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With successful TV breakthroughs coming from unlikely places, Jane Rogerson, director of commissioning at UKTV, explains the appeal of bold and risky TV commissions. According to Jane, the TV industry is at an exciting point of change and innovation.
Tien Tzuo, founder and CEO of Zuora, explains why media organisations need to become more customer focused to effectively monetise their content. According to Tien, 'the subscription economy' has changed the relationship between these organisations and their readers.
The next frontier of technology is the 'internet of things' of inter-device communication, and wearable computing, where the form-factor of a phone or tablet is no longer the norm, according to MIT's Dr Federico Casalegno at the 2012 Mobile Business Summit
In this presentation titled 'Social by design, from advertising to UX', Thomas Marzano, global creative director for Digital Brand Design at Philips discusses how brands should connect with consumers in a digital world where brand perception is built on how users interact with your products and services. This talk was filmed at the Guardian's Changing Advertising Summit 2012
Consumers desire authenticity, and in a digital world can suss out lies quickly. What can brands do to stay on the right side of consumers? Featuring Jane Wilson (CIPR), Marian Salzman (Euro RSCG Worldwide) and Graham Hales (Interbrand London)
Bruce Daisley, director of UK Sales at Twitter, talks at the 2012 Changing Advertising Summit about how Twitter is being used as a bridge to connect different media, with a large portion of user activity centred around mobile and around live events
John Winsor, chief innovation officer at Havas and CEO at Victors & Spoils, looks at how creative applications of technology are disrupting the traditional building blocks and processes of advertising campaigns. Filmed at the Changing Advertising Summit


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Listen up, telemarketers, Nigerian princes and far-flung pharmacies trying to get me to buy Viagra: You may annoy me via email, postal mail and even via Facebook, but when you start harassing me via text message, you’ve gone too far.
And yet, somehow, they don’t seem to care. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, spam SMS in the U.S. surged 45 percent in 2011, to 4.5 billion. The costs associated with this are huge. For many recipients, it’s galling to be targeted by these messages, but it’s a whole new level of irritation to have to pay for it. Then there are the carriers, who field customer-service calls from irate subscribers at $5 to 50 a pop.
The Federal Trade Commission filed suit against some of the major spammers last year, but that hardly seems to have made a dent. Perpetrators are loving this brave new world of cell phone spam texts, since it carries none of the peskiness of email junk mail filters. And since it’s easy to find phone numbers online or crunch out random phone numbers every moment of the day, there’s not much to dissuade them. In one case, the FTC even charged a spammer of sending 5 million junk messages (mostly about loan-modification programs and debt relief). According to the agency, the accused sent out as many as 85 spam texts per minute, 24 hours a day.
There’s no doubt about it, the mobile spam scene is exploding. And we all need to brace ourselves, because it’s only going to get worse from here.
Do you get spam texts on your phone, or do you have a strategy that helps you avoid it? Let us know in the comments.

domain: news


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Hype builds, rumours swirl ahead of Samsung’s launch of Galaxy S8 – next generation of its flagship smartphone
Tech giant aims to bounce back from massive Note 7 recall with new premium handset expected to sport bigger, almost bezel-free screen, iris-recognition security and a voice assistant, Bixby
Samsung Electronics’ mobile unit hopes to bounce back this year, with expectations running high over its upcoming flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone, with a bezel-free, larger display.
The new premium handset will debut on March 29 to fill the void left by the global recall of the Galaxy Note 7 over a series of battery fires late last year.
The company has yet to confirm any specific features of the new device, but a series of specifications have been leaked in recent months.
In particular, the company is known to have focused on improving and enlarging the display size, in an apparent bid to meet growing demand for larger smartphone screens combined with a minimised handset size.
Earlier this month, Samsung was confirmed to have filed a trademark for an “Infinity Display” to be featured on the new Galaxy device, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The new edge-to-edge display features an almost bezel-free design.
According to a number of reports, the company is expected to launch two flagship devices tentatively named the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, equipped with 5.8- and 6.2-inch displays, respectively.
“The larger and wider screen is not aimed at maximising revenue, as this is the first time for Samsung to manufacture the unprecedented OLED display size,” a company official said. “If revenue maximisation had been the core strategy for Samsung, the firm would have opted for the existing smaller display size, which does not require a big investment.”
Another feature will be its much-hyped AI voice assistant, Bixby, which came in partnership with its recently acquired AI software firm Viv Labs, a startup formed by the creators of Apple’s Siri personal assistant.
Late last month, Samsung Electronics executive Rhee In-jong said the move came as part of efforts to build an open AI platform where the internet of things can be interconnected through voice control.
The G8 is also expected to come with iris-scanning security software that was unveiled in the Note 7. Samsung said in mid-August that the iris scanner will provide higher security than the existing fingerprint system.
The company, however, will not adopt dual-camera modules for the S8. Instead, it will focus more on a high-end, sleek design with the immersive display feature.
At this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) that ended on March 2, LG Electronics and emerging Chinese counterparts counted the improved dual-camera functions as a key marking point for their new smartphones.
“Dual cameras have been among the basic features for LG and other Chinese handset makers at the MWC 2017, but Samsung is unlikely to follow the same path,” said Park Gang-ho, an analyst at Daishin Securities. “The firm will instead focus on form-factor changes with the bezel-less design and edge-to-edge, flexible OLED displays.”


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This post is also available in / Esta entrada está disponible también en: Spanish (Español) .
While the world’s soccer governing body confronts a corruption scandal, sponsorship companies are already making their decision about whether or not to continue supporting FIFA.
In the last few days, Sony has decided to not continue its 10-year sponsorship due to rising costs with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, following the steps of Emirates Airlines. The electronics and entertainment company has spent $277 million in sponsorship.
FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said the decisions by Sony and Emirates Airlines have “nothing to do” with the current allegations the governing body is facing.
An unpublished report by FIFA ethics panel representative Hans-Joachim Eckert states there was no wrongdoing by top members of FIFA, however, American prosecutor Garcia found the report by FIFA ethics panel Eckert as “incomplete and erroneous.”
With no more sponsorship expenses, Sony could focus on the restructuring of the company. Sony’s contract with FIFA ends on December 31, 2014. Though we fans of soccer and gaming may will still see EA FIFA coming to Sony’s consoles, we won’t be seeing the Sony make.believe logo in future editions of the game and in real soccer matches starting in 2015.
[Sources]: TechTimes: FIFA Corruption Scandal Prompts Sponsor Sony to Exit; Nikkei: Sony won’t renew FIFA contract; IGN: Sony balks at renewing FIFA partnership.


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- Q3 Retail sales increase by 24 percent
- Nine consecutive quarters of retail sales growth
- The Diavel sets strongest product family growth in September
CUPERINO, CA – October 24, 2012 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – Ducati North America reported a 24 percent retail sales increase in Q3 compared to the same period in 2011, earning the company its ninth-straight quarter of retail sales growth. The month of September was especially positive with a 40 percent increase versus 2011.
“We have paid very close attention to the desires of our customers in North America and believe that we have successfully developed the most appealing product offering in the brand’s history,” said Cristiano Silei, CEO of Ducati North America. “With this consistent, positive momentum in retail sales, we are confident that 2012 will finish as a record year for Ducati. And, we look forward to a great start for 2013, with the recent announcement of several new models.”
Ducati credits its growth to the strong customer demand of several new products, including the brand’s newly released Superbike, the 1199 Panigale. Ducati’s flagship motorcycle, characterized by its revolutionary design, state of the art technology and extraordinary performance, has achieved unprecedented sales records across North America.
Significant growth is also attributed to the innovative Diavel, which recently received the prestigious Cycle World Magazine “10 Best” award in the cruiser category for the second year in a row. The Diavel is gaining a tremendous following: in the month of September it was the company’s highest growing product with a 66 percent increase compared to the same period in 2011.
For more information about Ducati North America and Ducati’s line of performance motorcycles, please visit the new www.ducatiusa.com or your local Ducati dealer.
Public Relations Manager
Ducati North America
Founded in 1926, Ducati has been producing sport-inspired motorcycles since 1946. “Desmodromic” performance engines, innovative design and avant-garde technology characterize its motorcycles. Covering several market segments, Ducati’s range of motorcycles are divided into model families which include: Diavel, Hypermotard, Monster, Multistrada, Streetfighter and Superbike.
These authentic icons of “made in Italy” are sold in over 80 countries around the world, with concentration on the European, North American and Asia Pacific markets. Ducati competes in both the World Superbike Championship and, with an official team, the World MotoGP Championship. In Superbike Ducati has won 17 Manufacturers’ titles and 14 Riders’ titles and in 2011 passed the historic milestone of 300 race victories. Ducati have participated in MotoGP since 2003, and took both the Manufacturers’ and Riders’ titles in 2007.


