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Fashion, beauty and entertainment magazines have been retouching photographs for decades, but picture-editing software like Adobe Photoshop makes it so quick and easy that some photos bear no resemblance to the real person. Steve Lohr, a technology reporter with The New York Times, talks about a recent article he wrote about computer scientists at Dartmouth who developed software tools that can objectively measure the amount of alterations that have been applied to photos.
With the holiday shopping season in full swing, many people are prowling the Web in search of the lowest prices for cameras, TVs and other popular gift items. Designed for serious bargain-hunters, the Digital Folio comparison-shopping application allows for drag-and-drop lists (right in the Web browser) that constantly track prices from major retailers. Patrick Carter of Digital Folio outlines how the application works.
The weekly news roundup includes a look at Cyber Monday; Verizon FiOS TV arriving on the Microsoft Xbox; the release of Linux Mint 12; Facebook’s settlement with the Federal Trade Commission; and the new British Newspaper Archive, an online repository featuring 300 years (and more than three million pages) of first-draft history.
The Tip of the Week outlines the voice-search options in Google’s mobile apps and Chrome browser.
To find out more about the show and links to topics that were discussed, go to the Tech Talk page.
You can download the show by subscribing from the New York Times podcast page or directly from iTunes.
For help finding specific segments of the Bits: Tech Talk podcast, use these time codes:
News – 31:24
Steve Lohr – 17:49
Digital Folio app – 11:15
Tip of the Week – 3:46


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Legendary California punks Pulley have announced they have begun recording demos of new songs for an unannounced release. They simply stated:
“We are recording demos of new songs this week. Seriously.”
Could these songs be for the album the band’s bassist Tyler Rebbe said they’d be recording last winter? We’ll let you know as more details surface! Pulley last released “The Long and the Short of It” on vinyl in 2011 via When’s Lunch Records, and digitally through their own label X-Members Records.

domain: news


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Aston Martin DBX Concept unveiled at 2015 Geneva Motor Show
Aston Martin DBX Concept goes beyond convention. At the ongoing Geneva Motor Show, it is seen in machined billet aluminium contrasting its Black Pearl Chromium paint finish. On top of it, a micro fine layer of chrome takes levels of reflection to a limit that has not been achieved by normal paint finishes.
Dominated by the trademark Aston Martin radiator grille, swept back headlights and foglamps in a round design, the interiors sport four individual seats all upholstered in Nubuck leather. With noticeably higher ground clearance to draw attention to the Aston Martin intentions of all road capabilities, the rear is dominated by a two tone buttresses along the sloping roofline while also sporting prominent Aston Martin LED lights.
Designed by Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman and his team at the Aston Martin global headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, the new DBX Concept exudes opulance and grace while it sports cutting edge technology in its interior makeup.
The DBX sports an electric motors powered by Lithium Sulphur cells along with a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS). On board features includes driver and passenger head up display, carbon ceramic brakes, auto dimmer smart glass interlayer and such other outstanding features so as to appeal to a whole new generation of customers. Technical details are scarce but it is known that the DBX concept receives a powerful electric motor with power being sent to all four wheels for the first time in an Aston Martin.


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Robloxplayer.exe goes public Wednesday— here‘s how indie game makers transformed it into a $30 billion company
When he found Roblox, Ethan Gawronski was regarding 10 years old. He studied its games, primarily to fraternize other children.
Currently, at age 20, Gawronski has his own Robloxplayer.exe e that he works with full-time with his girlfriend, Elle Deppe. The couple, who fulfilled on the application, made greater than $49,000 in the past month from their activity game, Bad Business, by offering outfits and weapons players can utilize to make their characters look cooler and also perform far better.
“ Secretive developer communities, there were people that were making stupid quantities of cash and also we assumed we could do that,“ claimed Deppe, who‘s also 20, in a current meeting.
Bad Business is amongst the numerous user-created games on Robloxplayer.exe , the kids‘ home entertainment set to go public on Wednesday after being valued at $29.5 billion in January. The business has developed among the top-grossing applications for Apple and Google gadgets by transforming younger individuals right into game developers without forcing them to discover difficult coding. The company rewards developers by sharing 30% of the income from digital purchases.
Robloxplayer.exe said in the most up to date update to its program that it paid developers $328.7 million last year, up nearly 200% from 2019. That far exceeded the company‘s sales growth of 82% in 2014, when it booked $923.9 million in overall earnings.
Greater than 1,250 developers earned at the very least $10,000 in the digital currency Robloxplayer.exe , which can be converted to money. Over 300 made $100,000 or even more.
Robloxplayer.exe is informing prospective investors to get comfy with its significant payments. In its investor presentation last week, the business stated it prepares to spend much more to developers to motivation higher-quality web content and also fund bigger teams of designers, artists, manufacturers and also designers .
“ What made use of to be a hobby has actually become a job for an individual person, as well as now is a growing number of ending up being the structure for big, extremely creative workshops that are emerging on our platform,“ said CEO David Baszucki, who founded Roblox in 2004.
On Tuesday, the New York Supply Stock market set a recommendation cost for Roblox‘s direct listing of $45 a share, which coincides price capitalists paid in January. The recommendation price does not always indicate where the supply will certainly open on Wednesday, when shares will certainly trade openly for the first time.
Gawronski quit of university last semester after taking 2 years naturally at Grand Valley State University, where he switched over majors multiple times. Deppe finished her two-year associate‘s degree in Rose city, Oregon, and also determined that was enough. They have actually been cohabiting considering that last year in an apartment or condo in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The couple met in person for the first time in 2017 at a Robloxplayer.exe programmer seminar. They soon started collaborating and were welcomed right into an accelerator program at Roblox two years later on, at the firm‘s campus in San Mateo, The Golden State. That‘s where they started constructing Bad Business.
“ The objective of the accelerator program for us was to build something that was profitable sufficient to move in with each other,“ claimed Gawronski, including that regular monthly income is up around 30% because September. “It was a little bit of a gamble yet it worked out.“
Gawronski and Deppe have been updating the game each week or so with brand-new tools, maps as well as other features. In the process, they‘ve been able to add another full-time employee and eight professionals.
Roblox‘s Covid boom
Robloxplayer.exe has actually been a substantial recipient of the Covid-19 closures, which required children out of the class and away from their buddies. Without institution to participate in and also birthday events canceled, youngsters looked to Roblox, where they can mingle essentially, browsing amusement park, attending performances and also playing activity games while likewise staying in touch using its popular text conversation function.
Daily active individuals leapt 85% in 2020 to 32.6 million. The variety of hours that players spent on the application more than increased to 30.6 billion.
That unanticipated as well as extraordinary growth has actually created some difficulties around its programmer community. The company has actually needed to emulate an increase of spammers and also scammers who are out to benefit from some of the numerous kids who are eager and also all set to spend their moms and dads cash on Robux.
In-game pop-ups entice customers with the guarantee of complimentary Robloxplayer.exe if they submit a survey, just to reroute them to other sites where there‘s no Robux and also even more spam. In many cases, Roblox developers unwittingly set up a harmful plug-in from the game advancement workshop, contaminating their own game.
“ Due to the appeal of our system, our company believe that we are an eye-catching target for these sorts of strikes,“ Roblox claimed in its program. The firm claimed it‘s spending to ensure outside events can’t access user information as well as to avoid phishing, spamming as well as malware as much as feasible.
Roblox‘s second-biggest expenditure, behind designer charges, is infrastructure, privacy as well as safety and security . Those expenses leapt 69% in 2015 to $264.2 million.
Alexander Hicks, programmer of the role-playing game Robloxian High School, stated he observed raised spam early in the pandemic when there was a surge in new users. But he claimed the company acted rather rapidly to restore order.
Hicks has a deep financial rate of interest in Roblox keeping its site clean and thriving . In 2020, his game studio, RedManta, doubled profits on the site to $2 million.
In addition to Robloxian High School, RedManta is the designer of World// No, where children collaborate to eliminate monsters. Hicks began the business in 2018 after leaving of Carleton College in Canada as well as moving to Silicon Valley. He was currently making $50,000 a month from the secondary school game and prepared to reinvest his earnings to build a business.
It hasn’t been all up as well as to the right. As an enthusiastic gamer without genuine business experience, Hicks hired regarding 15 individuals, none over the age of 22. His business‘s preliminary initiatives to duplicate the success of Robloxian Secondary school stopped working, and RedManta burned via money so swiftly that he had to lay off a lot of his early workers.
“ I had actually worked with to our ability, so when the game began to do not also I could see a future where we would certainly not have money in the bank to maintain funding it,“ Hicks stated. “That experience gave us the insight for just how to scale without taking as well huge of a risk.“
Hicks‘ business boomed in 2014 from both the pandemic-fueled growth of Robloxplayer.exe as well as the success of his 2nd game, which has 1.2 million monthly energetic customers, according to its site. He additionally shut the Silicon Valley office because of shelter-in-place orders and moved a minimum of briefly to Los Angeles, where he‘s renting out a residence with friends.
Diversifying to minimize risk
RedManta currently has 10 individuals, spread out throughout the UNITED STATE as well as Canada, including features to both games while likewise working with the following prototype.
“The goal is to scale up so we have multiple games and several groups to stay expanded so if one game sees its popularity decline, we‘re secure with various other ones,“ he claimed.
Robloxplayer.exe may soon provide developers another method to expand: In-game advertisements.
Thus far, almost all of Roblox‘s income has actually originated from digital things. More lately the firm rolled out a premium subscription solution so users could obtain a certain amount of Robux every month.
However Roblox has started messing around with top quality content, enabling business like Detector Bros., Netflix and Wonder to market their products through online experiences. The pop band Why Do not We held an exclusive launch party on Roblox over the weekend break for their brand-new cd.
Sam Drozdov, a previous product developer at Facebook, sees a potentially bigger untapped possibility for advertising and marketing. In January, he introduced Bloxbiz to permit game designers to show advertisements within their games, using 3D signboards and posters.
Drozdov claimed that some designers have actually done this on their own, setting up static ads in their games. There hasn’t been an advertisement network to connect businesses with hundreds or thousands of Roblox titles in an automated way, also though in-game advertising and marketing is a rapidly growing business across mobile, console as well as computer games.
Bad Business is amongst the millions of user-created games on Roblox, the children‘ enjoyment set to go public on Wednesday after being valued at $29.5 billion in January. The firm has actually constructed one of the top-grossing apps for Apple as well as Google gadgets by turning youthful customers right into game designers without requiring them to discover complex coding. The pair satisfied in person for the initial time in 2017 at a Roblox developer seminar. They quickly started working together and were welcomed into an accelerator program at Roblox two years later, at the business‘s university in San Mateo, California. He was already making $50,000 a month from the high institution game as well as was ready to reinvest his profits to construct a business.


