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Specialists are agreed that the relationship between agribusiness and tourism is one of the most promising ways to diversify and grow the agricultural sector in the Caribbean.
Grenada, November 28, 2014 (IICA). The link between local agriculture and tourism could spur the economy of the Caribbean countries, since it would open up a new market for producers and give the tourism industry access to good quality products for a lower price.
That is the opinion of the specialists invited by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) to take part in a forum in Grenada to identify new opportunities for making small-scale agriculture more competitive in the Caribbean.
The promotion of agrotourism was highlighted at the meeting, which involved representatives of the public and private sectors, producers’ organizations, financial institutions and international cooperation agencies.
“Supplying locally produced food to luxury hotels and cruise ships benefits both the tourism industry and the agricultural sector, hence the importance of developing business management skills, infrastructure and food quality and safety capabilities, to ensure that the supply meets the requirements of consumers,” observed Ena Harvey, IICA’s Representative in Barbados.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), tourism is a key pillar of the economies of the Caribbean. The region is more dependent on income from tourism activities than any other part of the world.
“There is a lot of investment in luxury hotels, resorts and cruise ships but the economic benefits do not usually reach the community; there are not enough jobs to go round,” Harvey explained.
In her opinion, certified products with value added are the key to a demanding market that looks for high-quality food, while at the same time strengthening the local and regional markets that serve the tourism sector.
“Linking these two productive sectors seems a natural way to boost the development of trade and businesses involving fresh and processed products, in addition to promoting greater consumption of local products,” Harvey added.
According to the specialists taking part in the forum, ecolabeling is another tool that can be used to gain access to markets that are willing to pay a higher price for green products. This option would permit some producers to add value through differentiation.
The recommendations and conclusions of the meeting will be revisited at a forum due to be held in 2015. Both initiatives are the result of the work carried out by IICA and CTA during the 2013 Caribbean Week of Agriculture, held in Guyana.


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Chipotle may need a successful launch of its queso to make customers forget about the events of last week.
The Mexican chain, already in its second year of a slow comeback from a series of food poisoning outbreaks, saw its perception drop to an 11-month low after a norovirus outbreak at a Virginia store and a video circulated of rodents falling from the ceiling of a Dallas store, according to YouGov BrandIndex, the only daily brand consumer perception research service.
Those back-to-back incidents caused two more potential headaches for Chipotle as its stock dropped 4.5% on Thursday, July 20th.
YouGov BrandIndex’s Quality score for Chipotle took a downturn after recently breaking past the average Quality score of the fast food sector, a comeback almost 18 months in the making.
Chipotle’s Purchase Consideration score also declined from 24% of consumers considering buying Chipotle the next time they frequented a fast food restaurant to 22%.
On August 1st, Chipotle will roll out testing of queso sales in 350 stores across both California and Colorado, with a plan to take it national in the fall if it is successful.
Since the fall of 2015, when a series of e-coli and norovirus breakouts forced stores to close and resulted in an earnings downturn, Chipotle followed a common pattern YouGov BrandIndex sees with brands in major crises: a slow perception score comeback followed by hitting a “wall” that they have trouble moving past. The “wall” is almost always at a level considerably below where the brand was before the crisis broke out. Chipotle arrived at their “wall” in July 2016 where perception improvements slowed noticeably — though they were still gradually increasing until the most recent incident.
YouGov BrandIndex measured Chipotle with two scores besides Purchase Consideration: Buzz ("If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?"), and Quality ("Is it high quality or low quality?"). More than 50,000 regular fast food eaters were interviewed over the time period. Margin of error +/- 3.5%.

domain: news


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OR WAIT 15 SECS
© 2020 MJH Life Sciences and Nutritional Outlook. All rights reserved.
July 07, 2020
Soy protein is a valuable tool in the health and wellness toolbox, writes one medical doctor.
June 30, 2020
As more shoppers seek out high-protein snacks, how can they tell which ones are truly better? One company took a look.
June 24, 2020
According to the firm, when complete, the new commercial facility will be the first and only to have the capability to produce food-grade canola protein.


text: Sega’s confirmed Binary Domain will launch next February. Only early 2012 had been confirmed up until now. The date is mentioned at the end of a brand new story video for the game, which details more of the story, which shows robots uprising against humans. Get the video below, via Joystiq. The game, a new IP from Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, will launch on PS3 and 360.


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In comparison with the current Bitcoin bull run (even though with a slight correction being seen at the moment), previous bullish markets were provoked by much less serious drivers, a crypto expert believes.
In an interview to Coindesk, the CEO of BCB, a financial platform focusing on crypto, Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie, expressed his vision that the ‘crypto bubble’ in 2013 was caused by technocrats and dark web dwellers, in 2017 the BTC price was pushed up by the ICO craze.
However, this year, the ball is on the field of traditional VC firms that have got interested in the industry and are eagerly entering the market.
More institutions are joining in
Data shared by Landsberg-Sadie says that more and more institutional investors are stepping into the crypto area. In June, UK saw 9 large financial institutions that deal with OTC trading and banking enter the industry.
Apart from those, as per the expert, 32 other institutions also joined the club.
Apart from entering the crypto area themselves, institutions also spread their support towards numerous DLT initiatives to do with commodity trade and goods shipping. Crypto exchanges also start to tailor their services from retail customers to institutional investors.
Crypto exchanges change their tactics
Exchanges are also trying to become as compliant as possible and yield to regulators’ demands in order to attract institutional customers and their funds.
A good example is Binance – it is not only now integrating higher KYC standards but is also setting up a separate division (Binance US) in order to be compliant with US laws in the financial sphere and enter the North American market.
The biggest non-crypto platform that has entered the industry this year is Facebook with its Libra coin that has caused a negative reaction of many bankers and lawmakers in Europe, Japan and the US.
Libra coin is scheduled to be launched in 2020 and later this year Bakkt plans to launch Bitcoin futures as well and the crypto community is looking forward to that.


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Nintendo approaching VR with the intent of making it more palatable to the mainstream market.
Yesterday, Nintendo admitted, at long last, that they are looking into VR– the new medium is touted to be a paradigm shift for video gaming, on par with the onset of polygonal 3D gaming 20 years ago. We are already seeing early attempts at VR gaming right now, and while they certainly benefit from the freshness and novelty of it all, we haven’t seen the kind of defining game that stuff like Super Mario 64 or The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time were.
In other words, VR gaming could certainly benefit from having Nintendo on board, which is why the news yesterday was so exciting. And while Nintendo refused to give a great many details about what they were planning with VR then, today, we’ve learned more about how they may be approaching the format- and in a typical Nintendo manner, they are looking at making it more palatable for the mainstream masses, and something that will be kid friendly, as well.
“I heard VR was a hot topic at E3, so I went to check it out. It was on display, but it wasn’t what I expected,” said Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto (translated by Cheesemeister). “We’re also researching VR, so we have the core technology. Long play sessions are an issue. We want to release something that can be played for long periods, carries value, and is affordable. We want parents to feel at ease [with the tech].”
These sound like noble aims- after all, if VR is to take off, then it needs to be accessible to as many people as possible. As it stands right now, the technology, while cool, is alienating for most people except for a core group of technology enthusiasts. If Nintendo could make VR as mainstream as they did motion controls, then they could have another gigantic hit on their hands, and they could lead the VR revolution.


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Sixty percent of New York area purchasing managers said they expect staff cuts in their industries in 2003, according to a recent survey.
"The New York City business prognosis in general, and the hiring outlook in particular, suggest that 2003 may be another challenging year for companies and employees alike," Marc Goloven, senior regional economist at J.P. Morgan Chase, said in his analysis of the January report from the National Association of Purchasing Management. Forty percent of the managers surveyed said they expected no cuts.
In another sign that the city can't shake its economic fatigue, the survey's index that measures general business conditions came in at 252.6 for the month, lower than the annual average of 253.1 for 2002.
Most purchasing managers in service industries--the core of New York's economy--reported little change in business conditions in January. Though the index that measures the state of service businesses pushed higher, to 51.5 from 39.1 in December, NAPM warned that the result is largely due to fewer firms reporting a decline in business rather than a swell of companies reporting upswings.


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Originally Posted by Konstantin Fomenko
The game will be finished in December, but from the publishers side all we are hearing that December is bad month for RTS games, and we got to shift release to February. This might change, but imo only in February would DoF be available retail. There might be earlier online release though.
As for the competition factor, I agree 100%to what has been said as far the release date. However, if we get the beta and already can enjoy features from the game or just more media releases, waiting won't be as bad.


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After the booming success of Google’s Chromecast, the internet giant have started working on Cast For Audio, an audio-only version of system that streams audio to certified speakers. The first speakers supporting this technology should reach the market in Spring 2015.
Cast for Audio uses the same simple interface as Chromecast. Press the ‘Cast’ button and the device sends over the audio to the speaker. From there, the speaker pulls that music directly from the internet, thus giving the user the ability to do anything else on the device too. Cast for Audio will be competition for AirPlay and Bluetooth speakers, but the fact that Google’s technology pulls the music from the cloud gives it an edge over the others. Audio selection and volume is still controlled by the device over WiFi, just like ChromeCast.
The manufacturers developing speakers for Google’s Cast for Audio include Sony, LG and Denon, while Marvell, Broadcom, Libre Wireless and MediaTek supplying the hardware. Google has confirmed that the Play Music app will work with Cast for audio, along with iHeartRadio, NPR One, Pandora, and TuneIn, and we think the music apps supporting Chromecast will join the list too. However, Spotify is currently not on the list. Getting the world’s largest streaming network should have been a goal for Google, but with other streaming options on board, Spotify could follow their track.
Google is going directly after Apple’s AirPlay, but Sony and Henon wouldn’t make us choose between the two services, as their speakers will support both AirPlay and Cast For Audio.
Google has revealed that the speakers will be out in a few months, and more speakers will be released throughout the year. Cast for Audio will join the Google Cast family, which includes game consoles, set top boxes and Android TV’s. More details on official Google Cast page here.


