text:
North American auto sales highest since 2007; global sales up 6%
August 14, 2012
By The Canadian Press
North America is posting double-digit increases in car sales so far this year, lifting purchases to their highest level since 2007 in a trend that reflects a global surge in buying, according to a new report from Scotiabank Economics.
“Car sales are advancing in every region, with the exception of Western Europe,” Carlos Gomes, Scotiabank Economics senior economist and auto industry specialist, says in the bank’s Global Auto Report released Tuesday.
“We expect continued gains in the second half supported by record low short and long-term interest rates in most nations, the recent acceleration in the pace of automotive lending across the globe and solid job creation in emerging markets.”
Light vehicle sales in North America have jumped 13 per cent so far this year, led by a 21 per cent surge in purchases by U.S. businesses, governments and rental car agencies.
“Purchases in Canada have been stronger than we expected this year, prompting us to increase our 2012 forecast to 1.68 million units, the second-highest annual total on record,” Gomes added.
“Automakers are currently offering both 0 per cent financing and employee pricing, providing discounts up to C$14,000.”
The report comes just as the Canadian Auto Workers union sits down this week with the Big Three North American automakers to discuss labour contracts.
The union was holding meetings the General Motors Canada on Tuesday morning in Toronto, followed by Chrysler Canada in the afternoon. Ford Canada and the CAW are to meet Wednesday.
The union, which made concessions when the big U.S.-based automakers were struggling, says it wants to share in the profits now that the industry has rebounded. For its part, the industry wants to bring its Canadian costs in line with those in the United States.
Worldwide, Scotiabank says car sales advanced six per cent in the first half of 2012, despite the ongoing headwinds associated with the sovereign debt problems in Western Europe and moderation in the pace of global economic activity.
Japan and Russia are leading the way in the current buying spree, with gains of 52 and 29 per cent respectively.
In contrast, Western Europe continues to lag, with sales set to decline to 12.2 million units in 2012 – the fifth consecutive slide and the lowest level since 1996.
The improvement in Japan reflects a bounce from last year’s tsunami-induced slump which slashed purchases to only 3.5 million units – the lowest level since 1986 – as well as government incentives for eco-friendly vehicles.


text:
A new report confirms what many people already thought: marijuana cultivation in California’s North Coast is sucking streams dry and having serious impacts on the environment. Marijuana is a water-intensive crop, requiring nearly twice as much water per day as another signature California crop, wine grapes. Marijuana’s unclear legal status in the state has made regulating cultivation difficult, even as demand has grown nationwide.
It’s natural for many in the marijuana businesses to be wary of the state effort to regulate them more closely, says Hezekiah Allen, executive director of the Emerald Growers Association, which is based in Humboldt County and represents growers, dispensaries and others in the business statewide.
But growers need to support regulations that reduce environmental impact and become more involved in public policy, he says. Being more politically active also makes it more likely for growers to get help in these drought years.
“The bottom line is unregulated agriculture has environmental impact. Our challenge is in how to regulate it,” Allen says. “It takes time. We are not going to be in perfect compliance tomorrow.”

domain: news


text:
In November 2013, Amazon.com announced a partnership with the United States Postal Service to begin delivering orders on Sundays. The service, included in Amazon's standard shipping rates, initiated in metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and New York due to the high-volume and inability to deliver timely, with plans to expand into Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and Phoenix by 2014.
Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon (/ˈæməˌzɒn/), is an American electronic commerce and cloud computing company based in Seattle, Washington, that was founded by Jeff Bezos on July 5, 1994. The tech giant is the largest Internet retailer in the world as measured by revenue and market capitalization, and second largest after Alibaba Group in terms of total sales. The Amazon.com website started as an online bookstore and later diversified to sell video downloads/streaming, MP3 downloads/streaming, audiobook downloads/streaming, software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewelry. The company also owns a publishing arm, Amazon Publishing, a film and television studio, Amazon Studios, produces consumer electronics lines including Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, Fire TV, and Echo devices, and is the world's largest provider of cloud infrastructure services (IaaS and PaaS) through its AWS subsidiary. Amazon also sells certain low-end products under its in-house brand AmazonBasics.
In July 1995, the company began service as an online bookstore. The first book sold on Amazon.com was Douglas Hofstadter's Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought. In the first two months of business, Amazon sold to all 50 states and over 45 countries. Within two months, Amazon's sales were up to $20,000/week. In October 1995, the company announced itself to the public. In 1996, it was reincorporated in Delaware. Amazon issued its initial public offering of stock on May 15, 1997, at $18 per share, trading under the NASDAQ stock exchange symbol AMZN.
Although the company did raise the minimum wage for all of its employees earlier this month, it’s plowing ahead on warehouse robotics and automation in a way that could fundamentally reshape how its lowest-paid employees perform work — and how many of those employees it needs to retain. Amazon now uses more than 100,000 robots in warehouses around the world to help move and organize products, according to The New York Times, and it also sponsors an annual robotics competition to help spur innovation in AI that could result in more dexterous and intelligent robots capable of performing complex physical tasks.
Shop the latest fashion online at H&M and discover new favourites in women’s clothing. Find everything from casual day dresses to sharp office wear. We have jeans in every fit, premium quality items and the latest fashion essentials. Check out our Conscious collection made out of more sustainable materials, we bring you women’s fashion in a more sustainable way
Before you can sell your goods on Amazon, you need to create a store through Seller Central. As a seller, you have the choice of creating either an individual or professional account. While individuals can list their goods for free, selling as a professional costs $39.99 a month plus additional fees based on the value of the final sale. Individuals typically pay $0.99 per item sold in addition to variable fees based on an item’s category.
Aside from creating the logo, A.J Khubani actually played a huge role in the advent of the infomercial as we know it today, which started with his Amber Vision sunglasses in 1987. More recently, his company sold the PedEgg, another As Seen On TV product which has sold 50 million units (in addition to other successful products like the As Seen On TV mop and the As Seen On TV hose). Anyone looking for the same level of success with their own product can pitch their idea to both Telebrands and As Seen On TV, Inc. although they only accept a few submissions each year.


text:
Is the formation of a pan-African tourism body the solution to boosting the continent’s tourism numbers? With industry players slow to sign up, the new African Tourism Board initiative from the International Coalition of Tourism Partners has its work cut out for it.
Africa recorded just 62 million international arrivals in 2017, an 8 percent increase from the year before. But that was still less than one-tenth of Europe’s 672 million visitors last year, according to the World Tourism Organization,
While there’s good marketing work being done to grow that figure, particularly by the private sector, the launch of the African Tourism Board later this year by the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) aims to create a unified voice for marketing the continent abroad. And, ultimately, drive up visitor numbers.
“We want to bring the various established players in the industry together, and to help them work together,” explained Juergen Steinmetz, chairman of the ICTP. “In Africa you have a lot of organizations doing good work, but there’s no structure to what they’re doing.”
Going forward, Steinmetz sees the members of the African Tourism Board collaborating on international road shows and marketing initiatives, and giving tourism bodies and industry players a voice at events where they may otherwise be drowned out.
“At (trade show) ITB everyone is there, at WTM (World Travel Market) everyone is there. But if you look at shows like IMEX in Las Vegas, an individual country would just disappear, or not be present at all. We think there is opportunity for our future members to participate,” said Steinmetz, who is adamant that the ATB won’t overlap with the work being done by existing tourism organizations. “We don’t want to compete, we want to complement.”
While a united front sounds good in theory, any new structure will also need to recognize the enormous diversity in both tourism product and infrastructure across the continent.
“If its role is to promote inbound travel to Africa … this would not be an easy task because each country has different source markets, levels of development and tourism experiences,” added Natalia Rosa, director of Cape Town-based tourism marketing agency Big Ambitions.
Though Steinmetz declines to name which countries have indicated their support, “there has been a positive response from both government ministries and private industry. There are a number of tourism boards in all parts of Africa that want to be part of it.”
However, a number of regional and national tourism bodies contacted by Skift had no knowledge of the initiative, and highlighted the cost of inclusion as a key consideration to future membership.
“There is certainly merit in being part of a bigger agenda,” said Thembi Kunene-Msimang, acting chief executive officer of the Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa (RETOSA), which represents 14 national tourism organizations in sub-Saharan Africa. “The issue would be about cost, and what the benefits are of that membership.”
Right now the approach seems to be a means-based membership fee to cover basic administration, with ongoing stand-alone projects that members can choose to participate in according to their own financial situation; a ‘pay-to-play’ for road shows, international trade exhibitions and targeted lobbying.
In the end, it’ll come down to numbers, and ensuring the African Tourism Board is a truly pan-African organization. If the tortuous process of achieving “open skies” in Africa is anything to go by, protectionism and self-interest may stymie any plans, however well-intentioned, to bring the African tourism industry together.
“If just a few African countries are willing to sign on the dotted line, and put their money where their mouth is, it’s dead in the water,” said Rosa. “There has to be a collective willingness to work together, and getting 54 countries to sing off the same hymn sheet, as history has shown, takes a long time.”
There’s an old is a saying in southern Africa: “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu.” A person is a person through persons. We are who we are because of others. Will that sense of collectivism ring true for the fledgling African Tourism Board? The jury’s still out.
Skift Daily Newsletter
Get the travel industry’s daily must-read email 6 days a week
Tags: africa, cape town, destination marketing, gateway, tourism
Photo credit: A harbor in the Western Cape province of South Africa is pictured. A new pan-African tourism initiative is trying to grow the number of tourists to the continent. Marc Cooper / Flickr


text:
RIM stock falls on BellSouth results
July 23, 2001, 1:15 p.m. PT
Shares of Research In Motion fell as much as 16 percent Monday after telephone company BellSouth results showed declining subscriber growth for what investors extrapolated was the BlackBerry two-way e-mail pager.
Shares of RIM closed down $3.87, or 13 percent, to $24 on Monday, after falling as low as $23.20 earlier in the day.
Interactive subscribers at BellSouth’s Cingular Interactive, which analysts caution is not entirely comprised of RIM’s BlackBerry pagers, grew by only 32,000 customers in the second quarter, down from growth of 80,000 in the same period last year.
“It is believed that RIM makes up the vast majority of these subscribers,” said Dundee Securities analyst Mark Hugh Sam, adding that Cingular does not break out the specific numbers.
Nevertheless, investors are worried because RIM’s pagers and handhelds comprise more than 50 percent of the Canadian company’s current revenue, analysts added.
The BellSouth results contradict RIM’s recent reiteration of earnings projections for the current quarter.
Story Copyright 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.


