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The Pokemon Company has announced that it will be hosting a “Pokemon Presents” news broadcast tomorrow, June 17, that will, at the very least, reveal ..
On Tuesday, March 17 at 11:35 p.m. – 12:15 p.m. PT, Xbox will host and stream a special panel focused on the importance of inclusivity in game design. Titled “Intentionally ..
Xbox head Phil Spencer and Ubisoft have announced that both companies will be hosting digital events in place of E3, which was just cancelled.Spencer stated on Twitter ..
Raphael van Lierop, the director of the popular survival game The Long Dark has a bone to pick with Nvidia’s GeForce Now game streaming service. In a post shared ..
Today at the Louisiana Entertainment Summit, Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios, in partnership with Unity Technologies and economic development organizations Greater ..


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Since the dawn of time, Panda Express has been a staple of American airport and mall food court cuisine. Sure, it's never been the most authentic Chinese dining experience, but it's always been there for us in our times of need, and it's just proven that it will always have our backs once again.
Lisa Jennings, the West Coast bureau chief of Nation's Restaurant News, tweeted that Panda Express is considering a switch to the "Chork."
The Chork is a fork/chopstick hybrid comparable to America's other favorite utensil, the Spork. In a statement to First We Feast, Panda Express called the Chork "a perfect way to illustrate the mashup of Chinese and American cultures - just like Panda Express."
The Chork is not currently available, but there is a "possibility" that it will make its way into Panda Express locations nationwide.
People who can't understand how chopsticks work soon might finally have a way to get out of it without having to awkwardly ask for a fork. What a time to be alive.

domain: news


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Ottawa, January 10, 2018
Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) is concerned with US Department of Commerce decision to levy preliminary countervailing duties of 0.65% to 9.93% on uncoated paper. “This decision will impact the Canadian industry negatively and could lead to job losses in certain provinces. This decision will not only affect pulp and paper producers but also their entire supply chain,” said Dennis Darby, President & CEO of CME. “Additionally, the duties will drive the prices of newsprint up in the US, hurting American consumers.”
“Manufacturers are strong proponents of free and fair trade and are concerned that this new tariff barrier will affect Canada’s trading relationship with its most important partner, the United States” added Darby.
CME, as part of its NAFTA engagement with the Canadian government, has called for the modernization of the agreement to include a clear and independent process for dispute resolution. This would allow for the resolution of conflict of this kind objectively and transparently for all parties.
Update: On March 13, 2018, the US Department of Commerce announced additional antidumping duties of up to 22.16% on uncoated groundwood paper.
ABOUT CANADIAN MANUFACTURERS & EXPORTERS
Since 1871, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters has been helping manufacturers grow at home and, compete around the world. Our focus is to ensure manufacturers are recognized as engines for growth in the economy, with Canada acknowledged as both a global leader and innovator in advanced manufacturing and a global leader in exporting. CME is a member-driven association that directly represents more than 2,500 leading companies who account for an estimated 82 per cent of manufacturing output and 90 per cent of Canada’s exports.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters


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Microsoft already has its own Windows Live Messenger software, offering IM, voice and video chatting, with membership and usage figures larger than Skype attains for its own otherwise nearly ubiquitous communications platform.
Naturally, Microsoft talks about how the acquisition 'will increase the accessibility of real-time video and voice communications, bringing benefits to both consumers and enterprise users and generating significant new business and revenue opportunities', while extending 'Skype's world-class brand and the reach of its networked platform' and 'enhancing Microsoft's existing portfolio of real-time communications products and services.'
Skype differs from Windows Live Messenger in that it sells discounted telephony services and is available on a wide range of platforms, including TVs.
Under Microsoft's ownership, the company says Skype will 'support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities', and promises to continue 'to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms.'
However, for Microsoft to earn back the $8.5 billion it has spent, Skype needs to become truly ubiquitous and a major tour-de-force in paid global telecommunications, while integrating as seamlessly as possible with as many of Microsoft's products as possible, along with what is promised to be 'new ways' to communicate and collaborate.
Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, said that: 'Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world. Together we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world.'
Skype's current CEO and soon-to-be 'president of the Microsoft Skype Division reporting directly to Steve Ballmer', Tony Bates, said that: 'Microsoft and Skype share the vision of bringing software innovation and products to our customers. Together, we will be able to accelerate Skype's plans to extend our global community and introduce new ways for everyone to communicate and collaborate'.
Presuming there are no hiccups and that the deal goes through smoothly, the acquisition will be Microsoft's biggest yet, following the US $6b acquisition of online ad firm aQuantive, although there was that aborted $48 billion Yahoo takeover attempt that ultimately never went through.
Will telcos be thrilled at Skype clients built into future Windows Phones that would aim to even more effectively bypass telco charges for anything but mobile data?
Will Skype and Windows Live Messenger be 'merged' into one product, or will the two exist as separate products for some time to come?
Will Microsoft really be able to make its $8.5 billion investment really pay when eBay's attempt saw eBay on-sell Skype at a loss?
These and other questions are yet to be answered, but if someone asks 'who you gonna call', Microsoft clearly hopes your answer will be 'someone through Skype!'


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tech2 News StaffOct 03, 2016 17:25:42 IST
Leading industrialist and serial investor Ratan Tata has invested in fitness startup, GOQii. However, there is no word on the financial terms.
GOQii is a leading player in the Indian wearables market, backed by angel investors like Shriram Nene and his wife and Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit Nene and Neeraj Arora (WhatsApp).
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Gondal, CEO and Founder, GOQii said “This is extremely overwhelming and a special moment for all of us at GOQii. With the recent developments and tie-ups on the platform, the investment from Mr. Tata is a testimony to us being a defining player of services in our category making long-term impact in people's life. We feel honored and it further boosts our confidence to accelerate the pace of our growth. We will ensure that GOQii reaches new heights in the healthcare space in India.”
GOQii offers a fitness tracker band coupled with a personal coach. The US-based company had earlier raised USD 13.4 million in a series A funding in November 2015. According to the recent IDC report on the Indian wearable market, GOQii has been ranked number one with a market share of 16.1 percent in Q2 2016. GOQii also earlier raised USD 13.4 million in a Series ‘A’ funding in November 2015.
The company has recently launched a new fitness band and integrating doctors and health services as part of its plans to establishing itself as a preventive healthcare company. It had partnered Max Healthcare as its hospital and medical partner and Thyrocare as the diagnostic partner to help its users book diagnostic appointments and consultations.
Tata, Chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, has invested in a number of Indian and global startups in his personal capacity as well as through RNT Associates, a platform for several Ratan Tata's initiatives and companies. These include firms like Snapdeal, Kaaryah, Urban Ladder, Bluestone, CarDekho, Sabse Technologies, Xiaomi, Ola, DogSpot.in, Tracxn, CashKaro, FirstCry and Teabox.
With inputs from PTI
Find latest and upcoming tech gadgets online on Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadgets reviews & ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparison.


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Construction spending posted a bigger-than-expected 0.2 percent gain in August as strength in non-residential construction offset a continued plunge in home building.
The Commerce Department said Friday that the August increase pushed total construction spending to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.166 trillion.
The gain reflected a 2.3 percent rise in spending on office buildings, shopping centers and other non-residential projects. That was the biggest increase in this category in six months.
Spending on home building fell by 1.5 percent, the 18th straight drop in this area, with more weakness expected in coming months as builders scramble to cut back production in the face of slumping sales and a record number of unsold homes.
Analysts had been forecasting that the weakness in home building would be enough to pull down overall activity by about 0.2 percent. According to revised estimates, construction spending fell by 0.5 percent in July and 0.1 percent in June.


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There’s more emerging about the Sharp Boys’ group attack on Israeli tourism sites. The Jerusalem Post now reports:
The personal information of over 300,000 Israelis was leaked last month by an Iranian hacker group targeting Israeli travel booking sites.
The group, named Sharp Boys, claimed last month that it had obtained data from Israeli tourism sites, including ID numbers, addresses, credit card information and more.
Read more at Jerusalem Post. There seems to be a lot of dispute about the reaction of the website owner to a demand that he upgrade security. But whatever happened, inspectors from the Privacy Protection Authority got a court order and then reportedly seized the operator’s servers. The website operator appears to be the owner of Gol Tours.
But what is going on anyway? It’s not clear that there is any financial motive driving the attackers, so is this nationalist hacktivism?


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The National Journal is reporting that Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, has resigned. Though specific reasons weren't cited, the Journal mentioned Jobs has had health issues recently that could be a contributing factor:
"Steve Jobs, who has been struggling with his health since 2004, resigned as Apple CEO on Wednesday, the company said. He will be replaced, as widely expected, by Tim Cook, the company's chief operating officer.
Apple gave no reason for Jobs' sudden departure, but the 56-year-old Jobs has been on medical leave since January and has looked gaunt at brief appearances to unveil the iPad 2 and at a conference in June. He has been treated for a rare form of pancreatic cancer and had a liver transplant."


