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Italy opens antitrust action against Google
Made an offer that people could not refuse
Italy’s competition watchdog has announced that it has opened an investigation into alleged abuse of a dominant market position by Google in the smart device sector.
Italians give thumbs up to Huawei
Company will not face 5G discrimination
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Friday he had assured China’s Huawei Technologies that it would not face discrimination in the rollout of Italy’s 5G telecoms network.
Italian right-wingers call for Huawei ban
No evidence but we believe what Trump says
Right-wing populist lawmakers from Italy’s ruling coalition are pushing the government to ban China’s Huawei from supplying equipment for the country’s rollout of 5G mobile communications.
Italy presses ahead with 5G auction
Even though TV Tsars don't agree
Italy will go ahead with a planned auction of frequencies for fifth-generation (5G) mobile service and issues raised by some sector players can be resolved, a commissioner at the national communications authority AGCOM said on Thursday.
Xiaomi to open retail store in Vienna
Coming to Italy and France in May
Xiaomi is definitely entering a few more European markets. Xiaomi confirmed that it will start officially offering its devices in Italy and France and it is about to open up a retail store in Vienna too.
Italy mulls iPhone ban
Persecuting the Apple cult in the traditional Roman way
The country which gave the world pizza, pasta and European civilisation is mulling over saving the nation from the fruity cargo cult by banning the iPhone.
Italy close to tax deal with Google
Taxman makes an offer Google can't refuse
Italy and Alphabet's Google are close to reaching a deal to settle a tax dispute which will not mean the company has to sleep with the fishes.
Italian boffins create learning computer
Teach it to make proper pizza
Italian boffins are working on a new robot which will develop and learn like a new-born child.
Italian watchdog sniffs at WhatsApp
Antitrust deals with Facebook
Italy’s antitrust watchdog is snuffling around the rump of the social notworking site WhatsApp.
Open source saves the Italian military millions
Can get back to conquering Gaul
The Italian Defence Ministry surprised the world last year by announcing that they were dumping Microsoft office in favour of an open-source alternative like LibreOffice.


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New Delhi: First, it was Indian mangoes for American Harley-Davidson bikes. Now, it’s Indian nurses for Japanese tugs.
If the commerce ministry has its way, when India and Japan sit down for another round of free trade talks later this year, India will push for Japan to allow easy entry and work permits for between 30,000 and 40,000 Indian nurses and in exchange will be willing to open up the market for Japan-made heavy goods and transportation equipment, said a senior official in the commerce ministry.
“We will make it easier for them to set up logistics operations,” said this government official who didn’t want to be named.
He said India was pushing Japan to open up several other sectors, including drugs.
The official said New Delhi is looking for Tokyo to have a provision similar to that of one signed between Japan and the Philippines, under which Filipino nurses can work there and are also taught Japanese for a year. In return, India would agree to give Japan greater access for transportation equipment, including tugs used to move ships as well as lower rates of duty. Rules involving setting up of logistics firms in India would also be eased, this person said.
India and Japan have already concluded a few rounds of the Free Trade Agreement talks and both the countries are expected to sign the agreement by the end of the year, he said. Japan, otherwise known for its resistance to immigration, has been opening up to allow more foreigners to work in the country party because its population is aging rapidly.
The number of foreign workers in Japan went up to 770,000 people in 2005 from slightly more than 600,000 a decade ago, according to the country’s 2005 census.
In recent years, India has been able to use trade quid pro quo deals to push for exports. Last year, the US allowed the import of Indian mangoes, after an 18-year gap, in lieu of bike maker Harley being allowed to sell its bikes here.

domain: news


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The Riders Republic game is adding BMX to it’s Season 4 update! Check out a sneak peek now!
“It’s time, Riders! BMX is finally coming to the Republic! Tune in on 14th September to enjoy the first new sport since the launch of the game. Get ready to grind on some rails or ramp up on some half-pipes! New disciplines are also coming to the game, including street, dirt and park, along with a whole new zone: Area 52.
More info HERE
Stay tuned for future updates!


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After years of waiting, EA Sports might be readying up to reveal a new sports game in the college football franchise. It’s usually pretty consistent with releasing new entries to its sports games, but it’s been a while since college football got any love.
A recent report from 247Sports points to new info coming soon. From what its source tells it, it will be a general update with the potential to show images. At this time, we aren’t sure if it will include any release date or a video. What we do know, though, is it won’t include the NCAA branding, which hasn’t had a new entry since 2013, and it will be your standard fare when it comes to EA Sports game — atmosphere, real player likenesses, and the like, while adding some flare with school-centered traditions.
Fan-favorite game modes are set to return, like Dynasty and Road to Glory. Ultimate Team will also be included with continued support post-launch. Also, yes, it will be built on the Madden engine, but that was more a given than something people would reasonably expect.
What do you think? Have you missed the college football franchise? Let us know below!


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A second federal judge in the United States has reportedly blocked the U.S Commerce Department order that would have barred the TikTok app from operating in the nation.
Carl Nichols, the U.S. District Judge in Washington, found that Commence Department overstepped its authority in implementing the TikTok ban and acted in a capricious and arbitrary manner by failing to consider obvious alternatives.
Sources cite that Nichols’ order limits the agency from barring data hosting within the US for TikTok, technical transactions, and content delivery services. On Sept. 27, Mr. Nichols had separately blocked the Commerce Department from banning Google’s and Apple’s app stores from offering the app for download by new users.
Speaking on which, a TikTok spokesman said that the company is delighted with the court’s decision to grant a preliminary injunction to the video-sharing app.
Citing a threat to national security, Trump Administration’s Commerce Department had sought to stop the video-sharing app from being downloaded in app stores. The agency said that it would defend Trump’s August executive order that put restrictions on TikTok and said it is completely consistent with regulations and promotes legitimate national security interests. The government would continue to comply with the preliminary injunction, added the agency.
The Trump administration banned TikTok citing security concerns. The government said that the video-sharing app poses a national security threat as U.S users’ data could be obtained by the Chinese government. However, TikTok has persistently denied these allegations.
ByteDance, owner of TikTok, which has more than 100 million U.S. users, has been in talks with Oracle Corp and Walmart Inc to finalize the deal that will shift the company’s U.S assets into a new entity. A U.S. appeals court will also hear arguments on Carl Nichols’ app store ban order on December 14.


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The National Consumers League says the sites can be very deceptive, cost people a lot of money, and that consumers should stay away.
If you're looking for a used car, be sure the one you're considering actually exists. The Better Business Bureau offers tips for keeping safe online and being sure the 'deal' you're pursuing is real.
Sometimes an identity thief's scam backfires, and they end up hurting only themselves. Here are five of the dumbest financial criminals in recent history.
More than 1,500 sites shut down in worldwide enforcement action against sites illegally selling prescription drugs.
Those data breaches you read about can give identity thieves all the information needed to establish service with your name on it. It's one more reason to check your credit report.
An analysis by the Center for Investigative Reporting and a newspaper identifies organizations that fattened solicitors' wallets.
States are warning consumers about aggressive - and false - sales pitches for medical discount cards.
VIDEO ON MSN MONEY
Copyright © 2013 Microsoft. All rights reserved.
Most people hate the idea, according to a recent poll. But the government is inching closer to allowing airlines to make the final decision.
The Market Dispatches column has been discontinued. Here's where to find the latest stock and business news on MSN Money, and the latest from market writer Charley Blaine.
MONEY & POLITICS
Breaking up big banks is an untested solution to the too big to fail problem that attempts to isolate and dismantle large, troubled institutions while protecting the rest of the economy.
Wealthy Americans contribute most of the levies collected from federal personal income. But that's not the whole story.


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Chamber prepares for Christmas parade ; Children's store
The Blackwell Area Chamber of Commerce has a busy month ahead, and while the organization is filled with the holiday spirit, organizers also are paying tribute to our nation’s veterans by combining Blackwell’s Veterans Day parade with the upcoming Night of Lights Christmas Parade.
The Veterans Day parade was canceled at the last-minute Nov. 11 because of inclement weather.
“We will be combining the Veterans Day parade and Christmas parade,” Chamber Coordinator Joyce Courtney said. “Sean Ingram will lead the parade, and Santa will be at the end of the parade.”
Ingram was chosen in November as the Veterans Day parade marshal.
The combined parade will take place Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m. on Main Street.
A parade-first this year will be the inclusion of Mrs. Claus.
For the parade, the Chamber requested that there be no other Santas or Mrs. Clause figures besides their own so as not to confuse the children.
The Chamber of Commerce also is preparing for another holiday tradition: the Children’s Christmas Store.
The Christmas store will take place Dec. 10 at the Blackwell Youth Center from 9 a.m. to noon. It will allow children ages 3 and up to shop for their parents with the help of Blackwell High School students, including members of Blackwell’s FFA.
The store will feature several items donated by the community and act as a way for children to be involved with doing holiday shopping for their families.
Gift prices will range from $.50 to $5.
“It’s a fantastic chance for the kids to learn about giving in the holiday spirit,” Courtney said. “It’s great for the kids, and it is always a wonderful time for everyone involved.”
Please support The Blackwell Journal-Tribune by subscribing today!


