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Drop in consumer confidence worse than expected, says ANZ economist
Consumer confidence has dropped in the first week of January for the first time in more than 10 years and is now sitting nearly three points below what it was at the same time last year.
The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence dropped 2.4 pts to 106.0 during the first week of January, following a surge in cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19.
Over the past few weeks, tens of thousands of cases in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia have caused problems for businesses with staff forced to isolate due to catching COVID-19 or because of being a close contact. The surge in cases has likely contributed to the small decline in consumer confidence in the first week of January, a week in which consumer confidence normally increases to start the new year.
Consumer confidence this week was down in all states, particularly in South Australia (-11.8pts). Driving the decrease were negative movements in relation to current economic conditions and buying intentions going forward.
Nearly a third of Australians (down 2 ppts) still consider their families are “better off” financially than this time last year compared to 23 per cent (down 4ppts), who say their families are “worse off” financially, while 38 per cent (unchanged) expect their family to be “better off” financially this time next year, compared to 16 per cent (unchanged) who expect to be “worse off” financially.
Fewer Australians however, (14 per cent, down 5ppts), expect “good times” for the Australian economy over the next 12 months compared to 24 per cent (up 4ppts), who expect “bad times”.
In the longer-term, just over a fifth of Australians, 21 per cent (unchanged), are expecting “good times” for the economy over the next five years compared to 16 per cent (unchanged) expecting “bad times”.
Buying intentions decreased this week, with 38 per cent (down 3ppts) of Australians, saying now is a “good time to buy” major household items while 32 per cent (up 2ppts) say now is a “bad time to buy”.
ANZ head of Australian economics, David Plank, said confidence fell in all the major capitals, with Adelaide faring the worst.
“Over the decade from 2011 to 2020, consumer confidence has risen 2.6 per cent on average in the first survey of January compared to the last prior to Christmas. So, this result is even weaker than it seems,” he said.
“Consistent with the drop in confidence, ANZ-observed spending is at its lowest level since the Delta lockdowns. The good news is that people are still relatively happy about their own financial circumstances. This potentially sets things up for a rapid rebound once people are more confident about health outcomes.”
ANZ spending data showed that retail sales jumped 7.3 per cent m/m in November, driven by strong Black Friday sales and the reopening of Melbourne retail on 29 October, which pushed up Victorian retailing 20 per cent m/m.
Sales in the ACT also jumped 19.3 per cent m/m after severe lockdown impacts while NSW, which reopened its retail after delta lockdowns in mid-October, also rose 5.1 per cent m/m in November.
However, ANZ observed-spending shows that most of the post-delta gains for retail spending reversed in January due to staff shortages, households in isolation and caution about going out in public.
Australia’s trade surplus continued its recent decline, falling $1.8 billion to $9.4 billion (versus market expectations of $10.6 billion, and it is expected the trade surplus to narrow further as bulk commodity prices continue to normalise from the record highs seen last year.
A strong rise in imports of over 6 per cent m/m was the primary driver of the decline of the surplus. Imports rose across the board with intermediate and other merchandise goods contributing the most to the rise.
Exports also rose, partially offsetting the strong lift in imports. Rural goods saw the largest rise, up over 13 per cent m/m. With rural commodity prices up around 4.5 per cent m/m, it looks like a lot of this was volume driven.


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Special Feature: Products Sally Recommends
The Daily Dish Archive
March 31, 2020 -- Clam Day
Sally's Paella Recipe uses clams.
March 30, 2020 -- Turkey Neck Soup Day
Quarantine Cooking: Online Lessons, Pantry Recipes & More by Kathleen Flinn, Storyteller, Cook and Teacher.
March 26, 2020 -- Spinach Day
José Andrés Suggests a Federal Bailout Focused on Feeding America by foodtank.com.
March 25, 2020 -- International Waffle Day
Dani Nierenberg talks with Raj Patel, Research Professor in the Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, about the impact of COVID-19 on food and farm workers.
March 22, 2020 -- Water Day
More Sally's Place Salad recipes: Chinese Chicken Salad, Kale, Endive, and Smoked Salmon Salad with Avocado and Pink Grapefruit, and Warm Spinach, Orzo, and Pistachio Salad.
March 19, 2020 -- Oatmeal Cookie Day
If you are staying home because of the Corona-virus pandemic, try these Sally's Place Entree recipes: Beef Bourguignon, Roast Chicken with Tangerines, Green Olives, and Silan and Butternut Squash Lasagna.
March 18, 2020 -- Sloppy Joe Day
The Rise of “Zero-Waste” Restaurants: A new breed of food establishments is attempting to do away with food waste entirely. Read this very informative article in the Smithsonian Magazine.
March 17, 2020 -- Irish Food Day
Sally's Place Recipe: Luck-o-the-Irish-Cake-Pops
March 16, 2020 -- Artichoke Heart Day
Sally's Place Artichoke Recipe: Artichoke and Ricotta Phyllo Pie
March 15, 2020 -- Peanut Lovers' Day
James Beard 2020 Semifinalists for Restaurant and Chef: 2020 James Beard Awards Postponed Until the Summer
March 14, 2020 -- Potato Chip Day
Yountville, California Boasts the Most Outdoor Dining Per Capita In Napa Wine Country: nearly every restaurant in town offers outdoor seasonal dining. For more information visit Yountville.com.
March 13, 2020 -- Chicken Noodle Soup Day
Guacamole Bar with 100+ Ingredients Launches at Casa Velas in Puerto Vallarta. The Guacamole Bar is included in the rate for all resort guests. For more information call 1-888-407-4869 or visit www.hotelcasavelas.com.
March 12, 2020 -- Milky Way Day
Janet Fletcher's Planet Cheese: Here We Go Again: For the second time, a team of expert judges has voted Michael Spycher’s Gruyère the World Champion Cheese. World Champion Cheese is a biannual competition held in Madison, Wisconsin.
March 11, 2020 -- Eat Your Noodles Day
Spring Cookbook Preview: The 55 Books We Want to Cook From Now, by epicurious.com.
March 10, 2020 -- Ranch Dressing Day
New Product: Combine the words skewer and circle and you got Skercle, a skewer that is a circle. It comes in two models and is great for kid's lunch kits or parties. Unlatch the circular piece and thread with fruit or veggies and reattach. Colorful and fun!
March 9, 2020 -- Crab Day
Dungeness Crab: Pride of the West Coast Fleet including a recipe for Sole Stuffed with Crab.
March 8, 2020 -- Peanut Cluster Day
Top Chefs "Dish" with Julia Child in New Series - Exclusively Streaming started February 28; Broadcast Premiere on Fridays, April 3-17 on PBS.
March 7, 2020 -- Cereal Day
Dough Doughnuts in New York is Bringing Back Doughnutaschen for Purim This Year! March 8-10 with Raspberry Jam and Apricot Jam.
March 6, 2020 -- Oreo Day
PODCAST | Olivier Humbrecht, MW & Andrew Jefford on Alsace - Part 1 & 2
March 5, 2020 -- Cheese Doodle Day
Vintage Vacations, Mendocino Style ~ Grab the Woody and a Cooler and Go! Trade out that Tesla for a classic woody and pack the tribe for a vintage vacation, Mendocino style. Long known as an outpost for rugged individualism, edge-pushing artists and eco enthusiasts, this stretch of turf just two hours north of San Francisco offers the ultimate urban escape.
March 4, 2020 -- Poundcake Day
Sally's Place Poundcake Recipe: Citrus Poundcake
March 3, 2020 -- Cold Cuts Day
FishAnywhere.com Announces Expansion of International Fishing Charter Offerings: FishAnywhere.com is the largest U.S. based website for finding and booking a fishing charter currently representing over 9,000 fishing trips across North America.
March 2, 2020 -- Banana Cream Pie Day
American Dream, the unrivaled destination for style and play, is set to usher in its next chapter on March 19, 2020, with the highly anticipated opening of the world’s first and only DreamWorks Animation Water Park, and the celebration of American Dream’s first retail offerings.
March 1, 2020 -- Peanut Butter Lover's Day
Austin, Texas Food & Wine Alliance’s culinary grant program CultureMap Tastemaker Awards is April 16. Tickets available here with a limited quantity of Early Bird tickets.

domain: news


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Despite its much-ballyhooed "back-to-basics" strategy, Carl Karcher Enterprises Inc. said Thursday that sales and net earnings during the fiscal second quarter and six months ended Aug. 11 were essentially flat compared to a year ago.
The Anaheim-based operator of the Carl's Jr. fast-food restaurant chain reported net earnings of $1.54 million during the quarter, up 3% from $1.49 million. However, investment income on Karcher's $45 million in cash accounted for the bulk of the earnings: $1.4 million.
Revenue during the quarter fell 2% to $76.1 million from $77.5 million.
For the six months, net earnings rose 5% to $2.4 million from $2.3 million on the strength of investment income. In the latest six months, investment income totaled $6 million, up from $2.5 million in the year-earlier period.
Revenue for the period was $166.6 million, down 5% from $174.6 million a year earlier.
Loren Pannier, Karcher's chief financial officer, said the drop resulted from sales that were lost to the company when outlets were franchised during the last year. Actual product sales during the quarter were up slightly to $81.7 million from $80.3 million, "so it's a different mix," he said.


