text:
PMC has opened another factory in the UK
UK PMC has launched a new facility in the UK. The expansion was needed to meet the demand for the recently released PMC CI series speakers. This series of six models uses the patented PMC technology. CI acoustics are also used in the professional field. CI Series models will be featured in the Rolling Stones Unzipped Global Tour.
According to Peter Thomas, owner of PMC, the parameters provided by the CI series loudspeakers are outside the Dolby minimum requirements for Dolby Atmos studio systems. As a result, these speakers have proven to be attractive to internationally renowned studios like Capitol Studios in Los Angeles and Dean Street Studios in London.
The new production facility, located near PMC’s head office in Biggleswade, took up an area of about 560 square meters, including additional storage space. PMC also purchased equipment for acoustic testing and critical listening, which each CI monitor will undergo before shipping.


text:
Success stories are how we demonstrate our case for the power of public relations. Each business challenge is unique, so we develop custom strategies for every project and program. We provide news media, social media, and web media services for regional and national companies in a variety of industries – and the results speak for themselves.
RETAIL STORE CRISIS
A publicly traded retail store experienced an employee-customer altercation, causing the customer to vent her frustration online, which quickly gained negative attention. The retailer reached out to Axia's PR team to craft crisis responses. Axia’s quick action prevented the story from going national and attracting further attention from the media.
DAVE & BUSTER’S
Dave & Buster’s, an entertainment/restaurant chain, sought attention for its first location opening in the Florida Panhandle. Axia developed a strategy to generate local media coverage and provided PR counsel and services, earning 1.5 million impressions in 90 days, representing $382,000+ in media coverage.
Verizon wanted to reinvigorate its product's relevance. Axia provided unique positioning, fresh creative, promotions, and a test marketing campaign that supported its sales representatives. Axia exceeded Verizon divisional senior management’s expectations by delivering new insights, presenting scalable solutions for promotional deployment.
SUPERIOR GROUP OF COMPANIES
Superior Group of Companies hired Axia to help with its 100-year-old company’s rebranding. Axia utilized news and social media to raise awareness of SGC's name change and rebranding. Axia earned 101 news placements, reaching more than 36 million impressions and 700,00 social media impressions.
This is one story in our series on Adecco Group. Read story 2 for more.
Adecco hired Axia to help promote its brand in its local markets as a major player in the staffing industry. Axia created a national PR campaign, raising corporate awareness and earning target national news coverage. Adecco received more than eight times its return on investment in news media coverage alone.
The world's largest IT staffing company hired Axia to build brand awareness. Axia’s team wrote a news release about Modis’ plans to capitalize on the company’s Super Bowl exposure. That news coverage brought in more than 10 times the audience that Modis ever had before hiring Axia.
FIDELITY NATIONAL INFORMATION SERVICES (FIS)
The world's largest fintech company hired Axia to develop an employee environmental program. Axia put together a campaign, developing internal communications and marketing tools. Field offices made environmental improvements and FIS experienced enterprise-wide global success with its GreenLight program.
Rayonier hired Axia for public relations strategy and services for the executive and marketing teams. Axia provided spokesperson training and key message development; internal communications, strategic communications, and action plans for the Nassau County Stewardship District; and communications about organizational design and division restructures, employee training, and professional development opportunities.
Tarmac hired Axia PR to establish and manage positive perception and reception as the young company developed an excavation site. Axia publicized and promoted the good work and economic impact of the company and its operations. Axia carried the message to the public that Tarmac creates jobs and employment opportunities.
FIDELITY NATIONAL FINANCIAL
The world's largest title insurance company, Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF), hired Axia Public Relations to improve its visibility and reputation as a good corporate citizen in its hometown. Axia sought third-party awards, honors, and endorsements for the Fortune 500, $10 billion corporation's regional volunteer and financial contributions. News media coverage from the awards and contributions gave FNF the reputation boost it sought.

domain: news


text:
Battle Creek Dispensary Affected By Recall Update
The State recall for medical marijuana in Michigan hasn’t received a lot of media attention. State regulators are continuing to look closely at this case and how testing that was supposed to have happened, either didn’t, or was improperly done. At least one area dispensary, and its customers, are affected. The recall notice first sent out on the 10th of the month identified about three pounds of medical marijuana that failed testing for high levels of a fungicide commonly used for marijuana cultivation. But then last Friday, the recall notice was expanded as state investigators reviewed more records and retested some products first declared to be safe.
A Battle Creek medical marijuana outlet is among those added to the list of those that offered the product now known to be tainted. Remedii Battle Creek is one of a handful of medical dispensaries in Michigan that took delivery of the product. The state points out the problem is not the sales outlets, it’s the company involved in pre-distribution testing. The recall is linked to Iron Laboratories. The company was suspended by the state back in August for violating testing procedures, including approving marijuana for sale after it failed testing. The end of August, the state issued a mass recall for product tested by Iron Labs and subsequently fined the company $100,000. But the company’s medical marijuana safety compliance license was reinstated.


text:
December 17, 2010
Worldwide about 70 percent of people are interested in having access to at least one mHealth application, according to a new research report from Pyramid Research. What's more they are willing to pay for that access, the report found. Pyramid also estimates that about 200 million mHealth applications are in use today and that number will triple by 2012.
According to Pyramid, the biggest barrier...
September 15, 2010
According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers' online survey results released last week, the 1,000 physicians polled are very interested in using mobile devices for a number of clinical tasks. PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute, "Healthcare Unwired" report found that 83 percent of the physicians surveyed are interested in prescribing medication via their mobile devices. Some 60 percent...
September 8, 2010
According to a new PricewaterhouseCoopers survey, about 40 percent of 2,000 consumers are willing to pay for a mobile health monitoring device like a scale, blood pressure cuff, glucose meter or heart rate monitor, but only if the price is right. The Wall Street Journal learned that of the 800 consumers that are willing to pay, 64 percent would only pay for the device if it cost less than $50....
June 14, 2010
Bu Jane Sarasohn-Kahn
Medical costs will increase by 9% in 2011, a mere 0.5% less than 2010 cost growth. The fastest-growing components will be inpatient and outpatient costs, shown in the pie chart. 81% of premium costs are bound up in provider costs for hospitals and physicians — the two most significant factors of medical inflation.
And Americans will bear even more medical costs, out-of-...
December 21, 2009
PricewaterhouseCoopers has published a report over the weekend that examines ways by which the healthcare industry might "squeeze" more cost savings our of the system. As you might imagine connected health solutions are a consistent theme throughout much of the report. Here's how it breaks down:
Telecommunications service providers: PwC notes that big telecom companies including Verizon, AT&T...
December 9, 2009
Personalized Medicine a $232B market? Mobile phones and wireless technology are clear enablers of the growing "personalized medicine" industry -- which is set to grow 11 percent annually according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. The market is set to grow to $232 billion, according to the firm. More
iPhone medical apps list: CNN's London unit put together a round-up of medical applications it found...
July 21, 2009
A recent survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers found that 73 percent of consumers would use biometric electronic remote monitoring services to track their condition and vital signs -- a key metric for determining interest in many wireless health services. The PwC report had a number of other interesting metrics:
"More than half of people who went to a hospital emergency department in the past year...


text:
Mobile apps are pretty essential for social media sites like Twitter, which has already made some company acquisitions to improve its service and mobile offerings. This week, the microblogging site acquired the IP of mobile testing service Clutch.io.
The service will shut down in November, with the two founders joining the team at Twitter. The Clutch.io founders announced in a blog post that they will now be focusing their efforts on Twitter’s product on a larger scale. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Clutch.io users will have until November to port their data from Clutch.io’s hosted service. However, over the coming weeks, Clutch.io says it will provide everything users need to transfer their data and run Clutch.io on their own servers. The service is no longer taking on new customers.
Though Twitter already has a strong mobile presence, with dedicated apps for all major devices and mobile operating systems, the acquisition could help Twitter improve the usability and uniformity of its current mobile apps, as well as helping to create updates more regularly.
So even for businesses that aren’t affected by the closure of Clutch.io, this news could still impact the way companies use mobile technology to interact with consumers.
Clutch.io is a service that provides A/B testing for both iOS and Android mobile apps. The service aims to help developers choose the best way to present data to their users by allowing them to test whether one feature of an app may garner better results than a second feature.
For example, users could test whether a button that says “free sign up” receives more clicks than a button that says “register.”
Clutch.io is just the most recent of many purchases made by Twitter over the past year. Other recent acquisitions include Twitter client TweetDeck, blogging platform Posterous, and social news provider Summify.
Since the majority of Twitter’s user base has access to the social media platform via mobile apps, it makes sense that the company would attempt to strengthen its mobile offerings through acquisitions like Clutch.io.
Good to know these helpful services are expanding their legs and going to grow for making a network of entire service at the highly secured level.


