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CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero called On Crypto Regulation Clearly Defining Retail Investors At A Conference In Singapore.
The terms came at a time when retail investors were calling fouls for losing their investments in cryptocurrency companies. From 2020 to 2022, bad things like security deposit pools and fraud will plague the crypto industry to fund mismanagement by corporations.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent United States agency charged with protecting the public from fraud and abuse related to the sale of commodities and promoting transparency in the futures and options markets.
Perhaps these events did not create risk, but they did reveal how much they would affect investors. Regulators around the world are calling for laws to protect customers.
CFTC Commissioner’s proposal for phased regulation
Christy called for redefining the retail investor and providing legislation tailored to them. She noted that growing retailer interest in cryptocurrencies correlates with increased market exposure.
She pointed out that the agency has not modeled the CFTC for investors with annual incomes of less than $50,000 and that it needs to be restructured.
I recently proposed that the CFTC redefine retail customers. The CFTC’s current definition of retail is too broad, ranging from ordinary household customers to billionaires and hedge funds.
Christy Goldsmith Romero
A tiered definition would separate high net worth individuals and hedge funds from everyday retail investors. For example, hedge funds always have an added layer of protection from the market, so they have less exposure than individual investors.
Laws to protect investors should be easy to understand and include restrictions on leverage and priority when a company files for bankruptcy.
Christy also mentioned the importance of brokers in finance. Analysts argue that brokers make trades higher, but at least limit investors’ exposure to the market. decentralized finance (DeFi) introduced another dynamic that exposed investors to the market.
Regulation of virtual currency exchanges
Christy also called for greater regulation of cryptocurrency exchanges by the CFTC. These included frequent audits. cyber security Analysis, and at least the soundness of financial reviews.
Cybersecurity has become a significant threat to cryptocurrency exchanges. According to a Chainalysis report, hackers stole more than $3 billion from him from the market. Unlike 2021, the 2022 hacker prefers his DeFi protocol and so far he has drained over $718 million in investment capital.
CEO Sam Bank Fried (SBF) Puts Conflicts of Interest at FTX Center allegedly Poured investor money into sister company Alameda Research. Reports are now emerging that Alameda had a special clout at the company.
Christy noted that despite her calls for reform, the CFTC has been slow to implement safety measures.
While the commissioner was firm on regulating digital assets, he noted the potential that distributed ledgers could bring to the economy. She expected explosive growth in the technology, citing applications in agriculture, food safety, finance, and medicine.
Christie’s remarks echo what Bank of England Deputy Governor John Calif has done earlier. share His mistrust of DeFi. John argued that despite the fact that cryptocurrencies were born in the unregulated space and intended to remain so, they are now being widely applied in the mainstream financial sector. car, but it’s as good as its rules, its programming and its sensors.
An accident in the cryptocurrency industry could have far-reaching consequences for the global financial sector. So you need to approach the situation with speed while recognizing the benefits of technology.


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Women use smartphones differently from men. Here's what that means for marketers.
The Mobile Male is active and invested: this we know. But what of his female counterpart? Research suggests women smartphone users are not just ready to accept mobile media, but to substitute it for other mediums they're already comfortable with. But their adoption rate seems to lag a little behind men. Why?
It may have something to do with their innate behavior - or, more specifically, overcoming it. Traditionally women have been more likely to want to physically interact with the products they're considering buying - to touch, feel, smell, and test them before committing to a purchase. Slowly, however, they're starting to recognize the benefits of putting this aside. An August 2011 BabyCenter survey, "Shopping Rituals of the American Mom," found that 28 percent already use their phones to compare prices, while 71 percent rely on websites. It won't be long before they recognize the convenience of using the mobile web for this purpose and the two mediums converge.
Another factor contributing to women's slower adoption rate is the degree to which advertisers are currently targeting them. Global mobile media company BuzzCity reports that of the 2.8 billion mobile impressions it served in the United States during Q4 2011, 62 percent were served to men and only 38 percent to women. And yet, female adoption rates are on the rise. Already more than 40 percent of smartphone users in the U.K., Thailand, and South Africa are women, compared with at least 30 percent in France, Germany, Mexico, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and the United States (the latter currently boasts a divide of 62 percent male, 38 percent female).
That said, women are growing increasingly aware of mobile advertisements. According to InsightExpress and its Q1 2012 Digital Consumer Report, 46 percent of women report having seen a mobile ad while using the mobile Internet or a mobile app. This number falls shy of the males' response - 69 percent - but it's still significant. If almost half of all female smartphone users are noticing ads, that means one of two things: either they're growing more aware of the mobile landscape, or advertisers are doing something right with their ads.
It might be a little of each, given the survey results on how consumers react to mobile ads. Twelve percent of women liked the mobile ads they saw "somewhat," while 38 percent "neither liked nor disliked" the ads. Again, this is an indication that while female consumers aren't yet as engrossed as males, they represent a viable consumer base with the potential to be converted into more devoted mobile users.
How? Here are a couple of starting points.
Will 2012 be the year that women smartphone usage reaches its tipping point? I can hardly think of a more relevant and useful medium for busy female professionals and mothers. It's up to advertisers to help demonstrate this through their ads.
Join the Industry's Leading eCommerce & Direct Marketing Experts in Chicago
ClickZ Live Chicago (Nov 3-6) will deliver over 50 sessions across 4 days and 10 individual tracks, including Data-Driven Marketing, Social, Mobile, Display, Search and Email. Check out the full agenda and register by Friday, Oct 3 to take advantage of Early Bird Rates!
Tessa Wegert is a business reporter and former media strategist specializing in digital. In addition to writing for ClickZ since 2002, she has contributed to such publications as USA Today, Marketing Magazine, Mashable, and The Globe and Mail. Tessa manages marketing and communications for Enlighten, one of the first full-service digital marketing strategy agencies servicing such brands as Bioré, Food Network, illy, and Hunter Douglas. She has been working in online media since 1999.
IBM Social Analytics: The Science Behind Social Media Marketing
80% of internet users say they prefer to connect with brands via Facebook. 65% of social media users say they use it to learn more about brands, products and services. Learn about how to find more about customers' attitudes, preferences and buying habits from what they say on social media channels.
An Introduction to Marketing Attribution: Selecting the Right Model for Search, Display & Social Advertising
If you're considering implementing a marketing attribution model to measure and optimize your programs, this paper is a great introduction. It also includes real-life tips from marketers who have successfully implemented attribution in their organizations.
September 17, 2014
September 23, 2014
September 30, 2014
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KitchenReady Is Now A ReadyProducts Brand
(EMAILWIRE.COM, January 26, 2015 ) Pierson, MI -- KitchenReady, a popular online retail brand, has officially become a subsidiary of ReadyProducts, llc. There are no organizational or structural changes in the organization. The expansion, as the company calls it, happened in early January.
The change is the latest move by the online retailer aimed at eventually increasing its product offering outside of the kitchen & dining niche. ReadyProducts plans to bring its focus on the best possible customer experience, a focus that has successfully placed Time vs Pork Shoulder KitchenReady as one of the top rated retailers on Amazon, to other markets.
One thing that will not change for KitchenReady is the familiar branding' (such as the company's logo) that makes the company so recognizable. The unique syntax that demonstrates the relationship between the parent company ReadyProducts and its brand, KitchenReady, will also remain in place.
KitchenReady's first product, Kitchen Claws, launched in July of 2014 has been well received by consumers and have already Garnered multiple 5-star reviews on Amazon. KitchenClaws are an innovative products constructed out of a durable and lightweight, heat resistant polycarbonate that won't transfer heat. A versatile kitchen tool that can be used to lift roasts, briskets, poultry, and other cooked foods directly out of a roasting pan or hot cooking surface, such as a charcoal grill, onto a serving platter; hold hams, turkeys, or even watermelons steady while carving or slicing; shred pork for BBQ, toss and serve salads or create classic coleslaw.
ReadyProducts plans to make several upcoming announcements in the coming months regarding new products being launched by KitchenReady in 2015 as well as new brands that are currently in development.
KitchenReady, a ReadyProducts brand, prides itself on maintaining quality products and first-rate customer service. Kitchen Claws are for both the professional chef and the home cook enthusiast. KitchenReady focuses on the products and services that improve the experience in and around the Kitchen and bbq grill accessories .
email@example.com This is a press release. Press release distribution and press release services by EmailWire.Com: http://www.emailwire.com/us-press-release-distribution.php. Source: EmailWire.Com