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Supply chain woes lead to an "everything shortage"
The introduction of COVID-19 vaccines helped improve the US economy, but the pandemic is still wreaking havoc on the global supply chain. Derek Thompson, the author of a recent article in The Atlantic examining the root causes of the collapse of the American supply chain, joined CBSN to discuss the country's overcrowded ports and empty shelves.
You should check here to buy the best price guaranteed products.
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John Harper on potential of Mets signing Max Scherzer | John Harper
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Walmart's 60 absolute best Cyber Monday deals: Massive savings on tech, vacuums, toys and more
Solving the puzzle of female longevity


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After the latest 12th generation Intel Core processor and AMD’s Ryzen 6000 series CPU were launched at CES2022, Asus revamped the ROG and TUF series with new laptops in India. The company today announced a variety of new laptops in the country. This includes the new ROG Strix Scar 15 and 17 devices, ROG Strix G-series laptops, TUF F-series, and TUFA-series laptops. Let’s take a closer look at the next lineup of laptops.
Asus renews India’s laptop line
ROG StrixScar 15 and 17
Starting with the flagship grade ROG Strix Scar series, Asus has updated its ROG Strix 15-inch and 17-inch laptops with the latest Intel components.For the latest devices Intel Core i9-12900H CPU and latest Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU With a MUX switch that improves the TGP of the graphical unit and improves the performance of the device.
ROG StrixScar laptop is also included Equipped with LPDDR5 RAM When “Fundamentally redesigned fan” Supports thermal systems. In addition to these, gaming laptops feature Dolby Vision HDR and Adaptive-Sync technology, customizable armor caps and RGB lighting, and a 240Hz display that supports fast charging and more.
ROG Strix G15 and G17
Introducing the ROG G series, Asus integrates AMD’s latest Ryzen 6000 series processors with Nvidia’s latest GPU products.Therefore, the new ROG Strix G15 and G17 Pairing up to AMD Ryzen 9-6900HX CPU and up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070Ti GPU. In addition, both models have MUX switches to enhance AAA games for optimal game performance.
Besides these, the features of the new ROG Strix G series laptop ROG’s intelligent cooling system To keep the temperature as low as possible during intensive operation.In addition, Strix G15 and G17 Fast charge power supply technology It goes from 0% to 50% in just 30 minutes.
TUFF15 and F17
In addition to revamping the Strix series laptops in India, Asus has also launched a new model of the TUFF series device. These are the same models that the company unveiled at the CES 2022 event earlier this year. Intel’s 12th Generation Core i7-12700H CPU paired with up to Nvidia GeForce RTX3060 GPU.. In addition, TUF F15 and F17 come with a MUX switch to improve performance and provide the best gaming experience.
For TUFF15 and F17 15-inch and 17-inch QHD panels that support a refresh rate of 300Hz Adaptive synchronization technology, respectively. again, Thunderbolt 4 port Connect a secondary display for a dual speaker system that supports multitasking, military grade durability, a battery up to 90Wh, and Dolby Atmos.
TUFA15 and A17
AMD versions of the TUF series come with TUF A15 and A17. AMD’s latest Ryzen 7 6800H processor..Up to a pair GeForce RTX 3060 GPU and MUX switch.. According to the company, MUX switches can improve device performance by 10% during intensive tasks. The revamped TUFA series model also features a pair of 84-blade arcflow fans, ensuring 13% more airflow despite being 4.5% smaller than the previous model.
Besides this, the TUFA 15 and TUFA 17 come with 15-inch and 17-inch QHD displays, respectively. 165Hz refresh rate (300Hz in Full HD) and adaptive synchronization technology.They are supported by 90Wh battery that supports fast chargingUp to 12 hours of video playback is possible on a single charge, and it is said to be 0-50% in 30 minutes.
Price and availability
Now coming to India’s new Asus ROG Strix and TUF laptop prices, they It ranges from Rs1,09,990 for the base variant of TUFA series laptops to Rs2,64,990 for the flagship ROG Strix Scar series devices... You can see the price of the new Asus laptop in the image below.
Regarding device availability, ROG Strix Scar models, ROG Strix variants, and TUF F-series laptops will be available from March 15th, but the TUFA series will be available on the market someday. The third week of April. All of them will be available for purchase on Asus’s official website, Amazon, Flipkart, and offline stores throughout India at launch.


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person living in the United States understands the fact that there are
literally thousands of fast food restaurants in each individual state.
What is also known is that these fast food restaurants, because of the
cooking methods they use, produce a large amount of waste. In
particular, fast food restaurants in the U.S. manage to produce a
startling high amount of yellow grease through the various food products
made at each location. What has been generally unknown until most
recently is just how profitable that yellow grease waste is and what
purpose it serves.
large portion of fast food restaurants use oil (conventional cooking
oil) to fry and cook their foods in. The grease waste produced from each
fast food restaurant can be recycled and used to create biodiesel that
then fuels cars, factories, and more. With oil prices continuing to
climb, the number of grease waste thefts at fast food restaurants has
increased, according to The New York Times and The New York Post.
Thousands of gallons of used fryer grease are stolen virtually every day
by thieves across the country. The reason: There are is big business in
grease waste and plenty of restaurants producing them.
is estimated that a typical fast food restaurant in the U.S. will
produce approximately 35 pounds of grease per day. That number can go up
and down depending on the restaurantís business for the day or even
week. During peak seasons, 35 pounds can increase dramatically. On the
same note, The New York Times estimates weekly production of grease to
be at about 150 to 250 pounds. That is roughly 250 pounds of grease
produced by each fast food restaurant in the country.
infographic below shows just how much grease is produced by fast food
restaurants in the US across different time periods.
average grease production in a month per fast food restaurant in the
country comes out to approximately 1,000 pounds, which is a startling
number on its own. Essentially, that is 13,000 pounds (1,557 gallons) of
grease produced, on average, per year by each fast food restaurant. In
South Carolina alone, 7,908,564 gallons of grease waste is produced per
year. In New York, 8.3 million gallons is how much grease is produced
a grander scale, these numbers are even higher. According to the Pew
Research Center, there are 160,000 thousand fast food restaurants in the
entire country. Taking the averages, fast food restaurants in the
country produce approximately 671,039 gallons of grease per day. In a
week, roughly 4,793,137 gallons of grease is produced by fast food
restaurants. Over a monthís time, that number rises to 19,172,550
gallons of waste produced. Expand those numbers for all 160,000 fast
food restaurants to one year and the result is shocking: 249,243,160
gallons of grease waste produced by all fast food restaurants in the
With the numbers of fast food restaurants growing each and every year, the gallons of grease waste produced per year is also going to increase.
See more at:


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article “I had no idea that polystyrenes could be as toxic as they were.
I thought, ‘It must be a bad batch.’
And then I realized that there were some people who had been working on it and they were really good at it,” says Alissa Gertner, who created and manufactured the first 5 gallon containers.
“It’s amazing that it’s still going on.”
She has also spent some time as an environmental activist.
She is one of several designers who’ve created containers that are made with recycled materials and eco-friendly practices.
“The plastic used to make the container is 100 percent biodegradable,” Gertener says.
“We’re going to have to be very mindful about what we put in there.”
She also says she is happy to be working on something she loves.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work on something that’s been in my life for so long that I’ve been able to make a little piece of art with it,” she says.


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Google Acquisition Rumours Push Twitter Stock Price Up 3.3 Per Cent
- Friday, January 23rd, 2015
- Share this article:
Twitters stock price saw a bump yesterday, rising by 3.3 per cent to $39.07 (£29.26) on the New York Stock Exchange at the close of trading, fuelled largely by speculation that Google were considering a bid for the social network.
There have been rumours for the last five to six years about Google acquiring Twitter, driven largely by the power of Twitters real-time search engine and its power to predict online trends and steer the cultural conversation.
Its estimated that such an buyout would cost upwards of $25bn, and would represent a considerable shake-up of the online world, with Google acquiring a true rival to Facebooks social networking power, and Twitter gaining the leverage of being circulated across Googles ecosystem.
While Google remains the strongest player in the digital advertising market, it is weaker in the mobile advertising sector, where Facebook has been making strong gains, and the rise of in-app searching has hurt Googles ubiquity in the search advertising market.
Twitter will report its quarterly earnings next month, and is expected to see user growth slowing considerably and a slight rise in revenues. Neither Twitter nor Google were willing to commit on rumours.


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Streetskins says it has found a method of placing ads on metal shutters that is resistant to graffiti and easy to apply. Eight shutters have already been installed with ads; most are currently promoting the space, but some local businesses have signed up to use them. The company has a total of 55 shutter sites contracted to carry advertising.
Streetskins claims the space is about half the price of traditional outdoor poster sites.
Some outdoor specialists have expressed concern about potential problems with the sites including lighting and audience measurement. Iain Chapman, sales director at outdoor specialist Ocean, said the idea was 'fraught with problems'.