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Haulage firm Wincanton wins Primark contract, loses CFO
Under the contract, which begins early next year, Chippenham-based Wincanton will make more than 50,000 deliveries to 191 stores across the UK each year and deliver significant operational efficiencies to the safety, service and cost of its supply chain.
As part of the operations, Wincanton and Primark will work to ensure a reduction in carbon emissions, including reducing distances travelled by HGVs by 15 percent and increasing the use of alternative fuels.
More than 100 Primark employees will stay on in their roles and join the 20,000-strong Wincanton team.
They will primarily be engaged across transport operations, conducting deliveries nationwide and will benefit from the real-time visibility provided by Winsight, Wincanton’s single platform technology suite.
Winsight will manage all transportation activity across Primark’s UK supply chain, ensuring goods are delivered seamlessly and to the highest service standards.
Wincanton will embed this and other execution tools as part of its commitment to continuous improvement to optimise its network. This will ensure broader collaboration on key points, such as capacity, within the wider supply chain.
Rachel Gilbey, MD of general merchandise at Wincanton, said: “This is a significant contract which demonstrates strong momentum within the business, as we welcome our new colleagues to the Wincanton family.
“The Wincanton and Primark teams are working hand-in-hand to deliver a successful transformation for Primark’s transport operations.
“We look forward to continuing to innovate and unlock significant value for customers.”
Mark Shirley, director of logistics at Primark, said: “We are excited to be working with the Wincanton team whose size and expertise match the growing demand from our customers.
“Wincanton has developed sustainable solutions that will bolster Primark’s logistics capacity in the UK and we look forward to continuing to innovate and improve our transport operations.”
Meanwhile, Wincanton’s chief financial officer Tim Lawlor has announced his resignation, effective from March 2022, to take up a position at at Countryside Properties.
“It has been a privilege to have been part of the Wincanton team as the Group’s financial position has strengthened and the business has grown,” said Tim.
“I would like to thank everyone at Wincanton for their support and wish them every success for the future.”
Chief executive James Wroath said: “The board of Wincanton wishes to thank Tim for his hard work, commitment and outstanding contribution to the Group over the last six years.
“I would also particularly like to personally thank Tim for his support during my introduction to the Group.
“We will continue to work closely with Tim to ensure a smooth transition and wish him all the best in his new role.”
Wincanton wins contract to get popular toys to children this Christmas and beyondRead more


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Data was once the domain of tech geeks and direct-marketing gurus, while chief marketing officers focused on loftier things like shaping brand perception. But those days are over. A study from tech-research firm Gartner projects that by 2017 the CMO will spend more money on information technology than the chief information officer.
When CMOs Learn to Love Data, They'll Be VIPs in the C-Suite
Thanks to an explosion of data from social-media platforms, call centers, transactions, loyalty programs, registries and more, CMOs who want a seat at the table will have to harness customer data and leverage it -- or risk being relegated to chief promotions officer.
"With economics and innovation, things that weren't possible years ago are now possible, and that 's causing brands to stop and rethink the role of data and how it powers the enterprise," said Tim Suther, CMO at Acxiom, a technology and marketing-services company.
Take Macy's , for example. The retailer is mining customer data in partnership with customer-insights specialist Dunnhumby to better understand shopping preferences and behavior. That enables Macy's to make informed marketing decisions by looking at the day or even the time consumers prefer to shop. It can also offer solutions; for example, a black handbag to complement the black shoes just purchased.
"Those are the kinds of things we've started to do with customer data so we're not polluting her mailbox, so we're not guiding her through a 98-page [catalog] when the first 50 pages aren't relevant," said Macy's CMO Martine Reardon. "This fell to marketing, because we are the team of people that really have the customer on our minds 100% of the time."
The challenge for CMOs, said Dave Frankland, an analyst with Forrester, is to integrate that data and mine insights to "distinguish signal from noise." The payoff for marketers who accept that challenge will be data and insights that give them "credibility and validity to go alongside their hunch and expertise," he said. "The best CMOs inherently understand customers at a macro level. This allows them to get in the customer's head at a micro level."
At business-communications company Avaya, CMO Dan Murphy is responsible for shepherding customer data, which he uses to identify sales trends and revenue opportunities. "I'm able to identify through the data we get where particular customers are in that sales life cycle, and I can target my marketing specifically to where they are," said Mr. Murphy. "It's very different from where marketing used to be, where you threw the net far and hoped you could capture some customers. Now, we have a laser focus."
Companies that are already established in gathering and analyzing customer data include credit-card companies, as well as other direct marketers such as Geico and Dell , said David Williams, chairman-CEO of CRM agency Merkle. Retailers, consumer-packaged-goods and health-care companies are trailing. But there are few companies that won't be headed down that road in the next three to five years, predicted Mr. Frankland. Forrester, for its part, has dubbed 2010 and beyond the "age of the customer."
"The only sustainable competitive advantage is knowledge of and engagement with customers," wrote Forrester analyst Josh Bernoff. "Brand, manufacturing, distribution and IT are all table stakes. The only source of competitive advantage is the one that can survive technology-fueled disruption, an obsession with understanding, delighting, connecting with and serving customers. In this age, companies that thrive ... are those that tilt their budgets toward customer knowledge and relationships."
In fact, industry watchers say today's CMO must become the de-facto chief customer officer -- or lose out. "CMOs have historically been the brand steward. This is an opportunity to be a customer steward," Mr. Frankland said. "If they don't do it, someone else will."
The unanswered question is whether that person will be the CMO, the CIO or a newly elevated chief customer officer. Mr. Williams believes the ideal scenario would be a partnership between the CMO and CIO.
"Things that have historically been separate are fusing: Mad Men and math men, offline and online," said Mr. Suther. "It's a great time to be a CMO, if you want it to be. ... The CMO, as the traditional voice of the customer, has an opportunity to redefine [his or her role] in a more robust way and earn a seat at the big table."


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And a considerable donation.
British fashion label A-Cold-Wall has announced that it is taking two actions in order to support the black community.
The first of these are ten grants for independent black businesses; successful applicants for these grants will receive £2.5k each to help with their respective businesses. The second action is a £10,000 donation to Black Lives Matter. Posting the news on Instagram, the brand included evidence of this substantial transaction.
Stating that “further initiatives will be shared shortly,” the statement is signed by brand founder Samuel Ross. To apply for the grant, email [email protected] and see the full statement on Instagram below.


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Like all of China’s expertise firms, Kuaishou has another motivation to increase overseas whereas Beijing takes over its home business. Chinese language authorities have centered on executives corresponding to Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group, however uncertainty over future rules has sparked a large market crash. Kuaishou’s inventory has practically quadrupled since its debut and has since fallen near its bid worth.
Su’s lieutenant, Tony Qiu, a former Bain Capital investor and Didi govt who helped the Chinese language large construct its presence in Brazil, organized the abroad push of the corporate. Since becoming a member of Kuaishou final August, he has examined his information of the native market, main a staff with hires from Google, Netflix and TikTok. In April, Kuaishou additionally welcomed on board Wang Meihong, Fb’s senior senior engineer, to supervise the expertise for its world merchandise.
“It’s not simply inventive minds or younger pattern customers who do lip and dance synchronization coming to our platform,” Qiu mentioned. “Kuaishou is extra common.”
Take João Paulo Venancios, a 22-year-old Kwai creator who lives within the Paraíba state of northeastern Brazil. Since beginning in Kwai in March 2020, Venancios has constructed a following of two.6 million individuals with clips the place he and his 70-year-old grandmother recount on a regular basis life and movie scenes. Native retailers took him to look of their shops, incomes him about 6,000 Brazilian reais ($ 1572) each month – sufficient to hire a home and pursue his dream of turning into an expert singer. It’s a rumor which may not have in-built on TikTok or Instagram, that the algorithms make it more durable for little-known creators to go viral.
“My grandmother is a variety of enjoyable, and we created a bond,” she mentioned. “Individuals in Kwai discover my movies extra related.”
This sensible nature of Kuaishou’s platforms displays the standard beginnings of its founder. Whereas Su now has a internet value of practically $ 9 billion, he was born and raised in a small nation within the central province of Hunan in China. From there, Su handed the undergraduate entrance examination to the college and gained admission to the celebrated Tsinghua College, the place he studied software program programming, earlier than working as a developer at Google and Baidu.
“As I grew up, I noticed extra individuals who didn’t have a fortune like me,” Su mentioned. “So I hope Kuaishou gives one other method to work together with a world aside from his personal.”
His expertise has led Su to entrepreneurship: previous to Kuaishou, he had labored on greater than 30 initiatives in sectors starting from video promoting to cellular search and e-commerce. All flopped. Ruby Lu, an investor who made a primary guess in Kuaishou for DCM Ventures, noticed Su’s engineering skills again then.
“He got here in as an excellent geek,” he mentioned. “In my e book, it is a praise.” In 2013, he met his fellow software program engineer Cheng Yixiao throughout a dinner that lasted as much as 2 hours. Collectively, they remodeled Kuaishou, whom Cheng launched two years earlier as a GIF creator, right into a video sharing platform that featured all types of content material, together with vignettes of life in rural China.
By mid-2016, it had garnered 50 million month-to-month customers, in keeping with QuestMobile knowledge. Larger rivals like Weibo and Tencent Holdings took benefit of their very own brief video choices, however couldn’t construct a loyal group, till ByteDance went with Douyin, which appealed to a youthful – and probably extra – widespread demographic. profitable -.
Su has nearly landed TikTok. In 2017, Alex Zhu and Louis Yang, founders of the karaoke app Musical.ly, have been buying round for his or her three-year-old outfit, which had garnered 10 million customers in the US – principally kids and youths. They’ve met with leaders on Fb and YouTube, however it’s Su who has gone the longest in discussions with them. Then, ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming, fired from his profitable Toutiao app quantity, jumped in and provided to purchase the startup for about $ 1 billion, individuals aware of the matter mentioned.
“We didn’t have some huge cash,” Su mentioned. “It is an episode of serious impression, however not the one which determines the whole lot.”
TikTok inherited Musical.ly’s consumer base, interface and licenses with report labels, turning into the primary Chinese language client app to turn into world. This success – it has about 100 million month-to-month customers in the US alone – has attracted hostility from the Trump administration, which claims its Chinese language mother and father pose a possible risk to nationwide safety.
Right this moment, Kuaishou has 1 billion month-to-month customers throughout all merchandise on this planet, in comparison with 1.9 billion by ByteDance. On-line adverts have surpassed digital presents to turn into Kuaishou’s largest income engine, making half of the 17 billion yuan ($ 3.6 billion) income for the March quarter. That contribution might attain 60 % by the top of the 12 months, Su mentioned, even when the corporate stays within the crimson whereas including new companies like e-commerce and video games.
Some analysts argue that at its dimension, Kuaishou ought to already be producing earnings fairly than burning money for consumer development. Its IPO sponsor, Morgan Stanley, lowered its inventory valuation and decreased its goal worth by 57 % to $ 130 US.
“If Kuaishou can’t develop organically and easy out prices when competitors deteriorates, it means his enterprise mannequin can face main challenges,” mentioned Wang Guanran, an analyst at Citic Securities in Shanghai.
Again dwelling, each ByteDance and Kuaishou are scuffling with Beijing’s crackdown on their tech giants. Kuaishou’s comparatively unpopular ambiance – which as soon as featured the whole lot from underage moms to rappers praising the drug – has attracted censorship from the web regulator through the years. It was among the many web firms fined this week for spreading sexually suggestive content material involving kids. The 2 brief pioneers of the movies have been amongst 34 technical giants ordered to abide by Beijing’s anti-monopoly guidelines in April.
Kuaishou works intently with antitrust regulators, who haven’t discovered any flaws within the firm, the CEO mentioned. Su, who in 2018 posted a public apology for the teenager mother’s movies, says content material moderation is the “crimson line” for web platforms, including that she has all the time acknowledged the social obligations of her enterprise.
Kuaishou won’t turn into one other Douyin or TikTok, says Su. Though her firm now depends extra on key influencers and celebrities for promoting and e-commerce gross sales, it is going to proceed to be a platform for small creators corresponding to the road busker, the science author. pop and work within the manufacturing unit that He himself follows and advises anonymously.
“We attempt to discover a stability between effectivity and fairness, and we’ll all the time be those who give fairness probably the most consideration within the business,” he mentioned.


