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To ensure fair prices for cattle producers, the USDA would require meatpackers to buy a specified number of cattle on the spot market and through negotiated "grid" trades under a Senate bill introduced on Tuesday. The bill, similar to legislation filed in September 2020, was backed by the American Farm Bureau Federation and the U.S. Cattlemen's Association.
From meat packers to seed companies, farm equipment to agrochemicals, the agriculture industry has become increasingly concentrated, leaving farmers with few options when it comes to buying inputs or selling their commodities. This has also become a potent political issue in rural areas, but …
As an antidote for the dwindling cash market, the largest U.S. cattle group circulated a plan on Tuesday for meatpackers to voluntarily buy cattle on the spot market to assure fair and open prices, with the threat of mandatory disclosure if the systems fails. The so-called 75 percent plan by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association stood as an alternative to bills in Congress to require packers to buy as many as half of their slaughter cattle for cash.
The milk cooperative Dairy Farmers of America has entered into an agreement to buy most of milk processor Dean Foods’ assets as part of the latter’s bankruptcy proceedings. If approved, the $433 million deal will make DFA both the largest milk supplier and the largest milk processor in the country.
The Department of Justice intervened Friday in a landmark price-fixing suit against the country’s biggest poultry companies, possibly signaling that its own grand jury investigation into the chicken sector could result in criminal indictments. The DOJ asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to stop discovery in the class-action lawsuit brought by food distributor Maplevale Farm, saying in its motion that “a limited stay is needed to protect the grand jury’s investigation.”
Last month, the nation’s fourth-largest beef packer, National Beef, announced plans to take over Sysco-owned Iowa Premium, a regional packer focused on processing Black Angus steers for the Upper Midwest. National Beef is majority-owned by the Brazilian firm Marfrig. (No paywall)
The man that would lead the agriculture division created by the merger of U.S. giants Dow and DuPont says the companies expect to close the merger by the end of this year despite ongoing antitrust reviews, said DTN.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Glassley of Iowa said he would hold hearings next month on "a wave of consolidation among seed and chemical producers, including the merger of Dow and DuPont," the Des Moines Register reported. The announcement came one day after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States approved the $43 billion merger of ChemChina and Swiss-based Syngenta, which has significant operations in the United States.
The Justice Department should block the Dow-DuPont merger, which would create the largest seed and ag chemical company in the world, because it would unduly reduce competition in the sector, say a trio of legal, farm and consumer groups. The merger is part of a wave of consolidations that would turn the world's six biggest seed and ag chemical companies — Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, DuPont, Dow and BASF — into "a Big 4, dominated by a Monsanto-Bayer and Dow-DuPont duopoly," said the groups in a letter to regulators.


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Home Tags Americas
The International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) Americas will be holding its second annual event in Riviera Maya, Mexico from September 30 to October 3.
PROVIDENCIALES, Turks & Caicos - The leading travel brands from across the Caribbean and the Americas have shared top honors at a World Travel Awards ceremony hosted at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort V
LONDON, England - The Caribbean’s most successful travel brands are set to be acknowledged at a red-carpet ceremony hosted by World Travel Awards (WTA) at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Sp
At this time of the year, citizens of Gulf nations start taking off to several parts of the world not only to escape the scorching summer heat in the region, but also to take a break from a usually he
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and the government of Ceará, Brazil, will bring together international and national experts to debate the impact of
Sandals Whitehouse European Village & Spa, located on Jamaica's beautiful south coast, is set to host travel and tourism’s biggest night of the year as the World Travel Awards brings The Americas Ga
Organizers of IMEX America, the new model trade show for the meetings, events, and incentive travel industry in the US, have today announced they intend to offer two free "Wild Card" places come the s
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has named a familiar face to the key vacant post of director of CTO USA, with responsibility for marketing the Caribbean throughout th
Mr. Sutsveta Svetasobhana has taken over as the general manager for Thai Airwways' USA market, bringing with him 20 years of senior management experience in the airline industry.

domain: news


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With expected unit average sales prices (ASPs) of approximately $0.01 and a total market of $8 billion by 2025, an annual 800 billion unit volume market will exist for printed/flexible sensors within 10 years. Recognizing the importance of this rapidly growing portion of the sensor marketplace, Roger Grace, President of Roger Grace Associates has organized and will chair the “Printed/Flexible/Stretchable (P/F/S) Sensors for Wearables and IoT Applications Symposium” at Sensors Expo 2016. Interested attendees will learn more about the technologies in this extremely interesting area and commercialization and monetization issues that are involved. The exhibition and technical conference will take place at the McEnery San Jose California Convention Center from June 21-23, 2016. The symposium is on Tuesday, June 21.
For more information about this Sensors Expo 2016 symposium, click here.


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TripAdvisor Turns to Customers For Some User-Generated Creative Inspiration
What better way to get your customers talking about your brand than, well, to get them talking about your brand by paying them to do so? Well, at least giving them the chance to get paid. That’s the idea behind TripAdvisor’s user-generated TV ad contest.
Starting with the brand’s ongoing Don’t Just Visit campaign as inspiration, TripAdvisor is asking fans, followers and customers to submit videos which can be used as 15 or 30 second TV ads. Anyone in America, France or Australia can enter the contest, which runs through the month of August.
Of the approach, TripAdvisor CMO Barbara Messing said, “No one knows better than our community of millions of travelers how TripAdvisor makes a vacation great. Travelers love sharing their experiences on TripAdvisor, so we’re excited to get their take on our ‘Don’t Just Visit’ ads by asking them to share their travel stories in a creative new way, with one winning story to air on TV.”
And she’s right. Sometimes a brand is just too close to itself to properly express its benefits. Which is why it’s best to sometimes go right to the consumer for more than just insight but for actual creative as well.
The winner of the contest winner will receive a grand prize of $25,000 and a chance to see their ad air on television. TripAdvisor will also award five runner-up prizes of $1,000 with winning videos shared on TripAdvisor social media channels.


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On September 14th, we are attending the Short Stay Summit at the Tobacco Dock in London!
The European Holiday Home Association (EHHA), UK Short Term Accommodation Association (STAA) and the Vacation Rental Management Association (VRMA) have joined forces to bring the leading European business event for the short-term rentals industry.
This will be an opportunity for many people in the industry to be able to network face-to-face, something that hasn’t happened in over 18 months.
Our founder and Director, Jessica Gillingham, will be moderating two panels:
The first will be 10-10:30AM at the Workshop on “Guest Automation – How can tech help you grow your business and create amazing guest experiences.” Joining Jessica as speakers will be Jeremy Gall, Founder of Breezeway, Steve Davis, CEO of Operto Guest Technologies, Andrew Schulz, CEO of NoiseAware, and Nils Mattisson, CEO of Minut.
The second panel will be 4:30-5:10PM at the Main Stage and they will be discussing “Business travel of the future; How short-term rentals can gain market share – and keep it.” Speakers for this panel will be Deborah Heather, Director of Quality in Tourism, Vivi Cahyadi, CEO and Co-founder of AltoVita, Merilee Karr, CEO and Chair of STAA – TrustedStays, and Pauline Houston, Vice President of Business Development at SilverDoor.
Jen and Laura from our team will also be attending the event, come and say hello!
Click here for more information.


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Sony Interactive Entertainment chief Andrew House confirmed his company is working is working on a new PlayStation 4 console. Rumors about this console have been going around for several months now, it's codenamed "Neo" and will offer 4K resolution and richer graphics.
House told FT that the new high-end PS4 will end up more expensive than the current $350 version, but specifics about the pricing or a launch date weren't revealed. Console gamers will also be disappointed to hear that Sony will not be unveiling its new console at next week's E3 show.
[...] Mr House said that Sony would not be unveiling its new console next week and refused to say when or at what price the unit would go on sale. “We want to ensure we have a full range of the best experiences on the new system that we can showcase in their entirety,” he said.
Concerns about interoperability were downplayed and House also confirmed that both the old and the new PS4 will be sold alongside.
Nonetheless, he downplayed concerns that the move would cause interoperability problems between the old and new PS4 hardware.
“All games will support the standard PS4 and we anticipate all or a very large majority of games will also support the high-end PS4,” he said.


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Sally Walker joins team as general manager to build on the growth of the company for 2018.
Interplay has announced another year of growth in 2017, with an increase of over 50% in overall business. This is despite a challenging commercial year for the toy industry. Whilst all brands have seen growth or experienced a successful launch, My Fairy Garden and Fab Lab have enjoyed the most success in the UK and international markets.
The Interplay team has built innovative and imaginative brands that are growing into evergreen properties, and will be revealing new launches at the 2018 toy fairs.
Continuing the company’s growth curve, Interplay has confirmed that Sally Walker (nee Plumridge) is joining the business as general manager. Having held previous senior leadership roles including MD of Leap Frog and marketing director at Tomy and Mattel, Sally will bring her vision and toy business experience to the team.
Combined with the strengths of the existing Interplay team, Sally’s experience and skills will provide the leadership and structure required for the rapidly expanding business.
Ross Ainsworth, who has established and built the multi-award-winning company over the last 20 years, becomes CEO, with a special focus on continued creative innovation. It is this passion for product and creative excellence that has driven the success of the company.
Sally commented: “I feel very lucky to be joining the great team here at Interplay. There is something very special about the brands, the products and the people. The achievements and performance of the business, particularly over the last few years, are real proof of this and I am excited to be part of the team building an even stronger future.”