text:
06 October 2015, Lagos – As part of the efforts to eliminate estimated billing and plug all the revenue linkages, Ikeja Electric has commenced the deployment of 10,000 Smart Meters monthly, with a target to hit a monthly average of 15,000 by December.
Briefing journalists on the successful installation of 7,621 smart meters to customers under the company’s pilot scheme, the Chief Executive of Ikeja Electric, Mr. Abiodun Ajifowobaje said the target was to deploy 600,000 meters for new customers.
He said due to the bypassing of the company’s 58,000 prepaid meters by customers, the company had resorted to installation of special kind of prepaid meters called smart meters.
Ajifowobaje said with the smart meters, customers who compromised the meters would be detected in the company’s control room at the headquarters.
He stated that the company has prepared a time-table on how to install meters for customers in different locations within the distribution network.
According to him, customers in a given location will not be given meter until it is the turn of the customers in the area to get meters.
Ajifowobaje also noted that customers would not pay for the meters as the cost has been embedded in electricity bills.
“The meters are free of charge. The cost of the meter is embedded in the electricity bill. So, asking customers to pay for meters will amount to double payment,” he added.
He advised the company’s customers to wait until it is the turn of their area before applying for meters.
“We will not jump the queue and we will not say that because you are a friend of the house, we will then jump the queue when it is not yet the turn of your area. We will not install for you until it is your turn. Do not give anybody money because the meter is for free,” he added.
He said the company would start with the deployment of 10,000 meters monthly with a target to reach a monthly peak of 15,000 by December.
“Under the first phase, which will run from October 2015 to December 2016, we will install 300,000 smart meters. We have just concluded the deployment of the pilot phase,” he added.
On the fines imposed on the company by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Ajifowobaje said the company would study NERC’s order and respond appropriately.
- This Day


text:
LAST UPDATED : Jan 24, 2019, 10:44 PM IST
- Volkswagen rolls out millionth car from Pune plant
German auto major Volkswagen, which has been facing headwinds for long and got restructured under its subsidiary Skoda, Friday rolled out the 1-millionth car from its Pune facility, which was commissioned in 2010. The 20,000 cars per year Pune plant produces four models --the Polo, Ameo and Vento and the Skoda Rapid.
- China says Silk Road not geopolitical tool, understands concerns
China's Belt and Road project is not a "geopolitical tool" or a debt crisis for participating nations, but Beijing welcomes constructive suggestions on how to address concerns over the initiative, the government's top diplomat said on Friday.
- M&M, Ford to co-develop mid-sized SUV
When contacted, a Ford India spokesman said, “This product will be made in India by Ford for the Indian market as well as for exports.” M&M MD Pawan Goenka added, “This vehicle will be sold in India as well as exported.” However, there are no electric version plans as of now.
- Facebook bans several UK far-right groups and individuals
Facebook banned several British far-right groups and their leaders for spreading hatred. Groups including the British National Party, the English Defence League, the National Front and Britain First have been removed from Facebook and Instagram. It also barred prominent members of those groups and a neo-Nazi who has been convicted of plotting to kill a British lawmaker.
- DeMo: ED seizes 146 kg gold jewellery worth over Rs 82 cr of Hyderabad group
New Delhi, Apr 18 () About 146 kg of gold jewellery worth over Rs 82 crore has been seized by the ED after searches at the premises of a Hyderabad-based jeweller and his associates in connection with a post demonetisation money laundering case, the agency said Thursday.
- Nusli Wadia's defamation case fallout of corporate dispute: Ratan Tata
Tata Sons former chairman Ratan Tata told the Bombay high court that the defamation case filed against him and other directors of the group by industrialist Nusli Wadia was because of the fallout of a corporate dispute. In December 2018, a court issued notices to Ratan Tata and other directors of Tata Sons in the criminal defamation case filed by Wadia in 2016.
- Mahindra, Ford to co-develop mid-sized SUV for India, emerging markets
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Ford Motor Company said they have signed a definitive agreement to co-develop a mid-sized SUV for India and other emerging markets. The new agreement reinforces the steady progress made since the announcement of a strategic alliance between the two companies in September 2017.


text:
Build 2014 is right around the corner, and we’re expecting a few big announcements from Microsoft during that three day event. While Windows Phone 8.1 is anticipated to be unveiled, we have also been hearing about a Surface 2 with LTE. Announced last year during a Reddit AMA, a recent FCC filing suggests that the device is close to being released.
Windows Phone Central has now learned that Surface 2’s with LTE for AT&T have now started shipping to select Microsoft Stores to build up inventory.
Photos of the device, including the box that reads “AT&T Network Ready” have been sent our way, though we have been asked to not post them due to the sensitive nature of the material.
We’re digging to find more information, including pricing and exact availability, but with Stores taking stock, a release date shouldn’t be too far off. No word of frequent Microsoft partner Verizon will have a version available. Interestingly, AT&T will have two Windows 8 RT devices with LTE, including the Nokia Lumia 2520.
Will you pick up a Surface 2 with LTE?


text:
- Post copywriter:muskitnas
- Post blogged:
- Article category:online payday loans louisiana
“However, they government data, and this suggests that charging affairs over the United kingdom have increased of your 33% during the last seasons to around 30,000, is always to help alleviate these concerns and present much more customers depend on you to the brand new quick development in chargers makes switching to electric alot more enticing.
“I greet we are going to consistently pick interest in EVs rise together the brand new coming days. We’re so much more yes than before that most consumers that are purchasing an alternate car happens to be getting supposed to own electronic.”
Sales out-regarding digital vehicle (EVs) is actually roaring facing a total backdrop out of decreasing the automobile registrations, according to the current community browse
Compared to an identical several months last year, BEV conversion process were up almost 79% in order to over 39,100000 points, around car-originator Tesla guilty of regarding a 3rd of those conversion.
This new BEV reputation contrasted starkly which have full the newest vehicle registrations taking March. This new SMTT reported that all round profile history minutes refused by the fourteen.3% to 243,479 factors, this new weakest March figure bringing 14 many years. (a whole lot more…)
- Article author:muskitnas
- Article blogged:
- Post category:online pay day loans louisiana
The brand new team briefly detailed the alteration into the an effective footnote, whilst payday loan Texas Crosby the mention didn’t define brand new mistake occurred or even the period of time it actually was sooner or later.
In general, 72,277 deaths in every a long time stated over the twenty six says try taken from the fresh new tracker “since the CDC’s formula is largely in the course of time relying deaths which have been not Covid-19-related”, Jasmine Reed, a realtor toward facilities, informed the brand new Protector.
It is worthy of detailing that there’s an agency called the Government Cardiovascular system with Fitness Statistics into the CDC that uses legitimate passing away licenses in computations. But you to info is slow to attain, for this reason want each other rates and you can precision regarding the an expert pandemic.
MLB approves computer to displace give indicators aside-from catchers so you can pitchers
Towards Jan. twenty-seven, the brand new GAO put an uncommon “high-risk” get on Establishment regarding Health and Person Keeps, specifically mentioning the latest CDC’s worst investigation government and you can inadequate chatting. (even more…)
Contour step 1. Display dated 18–19 college entrants determined by GCSE and you can A great-most useful MER, of your own socio-economic reputation and you may ethnicity
- Blog post writer:muskitnas
- Article published:
- Article class:online payday loans louisiana
Profile step one. Display screen dated 18–19 college or university entrants determined by GCSE and you can A beneficial-top MER, of your socio-financial position and ethnicity
Due to higher variations in academic attainment by the ethnicity and you may you are going to socio-statement of finance, the fresh new display screen away from college students who does taking affected by this new regarding a keen MER varies much more inside the such as teams. Almost one out of the four undergraduates who were certified to get 100 % free college or university dishes (FSM) throughout the many years 16 – a great ily money – use up all your been able to availableness student loans got a good GCSE English and you can maths conditions held it’s place in set, in contrast to 9% out of reduced-FSM county university somebody and just 5% out-regarding private college students (most readily useful committee regarding Contour 2.1). If you’re such as for example statistics get in touch with the newest 2011 and you will 2012 cohorts, we have witnessed little enhances due to the fact to the narrowing the new attainment pit ranging from FSM and reasonable-FSM (Facilities to own Degree, 2019), recommending this type of statistics are nevertheless strongly related keeps establish (pre-pandemic) cohorts. While the probably college in the place of student education loans perform allegedly become very hard providing FSM people, unveiling the newest GCSE maximum towards college loans would probably enhance the currently higher socio-economic holes inside the higher education involvement. (significantly more…)


text:
Over the past several months Apple has been battering Microsoft’s software with a series of adverts. It’s getting to the point where you have to be a hermit not to have seen them especially with the localized versions popping up.
While there is no official Microsoft reply, many anti-Apple protesters have risen to the occasion, Laurie McGuinness’s being the best I’ve seen… so far.
While I cannot condone the tactic of trying to smear the other guy, it is funny to watch but Apple forgot something when they started this battle — exposing consumers to the idea that there is more than one operating system will inherently mean they find out about the third “contender” in all this: Linux.
Don’t Apple see that by showing that they are the underdog and they might make superior hardware and software combinations that there might be even more out there? If a computer that a consumer thought would only run Windows can now do more than that with another operating system, they might investigate the term Linux and find something they like.
Linux is more mature than OSX, growing (feature wise) much faster than OSX. In fact, OSX wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for the Unix operating systems. Linux (et al) all have more available software then Windows and OSX combined with the vast majority of it being free, including the operating system.
Once you factor in that it runs more efficiently than the new operating systems and should be able to make your older computer run for a lot longer, the economics start to speak for themselves. The consumers might even learn that governments around the world are swapping out millions of copies of Windows for its free and more secure contender — why aren’t they choosing Apple’s OSX?
It might look like I’m hinting that educating the masses is a bad thing but quite the contrary — it is only going to be bad for the two people who have significant financial interest, namely Apple and Microsoft.


text:
Hacking group Anonymous has soured yet another adversary in the name of Anti Security.
The group sympathetic to Wikileaks claimed to have punctured an Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) server and published a small number of usernames and passwords from one of the tech giants Web sites.
On its Twitter account Sunday the group said Apple "could be a target."
"Not being so serious, but well ... Apple could be target, too. But don't worry, we are busy elsewhere," Anonymous said on the microblogging site.
The group said the released data included 27 usernames and passwords for the www.abs.apple.com site, which is used for online surveys. The data was shared through a link on text-sharing Web site Pastebin.
Apple did not immediately return calls for a request to comment.
Anonymous became famous when it started attacking corporate Web sites that were considered opponents of Julian Assanges WikiLeaks.
In June, the group teamed up with Lulz Security, which gained recognition for its hackings on Sony (NYSE:SNE), Nintendo, PBS, FBI affiliated Infragard and even the U.S. Senate and CIA public sites.
Anonymous has claimed attacks on Sony, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and eBay's (NASDAQ:EBAY) PayPal.


