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Former JDSU execs cleared of insider trading
A jury in Oakland, California, has found JDSU and four of its former executives not guilty of fraud and insider trading.
The case against ex-CEOs Jozef Straus and Kevin Kalkhoven, former CFO Anthony Muller, and former COO Charles Abbe was brought by the state of Connecticut, whose public pension funds lost millions of dollars when JDSU s stock price nose-dived in 2000-2001 amid the wider telecoms crash.
The class action lawsuit alleged that the JDSU executives had known all about the impending slump, but that rather than warning investors about it, had instead profited by dumping their own stock while covering up the industry s problems.
Kevin Kennedy, JDSU s current CEO, welcomed the result: "We are extremely gratified by the jury s verdict, as we have always believed that the plaintiffs claims were without merit."
Though he may have been confident of the outcome, Kennedy will no doubt also be somewhat relieved, as a decision against JDSU could have financially crippled the Milpitas-based maker of optoelectronic chips and modules.
In its most recent 10-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (see link), JDSU said of the lawsuit: "Although the complaint does not specify the amount of damages sought, plaintiffs stated in recent court filings that they seek more than $20 billion in alleged damages."
Boom; bust etc.
In the fiber-optic boom of the late 1990s, JDSU s stock price, along with many of its peers, rocketed to previously unthinkable highs.
The company s paper value enabled its senior managers to make a series of major acquisitions, culminating in July 2000 when JDSU announced its intention to buy the laser chip maker SDL in a stock deal valued initially at a staggering $41 billion (see related story).
At the time, SDL was reporting quarterly sales in the region of $75 million.
As it turned out, JDSU s share price had already peaked before the SDL announcement - at more than $1200 in early March 2000. But only one year later, JDSU stock had plummeted by more than 80 per cent to around $200, while in mid-2005 it bottomed out at close to $10, representing a fall of more than 99 per cent in five years.
While they were cleared of all charges, there is no doubt that the executives did profit from what, with the benefit of hindsight, now looks like an absurd boom period during 1999-2000.
Venture capitalist Kalkhoven, for example, became the CEO of Uniphase, as it was then known, in 1992. At that time, Uniphase was a privately-held industrial laser manufacturer.
Kalkhoven shifted the firm into fiber-optics and oversaw the creation of "JDSU" through a merger with JDS Fitel in July 1999, before retiring as company CEO in May 2000 and setting up his venture firm.
Then in 2003, the motor sports fan set up his own race team, called PKV Racing, later entering the Champ Car World Series. And after that, in a move that echoed his vertical integration strategy while at JDSU, Kalkhoven and a colleague also bought the engine maker Cosworth Racing.
For the record, PKV drivers Neel Jani and Tristan Gommendy finished 9th and 12th, respectively, in the 2007 Champ Car rankings. At the Nasdaq closing bell on November 27, a share in JDSU was worth $13.16.


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July 10, 2018
EmeraChem acquisition fuels launch of new products
MIRATECH seems to have a thing for its competitors. The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based emission and acoustical products provider tends to share the marketplace with similar companies at first, but as the years rolls by, those competitors end up under the MIRATECH umbrella according to a July 2018 Product Focus article in Compressor Tech Two Magazine.
In October 2017, MIRATECH added EmeraChem, a custom catalyst manufacturer, to its portfolio, a move that has allowed the company to bring a new set of catalyst products to the energy infrastructure industry.
Those products include the MeC and MeC-Beast (Mec-B) oxidation catalyst line, which combines MIRATECH turbulent foil technology with EmeraChem’s nano surface technologies and precious metal formulations. The MeC and MeC-B catalysts replace all the legacy offerings from both companies, said David Zenthoefer, MIRATECH’s CEO.
“The product line takes the best of both worlds,” he said. “We don’t want people to think that MIRATECH bought EmeraChem and its all the same products as before. These are new products with better performance and better warranties.”
MIRATECH’s turbulent foil technology consists of zones within the catalyst that create turbulence in the exhaust stream. The turbulence causes the pollutants in the exhaust, such as NOx, carbon monoxide, VOCs and formaldehyde, to make constant and repeated contact with the catalyst’s precious metals. The reactions between the metals and the pollutants makes for a much cleaner exhaust stream than traditional catalysts, Zenthoefer said.
Before the acquisition, MIRATECH had the turbulent foils, but not the EmeraChem’s surface technology and metals. MIRATECH’s engine emissions control systems used catalysts specified by MIRATECH engineers but manufactured by other companies. These catalysts incorporated Vortex and NEXT substrates, which adding in the efficiency of the catalyst.
EmeraChem’s surface technologies and metal formulations created similar efficiency improvements as the MIRATECH technology but created less backpressure for the engine.
Combined, the two companies have developed a catalyst product that can produce even better efficiency rates, Zenthoefer said. The MeC and MeC-B catalysts are built on a turbulent substrate, which increases surface area and performance without increasing backpressure. The catalysts feature resistance welding and mechanical locking of flat to corrugated layers, and diffusion bonding. Round elements also weld every layer of foil to the core. Catalytic coatings and have the equivalent of 55 football fields of catalytic surface area in every cubic foot. That means the exhaust pollutants aren’t passing through the catalysts or skimming across the top. Instead, they seep into the wash coat, Zenthoefer said.
“We made a change to our legacy products, but we are offering an enhanced product offering,” he said. “We are bringing better value to the marketplace.”
The MeC and MeC-B catalysts are designed for rich and lean-burn four-stroke natural gas engines. The MeC catalyst carries a one-year full performance warranty, while the MeC-B line extends that warranty period to three years.
Other benefits with the new product line include a thermally stabilized wash coat that provides greater resistance to sintering during prolonged operation at high temperatures; a higher tolerance to contaminants found in engine exhaust, lube oil and coolants; and an advanced form of Rh platinum that improves service life and regenerative responsiveness to catalyst washes.
“We made the acquisition for further vertical integration and market expansion,” Zenthoefer said. “This is our fourth acquisition in the last four years.”
Prior to EmeraChem, MIRATECH bought Vaporphase, a supplier of heat recovery systems for reciprocating engines in the United States, in November 2016. Before that, MIRATECH obtained EM and Cowl, both of which specialized in manufacturing silencers.
With its most recent acquisition, MIRATECH also obtained EmeraChem’s catalyst service centers in Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. Those service centers include the Multi-Lambda Catalyst Testing System (MLCTS), which analyzes catalysts to ensure proper function post chemical wash (see COMPRESSORtech2, November 2016, p. 34). Washing stations, as well as precious metal reclaim services, are also part of MIRATECH’s latest offerings.
Even though the natural gas marketplace has a major presence in the United States, Zenthoefer isn’t limiting MIRATECH’s reach with its newest catalyst offerings. The company plans to tap into the industry across the globe, especially because MIRATECH has steel manufacturing operations in Chile, Poland and China.
“We can work with any gas engine and provide what its needs,” he said. “We can supply and build it all.”
The new catalysts, Zenthoefer said, are just the beginning. He anticipates many more offerings to come going forward.“
We’re just coming out of the first quarter of a football game,” Zenthoefer said. “We’re ready to push the accelerator down.
“Everything else builds on this,” he said. “This is exciting because it will be fast and furious from here.”

domain: news


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Get to the Choppa!
MSI today confirmed it will reveal a new Sea Hawk graphics card series at CES 2021. The manufacturer will host a special broadcast on January 13th, which will be streamed on multiple platforms
Gigabyte has already revealed their AORUS WaterForce series, ASUS released EK models with preinstalled water blocks and today we have learned that EVGA is ready with its Kingpin HC graphics card. What all these cards have in common is liquid cooling technology.
MSI Sea Hawk series are usually available in two variants: Sea Hawk X and Sea Hawk EK X. The latter features preinstalled water blocks while the former are hybrid designs with AIO cooling. At this moment it is unclear which models will receive water cooling first, however, judging from the power requirements alone, we expect all high-end GeForce RTX to appear with water cooling. When it comes to AMD, MSI already confirmed it has no plans for more custom Radeon RX cards right now due to limited supply from the manufacturer.
MSI Sea Hawk graphics card series teaser, Source: MSI
MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11GB SEA HAWK EK X and SEA HAWK X
A sea…landing…helicopter? What do you think it would stand for??
— MSI Gaming USA (@msiUSA) January 7, 2021


