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Period ended December 31, 2018
For the year ending December 31, 2018, the Matthews China Fund returned -21.42% (Investor Class), while its benchmark, the MSCI China Index returned -18.75%. For the fourth quarter of the year, the Fund returned -12.51% (Investor Class) versus -10.73% for the Index.
2018 was a challenging year for Chinese equity markets. Negative headlines of deteriorating U.S.—China relations amid the trade war plagued market confidence for much of the year. In addition, the reversal of a multiyear global quantitative easing program and worries of higher interest rates slowing global growth contributed to weak market performance. China faced both external and internal challenges in 2018. Externally, China was cautious in its response to managing difficult trade tensions with the U.S. Internally, China continued to work through deleveraging efforts in its banking system and held a tight rein on its property market. Weak domestic stock market performance also affected local sentiment. But despite these challenges, we have seen mild easing of economic stimulus and believe that China will refrain from rolling out any major stimulus. Rather, more targeted areas of stimulus—such as personal income tax cuts and support for its domestic private sector economy—appear to support China's longer-term interests, which are the strength of its domestic economy and a reduced reliance on the outside world for economic growth.
Performance Contributors and Detractors:
In 2018, the real estate and energy sectors performed well. China Resources Land and China Petroleum & Chemical (Sinopec) were two of the top contributors to the Fund's performance. China Resources Land, a leading integrated urban developer in China, has continued to achieve strong growth in both residential development sales and investment properties rentals—even in the face of macroeconomic headwinds. With an impressive balance sheet and quality assets, the company demonstrated its ability to withstand market turbulence. Sinopec, one of China's largest energy and chemical producers, also performed well, supported by its strong cash flow and generous dividend payouts.
On the other hand, our holdings in the consumer discretionary and communication services sectors were among the major detractors to the Fund's absolute performance for the year. Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, a joint-venture partner with BMW in China, suffered a sharp sell-off after the company announced it would sell its 25% stake in the BMW joint venture at a price well below investors' expectations. We believed that the company's share price dropped significantly below its business's intrinsic value, and we added further to our position. While internet services provider Tencent Holdings and e-commerce platform provider Alibaba Group were among the top detractors to the Fund's absolute return, they were relative contributors during the year as together they accounted for a much higher weighting in the index. We believed their leadership positions remained intact in their respective arenas, and the two companies continued to represent our largest portfolio positions.
Notable Portfolio Changes:
During the fourth quarter, we initiated a position in China International Travel Service, a leading duty-free operator with over 150 duty-free stores throughout China. With the country's middle class rising and tourism increasing, we believe the firm is a direct beneficiary of these secular growth trends. Duty-free stores on China's Hainan Island have been major profit contributors for the company. To boost domestic consumption, a recent government policy increased its duty-free shopping quota in Hainan from approximately US$2,335 (16,000 renminbi) to roughly US$4,380 (30,000 renminbi) and should enable the company to deliver strong growth.
Meanwhile, we exited our position in Han's Laser Technology Industry Group, China's largest laser equipment manufacturer, due to the company's large exposure to Apple and a significant slowdown in sales of Apple products. In addition, the trade conflicts between the U.S. and China caused additional uncertainty about the company's operation. We also sold our position in China Life Insurance, a state-owned life insurer, after the company delivered results below our expectations.
The global macroeconomic environment remains uncertain and many market participants are bracing for more volatile trading environments in the coming year. As we reflect on the performance of China's equity markets for 2018, we believe disconnects remain between stock performance and fundamentals. We continue to position our portfolio according to our long-term beliefs that China's domestic economy remains healthy, and that there are secular growth opportunities in both China's new and old economy sectors that stand to benefit from the rising levels of affluence among domestic consumers. In China today, for example, growth opportunities are rapidly shifting from coastal areas to inland cities. We have learned that consumers in many lower tier cities have reached affordability levels that can propel a repeat of the economic growth expansion witnessed in China's major cities about a decade ago. The development of China's new economy sectors is also framed around a transition to higher value-adding services and technological development. While the trade war may have tempered what were once more ambitious plans, we believe that this progression toward technological advancements has not been derailed, and that China's ambitions for further innovation will still gradually be achieved. Elsewhere in China's economy, we think that financial risks in the banking system have remained contained. We support the government's deleveraging efforts and continued supply-side reforms as these efforts would help lower risks and enhance efficiencies at its state-owned enterprises. As in previous years, we remain most cautious about the multiyear, meteoric rise of the property market in China. A recent loosening of what has been tight policies around property purchases and resales is something to monitor, and we would be highly cautious if there were meaningful relaxation of these policies.
Over the next year, we believe that China will continue negotiations with the U.S. and provide the concessions needed to repair any damage to consumer sentiment since tariffs on Chinese exports started to be imposed. It remains uncertain whether such concessions will be enough; we remain cautiously optimistic about some resolution as we believe that an extended trade war hurts everyone. It is unclear, though, how much time it will take to reach a positive outcome. We believe that China is also preparing for prolonged discussions. Unfortunately, these macroeconomic factors remain an overhang and may temporarily hinder the continuation of the strong corporate earnings growth environment we saw in China in 2017 and 2018. Given a confluence of negative headlines already reflected in prices, the risk-reward scenario remains particularly favorable given attractive, high single-digit valuations and an outlook that should increasingly improve.
As of 12/31/2018, the securities mentioned comprised the Matthews China Fund in the following percentages: China Resources Land, Ltd. 2.7%; China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. 0.9%; Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, Ltd. 1.5%; Tencent Holdings, Ltd. 10.6%; Alibaba Group Holding, Ltd. 10.3%; China International Travel Service Corp., Ltd. 2.0%. The Fund held no positions in Han's Laser Technology Industry Group Co., Ltd.; Apple Inc.; Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) or China Life Insurance Co., Ltd. Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to risk.


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Musical Mob Hits Target
Employees and customers of a West Seattle Target were caught by
surprise when a flashmob broke out in song all around them--complete with live band and spinning umbrellas--lamenting that "Target ain't people--so why should it be allowed to play around with our democracy...?"
The inspiration for the protest prank stemmed back to January, when the Supreme Court ruled that major corporations could spend unlimited money in public elections. Target, following this ruling, was revealed earlier this month to have donated $150,000 supporting a far-right wing Republican candidate with anti-gay values.
Self-described "net-roots subverting agency" Agit-Pop Communicationswas the group behind the Target musical flashmob. After hitting the web, their video of the event went viral- spreading rapidly through Facebook and various blogs. Youtube presently shows the video at over 800 thousand
Moveon.org has called for a full boycott of Target and has so far gained over 260,000 signatures calling for the mega retailer to stop donating to political campaigns.
In response to the negative reaction his donation had created, Target President and CEO Gregg Steinhafel issued an apology to his employees, stating the contribution was made "to support economic growth and job creation." Writing that he was "genuinely sorry" over the way the donation affected Target Leaders he continued, saying that Target would "begin a strategic review and analysis of our decision-making process for financial contributions in the public policy arena."
No response was given when asked by the Human Rights Campaign to make things right by donating $150,000 to a "pro-gay" candidate.

domain: news


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The redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro have entered mass production ahead of their rumored launch in late Q3 or early Q4 later this year.
The DigiTimes report claims that monthly shipments of the new MacBook Pro models are expected to reach as much as 800,000 units in November.
It is unlikely that Apple will unveil the new MacBook Pro models in September alongside the new iPhones. A probable October or November launch seems likely. The upcoming MacBook Pro models are expected to get a major redesign and feature a slimmer and flatter chassis design compared to the existing models.
Apple is also rumored to add a dedicated HDMI port and SD card slot on the new MacBook Pros. The new MacBook Pro models will be powered by Apple’s in-house M1X chipset, which should be a more powerful version of the M1 chip currently found inside the 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.
There are rumors of Apple using mini-LED displays on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. The mini-LED display panel will offer better brightness levels, contrast, colors, and viewing angles.
The M1X chip is rumored to feature up to 10 cores and a 16-core or 32-core GPU option. Apple is also working on a more powerful 10-core Mac mini with a 16-core GPU that could launch before the end of this year. The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro are rumored to mark the return of MagSafe charging as well.
With the iPhone 13 series not packing any major new changes this year, the redesigned MacBook Pro lineup should easily be among the major product launches from Apple this year. The company managed to set a new performance and efficiency benchmark with its M1-powered Macs last year, and this year, it is all set to raise that bar further.[Via DigiTimes]


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LG to take on Dyson with new wireless vacuum cleaners
LG Electronics unveiled three new premium wireless vacuum cleaners Monday, aiming to boost its global market presence.
The nation’s second-largest electronics maker showcased the stick-type vacuum cleaner A9, the robot cleaner R9 and the barrel-type device T9. LG Electronics said the new products will set a foothold for the company to become the leader in the global wireless vacuum cleaner market, which currently is led by the British enterprise Dyson.
“Though Dyson currently is No. 1 in the global wireless vacuum cleaner market, our new products provide improved performances and convenient usability and thus will help the company lay the foundation to become the world’s leader in this sector,” LG Electronics’ living appliance business Senior Vice President Ryu Jae-cheol said during a press conference in Seoul, Monday.
Citing global market researchers such as Euromonitor, LG Electronics estimated that the size of the global vacuum cleaner market reached $14 billion last year, with 30 percent of this generated from the wireless cleaner sector.
LG Electronics plans to introduce the A9 in Korea and roll it out in Taiwan, Russia and Australia this year. The R9 and the T9 will be released in Korea, Australia and in European countries in the latter half of the year. The company has released its wireless vacuum cleaners in 30 global markets including Australia, Taiwan, Spain, France and Russia.
LG Electronics pledged to take active marketing and premium pricing strategies in advanced markets such as North America.
“North America is the world’s largest vacuum cleaner market and is our priority target to introduce the new products,” LG Electronics’ home appliance & air solution division President Song Dae-hyun said. “We don’t plan to lower the prices of the new devices in overseas markets because they are premium products with our latest technologies.”
LG Electronics said the A9 will be priced between 890,000 won and 1.29 million won in Korea. The new stick-type vacuum cleaner has a smart inverter motor that rotates up to 115,000 times per minute, which is 16 times faster than a jet engine, the company said. It also has a high-efficiency particulate air filter and is capable of blocking dust emission by 99.9 percent. The A9’s detachable battery pack lasts up to 40 minutes.
During the showcase, the A9’s appearance was reminiscent of Dyson’s popular stick-type vacuum cleaners V6 and V8 series, with the motor and dust container in the upper part of the device.
Song said, however, “It is just a type of ordinary vacuum cleaner. It is not true that we made the product as it looks because we have been conscious of Dyson. All stick-type vacuum cleaners look alike because they are in the same product category.”
Meanwhile, LG Electronics hinted that it will gradually downsize its wired vacuum cleaner business to better focus on wireless products.


