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Landi Renzo says it has received California Air Resources Board (CARB) certification for its converted Ford compressed natural gas 7.3-liter engine, which is used in Class 4-7 vehicles.
The Landi Renzo “Eco-Ready” dedicated CNG/RNG system for the 7.3-liter engine can be used for airport and hotel shuttle buses, delivery trucks, service trucks, large package trucks and other vocational offerings. Many of these vehicles will be able to take advantage of various clean air grant funding opportunities.
“This accomplishment is a key milestone for clean transportation in the trucking industry,” says Andrea Landi, president of Landi Renzo USA. “It is an ecomobility revolution.”
During the multi-year certification effort, Landi Renzo USA, in partnership with Ford Motor Co., conducted extensive engine and vehicle testing to meet the stringent Ford Q-185 gaseous prep guidelines and demonstrate full useful life durability.
Landi Renzo says this engine platform is the only Ford QVM EPA- and CARB-certified CNG/RNG product in the market. Ford QVM status ensures that converted vehicles remain supported by the OEM warranty.


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It’s been a big week for flagship phones. On Tuesday, Apple revealed a handful of new iPhones and Samsung is gearing up to launch the Galaxy Note 8 tomorrow, but in addition to all of that, Google is now teasing what certainly seems like a Pixel 2 reveal. In just a few short weeks, we could know everything there is to know about the next Pixel.
Earlier today, Google began teasing the Pixel 2 reveal through this website. At the moment, it doesn’t offer a lot of information, simply asking for your email address so you can stay updated about Google devices and services. However, the site does give us one important detail: more information is coming on October 4.
It’s then, presumably, that we’ll find out just what the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have to offer. Of course, there’s always a chance that this isn’t about the Pixel 2 – however slim it may be – but this is about as close to a sure thing as possible. This event probably won’t be entirely devoted to Pixel 2, as we’ll likely hear about what’s next for products and services like Google Home, G Suite, and Google Assistant.
By the time Google actually launches the Pixel 2, we’ll probably already know most of what gets revealed. The Pixel 2 has been the subject of a lot of leaks over the past few months, which have outed a wide range of details – from an always-on display to waterproofing that comes at the sad expense of the headphone jack. There have been plenty of leaked images along the way too, so we have a pretty good idea of what to expect.
Beyond all of that, Google itself is even hinting at what to expect. In a video posted today (which you can see above), we watch as a clearly frustrated user types a bunch of questions about their smartphone’s shortcomings into Google Search. The video suggests that the Pixel 2 will have all the answers to these questions, and that definitely piques our interest.
Google’s October 4 event is just under three weeks from today, so we don’t have much longer to wait. Google is certainly going to have its work cut out for it with new iPhones and the Galaxy Note 8 on the way, so here’s hoping it impresses. We’ll be covering the event as it happens right here at SlashGear, so stay tuned for more.
UPDATE: Invites for the event have arrived. We’ll be there with bells on!

domain: news


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Lidl has become the second discounter to increase how much it pays dairy farmers for milk, raising its price by two pence per litre.
The German retailer said the increase, which comes into effect on 1 August, would offset price reductions proposed by dairy processors.
“It is our business model to offer our customers top-quality products for the best value, which means operating on lower margins than the larger food retailers,” the company said in a statement. “But, while we always strive to operate competitively, we do believe in a market that is fair to all businesses involved.”
Lidl added it had had no influence over the processors’ proposed cuts but had monitored the “difficult situation” dairy farmers were finding themselves in as a result of the proposed reductions as well as the recent bad weather.
“We wholeheartedly support our British dairy farmers, who play an integral part in providing all our consumers with the top-quality British milk they require and, for that reason, we have taken the decision to pay an additional two pence per litre of milk purchased, effective 1 August,” Lidl added.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and we welcome any initiative that will enable British dairy farmers to operate in a fair position with processors and large food retailers alike.”
NFU chief dairy adviser Rob Newbery said Lidl’s price increase was a “step in the right direction”. “This is clearly a positive move for farmers,” he added.
Lidl move on milk price comes a day after Aldi announced it would pay 2ppl more for its milk from 1 August.


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A clean and crisp hybrid.
NSW drops a breathable take on its low-top, Free-equipped Hypervenom.
Nike drops a black colorway of its Hypervenom-inspired off-pitch Frees.
A new colorway of the low-top football-inspired Frees.
The speckled 5.0 sole adds a nice contrast.
Nike has released a football-inspired hybrid sneaker for the summer months ahead. Featuring a
After debuting in stark white last week, Nike Sportswear has followed up its first version of the
Already a popular performance football boot, the Nike Hypervenom has joined the ranks of lifestyle


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How Apple Pay Is Exploited for FraudFraudsters Are Using Telephone Number 'Porting'
Although Apple Pay initially gained attention for its potential to improve the security of mobile payments - thanks to its use of EMV and built-in tokenization - other security shortcomings are coming to light.authenticating users and verifying payment cards.
In late February, we heard about how criminals were loading stolen credit and debit cards to iPhones for use with Apple Pay accounts (see Apple Pay: Fraudsters Exploit Authentication).
If the number is ported or the call is forwarded, then the criminal obviously gets the message and can continue with their criminal activities
Now we're hearing about how criminals are exploiting device identification measures and out-of-band authentication methods used by banks to verify new Apple Pay accounts.
When a user sets up an Apple Pay account, he or she can choose to be authenticated with a verification code that is sent via text to the phone. But criminals are now exploiting this out-of-band authentication method by "porting" over or transferring landline numbers from unsuspecting victims to mobile phones the criminals possess.
And because so many people have landline numbers they rarely use, it's proven to be an easy scam for criminals. That's because consumers might not notice right away, for example, that their landline is not getting calls anymore.
Evidently, telephone companies and mobile carriers don't ask too many questions when a user asks to have a number ported over, so anybody can port over another person's number with relative ease, I'm told by security experts who now are tracking the problem.
So, the criminals can set up an Apple Pay account under the name of the user who actually owns the ported telephone number. Criminals then could use stolen card data to load into Apple Pay.
Phone Number Porting
"Number porting and call forwarding has been around for years and are used by the criminals to take over all kinds of accounts," says Litan, a fraud expert at the consultancy Gartner.
Banking institutions often send text messages or place phone calls to account holders' mobile phones to verify transactions and payments. In most cases, this verification involves the transfer of a one-time password that the user must send back through a browser, Litan explains.
"If the number is ported or the call is forwarded, then the criminal obviously gets the message and can continue with their criminal activities," she says.
Banks can implement more reliable authentication methods, such as biometrics, but users have to enroll first, Litan says.
"After credit card accounts and DDAs [demand deposit accounts], phone accounts are the most likely to be affected by account takeovers, because of their role in out-of-band authentication for financial accounts, which has made them valuable targets for fraudsters," says Pascual, a fraud expert at the consultancy Javelin Strategy & Research. "It is certainly another example of how vulnerable the solution is to fraud, as a result of poorly conceived account holder verification protocols. Relying on calls to landlines to validate the identity of an Apple Pay user is tantamount to using freight lines from the 1800s for a bullet train. Something has got to give."
I've been hearing much more about phone-porting for the exploit of Apple Pay. Banks will need to develop strategies now to ensure they're authenticating users through additional means.
Banking institutions have to get away from user-based authentication and rely more heavily on behavioral analytics to verify users, their devices and their accounts. For example, if banks could get more information about the numbers affiliated with their accountholders, they could ask for more data from the telephone and mobile carriers about the user's activity history on that line, or be alerted when numbers are ported.
Security provider Neustar, which has been closely analyzing phone-porting risks associated with Apple Pay, says fraudsters are increasingly stealing and using victims' phone numbers to have passwords reset as well. With social media mining, out-of-wallet authentication questions, such as name of first pet, as a fraud defense also have lost effectiveness. This is why real-time, authoritative data that has a direct linkage to the owner of the information is so imperative, Neustar says.
In the coming months, the authentication issue is going to become even more critical as the migration to EMV ramps up and issuers and retailers search for ways to ensure there are preparing for the migration of fraud to other channels.
Jeremy King, international director of the PCI Security Standards Council, touched on this issue last week in an interview I conducted with him about how issuers and retailers should be bracing now for new types of payments attacks.
"Globally, where EMV chips have been rolled out, we have seen a drop in face-to-face [card-present] fraud ... but the chip is not beneficial for the card-not-present space," King says. "In those situations, it is imperative that merchants adopt the PCI Data Security Standard to protect all cardholder data through the backend systems."
Do you see phone-porting as a growing concern and a risk for standard out-of-band authentication practices? If so, is your institution moving away from these types of authentication methods and moving toward back-end analytics that remove user involvement? I encourage you to post your comments below.
Apple Pay security vulnerabilities, and other emerging payment fraud concerns, will be key topics I and others will discuss next week at Information Security Media Group's Fraud Summit Chicago. I invite you to join us on May 19.