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She’s without doubt one of the most famous pop divas of all time, appearing on a Christmas edition of Carpool Karaoke last year. But have you ever considered how much Mariah Carey is worth? Or, more specifically, her voice?
Thanks to a recent report from TMZ, we now have a pretty good idea. And it’s a helluva lot, people.
Apparently, Mariah has just spent a whopping $35 million insuring those amazing vocal chords and according to TMZ, she’s spent the same amount insuring her legs as well.
She’s not the first star to insure body parts, though – according to The Sun, Heidi Klum has also insured her legs, while J-Lo’s buttocks are worth a cool £18.1 million.
It’s worth noting that Mariah’s legs are pretty famous – according to The Mail, Gillette awarded the star a ‘Legs of a Goddess’ award in 2006 in honour of her perfect pins.
Who knew they were worth millions and millions of pounds, though?
You’ll never listen to All I Want For Christmas is You in the same way again.


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That's the price one man is prepared to pay in order to buy a new car.
American Mark Parisi is hoping to sell part of his genitalia for $35,000 (£22,000).
And the Las Vegas resident is eyeing a brand new Nissan 370Z with the money.
“I'm going to donate one of my testicles for $35,000”Mark Parisi
The petrolhead revealed his wacky plan to donate a crown jewel to medical researchers on US TV show The Doctors.
He told hosts: "I'm going to donate one of my testicles for $35,000.
"It was a standard fee they were offering and I want to buy a new Nissan 370."
Stunned audience members reacted with shock at Mr Parisi's plot.
And one presenter joked: "It's a Nissan for your left one, huh?!"


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Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Andrew Coyne proposes a Canadian Christmas Gift Tax Credit:
Give a gift to charity, some faceless telemarketing operation about whom you know nothing, and you get a tax credit. But give a gift to your own child, and it all comes out of your pocket. Buy that child some groceries, and the purchase is exempt from tax. But buy him a book, a CD, or a remote-controlled monster truck — gifts that can last a lifetime — and the tax collector’s bony hand has first dibs on the joystick. It’s time to correct this outstanding anomaly in the tax system.
As any parent can attest, Christmas presents are not a discretionary expense: only those without either children or a heart would think otherwise. Yet unlike other necessities, no provision is made for this in the tax laws. That’s especially hard on poor families, struggling to keep up with middle class expectations of how Christmas is supposed to be. But even middle class families often run into trouble....
Equity considerations aside, there are good arguments for introducing a tax credit on the purchase of Christmas presents, on efficiency grounds. I’ve already mentioned the crucial role played by the retail sector: at roughly 25% of GDP, it is one of the “engines” of the Canadian economy. Add in the inevitable spinoff benefits and multiplier effects — studies have shown that for every dollar spent on retail sales, three more are spent elsewhere in the economy — and it is clear: the question is not, can we afford to give every Canadian a tax credit on Christmas presents, but can we afford not to?
(Hat Tip: Timothy Fitzsimmons.)


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By Anna Prytz
As trains ground to a halt in Melbourne on Thursday morning, commuters desperate for another way to work were shocked by Uber prices surging to more than five times the usual fare.
One commuter wanting to avoid the chaos as police locked down North Melbourne station to investigate a suspicious item was quoted $120 for a seven kilometre trip from Moonee Ponds to their office near Flinders Street Station.
A luxury Uber Select for the same trip would have cost $180.
One commuter stuck at Kensington station received an estimate of $68 to travel four kilometres to a CBD office.
An Uber Select was asking $140.
Once the bomb squad declared North Melbourne station safe and train services resumed, the short journey returned to its usual fare estimate of about $12.
City worker Hannah Philips tweeted that an Uber from inner-west Yarraville was going to cost her $117 – so she opted for a $29 cab ride instead.
Commuter Joe Connell, who fled a stuck train and packed platform at South Kensington station, was quoted $63 for a ride into the city.
He said while he thought Uber using surge pricing was entirely reasonable, he decided to walk.
Customer reactions on social media ranged from shock to frustration at the steep prices, while one user called the surge "comical".
An Uber spokeswoman said the prices were the result of the company's dynamic pricing system, which is meant to ensure rides are available even at the busiest times of day.
"Dynamic pricing ensures that passengers who want a ride can always get one – because by increasing the price, this creates a signal for more drivers to go to an area and people who don’t want to pay the higher price and have the time can choose an alternative mode of transport," she said.
"Uber prices are fully transparent. Riders can see the fare calculation rates before confirming."
Commuters were similarly stung when Uber prices skyrocketed during an evening peak-hour rail network meltdown in July last year.
At the time, Public Transport minister Jacinta Allan took aim at the ride-sharing service.
"I think their [Uber's] behaviour yesterday exposed their approach to people," Ms Allan said.
On Thursday, Ms Allan responded angrily to Uber's price surges after the North Melbourne incident.
The minister said the government was "fed up with these tactics ... taking advantage of what was, potentially, a really serious safety issue".
"We've raised this with Uber this morning; we've expressed our displeasure. If they want to continue this as business practice then that's up to them," she said.
Ms Allan explained that anti-price gouging legislation that comes into effect in July will "enable us to work with other operators who don't want to do over their passengers in the way that Uber seems to want to do".


