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World’s largest Mexican casual dining brand prepares to open in McAllen, Texas this fall and Anchorage, Alaska in early 2022
On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina is getting ready to bring its bold, border-style Mex and ice-cold margaritas to the most northern and southern ends of the country!
Fueled by a renewed, aggressive franchise push, the world’s largest Mexican casual dining brand recently signed an area development agreement to add two locations to its pipeline in Anchorage, Alaska and McAllen, Texas.
On The Border recently partnered with franchisee Perspective Hospitality to open its first restaurant in South Padre Island earlier this spring. Following success at the new location, Perspective Hospitality signed on to expand its portfolio with On The Border and open a second restaurant in McAllen this fall in the Embassy Suites, located at 800 Convention Center Blvd.
“I believe McAllen hasn’t seen a national Tex-Mex brand in nearly 20 years,” said Manager of Perspective Hospitality Hershal Patel. “We’re thrilled to introduce On The Border to this city and add a second location to our portfolio. Over the past few years, McAllen, and specifically Palms Crossing, has cemented its role as a dine-out hot spot for the upper Valley. Perspective Hospitality is looking forward to bringing On The Border’s unique and vibrant atmosphere to our flagship Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel.”
Following the McAllen restaurant opening, On The Border is teaming up with multi-unit franchise operators Jack Lewis, Ray Kizer and Richard Hobbs of Firetap Tikahtnu, LLC to make its Alaska debut. Slated to open in early 2022 in the Tikahtnu Commons Outdoor Mall in Anchorage, located at 1148 N. Muldoon, the new restaurant will be situated among many national retailers and will be within walking distance from the IMAX Regal Theatres latest movie entertainment center.
“We are so excited to bring the very first On The Border to Alaska, the last Frontier,” said Lewis, Firetap Tikahtnu managing partner. “There is nothing in the area that compares to On The Border’s bold flavors of Texas and Mexico, so we are eager to establish the best-in-class brand up north. We’ve secured a great location just outside the JBER military installation, making it easy for America’s heroes to enjoy our lively ambiance. We can’t wait to introduce On The Border’s delicious Tex-Mex specialties to Anchorage locals.”
“On The Border has made significant strides in franchising over the last year,” said On The Border Chief Real Estate Officer Mike Wood. “We continue to prove that we are a leader in the Mexican casual dining space as we introduce our brand to several new markets, including Anchorage and McAllen. We look forward to working with even more incredible franchisees as we spur tremendous growth across the nation.”
On The Border is always looking for experienced multi-unit restaurant owners/operators to join its growing team of franchisees. For more information about franchise opportunities, email@example.com.
On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina is the world’s largest Mexican casual dining brand. Known for its award-winning margaritas, house-made salsa, and sizzling mesquite-grilled fajitas, On The Border is a fan-favorite destination for authentic, contemporary Mexican food and vibrant good times. With over 125 restaurants in 31 states and Asia, there’s always a fiesta waiting at On The Border. For more information, visit ontheborder.com and follow the brand on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Perspective Hospitality is a Texas-based hospitality company with over 30 years of hotel development and operations experience. Perspective’s flagship properties include the top-performing Hilton Garden Inn and recently-opened Courtyard by Marriott on South Padre Island, Texas. They are also nearing completion of a 175-room Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel in Round Rock, Texas.
Perspective Hospitality’s business activities include lodging (hotels and vacation rentals), food service, software development, apparel retail and wholesale, advertising, branding, and licensing.
For more information regarding Perspective Hospitality Management Services, please visit PerspectiveHMS.com.
Firetap Tikahtnu, LLC is part of an Alaska-based hospitality company with over 40 years of restaurant experience, operating national franchises such as Krispy Kreme Doughnuts of Winston, Salem, N.C. and Burgerfi All-Natural Burgers, Custards, and Fries of West Palm Beach, Florida. In addition to its chain concepts, members of the partnership retain interests in a multitude of independently developed, well-known Alaskan concepts inclusive of the Peanut Farm Sports Grill, McGinley’s Irish Pub, and Firetap Alehouse.


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T: The FinTech Times - The money experience
Welcome to the FinTech Times, a weekly newsletter covering the biggest FinTech news from around the globe. Learn how startups are using technology to meet funders around the world. Affirm Holdings Inc. almost doubled in its public market debut, the latest multibillion-dollar technology company to start trading significantly higher than its initial public offering price. Payments technology startup Rapyd has raised $300 million in a mega funding deal which doubles its valuation to $2.5 billion. Walmart creates FinTech partnership with Ribbit Capital (WALL STREET JOURNAL)Walmart Inc. said that it has joined with investment firm Ribbit Capital to create a new FinTech startup to further expand its financial-services offerings.

domain: news


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Summer's here, and the time is right for dancing in the streets--unless you work for Volkswagen, where dancing is kept to a strict minimum thanks to the ongoing Dieselgate scandal. Here are a few of the not-so-clean diesel stories that have crossed our desks in the past few days:
Fix is possible for 85,000 3.0-liter diesels in the U.S.: Remember the $15.4 billion settlement Volkswagen announced last week? Well, that only covered 475,000 2.0-liter Audi and VW diesels registered in the U.S. There are still 85,000 larger, 3.0-liter Audi, Porsche, and VW diesels in this country that fail to meet federal regulations. According to Volkswagen, though, there's a fix for them! Well, maybe, assuming that (a) the fix works, and (b) it's not shot down again by the Environmental Protection Agency or the California Air Resources Board. We'll know more on August 25, when U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer has asked the automaker for an update on its progress.
Diesel owners in Europe get the shaft: If you're one of the millions of European citizens who owns a vehicle affected by the Dieselgate scandal, don't expect a payout as sweet as the one your American peers received. Though there have been calls for a similar kind of compensation package across The Pond, Volkswagen CEO Matthias Muller has responded with a resounding "nein". Speaking to the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Muller noted that Volkswagen could never afford to replicate such a deal in Europe, where there are far more cars equipped with illegal devices meant to cheat on emissions tests. To some, Muller's statement might sound like fair reasoning. Others may find it...less persuasive.
UPDATE: Volkswagen avoids fines in Germany: As if on cue, Germany's Transportation Minister has said that the country won't fine Volkswagen for illegally installing defeat devices on over 2 million diesels. However, the company will have to fix those cars, and it's still the subject of an investigation into criminal wrongdoing. That's not good enough for Germany's Bild newspaper though, which wonders why Europeans aren't entitled to the same compensation package that Americans are receiving. And that's a totally appropriate question.
VW sales hit five-year low: As if paying out $15.4 billion to American agencies and owners weren't enough, Volkswagen's VW brand is in the tank. June's meager 23,809 U.S. sales were nearly 22 percent lower than June of 2015. For the first half of the year, VW sales were about 15 percent below the first six months of 2015. Audi, however, managed to rise above its battered sibling, with June sales up 1 percent and year-to-date stats up 3.5 percent. Porsche was also up about 6 percent--both for June and year-to-date.
VW dealerships likely to change hands: VW's auto sales may have hit the skids, but sales of VW dealerships could heat up now that a settlement for 2.0-liter vehicles has been reached. Some dealers may feel like bowing out before things get any worse, while gamblers might see an opportunity because, really, how much worse could things get?
Note: for purposes of clarity, "Volkswagen" has been used to refer to the Volkswagen Group parent company, while "VW" has been used to refer to the company's popular mass-market brand of automobiles.


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Stocks quoted in this article:
Around midday, three of the top market movers are athletic shoe peddler Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL), shopping warehouse operator PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT), and rent-to-own business Rent-A-Center Inc (NASDAQ:RCII). Here's a quick roundup of how this trio of names is performing on the charts so far.
- FINL has shed 5.6% today to trade at $27.22, after Sterne Agee downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "buy." With the move lower, the shares are in danger of finishing below their 120-day moving average for the first time since mid-April. Should the equity continue to struggle, there's plenty of room for additional bearish brokerage notes to come down the pike; in fact, nine out of 15 analysts covering Finish Line Inc have given it a "buy" or "strong buy" rating, with not a single "sell" recommendation to be found. On the fundamental front, the retailer will host its annual shareholder meeting next Thursday.
- PSMT is currently off 6.8% to perch at $80.39, pushing its year-to-date loss beyond 30%. Earlier, the stock sank to a fresh annual low of $78.63, as well. Prompting the pullback was PriceSmart, Inc.'s fiscal third-quarter revenue miss last night. Meanwhile, in the options pits, the bears are firmly in control. During the past 10 weeks at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), PSMT has racked up a put/call volume ratio of 0.71. This ratio ranks near the top quartile of all readings taken in the previous year, suggesting traders have scooped up long puts over calls at a quicker-than-usual clip in recent months.
- Finally, RCII has plummeted 11.2% and now hovers near $25.81, following a disappointing second-quarter forecast last night, and subsequent price-target cut to $24 from $28 at Canaccord Genuity. From a longer-term perspective, the equity is off nearly 23% in 2014. This is good news for short sellers, though, as 17.2% of Rent-A-Center Inc's float is sold short (which would take nearly 18 sessions to buy back, at the stock's average daily trading volume). Looking forward, the company will officially report quarterly results after the close on Monday, July 21.