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3D TV on growth course in Germany -
3D TV on growth course in Germany
Jörn Krieger ©RapidTVNews | 04-06-2012
3D technology is entering German living rooms with growing momentum: More than one in four flat-screen TV sets currently sold can display three-dimensional images. One year ago, this was only the case with one in 20 TV sets.
Among Blu-ray players sold the 3D share now amounts to 60%. 12 months ago, it was only 34%. The figures were compiled by GfK in a market study commissioned by German industry association BITKOM which compared sales figures of Q1 2011 and Q1 2012.
In the early period of the new technology, mainly animated movies were released in 3D both in cinemas and on Blu-ray discs. Now a growing number of conventional films appears in 3D, for example the new release of classic movie "Titanic" or "Pina" from German director Wim Wenders, thereby tapping into new target groups.
3D devices over proportionally contribute to turnover. Among flat-screen TV sets, they contribute 43% to turnover while among Blu-ray players the share amounts to 72%. Many manufacturers now equip most of their large-screen and high-quality TV sets with 3D, in most cases with only a small price surcharge for this extra feature.
This year, more flat-screen TV sets will be sold in Germany than ever before. BITKOM expects sales figures to increase by 3.4% to around 10 million sets compared with 2011. The reasons for the rise include this summer's large sports events such as the Euro 2012 football championship and the Olympic Games, the switch-off of analogue satellite television and the dropping average retail price of the TV sets.


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ASUS Unveils the ROG Ally: will be available for sale in UAE on June 14, 2023 for just Dhs2,699, with pre-orders starting on June 1.
Street Fighter 6 Review: a must-recommend game for anyone remotely interested in Fighting Games, an absolute must-play!
Turtle Beach Stealth Pro Review: an outstanding wireless headset that excels in its versatility and performance across multiple platforms.
The Navodesk Desk Hub Review: a must-have accessory for anyone looking to streamline their desk setup and power management.
ASUS TUF Gaming AX6000 Review: a high-end Wi-Fi 6 gaming router offering outstanding performance, robust features, and reliable connectivity.
ASUS today announced the exciting new Zenbook S 13 OLED (UX5304), the world's slimmest 13.3-inch OLED laptop with a tempting price offer.
Motorola edge 40 available in the UAE in three colours: Vegan leather Nebula Green, Lunar Blue & Eclipse Black with a MSRP of 1599 AED.
The HUAWEI P60 Pro has come out promising to revolutionise how we see and capture the world around us. Photography Redefined with HUAWEI P60 Pro.
The HUAWEI Mate X3 has officially arrived on-shelves in the UAE, bringing with it a new era of foldable smartphone innovation.
Email security encompasses different approaches and technologies that you can use to safeguard email communications.
Huawei Consumer BG held the HUAWEI P60 Series and Flagship Product Launch Event in UAE, showcasing a new line-up of devices.
MSI has announced the launch of its latest business laptop, the Prestige 13 Evo, designed to cater to the needs of business professionals.
ASUS ZenWiFi XD5 Review: a reliable and feature-rich mesh system that brings the benefits of Wi-Fi 6 technology to home networks.
From casting videos to customizing backdrops and gaming, these 10 Chromecast tips will help you unlock the full potential of your device.
ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDM Review: this monitor ensures that every image in your games is of the highest quality.


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Porsche Cayman 2013 pictures.
Porsche will launch its next-generation Cayman next year and has revealed the model at the LA Motor Show.
Porsche 911 Carrera 2012 pictures.
Porsche is working on a rival to Ferrari's 458 Italia as part of its ambitions for growth.
All the pictures of the new Porsche Cayenne Turbo S which goes on sale in January 2013 priced from £107,460.
Porsche’s flagship Cayenne Turbo S will be priced from £107,460 and first deliveries are expected in January next year.
VW has finally agreed the terms to buy the remaining 50.1% stake in Porsche it doesn't already own by early August.
Chris Craft has been announced as the new managing director of Porsche Cars GB.
Porsche Cars Great Britain has awarded Group Tyre an exclusive contract to supply OE stock to its UK retailers.
Becoming top brand in the demanding Sewells dealer attitude survey is a major achievement by Porsche Cars Great Britain. Managing director Andy Goss talked to Tony Willard.
Kevin Flynn has resigned as managing director of AFN, the UK dealer network owned by Porsche Cars Great Britain. It is understood he has not gone directly to another job.
Automotive Management Live: Where franchised and independent dealers will find everything they need to know about operating a modern showroom and service and repair facility fit for the digital age.
When: November 12 2020
Where: Birmingham NEC
Find out what features are in this month's, and future, issues


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Disney has announced that their latest installment of the Star Wars franchise, The Last Jedi, will be released on Blu-ray, DVD and On-Demand in March. Here are all the details including where you can pre-order it.Read More
Star Wars Movie News
This week, the combination of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Last Jedi has earned Disney more than they paid for Lucasfilm 5 years ago. Here are the details.
In just two weeks, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is clearly an all-time blockbuster. Here are the details of its remarkable performance at the box office so far.
Disney has become the first movie studio to cross $6 billion globally in box office receipts for 2 consecutive years. Here are the details…
The new Columbia Star Wars Echo Base Collection consists of three jackets modeled after the ones Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa wore in Empire Strikes Back
Disney has announced they will be producing a new live-action Star Wars TV show . Here is what we currently know about the project.
It was just announced that Disney and Lucasfilm will be delighting fans across the galaxy with a new Star Wars trilogy. Here is what we know….
In advance of the release of The Last Jedi, Disney is adding Star Wars characters to their popular Disney Emoji Blitz game for a limited time. Here are the details.
Disney has announced a new Star Wars: The Last Jedi Star Tours story line coming soon to four Disney theme parks. Here are the details.
It appears electronics-maker Samsung is getting a piece of the Star Wars action with the launch of two amazing new POWERbot Robot Vacuum designs. The new vacuums are themed in the likeness of Star Wars’ Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper. Here are all the details
Everything you need to know about the new Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire virtual reality attraction, which is coming to a Disney park near you…
Disney has given us a rundown of the various Star Wars The Last Jedi activities they have planned for Disney World during the return of the premium Star Wars: Galactic Nights event. Here are all the details…


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Bitcoin cash hard fork has brought with it a ‘crypto civil war’: Brian Kelly
November 15, 2018
Brian Kelly, a cryptocurrency fund manager & the founder as well as Chief Executive Officer of BKCM, lately shared that the sharp recession of Bitcoin is since Bitcoin Money. Bitcoin ...
Bitcoin Cash [BCH] prices shoot up by 10% following Binance announcement
November 5, 2018
Bitcoin Cash [BCH] costs are soaring in the marketplace adhering to the biggest crypto exchange, Binance, announcing support for the upcoming Bitcoin Cash difficult fork. The upcoming difficult fork will ...
Washington Post sued by a high school student
Britain’s Princes William and Harry to separate- Royal split
An emergency declaration invoked by the US President, Donald Trump
An Australian man sentenced to life for six murders
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By State Sen. Andy Zay (R-Huntington)
The letter spelled out many issues meat packers face and highlighted the impact COVID-19 has had on the industry. Specifically, meat packers are completely booked for harvest appointments typically one year in advance, making it hard for farmers to get their cattle and hogs harvested.
The letter detailed ways they could benefit from funding including improving harvesting capabilities, adding on to current buildings, purchasing more modernized equipment, hiring more employees and training labor.
In order to find help for these improvements, IMPPA met with Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch on Sept. 23, and proposed their plan of expansion. Currently, Indiana is sitting on $1.4 billion CARES Act dollars, making it reasonable to support IMPPA for their much-needed improvements.
Prior to the meeting, IMPPA sent a survey to member businesses which resulted in 24 operations responding they were in need of expansion or efficiency opportunities.
These businesses are significant to our state because they create jobs and provide fresh, local meat to Hoosiers. Because the need for expansion is evident, I sent a letter to IMPPA in support of their efforts to attain CARES Act dollars. Further, I have sent a letter to Lt. Gov. Crouch messaging the importance of the meat packing industry in Indiana. Supporting this industry is critical to our state, and shows a true commitment to agricultural services.
A high-resolution photo of State Sen. Zay is available by clicking here.