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Mad River Union
MCKINLEYVILLE – The new Grocery Outlet store will open in McKinleyville next week with a ribbon cutting on Thursday, Nov. 30 and a grand opening celebration on Saturday, Dec. 2.
Store owners Jesse and Rhonda Andriessen are opening the store at 1581 Central Ave. southeast of the intersection of Central Avenue and School Road.
The McKinleyville Chamber of Commerce will officiate a ribbon cutting ceremony at the store at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30. During the ceremony, the store will donate $500 in Grocery Outlet gift cards to the McKinleyville Family Resource Center and $500 in gift cards to Arcata House Partnership.
Lunch will be provided by Brett Shuler Fine Catering from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a $10 minimum purchase from the store.
The grand opening celebration is on Saturday, Dec. 2 from 7 a.m., to 10 p.m. The first 100 customers will receive 25 percent off coupons. The first 500 customers will receive free, eco-friendly reusable bags. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., $1 hot dogs and drink will be sold, with proceeds benefiting the McKinleyville Future Farmers of America.


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The luxury marketers must realize and understand that over the past 50 years, a quiet revolution has taken place in America. Decades of demographic, economic and social change have transformed the structure and composition of the American family. The pre-eminent family unit of the mid-20th century—mom, dad and the kids— is no longer the only definition of a family. A variety of new arrangements have emerged, giving rise to a broader and evolving definition of what constitutes a family.
The transformative trends of the past 50 years have led to a sharp decline in marriage. The findings of the new survey done by Pew Research Center in association with TIME with demographic and economic data from the U.S. Census Bureau are bad news for the luxury business. Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing, a boutique research firm that specializes in the affluent consumer market is conducting a webinar for Luxury Marketers, Retailers, Advertising Agencies and Investors on December 2 at noon e.s.t.
Marketing starts with understanding the consumer and understanding the consumer starts with demographics. Danziger will share the demographic characteristics of affluent households and how trends in the demographics of the population as a whole predict the future trajectory of affluence, during the webinar. The Luxury Tracking Study results will be analyzed for its impact on 2011 as well as projections through 2020. Subscription fee for the webinar is $249.


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Rihanna unseated Kim Kardashian and became the youngest woman who, under her own efforts and without being an heiress, has become a billionaire with an estate of 1,400 million dollars.
The 34-year-old singer and businesswoman thus joined the list of billionaire women made by Forbes magazine.
Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, she rose to number 21 on the annual list of women published by Forbes magazine, being the only one under 40 years old, since Kim, who has 1,800 million dollars, is 41 years old.
Rihanna and her estate
Rihanna’s wealth comes in part from earnings from her successful music career, but also from her three fashion and beauty companies: Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin, and Savage X Fenty (companies she owns between 30% and 50% of). of shares). Rihanna is the founder of Savage x Fenty, a lingerie line launched in 2018 and of which she owns 30%.
Following the success of her first collection celebrating LGBT+ pride, Rihanna’s lingerie brand revealed weeks ago her second Pride collection for 2022. This edition consists of four chapters, called “Forever Savage”, “Tagged by Savage”, “Carnival Mesh” and “Show Your Colors”.
“This campaign, which celebrates the vibrancy and diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community, is for everyone,” the company said of the campaign, which “authentically embraces your individuality.” The campaign stars models Honey Balenciaga, Plastique Tiara, Nikki Garza, Tomás Matos, Armiel Chandler, Xo…i Phan, Lilli Johnson and Shaheem Anderson.
Rihanna, fashion and beauty entrepreneur
Forbes highlights that Rihanna’s rise is undoubted. The singer’s perseverance has made her one of the most successful personalities on the artistic horizon, but also one of those with the most fortunes at the moment. What’s surprising at this point is that not only is Rihanna not touring, but her last album dates back to 2016.
Since giving birth to her first baby with artist A$AP Rocky on May 13, she has only been seen in public once. She did it last week during the Wireless London Rap Festival, which began last Friday and will end on Sunday the 10th at Finsbury Park in the British capital.
Based in Los Angeles and London, Rihanna managed to place 14 number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the third artist with the most songs in that position. Spotify awarded her the title of the most listened to female artist of all time
Rihanna’s successes include being named Billboard magazine’s “Digital Artist” of the 2000s, “Hot 100” Artist of the 2010s, and Top “Mainstream Artist” of the Past 20 Years.
At the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, the singer received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, a recognition given to musicians who have had a profound impact on the so-called “MTV culture” through their discography.
We wish to thank the author of this write-up for this remarkable material
Rihanna unseated Kim Kardashian on Forbes magazine’s list of millionaires


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Apple has found itself in yet another controversy as it was discovered that the company was essentially tracking iPhone users’ locations on their devices. It is quite astonishing that people are stunned when they find out their phone has been tracking them. Each and every one of these smart-phones uses GPS technology. So the capability has always been there. Besides, Apple is not the only company that uses this practice to collect more data on its customers.
Conspiracy theories aside, Apple and Google are probably gathering all this data to improve their services and provide more value to their customers. This type of data can be used for geo-location based services and things of that nature. The funny part is, Steve Jobs does not believe Apple is actually pushing it with its approach:
We don’t track anyone. The info circulating around is false,
said Steve Jobs in respond to an e-mail claiming that Motorola Droid does not track users unlike iPhone. Unfortunately for Mr. Jobs, not everyone is going to buy that. A federal lawsuit has already been filed against Apple over this issue:
We take issue specifically with the notion that Apple is now basically tracking people everywhere they go… If you are a federal marshal, you have to have a warrant to do this kind of thing, and Apple is doing it without one,
said Aaron Mayer, an attorney for the plaintiffs. The problem here is most other phones do some tracking too. People who want their money back over this issue will not have an easy time finding a smart-phone that does not do a bit of user tracking. A can of worms has been opened for Apple. It will be interesting to see how Google and Apple respond to the pressure coming their way from the government.


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Golden Tulip opens its first ever Tulip Residences
The Golden Tulip Hospitality Group has announced the launch of the first Tulip Residences worldwide. The new hotel, which has been named the Tulip Residences Copenhagen Centre, is – as the name suggests – located in the capital city of Denmark and is an 80-room extended stay hotel. According to the information provided, Golden Tulip is looking to set up 40 such Tulip Residences over the next four to five years.
Hans Kennedie, President and CEO of Golden Tulip Hospitality Group commented on the opening, saying, “It is with great excitement that we introduce the first Tulip Residences in Copenhagen, thus materialising the new brand in an international city. The new property confirms our dedication towards the expansion strategy in Scandinavia and makes the Golden Tulip brand portfolio more complete.”
The Lausanne-based Golden Tulip Hospitality Group is a global hospitality company with more than 780 hotels in over 50 countries. The Golden Tulip Hospitality Group franchises and manages hotels in Europe, the Middle East & Africa, the Asian Pacific Region and the Americas. (KBP)
Golden Tulip (UK)
» to the franchisor


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Consumer Reports accuses General Motors of selling defective Camaro keysOctober 8, 2019
An authoritative publication published an article stating that even several years after the last recall, General Motors continues to sell the same key, the design of which caused several defects at once.
So, in 2014, a revocation of the key was announced, which is used in models starting in 2010. Due to the unsuccessful design, the key was easily rotated in the lock if the driver touched it with his knees. At the same time, the engine could turn off while driving, at the same time the airbags and the power steering were turned off.
Consumer Reports notes that the manufacturer again revokes the same key, as one of the company’s employees found that they can still be purchased at General Motors as a spare part. Alternatively, you can find it from a supporter of suppliers. “It is outrageous that General Motors left its customers in danger more than 5 years after the recall. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration must understand the reason this was not detected or not reported before. If General Motors has violated the law, the NHTSA must impose a large fine to prevent similar actions in the future, ”the magazine notes.
General Motors notes that the company did not receive reports of accidents, injuries or loss of life due to defective keys.
- BMW is preparing to release the most expensive version of the M3 CS sedan
- 2022 Toyota Land Cruiser engine data revealed
- A prototype of a powerful coupe BMW M4 CSL was spotted on tests
- Renaissance Renault 4 patented in Europe
- Lamborghini will hybridize all of its cars by 2024