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VELOCHAMPION is proud to announce a major sponsorship deal with the new Middle East backed World Tour Cycling Team UAE Abu Dhabi (formerly Lampre-Merida).
VELOCHAMPION will support the passion and drive of Team UAE Abu Dhabi, by becoming the official eyewear sponsor for 2017.
“We are very excited by our sponsorship of a World Tour cycling team “ said owners Ciaran Dunne and Wayne Greenhalgh. “After starting our company from scratch 7 years ago we are now selling cycling products worldwide. We are proud to be a British company now involved at the highest level of the sport we love."
This new team sponsorship combined with other key sponsorship deals worldwide including the Tour of Britain will help showcase our products at the highest level and contribute to the development of new products."
The VELOCHAMPION eyewear collection will be used by everyone on the team which includes riders such as Ben Swift, ex World Champion Rui Costa, Darwin Atapuma, Louis Meintjes, Sacha Modolo, Roberto Ferrari and Diego Ulissi.
“I’ve known the VELOCHAMPION Brand for a few years and I was always impressed by the quality and style of their products. They’ve really started to make a big impression in Europe especially in Italy and it was great to get the Brand on board as a sponsor”, commented Team UAE Abu Dhabi Sponsor Consultant Mauro Gianetti. “I’m confident that the quality of the VELOCHAMPION products will help the team to many victories in 2017”.
VELOCHAMPION added that they will be offering special promotional ‘Team Edition’ eyewear as part of their ‘VELOCUSTOM’ programme, whereby individuals can choose their sunglasses frame, nose piece and lens colour online, from anywhere in the world.


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February fashion week which officially began Thursday February 7th and runs through Wednesday February 13th has exploded onto the winter scene with some notable trends. Firstly, there are fewer designers showcasing their wares as the prohibitive expense of a fashion show has ceased to make sense for the bottom line of companies; Joseph Altuzarra, Marchesa, and Thom Browne were all no-shows. Smaller and virtually unknown designers such as “Dirty Pineapple,” “Priscavera” “Chromat” and “Claudia Li” dominated the landscape. These companies whose revenues are minuscule compared to the large fashion houses quizzically expend money on shows from which they receive little publicity.
There were a couple of houses that continued their collections but failed to have the usual after-party including Tom Ford, Jeremy Scott and Marc Jacobs — in the past these after-parties received more press than the show itself. Many fashion houses keep out the undesirables by keeping their show a secret including Tory Burch, Brandon Maxwell and Proenza Schouler. Tom Ford started the week off on Wednesday February 6th with a show that featured both men and womens’ clothing. Ford is still able to attract the largest amalgam of celebrities which included Odell Beckham Jr., Karlie Kloss, Joe Alwyn, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Courtney Love, Victor Cruz, and Cam Newton-for Tom Ford this was a meager showing. The clothing was signature Tom Ford with few surprises and music that was unsuitable for the clothing. Ford showed the clothing once and didn’t have the usual recap of the collection at the end -I was relieved having seen enough. The next evening Ford held a dinner with a select group of his most important clients some of whom had flown in from around the country.
Many of the Ford attendees headed to the amfAR gala Wednesday evening which was being held at Cipriani Wall Street and contained a bevy of supermodels including Heidi Klum, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lais Ribeiro,Valery Kaufman, Candice Swanepoel and dozens of others. Kim and Kourtney Kardashian also graced the event as well as some Housewives whose names I won’t mention. Guests then headed to club Socialista at Cipriani and to Up & Down for the after-party. AmfAR which was heavily backed by Harvey Weinstein used to attract the likes of Beyonce, De Niro, and DiCaprio but is now a haven for models and reality stars.
Some of these same models appeared at the Thursday morning Ralph Lauren Spring 2019 show held at his Madison Avenue store which he transformed into Ralph’s Cafe. He showed his usual black and gold ensembles with some wide legged white pants and some sequins in the mix-nothing gimmicky or exciting. The company which reported net growth of 5 percent compared to last year is hoping to entice a younger customer into wearing the none-too-hip Ralph. Unlike brands like Gucci, Balenciaga or Valentino that have attracted a younger base by emblazoning the clothing with their brand names Lauren chooses a more understated and obviously less effective approach — sticking to the same old designs without any outer concern that the customer would drop thousands on a simple black pantsuit.
A designer who received an effective bang for his buck was Francesco Ragazzi the Milan guy who heads the “Palm Angels” brand which has caught on among celebrities. On Friday he showed for the first time in New York and luminaries French Montana, Gunna and Alexander Wang sat excitedly in the front row as strobe lights and encased sculptures graced the runway. Ragazzi gave an interview in which he admitted, “When I design a collection I always think about a celebrity”-add him to our celebrity obsessed culture.
Thankfully, there was some levity to the week as Alexander Wang held a lively party which he planned the week before at the Rainbow Room. While many guests danced enthusiastically inside there were hundreds of others waiting in the freezing cold as the venue was filled beyond capacity. Another venue that was similarly shut down on Saturday night was the Tiffany’s “Modern Love Photography Exhibition” held at Industria Studios. If you waited long enough to view the exhibition you were able to socialize amidst the likes of Kendall Jenner, Nina Agdal and Emily Ratajkowski.
Sunday was no less busy as Tory Burch started off the afternoon at Pier 17 with her floral print dresses in full lengths and multi-colored puffer coats — nobody does wearable better than Tory. Many attendees then headed to the party at the Diane Von Furstenberg store on Washington Street which was hosted by Derek Blasberg, Von Furstenberg and Selby Drummond and gathered the likes of Nicky Hilton, Barry Diller, Karlie Kloss, Huma Abedin and Mark Guiducci. Opening Ceremony also hosted a massive Asian themed party in Chinatown which featured Asian candies and snacks, Asian drinks and an Asian band as Justin Theroux and hundreds of others looked on in amazement at this spectacle created at 50 Bowery.
Finally, Philipp Plein also held a competing party at his townhouse on East 71st as he gets ready for his massive “Dinner” fashion show at the Pool Room on Monday evening. The list of exciting events continue as Naeem Khan, Zang Toi, Dennis Basso, Marc Jacobs, Zimmermann and Anna Sui will entertain crowds in the upcoming week so stay tuned!


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Mexico always puts a lot of time into choosing its World Cup jerseys. After all, it is the biggest tournament in football, so it is only appropriate to dress to impress.
In July, the country unveiled its men’s men’s home kit. The Mexican Football Federation and Adidas announced the return of Mexico’s green jerseys. Now, the team has officially announced its away kit.
Before November comes along, let’s take a look at what we can expect this year from Mexico for its away jersey, as well as some history of the nation’s kits:
What will Mexico’s men’s team be wearing as an away kit for the 2022 FIFA World Cup?
Mexico’s football team will be wearing jerseys of red and white for the 2022 World Cup. The jerseys will have heavy imagery and represent the country’s pre-Hispanic memory as well as its modern culture.
The jerseys will feature imagery including:
- A malinalli, which is a grass that ascends to the cosmos but connects to the world through roots
- A conch shell to represent Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, the Mesoamerican god of the dawn, representing the first breath of life and the last exhalation
- A spiral, aimed to reflect words that are based on truth, song and poetry
- The speaking stick or staff carried by Quetzalcóatl, who is the god of the winds, rain and the creator of humanity and one of Mexico’s major deities
- New fires, which symbolize cosmic cycles
- Mexico’s red and white crest
When will these jerseys debut?
The jerseys will debut on Wednesday, Aug. 31, during the Mexico-Paraguay match at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.
The jerseys will be also worn at the Rose Bowl on Sept. 24 when Mexico faces Peru, as well as when the club faces Colombia in Santa Clara, Calif. on Sept. 27.
The first time the jersey will be worn at the 2022 World Cup will be on Nov. 22, when Mexico begins group play against Poland.
Who is manufacturing Mexico’s away kits for the 2022 World Cup?
Adidas is the official manufacturer of Mexico’s home and away kits.
“An homage to Mexican culture – unmistakable the world over,” Adidas stated on its website. “Viva Mexico. Wear your heart on your chest in the Mexico jersey, and train in soccer gear that shows your team pride.”
These jerseys will be available to purchase on Monday, Aug. 29.
What did Mexico wear for the 2021 season?
Last year, Mexico strutted a black and pink “Rosa Mexicano” style.
However, in 2022, Mexico will be showcasing green home jerseys that are set to emulate the 1958 World Cup. The color green is heavily rooted in Mexican football culture. And as aforementioned, the away jerseys will feature red and white, also representing the country’s ancient and modern culture.
When is Mexico playing at the 2022 World Cup?
Mexico will be playing Poland in its opening group play match on Nov. 22 at 11 a.m. ET. In Qatar.
Their second match will be against Argentina on Nov. 26 at 2 p.m ET and their third will be against Saudi Arabia on Nov. 30 at 2 p.m. ET.
What is Mexico’s current FIFA Men’s Ranking?
Mexico’s men’s national football team is currently ranked ninth by FIFA, with 1666.19 points.


