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The op-ed by Goldman Sachs' Greg Smith in The New York Times rattled me.
The overall message is important: Put a customer's needs before profits. Doing so builds trust and without trust the profits won't mean a hill of beans in any business.
Many dealers work hard to deliver impeccable customer service and build trust.
But Smith's piece made me wonder if more dealers need to offer better price transparency or hire salespeople from outside the industry to revamp dealership culture.
Smith used the op-ed on Wednesday to resign as Goldman Sachs' executive director and head of the firm's U.S. equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
He describes the environment at Goldman Sachs as "toxic." The prevailing culture at Goldman Sachs, he wrote, is to make a lot of money even if it's done, in some cases, at the expense of customers' best interests.
Smith wrote: "I attend derivatives sales meetings where not one, single minute is spent asking questions about how we can help clients. It's purely about how we can make the most possible money off of them. If you were an alien from Mars and sat in on one of these meetings, you would believe that a client's success or progress was not part of the thought process at all."
A spokesman for Goldman Sachs denied Smith's allegations.
Smith's words sound familiar.
I've talked to consumers who feel that some dealership salespeople did not listen to their needs, but instead pushed products -- especially finance and insurance products -- on them that they did not want or need. Those customers felt hoodwinked if the store padded its pockets without considering what benefitted the customers.
That may be why a Gallup poll released in December showed 47 percent of Americans still rate the honesty and ethics of car salespeopleas "low" or "very low."
Lobbyists and members of Congress are the only professions that rank lower in Americans' eyes, according to the poll.
So is it surprising that customers aggressively use the Internet to research vehicle pricing and look up costs associated with finance and insurance products before they come into a dealership?
That signals a lack of trust.
And it's why Smith's op-ed resonates. Because the op-ed is not just about a big firm on Wall Street, it's about every business on Main Street.


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NEW DELHI: Due to moderation in subscriber additions, Reliance Jio
’s new target market will be 150 million feature phone users that contribute 15-17% of sector revenues, thereby encouraging the company to offer its feature phone at Rs 500-1000 per device, CLSA said on Wednesday.
But to be able to offer the handset at such disruptive price, the Mukesh Ambani-owned telco will be providing Rs 500-1000 subsidy per device assuming that the cost of each feature phone would be Rs 1000-1500.
Assuming Rs 500 subsidy being provided per device and 100 million devices
being sold, the company will be offering a total subsidy of Rs 50 billion. The company will look to compensate this with lower interconnect costs as higher subscriber market share would also drive a higher share of on-net calls, CLSA said.
To trigger mass adoption for the 4G feature phones, Jio
may come up with promotional tariffs bundled with 4G feature phones.
Jio will have the advantage of twin target markets for its 4G feature phones as there are around 500 million feature phone users in India out of which 70% of have ARPU of Rs 50 monthly or lower. The remaining 150 million feature phone users are likely have ARPU of Rs 150-180 which will contribute 15-17% to industry revenues. Therefore, Jio’s twin target markets would include the 150 million feature phone users and the replacement market of feature phones at the margin.
In 2017 so far, the telco’s interconnect costs stood at Rs 26 billion implying a full year cost of Rs 46 billion which is 35% higher than Rs 34 billion interconnect costs of Idea Cellular
. But if the company manages to add additional 100 million subscribers, the telco’s market share would reach 19-20%, higher than Idea Cellular’s market share, thereby driving interconnect savings of Rs 10-12 billion annually, analysts believe.
One of the potential risks of offering a 4G feature phone at such disruptive is ARPU dilution at the top end of subscribers. The launch and promotional offer of a 4G feature phone by Jio could lead to ARPU dilution among the mid-ARPU subscribers which form around 21% of total subscribers and around 22% of sector revenues, the research firm suggested.
According to Analysys Mason, it is because of Reliance
Jio that by 2020, 80% of India’s population will be able to afford a 4G phone which would otherwise have been 68% had Jio not introduced its VoLTE feature phone. However, the analysts said that due to the advent of VoLTE and the launch of affordable VoLTE phones mainly triggered by Jio, the competition in the market could intensify and the incumbents could lose some of their low-end voice subscribers.
CLSA predicted sector revenues to fall by 7% year-on-year in FY18 led by promotions and retaliatory tariffs, and expect a rebound in FY19 only on Jio turning pay fully.

domain: news


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(RxWiki News) Halloween's just around the corner. Along with planning the costume and candy shopping, parents and children should be watchful of other October allergens lurking around.
A group of allergists have a list of six Halloween allergens to keep an eye on. These doctors recommend families see an allergist and create a plan on what to do if food allergies kick in.
Additionally, these doctors suggest giving out non-candy treats like stickers and small toys.
"Go to an allergist to see what you're allergic to."
For one, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology note that gelatin can be an allergen. Those few who have the allergy should watch for innocent treats like gummy bears.
“Parents that have a child with a food allergy know to carefully inspect Halloween candy, but they may overlook other common holiday items that can cause allergy and asthma symptoms,” said allergist Stanley Fineman, MD, president of the ACAAI, in a press release.
“There are several steps parents should take to ensure their child remains healthy and symptom-free no matter the season.”
Costumes with nickel in the accessories could make skin itch, they say. The metal can be found in pirate swords, tiaras, wands, and cowboy belts.
And be extra diligent when dusting out costumes that had been put away since last year. Dust mites can be hidden in the clothes and trigger allergies and asthma.
Allergists say to wash the costumes or shop for a new one.
Speaking of asthma, be mindful of fog, both real and from fog machines, which can lead to wheezing and trouble breathing.
Along with the costumes and accessories, cheaply made makeup may have preservatives that cause itchy skin.
ACAAI recommends testing the makeup on a small area of skin several days before Halloween.
It can take a few days for some reaction to appear, like a rash or swelling, or just opt for higher quality theatre makeup.
Finally, some kiddos and adults may be allergic to pumpkins.
Though they're rare, jack-o-lanterns can cause everything from "itching to chest tightness and can pop up quite suddenly, even if you haven’t had a problem before," the organization said in a press release.
The organization says to consider buying pumpkins from a grocery store since pumpkin patches can be moldy and dusty.
ACAAI and its members are experts at diagnosing and treating allergies and asthma.


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The Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s inaugural Coolest Thing Made in Indiana tournament is now down to eight quarterfinalists. The contest is meant to celebrate the state’s manufacturing tradition.
The winner will be crowned February 15 at the Indiana Chamber’s Chamber Day Event at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis.
The quarterfinalists are listed below:
- Hoosier Bat Co. – wood baseball bats used in Major League Baseball (Valparaiso)
- Hudson Aquatic Systems LLC – underwater treadmills for dogs, horses and humans (Angola)
- Janus Motorcycles – production motorcycle (Goshen)
- Old 55 Distillery – bottled-in-bond 100% sweet corn bourbon (Newtown)
- Trek Container Pools – shipping container pools (Anderson)
- Wag’n Tails Mobile Conversions – mobile pet grooming salons and veterinary clinics (South Bend)
- Warm Glow Candle Co. – candles with “lumpy, bumpy exterior” (Centerville)
- Wood-Mizer – portable sawmills, various uses include building houses and making baseball bats (Batesville and Indianapolis)
The chamber says public voting for the competition is underway. Quarterfinal voting ends February 6 and overall voting ends on February 14.
To participate, a company did not need to be headquartered in Indiana, but the product entered must be manufactured in the state. The competition started with 65 companies from nearly 50 locations in 35 counties.
You can learn more about each product by clicking here.


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See how pots and pans are made in Paderno's P.E.I. factory
Paderno Canada makes up to 220K pots each year
Charlottetown has been host to Paderno's Canadian factory for more than 38 years.
"When you're buying Paderno pots, you're buying a Canadian-made product," said plant manager Neville Warren.
"In the early days, 60,000 pots a year running multiple shifts was something that was difficult to achieve," said Warren.
"Today, we're running a one day shift Monday through Friday and we can produce 220,000 pots per year."
The plant was originally opened on the Island by Paderno Italy in 1979.
In 1986, local businessman Jim Casey bought the factory and cut all ties with the Italian company except for the rights to use the Paderno name in Canada. It's now owned by Casey's son, Tim.
A key to the company's success has been to keep up with changes in the market place.
"Originally the equipment that was used to make the pots was very rudimentary, and we didn't have much automation," said Warren.
The process of making pots has also changed to keep up with the times. Originally, aluminum was bonded to the bottom of the pots, but it degraded and also couldn't be used with induction-friendly stoves.
Aluminum is still used but now it's sandwiched between the pot bottom and a layer of magnetic stainless steel.
'It's a very tough market'
Besides keeping up with the times, Paderno has also had to keep a watchful eye on low-cost cookware flooding the market.
"It's a very tough market, there is a lot of competition," said Warren.
"Our quality is really what keeps us apart from everyone else," he said.
"We also have what I would consider a cult following with the Paderno name where lots of Canadians love the Paderno product and they're very true to the brand."
The company's pots and pans are sold across the country from coast to coast.
"We currently have 15 factory stores that we operate under our company, but we also sell to dealers and agents across the country," he said.
"Our major factory sale which is in the fall can have anywhere from 400 plus dealers."
Bang the bottom with a wooden mallet
While Paderno has modernized its factory, there is still one practice from the past that's used once in awhile to make sure the aluminum bottoms have properly bonded.
"We would tap the bottom of the pot with a wooden mallet," said Warren. "The ringing sound of the bottom of the pot could tell us whether or not the two layers of steel were bonded properly together and we used it as a quality check."
But a new impact pressing machine has removed the need for that ringing of the pot, and there are seldom any problems.
"Occasionally, we'll hit it with a stick and that will tell us whether or not the proper bond has taken place."
Paderno is banging out a few more extra pots this year to mark Canada's 150th Birthday. The company has received a big order from a large Canadian retailer to produce a special edition line featuring an imprint of the anniversary logo.