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Starting early next month, Microsoft Security Essentials, Redmond's anti-malware service for Windows PCs, will be free for small businesses to install on up to 10 PCs.
When it comes to iOS downgrading, most people talk about reverting to an older version of the operating system, like going from iOS 4 back to 3.2. The guy who posted this video to YouTube clearly has an entirely different definition.
RIM unveiled its new PlayBook in San Francisco Monday to mixed reviews and several unanswered questions.
When I'm on the road, there are few tools in my arsenal that I value more than video chat. But as much as I love it for boosting communication with colleagues during the day and saying goodnight to my kids at bedtime, managing the current mess of dis...
Research in Motion's tablet is not the BlackPad, but the BlackBerry PlayBook, a 7-inch rival to Apple's iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab. The tablet will ship "early 2011" according to RIM and sports some impressive specs including support for dual-proc...
Writing applications for devices like tablets and smartphones could become more challenging as CPUs and hardware accelerators are added to mobile chips, experts agreed at a processor conference on Monday.
Sharp plans an aggressive foray into the tablet market this December--well, sort of.
The future is now with Samsug's Galaxy Tab and the Home Watcher remote, if a Samsung demo that made its way onto YouTube is anything to go by.
Lenovo's IdeaPad U1 -- a hybrid PC that can function as both a laptop and a tablet -- will be launched in China early next year, pushing back its release date from this past June.
Reports are circulating that RIM will officially unveil its tablet device at the 2010 BlackBerry Developer Conference in San Francisco next week. The RIM tablet would be entering a market currently dominated by the iPad and about to get much more cro...
Ah yes, the on-again, off-again HP Slate running Windows 7. Before CES, it was a buzz-worthy expected product, but its brief appearance in Steve Ballmer's CES keynote left some rather disappointed. But a new video making the rounds on YouTube shows w...
Dell showed off a prototype of a 7-inch Android tablet this week at the Oracle Open World conference in San Francisco. While being more tablet-sized than Dell's initial anemic attempt at joining the tablet fray, this new venture still faces some chal...
Dell said on Wednesday it is developing a 7-inch tablet as it experiments with handheld devices with different screen sizes.
3D laptop shipments have been slow this year, hindered by high prices and lack of consumer interest, according to research firm DisplaySearch.
Samsung acknowledged today that some Android Market apps on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab will run at a smaller resolution than the 7-in. screen allows.
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First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.


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CES 2010 - Can Nick break Sonims indestructable phone?
Been waiting a while? Get Flash to see this player.
Out here at CES 2010, Nick runs into Sonim, who make a phone so well toughened you can literally drive nails with it... and he even gets himself a date 'cos it's that impressive!
It also showcased new Echo, Blink, Halo and Ring devices for smart homes.
And some are already pushing for the UK to rejoin the EU's Galileo system.
Third gen 5G modem from Qualcomm is the world's first built on the 5nm process.


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The State of Video Games in America
There’s no doubt that video gaming has become a staple of american culture. With so many consoles and mobile devices to choose from, and a plethora of PC components to modify your gaming rig, games have become more accessible than ever.
Exactly how many americans play video games? A new study by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has revealed that 155 million americans play some sort of video game - and 80% of households own a gaming device.
What’s the most popular gaming device? 62% of the most frequent gamers use a PC to play their video games, which is closely followed by dedicated consoles like the Xbox One and PS4.
For more statistics from the study (including demographics), check out VentureBeat’s article here.
Advertising Mobile Games on Facebook
In recent years, Facebook has become the go-to source for acquiring new users through paid advertising (CTR, or Click Through Rate of game ads was up 579% at one point), but is it finally on the decline?
A new study by PocketGamer has revealed that while CTR for Facebook gaming ads from 2014 to Q1 2015 increased by 150%, the quarterly comparison of CTR was down by nine percent. PocketGamer thinks that this could be a sign of bored and annoyed users.
But it could also the result of Facebook advertising becoming too expensive for video game companies. The average CPC (Cost per Click) at the end of Q1 2015 was $.80, which is 11% more than the year prior. Check out PocketGamer’s article on the subject for more insight, here.
Analytics for Streaming Media and Music
Earlier this week at the 2015 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show, Ninja Metrics® announced its latest application for the Katana® analytics platform: streaming media and music.
When asked about the platform for gaming versus entertainment, Ninja Metrics CEO Dmitri Williams said “In games, it’s all about how to increase free-to-play revenue streams. In streaming content, it’s about how to get people to continue to watch and use a subscription. But it’s also increasingly about an advertising model.”With Katana for Entertainment, the platform features clear insights into the performance of ad publishers, the ability to target the most influential users, easy integration, and Social Value® analytics. Learn more about the announcement here on VentureBeat.


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The chipmaker's Maxwell graphics architecture is twice as energy-efficient and 50 percent faster than its predecessor, Kepler.
In a bid to make the Web a safer place, Mozilla's security team proposes making encrypted connections necessary for using new Web technologies. Google's Chrome team has a similar idea.
Commentary: A 2012 law forbids the states' Public Utility Commission from regulating Internet services. But the pending merger of ISPs could allow the opportunity to do just that.
An in-depth look at the security behind six well-known smart-home products shows some alarming vulnerabilities.
Inviting the public in on its development process, Rolls-Royce released photos of an "engineering mule," a shortened Phantom model sporting a wing on its trunk, that it's using to test a chassis for its upcoming SUV.
We put the latest high-end desktop PC gaming cards to the test in the CNET Labs.
Heavy rainfall has allowed the Central American country of Costa Rica to be powered almost entirely by its hydroelectric plants.
Microsoft wants to bring pirated copies of current Windows software back into the fold. Plus, Windows 10's hardware requirements have been laid out.
The special glass is just beginning to make its way into public displays such as ATMs and payment terminals, but Corning hopes it will eventually get into consumer electronics.
The most important things to know when shopping for a cell phone.


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Big technology stocks have soared in recent years as their rapid earnings and revenue growth made them must-have holdings in many investors' portfolios. Now, a new engine is likely to drive tech profits and stock prices in the coming years: ongoing streams of revenues from customer subscriptions, The Wall Street Journal reports. Software was the first area within the tech sector to change its preferred pricing model from one-time sales to recurring annual fees, the Journal notes. Today, the subscription pricing model has become pervasive throughout the sector, and companies that have embraced it include Apple Inc. (AAPL), Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), and Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE).
The S&P 500 Information Technology Index (S5INFT) has risen by 5.8% for the year-to-date and by 148% over the past five years, per S&P Dow Jones Indices. During this period the forward P/E ratio on the technology index has increased from around 15 times earnings to more than 18 times earnings, per Yardeni Research Inc. These high valuations mean big tech companies will need new, predictable sources or profits to drive their stocks higher.
That's why they're expanding into subscriptions. Traditional one-time sales of products and services can be volatile and cyclical. By adopting subscription pricing wherever they can, tech companies are smoothing out their revenues and earnings over time. Per the Journal, these companies are being rewarded by investors with higher stock prices and higher valuation multiples. To be sure, it's debatable whether multiples can increase a great deal beyond their historically high levels of today.
Apple is a leader in boosting subscription revenue from tech consumers. It's revenue from subscriptions, many of which are sold through its App Store, now exceed its device sales, the Journal reports. The respective figures in its most recent fiscal year were roughly $250 billion and $200 billion, per the Journal. Nonetheless, Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst at Bernstein, believes that Apple should be even more aggressive in moving to subscription pricing.
Sacconaghi suggests that they bundle various devices and services together for a monthly fee, and offer automatic upgrades after a set period of time. This would, he says, "lock in revenue streams and freeze the length of replacement cycles, likely leading to a material re-rating of the stock's multiple." (For more, see also: Why Apple Needs to Copy Netflix's Subscription Model: Bernstein.)
Amazon's Prime Example
While Amazon.com's core business remains merchandise sales, its own subscription services are growing rapidly and becoming larger pieces of the corporate pie. Amazon Prime, which offers free shipping and a video streaming service with a vast array of content, generated $9.7 billion of revenue in the company's most recent fiscal year, up 52% from the year before, the Journal observes. The company's cloud computing service, meanwhile, also is growing rapidly, and produced 52% more profits than its North American retailing operations, but on only one-sixth the revenue, the Journal adds.
Microsoft's New Game
Microsoft now has almost 30 million consumers subscribing to an online version of its Office software, and 59 million subscribers for its Xbox Live gaming service, per the Journal. Electronic Arts, another leader in the field of video games, now produces about 24% more revenue from its own subscription service than from traditional sales of gaming software on discs, the Journal says. Adobe, which offers widely used Acrobat and Photoshop software, derives 84% of its revenue from subscriptions, and each of the last 13 quarters has enjoyed revenue growth versus the one immediately prior, the Journal reports, adding that its market value has almost tripled in two years.
It's unclear whether these big technology companies will be able persuade often fickle consumers to switch from device purchases to subscriptions to a dramatically greater extent than today. But one thing is clear: tech stocks' future growth may depend on whether the strategy succeeds.