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WASHINGTON D.C. - The Federal Reserve will extend a program intended to keep lower long-term interest rates.
The Fed Wednesday decided to continue Operation Twist through the end of the year. The Fed has been selling $400 billion in short-term Treasurys since September and buying longer-term Treasurys. It says it will shift another $267 billion through December.
The Fed wants to spur more borrowing, spending and growth, but economist say extending Operation Twist might not provide much benefit. Long-term U.S. rates have already touched record lows, and economists say businesses and consumers who aren't borrowing now might not do so if rates slipped slightly more.
Fed officials reiterate their plan to keep short-term rates at record lows until at least late 2014.


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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump reached a deal with Mexico Monday on a new trade pact. He explained he plans to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement and replace it with "the United States-Mexico Trade Agreement."
"We'll get rid of the name NAFTA," the president said. "It has a bad connotation because the United States was treated very, very badly for NAFTA."
"It's a big day for trade. It's a big day for our country," Trump told reporters.
A big deal looking good with Mexico!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2018
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto was patched in by phone, calling the deal "very positive" for both the US and Mexico.
Trump says the details are still being finalized but noted the deal is good for trade, jobs, and farmers.
"Our farmers are going to be so happy," Trump said. "Mexico has promised to immediately start purchasing as much farm product as they can."
Trump finalized negotiations Monday following talks Sunday led by Trump's son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner, along with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
Lighthizer told Trump he expects the US-Mexico deal would be signed by the end of November.
In the meantime, the White House will begin negotiating with Canada to either add their country to the trade agreement with Mexico or strike a separate deal.
"One way or another we'll have a deal with Canada," Trump said. "It'll either be a tariff on cars or it'll be a negotiated deal. Frankly, I think tariff on cars is a much easier way to go. Perhaps, the other would be much better for Canada."


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Priciest home sales in Atlantic Beach (11509)
The three highest-priced home sales in Atlantic Beach last month ranged from $980,000 to $2.055 million.
The priciest Atlantic Beach home sold in December was a 4-bedroom, 3.5-bath home on .21 acres at 1233 Beech St. that sold for $2.055 million. It was listed by Eileen McAllister of Petrey Atlantic Beach and sold by Petrey’s Randy Scott.
A 5-bedroom, 4-bath newly built colonial on .17 acres at 1453 Bay Blvd. fetched $1.25 million in cash. It was listed by Ernesto Araujo of Douglas Elliman Real Estate and sold by Randy Scott of Petrey Atlantic Beach.
At 2064 Pacific Blvd., a 4-bedroom, 2.5-bath colonial on .14 acres went for $980,000. It was listed by Barbara Mullaney of Century 21 American Homes and sold by Randy Scott of Petrey Atlantic Beach.


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Another Big Six energy provider is raising its prices – this time its ScottishPower.
The utility firm said more than a million customers will be affected by the rises. Dual fuel prices will increase by an average of 7.8 per cent, electricity prices will jump 10.8 per cent and gas prices will raise 4.7 per cent.
ScottishPower blamed the hike on the growing cost of wholesale energy and compulsory non-energy costs, like the upgrade to smart meters.
On the other hand, Centrica-owned British Gas said it will extend its price freeze until August as it has managed to "significantly" reduce its own costs.
Last week, Npower said it would hike standard tariff rates by about 9.8 per cent, or £109.
ScottishPower said a third of its customers, or 1.1m people, will be hit by the price increases. It added prepayment customers will not be affected but will see "separate changes" as Ofgem's price cap is rolled out.
"This price change follows months of cost increases that have already led to significant rises in fixed price products that now unfortunately have to be reflected in standard prices," said Colin McNeill, UK retail director. He added ScottishPower will "continue to work hard to move even more customers to our fixed price deals".
A spokesperson for energy watchdog Ofgem said there is no case for significant price increases on standard variable tariffs where suppliers have bought energy in advance. "However, there may be particular factors affecting individual suppliers. If this is the case, they need to justify to their customers why prices are going up, or risk losing customers as a result."
McNeill said the company will write to its customers to encourage them to take up fixed price deals, and the customer service department – which has previously been fined for poor service – will stop sales activity for a week to spend the time making sure customers are on the best possible deals.
"With Scottish Power joining Npower and EDF, it’s now very clear the rest of the big six will follow suit at some point," said Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.
Lewis called the British Gas price freeze a "sticking plaster" and said barring any changes to the world market, it's "virtually unthinkable" that a rise won't happen eventually.
Alex Neill, managing director of home and legal services for consumer group Which, said lack of competition in the market is hurting millions of consumers. "If energy companies fail to properly engage with their customers, then the government and the regulator must step in," he said.


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Sensor Tower Estimates had Mobile Users Spending $83 Billion in 2019
According to Sensor Tower, mobile users spent more than $83 billion globally in 2019. The Apple App Store had user spending at a record $54.2 billion for the year, accounting for a growth of 16.3% year-over-year from $46.6 billion in 2018. Google Play users only spent $29.3 billion in the same time period, putting Apple user spending 85% higher than the Android crowd. Although less spending occurred on the Play Store than the App Store last year, Google saw a year-over-year revenue increase of 18.1%.
The largest part of App Store spending outside of Games was found in Entertainment apps, making $3.9 billion in 2019, an increase of 18.5% compared to last year. Social was the highest earning category on the Google Play store for 2019, with nearly $686 million spent, up 32.4%. Between Google Play and the Apple App Store, mobile games accounted for $61.7 billion in 2019. This estimate accounts for 68% of iOS revenue and 84% of Google Play spending in 2019, showing the continuous strength of the mobile market.
Mobile game installs increased 9.9% compared to last year, with 42.1 billion mobile games being installed in 2019. Around 78% of these installs happened on the Google Play store, despite the App Store acquiring more revenue from 9.2 billion installs compared to 32.9 billion. This means that more people are downloading games on Android but more people are spending money on iOS. Call of Duty: Mobile made more in revenue than its competition in 2019, which is likely a theme that will continue.
Although the mainstream gaming audience is fighting against microtransactions, the success of the mobile market seems to show that we can expect to see more mobile mechanics implemented into console and PC games, not less. The mobile market continues to see strong growth that most developers would probably like a piece of.
Are you a mobile gamer? Did you spend money on in-app purchases in 2019? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Sensor Tower
CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL POST IF MEDIA / VIDEO / TRAILER IS MISSING:
Mobile Users Spent Billion in 2019