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SoftBank is one of Japan’s top mobile carriers and an emerging global tech company and it is set to acquire ARM Holdings, the UK-based company that designs the chips in the processors that power most leading smartphones in the market today. The companies announced today that the acquisition will be worth over USD$32 billion, all told.
SoftBank has been keen in acquiring global assets in recent years in its efforts to pad its market visibility in the growing internet-of-things market. The Japanese company will acquire ARM Holdings at around USD$22.50 per share, a 43% markup on ARM’s current market value. “ARM will be an excellent strategic fit within the SoftBank group,” said Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive of SoftBank, as they proceed to go on what is possibly one of the biggest acquisitions of a European technology business.
ARM designs the chips inside mobile device processors. Surely, companies like Qualcomm, Exynos, MediaTek, and even Apple’s mobile chipsets are more familiar names in the chip business, but they all get their chip designs from ARM. This is why a lot of people are convinced that this very aggressive move by SoftBank will be profitable for them in the end.
SoftBank said that it plans to “preserve the ARM organization,” including the existing senior management team. ARM headquarters will remain in Cambridge, which should be good news for the company as a whole. Softbank pledged to double the employee headcount in the U.K. over the next five years, as the deal is now just subject to ARM shareholder approval.


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The massive online merchant Alibaba has its sight set on making money through facial recognition.
Jack Ma, the founder and executive chairman of Alibaba, took the stage at this year’s CeBIT in Hanover, Germany and debut his company’s plan on using selfies as a form of digital signature.
Facial recognition technology in addition to the widespread availability of the smartphone might enable Alibaba to spearhead the development of snap-and-pay. While Apple and other Internet companies like Google are pushing for tap-and-pay (via NFC or similar forms), Alibaba is taking a different route to make its mark on the evolving payment processing industry.
NFC-enabled payment processing is expected to exceed $130 billion by 2020, and that’s big business for any company that already has a presence in the digital space.
Alibaba’s control of the Chinese market makes it one of the most powerful and largest Internet companies on earth. With 1.2 billion domestic consumers within China’s borders, Ma’s platform exceeds eBay and Amazon’s annual trade combined.
China-based Alibaba might not be a major household brand overseas, but according to reports Ma intends to catapult his platform to the world stage and become a globally recognized brand like Wal-Mart, IBM and Microsoft.


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Get Oneplus Nord 2 Price In India 2021 Gif. Oneplus nord 2 expected to be launched on jul 09, 2021. This is 8 gb ram / 128 gb internal storage base variant of oneplus nord 2 which is expected to available in black, gold colour.
The nord 2 is the first oneplus device to. Speculated price of oneplus nord 2 The nord 2 will replace the original nord, which was released in india at the same time last year with a starting price of inr 24,999.
We already know that nord 2 will be the first phone from oneplus to be powered by mediatek dimensity 1200 processor
Oneplus has officially announced the nord 2. Oneplus nord2 5g price in india is upcoming (approx). 27,999 for the base 6gb ram + 128gb storage variant. The oneplus nord 2 phone is equipped with android v11 operating system and the phone runs on mediatek dimensity 1200 processor.


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The animation block will be reshuffling its line-up along with debuting it's latest acquisition, Sword-Art Online.
In an historic ruling, the SCOTUS struck down the Latverian dictator and Marvel supervillain as unconstitutional.
The digital comics app wants in on some of that sweet, sweet event action!
The central character to be affected in DC's upcoming Forever Evil/Villain's Month will be Nightwing. (Updated)
Dogs pictured in promotional photographs for PetSmart wear Marvel and DC comics t-shirts backwards.
The popular creator was informed on Friday that though the book will be involved in the crossover, Simone herself will not be.
Now with shades of Grey.
The game allows you to destroy Metropolis.
The Hollywood rumor site Latino-Review.com claims to have plot details for the upcoming Doctor Strange movie!
Two steps forward, one step back.
News that the date for another Marvel Film has been set a couple years down the road has the interwebs abuzz.
Retailers will have little margin of error for the risky DC event.
Along with a new IMAX Poster, Pacific Rim has released new stills and a tv spot with new cutscenes.
The actor is too big a name with too high a price tag to appear in the sequel to the popular action film.
The Deadpool Video Game hits shelves tomorrow and a new launch trailer featuring gameplay and cameos teases what's to come.
'Tis a merger of the indies.
How might things at DC change with the departure of the Warner Bros. executive who restructured the company as DC Entertainment?
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Dubai-based Landmark Group has launched the 16th store of VIVA, UAE’s first food discounter concept. The latest store, located at the Landmark Group Tower in Dubai Marina, comes just 18 months since the launch of the homegrown concept in February 2018.
VIVA’s latest store will have access to localities of Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Jumeirah Beach Residences and neighbouring areas to cater to communities. The new 6,000 sqft store in Dubai Marina will stock over 1,200 exclusive brands of products, across fresh and non-food categories. It will be the first VIVA store to offer a range of organic foods too.
Renuka Jagtiani, chairwoman and CEO of Landmark Group, inaugurating the new store, described it as a proud moment for the group, “As it believes in and delivering value to the customers. The celebration of the new milestone is of special significance, and appropriately we have chosen to locate it at the Landmark Group Tower.”
“There has been a widespread acceptance of the value concept we launched 18 months ago and the 16 stores in such a short period is a testimony to it. Plans are on to open five more VIVA stores by the end of this year. The team has worked hard to achieve this growth and build VIVA’s presence across the UAE. By strategically expanding in key residential areas, VIVA continues to drive savings for families and communities in the UAE. It offers significantly lower prices for the highest quality products,” she adds.
Speaking on expansion outside UAE, Jagtiani says, “Of course, we do have expansion plans to take the concept outside the UAE. But we still have a major part of the UAE to cover before we venture out.”
“The last year has been an incredible journey for all of us at VIVA,” says Georg J. Fischer, CEO, VIVA. “With every store, we opened, received an overwhelming welcome from the communities in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman. As a pioneering food discounter in the region, we have had a first-mover advantage. We are very pleased to have touched the lives of about five million customers, in our first year of operations, selling over 23 million products to date,”
“Our customers come from every segment of the society, whether they live in Ajman, Sharjah or Dubai Marina, value is important to all, and they appreciate the quality. VIVA offers them internationally sourced grocery and household products at prices that are 25-40% cheaper than other supermarket brands in the UAE. We have gone directly to the sources to procure our products from over 135 suppliers. It ensures that we handpick the best quality and deliver it to our customers at unbeatable prices,” he adds.


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Early opening for controversial liquor store rejected
A bid to open a controversial liquor store early has been knocked back by the Orange City Council.
The company redeveloping the Summer Centre wants to open Dan Murphy's as soon as possible and the request has been supported by council staff.
But, councillors have initially rejected the application amid concerns it would jeopardise public safety.
The Deputy Mayor Jeff Whitton, who declared an interest in the decision, says it is still a construction site.
"The rest of the Summer Centre area is still under construction so those councillors who voted to refuse it did so based on the fact that they are concerned that the area still wasn't safe enough to allow people to go there and do their business," he said.
Councillor Whitton says there is a possible appeal process.
"They put a letter to council saying that they wouldn't actually open that business until Australia Day 2013.
"(So) because the staff have approved it the applicant has the right to appeal this in the Land and Environment Court."
The arrival of the liquor store sparked anger among some vignerons and business owners who prepared a petition to oppose the store.


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Pozole, ice cream and cookies are among the menu items at new restaurants opening throughout the Inland Empire. Columnist John Plessel has the details.
Lunar New Year is coming up, bringing some dining specials to Inland casinos.
Also, a Beaumont family is featured on Magnolia Network’s “Family Dinner,” showing off some traditional Samoan dishes they make from scratch.
And we have a recipe for hearty beef stew to warm cool winter evernings.
But it’s not all good news this week. Although it has been closed for longer than three years, it looks like Mr. T’s Family Restaurant in downtown Riverside won’t ever come back after a devastating fire.
Also, there’s a new Mexican restaurant in Rancho Cucamonga, and Hamburger Mary’s has reopened in Ontario. Read more.
Lion dances, food and giveaways are part of the Lunar New Year celebrations at Southern California casinos. Read more.
The downtown diner was a popular hangout for city and court officials. Read more.
The reality show airs on the Magnolia Network and is available on Discovery Plus. Read more.
The combination of meat, potatoes, carrots and broth is hearty and satisfying. Read more.