text:
Journalists have an exact idea of the civic duties their trade must fulfil. But as a survey by the Media Insight Project found, these ideas are diverging from the public opinion of a journalist’s duties.
Even though the news caste and the public can agree that the news landscape shall remain neutral, be fair to every side and shall check facts, it’s the journalist’s exclusive opinion that they must act as a watchdog for those in power and provide different ways to interpret a certain topic. However, these duties are of lower priority to the public.
Download the chart here.
Chart by Statista.
More like this
FIPP and the Native Advertising Institute have teamed up again this year to take a closer look at the state of native advertising in the magazine media industry.16th Jul 2018 Insight News
As a media company, building a sustainable digital business model relying on monthly subscriptions for a long time seemed like a fantasy.16th Jul 2018 Insight News
In this week’s episode, one of The Second Source’s co-founders, Jasmine Andersson talks about the aims of the project, the launch of their new mentoring scheme and how women can support each other in challenging environments.16th Jul 2018 Insight News
The Distripress Circulation Monitor (DCM) is in its fifth year. The report is commissioned by Distripress, the international press distribution organisation, to provide companies involved in the cross-border sales of newspapers and magazines, with quality insight in to the performance of the global market for press distribution and the factors affecting trading.9th Jul 2018 Insight News
A couple of weeks ago, The Economist published a graphic novel on Instagram, called "Data Detectives". The production of the piece was a group effort involving Oliver Morton, senior editor and briefings editor; Jon Fasman, Washington DC correspondent; Rob Gifford, Britain correspondent, Stephen Petch, art director, Ria Jones, digital and social media picture editor, Ben Shmulevitch, editorial designer; Matt Withers, graphic designer and Simon Myers, freelance graphic designer and illustrator.9th Jul 2018 Features
As news cycles speed up, 'slow' journalism seems to be slowing down. These days, to don the robe of a slow journalist, deadlines - and even scoops - are negated in seeking out accuracy, proportionality, fairness and, it seems Pulitzer prizes. An employer that can afford to pay a journalist an annual salary to tell one in-depth story a year may come in handy too.9th Jul 2018 Features
Penske Media, founded in 2003, has made significant investments over the years in over 18 trade and consumer brands including Variety, WWD, Robb Report, Deadline, Beauty Inc. and HollywoodLife among others. In December, the company announced a strategic investment in Wenner Media, and with it, a controlling stake in the iconic music and culture bible Rolling Stone.16th Jul 2018 Features
Hearst UK has launched a new metric to demonstrate the engagement quality of digital branded content for its commercial partners.9th Jul 2018 Insight News
A UK Government investigation into the sustainability of ‘high-quality journalism’ has released a rather depressing snapshot of the state of regional newspapers across the country.16th Jul 2018 Opinion
Visit our Youtube channelFIND OUT MORE
FIPP newsletters allow you to keep up with industry trends, research, training and events across the worldFIND OUT MORE
What’s happening now, what’s coming next


text:
Just before the Labor Day weekend, fast food workers in the United States had their voice heard nationwide.
As we all know, Labor Day is a labor movement dedicated to the social growth and economic achievements of American workers. Each year, it is celebrated to give tribute to the workers’ valuable contributions to the strength, prosperity and well being of the country. Thus, workers of McDonald’s Corp., Wendy’s Restaurants LLC, Burger King Worldwide Inc. and others took the upcoming Labor Day to voice out their concerns regarding their wages.
Workers from different parts of the country have recently staged a strike in line with a campaign that aims to raise wages in the service industry.
The strike that was said to be the largest strike of its kind in recent history follows a similar protest way back in November last year in New York, where approximately 200 workers walked off their jobs. Also, in Detroit, Chicago, Kansas and other cities followed their lead just last April and July.
Reports claimed that workers want to form unions and bargain higher wages with their employers without suffering retaliation form franchisees or their parent companies. Apparently, all private-sector fast food jobs are non-union and retaliation against workers who attempt to organize a union is common.
At present, the federal minimum wage for fast food workers is $8.94 per hour. Consequently, the workers are now demanding for $15 per hour.
However, the National Restaurant Association, a trade group for U.S. restaurants and fast food chains, contests that the restaurant industry provides 13 million jobs for Americans and that discussions about wages should be based on facts. The organization’s executive vice president of policy and government affairs, Scott Defife, further affirmed that “Only five percent of restaurant employees earn the minimum wage and those that do are predominantly working part-time and half are teenagers.”
In addition, fast food companies have shared the same logic by claiming that they have provided good jobs and significant opportunities for workers seeking to upgrade their ranks. So far, the fast food companies have not yet altered its wage policies following the recent strikes.
Meanwhile, in his own opinion, a Los Angeles labor lawyer thinks that the workers recent move is apparently in response with the federal government’s failure to raise the minimum wage in order to keep up with the inflation rate and cost of living. Also, he believes that although the said movement is still in its early stage, there is the possibility of it to become a huge deal soon.


text:
NAIROBI, Kenya (CIMMYT) — Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa lose up to a third of their grain after harvest because they often use poor grain storage technologies and ineffective drying practices. Staples like maize stored on-farm are exposed to infestation by insects and fungi. These can lead to contamination with mycotoxins, in particular aflatoxins, poisonous food toxins produced by Aspergillus fungi.
At high doses, aflatoxins can kill. Prolonged exposure to aflatoxins can impact consumers’ health, suppressing immune systems, hindering child growth and even causing liver cancer. Kenya is a particular hotspot for aflatoxins, as regular studies show widespread contamination along the food chain, from maize grain to milk and meat.
Preliminary findings of a study by USAID-funded Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Processing and Post-Harvest Handling (FPL) suggest that innovative low-cost grain drying and storage technologies such as hermetic bags and hygrometers could prevent post-harvest crop losses and harmful aflatoxin contamination.
The initial results were shared at a workshop in Nairobi on October 25, 2018, as part of the FPL project, which aims to develop and disseminate affordable and effective post-harvest technologies suited to the African smallholder farmer. This project is a collaboration between the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) and Purdue University.
A study conducted between May 2017 and May 2018 in Kiboko, Kenya, compared the performance of various hermetic storage containers and bags by different manufacturers with farmers’ usual storage practices. Researchers measured maize grain quality parameters such as grain damage, weight loss in storage, fungal growth and mycotoxins, food quality and seed germination. The results showed hermetic bags were highly effective in averting grain loss for up to one year.
“If these bags are sealed properly, oxygen cannot get in or out. This creates an anaerobic environment that suffocates grain-damaging insects and prevents fungi from growing” says CIMMYT economist Hugo De Groote.
Making hermetic storage more accessible
The Africa Technical Research Center (ATRC) is involved in the development of some of the hermetic bags that were tested during the study. ATRC director Johnson Odera noted that most of the insect infestations start in the field. “When the farmer harvests and transports the maize home, the grain is already infested,” Odera explained. “The damage can be extensive depending on the level of infestation. One of the ways to minimize the losses, while keeping the food safe for consumption is to use hermetic bags”.
These bags, however, remain largely unavailable to smallholder farmers, according to the study. This is mainly due to farmers’ low awareness levels and the high cost of hermetic bags. Unlike normal storage bags that cost about $0.7 each, hermetic bags retail for $2 to $2.5.
A second study, conducted with maize producers and traders in Kakamega, western Kenya, suggests that dropping prices by 20 percent had the potential to increase sales by 88 percent.
This study further suggested that farmers can benefit a lot from using low-cost hygrometers to accurately measure moisture content in maize. Grain is quickly spoiled by fungi contamination if it is not dry enough when stored. One or two percent lower moisture levels can make a big difference in reducing aflatoxin contamination.
“Farmers could put maize grain samples in a plastic bag and insert low-cost hygrometers to read moisture content after temperature is stabilized in 15 minutes,” says Purdue University professor Jacob Ricker-Gilbert. “They then know if their grain is safe enough for storage or not. However, standard hygrometers cost around $100, which is out of reach for many small farmers.”
Purdue University, CIMMYT and KALRO conducted a market survey in 2017 among maize farmers and traders in Kenya to assess their willingness to buy low-cost hygrometers. The survey found that farmers were willing to pay an average price of $1.21 for a hygrometer, while traders said they would buy at $1.16 each. The project was able to get cheap and reliable hygrometers at less than one dollar, opening the door for possible commercialization. One company, Bell Industries, has started to market the devices as a pilot.
Raising farmers and policymakers’ awareness on appropriate storage and drying technologies is now a priority for scientists working on the FPL project, which will hopefully lead to less maize spoiled and better food safety.