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AUTO CENTRAL CHICAGO June 6, 2021 Every Sunday Larry Nutson, The Chicago Car Guy and Executive Producer, with able assistance from senior editor Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau, compile The Auto Channel’s
“take” on this past week’s automotive news, condensed into easy to digest new>s Nuggets.
LEARN MORE:Links to full versions of today’s news nuggets along with a million pages of the past 25 year’s automotive news, articles, reviews and archived stories residing in
The Auto Channel Automotive News Library can be found by just copying and then inserting the main headline into the News Library Search Box.
Want more automotive content than our million plus pages?, TV viewers can watch The Auto Channel-TV Network on Hulu, Google, You Tube and of course TUNA Digital Network and Old Fashioned “Free and Clear” OTA (Over the air)
TV in Boston and South Florida as well as local cable systems.
Nutson’s Automotive News Wrap-up – Week Ending June 5, 2021; Below are the past week’s important, relevant, semi-secret, or snappy automotive news, opinions and insider back stories presented as expertly crafted easy to digest news nuggets.
* More people died on U.S. highways in 2020 than in any year since 2007, and death rate per mile traveled hit the highest level since 2006. The report by the NHTSA says that as highways emptied during the 2020 pandemic lockdowns, many motorists who did venture out were speeding, impaired or not wearing seat belts. During the second half of 2020, as coronavirus infections spiked, traffic deaths rose 13%. Industry aspirations for “zero crashes” thanks to automated driving and advanced safety technology come into question. Modern vehicles are loaded with safety technology Technology alone cannot reduce highway deaths, let alone bring them to zero. Behavior change on a mass scale is needed.
* A hydrogen powered zero emission Toyota Mirai broke the world record for distance driven with one fill of hydrogen. The new Toyota Mirai driven on public roads south of Paris has increased the world record distance to 1003 km (622 miles). After breaking the record, the Mirai was refuelled, ready to go again in only 5 minutes. Toyota was demonstrating that hydrogen fuel cell technology is a leading solution for long distance driving with zero emissions.
* Toyota’s new bZ4X Concept, first shown at the Shanghai Motor Show in April, made its its U.S. debut at Toyota headquarters in Plano, Texas. The concept was developed as part of a joint program with Subaru who will launch a production version of its Solterra prototype in late 2022. The production version bZ4X Concept will be the first of seven Beyond Zero battery-electric vehicles from Toyota.
* Toyota also unveiled the 2022 Corolla Cross subcompact UV, that fits in size between the Toyota C-HR and RAV4. Rounding things out, Toyota also has announced a slew of special edition models across its product lineup.
* May auto sales show huge gains across many brands, in spite of a tight inventory with only 44 days supply. However, the sales pace is slowing from April’s. U.S. car and light truck sales hit a 17 million pace in May, according to Wards Intelligence. Interestingly, sedan sales were strong especially for Toyota and Kia brands because folks wh need a new vehicle bought what was available.
* Americans are closely divided over the idea of phasing out combustion-engine vehicles by the year 2035, and many are on the fence about whether they themselves would purchase a chief alternative: an electric car or truck. A recent Pew Research Center report finds 47% of U.S. adults support a proposal to phase out production of gasoline-powered cars and trucks, while 51% oppose it. About four-in-ten Americans (39%) say that the next time they purchase a vehicle, they are at least somewhat likely to seriously consider electric, while 46% say they are not too or at all likely to do so. Another 14% are not expecting to purchase a car or truck in the future.
* Piplsay, a global consumer research platform, conducted a nationwide survey to find out what Americans think of a battery powered pickup truck–25% of Americans have plans to purchase an all-electric pickup truck in the near future.–25% of potential buyers would be most interested in purchasing the F-150 Lightning, followed by 24% for the Cybertruck.–34% of potential buyers would focus the most on specifications while making their purchase.
* BMW unveiled three new BEVs. The i4 eDrive40 with 335 horsepower and rear-wheel drive, and the performance i4 M50—with 536 horsepower and all-wheel drive. Also shown was the iX xDrive50 with 516 horsepower and electric fully variable all-wheel drive.
* Ford announced that its all-new Maverick compact pickup will be revealed on June 8 with the help of actress Gabrielle Union. Based on the same platform as the Escape and Bronco Sport, the “city truck” is for the active young person. This rebirth of a classic Ford name, Maverick, once used on a ho-hum passenger car, might signal the return of young folk again buying small trucks like they once did during the days of the original Ford Ranger.
* GM Authority reports that a class-action lawsuit has been filed against General Motors by disgruntled customers who claim the automaker’s destination charges are misleading and deceptive. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of California, involves two plaintiffs who allege they were not aware that GM made a profit off of the destination fees it charges customers. According to Car Complaints, the plaintiffs are California resident Robert Romoff, who recently purchased a new 2021 Chevrolet Equinox with a $1,195 destination charge, and New Jersey resident Joe Siciliano, who purchased a new 2019 Cadillac Escalade with a $995 destination charge. The suit claims General Motors makes a “significant amount of profit” off of the destination charges that it applies to its new vehicles and “deceives customers into paying far more than the actual cost of vehicle delivery.” An article published by Consumer Reports earlier this year attempted to shine a light on rising destination freight charges in the automotive industry. The report indicated that destination fees had risen from an average of $839 in 2011 to $1,244 in 2020 – more than 2.5 times the rate of inflation.
* Stellantis NA is voluntarily recalling 446,643 trucks in the U.S. for potential wheel stud issues. The affected vehicles are certain model-year 2012-2021 Ram 3500 heavy-duty pickups, and 4500 and 5500 cab-chassis vehicles. Certain service and owner’s manuals contain incorrect lug-nut torque instructions. This could lead to the vehicles having their lug nuts over-torqued and potentially compromising the wheel stud.
* Tesla is recalling 6,000 vehicles to fix a problem with loose bolts in brake assemblies. Federal safety regulators are also reviewing whether Tesla’s new camera-only/no radar vision system is safe enough to merit 5 star plus safety ratings.
* Hello Castroneves won the 2021 105th Indy 500 driving the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda. Castroneves joins A.J.Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as the only four-time winners of “The Greatest Spectacles in Racing.”
* is 46 years old and one of the oldest drivers in IndyCar. Castroneves became the fourth oldest driver to win the Indy 500 behind Al Unser (47, 1987), Bobby Unser (47, 1981) and Emerson Fittipaldi (46, 1993).
* Kyle Larson driving the No. 5 Chevrolet won the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to pick up Hendrick Motorsports’ record-setting 269th all-time Cup Series win. Petty Enterprises had held the top spot on NASCAR’s wins list since 1960, with its final victory coming at Martinsville in 1999 with the late John Andretti behind the wheel, the same track where Geoff Bodine scored Hendrick’s first win in 1984.
Stay safe. Be Well.


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Bulgaria is looking to buy new trains and equipment worth more than a billion leva (about 500 000 euro), Transport Minister Nikolai Subev said on May 24.
In a post on Facebook, Subev said that funds from the Recovery and Sustainability Plan would be used for the purchases.
He said that interested parties had until June 16 to put in bids.
The shopping list includes the delivery and maintenance of 42 electric trains – 35 single-decker and seven double-decker.
Also on the list are the delivery and maintenance of 20 push-pull trains and 18 electric shunting locomotives.
Sought are 108 sets of European Train Control System (ETCS) on-board equipment.
ETCS is the signalling and control component of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).


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(Yicai Global) Oct. 16 -- Mobile phone sales in China slumped again last month from a year earlier. The only silver lining for domestic brands: they're still selling the lion's share.
Chinese buyers plumped mainly for handsets from household names such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo as total shipments by local and international players fell 11.7 percent to 39 million units amid softening demand, the state-backed China Academy of Information and Communications Technology said in a report published yesterday.
Though demand has been weak during most of the year, with the exception of a modest uptick in May, domestic brands enjoy a more than 80 percent market share.
Chinese firms shipped 34.5 million units in September, or more than 88 percent of the total. But that was 9.1 percent fewer handsets than they sold a year earlier. In the first nine months, they shipped 90.4 percent of all handsets in the period, but their sales slid 16.8 percent to 276 million units. All makers shipped 305 million units, down 17 percent from the same period last year.
Smartphones made up 94 percent of September shipments, while those with Android operating systems accounted for 89 percent.
From January to September, the top 10 producers occupied 92 percent of the market, an increase of 8 percentage points from last year.
In September, the top three global smartphone brands were Samsung Electronics, Apple and Huawei Technologies with Samsung selling 27 million units, Sunrise Big Data said in a report. Huawei and Apple almost tallied in the first nine months with their shipments differing by just 220,000.
In most markets, competition in ultra-high-end models priced at over USD700 is largely between Apple, Samsung and Huawei, and that is unlikely to change soon, said Ryan Reith, deputy director of International Data's global mobile device tracking department.
Editor: Emmi Laine


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InVisage announces that it has set a new record for capital raised by any imaging company. The company adds China Oceanwide USA Holdings, the US subsidiary of China-based China Oceanwide Holdings Group to its roster of investors. With Oceanwide’s investment, InVisage’s total funding for its latest round has grown to $32.5M. The previous investment round announced in April 2014 has already brought the company's total investment "to more than $100 million." Then, in Oct. 2014, Invisage got a venture loan.
“We’re delighted to continue to attract market-driving investors,” says Jess Lee, CEO at InVisage. “These partners bring solid validation on an increasingly global scale. We are pleased to welcome Oceanwide as part of our broad initiative to address the China market.”
In addition to Oceanwide, InVisage’s latest funding round also includes investments from GGV Capital, Nokia Growth Partners, InterWest Partners, Intel Capital, and RockPort Capital. Ivisage QuantumFilm products are said to be released next year.
In an unrelated news, Invisage publishes a poll of 500 mobile camera users on what bothers them in their cameras. Here are the partial results:


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Scandal-scarred Gov. Andrew Cuomo returned to beefing with Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday — reopening indoor fitness classes in New York City just a day after Hizzoner had refused to lift his ban.
Classes like yoga and pilates will be able to reopen at 33 percent capacity Monday, Cuomo said in a conference call.
“On reopening, indoor fitness classes will be reopening that’s primarily in New York City on Monday, March 22. Gyms were open, but indoor fitness classes were not open,” Cuomo said. “And that caused a certain amount of consternation. They will open Monday, March 22.”
Though New York’s gyms and fitness centers were allowed to reopen at limited capacity from their COVID-19-induced closures beginning last August, the decision to resume indoor fitness classes was left up to local governments.
In New York City, indoor group fitness classes have remain barred under an executive order issued by Mayor Bill de Blasio last August.
On Tuesday, Big Apple boutique fitness class instructors and yoga studio owners rallied outside of Manhattan’s City Hall to demand that the mayor allow them to reopen their indoor businesses.
But de Blasio wasn’t swayed.
“I care about the people who do that work and I appreciate the work and it’s about keeping us all healthy and fit. But it also comes with particular vulnerabilities, particular problems,” de Blasio said at a press conference that day.
“I’ve had this conversation with the health team and they remain very consistent saying ‘not yet.’”
Cuomo said the indoor classes will “be subject to the protocols that have been in place all across the state.”
Additionally, Cuomo said the 11 p.m. curfew currently in place for New York’s casinos, movie theaters, bowling alleys, billiard halls, gyms and fitness centers will be lifted on April 5.
The 11 p.m. curfew for restaurants and bars and the 12 a.m. curfew for catered events “will remain in effect for the time being,” said Cuomo.


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Lazard to set up shop in Australia
LAZARD is to open an office in Australia to offer mergers and acquisitions advice.
It has brought in investment bankers Paul Binsted and Brian Wilson, who quit Citigroup last month.
Lazard had a slice of the Aussie market through a holding in Caliburn Partnership but that tie-up ended last year.
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- 2 min read
Mobileye, Zeekr aim for self-driving car in China in 2024
The two companies said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that the car will have what automotive engineers call level 4 autonomy, meaning that it will still have a steering wheel and require a licensed driver but will be able to drive itself in many situations.
By Stephen Nellis
Intel Corp's autonomous driving unit, Mobileye, said on Tuesday it plans to work with Geely Holding-backed Zeekr to launch in China what the companies claim will be the world's first mostly self-driving car in 2024.
The two companies said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that the car will have what automotive engineers call level 4 autonomy, meaning that it will still have a steering wheel and require a licensed driver but will be able to drive itself in many situations. It will use six of Mobileye's "EyeQ 5" chips and also employ Mobileye's road-mapping data.
Intel, which is hungry for cash to build chip factories and racing to catch up with rivals like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co that have taken away Intel's lead in making the fastest chips, said last month it plans to spin out a portion of Mobileye in an initial public offering. Geely, the fast-growing Chinese automaker, has recently explored manufacturing cars in Korea that could be exported to the United States duty-free, Reuters reported last month.
Mobileye on Tuesday also said that it is deepening its relationship with Ford Motor Co. The two firms said that Ford will use Mobileye's road-mapping data system, which is drawn from all vehicles on the road with Mobileye hardware, in future versions of Ford's "BlueCruise" that allows hands-free driving in some situations.
Mobileye said that Volkswagen AG will also start using some of its mapping data products for Volkswagen's driver-assistance features, such as automated lane keeping.
Mobileye on Tuesday also unveiled the next generation of its flagship computer chip, which will be called the "EyeQ Ultra" and is designed to use minimal electricity, which is becoming more important as self-driving systems compete with drive trains for limited battery capacity in electric vehicles. The company said that prototypes of the chip will be ready next year, with automotive production of the chips expected in 2025.