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ORANGE CITY—Fans of a popular Orange City eatery were caught off-guard when it unexpectedly closed its doors permanently Saturday, Dec. 28.
Customers who drove to P’s Pizza House that day were greeted with a sign announcing the Orange City location was no longer in business and that supporters should patron the sports bars locations in LeMars and Dakota Dunes, SD.
A month before closing, the Orange City P’s Pizza House was advertising for additional servers and kitchen staff.
P’s Pizza House owner Joe Sitzmann, who has owned and operated the LeMars-based chain since 2009, gave no specific reason for the closure.
He confirmed he was shuttering the Orange City location in a post on the P’s Facebook page Monday.
“As we close the door on one adventure, we at P’s Pizza House would like to thank Orange City for having us in their community the last three and a half years,” the post read. “We are not only grateful for the people we have met, the connections we have made, and lessons we have learned, but for the opportunities that lie ahead.”
P’s opened its Orange City location in May 2016. The 5,000-square-foot restaurant/sports bar specialized in pizza and craft beers and offered what Sitzmann considered a fresh take on American-style dining.
The rotating menu boasted unique pizzas such as the award-winning pepperoni cream cheese pie and craft burgers created with a blend of beef short rib, brisket and chuck.
Sitzmann prides himself on finding quality ingredients for his restaurants, a sentiment he shared with The REVIEW in 2016.
“You can go down the road and get a pizza, you can go down the road and get a burger, but can you get the kinds of burgers and the kinds of pizza made with the best ingredients possible down the road?” Sitzmann said. “I like to think you can’t.”
The Orange City location was located in the Holland Plaza shopping center, which is owned by the Krull family of Orange City.
Aaron Krull said they are working with Orange City economic development director Mark Gaul on filling the space with the hopes of attracting another sports bar.
Gaul noted it has been community goal for Orange City to have a sports bar/grill and he thinks they can fill that need yet again.
“It’s unfortunate that P’s didn’t work out,” he said.
Krull did not want to speak for Sitzmann, but his theory on why the restaurateur closed his Sioux County seat location was that he was overstretched.
When Sitzmann opened P’s Orange City, he only had two businesses to worry about.
Since opening the Orange City location nearly four years ago, Sitzmann also became co-owner of Iowa Barbecue Co. in LeMars, which opened in summer 2018, and he opened his 8,000-square-foot Dakota Dunes P’s at end of 2018.
“It was a lot for one guy to take on,” Krull said.
He also noted the Orange City location went through a few managers and had staffing issues, which impacted service and turned some people in the region against the restaurant.
“Things started to pick up, but I think the damage was done,” Krull said. “He’s going to commit himself to his LeMars and Dakota Dunes locations and, unfortunately, something had to give. It was just a whole bunch of things happened in the last year or so.”
On a positive note, Krull said it is a turnkey operation and Sitzmann is willing to sell all the kitchen equipment, furniture and televisions in the restaurant to a potential buyer.
“As lease owners, we obviously want somebody to take up the reins and have a good product and still have a sports bar in Orange City,” Krull said.
The restaurant’s interior has a sleek modern aesthetic, it can seat 122 people, has a private/overflow dining area and boasts more than 20 TVs.
“Someone can come in, hire a staff, create a menu, get a new sign up and they are off and running,” Krull said.
He noted Gaul was going to start working to fill the space immediately, something the economic development director echoed.
“We are looking for someone who to be interested in purchasing everything,” Gaul said.


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Rumors of cuts at Vancl have been swirling for a while now, but until yesterday, the company had denied them. Now, after Sina Tech published a report sourced to an anonymous worker at Vancl’s Rufengda delivery service saying that the company was cutting around 2,000 staffers and pulling out of all but six cities nationwide, Vancl has chimed in to confirm the cuts.
A Vancl rep told Sina Tech that the company was laying off Rufengda staff and pulling that service out of second- and third-tier cities in the hopes of being able to achieve a profit by the fourth quarter of this year. But some of the employees should be able to transfer to other local delivery services without too much trouble, according to the Vancl rep.
It’s not clear whether Vancl will really be able to achieve profitability by Q4 as a result of this cut, but 2,000 employees is equivalent to more than 50 percent of Rufengda overall, so it’s clear that Vancl’s situation is pretty serious. The company has even moved a lot of its clothing production to Bangladesh to cut costs. Will there also be cuts in other areas of Vancl’s business? Rumors have been swirling all year, but the company has yet to confirm anything else.
[Via Sina Tech]


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Godiva confirms global expansion move with partial sale of Asian businesses
The Belgian-founded Godiva Chocolatier confectionery group is to sell part of its Asian assets to MBK Partners as part of a wider global expansion plan for the business, for an undisclosed sum.
As the firm, owned by Yildiz Holding, explained, MBK is to purchase the retail and distribution operations in four of Godiva’s 100 plus markets in Japan, South Korea, Australia and the future rights to develop New Zealand.
This includes Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), digital-commerce, travel retail (for Japan and South Korea) and more than 300 retail stores. The transaction also includes the Godiva production facility in Brussels that supplies product to these markets. All remaining 100 plus markets will continue to be owned and operated by Godiva.
The agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of both parties and the transaction is anticipated to close in mid-2019, subject to the customary closing conditions of completion of standard Belgium employee works council consultations and expiry of the relevant competition authority waiting period.
Post-close, Godiva Chocolatier will retain exclusive brand ownership in all global markets granting a perpetual license to MBK Partners and will continue to own and operate the remaining markets in over 100 countries.
Godiva will continue to source its products from the Belgian facility together with the production facility it owns in PA, USA, and its affiliate facilities in Istanbul, Turkey. “Since 2008 we have been very pleased with the performance of Godiva, having nearly doubled its revenue and the number of stores operating globally, and continue to see tremendous upside for this brand moving forward,” said Murat Ülker, Chairman of Godiva and Yildiz Holding.
“Realising the potential ahead, together with Godiva leadership, we conducted a strategic review to explore new ways for generating the necessary cash flow to fuel the robust growth. This transaction is an ideal solution that provides the momentum to fuel expansion in other high potential areas of our portfolio.”
Annie Young-Scrivner, CEO of Godiva Chocolatier, added: “We believe this deal is a win-win for everyone. It gives us the financial flexibility we need to execute our 5x growth strategy by accelerating efforts in new and existing markets and
supporting the plan of opening of more than 2,000 cafes globally while preserving our Belgian legacy, quality, and craftmanship that have helped to make our brand iconic.”
“We received remarkable interest from a dozen blue chip investors, many of whom were actively engaged in the negotiation until the last rounds,” said Nurtac Afridi, Head of Strategy and M&A in Yildiz Holding. “We have long treasured the Godiva brand and believe it represents significant upside for any investor. The know-how of the GODIVA team and its R&D excellence coupled with MBK Partners’ expertise in these markets will deliver the next level of exponential growth and value creation for the brand.”


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0642 GMT February 25, 2020
In an address to a meeting attended by the heads of Iran’s industry, mine and trade organizations, Reza Rahmani added that at a time of economic war, like the conditions currently prevailing in the country, all available domestic capacities should be used to improve the situation, IRNA reported.
“Basically, the [domestic] private sector is in charge of Iran’s exports. We are solely required to prepare the ground [for their trade activities]. Fifteen neighboring states form the foundation for our work in terms of exports.”
He emphasized, “We should trust the capabilities and experience of the private sector and organizations and further prop up these sectors.”
Rahmani called on the domestic trade sector and the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran to follow up on increasing the number of Iranian cultural attachés in target countries.
He described as a priority securing the livelihood of Iranians, emphasizing that the country’s exports should comprise surplus production in industrial, agricultural and handicraft sectors.
Rahmani said that among the policies of his ministry is to prevent or restrict through the imposition of tariffs, the import of goods that can be produced domestically.
He highlighted the importance of developing regions along the country’s borders in expanding trade and exports, slamming smuggling as a serious blow to domestic production.
Speaking of the country’s wheat reserves, the minister gave assurance that the country is currently facing no difficulty in meeting the domestic demand for the crop.


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A large number of chip makers these days are developing server-class system-on-chips based on the ARM architecture, and trying to grab a piece of the lucrative server market.
Several analysts have also expressed their beliefs that ARM architecture could disrupt the server market. But the CEO of VMware, Patrick Gelsinger remains skeptical about ARM in the server space:
“We are skeptical that chips [from] outside of Intel and Advanced Micro Devices’ x86 [architecture] will find much uptake outside of niche use cases. Even if you could drop the power consumption of x86 by 25%, it would not make that much of a difference. Chip architectures don’t change because of 25% power improvements. You have got to have 10x power improvements to make that happen.”
Prior to joining VMware, Patrick spent thirty years designing chips at Intel, so he knows the business inside out. Still, he raises some valid points above, and unless the situation drastically improves in terms of power requirements, x86 architecture is set to rule.
And this is good news for Microsoft and its server ambitions. The company recently made its first foray into ARM with Windows RT to a lukewarm response.
Nevertheless, a recent report from HIS iSuppli seems to suggest that ARM is increasingly gaining support from software and OS vendors — and if this continues, it could potentially put pressure on both Intel and AMD in the coming years.


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In a post on the BlackBerry website about the issue on net neutrality, BlackBerry’s CEO pointed out that net neutrality should also be extended to app and content providers, not just wireless and broadband carriers. “Unlike BlackBerry, which allows iPhone users to download and use our BBM service, Apple does not allow BlackBerry or Android users to download Apple’s iMessage messaging service.”
Chen also points fingers at Netflix where the video service is currently not available on BlackBerry devices, to the point where he believes that the government should step in to prevent discrimination against the BlackBerry platform. That being said we have to wonder if there is a difference between exclusivity and net neutrality.
The idea behind net neutrality is to prevent wireless carriers and broadband providers to offer customers who are willing to pay more for better service, while those who pay the regular fees will get normal service. Platform exclusivity does seem to be an entirely different story as it would be a means for a company to distinguish its products from the rest.
In any case what do you guys make of Chen’s argument? Do you think that net neutrality should be extended to apps and content providers as well?