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Too few tickets for Dalai Lama event unfair to students
Although students were offered discounted presale tickets for the One World Concert on Friday, the number of tickets available — 5,000 —was too low.
To put the number of tickets in perspective, 8,500 tickets were available for Sunday’s Juice Jam, which sold out and was the largest Juice Jam concert to date. Last spring, 12,000 tickets were available for Block Party. Those events are run by University Union.
The One World Concert features more artists than most concerts at Syracuse University, and the Dalai Lama will speak, as well. A total of 30,000 tickets are available for the event, and though students can purchase tickets in the general sale, more tickets should have been made available to just students.
The 5,000 discounted tickets sold out in less than 90 minutes on Friday. On Saturday, university officials made more tickets available for student purchase, but they were no longer at the student-discount price and were also available to alumni, faculty, staff and athletics donors.
Regardless, students who really want to see the Dalai Lama will most likely spend the extra money and make the effort to purchase tickets. But the university should have worked harder to open this opportunity to students.
While there were not enough tickets made available for solely students, the move to limit students to purchase one ticket only during the presale was a positive. The tickets were loaded directly onto the students’ SUIDs, the same way season tickets are placed on IDs for football and men’s basketball games.
Taking this step will cut down on the number of tickets scalped and allow more students to enjoy the event. No one student can buy multiple tickets and prevent others from purchasing one.
The one-ticket limit is good for students, but university officials should have done more to extend the opportunity to attend such a landmark event to more students. The brisk timeframe in which the discounted tickets sold out indicates this, as well.
Published on September 10, 2012 at 1:10 am


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I want to call Kenny Jahng right now, didn’t you?
Source: Tim Cox’s Instagram
Path was recently fined $ 800,000 by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for deceiving its users “by collecting personal information from their mobile device address books without their knowledge and consent.” Last year, the social network was caught storing all of its users’ contacts on its servers under the radar. Now users have started accusing Path of spamming friends to join the service via text message.
Stephen Kenwright has a long [Read More...]
Iâ€™ve madea a point of trying to read more books this year than ever before. The fact that I can have books on my iPad, e-reader, and even on my phone (along with good old-fashioned paper books), Iâ€™ve got more to read now than ever before and thatâ€™s a good thing. But with all of that reading material it would sure be nice to up my reading speed.
Thatâ€™s [Read More...]
Donald Trump thinks Apple should increase the iPhone’s screen size… or else. The real estate tycoon talked about how much he wants a larger iPhone on his Facebook page today. If Apple doesn’t wise up and release a phablet, The Trump says the company will “lose a lot of business.”
U.S. District Judge Robert Scola believes Apple and Google-owned Motorola are more interested in using litigation as a business strategy than they are in resolving patent disputes. Both companies accused each other of infringing patents related to wireless technologies back in 2010, and today the case is still on going.
â€œThe parties have no interest in efficiently and expeditiously resolving this dispute; they instead are using this and similar litigation worldwide as [Read More...]
Acquired by Google last June and updated last October, Quickoffice for iPad is a great solution for iPad owners to work with Office files, especially ones that aren’t supported in Google Docs.
Today, the company announced that its bringing the app to Android, as well as a version to the iPhone. The app will let anyone edit Office documents on any mobile device, via Google’s own Drive system, something that [Read More...]
Did you know that Google’s former head of Android worked at Apple for a few years in the early 90s? Andy Rubin was aÂ manufacturing engineer at Apple from 1989-1992. He still has his old business card, and it looks awesome with the retro Apple logo and unofficial title, “Bad Example.”
Since he moved away from Android to work on other stuff at Google, Rubin has been posting a lot more to [Read More...]
The iBookstore might not be the most profitable leg of Apple’s empire, but it is said that Apple doesn’t get into a business if it can’t make a billion dollars off of it… so no surprise that the iBookstore is a billion dollar business, even if it’s not much more than that.
Over at Asymco, Horace Dediu crunched the numbers and said that the iBookstore is making over a billion dollars [Read More...]
Square, the mobile payment startup that lets you pay for your coffee with an iPhone app, has announced a new product for small business owners. Since Square already specializes in helping merchants use the iPhone and iPad to process payments, the [Read More...]
People are more than willing to pay a premium for landing page designers. Why? Because effective landing pages are money makers. They drive sales, leads, and revenue.
Imagine being able to show your clients how your work directly impacted their bottom line. Further to that, imagine that you have just become an indispensable, invaluable part of their business. Well, this Cult of Mac Deals offer will do its part [Read More...]


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DETROIT, July 9 — The Delphi Corporation, the large auto supplier, said Monday that it had terminated a $3.4 billion financing plan to bring the company out of bankruptcy protection but that it expected to sign a new deal this month.
The company said it planned to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of the year, within six months of its original timetable. Its board is scheduled to meet next Monday to consider a new financing agreement.
“We would anticipate that some of the same plan investors would be involved with the transaction going forward,” said a Delphi spokesman, Lindsey Williams.
Delphi said previously that the lead investor in the deal, the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, was likely to withdraw as talks stalled on a labor agreement with the United Automobile Workers union and Delphi’s former parent, General Motors.
After nearly two years of negotiations, the three parties signed a deal last month that allows Delphi to cut the wages of longtime workers in exchange for upfront payments of up to $105,000 and to close or sell all but four plants in the United States.
Under the deal, Delphi expects to have 4,703 U.A.W. workers within six months and 2,300 by 2012, it said in a court filing last week. The company had about 24,000 U.A.W. employees when it filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2005 and currently has 17,000.
Delphi said Monday that it planned to file the labor deal as part of its reorganization plan rather than seek separate approval for it from the bankruptcy court.
Cerberus and other equity firms, including Appaloosa Management and Harbinger Capital, had agreed in December to buy Delphi for $3.4 billion and planned to bring it out of bankruptcy in the first half of this year. Delphi picked the Cerberus-led bid over a competing offer of $4.7 billion made by Highland Capital Management.
Delphi recently agreed to share confidential financial information with Highland, according to a regulatory filing, suggesting that Highland could be involved in a new agreement. Officials from Highland and Cerberus declined to comment.
Mr. Williams said all of the parties in the original agreement had the right to end it at any time. He said Cerberus had not formally notified Delphi that it would withdraw, but stressed that the other two primary investors are still on board.
“Delphi believes that Appaloosa and Harbinger remain committed to a transaction with us that will maximize stakeholder recoveries and permit Delphi to make an expeditious exit from Chapter 11,” Mr. Williams said.
In the spring, as talks among Delphi, G.M. and the U.A.W. dragged on, Cerberus turned its focus to a buyout of the Chrysler Group from DaimlerChrysler. Cerberus, which is based in New York and headed by the financier Stephen A. Feinberg, is expected to close this month on its purchase of 80.1 percent of Chrysler for $7.4 billion.
Cerberus also holds a majority stake in G.M.’s financing arm, the General Motors Acceptance Corporation, and has a pending deal to buy the assets of the bankrupt supplier Tower Automotive for $1 billion.Continue reading the main story


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In about a year's time, smart phone customers of U.K. mobile service provider Three have doubled their "average" data consumption to 1.1 Gbytes a month, Three says.
That rate of increase is faster than for the U.K. audience as a whole, as Ofcom reports the overall volume of mobile data consumed in the United Kingdom has doubled in the 18 months to January 2012.
By way of comparison, according to Nielsen’s June 2012 analysis of U.S. mobile phone bills for 65,000 lines, smart phone owners, especially those with iPhones and Android devices, were consuming about 435 Mbytes a month in 2011, roughly the same as in the United Kingdom.
T-Mobile USA, meanwhile, reports that its users consumer about 760 Mbytes a month.
Ofcom estimates that the average U.K. consumer now spends ninety minutes per week using a mobile to access the Internet, largely replacing their use of PCs and laptops for watching video clips and sending messages.
Those of you with an engineering bent will realize what that means. Nothing stresses an access network like video.
Since mobile networks are more "bandwidth challenged" than the fixed networks, when users switch video viewing preferences to mobile access modes, mobile networks experience the "worst of all worlds" (the media type with the greatest bandwidth requirement is consumed on the networks with the least available bandwidth).
And one might well expect consumption to keep climbing, as more users adopt smart phones, come to rely on mobile access to the Internet and as fourth generation networks are built, since faster access drives higher data consumption.
A year ago, average consumption was about 450 megabytes. As you would expect, the growth has happened because of smart phone user behavior. About 95 percent of Three smart phone customers use data on a daily basis.
About 42 percent of respondents surveyed by Ofcom agree with the statement “my phone is more important to me for accessing the Internet than any other device."
Levels of agreement with this statement are highest among those aged 16 to 24 (51 percent) and 25 to 44 (48 percent). Levels of agreement have also increased over time, with 42 percent net agreement in 2012, compared to 33 percent net agreement in 2011.
Ofcom reports that mobile broadband (data dongles or cards) now are used by about 13 percent of U.K. mobile users, while smart phone adoption grew from 27 percent in 2011 to 39 percent of U.K. adults, representing 43% of mobile phone users.
Some 66 percent of U.K. users 16 to 24 and 60 percent of those aged 25 to 34 have a
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Real life has a way of making some expected problems a non issue. Most readers now are too young to remember it, but half a century ago it w...
Is there a relationship between screen size and data consumption? One might think the answer clearly is “yes,” based on the difference bet...
In about three years, according to a survey of larger employers conducted by the World Economic Forum, 54 percent of all employees will re...
USB-based device chargers can create noise that interferes with touchscreen operation especially when the chargers omit noise suppression ...