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OnePlus 7T beta 2 update brings February patch & bugfixes; OnePlus 3/3T December update hitting units
China has taken a huge hit due to the coronavirus outbreak. Suffering the most from this outbreak are the Chinese smartphone manufacturers that are not able to roll out timely updates for their devices.
OnePlus, which happens to be a Chinese OEM, also got caught up with this pandemic and updates for majority of its devices, took a toll. The OnePlus 7T January 2020 patch was also delayed due to this issue.
But, there is some good news for the users of the OnePlus 7T in China, as the OEM has now started rolling out a new beta 2 HydrogenOS update that brings in the February 2020 security patchset.
Note that the Chinese variants of the OnePlus phones, run on HydrogenOS while the global units operate on OxygenOS. Talking about the update, it comes with version OP7T_H2_BETA_02 and weighs in around 538 MB in size.
It also brings along optimization for the system, phone, gallery and voice assistant. Check out the complete changelog (translated from Chinese) below along with the screenshot of the same:
– Optimize system background management mechanism
– Optimize the copy of the settings page
– Optimize the trigger parts of the interest screen display and lock screen interface.
– Update the Android security patch to 2020.02
– Add voice assistant language, car mode helps you travel safely.
– Optimize each display of the contact information window
– Repair gallery video playback black screen problem.
Both the devices are being served with the December 2019 patchset which is based on the Android 9 Pie, since the duo is not eligible to get Android 10 OS.
• Update Android security patch to 2019.12
• Improve system stability and fix known issue
Notably, their previous update brought the October 2019 security patchset, which also happened to be the last official update for both the devices on OxygenOS.
But seeing these updates being made available for the HydrogenOS variants of the OnePlus 7T and OnePlus 3/3T, we can expect that the OxygenOS variants will soon get the updates too, in the coming days.
PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.


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Apple is that tech company which is famous for making sure its users have right amount of privacy, and that’s why so many people still prefer to use Apple products. In a recent WWDC event, Apple launched a new feature in iOs 13 update called Sign in with Apple. According to reports, this new feature has been brought by the company to make sure that third-party sites like Facebook, Google, etc. have no access to its users’ data.
We all have witnessed Cambridge Analytica Scandal in which it’s been found that Facebook had leaked many of its user’s data to third-party sites. Now to put a solution on that problem, Apple has come up with some new features. An Apple user while trying to access to App Store through third-party sites like Facebook, Google will now have to enter their original Apple ID for Sign in. By eliminating the option of signing in with Gmail or Facebook ID, Apple has made sure that other companies don’t have necessary information about its users.
Data privacy is becoming a severe issue, we have seen because of rules like GDPR companies like Google and Facebook had to pay billions of dollars in fines. Apple is trying to beat its competitors by creating a right image among its users. Now this service of Sign in with Apple has become mandatory, which means other than Apple, no other company would have data of its users. Apple is highly committed to its user’s data protection, and they have promised not to misused its user’s data for their own interest.
Apple is trying to diversify its source of income, which is the main reason why they are investing so much amount of money in web services. Tech industry is already going through lots of problems because of a trade war. Now amid of geopolitical situation, this new move from Apple will surely increase the heat among tech companies.
Carolyn is a technology graduate and loves to write about anything related to technology as well as writes in others sectors. Carolyn is a professional writer with over 7 years of experience. Initially starting off as a programmer, Carolyn decided to combine her knowledge about technology and writing and that’s how she joined Reporter Expert.


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The next-generation BMW M3 sedan has been snapped by CarAdvice’s spy photographers while traversing snow-covered roads while undergoing winter testing.
Seen for the first time in white paint rather than the black of previous prototypes, the latest BMW M3 test car’s boot spoiler and bigger carbon ceramic brakes show development of the new sports sedan is continuing to progress. The larger stoppers feature six-piston calipers at the front, compared with the four-piston calipers seen on earlier F80 M3 prototypes.
BMW Australia’s Piers Scott told CarAdvice the new M3 sedan and coupe would launch together for the first time in around 18 months’ time.
“The timing for those two cars is expected to be mid-year 2014,” Scott confirmed.
While the BMW M3 sedan will keep the long-standing moniker going, the two-door coupe variant is almost guaranteed to wear an M4 badge as per the German manufacturer’s latest naming adjustment for the model range.


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Don’t anticipate 30% stock returns each year. That’s where dividends enter into play.
2019 ended up being good to investors. U.S. shares had been up 29% (as measured by the S&P 500 index), making the marketplace’s negative return in 2018 — the very first calendar-year negative return in 10 years — a remote memory and overcoming worries over slow international financial development hastened by the U.S.-China trade war.
While about two out of each and every 3 years are good for the stock exchange, massive comes back with nary a hiccup as you go along are not the norm. Purchasing shares is frequently a roller-coaster r >(NASDAQ:CMCSA) , Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) , and Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) .
Bridging the canyon between cable and streaming
A great deal happens to be said in regards to the troublesome force this is the television streaming industry. An incredible number of households around the world are parting means with costly cable television plans and deciding on internet-based activity rather. Many legacy cable businesses have actually believed the pinch because of this.
maybe Not resistant from the trend was Comcast, but cable cutting is area of the tale. While satellite tv has weighed on outcomes — the organization reported it destroyed a web 732,000 readers in 2019 — customers going just how of streaming still want high-speed internet to really make it take place. And that is where Comcast’s outcomes have shined, as web high-speed internet additions do have more than offset losses in its older lines of company. Web domestic improvements were 1.32 million and web company adds were 89,000 a year ago, respectively.
Plus, it is not as though Comcast will probably get left out when you look at the television market completely. It really is presenting a unique television streaming solution, Peacock, in springtime 2020; while an earlier look does not appear Peacock can make huge waves on the web TV industry, its addition of real time activities such as the 2020 Summer Olympics and live news means it’ll be in a position to carve away a distinct segment for it self into the fast-growing electronic activity area.
Comcast is an oft-overlooked news business, however it really should not be. Income keeps growing at a healthy and balanced single-digit speed for a business of its size (whenever excluding the Sky broadcasting purchase in 2018), and free income (revenue less fundamental operating and money costs) are up nearly 50% during the last 3 years. Considering trailing 12-month free income, the stock trades for the mere 15.3 several, and a current 10% dividend hike sets the existing yield at a decent 2.1%. Comcast thus looks like an excellent value play in my experience.
Image source: Getty Pictures.
Playtime for the twenty-first century
The way in which young ones play is changing. The digital globe we now reside in means television and game titles are a more substantial section of kids’ life than in the past. Entertainment normally undergoing quick modification, with franchises looking to capture customer attention across numerous mediums — through the display to product to reside in-person experiences.
Enter Hasbro, a prominent toy manufacturer accountable for a number of >(NASDAQ:NFLX) series centered on Magic: The Gathering, and its particular latest $3.8 billion takeover of Peppa Pig creator Entertainment One.
Image supply: Hasbro.
That second move is significant since it yields Hasbro a k >(NYSE:DIS) has along with its fans. In reality, Hasbro’s toy-making partnership with Disney aided its “partner brands” section surge 40% greater through the 4th quarter of 2019. It is apparent that mega-franchises that period the big screen to toys are a strong company, and Hasbro will be a lot more than happy to recapture also a small amount of that Disney miracle.
On the way, Hasbro has additionally been upgrading its selling model when it comes to chronilogical age of ecommerce. That includes developed some variability in quarterly profits outcomes. Nonetheless, regardless of its change on numerous fronts, the stock trades for only 18.1 times trailing 12-month free cashflow, plus the business will pay a dividend of 2.7per cent per year. I am a buyer of this evolving but nevertheless very lucrative doll manufacturer at those costs.
Riding the memory chip rebound
As it is the truth with production as a whole, semiconductors really are a cyclical company. That is on display the past 12 months when you look at the electronic memory chip industry. A time period of surging need rather than quite sufficient supply — hastened by information center construction and brand new consumer technology items like autos with driver help features, smart phones, and wearables — ended up being followed closely by a slump in 2019. Rates on memory potato chips fell, and several www.bestbrides.org manufacturers got burned.
It is a period that repeats every several years, but one business that’s been in a position to ride out of the ebbs and flows and keep healthier profits throughout happens to be Seagate tech. Throughout the 2nd quarter of the 2020 financial 12 months (three months finished Jan. 3, 2020), revenues stabilized and were down 7% after dropping by dual digits for some quarters in a line. Its outlook can also be increasing, with management forecasting a come back to growth for the total amount of 2020 — including a 17% year-over-year product product sales boost in Q3.
It is often the most useful timing to acquire cyclical shares like Seagate as they are down when you look at the dumps, as well as the 54% rally in twelve months 2019 is evidence of that. While perfect timing is almost impossible, there however could possibly be plenty more left within the tank if product sales continue steadily to edge greater as new interest in the business’s hard disk drives for information centers, PCs, and laptop computers rebounds. Plus, even with the top gain in share cost just last year, Seagate’s dividend presently yields 4.4percent per year — an amazing payout this is certainly effortlessly included in the business’s free income generation.
Quite simply, with all the cyclical semiconductor industry showing indications of good need coming online when you look at the coming year, Seagate tech is one of the best dividend shares to start out 2020.