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Can the NIO share price be electrified in 2022?
The NIO share price has fallen 50% from its January high of $57 to $28 today. But as the EV revolution heats up, NIO has been scaling up the production of its electric offering.
At the time, market giant Tesla was worth $58 a share. CEO Elon Musk had just failed in a bid to take the company private, and it was struggling to meet production targets. However, by 29 January 2021, NIO stock had risen 810% to $57, while Tesla had risen 1,267% to $793. But since then, NIO has fallen to $28, while Tesla has spent most of the past two months above the $1,000 mark.
Meanwhile, competitors Lucid and Rivian both launched their IPO’s this year. While far from their share price highs, the companies have a combined market valuation of $150 billion, despite delivering almost no vehicles at all.
But NIO has delivered 156,581 already. And while some investors have been dazzled by the shiny new offerings, the Chinese operator has been quietly working in the background towards long-term sustainability.
NIO share price: Q3 results
NIO has championed itself as ‘a pioneer and a leading company in the premium smart electric vehicle market.’ It delivered 24,439 vehicles between July and September, up 11.6% quarter-over-quarter and 100.2% year-over-year. CEO William Bin Li emphasised that the company ‘achieved another all-time high quarterly delivery…our new orders reached a new record high in October.’ And encouragingly, the company has delivered 80,940 vehicles in 2021 in total, a 120.4% increase year-over-year.
Moreover, revenue from vehicle sales was up 102.4% to $1.34 billion, while gross profit rose a massive 240% to $309.3 million year-over-year. Gross margin rose to 20.3%, while net cash and cash equivalents were $7.3 billion. And adjusted net loss fell 42.9% to $88.4 million compared to Q3 2020. These figures all seem to be pointing in the right direction.
But loss from operations rose 30% to $153.9 million compared to the previous quarter, while research and development (R&D) expenses increased 101.9% year-over-year to $185.2 million. As interest rates rise, these expenses could hit the stock hard. And some perspective is important. Tesla delivered around 600,000 EVs in 2021, while legacy manufacturer Toyota alone sold over 9,000,000 ICE cars in 2020.
Growth and restrictions
But EV sales in China rose 178% during 2021, and the country accounted for 40% of global EV sales in the first half of the year. NIO is expanding massively to accommodate its outsized market. It’s signed an agreement with Jianghuai Automobile Group (JAC) to expand its car production capacity to 240,000 per year. And it’s building a second manufacturing facility to beef up production even further.
And NIO’s battery swapping technology gives it a significant advantage over its competitors. Chinese drivers have swapped 5.3 million batteries at one of NIO’s 700 Chinese swap stations so far. With the company intending to increase stations to 1,300 by the end of 2022, it could solve the long-range distance and charging time concerns that keep ICE drivers from buying their first EV.
But with the Bank of America predicting EV IPOs will raise $100 billion by 2023, NIO will soon be fighting for market share from every new Lucid or Rivian to attempt a listing. Eventually, legacy manufacturers including General Motors and Ford are going to want to piece of the pie.
Furthermore, as a China-based stock, the politics can’t be ignored. Beijing’s 2020 energy subsidy law requires EVs which rely on battery charging to be priced below ¥300,000, while those which use battery swapping technology can enjoy the subsidy regardless of price. Some have interpreted the law as government backing for NIO’s business model against its foreign rivals. On the other hand, the China Passenger Car Association is investigating the company after Chinese entrepreneur Lin Wenquin died last August whilst driving his NIO on autopilot.
And after 34 China-based companies listed in the US this year, the Communist Party has become increasingly uncomfortable with homegrown tech companies attempting to grow faster using US dollars. Therefore, China’s Securities Regulatory Commission has proposed new rules that would make overseas listings much harder— and current listings are coming under rising pressure.
But with a unique technology, gigantic marketplace, and high growth prospects, NIO might be undervalued going into 2022. Especially compared to multi-billion dollar competitors who have yet to deliver so much as a windshield…
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- Reads from WWW
Thursday, 8 Sep 2016
Apple was granted a patent for an all-glass, water-resistant phone a day before the launch of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Read on to find out more about this patent!
Wednesday, 7 Sep 2016
Interested to buy the Apple iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus? Better start saving as they are going to cost an arm and a leg.
In the wake of the formal launch of the 7th generation Intel Core “Kaby Lake” CPUs, the company has decided to quietly introduce their “Apollo Lake” SoCs.
The new smartphone series by Huawei features a multi-curve design, and it’s aimed at users with fast-paced lifestyles.
Research firm Strategy Analytics estimates that two of the three best-selling smartphones shipped worldwide in Q2 2016 are iPhones. Can you guess which models are they?
Tuesday, 6 Sep 2016
Move over, Snapdragon 820. The latest Snapdragon 821 flagship processor boasts an enhanced user experience, better performance and power consumption, and a whole slew of other benefits.
After 35 reported cases of Samsung's Galaxy Note7 battery exploding while charging, the Korean company has announced that Note7 users here will be able to borrow a replacement phone to tide them over in the interim period.
One day before its official launch, the purported specs of the LG V20 smartphone leaked on the Chinese social networking site Weibo.
OnePlus reportedly revealed to XDA that it is actively merging both HydrogenOS and OyxgenOS into a single unified platform to deliver faster software updates.
Bloomberg estimates that Samsung will spend as much s US$1 billion to replace 2.5 million units of the Galaxy Note7.


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Honda sold almost 350,000 Accords in the USA last year, so that makes it good business for the Japanese carmaker; but as compact and small SUVs and Crossovers dominate the market, you have to wonder how much more money will be spent on developing passenger cars.
The 2018 Accord is built on a new modular platform, linked to the latest Civic, but with increased dimensions all around, the Accord looks like it's having a large fries with the Big Mac. It's looking beefier.
However, Honda says it's lighter and stiffer than the previous model.
No V6 option either. Base engine is a 1.5L turbo, with an optional 2.0L donated by the Civic Type R. Transmissions offered in the USA will be CVT and 6-speed manual, but expect to see only CVT autos in Australia. There'll also be a hybrid to keep the conservationists happy.
It's a good thing Honda has invested in the H-RV and the C-RV crossovers, because something tells me we can see the final horizon approaching for passenger cars.


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In a couple of hours, a very contrite Samsung will explain exactly what went wrong with the Galaxy Note7. “Following several months of comprehensive investigations”, it says, company bosses are going to talk through the design flaws that caused dozens of battery fires and an unprecedented worldwide recall, as well as what it’s going to do in the future to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
Here’s where you can watch along.
Here’s the livestream of Samsung’s Note7 recall press conference:
The press conference livestream will kick off at 12PM AEDT (Sydney time). We’ll be liveblogging along with the stream, so if you can’t watch along, check back here closer to midday and we’ll keep you up to date.
[related title=”The Samsung Galaxy Note7 Recall” tag=”samsung-galaxy-note7-recall” items=”6″]
Until then, here’s a timeline of the recall as it played out over the last few months.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note7 Recall: The Timeline
Sales of the phone were suspended due to battery issues causing devices to overheat and catch fire on September 2, first reported by Gizmodo Australia. That was escalated to a full recall a few days later on September 5.
Samsung offered customers the choice of a replacement phone (with a temporary loaner handset in the interim), a refund or exchange to a similar Samsung phone like the S7 Edge, as well as around $250 in incentives which varied depending on the telco or retail store the Note7 was purchased through.
Stock of replacement Galaxy Note7s — with the battery issue apparently fixed — arrived in Australia on September 20. Customers who had returned their phone for an exchange were contacted and told they would receive trouble-free units.
Samsung Australia repeatedly told customers to switch off both original and replacement Galaxy Note7 phones, and to return them to their place of purchase. he company limited the state of charge of phone batteries to 60 per cent, disabled Gear VR support, and cut it off from Australian mobile networks.
Currently, over 95 per cent of Samsung Galaxy Note7s have been returned to Samsung in Australia. Approximately 2500 phones are still at large. This recall rate is far ahead of the average Australian recall return rate, which is around 56 per cent according to a 2013 statement by longtime ACCC chairman Rod Sims.
Samsung’s 23 January press conference is likely to be the last official conference on the matter, but the issues with the Note7 will continue to affect Samsung’s public perception for some time. The impact of the Note7 recall is expected to cost Samsung at least $3.4 billion in the Q4 2016 and Q1 2017 quarters.
Following several months of comprehensive investigations, Samsung executives will announce the cause of the Galaxy Note7 incidents and quality enhancement plan during a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, on January 23, 2017 at 10am(KST).
Samsung Electronics, as well as independent expert organizations who conducted their own investigations into various aspects of the Galaxy Note7 incidents, will share their findings. In addition, Samsung will discuss the new measures the company has implemented in response to the incidents.
The full press conference will be available via live-stream globally, and can be accessed through www.samsung.com/galaxy and Samsung Newsroom.


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CHARLOTTE — According to national news reports, two major insurance companies are refusing to cover older Hyundais and Kias.
Multiple news reports say Progressive and State Farm have decided to stop covering certain models in certain cities.
Those reports don’t say if any cities in the Carolinas are on the list. Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke has been asking local agents for both companies, but they say they haven’t heard about restrictions for new customers.
Technically speaking, those reports also don’t say which Hyundai and Kia models. They say thieves are twice as likely to steal some 2015-2019 Hyundais and Kias compared to other cars from the same years, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute. But they don’t say if those are the exact model years the insurance companies aren’t covering anymore.
Here’s why these cars are easier to steal: if the chip in your key and the chip in your car don’t recognize each other, some cars have electronic immobilizers so the car can’t go anywhere. Older Hyundais and Kias don’t have that tech.
Stoogenke exchanged emails with both Hyundai and Kia. They both say immobilizers are now standard on their vehicles and that they’re coming up with software for vehicles that didn’t come with them. The companies say it’s free and will be ready very soon -- February. They also say they’re giving some police departments free steering wheel locks to hand out.
It’s not clear when Progressive and State Farm plan to stop covering the models in question. According to the national news reports, if you already have Progressive, you’re fine and you can keep your coverage. It’s not clear if State Farm is doing the same.
(WATCH BELOW: The TikTok connection to stolen Hyundais)
©2023 Cox Media Group