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tvOS 15 — Everything We Currently Know
As WWDC 2021 is approaching very soon, Apple’s tvOS software will soon be getting an upgrade with a new model of the Apple TV expected to launch soon as well. Find out all of the details about the upcoming software release.
When will tvOS 15be released?
WWDC is usually held in June and this is the event where all of the latest software is announced…


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Cape Privacy has joined the Snowflake Partner Network to partner with Snowflake, the Data Cloud company. As a Snowflake partner, Cape Privacy enables the unique ability for financial services firms to run predictive machine learning models on encrypted data in Snowflake, while protecting privacy by default.
In financial services there has traditionally been friction between the collection and use of personally identifiable information (PII) and payment card information (PCI) because of the risk of exposure and abuse. Regulatory restrictions have kept financial services firms from putting that valuable data to work, and the steps required to protect sensitive data create conflict with its use for generating valuable decision intelligence.
Encryption is the cornerstone of any data protection and compliance program, but encrypted data is difficult to work with for creating decision intelligence. Cape Privacy enables businesses to run predictive models on previously inaccessible encrypted data in Snowflake–without decryption.
Cape’s platform uses secret sharing and secure multiparty computation (MPC) to operationalize the data securely, avoiding a single point of failure and enabling computations on data that was previously inaccessible. Instead, encrypted data can now be transferred to Snowflake, along with whatever models the user chooses, and run predictions using the encrypted data. Because the data is never decrypted, privacy and security compliance are assured.
Here’s how it works:
- Data is client-side encrypted and uploaded to Snowflake;
- A user submits a query to Snowflake;
- Cape Privacy securely processes a prediction on the encrypted data; and,
- The prediction results are shared back with the user though Snowflake.
“Financial services firms that collect sensitive, private data have struggled with the dilemma of choosing between keeping data secure, and using it to its fullest potential. With Cape Privacy’s secure, multiparty computational platform, our customers are able to leverage encrypted data to gain a more granular understanding of their customers, better identify market trends, and improve product performance and business outcomes while maintaining respect for the privacy of their own customers,” said Tarik Dwiek, Head of Technology Alliances at Snowflake.
The Cape Privacy partnership complements Snowflake’s powerful, secure data sharing and multi-party permissioning capabilities by allowing customers to fully utilize the broad array of AI and data modeling tools available in Snowflake. Now, private, encrypted data is sent to the Cape Privacy platform within Snowflake, along with the user organization’s chosen data model.
“Our partnership allows Snowflake customers to maximize the value of the private data they have in the Snowflake data cloud because they can secure it with strong encryption, move it into Snowflake, and run their models in Snowflake and with the tools available in Snowflake, taking advantage of the full richness of the data to extract high-value decision intelligence without ever having to decrypt the data,” said Cape Privacy CEO, Ché Wijesinghe.
The benefits and capabilities of Cape’s platform are available immediately to Snowflake customers.
For more such updates follow us on Google News ITsecuritywire News


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Mumbai: Satin Creditcare Network Limited (SCNL) (NSE: SATIN, BSE: 539404), one of the leading microfinance institutions in the country, continues to digitize its payment landscape. In an effort to drive financial inclusion and boost cashless transactions in the country, SCNL has made loan EMI payments more seamless for its customers by introducing UPI AutoPay. SCNL is the first player in the microfinance segment to go live on this unique functionality. This will also be the first time that customers can pay their loan EMIs via UPI platform. HSBC India is a banking partner to Satin Creditcare and has always been partnering with corporates from multiple strategic sectors to offer meaningful solutions to them. By associating with Satin Creditcare, HSBC India has become the only international bank as part of the UPI AutoPay platform. This strategic alliance between Satin Creditcare, HSBC, and NPCI would ensure borrowers get a unique, hassle-free, and effective loan repayment experience.
UPI AutoPay – which was launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) last year – will also empower customers of SCNL to verify the mandated transaction prior to authenticating the same. All the subsequent payments of borrowers can be seamlessly executed without any manual intervention. With Satin taking the lead in integrating UPI AutoPay into its system, the possibilities for other firms in NBFI and MFI sectors are wide open for them to plan about onboarding this innovative feature for the convenience of their customers. SCNL has always been committed to offering financial assistance to the underbanked population of the country. By implementing UPI AutoPay, the company would redefine borrowers’ perspectives towards EMI payments. The integration of UPI AutoPay would help SCNL reduce cash management risks, save customers’ time in center meetings, maximize customer convenience, bring more efficiency to the process, and strengthening the overall collection framework.
The company has facilitated this digital ecosystem across all its branches in India. SCNL has been at the forefront of innovation and takes pride in its customer-centric technology prowess in the industry. It has already begun to disburse 100% of its loans in cashless mode and with its comprehensive suite of cashless collection provisions such as UPI, online web portal, customer service app, and UPI AutoPay, it successfully establishes itself as a new-age technologically driven enterprise.
HP Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Satin Creditcare Network Ltd, says, “It is a delight to partner with NPCI and HSBC in making UPI 2.0 a reality for microfinance users. The payments ecosystem is evolving, and improved customer experience is at the heart of this transformation. Instant service and no human intervention are the defining attributes of future consumer payment experiences. UPI AutoPay has the potential to accelerate and drive cashless collections at a much faster pace. It is time to go beyond conventional cash collections and scale up digital transactions. With the COVID-19 led ‘new normal’ here to stay, implementing innovative solutions like UPI AutoPay are the need of the hour. India’s focused on-ground implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is a massive asset that has augmented India’s banked population.”
Siddharth Rungta – Country Head, Global liquidity & Cash Management, HSBC India says, “We are focused on leveraging emerging technologies, innovation and developments in digital payments infrastructure to offer customized solutions to our clients. Our partnership with Satin Creditcare Network Ltd on UPI AutoPay solution is one such example. In this case, we’ve integrated our API (Application Programming Interface) stack with the AutoPay functionality for recurring payments to enable an efficient and fully automated EMI collections solution. This will support Satin Creditcare in their endeavour towards driving financial inclusion for low-income communities and women entrepreneurs across India.”
Praveena Rai, COO, NPCI, says, “We are happy to collaborate with HSBC and Satin Creditcare to facilitate the integration of UPI AutoPay feature. We believe this functionality is all geared up to provide a unique opportunity to borrowers for repayment of their loans using UPI which is fully secure, convenient, and automated. We are also glad to witness UPI AutoPay foraying into the microfinance space and we are hopeful that it will see widespread adoption among MSMEs and Joint Liability Groups seeking basic access to financial aid as per their capabilities. It is our constant endeavor at NPCI to get UPI AutoPay to venture into diverse sectors and offer a seamless recurring payment mechanism for the ease of customers.”
Since its inception in July 2020, UPI AutoPay has ventured into multiple sectors including fintech, media & entertainment, education, stock broking, etc. to offer a frictionless payment experience to customers and businesses. With UPI AutoPay taking care of customers’ recurring payment schedules by providing a customizable integration facility, the ecosystem may see companies from various sectors adopting this innovative functionality in the days to come.


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China fireworks factories are resuming production. But the fireworks production time before Chinese New Year holiday is less than 90 days. And also there are some other factors affecting fireworks production, for example, the annual meeting of Chinese Communist Party in October. So if you have fireworks and firecrackers purchase plans, we suggest you place order as soon as possible.
We are China fireworks manufacturer and exporter. We supply all kinds of 1.3G,1.4G,1.4S fireworks.


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HORSHAM, PA. — Bimbo Bakeries USA has introduced a fleet of vehicles fueled by emissions-reducing, domestically produced propane autogas. The company’s 84 new Ford F-59 trucks, equipped with Roush CleanTech fuel technology, will operate in three of B.B.U.’s major markets.
|Gary Maresca, senior director of fleet services for B.B.U.
“Bimbo Bakeries USA introduced propane autogas vehicles into our Chicago, Denver and Washington, D.C., regions to help accomplish our corporate environmental goals while lowering our bottom line,” said Gary Maresca, senior director of fleet services for B.B.U. “This initiative is the latest in our company’s continued effort to reduce our carbon footprint.”
B.B.U. said each new propane autogas fueled delivery truck will cut carbon dioxide emissions by about 192,000 lbs compared to gasoline, which equals 16.1 million fewer lbs over the lifetime of the fleet. Additionally, the new propane autogas trucks are expected to provide lower up-front costs, minimal impact to operations and stability of fuel costs.
B.B.U. said it began operating 30 units in January from the company’s Chicago-area location, and 27 units began operating from its Denver-area office. The remaining 27 units that will serve the Washington region will begin making deliveries this month, the company said. The trucks work as route vehicles delivering B.B.U. products, such as Thomas’, Oroweat, Entenmann’s and Sara Lee, to retail locations.
|Todd Mouw, v.p. of sales and marketing for Roush CleanTech
“Bimbo Bakeries seamlessly integrated our fuel system technology into three of its key markets,” said Todd Mouw, vice-president of sales and marketing for Roush CleanTech. “We helped train their technicians on the specifics of servicing our propane autogas Ford F-59 trucks. These professionals are already familiar with Ford products and value the factory warranty that stands behind each Roush CleanTech vehicle.”
B.B.U. has installed on-site fueling stations at each location, eliminating the need to refill at retail stations. Mr. Maresca said he expects to see a reduction in operational costs as a result of the lower fuel prices as well as maintenance savings due to the cleaner-burning properties of the fuel. He said B.B.U. pays about $1.30 per gallon of propane autogas compared with $1.80 for gasoline.B.B.U. joins the growing list of baking companies turning to alternative fuel vehicles. Alpha Baking, Franz Bakery and H&S Bakery all operate alternative fuel vehicle fleets.


