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Steve Kovach, Business Insider:
When he announced the Essential smartphone at Recode’s Code Conference in May, Rubin said it would start shipping within 30 days, The Verge reported. The company also started accepting pre-orders for the $699 device.
But more than 30 days have passed since then, and Essential isn’t shipping the phone yet.
An Essential spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Harshil Shah nails it:
All you need to know about this story is that it took journalists a full week to realise this.
Essential tweeted on June 28 that they were “working hard to make sure each product meets our quality standards”, which sounds like a PR-friendly way of saying “this product is delayed for an indeterminate amount of time”. They’re still saying that it will be out “this summer”, which gives them until mid-September.


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West Ham taps MuchBetter for ease of pay for fans
West Ham United has signed MuchBetter to become the club’s official online and digital payments wallet partner.
MuchBetter, the Android and Apple payments app, lets users pay in any situation across a multitude of devices. It delivers services for both customers looking to utilise their app for their own personal payments and businesses that are looking for a transaction solution.
MuchBetter CEO Israel Rosenthal says: “It is our mission at MuchBetter to make payments simple, more secure and more rewarding. We’re actively thinking of new ways to achieve that for West Ham fans who we believe will love using the app as part of their day-to-day lives.”
The firm, created in 2017, allows to make online transactions, send money to friends and earn points for rewards.
West Ham United will be offering a range of marketing and experimental opportunities to support the paytech’s growth.
West Ham United digital and commercial director Karim Virani says: “MuchBetter are an extremely exciting company with innovation at the heart of everything they do, which absolutely resonates with our approach too.”

domain: news


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Electronic Arts announced Saturday game four-person co-op shooter called Fuse, which will be launched on May 28 in North America and May 31 in Europe.
Fuse is the first multiplatform game from Insomniac Games for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, but not [...]
Temperature profile shows the dark and unstable material – which is a suitable climate for organic life
Institute antraiksa United States (NASA) managed to find evidence of water on Mercury, planet in our solar system that is closest to the Sun.
This time TechBoom try to give a brief review of the latest security system from Symantec, Norton Internet Security 2013. What are the advantages? Consider the following reviews.
The main features
Norton Internet Security (NIS) 2013 already have all [...]
The launch of Apple’s tiny tablet, iPad Mini, Tuesday (10/24) morning was really a magnet for lovers of the gadget world, to the extent that the presence of a fourth-generation iPad was released simultaneously ignored.
The fourth generation of [...]
If you had to choose between Galaxy S4 or the iPhone 5, which one is your favorite?
This question may arise when someone wants to buy the iPhone 5, but curious to see what the Galaxy S4 and decided to wait for him to be compared directly.
For that, TechBoom tried [...]
Sophisticated glasses, Google Glass will use the “Bone Conduction” to create the sound of the speakers wore traditional.
The workings of this technology is to send sound vibrations to the inner ear through the bones of men.
Quoted from the [...]
Inspired by the MacBook Air.
Google seems to be more serious about growing its business into hardware, not only playing in mobile platforms, search engines, and internet advertising. The proof is in cooperation with Samsung, Google launched its Chromebook [...]
Players must try yourself to get the additional level.
Good news for lovers of the game Angry Birds. Rovio, the company behind games angry bird, the re-launch 24 new levels for Angry Birds Rio.
Angry Birds Rio was first launched in March 2011 and never [...]
It has been rumored for a long time by a number of observers.
Smartpone manufacturer from South Korea, starting today officially launched the Galaxy Note II version dual Sim Card.
In the official website of Samsung’s China, some observers expressed [...]
Your comic lover and owner of an iOS device? Do not miss this one application.
Marvel Comics tried to offer around 13 thousand popular comics in an application called Marvel Unlimited.
Quoted from Slashgear, Friday (3/8), the user will be given the freedom [...]
Moscow – Thousands of Russian citizens were mobilized to clean up the damage caused by the meteor hit near the Ural mountains failed to find the space rock fragments. Failing that later sparked a conversation about the conspiracy theories about [...]


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Gallus and Konica Minolta lead the list of Memjet partners showcasing powerful, affordable label applications at Labelexpo Americas 2018
San Diego — Sept. 24 — As the demand for digitally printed labels continues to rise, Memjet OEM partners continue to develop label printers with the features and functionality needed to produce high-quality, customized labels at an affordable cost. These solutions will be on display at Labelexpo Americas 2018, where Memjet OEM partners will be showcasing their label-printing solutions. Labelexpo Americas takes place Sept. 25-27 in Rosemont, Illinois.
“Today’s label providers are increasingly shifting from the production of high-volume, monolithic labels to digital solutions that can support short-run, variable label production,” says Kim Beswick, general manager of desktop and mini-press systems at Memjet Technology.
“These providers must choose digital label printing solutions that keep up with these trends and meet the changing demands of their customers, all while fitting into their budgets,” Beswick continues. “It’s exciting to see this wide range of Memjet-powered solutions, prices, and capabilities at Labelexpo Americas. Whether you are looking to print significant volumes of finished short-run labels or want a desktop solution that can easily fit into any business operation, Memjet-powered printers deliver the speed, quality and affordability label providers need to grow their businesses.”
The Range of Memjet’s Label Applications
Over the past year, Memjet’s partner community has expanded, resulting in innovative label solutions:
- The Gallus Smartfire was introduced to much acclaim earlier this year. The Gallus Smartfire is a fully featured digital label press that requires a lower capital investment (Gallus booth 6150).
- Konica Minolta will showcase a new Memjet-powered label printer, the PLS-475i (booth 5721) offered by Muratec, a Konica Minolta Company.
VersaPass Powered Desktop and Mini-Press Solutions
Other Memjet partners will be showcasing desktop and mini-press label printing solutions. These new solutions combine the market knowledge and creativity of OEM partners with the capability of Memjet’s VersaPass inkjet technology. The presses include features and capabilities of larger, more expensive presses in a scaled-down solution that is easier to operate and comes at a lower cost.
Visitors can see demonstrations of these Memjet-powered labeling solutions at the booths of these OEM partners:
- Afinia Label (booth 6455)
- AstroNova (booth 6125)
- IPT Digital (booth 1041)
- Lemorau (booth 6551)
- Vera-Vera Enterprises (booth 5214)
- Xante (booth 6467)
For the first time, Memjet OEM partners will discuss their development with DuraLink, Memjet’s second-generation printing technology.
Colordyne (booth 6047) and PPSI (booth 6445) will be discussing how they will use Memjet’s DuraLink printing technology to develop new label printing solutions for high-volume markets.
Beswick concludes, “Whether you are a veteran at digital label printing and now searching for new short-run capacity or looking to be inspired with new ideas about how to economically break into the digital market, Labelexpo — and these Memjet solutions — will have you thinking creatively about new ways in which digital label solutions can move your business forward.”


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Retail M&A falls but pipeline suggests deals are around the corner
There have only been 16 M&A deals in the retail sector in the past year, but Tesco/Booker, Co-op/Nisa deals suggest bumper year to come
There have been only 16 M&A deals in the retail sector in the past year, down 56% from 36 deals the year before, says RPC, the City-headquartered law firm.
RPC adds that the value of retail M&A deals also fell from £3.5 billion in 2015/16 to just £746 million in 2016/17* as Brexit and other pressures on the retail sector has led to investors, especially in private equity, shying away from dealmaking.
However, the law firm says, the pipeline of major deals in the sector suggests that the coming year is likely to show a significant rise in the value of M&A transactions in retail. Potential deals in the pipeline at present include:
- Tesco’s proposed £3.7 billion deal to buy retail and wholesale group Booker, which was referred to the Competition and Markets Authority in July
- The Co-op’s approach for convenience store chain Nisa, rumoured to be worth up to £140 million – this followed Sainsbury’s pulling out of an approach for Nisa
Rumours have also recently circulated of a £4.4 billion approach for discount retailer B&M by Walmart-owned supermarket chain Asda. B&M itself is acquiring grocery chain Heron Foods for £152 million.
RPC says that a potential wave of consolidation in the retail sector is being driven by a wide range of pressures on margins in the industry, including rising staffing costs, the fall in Sterling driving up import prices, and the continued shift to online shopping.
Retailers have already seen staffing costs rise due to the introduction of the £7.50 per hour National Living Wage – which the Government aims to increase to £9 by 2020 – and the Apprenticeship Levy. The potential for a reduced EU workforce post-Brexit is also expected to drive up costs.
RPC adds that consolidation is seen by many in the sector as a vital step in increasing volumes and achieving greater economies of scale, especially within their supply chains. Analysts have suggested that a major driver of Tesco’s approach for Booker is to gain access to its supply chain infrastructure, used to supply more than 5,000 Premier, Londis, Budgens and Family Shopper convenience stores in the UK.
Karen Hendy, Partner and Head of RPC’s Corporate Practice, says: “Pressures on the retail sector may have dampened M&A activity over the past year, but they are now driving a wave of consolidation.”
“The next year is likely to see several multi-billion pound deals as retailers react to margin compression by aiming for sharply increased volumes and greater economies of scale.”
“For major supermarket groups, convenience stores are seen as an area for growth, but in many cases, the logistics infrastructure isn’t there to support them. Retail and wholesale groups with well-developed supply chains are a particularly attractive target.”
“Food retail has been the focus of a lot of M&A activity in recent times as the sector evolves away from large out-of-town stores, and the supermarkets move to bring more wholesale into their supply chains.”
RPC adds that recent M&A deals in the retail sector have included:
- The purchase of mature women’s clothing brand Cotswold Collections by private equity fund Rockpool in June 2017
- The £100m takeover of confectioner Hancocks by American candy retailer Innovative Bites in April 2017
- The sale of shoe retailer Harry’s of London to private equity investor Palladin Consumer Retail Partners in May 2017
Pressures on retail drives M&A deals fall
*Year ending June 30 2017