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Lightly was founded as a spinoff from the ETH Zurich and the University of St Gallen by co-founders who built a wealth of experience in autonomous driving and research on computer vision and deep learning. With their startup (former WhatToLabel), the team had the mission to help engineers and companies to automate the data preparation process for machine learning applications – this process is complex and strenuous.
Most companies that use AI need to label data. However, due to the enormous amount of data produced in one day, a lot of data that could be valuable remains unlabelled. Therefore, choosing what data to label and put into a machine learning model should be done cautiously. Lightly’s open-source enabled data platform uses self-learning algorithms that tell data teams which 1% of their data is the most valuable while improving their AI model 20% and saving up to 90% costs.
Since the go-live at the end of 2020, the company has attracted over 400 cloud users and some Fortune 500 companies and startups in autonomous driving, robotics, and video analytics. Customers mainly originate from the US. Moreover, Lightly has made part of their technology open-source. The open-source framework is used by industry experts and research labs at some of the best universities.
Y-Combinator invests in Lightly
Revenues also accelerate fast, currently growing at 20% monthly. The financial resources add to funds (CHF1 million) obtained in a pre-seed round and the USD 125’000 received from the Silicon Valley-based accelerator Y-Combinator (YC) as part of its offering to startups selected to join the YC program. Since 2005, YC has invested in nearly 3,000 companies, including Airbnb, DoorDash, Stripe, Instacart, Dropbox, and Coinbase.
Recognition from Facebook’s industry expert
Lightly’s framework for self-learning has also become the most popular tool in its field—just a few months since its release, the platform accumulated over 1000 stars on Github. Also, industry experts like Jerome Pesenti, Head of Facebook AI, complimented the startup on Twitter. “The rating and recognition demonstrate that we have a community that trusts us; this is important to us,” says Matthias Heller, co-founder of Lightly.
For the next steps, Lightly will close its seed round and continue improving the core product.
Photo L-R: Lightly Co-founders, Matthias Heller and Igor Susmelj


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European tourists lapping up SGBR in record numbers
CENTRAL Queensland tourism leaders have made a splash with European tourists, attracting record numbers to the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
Celebrating Tourism Research Australia's report that showed a 19-per cent increase in European and United Kingdom visitors to the Southern Great Barrier Reef last year, Mary Carroll said the region was "truly punching above its weight".
With hopes to increase on the record-breaking year in 2018, the Capricorn Enterprise chief executive officer said the results reflected a strong targeted campaign at western markets.
After working on building the Southern Great Barrier Reef brand, Ms Carroll said they were thrilled with the results.
"We have what the big western markets want, we're clean, green, have lots of open space and there's a great diversity of experiences within the Southern Great Barrier Reef," she said.
Ms Carroll said from the start, the SGBR brand aimed to increase international visitors.
Gladstone Area Promotion Development Limited chief executive Darryl Branthwaite expects the figures to increase this year, with the re-opening of the luxurious Wilson Island.
Heron Island Resort's new managers Aldesta Hotel Group are renovating the "glamping tents" on the small, secluded island with plans to open for visitors within three months.
"We have new product coming online, including Wilson island which will be a luxury experience... we're going to be the envy of the whole Great Barrier Reef," Mr Branthwaite said.
"The relationship (within the SGBR brand) we have is just amazing, there's a lot of trust and collaboration.
"For our own individual regions we're quite small on the world scale, but as the SGBR destination, we're a force to be reckoned with."
The figures, released this week, showed visitors from Europe and the United Kingdom accounted for 95,000 international visitors to the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
Of those, 25,000 were from Germany. International visitors increased by 6.1 per cent last year to 151,000 within the SGBR.


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Microsoft continues to make efforts to persuade UK’s Competition and Markets Authority. In recent information shared by MLex (via Idas – Resetera), the software giant reportedly offered “solutions” and said that it is now the British watchdog’s decision whether it will allow the deal or “protect Sony.”
In February, the CMA released its provisional findings over its probe on the $69 billion Microsoft-Activision deal. Unfortunately for Microsoft, the conclusion of the in-depth investigation was unfavorable, with the CMA stressing its favor for structural remedies over behavioral remedies.
In relation to that, the competition regulator suggested the partial divestiture of Activision Blizzard or the sell-off of the company’s Call of Duty business and other titles. Supporters of the deal expressed disapproval of the CMA’s findings, with Lulu Cheng Meservey, EVP at Activision Blizzard, saying CMA’s concerns greatly focused on Sony. This, however, is not the first time the UK regulator highlighted Sony. During its Phase 1 investigation, it also expressed fears about the possibility of Sony being refused access to new Call of Duty games.
Nonetheless, Microsoft is taking all possible actions to get the watchdog’s approval. According to an MLex report, the Redmond company offered solutions to “increase the deal’s benefits” for Britain’s gamers and developers. This reportedly includes a “guarantee of 100 percent parity” for Xbox and PlayStation’s access to COD, alongside “legally binding commitments” to ensure “at least 150 million more players” will access the game on other consoles and cloud streaming services post-acquisition.
The offer seemed to directly and specifically target CMA’s concern for Sony. With this, it is no surprise that Microsoft called out the British regulator, which is being accused by some of siding with the software company’s rival.
“The decision now lies with the CMA on whether it will block this deal and protect Sony, the dominant market leader, or consider solutions that make more games available to more players,” said Microsoft.
In related news, the European Commission extended the review of the merger to April 25. No explanation was given in the filing, but Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition, recently said in an interview that EU regulators wouldn’t rush the decision.


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Swedish furniture brand IKEA has undergone a one-year delay plan for the opening of its iconic store on Oxford Street in central London. Initially predicted to open by 2023, IKEA is pushing back the expected date to make the store more energy-efficient.
Ingka Group, the largest operator of IKEA retail, chose 214 Oxford Street for the construction of the Grade II listed building. Primarily, it has taken over the former location of Topshop’s flagship London site.
At the Grade II listed building, the project is unveiling its unique version of the signature blue Frakta carrier bag. Following this, the plan will cover a dimension of 128ft (39m) by 62ft (19m).
Moreover, the global home furnishing brand will cover a retail space of 82,000 sq ft. It is also set to construct a three-floor space and an additional four floors for office use.
Further, IKEA attributes this unexpected delay to the construction of more energy-efficient buildings. By installing heat pumps and double glazing, the company will replace non-renewable resources with renewable ones.
Peter van der Poel, the Managing Director at Ingka Investments, addresses this modification. “When refurbishing this over 100-year-old historic landmark, it’s important for us as an investor to treat the building with care and to preserve its characteristics and atmosphere. “At the same time, we want to upgrade it to today’s standards.”
More From IKEA
Besides making an eco-conscious approach, IKEA will unveil several job opportunities. As a result, this change in plan will add 150 jobs to the marketplace. The multinational conglomerate will offer 6,000 products on display, including IKEA coffee tables and bedroom furniture. Out of those displayed products, 3,000 will be available and ready to be picked.
In addition to that, a newly opened distribution centre at Dartford will roll out an electric vehicle delivery system. Under this, the company will deliver large furniture items directly to customers’ homes.
Due to the pandemic, many big names such as Topshop and Debenhams have bounced back from Oxford Street. Hence, the arrival of the IKEA chain will regain Oxford Street’s glory.
It’s a bold move by the brand to refurbish this century-old landmark. Thus, to make shopping more accessible, IKEA will soon establish the world’s most iconic destination for all shopping enthusiasts.