text:
As Google is currently on the mission to make life easier for developers, the company last week has announced a major update in its open-source Flutter framework, due to which users will now enjoy support for both desktop and web applications.
Hence, moving on to become a portable framework, Flutter 2 would now be more than just a mobile framework and can be really useful if you are looking to create stylish and feature-filled Web Application Development.
For those of you, who haven’t used Flutter before, it is a framework for developers who can then build “native” apps on operating systems such as Android, and through it, those apps also become workable on devices with iOS, Windows, and macOS support. The main idea of the framework revolves around using Google’s Dart programming language and have the app run across multiple platforms based on that while eliminating the need to write the code all over again for every version.
So, according to the announcement done via blogpost, Google has also brought some useful changes to its client-optimized programming language Dart for mobile, desktop, server, and web applications, along with the updated network.
Google explains that with Flutter 2, the company is aiming to “fundamentally shift how developers think about building their apps.” They want developers to focus more on enhancing the experience rather than thinking about how to make the app-friendly across all platforms.
As a result, Flutter 2’s update includes production-quality support for the web so that developers can now take advantage of web innovations, including more rich platform application programming interfaces, which will, of course, give rise to more sophisticated apps that will have hardware-accelerated 2D and 3D graphics packed with flexible layouts.
Flutter 2 Focuses
Flutter 2 focuses on three specific web app scenarios: progressive web apps that combine the reach of the internet with the capabilities of desktop apps, single-page apps that load once and transmit data to and from web services, and existing Flutter mobile apps to the web that it’s bringing to the web.
Undoubtedly, what we personally found amazing in Flutter 2 is its ability to let mobile app developers run their apps on the web through the exact similar codebase. This move is going to be extremely beneficial, considering how developers would now be at ease of using different services without having to install the respective apps.
Overall, it looks clear that Google has evolved Flutter from merely being a user interface toolkit to a much wholesome software development toolkit through which developers would now be easily able to reach out to places that otherwise can be tough with other development techniques.
Right now, you can find more than 150,000 apps on Google Play that were designed with Flutter. Hence, now that Flutter 2 is out with support for desktop and web applications, all of these apps can upgrade to Flutter 2 for free.
Features in Flutter 2
More notable features in Flutter 2 include the all-new rendering engine powered by Canvaskit, small detailing options like auto-filling of text, improved control over address bar URLs, and also routing. Besides that, developers will also get to enjoy enhanced support for interactive scrollbars, more keyboard shortcuts, and also new accessibility features that would be available for Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS, altogether.
Flutter 2 also includes Google Mobile Ads for Flutter, which precisely is a software development kit to go with Google’s AdMob and AdManager. Apart from that, we are also hearing reports of Flutter Fix through which developers would be able to make changes to their existing code to make it ready for the latest edition of the Flutter API.
Google is hopeful that with Flutter 2, executives from Enterprises will benefit a great deal because of increased developer velocity. All in all, the price still, however, is going to make them more dependent on the tool and Google itself, of course.


text:
View Map »
View Photos >>
Get Alerts »
Harley Davidson has just unveiled a completely electric motorcycle, code name Project LiveWire.
Harley Davidson has just unveiled a completely electric motorcycle, code name Project LiveWire. The motorcycles are not yet available, but select consumers across the country will be able to ride and provide feedback on the bike soon.
Nintendo has some bad news for investors: It's not expecting a huge profit boost from Pokemon Go.
Shares in Nintendo plummeted the daily limit of 18 percent on Monday after the legendary gaming company told investors that Pokemon Go will have only a "limited...
No email address was supplied by
To complete your registration on this site, please supply an address.
Please confirm or modify the email address to which you will have subscription offers sent.
For a more personalized experience, please supply the following optional information.


text:
Maps.me partners with Circle to offer DeFi experience to more consumers
By Pavithra R
Circle, a global financial technology firm that provides payments and treasury infrastructure for digital businesses has announced partnering with Maps.me, which offers millions of users globally access to a decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem via its leading offline mapping application.
Under the collaboration, the companies will jointly offer consumers using USD Coin (USDC) with simple access to Maps.me’s DeFi ecosystem. This ensures cheap, fast, and secure ways to pay, transfer and invest with USDC as well as exclusive discounts and benefits all within a user-driven financial system that allows people to transact directly with each other, not through a financial institution.
“We’re very proud to be a part of the first effort to bring the DeFi experience to a massive audience on Maps.me. Our two companies share a commitment to transforming money into an internet experience that allows users to send, share, pay and invest as simply and freely as email, text messaging, or social media,” said Jeremy Allaire, CEO and Co-founder of Circle.
USDC has experienced tremendous growth, decisively becoming the fastest growing and most widely adopted fully reserved and compliant dollar digital currency. Its adoption has expanded across trading, payments, savings, lending, and other use cases in blockchain finance.
Under the partnership, Maps.me will integrate support for USDC, which was developed by Circle and Coinbase, enabling a seamless consumer journey from using a credit card to purchase USDC to holding MAPS tokens within a Maps.me Wallet. Users will be able to:
- Earn yield of as much as 8% on stored value
- Make payments via a linked credit card
- Transfer money instantly and at low cost to friends and family globally in 35 different currencies
- Get up to 10% cashback on Booking.com
- Enjoy a discount of as much as 50% on selected eSIM and telecoms services
“DeFi is ready to go mainstream and Circle is a natural partner for the Maps.me ecosystem in driving mass adoption. We know that Maps.me’s large and highly engaged user base is looking for instant, secure, and easy-to-access financial services that are relevant to their needs. This partnership with Circle accelerates our ability to deliver the benefits of DeFi and put people in charge of their financial lives, just like they are in charge of their travel,” said Alex Grebnev, Co-founder of Maps.me.
Founded in 2013, Circle is a global FinTech firm that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of stablecoins and public blockchains for payments and commerce worldwide. Recently the firm announced securing $440 mn in financing to drive market expansion and growth.
IBSi Daily News Analysis
September 22, 2023
The Weekly Wrap: all you need to know by Friday COB | September 22ndRead More
IBSi FinTech Journal
- Most trusted FinTech journal since 1991
- Digital monthly issue
- 60+ pages of research, analysis, interviews, opinions, and rankings
- Global coverage


text:
NASHUA, NH: Funky gadget retailer Brookstone has hired a veteran of the tech sector as its first PR director.
The hiring signals the company's decision to up its use of PR to get more focus for its products and retailing operations.
Robert Padgett started as PR director for the 240-store chain last month.
He has been doing private consulting and freelance writing for The Boston Globe.
Prior to that, he was director of communications at Priceline WebHouse Club, a failed online grocery venture from Priceline.com that shut down in late 2000.
Padgett also has worked for Burson-Marsteller in New York, for Pfizer in media relations, and with The Dolphin Group, a California public affairs agency.
Brookstone started searching for a PR director in April. Padgett isn't planning to hire additional internal PR staff or agency help.


text:
“Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia offers a vast wealth of content and has a passionate following. Branching into the interactive entertainment space is a natural next step,” said Jesse Sutton, CEO of Majesco Entertainment in a statement.
Nolan Bushnell, the man who founded Atari in 1972 and was booted from it six years later, is back again. Atari has named Bushnell to its board of directors and said it hopes to lean on him to help with the company’s future planning.
It’s a move that might bring a smile to gaming historians, but could once again raise questions about the company’s future. Bushnell, while unquestionably a visionary in the video game space, has not been a major part of the mainstream gaming world for years. And his appointment comes as two well-respected industry veterans sever their ties with the company.
When Blizzard Entertainment put the “Celestian Steed” mount up for sale in its “World of Warcraft” store Thursday, it was quite clear: The virtual horse wouldn’t give players any new abilities; it would only give them a new way to get around the game world. And the speed would depend on their character’s skill level.
Users didn’t care. Within four hours, the queue to buy one was 80,000 people long. Before the day was out, the queue numbered over 140,000 – with an average wait time of seven hours. The virtual pet carried a price tag of $25 – meaning Blizzard could earn more than $3.5 million in less than a day via microtransactions.
We’ve covered the problems at Activision since the abrupt firing of Jason West and Vince Zampella fairly regularly. And since Monday’s news that the duo had started a new development house and aligned themselves with Electronic Arts, the exodus of talent at their old studio Infinity Ward has gone from a trickle to a steady stream.
Most of the design leads from “Modern Warfare 2” have departed at this point (though none have formally been announced as employees of West and Zampella’s Respawn Entertainment yet). Running a list of names that most people haven’t heard of before this mess doesn’t effectively show the exodus, but the team at PC Gamer UK have found a good way to do so.
Hardware sales were a less happy story, in part due to shortages at retail. Overall, though, the industry was up 6 percent, compared to March 2009. And analysts expect the remainder of the year to show more signs of life, as the year-over-year comparisons get a lot easier.