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GLM: NY Now Enjoys "Dynamic Debut"
August 30, 2013,
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.-More than 32,000 attendees crossed the threshold to view products from 2,800 exhibitors in which show owner and manager GLM called a "dynamic debut" for NY Now, the reformatted and rebranded New York International Gift Fair, last week.
The show's reorganization--with four product collections: NY Now Home, NY Now Lifestyle, NY Now Handmade and NY Now New--and new layout at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and Pier 94 of the Passenger Ship Terminal in New York City was well received, according to a GLM statement. "New York's market has reached a new pinnacle with the successful reorganization and rebranding of NY Now," said Christian Falkenberg, GLM senior vice president and the show's director. "The energy was palpable among both buyers and suppliers."
In the statement, Cloey del Santo of Lifestyle exhibitor Toss Design said, "We had more international buyers than other shows, and we also opened several new accounts with domestic buyers." The attendees represented all 50 U.S. states and 74 countries worldwide.
Other Articles By Author
SPONSORED: Abbyson's Fashion-Forward Collections Shine in High Point


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Verizon Communications will spend around $4.8 billion during the current quarter (Q4) towards capital spending (Capex).
Capex in the first nine months of 2013 was $11.8 billion against $11.3 during the same period last year. Verizon’s total Capex during 2013 will be $16.6 billion.
Verizon on Thursday said its revenues in Q3 rose 4.4 percent to $30.3 billion.
Operating income increased 30.0 percent to $7.1 billion.
Operating income margin was 23.5 percent in third-quarter 2013, compared with 18.9 percent in third-quarter 2012.
“These strong third-quarter results reflect Verizon’s long-term investment in reliable, high-quality networks to deliver value to customers. Verizon’s strategic networks form a powerful distribution platform for future growth and innovation,” said Lowell McAdam, chairman and CEO, Verizon.
Verizon Wireless has substantially completed deployment of its 4G LTE network, covering more than 99 percent of its current 3G network footprint.
The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network is now available in more than 500 markets to 97 percent of the U.S. population and covers more than 303 million people, including those in areas served by the company’s LTE in Rural America partners.
Verizon Wireless revenues increased 7.2 percent to $20.4 billion. Service revenue of Verizon Wireless rose 8.4 percent to $17.5 billion. Retail service revenues grew 8.0 percent to $16.8 billion.
Retail postpaid ARPA (average revenue per account) increased 7.1 percent to $155.74 per month.
In Q3 2013, wireless operating income margin was 33.8 percent compared with 31.8 percent in Q3 2012.
Verizon Wireless added 1.1 million net retail connections, including 927,000 retail postpaid net connections in the third quarter. At the end of the third quarter, the company had 101.2 million retail connections — a 5.5 percent increase year over year — including 95.2 million retail postpaid connections.
Verizon Wireless had 35 million retail postpaid accounts.
Smartphones accounted for more than 67 percent of the Verizon Wireless retail postpaid customer phone base, up from 64 percent at the end of second-quarter 2013.
Verizon’s Wireline consumer revenues rose 4.3 percent to $3.7 billion. Consumer ARPU for wireline services increased to $112.86, up 8.7 percent compared with third-quarter 2012.
FiOS revenues grew 13.4 percent, to $2.8 billion in third-quarter 2013, compared with $2.5 billion in third-quarter 2012.
Verizon added 173,000 net new FiOS Internet connections, up 27.2 percent from third-quarter 2012 — and 135,000 net new FiOS Video connections, up 13.4 percent. Verizon had a total of 5.9 million FiOS Internet and 5.2 million FiOS Video connections at the end of the quarter, representing year-over-year increases of 12.6 percent for each.


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Wal-Mart finds right mix, has solid quarter
Published 6:30 am, Wednesday, November 14, 2007
BENTONVILLE, ARK. — A year after its worst holiday sales season, Wal-Mart Stores may rebound to have a good season after finding the right mix of merchandise and marketing to complement its return to a focus on low prices.
A whiff of this showed up when the nation's largest retailer posted third-quarter earnings Tuesday of $2.86 billion, an 8 percent rise that beat Wall Street expectations.
The company earned 70 cents per share, up from 62 cents per share in the same period a year ago. The 70 cents includes an after-tax gain equal to 1 cent per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had forecast earnings of 67 cents per share on revenue of $91.67 billion
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Wal-Mart had revenue of $91.95 billion in the period ending Oct. 31, up 8.8 percent from $84.47 billion a year ago.
Wal-Mart shares spiked $2.65, or 6.1 percent, to close at $45.97 Tuesday.
Retail experts say Wal-Mart's flagship U.S. stores may be turning around after two years of a zigzag course between upscale and discount goods that has slowed sales growth.
Third-quarter sales at stores open at least a year, not counting fuel, were up 1.5 percent in the company's U.S. stores, same as a year ago.
The company expects same-store sales for the fourth quarter to rise no more than 2 percent.
Michael P. Niemira, chief economist and director of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers, said an uncertain economy will send more shoppers to discounters for holiday purchases. Consumers with more money are likely to go to discounters, including Wal-Mart, he said.


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Even as Chinese apps have been shunted off app stores, Indian apps are quickly coming in to try to take their place.
The Art of Living Foundation, run by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, has thrown its hat into the social networking space with the launch of Elyments, which it calls “India’s first social media super app”. The app was launched by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and has been made by Art of Living volunteers.
The high profile launch appears to have paid off — Elyments already has over a million downloads on the Play Store. The app is playing up its Indian origins, and that’s a smart strategy at a time when tensions with China are at a high, and the Prime Minister himself has given the call for an Atmanirbhar Bharat. “From Day Zero, Elyments has been built with user’s privacy as a primary concern. Data of users is stored in India and user’s data will never be shared with a third party without user’s consent,” Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said.
The app itself has several sections — the first is “Hub”, which appears to have news articles from publications including Storypick and Opindia, and sections on Bollywood, Health, Lifestyle and others. The app also lets users shop straight from the app, and there’s even a section for games. The social feed has updates from the people you follow, and also a discover tab that lists out popular content within the app. There’s also a section to chat with contacts.
Elyments already seems to have a fair bit of content on it — some popular right-leaning influncers are already on the app, as is cricket star Yuvraj Singh. The nature of updates that these people are sharing seem to be similar to those shared on Facebook — there’s a mixture of text, photo and video posts. Like on Facebook, other users can like and comment on these updates.
Elyments’ biggest strength might be its founders — the Art of Living foundation has thousands of members across the world, and they’ll likely serve as initial users for the app. The biggest challenge for most social media networks is getting their initial set of users, and thanks to the prominence of its founders, Elyments already seems to have that part fixed. The app also seems reasonably robust — while there were some issues loading certain elements, the app performed reasonably well for a newly-launched product. Most importantly, the app is Made in India, so will draw users who have concerns about using foreign social networks. But Elyments doesn’t seem to have a “wow” feature that’ll make people want to come to the app — it appears to be an amalgamation of existing popular apps with games, shopping and social networking all thrown in. But the app already has over a million users, and if they can stick around and create unique content, and build a community over time, Elyments might just end up making a dent in India’s recently-upturned social media space.


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Nissan announced two global recalls involving 604,500 vehicles. A reminder is due to a failure in the Steering and the other involves a defective battery.
First point of Nissan frontier pickup trucks 303,000 covers and 283,000 Xterra SUV model for years 2001-2010. the recall is due to a lack of steering column which can lead to cracking of the steering shaft, increasing the probability of an accident.
In addition, Nissan is recalling 18,500 Sentra models for a defective battery.Cable positive defected terminal can make it difficult to start the car or lead to lower stall speed.
Have not been connected or recall incidents or injuries. Nissan says about 85 percent of the vehicles mentioned were sold in the United States.
Nissan recently was forced to recall more than 2 million vehicles for a defective power relays.
1. recalling … «Nissan» vista
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BMW boosts self-drive tech in China via deal with Tencent
THE BMW Group is set to use a new platform for its self-driving technologies.
The development, bared by the carmaker in a statement posted on its news site, comes as BMW China Automotive Trading Ltd. and Tencent agreed to work together on building what is called the BMW Group China High Performance D³ platform.
The deal allowing this — signed late last week in Beijing — will see BMW Group use the D³ platform to develop automated driving technologies and products which suit local traffic conditions.
The D³, standing for Data-Driven Development, provides the base for the development of highly (Level 3) and fully (Level 4) automated driving functions. In the deal Tencent will provide IT architecture, tools and platforms for automated driving research and development.
BMW said the D³ platform should be ready before the year ends.
The carmaker added that before it starts production of Level 3 vehicles in 2021, the platform will be used for safety validation of Level 3 and the early-stage study of Level 4 technologies. After 2021, the platform will assist the post-production development of Level 3 models and research into Level 4 technologies.
“Our ultimate goal is to make the car safer than the human driver through greater automation. Safety is paramount to us. We therefore need to process a lot of data for simulation, testing and validation. The launch of the D³ platform in China is the next big step for us along this path,” said BMW Group senior vice president for automated driving Alejandro Vukotich.
BMW Group Region China president and CEO Jochen Goller noted “China is at the forefront of automated driving development,” and so the collaboration between BMW Group and Tencent will “set the benchmark for cross-industry cooperation.”
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BMW has patched a security flaw that left 2.2 million cars open to hackers.
The flaw affected models fitted with BMW's ConnectedDrive software, which included Rolls Royce and Minis.
The software uses an on-board Sim card which operates door locks, air conditioning and traffic updates.
The flaw was identified by German motorist association ADAC; however, no cars have actually been hacked.
The researchers at ADAC found the cars would try to communicate via a spoofed phone network, leaving potential phone hackers able to control anything activated by the Sim.
The patch involved encrypting data from the car via HTTPS - the same security commonly used for online banking.
In a statement, BMW said: "On the one hand, data is encrypted with the HTTPS protocol, and on the other hand, the identity of the BMW Group server is checked by the vehicle before data is transmitted over the mobile phone network."
Security expert Graham Cluely said: "You would probably have hoped that BMW's engineers would have thought about [using HTTPS] in the first place.
"If you are worried that your vehicle may not have received the update (perhaps because it has been parked in an underground car park or other places without a mobile phone signal, or if its starter battery has been disconnected) then you should choose "Update Services" from your car's menu."
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Portland, Ore. — According to a new report by Allied Market Research titled, “Global 3D Camera Market – Size, Industry Analysis, Trends, Opportunities, Growth and Forecast, 2013 – 2020”, the global 3D Camera market is expected to reach$7,661.8 million by 2020, registering a CAGR of 39.4% during 2014 – 2020. The 3D camera applications, in smartphones, should drive the 3D camera market significantly by year 2020. About 80% of the smartphones could be enabled with 3D imaging technology by 2018.
The entertainment & media industry is witnessing a rapid surge in 3D content. Moreover, increasing use of 3D imaging for security surveillance, home automation and mobile robots, is paving the market growth for 3D camera products. The developments in 3D scanning technologies enable the market players to launch products delivering high-quality images or videos. The advent of 3D smartphones also promotes the prospects in the application of 3D technology.
To view the report, visit the website at http://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/3D-camera-market
The smartphones, which are available at lowest price, amongst all 3D camera based devices, should witness rapid adoption over the forecast period. With the simplest 3D camera technology – stereo visioning; about 80% of smartphones in production could be upgraded with a 3D camera lens by the year, 2018. Numerous smartphone manufacturers, now identify with 3D technology as a significant prospect to enhance their product offerings. The application of 3D cameras in smartphones should garner a revenue of $2.02 billion by the year 2020.
Stereo visioning technology is commonly integrated in applications such as movie recording, gaming, etc. The stereo vision based 3D cameras, with adjustable range, are easier to design and available at a lower price. These benefits of stereo vision technology should retain its preference among 3D camera manufacturers over other technologies. The wide adoption of this technology, has, in turn, contributed to over 60% of its global market size by value, during 2013.
View all reports related to information and communications technology at http://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/information-&-communication-technology-&-media-market-report
Key findings of the study:
– The global market for 3D cameras is progressive in nature and should go on to witness a rise in its adoption across smart phones, tablets and other such devices, during the forecast period of 2014 – 2020
– The adoption of 3D cameras in tablets, is estimated to grow rapidly at a CAGR of 60.4%, during the forecast period
– Asia-Pacific would prove to be one of the most lucrative markets, in terms of growth. It should reach $3,403.0 million by the year 2020, registering a CAGR of 44.1% during 2014 – 2020
– The Asia-Pacific regional market should surpass the North American regional market in terms of market size by value, within two years.
Rising demand for 3D scanning technology in the entertainment and media industry, supplement the developments and growth of its market. A rise in the technological advancements in smartphone cameras, empowers the manufacturers to introduce 3D cameras as an innovative product offering. Furthermore, due to rising 3D content, several OEMs are upgrading their product offerings with 3D imaging capabilities. Innovative product launch has now become a strategic essential for manufacturers, to gain a higher market share. For instance; Sony Electronics, in the recent years, has upgraded its ‘Handycam’ series with 3D imaging capabilities. Prominent companies profiled in the report include Nikon, Cannon, GoPro, Kodak, Sony Electronics, Panasonic Corporation and LG Electronics.