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Advanta Corp.'s day in court with Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International has been postponed.
Lawyers for the parties were to present arguments Thursday as to whether Advanta has the right to continue marketing its Rewards Accelerator program.
The trial in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco, has been put off indefinitely, and anonymous sources close to the case said the parties involved are negotiating an out- of-court settlement.
In November, Visa sued Advanta because the Rewards program linked the card association's trademark with that of rival American Express. MasterCard joined the suit several days later.
Spring House, Pa.-based Advanta countersued, charging the associations with a violation of antitrust laws.
On March 28, a federal court judge dismissed Advanta's antitrust claim, but gave it time to appeal the decision, while letting Visa's trademark claim stand.
"Talks are progressing, and the hearing has been put off," said a source close to the case who insisted on anonymity. "The court has been advised the parties are negotiating."


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Taipei, May 23 (CNA) Economics Minister Shih Yen-shiang expressed optimism Wednesday over Taiwan's exports in the second half of the year, saying that his ministry will do its utmost to make them reach an annual growth rate of 8 percent in 2012.
Although Taiwan's exports in the first four months of the year fell 4.7 percent from the same period of last year to US$96.37 billion, Shih said on the sidelines of a legislative hearing that his ministry will work hard to reach the target, but it will not be easy.
According to the ministry, the target goal for total exports in 2012 is an annual growth rate of 8 percent, representing nearly US$333 billion.
The total value of Taiwan's exports last year stood at US$308.3 billion, up 12.3 percentage points from a year earlier, ministry statistics showed.
There were several times in the past when exports levels were poor in the first half of the year, but performed better in the second half, Shih said.
The base period also plays a critical part in the growth rate figure, he said, adding that the first half of 2011 was a high base period, while the second half was relatively lower.
Citing a forecast by local analysts, the minister added the electronic component industry is expected to be the main driver of the economy on the back of launches of new information and communication technology products.
In addition, driven by the ministry's latest export-boosting project -- which aims to create business opportunities worth US$2.12 billion for the whole year, Shih said the value of the country's exports is expected to climb steadily.
The project will encompass 45 measures under six categories and will include expanding financial support for local small- and medium-sized businesses, inviting more foreign buyers to visit Taiwan, promoting Taiwanese products and holding online procurement meetings, according to the ministry.
(By James Lee)


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When the BBC announced that there was going to be a new series of Doctor Who games, I was a bit concerned, as I'm worried that they're spreading the franchise too thin as it is, but also because of this:
From reading this article, it seems as if the games are in safe hands. Not only is Steven Moffat involved, but he also seems to understand the video game medium. Even better is the news that the games are being developed by the creator of the brilliant Beneath a Steel Sky. If the new games are half as good as that old classic, then we might be in store for one of the first decent TV/film-to-game adaptations.


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The Oasis Reporters
December 20, 2020
Less than a week to Christmas, Mr. Ejeh’s family bought half a bag of high grade long grain premium imported rice for 14,000 naira, which makes the commodity much loved by Nigerians as food for both festive and everyday occasions, 28,000naira per 50kg bag in Ibadan, capital city of Oyo State in South West Nigeria. Across the border in Cotonou, Benin Republic, a bag of rice goes for 15,000 naira anyway.
In the aftermath of the EndSARS crisis that saw the killings of youthful peaceful protesters and the retaliations by a section of the citizenry leading to the abandonment of checkpoints, smugglers had a field day, filling their underground warehouses with imported rice hoping to make a kill with Christmas bumper sales.
But President Muhammadu Buhari’s announcement about throwing open the nation’s land borders that were shut in August 2019 has thrown rice hoarders into panic mode. Rice that was going for between 38,000 to 40,000 naira in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State has dramatically fallen to 28,000 in Ibadan. That’s primarily out of fear of what the open borders might spring for their trade.
The Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari had cited smuggling as one of the major reasons for taking the action but said the closure of the border had yielded results.
Former Senator Shehu Sani tweeted that
the closure of Nigeria’s borders made no impact in containing banditry and insurgency. It only unleashed hardships and sufferings on the border communities.
“It was all about Rice and Rice; and we are still neither a major Rice producer nor exporter of the commodity”‘, that has become staple to the palates of the citizenry.
The Closure of Our Country’s borders made no impact in containing banditry and https://t.co/kmpJiW1tzT only unleashed hardships and sufferings on the border https://t.co/YROFVmXZit was all about Rice and Rice;and we are still neither a major Rice producer nor exporter.December 8, 2020
Meanwhile, four border points have been opened with Seme border post opened in Southern Nigeria with Benin Republic, the Mfum crossing with Cameroon while two are opened in the north at Maigatari in Jigawa State and Illela in Sokoto State, all bordering Niger Republic since December 16, 2020 with plans to reopen the remaining crossings December 31, 2020.
International land freight and passenger transport disruptions are possible until all of the nation’s crossings reopen and cross-border traffic normalizes.
While Nigeria’s second largest Port, Tin Can Island port is quoted as experiencing a 70 percent under utilization, the Seme Port in the tiny French speaking neighboring Republic of Benin is having an unprecedented boom, yet 85 percent or more of the imports into Benin Republic are meant for the Nigerian market. Hundreds of thousands of Nigerian traders have a chronic aversion to Nigerian ports due to the alleged high-handedness of the Country’s port officials and the alleged penchant to demand for huge and “fantastically corrupt” bribes.
Government policies also chase Nigerian importers to neighboring countries. They then snuggle their goods through unauthorized paths into the country, a system that can change, if Infrastructural facilities were in place and in standard conditions to enable production of goods within the country, and discourage importation, or make Nigerian made goods in the country, more competitive.
Areas hit hardest with the 16 month border closure remains the southern states, where even West African countries especially Ghana, Benin Republic, Togo etc depend on for trade.
This is one of the key factors that propelled Ghana into preventing Nigerian businesses from reopening their shops as well as imposing prohibitive tariff because Ghanaian business men and women can’t move freely to Nigeria to restock their shops and carry on their businesses with the biggest market in the sub region.
Meanwhile, a 50kg bag of rice is 15,000 naira in Cotonou, Benin Republic, while it costs almost 40,000 naira in Nigeria where domestic production is being hampered by the killings of scores of rice farmers in Nigeria’s north eastern state of Borno by Boko Haram Islamist terrorists.
Nigeria’s minimum wage can not buy a bag of rice for a family, amid the country’s 2nd recession in five years with it’s attendant runaway inflation.


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(Reuters) - XPO Logistics Inc said on Wednesday it plans to spin off its warehousing and logistics business into a separate publicly traded company.
The freight transportation and truck brokerage businesses will remain with XPO, while the new company will focus on e-commerce fulfillment, owning about 200 million square feet of warehouse space.
The company, which has about 97,000 employees globally, said it intends to structure the separation as a tax-free transaction to XPO shareholders, and expects to complete it in the second half of 2021.
Brad Jacobs will remain the chairman and chief executive officer of XPO while also becoming the chairman of the new company.
The companies are expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
(This story corrects to say company has about 97,000 employees, not 58,000, in paragraph 3)
(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)


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When Daniel Kim, a Land Rover mechanic in Portland, Ore. , attempted to build the “perfect SUV,” his dreams crashed down on him in the form of a 500-pound Land Rover chassis he was welding. His original idea – to construct a smaller, more rugged SUV powered by biodiesel – gave way to a concept of more manageable size. Nothing like a near fatal accident to sharpen your thinking.
Kim, now the founder and CEO of San Francisco-based Lit Motors, was aware that 70 percent of motorists drive alone and waste significant space when parking their vehicles. Armed with this knowledge, within two weeks following his incident with the Land Rover, he had a solution: a gyroscopically stabilized, enclosed electric motorcycle called the C-1.
The C-1 aims to combine the efficiency of a motorcycle with the safety of a car. The vehicle delivers 1,300-foot-pounds of torque and has a range of roughly 200 miles – that's triple the range using a third of the battery requirements of an electric car. Like an electric car, it boasts regenerative braking and airbags, but has a notable size advantage over its four-wheeled counterpart.
Set for release a year from now, the C-1 will set buyers back $24,000, which is expensive compared to many traditional motorcycles, but quite competitive with compact cars. According to energy consultant Pike Research, the two-wheeled electric vehicles market will accommodate 138 million electric motorcycles and scooters by 2017, with China and southeast Asia accounting for a large share of the market.
However, there is a ways to go before Kim's electric motorcycles hum down our roadways, and previous electric motorcycles have met without success in the past – for example, the SAM, developed by Cree. But if the C-1 is received with enthusiasm, we may be seeing more two-wheeled electric vehicles and fewer Land Rovers on our streets and highways. Time will tell.
Full story at Txchnologist.


