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Changes in GST laws to come into effect from 1 January onwards
There will be a host of changes in laws related to GST from 1 January 2022 onwards. The new law will require e-commerce operators to pay tax on services provided via them through restaurant services or transport availed by passengers.
The new law will also see correction in inverted duty structure in textile and footwear industries.
Mismatch in GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B sales can be directly recovered by GST officials
From 1 January 2022, any mismatch in GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B sales can be directly recovered by GST officials. The move will ensure a reduction in fake billings. Currently, show clause notices are initially issued, post which the recovery process will be initiated. The new changes are being introduced by the government under the Finance Act. A notification regarding the new changes was provided by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on 21 December 2021.
GST Complexities for Swiggy and Zomato from New Year
E-commerce operators (ECOs) such as Zomato and Swiggy, which will be responsible for paying the 5% goods and service tax on restaurant services provided through them beginning 1 January 2021, face a difficult task of updating their software in less than two weeks, as invoicing responsibility has also shifted from restaurants to them. It was declared in September 2021 that ECOs will be liable for tax on restaurant services delivered through them. Procedures such as invoicing and other compliances, on the other hand, were only defined by a tax department circular issued on 17 December 2021. The invoicing of the above service has been delegated to ECOs, according to this circular.
GST Council meeting likely to be held in early January 2022
The GST Council will likely be held in early January 2022. The meeting will likely discuss the pre-budget talks between the state finance minister and the Union Finance Minister. The meeting will also look to rectify the inverted duty structure. On 23 December 2021, the Winter Session of Parliament will end.
Compliance burden reduced for GST taxpayers by the government
On 12 December 2021, the Ministry of Finance has announced relaxations for the GST taxpayers. The Ministry of Finance has announced that taxpayers who have an Annual Aggregate Turnover (AATO) of up to Rs.5 crore, will not have to file the Form GSTR-9C reconciliation statement from FY 2020-2021. For taxpayers who make an AATO of more than Rs.5 crore, the Form GSTR-9C reconciliation statement can be self-certified from FY 2020-2021. Taxpayers who make an AATO of up to Rs.2 core will not have to file Annual Returns for FY 2020-2021.
Employees may have to pay GST for skipping notice period
Employees may have to pay goods and services tax (GST) on their full and final salary in case they choose not to serve the notice period while leaving their current job as per a report issued by the Authority of Advance Ruling (AAR).
The AAR report mentioned that GST will be levied on recoveries such as the telephone bill, group insurance, and pay during notice.
Meghalaya GST revenue increases by 27%
Meghalaya had seen an increase in its Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue by 27% in November 2021. The Ministry of Finance had released a statement saying that the GST revenue for Meghalaya in November last year was Rs.120 crore. In November 2021, the GST had increased to Rs.152 crore.
GST collections record the second highest monthly mop up in November 2021
Since the introduction of the new tax regime, GST collections touched second highest monthly mop up in the month of November. The collections for the month stood at Rs.1,31,576 crore. It was a shade higher than the Rs.1.3 lakh crore deposited in the treasury last month. It was 25 percent higher than the collections recorded a year ago. The previous record monthly collection was witnessed in the month of April where the collections were Rs.1,39,708 crore.
Gujarat registers second highest GST collection
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collected in the state of Gujrat is Rs.8,497 crore for the month of October 2021. The revenue collected is 25% higher than the amount collected in the same month last year. A revenue of Rs.7,780 crore was collected in September 2021, which means the state has registered a 9.2% rise in the tax collection on a monthly basis.
The Principal Secretary of the State Finance Department, JP Gupta said that the increased tax collection is because of the improved sales across all sectors during Diwali.
4% GST collection growth in Chandigarh for the month of October 2021
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collected in Chandigarh for the month of October 2021 is Rs.158 crores. This year’s collection is 4% higher than the revenue collected during the same period last year and Rs.6 crore more than the amount collected in September 2021. The night curfew is already been lifted by the administration in Chandigarh, and business activities are returning back to normal. The city has started picking up post relaxed restrictions, which has resulted in more business and an increased GST collection.
Real Estate Developers Contact Government Over GST on Redevelopment Projects
Various real estate developers have asked the government to provide concessions as well as clarification on the problem of double GST payments in rehabilitation projects. The double GST payments has resulted in cost increases at a time when margins are already thin.
According to industry trackers, after the implementation of GST in 2017, the redevelopment projects economy went awry. This redevelopment project is a type of urban real estate renewal method that works by taking over old building and rebuilding them.
Services provided by government, except agencies are exempt from taxes
The services rendered by the State government, central government, Union territory or local authority are not taxable. However, there are a few exceptions such as business entities. The Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) Telangana ruled that the transaction fee collected by an agency on behalf of the government will be taxable.
Therefore, business entities collecting charges on behalf of the government or the services offered by them to the government will not be exempt from the goods and services tax (GST).
Pen Manufacturers request the Finance Ministry for a reduction in GST
Pen manufacturers have requested the Finance Ministry to reduce the goods and services tax (GST). The government’s decision of imposing 18% GST on all pens has affected sales. Previously, ballpoint pens were subject to 12% GST while fountain pens and stylograph pens were taxed at 18%.
Two pen manufacturing associations have asked the finance ministry for a reduction in GST. The government is striving for rate rationalisation.
The Authority of Advance Ruling says that GST will be applicable on Wellness packages
The Authority of Advance Ruling (AAR) has recently stated that the packages offered by Wellness centres will be defined as ‘composite supply.’ Therefore, a Goods and Services Tax (GST) ranging between 5% and 12% can be levied on Wellness centres.
The GST will be imposed based on the number of rooms in these Wellness centres and resorts. The AAR ruled that the centres will not be considered independent facilities because they are a part of the wellness packages that are offered to the customers.
Centre refrains from borrowing additional funds to fulfill GST compensation
As per the officials, the government's current revenue position is improving with an increased contribution both in terms of direct and indirect taxes. Considering this steady rise, the Centre is sticking to its FY22 borrowing programme and is not tapping the market for additional funds to meet GST compensation. The total GST revenue collected in September 2021 is Rs 1,17,010 crore and the required run-rate for FY2022r to meet the estimated GST collection is Rs.1.18 lakh crore. Looking at the economy's steady recovery, achieving the target should not be a problem.
Calcutta HC says WFH due to Covid not an apt reason to cancel GST registration
The order passed by the GST authority to cancel the registration of a company on the grounds that the firm did not have active office operating during the time of investigation due to Covid-19 has been set aside by the High Court of Calcutta.
International Value Retail Pvt Ltd had filed a petition after their application for revocation of GST registration was revoked following which the court ordered the tax authority to grant a hearing opportunity to the firm and submit all the necessary documents and evidence following which the authority will have to pass an order within a period of thirty days.
The firm’s application was rejected by the GST authorities on the ground that they did not have an active operational office at its place of registration as the company was following a Work from Home (WFH) model due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rajat Mohan, senior partner AMRG & Associates, said that it is important that companies are allowed to follow the WFH model during a time when everything is digitalized. The cancellation of GST on such grounds is not appropriate as it will most likely stagnate the growth of the Indian industry.
GST to be levied on Diwali gifts
The Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) has stated that GST will be levied on goods given by companies as free gifts. Companies giving off products like refrigerators and gold coins will be considered as normal goods and GST will be imposed on them.
Central government releases Rs.1,15,000 crore to states as GST compensation
There is a shortfall in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation in the current financial year. For this reason, the central government has released Rs.1,15,000 crore as a back-to-back loan to all the union territories and states.
A total of Rs.40,000 was released on Thursday and Rs.75,000 in July to the union territories with the legislature and states. In the fiscal year 2021-22, Rs.2.59 lakh crore will exceed the GST compensation amount.
Nirmala Sitharaman Requested to Postpone Raising the GST on Railway Products
The Railway Suppliers Association (RASA) has urged Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Finance Minister, to postpone the government's recent decision to raise the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on railway products to 18% from 12%. On 30 September 2021, the finance ministry announced that the GST rate for all railway products covered by Chapter 86 would be raised from 12% to 18%. In a letter to the minister, RASA president S Surulivel stated that the decision would hurt small industry suppliers due to rising raw material costs, which had increased manufacturing costs by 25-40%.
GST collections for September stand at Rs. 1.17 lakh crore
On Friday, Finance Ministry stated that Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for the month of September was Rs.1.17 lakh crore. It was 23 percent higher when compared to last year’s collection in the same month. The ministry in a statement said that the average monthly gross GST collection for the second quarter of the current year was 5 percent higher than the average monthly collection in the first quarter. It added that the enhanced GST collections indicate economic growth and action against anti-evasion activities. Of the Rs.1,17,010 crore, CGST is Rs.20,578 crore, SGST is Rs.26,767 crore, and IGST is Rs.60,911 crore. The total revenue of Centre and the States after regular settlements in the month stood at Rs.49,030 crore for CGST and Rs.50,907 crore for SGST. On Friday, Finance Ministry stated that Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for the month of September was Rs.1.17 lakh crore. It was 23 percent higher when compared to last year’s collection in the same month. The ministry in a statement said that the average monthly gross GST collection for the second quarter of the current year was 5 percent higher than the average monthly collection in the first quarter. It added that the enhanced GST collections indicate economic growth and action against anti-evasion activities. Of the Rs.1,17,010 crore, CGST is Rs.20,578 crore, SGST is Rs.26,767 crore, and IGST is Rs.60,911 crore. The total revenue of Centre and the States after regular settlements in the month stood at Rs.49,030 crore for CGST and Rs.50,907 crore for SGST.
GST rates for licensing content rights increased to 18%
The Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council has recommended hiking the GST rates on licensing services of recorded media to 18%. Earlier, the GST rates were at 12%. The main reason for increasing the GST rates is to bring parity between licensing services and distribution. The rates of GST and the classification codes are HSN 999614 for Option 2, which is at 18%, and HSN 997332 for Option 1, which is at 12%. Option 1 is for licensing services in the case of television programmes, sound recordings, and show original films. Option 2 is for the distribution services of motion picture, television programme, and videotape.
Aadhaar authentication mandatory for GST refund
According to the government, it is mandatory to complete Aadhaar authentication in the case of Goods and Service Tax (GST) refund. The CBIC has made several changes to stop tax evasion. Any refunds will also be deposited to the bank account that is linked to the PAN that was submitted at the time of GST registration. The notification further added that any companies that have defaulted in the filing the summary returns and do not pay the monthly GST cannot file GSTR-1 sales returns for the next month. The new rules will come into effect from 1 January 2022. The decisions were made at the GST council meeting that was held on 17 September 2021.
Group of Ministers set up to come up with GST systems reforms
An eight-member Group of Ministers (GoM) has been constituted by the Union Finance Ministry to come up with potential sources of GST evasion. The GoM will also look at identifying the possible use of data analysis for improving compliance and revenue augmentation. The recommendations will be submitted to the Council by the GoM from time to time. Apart from the GoM, another one has been set up to look into the GST rates. However, GST shortfall compensation may not be covered beyond June of next year.
The GST Council's Clarifications Provide Relief to Businesses
The GST Council issued two clarifications on Friday, 17 September 2021 that are expected to provide significant relief to businesses, including captives of foreign companies in India that cater to their parents' other foreign businesses, as well as Indian entities such as telecom companies, insurers, and banks with operations in multiple states. The Council of Union and State Finance Ministers met in Lucknow and resolved to allow unutilized balances in the CGST and IGST cash ledgers to be transferred between distinct people (entities with the same PAN but registered in different states) without having to go through the refund procedure.
From Next Year Non-filers of One Monthly GST Return Will be Banned from Submitting GSTR-1
Businesses that fail to file a summary return or pay monthly GST will be unable to file a GSTR-1 sales return for the following month beginning 1 January 2022. The GST Council met in Lucknow on 17 September 2021 and resolved on a slew of steps to simplify compliance, including requiring firms to use Aadhaar authentication when filing refund claims. These steps will aid in preventing revenue leakage from the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which went into effect on 1 July 2017. With effect from 1 January 2022, the Council agreed to alter Rule 59(6) of the Central GST Rules to specify that a registered person will not be allowed to file Form GSTR-1 if they have not filed the previous month's return in Form GSTR-3B.
GST Council Decides to Fix the Inverted Duty Structure to Reduce Tax Burden on the Leather Industry
The GST council’s decision to correct the inverted duty structure on leather footwear will come into effect from 1 January 2022. This decision by the council may help reduce the sector's tax burden and stimulate domestic manufacturing of manmade fiber (MMF) fabrics and garments. Sanjay Leekha, Chairman of the Council for Leather Exports (CLE), said that the GST (goods and services tax) on leather footwear costing less than Rs.1,000 is 5%, while the tax on footwear worth more than that is 18%, but the GST on inputs for these footwears might be as high as 18%.
GST Council to fix duty structure
After considering the revenue trend that dipped below the neutral levels, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council Are looking into measures like rate rationalizations for correcting the duty structure and to also take steps to increase revenues. The decision comes after four years of release of the indirect tax regime, with an acknowledgement that rate cuts across the years and spanning over 500 items led to the strain on finances of central and state governments.
The Council will try to make corrections to the inverted duty structure for items like footwear and textiles sectors starting from 1 January. The inverted duty structure arises when taxes on output is lower than the inputs taxes. This creates an inverse accumulation of input tax credit which has to be refunded. The inverted duty structure has implied revenue outflow for the government and has driven the government to look into the duty structure.
The Finance Ministry Extended the Deadline for Applying for the GST Amnesty Scheme till 30 November 2021
The Finance Ministry extended the deadline for applying for the GST amnesty plan, which allows taxpayers to pay a reduced cost for filing monthly returns late, by three months till 30 November 2021. In May, the GST council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and made up of state ministers, decided to introduce an Amnesty Scheme to give taxpayers relief from late fees for pending returns. For those taxpayers who did not have any tax burden, the late fine for non-furnishing of GSTR-3B from July 2017 to April 2021 has been restricted at Rs 500 per return. Taxpayers who owe money will be penalised a maximum of Rs 1,000 in late fines if their returns are not filed by 31 August 2021.
GST Revenue Surpasses Rs.1 lakh Crore as the Economy Improves
The gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) for July 2021 (for June 2021) surpassed Rs.1 lakh crore and reached Rs.1,16,393 crore. In July, GST receipts climbed by 33% compared to the same month last year and by 25.4 percent over the preceding month. This indicates a pick in the economy after the second wave of Covid-19 that resulted in lockdowns all over India which affected commercial activities. Due to the lockdowns, revenues fell to a 10-month low of Rs.92,849 crore in June (for sales in May) after eight months of exceeding the Rs.1 lakh crore mark.
Schools, food supplies, and entrance test exempted from GST
Several tweets were written by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes (CBIC) in regard to the exemption of GST. The clarifications were based on the 43rd GST Council meeting. According to CBIC, GST is exempted in case food is supplied to schools under the mid-day meal scheme. The CBIC further added that catering services to educational institutions will also be exempted from GST. GST has also been exempted in case students have paid a fee to the National Board of Education, state education board, or Central education board for examinations.
GST rates revised for crucial Covid-19 treatment goods till September 2021
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has reduced GST rates on several commodities that are essential for the treatment of Covid-19. These rates will be applicable till the month of September 2021. However, vaccine GST rates remain the same at 5%. The levy of 5% on vaccines will ensure that the chain for tax paid on input credit will remain intact.
8th month in row GST mop-up tops Rs.1 lakh crore; lockdown impact muted
The gross GTS (Goods and Services Tax) collection for the month of May was recorded to be at Rs.1 lakh crore for eighth month in a row which Indicated a lower-than-expected impact of lockdowns in the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The GST collection was recorded to be at Rs.1.02 lakh crore which was however, lower than April’s record collections of Rs 1,41,314 crore despite many Indian states imposing strict lockdown restrictions.
The GST collections during May 2020, had been recorded at Rs.62,009 crore. In the previous year, the GST collections had slipped to a record low of Rs.32,172 crore in April after the lockdown was announced.
It took six months for the collections of GST to recover and go above the Rs 1.lakh crore mark in the month of October to be recorded at Rs.1.05 lakh crore.
IGST exempted for COVID-19 relief items and Amphotericin-B drug for Black Fungus 31 May 2021
The GST Council had recently held the 43rd Council meeting and it was decided in the meeting that items for COVID-19 relief which are being brough into the country will be exempted from IGST till the 31st of August 2021.
The Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman has recently made the announcement. With the rising cases of Black Fungus across the country, the medicine for the same Amphotericin-B has been added to the list of exemption as well. The FM has also mentioned that the exemptions will be applicable irrespective of the fact that the relief items and medicines are being purchased or being donated to the government or to relief agency as per the state authorities’ directives.
Gross revenues from GST hit record high in April 2021
GST revenues touch all-time high of Rs.1.41 lakh crore in April. April’s GST collections surpassed the previous highest collections of Rs.1.24 lakh crore recorded in the previous month i.e., March 2021. The collections were up by 14 percent when compared to March. April was the seventh straight month that GST revenues have crossed the mark of Rs.1 lakh crore. Of the Rs.1,41,384 crore GST collected in April, Central GST (CGST) collections stood at Rs.27,837 crore while State GST (SGST) collections stood at Rs.35,621 crore. Integrated GST (IGST) and Cess collections stood at Rs.68,481 crore and Rs.9,445 crore respectively. The record collections suggest that economic activity have not yet been badly affected amidst the ongoing second wave of coronavirus as compared to last year. The IGST includes ?29,599 crore collected on import of goods. It needs to be mentioned here that the total revenue of Centre and the States after regular and ad-hoc settlements in April 2021 was Rs.57,022 crore for Central GST and Rs.58,377 crore for the State GST.
No notice from the finance department regarding payment of maximum GST liability in cash
In the latest development, the Finance Ministry of India had stated that there were no instructions given to officials regarding the payment of maximum GST liability in cash. This was given as a response to previous reports where GST officers were using phone calls, WhatsApp and messaging services asking many taxpayers to pay the maximum tax liability in cash.
According to reports, the GST officers were trying to ensure that that their GST revenue collection targets were met for the FY. In the latest statement issued by the Finance Department, the government or the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs have not given any instruction of the sort.
GST taxpayers will be able to use the Input Tax Credit in their credit ledger to pay off their GST dues for March, as per the notification sent by the Finance Ministry.
GST field units set to identify defaulters and increase collection
Goods and Service Tax (GST) officials have authorised field units to identify top taxpayers as well as defaulters to increase tax collections. The top 200 return defaulters for February belonging to the Central jurisdiction and ask them to file the tax returns. The top 300 taxpayers will also be encouraged to make cash payments of the state GST for the financial year 2020. The top taxpayers who are defaulters with 25% decline will be personally contacted by the AC/GSTO and explanations would have to be provided and motivated to increase their contributions to tax in the country. The interest on the cash liability of tax should be levied in major cases within the regulations of the GST Act provisions. There will be notices issued for discrepancies in the GST returns if there are mismatches between the monthly and quarterly returns. There will also be audit and reconciliation statements that have to be filed by taxpayers for the financial years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. This will also be done for mismatches between any input tax credit for GSTR 3B and ITC that is auto drafted in the GSTR 2B.
E-invoicing under GST regime to become mandatory for entities with a turnover of Rs.50 crore or more
The government on Monday in a notification stated that e-invoicing under the goods and services tax (GST) regime will become mandatory for entities with a turnover of Rs.50 crore and more from April 1. This will be the third phase of e-invoicing roll out. The government had rolled it out for entities with Rs.500 crore and more turnover from October 1 last year and later extended to entities with Rs.100 crore and above from January 1 this year. It needs to be mentioned here that the government had earlier planned to extend e-invoicing to all entities from 1 April 2021 but it has refrained from doing so after taking into consideration small entities.
The system is aimed at bringing in more transparency in sales reporting, minimising errors, automating data entry work, and improving compliance. It will also help in preventing tax evasion. Under e-invoicing, companies have to generate an invoice registration number (IRN) from a government portal and shown to the authorities while moving goods.
GST collection for the month of February stands at Rs.1.13 lakh crore
According to a data released by the Finance Ministry of India, the total GST collected during the month of February stood at Rs.1.13 lakh crore.
This is the fifth straight month when the total GST collected has exceeded Rs.1 lakh crore. Comparatively, the total GST collection for the month of February 2021 as compared to the numbers observed for the same month last year saw a growth of 7%.
The ministry of finance said that the growth in GST collection clearly indicated that the economy is slowly recovering due to the various measures taken by the tax authorities.
January 2021 GST collections reach all-time high
The Goods and service tax (GST) collections for January 2021 had reached Rs.1.19 lakh crore since the launch of the GST regime. The GST revenues in January was the highest after the introduction of GST and reached around Rs.1.2 lakh crore mark. This had been more than last month’s record collection of Rs.1.15 lakh crore. The consistent collections of more than Rs.1 lakh crore for the last couple of months and the increasing trend over January had been indicators of teh fast economic recovery after the pandemic.