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The ongoing global pandemic that has led to massive levels of remote work and an increased use of hybrid IT systems is leading to greater insecurity and risk exposure for enterprises. According Pulse...
Oct 13, 2020
The Internet of Things (IoT) gateways are becoming an increasingly important link in the IoT security and device authentication value chain and emerging as a crucial conduit for intelligent...
Sep 28, 2020
Fewer than half (47%) of cybersecurity professionals have a plan in place to deal with attacks on their IoT devices and equipment, despite the fact that nine out of ten expressed concerns over future...
Nov 15, 2019
Trend Micro, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today announced NTT DOCOMO, Japan’s leading mobile operator and one of the world's foremost contributors to 3G, 4G and 5G mobile network...
Jun 13, 2019
Cybersecurity startup SigmaDots has partnered with Telit, an Internet of Things (IoT) enabler, to expand IoT security and strengthen business continuity leveraging SigmaDots technology. SigmaDots is...
Jun 06, 2019
Only around half (48%) of businesses can detect if any of their IoT devices suffers a breach, according to a Gemalto study. This comes despite companies having an increased focus on IoT security...
Jan 17, 2019
By 2021, 50% of online transactions will use biometric authentication, and by 2018, 70% of enterprise cybersecurity environments will use cognitive/AI technologies to assist humans in dealing with...
Mar 01, 2017
Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company reveals that by 2019, 86% of organizations in Asia Pacific will have some form of IoT in place, according to ‘The Internet of Things: Today and Tomorrow’....
Feb 28, 2017
The last three days of RSA Conference 2017, was sprinkled with references by various experts to the Mirai Botnet and how it exploited weak security on a range of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. ...
Feb 16, 2017


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Celebrities Ride Antique Harleys From Sturgis to Milwaukee For Harley 110th Anniversary!
A long ride on very old motorcycles is the near future for Doobie Brother guitarist Pat Simmons and his wife, American Iron Magazine columnist, Cris Sommer Simmons. On the August 20 the pair will depart from the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum in Sturgis, South Dakota, and ride 1,000 miles east to the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to help Harley-Davidson celebrate its 110th anniversary.
Cris will be riding Effie, her 1915 Harley-Davidson twin motorcycle, and Pat will ride Vinnie, his 1914 Harley two-speed, twin. The first Harley-Davidson motorcycle was built in 1903 and 110 years later the legendary brand is still an American icon. “We’ve always been Harley people, that’s what brought us together” says Cris, a three time motorcycle hall of fame inductee, published author and motorcycle journalist. Pat and Cris actually met at a Harley-Davidson event in Sturgis in 1989. “We were introduced by a mutual friend, who was a marketing executive for Harley-Davidson.” Pat adds “Our mutual love of motorcycles, riding, and the lifestyle drew us to one another. We’ve been together ever since.”
This year the couple will celebrate 24 years together by riding their nearly 100 year-old motorcycles to Milwaukee, where Pat, guitar player and singer with The Doobie Brothers will perform with the band at the event on August 29th. “The Doobies have a long history with Harley-Davidson. Besides riding, we have been performing at their events and biker parties for over 40 years. We love motorcycling, and the riders. It’s such an honor to be part the Harley-Davidson family, and the 110th anniversary celebration, and we plan to rock in overdrive that night!”
Cris will be at the Harley-Davidson Museum on August 30th at 2pm, where she will talk about her experiences and sign copies of her three books.
“We’re not sure what to expect as we ride 1,000 miles or so from Sturgis to Milwaukee, but we’re excited. Cris has already ridden a lot farther Effie. She rode cross-country on the 3,330 mile Motorcycle Cannonball run in 2010. I’ve never ridden this far on a motorcycle so old. It’ll be a new experience for me” said Pat “I know this will be a ride to remember.”


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Crocs Inc. is shaking up its top leadership and closing more stores after reporting another quarter of losses Wednesday.
The Niwot-based shoe company said Gregg Ribatt will step down as CEO on June 1 and Andrew Rees will take on the dual title of president and CEO.
Rees, who joined Crocs as president in 2014, previously led Boston-based L.E.K. Consulting’s retail and consumer products practice and served as vice president of strategic planning and retail operations for Reebok International. Ribatt will remain on Croc’s board of directors.
For the fourth quarter, Crocs reported net losses of $44.5 million. That’s better than a year earlier, though, when the shoe company reported $73.9 million in losses. Revenues in the fourth quarter were $187.4 million, down from $208.7 million in 2015.
“I’m very pleased with the operational progress made in 2016 as we continued to improve our product, systems, processes and team,” Ribatt said in a statement. “Given this progress, I am pleased to announce that the Board and I have determined that we are now in a position to consolidate the President and CEO roles.”
Crocs will also close about 160 retail stores — roughly 28 percent of all locations — by the end of 2018, the company said Wednesday, in conjunction with efforts to reduce $75 million to $85 million in expenses. At the end of 2016, Crocs had 558 stores worldwide.
A company spokesman declined to comment on how many employees will be affected.
Company officials expect 2017 revenue to be relatively flat compared to 2016.


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While home sales in the Old Hill market have been above average, in this week's report they dropped 50.0% to one home sold over the last 30 days. Meanwhile, the Sixteen Acres neighborhood reported 28 home sales, the highest number from all of the surrounding neighborhoods. The median sales price of homes sold came in at $25,000, which extended a price upswing to four weeks. Old Hill is a definite buyer's market, thanks to a big 27 months of inventory to choose from and a pullback in sales.
Without price being a factor in your decision, these are the top homes being listed in Old Hill:
Get started right now by checking out Old Hill homes for sale or reviewing Old Hill real estate trends.


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Worldwide Events for Fashion Revolution Day
On April 24th, 65 countries around the world will take part in Fashion Revolution Day. The day marks the second anniversary of the Rana Plaza Building collapse, which killed 1337 people who were working in factories in the building, producing clothing for U.S, Canadian, and European brands.
It was the deadliest disaster in the history of the garment industry, and is just one example of the many human and environmental woes that are a result of the worldwide fashion industry. Fashion Revolution Day is a moment to memorialize those who were lost, and to incite change and celebrate progress towards a safer, healthier, more sustainable future.
We have compiled a roundup of events going on around the world to show solidarity with the movement and help change the fashion industry for the better!
Earth Day in Union Square – New York, NY
Sunday, April 19 marks the 25th anniversary of Earth Day New York, and it is the perfect kick off to the week of Fashion Revolution Day! The Earth Day Festival will take place in Union Square from 12-7pm where representatives from Fashion Revolution Day and Zady will be spreading the word about the connection between fashion and the environment.
The event is free and open to the public. It will also include dozens of exhibitors representing environmental campaigns and green businesses, a sharing economy exhibition, a book swap, a green vehicle exhibition, live performances, and kids’ activities.
Where: Union Square, New York
When:Sunday, April 19th, 11-7 pm
Zady and Pratt Institute’s Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator Honor Fashion Revolution Day – New York, New York
Join Zady and Pratt Institute’s Brooklyn Fashion+Design Accelerator for a night to honor those that lost their lives in the Rana Plaza collapse and to raise awareness for Fashion Revolution Day. In addition to screening the film Traceable, a documentary set against the backdrop of the fast-fashion industry and where and how clothing is made, we’ll be hosting a post-film panel with industry experts as they explore the fashion industry post-Rana Plaza and expose the challenges ahead. The night will be filled with social activations to bring awareness on the eve of Fashion Revolution Day. Show your support and join us for this one of a kind event.
Where: BF+DA, 630 Flushing Ave. Suite 704, Brooklyn
When: Thursday, April 23, 2015, 6:30 pm
Defining the Future of Fashion – New York, New York
Join Sass Brown, of the Fashion Institute of Technology , Amanda Cole, David Dietz, Ben Skinner and special guest film maker Andrew Morgan at the Core Club for a conversation on what brands are leading the sustainable movement, how companies are integrating sustainability into their core business models and what activist groups like Fashion Revolution Day are doing to push the industry forward. They will reflect on the progress that has been made and the work still left since the tragedy at Rana Plaza 2 years ago.
Where: Core Club, 66 East 55th Street, New York, NY10022 United States
When: Wednesday, April 22, 2015, 7:30 pm
East Bay Pop-up - San Francisco, California
The 25th Street Collective is celebrating Fashion Revolution Day with a one-night-only pop-up shop featuring several Bay Area slow fashion brands. Come share a drink and hear their stories and perspectives on responsible local and global clothing production approaches. There will be drinks, a photobooth to share your style, and plenty of responsibly produced goods available. Featuring Tonlé, New Market Goods, and The Tripty Project.
Where: The 25th Street Collective, 477 25th St. Oakland, California
When: Friday, April 24th, 2015, 5-9 pm
Fashion Revolution Day, Twin Cities– Minneapolis, Minnesota
Cotton Road is an award-winning documentary film that follows the commodity of cotton from South Carolina farms to Chinese factories to illuminate the work and industrial processes in a global supply chain. Don’t miss this important film’s Minneapolis premiere!
With the help of local eco fashion organization Sol Inspirations, the Minnesota Textile Center will be hosting a runway show to send a message to the fast fashion industry that we care about where our clothing comes from! Participants will showcase recycled, repurposed, handmade, thrifted, fair trade, eco-friendly, organic, or ethically made clothing choices.
Where: Minnesota Textile Factory, 3000 University Ave SE # 100, Minneapolis, MN 55414
When: Friday, April 24th, 2015, 6:15pm
Fashion Takes Action Sew In- Toronto, Canada
Fashion Takes Action (FTA) is Canada’s only non-profit fashion industry organization devoted to sustainability FTA is working with fashion schools across Canada, holding sew-ins with Ontario schools to create a literal fabric chain. People are encouraged to write messages on the cloth squares that will make up the chain. The squares represent the supply chain, as well as a petition to brands to be more transparent about how their garments are made. Find the sew-in schedule and more information here.
Where: The main lobby at OCAD University
When: Friday, April 24, 2015, 10am-2pm
Vice Documentary From Sex Worker to Seamstress: The High Cost of Cheap Clothes- Thailand
World Fair Trade Organization – Asia will present the Vice documentary, “From Sex Worker to Seamstress: The High Cost of Cheap Clothes” at the Sangdee Gallery, Thailand. Attendees are encouraged to wear their clothes #insideout and ask the brands who made them #whomademyclothes on social media. Enjoy a photo booth, DJ session, and other activities for Fashion Revolution Day.
Where: Sangdee Gallery, Thailand
When: April 24, 2015, 9:30 pm
#SewSolidarity LIVE- London, England and online
SewSolidarity with the garment workers in Bangladesh on April 24th. Bring a garment from home that you would like to repair, alter or completely transform with a Made In Bangladesh label attached. The workshop is free, just come along with your item for repair or customization. If you don’t live in London you can still participate online
Where: TRAID Peckham, 14-16 Rye Lane , London , SE15 5BS
When: Friday, April 24th, 2015, 2:30 pm
Fashion Africa Conference: African Revolution- London, England
Social Enterprise Africa Fashion Guide will host a full day conference on Fashion Revolution Day. From cotton specialists, to retailers, to designers, to research specialists, to manufacturers — industry leaders in African fashion will discuss and promote the full supply chain of African Fashion Design, Textiles, and Manufacturing. The conference will focus on the subtopics Sustainability, African Fashion Manufacturing, Responsible Sourcing, Africa’s Retail Market, The Growth of the African Designer market, and Africa as New Luxury.
Where: Rich Mix Cultural Foundation
When: April 24th, 201
The Lighthouse Pop up- Glasgow, Scotland
The Lighthouse, Glasgow Pop Up will be hosting a Pop Up exhibition titled “What Made My Clothes?”. This will exhibit will showcase sixteen reclaimed garments, the average amount disposed of annually by per person.
There will be demonstrations of techniques for refashioning items within your own wardrobe. The successful costume designer and sewing teacher Iona Barker will deliver a short master class (3pm – 4pm) demonstrating how to give back life to old clothes. You can also ask brands #whomademyclothes with a special photobooth.
Where: The Lighthouse, m11 Mitchell Lane , Glasgow,Scotland G1 3NU United Kingdom
When: April 24th, 11:00 am- 5:00 pm