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The US is Wrong to Take Such an Aggressive Approach to China -
But That's Always the American Way
Use A Broadsword When a Rapier Would do Just as Well
Take it by Force, if You Can, and Whine if You Can't
Takungpao, Hong Kong; 22 May 2010
If the U.S. really wants to open up the Chinese market and strive for trade equality, the most fundamental way would be to acknowledge China’s market economy status and abolish its outdated technology import bans.
The second round of the U.S.–China Strategic and Economic Dialogue will take place soon. Originally, this was to be a good opportunity for cooperation, but as always, the U.S. continues to pressure China on allowing the Yuan to appreciate, opening up its markets and balance of trade and so on. The flood of requests leads to double standards, thus creating an unfair basis for negotiation. China must therefore protest against this practice for the sake of securing the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese.|
Earlier this year, the U.S. threatened to blacklist China as a currency manipulator. In the end, however, the U.S. had to back down and delay. The Yuan could appreciate, and the dollar could depreciate, but this delay does not solve any problems. The conflicts between the two countries continue. It has been said that in the coming dialogue, the U.S. will request that China allow the Yuan to appreciate. This is inappropriate in the current situation as the European crisis affects the world market and economy.
The euro exchange rate against the dollar has already fallen more than 10 percent. On top of that, many European countries are tightening their fiscal policies. All these in turn negatively affect Chinese and American exports. At this point, instead of continuing to argue about currency, the U.S. should perhaps consider examining ways to stabilize the international monetary system.
The father of the euro, Robert Mundell, has said that major currencies like the dollar, euro and Yuan should form a set exchange rate, which would enhance economic and trade exchanges. Fluctuations are reduced when the Yuan and dollar are linked. This, in turn, stabilizes foreign exchange and contributes to the market system. The main problem facing the world is how to stabilize the frequent fluctuations between the euro and the dollar.
Competition between Europe and the U.S. is high, and the influence of a plunge of the euro is much greater than one of the Yuan. This issue should be dealt with first. In reality, the market’s expectation for Yuan appreciation has subsided significantly, as evidenced by the one-year non-deliverable forward of the Yuan.
The next controversial point between China and the U.S. is protectionism. In recent months, the U.S. has limited imports of Chinese products. Trade unions and associations continue to apply for more restrictions. The situation has worsened. The U.S. has applied 23 more measures against China, which is an increase of 50 percent, and this makes up about 65 percent of China’s trade. It is apparent that the U.S. is number one when it comes to protectionist restrictions.
The situation looks like it will worsen this year, and China needs to counteract. A fundamental problem is the discrimination against China as a non-market economy. The U.S. has indicated that it is difficult to recognize China’s status as a market economy. This is at the core of the economic problem, and China needs to work hard to maintain its rights and viewpoints.
These frictions have existed for years and will intensify as the recovery of the U.S. economy remains unstable and the unemployment rate slowly improves. Protectionist sentiments will continue to be high. What is more worthy of concern is the allegation by some U.S. enterprises that Chinese government procurement encourages independence and discriminates against foreign investment policy. The export of American products to China is hindered, which affects American production in China.
The U.S. has therefore insisted that China remove its protectionist measures to achieve fair competition. Interestingly, the U.S. also has such measures in which members of Congress requested bans on policy that would stimulate economic planning through the purchase of foreign products. Fair competition can only be used on others but not on oneself. It is only fair for China as a developing nation to protect its infant industry and encourage innovation to become more independent.
Such measures are not targeted at foreign enterprises. China encourages sunrise industries like wind turbines and other new energy solutions. Logically, this is far better than the U.S. trying to protect its sunset industry.
If the U.S. really wants to open up the Chinese market and strive for trade equality, the most fundamental way would be to acknowledge China’s market economy status and abolish its outdated technology import bans. This will not hinder the development of China but rather make U.S. enterprises lose business opportunities. The U.S. will only hurt itself.


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What does the Intermix acquisition mean for Gap?
Since Gap’s portfolio includes brands that mostly sell basics at affordable prices — including Banana Republic and Old Navy — the deal surprised several industry observers. While Gap (NYSE: GPS) branched out somewhat with Athleta and Piperlime, Intermix adds a whole new dimension of pricey, high-end fashion to the retailer’s roster.
Still, this is one million-dollar bet that many industry observers are confident will pay off.
“Intermix is a third party that capitalizes on designer labels, so this takes Gap one step higher in trend leadership,” said Piper Jaffray Retail analyst Stephanie Wissink.
Unlike Gap’s other brands, Intermix stocks luxury clothing from established and up-and-coming designers like Fendi, Yves Saint Laurent and Proenza Schouler, catering to a wealthy and brand-conscious clientele.
Using its keen intelligence system that gathers consumer data, Gap can now use Intermix as a sort of fashion lab to inspire trends and new designs across its heritage brands. In essence, “Gap will be able to test fashion trends and see what works and what doesn’t,” said Lazard Capital Markets analyst Jennifer Davis.
That means more accessible trendy fashion options for a lot more people.
In the future, Gap might even be able to strike a few partnerships of its own with up-and-coming designers that have established relationships with Intermix, similar to what Target (NYSE: TGT) did with Neiman Marcus.
Renée Frojo covers hospitality, restaurants, retail and nonprofits for the San Francisco Business Times.
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Updated from 10:45 a.m. with comment from Facebook.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Facebook (FB) - Get Facebook, Inc. Class A Report is already the world's largest social media company, with over 1.2 billion monthly active users (MAUs), and growing. However, if the company is going to enter China and do so to get even bigger, it's probably not going to go it alone.
Bloombergreported Facebook is set to open a sales office in China this year, as it seeks to work with local advertisers, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.
"Chinese exporters and developers are finding Facebook is an excellent way for them to reach customers outside China," Facebook said in an emailed statement. "Today, our sales team in Hong Kong is supporting these Chinese businesses, but because of the rapid growth these businesses are achieving by using Facebook, we are of course exploring ways that we can provide even more support locally and may consider having a sales office in China in the future."
Currently, Facebook is banned in China and though COO Sheryl Sandberg has made inroads in the country, meeting with various Chinese officials, including Cai Mingzhao, the head of China's State Council Information Office.
Should the Mark Zuckerberg-led Facebook enter China officially, it will likely have to do so like almost every other American company, be it in the technology field or not: via a joint venture. Companies like General Motors (GM) - Get General Motors Company (GM) Report, Ford (F) - Get Ford Motor Company Report and others have joint ventures with Chinese-based companies, so it stands to reason that Facebook, the largest social network in the world, would likely have to partner with its Chinese counterpart in order to gain access to the country, and its 1.3 billion citizens.
WATCH: More tech videos on TheStreet TV | More videos from Debra Borchardt
Perhaps Facebook gains entry into China by sharing patents, intellectual property or other methods with Renren or another Chinese social network.
Given the fact that Twitter (TWTR) - Get Twitter, Inc. Report and Facebook are currently not in China, due to the country's apprehension about social media in general, there are a slew of companies Facebook could partner with. Sina's (SINA) - Get SINA Corp. ReportWeibo (WB) - Get Weibo Corp Sponsored ADR Class A Report, essentially the Chinese version of Twitter, could be a potential partner, with its more than 129 million MAUs.
Weibo went public in the U.S. last month, pricing its IPO at $17 a share, selling 16.8 million American depository shares, at the low end of the expected price range.
Among others, WeChat, owned by Tencent, could be another partner, given Facebook's recent announced acquisition of WeChat-competitor, WhatsApp.
Renren, which means "Everyone" in Chinese, is essentially the same as Facebook, in that it "enables users to connect and communicate with each other, share information, create user generated content, play online games, watch videos and enjoy a wide range of other features and services." The company also predicates itself on having people use their real names, something Facebook prided itself on until recently, when it announced it would be embracing anonymous login for apps, though Facebook would still know what apps you were logging into.
As of Dec. 31, 2013, Renren had approximately 206 million activated users with over 80% of user time accessing our services through mobile. That's a pittance compared to the 1.28 billion MAUs Facebook has, but Renren has access to much more in terms of not only user based, but advertising dollars as well.
At the end of the first-quarter, Facebook had 390 million monthly MAUs from Asia, despite not being allowed in Asia. Those 390 million monthly MAUs helped Facebook generate $354 million in revenue from the region, with $333 million coming from advertising, and $21 million in payments and other fees revenue. Facebook totaled $2.5 billion in revenue for the quarter, with $2.265 billion coming from advertising.
Of the three major continents, Asia is still Facebook's least lucrative region, when compared to Europe and the U.S. & Canada. Asian average revenue per user (ARPU) was 93 cents in the first quarter, compared to $2.44 for Europe and $5.85 in U.S. and Canada. The segment known as the rest of the world was Facebook's least lucrative region, generating only 70 cents in ARPU.
It's clear that China provides an enormous opportunity for Facebook and the company is approaching this with caution. Now, it's up to the Chinese to play nice, and allow the world's largest social network access into the country, something investors will no doubt 'like.'
--Written by Chris Ciaccia in New York
>Contact by Email.


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Oracle Corp. shares soared to a record Thursday after the maker of database software signaled growing demand for cloud-based services that compete with Amazon.com Inc. and Salesforce.com Inc.
As it seeks to take on formidable rivals in the fast-growing market for cloud services, Oracle said revenue in that business grew 62% in the third quarter. Meanwhile, new software licenses, a measure that’s tied to Oracle’s traditional on-premise software offerings, declined 16%. Overall, the Redwood City, California-based company reported adjusted profit and sales in the quarter that beat analysts’ estimates.
The third quarter was the first full period since the company acquired NetSuite Inc., a provider of cloud-based e-commerce technology and back-end software managing customer records, inventory levels and financial records, for $9.3 billion, one of its largest-ever deals. NetSuite is one of the biggest pure providers of these modern software features, having carved out a leadership position in the market for tools that manage customers’ core financials. Adjusted sales in the part of the cloud business that includes NetSuite rose 85%.
“It appears that business activity was solid, particularly for cloud,” John DiFucci, an analyst at Jefferies LLC, said in a research note before the results were released. Oracle’s “approach to transitioning its business to cloud has taken a more healthy form.”
The Oracle earnings report marked three straight quarters of revenue gains after more than a year of declines. Oracle has been adding products and pushing customers toward its cloud-based business software and services, which offer computing and storage power from remote sites. Oracle’s infrastructure offering, a product that goes head-to-head with Amazon Web Services, will eventually be the software company’s biggest cloud business, Executive Chairman Larry Ellison said.
The shares rose as much as 9% Thursday in New York, the biggest intraday jump in more than two years and sending the stock to a record $46.94. They had gained 12% so far this year through Wednesday.
“These results show a nice upward inflection in the overall business as new cloud revenues are more than offsetting the declines in software license sales,” Rodney Nelson, an analyst at Morningstar, said via email. That performance and Ellison’s comments may “be fueling some additional optimism around the transition,” he said.
Net income in the recent quarter rose 4.5% to $2.24 billion, Oracle said. The company also raised its quarterly cash dividend to 19 cents a share, up from 15 cents. Profit before certain items was 69 cents a share, compared with an average estimate of 62 cents. Adjusted sales rose 2.9% to $9.27 billion in the period that ended Feb. 28. On average, analysts had projected $9.26 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
On a conference call after the report Wednesday Ellison said to expect some large deals for customers moving databases to the “infrastructure-as-a-service” business, the company’s Amazon competitor that provides core computing power and storage. Ellison said his service has technological advantages and he expects big things from the lineup.
“We are now in position to help our hundreds of thousands of database customers move millions of Oracle databases to our infrastructure-as-a-service cloud,” Ellison said. “And before long, infrastructure-as-a-service will become Oracle’s largest cloud business.”
Chief Executive Officer Safra Catz also expressed optimism about the cloud. She said that piece of the business should grow 25% to 29% in the current quarter, on an adjusted basis and measured in constant currency. The other part of Oracle’s cloud business, which includes applications for human resources and finances, should grow 69% to 73%, she said on the call.
Overall, she expects fourth-quarter adjusted sales to range from a decline of 1% to a gain of 2%, based on constant currency. Adjusted earnings are forecast to be 78 cents to 82 cents a share.