text:
If companies are failing at data, marketers need to say so
The opportunity to work with data probably isn’t the main reason most marketers joined the profession. At the same time, it’s more important than it’s ever been: according to our new Data Skills Benchmarking Report, 99 per cent of marketers claim data is either ‘important’ or ‘very important’. Sophisticated data-driven analysis is fast becoming a career in its own right, and savvy young marketers are realising this is where future opportunities lie.
The research also revealed 73 per cent of marketers don’t feel their company is able to make the most of the data sets in its possession. That’s an awful lot of companies squandering the opportunities data has to offer. In line with this, a third of marketers report their companies have either ‘poor’ or ‘very poor' data management skills (with big companies in particular struggling on data management). So, how are marketers supposed to use data to its full potential if it isn’t managed properly across the business?
While marketers are ready to criticise their company’s use of data, the research also shows there is some way to go before marketers and their teams feel completely comfortable with data – in fact, 90 per cent of marketers feel their team’s data skills need to improve. While those in the industry tend to rate their own data skills as better than those of their wider team, and better still than the rest of the company, there is clearly room for improvement. Having said this, marketers are almost certainly in the best position to highlight the importance of data and drive its effective use across the business.
This doesn’t mean introducing detailed analytics to the HR department; but it means getting the basics right, and ensuring everyone within the company understands the importance of data, in particular when it comes to creating a seamless customer journey. Paul Smith, VP and GM at Salesforce Marketing Cloud believes good data offers a full picture of your customer and the context in which they interact with your brand over time, allowing you to provide them with the experience they expect.
So, if marketers want to really start using data to support forward-thinking, sophisticated marketing activities that will enhance the customer experience, they can’t just sit back and hope the rest of the business suddenly realises it could be doing better. They need to sit up and say so.


text:
Telecoms leader Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and wholly-owned subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) opened today the country’s first “Jump” experience center at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City, to showcase the PLDT Group's latest devices, services, and technologies.
“At Jump, you will find the newest, coolest gadgets and services that we have to offer to serve the digital and mobile lifestyles of our customers at home, work, and leisure," said PLDT President and CEO Napoleon L. Nazareno. “It showcases how PLDT and Smart are working together to offer customers the best possible service."
A number of the items on display at Jump are the newest products for the 21st-century Filipino home, such as the new PLDT Telpad and the latest smartphones and tablets -- the Apple iPad 2, the BlackBerry PlayBook, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and the HTC Sensation, to name a few.
Jump also features handsets and devices that have yet to come out in the market and that will work best when powered by Smart’s nationwide network. Among these are the HTC EVO 3D, Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray, Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and the NFC-enabled Nokia C7.
Powering these devices are PLDT’s Fiber to the Home and Smart’s WiMAX and HSPA+ connectivity -- the fastest wired and wireless Internet connections available in the Philippines. Just like the gadgets, visitors are free to try out these services even with their own devices.
"If you’re on the lookout for the latest gadgets or ifyou simply want to test the latest services that have piqued your interest, Jump is the place to go to,” said Orlando B. Vea, Smart's chief wireless advisor. “We will constantly upgrade our equipment and our facilities so that we can treat our customers to the latest and the best, each and every time.”
Also located within the premises are three gigantic touchscreen displays. The first is the ‘Jump Screen’ where visitors can make their own dancing avatars. The second is used in the ‘Jump Springboard’ lecture room as an interactive way of learning for customers. The third and largest is called ‘Jump Panorama’ and is found at the heart of Jump.


text:
The number of new cars rolling off production lines in British factories has fallen for the first time in almost a decade as economic worries related to Brexit and the “demonisation” of diesel hit demand.
A total of 1.67m cars were built in Britain last year, a 3pc decline on 2016. However, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which compiled the data, pointed out the number was still the second highest in 17 years. The all-time UK production record of 1.92m cars was set in 1972.
The drop came as Jaguar Land Rover – Britain’s biggest car manufacturer – warned of the increasingly tough markets it is facing, particularly at home.
Ralf Speth, chief executive of the Coventry-based company, said: “We are facing a number of challenges that are undoubtedly impacting consumer confidence, particularly in the UK. JLR must become as lean and fit as possible so that we can continue to invest in our autonomous, connected and electrified future.”
His warning comes just a week after the company said it was cutting one of the shifts at its Halewood plant in Merseyside to reduce the number of Range Rover Discovery Sport and Evoque models it turns out.
However, the company – which said its UK production fell by 2.3pc to 532,000 from the previous year’s record high – stressed that “lean and fit” does not mean redundancies, but more intense scrutiny on every cost it faces.
Car makers have been one of the most vocal sectors calling for a Brexit deal which will not see the imposition of trade levies or barriers. The automotive sector is highly dependent on imports with components crossing borders several times and any disruption to the highly tuned supply chain could ramp up costs significantly.
Worries about Brexit were also highlighted in investment figures into the car sector for the year, which were £1.1bn last year, down 33pc on the £1.66bn in 2016 and less than half the average annual rate of £2.5bn in the preceding years. Four out of five cars built in the UK are destined for export and analysis of the figures revealed that the domestic sector is suffering the most. Production of cars destined for the UK fell 9.8pc, while vehicles for export were 1.1pc lower.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, added: “The UK continues to produce cars that are in strong demand across the world. However, we urgently need clarity on transitional arrangements for Brexit, arrangements which must retain all the current benefits otherwise 10pc of our exports could be threatened overnight.”


text:
Americans Soon May Get Cocoa from Puerto Rico
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Agriculture Department said Tuesday that Americans soon may be able to enjoy home-grown cocoa from Puerto Rico instead of relying entirely on foreign production.
Cocoa, the raw ingredient of chocolate, was tried in the 1940s as a crop in Puerto Rico but failed because of disease and insect problems, said agronomist Edmundo Rivera of the department’s Agricultural Research Service.
However, he said in a report by the agency, Puerto Rico has been free of black pod fungus, the disease that threatens production in other areas. But problems still persist, including the ability of cocoa crops to tolerate acid soil and resist insect damage.
Last year the United States imported more than $800 million worth of cocoa beans, powder and cocoa butter - the nation’s entire supply - from Brazil, the main exporter, and other producers, including West Africa, Central America and the Dominican Republic.
Heber Irizzary, an agency horticulturist, said cocoa can be an alternative crop that Puerto Rican farmers can grow on steep, marginal soils or on land once used for sugar cane. Cane, once a staple of the island’s economy, has become less profitable because of low yields, higher costs of production and lower market prices.
Irizzary and Riveral, who work at the USDA agency’s tropical crops and germplasm research laboratory in Mayaguez, for the past eight years have been studying cocoa hybrids from many countries in order to adapt them to Puerto Rico.
Experimental trials of cocoa strains from Costa Rica in the early 1980s last year produced a yield potential of 3,500 to 4,000 pounds per acre from six-year-old trees, they said. Yields of 2,000 pounds per acre are considered marketable.
Also, the agency said, cocoa from the test trees has been evaluated favorably by four of the largest U.S. chocolate manufacturers.
Rivera said cocoa would meet the need for crops in Puerto Rico that are suited to small family operations, since it can be grown with a minimum amount of tillage and does not require expensive machinery.


text:
Mar 15, 2019
Five key KOL trends in China for 2019
Hitting big numbers is no longer enough, it’s all about making the right links with influencers who both connect and convert.
Nov 6, 2017
The Kooples launches in Greater China
The luxury Parisian label will open its flagship store in Hong Kong this month, and will follow up with a new store in Beijing next year.
Top news, insights and analysis every weekday
Sign up for Campaign Bulletins


text:
The Great (Sales) Resignation: 6 Reasons Reps Are Calling It Quits Right Now.
It’s no secret. People are leaving their jobs like never before.
This is especially true for sales professionals. According to a report done by Xactly, 58 percent of companies experienced higher voluntary sales turnover in 2020.
So we wanted to see why reps are resigning, what companies can do about it, and specifically how Dooly can help.
Dooly conducted the first-ever Sales Happiness Index to see what salespeople like and don’t like about their roles. Some of the answers were surprising, and others… not so much.
Here are six reasons why so many salespeople are quitting their jobs right now:
Subpar compensation and benefits
In a competitive job market, top sales reps know what they deserve.
43% of salespeople who want to leave their current job cited a lack of benefits and 31% cited a lack of bonuses. Plus, 6 in 10 salespeople would be motivated to leave their company for better benefits, while 51% would be motivated to leave for higher pay.
Conclusion: salespeople who feel under-compensated know full well that they’re in demand, and many aren’t willing to wait around for things to change.
The pandemic has changed sales forever
Since March 2020, in-person meetings and work-related travel has gone down. And more than ⅔ believe those will never return to pre-pandemic levels.
Instead of hopping on a plane, many salespeople (89%) are hopping on a video call for work. 65% of respondents agree that video calls contribute to burnout. Especially since 67% say at least half of their meetings are unnecessary and/or could be more efficiently accomplished in other ways (i.e. email, Slack, Dooly Pipeline Boards, etc).
Lack of access to the latest tech
Salespeople demand the best tools to be successful in their roles. Our research shows that 33% of reps who were willing to quit cited a lack of access to quality tools and technology to be successful.
Sales tech is no longer something management forces onto their employees (though in some cases this is still true), it’s something sales reps expect — and companies that don’t meet their sales reps’ expectations will have a hard time retaining top talent.
There are more opportunities than ever
According to ZipRecruiter*, the number of sales roles advertised is up 65% to more than 700,000 open positions around the U.S. And if you think someone has tried to poach your top sales reps, think again.
Companies are going above and beyond to recruit top sales talent, offering excellent compensation packages, equity, and benefits. And with more and more sales jobs becoming available, why wouldn’t reps see what other opportunities are out there?
Not enough flexibility
Too much focus on non-revenue-generating activities
According to the Sales Happiness Index, respondents said that an average of 41% of their workday is spent on non-revenue generating activities.
On top of that, 8 in 10 respondents said management doesn’t understand how time-consuming non-revenue-generating activities are. 78% said this lack of understanding from management leads to misalignment between expectations and what sellers can reasonably achieve.
If reps and sales leaders aren’t on the same page about what’s expected and what’s holding them back from attaining their targets, your top reps will start looking elsewhere.
Kris Hartvigsen used to work as a 3X quota sales rep and revenue leader at SaaS companies….Until he was finally fed up with the stress of CRM admin gruntwork that kept him from selling. Thus, Dooly was born.
Dooly’s revenue workspace boosts revenue team performance and work satisfaction by eliminating unnecessary sales admin work and guiding reps through calls with real-time enablement.