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Coin shortages are nothing new. A few months before running out of gold Eagles, the US Mint had to ration silver Eagles.
Why are coin shortages so common? Governments typically blame unexpected changes in demand. But suppliers of all sorts of other goods manage to avoid running out
Yet governments routinely punish private firms that try to issue their own distinct coins.
During the gold rush, for instance, no fewer than 15 private mints went into business,
Private coiners played a still bigger role in Great Britain's Industrial Revolution


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The march of Apple silicon is not slowing down. To power the new high-end Mac mini and 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro systems, Apple has unveiled the all-new M2 Pro and M2 Max processors, taking all the improvements of the A15 processor and applying them to the Mac chips, resulting in a significant boost in performance over the M1 line.
Apple claims the M2 Pro and M2 Max have 20 percent better CPU performance than the M1 Pro/Max, and 30 percent faster GPU performance. They also include the newer Neural Engine, which is up to 40 percent faster than that in the M1 series.
As impressive as these new chips are, they are unsurprising. Some of the rumors about more advanced manufacturing, new GPUs, or other improvements have proven untrue, and the M2 Pro and M2 Max appear to be exactly what we expected: the M2 scaled up with more CPU and GPU cores and a wider memory bus. In fact, the M1 Pro/Max chips had more to differentiate them from the M1 than the M2 Pro/Max do from the M2. Here are some of the key characteristics worth noting.
Same CPU core design and performance as M2
When Apple introduced the M2, it claimed an 18 percent improvement in CPU performance versus the M1. Now it’s saying that the M2 Pro and M2 Max have 20 percent better CPU performance than the M1 Pro and M2 Max. In other words, you can expect the same overall architectural improvements and performance uplift as the M2 delivered compared to the M1.
Some of this simply comes down to core count. The M2 Pro and M2 Max have eight high-performance cores just like the M1 Pro/Max, but the number of efficiency cores goes up from two to four. So the M2 Pro and M2 Max have 12-core CPUs while the M1 Pro/Max have 10-core CPUs.
GPU gains are better, but there’s no great architectural shift
Apple says the GPUs in the M2 Pro/Max are 30 percent faster than in the M1 Pro/Max. That’s unsurprising, considering the M2 was said to have graphics performance that is up to 35 percent greater than the M1.
This is likely due to the addition of a few more graphics cores and some minor architectural tweaks. The M2 Pro has up to 19 graphics cores (vs. 16 in the M1 Pro) and the M2 Max has up to 38 graphics cores (vs. 32 in the M1 Max).
Those are unusual numbers—core counts are typically even in number, and often powers of two, so it’s likely that the design is for 20/40 GPU cores with room for one faulty core to be disabled, improving manufacturing yields on these big chips. Still, that’s a nearly 20 percent increase in core count, so with some improved caching and higher clock speeds, you can get to 30 percent.
If you were hoping for an all-new GPU from Apple with modern features like ray-tracing acceleration, which GPUs from AMD and Nvidia have had for several years already, you’re going to be disappointed.
Memory bandwidth is the same even with more RAM
Memory bandwidth on the M2 Pro is 200 GB/sec, just as the M1 Pro. The M2 Max doubles that to 400 GB/sec. So we’re almost certainly still looking at a 256-bit LPDDR5 memory bus on the Pro and 512-bit LPDDR5 on the Max. Apple improved caching in the A15, and those architectural improvements likely carry over to the M2 Pro and M2 Max.
While the M2 Pro maxes out at 32GB of RAM (the same as the M1 Pro), the M2 Max can go up to 96GB–50 percent more than the 64GB limit of the M1 Max. But there’s a catch—the 96GB RAM option is limited to the version of the M2 Max with 38 GPU cores. The less expensive option with 30 GPU cores tops out at 64GB.
Only one video encode engine, with no AV1 support
With the M1 Pro had a new video encoder and decoder that added hardware acceleration for the ProRes format, and the M1 Max doubled the number of encoders to two.
Oddly enough, that’s not the case with the M2 Max, which still has just one video encoder. It supports all the same formats as before: H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW. That means support for the newer AV1 codec is still nowhere to be found, despite being available in today’s GPUs from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. Apple is falling behind here.
We couldn’t help but notice that all of Apple’s marketing benchmarks around video production, claiming improvements of 30 percent or so, are for activities like color grading or 3D effects rendering, which are typically limited by GPU performance. Apple didn’t provide benchmarks showing an improvement in video encoding speed, so it will be interesting to watch the first reviews of the M2 Max to see if a single new video encoder can keep up with two encoders in the M1 Max.
It’s all still 5nm
There has been a lot of speculation about when Apple will start using TSMC’s new 3nm manufacturing process. Apple is said to be the first major manufacturer to do so, and some of the rumors said the new M2 Pro and Max chips would be where Apple makes the leap.
It looks like we’ll be waiting for an M2 Ultra later in the year, or possibly the A17 that will be introduced with the iPhone 16 this fall. Apple says the M2 Pro and Max are made using “second-generation 5nm technology.” It’s likely that this is the same process that Apple somewhat erroneously called “4nm” in its iPhone 15 presentation in September 2022. TSMC calls its N4 node an “enhanced” 5nm process, and Apple seems to be correcting its language here.


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Netflix has announced a renewal and ending of it’s recent premiere Trinkets, let’s hope this will start a new pattern for them and other networks.
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Netflix has announced a renewal and ending of its recent new show Trinkets, let’s hope this will start a new pattern for them and other networks.
In the age of streaming, everyone waits on bated breath for renewal announcements and when things get cancelled, so begins the uproar. One which drowns comment sections in renewal hashtags and many seeing more engagement after something ends than while it still was active. Not to forget, we also get that generic press release from the creators and producers letting fans know, and the industry at large, that they are seeking other outlets.
Which is why you have to appreciate Netflix announcing early Trinkets won’t get a third season. More often than not, the problem with cancellations is that it doesn’t allow anyone part of the show to plan. Like in the case of Star, it comes after the season is over, and before the writers convene. So there is just this cliffhanger, an ellipsis, and no resolution.
But, with Trinkets getting months to plan a proper ending, it means closure and it allows the staff to set up their next projects, actors time to plan, and hopefully something which won’t lead to fan uproar. Well, at least not on the level many of us are used to seeing. Leading to us hoping this becomes a thing, especially for the streaming companies like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and others who not only have the money for closure seasons but don’t have to worry about time slots.
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Just like it says right up there in the headline, here’s a picture of Zooey Deschanel without her iconic bangs (by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images). Don’t ever say we don’t put the thing that the headline says in a post around here.
So what do you think of this new look she unveiled at the MET Gala the other day? It’s pretty disconcerting, right? Like seeing Spider-Man with his mask off, or Donald trump without his wig on straight, or me wearing pants. But after a minute, when the life-changing shock settles, it actually looks pretty nice, right? She’s a natural beauty. Dat forehead, as they say on the internet.