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Henry Riley 4am - 7am
Debenhams disappears from the high street for good today as final 28 stores close
15 May 2021, 10:07 | Updated: 15 May 2021, 10:09
Debenhams is to shut its doors for the final time in its 243-year history today as the remaining 28 branches close for good.
The historic department store chain will close its remaining 28 stores across the UK for good on Saturday after the company collapsed amid financial woes exacerbated by the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
It closed 21 of its sites across the UK for the final time on Thursday.
The retailer has suffered slumping sales in recent years as shoppers moved away from traditional department store models.
However, the enforced closure of sites during the pandemic was the final straw, resulting in the company falling into administration within weeks of the virus fully hitting the UK.
The company then started its liquidation process at the start of this year after failing to secure a rescue sale.
Debenhams, which employed more than 20,000 people before the pandemic, sold its brand and website to online giant Boohoo for £55 million in January but confirmed its bricks and mortar business would close for good.
It reopened sites from April 12 after the reopening of essential retail in order to clear stock across its stores.
The branches closing today
- Birmingham Bullring
- Cheshire Oaks
- Leeds White Rose
- Manchester Trafford
- Merry Hill


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Dogs Are The Most Beloved Member Of The Family, Survey Reveals
Sure, babies are cute and all, and we certainly fell for our partners for a good reason, but when the going gets tough, a lot of us turn to a different family member for some unconditional love and support: the dog.
According to a new survey from Wag!, the popular on-demand dog walking app, pooches reign supreme in American households when it comes to fostering emotional health. Of the 2,000 pet parents who participated in the survey, 38 percent said the “person” that they show the most love and attention to in their household is their pup. (Only 31 percent picked their children, and only 23 percent picked their significant others.)
What’s more, a solid 44 percent of the survey respondents said that they’re most likely to turn to their best doggo friend for comfort when they’re feeling sad or angry, while only 34 percent said they go to their romantic partner first. That gives an entirely new meaning to the term “therapy dog,” doesn’t it?
As if man’s best friend didn’t already feel appreciated enough, we humans go to great lengths to let these furry members of our families know just how much we need them around. For example, the same survey revealed that 60 percent of pet parents buy their pups birthday presents, 88 percent of them feed them a special treat or meal on their big day and a whopping 25 percent of them go as far as to throw them legit birthday parties.
Even when we’re at work, we’re thinking about our favorite floofs. Over the years, nanny cams for pets have grown tremendously popular for pup parents who work long hours but still want to tune into their dog’s well-being. In this survey, 19 percent of participants have purchased tech that allows them to check in on their fluffy loved one at any point in the day.
Clearly, there’s a lot of love going out to the canine crew. But honestly, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Want more dogs in your life? Sign up for Friday Fluff, a newsletter featuring the week’s cutest pups!


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- A Pennsylvania farm have named a calf Baby Ben after the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback because the cow has a No. 7 on his head
- After photos of the calf were posted on the vale Wood Farms Facebook page, almost 2,000 fans liked the posting
- Vale Wood Farms has been around since 1933 and while it processes its own milk and dairy, it doesn’t use any meat from the cows.
Moooove over, Ben Roethlisberger. There’s a new No. 7 in western Pennsylvania.
The folks at Vale Wood Farms in Loretto have named a calf Baby Ben after the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback because the cow has a marking that looks like a Number 7 on its head.
The farm has posted the calf’s picture on its Facebook page, and WJAC-TV visited the farm about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh to see what all the fuss is about.
Since being posted on Facebook the photos got over 1,100 likes and over 100 comments.
Carissa Itle-Westrick, the director of business development for the family-owned food-and-grocery farm, is hoping Roethlisberger won’t mind.
She says, ‘Baby Ben is awfully cute, so hopefully Big Ben won’t mind sharing his namesake.’
The farm plans to display the calf when it opens its pumpkin patch for business next month.
Itle-Westrick told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that she’s seen a variety of cow patterns over the years such as a state, a continent, and once even a Nike’s swoosh.
She said that when she saw Baby Ben for the first time she immediately thought of the Steelers.
‘He turned to face me, and I said, “Wow, it’s a perfect little 7,” ‘ Ms. Itle-Westrick said. Taking the quarterback’s namesake
‘was kind of a natural for us. We’re out here in Steelers country.’
Even Ben Roethlisberger’s website Bigben7.com acknowledged the furry doppelganger in a blog post.
The post said that if you visit the farm, ‘don’t forget to say hello to Baby Ben while you’re there (who is probably gonna milk this new-found fame for all it’s worth!)’
The Post gazette reports that Baby Ben will be on display during the farm’s pumpkin patch event October 1-19.
Vale Wood Farms has been around since 1933 and while it processes its own milk and dairy, it doesn’t use any meat from the cows.
Head in the game: Even Ben Roethlisberger’s website acknowledged the furry doppelganger and he wrote in his blog of visiting the farm, ‘don’t forget to say hello to Baby Ben while you’re there’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2771662/Adorable-baby-calf-born-NUMBER-SEVEN-head-named-Big-Ben-honor-Pittsburgh-Steelers-quarterback-Ben-Ben-Roethlisberger-wears-number-seven-jersey.html#ixzz3EaMv4Oc9
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
One response to “Let’s hope he’s lucky! Baby calf born with a perfect white number seven on his head”
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Thus, the decline was not as high as some of its competitors. Analysts had been accurately calculated with a profit in this amount. The sales showed a surprising increase of three percent to 60 billion euros. Here, the experts had forecast a much smaller increase.
Volkswagen rose in the first quarter of around one billion euros for legal risks. It remained unclear whether it is more Rüstellungen for the diesel scandal or the EU cartel proceedings against the German carmaker. VW is not expressed.
in Spite of the Dent to start off the year, Volkswagen confirmed the Outlook for 2019. The Board of management to the group chief Herbert Diess has made a slight sales increase, sales are expected to rise by up to five per cent, and in the case of the operating return on sales before special items of the consolidated financial targets unchanged at a value between 6.5 and 7.5 percent.


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The recent bull run witnessed with virtually all cryptocurrencies had many already looking at dollar signs, expecting the price to continue to rise to the $20,000-, $60,000- or even $100,000-mark that have been predicted in the past. Prices have stated to settle, again, making the idea of a Lambo soon resting comfortably in a garage nothing more than a dream. However, there was an area that continued to rise with the crypto market, only it wasn’t welcome by enthusiasts. Bitcoin Core (BTC) transaction costs are higher than they’ve been in months.
Due to an increase in the number of transactions on the network, BTC fees have shot up more than they’ve been in ten months. Bitinfocharts.com shows that, in terms of dollars per transaction, the cost is $4.87. The cost hasn’t been this high since the beginning of last year. If gauged in Satoshis per byte, the cost is at its highest level since June of last year.
Since April of last year, the number of BTC transactions has more than doubled. The blockchain processes around 400,000 transactions each day, which is about the same amount as what was seen when BTC skyrocketed to $20,000 in December 2017.
BTC has been working on solutions that are designed, in part, to combat increased transaction fees, such as the Lightning Network (LN) and Segregated Witness (SegWit). Neither has proven to be extremely popular, although LN is ahead, and both take transactions off the blockchain to be processed—a step that is dangerously indicative of an unstable network.
By way of comparison, the cost of sending Bitcoin SV (BSV) is substantially lower. According to Bitinfocharts, there have been 2,769,850 BSV sent through 19,705 transactions in the past 24 hours, with an average transaction value of $8,212. The average transaction fee has only been $0.0011. The digital currency’s value has also remained more stable than has that of BTC.
BTC’s network is operating on blocks that are only around 950 bytes—BSV’s network is already well about 100 megabytes for each block. What this means is that the BTC blockchain is less reliable. As the blocks fill up, miners have to prioritize the transactions and this is done by higher fees. Some transactions, those with lower fees, are forced to wait longer in order to be processed, which does little to improve BTC’s position as a viable currency.
New to blockchain? Check out CoinGeek’s Blockchain for Beginners section, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about blockchain technology.


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Car and truck makers have a more realistic approach toward pricing their vehicles for the U.S. market. Until a few years ago, they raised prices seemingly on a whim. If consumers balked, the automaker threw a couple hundred more into the incentive tray.
Today, we still have price increases, but they're smaller and more in line with what the market (read 'consumer') is saying. Trucks bear the brunt of the increases, just as they provide most of the showroom traffic and dealer-factory profits.
Midyear price increases are popular with the domestic makers. First, the makers wiped out the model year by introducing next year's models all year.
Now, they're wiping out the pricing year with hikes throughout the season instead of one big blast in the fall.


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(WFRV) – The popular pizza and barbeque spot Parker John’s is opening up their newest location in Oshkosh in the new year and they are hiring.
Derek and Rebecca from Parker John’s visited Local 5 Live with details on the new location at 30 Wisconsin Street in Oshkosh, a look at some of the winners of their most recent restaurant week and how you can apply for the Oshkosh location.
They are now accepting applications for all positions, apply online at parkerjohns.com/oshkoshapply.
Parker John’s Green Bay location is at 2851 S. Oneida. They also have locations in Kiel, Menasha, Sheboygan and in February 2022 – Oshkosh. Find the one nearest you and see the menu online at parkerjohns.com or find them on Facebook.