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James Robinson left the Hawkman #1 relaunch a few months ago. Brian Clevinger was dropped from Firestorm #1 a few weeks ago. And Brian Wood off Supergirl #1? Count the days on your fingers. Bleeding Cool mentioned Wood, creator of DMZ and Northlanders, was on the book back in April.
Well, last week, he still was. Now… he isn't.
Whoever they announce as the new writer on Supergirl #1, don't expect them to have any indepth plans yet…
Neither Brian Wood nor DC Comics representatives chose to comment on this story.
Photo by Luigi Novi


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Jim Cramer is one of the top watched TV personalities on CNBC. He is the host of Mad Money and also the co-founder and chairman of TheStreet.com. Nearly two hundred fifty thousand people watch his show daily on TV and most of these are ordinary investors trying to understand what’s going on in the market. Jim Cramer’s bullish and bearish stock picks on his show is the starting point for many investments made by these folks.
During the September 7th show, Cramer discussed the following stocks.
Cummins (NYSE:CMI): This engine-maker does a lot of business in China, but the stock has been hammered ever since China has been aggressively raising rates. Cummins has a $17.7 billion market cap and the stock is trading $10 above its 52-week low of $79 per share.
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT): This Cramer-favorite has experienced trouble in China since the country’s inflation fears became widespread. The heavy-equipment maker has a $52 million market cap and the stock yields 2%. Jim Cramer has CAT in his charitable trust’s portfolio. Louis Navellier of Navellier & Associates also owns over 400,000 shares (see more of Navellier’s stocks here).
Joy Global (JOYG): The Chinese mining industry crushed earnings, but the stock was crushed as well because no one really believes China is done raising rates. The company raised full-year earnings and revenue guidance as well as announcing a sale of its Le Tourneau drilling operation for $375 million. Joy Global has a $8.6 billion market cap and trades at 15 times earnings.
Cramer said that United Technologies (NYSE:UTX), Boeing (NYSE:BA), General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Alcoa (NYSE:AA) could all benefit from a resurging China for continued growth and future upside. He said Coach (NYSE:COH), Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) and YUM! Brands (NYSE:YUM) will depend on China’s growing middle class for future growth.
Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN): Cramer loves this stock and said it could ramp up on the interest rate news from China because its most important market is Macau. This gaming company has a $19 billion market cap and yields 1.3%.
PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG): The stock caught a huge break with China’s news, because the stock had been mercilessly hammered over potential Asian weakness beforehand. PPG has a $11.8 billion market cap and trades at 11 times earnings. The stock yields 3%.
Walter Energy (NYSE:WLT): This stock has been making headlines, but Cramer said its rise is due to potential takeover and not the news out of China. The energy company has a $5.5 billion market cap and trades at 12 times earnings.
Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK): Chesapeake announced that it is investing $1 billion in natural gas, which makes Cramer like the stock that much more. The energy company has a $21 billion market cap and yields 1.1%
Westport Innovations (NASDAQ:WPRT): Cramer recommended this energy company for its leading role in the future of natural gas. Westport converts petroleum-fueled engines into those that can run on liquefied natural gas. It recently made a deal with General Motors (GM) to make light-duty natural gas vehicles and launched a co-marketing program with Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) to form the North American market for liquefied natural gas powered vehicles.
Because of the recent 19% run-up, Cramer is expecting a pullback and recommends buying the stock when it happens. Westport has a $201 billion market cap, yields 5% and trades at 7 times earnings. George Soros of Soros Fund Management owns over 5 million shares (see more of Soros’ picks).
Deckers Outdoors (NASDAQ:DECK): This Cramer-favorite stock has risen 5,000% over the past decade and he still thinks it is a buy. Cramer likes that it has built its own niche and has no direct competitors. The maker of UGGs has a $3.5 billion market cap and trades at 25 times earnings.
Hansen’s (HANS): This beverage company makes Monster energy drink and 90% of sales and profits come from the energy drink. Cramer sees growth in the company’s future and recommends buying on a pullback. The beverage maker has a $7.75 billion market cap and trades at 31 times earnings.
Netease.com (NASDAQ:NTES): Cramer admits that he missed this Chinese gaming stock’s run-up. He doesn’t like it as a buy now, however. The company has a $6.3 billion market cap and trades at 11 times earnings.
Electronic Arts (ERTS): Cramer doesn’t like the gaming sector right now, but said Electronic Arts might be worth buying into a pullback. The video game maker has a $7.3 billion market cap.
Sohu.com (NASDAQ:SOHU): Sohu.com is a brand advertising, online gaming sponsored search and wireless company based in China. While the stock has had an impressive run, Cramer still won’t recommend owning Chinese stocks other than Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU).
Dunkin’ Brands (NASDAQ:DNKN): Cramer thinks the price-to-earnings multiple makes Dunkin’ too expensive compared with Starbucks (SBUX), which Cramer repeatedly recommends buying. Dunkin’ Brands has a $3.15 billion market cap.
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX): This rapid growth stock has taken a recent hit based on a price hike and a content deal with Starz not going through. Cramer still thinks Netflix is a long-term buy. The company has a $11.17 billion market cap and currently trades at 55 times earnings.
Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU): Cramer thinks the best way to play this athletic apparel maker is through deep-in-the-money calls because of the dramatic moves the stock has made since no split occurred. The company has a $5.86 billion market cap and trades at 60 times earnings.
Pricesmart (NASDAQ:PSMT): Cramer thinks this is a good stock, but he recommended owning Costco (NASDAQ:COST), which his charitable trust also owns. Pricesmart yields just under 1% with a $1.96 billion market cap.
Accuride (NYSE:ACW): The car part industry is booming as of late and Cramer thinks Accuride is a great way to play it now that the price has fallen in half. The company has a $390 million market share and is trading around $8 per share.
Sprint (NYSE:S): Cramer doesn’t think the financials are favorable and does not recommend owning the struggling telecommunications company.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND): Cramer likes Ligand Pharma as a speculative play. The company has a $312 million market share and is trading at a new 52-week high.
CNOOC (NYSE:CEO): While Cramer liked CNOOC, he recommended owning Chevron (NYSE:CVX) instead. Cramer’s charitable trust owns Chevron and he feels it offers better financials with a similar yield. CNOOC has a $81.5 billion market cap and offers a 3% yield.
Disclosure: I am long CHK.


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Consolidated revenues declined by 19.4 percent to P20.8 billion.
Quarter-on-quarter, SM Prime’s net income was up nearly 80 percent from P3.6 billion in October to December 2020 due to the reopening of many businesses and increased mobility. Revenues, on the other hand, remained almost the same as the previous quarter.
“We welcomed 2021 with high hopes as most areas in the Philippines, including Metro Manila, were placed under GCQ in the first quarter of 2021. Along with the sustained growth of our residential business, our mall affiliates together with many of our SME-partners were able to reopen their shops, allowing our mall business segment to perform better,” SM Prime president Jeffrey C. Lim said.
The residential business under SM Dvelopment Cop. grew its revenues by 5% to P11.9 billion, accounting for 57% of the total. Operating income rose 9% to P5.1 billion while reservation sales expanded by 31% to P32.4 billion.
Revenues from domestic malls went up 10% to P5.9 billion due to the increase of operating mall tenants, driving mall rental income up by 14% to P5.6 billio/
The group’s China malls, meanwhile saw a 53% jump in revenues to RMB199 million.
SM Prime plans to launch three newmalls this year, namely SM City Daet in Camarines Norte,SM City Roxas in Capiz and SM City Grand Central in Caloocan City. These new malls, plus the expansion of the company’s existing malls, will provide an addition of almost 270,000 square meters of gross floor area in retail space.