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updated 12:50 pm EDT, Tue July 6, 2010
NTT may reverse years of insisting on locks
NTT DoCoMo had the potential to shake up the Japanese cellphone industry today with a claim by the Nikkei Business Daily that the carrier will finally start allowing unlocked devices on its network. Company head Ryuji Yamada is claimed to have opened the possibility of both allowing unlocked phones on the network and offering software to unlock phones so customers can switch. Terms, such as whether it would be available immediately or only after time has elapsed in a contract, weren't mentioned.
The changeover could take place as soon as April.
A switch would help end the customer lock-in that has been common in the Japanese market, where it's difficult to switch carriers without entirely replacing phones no matter which network they might consider. Japanese iPhones still come locked to SoftBank, but the move would allow unlocked models to be sold in the country and could allow iPad owners to convert over by using a data-only micro SIM. [via MarketWatch]


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The Netherlands has registered strong growth in video revenues on the back of OTT. Image Telecompaper
European video revenues are rising strongly on the back of sustained growth in SVoD and OTT, while traditional services remain flat or are even in slight decline.
This larger regional picture has been confirmed by recent Dutch figures from the news and research site Telecompaper, which is based in the Netherlands. Dutch pay TV revenues in the second quarter of 2018 totaled €556 million, up 7.2 per cent on a year earlier, with new OTT providers expanding their presence in the market accounting for most of that rise. In fact, subscriptions to traditional pay TV services have been virtually flat although revenues there are slightly up largely because the two big operators, telco KPN and MSO Ziggo, both raised prices of their triple play packages.
Telecompaper pointed out that broadband service providers have been growing their share of consumer TV budgets ever since Netflix arrived in the Netherlands in 2013. This is common to several leading European markets including France, Germany and Spain as well as the UK. In Spain for example pay TV as a whole is gaining both subscribers and advertising revenues on the back largely of OTT and SVoD, according to recent research from Zenith forecasts.
This indicated a 6.2 per cent growth in ad revenues from pay TV and 3.4 per cent for ads in FTA (Free To Air) TV in 2018 against the previous year. Total TV ad revenue in the country is likely to reach €12.54 billion, up 2.1 per cent on the previous year, but ad revenues generated by online video streaming services will be up 11 per cent. The research found that 61 per cent of all online ad spend in Spain is now dedicated to streaming, either pre, middle or post roll, and 39 per cent to in-screen banners.
The global picture is rather similar to Europe’s with total pay TV and SVoD subscriptions set to rise 37% between 2017 and 2023 to reach 1.877 billion, according to Digital TV Research. SVoD will account for about 80% of this growth from a lower base with numbers set to more than double from 366 million in 2017 to 777 million in 2023 according to this research, an increase of 411 million.
Traditional pay TV will also continue growing but at a slower rate, especially in percentage terms, from 1.006 billion to 1.100 billion subscribers, a rise of 94 million. The gap therefore will be narrowed significantly and when linear OTT is thrown into the mix will close even more as consumption of live sports and kids’ content online continues to escalate. It is hard to count linear OTT subscriptions accurately but by many estimates there are around 60 million globally now coming from behind SVoD but growing even faster at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of over 50%. At this rate it will be heading for around 400 million by 2023, which means that when combined with SVoD it could have caught up legacy pay TV, although there will be an overlap since many consumers will be subscribing to two or even all three of these categories.
The US has led the migration from legacy pay TV to SVoD which has already taken the lead there at 132 million subscriptions, set to rise to 208 million by 2023 following further cord-cutting. Traditional pay TV subscriptions are forecast to fall another 10 million to 80 million over that period, again according to Digital TV Research.
Asia Pacific will be the region propping up legacy pay TV the strongest, including China where it will still be ahead of SVoD in 2023, with 375 million subs against 235 million. Currently pay TV in China is on 343 million subs against 138 million for SVoD, so there as globally the gap will narrow a lot.
Total global traditional pay TV revenues are expected to fall by $18.5 billion to $183 billion over the forecast period as SVoD revenues climb by $43.7 billion to $69 billion. Aggregate global video revenues will therefore be up $25.2 billion at $252 billion.
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Turkey’s imports of red meat increased by 233 percent in 2018, while its red meat production dropped significantly, according to a report from the country’s Meat and Milk Board, the Dünya daily reported on Friday.
According to the board’s Sector Assessment Report of 2018, Turkey’s red meat imports increased by 233 percent in quantity, while they rose by 106 percent in value.
Turkey paid $85.1 million for the import of 18.8 tons of red meat in 2017, while it paid $260.1 million in 2018 to buy 55.7 tons of red meat from abroad.
The report also revealed that Turkey’s production of red meat continues to fall as it has been over the past two years. While the country produced 1,173,042 tons of red meat in 2016, this figure fell to 1,126,404 tons in 2017 and to 1,118,695 tons in 2018.
There was also a 54 percent increase in the import of cattle in 2018 compared to the previous year, with 42 percent of the cattle purchased from Brazil and 29 percent from Uruguay.
Many criticize President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), which have been ruling Turkey since 2002, for ruining Turkey’s agriculture and animal husbandry sectors and making the country dependent on foreign purchases.
Erdoğan frequently signs agreements with the countries he visits for the import of red meat. Bosnia and Herzegovina, France and Russia are some of the other countries selling meat to Turkey.
Source: Turkish Minute


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Atlanta – Digital Signage Expo (DSE), the world’s largest international trade show and educational conference dedicated to digital displays, interactive technology and digital communications networks, announced today that Lyle Bunn, Principal and Strategy Architect for the BUNN Company, will present a session at DSE 2017 entitled, “Buying Digital Signage – Sourcing pre-RFP to Contracting.”
To be presented Thursday, March 30 at 11 a.m., This session by a vendor-neutral digital signage industry veteran will define the path to vendor selection including the ins and outs of the request for proposal, possible vendor identification, proposal evaluation, short-list selection and contracting. This session is designed to save organizations time, money and procurement risk. Attendees will learn:
- How to move the digital signage product and service sourcing process forward in a way that fosters consensus in the organization and assures best value for the investment.
- How to structure the request for proposal to gain vendor responses that offer high value options to the end user organization.
- Ways to define the proposal evaluation criteria to score proposal elements against the identified requirements while taking advantage of additional value that can be realized.
“Success in prospecting, deal closure and revenue achievement including recurring monthly revenue are essential for Integrators, who fill a key role in the digital signage supply chain,” said Bunn. “End user expectations, enabling technologies and the competitive landscape continue to change to change rapidly and choosing the right technologies in sourcing/supply options is a key element of success.”
Registration for DSE’s Wednesday Pro AV/IT Systems Integrators session “Buying Digital Signage – Sourcing pre-RFP to Contracting,” or any of the DSE 2017 educational conference seminars, which are sponsored by BroadSign International and are eligible for Digital Signage Expert Group (DSEG) certification renewal credits, is available online at www.dse2017.com.
Attend two shows on the same trip – qualified GlobalShop 2017 attendees are welcome to tour the DSE 2017 show floor! Show badges are all that is required for entry to the DSE 2017 Exhibit Hall, Wednesday, March 29 and Thursday, March 30 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Mark your calendar now: DSE® 2017 is scheduled for March 28-31, 2017, with access to the Exhibit Hall March 29-30 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas. To reserve exhibit space, contact Andrea Varrone at (770) 817-5905. For more information, visit www.dse2017.com.
You can follow DSE on Twitter (@DSExpo) or Facebook (facebook.com/DSExpo). For all DSE 2017 updates, use #dse2017. For year-round news and information on digital signage, visit DSE’s Digital Signage Connection web portal at www.digitalsignageconnection.com.
DSE, produced by Exponation LLC, is co-located with the Digital Content Show, and will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center March 28-31, 2017 with access to the Exhibit Hall March 29-30. DSE is the world’s largest and longest-running conference and trade show exclusively dedicated to showcasing innovative digital communications and interactive technology solutions for customer- and employee-facing organizations. Launched in 2004, DSE was the first event for the digital signage market and has been a significant contributor to the growth of this fast-paced industry. Professional end-user attendance represents decision-makers from key industry categories such as retail, restaurant, healthcare, education, hospitality and transportation, as well as other key stakeholders, including advertising executives, brand marketers and systems integrators.
More than 200 exhibitors feature technology and services including hardware, software, network, delivery and content from around the globe. DSE also offers the largest and most diversified digital signage and digital out-of-home educational program anywhere in the world, with more than 125 educators and the largest variety of educational opportunities, including a live installation tour and structured curriculum leading to professional recertification in eight educational tracks. The 2017 program will be comprised of 12 pre- and post-show educational events, 40 general conference seminars, including a specialized keynote presentation for each educational track, as well as targeted 42 industry roundtable discussion groups and 28 free presentations staged in on-floor theaters.