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Intel has reported modest growth in its financial results for the third quarter of 2013 over the previous three months. But measured against this time last year, the chip giant has barely grown at all. Revenues grew five per cent on the second quarter of 2013 to $13.5bn, giving it an earnings per share of 58 cents, and an …
"40 products launched ... sales, profit needles barely move"
That would show that Intel has been quite successful in maintaining itself afloat. In the current climate, many CEOs would sell their souls to the little guy in the icon, in exchange for their companies showing similar results.
Re: "40 products launched ... sales, profit needles barely move"
And fortunately we know that the global "fall off a cliff" of PC sales and the even heavier fall of high value server chips will have no real impact on Intel now that they are more interested in internet connected lightbulbs than shipping Xeons
we're down to 39 ... so far ..
The Internet of Things isn't a product.
The Internet of Things is a bloody stupid name for anything.
OnCue rollout problems
Hard to gauge financially, but Intel's ongoing struggle to develop a new broadband-driven TV set top box, apparently called 'OnCue', might contribute to this stunted growth.
OnCue is now delayed until "sometime 2014", largely due to a lack of content deals being struck. Would surprise no one if the plug was pulled before XMAS. They've sunk a lot of cash into that,
Internet of Things isn't just a new board formfactor
The "Internet of Things" will need to be small, low power, and LOW COST boards.
It seems that Intel is only able to respin PC board form factors - what is it now after ATX, mini-ATX, etc?
About the only thing left for Intel is to be those servers that get hooked to the back of TV's for information displays and animated advertising, but even then there are different boxes that can do it for much less.
Re: Internet of Things isn't just a new board formfactor
"It seems that Intel is only able to respin PC board form factors"
So, it'll be The Internet Of Big Things then.....
Intel is absolutely huge. What more do they actually need to do?
Just keep printing chips and making money. seems like a good plan.
However the "Internet of Things" sounds downright evil. As my kids would say, "No thank you"
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(WHTM) — Our hometown heroes for Friday are putting on a yard sale in Cumberland County, but this one is only for kids.
East Pennsboro Township is hosting “The Kids Only Yard Sale” on Saturday, June 25. The free event is run by children in grades kindergarten to eighth grade.
They will be selling their old toys, games, bikes, and anything else that is kid-friendly.
Children can go on their own shopping spree for bargains at Adams Ricci Park from 9 a.m to 12 p.m.