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Last week, Harvard Business Review reported that AI Adoption Skyrocketed Over the Last 18 Months, fueled by business’ need to overcome staffing challenges and changing customer expectations brought on by the pandemic.
“Fifty-two percent of companies accelerated their AI adoption plans because of the Covid crisis,” said the report, citing a study by PwC. “Just about all, 86%, say that AI is becoming a ‘mainstream technology’ at their company in 2021.”
This is especially true for contact centers. Business leaders who accelerated digital transformation out of necessity in 2021 have been pleasantly surprised by AI’s ability to resolve customer service requests and eliminate hold times.
Technologies like conversational AI specifically have matured exponentially since 2019, and are now apt enough to not only cover pandemic-related business gaps, but add ROI well beyond 2021.
Here’s how AI is shaping contact centers of the future:
Compensating for the skills shortages caused by Covid-19 has presented many new challenges of its own. Contact centers, for example, found that training new agents remotely or increasing their investments in business process outsourcing (BPOs) was time-consuming and expensive.
In cases where contact centers needed a contingency plan, conversational AI could deploy in weeks and handle fluctuating call volumes at a fraction of the cost, without impacting the customer experience.
Moreover, conversational AI’s ability to resolve the majority of common customer issues is a ringing example of how AI can increase agent retention by offloading repetitive tasks and freeing agents to leverage their creative and empathetic skills to resolve more complex customer issues.
“AI is already beginning to help fill skills shortages of the existing workforce through career transition support tools,” said Rob Jekielek in the report, managing director with Harris Poll. “AI is also helping employees do their existing and evolving jobs better and faster using digital assistants and in-house AI-driven training programs.”
When AI solutions are paired with outcome-driven workflows, business efficiency goes up in unforeseen ways. Conversational AI, for example, doesn’t just resolve tier-1 customer calls, it can intelligently route urgent call types to human agents.
At the same time, conversational AI can automatically summarize call notes and log them in call centers’ CRMs. It can also support revenue-generating use-cases like automated outbound calls to follow up with customers or remind them of impending renewal dates without requiring time on behalf of agents.
All of these are additional benefits to resolving tier-1 customer service issues that contact centers can’t achieve without the help of automation.
“Most executives (74%) not only anticipate AI will deliver more efficient business processes, but also help to create new business models (55%) and enable the creation of new products and services (54%),” the report found.
You’d be hard pressed to find any remaining industries that aren’t actively leveraging analytics in partnership with AI to better understand their customers and their own success rates in serving them.
“Since Covid hit, CEOs are now leaning in, asking how they can take advantage of data?” said Arnab Chakraborty in the report, global managing director at Accenture.
Over the last few years, analytics tools have sharpened. They used to provide broad-stroke solutions for enterprise operations like supply chain management.
Now, they have granular use cases, like intelligently understanding when order status requests spike in customer service.
When conversational AI is applied to the contact center, post-call analytics can surface insights into unstructured caller data.
It can automatically generate dispositions and tags based on what customers are actually saying, and inform call performance, giving agents and managers better visibility into their most important call drivers.
When solutions like conversational AI are placed at the forefront of the customer experience, trust is key. Businesses need to be assured that customer data is protected and customers need to be assured that their experience won’t be sacrificed in the face of business results.
Today’s conversational AI partners, for example, place a high emphasis on compliance and customer experiences that prioritize customer satisfaction scores as much as they do business KPIs like reducing average handle times and containment.
“We are in the trust business. We believe one of the key elements of our growth — the use of technology, data, and artificial intelligence — must be deployed responsibly,” said Sumeet Chabria in the report, global chief operating officer technology and operations at Bank of America. “As a part of that, our strategy around AI is Responsible AI; that means being customer led.”
Similarly, with AI built for the contact center, the success of adoption rides on more than just the technology.
Successful AI deployments arrive in tandem with experts who understand the intricacies of telephony systems, conversational design best practices, and know how to deploy at scale to serve millions of unique customers.
Modern AI solutions are built to last by experts who can help companies compete on an innovation level with the best of the best, regardless of their AI expertise, so they too can keep pace with technology.
“As the world eventually emerges from the other side of the Covid crisis, there will be opportunities for entrepreneurs, business leaders and innovators to build value and launch new ventures that can be rapidly re-configured and re-aligned as customer needs change,” the report concluded.


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Hello Games has announced the No Man’s Sky update 3.53 patch notes for your consumption, which is coming to all formats at some point today. It isn’t a particularly major update, and merely contains a couple of bug fixes.
Read up on the latest No Man’s Sky patch notes below.
- Fixed an issue that could cause some furry creatures to be missing the hologram effect when on the Space Anomaly.
- Improved ship explosion effect during space combat.
- Fixed an issue that could cause stars to appear closer than they should in VR.
- Fixed a rare crash related to bases.
No Man’s Sky was originally released for the PS4 and PC in August 2016, and was met with a lot of criticism due to its lack of content promised in pre-release trailers and media showcases.
However, in one of the biggest turnarounds in recent memory, Hello Games completely revitalised No Man’s Sky with ample content drops in subsequent years, and also brought the game to Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PS5.
[Source – No Man’s Sky Website]


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Wendy's Just Launched a Brand-New Baconator Burger
Wendy's just launched an exciting new spin on one of its most iconic burgers that may excite even the most diehard fans.
Starting today, Nov. 20, Wendy's is now offering a brand-new Pretzel Baconator at restaurants nationwide. The sizable sandwich has many of the classic elements of the original Baconator: a half pound of fresh beef, six pieces of Applewood smoked bacon, ketchup, and mayo. However, it swaps out the classic burger bun with the same pretzel bun customers may already know and love from the Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger—a limited-edition menu item that last returned to Wendy's back in 2022.
While the addition of a pretzel bun is a simple switch, it does make Wendy's already iconic Baconator stand out even more in the word of fast-food. Neither of Wendy's biggest rivals—McDonald's and Burger King—currently offer a burger that comes with a pretzel bun. Fans also already adore both the regular Baconator and the Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger, so fusing the two together may pique their interests even more.
"You can't top a Baconator. So we twisted it," Wendy's wrote in the burger's description on its website.
This exciting new menu item will only be available for a limited time, so any interested fans shouldn't wait too long before heading over to grab one. It currently costs $9.99 at my local Wendy's in New Jersey, making it the most expensive burger on the menu right now. However, prices may vary depending on the location.
This isn't the only exciting item to hit the Wendy's menu recently. Returning after its initial debut in 2022, Wendy's brought back its seasonal Peppermint Frosty on Nov. 14. It features peppermint flavors combined with Wendy's creamy Frosty base in a festive nod to the winter holidays.
On the same day that the Peppermint Frosty made its grand return, Wendy's also debuted a brand-new Peppermint Frosty Cream Cold Brew to help celebrate the holiday season. The caffeinated drink is a combination of peppermint syrup, Frosty creamer, and cold-brewed coffee served over ice. With this debut, Wendy's customers now have four different Frosty Cream Cold Brew flavors to choose from: chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and peppermint.
Customers can score both seasonal treats for a limited time at restaurants nationwide.


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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has launched a new program called the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to purchase and distribute agricultural products to those in need throughout the country, including Guam.
This new program will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to America’s farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. It is one of the provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Ken Lujan, the manager of the Guam Small Business Administration branch office, says CFAP will provide financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-or-greater price decline due to COVID-19.
Under the program USDA will purchase $461 million in fresh fruits and vegetables, $317 million in a variety of dairy products, $258 million in meat products and $175 million in a combination box of fresh produce, dairy or meat products.
Suppliers will package these products totaling $1.2 billion into family-sized boxes, then transport them to food banks, community and faith-based organizations, and other non-profits serving Americans in need from May 15 through June 30.
The Agricultural Marketing Services division may elect to extend the period of performance of the contracts, via option periods, dependent upon program success and available remaining funds, up to $3 billion.
There is a payment limitation of $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined.
Applicants who are corporations, limited liability companies or limited partnerships may qualify for additional payment limits where members actively provide personal labor or personal management for the farming operation.
Eligible entities include those producers dealing with: Non-specialty crops and wool, livestock, dairy, and specialty crops.
For additional information on payment structure and how agricultural businesses can apply for assistance, please visit: https://www.farmers.gov/cfap
Lujan says the new CFAP program is in addition to the recently announced Farmers to Families Food Box program.
The Farmers to Families Food Box program partners with regional and local distributors, whose work forces have been significantly impacted by the closure of many restaurants, hotels, and other food service entities, to purchase $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy, and meat and deliver boxes to Americans in need.
For further details visit the solicitations page.
General Program Information
- Approved Contractors for the Farmers to Families Food Box Program
- Farmers to Families Food Box Program FAQs
- Farmers to Families Food Box Infographic (pdf)
Request for Proposal and Applicable Attachments


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Heineken cautions over rapid softening in consumer demand for beer
Dutch brewing giant Heineken has said it is witnessing growing reasons to be cautious about the future after it recorded “some signs of softness in consumer demand”.
The brewer, which also makes Amstel and Birra Moretti, highlighted the changing consumer backdrop as it revealed beer volumes rose by 8.9 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the third quarter, with higher pricing helping to lift revenues further.
Volumes increased by 1.3 per cent in its European operation over the three months to September.
It highlighted that global year-on-year growth was driven by the recovery of Asia-Pacific business, which had been impacted significantly by pandemic restrictions over the same period last year.


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Payroll Hero is on a roll. After being chosen as the 2012 Judges’ Choice at the 2012 Echelon satellite in Manila, the team has added another leaf to its laurels — the IT Startup of the Year by the IT Journalists Association of the Philippines.
Also known as CyberPress, the local journalist group granted its 2012 awards at a ceremony a few weeks back. It’s interesting to note how diverse the selections are. Samsung is, of course, an established device manufacturing firm. Project Noah is a government-led weather-tracking system. The Cybercrime Prevention Act is a controversial piece of legislation. Meanwhile, Dado Banatao is an industry veteran known for his involvement in encouraging entrepreneurs and startups in the country.
I.T. Company Of The Year – Samsung Philippines
I.T. Product Of The Year – DOST’s Project Noah
I.T. Startup Of The Year – PayrollHero.com
I.T. Story Of The Year – Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012
Lifetime Achievement Awardee – Diosdado “Dado” Banatao
Payroll Hero is, itself, an interesting startup to watch, because of its goals and its means of achieving the same. At first glance, Payroll Hero’s use of biometrics and mobile devices to track employee attendance may already seem commonplace in the enterprise setting. But going beyond hours worked and money earned, Payroll Hero also attempts to demystify common productivity-related concerns, such as how upcoming holidays, mood and social connections affect productivity.
“Payroll Hero uses employees face as primary biometric to avoid bundy punching and ghost employees. These clock-in pics are further given a mood rating to establish an array of business intelligence to companies corollaries between productivity and mood.”
In April, judges picked the startup as the “ Hero at Philippines Satellite 2012 .” Later that month, the team also won at the ON3 pitching competition in Taguig. More recently, Payroll Hero also received additionoal accolades as Judges Choice at the Startup Riot in Seattle and as an attendee to 48 Hours in the Valley by the C100. The team was also chosen to be part of the JFDI incubation program in Singapore, but had to decline due to logistical concerns.
For 2013, Payroll Hero continues to be the Man of Steel for the thousands of employees able to optimize their work productivity with happiness.
The post Payroll Hero ends 2012 with a bang as CyberPress IT startup of the year appeared first on e27 .