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SEE Gamer:Redefined News first on 990WBOB!
This week we take a look at the launch of Google's Stadia or rather it's not so smooth launch! The lack of features not ready at launch, the tiny game library, the missing pre-order units, and that's just the tip.
We also bring you the big news of popular Twitch streamer Jeremy “Disguised Toast” Wang signing a deal with Facebook gaming. Big names in game streaming making big moves to competing platforms has been the trend this year and it looks like Facebook wants a piece of the action. Can they step up and be a serious competitor? Click and find out!
Read More 990WBOB
Unbiased, Unfiltered. WBOB's Original Reads feature our brightest and boldest personalities, offering their two-cents on the goings on of news, sports, politics, entertainment, and business. -- Are our opinions always PC? Nope. Are they always perfect? Nah. But, are they always 100% authentic? Absolutely!


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Amryt Pharma announces record-breaking revenue for the most recent quarter.
Amryt Pharma said today that it had begun a share buyback program and recorded record sales for the second quarter ending June 30th.
According to the company’s financials, sales for the first half of the year were 9.2% higher than the same time in the previous year, bringing total revenue to $68.5 million.
Prior to financing charges, Amryt’s second-quarter operational loss was $6.9 million, compared to a $4.1 million operating loss in the same period of the preceding year.
Chiasma restructuring and acquisition costs were excluded from the $13.3 million in EBITDA, which resulted in an EBITDA before restructuring and acquisition costs of $13.3 million.
E.C. approval of Filsuvez for EB patients six months or older was granted by the European Commission during this quarter.
An Amryt spokesman said this clearance was a key milestone in the company’s history and a substantial boost for European patients with the debilitating ailment.
By excluding the impact of a single LATAM order placed in the second quarter of 2013, Methyleptin’s sales climbed 49.9 percent year over year in the second quarter.


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Two Seattle area companies utilizing algae to create biofuels, chemicals and others products today announced a partnership at the Annual Algal Biomass Summit in San Diego. As part of the deal, Seattle-based Blue Marble Energy will produce "high-margin biochemicals" from microalgae from Redmond-based Bionavitas.
Earlier this year, Bionavitas announced a scientific breakthrough to increase algae yields by introducing light rods deep in algae pools. The Light Immersion Technology, or LIT, can be used to more rapidly and cost-effectively produce algae for environmental remediation, nutraceutical and biofuel products.
"With the efficient algae-production capability of Bionavitas, and our ability to convert that algae into specialty biochemicals, it was a natural step for our companies to partner," said Blue Marble Energy CEO Kelly Ogilvie.
Blue Marble -- which is looking at ways to use algae to transform the products we eat, drink and wear-- raised money in July. It is primarily focused on the food and fragrance sectors.
The company said about 99 percent of those products are now created via petroleum, but it is looking to reverse that trend with renewable replacements for oil.


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Between now and Labor Day there may be a lull that allows trade publishers to once again gain the attention of their industry readers…
Amazon reported a net income of $857 million in the second quarter, compared with $92 million in second quarter of 2015 Two of the big names in American business today,
The Shape and Martha Stewart brand acquisitions helped the company see its magazine advertising revenues increase 6 percent to $527 million What a fiscal year it has been for Meredith.
Total revenue declines, even digital ad revenue fell almost 7%, though the newspaper company was able to report that it now has around 1.4M digital subscribers Today both Alphabet (Google)
Moving away from publishers leading brand-centric sales, Time Inc. now has five category sales executives handling seven categories, and three brand sales executives handling endemic/brand advertisers Time Inc., who will
The social network grew its revenue 63 percent, to $6.24 billion, while monthly active users hit another new high of 1.71 billion The social network Facebook now has more members
Guardian News & Media reports £69m loss in year end report, 50K new digital subscribers can not make up for advertising losses
UK-based media company recently went through a round of staff cuts, eliminating over 250 positions through a voluntary redundancy program, and wants to achieve a 20% reduction in costs over


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The majority of small and medium-sized businesses believe there are financial opportunities in the shift to a greener economy and that they personally can benefit from them, according to new Opinium polling commissioned for a new report by The Entrepreneurs Network and the Enterprise Trust.
The findings from the report, Green Entrepreneurship, challenge the historic assumption that pursuing sustainability is a hindrance to businesses and the economy.
It argues that harnessing the innovative products, ideas, and practices devised by Britain’s flourishing entrepreneurial ecosystem will be critical to overcoming the environmental challenges facing the planet, while also providing an economic boost and positioning the UK at the forefront of the green growth sectors of the near future.
The survey reveals that businesses already have commercial as well as ethical incentives to ‘go green’. Entrepreneurs report that consumers and potential employees are seeking out green businesses.
Half of all businesses agreed that their customers expected them to take steps to be more environmentally responsible and 57% agree that employees increasingly want to work in businesses that are seen as environmentally responsible.
SMEs are acting on this information: over half (54%) have taken steps to become more environmentally friendly over the past few years, though nearly half (47%) believe they could be doing more.
However, consumer and employee pressure alone will not be sufficient to meet major environmental challenges. The report argues that environmental problems are driven by market failures, where governments have not sufficiently made polluters bear responsibility for the full costs of their actions, nor sufficiently rewarded those who develop solutions to environmental challenges
Businesses are split on how well they think the government is doing in terms of helping them to profit by addressing environmental problems – most (38%) think it is doing neither well or badly, while slightly more think it is doing badly (30%) than well (24%).
Meanwhile, equity investment is flowing into green businesses. Data from Beauhurst reveals that between 2015 and 2019 equity investment into startups described as ‘sustainable’ has more than trebled (204%), while ‘environmental’ businesses saw a 94% increase in equity raised.
Green Entrepreneurship showcases the entrepreneurs who are driving the sustainability revolution. They include Electron co-founder Jo-Jo Hubbard, whose platform makes it easier to manage demand for intermittent renewables such as wind and solar, and Too Good To Go co-founder Jamie Crummie whose business works with restaurants, cafes, and retailers to reduce food waste.
Precision agriculture, which uses technologies such as drones to monitor crops to reduce pesticide and fertiliser use while increasing crop yields, has seen a 3,650% increase in funds raised over five years – with £68m raised in 2019. Similarly, urban farming startups have seen a 540% increase in equity investments over the past five years.Orginal Source


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Harry Potter fans are eagerly waiting the July 8 opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley in Orlando, and NBC News host Meredith Vieira earned every Potter geek’s envy when she recently visited the theme park for a primetime special.
During her visit, Vieira got to watch the filming of several interactive 3D scenes that were shot for the new park with the series’s original cast members, and many of its original crew members as well.
“Young people will feel that they are actually in it, that they are part of the movie and in the story,” Ralph Fiennes, who plays arch villain Voldemort, told Vieira. “The physical reality and visual reality around the movie…you can almost reach out and touch it. I think that’ll be something they’ll never forget.”
In March, Warner Bros. announced that it would be producing another trilogy of Harry Potter films (in addition to the eight that have already been made from the original book series) that would focus on author J.K. Rowling’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” Rowling published the book in 2001, between the fourth and fifth books in her bestselling series.
According to Rowling, the films will be “neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series but an extension of the wizarding world.” Rowling herself is set to pen the screenplay for the film, and as we noted earlier, “Fantastic Beasts” will also be developed across Warner Bros. video game, consumer products and digital initiatives businesses.
Take a look at NBC’s behind-the-scenes feature below.