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Autonomous trucks have begun making a regular 500-mile round-trip in Texas to deliver FedEx parcels.
The commercial pilot is part of an agreement between autonomous vehicle (AV) specialist Aurora, truck manufacturer Paccar, and courier FedEx.
A safety driver will be in vehicles as they travel between Dallas and Houston along the I-45 corridor.
“The foundation for commercialising self-driving trucks at scale lies in partnership with industry leaders,” said Sterling Anderson, co-founder at Aurora.
"Together, we’ll leverage our collective expertise in trucking, autonomy and logistics to improve the safety and efficiency of commercial line-haul transportation operations," says Aurora in a statement.
"This industry-first collaboration is born out of mutual trust and respect with industry leaders that share our vision to transform transportation and realise the benefits of self-driving technology," it continues.
"With Paccar’s autonomous vehicle platform, we’re creating a deeply integrated self-driving truck with a manufacturer that delivers hundreds of thousands of Class 8 trucks a year. And now, through this pilot, we’re extending that partnership to a key customer, FedEx, to integrate those trucks into its massive network, which delivers billions of packages each year."
At the end of 2023, Aurora plans to launch its trucking business and haul loads autonomously between terminals "without a safety driver".
Rebecca Yeung, FedEx VP, advanced technology and innovation, says the partnership will enhance logistics "through safer, more efficient transportation of goods".
“The speed and quality of progress we’re making with Aurora to develop self-driving trucks is impressive," says John Rich, CTO of Paccar, adding that it was "an important step toward delivering these trucks at scale".


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DISTELL was forging ahead with its African growth strategy, encouraged by strong volume growth especially in the sub-Saharan African markets, the Cape-based producer and marketer of wines and spirits said yesterday.
Domestic volumes, including brands such as Hunter’s, Amarula and Three Ships, grew 2.6 percent despite challenging economic conditions.
Recently the group has began implementing physical operations in regions such as Ghana, Nigeria and Angola.
African operations have achieved a 20 percent rise in revenue for the year to June, contributing 49.6 percent to the group’s total revenue.
“This was despite several disruptions of trade-intensified competition from the major global players and a stepped-up presence of cheap Indian imports, as well as the imposition of high import duties in several countries,” Distell’s managing director Richard Rushton said.
The group had also acquired a 26 percent stake in Kenya’s KWA Holding East Africa Limited following the passing of legislation in July to permit its privatisation.
Rushton said this gave Distell an opportunity to expand into the east African market.
“It’s early stages of investment of infrastructure in Africa but… they are ambitious plans,” said Rushton.
The overall group’s revenue added 12.8 percent to R17.7 billion with sales volumes up 3.1 percent. Operating costs rose by 12.7 percent to R15.7bn with trading profit up 13.8 percent to R2bn. With the inclusion of Burn Steward Distillers and the remeasurement and reversal of a contingent purchase consideration, headline earnings rose 40.4 percent to R1.5bn.
However, normalised headline earnings and operating profit grew by 1.7 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively.
Locally, Distell had managed to maintain its 21 percent value share of the total liquor market despite the entry of competitors and new products.
Distell, like its competitors, had difficulties achieving growth in international markets, especially in Europe.
“Nonetheless, revenue growth was impressive at the back of [the] rand’s devaluation which helped to boost revenue,” Rushton said.
Distell would also refocus some its business into whiskey offering as the brandy market slowed down globally. He said high demand for whiskey had offset poor demand for brandy.
Distell shares sank by 1.76 percent to close at R134.59 on the JSE yesterday.


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The axing of VAT-free shopping, making purchases in the UK 20 per cent more costly for international visitors, will impact this year’s London Fashion Week.
The loss of duty-free shopping, according to independent designer Edeline Lee, who established her namesake brand in 2013 and creates all of her clothing in the UK, makes it more challenging for small British businesses to compete with their European competitors.
Lee isn’t alone; many designers have come forward with the same complaint.
Laboni Saha, the founder of womenswear brand L Saha, is finding it “increasingly challenging to remain profitable from sales in the UK” as the cost of running a business increases with “Brexit-related costs and inflation”.
A recent study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has revealed that the “tourist tax” is costing the UK £10.7 billion in lost GDP and putting off two million tourists from visiting each year.
The research also showed that extra sales generated by reinstating VAT-free shopping for tourists would outweigh these losses.
Around 350 businesses have sent an open letter to the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, asking for the situation to be addressed, highlighting the fact that tourists are choosing to travel to and spend their money in cities that don’t have the indirect tax.
The PM’s official spokesman said: “We are always happy to listen to the sector about their concerns and obviously we will respond accordingly.”
A debate on tax-free shopping for international visitors was held in Westminster Hall on September 7 but no decision has been made yet.
But how did the VAT refund for overseas visitors work before, why did the refund scheme end, and what can tourists and businesses expect from it in the future?
Here is everything we know.
How did the VAT refund for overseas visitors work?
Until January 2021, visitors to the UK from outside the EU were able to get a VAT refund on their shopping. VAT, which stands for value-added tax, is a 20 per cent sales tax charged on items in the UK. Non-EU visitors used to be able to present a VAT receipt at the airport to claim their refund. This scheme has since ended, though customers are still able to buy items VAT-free in-store if they send them directly to their homes overseas.
The VAT paid by visitors to the UK is different from how tourist tax works in other cities. For example, Manchester introduced a tourist tax in April, which charges visitors to the city £1 per night for hotels and similar accommodation. The hope is that this tourist tax could raise millions of pounds for the council, and that the money could be used to boost the tourism economy.
Why did the VAT refund scheme end?
The VAT refund scheme ended in 2021 after the UK left the EU, as part of a post-Brexit consultation about taxing items transported across borders for personal use.
Kwasi Kwarteng reintroduced the tax-free shopping scheme as part of his mini-budget, but Jeremy Hunt reversed the decision when he became chancellor, claiming it was unaffordable.
At the time, retail bosses described Hunt’s decision as a “hammer blow to UK tourism and the British high street”.
Mr Hunt argued that by not introducing a new VAT-free shopping scheme, the UK could generate more than £1 billion in 2024, and more in subsequent years, as reported by Forbes.
However, a report by the luxury trade association Walpole found that tax-free shopping generated more than £3 billion a year for the UK as well as wider economic benefits.
How might things change in the future?
London mayoral candidate Daniel Korski has proposed introducing a tourist tax on hotel rooms in London, in a scheme similar to the tourist tax in Manchester.
Mr Korski has proposed introducing a “£1 or £2” tax to raise extra funding for the Metropolitan Police.
He said: “There is a real sense there is not enough police on the streets. I don’t think £1 or £2 more on your hotel bill means you are going to go to Paris instead of London.”
Introducing a tourist tax was also proposed by the London Finance Commission, an expert body set up by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Meanwhile, hundreds of London firms are urging the Government to restore tax-free shopping for overseas tourists.


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At one point in history, sports drinks were pretty much the only options runners considered for their post-workout recovery drink. A whole industry rose up around replenishing minerals and electrolytes with expensive and highly marketed products.
But then, runners started realizing the elements of recovery were already in their fridge under their nose. Beer and chocolate milk became the recovery drinks of choice for the type of runners who didn’t buy into industry hype.
Maybe these beverages didn’t quite offer the same the full nutrition label as a Gatorade or a Powerade. But they did provide necessary carbs and minerals for replenishment. The milk industry even started getting behind the trend when they saw it take off with runners.
“Thanks to clever marketing and some scientific research, a beverage that was once avoided due to a high sugar and calorie content is now the Homecoming Queen of recovery nutrition,” wrote a nutritionist at Runner’s World.
But what may matter more than nutrition and recovery is it HITS THE SPOT. Chocolate milk and beer just taste better after a long, sweaty workout. It’s a far better reward than a bottled purple sports drink.
And now, you can combine your love of chocolate milk and beer recovery drinks together. Odell has just released a chocolate milk stout.
The beer is named in honor of the dairy farmer who uses the brewery’s spent grain to feed his cows. It’s brewed with milk sugar and milk chocolate and “reminds us of a cold glass of chocolate milk.”
Sounds like the best of all worlds.


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The ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index has hit its highest point since February 2017, bringing it in lockstep with NAB’s business confidence survey.
ANZ head of Australian economics David Plank said the rise in consumer confidence, up 2.9 per cent to 118.4 points since last week, is largely attributable to improved employment numbers.
Mr Plank also pointed to the closing gap between business confidence and consumer confidence, citing NAB's June report that showing business confidence is at pre-GFC levels.
While business confidence and consumer sentiment usually move in tandem, this year had been an exception, he said.
“What’s been interesting this year is that there’s quite a large gap between business confidence and consumer sentiment,” Mr Plank told InvestorDaily. “Now that gap has narrowed.”
Mr Plank said the rise in consumer confidence was driven by an array of factors, including employment growth, the corresponding fall in the unemployment rate, the global economic environment, as well as the rise of the Australian dollar.
“The main reason is we’ve had four months of very good employment data, and in particular we’ve had significant growth in full-time jobs,” Mr Plank said.
“Related to that, the unemployment rate’s been falling – those two are consistent.”
More broadly, the positive performance of economies in other countries also has an impact on consumer confidence.
“We’ve seen good economic news out of China recently, Europe is strong, the US is doing fine, despite political issues around Trump,” Mr Plank said.
Another factor of note was the strongly performing Australian dollar in the past week, according to Mr Plank.
“We often see a relationship or correlation in consumer confidence. It may be causal – it may not … It also boosts sentiment,” he said.
“I think consumers probably see a stronger Aussie as a good thing, given that it makes them easier to travel and things like that.”
However, while there were already signs of an uptick in consumer spending, Mr Plank said this rate of growth was unlikely to continue.
“Weak wage growth, which we think will continue this year, ultimately acts as a constraint on the speed of consumer spending,” Mr Plank said.
“But the fact that consumer sentiment is up is good.”
T. Rowe Price has assessed the growing parallels between 1970s stagflation and today. ...
CommSec has predicted local shares will move higher during 2022-23. ...