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Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure rises above expectations
Recent data released by the Commerce Department has shown that the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, the Core PCE price index, increased 4.6% annually and 0.3% monthly in February, which is a slight increase from the 4.5% increase expected by analysts. The Core PCE inflation rate, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3% in March, also above expectations, reflecting upward revisions to January data, which saw core PCE prices rise by a revised 0.6% on the month. However, the annual figure was slightly above expectations at 4.6%. The Fed uses the PCE price indexes to gauge how much consumers are paying for goods and services for its 2% inflation target, with the Core PCE being its preferred inflation measure.
The market consensus is that the March Core PCE Price Index will remain at +0.3% m/m and +4.5% y/y, compared to the previous values of +0.3% m/m and +4.6% y/y. However, a reading greater than 0.3% monthly or 4.5% yearly would generate more uncertainty on the rate front, possibly sparking speculation on another Fed hike in June. Conversely, weaker PCE data will fuel fresh speculation that the US central bank will pause the rate-hiking cycle after May.
The Federal Reserve has already raised its benchmark interest rate nine times this cycle in a bid to corral runaway inflation, with markets widely expecting the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee to approve another quarter-percentage-point increase at next week’s meeting. However, consumer spending was flat in March, tailing off considerably from a January splurge, indicating a softening economy. Despite a year’s worth of interest rate increases, inflation rose again in March, with prices still rising far faster than the annual rate of 2% the Fed has set as its target.
0. “March PCE Price Index Preview: Here’s Why Fed’s Favorite Inflation Gauge Is A Key Market-Moving Event Bef” Benzinga, 27 Apr. 2023, https://www.benzinga.com/economics/macro-economic-events/23/04/32049665/march-pce-price-index-preview-heres-why-feds-favorite-inflation-gauge-is-a-key-ma
1. “S&P Futures Tick Lower Ahead of Key U.S. Inflation Data” Barchart, 28 Apr. 2023, https://www.barchart.com/story/news/16402155/s-p-futures-tick-lower-ahead-of-key-u-s-inflation-data
2. “Key inflation gauge for the Fed rose 0.3% in March as expected” CNBC, 28 Apr. 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/28/key-inflation-gauge-for-the-fed-rose-0point3percent-in-march-as-expected.html
3. “Consumer spending flattens out in the early spring as the economy softens” Morningstar, 28 Apr. 2023, https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/20230428338/consumer-spending-flattens-out-in-the-early-spring-as-the-economy-softens


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As South Africa faces one of the driest rainy seasons, declaring five of its nine provinces a drought disaster for agriculture, a business that has been operating for about 18 years is reaping the benefits from this deficit.
Pop up water kiosks or water bars are stalls in retail outlets that sell purified water at an affordable rate says John Oort, Managing Director of Mulbarton GoZone Services Industries.
“In the industry over the last two decades there has been quite a lot of development into the water bottling and refill sector – predominantly bottled water was the product that would be most sold in retailers around the country and that often has a very expensive price to that and that price tag,” said Oort.
Oort says the price tag comes a lot from the logistics involved in bottled water, what it has done is taken away the logistics and opened up in retail stores as refill sections where people don’t have to buy bottled water, they can refill their water at 90 cents a litre.
“We don’t really compete with Rand Water, the water that we take is from a municipal distribution point, it’s put through a process called reverse osmosis, with an added blending process,”
He adds: “The main focus of this is actually the water quality, as we know South Africa, up until a few years ago has had a much higher water quality than let’s say Europe or the rest of the world – and at this stage, it currently isn’t so anymore,”
With that in mind and complaints of high chlorine use and sometimes even of worms, they have prioritised the quality of the water they provide.
“They can actually come to those stores with either their own empty containers or they can buy a container at a very good price,” he said.
“We are trying to revert the business model back into supplying the highest quality water that can be purified and doing that at a reasonable, affordable price.”
South Africans can find some of these pop up water refill stations at Pick n Pay’s in Mulbarton, New Market, Brackenhurst and Heidelberg to name a few.


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Airlines Scramble As Travel Hesitancy Sets In Due To COVID Surge, Delta VariantOver the July 4th holiday, airports were packed and air travel seemed to be back. Then came the Delta variant.
Fort Lauderdale Airport Bustling This Labor Day, Which Has Health Experts Worried About COVID SpreadThis holiday weekend, which is a notorious one for travel, is a concern among health officials.
Disney To Require Vaccinations For Bahamas CruisesDisney Cruise Line on Tuesday joined other lines that dock in Florida in planning to require COVID-19 vaccinations for most passengers ages 12 or older traveling to the Bahamas.
After Summer Travel Rebound, Many Are Canceling Plans Due To COVID SurgeIn a recent survey, 27% of respondents said they postponed a trip. More than 54% said the delta variant has made them less interested in traveling right now.
Florida Sees Tourism Rebound in Second QuarterFlorida enjoyed a bit of a tourism rebound in the second quarter of the year. The state attracted 31.7 million visitors in the second quarter, as the state continued to expand tourism-marketing efforts and COVID-19 vaccinations became readily available.
Judge Backs Norwegian Cruise Line In Florida 'Vaccine Passport' Ban FightA federal judge Sunday sided with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings in a constitutional challenge to Florida’s ban on so-called “vaccine passports.”
South Florida Based Spirit Airlines Expects Flight Cancelations & Delays To ContinueSpirit Airlines passengers face another day of cancellations on Friday.
COVID-19 & Cruises: Miami-Based Carnival Cruise Line Implements Fleetwide Mask PolicyMiami-based Carnival Cruise Line is among the latest companies to tighten COVID restrictions. All passengers, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear masks in certain indoor areas aboard ships.
Confidence Grows In Florida For Traveling, Despite Surge In COVID CasesFloridians’ confidence about traveling safely has nearly doubled since the first quarter of the year despite a recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases.
Disney World Offering New Florida Resident 'Summer Fun Ticket' DealIf you’re planning a trip to Disney World this summer, it may cost you a little less than planned with the launch of a new ticket offer just for Florida residents.
Miami-Based Carnival’s Largest Cruise Ship, Mardi Gras, Arrives At Port CanaveralThe largest ship ever built for Miami-based Carnival Cruise Line pulled into its home part of Port Canaveral on Friday morning.
Norwegian Cruises Wants To Resume Sailing From US Ports In JulyMiami-based Norwegian Cruise Line wants to resume sailing from U.S. ports in July and asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for permission to return to U.S. waters for the first time in more than a year.
'We Are A Very Safe Destination': Vacationers Flocking To U.S. Virgin IslandsYou still can’t take a luxury cruise line to the U.S. Virgin Islands but you can fly and tourism is turning around, even with the cruise ship business dead in the water for now.
Travel Tuesday: Despite Level 4 Travel Warning, Americans Still Flying To MexicoThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is encouraging Americans to avoid all travel to more than 160 destinations because of very high COVID-19 risk. While that Level 4 warning includes Mexico, Americans are still flying there for getaways.


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EGX 2017 is just around the corner, and the first two games have been announced that are playable at the show. Project Cars 2 and Dragon Ball FighterZ will both be present and playable. These are the first two confirmed games with much much more to follow, so keep an eye on This Is Xbox for all the future announcements!
EGX takes place at the NEC in Birmingham from 21st to 24th September.
Dragon Ball FighterZ is an upcoming 2.5D fighting game developed by Arc System Works and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, based on the Dragon Ball franchise for the Xbox One and other platforms. It is set to be released in 2018.


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Per media reports, media behemoth The Walt Disney CompanyDIS is preparing to lay off nearly 200 jobs at ABC and cable networks. Per the sources, the company is trying to reduce the annual cost at the division by 10%.
Notably, both ABC Television Group and Disney Channel have been witnessing rating decline and stiff competition of late. The layoff will hamper ABC Entertainment, ABC Studios, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior as well as Freeform teams.
In September, The New York Times reported that Disney had reduced headcount at its animation division by 250. Notably, Disney's ESPN, which is grappling with subscriber loss and higher programming cost, had witnessed similar retrenchment previously.
Direct-to-Consumer Streaming Service
Most of the broadcast and cable networks providers have been under immense pressure as the Pay-TV landscape continues to change owing to migration of subscribers to online TV. To counter this change Disney recently stated that it will come up with its own streaming service in the future.
Disney stated that it will terminate distribution agreement with Netflix for subscription streaming of the new movies starting in 2019. Instead, the company will have its own streaming services - one for Disney and Pixar brands and another for ESPN followers. Disney will start online streaming services for ESPN sports in early 2018 and its branded direct-to-consumer streaming service airing Disney movies as well as TV shows in 2019. The ESPN-branded multi-sport streaming service will give an option to enjoy 10,000 live international, national and regional games every year. Tournaments like Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, Grand Slam Tennis, and college sports will be live streamed.
Meanwhile, through the fresh Disney-branded service subscribers can view both Disney's and Pixar's latest live action and animated movies, starting with the 2019 theatrical slate. Movies like Toy Story 4, the sequel to Frozen and The Lion King can also be streamed. This step gives an indication that Disney is confident about distributing content itself without relying on Netflix or any other companies.
Where is the Stock Heading?
Despite the fabulous run of its movies, the company's shares have declined 14.4% in the past six months, wider than the industry 's fall of 11.4%. Meanwhile, shares of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. WWE , Time Warner Inc. TWX and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. LGF.A have gained 6.8%, 1.6% and 5.8%, respectively.
The success of movie business is crucial for Disney as the loss of subscribers at ESPN and decline in rating at the company's youth-focused Disney Channel has been a major concern for investors. Disney currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here .
4 Stocks to Watch after the Massive Equifax Hack
Cybersecurity stocks spiked on recent news of a data breach affecting 143 million Americans. But which stocks are the best buy candidates right now? And what does the future hold for the cybersecurity industry?
Equifax is just the most recent victim. Computer hacking and identity theft are more common than ever. Zacks has just released Cybersecurity! An Investor's Guide to inform Zacks.com readers about this $170 billion/year space. More importantly, it highlights 4 cybersecurity picks with strong profit potential.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.


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Mini Metro ($3.99) is a game that feels perfect to play on mobile. Dinosaur Polo Club’s subway simulator has been an absolute joy to play even on Nintendo Switch but it still plays best on mobile. Earlier in September, the developers announced big plans for Mini Metro in 2020 with multiple updates planned. The first of those updates rolls out later this month with two new maps. After this month’s update more content is planned including a Christmas update and a major feature addition. For this, Dinosaur Polo Club will be doing a round of beta testing. Overall, by the end of 2020, they plan on bringing in three new maps, a new feature, and player integration never before seen in the game.
Mini Metro‘s first big update of 2020 arrives on October 26th with Lagos and Santiago. They also said the Nintendo Switch update will arrive eventually because it isn’t directly handled by Dinosaur Polo Club. A date for that will be announced as soon as possible. If you’ve not played Mini Metro yet, read Shaun’s glowing review of it here. If you’ve not played it yet, fix that. If you’re on Apple Arcade, you can play Dinosaur Polo Club’s newest game Mini Motorways. Read about that here. It is going to be interesting to see how it evolves with all the new content and features planned. Do you still play Mini Metro often?


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Water rate recap (January 11, 2016)
In response to a Facebook post by the Town of Apple Valley announcing that it has commenced condemnation proceedings against Apple Valley Ranchos Water Company, Stacy Roberston commented:
The town has already stated in a public forum they will not be lowering the rates. Curious, how is the town plan on paying for the water system? A bond … a bond that every single homeowner within the Town’s limits will pay for the next 20 years … so not only are we having to pay the water bills we are going to be paying higher property taxes which could raise your house payment 100.00 plus dollars a month …Source: Stacy Roberston, Facebook
In response, the Town of Apple Valley posted these comments:
Hi Stacy and Alan. Here is an article that will explain how the town will pay for the water system. avh2ours.com/…/here-is-how-the-town-will-pay…/
And, actually Stacy, The Town believes it can lower rates. It has analyzed the purchase further and thinks that water rates will come down if the Town purchases the water system.Source: Town of Apple Valley CA, Facebook
Let’s recap, shall we?
The figures that supposedly prove that the Town can buy Ranchos and make all the bond (and other) payments purely out of the proceeds of the sale of water date back to April 28, 2015. As far as I know, there has been no updated financial analysis since then — certainly none that has been made public. (Remember that
transparency pledge by the Town? One and done.)
At that time, the Town had working for it Assistant Town Manager Dennis Cron, offered as being the Town’s water system expert, who would ensure that Town control of our water system would create a nirvana for ratepayers.
Also at that time, the Town valued Ranchos at $45 million. Back then, Town representatives were pretty firm that there would be no decrease in water rates after the Town took over.
Then it turned out that the Town couldn’t add. So, after accounting for a $12 million oversight by the Town, the revised value for Ranchos was upped to $51 million (one-third or less of the actual value). Still no mention of a decrease in water rates, despite the Town continuously harping on the excessive nature of Ranchos’ water rates.
Since then, Ranchos has purchased additional water rights, Ranchos has purchased Yermo Water Company, Ranchos’ parent corporation has sold for an amount that implies that Ranchos is worth at least $100 million dollars, and the Federal Reserve Board has increased interest rates. (Even the Town has raised its estimate of Ranchos’ worth to $86 million — 88 percent higher than their first valuation.) Also, Cron retired in December, so there is no longer a
water expert in the Town’s employ to guarantee that anyone there knows what the heck is going on.
So costs have gone way up and the person we were told was the water expert is gone. Only now is the Town saying that the April 2015 financial analysis — which takes into account exactly none of the new factors — actually shows that the Town will be able to lower water rates!
The only question is: How cynical do Town representatives have to be to think that Apple Valley ratepayers will believe this latest lie?
— Greg Raven is Co-Chair of Apple Valley Citizens for Government Accountability, and is concerned about quality of life issues.


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Trouble at Luminary. The subscription podcast platform, which recently celebrated its first year since launch, has just raised a further $30 million in a new funding round, according to a Bloomberg report. The company is also seeking further investment to help it get through the pandemic, “according to people familiar with the matter”.
There are some further details from Lucas Shaw and Priya Anand’s reporting that throw some light onto why this additional cash is required. Luminary apparently only has “about 80,000” subscribers who have stayed on after completing their free trial. Until the coronavirus outbreak hit, the company “was burning through more than $4 million a month… while generating less than $500,000 in monthly revenue”. In addition to seeking extra funding, it has “cut spending on marketing, new shows and staff” in an effort to make ends meet.
I know there are lots of people out there who will have a somewhat… gleeful reaction to this information. After Luminary’s botched launch in April 2019 and the initial licensing problems that saw big hitters like Joe Rogan, the New York Times, Gimlet Media and others withdraw their shows from the app’s free tier, it has long been clear from the conversations I have with readers and in the industry more broadly that there’s a substantial frustration out there about this company. And I get it: I’m also pretty allergic in general to the “hey, my startup is going to fix everything other people have already been working on for decades!” business philosophy.
But stepping back a bit, there are two points to make here, I think. The first is that however much you might not like this company or the model it espoused, people are losing their jobs at a really rough time and that’s not fun. More than that, the money that Luminary was offering creators who signed up to make exclusive shows enabled some truly interesting production companies to come into being that might not have existed otherwise. When I interviewed Lauren Shippen last year, for instance, she said that without the money Luminary paid for fiction series The AM Archives, she would not have been able to double down on her commitment to diversity when hiring talent through her Atypical Artists outfit.
Secondly, let’s take a quick gander at what this development might tell us about the viability of that much-vaunted “Netflix for podcasts” model. I think this question that Nick posed way back when Luminary launched is worth revisiting:
“The fundamental question with Luminary is whether it can beat an entire universe of free alternatives by financing sufficiently buzzy projects and/or convincing users that they’ll have an easier time finding good podcast-style programming on its closed platform than on the sprawling, chaotic open ecosystem.”
Based on the subscriber numbers in that Bloomberg report, I think we can theorise that no, so far Luminary hasn’t created a sufficiently compelling exclusive content slate to overcome enough listeners’ preference for the free alternatives.
The vast variety of free podcasts represents a high bar to clear, for sure, but I remain convinced that it is theoretically possible, given the continued success of other digital subscription types. I don’t think this presages the death of this premium model, by any means, but it might prompt a reconsideration among those considering a similar podcasting venture built on using exclusivity to attract subscribers. Perhaps stacking your paywall with a lot of shows hosted by celebrities isn’t the way, or perhaps they were the wrong celebrities. There is, after all, a lot of free competition in that space nowadays.Apple News gets into audio. Another longrunning and hot topic, this one — Apple is getting into original audio, sort of. This particular push comes through Apple News+, which according to Digiday is working on adding audio versions of news stories on its platform. More details from that report:
“Apple will handle production costs, and compensate publishers in the same way it compensates them for the written content available on Apple News+, two sources said; Apple metes out 50% of subscriber revenue to publishers based on how much time those subscribers spend with publishers’ content in a 30-day period.”
Apparently publishers will pitch suitable stories for this treatment to Apple, rather than there being any automatic or blanket transformation — licensing issues would prevent some stories becoming audio, for instance.
There isn’t any reliable information out there about how many subscribers Apple News+ has, nor when this audio version might launch. Plus, publishers routinely report being dissatisfied with the revenue share they receive from allowing their articles to appear in Apple News. It’s also worth noting that a similar initiative was reported as being in the works back in 2016, when a “spoken edition” format for various publications was experimented with to work like podcasts.
That’s not to say that making this move now isn’t plausible. A number of publications already offer their own audio editions, often using a service like SpokenLayer (which was Apple’s partner back in 2016). Audm, which the New York Times acquired in March, specialises in turning longform features into audio and has in the past worked with places like the Atlantic as well as the NYT. The Guardian makes its own longreads into a podcast inhouse. It doesn’t seem beyond the realm of possibility that Apple might want to get into this game, too.iHeartMedia Q1 earnings. This week, iHeartMedia reported its earnings for the first quarter of this year. Overall, revenue fell 1.9% compared with Q1 2019, from $795.8 million to $780.6 million, a gap that widens further to 4.8% when you take out the once-in-four-years boost from political advertising. Broadcast revenue dropped 5.2%, but the big story the company is keen to tell is a rise in digital advertising — which includes podcasts. The key quote:
“Digital revenue increased $16.8 million, driven by continued growth in podcasting, as well as other digital revenue, including on-demand services. Audio and Media Services revenue also increased $8.8 million primarily as a result of a $7.1 million increase in political revenue.”
The presentation to investors also included this nugget about their podcast audience:
“In Q1, usage increased by 35% year over year based on unique audience and our podcast revenue in Q1 grew 80% year-over-year; podcast revenue is currently pacing at over 100% year-over-year for Q2.”
However, there were signs that there will be bad news ahead once the impact of coronavirus in Q2 is tabulated. In light of the economic turmoil, iHeartMedia decided to withdraw its forecasts for the rest of 2020, but CEO Bob Pittman did say on the call that “revenue began to fall off in March, as it did for most ad supported companies, and that trend became even more pronounced in April, with a sharp decline in ad revenue across almost all of our revenue segments.”


