudulent transactions increasing 137% from Q2 2015 to Q2 2016. Fraudsters were clearly informed of the impacts of the EMV shift on their activities and responded accordingly. This, even though many point-of-sale retailers have not yet installed EMV-compliant terminals (estimates vary from 44-70% compliance). According to a survey by The Strawhecker Group, only 29% of US retailers can currently accept EMV cards due to delays in certifying the new terminals.
Chargebacks as well have seen an uptick, with 60 percent of survey respondents admitting to an increase in chargebacks because of their lack of EMV compliance.
So, what should you do if you’re a CNP merchant? Make sure you have an effective, efficient automated fraud solution in place that will alert you to suspicious transactions and allow you to act on them, relieving you of the burden of having to hire staff and commit other resources to conducting manual reviews of questionable purchases. With a good fraud solution—such as offered by Recurly and integrated with our subscription management solution—you’ll be able to accept more orders with confidence, knowing that you have a tool in place that is monitoring your transactions and denying the ones likely to be fraudulent.
Fraudsters may be wily but they don’t have to win. You can fight back, accept more orders with confidence, and keep the profits that are coming to you.
To learn more about how Recurly can help your fight fraud, talk to a Recurly expert at (844) 732-8759 or sign up for a demo below.
All fields required. Recurly respects your privacy.
The value of Recurly is that we no longer have to worry about the different aspects of subscription management. Instead, we can focus on things that are our core competency, like adding value to our service and expanding our offering. That’s been a huge win for us.


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Florida Graphic Supply Hosts 25th Anniversary Event
Including a live ‘Vehicle Wrap Duel.’
Florida Graphic Supply has announced a celebration commemorating its 25th anniversary will take place on Friday, November 18, from noon to 7 p.m. Bill Watts founded Florida Graphic Supply in 1991, offering only a few products such as application tape and carbide blades. Today, the company offers a wide range of equipment and consumables for the signage and graphic industries, including wide-format printing equipment and more. The event will feature music, door prizes, guest speakers, food and drinks, and a live Vehicle Wrap Duel between two state finalists.


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U.Today is supported by its audience. When you buy through referral links, we may earn a commission.
Lightning Network is a platform for making directBitcoin payments using an off-chain protocol. This could make small Bitcoin purchases easier and more scalable, avoiding high transaction fees and delays.
Lightning Labs wraps up its Series A funding round with $10 mln more in its coffers
The Square Crypto team has started working on the Lightning Development Kit
The transaction speed displayed by Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is meaningless when the Lightning Network comes into play, according to Tone Vays
Bitfinex joins efforts with Bitrefill to allow Bitcoin users from the crypto exchange to “live on crypto”
Bitfinex becomes the first major cryptocurrency exchange to implement Bitcoin Lightning


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Reason’s Locker Service in Buffalo Prairie, Illinois, is recalling approximately 6,686 pounds of its cooked ready-to-eat products.
In a news release, the Illinois Department of Agriculture announced the products may have experienced temperature abuse during stabilization/chilling and could contain the bacteria Clostridium.
The recalled products, which include the establishment number “EST. 227,” were produced from March 2015 through March 2017. The products — including summer sausage, and beef and cheese snack sticks — are sold under the Prairie Pride Meats label.
Greg Boruff, who owns the business with his wife, Diane Reason, said the products were sold exclusively by Reason's at its main facility in Buffalo Prairie in Rock Island County and in Aledo, Illinois.
"We're confident that no harm's been done," he said. "This was not on the cooking side and our chilling process does stand up. But our chilling records were not adequate.''
The Department of Agriculture said the problem was discovered by inspection personnel verifying records. Records did not show actual temperature readings at the required time and place. Instead, it was determined a plant employee filled in a temperature reading without actually testing the product.
Boruff said this marks the first recall in the nearly 80-year-old locker's history. "Am I glad it happened? No. But we'll be better for this,'' he said, adding that the locker now has invested in new equipment to record food temperatures.
There have been no reports of illness or adverse reactions reported to the department or to Reason's. Any customer with a recalled product should return it to Reason's.
Customers with questions, can call Boruff at 309-537-3424.