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Internet Phone Calls Getting Easier
Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, August 19, 1997
Computer users can now make calls from their PC to ordinary phones around the world via the Internet for a fraction of normal international rates, several companies announced yesterday.
The announcement was coordinated by VocalTec Communications Ltd., an Israeli company that dominates the market for software that turns computers into Internet telephones.
One company that announced service yesterday, Virginia-based Biztrans Technology, Inc., said it charges only 22 cents a minute on PC-to-phone calls to Taiwan and Korea. Basic residential AT&T rates during peak hours are $1.99 per minute to Taiwan and $1.82 to Korea, though cheaper plans are available. Biztrans charges 12 cents a minute for most calls within the United States -- no bargain because competition has driven down domestic long- distance rates.
Customers must set up and account with Biztrans by going to its Web site. They also must have a separate Internet service account, which typically costs about $20 per month.
Since it takes more time to set up an Internet call than a regular phone call, the new international service is best for leisurely phone calls, said Joseph Chiao, president of Biztrans. "If you are just calling for a minute or two, it's better to use a regular phone."
Internet telephony converts voice into digital signals, transports them cheaply
over the Internet, and then decodes them at the other end to reproduce the voice sound. Because Internet telephony can compress many conversations into the bandwidth normally occupied by a single phone call, it has the potential to be much cheaper than standard telephone service.
Until recently, however, Internet telephony was been mainly of interest to hobbyists. Parties at both ends had to prearrange their calls to make sure they both were stationed at their computers at the same time.
Yesterday's announcement means that only the caller now needs a computer -- and the call can be made at any time without notice. The call is completed by a "gateway" in the destination country that converts the Internet impulses into audio and then hands the the call over to the local phone system.
Another new Internet telephone service provider in VocalTec's camp, Israeli-based Delta Three, charges 18 cents a minute to England, 20 cents to Singapore, 25 cents to Japan and 30 cents to Russia. In contrast, AT&T's basic residential calling rates run as high as $1.09 per minute to England, $1.65 to Singapore, $1.45 to Japan and $2.45 to Russia.
A handful of other gateway providers also offer Internet telephone service, including New Jersey-based Net2Phone. But VocalTec's group offers wider international coverage.
Internet calls are generally of lower voice quality than regular phone calls.
"The quality is better than cell phones but not as good as regular phones," said VocalTec's chairman and CEO, Elon Ganor. "But the quality is improving at an amazing pace. I believe that in the next 12 months you won't hear any difference."
Internet telephony isn't for the technophobic. Besides VocalTec's software, users need a Pentium computer, full-duplex sound card (one that let's you talk and listen at the same time) and headset with microphone. You also need access to the Internet.
"It's a pain in the neck for the non-propeller head," said Christopher Mines, an analyst at Forrester Research.
VocalTec first introduced software for PC-to-PC phone service more than two years ago and now dominates the market in Internet software. But the alliance with gateway service providers around the world "is really pushing Internet telephony further," said VocalTec's Ganor.
Phone service based on cheap, unregulated Internet connections threatens established long distance companies that charge high prices for international calls. Competition from the Internet is likely to bring down both prices and profits.
Phillips Tarifica Ltd., a London consulting firm, estimated that U.S. phone companies will lose $900 million a year in business by 2001 to Internet telephony, and major foreign carriers will lose hundreds of millions of dollars as well.


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For immediate release
Contact: Christina Julian, 310/795-4757, email@example.com, www.moscatonation.org
MOSCATO NATION LAUNCHES
Group includes producers and “citizens”
Napa Valley CA, September 13, 2011 -- An association for America's fastest growing varietal -- Moscato Nation -- was
announced today by founder Christina Julian. Growers, producers, members of the trade and consumers are invited to join
and share the growing enthusiasm for Moscato. "Our website, www.moscatonation.org, will be a lively platform for all-
things Moscato,” she adds. “The organization has sprung up in response to the enormous popularity of this easy-drinking
varietal,” she said. She asks, “what other wine has more than a hundred rap songs devoted to it?”
"Consumers have shown the wine industry what they wanted and the industry has shown it finally ‘gets it,’ “ said Napa
Valley's Tim Hanni, M.W., who has done pioneering research on palatal preferences. “Moscato Nation is a fun place which
will focus the huge appeal of this tasty and uncomplicated wine,” Julian adds. The founding winery members of Moscato
Nation are Benessere Vineyards, Bronco Wine Company and Moscato Allegro.
The organization will:
Maintain a Moscato website with links to members
Attract and connect ‘citizens,’ regular people interested in Moscato.
Collect and create news about Moscato
Assist the media in learning all about Moscato
Follow the music scene's interest in Moscato and augment it
Create a calendar for Moscato events.
Julian is collaborating with long-time wine industry public relations consultant Harvey Posert in launching the
organization. Julian’s background includes working as a marketer and advertiser as well as a freelance writer. She has
lived and worked in New York and Los Angeles; in Los Angeles, working at an interactive ad agency, her team developed the
iPhone app for Kraft Foods which was labeled a “killer app” by Advertising Age and ranked as one of Apple's 100 most
popular applications and among the top 10 within the lifestyle category the year it was introduced.
# # #


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BugHerd Raises $1M to Revolutionise Project Management
25 AUGUST 2014 - BugHerd, the world’s simplest bug tracker for web developers and designers, has closed $1 million in Series A funding from Australian-based Tank Stream Ventures and Starfish Ventures, in conjunction with US-based 500 startups.
With over 50,000 users worldwide and 1000 new business customers joining every month, BugHerd is helping some of the world’s largest digital agencies including JWT, DDB, Publicis and BBDO deliver projects for globally-recognised brands such as McDonalds, Ford, AT&T and Renault. BugHerd is fast becoming the de facto standard for client feedback on web projects.
BugHerd will use the funding to make it even easier for customers to manage projects and people with a new product called Stack (http://www.getstack.io/), which is a more robust and powerful version of the task management system behind BugHerd. It will support web, desktop and mobile applications.
BugHerd co-founders Alan Downie and Matt Milosavljevic said the funds would allow the company to accelerate its growth plans with a focus on delivering visual, client-focused tools for digital and creative agencies.
“There are plenty of bug trackers and project management tools out there, but they tend to put a focus solely on the development team, forgetting that there are other people involved in the project. This is a dilemma we can solve”, says Mr Downie, Bugherd’s CEO.
“As product development timelines shrink and design becomes mission-critical, regular feedback from stakeholders and clients using tools like BugHerd can make thousands of dollars difference to a project’s budget.”.
BugHerd secured the bulk of the funds from Australian based Tank Stream Ventures and Starfish Ventures, who believe BugHerd’s previous success and high growth leave it well-placed to capitalise on its vision.
"Software is present more than ever in today’s world and BugHerd has an ambitious vision to transform the way businesses develop online projects in a collaborative way,” said Tank Stream Ventures Investment Manager Rui Rodrigues.
“TSV has a strong focus on software-as-a-service businesses and we’re thrilled to be working with the BugHerd team, who we believe have managed to build significant traction and are well placed to execute on that vision.”
Starfish Ventures Investment Director Anthony Glenning said “Starfish is delighted with Bugherd’s growth to date. The expanded product offering envisioned is set to continue that high growth trajectory. Starfish is excited to participate again in helping Bugherd achieve its goals.”
500 Startups founder Dave McClure said he was increasingly looking outside the US for promising investments. “Although Silicon Valley is still a Mecca for startups, most of the world's growth markets are outside the US. That's where we plan to invest,” he said.
With a fully customisable task board, BugHerd’s new product Stack provides end-to-end task and workflow management. Unlike other “generic” task board tools on the market, Stack is specifically designed for delivering software and digital projects. Whether you’re using the frameworks Scrum, Kanban or simple task management, Stack is flexible and sturdy enough for users to manage multiple complex projects with ease.
The powerful search capability, ease of use and clean visual appeal that customers find valuable in BugHerd has been kept firmly in mind with the development of Stack.
About BugHerd -- BugHerd was founded by Alan Downie and Matt Milosavljevic in 2011 as a means of managing website development issues quickly and easily. BugHerd’s revolutionary way of managing web projects saw it accepted into the inaugural batch of Australian startup incubator Startmate followed by a three month stint in Mountain View with 500 Startups.
Further contact details --