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Amazon seems to be having a problem getting supplies of the Amazon Echo smart home speakers, as well as the smaller Echo Dot. As a result, it won’t be available online at Amazon.com until after Christmas. The only way to get one – and that’s only if you’re on the West Coast – is to go to one of their three physical stores in Seattle, Portland or San Diego.
Interestingly, Amazon has twisted this around to sound like it’s fun! Isn’t it just like them to turn a disaster into a “feature”?
“Due to demand, we encourage customers to purchase an Echo if they see it available.”
That’s what an Amazon spokesperson apparently told the Wall Street Journal, making it sound like you’re a wildlife photographer who has to spend two months in a dug-out trench in Sub-Saharan Africa waiting for a rare animal to grace your vision!
But guess who has the Echo in stock now? EBay, of course!
You can order a brand new Echo Dot on eBay for $75.99. But wait; you’ll have to pay an additional $45.75 for shipping if you want it via USPS Priority Mail in time for Christmas. See, I told you to get your shopping done in October, didn’t I?
You should also be able to get the original Echo for $329 with $25 for shipping.
The Amazon Echo range has officially sold over 6 million units since it was launched two years ago. New functionality means you can use it for your Amazon shopping, to control various smart home devices and interact with apps on your iPhone or Android mobile as well. And the Alexa Skill Set has now burgeoned to nearly 5,000 different skills after Amazon opened up the API to third-party developers.
The proliferation of devices like Echo, Google Home and the upcoming Cortana-enabled speakers from Microsoft featuring Harman/Kardon audio is increasingly bringing the practical side of artificial intelligence into our homes.
But don’t be sad just because you can’t get the Amazon Echo on Amazon.com until after Christmas. There’s always Google Home, which some argue is actually much better in terms of functionality.
SEE: What Can Google Home Do For You? A Full Review of the Ultimate Home Assistant
You can get a White/Slate fabric-finished Google Home on the Best Buy online store, and then go pick it up at your nearest location. It retails for $129. Shipping is free but you’ll only get it on the 27th according to what it shows on the website right now. Store pick-ups can be done right away.
Thanks for reading our work! Please bookmark 1redDrop.com to keep tabs on the hottest, most happening tech and business news from around the world. On Apple News, please favorite the 1redDrop channel to get us in your news feed.


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Union Pacific Corp., the largest rail system in North America, has installed a high-security speech-recognition system that corporate customers, such as The Home Depot Inc., Monsanto Co. and Dow Chemical Co., are using to schedule rail car movement in and out of train yards.
The first of its kind for e-commerce in the train industry, the speech-recognition system converts voice-based requests phoned in by the railroad company’s customers and converts this spoken information into Web text, automatically updating Union Pacific’s Web server of rail car information. The speech-to-Web application also has a “voice biometrics” security feature to check the caller’s voice pattern against a digital voice sample stored in the so-called speaker verification database. IT managers at Union Pacific say the application, based on SpeechWorks International Inc.’s SpeechSecure, is much safer than phoning in rail car scheduling information to Union Pacific’s call centre.
Voice biometrics makes faking the identity of a legitimate person for purposes of sabotage “impossible,” says Paul McGee, Union Pacific’s senior manager of IS. “You’d have to be holding him hostage.”
With heightened security concerns following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the IT department found Union Pacific upper management very responsive to the idea of adding the voice-to-Web application as an alternative to the traditional method of phoning in rail car scheduling requests to a call center. About 500 of Union Pacific’s largest customers have started using it to schedule movement of about 1,500 rail cars per week.
“We’re shipping hazardous materials and military supplies,” McGee says. “So security is important.”
Union Pacific, which won’t disclose the cost for the voice-recognition project, says factors other than security were also important in driving the decision to use speech-to-Web technology.
It’s a more efficient way to have rail car supervisors in the field phone in their instructions on what rail cars they want to have available for loading goods or sent to a destination point. The speech-to-Web system banishes the commonplace errors – which have expensive consequences in misdirected rail cars – that are made at call centers when call service representatives are listening to instructions over the phone and keying it into a computer, McGee says.
Union Pacific’s first wave of customers using it say they have found it easy to use.
“It works great,” says John Buchmann, distribution center manager for The Home Depot in San Antonio, Texas, who oversees rail car unloading. “It also faxes a confirmation of everything you’ve said after it’s done.” The speech recognition’s machine voice repeats back the rail car information given to it and asks if it’s correct.
“We do 130 cars a month,” says Buchmann, adding he likes the voice biometrics security. “No other associates working with you can say your password because the password is linked to your voice.”
How it works
After authorized personnel authenticate identity through voice biometrics, they speak the alphanumeric rail car numbers along with instructions for their release. The SpeechWorks’ application repeats it back for accuracy, and then converts the digital voice message to text to update the Union Pacific Web server, which runs a proprietary application called Car Release. Rail cars don’t move until the customer has given the instruction to do so.
Customers can also input rail car instructions directly into the Union Pacific Web server over the Internet, but this is not always possible for distribution supervisors when they are out in the rail yard all day.
“The real target for this speech-recognition system is the group sitting on the dock that doesn’t have Web access,” says Union Pacific’s director of e-commerce, Charlie Duckworth.
Information, converted from speech to text, is stored as HTML data in Union Pacific’s Web server, which is also a front end for the corporate mainframe. Once the mainframe has the rail-car-related information, it will schedule a task for railroad personnel, such as pulling an empty rail car from a customer’s loading dock so it can be available to pick up goods elsewhere.
The rail-car-release information is important because it not only sends rail cars on their way, but it also automatically triggers mainframe-based invoicing and billing functions.
Union Pacific plans to expand its use of speech-to-text for use by truck drivers arriving at rail facilities to pick up goods, McGee says. “They’ll speak their ID to validate who they are,” McGee says.
The SpeechWorks-based system was chosen after a competitive bidding process in which SpeechWorks and competitor Nuance faced off. While there wasn’t much difference in the prices, according to McGee, the deciding factor was perceived ease of integration with Union Pacific’s Web server.


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The iTunes store may be one big mess right now, but before Apple gets around to cleaning it up and organizing the place, one can say that it is a true international market.
A quick search for the newest apps for the iPhone show that the Cibeles Group has been busy cornering the Spanish language market for news apps, launching 49 new iPhone apps just this month, many for Editorial América Ibérica, part of Grupo Televisa, S.A. de C.V., the largest media company in Latin America.
Like many other third party app makers, these iPhone apps take a cookie cutter approach, providing basic navigation and little to no customization.
Despite this, Cibeles Group is offering Spanish language customers with a wide range of media products, across international borders.
One of the problems iTunes users have with these third party apps is often learning more about the companies behind the apps, and the apps themselves. Apple provides to links within the iTunes store that developers can use: one for developer support, another for customer support. The obvious way this is supposed to work is that the first link should take the customer to the developer's site, the second to the publication's site. In this particular case, both links go to Cibeles.net -- not very helpful. The same, I'm afraid, is true of most third party app developers. (In contrast, the NPR News app breaks out the links differently -- one going to the NPR home page, the other to an NPR News support page for mobile.)