text:
Amazon.com Inc's first-quarter revenue jumped 22 percent to $16.07 billion, propelled by growing sales of digital content, cloud-computing services and gains in its main retail business.
The world's largest Internet retailer had been expected to record revenue of $16.1 billion in the typically slower first quarter, according to average forecasts on Wall Street.
Amazon shares rose 1.6 percent to $279 in after-hours trading following the results.
Amazon, which has been on a spending spree in recent years, posted a 37 percent drop in net income to $82 million, or 18 cents a share, compared to $130 million, or 28 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter.
Operating income was $181 million, down 6 percent from the same period last year, Amazon said.
Amazon forecast second-quarter revenue of $14.5 billion to $16.2 billion and operating results from break-even to $350 million. The latter guidance excludes stock-based compensation expenses and other items such as amortization of intangible assets.
Wall Street was looking for second-quarter revenue of $15.94 billion and operating results of $452 million, according to Mark Mahaney, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.
The company's profit has shrunk in recent years as it invests for longer-term growth, building distribution warehouses across the country, developing a Kindle Fire tablet and a digital content business in competition with Apple Inc, and expanding into cloud services.
(Reporting By Alistair Barr; Editing by Bernard Orr)


text:
- For the first seven days of February, paid search ads for Valentine's Day gifts for men saw 82% more clicks than ads promoting gifts for women, according to a Kantar Media analysis shared with Marketing Dive.
- PersonalizationMail.com, which offers personalized gifts like bathrobes and plaques, experienced the highest product listing ad and text ad click share across desktop and mobile for gift ideas for both women and men. For gifts for men, PersonalizationMail.com's product listing click share was 33.3% on desktop and 29.9% on mobile and text ad click share was 36.1% on desktop and 19.5% on mobile. For women's gifts, PersonalizationMail.com's product ads had 17.5% click share on desktop and 19.2% on mobile, and 31.3% on desktop and 14.3% on mobile for text ad click share.
- My M&M's, the confectionary brands personalized candy service, ranked highly in text ad click share for both men and women. ProFlowers was ranked highest among gifts for women in search, with 14.3% on desktop and 19.5% on mobile for product listing ad click share.
Men commanding more of the search ad market for Valentine's Day this year is interesting, and suggests the demographic is potentially harder to pick a gift for since traditional presents around the holiday, like flowers, may not be as appealing to them. The research could also shed light on shifting gender dynamics or support studies that shows women do more of their shopping online than men. Marketers of male-centric brands should still take note of these metrics, as it could help inform future search campaigns around gift-giving holidays going forward.
The analysis additionally underscores the growing role of mobile in online shopping around key marketing moments. Mobile campaigns, including those centered around mobile shopping, increased their share of holiday search budgets to 50% last year from 43% in 2017, according to a recent study by Kenshoo.
Having a stronger mobile strategy could be essential for brands looking to target elusive younger consumers, including millennials, for Valentine's Day and other holidays. Last year, about one in six surveyed millennials planned to make more direct mobile purchases for the holiday season than they did in 2017, per research from Verizon's Oath media unit.
Mobile is also the fastest-growing segment of paid search, with about 75% of shopping impressions occurring on mobile phones, according to a separate Kenshoo report. The search advertising market was expected to reach $100.5 billion in 2018, representing an 11% increase year-over-year, with mobile comprising 62.4% of search, recent Warc research found.


text:
Popular social trading platform eToro believes that assets will eventually be tokenized in the future. According to the company, a key preparation for this tokenized world is for the platform to have its own crypto wallet, which it recently launched for Android and iOS.
eToro’s Crypto Wallet Supports Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin
The trading platform is now rolling out its new cryptocurrency wallet which is now available on Apple’s App Store and Google Play, according to TNW. Initially, the wallet will only support Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin but eToro already announced plans to include support for more cryptos in the near future.
At the moment, however, only Platinum Club members will be able to transfer cryptocurrency from eToro to the new wallet, a feature that will only work for Bitcoin for the time being. The company promised that the function will soon become available to other users as well and will also include other cryptos.
eToro CEO Yoni Assia explained:
“The eToro wallet today is just the beginning and we will adding a whole host of additional functionality which will include supporting additional crypto and fiat tokens, crypto to crypto conversion, the ability to deposit fiat, payment in store and more.”
The company said that the new wallet was released only to select countries and users. This means that those who can’t find the app on either App Store or Google Play might have to wait until it becomes available in their location.
Assets Will Be Tokenized
Launching a new crypto wallet is just a minor but crucial step in eToro’s long-term plans. Apparently, the company is betting on a future where all assets will be tokenized and tradeable on the platform.
Yoni Assia said:
“We believe that in the future all assets will be tokenised and that crypto is just the first step on this journey. Just as eToro has opened up traditional markets for investors, we want to do the same in a tokenised world. The eToro wallet is a key part of this.”
eToro joins a growing list of firms that believe tokenization of assets is bound to happen. For instance, the Boston-based Goldman Sachs-backed tech company Circle made a big bet on the tokenization of everything with its various acquisitions in the crypto space.


text:
“Clothes do not make the man” goes an old but not always entirely true saying. However, in some cases show one's best side is a vital aspect in maintaining high competitiveness on the market. This is certainly the case of restaurants, butchers shops, supermarkets and corner shops - the beating heart of the agro-food sector. In such cases, showcasing refrigerated counters and cold cells built with a certain creative flair and style can be hallmark of quality that in turn promotes trends in terms of taste and nutrition.
Criocabin is one of the Italian companies specialising in the creation of such exclusive products. One of the most important models offered by the company based in the province of Padua is undoubtedly the G-Concept system. “This is the latest version of refrigerated counters for butcher shops,” Eurocarne Post is told by Giordano Marini, Sales Director Italy at Criocabin. “It makes it possible to store meat for several days while even leaving it on display overnight, ensuring minimal 'weight loss' in the meantime thanks to temperature and humidity performance levels that only a glycol-based cooling system can guarantee”.
All company products are much more than simple showcases and cold cells. “Uniqueness is our strength,” Marini went on, “warranted by the skilled hands of our employees who work every morning to create authentic jewels of aesthetics and technology. Evolution and dynamism: these are our strategies for future accompanying us over our long history”.
Despite the difficulties linked with the economic crisis that hit the entire food sector, Criocabin has managed to keep pace with the times by focusing entirely on 'Made in Italy'. “Our company – in contrast to trends on global markets,” Marini highlights, “exports everywhere thanks to the uniqueness of our products; we strive continually to convey the importance of customised solutions so that every purchaser feels 'special' and able to share love for a profession that demands many sacrifices. We focus on the strength of Italy in the food sector throughout the world”.
Criocabin's new G-Concept system will be on display at the next edition of Eurocarne. “We believe in this event and its long-term experience,” Marini concludes, “as a way to promote our latest G-Concept project and much more. We will also promote ELLE15, a cold store that combines aesthetics, speed and quality. We look forward to meeting you all in Verona”.
Source: Eurocarne Outlook


text:
Google released its 2017 Bad Ads report Wednesday to give a recap of all the malicious, trick and scam ads the company blocked in the prior year. In January the company also added details about its quest to rid the Internet of fake news.
The company said it disabled 340 sites after reviewing 550 sites suspected of misrepresenting content to users, including impersonating news organizations. It all happened within the two-month period after implementing the AdSense misrepresentative content policy in November 2016.
Google defines "misrepresenting content" in a variety of ways. The list ranges from content that entices users to engage with content under false or unclear pretenses to impersonating Google products or falsely implying having an affiliation with -- or endorsement by -- another individual, organization, product, or service.
It has been a busy year. Overall, Google took down 1.7 billion ads that violated its advertising policies in 2016 -- up from 780 million in 2015. The report also highlights how Google automated processes to take down more than double the amount of ads from the prior year.
"If you spent one second taking down each of those bad ads, it’d take you more than 50 years to finish," Scott Spencer, director of product management of sustainable ads, wrote in a post. "But our technology is built to work much faster."
The technology now spots and disables bad ads more rapidly. "Trick to click" ads often appear as system warnings to deceive users into clicking on them, not realizing they are often downloading harmful software or malware. In 2016, its systems detected and disabled a total of 112 million ads for "trick to click" -- six times more than in 2015.
Google also disabled more than 68 million bad ads for healthcare violations, up from 12.5 million in 2015, and took down more than 17 million bad ads for illegal gambling violations in 2016.
In 2016, Google took down nearly 80 million bad ads for deceiving, misleading and shocking users. The company technology also detected and disabled more than 23,000 self-clicking ads -- up from only a few thousand in 2015.
Last year, Google also took down nearly 7 million bad ads for intentionally attempting to trick its detection technology.
During the past year, Google expanded its policies to better protect users from misleading and predatory offers. In July, the company introduced a policy to ban ads for payday. Google disabled more than 5 million payday loan ads in the six months since launching the policy.
Sites and ads are suspended for a variety of policy violations. For example, Google took action on 47,000 sites for promoting content and products related to weight-loss scams, and on more than 15,000 sites for unwanted software and disabled 900,000 ads for containing malware.
Google also suspended 6,000 sites and 6,000 accounts for attempting to advertise counterfeit goods, such as imitation designer watches.