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ACCC has issued a warning to the telecommunications industry, saying that it must raise its standards in its treatment of consumers or risk increased scrutiny and action.
ACCC Chairman, Mr. Graeme Samuel said the ACCC expects carriers to close off access to their mobile networks for rogue operators.
“Problems such as misleading advertising, unfair contracts and deceptive mobile phone competitions have been allowed to proliferate by service providers, publishers and carriers, who have turned a blind eye while taking a slice of the profits. It is no longer acceptable for carriers to wash their hands of responsibility as operators use their networks to entrap phone company customers with unwanted, expensive and difficult to unwind subscription services,” says Samuel.
“If all carriers do not exhibit a responsible attitude to closing down rogue operators, they must expect the ACCC to pursue remedies available to it under the Trade Practices Act. Consumer protection issues in telecommunications consistently ranked number one as the sectors most complained about to the ACCC Infocentre, with more than 4,000 complaints a year.”
The ACCC consistently received complaints about mobile premium services, primarily related to unsolicited services and billing, with about half alleging consumers had received premium services without agreement.
Other concerns included advertising practices; consumers not understanding contracts, including inadvertently signing up to a subscription service; and difficulties with unsubscribing and the complaints handling process.
“The ACCC is drawing a line in the sand – we’re saying to the poor performers, and there are many of them, mend your ways.”
A particular concern was the targeting of readers of youth magazines by mobile premium service providers. He warned the ACCC was prepared to take on publishers for running advertisements which they knew to be misleading or deceptive.
“Similarly, the ACCC is firmly of the view, that companies which advertising plans as ‘unlimited’ should be very cautious when using such terms. To avoid misleading consumers, any qualifications to ‘unlimited’ calls or SMS messages must be clearly stated and not so significant that they negate the overall impression of the ad,” says Samuel.
The ACCC also encouraged consumers to make sure they fully understood the terms and conditions of their contracts.


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MOUNT VERNON, N.Y., August 19, 2021 –
Bona Fide Masks Corp. (www.bonafidemasks.com), part of the Ball Chain Manufacturing Co., Inc. (Ball Chain) family of companies out of Mount Vernon, New York, announces the arrival of the Powecom GB2626-2019 KN95 Respiratory Protection – Non-Powered Air- Purifying Particle Respirator, which is the successor to the GB2626-2006 KN95 standard.
The Powecom KN95, made to the new standard, will be the same size, shape and use the same production process. The improvement will be from the new melt blown polypropylene cotton filter layer which will upgrade the breathability factor (respiratory resistance) of the mask. This new enhancement will help make it easier to breathe for the user while still offering filter efficiency greater than 95%.
After a year and a half of building a strong and trusted partnership, Guangzhou Powecom Labor Insurance Supplies Co., Ltd. (Powecom) recently named Bona Fide Masks the #1 Distributor of Powecom in the USA and Canada and Exclusive Distributor of the KN95-SM. Both companies continue to work together to address the confusion in the mask marketplace while bringing the best product to their customers. “With so many bad actors in the mask market, we believe it is imperative to standout as the trusted supplier of genuine masks. We are very proud to be the first to market with this new standard. When customers buy from us, we want them to do so with conviction and confidence knowing we have the highest level of supply chain integrity. To ensure our customers purchase authentic Powecom masks, we recommend they purchase directly from us.” said company President, Bill Taubner.
According to Jing Yip, Powecom's Marketing and Export Officer, "We are proud to work with our most trusted and largest partner, Bona Fide Masks, to bring our new Powecom KN95 masks to the market. As a reminder, authentic Powecom KN95 masks are four-layer masks and I urge the American public to buy direct from our most-trusted partner."
The new GB2626-2019 KN95 is expected to begin shipping on August 23rd. In addition to this new mask, Bona Fide Masks carries a range of Powecom offerings which include Powecom KN95 Respirator Mask (sold in white and black), Powecom KN95 Respirator Mask - Headband Style (sold in white and black), and the children’s KN95-SM. For more on Bona Fide Masks, visit www.bonafidemasks.com.
please click here for a video of video of shipment from Powecom factory
More about Ball Chain Manufacturing. Co., Inc.:
Family-owned and -operated since 1938, Ball Chain is the only major U.S. manufacturer of metal ball chain and attachments. The company's ball chain is featured in window roller shades, light fixtures, plumbing devices, keychains and jewelry items. Headquartered in Mount Vernon, New York. with global distribution, Ball Chain designs and fabricates innovative products while providing exemplary customer service. After entering the interior design market with ShimmerScreen® decorative metal curtains, the company further diversified its offerings with the launch of LogoTags, a promotional products division. Ball Chain is proud of its commitment to the American workforce and the environment. The company has earned industry recognition for its responsible business practices, including "green business" certification from the Green Business Bureau (GBB) and certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Bill Taubner, President
Cristina Chianese, Director of Marketing
Ball Chain Mfg. Co., Inc. / Bona Fide Masks Corp.
Source: Bona Fide Masks Corporation


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A change in UK law means that pornography is to be blocked by default, becoming an opt-in feature. The move is ostensibly an effort to limit access to illegal content or underage content.
...of Lumia flagships, Windows milestones, and Samsung's reminder to RTFM
Why the long wait for new Windows 10 Mobile builds?
One month on, what do you think of Windows 10 so far?
Windows 10 Insider Preview build 10532 rolls out
Samsung confirms devices it plans to upgrade to Android 6.0 Marshmallow
The Top 10 apps no Windows 10 PC should be without
Known issues with Windows 10 Insider build 10532
A new survey claims that the majority of the US want search engine such as Google and Bing to block access to links that offer pirated content such as music or movies.
Russia and Turkey are receiving a different default engine to most WP8 handsets, with Yandex coming as standard on both. The partnership could help gain some control for Yandex within Turkey.
Third-party results finally suggest that Google's mail service is leading the world, despite the search giant having claimed this to be the case during the summer. Somehow, Yahoo is still hanging on.
Google has begun to integrate users Google+ posts into their social search results. Results now include commentaries about public links that have been shared by users on their Google+ account.


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Is there a better way of boosting CBD supplies other than just growing more hemp? With the top tools of genetic science now at the cannabis cultivator’s disposal, there just might be.
Two of these approvals went to Washington and Wyoming, while the other three plans belong to the Otoe-Missouria Tribe, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, and the Santee Sioux Nation.
The former head of MedMen’s cultivation operations tells Analytical Cannabis what makes cannabis cultivation unique and what the industry can do to tackle its supply and sustainability setbacks.
Researchers at Texas A&M University have reportedly developed a “hemp scanner” that could be used by police forces to distinguish between hemp and cannabis, without damaging any of the cargo.
Thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, everyone involved in hemp can now agree on its legal status as an agricultural crop. But the more practical issues have got activists scrambling for a consensus.
Hemp is big business, but its transport still comes with big risks. Truckers can still be pulled over crossing state lines and charged with trafficking a federally illegal substance. So how can transport companies protect themselves and still reap the hemp rewards?
The country had a historic decision last week to authorize industrial hemp cultivation. But will it be challenged? And what does it mean for medical cannabis in Brazil?


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Nissan is recalling about 747,000 vehicles in the United States for a possible stalling problem, the automaker said on Thursday in a news release.
The recall covers about 2.2 million vehicles worldwide.
Nissan said it recently “discovered that on some of the potentially affected vehicles, silicon vapor may form inside the electrical relay that supplies voltage to the Engine Control Module. Over time, this vapor could create oxidation on the electrical contacts in the relay that may lead to engine performance issues, including the possibility of stalling at low engine speeds.”
The automaker, which said it was not aware of any accidents related to the problem, said it would replace an electrical relay that provides power to the engine control module.
The vehicles being recalled are the 2004-6 Nissan Armadas, Titans and Infiniti QX56s manufactured from August 2003 to May 2006 and the 2005-6 Nissan Frontiers, Pathfinders and Xterras manufactured from August 2004 to June 2006.
Nissan described the recall as voluntary, but once a manufacturer is aware of a safety defect it has no choice but to recall the vehicles.


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iOS 15.7.5, iPadOS 15.7.5, macOS Monterey 12.6.5 and macOS Big Sur 11.7.6 fix a dangerous vulnerability that Apple says may have been exploited in the wild.
In this article, we will explain why and how to put an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch in recovery mode, including step-by-step instructions for all models, including the latest iPhone 15 Pro, as well as the most recent iPad Pro (6th generation). Whether you are experiencing problems with your device or simply want to start fresh, recovery mode can be a helpful solution.
The iOS and iPadOS 16 device compatibility list omits some iPhones and iPads that run iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 just fine. Find out whether your iPhone or iPad has the necessary hardware to run Apple's next major update when it's released this fall.
The new Google TV app enables Apple fans to, among other things, use their iPhone or iPad as a remote control for their Google TV or other Android TV OS device.
Among the expected iOS 16 features should be new iPhone interaction modes and some “fresh new apps,” but don't expect a major face-lift this year.
Watch our new video walkthrough discussing the latest iOS 16 rumors and expected features, such as upcoming changes to the notification system and focus modes, ahead of Apple's public preview of the software scheduled on Monday, June 6.
Apple has officially discontinued its family of standalone iPod music players, with the iPod touch remaining in the lineup while supplies last.
Apple has discontinued its iCloud Documents and Data service. Don't worry, your cloud files are still there but may take a few clicks to view and access.
Is Apple's Music app overtaking another app's position in your iPhone's dock, even setting itself as the default music service for Siri requests? If so, you're not alone!
Apple probably won't change the design of the upcoming iOS 16 software significantly versus iOS 7, which dropped nearly a decade ago. What you should be expecting instead are improved notifications and new health-tracking features.
The upcoming Apple Classical app based on the Primephonic acquisition could launch on iPhone, iPad and Mac alongside iOS 15.5, iPadOS 15.5 and macOS 12.4.
Apple has released iOS 15.4.1, a bug-fix update that resolves iPhone battery drain while addressing issues with some Braille and MFi hearing devices.


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Matt Rourke/Associated Press/File
NEW YORK (AP) — Don’t expect to see ‘‘lady Doritos’’ on store shelves. The company behind the cheesy chips said Tuesday that it’s not developing a line of Doritos designed specifically for women, despite widespread online speculation that it was.
The phrase ‘‘lady Doritos’’ trended on social media after PepsiCo’s longtime CEO Indra Nooyi said on a podcast that unlike men, women don’t like to lick their fingers after eating a bag of Doritos.
‘‘Women would love to do the same, but they don’t,’’ Nooyi said in an interview on the Freakonomics podcast. ‘‘They don’t like to crunch too loudly in public. And they don’t lick their fingers generously and they don’t like to pour the little broken pieces and the flavor into their mouth.’’
Nooyi, who has run the soda and snack company for more than a decade, later said the company is ‘‘getting ready to launch’’ snacks that are ‘‘designed and packaged differently’’ for women. ‘‘Women love to carry a snack in their purse,’’ Nooyi said.
But PepsiCo said the interpretation of her comments to mean that female-friendly Doritos were in the works were ‘‘inaccurate.’’
‘‘We already have Doritos for women — they’re called Doritos,’’ the company said in a statement Tuesday.
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The utility will issue billing credits to about 4,500 consumers who were incorrectly charged the company’s non- heating rate instead of the less expensive heating rate.Continue reading »


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Coys has released details of the catalogue for its April 10 auction at Techno Classica, Europe's largest specialist and historic collectors' car motorshow.
All significant marques will be represented including Ferrari, Jaguar, AC, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Bentley.
Among the highlights will be a magnificent Horch 853 Cabriolet, an original Porsche 2.7 Litre Carrera RS, an Aston Martin DB4 Lightweight, and a Rolls-Royce Phantom VI.
The magnificent Horch 853 Cabriolet
The Phantom VI boasts a significant British Royal family history, according to Coys, with its former passengers including Queen Elizabeth II.
A "thundering and rare" Iso Grifo 7 Litre and a number of Jaguar XK models will also appear at the event.
Watch this space for more breaking news on Techno Classica, which will be held in Essen, Germany.


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There's something about drinking a tall glass of plain cow's milk that can feel kind of creepy — or at the very least, bland and tasteless. Blame it on the rise of tasty milk alternatives like almond or oat, or that infamous scene in Get Out, but milk's reputation has come a long way from the "Got Milk?" ads of the 90s.
Nowadays, as our understanding of nutrition evolves, and the popularity of plant-based diets soars, it seems like every milk alternative is marketed as a much healthier and more appealing choice than milk that comes straight from a cow. So, is there any need for adults to drink cow's milk, or should we switch to almond for good?
"I would argue that milk is really good for you," says Malina Malkani, MS, RDN, CDN, media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and creator of the Wholitarian Lifestyle. Cow's milk contains vitamins and minerals, and "almost every single nutrient that the body needs," she adds. That includes high-quality proteins, carbohydrates, and fat, as well as calcium and vitamin D, which are nutrients of concern that are lacking in most populations, she adds. "It's so well-balanced, there's no added sugar — there's so many great things about the combination of nutrients in milk," she says.
And yet, as great as cow's milk's naturally-occurring nutrients are, there's a fraction of the population that can't produce lactase, the enzyme that allows people to digest lactose, a sugar that's found in milk and dairy products. Consuming any form of cow's milk product would then lead to abdominal pain, bloating, gas, nausea, and upset stomach. Luckily, there are lactase supplements that you can take to quell these miserable symptoms, as well as special kinds of milk that are made without these troublesome proteins and enzymes. But, for about 65% of the human population who has lactose intolerance, the best way to avoid this reaction is to steer clear of foods containing dairy — especially cow's milk.
Malkani says there's a bit of a misconception around lactose intolerance. "Sometimes people think that if you have lactose intolerance, you won't be able to digest any amount of lactose," she says. And that's not actually true. Everyone is different, but lactose intolerance can really be managed, she says. "It's often a matter of degree, and it can be managed by eating or drinking just less of the lactose-containing products," she says. This might take some trial and error, but sometimes people who are lactose intolerant do just fine with a little bit of yogurt and cheeses that are low in lactose. To be clear, some people do have a true milk allergy, which can cause an immune response to proteins in milk, she says. But for the rest of the population, intolerance is not so black and white.
Fat is another misunderstood component of cow's milk. "Sometimes people get a little bit confused because cow's milk contains naturally a small amount of natural trans fat," Malkani says. Trans fat and saturated fat has long been linked to cardiovascular disease. But there's more recent research that shows that full-fat dairy foods can absolutely fit into a healthy dietary pattern, that's not only balanced in calories, but also improves the standard biomarkers related to heart disease, she adds. "Even high consumption of foods, particularly yogurt, may also lower your risk of type 2 diabetes," she says. "So, that research is shifting, and the fear of whole fat dairy is changing."
If you're still on the fence about re-introducing cow's milk in your life, the first thing to ask yourself is: what do you like to drink? If you like the taste and consistency of cow's milk, you might want to consider sipping it a few times a week. For example, Malkani says that milk is actually an effective post-exercise beverage, because it contains an ideal blend and ratio of protein and carbohydrates. Or if you prefer to get your dairy elsewhere, like from cheese or yogurt, then cow's milk doesn't have to be your thing.
And if someone would have to tear oat milk out of your cold, dead body to get you to go back to cow's milk — well, who knows? In another 20 years you might be burnt out on oat and ready to return to the real thing.