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1 of 2 This photo provided by Lei Low Bar shows David Perez, organizing To-go orders at the Lei Low Bar in Houston on Thursday, June 25, 2020. Businesses reopening across states after months of shutdown have been met with fanfare. This photo provided by Lei Low Bar shows David Perez, organizing To-go metal recycling abbotsford orders at the Lei Low Bar in Houston on Thursday, June 25, 2020. Starting in April 2020 and ending July 1, 2021, the New York Times tracked coronavirus restrictions at the state level, including what businesses are allowed to open and whether officials require masks. A state is considered fully reopened once it has lifted all specific restrictions on businesses statewide, though masking and social distancing rules and limits on gatherings may remain in effect.
This is important because if you do not know what you are doing, you will waste your money and your time. You should take the time to learn the basics and you should make sure that you are saving money. Before you start a will business, it is important to learn the basics. This is important because you need to know what you are doing and you need to make sure that you are not wasting any money.
- Mr. DeWine ended the state of emergency on June 18 and eased restrictions on nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
- Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, ended the state of emergency in early June, lifting the remaining restrictions.
- In addition, it will make it easier for you to sell your products and services.
- An earlier version of this article incorrectly listed information for Pennsylvania under the Tennessee label.
With the Delta variant of the coronavirus surging and infections rising across the country, even among some vaccinated people, Lyft said this week that it was pushing back its September return-to-office date to February. Google is extending its work-from-home policy to mid-October, and Apple said employees would not be expected to return to the office until at least Oct. 1, a month later than before. And on Thursday, Uber said that it would not require employees to return until Oct. 25, instead of its initial September date, and that a further delay was possible if cases kept rising. In Arizona, bars, gyms, movie theaters and water parks have closed down, after an order from Gov. Doug Ducey. “Nobody has a chance to settle into any of the guidelines — employees, owners or guests — and get used to the one reality before moving onto the next,” Orman said.
St Francis Diner Closes Temporarily
Over the last two years, the government has spent a large amount of money on infrastructure development and this will have a great impact on the economy. There is a large-scale migration in the international markets and this is one of the most significant reasons for the reduction in the number of workers. Global manufacturing companies have already announced their decision to cut down on production and this will definitely affect the overall growth rate. You should not try to start a will business if you do not have the resources to do so. You can start with a simple will form that will allow you to get the basics down.
If you have an online business, then you will also face challenges due to the economic downturn. The most important thing is to ensure that you don’t lose your customers due to the economic downturn. This new shutdown is frustrating for Patel, the restaurant owner, and his staff, many of whom are still collecting enhanced unemployment benefits that will end later this month. « Most people get it but there’s 5% of knuckleheads out there who can’t wear masks or properly distance themselves. People need to act responsibly and without enforcement, this is going to continue. » Sigal said the problem with this new order is that the governor has not outlined when and how businesses can reopen later.
The Health Of Honey Bee Colonies In Tennessee
On April 1, Ms. Kelly re-issued the mask order, but it was quickly overturned by state lawmakers. Lawmakers allowed an emergency declaration to expire in June. Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, lifted restrictions on businesses on May 19. Under updated protocols, masks are no longer required outdoors and are not required indoors for vaccinated individuals. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention comes in the form of guidance, not requirements.
Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, lifted one of the state’s last remaining restrictions in late April, allowing indoor arenas to operate at full capacity. Mr. Reeves announced in June that the State of Emergency will end on Aug. 15. Many states eased mask requirements for those who are vaccinated after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised that fully vaccinated people could go without masks in most indoor and outdoor settings. States have moved closer to lifting all restrictions on businesses and gatherings as the vaccination campaign has progressed.
Plays Of The Week
That means a retailer could have two stores in the same general area operating with two different approaches to masks. And the rules are geared toward the most vulnerable counties with low vaccination rates, where people may also resist mask policies. Many business owners had received their PPP money and were calling workers back to work and some were even ramping things up, Sigal said. And Sigal, whose company owns and manages 71 shopping centers across California, said many of his gym tenants in the state opened responsibly and saw a healthy number of customers coming in and working out.
It is a well-known fact that economic growth is very important for the country. So, the government needs to spend the money on infrastructure development, increase the budget, and develop the education sector. All these will lead to a strong and healthy economy for the coming year. Due to Covid 19, the economy went down and so many businesses were shutting down. Another factor that will lead to this growth is the fact that the government has already started the process of fiscal spending.


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Singapore blockchain electricity marketplace inks partnership with Chinese energy giant | Digital Asia
Digital Asia News Update
ELECTRIFY, a Singapore-based marketplace for electricity, announced today a partnership with Narada Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. to offer transparent and real-time energy trading across the Asia Pacific.
With the deal, the goal is deploy an energy pricing solution in Singapore, Australia, Japan, and Cambodia by the end of 2018.
The logistics involves a piece of IoT technology called a PowerPod. The device collects real-time data and presents it on a dashboard so that Narada can quickly track the movement and price of energy.
Narada Asia Pacific is a subsidiary of Narada Power Source Co. Ltd. , a Chinese energy storage company that now boasts the second-largest capacity in the world.
ELECTRIFY is a blockchain-based company that uses the technology to facilitate a peer-to-peer energy trading. The idea is to use the technology to streamline the process of buying/selling of electricity.
For example, in Singapore, businesses have the ability to choose their electricity provider but not most households. In the second half of 2018 that will change and 1.3 million households will be able to choose their energy provider. ELECTRIFY hopes it can act as the go-to marketplace for these people.
The company recently raised US$30 million to pursue this goal.
Also Read: Learn how Myanmar is set to become the next mobile-first success story at Echelon
Jonathan Tai, a spokesman at Narada said the energy intelligence will help the company pursue an energy distribution system that contributes to a healthier environment.
Martin Lim, the Co-founder and COO of ELECTRIFY expressed similar sentiments.
“We believe the future of energy sustainability starts with smarter and more efficient energy ecosystems. This belief has guided the development of our technology and solutions,” he said.
The two sides said they are also exploring a potential deal which could involve placing solar panels on commercial and residential rooftops.
Also Read: Blockchain-based energy startup ELECTRIFY raises US$30M funding
In mid-April, ELECTRIFY signed a deal with TEPCO to bring its P2P solution to Japan.
Echelon Asia Summit 2018 is Tech News’s flagship platform that brings together startups, investors, corporates, governments, tech ecosystem players and customers.
Register for your conference passes today.
Copyright: chuyu / 123RF Stock Photo
The post Singapore blockchain electricity marketplace inks partnership with Chinese energy giant appeared first on Tech News.


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Apple Inc. reported its fourth consecutive quarter of record revenue and profits, as the combination of higher iPhone prices and a strong app store sales drove the technology giant for its best year ever.
Revenue for the three months ending September 29, the final financial quarter, rose almost 20% to $ 62.9 billion from the same period last year, while earnings rose 32% to $ 14.13 billion, Apple said on Thursday.
The results offered confirmation of two main pillars of Apple's current strategy: Promote the software and services and increase the prices of its flagship iPhones to compensate for slower growth in unit sales. Both aim to exploit the loyalty of customers who use iPhones for everything from communication and shopping to watching video and reading the news.
Although the number of iPhones sold worldwide increased less than 1
Apple's guidance for the current quarter is likely to disappoint some investors. The company said that it expects revenue in the current period – traditionally the strongest of the year – between $ 89 billion and $ 93 billion. The analyzes' consensus forecasts are for revenues at the highest of this range in hopes of strong demand for $ 749 iPhone XR, $ 999 iPhone XS and $ 1,099 iPhone XS Max as Apple unveiled in September. Revenue in the December quarter last year amounted to $ 88.3 billion.
Finance director Luca Maestri said that the forecast reflects that Apple introduced its most demanding iPhones in September this year, while a year ago it began selling the pricey iPhone X in November. In addition, economies in developing markets such as Turkey and Brazil have weakened and foreign currency has weakened against the dollar.
Nevertheless, even the low end of the guide would yield a quarter of record income, Maestri said. "We start the new year with great confidence and the strongest product line we've ever had," he said, pointing out the new iPads, MacBooks and iPhones unveiled the past two months.
Apple shares dropped 3.7% to $ 214 in post-trade.
The company's quarterly results are among stock-market turmoil for technical companies, exacerbated by mixed signals in earnings reports from other industry giants in recent weeks. Tech shares have been lost in the midst of the investor's discomfort with celestial valuations, as well as slower revenue growth and rising costs at some companies among controversies about the power and responsibility of some internet platforms such as
Apple, which in August became the first American company to surpass $ 1 trillion in market value, has gone far better than many other tech titans in the recent Swoonen. The company's stock was closed at $ 222.22 on Thursday before the income report, down less than 5% from its full-time high in early October.
Apple remains "one of the best-placed companies in long-term technology," said Greg Hersch, founder of New York City-based Florence Capital Advisors, a fund of over $ 400 million under management that counts Apple among its largest holdings . He pointed out his huge pile of money and said that "it gives them another lever to pull if innovation does not meet customer expectations" and "the ability to be the next economic downturn."
Apple last year raised the launch price of its flagship iPhone by about 50% to almost $ 1000. In the quarter, revenue from the device, accounting for most of Apple's sales and profits, increased 29% to 37.185 billion, despite flat unit sales.
Revenue from the service company – including sales of app stores, Apple Pay usage and subscription to music playback – reported record revenue of $ 9.98 billion, an increase of 17% from the previous year. It's slower than the last few quarters, but keeps Apple on track to fulfill CEO Cook Tim Cook's promise that the services will be a $ 50 billion business until 2020.
Apple's China business, which has been accelerated lately quarters continued to improve itself as the Chinese economy weakens. Sales in Greater China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, increased by 16% to $ 11.41 billion during the period.
The iPhone producer avoided having their devices listed in the Trump Administration's latest 10% tax rate of $ 200 billion Chinese imports. Nevertheless, these tariffs will rise to 25% early next year and President Donald Trump says that tariffs will eventually be extended to all Chinese imports, which will include iPhones, smartwatches and other gadgets. Such a move will increase the risk that the Chinese will repay by penalizing Apple's business in China, experts say.
Mr. Maestri said that Apple looks closely at trade issues with China, but said that "the interest in our new products has been very good."
Apple has begun to expand the price increases introduced with the iPhone to other devices. Since September, prices have risen more than 20% on updates to their smartwatches, Macs and iPads.
"The open question is now: How much Apple has Apple?" Sa Sean Stannard-Stockton, President of Ensemble Capital Management, a Burlingame, Calif. -Based that counts Apple among the 25 companies it has with $ 800 Million under management. "Maybe they have even more price power than we in the market appreciate."
Write to Tripp Mickle at Tripp.Mickle@wsj.com


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Osborne Clarke has advised VC fund neoteq ventures on its investment in Flixcheck. With this, the software-as-a-service (Saas) company successfully closes its seed financing round.
Founded in 2015, the Essen-based start-up Flixcheck aims to help companies improve their own customer service. More innovative, simpler and more digital: according to Flixcheck, this is how customer communication and service should be, with the help of the eponymous no-code tool Flixcheck. The SaaS solution offers numerous application possibilities and simplifies a range of touch points with companies' end customers, from online questionnaires, digital signatures and file uploads to complex workflows. Among its customers are brands such as Deutsche Telekom, Gothaer Versicherungen, ARAG and many other insurance companies.
A good match for the Cologne-based VC fund neoteq ventures, which invests in exceptional tech-based ventures – preferably in early financing rounds. With EUR 1 million, the company thus closes Flixcheck's seed financing round.
“With our partner neoteq ventures, we are not only bringing great expertise in SaaS on board, but are also preparing the further expansion steps of our company,” said Mathias Staar, Founder and CEO of Flixcheck.
The German Osborne Clarke team that advised neoteq ventures, led by Nicolas Gabrysch, consisted of Dr Jens Wrede, Nils-Frederik Wiehmann, Benedikt Hülsmann and Victor Robertz.