text:
Making money using dollars, euros or yen is so 20th century. The way to make a fortune today is to create your own currency via an initial coin offering. One promoter got a little too creative his new money, prosecutors say, and on Wednesday was charged for fraud in connection with his ICOs.
In an ICO, companies or solo promoters cook up a new digital currency and sell it to speculators who either trade or hold onto it like a stock. This might sound like alchemy, but there is growing demand as cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether gain traction in certain financial circles.
Maksim Zaslavskiy, a 38-year-old Brooklyn businessman, raised $300,000 between January and October through an ICO for RECoin, which was touted as "the first ever cryptocurrency backed by real estate," according to the complaint against Zaslavskiy. He also allegedly marketed an ICO in September for a company called Diamond Reserve Club, which was described on Facebook as an "exclusive and tokenized membership pool" hedged by physical diamonds.
The feds say Zaslavskiy assured investors that a team of lawyers, brokers and other professionals would invest the proceeds from RECoin's ICO into actual real estate, but that never happened and no professionals were even consulted. Diamond Reserve Club allegedly had no diamonds or much of anything else.
The SEC filed a separate civil suit against Zaslavskiy in late September. Zaslavskiy's attorney, Mildred Whalen of the Federal Defenders of New York, would not comment on the criminal case.
More cases like this could be coming. About 300 ICOs launched in 2017 as of September, according to Token Report. These deals have raised $2.3 billion this year—20 times more than last year.


text:
On Wednesday, Rishi Sunak announced “a new plan to stop scams at the source and help make it easier for people to protect themselves from fraudsters”.
Owl recalls that when Conservative Cllr Graham Brown was exposed in a Telegraph sting offering to get planning permission for cash, the case was referred to the Police by the EDDC monitoring Officer who then referred it to “Action Fraud”.
Action Fraud eventually declared that it wasn’t a matter they dealt with.
By the time the local Police put a “Senior Fraud Officer” on the case the trail had gone cold.
Though the story has refused to die.
This new strategy concentrates on online fraud rather than political fraud.
All a bit rich coming from the Conservatives, don’t you think? – Owl
This strategy sets out a plan to stop fraud at source and pursue those responsible wherever they are in the world, reducing fraud by 10% on 2019 levels by 2025.
Predatory criminals take money out of the pockets of hard working people, businesses, and organisations, callously targeting the most vulnerable, online and in their own homes. The volume and severity of fraud also undermines public confidence in the rule of law and threatens our national and economic security.
To deliver a 10% cut in fraud on 2019 levels by December 2024, the government will:
- establish a new national fraud squad with over 400 new posts and make fraud a priority for the police
- deploy the UK intelligence community and lead a new global partnership to relentlessly pursue fraudsters wherever they are in the world
- put more fraudsters behind bars through better investigation and prosecution processes for fraud and digital offences
- ban SIM farms which are used by criminals to send thousands of scam texts at once
- stop fraudsters from being able to send mass text messages by requiring mass texting services to be registered, subject to a rapid review
- Replace Action Fraud with a state-of-the-art system for victims to report fraud and cyber crimes to the police
- ban cold calls on financial products so fraudsters cannot dupe people into buying fake investments
- stop people from hiding behind fake companies and create new powers to take down fraudulent websites
- work with industry to make sure that intelligence is shared quickly with each other and law enforcement
- change the law so that more victims of fraud will get their money back
- overhaul and streamline fraud communications so that people know how to protect themselves from fraud and how to report it
- make the tech sector put in place extra protections for their customers and introduce tough penalties for those who do not
- shine a light on which platforms are the safest, making sure that companies are properly incentivised to combat fraud


text:
Bratislava, January 17 (TASR) – Slovakia’s automotive industry exceeded the one million threshold in terms of car output also in 2016, representatives of the Slovak Automobile Industry Association (ZAP) told a news conference on Tuesday.
Over 1.04 million vehicles were manufactured at Kia Motors Slovakia, Peugeot Citroen Slovakia and Volkswagen Slovakia plants last year. In comparison, Slovakia’s car output in 2015 reached 1.038 million.
Car production made up some 44 percent of the country’s industrial output and 35 percent of its exports. Slovakia is the global leader in terms of the number of vehicles produced per capita at 191 vehicles per 1,000 people, while the EU average was 40.8 vehicles in 2016.
According to ZAP, new car registrations hit record figures last year as well. In a cumulative comparison, car registrations amounted to 88,163 cars in 2016, which is an increase of 13.09 percent from the year before.
In addition to other tasks, ZAP will initiate discussions and support issues such as elaborating an analysis of the impact of industry digitalisation on employment, drafting a study on the requirements for developing applied research and development, the building of research and development workplaces also by the suppliers of car producers and developing cooperation between various branches of the economy.
ZAP was established in June 1993. It’s a voluntary association of corporate entities, currently representing the interests of 187 entities. It’s a member of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).


text:
On Saturday April 18, Genevieve Nnaji was one of the glam guests who rocked the wedding of MUD Cosmetics Nigeria CEO Onyinye Onwugbenu to Bosah Chukwuogo.
The event took place at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island and the dress code was black tie.
Gene who has been spotted wearing her natural hair a lot these days, rocked a floor length white dress, with a black embroidered bodice detail. She teamed the look with a gold clutch and a black & white hair piece was used to style her afro.
ARE YOU FEELIN’ HER LOOK?
Image Credit: Frank Ugah Photography


text:
ICRA opines on domestic penetration of electric vehicles; believes it may remain low in medium-term
ICRA in its latest report has said that the domestic penetration of electric vehicles (EV) will remain low in the medium-term in segments like passenger vehicles (PVs) and commercial vehicles (CVs) due to high prices and the absence of strong direct & indirect financial stimulus from the government for encouraging adoption of EVs.
The rating agency has also said that unless there is a standardisation of battery specifications, including charger specifications, across the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), meaningful success in battery-swapping adoption is unlikely.
According to the report, at present, the FAME II incentive for electric PVs is restricted to the commercial taxi segment only, which also highlights the government’s awareness that the attractiveness of EVs for personal car buyers will remain distant in the near to medium term. It further said the modality of vehicle financing in a battery-swappable model, where the core battery is owned/leased by a third party and financiers only have control over the residual vehicle, is another challenge.
Apart from this, the report also stated that the EV vendor systems need substantial investments to keep costs under check and reduce dependence on the imported electronic systems. It believes that battery swapping will face strong resistance from automobile OEMs due to a possible impact on their product differentiation capabilities as well as pricing flexibility. Its acceptance therefore will be limited to certain less complex automotive sub-segments like the three-wheelers. Further, given the importance of battery hardware and software in the overall performance of an EV, it said battery swapping will face strong resistance in technologically complex products like cars or two-wheelers.


text:
The weekend of Sept. 25, the Davidson Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative brought the national program 3 Day Startup to campus. The goal of 3 Day Startup is to "kickstart new student-run companies and build entrepreneurial capabilities in students and their university communities." Programs address themes such as social innovation, energy, culinary and international development. Our students proposed mobile apps that ranged from facilitating campus haircuts by student hairstylists to providing on-the-go discounts during lull retail hours.
Throughout the weekend students developed their ideas through a series of modules that included ideation, team formation, customer discovery, rapid prototyping and pitch workshops. CEO and Co-Founder of 3 Day Startup Cam Houser '00 said, "My co-founders and I believe that the best way to learn how to start a company is to start a company." And that's just what the students learned as they pitched their final projects to a panel of experts and received advice on next steps.


text:
Announced LG about her new smart phone V35 ThinQ that comes with a processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 otherwise it is largely identical with the LG phone V30S ThinQ, which was itself identical mainly phone LG V30 except for the upgrade to 6 GB of RAM.
Maintains Telephone V35 on the display screen FullVision OLED 6 inches without an extra piece at the top with the support HDR10, saw the camera Department some minor improvements by borrowing Dual Camera of 16-megapixel for two of LG G7 ThinQ (device V30 houses the rear camera with 16 MP and 13 MP), the same for all the selfie camera which has been upgraded from a resolution of 5 megapixel to 8 megapixel.
Features phone with Quad DAC sound and many sound enhancements other and comes with an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, as is the case with other phones will the phone battery with a capacity of 3300 mAh larger by 10% of the battery G7, there is support for wireless charging and quick Charge 3.0.
The phone features a 6 GB of RAM and storage options of 64 GB or 128 GB, and will be running Android 8.0 oreo will come with the various features of artificial intelligence embedded in the phone G7.
It will be available in phone a price in the range of USD 900 (3375 SAR/AED) exclusively on the AT&T temporarily, making it one of the most expensive options in the American market, currently, and will involve pre-orders in the chapeau of June, and will start shipping on 8 of them.
The post LG officially announced the phone V35 ThinQ appeared first on TIC-Foy.


text:
On Saturday, August 13 from 9am-12pm, the Rotary Club of Newton will collect used clothing/textiles and gently used housewares. Donated items will be sorted for reuse or recycling. Please bring your donations to the Scandinavian Living Center (206 Waltham Street, West Newton).
This month the Rotary will also be collecting lithium-ion batteries for recycling. Common items with lithium-ion batteries are:
- cell phones
- electric toothbrushes
- wireless headphones
- power tool batteries
So far this year, the Rotary Club has collected over 8,300 pounds of clothing and other household textiles, keeping these items out of the local landfill. The Rotary Club will hold textile drives on a monthly basis until September and all money raised will go toward the Rotary’s scholarship fund.
Visit the Newton Rotary Club website for information on items that they will accept.


