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The Federal Government of Nigeria has disclosed that the $2.5 billion Dangote Fertiliser plant will be beneficial for Nigeria’s food-related exports as Africa ventures into the African Free Trade Continental Agreement( AfCFTA).
This was disclosed by Nigeria’s Trade Minister, Niyi Adebayo at the commissioning of the Dangote Fertilizer Plant at Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos on Tuesday.
He also added that the plant has also introduced development into the Lekki Free Trade Zone area.
What the Minister is saying
The Minister disclosed that this is a great achievement, not just for Dangote Group, but Nigeria as a country, adding that Alhaji Dangote is a man that has been commended for so much in Africa and globally.
“Access to good quality fertiliser is pivotal to ensuring our food security objectives are met. This facility has the capacity to produce 3 billion metric tonnes of urea fertiliser per annum, in phase one alone.
“This will go a long way in improving the fertiliser gap and improving the soil. One of the goals for FG is for Nigerian to be self-sufficient in food production and also be a net exporter of food and value-added products,
“The Dangote fertiliser plant goes a long way in realising this vision not just for Nigeria but for the entire continent. It has the capacity not just to meet Nigeria’s needs, but at its current capacity, it will earn millions of dollars from exports. It will also help with the unemployment problem,” he added.
- The Minister noted that since the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Agreements ( AfCFTA), cross border trade has become more attractive. AfCFTA has the capacity to boost intra African trade and is expected to integrate the African market, consisting of 1.3 billion consumers with an aggregate GDP of $3.4 trillion,
- He stated that as the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria has the potential to increase its trading capacity, and generation of foreign investment, and encourage other companies to follow in this space, citing the situation of the fertiliser plant at the Lekki FTZ has also brought development to the area.
In case you missed it
- Recall Nairametrics reported that President Muhammadu Buhari said he is optimistic that Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Industries, will replicate the success recorded in the cement industry in the fertilizers segment.
- Buhari said the new fertiliser plant would reduce Nigeria’s importation of urea, adding that he hopes to inaugurate the Dangote Refinery later this year.


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Uncategorized September 19, 2020
Had you invested $27 on Bitcoin when it was created by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009 your financial investment would currently deserve over $37,000,000.
Commonly considered as the greatest financial investment automobile of perpetuity, Bitcoin has seen a meteoric rise during 2017 going from $777 completely to $17,000.
Producing millionaires out of opportunistic investors and leaving financial institutions open-mouthed, Bitcoin has addressed its movie critics at every milestone this year as well as some think this is just the beginning.
The launch of Bitcoin futures on December 10th, which for the first time will permit capitalists to get in the Bitcoin market with a significant controlled US exchange, indicates that we are simply starting.
What makes Bitcoin so valuable is that there is a limited quantity in existence. There will just ever be a maximum of 21 million Bitcoins as well as unlike regular fiat money you can’t simply publish more of them whenever you seem like. This is due to the fact that Bitcoin operates on a evidence of job protocol: in order to create it, you have to extract it utilizing computer handling power to resolve intricate algorithms on the Bitcoin blockchain. As soon as this is attained, you are rewarded with Bitcoin as settlement for the “work” you have done. Unfortunately the incentive you get for mining has lowered significantly practically annually considering that Bitcoin’s beginning, which means that for most individuals the only viable method to get Bitcoin is buying it on an exchange. At the current price levels is that a danger worth taking?
Lots of believe Bitcoin is merely a bubble. I talked with cryptocurrency expert as well as long term investor Fight it out Randal that believes the possession is miscalculated, “I would contrast this to several supply as well as need bubbles over history such as Dutch Tulip Mania and also the dot com bubble of the late 90s. Prices are purely speculation based, and also when you check out Bitcoin’s performance as an actual money it is practically awkward.” For those who don’t recognize, the dot com bubble was a period between 1997-2001 where many internet companies were founded and given insanely confident appraisals based simply on speculation that later plummeted 80-90% as the bubble began to collapse in the very early 2000s. Some firms such as ebay.com as well as Amazon.com, recuperated as well as currently rest far above those evaluations however, for others it was the end of the line.
Bitcoin was initially produced in order to take power far from our economic systems and place individuals in control of their very own money, eliminating the middle male and also making it possible for peer to peer purchases. Nonetheless, it is now among the slowest cryptocurrencies on the market, its purchase rate is four times slower than the fifth largest cryptocurrency as well as its nearest rival for settlement remedies Litecoin. Untraceable privacy coin Monero makes transactions also quicker, boasting an ordinary block time of simply 2 minutes, a fifth of the time Bitcoin can do it in, and that lacks privacy. The world’s 2nd most significant cryptocurrency, Ethereum, currently has a higher deal volume than Bitcoin in spite of being valued at only $676 dollars per Ether compared to Bitcoin’s $16,726 per Bitcoin.
So why is Bitcoin’s worth so high? I asked Duke Randal the exact same concern. “It all returns to the very same supply as well as need business economics, relatively there is not significantly Bitcoin available as well as its recent surge in rate has actually drawn in a great deal of limelights, this incorporated with the launch of Bitcoin futures which many see as the initial indication Bitcoin is being approved by the mass market, has actually resulted in a great deal of individuals following suit for monetary gain. Like any property, when there is a greater demand to buy than to market, the price increases. This misbehaves due to the fact that these brand-new financiers are entering the market without understanding blockchain and also the underlying concepts of these currencies indicating they are most likely to get burned”.
Another factor is that Bitcoin is incredibly unstable, it has been known to swing up or down thousands of dollars in less than a minute which if you are not used to neither anticipating it, triggers much less seasoned investors to stress sell, leading to a loss. This is yet another reason Bitcoin will certainly have a hard time to be embraced as a type of settlement. The Bitcoin cost can relocate substantially in between the time suppliers approve Bitcoin from customers as well as sell it on to exchanges for their regional currency. This erratic motion can wipe out their entire success. Will this instability vanish whenever soon? Not likely: Bitcoin is a relatively brand-new possession course and although recognition is raising, just a extremely tiny percent of the globe’s population hold Bitcoin. Until it comes to be extra commonly distributed and its liquidity boosts considerably, the volatility will continue.
So if Bitcoin is rather useless as an real money, what are its applications? Lots of believe Bitcoin has proceeded from being a practical kind of settlement to coming to be a shop of value. Bitcoin is like “digital gold” and will simply be made use of as a criteria for various other cryptocurrencies as well as blockchain jobs to be gauged versus and also traded for. Just recently there have actually been stories of people in high inflation countries such as Zimbabwe acquiring Bitcoin in order to hold on to what wide range they have instead of see its worth decrease under the foolhardiness of its central banking system.
Is it too late to get associated with Bitcoin? If you believe in what these cryptocurrencies will certainly do for the globe then it is never too late to get involved, however with the expense of Bitcoin being so high is it a watercraft for some which has already cruised. You may be better off looking at Litecoin, up 6908% for the year or Ethereum which is up an unbelievable 7521% for the year. These newer, much faster currencies intend to accomplish what Bitcoin initially set out to do back in its creation in 2009 and also replace federal government run fiat currencies.
know more about bitcoin era lena here.