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Apple has launched its iTunes service in the UK, Germany and France, but several major UK artists will not be included after failing to agree terms.
Users will be able to download music at 79p per track, as well as pick from a selection of music videos, with French and German consumers paying €0.99.
But iTunes users across Europe will not be able to download tracks by popular bands like The White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand and So Solid Crew after talks with the Association of Independent Music (AIM) broke down.
"We welcome the arrival of iTunes in the UK but are disappointed that our members have been unable to agree terms for licensing their repertoire to the services," said AIM chairman Alison Wenham, in a statement.
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs claimed at the iTunes launch in London that the company was signing up more independent labels "day by day", and had secured deals with the big five music companies: Sony, EMI, Warner, BMG and Universal.
"Some people believe you can sell music from just a website, but music websites suck," said Jobs.
"iTunes only competes with piracy. This is the big market for downloads. In the legitimate market we own 70 per cent of all sales."
The iTunes site has a library of 700,000 songs, 5,000 audio books and soundtracks from all Disney and Pixar films. A pan-European iTunes site for the rest of the continent is scheduled to open in November.
Apple has chosen a different route from that of Napster, whose subscription-based model terminates access to the music once the subscription elapses.
Once songs are purchased on iTunes they can be burned onto CD. Downloaded files can be played on up to five different computers or an unlimited number of iPods.
Some parts of Atacama have not received rainfall for 500 years - but a sudden deluge of water upset the Desert's delicate biological balance
Spitzer Space Telescope could not spot Oumuamua, suggesting that it is actually pretty small
Greenland crater one of the 25 largest impact craters on Earth
This long-sought progenitor star was identified in an image captured by Hubble in 2007


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Sean Wotherspoon’s work with adidas has added a number of new silhouettes and styles in the last year, with more on the way for 2023. This week, the designer teased his version of the Gazelle in hemp, arriving in 2023.
Sean Wotherspoon has created a prolific body of work with adidas, after severing his ties with Nike several year ago. Since then, the Los Angeles-based designer and vintage curator has gone to work on a number of the Three Stripes’ signature silhouettes, adding another one to his arsenal this year with the Gazelle. Teased via his Instagram, SW shared a look at a ‘Hemp’ pair of the Gazelle, which features a mixed green and white knit upper, paired with leather stripes and tongues. The heel counter comes in bright orange canvas, while a gum sole completes the look.
SEAN WOTHERSPOON X ADIDAS GAZELLE ‘HEMP’ RELEASE INFORMATION
Sean Wotherspoon’s signature version of the adidas Gazelle has not been announced for release, though he has stated that they are slated to release sometime in 2023. The ‘Hemp’ construction in green, white, and orange, will likely be available via the Three Stripes’ Confirmed app as well as select retailers. Check out the early images below for a better look, and stay tuned to JustFreshKicks for more adidas release news.
Sean Wotherspoon x adidas Gazelle Indoor
Release Date: November 15th, 2023
Color: Collegiate Green/Cloud White-Gum
Style Code: IG1456
UPDATE 11/12/23: adidas has announced their release of Sean Wotherspoon’s green Hemp Gazelle, which drops on November 15th, 2023. Pairs will be available from the Confirmed app for $140.


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Days after unveiling their new 2017 away shirt, St Helens have followed it up with the release of their new home kit for Super League 2017. The new Saints RLFC home shirt, made by O’Neills was officially unveiled on 23 November, 2016 Continue reading
This is the new St.Helens away shirt 2017, Saints RLFC’s new alternate strip for the upcoming Super League season. Made by O’Neills and featuring a new principal sponsor in Crabbie’s, the new navy St Helens kit was officially revealed on November 17, 2016 Continue reading
This is the new Widnes RL kit 2017, Widnes Vikings’ new home shirt for the upcoming Super League season. Made by Irish firm O’Neills, the new Widnes top was first revealed on social media by the club on 6 November, 2016 with a more formal launch done on Tuesday November 8, 2016.
The new Widnes RL strip will have two Madabout Media properties as sponsors.
Check out the kit launch video below Continue reading
These are the new Huddersfield Giants kits 2017, Giants RL’s new home and away jerseys for the 2017 Super League season. Made by O’Neills, the new Giants RL tops were officially unveiled on November 4, 2016 by the club. It is the first by Irish company O’Neills as part of a three year deal with the club to replace KooGa as kit partners. Giants are the 3rd Super League club to be outfitted by O’Neills, joining St.Helens and Widnes Continue reading
French second tier rugby club Colomiers have inked a three season deal with O’Neills that will see the latter replace Kappa as shirt partners. The new Colomiers O’Neills shirt deal was officially revealed to the public on May 3, 2016.
O’Neills are not new to ProD2- they also have Tarbes on board with them Continue reading
This is the new St Helens Magic weekend jersey 2016, a special edition one off strip made for the Super League club for their upcoming clash against Huddersfield Giants next month.
Saints will be taking on the Giants in Newcastle as part of Magic Weekend, and a portion of the sales from this shirt will go to local group St Helens Autism shirt
The jersey features Saints’ traditional vee design, but the red one has been replaced with a multi-coloured jigsaw version, as can be seen in the pics below. Continue reading
This is the new London Irish St.Patrick’s Day shirt, a special edition kit design for the AVIVA Premiership club by well known designer Orla Kiely. The new LIRFC St.Patrick’s Day Jersey was officially unveiled on 1 February, 2016 by the club on BT’s Rugby Tonight show.
The new strip will be worn by Irish when they take on Saracens in the United States on 12 March and in their fixture on 20 March against Gloucester at the Madjeski. Continue reading
These are the new St.Helens shirts 2016, Super League club St Helens RLFC’s new home and away uniforms for the upcoming season. Made by Irish manufacturer O’Neills, the new Saints jerseys were officially revealed on 4 November, 2015.
The new St Helens 2016 home shirt features a large Red Vee and takes inspiration from the Mal Meninga era. The new change strip is a mix of cyan and orange, and both tops use O’Neills’ Koolite fabric. Continue reading
Click here to see all new Super League 2017 shirts at newrugbykits.com
Here is a page dedicated to all new jersey releases from the 21st season of the Super League, Europe’s premier Rugby League competition. Continue reading
These are the new Widnes shirts 2016, Widnes Vikings’ new uniforms for the 2016 Super League season. Made by O’Neills, the new Widnes RL strips were officially unveiled on 28 October, 2015.
The club have unveiled two kits- one black and one white, but have chosen not to have them specifically designated as “home” or “away”
Instead, Vikings skipper Kevin Brown will decide which of the two uniforms the club will wear on each match day, as part of the “Captain’s Call”
The kits use Coolite technology and feature Viking artwork. Continue reading


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Kailee Tomasic, manager of the Elk Grove Township food pantry, can’t imagine trying to serve their current 800 guests a month from the space they inhabited just three years ago. It was a mere 375 square feet.
“Our old pantry was as big as our current walk-in freezer,” Tomasic said. Their current facility is 3,640 square feet, nearly ten times larger than their previous location. Their move, part of the relocation of all Elk Grove Township offices, came just in time to help them respond to a tidal wave of need.
Tomasic started with the food pantry in January 2020, the new facility opened the following month, and COVID-19 shut the community down the month after. Suddenly community members started coming to the pantry in droves, driven by the financial strain caused by the pandemic, rising inflation and elevated food prices.
During 2020, the food pantry experienced a 40 percent increase in the number of guests coming to them for food, rising from an average of 230 families a month in 2019 to 326 families per month in 2020.
Same Food, Higher Bill
By the fall of 2022, the pantry was serving more than 500 guests a month. In the past few months, that’s risen to more than 800.
“I believe it is a mix of inflation, high food prices, utilities, and property taxes,” Tomasic said of the spike in numbers. “At the grocery store, they’re getting the same amount of food at twice what they used to pay.” This is especially difficult for retirees on fixed incomes, which accounts for a third of the pantry’s guests.
Laura, a 49-year-old mother of two, has frequented the pantry for the past year and a half, often with her 84-year-old mother, Delores. They all live together, a household of five when you add in Delores’ husband. They appreciate the extra food available at the pantry.
Laura works full-time but still struggles to provide for her children. Her parents have a fixed income. Referencing inflation and the rising food prices, Laura said, “It’s horrible. I buy the minimum at Jewel and it’s still $200. This pantry has helped a lot. I can get canned goods and staple items.”
Providing Choice and Selection
The pantry’s larger location has allowed for a client-choice set-up, where guests are able to “shop” for the items they want.
“Our clients are absolutely over-the-moon ecstatic with our transition from prepackaged dry goods to a full-on store for shopping with fresh goods,” Tomasic said.
To avoid long lines, pantry guests make an appointment to visit, and each client is given a food card to streamline check-in.
Tomasic remains vigilant to keep their ample shelves stocked to meet the ever-increasing need in the community. In addition to the pantry’s partnership with the Food Depository, she also collects food from several local grocery stores and restaurants.
The rising number of guests has also prompted the pantry to add distribution days to their weekly schedule. They now serve pantry guests four days a week.
Mireya, a mother of four, has been coming to the pantry for two months. While her husband works, she stays home with their youngest child, who has special needs. Mireya says inflation has made it difficult to afford enough food for her large family.
She especially appreciates the personal hygiene items, like toilet paper, and the staple foods she receives at the pantry. “My kids always ask for milk and cereal,” she said. Thanks to the pantry, she’s able to provide these favorite foods. Tomasic credits the Food Depository for that selection.
“Our partnership means everything to me and my clients,” Tomasic said.
“Without it, my clients would not be able to get fresh produce, dairy, and very rarely would have meat. And the pantry would not be as well stocked as it is. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you so much for everything that you are able to provide.”
When you support the Food Depository, you ensure our partner pantries are well stocked and our neighbors have the food they need to thrive.


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Generic medicine: What’s in a name?
It is a year since generic substitution and reference pricing legislation were introduced
Generic medicines: contain the same active ingredient as the product they are based on. Photograph: Thinkstock
Kathy Maher, president of the Irish Pharmacy Union: role and workload of pharmacists has changed considerably. Photograph: Colm Mahady / Fennells
Atorvastatin, Lansoprazole, Olanzapine. Do you know what these names mean? If you do, it’s likely that your medicine, which you once called by its brand name, has been changed to a generic version that goes by the active ingredient name.
Atorvastatin is a drug used for the treatment of high cholesterol, and prevention of heart attack and strokes, while Lansoprazole belongs to a group of drugs called proton pump inhibitors that decrease the amount of acid produced in the stomach, and help treat reflux. Olanzapine is used in the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Generic medicines are essentially copies of branded medicines and contain the same active ingredient as the product they’re based on. They are just as effective and just as safe. The only difference, apart from the name, packaging and sometimes the appearance, is that the generic version is usually available at a lower cost.
Generic medicine usage in Ireland has traditionally been very low; in 2007 just over 19 per cent of prescription items were dispensed generically, and generic prescribing accounted for just 8.2 per cent of total expenditure under the HSE’s medical card scheme.
Ireland is well known for its love of brands and willingness to pay higher prices for high-end products, from teabags to clothes to medicines, though the recession has helped encourage a more critical approach to affordability, by both State and patients.
Last June, the long-awaited Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, which provides for the introduction of a system of generic substitution and reference pricing for authorised medicines, was commenced in Ireland.
Previously, if a specific brand name medicine was prescribed, the pharmacist had to dispense this brand, even when less expensive versions of the same medicine were available.
Under the new law, the pharmacist may substitute the prescribed branded medicine for a safe and less-expensive generic version that has been deemed interchangeable by the Irish Medicines Board (IMB).
The first medicine to be deemed interchangeable was atorvastatin, with 96 atorvastatin products included on the list published last August in four separate groups.
Reference pricing means the HSE sets one price that it will pay for groups of medicines on the IMB’s interchangeable list. If you want your more expensive branded medicine, you have to pay for it.
Reference pricing, like generic interchangeability, is being introduced one medicine at a time, to ensure adequate supplies can be provided. The first reference price, for atorvastatin medicines, was published on November 1st, 2013.
The IMB is still working through the 40 active medicine substances prioritised for substitution by the Department of Health, due to their cost and volume of use.
To date, the board has published interchangeable groups for 23 active substances (including amoxicillin/clavulanic acid-containing products that were not on the original priority list), has initiated consultation on a further 12 active substances, and anticipates that consultation on the six remaining priority active substances will have begun by August.
AcceptanceSo, one year on, how have the changes been accepted by the medical community and patients?
The HSE, Department of Health and IMB created a health-education campaign in 2013 to support the new legislation and to help ensure a smooth introduction.
“We had to explain a complex new pricing system, which could potentially involve switching from a branded medication to a generic version, in a simple and clear manner.
“The campaign was also designed to assist GPs, pharmacists and other healthcare staff to fulfil their central role in supporting patients through these changes,” the HSE told The Irish Times.
The campaign includes a website, hse.ie/generics, and posters and leaflets were distributed to 1,750 pharmacies and more than 1,600 GP surgeries nationwide.
The pharmaceutical company Pfizer conducted consumer research to evaluate its reference pricing adverts to see how people’s knowledge, awareness and understanding had changed.
Before the campaign, 41 per cent of people said they had no awareness that they may be offered an equivalent medicine by the pharmacist; this reduced to 26 per cent afterwards. Before, 70 per cent of people said they had not heard the term reference price: this reduced to 50 per cent afterwards.
Separate research undertaken by the IMB showed a high level of awareness of generic medicines among the public. The research, published last year, found that 92 per cent of people who had personally used a generic medicine said they had a positive experience.
Familiarity with the term “generic medicine” was high, at 72 per cent, with willingness to accept and use a generic medicine if recommended by their healthcare professional also high, at 80 per cent.
Since November 2013, more than 500,000 patients have been brought into the reference pricing system, and the HSE says it has received no negative feedback.
Kathy Maher, the president of the Irish Pharmacy Union, is a pharmacist in Co Meath and says pharmacists have worked very hard to implement the legislation and explain the changes to patients. This has changed their role and workload considerably.
While there was some resistance to the changes from patients and some doctors, Maher says patient trust in pharmacists is very high, though she said more information from the HSE for doctors and patients would be helpful.
Darach Ó Ciardha, a GP and chairman of communications at the Irish College of General Practitioners, says GPs see the generic substitution and reference pricing changes as a positive development. They retain the power under the legislation to decide whether a particular medicine should be substituted for patients.
He adds that it is a good thing for patients to get to know their medications by the active ingredient name, especially if they are abroad, as brand names and availability can vary internationally.
SavingsA key aim of the legislation has been to save money for both the HSE and patients. It has been widely publicised that the State and the public have long being paying much higher prices for many common prescription and over-the-counter medicines, both branded and generic, than people in the UK and in Europe.
The HSE estimates it spent just over €2 billion on medicines in 2013, compared with €1.95 billion in 2012. In the context of a fivefold increase in the HSE’s bill for medicines between 1999 and 2009, and €4 billion being cut from the health budget in the past six years, these costs are simply unsustainable, Prof Michael Barry, HSE national lead of medicines management and head of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics, told the Hospital Pharmacists Association of Ireland annual educational conference in April.
InterchangeableBarry said Irish doctors were very fond of branded medicines and were more likely to prescribe the most expensive medicine in its class, but he said the legislation was improving generic prescription rates, at least in the medicines deemed interchangeable to date.
The new legislation is expected to save the taxpayer €50 million in 2014 alone. Out of the HSE’s total drugs bill, up to €1.6 billion is made up of the actual medicine costs, of which €400 million is off-patent, which means it can be substituted under the new legislation.
A HSE spokesperson has told The Irish Times that of the first three medicines deemed interchangeable, the generic penetration rate has risen to 90 per cent, with the earmarked savings well on track for this year.
The HSE is still paying more than the NHS, for example, for many branded and generic medicines, but this is partly due to the smaller market and the need to ensure Ireland is not seen as too unprofitable for some pharmaceutical companies, the spokesperson says, although the HSE will continue to push down drug prices as much as it can.
SubstituteColin Galligan, managing director of the Medipharm pharmacy group, runs two pharmacies in Dublin and says the majority of his customers are happy to accept a generic substitute.
He says many people, particularly private patients, seek out the generic version of their medicine before the pharmacist suggests it.
So the consensus is that the legislation has been very successful to date though many drugs still need to be deemed interchangeable, with patients keen to be able to choose the generic version of all their medications that are off patent.
Competition: How the figures add up
The are 1,826 pharmacies and 5,219 pharmacists registered in Ireland, according to new statistics this month from the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI), the regulator of the profession.
This is a rise of 8.7 per cent and 17.4 per cent respectively on the numbers in 2007 alone, despite the recession, a succession of cuts to pharmacists’ professional fees from the State, and a loss of retail business in cosmetic and toiletries sales to the supermarket sector.
Dublin alone has 485 pharmacies and it is common to see more than one pharmacy even in small villages. In addition, Ireland’s independent pharmacies are increasingly feeling the competition and buying power of the large commercial pharmacy chains.
New chains This pressure has seen the emergence of a number of new chains of independent pharmacies. Last October saw the launch of Totalhealth Pharmacy, a network of 40 existing independently owned chemists undergoing a €4 million rebrand and overhaul. The group plans to increase its store numbers to more than 160 by 2018, mainly through signing up more existing independent pharmacies to its network.
A separate group, Haven Pharmacy, launched earlier this month. Haven Pharmacy is a new brand created by the Indepharm co-operative group for its 46 local, independent community pharmacies based in urban and rural parts of the country.
All over Ireland, €2 million has been invested in the rebranding of 40 pharmacies, and another six pharmacies are due to be rebranded by the end of 2014. The group says it is the fastest-growing independent co-operative pharmacy group in Ireland with more than 100 pharmacists and more than 300 staff, practising in urban and rural areas.
Daragh Connolly, chairman of Haven Pharmacy, is calling on the HSE to recognise and support the increasing role the pharmacist plays in managing the health of local communities.
“We already know the success that flu vaccinations can have in pharmacies. We need to learn from this and recognise that the pharmacist plays an important role in community health; as we all work as one team to build a healthier Ireland,” says Connolly.
Helix Health, which sponsors the annual Pharmacist Awards, recently surveyed more than 100 pharmacists, of whom 86 per cent said they believe Government cutbacks had a direct impact on their ability to look after patients.
Three-quarters (74 per cent) of pharmacists in the survey said they had patients who had lost their medical cards recently, despite poor circumstances or severe illness; while almost two-thirds (64 per cent) said the biggest challenge facing pharmacists today was Government cutbacks; 28 per cent believe the biggest challenge will be the increase in the number of customers in financial difficulty.
Job creation In relation to job creation, survey respondents indicated that the numbers employed in their organisations had either dropped slightly or remained largely the same over the past five years: 52 per cent said their place of work had retained the same number of staff over the past five years; 31 per cent said staff had been let go; while 17 per cent said their place of work had recruited additional pharmacy staff.
When questioned on what enhanced roles they would like to see for pharmacists, 46 per cent of survey respondents said they would like to see pharmacists empowered to undertake medication usage reviews.
Almost half (45 per cent) of respondents want an enhanced role for pharmacists in the management of chronic illness such as diabetes, while a small number of survey respondents thought pharmacists should play a greater role in administering childhood vaccines and needle-exchange programmes.


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NJ woman says Starbucks fired her for not wearing LGBTQ Pride shirt
A New Jersey woman is suing Starbucks and alleging religious discrimination, saying she was fired for refusing to wear an LGBTQ Pride T-shirt at work.
Betsy Fresse, of Newark, was a barista for more than three years at Starbucks locations in Hoboken and then Glen Ridge, according to her lawsuit filed last week in federal court. Fresse said she was fired in August 2019, after Starbucks became aware that her Christian religious beliefs would have prevented her from wearing a company Pride T-shirt.
Starbucks, in a brief response to New Jersey 101.5 this week, said it's simply not true.
"Starbucks does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. Specific to dress code, other than our green apron, no part of our dress code requires partners to wear any approved items that they have not personally selected," a Starbucks spokesperson said in a written response to New Jersey 101.5.
The lawsuit alleges that Fresse, who had transferred to the Glen Ridge store in February 2019 to shorten her commute, was fired "for acting in violation of Starbuck’s Core Values," as a written notice from Starbucks said that she had been handed a PRIDE T-shirt, to which she said that her co-workers "need Jesus."
Fresse said she was never handed the shirt, but had seen a box of them during a meeting with one of the store's managers in June 2019. In her lawsuit, Fresse said she asked the manager if she would be required to wear one of the shirts and she said she was told no.
In her lawsuit, Fresse said for her to wear a shirt that supports LGBTQ Pride would wrongly "show her advocacy of a lifestyle in direct contradiction to her religious beliefs."
Fresse said that managers at both Starbucks locations had already been aware of her strong religious beliefs, as she had been unavailable to work shifts on Sundays, as well as Tuesday and Friday evenings to attend church or religious activities on those days.
"Starbucks failed to comply with the law, and terminated my client because she would not betray her faith, a faith which defines who she is as a person. That is actionable and wrong and Starbucks must be held accountable,” Fresse's attorney, Demetrios Stratis said in a statement to New Jersey 101.5.
The Starbucks spokesperson said that the company is aware of claims made in the lawsuit and that they are "without merit."
Fresse is suing for "irreparable injury, monetary damages" and attorneys’ fees and costs.


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TCL has unveiled three new flagship TVs at IFA this year. The Xess Private Theatre X6, is an 85” Ultra HD TV with wood and copper highlights. It includes a ‘talk-to-the-TV' feature made with TCL's conversational artificial intelligence technology.
The 4000R curved Cityline C5 was also announced, measuring just 9.9mm and featuring steel and aluminium frames, plus Dolby HDR Pro. It includes “smart listening” features, allowing users to play music from mobile phones through the TV's speakers.
TCL also unveiled 43” to 65” versions of its entry-level model, the Popular P6.
The company won an IFA award for its T-GUARDIAN air-conditioner series. The device boasts a built-in camera, enabling the user to monitor their internal home whilst they are outside. TCL also unveiled its newest air conditioners, the TCL Elite & Grace series, which received praise for smart features such as self-cleaning.


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National Cheeseburger Day is coming up soon! September 18 is the big day and Black Tap will be celebrating in a BIG way! The first 100 customers to submit their emails on Black Tap’s dedicated National Cheeseburger Day website will win a complimentary cheeseburger with any purchase (food or drink).
Win Free Burgers for a Year at Black Tap! National Cheeseburger Day is coming up on Friday, September 18th and Black Tap has the perfect way to celebrate. Black Tap is offering customers a chance to win free burgers and Heinz ketchup for a whole year! Keep reading to find


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Parents are in full meltdown mode over sold-out ‘Frozen’ merchandise
What do you mean, no more Olaf figurines? These parents are having a hard time letting it go.
Disney’s Frozen recently became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, and although it’s barely left theatres, parents are going into hard-core Easter shopping mode when it comes to finding toys, figurines, and other movie-related merchandise.
To look at Facebook‘s unofficial Disney Store community is to behold a frenzied wasteland where only the strong survive—by which we mean the rich, and the die-hard parents willing to ransack their local department stores for any Frozen merch they can get their hands on. “My Disney store has not had any new Frozen items in forever,” writes one parent. “When will you restock?” frets another. Baffled Facebook parent Maureen Dee writes, “Every store I go to (Disney, Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, etc.) says the stock is nil and when it does come it flies off the shelves. People are waiting outside when the store opens!“
But the prize for passionate outcries goes to Shauna Oddo, whose daughter’s entire worldview is on the brink of collapse:
I have been staying up late every night checking the site. I didn’t think the site would refresh during the day. SO irritated! My girl has been waiting for a classic Elsa doll since Christmas. She can’t understand why Santa didn’t get her one since it was what she wanted most. Now she is hoping that the Easter Bunny will put one in her basket. She has been so patient. I really think this might be what stops her believing in Santa and the Easter Bunny. I can’t afford to spend over $100 on eBay for a $16 doll. This whole situation makes me so sad and angry. Thank you Disney for killing the magic for my 6-year-old.
We feel the need to remind parents that if Disney hasn’t been able to get merchandise out fast enough to meet demand, it’s probably because even the mighty Mouse has limitations on how fast he can move product from some third-world manufacturing facility to your local Disney store. Really, we know kids want their Elsa and Anna dolls, but nothing says “first world problems” like an apocalyptic meltdown on Facebook over a toy.
Meanwhile, over on Ebay, some diehard fans and parents are in fight-to-the-death mode over the rarest of the rare, the limited edition 17″ Harrods Elsa and Anna dolls. One collector recently called the figurines “the holy grail” of Disney merchandise. Only 2,500 dolls were made, and they reportedly sold out in 17 minutes back in November. Now they’re going for more than $1,000 on Ebay.
The Tumblr frozenmerch has been trying to fill in the gaps by posting as much currently available Frozen merchandise as users can find. Inevitably, heightened media attention has sent antagonists to the Disney Store community to berate the frantic parents for their priorities.
Sounds like we could all use a Frozen singalong of “Let It Go” right about now.
Aja Romano is a geek culture reporter and fandom expert. Their reporting at the Daily Dot covered everything from Harry Potter and anime to Tumblr and Gamergate. Romano joined Vox as a staff reporter in 2016.


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Welcome to the Investopedia Bitcoin Center, where you can find the current price of Bitcoin as well as real-time updated news on the world’s most important cryptocurrency. For good or for ill, Bitcoin is being explored by every major world bank and may very well be the backbone of our global financial system in the near future. Use charts, watch videos, learn new Bitcoin related terms, and get all of your questions answered about Bitcoin here at Investopedia.
Miners found other advantages. The cool winters and dry air helped reduce the need for costly air conditioning to prevent their churning servers from overheating. As a bonus, the region was already equipped with some of the nation’s fastest high-speed internet, thanks to the massive fiber backbone the data centers had installed. All in all, recalls Miehe, the basin was bitcoin’s “killer app.”
No one knows. Not conclusively, at any rate. Satoshi Nakamoto is the name associated with the person or group of people who released the original Bitcoin white paper in 2008 and worked on the original Bitcoin software that was released in 2009. The Bitcoin protocol requires users to enter a birthday upon signup, and we know that an individual named Satoshi Nakamoto registered and put down April 5 as a birth date. And that's about it.
The other two BitFury mines are in Tbilisi, in the Republic of Georgia, where the weather is much warmer. According to Vavilov, the company has developed a two-phase immersion cooling technology with their subsidiary, Allied Control. The system bathes the mining machines in a dielectric heat-transfer liquid called Novec, which cools the computers as it evaporates. The system is now deployed at the Georgia data centers.
You can look at this hash as a really long number. (It's a hexadecimal number, meaning the letters A-F are the digits 10-15.) To ensure that blocks are found roughly every ten minutes, there is what's called a difficulty target. To create a valid block your miner has to find a hash that is below the difficulty target. So if for example the difficulty target is
No. 3: Electrum (software wallet). Electrum is a popular, free storage option in the bitcoin community, and is one of the most, if not the most, well-respected desktop storage apps out there. It's been around since 2011 and is also available for mobile, though Apple (ticker: AAPL) iPhone users are out of luck – to date it's only supported by Android.
With the Bitcoin price so volatile everyone is curious. Bitcoin, the category creator of blockchain technology, is the World Wide Ledger yet extremely complicated and no one definition fully encapsulates it. By analogy it is like being able to send a gold coin via email. It is a consensus network that enables a new payment system and a completely digital money.
The influx in malware led some online companies to implement protective measures for their users. Google announced in a blog post in April that it would no longer allow browser extensions in its Web Store that mine cryptocurrencies. The online store allows for users to pick extensions and apps that personalize their Chrome web browser, but the company noted that the “capabilities have attracted malicious software developers who attempt to abuse the platform at the expense of users.”
Cryptocurrency mining can be an expensive proposition, requiring computing hardware and electricity. Cryptojacking offers cybercriminals a way to steal computing power from other people to bypass the effort and expense. Cryptojacking software operates on computers in the background, with the only evidence of its presence signified by a user’s device overheating or slowing down.
Bitcoin was the first decentralized digital currency; an online peer-to-peer payment system, without the need for third-party intermediaries such as banks. It was first released in 2008 and has since grown to be the largest cryptocurrency when measured by market cap. Bitcoins are not issued like traditional currency, they are digital and “mined” by powerful servers over time. It was designed to have a fixed supply of 21 million coins.
Cryptojacking and legitimate mining, however, are sensitive to cryptocurrency prices, which have declined sharply since their highs in late 2017 and early 2018. According to a McAfee September 2018 threats report, cryptojacking instances “remain very active,” but a decline in the value of cryptocurrencies could lead to a plunge in coin mining malware, just as fast as it emerged.
Illiquidity. This is mostly moot due to Bitcoin’s $47 market cap but it still makes users sweat. It’s highly unlikely that Bitcoin’s price would plummet and you’d be unable to take action, but it’s still unsettling. As more investors invest, however, illiquidity becomes a negligible risk, as there will likely always be a buyer for Bitcoins waiting.
The information on this website does not convey an offer of any type and is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, commodities, or other financial products. In addition, the information on this website does not constitute the provision of investment advice.No assurances can be made that any aims, assumptions, expectations, strategies, and/or goals expressed or implied herein were or will be realized or that the activities or any performance described did or will continue at all or in the same manner as is described on this website.
According to the Library of Congress, an "absolute ban" on trading or using cryptocurrencies applies in eight countries: Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates. An "implicit ban" applies in another 15 countries, which include Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Lesotho, Lithuania, Macau, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan.
That constraint is what makes the problem more or less difficult. More leading zeroes means fewer possible solutions, and more time required to solve the problem. Every 2,016 blocks (roughly two weeks), that difficulty is reset. If it took miners less than 10 minutes on average to solve those 2,016 blocks, then the difficulty is automatically increased. If it took longer, then the difficulty is decreased.
Many also fear that the new mines will suck up so much of the power surplus that is currently exported that local rates will have to rise. In fact, miners’ appetite for power is growing so rapidly that the three counties have instituted surcharges for extra infrastructure, and there is talk of moratoriums on new mines. There is also talk of something that would have been inconceivable just a few years ago: buying power from outside suppliers. That could mean the end of decades of ultracheap power—all for a new, highly volatile sector that some worry may not be around long anyway. Indeed, one big fear, says Dennis Bolz, a Chelan County Public Utility commissioner, is that a prolonged price collapse will cause miners to abandon the basin—and leave ratepayers with “an infrastructure that may or may not have a use.”
A wallet stores the information necessary to transact bitcoins. While wallets are often described as a place to hold or store bitcoins, due to the nature of the system, bitcoins are inseparable from the blockchain transaction ledger. A better way to describe a wallet is something that "stores the digital credentials for your bitcoin holdings" and allows one to access (and spend) them. Bitcoin uses public-key cryptography, in which two cryptographic keys, one public and one private, are generated. At its most basic, a wallet is a collection of these keys.
The other reason is safety. Looking at 2009 alone, 32,489 blocks were mined; at the then-reward rate of 50 BTC per block, the total payout in 2009 was 1,624,500 BTC, which at today’s prices is over $900 million. One may conclude that only Satoshi and perhaps a few other people were mining through 2009, and that they possess a majority of that $900 million worth of BTC. Someone in possession of that much BTC could become a target of criminals, especially since bitcoins are less like stocks and more like cash, where the private keys needed to authorize spending could be printed out and literally kept under a mattress. While it's likely the inventor of Bitcoin would take precautions to make any extortion-induced transfers traceable, remaining anonymous is a good way for Satoshi to limit exposure.
Price fluctuations, which have been common in Bitcoin since the day it was created eight years ago, saddle miners with risk and uncertainty. And that burden is shared by chip manufacturers, especially ones like Bitmain, which invest the time and money in a full custom design. According to Nishant Sharma, the international marketing manager at Bitmain, when the price of bitcoin was breaking records this spring, sales of S9 rigs doubled. But again, that is not a trend the company can afford to bet on.
Regulatory Risk: Bitcoins are a rival to government currency and may be used for black market transactions, money laundering, illegal activities or tax evasion. As a result, governments may seek to regulate, restrict or ban the use and sale of bitcoins, and some already have. Others are coming up with various rules. For example, in 2015, the New York State Department of Financial Services finalized regulations that would require companies dealing with the buy, sell, transfer or storage of bitcoins to record the identity of customers, have a compliance officer and maintain capital reserves. The transactions worth $10,000 or more will have to be recorded and reported.
If fewer people begin to accept Bitcoin as a currency, these digital units may lose value and could become worthless. There is already plenty of competition, and though Bitcoin has a huge lead over the other 100-odd digital currencies that have sprung up, thanks to its brand recognition and venture capital money, a technological break-through in the form of a better virtual coin is always a threat.
Meanwhile, investors have been rattled this week by reports bank-owned currency trading utility CLS, along with enterprise software giant IBM, are teaming up to trial the blockchain-based Ledger Connect, an application that offers services from different vendors, with some nine financial institutions, including international heavyweights Barclays and Citigroup.
Transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain. Bitcoin was invented by an unknown person or group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto and released as open-source software in 2009. Bitcoins are created as a reward for a process known as mining. They can be exchanged for other currencies, products, and services. Research produced by the University of Cambridge estimates that in 2017, there were 2.9 to 5.8 million unique users using a cryptocurrency wallet, most of them using bitcoin.


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Outsourcing is a new and attractive buzzword that has caught the imagination of businesses around the world as a tool to increase efficiency and productivity for all concerned — the outsourcing companies and their service providers. There seems to be no limit to achieving this utopia, which includes commercial motives, as well as a desire to generate wealth in far off countries, to alleviate world income inequalities.
However, some chinks in the wall are beginning to appear in the global outsourcing market, and it is important to analyze what contribution outsourcing can make to Saudi and Gulf industries.
Simply stated, outsourcing means the transfer of part of the means of production, whether physical goods or services, to a third party, which is a separate legal entity. This third party can be in the same country or overseas, and the primary motive is that overall efficiency in terms of higher productivity, lower prices and efficient delivery is passed on to the final consumer, who is indifferent from where the final product is delivered. As such, companies producing laptops outsource their battery supplies from another firm; airline companies outsource their online booking to a third party, and insurance companies’ premium quotations and general queries are answered by someone on the other side of the globe who has never set foot in the parent company or country. Today, information technology outsourcing, or ITO, is the biggest single type of global outsourcing, but many industries have also outsourced some part of their supply chain processes.
The recipients of outsourcing contracts have tended to be in Asian countries, specifically India, and recent reports indicate that India-based service providers, as opposed to those based in Europe or the United States, have continued to increase their share of major outsourcing contracts while other areas are beginning to see a decline. Indian outsourcing servicing companies are using the country’s English language skills, IT education base, and relatively cheaper labor to penetrate this market. And what of the benefits to consumers? According to a study by Consultancy McKinsey, every dollar’s worth of business offshore from the United States or the UK created $1.45 — $ 1.47 of added value. Of this, the UK or US derives $1.12 — $1.14, while 33 cents worth goes to the recipient country. Everyone is happy, or so it seems, as the outsourcing US or European firm has lowered its costs, raised profits, making its shareholders happy, and, in theory, enabling these companies to create more jobs in their home countries.
Is this the reality though? There is evidence that outsourcing is now reaching a politically sensitive limit, and the size of the global outsourcing market looks like shrinking for the first time in 2006. Trade Unions in developed countries have now began to condemn and oppose this trend as a loss of jobs from rich nations to less developed economies, putting one more nail in the march of globalization of trade and services.
Such trade union fears are not misplaced, as the United Nations has forecast that around 5 million jobs in the United States and Britain alone could “go East” over the next decade, primarily to India and other English speaking developing countries. The value of global outsourcing for 2005 was estimated at around 44 billion euros (SR212 billion) which is not an insignificant amount.
The outsourcing market though, has been hit by several high profile embarrassing cases which left consumers wondering who is to blame in the final analysis. These included the damaging British Airways strike of its American owned on-meal supplier Gourmet Food, and the more recent recall of Sony laptop batteries by Toshiba and Dell. What started off as focus on so-called core businesses and added-value, soon descended to bitter accusations and recriminations amongst outsourcing and service contractors. Sometimes language, dialects and unfamiliarity with the culture of the outsourcing country has led to consumer complaints. Some UK financial institutions are now advertising their call centers as being “locally manned and in the UK”, to capture market share from more foolish competitors with “foreign located” call centers. The cycle has come full around ...
The situation in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf economies has not reached a similar level of anxiety, given that the majority of industries are production rather than service based. The exception is Dubai and Bahrain, where “local” labor is delivering such services, albeit that such “local” labor is often imported labor, especially for Dubai. For Saudi Arabia, outsourcing can play an economically desirable role in ensuring that smaller, specialized Saudi industries grow up who can compete in terms of efficiency and supply larger national companies on a consistently high standard.
This could enable the larger companies to indeed concentrate on “core business”, research and development and international export opportunities. The issue of taking jobs away from locals would not arise, but the opposite would be true-meaningful local job creation and skill building.
Saudi Aramco has implemented such a policy for many years, and now Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) and other mega Saudi companies are contemplating domestic and, where appropriate, Gulf outsourcing such as the Jabal Ali duty free zone of Dubai. It will be a long way yet to see institutions such as Saudi Arabian Airlines outsource their call and reservation centers outside the Kingdom, but it is very likely that they will outsource these as well as their in-flight food and other services to local contractors. Outsourcing is one viable option for all companies, if the risks and rewards of giving up control over one part of their supply chain are thoroughly analyzed, and the consequences of a breakdown are factored into their analysis.
(Dr. Mohamed A. Ramady is visiting associate professor of finance and economics at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran.)


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Ocala, FL (PRWEB) July 18, 2006 –-
The value of cell phones tossed by US wireless users is staggering - over 140 million this year with an estimated value of over $1.4 billion. “Capturing the entire value of the cell phones Americans retire in a single year” says James Mosieur “can pay Congress for the next 15 years.”
Mosieur, who runs cell phone recycler RMS Communications, says the stockpile of cell phones continues to rise regardless of recycling alternatives. “Most people don’t realize their old cell phone may be worth something. Of those who do, the vast majority have no clue how much it’s worth let alone how to sell it.”
This is where Mosieur comes in. His company’s web site, http://www.CellForCash.com, lists the value of over 500 different models of cell phones. Prices range from $5 to well over $150.00. If your cell phone does not qualify for payment the company will recycle it for free.
This is a service whose time has come. Several communities across the country have banned cell phones from landfills. Beginning July 1, 2006 the State of California has made it unlawful for businesses to sell cell phones in the state unless they have a recycling program in place.
“CellForCash.com can be used by businesses, consumers and government agencies” says Mosieur “really anyone who has an old cell phone to sell or recycle can take advantage of our service.”
Here are some more interesting facts that illustrate the volume cell phones retired each year in the US.
The cell phones retired each year…
•…if laid end to end would stretch from NY to LA 6.6 times.
•…would fill 199 boxcars.
•…weigh more than 174 space shuttles.
•…would pay the salaries of the 535 members of Congress for over 15 years.
•…would pay the budget of the City of Sacramento, CA for nearly two years.
•…would buy every man woman and child in the United States two double cheeseburgers and a medium coke at McDonalds…and $1 change.
•…would buy every licensed driver in the United States 2.3 gallons of gas.
•…would cover the lost tax income from shut down New Jersey casinos for more than three years.
•…would pay for Mark Cuban’s NBA fines for life...well at least for the next few years.
CellForCash.com pays cash for used cell phones, and makes the process simple by displaying the phones it will buy and the prices it will pay for them right on the web site. It also provides sellers with already-addressed, postage-paid mailing boxes. The site lists over 500 models from 21 manufacturers including Motorola, Nokia and Samsung. For more information visit the web site at http://www.CellForCash.com.


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Critical Intel, AMD and ARM Processor Vulnerability Response
On the 4th of January 2018, details of two critical hardware vulnerabilities Spectre (CVE-2017-5753, CVE-2017-5715) and Meltdown (CVE-2017-5754) emerged that impact the majority of computers running Intel Processors (Spectre and Meltdown), AMD and ARM processors (Spectre). For any impacted system, it may be possible to craft an exploit such that memory content of that system can be read by an adversary.
The potential ramifications of these hardware vulnerabilities is critical. Macquarie treat all security vulnerabilities and incidents with the highest priority and as a result we have been working with our hardware and software vendors to plan and execute any necessary fixes and patches.
Our customers have received communication regarding any potential impact to their environments, and we will continue to keep them updated.
Fortunately, there are many software patches for both Spectre and Meltdown. Patches have been released for Windows, Linux and macOS. It is not sufficient to rely on anti-virus or malware solutions for protection against these vulnerabilities. We urge all customers to immediately ensure their operating systems are fully patched. We have already been working to ensure full compliance for customers that have a managed patching service with us. It should also be noted that these vulnerabilities impact dedicated servers, virtual servers and containerised (LXC and Docker) environments.
Macquarie will continue to prioritise the fixes to these vulnerabilities to ensure our cloud environments are fully protected with minimum disruption.
- 8th of January, 2018: We have been working tirelessly to complete the patching of our shared LAUNCH Cloud Platform. Patching of the shared platform is now complete. We continue to work closely with our vendors to review and test guest OS-level patching and we’re keeping our customers informed.


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Team17’s newest title, mysteriously announced as “[REDACTED]” a few days ago, now has a confirmed description and final title: Classified: France ’44. Developed by Absolutely Games, the game is set to be an XCOM-style turn-based strategy game set in occupied France in the months leading up to D-Day during World War II. Although the announcement trailer is light on gameplay footage, the Steam store page provides a bit more clarity regarding what we can expect.
In Classified: France ’44, you play as a group of Allied and French Resistance fighters combatting oppression in Nazi-occupied France. You must build up your resistance network and recruit elite operatives to strike at Nazi targets in hostile territory. A “unique morale system” will cause each shot to impact you or your opposition during firefights. The more chaos your team creates, the more attention the Nazis will pay, and the stronger the force which will be sent to stop you. In addition to a campaign which encourages replayability, there will also be a mission creator tool which “allows players to create, share and download custom missions.”
“Myself and the team are huge fans of tactical turn-based games and strategy games, and so for Classified: France ’44 we not only wanted to evolve the genre and be ambitious in the game we have created, but also, we wanted to depict the largely untold story of heroism behind enemy lines in Northern France before D-Day,” states Absolutely Games CEO James Brooksby. “The Allies created groups of the world’s first special forces who teamed up with the French Resistance to cause destruction and mayhem in the lead up to D-Day, something that we can tell through Classified: France ‘44’s tense and exciting campaign and our characters. We’re looking forward to delivering our unique turn-based tactical game with its mix of tactical stealth, intense firefights, strategic campaign, and strong characters.”
Although a specific release date remains, well, classified, we at least know that Classified: France ’44 will be heading to PC, Xbox Series X/S and PS5 later this year.


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Harikrishnan Keezhathil Surendran Pillai, also known as Harri, has rapidly made an impact on the London circuit. His 2019 MA collection at the London College of Fashion featured heading-turning, expansive latex balloon pants that went viral. Those pieces were constructed from latex panels and could be inflated through a seven-millimeter-wide valve connected to the bottoms. Earlier this year, singer Sam Smith wore one of Harri’s outlandish creations at the Brit Awards, thrusting the designer even further into the spotlight. Now, Harri has unveiled his spring collection at London Fashion Week through his first standalone runway show.
“I’m severely colorblind, so my work centers around layers of form and texture,” Harri explained about his design process post-show. Having previously pursued bodybuilding in India (officially quitting in 2016) and growing up with an artist father, the designer, originally from Kerala and later studying in London in 2017, is particularly fascinated by the human body’s contours. He elaborated, stating, “My father encouraged me to study Sarah Simblet’s book Anatomy for the Artist, which I was obsessed with during my gym days. However, my interests within it took a different turn when I began sketching clothes.”


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CME bolsters overseas push with Merrill hire
CME Group, the derivatives exchange, has tapped Merrill Lynch for the newly created position of managing director, commodities, energy and metals following its acquisition of commodities market Nymex and rapid growth in volumes of clearing for agricultural products.
CME has hired Barry Goldblatt to develop and lead the execution of the company's global business strategy for listed and over-the-counter agricultural commodities, energy and metals markets.
Goldblatt was previously managing director, commodities, derivative sales and global structured notes for Merrill Lynch where he helped develop the commodity index fund business in the US.
Craig Donohue, chief executive of CME Group, said in a statement: “This portfolio of products and services is among our fastest growing business lines with an annual growth rate of 18%. Barry's broad knowledge and demonstrated track record of success make him the ideal candidate to further develop our aggressive international growth strategy for these product lines."
As part of its acquisition of Nymex last year, CME purchased its clearing business, Clearport.
In its annual results presentation this month, CME said volumes cleared on CME ClearPort rose 58% and that it generated $230m in revenue from the business.
Donohue said at the time: “The volume of business done on our over-the-counter ClearPort platform increased dramatically as we further expanded the range of products we offer to OTC market participants.”
CME ClearPort launched 141 new products last year, 97 of which launched after the acquisition.
On January 26, legacy CBOT ethanol contracts were made available on ClearPort, which the exchange said were the first of dozens of non-Nymex products expected to be offered on the clearing platform this year.
—Write to Shanny Basar at firstname.lastname@example.org


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In “This was the NEWS” we take a look at the most important news of last week. What has happened in the crypto space over the last 7 days? News items that you may have missed and you really need to read. You will find it here!
- BIG! Goldman Sachs Might Create its Own Crypto
CEO of Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, said that he believes stablecoins will become ubiquitous because they greatly facilitate global payments. While he didn’t directly say that his company was creating their own stablecoin, he did say this and it seems like creating one is in their future.
“Assume that all major financial institutions around the world are looking at the potential of tokenization, stablecoins, and frictionless payments…Admittedly, they will have to evolve, because the trades linked to the payment flows will become less profitable. But there are many other reasons why banks must remain innovative, otherwise, they will disappear.” -David Solomon
Read more about David Solomon’s interview here: https://www.altcoinbuzz.io/crypto-news/product-release/big-goldman-sachs-might-create-its-own-crypto/
- VeChain Partners with Walmart China to take on Food Safety and Product Traceability
VeChain has partnered with Walmart China to tackle China’s product traceability issue. When customers scan their products they will acquire detailed information about the product’s location, logistics process, inspection report, and more data like this. This is really important because it shows the world a great use case for decentralized, public ledgers to gain trust. Hopefully, more partnerships with VeChain will follow.
Read more about VeChain’s partnership with Walmart China here: https://www.altcoinbuzz.io/crypto-news/partnerships/vechain-partners-with-walmart-china-to-take-on-food-safety-and-product-traceability/
- Binance is Excited About Libra
While not everyone is enthusiastic about Facebook’s Libra, Binance definitely is. They are in the process of talking with Facebook to potentially getting Libra listed on their exchange. If this happens, this would be a direct link to users buying and storing real cryptocurrencies using Libra.
Read more about Binance’s enthusiasm with Libra here: https://www.altcoinbuzz.io/crypto-news/spotlight/binance-is-excited-about-libra/
- Ethereum’s Daily Transaction Volume Is Over 1 Million
Arguably the second most important cryptocurrency, Ehtereum, has again reached over 1 million daily transactions for the first time in almost a full year. While Bitcoin leads the charge, Ethereum is usually right behind. It is great to see lots of volume on Ethereum’s blockchain.
Read more about Ethereum’s daily transactions here: https://www.altcoinbuzz.io/crypto-news/product-release/ethereums-daily-transaction-volume-is-over-1-million/
- Brave Browser Will Soon Allow Users to Tip with Basic Attention Token on Vimeo and Reddit
Brave browser is looking to add support for tipping on Reddit and Vimeo. Reddit is one of the most popular websites, especially in the cryptocurrency space. This is very big news. Showing a great use case for a cryptocurrency on a very popular website.
Read more about Brave’s tipping update here: https://www.altcoinbuzz.io/crypto-news/product-release/brave-browser-will-soon-allow-users-to-tip-with-basic-attention-token-on-vimeo-and-reddit/
“This was the NEWS” summary!
The past few days haven’t particularly been great for Bitcoin. We haven’t reclaimed the upwards boost Bitcoin has had the past few weeks and months. Having said that, nothing has changed from a few weeks ago. So if you liked Bitcoin at $13,000, then you should like it at $10,000 or lower.
It is unclear if Libra will even be allowed to launch at this point. It has taken a lot of heat from bankers, regulators, and politicians worldwide. Outside of the cryptocurrency community, Libra has very little support.
Binance does see the immense value Libra can bring, however. Facebook has an estimated 2.7 billion users, that’s literally more than 25% of the world. Having Libra launch would open people up to real cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Having the ability for the most popular exchange, Binance, also list the coin would be great for on-boarding even more users into crypto.
Recognize the difference between JP Morgan launching JPM Coin and Facebook launching Libra. One was applauded while the other was shunned like some evil doing. The reason for this is the realization that if Facebook goes through with this, banks and governments lose their ability to be the only ones allowed to create currency. While I don’t agree with a lot of what Facebook does, I am all for Libra.