text:
This will be the first time Blizzard games on the PC will be available on a multiplayer platform outside of its in-house Battle.net service. Overwatch 2 will support Steam achievements and more.
Chat becomes Microsoft Teams Free with build 22631.2338 (KB5030305)
windows 11 insider preview promo
Windows 11 build 23545 fixes a number of File Explorer bugs and more
windows 11 insider preview
Diablo IV's patch notes for the massive 1.1.0 update have been revealed. The update includes new items, rebalanced classes, bug fixes, and more ahead of the Season 1 launch July 20.
Blizzard's first season of content for Diablo IV will include the new Malignant Tunnels dungeons, new monsters, a new boss battle with Varshan the Consumed, and Malignant Hearts bonuses.
In this episode of Microsoft Weekly: a massive Windows 11 build with Copilot and other new features, ChatGPT on Windows 3.1, free Windows 11 virtual machines, app updates, and browser stats.
Blizzard has released the biggest single client patch for Diablo IV since the game launched earlier this month. It includes a large number of bug fixes, along with some game balance changes.
Blizzard has confirmed that it plans to add support for Microsoft's DirectStorage feature, saying it is "planning on enabling it in the future." It may turn out to be the second game to support it.
The DDoS attack on the Diablo IV servers affected latency and connections for players of Blizzard's popular action-RPG game along with the company's other online games, but it has now been dealt with.
The sales numbers for Blizzard's action-RPG sequel are for its first five days on sale following its official June 6 launch date. It remains the fastest selling Blizzard game in history
The Diablo IV servers were not working for many players of the hit action-RPG game. Developer Blizzard Entertainment has now fixed the server problems so that players can sign in again.
World of Warcraft players that use the Battle.net Authenticator will earn four extra bag slots and the Core Hound Pup in-game pet. If you want to turn on the authenticator, read on for instructions.
The first major patch for Blizzard's action-RPG sequel is now out for all platforms, and it contains so many balance changes to Diablo IV's classes that the developer felt the need to explain them.
It is time to catch up with the latest Microsoft news that happened during the last week. We have dead Surface, weird updates, not-so-dead Windows 7, stats, app updates, new builds, and more.
There's an issue currently with some PlayStation Diablo IV players who cannot sign into the game. Some gamers have found a workaround, but the bad news is that it costs them money.
Twitch streamer alleges Blizzard staged Diablo 4 Q&A by using fake accounts for softball questions. Fans question transparency and demand accountability. Here's what happened in the Blizzard stream.
You can check out Stay Awhile and Listen: Book I from author David L. Craddock about Blizzard's first Diablo game for only 99 cents on Amazon for a limited time, or free with Kindle Unlimited.
The fan gathering for all things Blizzard Entertainment will host its first in-person event in four years at the Anaheim Convention Center on November 3-4, with more details to be revealed later.
The free digital code for Diablo IV will include some special in-game items and the upcoming "Server Slam" for the game will support NVIDIA DLSS 3 for better frame rates starting May 12.
Players running Warzone and Modern Warfare 2 on some PC hardware can't play the game they paid for. The broken launcher is frustrating players to the point of opening a petition to get it fixed.
The Ultra 4K hardware requirements level for gaming PCs running Diablo IV will include at least 32GB of RAM, along with at least an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or an AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT GPU.
Blizzard is kicking off one final Diablo IV playtest as the highly anticipated action RPG's June release date draws near. A full weekend of dungeon diving will soon be available with a special reward.
The Xbox Series X console will run Blizzard's action-RPG sequel Diablo IV at a 2160p resolution, while the less powerful Xbox Series S will support 1080p resolution for the upcoming game.
People in the continental US can start playing Diablo IV beginning on Thursday, June 1 if they pre-order the game, and regular gamers can start playing the action-RPG game on Monday, June 5.
The Xbox Series X Diablo IV bundle will also include an exclusive in-game item for the upcoming fantasy action-RPG sequel from Blizzard, and will launch the same day as the game on June 6.
Blizzard says that it will actually "need queues to properly stress test our services" so people may need to wait a bit before getting in to play in the Diablo IV open beta when it starts Friday.
After pushing out some "backend server hotfixes" Blizzard says beta testers for Diablo IV should see much shorter waiting times to play the game. The early access open beta ends on Monday
The start of the Diablo IV early access open beta today has been hit with lots of issues as the game's servers have been slammed with tons of people trying to play the action-RPG sequel.
The preload size for the Diablo IV early access open beta will be 40GB in size, but you can choose to include the high-resolution texture pack which will increase the preload size to 80GB.
Rod Fergusson, the General Manager of the Diablo franchise at Blizzard, says the action-RPG sequel Diablo IV won't be available on Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass or PC Game Pass
Until March 18, KFC customers in the US can get a Diablo IV early access Open Beta code and play the upcoming fantasy action-RPG sequel if they use the KFC app or website to buy select sandwiches.
The Chapelle de Jesuites in France, which is now a cultural center rather than a church, had its ceiling painted with Diablo IV characters and artwork to promote the upcoming open beta.
A new report says that the EU's European Commission is going to let Microsoft complete its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard without Microsoft selling any of its assets and game properties.
Early access to the Diablo IV open beta will let gamers access three of the game's player classes, while the full Open Beta will add two more classes. It'll also support online and couch co-op modes.
The Diablo IV open beta will let testers check out the prologue and the first act of the long awaited next entry in Blizzard's fantasy action-RPG series, as you take your character up to level 25
The proposed $69 billion takeover of the video game publisher Activision Blizzard by Microsoft is currently being examined by the UK government's Competition and Markets Authority.
Nvidia has shared performance figures for its new RTX 4090, RTX 4080 16GB and 12GB SKUs in Blizzard's Overwatch 2. The company claims one can get over 500 fps in the new title using the RTX 4090.
Blizzard Entertainment has announced the Closed End Game Beta for Diablo IV. Players will have a chance to provide feedback on the game's end-game experience. Invites will be sent out by November 18.
Saudi Arabia has become the first country to approve Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft now needs approval from every other country that it plans to sell products in.
The FTC is looking into Microsoft's acquisition of Activision from a competitive standpoint. As things stand, Microsoft plans to close the deal by 2023 but this could change due to the investigation.
Microsoft has announced that it has crossed the 25 million subscribers milestone when it comes to Xbox and PC Game Pass members. Activision Blizzard games are also on their way to the service.
Blizzard has announced a new version of its Battle.net desktop app. It will launch it in parts of North America to weed out any remaining bugs before making it available in other parts of the world.


text:
Japan will file a request with the World Trade Organization next month for the creation of a dispute-settlement panel to deal with its simmering dispute with Indonesia over the Southeast Asian country’s “national car” policy, government sources said Feb. 18.
The sources said the European Union and the United States, which have also criticized the auto industry policy Indonesia announced just a year ago, are also expected to file the same requests at a monthly meeting of the WTO’s Dispute-Settlement Body scheduled for March 20. Indonesia’s national car policy grants 100 percent exemptions from tariff and luxury taxes for three years to Pt Timor Putra Nasional, an automaker controlled by President Suharto’s youngest son, Hutomo Mandal Putra.
In partnership with Kia Motors Corp. of South Korea, the Indonesian automaker plans to begin assembly of the Timor cars at home later this year and start full manufacturing in 1998. The Timor cars are now being made in South Korea and imported back into Indonesia duty-free under a presidential decree issued last June that permitted such imports for up to one year as a temporary measure until the automaker becomes fully prepared for local production.
But to qualify for the luxury-tax exemption, the company — and any other local or foreign automaker — must achieve a 60 percent local content requirement. Japan, the EU and the U.S. have claimed that the national car policy violates WTO rules, including the provision of “most-favored-nation” status and “national treatment” to foreign countries as well as a ban on local content requirements agreed under the Uruguay Round of world trade liberalization talks, completed at the end of 1993.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.