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Perishables perish, sales hit hard at Koyambedu market
Wholesalers, retailers and petty shop owners in the area have been hit hard after the Bus Terminal began operations in Kilambakkam. They tell Swedha Radhakrishnan how the business ecosystem around the CMBT bus stand was adversely affected
CHENNAI: Rani, a flower vendor and a resident of Wimco Nagar travels to Koyambedu wholesale market through bus route 159 A from Tiruvottriyur depot to buy over 10-15 kg of flowers which would be cheaper compared to the products sold at flower bazaar.
After the inauguration of the Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminal in Kilambakkam, travel expenses of autos have increased and the frequency of MTC buses decreased in north Chennai. Now, Rani is forced to buy the same flowers at George Town and Madhavaram for Rs 500-600.
The usual hustle-bustle at the market was missing, and the place looks desolate, after the CMBT bus stand was shifted to KCBT. Traders lamented over the loss of sales which have decreased by 25% in the last two weeks. Most consumers travelling to other districts would take the early morning buses, and that’s when the sales would peak. After the bus stand was shifted to Kilambakkam, the volume of unsold perishable commodities kept increasing, and were eventually thrown out.
After the KCBT’s inauguration in December last year, inter-district buses were asked to operate from Kilambakkam, which drew wide-spread criticism from the public and traders. Passengers had to spend a lot of money on tickets to reach the terminus to board buses to other districts. The situation not only affected the public but also adversely impacted the businesses of traders at Koyambedu wholesale market.
Wasted flowers, veggies
Perishable commodities come from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu to the Koyambedu market. Because of low sales, traders end up dumping them as they have no facilities to store them for the next day.
“We’ve experienced a drastic drop in sales in the last two weeks. At least 60-70% of the sale would happen in the early morning hours by retailers and the general public travelling to other districts of Tamil Nadu, as the prices are cheaper here compared to other markets in the city and their hometown. Now it’s dropped to 25%,” said P Sukumaran, secretary of the Koyambedu Wholesale Merchants’ Association.
S Mookandi, secretary of Koyambedu Flower Merchants Association, rued that the majority of the customers who travel to other districts especially Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram districts would buy flowers from CMBT. “Since there are no buses to inter-districts, we’re forced to sell roses, marigolds (saamandhi) and tuberoses (sampangi) at Rs 10 per kg each,” he added.
When flowers do not get sold till the end of the day even though prices have decreased drastically, traders are forced to dump them. “At least 20 tonnes of flowers have been wasted daily in the last two weeks. Passengers choose to purchase from the nearest market even though it’s pricey, as they’re forced to spend on travel the buses were shifted to Kilambakkam,” pointed out Mookandi.
Similarly, other two markets are experiencing huge wastage where over 10 tonnes of vegetables and fruits are dumped every day. The loss hurts a lot more, as the market receives steady supply keeping the prices low. Thousands of traders are forced to sell flowers at a low cost. Many are seriously considering taking up another job but they’re also anxious about their lack of skills, as “selling fruits, vegetables and flowers is all we’ve been doing for more than two to three decades”.
As the prices of vegetables, fruits and flowers fluctuate every day, traders are forced to sell them at the lowest price. Vendors are unable to keep track of their daily profit. Dull sales affect the profit-making volume among traders.
The situation is much worse now in the market compared to the months during COVID-induced lockdown, as traders of three markets in Koyambedu are dependent on the inter-district buses going to and from Tamil Nadu for their sales.
Several wholesale traders had bought shops in Koyambedu market, and rented them out to retailers and other vendors. Due to the pandemic, out of 4,000+ shops in the market, around 300-400 have remained empty in the last 3 years.
With the KCBT becoming operational, more vendors and retailers have vacated the shops. This has hit wholesalers hard, as they were dependent on the rent they received from the market to balance out the loss they incurred in business.
Pointing out that the many buses under the SETC and TNSTC are not functional from CMBT, auto drivers charge double the rates for vendors reaching the market.
“We spend Rs 300 per trip from Egmore to Koyambedu, and when questioned, auto drivers claimed that they don’t have a return-passenger. So they compensate by increasing the price,” stated U Sarathi, a retail flower vendor in the city. “Why should we spend Rs 300 for an auto trip when we can buy flowers for the same price at Flower Bazaar and Madhavaram market?”
Traders at Koyambedu wholesale market have given petitions to the government to shift half the inter-district buses at CMBT. Only then would the sale increase marginally when compared to the last few days. “The government has to provide a solution for us. If not, it has to find an alternative arrangement that would ensure brisk sales,” opined a wholesaler at the market.


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Disrupted state hemp program below scrutiny | Cambridge Information / Deerfield Unbiased – The Cambridge Information
Registrations for growing hemp in Wisconsin fell 48 percent for the 2021 growing season, prompting state lawmakers to reach out to the private sector to support the program undermined by the pandemic and an unsafe CBD market.
Meanwhile, the drop in registrations has helped fuel a deficit in the fund to cover the cost of regulating hemp producers, prompting lawmakers to turn oversight over to the federal government.
“There are some innovative things we could do to create synergy for the people who are paving the way,” said Senator Lena Taylor, Milwaukee, D-Milwaukee. “We should partner with Foxconn and say, ‘Whatever product you do, let’s get creative and try to do something with hemp.'”
Taylor said partnerships with tech, paper, and even diaper companies to make hemp products could benefit growers in Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, Rep. Tony Kurtz, R-Wonewoc is trying to pass legislation to create private and public partnerships for fiber research. Kurtz’s optimism about hemp fiber stems from his experience and communication with the military. Shifting from polyester to cotton-like fiber products could help prevent injury and detection by enemy forces, Kurtz said.
Legislators also say the private sector could be useful with THC testing, a key component of the hemp program. All hemp varieties must be tested for their THC concentration before harvest.
A new rule can reuse plants that exceed the THC limit, but testing remains a time-sensitive process. The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection’s Bureau of Laboratory Services manages hemp tests, but is also responsible for analyzing all samples for food safety, agrochemical management and plant industry programs. An increase in demand for testing in recent seasons without adequate staffing could be an obstacle to keeping Wisconsin’s hemp program alive, according to a report by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau for the Joint Finance Committee.
LFB reported a 31 percent increase in total laboratory tests for THC and other tests in 2018-19 and was well on its way to reporting an 18 percent increase in 2019-20 until pandemic-related restrictions slowed activity. Without increased funding, hemp testing could be postponed from four days to 10 to 45 days, according to the report. It estimates that failing to fund more staff could affect more than just the hemp industry. Pesticide drift and abuse tests could be delayed by an average of 60 to 120 days and animal feed tests by 30 to 75 days.
The Joint Finance Committee accepted a motion to allocate a position to the Bureau and a total of $ 313,700 – $ 139,000 for FY 2021-22 and $ 174,700 for FY 2022-23 – to meet the increased staffing needs. Governor Tony Evers’s budget called for $ 940,900 and five perpetual project positions to meet demand for testing of hemp, food, pesticides and other areas that are the responsibility of the laboratory.
The private sector could offer long-term solutions, according to Taylor and other lawmakers. At the beginning of the program, Taylor hoped the testing could be modeled on private operations in Colorado. According to Senator Patrick Testin, R-Stevens Point, there has been a “healthy back and forth” between lawmakers and the bureau over independent third-party testing. Rep. Dave Considine, D-Baraboo, who originally proposed testing by the private sector in 2019, said the idea was currently unpopular and increased funding from DATCP could solve the problem. A push to lower testing requirements for hemp plants will ease the burden on the office, Kurtz said, but he would like to see a testing option for the private sector.
Otherwise, DATCP has proposed doubling fees for cannabis growers to address a program deficit of $ 450,000. Cannabis growers already pay royalties ranging from $ 150 or $ 5 per acre up to $ 1,000 (whichever is greater), $ 350 in annual registration fees, and required testing fees of $ 250 per sample. While doubling fees could bring in additional revenue of about $ 300,000 per year, DATCP and Considine say such high prices could put more growers off the program.
According to Kurtz, fee increases are unlikely. However, Taylor wanted the fees to be higher since the program began.
“It won’t discourage participation,” said Taylor of the proposed increase in license, registration and testing fees. “I don’t want to price people out completely. But I didn’t believe that we did it in such a way that we respected what this industry could be and how important it is to regulate it. “
As part of the recent Joint Finance Committee action, DATCP should consider options to address the hemp program deficit, including changing fees and the ability to hand over operations to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and restructure the current state program. The report, which requires Governor Tony Evers approval to stay in the budget, should be presented to the committee by March 30th.
While the USDA does not impose any fees on program participants, a program run by the USDA could limit the reach of farmers and provide less customer service, according to the report. Democrats and Republicans on the Assembly’s Agriculture Committee will continue talks with DATCP about maintaining the state program, Considine said.
The 2020-21 season is the program’s first with a deficit, and the LFB report on the hemp program identified the COVID-19 pandemic as a possible culprit. But the breeders already lost money in 2019. Of those surveyed in a DATCP survey, 67 percent of growers said they lost money on hemp production in 2019, compared to 71 percent in 2020. Only a small percentage of growers responded to the surveys, so it is unclear whether the responses are representative for the entire industry. At the beginning of June, DATCP received 803 producer applications for the 2021 season. DATCP is still in the process of asking hemp producers for feedback.
Kurtz knows what it is like to take losses from farming. A wet spring season destroyed his organic crops in 2019, the same year he started growing hemp on his 210 acre farm. But, according to Kurtz, the decline in the number of participants in the hemp program is not a cause for concern, rather an indicator that the system is restricting itself to serious growers.
“I don’t think it’s a failure in any way, shape, or form,” Kurtz said of the program. “It’s still in its infancy. We have to find their basis and what is the way forward. “
A profitable corn market may have deterred farmers from growing hemp this season, according to DATCP, Kurtz, and Considine. But since 2019 Kurtz has been concerned about the CBD market in Wisconsin, which he now fears has collapsed. And the FDA has yet to put in place a state regulatory process for CBD products.
The uncertainty about CBD at the federal level, Testin added, could drive growers away from CBD oil despite initial overexcitation.
“I think a lot of people got into this thinking they could get rich quick and that this will be an easy crop to make quick money,” Testin said. “It’s kind of a green rush for the first few years, but it’s a lot of work growing hemp for CBD purposes.”
The Capitol Report was written by the editorial staff of WisPolitics.com, a non-partisan news service based in Madison that specializes in reporting on government and politics, and is distributed for publication by members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.