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The CPI inflation data and the IIP data have shown interesting trends in the last few months. The latest data set on retail inflation announced for February 2019 has shown a sharp revival in CPI inflation. In fact, from a low of 1.97% in Jan-19, inflation has bounced to 2.57% in the month of February. What does this mean for growth and how is growth likely to pan out.
What does the CPI (retail inflation) trend indicate?
As the chart below depicts, the CPI inflation had been depicting a falling trend since it had peaked in June last year. The fall in inflation over the last 8 months has been driven by lower food prices. In fact, the food inflation of most items had turned negative and that trend has sustained since then.
If one were to look at the last few credit policies put out by the RBI, then it has been talking about a best case inflation of 4%. From that perspective, retail inflation is surely under check. However, the only worry on the inflation front is that the low inflation may be due to the farmer distress which means most of the farmers are not getting remunerative prices for their crops. Also the rural inflation has been sharply lower than the urban inflation. This goes to indicate that while urban India has largely maintained its purchasing power, it is rural India that has actually suffered a fall in its purchasing power. That has translated into weak demand and weak inflation. Interestingly, the RBI policy had recently shifted its focus from core inflation to headline inflation. Core inflation continues to remain at above 5.3% although it is just headline inflation that has fallen sharply. What does the Feb-19 inflation indicate? Does it hint at a revival in inflation or is it more about a temporary base effect that will eventually vanish? When you combine the effects of CPI and WPI inflation, it is obvious that the indications are towards higher inflation in the coming months.
But, IIP has been showing clear signs of pressure
The index of industrial production is showing pressure in the last 3 months. Normally, IIP is reported with a lag of 1 month as compared to inflation and hence they may not be strictly comparable. If one were to look at the private sector banks, they are operating on a credit / deposit ratio of nearly 96%. That is nearly 10% higher than the 10-year average. Of course, PSU banks operate on a much lower C/D ratio of around 71% and that is the crux of the problem. It has always been the case of PSU banks lending to industry and private banks focusing on consumer lending. So we have a situation where consumer lending is still happening due to higher income levels but industrial lending is under stress.
What is really worrying is that the pressure on the IIP is coming from the manufacturing sector which accounts for nearly 77% of the total IIP. With most industries still operating at just about 70% capacity utilization, the manufacturing growth is just not happening. That is what is keeping under pressure.
Is this a sign of slowdown and what are the strategy responses?
If one were to look at the overall GDP growth data, the last quarter ended December 2018 had reported a GDP growth of just about 6.6%. The MOSPI has forecast full year GDP growth at just around 7%, which means the fourth quarter could be weaker at 6.4%. To an extent, this slowdown was triggered by the demonetization of currency in late 2016, which led to severe strain on the SME and the MSME sector. That pressure has continued to show. At the same time the trade war and higher crude prices are also putting pressure on the global GDP growth. IMF has already forecast 30-40 bps lower growth in GDP due to the ongoing trade war between the US and China. That is also likely to have an impact on India.
What could be the policy responses? It is broadly assumed that the RBI could cut policy rates by 25 basis points in the April policy. Whether the RBI opts for rate cuts or liquidity infusion remains to be seen. Especially, this assumes relevance in the light of the Dollar Swap bonds announce as well as the weak transmission seen when the rates were cut by 25 bps in February. But a lot would really predicate on the new government that takes oath in May and its policy stance!


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Apple to replace some MacBook Pro faulty batteries
Apple, without giving the actual number of MacBooks affected, said the units were manufactured between October 2016 and October 2017
Bengaluru: Apple Inc on Friday said component failure in a limited number of MacBook Pros has caused built-in battery to expand, adding, it will offer worldwide free replacement for such batteries.
Apple said the flaw, reported in some 13-inch Macbook Pros without touch bars, is not a safety issue.
The affected units were manufactured between October 2016 and October 2017, Apple said on its support page, without giving the actual number of MacBooks affected.
The iPhone maker previously came under scrutiny after it confirmed in December that software to deal with aging batteries in iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE models could slow down performance. The company later apologised and lowered the price of battery replacements for affected models to $29 from $79. Reuters
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The Australian game classification board has provided a rating for a game that looks a lot like Doom Eternal VR.
The recent listing, for something titled 'Project 2021A', says that the listing's media type is 'virtual reality'. It also mentions Doom Eternal developer iD Software as the game's author, and Bethesda Softworks as its publisher, which is a pretty useful set of clues as to what the project's origin might be.
If you're still not convinced, the listing outlines why Project 2021A has received a 'Restricted' 18+ rating in the country, mentioning no depiction of drug use, nudity, or sex, but 'mild' language, 'strong' themes and 'high impact' violence, which would definitely align with Doom Eternal's signature ripping and tearing.
As pointed out by PCGamesN, the classification also lines up with the routine established with 2016's Doom, the VR port of which arrived in 2017. Since Doom Eternal released in May 2020, a new version releasing this year is certainly possible, although since Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda, it seems less likely that we'll see a repeat of the PSVR release this time around.
There's been no official word on a Doom Eternal VR game from Bethesda or iD Software so far, but if this listing is what we think it is, a virtual reality Doom Slayer might not be far away, as games are often rated not long before they're due to release.
If you can't wait to get ripping and tearing in virtual reality, check out our list of the best VR games out there right now.


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This holiday season holds special promise for me. I am spending the holidays with extended family in Los Angeles. And the trip has reminded me of the importance of family and sharing.
We must all be grateful for the abundance around us and continue to thank our good fortune that we live in a land that allows freedom of thought and action.
This trip to Los Angeles has also brought back something that I had forgotten in Alaska, where I live.
Even during this holiday season, traffic in Los Angeles is horrendous. You have to schedule at least an hour to go anywhere.
As regular readers know, I am a major Asia fan and expect great things from there during the next decade. And yet, not all sectors will perform uniformly during each of the coming years in the decade.
China has been on a tear for a while now. And 2011 may not be much different. But I have discovered one major sector that will stall and slow down significantly: the auto sector.
I remember my days in Beijing when I would open my blinds and windows in the morning and struggle to see the sky. The smog was overpowering and oppressive. The traffic was thick and dense on the major roads.
Despite major overhauls and restrictions, there were just too many cars on the roads. Nicknamed the "Bicycle City," there were cars as far as you could see.
And with the recent growth, this problem has gotten significantly worse.
While I am a firm believer in the free economy, sometimes artificial restrictions can bring positive results. Beijing’s municipal city government recently announced a new traffic-control policy.
The main aspects of the policy are:
• A restriction on new-car sales with annual new passenger-car license numbers reduced to 30 percent of 2010 numbers, a drop of 70 percent, (2010 is expected to end at about 800,000 new cars and 2011 would be 240,000);
• Individuals who will be allowed to buy cars must hold a valid Beijing resident permit or working permit, have a valid driver’s license, and currently have no car registered under their name;
• Individuals will receive 88 percent allocations, taxis will get 2 percent and the remaining 10 percent will be for corporate users.
• Freezing the city government fleet for the next five years;
• Increase parking fees from April 1, 2011;
• Restriction on cars allowed on selective roads via an odd-even license number system.
What does this mean for the residents and investors?
While I had anticipated some of the restrictions on auto traffic in Beijing, they are a lot stricter than I had expected. I expect the auto sector in China to take a significant hit. And that is based on the expectations that other first- and second-tier Chinese cities are going to soon follow Beijing.
Car demand will get squeezed severely and this will lead to a sharp decline in the results of local car manufacturers as well as foreign car manufacturers who sell heavily in China, such as Peugeot, GM and Chrysler. I expect this new policy will drop growth rates of cars in China to about 6 percent in 2011 from 11 percent.
Having spent a lot of time in China, I know the locals will cheat and try and circumvent the procedures. This will lead to much higher enforcement of fines and tickets. Unfortunately, we cannot buy shares of the local government whose revenues are set to rise.
But there are ancillary sectors that will benefit from this policy decision.
Operating costs for auto ownership in China will rise. And we can capitalize on some of this via investing strategically into this policy decision. Publicly listed parking-lot owners, car-rental companies, repair and maintenance shops, etc., would all begin to see significant growth in 2011 and beyond.
So let’s get wise and short auto companies that sell into China and then invest into focused sectors in China which will benefit from this change in how China drives cars.
© 2023 Newsmax Finance. All rights reserved.


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John Carroll has left the Public Relations Institute of Ireland to take a role as a special adviser to the Taoiseach, the country’s prime minister.
The head of the Westminster lobbying regulator says that evidence of unregistered lobbying is “rare”, and that the register she maintains “can be relied upon”.
If you are a regular cinema-goer you are likely to be familiar with the experience of watching a film that is so overloaded with ideas, plot-lines and characters that you leave feeling exhausted.
Alton Towers Resort and PR agency Mischief have agreed to part company, with the theme park saying there are no plans to hold a pitch “at this stage”, PRWeek has learned.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has launched a campaign designed to promote activities in the city and tell the world the that capital is open for summer.
Travel and hospitality specialist The Dovetail Agency has launched the Champion of Women Awards in celebration of its 20th anniversary, which it hopes will raise £100,000 for charity.
Pharmacy giant Boots has apologised after its chief pharmacist Marc Donovan said the company might “incentivise inappropriate use” of emergency contraception by lowering its price.
Frank hired for Investec launch, Portland brings in broadcaster and more from PRWeek UK.
Sat nav business Garmin has appointed comedian Joe Wilkinson as a brand ambassador – with the comedian himself writing the script for an off-beat social video campaign launched today.
Admiral briefs MoneySuperMarket vet’s agency, Action hires ex-Citizen director, Canoe to launch new Dr. Martens stores, Camron PR wins German retail brand and more from PRWeek UK.


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It's the lowest amount since the early 70s
The Japan Magazine Publishers Association (JMPA) released their circulation figures for physical copies of Japanese magazines on November 13, revealing that the downward readership trend for some of the biggest names in manga continues well into 2021, with Weekly Shonen Jump dipping to under 1.4 million copies in weekly circulation for the first time since the early 1970s.
Weekly Shonen Jump's 2021 circulation figures
Weekly Shonen Jump saw an average circulation of 1,422,766 copies per week in 2021 as a whole, with the July to September period dipping as low as an average of 1,371,818 copies per week in circulation. This is well below the and average of 1,559,000 copies per week in circulation in 2020. Though, this doesn't mean doom and gloom for the publisher, as the magazine is also released digitally weekly through Shueisha's Shonen Jump+ platform, as well as sold through digital retailers like Amazon, which is becoming a more popular option for readers in Japan–though these figures aren't as public as physical publishing numbers.
While the drop of readership isn't as pronounced as Weekly Shonen Jump, both Weekly Shonen Magazine and Weekly Shonen Sunday also saw physical readership dips in 2021, with Magazine falling to an average of 530,326 copies per week in circulation from 2020's 610,661 copies per week in circulation, and Sunday falling to an average of 198,542 copies per week in circulation from 2020's 227,979 copies per week in circulation, dipping under 200,000 for the first time in recorded history.
Weekly Shonen Magazine's 2021 circulation figures
Weekly Shonen Sunday's 2021 circulation figures
The manga industry as a whole was up last year, selling record physical collected volumes of manga series, though a major of those sales were Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba with most of the profits collected going to Shueisha. 2021 should see a more diversified sales pool with Attack on Titan, Tokyo Revengers, and more gaining popularity over the past year–though we'll have to wait for Oricon to release those states to find out!
Daryl Harding is a Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.


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With the Eco-Mobius concept handset, people would be able to upgrade and switch individual pieces of their smartphones.
Pricing not available
Chinese phone firm ZTE is getting in the modular mobile action with this, the Eco-Mobius.
The future of cell phones is made to order with the ZTE Eco-Mobius.
The Eco-Mobius is a concept design from ZTE that enables users to switch out hardware components of their smartphones.
Google is sending out hardware for Project Ara, which will let you build a personalised phone from a selection of bolt-together elements.
The audio experts at Sennheiser are lending an ear to the Lego-like bolt-together Phonebloks modular mobile phone backed by Google.
Say hello to the first fruits of Google's Project Tango, a prototype smart phone that maps the world around you in 3D.
The company wants a base "gray phone" model of its Project Ara modular smartphone available by early next year.
Think handsets have hit an innovative plateau? With a little imagination (and some wishful thinking), CNET explores what smartphones might look like in the not-so-distant future.
With its relentless outpouring of both mid- and high-end phones offered by well-known carriers, ZTE is steadily carving out its presence in the US market.


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Transcontinental Media, the publisher of magazines Canadian Living, The Hockey News and Elle Canada, among others, has announed several staff promotions along with two new hires: Julie Benoît as social media stategist and Michele Perras as mobile strategist.
The Wire Report notes that “Perras previously worked as director of the non-profit Mobile Experience Innovation Centre, which she founded,” and “Benoît previously worked at Cirque du Soleil, where she was responsible for development, strategy and positioning on social media platforms and online.”
Transcon boasts over 40 magazines, including Canadian Living, Coup de pouce, Elle Canada, Elle Québec, Style at Home, Homemakers, Madame, Good Times and The Hockey News.
Should we be expecting more attention on mobile and tablet publishing? In September, The Hockey News app reached its millionth download. It also has apps for Canadian Living and Elle.
Masthead Magazine reports that “Ralph Van Collie, formerly senior manager, new initiatives and electronic commerce is now senior manager, national sites and electronic commerce at Transcontinental Media. In his new duties, Van Collie will supervise the management of consumer sites and develop new digital products aimed at women.” In addition, “Former vice president, digital media Dominique Sébastien-Forest has been appointed vice president, national digital solutions. Sébastien-Forest will be responsible for national sales, advertising operations, national business development, national sites, and cross-platform products such as mobile, social media and video.”
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Verizon’s joint tablet offering with Google may include a multitouch display from N-Trig, a highly-regarded Israeli company known for producing top-notch TabletPC displays. N-Trig has produced two- and four-fingered multitouch displays for HP, Dell, and Lenovo. While N-Trig is focused on Windows 7, Lenny Engelhardt, VP of Business Development, has hinted that the company is eyeing the mobile space; looking closely at Android as an alternative venue for its display technology.
Supposedly codenamed the gPad, this Verizon and Google tablet is shaping up to a powerhouse device. Thought to be powered by Tegra2 processor running on top of Google’s Chrome OS, the Verizon gPad is rumored to be manufactured by HTC with N-Trig technology. You have Verizon, the nation’s #1 wireless carrier with a large potential pool of users, HTC, the premier mobile handset manufacturer for Google’s Android OS, a dual-core processor from NVIDIA, and now a multitouch screen from a top touchscreen display manufacturer. What more could you want?
If this product pans out and is as good as these rumors suggest, then this Verizon-branded device may be the “must-have” tablet when it launches on Black Friday. While I normally eschew in-store shopping on that crazy day of retail madness, I may have to don some combat gear and fight the masses to get my hands on this exciting new Verizon tablet. Anyone going to join me?


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Sleep apnea device recalls are delayed, angering users
Washington – The mass recall of millions of sleep apnea machines has sparked anger and frustration among patients, and US officials are taking unprecedented legal action to speed up a replacement effort that is set to drag on next year.
Sound-proofing foam in pressurized breathing machines can break down over time, potentially inhaling tiny black particles or dangerous chemicals while users sleep, manufacturer Philips warned in June 2021.
Philips initially estimated that it could repair or replace the units within a year. But with more than 5 million devices being recalled around the world, the Dutch company says the effort will last until 2023.
It is left for many patients to choose between using a potentially harmful device or trying risky measures, including removing the foam themselves, buying a second-hand machine online, or simply going without therapy. .
devices are called continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machines. They let air through the mask to keep the passage open during sleep.
Untreated sleep apnea can cause people to stop breathing hundreds of times per night, leading to dangerous drowsiness and an increased risk of heart attack. The problem is more common in men than women, with an estimated 10% to 30% of adults affected.
Physicians say most patients are better off using a recall device because the risks of untreated sleep apnea still outweigh the potential harm of dissolving foam. But doctors have been hard pressed to help them find the new machines, which typically cost between $500 and $1,000, and were already in short supply due to supply chain problems.
“What happened. The company just said, ‘Talk to your doctor.’ But doctors can’t build new machines,” said Dr., a respiratory specialist near Los Angeles. John Saito said.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, risks from the foam include headaches, asthma, allergies and cancer-causing effects on internal organs.
Last March, the FDA took the rare step of ordering Philips to expand its communications efforts to include “clear information about the health risks of its products.” Regulators then estimated that only half of the affected US consumers had registered with the company.
The agency had not issued such an order in decades.
In a statement, Philips said ongoing testing on the recalled equipment is “encouraging” and shows low levels of particulates and chemical byproducts emitted by its flagship brand machine. Phillips said its initial communication about the dangers posed by the foam was “a worst-case scenario for potential health risks.” The company notes that the deterioration is getting worse with unauthorized cleaning methods.
The FDA has received more than 70,000 reports of device-related problems, including pneumonia, infections, headaches and cancer. Such reports are not independently confirmed and cannot prove a causal relationship. They can be filed by manufacturers, patients, physicians or lawyers.
Jeffrey Reid, of Marysville, Ohio, had been using his Philips machine for about a year when he began to see dark spots in the tubing and mask. His equipment supplier said the debris was due to improper cleaning, so he continued to use it.
Over the next seven years, Reid says he experienced frequent sinus infections, including two bouts of pneumonia, which did not resolve with antibiotics. After hearing about the recall, he suspected that foam particles might play a role.
“Once I got off his machine, it was all right,” said 62-year-old Reid, who received a competitor’s device after several months. Like other users, Reed can’t definitively prove that his problems were caused by a Philips device.
More than 340 personal injury lawsuits against Phillips have been consolidated in Pennsylvania federal court and thousands more are expected in the coming months. Reed is not part of the lawsuit.
Like the vast majority of US CPAP users, Reed obtained his equipment through a medical device supplier contracted by his insurer. The company went out of business before the recall and never heard from them about a replacement.
Even under normal circumstances, those companies usually don’t track patients for long.
“After a few years, you’re just forgotten in the system,” said Ismail Cordero, a biomedical engineer and CPAP user. “I stopped hearing from my supplier about three years after I got my machine.”
Cordero learned that his Philips machine had been recalled through his work at ECRI, a nonprofit that reviews medical device safety.
In May, the FDA gave Philips notice that it was considering a second order that would force the company to reform and accelerate its repair-and-replacement program.
Medical device companies typically conduct recalls voluntarily, and former FDA officials say the agency has never really exercised its authority to take additional steps.
“The FDA shares the frustrations expressed by patients who await a resolution to this recall,” the agency said in a statement. Philips still hasn’t provided “all the information requested to evaluate risks from chemicals released from the foam.”
Phillips revealed earlier this year that he received a Justice Department subpoena upon his recall. According to federal regulations, the agency has not publicly commented on the matter.
But an FDA inspection of Philips’ Pennsylvania offices revealed red flags last fall, with emails suggesting the company warned of the problem six years before the recall. According to the FDA, in an October 2015 email, a customer warned Philips that polyester polyurethane foam could be rancid.
Between 2016 and early 2021, the FDA found 14 instances where Philips was made aware of the issue or was analyzing the problem internally. “No further design changes, corrective actions, or field improvements were made,” FDA inspectors noted repeatedly.
In a May 2018 email, foam supplier William T. Burnett wrote in an email to Philips: “We would not recommend the use of polyester foam in such an environment. … it will eventually decompose as a viscous powder,” according to an affidavit filed as part of a lawsuit over the foam.
Since the recall, Philips has been using a new type of foam made from silicone to refurbish machines.
But the FDA alerted consumers last November that the new material failed a safety test. And regulators asked the company to conduct more tests to clarify any health risks with both the new foam and the recalled material. Phillips says that independent testing has not identified any safety issues.
The company says it has replaced or repaired approximately 69% of recalled equipment globally and aims to ship 90% of requested equipment by the end of the year. On average, the company makes about 1 million sleep devices annually.
“We have increased growth by more than a factor of three, but it still takes time to essentially fix 5.5 million devices globally,” the company said. almost half are in the US
Jeffrey Reid is among those still waiting.
Reed registered for the replacement device in June 2021, within a week of replacement. This month, he received an email from Philips indicating that his device had been discontinued and was not available for immediate replacement. Instead, the company offered him $50 to return the machine or the option of providing additional information to obtain a new one.
“It’s frustrating to have to wait until October for me to tell them that my machine is too old, when they know what device I have from the day I registered it,” Reid said. “It’s disappointing that a provider of life-saving equipment treats people like this.”
Follow Matthew Perron on Twitter: @AP_FDAwriter
The Associated Press Department of Health and Science receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. AP is solely responsible for all content.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Participating for our 7th year, Nextopia is excited to be returning to IRCE this June 10-13 as a Silver Sponsor. We will be exhibiting at Booths 329, 810, and 837, so please feel free to stop by and meet Nextopia’s team of eCommerce experts. Here’s our guide to our favourite event of the year:
Entering its 10 year anniversary, the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition (IRCE), is the largest e-Commerce event in the world. Bringing together over 200 industry experts, the event guarantees a roster full of experienced and diverse guests. Featured speakers include Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Wayfair.com, Niaj Shah, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, Chief Executive Officer and President of eBay Inc., John Donahoe, and Chairman and Founder of Joyus, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy.
For those of you who are looking to unwind without missing out on a chance to meet a variety of successful individuals within your industry, these events could be just what you’re looking for. Don’t miss your chance to connect with industry professionals at the IRCE Welcome Reception and IRCE Cocktail Reception, and if possible, grab your ticket for the 10th Anniversary Party before they’re all sold out. In addition, there will also be Internet lounges, massages, the new golf zone, and a luxury car raffle. IRCE 2014 is sure to be an event all attendees will remember.
In addition to the speakers, the event provides workshops focused on marketing, merchandising, global markets, social media, and an extensive list of many more eCommerce topics. The 250,000 square foot show floor hosts more than 600 different companies ranging from site search and navigation experts to eCommerce platforms, to payment and shipping solutions, and just about anything else an online retailer would be anxious to see.
IRCE brings together some of the biggest and brightest names and companies in the industry, but that doesn’t mean the conference and exhibition is all work and no play. This year, IRCE will be hosting three different cocktail networking events. In the Exhibit Hall on Tuesday, June 10, from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. the IRCE Welcome Reception will take place. The welcome Reception includes complimentary beer, wine, and hors d’oeuvres. The following afternoon, Wednesday, June 11, from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m., there will be a Cocktail Reception which will provide all IRCE 2014 guests with complimentary beer and wine. Later that evening is the IRCE 10th Anniversary Party. The evening will include live entertainment from a Jimmy Buffet tribute band, as well as snacks and cocktails. IRCE’s 10th Anniversary Party will take place Wednesday, June 11, 2014 from 7:30 – 10:30 p.m. at The House of Blues in downtown Chicago. The much anticipated event only hosts 1,800 guests, with tickets being sold at $45 for full conference attendees and $95 for exhibit hall-only attendees.
For more information on IRCE events:


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Filmmaker Ethan Coen is set to publish his second poetry collection, titled “The Day the World Ends,” next near.
Shtetl Magazine reviews “The Joyful Child” by Montreal novelist Norman Ravvin.
NPR profiles mother-daughter klezmer duo Elaine Hoffman Watts and Susan Watts.
Woody Allen spills the beans on life in show business.
The U.S. National Archives is launching an online database to track Nazi-looted art.
An appreciation of legendary film critic Pauline Kael.
JTA has launched an online archive of some quarter-million articles.


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The Cambodian Development Council has authorised eight new projects totaling $71.4 million (CDC). At a key point in the Kingdom’s economic recovery, the new projects will generate over 9,500 employment.
The CDC issued final registration certificates to Hong Cen Max Leather Products, Remstex Fashion, Top Form (Cambodia) Manufacturing, New Wide Apparel, Cathaya and CK Sports. The new factories will create a further 1,929 jobs in Kandal province, Cambodia. In total, there are plans to invest $2.6 million in a bag and belt factory in Trapeang Bruy village in the Ang Snoul district of Kandal.
Remstex Fashion will invest $6 million in a garment factory in Ta Du village in Daun Keo city, Takeo province, creating a further 1,929 jobs. Top Form is building a $9.5 million project in Po Mongkul village in the Ponhea district of Kandal province which will employ 850 people. New Wide Apparel’s facility will be based in Bonna Village, Kandal Steung District.
Cathaya will invest $2.8 million in a textile factory in Sihanoukville, creating 170 jobs. CK Sports will make footwear and sports equipment at a $5 million factory in Bavet City, Svay Rieng Province. In Kampong Chhanang’s Samaki Meanchey district, Sortics Alliance will create 1,036 jobs. Last year 101 factories closed according to the Industry Ministry, most of them in the garment sector.
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- Industry And Cluster2021.12.16CITI Elects New Office-Bearers for the year 2021-22
- News & Insights2021.12.16Global Smart Textiles Market Estimated to be Valued at US$ 6.6 Billion by 2026 | MarketsandMarkets™ Study
- Articles2021.12.16Can Waste Wool Replace Bubble Wrap?


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— Vermillion Energy Inc. (NYSE: VET) reported Q4 2019 net earnings of $1.4 billion compared to $323.3 billion in the same period last year.
— Fund flows from operations totaled $215.5 billion, or $1.38 per share, compared to $222.3 billion, or $1.44 per share last year.
— Total production averaged 97,875 boe/d.
— In the US, production averaged 5,683 boe/d.
— In Canada, production averaged 58,593 boe/d.
— For FY2020, production is expected to be 100,000 to 103,000 boe/d.
— VET shares were down 0.53% in premarket hours on Friday.
Shares of Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT) were up 8% in afternoon hours on Wednesday. The stock has gained 53% over the past 12 months and 25% since the beginning of
Department store chain Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), which has been thriving on the pandemic-driven shopping boom since early last year, maintained its strong performance during the holiday season and entered
Dollar Tree (NYSE: DLTR) reported fourth-quarter financial results before the opening bell on Wednesday. The discount store reported a 7% increase in Q4 net sales to $6.7 billion. The company


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ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - The New Mexico State Fair's strategy of boosting interest in its rodeo concerts by adding more variety to the lineup may not be paying off.
So far, ticket sales are down.
"The box office is soft this year," State Fair Commission Chairman Tom Tinnin said Thursday. "We are down about 24 percent in gross ticket sales from last year."
And last year's ticket sales of $394,072 registered a 17 percent drop from the year before.
The fair, going for a wider audience this year, booked rhythm and blues, rock, disco and Christian acts as well as country music acts that are traditional at fair rodeos.
As of Wednesday, Monica and Tyrese, the rhythm and blues act booked to open the concert series Friday night, had sold just 1,771 tickets, Tinnin said. Last year's opening act, county singer Tanya Tucker, ended up with ticket sales of 3,428.
Tingley Coliseum, where the rodeos and concerts are held, can accommodate more than 9,000 concert fans.
KC and the Sunshine Band, the disco-era group performing Saturday evening, sold just 1,287 tickets through Wednesday. The family-oriented Great American Wild West Show had sold 1,801 tickets for Sunday's performance.
"Of course I'm concerned," Tinnin said. "But we are not in a panic mode. There is still time for things to turn around."
"I think people just have more places to spend their money," he said. "Maybe people are going to gamble (at the fair's racetrack casino) rather than go to the Tingley concerts."
Officials still believe they have a good lineup, he said.
"Maybe ticket sales will pick up now that the fair has started. If more diversity doesn't work, we'll have to go to Plan B - and figure out what Plan B is," he said.
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By Justin Anderson
Old Town Lansing Times Staff Writer
LANSING – Past robberies at Spin Bicycle Shop in Old Town, Lansing have brought small business owners in the neighborhood closer together.
Owner of Spin Bicycle Chad Cottom, said that about two years ago, his Shop in Old Town was broken into, and a loss of an undisclosed amount of merchandise was stolen.
“We were broken into successfully once,” Cottom said, “A second attempt was made but they didn’t get in.”
Spin Bicycle has been in business for about five years, and is currently in its third year in its new location, Cottom said.
Cottom, whose wife owns Art and Soul Photography next door, said the robberies have helped bring the owners of the local shops closer together.
“A while ago, someone broke a window on my wife’s shop next door, and a cook from Sir’s pizza saw and chased him down the bike trail,” Cottom said. “It is important to know the owners of the stores around yours.”
Since the robbery of Spin and with the continued growth in the popularity of Old Town, Cottom said it has become more important to look out for the shops in town, which has also brought owners and employees closer together.
The Old Town neighborhood has about 150 businesses and almost every one of them are small businesses, Executive Director of the Old Town Commercial Association Louise Gradwohl said.
“We have an email that allows me to send the owners news and other information like road closings,” Gradwohl said.
The email system allows the independent business owners to communicate with each other as well, and with so many small businesses in such a small area, it is a very important tool, Gradwohl said.
“I think it has really helps the owners,” Gradwohl said about the email system.
Owner of Cravings Gourmet Popcorn Chad Jordan , said that it is important for business owners in a small co
mmunity like Old Town to communicate with each other.
“We’re all on Facebook, and we keep each other informed,” Jordan said. “Some of us even play cards together, and we’re good buddies.”
“Lansing is a cool little town, it’s a good place to hang out with friends,” Cravings manager Matt Stric
Strickling, who did not know anything about the robberies at Spin, said
that it’s important for the owners to get to know each other because it’s better for business.
Contact Justin: email@example.com


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The post-Thanksgiving holiday online buying spree may be over, but yesterday was another huge day for online retailers – and it might not be the last. Green Monday, typically the second Monday of December typically represents the day when most last minute shoppers hit the Web to ensure their orders are delivered before Christmas. However, the fact shoppers have a full 7 business days between the third Monday in December and Christmas, may result in Green Monday Part II. Combine this with how comfortable and confident online shoppers have become with shipping windows and all the elements are there for one more major online shopping day this holiday season.
Green Monday and Cyber Monday are typically the two most lucrative days of the year for online retailers – and not surprisingly the most popular e-shopping days of the holiday season. This year Cyber Monday hit a record of $2.29 billion and Green Monday sales were expected to reach $1,023 billion. Those numbers are a clear indicator that retailers’ websites were bombarded with traffic over the past few weeks - but which retailers were prepared for it?
As I pointed out in my post a few weeks ago, the user experience is critical to online success especially for online retailers, so we continued monitoring the top 50 to get a better idea of who had and continued to optimize performance through Green Monday. As a quick refresher, we measured the point at which the user would first see the page rendering and it is fully loaded in the displayed portion of the browser:
We clearly see that the sites’ performance negligibly improved on Green Monday by 0.04% in comparison to Cyber Monday. This indicates that online retailers continued to maintain their sites as they go through the season. Given where Christmas falls on the calendar this year shoppers will still have more than enough time to place online orders next Monday and still receive them in time for the big day. It would be smart for online retailers to continue to be prepared for the possibility of a Green Monday Part II.
Focusing on Visual User Experience – Yes, No, Maybe?
We took a step back and compared the visual user experience metrics of November 11 and 18 of the top 50 retailers to those of the two biggest e-shopping days of the year. Many of the online retailers were able to decrease their first paint time which measures the point at which the eyeballs would notice the first burst of paint activity on the screen as well as their above the fold time which measures the point at which the eyeballs would see the page stabilize in the viewport of the browser on Cyber Monday and Green Monday.
Amway and Williams Sonoma are among those who improved their timings on both Cyber Monday and Green Monday – however CDW and Kohl’s were not able to follow their lead. On average 40% of the sites saw an improvement in visual user experience metrics. Availability and Web performance were better on the busiest online days of the season compared to any other regular day. This is probably an indication of just how ready online retailers were this year to handle the traffic surge. This could be the beginning of a shift in where retailers’ priorities lie with regard to how their pages load especially on the biggest online shopping days of the year.
As the online shopping season comes to an end, we will continue to report on the performance of the top 50 retailers ‘sites after Green Monday part 2 - December 16.


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Apple is preparing the 13th version of its smartphone operating system for launch, but thanks to the fact that the beta edition has already been released, there are plenty of new features being tested out by users right now. So if you are looking forward to updating your existing iPhone to iOS 13, or you’re planning to buy one of Apple’s new handsets that will come with it pre-installed when they arrive later in the year, what capabilities and benefits can you expect?
First things first; every Apple enthusiast will want to know whether their legacy device will be supported by iOS 13. This is especially true if you have used iPhone insurance to protect your handset and hold onto it after your contract has expired.
The oldest iPhone model which will be eligible for the update is the iPhone 6S. It will also work with the lower end iPhone SE, in addition to any iPad from the Air 2 onwards.
This means that support for the iPhone 6 is finally ending, which was going to be inevitable at some point and could persuade plenty of owners to upgrade, or make do with iOS 12.
A welcome change that is promised for iOS 13 is the addition of a Dark Mode setting. This will swap out the bright white backgrounds for many apps and services for a dark alternative.
The benefits of this change are twofold; firstly it will appeal to the aesthetic preferences of some users; secondly, it will help to improve the battery life of all devices on which this setting is activated.
The iPhone’s keyboard will not be changing dramatically in terms of layout under iOS 13, but Apple will be adding in a feature called QuickType.
This is essentially a natively supported equivalent of the likes of SwiftKey, meaning that there will be no need to install a separate keyboard plugin if you prefer to swipe your finger across the keyboard’s surface to connect letters and spell out words rather than tapping them in one by one.
More good news for the owners of older iPhones comes in the form of a promise to make iOS 13 leaner and less of a burden on the hardware so that performance doesn’t take a hit when it arrives.
Apple claims that app launch time has been halved, at least in certain cases, which will improve the overall user experience.
Furthermore, iOS 13 will do more to improve overall battery performance. It achieves this by not charging the cell to full and leaving it there, but instead holding off doing this until it is nearly time to use it, which should prolong the battery’s lifespan.
A wide range of other tweaks and changes have been made to iOS 13’s core features. The map app, for example, is more detailed in addition to being easier to search and use on the go. There will also be a more comprehensive sign-in feature for those with Apple accounts, allowing for comparable capabilities to Google’s own sign-in on third party sites and services.
Apple will be providing further details of iOS 13’s new features in the run-up to its official rollout in September, at which point new iPhone hardware will also be hitting the headlines.


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Retail Properties of America Sells Aon Hewitt Property in Ill. for $148M
- Nov 20, 2012
Retail Properties of America, Inc. has sold the Aon Hewitt property, an 818,686-square-foot office property in Lincolnshire, Ill., for $148 million to an unidentified buyer.
The REIT used the proceeds to pay off $117.7 million of mortgage debt and accrued interest on the entire Aon Hewitt campus. RPAI still owns 343,000 square feet on the Aon Hewitt East Campus, which is fully leased to Aon Hewitt, a global provider of insurance, human resources solutions and outsourcing services.
The sale brings RPAI closer to its year-end goal of disposing of $450 million to $550 million in assets. So far this year, the Oak Brook, Ill.,-based REIT has sold $414.4 million of non-core and non-strategic assets, including earnouts, pad sales and a deed-in-lieu transaction. The Aon Hewitt property was among the $185.5 million and 1.2 million square feet in dispositions completed since Oct. 1. Those sales also included four single-tenant properties.
The REIT said all its 2012 debt maturities have been addressed.
“The culmination of the Aon Corporation lease extension and the subsequent sale of this property, over the past four months, highlights our active approach to asset management and our continued ability to achieve our stated strategic initiatives that we set out earlier in the year,” said Shane Garrison, RPAI CEO and chief investment officer. “We are pleased with the team’s progress toward meeting our target of $450 million to $550 million of asset sales by the end of 2012.”
Assets sold during the third quarter included 13 former Mervyns’ locations in California. The portfolio, which at the time of sale was 99 percent leased and featured four Hobby Lobby, four Kohl’s and five Burlington Coat Factory properties, was sold for $100.4 million. Proceeds of the sale of the 13 assets paid off the entire outstanding loan on the 23-asset Mervyns portfolio. When the sale was announced in August, Garrison said he expected the remaining 10 Mervyns’ properties to be sold by the end of December.
Another large asset RPAI sold in recent months was the Cost Plus distribution center in Stockton, Calif. The 1.04 million-square-foot distribution site was purchased by American Realty Capital Trust III for $63 million. The tenant in the two buildings at the time of the August sale was Bed, Bath & Beyond, Inc., which had bought Cost Plus World Market, a smaller home goods retailer, in May for about $495 million.
The asset disposition is part of RPAI’s 2012 strategic plan, which included changing the REIT’s name from Inland Western to Retail Properties of America, Inc., in March to better reflect its core business as an owner and operator of shopping centers across the United States. The portfolio now consists of more than 40 million square feet across approximately 275 properties in 35 states.


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It looks like the U.S. government has decided to get behind the semiconductor industry, offering up a more than $50 billion bill to boost semiconductor production. The legislation is part of a Chinese competition act, looking to incentivize semiconductor production within the U.S. and decrease dependence on Asia-based manufacturers.
After the Senate, the bill will go to the House and then to the President. The tax breaks and incentives are supposed to encourage the construction of production plants based in the U.S. for the semiconductor industry.
Who wouldn’t like this? No more chip shortages? We might finally get Playstation 5 gaming consoles in stores more regularly. Automotive companies like Ford (F), General Motors (GM), and Tesla (TSLA) would love to get their hands on chips faster, right?
But there’s a catch… There’s no such thing as free money.
Companies like Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Qualcomm (QCOM), and Nvidia (NVDA) design chips, but have other partners involved in the manufacturing process, therefore they would not benefit as much.
So who are the companies that are most likely to benefit from this windfall?
Keep reading and we’ll go over the companies you need to know about in the semiconductor industry, including one that could see a $30 billion check coming their way.
If this bill keeps going, you’ll want to keep your eye on Intel (INTC), Micron (MU), and Texas Instruments (TXN). Each of these companies manufactures their own chips so they would benefit from this bill as well as the FABS Act, which includes tax credits for investment in semiconductor fabrication, like purchasing tools that go into the factory.
That’s right, you could see one of these companies walk away with $20 billion from CHIPS and another $10 billion from FABS, for a combined payout of $30 billion.
We don’t know the exact amount that would go to each company, but we do know that Intel (INTC) already announced a plan in January to invest $20 billion to build two chip factories in Ohio. INTC could then see another $10+ billion from the FABS Act, which offers a 25% discount on the fabrication costs for anything needed to be built within these factories.
We’re still in a bear market, even though it may not seem that way since INTC has gained over 10% since July 5th. There’s some resistance at $45, but that’s still another 12% away. Before we get there, I would not be surprised to see a pullback here and it could certainly fall apart if the bill fails, but this is a stock that I’ll be following.
As much fun as it is to speculate and look at a chart and make some trades, that can easily lead to haphazard results. The emotional swings of the market can prevent you from achieving your goals.
Jody Samuels has agreed to make a two-part video training series completely free to the readers of Filthy Rich, Dirt Poor. This has something for everyone – doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned pro or completely new to trading. It’s worth your time to check it out.
Make sure you watch this before it’s taken down.
Keep your eye on the jobless claims in the morning. Otherwise, let’s see if this bullish rally has more legs.
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Welcome to FinTok, Where Day Trading, Options Investing, and Misinformation Reign
TikTok is Gen Z’s financial education hub. That’s a problem.
Their bios tout massive returns. They trade calls and puts. They’re Tesla perma-bulls.
Meet FinTok, Gen Z’s version of #FinTwit.
FinTok, or StockTok, depending on who you ask, is a growing corner of TikTok where Robinhood traders, “6-figure investors,” and misinformation collide.
For the uninitiated, TikTok is an app where users post short videos often dubbed with audio clips already uploaded to the app. Users can add text to their videos, record their own audio, and “duet,” or add on to another user’s video. Think Vine, but bigger and more memeable.
In its early days, the app was inundated with videos of users copying viral dances. While those dances remain a mainstay of TikTok content, niches for makeup, politics, and sports have since flourished.
Finance, too, has found its place on TikTok.
The #fintok tag on TikTok has 42.6 million views. #Stocktok has even more: 97.4 million. And TikTok’s audience writ large is massive: In a recently published transparency report, TikTok said “hundreds of millions of people” use the app. Some estimates show that as many as 800 million people are on TikTok, dwarfing an estimated 330 million Twitter users.
The content shared on FinTok vacillates between educational and experiential. Some users share their trading wins and losses, while others focus on teaching investment terminology. In general, these are retail investors, many of whom are day trading. Whiteboards are a mainstay: FinTokers regularly draw charts showing their stock market predictions.
Here’s a taste: One user, @tik.stocks, recently used his platform to educate users about Nassim Taleb’s tail-risk hedge program, all while advertising his own stock portfolio.
Another, @hccapital, posted a video poking fun at the work hedge fund managers do over the weekend, comparing it to Robinhood traders logging on when the market opens to buy Tesla and Apple options.
For FinTokers, Tesla’s Battery Day, held Tuesday, carried the weight of a Federal Reserve meeting. Ahead of the event, some users posted their thoughts on what the company might reveal, while others shared simple hype videos showing off their Model 3s. The day, it turned out, was a disappointment: Contrary to FinTok’s expectations, Tesla shares tanked the following day, dropping 10% between Tuesday and Wednesday’s market close.
Some FinTok accounts have all the trappings of a typical hustle-and-grinder: a fancy car, tailor-made clothes, and a bio boasting big returns. Posturing like this can be fruitful. Unlike finmeme Instagrammers or #FinTwit users, a job in the finance industry is rare among FinTokers. Many have leveraged their platforms to make money selling investment courses or eBooks.
Although TikTok itself doesn’t share user stats, by some estimations nearly 70% of its audience is 24 or younger. A quick search of the #FinTok tag shows several prominent users are in their early twenties.
This relatability factor, coupled with the growth of commission-free brokerages like Robinhood and coronavirus-induced stay-at-home orders, has made investing, particularly in options and other complex securities, attractive to young users.
And thus lies danger.
They spoke with Institutional Investor by phone under the condition of anonymity, as they work in the asset management industry.
“You’ve only been investing since April and have only seen a bull market since then,” they added. “Because you’re talking about money, you have hundreds of thousands following you because everyone wants to make money. You get this power very quickly... Nobody is going to call them out on their bulls***.”
Take, for example, @kriskrohn. Kris Krohn is a Gary Vee-style motivational speaker who offers mentorships on real estate investing.
On TikTok, he recommends that followers forgo investing via a 401(k), calling the accounts, “fake funny money,” that you “can’t use” and “can’t invest.” Instead, he advocates that his 250,000 followers invest in real estate.
Here’s the rub: Krohn was the subject of a 2012 Securities and Exchange Commission complaint for fraudulently offering and selling real estate investments. The court ruled in the SEC’s favor, and Krohn had to pay a $75,000 fine. He did not return a phone call and email seeking comment.
“That stuff is really scary,” @TikTokInvestors said. “Everything about it is really dangerous to me.”
According to others, this type of misinformation is rampant on FinTok.
“A lot of them have nothing in their bios establishing their expertise,” one TikTok user, Scarlett McCarthy, said by phone. To run a hedge fund, she noted, there are rules and regulations necessary to invest. “You can’t just show up.”
McCarthy said she joined TikTok hoping to watch videos about personal finance, but instead found a lot of misinformation on investing.
“There are, in general, a lot of the day traders on TikTok,” McCarthy said. “Their message is, ‘do minimal work for maximum profit’. I feel like so much of the content is geared around quitting your job and making so much money.”
And thanks to the threat of a TikTok ban in the United States, follower counts keep ticking up.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration threatened to bar TikTok downloads from both the Apple and Google app stores over privacy concerns. The move was delayed by a week when Walmart and Oracle stepped up to make an offer for the business.
Right now, the Department of Commerce’s website still says that the prohibition on the app has been delayed through Sunday at midnight. But it’s unclear whether an app store ban will happen. A spokesperson for the agency did not return a phone call and email seeking comment.
“It has created more engagement because they don’t want to see their favorite FinTokers leave,” said @TikTokInvestors.
Despite concerns about misinformation, @TikTokInvestors is hopeful that legitimate financial educators can carve out a niche on the platform.
“I think there’s going to be a path on TikTok where you have real professionals teaching real things,” they said. “There are going to be people who come from this who are going to learn and grow as investors from a young age.”