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Microsoft Security have issued a detailed report on a massive phishing-as-a-service operation named BulletProofLink that offered as a subscription all the tools needed to conduct a campaign. The phishing-as-a-service, or PHaaS, model differs from the phishing kits that many gangs have used in that it is more expansive and handles many of the small details that could befuddle a less tech-savvy attacker.
“It’s worth noting that some PhaaS groups may offer the whole deal – from template creation, hosting, and overall orchestration, making it an enticing business model for their clientele,” says the Microsoft 365 Defender Threat Intelligence Team. The breadth of services offered is the primary differentiator between kits and the subscription model. “At the time of this report, BulletProofLink continues to operate active phishing campaigns, with large volumes of redirections to their password-processing links from legitimate web hosting providers In the next section, we describe on such campaign,” Microsoft says.
BulletProofLink has been operating since 2018 under various names, including BulletProftLink and Anthrax, and maintains instructional sites on YouTube and Vimeo, Microsoft says.
The gang operates as a legitimate business, offering chat support and even a 10% discount for new customers. “BulletProofLink additionally hosts multiple sites, including an online store where they allow their customers to register, sign in, and advertise their hosted service for monthly subscriptions,” Microsoft says.
BulletProofLink offers clients more than 100 email templates from which to choose that sport well-known logos and brands for social engineering purposes, according to Microsoft. It says “clients” buy the pages, ship the emails and are in charge of collecting the stolen credentials, using either their landing pages or those provided by BulletProofLink. “The templates are designed to evade detection while successfully phishing for credentials, but may vary based on the individual purchasing party,” Microsoft says. “
The PHaaS provider makes sure each campaign has a different appearance but, Microsoft notes, the code, PHP password processing sites and the hosting infrastructure all correlate back to BulletProofLink. BulletProofLink offers a menu of services, all with a corresponding fe , and a monthly service subscription can cost $800, Microsoft says. Other services cost about $50 for a one-time hosting link, it adds.
Microsoft was able to dive deeply into BulletProofLink after it stumbled across a campaign while investigating a phishing attack.
The campaign Microsoft studied was notable, the company says, because it used more than 300,000 subdomains, a key indicator that a BulletProofLink phishing kit was in use. “An interesting aspect of the campaign that drew our attention was its use of a technique we call ‘infinite subdomain abuse,’ which happens when attackers compromise a website’s DNS or when a compromised site is configured with a DNS that allows wildcard subdomains,” Microsoft says.
“‘Infinite subdomains’ allow attackers to use a unique URL for each recipient while only having to purchase or compromise one domain for weeks on end.”


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VTB Bank has set up a credit limit of 4 billion roubles for Kristall Production Association. The company will use the funds to finance its current operations. Under the terms of the agreement, the company can be granted lines of credit for terms of up to one and two years in amounts corresponding to its stated needs.
Sergey Grigoryev, head of the Directorate for Cooperation with Major Clients of VTB Bank’s Northwestern Regional Centre, said: “Kristall Production Association has been our customer for more than 10 years and has proved to be a reliable partner with an impeccable credit history. The new facility is yet another confirmation of the productiveness of our cooperation.”


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Sony used its press conference at the 2013
International CES to unveil the Sony Xperia Z, it’s new flagship Android phone with 5″ full HD 1080p display. The Xperia Z was a beautiful device to look at, and is everything we’ve come to hope for in an Xperia superphone. This is the phone James Bond would be proud to call his own, rather than the Xperia TL touted in the Skyfall film a few months back.
Sony Xperia Z is expected to launch in Q1 2013, though no official carrier availability or firm timeframe has been announced, though Sony’s Xperia devices have launched exclusively thus far on AT&T, and we have no reason to suspect that will change with the Z.
The Xperia L boasts the following spec sheet:
This article was written by Anthony Domanico
Anthony is the Editor in Chief of Techgress, and a big mobile and gaming geek. He's covered mobile technology for the better part of three years, and gets excited about shiny, new things. He currently uses an iPhone, iPad Mini, and Nexus 7, but Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry devices are never too far away.


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By now, readers have heard plenty on the iPhone 4, revealed earlier today by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the Worldwide Developers Conference.
But what's the smartphone like hands on? USA TODAY's Ed Baig and Jefferson Graham share some of their impressions in Talking Tech.
Technology Live covers computers, electronics, and the Internet, with a focus on cutting-edge technology that has a real impact on your life. Our reporters and editors -- based in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, and Washington – offer news and tips to help you make the most of your digital domain. More about the team
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ABC Council embarks on a series of digital initiatives to support trade and industry
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council is putting its unique tourism credentials to the fore as part of a major digital programme to keep Armagh’s award-winning tourism offer at the forefront of people’s minds.
With travel paused for now, the Council is successfully reminding audiences at home and away of the city and region’s unrivalled appeal as a must-visit destination when travel resumes and restrictions ease.
It has also embarked on a series of initiatives to support a range of industry partners as the sector prepares to move to recovery mode.
Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, Cllr Mealla Campbell, said:
“Now recognised around the world for the iconic and historic Armagh City, abundant apple orchards, thriving artisan cider farms, a unique linen heritage, top class arts and visitor attractions and award-winning chefs, restaurants, cafes and bars, Armagh achieved great international tourism and acclaim.
“As we look to the future and the recovery to come, with the continued support and commitment of our industry partners and stakeholders, we want to rebuild that shared success and to deliver sustainable tourism growth when the time is right.
“Together, we stand ready to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
Capitalising on a surge in interest online for updates, stories and visual content for Ireland’s oldest city and the wider region, its tourism arm, Visit Armagh, is bringing visitors at home and away on an authentic virtual stroll, supported by a range of industry partners.
Keeping the #UntilWeTravelAgain message firmly alive as part of its plans for wider recovery, the Council has gone full-on digital, sharing videos and imagery from contributors that depict its remarkable history and heritage, arts and culture scene, as well as its beautiful countryside and unique tourism attractions. A series of podcasts are also in the pipeline.
Its new digital programme also features virtual tours and creative online events which feature a range of leading venues including FE McWilliam Gallery and Studio and The Market Place Theatre.
Thousands of visitors from across the world are already joining a legendary Celtic clan from the Navan Centre & Fort, at the online educational classes together with storytelling by fire, recounting some of the most famous legends from the Ulster Cycle.
Thousands of years of local history is also being brought home by one of the oldest museums on the island, Armagh County Museum, as part of an immersive online experience that brings its stunning virtual heritage exhibitions to homes across the world.
For those missing its famous immersive dome shows, Armagh Observatory & Planetarium is now bringing the moon to millions after launching a new interactive, augmented reality app previously used in the exhibition hall for everyone to try at home.
As part of its commitment to support business in sectors across the borough, the Council has also developed a series of bespoke training resources and online courses for tourism partners across a range of areas, including social media and videography.
It has also established new Tourism Trade Forum on its flagship Visit Armagh website, creating a collaborative voice for the local tourism and hospitality to share updates, news, views, and ideas.


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The time to innovate couldn't be any more pressing for the wireline telecom industry as traditional operators look to shut down 100-year-old TDM networks and transition to all-IP infrastructure. FierceTelecom profiles eight up-and-coming executives meeting the demands of a changing landscape.
The Q4 2013 earnings season has begun, and FierceTelecom is tracking how key players in the wireline telecom industry performed. Check here throughout the fourth-quarter reporting season for updates on providers, vendors and integrators in this segment.
FierceTelecom is counting down the story lines that shaped the telecom industry in 2013. From special access battles to new networking standards, find out what issues dominated the headlines.
Kenny Wyatt, president of CenturyLink's business division, says that what differentiates the telco from the pack is it can provide a full suite of services and solutions for any size business. Sean Buckley, senior editor of FierceTelecom, recently spoke with Wyatt about his first year on the job and his views on growing opportunities in the business services space.
POPULAR COMMENT THREADS
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson reiterated to investors this week how pleased the company is with the cost dynamics for its initial fiber to the home (FTTH) deployment in Austin, Texas, and said it is going to roll the service out in other markets this year.
Cincinnati is the latest city to lobby Google Fiber to be the next destination for its 1 Gbps fiber to the home (FTTH) service, reports WLWT News 5.
In the UK, a slow broadband connection could drive would-be buyers away from purchasing a new property, reports TechWeek Europe, citing a survey conducted by Rightmove, an online property portal.
Granite Telecommunications, a competitive provider focused on providing services to multi-location businesses in the United States and Canada, said it plans on participating in AT&T's upcoming TDM-to-IP trials.
Verizon is passing the leadership torch in its global wholesale division by promoting Eric Cevis as the unit's new president. Prior to his new role, he most recently served as the senior vice president of sales for Verizon's Americas wholesale sales unit.
AT&T continues to make progress fulfilling the tenets of its Project VIP initiative, announcing multi-billion dollar investments to expand both its consumer U-verse and business fiber service to more locations in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio.
From Our Sister Sites
Verizon launched a promotion called "double up," which is aimed at driving sales of FiOS triple-play bundles and smartphones that run on its 4G network.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is struggling to overhaul Sprint's corporate culture in an effort to make the nation's No. 3 wireless carrier more competitive against larger rivals AT&T Mobility and Verizon and upstart challenger T-Mobile US. According to a detailed profile of Son in the Wall Street Journal, the Japanese billionaire executive is holding repeated meetings with all levels of Sprint's management, both in-person and through video conferencing, and is working to instill a fast-paced, Silicon Valley-style attitude at what he sees as a staid, Kansas-based wireless operator.