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Both Macworld and CNET are reporting that the next version of Microsoft Office for Mac will be due by the end of 2010. The next version of Office for Mac will include Outlook and will...
...of Apple's Watch, a naughty Android and an Elephone WinDroid
Running Windows 10 on the Surface 3
Our coverage of Windows 10 build 10061 release
Windows 10 logo
Hands on with the $10,000 Apple Watch Edition
apple watch edition
Enter to win a Huawei Watch!
Computer vendor Dell Computer Corp. on Monday said it will launch sales on Nov. 18 of a handheld computer bearing its name, a highly-anticipated entry that could hurt leading handheld maker Palm Inc. Dell, the...


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Factual, unbiased, and essential
pandemic news from trusted sources around the globe.
A question that many people have is, "Where is it most likely that I could contract COVID-19?". This question may have been answered in a study in Nature Magazine.
According to an article on CNN,
"The study, published in the journal Nature on Tuesday, suggests that reducing the maximum occupancy in such places -- including restaurants, gyms, cafes and hotels -- can slow the spread of illness substantially.
The researchers -- from Stanford University and Northwestern University -- used cell phone location data from SafeGraph to model the potential spread of Covid-19 within 10 of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington DC.
The data, representing the hourly movements of 98 million people, included mobility patterns from March to May.
The researchers examined Covid-19 case counts for each area and took a close look at how often people traveled to certain non-residential locations or "points-of-interest."
Those locations included grocery stores, fitness centers, cafes and snack bars, doctor's offices, religious establishments, hotels and motels and full-service restaurants.
"On average across metro areas, full-service restaurants, gyms, hotels, cafes, religious organizations, and limited-service restaurants produced the largest predicted increases in infections when reopened," the researchers wrote in their study."
Click here to read the fascinating study.
Please keep your face masks on, this virus is spreading rapidly, friends.


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Russia increased chickpeas production
During recent 5 years Russia significantly increased the planted areas under such agricultural crop, as chickpeas. According to APK-Inform data, the reporting planted areas increased from the level of 93.9 thsd ha in 2008 to 395 thsd ha in 2012. According to the market operators, the current trend is caused by rather high profitability of the crop production and its good export potential. Such countries as Turkey, India, Egypt, Jordan, and many others showed active demand for Russian chickpeas.
The reporting crop also has a number of production advantages: firstly, chickpea is a good precursor for most grains and oilseeds, and secondly, chickpeas has high drought resistance, which is quite important for southern regions of the country.
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Russia: low rates of grain exports to break the planting campaign terms – A.Zlochevsky
In January 2017, Russia increased agricultural production - Rosstat
February 22, 16:00
Crimea to increase production of milling wheat
February 22, 10:05
Russia has sufficient volumes of high-quality flour for bread production – Ministry of Agriculture
February 21, 17:00
Russia: in the third week of February, Krasnodar Krai seaports increased foreign shipments of grains
February 21, 13:40
Russia: Ministry of Agriculture expects for stable grain production volumes in 2017 – A.Tkachev
February 21, 12:00


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Business News›Girish Mathrubootham
Recruitment startup Kula raises $2.7 million from Girish Mathrubootham’s fund, Venture Highway, others
The company's focus with this infusion of funds will be on getting their product out and taking it to customers.
This is clearly a moment for Indian SaaS: Girish Mathrubootham
Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham India will see more large SaaS IPOs in the next 12-24 months, even as he warned of issues such as a talent shortage and excessive money being poured into the sector that’s causing some companies to exhibit “bad behaviour”
Tech takes a SaaSsy step out of Bharat
Move over Chennai and Bengaluru, a number of SaaS startups are springing up and creating global products out of Tier II and Tier III cities of India.
Freshworks loses $5.45 billion in market cap in one month
Freshworks had on Nov. 2 declared its September quarter results, its first since listing on the Nasdaq. Since then, the stock has dropped to $35.22 as of December 1, eroding its market cap by $5.45 billion.
RBI whitelist of good companies can ease payments woes: Freshworks' Girish Mathrubootham
“For SaaS businesses where you have to have customers’ credit cards on file, there is some improvement that we could do with RBI payment infrastructure. The rules are not helping SaaS companies,” Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham said.
Freshworks beats Q3 estimates; employees can encash 20% of their stock as Diwali giftFreshworks’ strong Q3 performance comes ahead of what company cofounder and CEO Girish Mathrubootham said was a “Happy Diwali” for employees, with some of them being able to sell up to 20% of their shares in the company starting Thursday.
Freshworks overtakes larger rival Zendesk in market capFreshworks’ market cap stood at $13.56 billion compared to Zendesk’s $12.1 billion — a decline of 16% since Oct. 28 when Zendesk announced the acquisition of Momentive Global, the makers of SurveyMonkey, for $4 billion in stock.
ETSA Alumni: Where are they now?The previous winners of the ET Startup Awards (ETSA) have stood out in a crowded startup ecosystem and gone on to become successful businesses. We look at a few of them from previous editions of the awards.
Mathrubootham's wife, sons & pet Shih Tzu all smiles as Freshworks IPO at Nasdaq creates historyThe 46-yr-old called going public in the US a "dream come true."
Girish Mathrubootham says 'Day Zero' at Freshworks in note post-IPO; throwback video shows him shaking a leg with Sequoia Capital MDMathrubootham also quoted Steve Jobs in the note.
Freshworks IPO has made 500 employees crorepatis, says CEO Girish Mathrubootham"I want all my employees to have BMWs," Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham had told The Economic Times in an interview in 2015. After the Freshworks IPO, that may have become a reality for at least 500 of them.
Top bosses applaud Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham for making India story 'come true'Freshworks became the first SaaS company from India to go public in the US.
Freshworks' Nasdaq listing echoes in India's startup ecosystemFreshworks Inc, a company that Girish Mathrubootham cofounded in 2010, has become the first Indian SaaS startup to list on the Nasdaq, opening the doors for others of its ilk to take Indian software to the world.
Freshworks lists on Nasdaq after billion-dollar IPOThe Freshworks IPO saw the SaaS startup sell 28.5 million shares at $36 apiece, up from the marketed range of $32-34. Freshworks’ share price then surged on listing, rising as much as 33% to $48 in initial trade on Nasdaq.
More ETSA 2021 nominees; 500 Freshworks employees turn crorepatisToday, we are unveiling nominees in three more categories: Woman Ahead, Social Enterprise, and Covid-led Business Transformation. Let's dive right in.
Freshworks’ share price surges 21% over IPO, market cap at $12.2 billionFreshworks had priced its initial public offering (IPO) above the top end of the range to raise $1.03 billion. It had earlier raised its price range, aiming to sell 28.5 million shares at $32-34 each.
Freshworks files for US IPO, CEO cites Rajinikanth as 'mentor'Freshworks listed the size of the IPO as $100 million, a placeholder that will change when terms of the share sale are set. The SaaS startup is also weighing a merger with SPAC or further capital infusion by private investors.
Freshworks IPO was code named 'Project SuperStar' after Rajini, founder Mathrubootham calls him his 'maanaseega' guruMathrubootham expressed his love and gratitude to the superstar in his IPO note.
Girish Mathrubootham, Manav Garg launch $85M fund to back early-stage software startupsMathrubootham and Garg said the fund will differentiate itself from others as being a predominantly operator-led fund.
Companies were forced to reimagine their operations: Freshworks' Girish MathruboothamIn 2020, we offered relief to our customers, prospects, and partners. We also followed a 'no one left behind policy' and ensured all our vendors were taken care of.
Freshworks appoints Randi Bryant as its first chief diversity and inclusion officerRandi Bryant says she is impressed by Freshworks founder Girish Mathrubootham's leadership during the pandemic, as the SaaS startup went above and beyond to support a global team.
Hubilo raises $4.5 million funding led by LightspeedHubilo said it would utilise the fresh capital to hire staff globally, set up its headquarters, and double the technology team.
Interview Mocha raises pre-Series A round, sees participation from Freshworks CEO Girish MathruboothamMocha helps recruiters and hiring managers screen candidates and identify skill proficiencies, with the intent of speeding up hiring cycles.
Freshworks buys ML & AI provider AnsweriQIt’s a season of mergers and acquisitions in the startup space as established players venture out for new buys.
Freshworks raises $150 million in Series HFreshworks also announced a common data platform to unify important customer information from marketing, sales, support and customer success to enhance visibility of functions across the board.
Freshworks eyes funding round at $3 billion valuationIn June last year, Freshworks had said that it had reached $100 million in annual recurring revenues (ARR). Analysts tracking the space peg the current ARR at $150-200 million.
Freshworks sees the way forward in AI chatbotsFreshworks is tapping the need for an AI engine that can gather real-time behavioural data while it works across multiple communication channels.Load More
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