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Warner Media, Suicide Squad video game 2023 announced that it was postponed until the next year. In addition, the company has faced the decision to postpone many big game projects before. Harry Potter, Batman and Star Wars‘Fame LEGO game 2021 was planned for the year. However, the pandemic and various development challenges have pushed these productions to a later date.
Warner Bros. at first Suicide Squad of your game 2022 He announced that he will appear in front of the players in the year. The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Jason Kilar, He made a statement on Twitter last week. At this point in 2022 Hogwarts Legacy and Gotham KnightsHe also stated that the highly anticipated games will come. Suicide Squad was specifically excluded. Warner did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Rocksteady Studios developing game after long hiatus
announced in 2020 Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Warner Bros. and Rocksteady StudiosIt’s coming as the next game of . London-based Rocksteady Arkham Series Batman He is known for his games. In addition, his productions are generally positively received by critics. This is an important factor in its recognition.
Gotham Knights has high expectations
rocksteadyIt’s been a long time since ‘s released a new game. company endgame June 2015in Batman: Arkham Knight published under the name. Since then, there has been a production expectation among the players. That’s why too Gotham Knights There was excitement when it was first announced.
rocksteadyWe will see in the future whether it will fulfill the expectation above. Especially after a long hiatus Gotham Knights He has great expectations for his game.
You Suicide Squad What do you think about it? Do not forget to share your ideas with us in the comments section!


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For those of us interested in marketing, Amazon’s first ever “Prime Day” celebration could not have been more fun to experience. Intended as a special shopping day for members of Amazon’s $99/year Prime service, Amazon had practically promised ecommerce Armageddon leading up to the 24-hour event, with “More deals than Black Friday!”
As the morning unraveled, however, Prime Day quickly devolved into spectacle as the buying public hammered Amazon for what they perceived as lackluster deals.
Despite customer complaints, Prime Day was by most metrics a staggering success for Amazon. According to online retail tracker ChannelAdvisor, Amazon’s sales were up 93% in the United States year-over-year, and 53% in Europe. 34.4 million items were sold across Prime-eligible countries, shattering Black Friday records, and hundreds of thousands of new users signed up for Amazon Prime throughout the event.
When planning our promotions or campaigns, here are 12 quick tips we can extract from both the failures and successes of the now-infamous Prime Day.


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A CHINESE bowl bought for about €30 at a yard sale could fetch almost €420,000 at auction.
The small bowl with intricate floral designs was bought at a yard sale in Connecticut, USA, for $35 (about €30).
The buyer reportedly went to several yard sales and flea markets and bought the bowl for its $35 asking price without hesitation when it caught his eye.
Intrigued by the piece, the unknown buyer took it to Sotheby’s for appraisal and it was identified as an “exceptional piece” dating back to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) according to a statement from the auction house. The porcelain piece has the typical workmanship of the Yongle era (1403-1424), the third emperor of the Ming dynasty and would have been made for a sponsored by the court of the time. “The court sponsored production through large orders, hired specialists to do the designs, and selected supervisors to monitor the entire organization, leading to a new professionalism in conceiving the porcelain”, Sotheby’s explained.
On March 17 it will be put up for auction in New York, as part of the two weeks dedicated to Asia held by Sotheby’s every two years.
It would have been one of a large order, although only five more are known to exist, in the collections of renowned museums, two in the National Museum of Taipei, one in the British Museum and another in the Victoria & Albert, London,” says Sotheby’s in the statement.
Thank you for taking the time to read this news article “Chinese bowl bought at yard sale expected to make €420,000 at auction”. For more UK daily news, Spanish daily news and Global news stories, visit the Euro Weekly News home page.


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The problem of bankruptcy, especially in construction sector, have been setting tongues wagging for some time. Sadly, the latest record of Legal and Economic Monitor are not optimistic at all. In the second quarter of 2013, ca. 230 subjects declared bankruptcy, which is 6,5 per cent more than last year and 26,7 per cent more than in 2011. Not only construction companies mentioned above are in serious trouble, but also stationer's and furniture ones, as well as those of entertainment, culture ans sport.
The problem of bankruptcy has been seriously growing since the end of last year. Economic situation is getting worse, so the companies find managing harder – Piotr Soroczyński, the main economist of Export Credit Insurance Corporation Joint Stock Company comments.
The situation has been extremely hard since the end of 2012. From January till the end of March, 235 companies declared bankruptcy, in the second quarter – 228. In June itself, 85 companies went bankrupt, which means nearly a half more than in May. Even though, the economy is gradually becoming stable, the companies which had problems with financial liquidity find it very hard to bounce back.
Business forecast for current year say that ca. 1200 companies is going to collapse – says Piotr Soroczyński
Currently, the companies of entertainment, culture and tourism are in the hardest situation. When we have problems with incomes, when the households and companies try to reduce the costs, then it comes as no surprise that we resign from the services that are more likely to be dropped, which are culture and entertainment – the economist explains
The number of bankrupting companies is systematically growing also in such fields as: manufacture of furniture and stationery, as well as construction industry. It relates to the manufacturers of building materials, producers and developers.
When we talk about ca. thousand companies, which bankrupted, or will eventually do so, and each of them could employ from 50 to 100 people, it means thousands of workplaces. It is a very serious problem for those who lost their jobs and have no means of support, but then it has got the domino effect on the economy. Polish economy, for the first time after the transformation, which is twenty years, cannot count on its own national demand – Piotr Soroczyński says.


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Probably Microsoft's most well-known game series, Halo has seen constantly successful entries in its long lineup. The series' latest entry, Halo 5: Guardians, arrived in 2015 to favorable reviews and a record-breaking launch.
Despite the success, 343 Industries Studio Head Kiki Wolfkill and Franchise Director Frank O’Connor speaking to GamesTM magazine (issue #186) stated that the decision to exclude Master Chief from a large portion of Halo 5: Guardians' single-player campaign was a mistake.
O’Connor says the studio wrongly regarded Master Chief as the manner in which players experience the series, instead of being a character himself, and that "the volume of ‘give us more Chief’ at the end of Halo 5 was significant". He also stated that "People have become attached to him over the last fifteen years", and that "we certainly underestimated that with Halo 5".
According to him, the studio has now switched gears to make the world of Halo more realistic, as well as "more fun for players who get to inhabit the Chief in the future, pretty much as they demanded" instead of focusing on creating new characters.
All in all, it seems that the next Halo game's role for Master Chief will be much more significant than before, and with this year's E3 less than two months away, fans may not have to wait much longer to find out where the series will go next.
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Police are seeking five suspects following a robbery at a Rogers Video store Wednesday night. At 6:29 p.m., three women and two men entered the store at 363 Bank St. Several cell phones were stolen. The suspects left in a blue minivan and there were no injuries to the store clerk. Police are now seeking five people of Middle Eastern descent.
- Labrador retriever fetches top U.S. dog breed honor for record 28th year7 Pictures
- Oscars 2019: Red carpet looks and full list of winners36 Pictures


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Wells Fargo has the most valuable bank brand in the world, shows a new brand valuation by Brand Finance, a London-based brand valuation firm.
Wells Fargo's brand is valued at $30.2 billion, up $4.2 billion in 2013, the ranking shows.
"Lending across a huge range of categories, the improved domestic economy has driven revenues and helped Wells Fargo over take Chase to become the world's most profitable bank," reported Brand Finance officials.
Chase, with a brand valuation of $23.2 billion fell to fifth on the global bank list, and fourth among banks in the United States.
Brand Finance calculates brand values by determining the royalties a corporation would have to pay to license its brand if it did not own it.
HSBC was second in the world with a brand value of $26.9 billion. Bank of America was third at $26.7 billion; Citi was fourth at $24.5 billion.


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FDA advised the public to exercise "extreme caution" in purchasing and consuming processed pork meat products.
No need to line up!
It will be available on Coca-Cola’s merchandise website.
Heads up, milk tea fans!
Milk tea fans, rejoice!
Angrydobo is the new business venture of Juday and Ryan.
The American fried chicken joint officially opens its first branch at Arcovia City, Pasig.
The unli chicken wings promo is available on May 16, 23, and 30.
Just show your finger marked with indelible ink and get a free upsize!
This beverage shop is more than just its drinks.
You can now order Uncle John's Fried Chicken via Grab!
The milk tea shop is finally coming to the Philippines.


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The Humboldt Creamery just issued a press release announcing that it will suspend payments to its noteholders and owners of the "preferred equity shares" it was selling in January and February.
"While we continue to talk with our lenders, we feel that the interest and principal payments on the Notes you hold must be suspended at least for a time until those discussions are concluded," interim CEO Len Mayer is quoted as saying in the release.
In addition, the Creamery announced that it will be selling its ice cream factory in Los Angeles so as to "focus on its core operations."
"Today, the Board made a decision that we believe will help strengthen the Creamery's business," said Jim Renner (in the release). "It is our intention to focus on our strongest operations as we rebuild the business and ensure a profitable, sustainable future for the Creamery. We know our business is fundamentally viable and that is where all of our efforts will be focused in the coming months."
Apart from those two details, the release is pretty short on specifics. It does not detail what the business' internal audit has dicovered in the wake of the sudden resignation and abscondance of former CEO Rich Ghilarducci. It does say that the problems uncovered in the audit are "significant" but not insuperable, and that more information will be forthcoming at a later date.
"The report we have received from our financial consultant is that the Creamery's business is fundamentally viable," says Mayer. "Our customers remains loyal. Our banks are working with us. Our vendors, while concerned, are by and large supporting us. The Creamery intends to continue to do whatever it takes to keep operating and strengthen and rebuild its business."