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Many airlines have made it harder in recent years for travelers to redeem frequent flyer miles for points. That’s left some people with thousands of reward miles sitting in their account and no way to use them for a flight they want. Now, some can put those miles to good use by redeeming them for credits that can be used to pay for college tuition or student loans.
Members of Air Canada’s Aeroplan rewards program can trade in 35,000 miles for a $250 HigherEdPoints credit, which can then be used to pay tuition at schools like York University, University of Windsor, and Ryerson University. The credits can also be used to pay off loans from the Ontario Student Assistance Program and Student Aid Alberta and for tuition at a handful of private K-12 schools and community and technical colleges.
Suzanne Tyson, who founded HigherEdPoints in 2013, told Bloomberg that $125,000 in certificates had been redeemed so far. One beneficiary of the program is Charles Bernatchez, a 26-year-old graduate of the University of Alberta, who used 210,000 points to pay off $1,500 of his $40,000 in student loans. He amassed the points by asking friends and family to donate miles to his account and by using a miles-earning credit card when making reimbursable purchases for his job and volunteer work.
HigherEdPoints currently has only one loyalty program partner and its credits are only good at Canadian universities and two medical and veterinary schools in the Caribbean. But the company isn’t the only one trying to turn rewards points into a tool to help people pay for their education.
People who sign up with Upromise can earn cash back from activities like shopping online and dining at participating restaurants. The company, which is owned by student loan giant Sallie Mae, also has a credit card that offers 1% cash back rewards on all purchases. Money earned through Upromise can be used to pay down eligible Sallie Mae loans, transferred to a 529 plan or high-yield savings account, or paid out via check.
Participants in the Sage Tuition Rewards program earn points for activities like investing with certain financial institutions. Points can then be redeemed for tuition discounts at participating private colleges and universities.
Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards program offers student loan rebates that can be used to pay off college debt at any financial institution. Rewards start at $25 for 2,500 points. Cash-back credit cards are another way to earn extra money to pay off a student loan or cover college costs.
In some cases, you may even be able to use your card to make student loan or tuition payments, potentially racking up extra rewards. Getting $1% cash back on a $10,000 tuition payment translates into a $100 discount. If you’re earning bonus rewards, like extra miles or points after charging a certain amount to your card, the payoff can be much greater.
But before you whip out your credit card, make sure you know what you’re getting into. Some loan holders and schools won’t accept credit card payments, and others will only do so for a fee, which will often cancel out any benefit you’d get from using a card. Fifty-six percent of colleges and universities in the U.S. accept tuition payments via credit card without charging a fee, CreditCards.com reported. You also need to be the kind of person who pays their credit card bills promptly, as carrying a balance quickly erases the value of any rewards you earn.
“[A]ny points or miles you earn on credit cards are essentially negated by interest and finance charges (which are unfortunately much more expensive than student loans), so you should only charge tuition to a credit card if you can pay the balance off in full,” explained Nick Ewen in an article for The Points Guy.
Some people will go to great lengths to use rewards to get a tuition break. Take Jonathan Hood, a Ph.D. student at Auburn University who in 2012 paid a semester’s worth of tuition (about $4,500) with money he earned from rebates, Business Insider reported.
Yet the promise of rewards, whether it’s free tuition or some other perk, can be a double-edged sword. A 2010 study by researchers at the University of Chicago found that credit card incentives enticed people to spend more. Rather than busting your budget to earn a modest reward, it probably makes more sense to take that money and use it to pay off debt directly or cover an upcoming tuition bill.


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will be out later this month
Put on your vault dweller suit, switch on your Comprar Levitra PIP Boy 3000, and get ready to head out into the wasteland. Shacknews says Fallout 3 has gone Bio Primo Methenolone Enanthate gold, bringing Bethesda's work to a close over four years after it announced the title. The game will now head off to duplication, and as we've already reported, it will finally hit stores on October 28 in North America and on "Anadrol 50" October 31 in "Achat Anabolisant Belgique" Europe. Bethesda has developed PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 versions of Fallout 3 simultaneously.
In case you've been living under a rock these past few years (or you just don't pay much attention to games), Fallout 3 takes up where the 1990s isometric role playing game "Oxandrolone Powder India" series left off, bringing a graphical makeover and a Anavar Cycle Length 3D game world "4-chlorodehydromethyltestosterone Ireland" full of fancy shader effects. Instead of Fallout series creator Black Isle Studios, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion developer Bethesda Softworks has put Dianabol No Side Effects together this new game.


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Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin today announced a partnership with Mastercard and Urban Impact to create #BuyBlackBham to support Black-owned businesses during the holidays.
#BuyBlackBham is a holiday spending campaign and economic impact platform to encourage consumers to shop local, Black-owned businesses in Birmingham.
The spending campaign begins today, Cyber Monday, and will continue through Kwanzaa, Jan. 1, 2022. Those who shop using the #BuyBlackBham platform can scan, upload and text receipts and invoices from purchases and qualify for a raffle. The first raffle drawing will be Friday, Dec. 17, and the second will occur on Tuesday, Jan. 4.
“We are pleased to partner with Mastercard and Urban Impact to encourage spending with Black-owned businesses. We want this to transition from a campaign into a community of support,” Woodfin said. “I am committed to building a resilient and inclusive economy. This program is one of many to support and grow Black businesses, which have been historically under-resourced.”


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Flipkart Internet, which runs the company's retail platform, has received an infusion of Rs 370 crore from its Singapore company Flipkart Marketplace
Losses were up by 110%, as the Bengaluru-based company continued to ramp up spending to fend off US-based online retail giant Amazon’s $5-billion war chest for India.
Flipkart's parent company reduces equity infusion in Flipkart Marketplace to Rs 1,629 cr from Rs 5,456 cr a year earlier
Flipkart Internet’s employee benefit expenses swelled threefold to Rs 476 crore, according to its filing with the Registrar of Companies.
The company posted revenue of Rs 659 crore in the year ended March 31, compared with Rs 179 crore the previous year, according to a recent filing with the Registrar of Companies.


text: Nintendo spawned a lot of excitement among fans of the Super Smash. Bros series by announcing a new game in the series for the Wii U. However, according to Nintendo lead designer Masahiro Sakurai, we’ll have to wait several years before seeing Super Smash Bros. on the Wii U, and mentioned that he was surprised by the early announcement of the game. In his weekly column in Japanese game magazine Famitsu, he said (translated by 1UP), “I’m not sure it’s the smartest thing to make gamers wait for several years, but the early announcement was made chiefly in order to attract new team members.” He continued, adding that he and his team intended to make a 3DS version of Super Smash Bros., but the Wii U version was announced, and it meant that Sakurai now had to make two Super Smash Bros. games., one of which (the Wii U version), won’t be out until a few years later. local_offer Masahiro Sakurai Nintendo super smash Super Smash Bros wii u stars Further Reading Super Smash Bros coming to Switch in 2018 Consumer council in Europe alleges Nintendo i Captain N Deff looking forward to seeing this in HD and also interested in how its going to link up with the 3DS !! CTRAINGAMER Second!


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Car parks along Egerton Street in the town centre are currently being dug up to make way for the scheme.
Originally named the Bridgefield development, the Redrock project will include a 10-screen cinema, food and drink outlets, shops and a 340-space car park.
The Light Cinemas will be ‘anchor-tenant’ for the development, which will also have a licensed café bar. There will also be a new public square linking to the rest of the town centre.
Retail units will be over 41,500 sq ft.
Preparatory work has already started, with the main construction likely to start this autumn. The development is planned to open in spring 2017.
Coun Patrick McAuley, executive member for thriving economy at Stockport Council, said: “Redrock is a flagship development and interest in the scheme is a real boost to the local economy.
“Economic growth is all about jobs, businesses making money and an appetite for success. Redrock ticks all these boxes and I’m really excited for Stockport’s future.”