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Taking place between May 21-25, the floral ring competition will celebrate the centenary of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and be put on display for judges and visitors to admire at the centenary concert in Ranelagh Gardens.
Rebecca’s career has bloomed after being selected as the only finalist to represent Dorset in the prestigious competition when her distinctive bridal bouquet design – for a gold medal-winning Chelsea gardener to carry at her wedding ceremony – caught the eye and the imaginations of the judges.
Rebecca said “It is a fantastic opportunity to be the only Dorset finalist for the centenary of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. As this year’s brief has been left wide open it will require all of a florist’s skill and expertise to produce a floral ring that lifts the ordinary to the extraordinary and really blows the judges away.”
The brief set by the RHS Chelsea Flower Show dictates the floral ring must draw inspiration from something or someone associated with Chelsea. Rebecca has just over a month to design and craft her final arrangement, which is being sponsored by Flora Direct, a trade supplier of fresh cut flowers, pot plants and sundries direct from Holland


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Sport the colors of the country's flag to drum up support for its soccer team
May 16, 2013
After Coca-Cola got so much grief the last time it tried to change the color of their cans, you'd think the beverage company would never pull something like that again. But in Brazil, under the guidance of agency Wieden & Kennedy Paulo, the cans have gotten a temporary makeover, sporting the colors of the Brazilian flag. The new packaging is available in the country for the next two months, and was created to support the Brazil during the upcoming FIFA Confederations Cup. The timing is good too, as the company gears up to host the World Cup -- something that its citizens aren't yet sure its infrastructure is ready for.


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Pinterest is moving away from their iconic grid format for the first time with their latest tool, Promoted Video, now available to all advertisers. Following successful tests earlier this year, the new video format will allow advertisers to engage consumers at max width and is accessible via Pinterest Ad Manager.
John Lewis and Adidas were amongst the first to trial the new ad unit, with the objective of boosting brand awareness and purchase intent. Content is shown to users when browsing within the home feed, within Pinterest’s “following” tab and mobile search.
Pinterest’s neuroscience study has revealed that instructional videos are resonating best with users, with awareness lifting by approx. 20% for John Lewis’ promotion of their new nursery range.
The TMS Take
Pinterests’ unique social offering is centred around discovery and inspiration, with commercial intent at the forefront. This means brands have an opportunity to reach consumers in a contextually relevant and uncluttered environment to drive brand consideration further. The brand is put forward as a solution to those seeking ideas, in order to guide a purchase decision.
What will be interesting is the measurement of success applied to the Promoted Video offering. The challenge will be attributing a sale back to content engagement, as it will be based on a behavioural response, occurring online or offline at any given time in the future.
The game-changer will be capturing unique value from the “in-market” audience by looking into path-to-purchase activity driven by strong brand association. Needless to say, many brands will be paying more attention to Pinterest.


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China will roll out a host of measures to ensure the supply of key medical resources and daily necessities for intensified epidemic prevention and control, and increase the production of urgently needed medical resources, a State Council executive meeting decided on Wednesday.
Greater fiscal and financial policy support will be extended to industries and businesses involved in outbreak response, according to a statement released after the State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.
“We must make all-out efforts across the country to meet the needs for essential medical supplies and medical professionals in Hubei Province, especially its capital city Wuhan. Key industries should lose no time in resuming production and operate in full gear to ensure the normal operation of industrial chains,” Li urged, “Transportation of these materials must be well coordinated. The initiative of governments at the sub-national level should be brought into full play. The central government should provide fiscal and financial support.”
The Wednesday meeting required redoubled efforts to ensure supplies vital for the epidemic control. While key businesses will be urged to promptly resume production and operate in full gear, relevant State-owned enterprises will be guided to switch production as quickly as possible to better serve the need of epidemic control, and expand such production capacity.
The private sector will be fully mobilized. Support will be extended to businesses shifting to contribute to outbreak response, and their difficulties in accessing funding, getting qualification approval, securing production venues and purchasing raw materials will be earnestly addressed. Production of key medical supplies in high demand will be increased while ensuring their quality. All the excess medical supplies thus produced will be procured by the government as reserves. Deferral of social insurance contributions and other possible means will be encouraged to help businesses keep payrolls stable.
“The needs across the country for essential goods and medical resources must be met. Sub-national governments should fulfill their due responsibilities. Stronger guidance should be provided to better coordinate the work on all fronts,” Li stressed.
The meeting urged local governments to earnestly fulfill their primary responsibilities and make every effort to ensure the production and provision of major agricultural products, including poultry, eggs, meat and vegetables. Vegetable growing and poultry and livestock farming should be promoted, and animal feed and processing factories facilitated in early resumption of production to meet the demand from the animal husbandry sector. Supply of meat, eggs and dairy products will be increased.
“We must make the key macro policy support well-targeted and extend it, as quickly as possible, to enterprises producing medical supplies and daily necessities and companies key to the economic development and people’s livelihood,” Li said.
The meeting called for greater efforts to ensure smooth transportation. Illegal acts such as arbitrary road blockage will be promptly stopped. Shipment of medical supplies and daily necessities to key epidemic areas will be prioritized, and transportation fast tracks will be kept open for delivering major agricultural products, including poultry, eggs, meat and vegetables.
“Panic and overreaction should be averted, while science-based and sensible prevention and protection be encouraged,” Li said.
The meeting decided on greater fiscal and financial support on top of previously introduced measures for enterprises producing essential supplies.
Starting from Jan. 1, manufacturers of key products will temporarily enjoy one-time tax deduction for equipment purchase. Revenues from shipping key epidemic control supplies and providing public transportation, consumer services and express delivery will be exempted from VAT. Eligible epidemic-control drugs and medical devices will be registered free of charge. Support will also be intensified for the research and development of therapeutics and vaccines.
The meeting called for effective implementation of the central bank’s re-lending policy designed to support outbreak control. Commercial banks will be supported in providing loans to key enterprises in the production, shipment and sales of essential supplies at a concessional rate. A 50 percent interest discount will be financed by fiscal money to keep the rate at less than 1.6 percent.
Supervision and oversight by fiscal and auditing authorities will be strengthened to ensure all the funding is put to best use.


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he papers proceed to grapple with the cost-of-living disaster on Wednesday.
The Guardian leads with Prime Minister Boris Johnson declaring he’s “completely sure” his successor will provide additional assist to struggling households.
It comes as Liz Truss has softened on the concept of handouts, in line with the i.
Metro carries feedback from shopper professional Martin Lewis, who urges the Authorities to take rapid motion towards inflation as households are predicted to pay the equal of £4,266 a 12 months till March.
Greater than half of Britons consider a boycott of hovering vitality payments is “justified”, in line with The Impartial.
The Telegraph says a assume tank has decided rising costs might price taxpayers an additional £30 billion a 12 months as persons are pushed into larger revenue tax bands.
The Monetary Instances studies Ms Truss has signalled she would give ministers the ability to overrule Metropolis regulators, whereas the Each day Specific offers the Overseas Secretary its tick of approval.
The Solar and Each day Mirror each lead with revelations from the Ryan Giggs trial, with the previous footballer’s ex-girlfriend telling a courtroom she was headbutted and cheated on by him.
The Instances says universities have began eradicating books from studying lists to guard college students from “difficult” content material.
A majority of infants had been born out of wed-lock for the primary time on report final 12 months, in line with the Each day Mail.
And the Each day Star says the UK is on “very purple alert” forward of this week’s four-day heatwave.


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The recession has been so long and so deep, it has even managed to penetrate areas that seemed inured to economic difficulty, such as the Hamptons. According to this morning's Post, financial pressure has forced the luxury retailers who settled in East Hampton to cater to second- and third-home owners during the boom to pack up their wares and move along, despite the fact that we're only a few short months away from the summer season. Among them, the Gucci on Main Street.
The iconic Italian brand, along with Brooks Brothers, Cole Haan and Calypso Home are among the retailers who have abandoned the tony village before the summer season.
Having lived in some dilapidated neighborhoods ourselves, we can envision what will come next. A check-cashing place will move in, a Chinese restaurant, a bodega with bulletproof glass. The window shoppers will be replaced with staggering drunks, and not the cute college kind. The Gucci sign will remain there, hanging forlornly, until at last some crackhead pulls it down and sells it as scrap metal.
But actually, wait, that's not what's happening. Apparently the stores are being replaced by ...
More stores? Per the Post:
Ralph Lauren has planted three stores on one block alone.
Oh. So the Hamptons aren't going bad. They're just becoming, like, Connecticut.


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Target to Rebrand CityTarget, TargetExpress Stores
Target will rebrand its CityTarget and TargetExpress stores as simply Target stores, according to the StarTribune. The change is being made to reduce confusion on the part of shoppers.
“It’s about a simplified experience for our guests,” said Erika Winkels, a Target spokeswoman. “It also helps guests understand that you’re not only limited to what’s in the four walls of that store.”
Shoppers in the smaller-sized stores can use iPads located throughout the store to order items from Target.com. Items can be shipped home or can be picked up in store.
Read the full story.