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Adidas, a German sportswear brand said it did not launch any face mask in India. But however, masks are being sold bearing the company’s logos online. Swiggy, an online food delivery app said it is going to supply Swiggy branded masks that are to be used by its delivery partners in selected cities.
Starting from simple plain masks to fight against Covid-19 pandemic, it has undergone massive changes over the months to masks with different designs on them to match with their outfits.
Now masks are sold at a large scale with unauthorized use of trademarks and logos of companies like Nike, Swiggy, Amul, Adidas, Under Armor and various famous characters from Marvel and Disney along with other registered trademarks infringing on their intellectual properties said many firms.
Some companies are taking it very seriously. Tommy Hilfiger filed cases in Delhi High Court against two manufacturers in Tamil Nadu for printing company’s brand name and logos on the masks and US fashion brand received an ad-interim injunction from the Delhi court on June 9th. Tommy Hilfiger refused to comment on the case.
According to the court documents, Tommy was seeking a permanent injunction against the defendants from infringing their trademark ‘ Tommy Hilfiger’ with its variations and flag logo i.e. ‘Tommy’, ‘Tommy Hilfiger’, ‘Tommy Sport’
Manish Sapra, senior marketing director for Adidas India said, “ Counterfeiting is a major issue faced by retail brands and this affects the complete value chain for customers looking for high quality products from reputed brands like Adidas.”
Swiggy– online food delivery company said it is going to enlist vendors for supplying Swiggy branded masks to be used by its delivery partners in selected cities. A Swiggy spokesperson said any unauthorized production of its brand or logo is considered as trademark infringement and appropriate actions will be taken against such acts.
A Haryana based bed sheet manufacturing company started sourcing masks bearing logos of Nike, Adidas and Under Armour and selling these online for Rs 15 each. The co-owner of Haryana firm said these are all duplicate items . As lockdown has hit their bed sheet business they had to produce these masks.
Some companies are ignorant of misuse of their trademarks for the time being and if they go out of hand, they would move legally against them.


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Hundreds of people up and down the country queued up to get their hands on Nando's newest addition - not realising that it was replacing another classic menu item.
The newly launched Sunset Burger features two chicken thighs doused in the chain's signature peri peri seasoning grilled over flames and topped with red pepper chutney and melted cheddar.
Served on a bed of baby spinach leaves, it's all tucked comfortably inside a new soft, sweet roll, the Bolo do Caco.
But sadly, as one door opens, another closes: the new addition means Nando's will be ditching its Churrasco thigh burger.
Fans of the famous peri peri chain took to Twitter to air their views...
User 'SharingIsKieran' played on the commonly-used 'cheeky Nando's' idiom, while others seemed a lot more perturbed.
Courtney Hay (@_courtzzz) tweeted: "NOOOOOOOOOOO my heart is broke" [sic]
Twitter user Robert Perkins tweeted Nando's telling them to "say ain't so". When the chicken chain replied confirming the sunset burger will in fact replace the churassco thigh burger, Robert tweeted he "needs to start a petition"
@_alishabromley said: "so the Great Barrier Reef is dead and now nandos are getting rid of the churrasco thigh burger....... could my day get any worse" [sic]
There were, however, social media users who gave the new sunset burger a thumbs up.
User NicolaBear1 said "The #nandossunset doesn't disappoint."
While @kittynkiby tweeted: "#nandossunset burger is delicious"
What do you think of the burger swap? Tell us in the comments below


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- You can able to win free Netflix subscription for as many as 83 years.
- The company providing the freebie via a contest.
- Only one person can win the prize.
The lockdown period across the globe pushed the number of online viewership and the very popular online streaming platform Netflix has gained the 10 million new subscribers. Now the company is providing something back to its fans and one lucky winner can able to win free Netflix subscription as many as 83 years. So, without making any further delay let’s dive into the article to check out the complete details of the new offer.
You can able to win the free Netflix service with the latest contest and that will be part of new action movie which is dubbed as The Old Guard and the same is novel written by Greg Rucka and the motion picture is now bringing the novel on the screen, the contest will be based on this action film and the winner can able to win 83 years of free service.
Netflix also has some terms and conditions for the contest, the candidate must be 18 year old and the contest is meant for only the citizens of the United States and the 10 top point-getters will be listed on the leaderboard and one lucky winner can able to win the free service of Netflix.
Read interesting news, reviews as well as tips & tricks on TechnoBugg website, and stay updated with the latest happenings of the tech world on the go with Technobugg App. Also follow on Google News and join our Telegram channel for the latest updates.


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Waste coffee Grounds Make Biodiesel Fuel
December 11, 2008
Would you believe it if I told you that researchers reported today that waste coffee grounds can provide a cheap, abundant, and environmentally friendly source of biodiesel fuel for powering our cars and trucks? It is true. In a new study released today, researchers reported that spent coffee grounds contain between 11 to 20 percent oil by weight, which is about as much as traditional biodiesel sources such as palm and soybean oils.
They postulate that the spent coffee grounds could potentially add 340,000,000 gallons of biodiesel to the world’s fuel supply. The scientists collected spent grounds from a multinational coffeehouse chain and separated the oil. They then utilized an inexpensive process to convert 100% of the oil into biodiesel. The resulting fuel actually smells like coffee and has an advantage over traditional bio-fuels in that it is is more stable due to its high antioxidant content. And, solids left over from the conversion process can actually be converted into ethanol!
Who knew that coffee could be so good for the environment and taste so wonderful. Encouraging news for our world.


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Baby food supplier Organix grows D2C side of business with new website – and a twist of personalisation
Leading UK baby food and toddler snacking brand Organix is upping its D2C offering with the launch of a new online shop, allowing consumers who are struggling to get hold of their favourite foods in the current climate to buy direct.
The new online store will not only allow consumers to buy the whole range from the Organix website, as well as offeringthe opportunity for them to personalise their favourite snacks. Now a customer can have their child’s name written on a box of their favourite flavoured Oaty Bars or Gruffalo Biscuits – providing the perfect present or memento of their favourite snacking moments.
In addition to the personalisation, there will also be a range of Organix merchandise for sale including cuddly toys, milestone and phonic cards, featuring all their favourite Organimals.
The new shop will be hosted and fulfilled by PHL, with initial shipping only available within the UK, but there are plans to extend this at a later date.
Mona Nikzad, Digital and E-Commerce Marketing Strategist explains: “In the current climate, brands are having to move quickly to adapt to the needs of their customers. We know from talking to ours that they want to minimise their trips to retail outlets and when their favourite baby foods and toddler snacks are out of stock, this can be frustrating. By launching our new online shop, we’re supporting them and our retailers to get what they need, without having to go out more than they want to.”
She concludes: “We’re also really excited to announce the personalisation service, offering something truly unique in this category for parents to mark their little one’s magical moments.”
The online shop is open now and can be found at shop.organix.com