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- Products & Services
- Knowledge Base
"Graze Craze is on a rocket ship trajectory, and I'm honored to join the team to continue building the brand as a dominant leader in franchising." - Cory Hibbard, President of Graze Craze
WEST PALM BEACH, FL, December 13, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Graze Craze®, a charcuterie franchise pioneering the graze-style food category, announced today the appointment of Cory Hibbard as its new Brand President. Hibbard most recently served as Vice President of Operations for Transworld Business Advisors® (TBA) where he was integral in taking the brand from an emerging business brokerage franchise to the global leader in the space with over 350 locations, 700 brokers systemwide, and over $3 billion in active inventory. In his new role as President of Graze Craze, Hibbard will oversee the rapidly growing concept's operations and ongoing nationwide expansion.
Graze Craze is part of United Franchise Group™ (UFG), the global leader for entrepreneurs, where it has access to UFG's global network of resources and more than 35 years of franchising expertise. UFG began franchising the emerging concept just last year and has already opened 30 locations with 105 units in development. Graze Craze was previously led by UFG's Chief Operating Officer, Brady Lee, who served the brand in tandem with his role as COO. Hibbard joins Graze Craze in a fully designated position; Lee will continue his responsibilities as UFG's COO.
"Going into 2023, we wanted to have a dedicated president for Graze Craze to lead the brand through a pivotal period in its development, so we are so excited to have Cory join the team. He has been with UFG for eight years and was instrumental in the success of one of our fastest growing brands, Transworld Business Advisors," said Ray Titus, CEO of UFG. "Cory has proven himself to be a strong and capable business leader, and we couldn't think of anyone more fitting to come into this special brand and take it to new heights."
Cory Hibbard joined UFG in 2014 after graduating from Palm Beach Atlantic University where he now serves on the board for the Titus Center for Franchising. He spent the last seven and a half years of his eight-year tenure at UFG with Transworld Business Advisors where he fulfilled a variety of responsibilities during a significant period of growth for the brand. He served as a Franchise Support Manager and TBA's Director of Operations before being appointed as Vice President of Operations where he oversaw the support team, digital marketing initiatives, national accounts, franchise owner relations, and overall network success. Now, as President of Graze Craze, Hibbard's focus will be on driving unit sales and profits, expanding the brand's offerings, and leading the concept through another year of substantial growth.
"Graze Craze is on a rocket ship trajectory, achieving tremendous momentum in its first year of franchising. 2023 will be another year of explosive growth and I'm excited to leverage the skills I acquired taking Transworld Business Advisors through a period of remarkable growth and applying it to a new model," said Hibbard. "It's undoubtedly an exciting time for Graze Craze and I'm honored to join the team to continue building the brand as a dominant leader in not just the charcuterie space, but the franchising industry as a whole."
Charcuterie and graze-style dining have gained national popularity in recent years. Sales of charcuterie-based deli meats and charcuterie packaged snacks in the U.S. were over $950 million in 2020 and continue to grow at approximately 10% per year. The global processed meat market is currently valued at $585 million and is projected to increase to $619 million in 2023 and $737 million by 2026. In an increasingly competitive and saturated restaurant industry.
Graze Craze has carved out a defensible niche and is among the first concepts to successfully scale the unique dining style into a proven franchise model.
About Graze Craze
Graze Craze® is the leading franchise within the graze-style food category, offering an alternative experience to traditional dining options. At Graze Craze, in-store Grazologists™ curate hand-crafted, impeccably designed, sweet and savory picnic boxes and charcuterie boards, made with the highest quality ingredients and customized with perfection for every occasion. Originally founded in Oklahoma by US Air Force veteran, Kerry Sylvester, Graze Craze is now part of the United Franchise Group™ (UFG) family of award-winning affiliated brands and global leader for entrepreneurs. For more information about Graze Craze locations, menu, and commercial accounts visit www.GrazeCraze.com. For information on franchising opportunities, visit www.GrazeCrazeFranchise.com.
About United Franchise Group
Led by CEO Ray Titus, United Franchise Group™ (UFG) is home to an affiliated family of brands and consultants including Accurate Franchising Inc.™, Exit Factor™, FranchiseMart®, Fully Promoted®, Signarama®, Transworld Business Advisors®, and the Coworks™ division consisting of Franchise Real Estate™, Network Lead Exchange™ (NLX), Office Evolution® (OE) and Venture X® as well as a food division featuring Graze Craze® and The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill®. UFG affiliated brands include over 1600 franchises in more than 60 countries, with consultants that have helped develop over 350 brands into franchises, in over 80 countries with more than 2500 franchisees. With over three decades in the franchising industry United Franchise Group offers unprecedented leadership and solid business opportunities for entrepreneurs.
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Victoria Beckham talks to The Telegraph’s Fashion Director Lisa Armstrong about developing her new make-up line with Estee Lauder and the emphasis she placed on creating key must-have items that she would want in her own make-up bag.
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A 2,500-calorie burger has doctors worried that many may ignore the "made for sharing" sign on the packaging.
Pizza burger prompts warning from doctors
Burger King's pizza burger, a nine-inch bun stuffed full of six beef-burgers, pepperoni, cheese and pizza sauce, is cut into six pizza-style segments and is meant to allow "family and friends to share in the excitement of enjoying a single meal," said Yasser Abdel Azim, general manager of First Food Services, which operates Burger King outlets in the UAE.
"The limited time offer pizza burger is designed to be shared, as clearly communicated in our advertisements, and is sliced into six pieces before it is served," he said.
However, some doctors feel that the pizza burger could be easily consumed by a single person.
Dr Qazi Ahmed, a family doctor in Abu Dhabi, said the mere existence of such an item was "frightening", and he "shudders to think" of those people who will choose to eat the entire thing.
"This is a slow death, this kind of food," he said. "This is almost double the amount of calories needed by an adult for the entire day."
Hala abu Taha, a nutritionist at Right Bite, a nutrition, catering and personal dieting service, also said she has a category of patients that would not hesitate to eat the pizza burger in its entirety.
"They won't even realise they are doing it. They will take one more bite until they eat the entire. Burger King can take advantage of those kinds of people," she said.
The pizza burger alone contains 2,530 calories and 144g of fat - 59g of it saturated.
The Dh59 combo meal version of the pizza burger comes with three medium servings of fries, at 360 calories and 18g of fat per serving, and three 330ml cans of Coke, at 139 calories per can.
This combination suggests that three people can share a meal containing a whopping 4,027 calories and 198g of fat.
That is more than 1,300 calories per person - more than half of the recommended daily intake for an adult female.
That shared meal also packs 66g of fat per person, a hair over the recommended daily limit of 65g.
Without even touching the fries, anyone eating one-third of the burger would be consuming their daily limit of saturated fat in one hit. It is no less laden with salt. A third of a burger and large fries contain almost 1.8g of salt - more than the daily recommended limit of 1.6g.
The pizza burger went on sale 10 days ago and will be available for a limited period in the UAE. It is also available in Oman, and exclusively at the Burger King Whopper Bar in New York's Times Square.
But doctors were appalled that it should be released anywhere - never mind in a country where two people in three are overweight.
The promotion also coincides with the recent banning of junk food - including burgers and fries - in schools.
Even split into three, the huge portions are cause for concern, according to Leila Goharian, a registered dietician at the General Health Centre and a Right Bite nutritionist.
"Items that used to be actual meals are now becoming ingredients," she said.
"Burger King marketing is showing that the pizza is just an ingredient added to the burger, instead of both being meals on their own.
"At least it is being marketed as something to be shared, but it is still doubling the amount of protein, carbohydrate, fat and so on needed in one meal."
Food authorities said they were powerless to suggest amendments to the menus of fast food restaurants. Mohamed al Reyaysa, the communications director at the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, said there was little his department could do beyond making sure the burgers were prepared and served properly, with fresh ingredients.
"It is the role of the family and the parents to make sure that just because something is being promoted or advertised, it does not mean the children have to run out and try it," he said. "People have to use their common sense."
There was scant sign of that in Burger King outlets, however.
Musa al Nuaimi bought the combo meal for his wife and two sons, aged nine and 11, to share.
"Yes, it is a lot of food, but it is very tasty, we like it," he said.
Ahmed al Qutaimi, 27, said staff had asked him if others would be "enjoying the meal" with him when he bought his first pizza burger last week.
"I was told in a polite way that this is not just for one person and that they hope my friends will be eating with me," he said.
"I replied that of course I am going to share it - it is too much for one person to eat."
The facts2,530 calories in a Burger King pizza burger
144 grams of fat in pizza burger
65 grams of fat is the recommended daily limit
1.8 grams of salt in two slices of pizza burger and fries
1.6 grams of salt is the recommended daily limitBurger


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A new research report shows that MacBook shipments were up by 8% in Q1 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, even as overall global PC shipments were down 4.3%. Counterpoint Research’s report does not break out sales between the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
“Apple continued its success with the M1 MacBook series to see 8% YoY shipment growth in Q1 2022,” says Counterpoint Research in a press release, “which boosted its market share by 100 bps [Basis Points] YoY.”
In total, global shipments of all PCs, including Macs, were down 4.3% YoY in Q1 2022, meaning 78.7 million units were shipped. Lenovo remained the top seller with a 23.1% share, selling 18.2 million PCs, down 9.5% YoY.
HP saw a 16% YoY decline (due to weakening demand for Chromebooks) to a 20.2% share, or 15.9 million PCs sold. Dell saw a small increase in its sales to 13.8 million devices, compared to 13.6 in Q1 2021. Acer’s shipments declined by 1%.
Counterpoint Research says the overall drop in sales is due to component shortages and demand uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also says that its research shows that the gap between demand and supply is narrowing, “signaling an approaching end to supply tightness.”


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Not on Tap: Nebraska AD Bill Moos says Memorial Stadium won't see beer sales anytime soon
Several schools in the B1G have already made the leap to making beer and wine sales available to fans in general seating areas inside the stadium. Nebraska isn’t planning on moving that direction, however.
Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Moos recently told Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald that adding beer sales to the Memorial Stadium experience is not on the table right now. He does not expect that it will be something the school adopts anytime soon, either.
“That is not going to happen,” Moos said. “I’m not in charge of that, saying that will happen. That’s a decision above me. I do not see that happening in the future. What we want to make sure is, we have people in the stadium.
“That has to do more with their comfort, healthwise, than it does the amenities that could be offered.”
Beer and wine sales inside stadiums has been a way for some programs to generate extra revenue over the last few years, as well as improve the fan experience during games. It’s a policy that half of the B1G has already adopted, but Nebraska appears to be steering away from making that change.


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Austria's Baumax Might Withdraw from Bulgaria, Eastern Europe
Austrian "do-it-yourself" chain Baumax is mulling a pullback from Bulgaria and Eastern Europe, Austria's Die Presse newspaper reported.
Earlier, its founder Karl-Heinz Essl announced he was kicking off a sale of his artwork collection in a move aimed at raising funds to save his company.
Baumax representatives have however suggested that the revenues from the sale could cover the costs for "saving the company's Austrian business", but might not suffice even for closedowns of Eastern European branches.
Essl said in an interview cited by Die Presse that the business expansion in this part of Europe had not been made "in a justifiable way".
In Austia, Baumax has 66 branches and 4000 out of its total 9000 employees.
The company has had its presence in Bulgaria since 2008, expanding its business to TUrkey in 2010.
It has opened 8 branches in the country in 6 years of activity. Baumax ended 2012 at a net loss worth EUR 126 M.
The bad result was mostly due to Romanian (which registered a total EUR 26 M loss) and Turkish (EUR 14 M) branches, but all Eastern European countries, except Slovakia, also worsened the company's fiscal balance.
- » Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Expects New Governor of Bulgarian National Bank by end-April
- » Bulgarian Project Company for Oil Pipeline Burgas-Alexandroupolis Welcomes New CEO
- » Bulgaria’s Gross External Debt at EUR 39 B in end-January
- » Bulgaria Repays EUR 1.5 B Bridge Loan
- » Bulgaria’s Bromak Objects to Judges Due to Rule on Scrapping of KTB’s Licence
- » Metro Extension to Business Park Sofia to Open on 8 May


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Silicon Valley has become the epicenter of the nation's -- maybe even the world's -- economy. Over a few decades, life-altering products, gigantic companies, whole new industries, and billion-dollar fortunes have been created. That's not just heady stuff; it's unprecedented in the history of the planet. It's only natural that so much success will give rise to pie-eyed pronunciamentos and even boorish behavior by technorati -- and, in response, hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing by the itchy tech media corps.
|How Zuck met Oculus: Facebook's big bet on virtual reality|
|Samsung okayed Apple attack ads 2 days after Steve Jobs died|
|Automattic raising more than $100 million|
|Getting along at work: A primer on personal intelligence|
|How companies are using wearables in the workplace|


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Your daily briefing for podcasting and on-demand
June 28, 2017
A feature in Campaign about podcasting "transforming its image", focusing on acast.
Quite nice: what would podcasts look like if they were sold in stores? It's a graduate design project, but sales of USB keys containing podcasts have been quite successful in some markets.
The launch of a new podcasting company, AudiOhm, in Denver's RiNo neighbourhood. "The real backbone of audio is the story, and that’s what we focus on here".
AudioBoom claim 68% of its podcast listeners are listening to less radio - and highlight other statistics to denigrate radio.
The IAB release their own podcast study after talking to 20 podcast advertising companies. Coverage: US podcast revenue to nearly double this year, hitting US$220m.
Some screenshots from the new Apple Podcasts app. "They basically made it Apple Music for Podcasts. I love it," says a reply.
<< Where is Microsoft in podcasting? New hires for Midroll, and tips for journalists


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A new model is required to insulate the company from activist pressure
The backlash to Elon Musk’s Twitter deal did not not take long. Within days of his purchase IPG Megabrands — one of the four largest advertising companies — advised their clients to suspend advertising on the platform. In addition, Pfizer, General Motors and Volkswagen are among the other companies to have suspended paid adverts on the platform.
In 2021, advertising made up around 92% of Twitter’s total revenue. It is now clear, if it was ever in doubt, that for Musk’s vision for Twitter to succeed he will need to wean the company off its addiction to advertising money.
Musk’s first strategy has been to announce that Twitter will now sell its verification badges — commonly known as blue ticks — to users for a fee of $8 per month. Until now the verification process has remained shrouded in mystery. Twitter has the criteria laid out on its site, yet many users have found themselves rejected with no explanation despite meeting the explicit requirements of the verification process. It is not surprising, then, that only 0.2% of Twitter users are currently verified.
Can Musk plug the gap of falling advertising revenues by selling checkmarks? Let’s consider the numbers. Of the $5.08 billion of revenue generated by Twitter in 2021, around $4.67 billion was from advertising. Given that there are currently around 424,000 verified users, this means that Twitter would need to increase the number of verified users to around 48.68 million. In other words, 23% of Twitter users would need to become verified to replace advertising revenue. That’s a lot.
But perhaps we can be more modest in our assumptions. Twitter did not lose all its advertisers. Musk has said that it has taken a huge hit to its advertising revenues, although he has not specified a number. Since one of the four largest advertising firms recommended that their clients pull their ads, let’s assume that Twitter will lose around 25% of its advertising revenues.
In this case, Twitter would only need to increase the number of verified users from 424,000 to 12.2 million. This implies that around 6% of Twitter users would need to become verified to replace a 25% advertising revenue shortfall. That is still a very high number, but it is not outside the realm of possibility.
Yet it seems like selling blue ticks is only the beginning of Musk’s plans. In a short video released by the company, Musk and his team meditate on the idea of micropayments for paywalled content. Basically, the team are considering whether users might pay a small access fee — in the video they suggest ten cents — for access to a paywalled article at a major media publication.
While the idea is interesting in and of itself — it could have a profound impact on the online media ecosystem — it raises the larger question of whether Twitter might aim to become a payments app. If users needed to upload Twitter credits — ‘blue bucks’ or even ‘cluck bucks’, perhaps — then Twitter will probably need a banking licence. Were this to occur, it is not hard to imagine Twitter transitioning to become an integrated payments and social media app similar to WeChat.
This may be the direction Musk wants to take the company. It would also render Twitter completely resilient to attempts at blackballing it. In fact, if Musk were to turn Twitter into a Western WeChat, it could end up being Twitter that wields market power over other companies, not vice versa.