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Silk Labs wants to weave its software and services into all the new networked devices coming to homes of the future. Behind it: a trio fresh from the ambitious Firefox OS smartphone project.
Technically Incorrect: An article about the use of the dating app Tinder in New York makes the Tinder Twitter account fume with indignance.
The Xperia C5 Ultra and Xperia M5 include beefy megapixel cameras on both the front and back as Sony struggles in a highly competitive smartphone arena.
Japan's finance minister warns this latest scandal could shake the market's trust in the country's corporate governance.
As Greece teeters on the edge of default, an Indiegogo campaign to crowdfund a bailout is starting to look like more than just an online stunt.
The FCC will seek comments on how to expand its $1.7 billion fund for subsidizing phone service for low-income families. The agency wants the fund to cover broadband service as well.
Net-connected "smart buttons" from carrier Telefónica let businesses tempt customers with one-touch instant gratification. Early uses are ordering pizza, hailing cabs and requesting a package pickup.
Investors hope the Cité de l'Objet Connecté in France will become a hub for designing and building new networked devices. French government agencies are chipping in some initial funding.
A fifth country will be able to use the French company's technology for linking thermometers, medical sensors and other devices to the Net in 2016. Also: Samsung is interested.
Columbia University scientists find correlations between certain birth months and the risk of contracting 55 diseases. Because birthdays aren't depressing enough on their own.


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A new e-business print publication for the maritime industry, Digitalship, has been established in London. The first issue, which will hit the newsstands in early October, will focus on developments in online chartering, electronic charts and the latest at Inmarsat. There will be in-depth coverage about online procurement and software.
Digitalship is edited by Dolly Robinson and Karl Jeffery, both previously editors of Compuship magazine. Advertising sales manager is Theo Theodorou, previously advertising manager of Compuship magazine. The monthly print magazine will be supported by a free e-mail newsletter containing the latest news, opinions and gossip about shipping e-business.
The magazine will cover the full range of maritime e-business activities, ranging from shipbroking and sale and purchase to electronic charts. Ship to shore communications and software will also be covered in depth, along with the latest developments in online procurement and bunker fuel procurement.


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Wings of Freedom Europe Koei Tecmo Koei Tecmo Europe North America PS Vita Review Screens Screenshots. September 1 2016.
PC PlayStation 4 PlayStation Vita Xbox One.
Attack on titan game ps3 release date. Official trailer 3 of the Shingeki no Kyojin Attack on Titan game on PS4 PS3 and Vita. I dont know about you guys but I think the game looks pretty cool and will be leaps and bounds better than the 3DS game. 14 rows Platform.
By Zorine Te on November 26 2015 at 339PM PST Publisher Koei Tecmo has released a second trailer for its upcoming action game Attack on. 18 2016 Gematsu has found out. Release date for the game is February 2016 in Japan and Spring 201.
With that said Im here to let you know that Koei Tecmo has revealed the release date for the game which is August 30 2016. In the month of August this year Omega Force as developers and Koei Tecmo as the publisher published a game Attack on TitanIt is. Omega Forces Attack on Titan will be available for Sonys PlayStation 4 PlayStation 3 and PS Vita.
Wings of Freedom EU AU Shingeki. The game is available for PlayStation 4 PlayStation Vita Xbox One Nintendo Switch and Steam. Attack on Titan will be available on August 30 2016.
Action Beat-Em-Up 3D. Anime Noob Plays New Attack on Titan Game Sep 18 2016 – We got a guy whos never heard of Attack on Titan to experience it for the first time in video game form. After season 3s release Attack on Titan 2 players could upgrade to The Final Battle adding the events of that to the game.
A brand new gameplay trailer reveals the Japanese release date for the upcoming Attack on Titan gameSubscribe to us on YouTube Gaminghttpgamingyoutube. On Monday Dec. The 10 Greatest Anime Games Of All Time Attack on Titan.
Will you play the new Attack on Titan video game. HandheldPlayers 2016 Action Action Game Attack On Titan Attack on Titan. Attack on Titan 2 進撃の巨人 2 Shingeki no Kyojin 2 is a game by Koei Tecmo and Omega Force and was released in the US on March 20 2018.
7 Koei Tecmo announced its new game Attack on Titan will be available to gamers in Japan on Feb. Attack on Titan the action game based on the anime series is releasing in North America on August 30 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One through retail and digital stores with the PlayStation 3. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Attack on Titan closely follows the riveting story line of Attack on Titans first season and focuses on the exploits of various key characters putting the player in a position to. Attack On Titan Release Date Price. The game will be out on that day in North America for PS3 PS4 PS Vita Xbox One and Steam.
The publisher is currently accepting pre-orders of the game.


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PE investments touched a record high of $16.8b in 661 deals
Private equity (PE) deal size seems to be growing bigger with the number of $100 million-plus investment deals going up in 2015. There were about 44 such deals as against 19 in 2014 as PE players stepped up investments in domestic companies. The surge in investment was led by continued mega investments in consumer targeting internet and mobile services companies that accounted for almost $5.3 billion or 31.5 per cent of the investment pie during the year.
Private equity investments during the year have touched a record high of $16.8 billion in 2015 (in 661 deals). This is 16 per cent higher than the previous high of $14.5 billion (529 deals) recorded in 2007 and a whopping 50 per cent higher than the $11.2 billion (530 deals) in the previous year, according to early data from Venture Intelligence.
Home grown e-commerce giants Flipkart and Snapdeal garnered a total of $1.45 billion between them, followed by taxi aggregator Ola Cabs that gathered $900 million. Flipkart raised $700 million at a reported $15.2 billion valuation in a round that saw participation from existing investors Tiger Global and Steadview Capital and taking the total funding raised by the company to $3.2 billion.
Snapdeal raised $500 million in August in a round led by Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group, Foxconn Technology Group and existing investor Softbank Group. “Large global funds are doing bigger deals in IT and e-commerce and financial services sector and that is pushing up the average deal size. Besides, there is a significant number of buyout and majority stake sale is taking place in traditional business front which is quite large in size in value terms,” says Raja Lahiri, a partner at consultancy firm Grant Thornton.
In value terms, the top PE investments in 2015 also include large buyout transactions in sectors such as broadband, cash management companies and BPO services. In July, global private equity firm TA Associates combined with India Value Fund to invest $500 million to acquire 95 per cent stake in high-speed broadband services provider Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT). In May, Baring Asia acquired 100 per cent stake in cash management services firm CMS Info Systems for $440 million, providing an exit to existing PE investor Blackstone. In another deal, Blackstone bought Intelenet BPO from Serco Plc for $383 million – re-entering the same business that it (along with the management team) had sold to the UK firm in 2011 for more than $630 million.
IT & ITES companies managed to attract 45 per cent of the total investment pie showing strong investor preference to the growth sector. The sector witnessed 386 deals with an investment of almost $7.5 billion investment. BFSI (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance) companies came in next attracting 15 per cent of the pie. Led by $200 million plus transactions in companies like Shriram City Union Finance, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, India Infoline and L&T Finance, BFSI companies attracted over $2.5 billion (across 42 transactions) in 2015. Healthcare & Life Sciences companies came in third attracting $1.6 billion (across 50 deals).
This article was published in the My Digital FC, to read please click here.