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Ethiopia plans expanding manufactured goods export target
Addis Ababa, 22 April 2014 (WIC) - The Ministry of Industry announced that it plans to earn USD 1.29 billion from exports of locally manufactured goods in the current Ethiopian fiscal year 2013/14.
Minister of Industry (MoI( Ahmed Abtew made the announcement at the ministry’s premises where he also outlined the revenue so far earned during the last three years of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP).
He admitted that out of the government’s plan to earn a total of USD 1.1 billion during the last three fiscal years, it only managed to secure USD 355 million leading to a wide gap in performance.
However, the ministry stated that with the entering into force of several projects during the last couple of months, this ambitious fiscal year’s plan could be met.
Notable mentions it gave regarding bright prospects it sees in the manufacturing sector is the entry of TESCO a British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer and H and M a Swedish multinational retail-clothing company who’ve entered the sector recently.
Chemical, Food and Pharmaceutical Institutes to be Formed
Ahmed also stated that the ministry is working on opening up institutes for food, pharmaceuticals and food just in cooperation with foreign institutes like the ones that were formed for the textile, metals and leather industries.
He said the establishment of the institutes will help boost the capacity of these sectors, which suffer from working under capacity, with them in general working less than 60 percent of total capacity, although there are some exception with some industries working between 75-80 percent of total capacity.
Nevertheless the costly nature of logistics industry, from port to manufacturing plant and vice versa, as well as difficulty related to usage of the multi modal system, intermittent power supply and issues to difficulty to adding value to agricultural products were mentioned as problems.
GMO Cotton to be Allowed to be Planted in Ethiopia
one of the announcement that the ministry also made at the end of the press conference, is the country for the first time allowing for the first time, Genetically Modified plants, in this case cotton to be planted in the country for industrial use, presumably for the textile industry.
Ahmed further said however the government will first consult with the Ministry of Forestry and Environmental Protection, and put in place a strong quarantine system in order for the land to better adapt with the plant.
The Ethiopian plans by the end of the GTP period in 2015 to help earn the country up to USD 1.8 billion, with a plan to increase its share to 18.7 percent, from the 13 percent it was in 2010. ( New Business Ethiopia)
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Rockstar has revealed that it will release some sort of Red Dead Redemption 2 announcement next Thursday, September 28 at 8am PT / 11 am ET / 4pm UK.
The developer made the cryptic announcement in a Twitter post, using the familiar Red Dead color scheme and font:
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) September 22, 2017
What the reveal will actually be remains a mystery. We’d wager a guess that it will be a trailer of some sort that hopefully shows off more of the game’s story and characters (and gameplay!), as well as a firm release date. What we hope the announcement isn’t is a further release date delay, as Red Dead Redemption 2 was already pushed back from a Fall 2017 release to Spring 2018.
More to come …


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Rick Osterloh as recent Motorola President is now leaving Lenovo due to amid broad reorganization that will force the company to shuffle various business units and its operation executives.
This was part of reorganization that was announced by the company, Lenovo believed to be expanding its market which includes all kinds of tablets, phablets and other home device related products running are Windows, Chrome Operating System and Android platforms.
So the newly renamed Smart Device Business now will be led by Gianfranco Lanci a former Acer executive that will serve as Lenovo’s president at the same time chief operating executive officer. Lanci will oversee company’s sales and its overall operations of its units.
Remaining parts of mobile business will report to Xudong and Aymar, serve as the co-presidents, both reporting to the Lenovo CEO Yuanqing.
Lenovo earlier this year announced its plans to de-emphasize Motorola brand, using the Moto as product line. The company has seen its overall device market share dip due to amid sales weakness in China mobile market.
The re-organization of executives will affect the overall management activities on all of its branches globally.


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April 29, 2020 @ 15:45 by Alison Cowie
New research has revealed that the economic loss to the North East visitor economy could be nearly £3 billion if lockdown continues into the summer months.
The research – which combined historic data alongside insight from 90 in-depth interviews – was conducted by NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI) in collaboration with a range of partners, as well as a newly formed tourism industry panel.
The sector can expect a loss of up £955 million if the lockdown continues through to the end of May, while the impact would be far greater if it lasts for the entirety of the summer.
Tourism is the fourth largest sector in the North East, worth over £5 billion to the economy each year and supporting over 66,000 jobs in the region. In 2018 the region welcomed over 90 million visitors – an increase of eight million in the space of five years.
Half of the businesses surveyed indicated that without additional support from the Government they would not last for more than three months of lockdown. Retaining staff to allow for re-opening is a major concern for businesses – 70 per cent of businesses have, or plan to, furlough staff, while 17 per cent have already made the difficult decision to cut jobs.
NGI is working alongside local authority partners, Newcastle City Council and Gateshead Council, and the region’s tourism industry to make sure that the North East’s voice is heard on a national stage.
Sarah Green, chief executive of NewcastleGateshead Initiative, said: “We have spoken to over 600 businesses in the region to offer support, gather intelligence and understand the impact of COVID-19. It is clear that tourism is one of the industries hardest hit by the current situation and that businesses are looking for support and guidance.
“Tourism businesses support the lockdown measures as an essential step to save lives. Where they can, we have seen many businesses stepping in to support the NHS and key workers. We have worked with over 80 accommodation providers to identify emergency beds for key workers and others impacted by the crisis.
“It is clear that the impact of lockdown on the tourism economy is devastating. The region has worked very hard to grow visitor numbers by eight million over the past five years. Our tourism strength is based on the breadth and diversity of the sector, therefore every business lost has a significant impact on the attractiveness of our offer. In regional terms, the tourism sector is the fourth biggest employer supporting 66,000 jobs.
“Tourism also plays a critical role in changing perceptions of the region – supporting the Government’s levelling up agenda by driving inward investment and capital development. It is therefore critical that policy makers, both regionally and nationally, work with the industry to find ways to mitigate the current challenges and to ensure we position our tourism businesses for the future – retaining jobs and the attractiveness of our region.
“In the longer term, we know that people will want to travel, it is human nature to want to explore, and we need to make sure that when this happens people think of the North East as a great place to visit. We need to have a variety of diverse tourism businesses, from local SMEs to the large corporates, ready to give a great authentic North East welcome.”
The research was revealed at the first of a new series of webinars, ‘Innovating and Adapting in 2020’, run by NGI as part of its GX Project aimed at supporting North East SMEs.


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Related manufacturers:Events, Executive , Lifestyle Hobbies, Limited Edition Models, McLaren, Motor Shows, Motorsport, Performance, Prestige, Promotions, Racing, Specialist Services, Sports, Supercars, Technology
Comment; "Seeing our famous line-up of cars assembled here for the first time today is a reminder to everyone of how far we’ve come as a company in such a short space of time and the ambition and innovation of our people who have helped create that success." ^
- First time these examples of McLaren’s modern-day road cars have been brought together in a ‘collection’ estimated to be worth £50m
- Cars were ‘reunited’ at the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) in Woking, Surrey
- The unique line-up was created to help celebrate McLaren Automotive employee, friends and family open day
For the first time, McLaren has ‘reunited’ a unique collection of its modern sports cars and supercars at the luxury maker’s global headquarters in Woking, Surrey.
The special line-up of 23 cars, estimated to be worth around £50m, included iconic models such as the P1TM GTR - the track version of the world’s first ever hybrid hypercar – through to the new McLaren Speedtail of which only 106 will ever be produced – and was assembled to help celebrate the company’s employee, friends, and family open day.
Despite McLaren Automotive only being founded under a decade ago, it recently built its 20,000th car. Under its £1.2bn Track25 business plan, McLaren will launch a further 14 models or derivatives between now and 2025 to add to the four already launched. All McLaren’s sportscars and supercars will be hybridised by then with an equal focus on using advanced materials to save weight and enable exhilarating performance.
Around 3,000 of the company’s employees, their families and friends, supported by over 70 volunteers, joined members of the company’s executive team to see the exclusive display alongside activities that ranged from ride on P1TM hypercar ‘races’, to a children’s competition to ‘design’ the best car judged by McLaren Design Director Rob Melville, to testing reaction speeds on a Batak machine supplied by tyre partner Pirelli.
“Seeing our famous line-up of cars assembled here for the first time today is a reminder to everyone of how far we’ve come as a company in such a short space of time and the ambition and innovation of our people who have helped create that success. ^
“It’s thanks to them, with the support of their friends and families, that we have been able to achieve so much, so quickly and launch so many amazing cars, over 90 percent of which are exported around the world. Our ambition as a company remains stronger than ever and we look forward to adding more amazing drivers’ cars to our range very soon.”
Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive.


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Korean-based Bluebird has announced a new handset, the BM180, that its brochure claims can run Android 4.2 or Windows Embedded 8 Handheld, which uses the Windows Phone 8 core.
Smartron S805 Android TV box: Unboxing and first impressions
Office 2016 launching this year, touch apps coming soon
Introducing Windows 10 for phones
NewerTech Wireless Aluminum Keypad Review
NewerTech Wireless Aluminum Keypad
Hands on with HoloLens
Download: Windows 10 build 9926


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Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and pro-Newt Gingrich SuperPAC Winning Our Future are battling it out through online ads leading up to Saturday’s South Carolina primary. And, along with Winning Our Future – which spent more than $281,000 since January 10 on email and web advertising – Paul is sticking with his negative tone.
“See why Rick Santorum is a conservative FRAUD,” scream ads from the Ron Paul camp seen on South Carolina’s TheState.com.
Since before the New Hampshire primary, Ron Paul’s campaign has gone negative online in the hopes of siphoning Republican primary votes away from Gingrich and Santorum. Heading into New Hampshire, he extended the “Serial Hypocrite” message he’d used against Gingrich, slapping the same label on Santorum.
Online ad costs were on the rise in South Carolina earlier this week, according to Vincent Harris, who had been leading Rick Perry’s digital team. Perry ended his bid for the Republican nomination Thursday, putting his weight behind Gingrich. It may come as little surprise that Perry had not appeared to be doing much web advertising in South Carolina this week.
As for former House Speaker Gingrich, he’s backed up in South Carolina by ad muscle from Winning Our Future. In display ads spotted on TheState and Charleston news site Live5News.com, the independent expenditure group paints Romney as flip-flopper who once supported abortion rights. “Think you know Mitt? Think again,” states the video featured on the NewtforLife.com ad landing page.
The video includes footage of Romney speaking during a Massachusetts gubernatorial debate, and prompts people to visit WinningOurFuture.com. An animated video on that site pokes fun at Romney, implying his stances on abortion rights, gun control, and healthcare reform are too similar to President Barack Obama’s to make him a true contrast to Obama in the general election.
Since January 10, Winning Our Future has spent over $281,000 on email and online advertising opposing Romney. Restore Our Future, the pro-Romney group that has spent millions on TV ads and direct mail to attack Gingrich, has done little online besides sending emails supporting Romney.
Romney’s campaign, however, has been a big spender online, and that hasn’t changed pre-South Carolina. In keeping with the campaign’s strategy of running TV spots simultaneously through online video ads, the Romney team has placed pre-roll video ads on TheState. The ad, also seen on TV, responds to criticism of his career with Bain Capital, a favorite theme of Gingrich’s. The ad mentions that while Romney was at Bain, the company helped businesses such as Staples, and notes, “We expected Obama to put free markets on trial.”
Display ads from Romney spotted on TheState, Live5News, and GreenvilleOnline.com suggest, “We have a moral responsibility not to spend more than we take in.” The ads link to a page on his site featuring campaign events in South Carolina.
Rick Santorum’s campaign, and other groups could also be running online ads targeted geographically, and therefore not viewable from ClickZ’s New York offices.
A digital marketing strategy is important for every business seeking for further growth, but how can you create an effective one? More ... read more
If you’re a brand selling high-consideration, ‘big ticket’ items like appliances, cars or luxury goods, the customer journey is vitally important.
Spotify, the popular digital music service, is getting into the video ad game with a new ad offering called “branded moments.” Currently, ... read more
User-generated content has become an important part of content marketing, with consumers being part of a brand’s strategy. How does this affect ... read more


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The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is to be congratulated for imposing a large fine, of nearly Rs 1,800 crore (Rs 18 billion), on Coal India... ...http://www.rediff.com/money/report/its-time-to-end-coal-indias-monopoly/20131212.htm
Global credit rating agency Fitch upgraded outlook for the Indian telecom sector from 'negative' to 'stable'."Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on... ...http://www.rediff.com/money/report/better-times-ahead-for-indian-telecom-companies-fitch/20131212.htm
ICF International (NASDAQ:ICFI), a leading provider of consulting services and technology solutions to government and commercial clients, has... ...http://in.sys-con.com/node/2895040
CAIRO, Dec 11: Egyptian urban consumer inflation soared in November to its highest annual rate in nearly four years, increasing the risk of social... ...http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/egyptian-urban-inflation-soars-adds-to-risk-of-social-unrest/
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/11/13 -- To help bring fans closer to the game, the NFL worked with Vigorate Digital Solutions to evolve... ...http://in.sys-con.com/node/2895015
Co-signing to get a family member or...
Within that range, desirability is...
Within that range, desirability...


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Timken bearing will establish a joint venture with Anshan Iron and steel group. Timken Company (nyse:tkr) announced on September 28 that its Timken (China) Investment Co., Ltd. and Anshan Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Anshan Iron and steel industry") have reached an agreement and signed the joint venture contract, and both parties will establish a joint venture in China, It is proposed to be named "tiepointed out to vigorously promote the breakthrough and development of key fields mken (Anshan) Industrial Service Co., Ltd." to provide business operations such as quality identification, maintenance, maintainability repair and remanufacture of bearings and other products, as well as industrial services and comprehensive maintenance solutions
Mr. fengshilong, President of Timken China, signed a cooperation framework agreement with Mr. Wang Yanmian, assistant general manager of Anshan Iron and Steel Group Company
Feng Shilong, President of Timken China attended the signing ceremony of the joint venture, And said, "Timken and Anshan Iron and steel group have had good business cooperation for many years. This in-depth cooperation with Anshan Iron and steel industry will be committed to providing professional and excellent comprehensive bearing maintenance solutions and consulting supporting services for the Chinese market to meet the growing demand of the industrial service market."
yuan Xuefeng, general manager of Angang Steel Industry, who jointly attended the signing ceremony, also said: "For a long time, Timken's products have excellent performance and stable performance, which is also the most important reason why we finally choose Timken as a partner. Safety belts are an indispensable partner of auto parts. The bearing maintenance business provided by the joint venture will effectively shorten the delivery cycle, improve the utilization rate of bearings, and realize the reuse of some resources. This is also very conducive to the energy conservation and emission reduction of enterprises and green operation of zhanbic additives (Shanghai) You Yufei, director of plastic additives Co., Ltd., said in an interview that the implementation of daolue. "At the signing ceremony, representatives of Timken and Anshan Iron and Steel Group also signed the cooperation framework agreement


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The gap expanded 1.1 percent to $57.2 billion from a revised $56.6 billion in September, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Exports dropped to the lowest level in seven months as foreign purchases of U.S. aircraft, automobiles, chemicals and food waned.
The global credit crunch is slowing growth in Europe, Asia and Latin America, indicating the U.S. can no longer count on gains in trade to help offset the recessions in housing and manufacturing. American households and businesses are also retrenching, a sign that purchases of foreign oil, televisions and computers will keep softening.
Another government report today showed the number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits surged more than forecast last week to a 26-year high. Initial jobless claims increased 58,000 to 573,000 in the week ended Dec. 6 from 515,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said. The number of workers staying on benefit rolls gained to 4.429 million.
The trade gap was projected to narrow to $53.5 billion from an initially reported $56.5 billion in September, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 70 economists. Estimates ranged from deficits of $47 billion to $57.5 billion.
After eliminating the influence of prices, which are the numbers used to calculate gross domestic product, the deficit surged to $46.4 billion from $42 billion in September. Another Labor Department report showed prices of goods imported into the U.S. plunged in November by the most on record. The 6.7 percent drop in the import price index followed a 5.4 percent decline the prior month. Prices excluding fuel fell 1.8 percent and the cost of imported petroleum plummeted a record 25.8 percent.
The jump signals trade may subtract from fourth-quarter growth after adding 1.1 percentage points in the previous three months when the economy shrank at a 0.5 percent rate. The already year-long U.S. recession is likely to be the longest in the postwar era, according to economists surveyed this month by Bloomberg News.
Exports dropped 2.2 percent to $151.7 billion, reflecting a broad-based retreat in demand for American products.
A rebound in the value of the dollar, by making American- made products more expensive to overseas buyers, is contributing to the dimming outlook for U.S. exports. The dollar jumped 17 percent from mid-July to the end of November, reaching the highest level in three years on Nov. 21, according to figures from the Federal Reserve.
A decline in airplane deliveries by Boeing Co., reflecting the effects of a two-month strike that was resolved Nov. 1, contributed to the softening in American exports. Boeing delivered 4 aircraft overseas in October, down from 6 in the prior month, according to company data.
Imports declined 1.3 percent to $208.9 billion, the lowest level since March. Decreases in demand for foreign-produced automobiles, televisions, computers and fuel reflected the worsening slump in U.S. consumer and business spending.
Rather than helping shrink the trade gap last month, as most economists predicted, oil contributed to the deterioration. A record $15.56 drop in the price of imported crude in October was swamped by a 70.9 million-barrel jump in purchases that was also the biggest ever, the report showed. Excluding petroleum, the trade gap was little changed at $24.5 billion.
International trade next year may shrink 2.1 percent, the first contraction in more than a quarter century, the World Bank said in a report this week.
The trade gap with China increased to a record $28 billion from $27.8 billion in the prior month. China surpassed Canada to become the largest source of imports into the U.S. last year. Since it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, China has also been the fastest growing major expo...


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India has announced that they will be using a specialized law to produce generic anti-cancer drugs. This will lower the price of these drugs by 97% and increase the efficiency of health care delivery in the country. It’ll also make the poor better able to survive certain cancers because treatment will be more affordable.
In the first-ever case of compulsory licencing approval, the Indian Patent Office on Monday cleared the application of Hyderabad’s Natco Pharma to sell generic drug Nexavar, used for renal and liver cancer, at Rs 8,880 (around $175) for a 120-capsule pack for a month’s therapy. Bayer offers it for over Rs 2.8 lakh (roughly $5,500) per 120 capsule. The order provides hope for patients who cannot afford these drugs.
The approval paves the way for the launch of Natco’s drug in the market, a company official told TOI, adding that it will pay a 6% royalty on net sales every quarter to Bayer. The licence will be valid till such time the drug’s patent is valid, i.e. 2020. As per the CL (compulsory licence) order, Natco is also committed to donating free supplies of the medicines to 600 patients each year.


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Sponsors of the largest U.S. smart card trial say they learned valuable lessons about technology and usage patterns from the Manhattan trial, even though it wasn't a huge hit with either consumers or merchants.
The trial, winding down next month after a 14-month run, issued 100,000 cards loaded with electronic cash and involved more than 600 merchants on Manhattan's Upper West Side. But most consumers never reloaded e-cash on their cards, and two-thirds of the merchants dropped out during the trial.
"We never set a benchmark in terms of numbers on what would be a valuable pilot," said vice president Carol Lockie of Visa International, one of four sponsors of the trial. "It had so many components to learn from, not just transactions. We were not just were looking for volume, we were looking to the perceptions and impacts to the consumer and the merchant."
The high-visibility test also involved Mastercard, Chase Manhattan Bank, and Citibank. Its chief technical advance was the ability for merchants to accept e-cash from a single smart-card reader for both Visa Cash and Mondex, two incompatible schemes for so-called "stored value."
"It seems like the trial kind of rolled to a halt, which makes me wonder about the value of smart card pilots in that kind of an environment," said Scott Smith, an e-commerce analyst with Current Analysis.
"It's hard to see how results from New York apply to middle America--nobody cuts you any slack in New York," Smith added. " If they wanted to put themselves in the worst environment, they did it."
Indeed, the New York trial has been dogged by bad publicity, in part because it's a media center. Visa's Lockie said the trial was conducted in Manhattan because the two big banks wanted to do it there and because the sponsors figured the tough New York environment could teach lessons that might not be learned in a more benign environment.
The U.S. market for smart cards has lagged behind Europe and Asia, so advocates like Visa are pushing not the single-purpose cards like the ones in the New York trial but multifunction cards that combine electronic cash, credit and debit cards, and loyalty or frequent-user programs to reward customers who return to the same merchants.
Smart cards, also called chip cards, are plastic cards the size of credit cards with an embedded computer chip. The card companies are eager to move to smart cards from today's standard magnetic stripes on the back of cards so that more data or applications can be loaded onto cards.
Since the Manhattan trial was launched in October 1997, for example, Visa has added the ability to make Internet purchases using Visa Cash, a capability not available for the New York trial.
The Manhattan experience has led Visa to join a European effort to standardize so that smart cards, credit cards, and debit cards from different vendors can be handled by a single machine. Mondex and MasterCard, which owns a controlling interest in Mondex, have not yet endorsed that effort
Grocery stores turned out to be the most popular spot for the cards to be used, somewhat undercutting the business case for e-cash on smart cards because of the broad use of debit and credit cards in grocery stores. Banks and card associations have positioned smart-card-based e-cash as a substitute for cash, not debit or credit uses.
Visa's Lockie said the Manhattan trial was hampered because residents of the Upper West Side, selected because they are early technology adopters, couldn't use their smart cards when they went to work in other parts of Manhattan.
Within that neighborhood, however, any interested merchant was allowed to join the e-cash program, leading to some bad press when many dropped out.
"The press picked up on merchants who were not acceptors anymore, even though the merchants decided the size of their average ticket wasn't enough," Lockie said. "That created a negative buzz in the marketplace, and we were never able to shake it." But the lesson learned was that the pilot wasn't appropriate for low-volume or low-value transactions.
Visa plans no specific e-cash on smart card trials; instead future pilots will address multiple uses of smart cards.
"The challenge for us now is that many see smart cards as digital cash," said Visa spokesman Greg Jones, adding that Visa needs to broaden that perception to push its multiapplication smart card agenda.


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Video App Ocho Competes With Vine, Instagram Using 8-Second Clips
Is there room in the social networking world for another video sharing app? Is eight seconds the ideal amount of time for a shared clip? Ocho has launched in Apple's App Store, and it's creating some buzz: It offers a handful of interesting features that Vine and Instagram lack, and the developers announced a $1.65 million seed funding round that included participation from Mark Cuban.
Ocho will distinguish itself with its lean-back experience, where viewers can watch all the videos in their feed without having to prompt each one. Videos aren't meant to be confined to a small screen: All clips are recorded in a 16:9 resolution regardless of how the phone is held, so they'll play well on TV screens. The app includes six filters to create different moods, and users can add narration after a clip has been recorded. They can also load videos they've already shot and trim to the eight seconds they want to share on Ocho. The app lets users include URLs in their captions, as well as share clips on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
To help get some viewer interest Ocho has created a partnership with Vice Sports, which will create exclusive field dispatches. Ocho is a free iOS download. An Android version will follow in 2015.
While Vine is no more, its creators are looking ahead with a new live video app called Hype. Streamers can use it to mix video, music, and animation.
While Vine's audience wasn't large, it was passionate. The death of the six-second video network leaves a surprisingly large hole in social media.
With no account to sign into and one-button controls, Boomerang is the simplest video app yet. It creates GIF-like videos intended for sharing.
When companies are creative, six seconds is enough time to inform, entertain, and engage an audience. Here's how Lowe's constructs must-watch Vine videos.
These two social video platforms haven't just attracted millions of users, they've also attracted brands looking for new ways to engage shoppers.
Brands such as Trident Gum, Taco Bell, and Rolling Stone are embracing Vine, which does for video what Twitter did for blogging.


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Montenegro Inflation Rate Falls in September
Photo by xtock/Shutterstock.com
Montenegro's consumer price index (CPI) increased by 7.9% year-on-year in September, after rising by an annual 8.6% in August, figures from the Podgorica-based Statistical Office of Montenegro (Monstat) showed on Monday.
The annual inflation in September was primarily driven by a 13.6% increase in clothing and footwear prices, and a 11.5% rise in restaurant and hotel prices.
Additionally, prices increased for furniture, household equipment by 9.2%, cost for food and non-alcoholic beverage costs went up by 7.6% and prices for housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel prices advanced 7.4%.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 0.8% in September, the least in four months, after a 1.7% increase in the previous month.
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CENTENNIAL BALL RAISES MORE THAN $923,000 AND CELEBRATES MUSEUM’S 100-YEAR LEGACY IN GRAND STYLE
Style & Arts Category Archive
As neighborhoods like North Park, Barrio Logan and East Village continue to grow and develop, the artists and craftspeople who once inhabited cheap spaces there are being priced out.
The Idle Hour: The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine
The city might change how it funds cultural nonprofits.
Fur trimmings were scarce on the past month’s spring catwalk collections in Milan and Paris, but the two leading luxury centers are some way off following London Fashion Week in going fur-free
Kids doodle. Kids draw. Kids paint. Usually, followed with a kiss from mom who then proudly hangs the masterpiece on the refrigerator door. Club Kids of Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County have taken it a step further – their art now hangs on the gallery walls of the Port St. Lucie Civic Center.
Chanel took the fashion set on an exotic beach getaway for its catwalk show on Tuesday, as models wearing the French couture house’s trademark tweed suits and sun hats strolled barefoot along the sand, waves lapping at their feet.
Distressed denim looks got a glamorous makeover on the runway at Miu Miu on Tuesday, as models rocked jean dresses with sheer underlays and shimmering sequined trimmings on the last day of Paris Fashion Week.
LVMH’s Louis Vuitton presented a new collection fit for a space odyssey at the end of Paris Fashion Week on Monday, with futuristic, crystal-strewn looks, oversized sleeves and patterned dresses evoking skylines.
The Paula A. Lewis Branch Library is looking for Treasure Coast artists interested in displaying their works in the branch’s ArtSpace.
As anyone who has heard Tony Bennett sing can confirm, there’s something tangible about the sounds he creates, something you can’t quite put into words.
Jumpsuits were the order of the day at Stella McCartney’s catwalk show during Paris Fashion Week on Monday, with skin-tight floral numbers contrasting with more laid back, wide-legged boilersuit styles in white and blue tie-dye prints.
Like every successful Orange County socialite who turns 40, Pacific Symphony pulled out all the stops on Thursday for a glitzy birthday party that celebrated its many successes over the last four decades.
Paul Hodgins talks about the new Arts & Culture section at Voice of OC as well the future of Arts institutions, like the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and South Coast Repertory, in a changing Orange County.
On September 28th, the former national security advisor for the Trump administration, H. R. McMaster, will be on Chapman University’s campus to participate in a panel discussion titled “America in an Age of Perpetual War.”
Donald Margulies, one of America’s most successful playwrights, has been closely associated with Orange County since the beginning of his career.
Castile soap, a cleansing agent made entirely from plant oils, is an option worth considering.
Italy’s Gucci brought a dose of eccentricity to Paris Fashion Week on Monday, with a runway show featuring a parrot, eerie videos, frilly sequined looks and a surprise performance by British singer and actress Jane Birkin.
A pink diamond weighing in at almost 19 carats is set to go on tour before being auctioned in Geneva and could fetch a record price of between $30 million and $50 million, Christie’s auction house announced on Tuesday.
Christian Dior raised the curtain on Paris Fashion Week on Monday with a contemporary dance display on the catwalk and a runway collection to match, with skirts evoking tutus and airy shift dresses designed for freedom of movement.
The music and culture of the 1960s inspired Japanese designer Atsushi Nakashima’s spring/summer 2019 funk-themed collection which brought down the curtain on Milan’s fashion week.
they are now moving to the interior work, including major plaster repairs and upgrading the electrical system.
The three women gazing into the camera in an advert for French luxury label Balmain look like they could fit in at any high-end shoot, but Shudu, Margot and Zhi are “digital models” whose rise is dividing the fashion world.
Orange County School of the Arts Welcomes World-Renowned Guest Artists and Industry Professionals to Campus for 2018-2019 Master Artist Series
Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) students are given the opportunity to study alongside esteemed industry leaders, guest artists and teachers as part of the school’s third annual Master Artist Series.
Todd D. Smith, director and CEO of the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA), announced today the appointment of Sarah Jesse to the position of deputy director. Among Jesse’s primary responsibilities will be the management of OCMA’s new temporary space at South Coast Plaza Village.
In a disused hangar in Istanbul, Turkish artist Ahmet Gunestekin uses thousands of metal human skulls and twisting, spiky animal horns to re-tell some ancient myths in a towering, fearsome installation.
Today, Sept. 17, 2018, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County announced that Tommy Phillips, 34, would succeed John Mangum as the organization’s new president and artistic director. We talked briefly with Phillips about his background and the new job, which he assumes Oct. 1.
London Fashion Week kicked off on Friday, declaring itself fur-free for the first time as an increasing number of designers seek to burnish their ethical credentials.
Mickrockfest annual charity concert is to remember the late, great legendary guitarist, Mickey Crawford. Fourteen bands will be performing starting at 12 pm at Ocean Avenue on 123 San Marco Ave in St Augustine, Florida.
High-society favorite brand Carolina Herrera on Monday showed the first collection since Herrera stepped down as the house’s creative force.
Why is it that the words “arts” and “culture” send some people scrambling for the exit?
Today Voice of OC debuts an arts and culture section that will feature work from a team of acclaimed arts journalists.
No one wants to be a fashion victim, but fashion villains owned the runway on Friday as designers The Blonds served up spicy and spiky styles with a show inspired by Disney’s vamps and vixens.
A ballerina’s tutu, submerged in the Dead Sea and “frozen” by accumulated layers of salt into a 200 kg (440 lb) crystal-like sculpture, will soon go on international display, part of a unique artistic project at the lowest point on the planet.
New York City is one of the fashion capitals of the world and when it kicks off Fashion Week on September 6 stylists, buyers, fashion enthusiasts and celebrities will be keen to see what has been declared “in style” for the spring and summer seasons.
Top designers, A-list stars and thousands of fashionistas will converge on New York this week for the annual week-long preview of Spring fashion, which officially kicks off on Thursday following a Wednesday evening show of creations by luxury brand maven Tom Ford.
Whether it’s a wall’s worth of graffiti, a sign at a protest, a song on the radio or a piece in a museum, political art is intended to send a message.
Marshall Exteriors is the only company in New York State to be recognized and appointed to the Remodelers Magazine Big50.
Vienna Zoo is luring visitors with a new attraction: a painting panda.
Ed Smith (69) cried when he first learnt of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis five years ago. Since then, he has embraced art as a way to fight off the effects of the disease.
Deep in rural Ukraine, a man from North Carolina has returned to his roots, moving to a village with a population of 500 in a bid to rekindle an almost lost tradition of Ukrainian folk music.
Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Cristiano Ronaldo are just a few of the famous faces that Chinese make-up artist He Yuhong can transform her features into, but now she’s turning to famous artworks.
Diana Benavidez grew up traversing the border between Chula Vista and Tijuana.
At left and right, examples of propaganda’s range of uses. In the center, a view of Inwood today.


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nvidia (Nasdaq:NVDA) is a leading manufacturer of graphics cards for gaming, data center computing, visualization, and automotive semiconductors. It’s known as a true “growth stock” after revenue has previously grown at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 50% over the past five years (up to Q4421). However, the company It recently announced its preliminary financial results for the second quarter ending July 31, 2022. Revenue came in below analyst estimates, due to a lack of gaming revenue. I previously wrote a post on Microsoft (MSFT) and its second-quarter earnings that also showed lower demand for games, so this post could have been a leading indicator of Nvidia’s poor results. Nvidia’s stock price is down nearly 6% in the news and has slaughtered 46% from all-time highs in November 2021. The good news is that the company still has best-in-class technology and a strong chance of recovery due to the cyclical nature of the gaming market. In this post, I will detail the latest earnings report and Nvidia valuation calculation. Let’s dive in.
Nvidia Q2 detail
nvidia mentioned $6.7 billion in revenue for the second quarter of 2022, which was well below the previous forecast of $8.1 billion. Revenue is also down a whopping 19% since last quarter and up just 3% year over year. This decline in revenue was primarily driven by a sharp drop in gaming revenue, which amounted to $2.04 billion, down 44% sequentially and 33% yoy.
Intel Corporation (INTC) has the largest part of the graphics processing unit (GPU) market, with a market share of 60%. However, Nvidia and AMD (AMD) gradually eating up Intel’s GPU market share. Nvidia is the leader in “high performance” GPUs and has a market share of 21% of the total market, up from just 15% in Q1 21. This is evidence of Nvidia’s best-in-class technologies.
It’s easy to fall into one bad quarter of Nvidia’s low gaming revenue, but I think it makes sense to scale back. The gaming market is cyclical and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.87% fast through 2028, when it is expected to reach a value of $165 billion. Thus, despite the macroeconomic headwinds in the short term, I think Nvidia is in a strong position to recover in the long term. Additionally, a portion of Nvidia’s GPU revenue came from purchases of Bitcoin mining rigs in 2020/2021. However, now that the price of the cryptocurrency has fallen and we are now in the “Bitcoin Winter”, sales in this area will of course decrease. Nvidia has been criticized in the past for not reporting its GPU revenue which came directly from Bitcoin mining hardware sales. The company was recently fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission for not doing so Reports GPU Sales Driven by Bitcoin in First Crypto Bubble/Crash of 2017.
“NVIDIA’s disclosure failures have left investors with information critical to evaluating the company’s business in the key market” — Christina Littmann, SEC Crypto Unit.
So, assuming higher-than-normal GPU sales in 2020 and 2021, from both the boom in gaming and coding, the patch now wouldn’t be surprising.
Nvidia’s management stated that gaming revenue was lower than expected, reflecting “lower channel partner sales due to macroeconomic headwinds.” However, they have implemented inventory adjustments and “pricing programs” with channel partners to reflect market conditions. I think these “pricing programs” are a series of discounts that will of course affect Nvidia’s financials.
Nvidia’s data center revenue was $3.81 billion in the second quarter. The growth rate slowed to just 1 percent from the previous quarter, but was still up 61 percent year over year. The company stated that the recent slowdown was due to “supply chain disruptions,” but I also suspect that macroeconomic conditions have caused temporary cuts in IT spending by companies.
The good news is the data center industry Expected To grow at an astounding $615 billion between 2021 and 2026, or a compound annual growth rate of 21.98%. This growth is expected to be primarily driven by the North American market as companies “digitalize” to the cloud. So, despite the recent headwinds, Nvidia has a broad growth path for its data center segment. Nvidia is also specialized in AI-based computing, which is another fast thing grow industry.
Professional Visualization revenue was $500 million, down 20 percent sequentially or 4 percent year-over-year. However, auto revenue showed strong momentum at 59 percent sequentially and 45 percent year-over-year.
Nvidia’s ultra-high gross margin of 65% was compressed to 43.7% in the second quarter, but management believes its “long-term gross margin profile is sound.” Nvidia also controlled its operating expenses very well, coming in below its $2.46 billion forecast, with $2.42 billion.
Nvidia CFO (Colette Chris)
“We plan to continue with our share buybacks as we anticipate strong cash generation and future growth.”
Management is expected to discuss full financial results and expectations for a previously planned August 24 earnings call.
In order to valuate Nvidia, I plugged the most recent financial data into my advanced valuation form, which uses the discounted cash flow method for valuation. I’ve lowered my revenue growth forecast from previous rates of 30% to 40% to a conservative 15% growth rate for next year. Revenue growth then doubled by 22% over the next two to five years. This is assuming a cyclical recovery in gaming revenue, data center revenue continuing to grow according to the trend year over year and auto revenue growing strongly.
I’ve also forecast that Nvidia’s operating margin will rise to a healthy 42% over the next eight years as data center and visualization revenue grows robustly. In order to increase the accuracy of the assessment, I capitalized the company’s research and development expenditures.
Given these factors, I get a fair value of $185/share. The stock is currently trading at $177 and is therefore roughly 5% undervalued with these long-term growth estimates.
As an additional data point, Nvidia is trading at a price-to-sales ratio (FWD) = 14.23, which is about 2.75% lower than the five-year average. Therefore, the stock is “fair value” based on the price-to-price ratio. Nvidia trades with a higher price-to-sales ratio than AMD and Intel, but also has much higher profit margins.
Low Spending / Recession on IT
High inflation and high interest rates environment It increases input costs for businesses, so we may see a temporary reduction in IT spending for at least the next two quarters. ‘Stagnation’ is also Expected Which will affect consumer sentiment and reduce spending. Low crypto prices are also a negative for Nvidia, as it means that fewer GPUs will be purchased for Bitcoin mining platforms.
Nvidia is a technology leader and the second largest provider of gaming GPUs. The company’s high-performance technology is best-in-class, but I think this quarter (and possibly the next) will be down due to macroeconomic headwinds. However, it does make sense to remember that the long-term growth trends in datacenter, gaming, and even “Metaverse” visualization are not going anywhere. Nvidia is fairly valued at current levels, but I expect a lot of volatility in the next quarter for the recovery to show itself.
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GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE: VIPS) ("Vipshop" or the "Company"), China's leading online discount retailer for brands, today announced the promotion of five senior management members, effective November 19. The Company has promoted the following individuals to new officer positions within the Company:
Ms. Maggie Mei Chuan Hung as Senior Vice President for Merchandising; Mr. Alex Jing Jiang as Senior Vice President for Business Intelligence and Customer Relationship Management (CRM); Mr. Yizhi Tang as Senior Vice President for Logistics; Mr. Xianfeng Cai as Vice President and General Manager of Shanghai Branch; and Mr. Xiaohui Ma as Vice President for Marketing.
"Through these promotions, we are pleased to recognize the hard work of these individuals and their contributions to our Company," commented Mr. Eric Ya Shen, Chairman and CEO of Vipshop. "They have been instrumental in the development and implementation of our business strategies which have helped our Company achieve tremendous growth over the past several years. As our business continues to scale rapidly, we believe they will continue to make significant contributions to the Company in their expanded roles focusing on further enhancing our operational efficiencies. I congratulate these executives on their well-deserved promotions."
Ms. Maggie Mei Chuan Hung, currently Vice President for Merchandising, has over 20 years of experience in merchandise retail. Previously, Ms. Hung served as a Vice President of Grand Pacific Mall and General Manager of Grand Ocean Department Store in Nanjing, China. Ms. Hung received her bachelor's degree from Ling Tung University in Taiwan.
Mr. Alex Jing Jiang, currently Vice President for Business Intelligence and CRM, has over 20 years of experience in China's retail sector. Before joining Vipshop, Mr. Jiang founded and served as a director of E-elephant Consulting Company Limited, a company focusing on consulting services in e-commerce and chain retail sectors in China. Earlier in his career, Alex served as a Vice President of E-commerce China Dangdang Inc. Mr. Jiang received his bachelor's degree in accounting from Chongqing Business School in China.
Mr. Yizhi Tang, currently Vice President for Logistics, has over 10 years of experience in the logistics industry in China. Before joining Vipshop, Mr. Tang served as an operating director of Best Logistics Technology Co., Ltd. He was the head of logistics department of Tesco, a world leading grocery and general merchandise retailer, responsible for the logistics in the northern China area. Earlier, Mr. Tang served as the senior director of the logistics department of E-commerce China Dangdang, Inc. Mr. Tang received a master's degree from Sun Yat-Sen University and a bachelor's degree from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in China.
Mr. Xianfeng Cai, currently the General Manager of Vipshop's Shanghai branch, served for over 18 years in various roles at IGA Distribution Pty. Ltd., a licensed grocery supermarkets chain in Melbourne, Australia. Previously, he was the general manager responsible for IGA Distribution Pty. Ltd.'s daily business operations. Mr. Cai received a bachelor's degree in commerce from University of Melbourne.
Mr. Xiaohui Ma has been working at Vipshop since August 2011. Prior to joining Vipshop, he was Vice President for Marketing at Xiu.com, a fashion shopping business-to-consumer (B2C) website in China. Previously, he worked at several prominent media and news agencies in China, including China Central Television (CCTV), China's state television broadcaster, and SINA Corporation, a Chinese leading online media company. Mr. Ma graduated from Communication University of China.
About Vipshop Holdings Limited
Vipshop Holdings Limited ("Vipshop" or the "Company") is China's leading online discount retailer for brands. Vipshop offers high quality and popular branded products to consumers throughout China at a significant discount to retail prices. Since it was founded in August 2008, the Company has rapidly built a sizeable and growing base of customers and brand partners. For more information, please visit www.vipshop.com
SOURCE Vipshop Holdings Limited


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SAN FRANCISCO — A tiny Irvine company founded by a 21-year-old Cal State Long Beach drop-out may play a leading role in Facebook's next major bet on the future of the Internet: that virtual reality will change the way people experience the Web.
Facebook said Tuesday that it was buying Oculus VR, maker of virtual reality headsets for video game players, for $2 billion.
The ultimate goal of the acquisition, the giant social network said, is to create an immersive 3-D experience in which users don't just chat online with friends but grab a cup of coffee with them in a virtual cafe or travel with them to distant places, just by putting on a pair of goggles with dark lenses.
Virtual reality is no longer the stuff of science fiction and in coming years will fundamentally transform how people learn, communicate, seek out entertainment and experience the world, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said during a conference call with analysts.
"Imagine not just sharing moments with friends online, but entire experiences and adventures," Zuckerberg said.
The surprise deal was Facebook's second blockbuster acquisition of the year, coming on the heels of its $19-billion deal to buy mobile messaging service WhatsApp.
Zuckerberg called it a "long-term bet on the future of computing," saying virtual reality has the potential to be "the most social platform ever."
Facebook, which was founded a decade ago when most people surfed the Web from desktop browsers, had to play catch-up as consumers shifted to mobile devices. Now it appears that Facebook is guarding against making the same mistake twice.
But analysts say Facebook may be backing the wrong technology.
"No one has any level of confidence that the next big computing platform is virtual reality," S&P Capital IQ analyst Scott Kessler said.
Despite years of hype, virtual reality has yet to find a mass following. By and large, consumers have not gone for headsets that come with video games or 3-D television. And Zuckerberg acknowledged that Facebook was years away from making virtual reality a compelling part of the Facebook experience.
"It feels like Facebook executives have sworn to never miss another big shift again. Only unlike mobile, virtual reality will only ever be a niche, even if it eventually becomes a very exciting one," Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey said in an email.
The Oculus acquisition includes $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares worth about $1.6 billion. Oculus employees are also eligible for an additional $300 million if their company hits certain targets.
The high price may unnerve investors still trying to digest Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp.
Shares of the Menlo Park, Calif., company fell 53 cents, or nearly 1%, to $64.36 in after-hours trading after closing up 79 cents at $64.89.
Wedbush Securities analyst Shyam Patil said many investors will be puzzled that Facebook is buying a virtual reality company. But, he said, Facebook may get the benefit of the doubt with Google Inc. making a major bet on wearable Internet-connected devices with Google Glass.
"There is a bit of validation out there from another major player," Patil said. "But it is a very long-term bet. It could make sense, but we won't know for a long time."
Oculus, which has raised more than $90 million, makes the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset that's yet to be released but is already a cult hit with video game developers.
Facebook said Oculus has received more than 75,000 orders for development kits for the headset, which sells for $350 apiece.
Antonio Rodriguez, an Oculus board member and general partner at Matrix Partners, said Oculus had outpaced competitors in virtual reality. Sony has its own prototype called Project Morpheus for the PlayStation 4.


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Are Americans as Poor as They Feel?
(Businessweek) — For many Americans, thinking back to the days of 99¢ gas and 50¢ cups of coffee, it may be cathartic to grumble about how expensive life has become, especially during the current economic downturn. The reality, however, is that a lot of things aren’t as expensive as we think—and many things actually cost less in relative terms. A look at the cost of living between 1980 and 2010 shows that nominal income rose more than overall consumer prices (nominal income is income not adjusted for inflation). The price of many day-to-day expenses such as food and even energy increased at a slower pace than overall consumer prices, which means their relative costs are lower, while some big-ticket items, such as education and health care, became more expensive, causing a shift in spending.


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Here’s the highlight of the news from this morning...
September 2, 2010 at 9:40 AM
By Stephen Totilo
News at Kotaku Web site
With This Gun, Your First-Person Shooters Can Surround You
“In Dallas last month I spotted a big inflatable igloo. It had been erected by a company called Microvision on the exhibition floor at QuakeCon. Inside of it, I discovered, was a man holding this gun.”
Here’s the link to the full article and make sure to watch the video…
Here’s a very interesting observation…
“The Microvision people were getting QuakeCon attendees to line up for Project Tuatara, an experimental technology designed to be used with any mouse-and-keyboard first-person shooter.”
For this demo, they were using the released PC game Operation Flashpoint. Here is what the video from QuakeCon exhibition looks like…
[Click the link and watch the video]
It seems to me Microvision is using the new 720P HD PicoP in this first-person shooter gun… which they call as the Controller. No wonder the video is so colorful, bright and crisp. It's much better than what we have seen before.
Here’s the product review by Dana “Dizzy” at the QuakeCon 2010 web site…
“Perhaps the most astounding in its revolutionary graphics and futuristic gaming potential is located at the Project Tuatara booth. What looked like an inflatable black igloo (as I called it to Bowl, who politely skipped over my total gaming ignorance) was actually an oasis of 3-dimensional gaming. Inside the 10-foot dome was the culmination of modern total gaming immersion. Dave Lashmet and Andrew Rosen, the men behind Operation Flashpoint, explained to us their ingenious and revolutionary game control system.”
“The controller is one of several gun models, including an FN F2000 and a TR-21. This controller is linked to a PC as an air mouse. The video feed is sent back to the gun and projected using pico HD lasers from Microvision, the backer of Project Tuatara. The background is then translated to a three-dimensional polar axis that can be projected onto any surface. Dave recommends white walls and a dark room to get the best results, but one benefit of the pico lasers is that they are always in focus.”
"Dave and Andrew have both had extensive experience playing in the last month since this project was initiated, and have been able to play over 20 different games on a series of different backdrops, including one instance when they set up white sheets on hotel room walls. Though they are hosting 3-minute trials of Lost Planet to patient gamers (there is an hour-long line), the controller can be configured to virtually any game in just a few minutes. This controller is incredible because it is a step toward actual 3-dimensional gaming. The control isn’t released yet (this is a privileged promo experience) but they hope to release a total 3-dimensional experience in the coming years, complete with surround sound and not only lateral dimensions, but 3-D glasses to enhance background depth.”
Here’s the link to Dana “Dizzy” product review of Microvision’s prototype FPS gaming gun controller…
Looking back a few months…
In December 2009, Microvision's PicoP Display Engine was at the Heart of Realistic Game Demo at Intel Extreme Masters Tournament
This is what Ian Brown of Microvision said at the Intel sponsored tourney at Edmonton, Alberta…
“The game application takes advantage of our PicoP display engine’s infinite focus,” Brown says. “We believe that Microvision’s technology can be used to create a new level of realism and interactive freedom for gamers. As the worldwide market for video games exceeds $50 billion, we are very excited to partner with Intel to showcase this new advance in gaming technology to the world’s best gamers at Intel Extreme Masters.”
“Intel believes that radical innovations like Microvision’s laser projection engine will continue to drive the gaming industry forward,” said George Woo, Intel Corporation’s Marketing Manager of the Intel Extreme Masters. “We are pleased to demonstrate how Microvision’s technology and the Intel® Core™ i7 processor Extreme Edition can create a new way for gamers to become immersed in the game world.”
Now you can take you gaming experience several notches up with a PicoP projector from Microvision and your gaming experience will never be the same...
“These hardcore gamers soon may be unleashed from their stationary position to enjoy a realistic virtual combat experience with life-sized video images, projected on walls, ceilings and floors, all from a weapon-styled projection game controller they hold in their hands.”
“Game players at the tourney who give the prototype a spin will experience “an immersive, 360-degree feel,” promises Ian Brown, Microvision’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “The company’s laser projection engine can show a distortion-free image on nearly any flat or curved surface. Consequently, the game goes along with the gamer and reflects the character’s position in three-dimensional space.”
The worldwide market for video games exceeds $50 billion.
Did I say that before?
Yep, I just wanted to make sure we register that clearly, because that is an additional market, beyond pico projection, that Microvision is addressing in collaboration with Intel... the biggest PC gamer in the world.


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The opportunity remains to buy Globo at about 0.55p: a telecom software products company.
Globo said that it achieved a strong financial performance for 2013, ahead of market expectations. And profits will be in line with market expectations.
For 2014, the company said that “current year trading has started very strongly”. Globo says that “as IT budgets from customers build and ‘bring your own device’ and mobile apps needs increase further, Globo will have the opportunity to deliver another year of excellent growth and market penetration”.


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John Harrison is group product manager at Symantec, where he develops the company's network-based intrusion protection solutions. His responsibilities include Symantec Decoy Server, Symantec ManHunt, as well as the intrusion protection technology in Symantec Gateway Security, Symantec Client Security and Norton Internet Security.
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SAN ANTONIO — Hello Kitty fans, it's time to get together because the iconic Hello Kitty Cafe Truck is returning to San Antonio this weekend April 2, from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Those who will be visiting the truck can get some treats and merchandise that include:
- Hello Kitty Cafe lunchbox
- Hello Kitty Cafe lavender shirt
- Hello Kitty Cafe canvas tote
- Stainless Hello Kitty Cafe rainbow thermos (18oz and 32 oz)
- Hand-decorated cookie sets
- Madeleine cookie sets
The Cafe said their best-selling items include Hello Kitty Cafe plush toys and Hello Kitty Cafe chef tickets.
After their stop in San Antonio, they will continue to Houston with a stop set for April 9.
The cafe says two Hello Kitty Cafe trucks have traveled to over over 100 cities across the country since its inception in 2014.
If you plan on attending, Hello Kitty Cafe Truck said they only accept credit and debit card payments. No cash.
You can find the truck at 15900 La Cantera Pkwy, Suite 6698, San Antonio TX, 78256 in front of Barnes & Noble.


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New York City’s Apple “cube” store on Fifth Avenue has already sold out iPad Mini models and the latest version of iPad with the white model went off the shelves first and the black model followed roughly an hour later.
“We believe these early stock outs are driven by the combination of strong demand, combined with a shortage of supply due to the constraints we discussed during our recent Asia Technology Tour,” said Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White, who believes that the early sellout of iPad Mini prompted customers to also purchase the fourth-generation iPad.
New York is still gathering things up after Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc major portions of the metropolis, causing damages on the city’s water system and leaving millions of houses without electricity.
Nevertheless, gadgets enthusiasts still stormed into Apple’s Fifth Avenue store hours ahead of the much-awaited release of the iPad Min.
Meanwhile, Apple’s retail store in West 14th Street and SoHo are still closed up to now while three retail locations in the New York area started their businesses about two hours late.
Despite recording strong sales in the Big Apple, White still predicted Apple to sell 800,000 to 1 million iPad Minis during its debut weekend.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster also released his estimated sales of the iPad Mini on Friday, predicting 1 million to 1.5 million units of iPad Mini sold for the opening weekend.
The numbers are much lower compared to the 3 million iPads sold by Apple during the launch weekend of the third-generation iPad model last March.
All the sales predictions will be put to end when Apple announces its initial sales report of the device early next week.


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- Factories have switched to reducing costs and cutting down production to cope with depressed demands and low sales.
- Already, 40 percent of those surveyed have sacked their casual labourers and sent more on unpaid leave.
- Some 27 percent have reduced permanent staff while another 69 percent are struggling to pay their staff with the small and medium enterprises hardest hit, according to the report.
Thousands of manufacturing jobs are on the line as makers of goods switch to survival mode to wade through disruptions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The industries, according to a Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) and audit firm KPMG report released Wednesday, have switched to reducing costs and cutting down production to cope with depressed demands and low sales.
Already, 40 percent of those surveyed have sacked their casual labourers and sent more on unpaid leave. Some 27 percent have reduced permanent staff while another 69 percent are struggling to pay their staff with the small and medium enterprises hardest hit, according to the report.
“The top three priorities for the majority of businesses before Covid-19 were to increase profitability, increase revenue and domestic market share.
“These strategies have now been pushed down the agenda and are overtaken by reducing costs, retaining jobs, and improving cash flow. However, when faced with the dilemma of reducing costs or retaining jobs, the former usually takes precedent and downsizing considerations seem more of a reality,” stated the KAM report.
The pandemic-driven trade disruptions have seen sales drop drastically with 93 percent reporting a fall in turnover ranging between 30 to 100 percent. Reduced demand has been worst in the textile and apparel as well as timber, wood and furniture sectors followed by the leather and footwear as consumers switch preference to essential commodities.
Restricted movements and operation hours have also seen the manufactures cut production with 42 percent now said to be operating at less than half their capacity, while the average utilised capacity for micro, small and medium enterprises ranges between 42-37 percent.
The curfew and lockdowns in major counties have also affected logistics with 76 percent saying they have difficulties in locally sourcing or importing raw materials and 67 percent found access to market challenging.
The businesses also face a cash flow crisis with close to 80 percent constrained by delayed payments from the government and other customers a move that will see more than half struggle to meet operations costs and tax obligations.
The manufacturers have been waiting for the Treasury to release close to Sh23 billion in value-added tax refunds and pending bills, which was expected to hit accounts last week but has since delayed according to KAM chief executive Phyllis Wakiaga.
“We have an indication that the money has been released to the Kenya Revenue Authority for refunds to the businesses and this is an issue we will continue to follow up on since the cash flow deficiency is now a really big problem in the sector,” Ms Wakiaga said.


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List your Business
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Abof clocks Rs 100 crore gross merchandise value within 90 days of launch
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Disney World parks will have a few different rules in place if and when it reopens this summer.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, many businesses are tackling reopening plans that work within local guidelines. Theme parks — known for big crowds and lots of shared spaces — present a particular challenge.
But recently, Disneyland Shanghai opened back up to guests with new safety measures in place…and now Disney has revealed their plans to reopen Disney World in Florida as well.
In an official statement, Disney Parks revealed what the reopening of Disney World in Orlando will most likely look like. Here’s everything you need to know:
Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom parks plan to reopen on July 11, with EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios following on July 15. That’s less than two months away!
There will be «limits on attendance and controlled guest density,» enforced through a new reservation system.
Events that draw big crowds — such as parades and nighttime spectaculars/fireworks — will not return until later.
«High-touch» experiences like makeovers and playgrounds will be unavailable at the start.
Character meet-and-greets will be unavailable upon reopening as well, but characters will still be out in the park.
Guests ages 3 and up will be required to wear face coverings.
Guests and cast members will be screened for temperature before entering the park.
The parks are encouraging cashless transactions.
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The Office of the US Trade Representative
has published its 2012 Special 301 Report
. While there was good news for Spain and Malaysia, who exit the Watch List, concern over counterfeiting and rampant piracy have led to the Ukraine being placed on the Priority Watch List.
The annual report examines the adequacy and effectiveness of IP rights protection in the trading partners of the United States, and follows close on the heels of the US Department of Commerce’s
report on the contribution intellectual property makes to the economy
Considering trends in counterfeiting, the report notes that continued growth in the online sale of pirated and counterfeit hard goods will result in online infringement soon surpassing the volume of such goods sold by street vendors and in other physical markets. It also highlighted difficulties in detection, as counterfeiters increasingly use legitimate courier services to deliver infringing goods and also ship counterfeit products separately from labels and packaging in order to avoid detection.
Of the 77 trading partners, 40 were placed on the Priority Watch List, Watch List or the Section 306 monitoring list:
- Priority Watch List: Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, Venezuela.
- Watch List: Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, Greece, Guatemala, Italy, Jamaica, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.
- Section 306 Monitoring: Paraguay.
The notable changes centred on Malaysia, Spain and the Ukraine. Malaysia’s removal from the Watch List results from its legislative efforts to protect copyright and its anti-piracy enforcement activities, although concerns remain over its pharmaceutical data protection regulations and border enforcement with respect to transshipments. Spain, meanwhile, was applauded for its adoption of the Sinde Law
and similarly exits the Priority List.
However, there was bad news for the Ukraine, which makes the Priority Watch List after making “minimal progress” in implementing its 2010 IPR action plan commitments. The report adds: “Ukraine has also done little to address counterfeiting and piracy, and in some cases took steps backwards. For example, several days after Ukrainian police took down the country’s largest infringing website (‘ex.ua’), authorities allowed the site to re-open. Likewise, the number of IP inspectors at the State Intellectual Property Service of Ukraine has been significantly reduced”.
The report therefore calls on the country to take urgent steps to address online piracy and to improve its judicial system.
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Nashville’s cannabis connection
Tennessee may not be one of the two states where recreational marijuana has been legalized, or one of 23 where medicinal use is permitted, but that doesn’t mean Nashville isn’t connected to the growing cannabis industry.
Brianne O’Neill, a 28-year-old Nashville transplant, works remotely as the head of marketing for VapeXhale, a five-person shop that last year raised $143,016 in an Indiegogo campaign that sought $50,000 to support the launch of its second-generation Cloud EVO vaporizer.
Vaporizing is often described as one of the healthier modes of cannabis consumption, since it does not carry the additional carcinogens of smoking, O’Neill said. VapeXhale wants to up the health quotient of its products further, she said, by using only glass in its vaporizer, preventing additional contaminants from entering consumers’ lungs as metal pieces are heated.
O’Neill, who worked with the company at trade shows and on social media some last year before coming on board full-time as head of marketing this February, said the company has sold between 12,000 and 15,000 Cloud EVO units since its official release in November. The vaporizer retails at about $450 a unit.
I asked O’Neill, who moved to Nashville from Pennsylvania after college to work in the music industry, what it’s like working in a controversial field. These days, she told me, she doesn’t really see the cannabis industry as being that controversial.
“It’s coming,” O’Neill said of broader acceptance and legalization, at least for medicinal purposes. “I’m not really that scared … I feel really lucky to be a part of it as it’s all beginning.”
And beyond legalization, shesaid, VapeXhale is “technically…hands-free” when it comes to marijuana usage; she compared the vaporizing product to a wine glass, not the wine itself.
But while more people in Nashville are familiar with vaporization and the growing industry than O’Neill said you might expect (O'Neill, who lives in East Nashville, cited her own neighborhood as an example), there may soon come a time where she’ll need to move to Denver, Seattle or California, where VapeXhale is based.
“I love Nashville because of the music,” O’Neill said, but added, “As this industry grows, I want to be at the forefront.”
Eleanor Kennedy covers Nashville's health care and technology industries.
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