text:
| ||Thread Tools|
|21st July 2017, 09:43||#1|
Join Date: May 2010
Netflix drops the full trailer for David Ayer's 'Bright'
Netflix has some 40 original movies due for release this year, but the highest profile release will likely be Bright. Directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad, End of Watch), it stars Will Smith and Joel Edgerton as a pair of cops, but the twist is that...
|Thread||Thread Starter||Forum||Replies||Last Post|
|'The Defenders' trailer unites Netflix's Marvel universe||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||4th May 2017 11:49|
|Watch the first trailer for David Fincher's next Netflix show||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||2nd March 2017 07:41|
|Watch the first trailer for Marvel's 'Iron Fist' on Netflix||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||8th February 2017 14:19|
|LG's Full HD laser projector is bright enough for daytime use||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||22nd December 2016 07:31|
|The first official Netflix 'Gilmore Girls' trailer is here||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||26th October 2016 09:24|
|Watch the trailer for Netflix's spoof of YouTube stardom||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||4th October 2016 10:03|
|Netflix reportedly pays $90 million for Will Smith and 'Bright'||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||21st March 2016 16:56|
|Amazon scores two Golden Globes, Netflix debuts House of Cards trailer||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||12th January 2015 11:33|
|New trailer drops for PS3 console port of Diablo III||Stefan Mileschin||WebNews||0||25th March 2013 08:16|
|Full AMD Cinema 2.0 Trailer||jmke||WebNews||0||20th August 2008 17:06|


text:
Twitter has reached a deal with Google to make its 140-character tweets more searchable online. Before this deal, Google had to crawl Twitter’s site for the information, which now is going to be visible automatically.
In the first half of this year, tweets will start to be visible in Google’s search results as soon as they’re posted, thanks to a deal giving Google access to Twitter’s firehose. Twitter firehose is the full stream of tweets generated by the microblogging service’s 284 million users.
This deal is mutually beneficial. For Twitter it “means more opportunities to convert, and possibly monetize, logged-out users. It will also increase the frequency that people with Twitter accounts check the site”, said Doug Anmuth, an analyst at JPMorgan, in a note to investors. While “for Google, we believe search results will be enhanced by access to real-time tweets and a much broader amount of content.”
Twitter also provides data to Microsoft’s Bing search engine and Yahoo!
Happy Halloween, all!
Have you you checked out today’s Google Doodle? I personally liked all the logos, from ghost-chasing dogs to a witch stirring her brew.
Halloween is also known as All Hallows Eve and All Saints Eve. It has been around throughout the ages, with its beginnings often credited to the Celts who celebrated the day to mark the end of their Harvest season.
Today, Halloween is one of the most favorite days for many people around the world, especially for children, who would dress up in a Superhero or Frozen character on this special day.
Here’s the link for awesome Google Doodle logos for Halloween 2014.
Google has built and tested autonomous aerial vehicles, which according to the company could be used for goods deliveries such as humanitarian aid to people in need and consumer deliveries.
The Project Wing has been running for almost two years but was a secret until now.
Google aims to help people and deliver stuff that is needed in the areas where vehicles cannot be reached. The self-flying vehicles can be used after earthquakes, floods, or extreme weather events and deliver medicines to people. The drones can transport the equipment faster than an ambulance could.
Dave Voss, incoming leader of Project Wing, said:
“When you have a tool like this you can really allow the operators of those emergency services to add an entirely new dimension to the set of tools and solutions that they can think of.”
Also, Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots – Google X’s name for big-thinking projects explained: “Even just a few of these, being able to shuttle nearly continuously could service a very large number of people in an emergency situation.”
The Project Wing trials have been held in Australia’s north-eastern state Queensland. Watch the video.
In addition to the above, Google said it could use self-flying drones for delivering shopping items to consumers at home, just like at Amazon and Domino’s Pizza do.
Google adds a new translation feature to its search results making it very easy to translate texts, edit them, change the languages and even hear the translated texts directly from the search results page.
Just start typing “translate” on Google search box and it will let you quickly enter the text you need to translate and the box below.
I think this is an awesome addition and can help save time a lot. Here’s an example:
You can translate the terms you need just typing it in the search box: for example: “translate hello friend to spanish”


text:
Choco Celebrates Milestone with 500,000 Monthly Orders
"Crossing the half-million monthly orders threshold is a milestone that cements our leadership in revolutionizing food supply management," states Daniel Khachab, CEO of Choco. "This achievement underscores our vision to transform the ordering process, making it a benchmark for efficiency and simplicity. We're not just on track; we're blazing the trail, continually pushing our innovations to redefine expectations and empower our customers."
This milestone comes when Choco has been actively expanding its offerings for suppliers and strengthening its global presence. In an increasingly digital age, Choco stands out for its commitment to blending cutting-edge technology with customer-centric solutions.
Choco's growth has been primarily driven by its focus on optimizing digital interfaces and improving user experience. As a result, the company has been able to scale rapidly.
The achievement of 500,000 monthly orders positions Choco for a strong year and confirms its position as the European market leader, aligning with its vision to redefine the food technology landscape. The company aims to sustain its growth rate and further establish its footprint on a global scale.


text:
It's been nearly two weeks now since we heard about the American PRISM program that was collating huge amounts of digital communication data from some of the world's biggest tech firms, with the supposed purpose being to help the authorities route out terrorists. However, since then, many of the technology companies that the leak claimed to be in bed with the NSA, have denied more than occasionally handing over data on a few select individuals, not the bottom trawling style collection that we were led to believe was being conducted. Now though, Apple has come forward and said that it hasn't even heard of PRISM.
According to the iPhone maker, it “first heard of the government’s ‘Prism' program when news organizations asked [Apple] about it on 6th June.” The spokesperson went on to say, that it does not provide any government agency with direct access to servers and if any organisation wanted to have information on any of its customers, that group would need to get a court order.
However, this does not mean that Apple doesn't hand over data to the authorities; it does so, quite regularly. The spokesperson continued by saying (via The Telegraph) that: “From December 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013, Apple received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests from US law enforcement for customer data,” says Apple. “Between 9,000 and 10,000 accounts or devices were specified in those requests, which came from federal, state and local authorities and included both criminal investigations and national security matters. The most common form of request comes from police investigating robberies and other crimes, searching for missing children, trying to locate a patient with Alzheimer’s disease, or hoping to prevent a suicide.”
The Apple spokesperson clarified that in all instances it handed over the bare minimum of data, sticking within the bounds of the initial request. They also pointed out that services like FaceTime and iMessage are protected by encryption that not even Apple has access too. It also denied storing customer data such as location and Siri requests.
Kitguru Says: That this with a mild pinch of salt though, as it wasn't that long ago that it was discovered all iPhones were tracking their owners and storing it locally on the device.


text:
The government Pakistan has set 13,813 million tons egg production target for the current financial year 2012-13,an official of the Planning Commission has said.
Egg production, which is an important source of protein has already surpassed its target by 6.5 per cent in last fiscal year 2011-12, according to Pakistan Observer.
The official said Pakistan had achieved about 834 thousand tons poultry pro-duction against the target of 758 thousand tones in financial year 2011-12 and it was expected that the sector would also reach the next target of 937 thousand tones, which set for current fiscal year 2012-13.
In the local market, the increased poultry production had released the pressure on the demand for beef and mutton. For the past many years, the poultry meat, being cheaper as compared to beef and mutton, has delivered great nutritional support to consumers.
According to Statistic Division the poultry contribution in agriculture and live-stock is 6.4 per cent and 11.5 per cent respectively and poultry meat contributes 25.8 per cent of the total meat production in the country.
The poultry sector is also generating direct and indirect employment opportunities for about 1.5 million people in the country.


text:
Ommegang to reveal new GoT-inspired beer tonight at GABF
Things will heat up at GABF tonight when Brewery Ommegang and HBO reveal their third beer based on the hit HBO series, Game of Thrones. While the beer won’t be released until Spring 2014, you can get a sneak peek at the artwork that will be incorporated in the label tonight, October 10 at 7:00 PM at the Ommegang booth, Endcap T1
Unlike any other collaboration in beer realm history, Ommegang and HBO are creating smash hit after smash hit with this series. Iron Throne Blonde Ale (Spring 2013) set an Ommegang sales record as their fastest selling limited edition beer to date. Take the Black Stout (available now) is breaking that record and the third GoT-inspired brew is sure to take it a step further.
While you're at the booth, pose for a picture with the Night's Watch and sample all of Ommegang's beer offerings including the newly released Take the Black Stout.


text:
The Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) is looking towards gastronomy as a means to stimulate domestic tourism growth with the launch of the ‘Selera Bruneiku’ or ‘A Taste of Brunei’ tourism campaign.
The new domestic tourism campaign focuses on encouraging locals and residents to embark on a domestic food journey to enjoy special delicacies available at participating restaurants and destinations in all four districts in Brunei.
Speaking during the launch ceremony was MPRT Minister, Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Hj Ali Apong who expressed hopes that the campaign will be able to contribute to the country’s economic growth, as it motivates residents to spend more locally.
“This, in turn, will also help open up more business opportunities for our local entrepreneurs in the fields of agriculture, livestock and fisheries industries, as there would be a higher demand for meat products, poultry, fish, seafood, vegetable and the likes in local restaurants,” he said.
The Taste of Brunei, he added, will also allow residents in the sultanate to make the necessary preparations for the upcoming school holidays in December.
Ultimately, however, the launch of the new tourism campaign is to ensure business continuity for entrepreneurs and to ensure employment in the local tourism industry, which has been hit hard by the ongoing global pandemic.
The minister explained how the availability of new products or bespoke travel packages can open up many employment and business opportunities for Bruneians.
Citing statistics from the Tourism Development Department (TDD), YB Dato Hj Ali revealed that more than 100 local personnel were given job opportunities, in light of the new tourism campaign.
He continued that in preparation for the Taste of Brunei, the TDD has held joint consultations with tourism stakeholders from both the public and private sectors as well as members of the community to ensure the new campaign’s success.
To date, a total of twelve tourism agencies, ten hotels and 26 tourism service providers are offering domestic tourism packages consisting of a variety of products such as river cruising on the Brunei River and a Parang Making Workshop in the Tutong district, among others.
The minister went on to say that the MPRT in collaboration with other government agencies and travel agents will ensure that COVID-19 measures are in place and that they are adhered to.
“This includes body temperature checks, hand washing and social or physical distancing,” he said.
YB Dato Hj Ali concluded his speech by highlighting the number of training programme sessions and talks on customer service that were organised by the TDD, which incorporate Islamic values through the treatment of guests as customers and tourists visiting the country.
“This training will later be extended to other restaurants, relevant government agencies, hotels, tourism service providers as well as travel agency staff especially tour guides,” he added.
During the event, members of the Brunei Tourism Board and guests were also treated to a showcase on some of the activities and packages by the partners participating in the domestic tourism campaign.
The Bruneian | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN


text:
Yes, you'll be able to unlock an achievement for watching TV with Xbox One, by linking your cable box through the HDMI input. And that's not all. "We're going to have more achievements for media experiences in general," Xbox's Yusuf Mehdi told us. "You're going to see more of in a lot of different places."
In a new screenshot released by Microsoft today, you can see exactly how achievements in entertainment apps might work. In addition to the usual one-off achievements, there will be time-based "challenges" that can encourage you to watch a specific show. In the case of Amazon Video, it would be Betas.
Achievements in entertainment apps won't affect your Gamerscore, however. "Only games will give you Gamerscore," Major Nelson pointed out in the summer.