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Polestar’s (NASDAQ:PSNY) position as one of the world’s two pure electric vehicle makers was cemented with a strong third quarter earnings report, which showed soaring gross revenue and profit and a operating loss reduced by one third. The Swedish automaker reiterated its delivery target of 50,000 vehicles, expecting the fourth quarter to be its best three-month performance in the company’s history.
Polestar’s revenue skyrocketed in the third quarter, from $748 million in 2021 to $1.477 billion this year. Growth was primarily driven by higher Polestar 2 sales and continued commercial expansion in all markets. Revenue per vehicle was down slightly, Polestar said, attributing the slight reduction to product mix and markets.
Polestar currently recognizes its active markets as Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, South Korea, Kuwait, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Portugal. , Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.
Gross profit also increased significantly from the same quarter in 2021. Polestar reported gross profit of $57 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared to just $1 million last year. This is due to rising Polestar 2 sales and falling manufacturing costs, which come as companies ramp up production of their vehicles. The growth in gross profit was slightly offset by “the continued deterioration of the Swedish krona against the Chinese renminbi, which led to an increase in the cost of sales,” the automaker said.
Polestar achieved five feats in the third quarter, including the launch of the Polestar 3, which received mixed reviews due to its sleek, competitive design that also features less than admirable efficiency. The event provided a spike for the company’s website, which was only lifted by user visits following the Superbowl announcement the company aired in February.
Polestar will soon hit the milestone of 100,000 Polestar 2 production vehicles. He expects the fourth quarter to be its biggest quarter yet as manufacturing growth continues to help the company solidify itself as a major player in the market.
The company’s revenue of $1.48 billion in the first nine months of 2022 only increases to the $2.4 billion that Polestar expects to generate for the full year. This is an estimated 80% increase from 2021. It also secured an additional $1.6 billion in funding and cash from major shareholders, which in addition to other potential funding, will provide Polestar with sufficient funds to operate until 2023.
Polestar reduced its SG&A expenses by 10% from the third quarter of 2021, from a loss of $199 million to $179 million, and its R&D expenses by 51%, from a loss of $51 million. dollars to a loss of $25 million. It also cut its operating loss by a third from the third quarter of 2021. These numbers tell a different story of the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same period this year.
General and administrative expenses increased by 31% for the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. This was due to “rapid business expansion and a significantly increased global presence”. R&D expenses decreased by 22% due to lower depreciation. Meanwhile, operating loss rose 64%, “reflecting investment in business growth and non-recurring, non-cash listing expenses of $372 million.”
Polestar has started production of the Polestar 3 and expects to begin deliveries early next year. It will also launch the Polestar 4 in early 2023, he said.
Polestar shares are up nearly 20% at press time, trading at $5.44 per share.
Disclosure: Joey Klender is not an investor or shareholder of Polestar.
I would love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at firstname.lastname@example.org. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoeyor if you have any topical tips, you can email us at email@example.com.
#Polestar #reports #quarter #results #cutting #operating #loss #yearonyear


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More details on the development of a Microsoft Office version for iPad have emerged. According to reports, Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella could be unveiling a brand new iPad version of the company's Office software suite as soon as March 27.
According to a source with inside knowledge on the matter, the new CEO will be using his first major press exposure to launch the company's most profitable product for Apple's popular tablet.
As revealed to Reuters on the matter, Nadella, who replaced previous CEO Steve Ballmer earlier this year, will look to address the media and industry executives in San Francisco on March 27.
Tech blog Re/code was the first to report the news of Nadella's forthcoming event. Microsoft said in an invitation to reporters that Nadella will be discussing "news related to the intersection of cloud and mobile" but refused to comment on the specifics of the CEO's appearance.
"Microsoft has had iPad and iPhone versions of Office primed for several months now, sources told Reuters, but the company has dallied on their release due to internal divisions, among other things," the Reuters report further states.
And although Nadella is expected to discuss about the new offering in depth next week, the company has already made it clear that it will adopt a more liberal attitude when introducing its software on different platforms.
All this sounds quite lucrative for Microsoft, if eventually things start falling in place. Previous to this, analysts had estimated that Microsoft loses out on some $2.5 billion a year in revenue by keeping Office off the iPad, which has now sold almost 200 million units.
However, more information on the matter is expected to be made public via Microsoft's CEO when we takes the stage in San Francisco on March 27.


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Big Brands Need To Approach Curation Carefully
Content may be king, but its kingdom is becoming increasingly unwieldy. As publishers continue churning out massive amounts of content, users are drowning in it and desperately trying to find ways to navigate it. Using Google to find content works well in some cases, but a user has to know what he or she is looking for. To complement search, the audience needs a guide.
And suddenly, there’s been a number of just such guides launching to try to bring some order to the chaos. In some instances, large brands are jumping into the curating game by rounding up their own content as well as pulling it in from other sources. Cases in point:
- The Wall Street Journal has unveiled a “digital video magazine” called Signal that will “curate an eclectic mix of short video dispatches into an immersive magazine experience.”
- Condé Nast is launching a platform for its own video content called “The Scene.”
- Time Inc. is building a standalone portal for all of its own video called “The Daily Cut.”
The question is whether these curatorial efforts are too broad to be useful to users. Time Inc. has multiple, powerful brands that serve very different audiences. Is the same person who wants to see a video from People necessarily going to watch a Cooking Light segment? Obviously these companies will break up their portals by genres, interests and brands, but they need to be cautious that they still help users cut through clutter if this content is all under the same umbrella and not exacerbate the issue.
A different strategy of targeting users specifically by interest verticals provides another type of solution. A leader in this category is Jason Hirschhorn, who, seven years ago, launched his MediaREDEF newsletter that’s targeted at media and digital professionals (and just raised funding to continue his efforts). To expand further, he also just launched FashionREDEF and has plans for several other verticals. Others in this space are companies like I Want Media, Need2Know, Kicker, Skimm, and many others who are trying to provide a “read this, not that” service to specific groups of users.
The large media companies are trying to build new brands that they hope will appeal to users while also creating more scale for them to sell to advertisers. That’s a critical business need, but in the process they need to work hard not to undercut the tremendous power that their existing brands already hold. They have to make sure that in addition to building out these portals, they also spend time continuing to market and promote their standalone brands. There’s no question that monetizing content — even video content — on individual brand sites is difficult, but aggregation for its own sake will dilute the value of this content and these audiences further and potentially create a more diffuse and less attractive solution for everyone.


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BOSTON (CBS) – Attention brides: Filene’s Basement’s famous “Running of the Brides” event may not be dead yet.
Filene’s Basement LLC and Syms Corp., which both filed for bankruptcy last November, have filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to get approval to sell off trade names including its well-known “Running of the Brides,” the firms said on Tuesday.
The Running of the Brides was a famous annual event at Filene’s Basement where brides raced each other for the cheapest designer wedding gown.
Needham-based Hilco Streambank is overseeing the sale of intellectual property by both Filene’s Basement and Syms, according to a news release.
The IP assets that are expected to be sold at auction including “The Running of the Brides,” as well as the Filene’s Basement name itself; and the Syms brand, among others.
“Numerous parties have expressed an interest in these famous brands,” said David Peress, executive Vice President with Hilco Streambank, in the news release.
“This is an opportunity to acquire a wealth of intellectual property associated with two iconic retail chains and the brands they built over generations. This rich history has given these brands a tremendous level of recognition in the Off-Price Retail space.”
If the IP sale is approved by the bankruptcy court, bids will be due by May 1, 2012, and the auction will be set for May 3rd.
Lisa van der Pool of the Boston Business Journal can be seen weekdays at 6 a.m. on WBZ-TV.
You can follow Lisa on Twitter at @lvanderpool.


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Monday 8th August 2016
FedEx Corporation and United Parcel Service, Inc. are not alone anymore. Amazon.com, Inc.'s Prime Air is ready for takeoff.
Amazon has unveiled the first Boeing 767 of its new fleet of branded cargo planes at Seattle’s Seafair Air Show. The e-commerce behemoth, which has helped grow the revenues of both FedEx and UPS' package delivery services, now wants a piece of the action.
Its first-ever branded cargo plane, the Amazon One, is a Boeing 767-300 operated by cargo service provider Atlas Air. This is one of 40 planes Amazon has agreed to lease from Atlas Air and another partner, ATSG. Amazon is currently using 11 of the cargo jets, but the company said it plans to roll out more planes in the fleet later this year.
Amazon has outlined plans for a more expansive “air transportation network.” Creating an air transportation network is expanding our capacity to ensure great delivery speeds for our Prime members for years to come.
It would seem controlling its own logistics instead of relying on either FedEx or UPS is one way Amazon plans to achieve its delivery goals. To date, Amazon has insisted it has no intention of fully replacing its logistics partners.See all News


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Good news UK BBC watchers: BBC iPlayer is coming to the new Apple TV soon. That means everyone who's been using AirPlay with their iPhone or iPad to get shows from iPlayer onto their TV will finally have a native Apple TV app instead.
BBC's iPlayer coming to Apple TV soon
The BBC shared the news on its Twitter account saying, "BBC iPlayer will be coming to the new Apple TV in coming months..."
A quick dive into the Tweet tells us a couple things: "New" means fourth generation Apple TV, which is the model that ships on October 30th. That's a pretty hint to let us know the BBC is working on a tvOS-native app, and since iPlayer is getting an app, the second and third generation Apple TV aren't going to be supported.
Older Apple TV owners will have to stick with the current workaround where you use AirPlay to stream iPlayer content from an iPhone or iPad to your television via Apple TV. There's a line in the sand now that the fourth generation Apple TV is here, and the older models don't get to step across.


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SAN FRANCISCO – Apple Computer has stunned the Mac world – again! – by
launching free software that will enable owners of the latest Intel-powered
Macintosh models to run Windows natively on their Macs. Apple executives had
earlier denied they would do this.
The news saw Apple shares jump more than 6 percent to $65 in early Nasdaq
trading. A Reuters report predicted the move could see Apple sell millions
more Macs, now able to boot up in either Windows XP or Mac OS X at the click
of a single key.
The “public beta” software, dubbed Boot Camp, can be downloaded from Apple’s
Web site. It simplifies Windows installation by providing a step-by-step
application to create a second partition on the hard drive.
Users must provide their own copy of the Microsoft OS – “Apple has no desire
or plan to sell or support Windows, but many customers have expressed their
interest to run Windows on Apple’s superior hardware now that we use Intel
processors,” said Philip Schiller, senior VP of worldwide product marketing.
Apple said it will include the final version of Boot Camp in the next major
release of Mac OS X, dubbed “Leopard”.
The company also warns users that “Windows running on a Mac is like Windows
running on a PC. That means it’ll be subject to the same attacks that plague
the Windows world. So be sure to keep it updated with the latest Microsoft
Windows security fixes.”


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Fashion designer, businesswoman and Audi ambassador Sonya Lennon recently took the opportunity to skill up in high performance driving at the Nürburgring, commonly known as The Green Hell, as part of the Audi Sportscar Experience. The experience offers drivers a chance to get behind the wheel of the Audi R8 and witness first-hand its sportiness.
Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/JlD-zF6FO8A
Before getting her chance to tackle the circuit herself, Lennon witnessed how the professionals do it. As part of her training, she was acquainted with the racetrack’s features, working out the racing line in different models such as the Audi RS5, TT RS Coupé and the RS6 Avant. Seasoned race car pro Harold Büttner brought her on her first lap of the course.
With her training complete, it was time for Lennon to put on her helmet and experience driving the 610bhp Audi R8 V10+ around the track. As she took in the course, she found it took a little while to relax into the capacity of the breath-taking machine but once she settles in the adrenaline takes over “This machine is the next level,” she remarked.


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The Road to the World Car Awards journey concluded today with a grande finale awards ceremony and press conference that opened the New York International Auto Show. The McLaren 720S was declared the 2019 World Performance Car.
“We feel grateful anytime one of our cars wins an award, but to have the 720S named World Performance Car is particularly special,” said Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive. “We believe the 720S is a revolutionary step forward for both McLaren, as well as the supercar segment, and to have it recognized in this way by an organization made up of the most esteemed media across the globe is a great honour.”
The McLaren 720S was chosen from an initial entry list of six cars from all over the world then a short list three finalists as announced Geneva on March 5th. The 2019 Top Three in the World finalists are the Aston Martin Vantage, the McLaren 720S and the Mercedes-Benz AMG 4-door Coupe.
Candidates eligible for World Performance Car must be produced in volumes of at least 2,000 units/year, must be overtly performance focused in nature, and must be available for sale on at least two continents during the period beginning January 1, 2018 and ending May 31, 2019.
Previous World Performance Car winners were the BMW M5 (2018), the Porsche Boxster Cayman (2017), the Audi R8 Coupe (2016), the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT (2015), then three Porsche wins in a row: the 911 GTE in 2014, the Boxster/Cayman in 2013, and the 911 in 2012. Ferrari won the 2011 World Performance title for the 458 Italia while the Audi R8 V10 won in 2010, the Nissan GT-R in 2009, the Audi R8 in 2008, the Audi RS4 in 2007 and the Porsche Cayman S in 2006.
Vehicles were selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprised of 86 prominent automotive journalists from 24 countries around the world. Each juror was appointed by the World Car Steering Committee on the basis of his or her expertise, experience, credibility, and influence. The international accounting firm KPMG tabulates the jurors’ ballots.
The Road to the World Car Awards is an annual journey in partnership with the New York International Auto Show. The journey follows our international journalists as they test-drive, and vote on, the 2019 eligible vehicles. The official launch took place in Paris on October 2nd and ended with today’s winners’ press conference.
World Car made several stops along the way: our fifth annual L.A. Test Drives event concluded the last week of November. The event was an outstanding success with 48 jurors attending from 18 different countries across the six day event. ZF was the event’s exclusive host.
World Car also made a stop at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on January 10, 2019 where together World Car and ZF hosted a panel discussion moderated by Tim Stevens (Editor-in-Chief, CNET'S Roadshow and World Car director).
Of course, The Road To the World Car Awards doesn’t really stop. Just a few weeks from now the World Car Garage will be staged for the fourth year at the London Motor & Tech Show May 16-19; offering a glimpse of the 2020 contenders as well as celebrating the 2019 winners.
The Global Trends Report, co-presented annually by Prime Research and Autoneum, was also announced today during the New York show’s opening media breakfast. The report is the culmination of research and insights across the past six months. Autoneum CEO Martin Hirzel said: “The Global Trends Report is a valuable instrument for identifying future directions and a guide for prioritizing them. Actual trends such as electric mobility will characterize the automotive industry, what offers exciting development prospects for Autoneum. Our innovative products and technologies for acoustic and thermal management make vehicles quieter, safer, lighter and contribute to a comfortable driving experience. I am looking forward to the announcement of the 2019 World Car Award winners and I am confident that again the majority of all winning models is equipped with Autoneum components!”
PHOTOS and VIDEOS: event photos will be posted the morning of Wednesday, April 17th to www.worldcarawards.com . Photos of the top three car finalists in all categories are already on the web site’s home page. Videos from the event will be posted by Wednesday afternoon.


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Quick recovery of the business activities in China has not only positively influenced Metinvest mining segment, but also allowed it to supply steel products there.
“China is not our traditional customer as to metal products, but it is our long-term market for iron ore raw materials”, the group CEO Yuri Ryzhenkov said. “With the suffering markets of Europe, Ukraine and Russia, even China has become a market where we can work”.
Following the drop in the output in April, the group has returned to its planned manufacture levels and is operating almost with all of its machinery. (Ukrainian metal)


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NEW YORK (
) -- Fellow high-fliers
were starring in late trades on Wednesday after both companies topped Wall Street's expectations for their quarter results.
Netflix -- the top gainer in the
in 2010 with a gain of more than 250% -- was last quoted at $200.55, up 9.6%, on volume of 2.9 million, according to
, after the movie subscription service
of 87 cents a share for its fiscal fourth quarter ended in December, roughly 22% ahead of the average estimate of analysts polled by
for earnings of 71 cents a share.
Qualcomm shares have risen 10% in the past year, reaching a 52-week high of $53.10 last week, and the stock was advancing another 6.1% to $55.01 in extended action on volume of 6.6 million. Riding heavy demand for smartphones, the San Diego wireless chip technology developer
with an adjusted profit of 82 cents a share on revenue of $3.4 billion. Wall Street was looking for earnings of 72 cents a share on revenue of $3.2 billion
wasn't doing quite as well. The stock was last quoted at $32.23, down 2.5%, on volume of 2.5 million, after the Seattle-based coffee giant's
The company, whose shares have jumped 49% in the past 52 weeks, said it expects earnings of $1.44 to $1.47 a share for the fiscal year ending in September, below the current average estimate of analysts polled by
for a profit of $1.49 a share. Starbucks said rising commodity costs were the culprit, estimating a reduction in earnings per share of 20 cents for the year, primarily because of higher coffee expenses.
Another standout gainer was
, which rose more than 5% to $51.25 on volume of less than 60,000.
The Brentwood, Tenn.-based retailer of agricultural equipment and supplies said it earned $50.2 million, or 67 cents a share, in the December quarter, beating Wall Street's view by a nickel, as total sales increased nearly 20% to $1.03 billion and same-store sales jumped 13.1%.
Shares of Tractor Supply, which also offered up an above-consensus outlook for fiscal 2011, have appreciated more than 90% in the year, and were already trading above their 52-week high of $49.64 in late trades.
wasn't attracting buying interest in the extended session, however, as its shares pulled back 2.5% to $15.39 on volume of more than 100,000 after its quarterly report.
The online broker posted a loss of $24 million, or 11 cents a share, for its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, well short of a consensus analysts' view for a profit of 4 cents a share. E*Trade said its provision for loan losses increased on a sequential basis to $194 million from $152 million in the third quarter.
E*Trade said the higher loan loss provision was the result of a $60 million increase in the "qualitative component" of its loan loss reserves to reflect the swelling of its loan modification program, and that it doesn't expect to record a similar large boost in future quarters. It also cited higher advertising spending as a contributing to its loss.
The big loser among NYSE-listed stocks was
, which saw its shares drop more than 24% to $2.72 on volume of 2.9 million after the closing bell.
Quantum, a San Jose, Calif., provider of data backup and recovery products and services, fell short with its performance in its fiscal third quarter ended in December, posting revenue of $176 million well beneath the average analysts' view of $192.4 million.
It also offered a weak outlook for the current period, forecasting non-GAAP earnings of 4 to 5 cents a share on revenue ranging from $165 million to $175 million vs. Wall Street expectations for a profit of 9 cents a share on revenue of $185.2 million.
Written by Michael Baron in New York.
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Disclosure: TheStreet's editorial policy prohibits staff editors, reporters and analysts from holding positions in any individual stocks.


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Just Eat (LON:JE)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.
Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on JE. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “top pick” rating and set a GBX 950 ($12.41) price objective on shares of Just Eat in a report on Monday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank raised Just Eat to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from GBX 690 ($9.02) to GBX 610 ($7.97) in a report on Tuesday, October 16th. Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Just Eat from GBX 1,080 ($14.11) to GBX 1,060 ($13.85) and set a “conviction-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Just Eat in a report on Friday, October 26th. Finally, Peel Hunt lowered Just Eat to a “sell” rating and set a GBX 520 ($6.79) price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 876.88 ($11.46).
Shares of JE stock opened at GBX 730.80 ($9.55) on Tuesday. Just Eat has a 1 year low of GBX 544 ($7.11) and a 1 year high of GBX 906 ($11.84).
In other news, insider Helen A. Weir sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 589 ($7.70), for a total transaction of £29,450 ($38,481.64).
Just Eat Company Profile
Just Eat plc, together with its subsidiaries, operates digital marketplace for takeaway food delivery. The company enables consumers to order and pay for food from its restaurant partners. It serves approximately 21.5 million customers and 82,300 restaurant partners in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Mexico, and Spain.
Featured Story: Outstanding Shares, Buying and Selling Stocks
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Chinese company Huawei Technologies became the first company in the world to make 5G communications hardware for the automotive industry and this marks a major milestone in the company’s drive to become a key supplier to the automotive industry for self-driving technology.
The company said in a statement that its MH5000 module is derived from the Balong 5000 5G chip which it had launched in January and is the first 5G car module in the world. The chip is notable for its high speed and high quality.
Huawei launched the module at the Shanghai Autoshow. The company said in its statement that the chip is an important communication product for future intelligent car transportation and the 5G car module is meant to promote the automotive industry to move towards the 5G era. The module will play a key role in Huawei’s plans to start commercializing 5G network technology for the automotive sector in the second half of 2019.
Huawei has been testing technology for intelligent connected cars in Chinese cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen and Wuxi in recent years. The company has signed cooperation deals with a wide range of car manufacturers including FAW, Dongfeng and Changan.
Huawei is the biggest telecoms equipment maker in the world and is making a determined effort to become the top player in the global race for next-generation 5G networks.
Hyundai Motorsport has opened 2023 FIA World Rally Championship with a podium finish
Bridgestone bags ‘Tyre Technology Provider of the Year Award 2023’
Toyo Tires® Introduces the Celsius® II All-Weather Touring Tire
Adventure-ready Nissan Ariya unveiled for epic Pole to Pole expedition
ENHANCED RANGE ROVER VELAR: SOPHISTICATED ELEGANCE AND EXQUISITE DETAILS
© 2023 Tires and Parts News Resource. All Rights Reserved.


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In light of Denver Public School’s plan to have a great school in every neighborhood, faculty and parents involved with Manual High School during the busing era share what makes a great neighborhood school.8,546 Views
After a decade-long wait, the Eastbridge Town Center is expected to start construction in early 2016, after the sale closes in November.8,249 Views
Ever wondered where your tax money goes? Well, it’s complicated in Stapleton. Learn where your tax money goes and how Stapleton differs from the rest of Denver.8,165 Views
Did you know an underground plume contains contaminants from an old chemical spill? Get to know the Lowry plume and how it affects homes.7,966 Views
Once a school that almost didn’t survive, Ashley Elementary is on the upswing because of its new principal.7,907 Views
With clear policy differences between these gubernatorial candidates, you likely know who you’re voting for. But how to vote on the 22 city and state ballot issues may not be so clear.
The Front Porch Election Guide offers a clear description of what you’ll find on the ballot.
Due to growing numbers of accidental pot ingestion in kids, marijuana edibles will now have to meet the same packaging requirements as recreational marijuana.7,611 Views
King Soopers this morning presented to the Stapleton Design Review Committee a conceptual site plan for a full-sized grocery store in Eastbridge of a comparable size and quality as the existing store on Quebec.7,576 Views
Northfield High School (NHS) is not just a new state-of-the-art building; in many ways NHS is a new approach to education that reflects current thinking and research in the field.7,518 Views
What happens when you combine business acumen with a passion for creating community—in a space that accommodates both in a very big way?7,510 Views


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Petrol prices set to soar in coming days
PETROL prices across the Tweed and Southern Gold Coast are set to reach near-record levels over the next few days.
"It was quite a gradual increase towards the hike but then on Monday we saw a significant jump and we're approaching the peak of the cycle now," RACQ spokeswoman Niki Kormendy told the Gold Coast Bulletin.
"You are better off to hold off from filling up because prices will stay high for a few days and then drop off very slowly."
Drivers hoping to take a chunk out of expensive tank refills with shopper dockets will be disappointed to hear they were capped at 4c a litre following December's Australian Competition and Consumer Commission decision.
Here are some recent unleaded petrol fuel prices from around the Tweed and Southern Gold Coast:
- Coles Express Tweed Heads South, 71 Minjungbal Drive, Tweed Heads South (2/1/14 at 12am)- 148.9
- Caltex Tweed Heads West, 96-98 Kennedy Drive, Tweed Heads (2/1/14 at 6.25am)- 165.9
- 7 Eleven Tweed Heads, South Minjungbal Drive, Tweed Heads South (2/1/14 at 5am)- 165.9
- Matilda Tugun, 502 Gold Coast Highway, Tugun (2/1/14 at 4.30am)- 165.9
- Coles Express Tweed Heads, Wharf St & Frances St, Tweed Heads (2/1/14 at 12am)- 165.9
- Coles Express Tugun, Gold Coast Hwy & Toolona St, Tugun (2/1/14 at 12am)- 165.9


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Arlington shoe store employee killed; light-colored pickup sought
02/25/2014 4:16 PM
02/25/2014 11:04 PM
An employee of a Red Wing shoe store on South Cooper Street was found dead in the back of the store Tuesday afternoon, the victim of an apparent robbery, police said.
The store’s back door was ajar, but the front door was locked, said Sgt. Jeff Houston, a police spokesman.
“There were items missing from the store,” Houston said.
On Wednesday, investigators released surveillance video of the suspect and images of a light-colored, possibly champagne-colored, Toyota Tacoma pickup with a lift and oversized tires. The truck was recorded on video traveling north on South Cooper Street, Houston said.
The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office had not released the slain man’s name by late Tuesday night. Houston said he was 22.
The shopping center is in the 3100 block of South Cooper. Workers in businesses nearby told police they heard what sounded like a gunshot about 1:50 p.m., Houston said.
He said he did not know whether a gun was found or whether there was any other evidence of a shooting, such as spent shell casings.
Investigators were checking security cameras for images of the assailant. Houston urged anyone who might have videos from the area to get them to police.
When asked about reports of a rough-looking man peering in the windows of neighboring businesses earlier Tuesday afternoon, Houston said he did not have information about that.
Houston said there have been no similar crimes recently in the area.
“There are no [crime] sprees in this part of town,” he said. “This looks like a one-time thing. Hopefully it stays that way.”
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PUBG: New State Mandatory Update Brings Anti-Cheating Measures, Krafton Closes Loopholes Used by Hackers
PUBG: New State has been updated with new measures which will improve detection of hackers in an attempt to shore up its anti-cheating measures, according to developer Krafton. The mandatory update has been rolled out for Android and iOS users. The recently released battle royale game has seen an uptick in software used to exploit the game to gain an unfair advantage over other users, which can be frustrating for regular gamers. Krafton has also announced that additional updates will be released next week to identify and restrict these programs.
Krafton explained in a blog post that PUBG: New State went under maintenance for a short while on November 23 to apply the latest update, which brings enhanced measures for detecting “unauthorised third party programs” in real-time. “We have found a steep increase in the usage of unauthorised 3rd party programs during the weekend of November 20-22,” the developer stated, adding that more updates would follow with improvements to anti-cheat systems. These third-party programs are designed to give players superior abilities in the game, at the expense of regular gamers.
Potential weaknesses in the game which could have provided hackers with the necessary loopholes to exploit the game have also been patched as part of the update, according to Krafton. This should help reduce the avenues to take undue advantage in the game, causing less frustration for gamers in the process. Many of the comments on recent posts by the PUBG: New State Facebook page include complaints of hackers affecting the game, which has amassed over 1 crore downloads on the Google Play store. Krafton says it has increased the severity of restrictions on players who use these cheats.
Previous reports have revealed that some of the anti-cheat methods used by Krafton included blocking gamers who have Developer Options enabled, or those who access the game via an emulator. Meanwhile, the November 23 update will be mandatory for Android users. Those who do not have automatic updates enabled on Google Play will be redirected to the game’s listing if it is out of date. On the App Store, the game has been updated to version 0.9.19 with “Service Stabilisation” listed in the changelog.


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LG Electronics emerges from the shadows of Motorola’s unveiling of seven new Android devices, announcing new 2.2 Android smartphones. The LG Optimus T and Optimus S are headed for T-Mobile and Sprint respectively. Aptly named and packed with features, the Froyo devices are bringing a range of Android phones to both wireless service providers.
With 3.2-inch touchscreens, 32GB memory cards, on-screen QWERTY keypads and 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and video capture, the new LG Optimus phones will be in stores October 31, just in time for the spookiest portion of the holiday season. And the phones won’t break the bank either. They’re among the least expensive Android phones, both priced around $49.99.
Sprint bundles Android apps
Sprint, which was slower to take on Android phones, is looking to offer more variety and customization around the Android experience in general. A new feature called Sprint ID is offering pre-packaged apps for download, straight to your phone. The packaged profiles come with ringtones, wallpapers, and branded apps, all designed around one theme or another. Launch partners include Disney and the Oprah Winfrey Network, amongst others.
PayPal payments easy as pie
While Sprint is serving up ready-made packages for Android apps, PayPal is making it easier to purchase directly from the Market. PayPal hopes to become a payment option for Android Market purchases by the end of October, giving a third option for downloading premium apps, in addition to your credit card or Google Checkout.
This also marks PayPal’s expansion beyond being a payment portal, as it becomes more proactive in its integration with various merchant storefronts. As the virtual market grows, users will want easier access for making payments from an existing money account, and mobile tools are only expediting PayPal’s process.


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Poco F4 5G in pics: In the smartphones under 30000 segment, here is what it offers to you
Poco has launched its latest mid-range smartphone, the Poco F4 5G, in the Global market, including India. Know what Poco F4 has to offer over its rivals in the smartphones under 30000 segment.
First Published Date: 24 Jun, 16:53 IST
NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS


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Boasting one of the world’s highest vaccination rates, Malta is now welcoming back visitors safely with cash incentives and a recently launched Nomad Residence Permit.
The Mediterranean island-nation of Malta may be small but its response to the pandemic has been mighty. Once enforcing some of the strictest restrictions in Europe, the country has finally been able to open its borders and welcome back visitors safely, boasting one of the world’s highest vaccination rates.
Nearly 81% of all Malta residents are fully vaccinated. In fact, Malta and Portugal are the only two nations in Europe that have reached a more than 80% vaccination rate across their total population (including teenagers age 12 to 17, who have been eligible to get the vaccine since summer 2021), according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). This make them two of the only places likely to avoid a winter resurgence says the ECDC director, and among the safest places to travel in 2021. Visitors to Malta must be vaccinated themselves if they want to skip a 14-day quarantine.
Why should I go now?
The country is more than ready to welcome back vaccinated international visitors – especially those looking to take advantage of their company’s new remote work policies. In June 2021, Malta launched their Nomad Residence Permit, which enables visitors to keep their current employment in another country and live in Malta for up to a year (with the opportunity for renewal). Applicants must prove they can work remotely, work for an employer or offer freelance or consulting services and earn at least the equivalent of €2,700 monthly.
Visitors to Malta may also benefit from the tourism-boosting Free Independent Traveller (FIT) scheme, which allows participating hotels to give guests who stay three days or more up to €200 (€100 from the government and a matching subsidy from the hotel) in incentives (which can include a room discount or on-site perks). Book quickly though, as the special deals may end when funds for the programme run out.
Travel with no trace
Malta has been making some of the largest strides in environmental sustainability in recent years, ranking 10th in Earth.org’s Global Sustainability Index. In 2021, the country launched its action plan toward a circular economy – one which ensures that producers remain responsible for where their products end up, encouraging reuse, recycling and overall reduction of resources.
To encourage this, the Malta Ministry for Tourism launched its Green Mobility programme for hotels in 2019, which awards hotels for encouraging sustainable modes of transport like bicycling, electric vehicles and shuttle services for its employees and guests to get to and from the hotel and urban centres. Current award winners include the five-star AX The Palace, its four-star sister hotel AX Victoria, and The Waterfront Hotel, conveniently located in Sliema near the ferry to capital city Valletta.
Eating sustainably and serving local ingredients from local farmers and fishermen has been on the rise here as well. Le Bistro, located in the Radisson Blu Resort near the sandy beach of Golden Bay, works closely with local suppliers to serve Spanish- and Italian-influenced dishes.
For those looking to eat more plant-based fare, Malta resident James Cutajar, who runs the travel blog The Travel Deck, recommends The Grassy Hopper, Malta’s first vegan restaurant, which recently rebranded under the name Foam and Fork. “They offer some amazing burgers, wraps and salads,” he said.
It’s easy to eat green at most restaurants here, even those that aren’t explicitly plant-based. “If someone is vegan, they will not run out of places to eat,” said Emily A Francis, an American expat who writes for the blog Oh My Malta. “It’s one of the things I really like about Malta.”
Both Francis and Cutajar recommend the chain Eeetwell, which sources seasonal and sustainable ingredients its fast, healthy dishes (like salads and wraps), and has a handful of locations across the island.
To see some of the island’s natural beauty, head to the north-west to the Majjistral Nature and History Park, Malta’s first national park aimed at preserving the natural landscape established in 2007. Navigate the park (named after the Maltese word for “north-west region” or “north-west wind”) with the convenient digital map marked with geological and historical points of interest. Admission is free and open 24/7.
Know before you go
Though locals say restaurants and bars are pretty much back to business as usual, some pandemic-related regulations remain in place, like group gatherings (including restaurant seatings) limited to eight people and 1.5m distances between indoor tables at restaurants and bars. Masks are still mandatory indoors, but as of recently, not required outdoors for those who are vaccinated.
Clubs in the popular St Julian’s area are open. “But contrary to the normal partying that we’re used to, guests should be seated,” said Cutajar. That said, he says that clubs and lounge bars outside of the St Julian area may be a little less strict. He recommends the Uno Club, Marrakech and Gianpula.
Other country-wide restrictions have recently been lifted as of October, with seated events now open to 300 (up from 100) and public transportation capacity allowance up to 80% (up from 65%).
Travellers should consult the Ministry of Health travel page before embarking on a trip here, as restrictions and requirements can change rapidly. Countries listed on the red zone list can enter Malta with official proof of vaccination (US travellers will need the Verifly app) or a 14-day quarantine, while those on the dark red list need to apply for special exemptions.


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Dating scammer jane desmond
If they ask for money it's time to cut off conversation.
HOW TO RUN A GOOGLE REVERSE IMAGE SEARCHFOR DESKTOP: Option one: Right click on the image and chose "search Google for image"Option two: Search Google Images, click the camera icon and then either upload the image or paste the URL of the photo you're doing a reverse search for.
But before you know it you've lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, just like Laura Bockus."How could you do this to somebody, I mean seriously how could you sleep at night doing this to someone," she wondered.
Bockus said she was forced to put her Aurora home up for sale."The annuity's gone, my credits gone and I have to sell my house," Bockus said.
Never give any money to someone you met online and if in doubt, let your dating site’s support team know you’ve been asked for money and ask their opinion (this is one of the reasons why it pays to date on a reputable dating site with a good support team).
You can read the rest of the article about this latest scam victim here.
The Federal Trade commission has ranked Romance scams as number one when it comes total losses.
21,000 reports from people claiming they lost a total of 3 million.
In the UK there is now a service called Action Fraud, which is a website and helpline where you can report any time of fraud (including online dating fraud) and get help and support.
A while back, I warned about a common online dating scam involving an Iraqi soldier.


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Miles Morales is the perfect Christmas game set on the backdrop of a windy New York City – a great pair of winter costumes are available. It seems to be the top 10 best-selling games of the UK Sales Charts now a year after launch.
Between Spider-Man and Christmas, and the Across The Spider-Verse Teaser, it’s no wonder that people are becoming enthusiastic, – yes, I made it up, but it’s going to stick. The game Miles Morales is perfect for curling up on the sofa, while drinking a hot cup of cocoa while warm up with a blanket. It has full energy, is funny, and all the beat-up streetfights you could ask for.
LINKED: No way home will make the most of the Spider-Man problems in the MCU?
It doesn’t boil to sales, either. Now it is the standard 49.99 for both PS4 and PS5 – people are paying full price for the experience en masse. But it wouldn’t come a surprise since in November of this year, Miles Morales was among the ten most-played PS5 games.
There is a list as follows.
He managed to dethrone a Pokemon game, despite being over a year old. Diamond is still ahead, but it flipped the door to the end of its turn, making it clear that the two of them have jumped into a peg in the top ten.
FIFA is the correct place you’d expect at the tippy top while Duty is a pretty surprise. With the negative press and backlash from players, it shows what a juggernaut franchise is.
Now you can get Miles Morales on both PS4 and PS5 for four9.99. Spider-Man 2 is being launched sometime in 2023, while No Way Home themed skins now available in Spider-Man Remastered.


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The new Tesla electric car is expected to be much more powerful than the Model S sedan, which has been available in the US since the end of last year.
The new Model S is the first electric car to go on sale in the United States, and it’s a step forward for the electric car industry, which had struggled to find a strong enough vehicle to compete with the more expensive gas-powered cars.
Tesla has said that the new Model 3 is about 300 pounds heavier than the existing Model S. It’s been rumored that the Model 3 will have a higher capacity, but that’s not confirmed.
We don’t have an official word yet about the weight of the Model X, which Tesla has been rumored to be working on for some time.
And, the company is also expected to unveil a brand new SUV that will come with a range of 3,100 miles and have a top speed of around 160 mph.
This model has been teased by Tesla since last year, and the company has also said that it plans to bring its own battery pack to market as a first-of-its-kind vehicle.
As we have reported, the first Tesla vehicles have been unveiled at Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, where a bunch of the company’s engineers have been working for the last few years.
They were the first vehicles to use the company ‘self-driving’ technology, which is similar to Google’s ‘Project Wing’.
We’re expecting more to come from Tesla, but there is no word yet if the company plans to start selling the vehicles in the near future.


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Anheuser-Busch InBev NV made a formal $107 billion offer for SABMiller Plc, sealing a long-anticipated deal that combines the world’s biggest brewers into a company controlling about half the industry’s profit.
To gain regulatory approval, Molson Coors Brewing Co. will acquire SABMiller’s 58 percent stake in MillerCoors for $12 billion, giving it full control over brands like Coors Light and Blue Moon. The Budweiser maker plans to slash annual costs by $1.4 billion, one third of which will come from overla...
18:05 DP World, Quebec's Caisse to create C$5 billion investment vehicle21
14:49 Trump warns of ‘retribution’ for companies that offshore jobs, threatening 35 percent tariff19
13:08 ECB Extends Bond-Buying at Reduced Pace Until End of 201711
09:49 Intesa to provide bulk of funds to Glencore for Rosneft deal: sources20


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Whereas China’s exports surged by greater than anticipated in June, imports climbed far lower than anticipated. Staff pictured right here disinfect a container ship terminal in Qingdao on July 13, 2022.
Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty Pictures
BEIJING — China eked out GDP progress of 0.4% within the second quarter from a 12 months in the past, lacking expectations because the financial system struggled to shake off the affect of Covid controls.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast progress of 1% within the second quarter.
Industrial manufacturing in June additionally missed expectations, rising by 3.9% from a 12 months in the past, versus the 4.1% forecast.
Nevertheless, retail gross sales in June rose by 3.1%, recovering from a previous hunch and beating expectations for no progress from the prior 12 months. Main e-commerce firms held a promotional procuring pageant in the midst of final month.
Retail gross sales in June noticed a lift from spending throughout many classes together with autos, cosmetics and drugs. However catering, furnishings and development supplies noticed a decline. Inside retail gross sales, on-line gross sales of bodily items grew by 8.3% from a 12 months in the past in June, slower than the 14% progress the prior month.
Mounted asset funding for the primary half of the 12 months got here in above expectations, up 6.1% versus 6% predicted.
Total mounted asset funding picked up on a month-to-month foundation, rising by 0.95% in June from Could to an undisclosed determine. Whereas funding in infrastructure and manufacturing maintained an identical or higher tempo of progress from Could to June, that in actual property worsened. Funding in actual property within the first half of the 12 months fell by 5.4% from a 12 months in the past, worse than the 4% decline within the first 5 months of the 12 months.
Unemployment throughout China’s 31 largest cities fell from pre-pandemic highs to five.8% in June, however that for the age 16 to 24 class rose additional to 19.3%.
The statistics bureau described the newest financial outcomes as “hard-earned achievements” however warned concerning the “lingering” affect of Covid and “shrinking demand” at residence. The bureau additionally famous the rising “risk of stagflation on the earth financial system” and tightening monetary policy overseas.
At a press convention Friday, statistics bureau spokesperson Fu Linghui mentioned financial indicators within the second quarter halted a downward pattern. He described the affect of Covid as “short-lived,” and emphasised how China’s inflation is way beneath that of the U.S. and Europe. Fu added that there are “challenges” to attaining the full-year financial targets.
Within the second quarter, mainland China confronted its worst Covid outbreak for the reason that top of the pandemic in early 2020. Strict keep residence orders hit the metropolis of Shanghai for about two months, whereas journey restrictions contributed to produce chain disruptions.
By early June, Shanghai, Beijing and different components of China had been on their method to resuming regular enterprise exercise. In the previous few weeks, the central authorities has cut quarantine times and eased some Covid prevention measures.
However completely different components of China have needed to reinstate Covid controls as new instances spike.
As of Monday, Nomura mentioned areas that account for 25.5% of China’s GDP had been beneath some type of lockdown or heightened management. That is up from 14.9% every week earlier.
Main funding banks have repeatedly reduce their full-year China GDP targets as a result of affect of Covid controls. Amongst corporations tracked by CNBC, the median forecast was 3.4% as of late June.
The official GDP goal of “round 5.5%” was introduced in early March.
“China’s financial system is little question bottoming. However it’s nonetheless within the midst of its restoration,” mentioned Bruce Pang, chief economist and head of analysis, Higher China, JLL.
He mentioned he expects policymakers to take care of their easing stance, for a average restoration within the second half of the 12 months.


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Tesla became one of America’s hottest investments when its market capitalization rushed by those of much larger car companies General Motors and Ford. They produced millions of cars to Tesla’s tens of thousands. That process has started to reverse itself, particularly in the past weeks. In the past five days, GM’s stock has risen more than 3% and Tesla’s is down over 4%. And Tesla’s market cap has dropped to $47 billion while GM’s has risen to $54 billion.
The most immediate cause of the reversal is terrible production numbers from Tesla, which were well below most expectations. Tesla delivered 50,200 cars in the first quarter. JPMorgan analyst Ryan Brinkman summed up the sentiment, “Tesla’s (Q1) vehicle production and deliveries report was substantially worse than expected.” After Tesla’s announcement, the stock fell 9%, though it has recovered modestly since.
Tesla’s other challenge continues to be its chief executive and founder, Elon Musk. His battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over tweets was back in court last week. A judge has told the agency and Musk that they should attempt to settle their differences without the court. Not until next week will it be known whether that has worked out. In the meantime, very few investors think it is good for a public company CEO to be at odds with the top federal regulator of public companies.
The fact that GM’s market cap has moved ahead of Tesla’s is not just due to the electric car company’s problems. GM CEO Mary Barra has done what Wall Street thinks is an unusually good job preparing for an uncertain future. U.S. cars sales have topped 17 million for an unprecedented three years straight. A recession would end that. GM is tied with Volkswagen as the top car producer in the world’s largest car market: China. However, car sales in that country contracted in 2018, the first time it has happened in over two decades. Even if GM holds its market share in the world’s two largest car markets, it may find that falling sales mean it has too much manufacturing capacity. Barra already has started to trim that capacity in the United States.
GM also has to contend with the fact that it faces a future that may not be dominated by internal combustion, human-driven cars. Tesla’s electric cars already have shown the appetite of this mode of engine. GM has entered the market with its Chevy Bolt and says its fleet will add more and more electric-powered cars. Self-driving cars, according to research and industry sentiment, should soon start to become a large portion of the modern global passenger car fleet. GM has large initiatives to create its own products, as does Tesla. They are up against an army of competitors, which range from Google to small software companies to other auto giants. GM is considered well along its way to being competitive in these markets.
Tesla’s market cap rests firmly on sales now. It is no longer just a development stage company. Whether its market value can rise above GM’s again will depend in large part on whether it can prove people still want its cars in rising numbers.


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Watch Out for Needles in that Hamburger! Aug 1, 2014 14:07:47 GMT -5
Post by Graveyardbride on Aug 1, 2014 14:07:47 GMT -5
Man jailed for allegedly inserting needles into packs of meat 'just for the hell of it'
BELLEVILLE, Ill. – What's that line from Batman? "Some men just want to watch the world burn." Well, a 68-year-old Illinois man jailed Thursday apparently wanted to see the world choke on hamburger meat spiked with sewing needles.
This is the accusation against Ronald Avers, 68, of Belleville, who was charged by federal prosecutors with inserting needles in meat at a grocery store in his hometown at least seven times over more than a year, the Associated Press reports. And when questioned by authorities, the suspect's words were chilling, as reported by AP:
"'Every now and then I would stick one in a hamburger,'" FBI Special Agent Daniel Cook quoted Avers as saying before the man expounded, "'Mostly hamburger, a couple of times I did it with a roast, maybe a pork chop every now and then.'"
Avers insisted he had no justification for such tampering, calling it a "stupid idea," Cook wrote. "Avers said during the interview two times he inserted sewing needles into packaged meat products, 'just for the hell of it.'" the FBI agent wrote, adding that Avers continued: "It was stupidity. I didn't want to hurt nobody."
At least one victim – a buyer of boneless chuck roast at the Shop 'n Save store in Belleville just east of St. Louis – later bit into one of the needles, the AP reports. Also, a needle slipped into a steak stuck at least one other customer.
SuperValu Inc., the Minnesota-based corporate parent of the Shop 'n Save chain, stressed that none of the cases resulted in serious injury, and that the alleged tampering was isolated to only the meat section of one store, the AP wrote.
The FBI said Shop 'n Save alerted it on July 9 of the tampering, which dated to May of last year, when a customer first reported finding a needle in a package of ground beef, AP reports.
Avers faces seven tampering counts, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine. He was ordered jailed pending a detention hearing on Monday.
Source: John Luciew, PennLive, August 1, 2014.


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Ofgem has this week introduced new regulations aimed at making the electricity market more competitive. These measures will cause energy prices to drop across the board, and allow smaller players to enter the market.
In a commodity market where wholesale prices have to be set two years in advance, margins are going to be slimmer for the Big Six suppliers and it will be harder for them to win on price.
If the big suppliers want to maintain their market share, it will be even more critical than before for them to differentiate themselves by providing a better customer experience than their competitors.
Irfan Habib, Senior Solutions Consultant at Content Guru, comments, “Having worked with several of the Big Six on projects to improve the customer service they provide from their contact centres, it is clear to me that price is not the key cause of customer churn in the industry.
“Although consumers will make their initial decision on which energy provider to go with largely based on price, it is only a bad service experience which can really break consumer inertia and cause them to reconsider their preferred supplier.”
Habib continues, “And it’s only when there are problems with their supply or their bills that consumers really interact with their energy provider. At these pinch points, the contact centre is the battleground where customers are lost and won.
“These new regulations will mean that it is more important than ever for the Big Six to ensure that they don’t give customers any reason to consider looking around for a better deal. They’ve got the brand awareness to be positioned as the most trusted suppliers in the marketplace, but only if they make it easy and convenient for their customers to deal with them.”


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Foi encontrada 1 questão
Welcome to the Drone Age
THE scale and scope of the revolution in the use of small, civilian drones has caught many by surprise. In 2010 America's Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) estimated that there would, by 2020, be perhaps 15,000 such drones in the country. More than that number are now sold there every month. And it is not just an American craze. Some analysts think the number of drones made and sold around the world this year will exceed 1 million. In their view, what is now happening to drones is similar to what happened to personal computers in the 1980s, when Apple launched the Macintosh and IBM the PS/2, and such machines went from being hobbyists' toys to business essentials.
That is probably an exaggeration. It is hard to think of a business which could not benefit from a PC, whereas many may not benefit (at least directly) from drones. But the practical use of these small, remote-controlled aircraft is expanding rapidly. These involve areas as diverse as agriculture, landsurveying, film-making, security, and delivering goods. Other roles for drones are more questionable. Their use to smuggle drugs and phones into prisons is growing. Instances have been reported in America, Australia, Brazil, Britain and Canada, to name but a few places. In Britain the police have also caught criminals using drones to scout houses to burgle. The crash of a drone on to the White House lawn in January highlighted the risk that they might be used for acts of terrorism. And in June a video emerged of a graffito artist using a drone equipped with an aerosol spray to deface one of New York's most prominent billboards.
How all this activity will be regulated and policed is, as the FAA's own flat-footed response has shown, not yet being properly addressed. There are implications for safety (being hit by an out-of-control drone weighing several kilograms would be no joke); for privacy, from both the state and nosy neighbours; and for sheer nuisance—for drones can be noisy. But the new machines are so cheap, so useful and have so much unpredictable potential that the best approach to regulation may simply be to let a thousand flyers zoom.
[Source: The Economist September 26th 2015- adapted]


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Quanta Computer is planning to produce a retail version of the One Laptop per Child notebook for developed markets that will cost US$200, the company's president told has said.
Quanta is already producing the low-cost educational notebooks for developing nations. The units are scheduled to start shipping later this year at an estimated cost of US$150.
But the design can be adapted to create a low cost consumer PC, according to Quanta president Michael Wang.
"We will definitely launch a commercialised product at the right time similar to the OLPC," Wang told the FT.
The Taiwanese firm manufacturers notebook computers and other electronics for brand name companies such as Apple, Dell, HP and IBM.
Quanta has created a special business unit for emerging market PCs to develop low cost computers for developed and emerging economies.
One Laptop per Child is an educational project which develops notebook computers aimed at children.
Powered by open source software, the OLPC features design innovations that allow it to operate in regions with limited power supply, infrequent internet connectivity and a dusty environment.
Quanta plans US$200 consumer OLPC
By Tom Sanders on Apr 3, 2007 2:16PM


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Tyres to Turf: Brilliant story of Apollo Tyres transforming tyres to football pitches
TIMESOFINDIA.COM Updated: Feb 15, 2024, 13:40 IST
At the recent Bharat Mobility Show, we visited the impressive display of Apollo Tyres and what we found there was more than tyres. We learnt how the brand is working on the sustainability front through innovative measures such as Tyres to Turf among other initiatives. Watch how this transformational journey is taking place.


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What Indian tech stack?
The article didn’t even mention any Indian technology.
All of Microsoft’s tech was developed by Americans in America and then shipped off to India afterwards.
As usual, India takes credit for the work of others, and then calls it its own.
Everything India has it got from America.
This is nothing but a massive PR stunt. The Indian gov’t had nothing to do with the development of anything Microsoft. It was all developed in America.
What a bunch of loser frauds. Not to mention delusional.


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A family in Kansas is issuing a warning to other parents who partake in the Elf on the Shelf holiday tradition to be careful where they place their elf’s, after they accidently burned theirs’s alive.
Chelsea Hightower of Overland Park shared her story on Facebook on December 11th.
The post reports that one day after spending the day in the fridge, her elves, Jingle, Bell, and Magic, decided to warm themselves up by sitting in the family’s oven.
Chelsea says she went out to do some Christmas shopping and left the kids home with their father.
At some point, Mr. Hightower turned on the stove not realizing that the elves were inside.
The oldest of the three children noticed that the stove had been turned on and asked who turned on the stove, and that’s when
Mr. Hightower realized his mistake.
Unfortunately for the elves, the only thing that survived was their outfits.
Mr. Hightower then called Chelsea and informed her of the bad news while she was still on the road.
Thankfully the elves “recovered”(mom’s shopping trip) and showed up with a message for the parents: “Bake cookies, not elves.”


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Bloomreach announced the availability of Bloomreach Discovery on Google Cloud Marketplace. Bloomreach Discovery uses a rich dataset and smart AI to help businesses bring more personalized customer experiences.
Its addition to the Google Cloud Marketplace will offer all-in-one integration with technology stacks built on Google Cloud. In this way, businesses can also realize the benefits of AI-powered e-commerce search.
In addition, with generative AI and large learning model (LLM) features, Bloomreach Discovery will allow businesses to drive better product discovery and help them find new ways to drive relevancy and efficiency in the future by improving their customer expectations.


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The new purchasing standard takes effect immediately and applies to all paper purchased directly by Prinovis in Germany and the UK. The implementation of this policy begins today at the northern German Prinovis site in Ahrensburg and will be followed by the sites in Dresden and Nuremberg and in Liverpool, England. Prinovis customers who purchase their own paper are still free to choose what type of paper they supply for their printing orders.
This move by Prinovis represents an important step as part of Bertelsmann’s environmental and paper strategy, the aim of which is to only use paper that comes from well-managed and credibly certified forestry resources. André Limburg, COO of Prinovis Germany, says, “I’m pleased that this transition increases our transparency while also enabling us to provide our customers with products that are more environmentally compatible than before.” Although the company has certainly made regular use of certified paper before now, this particular feature wasn’t being actively controlled. And now it is.
At Prinovis in Germany, paper purchased directly by the company currently amounts to approximately 30 per cent of the total printed area. In marking this transition in the company’s paper procurement standard, André Limburg stated the goal of ultimately increasing the amount of certified paper used to 100 per cent – including customer-supplied paper – in consultation with its customers. “This is a contribution to operating sustainably and can be accomplished with practically no additional expense and without compromising quality,” argues Limburg. “Of course, our customers will continue to decide what types of paper they buy, but we’re engaging in dialogue with them about how we can further increase the share of certified paper being used.”


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Pabst Farms developer may sue for $20M
Kwik Trip proposal not among Oconomowoc's 'blue-ribbon class' plans
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The change in direction at Pabst Farms in Oconomowoc has spawned a dispute between the developer and city that could be decided in court.
The Oconomowoc Common Council in July voted down approvals needed for a Kwik Trip convenience store and gas station at Pabst Farms. The vote came two months after Pabst Farms Development Inc. announced plans for a Walmart and Sam’s Club on the property, a far cry from the upscale regional shopping center proposed a decade ago.
Now, Pabst Farms has filed a lawsuit asking a judge to reverse the council’s decision and sent notice that it could sue the city for $20 million.
Pabst Farms is a 1,500-acre development at Highway 67 and Interstate 94 that includes homes, a business park, retail, a school and Aurora Medical Center Summit. Pabst Farms Development, owned by developer Peter Bell, planned to sell land on the site to Kwik Trip in spring for $1 million, according to a notice of claim filed with the city. Oconomowoc staff and the Plan Commission recommended approval of the certified survey map and conditional-use permit required. But on July 16, the Common Council rejected the map and conditional-use permit with little discussion, the complaint said.
The notice focuses on a comment at the meeting that Pabst Farms says shows a bias against it. According to the Living Lake Country newspaper, Ald. Cathleen Slattery said at the meeting: “If you’re going to put the Pabst name on it, it has to have blue-ribbon class.”
“The Common Council’s apparent effort to handpick the types of retail establishments it deems to rise to a ‘blue ribbon class’ is a classic example of government run amok by micromanaging development and unduly interfering with free enterprise,” Pabst Farms attorney Jon Axelrod wrote in the notice of claim.
Slattery also had safety concerns about the gas station’s proximity to a bike trail, the article said.
The notice of claim is typically the first step in a lawsuit.
It says Pabst Farms will seek $20 million in damages, including the $1 million sale price it would have received from Kwik Trip and damages from the “chilling effect” the city’s actions will have on other potential developments on the property.
Pabst Farms also has filed a complaint with Waukesha County Circuit Court asking the court to reverse the decisions on the certified survey map and the conditional-use permit.
The Kwik Trip dispute comes on top of a controversial proposal to build a 151,000-square-foot Walmart supercenter and a 136,000-square-foot Sam’s Club on the retail portion of the site.
Pabst Farms Development originally announced Pabst Farms Town Centre in 2003 as an upscale, regional shopping center of 1 million square feet.
But the project has languished over the last decade, hampered by the withdrawal of two development partners, the economic recession and announcement of another upscale retail project in Waukesha County, The Corners of Brookfield.
Pabst Farms is the site of a $24 million tax increment financing district. However, the money has been paid back and additional tax increment is being used to boost Oconomowoc’s struggling downtown TIF district, according to Living Lake Country.
Associate Editor Stacy Vogel Davis covers retail and tourism for the Milwaukee Business Journal. She also covers restaurant news through her Table Talk blog on The Business Journal website and column in the weekly edition.
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Saudi Arabia based F&B and Retail tech startup, FOODICS announced today its geographical expansion into the Egyptian market after establishing a strong presence across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE as the company now fundraising for series B.
FODICS offers an all in one Point Of Sale Solution and management platform which helps restaurants and cloud kitchens owners run their business, has so far successfully serviced over five thousand customers and processed over a billion orders through the Foodics SaaS platform, totaling over US$2B GMV transactions in 2019 and catering to more than 5,000 clients and over 10,000 F&B outlets.
Ahmad Al-Zaini, Co-Founder and CEO commented, “With an F&B Market estimated to be worth around US$15 billion and growing at a 15-20% rate over the next 5 years*, Foodics’ expansion into Egypt was always an integral part of our business plan.”
Al-Zaini added, “Our objective is to continue to accelerate the F&B and retail end to end digitization across the region and beyond. As our proprietary technologies continue to add value and facilitate the growth of the industry, we are confident that our latest market entry into Egypt will be a tremendous success”.
Starting its Egyptian operations in Cairo city in the prestigious Masaken Sheraton, the Egyptian Foodics team will first focus on its SaaS platform and hardware for restaurants, later followed by the launch of its Foodics NOW products.
Mohammad Ayman, the newly appointed Egypt Country Manager said, “Given the market potential, we have ambitious targets for Egypt. During our pilot phase, our 360° SaaS Ecosystem was in fact extremely well received by Egyptian businesses, with our sales team in Egypt already successfully closing over 15 new businesses. Now that we are officially launching, we are forecasting closing well over 50 businesses before year end.”


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WASHINGTON — The White House said early Tuesday morning that 73 new companies, including VF Corp. and Kohl’s Department Stores, have pledged to take expanded steps toward sustainability and mitigating their impact on the environment as part of the Obama administration’s “American Business Act on Climate Pledge.”
The administration began the program in an effort to enlist the help of the business community to reduce its carbon footprint and stave off climate change. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was one of the original 13 companies that signed on and revealed steps it was taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The new group brings the number to 154 companies that combined employ nearly 11 million people and represent $4.2 trillion in annual revenue with a collective market capitalization of more than $7 trillion, the White House said.
Other companies that have made commitments as part of the pledge include Levi Strauss & Co., Nike Inc., L’Oréal USA, Target Corp., Procter & Gamble, the Walt Disney Co., Coca-Cola Co., General Motors, Microsoft Corp., Kellogg’s, McDonald’s Corp., UPS and Berkshire Hathaway.
President Obama, who is in Paris this week for the major United Nations climate summit with world leaders, has said his plan, if fully implemented, would cut six billion tons of carbon pollution through 2030, which the White House has said is equivalent to taking all of the cars in the U.S. off the road for more than four years. The talks in Paris over the next two weeks are aimed at forging an accord to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
Obama has outlined his goals over the past year.
“The measures taken by the public and private sectors enabled President Obama to set an ambitious but achievable goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by 26 to 28 percent by 2025 last November,” the White House said. “And in the eleven months since, we’ve seen unprecedented global momentum in the fight against climate change.”