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Jay Z launches Arrive to fund startups, offer branding support and more
from Tech Crunch
Jay Z's new venture capital firm Arrive, has arrived — the rap and business mogul has been planning the launch for a while, according to reports that surfaced in February, but a press release from parent company Roc Nation made it official recently. The investment platform will work with early-stage startups, and offer investment of capital as well as assistance with business development, branding and more to help those select companies flourish, per the official announcement.
7701 Las Colinas Blvd., Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063


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Caring hospice staff have issued an urged appeal for outdoor tables and chairs for the wedding of a bride given only a week to live.
Yesterday they made an appeal for catering which was later secured thanks to the generosity of supporters.
Most of the essential wedding items - including clothing, flowers, a cake and hair and make-up - have been sourced from generous contributors, with the help of Emma Wisely, who runs Leek Weddings helping terminally ill people tie the knot.
This afternoon the Dougie Mac took to Twitter to make an urgent appeal. In a Tweet they said: "This afternoon we are helping a patient and her partner get married at their home in Blurton.
"Would any businesses be able to help provide outdoor tables and chairs for 20 people at 4pm this afternoon? Delivery and collection would be required too."
Anyone who can help should contact Dougie Mac social worker Jackie Murray on 01782 344300 or 07795 528476.
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Mentioned in this articleTeams:Games:
Circle K Western Canada has announced a new promotion in collaboration with Overwatch League team the Vancouver Titans which will see Titans players featured on a limited run of souvenir cups.
@VancouverTitans @circlekwestcan bois out here representing pic.twitter.com/YLfokXqqHK
— Jacob Canale (@Jacob_Canale) August 9, 2019
Last month, the Titans also announced a giveaway in partnership with Circle K to send the winner to the Kit Kat Rivalry Weekend even in Los Angeles – the final homestand weekend for the 2019 OWL season. Circle K Western Canada is a branch of Circle K, a U.S.-based convenience store chain. The company expanded to Canda for the first time in 2017.
In April, fellow OWL team the Houston Outlaws secured its own regional partner, signing grocery store chain H-E-B as a jersey sponsor.


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And from carpoint.com.au:
Holden fast-tracks VF Commodore debut
Holden fast-tracks VF Commodore debut words - Bruce Newton
V8 Supercar test day prompts early February reveal for Holden’s production VF Commodore
The reveal of Holden’s vital new VF Commodore has been pulled forward into the first half of February.
motoring.com.au understands the move has been forced by the first public test of the new-generation VF-based V8Supercar scheduled for Sydney Motor Sport Park (Eastern Creek) on Saturday, February 16.
The category’s official public test will also host the debut of the 2013 Ford FG Falcon, Nissan Altima and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG V8Supercars built to new Car of the Future technical regulations.
The question is how many days before the 16th will Holden reveal the new Commodore?
Complications to consider include the unveiling of the Commodore-based Chevrolet SS, the reveal campaign for which started with the unveiling of the 2013 NASCAR.
Holden also has to give its V8Supercar teams space to conduct launch events to reveal their new cars. It is believed any team wanting to reveal new sponsors before the production VF is shown will have to use VE sheetmetal and digital imagery.
That’s a particularly important issue for the dominant Triple Eight team, which rolls over from Vodafone to Red Bull primary sponsorship in 2013.
An examination of Holden’s past Commodore launch practises could be instructive here. The VE was unveiled on a Sunday at an embargoed event in Melbourne in July 2006. The idea was to capitalise on a softer news day and high Sunday TV news ratings to give Holden’s locally developed ‘billion dollar baby’ maximum exposure.
Doing that again would mean launching on February 10, or maybe even February 3. Any earlier would probably impinge too much into holiday season.
While the reveal date has shifted forward, the plan for the VF’s roll-out continues to include a mid-May first drive for media and a June on-sale date.
In between the first look and its appearance in showrooms, motoring.com.au understands the Commodore will be subject to a staggered roll-out of its many new features – just as VE was.
Even though VF is not an all-new car, it will present a thorough upgrade of the VE in areas as diverse as fuel economy, driver assistance systems and connectivity, as well as interior and exterior styling.
You can also expect to see a slimmed down range, reflecting the reduced sales expectations for once-dominant locally built large cars.
The VF Commodore is expected to be the last significant update before production ceases around 2017 and it is replaced on the Elizabeth assembly line by a vehicle – expected to be an SUV – based on a global architecture.


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- American Express has teamed with former Teen Vogue Editor in Chief Elaine Welteroth to launch a podcast video series that highlights Black-owned small businesses.
- Welteroth hopes the podcast will educate viewers on how to support Black-owned businesses and why it is important to intentionally do so.
- Walter Frye, vice president of Global Brand Engagement at Amex, said the company has other plans to help support Black-owned businesses, especially as they've been disproportionately hit by the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.
- In a separate initiative last month, American Express created a $10 million grant program to support Black-owned businesses
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
American Express has been at the forefront of the corporations seeking to promote racial and gender equality, and it just added a millennial Black superstar to its group of initiatives.
The credit-card giant is teaming with former Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Elaine Welteroth, they exclusively told Business Insider, to launch "Built to Last," a new video podcast series that seeks to highlight Black-owned small businesses in the US.
The first series of six episodes is set to launch on October 27 on the major podcast platforms, including Spotify, and video podcast episodes will be available on American Express' YouTube Channel
Hosted by Welteroth, each episode will honor a contemporary Black entrepreneur including actress Issa Rae as well as Hannah Diop, cofounder of the clean beauty company Sienna Naturals, as well as a historical one who helped pave the way, such as beauty pioneers the Bronner Bros. and fashion designer Zelda Wynn Valdes.
Aside from her work at Teen Vogue, the 33-year-old Welteroth is known for her New York Times best-selling memoir "More Than Enough," which recounted her rise through the ranks of publishing to become the second Black editor-in-chief in Conde Nast history.
She told Business Insider that this podcast series will serve as a starting point on who and which businesses to support, but from there, she said she hopes people do their own research on which brands to support — and seek out alternatives for many of the brands they've already been using.
"I have to bring it back to the 15% pledge," Welteroth said, referring to the 15% pledge created by Black luxury designer Aurora James, which urges retailers to dedicate at least 15% of shelf space to Black brands. It has already been signed by Macy's, Sephora, Vogue, and Rent the Runway, Business Insider previously reported.
"This applies, as it relates to this project or to any business owner or to any consumer, who wants to be apart of sustaining change," she said. "You have to take accountability to do better."
Welteroth told Business Insider that the most important thing she wants people to get out of the podcast series is the realization that they need to be intentional about supporting black-owned businesses and be more thoughtful about how they spend their money, and to whom they give it.
It's all about, as Welteroth said, putting power behind the dollar and spending that dollar to help, especially, Black-owned businesses.
Black businesses continue to be economically disproportionately impacted by the pandemic
Welteroth said the podcast is just one of the conversations on race relations and inequality made possible by the George Floyd protests from earlier this summer.
"Unfortunately, it took the protests, the Black Lives Matter protests, over the summer to wake America up," Welteroth said. "It helped consumers see the role that they can play in dismantling systemic racism, just in the way they spend their money."
"This summer has woken a lot of people up to systemic injustice, and how it shows up in the systems we are all participating in," Welteroth said. "It's created this unprecedented desire to seek out and support black-owned businesses in a way I've never seen in my lifetime."
To be sure, polling since the summer has found that Americans still aren't entirely convinced that the recent increased focus on racial issues will result in actual policy changes to better address these issues. A Pew poll from October found that 48% believe the conversations since the protests will lead to policy changes, while 51% believe it won't.
Furthermore, 46% of those polled believe that this increased awareness won't improve anything for the Black community, and only 34% believe Americans have significantly changed the way they feel about race issues in his country.
Support for Black-owned small businesses is especially urgent, as the pandemic continues to disproportionately impact them.
CBS News previously reported that over 40% of Black-owned businesses have closed for good during the pandemic, compared to just 17% of white-owned businesses.
Both Welteroth and Walter Frye, vice president of Global Brand Engagement at American Express, said that while the landscape is tough right now for small businesses, Frye said "Black entrepreneurs are a powerful and resilient community."
Amex hopes to offer more services and tools to businesses that will help them navigate the challenges many are facing as the pandemic continues to sweep, Frye said.
Last month, the company announced a grant program that commits $10 million to help support Black-owned businesses over the next four years.
Black entrepreneurs that are still in business have also benefited from grassroots support. For instance, Yelp revealed that from May to July, it saw a 7,043% increase in searches for Black-owned businesses, compared to last year. People searched over 2.5 million times for Black-owned businesses, compared to around 35,000 searches last year, Business Insider's Irene Jiang previously reported.
"It's on all of us to make sure that it continues to be a priority to seek out and support, not just at this moment, but after the protests finish," Welteroth said. "We all have the opportunity to become ambassadors of Black brands."


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One dead, another 16 ill in kosher chicken salmonella outbreak
Raw chicken products eaten by customers of Empire Kosher Poultry, Inc., appear to be responsible for a deadly salmonella outbreak. A total of seventeen people have become ill, eight of which had to be hospitalized for their food poisoning symptoms. One of those who became ill has died from salmonella contamination.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that the salmonella outbreak related to raw chicken products produced by New York based Empire Kosher has sickened 17 people in New York (11), Pennsylvania (4), Maryland (1) and Virginia (1) as of August 27. One of the victims in New York died from the food poisoning.
The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert on August 24, out of an abundance of caution due to concerns about salmonella illnesses reported in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic United States that may be associated with raw chicken products. The alert was issued after FSIS was notified about multiple illnesses occurring from September 2017 to June 2018.
Empire Kosher raw chicken products have not been recalled. The CDC is not advising consumers to not eat the chicken; however, if it is consumed, it must be prepared according to food safety guidelines. Precautions should also be taken when handling raw chicken products, including thoroughly washing hands before and after touching the chicken and thoroughly cleaning any surface with which the raw chicken may have come in contact.
If you are a victim of the salmonella outbreak related to Empire Kosher Poultry, Inc., raw chicken products, please contact the food poisoning lawyers at 1-888-335-4901 to learn more about your legal options.


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StePac Launches Sustainable Packaging Strategy
Food waste is a global epidemic, with almost a third of all food and nearly half of all fresh produce wasted annually. Not only does this create an ethical crisis, with millions suffering food epravation around the world, but it creates an environmental crisis - food waste contributes to about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
StePac four pillared sustainability strategy for fresh produce packaging effectively mitigates the necessity of climate-positive plastic packaging, addressing the critical problem of food waste.
StePac believes in a four-pillar approach for lightening the environmental footprint of plastic packaging. The principles are straightforward:
- Only use plastic packaging if it is really needed and has a climate positive effect, i.e. it saves more carbon dioxide emissions than it creates.
- Keep it as lean as possible.
- Strive for mechanically recyclable packaging.
- Chemically recycling should be adopted for those functional films that cannot be replaced by mechanically recyclable alternatives and support a circular economy.
One of our key attributes is that we listen to our customers and are attentive to trends in fresh produce and packaging. This helps us understand where we should invest R&D efforts to develop new and exciting products that bring value to our customers and meet the market trends for more responsible and sustainable plastics.


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It’s been a while since virtual reality (VR) fans have heard from Ghost Machine, the developer of a wide range of titles such as Invasion Force and Warhawks. With VR head-mounted displays (HMDs) now starting to ship out to consumers, the studio will be looking to push some of its experiences into the spotlight. Today, the team is launching its latest title, Gumball Drift, which will be a part of the HTC Vive launch line-up when the kit finally starts to arrive on doorsteps tomorrow, 5th April 2016.
Gumball Drift costs £10.99 GBP and resembles a sort of RC car racing title, only with real vehicles and tracks. Described as an arcade racer, players will master corners on a wide range of tracks in competition with three other opponents. There are also plans to bring the project to both the Oculus Rift and Gear VR in the future. A trailer for the title can also be seen below.
“I’m really excited that we are able to be part of such a well orchestrated and amazing launch of such a ground breaking product as the HTC/Valve Vive.” commented Neal Nellans, CEO of Ghost Machine. “It’s been a pleasure to work with the great partners at HTC and Valve, and we are looking forward building many more games for their platform.”
Check back with VRFocus for more from Ghost Machine.


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Fish firm sees tuna exports of $100M
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Alliance select Food International Corp., is confident that is can grow its sales by more than a third for the year, as it works to expand market share overseas. Jonathan Dee, Alliance select president, said sales from exporting its products of mostly tuna and salmon to countries like the United States and Europe will be "in excess" of $100 million this year. "Certainly our exports will be in excess of $100 million (about P4.2 billion). We're hoping for a 30 to 35 percent increase (in sales), " Dee said.
Fish firm sees tuna exports of $100M. (2013. May 14). Malaya Business Insight, p. A2.
- Malaya
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
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June 23, 2016, on page A11)The Department of Agriculture (DA) celebrates its 118th Anniversary with its vital role in nation building more marked than ever. Mandated to promote agricultural and fisheries development and growth, the DA has been at ...
The new DA structure Reyes, Mary Ann LL. (The Philippine Star,
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Aquafeed project shows promise to improve income of farmers Ledesma, Rossea Hosillos (DailyGuardian,
June 9, 2021, on page 6-7)To help lower the price of fish amidst volatile food prices across the country, an international aquaculture research center is coming up with a new fish feed formulation that is cost-efficient and eco-friendly. Using ...


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EA has announced some blockbuster video games such as Star Wars Battlefront and more will be added to the EA Access vault later this year. EA announced on its official website that the EA Access Vault will be getting a lot of games. Several Arcade…..
Titanfall 2 has now been rated by the ESRB. It gives us a detailed account of the amount of violence that is to be featured in the full game. Titanfall 2 has been rated M for mature players. It is highly recommended the game is…..
An art book for Mass Effect Andromeda has now been listed over on Amazon. The art book will be published by Dark Horse and it’s out next year. The release date for the artbook is March 21st, 2017. There is only a hardcover version available…..
Titanfall 2 is coming out with a lot of merchandise and Amazon has now revealed a cool looking backpack. It has been made by OGIO and is officially licensed. Here is the official description: Travel in style with the Titanfall 2 Officially Licensed OGIO Backpack, designed…..
Respawn Entertainment is proud to announce today that Titanfall 2 has gone gold. The game is ready to be shipped in one month’s time. Respawn Entertainment’s Vince Zampella announced on Twitter: “Congrats to the #Titanfall2 team on going GOLD!” Main development is done so there should…..
While the last several months have given us plenty of Battlefield 1 footage that has left most very impressed for the full game, there is actually still a major component of the game that we haven’t seen yet. The game appears to be doing everything right…..
The ESRB has now rated Battlefield 1 giving us a few more details about the gameplay content. Not to mention it gives you the overall rating. The ESRB rated Battlefield 1 M for mature players over the age of 17. The content descriptors are for…..
A new special edition of Titanfall 2 has been announced and it includes a lot of cool extras that are sure to please many fans and serious collectors. EB Games New Zealand has just announced the Titanfall 2: Supply Pack. You can see the product…..
DICE has released update patch 1.10 for Star Wars Battlefront today. The update is to support the Death Star DLC which is out for Season Pass owners today. The new patch for Star Wars Battlefront is out today for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. You…..
EA and DICE have revealed a brand new trailer for the Star Wars Battlefront Death Star DLC. Not only that, but a release date was also announced. The Death Star DLC in Star Wars Battlefront will be coming to Season Pass owners first on September…..
Both EB Games Australia and New Zealand have announced a new edition for Battlefield 1. This new edition is being dubbed the “Supply Pack”. The Battlefield 1 Supply Pack is available to pre-order on both the websites of EB Games Australia and New Zealand. It…..
As you may know, the Battlefield 1 beta is underway for many gamers. EA has however noted that it is deploying an update to it which is making fans excited. The official Battlefield Twitter page tweeted out: “We’ll be deploying a BF1 update on all…..
In the age of remasters that we live in it seems like just about every last-generation game has gotten a double dip on current generation hardware, though there are still some big names that surprisingly haven’t joined in. One of the biggest has to be…..
Amazon has posted some information about the strategy guide that will be released for Watch Dogs 2. There’s both a standard and collector’s edition available for you to get. The Watch Dogs 2 strategy guide is being published by Prima Games and is 352 pages…..
One of the biggest mysteries in all of gaming is easily the Nintendo NX, which we are anxiously awaiting the grand reveal of hopefully in the next few months, especially with it currently slated for release in early 2017. One of the biggest questions will…..
Battlefield 1 is set to deliver one of the most visceral Battlefield experiences yet as it brings the series to World War 1, and now we’ve got a new video to check out that zeros in on the game’s vehicles. While we’ve seen all of…..
Battlefield 1 is set to be getting a beta soon, and as we get closer and closer we’re starting to learn more information regarding what’s in store for us. The game is expected to have a big presence at next week’s Gamescom, where we’re likely…..
While PC gamers are very accustomed to the process of occasionally upgrading their rigs in order to be able to play the latest games at the highest levels, it’s not something that gets tossed around all that much with console gaming. Sure, we’ll get slimmer…..
Even though Star Wars Battlefront may not have been a game full of a lot of content at launch, the game sold millions of copies worldwide and is still played by lots of gamers today. EA’s CEO, Andrew Wilson, announced at the company’s recent financial…..
EA’s two biggest games in the Fall 2016 season will be Titanfall 2 and Battlefield 1. Despite both games being roughly out around the same time, EA expects them to sell very well. EA held its recent financial earnings call and the company’s CFO, Blake…..
If you haven’t checked out Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 yet then EA has some good news for you, as they have announced that they will be running a free trial event for the game. The free trial event will be for the PlayStation…..
The Road to Battlefield celebration marches on, and while it’s finally nearing its end there’s still some great DLC for everyone to pick up for free. The latest one is China Rising, which was originally released for Battlefield 4 in December of 2013. EA has…..
You may have heard of a developer wanting to make a game based off of the cancelled Star Wars Battlefront 3. Sadly, the game has somewhat been cancelled as they can no longer use Star Wars vehicles/characters. Frontwire Studios posted a huge update on the…..
EA has been getting everyone back into the Battlefield mood by periodically giving away DLC from both Battlefield 4 and Battlefield Harldine for free, and that trend continues today. The company has made the Battlefield 4 DLC Naval Strike available to download for free on…..
The Star Wars Celebration Europe event occurred over the weekend and some small news was revealed about the video game that Visceral have been working on. The game’s writer, Amy Hennig, explained in a little more detail on what the game is going to include……
Battlefield 1 has been anticipated by million of gamers worldwide and many are wanting to know when they can play it. It looks like a beta will be available very soon. EA recently held a Q&A session with the German Community Manager on Twitch. A…..
While the original Mirror’s Edge became something of a cult classic when it launched back in 2008, the recent reboot of the game called Mirror’s Edge Catalyst was not as warmly received. However, despite the less amount of enthusiasm for the new take on the…..
Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 will be getting a second part to its Trouble in Zombopolis add-on content, and now the developers have detailed what the DLC will contain. Creative director of Garden Warfare 2, Justin Wiebe, said the following: “There are several new…..
There is currently a closed alpha that is underway for EA and DICE’s Battlefield 1, though not as many people have been able to get into it as was originally suggested. EA has now shared some insights into this closed alpha, and their intention to…..
It appears Star Wars Battlefront’s Death Star DLC will be revealed next month during the Star Wars Celebration Europe event. The official website initially had a listing confirming the attendance of EA at Star Wars Celebration Europe. The listing confirmed that the Death Star DLC…..
Star Wars Battlefront 2 (or whatever it will be called) won’t be out until late 2017. Amazon UK has jumped the gun and already put up a listing for it. Not only has a listing been created for Star Wars Battlefront 2, but you can…..


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In preparation for the upcoming Bitcoin halving, the Texas-based crypto Miner Giga Energy has revealed plans to expand to Argentina.
The 2024 Bitcoin halving and the growing adoption of blockchain has renewed the hype for crypto assets among retail and
With the ongoing development in the tech industry, key players are projecting an increase in power usage in the artificial
Paraguay’s Senate authorized legislation over last week to regulate Bitcoin. That comes as the Latin American country hopes to be
Regulators in Ukraine and Russia have closed several illegal cryptocurrency mining farms allegedly utilizing stolen electricity. They located the underground
Crypto mining is a popular activity in the digital sector nowadays. Users want to utilize the process of obtaining new


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Starting a new business always involves a bit of legal risk. But that risk is multiplied when starting an e-business, according to Allan Weeks, a partner with the ventures and intellectual practice group of Shipman & Goodwin.
Take trademarks or service marks. A new brick-and-mortar business faces a smaller risk of infringing on someone else's mark than an Internet business does, Weeks says, because a brick-and-mortar business typically doesn't "start out day one as a global business." But when a Web site launches, it is open to the world, which increases the chances of trademark or servicemark infringement--and increases the potential damages if the infringement takes customers away from the mark holder. "The more successful you become, the higher the risk you incur of infringing on somebody and the greater the potential damage," Weeks says. And beyond damages, a mark infringer will find that all the time, money, and effort sunk into establishing an online brand will have been for naught.
The best way to avoid this problem is to do at least a minimal search to make sure that your snappy new web logo or name does not infringe on anyone else's trademarks or service marks, Weeks says. Companies should also do periodic searches to make sure their marks are not being used improperly by other web businesses.
A Web site's instant global presence has other legal ramifications. Sites that plan to sell items overseas need to comply with existing import and customs regulations, says Weeks. They may also find themselves subject to other laws concerning online content; countries in the European Union, for example, have adopted strict online privacy laws. The chances of another country seeking to enforce its online content laws are slim if the offending web business only has operations in the US; large corporations with physical activities or a large web presence in other countries are more likely to be targets of enforcement.
Closer to home, legal landmines also abound in dealings with freelance web developers. Unless a contract articulates that a developer's work will be owned by the person who pays for it, the developer will own the work, Weeks says. What parts of the site should a company seek to own, and what parts can it afford to license? It should seek to own the site's look and feel, plus specific text, music, videos, or graphics on the site. But often, developers write back-end code -- such as the workings behind an online shopping cart system -- that they plan to use with several clients, and they will not relinquish ownership of it. If that's the case, the contract should spell out licensing terms, including what kinds of future modifications can be made to the code and what happens if the licensee decides to perform those modifications in house or hire another web design firm to do them.
Contracts with ISPs should spell out the site's availability and the number of simultaneous users it can accommodate--and spell out specific penalties and payback if it does not meet these goals. No one expects a Web site to be up 100 per cent of the time, Weeks says. But for a site that will truly be getting customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it is not unreasonable to demand 99 per cent-plus uptime from your ISP.


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AJ Crimson, a makeup artist and beauty entrepreneur with a massive following on Instagram, has tragically died at the age of 27
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Beauty influencer and social media star AJ Crimson has tragically died at the age of 27.
The entrepreneur and celebrity makeup artist had a huge following on Instagram, with many of his 110,000 followers leaving heartbreaking messages in his most recent post following news of his death.
The US convention The Makeup Show wrote: “A bright light has gone out. We were just talking about his @themakeupshow NYC keynote today. AJ Crimson, you have made this makeup family, industry and world a better place with your talent and authenticity. It will never be the same.”
AJ, who hails from Detroit, Michigan, last posted on Instagram six days ago, sharing a demonstration video for one of his new products.
X Factor winner Alexandra Burke was among those sharing her devastation, captioning the video, “Heartbroken.”
Hair technician Tym Wallace added, “I just can’t believe this man…I love you AJ!!!”
Photographer and celebrity makeup artist D’Andre Michael wrote: “You did well and had sooo much more to do. We will miss you dearly and honor your legacy and keep it alive… spread your wings angels.”
“I’m speechless,” wrote another follower.
While one wrote: “Rest in peace my prayers with your family”.
A cause of death has not yet been officially confirmed.
AJ was known and respected in the showbiz industry for his makeup work on numerous celebrities.
During his career he has worked with a number of big stars including Fergie, Hilary Duff and Christina Milian.
He’d built his career all by himself, and his website AJ Crimson Beauty described him as a “beauty industry rock star, entrepreneur, self-taught celebrity makeup artist, and beauty and lifestyle expert.”
AJ was popular with his Instagram followers, who loved watching his tutorial videos and seeing snippets of him celebrating his success with the lavish lifestyle he worked hard to achieve.
He recently shared a video of himself placing bags of designer goodies on a table and dancing around it.
He had shopped at Versace, Fendi and Prada.
AJ captioned the clip: “A little detail therapy… (it’s in the details)
“I rarely make any dope for myself. I’m usually pretty conservative and always reinvest my resources back into my brands and businesses.
“However, it is becoming more and more important that I celebrate myself. Today the Miami sun was shining, my energy was vibrant and I decided to do something great for myself.
“I deserve it. Treat yourself, there’s no point in working so hard and not enjoying yourself.”
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/breaking-aj-crimson-dead-tributes-26603194 AJ Crimson dead: Beauty influencer and celebrity makeup artist dies aged 27


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In March 2020, bongo flava icon Diamond Platnumz was hailed for reaching the 900 million views mark on YouTube soon after releasing Jeje. Three months later in June, the singer’s record producers surprised a bare-chested Diamond at his home with a cake; he’d made history by becoming the first sub-Saharan African musician to reach one billion YouTube views.
Not long after, Diamond became the first East African musician to reach 100 million views on a single song with Yope Remix originally done by Afro-Congo musician Innoss’B. With most of his views coming from Kenya, the musician’s hard work and showmanship seem to have paid off as Kenyan audiences can’t seem to get enough of him. It was a long journey for the ‘Boy from Tandale’ who joined the platform in 2011 and has popularized bongo flava music for a decade. But what do the billion views translate into for Diamond?
How YouTube revenue is earned
While earning from the platform is easy, making a lot of money can be a challenge because for a creator to make money out of YouTube, then the platform’s parent company Google must be also be making a buck from the content. Like many other Google platforms, YouTube earns most of it revenue through advertisements which vary from directly embedding ads on videos (skippable and non-skippable) to promoting featured content. Advertisers pay Google each time a visitor clicks on an ad, with the price of a click varying from tens of shillings to over Sh5,000 for competitive ad segments such as financial services.
To start earning from YouTube, a creator must first open a YouTube account and turn on monetization. YouTube payments are made through a Google AdSense account which must be connected with the YouTube account. Once a creator accumulates at least Sh10,000 in earnings, Google issues payment to the bank account. There is a 45/55 split of YouTube advertising revenue where Google keeps 45 percent and content creators get the remaining 55 percent. But that’s not the only way content creators earn through YouTube as they can also partner with sponsors who directly pay them for product placement on videos.
According to The Outline, a high view count carries with it an air of legitimacy, approval from both YouTube and its users alike. It’s what content creators are supposed to strive for.
Locally, Kenyan creators, influencers and artists are pushing for more views on their channels and using the said audience in negotiation with would-be direct clients. A more lucrative venture without YouTube dipping in their stash for 45 per cent.
Buying YouTube views
However, not all content creators wait for users to view their content. The issue of buying views has plagued YouTube and other streaming websites just as fake accounts have affected many social media companies. This phenomena was aptly addressed by award-winning rapper J. Cole in 21 Savage’s Grammy-winning hit A Lot in which he raps: “Question, how many faking they streams? (A lot) / Getting they plays from machines (A lot) / I can see behind the smoke and mirrors / Ni**** ain’t really big as they seem (Hmm).”
READ ALSO: Four popular Kenyan YouTube channels
According to a 2018 report by the New York Times, buying views is a rampant practice in the music industry. The report exposed the business of selling views on YouTube as being lucrative; a website owner interviewed sold 15 million views and reportedly made a tidy Sh20 million.
The business of buying fake views is not just limited to individuals desperate to be visible. Big content companies are paying for it too. In 2012, major music recording companies Sony and Universal records were stripped of 2 billion YouTube views after they were flagged as dead or fake views.
So, how do they do it?
It’s simple, fake YouTube views are achieved by using bots, which are computer programs designed to behave like humans. There is a legion of service providers on the internet who will, using software, will help you achieve that enviable number of views. This also applies to streaming services where they use view botting to increase the number of views on a live stream.
BBC's Newsbeat found that you can buy 10,000 video views for a mere 30 dollars.
In the Kenyan entertainment scene, top talents have in the past been accused of buying YouTube views to seem more popular and outdo the competition.
YouTube has over the years tried to get rid of fake views but it is still an uphill battle. Every now and then they change their algorithm to try and outdo the fake views creators. It works for a while before they find a way to beat the system yet again.
In 2018, it took a harsher stance by terminating accounts of users suspected of having fake views.
“YouTube doesn’t allow anything that artificially increases the number of views, likes, comments, or other metric either through the use of automatic systems or by serving up videos to unsuspecting viewers. Additionally, content that solely exists to incentivize viewers for engagement (views, likes, comments, etc) is prohibited. Content and channels that don't follow this policy may be terminated and removed from YouTube,” it indicated on its site.
READ ALSO: Three Kenyans shine at YouTube Africa awards
Detecting fake views
However, there are simpler ways to tell whether a musician or vlogger has fake YouTube views. If a video has many views but fails to make it to the top trending videos, then something is amiss. Also, the engagement on the video should tally with the views. This means the number of comments, likes or dislikes should be proportional to the views. It is a red flag if a video has a million views with only 20 comments or likes.
There’s a downside to buying YouTube views since the views don’t necessarily translate into sales for the advertiser.
A budding author Dr Judith Oppenheimer attested to this aspect telling the New York Times that she paid Sh500,000 to promote a self-published book she hoped would get a mainstream publishing deal. Despite her video registering over 58,000 views, “there was no increase in sales and no book deal.”
The practice poses a significant risk to Google’s revenue as advertisers will not pay money if they think they are being misled into paying for ads on videos with fake views and likes. It also applies to direct clients who might want to advertise with a content creator but would be disappointed if the views are fake hence no conversion to sales or visibility.


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Parkson Corp Sdn Bhd, a leading shopping mall operator in Malaysia has received the green light from the government to enter the local retail market.
Deputy prime minister Vu Khoan has approved in principle a proposal to set up Parkson Vietnam Co Ltd to operate a chain department stone, said a source from the government Office.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment passed the project to the government in late September after the Malaysian company proposed in June setting up a US$15 million foreign–owned venture.
If an investment license for Parkson Vietnam is forthcoming, the venture will initially establish three fashion shopping centers–two in HCM City and one in Hanoi. In the first two years, it is expected to invest US$15 million in them.
A HCM City Service of Planning and Investment source earlier said Parkson had 35 fashion centres and retail stores in Malaysia, and 40 in China, with annual revenue reaching US$1.32 billion.


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With Chinese independent travel growing increasingly prevalent and visa procedures becoming easily accessible in 2017, independent outbound travelers from China has witnessed a continued rise in frequency and popularity. Skyscanner big data on independent outbound travel show that the number of searches during one of the public holidays May Day holiday (Three day-off from April 29th to May 1st) in China exceeded one million times, an annual increase of 25%.
The peak period for outbound travel falls on April 28-29, while off-peak travel during rearranged holidays has enjoyed increasing popularity with tourists. Based on the big data on independent outbound travel, Skyscanner identifies the “most attractive” destinations as well as the “most eye-catching” departure cities, and reminds independent outbound tourists to pay attention to changes in airfares and to book their tickets ahead of another Chinese public, which is Dragon Boat Festival (Three day-off from May 28th to May 30th).
Short-distance outbound travel remains popular
The May Day holiday season has become the most popular holiday season with Chinese, overtaking the Qingming Festival (Three day-off from April 2nd to April 4th) in 2017. For domestic tourists, the most popular outbound destinations during May Day holiday include Thailand, Japan and the US. Tourists with these three countries as their destinations account for one-third of all the outbound travelers. Furthermore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, Canada and Vietnam have been ranked among the top ten outbound destinations.
A closer look reveals that Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore continue to secure their presence among the top ten outbound destinations; The US is ranked third, thanks to its abundant and diversified travel resources; Canada makes its debut on this list and enjoyed the most obvious increase during the May Day holiday, up 42% annually. More tourists choose to visit US and Canada, implying an increase in the number of travelers who prefer long-distance trips.
Visa on arrival make last minute travel decisions possible
More countries are offering visa on arrival as well as visa exemption policies for Chinese tourists, giving independent travelers more freedom in choosing their destinations. United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Serbia have witnessed visible growth compared with the search rate during the same period in the previous year, and the United Arab Emirates even posted an increase of 49%. Morocco benefits most from the new visa policy, from receiving little attention last year 766% increase in 2017.
With the introduction of the new visa policy, Serbia’s search rate skyrocketed significantly, up 700% annually. As Chinese citizens’ passports wield greater command, outbound travel has become more convenient, leading to a greater willingness for outbound travel. As a result, Chinese citizens have more outbound destinations at their disposal. Skyscanner also reminds all outbound tourists that they can save considerably on travel expenses by paying attention to changes in airfares and book in advance.
China’s tier-1 and tier 2 cities are the main sources of outbound tourists
For the popular departure cities in China, Skyscanner’s big data on searches for outbound air tickets indicate that Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are ranked the top three during the May Day holiday in 2017. Specifically, over 51% outbound tourists come from three cities. In terms of tier-2 cities, Chongqing, Chengdu and Nanjing revealed impressive results. Nanjing reported an annual growth of 27%, far above runner-up Chengdu, which saw an increase of 9%. The number of flights departing from Nanjing Lukou International Airport, as the part of its summer and autumn flight plan, increased by some 19.5% compared with the spring and winter flight plan.
In addition, there are more than ten new international routes to Phuket Island, Kuala Lumpur and London, and these flights even offer inexpensive airfares. The increase in flights and routes are direct contributors to the growing number of searches for independent outbound travel and the greater willingness for such travel. Furthermore, after attaining its GDP goal of over one trillion yuan in 2016, Nanjing’s vigorous economic growth also became one of the major driving forces behind the expanding body of outbound tourists.
Skyscanner’s smart functions satisfy your requirement of economical, independent outbound trip With the holidays approaching, tourists will soon find it difficult to make the right decision when it comes to their destinations. If you use the destination-free search functions in Skyscanner, you can easily find locations providing visas on arrival and visa exemptions. With Skyscanner’s travel fare aggregator, you can search for an entire month’s worth of airline ticket information to find a trip that suits your budget.
If you would like to know more information about Skyscanner, please click the below link: http://www.tianxun.com/news/labour-day-holiday-out-bound-data
Company Name: Skyscanner Beijing Office
Contact Person: Tia Ma
Phone: +86 13716651619


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Renting Out Your Bedroom to Fund Your StartupBy
Justin Schwartz was flattered when a friend suggested he get a holiday job standing shirtless in front of an Abercrombie & Fitch store at a Long Island shopping mall. He needed the money to fund Privatext, his secure text-messaging startup, but worried about embarrassment—and the cold.
Instead, Schwartz babysat the children of friends and relatives on his free evenings and most weekends, raising around $2,500 from 2011 to 2012. It was enough to advance his business to the point where he could attract angel investment.
Traditional avenues, such as loans from friends and family or running up credit card debt, are not available to everyone, says Veronika Sonsev, the 38-year-old chief executive officer and co-founder of New York City-based InSparq, a social merchandising platform aimed at retail brands. She and her business partner started the company by using their combined savings in late 2010 but exhausted that cash two years later. “The reality is that there was a timing issue for our business. We thought retailers would want this technology immediately, but it’s taking longer than we expected,” Sonsev says.
The onetime media executive decided to sell her Virginia home, which she had been renting out, to raise additional capital in 2012. She cleared $100,000, which she has used along with the sale of some stock options from a previous job to infuse new cash into her company. “We think the opportunity here is huge, but it takes longer to break even than anyone thinks it will,” she says.
Selling assets is another option not available to all startup entrepreneurs, however. So some are wringing funds from resources that aren’t always considered moneymakers, such as pawning collectibles, listing their cars on car-sharing services, or renting out spare bedrooms.
Tracy DiNunzio, 35, took that idea one step further: She slept on the couch in her Santa Monica (Calif.) apartment in 2011 and rented her bedroom on Airbnb to raise money for her fashion resale startup, Tradesy. Because the apartment was near the beach, she was able to charge $95 per night and boost that to $200 per night in the summer.
DiNunzio also tended bar and got a job doing data entry to fund her startup, at one point letting her Web developer stay on her couch and in her storage unit in exchange for work on the startup’s website. But the room rental proved to be the best experience.
Over about a year and half, DiNunzio hosted more than 100 international visitors, including a Japanese professor who stayed three months while researching the Hollywood entertainment industry, and a singer-songwriter who booked the room from the Reykjavik airport the day before he was due in Los Angeles to meet with a new manager. “He came in a taxi at one in the morning with a guitar on his back, and we stayed up all night talking,” DiNunzio recalls. “Within a week we had decided he wasn’t leaving. We were engaged within a month.” The two were married in January 2012.
Schwartz doesn’t have quite as sweet a story to tell from his babysitting gigs. In fact, one of his rambunctious young clients punched him in the face while they were wrestling, he says. “I got some welts. I guess I can honestly say I suffered for this business.”
By last summer, he says, he was able to raise a total of $300,000 from angel investors and stop spending every weekend babysitting, though it’s good to know he can always do it again if he needs cash in the future. “Either that or I’ll hit the gym and head over to the mall,” he says.
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LONDON (MarketWath) -- Deutsche Bank upgraded magazine publisher Primedia, Inc. PRM, +1.27% to buy from hold, citing likely disposals. The broker told clients that while Primedia announced that it's exploring spinning off the consumer guides division as a separately-traded public company, it thinks the outright sale of all three division is the more likely outcome. Deutsche said the most likely buyers of the consumer guide business are either newspaper publishers seeking growth akin to their non-daily products (but with superior margins) or internet companies seeking relationships with local advertisers.
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SM Investments, Jollibee upbeat about Q3 incomesBy Doris C. Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines—Leading conglomerate SM Investments Corp. and fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp., two of the country’s blue chip companies, are upbeat on their corporate results for this third quarter.
SMIC sees its third-quarter net profits growing by a double-digit pace relative to the bottom line in the same period in 2010, the company’s chief finance officer (CFO), Jose Sio, told reporters on Wednesday, at the sidelines of a CFO forum held by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines, ING Bank and the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines.
Jollibee CFO Jaime Baysa also said his company’s third-quarter sales were “looking good” and also reported that the surge in input costs that gnawed at earnings early in 2011 have been “stabilizing.”
“We’re hoping that the second semester will be better for both sales and profit margins,” Baysa said.
But while the third-quarter output appeared rosy, Baysa said the problems in the West – including the fiscal crisis in the Euro-zone and the threats of the US falling into another recession – could affect business in the remainder of the year.
“We don’t know what will happen to consumer confidence with all that’s going around. When people get worried, especially as we have a lot of OFWs [overseas Filipino workers], they hold back. Even though you have money, let’s say you have relatives working in Europe, that is a weak factor even if overall, our own economy is doing basically well,” Baysa said.
On the bright side, the Jollibee CFO said cost pressures were softening. “It’s not going up much further. We hope that by the fourth quarter, we’ll have a slight decline in some of the commodity prices. It will be very slight, but that’s still very good news,” he said.
SMIC’s Sio said the conglomerate – led by the family of the country’s wealthiest man Henry Sy – would likely sustain a double-digit profit growth in the third quarter compared with the same quarter a year ago.
“This is driven by all this employment of call center (agents), backroom offices and generally there’s that optimism,” Sio said, noting that remittances continued to flow abundantly into the country.
On a quarterly basis, however, he noted that SMIC’s earnings were seasonally better in the second quarter compared with the third.
Short URL: http://business.inquirer.net/?p=19155


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The plant, which opened in 1991, has manufactured a total of 50 million units by 2012 and 90 million units by 2019.
Global thermal and energy management supplier Hanon Systems hs achieved a production milestone on December 8 when its automotive compressor plant in Pyeongtaek, South Korea reached production level of 100 million units.
The plant, which opened in 1991 and will celebrate 30 years of operation in October 2021, has manufactured a total of 50 million units by 2012 and 90 million units by 2019.
The 65,000 square metre site incorporates highly automated manufacturing equipment and disciplined processes to produce electric compressors for eco-friendly vehicles, and fixed and variable compressors for vehicles with internal combustion engines.
“The compressor is the heart of a vehicle’s air-conditioning system, and a critical component sought by automakers for its innovation, durability and quality,” said Min Sung, representative executive officer of Hanon Systems. “This production milestone at Pyeongtaek sends a strong signal about the company’s long history and proven experience supplying compressors to the automotive industry.”
In addition to the plant in Pyeongtaek, Hanon Systems produces automotive compressors in Hungary, Portugal, India and China.
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BRIDGEPORT - Three men were caught on camera Monday allegedly robbing a store in Bridgeport and assaulting a clerk.
The incident occurred just after 8 p.m.
Employees at the Boston Avenue Grocery and Deli told News 12 that two of the three suspects had guns. Employees say the suspects took cigarettes and $1,500 cash.
READ MORE: Connecticut Crime Stories
They say no one was hospitalized as a result of the incident.


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Forward collision avoidance problems and related engine and powertrain issues are the main cause of complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
Originally launched in 2000, and now dubbed “the adventurous family SUV,” the Hyundai Santa Fe was the automaker’s first SUV. Now in its fourth generation, Hyundai boasts that it has the “best-in-class safety features,” and incorporates “the most advanced technology.” But, year after year, consumers complain about safety issues and technology that doesn’t work properly. Those driving the 2023 model express fears about “life-threatening hesitation accelerating,” and complain that the emergency brakes have a mind of their own.
Click on other model year to view more problems: 2019 2020 2021 2022
The Most Common Problems
It’s still early days for the 2023 Santa Fe, but by March 2023 it was evident that it hasn’t escaped the acceleration issues that 2022 owners have been facing. Owners see this as an engine and powertrain issue, even though they don’t know what the problem is, and dealers can’t help.
Other complaints to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) are varied, with forward collision avoidance being another main topic. There are also several complaints filed as visibility/wiper issues, including cracked windshields.
An owner from Washington filed a complaint in three categories, Vehicle Speed Control, Visibility/Wiper, and Forward Collision Avoidance. The least of his worries seems to be that the automatic wipers are intermittent. But it’s certainly an issue. “The dealership has replaced the windshield sensor and (the) issue is now unreliable at best. The service department told me to simply wipe the sensor off or pour water onto the sensor to get the wipers to work. That seems to work for about 3 wipes and then stops again.”
More dramatic is the fact that “the driver seat changes position by itself while driving, and the advanced cruise control failed to provide any braking. This almost caused me to rear-end a stopped car in freeway traffic. Additionally, the advanced braking system does not work at all… I had the salesman check the settings and they are turned on but do not provide any braking function. The alert system does provide a warning if a car turns a corner in front of me, but fails to take any action.”
2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Complaint Summary
|Number of Complaints
|Unknown Or Other
|Vehicle Speed Control
|Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking
|Forward Collision Avoidance: Warnings
Urgent Safety Recall
On March 17, 2023, Hyundai issued an urgent safety recall of more than half a million Santa Fe and Santa Cruz vehicles. The problem is that water accumulates on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board and this may cause an electrical short. If this happens, the vehicle may catch fire. Hyundai advises owners to park outside and away from structures “until the remedy is completed.”
It isn’t clear when the remedy would be available. But the recall notice, NHTSA Campaign Number 23V181000, states that dealers will inspect the modules and remove the fuse if necessary “as an interim repair.”
2019-2023 Santa Fe vehicles are affected, as well as 2021-2023 Santa Fe HEV, and 2022-2023 Santa Fe Plug-in HEVs. A smaller number (14,933) of Hyundai 2021-2022 Santa Fe Hybrids and 2022-2023 Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrids (PHEVs) along with 2023 Genesis G80 Electric vehicles have been recalled because of a fear that seat belt pretensioners may explode. If they do, the possibility is that metal fragments could be projected into the vehicle, striking and injuring occupants.
Don’t be stuck with a lemon. You have legal rights to cash, return or buyback.
The law makes Hyundai pay legal fees.
We've fixed thousands of lemon problems. Message or call 877-795-3666 today.
Forward Collision Avoidance Problems
Convinced that he bought a lemon on January 14, 2023, a North Carolina owner states, “The front collision detection doesn’t brake to avoid (a) collision. The emergency brake will engage on its own, and it has to be manually disengaged. The parking assist feature will automatically disengage and is unable to engage it. The middle seat in the back seat headrest obstructs a major portion of the rear window, obstructing the driver’s view. It is not the headrest pictured in the Owner’s Manual. It has been in the shop twice.”
Having “owned this lemon of a vehicle” for 34 days, the complainant states that the 2023 Santa Fe “has been in the shop for 10 days and counting.”
An owner from Connecticut describes how he had two experiences. In “normal driving conditions” the “forward collision warning system engaged unexpectedly, (and) braked hard” even though there was “no collision imminent.” He could smell burnt tires. On a second occasion, when he stopped at a traffic light, “the vehicle suddenly warned of (a) forward parking collision.” Additionally, the front camera engaged and a yellow warning was displayed
Powertrain & Engine Problems
There are lots of acceleration issues with the 2022 Santa Fe. So far, the main problem facing 2023 owners is a general failure of the SUV to accelerate.
An owner from Virginia laid a complaint with the NHTSA after this had happened twice. “On December 11 and 12, 2022, my 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited Hybrid failed to accelerate in traffic. In both cases, I was attempting gradual acceleration to change lanes or merge onto another high-traffic street. When I pressed the accelerator nothing happened. On (the) second occasion I could not get any power for several seconds.” Both times, the driver activated hazard signals to avoid collisions with vehicles rapidly approaching from behind in a 50 mph speed zone. The vehicle had only 900 miles on the clock, and the incidents happened less than a month after taking delivery.
Aware that this had happened to other Santa Fe Hybrids, the owner called the dealer. But “they seemed unaware of any problems.”
An owner from Florida also had accelerator issues. He calls it a severe life-threatening hesitation. The complaint states that the “car is unsafe to drive like this and has nearly gotten me and my family killed on numerous occasions.”
There is “sometimes as much as almost a 2-second delay from when you fully step on the accelerator to when it slowly starts to go. No warning lights or bells whatsoever.” The complaint states that it does it in all driving modes but seems to be “especially pronounced when at a dead stop in sport mode. (The) problem seems to have gotten progressively worse the more we have driven it. The Dealership is denying that there’s any problem or issue and didn’t want to make an appointment to look at it.” They “keep trying to tell me this is normal.”
What to do if your 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe is a lemon?
Are you convinced, like the North Carolina owner mentioned above, that you have bought a lemon? If you are, Lemberg Law is available to assess your case free of charge. We are a legal firm that specializes in lemon law cases and we have helped many vehicle owners get worthwhile settlements from automakers because their vehicles were indeed lemons.
The reality is that every year automakers pay back, trade in, or replace vehicles to lemon owners. And the law will make Hyundai pay the lemon law legal fees. All you have to do is call our Helpline or fill out a contact form, and we’ll do what we can to help you.