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Remember the Soft Patch? That's how Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan referred to the consumer-led slowdown in the second quarter. The good news is the ground under the economy firmed up nicely during the third quarter, led by a strong rebound in household spending. The bad news: With oil at $55 per barrel, the record first hit on Oct. 15, get ready for Soft Patch II, playing at locations across the nation this winter.
As in the second quarter, consumers will have prominent roles in the sequel. Their spending will get pinched again in the fourth and first quarters, thanks to the double whammy of higher gasoline prices and home-heating costs. Gas jumped to $2.04 per gallon in mid-October, only 2 cents shy of the May peak.
Global growth also is showing the impact of the oil shock. On the plus side, barring any major new supply disruptions, slower global growth -- especially in China -- seems likely to relieve some of the upward pressure on prices this winter. But until that occurs, the slowdown overseas is curbing demand for U.S. goods. Slower export growth and the impact of pricier petroleum on imports are widening the trade gap, creating another subtraction on overall economic growth.
These drags from $55 oil will work to reverse the momentum so evident over the summer. Economists, on average, expect the Commerce Dept.'s Oct. 29 report on real gross domestic product to show the economy grew at a robust annual rate of 4.2% last quarter. But forecasters have been revising their numbers for this quarter's growth downward. The latest Blue Chip Economic Indicators survey has an average fourth-quarter forecast of 3.7%, down from a 4.1% clip projected in July.
Bear in mind that the economy is in no danger of stalling out -- or worse. Many key economic indicators appear to have begun the fourth quarter at a high level compared with their third-quarter averages, including retail sales, which jumped in September.
Moreover, several production-related data would be stronger if not for September's hurricanes. The Fed noted the weather's impact when it reported a slim 0.1% rise in industrial output last month. And despite a 6% drop in September housing starts, new building permits rose slightly. All this means the numbers on payrolls, production, and housing are set to rebound in October.
THE CRUCIAL QUESTION is whether the current real GDP forecasts, already down from July, may be revised even lower. The answer depends greatly on the response of Corporate America. Companies, flush with cash and in excellent financial condition, weathered the first soft patch well. They maintained a solid pace of capital spending and inventory growth. They even continued to hire, although at a reduced pace. The business sector's spring performance is what made the second quarter unfortunate for the recovery, but hardly worrisome.
The two areas to look for signs that oil is landing a blow: capital spending and hiring. And so far the business community seems to be rolling with the punches. Morgan Stanley's monthly survey of its industry analysts in early October shows that among the companies they canvass, more businesses are hiring in October, and that more plan to hire over the next three months than in September. The survey also reports a slight increase in the number of companies who plan to hike their capital spending. Other data, such as orders for capital goods and first-time jobless claims, support these findings.
HOWEVER, A MAJOR DRIVER of future business decisions will be the trend in demand. Here is where oil will have significant impact. In the third quarter, households bounced back from the spring spike in gas prices. September retail sales jumped by 1.5%, thanks to strong car buying. Even excluding vehicles, sales were up 0.6%. The worry is that such solid increases will be hard to repeat this quarter and next.
Real household income is growing only about 2% this year. Job growth has to speed up to well above 150,000 a month to lift wage and salary growth to a rate strong enough to sustain a healthy 3%-to-3.5% pace of consumer spending. And it's not clear job gains will reach that pace. Already, measures of consumer sentiment sagged in early October because of worries about jobs and oil.
In addition, economies worldwide have had to cut back on other spending to pay for costlier energy. As a result, weaker global demand is dragging down U.S. exports at a time when a weaker dollar and U.S. productivity gains should be making American-made products more attractive overseas.
Instead, exports are the main vulnerability in the trade outlook. Since May, when energy prices began to soar, the dollar value of exports has flattened out. The level is in sharp contrast with the 17.3% gain of the previous year. The slowdown is evident across most regions, especially in the emerging economies of Asia.
After adjusting for price changes, goods exports in August were up 10.8% from a year ago. That's down from May's 13.9% clip and it's below the 14.9% gain in imports over the past year. Worse still, further weakening looks likely. The Institute for Supply Management's survey of purchasing managers found fewer companies reporting gains in export orders in September, the sixth monthly drop in a row. The reading was the weakest in 17 months.
AT THE SAME TIME, the high price of oil coupled with strong demand here for materials and capital goods has pushed up U.S. imports. In August a one-time payment for Olympic broadcasting rights also added to the 2.5% gain in imports while exports were basically unchanged. As a result, the trade balance widened sharply to $54 billion, from $50.5 billion in July.It's important, however, to note that oil cuts two ways on imports. Yes, it's boosting the nation's total overseas bill. But since American consumers are devoting more of their budgets to energy, they are spending less on other goods, and that includes imports. From May to August, the price-adjusted imports of nonauto consumer goods fell by 3.6%. Consumer-goods imports have not fallen for four months in a row since 1995.
At the Fed, oil is starting to command increased attention. In a speech on oil and the economy on Oct. 15, Greenspan said that costlier imported oil had already shaved about 3/4 of a percentage point from U.S. growth so far this year, adding, "the risk of more serious negative consequences would intensify if oil prices moved materially higher." He went on to say such a move seemed unlikely, although the world will have "to live with the uncertainties of the oil markets for some time to come." For now, it appears that this most recent oil slick has caused the economy to lose some of its footing.
By James C. Cooper & Kathleen Madigan


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electronica India and productronica India opened their doors to the industry on September 25, 2019, with record participation from electronics professionals from across the country. The 2019 editions of electronica India and productronica India are hosting more than 650 exhibitors from over 18 countries making them the biggest trade shows for electronic components and machinery in India. Under the Make in India initiative, the government of India aims to increase the share of the manufacturing sector. The gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow from 16 to 25 per cent by 2022 and 100 million new jobs should be created by 2022.
“The number of exhibition space this year has increased by 70 percent making the 2019 edition the biggest ever. electronica India and productronica India have garnered the reputation of flagship trade fairs for the electronics industry in India, said Mr. Bhupinder Singh, CEO of Messe Muenchen India.
The trade fairs will welcome several global and regional renowned leaders in the manufacturing sector to showcase their technological innovations. Some of them are STMicroelectronics, Le Champ (South East Asia) Pte Ltd, Nichicon Corporation, Millennium Semiconductors, Panasonic, ASM, JUKI, HumiSeal, Yamaha SMT, Mycronic, Kyoritsu, Electrolube.
They started with two concurrent conferences: the e-Automotive conference and the CEO Forum. The programs were attended by top game changers and innovators from the automotive electronics and ESDM industries and provided ideal platforms for comprehensive discussions about the best strategies to make India to a global hub for electronics innovations in the ESDM and automotive segments.
The 3rd e-Automotive conference was following up with the topic “Smart electronics for smart mobility–Focusing on the next generation technologies in automotive electronics and EV components”. The conference provided powerful, engaging, disruptive and progressive strategic focal points to the stakeholders of the automotive industry and enable them to collaborate on a unified platform and deliberate the auto-electronics progression.
The 4th edition of the CEO Forum focused on “Realizing the vision of a trillion US$ digital economy—The role of components and design led manufacturing”. The forum was attended by medium and senior level management executives from the ESDM industry gathered to get a first-hand look from the industry stalwarts on the technology adoption in boosting local manufacturing potential and enabling India exporters to grow globally.
The Buyer-Seller forum saw a remarkable attendance with a high interest from the community to make new contacts and build future business prospects. Some of the participating buyers were Intel Technology India Pvt Ltd, Samsung India Electronics, Sony EMCS Malaysia and Foxconn India.
To add even more value to the exhibiting experience, electronica India and productronica India 2019 are co-located with two further related trade fairs: IPCA Expo for the second time and Smart Cards Expo for the first time.
Indian Printed Circuit Association Expo (IPCA Expo) is the optimal platform for companies dealing with PCB technology. The IPCA Expo aims to promote advance education in science and application of electronic packaging.
Smart Cards Expo is India’s only trade fair focusing on smart card technologies and their applications. It is organized along with IoT India Expo, e-Security Expo, RFID India Expo, Biometrics India Expo, Digital Payments India Expo and Artificial Intelligence India Expo.


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Technology is the primary force behind the shift of businesses to digital transformation. Since most people are using social networks and digital interactive tools to carry out most of their tasks, it is no less than a great opportunity for businesses to venture into the path of digital transformation
This shift to a new world, also known as Industry 4.0, has led organisations to seek new ways on how they can improve their operations. Technology has been introduced in all departments, ranging from human resources to logistics and from operations to sales.
This report was a matter of discussion during the 2021 edition of our online forum "Shaping Malta's Future."


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ZuumZuum (ZZ) has achieved several significant milestones that changed the online fashion retail landscape in Bangladesh since its launch in July 2015. A lot of things happened in one year – for ZZ, it managed to keep its operation costs lower, expanded partnership and cracked the product-pricing model that buyers are willing to accept. It involved lot of trial and error, but it is finally on a growth trajectory. Every day it works towards a step closer to changing the way people access fashion in Bangladesh in just a few clicks.
“Over the past one year, ZuumZuum has consistently striven to improve its product offering, brand proposition and customer experience to change the online fashion retail scene in Bangladesh. Our online population is still below the global average and as an online retailer in an emerging markets, it’s important for ZuumZuum to contribute to the growth of e-commerce and offer a platform where local brands can reach more consumers and for fashion consumers to have access to the best fashion brands anytime, anywhere,” said Fayaz Taher, Co-founder and CEO, ZuumZuum.
ZuumZuum website allows independent fashion designers and boutiques to sell their products to an already established and loyal customer base. For example a promising local brand named Rise launched their premium denim and chinos collection through ZuumZuum. Also, online boutique shop Unstitched, online T-shirt shop like The Apparels, Cut Price etc gets to display their new and upcoming fashion wear in our sites.
It regularly updates its site with new and upcoming fashion wear, and keep its customers engaged via its Facebook page, and fashion blog site. As consumer habit has changed dramatically, its marketing team focused on highly personalised marketing as well. To make its loyal consumers feel more privileged it offers loyalty programs, discount offers, cash back offers etc.
Driven by a team of young experts in fashion, data analytics, marketing, and design, paired with guidance from savvy startup founders, ZuumZuum’s vision is set on growth, making it the online fashion authority in Bangladesh. It will continue to strive for excellence, enhance the customer experience by improving interface and customer engagement will boost confidence in online shopping and transform the way fashion is purchased in Bangladesh to help build an e-commerce friendly environment. It has pushed to stay relevant from developing brand-owned content to reaching out to consumers on various platforms – while placing a great emphasis on the quality of digital engagement. In ZZ fashion blog site, people can get tips on fashion and lifestyle products and it regularly updates its content.
Their head of operations, Rifat Ahmed is a veteran in the e-commerce business in Bangladesh, who worked tirelessly to bring new product and partners on board. While asking about the reason for the rapid growth of their business he said, “We were very lucky to attract very young individuals like Asif Hossain in marketing, Zubayer Ahmed in the supply chain and Imran Aziz in customer service, who may not had the online business experience, but brought tremendous passion to our business which helped us work harder and get better results. The team has grown over last one year, but our passion to make a dent in this industry still burns high. From day one, we had one strategy, which is to deliver best online customer experience through our platform. It may sound cliché, but trust is a huge missing factor in e-commerce business in Bangladesh and we are trying to be most trusted fashion e-commerce site”.
ZZ also launched The ZuumZuum Shop, the first click-and-mortar shop in Bangladesh that gave consumers a physical experience. Through its pop-up stores in Mirpur and Uttara, it reached out to and converted a whole demographic of consumers into e-consumers. The success of the first digital pop-up store in Dhaka had led to the planning of opening of more pop-up stores in cities in Bangladesh. Designed to increase awareness, this omni-channel approach has proven to be a success as up to 90% of consumers who bought from the pop-up store are new customers.
Road to success
ZuumZuum understood early that in order to be successful, it needs to invest both time and effort to better understand the complicated and fragmented online market and its impact on issues such as operations, and customer service. By forming strong local teams that understand the local nuances in Bangladesh market, ZuumZuum is able to ensure that every day; ZuumZuum is helping the way people shop and redefine the high-street fashion accessibility in emerging markets. It has recently added additional resources in customer service, delivery management, and social media marketing, but still manages to run the business with the smallest team in the industry to keep a low burn rate.
Over the last year, ZZ site evolved from a simple idea into the most advanced platform for fashion products for fashion lovers. But this project has not been without its challenges. It is now working on a Thank You program to provide privileges to the customers for choosing and putting trust in its service. Of course, it has other plans on the horizon as it continues to grow. ZuumZuum intends to continue to add more features to its platform, offer new exclusive products in regular cycle to bring customer back to the site and keep working always with the latest fashion.
Article reprinted under special arrangement with SDAsia.com


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Debenhams to open second store within Paola's Main Street
Debenhams has signed up as anchor tenant at Paola’s Main Street Shopping Complex which is in the final stages of a €2 million extension and refurbishment project.
Main Street has won customer approval in the region with more than 600,000 visitors every year. June alone saw a 14 per cent increase in footfall. With the opening of Debenhams in November these numbers are set to rise.
Main Street Shopping Complex opened in 2004 and currently encompasses an area of 2,862 square metres. With the completion of the new project at the end of the summer, it will have expanded by another 1,350 square metres and boast increased parking facilities. This €2 million extension, which began in December 2011, includes the installation of solar roof panels and a much larger façade. The extended complex will be inaugurated in November in tandem with the Debenhams store opening. There are currently 10 stores and a large computerised bingo hall. Acafé restaurant with a large terrace will open soon. Some retail spaces are still available.
Debenhams made its Malta debut in March 2010 when it opened its flagship at The Point in Sliema, offering women’s wear, menswear, home ware, fashion accessories, lingerie and children’s wear.
Debenhams at Main Street will offer the signature international retail experience. The brand is represented locally by United Department Stores Limited and subsidiary of the United Group of Companies.


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The escalation of tension in Ukraine has reminded us of something many investors seemed to have forgotten: Geopolitical risk. Sanctions and the inevitable drop in trade have proven to generate a significant negative impact on the different economies involved. We know from the 2014 Ukraine crisis that the economic hit is severe and persistent.
The economic hit of sanctions is undoubtedly highest for Russia. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated in 2015 that “Western sanctions and Russian countersanctions reduced Russian real gross domestic product (GDP) initially by 1–1.5% and that prolonged sanctions would lead to an even larger cumulative output loss. In 2019, the IMF estimated that sanctions reduced Russia’s growth rate by 0.2 percentage points every year in 2014-2018”, as reported in The New Atlanticist.
The impact on Russian citizens is wide even when these sanctions are targeted at individuals and state banks. The most obvious impact is the loss of purchasing power of the local currency, which has plummeted against the US dollar, which reduces salaries and savings in real terms.
The United States does not suffer a relevant impact from sanctions to Russia. It imported around $30 billion from Russia in the first eleven months of 2021 and exported $13.2 billion, according to Bloomberg. However, it does suffer indirect implications as consumer prices soar due to rising energy and food prices. Russia is a relevant global player in the export of metals, agricultural and energy goods and sanctions affect the marginal pricing in global markets.
The European Union (EU) has far more to lose than the U.S. from a conflict with Russia. According to Eurostat, Russia is the fifth largest trade partner of the European Union, with imports of $177.9 billion and exports of $104.1 billion. Additionally, reliance on Russian natural gas is very high, particularly in countries like Germany and the Czech Republic. Eleven EU countries import more than 50% of their natural gas requirements from Russia. For many it would be impossible to offset the flow of Russian gas with liquefied natural gas even using trucks if they were willing to accept prohibitive prices.
The impact on Ukraine is enormous. In “The Economic Effect of Hybrid Wars”, a study by professors Julia Bluszcz and Marica Valente, they show that “causal effects are estimated by computing the yearly difference in GDP per capita between Ukraine and its synthetic counterpart after the eruption of the war. Results indicate that Ukraine’s foregone GDP per capita due to the Donbass war amounts to 15.1% on average in years 2013-2017 and, respectively, 5.23% ($460.26), 9.18% ($832.96), 19.63% ($1,823.78), 19.80% ($1,893.38), 21.67% ($2,184.13) in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017”.
There is also an indirect impact on the global economy. Rising tensions in Ukraine are showing the widening differences between the Western countries and the Russia-China influenced nations. This is more than just about Ukraine or natural gas flows. The West is losing influence in Africa and Latin America in favour of China and, to a lesser extent, Russia. Latin America is slowly shifting toward China and Russia, as evidenced by the messages of the president of Argentina and the newly appointed Chile prime minister.
The impact of geopolitical risk has made energy and food prices soar higher all over the world. The increase in essential goods prices comes after a terrible year for global real wages, eroded by central bank-fuelled inflation.
The Ukraine crisis arrives as well in the middle of an evident slowdown of the largest economies after the placebo effect of massive stimulus plans. These risks add to a scenario where many economies are moving even closer to stagflation, and the ramifications will likely last longer than the conflict itself.
2 thoughts on “The Steep Cost of Sanctions For Europe and Russia”
I beg to differ with Mr. Lacalle’s analysis. He uses data from 2014-2015 to determine the impact on the Russian economy to sanctions. For anyone who has been following the evolution of the Russian economy they would know very clearly that Russia has basically bulletproofed its economy and its citizens from any western sanctions.
What that means is that for about 90% of its needs, Russia is able to produce and manufacture those goods internally. Russia has its own payment messaging system comparable to SWIFT and is about 2 months into a 6 month project to integrate their system with China’s payment messaging system. As well, if you follow news reports in the US, it was made clear to the Biden Administration by the Federal Reserve that cutting Russia off from SWIFT will lead to the death of SWIFT. Why?
And here is the thing that you miss in your analysis. Europe cannot manage without Russian energy. The question is not about how to replace them but about how to pay for Russian goods (energy, materials, etc) if one cannot use SWIFT. Well the simple answer is that you use the Chinese payment messaging system. The impact on dollar denominated trade would be huge since most of the rest of the world led by China would ignore US/EU sanctions and continue trading with Russia.
As for Nord Stream 2, the impact in terms of cost and lost on the project being stopped is primarily bore by Germany and to a lesser extent Austria. Germany and to a lesser extent Austria paid for the pipeline. Next without that cheap and abundant source of energy, German industrial production would be severely impacted and worse for Germany, their desired pivot towards Asia which would give them a larger degree of independence and possibility to grow their economy would be thwarted.
As for Russia, based upon an interview with Tom Luongo my understanding that Russia’s lost on Nord Stream 2 is the equivalent of 1 months energy revenues. Also I would add that the explosion in energy prices caused by sanctions as well as the ramp up in volumes of energy products going east to China primarily easily make up for this impact. There would be some minor pain as they permanently shift to SIPS for large banks to handle international payments for those presently made using SWIFT. Russia would definitively turn away from Europe, a minor power in ever deepening decline along with its master the US. Except for a small smattering of colonies in maybe Africa and Americas many of the countries in the rest of the world will continue trading with Russia especially as many of them have joined the BRI.
So the one who has the most to lose by far for implementing sanctions is Europe and the one who has the most to gain, by severely damaging the economies of its so called allies is the US. Russia has been prepared for this for a number of years and is for the most part protected. One has to wonder just how brain dead is most of European leadership is to follow in this folly.
Sorry, I meant to add one point in relation to purchasing power parity. If you look at PPP, you will discover that Russia and Russians in general are in a very good position. Your comparison about the dollar is flawed since so little of what Russia produces or trades is done in dollars. As well, the Russian Central Bank hardly holds any dollars. Most of its energy trades are immediately converted into gold and also to a certain extent euros and yuan. The dollar hardly impacts on Russians. If you go to Russia, as I was last summer to see Spain play Switzerland in the European Championships, you will see people living very well on what in the US would be considered a modest salary.


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Bakkt has expanded its Bitcoin custody offering to all institutions beyond just supporting those trading on Bakkt's Bitcoin futures exchange. According to a blog post today, this is because it has now received authorization from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to do so.
The first three insitutions to start using this service will be Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, and Tagomi. Bakkt plans to onboard new institutions in the next few weeks.
Bakkt is a Bitcoin futures exchange that was launched by Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. It launched to a slow start but volumes on its exchange have been steadily building up, and tend to increase when the Bitcoin market sees increased volatility.
In the blog post, Bakkt pointed out that it uses biometrically-controlled bank-grade vaults and enterprise-grade security modules to ensure that customer funds are kept secure. This is key in light of the major crypto exchange hacks that have occurred in the past.


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With a recent hot spell and more sunny weather on the way, it is no wonder shoppers are clambering for ice lollies and cooling drinks. However, one new product has sent foodies into overdrive.
As Nottingham gets ready for a predicted heatwave that could reach 32 degrees, some shoppers may be preparing to stock up their freezers. Iceland shoppers have spotted new Fruit-tella Fruit Stack Ice Lollies that is coming to stores and it has sent many into a frenzy.
After a picture of the new iced sweet treats appeared on Facebook page Newfoodsuk, some 496 people commented on the post in addition to creating over 750 reactions. People were thrilled to discover that their favourite sweet had been turned into a lolly and an Instagram post under the same name clocked up nearly 2k likes in four days.
People began tagging in friends, reported Liverpool Echo, who first spotted the post, which says the treats are "out next week at Iceland Foods". The publication quoted some of the comments. One said: "My favourites in lolly form". Another added: "I bet these are tasty. I have the sweets all the time".
The comments continued with one person tagging in a friend and saying: "We need to go to Iceland". Another said: "These are ice creams I’m defo up for eating!" With others declaring: "Oh need to try these".
The box shown in the post is of a family pack of 6 lollies. It's not the first sweet treat to be turned into an ice lolly. Iceland is also selling Swizzels Drumstick Squashies Jumbo Lollies for £2.25, Barratt Flumps Mini Vanilla Flavour Ice Cream Lollies for £2 and Swizzels Parma Violets Premium Violet Flavour Ice Lollies for £2.50.


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Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer is gearing up to release a smartwatch of its own. It’s not clear for now if TAG Heuer embraced Android Wear for its first smartwatch, though comments from CEO Claude Biver seem to hint at that.
A 2014 sales estimate for the global smartwatch market suggest that Samsung is leading the field with 17.7 percent of the market, followed by Pebble, FitBit and Sony.
Apple has now officially launched its Apple Watch, but can it compete with the already established range of Android Wear smartwatches?
Pebble has just announced that the developer preview for the Pebble SDK 3.0 is now available. Developers can now begin crafting their new apps for the Pebble Time with support for new hardware features like a color screen and a built-in microphone.
The new Watch Urbane LTE runs LG’s “all new Wearable Platform” OS instead of Android Wear, and offers voice calling, thanks to the integration of LTE.
If you really want to use your Android Wear smartwatch with an iOS device, an unofficial solution may be coming.
JDI has announced a new LCD panel designed specifically for the low power requirements of the smartwatch market.
Asus will opt for a simplified chipset and won’t use Android Wear in a future smartwatch in the pursuit of improved battery life.
LG is reportedly bringing a new luxury smartwatch to the wearables game, to be announced at MWC, here us what we’ve seen so far of the LG G Watch Urbane.
Do you have a smartwatch on right now? If not, why do you think that is so? These are questions that the Android Authority podcast team explore in this edition of the Friday Debate Podcast,... episode 4! Lanh Nguyen of the YouTube team joins host Joshua Vergara and co-hosts Joseph Hindy and Jonathan Feist to talk about wearables – in particular, smartwatches – and why they migh...


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GoyaÂ® Foods is a 70 year old multi-national, family owned business that specializes in Hispanic cuisine. Its 2,500 employees worldwide produce more than 1,200 products, including condiments, pantry items, beverages and frozen foods.
A new bulk bag weigh batch eductor system from Flexicon loosens bulk solid material that has solidified during storage and shipment, discharges the material by weight and blends it into a liquid stream.
By Karen Langhauser, Editor-in-Chief, Food Manufacturing While barbecuing the other day with my sister (more accurately, while our significant others were barbecuing and we were watching) I was attempting to look busy by examining a package of Martin’s potato rolls.
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina officials know some of the mountains of trash that are dumped daily could be useful to someone, if only interested parties could find each other. The Daily News of Jacksonville reported Monday that the N.C.
JEANNINE AVERSA AP Economics Writer - November 2, 2009 WASHINGTON (AP) - Businesses are finally willing to spend more money on equipment, a healthy sign for the economic recovery.
MARYSVILLE, Mich. (AP) - Authorities say multiple explosions have been reported and at least one person has been hospitalized after a fire broke out at a Michigan welding supply company.
BETSY VERECKEY AP Business Writer - November 2, 2009 CHICAGO (AP) - The Clorox Co. said Monday profit rose 23 percent in its fiscal first quarter, as consumers paid higher prices and stocked up on disinfecting products because of worries about the flu.
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent a warning letter Friday to Procter & Gamble Co. saying the company was illegally marketing two Vicks cold and flu medicines containing vitamin C.
BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts lawmakers are considering tighter restrictions on the use of toxic chemicals in consumer products as a way to encourage the use of safer alternatives.
By Tom Zsolt, PE, Vice President, Platform Computing When they first came to market, high
ProSoft Technology® has released the RadioLinx intelligent cellular solutions, designed to provide wide area and even global wireless connectivity for industrial devices.
Dynapar has introduced the EN series of oilfield encoders, suitable for use in Zone 1 hazardous locations.
The Moyno® 2000 HS System is marketed as a cost-effective alternative to expensive, high-maintenance piston pumps, conveyors and competitive progressing cavity pumps.
Omega’s new series of microprocessor based portable universal circular chart
B y Anna Wells, Editor, IMPO My friends and I like to play a lot of off-the-cuff word games.


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Whoa, check this out: A “groundbreaking and innovative pop-up dining experience” is coming to Seattle that, according to this email we’re quoting, will provide “an unparalleled dining experience.” Yes, they used “dining experience” twice in the same sentence, but we can’t blame them, the “playful and delicious dining adventure” they’re telling us about is pretty exciting: It’s a burger place... where the burgers are shaped like Legos.
Called Brick Burger, it’s a novelty event from the company Explore Hidden, which specializes in made-for-the-Gram experiences. This promises to be a feast for the lens, with square burgers in block-like buns and a venue filled with Lego-esque furniture. There’s also going to be a place for you to play with Legos.
This is a pretty kid-friendly event, though at a price point of $47, it’s likely going to attract a lot of adult brick artists as well as people who never really got over that infant urge to eat Lego blocks. The pop-up will run October 14 and 15. For more information and tickets, go here.
Mariners Announce First-Ever T-Mobile Park Pub Crawl
Baseball and beer go together like baseball and hot dogs or hot dogs and beer, and in recognition of this, the Mariners are offering a special ticket package for the May 25 game against the Oakland Athletics. For $34 or $44 (depending on your seats), you get admission to the game and also six drink tickets, each of which is redeemable for an eight-ounce pour at several ballpark beer stands and bars. That’s a pretty good deal, especially since T-Mobile Park serves some solid craft beers. Tickets and more info here.
Local Chef Maggie Trujillo Scores National Award
Maggie Trujillo, the culinary director of la-di-da waterfront spots Aqua by El Gaucho and Aerlume, has been honored as the best fine dining chef in the country by the International Fresh Produce Association after being nominated by wholesaler Charlie’s Produce. The award highlights how a chef uses produce in their menus. “This award is especially meaningful to me because I am always inspired by the variety and abundance of locally grown produce in the Pacific Northwest and love centering my dishes around seasonal fruit and vegetables,” Trujillo says in a statement.
Just Poke Just Keeps Getting Bigger
Local poke chain Just Poke announced this week that it was opening three new locations: one downtown, one on Mercer Island, and one in Sammamish. That brings its total number of poke shops to 27, and it’s not done yet: It plans to open eight more by the end of 2023. According to its website, upcoming expansions may include West Seattle, Olympia, and even Richmond, British Columbia.


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In partnership with Informa, ConnectMe by Totem was proud to host FinovateFall, a cutting edge Fintech event, run as a hybrid experience. Throughout 4 days, the Marriott in Times Square, in the world’s financial capital saw the return to physical events. Across 15 stages and with more than 1000 presentations, FinovateFall joined leading industry experts with Demoing companies showcasing their products – the Totem team worked closely with the F2F and digital teams running the event, from remote managing the AV team to troubleshooting for both virtual and physical attendees.
The Totem Platform was able to join together virtual and physical attendees in delivering this new hybrid model and joined people across timezones and world wide locations. The Platform also proved to be a valuable asset for more than 100 exhibitors & demoers who had the opportunity to showcase their products and ideas in both virtual and physical format.
With more than 1000 attendees on site using the ConnectMe app to network, engage and ask questions, FinovateFall in partnership with ConnectMe was a true and safe return to physical – catering to the eager to go back on site whilst still delivering a unique virtual experience for the ones who could not physically attend.


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I have been checking out the new “Samlaren” or “The Collector” here now in grocery stores southern Sweden. Samlaren was a design project by Renova and Chalmers students in response to the need for better small electronics collection. Four Samlaren were tested in Gothenburg in 2009. The first year Samlaren collected 4.5 kg of waste (compared to just over 5kg at five recycling centers). A study of the different collection systems by El Kretsen found that the Samlaren operated at a cost of roughly 16kr/kg collected. Here in Skåne, Samlaren are being installed by SYSAV in an effort to increase the collection of small e-waste.
Around 60 have been deployed throughout Skane (shown below) in an effort to make it easy to recycle small e-waste such as CFLs, small electronics like razors, and batteries. Sysav hopes the effort will help further eliminate hazardous substances from waste streams and to recycle precious metals in the products that can be used in the production of new goods. It is also hoped that Samlaren will help households where old lamps tend to accumulate. In Lund, Samlaren offers an alternative way to dispose of lamps, batteries and small electronics without having to go to the recycling center or wait for the hazardous waste recycling bus to come around. Sounds good! We will be going to Sysav in September to ask how the Samlaren is performing so far.


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In a press release issued on Wednesday, AT&T said it will aim to target industries like manufacturing and healthcare with its blockchain services.
Mobile communications mammoth AT&T (NYSE:T) has partnered with tech giants IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on a “suite” of blockchain solutions, the company said in an announcement on Wednesday (September 26).
The company said its blockchain solutions will pair with IBM’s blockchain platform to record data and Microsoft’s Azure technology to build transparency and liability in difficult supply chains.
In the release, AT&T said the goal of its blockchain solutions are to help its customers “solve their complex business problems.”
“Today, businesses are constantly looking to reduce costs, risk and simplify business processes,” AT&T said in its release. “Blockchain creates a shared ecosystem across parties to exchange information in way that is permissioned and highly secure.”
The company said that its suite of blockcahin solutions can be used to track the movement of goods in the manufacturing industry, manage delivery and eliminate waste stock in retail, and ensure healthcare records are secure and up-to-date.
Andy Daudelin, vice president of Alliances Business Development at AT&T Business, commented in the release that there’s more to blockchain than just cryptocurrencies.
“It’s transforming the way many companies conduct business,” he said.”Blockchain improves security and enables better management of transactions through complex processes.”
AT&T’s interest in blockchain is certainly nothing new. The telecommuncations company first filed a patent with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in April 2015 for a home subscriber service backed by blockchain. The patent was officially granted in May of last year.
The company through its subsidiary AT&T Mobility also filed a patent for implementing cryptocurrency payments in vehicles in April 2017.
According to AT&T’s announcement, its blockchain solutions are officially on the market as of Wednesday.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.


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BIAS Inc. on Monday at the National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas, Nev. demoed for MacCentral the upcoming release of
Peak Pro 5, its recording, editing and mastering software for audio professionals. BIAS said the feedback since announcing the update in Frankfurt, Germany a few weeks ago has been amazing.
Perhaps the biggest change that current Peak users will notice right away is with the Playlist. While many of the changes in Peak 5 are under-the-hood, the Playlist has added visual aspects that are useful and readily apparent.
Peak’s playlist has undergone several changes in the new version including a graphic waveform view with optional staggered or linear views with optimized Quartz-2D drawing and transparency, allowing crossfades and tracks to be adjusted visually. The crossfade appearance is very similar to what Apple has demoed in SoundTrack Pro.
BIAS’ Zac Wheatcroft also demonstrated a new feature specifically for game developers. Console games for PlayStation 2 and Xbox need 28 samples of audio to be edited at a time. Doing this by hand leaves a lot of room for mistakes. BIAS’ “Snap” feature allows these pieces of audio to be selected automatically from the waveform editor.
“This feature alone will save our users hours and hours of work,” Wheatcroft told MacCentral.
Another useful feature for those that like to record their LPs or cassettes digitally is called “Auto Define Tracks.” With this feature, you set a couple of variables — like the space between songs and volume — and with a click, the tracks are defined for the entire album.
Peak Pro 5 has many other changes including a new high-resolution Tape Style Scrubbing via CoreAudio; the Batch File Processor now enables the preservation of file resolution and type; a new Recover Audio File command enables users to recover some damaged files; and the New Region Split command makes the region creation process faster and easier than before. Peak also added support for Unicode, allowing the use of non-English file names — support for file names longer than 32 characters has also been added.
Peak Pro 5 will be available in Q2 2005 for US$599. Upgrades for Peak purchased before April 1, 2005 cost $179; after that date upgrades cost $39.
An Extended Technology edition, Peak Pro XT 5, bundles the SuperFreq paragraphic equalizer, SoundSoap and SoundSoap pro noise reduction plug-ins and five new plug-ins, for $1,199.


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This week CD Projekt RED has made a broadcast to talk about the Cyberpunk Edgerunners animated series and to reveal that Cyberpunk 2077 will receive the Phantom Liberty expansion next year, which will be The first and the only with which the action RPG will have, as the Polish study has stated.
This has been dropped by Adam Kiciński at a meeting for investors that has taken place, ensuring that the content of the game will not be expanded again once this DLC is published sometime in 2023. However, that does not want say that this is going to be the end of the franchise.
In Kiciński’s own words, it seems that the team intends to move on with this universe that he must still have rope for a while:
We decided to release a big expansion using the potential of the new generation of consoles. At the same time, I would like to emphasize that we want to further develop the Cyberpunk IP. We have invested a lot of time and effort in building this brand and we have every intention of developing it further.
Time will tell how the universe of cyberpunk beyond the current game and the series that will premiere on Netflix in 2023. Maybe a sequel, a movie or with merchandise? What is certain is that Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty It will be released in a few months and only on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Stadia.


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Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation
In an article published in the Summer 2023 edition of the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation, Trish Markus and Shane Duer discuss the use of online tracking technologies by healthcare industry organizations, noting that even entities not required to comply with HIPAA are subject to regulatory scrutiny of their data privacy practices.
"Digital health and wellness companies of all types are being held accountable for failing to maintain the privacy and security of individuals' PHI and IIHI, even where such companies are not regulated by HIPAA," Markus and Duer wrote. "The FTC appears poised to take aggressive stances against companies that disclose consumers’ personally identifying information in contravention of their privacy policies, and it will prohibit disclosure of a broad range of such information for advertising purposes."
To read the full article, click here.
These materials have been prepared for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Internet subscribers and online readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.


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In line with its ambition to be a benchmark player on trust issues and digital transformation of companies, PwC France and Maghreb announced the launch of PwC Store, the first digital marketplace initiated by a major consulting and auditing firm. This platform provides companies with 22 digital solutions developed by the PwC network and its partners. With this launch, the company continues the Co-create2025 roadmap, which is in line with the global strategy, and its investments targeted at key issues and practices such as technology and ESG.
The PwC Store offers French companies the opportunity to acquire leading digital products to help them meet the key challenges and issues they face today, be it in terms of cybersecurity, risk management, compliance but also also in ESG (environmental, social and accountability management), process intelligence or procurement.
The 22 digital solutions, combined with PwC’s expertise services, are based on innovative technologies such as data, automation, no-code low code or artificial intelligence (AI). They also meet the highest standards of digital, quality and security. Nearly ten criteria (security, data security, independence, legal, marketing, etc.) were considered and evaluated from the product design stage.
The new business model and sales channel contains the company’s capacity for innovation to integrate technology into the day-to-day service of business challenges.
Digital products available in the PwC Store include:
● Carbon Cockpit: a tracking tool to estimate the carbon footprint of IT equipment. It provides a way of controlling evolution over time of this footprint, identifying best practices within the organization and simulating the benefits by playing into the lifespan and impact of future IT equipment.
● Threat Watch: a digital platform to support companies in anticipation of the growing threats they face. These attacks often have serious consequences that can jeopardize the very sustainability of the company. In fact, according to a recent company study1, 49% of companies that have been victims of cyberattacks have seen their share price drop by an average of 18% a year after the announcement of the incident.
● Virtual Crisis Experience: a virtual crisis situation simulation experience, allowing employees to train in crisis management. As a reminder, 95% of managers want to improve their crisis management capacity (Global Crisis Survey 2021, PwC). Faced with the proliferation and sophistication of Cyber attacks, raising the awareness of employees and top management of companies is becoming essential to better predict crisis situations.
● Game of Threats: an immersive serious game that has been used by over 150 companies around the world. Its purpose is to educate management teams to inform them about cybersecurity issues and risks and enable them to focus their investments on the themes where they need it most.
● Connected Risk Engine Cyber: a cloud-based risk mapping and cybersecurity maturity assessment platform. For 55% of CEOs, cyber risk is one of the main threats to their company’s economic growth.
● FEC 4.0: a solution that tests technical accounting and tax consistency of accounting file entries (FEC). Areas at risk are thus identified, making it possible to anticipate potential inquiries from the administration.
● Process mining tool: a Mining Process technology to evaluate processes as they are actually being implemented and to quickly identify priorities for improvement, whether in terms of performance, cost reduction or control over risk.
● Source to Secure Optimizer: a tool for looking at supplier costs to identify risky purchases and quickly develop a security plan with local alternative suppliers.
Nearly a year after launching its new Co-create2025 roadmap aligned with The New Equation global strategy, PwC France and Maghreb have marked the diversification of its market positioning to build trust and innovation for sustainable results. .
Worldwide, the PwC network is investing more than $ 12 billion over the next four years in creating more than 100,000 jobs. In France and the Maghreb, nearly 200 million euros of investment is targeted at key issues and practices regarding the current environment, including technology. The firm also aims to double the workforce on data, cloud, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence issues, including those applied to the audit professions, while strengthening strategic partnerships with major global publishers. More than 700 recruitments are planned for the tech sector over the next 3 years, including nearly 200 in the coming year.
1 Study “Impact of cyber incidents on company value”. The analysis is based on a panel of 127 listed companies that were victims of a cyber incident between 2007 and 2020


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Supporters in Scottsdale back Apple in FBI inquiry
A dozen people gathered Tuesday evening outside the Scottsdale Quarter Apple Store in support of the company's decision to defy a federal judge's order that would effectively help the FBI break into a customer's password-protected iPhone.
Fight for the Future, a grass-roots group advocating for a free and open Internet, called for a nationwide protest after a federal judge ordered Apple to break into the iPhone of San Bernardino, Calif., shooter Syed Rizwan Farrok.
The rally was small, but the demonstrators felt strongly about Apple CEO Tim Cook's decision to oppose the ruling.
One protester, Scott Bontrager, heard about the demonstration and wanted to express his voice.
"I don't think that it is right that the FBI should be able to impose on an American company to ... create new software to bust open somebody's phone just for the sake of invading their privacy," he said.
Rallies were held in other cities including New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles and at Apple's headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., according to Fight for the Future's website.
The ruling came Feb. 16 from U.S. Magistrate Sheri Pym. It requires Apple to assist the FBI by creating software that disables the self-destruct feature on the phone. With the feature disabled, the FBI would then attempt to guess the pass code through what is called "brute force" -- this is when a program goes through every possible combination of the pass code until the correct one is found, successfully unlocking the phone.
U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker of the Central District of California said that unlocking the phone is one aspect to "exhaust very investigative lead in the case."
"We have made a solemn commitment to the victims and their families that we will leave no stone unturned as we gather as much information and evidence as possible," Decker said. "These victims and families deserve nothing less."
Bontrager added that, if the FBI were able to get the phone open, it would set a precedent that would affect every phone company.
"I think that any compromise is a poor compromise," Bontrager said. "Giving up your privacy for the sake of security is no security at all."
USA TODAY contributed to this article.


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Posts filtered on Category
The tech press is spending the day exploring why Microsoft killed the Kin program just seven weeks after its launch. And reports are unearthing turmoil within Microsoft’s consumer business.
Microsoft needs to step back and take a long, hard look at its strategy in consumer products, a technology expert said Wednesday. “They are at a crossroads at a time when the world is turning very much toward consumers — consumer technology, consumer electronics …
Microsoft is killing its Kin “social phones” after less than seven weeks on the market.
Microsoft’s new Windows Live Messenger app for the iPhone has been a hit, with more than 1 million downloads in its first five days, Microsoft said. The instant-messaging and photo-sharing app is integrated with Windows Live, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube and Hotmail. “We look forward to updating the iPhone app shortly to address a few issues that users have pointed out, and continuing to improve the experience,” Michael Chang, group product manager, wrote in a blog post.
From The Associated Press: “The Cius will have a 7-inch screen, making it smaller and lighter than the iPad. While the iPad has no camera, the Cius will have two, facing both toward and away from the user. Videoconferencing on the go will be a major focus of the product.” Continue reading at seattlepi.com
From The Associated Press: “The Obama administration is backing a plan to nearly double the space available on the airwaves for wireless high-speed Internet traffic to keep up with ever-growing demand for video and other cutting-edge applications on laptops and mobile devices.” Continue reading at seattlepi.com
If you’re curious about Windows Phone 7 and have 74 minutes to spare, check out the video below.
Over the weekend, Verizon quietly cut the prices of its Microsoft Kin “social phones” nearly in half.
Apple apparently can’t launch a loser. The Cupertino, Calif., company has already sold more than 1.7 million iPhone 4s, the newest version of its popular smart phone, marking Apple’s most successful launch in terms of sales. Apple Stores and online retailers saw supply shortages after the iPhone 4 was released Thursday in the U.S., Britain, France, Germany and Japan to high demand. Read more at seattlepi.com
Windows Phone 7 apps will be able to send users information, news and offers from their favorite brands, effectively turning Microsoft’s next mobile operating system into an “ad-serving machine,” a representative said.


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Buyers shun local dealers as 73pc 'go private'
NEARLY three-in-four used cars sold this year were bought from a 'private' buyer.
New figures from car history experts Motorcheck.ie show that 40,995 used cars were sold to a new owner last month. And of these, 73pc took place in the private market.
Motorcheck says: "They were not officially recorded as being sold by a car dealer."
The figures suggest a trend that most buyers are happy to purchase privately and not go near their local dealer.
The used car market is much more active than the new sector. For example, there were twice as many secondhands bought so far this year. It is expected that this number will increase substantially over the coming months.
Motorcheck.ie co-founder Shane Teskey says: "While the first quarter of the year is important for new car sales we can't forget the significance of the used car market for the Irish motorist."
Significantly, the shortage of used cars here means the number of secondhand imports from the UK is expected to rise. (See our main story on this page).
Buyers are urged to beware the pitfalls of buying from the private sector.
Mr Teskey also says his company is aware of "a significant number of insurance write-off's entering the Irish market from the UK."
These cars are normally sold 'as seen' which makes it difficult to rectify later when former trouble is uncovered.


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BB resumes selling of US$ to banks after month
Click here to read full article from source
Dhaka, Bangladesh, Oct. 19 -- The central bank of Bangladesh has resumed providing foreign exchange (forex) support to banks through selling the US dollars to them in October after one month's interval, officials sad.
Under the move, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) has sold US$40 million to different commercial banks so far this month to meet the growing demand for the greenback in the forex market.
Of the amount, $10 million was sold on last Wednesday and Thursday (October 16 and 17), and the remaining $30 million was sold on October 07, according to the latest official figures.
Talking to the BBN, a BB senior official said the central bank has sold $10 million in two days of last week to a state-owned commercial bank (SoCB) at market rate t...
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On Thursday, Apple removed “Boom the Encryption Keyboard” from the App Store. People used it to bypass censorship in China.
Chinese app TikTok told its moderators to censor posts from users deemed too ugly, poor, or disabled.
…according to internal documents obtained by The Intercept. These same documents show moderators were also told to censor political speech in TikTok livestreams, punishing those who harmed “national honor” or broadcast streams about “state organs such as police” with bans from the platform.
Reporters Without Borders created The Uncensored Library inside of Minecraft as a way to bypass censorship.
Anyone can download the necessary map, and Minecraft‘s nature makes it easy to host another server if an oppressive country tries to take one down.
Hopefully all of us sharing news about it doesn’t kill it faster.
Proton apps will get new alternative routing as a way to block attempts at censorship, whether it’s by governments, ISPs, or network admins.
This week we saw rumors of Apple releasing an iPad keyboard with a trackpad, and news that Apple will be requiring paid game developers to comply with Chinese censorship laws. Charlotte Henry and Bryan Chaffin join Dave Hamilton to sift through it all for you before the weekend. Press play and enjoy!
In a crackdown called ‘The Crypto YouTube Carnage’ the company has been deleting cryptocurrency videos en masse, labeling them as “harmful or dangerous.”
As years’ worth of videos started disappearing from several crypto YouTubers’ channels, many began speculating about the giant’s motivations. Some believe that YouTube is sensing a rise of new, blockchain platforms that can compete for creators both by offering them better “job security” and a higher cut of earnings.
Andrew shares his thoughts on Apple’s recent moves in Hong Kong as well as its corporate values.
The hashtag #BoycottApple is trending on Twitter after Apple removed the HKMap and Quartz apps from the App Store at the behest of China.
Just after Apple removed the apps, #BoycottApple has been trending on all the social media platforms with users voicing their discontent with Apple’s move. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Apple has been under fire for pulling something like this. Back in 2017, the company pulled The New York Times app from the App Store stating that the Chinese government had requested the app’s removal because it was “in violation of local regulations.”
Phil Schiller: “Courage.”
Apple recently removed a Hong Kong protest app from the App Store, saying that it encouraged users to break the law.
The White House is drafting an executive order that would address alleged left-wing bias by social media companies, with an official saying:
If the internet is going to be presented as this egalitarian platform and most of Twitter is liberal cesspools of venom, then at least the president wants some fairness in the system. But look, we also think that social media plays a vital role. They have a vital role and an increasing responsibility to the culture that has helped make them so profitable and so prominent.
A WH official actually used the phrase “liberal cesspools of venom.” What a trashy administration.
The U.S. got a fresh wave of mass shootings over the weekend. A couple killers had posted their manifestos on 8Chan, and Cloudflare is ending its service for the website.
8chan is among the more than 19 million Internet properties that use Cloudflare’s service. We just sent notice that we are terminating 8chan as a customer effective at midnight tonight Pacific Time. The rationale is simple: they have proven themselves to be lawless and that lawlessness has caused multiple tragic deaths. Even if 8chan may not have violated the letter of the law in refusing to moderate their hate-filled community, they have created an environment that revels in violating its spirit.
Twitter is banning dehumanizing language aimed at religious groups. Users can no longer compare these groups to animals or other analogies.
Notably, though, the new rules do not address other groups that may be targeted by this type of hate speech. The company says it plans to eventually expand the policy to cover dehumanizing language that singles out others based on their race, gender, or sexual orientation, though it’s not clear how long that might take.
The splinternet, also known as cyberbalkanization, refers to how governments split the World Wide Web into national internets.
It’s not just authoritarian countries trying to bend the global web to national values. The same social media companies that gave rise to unrest in the Middle East have come under fire in the West for allowing their services to be used to promote hatred and terrorism. In response, England and Australia have recently passed laws demanding tech firms provide easier access to web users’ communications.
Sometimes I think that in the future there will be no internet. There won’t be a web browser, there will just be apps that are easier to censor and control.
The Leica ad celebrating photojournalism sparked outcry in China because of Tiananmen Square. China banned the word “Leica” on social media.
A new website called AppleCensorship.com exposes how the company censors apps in China at the behest of the government.
A new website exposes the extent to which Apple cooperates with Chinese government internet censorship, blocking access to Western news sources, information about human rights and religious freedoms, and privacy-enhancing apps that would circumvent the country’s pervasive online surveillance regime.
I’m a fan of Apple, privacy, and Apple’s stance on privacy. That being said I think whenever Apple mentions privacy on its website there should be an asterisk with fine print saying: “We believe privacy is a fundamental human right except in these cases.”
Tomorrow the EU will vote on the future of the internet. Specifically, a proposal involving copyrighted material that proves controversial.
Tim Cook took a recent trip to China, and some have accused him of endorsing Chinese censorship. Bryan and Jeff talk about how complicated doing business in China is. They also look at why Sonos and IKEA have announced a partnership, and what Apple’s purchase of Pop Up Archive might mean. Then they fall down the rabbit hole of TextArc.
Russia President Vladimir Putin signed a law this week banning virtual private networks, or VPNs, along with other tech that lets people surf the web anonymously, and it goes into effect on November 1st.
Apple has capitulated to China’s internet control laws and removed VPN apps from the App store in the country.
Apple is once again running into issues with state censorship in China. Chinese newspaper Xinhua reported Thursday that two different agencies will call Apple into their offices to demand Apple tighten up controls over streaming apps available in the App Store.


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Hylands Estate is getting ready for some exciting events this weekend. There’s everything from fabulous food and top chefs at the Foodies Festival, to a day of author events and workshops at the Essex Book Festival.
Chelmsford City Council’s four leisure centres are getting ready to reopen their doors on 12 April. The council runs four leisureRead More
Green spaces, parks and encounters with nature on our daily walks have been a lifeline during lockdown and as restrictions start to lift,Read More
At a time of grave concern about the pandemic’s impact on young people, a new scheme is being planned thatRead More


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Airbnb is working on new technology to block users wanting to book property to throw a party.
Airbnb told Fast Company the technology will identify “potentially high-risked reservations.” The company will examine multiple factors from the booking user, including how long they’re looking to book for and if the booking is for a day or weekend.
“We try to look at the rate of safety incidents, and we try to make sure that we are launching solutions that constantly try to work on that rate,” Naba Banerjee, the company’s global head of product, operations, and strategy for trust and safety, told Fast Company.
The project will allow homeowners to greenlight bookings without concerns about renters damaging their property. Fast Company notes that users blocked from booking a large accommodation will be able to book a single room within the building, such as a hotel.
The company began testing the feature in Australia in October 2021 and has seen unauthorized parties drop 35 percent. The technology is widely available in Australia, and the company will commence testing in Canada and the United States.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Source: Fast Company


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Home > Lifestyle > Health
Monday February 24, 2014 MYT 9:50:00 AM
Monday April 14, 2014 MYT 7:14:13 PM
A chocolate a day to help keep the fat away? Why, yes (apparently)! -- EPA
A new book states that eating chocolates can help in reducing one’s weight.
Chocolate has almost always been on the “Heck no!” list when it comes to diets, but a new regimen promises eating the sweet treat helps with weight loss. Neuroscientist Dr Will Clower penned the book Eat Chocolate Lose Weight and says consuming chocolate can actually help you eat less each day. Studies on thousands of people have reportedly proved his theory right.
“What we see in all these people is that the amount that they’re hungry for at the plate will drop by a half to a third,” the doctor told CBS News Pittsburgh. “And the amount that they’re hungry for, the amount of between meal snacks that they have, will drop by about a half.”
However, this doesn't mean diet followers can chow down on bricks of the stuff each day and expect results. Clower outlines specific guidelines in his book, including going with dark chocolate whenever possible. Already celebrated for its health properties, Clower stresses “the darker, the better”. Dark chocolate protects against sunburn and cancer, provides energy, stabilises blood sugar and improves mood in addition to aiding weight loss.
“So all of the good stuff in chocolate comes from one place and one place only – and that is the cocoa,” Clower said. Cocoa that’s 70% or higher is best.
Clower also recommends eating chocolate 20 minutes before lunch and dinner, as well as five minutes after these meals.
“With the little piece of wonderful, rich dark chocolate at the end of your meal, it stabilises the sugar onset into your bloodstream so that you have more of that blood sugar more often throughout the afternoon, so you’re just not hungry,” he explains.
Additional guidelines include not consuming portions larger than the end joint of your thumb, savoring instead of chewing chocolate, and eating the sweet daily.
“If they brain-scan people and have them eat chocolate while they’re doing it, their pleasure centers are like a Christmas tree – everybody’s happy in there,” Clower said.
The doctor predicts chocolate as “the superfood of 2014”. His book is out as of this month and features recipes among other tips and advice. — AFP Relaxnews
Will Clower, PhD’s “Eat Chocolate Lose Weight”
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Overweight hospital staff given initiative to lose weight
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Claim that chocolate aids blood flow approved
Chocolate lovers tend to weigh less: Study
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MPH Warehouse sale on again
Testing the airwaves: Star Radio Group appoints new market research company
Sherlock Holmes' exhibition puts detective up for inspection
10 Marvel characters who should never get solo titles
Length of labour doesn’t affect memory of childbirth pain
'Many big bikers have poor attitude on the road'
Arsenal's injuries offer hope to Anderlecht
Marc Andreessen quits eBay board ahead of PayPal spinoff
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I’ve attended Mobile World Congress a number of times and it is fair to say the concept of the show has evolved over the years. Previously, when someone said “mobile” we thought of physical handsets; whereas the term today has a much more complex definition. “Mobile” now is a reflection of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the hyperconnected world we live in.
You only have to look at the thousands of connected devices presented at CES—from wearables to smart refrigerators—to see the extent to which IoT will soon be ingrained in our everyday lives. But with more devices come more threats. And security needs to take center stage if users are going to trust their devices, especially as that trust has been tainted in light of the numerous breaches last year of high-profile companies such as TalkTalk and Ashley Madison. More users now demand to know their personal information cannot be compromised; we saw this shift when thousands of TalkTalk’s customers went elsewhere after the breach.
It’s worrying that some companies have not gotten the memo. Just last week we learned that VTech had updated its terms and conditions, and what I read filled me with despair. Under the new terms, VTech says families using its software do so at their “own risk.” The company places the entire security burden on its customers, claiming it is not liable in the case of future attacks by asking its customers to accept that “any information you send or receive during your use of the site may not be secure and may be intercepted or later acquired by unauthorized parties.”
When the company was hacked last year, more than 6.3 million children’s accounts were compromised, with conversations, photos, and video messages between families exposed. Do you want to live in a world in which companies can get away with this responsibility shift while selling us connected devices for our homes and for our children? I know I don’t. The implications of such a stance becoming the norm are worrying. Although the Information Commissioner’s Office has stated that the responsibility of protecting data does lie with the manufacturer, I question whether market pressure (customers) will demand better security.
Organizations have a duty to care for their customers. If the consumers companies want to reach are ever going to fully adopt these technologies, trust between the two parties will have to evolve.
This Mobile World Congress, we will be exposed to a world of exciting new technologies and opportunities as we move into an even more connected future. But as we acknowledge the move beyond the traditional handset to the new generation of digital devices, we need to address the issues around privacy, security, and control that come with them. As connected devices become more common and essential to our lives, security basics need to be the priority, right from the start. Without first establishing a foundation of trust, the exciting prospect of 5G and the wider future of IoT will fundamentally fail.
Follow us to stay updated on all things McAfee and on top of the latest consumer and mobile security threats.


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Did you watch Seven Sharp? What did you think?
I loved it
22 votes, 2.9%
It's too early to judge
162 votes, 21.2%
It was rubbish
580 votes, 75.9%
Total 764 votes
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In the world of small, bespoke automakers few are as celebrated as Koenigsegg. It shares its home with Volvo, and it pushes the boundaries of automotive design and engineering. Each new Koenigsegg ushers in something new and the automaker has worked hard to carve a niche for itself while making a name for itself around the world. Whenever a Koenigsegg shows up, people take notice, and at Supercar Sunday at Circuit Assen in the Netherlands, one Koenigsegg Regera with the optional Ghost Package made quite the splash.
The video above is over six minutes of Koenigsegg glamour shots that border on vehicular voyeurism. Koenigsegg made just 80 Regeras, all of which sold out two years ago. Each went for £1.5 million but it wasn’t until 2018 when the company introduced the optional Ghost Package, which was more than just an appearance pack. The Ghost Package adds a deep front spoiler and rear winglets. The entire package increases the Regera’s downforce by more than 20 percent.
While the Regera’s looks are nothing to sneeze at, neither is its performance. The Regera pairs a twin-turbocharged 5.0-litre V8 with a trio of electric motors. This allows the hypercar to sprint to 62 miles per hour in 2.8 seconds with a top speed greater than 250 mph. The car needs less than 20 seconds to hit its top speed.
It’s rare to see a Koenigsegg and even rarer to see a Regera with the optional Ghost Package. Then again, the video showcases more than a few Koenigsegg hypercars at the event. The crowd around the Regera with the Ghost pack is no surprise. The car is as fast as it looks, is super rare, and sounds glorious.


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Update (12/31): It has been confirmed that Hammer Slam Bowser and Donkey Kong Skylanders/amiibo Combo Packs will be released on January 9th during a “Skylanders Day” event. No word on online pre-orders at this time.
Our friends at Skylanders Inquirer have finally confirmed what we have long been suspecting. Standalone Skylanders/amiibo packs are coming to retailers soon.
Each combo pack will retail for $24.99 and will include Hammer Slam Bowser with his Clown Cruiser, or Donkey Kong with his Barrel Blaster. These dual packs have already started appearing in stores but are not officially available for purchase at the moment. Stay tuned for pre-order details on our Twitter page: @AmiiboNews!
Source: Skylanders Inquirer
Twitter source: @AggersAmandaLeave a Comment


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BERLIN, May 4 (Reuters) - German chipmaker Infineon said on Tuesday that its contract manufacturing partners had not invested enough in keeping up with demand, and that new capacity would only come into operation from 2023.
CEO Reinhard Ploss said that while Infineon had invested to match capacity with expected market growth, “foundries have not invested enough to keep up with the situation”.
Chief Operating Officer Jochen Hanebeck said supply of 20- to 90-nanometer chips was rather short. “Foundries are investing now but the lead times to get this new capacity on board will be into 2023,” he told analysts on a conference call. (Reporting by Douglas Busvine, editing by Thomas Escritt)
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