text:
Chang Xiaobing, the chairman of China Telecom Corp.—the country’s third largest mobile...
by victoriawu | Apr 8, 2011
China Unicom is projected to make big profits as it is currently the only distributor of iPhones within China. From Market Watch: Investors are betting on China Unicom and the status that goes with being the only distributor of...
by Sophie Beach | Aug 7, 2009
CNReviews looks at the challenges confronting Apple as the company prepares the introduce the iPhone to the China market: Apple’s modern design and well-guarded brand image has certainly made an impression on the Chinese...
by Liu Yong | Oct 15, 2008
From Xinhua: China Netcom Group Corporation (Hong Kong) Limited was fully incorporated into China Unicom Limited here on Wednesday, creating the new China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited. Netcom’s shares on the Hong Kong Stock...
by Zhao Ying | Jun 21, 2006
From the Financial Times: SK Telecom Co., South Korea’s largest mobile-phone operator, will buy as much as $1 billion of bonds convertible into a 6.7 percent stake in China Unicom Ltd. to tap the world’s biggest wireless market by subscribers. China Unicom, the nation’s No. 2 cell-phone operator, will cooperate with SK Telecom on handsets, […]
by Sophia Cao | Jun 20, 2006
From The New York Times: The Warner Music Group Corporation, the world’s fourth-largest record company, said it signed an agreement to provide content to China Unicom Ltd. The agreement allows Warner Music, which is based in New York, to provide shortened versions of songs in its collection directly to China Unicom instead of selling through […]
CDT in the News
- The Philadelphia Inquirer – China steps up online controls with new rule for bloggers
- Mind Matters – For Five Days There Was Free Expression in China
- Hoover Institution – Xiao Qiang On China’s Model Of Digital Authoritarianism
- New York Times – In China, an App Offered Space for Debate. Then the Censors Came.
- Taiwan CNA – China blocks Clubhouse, official media say “anti-China has nothing to do with free speech”


text:
They own the largest children’s resale store in the Pacific NW, and when they recently upgraded their location, Dawn and Misty swung by the Washington County ReStore to donate extra cash wraps and clothing racks.
Why The ReStore?
“We come here all the time!” said Dawn. “We’re community base and we’re about sustainability.”
Back in the Rack is going on their 17th year selling consigned children’s and maternity clothing.
As they neared their March move, Dawn and Misty reached out to Community Access Services, the Department of Human Services and other Portland- area organizations, inviting local families to shop for free. Then on one of their few remaining days at their old location, they loaded up the leftover racks and cash wraps and headed to The ReStore.
It was a whirlwind move for the duo. They closed their doors at the old location on March 4 and opened their doors at the new location on March 17. And yet, they still made time for some fun.
“We’re going to park the truck and come in and shop,” Dawn said.
See Dawn and Misty at Back in the Rack’s new location now open at 2820 SE 58th Court in Hillsboro.
Are you interested in donating? You can drop off new and used furniture, home goods, appliances and building material at any of our four ReStore locations. For items too big for the car, schedule a donation pickup online HERE.
STARTING MAY 1, RESTORE OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK!


text:
Lenovo apparently wants it all.
On the same day that it announced it would shell out tablet data found it perched above the crowd in terms of year-over-year shipment growth thanks to a 325-percent increase from the same quarter last year., the latest IDC
Throw in last week'sand it's abundantly clear Lenovo has no intention of becoming another victim of the PC industry's .
Lenovo shipped 3.4 million tablets in the fourth quarter, a spike from just over 800,000 units in the year-ago quarter. And while that growth is impressive, it needs to be kept in perspective: those 3.4 million total units is roughly the same number of tablets by which Apple grew its total shipments (26 million vs. 22.9 million) in the quarter.
However, Lenovo holds some advantages over other tablet makers and, now, some of its smartphone-making brethren.
"Lenovo’s access to the Chinese whitebox manufacturing infrastructure has helped it drive more low-priced tablet products into the market, growing its share from just 1.3 percent in the same quarter last year," said Jitesh Ubrani, an IDC research analyst.
Worldwide tablet demand tapered considerably in the fourth quarter as total shipments increased just 28.2 percent, down from 62.4 percent growth in the prior quarter, so it's clear that all mobile device vendors will have to find new revenue streams in emerging markets such as– the very places Lenovo would seem to have an inside track.
"The company's strength in emerging markets, and its increased market share in adjoining markets such as PCs and smartphones, makes it well positioned to see additional tablet gains in 2014," Ubrani added.


text:
The company seems to still be competing with Nest.
Ecobee's latest smart home product might be an indoor camera, according to a report Friday from Zatz Not Funny. The site shared an image of an oblong black camera on a silver platform with Ecobee branding. At the top sit four lights that alternate between yellow and blue.
Ecobee wasn't immediately available for comment.
Little else is known about the rumored camera at this time. Amazon invested in the company last year, so it's possible we might see an Alexa integration.
Ecobee, known for its eco-friendly smart thermostat with room sensor technology, also offers smart light switches. The devices are compatible with Apple HomeKit , Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Microsoft's Cortana.


text:
Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to wire one-fifth of new parking spaces in New York City for electric vehicles would “force the private sector to build charging stations for a fleet of cars that don’t exist and probably won’t exist for years to come, if ever,” energy analyst Robert Bryce of the Manhattan Institute writes in today’s New York Post.
The basic problem, Bryce says:
The city can be as “wired and ready” as Bloomberg likes, but he can’t make consumers buy electric cars. More important, he can’t overcome the basic physics that have prevented battery-powered cars from being anything more than a tiny niche player in the global auto industry.
But Bloomberg isn’t the only New York leader with an electric-car fixation. Governor Cuomo’s latest State of the State message featured his own massive state-policy push for plus-in vehicles (PEVs), based largely on the assumption that the main obstacle to greater private take-up of electric cars is a lack of charging stations.
Cuomo’s solution: “$50 million spent over five years, including funding from the New York Power Authority (NYPA), NYSERDA, and tax credits to create a statewide network of 3,000 public and workplace charging stations, and funding primarily from investor-owned utilities for incentives for PEV deployment.”
It’s estimated that only 35,000 PEVs have been sold nationwide, half of them in California. Yet, incredibly, Cuomo’s State of the State projects that “with the adoption of a supportive set of policies, the number of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) on the road in New York State could increase from less than 3,000 today to 30,000-40,000 in 2018 and one million in 2025.” [emphasis added]
The governor’s faith in a shaky technology isn’t supported by ongoing developments in the real world, where the practical and economic shortcomings of PEVs remain obvious. The state’s last big plunge into directly subsidizing construction of electric cars — a 2009 deal promoted by the Paterson administration — ended up in a dead-end of lawsuits, fortunately before any state or local tax subisides had been spent. Recently, a New York Times columnist kicked up something of a ruckus in the electric-car world when he ran out of juice while test-driving a luxury all-electric Tesla in cold East Coast weather.
Cuomo’s State of the State includes a commitment to “educating consumers and policymakers about the benefits of PEVs,” on the ground that “many drivers currently have only a vague understanding of plug-in electric vehicle.” In other words, the state government needs to step in and convince New Yorkers that an expensive and tiny vehicle with limited range, especially in cold weather, belongs in their garages.
He’ll face an uphill battle. Despite massive federal tax subsidies for PEVs and relentless promotion of electric vehicles by Hollywood celebrities, consumers just aren’t buying plug-in cars like the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. The vast majority of self-consciously “green” drivers prefer hybrids, which outsell PEVs by a 30 to 1 margin, and which don’t need recharging stations. And even at that, hybrids account for barely 3 percent of all sales.
As Bryce sums it up:
The history of the electric car is a century of failure tailgating failure. The problems haven’t changed in 100 years: All-electric vehicles, or EVs, have little range, take too long to refuel and cost way too much.
These facts aren’t really in dispute, and the “basic physics” cited by Bryce as PEV limitations won’t change. Yet, at a time when capital resources are scarce, the State of News York wants to spend $50 million of utility revenues and tax subsidies (i.e., money that originates, ultimately, with all of us) on vehicles almost none of us want.


text:
[UPDATE] Microsoft has shared the memo that Phil Spencer sent to his employees today. In the email, Spencer talked about how Microsoft needs to do better job of holding itself “to higher standards.” You can read his full memo below:
“How we show up as an organization is incredibly important to me. We want to build and reflect the culture of Team Xbox–internally and externally–a culture that each one of us can represent with pride. An inclusive culture has a direct impact on the products and services we deliver and the perception consumers have of the Xbox brand and our company, as a whole.
It has come to my attention that at Xbox-hosted events at GDC this past week, we represented Xbox and Microsoft in a way that was absolutely not consistent or aligned to our values. That was unequivocally wrong and will not be tolerated. This matter is being handled internally, but let me be very clear–how we represent ourselves as individuals, who we hire and partner with, and how we engage with others is a direct reflection of our brand and what we stand for. When we do the opposite, and create an environment that alienates or offends any group, we justly deserve the criticism.
It’s unfortunate that such events could take place in a week where we worked so hard to engage the many different gaming communities in the exact opposite way. I am personally committed to ensuring that diversity and inclusion is central to our everyday business and our core values as a team–inside and outside the company. We need to hold ourselves to higher standards and we will do better in the future.
The original story is below.
Last night after Game Developers Conference sessions wrapped up, Microsoft held an afterparty–which many companies do. Parties are par for the course at GDC, and it was St. Patrick’s Day, too. But one party in particular is garnering some amount of controversy because the Xbox-maker hired scantily clad “sexy schoolgirl” dancers, according to pictures from people who attended the event.
Developer Henrik Ludvigsen (via Crave) posted a picture on his Instagram page (above) of the party in which you can see dancers atop podiums. Kamina Vincent also posted some pictures on Twitter and said she was uncomfortable at the event and will file a formal complaint to Microsoft over it.
Earlier in the day, Microsoft held a Xbox Women in Gaming event.
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer said in a statement that the manner in which this party was hosted was “unequivocally wrong.” He said diversity and inclusion need to be “central to our everyday business” and pledged that Microsoft will “do better” in the future.
“At Xbox-hosted events at GDC this past week, we represented Xbox and Microsoft in a way that was not consistent or aligned to our values,” he said in a statement to GameSpot. “It was unequivocally wrong and will not be tolerated. I know we disappointed many people and I’m personally committed to holding ourselves to higher standards. We must ensure that diversity and inclusion are central to our everyday business and core values. We will do better in the future.”
Xbox marketing director Aaron Greenberg said in his own tweet that he was “very disappointed to see this.” He added that he plans to follow up with the marketing team at Microsoft about it.
This isn’t the first time Microsoft has fond itself in hot water over issues related to women. Back in October 2014, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella apologized for his controversial comments about women in the workforce where he said women don’t need to ask for a raise, but should instead place their faith in the system to pay them well.


text:
We’re cleaning experts, four things you should NEVER put in your dishwasher – including kitchen knives | The Sun
CLEANING experts have shared the four items that you should never put in your dishwasher under any circumstances.
AO.com shared a helpful video on their social media sites explaining the do’s and don'ts of dishwashers, as well as the things in your kitchen that could even damage your kitchen device.
In it, they run through the items one by one, starting off with plates that you’ve broken and decided to glue back together.
Explaining the reasoning behind this, AO said that “the plates you’ve glued back together run the risk of breaking again.”
The second item banned from dishwashers is sharp kitchen knives.
While it may be tempting to let the machine work its magic, the experts explain this is a big no-no that could end up costing you in the long run.
Read More in Cleaning
I’m a cleaning expert – deep clean your fridge WITHOUT scrubbing
I’m a cleaning expert and there’s three hacks to get stainless steel sparkling
They continued: “The process of the cycle can cause your sharp kitchen knives to rust.”
Wooden chopping boards is next on the list, as “the fibres in our wooden chopping boards will cause the board to expand and crack.”
They added that after just one cycle “it will become unevenly shaped and unstable.”
Lastly, printed measuring cups should be confined to the washing up bowl only.
Most read in Fabulous
Can spot the blue-eyed fox in under 25 seconds?
I tried to make my daughter proud at sports day but it went horribly wrong
My free hack keeps the paddling pool free from bugs & leaves
Five items that make mums look old & frumpy & why it's time to ditch skinny jeans
That’s because the jugs will eventually become null and void as “the printed numbers on your measuring cups can wear away over time.”
After the brand shared their top tips with their growing social media following, it gained attention and many likes.
Read More on The Sun
I’m a size 14 & I’ve found the perfect summer dress from Topshop – it’s so glam
The ‘vampire appliances’ in your kitchen adding the most to your energy bills
This is just the latest video the company has shared to help their followers when it comes to keeping their home in tip top condition.
Other popular advice videos include how to stop your clothes from shrinking and five common over mistakes you’re making.
Source: Read Full Article


text:
Late last week, President Trump escalated the trade war with China by raising the import tariff from 10% to 25% on some $200 billion in goods. Goods that land on our shores before June 1 will not be affected, but that means a whole lot of products on order for back-to-school and holiday retail will likely cost more.
Among the list of goods impacted, which is heavy on food stuffs and raw materials for manufacturers, are electronics (vacuums, televisions), machinery (washing machines, air conditioners), clocks and watches, furniture and bedding, glassware and ceramics, precious jewelry and head gear.
So far, the $325 billion finished apparel, fashion accessories and footwear categories are not impacted, but the raw materials to manufacture those goods are, including fabrics, buttons and leather.
Just how great an impact the tariffs will have on U.S. consumers, and the prices they will have to pay, remains an open question. EconPol Europe, in a policy brief, analyzed the impacts of a 25% tariff and found the prices of affected Chinese goods will rise about 4.5%
That is a modest increase that many Americans with the exception of those at the lowest rungs of the economic ladder can absorb. “This will lead to a stronger decline in real income for U.S. low-income households,” the report states.
On the other hand, Cowen sees the potential of 10-15% price increases across the categories affected. This “would yield up to $100 billion or more in incremental cost to consumers, depending on the breadth and depth of goods impacted,” Oliver Chen writes in a report.
Translating those price increases across the spending of an average American family of four, the Trade Partnership Worldwide figures they could pay up to $2,389 more overall from the increased tariffs. Worst case, it could reduce the GDP by 1.04% and result in over 2.2 million jobs lost.
“Ultimately tariffs can mean lower wages, fewer employees, deferred investments and higher prices for consumers,” the National Retail Federation reports. “Small businesses are particularly vulnerable since they don’t have the resources and flexibility to quickly switch suppliers.”
Impacts on retail will be fast and furious
As is so often the case, the weak will only get weaker as a result of the higher prices that these tariffs will bring. Lower-income Americans, small businesses and retailers already stressed will feel the pain most. Weaker big retailers and malls will take the brunt of the disruption.
“The market is not realizing how much brick-and-mortar retail is incrementally struggling and how new 25% tariffs could force widespread store closures,” a report from UBS led by analyst Jay Sole said in a report.
Based on UBS’s look at 73 publicly-traded companies, which represent $42 billion in sales and over 12,000 stores, they believe the new tariffs could put so much pressure on their profit margins that “major store closures are a real possibility.”
Through the first 19 weeks of the year, U.S. store closures have exceeded all closings in 2018. To date, 6,196 stores have closed, against 2,724 openings, as compared with 5,864 closures in 2018 and 3,243 openings.
Coresight Research predicts that the number of closings could more than double by the end of the year to reach 12,000 stores shuttered.
With more stores closing and far fewer opening, the new tariffs may put the final nail in the coffin for many struggling malls. Greenstreet Advisors recently revised ratings for some 90 of the 1,300+ publicly owned and private malls it evaluates. Most were downgraded because of the loss of anchor tenants.
“Unaddressed anchor vacancies were one of the main factors behind negative adjustments. There are currently nearly 800 vacant anchor boxes at U.S. malls,” Greenstreet reports.
Many will suffer, but some will gain
While the weak will get weaker as a result of the tariffs, the strong are only going to get stronger. Value-retailers like Walmart, Dollar General and Costco will likely benefit. Walmart and Dollar General will pull in more lower-income shoppers hurt by rising prices elsewhere.
For more affluent shoppers, Costco will continue to be perceived as offering excellent value against price increases passed along by less flexible retailers.
Cowen’s Chen noted: “Retailers with greater exposure to staples versus discretionary categories will be more isolated. Examples of better-positioned retailers include Walmart and Costco as grocery is 56% and 55% of mix, respectively.” For Dollar General, consumables represented nearly 80% of its $25.6 billion in sales last year, or $19.9 billion.
Also on the value front, Burlington, TJX and Ross are likely to benefit from what Cowen calls a “trade-down effect.”
The $220 billion furniture, home furnishings, electronics and appliances retail sector is going to be hard hit, since many of the finished products they carry from China will cost more. These price increases will benefit value retailers like Ikea and Wayfair and hurt RH and Williams Sonoma and its Pottery Barn brand, not to mention many independent furniture stores.
On the other hand, American-manufactured home goods and imports from European countries may benefit as the price gap between them and Chinese goods narrows.
While finished apparel and footwear are not yet impacted, the raw materials to make those goods are. As a result, Cowen sees fashion retailers that have greater exposure to private label as threatened most by the increased tariffs. It assesses American Eagle Outfitters, Gap, L Brands, Kohl’s and J.C. Penney to be most affected.
By contrast, Cowen believes, “Macy’s, Nordstrom, LVMH and Ulta are better positioned given the breadth of brands and categories.” And it further notes that retailers with more scale will be better able to negotiate reduced pricing from their Chinese manufacturers, so Target, which generates about 33% of sales from private label, will also fare well.
Jewelry retailers will also take a hit from the tariffs. Roughly 15% of all jewelry imports come from China, some $2.1 billion out of the $13.8 billion total, JCK reports. The already-struggling Signet, which saw fourth quarter sales decline by 1.4% across its Zales, Kay, Jared and other brands, will continue to be challenged.
Further, Signet’s regional brands, including Gordon’s and Mappins, suffered a painful 15.4% decline in the fourth quarter, hinting at the oversized impacts the tariffs will have on independent jewelers.
Could these tariffs be the fourth horseman of the retail apocalypse?
For some time now, retailers and retail analysts have been pushing back against the retail apocalypse narrative. You can hardly blame them. Nobody likes threats of doom and gloom when there are signs of robust health in the retail market.
Consumer confidence remains high, unemployment is at record lows and incomes are rising. The first four months of 2019 saw retail up 3% overall, but 3.3% excluding motor vehicles, following a dynamic 5.4% increase year-over-year for retail excepting motor vehicles.
But against this background are three macro-economic factors, what we might call the first three horseman of the retail apocalypse, that none of the positive news can dispel:
- America remains grossly overstored as compared to the rest of the world, 22.1 square feet per capita versus 14 square feet in Canada, 11.1 in Australia and 4.6 in the U.K. The economy simply can not sustain this volume.
- Amazon and ecommerce in general continues to have huge disruptive effects on brick-and-mortar retail, but as rapidly as it is growing, it still accounts for 16% of retail. Yet UBS predicts that with each 1% rise in online penetration, some 8,000 to 8,500 stores will be forced to close, totaling some 75,000 stores by 2026 at the current pace of ecommerce growth.
- Demographic shifts mean fewer shoppers interested in shopping. The number of Americans over 65 will grow 38% from 2015 to 2025, as compared with only 10% among those 24-to-44 years. Consumer spending drops sharply after age 65 for many consumer goods categories. And while those aged 24-to-44 years are at an acquisitive life stage, they are also having the fewest number of children in American history. Growing families translates into more household spending, but that isn’t happening now.
Now comes the tariffs and rising prices at retail. This may be the fourth horseman of the retail apocalypse putting more pressure on retailers that are unprepared for it.
While many reject the apocalyptic metaphor, I think it fits to a tee, especially for brick-and-mortar retailers. The four retail apocalypse horsemen are coming at a gallop, as Kurt Russell’s Wyatt Earp character said in Tombstone, “You tell ’em I’m coming... and hell’s coming with me, you hear? Hell’s coming with me!” Amen to that.


text:
Stamps.com (NASDAQ:STMP) will be announcing its earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, February 21st. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $2.77 per share for the quarter.
STMP opened at $197.48 on Thursday. Stamps.com has a fifty-two week low of $141.38 and a fifty-two week high of $285.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.51.
In related news, insider Amine Khechfe sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.15, for a total value of $222,180.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on STMP shares. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Stamps.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 30th. Maxim Group set a $320.00 price target on Stamps.com and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 13th. Craig Hallum cut their price target on Stamps.com from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 1st. BidaskClub downgraded Stamps.com from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 6th. Finally, B. Riley set a $300.00 price objective on Stamps.com and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Stamps.com presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.57.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION NOTICE: “Stamps.com (STMP) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday” was first published by Modern Readers and is owned by of Modern Readers. If you are reading this piece of content on another publication, it was illegally copied and reposted in violation of U.S. and international copyright & trademark laws. The legal version of this piece of content can be accessed at https://www.modernreaders.com/news/2019/02/14/stamps-com-stmp-scheduled-to-post-quarterly-earnings-on-thursday.html.
Stamps.com Inc provides Internet-based mailing and shipping solutions in the United States. The company offers mailing and shipping solutions to mail and ship various mail pieces and packages through the United States Postal Service (USPS) under the Stamps.com and Endicia brands. Its solutions support various USPS mail classes, including First Class Mail, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, Media Mail, Parcel Select, and others.
Featured Story: Google Finance Portfolio Workaround
Receive News & Ratings for Stamps.com Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Stamps.com and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.


text:
Article about frostbite was a real eye-opener
I’ve just finished reading the Viewpoints article by Raphael Blachle, M.D. Needless to say, it was informative and eye-opening. There are many ways to get frostbite. First of all, homeless people and people not wearing proper winter apparel or exposing their skin to the elements. The doctor forgot to mention our football fans who go bare chested at frigid football games during the winter season.


text:
Ashok Leyland Ltd saw significant improvement in performance during the December quarter. The pick up in economic activities did help the company see sales volumes grow 7.1% year-on-year.
After eight continuous quarters of de-growth, the MHCV (medium and heavy commercial vehicle) truck has registered a year-on-year (y-o-y) growth of 16% in Q3. The company reported strong truck volume growth that was twice the rate of the industry. In Q3 FY21, the firm’s trucks market share has therefore grown to 28.1% against 24.9% in Q3, FY ’21. Ashok Leyland’s overall Q3 volumes grew by 7% y-o-y.
The net realization saw a 12% y-o-y rise. This coupled with rising volumes, the revenues of the company could also increase by about 20 % y-o-y. The revenues for the quarter stood at Rs. 4814 crores as against Rs. 2837 crores in Q2 FY21 and Rs. 4016 crores in the same period last year.
Though the company’s Ebitda grew 13% y-o-y to about ?254 crore, it fell short of Street expectations. The rising cost of key raw materials has led to pressure on the margins as employee costs also remain elevated.
Ebitda came 30% below estimates though due to lower-than-expected margins said analysts at Jefferies India Limited. Gross margin fell 3.2 basis points; Ebitda margin still rose 2.4 percentage points sequentially to 5.3% led by operating leverage.
With the margins coming below expectations, the net profits also disappointed.
The company reported a net loss of ?19 crore for Q3 FY’21 (this includes a one-time VRS cost of ?85 crore), as against a net loss of Rs. 147 crores in Q2 FY21 and a net profit of Rs. 28 crore in Q3 FY20. The company has also brought down net debt to ?2,880 crore in Q3 from ?3,076 Crores in Q2 FY21, further strengthening the balance sheet of the company.
The analysts say that with the MHCV segment seeing good growth and should improve further with the government focus on boosting infrastructure activities, LCV/ICV segment is also seeing decent recovery driven by demand for last-mile connectivity. Tipper and construction-related vehicle sales have also seen improvement led by robust demand. However, the bus segment is yet to see an improvement in sales. The rising diesel prices, lower fleet utilization (70%) and weak financial condition of fleet operators continue to impact their buying appetite in the near term said analysts at Dolat Capital Market Pvt. Ltd.
The stock prices were down more than 4% in the morning trades on Friday
News Source:- Livemint


text:
Online Casino Companies in the Business
How to keep gamblers coming and business rolling is the challenge facing online casino companies in 2007, which is already upon us. But there are some difficulties, hurdles on the way. With the US ban on online casino operations to take effect later this year, and different countries around the world debating their approach towards the issue, there are viable, profitable businesses whose profits and interests are at stake.
The question of the day, to which there seems to be a general answer forming, is what business-move should the companies make to best cope with the situation, keep afloat and even thrive through the coming year. The answer, it seems, is merging and unification, consolidation and coalitions. The bigger, more diverse companies that will rise out of this stage will be better prepared, it is so believed, to handle the new global market that is next for the business to take on.
One such deal, not the largest by any means, but typical of this direction, which the online casino business is going in, is a Canadian gambling software developer acquiring a Scandinavian online poker room. The business deal was worth about $18 million, and the result is a cross-Atlantic alliance that will be able to serve gamblers of different cultures, who speak different languages, with more diverse products.
Other mergers of this kind are all motivated by the same business rational. Instead of change the company and take over a market that is unknown to it, the online casino company should use its cash bank to purchase another company, preferably one that handles a different aspect of the online casino world, such as payments or a specific game. The result would also mean less companies active in the industry, less mall fish that can confuse the market. The bigger companies will have a better chance of staying in business and promoting the online casino world to new heights.


text:
" ARHT Media (TSXV:ART) beams Professional Convention Management Association’s President & CEO From Toronto to Singapore
ARHT Media (ART) recently beamed the president and CEO of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) from Toronto to Singapore.
" Datametrex AI (TSXV:DM) extends sales agreements with LOTTE Group
Datametrex AI (DM) has renewed and extended its sales agreements with LOTTE Group for technology services and maintenance.
" Loop Insights (TSXV:MTRX) adds cryptocurrencies to contactless payment platform
Loop Insights (MTRX) has added Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin to its contactless payment platform for its retail customers and business partners.
" DIAGNOS (TSXV:ADK) announces three-year AI partnership with University of Montreal hospital
DIAGNOS Inc. (ADK) has signed a three-year Artificial Intelligence (AI) partnership with the University of Montreal Hospital Centre (CHUM).
" Plurilock Security (TSXV:PLUR) expands customer base with X10 Networks deal
Cybersecurity provider Plurilock Security (PLUR) has entered into a non-exclusive reseller agreement with X10 Networks.
" EnWave (TSXV:ENW) signs agreement with Spain’s Fresh Business
EnWave (ENW) has signed research and development licence agreement with Fresh Business for its Radiant Energy Vacuum technology in Spain.
" Diagnos (TSXV:ADK) forms overseas partnership to help diabetic patients
Diagnos (ADK) has formed a partnership in Saudi Arabia with Magrabi Hospitals & Centres to screen diabetic patients.
" Zonetail (TSXV:ZONE) up 40pc on COVID-19 screening agreements
Zonetail (ZONE) has signed two agreements for its mobile residential platform, which offers COVID-19 testing capabilities at home.


text:
- Chanel sales rose 17% to $17 billion for 2022, marking the best year for the privately-owned luxury house, according to the Financial Times.
- The brand reported current single-digit growth in the U.S. after several years of double-digit increases. Meanwhile, it said China, where luxury is strong, was seeing double-digit growth after years of pandemic shutdowns.
- Separately, Chanel announced it was expanding its London-based global headquarters and more than doubling its footprint there by moving to a new 86,000-square-foot location at 38 Berkeley Square by the end of 2025.
When Chanel moved to the U.K. and reorganized in 2018 at the beginning of Brexit, there were multiple speculations that the change foreshadowed either an IPO or a sale. These rumors grew to a fever pitch when the luxury house began reporting annual numbers that year for the first time in its 110-year history.
Yet the brand, owned by the Wertheimer family, continues to stay staunchly independent and remain profitable while doing so. It is currently the second-largest luxury brand globally behind Louis Vuitton.
In a statement about the earnings, Leena Nair, Chanel’s global chief executive officer, told WWD that the company’s strong earnings “reflect the strength of our brand, our client relationships, and the freedom of creation that defines everything we do.”
Chanel’s current CEO Nair joined last year after 30 years at Unilever, where she was chief human resources officer. She is a fashion industry outsider who was brought in at a time when analysts said the brand — and luxury as a whole — needed to reckon with diversity and employ more environmentally-conscious policies.
She told WWD that the company planned to increase funding of its philanthropic Fondation Chanel, which focuses on gender equality, and said, “With our expanding international footprint, we are determined to contribute positively to the environment and our communities.”
The brand also said it plans 5,000 more hires in 2023 and said its employees received “an exceptional mid-year salary increase” last year. In 2022, Chanel’s global workforce expanded by 12%, and WWD reported that the hirings focused on digital, IT and sustainability roles, with 60% of new hires going to sustainability.
Notably, Nair told Business of Fashion that Chanel’s ecommerce sales currently account for over 20% percent of perfume and beauty sales. That number is especially interesting considering the brand continues to eschew selling most of its wares online.
“We continue to believe that a physical, immersive experience for fashion and watches and jewellery is so important,” Nair said.
Chanel also does not generally sell or manufacture menswear, although it has occasionally teased an entrance into that sector, notably in 2019 with a capsule collection in collaboration with Pharell Williams, the newly appointed men’s creative director for LVMH.
Earlier this week, Chanel also announced it was increasing control of its supply chain by acquiring partial ownership of Cariaggi Lanifico SpA, one of its cashmere and natural fibers suppliers.


text:
Microsoft is now providing the primary preview of Android apps on Windows 11 to beta testers. The firm notes that Beta channel customers within the US can take a look at the replace on eligible PCs powered by Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm processors. Users can work together with the Android apps through mouse, contact, and pen or may even pin them to the taskbar. The apps are additional built-in into Alt + Tab and Task view to assist customers transfer backwards and forwards for a fluid computing expertise. Users can get examine notifications within the Action Center or share a clipboard between a Windows app and an Android app. Microsoft had earlier defined that the Android apps on Windows 11 could be accessible through the Amazon Appstore inside Microsoft Store. Although its apps catalogue is considerably lesser than Google Play, the Amazon Appstore presents over 460,000 Android apps.
In a weblog submit, Microsoft notes the corporate has partnered with in style app builders to curate 50 apps for Windows Insiders to check. It guarantees to launch new apps by Windows Insider Program updates within the coming months. Some of the apps that Windows 11 testers can presently use embrace, Lords Mobile, June’s Journey, and Coin Master. Other kids-specific Android apps accessible to testers are Khan Academy Kids and Lego Duplo World.
Microsoft explains it’s introducing a brand new element on prime of Windows 11 known as Windows Subsystem for Android, which powers the Amazon Appstore and its catalogue. The Subsystem consists of the Linux kernel and the Android OS primarily based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) model 11 to basically enable customers to take pleasure in up to date apps on the system. The Windows Subsystem for Android runs in a “Hyper-V Virtual Machine” that understands how to map the runtime and APIs of apps in the AOSP environment to the Windows graphic layer, the memory buffers, the input modes, the physical and virtual devices, and the sensors. Microsoft is offering tools to developers in case they want to publish their apps on Amazon Appstore. These tools were released earlier this week.
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Telegram.


text:
Amidst growing concern over the Internet’s scalability in the face of rising online media consumption, Apple is rumored to be seeking a partnership with Comcast. If things go according to Apple’s plans, it will gain a huge advantage over other TV streaming rivals by having its content travel over a separate line along the “last mile”.
The “last mile” is a term used to denote that part of an Internet provider’s cable that connects directly to customers’ homes. These lines usually get easily congested as the number of simultaneous users increases, which is why certain providers use a separate line for things like video-on-demand or phone services. This is the kind of preferential treatment that Apple is said to be targeting for its own streaming TV offering via Comcast’s lines.
But to be precise, Apple isn’t asking to be prioritized over other Internet services, something which would go against certain net neutrality practices, as well as Comcast’s own restrictions when it purchased NBCUniversal in 2011. According to the conditions of the acquisition, Comcast is prohibited from unreasonably discriminating its network traffic. Apple is only seeking to be separated from more public Internet traffic similar to other provider-managed content streaming services.
This isn’t the first time Apple has tried to seek similar partnerships. In 2012, it was reported to also be in talks with Time Warner Cable, under the codename “Project Jupiter”. However, talks came to a halt when word that Time Warner would be taken over by another company began spreading. This became reality when Comcast announced its bid for Time Warner last month.
At the moment, the two still don’t see eye to eye on how much power each will give the other. Typical of the company, Apple wants users to use Apple IDs, control over customer data, and a cut in monthly subscription fees. Naturally, Comcast wants to hold on to majority of the control over the business. The talks between Apple and Comcast are said to be in the very early stages, so things can still go either way.
SOURCE: Wall Street Journal


text:
Schaeffler still growing S.C. bearing plants as it completes $164M expansion in state
Fresh off a $36 million expansion that bought Schaeffler Group USA Inc.’s Fort Mill Plant 1 to close to 500 employees, the German-owned company believes that number will be closer to 550 by 2020.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster and about 115 guests were busy Thursday celebrating that last expansion when Michael Pees, Fort Mill 1 plant manager, unveiled the number 544 on a video display. That’s the projection for employment at the factory by 2020. By 2020, the plant will also increase production of its bearings and bearing assemblies by 50% to 150 million a year.
Pees says the key to that expansion — beyond a booming business for its automaker customers — is the workforce that Schaeffler has found in South Carolina.
“The foundation of our plant are our employees,” he says.
Schaeffler expanded its apprenticeship program that it started at its Cheraw plant in Chesterfield County to York County. During its five-hour celebration, 20 apprentices from the program at York Tech were present for pictures and questions.
For the Fort Mill campus, it was a hugely important day for the approximately 1,300 employees on Schaeffler’s 60 acres off Interstate 77 in northern York County. For the first time in about 10 years, two Schaeffler family members that own about 75% of the stock in the company are visiting.
They are Maria-Elizabeth Schaeffler-Thumann, deputy chairperson of the Schaeffler AG supervisory board, and her son, Georg Schaeffler.
Schaeffler-Thumann recalls how she bargained in 1984 with then-S.C. Gov. Richard Riley to establish the Fort Mill plant. Since 1964, Schaeffler operated the Cheraw facility in South Carolina.
“This is where Schaeffler U.S.’s story began in the 1960s,” she says.
McMaster called the campus, which now contains a new 64,000-square-foot Americas headquarters, two production plants, a technical center and another support center, “a dream.”
“This is exactly the kind of manufacturing we need,” he adds. And the jobs are needed.
“We have people who are willing to work, who are smart and who are productive,” McMaster says.
Schaeffler announced in January 2015 plans to add 440 jobs and spend $164 million to expand and re-equip six S.C. plants, five of which are in the Charlotte region. That expansion brought 100 new employees to the Fort Mill campus.
Schaeffler’s S.C. employment now stands at 3,100. In the last five years alone, Schaeffler has spent $50 million in expanding and Fort Mill 1, Pees says.
At Fort Mill 1, production started about two months ago in the expanded area that includes presses with forces as large as 400 tons. That addition added 30% to the size of the factory floor.
The booming auto industry has been Schaeffler’s driver for its recent expansion. The company makes bearings in Fort Mill that are used in automobiles and other industrial applications down to lawnmowers. The company also makes a “variable-cam timing system” that attaches to Ford and other engines to improve fuel economy.
Around the world, Schaeffler is becoming a big player in electric and self-driving vehicles, making transmissions and other components.
View complete article with more photos from the Charlotte Business Journal here.
OR see the video below by CN2 News.View more news


text:
A Singapore-based beauty brand has credited its partnership with micro-influencers in helping it gain brand awareness online during the tough conditions of launching in the midst of a country-wide lockdown.
The ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis is pushing Singapore-based retailer The Min List to stock more homegrown brands to support fellow local businesses and reduce logistical issues brought about by the pandemic.
Beauty and personal care giant L’Oréal has revealed how it weathered the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis in South East Asia by strengthening its digital capabilities and enhancing its understanding of consumer needs.
Singapore-based organic make-up brand Liht Organics is pursuing global expansion plans to capitalise on consumers' increasing focus on clean beauty products during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Philippines has detailed a set of cosmetic labelling requirements for rubbing alcohol and hand sanitisers in light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.


text:
Chinese eCommerce company Alibaba is reportedly going to invest $1.25 billion in Ele.me, a food delivery service based in Shanghai.The deal would make Alibaba the startup’s biggest shareholder, with a 27.7 percent stake.
Ele.me was founded in 2008, and has raised $1.09 billion till date. Its investors include Alibaba’s rivals – Tencent and JD among others, and post this round, the former will become the biggest stakeholder in the food delivery firm.
Ele.me, which roughly translates as ‘Hungry Now?‘, is part of a trend in China for what is known as online-to-offline (O2O) services. These include taxi hailing and restaurant review apps that link smartphone users with offline businesses.
As more Chinese use their phones for everything from shopping to booking restaurants, China’s internet giants Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu are increasingly investing in these services to attract more users to their own platforms.
Earlier this month, Alibaba also confirmed its acquisition of Hong Kong English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post.
Alibaba, the world’s biggest e-commerce company, and social networking and video games titan Tencent together spent more than $8 billion last year alone backing sometimes strikingly similar ventures, such as taxi hailing apps Kuadi Dache and Didi Dache.
In February, Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, backed by Tencent and Alibaba respectively, merged to form Didi Kuaidi, the largest taxi-hailing firm in China.
O2O food delivery game is strong in China, evidently all the existing tech giants want a slice of the pie in every major player in this space.