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Near Field Communication (NFC) will enable contactless mobile payments at the register
Once NFC systems become widespread, which could happen as soon as next year, consumers will be able to pay for purchases at the checkout counter by simply tapping their cell phones, rather than digging out a credit or debit card and swiping it. So, what’s the big difference? The idea behind contactless payments is not necessarily to make things faster or more convenient for the consumer, it’s actually a way for retailers to be able to deliver advertising messages, coupons, promotions and loyalty programs directly to your cell phone. If that prospect appeals to you, stay tuned. Most of the new smartphones coming out will be ready for contactless payments by dint of being equipped with the NFC chip, and a second chip, the “secure element,” for the payments themselves. And the manufacturers who make the check-out terminals are busy adding NFC capability to all these point-of-sale devices, so that as stores upgrade, they’ll become ready to accept NFC payments.
Multiple moving parts
In order for contactless mobile payments to become a reality, several pieces have to come together. Consumers have to have NFC-capable phones. Retailers have to have NFC-enabled checkout terminals. Cellphone manufacturers have to install the NFC chips. Banks and other financial institutions have to support the NFC payments. And the cell phone companies are in the game as well, looking for a slice of the payments pie. Normally, this would create a huge chicken-and-egg bottleneck. But, this time, all the major players seem to be moving in the same direction, even though they’re not all taking the same roads to get there. Several mobile carriers, for example, have banded together in an attempt to control NFC payments. AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile USA are backing the Isis payment platform, and have already received the support of most of the top handset manufacturers and major credit card companies. According to Jeff Miles, vice president of mobile transactions at NXP Semiconductors, the company that makes almost every NFC chip, there are now more than 130 different phone and tablet models in various stages of NFC deployment, totaling more than 40 million devices. “We’re seeing the beginning of the hockeystick to the phones out there,” he says. Google Wallet, a competing NFC payments platform, is already available on the Nexus S mobile phone on the Sprint network, and can be linked to Google’s own prepaid payment card, or to PayPass-eligible MasterCard credit cards from Citibank. It’s likely that Apple will soon come out with its own payment platform for the iPhone. And some banks — including Citibank and Bank of America — are getting a jump-start on the process as well, handing out NFC chip-based mobile payment tags that their customers can simply stick to their phones. We won’t be seeing a repeat of the 1970s, however, where you’d have to check the stickers on the door before walking into a store to see whether they take your payment method. All of the NFC schemes currently under development will be compatible with the others — at least on the payment level. The future of money That’s because the use the technology based on MasterCard’s PayPass, which the company licensed to both its partners, and its competitors. “The majority of terminals out there accept pretty much all of the contactless standards,” says MasterCard’s Mario Shiliashki, the senior vice president responsible for U.S.-based development and commercialization of payment products including PayPass. “We’re very focused on making sure that it’s a good experience for the merchant and the consumer,” he says. “If I walk up with a card that’s PayPass enabled from three years ago and the latest Google Wallet, I’ll be able to transact with the same terminal. So we don’t go back to the future where you have various devices sitting on the merchant counter and depending on the method you pull one out and put the other one back.” More Google Wallet follies Loyalty programs and coupons are a different story, however. For example, in my area in Massachusetts, if I have Google Wallet on my phone, I can make purchases at my local CVS, Home Depot, Best Buy, and Hess and Gulf Oil gas stations. But only a handful of merchants have loyalty programs on Google Wallet. They include Bloomingdales, Old Navy, ToysRUs, Macy’s, OfficeMax, American Eagle Outfitters, and the Gap — but only in select locations. “It’s all very dependent on where you are,” says John Devlin, a research director at ABI research and author of the recent report, “What Can I Use my NFC Phone For Today?” (His answer: “Not much.”) He pointed out an interactive map from Google that shows a lot of activity in and around New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, but only a smattering of outlets elsewhere — and nothing at all in New England. Plus, there are application developers that offer cloud-based loyalty programs completely independent from NFC payments — a typical consumer might need several applications on his phone, depending on which loyalty programs they belong to. And if you want to learn more about the benefits of automated payment solutions, click here!
How secure are NFC payments?
In order for a payment to occur, the NFC chip has to be within four centimeters — less than two inches — from the reader. Purchases of more than $50 also require a PIN or a signature. And the payment only goes through once, even if you tap the reader twice by mistake. In fact, mobile NFC payments are more secure than the card-based alternative, says Calvin Grimes, manager of mobile solutions at financial technology vendor Fiserv. “With PayPass and PayWave you can tap and go, but they’re not actually secured with a PIN the way that your phone might be,” he says. “Moving it over digitally to your mobile device, you have the opportunity to provide an additional layer of security.” In addition, cell phone users can turn off the NFC functionality, just like they can turn off WiFi or Bluetooth, says NXP Semiconductors’ Miles. But it will take some effort to convince the actual users, says Soumen Ganguly, a director at Boston-based strategy consulting firm Altman Vilandrie & Co. “Consumers tend to be a lot more conservative about trying new financial tools,” he says. “People look at their phones, and say, is this as safe as my credit card?” To overcome ingrained habits and worries, merchants and mobile payment providers will have to give customers good reasons to switch over. “The industry has to do a lot better job on coming up with a value proposition and educating customers,” he says. As a result, he says, he doesn’t expect NFC mobile payments to become mass market until 2014 or 2015. “I think we’ll see some early activity in 2013,” he says. “But five years from now,
I hope to not be carrying my wallet around anymore.”
A cellphone doesn’t have to be NFC enabled in order to do payments. For example, many phones allow their users to do mobile banking. There are apps that let you buy movie tickets. And Amazon will happily take your money whether you order from a computer — or from a phone. Starbucks has apps for iPhone and Android phones that allow customers to make payments and earn loyalty points — the company said it processed more than 26 million mobile payments last year. The app shows a bar code on the phone screen that can be read at the checkout counter. Many Starbucks customers use PayPal to top off their mobile wallets. And they’re not alone — PayPal has reported nearly $4 billion worth of mobile payments in 2011, up from $750 million in 2010 and just $141 million in 2009. There are a couple of advantages to non-NFC payments, or “payments in the cloud.” One is that consumers don’t have to be next to the payment terminal to make a payment. For example, you can pay your parking meter while standing next to it, but it would also be nice to top it up from wherever you are if you’re running late getting back. In addition, since mobile carriers control the security chips on their phones, third-party vendors will have to pay to access them, raising costs. On the other hand, a payment made through the NFC chip by tapping against a card reader counts as a “card present” payment, which is less expensive to the merchant than Internet-based “card not present” transactions. Whether the cost savings of cloud-based payments make up for the increased cost of “card not present” transactions will depend on the details of the specific deployments.
Can Asia give us a peek at our future?
At a farmer’s market in Dongguan, China, shoppers make payments by tapping their phones, equipped with SIMpass cards, against the point-of-sale terminals of the fish and vegetable vendors. According to Beijing-based Watchdata System, the Singapore-based company behind the SIMpass technology, there are over 20,000 such terminals at the Dongguan markets. In Hong Kong, an estimated 95% of adult residents use the Octopus Card for all public transport, as well as at most fast-food restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores, parking meters, parking lots, and service stations, according to the Octopus Holdings, the company that produces the card. Launched in 1997, there are now more than 20 million cards in circulation, with over 11 million daily transactions, totaling around $12 million a day. Japanese commuters also pay for transportation using NFC-enabled cards and cellphones — based on a proprietary, non-compatible version of NFC — to pay for transport and to shop at many convenience stores, restaurants, retailers and vending machines. According to Natsumi Nakamura, a marketing manager for PFU Systems, a Japanese technology-solutions company, almost 60% of cell phones in Japan are NFC-enabled. The country is currently in the process of switching over to the global NFC standard. “Asian countries, like Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, are at the front of the smart card integrated chip technology,” says Jafizwaty Ishahak, research director at Frost & Sullivan, a market research firm. “In addition, these countries have also taken the lead in implementing the smart card IC contactless interface, which then leads to the adoption of NFC,” says Ishahak. “Then there is the â€˜early adopter’ mentality in Japan and Korea which has also helped rapid deployment from the user side,” says David Snow, an analyst at U.K.-based Juniper Research. But the Asia deployments are isolated systems — and the existence of those systems might actually hinder those countries from moving forward quickly. “We think that the future of NFC-based commerce is actually going to be here in the U.S. initially rather than in the rest of the world,” says Stuart Taylor, vice president of systems product management for ViVOtech. ViVOtech is the technology company behind the Google Wallet and nearly every other major player in the NFC ecosystem, including 45 other NFC pilot projects in around 30 countries. But most of the international projects have involved the older feature phones, he says. “In the mobile world, we tend to look negatively at the U.S. as far as mobility is concerned,” he says. “We tend to see Europe as being ahead. But one of the things that’s changing is when you look at smartphone purchases and deployments, the U.S. is far ahead of the rest of the world.” In addition, overseas mobile payment systems operate in very different environments, says Mahesh Makhija, head of the cards and payments practice at Infosys, a global technology services and consulting firm. Many emerging countries didn’t have existing payment systems in place, for example, nation-wide transit systems, or had strong government intervention, he says. Adoption in the U.S., however, will be driven by different factors. “The path in the U.S. will be through applications that sit on the smartphones, killer applications that people will not be able to live without,” he says. “The U.S. is pretty unique. I don’t think there’s any country where you can go and see what’s happening, and see the future of what will happen in the U.S.”
Alexander Gladstone in Shanghai contributed to this report.
Article originally appeared in Securities Industry News, which has since closed down.