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The country’s textile group exports grew by 22.94 percent during the last financial year 2020-21 and remained $15.4 billion as compared to $12.526 billion during 2019-20, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The PBS data on the exports and imports revealed that the textile group exports registered an increase of 57.81 percent on a month-on-month basis when it reached $1.660 billion in June 2021 as compared to $1.051 billion in May 2021.
Pakistan’s IT Exports Cross $2 Billion Mark For The First Time
Textile exports grew by 73.08 percent on a year-on-year basis and remained $1.660 billion in June 2021 as compared to $959.137 million in June 2020.
Raw cotton exports registered a decline of 95.27 percent during July-June 2020-21 and remained at $0.804 million, compared to $17.002 million during the same period last year. They remained zero during June 2021 like in May 2021.
Cotton yarn exports registered a growth of 3.26 percent during July-June 2020-21 and remained at $1.016 billion as compared to $984 million during the same period last year. They increased by 67.76 percent during June 2021 and remained at $120.931 million as compared to $72.087 million during May 2021, and increased by 62.71 percent as compared to $74.323 million during the same month of last year.
Cabinet to Approve Policies for NGMS Spectrum Auction Next Week
Petroleum group imports had a growth of 9.09 percent as they reached $11.357 billion during July-June 2020-21 when compared to $10.411 billion during the same period last year. They increase by 144.38 percent when they reached $1.475 billion in June 2021 as compared to $603.84 million during June 2020, and registered a growth of 24.60 percent as compared to $1.184 billion in May 2021.
Construction machinery imports declined massively by 26.52 percent during the July-June 2020-21 and remained at $141.29 million as compared to $192.28 million during the same period last year.
The country’s exports during July-June 2020-2021 totaled $25.304 billion (provisional) against $21.394 billion during the corresponding period last year, showing an increase of 18.28 percent.
The exports in June 2021 were $2.729 billion (provisional) as compared to $1.671 billion (provisional) in May 2021, showing an increase of 63.32 percent and 70.67 percent as compared to $1.599 billion in June 2020.
Current Account Closes FY20-21 With a Deficit of $1.8 Billion
The country’s imports during July-June 2020-21 totaled $56.405 billion (provisional) against $44.553 billion during the corresponding period last year, showing an increase of 26.60 percent.
The imports in June 2021 were $6.377 billion (provisional) as compared to $5.297 billion (provisional) in May 2021, showing an increase of 20.39 percent and 72.21 percent as compared to $3.703 billion in June 2020.
The country’s trade deficit had widened by 34.10 percent to $31.101 billion during July-June 2020-21 as compared to $23.159 billion during the same period (July-June) of 2019-20.
The main export commodities during June 2021 were knitwear (Rs. 64,187 million), readymade garments (Rs. 50,895 million), bed wear (Rs. 46,694 million), cotton cloth (Rs. 31,980 million), cotton yarn (Rs. 18,885 million), rice others (Rs. 18,190 million), towels (Rs.15,465 million), madeup articles excluding towels and bedwear (Rs.12,342 million), fruits (Rs.11,792 million) and basmati rice (Rs.10,722 million).
Finance Minister Directs To Form New Committee For Overseeing Capital Market TORs
The main import commodities during June 2021 were petroleum products (Rs. 113,787 million), petroleum crude (Rs.59,761 million), power generating machinery (Rs.50,794 million), natural gas, liquefied (Rs. 49,083 million), palm oil (Rs. 42,366 million), medicinal products (Rs.38,121 million), electrical machinery and apparatus (Rs.34,669 million), plastic materials (Rs. 33,851 million), mobile phones (Rs.31,963 million), fertilizer manufactured (Rs. 27,767 million).


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Big New Additions Coming to Two Oregon Coast Towns
Published 11/06/2016 at 4:01 AM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff
(Tillamook County, Oregon) – Look for some big additions to both luxury and culinary fun on the Oregon coast, with next year bringing a new spa to Pacific City and a new visitors center at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. (Above: the new spa coming to Pacific City.)
In the summer of 2017, the Oregon coast will have a brand new spa – and lodging. Pacific City will soon break ground on the Kiwanda Lodge & Spa at Pacific City. The Kiwanda Lodge concept responds to a gap in the market for a luxury oceanfront experience that presents outdoor recreational opportunities for the next generation traveler.
The resort comes from the minds of Jeff Schons and Mary Jones, who helm the Nestucca Ridge company, which owns and operates the Inn at Cape Kiwanda, Cottages at Cape Kiwanda, Shorepine Vacation Rentals and the award-winning Pelican Brewing Company. Off the beaten path on a relatively undiscovered stretch of the majestic Oregon coast, Kiwanda Lodge & Spa will feature 33 luxury oceanfront suites, a premier fitness spa, and a unique restaurant featuring contemporary Northwest cuisine, wine, beer and spirits.
“For all the character found in so many Oregon coast towns, there is no luxury hotel that embraces the unique Oregon outdoor culture and encourages guests to immerse themselves in all the natural surroundings and recreational experiences we have to offer,” said Jones. “We’ll offer an unexpected, undiscovered retreat created with active travelers and families in mind.”
Nan Devlin, director for the tourism group Visit Tillamook Coast, said the new property will fill a void in the hospitality options of this part of the north Oregon coast. She said the agency frequently gets requests for spa facilities that are all-encompassing like this. Now for those seeking luxury spa treatments, a fitness regimen, or scintillating workout, there is one on the oceanfront.
Nearby, in Tillamook, the Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) has announced that it will undertake a significant project over the next two years that will completely redesign and rebuild the Visitors Center at the Tillamook Cheese Factory – a hugely popular Oregon coast attraction. The TCCA said the new facility will offer a significantly enhanced experience for visitors.
The project will require the current Visitors Center portion of the Tillamook Cheese Factory to be torn down and replaced 38,500 square-foot facility. The number of visitors who make the trek to the Tillamook Cheese Factory has grown significantly over the years, and currently more than 1.3 million people visit each year; as many as 10,000 per day. The new Visitors Center will be a larger space that will enable TCCA to better accommodate this growing number of guests and welcome even more visitors, providing the most comfortable, enjoyable experience possible.
Among the new features will be a larger cafe, new menu, enhanced ice cream counter and coffee counter, a larger retail area and a better viewing experience of those who have come to watch the cheese-making process. There will even be a small theater and a small event room that will be rented out.
The existing Visitors Center at the Tillamook Cheese Factory will close completely starting in the spring of 2017 and until the new Visitors Center is complete in the summer of 2018. However, during this time, TCCA plans to open a temporary Visitors Center experience on an adjacent section their property to provide visiting guests a great Tillamook experience during the interim. Where to stay in this area - Where to eat - Maps and Virtual Tours
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Popular social media platform, WhatsApp, has announced that it will be stopping support for its app on several mobile platforms.
BlackBerry users will not use IM app anymore
According to various media reports, the company plans to focus its efforts on the mobile platforms people actually use.
According to various media reports, the company plans to focus its efforts on the mobile platforms people actually use and that’s why it will be ending support for the following platforms by the end of 2016:
- BlackBerry, including BlackBerry 10
- Nokia S40
- Nokia Symbian S60
- Android 2.1 and Android 2.2
- Windows Phone 7.1
I must admit that it is very strange that the company is stopping support for the BlackBerry operating system, especially BlackBerry 10.
Blackberry 10 may not be big in the western world but in emerging markets, it still maintains a considerable share of the market - WhatsApp wyd?
According to WhatsApp, when it launched in 2009, around 70 percent of smartphones shipped with either BlackBerry or Nokia OS's but all of that has changed since Android, iOS, and Windows have overtaken BlackBerry on a global scale.
If you use WhatsApp frequently, the company is advising you to get a newer phone as it will be stopping support for the above listed operating systems before the end of 2016.
The company believes the move will help the WhatsApp developers focus on mobile platforms that the majority of its customers are using.
So if you use a phone that operates on the operating systems mentioned above, start saving!
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NEW YORK (AP) ? Sony says it is cutting the price of its PlayStation 3 gaming console by $50 in an attempt to drum up demand for the 5-year-old video game console.
It’s now $249, down 17 percent.
The last time Sony Corp. lowered the price of the PlayStation 3 was in 2009.
The price cut announced Tuesday comes less than a month after rival Nintendo Co. cut the price of its handheld Nintendo 3DS player. The 3DS launched with much fanfare but lost sales momentum. That device lets players view 3-D games and videos without special glasses. But the value of 3-D is not apparent to everyone. The iPhone and other smartphones are also competing with handheld gaming devices.
Sony is launching its handheld PlayStation Vita in the U.S. early next year.


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The U.S. Wealth Divide in 7 Graphs
by Ozzie Zehner
Robert Reich here at UC Berkeley published an opinion piece in the New York Times with some timely statistics:
- The 5 percent of Americans with the highest incomes now account for 37 percent of all consumer purchases.
- Fewer than 8 percent of private-sector workers are unionized.
- While Americans’ average hourly pay has risen only 6 percent since 1985, adjusted for inflation, German workers’ pay has risen almost 30 percent.
- At the same time, the top 1 percent of German households now take home about 11 percent of all income — about the same as in 1970.
He tells the story with some related charts, which compare U.S. income and productivity metrics over time.
My struggle here is with the productivity metric, the calculation of which has changed over time. What, exactly, does a productivity measure indicate? The efficiency with which natural and human resources are transformed into convertible wealth? And to what ends? And from the income side, where do measures of personal satisfaction and health fit in the story? Read


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It was 61 years ago that we first opened our doors to the public. We were committed to offering tasty, good quality food to a hungry public at a reasonable price.
Nothing has changed since those earliest times, other than the fact that we now deliver that same promise on a much larger scale.
Over the last 12 months we have taken significant steps to grow our business and give Dicksons customers the opportunity to buy Dicksons products beyond our retail outlets.
An important year and a sign of things to come in the future
Our 60th year was one of celebration. It was a chance for us to celebrate our rich heritage and the incredible hard work and talent that have always stood us in good stead. But it also signalled our intention to move the business forward and build on our success.
In the last 12 months we have made good on our promise by growing the turnover of the business by 8%, opening new stores in Cramlington, Pelaw and Whitley Bay in the process.
With a total of 24 stores and more than 240 employees, we have continued to invest in people and infrastructure in the region at a time when many are still feeling the pinch of austerity.
Managing Director, Michael Dickson explains:
“Last year marked the beginning of a long awaited recovery for the business and we saw great growth across both wholesale and our retail estate. Despite a challenging picture on the high street, we invested £500,000 in our retail estate, opening three new shops and refurbishing existing premises to bring them in line with the current look and feel of the brand.
“We have exciting plans in place to continue our retail expansion over the next 12 months, not only entering into new geographical territories but introducing an entirely new retail concept.”
In our wholesale division we are now delighted to supply a number of the nation’s biggest supermarket chains, including Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
Did you see the feature on us in the Journal this week? For more on our success in the last year and plans for the future, check out the news feature entitled South Tyneside butcher Dicksons forges ahead.
And why not order your favourite Dicksons product while you are here. Browse our online store.