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Inpria Co-Developing Metal Oxide Resist with SK hynix to Reduce Complexity of Patterning for Next-Generation DRAM
JSR Corporation announced today acceleration of its co-development with SK hynix Inc. to apply Inpria, a JSR company’s Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) metal oxide resist (MOR) for manufacturing advanced DRAM chips. Inpria’s broadly-patented metal oxide photoresist platform for EUV enables customers to efficiently pattern advanced node device architectures.
Inpria material solutions provide the performance needed to significantly reduce the cost of EUV patterning and are compatible with proven processes and equipment configurations. Inpria’s MOR can be applied by a standard spin coating process.
“EUV manufacturing is complex and requires cutting-edge materials,” said BK Lee, head of R&D process at SK hynix. “Tin-oxide resists show promise to deliver both on performance and also on lower manufacturing cost for the next generation of state-of-the-art DRAM.”
“JSR’s technology has always been based on materials innovation,” said Tadahiro Suhara, Managing Officer at JSR. “We are committed to accelerating SK hynix’s technology roadmap by enabling efficient printing of the smallest features. The science is pioneering but so are the economics.”
EUV is already in use in commercial production in the most advanced lithography processes used in semiconductor manufacturing and, as the industry moves to smaller critical dimensions in chip manufacturing, its use is expected to increase substantially.
Inpria is the leader in metal oxide EUV resists and has achieved the world's highest resolution using EUV exposure systems. JSR acquired Inpria in 2021 and, as EUV adoption continues to increase, is investing in expanding production capabilities and customer support services for high volume manufacturing.
About JSR Corporation
JSR Corporation is a precision technology company that enables scientific advances and realizes their practical applications. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, JSR takes on the most demanding technological challenges as a global supplier to customers in leading-edge industries. Our products and services drive advances in the semiconductors that power our world, accelerate the development of new therapies for life-threatening illness, and much more. To learn more about how JSR is enriching societies around the world and enhancing quality of life, please visit www.jsr.co.jp.
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PCTEL, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCTI), a leading global provider of wireless technology solutions, today announced its new MultiFin configurable antenna for public safety, fleet management and intelligent transportation applications. The MultiFin 7-in-1 antenna offers a robust RF performance in a discreet, rugged low-profile shark fin design. Configurable and optimized for multiband applications, this antenna allows for easy integration with customers’ existing antenna systems. Mattias Hellgren, PCTEL’s Senior RF Engineer & Product Manager, commented, “Flexibility and adaptability are important to our customers. The new MultiFin antenna allows the simultaneous operation of customers’ existing radio networks (TETRA, TETRAPOL, DMR, P25), along with new LTE 4G and 5G networks and WiFi 6E applications. It is designed to support multi system solutions for diverse applications in public safety, mass transit, telematics, infotainment systems and fleet management. We are excited to offer our new antenna
ALL4PACK Emballage Paris – 21 to 24 November 2022: the leading international trade fair for all sustainable packaging and intralogistics solutions26.9.2022 10:00:00 CEST | Press release
The benchmark event at the end of the year (21-24 November 2022 - Paris Nord Villepinte, France), ALL4PACK Emballage Paris is the leading international trade fair for all sustainable packaging and intralogistics solutions, covering the whole production line, including machines. ALL4PACK is a source of inspiration, offering support to all industry stakeholders who are faced with ongoing and future challenges. Against this backdrop, the fair stands out by decoding market developments and regulations, and by showcasing the latest innovations. A new approach approved by exhibitors ALL4PACK Emballage Paris offers a complete range of packaging and machinery solutions for all types of industry. To date, 1,300 exhibitors are expected, of which about 50% are international exhibiters. In fact, 96% of the exhibition space has already been booked. Various leading companies such as ATLANTA STRETCH, AUER, BFR SYSTEMS, DOMINO, FILPACK, FRANPACK, FROMM, G.MONDINI, GETRA, GOGLIO, ISHIDA, KRONES, MARCHE
Adams Street Hires James Charalambides and Launches European Private Credit Strategy26.9.2022 10:00:00 CEST | Press release
Adams Street Partners, LLC, a private markets investment firm with $50 billion in assets under management, announced the launch of its Private Credit platform in Europe with the appointment of James Charalambides as Partner & Head of the European Private Credit team. Mr. Charalambides will be responsible for leading and managing the firm’s private credit-related efforts in Europe and supporting all aspects of the decision-making process – including sourcing, structuring, reviewing, and negotiating deal opportunities in this space. Mr. Charalambides will report to Bill Sacher, Partner & Head of Private Credit at Adams Street. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220926005177/en/ Adams Street Partners has announced the launch of its Private Credit platform in Europe with the appointment of James Charalambides as Partner & Head of the European Private Credit team. (Photo: Business Wire) Since launching its inaugural p
Guillaume Jesel Promoted to President, Global Brands, TOM FORD BEAUTY, BALMAIN BEAUTY and Luxury Business Development26.9.2022 09:00:00 CEST | Press release
Today, The Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) (“ELC”) announced that Guillaume Jesel has been promoted to President, Global Brands, TOM FORD BEAUTY, BALMAIN BEAUTY and Luxury Business Development, effective immediately. Guillaume will report to Jane Hertzmark Hudis, Executive Group President and also to Tracey T. Travis, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in her role of overseeing the company’s mergers and acquisitions strategy, for Guillaume’s Luxury Business Development responsibilities. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220926005235/en/ Guillaume Jesel has been promoted to President, Global Brands, TOM FORD BEAUTY, BALMAIN BEAUTY and Luxury Business Development (Photo: Business Wire) In this new position, Guillaume will continue to oversee TOM FORD BEAUTY and also be responsible for the overall strategic direction, global development, management and growth of BALMAIN BEAUTY. Guillaume will wo
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It’s not often someone actually benefits after catching a beatdown from the New York Police Department, but that’s just what happened in Leah McSweeney’s case. In fact, she benefited all the way to the six-figure bracket all …
Ladies, take note: The fashion industry aims to make yet another facet of your life uncomfortable with high-heeled shoes intended for wear while “roughing it.”
Monday’s links shake off the holiday weekend with Pee-Wee Herman and chats about God.
John Wayne, Queen Elizabeth II, Robin Hood, Ne-yo — all famous hat wearers NewsFeed probably wouldn’t ask (or risk asking) to take their hats off. Now Frederica Wilson wants to join this elite crowd.
The dress worn by Kate Middleton at a university fashion show, which is said to have sparked her romance with Prince William, could be worth £100,000 ($157,911). That ought to pay for the drinks at the wedding.
Is there nothing that Google won’t turn its hand to?
NewsFeed has a very European sensibility, dahling. That’s why we’re among the first news outlets to see renderings of John Galliano’s new Christmas tree at Claridge’s, the iconic Art Deco hotel in London.
“I’m trying to look like a cross between Keith Richards and a hobo. But like a really ridiculously hot hobo. Or like a sexy pirate.”
— KE$HA, talking to New York magazine about her outrageous fashion choices (via Vulture)
3-D technology just got a whole lot sexier.
Say what you will about Barack Obama’s efforts to reinvigorate the economy. Just don’t criticize Michelle.
Who needs SPF 50 when you’re wearing trousers?


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Jukin, Night Media Partner On NFT Video Service For Viral Social Media
Images of viral videos courtesy Jukin Media, Night Media)
Some of the most famous online videos in Internet history — including a dismissive Millennial saying “OK Boomer,” an addled post-dentist tween, and that New York rat dragging a slice of pizza down subway stairs — are headed to blockchain-backed collectible status.
Long-time viral video distributor Jukin Media has partnered with influencer management agency Night Media to launch Views, a service designed to help creators make and auction off NFTs based on their new and library content.
Views will auction videos that have been “minted,” or embedded, with non-fungible tokens that track their unique status, in a move to corner at least one sector of the emerging business of collectible art tied to unique digital identifiers.
Videos will come from FailArmy, Jukin’s heavily trafficked YouTube channel filled with viral clips, and famous videos such as David After Dentist, Pizza Rat and OK Boomer. Other clips in subsequent issues will come from talent in the Night Media stable, which includes stars such as MrBeast.
NFTs — non-fungible tokens — have become a white-hot sector among creators and artists hoping to use the blockchain-based technology to drive more revenue, exert more control of their creations, and even enjoy a cut of sales in secondary markets.
“YouTube videos such as David After Dentist, Pizza Rat, or OK Boomer are some of the most important pieces of internet history,” said Night Media President Ezra Cooperstein. “We envision Views will become the go-to NFT platform for creators and fans to celebrate these iconic videos.”
Privately held Jukin, based in Culver City, Calif., has acquired a deep library of more than 65,000 videos created by social-media users over the past decade. It in turn licenses those clips to many media outlets, monetizes the clips across social media, and creates linear programing built around some of the best of the material.
“Since our founding, Jukin Media has set out to give everyday video creators the power to monetize and protect their content,” said Jukin founder and CEO Jon Skogmo. “These viral videos represent some of the biggest cultural moments on the internet, and now Views will bring together multiple generations of creators for the industry’s next frontier.”
Night Media clients include MrBeast (Jimmy McDonald) who has built an audience of 60 million subscribers on YouTube, and generates more than 500 million views on his main channel there. His videos won’t be part of the initial drop of content on Views. Other clients include ZHC, Moriah Elizabeth, and Matt Stonie.
The heat around NFTs in social media hasn’t just been on YouTube or in discussion rooms on audio app Clubhouse, according to figures compiled by online-metrics company Tubular Labs. The top NFT-related videos on Twitter:
- Elon Musk: I’m selling this song about NFTs as an NFT (13.4 million views)
- Crypto.com: It’s Up! @boygeorge presents “YOUR TOKEN BOY” (9.2 million)
- Saturday Night Live: What the hell’s an NFT (3.5 million)
- Crypto.com: Sound On: Get Your Dogecoins ready! (3.3 million)
- Crypto.com: Own the Culture You Love. New NFTs from @Bosslogic dropping Friday (2.7 million)
Tubular also compiled the biggest NFT-related creators on Twitter. It’s worth noting that both billionaire Elon Musk and musician Grimes, Musk’s companion and mother of his child, are in the top five.
The Saturday Night Live video that popped into this list, is actually both a parody and crypto explainer video featuring cast members Pete Davidson and Chris Redd and hip hop star Jack Harlow. It also drew 2.8 million views on YouTube. Here’s the list of biggest NFT-related video creators:
- Crypto.com (18.0 million views, 21 videos)
- Elon Musk (13.4 million views, 1 video)
- Saturday Night Live (3.5 million views, 1 video)
- McDonald’s France (1.8 million views, 2 videos)
- Grimes (1.3 million views, 1 video)
On Monday, Donaldson separately announced an exclusive long-term deal with Current to create content for the fintech company and become one of its investors. Donaldson
Over the weekend, he posted on YouTube an offer to send $1 to each of the first 100,000 people who signed up for Current using his creator code. Other parts of the deal including merchandise drops, gifts to users and more. The company has created a reward points system that will allow users to acquire limited-edition clothing such as a MrBeast X Current hoodie .
Separately, Night Media recently launched a $20 million venture funds to back its creators’ investment initiatives.
… Read More
Originally published at https://www.forbes.com.


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Let’s pretend you are the CEO of Sears Holdings Group, in charge of Sears and Kmart stores nationwide. You are facing intense competition and are losing market share. We give you $101 million this quarter to use as you wish.
A.) Spend it on a killer ad campaign.
B.) Renovate your outdated stores.
C.) Give raises to your most valuable employees.
D.) Increase dividends to attract shareholders.
E.) Buy back your own company’s stock.
If you chose E, you win. Sears during the first quarter of 2011 spent $101 million to purchase 1.2 million shares of stock at an average price of $81.61.
The decision gains more importance given the events that unfolded the rest of the year, namely the announcement in December that the company needed to close up to 120 stores because its holiday sales didn’t measure up to last year. Think the local Sears manager wouldn’t have liked a few thousand dollars this year to help her compete with Wal-Mart or Home Depot?
The corporate stock repurchase programs need to go. They are a short-cut to boost earnings per share, give a quick jolt to the stock price, and, critics would say, inflate executives’ stock options. And they are a sign that management is fixated on meeting short-term earnings often at the expense of the long term.
Great for corporate executives, lousy for the economy. Sears isn’t the only culprit. The New York Times wrote this story in November, looking at health care companies Pfizer and Zimmer.
In the case of Sears it meant $101 million during the first quarter that didn’t go to a local ad agency, a local contractor, an unemployed worker needing a job, a retiree looking for dividend income. (That was only part of it. Sears also announced that quarter that it approved another $500 million for more stock buybacks).
Instead, it bought the stock of a struggling company. Its own. Sears stock is now $31.44. That $101 million is now worth about $40 million. And the economy braces for a double-whammy: More store closings.


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AT&T has entered into an agreement with Sprint to buy all of that company's 2.3 GHz WCS licenses in the Southern United States, a deal that will have to be approved by the FCC. According to FierceWireless, AT&T could be planning to use the spectrum to offer in-flight Wi-Fi service or it could be looking to bolster its LTE network.
AT&T has been buying WCS spectrum from competitors for years, and the deal with Sprint would net 19 different licenses if approved by the FCC. Terms of the deal haven't been disclosed, but Ma Bell spent US$600 million buying similar spectrum from NextWave in 2012.
AT&T has announced plans to use a combination of its LTE technology and unspecified spectrum to offer in-flight Wi-Fi service in late 2015. Currently, the company's LTE network is based on 700 MHz AWS spectrum, meaning that if this purchase was made to make iPhone calls better, it would require some changes to that network. AT&T remains the biggest iPhone carrier in the U.S.
The regulatory hurdles for the deal to be approved are not necessarily routine. FierceWireless noted that the deal would result in AT&T owning more spectrum in many markets than is allowed by the FCC's so-called spectrum screen.
That screen is intended to prevent one company from monopolizing spectrum in any given market, but this is the same FCC that is busily selling us out on Net Neutrality, so AT&T probably has little to worry about.
For its part, AT&T has preemptively argued that there is additional spectrum available for competitors in those markets.


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An Apple 1 computer sold at auction for £133,250 (US$213,600) at auction Tuesday afternoon in London. Auctioned by Christie’s, the Apple 1 was purchased by Italian businessman Marco Boglione who literally phoned his bid in, according to The Associated Press. On hand for the auction was the genius who designed it back in 1976, Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak.
The Woz was there to watch the proceedings, and he also promised to add an autographed letter to the lot that included the Apple 1. The AP reported that he felt the auction was “an historic moment for his work,” noting the three-rotor Enigma computer that also sold at the auction. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Enigma went for £67,250 ($106,144).
Apple 1 Lot from Christie’s
“Today my heart went out as I got to see things auctioned off like the Turing documents and the Enigma machine — and the Apple I,” Mr. Wozniak told reporters on hand for the event. “It really was an important step, (even though) I didn’t feel that way when I designed it. I’m very delighted for the gentleman who purchased it.”
The Apple 1 sold toward’s the high end of the £100,000-£150,000 the auction house expected it to fetch, a hefty premium over the $666.66 it sold for in 1976.
The winning bidder, Marco Boglione is, among other things, the founder and president of BasicNet SpA, a multinational based in Italy that runs a conglomeration of clothing based companies. Mr. Boglione got his start in the sports-branded clothing business, but the AP reported that his brother, who was present for the auction, said he bought the Apple 1 because he has always had a deep love for computers.


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Dieselgate: Blame game over Volkswagen's 830-mn-euro settlement offer
Consumer representatives and car giant Volkswagen each blamed the other Friday for a breakdown in talks over a settlement for 400,000 German customers in the firm's "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal.
VW shot first, saying around midday it had offered 830 million euros ($900 million) to consumer organisation VZBV, but that "disproportionate" fee demands from their lawyers had torpedoed the deal.
In a statement, the sprawling 12-brand group later said it would "offer customers registered as part of the mass lawsuit... the negotiated settlement without support from the VZBV".
For his part, VZBV director Klaus Mueller told reporters in Berlin that the talks "failed because of VW's lack of openness to enable a transparent, trustworthy and secure system" to actually pay out the cash.
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"We cannot in any way support a settlement that isn't trustworthy or that has impossible to predict consequences for consumers," he added.
The mass lawsuit is one of the biggest legal hangovers from VW's 2015 admission to fitting 11 million vehicles worldwide with software to make motors appear less polluting in regulatory tests than in real driving conditions.
While American diesel buyers have enjoyed generous buyback and compensation schemes, German drivers had so far gone uncompensated for the impact of the scandal, which has since spread to other carmakers.
Some 400,000 off them had rallied behind the VZBV in the first-of-its-kind grouped proceeding, which opened last September.
Around 70,000 individuals also have open claims against VW, while 55,000 cases have been settled or decided in court.
"We will continue the court case with all our strength," Mueller said, adding that "it's baffling to me that VW broke off talks in this way today."
- 30 billion euros -
So far the fallout from diesel cheating has cost VW more than 30 billion euros worldwide in legal costs, fines and compensation, most of it in the US.
A response from the authorities was slower to come and less painful in Germany, with VW and subsidiaries Audi and Porsche paying a total of 2.3 billion in fines in the group's home country.
Meanwhile the company's efforts to polish its image have prompted bosses to pivot sharply towards offering far more electric vehicles in the coming years than previously planned.
With any final settlement with German drivers likely a tiny fraction of the total costs of dieselgate so far, VW's shares were not punished on markets Friday.
The stock was trading down 0.7 percent at 171.32 euros in afternoon trading, against a DAX index of blue-chip shares up 0.1 percent.
As well as the car owners, investors have also launched mass lawsuits relating to "dieselgate".
They demand compensation for VW shares' loss in value immediately after the scandal broke.


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Ford Green-Lights ‘Massive Overtime’ to Keep Up With Ranger Pickup Truck Demand
The comeback of the popular nameplate has sparked huge initial sales, so Ford needs more trucks.
The new 2019 Ford Ranger is hitting dealerships now, and demand for the truck is high. It's so high, in fact, that Ford is ordering overtime at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne to help meet that demand.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday, Kumar Galhorta, president of Ford North America said that starting in February the plant "will be going into massive overtime." This is based on strong initial demand and people who have expressed interest in purchasing one at a dealership.
Galhorta also said that 300,000 people have indicated their plans of purchasing one of the new midsize trucks. Currently, the Ranger is built during one shift at the plant in Wayne, Michigan that used to build the Ford Focus and C-Max. Galhorta is also expecting first-month sales of the new Ranger to be around 1,200 units.
It's not surprising that people would be interested in the new Ranger. It's been out of production since 2011 in the United States and according to Automotive News, Ranger sales routinely topped 300,000 a year when the segment was popular. Declining demand caused the company to leave the segment, but an uptick in mid-size truck sales meant it was time for Ford to get back in the game.
Early reviews of the new truck seem to be positive, with praise being heaped on the 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine and the 10-speed automatic transmission. That praise, combined with pent up demand for a smaller truck from Ford, seems to be driving initial sales. It's good news for both the plant and the company.
The competition is fierce in this segment, though, and we're seeing a new Toyota Tacoma next week at the Chicago Auto Show. Together with the Chevrolet Colorado, it'll be an interesting battle to watch.


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HP Boasts Enormous Transistor Densities Gains with Nanowire Interconnects
January 17, 2007 1:42 AM
comment(s) - last by
New nanotechnology procedures from HP may become the norm for processor design as early as 2010
This article was first published on
HP Lab Researchers have created a new “field programmable nanowire interconnect" (FPNI) architecture, a variation on the FPGA technology, that could allow chip makers to place eight times the number of transistors currently possible on standard 45nm field programmable gate array, or FPGA, chips.
Stan Williams, an HP Senior Fellow and director,
said in a press statement
“As conventional chip electronics continue to shrink, Moore’s Law is on a collision course with the laws of physics. Excessive heating and defective device operation arise at the nanoscale. What we’ve been able to do is combine conventional CMOS technology with nanoscale switching devices in a hybrid circuit to increase effective transistor density, reduce power dissipation, and dramatically improve tolerance to defective devices.”
Current conventional FPGA chips use 80 to 90 percent of their CMOS for signal routing, leaving a relatively small portion for logic processing transistors. With the new FPNI approach, all logic operations will be performed in the CMOS (complementary metal oxide silicon) while most of the signal routing will take place in a nanoscale crossbar switch structure which will be placed on top of the CMOS.
The crossbar is connected to the CMOS using technology developed by Dmitri Strukov and Konstantin Likharev of Stony Brook University in New York. The new FPNI approach is said to have numerous benefits including the possibility of a much higher transistor count along with lower power consumption.
The first implementation of the new method, which uses 15-nanometer-wide crossbar wires combined with 45nm half-pitch CMOS on a conservative chip model, is said to be the equivalent of a three generation leap on the International Technology Roadmap for Silicon without having to shrink the transistors. Restating it, this means that applying the FPNI architecture using a 15nm crossbar on a current 45nm chip will allow 8 times as many transistors compared to using no crossbar. Researchers believe this model will be technologically possible by 2010.
A model based on 4.5nm-wide crossbar architecture combined with 45nm CMOS was also presented. The 4.5nm-wide crossbar would allow the same amount of transistors to be placed in a hybrid chip only 4 percent the size of a current 45nm chip. Snider and Williams believe it will be ready by 2020.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
RE: By 2020...
1/17/2007 10:07:36 AM
Hey, it got a rise out of you lot.
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Indraprastha Gas Ltd. key Products/Revenue Segments include Gas Natural which contributed Rs 5052.53 Crore to Sales Value (99.62 % of Total Sales) and Other Operating Revenue which contributed Rs 19.04 Crore to Sales Value (0.37 % of Total Sales)for the year ending 31-Mar-2018.
For the quarter ended 31-03-2019, the company has reported a Standalone sales of Rs 1542.64 Crore, up 2.27 % from last quarter Sales of Rs 1508.44 Crore and up 25.12 % from last year same quarter Sales of Rs 1232.93 Crore Company has reported net profit after tax of Rs 225.50 Crore in latest quarter. The company’s top management includes Dr.Akhilesh Kumar Ambasht, Mr.Arun Kumar Singh, Mr.Deepak Mishra, Mr.E S Ranganathan, Mr.Rajib Sekhar Sahoo, Mr.Rajiv Sikka, Mr.Ramesh Narain Misra, Mr.Satyabrata Bairagi, Mrs.Saroj Bala. Company has Walker Chandiok & Co. LLP as its auditoRs As on 31-03-2019, the company has a total of 700,000,800 shares outstanding.
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After QIA, yet another oil-rich Gulf sovereign fund, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), is looking to buy an additional stake in Mukesh Ambani’s retail empire. ADIA is seeking to invest $600 million into the organised retailing business of Asia's richest person, people aware of the developments told ET, at valuations that significantly exceed those during an earlier concluded round three years ago.Bigger Ecommerce Sales Set to Light up Volumes
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With Apple’s 2019 iPhones now only about two months away, we’re starting to see leaks of actual dummy models making their way into the hands of various Apple journalists and bloggers, offering an even more comprehensive peek at what the new iPhones are expected to look like.
YouTuber Marques Brownlee got his hands on dummy casts of all three of the expected new iPhones — the standard version, the “Max” version, and the “R” version — and has posted a video providing the most comprehensive look we’ve seen yet at the design of the new devices.
Unsurprisingly, the physical dimensions remain basically the same, which is what every report we’ve heard for the past several months has been saying.
However, the new camera bump design is shown in all of its glory, with the triple-lens system expected for the higher-end models, and a dual-camera setup for the “R” model.
These dummy casts also seem to confirm previous reports that the “R” model will gain the same square camera bump despite only sporting a dual-lens camera. It’s not clear whether this is merely for design consistency or to allow for better placement of the LED flash, which now appears to be positioned to one side of and equidistant to both lenses.
The dummies also don’t show any indication of the frosted glass design that was predicted by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo earlier this year, although that presumably wouldn’t be necessary on mockups used solely for cases. More significantly, however, the
Subsequent to Brownlee’s video, 9to5Mac’s Jeff Benjamin also got his hands on some dummy models from an unnamed source in China, and posted his own video walkthrough, adding that the square camera module isn’t as ugly or offensive as he had initially feared, and it stands to reason that users will quickly get used to the design, especially since most people use cases on their iPhones.
While it’s unclear as of yet where the dummy models have come from — they’re almost certainly not Apple sanctioned — the most likely source is case makers who have had mockups made in order to ensure that they have products ready for the new iPhones as soon as they launch. However, it’s impossible to know whether these were created using official dimensions supplied by Apple to its MFi partners, or whether they’ve been built using more speculative information.
Most case makers don’t get a lot of inside information from Apple prior to the release of a new iPhone, and many have also demonstrated that they’d rather risk putting out poor-fitting cases than miss the initial launch window for a new iPhone altogether. That said, while they don’t always get everything right — we still have a collection of early release cases from the summer of 2017 labelled for the “iPhone 7S” and “iPhone 7S Plus” along with “iPhone 8” cases that were actually designed for the iPhone X — they’ve usually been pretty close on the actual dimensions, so we’d say that these dummy models are likely to be at least reasonably accurate.
Other features rumoured for this year’s iPhone are the sort of things that we’re definitely not going to see in the physical design, such as indoor navigation and bidirectional wireless charging, and of course while the presence of a triple-lens camera system is obvious, the camera specs haven’t yet been confirmed and Apple likely has a few surprises up its sleeve in terms of how it will take advantage of the third camera lens.


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Downtown Pensacola Subway closes after 27 years, franchisee will look for new building
The Subway restaurant in downtown Pensacola closed Friday, ending a 27-year run on the corner of Palafox and East Romana streets.
Subway franchisee Jeff Leeds, who owns five other Subways in the area, told the News Journal Tuesday that the Joe Zarzaur-owned building space at 100 Palafox Place increased its rent by 50%. Leeds said that based on his understanding, rent was expected to continue to increase.
"The space kind of outgrew the Subway," Leeds said.
Leeds signed a one-year renewal with a four-year tenant option as the rent initially went up.
"The problem is the rent was going to go up $1 a square foot per year the next four years," Leeds explained. "So it was a business decision. We elected to not renew."
Also closed:Spyros’ Authentic Greek Restaurant and Bar closes on East Cervantes
Leeds added that the Subway is currently looking for a new location downtown and has had discussions with "two or three" property owners already. He expects the fast-food sandwich chain to find a new downtown home within the next six months.
"It is a sad day for us," Leeds said. "We've had so many people come by because, you know, realistically, we were on the lower scale as far as food pricing. Pensacola's become very expensive."
The Zarzaur Law Office did not immediately respond to the News Journal's request for comment. Leeds said that he understood Zarzaur planned to expand his law offices into the former Subway's space.
Jake Newby can be reached at email@example.com or 850-435-8538.


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REDMOND, Wash. – Nov. 15, 2011 – It's hard to believe, but 10 years ago today, Microsoft introduced the world to Xbox, noting that the gaming system was "erupting" on the scene. The gaming system set sales records, with 100,000 units per week shipping to retailers in the first weeks after its launch. According to NPD Group, Microsoft sold 1.5 million Xbox units in North America between the Nov. 15 launch and the end of calendar year 2001, making Xbox the best-selling video game console launch on record.
A decade later, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE and Kinect for Xbox 360 are hits around the world. Xbox LIVE currently has 35 million members worldwide who spend 2.1 billion hours a month on the service. Introduced a year ago, Kinect for Xbox 360 set a Guinness World Record as the fastest-selling consumer electronic device, selling 8 million units in 60 days.
Here are just some of the highlights from the past 10 years of Xbox.
A Decade of Epic – Next at Microsoft - Nov. 15, 2011


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Author : Zack
Date : Dec 05,2022
Court stated that NFTs are "unique digital assets" that "belong to the category of virtual property."
In a case where it had to confirm the legal characteristics of NFTs, the court stated that NFTs are "unique digital assets" that "belong to the category of virtual property."
Nonfungible Token (NFT) collections, according to a Chinese court in the city of Hangzhou, are online virtual properties that need to be protected by Chinese law.
A Dec. 5 post by cryptocurrency blogger Wu Blockchain discloses the favorable language for NFTs after the country started to crack down on cryptocurrencies in 2021, placing NFTs in a legal limbo. The article was published on Nov. 29 by the Hangzhou Internet Court, a specialized internet court.
According to the article's translation, NFTs "belong to network virtual property" and "should be protected by the laws of our country" since they "have the object characteristics of property rights such as value, scarcity, controllability, and tradability."
The court acknowledged that "Chinese laws currently do not clearly state" the "legal qualities of NFT digital collections," but concluded that it was necessary to "affirm the legal attributes of the NFT digital collection" in order to proceed with a case.
The court's ruling was presented in a case where two anonymous technology platform users sued the business after it refused to complete a sale and canceled their purchase of an NFT from a "flash sale" because the users' name and phone number were allegedly incorrect.
The court stated: "NFTs have the value of relevant intellectual property rights and condense the creator's original expression of art." NFTs are "unique digital assets produced on the blockchain based on the trust and consensus process between blockchain nodes," the statement continued.
Due to this, the court ruled that "NFT digital collections belong to the category of virtual property" and that the transaction in question is considered to be the "selling of digital goods through [the] internet," which is considered to be an e-commerce business and is "regulated by the 'E-commerce Law'".
It comes after the Shanghai High People's Court declared in a document published in May that despite the nation's ban on cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is similarly governed by property rights laws and regulations.
With its crypto ban, China has sought to keep NFTs apart from crypto by supporting the deployment of non-crypto NFTs paid for with fiat money through a government-backed blockchain project.
A joint statement issued in April by the China Banking Association, the China Internet Finance Association, and the Securities Association of China warned the public about the "hidden risks" of investing in NFTs. The government is still on guard to ensure that its populace does not engage in "NFT speculation."
There are other countries besides China that have property laws that apply to NFTs. In a case from October, a Singaporean High Court judge referred to existing property laws when he compared NFTs to tangible goods like fine wine or luxury watches, saying that "NFTs have emerged as a highly sought-after collectors' item."


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In a recent study, published in the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association, researchers discovered that many older Americans wear the wrong shoe size, possibly putting their health in jeopardy.
For the study, 440 people at an average age of 67 were tested. Only 25 percent of test subjects actually wore their proper shoe size. Moreover, individuals with foot ulceration or loss of sensation because of diabetes were five times more likely to wear poorly fitted shoes. More than 58 percent of subjects were diabetics.
Dr. Joel Disanti, a local podiatrist who was not involved in the study, said he wasn't surprised by the findings. He said that as people grow older, the arch on their foot can collapse, causing the foot to widen and elongate.
Disanti said he sees a few thousand patients each year. Of his patient base, 60 percent are elderly, he said.
"I see it all the time," he said of area residents wearing the wrong shoe size.
"They were one shoe size all their life, and they just go and continue to wear that shoe."
Incorrect footwear can lead to pressure on the nerve on top of the foot, blisters or ulcers, Disanti said. Foot ulcers in diabetics often take longer to heal when they wear the wrong shoe size and often are associated with high rates of amputation and mortality, according to the study.
Kay Manzanales, manager of shoes at Dillard's in Padre Staples Mall, said at least half of the women who come in insist they are a smaller shoe size than they actually are.
"For example, they will say they are a size 7 and when you measure their feet, they are a size 11 and still get a size 7," she said. "A lot of women do that."
Manzanales urges shoe shoppers - male or female - to always consider foot comfort.
Key findings from the American Podiatric Medical Association study indicate:
- Many older people wear the wrong shoe size.
- If you wear the wrong shoe size and are a diabetic, you are putting yourself at a greater risk for foot ulcers and amputation.
- The healing process of foot ulcers can cost as much as $45,000.
Need Help? Call us at 1-800-566-8098.
Monday-Friday: 6am-3pm / Saturday: 7am-11am / Sunday: 7am-11am


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1Advanced iPhone X Design Holds Spotlight at Steve Jobs Theater Debut
For the first time ever on Sept. 12, Apple hosted an iPhone unveiling at the Steve Jobs Theater inside its Apple Park headquarters where the mobile device maker’s latest high-end handset, the iPhone X held the spotlight. Apple also announced the new iPhone 8 line as expected and introduced the new Apple Watch Series 3. But with a fresh design, new screen technology the iPhone X might be the most impressive smartphone Apple has ever introduced. But with a high price tag and some real questions about how reliably its new Face ID technology, we’ll have to see how well it performs when people start using it. Read on to learn more about the new iPhone X, and why Apple is calling it the future not only of iPhones, but smartphone technology:
2iPhone X Has Revamped Design
Apple’s iPhone X has a completely revamped design. It has a glass finish and a polished stainless steel spine. Its screen nearly entirely covers its face, but there’s a notch at the top of the display that houses its front-facing camera, sensors, and other components. Apple’s display design means there’s no physical home button on the handset.
3A New Screen Technology
4Touch ID Is Dead
5Long Live Face ID
Apple’s Face ID is a face-scanning feature that will be used to verify access to the iPhone X’s software, as well as make payments via Apple Pay. Face ID scans a person’s face in 3D to ensure accuracy and has been bolstered to ensure photographs and even masks of people can’t fake it. Face ID will be activated when a person is looking directly at the screen and won’t unlock the display when the user’s attention is elsewhere.
6There’s Plenty of Processing Power Inside
Like the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, the iPhone X comes with Apple’s new A11 Bionic processor with 64-bit architecture. There’s also an embedded M11 motion coprocessor and a neural engine to handle complex tasks. Overall, Apple says that four cores inside the A11 Bionic are 70 percent faster than the A10 Fusion. Two cores are up to 25 percent faster. The smartphone’s graphics performance will also deliver a substantial upgrade over last year’s iPhone 7 models.
7The Rear Cameras Look Nice
Although much of the camera attention went to the front-facing lens in the iPhone X, the rear-facing cameras are equally impressive. They come with 12-megapixel sensors and both support optical image stabilization for better overall picture quality. The cameras should also deliver what Apple calls “studio-quality lighting effects” and offer impressive zoom capability. The cameras can also record video in 4K.
8This Smartphone Will Run iOS 11
No surprise here, but Apple has confirmed that the iPhone X will run on the company’s upcoming mobile operating system iOS 11. The operating system comes with several design enhancements and some improvements to how notifications are handled. Most importantly, the iPhone X version comes with some gesture modifications, like the ability to access multitasking features with a swipe-up gesture. Control Center is now accessible via a swipe-down gesture. That’s all due to the fact that iPhone X no long has a physical home button, which was used to quickly switch between apps.
9iPhone X Wireless Charging Supports Qi Standard
The iPhone X supports wireless charging via the Qi standard. That means the majority of third-party charging accessories available now should work just fine with Apple’s iPhone X. The handset will also support the Apple AirPower charging pad, which is slated to be released next year. Apple’s AirPower will support multiple Apple devices that can all be charged at the same time, including the Apple Watch Series 3 and AirPods wireless earbuds.
10Apple Stands by Face ID Reliability
With no fingerprint sensor offered in the iPhone X, some might be wondering how secure Apple’s new handset is. According to Apple, Touch ID could have been duped in 1 in 50,000 attempts. The company’s new Face ID, however, is duped in 1 in 1,000,000 fraudulent attempts. Apple has also bolstered iOS 11’s security for additional data protection.
11As Expected iPhone X Most Expensive Model Ever
As predicted, Apple’s iPhone X has a whopping $999 starting price. The 256GB model will set customers back $1,149. Those devices, then, are the most expensive iPhones ever offered. Apple will begin taking iPhone X pre-orders on Oct. 27 and will start selling the device on Nov. 3.


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Software Testing News Jul 2021 incl. Royal Navy testing autonomous tech
It is time for another round-up of software Testing News, Jul 2021. This month we have once again scoured through the articles released to bring you our top choices. There is a look at the future of autonomous software testing from Forbes. Interestingly, the Royal Navy are conducting tests on autonomous combat technology. Tesla too are busy testing a new software update – let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Autonomous software testing
This interesting read from Forbes looks at how autonomous testing has not quite delivered on its promise. The introduction of AI could change all that, however, as it seeks to replace logic developed by humans. AI and machine learning combined may well remove all manual aspects of the software testing process.
Royal Navy testing autonomous tech
Royal Marines were recently witnessed testing technology including reconnaissance drones and a self-driving boat. The use of autonomous tech in battle is seen as controversial and bans have been called on certain items. This article on softwaretestingnews.co.uk looks more closely at the recent tests. It goes on to describe how innovation in technology is causing a split between those who see it as the only way to move forwards, and those with continued concerns.
Tesla testing its FSD software
This article is also from softwaretestingnews.co.uk. It describes Tesla’s efforts to test its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta version 9 software. The company admitted that the latest update was unsafe for public roads, then stating it will be tested independently. The announcement demonstrates the importance of testing and of testing in the right way. Customer experience and user journeys, whether online or on the road, are crucial and must be at the forefront of your thinking.


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CHENNAI To ensure a plastic-free environment in the Koyambedu wholesale market, the Market Management Committee (MMC) has started a drive to create awareness against single use plastics and seize such packaging material.
On Saturday, a team inspected the shops in the flower market and seized single use plastic carry bags. The team said the single-use plastics were becoming rampant in the flower market and accounted for a big chunk of littered waste. Traders have been advised to use alternative material such as banana leaves, cloth bags and mantharai leaves.
“We advised retail vendors and trucks bringing flowers to the market from the neighbouring districts to shift to eco-friendly packaging material,” an official said. The team seized goods packed in plastic covers and imposed fines on five shops.
Similar drives would be conducted in vegetable and fruit markets in the Koyambedu complex.
The Koyambedu MMC and the Avvai Village Welfare Society had carried out an awareness campaign against the use of single use plastics and the need for alternatives. Cloth bags were distributed to the merchants as part of the drive earlier this month.
The Koyambedu MMC plans to seal shops who continue to use plastic material. It has been decided to set up 10-15 shops at the entrance of the flower market to sell cloth bags.
Traders’ association wanted the MMC to distribute cloth bags to traders and retailers to help spread awareness.


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The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has announced their inaugural participation at this year’s Singapore FinTech Festival, held from the 11th to the 15th of November 2019.
The fourth edition of the world’s largest financial technology event aims once again to set the stage for the international FinTech community to connect and co-create, in hopes of delivering a more inclusive and developed global FinTech ecosystem. The CBE’s participation is on par with national efforts to place Egypt on the map of prominent FinTech-focused countries in Africa & the Middle East, in line with the CBE’s nationwide digital transformation strategy for the finance sector.
The Central Bank of Egypt is having prominent presence during the event to promote the recently launched Central Bank of Egypt’s strategy key initiatives including FinTech Egypt portal; the first official FinTech platform in Egypt that provides a one-stop destination for all players of the local & regional FinTech arena, Regulatory Sandbox as well as FinTech Fund of Funds.
Stay tuned for more update on FinTech Egypt at the Singapore FinTech Festicval.
This year’s SFF will be defined by four underlying themes that will aim to empower the FinTech community, which are Sustainability, Finance & Tech, Future of Finance, Investment & Global Markets Opportunities and finally Exponential Technologies. We hope to see you there and we are looking forward to entertaining you while sharing knowledge about the thriving FinTech ecosystem in Egypt.
Register today at https://fintech-egypt.com/register
Central Bank of Egypt, CBE, FinTech Egypt, SGFinTechFest, SFF 2019, Singapore FinTech Festival 2019, Sustainability, Global Markets,


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François-Henry Bennahmias will leave the role next year
It’s confirmed. After longstanding rumours that Audemars Piguet CEO François-Henry Bennahmias would leave the Swiss watchmaker, the brand announced today that he’ll quit the post in 2023.
Bennahmias and Jasmine Audemars, chair of the company’s board of directors, confirmed his departure to the Swiss watch publication Le Temps.
By the time he steps down, Bennahmias will have been leading the company—with much success (just try getting a Royal Oak at retail)—for a decade. He became the interim CEO in 2012 and the position became permanent in 2013. He began his career at AP in 1994 and became the managing director of North America in 1999. In total, he has spent 25 years at Audemars Piguet.
Astrid Wendtlandt of MissTweed.com first reported the news of his potential departure in January of this year, but sources have told Robb Report the search for his replacement is well underway. (The company told Le Temps that it has been working with a head hunting firm for his replacement for over a year.) As for the impetus for the change, conflicts between board members—those that prefer a more traditional approach to the industry and those that favour a more forward-thinking track—may have something to do with the shakeup.
Bennahmias is known for his flamboyant approach to the business, often hobnobbing with celebrity brand ambassadors from LeBron James to Kevin Hart and Serena Williams and wearing sneakers, hoodies and sunglasses during large-scale press presentations. And it seems to have worked. Audemars Piguet is hotter than ever with Royal Oak models flying off shelves at retail, secondary-market models commanding multiple times over their retail price and countless celebrities (both paid and unpaid) wearing the references.
But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Bennahmias. The debut of the Code 11.59 collection, a series of watches meant to offset the frenzy for the Royal Oak which was dangerously becoming the company’s only sought-after reference, didn’t receive as warm a reception as the company had hoped although it continues to try and build on its production and marketing.
Nevertheless, Bennahmias’ impact can’t be underestimated. The company reached over US$1.6 billion in revenue last year and is the fourth-largest brand in sales (surpassing Patek Philippe) in Switzerland, which is no small feat. In a press presentation in January, Bennahmias noted that the company was also increasing its production this year from 45,000 to 50,000 watches. As a result, all eyes will be on Bennahmias to see where he lands next.
His parting gift? He promised in January that the company would set aside a “big chunk” of Royal Oaks—the model is celebrating its 50th anniversary—this year for new clients. Always the master of marketing to desire, however, he added that consideration as a new AP RO owner would require prospective clients to “create and develop a relationship with us,” which, of course, suggests he’s aiming to get more fresh faces in the boutiques whether they leave with a Royal Oak or not. “When you don’t know anyone you have to get known by our people and, eventually things happen,” he added.
How long “eventually” means, is anyone’s guess, but it’s more… or a lot more than a few months. For Bennahmias, however, we imagine it won’t take long for “things to happen.”
This story was first published on Robb Report USA


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Cognata Ltd. today announced that Alon Podhurst has joined the company as Vice President of Sales. In this position, Alon is responsible for the commercial leadership of Cognata, developing new business opportunities with key players within the autonomous vehicle ecosystem and creating customized solutions to meet customer needs.
Prior to joining Cognata, Alon served as Vice President of Sales at Windward, a maritime data and analytics company where he led the company’s sales team, developed new business opportunities and built key relationships with executive decision-makers. Prior to that Alon served as Vice President of Sales at Ecoppia, the world’s leading provider of autonomous, water-free cleaning technology for utility-scale solar installations. Alon held executive sales positions at Telmap, an Intel company that developed mobile location-based services, where he oversaw sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and with Comverse Technologies, Inc.
“Alon’s established record of facilitating long-term and fruitful business relationships with industry leaders and rapidly building and scaling commercial teams is a natural fit,” said Danny Atsmon, CEO of Cognata. “We are excited to be growing our executive team to meet customer demand, as Cognata rapidly expands its commercial partnerships with major players in the autonomous vehicle field.”
Cognata is transforming the world of autonomous vehicles, providing companies with simulated road tests to enable them to get self-driving vehicles to market faster — and safely. The company combines artificial intelligence, deep learning and computer vision in a simulation platform to enable autonomous vehicle developers to shave years off the costly process of road-testing. Cognata can recreate cities anywhere in the world, allowing a dramatically expanded range of testing scenarios beyond the current limited geographies, to the great benefit of any OEM and autonomous vehicle manufacturer.
“Joining the Cognata team as autonomous vehicles are rapidly becoming a reality all over the world provides me with the opportunity to make a lasting impact on this new industry and help get autonomous vehicles on the road faster,” said Alon Podhurst, Vice President of Sales of Cognata.
Cognata provides a fast lane to autonomous driving with its testing and evaluation solution for self-driving vehicles—a realistic automotive simulation platform where virtual cars travel virtual roads in virtual cities, all remarkably true to real-world conditions. Led by CEO Danny Atsmon, a widely respected expert in ADAS and deep learning, Cognata brings the disruptive potential of artificial intelligence, deep learning, and computer vision to the autonomous driving simulation world. Cognata’s simulated testing and evaluation environment shaves years off the validation time by generating fast, highly accurate results, and eliminates the safety concerns, high costs, and limited scalability of road-testing in the physical world. Cognata was founded in 2016 by a team of experts in deep learning, autonomous vehicles and computer vision. The company is headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, close to the Weizmann Institute of Science. For more information, visit https://www.cognata.com.


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The Future Of Banking And Blockchain In The UAE
Matt Blom, Global Head of Sales Trading at Diginex, gives an overview on the blockchain innovation in the UAE and the role digital currencies will play in the future.
Over the past four years, the UAE has successfully leveraged blockchain to help build its position as a fintech capital of the world. The banking sector, which is entirely reliant on transaction security, efficiency and accuracy, has been a key beneficiary of the speed, automation and immutability which is intrinsic to blockchain technology.
During the Middle East Banking Forum in Abu Dhabi November last year, it was announced that United Arab Emirates’ central bank will establish a Fintech office ‘in the near future’ to support financial innovation in the banking sector. This Fintech office would complement many of the important strides already being taken by the UAE central bank and individual banking players.
Blockchain Innovation In UAE Banking
Many DIFC and ADGM officials have been vocal about the benefits of blockchain for the banking sector. Essa Kazim, governor of DIFC, has commented that “Blockchain and digital currency are areas that the DIFC is evaluating with great interest and will certainly create new opportunities within the financial services sector.”
Successful blockchain-based banking projects launched in the UAE in recent years include Etisalat Digital’s launch of UAE Trade Connect (UTC) in June 2019. This brought together eight major UAE banks to apply blockchain as a verification layer to detect fraud in invoice financing. This project has already helped to uncover an estimated 3.75 million fraudulent transactions in the UAE annually, representing $435 million USD in potential losses. Emirates NBD leveraged blockchain to develop a wire fraud prevention system in March 2018. Under this system NBD witnessed a 99% reduction in cheque fraud and from January to November 2019, the project verified over 35 million cheques. Also in 2019, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) was the first bank in the UAE to run an end-to-end blockchain trade finance transaction with full document automation. In a press release, ABCD reported that this blockchain based system offered “corporate customers greater confidentiality, the ability to keep a closer tab on the flow of the goods and documentation, faster turnaround, and enhanced fraud prevention.”
Early this year six banks and licensing authorities in the UAE formed a consortium to support regulatory oversight of banks’ management and collection of KYC [known your customer] data. This will also enable more secure on-boarding, via the exchange of authenticated and digital customer data and documents through a blockchain network. Commenting on the announcement, which is credit positive for UAE Banks, Moody’s, the investor services/ credit rating body stated that “We expect the KYC blockchain consortium to support the asset quality of UAE banks primarily by reducing operational risk,” and that “This will ensure improved compliance with local and international KYC regulations while reducing the risk of data theft.”
“The platform will support regulatory oversight of banks’ collection and management of KYC data. We also expect it to help credit risk management with better data for client underwriting and debt collection,” Moody’s added.
Following this announcement, earlier this month, DIFC and Mashreq bank launched a blockchain data-sharing platform to expedite the opening of digital bank accounts. This will ‘support licensed businesses and corporates opening digital bank accounts instantly’. In a press release DIFC stated that they “took a strategic decision to harness this promising technology by focusing on a specific use case to enhance both the quality and integrity of corporate KYC information as well as quality of customer experience when opening a bank account”.
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) – The Next Horizon for Blockchain-based banking in the UAE
In the past few years there has been a wholesale shift by central banks into digital currencies, with northward of 50 nations actively exploring the concept, some rolling out pilots, and China’s central bank The People’s Bank of China recently filing 84 patents in relation to digital currencies. Indeed, a study by the Bank for International Settlements found that 80% of central banks are engaged in some form of CBDC work, with 10% expecting to issue their own within three years. This indicates that digital currencies are here to stay. There is little doubt the unveiling of Facebook’s digital currency Libra and its ability to potentially engage two billion people (representing a quarter of the world’s population) had caused central banks and regulators to sit up and take notice.
Acting well in advance of the Libra announcement, the UAE declared the commencement of work on a central bank digital currency, in partnership with Saudi Arabia. This project called ‘Aber’ will be restricted between a few banks and used for financial settlements between the two countries.
Commenting on this CBDC project, Essa Kazim, governor of DIFC, said “The new Aber digital currency pilot project is closely aligned with the UAE National Agenda and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, both of which will foster innovation in the respective countries and across the region”.
This sentiment was shared by Richard Teng, CEO, Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the ADGM, stating “A central bank-backed digital currency has the potential to transform financial services in the GCC in a way that promotes financial inclusion, engenders trust in a cashless economy, and makes cross-border financial transactions safer, faster and more cost-efficient,” in an interview with the National.
How the Rest of the World is looking at CBDCs
In line with the change in spending behaviour, research suggests that digital currencies have a positive impact on the economy through the simple fact that they are easier to spend. This in turn would provide central banks with more efficient ways of implementing monetary policy. The economist at The Bank of Canada, Mohammad R. Davood al Hosseini, believes that being able to accurately trace money flows on the blockchain and, as a result, being able to execute a more active monetary policy is perhaps one of the most significant selling points for a central bank digital currency. In addition, the ease of distribution and reduced cost of transactions would provide further efficiencies for central banks especially when transacting cross borders. FinTech in the developing world has focused on financial inclusion and demonstrated that through mobile payments the unbanked can be brought into the digital realm.
Central banks have options as to how they roll out digital currencies, and the plethora of published research, multiple pilots underway and a central bank digital currency policy-maker toolkit released at the World Economic Forum early this year highlight the importance of this shift. What has become abundantly clear is that if central banks are eventually going to have to embrace issuing money, at least in part, in a digital form. And with the expected rise in power of Libra, if central banks do not adapt in 2020 or the very near future, they will not be able to maintain full control for much longer.
While the Aber pilot will be limited to cross-border settlements in its initial phase, there is potential in the future for the UAE to expand into building a sovereign digital currency. That is, a complete substitute for physical Dirham which will be used by citizens as a mode of payment. This would allow for more rapid and secure cross-border financial transactions beyond the UAE and Saudi.
Furthermore, with the widespread use of CBDC, and a decrease in paper currency use, the UAE government could more closely control tax evasion, money laundering, counter terror financing and other illegal activities that are facilitated by paper currency.