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Game-specific blockchain Oasys announced on January 31 that it has decided to list its OAS token on the bitbank cryptocurrency exchange.
Oasys is a game-related crypto asset project from Japan that specializes in developing blockchain games. OAS tokens are the key currency of Oasys, and can be used for payment of transaction fees on the platform and payments for related services.
Five overseas crypto asset exchanges started handling OAS tokens in December last year, but this is the first listing on a Japanese crypto asset exchange.
｜Text and editing: coindesk JAPAN editorial department
｜Top image: Oasys
【reference】Reputation and reviews of bitbank


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— HuffPost Canada (@HuffPostCanada) July 22, 2015
Target is weathering a backlash on social media for selling T-shirts featuring graphics that read “Trophy” “Mrs.” and “bride.” The “Trophy” shirt has been the most criticized and a change.org petition has surfaced asking Target to remove the item from its collection. The petition suggests that the shirt perpetuates rape culture and, “Labeling any person as a ‘Trophy’ is demeaning their humanity and objectifying them as a tangible object that can be bought, used and disposed of.” Target responded to the criticism in a statement explaining how the shirts were part of an ‘engagement and wedding’ collection and that they were not meant to offend but were “intended as a fun wink.” The retailer added that it has “received an overwhelmingly positive response from our guests.” This is not the first time Target has come under fire for selling products that have been deemed sexist, particularly on social media. Last year they were called out for a number of things, such as selling a girls’ and boys’ version of Batman T-shirt. The boys’ shirt read, “Training to be Batman,” while the girls’ said, “Training to be Batman’s wife.”
Read the full story at USA Today.


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“The startups this year are shining examples of the entrepreneurship and innovation happening in the Southwest region right now,” said Jonathan Ariano, chairman of Invest Southwest.
Phoenix, Ariz. (PRWEB) February 24, 2015
The top 16 companies have been selected to compete in the final round of the 2015 Venture Madness competition. Presented by Invest Southwest in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority, Venture Madness pits early stage growth companies against one another to win their share of $50,000 in total cash prizes.
The final, live-demo portion of Venture Madness will be held March 4-6 at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale. The top 16 companies will pitch their way through bracket-style parings and a panel of judges will determine who is crowned 2015 Venture Madness Champion. Open to the public, the Venture Madness conference will include a keynote address by 500 Startups’ founding partner Dave McClure and Matthew Pittinsky, co-founder of Blackboard Inc. McClure has been an investor in hundreds of companies around the world including Credit Karma, Mint.com and SlideShare. Pittinsky started Blackboard 1997 and today it is considered by most industry analysts to be a leading provider of online education systems around the world.
“I cannot wait to see how these 16 companies will do in the live pitch competitions. It is one thing to make a 90 second video, it is quite another to pitch to a live audience and answer questions from judges while your opponents sit opposite you, ready to do the same,” said Jonathan Ariano, chairman of Invest Southwest. “The startups this year are shining examples of the entrepreneurship and innovation happening in the Southwest region right now, and the conference is going to be a great event for networking and an outstanding resource for local businesses.”
Listed in alphabetical order, the 16 companies advancing are:
- Beacon Biomedical Inc.
- CampusLogic, Inc.
- Clear Demand
- EndoVantage, LLC
- Numa Tactical LLC
- Pure Chat, Inc.
- ReplyBuy, Inc.
- RevolutionParts, Inc.
- RightBio Metrics
- Sentinel Internet Systems, Inc.
- Tiply, Inc.
- Triton Microtechnologies
- Universal Bio Mining
More than 300 people are expected to attend the 2015 Venture Madness conference and live-pitch competitions including expert investors, service professionals and entrepreneurs. Tickets are available at http://goo.gl/pJaQmB. For more information about the competition visit: VentureMadness.com.
How Venture Madness Works
The first of two online elimination rounds began on January 9, 2015 at VentureMadness.com. During the two online rounds, winners in each matchup are determined solely by a panel of judges. After the two online elimination rounds, 16 companies are advancing to the live-demo portion of the contest held March 4-6, 2015 at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. It's here where they will compete for their share of $50,000 in cash prizes by live-pitching their way through the brackets before the panel of judges, who will ultimately determine which company will be crowned the 2015 Venture Madness Champion.
About Invest Southwest
Invest Southwest has been the premier organization for connecting investors with ventures in the region for over 20 years. In addition to providing valuable thought leadership on topics important to the investment and startup communities, Invest Southwest offers year-round opportunities for engagement via a series of educational seminars and networking events. Its signature event, Venture Madness, is a unique startup competition presented in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority. Venture Madness pits 64 startups against one another in a bracket-style, head-to-head competition to crown the champion. Visit http://www.investsouthwest.org for more information.
About the Arizona Commerce Authority
The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is the state’s leading economic development organization with a streamlined mission to grow and strengthen Arizona’s economy. The ACA uses a three-pronged approach to advance the overall economy: recruit, grow, create – recruit out-of-state companies to expand their operations in Arizona; work with existing companies to grow their business in Arizona and beyond; and partner with entrepreneurs and companies large and small to create new jobs and businesses in targeted industries. Visit azcommerce.com for more information.
# # #
Diane Smith, Director of Public Relations
Susan Marie, Marketing & Communications Manager
Arizona Commerce Authority


