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The second annual convention of the Events & Entertainment Management Association (EEMA), called EEMAGINE, was a mix of fun, workshops, exhibition, discussions and, of course, presentations.
Held at Agra from July 9-11, the second convention, as observed by Michael Menezes, the president of EEMA, was a testimony to the fact that finally, the events and entertainment industry is getting consolidated and the association has been welcomed by the industry.
The second day, after the ceremonial lamp lighting, started with a thumping performance by a band called Dfrn Strokes, to make the members appreciate that "There is no substitute for team work". The next session was a video address by Kolja Dams, chief executive officer of VoK Dams Gruppe, a Germany-based event and live marketing agency.
Dams spoke on the 'Global Perspective of the Event Industry'. He listed the prevailing global trends, which, he said, are measurability, authenticity, global budget cuts owing to the economic recession, changing demographics and digitisation.
He also said that the trend is moving towards a 360-degree approach -- there will be more and more campaigns which will see a merger of offline and online media.
He signed off, "The future of advertising is BTL (below-the-line), face-to-face marketing and experiential marketing. The future of the industry rests here."
The next session was a presentation on one of the biggest issues facing the industry -- the absence of a uniform measurement tool. L V Krishnan, chief executive officer, TAM Media Research put forth his suggestions on a possible framework to come out with a tool on the lines of TAM (television) and RAM (radio) or IRS (newspaper).
Krishnan started the session by laying down the basic requirements which any industry needs to fulfil, to create a successful measurement tool. He said that first, agencies should be ready for "the naked truth". "Measurement is about being open. You have to be sure on what you are looking to measure, for which you have to lay down the precise metrics," he said.
Other points to remember, according to Krishnan, are honesty while accepting results; looking for in-depth insights to make your offerings better; the ability to judge facts on the basis of trends, rather than one-off results; looking for hidden meaning behind the numbers and being patient with your consumers, as changing consumer habits takes time.
"After you have got the measurement tool in place, it is very important to use it right. Absolute honesty is what is required while accepting results. Also, one-off results can be sometimes misleading. Therefore, taking decisions based on that can take you to a wrong direction. You have to observe the trends based on the results thrown up by the tool and then take a decision."
As one of the ways to measure events, Krishnan said that events that are telecast on television can easily be measured with proper evaluation and ROI calculations. He also stressed that as the first steps towards measurement, the industry will have to come out with buckets of event classifications, so that a benchmark could be set.
"For instance, you can classify the different genres of events into brand-oriented, occasion-oriented and both brand- and occasion-oriented, and then get on to measuring them. From there, you have to take learnings to integrate all data points for the industry to benchmark and create a universal currency," he advised.
Next on the agenda was a panel discussion on "Positioning the Event and Experiential Marketing Industry". The panellists comprised Kaushik Roy, president, brand strategy and marketing communications, Reliance Industries and Sabbas Joseph, director, Wizcraft International Entertainment. The discussion was anchored by Brian Tellis, chairman, Fountainhead Events.
Roy stated that event agencies have to act as partners, rather than vendors, to brands. "Relationships are important. Also, agencies have to establish relations not with the company or the individual heading the brand, but with brands themselves. You have to not only have a good understanding of the brand, but also have to demonstrate that understanding by knowing everything to do with that brand."
"Another important factor is of trust and transparency. As a client, I find it hard to trust the bills and invoices submitted to me by the agencies. Since there is no transparency in the process, it is hard for clients to trust the agencies. Also, the time has come for agencies to move out of the events space and get into experiential marketing, as that is what clients are demanding."
Joseph started his discourse with a question: "Are we vendors or partners?" He continued, "It's not what you believe, but what you make others believe, which is important. For the last few years, everybody has been saying that this is the business of the future. If that is so, then the time to invest in it is now. Through EEMA, we are fortunate to have the building blocks in place. Today, clients are not looking for just an event, but for proper justice done to their brands by the agencies. They are asking questions like, "Did my brand grow in any respect through this activity?"."
The second day of EEMAGINE ended with a number of presentations by employees of member companies, who shared their points of view on challenges facing the industry and gave suggestions on how to overcome these. The session was conducted as a competition, with the winner being announced on the EEMAX night, the first-ever awards night by EEMA.


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Award-winning production studio Jellyfish Pictures today announced that it has launched a subsidiary business called RenderWise. Responding to the obstacles faced when met with time sensitive demands, RenderWise offers cloud hybrid rendering and virtual studio solutions for VFX and animation applications.
Signiant today announced the company will showcase a revolutionary new transport architecture that furthers its mission to enable fast, secure global transport of media, in the Innovation Zone at the upcoming HPA Tech Retreat UK.
Starz's original series American Gods adapts author Neil Gaiman's novel into a feast of visceral imagery. Developed by Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, and produced by FremantleMedia North America, the ambitious project features extensive visual effects, which were facilitated via The Portal, Deluxe’s cloud-based proprietary service.
Unique Digital has released Basekey Cloud, a sotware-only version of its key delivery message system Basekey. As the name suggests, Basekey Cloud requires no hardware to be installed within the theatre itself. The exhibitor simply enables a VPN connection to Basekey Cloud from their network to activate the service.
Los Angeles-based The Africa Channel is currently using WCPMedia Services’ cloud-based media management platform in marketing content to broadcasters, streaming services and other distribution outlets worldwide.
Award-winning global studio Breakthrough Entertainment has transitioned to a completely cloud-based delivery system through WCPMedia Services for the delivery of their premium content to their clients, which include major networks and digital channels across the globe.
WCPMedia Services has announced that Peter Wetherell, who heads Magus Entertainment, has joined the company as senior advisor. A 30-year veteran of the motion picture and television industry, Wetherell will assist with WCPMedia Services sales and marketing efforts, broadening its market share among international sales agents, producers and distributors. He will be representing the company at the 70th Cannes Film Festival next week in Cannes.
Bent is the latest motion picture production to move its media management to the WCPMedia cloud.
Entertainment studio Electus, distributors of such popular television series as Running Wild with Bear Gryllis, Jane the Virgin, Fameless and Style by Jury, have been using WCPMedia’s cloud-based platform since last year through its international arm to deliver content to broadcasters around the world. What began as a pilot project quickly became standard operating procedure.
WCPMedia Services has announced improvements to its cloud-based media management platform to help television and motion picture producers better store, manage and share assets throughout the production cycle. New features and enhancements address core production activities including dailies management and transcoding, review and approval, and distribution to post-production partners and end-users.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock markets are unlikely to return to the unusually calm conditions seen last year, even though equities have already recovered more than half the ground lost in the recent selloff and traders have rapidly dialed down fear.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. grain merchant Archer Daniels Midland Co has settled a lawsuit with Syngenta over the seed company's launch of a biotech corn strain that roiled grain exports to China, according to regulatory documents filed on Friday.


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When out drinking, there comes a point when you have to decide what kind of night you want to have. Just a couple of civilised cocktails? Or a full-on boozefest that you know will hurt tomorrow? Luckily, it could soon be a whole lot easier to gauge our alcohol limits with the help of a new piece of wearable tech. Proof, a wristband developed by California-based tech firm Milo Sensors, is currently being showcased at the world's biggest tech show, CES 2017 in Las Vegas. The gadget measures alcohol molecules through your skin via an enzyme-based electrochemical sensor that converts alcohol into an electrical current, Mashable reported. It uses disposable cartridges to ensure "reliable alcohol tracking for over 12 hours", according to the product's website. Like many fitness trackers, it can then tell users their blood alcohol content (BAC) through an accompanying Android or iOS app.
But Proof can do more than just tell you how drunk you currently are. It can also predict how drunk you'll be in the future, when you'll be sober and can alert you when your BAC hits a particular level. This could be useful if you need to know how long it'll take for you to be sober enough to drive home safely, removing the need to blow into a breathalyser or take a blood test. And if you're the sensible one in your friendship group, you can also befriend your loved ones on the app to make sure they're not overdoing it on the prosecco. Evan Strenk, CEO and cofounder of Milo Sensors, told Mashable the aim is to "empower people to make educated decision about alcohol". However, there's a risk that the device could be used by people (idiots) competing to see who can get the drunkest. Last year, Milo Sensors secured $100,000 in funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and this year the company plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign to bring Proof to market. The question is: do we really want to know how much alcohol is sloshing around our bloodstreams? Sometimes ignorance is bliss.


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As the F1 season entered its final lap of the circuit, the Formula E season sparked into life, with back-to-back races in Hong Kong over the weekend. Despite initial concerns over its appeal, the all-electric series has continued to strengthen and shake things up in the world of motor sport.
Nissan will enter the Formula onE fold in the 2018/19 season as the first Japanese automotive brand to compete and line up alongside other manufactures, in ePrixs, throughout key venues, such as Berlin, Paris, Rome, New York and Montreal. Continue Reading
The market-leading Nissan Qashqai – the UK’s favourite crossover – has been named Best Small SUV in the prestigious What Car? Used Car Awards 2018.
Used Qashqai named Best Small SUV in the prestigious What Car? Used Car Awards 2018.
Feedback on Reevoo from customers of the all-new Nissan Micra has revealed a key fact – they love their car!
Scores and comments posted via independent reviews organisation Reevoo has revealed an impressive average of 8.8 out of 10, while a third of reviewers have awarded their Micra top marks.
Nissan’s senior management team is obviously delighted with the comments. But the hard work for the design and engineering teams never stops, and all feedback is captured and analysed so enhancements to the Micra range can further meet customers’ needs. The first of these upgrades will appear during 2018. Continue Reading
The Nissan West Way ‘We Pay Your VAT’ event is now on, and there are huge savings up for the taking – but you must be quick this event is only on until the 10th December or while stocks last.
That’s right! We do what the event says and we pay your VAT, meaning you can save up to £4925.83, on Nissan’ superb range of new vehicles. Continue Reading
THE current generation Nissan LEAF Acenta has been named ‘Best EV’ in the 2017 Auto Express Used Car Awards.
This is the second year in a row that the Nissan LEAF has been recognised in the awards, having won ‘Best Used Green Car’ in 2016.
The Auto Express judging panel commented: “Electric cars are the next big thing in the car industry. In a few years there will be more choice in showrooms, but for now, there are some great deals to be had on the first mainstream EV success story, the Nissan LEAF.” Continue Reading


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Etisalat signs MoU with Abu Dhabi Distribution Company
The Abu Dhabi Distribution Company will help promote Etisalat’s elife products and services
Abu Dhabi Distribution Company (ADDC), part of Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA), has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Etislat that will ADDC promote the telecommunications company's elife products and services.
As per the agreement, prospective customers will be able to access and subscribe to elife services directly from ADDC offices, thus eliminating the need to visit any of Etisalat offices to apply for services.
The MoU agreement was signed by Saeed Al Suwaidi, managing director, ADDC, and Sultan Al Dhaheri, Acting General Manager, Etisalat Abu Dhabi.
Commenting on the agreement, Saeed Al Suwaidi, Managing Director, ADDC said: "We are pleased to sign this agreement with Etisalat as it will contribute to the development of our services and enhance the happiness levels of customers.
He added: "This is in line with Abu Dhabi 2020 plan and long term objective of the government to increase the happiness quotient in the country by providing services in the most efficient manner. With this partnership, customers activate and connect their water and electricity services to their property directly additionally having the facility to subscriber to Etisalat's eLife service as well. This saves time and gives flexibility to our customers across the emirate."
Adding his own viewpoint, Sultan Al Dhaheri, Acting General Manager, Etisalat Abu Dhabi, said: "We are pleased to appoint ADDC as our partner to promote and make the availability of Etisalat products and services across a wider partner base. This will give our customers the flexibility of purchasing our services at their convenience at more locations across the country."


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Next week Samsung is due to release new smartphone model Galaxy S10. For those who are inpatient to wait and see what the new model will look like, you can get an idea right now.
We have the leaked pictures of protective covers for the Samsung Galaxy S10 range, including Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10 Plus and Galaxy S10e.
Samsung Galaxy S10 protective case details
Leaked phone case design features the gap for easy power button access. The back of this protective case hints that case will have to be taken off to reverse wireless charge your Samsung Galaxy Buds (officially called Wireless Power Sharing).
We will update this article as soon as we have more details on this topic soon after predicted Samsung Galaxy S10 release date of 20 February 2019.
Leaked official Samsung Galaxy S10 case looks legit!


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Prepaid debit cards are becoming more affordable with increased competition resulting in fewer fees, but the booming market still lacks critical consumer protections, according to a new study by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
U.S. consumers loaded some $64 billion onto prepaid debit cards in 2012, more than double the amount in 2009, Pew said. The cards are available at many checkout counters and big banks.
The new report, “Consumers Continue to Load Up on Prepaid Cards,” looked at changes since the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit research group released its first study on the topic two years ago.
The reloadable cards can be used wherever traditional debit cards are accepted.
Costs vary but can include activation fees and monthly fees, plus ATM, transaction, reload, balance inquiry, statement and dormancy fees.
One of the chief problems, the report found, is that prepaid cards are not covered by the federal laws that protect holders of traditional debit cards tied to checking accounts from loss of funds and liability for unauthorized transactions.
Most prepaid card issuers offer some protections but the coverage is voluntary, can include loopholes and can be revoked without notice, said Susan Weinstock, director of Pew’s safe checking project.
Prepaid card disclosures involving fees and terms often are incomplete, hard to understand and hard to find, she said.


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Notes from the Manager
I know Norma's costume ban didn't last too terribly long in terms of strips, but it was a month and a half for the characters!
Anyway, this is the last of the two epilogues to Book 5, and Monday will really truly honestly start Book 6.
UPDATE: By request, the final panel has been embiggened and posted as the new TopWebComics vote incentive.
Multiplex 10 is here!
Although Multiplex 10 has ended, an animated prequel/reboot called Multiplex 10 was funded through Kickstarter in 2017 and is NOW AVAILABLE for rent or purchase on Vimeo On Demand, Amazon Video, and elsewhere! And an all-new, irregularly-updated Multiplex 10 web series (set after the short film) recently launched on YouTube! Learn more about the web series on the official Multiplex 10 website!


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Controversial ‘Tarry Lighthouse’ project tabled in Port Chester
A proposal to build a large apartment building with retail space on the ground floor in Port Chester, N.Y., near the Greenwich border was tabled by the village’s Zoning Board of Appeals this week. The matter was not discussed by the board and was put off for another hearing.
Under the plan by developer David Mann, a seven-story structure with 242 apartment units would be built on the site of the now-closed Tarry Lodge, a once popular restaurant.
The proposed development has already gone through a number of reviews by the zoning board.
The project — dubbed the “Tarry Lighthouse” — would include retail space as well as housing.
Residents in the Byram section of Greenwich, as well as a number of Port Chester residents, have expressed concerns about the heavy traffic congestion that they say would result in the area from the project.
The board met Thursday via teleconferencing. The zoning board has been seeking additional information on traffic patterns and volume related to the project.
The next meeting of the village ZBA is June 18.


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Chrysler recall order on Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge DurangoBy Alex Jusi Madlangbayan on Apr 2, 2014 in Automobile, Business •
Chrysler has issued a recall order on 867,795 vehicles due to a defective brake system. The Chrysler recall was announced on Wednesday, April 2, 2014.
Watch the video of Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango by clicking here.
Majority of the vehicles being recalled by Chrysler was sold in the US. According to Chrysler, 644,354 vehicles issued in the US, is included in the recall order.
Chrysler will be providing a corrosion protection shield on their vehicle’s brake boosters. Water exposure of the brake system is being blamed for the defect. The brake boosters will now have crimp joints that can resist corrosion.
The Fiat Chrysler Automobiles unit is the second major car manufacturer that has issued a recall this year. About 6.26 million vehicles was recalled by General Motors Co. earlier.
Spread The News!


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Nike Sportswear celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Nike Air Max 95 earlier this year, and now to close out the year they have a few more upcoming colorways set to release for the colder months.
This newly released edition sports a blend of Black and shades of Dark Green that is built with a mixture of leather and mesh.
Check out the detailed images below and look for the Nike Air Max 95 Essential “Militia Green” available now at select Nike Sportswear retail stores, including SNS.
Nike Air Max 95 Essential
Carbon Green/Black-Militia Green


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As far as Lorelei DiSogra is concerned, the recent Partnership for a Healthier America summit “Building a Healthier Future” was nothing but good news for the fresh produce industry, and the American public.
“I’d say 98% of the (corporate) commitments are about increasing fruit and vegetable access, availability and use,” said DiSogra, vice president for nutrition for the United Fresh Produce Association in Washington D.C.
“The growers and shippers will see this play out over the next year. There is a rolling timeline toward a change in our societal norms and fresh produce is a key element.”
The sold-out summit Nov. 29-30 attracted more than 800 attendees. First lady Michelle Obama gave the keynote address, discussing the importance of the corporate commitments to the Partnership for a Healthier America. DiSogra said those commitments are huge news for fresh produce.
As a case in point DiSogra cited the announcements by Darden Restaurants, which operates chains including Red Lobster, LongHorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden and Bahama Breeze, and Hyatt Hotels Corp., which serves 24 million guests annually. Both companies have committed to changing their kids’ menus to make fruit and vegetables default items.
The YMCA of USA, another member of the partnership, is also making fruit and vegetable snacks the new norm. DiSogra said she believes the trend will continue.
“The common denominator, which is no surprise, is about changing fruit and vegetables to be the default on kids meals,” she said. “These companies are really committed to changing our norms. They have to be evaluated by PHA, and they must sign a legal agreement. Then they are reviewed to make sure they are meeting criteria.
“These commitments are not just advertising gimmicks. They are real changes that will have huge impact on consumers and the fresh produce industry,” DiSogra said.
The sole produce industry sponsor of the summit was the San Jose, Calif.-based Mushroom Council. The council sponsored the summit’s reception, where fresh mushrooms were featured in six out of 10 dishes served, according to council president Bart Minor.
Minor said attendees loved the food, especially the mushroom/meat blend meatball, and they were excited to learn how mushrooms could be part of the solution to create healthier meals.


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Coleen's taken fur too far
Last updated at 13:59 10 December 2004
Stepping out to do some Christmas shopping in Liverpool, she managed to offend good manners and the animal rights lobby by wearing an £800 designer bodywarmer.
The garment, by the American label Dsquared, was not only emblazoned with the words 'F***ing Freezing', it was also trimmed with real coyote fur.
Miss McLoughlin, 18-year-old fiancée of soccer star Wayne Rooney, is believed to have bought it during a shopping trip to New York in October when her £15,000 spree famously left her with an import tax fine of £3,000 as she landed back in Britain. Last night, she was unavailable for comment.
But the anti-fur campaign People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said: 'It's appalling that anyone should want to drape themselves in a dead animal like she has done.
'Fashion is supposed to be fun and there are plenty of fake fur alternatives which look just as good as the real thing.'
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Selling lottery tickets at his frozen yogurt shop turned out to be a big gamble for Jeff Clarke.
With 3,000 tickets already in hand and a state-issued "L" in his shop window, Clarke, co-owner of Judy's Frozen Yogurt in West Covina, hoped that lottery fever would help boost sales of his low-calorie strawberry swirls.
But on Oct. 2, just 24 hours before the lottery began, Clarke received a letter from his landlord saying that, if he sold the lottery tickets, he could lose his lease.
Despite the warning, Clarke went ahead and began selling the "instant winner" coupons.
"This is America, isn't it?" said Clarke, who in July was authorized by the state to sell lottery tickets. "The lottery is a public thing."
By Sunday, most of his tickets were gone and another 2,000 were on order from the state.
However, his landlord, Ziad Alhassen, said that Clarke and three other merchants selling lottery tickets at the West Covina Village Shopping Center are violating their leases, which forbid them to sell anything not specified in their rental agreements.
"His premises are leased for frozen yogurt," said Alhassen, president of Hassen Real Estate Partnership, which owns the 15-shop mini-mall on North Azusa Avenue near the San Bernardino Freeway. "It wasn't just the lottery. He should have read the lease."
The lease, which Clarke signed nearly a year ago, states that he "shall use the premises for a frozen yogurt shop and shall not use or permit the premises to be used for any other purpose" without the prior consent of the landlord.
"It's still a yogurt shop," Clarke complained. "We sell strawberries to put on top of the yogurt. Does that mean we're not supposed to sell strawberries without asking?"
Although the merchants could be evicted if they do not stop selling the tickets within 30 days, Alhassen said, he hopes that the dispute will be resolved without legal action.
The state Lottery Commission, which licenses more than 21,000 ticket outlets, is not taking an active part in the controversy, a spokesman said.
"I wouldn't consider this a major problem," said Bob Taylor, communications manager for the lottery. "It's a private matter between landlord and tenant."
Taylor said that the location of ticket outlets is determined by ZIP code and population density to provide at least one outlet for every 1,250 residents. Although the Lottery Commission has denied permission to some merchants to prevent overburdening a particular area, Taylor said, he did not think the West Covina mall represented an unusually concentrated cluster of outlets.
According to Alhassen, only one merchant in the mini-mall, Partys Etc., is permitted to sell lottery tickets. The owner of the novelty shop included the clause when he signed his lease in June. Alhassen added, however, that he has instructed the shop to stop selling computer supplies, which he said are not included in the lease.
"I just don't want to have too many people selling the same thing," he said. "If you allow someone to sell something they're not supposed to, the whole shopping center can turn to chaos."
But Clarke and other merchants in the center said that the lottery should be viewed as a promotional device designed to attract customers, not as a substantial departure from the nature of their businesses.
"The reason we sell tickets is to generate business," Clarke said. "When we got them, who would have thought to call the landlord and ask if this is OK?"
Besides Clarke, the other tenants who Alhassen says are violating their leases are EZ 1-Hour Photo, Nasri's Video and BIF Furniture.
"I voted for the lottery," he said. "I support it. But once they start selling lottery tickets, the next time it will be something else."
A similar dispute erupted in Arcadia last week when Jadefinger, a jewelry store in the Santa Anita Fashion Park Mall, was ordered by its landlord to stop selling lottery tickets or face eviction.
"I don't look at lottery tickets as a tangible product," said Richard Chen, owner of the jewelry store. "This is no different from donating a few coins to charity."
But a spokeswoman for Ernest W. Hahn Inc., a San Diego firm that owns the Arcadia mall, said that all tenants sign specific "use clauses" and none of them are permitted to sell lottery tickets. Instead, the firm, which owns 26 shopping malls in the state, is planning to install kiosks at each location to serve as central lottery-ticket outlets.
"That way none of the tenants will be competing," said Anne Cox, assistant director of corporate communications for Hahn. "If they all sell lottery tickets, then obviously they're all not going to do well."
Similarly, Alhassen, who owns another 15 undeveloped shops adjacent to his West Covina mall, said that too many lottery outlets could jeopardize his ability to lure future tenants to the shopping village.
"There have to be rules and regulations," he said. "It's black and white, not gray."


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Beloved Sherman Oaks restaurant Casa Vega is celebrating its 65th anniversary on Nov. 15. Just the milestone is reason enough to grab a meal at the legendary Mexican eatery, but the Vega family is giving all the more reason to come in.
In commemoration, Casa Vega is throwing it back to the year they opened. For one day only, order guest-favorite House Combinancione #1 for just $1.98, the price of the meal over six decades ago. You can’t even get a gallon of gas for less than $2! But from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., you can load up on soup, rice, beans and two house special items (like a cheese enchilada or beef tamal) for less than a large nitro cold brew.
Christy Vega and her father and Casa Vega founder Rafael "Ray" Vega, who died earlier this year.
“This anniversary is bittersweet,” Casa Vega owner Christy Vega said. “It was a massive triumph to survive the pandemic and being a family-owned business made us even more vulnerable but, in the end, it's what saved us too. I’ve carried the weight of the legacy of my father and my grandparents this year. My family have operated Mexican restaurants in LA for over 90 years, and the ship isn’t going to go down on my watch. To see Casa Vega recovering after such a difficult year, I feel a sense of great pride that I didn't let my family down. We’re looking forward to celebrating with our community; it’s always a fun day for everyone when we roll back prices!”
This once-in-a-lifetime deal will likely bring in a swell of Casa Vega regulars and then some, so be sure to make a reservation through Resy. To dedicate a Monday to a smorgasbord of delectable Mexican food (with a few margaritas) is truly the ideal way to kick off the week.
What’s more, you’ll be celebrating a family-owned staple of the San Fernando Valley. Early on, Casa Vegas became a well-known hangout for celebrities like Carey Grant and Marlon Brando, and even now considers the likes of Dakota Fanning, Dave Grohl and Pete Wentz as loyal guests. Running full speed at this anniversary, Vega ensures the restaurant as a Los Angeles landmark for generations to come.


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Drone delivery is becoming a new way to deliver goods to homes and businesses. It is a way to better serve the public and reduces costs to delivery companies.
But drone delivery is not just for goods to the home and businesses. Estonia-based Cleveron has opened what it claims to be the fastest public drone delivery service, with delivery times of less than five minutes.
Cleveron says the drone delivery service opened for two weeks at a public beach in Viljandi, Estonia where customers can order a drink via a text message. The drinks are then deployed from the other side of a lake via a drone and placed in a container for pickup.
The container is called CleverNest, which allows for safe parcel drop-off at the height of two meters, removing the danger of the drone hitting someone when landing on the ground or hitting someone with the parcel when dropping from far away. Cleveron’s drone deposits the drinks or parcel in a cylindrically shaped container where users can retrieve the item easily.
The drones used are autonomous and the flight route is pre-programmed to ensure the drone doesn’t get lost during flight, Cleveron says.
The company says the trial delivery project shows the future of last-mile delivery and potentially the future of e-commerce. Cleveron believes drone delivery will reduce last mile shipping times, enable deliveries to be made closer to the customer and delivers parcels and goods faster than current methods.


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The winter holiday shopping season is recognized as a two-month period in which retailers can make up to 40 percent of their annual revenue. In my last post (Why Retailers Should Have Good Attitudes, Not Discounts, For The Holiday Season - Part 1), I looked at some current news articles to see if they were setting a (negative) tone that retailers and consumers would buy into for the coming holiday shopping season. I also noted the importance for retailers to use pricing intelligence and assortment intelligence solutions to be competitive and get the best prices possible in the marketplace.
Business Strategy and Marketing Expert, Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor® takes the issue of doom and gloom forecasts very seriously, telling retailers it's up to them to choose whether or not they will have a successful season.
First, here are some headlines and comments from 2011 and after, that illustrate Phibb's conjectures:
"…Joyless Holiday Retail Forecast … Discounts will be needed just to get shoppers into stores … Expect big Black Friday (sales), then flat-line as shoppers wait for another round of discounts later in the season … Holiday is going to be painful … Price cuts, With a promotional fall and holiday season … Christmas Spending Forecast Down from a Year Ago … Data Point to Weak Holiday Sales … Some Gains, But Stores are Worried … U.S. Consumers Fall Behind in Holiday Shopping … Early data shows that customer traffic for the full holiday season plummeted 16% and total retail sales sank 2.3% ... For U.S. retailers, the holiday season is shaping up to be merry -- though hardly jolly..."
Phibbs contends that the media proffers the same stories every year in one form or another -- and feed off of each other -- and influence the tone that follows, which can have a disastrous effect on a company's attitude, performance, and bottom line. Phibbs posits, that after some initial optimistic reports each September, retailers and consumers will begin seeing these same fear-based predictions, and go into the 2012 holiday season with a negative attitude. Phibbs believes strongly that it's time to change those patterns.
First, here's Phibb's sardonic repertoire of what happens every year to make for a dismal Holiday Season:
-- During the second week in October, headlines will announce that it will be a tough holiday shopping season for retailers this year.
-- During the third week of November, headlines will announce that retailers are nervous about the holiday shopping season.
-- After the Black Friday weekend, headlines will announce that there were not enough shoppers in the stores; that Black Friday sales were disappointing, signaling trouble for the holiday season.
-- During the first week of December, headlines will announce that retailers are nervous while shoppers are waiting on the sidelines for more bargains to appear.
-- During the week prior to Christmas, headlines will announce that shoppers are finding tremendous bargains (naturally at the expense of retailers and their bottom lines).
-- During the week after Christmas, headlines will announce that holiday sales have – once again – disappointed retailers.
Advice for 2012: Watch and see if these "predictions" come true again this year, but this time don't let these stories neutralize all potential benefits of what should be your busiest season of the year:
7 Significant Ways Retailers Can Avoid A Doom & Gloom Holiday Shopping Season:
1. Be proactive and take strategic initiatives.
2. Keep a positive attitude and message.
3. Don't give media fodder for doom and gloom stories. Release positive stories and don't let the media put words in your mouth. Don't be a target for writers looking to feature frightened retailers.
4. Convey to the consumer that there’s no need to discount—stand your ground.
5. Convey to the consumer that you have excellent merchandise.
6. Convey that you have priced it right. (Don't imply to the customer by your actions: "You’re not going to like the prices I’m asking, so I’ll give you a discount".)
7. Emphasize the quality and value of what you have to offer. Give your customers the feeling that, even if they are on limited budgets, they do not have to “settle,” when they can give luxuries.
Takeaway: Approach The Holiday Season With Positive Energy
Don't be defeated before you start. Be realistic about the economy. Tailor your retail strategies and techniques to start with a good attitude – not discounts.
The annual round of negative predictions neither sells merchandise nor inspires optimism in retailers or shoppers. Instead, these stories encourage a large group of consumers to hold back and wait for deeply-discounted bargains, as well as creating a group of retailers who expect the worst -- and cut prices -- thus limiting their profit potential during the most important season of the year.
Use pricing and assortment intelligence to have the full picture of the marketplace. The sooner you start using pricing and assortment intelligence, the sooner you'll have a picture of the competitive landscape -- you'll be able to see and plot the trends -- and be at your most profitable price points -- year-round!
What would you do to set a positive tone for the holiday season? Thanks. Gilon


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The exterior has received a colorful new paint job. A mid-century inspired mural has been painted on the front and a portion of the right side of the one story building. The mural is a series of peacock feather-like shapes in muted greens, reds and blues. The building’s trim has been covered in a mossy green and the original signage, exposed unpainted brick, and tiled front porch remain unchanged.
The interior remains a mystery except for one thing. The designer confirmed with The Daily City that the famous wallpaper is still in tact and on the walls. The rest was being kept a secret to allow for a big reveal moment at the grand re-opening.
The re-opening is scheduled for May 31st according to the bar’s website.
Coming June 9th:
Just in time for Summer - an air conditioned farmers market! Join 21 local food makers including Orlando Meats, Greenery Creamery, and Pizza Bruno at the brand new downtown Indoor Farmers Market! Sip cocktails, eat lunch, and shop an all-local (and all-air conditioned!) food market Sunday June 9th 12-4pm in downtown Orlando at Celine, 22 S. Magnolia Ave (MAP).


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Mecum Auctions sold on Houston
Published 3:19 pm, Friday, April 11, 2014
Dana Mecum has helped bring the action of live classic car auctions into millions of living rooms with his thriving family business, Mecum Auctions. Now synonymous with top classic auto auctions, Mecum took his nearly 30 years in the business and has brought the American-style auction front and center via television for the past six years.
This week, Reliant Center has been packed with some of the world's most exquisite classic cars and motorcycles, as the Mecum Auctions come to town for its third event in Houston. Debuting at the Houston event is a brand new stage for the auction and television broadcast, as well as prominent new sponsorship and event participation by State Farm Insurance.
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Of the amazing cars up for bidding this week at the Houston show, one standout is a 1964 Ford GT40 Prototype, the second oldest GT40 in existence, which is looking to fetch in the $7.5-8 million range. Another stunning beauty in the lineup is a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe with 2,996 miles on it. All original and never restored, this incredible car has been seen by only about 10 people prior to this event.
When asked if there is "one that got away" for him, Mecum said, "there's no thrill in chasing the one that got away, just anxiety. The thrill is in the next."
Though when I inquire about what the next one he is on the chase for, he is much less revealing.
"I can't tell ya," he said, though he will admit he has had his eye on it for 17 long years, watching it multiply in value from $500,000 to a whopping figure north of $20 million in that time.
A trick he did share is savvy viewers should keep an eye on him at the auctions. Any car he gets into and sits behind the wheel of is one to watch - it means he has not seen one like it before. Considering his expertise in the field, if he hasn't seen it, it is quite likely to be a very rare and attention-worthy vehicle.
When asked whether he is more inspired by the vehicles or the thrill of the sale, he admits sometimes the real driving force is simply habit.
"I just can't quit. I'm like a dog chasing a car. I just can't quit chasing it," he said, laughing.
You can see the last day of the Mecum classic car auction live and in person today, Saturday, April 12, at Reliant Center starting at 10 a.m. Live coverage of the auction has been airing on Esquire and NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) and will continue to be covered today on NBCSN at 1:30 p.m., as well as on NBC Sports Extra Live with additional bonus coverage airing on www.mecum.com.
Tomorrow, Sunday, April 13, the Mecum Houston Motorcycle Auction takes over Reliant Center, with more than 100 exceptional and classic motorcycles going up for auction starting at 11 a.m., with tickets available at the gate.


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The Chinese brand, “Xiaomi” is set to announce a new supersize phone by the 25th of May 2017, the Mi Max 2, and the unveiling will be made on that same day. The leak was made yesterday on the company’s website, and it have placed all Xiaomi phone users at the edge of their seats.
Xiaomi as a brand, is well known for manufacturing amazing phones at mid-range prices, this alone have attracted lots of users. Around October last year, the brand released the Mi Note 2 which looks similar to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 but cheaper. The phone manufacturer also hit the market with its Mi Mix, which is a gorgeous all-screen phone that ditched the bezels before the Galaxy S8 of the LG G6 did.
The Mi Max 2 that will be announced next week is the successor of the last years Mi Max. The amazing features of the Mi Max is its massive 4,850mAh battery and 6.4 inch screen. The price of the Mi Max is also on the cheap side, as it is been sold at a price of 1,499 Yuan (which is $230/£160/AU$315) for the 32GB version. The Mi Max 2 price is also expected to be a little bit on the cheap side as well.
The full details of the Mi Max 2 is yet to be revealed as we awaits the launch date, which is coming up on the 25th of May, 2017. But there are suggestions that if it will look like its predecessor, then you should be expecting a large screen, big display and of course a mid range pricing. Some of its rumoured features are listed below:
Mi Max 2 Rumoured Features
Below are just few of the rumoured features of the Mi Max 2.
- 5,000mAh battery
- 6.44-inch display
- 1,080×1,920 resolution
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 processor
- Rear fingerprint scanner
For you to get the full official details about the Mi Max 2, then you have to wait for the announcement and launch date from the brand, which is slated for the 25th of May, 2017.


text: N. Scott Weaver is the new brand president for Superga in North America. R.G. Barry Corporation, the American producer of slippers that is marketing this Italian footwear brand in the country, appointed Weaver to oversee the licensed business of the canvas fashion footwear brand. He was previously the president of Duffs North America, and had sales executive experience with Consolidated Shoe, FILA Sports-USA, Airwalk and Reebok International. Separately, R.G. Barry has appointed Susan Hebberts as creative director of the company, and Mark Zobel as director of marketing.


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It’s still not a sure thing that Red Dead Redemption 2 is coming to PC.
During its recent earnings call, Rockstar parent company Take Two heaped praise on the PC platform, calling it a vibrant and big digital market with plenty of potential for “engagement with a consumer” – “the PC market as a company is very important and very exciting and something we focus on.” But when pressed for a statement from an investor on the status of a possible PC version of RDR2, CEO Strauss Zelnick deferred comment to the studios, meaning Rockstar itself.
“Any updates about any of our titles will come from our labels,” he said.
Read Dead Redemption 2 was announced last October with a fall 2017 date and promises about the “online multiplayer experience.” But just ahead of its last investor call — and on the heels of the announcement of potential rival Wild West Online — Rockstar announced a delay of RDR2 to spring 2018 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 to give it more time to cook (and causing a dip in Take-Two’s stock).
The good news for both companies this time is that Grand Theft Auto Online is in the middle of a surprise record year and best quarter ever.
SuperData’s global digital games revenue summary for June 2017 is out, and it’s a strange melange of huge shifts and no changes at all.
On the PC front, there’s been movement at the bottom of the list, as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and ROBLOX (seriously) have kicked CSGO and New Westward Journey Online II to the curb and knocked World of Tanks and Overwatch down a few pegs. World of Warcraft remains at #6, thanks to last month’s recombination of east and west. It’s a weird saga.
On consoles, however, Overwatch inched up a place and Grand Theft Auto V surged to take the top spot, in spite of its messy modder confrontations this summer. “Despite negative press over community-created-mods decisions, Grand Theft Auto Online experienced its most successful month this June on the back of [its] newest DLC,” SuperData says.
The mobile category has seen a huge shakeup as well, as Honour of Kings leaped from 10th place to 1st, pushing down Clash of Clans and Clash Royale — the firm estimates Honour of Kings made over $150 million in June. Pokemon Go remains noticeably absent from the top 10 lists this summer, but SuperData gives it a nod anyway.
The Rockstar modding fiasco still isn’t over.
Back in June, Rockstar and TakeTwo began sending takedowns to the operators of modding tools of varying skeeviness, including OpenIV, a decade-old foundational toolset used by countless modders for the Grand Theft Auto series. The legal threats to a community staple, demands that cheater-centric mods donate their profits to charity, and dubious claim that the move was intended to protect Grand Theft Auto Online — which doesn’t allow mods to begin with — caused players to riot across the forums, Reddit, and Steam, where reviewbombing caused GTAV’s rating to plummet, in spite of Rockstar’s relatively noncommittal statement that the companies “generally will not take legal action against third-party projects involving Rockstar’s PC games that are single-player, non-commercial, and respect the intellectual property (IP) rights of third parties.”
The good news is that this means OpenIV is back in development. The bad news is that one of its biggest projects is toast.
Nothing says Independence Day like gang warfare in the streets of Los Santos using guns painted like flags, am I right? Yep, Rockstar is following up GTA Online’s Gunrunning update with some July 4th content, new and old, including a new supercar, bonus earnings in the Dawn Raid adversary mode, and free digital t-shirts just for logging in.
“Raise the flag, put your hand on heart, and wipe that red, white and blue tear from your eye – a wave of Independence Day mayhem is erupting across San Andreas. Firework launchers, classic outfits, the Western Sovereign and the Liberator Monster Truck are all back through July 10, and 25% off their original price. Plus this year also brings patriotic new liveries for your Mobile Operation Center and Mk II weaponry to help you flaunt your love of country.”
But me, I’ll be on the yacht.
Early this month, the Grand Theft Auto V/Online community suffered the shutdown of OpenIV, a modding tool that’s served the series’ community for almost 10 years, following a cease-and-desist letter Rockstar and Take-Two sent its operators. Rockstar said it wasn’t targeting single-player mods but dealing with OpenIV’s enabling of “malicious mods that allow harassment of players and interfere with the GTA Online experience for everybody.” Three more mods, cheat-centric, were served takedowns last week and tasked with donating their profits to charity, all of which led gamers to petition the companies to stop — some even began a (successful) campaign to tank the game’s Steam ratings. Even the BBC reported on the scuffle.
Over the weekend, Rockstar tried to calm players.
“Take-Two has agreed that it generally will not take legal action against third-party projects involving Rockstar’s PC games that are single-player, non-commercial, and respect the intellectual property (IP) rights of third parties,” the company writes, though excepting the online game server, hacks and cheats, and IP violations from that rule and reserving the right to change the policy whenever it chooses, none of which is soothing Reddit.
Let’s see if you can follow the chain of logic here. Police officers in Seattle shoot and kill a alleged burglary victim, resulting in controversy over whether or not the officers made the right decision. All understandable. One of the officers of the department took to Twitch in order to deliver an update on the shooting and the reasons behind it; again, understandable, albeit perhaps not the best choice of platforms.
Of course, he was also taking to Twitch so he could stream while playing Destiny. A game where you shoot things. Like, that’s the whole game.
Saying “don’t livestream a game about shooting people while discussing an actual shooting your department is being criticized for” seems like it should be kind of obvious, but apparently not. The officer in question has stated that he felt failing to discuss the shooting would be seen as a cop-out, although that doesn’t really explain why he felt that was the ideal time to combine these two things. We should all just be happy it wasn’t Grand Theft Auto Online.
Last week, the Grand Theft Auto V/Online community was rocked by the shutdown of OpenIV, a modding tool that’s served the series’ community for almost 10 years, following a cease-and-desist letter Rockstar and Take-Two sent its operators. Rockstar said it wasn’t targeting single-player mods but dealing with what it says was OpenIV’s enabling of “malicious mods that allow harassment of players and interfere with the GTA Online experience for everybody,” in spite of player arguments that single-player mods are theoretically not available to play in GTAO.
Turns out Rockstar and Take Two weren’t done. As the purveyors of the Force Hax mod menu announced, they’ve been driven offline too and were actually tasked with donating their profits to charity, since confirmed by Rockstar.
“After discussions with Take-Two Interactive, effective immediately we are ceasing all maintenance, development and distribution of the Force Hax cheat menu services. We will be donating our proceeds to charity and we apologize for any and all problems Force Hax services have caused to the Grand Theft Auto Online community.”
This week, the Grand Theft Auto V/Online community has been in absolute uproar over a cease-and-desist letter Rockstar and Take-Two sent to the operators of OpenIV, a modding tool that’s served the series’ community for almost 10 years.
“Take-Two’s actions were not specifically targeting single player mods,” Rockstar told PC Gamer. “Unfortunately OpenIV enables recent malicious mods that allow harassment of players and interfere with the GTA Online experience for everybody. We are working to figure out how we can continue to support the creative community without negatively impacting our players.”
Players have questioned this rationale since single-player mods are theoretically not available to play in GTAO. Rockstar has said it will not pursue players who used these tools, because duh.
You might have used plenty of guns in Grand Theft Auto Online, but that’s only scratching the surface of your virtual second amendment rights. In GTA Online’s upcoming Gunrunning DLC, players will take part in the manufacture and distribution of high-powered and definitely illegal firearms across the city.
In the latest update for this online multiplayer game, a whole host of new options and activities will present themselves, including decking out an underground bunker, rolling across the countryside in a mobile ops center, test driving some souped-up vehicles, and participating in the arms trade. Also jumping out of airplanes on glider-bikes. Your mom is so proud.
The update is slated for PC and console and will roll out on Tuesday, June 13th. You can watch the trailer after the jump and attempt to count all of the flagrant safety violations that ensue.
Guns are a pretty important part of Grand Theft Auto Online. If you’re going to play a hardened criminal, you probably want to have lots of things to point and shoot, after all. But why stop there? Why not go full-on into offering some high-tech military overhauls for even the most conventional vehicles around while also providing people with the very latest in personal surface-to-air missile launchers? If that sounds like your jam, you’ll be very happy with the game’s Gunrunning update coming in June.
The gunrunning operations are based out of southern San Andreas, and players will be locating various hatches which can be converted into headquarters for manufacturing, upgrading, and distributing powerful weapons. More details will be forthcoming soon, but you can check out the first screenshots below and let your mind fill with the image of putting heavily armored cars with rotating chaingun turrets on the streets of Los Santos. This is a series which routinely has tanks rumbling down the street, it might not be that much of a stretch.
There’s a lot of stuff you can do in Grand Theft Auto Online, a lot of sources of money that don’t actually intersect with crime too closely. Sometimes you’ll earn money without actually shooting or running over anyone. But it’s important to occasionally get back to basics, and the latest in-game event is about doing just that. It’s all about getting back to basics and, well, robbing places. Pulling off big heists and stealing things. Isn’t that the heart of the matter?
All Heists will award double the money and RP until May 16th, giving ample reason to go out into the world and pull a few off. There are also special vehicle races available during the week if you need a break from the usual heist antics, but again, the point here should be the heists. Go on in and steal some stuff. No one will thank you, but it will be a classic moment.
The MMO industry moves along at the speed of information, and sometimes we’re deluged with so much news here at Massively Overpowered that some of it gets backlogged. That’s why there’s The MOP Up: a weekly compilation of smaller MMO stories and videos that you won’t want to miss. Seen any good MMO news? Hit us up through our tips line!
This week we have stories and videos from Skyforge, EVE Online, Ingress, War Thunder, World of Tanks, Wakfu, League of Legends, SMITE, GTA Online, Elsword Online, Wurm Online, Darkfall: Rise of Agon, Worlds Adrift, Counter-Strike, SEAL Online, and Warspear Online, all waiting for you after the break!
The newest Adversary mode for Grand Theft Auto Online isn’t about stealing things. It’s barely even about exploding cars. No, it’s about taking the game back to its roots with top-down stunt racing on an elevated track, complete with boost sections, power-ups, and all of the general ridiculousness you could expect. It’s the Tiny Racers mode, and it’s live now, without any need for DLC.
Players who drop too far behind the pack in this mode will get blown up, but for the most part it’s just about fun and mildly goofy top-down races across seven tracks. You’ll be getting increased rewards for playing it for the next week or so, which should serve as even more motivation to try it out. Check out the trailer just below for a glimpse at the action.


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Filipino komik (Comic) series, Trese sold out before the Netflix anime adaption!
Created by Filipino writer Budjette Tan and Illustrator Kajo Baldisimo, Trese is a dark fantasy, crime comic series that was originally published in 2005. Trese tells the story of Alexandra Trese, a private detective who specialized in supernatural crimes. The series itself is inspired heavily on Filipino mythology and American series such as, Batman, X-Files, CSI and Constantine.
Having already won numerous awards, including the National Book Award Best Graphic Literature in 2010, an anime inspired adaptation by Netflix was announced back in 2018, with Trese creators as showrunners and Jay Oliva as the series director.
As the series drew more attention from its Netflix adaptation announcement, the award-winning graphic novel sold out ahead of its anime series debut! But don’t worry, you still have a chance to get your hands on a copy, as the comic heads back to press for a second printing.
With TRESE Volume 1’s second printing, fans will have just enough time to get catch up on the supernatural journey of Alexandria Trese, just in time for TRESE Volume 2: Unreported Murders which will be released on July 13th, followed by TRESE Volume 3: Mass Murders on September 28th!
The series stars Pretty Little Liars star, Shay Mitchell, as the voice of Alexandra Trese in English, and Liza Soberano (My Ex and Whys, Alone/Together) in Filipino.


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Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk shocked markets yesterday by announcing plans to merge his electric car maker with America's biggest solar provider.
Tesla Motors wrote in a blog post late last night that it has offered to buy SolarCity in an all-stock deal worth as much as $2.8bn (£1.9bn), more than the solar provider's market capitalisation of $2.1bn.
Shares in Tesla tanked more than 13 per cent to $189.99 in extended trading, wiping around $4.3bn off of its market value. Nevertheless, the news sent SolarCity's shares about 18 per cent higher to $25.02.
Tesla investors may have shivered at the deal, but Musk, who is its chief exec, chairman of SolarCity and the largest shareholder of both companies, later told reporters that it was a "no brainer".
Tesla customers can drive clean cars and they can use our battery packs to help consume energy more efficiently, but they still need access to the most sustainable energy source that’s available: the sun.
The SolarCity team has built its company into the clear solar industry leader in the residential, commercial and industrial markets, with significant scale and growing customer penetration.
So, we’re excited to announce that Tesla today has made an offer to acquire SolarCity.
Both companies have attained fast growth, however they've had to burn through a lot of cash to achieve this.
Tesla, which had long-term debt and capital leases of $2.5bn as of March 31, sold $1.7bn of shares in May to fund production.
SolarCity, which has about $6.24bn in liabilities, is expected to burn roughly $400m in cash from operations next year and report an adjusted loss of nearly $1bn based on consensus estimates, according to Reuters.
Musk has said Tesla is about to report its first profit since it was established in 2003, while SolarCity hasn't made an annual profit since its IPO in 2012.


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(Seattle, WA) Amazon is expanding its Sunday delivery service to 15 more cities across the U.S.
Unfortunately, Memphis is not on the list.
Some cities that are on the list include Philadelphia, New Orleans, Dallas and Indianapolis.
Amazon first launched Sunday delivery in November in Los Angeles and New York.
The company plans to continue to roll out Sunday delivery to more cities this year.


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Wall Motor Co Ltd (GWM), China’s largest SUV manufacturer, will be making its debut in India on February 5,
2020, at the Auto Expo 2020 in Greater Noida, near Delhi.
the Auto Expo – The Motor Show 2020, GWM will undertake the global premiere of
Haval Concept H and the Indian debut of Concept vehicle Vision 2025. Apart from
this GWM will also showcase its excellence and strength in automotive
technology with its range of Haval SUVs, GWM EV products, and innovations in
the area of intelligent safety, connectivity and advanced autonomous systems.
GWM brand is built on the philosophy of innovation, sustainability & smart
mobility. Haval is an automotive marque owned by GWM that specialises in full
range of SUV’s.
signed an agreement to acquire the General Motor India’s Talegaon factory in
the state of Maharashtra on January 17, 2020. Wei Jianjun, Chairman, GWM,
stated, “This is indeed a proud moment for us as we are on the verge of
entering the Indian automotive market. We are excited at the limitless
possibilities that lay ahead as India is an important market for us. At GWM, we
aim to set new benchmarks in the Indian automobile industry and hope to create
an everlasting relationship with the discerning Indian customer. With the
R&D center in Bangalore and now our participation at the 15th edition of
the Auto Expo, we want to further ascertain the importance of India as the core
1997, GWM has continuously accelerated global market expansion along with its
brand awareness and international reputation. At present, GWM has sales network
in more than 60 countries and regions with the support of five regional
marketing centres in Russia, Australia, South Africa, South America, and the
South Korean brand Daewoo has introduced a complete range of automotive batteries in India. The Korean technology automotive batteries cover a comprehensive range, including car, truck, tractor, and b...
BorgWarner has clinched an agreement with a major North American OEM to supply its bi-directional 800V Onboard Charger (OBC) for the automaker’s premium passenger vehicle battery electric vehicle (BEV...
Uno Minda, a leading tier 1 supplier of proprietary automotive solutions to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), has unveiled an innovative range of side stand sensors and switches that use advanc...


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WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – Your next trip to the grocery store could help someone learn to read in the Cape Fear Region.
The Cape Fear Literacy Council has partnered with Whole Foods on Oleander Drive in Wilmington for a day.
Wednesday, March 20 is a Whole Foods Market’s Community 5% Day, with five percent of the store’s net proceeds going to the non-profit.
Community 5% Days happen four times a year.
Copyright 2013 WECT. All rights reserved.


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Samsung unveils solar-powered "Blue Earth" phone Billed as the world's first solar-powered touchscreen handset, the Blue Earth---like the recent Motorola Renew---is built out of recycled water bottles, and even boasts a pedometer that tracks how many trees you've saved by walking rather than driving. Yahoo Tech.
The Downfall of Plasma? Tech historians may point to February 12, 2009 as the official fall of the plasma empire---even though new models have just been announced. That's the day that Pioneer---arguable the maker of the best plasmas ever---announced its complete exit from the TV business and that Vizio---the number-three plasma retailer in the US---gave up on the tech in favor of LCD. PopSci.
Canadian judge: No warrant needed to see ISP logs A Superior Court in Ontario, Canada has ruled that IP addresses are akin to your home address, and therefore people have no expectation of privacy when it comes to their online activities being accessed by law enforcement. This means that, in Canada, police can potentially request information from your ISP about online activities, and can do so without a warrant. Ars Technica.
US Stimulus Package Includes Tech Provisions A stimulus package expected to be approved by the U.S. Congress as soon as Friday includes tens of billions of spending on tech-related projects. The latest cost estimate of the bill is US$787 billion, down slightly from earlier estimates. PC World.
Twitter Nabs $35 Million in New Funding And you thought the days of raising money without a business model were over. Twitter has landed a reported $35 million in additional venture funding, despite the fact it still lacks a business model. The funding values the company at $250 million, according to news reports. AdAge.
Offtopic: Pace of Climate Change Exceeds Estimates The pace of global warming is likely to be much faster than recent predictions, because industrial greenhouse gas emissions have increased more quickly than expected and higher temperatures are triggering self-reinforcing feedback mechanisms in global ecosystems, scientists said Saturday. The Washington Post.


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INVESTORS PURCHASE CITY MOVIE SCREENS
A joint venture headed by Chicago businessman Donzell Starks has acquired eight of the city's best-known movie complexes -- including the Water Tower, Biograph, Hyde Park and Old Orchard theaters. Purchasing the 30 screens from New York's Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corp. is Meridian Entertainment Group Inc., a partnership of Mr. Starks' AJS Entertainment Inc. and Civic Ventures Investment Fund of St. Louis. The deal also includes the Burnham Plaza, Broadway and Bricktown Square cinemas. A sister Starks firm already operates 34 screens on the South and West sides. Meridian also may acquire theaters at 600 and 900 N. Michigan Ave. from Loews.
FACTORY CARD OUTLET SHUTTING LOCATIONS
Factory Card Outlet Corp., the Naperville-based greeting card chain that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 23, has hired a real estate liquidation specialist with the apparent intention of closing some of its 210 stores. New York's DJM Asset Management Co. last week was assisting Factory Card management in "restructuring its portfolio," as one source put it. "Some Factory Card leases will be sold, though it's too early to tell which ones," said DJM President Andrew Graiser. Officials at Factory Card, which has 40 Chicago-area stores, did not return phone calls; but earlier, it had declared that all its stores were conducting business as usual. DJM also is consulting in the closure of five Chernin's Shoes Inc. stores. Chicago-based Chernin's said last week that it had decided to keep open its 20,000-square-foot Woodfield Mall store in Schaumburg, previously slated to close (Crain's, Feb. 22).
Stock leaps to 52-week high
Enthusiasm over the initial public offerings of two tech companies providing digital subscriber line (DSL) technology helped propel stock in Rosemont-based high-tech services company Comdisco Inc. to $22.75 Friday, up 30.5% for the week. Comdisco recently acquired Prism Communication Services Inc., which offers DSL technology to small businesses and residential customers. Colorado-based Rhythms NetConnections Inc. went public at $21 a share last week, and traded around $73 on Friday; Covad Communications Group Inc. of California, which went public in January at $18 a share, traded near $81 on Friday. The uptick in Comdisco stock comes on the heels of a report by U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Inc. released Friday that highlights the potential for DSL technology.
IRI alum Fulgoni launches new firm
Gian Fulgoni, former CEO of Chicago-based market researcher Information Resources Inc. (IRI), has started his own research firm, Lancaster Marketing Group LLC. The company, financed by Mr. Fulgoni and a group of private investors, will use frequent-shopper and hand-held scanner data to help manufacturers and retailers track shopping patterns. Mr. Fulgoni, 50, resigned from IRI in November, after 12 years as its CEO. He remains on the company's board and serves as a consultant.
Dissident investors frown on merger deal
Juno Lighting Inc.'s proposed merger with San Francisco investment firm Fremont Partners L.P. isn't good enough for dissident shareholders pressing the Des Plaines-based company to add independent directors to its board. Lens Inc. -- the Washington, D.C.-based shareholder-activist investment firm with a 6% stake in the lighting maker -- opposes the deal and is lining up support from other large shareholders. The $25 a share Fremont has offered isn't enough of a premium to Juno's $20 stock price before March 26, when the deal was announced, Lens says.
Chances for aviation pact brighten
Prospects of non-stop air service between Chicago and China received a boost with agreement on a new bilateral aviation pact between the U.S. and China late last week. The agreement will allow one new carrier and 27 additional flights a week between the two nations, and industry sources said Dallas-based American Airlines, which has a major hub here, is likely to apply to fly the Chicago-to-Shanghai or Chicago-to-Beijing route.
CEO Filipowski to net $24 mil. in buyout
Andrew "Flip" Filipowski, founder, chairman and CEO of Platinum Technology International Inc., will receive $24 million over eight years under the terms of a non-compete agreement with New York-based Computer Associates International Inc., which is acquiring Platinum for $3.5 billion (Crain's, April 5). Chief Financial Officer Michael Cullinane and Chief Operating Officer Paul Humenansky each will receive $10.5 million over five years in non-compete payments, according to merger documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Home loan leader files for IPO
Prism Financial Corp., the largest Illinois-based originator of home loans, has registered for an initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Chicago-based Prism seeks to raise up to $43.1 million through the IPO, according to SEC documents.
Levy to dump newspaper distribution
Chas. Levy Co. is shutting down its newspaper distribution operation over the next few weeks. . . . John Rogers, president of local money management firm Ariel Capital Management Inc., will join the board of Commonwealth Edison Co. parent Unicom Corp. . . . New York-based investment banking firm Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc. will open its first outpost here April 19. . . . A division of Hoffman Estates-based for-profit education company Career Education Corp. has announced plans to open a branch of the famed Le Cordon Bleu culinary school here by next spring. . . . Carson Pirie Scott & Co. has purchased a six-acre parcel in south suburban Orland Park where it plans to build a 58,000-square-foot furniture store. . . . Hugh Hefner filed on his 73rd birthday to sell 2 million of his Class B common shares in Chicago-based Playboy Enterprises Inc., Bloomberg Business News reported late Friday.
Dean Foods Co. expects the costs of integrating its recent acquisitions to be at least $3 million in fiscal 1999's fourth quarter ending May 30, and $1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2000. An April 5 story incorrectly characterized those costs as operating losses.


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Stock investors who are reeling after today's disaster on Wall Street can take comfort in the fact that people hodling Bitcoin fared even worse. The price of a bitcoin dropped from $7900 to $4900 in less than a day.
Nearly $63 billion has been wiped from the markets as the total market capitalization of all crypto fell from $223 billion to $161 billion, with BTC falling more than 39 percent over the past 24 hours to levels not seen since April 2019.
Balances containing 100 or more bitcoin have fallen to their lowest point since Dec. 31, 2019 signaling a flight to cash as other supposed safe-haven assets like gold fell 3.5 percent.
“CoronaCoin” exists. Some cryptocurrency developers on 4Chan cooked up a digital coin that allows traders to bet on the global coronavirus outbreak, based on how many people become infected and/or die.
Drug dealer Clifton Collins, 49, invested his earnings in bitcoin, eventually racking up $60 million. For safekeeping, he printed the PIN codes to access his accounts and stored them in a fishing rod case at his house. But after Collins was busted on a weed charge and sent to jail, his landlord had all of […]
Now that the world is starting to re-emerge from its self-imposed COVID-19 quarantine, we’re all going to have to start making some adjustments to both short-term and long-term changes. And the questions… Should customers be hounded out of a store if they aren’t wearing a face mask? Are crocheted face masks safe or not? And […]
Maybe you had a piano teacher as a kid that drove you off the instrument forever. Or maybe you always wished for some serious training, but never found the time. Whether you have dreams of tossing off a Beethoven or Chopin piece at the drop of a hat or you have visions of being the […]
When you see that curved arrow on the side of a cardboard box, you instantly know that box came from Amazon. The unfurled rainbow feathers of a peacock immediately scream NBC. And a partially eaten piece of fruit in the profile is a world-recognized symbol of tech titan Apple. Icons are powerful symbols, condensing volumes […]


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Inident IQ CEO Travis Collins Tells Us How They Went From Supporting Enterprise, To Supporting The Future
Lexicon Technologies is a company based in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. For years they were focused on supporting rugged, mobile hardware products for large enterprise customers. Think the handheld scanner devices that delivery drivers carry and Telxon guns found in retail stores. Their repair division fixed thousands of these devices a week to ensure that logistics companies and other large corporations could operate at full efficiency.
As Travis Collins was building the company he was asked to sit on one of the local school boards. This coincided with a time where technology was starting to make it’s way into classrooms aside from tv carts and shared computers. As Collins was helping to make decisions on that school board, the schools themselves were beginning to get into mobile devices and tablets.
The school board quickly realized that they were going to need some kind of repair and support company to help maintain their investment into technology for education. At that time Collins and his team at Lexicon started to really take a look at the education market, the local school system and if they could support those devices. On the hardware side it wasn’t much unlike what they were currently doing, repairing large fleets of devices where turn around time was critical to operations. In the case of education, critical to learning.
Lexicon Technologies still supports hardware in schools but what the team discovered was that there were horrible inefficiencies in the way IT was handled at the school level. They needed to create another product to manage that. One of the biggest issues with school technology, and enterprise technology for that matter, was “no issue found”. That’s hundreds, if not thousands of devices per year, that make their way through Lexicon’s repair facility just to find out they are working properly.
A more effective management platform at the school IT level could reduce the number of those incidents. Not only that, but having a better platform to manage IT in schools and school districts would mean that device repairs, and software issues were delegated both timely and properly.
The Lexicon Technologies team worked the next two years developing a new product and company specifically for the K-12 edtech industry. That company, Incident IQ, is the IT management platform schools have been looking for.
Check out our video with Travis Collins above and find out more at IncidentIQ.com


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The Government of Ghana, through the Exim Bank, has approved an amount of GH¢5,444,760.00 as a stimulus package to revive the Astek Company Limited at Nsawam, to give jobs opportunities to the youth in the area.
The capital expenditure component of the amount being GH¢2,639,760.00 has already been disbursed to the company, whilst the working capital part of GH¢2,805,000.00 was still outstanding.
Mr Alan Kyeremanten, Minister of Trade and Industry announced this when he appeared before Parliament to answer a question filed by Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh, Member of Parliament (MP) for Nsawam-Adoagyiri on government plans to revive the Astek Company Limited.
The Astek Company Limited, located in Nsawam in the Eastern Region was one of the first companies to express interest to be part of the Ministry’s Stimulus Package Programme and subsequently the One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative using its subsidiary company Nano Foods Limited.
The company applied for the EXIM Bank support which was later approved.
Mr Kyeremanten also explained that the Business promoter has ordered a 600Mt per annum pineapple processing equipment that was scheduled to arrive in January 2020 for installation.
He said the promoter had also used part of the disbursed amount to refurbish the company’s premises at Nsawam, but would require an additional amount of GH¢500,000.00 to complete the refurbishment due to cost overrun.
Mr Kyeremanten also indicated that the company had secured orders to export Canned, Sliced and Chunked pineapples to Spain, USA, and Egypt under the new brand name Nano Foods.
He said the company would also produce and supply fresh pineapple juice to the local markets.
He said the company would create a minimum of sixty (60) direct jobs and two hundred indirect jobs for residents particularly the youth of Nsawam-Adoagyiri and the surrounding communities.
In addition, the company would purchase the produce of pineapple farmers or out-growers in the community to complement supplies from the company’s nucleus farm which would enhance their incomes and improve their livelihoods.
Mr Kyeremanten further indicated that to ensure the successful operation of the company, his Ministry would continue to provide all the incentives and support services earmarked for 1D1F companies.
He said the Ministry had also assigned a consultant to work with the business promoter to enhance operational performance for the achievement of the company’s objectives.
Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh, MP for the area speaking to the media in Parliament, expressed delight about the ongoing plans to resuscitate the Astek Company to create jobs for the youth in the area.
According to him, it was very refreshing to hear such good news for the people of Nsawam and that the whole plan fitted into government’s overarching policy of One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative.
He said the revival of the company was likely to break the monopoly enjoyed by other companies in the area, by injecting competition which was expected to create better prices for pineapple farmers.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh also stated that the closure of Astek Company 15 years ago affected a lot of people, since it was the main source of employment in the area.
He pledged to follow up to ensure that all the equipment was installed and to make sure that the company became operational.
He charged the new management to take a cue from the previous administration in order not to repeat the mistakes of the past that led to the closure of the company.


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The company has ‘increased its security guard presence’ and ‘further prioritised’ CCTV monitoring at the city centre store on High Street, it says.
The chain issued a statement a month after terrified staff told The Star they feared someone was going to get stabbed amid a rise in threats, spitting, aggression, discrimination, false accusations of assault and ‘brazen’ shoplifting.
A month on, a Boots spokesman said staff had been given additional training on ‘body worn’ cameras, panic buttons and reporting crimes.
BUSINESS NEWS: Probe into furlough row recruitment firm continues
He added: “Like many retailers, we are experiencing increasing levels of retail crime in our stores. At our Sheffield High Street store, safety of our team members continues to be our number one priority.
“Our store CCTV is monitored 24 hours a day at our monitoring centre, we have staff panic buttons in place, and we employ security guards in-store.
“We have also increased our security guard presence in store and further prioritised CCTV monitoring. We think that much more can be done to support retailers in this area, which is why we are working closely with the Home Office and the police - we are also meeting with the police in Sheffield to explore what more can be done locally to support this particular store.”


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Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN) will release its quarterly report on Thursday, and the operator of stores selling construction and agricultural equipment has seen revenue climb substantially in recent quarters. Yet the coming Titan Machinery earnings report looks to be somewhat of a disappointment for investors, as falling net income could make some question the specialty retailer’s future prospects.
Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN) posted large gains during the bull market from 2009 to 2012, more than quadrupling in price as growing interest in its products supported its business. But particularly in the past six months or so, Titan’s earnings prospects appear to have worsened even as sales in the U.S. have remained relatively strong. What explains the disconnect? Let’s take an early look at what’s been happening with Titan Machinery over the past quarter and what we’re likely to see in its report.
Stats on Titan Machinery
|Analyst EPS Estimate||$0.20|
|Change From Year-Ago EPS||(20%)|
|Revenue Estimate||$463.11 million|
|Change From Year-Ago Revenue||12.9%|
|Earnings Beats in Past Four Quarters||1|
Source: Yahoo! Finance.
Why could Titan Machinery earnings fall this quarter?
In recent months, analysts have cut back on their views on Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN) earnings, reducing July quarter estimates by $0.04 per share and slashing their projections for next fiscal year by double that amount. The stock has also reflected that weakness, falling nearly 15% since late May.
Titan Machinery came into the current quarter on a weak note, as the company’s stock plunged in late May after the company cut its preliminary sales guidance for its April quarter by more than 10%, reversing its original call for a healthy profit with a quarterly loss. Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN) later blamed the sluggishness on a cold spring, which has since given way to better weather conditions that have many farmers much better off than they were during last year’s drought.
One worry that some investors have about Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ:TITN) concerns its ties to CNH Global NV (ADR) (NYSE:CNH). Even though CNH has seen its equipment sales perform fairly well lately, the fact that Titan serves mostly domestic customers within the U.S. puts it head-to-head against dealers of popular products from Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT). Given that both Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) and Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) arguably have better brand recognition among potential U.S. customers, Titan faces somewhat of an uphill battle selling its customers on CNH Global NV (ADR) (NYSE:CNH) equipment.
A big question for Titan is whether CNH’s pending merger with Fiat Industrial will have an impact on Titan’s sales. The combination could give Titan greater access to Fiat’s more extensive line of trucks and other specialized vehicles, boosting potential sales if the retailer can find customers seeking Fiat products.


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For the fifth consecutive year, global grain and oilseed yields have topped the long-term trend. This high level of production has exceeded use in most years.
The result? Grain prices remain under pressure.
The good news is, grain prices are projected to be slightly higher this year, according to the 2018 U.S. Baseline Outlook (LINK: https://www.fapri.missouri.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/2018-Baseline-Outlook-1.pdf) compiled by Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri.
For 2018-19, corn prices are expected to average $3.57 per bushel for corn, $9.38 for soybeans and $4.89 for wheat. FAPRI expects prices for these three commodities to stay relatively flat in during the next few years.
However, even with the modest increases in commodity prices, net farm income is expected to stay far below the record level set in 2013. Net farm income averaged nearly 32% of outstanding debt from 1995 through 2014, but it fell to less than 17% in 2016 and 2017. For 2018, net farm income remains around $60 billion for the third straight year, according to FAPRI, which shows continued pressure on farm finances in the years ahead.
The silver lining for the ag industry is strong demand for meat. In 2017, consumer meat demand was stronger than average. FAPRI reports it is rare for meat supplies to grow as they did last year without output prices suffering more severe declines.
U.S. meat demand is expected to remain strong, but prices will likely drop for most products in 2018 due to continued supply pressure and a return to more normal levels of consumer demand.
This annual report gives policy makers, farmers, agribusinesses and the public an overview of the state of the U.S. farm economy, says Patrick Westhoff, FAPRI Director. The projections can be useful to farmers making production plans, to lenders who must decide whether to make loans and to agribusinesses making investment decisions.
“Perhaps most importantly, it serves as a point of reference for policy analysts,” says Patrick Westhoff, FAPRI Director. “Congressional staff ask us to look at policy alternatives relative to this set of baseline projections so they can better understand how policy choices may affect farmers, businesses, consumers and taxpayers.”


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Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in Kroger Co (NYSE:KR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.
A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atlas Brown Inc. raised its stake in Kroger by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 7,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. O Dell Group LLC raised its stake in Kroger by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. O Dell Group LLC now owns 9,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 51,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 147,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,068,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 9,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.20% of the company’s stock.
Kroger stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.78. 4,811,189 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,853,535. Kroger Co has a 12-month low of $23.52 and a 12-month high of $32.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.28.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.54%.
A number of brokerages have issued reports on KR. ValuEngine raised Kroger from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Kroger in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank set a $32.00 target price on Kroger and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down from $31.00) on shares of Kroger in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Kroger from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.33.
In other news, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 80,000 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.52, for a total value of $1,961,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 126,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,109,136. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.
TRADEMARK VIOLATION WARNING: This report was originally published by Baseball Daily News and is owned by of Baseball Daily News. If you are viewing this report on another website, it was illegally stolen and republished in violation of US and international trademark & copyright laws. The original version of this report can be accessed at https://www.baseballdailydigest.com/news/2019/04/21/cetera-investment-advisers-acquires-shares-of-8198-kroger-co-kr.html.
Kroger Company Profile
The Kroger Co operates as a retailer in the United States. The company operates supermarkets, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouse stores. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.
Further Reading: How Does the Quiet Period Work?
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Apple's iPad 3
Apple's iPad 3
Current rumor suggests that Apple will debut the next iPad in early March. Whatever the features of the iPad 3 (as everyone's calling it at the moment), the device will almost certainly reinforce Apple's dominance of the space and cause trouble for any newcomers like Windows 8.
Although sales numbers for Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 don't match those of the iPad, the manufacturer has managed to establish itself as a serious player in the tablet arena. A solid Android alternative could peel off potential customers for Windows 8 tablets.
In the past three years since its release, hundreds of millions of people have purchased Windows 7. Moreover, the operating system attracted strong reviews from both users and the tech media. Given all that, will all those Windows 7 owners rush out to purchase Windows 8?
Windows XP is a full decade old, and yet millions of people still rely on it for daily tasks-despite Windows 7 eating away at its market share. Windows 8 will need to convince those XP users to give up the old war-horse once and for all.
Mac OS X
Apple's iPad isn't Windows 8's only Cupertino-created opponent: Mac OS X Lion will challenge Microsoft's new operating system for both desktop and laptop users.
Businesses remain a significant market for Microsoft, and a key audience for each new release of Windows. But the recent bring-your-own-device trend (in which employees use their personal devices in a workday context) could create issues for Windows 8 as it seeks to become the dominant OS on both traditional PCs and more mobile form factors, as it brings a flood of new contenders (iPads, Macs) into the enterprise and small and midsized businesses.
Although Google's Chrome OS doesn't exactly present an existential threat to Windows, the increasing popularity of the cloud could lead to an uptick in sales for Google Chromebooks, which rely exclusively on the cloud-based operating system. That could eat into Windows 8 sales.


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BT's Wi-Fi Disc ads banned because there's no evidence the things work
Ad watchdog puts telco on the naughty step over range extender promotion
Updated BT has been told to stop claiming its Wi-Fi discs work in “every room” of the home after complaints from rivals and the public alike.
The one-time state monopoly’s headline ad claim, which states: “Only we guarantee Wi-Fi in every room. Clever new Wi-Fi Discs extend your signal to every part of your home” has been branded “misleading” by the Advertising Standards Authority.
BT’s latest ad spot was promoting its new Wi-Fi discs, repeater devices distributed through the home to improve one’s Wi-Fi signal. Traditional Wi-Fi setups rely on the router and its antenna alone to cover the entire home in one go.
Adland’s self-regulator, a private company based in London’s trendy Shoreditch, told BT not to run the offending ads again after ruling that they were “misleading.” Among other things the ads featured a woman streaming films to her phone while in the bath and weird purple tendrils snaking through innocent people's homes.
In its defence BT said it had tested the discs in 1,000 homes “of different construction types including detached, semi-detached, mid-terrace, flat/apartments and bungalows.” 96 per cent of these, it said, got full coverage after an extra Wi-Fi disc was dispatched from BT, while 4 per cent needed two or more extra discs. Implausibly, BT also claimed to have boosted download speeds from 6Mbps to 100Mbps+ on average during testing.
“We could not verify” any of BT’s claims, said the ASA, “from the test house data, which did not test for interference, or the in-life data that adequate speeds were consistently being achieved, including at peak times, in every room of the customers’ homes (i.e. in homes of every different layout and size).”
Just one customer, claimed the telco, scored the advertised £20 off their next bill after BT’s fantastical new tech failed to work. That number may increase after today’s ruling is published.
One of the telly ads also showed the disc being set up without any wires, something the ASA said was likely to mislead because it would fool people into thinking the discs were battery-powered instead of needing a mains electrical connection.
“We told British Telecommunications plc not to claim that they guaranteed Wi-Fi in every room unless they held adequate evidence to support the claims,” concluded the ASA. Some people associated with El Reg agreed, branding BT's promotional claims "sheer bollockery" when your correspondent asked if anyone had fallen for this obviously groundless boasting taken BT at its word.
A year ago BT was slapped by the ad watchdog for similar claims about having the UK’s “most powerful” Wi-Fi. Lest it be thought to be a new affliction, the ASA was ruling against BT for misleading broadband speed claims a full decade ago, showing that there’s truly nothing new under the Sun. ®
Updated at 10:28 19 March to add
BT has been in touch to say: “We guarantee that our Complete Wi-Fi customers will get Wi-Fi in every room. Unlike other providers we send our customers a new Smart Hub 2 and Wi-Fi Disc which gets a strong wi-fi signal to every room for the majority of customers across the UK.
"We also go the extra mile for customers living in the biggest homes and we will happily send more Wi-Fi Discs and arrange for an engineer to visit if needed – we will always help our customers to get Wi-Fi to every room.
"The ASA wants us to explain more clearly that we’ll also send customers £20 if they’re still not happy and we’ve changed our ads to make that more clear.”