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This morning, a small portion of what now appears to be a full 360 degree render hit the web, which was reported to show off the backside and Duo Camera layout of the rumored M8 “Prime” from HTC. Now, @evleaks is at it again, this time posting the full circling render of the device. (more…)
Yesterday, @evleaks tweeted out a decently-sized spec list for the rumored “Prime” device from HTC, which included a 5.5″ WQHD display, Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB of RAM, Cat 6 LTE radios, and water resistance.
Today, we could have our first small look at the rear side of the device, which shows HTC’s infamous Duo Camera, and a not-so-flush main camera sensor. (more…)
Life would probably be a lot less awesome if Amazon’s Prime service did not exist. Forget the streaming video part of it all, I’m talking specifically about its free 2-day and low-priced 1-day shipping options when you become a subscriber. I probably can’t even put into words how much I rely on Amazon for personal and professional items to be delivered within a day or two at such low rates. But what if we could get those same items even faster? Amazon is going to try with a new program called Amazon Prime Air that uses drones for delivery. Yes, drones. (more…)
Ready to root your Transformer Prime? The latest in 1-click tools has been released by @_viperboy_, all built off of the NachoRoot root method created by @TeamAndIRC that we showed on video yesterday. As with any 1-click tool, this will get you rooted or unrooted within a couple of easy clicks on a Windows machine.
Grab the tool from this RootzWiki thread and get to rooting.
Asus has already made it clear that an announcement for their new Transformer Prime is coming on November 9, but could that also be the launch date? According to their Q3 investor document, that is exactly what will happen. And not only do they plan to launch this device then, but Asus wants to take firm hold of the Android tablet market and likely start to crack into Apple’s by releasing two additional slates in Q1 of next year. Could that be the silly Padfone and a new Slider?
Quite a bit of “perfection” talk going on in that document. Asus must be feelin’ really good about their new line of tablets which likely has a lot to do with the inclusion of NVIDIA’s quad-core Kal-El processors.
Last night’s Nexus-fest that started after Samsung posted a teaser to their CTIA event has already created enough talking points to take us through to next Tuesday. The video did not give us much, but as with any teaser, folks spotted what they believe to be hidden messages like the one we are about to talk about.
The topic of the video was the idea that some things are just better when they are put together: candles and wine, cookies and milk, newspaper and coffee, etc. So when G+ member Joe Lancaster paused it when the new Nexus showed up, he noticed an extra shadow or outline behind it that he believes may be a tablet of some sort. His idea – that the Nexus that will be unveiled will also have the ability to be docked inside a tablet. (more…)


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Week 47: Accelerating & Optimizing Fast-Charging Deployment
- Accelerating and Optimizing Fast-Charging Deployment for Carbon-Free Transportation | Calstart
- E-fuels in trucks: expensive, scarce, and less green than batteries | Transport & Environment
- Developing an electric mobility roadmap: international experiences from subnational case studies for Vietnamese cities | World resources institute
- Zero emission vehicles factbook | BloombergNEF
- Net-Zero Transition: Opportunities for Indonesia | BloombergNEF
- Highlighted report: Electric vehicles will soon lead global auto markets, but too slow to hit climate goals without new policies | Energy innovation here
The reports are shared and available free of charge in our database.
A strong and well-connected network of highway charging stations in New York and Massachusetts
The decarbonization of transportation is a top priority in New York and Massachusetts. In 2021, New York passed legislation aiming for 100% zero-emission vehicle sales for passenger vehicles by 2035, and both states have enacted the Advanced Clean Trucks regulation, which requires an increasing number of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicle (MHDV) sales beginning in 2025. A strong and well-connected network of highway charging stations that offer on-route fast-charging in addition to home, office, and depot charging will be necessary to meet these aims. Convenient access to fast charging will significantly promote the growth of the EV market and customer acceptance when combined with sales and production incentives like those outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
This report projects site-specific consequences at possible highway charging locations using 71 sites in New York and Massachusetts to simulate projected power consumption growth between 2022 and 2045. The suggestions that come out of this research will help politicians, utilities, and site operators plan for highway fast-charging deployment that not only supports but also hastens the adoption of ZEVs.
Accelerating and Optimizing Fast-Charging Deployment for Carbon-Free Transportation | Calstart
e-fuels are not practical nor sensible for use in trucks
The European Commission will review the truck CO2 standards in December 2022 in order to fully decarbonize road freight. The oil sector and automakers are pleading for the inclusion of CO2 credits for bio- and synthetic fuels in the rule to protect internal combustion engines ahead of the proposal. T&E determined that e-fuels are neither economically or environmentally feasible for trucks when comparing battery-electric trucks (BETs) to vehicles that run on synthetic fuels (e-fuels) in 2035 in terms of lifetime emissions and total cost.
This report examines battery-electric trucks (BETs) against vehicles that operate on synthetic fuels (e-fuels) in 2035 in terms of lifetime emissions and total cost, and it concludes that e-fuels are not practical nor sensible for use in trucks.
E-fuels in trucks: expensive, scarce, and less green than batteries | Transport & Environment
e-Mobility is a crucial strategy to support Vietnam in achieving its bigger climate objectives
Vietnam’s socioeconomic growth has been swift during the past two decades, but as a result, urban air pollution, motorization, and fossil fuel use have all grown, raising issues for the country’s infrastructure and public health. In the transport sector of Vietnam, road transport accounted for the majority of emissions in 2014, and this trend will persist through the year 2030. In this regard, e-mobility is a crucial strategy to support the nation in achieving its bigger climate objectives outlined in the Paris Agreement and battle the escalating detrimental effects of the transportation sector in its growing cities.
This study examines international case studies to assist Vietnamese cities in creating their own e-mobility roadmaps. It offers advice on how to create an e-mobility plan, together with proposals for its required elements and potential policies.
Developing an electric mobility roadmap: international experiences from subnational case studies for Vietnamese cities | World resources institute
Over $450 billion will be spent on sustainable road transportation globally this year
Sales of passenger electric cars are expected to reach 10.6 million annually in 2022, up from 3.1 million in 2020 and 6.6 million in 2021. In the first part of this year, 13.2% of new automobiles sold globally were electric, up from 4.3% in 2020 and 8.7% in 2021. Over $450 billion will be spent on sustainable road transportation globally this year. The usage of oil is predicted to decrease from 1.5 million barrels per day in 2021 to roughly 1.7 million barrels per day in 2022 as a result of the adoption of electric and fuel cell cars. This represents around 3.8% of the overall demand.
This Factbook highlights that the transition to zero-emission vehicles has continued to gain momentum since the ZEV declaration was announced at COP26, despite the current global energy crisis, and that the ZEV transition is essential to permanently eliminating our reliance on oil.
Zero emission vehicles factbook | BloombergNEF
Indonesia’s potential as a global battery manufacturing hub
Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are increasing swiftly on a global scale, which over the next three decades will significantly increase demand for lithium-ion batteries. The worldwide supply chain for EV batteries can benefit greatly from Indonesia, which contains around 25% of the world’s nickel deposits.
In this report, the potential, challenges, and current trends in Indonesia are examined as the global transition to net-zero energy picks up speed. As the host nation of the G-20 in 2022, Indonesia is eager to promote global climate action. The nation’s own efforts to decarbonize its energy industry are gaining steam.
Net-Zero Transition: Opportunities for Indonesia | BloombergNEF


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With gleaming new office towers, high-rise apartment buildings, luxury shops and a racing economy, the Delhi suburb of Gurgaon is often portrayed as a symbol of a rising "new" India. But its development is at the heart of a question about the country's rapid growth: How can a new city become an international economic engine without basic public services? At left, an area of Gurgaon known as Cyber City.
Ruth Fremson/The New York Times
Gurgaon: Model City and Cautionary Tale
A rapidly developing suburb of New Delhi, Gurgaon is a microcosm of India’s dynamic, dysfunctional growth, where private development has outpaced any functioning city government.