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A report by financial services major, Bernstein, said: "While not a negative surprise, we had anticipated a much higher growth for online sales this season given the Covid impact."
This festive season has seen 30-40 per cent growth in e-commerce volumes with overall growth similar to that witnessed last year, the report said.
"This, in our view, either reflects unlocking ensuring a better than expected offline momentum or the impact of weak economy on overall festive demand. Our offline checks suggest a mixed read on festive trends with some categories seeing strength and some others still down year on year," the report said.
Another interesting read was that there were no major supply constraints this season suggesting adequate channel re-stocking.
The just-concluded festive season in India was expected to have an increased dependence on e-commerce channels given the impact of Covid.
"Our analysis of consumer income and demand patterns over the past few months had suggested a better situation for Tier 3/4 geographies and e-commerce trends suggest a similar pattern," the report said. While growth for e-commerce channel emerged from all geographies, Tier 3/4 outpaced Metro and Tier 1/2 with booking from these markets increasing to 60 per cent of mix vs 55 per cent last year.
Tier 1 and 2 mainly comprised existing shoppers who are buying more, while Tier 3 and 4 reflect new online shoppers.
Apparel (including footwear and sportswear) continues to be the largest category in e-commerce with consumer electronics (mobiles, laptops etc) being the No 2 category.
Categories which are gaining scale are grocery, home personal care and household goods. The widening of category choices from consumers also reflects the willingness of consumers to experiment, reflecting their trust on online platforms. Consumer durables have seen 165 per cent growth in volumes this festive season with almost all products (TV, AC, washing machine), witnessing a spike in growth.
Comfort on online shopping is increasing. Sharp reduction in return orders which declined by over 25 per cent, and is a good indicator of increased consumer engagement with the online platform and also reflects the quality of growth. Increasing trust on online payments as indicated by lower share of COD (cash on delivery) orders (55 per cent now vs 65 per cent pre-Covid). While COD as a mode of payment may remain relevant due to ease of use (Quicker checkout, consumer comfort on delivery timelines etc.) online payments should continue to gain ground, the report said.
The analysts interacted with the top management of Delhivery, India's largest independent private e-commerce logistics company, to understand the consumption trends this season.
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Indian equities surged to fresh records on Wednesday as a spurt in the last half hour of trade helped the Sensex surpass 63,000 for the first time.Vi in Talks with SBI for up to ₹16,000-Cr Loan
Cash-strapped Vodafone Idea (Vi) has dialled State Bank of India (SBI) for a ₹15,000-16,000 crore loan to meet its immediate 4G capex needs, fund gear supply contracts for its pending 5G rollout and to clear some sizeable vendor dues, three people aware of the matter said.China Stir may Infect Key Sectors in India
The widespread protests in China against the strict restrictions under its zero Covid policy and the spreading pandemic could impact India’s consumer electronics, gold, diamonds, and engineering goods sectors, industry executives said.
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It’s easy to be cynical about the way Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, kicked Facebook when it was down this week.
Apple has become the most valuable company in the world without having any need to siphon off its customers’ personal data. So taking the moral high ground and declaring privacy a “human right” at a time when Facebook is under fire for leaking the personal information of 50m users looks like an easy decision. Apple has been trying for a while to turn its more restrictive approach to user data into a differentiator, and Facebook’s discomfort was a boon.
Mr Cook’s comments also belie the indirect ways in which Apple is benefiting from the very same big data economy that has underpinned online advertising.
Being the default search service on the iPhone, for instance, feeds Google’s advertising revenues. In return, Apple gets a cut of this money. According to one analyst’s estimate, Google paid $3bn for its privileged position on the iPhone last year, money that would have fallen straight to Apple’s bottom line. Based on the multiple Wall Street puts on Apple’s earnings, that means Google’s advertising indirectly accounts for about $50bn of Apple’s stock market value.
Apple doesn’t get a cut of the money that Facebook makes from its iPhones, but the social networking company’s app still soaks up much of the attention of smartphone users, increasing the value of the device.
Leaving aside the natural cynicism this might evoke, however, there is much to welcome in Mr Cook’s attack on the lax data practices of other big tech companies. Higher standards are badly needed.
The mass collection of personal data isn’t about to end, even if the Facebook scandal has brought home what can go wrong. The ability to collect information on a huge scale gets easier by the day. The more a person’s life is led online, the more numerous the digital traces.
It doesn’t make sense to leave this information unharvested when there is so much value to be gained from it. Advertising is the lifeblood of much of the internet. Knowing more about the people who view online advertising increases its value, so it benefits both sides for that information to be used. What matter are the controls and the transparency around the data collection.
Having more information about internet users should also make digital life demonstrably better. Machine learning, the main technique behind recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, feeds on big data. And the mass personalisation behind many internet services depends on a deep knowledge of users.
Apple itself has struggled with the paradox of trying to ride these technology waves while at the same time reinforcing user privacy. Its Siri voice answering service, for instance, was designed to work on the data that are held on a user’s device, rather than sending that information to a server in the cloud. One result is that an Apple customer can get different answers when talking to Siri on different devices: each is processing a different, isolated data set. To get around this, Apple began sharing information between devices last year — a sign of the trade-offs between utility and privacy that today’s technology demands.
Facebook’s discomfort has been a reminder of the way that lax controls on data collection led to a race to the bottom. So much the better, then, if Mr Cook’s comments this week encourage other tech companies to raise their sights when grappling with the hard questions of the big data economy.
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Digiday Research: Social platforms are for brand awareness, not traffic, say publishers
This research is based on unique data collected from our proprietary audience of publisher, agency, brand and tech insiders. It’s available to Digiday+ members. More from the series →
Platforms are turning into an awareness play, rather than a way to grow traffic.
In a survey of 124 publishing executives by Digiday this May, the majority of respondents said that they view platforms as a way to increase awareness among audiences, rather than drive people to their sites, or make money off them.
For publishers that are focused on gaining exposure to more readers, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are the most useful platforms, said respondents.
“Platforms,” of course vary. But Facebook is alternately still considered as a valuable way to refer traffic. When respondents listed their top three platforms for their ability to refer traffic, Facebook still came out top with 85% of the vote, followed by Twitter with 44% and Google AMP with 33%.
“Our main use of Facebook is to get our journalism distributed widely — we also use it as a paid marketing channel to promote our subscriptions — and we’re perfectly happy with that relationship,” New York Times CEO Mark Thompson previously told Digiday.
“Social used to be 30 percent [of our traffic], now it’s 10 percent. That’s what we all need to do. You can’t rely on any of them, long-term,” one publishing executive commented at this year’s Digiday Moguls Summit. “We’re always happy for the referral traffic or any money we can get from social platforms, but it’s not something we try to lean too heavily on,” another publishing executive told Digiday.
“We still see a healthy amount of referral traffic from Facebook, but we’re increasingly trying to make platforms like Facebook and Twitter as places that we can grow our engagement with readers,” said Samantha Melbourneweaver, audience engagement director at The Los Angeles Times. “We’re noticing that Facebook users are starting to skew older and those audiences are the ones that interact with news content,” she added.
Facebook is unsurprisingly publishers’ most important platform when it comes to building brand awareness. Previous Digiday research has found that Facebook provides the furthest reach for publishers’ paid and unpaid content posted to the platform — mostly a function, probably, of its scale.
But publishers are also experimenting with other platforms like Twitter and Instagram. At Axios, director of growth Christine Roberts said the publisher also uses Instagram for brand awareness for illustrations and data viz.
It’s also not one or the other. “Axios does not view creating brand awareness or driving referral traffic as mutually exclusive, and instead pushes strategies on social that accomplish both goals,” said Roberts.
The Economist follows a similar model of pursuing brand awareness goals while making their owned properties accessible to potential readers. “Social platforms are important tools for getting our brand and our content in front of new people. We think carefully about the customer experience and journey, providing our audience with the option of reading Economist content within the social platform environment, while also taking advantage of opportunities to bring prospects to Economist.com,” said The Economist’s chief marketing officer Mark Cribbs.
Facebook’s scale also means it’s never going to really not matter as a traffic referral, especially for consumer-focused publications. “Even though we see a lot less from Facebook than we used to, it’s still our number one social traffic provider. It was so far ahead of the other platforms that even a significant drop meant it would still be number one,” said Melbourneweaver.
Despite publishers’ gripes with Google AMP, it remains one of the most important places for publishers to convert readers from. “If a story isn’t formatted through Google AMP, it’s essentially dead to us online,” added Melbourneweaver.
More in Media
The retail giant paired its insights unit Luminate with Walmart Connect to help suppliers optimize for customer consumption, just in time for the holidays, explained the company’s CRO Seth Dallaire.
In this week’s Digiday+ Research Briefing, we examine BuzzFeed’s plans to pivot the business to an AI-driven tech and media company, how marketers’ use of X and ad spending has dropped dramatically, and how agency executives are fed up with Meta’s ad platform bugs and overcharges, as seen in recent data from Digiday+ Research.
Despite the hope that 2024 would be a turning point for publishers’ advertising businesses, the first quarter of the year proved to be a mixed bag, according to three publishers.


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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 37 million people in the U.S. have diabetes. That’s a little more than 11% of the entire population.
A diabetic’s body doesn’t make enough or any insulin at all. Those with the disease must regularly monitor their blood sugar. This has been traditionally done with glucometers, which diabetics use to prick their fingers over and over again for drops of blood. But over the last decade, technology like continuous glucose monitoring has been on the rise.
The technology is also being marketed by several health and wellness apps as many companies see benefits for those who don’t have diabetes.
CNBC spoke with both Abbott and Dexcom about the technology inside continuous glucose monitors and how they see it expanding.
Bitcoin just completed its fourth-ever ‘halving,’ here’s what investors need to watch now
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
The Bitcoin network on Friday night slashed the incentives rewarded to miners in half for the fourth time in its history.
The celebrated event, which takes place about once every four years as mandated in the Bitcoin code, is designed to slow the issuance of bitcoins, thereby creating a scarcity effect and allowing the cryptocurrency to maintain its digital gold-like quality.
There may be some speculative trading on the event itself. JPMorgan said it expects to see some downside in bitcoin post-halving and Deutsche Bank said it “does not expect prices to increase significantly.” However, the impact may be bigger months from now, even if bitcoin continues its trend of diminishing returns from its halving day to its cycle top. Two key things to watch will be the block reward and the hash rate.
“While the upcoming Bitcoin halving will create a supply shock as the previous ones had, we believe its impact on the cryptocurrency’s price could be magnified by the concurrent demand shock created by the emergence of spot bitcoin ETFs,” said Benchmark’s Mark Palmer.
The bigger immediate impact will be to the miners themselves, he added. They’re the ones that run the machines that do the work of recording new blocks of bitcoin transactions and adding them to the global ledger, also known as the blockchain.
“Miners with access to inexpensive, reliable power sources are well positioned to navigate the post-halving market dynamics,” said Maxim’s Matthew Galinko in a note Friday. “Some miners, many that are not public, could exit the market with a combination of poor access to power, efficient machines, and capital. Miners with capital and relatively expensive power will likely find opportunities in the wake of potential consolidation and disruption driven by the halving.”
The block reward
Miners have two incentives to mine: transaction fees that are paid voluntarily by senders (for faster settlement) and mining rewards — 3.125 newly created bitcoins, or about $200,000 as of Friday evening, when the mining reward shrunk from 6.25 bitcoins. The incentive was initially 50 bitcoins.
The reduction in the block rewards leads to a reduction in the supply of bitcoin by slowing the pace at which new coins are created, helping maintain the idea of bitcoin as digital gold — whose finite supply helps determine its value. Eventually, the number of bitcoins in circulation will cap at 21 million, per the Bitcoin code. There are about 19.6 million in circulation today.
“Miners utilize powerful, specialized computer hardware to validate transactions on the Bitcoin network and record them permanently on the blockchain,” Deutsche Bank analyst Marion Laboure said. “This process, known as mining, rewards miners with newly minted bitcoins. But with each halving, the reward to mining is decreased to maintain scarcity and control the cryptocurrency’s inflation rate over time.”
Historically after a halving, the Bitcoin hash rate – or the total computational power used by miners to process transactions on the Bitcoin network – has fallen, pricing some miners out of the market. It generally recovers in the medium term, however, Laboure pointed out.
The network hash rate has been hitting all-time highs for months as miners tried to take market share ahead of the halving. Growth in the Bitcoin hash rate dilutes individual miners’ contribution to the network hash rate.
“In the past three halvings, the network recovered its pre-halving hash rate levels within an average of 57 days,” she said. “It is also likely that the current elevated prices of bitcoin may limit this short-term dip in the hash rate, as bitcoin miners enjoy record high profits in the lead-up to the halving.”
Palmer said the impact of the halving on bitcoin miners’ economics could be “more than offset over time” if bitcoin’s price rallies keep pushing the cryptocurrency to new highs in the months ahead.
The Bitcoin network completes the fourth-ever ‘halving’ of rewards to miners
The Bitcoin network on Friday evening completed its fourth “halving,” reducing the rewards earned by miners to 3.125 bitcoins from 6.25.
The price of bitcoin has been volatile ahead of the event, and fell about 4% this week to trade around $64,100, according to Coin Metrics.
Mechanically, the halving itself shouldn’t affect the price of bitcoin in the short term, but many investors are expecting big gains in the months ahead, based on the cryptocurrency’s performance after previous halvings. After the 2012, 2016 and 2020 halvings, the bitcoin price ran up about 93x, 30x and 8x, respectively, from its halving day price to its cycle top.
The event is a big test for mining companies, however.
“All else equal, the halving will cut industry revenues in half, triggering a wave of consolidation and business closures, while (hopefully) rationalizing the network hashrate and industry capex, which is ultimately good for the remaining operators,” JPMorgan analyst Reginald Smith said in a recent note to investors.
Hash rates are a measure of the computational power used to process transactions on the bitcoin network. The larger a miner’s hash rate, the greater of a revenue opportunity it has.
Mining stocks have been volatile in the days leading up to the event. Many are down by double digits for the year, after rallying between about 300% and 600% in 2023. Riot Platforms, for instance, is down about 41% in 2024 through Friday’s close, but it surged 356% in 2023.
“The market so far has seen bitcoin mining stocks as mere BTC proxies, in absence of bitcoin ETFs,” said Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani. “[The] halving would further differentiate the low cost, high-scale consolidating winners vs. rest of smaller miners which may be disadvantaged post-halving.”
Mining stocks in 2023 and 2024
|MARATHON DIGITAL (MARA)
|RIOT PLATFORMS (RIOT)
|IRIS ENERGY (IREN)
|CIPHER MINING (CIFR)
Still, speculators may still trade on the event. Another JPMorgan analyst, Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, said Thursday that he expects the near-term bitcoin price to fall after the halving, citing overbought conditions and prices that are still above the cryptocurrency’s comparison to gold when adjusted for volatility. He also pointed to subdued venture capital funding of crypto projects.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank have a similar view.
“[The] Bitcoin halving is already partially priced in by the market and we do not expect prices to increase significantly following the halving event,” the firm’s Marion Laboure said in a note Thursday, adding that it “has been widely anticipated in advance due to the nature of the Bitcoin algorithm.”
“Looking ahead, we continue to expect prices to stay high,” she added, citing expectations of future spot Ethereum ETF approvals, future central bank rate cuts and regulatory developments.
Bitcoin is currently trading at just under $64,000, roughly 13% off its March 14 all-time high of $73,797.68.
Drone startup Zipline hits 1 million deliveries, looks to restaurants as it continues to grow
Autonomous delivery drone startup Zipline said Friday that it hit its 1 millionth delivery to customers and that it’s eyeing restaurant partnerships in its next phase of growth.
The San Francisco-based startup designs, builds and operates autonomous delivery drones, working with clients that range from more than 4,700 hospitals, including the Cleveland Clinic, to major brands such as Walmart and GNC. It’s raised more than $500 million so far from investors including Sequoia Capital, a16z and Google Ventures. Zipline is also a CNBC Disruptor 50 company.
The company said its zero-emission drones have now flown more than 70 million autonomous commercial miles across four continents and delivered more than 10 million products.
The milestone 1 millionth delivery carried two bags of IV fluid from a Zipline distribution center in Ghana to a local health facility.
As the company continues to expand, it will bring on Panera Bread in Seattle, Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, and Jet’s Pizza in Detroit.
Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo Cliffton told CNBC that 70% of the company’s deliveries have happened in the past two years and, in the future, the goal is to do 1 million deliveries a day.
“The three areas where the incentive really makes the most sense today are health care, quick commerce and food, and those are the three main markets that we focus on,” Rinaudo Cliffton said. “Our goal is to work with really the best brands or the best institutions in each of those markets.”
The push into restaurant partnerships marks an “obvious transition” he said, due to the continuing growth in interest in instant food delivery. Zipline already delivers food from Walmart to customers.
“We need to start using vehicles that are light, fast, autonomous and zero-emission,” Rinaudo Cliffton said. “Delivering in this way is 10 times as fast, it’s less expensive … and relative to the traditional delivery apps that most restaurants will be working with, we triple the service radius, which means you actually [get] 10 times the number of customers who are reachable via instant delivery.”
Zipline deliveries for some Panera locations in Seattle are expected to begin next year, the Panera franchisee’s Chief Operating Officer Ron Bellamy told CNBC. Delivery continues to grow for its business, even in an inflationary environment, he said. Costs with Zipline are anticipated to be on par with what third-party delivery is now, he added, with the hope of that cost lowering over time.
“I’m encouraged about it, not just even in terms of what I can do for the business, but as a consumer, I think at the end of the day, if it is economical, and it delivers a better overall experience, then the consumer will speak,” Bellamy said.
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Tourism Australia chief marketing officer Lisa Ronson will be leaving the organisation in March to pursue a new career opportunity with Coles Group.
Tourism Australia’s managing director John O’Sullivan said that Ronson had done an outstanding job in her four years leading the marketing team.
“Lisa has been a wonderful custodian of the Tourism Australia brand,” he said. “In her time as CMO, she has brought a new level of customer centricity, commercial focus and creativity to our marketing.
“She is someone who believes passionately in the power of creative ideas and partnerships to deliver commercial results. That approach is certainly a big part of the legacy she leaves our organisation and especially evident with recent creative campaigns such as Aussie News Today, Dundee and UnDiscover Australia.
“We will not only miss Lisa’s marketing expertise, but also her enormous enthusiasm for the industry and passion for her colleagues. She’ll be sadly missed but goes with our very best wishes and gratitude for a job extremely well done.”
Ronson has led a number of award-winning Tourism Australia marketing campaigns, including Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns, which received a Titanium Lion award at the 2018 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
“I’m hugely grateful for my time at Tourism Australia,” Ronson said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to work on so many amazing projects, with talented and enthusiastic people and for such a great brand. I will miss it a great deal, especially the team and the industry, but feel that the time is right to move on and hand over the reins.”
Ronson will help manage the transition and bed in Tourism Australia’s newly appointed global creative and digital agencies M&C Saatchi, Digitas and ASAP+.


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It's back to the future this Christmas as retro children's gifts come back into fashion, as shoppers rush to buy last-minute presents for family and friends.
Classics like Lego, Jenga and Monopoly are in high demand, according to retailers.
While older generations grew up playing with Lego, it seems the newer generation is equally keen to construct the classic building blocks.
Lego tops the list of kids' toys at David Jones, closely followed by micro scooters and classic card games.
At Myer, another classic is proving a hit, with retail operations director Tony Sutton declaring "the traditional board games are back".
Online, Monopoly Cheaters edition is in demand, which eBay says has exploded in popularity with a 95 per cent boost in sales over the past month.
“This year, we’ve seen a shift away from screens, with kids being encouraged to play in new ways, often getting the whole family involved," eBay chief marketing officer Julie Nestor said.
"What we really love seeing is the resurgence of retro favourites – from Polly Pocket, to Tamagotchi and Monopoly. These nostalgia-inspired toys allow big kids to revisit their childhood all over again."
For the tech heads, there's little surprise that the usual suspects continue to top Christmas wishlists.
Bluetooth headphones were nominated by the retailers as items flying out the door. In particular, the noise-cancelling Bose QC 35s - a perennial favourite among travellers.
Other hot items include the Google Home, GoPro HERO 7, the Apple iPhone X, the Samsung Galaxy S9 and portable speaker UE BOOM 3.
Ms Nestor said Australians are choosing "connectivity 24/7" with their tech gifts this Christmas.
"Whether that’s with the latest Apple or Samsung smartphone release or the Google Home, we want smart and unplugged solutions wherever and whenever we need them," she said.
As a unique twist on the classic chocolate option, Mr Sutton said Myer had sold more than 300,000 personalised Toblerone bars, with consumers able to add the recipient's name to the gift packaging.
In the homewares category, Dyson vacuum cleaners prove that gifts can both suck and have a practical use at the same time.
While clothes and perfume remain popular, Happy Socks stand out as a "statement piece". "Bright, colourful socks are a trending stocking-filler putting a fun spin on socks," David Jones general manager of kids and menswear Chris Wilson said.
And as always, retailers are spruiking gift cards for those who are difficult to buy for.
"Gift cards are always popular Christmas presents as customers enjoy getting more for their money in the post-Christmas sales when they have access to current season stock in every department on every floor," Mr Wilson said.


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Star Trek Online Season 9 Gets a Date and New Trailer
Perfect World Entertainment has announced that Star Trek Online will launch its latest content update, Season 9: A New Accord, on April 22, 2014.
In this latest season, players will experience a brand new Feature Episode that continues the story left off in the last episode A Step Between Stars, starring Tim Russ. Season 9: A New Accord will also include all new space and ground events, an all-new space Battlezone, deep refinements to gameplay systems, and much more.
Starting on April 14th and lasting until April 21st, players can earn Bonus Experience to get caught up on previous seasons and Feature Episodes.
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HTC Rhyme Listed In Leaked Verizon MAP; What Is It?
A new Minimum Advertised Price list for Verizon devices has leaked out, and while a lot of it is old news, the list tips us off to the existence of a device referred to as the HTC Rhyme. Now we’re just left to wonder: what is it?
The leak has the Rhyme coming out around the end of September, going for about $200. Based on the model number, it looks like we’re dealing with an Android here.
We first saw this model number ADR6330VW pop up in a pre-MAP leak that came out this time last month. At the time, we were left scratching our heads as to what the device would be. This time, there aren’t many more conclusions we can come to, but at least we have a name for the handset.
If we want to make associations based on the model number’s proximity to other HTC Androids on Verizon, it’s not too off from the Droid Incredible 2. Just how much in common it might share with that smartphone, though, is a tough call.
Considering the phone’s name, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see the Rhyme released as part of HTC’s Beats partnership, maybe coming packaged with a pair of the company’s earbuds. Ultimately, we’re just going to have to wait for more information to come out before we can pin-down the nature of the HTC Rhyme.


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Pentax US has today announced the opening of PentaxPhotoGallery.com a stylish and sophisticated online photo gallery dedicated to photographs taken with Pentax equipment. With a frankly beautiful Flash interface Pentax Photo Gallery allows you to browse images in collections, categories, artists and even by camera or lens. The entire site is available in six languages and already hosts over 2500 images by 300 photographers. Even if you're not a Pentax owner I recommend you checkout this site.
PENTAX ANNOUNCES OPENING OF
GOLDEN, CO. (August 6, 2007) PENTAX Imaging Company has opened the doors of www.pentaxphotogallery.com to give PENTAX shooters around the world the opportunity to be represented in the gallery and share their most defining moments of photography. This virtual Photo Gallery is the first of its kind to offer space for passionate PENTAX photographers to exhibit their work, share and gain resources within an artistic community, create an online portfolio, and more.
“For decades, PENTAX collected the best images captured with our cameras and published the work annually in an historical, coffee table-type, book collection,” said Ned Bunnell, Vice President Marketing, PENTAX Imaging Company. “Now we are taking things in a new direction with the PENTAX Photo Gallery that offers 24/7/365 virtual access to the best photography captured by PENTAX photographers.”
Unlike most photo sharing websites, www.pentaxphotogallery.com is an original website that was designed exclusively for Pentaxians by PENTAX Imaging Company. PENTAX photographers may submit work for display and become part of an online photography community that reflects a collaborative archive of talent. Biographies of each photographer help reveal the personalities behind each lens.
With limitless virtual capacity, the PENTAX gallery already features more than 2,500 images submitted by more than 300 artists. Photographers range from 16 to 80 years of age and hail from more than 40 countries throughout Europe; Asia; the Middle East; North, South and Central Americas; Africa; and the Pacific Rim. The gallery offers site navigation in six languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, and Italian.
Featuring a search engine that locates images according to camera bodies and individual lenses (as well as photographer and subject category), the gallery educates budding photographers about the creative capabilities offered by the vast array of PENTAX digital SLR lenses.
PENTAX photographers interested in more information regarding submitting work to the gallery may email: email@example.com. An informative flash demonstration of this process is also available at: http://extranet.texturemedia.com/pentax/photogallery/demo2/demo.html
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The American Bankers Association today joined a broad coalition of financial trade and consumer organizations in a letter to congressional leaders urging them to exempt the CARES Act economic impact payments from garnishment orders. While the CARES Act exempted these payments from offset for debts owed to federal and state agencies (except for child support), it failed to address court-ordered garnishments to pay creditors, the groups noted.
“Banks are obligated to comply with garnishment orders unless lifted by a court,” the groups emphasized. “We urge Congress to provide this certainty to ensure that American families are receiving these benefits as intended.”
They added that clarifying the treatment of EIPs could also encourage more consumers to provide their direct deposit information to the IRS, which would facilitate the use of electronic payments rather than digital checks—something ABA has advocated since the EIP program was first announced.