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For comparison, Decenter reports that similar phrasing in ad campaigns that replace “ethereum” with “eos” such as “eos smart contract audits” are still available for use through Google Ads and being featured in campaigns. While it’s unclear how broadly the ban has been applied to cryptocurrency, or whether it extends to any coins outside of Ethereum, Reddit users and Ethereum enthusiasts have begun an uproar over the selective censorship. The top comment by user u/ThePlague lambasts Google for promoting an agenda, stating that the company has been far from neutral in handling various forms of advertising on its platform, including cryptocurrency,
Why the Stock-to-Flow Bitcoin Valuation Model Is Wrong. Maybe you shouldn’t be banking all your finances on a halving-driven appreciation in bitcoin this year. In this op-ed for CoinDesk, contributor Nico Cordeiro picks apart one of the most commonly cited theories for why many people expect bitcoin’s baked-in quadrennial money supply decelerations to boost its price.
And while Ethereum fans crow about there being 12 times more wrapped bitcoin on their platform than the mere $9 million locked in the Lightning Network’s payment channels, the latter is making inroads in developing nations as a payment network for small, low-cost bitcoin transactions. Unlike WBTC, which requires a professional custodian to hold the original locked bitcoin, Lightning users need not rely on a third party to open up a channel. It’s arguably more decentralized.
Like other blockchains, Ethereum has a native cryptocurrency called Ether (ETH). ETH is digital money. If you’ve heard of Bitcoin, ETH has many of the same features. It is purely digital, and can be sent to anyone anywhere in the world instantly. The supply of ETH isn’t controlled by any government or company – it is decentralized, and it is scarce. People all over the world use ETH to make payments, as a store of value, or as collateral. The latest news about Ethereum mostly concerns the move to Serenity the last post-development phase of Ethereum as well as changing Ether mining’s concept from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake in order to reduce the power cost of the process. View Ads And Earn $0.15 PER CLICK (FAST & EASY Paypal Money)


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Google Play Games for PC launched in Europe
Google Play Games for PC has just launched in Europe and New Zealand. The company has expanded its availability list by adding over 40 countries.
Users in Europe and New Zealand may now access Google Play Games for PC Beta, a service that enables you to play Android games on Windows. New Zealand and more than 40 European nations, including Austria, Belgium, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the UK, are included in the current rollout phase.
Google Play Games for PC was introduced back in 2022, and it was initially launched in 13 countries around the world. These countries included Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and the US. According to the latest announcement, 40 countries in Europe, as well as New Zealand, have been added to the list, and users in these locations will be able to try out the feature on their PCs.
The Google Play Games for PC service now offers more than 100 games, and more are being added monthly. Most of the currently offered games are fan-favorites, and if you don't see your favorite Android game on the list, just wait a little more. Google is looking to add more games every month.
What is Google Play Games for PC?
Google Play Games for PC lets users play their favorite Android games on their PCs. Its name pretty much summarizes the service.
- Read Also: How to play Google Play Games on PC?
Users don't need high-end PCs to run Android games on their computers. You will require a PC running Windows 10, an SSD with at least 10GB of storage, an Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU, a 4-core CPU, and at least 8GB of RAM to run the gaming suite. Additionally, you must enable hardware virtualization and have Windows admin access to the computer you're using.
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BERLIN — At its 25th annual shareholders’ meeting in Munich Tuesday, Escada chief executive Bruno Sälzer said insolvency is the “only alternative” to the financial restructuring plan the company revealed late last week.
The embattled fashion house is proposing a capital increase to raise the 30 million euros, or $39 million, needed to stay liquid during the current fiscal year. Sälzer said the restructuring and recapitalization plan must be completed by July. It also includes the restructuring of a 200 million euro, or $260 million, bond due in 2012, and calls for creditors to take a cut in repayment as well as extending the bond’s term. Furthermore, Escada is in negotiations with banks on existing and future credit lines.
Escada’s plans to sell the Primera Group (encompassing Laurèl, Apriori, Biba and Cavita) are also well under way, though Sälzer would not give further details.
He told shareholders that all groups — shareholders, creditors and Escada’s house bank HypoVereinsbank — must cooperate “or Escada will not survive.” While observers said it is likely the plan will be agreed to, since the majority of shares are held by the Herz family and Rustam Aksenenko, there were skeptical voices to be heard.
“Escada is critically ill. Any number of therapies have done little or no good till now,” commented Verena Brendel from the DSW, the oldest and largest German association of private investors. With shares having fallen almost 90 percent in value over the last 52-week period, “shareholders are faced with ruin,” said Christop Öfele of the investors group SdK.
However, an Escada spokesman noted, there wasn’t so much resistance to be sensed as “the fact that people are grasping, for the first time, just how serious the situation is.”
Sälzer, who was called in to turn the company around last July, didn’t mince words. The company posted a 70 million euro, or $91 million, loss in fiscal 2007-08 and the negative trend continued in the first quarter ended Oct. 31. “The fully unacceptable business results are not only the fault of the market environment, which for the first time became clearly more difficult for upscale fashion at the end of 2008. But they are first and foremost the result of Escada’s too long tolerated deficits in fashion statement, in the professional management of the fashion market and in the organizational structures.”
Noting the management changes would not affect results for at least a year, Sälzer said group sales would continue to decrease within a high-single-digit to low-double-digit percentage range in the current fiscal year.


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Thanks to Ryokutya we have some amazing news for you. A leak reported by the Japanese games site reveals that Yokai Watch 4 is coming to Switch in 2018.
The release looks like it will only be in Japan with a western release following later.
Ryokutya is a site that leaks information from early editions of Famitsu it receives and has a very good track record when it comes to the information it releases.
Although the link above doesn’t include any sources, you can almost be sure that the information is accurate.
Yokai Watch 4 Switch
The information on Yokai Watch 4 Switch is very brief and doesn’t provide much other than the confirmation that it is coming to Nintendo’s console in 2018.
According to the leaked report yokai that appear in the game include characters from the anime like Touma Tsukinami, Natsume Amano, Keisuke Amano, and Akinori Arihoshi.
Additionally, the information from Ryokutya states that Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino said that with Yokai Watch 4 “its content is getting a super high-grade power up, including some things that will surprise everyone.”
Level-5 and Nintendo Switch
Level-5 bringing Yokai Watch 4 to Switch falls in line with what Hino has previously said about Nintendo’s console.
In an interview in March, Hino said “Basically, in the future, our main titles will all be released on Nintendo Switch. The idea is that what we have created for 3DS will move over to Switch.”
Yokai Watch has been a 3DS exclusive for years and even the most recent titles were released in Japan on 3DS in three different versions last year. While Yokai Watch 4 is definitely a great game coming to Switch, it’d certainly not the big, new game teased for Level-5’s 20th anniversary.
I want to properly announce a completely new title for the 20th anniversary. At the moment we may be exhausted because of the release rush from last years push-backs, but since it’s the culmination showing how hard we’ve truly worked these past 20 years, I definitely want to do it
Yokai Watch 4 is the first new Switch title from Level-5 revealed since Hino made his statements. But there are sure to be more to come.
We’ll keep an eye out and let you know.
For now, let’s celebrate Yokai Watch 4 coming to Switch.


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Over the previous couple of years, we have now been hit by one factor after one other. At any time when it looks like issues could also be calming down, one other disaster all of a sudden erupts, and in consequence a whole lot of People have developed a very dangerous case of “disaster fatigue” at this level. In response to Google, disaster fatigue is “a burnout response to extended publicity to sudden and worrying occasions”. Maybe you possibly can establish with that definition as a result of it sounds precisely like what you’re experiencing. Sadly, the reality is that what we have now been by thus far is just the start. As I have been warning for years, as “the right storm” will get rolling it’s simply going to maintain getting worse and worse.
This week, I used to be shocked to be taught that we at the moment are dealing with a serious agricultural nightmare within the state of Florida. In accordance to Fox Enterprise, it’s being projected that this can be “the smallest Florida orange crop since World Warfare II”…
Authorities agricultural forecasters stated they anticipate the smallest Florida orange crop since World Warfare II, touching off a rally in juice futures that have been already at their highest stage in years due to the pandemic.
The U.S. Agriculture Division stated final week that it expects Florida to provide 44.5 million 90-pound bins of oranges this 12 months, trimming its already low expectations and predicting that the crop will wind up smaller than the one which was ruined by 2017’s Hurricane Irma. If the forecast is correct, it is going to be the smallest harvest since 1945.
In 1945, there have been 139 million individuals dwelling in the US.
At the moment, there are 329 million individuals dwelling right here.
So we are literally going to have lower than half as many Florida oranges per particular person as they did in 1945.
Let that sink in for a second.
At a time when meals provides are already getting very tight, we’re being advised that the orange harvest in Florida goes to be at a frighteningly low stage.
The first motive why the harvest goes to be so dangerous is because of a plague referred to as “citrus greening illness”…
The massive offender this time round, the Florida Division of Citrus stated, is citrus greening, an incurable illness that thins the crowns of timber and saps their vitality. Unfold by invasive tree lice, greening has plagued Florida’s groves because it was first detected there in 2005. In a report on Wednesday, the Agriculture Division stated much more oranges than ordinary are on the bottom, and the fruit that’s being harvested is unusually small.
Evidently, that is going to affect all of us.
There can be much less oranges in our grocery shops, and people which might be accessible can be way more costly…
“You will have your classical supply-demand mismatch,” stated Shawn Hackett, president of Hackett Monetary Advisors, which focuses on agricultural commodities evaluation. Due to that, shoppers ought to anticipate “a lot greater costs on the grocery store.”
Orange juice is already ridiculously costly.
I can’t even think about what a “a lot greater worth” for orange juice would seem like.
In the meantime, nationwide shortages of chilly medication and cough syrup proceed to accentuate. The next comes from an article about what’s going on in north Texas…
Customers in North Texas are noticing shops working out of chilly medication and cough syrup. Many shops are promoting out of the objects as quickly as new shipments arrive.
Chains say they’re nonetheless combating disruptions to the availability chain.
Many within the mainstream media are insisting that lots of the painful shortages that we at the moment are experiencing will start to subside as soon as hotter climate arrives.
You may consider that if you want.
However the reality is that there are a number of elements which may quickly make our provide chain complications even worse.
For instance, a strict new vaccine mandate for truckers going into or out of Canada simply went into impact.
The same mandate for truckers going into or out of the US can be applied on January twenty second.
And sadly the trucking trade was given little or no time to arrange for these mandates…
When questioned about this, Canadian Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic Leblanc says the trucking trade “has had sufficient time to arrange for this.” Take note, the mandate was introduced 45 days in the past (November thirtieth). In response to the Canadian authorities, altering the structural guidelines for all of the logistics and commerce in cross border delivery, 45 days is sufficient discover.
Evidently, that is going to trigger much more provide chain issues, however at this level no one is sort of positive how dangerous issues will get…
The reality is nobody is aware of how dangerous the disruption can be. What we do know is that there can be disruption, and there’s no infrastructure for a stage of rig-switching on the border crossing area that would accommodate altering rigs, drop-offs and/or pick-ups or driver transfers on the size that’s being mentioned. The logistics listed here are a complete mess.
Personally, I believe that Canada can be hit tougher by this than the U.S. will.
When the CEO of Canadawide Fruits was requested in regards to the new mandates, he stated that transportation prices elevated by 25 p.c final week alone…
The mainstream media is lastly warning that the trucker vaccine mandate will doubtless enhance the prices of fruit and greens. The CEO of Canadawide Fruits advised Bloomberg that the price of transporting produce climbed 25% final week.
One other main issue which goes to make issues much more troublesome in 2022 is the brand new vitality disaster which has erupted in current months.
All conventional types of vitality have gotten costlier, and that features the worth of oil. In truth, the worth of West Texas Intermediate simply hit the very best stage in seven years…
Crude costs rose to their highest stage for the reason that 2014 shale-induced oil crash, a milestone in a rally that’s gathering momentum as geopolitical tensions threaten to knock provide.
Futures for West Texas Intermediate, the primary grade of U.S. crude, added $1.61 per barrel, or 1.9%, to $85.43 on Tuesday. That marks the very best closing stage since October 2014, when oil costs have been shifting in the other way as a gusher of U.S. crude flooded the market.
It takes vitality to provide the meals that we eat, and it takes vitality to move that meals to the shops.
So greater vitality costs will inevitably result in greater meals costs.
After all it isn’t simply the worth of meals that’s going to be taking pictures up.
Nearly every part goes to price fairly a bit extra in 2022, and the inflationary spiral that has now begun goes to be exceedingly troublesome to cope with.
However our leaders in Washington insist that they’ve every part below management, and so they need you to proceed to belief their judgment.


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Lagos — For every cube of sugar imported into Nigeria, one is bringing poverty, unemployment and insecurity among others, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Sugar Development Council, Dr. Latif Busari has said.
Busari in his paper presentation on 'The Sugar Economy' at the 3rd Agricultural Conference and Exhibition which held in Lagos said that Nigeria has potential of becoming a net exporter of sugar. He also pointed out that Nigeria sugar consumption has been on the increase since independence with an annual average growth rate of 8 percent according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS, 2005).
"Only about 5 percent of the national demand for the commodity is produced locally while the balance is imported with a huge foreign exchange on an annual basis. This is in spite of the fact that Nigeria's large potential, in terms of abundant land, water and human resources, to produce sugar, to not only satisfies her local requirements but also for export to earn foreign exchange. What a paradox!,"
"For every cube of sugar imported in to the country, one is bringing poverty, unemployment, insecurity etc. The need therefore, arises to check the unprecedented dependence on importation of sugar," he stressed.
Some of the reasons for the increase in demand for sugar he said may be attributed to growth in population, increase in per capital income, urbanization, change in taste and increased industrial usage of the commodity.
Sugar according to him is a strategic commodity that is essential in the daily life of any nation; owing to the fact that it is consumed as a food item and it is used as an industrial raw material in virtually all food, beverage and pharmaceutical.
He stressed the need to check the unprecedented dependence on importation of sugar because of the strategic importance of the commodity and the urgent need to conserve the hard earned but much expended foreign exchange coupled with the realisation of the fact that Nigeria has potential of becoming a net exporter of sugar.
Sugar, he also said is among the three most important commodities in enhancing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and growth of the nation's economy and development; noting that the contribution of a well-developed sugar industry cannot be over-emphasized in terms of employment generation, wealth creation, food sufficiency, rural development and poverty alleviation.
However, Busari stated that all hands must be on deck to support the implementation of the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP), the strategic road-map that will facilitate the achievement of national self-sufficiency in Sugar and its value chain to the economy well-being of Nigeria and Nigerians.
Some of the challenges of the sugar industry and implementation of the NSMP include: problem of access to land/communal agitations, which he said have stalled many project which would have raised the profile of projects under the NSMP; lack of inter-agency cooperation/incentives, which has continued to impede progress in the implementation of the NSMP; persistent flooding of sugar estates and smuggling/faking of local sugar brands among others.
"Smuggling of granulated sugar and faking of local brands particularly in the North-West Zone has been a major menace. Council has engaged relevant agencies to address this. The major operators (DSR, BUA and GSC) have initiated measures with Nigeria Customs, SON and NAFDAC to stem the tide. Smuggling of packaged sugar especially the St Louis brand still persists," he said.
The two-day conference and exhibition that brought together experts and stakeholders from different states of the country was themed 'Re-positioning rice, sugar and dairy production for optimal yield'.


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The University of Texas debuted beer and wine sales at spring athletic events over the weekend, and on first appearance the $8 Miller Lights seemed to be a hit with Longhorn fans, according to The Dallas Morning News.
For now, the plan doesn’t involve selling alcohol at football games in the fall. But the spring trial period will determine if alcohol sales will continue for fall athletic events.
Potential beer sales would include Darrell K Royal – Memorial Stadium, but would not cover Texas’ neutral site affair with Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl. The Sooners don’t sell alcohol at their home games, and OU athletic director Joe Castiglione told the Austin American-Statesman they have no plans to engage in talks to do so.
See this story on collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com


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updated 04:40 pm EST, Fri November 11, 2011
New mirrorless camera grabs public's attention
Nikon is faced with a new supply shortage due to the popularity of its 1 series cameras. While the company has faced production shortfalls for its DSLRs and lenses as a result of the recent flooding in Thailand, the new mirrorless interchangeable hasn't been affected at all and has been at full capacity. Interest has been so high that the supply hasn't kept up with the demand, Nikon said.
Nikon reports that sales for the camera have been strong in all regions. The camera is assembled in Nikon's Chinese facilities, so the floods in Thailand have not impacted their manufacture. The company saw it not just mitigating the losses but possibly compensating for them entirely. Production of the 1 series is increasing to compensate, the camera designer said.
The product line is a new design for the company. It uses a new format, known as CX. In current form, it uses a 2.7X crop factor, 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor and a dual-core Expeed 3 processor. The addition lets it get image quality better than its sensor size would suggest and produces a very fast autofocusing system as well as unique abilities to shoot still photos during HD video recording.


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A curiously large version of Burger King’s famous Ch’King sandwich has TikTok users equally delighted, intrigued, and terrified.
The astoundingly super-sized version of Burger King’s popular chicken sandwich took over the internet earlier this month when TikTok user taylorprice943 posted a video of the humongous version of the popular fast-food chain’s signature sandwich.
In the now-viral-video, a Burger King customer inspects the sandwich which consists of an abnormally large piece of fried chicken.
Without a doubt, the huge piece of chicken is placed between two normal-sized buns. However, while sandwiching the oversized piece of meat, the buns appear to be pretty small.
Trying To Make Sense of the Huge Piece Of Chicken
“What the hell is that thing?” you can hear someone remark in the viral video that now has 370 thousand likes.
“It’s not supposed to be that big,” responds the man who is holding the chicken in between laughs; as he subsequently tries to decipher just how, exactly, they are to begin eating the humongous chicken sandwich.
Of course, Burger King does market this popular menu item as one of the largest sandwiches it has to offer. However, it’s clear from the looks of this particular helping this chicken sandwich was quite a bit bigger than most.
Of course, this unique Burger King Ch’King sandwich has sent TikTok users, and of course, fast food connoisseurs into a tizzy. Many of whom tried to make sense of the monster-sized serving.
This astonishing – and delicious – footage now has well over two million views. In fact, judging by many of the comments, viewers are unsure of what to make of the sandwich.
“That’s the whole chicken,” notes TikTok user commander.erwinsmith of Burger King’s unique Ch’King sandwich.
“It’s a whole rotisserie chicken,” agreed Edwinenriquezz.
Was This a Lucky Burger King Find?
Some TikTok commenters didn’t see any issue with the gigantic Ch’King sandwich, noting that the Burger King customer had stumbled upon something quite amazing.
“You’re living a blessed life,” Stefan Johnson commented on the viral video.
While some of the people commenting on the viral TikTok post were focusing only on the gargantuan helping, others, however, were a little concerned about the quality of something that large.
“Ain’t no way that’s cooked inside,” forewarns cmp570.
Some viewers of this now famous – or infamous – chicken sandwich noted that the extremely large helping most likely contained little chicken. At least, no more than Burger King includes in the menu item.
However, one TikTok user retphonix16, said they had previously worked at the popular fast-food chain. This commenter notes that there’s no reason to be concerned about how well the sandwich was cooked. The massive serving was likely the result of over battering.
Which, it turns out, is exactly what the sandwich was.
“For everyone that’s worried about it being undercooked, it was not undercooked,” notes taylorprice943 in a follow-up video. “It was definitely cooked fine.”


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New social apps are always trying to break through to superstardom, but in a competitive landscape, networks need to come equipped with something that truly sets them apart. It appears Meerkat has done just that.
If you haven’t heard about Meerkat yet – don’t worry. The new social app, which allows video streams to be published to followers in real time, only debuted this month. But thanks to major publicity through SXSW and brands and fans onboarding organically – the app reportedly has been doubling its user base daily.
Why marketers are loving Meerkat’s potential
Here’s how Meerkat works. You can live-stream video content from your phone to your followers. The mobile application sends out push notifications to your followers, alerting them that your live-stream is about to begin.
That’s another thing – Meerkat – like Snapchat – is currently one-time-use only. If you don’t watch a stream as it broadcasts, you miss the opportunity to watch it at all.
The intrigue built around Meerkat as Twitter acquired a similar service (Periscope) and cut off Meerkat’s access to the social graph, which enabled the notifications to followers. That has since been recovered – and newer apps like Katch are gaining traction, as they offer a way to watch live-streams after the fact on YouTube.
It’s still in early adoption stages, but here are six brands taking advantage of Meerkat:
The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Fallon’s taking the behind-the-scenes to the max with Meerkat, capturing live rehearsals, scenes from his desk and even a little hair and makeup action. And his fan’s reactions only prove its success for the late night television show:
— Eric Silverman (@ericcsilverman) March 24, 2015
— Joel Patrick (@joelapatrick) March 24, 2015
Billboard utilized Meerkat to capture a quick visit with country singer Kelsea Ballerini. Offering its followers a behind-the-scenes view of her performance gave the event an “exclusive” feel.
@billboard thanks for jamming with me!
— Kelsea Ballerini (@KelseaBallerini) March 20, 2015
Red Bull has always been known for successfully hopping into new social trends (it’s among the 30 most popular branded Instagram accounts). With Meerkat, the energy drink brand made its debut live streaming a behind the scenes view from its half pipe competition.
Meerkat doesn’t simply have to be about entertainment – CNNTech is using it as an educational platform. The network provided a live chat with Meerkat’s founder Ben Rubin to learn more about the app as part of its Instant Startup series.
Politics aside – this was important because its the first instance where a politician is using the new app. Sure, he’s not a brand per se, but he was certainly going for a branded image, and the former Florida Governor utilized Meerkat as a way to spotlight a speech in Atlanta.
Dan Pfeiffer, former Assistant to the President of the United States and Senior Advisor to the President for Strategy and Communications has predicated Meerkat will be a gamechanger in the 2016 presidential election. It’ll be interesting to see if candidates are willing to test out the new platform to reach even more audiences.
It all comes back to marketing goals
Remember Ello? FourSquare? These networks at the time appeared to be a big deal, but ended up having little impact on social marketing in the long run.
Before you decide to jump on the bandwagon of yet another new social channel, think about if Meerkat could actually benefit your strategy – or if you’re simply doing it to join the crowd.
A few ways to incorporate Meerkat:
Announcing a new product
Providing a product demonstration
Giving your audience a behind-the-scenes look at an event, tradeshow or conference
Hosting an interview or speech.
Do you think Meerkat has the potential to be “the next big thing?” Let us know what you think in the comments.


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Apple Inc is planning to manufacture its own screens from 2024 as it intends to move away from Samsung, this was included in a recent report by Bloomberg.
According to experts, the company aims to begin by swapping out the display in the highest-end Apple Watches by the end of next year. The firm also intends to eventually add the displays to other products, including the iPhone, and they will replace the current OLED (organic light-emitting diode) standard with a micro-LED one.
Information and reports suggest that these changes are part of efforts to replace Apple supplies with in-house parts, an undertaking that will give the company more control over the design and capabilities of its products.
The tech firm has dropped Intel chips in its Mac computers in favor of in-house designs and plans to do the same with the key wireless components in its iPhones. Although officials of the firm have declined to speak publicly on the issue.
However, by manufacturing the screens in-house, Apple might eventually be able to better tailor its products and keep a tighter grip on its supply chain.
In The Works
Apple has been working on a screen switch for years. The company’s intention to create its own displays, starting with the Apple Watch, was first covered by Bloomberg in 2018.
Apple’s project is being led by Wei Chen, senior technology consultant who runs Apple’s display technology group within Johny Srouji’s Hardware Technologies division.
The company has begun testing the microLED displays on an update to the Apple Watch Ultra, its new high-end sports watch.


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SC Johnson Offers Ingredient Transparency to Latin America
SC Johnson, parent company of SC Johnson Professional, has expanded its ingredient transparency program to Latin America.
Launched in 2009, SC Johnson’s ingredient disclosure program has been offered to customers in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia-Pacific markets. Latin American consumers can now access complete ingredient listings via www.whatsinsidescjohnson.com.
“Ten years ago, SC Johnson made a commitment to global ingredient transparency. Today, by expanding our program to Latin America, we have fulfilled that commitment,” said Fisk Johnson, chairman and CEO of SC Johnson.


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Ghana Profits Authority (GRA) in collaboration with the Ghana Hyperlink Network Companies Constrained and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has correctly carried out a simulation exercise for the new Integrated Customs Administration Units (ICUMS).
The exercise which included the Meridian Port Companies (MPS) Restricted, Ghana Shippers Authority GSA, Shipping Traces, Nationwide Safety, Narcotics Control Board, Meals and Medication Authority, Lender of Ghana Bathroom, Ghana Common Authority, Free Zones Authority and all other stakeholders at the Port of Tema aimed at tests the ICUMS capability to support the absolutely free stream of the two import and export.
It was also to test the reaction time in working with the simulated incident when multiple governing administration entities are included to react instantly upon ask for, dependent on a scenario involving the grounding of a vessel because of to an oil spill that could have environmental repercussions on the port’s marine wildlife.
Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Marfo who was part of the delegation of govt officers existing to notice the simulation and pressure test expressed his pleasure with the development of operate so much in the implementation of the project but also billed the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to guarantee that the ICUMS has a smooth take-off.
“This workout has been extremely profitable with the technique ready to take the manifest from delivery strains, and the ability of freight forwarders to use it. I will have to say with what we have seen currently I have no question that we’ll be in a position to take–off appear implementation date. The relaxation of the work rests on the Customs officials who will have to stand ready for the take-off.”
The achievement of the simulation was viewed in the readiness of the ICUMS for community use at the Sea Port of Tema and Kotoka Worldwide Airport, KIA.
Following the exercising, the Acting Commissioner–General of the GRA Amisshadai Owusu-Amoah, assured the Senior Minister of the Authority’s resolve to assure the project’s sleek take-off.
“Everything is heading as prepared and am amazed with the effort and hard work place in by the services supplier and my officers. The simulation has been effective and its offers us the self esteem with regards to the rollout date”
He added that when the ICUMS is completely deployed at the Tema Port which is the major in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the country will see an maximize in revenue around time with many of the recent loopholes blocked.
Component of the entourage was the Minister for Trade Alan Kyeremanteng and his Deputy Carlos Ahenkora, Deputy Minister of Finance Kwaku Kwarteng and other governing administration officers.
Now, there have been training and registration for buyers of the ICUMS method which protected freight forwarders, Delivery Strains, government businesses, GRA Customs officers, and all other persons who will be applying the technique, with some other people also presently undergoing coaching.
The ICUMS method is predicted to be deployed at the finish of the thirty day period of May well at the Tema Port and the KIA.
Ghana Backlink Network Companies is the corporation spearheading the deployment of the Integrated Customs Administration Methods (ICUMS), an finish-to-stop solitary window.
ICUMS, which is the identify of the Ghana edition of Common Move (UNIPASS), is designed by Korea Customs and is a new all-in-one particular customs management resolution owned by the Federal government of Ghana.
Ghana Connection Network Companies Restricted, which has a 10-calendar year agreement with the Ministry of Trade and Market, partnered Korea Customs to introduce UNIPASS in Ghana.
ICUMS is also a modern and globe-course engineering acknowledged by global bodies these types of as the Environment Trade Organization (WTO), the Environment Customs Business (WCO), The World Financial institution, and Environment Economic Discussion board (WEF), which is applied to facilitate trade, make certain provide chain security and improve profits.
UNIPASS is the only engineering in the place of trade facilitation, protection/safety and earnings mobilization made by a customs agency aimed at resolving customs and trade-associated troubles. Hence, it is tailor-calculated technologies.


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These days we are living in an age becoming increasingly dominated by technology.
The world is changing and evolving every day, especially with respect to smartphones. There is a common misconception that the smartphone was invented upon the release of the first Iphone in 2007. This is not the case however, the first smartphone invented was invented upon the release of the Simon Personal Communicator in 1992. However the iphone arguably launched the initial appeal for smartphones and their popularity today.The power of smartphones these days has improved exponentially. Processors, Ram, etc. all being designed especially for these handheld devices have dramatically increased their potential uses.
Other technologies for example with the implementation of fingerprint sensors as a substitute for passwords and pin codes to allow for faster unlocking of devices, mobile payments, Identification, etc. have all greatly added to the ease of use of these devices. Ease of use is a very important aspect for manufacturers in terms of hardware and software in an increasingly competitive consumer market.Smartphones have had an impact on other aspects of technology, whether it be the demand for screen technologies with higher pixel densities and smaller non-existent bezels or even pulse readers and accelerometers for tracking health and fitness.
The demand for these improvements have seen other consumer electronics implement these solutions. These have cropped up across the board with a typical TV having no bezels, unnecessarily high pixel densities along with being wafer thin as a result.Humans themselves, have changed biologically as a result of smartphones and mobile devices. The majority of internet traffic these days now comes from mobile devices as opposed to desktops, which long served as the dominant online portal.
These days with information readily available to you in just a few clicks of a finger has changed the way our brain stores and processes information. A study published in the August 2011 issue of “Science” came to the conclusion that as a result of search engines like Google. The brain now catalogs knowledge differently using the engine as an “External memory source”.
The study suggests that “We are becoming symbiotic with our computer tools, growing into interconnected systems that remember less by knowing information than by knowing where the information can be found.”This is an example of how reliant the human race has become on these devices, changing the way we work biologically. It is attributed to the daily use of these handheld devices. According to another study conducted by the Bank of America, people can’t last a day without their smartphones. 91% of people claim that their smartphone is very important and for 60% of people it is even more important than coffee. This can have huge changes on the daily life of people.
It can even have an impact on how we interact socially with people spending more time interacting on these smartphones rather than face to face. People could become more introverted, along with the deterioration of existing and potentially new relationships.


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When designer Michael Toschi launched his namesake line of high-end rubber-bottom shoes for men a decade ago, he encountered his share of skeptics.
“Everyone thought I was crazy,” he said, referring to his idea to put rubber soles on high-end shoes. But Toschi, who had 20 years of experience working behind the scenes for a number of high-profile shoe companies, wasn’t the least bit gun-shy. He hit the road with his sample case and soon received his first order from Malouf’s in Lubbock, Texas. Orders from other retailers quickly followed.
Today, Toschi’s San Carlos, Calif.-based company continues to thrive. In 2007, sales jumped 25 percent compared with the prior year, and they are tracking at 20 percent growth annually, according to the designer.
“The integrity of the quality, craftsmanship and fit, coupled with style, was a home run,” said Sam Malouf, co-owner of Malouf’s, about the line he took a chance on 10 years ago. “We did as much business with the brand the first year as we did with all our other [shoe brands].” While the store carried other comfort lines, Malouf said Michael Toschi’s sophisticated styling really set the line apart.
And even though the new collection’s prices were about $400 a pair, he added, customers immediately gravitated toward the shoes. “They were up there in terms of price, but what Michael had going for him was style,” Malouf said. “Price can be a barrier when introducing new product, but in this case, customers understood the difference.”
Malouf’s is now one of 150 high-end men’s specialty retailers that offer Michael Toschi, in addition to 20 Nordstrom locations and footwear independents such as Arthur Beren in San Francisco and Littles Shoes in Pittsburgh. According to Toschi, his line, which retails from $400 to $700 (excluding exotics), usually ranks among the most expensive in those stores.
The collection attracts men between the ages of 35 and 65, with mostly conservative fashion tastes. Toschi admitted he is not trying to chase a fashion-forward crowd. “My customer has a more traditional foundation. He’s more masculine in his purchasing approach,” Toschi said, noting that the collection’s modern spin on classic looks fits his target audience.
Still, while aesthetics are key, Toschi, who compares wearing his shoes to “standing in a piece of equipment,” said technology is equally important. His collection is built around a series of patented technologies he developed, including NEST (Natural Ergonomic Standing Table), a low-profile, anatomically shaped midsole sandwiched between the sock liner and the lasting board. “I layer in fashion and technical elements a guy can see and feel,” explained Toschi.
Despite the strong emphasis on technology, Toschi has opted not to tout the shoes’ features and benefits on product packaging. Instead, he relies on sales associates to do the talking for him. “My only marketing campaign is to educate the sales staff,” he said, adding that he has never marketed the brand outside of co-op ads with retailers. “I just want to put my efforts and resources into the product. It has a story that’s real and honest, and it works.”
Toschi also regularly makes appearances at stores around the country to tell the story himself. In fact, last spring, he had 24 scheduled appointments with consumers at a Nordstrom in Bellevue, Wash. “They were people I’d helped out [through my shoes],” he said. “They don’t have to walk around in pain anymore.”
Though Toschi’s technologies may sound somewhat space-age, the line’s styling is down-to-earth. Included in the offering is the Classico series of dress looks, the Sportivo line of athletic-inspired styles and the Informale series of casuals. This past fall, Toschi added Sport Luxury, a bridge line of casuals with lightweight blown-rubber outsoles that are made in Spain and retail for $395. According to Toschi, the line is a way for men to experience the brand at a more accessible price point.
For the sportsman, Toschi offers a golf collection, featuring shoes with colored spikeless outsoles that retail for $550. Introduced in 2002, the collection counts among its fans celebrities such as Joe Montana and Michael Jordan.
Beyond footwear, Toschi also produces a small assortment of men’s accessories, including wallets, belts, leather outerwear, sweaters and socks, all of which debuted in 2000.
But men are not the only ones Toschi is catering to these days. In response to demand, he debuted women’s footwear in fall ’07. The line is built on the NEST technology. “Women want the style and quality of a designer shoe, but with a true working comfort system,” he said. For spring ’09, the collection is focused on mocassins with nappa and embroidered suede uppers, retailing for $390.
In addition, a line of luxury women’s golf shoes, called GD, will hit stores this spring. Set to retail from $475 to $535, the line will feature classic saddles and Mary Jane styles on spikeless outsoles, all incorporating NEST technology. Handbags were also recently added to the offering, with prices ranging from $600 to $1,200. Combined, women’s footwear and accessories account for around 20 percent of Toschi’s overall business.
While the designer’s ready-to-wear lines are the mainstay of his business, his real passion has been a collection of bespoke footwear under the Vecchia Mano label, which carries an opening price point of $1,600. The collection, whose name is Italian for “old hand,” debuted for spring ’07 and is available through invitation-only events. “It’s for the guy who likes to spend his money on the best of the best,” said Toschi.


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|Casio Joins the OLED Race|
|Home Theater News Industry-Trade News|
|Written by AVRev.com|
|Monday, 09 November 2009|
Casio states that OLED screens of ten inches and below will be the focus initially, with sizes ramping up as time goes on. More commonly known as a maker of watches, calculators and musical instruments, Casio appears to be stepping up its game. 600 employees will start work on the new project around five months from now. Manufacturing will be done with electroluminescent compounds, which Toppan says is more efficient and simpler than that of other OLED producing companies.
Both companies have confirmed that while 10” screens are the current state of their plans, they’re looking to make them bigger and better in the near future.


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Where New York is the city that never sleeps, Springfield Avenue may soon be known as the business improvement district that gets at least a solid four hours of shut-eye a night.
Maplewood’s Township Committee is considering banning new 24-hour businesses from opening on the Avenue. The proposal, a discussion item for their June 2 meeting, dictates that aside from the two existing 24-hour businesses, business on Springfield Avenue would go dark between 2 (the latest a bar or restaurant could be open; no Springfield Avenue restaurants stay open that late and there hasn’t been on a bar on Maplewood’s section of the avenue in years) and 6 am, when convenience stores and gas stations open.
Beth Anne Macdonald, Executive Director of the Springfield Avenue Partnership, said the ban wouldn’t have too much impact. Currently, no one is clamoring to open a 24 hour business on Springfield Avenue—Walgreens is interested in building a new store across the street from the police station, but it would not be a 24-hour store.
“I haven’t gotten any phone calls on it,” Macdonald said.
Macdonald said the ban likely reflected the outcry that accompanied the proposal earlier this year to build a 7-11 on Springfield Avenue. At public meetings considering the store, a number of people expressed concerns about the store's hours.
“I think when the Township Committee looks at revisiting some of the town’s retail regulations, they want to take the residents into consideration,” Macdonald said.
Two Springfield Avenue businesses operate currently 24 hours a day: the Maplewood Diner and the Quick Chek convenience store. From Macdonald’s point of view, two are probably enough to meet demand.
“A 24-hour business in Maplewood is probably overkill,” Macdonald said.
In the past, worries have been expressed that late night businesses attract unwanted elements. The histories of the two standing 24-hour locations do not bear out those worries, Macdonald said.
“There are more perceived issues than there are actual issues,” Macdonald said.
The original version of this story said stores can legally open at 6 am. That is not correct and the text was changed to reflect that. We regret the error.


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As widely reported in the media, a shortage of semiconductors has led to financially painful production delays in automotive, IT equipment, medical devices and other industries. Now, with spring approaching and the pandemic easing in the U.S., demand is surging for a wide range of products—and this demand spike is combining with other factors to create supply constraints for raw materials such as metals, lumber, rubber, plastic polymer, petrochemicals, as well as thousands of parts and components produced from these materials.
“Stay-at-home consumers have been snapping up Chinese-made furniture and appliances, toys, exercise equipment, bicycles and other items,” writes Tom Ryan, managing editor of RetailWire. Consumers have more cash to spend on such products, says Ryan, because they’re spending so much less on vacations, movies and restaurants.
While the supply-demand imbalances haven’t yet resulted in semiconductor-style shortages, commodity price increases are being experienced by “major retailers and makers of everything from Peloton spin bikes and La-Z-Boy recliners to Kia Sorrento SUVs,” Reuters reported recently.
Manufacturers have endured a year of unprecedented demand volatility since the pandemic was declared March 11, 2020. More than a year later, odd quirks in consumer cravings continue to pop up, catching manufacturers—and their suppliers—off guard.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a Minnesota roller skate maker, Riedell Shoes, that lost more than 40% of its revenues at the beginning of the pandemic when roller rinks shut down. But by last summer, skaters like Oumi Janta were gathering huge followings on social media, and “orders for skates started pouring into Riedell and other manufacturers.” But supply chain bottlenecks quickly followed, and today Riedell is facing backlogs of three to five months from its suppliers of rubber wheels in California and Texas and four-month delays in shipments of boots and other parts made in Asia. According to the Journal, such shortages are common among manufacturers of all types of exercise equipment.
Logistics problems are compounding the supply-demand imbalances. “The nation’s ports [are] struggling with congestion and container shortages,” according to RetailWire’s Ryan. He predicts “long delivery waits and higher consumer prices in the months ahead.” Indeed, Riedell’s supply chain manager Danny Johnson told the Journal that the firm’s containers of boots from Asia were “sitting out in the ocean waiting to come in.”
Building Boom 2.0
Early in the pandemic, homeowners with time on their hands went on a pandemic project spree, sending demand for building materials through the roof and leading to spike in the prices of lumber and other goods. Now with the “busy spring project season” arriving, Home Depot is “tangling with surging costs for goods and transportation, on top of tariffs that cost it and other U.S. importers billions of dollars,” according to Reuters.
The price increases across such a wide range of products, combined with rising oil and gas prices and $1.9 trillion in stimulus spending flowing into the economy, are raising fears of inflation—which could lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates and set back the recovery. But a Wall Street Journal poll of economists found 85% predicting that the Fed won’t raise rates until next year at the earliest.
Writing in Bloomberg, Conor Sen of Peachtree Creek Investments echoes the sentiments of many manufacturers in saying “we should be focused on addressing the supply shortages instead of worrying about how much transitory inflation is generated by doing so. … The way out of a supply shortage is through producing more, not less.”
For supply chain managers who will be struggling with price increases and shortages for some time, it could be said that the way out begins with a robust and sophisticated supply chain risk management program. Given the extraordinary turmoil caused by the pandemic, an SCRM program might not have completely helped companies like Riedell avoid shortages of skate wheels. But as the recovery continues, the better supply chain intelligence a company has, the better it will be able to pivot for competitive advantage in changing times.


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Singapore’s Vaccinated Traveller Lane (VTL) has been a useful way for people to enter the nation – however, it seems that the government is suspending new entries via this route for a period.
In a quote, the Singapore government says:
From 22 December 2021, 2359hrs (SGT), there will be no new ticket sales for all designated VTL (Air) flights for entry into Singapore until 20 January 2022, 2359hrs (SGT). Ticket sales for entry from 21 January 2022 will also be temporarily reduced.
Travellers who already hold a ticket for a VTL flight can continue to enter Singapore under the VTL (Air) on their originally planned date, provided they meet all VTL (Air) conditions. Applications for the Vaccinated Travel Pass (Air) will remain open.
VTL (Air) travellers are reminded to adhere to the requirements of the 7-day mandatory daily testing regime outlined in the VTL (Air) Checklist after arrival, otherwise they will face enforcement actions under the Infectious Diseases Act.
There’s also a press release stating which covers entry cases for different nationalities as well as Singapore citizens.
Singapore Airlines adds
With effect from 2359hrs (SGT) on 22 December 2021, Singapore Airlines will stop accepting new bookings for all Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) flights into Singapore that are scheduled between 23 December 2021 and 20 January 2022 (both dates inclusive). This follows the Singapore government’s directive to suspend new bookings on designated VTL flights for entry into Singapore during this time.
SIA customers with a confirmed booking on a VTL flight and have successfully applied for a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP), if applicable, are not affected by this directive, and may proceed with their travel.
There is no change to existing VTL or test requirements, and travellers with existing bookings may enter Singapore quarantine free if they meet all VTL requirements.
Transit passengers are not affected by this directive. Customers who wish to transit via Singapore on VTL flights during this period may continue to book their flights.
Entry will be capped at 50% of previous levels from the 21st Janaury.
The move is thanks to the Omicron variant that is spreading at the moment.
Once the VTL programme reopens, it is important to note that entry will be capped to 50% of what was allowed before.
VTL allowed passengers to bypass quarantine, by completing the appropriate paperwork and flying in on specific flights and meeting a testing regime.
It covers entry from:
- Brunei Darussalam
- The Netherlands
- The Republic of Korea
- Sri Lanka
- United Kingdom
- United States
With new VTL registrations suspended, entry to Singapore is more than limited at the moment. The move also is unusual compared to some countries – with the nation putting a sunset date on the hard pause of VTL before allowing it again in a limited form.
For now, if your travel plans call for a visit to the Lion City, ensure that you have the right documentation, or hold a valid VTL code.
Or be prepared to wait out until the VTL programme will accept entries.
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Sorry, no DOOM 64 review yet.
Via Limited Run
Limited Run Games finally got up and running on Xbox this year, after sticking to PlayStation and Nintendo platforms for some time. One of the most notable upcoming releases announced back then was a physical version of the recent DOOM 64 port, and this just-revealed Collector's Edition looks pretty awesome. The 'DOOM 64 Classic...
Celebrate DOOM's 25th anniversary with the release of DOOM 64, originally released on the Nintendo 64 in 1997, and now available for the first time on Xbox One.
Fight against demons in your crusade to hunt down the Mother of Demons and stop Hell's invasion. As you battle through more than 30 action-packed levels, be on the lookout for enhanced weapons and secrets to help you put an end to the demonic threat.