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Wonder Valley Farm preparing to sell local lavender, forest botanicals and honey.
You can hear the excitement in Sierra Cox’s voice when she talks about Wonder Valley Farm. The agritourism startup, located in Gandeeville, Roane County, is co-owned by Cox and her partner John Pennacchio, both Navy veterans who moved across the country to start a 100-acre lavender, bee and forest botanicals farm right here in the Mountain State.
Cox and Pennacchio came to West Virginia in December 2016. Since then, they’ve received grant money to expand the business and will soon bring their products to market. While Wonder Valley Farm has a promising future, starting the business in a new state required some creative thinking and strategic planning.
Owning a small business is a team effort and every team needs a coach
“When I left the Navy, I knew I wanted my own business but wasn’t sure what it would look like or how I should start,” Cox said. “We knew we wanted to grow lavender, but we still had a lot of dots to connect.”
Living in Washington State at the time, Cox and Pennacchio began looking for a place where their dream for a farm could become a reality.
“My research led me to the West Virginia Small Business Development Center,” Cox said. “I was absolutely blown away by the number of resources available to new business owners, so we reached out and have been working with our business coach, Marsa Myers, ever since.”
Myers and the WV SBDC helped Cox and Pennacchio develop a business plan and continues to guide and help the farming duo as they transition out of the startup phase.
“We brainstorm ideas together and Marsa comes up with avenues I hadn’t thought of,” Cox said. “She introduced me to people who helped get our business up and running and provides a wealth of knowledge.”
That careful guidance has helped Wonder Valley Farm get off to a good start.
“The WV SBDC is such a wonderful resource that has helped tremendously in getting Wonder Valley Farm up and running,” she said.
A bright future for Wonder Valley Farm
Cox and Pennacchio planted 800 lavender plants last year and brought in 20 beehives. Cox said they will plant another 800 plants this year, add an additional 25 beehives and begin harvesting ramps, mushrooms and other forest plants.
“We’re still probably one year out, but we hope to start selling lavender bouquets and sachets this year,” Cox said. “And we should have enough honey to start selling this year.”
Also on the docket for the farm in 2019 is the addition of several sailboat-style cabins, made possible by a $5,000 Launchpad grant the duo received last year. Launchpad is sponsored by the Regional Council, the Ross Foundation, Results Radio, Chamber of Commerce of the Mid-Ohio Valley, the Ritchie County Chamber of Commerce, Huntington Bank, NOE Office Equipment, Ritchie County Economic Development Authority, West Virginia Social Media Consultants and Camden Clark Medical Center.
Even though Cox and Pennacchio are more comfortable in their new home state and roles as small business owners, they still rely on their business coach for guidance.
“I’m a huge advocate for the SBDC,” Cox said. “Working with them has helped us be the best that we can be. It’s a free resource, so I definitely encourage people to contact them when they’re starting out or thinking about starting a business. Their help has been invaluable.”
The West Virginia Small Business Development Center supports small businesses through one-on-one coaching, training and facilitating connections to resources. Learn more about how a business coach can help your business by visiting wvsbdc.com.


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Update: New Times' Burgerfest's date has been changed to September 14.
New Times' Burgerfest is returning for an evening of burgers, entertainment, and fun. On September 14, Miami will celebrate everyone's favorite sandwich at the ultimate summer party.
This year, we're turning up the heat by crowning Miami's Favorite Burger — and we're seeking out the best in the Magic City to participate.
New Times is looking for Miami-area chefs and restaurateurs with enough beef to back up their claim to Miami's most delicious burger.
If you're a restaurant owner or chef who gets cheers for your cheeseburger or is famous for your frita, we want to see you at this year's Burgerfest!
If you're interested, email [email protected] and join restaurants 109 Burger Joint, Boss Burger & Brew, Clutch Burger, Hard Rock Cafe Miami, Odalys Delight Cafe, Organic Bites, San Bernardo Ice Cream, That's Mine Burgers, and others.
The event will offer a cash bar along with music and fun, and guests can watch football on a giant inflatable screen.
VIP ticketholders will have access to a special area with unlimited drink samples and exclusive restaurants such as Los Tanitos and Biscayne Cowboys, in addition to all the food and fun in the general-admission area.
The fun will happen from 7 to 11 p.m. September 14 at a place to be announced soon. To purchase tickets to this 21-and-over event, visit newtimesburgerfest.com. Now through June 29, tickets cost $25 for general admission (GA) and $55 for VIP. After that, tickets will cost $40 for GA and $65 for VIP.
New Times' Burgerfest. 7 to 11 p.m. September 14, at a location TBA. Tickets cost $25 to $75 via newtimesburgerfest.com.


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Kodak starts $15M project for its ‘strongest product’
- Eastman Kodak Co. begins Flexcel NX expansion – one its largest capital investments since 2000.
Eastman Kodak Co. has pinned some of its future on what you eat and its ability to help deliver colorful packaging on all sorts of common household and grocery store items.
Kodak's Flexcel NX line helped Kodak get back in the black last year, by manufacturing flexible printing plates used by commercial printers in the food packaging industry on all sorts of materials: plastic, foil, paper and other materials.
CEO Jeffrey Clarke said in a call with investors last month that the Flexcel line grew 9 percent last year to $94 million.
The segment continues to show strength and is the company’s "strongest performing product set," he said.
Kodak recently broke ground on a $15 million expansion project in Weatherford, Oklahoma — one of its largest capital investments since 2000 — and home to existing operations for the Flexcel plate line.
The expansion work is expected to be completed so full production can begin early 2019.
The company also has another manufacturing facility for the line in Japan, and opened a packaging technology center in China in March helping to reinforce a commitment to customers in the Asia-Pacific region.
Kodak hopes those efforts help it capitalize in a crowded but modestly growing $230 billion market, according to industry research firm Smithers Pira.
Of course, food packing printing isn’t the only way Kodak has been turning things around post-bankruptcy.
It is still working on touch-screen efforts; plans to redevelop the 1,200-acre Eastman Business Park, which includes a battery assembly effort with NY-BEST and a new visitor's center; and is preparing for the U.S. launch of the Ektra smartphone next month.
Obviously there’s still much left to do, but some encouraging signs are beginning to emerge from the ashes of bankruptcy.
Todd Clausen is the work-life reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle. Email him at firstname.lastname@example.org, or call (585) 258-9883.


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Village becomes first to receive superfast broadband
Whitburn has become the first place on South Tyneside to benefit from a multi-million pound broadband programme.
Around 1,170 households and businesses in the village can now go superfast with Digital Durham and a further 1,390 to should follow before the end of the year.
Over the next six months engineers from Openreach, BT’s local network business, aim to roll-out the technology to a further 2,115 premises across the borough.
This is in addition to more than 57,000 already upgraded as part of BT’s own commercial roll-out of fibre technology in South Tyneside.
Coun Ed Malcolm, lead member for innovation and resources at South Tyneside Council, officially unveiled one of Whitburn’s new fibre broadband cabinets - at Range Villas.
He said: “This is a momentous occasion for residents and businesses in South Tyneside, who will reap the benefits of superfast broadband in the months to come thanks to our partnership with Digital Durham.
“The importance of fibre-based broadband cannot be overstated in this digital age and will provide a real boost for the local economy. Having faster connectivity to the Internet is crucial to business development and I am confident that this will be a major factor in the success of our local business community.
“Residents of all ages will also benefit from this superfast service allowing them to access information online for work, study or leisure much more quickly and conveniently.”
Digital Durham is a £34 million programme to transform broadband speeds for businesses and residents across ten North East areas.
Simon Roberson, BT’s regional partnership director for the North East, said: “From children doing their homework to caring for our elderly population and from social media to e-commerce and home entertainment – fast broadband is the critical enabler.
“I would encourage those who can already access fibre-based broadband to contact their service provider to arrange an upgrade.


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goodmorningpapua.com – One of the typical Papuan souvenirs loved by tourists is the result of handicrafts from bark which still relies heavily on traditional manufacturing techniques.
Travelers can look directly at the center of the craftsmen/craftswomen producing bark craft products on Bumi Cendrawasih, namely in Asei Village which is a tourism village and is located in the middle of Lake Sentani.
“Since I was little, Sa (I) have been doing this, since the days of our ancestors, I have been doing this every day. Starting from earrings until now, I am skilled in all crafts,” said Mama Maryones Onge (46), a native who lives in Asei Village.
The bark craft is one of the mainstay livelihoods at Asei Village. From an early age, children in this traditional village are demanded to learn the skills of making handmade arts.
During the XX Papua PON event, people from Asei Village wen in flocked to the city to participate in celebrating the implementation of the four-yearly national multievent tournament.
They peddle their artistic products to become a choice of souvenirs for tourists and contingents of athletes and officials from outside Papua competing in the Papua PON event.
Every day, Mama Maryones can make many crafts ranging from headbands, leather bags, to traditional tassels that are part of traditional clothes from the Black Pearl Country.
“I can make 20 hats (headbands) a day in large, but yesterday I had trouble selling these,” she said.
Usually under normal conditions, Asei Village is always crowded with visitors who want to travel and look for original handicrafts made by indigenous people. However, since the Covid-19 pandemic, handicrafts and activities in the Asei tourist village have ceased.
“Usually there is a white boat that brings foreign tourists here. About every 3 to 6 months. They must buy headbands and bark crafts that we create. But since this corona we have met our daily needs as many as we can,” said Mama Maryones.
She saw the presence of the Papua PON as one of the steps for the revival of the people’s economy which was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mama Maryones is also happy because she can be actively involved in enlivening the first PON celebration in the easternmost region of Indonesia.
She said that within three weeks before the PON took place, his family participated in making hundreds of orders for headbands to complement the clothes of the dancers who entertained the public at the grand opening of the PON.
In addition to the headband, Mama Maryones also made a tassel skirt that was still made from natural bark so that the dancers’ appearance still looked like one with nature.
Through her works of art, she wants to show that the Papuan people have unlimited creativity while still maintaining their cultural values.
Each of her works is expected to bring happiness and peace to the users or recipients. Mama Maryones also saw PON Papua as a place to show the face of Papua that is safe, peaceful, and unpretentious. The peace that is now being maintained by the community during the Papua PON is expected to continue in the long term.
Apart from Maryones, there is also a bark decoration painter, Jefry Nere (42) who diligently makes paintings typical of Papua on bark.
He said he was happy because the bark craft from Asei Village turned out to be a favorite for tourists to serve as souvenirs during the PON.
Every day he diligently makes paintings of symbols telling the events and the beauty of Papua.
As when he was met, he was painting a bird of paradise which is a rare animal that only lives in Papua. Jefry admitted that he was very happy to be able to enliven the implementation of the first PON in Papua.