text:
The Paris-based team will bring their data science expertise to Density, a company that creates hardware and software to measure and optimize physical space.
SAN FRANCISCO, July 26, 2022–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Density, a hardware and software company that helps businesses measure, analyze and optimize physical space, today announced it has acquired Paris-based data company Forecast.io. This decision is part of a wider global expansion starting in Europe; Density also announces that it has hired JC Groon to lead the company’s international expansion with initial operations in Ireland and the UK.
Density’s privacy-focused sensors, combined with a rich platform that contextualizes the data provided by these sensors, helps businesses understand how people use space, and with the actionable data, insights, and guidance they provide, businesses can tailor their spaces. to reflect how people use them. Its growing client list ranges from Fortune 10 companies to fast-growing technology companies, all of which know the value of measuring and understanding the performance of their office space to reduce operating costs, improve employee working conditions and reduce their carbon footprint.
“Our customers are already using Density around the world – our sensors are deployed in 32 countries because the multinational corporations we work with need information in all their offices, not just in the US – so having a team in the EMEA region is a natural next step. said Andrew Farah, CEO and co-founder of Density. “To fulfill our mission to measure and improve humanity’s impact on the world, we will need a truly global presence, and the Prevision team and JC will drive our future growth.”
The Prevision.io team has developed tools that provide powerful AI governance for data science users so that more AI projects go into production and stay in production. At Density, the team will bring their data science expertise to the integration experience and the Density analytics platform, a fast, data-rich system that provides the most complete view of how space is being used, including the ability to easily compare the performance of spaces with each other or with benchmark portfolios.
Prevision’s exceptional engineering team will remain in Paris; their presence in the city will complement Density’s wider EMEA expansion led by JC Groon, Managing Director of International, who joined Density in March. Mr. Grun was most recently Director of Global Accounts at LinkedIn and has held positions at Cisco, NAVTEQ (now HERE Technologies) and Accenture; he will bring to the team over 20 years of experience developing go-to-market strategies, developing products and services, and leading strategic initiatives.
“EMEA has some of the most advanced privacy protections in the world, and given how Density has developed its privacy-focused technology, we are uniquely positioned to deliver rich, actionable information to consumers. without compromising employee privacy,” Grun said. “We also found that customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa were ahead of the curve when it came to the impact their square footage had on their carbon footprint; leaders in the region understand that by measuring and optimizing the use of their physical space, they significantly reduce their overall operating costs while improving their environmental impact.”
Density’s mission is to measure and improve humanity’s impact on the world. Today, its technology—privacy-focused hardware and proprietary software—helps make workplace decisions for some of the world’s largest companies, operating in 32 countries and managing more than 116 million square meters. His clients range from Fortune 1000 companies to high-growth tech companies including Uber, Pinterest, Shopify, Okta, as well as big names in financial services, e-commerce and social media. In November 2021, Density announced a $125 million Series D funding led by existing investor Kleiner Perkins.
The text of a press release resulting from a translation should in no case be considered official. The only authentic version of a press release is the press release in the original language. The translation will always have to be compared with the source text, which will set a precedent.
View original version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220725005044/en/


text:
After an overwhelmingly successful launch in greater Cincinnati, Nashville Hot, an authentic Nashville-style hot chicken is coming to Dayton. Nashville Hot LLC has entered into a franchise agreement with an experienced group of investors led by Mike Craddick to open multiple Dayton area franchises of Nashville Hot. The first location will be in the Austin Landing development and is slated to open in November 2016.
Nashville Hot, a new fast-casual dining concept opened its first location in February 2016 in Crescent Springs, Northern Kentucky. The restaurant group, Nashville Hot LLC is founded by local entrepreneur and former Tom+Chee President and early investor David Krikorian. Former Cincinnati Bengal, Brad Cousino is a partner in the company.
“We are thrilled to have Nashville Hot expanding into a new marketplace,” Krikorian says. “Mike is an extremely knowledgeable restaurant franchise operator and we are excited to bring authentic hot chicken to Dayton, Ohio.”
Nashville Hot also plans to announce new restaurant locations in the Cincinnati area over the next several months. The restaurant group is targeting expansion into Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.


text:
An overwhelming majority — 75 percent — of consumers trust their banks most to keep their payments safe, according to a recent ABA survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs.
Banks were by and large the most trusted entity, surpassing telecom companies (1 percent), major retailers (1 percent) and alternate payment providers like Paypal, Venmo and others (4 percent) by significant margins. Major retailers and alternate payment providers both experienced declines in consumer confidence from a previous survey conducted in 2014.
“It’s no surprise that consumers trust banks the most with their payments,” said ABA SVP Doug Johnson. “Banks have a long history of protecting their customers’ money whether in the vault or online. Banks are the gold standard in security and customers know their money is safe when it’s with the bank.”


text:
A timeshare exit company has been permanently barred from operating and ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars back to customers it conned.
Owners Steven Martin did not show up in court when the ruling was made, however the judgement ruled against him and his company who were found to be charging clients exuberant fees for so called timeshare exit services.
The company first came to the attention of officials several years ago and in 2017 The Better Business Bureau issued a warning against the company as they had received hundreds of complaints from customers across the United States who had engaged the services of the company and paid money to them. The business complaints service repeatedly issued warnings that the company was targeting timeshare owners across the United States and eventually this came to the attention of the Attorney General, who looked into and investigated the company. They found that the company targeted desperate timeshare owners and took advantage of them by charging upfront fees with promises they would be free from their timeshare burdens. After taking upfront payments the company would then string clients along for moths on end and eventually start asking for even more money. They would tell clients they had to pay transfer fees, taxes and even fees for litigation against the resort.
Martin and his company offered clients a money back guarantee if they could not successfully negotiate an exit from their contracts. Most of the complaints to The Better Business Bureau were where victims had asked for their money back because the company failed to terminate their timeshare, but also failed to refund any of the money to people they scammed. To make matters worse for some owners who believed the company had successfully terminated their timeshare contracts, later found out from the resort that they were still in exactly the same position and liable to pay maintenance fees. Some victims even reported the scam having a negative impact on their credit reports because of it.
The company has now been ordered to cease operating and has to pay a huge fine to compensate the victims. In addition it is also liable to pay court costs and investigation fees for all the work put in by the Attorney General’s office. An official from The Better Business Bureau made a statement following the ruling: “We applaud the Attorney General’s Office and its efforts to help customers of this business. Consumers reported to BBB that they lost thousands of dollars after the business failed to deliver on its promises. It’s rewarding whenever we can see that we can help people, and whenever they can get restitution, because a lot of times, you know, these people are just out of luck.”
Spotting a timeshare scam, here’s what to look out for:


text:
Third-party phishing campaigns on the rise
Scammers increasingly rely on third-party phishing websites to drain victims’ wallets, cybersecurity firm BlueVoyant claims.
A direct phishing campaign usually bombards victims’ with malicious links to their sites, hoping to trick them into entering their login credentials, payment information, and other sensitive data.
Third-party phishing campaigns are not that straightforward. They typically involve some characteristics of the original flow one might expect. Here’s one example of such a flow:
Scammers impersonate a well-known Shpock platform to deceive sellers into believing that their products have sold and that they are entitled to receive funds for them.
In most cases, the victim will receive a smishing message stating that their listed product was sold and urging them to claim payment. The message also includes a short link, which upon clicking, redirects the victim to the intermediary phishing page.
When clicking to proceed and claim the funds, the victim is redirected to the next step in the phishing chain, where they will be asked to choose the financial institution they bank with.
After selecting their bank, the victim will be redirected one last time to the main phishing page impersonating a financial institution.
According to BlueVoyant, third-party phishing websites are “spread on a massive scale across the internet.”
“Over the past year, BlueVoyant has witnessed a major increase in the number of phishing
sites originating in third-party phishing campaigns. One major European client saw an increase from just 2% of all detected phishing attacks in 2022 to 21% in 2023,” the company said.


text:
Mobile phone games are as entertaining as they are addictive.
Some like Pokemon Go have gone viral, with over 100,000,000 downloads, while others like Candy Crush became a craze. Kenyan phone games are not there yet in terms of popularity but with continued local and global consumption, they just might be.
Nairobi X, Kuku Sama
Andrew Kaggia is the brains behind this video game launched last year — a first-person shooter game whose main fictional character, Otero, is from the Recce squad. Again, under Black Division Games which he co-founded, they released Kuku Sama, an arcade game where the player controls a flying chicken to avoid forks and grills.
“Nairobi X and Kuku Sama were well received. Nairobi X was even featured at a large gaming event in Europe. People around the world were impressed by what was going on in Africa,” he says.
The two games have had about 750,000 downloads so far.
With the growing number of Kenyan mobile phone games, Kaggia is embracing the competition rather than shying away from it. “I don’t really believe in competition as such, as there is more than enough room for game developers to flourish,” he says.
Kaggia hopes to release another game by mid next year. Initially, their biggest challenge was distribution but once they sorted that out, things started flowing more easily. They now have a distribution network for their games across Africa.
Kaggia and his team sold Nairobi X on DVD, which generated good revenue.
“There are many ways of generating revenue from games. One just needs to be creative and unconventional. With Google Play, Kenyans can generate revenue by having advertisements displayed in the game,” he says.
The game was released on June 25, inspired by the Bungoma man who hang on a helicopter transporting dignitaries to the home of late businessman Jacob Juma.
It created major buzz on social media. Developer Frank Tamre is about to release another game, Boda Boda Madness, which will hopefully generate similar attention.
“Anyone who has used a boda boda knows that ‘madness’ is a common feature on East African roads. We are globalising this experience in a 2D version and hope to make it interesting through the stories that riders have shared,” says Tamre.
The main challenge Tamre has faced is remaining authentic by not cloning any international game. So far he seems to have succeeded.
Bungoma Hangman has over 10,000 downloads. By the end of the year, he hopes to release two more titles.
“We see ourselves catering to the global audience; you cannot release a game and think it will be for Kenyans alone. Gaming is a billion dollar industry.”
Wings of Fury 3D
Evans Kiragu is the CEO of Mekan Games that created Wings of Fury 3D last year. Earlier, he had developed two games independently, before building his own company (Mekan Games). When it was finally set up, the company needed a game to market it in the industry.
“We had an amazing reception here in Kenya, and an even better one in Nigeria — with over 25,000 downloads.”
When the game was in the final stages of completion, Kiragu sought the help of Kenyan artistes for the audio but no one was willing to help. “We sought free music since we didn’t have any cash. We wanted to put links to their songs or albums, but no one accepted. So we got copyright free music and fans complemented it. When the game became really popular, the same artistes asked us to feature their songs in it,” he recalls.
Kiragu says they are now “at a higher level and are not considering artistes for the next game because they are not begging any more,”
Next week, Mekan Games is releasing Craving Carrots.
The game has a 4.3 star rating on Google Play Store.
The idea for this game originated from American President Barack Obama’s visit to Kenya last year. Gideon Chepkole thought it would be nice to showcase local tourist sites. The game requires a player to guide Obama to beautiful attraction sites like Lake Nakuru to see flamingoes, and the Masai Mara for the wildebeest migration. “The game was slow in getting traction, and it still needs a lot of marketing. I have another game coming up in a few weeks. Like Jumping Obama, it will be free. Google does not allow us to charge people for our games so I have ads to generate revenue,” says Chepkole.
He adds that there isn’t much competition from other developers, but recalls that coding was a challenge he faced while creating the game.
The game has a two star rating.
Tupa and PinpMyCar
Engineer Evans Samoei has a passion for mobile phone games. In 2012/13, he created Tupa for Android and in 2014 PinpMyCar for iPhone. He was testing out the openGL technology when he got the inspiration to make a real app.
Both games fared averagely, with about 5,492 downloads total. He intends to launch another Android game.
The challenge he faced then was limited technology. “For full satisfaction, cross platform games are better, but at that time technologies like Xamarin were not available, thus limiting us to one platform at a time. The other challenge is juggling between developing a game and dedicating time for college and my day job. Every day you have to choose between them; and developing a game usually loses,” says Samoei. He adds that one does not get enough user acceptance tests done on the game, thus “you could find yourself launching a faulty app,”
The games are not on the Play Store any more since he disabled his developer account.
Competition in the sector is not that stiff, he says, but it is still not a walk in the park.
“The advantage I have is my mathematics knowledge that I acquired in engineering school, which comes in handy during game development.
Samoei says that seeing the success of a game like Pokemon Go inspires him to do better but people should keep in mind that big developers have teams purposefully for research, development and marketing.
He adds: “Gaming is currently diverse and unpredictable. Users have such high expectations that one simple game cannot satisfy”.