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Emojis are replacing Barbies as the battleground where the fight over the portrayal of women is being waged.
A group of Google employees is pushing for 13 new emojis to be approved with a “goal of highlighting the diversity of women’s careers and empower girls everywhere,” according to their proposal submitted to the Unicode Consortium this week.
“No matter where you look, women are gaining visibility and recognition as never before,” the developers said in a its proposal. “Isn’t it time that emoji also reflect the reality that women play a key role in every walk of life and in every profession?”
As of now, emojis depicting women are overwhelmingly stereotypical: There’s nail painting and hair grooming; there’s flamenco dancing and twin burlesque bunnies. Men, meanwhile, are cops and doctors and athletes, as Always pointed out as part of their “Like a Girl” campaign. Google’s proposal includes doctors, farmers, graduates and professors for both sexes. There’s even a David Bowie tribute emoji.
— Google Design (@GoogleDesign) May 11, 2016
Unicode Consortium is currently mulling which emojis will be allowed in its next batch, due to arrive on people’s phones in mid-2017. However, the Googlers might have an advantage since the Consortium’s president, Mark Davis, is also a Google employee.
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Matthew Tilley, executive director, marketing, Vericast With the holidays right around the corner, the economy may force some consumers to adjust their plans and stretch their dollars even further. While some shoppers may rein in their spending, others will still go all out despite a cloudy economic outlook. Given the current economic climate, consumers are […]
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Following the recent leak of a photo that is allegedly that of the Samsung Galaxy S8, we’re sure some of you guys are probably wondering when the phone will be announced. The good news is that we might have a date to look forward to thanks to a recent post by Evan Blass on VentureBeat in which he revealed that the phone could be announced on the 29th of March.
This date shouldn’t be that surprising because if you recall, Samsung recently confirmed that they will not be showing off the Galaxy S8 at MWC 2017 which is taking place towards the end of February. We have heard rumors that Samsung has chosen to delay the launch of the phone a bit due to the extra safety checks that they have put into place to ensure that phones catching on fire will be a thing of the past, or at least as far as manufacturing defects are concerned.
Some users might be bummed out at a slightly later release date but we reckon that it’s not a bad thing to be extra safe. Plus we can only imagine that Samsung’s reputation probably cannot take another round of recalls since the Note 7’s recall is said to have cost the company at least $1 billion.
In any case take it with a grain of salt, but the 29th of March date is more or less in line with what we’ve been hearing, which is that the phone could be seeing an April release. Either way check back with us soon for more updates.


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Horizon: Forbidden West was comfortably the #1 game on the UK boxed charts, according to GfK’s latest numbers.
This game is the second biggest launch for PS5 to date, after the popular launch game Spider-Man: Miles Morales and right before FIFA 22. Like Spider-Man, the new Horizon has been released on both PS4 and PS5. 68% of packaged sales were on PS5 and the rest on the older PlayStation.
Forbidden West’s launch sales are down 35% compared to its predecessor: Horizon: Zero Dawn for 2017. However, this data does not affect digital sales, and the download market has accelerated significantly in the past five years. Digital download data will be released later in the week.
Given the lack of PS5 consoles available, we might expect Horizon to rise and fall in the charts as more hardware becomes available.
This means that Pokemon Legends: Arceus is down to #2 (sales down 52% on a weekly basis). The Nintendo Switch has been the #1 selling game for three weeks in a row and remains the fastest-selling game of the year.
The release of Horizon coincided with more PS5 consoles arriving in stores, sending other PS5 games up the charts. Spider-Man: Miles Morales climbed 15 spots to #12 after increasing sales by 90% week after week. Meanwhile, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart enters the charts at number 20.
Right behind Ratchet & Clank is Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection, which jumped back to the charts at #21 following the release of the Nintendo Switch version of the bundle.
Elsewhere, the new Cyberpunk 2077 update means the game is now optimized for PS5, Xbox Series X, and S. As a result, the CD Projekt title is up 271% in sales week after week and returns to the charts at No.23.
The other new game in the charts is King of Fighters XV at number 30. The SNK title sold best on PS5, accounting for 53% of sales, with 25% on PS4 and 23% on Xbox.
Here is our GfK UK Boxed top ten list for the week ending February 19:
|last week||this week||nickname|
|new entry||1||Horizon: Forbidden West|
|2||2||Pokemon Legends: Arceus|
|2||3||death light 2|
|4||4||Mario Kart 8: Deluxe|
|5||6||Animal Crossing: New Horizons|
|10||7||Call of Duty: Vanguard|
|7||9||Mario Party Superstars|
|14||10||Just Dance 2022|
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Nokia, the world's top handset maker, unveiled four new models targeting consumers in emerging markets who are about to replace their first phones, a Reuters report said. Nokia, which makes four out of every ten phones sold globally, has been fiercely defending its dominant position by looking to emerging markets and making cheaper models, as growth has slowed in Europe and North America.
The new phones cost â‚¬50 to â‚¬90, taking on even the cheapest offerings from its main rivals, all of whom have so far shied away from attempting to compete with Nokia in terms of the scale of production, the Reuters report said.
Nokia expects replacement sales to consumers in emerging markets to account for more than 60% of sales volumes this year, up from around 50% last year. It also expects the inclusion of FM radio receivers and recorders, cameras and music players to drive handset replacement in emerging markets.
Two of the new phones unveiled at a media event in Johannesburg, the Nokia 5000 and Nokia 2680, have a radio recording function, the report stated.


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December 7, 2016
Contact: NCL Communications, Cindy Hoang, email@example.com, (202) 207-2832
Washington, DC–The National Consumers League has announced it support for legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) – ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs – and U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman – a member of the House Financial Services Committee to prevent Wells Fargo bank from hiding behind its own forced arbitration clauses to duck responsibility for its fraudulent conduct.
Wells Fargo has been embroiled in a scandal since revelations surfaced that its employees had secretly opened roughly 1.5 million bank accounts and issued 565,000 credit cards without customers’ consent. According to the legislation, Wells Fargo is now using the forced arbitration clauses it tucked away in the fine print of contracts customers signed when they opened legitimate accounts to block them from suing over the fraudulent accounts.
“Wells Fargo’s tactics give new meaning to the word ‘chutzpah,’” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “The bank commits massive fraud and then refuses to take responsibility for it, claiming consumers signed away their rights through forced arbitration. If ever the ‘doctrine of unclean hands’ applies, it is here. Regulators and the courts must not allow the bank to engage in this scandalous behavior. Consumers must be protected and NCL fully supports the to ensure victims are afforded their rights under the law and not subject to a dubious forced arbitration clause.”
Warner’s bill, Justice for Victims of Fraud Act of 2016, would allow victims of Wells Fargo’s fraud to seek their day in court even if they signed contracts that included arbitration for their legitimate accounts in the past.
NCL is joined by endorsements by: The American Association for Justice, Consumers Union, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low income clients), Americans for Financial Reform, the Center for Responsible Lending, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Media Voices for Children, Allied Progress, the Woodstock Institute, the Franciscan Action Network, the Economic Policy Institute Center, California Reinvestment Coalition, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, and Public Justice.
The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Robert Casey (D-PA), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Warner (D-VA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Al Franken (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND).
About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.


text: Household goods chain Pricerite Group plans to open retail outlets in China and more stores in Hong Kong. The move into China follows the group's first profit in four years - HK$13.68 million for the year to March 31 compared with a HK$84.43 million loss the previous year. Pricerite went through a series of changes after its acquisition earlier this year by Celestial Asia Securities Holdings. Executive director and chief executive Thomas Li Yuen-cheuk said the group wanted to establish a presence in China before it entered the World Trade Organisation so it could take advantage of its expanding property market. 'People in the mainland are encouraged to purchase their own properties with the support of government and banks,' he said. 'If the property market is doing well, the demand for household and furniture products will also be increased. This is a golden chance for us.' He said the company expected to open a Shanghai store this year and establish a management and logistics centre. It expected to have retail outlets in the main cities within three years. The group's annual results showed robust growth. 'Turnover rose by 22 per cent over the previous year to HK$892 million,' said chairman Bankee Kwan Pak-hoo. 'And our first profit in four years reflects not just improved sales, but the success of stringent cost controls in warehousing, rental contracts and borrowing reduction. 'We have also significantly improved our logistic, merchandising and inventory management operations.' Mr Li said the economic downturn in Hong Kong had not harmed sales. 'Our goods cater for the mass and low to middle-end consumers. Although the purchasing power of the public has decreased, their demand for value-for-money merchandise has actually increased,' he said. Pricerite's turnover for furniture and other household products rose by 32 and 17 per cent respectively. Stores were opened last week in Tai Po and Wong Tai Sin, bringing the total in the SAR to 45. Three to five new stores are planned next year.