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Stein Mart introducing new home goods line
Jacksonville-based Stein Mart (NASDAQ: SMRT) will soon be introducing a new line of home goods from across the pond courtesy of London-based designer Nina Campbell, according to a news release.
Stein Mart said the new collection will be available Friday and is elegant but approachable. The collection includes bedding, bath linens and other home accessories.
Five months after the launch of their online site, the Nina Campbell collection will be available both in stores and online.
In January They were up 3.1 percent for the quarter in comparable store sales, and 3.7 percent for the year.
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Unlike tariffs on imports or subsidies for exports, border adjustments are not trade policy. Instead, they are paired and equal adjustments that create a level tax playing field for domestic and overseas competition; Border adjustments do not distort trade, as exchange rates should react immediately to offset the initial impact of these adjustments. As a corollary, border adjustments do not distort the pattern of domestic sales and purchasesHe is saying this in context of his Destination Based (DB) Cash Flow Tax (CFT). His claim on transfer pricing are getting some attention from the international tax law crowd:
Border adjustments eliminate the incentive to manipulate transfer prices in order to shift profits to lower-tax jurisdictions; and Border adjustments eliminate the incentive to shift profitable production activities abroad simply to take advantage of lower foreign tax rates.I was bothered with this claim as was a November 18, 2016 discussion in BNA’s International Tax Monitor:
The new destination-based cash flow tax would likely change transfer pricing overnight, as incentives to shift high-cost intangibles overseas would be heavily negated. They would require a new look at U.S. tax treaties with permanent establishment clauses, and would cast new light on the OECD’s project to combat tax base erosion and profit shifting, as one of its key participants moves away from the arm’s-length principle and toward a system similar—though hardly identical—to formulary apportionment. The hybrid nature of the proposed tax has left many wondering if it will run afoul of World Trade Organization rules against border adjustments for income taxes—an issue the blueprint itself addresses, claiming that as a cash flow-through tax it wouldn’t apply... The simplicity of taxing income based on the location of sales is one reason why many critics of the current system look to the proposal with some wary optimism.I think the real issue here is that this proposal smooshes together two very different ideas sort of like how shimmer was a floor wax and a dessert topping. Auerbach has been pushing a tax on economic profits instead of accounting profits for a long time. But typically profits taxes are sourced based not residence based. Now it is true that developing nations don’t like the idea of paying royalties to developed nations so they have favored residence based approaches but the OECD has favored sourced based approach to taxing income. Then again, a company like Apple neither declares its foreign based income in the US or in China but in places like Bermuda, which is why they make like Auerbach’s idea, which was my point here:
The House GOP proposal would effectively say we do not get to tax these profits. And yes I know that Apple has found a way to get all these profits sourced to Bermuda anyway. But this was the whole point of Senate hearings on May 21, 2013.Sales taxes on the other hand are often DB although there may be exceptions. Excise taxes such as those on tobacco or medical devices are DB. And as I noted there may be transfer prices depending on how the excise tax is precisely administered. Auerbach can claim DB sales taxes do not distort trade but this does not hold for DB profits taxation. Permit me to expand upon this discussion:
Let’s take the Tax Foundation’s first example: “So if a business purchases $100 million in goods from a supplier overseas, the cost of those goods would not be deductible against the corporate income tax.” The foreign profits on those goods would be taxable so how do the proponents of this idea address the prospect of double taxation? Of course a Canadian manufacturer would be tempted to price their goods at production cost so as to have no Canadian taxable income. That would eliminate the double taxation but no sane person would think the Canadian Revenue Agency would accept this non-arm’s length transfer pricing.Let’s do so by considering Trump Toaster Ovens (TTO) which are a hit in Michigan and are sold by Detroit Distributors but are manufactured in Canada by Windsor Warehouses –both of which are owned by a Toronto based holding company run by Tiffany Trump. TTOs sell for $125 a piece with the cost of production being $80. They are shipped across the Ambassador Bridge to Detroit Distributors which incurs $20 in operating expenses. Total profits are $25 per oven with 80% going to the Canadian affiliate if the intercompany price is $100. US tax rates are now 35% and Canadian tax rates are close to 25% so with no repatriation tax involved (Canada is a territorial system), the effective tax rate is 27%. While currently Tiffany might want to raise the intercompany price – she knows the IRS could object. Of course Auerbach’s DBCFT would change her incentives as she might want to lower this price to only $80 to eliminate the Canadian income tax – assuming the Canadian Revenue Agency does not object. What’s going on here? Auerbach admits:
System is equivalent to the combination of 1. A broad-based consumption tax (e.g. a retail sales tax or a VAT) 2. An equal rate subsidy to payrollIn effect, we would repeal the corporate profits tax for multinationals but then give them a payroll subsidy. Whether this violates current WTO rules, it certainly is a distortion facing sourcing production in Detroit over Windsor. Maybe Trump might like this idea but this is precisely because he wants to use tax policy to shift production away from foreign sources and back to places like Michigan.


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Elliott publicly pitches five director nominees for Hyundai
Hedge fund Elliott Management is continuing to press Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Mobis to accept its proposals ahead of a shareholders meeting slated for March 22.
On March 7, Elliott posted videos to introduce five nominees as directors, who it recommended the two firms appoint to improve management, on its dedicated website.
“The proposed independent shareholder nominees are part of Elliott’s shareholder resolutions that it has put forward for consideration at the company’s annual general meeting,” it said in a statement.
“These resolutions are designed both to transform governance at Mobis and Hyundai Motor company and to right-size the companies’ over-capitalized balance sheets.”
In addition to appointing the five directors, the New York-based activist fund is asking Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Mobis to dole out $6.3 billion in a one-off dividends payment, claiming the two hoard funds unnecessarily and mismanage them.
In response, Hyundai flatly rejected the requests, saying it was sticking to its plan of paying less than $1 billion in combined dividends.
“The shareholders’ meetings are just two weeks away. Elliott is expected to press Hyundai harder to drum up support from other shareholders,” Prof. Kim Pil-soo at Daelim College said.
“If Elliott is defeated in the proxy showdown by a big margin, it might begin thinking on how to exit from its Hyundai investment.”
Chung Eui-sun versus Paul Singer
In the two separate shareholders’ meetings on March 22, Kim expects that Hyundai Motor and Mobis are likely to win the proxy war.
Early this month, Elliott, which is headed by Paul Singer, said that it holds a 2.9 percent stake in Hyundai Motor and 2.6 percent in Hyundai Mobis. Last year, it said that it spent $1 billion to snap up Hyundai shares.
If Elliott does not divest itself of the stocks, the fund is projected to keep taking issue with Hyundai Motor Group’s attempts to revamp its management structure, which Elliott claims is aimed at helping Executive Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun take full control of Korea’s No. 2 conglomerate.
Chung is the only son of Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Mong-koo.


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Called the Amazon Managed Blockchain, Amazon Web Services customers will be able to create and manage a “scalable blockchain network.”
Called the Amazon Managed Blockchain, the platform will allow Amazon Web Services (AWS) customers create and manage a “scalable blockchain network with just a few clicks.”
Amazon says AWS customers will have the option to choose between open source frameworks like Hyperledger Fabric and Ethereum to build their platforms. The service will also be offered in two different network options: Starter Edition and Standard Edition.
“Managed Blockchain eliminates the overhead required to create the network, and automatically scales to meet the demands of thousands of applications running millions of transactions,” the company explains.
The platform will further enable users to manage certificates, invite members to the network and track operational metrics including compute usage, memory and storage resources.
Amazon Managed Blockchain will also duplicate fixed copies of a user’s blockchain activity into the Amazon Quantum Ledger Database (QLDB), where customers can analyze network activity outside the network and “gain insights into trends.”
Of note, Amazon stresses the QLDB platform is not a blockchain technology; rather, it is a database ledger for customers to maintain data changes within their applications and “manage in a centralized way.”
In AWS’ FAQ page on the Amazon Managed Blockchain, it explains that users participating in the preview are allowed to engage in a single Hyperledger Fabric network with up to six channels. Users can then create up to three members with a single peer node for each member. Networks can also include up to five members across different AWS accounts with a maximum of three members owned under each account.
Amazon explains that these restrictions will change when the platform becomes “generally available.”
When launched, the Starter Edition will target test networks and small production networks. The Starter Edition allows for a maximum of five members per network and two peer nodes per member.
Meanwhile, the Standard Edition is aimed at production networks with a maximum of 30 members per network with 10 peer nodes per member.
As it currently stands, the Amazon Managed Blockchain is in preview mode in the US. East. The company claims it will open to more regions “soon,” although it did not disclose when.
Shares of Amazon were up 6.09 percent to close Wednesday’s trading session at US$1,677.75. After hours trading dropped its share price down slightly by 0.045 percent to an even US$1,677 as of 6:36 p.m. EST.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.


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The French retail group operates the Sandro, Maje and Claudie Perlot chains.
• Miles Socha
N.Y. Makers: Looking Endangered
NEW YORK — As the base of apparel manufacturing jobs in this city continues to dwindle, a growing number of think tanks and government agencies are turning to the question of what, if anything, can be done to save New York’s production...
Rei Kawakubo - a designer's designer if there ever was one - is said to be the subject of a solo exhibition next spring at the @metmuseum. Here's a look from her epic Broken Bridal collection for @commedesgarcons from fall 2005. Get the full scoop at WWD.com. (📷: @giovanni_giannoni_photo)


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The escalating US-China trade tensions is already having an impact on European businesses in China. An official with the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said that this despite the fact that it is not until next week that the first shot of an all-out trade war would be fired.
Expecting that there would be a fall in trade flows because of the escalating trade confrontation between the US and China, a China-US shipping route has been decided to be closed down by a large Top of FormEuropean logistics firm, said
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George Lau, a vice-president of the chamber, which represents the interests of EU companies operating in China.
“They don’t know what to do,” Lau, board chairman of the South China chapter, said of the European company.
Lau did not name the company but said that the firm is still being patient to watch the developing trade dispute and its impact on shipments.
The Trump administration has announced the imposition of 25 per cent tariff on Chinese goods imported into the country worth $34 billion worth and it is set to come into force from July 6.
In response to those proposed tariffs, threat of imposing equivalent tariffs on the same amount of American products was issued by China. on this threat, US President Donald Trump has again threatened to impose a 10 per cent tariff on another set of Chinese goods worth $200 billion in case Beijing imposes the tariff.
Business sentiment is being dampened by a looming trade war which has also had an impact on his own company said Lau while speaking on the sidelines of an event Friday. He owns a company\y called TÜV Rheinland which is a technology service provider.
“When you are a part of the Chinese market, you can’t avoid that,” he said. “The larger a company is, the deeper it may get hurt.”
European companies were being forced to postpone investment decisions because of the trade battle, said Chamber president Mats Harborn. Such postponement “might trigger the ending of the boom period of the present business cycle”.
In order to counter what it calls the “protectionism and isolationism” of Trump’s America, the Chinese government has been appealing to the multinational companies for support.
If there is a trade war, China would still remain open for business, promised Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a meeting with executives from American and European multinational companies in Beijing last week. he also said that the Chinese government would take up measures to open up its economy further for foreign companies.
(Adapted from SCMP.com)


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Lowe’s and Virginia Tech have developed a new wearable robotic suit with lift-assist technology that helps employees lift and carry merchandise through the store more efficiently and with less change of repetitive injuries. The exosuit is now being piloted at Lowe’s Christiansburg, Virginia store, and it was a product of Lowe’s Innovation Lab.
Walmart is currently “testing new approaches in two recently opened supercenters" in Tomball, TX, and Lake Nona, FL featuring new layouts and technology to improve the shopping experience, according to a corporate blog post written by Jeff Muench, senior director of Business Development. The pilot is designed to see how new features can help boost the overall customer experience and help raise sales.
A new robotic prototype from Swiss company Teleretail AG would be capable of traveling distances up to 50 miles to deliver goods, expanding the potential for suburban and rural delivery applications, according to TechCrunch.
Target has unveiled 360 ° Shopping, a virtual experience on its website, that features curated living room looks and the ability to browse some 140 products in a virtual living room designed to help visualize the size, scale and styling of items, according to a company blog post.
DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. is experiencing a high as it capitalizes on the current turmoil in the sporting goods market. Last year’s bankruptcy of rival Sports Authority helped boost DICK’s sales and position, as it won intellectual property rights and some store leases in its wake. Golfsmith also exited the market last year, giving DICK’s a larger share of the marketplace.
New owner says it is liquidating assets at all locations, but only closing some of them.
In the latest move to improve fulfillment and boost customer engagement, Target has announced that it is launched a pilot of Target Restock, a program that allows customers to shop for household essentials online and have them delivered to their home the following day. The pilot will be conducted this summer in the Minneapolis area.
Walmart published patent for system of connected sensors to monitor product consumption.
Brett Whalin joins company as head of global enterprise-wide information, product, and data security.
As retailers face growing pressure to facilitate seamless transactions across a variety of touchpoints, they are failing to adequately equip themselves to perform. Despite the growing importance of cross-channel commerce, a new study from 1WorldSync has found that 60 percent of retailers have invested less than 20 percent of their total commerce budget on digital and mobile commerce expansion in the last year.


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According to the report, updates from Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” of Google would not be making its way to smaller developers anytime shortly: The company has chosen to postpone the release of the source code of Android 3.0 to the public.
It’s not easy to understand why Google is Android 3.0: the update has long been advertized as being prepared specially for tablets, and Google has been oddly calm concerning how precisely the update will be appropriate to smartphones. The rush to deliver a compelling tablet OS of the company was most probable motivated by the release of the iPad 2, that’s why Android 3.0 tablets similar to the Motorola Xoom were made known last January, months before Apple had even verified the subsistence of the iPad 2.
Andy Rubin, Android Head of Google also corroborates this line of thinking to Bloomberg: he said, “To make our schedule to ship the tablet, we made some design tradeoffs. We didn’t want to think about what it would take for the same software to run on phones. It would have required a lot of additional resources and extended our schedule beyond what we thought was reasonable. So we took a shortcut.”
Currently that shortcut is lastly reappearing to gnaw Google. The postponement, which is anticipated to end for only some months, will certainly enrage open source supporters who believe that the whole Android development process of Google’s entire Android must be open for everybody to witness.
This news means that we would not have tablets from lesser gadget makers and Android 3.0 phones anytime soon for consumers. Motorola will go on to distribute its Xoom tablets, and other Android 3.0 tablets from foremost companies similar to 10-inch Galaxy Tab of Samsung are not being affected.
The actual query at present is if it was value it for Google to shove Android 3.0’s improvement to fight with the iPad 2. Xoom tablet of Motorola was checked carefully, although its sales haven’t been wherever close to iPad 2 levels. It’s as well more costly as and thicker than the iPad 2, so there’s very small convincing consumers to select it over Apple’s line up.
photo credit: win.downloadatoz.com


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One of Jesse Owens‘ four 1936 Olympic gold medals will be put up for sale next week by Goldin Auctions.
Owens triumphed in the face of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany at the Berlin Games, taking the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and long jump.
This could be the second Owens gold to be sold in recent years, after one was auctioned in 2013 for $1,466,574, the highest price ever for a piece of Olympic memorabilia.
Two more were said to be put up for auction in 2017, but there are no widespread reports of sales actually happening.
This gold medal was gifted by Owens to John Terpak, a U.S. Olympic weightlifter in 1936 and 1948, after Terpak helped Owens garner speaking engagements, according to Goldin. The previous gold that sold for $1.4 million was gifted by Owens to a different friend.
Terpak died in 1993 and passed the medal on to his son and daughter, who consigned it to Goldin.
The medal is part of Goldin Auctions’ Holiday Auction from Monday through Dec. 7 on GoldinAuctions.com. The listings also include Tommy Lasorda‘s autographed lineup card from the 2000 Olympic baseball gold-medal game.
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The new Kigali City Tower (KCT) is slated to open in the next few weeks, and when it does, there will be some brand new stores in Kigali, as RNA reports Nike and Apple are warming up for the grand opening.
There will also be another Bourbon Café, a second Nakumatt Superstore, a Multiplex cinema, a sports bar, a fitness centre, a daycare service and several restaurants and nightclubs.
Among these new high-end stores will be the second Mille Collines Kigali-Barcelona designer clothing store. The first store, which opened in 2009, is tucked into a corner of the Union Trade Centre and sells trendy, quality women’s clothing with African flair.
The co-owner, Ms. Ines Cuatrecasas, describes the line as being quite sophisticated. “The clothing is trendy, yet casual, not catwalk. It’s classic and combinable and can be worn on many occasions – work, cocktail parties, weddings.”
Ms. Cuatrecasas and her partner Marc Oliver, who have their flagship store in Nairobi, are looking forward to the opening of their new store in KCT. “We want to be in Kigali. This is where we were born,” says Cuartecasas.
New women fashion with African flair
The idea for the store was born in 2008. Cuatrecasas, whose mother runs the NGO AfricaDigna, had travelled to Africa many times. In her travels, she came across Ms. Antoinette Mukakalisa, a Rwandan woman who has been involved with fashion and the clothing industry her whole life.
Mukakalisa convinced Cuartecasas that there was a huge potential to do fashion in Rwanda, but very few opportunities. There were many talented women who could sew and lots of natural material. So Mukakalisa assisted in putting together Cuartecasas and Oliver’s first collection in 2008.
“The first collection was called Mzee, we had travelled around Rwanda for inspiration and were inspired by an old man we saw, who mixed old vintage hats and suits with African fabric,” says Cuatrecasas.
After the first collection was created, Cuartecasas took it to her home in Barcelona, Spain where she was born and raised, to test the reaction there. She conducted market research with 20 women to try and figure out if the brand would be sustainable.
“The women liked the product when they didn’t know where it was from, but as soon as they heard the words cooperation, aid and NGO the brand fell and they were not willing to buy it,” explains Cuartecasas. “We then had to think about our approach. We didn’t want to just brand it as responsible consumerism, but we didn’t want to hide it either. Now we just really market the quality.”
Eventually Cuartecases was able to start selling her accessory line in Spain and it was a success. They then opened their Milles Collines Barcelona-Kigali stores in Kigali and Nairobi. Recently, they collaborated with the US brand Anthropologie and have also sold accessories to the US store Macy’s.
“We are expanding little by little and I think it’s working,” says Cuartescasas. “But its work, work, work. So much work goes into marketing, establishing values and a philosophy, and getting everything right. But it’s also really fun and we get to go out and meet a lot of people.”
Cuartecases says her new Milles Collines Kigali-Barcelona shop in the KCT will be all about quality in the store and the experience. “We want a different level of store than those usually found in Africa. The clothing and the service will be very high-quality.”
“Our main aim is to prove to Africans and the rest of the world that it is possible to do a quality product and not just an ethnic product. There is potential to produce a high, high-quality brand,” emphasizes Cuartecases.
The new Milles Collines Kigali-Barcelona store will be located on the ground floor of the KCT, near the Nakumatt.


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“If I could just cherry-pick AMC, FX and not have to pay for Nickelodeon and not have to pay for all the other stuff, you might get there,” said Mike White, chairman/chief executive officer of DirecTV, at a MoffettNathanson Research event.It probably won’t happen, though. It wouldn’t be simple for the likes of Disney to partner with Dish Network to start an OTT service. Instead, White believes, Disney and others will do all they can to package in as many channels as possible. Because they are big diversified TV/media companies, they will use their leverage to get the most bang for their buck, defeating what price-sensitive TV consumers ideally seek -- to spend less on TV by signing up for just the handful of channels they want to watch.
White said even a $35 or $40 a month TV package isn’t cheap enough, that more than $12 a month turns off these consumers.
The likes of Aereo, at just under $10 a month, may a good idea for a cheaper product. But Aereo’s viability is still up in the air, with the Supreme Court expected to rule on it sometime in the middle of next month.
Even then, getting content owners to sell their channels on a selective, individual basis to a DirecTV, Dish or Comcast for a slimmed-down OTT service would be tricky. That’s because big media-content producers also want to continue selling their usual bundle of networks to TV distributors for those all-inclusive, high-priced, all-you-can-eat services.
What would make a true OTT a la carte service work? The answer: incremental revenue for all parties -- and savings for consumers. That’s a floss-thin tightrope. White says these new-type of OTT services might just “cannibalize” the old ones.
“Cannibalization” and “a la carte”: Words to be entertained by.


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Ballet School are airing a new video for ‘Pale Saint’, a standout from their glossy, ‘80s-nodding pop record ‘The Dew Lasts An Hour’.
Singer Rosie Blair fronts the new video, which sees ridiculously pale shades flicker in and out of the frame in some futuristic glimpse of what it’d be like up in heaven. Chuck in a couple of PC Music-style manmade objects and futuristic but cheekily fake CGI and this is the definitive sound and image of the future and past colliding.
Ballet School recently gave DIY an insight into their early days with an Upbringing interview - read that here.
Watch Ballet School’s ‘Pale Saint’ video below.
More like this
Rosie Blair talks through her early days, from growing up in a small Northern Ireland town to awkward guitar shop experiences.
When ‘The Dew Lasts An Hour’ is good, it is very good.
Berliners release their new album ‘The Dew Lasts an Hour’ this September.
Berlin-based trio pirouette their way into pop bliss with a take from their Bella Union debut.


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(Reuters) – Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd is cutting jobs across the world, the company said on Friday, as it consolidates its software, hardware and applications business. BlackBerry, which reported a 16.8 percent fall in quarterly revenue in March, had about 6,225 full-time employees as of Feb. 2015, according to its website. The company is reallocating resources to capitalize on growth opportunities and achieve profitability across all its business segments, a company spokeswoman said in an e-mailed statement.
Quoted from BlackBerry cuts jobs worldwide as it consolidates businesses on Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News
BlackBerry cuts 4500 jobs, loses nearly $1 billion in Q2. With over a third of its staff gone and with its stock continuing to drop, it looks like we're close to the end of BlackBerry. BlackBerry announced another round of job cuts Tuesday as it deals with weak smartphone sales and pushes ahead with a restructuring plan. in smartphone consolidation Open this photo in gallery: A Q10 smartphone is seen in front of a displayed stock graph in this photo illustration taken in Tags: blackberry, cuts, jobs, worldwide,


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Britain’s advertisers have shaved around £44 million off their TV ad spend for the final quarter of the year, marking a channel change from the traditional Christmas television adverts towards digital activities.
Festive advertisers are instead targeting shoppers through Google, YouTube and social media sales – despite a record £6.4bn record marketing spend predicted for the Christmas period. This figure, which is up £300 million on last year will be the most ever spent in the festive period, despite festive TV ad spend falling £44 million.
In contrast, retailers are expected to spend 12% more this year on digital media, at £3.5 billion. This is a £90 million increase on 2017 figures for the Christmas period. Around 10% of that will be directed at Google search ads, Facebook ad spend will account for £953 million, with online video advertising spend will be dominated by YouTube and account for £667 million, a 31% year-on-year jump.
Read the full story here: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/nov/14/festive-advertisers-dump-tv-for-online-media
November online retail spending already tops $1 billion
Adobe digital insights is reporting that the holiday shopping season has begun already, initiated by Veterans’ Day in the US last weekend. It says in the first 12 days of November, over $1 billion was spent online, a figure which is consistent with 2017 spending levels.
Veterans’ Day Weekend was the catalyst for a flurry of online purchases, data shows with lots of deals and discounts encouraging shoppers to begin their seasonal shopping. There was a 29.1% growth year-on-year for Veteran’s Day itself and even higher spending the following day – which put Monday 12 November as the first $2 billion day of this year’s holiday shopping season.
John Lewis says warmer weather is behind its slump
John Lewis says its fashion and homewares sales have slumped, leading to a drop in weekly revenue after weeks of consecutive growth, due to milder weather. The department store has reported that its overall sales have plummeted 8.3% with an 11.1% fall in fashion as warmer than expected temperatures mean winter clothing sales have stalled. The chain also says its homeware sales are down 11.2% – something it again attributes to the mild weather conditions.
Read the full story here: https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2018/11/weekly-sales-john-lewis-partnership/
Aldi and Lidl out in front as Christmas race begins
Discount supermarket chains, Aldi and Lidl have stormed to the head of the pack as the Christmas race begins with shoppers making an additional 14 million trips to store in the three months prior to 12 November compared with last year.
Aldi has reported a 15.5% sales increase, the fastest since January and grown market share by 0.9% to 7.6%. This is the largest gain of any supermarket for four years.
Lidl is also faring well, with a double digit sales increase for the second consecutive month.


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Now more than ever, U.S. businesses know how important it is to take advantage of export opportunities around the world. From coast to coast, businesses are selling their world-class goods to the more than 95 percent of potential customers who live outside our borders. The 2015 Metropolitan Area Export Overview is a clear indicator of this movement, as many cities have increased exports or even set records. And along with the nation’s largest metropolitan areas sending out more American goods, many smaller areas have also set trade records.
Now to the numbers: U.S. metropolitan area goods exports exceeded 1.3 trillion in 2015, and accounted for 89 percent of goods exported from the United States. There were 156 metro areas that exported more than $1 billion of goods to consumers around the world. There were 14 metro areas that exported more than $20 billion of goods in 2015.
Let’s look at a couple examples: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington; and El Paso Texas, both of which set records in 2015, have experienced impressive growth from 2009 to 2015. The Seattle area was ranked in the top five for 2015, while El Paso, Texas ranked in the top 20.
El Paso registered double-digit export growth in 2015, shipping $24 billion in goods abroad. El Paso has made impressive increases since 2009; this year representing a 22 percent increase from 2014, and a 217 percent increase from 2009. The city’s largest export goods categories included computers and electronic products; electrical equipment, appliances; and transportation equipment. Exceptionally, El Paso area sent 93.5 percent of its goods exported to markets where the United States has trade agreements enforced.
The Seattle area sent more than 25 percent of its goods exports to markets where the United States has trade agreements. Their exporting categories ranged from transportation equipment to computer & electronic products to fishing, hunting, and trapping goods.
It’s clear that both Seattle and El Paso, among the nation’s many metro areas, large and small, are making developments towards a more globalized market.
The Department of Commerce and the Obama Administration continue to focus on supporting U.S. jobs and raising wages. This includes efforts to sign high-standard agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Accessibility for U.S. exporters to the largest and most competitive markets has become top priority over the duration of the Administration. In fact, markets with Free Trade Agreements in force accounted for more than half of the total goods exports for 195 metropolitan areas.
For more information on the contributions of metro areas to U.S. exports, download your free copy of fact sheets for the top 50 exporting metro areas.
Cross post from Tradeology, the official blog of the International Trade Administration
Posted at 6:44 AM


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Auburn Hills, MI — October 2, 2015 — Approximately 23,688 Dodge Darts in the United States with model years between 2013 and 2015 are part of a new auto recall from Fiat Chrysler. According to documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), conditions within selected vehicles could lead to a problematic Transmission Control Module fault that forces cars into neutral.
The recall traces back to last May, when 12 claims related to clutch problems in these vehicles were discovered. In July, engineers noticed the solder joints within the transmission module related to the difficulty and the following April the Vehicle Safety and Regulatory Compliance department began monitoring the interim bracket design warranty. The recall was decided upon as of August 18, and the Part 573 Safety Recall Report was submitted to the NHTSA on August 26.
As this report describes, 15 percent of the total target vehicle population are thought to be affected. The report also listed some of the problems related to this issue that could harm drivers and passengers.
“If a transmission shift to neutral event occurs, the customer may experience a loss of motive power,” the source describes. “In the event of a transmission shift to neutral event, the engine does not shut off, and safety systems, like airbags continue to function.”
The Fiat Chrysler recall includes a corrective replacement of the module and the bracket in these vehicles. Dealers will be informed through the “established methods used in the past,” according to an announcement from the Customer Services Field Operations of FCA, also dated for August 26.


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The last decade has been a boon for the tech industry. The growing adoption of software and cloud services created a new digital world. And the COVID-19 pandemic just accelerated the move to digitization.
To stay relevant in this digital age and facilitate the pandemic-driven “new normal,” companies are in the process of revamping their processes, operations, and relationships with customers. International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts global spending on digital transformation to increase at a CAGR of 17.1% to $2.3 trillion between 2019 and 2023. Hence, companies catering to digital transformation are a long-term bet.
The pandemic has brought some tech companies in the limelight. Many tech companies, even the FAANGM (Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Netflix (NFLX), Google (GOOGL), and Microsoft (MSFT)) stocks, rallied to unprecedented levels as investors considered them to be the strongest with technology becoming a necessity. However, investors cashed out some money in September over concerns around the second fiscal stimulus package.
Stocks at the peak of the pandemic wave dipped the most; FAANGM stocks fell 10%-16% from their all-time highs on September 2nd. While Nasdaq is still struggling to come out of this bearish trend, some lesser traded stocks have returned to their rally.
Dell Technologies Inc (DELL), Globant S.A. Common Shares (GLOB), and TechTarget, Inc. (TTGT) bucked the bearish trend and returned to their positive momentum on September 8th. It was their lower trading volumes that mitigated the impact of the tech sell-off on these stocks. They fell 6%-12% between September 1 and 8, and then returned to grow around 2%-10%. Perhaps, their less media hype paid off in this way.
Dell Technologies Inc (DELL)
DELL, as we know, is all about hardware. Most of the digital work happens on its PCs and servers. That is what makes the tech giant the third-largest PC vendor and second-largest server vendor in the world. But you will be surprised to know that it derives most of its value from information security and virtualization businesses, which it acquired with the $67-billion EMC merger.
Its software arm VMware’s (VMW) market valuation of $59.5 billion is higher than DELL’s valuation of $49.07 billion. DELL’s stock has been falling since May 2019 on the back of weakness in server demand, which was pulling down its revenue. The stock fell 53% between May 2019 and March 2020. After that, it doubled as the company announced its intention to spin-off VMware and generate significant value for shareholders.
Dell is not a heavily traded stock. Its trading volumes almost halved to 1.2 million in September as most investors have bought the stock for VMware spin-off. Hence, it was not much affected by the market’s bearishness. The stock fell 6% over the first six trading sessions and then surged 2% so far this month.
DELL stock could surge through next year until the spin-off is over. Hence, it is rated a “Strong Buy” in our POWR Ratings system. It has a grade of “A” for Trade Grade, Peer Grade, and Buy & Hold Grade. The stock is also ranked #1 in the 29-stock Technology - Hardware industry.
Globant S.A. Common Shares (GLOB)
GLOB is not a well-known name as it works behind the scenes to power the digital products that you use every day. Founded in 2003, Argentina-based GLOB became the first Latin American company to trade on NYSE in 2014. Its journey from a $10 IPO to $174 share price shows its high growth trend.
GLOB is a technology outsourcing company that offers digital and cognitive transformation services. It helps large and small companies through their digital journey to:
- Stay relevant by staying updated on industry developments and take preemptive measures
- Discover consumer behaviors and technologies, and
- Build the digital platform of software products, mobile apps, and sensors.
GLOB has more than doubled its customer base from 373 in 2018 to 822 in 2019, bagging some big pocket clients like Disney (DIS), GOOGL, Electronic Arts (EA), and Southwest Airlines (LUV). However, GLOB earns 32% of its revenue from its top five customers. Such a concentrated client base means its revenue could fall significantly if it loses even one of these customers. It is working on this problem with its ambitious “50-Squared" objective to acquire 50 separate clients, each of which generates $50 million in annual revenue.
In the short-term, GLOB’s concentrated customer base worked well during the pandemic. Its second-quarter revenue rose 16% year-over-year to nearly $183 million, driven by a 16% surge in revenue from the top 10 customers. The company’s revenue would continue to increase as more companies prioritize digital transformation. The street expects its revenue to rise by 19% this year and 24.5% next year.
GLOB’s 99% outstanding shares are held by 382 institutional investors. It’s lower trading volume of 155,600 shows that institutional investors did not act on the market’s bearishness. Hence, the stock rose 5% this month after falling 12% in the first six trading sessions. This momentum was probably led by retail investors.
Such a high revenue growth rate has been driving GLOB stock to new highs, rising 88% last year and 64% so far this year. It is rated a “Buy” in our POWR Ratings system. It also has an “A” for Trade Grade and Peer Grade, and a “B” for Buy & Hold Grade. In the 34-stock Internet - Services industry, it is ranked #1.
TechTarget, Inc. (TTGT)
TTGT is bucking the digital marketing trend. It provides the right content to over 20.5 million registered members (IT professionals). It uses the information of its members to provide target accounts and prospects to around 1,400 leading and high-growth tech companies. The company earns revenue from long-term subscriptions with IT vendors. Its client base includes many big names like Nokia (NOK), Dell, and Oracle (ORCL).
However, the pandemic slowed TTGT’s growth as several tech companies reduced their investments in branding and opted for shorter-term subscriptions. Moreover, many new clients have delayed signing annual contracts because of the uncertainty the pandemic has created. Tech companies are seeking flexibility to adjust to the challenges that the pandemic brings to the business environment. Hence, TTGT's second-quarter revenue surged just 1% year-over-year to $34.8 million.
As the economy recovers, TTGT’s growth should return. The company has suspended its full-year 2020 guidance, but analysts expect its revenue to surge 2.5% this year and 9.9% next year.
TTGT’s 88.9% outstanding shares are held by 233 institutional investors. When these investors sell the stock, it sees a major dip. But it has a trading volume of 210,500, which shows that it was mostly retail investors who drove the stock momentum. The stock rose 10% this month after falling 8% in the first six trading sessions.
TTGT is rated a “Strong Buy” in the POWR Ratings. It holds straight “A”s in Trade Grade, Peer Grade, and Buy & Hold Grade. It is also the #3 ranked stock on the Internet - Services industry.
Want More Great Investing Ideas?
DELL shares were trading at $67.45 per share on Monday afternoon, up $1.73 (+2.63%). Year-to-date, DELL has gained 31.25%, versus a 5.29% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.
About the Author: Puja Tayal
Puja is a seasoned writer working with financial publishing companies like Motley Fool Canada and Market Realist. With over 13 years of experience in the field of fundamental research, she brings a blend of comprehensive, well-researched insights into her articles.3 Strong Buy Tech Stocks Bucking the Market's Bearish Trend appeared first on StockNews.com


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Life in Pennsylvania should look a lot different in a few weeks when Pennsylvania’s coronavirus restrictions finally are relaxed.
Let’s enjoy responsibly.
Gov. Tom Wolf’s measured approach is sensible. We should be easing back to normal, without being too risky. The changes announced Monday, to take effect April 4, strike a good balance.
With cases of COVID-19 down and fewer people being hospitalized, there is no reason that people have to be cooped up so much and that businesses have to suffer for a lack of customers. More than 1 million people in the state have been fully vaccinated, too.
It’s appropriate to allow more patrons at restaurants, gyms, theaters and other businesses, and to allow more people to see ballgames and attend once-in-a-lifetime events such as weddings.
But it’s not wise to throw all caution aside just yet. The virus hasn’t gone away. In fact, it’s making a resurgence in Europe, as new variants take hold.
Other states, such as Texas, rescinded all restrictions recently. In a few weeks, we should know whether they will regret that. I hope not.
If those places don’t suffer a spike in cases and hospitalizations as a result, then Pennsylvania should consider easing restrictions even further, especially as the weather warms and vaccinations increase.
Wolf should retain the mask requirement, though. Hiss at me all you like, but that’s the right thing to do.
Most of us have been wearing them for long enough now that it should no longer be a hardship. Instead of considering it an infringement of your freedoms (it’s not), think of it as a courtesy to those who have served the public for a year now. The store clerks, servers and others who may come in contact with hundreds of people a day still deserve protection.
I suspect Wolf didn’t loosen the rules sooner because he didn’t want to risk bar crowds getting out of control on St. Patrick’s Day.
So we have to wait until April 4, Easter Sunday. Ballparks and other outdoor venues will be able to seat a lot more people, with maximum occupancy of 50% — though only if there is enough space for attendees or groups of attendees to stay six feet apart.
Indoor events can occur at 25% of capacity, with the same caveat.
Restaurants, theaters, gyms and other businesses can operate at 75% of capacity. And restaurants no longer will be held to the onerous restrictions about alcohol service. Customers will be able to belly up to a bar again and not have to order food with their drink.
So grab a cold one and catch a ballgame. But do it wisely, so we can keep doing it all season long.
Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached at 610-820-6582 or firstname.lastname@example.org


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Gold is doing better than the world’s major currencies
“Gold recently rose to a six-year high on falling U.S. interest rates which have weakened the dollar (aided by a more dovish Fed). So gold is rising in dollar terms. The true hallmark of a bull market in gold, however, is its ability to rise relative to other major currencies. And it’s doing just that.”
USAGOLD note: Murphy says all the top currencies are losing value against gold and says that “global traders have turned to gold as a new store of value. . .” We made reference to this article and yesterday’s DMR. It includes a couple of interesting charts that affirm Murphy’s criteria for a bull market.
Repost from 7-15-2019


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DALLAS (KDAF) — Inside DFW wants to make highlighting the positive things happening around North Texas a regular thing as it is needed now, more than ever!
Bonton Farms in South Dallas provides locals with nutritional counseling, cooking classes and general health and wellness guidance.
BF is in an area where jobs are scarce along with a food desert, meaning access to healthy foods is very difficult; however, its mission is to change all of that.
They want to grow fresh foods for a healthier community, while also creating jobs. It started as a garden in a small lot but has now grown to two fully functioning farms, a farmer’s market, a cafe and coffee house.
It’s all currently open to the public Monday through Friday. They are always looking for volunteers, so, if you’re interested in finding out more, click here.