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The carpet cleaner turned restaurateur has overcome numerous challenges in his efforts to franchise the Sobelmans Pub & Grill brand.
Successfully breaking into the restaurant industry is no small feat. The business is filled with obstacles to overcome—between finding the right staff, staying ahead of consumer trends and everything in between, there’s a seemingly endless list of things that could go wrong. And for Dave Sobelman, the founder of emerging franchise brand Sobelmans Pub & Grill, being successful seemed impossible at first.
Sobelman didn’t set out to launch a growing franchise. In fact, he never even wanted to run a restaurant—his background was in the carpet cleaning business. But after meeting his wife, Melanie, while she was waitressing, things changed. The owner of the restaurant she worked at was ready to retire, and needed someone to take over another one of his locations. So Sobelman jumped at the opportunity.
“When I first started out, everything was a challenge. Being behind the bar and in the kitchen is a lot different than being seated at a table, and I wasn’t sure what I was doing. But even though it was tough, I was learning every single day,” said Sobelman. “The biggest obstacle for me wasn’t figuring out the menu or recipes that I wanted to use—it was creating the right kind of environment for both my employees and customers. Ultimately, I wanted Sobelmans to be in the business of making people happy. We’ve done that by finding the right balance of quality food, friends and family.”
Today, Sobelmans is rapidly expanding. The brand’s first franchise opened its doors in Waukesha, Wisconsin last month, and it’s already seeing the most traffic out of the brand’s four locations. Sobelmans is also gearing up for another franchise opening in the next few weeks. But even though the brand is growing, there are still obstacles to overcome.
Those problems come with launching a new franchise concept—ensuring brand consistency from location to location is a challenge that even the largest companies face.
“Being a franchisor provides its own unique set of challenges. But the biggest one I’ve had to deal with so far is ensuring that Sobelmans is staying true to its brand name no matter where it opens up,” said Sobelman. “Solving this problem has come down to training. When we’re gearing up to open a new restaurant, I like to be in the kitchen overseeing how things are running. We also go through a series of soft launches to get all the kinks out—by the time the grand opening comes around, I want to be 100 percent confident that Sobelmans will continue to be successful.”
Whether or not franchisees are doing their job properly can make or break a business. At the end of the day, consumers frequent brands that they respect and trust. Sobelman says earning that reputation starts with creating a positive relationship between franchisees and franchisors.
“I’m very straight forward with the local owners who join my system. Being in the restaurant business is hard—it’s a lot of long hours, and it can be tough on families. But if you have the drive and passion for the brand, it’s all worth it,” said Sobelman. “Now that I’ve been in this business for a while and have started franchising, I’m more confident in our direction. And when other obstacles come up—because I know they will—I’m ready to use what they learn to further our success.”


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Discover How HedgeUp (HDUP) and Chainlink (LINK) Raise the Bar in the Investment World – Analytics Insight
Leaving the ghosts of 2022 behind, the cryptocurrency market has rung in the New Year on a promising note. With new products in its kitty, the market continues to be a draw for crypto enthusiasts worldwide. While there is never a dull moment in the crypto market, crypto users’ preferences are always changing and the current flavor seems to be cryptocurrencies that can help one do more than just invest. Take the example of HedgeUp, which is a decentralized platform that opens up access to alternative investment products. More cryptocurrency users are opening up to products with multiple uses – be it something as simple as play-to-earn games or as complex as building dApps.
Here’s a look at two cryptocurrency platforms: Chainlink and HedgeUp, which have been drawing users in large numbers because of their versatile functionalities.
HedgeUp: Unleashing the potential of alternative investment products
HedgeUp is a decentralized platform that enables cryptocurrency users to explore alternative investment products like luxury watches, art, aviation, gold, and wine, among others. With HedgeUp, crypto users get to invest in a basket of alternative products which can act as a hedge against market factors like volatility and inflation. Another benefit typically associated with alternative investment products is that can help to diversify one’s portfolio and fetch enhanced returns. According to the research done by the HedgeUp team, by choosing a “basket” of alternative investment products, crypto users can look forward to earning average returns ranging between 28% and 36%.
The platform has also rolled out a native token called HDUP that can be used for a wide range of transactional purposes on the network including staking, accessing rewards, charitable donations, and securing voting rights. The $HDUP Token will be available on presale and its total supply has been capped at 999,000,000 units. While the platform does not levy any taxes on the purchase of the $HDUP Tokens, users should know that the tokens purchased on presale have a vesting period. For instance, if a buyer purchases $HDUP Tokens during presale stages 1-6, the tokens would be locked for three months. If one purchases $HDUP Tokens in presale stages 7 and 8, these tokens will be locked for a month.
A key USP of the HedgeUp platform is its governance structure – HedgeUP DAO which is based on the decentralized organization autonomous (DAO) model which has a community-driven focus. Under the model, community members are encouraged to voice their concerns about the team’s plans for the $HDUP Token. Token holders are entitled to exclusive voting rights and can voice their opinion on operational matters. With HedgeUP DAO, the platform aims to streamline its liquidity allocation and supervise investment baskets while …….


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Guwahati, Nov 21: Sanjoy Kishan, Assam’s Labour Welfare Minister, announced on Tuesday that Patanjali Ayurved, a company founded by Baba Ramdev, is preparing to enter the Assam tea market.
The state government has approved this move with the aim of accessing the global market. Discussions are ongoing with Patanjali Ayurved’s management.
The minister confirmed that Assam’s tea will soon be incorporated into Patanjali’s portfolio, a move endorsed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The initiative is also intended to counter competition from Kenyan and Sri Lankan tea industries. Kishan assured that despite potential ownership changes of Assam’s tea gardens, workers’ wages will be protected.


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Treehouse at Cadmos Village – innovation of the year
During the traditional event of tourism professionals at the Days of Croatian Tourism, which took place in Bluesun Hotels in Bol on the island of Brač on 26th and 27th September 2016, an awards ceremony was held to acknowledge the individuals, tourism industry representatives, and best destinations.
Travel agency TM adventure with the first treehouse in Croatia “Treehouse at Cadmos Village” was the finalist of the annual Croatian tourism award in the category innovation of the year.
Along with 28 tourism awards in seven categories, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce also recognized 265 winners in eight different categories during the 20th awards ceremony of the “Tourism Flower – Quality for Croatia”. With existing awards for hotels, camps, and marinas, new awards were introduced for DMC (Destination Management Company), hostels, family accommodation, charter company, restaurants, and family farms.
Organized by the Ministry of tourism, Croatian Chamber of Commerce, and Croatian National Tourist Board, the 2-day symposium gathered over a thousand participants, where an analysis of the 2016 tourist season was conducted and main activities for the preparation of the upcoming 2017 season were announced.
The minister of tourism, Mr. Gari Cappelli, stressed the significance of cooperation between the stakeholders in tourism as one of key factors in the development of this industry and achieving excellent tourism results in the following year. „Croatian tourism has been showing better and better results every year and this is the direction we want to take for further development and record-breaking. This industry plays a serious role in the entire Croatian economy, therefore, it is of utmost importance to continue to develop, set example, and encourage other sectors in Croatia. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all winners, nominees, and all the people working in Croatian tourism, because they are the ones who make it really competitive and who, with their creativity and performance, make Croatia attractive and one of the most popular global destinations“, said minister Cappelli.
The opening of Days of Croatian Tourism commenced with the central topic of “Air transport in tourism – across the border to year-long operation”, within the 16th Croatian Tourism Forum, and with a presentation of measuring the efficiency of national tourism branding where the director of Croatian National Tourist Board, Mr. Ratomir Ivičić, outlined the guidelines for 2017. On the second day of the event, the results of the “Employees – the moving force of tourism” research were presented, followed by the presentation of “CRO card – encouraging domestic tourism expenditure”, and ended with a round table “How to achieve competitive and sustainable model of managing Croatian tourism”.


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