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Contractors working for Microsoft are listening to personal, intimate conversations of Skype users via the app's translation service, according to a new report.
Motherboard obtained a trove of documents, audio files and other materials that detail how contract workers can listen in on chats with loved ones, personal conversations about relationship woes and even phone sex. The conversation snippets are only a few seconds long, although some can be longer.
Microsoft is the latest Silicon Valley company facing a backlash over the ability of its workers to listen to private conversations. Reports have emerged that Amazon workers can hear conversations via its Alexa smart speaker and Google workers can do the same thanks to Google Home. Apple and Google both recently suspended the practice of having contractors listen in on smart device queries.
"The fact that I can even share some of this with you shows how lax things are in terms of protecting user data," a Microsoft contractor who provided files to Motherboard said.
Skype launched the artificial intelligence-powered translation service in 2015, but it turns out that humans still need to play a role in improving the work of the algorithms.
"Some stuff I've heard could clearly be described as phone sex," the contractor told Motherboard. "While I don't know exactly what one could do with this information, it seems odd to me that it isn't being handled in a more controlled environment."
According to Motherboard, Skype's FAQ section for Translator states: "Skype collects and uses your conversation to help improve Microsoft products and services. To help the translation and speech recognition technology learn and grow, sentences and automatic transcripts are analyzed and any corrections are entered into our system, to build more performant services."
It does not specifically say that humans might be listening in on your intimate moments.
Microsoft claims the audio data is only available to contractors through a secure online portal, and that the company takes steps to remove identifying information like user or device identification numbers.
A Microsoft spokesperson told Fox News in a statement via email on Thursday: "Microsoft collects voice data to provide and improve voice-enabled services like search, voice commands, dictation or translation services. We strive to be transparent about our collection and use of voice data to ensure customers can make informed choices about when and how their voice data is used. Microsoft gets customers’ permission before collecting and using their voice data."
"We also put in place several procedures designed to prioritize users’ privacy before sharing this data with our vendors, including de-identifying data, requiring non-disclosure agreements with vendors and their employees, and requiring that vendors meet the high privacy standards set out in European law. We continue to review the way we handle voice data to ensure we make options as clear as possible to customers and provide strong privacy protections," the statement added.
A privacy expert told Motherboard that companies like Microsoft should alert consumers that their chats might be reviewed by humans and give them the change to opt out.
"People use Skype to call their lovers, interview for jobs, or connect with their families abroad. Companies should be 100% transparent about the ways people's conversations are recorded and how these recordings are being used," Frederike Kaltheuner, data exploitation program lead at activist group Privacy International, told the outlet.


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Warhammer maker Games Workshop struck an optimistic tone this morning, as it said its recovery since reopening stores around the world has been better than expected.
Shares in the London listed company rose 6.5 per cent this morning as it said it expects sales for the year to the end of May to be about £270m, while pre-tax profit should come in at £85m.
At the end of May, Games Workshop’s cash balance was about £50m and it said it has also put in place a £25m overdraft facility.
Like many businesses, the group has been claiming cash from the government over the furlough period, but said it hopes to repay that over time.
The positive response will go some way to allay fears that the coronavirus would be a major setback for the firm, which has enjoyed a steady run of success in recent years.
It achieved the second highest growth in value of any FTSE 250 company during the 2010s, recording a 2,630 per cent return on shareholder value.
Last year bosses shared out a £5m among staff, handing them £2,500 each.
The company said that after a period of sustained closure, its warehouses are now operational again, and its factory is working in a limited capacity, complying with social distancing rules.
Some 306 of its 532 stores are now open in 20 countries, and Games Workshop said it would continue to reopen sites as lockdown eases.
Trade and online sales orders are also being processed as these staff currently work from home, it added.
“In relation to the future performance of the group, the board feels that it is too early to know what the continuing impact of Covid-19 is likely to be,” it said.


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Parcelforce Worldwide has launched a new delivery notification service which it hopes will improve convenience for business customers and consumers. The investment new technology follows a £75m funding boost for its hubs and depots, which was revealed in 2012. In the last 12 months, the company has expanded its site in Newport and opened a new site in Milton Keynes, as well as a purpose-built hub in Chorley, Lancashire. For the first time, the firm’s business customers will be able […]
January 14, 2016 Emma Shone
Hermes has spent £18m on handheld technology to improve its customers’ experience.
February 2, 2021 Carol Millett
Delivery management firm Whistl has teamed up with Road to Logistics to offer HGV drivers roles with Whistl at its Bedford Super Depot.


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Google’s latest Pixel feature drop, where the company brings a slew of new software tricks to its smartphone lineup, is being announced today. Alongside some brand-new functionality like Adaptive Sound, which “improves the sound quality of your phone speaker based on your surroundings,” the December drop is also bringing many of the latest software features from the Pixel 5, 4A 5G, and 4A to older devices; Google says the Pixel 3 and newer will be included.
That means features like Hold for Me, where the Google Assistant waits for a real person to hop on the customer support line instead of making you do it, and others like Extreme Battery Saver mode and screen sharing on Duo calls will soon hit older devices.
Extreme Battery Saver seemed like an over-correction from the company after last year’s Pixel 4 and 4 XL got average (at best) battery life; this year’s Pixels all have great endurance, and most people will never need to consider using it. But Extreme Battery Saver, which “only runs the essentials so your battery lasts as long as possible,” definitely makes more sense on those Pixel 4, 3A, and 3 devices as their batteries continue to age.
And last, the home screen on Pixel phones is getting more customizable with this update. You’ll be able to choose “new icons, grid views, and app shapes” as seen below.
All of this, plus smaller stuff like the option to export the Pixel’s “Now Playing” automatic music recognition to a YouTube Music playlist, will roll out as part of the December feature drop beginning today.


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Was a 'Thorny' Romantic Situation Why a Google Exec Left for a Chinese Startup?
Android executive Hugo Barra is leaving Google.
Barra, formerly a VP of Android product, will join Xiaomi, which is often called the "Apple of China." Xiaomi phones run on Android. The company is called the Apple of China because it copies a lot of what Apple does. For instance, its keynote product launches are comically similar.
The reason for Barra's departure, however, is what everyone is speculating about.
AllThingsD broke the news of Barra leaving. The publication also said the departure followed a relationship Barra had with a co-worker at Google -- a co-worker whom Google founder Sergey Brin, who recently separated from his wife, is now dating.
Sources close to the situation told AllThingsD that Barra recently tendered his resignation, but that it came before a recent thorny personal situation related to the end of a romantic relationship he had with another Googler.
That Googler is now seeing the company’s co-founder Sergey Brin, but sources said his decision to leave the company is unrelated and was made before he was aware of the new relationship.
AllThingsD is known for scoops about personnel moves in the tech industry. It rarely dives into people's personal lives. The fact that it's phrasing what's going on so awkwardly has many people thinking that there was some sort of love-triangle here.
Sergey Brin is married to Anne Wojcicki, but they recently separated, something that came to light yesterday around the same time as the Barra report. Both Brin and Google are investors in Wojcicki's startup, 23andMe. And Anne Wojcicki's sister, Susan, meanwhile, is very senior executive at Google, making an already sticky situation even more sensitive.


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The Tax Intelligence Agency (DRI) has investigated the seized 3,646 smartphones at Mumbai airport. It became known that the iPhone 13 was shipped from Hong Kong and imported to India. They were referred to as “memory cards”. Sending iPhones under a fake tag would likely avoid the customs duties that are charged on smartphones.
It is noted that law enforcement agencies in India also found 12 units of the recently announced Google Pixel 6 Pro model, which was not officially introduced to the Indian market. The smugglers also transported Apple Watch.
Earlier, Hong Kong customs discovered a consignment of contraband video cards in the waters near the local airport.