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With Walt Disney World theme parks reopening soon, many cast members returned to work today to get ready to safely welcome back guests. Some Magic Kingdom cast members were so excited to make some Disney magic again, they took it upon themselves to make a fun video about it.[Read more…]
Walt Disney World guests now have a limited time to catch “The Muppets Present…Great Moments in American History,” as the show is set to close this fall.[Read more…]
Hear ye, hear ye! We welcome the Dreamers family to the Liberty Tree Tavern. Go along with Ava and Natalie as they see what kind of food the revolutionary America has to offer…and it’s a lot! [Read more…]
After a year of being under refurbishment, The Hall of Presidents has officially soft-opened in Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort. The attraction is scheduled to officially reopen tomorrow, Dec. 19. [Read more…]
If fireworks dessert parties and private cabanas aren’t exclusive enough for you, Walt Disney World will offer another extra-cost experience inside the Magic Kingdom when Tiana’s Riverboat Party Ice Cream Social starts in Liberty Square on November 29. [Read more…]
A new show has opened at Magic Kingdom starring The Muppets called “The Muppets Present … Great Moments in American History.” [Read more…]
Their short-lived ABC television revival may have recently been given the axe, but friends of Kermit and the gang can now celebrate, because Walt Disney World has announced that an all-new Magic Kingdom Muppets live show is coming to Liberty Square starting this October.
By Patrick Santos and Gavin Hatch
This episode of ‘Unlocking The Magic’ we take you back to colonial times. Visit our 43 Presidents of the United States and even enter a Haunted Mansion! [Read more…]
Memento Mori, a new merchandise location dedicated to The Haunted Mansion, has materialized in Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom.


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Check out the on-demand sessions from the Low-Code/No-Code Summit to learn how to successfully innovate and achieve efficiency by upskilling and scaling citizen developers. Watch now.
Just five days after buying social-messaging and advertising company Meebo for a rumored $100 million, Google is beginning to shut down the company’s various products.
On July 11, Meebo Messenger, Sharing on Meebo, Meebo Me, and all of Meebo’s mobile apps will be shut down, according to a blog post on Meebo.com. Google is folding Meebo’s staffers and technology into its fledgling Google+ social network.
Anyone who used Meebo Messenger, mobile apps, or Sharing on Meebo has a month to download their chat logs and sharing history. After the July 11 deadline that information will no longer be accessible, and you won’t be able to relive any of the riveting chat conversations from your past.
The lone Meebo product to survive will be the Meebo Bar, a social sharing toolbar that also (sometimes clumsily) delivers ads to users. An announcement on Meebo’s site promises, “The Meebo Bar will continue to be available to site publishers and will see continued improvements and new features in the weeks and months ahead.”
Meebo began seven years ago as a web-based instant messaging service, like AIM and MSN Messenger. In 2009 the company shifted its focus to the more lucrative business of content sharing and serving ads with tools like the Meebo Bar.
Check out VentureBeat’s Matt Marshall’s explanation of why Google purchasing Meebo was a smart move.
Graveyard image in thumbnail via Shutterstock
VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative enterprise technology and transact. Discover our Briefings.


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EAST Bridgford manufacturer Concept Liquids has won a contract to provide e-liquids for Nottingham electronic cigarettes distributor multiCIG.
MultiVAPE is a recent addition to the multiCIG line. E-liquids are used with the device and come in a variety of flavours and nicotine strengths.
MultiCIG has selected Concept Liquids as its sole e-liquid manufacturer.
The business development director of multiCIG, Christian Mulcahy, said: "MultiCIG is based in Nottingham so it made sense to choose a local company as our manufacturer as we are committed to encouraging the development of the local economy."


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As one fiscal quarter draws to a close and another begins, the HD Digital Radio Alliance begins a new ad campaign on June 29.
The Q3 campaign advertises specific HD Radio portable devices when they hit retail. The ads will air on more than 600 stations for 13 weeks.
Alliance Operations President Diane Warren states the campaign “maintains the momentum built over the last few years educating consumers about the new free stations and the many HD Radio devices available in retail and in cars. Consumers can get more information at HDRadio.com including their local station guide which helps them find the new stations.”


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By Tomas S. Noda III
Flush with a fresh investment of $25 million, Germany’s online car classified platform Carmudi is gearing up for some heavy duty spend in the Philippine market. The move is part of Carmudi’s larger plan, to boost operations in the emerging markets in Asia and Latin America. Currently, it is focussing on capturing… Read more »
Neal Cross, the chief innovation officer of DBS Bank in Singapore since April 2014, has introduced a broad swathe of changes to the bank, building its capacity to innovate and adapt to the disruptive market developments of the future. An industry veteran with stints in senior management at Microsoft and Mastercard, Cross is an… Read more »
As the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Thailand-based industrial construction firm, TRC Construction PLC, one of the leading construction contractors in the country, Smai Leesakul, has negotiated some challenging times for the company, while laying a strong foundation for it’s future growth. In an exclusive interaction with DEALSTREETASIA, the veterans of Thailand’s real estate and… Read more »
Philippine digital startup CashCashPinoy is planning to get people to experience online shopping. For this, one of the company strategies is introduce the option of cash-on-delivery, shortly.
Connecting the growing markets of Southeast Asia and Central Europe mutually benefits the business communities, investors and entrepreneurs, as well as bridging the economic gap. With the upcoming EU-Singapore FTA (EUSFTA) finalised but yet to be ratified, the Singapore-Central European Chamber of Commerce (SCECHAM) and other entities are laying the foundations for businesses to… Read more »
Online real estate startup ZipMatch said it is nearing the completion of its third round of funding. This was a follow up to its P24.4 million ($550,000) seed round from various investors; the company has already raised a total of P44.5 million ($1 million) seed fund since its founding in 2012…. Read more »
After a year of product development, Philippine tech startup PortfolioMNL is launching a platform to host the country’s largest community of creative professionals. PortfolioMNL CEO and co-founder Rina Malonzo, in an interaction with DEALSTREETASIA, not only gave a detailed background of the company but also revealed updates in implementing their business… Read more »
As it gained foothold in the local motoring industry, Philippine startup AutoDeal is now planning to expand its business across countries in SEA.
Philippine-based startup Hiraya Water Solution is looking at expanding overseas.
Capitalizing on the pain points that queueing brings to people and businesses, Philippine-based startup TimeFree Innovations is gaining traction by making it less miserable to wait in line. The tagline sums it up: Life is too short to wait in line. Very few activities can match the boredom, irritation, and… Read more »


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Nissan: Formula E will unfold “a key development platform” for company’s EV technologies
Japanese automaker Nissan has revealed in a recent announcement that it wants to leverage electric-vehicle (EV) technology development in the Formula E racing championship for its electric cars.
With Formula E racing championship presently gaining immense popularity with automakers as it unfolds a potential marketing opportunity, the announcement by Nissan comes at a time when Formula E’s next race is scheduled to take place in Paris on April 28, 2018.
Nissan is one of the major automakers to join the Formula E starting in Season 5 and Season 6, because of the attention garnered by the forthcoming seasons of the racing championship on account of introduction of its new battery system. Under the new battery system introduced by Formula E, drivers will be able to complete a full race without the need to change vehicles. The new system will also allow teams to work on their own powertrain.
Nissan had announced in 2017 that it plans to join the Formula E with its own team for Season 5 of the increasingly popular racing championship. The automaker has already unveiled its ‘Nissan Formula E car’ in Geneva; and has taken the car on tour in New York and Los Angeles.
About Nissan’s decision to enter the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, the automaker’s Global Motorsport Director Michael Carcamo said that the move will give Nissan “a key development platform” for its EV technologies.
Electric car sales in France recorded a notable year-on-year increase during the month of March; with the results highlighting a kind of ‘March Madness’ in the electric-vehicle (EV) market in the country.
In an interesting spotting of a possible ‘Performance’ version of Tesla Model 3, TMC forum member ‘sreams’ has claimed that he saw the vehicle last week, at the Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, CA.
German automaker Audi’s forthcoming e-tron electric SUV will apparently be the first production car to have cameras in place of exterior rearview mirrors.
UK-based startup Arrival has announced that it has received an order from UPS for 35 units of its all-electric delivery truck.
In an apparent attempt to catch up with its competitors in the electric vehicle (EV) arena, Japanese automaker Toyota Motor has revealed that it will be launching an electric car in China this year, a fully electric ix4 sport utility vehicle (SUV)
At a stylish unveiling event held recently at the Louvre Museum in Paris, Chinese electric scooter manufacturer Niu unveiled its two new electric scooters developed especially for the European market.


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A new documentary acquired by Magnolia Pictures will explore the journey of how Andre Leon Talley became, in Tyra's words, one of the most influential names in the fashion industry. The film is titled The Gospel According to Andre, and will make its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month.
The Gospel According to Andre is directed by Kate Novack, who tapped the talents of some of the industry's biggest insiders to give their two cents on Talley's talents. That includes Anna Wintour, Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Valentino,and Manolo Blahnik.
"Andre has been an unmissable fixture in the front row of fashion for as long as I can remember, but the story of how he got there has never really been told in an intimate way," said Novack in a press release. "There is no one I would rather partner with than Magnolia to bring Andre and his life's ' gospel' to audiences."
Magnolia Pictures' doc contains a good deal of archival footage documenting Talley's journey all the way back from his earlier years in Andy Warhol's Factory in the '70s to his time as editor-at-large of Vogue.
The movie will see a theatrical release in spring '18.


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What is the future bank?Smart phones, custom and cloud computing
On December 17, establish relationship next report
Banks will usher in change over the next 20 years.Despite the bank's own development slower, but technology giants and entrepreneurial companies are offering more and more financial services.At present, 10% of income in starbucks has come from mobile financial
services,amazonWe develop our own application to accept mobile payments, andFacebookThe help message application user transfer directly to your friends.Banks need to embrace innovation, and how to compete in the new era, otherwise it will gradually dying.
Let's imagine the development of banking industry in the next few years, as well as the bank's ability to compete with science and technology company.
Credit card will be replaced by smart phones and embedded chip
"Digital bank" author Chris' na (Chris Skinner) predicts that plastic card will die over the next 10 years, and by smart phones, and embedded to clothing, watches and other items payment chips replaced.
In some countries in Europe, the user has can use smartphone to gas.A bank application can determine the gas station position, simply type oil gun and driver code, gasoline brands, as well as the amount can be.After that, the gas station staff will put oil gun to connect to the vehicle, when the payment is completed, the oil gun will automatically start refueling.Future, through the interaction with gas station software, the car will automatically buy gas.
The future has arrived.At present, the user can use at the entrance of the subway near field communication (NFC) chips and the bank application, through smart phones to buy the subway tickets.In the next few years, users don't even use a smartphone, you only need to support NFC ring linked to the credit card, can achieve the same function.If you wish to withdraw from the ATM machine, the user will no longer need a bank card.Users only need to via smartphones, log on to online banking, scan the qr code, through the menu select the withdrawal.
He expected, the new economy will be based on the chip and online payment services, and cash in all transactions accounted for not more than 30%.For now, however, even in the most technologically advanced country, cash payments are still not completely withdraw from the market.In Sweden, for example, the proportion of cash payment is only 70% at present.
Bank branches will change to the exhibition hall
In the 20th century, the main functions of the bank branch is a cash business, such as deposit and withdrawal.In the 21st century, most business is dealt with will be done through online channels, and bank branches will no longer be necessary.If you can through the application of bank to handle the business, and contact customer service to solve the problem, so why long lines in the site?In the future, will become the exhibition hall bank branch.Here, the user will learn to use the mobile banking application, and understand the bank's new products.
Such companies have emerged.In 2012, the polish mBank social bank launched a new digital architecture.The bank's clients can go to pay via Facebook and video services.Then, the bank closed almost all outlets, while maintaining traditional infrastructure costs are used for the development of new services and advertising.In the end, the bank's 75% of the customers are increasingly turning to the more convenient online platform.
The Atom is another typical case of digital bank.This year, the British financial institutions got a banking licence and is currently preparing the full launch services.The Atom will only through mobile applications and wearable electronic devices to provide services.If you want to open an account, so the customer needsdownloadMobile application,
registration and select the account type, submit a photo identity, as well as detailed personal information.
Cooperating with goods and services vendors
Banks haveGoogle(weibo), Facebook, and other tens of thousands of online stores do not have a little advantage, this is for user's credit card information.
Outside of their own markets, goods and services the seller customers what other activities can only be guessed at.Travel products, for example, the seller is not clear that the customer has just bought a ticket to Thailand, and the jeweler loyal customers wife's birthday is not clear.If the seller for this kind of information, then will be able to promote their luggage, forward backward a customer to promote women's necklace.
Bank holds all the information, but cannot open sharing confidential data.However, such a taboo is not involved in the anonymous data.
Financial institutions through cooperation with entity business to make money.You can to the bank said: "I have 5 cases of red wine, need
shipment as soon as possible. Can you help me take a look at what the customer needs to buy red wine, and to offer them discount? Can be divided into income."
Eastern Europe's biggest bank, one of Ukraine PrivatBand are adopting this strategy.
The cost of the smart tracking system
He says, the technology to make Banks more humanized, to identify the client identity and predict their needs.This will be the future of our face.For example, if you have a Facebook said in a news release, you want to attend a concert, the bank may tip in the comments, you can afford to buy tickets, and the bank will also be happy to help you.
And if you're on Twitter, said in a news release that "I'm thinking of buying a used jaguar", the bank may ask you to send direct messages: "are you crazy? You already overdrawn 20000 dollars!"
Compared to now, the bank of the future will have more user information.The bank will know customers losing a job or the chance of promotion, and customer's income is rising or falling.New technology will help to make decisions, so that the loan approval process automation, individuation.
Each bank has multiple software system, the software system developers from many generations.Over time, more and more software code, and innovation is becoming more and more difficult.Only use an application program interface (API) and digital core to integrate these services to the unified system, the bank didn't have the ability to compete with technology companies.
Therefore, the expert inside course of study is looking forward to a new era of software development.For example, some media are discussed the importance of "API first" design concept.Even if the focus is on the user interface, but now is not the case.First of all, you need to study the API architecture, and the front is not particularly important.
Banks need to through the API to develop their own digital core, better interact with the user.German Fidor bank innovation provides a good case in this respect.
Fidor bank recently won the global banking awards.The company's API platform to help customers and partners directly connected banking services.Based on the technology, customers can through the Twitter account transfer, encryption trading currency, and through the bank platform to provide services to a third party.Germany has appeared a generic API, through this API customers can use any bank service in Germany.Poland has a similar system.As long as the authentication in a bank, you can also open an account in other bank.
All computing to the cloud
According to Forbes magazine reported that the bank is actively moving to cloud computing technology.Contemporary financial institutions are more and more similar technology company, so we need a powerful computing center.
The first step has been taken.In the summer of 2013, the Dutch DNB bank announced that it will use the amazon AWS to provide a range of banking services, including website, mobile application, retail banking platform, as well as the high performance computing and analysis of the credit risk and so on.Other international Banks are using cloud computing solutions, such as the Netherlands Robeco bank managing
$8 billion in assets, Spain's sixth-largest bank Bankinter, Suncorp bank and Australia, etc.
So, the bank will have what kind of future?Traditional Banks ceased to exist or will transform into a technology company.


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Liberty Global chief strategy officer Shane O’Neill has given attendees at the annual TIF conference at Dublin Castle the first glimpse of the Horizon Connected Home Gateway, scheduled for deployment across the UPC network during 2011.
O’Neill outlined the various connected and hybrid TV options already in the market such as Boxee and Google TV. “On the face of it Google TV looks like a threat, but in reality the cable industry will do what it has always done, and try to embrace innovation developed elsewhere and incorporate it into its own service. I think there’s a very strong likelihood that you’ll see the cable industry embed Google television and that functionality into its own set-tops, so that it’s not a threat but a cool new way to search for video”.
Explaining that the new box would bring a marriage of linear TV and the internet, O’Neill said that multiple screens had meant the social aspects of TV had disappeared, but that the social networking features included in the UPC Horizon box would go some way towards restoring this. “We won’t necessarily watch together, but we will discuss it on the television, through Facebook”.
Showing delegates a picture of the remote, O’Neill likened the device to Apple TV with only four buttons for navigation and a QWERTY keyboard on the reverse. The sleek black Samsung form factor has rounded triangular edges and a light grey LED display at its centre. Horizon will enable the consumer to do four key things; to access the internet as well as the pay-TV offering; to enable to stream content downloaded on the PVR throughout the house; it will enable any content held on a PC or other devices to be viewed on the main TV. Navigation, which O’Neill said UPC was becoming increasingly obsessed with, comes through the NDS Snowflake UI.
O’Neill, who is also the deputy chairman of UPC Ireland, said the device would be available in Ireland during the summer of 2012. The Netherlands and Switzerland have previously been named as the initial markets for Horizon’s deployment during 2011 with Germany (Unitymedia) and Austria to follow.


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Kool-ex Warehousing, a cold chain pharma logistics company based in Mumbai, said it would partner with industrial and logistics real estate developer IndoSpace to create a dedicated pharma networks across India.
The companies will build “customised, GDP/GWP compliant and temperature-controlled” pharma distribution centres, across the country (GDP is good distribution practice and GWP is good warehousing practice, accepted by all stakeholders). In a bid to expand its pharma storage footprint in India, Kool-ex is planning to build three warehouses in the first phase by 2021. It is planning to set up 10-11 warehouses in the next three years.
Kool-ex will also offer end-to-end Pharma packaging solutions with Thermal Energy Service Solutions (TESSOL) and will be “fully geared to handle end-to-end supply chain of Covid-19 vaccine,” it said. The pharma logistics company is entering warehousing, secondary distribution, passive packaging and blockchain to become an end-to-end pharma supply chain player.
The transaction deal between Kool-ex and IndoSpace for the warehouses was led by CREDBERG Advisors.


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Additive manufacturer EOS reports steady global growth
Additive manufacturing solutions provider EOS reported that by October 2015, there were approximately 2000 of the company's systems installed around the world.
At the Formnext tradeshow (November 17-20, 2015; Frankfurt, Germany), additive manufacturing solutions provider EOS (Krailing, Germany) reported that by October 2015, there were approximately 2000 of the company's systems installed around the world.
"We were able to double our installed base over the last three years; during the last two years, the number of metal laser sintering systems was doubled from 400 to 800 systems. During the past business year alone, the company sold 400 systems, including 220 metal systems. This underlines EOS' leadership role particularly in the metal segment and the growing interest in this technology—particularly in the series production segment. We expect that market demand will continue to rise in the future," said Dr. Adrian Keppler, chief marketing officer at EOS.
During the last business year, EOS increased sales revenues by 53% over the previous year to €263 million. All regions exceeded targets—especially North America, with a record result of more than $100 million in revenues. The company now has 750 employees worldwide, a 38% increase in its global workforce compared to the previous year. This growth is reflected in the fact that individual locations are also experiencing steady growth. At its Krailing headquarters, the technology and customer center, which started up just last year, is already reaching the limits of its capacities.
For more information, please www.eos.com.