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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been hounded by bears as its stock had dropped nearly 40% at its lows. The stock has seen a nice bounce back when the market reacted to news via Apple Inc. suppliers that iPhone 7 demand was going to be substantially stronger than previously accounted for. Here's a snippet of that before we get into the news today.
It turns out the Apple iPhone is not only doing better than expected, it's doing better than almost everyone else. In what has been a whirlwind of a month we have learned that iPhone 7 suppliers reported substantially higher demand production required from Apple Inc. which were well above forecasts.
Then on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street," Jim Cramer said:
Forecasts had called for 65 million iPhone 7s to be produced by the end of 2016, so this 72 million to 78 million range is in fact a smashing of forecasts.
While that news was market moving, and added about $50 billion in market cap to Apple Inc. market cap, we just caught wind of two other pieces of news: one is great news, the other could be catastrophic.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is going after India, the country that represents the second largest smartphone market in the world, behind China. We have written about it ad nauseum, but the major point here is that Apple has essentially no footprint in the country, taking home as little as 1% of the smartphone market share, and all of a sudden, everything changed.
If you recall that that 1%-2% market share we looked at in India as of mid-2015, news from Quartz broke in March that the tide is shifting, and it's building into a tsunami:
That number has spiked to 5.8% in tier-I Indian cities.
The key for Apple Inc. was to get around India's law that requires 30% domestic sourcing of products sold in India. First, it looked like Apple had a huge win by side stepping the requirement. A tectonic shift began last year with a visit by Apple's CEO Tim Cook and a private meeting with India's Prime Minister. While the meeting was rather private, the results were not:
Shortly after the meeting we got this news: India has singled out "cutting-edge technology" as a segment that can side-step the 30% local producer rule and Apple has been singled out as "cutting-edge technology." What a coincidence.
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Then Tim Cook went to India just a few weeks ago things went spectacularly well, with news of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stores coming to the country, an R&D facility, and just a lot of smiles. But, as Prime Minister Modi shook Tim Cook's hand, the country's finance minister kicked him in the shins, reportedly denying a waiver of that 30% sourcing rule. That news was stunning.
Alas, the good news came right back, with this:
That's the great news. But, Apple Inc. also just received catastrophic news too, from a totally different place.
China makes up more than 50% of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) operating income, but the company has met fierce new competition. Tim Cook has calmed fears of that competition, noting several facts about Apple's brand acceptance in China. But what nobody expected was for China's homegrown smartphone companies to come to the United States. And friends, that is going to happen.
So Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has made a brilliant move to strengthen its footprint in China, while simultaneously allowing Xiaomi to take aim at Apple in the United States.
People have called the new launch of the Xiaomi Mi 5, a $400 phone, "the iPhone killer" in China with twice the battery, 10 percent less weight, a more powerful processor than the Apple's A9, and standard low-light with advanced optical stabilization camera. Most analysts report that in comparison, Chinese users tend to report that the Mi 5 has a better feel than the iPhone 6S (Breitbart).
Xiaomi's cheaper phone wasn't a global iPhone killer because the domestic Chinese have never had the patent rights to begin forming alliances with telecommunications firms in the U.S. and Europe. That barrier has been smashed down and that's catastrophic news for Apple. Or is it?
GOOD NEWS VERSUS BAD NEWS
While the bearish view of this outcome is pretty obvious, it turns out this could be a non-issue. No matter how we slice it, "Sino phobia" (a sentiment against China, or Chinese culture) is as real as ever. The public Chinese companies that trade on U.S. exchanges have been hounded by fraud allegations from the smallest companies all the way to the largest of them all, Alibaba (NASDAQ:BABA).
The U.S. consumer is no different and there is very little evidence that even if Xiomi makes it to the U.S. that anyone will be interested.
On the other hand, the news in India is tremendously good. Bears will argue that India's consumer can't afford an iPhone, which is true for the most part, but Apple isn't after "the most part," it's after 20% of the market, like it has in China. Is there more to this story? Yes, there's a lot.
WHY THIS MATTERS
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Market correction or not, recession or not, the growth in this area is a near certainty, even if projections come down, this is happening. CML Pro has named the single best cyber security stock to benefit from this theme.
These are just two of the themes we have identified and this is just one of the fantastic reports CML Pro members get along with all the visual tools, the precious few thematic top picks for 2016, research dossiers and alerts. For a limited time we are offering CML Pro at a 90% discount for $10/mo. with a lifetime guaranteed rate. Join Us: Get the most advanced premium research delivered to your inbox along with access to visual tools and data that until now has only been made available to the top 1%.
Thanks for reading, friends. The author is long Apple shares in his personal account.


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Macy’s announces it is closing store in Metcalf South Shopping Center | News
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – In what the company deems as a series of ‘normal-course adjustments,’ Macy’s announced on Wednesday that it is closing five locations, including one in Overland Park. The 216,000 square-foot store in the Metcalf South Shopping Center that was originally The Jones Store, which was opened in 1967, will close its doors sometime this spring.
For some people here in the metro, the news is very disappointing.
“Its uncrowded and I don’t get lost like I do in Oak Park Mall so its kind of sad,” said Kathy Harper, of Leawood who says the Metcalf South location is convenient and closer than other stores.
A press release indicated that final clearance sales will begin next Monday, January 13 and they will run between 10 and 11 weeks. Other locations that will also close include a store in the Jamestown Mall in Florissant, Mo., and stores in Mesa, Ariz., Irondequoit, N.Y., and Murray, Utah.
“We continue to maintain a very strong nationwide network of stores through an ongoing process of selectively adding new locations while also trimming those that no longer meet our performance requirements or where our leases were not renewed,” stated Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and CFO of Macy’s.
While some shoppers say they hate to see the department store leave, Overland Park City Council member Curt Skoog says the closure opens up a realm of possibilities for what he calls a very valuable corner.
“We have a lot of aging retail strip centers that were built for a different time and a different clientele, so what we’ve been working on is a plan to the future,” said Skoog.
Macy’s anticipates a cost savings of about $100 million in concert with other cost reduction moves and organizational changes. One of the organizational changes includes combining its Midwest and North Regions into a new ‘North Central Region.’ The company anticipates that approximately 2,500 employees will be laid off due to the changes.
The Overland Park store employs 88 people and the company stated in the release that eligible full-time and part-time employees will be offered severance benefits. An employee inside the store says the store is slated to close for good in March. The developer did not return our calls for comment.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story identified Macy’s as being at this location since 1967. That assertion was made in error and the information has been corrected to accurately reflect that it was originally The Jones Store before it became a Macy’s store.


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In 2013/14 MY China started importing soybeans and rapeseed oil from Ukraine
In the current MY the supplies of soybeans and rapeseed oil from Ukraine were observed among other import commodities to China. So, in the period of September-November of 2013 Ukraine supplied 131.1 tonnes of soybeans and 219.9 tonnes of rapeseed oil to China. It should be noted that during 5 previous seasons Ukraine exported soybeans to China only once - in December 2010 at the volume of 25 tonnes, and did not export rapeseed oil at all.
But sunflower oil is the main commodity item of the oilseed segment of agricultural commodity exports to China from Ukraine. In the period of September-November of 2013 Ukraine supplied 158.7 thsd tonnes of sunflower oil to the country, which ensured China to the second position in the list of importers of the commodity from Ukraine.
Thus, the exports of fatty products from Ukraine to China form the major share of the general Ukrainian exports of agricultural commodities. In January-November period of 2013 Ukraine exported fats and oils of vegetable or animal origin to China at the sum of 412.9 mln USD, or 90% of the general agricultural exports in the reporting direction (458 mln USD).
You can become acquainted about the future prospects of Ukrainian agricultural exports to China and other countries of Southeast Asia, by taking part in the first international conference "Ukrainian grain to the world!", organized by APK-Inform Agency and Ukrainian Grain Association, which to be held on March 2-4, 2014, in Hong Kong.
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Ukraine planted spring grains and pulses throughout 2.8 mln ha
April 21, 17:00
Ukraine: foreign trade deficit in goods lowered - State Statistics Service
April 21, 15:30
Ukraine: average selling prices of agricultural products increased - State Statistics Service
April 21, 15:00
In 2016/17 MY, Ukraine to break a record in grain exports - Ministry of Agrarian Policy
April 21, 12:00
Ukraine exported over 35 mln tonnes of grains - Ministry of Agrarian Policy
April 20, 17:00
Ukraine: current frosts are safe for winter crop areas - T.Adamenko
April 20, 16:20


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Citing "numerous" reports of infections associated with reprocessed urological endoscopes, the FDA wants providers to pay extra attention to careful cleaning and inspection following use of these devices.
In a "Dear Health Care Provider" letter dated Thursday, the FDA said it is "currently investigating the potential causes and contributing factors associated with the reported infections and contamination issues."
"While some reports indicate possible inadequate reprocessing or maintenance issues (for example, device failed leak testing) as a potential cause, the FDA is also evaluating other potential issues including reprocessing instructions in the labeling and device design," the letter added.
More than 450 reports of infections or other contamination issues with urological endoscopes have been filed with the FDA, the agency said. Manufacturers specifically named included Olympus and Karl Storz, although the FDA stressed that it had not determined that risks were greater with those companies' products versus others.
Olympus told the agency that it knew of three deaths associated with its devices, all overseas, and all involving Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections.
As is the case with drug and vaccine adverse event reports, the FDA noted that the device filings do not constitute "definitive evidence" of faulty design or manufacture, "and cannot be used to establish or compare rates of event occurrence."
Urological endoscopes are used in a range of different procedures, both diagnostic and therapeutic, and may involve all parts of the urinary tract including the kidneys.
The issue is reminiscent of the long-running problem with reprocessed devices used for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures. That erupted in 2015 when it was discovered that dozens of patients undergoing ERCP procedures had become infected with carbapenem-resistant enterococcal infections and more than a dozen died. The infections were traced to contaminated endoscopes.
Despite the clear danger, the FDA determined that such devices needed to remain in service because there was no adequate substitute. Manufacturers in many cases issued new instructions for reprocessing, and the FDA repeatedly urged gastroenterology clinics to follow those instructions to the letter. More recently, easier-to-clean and single-use devices have come onto the market.
For the urological endoscopes, the FDA said reprocessing should follow all of the following steps:
- Leak testing
- Either disinfection/rinsing/drying or full sterilization
The agency also said clinicians should stop using devices with damaged components or that fail leak testing, devise inspection and maintenance schedules, and note the risks when gaining patients' consent for procedures.