text:
eBay has released a hilarious new commercial to promote its Santa Sneaker Drop.
The spot features Anthony Davis making cookies in his kitchen and listening to a voice message (the latest in a long series, apparently) left by Santa. The latter says thanks to the All-NBA forward for having driven his sleigh the night before and asks him to explain the reason why he is getting calls about sneakers falling from the sky. When the phone rings and the caller is Santa, Davis puts it on the tray and places the tray into the oven.
At the end of the video, viewers are directed to visit the dedicated website for the event, which will be taking place between December 22nd and December 24th.
eBay informed people that now more “than 500 pairs of kicks need a home for the holidays or Anthony’s gonna earn a spot on the big guy’s naughty list” and encourages them to check out the website on December 22nd and make their Christmas a little bit brighter.
In 2018, the online marketplace released hundreds of coveted pairs, including the Supreme x Nike Air More Uptempo, Virgil Abloh x Nike Air VaporMax from “The Ten,” Air Jordan 11 “Jeter,” Adidas Yeezy Wave Runner 700, Nike Dunk Hi “Wu-Tang”, and more, as part of its first-ever “community sneaker drop”, in partnership with Stadium Goods.
Earlier this month, Anthony Davis agreed to five-year, $190 million maximum contract to stay with Los Angeles Lakers. The 27-year-old player is the co-star of the Lakers with LeBron James.


text:
With solar panel prices plunging and generous tax credits and incentives still available, now may be as good a time as any to go solar.
But shopping for a solar power system can be a tough task. Consumers face a bewildering array of options. There are thousands of different solar panel models from dozens of manufacturers. In some regions, consumers can choose from among hundreds of different panel installers. And once they pick their panels and a contractor, they have to figure out how to pay for their system from among several different methods.
“It can be pretty daunting and overwhelming, with the number of installers that are installing solar systems these days,” said Drew Lowell-Britt, an energy specialist with EcoMotion, a consulting firm that advises cities, companies and other organizations that are considering or trying to promote solar power.
Solar power experts and those who have shopped for systems have plenty of suggestions on how to make the process more manageable.
The first thing to assess, they say, is just how much energy you’re using and the extent to which you can reduce that amount. The size of the system you’ll install is largely determined by how much energy you use. By reducing your energy consumption, you can get away with a smaller – and less costly – system.
That’s what San Jose, Calif., resident Brian Friss found when he shopped for a solar power system.
Just by being more conscious of turning off lights and the television and unplugging portable electronics when they’re done charging, Friss said his family has reduced its power bill by about $100 a month. Now they are looking at getting a significantly less expensive solar power system than they initially expected.
“Our big mistake early on was not understanding our usage,” said Friss, 39, the co-founder of Digistor, a professional data storage company.
Panels are rated for their efficiency and their electrical output. Today’s panels tend to range in efficiency – which measure the percent of solar energy that the systems convert into electricity – from about 14 percent to 20 percent or more. If you go with more efficient panels, you can use fewer or smaller panels than if you use less efficient ones. But the more efficient panels tend to cost significantly more than the less efficient ones.
But efficiency and output aren’t the whole story. Consumers can also take a look at panels’ degradation rates and their warranties. As they age, solar panels typically produce less electricity; each model has an expected degradation rate, which manufacturers also provide. Theoretically, a more efficient panel could end up generating less electricity than a less efficient one in a few years if it degrades more rapidly.
While 25-year warranties are starting to become the norm, consumers should check “the terms of the warranty, what it includes and what it doesn’t,” said Mike Foster, acting manager for green building and energy programs for the City of San Jose.
In terms of picking a contractor, experts suggest that consumers talk with at least three before settling on one.
Because each city has its own regulations and permitting process for solar installations, it’s important to find a contractor who has experience in a particular area, experts say. They also recommend checking references and consumer review sites such as Yelp to find the right installer.
Most experts suggest consumers buy their systems, rather than choosing other payment options. The payoff for doing that tends to be much shorter, and consumers can start enjoying free electricity immediately.
But the vast majority of systems these days are installed under leases or power-purchase agreements, where homeowners don’t own the panels placed on their roofs, but instead agree to purchase power generated by them from the installer. Such plans are attractive, because often they don’t require consumers to pay any money up front and offer the promise of lower electricity rates immediately and in the future.
Experts caution consumers, though, to carefully examine the terms of such contracts, which can last 20 years. Many include charges that escalate over time, which could leave consumers paying more money for their power than they would if they had stuck with their regular utility.
“Certainly, not all customers can save money this way,” said Mindy Spatt, a spokesperson for tshe Utility Reform Network, a consumer advocacy group. “Some may. For others, they may be a really bad deal.”


text:
In this corner of the ring, it’s Google. And in that corner of the ring, it’s spam.
On August 10, 2015, Google received approval for a patent that may someday penalize businesses for sending out junk mail or spam. Originally filed in 2012, this patent allows Google to analyze email marketing to rank brands in search results.
However, Google has only patented the idea of doing this. They have not rolled out a new algorithm yet. But Google doesn’t spend time and resources on fluffy projects. So it’s important to bone up on this new development so you’re not scrambling when a new change is rolled out.
The patent — with the sexy and catchy title of “Email Spam and Junk Mail As A Vendor Reliability Signal” — means Google can scrutinize online vendors using email patterns and signals. Then, based on the information they gather, they can determine whether a vendor is reliable. Google’s belief is that a trusted company does not send junk mail.
But what else is at play?
According to the patent, Google may survey a variety of factors, and may be able to crawl the links of email marketing messages. By doing so, they can determine whether the links are helpful or harmful to a brand’s page.
Like preceding Google changes — remember Mobilegeddon? — this type of change has the potential to push your company higher in Google rankings or bury you in search results. It’s all about ranking preferences. But, again, it’s only a patent.
Until Google announces a change, it’s best to stay informed. But what can you do in the meantime? You can take a good look at your current email marketing strategy and learn how to improve your online marketing reach.
Playing offense is always easier than playing defense. Learn as much as you can about this new patent and use any lead time to make sure you’re running clean and concise email marketing campaigns designed to truly help your current and future customers.


text:
Circuit Stores Inc. CC, +2.87% said Wednesday it is cutting about 3,400 store associates as part of a continuing cost-reduction plan.
The struggling Richmond consumer-electronics retailer said separately that it will turn over its information-technology infrastructure to International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) in a move to cut about 16% from IT expenses over the life of the seven-year contract. The outsourcing deal will affect about 130 employees, 50 of whom will move to IBM, Circuit City said.
As it made the announcements, Circuit City lowered its fiscal 2007 sales expectations to a growth rate of 8% from a previously expected range of 9% to 10%. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open for at least a year, are now expected to grow 6%, down from the original forecast of 7% to 8%.
Circuit City is scheduled to report full-year results April 4.
In February, Circuit City announced plans to close stores and shake up its merchandising teams to improve financial performance after suffering through a price war over flat-panel television sets.
In the quarter ended Nov. 30, Circuit City swung to an unexpected loss of $16 million, or 9 cents a share, from a year-earlier profit of $10.1 million, or 6 cents a share, as declining television prices chipped away at margins.
As a result of Wednesday's cuts and the previously announced restructuring efforts, Circuit City said it expects to record total pretax expenses of about $144 million, including goodwill impairment, store closings and other restructuring items.
Circuit City also said Wednesday its board has authorized management to explore a possible sale of its international unit InterTAN Inc. The company hired Goldman Sachs to serve as an adviser.
New York Stock Exchange-listed Circuit City shares rose 65 cents, or 3.4%, to $19.53 in early trading Wednesday.


text:
An Urban One Brand
Copyright © 2020 Interactive One, LLC.
All Rights Reserved.
Powered by WordPress.com VIP
Toyota’s president unveiled a futuristic concept car resembling a giant smartphone to demonstrate how Japan’s top automaker is trying to take the lead in technology at the upcoming Tokyo auto show.
SIGN UP FOR THE MAJIC 102.3-92.7 NEWSLETTER