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Appointment unites the agency's digital and print spending activities under one reporting structure.
MediaVest USA hired Sarah Baehr, a veteran of Razorfish and OgilvyOne, as SVP, director of digital publishing solutions. The move unites the agency's digital and print spending activities under one reporting structure, according to Donna Speciale, president of investment and activation.
"At some point, we will be very audience focused, more so than media focused," said Speciale. "Sarah's role is the next evolution of...this, to immerse digital and print as a holistic effort."
Baehr (pictured on the left) was VP of media and national media lead at Razorfish, heading up all of the agency's media spending activities. She left last January, not long after Publicis acquired the agency from Microsoft, and became associate partner for search and media at New Jersey-based Rosetta. While MediaVest is focused on leveraging individual publisher relationships, rather than the increasingly common ad exchange and network models, Baehr suggested the latter has a place in the agency's activities.
"The exchange model is a place where you can leverage scale and insight, and you can potentially gain from having a deeper relationship with publishers," Baehr said. "These major publishers have a wealth of information about how people consume content across platforms."
Baehr reports to Robin Steinberg, director of publisher investment and activation. She'll also be responsible for training MediaVest's print people in digital platforms.
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Until March 2012, Zach Rodgers was managing editor of ClickZ's award-winning coverage of news and trends in digital marketing. He reported on the rise of web companies, data markets, ad technologies, and government Internet policy, among other subjects.
IBM Social Analytics: The Science Behind Social Media Marketing
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October 23, 2014
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Swanson Group Manufacturing LLC, a Pacific Northwest forest products company, announced today that it has acquired the assets of Olympic Panel Products LLC. Located in Shelton, Washington, Olympic Panel is the largest overlay plywood manufacturer in North America. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Swanson Group plans to relocate the Olympic Panel assets in 2016 to its state-of-the-art facility that will be constructed in Springfield, Oregon. The new facility will continue to produce Olympic-branded products. During the next twelve to eighteen months, Olympic Panel Products will continue to operate in Shelton to ensure a smooth transition for all customers and suppliers.
Swanson executives believe Springfield, Oregon is the right location to maintain the Olympic Panel tradition of building the highest quality overlay products.
“Swanson is building a world-class plywood and veneer manufacturing facility in a location with an excellent workforce and log supply,” says Steve Swanson, President and CEO of Swanson Group. “We have long been impressed with the quality and depth of Olympic’s overlay product line and believe that this acquisition fits perfectly with our goal to become the leading producer of overlay panels in North America.”
“With our lease expiring next year, we needed to make a strategic, long-term decision and concluded that this transaction is the right step at this time,” says Kurt Liebich, CEO of New Wood Resources, which owns Olympic Panel. “While Swanson’s new facility in Springfield will eventually be the place where Olympic’s products are made, nothing with respect to our operations will change until 2016.”
New Wood Resources will continue to own Omak Wood Products in Omak, Washington, which produces softwood veneer for Northwest markets and Douglas fir plywood for specialty and commodity applications. New Wood Resources is also rebuilding the Winston Plywood & Veneer Mill in Louisville, Mississippi, which was destroyed by an F4 tornado in 2014.


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Not exactly what you think
What does a surprise contraction in the economy mean for commercial real estate?
- Ryan Severino
Looking for more insights? Never miss an update.
The latest news, insights and opportunities from global commercial real estate markets straight to your inbox.
- GDP surprisingly contracts in 1Q
- Consumption remains robust
- Private investment still expanding
- Net exports restrain growth
- CRE should face little direct fallout
The economy threw everyone a curve ball, with growth for the first quarter coming in at -1.4% on an annualized basis. That represented the first contraction since the brief, yet deep, recession during the second quarter of 2020. As always, the devil lurks in the details. Beyond the headline figure, the details fell in line with our expectations, even with a bit of a surprise contraction. Beyond the mathematic impact of a negative quarter, we expect no major change when we present our quarterly outlook in two weeks.
Consumers pulling their weight
Consumers, still more than 70% of GDP, continued to pull their weight during the first quarter. Consumption grew by 2.7% on an annualized basis and contributed 183 basis points (bps) to annualized first quarter growth. Both measures increased versus the previous two quarters. This spending resilience occurred despite the highest consumer inflation in roughly four decades and consumer sentiment and confidence readings that still hover near levels last observed during the wake of the global financial crisis. How? Not only do consumers retain some dry powder in the form of excess savings from 2020 and 2021, but aggregate earnings continue to expand. Aggregate earnings depend on three main factors: wage growth, change in hours worked and net job change. Although hours worked have changed little over the last year and wage growth trails inflation, net job change maintained its remarkable consistency over the last year (as we highlighted last week). Over the last five quarters, monthly net job change has totaled roughly 562,000 jobs, providing significant additional spending power, even in the face of high inflation.
Contributions to GDP Growth
Private investment picture mixed
Private investment from businesses painted a mixed picture. Private investment grew at an annualized rate of 2.3% and contributed 43 bps to annualized growth. The good news? Most subcategories continued to expand, with equipment and intellectual property both growing at brisk paces and providing significant contributions to growth. The bad news? The change in private inventories (essentially inventory accumulation on the part of businesses) provided a noteworthy drag on growth during the quarter. Even though inventories grew by a large amount once again, the slowdown versus fourth quarter negatively contributed to GDP growth. Construction of nonresidential structures declined slightly during the quarter, representing the only other small weak spot for investment.
Government spending across levels declined and detracted from economic growth. The largest decline came from national defense spending, but other national nondefense spending as well as state and local government spending also declined. All of those categories detracted from economic growth during the quarter.
But the biggest impact on the quarter came from net exports. While the U.S. consistently runs a trade deficit, net exports’ impact on quarterly growth varies. Unfortunately, net exports worked against growth this quarter. For the second consecutive quarter, imports increased by a notable amount. This reflects the strong consumption from consumers that we noted earlier plus the increased ability to ease port congestion and get imports into the country. Meanwhile, economic weakness outside the U.S. caused exports to decline during the quarter. The combination produced a drag on growth of 370 bps, meaning that without the contribution from net exports the economy would have grown by 2.3% during the quarter. We view this quarter’s reduction in growth as an idiosyncratic event rather than the start of a trend and do not expect such large reductions from net exports in future quarters.
“… imports increased by a notable amount. This reflects the strong consumption from consumers that we noted earlier plus the increased ability to ease port congestion and get imports into the country.”
| What else happened last week |
The employment cost index (ECI), a broad measure of compensation, increased faster than expected during the first quarter, and reflected the tightness observed in weekly unemployment claims last week. In a hopeful sign, the Fed’s key inflation index, the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, showed decelerating inflation in March despite accelerating headline PCE. New home sales and pending home sales for March both declined, potentially hinting at a bit of slowing in the housing market with mortgage rates spiking in recent weeks. The most recent Case-Shiller data for February showed housing prices continuing to rise.
| What we are watching this week |
The Fed will likely raise its benchmark rate 50 bps and potentially provide more information on the unwinding of its balance sheet. We expect a small decline in the ISM Manufacturing Index though the Services could see another slight increase after last month’s rebound. We expect another solid employment situation report with net job gains well into the hundreds of thousands, a slight improvement in the participation rate, solid monthly wage gains and the unemployment rate and hours worked holding steady. Additionally, we expect open jobs to remain elevated near their record high.
| What it means for CRE |
We see little direct negative impact on CRE from the first quarter’s GDP result. If anything, the strong imports figure reflects the strength observed in the industrial market during the quarter, with asking rents still surging and vacancy rates still reaching new record lows in several important markets. Robust consumption should also help support the retail sector and we expect another healthy year as consumption shifts away from online spending toward bricks-and-mortar sales, including at food and drinking places. Healthy private investment in equipment and intellectual property signals confidence from the business community and demand for office space, even in the face of external challenges and some timing uncertainty surround the return to offices.
“Healthy private investment in equipment and intellectual property signals confidence from the business community and demand for office space…”
| Thought of the week |
Coffee remains the most-consumed beverage in the U.S., ranking ahead of even water.


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J. Phillip Holloman retired as president and chief operating officer at Cintas at the end of last month, and he is experienced when it comes to the subject of diversity in business.
Steven L. Blue, CEO of locomotive and freight car parts manufacturer Miller Ingenuity, has plenty of experience in taking Rust Belt manufacturing operations into the modern age—he’s been doing it for decades now.
Athletic Republic CEO Charlie Graves was an Olympic-level swimmer and professional triathlete, and the lessons he learned as an athlete have had a big impact on the way he leads his business.
Chief Executive spoke with BigCommerce CEO Brent Bellm about managing growth, how his leadership style has evolved and what excites him about the future.
For Stephen Paskoff, CEO of ELI, creating civil workplaces is a passion. And with the negative headlines the #MeToo movement has been making over the past year, many business leaders have been listening to his advice.
PW Power Systems president and CEO Raul Pereda is an engineer by degree, but his keen interest in business, sales expertise and deep knowledge of his company’s products and customers has made for a seamless transition into the corner office.
Didier Elzinga is CEO of employee feedback platform Culture Amp, so company culture isn’t just an important aspect of his business—it’s the primary focus.
Chief Executive spoke to Delphix founder Jed Yueh about the data security issues CEOs should be focusing on, the keys to operating successful organizations in the digital age.
Ben Wulf, CEO of portable evaporative cooler manufacturer Portacool, has managed his company through a period of impressive growth since taking over as chief executive in 2014.


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Over this past weekend, Microsoft announced that they have delayed the final release for Age of Empires: Definitive Edition until 2018. The PC exclusive title was originally set to release later this week, on the 19th of October, however, now, despite the Windows Store page's placeholder release date stating the 31st of December, 217, players will have to wait until an as yet unspecified time, with the target being early 2018.
In a statement on the official Age of Empires website, the AoE:DE team stated that they "had many debates over the extent of restoration that [they] should undertake", which has apparently resulted in their requiring additional time to implement their alterations.
The plus side to this is that rather than having to spend money up front, between now and launch, they will be inviting thousands of players to participate in the Age of Empires: Definitive Edition Closed Beta. This, they say, will allow "for more in-depth testing across single player campaign, multiplayer balance, fine-tuning the lobby, etc." while also "actively engaging with everyone participating in the closed beta to gather additional feedback, set up multiplayer sessions, and ensure that the Age of Empires: Definitive Edition that we are delivering is the Definitive Edition that you want."
For a chance to join the Closed Multiplayer Beta, you can head over to the sign-up page now.
Age of Empires: Definitive Edition will release to PC via the Windows Store in 2018. No official date has been announced.


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AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) stock was down on Friday following the release of its earnings report for the third quarter of 2016.
AutoNation, Inc. reported revenue of $5.57 million billion for the third quarter of 2016. The company’s revenue from the same time in 2015 was $5.35 billion. Wall Street was expecting the company to report revenue of $5.61 billion for the third quarter of the year.
Earnings per share reported by AutoNation, Inc. in the third quarter of 2016 was $1.05. This is flat when compared to earnings per share from the third quarter of 2015. Analysts’ estimates had the automotive retailer reporting earnings per share of $1.15 in the third quarter of 2016.
Net income reported by AutoNation, Inc. was $108 million in the third quarter of 2016. This is down from the $119 million in net income reported during the same time last year.
AutoNation, Inc. notes that the Takata airbag recall hurt net income by $6 million, after taxes. It also had a 6-cent negative effect on the company’s earnings per share for the quarter. 14% of the company’s used inventory was on hold during the quarter due to the recall.
“Certain manufacturers continued disruptive marketing and sales incentives, which resulted in multi-tier pricing and were unfair for consumers as well as retailers,” Mike Jackson, Chairman, President and CEO of AutoNation, Inc., said in a statement. “In the third quarter, these incentives had a significant negative impact on new vehicle volume and gross profit per new vehicle retailed.”
AN stock was down 3% as of Friday morning and 25% year-to-date.
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Mediterranean Shipping Co. will impose a new low sulfur surcharge on import shipments at all U.S. ports on the East, West and Gulf Coasts.
The surcharge, which MSC announced on Friday, will take effect on Aug.3. The surcharge varies, depending on the coast.
The surcharge on import containers at ports on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts is $10 per 20-foot container and $20 per 40-foot container.
The surcharge for import containers at West Coast ports will be $12 per TEU and $24 per FEU.
MSC said the surcharge will be imposed on the cargo manifest, whether prepaid, shipped collect or some other way.
Contact Peter T. Leach at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Water Mill resident Jennifer Lopez didn’t win any statues at Sunday’s 55th Annual Grammy Awards, but the pop diva’s leg stole the show! Not since JLo shocked the world with her revealing green Versace dress in 2000 has a garment made such a splash at the Grammys.
This year, Lopez showed off every inch of her right leg, while the rest of her was well concealed in a gorgeous black Anthony Vaccarello gown. Comparisons were immediately made with Angelina Jolie‘s black Atleier Versace dress that showed off her right leg and grabbed a lot of attention in much the same way. The internet is still abuzz as fans compare the two stars’ legs and their fashion sense—and it looks like JLo is poised to claim her victory as Hollywood‘s greatest leg!
Larry Rivers, and Vered, would be proud. Scroll down for a video of Lopez and her now even more famous leg.


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Will the health care marketplace function more efficiently with huge health insurers, pharmacy retailers and benefits managers working together in an integrated business model? We’ll soon find out.
For the second time in less than a month, the Department of Justice has approved a megamerger between leading players in the health insurance and pharmacy worlds. The DOJ said it will allow the $69 billion merger of CVS Health with Aetna once the insurer sells its Medicare Part D business, which raised concerns about the companies having too much market control. The move comes on the heels of the DOJ’s approval of the $52 billion Cigna-Express Scripts merger.
Even with the sale of its private Medicare plans, some believe that once Aetna joins forces with CVS Health, the combined entity still may have too much market power. CVS had about $185 billion in revenue last year and provided prescription plans to about 94 million customers, The New York Times reported. Aetna had about $60 billion in revenue last year, covering about 22 million people in its health plans. Then there is the unresolved question of how aggressive Aetna may be in incentivizing members to get their prescriptions and possibly retail care at CVS locations.
This latter possibility could affect health systems’ retail pharmacy strategies, notes Lindsay Conway, managing director of the Advisory Board’s Pharmacy Executive Forum. If Aetna succeeds in getting more patients to fill their prescriptions at CVS, Conway says, “the change will threaten not only health system-owned pharmacy revenues, but may also compromise health systems’ abilities to coordinate medication management.”
Supporters believe these megamergers will lead to sharp cost reductions and greater access for patients. Some consumer groups, state regulators and others argue that the deals will undermine competition by reducing patients’ choices and raise their out-of-pocket costs. In the meantime, activity continues to sizzle in this sector. This summer Amazon bought online pharmacy PillPack for $1 billion, a deal that is expected to shake up the drugstore industry due to Amazon’s long-proven distribution infrastructure and strong competitive edge in home delivery.


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Three weeks after Apple treat us to its WWDC 2014 keynote it will be time for Google’s I/O event to kick off, and while we hope to be treated to some interesting announcements, all we have for now is pure speculation. It is okay to speculate what could be announced at Google I/O 2014, but we would love to know what things you expect from the June 25 and 26 event?
During last year’s event we had expected Google to announce an update to Android along with a few other services, but the updated version of Android was saved for a later date. It is for this very reason why we wonder why there are now rumors that Android 5.0 could make a showing at next month’s Google event.
Google I/O 2014 predictions are very funny because more often than not they are based on pure rumor, and we do have a knack to bring fuel to the fire, such as the first prediction, Android 5.0.
There seems to be a general consensus among Android users that the 5.0 update is very much needed, even though a huge percentage of Android devices have yet to receive the latest version, 4.4.2 KitKat, such as the international version of the Galaxy S3.
As for Android 5.0 features, we would love to see improved crossed platform messaging, along with a host of new smartphone inspired apps, as the LG G Watch will be released around the time of this year’s Google I/O. The native Android dialer is in need of a refresh, but what else would you like to see?
The prospect of the Nexus 10 2 making an appearance at Google I/O 2014? There seems to be an ongoing debate as to weather the 2014 Nexus 10 Edition will be unveiled during next month’s Google event, and we have a hard time believing this to be true.
If we look back to last year, the only hardware release at Google I/O 2013 were a stock Android version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 becoming available on the Play Store. 2012 saw the release of the original Nexus 7, and so there have been a couple of hardware releases but it isn’t the main focus.
We really need to see the launch of the 2014 Nexus 10 because it could help fend off the iPad Air, but it looks highly unlikely to make an appearance at Google I/O this year.
Whatever happens, Google needs to deliver a few surprises at its I/O event next month, maybe it could be the 2014 Nexus 7 or even the rumored Nexus 8?
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text: Lotus struggling to pay Raikkonen and staff this month? 21 November, 2012 Nov.21 (GMM) Reports and rumours of financial difficulties at Lotus continue, after it was claimed earlier this week that Kimi Raikkonen’s place at the Enstone based team might actually be in doubt for 2013. Auto Motor und Sport said that there is an issue in terms of promised bonus money in the Finn’s 2012 contract, given his unexpectedly large points tally. “I don’t know where this stuff comes from,” the 2007 world champion’s spokesman Riku Kuvajan was quoted by the Finnish broadcaster MTV3. “I can’t say anything about it.” Now, on Wednesday, the German magazine said that other staff at the Enstone based team are waiting for their pay-cheques. AM&S said that team management is holding out for the latest installment of commercial income from the sport’s owners, headed by chief executive Bernie Ecclestone. The report said that Lotus is waiting for that money to “pay the wages of 493 employees and Kimi Raikkonen”. Subbed by AJN. Related NewsLotus give hint of intent to keep GrosjeanGrosjean admits Formula 1 future uncertainLotus: We struggled to get a good balance on the carLotus: It’s clear that we lack paceLotus: There is still potential to be unlockedLotus announces two race deal with InterwettenGrosjean: Hockenheim will tell how much we have progressedMaldonado: Latest Renault engine much strongerMaldonado expects big power boost for GermanyLotus: Special to be first on new Pirelli 18 inch tyres Kimi4WDC Just a PR stunt to justify Maldonado joining the team for the next season. I think it’s perfect!


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It was the centenary of the end of World War I earlier this month, and the images of entrenched forces locked in a futile conflict were strangely resonant. As U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepare to meet at the G-20 in Buenos Aires this weekend, both leaders have already dug themselves into deep trenches. They need to climb out before the U.S.-China trade war becomes a protracted conflict, triggers a global economic crisis, and forces trading partners and international businesses to choose sides.
The only way forward is to seek peaceful coexistence through piecemeal compromise. The perfect vehicle for such talks is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the multilateral free trade deal negotiated under former U.S. President Barack Obama, abandoned by Trump, and resurrected by other Asian-Pacific trade partners such as Japan. The G-20 meeting between Trump and Xi should produce an announcement that the United States and China will be launching bilateral negotiations to join the TPP together.
This may seem like a far-fetched idea, but this is not just another U.S.-China downswing. A paradigm shift is happening. Since Deng Xiaoping opened China’s doors 40 years ago, business and trade has provided the ballast to an often tumultuous U.S.-China relationship. The two economies have been basically complementary. China’s low-cost labor and manufacturing prowess provided inexpensive consumer goods that masked stagnant U.S. wage growth and kept a lid on inflation. U.S. companies made a lot of money in China, and China benefited from American know-how, technology, capital, and goodwill in assisting it with building its legal system, educating its best and brightest, and more.
Today, things are very different. China is now an economic powerhouse. Both economies are locked in “strategic competition,” as the United States has labeled it, to be the global leader in the most important technologies of the future.
This has left both countries dug into irreconcilable positions. The United States is essentially demanding that China change its system of authoritarian capitalism. China is insisting that problem is U.S. aggression aimed at containing the country’s rise, not the manner in which China conducts trade and business.
That’s where the TPP could come in. The United States and China share the need for an enforceable, multilateral, rules-based trading framework that would allow for their very different systems to interface without either side having an unfair advantage.
As a first step in sorting out the global trading order, it is imperative that the United States and China get Asia right. The 11 countries that went ahead in March and ratified an adjusted TPP agreement (renamed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP-11) would not allow the United States and China to join easily. That is a good thing. This would force the negotiators to tackle the most difficult and divisive issues. These include intellectual property protection, state-owned enterprise versus private enterprise competitive neutrality, cross-border investment, industrial policies, and generally working out an interface that does not allow China’s industrial policies and state capitalism to run roughshod over the market-based capitalism that prevails in business and trade across the world.
The United States, whether Trump likes it or not, has to make room for China. The country’s economy is too powerful and its markets too important for America’s leading companies to be blocked by an “economic Iron Curtain” as former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson has dubbed the new divisions.
Trump’s tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods have captured China’s attention and back-footed its leadership. But he needs a way to wind down the tariffs before they take a serious toll on U.S. manufacturers, farmers, and consumers, many of whom he counts as his core supporters. American soybean exports to China have already plummeted by 97 percent from the previous year.
True, the tariffs are moving some supply chains and manufacturing out of China. But instead of relocating to the United States, they are going to Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Mexico. As the founder of one of China’s largest technology manufacturing companies told me during a recent visit to his new $7 billion plant in southern China, “I will just expand in Mexico, because the U.S. doesn’t have the engineers, plant managers, and know-how that we need.”
Xi’s situation is not so different. China is vulnerable. Decades of economic distortions are surfacing, and the country is up to its neck in domestic debt. The only remedy is continued growth. U.S. tariffs will stymie growth and require a new flood of debt-financed stimulus.


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Commodity prices continued to surge in December, with energy commodities spiking 15% and non-energy commodities jumping 4,7%.
There is a lot of buzz surrounding industrial analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). However, companies are not limited to taking large and costly decisions when it comes to exploring the possibilities.
Globally, purchases of imported iron ore totaled US144.5 billion in 2019. Overall, the value of iron ore imports for all importing countries increased by an average 58.1% since 2015 when iron ore purchases were valued at $91.4 billion. Year over year, the value of iron ore imports accelerated by 23.6% from 2018 to 2019.
The packaging industry is no stranger to robotics, having implemented robots long before the digital revolution. Though packaging robots may not be anything new, the COVID-19 pandemic has put renewed emphasis on their utility. The use of robotics in COVID has proved how integral these machines are to the industry's success.
Worldwide exports of electricity-powered automobiles were worth a total US$25.7 billion in 2019. That dollar amount reflects a 207.4% increase from $8.4 billion in 2017 and a 123.1% gain since 2018.
Commodity prices rose sharply in November, with energy commodities up 6,4% and non-energy commodities up 4,4%.
As barriers between human activities and robotic capabilities diminish — moving beyond the fenced activities of last-generation industrial robots — new collaboration and workflow models are bringing humans and robots together in industry.


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Netflix Turns Upside Down
Great Ones, have you ever heard the saying: “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain?”
While the quote is most likely drawn from the works of German philosopher Nietzsche, you probably remember hearing it in the 2008 blockbuster Batman movie The Dark Knight.
Now, I’m no Nietzsche … nor am I a caped crusader mentally scarred by the death of his parents … but even I can see that this saying directly applies to streaming giant Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX).
The current king of streaming will step into the earnings confessional this afternoon — likely by the time you read this edition of Great Stuff.
Netflix is expected to post a profit of $2.90 per share on revenue of $8.06 billion. Then again, these numbers typically don’t do much for NFLX stock.
It’s always been about subscriber growth for Netflix. Always.
In Q1, Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers and said that it would likely lose another 2 million in Q2.
Technically, this should come as no surprise to anyone. Streaming services added massive amounts of new subscribers during the pandemic. But while people trapped in their houses due to pandemic lockdowns made for good temporary gains, it was not destined to last.
Many subscribers were going to drop Netflix and other streaming services after the lockdowns were over. It was just a given as people went outside and got on with their lives again. However, Netflix took this post-pandemic rebalancing personally.
And how could it not? Netflix is precariously clinging to the title of “king of streaming” by the skin of its teeth right now. The company is fending off assaults from Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, HBO Max and a horde of other streaming barbarians at the gate.
Now, back in the day, Netflix accepted all comers — allowed them all to share and share alike. Sharing is caring, after all.
While the company’s official stance has always been that password sharing is against its terms of service, Netflix directly encouraged subscribers to share their accounts.
Anyone remember this Netflix tweet from 2017?
Love is sharing a password. — Netflix’s official Twitter account.
But that goodwill apparently only lasted as long as Netflix’s subscriber base was growing. Now that it’s contracting … it’s no more Mr. Nice Guy. No more Mr. Clea – hee – hee – hean!
Not only is password sharing bad now — apparently Netflix is all outta love, it’s so lost without you — the company is going to great lengths to make darn sure you don’t share anymore.
Yesterday, news broke that Netflix is testing a new method to stop password sharing in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and the Dominican Republic.
This method involves tracking your streaming device’s IP address, your TV’s device ID and your account activity. If Netflix catches your account watching shows outside your home address for more than two weeks … your account will be blocked.
Unless! Unless, of course, you pay more to “add an extra home.” Don’t worry, Millennials. We’re not talking about buying an actual home here. I know that’s a big source of anxiety for y’all right now. I get it.
No, we’re talking about Netflix’s new way to “allow” password sharing. And that new way is: “Pay me!”
That’s right. What Netflix used to allow you to do for free, you now will have to pay roughly $2.99 per month for — at least, that’s the relative price point it’s rolling out in Latin America with this test program.
Now, I have to admit that, from a business perspective, this $2.99 per month for adding a “home” seems rather reasonable — assuming Netflix doesn’t jack the price up when they roll this out stateside, that is. It’s a really good idea with a reasonable price point.
I also need to make clear that I am not saying Netflix shouldn’t get paid. It’s a business. It offers a service. It should be paid for that service.
What I am saying is that if Netflix had started out this way … if the company had always cracked down on password sharing … none of this would be a problem. The problem is that Netflix customers are already used to sharing passwords, since, you know, the company actively encouraged it.
Regardless of whether password sharing is against the company’s terms of service, Netflix subscribers are going to see this crackdown as taking something away from them. Not only that, they’ll see it as Netflix being greedy — especially after the company’s repeated subscription price hikes.
Unless Netflix does something to improve its customer relations and its image, this latest crackdown has a very high chance of sending more subscribers to competing services. And this, Great Ones, is where the streaming market enters the old “cable churn” model of providing expensive discounts and subsidies to lure in new customers.
Consider tonight’s Q2 Netflix report as the first salvo in this new era for the streaming market. I’ll be sure to fill you in on all the details tomorrow after the report. Until then, here’s what you need to be watching:
In the San Francisco area, there’s a company few people have heard of.
Mysterious, Great Stuff. Very mysterious.
According to my colleague Adam O’Dell, it has the potential to be the next great software company. Think of Uber, Airbnb, Facebook, Microsoft, Cisco or Oracle.
Right now, its market cap is still under $2 billion. So if you invest now, you’re getting in on the ground floor.
Good: I’ve Hacked Their Mainframe … Sales
We’ve not talked up IBM (NYSE: IBM) in these here virtual pages in some time now … partly because it’s, you know, IBM.
But this quarter? Oh, why, this quarter IBM actually released a new, widely anticipated product — no, seriously. As part of its Z series of mainframe systems, IBM just launched the z16 mainframe computer. Feel free to “ooh” and “ahh” to your heart’s content.
Neato … how do I get one?
Uhh, start up a data center? Or launch an e-commerce platform? Or do something that requires massive amounts of computing processing power? And no, opening 100 tabs in Chrome doesn’t count — but, let’s be honest … it should.
Regardless, enough data-hungry businesses wanted the new z16 mainframes that Z system revenue jumped 69% on the quarter, compared to a 19% decline last quarter. Nice. Overall revenue and earnings both beat analysts’ expectations, but guidance is where IBM’s cookie crumbles.
Looking ahead, IBM dropped its 2022 cash flow estimates from a range of $10 billion to $10.5 billion … down to just $10 billion even.
It’s an absolute tragedy — a travesty, even. The nerve of IBM to get us all excited over its earnings beat and then stop the hype train immediately. IBM better have some good reason why it dropped guidance…
Oh, wait, IBM’s blaming the strong U.S. dollar for this? Plus the loss of its Russian business?
Excuses, excuses. It wasn’t good enough of a song and dance for Wall Street, which struck IBM stock down 7%.
Better: Boeing’s Back (Back Again)
Ain’t nothin’ gonna break Boeing’s stride. It’s running and won’t touch ground — oh no — it’s got to keep on moving.
Hold up… Eminem into Matthew Wilder? Really? Unexpected, but I’ll run with it.
Also, we just got good news from Boeing (NYSE: BA) twice in the same week? And BA stock actually rallied both times?! What kind of bizarro upside-down world have we dropped into?
Now you might be thinking … what does an investment firm need that many planes for? Are y’all traveling to “conferences” that often?
But 777 Partners isn’t just any investment firm: It’s setting up independent, low-cost airlines based everywhere from Canada to Australia … on top of its other hustles in “insurance, consumer and commercial finance; litigation finance; direct lending; sports, media and entertainment.”
So the secret to 777 Partners’ new, low-cost airlines? The efficient and high-capacity 737 MAX.
Dude. So many 7s.
You’re telling me. I’m surprised 777 Partners didn’t order 777 737s just for the memes. Nevertheless, any sales for Boeing are a welcome sight for Great Stuff Picks investors — it’s almost like someone predicted this demand for new planes way back in the pandemic doldrums.
Best: Hasbro, Do You Even Lift?
Oh, Hasbro (Nasdaq: HAS) does more than just lift … it, umm … where was I going with this metaphor again?
Anywho, judging by its latest report, Hasbro — the maker of board games, Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering trading cards — wasn’t playing any games this earnings season.
I’ll have you know D&D isn’t just a game. It’s a lifestyle.
Yeah, sure. Sure, it is… Whatever you call it, Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast segment — which includes everything to do with the Dungeons and Dragons “lifestyle” — saw profits tick up 17% last quarter. And I have to wonder how much the new season of Netflix’s Stranger Things juiced up those sales.
Anyone remember when activist investors tried to get Hasbro to sell off Wizards of the Coast earlier this year? Yeah … I’m pretty sure we all know now why Hasbro squashed that idea.
Hasbro’s overall earnings were up 10% last quarter and handily beat expectations. Revenue, on the other hand, rose a mere 1% and missed analysts’ estimates. Pretty much everything Hasbro makes got more expensive during the quarter, from the My Little Ponies to the Nerf blasters, which helped boost Hasbro’s earnings.
As for HAS investors? They’re not exactly “feasting” after this report … but they’re eating. HAS stock rallied 1% today, which is more than IBM investors can say…
TikTok On The Clock
Great Stuff, blow my speakers up…
What, did you really think we were about to sully this rag with Ke$ha? No, sir! Y’all are discerning Great Ones … folks with taste, not ta$te.
That’s why you’re in for a treat with — you guessed it — Great Stuff’s official TikTok. You heard me: Official. TikTok.
If you haven’t checked out the ‘Tok yet, time is Tikking. Trust me, there’s no better way to decompress from the adrenaline of earnings season than some time on the social meeds.
If you’re already a follower, thank you! Tell us what you like to see — and what you’d like to see more of. Comment on posts or email us with your TikTok thoughts: email@example.com. We’ll see your message one way or another.
Once you’ve rambled on and sang your song, here’s where else you can find us across the interwebs:
- Get Stuff: Subscribe to Great Stuff right here!
- Our Socials: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
- Where We Live: GreatStuffToday.com.
- Our Inbox: firstname.lastname@example.org.
Editor, Great Stuff


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NEW DELHI: FieldFresh Foods is expanding its Del Monte product offerings in India as part of a plan to become a top 10 company in the food and beverage (F&B) space in the next five years.
"We are expanding our product range. We will enter the snacks category with our dried fruit offerings," FieldFresh Foods Pvt Chief Operating Officer Yogesh Bellani told PTI.
The company, a 50:50 venture between Del Monte Pacific Ltd and Bharti Enterprises, will launch its dried fruit snacks range in the next quarter.
"Indians are getting health conscious. We will launch our dried fruit snack range next quarter. Initially, it will be only prunes. But we will also add cranberries and apricots," Bellani said.
Priced at Rs 40 per 40-gram pack, the snack range will initially be a small part of the company's offerings, but in the next five years or so, "we expect it to become a substantial product in our portfolio," he said.
FieldFresh is considering increasing the prices of its products to offset the rupee's depreciation, which has led to pressure on its margins.
"We may hike prices of our products. We are watching it very closely but some impact will start to trickle down in the near future."
Over the next two quarters, two-three new products would be added to the company's Italian and culinary range, he said. It has added 8-10 new products to its range so far this year.
"Our vision is to be among the top 10 companies in the food and beverage space in the next five years," Bellani said.
The current slowdown in the economy has not affected the company's expansion plans.
"Every quarter, we are adding capacity. We have a capex planned for this year and we have not cut back on that plan. We believe it is a long-term growth story in this country," he said.
Bellani refused to elaborate on the investment, saying the company is privately held and does not disclose financial details.
The Del Monte range offered in India includes fruit drinks, packaged fruits, ketchups and sauces and the Italian range of gourmet pasta, pasta sauces and olive oil.


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BioWare finally released an update to Mass Effect: Andromeda last week that, among other things, improved characters’ poor facial animations, which the developer has been getting ripped for since well before the game even released on March 21. Everyone playing the game seems to agree that the patch is a major improvement — everyone, that is, except for pirates.
That’s because those players pirating BioWare’s RPG are still stuck with the original, freakish faces. As it was understandably focused on publicizing the various balance and bug fixes in addition to the all-important improved facial animations, BioWare didn’t make a big deal about it when it dropped patch 1.05 on April 6, but the patch locked pirates out of updating their copies.
Despite shipping redundant piracy protections through EA Origins and third-party service Denuvo, Mass Effect: Andromeda was cracked by pirates in less than two weeks. According to DSOG, that’s because Andromeda shipped with an outdated version of Denuvo, but patch 1.05 updates the game to the newest version of the anti-piracy DRM.
DSOG claims this is evidenced by strings of code in the game’s executable file that are present in other games with the latest version of Denuvo but were missing from the pre-1.05 version of Andromeda.
Although many paying games customers may not even be aware of it, a number of high-profile games have shipped with Denuvo protections over the last few years. Denuvo was removed from Doom in 2016 after meeting its goal of “keeping the game safe from piracy during the initial sales window.”
In January, however, Denuvo came up short when Resident Evil 7, which was pirated in just one week despite shipping with the anti-piracy tool. Shortly after that, Conan Exiles was immediately victimized by pirates just days after release when developer Funcom mistakenly released a patch without Denuvo protections.
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