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Latest Hero News
Jul 13, 2021
The weekly Retail Tech Roundup compiles technology news across the supply chain, manufacturing, retail, e-commerce, logistics and fulfillment sectors. Social shopping Klarna /Hero Fintech, banking and “buy now, pay later” giant Klarna has acquired Hero, a platform designed to connect online shoppers with in-store product experts, for an undisclosed sum. A report from the Wall Street Journal estimates the deal was… This content is for Annual and Limited members only. You can read up to five free articles each month with a Limited Level Subscription. Please log in, or subscribe.


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Berry's Catwoman Clawed12 May 2004
Berry's Catwoman Clawed
American supermarket tabloid the NATIONAL ENQUIRER claims the buzz surrounding the cartoon-adaptation has been so bad, producers have ordered the sneak previews be withdrawn online.
According to the Enquirer, Catwoman's bad reception led to Berry's no-show at the SHOWEST CONVENTION last month (APR04), where she was expected to pick up the Female Star Of The Year gong.
A source says, "Early online trailers of Catwoman have been pulled and they're sending cease-and-desist letters to websites that were playing it.
"Everyone is really embarrassed by it - especially Halle."12/05/2004 17:22
|Comment on this article|


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Subscribe To X
MULTICHANNEL MERCHANT » ARCHIVES FOR
As retailers release August sales figures today and say Hurricane Irene helped give them an ecommerce sales boost, at least one merchant says the storm that rocked the Atlantic coast this weekend caused a huge drop in traffic.
You may sell through multiple channels, but are you really a multichannel merchant? Most merchants aren’t, according to a study conducted in April by cross-channel commerce solution provider CrossView.
Fashion apparel retailer Express is releasing its first catalog. The 48-page book is expected to be in mailboxes by the end of August.
The idea behind the promotion is an excellent way to help drive emerging technology. Unfortunately, a sampling of catalogs that have come across my desk show the use of QR codes is poorly carried out.
Business-to-business sports equipment merchant Sport Supply Group has combined its athletic catalog and field sales operations into one division called BSN Sports. The company will also change its corporate name to BSN Sports on Dec. 31.
Usage of mobile apps for mobile search far outweighs mobile app offerings by merchants, according to a pair of studies released in July. A survey by multichannel platform provider CrossView shows that just 12% of large retailers offer mobile apps to their customers. Meanwhile, a study by digital measurement company ComScore shows consumers are big on using mobile apps for local search.
An SEO and custom content campaign conducted by search engine tracker AdGooroo and online marketer Rocket Clicks for Sam Ash has helped the musical instrument retailer grow its online business. In six months after the program began, SamAsh.com experienced a 15% increase in organic search traffic and a 30% increase in year-over-year sales for the month of April 2011. What’s more, Sam Ash saw a 29% increase in overall sales, which include both phone and ecommerce.
Robert Passikoff, president of loyalty marketing firm Brand Keys, says Borders dug its own grave. For example, instead of adding e-readers, Borders’ inventory went from just books to also include mugs, candles and stationery.
Nearly four years after Takkt America sold it to private equity firm Caxton-Iseman Capital for $48 million, Conney Safety Products has made its own acquisition.
by David Fish
Posted 4 days ago
by Curt Barry
Posted 5 days ago


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PlayStation Now takes video games to an atmospheric level
Sony's PlayStation Now streaming game service is set to release during the summer in North America.
This is the culmination of Sony’s purchase of Gaikai, a cloud-powered gaming framework, back in July 2012.
While Sony never specifically outlined its intentions after purchasing Gaikai for $380 million, it was widely assumed thatit would be used to stream video games as the company shared its desire to one day have its entire library available via the Internet.
Sony lifted the veil of mystery at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas as it detailed the PlayStation Now service. Players will be able to instantly access PlayStation 3 games on the PS3, PS4, PlayStation Vita, Sony Bravia television sets, smartphones and tablets. There was no information provided about original PlayStation or PlayStation 2 games, though that would seem like a certainty in the future.
PlayStation Now will feature a subscription model or players can rent games one at a time. This begs the question: To whom is this service supposed to appeal? There are a host of concerns for this monumental initiative.
Sony was quick to reiterate that PlayStation Now was not backwards compatibility for PlayStation 4 users. It is simply an alternative for users to experience PS3 games on the PS4 via streaming over the Internet, but there are many gamers who still own their PlayStation 3 with digital copies of games and older PlayStation consoles and games.
Physical media versus digital media became a hot button topic with the furor over Microsoft’s desire to move video game media towards digital only. Sony capitalized on the backlash by ensuring gamers that physical media would remain available for the PS4 even though Sony also desires to move into a digital-only future.
Although they may be in the minority, there are plenty of consumers — many of whom are PC gamers — that are ready for the digital switchover thanks to digital delivery services like Steam and Origin. PlayStation Now could certainly help Sony move away from physical media by providing streaming services to new releases in addition to their current library of games.
It is recommended that users have a five-megabyte-per-second Internet connection at minimum to ensure better performance.
The U.S., ranked 35 out of 148 countries in Internet bandwidth by The World Economic Forum, has consistently been behind other countries in offering high-speed Internet services to consumers.
High-speed Internet providers also cap users’ bandwidth in many areas and streaming PS3 games could easily eat up a user’s allotted bandwidth in a month.
Players who still maintain their consoles and games may prefer physical copies of games or may not meet the bandwidth requirement to experience streaming high-quality gaming effectively. These people are effectively alienated from the full capability of this service.
That is a problem when Sony is going to lean heavily on subscriptions to recoup the costs of buying Gaikai and maintaining the infrastructure to keep it running.
PlayStation Now’s real appeal might be in the ability to stream to alternate devices like smartphones and tablets. Even though a dual shock three controller will be required to play the games, PlayStation Now could conceivably be a colossal success if Sony is able to penetrate the mobile market, something none of the video game console manufacturers have been able to do effectively to this point.
The future for PlayStation Now is hard to predict. There are variables that alienate the current user base and casual gamers are not the early adopters of the PlayStation 4 but the potential for Sony to tap into an entirely new market share could prove very rewarding.
Reach the reporter at email@example.com or follow him on Twitter @NefariousMike


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Aurora Cannabis Inc. is on the hunt for more savings after wrapping a transformation plan that delivered at least $400 million in savings over the last three years.
The Edmonton-based cannabis producer said Wednesday that it wants to uncover another $40 million in savings by the end of next March, which marks the end of the company’s fiscal year.
“This incremental reduction puts us squarely on the path to reach our next financial milestone, which is positive free cash flow,” Miguel Martin announced on a call with analysts.
Free cash flow is an indicator of a company’s financial performance because it encapsulates money a company makes after accounting for expenses that support operations.
Profitability has been difficult across Canada’s cannabis industry, where a lack of demand, strict regulations and the strength of the illicit market have hampered the financial performance of most businesses. Many, including Aurora and its rivals, have resorted to layoffs, facility closures and intense evaluations of their product mix to weather such conditions.
Aurora, which has been pursuing sales in several European markets, recently decided to close its Nordic production facility in Denmark and rely on its Canadian facilities to supply the market.
The Canadian facilities have a lower per unit costs, higher quality and a much more reliable supply, chief financial officer Glen Ibbott said on the same call as Martin.
“We believe this change, in addition to reduced costs, will allow us to compete even more effectively in the growing European market, where we already have a substantial leadership position,” he said.
Across the entire business this fiscal year, he said Aurora was aiming to take away at least $5 million quarterly as less efficient operations are eliminated and at least another $5 million from cost reduction initiatives.
He also expects the company to save about $2 million per interest quarter in interest as it pays off the remainder of its convertible debt, which stands at about $80 million. Ibbot said Aurora intends to pay the debt off at the end of this fiscal year.
His remarks came as the company revealed its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization totalled $310,000 for the quarter ended March 31 compared with a loss of $10 million a year earlier.
Net revenue totalled $64.0 million for what was the company’s third quarter, up from $50.4 million in the same quarter last year.
Aurora says medical cannabis revenue for the quarter totalled $38.0 million, down from $39.4 million, due to limited supply of high-demand products in certain European markets as the company had production issues at its Nordic production facility.
Consumer cannabis revenue amounted to $14.5 million, up from $10.3 million in the same quarter last year.
One of the company’s brights spots was Bevo Agtech Inc., a supplier of vegetable seedlings and flowers, which it acquired last year.
Aurora earned $10.8 million in plant propagation revenue from Bevo in the quarter, which Martin attributed to the seasonality of the business.
Bevo revenues, he explained, are highest in the late winter and spring months.
– By Tara Deschamps, THE CANADIAN PRESS
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To get the week’s latest must-read stories from the cannabis world direct to your inbox, sign up for our weekly newsletter at canadianevergreen.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.


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(NEXSTAR) — If you grew up in Texas (or the south, in general) in the 1990s, you’re no stranger to tasting the rainbow — Blue Bell’s rainbow, that is. But it’s likely been a while since you’ve seen Blue Bell Rainbow Freeze popsicles pop up in an ice cream freezer.
So just whatever happened to the multi-colored childhood favorite?
“Our Rainbow Freeze bar is certainly an iconic ‘throwback’ product of ours,” a Blue Bell representative told Nexstar. “It was first introduced in 1991 and shortly afterwards we started selling Mini Rainbow Freeze bars in 1995. Both products were discontinued in 2015, however.”
Blue Bell says it keeps products and flavors in production based on a variety of different factors, including consumer demand, ingredient/supplier availability, and having enough shelf space for all of its items.
Though it’s now been eight years since Rainbow Freeze disappeared, the internet hasn’t forgotten about them.
In July, TikToker kaitmorri66 released a video begging Blue Bell with one request: “Please bring these back!!”
“If I’m not the only one who wants these, let’s make this happen,” she said in the video. “Let’s get on here and be like, [chanting] ‘RAINBOW POPS! RAINBOW POPS! BLUE BELL, WE WANT RAINBOW POPS!'”
And although this 2017 Change.org petition only got 773 of its 1,000-signature goal to “Bring Back Blue Bell Snack Items,” many dedicated fans supported the campaign for the return of not just Rainbow Freeze but Blue Bell’s Fudge Bars and more.
Coincidentally, just three days before the publication of this article, a thread dedicated to the Rainbow Freeze popped up in the /90s sub reddit.
Blue Bell currently distributes to stores in most of the South, in addition to several Midwest states — though you can order online from anywhere in the U.S.
But what if you’re craving Blue Bell’s rainbow popsicles specifically? Is there ever a chance customers could get a taste again?
It’s not impossible, says a Blue Bell representative.
“We always want to provide our consumers with products they love — so hopefully one day!” Blue Bell told Nexstar in regard to a potential return of the pops. “… Ice cream flavors or products that go in and out of rotation always have a chance of returning!”
What’s more, customers can request flavors and products to Blue Bell Creameries directly.


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– Tom Lee has lowered his year-end bitcoin price target to $15,000 from $25,000
– SIX Swiss Exchange will list the world’s first exchange traded product
– Silver Castle, Israel’s cryptocurrency investment firm, launched two funds this month and expects to have $50 million under management by the end of the year
– Bank of America has won a patent for a system that allows enterprise-level institutions to store cryptocurrencies owned by their customers
Tom Lee, Wall Street analyst and co-founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, has lowered his year-end bitcoin price target to $15,000 from $25,000.
“While bitcoin broke below that psychologically important $6,000, this has lead to a renewed wave of pessimism,” said Lee. “But we believe the negative swing in sentiment is much worse than the fundamental implications.”
According to FT, Switzerland’s main stock exchange SIX Swiss Exchange will list the world’s first exchange traded product (ETP) tracking multiple cryptocurrencies.
The Amun Crypto ETP, which will start trading this week, has been designed to track an index based on the movements of five leading cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ripple (XRP), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC).
Silver Castle, Israel’s first dedicated cryptocurrency investment firm for institutional and accredited investors, launched two funds this month and expects to have $50 million under management by the end of the year.
Bank of America, one of the largest U.S banks, has won a patent for a system that allows enterprise-level institutions to store cryptocurrencies owned by their customers.
The document suggests that a customer account may be credited with an equivalent value to their cryptocurrency deposits, though the funds themselves would be stored in an aggregated enterprise account.
As the patent explains: “Enterprises may handle a large number of financial transactions on a daily basis. As technology advances, financial transactions involving cryptocurrency have become more common. For some enterprises, it may be desirable to aggregate cryptocurrency deposited by customers in an enterprise account.”
To that end, the bank’s system includes a processor and memory to store a private key associated with some cryptocurrency holdings. The patent goes on to describe how this system would be able to both store the holdings, as well as facilitate transactions when authorized.
This sort of system brings a number of benefits in terms of using less bandwidth and memory, as well as requiring fewer computational and power resources, according to the document.


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The American Childhood Cancer Organization is working to bring more accessible ways to fundraise to our community and has recently started working with CardFunder, a new fundraising platform. CardFunder, allows nonprofits to turn unwanted gift cards into fundraising dollars. Recently, CardFunder launched its online giving platform and Mobile App, which makes fundraising even easier—and donating even more convenient. Donors can give new or partially used gift cards directly through the American Childhood Cancer Organization online campaign page or via Mobile APP powered by CardFunder.
This free tool allows donors to contribute from anywhere in the U.S., making it a game-changer for nonprofit fundraising. “We’re always looking for a new and innovative way to fundraise for our community,” said Blair Scroggs, Public Relations Coordinator at ACCO. Organizations can easily hold a virtual or hybrid fundraiser that solicits gift card donations from supporters across the nation.
“We are honored to support ACCO’s mission to be the voice of childhood and adolescent cancer,” said Russ Howard, CEO at CardFunder”. By giving nonprofits an innovative new avenue for fundraising, CardFunder allows them to tap into the billions of unused gift card dollars. Americans have $21 billion in unused gift card funds, averaging $175 per person. Much of that amount will go to waste unless we pursue innovative ways of tapping into those funds. Many people forget to spend their gift card money or didn’t want it to begin with.
Why let these unwanted funds go to waste? With the help of CardFunder, ACCO can set up a fundraiser in minutes. Then, they share their link on their social networks, posting it on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. They also receive a QR code to and URL-sharing link. Donors scan their gift cards and enter the numbers, following a few simple prompts.
“We’re really excited to see where this collaboration will take us,” said Scroggs.
Interested in getting involved with ACCO and Cardfunder? Click here.
The American Childhood Cancer Organization was founded in 1970 by parents of children diagnosed with cancer. It is dedicated to making childhood cancer a national health priority through shaping policy, expanding research, raising awareness, and providing educational resources and innovative comfort programs to children with cancer and their families. Please visit www.acco.org/donate
CardFunder powers fundraising efforts by enabling organizations to accept unwanted gift cards and monetizing the cards into cash donations. Serving schools, churches, nonprofits, and other groups, CardFunder provides all the tools needed to easily run a gift card campaign. Through these efforts, CardFunder helps local groups and large nonprofits tap into the more than $20B in unspent gift cards.
Founder / CEO
Blair L. Scroggs
Public Relations Coordinator


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This year is shaping up to be the year of the foldable phone with many others on the horizon.
The 1TB Samsung eUFS chip is now in mass production and now smartphones can easily have the same amount of storage as...
Tune in to Radiophonicus on YouTube every week!
Samsung's smartphone designs have been a real pleasure to behold over the past few years.
Just a few weeks after CES 2019, here we are with an impressive looking Samsung 4K OLED laptop display.
LG and Samsung are currently the market leaders in foldable screen innovation.
The Samsung Notebook Flash will start at US$349.99 beginning on January 15.
Samsung laptops will have more diamond cut edges, diamond cut patterns and new keyboard designs.
Priced in at $14,999.99USD this isn't a cheap TV and since it is 8K capable with AI upscaling, that adds to the...
Samsung says they are the #1 selling appliance brand in the United States and the fastest growing brand in the last 9-years.
Samsung has changed things up a bit by emphasizing performance and design on the Notebook Odyssey.
2019 marks the 50th anniversary of Samsung Electronics giving it five decades of creating technology many of us use day in and...
Samsung Smart TVs will soon support Apple AirPlay 2 as well as iTunes Movies & TV.
The CRG9 is the world’s first high-resolution super ultra-wide gaming monitor with 32:9 aspect ratio.
This new feature will bring the ability to use peripherals like keyboards with the TV making on-screen input easier for the user.
Both The Frame and SERIF TV fall into Samsung's "lifestyle" television lineup.
The new folding smartphone is said to have two battery packs one on each side for a total of 6,000 mAh.
The Notebook 9 Pen is built with an all-metal and aluminum frame that makes it durable and stylish.
If you're looking for a 55" TV for Christmas this year, the Samsung Q7CN is the one you should buy.
With Big Red and Samsung coming out with a 5G smartphone, we should see Verizon expand 5G to more cities in the...
Each day’s deal will run for 24 hours only. Once that day’s deal ends, the next one begins.
Samsung flexible display technology has been seen throughout the years in everything from the S7 Edge to the current Galaxy Note9.
The 860 QVO SSD comes in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities and is built on Samsung's high-density 4-bit multi-level cell (MLC) NAND...
The Frame not only serves as a place to showcase photos and art but it is a fully working smart TV complete...
The president of Samsung's device solutions division, Kinam Kim, stated that the company "failed to sufficiently manage health threats."
The Samsung Infinity Flex foldable smartphone was introduced last week.
News, rumors, and commentary swirling around folding smartphones have really taken off since the Infinity Flex Display was introduced.
The Samsung Chromebook Plus (LTE) is targeted to users who rely on internet-based apps and services to stream music and videos and...


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This year promises to be a record year for recalls. General Motors, on its own, has recalled more than 40-million cars in the first six months of this year alone, and promises to recall more in the months ahead. That is especially troubling news for buyers of used cars.
The country’s largest seller of used cars is under the spotlight after a number of consumer groups petitioned the federal administration to take action against CarMax. These groups take objection to the company’s promise that all the cars that it sells are inspected regularly to ensure that defective cars are not sold to consumers. A coalition of eleven consumer groups has petitioned the Federal Trade Commission concerning this matter.
According to the petition, it is deceptive for the dealer to claim its vehicles have passed inspections while the company has not taken even the most basic steps to identify whether the car was previously involved in a safety recall, and whether safety defects have been addressed. It appears that CarMax does not fix recalls while continuing to claim that its cars have been inspected for safety. The Center for Auto Safety Consumers Union, the Consumer Federation of America and the National Consumer Law Center claims that CarMax’s promises are false.
The petition is complicated because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is not currently authorized to require dealers of used cars like CarMax to make repairs to defective cars. The consumer groups, therefore, ask in their petition that current federal advertising laws be changed, so that CarMax is not able to make promises that it’s cars are being inspected for safety defects.
A regular used car buyer who is not aware of recall notices is likely to believe that the car he is buying from CarMax has already undergone stringent safety inspections. According to the petition, CarMax actually lists out several components that it supposedly inspects, without making it clear that those components could actually be defective, and could have been the reason for an earlier recall.
The General Motors recall this year involves cars that were manufactured many years ago. These are cars that likely already have been sold and landed on the used car market. Some of the defects in these cars that the company identified include very serious defects that have resulted in fatalities. The biggest of these recalls involves 2.6 million cars with a defective ignition switch. The company has admitted that the problem is linked to 13 fatalities in car accidents.
With so many older cars ending up on recall lists, CarMax must come clean, and must make it clear that it does not necessarily fix every single recalled car on its used-car lot.
The Indiana personal injury lawyers at Montross Miller Muller Mendelson Kennedy LLP represent persons injured in car accidents across Indiana.


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The overall round comprises an equity raise worth $28 million led by Denmark-based MAJ Invest, while the debt and some parts of equity has been raised from UK-based investment firm Fasanara Capital. Family office of Sanjay Nayar, who led KKR in India for more than a decade, Hong Kong-based Banga family and Alliance Tire Group founder Yogesh Mahansaria have also invested as a part of the equity raise.
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According to the company, it plans to utilise the capital to focus on technology development and double its loan book via its colending, buy-now-pay-later services (BNPL) and supply chain finance platforms. The startup will also continue to invest in technology and strengthen aspects of customer automation, risk management and analytics capabilities.
Asialink Advisors, founded by former CIMB India Investment Banking head Anjani Kumar and Axis Capital were advisors to the transaction.
Founded in 2016 by Indian School of Business alumni Deepak Jain, Ritesh Jain and Manish Lunia and IIT Bombay alumnus Abhishek Kothari, FlexiLoans is an embedded finance platform with more than 120 partners including e-commerce giants like Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa, Myntra, and others. It helps provide financing to sellers or vendors of these ecommerce platforms.
“We currently disburse over Rs 100 crore of loans monthly and plan to double this run rate over the next year, with our co-lending platform contributing a significant share of growth,” said cofounder Deepak Jain in an interaction with ET.
The Mumbai-based startup claims to have disbursed over Rs 1,700 crore of loans to MSMEs till date to merchants in over 1,600 Indian cities.
The platform is now targetting to deploy Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 1,800 crore of loans in the next 12 months. A large portion of its loan book is generated from disbursals to small businesses in Tier 2 and 3 towns.
The company is also looking to grow inorganically through acquisitions.
“We are also looking at acquisitions in areas which will help us grow. We want to continue to be a digital MSME lender and any startup that helps us grow in this segment, we will be interested in,” said Deepak Jain about acquisitions.
The fintech startup had previously raised a little over $20 million in equity and debt back in October 2020 led by Falguni and Sanjay Nayar family office.
The company currently claims to clock an annualized revenue run rate (ARR) of Rs 100 crore and presently has an active loan book of Rs 500 crore, Jain said.
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India received ‘normal’ rainfall during the four-month-long monsoon season despite El Niño conditions, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.Byju’s Puts Up a Two-week Notice for FY22 Results
Byju's said on Saturday that it would in the second week of October present the audited fiscal-2022 results to its board, advisory council as well as investors Peak XV Partners and Prosus that have recently withdrawn their representatives from the edtech firm’s board.‘No Inflation Risk from Rising Oil Prices’
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The City of Port Orange has discontinued its online utility billing and business tax payment system, Click2Gov, indefinitely, citing possible security concerns and protocols that do not meet city standards, according to a Nov. 8 press release.
The shutdown includes monthly credit card auto-pay, as well as one-time online payments, which include both water utility billing and business tax renewals.
“The City of Port Orange is taking a cautious approach to protect its customers’ information,” the release stated.
Port Orange officials have forced a precautionary suspension of the online payment system at least twice in two years. Once in 2017, when hackers caused data breaches that threatened Ormond Beach. This year, the city shuttered the system again in October, when officials again became concerned about program breaches.
The city’s customer service staff is available for questions and to process payments over the phone at 386-506-5720 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for Wednesday when the office closes at 4 p.m. Customers interested in paying their bill in person are encouraged to stop by customer service in City Hall, using the city’s drive-thru and an after-hours drop box on the north side of City Hall, located at 1000 City Center Circle. Customers can also pay by mail or set up automated payments through Automated Clearing House (ACH). This shutdown does not disrupt customers who use personal bill pay through their bank.
For business tax renewals, Community Development staff is available to process payments over the phone by calling 386-506-5602 or in person by stopping by Community Development, located on the second floor of City Hall between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
City staff is looking into alternative payment methods that will be convenient, while at the same time maximizing the protection of residents’ information in the online world, which is the city’s number one priority, the release stated, adding that it will provide more information as it becomes available.


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It won’t rival the Las Vegas Strip, but downtown El Segundo is about to get a little brighter, a tad shinier and a touch more glitz.
Strands of tiny white lights strung along trees will start illuminating a chunk of Main Street this week, marking the first stage of a long-planned marketing campaign that business owners hope will attract more shoppers to the commercial drag.
“We’re just going to put little LED lights in the trees, and I think it’s really going to enhance the downtown at night,” said Cris Bennett, owner of Good Stuff restaurant and a member of the committee that developed the marketing strategy.
“I think it’s going to look really cool,” he added.
And if others agree, the city could opt to extend the environmentally friendly lighting beyond the
300 block of Main Street, said Mayor Kelly McDowell, who works with the downtown committee.
Next up in the marketing blitz is a series of decorative banners incorporating the area’s motto – “No tension. No pretension.” – and featuring silhouettes of people shopping, dining and playing downtown.
The banners should go up on light poles on Grand Avenue – a main east-west corridor through town – in coming months, a move city leaders and shopkeepers hope will give the fledgling retail core some identity at long last.
The flags’ $28,000 price tag was covered by money provided by developers of giant shopping center Plaza El Segundo during project negotiations a few years back.
Plaza backers handed over the $250,000 specifically to help market the city’s downtown – and also as a good-faith measure to ensure the shopping center wouldn’t overshadow the smaller retailers west of Sepulveda Boulevard.
And almost two years after the plaza’s opening, downtown businesses are apparently faring just fine. To hear most tell it, business isn’t half bad in the quaint commercial core – proprietors just wouldn’t mind seeing a bigger mix of South Bay-based stores.
To that end, El Segundo’s marketing efforts aren’t just about attracting shoppers: City leaders and business owners hope a little glimmer might catch the eye of retailers looking for a new location, city leaders said.
“I think the No. 1 problem is there are too many Main Street spaces occupied by nonretail,” Bennett said. “So the downtown is just real fragmented.”
One of the next steps in the marketing plan is to hire a business recruitment specialist to help add more regional, retail-focused establishments to the area, Bennett said.
Which is apparently easier said than done.
“To get niche retail business, you’re going to have to look hard and have to look in the right places, and that is not easy,” McDowell said.
“It’s smaller spaces that are available – a lot of regional and national chains aren’t interested, and, frankly, it would be nice if we didn’t have to rely on that.”
Bennett, who opened the El Segundo branch of Good Stuff about three years ago, acknowledged that attracting new businesses could be a long process, given the area’s quiet weekends and light evening crowds.
“We’re not looking for major retailers to go downtown,” Bennett said. “We want regional guys to come in – it’s a process though. It can’t happen all at once.”
But city leaders hope a little downtown mood lighting might arouse the interest of new retailers.
“I think the signage will help a lot, and the lights will help,” McDowell said. “Once prospects see the place all lit up at night, they’re going to have a completely different view of downtown.”


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Two weeks ago, the PlayStation 5 Showcase unveiled Hogwarts Legacy, an RPG set in the Harry Potter universe, developed by Avalanche Software. The announcement was accompanied by the first trailer and interest in it turned out to be enormous.
Yesterday, the trailer of Hogwarts Legacy on PlayStation's official YouTube channel exceeded 10 million views. No other material on the channel has achieved such result so quickly. At the time of writing this news the counter has reached almost 11 million. Over the next few weeks, the trailer is likely to enter the top ten of the most popular videos on the channel - to do so, it needs to best the E3 traile of Final Fantasy VII from 2015, which currently has 15.9 million views collected over five years.
Of course, it's important to remember that the result of Hogwarts Legacy was achieved only on PlayStation's channel. The trailer has watched several times more views in total, as it is available on countless channels, not to mention other websites.
The results show that the interest in the game is enormous. This is not particularly surprising, as Harry Potter is still one of the strongest brands in modern pop culture, and players have been waiting for high-budget RPG set in the universe.
It seems that the game will turn out to be a great hit despite the controversies surrounding the creator of this franchise, the writer J.K. Rowling. Emotions in social media are hot - there is even a trend of burning Rowling's books on TikTok, but this does not necessarily translate into lower sales results of the game. Publisher Warner Bros. Interactive prefers to play it safe, however, and has recently issued a statement assuring that Rowling is not involved in the Avalanche Games; project.
Hogwarts Legacy is coming to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5. The release is expected next year.
- Hogwarts Legacy - official website


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Google is almost running out of AR/VR projects to kill off. The company announced today in an email to Poly users that they will be shutting down the 3D-object creation and library platform “for
With Roblox joining the end-of-year unicorn stampede toward the public markets, we’re set for a contentedly busy second half of November and early December. I hope you didn’t have vacation
Roblox, the child-friendly gaming company, filed to go public today. Its listing comes one day after the lending company Affirm initiated its own public offering and a mere two days after Airbnb’s
On the heels of two IPOs pricing above raised ranges, Unity boosted the value of its own impending debut this morning. The well-known unicorn is currently set to begin trading this Friday, pricing aft
Welcome to Tuesday of TechCrunch Disrupt week. In a few hours, I’m hosting a panel about how startups can reach $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) with the CEOs of Egnyte, GitLab and
A look back at Extra Crunch's top stories over the last few days.
Key data points from its S-1 filing help explain Unity's ability to stay ahead of the curve.
Unity is currently in a powerful position as the key platform for developing VR/AR content and distributing it across different operating systems and devices.
Unity, the company behind the popular real-time 3D engine, today officially launched its Cloud Content Delivery service. This new service, which is engine-agnostic, combines a content delivery network
After far too few startups appeared ready to take advantage of warm public market conditions and ecstatic IPO receptions, a deluge of private companies filed to go public yesterday. There was Sumo Log
Asana, the project management software developer, dropped its filing for a direct listing on one of the busiest days of a surprisingly busy late summer. The task management toolkit provider started by
Unity, the company founded in a Copenhagen apartment in 2004, is poised for an initial public offering with numbers that look pretty strong. Even as its main competitor, Epic Games, is in the throes o
Silver Lake is doubling down its bet on India’s Reliance Jio Platforms. The U.S. private equity firm said Friday it is buying an additional stake worth $600 million in the top Indian telecom ope
Saar Gur is adept at identifying the next big consumer trends earlier than most: The San Francisco-based general partner at CRV has led investments into leading consumer internet companies like Nianti
As the infrastructure for developing games becomes more advanced, studios have turned to buying best-in-class technology from others instead of building everything from scratch (often with inferior qu
Weeks after Facebook invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms, India’s top telecom operator, private equity firm Silver Lake is following suit — and is willing to pay a premium for it. Silv
Unity has acquired AI game developer tools startup Artomatix. The Dublin startup builds developer tools that allow game studios to more easily create deep learning-enhanced textures that scale more co
What do BMW, Tencent, Pokémon Go creator Niantic, movie director Jon Favreau and construction giant Skanska have in common? They’re all using the same platform to create their products. Founded in
Let us connect some dots. Five years ago, Facebook acquired VR pioneers Oculus for $2 billion. This week, it snapped up neural-interface pioneers CTRL-Labs for somewhere north of $500 million, and ann
What can you do with virtual reality when you have complete control of the physical space around the player? How “real” can virtual reality become? That’s the core concept behind The


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[Update: Samsung’s response] Samsung to allegedly cut 1,000 jobs in India due to pressure from Chinese rivals
Samsung is the largest mobile phone OEM by volume in the world, but its dominance in India is challenged by Chinese peers like Xiaomi, Vivo, Realme etc. The Korean manufacturer was at the leading smartphone brand in India until the second half of 2017 it lost this title to Xiaomi. The company has been moving forward aggressively with the new Galaxy M series and the refreshed Galaxy A series to recover its sales but the pressure doesn’t seem to end anytime soon. Samsung is now reportedly firing 1,000 employees as part of its cost-cutting endeavors.
Alongside the smartphone division, these jobs will also be cut from Samsung’s electronics arm which manufactures TVs as well as other home appliances. With this “cost rationalization” exercise – and reduction in margins, Samsung primarily aims to cut the prices of its smartphones and televisions. Since 2017, Samsung has already reduced the prices of these products by up to 40% to allure Indian consumer as the company faces challenges from Chinese rivals.
Samsung currently has nearly 20,000 employees in India and is reviewing the performance of nearly 10% of the employees. These employees are employed in the sales, marketing, R&D, manufacturing, finance, HR, and corporate relations departments.
Besides reevaluating the prices of its products, Samsung also intends to build a team for 5G-related development in India. The company will also decide on frozen recruitments based on the financial recovery following its job-cutting endeavor.
As per reports, Samsung has already begun the realignment of its workforce and laid off nearly 150 employees out of the intended 1,000. The exercise is set to be concluded by October of this year.
According to Tarun Pathak, the associate director at Counterpoint Research, Samsung was able to recover declining sales in the last quarter with the global success of the Galaxy S10 series. The company has also streamlined its portfolio of products and the recovery depends on consistent performance over the next few quarters.
Latest data reports that Xiaomi led online smartphone sales in the first quarter of this calendar year with a 43% market share, followed by Samsung at 15%, which is basically around one-third. Overall, Xiaomi leads the smartphone market with a 29% share while Samsung stands second with 23% of the sales.
Source: The Economic Times
Update: Samsung denies job cuts
After the publishing of this post, Samsung reached out to us with a comment. As per the written communication shared by Samsung, the report by The Economic Times about it cutting 1,000 jobs is speculative. The company also said that it has hired more than 2,000 people over the last year and will be creating more opportunities in India through various endeavors.
Here’s an official statement by Samsung India’s spokesperson:
“Today’s article about Samsung in a section of the media is misleading. Samsung is committed to India and continues to invest significantly across its businesses.
We have demonstrated our commitment by building the World’s Largest Mobile Factory in Noida, investing in local R&D and we are exploring new businesses such as 5G Network, among others. In the past one year, we have generated 2,000 new jobs at Samsung. Samsung India’s business continues to grow and expand, hence we will hire more talent across businesses through the year. As we contribute to job creation, we continuously realign resources as per business priorities to make our business more robust and efficient for long-term success.
As regards to business, with new products across categories, we have been able to consolidate our market share further, and we are confident of another record year.”


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We have been shortlisted as one of the hottest Greentech startups in Europe from one of the hottest awards in Europe – and you can actually help us bring it home.
All we need is your vote to support our mission of making solar easy for everyone.
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Voting closes on May 20, 11:59 PM (BST)
Today, after more than a decade of identifying Europe’s most ambitious and successful startups, including Spotify, Transferwise, Soundcloud and Babylon Health and many others, The Europas has grown into the premier awards for Europe’s hottest tech startups. As the intersection of tech, business and society grows increasingly complex, it is our mission more than ever to spotlight those European tech startups that address relevant, urgent, large-scale, global issues that face us all in the 21st century.


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This is one of the greatest scientific accomplishments over the last year in Latvia, and could allow phones to work longer, as well as electric cars to drive further. Last year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to John Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for the development of lithium-ion batteries.
“The batteries that they discovered and can currently be bought at the market are 4 volt batteries. Batteries are currently a 250 billion dollar yearly market. They're everywhere, clocks, laptops, electric cars,” said Eglītis.
His new batteries are more powerful than the ones currently on the market. It took the scientist 20 years of work to create this battery, including time at universities in Singapore, the US, China and Germany.
“We're the first ones in the world that can see the opportunity to create a new 5 volt battery using a new 5 volt cathode material – Li2CoMn3O8. The economic effects of this new material are huge," continued Eglītis.
Our scientists have theoretically proved that it's really possible to create such batteries that contain up to 20% more energy, without increasing production costs. Several respectable scientific journals have already published the results of the research.
"Such prominent theoretical works are very important so that we can start new projects and move from theory to technology, to create materials and continue testing them" said Latvian Academy of Sciences academic Juris Purāns.
"Product implementation usually takes 5-10 years. Tesla has a secret laboratory in America, I presume that they're already using our new material in their secret laboratory," said Eglītis.
Eglītis and his colleagues at the institute have at the same time developed a method for producing solar batteries more effectively in the future.


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Ukiah Police Chief Chris Dewey says the area has seen an increase mail thefts lately. Dewey said most of the mail thefts reported this month have been on the south side of town, affecting streets like Betty and Lorraine, as well as Helen Avenue. Dewey says mail is a target because people are sending money and gift cards, and credit card companies are mailing new card offers and blank checks. Dewey said the best thing to do is have your mail delivered to a post office box, or use a locked mail box. He also says neighbors should keep an eye on each other’s homes and call police if they see anything suspicious.
Mail Thefts On the Rise


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Sony has just launched a new ad campaign that gives members of the public a chance to win a whole host of Sony goodies. The Xperia Unleashed event sees the little Xperiabots seen in Sony’s recent TV adverts for its phones plastered all round London and Manchester, and online. If you find one, scan its QR code, enter the code manually in your phone or tweet a photo, and you could be in with a chance of winning.
There will be no cost of entry – not even a text – and prizes will include:
- Sony NXT phones (Xperia S, Xperia P etc)
- Sony 4-screen packages (Phone, Tablet, PC, TV)
- Film tickets
- DJ session
- Tickets to gigs
To get clues as to the whereabouts of the Xperiabots you can follow the @xperiaunleased Twitter account and the #xperiaunleashed hashtag. You can also find more information on Sony Mobile’s Facebook page.


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Quick – hands up if you’re still on a high from watching the Friends reunion! Well, we sure are, and it looks like there’s one more Friends treat to look out for next year. Based on what may be considered one the biggest comebacks in recent years, is a Friends Fan Cruise scheduled for voyage in May 2022. With the nickname ‘The One Where They Went On a Cruise’, the entire ride will make you feel as if you’re a part of the show.
The Celebrity Equinox ship by Celebrity Cruises is hosting this special trip will sail for a week, departing from and back to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. Pitstops will be made along the route in Key West, Florida; Cozumel, Mexico; and George Town, Grand Cayman. Before ecstatic fans start wishing on a star that cast members might make a surprise appearance, unfortunately, they won’t be taking to the seas as this trip isn’t organised by the owners of the franchise. But don’t worry, heaps of fun Friends-themed activities await.
Among the themed activities on board are costume contests where you can make like your favourite characters and cooking demos where you can make like Monica. We’re hoping (read: expecting) there will be a Central Perk café on board too, but we shall see. There will also be shore excursion options such as a helicopter ride overlooking Grand Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach if you’re feeling fancy like Rachel or a tour of the Ernest Hemingway Home if you want to nerd out like Ross. Could this be any more fun?
As for how much this trip will set you back, per person prices start at USD1,648.66 (approximately RM6,791) and go up to a whopping USD3,048.66 (approximately RM12,559) for a Sky Suite with veranda. Of course, these fares include Wi-Fi, taxes, a drinks package, and shore excursion credits. Unfortunately, although the Celebrity Equinox can carry up to 2,800 guests, this Friends Fan Cruise is limited to 500 pax. So, you’re going to need to book a spot quickly if you want to beat out the rest of those Friends superfans.
Naturally, there are COVID-19 precautions set in place, such as a mandatory health questionnaire for all travellers. Travellers above 16 are also expected to be vaccinated against the disease, and the cruise liner expects proof of inoculation — a vaccine passport can’t come soon enough. But other than that, all you’re going to remember from this trip is that “We were on a break!”
Follow The Celebrity Equinox for more celebrity cruises: