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Apple on Thursday responded to the the flood of criticism leveled at the supposed ease with which the jumbo-sized iPhone 6 Plus bends during normal use, saying that just nine customers have complained about such an issue, while fashion-conscious consumers have once again proven that Apple can't please everyone.
Apple's "phablet" is finally here. Years after the likes of Samsung popularized the smartphone/tablet hybrid device, Apple last week launched its first take on a huge-screened device with the iPhone 6 Plus, and AppleInsider has gone hands-on to see if it was worth the wait.
After releasing and subsequently pulling the iOS 8.0.1 update earlier today, Apple late Wednesday instructed iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users affected by cellular and Touch ID issues to downgrade back to iOS 8.0 while the company prepares a fix.
One day after a YouTube video demonstrated that Apple's iPhone 6 Plus can indeed bend under focused pressure, a second test on Wednesday extends the process to the iPhone 6, as well as the HTC One M8, new Moto X, Nokia Lumia 1020 and Apple's own iPhone 5s.
The "difficult situation" brought on by record-breaking opening weekend sales of Apple's new, larger iPhones has prompted arch-rival Samsung to both speed up the release of its Galaxy Note 4 as well as slash the phablet's list price, a company official publicly said this week.
After establishing iPhone 5s as a "forward thinking" high-end luxury device a year ago, Apple is now enhancing its eighth generation of iPhone with a broad range of new and improved hardware components, inside a slimmer new case design with a much larger, higher-resolution display.
As part of its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus ad blitz, Apple recently purchased prominent ad space in major print publications emblazoned with "actual size" images of the new hardware, giving readers a taste of what to expect from the enlarged devices.
A video posted to YouTube on Tuesday confirms Apple's iPhone 6 Plus can be bent using a moderate amount of force, an issue some owners are seeing after sitting down with the device in their front pants pocket.
Though Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is handling the lion's share of building A8 chips for Apple's latest iPhones, longtime partner Samsung is still reportedly a major contributor, accounting for an estimated 40 percent of production.
The Chinese government reportedly signaled on Tuesday that Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will soon be granted regulatory approval, potentially putting to a stop the massive — and unique — smuggling efforts currently underway to satisfy demand.
A combination of iPhone 6 launch supply constraints and a modified international rollout schedule have reportedly resulted in a fistfight at a Connecticut Apple Store, where out-of-town groups looking to profit on gray market resales vied for the short-stocked smartphone.
While Apple's customer service team was able to cope with expectedly high traffic on iPhone 6 launch day, the company was apparently overwhelmed by callers a day later, causing wait times to increase to over 20 minutes.
The new silicon at the heart of Apple's recently-released iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has increased the company's lead in smartphone application processor performance, according to data released on Monday, with the A8 improving on the already industry-leading 64-bit A7.
Even without launching in China, Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus got off to a record start with 10 million units sold in three days, and analysts on Wall Street reacted Monday with enthusiasm, expressing their high hopes for this year's upgrade cycle.
The launch weekend for Apple's new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus was the strongest start yet for the company's smartphone lineup, reaching 10 million units sold in the first three days of availability, and topping last year's previous best of 9 million.
Apple's decision to move to an all-new — and larger — form factor for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus means that buyers will once again be in the market for new cases. AppleInsider rounded up a selection of compatible cases from the usual suspects as well as some new entrants.
A few days after Verizon launched its first-generation voice over LTE (VoLTE) system in the U.S., dubbed Advanced Calling 1.0, it was confirmed on Friday that Apple's latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models support the carrier's suite of services, including HD voice and video calling.
Apple on Friday updated its repairs webpage to reflect current pricing for the iPhone models released today, revealing out-of-warranty fixes could cost up to $299 for the iPhone 6 and up to $329 for the 6 Plus.


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The decision was made a day after Microsoft announced it would let off 10,000 employees in the next months, following similar actions taken by Twitter, Amazon, and Facebook owner Meta.
The parent firm of Google, Alphabet, made a large-scale reorganization announcement on Friday, cutting nearly 12,000 jobs worldwide.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, wrote in an email to staff, “We’ve chosen to decrease our workforce by around 12,000 roles. The reductions are in reaction to a changing “economic reality.”
The decision was made a day after Microsoft announced it would lay off 10,000 employees in the next months, following similar actions by Twitter, Amazon, and Facebook owner Meta, as well as by the once-untouchable tech sector as a whole.
To make sure that our employees and their jobs are in line with our highest corporate priorities, we’ve conducted a thorough evaluation of all product areas and functions, Pichai wrote.
“The roles we’re getting rid of are a result of that review.
“I take full responsibility for the choices that brought us here since it weighs deeply on me that these changes will have an impact on Googlers’ lives.”

domain: news


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Google Australia restructures amid tax crackdown
IBAC denounces members of Ultranet 'boys club'
IBM Australia's profit falls 60 percent
Gumtree hacked, user details stolen
Dump software patents, allow geoblocking bypass: Productivity Commission
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Recent articles by Alexei Oreskovic
Google steps up its artificial intelligence research
New hires to bolster Deep Mind acquisition.
Oct 24 2014 6:30AM
Apple unveils the Watch and larger iPhones
New devices primed for NFC-enabled mobile payments service.
Sep 10 2014 7:11AM
Google 'not ready' for EU take-down requests
Army of workers needed for manual processing.
May 15 2014 12:36PM
Snapchat agrees to monitoring over false deleting claims
Settles with US regulator.
May 9 2014 6:46AM
Google opens Gmail to strangers by default
Time to change your account settings.
Jan 10 2014 1:29PM
Google launches debit card
Withdraw Google Wallet funds from the ATM.
Nov 22 2013 6:46AM
Google+ user names, comments to appear in ads
Revises terms of service.
Oct 14 2013 6:45AM
Facebook mulls huge facial recognition database
Scope creep possible, but users can opt out.
Aug 30 2013 6:20AM
Google looks to hardware with new tablet, TV device
Expects new line to be profitable.
Jul 25 2013 6:04AM
Winklevoss twins plan Bitcoin Trust IPO
For investors seeking Bitcoin exposure.
Jul 2 2013 3:05PM
US regulators tell Google to better identify paid ads
Letters sent to several search engine groups.
Jun 26 2013 12:26PM
Regulators looking into Google's Waze acquisition
FTC conducts preliminary inquiry.
Jun 26 2013 6:39AM
Google takes on Apple's Siri with 'Now' for iPhone
Integrates with search app.
Apr 30 2013 6:50AM
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To be shared by 30 US states.
Mar 11 2013 7:52AM
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One of seven products eliminated.
Mar 4 2013 1:50PM
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Fierce competition on ads, search, e-tail and cloud services.
Dec 24 2012 12:12PM
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Makes first big product move.
Dec 12 2012 7:24AM
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High-level communication lines open.
Aug 31 2012 7:27AM
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Musical chairs continues at Yahoo!
Jul 17 2012 7:11AM
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Analysis: Is the Nexus 7 enough?
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When leaders of the Maplewood Neighborhood Association first suggested the organization counter persistent gang issues by donating money to a ...
March 21, 2013
Customers order food at the deli counter of Junior's Deli in Los Angeles, California, in December 2012. Delis are on declining in number, and even landmark locations like Junior's aren't immune to the industry slide. (Arkasha Stevenson/Los Angeles Times/MCT)


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Smartphone maker OnePlus has postponed its OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro sale in India. The company said that it had to alter its sales plan after production was halted temporarily last week due to COVID-19. The sales were supposed to start on May 29 on Amazon India and OnePlus sites. The sale is currently postponed indefinitely and no new dates are revealed yet. Users who have pre-booked the phones on Amazon or via OnePlus sites will only be able to purchase the device when stocks become available.
However, there will be a special limited sale across online and offline channels for just the OnePlus 8 smartphone. Now the smartphone will go on sale with limited stock on May 29 at 12 PM IST.
This postponement of sales was announced through a post on OnePlus forums. It could be because of the sudden halt of the Oppo manufacturing plant in Greater Noida. Six workers were tested COVID-19 positive at the manufacturing plant last week. OnePlus is reported to assemble its phones in the same factory and the suspension could have impacted the smartphones’ sales plan in India. However, in its forums’ post, the company has also said that the ‘production is already up and running’, which could mean a new sale date should be announced soon.
Both the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro smartphones were launched in April. The company started pre-bookings of both the phones on Amazon India. OnePlus held a special sale for OnePlus 8 on May 18 and had then announced the full-fledged sale for both the phones to begin from May 29.
Price of OnePlus 8
As said above, the company is organizing a special sale of the OnePlus 8 smartphone on May 29 at 12 PM. For the users who are interested in buying OnePlus 8, the 6GB + 128GB variant is available for ₹ 41,999. Others, the 8GB + 128GB version is priced at ₹ 44,999 and you can get the 12GB + 256GB in ₹ 49,999. It also comes in three colors, the Glacial Green, Interstellar Glow, and Onyx Black. While the 12GB + 256GB variant is available in all three colors, the 6GB + 128GB is available in only Glacial Green. The 8GB + 128GB is available in Glacial Green and Onyx Black.


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WEST BLOOMFIELD (WWJ) – You only get one chance to make a first impression — and one chance is apparently all an area Kroger bakery department got to make a custom cake right for a customer.
Bloomfield Township Police are looking into whether a customer “drop-kicked” a special order birthday cake on Saturday at a Kroger store in Bloomfield Township.READ MORE: Here Is The Top 'Should I...' Question Googled In Michigan In 2021, AT&T Reports
According to police, the unnamed woman, “was not satisfied with the decoration on the cake, so she went behind the bakery counter in an attempt to fix it herself,” reports The Detroit Free Press.
“The action caused pieces of cake and frosting to be strewn about the bakery section of the store,” the news release added dryly. The woman also reportedly “stepped on (the cake) several times” and shouted an expletive while yelling, ‘They … ruined my 7-year-old’s birthday cake!’”
She then left the store quickly, “kicking over a wet floor sign on her way out,” the release said.
But in her haste she may not have released she had already given the bakery department all of her contact information and police made a beeline to her to chat.READ MORE: GM Secures Tax Abatement For Proposed $1.3B Orion Assembly Plant Investment
A worker in the bakery department told WWJ that he was told the cake hit another customer’s child as it made its way from counter to the unhappy woman’s foot and eventually traveled some distance.
The Free Press says when police interviewed the woman, she acknowledged she was upset about the lackluster decoration, which “was not as she expected.” But she rejected the notion that she “drop-kicked” the cake, and told police that “it accidentally slipped out of her hand.”
What can a customer do if they are unhappy with a design on a cake?
“They don’t have to buy it,” said Tom in the bakery department. “Usually the cakes are a specialty order — something must have gone wrong. If we can fix it, we do. We only had one chance with her apparently.”MORE NEWS: Chief White Says 'There's Reason To Believe' Remains Found In Detroit Belong to Missing Mother Latima Warren


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Aug 24, 2015 13:00 BST Decisive Public Relations
Aug 24, 2015 11:49 BST Decisive Public Relations Comment on Thomas Cook's handling of a recent PR crisis, first published 4 July 2015. This article advocates that the communications team - and preferably the communications director, with a seat at the Board table - must have the gravitas and credibility to exert influence with the CEO and Board in such situations. Such influence, of course, is not won in the middle of a crisis.
Jul 28, 2015 12:00 BST Moray Council As chair of the Moray Economic Partnership, Cllr Cowe has written an article for the Scotsman on Moray's place at the top table in Scotland's food and drink industry.
Jul 25, 2015 10:54 BST MyTrendyPhone UK Ltd What if we told you, however, that there’s more to travel gadgets than selfie sticks and power banks? There’s a number of little contraptions out there that can make travelling easier and more interesting, and we’ve got three of them today just for you.
Jul 23, 2015 12:22 BST Moray Council Moving to live within 5 minutes of Chanonry Point has been a dream situation. Most British wildlife photographers will have heard of Chanonry – it is one of the best places in the world to watch bottlenose dolphins, and on a good day it is an outstanding wildlife photography location.
Jul 15, 2015 09:44 BST Neopost Email has undoubtedly become one of the most popular and effective means of communication for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), however that doesn’t mean physical mail is dead. In fact, many customers find traditional mail offers qualities not found in other communication channels and still prefer to receive some documents physically.
Jul 13, 2015 15:00 BST Neopost For a long time, Neopost has been urging public and private sector customers to take into account the communications preferences of customers to improve customer service levels, generate better responses and reduce costs. Now, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is saying that doing so could save lives.
Jul 08, 2015 20:02 BST milkandjam.com A accessible web for all to enjoy regardless of ability.
Jul 08, 2015 14:59 BST Neopost Speaking at the Legatum Institute on June 23, in his first speech as Justice Secretary, Michael Gove outlined how he intends to deliver 'faster and fairer justice'. Implicit in his choice of words is the notion that faster does not, per se, mean fairer. In fact, it very often means the opposite.
Jun 22, 2015 15:44 BST Neopost When the two market leaders in an industry simultaneously unveil new brand identities, it is fair to assume that that industry is going through a process of reinvention. This is certainly true of the mailing industry, which for a number of years has been undergoing a change as organisations increasingly use digital channels as fast, flexible and economical alternatives to postal communications.


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Impinj Sues NXP for Patent Infringement
The maker of passive UHF RFID transponder chips and reader chips claims NXP has improperly used its patented innovations in NXP's UCODE integrated circuits.
Jun 06, 2019—
Impinj today filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against rival RFID transponder chip maker NXP Semiconductors. The suit, filed in the Northern District of California, claims that NXP has improperly used 26 of Impinj's patented innovations in its own products.
In an interview with RFID Journal, Jeff Dossett, Impinj's executive VP of sales and marketing, said the infringement includes NXP's UCODE products, and that Impinj has tried unsuccessfully to settle the issue out of court. "We have reached out repeatedly to engage directly with NXP, and they have repeatedly refused to meet with us," he said. "We felt we had no recourse other than to file this lawsuit."
Gahan Richardson, Impinj's senior VP of platform product management and silicon sales, added that Impinj has provided specifics related to Impinj's patent-infringement claims to NXP in an attempt to get them to address the issue out of court. "All of the patents that we put in our complaint today have been communicated to them," he said.
A day after the lawsuit was filed, an NXP spokesperson sent RFID Journal this comment via email: "NXP acknowledges that Impinj filed suit against NXP on June 6 in U.S. District Court. NXP disputes the allegations made by Impinj and intends to vigorously defend its products. As a matter of policy, NXP cannot comment further on any specific aspects of the litigation."
In a blog post on Impinj's website, CEO Chris Diorio wrote: "Our more-than 250 issued and allowed patents are the hard-earned fruits of that passion and our significant investment, dedication and sheer hard work. They also are the foundation of our market leadership. As CEO, I take my responsibility to protect Impinj's inventions seriously. We simply cannot acquiesce to the misappropriation of so much of our intellectual property."
Diorio stressed that Impinj does not wish for the lawsuit to negatively impact the adoption of passive UHF RFID technology. Impinj is not seeking an injunction from the court to stop NXP from selling its UCODE 7 integrated circuits. It is merely asking the court to block NXP from selling its UCODE 8 chips, which were introduced at RFID Journal LIVE! 2017 (NXP to Release More Sensitive UHF Chip With New Functionality).
"We've made every effort to avoid disruption to the supply chains of our partners and our customers," Dossett said. "We've been very thoughtful in how we structured this lawsuit. We are seeking damages for NXP's infringement, and injunctive relief only for UCODE 8 products."
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The StarTimes Uganda Premier League has been boosted by a one billion sponsorship package from Uganda Breweries Limited under their brand Pilsner Lager.
That deal that will last for three seasons has been made public on Monday October 18 at Kati Kati Bar & Restaurant.
The sponsorship is a continuation of Pilsner Lager’s sponsorship of the league since 2018 in particular the Pilsner Man of the Match, Pilsner Player of the Month and Pilsner Coach of the Month Awards.
“In addition to the Pilsner Man of the Match, Pilsner Player of the Month and Pilsner Coach of the Month Award.”
“We shall be doing other activities including rewarding local football fans through our Pilsner Predict & Win Fans Challenge,” Pilsner Lager Brand Manager Edgar Kihumuro said.
Fans to benefit
“Fans who correctly predict the outcome of games will instantly share UGX 200,000 on each match day.”
“At the end of the month we shall also be rewarding the Pilsner Fan of the Month who has made the most number of correct predictions with UGX 500,000.”
UPL Board Vice Chairperson David Sserebe who alongside the CEO Bernard Bainamani was present thanked Pilsner Lager for the continued support of the beautiful game.
“First, I would like to thank pilsner lager for partnering with us to grow the local game over the last three years and for committing to this partnership for another three years,” Sserebe said.
“As a league, we have benefited greatly from the partnership that has seen the best players and coaches rewarded for their efforts at the end of every game and month.”
“We are excited that we shall now also be rewarding fans and believe that this will help to make the local league even more exciting and attract even more fans to follow local football.”
Since 2018, Uganda Breweries under Pilsner Lager brands awards Man of the Match from each league game and also the Player and Coach of the Month.
2022 FIFA World Cup vital dates


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The two firms are understood to be looking at the group alongside Chinese state-backed Shenyang Machine Tool, as well as Dalian, Quier Machine Tools and YierMT Group, according to Reuters.
Goldman Sachs has been appointed to find a buyer for MAG Europe and MAG Americas – which could be sold separately – with first bids expected by September, the report said.
Although financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, MAG Europe could attract around €250m, the report added.
Copyright © 2012 AltAssets
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CII salutes Hon’ble Prime
Minister for impressive implementation of new campaigns and schemes announced
in the last 15 months. Social security, Startup India, and agricultural
productivity as stressed by Hon’ble Prime Minister are the foundations for the
next growth trajectory.
The objective of offering
incentives for investments is to promote employment. It makes eminent sense to
give incentives directly as per employment generated. The parameter of
employment in financial incentives to new manufacturing units as stated by
Hon’ble Prime Minister in his Independence Day Speech can be a game-changer for
labour-intensive sectors like textiles, leather, food processing and so on. CII
strongly welcomes Hon’ble PM’s announcement of this innovative idea and we hope
the details would be announced quickly.
August 15, 2015


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April Underwood, vice president of product at Slack, also co-founded a women-owned angel investing group called #Angels.
Zillow Group has added Slack executive April Underwood to its board of directors.
Underwood, who is the first woman on Zillow’s board, also co-founded a women-owned angel investing group called #Angels.
She previously held high-level product roles at Twitter and WeatherBill. Underwood started as vice president of product at Slack, developer of the popular work-messaging application, in June 2015.
Zillow co-founder and executive chairman Rich Barton touted Underwood’s experience in leading software teams.
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“Her extensive experience and unique perspective in technology product development, engineering, innovation and consumer engagement, as well as her deep understanding of the mobile and internet industries, will be a significant asset to Zillow Group’s board of directors,” he said in a statement.
Tech companies have been aggressively recruiting female tech leaders to join their boards in recent months, The New York Times reports, especially as the industry faces pressure to continue to diversify its workforce.
Underwood will join the board immediately as its ninth director.


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MTL Group Unveils Latest Armour Protection
Armour plate processor MTL Group, will be showcasing their services in India and South Africa this month which will include the unveiling of their latest perforated body armour
plate protection IMPAS, an exclusive at INDESEC and AAD 2010.
IMPAS which stands for Interchangeable Modular Perforated Armour System is a cost effective alternative light weight solution to composite and add on armour with greater flexibility.
Sales Director Karl Stewart said ‘IMPAS is an innovative state of the art product which is suitable for both RHA and aluminium hulls. One of the benefits is that the level of protection can be quickly changed while in service to meet various threat levels by replacing panel configurations’.
To highlight its continued growth within the Defence sector, MTL Group will be exhibiting at INDESEC 2010 in New Delhi, India from 6th to 8th September and at AAD 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa from the 20th – 25th September.
Karl Stewartsaid ‘We have identified India and South Africa as key markets in which MTL can provide a high quality level of service while still being competitive.
MTL has invested heavily in some unique equipment including the world’s largest robotic press, allowing MTL to produce large "V" shaped blast floors in one piece.
MTL Group is a global supplier of parts manufactured from armour in both steel and aluminium offering a full turnkey process ranging from cut and pressed armour kits up to fully fabricated vehicle hulls/cabs.


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Sea of Thieves Season 7 is on the way, but it won’t come into port on schedule. Developer Rare has announced that Season 7 will now arrive on August 4. This is a small delay from the previously announced July 21 release date for Season 7.
The big-ticket item in Season 7 is “Captaincy,” which, as its name suggests, allows players to become captains of a ship. Season 7 also allows players to name their ship.
Explaining the delay, Rare said in a blog post that it will spend the additional time working on polish and quality.
“As we started getting closer to the originally stated release date, it became apparent that things were coming in hotter than we liked and there was a real risk of not delivering to the quality and polish we expect, as well as putting undue pressure across the team to get it all over the line,” Rare said. “We understand this will be disappointing for those of you who are eagerly awaiting this update, and we appreciate your patience with this change.”
Season 6 began in March, so fans have been waiting for some time for the next season. Also coming to Sea of Thieves in August is the next Adventure, A Hunter’s Cry, which launches on August 18. More details on this will apparently be announced later.
“Running Sea of Thieves as an ongoing live experience is still a journey where we learn new things every day, but we will always consider what is the best course of action for the players and our development team alike,” Rare said. “We believe the decision to shift this release is absolutely the right one to deliver the best experience for you all, while ensuring we continue to operate with a healthy and sustainable approach.”
Sea of Thieves is available on Xbox Game Pass for console, cloud, and PC. The game has been a big hit for Xbox, reaching more than 25 million players.


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Iconic Melbourne Couture designer, JASONGRECH and IBM are turning fashion on its head, launching a couture collection developed using IBM cognitive technologies to understand the latest, as well as next season’s runway trends. The JASONGRECH Cognitive Couture, the first such collection in Australia, debuted at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week this week.
Working with IBM Watson, company founder, Jason Grech was empowered to take an entirely new creative approach to his designs – to use insights that take a data-driven approach to design and decision making.
Typically, fashion designers start conceptualising and designing their collection 12 months ahead of the launch date. However, the recent emergence of so called fast-fashion retailers, such as H&M or Zara, have caused lengthy lead-times to shrink drastically. They’ve also made the importance of customer insights more crucial than ever before. As a result, a designer’s ability to understand both previous and current trends is key to shaping and mapping success.
A cognitive system is able to understand structured data and unstructured data, such as images, and can reason, learn and interact with people. For Grech and his team, IBM used a mix of Watson APIs, including Watson Visual Recognition, and cognitive tools from IBM Research to provide insights into fashion trends, consumers and design possibilities during the creative process.
For example, Grech captured ten years of runway fashion images and real-time social buzz and then used Watson Visual Recognition technology to not only analyse, but predict trends in colour. As a result, Grech worked with a colour palette he would not have considered before. In fact, it prompted him to work with pastels for the first time. It also caused Grech and his team to consider new ways to work with fabrics, colour stories and textures.
Building A Design
Grech’s love of architecture permeates his work. Using an IBM application infused with Watson cognitive technology, Jason and his team created his couture collection by matching architectural images with fashion images, taking inspiration from the lines, the curves, the corners and and the texture of architecture to inspire providing the designs.
Earlier this year, IBM collaborated with Marchesa to create a first-of-a-kind cognitive dress for the Manus x Machina-themed Met Gala. Not only did Watson provide inspiration on the dress design, but technology was also woven into the very fabric of the dress. Embedded with LED lights, the dress changed colours in real-time as Watson Tone Analyzer tapped into the social sentiment from Twitter during the Met Gala event.
With a combination of IBM analytics and cognitive technologies, designers can gain new inspiration with access and insights gleaned from hundreds of thousands of social media images in an instant. Working with Watson gave the JASONGRECH team unique insights with data evidence and a new approach to evaluating risk and taking decisions on their collection for Melbourne Spring Fashion Week.
Jason Grech’s collection at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week is the first time in Australia that artificial intelligence has been used in combination with creative thinking and design process. For more information visit http://www.ibm.com/cognitive/au-en/fashion/
Since the first class of IBM Fellows in 1962, IBM has honored its top scientists, engineers and programmers, who are chosen for this distinction by the CEO. Among the best and brightest of IBM’s global workforce are 12 new IBM Fellows who join 293 of their peers who have been so recognized over the last […]
There have been several seminal moments in the recent history of AI. In the mid-1990s, IBM created the Deep Blue system that played and beat world chess champion, Garry Kasparov in a live tournament. In 2011, we unveiled Watson, a natural language question and answering system, and put it on the hit television quiz show, […]
AI has captured the imagination and attention of people globally. But in the business world, the rate of adoption of artificial intelligence has lagged behind the level of interest through 2019. Even though we hear that most business leaders believe AI provides a competitive advantage, up until recently, some industry watchers have pegged enterprise adoption […]


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Competition agencies and their classically trained economists continue to see “privacy” as a value distinct from their traditional domain (the pursuit of market power violations). And because there is data protection regulation, and associated privacy regulators, the typical posture is that privacy and data protection are the sole domain of specialist data protection agencies. But data protection regulators in Europe have consistently failed to enforce existing laws against large tech firms. Consumers are thus caught up in a double failure: data protection regulators have failed to enforce, while the economic orthodoxy that prevails within the antitrust agencies views these concerns as (largely) not their problem.
In this article Dr Cristina Caffarra, Dr Gregory Crawford and Dr Johnny Ryan make the case that (lack of) privacy is an (often unobservable) price of using digital platforms, and that (lack of) privacy facilitates mainstream antitrust harms such as exploitation and foreclosure by dominant digital platforms.
To read the publication please click here.


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HKScan Corporation is centralising its Baltic poultry production at its renovated Tabasalu facility. The unit was officially inaugurated on September 23, 2013. As of the beginning of 2014, the Tabasalu facility will be responsible for slaughtering, cutting, deboning and processing of poultry meat for the entire Baltic region in HKScan Group. The plant will take over the production of poultry products previously manufactured at the Loo facility near Tallinn.
Modern facility with double capacity
The Tabasalu facility has been modernised and expanded in stages over the past few years. The last new lines are to be installed by the end of this year. The 13.5 million euro investment will enable Tallegg to double its Baltic production capacity and respond to growing demand for poultry products in Estonia and export markets. The Tabasalu facility manufactures a range of products sold chiefly in the Baltic countries, including Tallegg fresh chicken products, smoked poultry products, marinated and oven products.
“Bringing added capacity, this investment also enhances our technological capabilities, supporting the development of the Tallegg brand and improving the quality and shelf life of our products. The modernised facilities offer better working conditions for our employees, as process automation has eliminated the need for heavy manual handling,” says Teet Soorm, General Manager of HKScan Baltics. The expansion of the Tabasalu facility has increased its combined floor area by 5 000 m2, bringing it to a total of nearly 13 000 m2.
Certain primary units will remain operational at the Loo facility, including a poultry feed factory, chicken hatchery, chicken farm and egg production.
Investing in productivity and product development
HKScan Corporation has production facilities based in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Poland. To improve operational efficiency and production management, the company is currently streamlining its production structure and centralizing its technology and raw material base in its home markets. Various investments form part of this development programme.
For further information:
Aki Laiho, COO, Technology and Production / Teet Soorm, EVP, Baltics. Kindly submit a call-back request to Marja Siltala by email: firstname.lastname@example.org (tel. +358 10 570 2290).
HKScan is a leading food company in northern Europe, with home markets in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Baltic countries and Poland. HKScan manufactures, sells and markets pork and beef, poultry products, processed meats and convenience foods under strong brand names. Its customers are the retail, food service, industrial and export sectors. In 2012, it had net sales totalling EUR 2.5 billion and some
11 000 employees.


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It looks like Amazon is looking to improve privacy in its Alexa assistant by adding new commands to put people in control of their voice recordings. This is on the back of concerns raised over privacy.
There’s been story after story regarding Amazon’s approach to privacy recently, and it’s becoming a higher priority on the company’s agenda.
Starting today, If you are a user of Alexa, you can now say, “Alexa, delete everything I said today” to have recordings deleted.
Smart assistant Devices “eavesdropping” is one of the barrier to getting people having a smart assistant in the Home. Recently we have seen a big push by tech companies highlighting the approach to privacy, with Apple pushing heavily on this.
These commands at least make it easier for people to get in control of their data. The company has also introduced a shutter on the new Echo Show 5’s camera. So it would seem Amazon is trying to convince users it is taking privacy seriously.
Don’t forget to subscribe to receive the latest smart home. If you have a question or comment, then leave it below.


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High energy expenditures are forcing nearly a quarter of Czechs to cut back on other types of spending, a recent survey conducted by the polling agency STEM revealed. However, other data shows that 68 percent of the population likes to rank up their heating to temperatures by up to 25 degrees, resulting in unnecessary costs.
Two years after a law aiming to clamp down on bootleg wine sales and low quality wines came into force it still sparks controversy among wine-growers and wine sellers. While the Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority claims the quality of wines sold on the market has significantly improved, small wine makers say it is putting them out of business.
The Czech government is poised to amend the Food and Consumer Protection acts so as to ban the practice of “dual quality” sales of food and other products. If signed into law, retailers would be banned from selling inferior quality products that appear to be the same as superior ones sold elsewhere in the EU.
The Czech Republic’s system of company tax is one of the most complicated in the EU, claims a study made in collaboration by the consultancy BDO and two German universities. The Czech Republic ranked fourth from bottom among EU states and its tax system was considered below average in the world-wide ranking.
Karel Gott to get funeral with state honours as singer’s death is mourned at home and abroad
Beijing ends agreement with Prague – but can spat harm Czech capital?
Czech pop music legend Karel Gott dies at the age of 80
Karel Gott’s Mona Lisa to be put up for auction
Czechs observe day of mourning for pop idol Karel Gott


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26 May 2013
Keywords: merck, kgaa, accepts, mylan, bilion-euro, offer, its
Article | 21 May 2007
US generic drugmaker Mylan Laboratories has beaten off competition from the likes of Israeli firm Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Germany's
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24 May 2013
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Environment and sustainability - February 2019
The Netherlands - legislation and recycling results
The Council of Ministers has approved (in Dutch) the Economy Circular Implementation Programme 2019-2023 (in Dutch). The government has announced (in Dutch) that companies can get extra help through the Circular Economy Acceleration House (in Dutch). Recently, the PBL (in Dutch) concluded in a report (in Dutch, 4.57 MB) that the many circular NL initiatives are not sufficiently maturing. An amendment (in Dutch) to the Packaging Management Decree has been published in the Government Gazette. It concerns designating standards NEN-EN 13427-13432 to comply with the essential requirements in the EU directive. The government has announced (in Dutch) that more than 70 companies and organisations have signed the Plastic Pact to use 20% less plastic, reuse more plastic and make all new plastic 100% recyclable by 2025. RIVM (in Dutch) will define the indicators for monitoring the objectives. CBL (in Dutch) has announced that supermarkets have agreed to reduce packaging material by 20% by 2025. In order to improve the quality of recycled packaging, the Packaging Waste Fund (in Dutch) and the association of municipalities set up the Chain Optimisation Platform. The KIDV (in Dutch) has received 17 of the 22 Packaging Sustainability Plans for 2019-2022.
On 23 January, the Council of State ruled (in Dutch) that the government must force the businesses to reuse glass. In a debate (in Dutch, 104 kB) the State Secretary indicated that she will start enforcing and within 8 weeks will clarify measures to be taken.
The KIDV has published English versions of 3 documents: the Factsheet (466 kB) on biodegradable plastic packaging materials, the report (2.3 MB) on chemical recycling of plastic packaging and the Recycle Check for rigid plastic packaging (sent to you after you fill in your details) that is used by the Packaging Waste Fund for plastic packaging rate differentiation.
Legislation and recycling results in the rest of the world
Australia: The National Waste Report 2018 (4.34 MB) has been published over the 2016-17 financial year. Belgium: The Walloon Government has sent a draft Decree to the EC, banning the use of certain single-use plastic utensils in public establishments. Czech Republic: Eunomia has published a report determining the costs and implications of a Deposit Refund System designed to deliver a 90% recycling rate. You can download the report after filling in your details. Denmark: The government has published a report (in Danish with an English summary, 1.81 MB) analysing 11 schemes for household waste. France: The government has announced (in French) that fast food chains must provide their plastic strategy by the end of March. Implementation must begin by 1 September. Ireland: The government has announced that it will commission a plan to recover 90% of disposable plastic drink bottles introduced into the market by 2029. The review would consider a deposit and return scheme. UK: In a press release, the government sets out plans to overhaul the waste system. The plans include a tax on plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content. The Scottish government has published the analysis (1.64 MB) of responses to the deposit return scheme consultation.
Putting packaging waste to use
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a technology that can convert more than 90% of polyolefin waste into many different products, including pure polymers and naphtha. ScienceDaily reports that researchers have developed a new method to convert plastic bags into carbon chips that could be used as anodes for lithium-ion batteries. They report their results in ACS Omega (4.23 MB). Eindhoven University of Technology has joined forces with a number of organisations, including NVC member Oerlemans Packaging (in Dutch), for the project ProLiFeX: research into a closed plastic film chain, aimed at ultimately reducing demand for virgin plastics. FH Campus Wien has published the Circular Packaging Design Guideline. The Guideline will be updated continuously.
NVC members receive this information with all the relevant links in the monthly NVC Members-only Update. If you have any questions, please contact us: firstname.lastname@example.org, +31-(0)182-512411.


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BY KUDAKWASHE TAGWIREYI
FORMER Miss Winter Zimbabwe 2020, Trinity Matenganyika (26) has expressed concern over the deterioration of standards in Zimbabwe’s modelling sector, where advertising agencies were reportedly ripping off models.
The multi-talented Harare-based fashion model told NewsDay Life & Style that the state of the economy had choked the modelling industry.
“Modelling is a business and profit has to be made, but lack of funding has led to the underperformance of the industry. It is sad and unfortunate that many people now associate modelling with charities and leisure, divorcing it from its business aspect,” she said.
“Many advertising agencies refuse to pay the industry rates or are using their relatives on advertising jobs, paying them on exposure and in the process depriving professional models of the much-needed income.”
She said lack of funding had negatively affected many beauty pageants.
“A number of pageant promoters came up with interesting concepts and names, but many did not live up to the hype of pageants such as Miss Malaika, Zimbabwe Super Model and Miss Universe Zimbabwe,” she said.
Away from the industry troubles, Matenganyika said she was happy to be living her dream in the world of fashion and modelling.
“It has always been a dream. I ventured into modelling because it was and still is a passion. I always had aspirations of becoming a model, drawing my motivation from fashion channels and magazines,” she said.
“I started modelling in 2016 under Size 4 Modelling Agency founded by Wilbert Rukato, who was also my coach. I was very fortunate that I did not encounter any stigmatisation as is the case with many models.”
Matenganyika, who claims to have a taste for indigenous fashion trends, particularly bespoke clothing, added: “It is through modelling that I have managed to earn a living, though in Zimbabwe you cannot survive on modelling alone as most pageants do not pay models.”
A film and theatre arts graduate with the Midlands State University, Matenganyika is a former ZBC-TV presenter, producer and production assistant, who hosted reality shows like Lifestyle & Motivation, Private Corner and Vhunze Series.
- Follow us on Twitter @NewsDayZimbabwe


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According to the latest reports, by a news website known as The Ken, Google may apparently launch a payment App, known as Tez, in India. Tez, which means fast, in Hindi, is an App which is a digital payment service, based on Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Other tech giants have also tried their hands at launching out payment products in India, and Google have also joined the list. Some other companies which did so, were, WhatsApp, Uber and Truecaller.
The App will most probably roll out by next week. Google is expected to integrate third-party payment wallets, on its platform for better convenience to the users, including Paytm and MobiKwik. India is a fast growing economy and so is the increased numbers of the digital payment Apps. India’s payment system is going digital at a faster rate and hence, many competitors have entered the competition. Tez will have similarities to Google Pay, however, Google declined to present any comments on the same.
Google will also partner with numerous private banks in India, for it’s new App. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), is regulated by the Reserve Bank Of India and was launched by National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI). Google may have kept mum on the topic because it hasn’t taken a leap into payment service outside U.S., even though it has a huge user base in India. We can look out for the App soon.


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Just when we thought HTC was done with launching smartphones in 2017, fresh information from Slashleaks suggests otherwise. The publication claims that another U series smartphone is in the making and it could be unveiled in December.
If you recall, HTC was initially rumored to launch three smartphones on November 2. However, the company just introduced the U11 Plus and U11 Life. According to Slashleaks, the third smartphone which was not announced is codenamed as HTC Ocean Harmony. While the publication has also revealed the entire specs sheet of the handset, it has not revealed what will it be called after launch.
The HTC Ocean Harmony is said to come with a 5.99-inch Super-LCD 5 screen. The display will deliver full HD+ resolution of 2,160×1,080 pixels. This screen resolution indicates that the upcoming smartphone will have an aspect ratio of 18:9.
A Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor is likely to power the device. Earlier leaks have revealed that the HTC Ocean Harmony will offer 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage capacity. The device is speculated to be packed with a large 3,930mAh battery to keep the lights on.
Besides this, just like the newly launched U11 Plus and U11 Life, the HTC Ocean Harmony may also come with squeezable frame for Edge Sense feature. Judging from the specs, the Ocean Harmony seems like a watered-down version of the U11 Plus.
If the Ocean Harmony eventually gets launched in December, it will be 6th HTC U series smartphone of this year. The Taiwanese company has already announced its 2018 plans. It will be launching 5-6 smartphones next year. Most importantly, the company will re-enter the dual camera smartphone market.


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May 17, 2023 19:04 GMT
5Y Inflation Breakeven Consistent With Below PCE Target
- Inflation breakevens have provided a sizeable portion of today’s rise in 5Y Tsy yields (breakeven 4.3bps of 6.3bp total).
- The increase to 2.16% for the 5Y breakeven is minimal in a trend sense though and follows a few days at circa 2.12% for lowest levels since early Jan’21.
- A return to pre-pandemic CPI-PCE differentials in the region of 20-30bps would imply below 2% target inflation expectations on a 5Y basis, contrary to last week's surprise shift higher in U.Mich consumer 5-10Y inflation expectations from 3.0% to 3.2% for the highest since 2011.
- There is much less movement in the 5y5y forward breakeven, hovering very close to an implied target at 2.25%.
5Y breakeven (pink), 5Y5Y forward breakeven (green)Source: Bloomberg


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Apple iPhone 11 lineup are now officially available in Pakistan from the official authorized dealer.
The latest iPhone lineup from Apple comprising of iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max has arrived in Pakistan with all its color variants, style, and glamor.
Customers can pre-book their favorite iPhone11 from today November 9th, 2019 at key locations across the country.
This means that all key specs and features, including the universally popular FaceTime will now be available in the official lineup.
The news has generated a lot of hype amongst tech enthusiasts and fashionistas alike.
Mega celebrities, iconic sportsmen, influencers, fashionistas and leading designers have already pre-booked their favorite iPhones from the upcoming iPhone 11 Series.
iPhone 11 series Prices in Pakistan:
iPhone 11 Price in Pakistan
64 GB – PKR 173,499
128 GB – PKR 182,299
256 GB – PKR 200,999
iPhone 11 Pro Price in Pakistan
64 GB – PKR 229,999
256 GB – PKR 258,499
512 GB – PKR 296,499
iPhone 11 Pro Max Price in Pakistan
64 GB – PKR 248,499
256 GB – PKR 276,999
512 GB – PKR 315,499
iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro open Today for pre-booking in Pakistan.
Apple has assigned a unique country code: ZP/A to ensure only genuine and authentic Apple products reach true iPhone lovers in Pakistan.


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And the company is planning to open its first brick-and-mortar store in Singapore on Orchard Rd later this year after a successful online launch in the city state. A first onground store opened in Kuala Lumpur recently.
FashionValet co-founder/CEO Fadzarudin Anuar says the investment is “clearly more than a financial investment”, and that Start Today’s experience in building ZozoTown will prove invaluable as FashionValet charts its next stage of growth around the region.
“FashionValet has done an amazing job of developing high-demand brands and products from local designers,” says Start Today CDO Koji Yanagisawa. “We feel there is a lot we can share with them with respect to back-end operations.”
Founded in 2010 by Fadzarudin and his blogger wife Vivy Yusof, FashionValet sells fashion apparel, shoes and accessories, and in 2014 alone had total revenue of more than $1.2 billion. Over the past 12 months it claims to have doubled its revenue, as well as expand into Singapore and Indonesia. The company has more than 500 Southeast Asian brands in its range, with half from Malaysia and 180 from Indonesia. About 40 per cent of its online sales come from international customers.
Start Today’s investment in FashionValet comes exactly a year after the startup’s Series A round, led by Silicon Valley-based Elixir Capital. Internet company MYEG also invested in the company in 2012.


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Inflection AI, an AI startup founded by LinkedIn and DeepMind co-founders, launches ChatGPT-like chatbot
Move over, ChatGPT! Inflection AI, the artificial intelligence startup founded by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Google DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman, today released its first AI chatbot product called Pi similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Inflection said that Pi uses generative AI technology to interact with users via dialogues, enabling them to ask questions and offer feedback, the company said Tuesday.
The announcement comes just two months after Hoffman stepped down from the OpenAI Board of Directors to avoid a conflict of interest.
According to Inflection AI’s CEO Mustafa Suleyman, the startup built the Pi chatbot in-house with the goal of creating a highly emotionally intelligent conversational agent that closely mimics human-like interactions, with an emphasis on being supportive and kind.
“It’s very balanced and even-handed on political issues or sensitive topics, but also sometimes it can be funny and silly and creative,” Suleyman said.
Suleyman explained that while the Pi chatbot is suitable for personal daily tasks, it’s not designed to generate code or essays. Additionally, he stated that the company had conducted boundary training to ensure that the AI adhered to its behavioral policies, such as avoiding engaging in romantic conversations.
“The goal is to make sure that the AI always knows it’s an AI and never tries to imitate a human. So it reminds the human user that it is an AI frequently,” he said.
While the chatbot is not currently connected to the internet, Suleyman said that the Pi chatbot is currently available on various platforms such as its website, app, and social media platforms like Instagram. The service is currently free, and there may be premium subscriptions in the future, according to Suleyman. Pi’s AI system is trained using user data, including conversational content, as stated in its terms of service.
Hoffman co-founded Inflection AI with DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman and former DeepMind researcher Karén Simonyan in 2022. Inflection AI is one of the highest-profile startups working on generative AI technology similar to OpenAI. We wrote about Inflection AI a year ago.
Inflection AI is also the first company Suleyman has co-founded since he sold DeepMind to Google in 2014 for around $600 million. In a statement, Suleyman said, “Reid and I are excited to announce that we are co-founding a new company, Inflection AI.” He added, “Inflection will be an AI-first consumer products company, incubated at Greylock, with all the advantages and expertise that come from being part of one of the most storied venture capital firms in the world.”
Hoffman founded LinkedIn in December 2002 with the founding team members from PayPal and Socialnet.com. In 2016, Reid Hoffman sold his company to Microsoft for $26.2 billion. Since then, he has been busy investing in other tech startups including Worldcoin, a crypto tech startup co-founded by tech millionaire Sam Altman.


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TransUnion, one of the three top consumer credit reporting agencies in the US, says names, Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and even driver’s license numbers were compromised in the breach. The agency has been sending out letters to the affected parties to let them know about the breach and how to protect themselves.
JD Supra says there aren’t many details available about the extent of the breach. We still do not know how much data was leaked or how many people were affected.
What we do know is that TransUnion collects data on more than one billion consumers in more than 30 countries around the world. TransUnion proudly claims that it has “files profiling nearly every credit-active consumer in the United States.”
According to the report TransUnion filed, the company began to review affected files after discovering the data breach. When and if we learn more about the data breach, including how many consumers were affected, we’ll be sure to update this article.


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- 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' film reviewDhanteras 2016 Wallpaper and Facebook imagesShivaay film reviewHow to become rich on DhanterasPics: How America elects its president ?Tips to dress your best this festive seasonYou look your best when you work with Karan Johar, says AnushkaDIY tips to light up your home for DiwaliMake a glitzy style statement on DiwaliWays to stay healthy during Diwali
Legendary footballers Pele, Diego Maradona and Franz Beckenbauer led the tributes for Braz
Delhi buying chocolates online, Hyderabad electric shavers: eBay Last Updated : 24 Mar 2013 01:45:14 PM IST File photo
Buyers in Delhi are indulging their sweet tooth by buying chocolates online, customers in Chennai are spending big on battery-operated toys, while consumers in Kolkata find solace in acquiring Tibetan collectibles, a census by eCommerce platform eBay shows.
According to eBay's 'Census 2012, country's commercial capital Mumbai is exporting fashion jewellery, whereas Bengaluru tops the list for shipping yoga videos. The eBay census is an analysis of all online buying and selling by Indians on its website between July 2011-December 2012.
The report, however, does not mention any city-specific figure for items bought/sold or merchandise value bought/sold.
While, Ahmedabad topped lingerie imports and Hyderabad concentrated on grooming by buying electric shavers online, for the pink city Jaipur it was purchasing toy cars, the report said.
Among cities, Delhi retained its position as India's top ecommerce hub followed by Mumbai, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chandigarh and Pune, the 5th edition of the eBay census showed.
Among the top 10 brands, there are six which are selling handsets -- Samsung, Apple, Sony, Nokia, BlackBerry and Micromax. The other four brands are Scandisk, Canon, Transcend and Nikon, which also signify the rising fad for electronic and digital products.
India's rising eCommerce industry is currently in a nascent stage at USD 800 million (about Rs 4,347 crore) but is expected to grow rapidly to USD five billion (around Rs 272 billion) by 2015.
India has 4306 eCommerce hubs from all 28 states and seven Union Territories, a 30 per cent increase from 2011.
The top 5 states with most transactions were Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
The most wired states with maximum eCommerce hubs were Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Electronics continue to dominate and hold share at 48 per cent on domestic transactions with lifestyle categories (41 per cent) gaining traction with the advent of an increased number of women consumers, the census said.
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The Russian fast-food chain that was previously McDonald’s in the country has revealed its new logo as it prepares to reopen its restaurants from Sunday.
The new branding features a circle and two lines, said to represent a burger and two french fries. The company is yet to reveal the name of the series, though several options have reportedly been considered.
In May, McDonald’s said it would pull out of Russia over the Ukraine war.
It comes as the Russian chain is set to reopen 15 restaurants this weekend, according to Russian state-owned news agency TASS, which cited Sistema PBO, the firm that manages the McDonald’s-owned business.
McDonald’s temporarily halted its business in Russia in March, less than two weeks after the country invaded Ukraine. Last month, it announced it would leave Russia due to a “humanitarian crisis” and “unforeseen operational environment” caused by the war.
It said Alexander Gower, which operates 25 McDonald’s restaurants in Siberia, will acquire the firm’s restaurants.
Under the agreement, McDonald’s said it would retain its trademark in Russia. It also has the option to buy back its restaurant within 15 years. McDonald’s worked in the country for more than 30 years before announcing he was leaving Russia.
The fast-food giant opened its first Russian restaurant in Moscow in January 1990. It was seen as a pivotal moment in the opening up of the Soviet Union’s economy as the Cold War was coming to an end.


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Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk sent an email to Tesla employees celebrating that the workers now produce around 1,000 Model 3 cars every day.
Musk mentioned near the beginning of November that the company was on track to hit the 1,000 model 3s per day goal by November 27th or 28th, and it looks like he was right, according to InsideEVs.
The InsideEVs report also mentions that Musk is encouraging the workers to keep up this new higher pace of production.
The highlight of the report is that Musk says it currently costs the company $38,000 USD to build a Model 3. In other words, the company has reduced production costs, bringing it closer to offering the Model 3 for the promised $35,000 USD. Currently, the car retails for $46,000 USD.


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Sega announced this morning in Japan that Yakuza Zero is the next title the Yakuza series, and it's in development for PlayStation 3 and 4. There's not much more info outside of a teaser website, but Sony promises to reveal more details at the Tokyo Game Show in September.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter—a first-person psychological horror game that looks very ambitious—comes out on September 25th for PC. You can pre-order it and learn more at the official site. There's a PS4 version due out next year.
In recent days I've been asked several times about a possible breach of ethics involving one of our reporters. While I believe no such breach occurred, I feel it is important for Kotaku readers who have questions to get clear answers.


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The news boosted Staples’ shares by 8.3 percent to $15.40 in premarket trading.
Smaller rivals have also shown some improvement on the profit front lately, with Office Depot<ODP.N> reporting a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss andOfficeMax <OMX.N> posting better-than-expected earnings.
Many investors look at office supply retailers as a good gauge of the economy as demand for their products is closely tied to white-collar employment rates. Sales at all three chains have suffered in the weak U.S. economy, and the companies continue to keep a tight rein on costs to offset weak demand.
For the full year, Staples continues to see sales rising at a low-single-digit percentage rate.
Its net income rose to $176.4 million, or 25 cents a share, in the second quarter, from $129.8 million, or 18 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding a tax refund, it earned 22 cents a share. On that basis, analysts on average were expecting 19 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Sales rose 5.2 percent to $5.82 billion, while analysts expected $5.65 billion.
For the full year, Staples now sees net earnings of $1.42 to $1.48 a share. In May the company cut its forecast to a range of $1.35 to $1.45 a share.
Excluding the tax refund in the second quarter, Staples sees full-year earnings of $1.39 to $1.45 a share.
(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan; editing by John Wallace)


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Nvidia’s breakneck GPU release schedule continues today with the announcement of the new Titan X, the company’s most powerful graphics card yet. While the recently released $599 GTX 1080 impressed by outperforming last year’s $999 Titan X, the new card goes all-out with Nvidia’s latest Pascal architecture, 12GB of GDDR5X memory, and 3,584 cores at 1.53GHz delivering a quoted 11 teraflops of performance.
Full specification of the new Titan X are as follows:
- 12-billion transistors
- 11 TFLOPs FP32 (32-bit floating point)
- 44 TOPS INT8
- 3,584 CUDA cores at 1.53GHz (versus 3,072 CUDA cores at 1.08GHz in previous TITAN X)
- High performance engineering for maximum overclocking
- 12GB of GDDR5X memory (480GB/s)
The new Titan X will be available August 2 for $1,200 direct from nvidia.com in North America and Europe along with select system builders, with a release planned for Asia. If you’re thinking of picking one up, it’ll set you back $1,200. Note that Nvidia has called it “the biggest GPU ever built” so it might be worth checking if it’ll fit your build before making a purchase.


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Samsung VP, Sung-Hoon Hong, recently stated at the Virtual Reality Summit in California that Samsung is busy working on future products for the VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) spaces. Specifically, for VR, Samsung will soon launch a new Gear VR headset, technically being the fifth iteration of its vision for virtual reality.
While Hong claims the new Gear VR will be presented “in a short time,” no specifics were mentioned on what might be new. However, with big design changes rumored for the Galaxy S8 line, it’s possible the new Gear VR will suit whatever needs that phone may require.
On the AR front, Samsung is also working on a Microsoft HoloLens-like product, as well as a light field engine. Think hologram Tupac. According to Hong, the product can produce “really, really realistic holograms,” and “it looks really touchable.”
As for when we might expect to see more details, Samsung points to MWC 2017 (February).
If a new Gear VR is something you need, expect to see it around the time the Galaxy S8 is unveiled. At least, that’s our best guess.


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Ars Technica asks: Was 1980 the worst year for American automobiles? Well, having owned cars back in those days, I’ll say that if it wasn’t the worst year, it was probably in the top five. Excerpt:
Quick, what’s the worst year in American automotive history?
Recent bias might lead you to select 2008, when an unprecedented modern financial crisis slammed the overall economy and led to a government bailout of GM and Chrysler (those carmakers received $80 billion after taking a 40 percent nosedive in sales and having some 3 million jobs at risk). But the near-death experience yielded vehicles and automakers more closely aligned to consumers’ needs and desires.
Arguments could be made that 1929 proved far worse, as the stock market crash and the Great Depression that followed drove many automakers out of business. But that period also yielded some of the finest cars ever produced, ones with names like Marmon, Duesenberg, Pierce-Arrow, Stutz, and many others. Or perhaps it was 1957, when the last of the independent automakers, Nash and Hudson, disappeared from the market, and Packard was gasping its final breath as a poorly disguised Studebaker, a company that would disappear a decade later.
No, it’s 1980. With the arrival of the second OPEC Oil Embargo the year before, a recession took hold of the country. Sales of US-made cars came in at 6.58 million units, down 20 percent from 1979, as import automakers claimed a 26.1 percent market share, up from 21.2 percent in 1979. Ford lost a record $1.5 billion as domestic sales plunged 33 percent and worldwide sales declined 29 percent. Chrysler, having lost $2 billion in the past year and a half, was in such bad shape that banks wouldn’t lend it money. Instead, Congress did, providing a $1.5 billion loan guaranteed by the federal government. Even General Motors was hit by a $763 million loss, the company’s first since 1921.
But bad numbers alone don’t earn 1980 the title of ‘Worst Automotive Year Ever.’ Having to engineer cars with new technology for the first time in decades, the Big Three struggled to meet the unprecedented demand for small fuel-efficient cars. And in the face of profits and market share declining, Detroit responded by, frankly, fielding some of the worst cars it has ever produced.
Peruse the article for a list of some of the worst offenders. And yes, my manufacturer of choice, Ford, has some well-deserved entries on that list. What Ford did to the proud old names of Mustang and Thunderbird in those years was a travesty. Fortunately, they managed to salvage some of that in the mid-Eighties; I had a 1984 Thunderbird and it was a big step up from the 1980 Fairmont-chassis abomination. But then, I had also had a 1979 Thunderbird, long, sleek and black, with a hood big enough for a soccer field, and other than the notoriously leaky T-Bar roofs, it was a pretty decent car.
But then, when I married my first wife, she had a 1972 Pinto – objectively one of the cheapest pieces of crap I had ever driven – but the damn thing was perversely reliable. It could be twenty below zero, and that car would start and run. It never ran well; the body rusted out, the doors sagged, the hood was so far out of alignment that you had to pull it to the right to close it, but the damn thing always ran. Go figure.
As to the point of this article, yes, American made cars in 1980 were pretty bad. Fortunately they’ve come a long way since, and that’s a good thing, since I’m figuring on dumping a substantial piece of cash into a new F-450 in the next few months.


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Beverage giant Coca-Cola says construction of its new dairy facility in Peterborough is on track, with operations expected to begin next spring.
The new $85-million facility for Fairlife milk products was announced in June 2018. Construction began a few months later alongside Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid plant on Lansdowne Street near Borden Avenue.
All the milk at the facility will be provided by Canadian dairy farmers, the company says.
“We are making great progress and are on track to begin operations in spring of 2020,” said Shannon Denny, director of brand and business communications at Coca-Cola Canada.
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The plant will produce Fairlife ultra-filtered milk, a lactose-free milk that Coca-Cola says contains 50 per cent more protein and 50 per cent less sugar than traditional milk.
Canada is the first international market for U.S.-based Fairlife’s products Minute Maid’s Peterborough facility produces all the company’s frozen juice products for North America.
Denny says most of the exterior construction is complete on the new facility while interior construction continues. Half of the 15 silos have been installed with the remaining structures to be completed this month and next, Denny said.
The Coca-Cola Canada rep also noted that installation of the facility’s processing equipment is underway and that half of the packaging equipment has arrived on site.
During the announcement of the facility, the company said it would hire 35 new employees. Denny tells Global News Peterborough that four key leadership roles have been filled and that the company is recruiting plant technical staff in maintenance and quality roles. To check job postings, visit the company’s website.
The company says as production ramps up, more job opportunities will be created.


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Shopping for second-hand clothing and home décor used to mean a trip to the local thrift store, but now, that highly sought-after vintage graphic t-shirt is only a click away.
“You would assume that people would like to just come in and shop thrift in-store, but we realized that there was a trend – things were changing in the thrift industry,” Robin Searle, Kildonan MCC Thrift Shop’s Chief Operations Officer, told CTV News Thursday.
Kildonan MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) Thrift Shop originally opened in 1972 and moved to its current location on Chalmers Avenue in 2011.
In 2019, Searle said they started exploring e-commerce options to keep up in the evolving industry.
“One of our goals is always ‘How can we continuously repurpose, recycle, rejuvenate our donations?’”
Sweaters and other clothes are on display at Kildonan MCC Thrift Shop. Feb. 23, 2023. (Source: Daniel Halmarson/CTV News)
Kildonan MCC launched Love to Thrift in December 2020. The online shop features hand-selected items such as athleisure wear, vintage jeans, and one-of-a-kind pieces.
Joanna Przytula, Kildonan MCC Thrift Shop’s social media and e-commerce coordinator, said the items are curated based on current and popular social media trends.
“We are targeting the younger generation, for sure, but also, we want to make a statement that all age groups can find something online,” Przytula told CTV News.
Searle said Love to Thrift has seen a sales increase of 30 per cent year-over-year since its launch.
“And we’re making sure we’re reusing the items people are donating for us,” Searle said.
The emphasis on environmental impact and sustainable clothing was a key reason behind the online store. Przytula said consumers are steering away from ‘fast fashion’ brands because of poor conditions and wages for workers, poor quality of clothing, and a desire to be more environmentally conscious.
Joanna Przytula flips through jeans and other clothes at Kildonan MCC Thrift Shop. Feb. 23, 2023. (Source: Daniel Halmarson/CTV News)
“I think they want to make a statement that they don’t support fast fashion and they are taking pride in finding second-hand items,” Przytula said.
It’s a sentiment shared by Sierra Schultz, who owns and operates Wanted & Wild Co., a vintage clothing and home décor brand.
“Not only is [thrifting] sustainable, you’re getting so much more for your money and something unique that no one else is going to have,” Schultz told CTV News.
Schultz started Wanted & Wild Co. during the pandemic. She scours estate sales, auctions, and stores like Kildonan MCC for home décor and vintage clothing.
“I saw a couple of resellers doing it on Instagram and I was like, ‘oh, I feel like I could do this.’ Now the reseller community is booming. There are hundreds of us in Winnipeg.”
And while she does sell some of her products at a shop on Main Street, most of her sales are online.
It’s a sign the shift in thrifting is here to stay.
“I think it’s a sustainable way of doing it and it’s also more accessible for people who can’t get out, and we saw that a lot during the pandemic.”
Searle said while Kildonan MCC is embracing the changes in how they do business, she believes there will always be a demand for in-person shopping.
“I think we are balancing the best of both worlds. Bricks and mortar and e-commerce.”


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Social media is jam-packed with with accounts belonging to furry influencers but one cat’s unique appearance has propelled him to internet fame.
Ashley Norlien adopted Potato the cat two years ago and, like many owners, couldn’t resist uploading a few snaps of her new pet online.
Two years later, Potato, now five years old, has amassed over 50,000 followers.
Other were slightly less sure: “I thought this was some goofy a** lawn ornament or some s*** but this is A REAL LIFE LIVING CAT WTF!!,” wrote another.


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UBS Ups Average Inflation Print To 5 Pc With More Upside Risks
The WPI inflation was -3.37 per cent and in April 2021, it hit double digits at 10.49 per cent. This is the fifth straight month of uptick seen in WPI.
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After consumer price index jumped the 6.3-per cent mark in May and wholesale inflation set a record of 12.94 per cent, house economists at Swiss brokerage UBS Securities have warned that the country is facing more upside risks on the inflation front that is set to averaging at 5 per cent for the year.
Rising prices of edible oils and protein rich items pushed retail inflation to a six-month high of 6.3 per cent in May, breaching the comfort level of the Reserve Bank and thus rendering reduction in interest rates a difficult proposition in the near term.
Led by petrol price, that has crossed the Rs 100-mark in many states, wholesale inflation too accelerated to a record 12.94 per cent in May. While crude oil has crossed USD 70 a barrel on account of rising prices of crude oil and manufactured goods due to spike in commodities, and the low base of last year due to the lockdown.
While the consumer price index (CPI) rose from 4.23 per cent in April to a six-month high of 6.3 per cent, food inflation soared from 1.96 per cent to 5.01 per cent in May. The previous high in retail inflation was 6.93 per cent in November 2020.
In May 2020, the WPI inflation was -3.37 per cent and in April 2021, it hit double digits at 10.49 per cent. This is the fifth straight month of uptick seen in WPI.
“CPI inflation is to remain above the RBI's medium-term target of 4 per cent and will average at 5 per cent in FY22 with more upside risks,” Tanvee Gupta Jain, the chief India economist at UBS Global Research warned in a note.
She expects the near-term CPI trajectory to be affected by any seasonal pick-up in prices of fruits and vegetables during the monsoons, supply-side disruptions due to the resurgence in the pandemic cases alongside the impact of mobility restrictions, and movement in global commodity prices and input cost pressures.
However, the report notes that except for edible oils which India imports in large quantities, the country is largely self-sufficient in food production and in fact is a net agri-exporter.
This reduces the direct impact of higher global commodity prices on domestic food prices even as indirect impact will be visible with a lag, she says.
The government has asked the Reserve Bank to keep the retail inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.
CPI inflation has breached the upper band of the inflation target about 10 times since the first meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee in October 2016.
The RBI has projected CPI at 5.1 per cent during FY22--5.2 per cent in Q1; 5.4 per cent in Q2; 4.7 per cent in Q3; and 5.3 per cent in Q4, with risks broadly balanced.
It can be noted that on the back of the rebound in global economy after the reopening of post-the first and second waves of the pandemic, inflation, which has been rising across the world has become a pain point for policy makers in general and the central banks in particular.
Various central banks and governments have been reacting to higher food, energy and commodity price inflation with non-monetary measures as prices are being driven by constrained supply against a backdrop of weak domestic demand and are thus potentially transitory.
Once central banks come to consider policy normalisation, as a rising supply of vaccines leads to diminishing risks to growth, policymakers may be less likely to give potentially transitory jumps in prices the benefit of the doubt.
That is all the more likely if several different potentially transitory pressures occur at the same time, warned the UBS report which also pencilled inflation worries for almost all Asian economies as is seen in the advanced western markets as well.


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AN Ellesmere Port firefighter has launched an initiative warning drinkers they could be putting their lives in danger when they return home from a night out.
Louise Parsley, along with fellow members of her Blue Watch crew, will be visiting pubs in the borough to deliver special beer mats to create awareness about potential blazes started by people under the influence of alcohol.
Her idea has received the thumbs-up from Cheshire Fire Service, which has supplied her with the funding to produce 5,000 of the mats.
The beer mats have a message on both sides, with one displaying a picture of a chip pan blaze advising people not to use it when they come home from the pub.
On the reverse side is a picture of a burnt wallet warning people that by not getting the fire service to fit a free smoke alarm they could end up losing everything.
Louise said: 'It's no coincidence that most kitchen fires occur between 10pm and 4am. We urge people to take notice of the warning and take up our free home safety assessment.'
The first pub to have the fire service mats is The Gunners in Wolverham where landlady Sheila Chadwick is keen to raise safety awareness.
In addition to the beer mats produced by Louise, Cheshire Fire Service also approached Robinsons Brewery with the idea of advertising on the mats.
And the brewery has agreed to print a further 5,000 free of charge with its logo on the reverse.
If you would like a free home safety assessment call 0800 389 0053.


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Apple maintains lead in tablet share but Android catching up
A new report from ABI Research has revealed that Apple has lost some of its huge tablet lead, however it still beats the rest of the competition.
As part of ABI Research’s Media Tablets and eReaders research service, the report finds that Apple had 55% tablet shipments, although that share is the lowest since Apple launched the iPad in 2010.
Android, contrastingly, has 44% tablet shipment share. Nearly 14% of Apple’s share was given up to competitors such as Amazon, Google and Samsung.


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It was a “Big Move,” says Andres Pfluger, acting president and ceo of Russell Stover Chocolates. “We really worked on the recipe to ensure a sugar-free product that didn’t compromise on quality,” he added.
The new sugar-free line uses stevia, an all-natural sugar replacement made from the plant’s leaves.
Although it took more than a year to perfect the formulation, the goal of bringing added value to the sugar-free segment has been achieved, Pfluger says.
“We own more than 80 percent of the chocolate sugar-free market, but the goal was to activate the sugar-free segment,” he says. “There’s enormous potential, not only to providing products for diabetics, but also catering to an aging population and consumers looking to reduce their sugar intake.”
“We’re looking to help sugar-conscious consumers who still want to eat chocolate, but don’t want to eat chemistry,” he explains. “The candies taste amazing. Most people won’t be able to tell the difference between the sugar-free chocolates and our regular chocolates.”
The new sugar-free line includes the company’s lineup of Mint Patties, Pecan Delights, Peanut Butter Cups and Coconut in 3-oz. peg bags and 10-oz. laydown bags. The bags sport a new design, which feature a bold, white background with a signature green strip and large images of the individual confectionery pieces.
The lineup also includes newly launched Sugar Free Sea Salt Pecan Delights, Hazelnut Delights and Toffee Squares.
During Candy Industry’s interview at Sweets & Snacks Expo, Pfluger also said the company is continuing to reduce its SKU count — nearly 700 have been eliminated to date — while focusing on seasonal and everyday items. He noted that last year’s rollout of the Favorites line was well received and is gaining broader distribution. Of the 10 items launched, however, a couple will be replaced that didn’t prove to be as popular as the others.
The company will also continue to emphasize its strategy of everyday gifting to consumers.
“We’re in the business of bringing joy to consumers, and chocolate, whether it’s a small piece or a larger box, is perfect for birthdays, to say ‘I love you’ to a partner, to say ‘thank you,’” Pfluger explained.


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Reverse Benchmark Value Discounts to save local industry – GAWU to gov’t
The General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU) and the Food and Allied Workers’ Union (FAWU) have mounted strong opposition to government’s decision to indefinitely suspend the implementation the reversal of the 50% benchmark policy at the ports.
According to the two Unions, government’s latest move, if not rescinded would render hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians jobless. The Unions who made this known at a press conference in Tema on Friday, January 14, 2022 also called for a level playing field approach to solving this thorny issue.
Addressing the press, the general secretary of FAWU, Kenneth Koomson, indicated among others things that the suspension of the removal of the benchmark value has riled up a number of local manufacturing companies including the oil palm and related industry.
“Wilmar Africa which has annual production capacity of 300,000 metric tons of oil palm, representing over 50% of Ghana’s 200,000 MT annual consumption has indicated to the Union to shut down operations if the benchmark value policy persists. This we must mention here, is not different from other companies affected by the benchmark policy. It is instructive to point out that, prior to the introduction of the benchmark policy, Wilmar was producing over 70% of its capacity, now doing less than 48% due to the impact of the policy.”
Mr. Koomson added that an estimated 3,000 factory workers and about 24,000 plantation workers in the oil palm industry alone risk losing their jobs if the reversed policy is not immediately implemented.
“Currently, there are 4 main oil palm plantations directly employing over 24,000 workers and these jobs stand to disappear if the benchmark value policy is not reversed. Today, over 3000 permanent employees in the factory and 24,000 jobs in the plantation sector risk loosing their jobs if government fails to remove the reduction on the benchmark policy.”
The group said that “instead of the universal application of the policy to all imports, imports which come to compete with locally manufactured products be exempted from the policy”.
They are therefore demanding the immediate implementation of the policy reversal in order to save the jobs of workers in the country.
“We therefore appeal to government that based on the negative impact of the benchmark policy on jobs and survival of the industry, government should as a matter urgency implement the removal of the benchmark policy.”
By: Carlos Calony,
Tema Metropolis Content Manager,


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Bajaj Auto Limited, an Indian two-wheeler and three-wheeler manufacturing company based in Pune will soon launch multiple motorcycles in 2015. Reports state that Bajaj, world’s third-largest manufacturer of motorcycles and the second-largest in India, is going to launch an array of motorcycles in 2015, of which two are planned before March 2015. There are speculations that Pulsar 200 SS fully faired sports bike and the Pulsar 150 NS will most likely be the first ones to be launched in the series of new models of 2015 Bajaj Plusar.
Image: Pulsar 400SS (For Illustration Purpose Only)
The manufacturer will also launch motorcycles from Platina and Discover series- the entry level Platina 100 and Discover 125 cc segment variant. Platina 100 will compete with the Hero HF Dawn, TVS Max 4R and Yamaha YBR 110. All these upcoming models with there excellent specifications and features are expected to provide a wonderful and ultimate experience to bike riders.
Image: Pulsar 150 (For Illustration Purpose Only)
Bajaj is aiming at improving its market share to 30% from the existing market share of 15-20% every month. There was a statement by Rajiv Bajaj, recently, in which he said, “We have two significant launches in the Pulsar and Platina segment. Together, they will yield two per cent market share. In the first half of this year, we had a significant launch of Discover (150cc). We will (now) implement it downwards in 100-125cc. This will bring us to 25-26 per cent market share in the first half of next year. Then, in the second half, I would like to go to 30 per cent, for which we have to do something remarkable. It is a marketing move, not some great technology change. There is an opportunity to create something big.”
Image: Pulsar 400 SS (For Illustration Purpose Only)
Bike launches are always exciting for bike lovers. Thus, at the end of 2014, Bajaj comes with a great news for the bike enthusiasts with its upcoming back-to-back motorcycle launch in 2015. Let’s hope that the new motorcycles launches will help the manufacturer to build its market share.


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Nissan this week celebrated six decades in Kenya, the hub of its East African operations, with the introduction of the all-new Nissan Navara double cab.
The group displayed the all-new Navara alongside its range of pick-ups, crossovers and people carriers at an exclusive media event near its state-of-the-art sales and service facility in Nairobi.
“Kenya is one of Nissan’s oldest markets, and we are proud to partner with the MOTUS Group in serving our customers in the country through Nissan Kenya. We have also chosen Kenya for the head office of our East African hub, and it houses our regional team that looks after all of the surrounding markets,” says Jim Dando, Director for Sales and Operations for Nissan Group of Africa.
Nissan Kenya has dealership facilities in Nairobi, Eldoret, Kisumu, Mombasa and Nakuru. In Nairobi, Nissan has opened a state-of-the-art facility that is three times larger than the existing one and comparable to the best dealerships in the world, while another state-of-the-art facility is under construction in Kisumu.
Taking the limelight was the introduction of the all-new Nissan Navara, which showcases the most modern technology in a pick-up to date. The Navara is equipped with the Nissan Group’s new 2.3 litre twin-turbodiesel engine, which offers 140 kW of power and 450 Nm of torque and which is available at both low engine speeds and at high overtaking speeds.
During the introduction of the Navara, guests and journalists had the opportunity to experience many of the vehicles in Nissan’s comprehensive range. This included the Nissan NP300 Hardbody, which is a top seller in the country thanks to its proven durability and low cost of ownership, the Nissan Patrol, another best-seller for the company with its V8 power and luxury specification level, and the Nissan X-Trail, the best-selling crossover in the world.


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Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) made quite a ripple in the past week with the acquisition of Autonomy (OTC:AUTNF) and the slew of announcements that came about the spin-off of its PC business and an exit from the smartphone and tablet market.
What was the company thinking spending $10 billion on a company that will account for only 1% of revenues while putting its personal computer segment up for sale?
Citing it as a strategic move does not erase the speculations and questions doing the rounds about how we have witnessed several past acquisitions that have not exactly steered the company in the right direction.
No one has forgotten acquisitions like the $1.2 billion purchase of Palm, the $25 billion purchase of Compaq and the $13.9 billion purchase of EDS - all made in the name of “change of direction” under different CEOs over the past decade. Other than EDS, the acquistion of both Palm and Compaq have not been viable and the selloffs are a testament to that.
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Autonomy, the largest UK software firm, organizes unstructured data from e-mail, web pages and other sources and automates this information, making it available for customer relationship management, business intelligence and other purposes. In short, it develops enterprise software and its flagship product IDOL (Intelligent Data Operating Layer) is a powerful, flexible and extensible platform.
Autonomy’s growth and strength mainly comes from a history of successful integration of acquisitions. Through its acquisitions, the company has a firm stronghold in enterprise content management, information governance and management and customer data processing. The acquisition of Autonomy brings all this to HP and will add value to the services that HP provides its enterprise customers.
The hardware industry is plagued by low margins and if you're not Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), it is hard to remain profitable. There is nothing about HP machines that sets them apart from other PCs and so they cannot be sold at a premium price that allows for high profit margins. HP’s spin-off is similar to what IBM ((NYSE:IBM) did with Lenovo (OTCPK:LNVGY) when it realized that its PC business was not profitable anymore. IBM, however, retained service contracts and focused on data management, data mining and mainframe configurations. HP has a similar vision with cloud computing. Whether this is a profitable move or not remains to be seen.
The company’s foray into the tablet market with the HP TouchPad has been a disaster. The TouchPad failed to take away market share from Apple and has been struggling since its launch six weeks ago with dismal sales figures and poor consumer reception and now HP is killing the segment completely. The TouchPad was a bad move and an unsuccessful venture.
The company also announced its departure from webOS devices by discontinuing production of smartphones Pre and Veer. Rather than manufacture webOS devices, the company plans to focus on using webOS as a software platform and enter into licensing contracts with vendors. HP holds an extensive patent portfolio of over 2,000 patents that it can easily sell or license. Whatever losses HP incurred with the acquisition of Palm, it can easily recover with the sale of its webOS patents alone. Even though the company claims that it will take webOS in a new direction, it seems inevitable that the company plans to write off its $1.2 billion acquisition of Palm.
HP is treading on very thin ice by trading the known for the unknown. HP’s PC business accounts for approximately $42 billion in business and is a dependable cash flow albeit a less profitable one. On the other hand, cloud computing is an uncharted territory with an unproven customer and cash base. Fundamentally it seems like a move in the right direction but it sure is an expensive “$10 billion move“.
This is a good time to buy HP when the stock is trading at 6x earnings. For a company that traded at 11x earnings not too long ago, this is a good opportunity to buy this stock. HP’s new direction could very well be the dawn of a new era. HP is now a one-stop alternative to IBM to manage all your IT needs. A shifting product mix that focuses on enterprise technologies with a greater emphasis on services is definitely a good strategy in the current competitive landscape. For an investor with a long-term investment horizon, HP is a good buy at $24.
When HP entered the PC business around the time IBM exited it, its acquisition of Compaq seemed like a profitable move. Even though it remained at the top position, razor-thin margins should have made the company exit the business years ago. The move is shocking but not unexpected.
The stock has recovered since its crash last week and investors are closely watching as HP prepares to launch a public-cloud infrastructure offering as part of its new strategy to enter cloud based computing. HP’s latest acquisition proves to be very valuable as Autonomy provides a platform that has the ability to store, access, archive and analyze data that can be plugged into a cloud system. The second half of the year plays a very critical role in HP history.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.


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Banks spying on your bills, rent payments, paychecks: report
By Daniel Tencer
Saturday, November 6th, 2010 — 10:25 pm
The age of the plain old credit score is gone, says a report at the Wall Street Journal, and it’s been replaced by ever more intrusive efforts by banks and credit agencies to gauge exactly what you’re worth, and what you can pay.
To that end, financial firms are now tracking their customers’ bank deposits, rent payments or home values, and even utility bills to figure out who may soon become a financial risk, reports WSJ‘s Karen Blumenthal.
So, for example, if your employer pays you through direct deposits and those deposits stop, financial institutions can now have warning that your money situation is likely to tighten, and may deny you credit on that basis.
But the efforts don’t end there. A new area of research, income estimation, “took off earlier this year,” WSJ reports, and involves financial firms collecting information about mortgages, personal loans and credit history to determine how much an individual makes and how much credit they should be given.
In this new era of deep data-mining, even your utility bills and rent check aren’t out of bounds.
The WSJ report comes as new concerns emerge over the extent to which businesses are digging into the lives of their customers in order to assess risk or market products.
Raw Story reported this week on SocialMiner, a new software application from Cisco Systems that allows businesses to monitor social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The software has raised concerns over the prospect of employers spying on the personal lives of their employees.
“With more and more Web-based conversations taking place over these social platforms, it’s now more critical than ever that businesses are aware of what their customers are saying about them and are able to respond to general inquiries or rectify customer service issues so as to enhance and protect brand reputation,” Cisco stated in a press release.
Meanwhile, a federal class action lawsuit alleges that numerous media companies, including Fox News and CNN, received detailed personal information on millions of cellphone users from an advertising company that circumvented security measures on their phones. Courthouse News reports: