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Yardi's West Coast User Conference Rolls Out to San Diego in 2017
Yardi wrapped up its Fall 2016 Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference (YASC) in Anaheim, Calif., with an announcement: the West Coast event will move to San Diego, Calif., for four years beginning in Fall 2017.
According to a media release, fall YASC is set for Wednesday to Friday, Sept. 13-15, at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, a 4-star hotel property close to Balboa Park and the world-famous San Diego Zoo.
"We are pleased to offer attendees an exceptional Southern California getaway in San Diego," said Terri Dowen, senior vice president of sales for Yardi. "After outgrowing our Santa Barbara conference venue, many clients expressed the desire to be close to the beach again for this event. We listened, and selected an ideal new location in San Diego."
Yardi has hosted more than 1,500 clients at each of its Anaheim conferences, and expects to continue to grow the event in San Diego.
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THE DAILY VIEW
Tea Forté Introduces ‘Matcha’ Collection
Convenience meets tradition in Tea Forté’s new Ceremonial Matcha Bowl Set and the Matcha Single Steeps.
The company said its spring harvested, shade grown, stone ground, organic matcha tea is best served in a centuries-old Japanese tea ceremony called chanoyu: a preparation technique known for its centering meditative qualities.
"The launch of Tea Forté's Matcha collection represents our continued commitment to wellness and cultivating all the potential mental and physical health benefits of tea," says Tea Forté CEO Michael Gebrael. "In addition to our high quality Pure Matcha, we've also blended four distinct flavored Matcha varieties. Prepackaged in pouches measured out for a single serving, our Single Steeps Matcha is ideal for the office, travel, or to keep with you for a boost anytime."
Tea Forté noted its handcrafted ceremonial tea bowl, handmade bamboo whisk and measuring ladle “encourages serene enjoyment of our premium Kosher, gluten-free and vegan matcha blends.” These include: Pure Matcha, Chocolate Matcha, Coconut Matcha, Ginger Matcha, and Chai Matcha.
According to a release, in addition to its distinctive taste, matcha is prized for its health benefits. Steeped green tea contains only the antioxidants that can be extracted in water, while with matcha, the whole leaf is consumed.
Available now in select stores and online at teaforte.com.
Expedia.com has released a year-end look at U.S. traveler behavior and trends for 2017, analyzing data to identify the most in-demand destinations, hotels, activities and more.
Among other insights, the roundup revealed:
- Labor Day was the busiest weekend for car rental
- Disney Theme Parks topped the list of things to do
- The average hotel stay was two nights
- Top destinations based on 2017 air travel included major global cities like New York, London and Bangkok
- Popular tourist destinations included Orlando, Cancun and Las Vegas


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Sept 12 (Reuters) - Australia’s biggest department store chain Myer Holdings Ltd on Wednesday posted its first ever annual loss since listing as it failed to win back customers amid heavy online competition.
The 118-year old retailer said net loss for the year ending July 28 came in at A$486 million ($345.84 million), compared with a profit of A$11.9 million last year.
Total sales for the year fell 3.2 percent to A$3.1 billion, the company said.
$1 = 1.4053 Australian dollars Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru Editing by Chris Reese
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

domain: news


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The PC market decline is leading to job cuts in silicon valley.
FOX News Radio's Lisa Brady has more in this FOX on Tech report:
Smartphones and tablets, taking a bite out of the PC market. And now chip-making giant Advanced Micro Devices, says it will cut 14-hundred workers, about 12% of its workforce. They're the world's second biggest maker of microprocessors for PC's. And though they're also part of popular game consoles including Wii and X-Box, they've been hit by recent manufacturing problems and shipping delays. AMD figuring the cuts will save 200-million dollars next year.
Lisa Brady, FOX News Radio.


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Vale Food Co. to open in Brooklyn Station; V Pizza building in Ponte Vedra Beach
Chick-fil-A wants to renovate its Regency area restaurant as part of a brand-image remodel.
The Atlanta-based chain proposes a $680,000 project to modify the roughly 4,000-square-foot property at 9398 Atlantic Blvd., which was built in 2000.
Chick-fil-A also is renovating its Tinseltown restaurant to include interior and exterior work, including a redesigned dining room, a dual-line kitchen and adding another drive-thru lane.
That site, at 4461 Southside Blvd., will close this fall for four weeks for the project.
A spokeswoman said in May that Chick-fil-A planned to remodel two or three Jacksonville area locations annually for the next five years as part of its long-term reinvestment strategy.
• Two Dudes Seafood Restaurant operators and owners Tom and Jennifer Corsano opened their third location in the former Il Desco space in Riverside. The 2665 Park St. location previously was a drugstore before conversion into Pele’s Wood Fire Grill in 2012 and then the Il Desco Italian restaurant in November 2015. Il Desco closed in January. It is the third Two Dudes location, with the first in Atlantic Beach and the second in Ponte Vedra Beach.
• Lucky’s Market is taking shape in OakLeaf Station in Southwest Jacksonville. The city approved construction of the shell building for the 30,185-square-foot market at 8380 Merchants Way at a cost of $540,530. Target Contractors Inc. is the contractor.
• Vale Food Co. is opening at 90 Riverside Ave. in Brooklyn Station on Riverside. It will lease 1,999 square feet of space next to Burrito Gallery. Vale is a Tallahassee-based healthy fast-casual restaurant that offers meal plans, catering and delivery.
• V Pizza intends to open at 154 Canal Blvd. in Ponte Vedra Beach. St. Johns County issued a permit for construction of a 5,600-square-foot retail building to include V Pizza at a cost of $1.2 million. V Pizza has locations in San Marco, Mandarin, Jacksonville Beach, Fleming Island and Gainesville.


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Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH
Global businesses are having difficulty keeping up with the deluge of new data privacy regulations taking effect around the globe. Nearly one in two organisations (47 per cent) are lagging behind despite businesses spending around $1.5 million globally on data protection issues for employees, software, hardware, third parties and other costs. The survey reveals that 38 per cent of all organisations globally have also had to deal with an enforcement action. The research was carried out over nine countries - the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong by Thompson Reuters.
One of the factors impacting is the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on 25 May 2018 for organisations conducting business in the European Union. The research revealed GDPR compliance is already taking up thirty-one per cent of the average data privacy budget. 'Data privacy and protection regulations are growing globally every day,' said Chris Maguire, managing director of Corporate, Thomson Reuters. He added that the number and complexity of regulations was adding 'new responsibilities and costs that can grow exponentially when doing business on a global scale.'


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| Jul 15, 2014
| 8:53 AM
One of Florida's most popular microbrews is headed to sea.
Two of Tampa's Cigar City Brewing's craft beers will be featured aboard all 13 of Carnival Cruise Line's Florida-based cruise ships. The line made the announcement last Sunday aboard the...
| Jul 16, 2014
| 1:04 PM
In local public-affairs programming this weekened:
Westgate Resorts CEO David Siegel talks to Mike Holfeld on "Flashpoint" at 8 a.m. Sunday on WKMG-Channel 6. Siegel will talk about his purchase of the Orlando Predators, the recovery of his business and...
| Jul 22, 2014
| 9:15 AM
A tugboat involved in dredging at Port Canaveral collided with a pier on Sunday and caused $500,000 in damage, including a broken mooring post.
Debris from the collision came off the mooring post, or bollard. The port’s North Cargo Pier No. 3...
| Jun 23, 2014
| 8:44 AM
A U.S. subsidiary of Middle Eastern cargo company Gulftainer has signed a 35-year, $100 million agreement to boost cargo operations with a new terminal at Port Canaveral.
It’s the first U.S. location for Gulftainer, a United Arab Emirates...
| Oct 15, 2013
| 2:53 PM
TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Rick Scott tomorrow will recommend $35 million in new spending on projects at Port Canaveral, Port Everglades and Port of Tampa.
Scott is slated to announce the proposal during a speech at the American Association of Port Authority's...
| Apr 9, 2013
| 9:17 AM
South Floridians will have a chance to tour a replica Spanish galleon ship during its visit to Fort Lauderdale as part of the state’s ‘Viva Florida 500’ celebration.
El Galeon -- a 170-foot, 495 ton authentic wooden replica of a...
| Mar 26, 2013
| 10:13 AM
A woman was found dead in her cabin aboard Royal Caribbean International's Enchantment of the Seas cruise ship a day before the ship returned to port Monday in Baltimore.
In an email Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Miami-based Royal Caribbean said the FBI...
| Aug 8, 2013
| 9:07 AM
This itinerary was last updated March 2, 2010. For more information on Disney Magic cruises click here.
7-Night Western Caribbean Cruise Cozumel Before Grand Cayman 2010 Departure Date: March 6 Cruise Ports: Port Canaveral, FL; Key West, FL; Cozumel,...
| May 29, 2013
| 3:27 PM
Updated 6:27 p.m. May 29:
On Wednesday, Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said it estimates the direct financial impact of the fire aboard Royal Caribbean International's Grandeur of the Seas (net of insurance) will be a reduction of $0.10 per...
| Oct 21, 2013
| 7:34 AM
The Disney Magic has gone under the knife and is on its way to Miami. The re-imagined cruise ship spent four weeks at the Navantia Shipyards in Cadiz, Spain and is set to show off its new gams so to speak at its winter home of PortMiami before...
| Apr 26, 2013
| 11:29 AM
Disney Cruise Line is giving its oldest ship a major facelift.
The Disney Magic will be getting new waterslides, a new nightlife hub, a Marvel Comics-themed area and more updates as it heads for a six-week dry dock overhaul this September.


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New Delhi: Mother Dairy is to raise the consumer prices of its poly pack milk variants in Delhi NCR from Saturday. The 1-litre pack has been increased by Re 1 and the 500 ml pack by Rs 2 a litre.
However, no price hike is being taken in the Bulk Vended Milk (BVM) popularly known as Token Milk, a statement from Mother Dairy said.
The milk procurement prices have been continuously on the rise for the last three to four months due to increasing in feed and fodder cost by 15-20 per cent and labour cost.
However, while paying higher prices to producers by 7-8 per cent compared to last year, the consumer prices were kept intact.
The last consumer price revision in Delhi NCR for poly pack milk was taken in March 2017.


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2022 a turnaround year for retail and hotel REITs
KUCHING,. The real estate investment trust (REIT) industry is expected to see a turnaround in the financial year 2022 (FY22) and FY23, supported by the recovery in both the retail and hotel segments, analysts observed.
“We believe FY22 and FY23 will mark the turnaround year for REITs counter after two years of hardship, supported by the recovery in both retail and hotel segment.
“With the gradual recovery of retail footfalls and hotel occupancy, coupled with potential easing of aggressive rate hikes by Federal Reserve, we are seeing a widening yield spread for REITs against the 10-year MGS yield and expect REITs sector to be appealing to yield-seeking investors with its high distribution yield of six to 11 per cent,” said the research team at AmInvestment Bank Bhd (AmInvestment).
It pointed out that there has been a significant uptick in tenants’ sales in the first nine months of 2022 (9M22).
“We gather that the tenants’ sales of majority of the malls that fall under our coverage have rebounded to 90 to 110 per cent of the pre-covid level in 9M22 with the improvement in footfall traffic.
“As such, we anticipate the rental reversion in FY22F to be mildly positive especially for the malls situated in prime locations (such as Mid Valley Megamall, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Sunway Pyramid),” it opined.
However, it also pointed out that the rental reversions for less established malls are likely to remain flattish or slightly negative.
“For these smaller malls, increasing occupancy rates through attractive rents will be imperative. Nevertheless, we expect the footfall and tenant sales will continue to be strong in 4Q22 on the
back of the holidays and festive seasons,” it said.
As for the office segment, AmInvestment expected occupancy and rental reversion rates would likely stabilise.
“However, we expect a flattish rental reversion in FY22F/FY23F, particularly for older office buildings in Kuala Lumpur city centre, given the growing oversupply of office spaces on the back of office decentralisation and flexible working arrangement trends,” it said.
As for the hospitality segment, AmInvestment expected gradual recovery from the resumption of leisure activities and the reopening of international borders.
“We observed a reversal in the downtrend of the hotel occupancy rate since 2Q22 along with a recovery in average daily rate (ADR) brought on by the arrival of domestic and foreign tourists as
well as the return of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) and business events.
“Given that we are approaching the year-end holiday season, we believe that the hotel segment will continue to have encouraging growth in 4Q22. Another positive catalyst will be the potential return of China tourists, which made up 12 per cent of Malaysia’s foreign tourist arrivals in 2019,” it said.
As for the impact of US Fed’s monetary policy, AmInvestment pointed out that it might ease off on its recent aggressive rate policy rate hikes which has affected Malaysia’s 10-year MGS yiield.
All in, AmInvestment upgraded its rating on the sector to ‘overweight’ based on its improving performance.


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With obesity spreading, particularly among children, Nestlé is more sensitive than ever. And it is not alone. Kraft’s announcement last week that it would cut portion sizes and the amount of fat in products such as Dairylea and Angel Delight sent shock waves through the world’s biggest food producers.
John Banzhaf, an anti-smoking activist and law professor at George Washington University School of Law, says the food companies are finally waking up: food is the new tobacco.
Kraft’s decision came after the threat of legal action over its use of artificial fat in biscuits and was an ominous sign for its rivals.
It is not the first food company to try to forestall a snack attack with promises to change its practices. Last September Pepsi…


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OnePlus is apparently keen on repeating its previous steps in its marketing campaign. Last year, the Chinese company introduced its first handset by slowly feeding information about it in a teaser campaign that went on for a couple of weeks, which is apparently what the company is doing this time as well for the OnePlus 2. This time however, we get a teaser every few days detailing a specific feature about the phone.
We are already aware that it will employ a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset, overheating issues notwithstanding, and that the OnePlus 2 will be officially unveiled on July 27 through a VR presentation.
In terms of security, the OnePlus 2 will be the latest smartphone to sport a fingerprint sensor. Not a big surprise as more Android phones have been featuring it but a good feature nonetheless.
OnePlus promises that its new smartphone would feature “one of the latest and most advanced fingerprint sensors out there”. They have also boldly claimed that their fingerprint sensor would work even faster than Apple’s Touch ID, which would be interesting to compare when the OnePlus 2 is released.
The company also explains that when designing the One last year that it chose not to include a fingerprint scanner because the technology simply wasn’t advanced enough to make it work effectively at the time. Sensors were quite inaccurate and using one is usually more inefficient than simply entering a password.
Now though it’s refined and made their fingerprint sensor ‘lightning quick’ and as such it’s going to use it in the OnePlus 2. This sensor will let you store up to five fingerprint profiles, which means any of your fingers on a single hand can unlock your phone.


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With the way consumers take in big events like the Super Bowl, real-time marketing should be a consideration for all marketers when it comes to the overall strategy. Traditional advertising undoubtedly plays a role in what consumers will take in, but big events have come to mean eyes on many screens.
Despite being a tech-savvy Gen Y'er who lives online, sometimes I read an article that makes me feel like I'm being relegated to some "too old to be hip" corner of the internet where only Clint Eastwood and baby boomers hang out. The most glaring instance was an October article in Quartz about the rise of social payments app.
As the holiday season nears and 2014 comes to an end, we're at the cusp of being inundated with countless lists and predictions about what 2015 holds. Everybody has the desire to gain insight into what's on the horizon. But with such a huge number of resources to turn to, how do you cut through the noise and find what is truly valuable?
The next time you love talking to a digital marketer will probably be the first time you love talking to a digital marketer. They blabber more than Steve Urkel and act less than Mark Hamill after Star Wars. These are the idiotic things digital marketers say that drive the rest of the working world crazy.
In case you haven't heard, Calvin Klein is the latest clothing company to come out with a campaign that has a lot of people extremely pissed off. The campaign is called, "Perfectly Fit" and it features model Myla Dalbesio modeling what Calvin Klein is calling their "plus sized" underwear. It should come as no surprise that 27-year-old Myla is not what most people would consider anything even close to plus sized. I suppose I understand the outrage in principal, but why are people still so shocked when a company that is known for promoting one kind of beauty continues to do just that? Frankly, if Calvin Klein wanted to do something seriously shocking, they would use a model who was older than 25 years old and wore a size bigger than a four.
Our phones have become our lifelines, our mode of socializing, our way of staying connected. But in fact, by using this "appliance" to stay connected, I would say we are in fact losing all of our connections. There is something to be said for distraction free living. It is no wonder that stress levels in our society are at an all-time high and use of anti-depressants have peaked.
With the school year back in full swing, it's a great time to revisit a topic that affects students, parents and teachers equally: social media. While social media use continues to grow and becomes increasingly common place, it is nonetheless an area of contention, particularly when it comes to kids -- both in and outside of the classroom.
Hamas and Israel are at war and the land beneath their citizens' feet is crying. As it does, an incredible marvel -- while not entirely new-- is happening, and that is tweeting behind the lines. The idea that Palestinians and I, a Jewish community worker in Toronto in 2014, are bantering back and forth while bombs and missiles fall in Israel and Gaza is astounding.
Rather than seeing nothing after I post a particularly bleak tweet or a caption speaking about mental illness, my notifications explode with questions and comments, all curious and positive about this awful invisible assailant. Total strangers will send their love and prayers out to me. Others will thank me for being brave and outspoken.
Computers afford us a lot, and social media has its pluses and minuses, but what the Internet can't truly replicate is the spirit when all our senses are engaged and we are participating in life outside the screen. That's what's missing. That's why there's less time for living. Here's how to use social media and create a balance so that you enjoy the moments of living more fully.
What if you put the the most viral Facebook and Twitter accounts into one feed and ranked the posts by popularity. What would the 20 most liked and viral posts in the last week be? I bet it will surprise most of you -- because we human beings like some weird stuff, but we're used to dividing ourselves socially into interest groups, and then only seeing what's popular with our friends and peers.
Rihanna recently had her Instagram account deleted after posting one of the topless photos from her very racy, very stylish spread in Lui magazine earlier this month. Even though Instagram maintained it was an accident (who in their right mind would piss RiRi off on purpose?) and reinstated the account, it had still been wiped squeaky clean.


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Disney jumps after Morgan Stanley boosts its outlook for Netflix competitor Disney Plus (DIS)
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
- Disney shares rose as much as 3% after Morgan Stanley published a report on Thursday increasing their price target to $160 from $135.
- Morgan Stanley also increased its forecast for Disney's streaming subscriber growth, predicting it will hit 130 million by 2024.
- Disney stock hit a record high of $142.35 a share in April following the release of 'Avengers: Endgame.'
- Watch Disney trade live.
The firm now sees subscribers rising to more than 130 million by 2024. That figure includes Hulu, Disney Plus, and ESPN Plus members. Comparatively, Netflix had 139 million global subscribers as of 2018.
Morgan Stanley also increased its price target for Disney from $135 to $160. Disney shares hit an all-time high of $142.35 in April after the blockbuster release of 'Avengers: Endgame.'
"Disney is building content assets that enable it take advantage of the significant direct-to-consumer streaming opportunity ahead," Swinburne said.
In early June, Variety cited a PwC report that said Netflix could be approaching a peak in US subscribers.
Disney announced details about its upcoming streaming platform, Disney Plus, earlier this spring. Disney Plus is expected to launch on November 12 at a price of $6.99 a month, or $69.99 a year.
Several companies have jumped into the streaming and original content space in the last few years including Apple, Facebook, and Amazon. Apple will be rolling out its own streaming platform dubbed Apple TV+ in the fall of 2019 as well. The platform is expected to feature original TV shows and movies.
Morgan Stanley also bumped up its forecast for Disney's long-term earnings to $11 of adjusted earnings per share in 2024.
"Despite higher start-up costs, we see a faster ramp at Disney Plus and accelerated profitability supporting a premium multiple," Swinburne said.
Disney is up 27.39% this year.
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Camarillo Old Town eateries have long had sidewalk seating; now they can expand farther
Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, Camarillo allowed restaurants in its Old Town area to seat customers on public sidewalks.
Now, the city is permitting the eateries to temporarily serve patrons in parking spaces as well.
And officials won't charge them any fees to apply to do so.
The City Council adopted a resolution May 22 approving those standards to help restaurants increase customer capacity restricted by state and county social distancing requirements during the COVID-19 crisis.
Other local COVID-19 news:
The city has thus far approved temporary outdoor seating for a brewery and a restaurant, neither in the Old Town section.
Institution Ale has been authorized for expanded seating in parking spaces, while Good Morning Cafe, located in a shopping center, has been approved for seating on a private sidewalk.
Joe Vacca, Camarillo's community development director, said the city has always allowed Old Town restaurants to seat customers on public sidewalks on Ventura Boulevard.
"The big difference now is that when they apply for the zone clearance for their outdoor dining, we don't charge any fees and they can utilize parking (spaces)," he said.
Restaurants in Camarillo's private shopping centers have also always been allowed to have outdoor seating, just not in parking spaces, he said.
Story continues below the gallery.
They too, as well as every other restaurant in the city, can now apply to seat customers in parking areas, said David Moe, assistant community development director.
Only restaurants in Old Town use public sidewalks for seating, Moe said.
"Outdoor seating on public sidewalks in other parts of town isn't needed because they have parking lots and private sidewalks they can utilize," he said.
Applications for outdoor seating can be found on the city's website, cityofcamarillo.org.
"Business recovery is a priority for Camarillo during this challenging time because of COVID-19," said Michelle D'Anna, the city's community relations officer. "And we are continuing to explore new and improved ways to help our businesses."
The permits granted Institution Ale and Good Morning Cafe will remain in effect until the City Council rescinds its May 22 resolution.
Meanwhile, Thousand Oaks now has an application and instructions on its website, toaks.org, for restaurants that want to seat customers outside with city approval.
The Thousand Oaks City Council on Tuesday night adopted a resolution authorizing City Manager Drew Powers and City Attorney Tracy Noonan to establish the application process and regulations.
As of Friday, the city had issued its first outdoor seating permit to Mouthful Eatery.
It will be in effect as long as the city's COVID-19 emergency declaration lasts.
In Simi Valley, the first East County city to allow restaurants to apply for the temporary outdoor seating, two restaurants had been approved as of Friday: Beeps Diner and the Bamboo Cafe.
Restaurants can obtain an application by calling Simi Valley's Planning Division at 805-583-6769 or emailing firstname.lastname@example.org.
Guidelines for filling out the applications can be found on the city's website, simivalley.org.
Ventura County received the go-ahead May 20 from state public health officials to allow restaurants to once again offer indoor seated dining if they register with the county and comply with social distancing and other regulations.
Under county shutdown orders that went into effect in mid-March to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus, restaurants were allowed to stay open, but only for pickup and delivery.
Though restaurants are once more permitted to offer indoor seated dining, social distancing guidelines require them to keep tables six feet apart, reducing seating capacity by almost 50 percent. That will decrease their number of customers and thus, restaurants say, their ability to stay in business.
Mike Harris covers the East County cities of Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, as well as transportation countywide. You can contact him at email@example.com or 805-437-0323.
SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM and get all the latest East County news from Star reporter Mike Harris. Get a digital subscription.


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We saw the trailer of the upcoming game Prey at E3 and now, the developers have released the new gameplay trailer and we got to say, it is looking like it is going to be one interesting game.
It is now no longer enough to be a good first person shooting game anymore which is why developers are trying out all sorts of different styles and gameplay. The new Prey game is a first person shooter game that sort of reminded is of Soma since it looks like the game will be set in an abandon space station.
However, unlike SOMA which allowed the protagonist to transfer their conscious mind into another robot, this game will allow players to gain some extra abilities thanks to Neuromods and it seems like one of their abilities will be to transform into items in the environment.
The trailer showed the protagonist transforming into a coffee cup to pass through small spaces. This part reminded us of Prop Hunt.
The new game Prey should be arriving next year on PC, Xbox One and Playstation 4.


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Why are the presidential candidates spending so much time to raise so much money? To buy TV ads. Which ones succeed? Which fail? In Ad Watch, we review them as they come out. Today: Mitt Romney makes his first negative TV ad about Obama's "doing fine" comment, Obama says Romney grew the debt in Massachusetts, and a Republican group urges action on Iran.
The Ad: Mitt Romney, "Doing Fine?"
The Issues: Obama said the private sector is "doing fine" compared to the huge job losses in the public sector, which is true, but a dumb thing to say.
The Message: Obama is out of touch with regular Americans. A lot of people are out of work, and Obama said "the private sector is doing fine," which the ad repeats three times. "How can President Obama fix our economy if he doesn't understand it's broken?" the ad asks. The ad uses the same music as 2008 ad, aired by the Obama campaign, that attacked John McCain for saying "the fundamentals of our economy are strong," The Huffington Post's Jon Ward points out. And nearly the same tagline. The 2008 ad ended: "How can John McCain fix our economy if he doesn't understand it's broken?"
Who'll See It: Romney and the Republican National Committee have already tested out ads on the "doing fine" comment, and apparently they were pleased with the results. This ad is for TV, and it's Romney's first negative one of the general election.


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Send this profile to a friend
News from The Business Journals
Jul 18, 2014, 6:00 am EDT
Some Sacramento business leaders who have gone through training to get organized now want to spread the word: You can really clean up in business when you take the time to clean up your work space.
Sep 23, 2013, 5:47 pm EDT
Pacific Corporate Solutions has teamed up with Sims Recycling Solutions to provide free electronic waste recycling to Oahu employers between now and t ...
Sep 28, 2012, 2:21 pm EDT
Each week, we show you the top five companies from our Lists printed in our Friday paper. This week we feature electronics recyclers.
Sep 6, 2012, 12:49 pm EDT
E-Structors, an Elkridge-based electronics recycler, has been acquired for an undisclosed price by Sims Metal Management, an Australia-based metal-rec ...
Dec 13, 2011, 7:14 am EST
Illinois-based Sims Recycling Solutions has opened a new electronics recycling facility in west Dallas that employs about 10 people at a 31,600-square ...
Dec 12, 2011, 4:04 pm EST
Sims Recycling Solutions has opened a new electronics recycling facility in west Dallas.
Nov 11, 2011, 6:00 am EST
American businesses and individuals throw out between 300 and 400 million electronic devices each year. Most should not go into landfills because they ...
Apr 12, 2010, 12:00 am EDT
Dec 14, 2009, 10:13 am EST
Jun 15, 2009, 12:00 am EDT


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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Gadsden gained 13 new businesses downtown and lost one during 2011, according to the Gadsden Times.
The numbers for this year are smaller than last year. In 2010, Gadsden had 23 businesses open and eight close, according to the Times. This year, the one downtown business to announce plans to close is a 32-year-old Christian bookstore. But the new businesses are promising and show that downtown is the "place to be," said Downtown Gadsden Inc. Director Kay Moore.
"We're continuing to grow, we need to continue to bring people back," she told the Times. "The more we have (downtown), the more opportunities for different things that we have, the more shopping experiences that people can come to."


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A firearms store designed to be inviting to women has opened in northwest Fresno.
LRStone's Firearms, at 3058 W. Bullard Ave. near Marks Avenue, held its grand opening last month.
Owner Leona "Lee" Stone welcomes both male and female customers, and sells firearms, stun guns, pepper spray and other defense devices.
There is a wide variety of firearms and accessories, along with the occasional pink-gripped handgun and pink set of ear protection for the shooting range.
"For women especially, buying a firearm is a bit intimidating," she said. "I wanted something that was woman friendly."
The store also carries the Gun Tote'n Mamas line of handbags with holsters inside. Stone plans to hold the National Rifle Association's Refuse To Be a Victim classes at the store.
Stone is a former general contractor who began carrying a gun after concerns about meeting with subcontractors alone at job sites.
Her store joins other specialty gun shops in the Fresno-Clovis area, including William B. Mayfield Firearms, John McCormick's Guns & Ammo and The Range Pistol Club, and sports stores including Herb Bauer Sporting Goods.
A new twist
After 10 years in the funeral industry, the Fraser family of Three Rivers is adding a new twist to its business: a gift and souvenir shop.
Red Barn Gifts & Sequoia Souvenirs opened Saturday in a red, barnlike building at 40838 Sierra Drive, next to the Comfort Inn in Three Rivers.
The shop sells candles, wind chimes, jewelry and other gifts. It also will include a room with art for sale by local artists.
Owners Susan and Rick Fraser continue to run their Internet-based businesses InTheLightUrns.com and UnitedPriority.com, distributing urns, biodegradable basket caskets for green burials and kits for water burials of ashes.
The new location will feature a memorial gallery where customers can view the basket casket, urns and products like jewelry and key chains that carry a small amount of cremated remains, locks of hair or crushed flowers from a gravesite.
The last page
Scrapbooking store Pocketful of Treasures in Clovis is closing.
After 15 years on Shaw Avenue near Minnewawa Avenue, the store couldn't survive the economic downturn, said co-owner Megan Rude.
"Times are tough for people and it's hard for them to be able to have extra income," she said. "Unfortunately we're not a necessity."
The store will close in mid-September.


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Retail Emails Nearly Twice as Popular as Social Media, says VoucherCodes Report
- Monday, October 31st, 2016
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Email is the UKs preferred method of communication from retailers, according to research from VoucherCodes.co.uk and YouGov.
37 per cent of respondents identified email alerts about offers and deals as one of their preferred methods of communication, with newspapers and magazines (28 per cent) coming in second. Social media was preferred by 21 per cent, and SMS by only eight per cent.
Its also worth noting that 31 per cent – the second-largest segment – said they would not like to hear from retailers in any way.
The study also found that 8.6 per cent of disposable income is spent on mobile devices, equivalent to an average monthly per-person spend of £36.76. Unsurprisingly, that proportion is much higher for 18-24s (15.9 per cent) and much lower for over-55s (four per cent).
Eight per cent of the UK have used mobile payments in-store, with men more than twice as likely as women (12 per cent versus five per cent) to have adopted the technology. 27 per cent expect to use in-store mobile payments over the next five years, but 39 per cent say they will never use mobile payments.


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Shares in online retailer Ocado jumped by more than 8 per cent on reports it might strike a deal with department store and food retailer Marks & Spencer which is considering becoming the latest company to offer home delivery across the UK.
Ocado shares leapt by close to 9 per cent in early trading in London, their highest level since the beginning of the year, ending the day 5.78 per cent higher, with traders attributing the jump to reports of a delivery partnership with M&S.
Last week, Steve Rowe, the chief of executive of M&S, said that the retailer was examining the possibility of launching an online food delivery trial service this autumn.
He added, however, that this “is not something that we are going to rush into until we have substantial customer insight and a better understanding of what is right for M&S and right for our customers”.
Following the news, the Telegraph reported that M&S is considering partnering with Ocado to handle the fulfilment of such orders. Any partnership would be a welcome relief for Ocado, which has not yet found an overseas partner for a licensing deal.
Both Ocado and M&S declined to comment on the report.
Last year, Ocado signed a deal with Morrisons, under which it provides technology and distribution services to the supermarket to support its online food business. However, changes to the contract last year meant that the online retailer is no longer exclusively tied to Morrisons and is allowed to run online services for other retailers.
However, Ocado is still contractually restricted from working with supermarkets including Sainsbury's, Tesco, Lidl, Asda and Aldi.
The company in January announced better than expected profit growth of 21.8 per cent to £14.5m in the year to the end of November, with growth in average orders per week approaching 18 per cent to 230,000.
Since March the online retailer is also testing delivery by electric vehicles as part of a bid to cut its carbon footprint, reduce congestion and keep noise levels to a minimum, especially in residential areas.
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Grounds 360, a virtual grounds visit supplier, dispatched a livestreaming administration permitting colleges to have guided visits from inside a virtual grounds visit. The assistance permits colleges to control virtual visits live in a 360 degree media climate, as opposed to an online course style screenshare or a livestream recorded in a static area.
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“We are more scalable than these vendors and are fully automated since we have our own cloud-native platform. In 5G, we will totally be self-sufficient,” the executive said. Jio has designed its own hardware for the 5G technology, which could be made in India once 5G trials are successful. “We can give the design, layouts and board support packages to third-party manufacturers to have our gear made,” the executive said.
Having developed end-to-end 5G technology, Jio would be able to use it for security and surveillance using drones, industrial internet of things and digitisation in the agriculture sector. “Broadband and voice will be the baseline of our technology,” the executive added.
The telco has sought approval from the department of telecommunications to conduct 5G trials based on its own technology. It had recently given a separate presentation to DoT to explain the technology and possible use cases. “Our own technology will help us commercially as well as offer flexibility. We can customise use cases and tailor it to India-specific needs,” the executive said. Jio did not respond to ET's emailed queries.
The telco had previously applied to carry out 5G trials with European vendors Ericsson and Nokia, China’s Huawei and South Korean equipment vendor Samsung, which is its sole 4G radio vendor.
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The first images of the production spec BMW i8 have been leaked online, prior to the car's official unveiling at the Frankfurt motor show on September 10.
The pictures show a car which largely remains faithful to the now familiar concept version, though without the glass doors and a less elongated profile, which sits slightly higher off the ground.
The doors themselves are dihedral units, similar to those fitted to the forthcoming McLaren P1 hypercar.
Inside, the i8 is fitted with familiar BMW switchgear, including the sculpted gear selector and iDrive controller. Unique items include a digital dashboard display and a newly designed three-spoke steering wheel.
Despite being endowed with just a 1.5-litre petrol engine, the use of plug-in hybrid technology means BMW is making some bold performance claims for its electric flagship.
With a combined power output of 357bhp from both the petrol engine and on-board electric motor, the claimed 0-62mph time is 4.5 seconds – enough to rival most modern conventional sports cars.
Despite the performance on offer, the car's lithium-ion battery pack will allow it to travel for up to 22 miles on electricity alone, making for astonishing official fuel economy and CO2 figures of 113mpg and 59g/km respectively.
BMW has also released a teaser video of the i8, which you can watch below.


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Hedi Slimane's First St. Laurent Collection Wows Retailers, Disappoints Press
Oct 04, 2012 - by Emily Draznik
There is truly a difference in the reception a collection gets between commercial retailers like Nordstrom and Barneys New York and the fashion press. This rings especially true to Hedi Slimane's somewhat controversial first St. Laurent presentation. While heads of commercial retailers and bloggers gave the collection more positive reviews, the fashion press was not as satisfied.
Hedi Slimane of previous Dior Homme fame was made head of Yves Saint Laurent last spring and his first collection showed to an excited crowd of fashion journalists and industry tastemakers at Paris Fashion Week last Monday night.
Unfortunately to Slimane's distaste, the collection closed to a slightly unenthused crowd. While the heads of commercial retailers like Barneys New York and Nordstrom raved about how well the collection would sell, fashion journalists like New York Times reporter Cathy Horyn were less than impressed.
"I loved it", stated executive vice president of Nordstrom, Pete Nordstorm to Women's Wear Daily. "We were very encouraged by what we saw. It was definitely one of the highlights of the week.
Barneys New York had a similar viewpoint. Barneys chief executive Mark Lee told WWD, "there was a unanimous and spontaneous love from all the Barneys team members immediately after the [Saint Laurent] show.
Bergdorf Goodman and Harrod's department stores shared similar opinions as Nordstrom and Barneys. Overall, the heads of high-end retailers appeared to be playing for Team Hedi.
Those that were not were a little more vocal about their disappointment. Cathy Horyn of the New York Times has been making headlines this Paris Fashion Week when she was first barred from attending the St. Laurent show and second with her less than positive review based on the digital images. Hedi Slimane then responded via Twitter calling Horyn a "schoolyard bully".
While the fashion director of The Telegraph Lisa Armstrong agreed with the retailers that the line was "very commercial", the statement did not share the positive tone that Barneys and Nordstrom had. The press overall were expecting more from the designer and while the collection would be a safe decision to be a commercial success, Lisa went on to say, Crucially, what was lacking was the frisson of the unexpected that challenging jolt that only a really strong show delivers.
The overall distaste from the press may come from St. Laurent's less than welcoming attitude towards journalists. The invitation process excluded many editors from the presentation and made many of those invited stand. Calls were also made stating that Slimane would not be taking questions backstage. Cathy Horyn called this, "out of touch".
So while St. Laurent strived to make the commercial retailers feel welcome, it seems as if relations with the press took a back seat and what a mistake that was. With so much talk swirling around Slimane's reaction to the less than satisfactory reviews (many editors will most likely not be in attendance next season as a result), this can only add fuel to the power of the negative press. It goes to show that regardless of how your collection is going to sell, bad press is still bad press.


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Richmond, VA (PRWEB) December 24, 2008
Local police enforcement and security experts nationwide agree that outdoor lighting is proving to be increasingly more important as a deterrent to crime as burglaries and break ins are on the rise in some communities. Without outdoor lighting, dark houses are a signal that no one is home, and dark exteriors may create opportunities for prowlers to hide.
To demonstrate the protection and effectiveness of professional outdoor lighting strategically placed around the home and landscape, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives is now offering free at-home security lighting demonstrations.
Outdoor Lighting Perspectives security lighting professionals will set up a temporary installation of their eco-friendly low voltage outdoor lighting system at no charge. To schedule your free outdoor lighting security preview, call toll-free 1-800-447-1112, or visit OutdoorLights.com.
Well-placed outdoor lights create a sense of activity, serenity and calm, deterring intruders, while eliminating dark and scary spaces around the home. And for those homes which use exterior video surveillance security systems, outdoor lighting enhances their impact and effectiveness by better illuminating protected areas.
To help create that "lived in" look, even when no one is at home, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives also offers automatic timing to activate both outdoor lighting and as well as interior lights. Lighting Control Automation from Outdoor Lighting Perspectives features a permanent memory to turn on outdoor lights automatically at dusk, and off at dawn, without ever needing to be adjusted.
For more information on home security and safety outdoor lighting, contact Outdoor Lighting Perspectives at 1-800-447-1112, or visit OutdoorLights.com.
Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, America's largest full-service outdoor lighting specialist is an important part of Outdoor Living Brands, the outdoor living franchise company, with headquarters in Richmond, Virginia.


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RYU Apparel reported revenues in the first quarter rose to $467,003, 80 percent higher than revenue of $259,727 during the same period in 2016.
Now into its second year of operations the period marked RYU’s seventh consecutive quarter of increasing gross profit.
First quarter summary:
• First quarter revenue of $467,003 compared with $259,727 in the same period in fiscal 2016. Revenue increased by 80 percent as it included sales from essentially two versus one retail stores, revenue from the Kickstarter campaign, and e-commerce sales from its improved website that had higher visitor traffic than in early 2016. The Park Royal location was only open for three days within the quarter.
• First quarter revenue would have been higher but the company was short on key stock items and sizes due to higher than anticipated demand and after keeping inventory purchases to a minimum in 2016. In the first quarter of 2017 RYU started placing inventory deposits to fill the gaps, but deliveries are not expected until the second and third quarters of 2017. As a result, closing inventory as at March 31, 2017 decreased 6 percent to $1,001,667 from $1,067,560 at December 31, 2016, while inventory deposits increased 391 percent to $564,844 from $115,017.
• First quarter gross profit of $219,256 compared with $134,994 in the same period in fiscal 2016, an increase of 62 percent. Gross profit percentage of 47 percent in the first quarter of 2017 was lower than gross profit of 52 percent in 2016 due to the difference in the weighted average cost of finished goods inventory and the amount of sales discounts applied in each period.
• First quarter expenses of $2,326,402 compared with $1,930,690 in the same period in fiscal 2016. The increase of 20 percent is primarily due to foreign currency fluctuations and share based payments in relation to stock option grants. Without these two items expenses increased $81,691 (4 percent) during the comparative periods, aligned with the increase in retail operations from one to three stores.
• First quarter comprehensive loss was $2,099,443 compared with $740,096 in the same period in fiscal 2016. The loss was 184 percent higher due to the 2016 recovery of the warrant derivative of $1,006,263, a non-cash item, and the $49,337 gain on settlement of debt recognized in the first quarter of 2016. Without these outliers, comprehensive loss in the first quarter of 2017 and 2016 would have been $2,107,146 and $1,795,696 respectively. The $311,450 (17 percent) increase is due to the share based payments from the stock option grant in February 2017 and foreign currency fluctuations.
• The company closed a short form prospectus offering, raising gross proceeds of $3,734,441 on February 2, 2017.
During the three months ended March 31, 2017 the company achieved the following milestones:
• RYU continues to show an almost equal ratio of apparel sales between men and women at 46 percent and 54 percent respectively. By identifying an underserved gap in the industry for men, and developing the Beautiful Tough brand positioning that’s resonating with women, RYU has achieved an enviable gender balance that is unprecedented in the industry.
• RYU successfully completed its first Kickstarter campaign, doubling anticipated sales and raising 208 percent of its initial pre-sale goal and securing over $52,000 US dollars for its new men’s Ethos pullover and women’s Ethos full zip hoodie.
• As an omni-channel retailer, RYU currently has 16 percent of revenue from e-commerce with a target of reaching 30 percent by the end of 2017. Kickstarter sales were excluded from e-commerce revenue.
• RYU’s retail store expansion plan is on target to have five stores open by the end of 2017. The company currently has three stores in operation and two under construction. In addition to the opening of Park Royal South on March 28, 2017, early third quarter 2017 will see the opening of its first Toronto store on Queen Street West, and its first enclosed mall location at Metrotown in Vancouver.
Photo courtesy RYU Apparel


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Target yesterday made its foray into prepaid official, taking to its Bulls Eye View blog to announce Brightspot.
The massive retailer’s new MVNO, available starting Oct. 6, will run on T-Mobile’s network. Plans begin at $35 for unlimited talk and text and jump to $50 for added unlimited data with the first 1 GB riding on T-Mobile’s HSPA+. Earlier reports suggested T-Mobile’s LTE could be part of the plan as well.
Although its yet to confirm specific models, Target will sell phones along with the service as well as offer SIMs for people bringing compatible, unlocked devices. As an added bonus, Target Redcard holders will score an extra five percent off and Brightspot customers will earn a $25 Target gift card for every six months paid.
Target’s new prepaid will be in direct competition with Walmart’s Straight Talk. Walmart’s Tracfone-run prepaid option still one-ups Brightspot, offering unlimited talk, text and data—with no throttling until after 2.5 GB—for $45 a month, with support for AT&T’s LTE network. The high-speed data cutoff point for Straight Talk just recently came into focus following Tracfone’s long-awaited confirmation.


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Organizations sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine face new challenges due to growing demand, lack of warehouse space, and newly implemented rules and customs regulations.
For one business, that has meant an end to free shipments to Ukraine, exhausting available budgets in just one month.
On March 1, Meest Express, a Ukrainian family-owned company in Canada, began waiving fees to ship parcels under 60kg and was charging $5 per kilogram beyond that. High demand made Meest limit free shipments to one or two parcels a day, and then limited the shipments to those containing just medicine and first aid kits.
“Since the beginning of the war, Meest and the BCU Foundation have sent more than 180,000kg of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, sending approximately12,000kg daily,” it said in an online statement.
As of April 4, the company is introducing a fee of $6 per kilogram to ship goods by air and $3 per kilogram to ship by sea.
This comes against the backdrop of the challenges that companies and freight forwarders experience in light of new customs regulations and resource shortages in the region.
Mississauga, Ontario-based Musket Transport has partnered with Polimex Forwarding Corp to help Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Last week, on March 29, the company started collecting individual donations to fill up an individual 40-foot container with 20 to 22 skids, to ship to Ukraine. However, Sophia Sniegowski Begidzhanov, Musket’s corporate communications officer, said they must be cautious and diligent in checking the donated goods to ensure the container’s contents will not be stopped at the border.
Begidzhanov said it was easy to send supplies to Poland, and from there to Ukraine, but now shipments are under scrutiny. “The way that I would understand the process is, when something like a crisis of this nature happens, at the very beginning, there’s an immediate call for help, and there isn’t enough time to set up a proper screening process, so everything is being accepted. And as time goes on, they can set up the right checks and balances. It can become cumbersome and frustrating for those of us who provide humanitarian aid when the goods are held up at different checkpoints. But ultimately, it’s done to ensure the quality of goods coming in for the refugees,” she said.
She added that there’s a long process to go through each item before getting to its final destination. This is why Polimex and Musket specifically collect an itemized list of goods, including essential over-the-counter American-branded medicine that cannot be expired and must be sealed. Customs officials have repeatedly held up transports of humanitarian aid where they discovered expired pain medicine.
Once the aid is in Poland, ready to be trucked into Ukraine, aid organizations face additional challenges. The driver shortage in Europe, including Poland, invoked by Ukraine’s military law, has left logisticians with a lot of aid and not enough resources to distribute it.
Vitek Manitius, president of Polimex, said that affects storage space. “Because of all the help being sent to Ukraine from different parts of Europe, Canada, and the U.S., we are all competing for the warehouse space,” he said.
Begidzhanov added that even while collecting help in Canada, Musket and Polimex have to deal with storage shortages. However, she said it definitely is a bigger issue in Europe, especially with the lack of drivers. And even though some portion of the aid is sent via rail, Begidzhanov said this percentage is very small since the rail is mainly used to move refugees, and the lion’s share of goods is delivered by trucks.
The aid is largely delivered to large cities like Lviv, Ternopil and Kyiv. Because drivers don’t want to take the risk, remote villages and smaller towns struggle to get much-needed and long-awaited aid.


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Growing the Meeting, Incentives, Convention and Exhibition (Mice) travel market will be top priority at the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Travel Mart in Langkawi, Kedah.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said the worldwide travel trade exhibition is a good platform for the country to solidify its reputation as a premiere holiday destination in the region.
“The event would showcase our country’s uniqueness as a multicultural destination. More than just providing business ventures, Malaysia also has many adventures to offer visitors,” he said.
Taking place from Sept 12 to 14 at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre, the event is held in collaboration with the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA). This is the third time Malaysia is hosting the exhibition.
LADA chief executive officer Datuk Azizan Noordin said the exhibition also seeks to introduce Langkawi as a top-of-mind destination.
“We want to develop Langkawi as a gateway to the northern states such as Kedah and Perlis,” he said. Azizan added that complimentary tours around the island will be conducted for participants during the exhibition.
This year, the event gathers sellers from 198 organisations from 35 destinations while the number of buyers are 274 from 55 markets. Malaysia will be represented by 67 sellers including the Kedah, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Johor and Penang state governments.
Some main highlights include the business-to-business session, PATA Gold Awards, a youth symposium and the Travolution Asia Forum.
This is the first time the forum is included as part of the exhibition programme. It will look at key trends in the industry and how emerging technology, customised travel options and value-added services can enable tourism businesses.
PATA is a not-for profit association that works towards responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region.
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Victoria Police has raised the bar on password security for Australian consumers to dizzying heights, marking Stay Safe Online Week with an exhortation for users to use passwords with at least 16 characters in them and to rely on 2-factor authentication for bank accounts, social media, and online payments.
The Tweeted advice – which suggests that average password length of 8 characters, as found in one analysis of 5 million Gmail credentials, is far too short – comes as cybersecurity agencies in Australia and around the world renew claims for users to be more vigilant for potential cybersecurity breaches, attacks, and social-engineering exploits.
WatchGuard’s recent second-quarter Internet Security Report warned that growing use of the Mimikatz open-source tool – which comprised 36 percent of top malware during the quarter and was the most common malware for the first time ever – confirmed that cybercriminals were increasingly focusing on stealing users’ credentials. So, too, did findings that brute-force attacks against Web servers were on the rise – even as Watchguard warned that almost half of all malware is able to circumvent legacy antivirus solutions.
Attackers are notching up more and more victims as time progresses. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission warned that losses to online scams were continuing to add up, with this year already seeing $37m in reported losses to 51,000 reports of scammers using phishing, false billing, and fake online stores to steal personal information or commit financial fraud.
Recent analysis by Mimecast found that fully 25 percent of emails were cleared by email security systems even though were “unsafe” – reinforcing claims by ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard, who said in a statement that the scams were often “difficult to spot”. People should, she said, safeguard personal details online “the same way you would your wallet. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
Videos designed by the government for Stay Smart Online Week reinforce messages about safe security online, while firms as varied as Hueya and US-based Home Instead Senior Care are offering courses to teach better security practices, while mainstream media was on social media – which has been linked with a surge in business email compromise (BEC) fraud.
The warnings come amidst an escalating climate of compromise, with ‘brandjacking’ continuing to rise and expected to do so even more as the holiday shopping season hits full swing. Proofpoint recently warned of the hack of PornHub and other popular sites with a fake browser-update scheme. And the latest Webroot Quarterly Threat Trends Report found that an average of 1.385 million phishing sites are created every month, with phishing growing at “an unprecedented rate” and many sites shut down after 4 to 8 hours to avoid detection.
“Australia and New Zealand continue to be a hotbed for phishing attacks,” Webroot senior information security analyst Dan Slattery said in a statement. “With the personalisation and sophistication used by cybercriminals, it’s even difficult for hardened security professionals to determine which emails are safe or infected. We need a combination of user education and a business-wide solution to keep phishing attacks at bay.”
Insecure consumer behaviour has direct implications on the security of the companies those consumers work for – particularly small businesses, which tend to have less sophisticated cybersecurity protections and report ongoing problems finding skilled security staff. Experts have urged SMBs to embrace cloud-based security solutions “ASAP” to close the gap, while cybersecurity insurance provider Cyber Plus recently launched a Small Business Bundle combining Australian-made multi-factor authentication, email security, and encrypted file sharing tools.
The vulnerabilities are a global problem: the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, for one this week offered a new guide to help small businesses protect themselves online. Its five step program includes backing-up data, using strong passwords, protecting against malware, keeping devices safe, and avoiding phishing attacks.


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The electric utility has signed a letter of intent for the trucks, which will be called the Endurance. The vehicles are being designed to serve fleets with all-wheel drive as well as onboard power exports that eliminate the need for portable generators at the job site.
"Over the past couple of months, we have worked to better understand the needs of local residents and businesses," Lordstown Motors CEO Steve Burns said in the release. "The ultimate goal is to continue to prioritize relationships, like the one we've developed with our partners at FirstEnergy, which drive innovative developments for this community."
Lordstown Motors will be a maker of electric vehicles, operating out of the old GM plant in Lordstown. General Motors stopped making vehicles at the plant in March 2019, and Lordstown Motors bought it in November.
A new video from the company gives a sneak peek into the new life of the former Lordstown GM plant.


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If you’re a fan of Living Colour and Steve Vai – listen up. They recently collabed on the band’s classic, “Cult of Personality,” and it’s out now. Apparently, it’s the result of their pairing at the “Rock In Rio” festival earlier this month.
“In celebration of 30th anniversary of Living Colour’s first appearance in Brazil, which also was Doug Wimbish’s first live appearance with the band,” guitarist Vernon Reid explains. “We are releasing a special edition version of ‘Cult Of Personality’ featuring our special guest in Rio de Janeiro, our dear friend, the extraordinary Mr. Steve Vai on additional guitar.”
The post Living Color release “Cult of Personality” with Steve Vai appeared first on 97.5 The Zone.


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The Better Business Bureau is warning sports fans to be on the lookout for scams involving the upcoming Cubs home opener and Blackhawks Stanley Cup playoff run.
Demand and ticket prices will be high for tickets to these games, and scammers will be eager to capitalize on the situation, according to the BBB. The Cubs will play their opening game at Wrigley Field on Monday.
“Whenever there’s excitement about a special event, like the Cubs home opener after winning the World Series or the Blackhawks chasing another Stanley Cup, there are counterfeiters who want to take advantage,” Steve Bernas, president of the BBB in Chicago and Northern Illinois, said in the statement.
In addition to counterfeit tickets, Bernas said scammers will also often try to sell illegal merchandise made with inferior materials as a secondary income stream.
The BBB is warning consumers to be skeptical of deals that seem too good to be true and to only buy tickets or merchandise from a reputable ticket broker or retailer. The bureau also advised buyers to use a credit card if possible so they could appeal to the card company if there’s a problem.
“We don’t want the fans’ excitement to be spoiled by losing money with fake tickets or poor merchandise,” Bernas said.


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The Central Bank of the Bahamas (CBOB) is reportedly preparing to launch its own fiat-based digital currency to ensure that the nation’s economy remains stable in the event of a natural disaster.
CBOB governor John Rolle recently confirmed that the country was planning to release its own digital currency. Rolle’s comments came during his speech at the Counsellors Limited’s Exuma Business Outlook, held at Sandals Emerald Bay, according to local news outlet the Nassau Guardian.
Rolle stated that digital currencies have the ability to free the nation from its dependence on physical fiat money, particularly cash, which is useful following a natural disaster.
Bahamas’ digital currency is reportedly being created under the guidance of Project Sand Dollar and will be the country’s first fiat-based digital currency. The currency will be supported by an associated online wallet and a payment card.
“It would permit wireless restoration of payments …. avoiding the cash shipment and cash handling frustrations. It would permit electronic dispersing of aid and allow families to recapture personal dignity by restoring the flexibility to prioritize the elements of personal need that they prefer to satisfy post-disasters.”
Rolle also mentioned that following a hurricane the country recently experienced, the local banking industry saw considerable damage to the physical structures of Abaco and Grand Bahamas, which forced banks to halt their operations.
There are many problems that may last for weeks and sometimes months following major natural disasters such as hurricanes. For instance, power grids in affected regions might remain inoperative for a long time. Certain areas in Puerto Rico were still without electricity for almost a year after Hurricane Maria.
While discussing the potential impact and benefits of offline cryptocurrency transaction solutions, Richard Myers, a blockchain developer at Global Mesh Labs and goTenna, said:
“In many parts of the rural and developing world internet connectivity is both expensive and intermittent. More solutions tailored to these situations would certainly facilitate the use of cryptocurrencies in places where it is needed. Bitcoin transactions can be made over alternative low-bandwidth transport layers like mesh radios and SMS.”
The Republic of the Marshall Islands is also preparing to introduce its own sovereign digital currency, in order to reduce or eliminate the nation’s dependence on the US dollar, which it has used for decades.


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News : City centre of Montpellier
With the shopping streets, the shopping centres “Galerie du Triangle” and “Polygone” and the station “Gare Saint-Roch”, the city centre of Montpellier includes 1,229 shops.
Vacancy rate and occupancy rate of Retailers
For the third consecutive year, the vacancy rate in the city centre has decreased. With a diminution of 1.2 points, it went from 8.8 % to 7.6 %.
The vacancy rate remains below the average for French city centres, set at 10.5 % in 2020. The national average for 2021 will be available at the end of our census campaign and will allow us to confirm or refute this trend.
Since 2016, no increase in the percentage of Retailers had been registered. It has been steadily decreasing. However, the trend reversed as the percentage of Retailers has risen from 32.9 % in 2020 to 33 % in 2021.
Activities : significant trends
Often in difficulty, and further weakened by the Covid-19 crisis, the “Clothing” activity suffered a relatively small loss : two shops have disappeared between 2020 and 2021.
The “Perfumes – Beauty – Body care” activity is on the rise. After a period of stagnation at 150 occupied shops, the activity has expanded again and reaches 161 shops in 2021.
The “Café-Hotel-Restaurant” activity has also made a real leap forward, with 26 additional shops in 2021 and totalling 264 shops (compared with 238 in 2020).
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Snacks, also known as RTE (Ready to eat) products, are enjoying increasing demand in the food industry. A recent market forecast by FutureMarketInsights suggests that plant-based snacks will particularly boost demand by 2027. Nestlé predicts that the vegan market will be worth USD 5.2 billion by 2020, the majority of which will be vegan snacks.
Especially when it comes to breakfast, more and more consumers are eating healthy cereal bars, fruit, vegetables, legumes and protein-rich vegan foods in order to lead a healthier and more conscious lifestyle. Many large manufacturers are recognising this trend and integrating plant-based, vegan snacks into their product range. These include food manufacturers from the USA such as General Mills, Kellogg Co. and Pinnacle Foods Inc.
The reasons behind the increasing demand for purely plant-based snacks are very complex. Their low production costs and strong distribution in retail are a decisive factor driving increased sales figures. This makes it particularly attractive for food manufacturers to produce plant-based snacks. In addition, the increasing number of vegans and the health-conscious shifts in mindset of many consumers are fuelling the rising sales trend. The Asia-Pacific region deserves a special mention here, as consumers are increasingly moving towards veganism and changing their lifestyle in a health-conscious manner. This trend can also be observed in the USA, Canada, Germany and Great Britain.
In countries where many health problems are caused by unhealthy eating habits, consumers are increasingly choosing to improve their diets with healthier snacks. Obesity in particular can be reduced by a change in diet, along with various heart problems.
The increasing demand for vegan food is also driving the global market for plant-based snacks.


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Italian menswear couture house Brioni has parted ways with its creative director Nina-Maria Nitsche. Nitsche, who joined the brand in June 2017 from a 28-year career at Maison Martin Margiela, replaced Justin O’Shea who left the company in October 2016.
Nitsche presented her last collection for the house during the spring/summer 2019 men’s fashion week in Paris.
The revitalization of Brioni started by Nitsche during this period is set to continue as part of the brand’s long-term plan.
“Brioni, thanks Ms. Nitsche for her contribution to the brand during this period,” said CEO Fabrizio Malverdi in a statement on Friday.


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The World Economic Forum (WEF) has named LG Smart Park, a production base of LG Electronics in Changwon, South Korea, a Lighthouse Factory. WEF Lighthouse facilities implement Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies — such as the Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence and robots — into manufacturing and supply chain operations. These technologies a deliver a wide range of benefits from increased production efficiency to enhanced environmental sustainability.
“As the world grapples with many challenges, it is remarkable to see how Lighthouses are yielding sustainability benefits while achieving business goals, which we call eco-efficiency,” said Francisco Betti, Head of Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains, WEF. “We need them to continue illuminating the way forward for the global manufacturing community by shaping a responsible future of manufacturing that works for people, society and the environment.”
LG Smart Park in Changwon, South Korea.
Over the past five years, Englewood Cliffs, NJ-based LG has transformed the Changwon factory complex into LG Smart Park, a futuristic hub of home appliance manufacturing. The key elements of the transformation are a digitally enabled end-to-end three-dimensional logistics system. This advanced analytics system is based on edge computing technology and machine learning that predicts defects and state-of-the-art facilities that can mass-produce multiple models to respond flexibly to customer requirements.
The newly implemented “digital twin” technology enables the operating system to analyze production processes in virtual reality. It can predict if any issues will occur within the next 10 minutes and provide exact parts and materials for the assembling of each appliance with an accurate, up-to-the-minute status of the facility’s logistics operations.


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Inflation unexpectedly fell in December, returning to the Bank of England's 2% target for the first time in four years.
A smaller rise in food prices compared with a year earlier offset a rise in petrol prices and the well publicised increases in gas and electricity bills. High-street discounting in the weeks before Christmas also helped lower the inflation rate, economists said, with toy and computer game prices falling .
The surprise fall drove the consumer prices index to its lowest level since November 2009, when it stood at 1.9%, the Office for National Statistics reported. Inflation has fallen sharply since June's high of 2.9%, and economists had expected it to remain unchanged last month at November's 2.1%.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said inflation was likely to remain "close to, if not below, the 2% target for some time to come".
The fall in CPI inflation will be a source of relief for the Bank's monetary policy committee, under pressure to justify its ultra-loose policy stance despite economic growth and falling unemployment in recent months. Interest rates have been on hold at an all-time low of 0.5% since March 2009.
"Talk of higher rates has increased in recent weeks because the Bank of England has been wrong-footed by the strength of the economy," Williamson said.
A Treasury spokesman said the fall was "another sign that the government's long-term economic plan is working".
He added: "But the job is not done and times remain tough for many people. So an important part of the government's plan is helping hard-working people be more financially secure by increasing the tax-free personal allowance and freezing fuel duty and council tax."
Consumers will be hoping that lower inflation will raise the prospect of higher wages, which have been persistently outpaced by rising prices.
Catherine McKinnell, the shadow economic secretary to the Treasury, said that for now, household budgets in Britain remained under pressure: "This small fall in the inflation rate is welcome, but with prices still rising more than twice as fast as wages the cost of living crisis continues. After three damaging years of flatlining, working people are on average £1,600 a year worse off under the Tories."
Average annual wage growth, in the three months to October – the latest official data – was up 0.9%. The retail prices index, more broadly based than CPI and often used as a guide for wage bargaining, rose to 2.7% in December from 2.6% in November.
John Allan, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said December's fall in CPI inflation was a welcome relief for hard-pressed households and businesses. "With the economy now growing, our members will be pleased that pressures on the cost of doing business are easing, though some concerns over rising fuel and in particular energy costs remain," he said.
Consumer price inflation averaged 2.6% in 2013, the lowest since 2009 and down from 2.8% in 2012. The December inflation data confirmed the trend of easing food price inflation – driven by lower prices for food and meat – highlighted last week by the British Retail Consortium.
The BRC said food price inflation slipped to a three-year low in December, while overall shop prices fell for the eighth month running in December.
With deep discounting as shops battled for hard-pressed customers the drop in prices of 0.8% on a year earlier was the deepest deflation since the BRC's data began in December 2006.
Andrew Sentance, senior economic adviser at PwC, said the challenge was to keep inflation on target.
"Stronger growth here in the UK could push up wage costs and a rebound in the global economy is likely to push up energy, food and commodity prices once again. So we cannot be sure that this return to the inflation target will be sustained through 2014," said Sentance, also a former member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee.


text: Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who gave a historic apology and promised to end Samsung’s royal line a few weeks ago, visited the company’s chip factory in China. The company said that the purpose of the visit was to assess the plant’s expansion plan following the country’s economic reopening amid COVID-19 slowdown.This is Lee’s first international business trip since he visited Brazil in January. He inspected Samsung’s chip factory in Xi’an, China, and encouraged workers there to overcome the fallout from the pandemic. He said, “To secure new growth engines, we need to be preemptive and be prepared for forthcoming changes. We have no time, and we cannot lose this moment.”According to sources, Lee went through a virus test after his landing in China. China and South Korea started to operate on a fast-track entry system for business professionals, which allows exempts them from the 14-day mandatory isolation rule that is applicable for other travelers. This step has been taken to help minimize the economic fallout due to the deadly virus and entry curbs.Samsung’s Xi’an plant is its only memory chip factory outside of South Korea. The South Korean firm had announced last year that it would invest an additional $8 billion to expand the plant. It also sent around 200 engineers last month for the expansion of the second plant in Xi’an. Chip production at the expanded plant should begin anytime soon.The company’s Xi’an chip plant first started production in 2014, and then Samsung decided in 2017 that it will expand the plant after it signed the agreement with the Shaanxi provincial government.Although the South Korean firm dethroned Intel in 2017 to take the top spot in the semiconductor business, it lost to Intel again in Q4 2020. However, Samsung has come up with a decade-long plan, consisting of $115 billion investment for logic chip development and production.


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Jedidiah Bracy of the IAPP reports on the chance for a multi-billion dollar fine against Facebook for alleged privacy practices in FTC chair suggests record fines are coming
Keith Casey of Okta details how the regulatory landscape, compliance opportunities, and consumer decisions play a role in the future of data privacy in Does Customer Data Privacy Actually Matter? It Should.
Natasha Lomas of TechCrunch reports that The Irish DPC has opened a formal probe into Quantcast’s business in Adtech veteran Quantcast is latest tech giant to face GDPR privacy probe
Alfred Ng of CNET details how tech companies have spent a record $65 million lobbying Congress on data privacy and at a hearing Wednesday, consumer advocates gave their recommendations in Consumer advocates give Congress a different perspective on data privacy law
Employee Spotlight: Sean Heisler, Head of Operations is excited to facilitate growth at DataGrail through system and process design as Head of Operations. Employee Spotlight: Sean Heisler, Head of Operations


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A string of top names from the world of technology will speak at a startup event in California next month.
The 4 Years from Now (4YFN) platform at Mobile World Congress Americas – Innovators Magazine is a proud media partner of both, will welcome a living legend of the global tech scene, Robert Scoble, and other leading lights of the industry to share their invaluable insight with the next generation of game changers.
“In just two weeks, San Francisco will host the most comprehensive mobile technology event the Americas region has ever seen,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer of event organisers, GSMA. “Mobile World Congress Americas will illustrate how mobile technology impacts the everyday lives of more than five billion people worldwide, transforming industries and contributing to the global economy. Moreover, it will reinforce the Americas region as the epicenter of mobile technology innovation.”
Around 130 startups competed for one of 15 finalist slots, with each of those winners now set to pitch for the chance to be crowned the overall champion and bag a slot at next year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
There is still time to get involved and buy tickets for the event, which takes place from September 12 to 14, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.


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Date: 20th October 2009
London, 20 October 2009 – TradeDoubler, the number one pan-European digital marketing company, today announced that The Search Works in the UK and France will be rebranded to
TD Search, effective immediately, bringing it in line with the rest of TradeDoubler’s TD Search businesses across Europe. The rebranding is the final step in the successful integration of The Search Works into The TradeDoubler Group, following one of the largest acquisitions in the online advertising industry in July 2007.
The rebranding also paves the way for future product expansion to leverage the Group’s technology investment under a single pan-European brand. In 2010, TradeDoubler will announce a number of significant developments, including the launch of its single platform to manage holistic digital marketing programmes across the major online disciplines in search, display and affiliate. The single platform will deliver more informed budget allocation, more effective campaigns and even stronger results for customers.
“Integrating the IP, sales teams, and technical expertise from one of the world’s biggest search engine optimisation companies with one of the industry’s largest online marketing companies creates a powerful solution for complex, cross-border, multi-lingual search campaigns that can be coordinated through a single point of contact,” said Simon Burgess, UK Managing Director for TradeDoubler. “TD Search has already seen great traction with notable new international search campaigns for customers such as Avis, VisitBritain and Octopus Travel in recent months. The rebranding to TD Search in the UK and France is the next step in executing against our strategy for pan-European expansion, unified product development and further internationalisation.”
TradeDoubler’s portfolio of digital expertise now spans search, display, affiliate and technology with its TD Search, TD Campaigns, TD Affiliate, TD Searchware and TD Integral businesses. The rebranding in the UK and France is a continuation of the rebranding process that began at the beginning of 2009. There are no changes to customer service or account management, other than logo and name changes at all points of contact.
With its extensive reach in 19 countries worldwide, TradeDoubler delivers 32 billion impressions per month, reaching 149 million unique users and generating 10 million leads every month. The Group offers unrivalled access to more than 76% of the European online audience through its publisher networks, which comprise more than 128,000 active website publishers and in excess of 1,800 advertisers.
TradeDoubler is an international digital marketing company offering a range of performance-based marketing solutions. TradeDoubler's products and services provide companies with the tools and expertise to drive results online whether they are looking to generate sales, leads or traffic or drive brand awareness. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, the company boasts a unique global reach spanning 19 countries in Europe and Japan. With a breadth of expertise across multiple industry sectors and a network of more than 128,000 website publishers, TradeDoubler helps deliver results for over 1,700 advertisers including a mix of local and international companies such as Apple Store, Dell, TeliaSonera and Kelkoo.
TradeDoubler is listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm Exchange. Please visit www.tradedoubler.com for further information.
For further information, please contact:
Els De Witte
Tel: +44 (0)20 7798 5814


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To enable consumers to experience first-hand that all burgers go #BetterWithPepsi, the brand will comp your Pepsi to prove it on National Hamburger Day.
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Mario Bellini’s Camaleonda sofa – how a 70s classic became a modern must-have
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Celebrating designers, musicians, actors and artists from across the country.
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The tool will also help creatives adapt to new ways of working following the COVID-19 crisis, according to the colour company.
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How designers are bringing virtual museums and galleries to life
As COVID-19 shut down institutions, art galleries and museums have made pushes to be virtual. Could it be part of a bigger shift in the cultural sector?


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“You can’t stop things like Bitcoin. It will be everywhere and the world will have to readjust. World governments will have to readjust” – John McAfee, Founder of McAfee
It seems the Indian government has just decried McAfee’s belief with their latest provision. Reportedly, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a statement against the usage of virtual currencies/encrypted money like bitcoin. The further usage of any such currency will be considered as breach of anti-money laundering provisions.
Also, in an official statement, RBI has warned users, holders and traders of bitcoin or any other virtual currency, “about the potential financial, legal, and security risks arising from their use.”
As stated by Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal, “The absence of counter parties in usage of virtual currencies, including bitcoins, for illicit and illegal activities in anonymous/pseudonymous systems could subject the users to unintentional breaches of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism laws.”
In India, the RBI has been warning and issuing notices against cryptocurrency several times in the last few years. For instance, in December 2013, bitcoin exchanges in India had to halt their operations after a similar announcement by the RBI. Also, raids were carried out on bitcoin trading platforms. Post RBI warning and raids, where several Indian digital currency companies like Laxmicoin postponed their launch, some continued with trading.
Furthermore, in June 2015, the bitcoin exchange BTCXIndia was shut down. In August 2015, RBI’s then deputy governor Shri R Gandhi also stated, “Digital currencies and crowdfunding have the potential to support criminal, anti-social activities like money laundering, terrorist funding, and tax evasion. While we do not have any reported instances of crowdfunding in this respect, cryptocurrencies have been widely suspected to finance criminal activities. We have to be carefully and critically watching these developments.”
Bitcoin: Leading The Charge For Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin was introduced in 2008 by an unidentified group of programmers as a cryptocurrency as well as an electronic payment system. It is, reportedly the first decentralised digital currency where peer-to-peer transactions take place without any intermediary. These transactions are verified by network nodes and recorded in a public distributed ledger called the blockchain, which uses bitcoin as its unit of account.
As per Wikipedia, Bitcoins are created as a reward in a competition in which users, offer their computing power to verify and record bitcoin transactions into the blockchain. This activity is referred to as mining and successful miners are rewarded with transaction fees and newly created bitcoins. Besides mining, bitcoins can be exchanged for other currencies, products, and services.
There are over 20 other cryptocurrencies which exist today. Most of them came after bitcoin, even though bitcoin was precisely not the first. The list includes Litecoin, Peercoin, Primecoin, Ripple, Quark, and more. However, bitcoin is the only one which has created any kind of buzz, including in developing countries like India.
Bitcoin In India
Initially dealing with low acceptance and trust issues from the regulatory bodies, 2016 was the year bitcoin gained countrywide acceptance. As per a Trak.in report, in 2016, the country possessed around 50,000 bitcoin wallets and around 700-800 bitcoins were traded every day. With bitcoin transactions reaching INR 500 Cr a year, the cryptocurrency had started finding applications in areas such as ecommerce, paying bills, and buying gift vouchers from popular online retail sites.
This was the time when RBI too “appreciated the strengths of of the underlying ‘blockchain’ technology,” and there were hints in the air to use bitcoin wallets in remote areas instead of putting up brick and mortar banks. Also, bitcoin was considered useful in reportedly saving over $7 Bn in fees paid to third parties during transactions with companies such as PayPal, Western Union or to banks through transfer and exchange rate fees.
Sandeep Goenka, co-founder of Zebpay and a member of the CryptoCurrency Certification Consortium, in an Inc42 article stated bitcoin as the future of finance, finding applications in ‘identification and authentication,’ ‘creation of digital assets,’ ‘micropayments’ and ‘for creating a decentralised notary’. Not only this, Saurabh Agarwal, co-founder and CEO of ZebPay described bitcoin as virtual gold. As stated in one of his articles on Inc42, “With the current demonetisation of Indian currency and other such unpredictable moves, the Indian millennial has agreed on digital assets being the future of investment. The industry is witnessing unseen milestones and it’s safe to assume that bitcoins could be the next ‘virtual gold’ which we can look up to.”
Apart from this, the virtual currency segment has also attracted leading angels and venture capitalists to invest in bitcoin startups. In September 2016, Bengaluru-based Bitcoin startup Unocoin raised $1.5 Mn in a Pre-Series A round, while in April 2016, Ahmedabad-based mobile bitcoin wallet startup, Zebpay, raised $1 Mn in Series A funding.
In February 2014, India’s first bitcoin etailer – Highkart.com was launched as the first ecommerce site to accept bitcoin payments exclusively. The first fully compliant bitcoin exchange, BTCXIndia, was also set up in Hyderabad. In December 2015, former RBI chief Raghuram Rajan said the digital currency was ‘fascinating’ and that India’s central bank could use digital currencies.
However, even with several defined use cases, it has come out that bitcoin also attracted criminals for charging ransomware, people using it for tax evasion and more. Since then financial regulators, legislative bodies, law enforcers and media all over the world have continuously debated on its legality and usage. Infact, a recent Forbes report also termed bitcoin as the ‘blood diamonds’ of the digital era citing it as a mere medium of exchange for lawbreakers.
It is no doubt that technology, even fintech, is slowly evolving past the point of no return. With existing mediums of transactions such as credit cards/net banking and others being digitised, and the advent of Android Pay, Samsung Pay and Apple Pay among others, the notion of currency itself is undergoing drastic change. What was once cold, hard cash – that a user could see, touch and feel has now become a bunch of zeros and ones on the smartphone.
With this evolution, it is not hard to imagine a world where existing forms of currency become obsolete (along with the tedium of transactions) and cryptocurrency (stands for secure, encrypted currency) take its place. Bitcoin, for the most part, has had legitimate uses and while the ‘mining’ of bitcoin is a time-consuming and expensive process, it also has opened up the door for changing the global mindset of people when it comes to the one thing they hold most precious – money.
But, the government’s concerns cannot be overlooked either, as no form of currency (crypto and otherwise) can be used to bypass and launder money or finance terrorist activities. If used judiciously, and within the defined legal framework, bitcoin could become a gamechanger, taking fintech to the next level in the coming decades.


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Monetizing mobile in Canada: Canadian Telecom Summit
Canada's wireless phone industry in 2010 spun off $43 billion in activity for the Canadian economy, UK-based Ovum Consulting reported Monday.
No wonder Bell Media, Rogers Communications and other major carriers are focused on monetizing the mobile platform with video content.
Canada’s wireless phone industry in 2010 spun off $43 billion in activity for the Canadian economy, UK-based Ovum Consulting reported Monday at the Canadian Telecom Summit.
The 45-page report commissioned by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association indicated Canadians paid $9.31 billion for wireless phone services in 2010, the last year surveyed.
In addition, the fast-growing mobile phone industry contributed $18 billion to Canada’s GDP, and provided an additional $15.66 billion of “economic flow,” via suppliers in the supply chain.
Of course, monetizing video streaming on the mobile platform, a challenge for Facebook, Zynga and other major US digital platforms, remains elusive for Canadian carriers as well.
The Ovum release reported the mobile content business generated around $240 million in revenue in 2010, up from $227 million in 2009. That includes music, TV and gaming content.
“The majority of revenue is from the downloading of music and mobile gaming. Revenues from streaming music services and subscription TV / video services are very modest,” the study indicated.
Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) president and CEO Bernard Lord, addressing the industry conference, reported half of Canadian mobile phone users own smartphones, and that by 2014 Canada will have over 30 million wireless phone subscriptions, up from 26 million currently.
From Playback Daily