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For mission-oriented businesses, demonstrating the company’s values at every step of the supply chain process is crucial to attracting new customers, retaining old ones, and standing apart in the industry. At Vancouver-based grocery delivery service SPUD, providing customers with healthy, locally sourced food is the main mission, and requires refrigeration units to achieve it.
Founded in 1997, SPUD delivers food from farms, ranches, fisheries, and bakeries to customers in the Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, and Edmonton areas.
“We're very sustainable,” says Rick Hollingshead, SPUD’s facilities and fleet manager. “We're all about being green, and number one, helping people make healthy choices and live a healthier lifestyle [with] organic and non-GMO products.”
With a fleet of 60 vehicles — the company primarily runs Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans — and 600 employees, SPUD makes upwards of 1,500 deliveries a day to homes and offices. Individual trucks and drivers typically make 35 to 60 deliveries daily.
In keeping with SPUD’s commitment to sustainability, Hollingshead decided to outfit his fleet with Volta Air’s Pluto all-electric reefer units about a year and half ago after being introduced to the product a trade show a few years prior.
With over 50 years of experience in the automotive and HVAC industry, Richmond, British Colombia-based Volta Air develops AC and transportation refrigeration that is meant to lower operational costs and reduce emissions.
“The current problem with day-to-day urban delivery of fresh and frozen products is that during the time a delivery vehicle is stopped, its engine needs to run continuously to keep the products fresh or frozen,” Volta Air CEO Kris Malek said in a statement.
According to Malek, using Volta Air’s all-electric refrigeration technology allows the delivery vehicle engine to be turned off during stops, which saves fuel and maintenance costs, and reduces CO2 emissions.
Hollingshead admits that when he first discovered Volta’s systems, he was “reluctant” to try them because the product was so new at the time. However, after further research and talking with Volta representatives in Vancouver, he felt confident enough to test out the reefer system in one of the company’s new vehicles.
Following a successful trial, he decided to outfit all new vehicles with the units. Currently, SPUD has 12 vehicles equipped with the Volta Air Pluto system. “And, as far as I have any say in it, that's the only unit that we're going to continue to use… in any of our new trucks,” Hollingshead adds.
The traditional reefer units SPUD uses on its older vehicles syphon power from the vehicle’s engine, requiring drivers to leave their engines running while making deliveries to ensure food doesn’t spoil. Not only does this decrease fuel economy, but it increases emissions as well.
With the Volta Air Pluto units, the refrigeration system continues to run after the vehicle has been turned off, reducing emissions, lowering fuel spend, and ensuring fresh groceries. Aside from the amount saved by decreasing fuel consumption, the Volta units themselves are about half the price of traditional units, Hollingshead adds.
The 12-volt reefer units weigh about 97 pounds and are approved by the California Air Resources Board.
As SPUD’s operations continue to expand — the company recently partnered with Walmart to deliver groceries to its Vancouver area stores — maintaining that commitment to provide customers with local, organic food will be top priority, and promoting sustainable fleet practices will naturally follow.
By 2022, Hollingshead estimates his fleet will number upwards of 120 vehicles, the majority of which will be fitted with all-electric reefer units.
Within the next three to five years, all-electric units are expected to penetrate 8% to 10% of the market, Malek said.
“That’s certainly not a majority, but still represents a huge market opportunity.”


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NBA 2K19 is coming to Switch, new retail marketing material has revealed. It seems that we’re on track for a September launch, just like last year. Those who purchase the game’s 20th Anniversary Edition will be able to play four days early.
The NBA 2K franchise returned to Nintendo platforms after being on hiatus for several years. Once 2K Sports published NBA 2K13 on Wii U back in 2012, that was it until last year’s comeback on Switch.
The situation has been similar with FIFA. FIFA titles were missing on Nintendo platforms for several years until FIFA 18 last September. Just a few days ago, we received confirmation that FIFA 19 will be on Switch – just like NBA 2K.
2K Sports should be making an official announcement regarding NBA 2K19 soon.

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The Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) has been heralded a true African success story: it has revolutionised the way that Ethiopian commodities are traded, and helped launch the country into the global market arena. Shannon Manders reports on the ways in which it continues to transform itself to become a model for other commodities exchanges.
Before the launch of the ECX back in 2008, agricultural markets in Ethiopia had been characterised by high costs and high risks of transacting, forcing much of the country into global isolation.
Today the exchange provides market players with a secure end-to-end system for handling, grading and storing commodities, matching offers and bids for commodity transactions, and a risk-free payment and goods delivery system to settle them.
In fact, such has been the success of the Ethiopian model that a number of other African countries are considering replicating the business. The ECX recently signed agreements with Malawi’s AHL Commodity Exchange and Mozambique’s Bolsa de Mercadorias de Mozambique that entail significant technical, training and consultancy co-operation.
Since its creation, the ECX has continued to pioneer new products and initiatives. At the end of last year it successfully launched an electronic trading (eTRADE) platform with the capacity to trade almost 5,000 times more transactions than its open outcry platform. The platform was hailed a “game changer” for the country because of its ability to dramatically increase trade efficiency, transparency and accessibility. It came to fruition in collaboration with the Investment Climate Facility for Africa (ICF), which provided US$2.2mn of the US$3.8mn total project cost (the balance of which was sourced from the ECX itself).
The exchange also recently implemented an independent food traceability system, eATTS, which encompasses over 5 million smallholder farmers engaged in producing multiple commodities traded on the ECX. The system began by piloting coffee some months ago, in partnership with IBM, USAid, Jacobs Douwe Egberts, Mother Parker’s Coffee & Tea and the Sustainable Trade Initiative. It will now be replicated across all the commodities that the ECX trades.
“We’re currently tracking each and every bag and every vehicle that carries the bag, and the person that samples, grades and certifies the commodity from the wash station,” said Tewodros Assefa, senior manager of corporate communications at the ECX, speaking at the GTR East Africa Trade & Commodity Finance conference in Nairobi in May.
“So by the time the commodity is at the exporter’s warehouse, it will be issued with a digital passport which will also be among the shipping documents that the exporter will send out to the international buyer.”
Financiers, unsurprisingly, have been dazzled by the development. “From the financing perspective, it’s music to my ears that you can clearly trace a commodity through a value chain,” Edward George, head of research at Ecobank, told GTR and the audience at the same event. “That immediately means for the offtaker that they can be more comfortable: it’s got to mean something for pricing, reducing risk and profitability.”
ECX’s traceability initiatives include the electronic tracking of bags, innovations in washing and processing and streamlined storage and transportation processes. The new tagging system, which runs on IBM and Frequenz IRIS technology, links bags of coffee traded through the ECX to one of over 2,400 geo-referenced washing, hulling and cleaning stations located in Ethiopia’s southern, central and western coffee-growing regions.
“Improvements in sustainability and traceability incentivise farmers to use the best techniques to grow and harvest different commodities,” reads a statement issued by the ECX. “Innovations in processing stations and ECX laboratories also guarantee world best practice methods are used to grade and certify commodities before they are traded on the ECX platform.”
The exchange is also facilitating better access to its platform through the design of an app, which will be piloted once development is complete. “We want to
go mobile. In five years’ time we want each and every smallholder farmer to be able to trade from his or her mobile,” Assefa said in Nairobi.
It is also making headways into the possible trading of horticultural goods, such as flowers, for which Assefa explained it is thinking about setting up a cold storage network connected to the exchange.
“Our plan is to introduce horticultural products as much as possible and then look at new ways of trading,” he said. But despite the ECX’s successes in revolutionising agricultural trade in the country, it has faced its fair share of challenges along the way, including:
Warehousing: Most commodity exchanges don’t offer warehouse functions, but the ECX has 65 warehouses located across the country and in 2015 formed a new enterprise, the Ethiopian Agricultural Commodities Warehousing Service Enterprise (EACWSE) to undertake its warehouse operations.
When the exchange first launched, its warehouses were not purpose-built for commodities.
“They were built to store other materials like metal, tires and temporary food aids, so that was one challenge that we took on,” said Assefa, speaking at GTR’s conference. “One of the reasons why the exchange is successful is because we guarantee the integrity of the product,” he added.
Lack of a national payment system: “It meant we had to create a system to exchange and partner with commercial banks to address this,” said Assefa. “The ECX is the only exchange that settles T plus 1 – meaning, if you sell your commodity today, you are guaranteed you will get your money tomorrow at 11am.”
Convincing stakeholders: In order to persuade stakeholders to believe in the system, the ECX had to conduct an extensive awareness campaign among the farmers and brokers. “The government’s commitment towards the exchange was the key to our success as a public-private partnership,” noted Assefa.
“When we set out to establish the exchange, we created co-operatives [primary co-operatives and then co-operative unions]: we have 33 of the largest co-operative unions in the country that have a membership at the exchange. They are the main drivers behind the ECX’s success. They are very much empowered and supported. And there are several co-operative banks in the country.”
Human resources: Finding the properly skilled human resources was difficult, as this was the first initiative of its kind in the country – and the continent. The ECX launched the ECX Institute last year, which Assefa described as a “pan-African knowledge transfer for commodities exchanges” dedicated to providing training, advisory services
5 things we learned about trade finance in East Africa
A report on the key findings of GTR’s East Africa Trade & Commodity Finance conference, hosted in Nairobi
on May 10 and 11:
There are no systemic risks to the Kenyan banking sector.
“No large lenders face the risk of collapse,” said Exx Africa executive director, Robert Besseling, speaking at the event. “While small Kenyan banks are more susceptible to tightening in the inter-bank market, liquidity risks are unlikely to pose a threat of systemic contagion to the country’s banking sector, and bank profitability is likely to be boosted in the near term,” Exx Africa wrote on its website in late April.
“The three banks that have been taken into receivership [Chase Bank, Imperial Bank and Dubai Bank] are too small to cause a systemic risk,” the report read.
Chase Bank, currently in receivership, resumed operations of key banking servicessuch as electronic funds transfers (EFT), trade finance, foreign exchange transactions and cheque clearance facility in mid-May, barely a fortnight after the bank reopened.
“The bank has resumed trade finance operations, especially to meet trade obligations that are falling due,” a spokesperson told GTR. “We are currently not taking any risk that is not 100% cash secured on any new trade facilities until the receivership banner is lifted.”
The role of banks is highly contested.
Banks are still the first port of call for East African corporates looking for working capital, said 62.7% of conference delegates in a live vote. However, 30.5% backed the option that this wouldn’t be the case for much longer.
Throughout the conference, heated debates took place between speakers and members of the audience, with corporates calling for more lending to SMEs and banks maintaining that the funds aren’t theirs to give away.
“When it comes to agricultural finance, we can’t rely on the banks,” said one speaker on the panel dedicated to modernising the banking sector with fintech, suggesting that the likes of supply chain service providers such as Umati Capital, eBiashara and FACTS have more of a role to play in this realm. “Mankind has figured out how to send people into space, but still hasn’t worked out how to finance SMEs and farmers,” remarked another panellist.
The appeal of private equity for corporates in the region is growing.
Private equity is becoming increasingly practical for the bigger players in the region. Kenyan supermarket chain Nakumatt is finalising a private equity deal to restructure existing debt levels, fund expansion and secure a lower cost of capital, said Vijay Kumar, Nakumatt’s group controller, finance, during his panel on working capital strategies for a challenging global environment.
Africa is (mostly) for Africans.
Local players are convinced that no foreign bank will ever truly understand the DNA of the African continent. The Middle Eastern banks are an exception to this rule, said a former international banker.
Ethiopia is more of an enclave than a regional economic hub.
Ethiopia is the “last game in town” when it comes to new opportunities and undiscovered markets in Africa, said head of research at Ecobank, Edward George. But despite all the opportunities in soft commodities and hydro-electric power, the country needs to do more to enable access to these markets. Ethiopia’s government is ambivalent towards foreign investors: the economy is opening up to foreign capital, but cautiously. “Sugar, cement and infrastructure have been opened up to foreign investment, and telecoms could follow soon,” said George.
The country’s accession to the World Trade Organisation will make it a more attractive investment destination. “Joining the WTO will bind the Ethiopian government to international trade regulation and best practices,” George added. But until then it cannot be seen as a regional economic hub: it is less connected to the rest of the continent than Mauritius, he said.


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Mazda has released a teaser photo of a concept car to be unveiled at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show, signaling its intention to produce a new sports car in the tradition of the RX models.
Major Gav looks back to a time when a 16V hot hatch made his 17-year-old self weak at the knees.
A translated tweet seems to hint that Mazda is still developing rotary-powered vehicles for future production.
Mazda Motor Corp. has canceled production of its RX-8 rotary engine sports car.
Automotive News reports on Mazda's new design direction.
Automotive News reports on new automaker V-Vehicle and its acquisition of designer Tom Matano.
The music-swapping company's co-founder, Shawn Fanning, has quietly turned to eBay to sell his 1995 Mazda RX-7.


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The European Union has announced that all firms involved in ‘mileage correction’ will be banned from trading as of 2018
At present some motor traders illegally tamper with a vehicle's odometer to show it has driven fewer miles than it actually has, thereby increasing its value. In a bid to tighten the laws and bring about harsher penalties for those found guilty of the practice, car dealers who clock cars will be banned from trading altogether, the EU has said.
Dishonesty is a very damaging trait to be labelled with as a car dealer - having a reputation for deceiving customers will not only hurt their chances of securing business, it could also have a detrimental effect when it comes to obtaining a motor trade insurance quote. Needless to say, insurance providers will be less likely to offer a quote to someone who has a track record of lying about facts in the past.
Commenting on the EU's new law, Neil Hodson, managing director of HPI, an organisation that helps second-hand buyers confirm vehicle mileage and history, said: “HPI has been a committed campaigner against clocking and the exploitation of this loophole, so we applaud the EU decision.
“Of course, the new rules won’t end all instances of clocking, but it removes the firms that hide behind the label of legitimacy to help dishonest sellers adjust their mileage to make a fast profit.”
Penalties already exist in the UK to ensure that dealers do not sell clocked cars but the new EU-wide regulations will help add further enforcement against this practice.


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About the survey
Trends such cloud computing and social media have changed the way organisations do business and interact with their clients, but there is doubt as to whether organisations’ CRM systems are keeping pace with these trends.
As a result, Deloitte in partnership with ITWeb conducted a survey to find out:
|1)||What CRM solutions are most used.|
|2)||What CRM features are considered vital.|
|3)||What factors would motivate an organisatiuon to upgrade/change its CRM solution.|
The 2012 CRM Survey was run online on ITWeb for a period of two weeks, from 27 August to 10 September November.


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Published on: 21/06/2022
Mythical Games to release two play-and-earn titles
Next-generation gaming technology company Mythical Games has announced partnerships with two video game developers, CCG Lab and Creative Mobile, to release play-and-earn titles next year.
Mythical Games announced Monday, June 20 that CCG Lab’s trading-card title “Epic Spell Wars: Magic Fight” and Creative Mobile’s “Nitro Nation – World Tour” would be released on its blockchain-based platform. However, the company has yet to release a specific release date for both titles.
About Epic Spell Wars: Magic Fight
CCG Lab is one of the leading video game developers in the digital collectible scene. The developer has been focusing on card games of licensed properties and original intellectual properties.
“Then you’ll be able to take it to a whole other dimension with Epic Spell Wars: Magic Fight and battle to be the ultimate wizard,” Mythical Games co-founder and CCO Jamie Jackson said.
“We’re thrilled to be crafting new stories, new angles and most importantly empowering people to play, own, and live out their fantasies whether it be as wizards, warriors, racers, or party animals.”
The developer team said they were eager to introduce players to a battle card game experience where they can earn digital collectibles. The game will be released on PC with a potential mobile release.
“We are super excited to announce Epic Spell Wars: Magic Fight, an over-the-top collectible card game that uses NFT technology to deliver a brutal strategic card battler!” Cryptozoic co-founder Cory Jones said.
“And of course partnering with Mythical lets us leverage their best-in-class Blockchain platform and removes the heavy lifting to get this game to an all-new digital audience.”
About Nitro Nation – World Tour
Nitro Nation – World Tour is developed by an independent developer and publisher company, Creative Mobile.
“We’re stoked to announce a milestone moment about to hit the horizon, where we embark on a new chapter with more games, stronger partnerships, and fun, outlandish experiences,” Jackson added.
“Just like Nitro Nation has brought drag racing to the next level, we’re partnering up and elevating the franchise to new heights with our proprietary blockchain technology in Nitro Nations World Tour.”
In Nitro Nation – World Tour, players can race with others for a chance to win the opponent’s car. The game will include customization and car upgrades. Creative Mobile said the features would provide a vast variety of car collections.
The game’s digital car collections are based on fully licensed cars made by famous car manufacturers, making NFTs in the game feel lavish and premium.
“We’ve been making racing games for over a decade now and are thrilled to innovate on our Nitro Nation franchise in partnership with Mythical,” Creative Mobile CEO and co-founder Vladimir Funtikov said.
“We will be bringing true ownership to the worldwide community of millions of competitive racing fans.”
Mythical Games has also launched two games on its platform. These include its own debut release, Blankos Block Party. The other game, which is titled NFL Rivals, was developed in partnership with the National Football League (NFL) and NFL Players Association (NFLPA).


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Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos called it an Octocopter, but it was also a great way to deliver publicity.
On CBS’s “60 Minutes” Sunday night, Bezos said the ecommerce site is testing a programwhere drones will deliver packages weighing up to five pounds in 30 minutes.
“I know this looks like science fiction — it’s not,” Bezos said, causing social media outlets to light up with news of the coming drones.
The interview generated widespread buzz that spilled over into Cyber Monday, the busiest online shopping day of the year, when 131 million Americans are forecast to participate, according to the National Retail Federation.
CLICK HERE to read story
article courtesy of msnbc.com
Amazon Drones Announcement Delivers Publicity Buzz was originally published on praisecleveland.com


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MSC Cruises and Fincantieri announced the signing of a memorandum of agreement for the construction of four ultra-luxury cruise ships.
The ships, the first of which will be delivered in spring 2023, will have gross tonnage of approximately 64,000 GT and will feature 500 staterooms. The remaining three ships will come into service one per year over the following three years. The ships will feature the latest environmental technology and introduce new options designed to elevate guest comfort and relaxation.
“It is off the back of the great success of our ship-within-a-ship luxury concept that our guests asked us to enter into the ultra-luxury segment, as a natural evolution of the MSC Yacht Club,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises’ executive chairman, in press materials. “These ships will be able to offer unique itineraries, thanks to their size, and the guest services will be taken to another level, including our personalized MSC Yacht Club butler service available 24/7.”
This move into ultra-luxury is an extension of MSC Cruises’ already robust expansion plan, bringing a total of 17 new ships to be built by 2027.


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Venture capitalist Fred Wilson has some choice words for Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick.
While on stage at the Upfront Summit in Los Angeles on Thursday he said going public “doesn’t taste good … but it makes you better.”
Wilson doesn’t believe companies should continue waiting for the perfect market conditions to present themselves before they go public.
“I agree with Bill Gurley on this. Man up! Woman up! F—— do it! Don’t be chicken!” Wilson ranted, referring to another VC.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has said on several occasions that he believes the company’s IPO is at least a few more years away.
Wilson, who has not invested in Uber, thinks Kalanick is just scared.
“He’s wimping out. That should be a publicly traded company,” Wilson said.
Uber has raised $8 billion and Wilson believes they are ready to get their money back.
“When you take money from me, am I getting money from you?” Wilson said. “You have a responsibility to give me my money back sometime. You can’t just say f— you. Take the g—— company public.”


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Hobby Lobby under investigation over sale of 5th‑century Bible fragment
Egypt is investigating the possible illegal acquisition of national artefacts by an American craft store company, including a 5th-century fragment of the Bible that was displayed at the Vatican.
Hobby Lobby, owned by the multibillionaire Green family, agreed to forfeit 5,000 artefacts this month after a US federal investigation found that they came from Iraq and were shipped under false labels via the UAE and Israel.
The Oklahoma company, which began acquiring historic items in 2009 to set up the Museum of the Bible in Washington, had to pay an additional $3 million to settle civil cases.
The forfeited items include tablets covered in cuneiform, an ancient system of writing. Egyptian officials have raised the alarm about other items within the Green Collection, including 1,600-year-old


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Tim Bray, a prominent senior engineer and vice president of Amazon, has “disappointed lying out” because the company has been “firing whistleblowers who are protesting about the Covid-19 outbreak,” according tomedia. Bray, who has worked at Amazon for nearly six years, posted an open letter on its website calling it “cowardly” to fire and disparage employees who organize protests. He also said the company’s dismissalwasweres were “designed to create an atmosphere of fear”.
In the new corona virus crisis, Amazon’s strategy has been to dismiss and demean dissidents in public and secrecy. There have been dozens of confirmed cases of new coronavirus in warehouses across the United States, and workers have repeatedly said the company is not doing enough to protect them. Last week, Amazon ended a program that allowed workers to take unlimited unpaid leave after becoming ill from the coronavirus. On Friday, Amazon workers joined Target, FedEx, Instacart and Whole Foods in a strike to protest their work environment.
In a statement sent to Motherboard, Amazon said its protest workers “spread misinformation and make false claims about Amazon” and said they “oppose irresponsible behavior by labor groups.” Last month, Amazon fired Its New York employee, Chris Smalls. At one meeting, Amazon executives said they thought Smalls was “not smart and bad at the rhetoric” and, according to leaked minutes of the meeting obtained by VICE News, they publicly emphasized that “the actions of the organizers are unethical, unacceptable and arguably illegal.”
In his resignation letter, Bray noted that “firing whistleblowers is not only a side effect of macroeconomic forces, nor is it an inherent manifestation of free-market function.” It proves that there is a ‘poison’ in the company culture that runs through the company culture. I choose to neither serve nor drink this ‘poison’. “
Bray spoke out about Amazon’s workplace culture and employee treatment. For decades, he has been well-known in software engineering. Last year he signed an open letter advocating shareholder resolutions calling on companies to take climate action and stop working with fossil fuel companies. A total of 8,702 employees signed the letter. Bray has previously been arrested for protesting Canada’s Trans Mountain YouTube project.
Bray said he was “devastated” after Amazon fired two employees who helped organize the climate march. “The vice president should not act in public, so I act through the appropriate channels and by the rules,” he wrote. He said he decided to resign in solidarity with those who had been fired. “If you continue to be vice president of Amazon, it actually means signing the action plan That I despise.” So, I quit. “
“The victims are not abstract entities, but real people; Courtney Bowden, Gerald Bryson, Maren Costa, Emily Cunningham, Bashir Mohammed and Chris Smalls. He added.
Amazon declined to comment on Bray’s resignation letter.


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Clipped from: https://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/we-are-looking-to-reduce-inflation-rate-over-medium-term-shashanka-bhide-123022301212_1.html?code=NTM4OTU9MTIzMDIyMzAxMjEy
‘In the past two meetings, the size of the rate increases have come down’
Shashanka Bhide, external member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), voted in favour of a rate hike along with the internal members of the RBI in the latest policy meeting. In an interview with Asit Ranjan Mishra, he said the MPC is aiming to bring down inflation level within the tolerance band in 2023-24. Edited excerpts:
You are now the only external member to vote against a pause. You clearly don’t share the risks to economic growth from over-shooting policy tightening?
No, I am a member in favour of an increase in rate (in the last MPC meet). The price rise was significant in many commodities. For me, the issue was core inflation, which continued to be high. Several components of core inflation were above 6 per cent. The rate hike was in the background of the continued inflationary pressures, especially in the sectors and commodities other than food. We are looking to reduce the inflation rate target over the medium term. We are not close to that yet. Growth is certainly an area that will be affected by higher interest rates. But at the same time, the continued high inflation rate is a real concern now.
Since the RBI has raised policy rates cumulatively by 250 basis points and rate transmission takes time, will it not be prudent to pause and allow past policy rate hikes to show its impact on the ground?
In the past two meetings, the size of the rate increases has come down. You are right, we have had rate increases since the May meeting. It’s the question of achieving our mandate. We need to see that we are within the tolerance band in 2023-24. To know whether rate increases are required or not, we need to have those trends. Many of the things, especially the international commodity prices, are more favourable. What is less clear is the pass through of many of the decline in the international prices in the domestic market. These two-three things are important on what the policy position would be. After the significant increase in rates since May, we are still not within the tolerance band. So rate decisions will have to be based on how the data looks like.
Though inflation is still not within the band, any further rate hike will not immediately have an impact on the inflation trajectory. Whatever rate hikes have already happened, only those can have an impact on inflation in the next few quarters. From that aspect also, don’t you think any further rate hike may not be needed?
That is a concern which is certainly there. The transmission of rate hike on overall price conditions and what happens to the demand conditions due to the rate hike. This trade-off is a concern. Lower inflation rate is a priority now. The decisions will have to be based on that.
MPC members, including you, have made core inflation a benchmark while the mandate is the headline retail inflation. Why is that?
It is not a move away from the mandate. It is simply the fact that unless the core inflation also comes down, it is tough to bring the overall inflation rate in a sustained way closer to our target, even within the tolerance band. Strictly speaking, (the area of concern are) core inflation and to some extent the fuel and light inflation, which is in double digits.
How much policy tightening of other central banks, especially the US Fed, and possible capital outflow impact MPC’s policy decisions?
I don’t think they directly influence rate decisions. But the overall economic trends certainly would have an impact on decisions. For example, the external environment is affected by all that happens — decisions by other central banks, commodity markets, capital flows, and so on. All of these will certainly have an impact on the assessment of the course of the economy. But it’s the expectations of inflation and growth for the economy that are critical.


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Using its resin design technology, Panasonic has developed a bonding sheet that can be laminated at less than 200°C and stored at room temperature.
Panasonic has introduced its low transmission loss flexible multi-layer circuit board materials, which the company says will address the growing need for faster transmission of signals.
Using its resin design technology, Panasonic has developed a bonding sheet that can be laminated at less than 200°C and stored at room temperature. This eliminates the need for special facilities for high-temperature lamination and refrigerated storage for bonding sheets. The company has also achieved high adhesiveness of liquid-crystal polymer (LCP) and low profile copper foil for the LCP core material by using its laminating techniques. It supports standards including USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps) and will enable increased speed of large-volume data transmission in mobile devices.
Furthermore, a coaxial cable is capable of large-volume data transmission, but its downside is its thickness. A low transmission loss flexible multi-layer circuit board has several signal lines within it, so large-volume data transmission and a thinner design can be achieved simultaneously. Adopting this material allows flexible multi-layer circuit boards, in a 0.2mm-thick, 3-layer structure that can carry several signal lines, to replace coaxial cables.


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premieres on March 8th in theaters around the world, and it’s likely that it’ll bring in massive revenue for Disney. But once its theatrical run ends, you won’t be able to catch it on Netflix.
The revelation that Captain Marvel won’t make it to Netflix this year came during Disney’s investor call on Tuesday. Per The Verge,
While Iger said that Captain Marvel will be the first
Iger said that creatives across Disney’s biggest brands, including Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm are already working on content for Disney+.
“We have a number of creative engines across our company, many of which are dedicating their time and talents to develop content for the Disney+ platform,” Iger said. “Many are the same innovators driving the prolific success of Disney, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel. We look forward to leveraging National Geographic for even more content on Disney+.”
But just because it’s focusing more and more on Disney+, the company doesn’t plan to “adjust the theatrical window,” the CEO said.


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A bill obliging retailers and suppliers to limit the amount of food waste in the supply chain would likely be applied on a voluntary basis, recycling minister Rory Stewart has indicated.
The Food Waste (Reduction) Bill is due to be introduced in the House of Commons by Bristol West MP Kerry McCarthy today (September 9).
The Labour MP’s Bill would obligate UK supermarkets to donate unsold food where redistribution charities are willing to form partnerships, while also publishing their food waste arisings.
It follows similar legislative proposals in Belgium and France, inspired by a wave of popular support, and the European Commission’s resolution recommending the law be extended across Europe.
In a 10-minute motion following Prime Minister’s Questions later, Ms McCarthy will lay out the main policies of the Bill, requiring large supermarkets, manufacturers and distributors to reduce food waste ‘by no less than 30% by 2025’.
The Bill will also require all parts of the supply chain to enter into formal agreements with food redistribution organisations. Ms McCarthy argues that the UK redistributes just ‘2%’ of its fit for purpose surplus food, in comparison to France which redistributes ’20 times that volume’.
Speaking at the launch of the Bill in Westminster yesterday, Mr Stewart showed his support for the idea – but indicated its aims could be achieved merely through the ‘threat’ of compulsory action.
He said: “I suspect there will be discussions about how much of this is mandatory or voluntary but it’s a very useful tension. One of the reasons we have made so much progress is the threat of legislative action.
“It’s a tragedy to waste food but much more important than that we have a growing population on a relatively small planet. Unless we address this issue we are going to find ourselves in very serious trouble.”
All Party Group
Ms McCarthy, who is also using the opportunity to set up an All Party Group on food waste, told letsrecycle.com that the details of the Bill would not take shape until it receives a second reading.
But speaking at the event, she argued that voluntary obligations can only go so far towards tackling food waste in the supply chain.
She said: “I think when the 2012 bill was introduced there was voluntary action by some of the supermarkets. A good reason to start up the All Party Group is we can go a lot faster if we have the government in the driving seat to push things forward.”
Ms McCarthy added she expected the bill to be well received in Parliament later today, but added there may be some dissenting voices to her cause.
Commenting on the Bill, the British Retail Consortium argued that the bill ‘distracts’ from the bigger targets of food waste reduction – adding that government intervention is ‘unnecessary’.
A BRC spokesman said: “The number one priority for every British supermarket is to keep food surplus and food waste to an absolute minimum, even though retail accounts for just 1% of the 15 million tonnes of food waste thrown away in the UK every year. This makes both environmental and business sense.
“However, where supermarkets do have useable excess stock they work closely with food re-distribution charities across the UK such as FareShare and Community Shop, to ensure as much of that food as possible goes to the people who are most in need of it. All of this positive collaboration takes place on a purely voluntary basis.”


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When streaming services came out with subscriptions or free music for their listeners, it wasn’t surprising that songwriters and artists were concerned about their royalties. Over the last 15 years, thanks to the emergence of streaming services, songwriters have seen their earnings and rankings decimated by 75-90 percent.
There are PROs like ASCAP, which are designed to protect the royalties offered to songwriters and artists, as well as licensing services like Tunedge, which focuses on providing proper attribution and licensing to those who use music in commercial settings. But even with protective copyrighting services, songwriters, artists, and publishers still feel threatened by streaming services.
According to new legislation from the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), things are looking up, especially for songwriters. After a massive dispute, the songwriters came out on top, and streaming services will now be required to pay more for the music they play.
Songwriters and Publishers Win Record-Breaking Revenues
After both songwriters and publishers felt like they were losing money due to subscription streaming services, they took their complaints to court. They primarily targeted major streaming services like Pandora Media Inc., Alphabet (Google) Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Apple, and Spotify.
After a long battle, the CRB mandated that streaming services are now required to pay both songwriters and publishers 15.1 percent of their revenue. Before this ruling, the royalty was only 10.5 percent.
“This has been the most exciting 24 hours, certainly in my 13 years working in this industry,” National Music Publishers Association President and CEO David Israelite said in the announcement. “We are thrilled the CRB raised rates for songwriters by 43.8 percent—the biggest rate increase granted in CRB history.”
The CRB’s decision was largely influenced by upcoming federal legislation known as the Music Modernization Act, which overhauled the digital mechanical licensing process, demanding higher royalty rates for publishers and songwriters.
Before this legislation, artists and record labels were left to create their own deals with streaming services, and oftentimes, they were limited by a content cost cap or a low percentage.
Now, the CRB has removed the content cap, a restriction that limited the revenue streaming companies were required to pay for licensing. The formula for calculating royalties paid by streaming companies was also changed. Now, songwriters who also publish their music will be paid the full 15.1 percent of the total revenue while independent songwriters will be paid 26 percent of the revenue given to artists and record labels.
Penalties for Late Payments
The CRB also instigated a late fee—the first of its kind—which means that streaming companies must pay their royalty rates on time or face an 18 percent interest fee annually. According to Israelite, the legislation could protect streaming services from potential late fees, and they’re more likely to be interested in that.
It’s likely that the CRB’s support of songwriters and publishers will instigate greater support in streaming services for the Music Modernization Act, which offers them a blanket license and takes a lot of the complexity out of payouts. It would mean higher royalties paid by streaming services, but it would eliminate the late fee penalty.
For songwriters, the late fee is a huge win.
“For 15 years we’ve been pushing a boulder up the hill, and just when it felt like were making momentum, it would roll back down on our heads,” said Bart Herbison, executive director of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI). “I would say today feels like a real victory for American songwriters and I can’t say enough about the job that Steve, and Lee and Liz did in preparing their testimony and convincing the CRB that the contributions of songwriters are crucial to the success of the streaming companies.”
What Does This Mean for Streaming Services?
Most streaming services declined immediate comment or gave vague one-liners following the legislation. It has you wondering if they’re concerned about the higher financial responsibility to come.
It’s hard to imagine that a five percent increase in royalties will make a huge difference for major corporations like Spotify and Amazon, but looks can be deceiving. Spotify, for example, lost more than half a billion dollars in 2016, and although they’ve increased their user base, it won’t be easy for them to take another loss.
That being said, it may take a while for the effects to show. Drexel University professor Robert Weitzner told Mashable, “It doesn’t mean that the rate Spotify pays would increase [immediately].” That’s because Spotify and other streaming services might pay royalties of more than 15 percent already.
However, they might not be able to stave off an increase forever. “In the long run, they are going to try and raise their prices as the services get better and they contextualize their offering,” explained Weitzner.
Photo credit: Pexels.com


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CCP Games secures USD 40 million financing for its next Web3 game
Indie game developer CCP Games, known for its online multiplayer game EVE Online, has announced that it has secured $40 million in funding from third-party partners to develop a new triple-A title set in the EVE Universe.
The financing has been led by the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with the participation of Makers Fund, BITKRAFT, Kingsway Capital, HASHED, Nexon and other investors.
According to CCP Games, the upcoming project will build on blockchain technology and smart contracts to develop core game systems, prioritizing persistence, composability, and enabling open third-party development to connect players and virtual worlds. CCP Games aims to create a new relationship between virtual worlds and players by developing a game with a higher level of player autonomy and agency. The developer believes that blockchain technology will contribute to this goal.
Founded in 1997, CCP Games is headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, with additional studios in London and Shanghai.
Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z, is a major venture capital firm that lost billions in the cryptocurrency sector in 2022. Despite suffering losses, a16z said she remained committed to investing in the cryptocurrency market and the Web3 vision of the internet. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal on Oct. 26, Chris Dixon, general partner at a16z, stated that the cryptocurrency market crash represented an opportunity to continue supporting crypto entrepreneurs and that the sector has a long-term growth horizon. .
On January 17, Carry1st, a mobile game publisher in Africa, raised $27 million in a funding round involving Andreessen Horowitz. The funding will be used to boost its digital content creation and publishing platform, as the funders believe the African continent is ripe for Web3 adoption.
Clarification: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information presented here should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
Investments in crypto assets are not regulated. They may not be suitable for retail investors and the entire amount invested may be lost. The services or products offered are not directed or accessible to investors in Spain.


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Jet2 and Jet2 Holidays have pushed back the restart of their flights and holidays from 24 June to 1 July following the UK government’s announcement that Portugal was being taken off the green list.
Chief executive Steve Heapy has called for “openness and transparency” on COVID data so that the industry would have a better understanding of government decisions that affect the travel industry.
“The UK government has repeatedly stated it is making decisions based on infection and vaccination rates, yet many destinations continue to be left off the green list despite having low infection rates and high vaccination rates,” he said.
“When you apply the government’s own criteria for making decisions about travel, we simply cannot understand why more destinations across Europe, the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands are not allowed to open to UK holidaymakers.”
Jet2 customers affected by the change will have their bookings automatically cancelled and be issued a refund. Any bookings to amber list countries between 1 July and 21 July can change be changed without charge.


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16 hrs ago
Bentley putting Mulsanne-based Azure, Brooklands back on the table [w/poll]
Big plans are afoot at Bentley . The quintessentially British automaker has just about signed off on the final version of its new SUV , and will surely roll out more versions of the Continental in the coming years, but that's not all.
Wed Jul 23, 2014
Elvis Presley's Rolls Royce limousine goes under hammer
Summary Bonham's auction house has listed the 1963 Rolls-Royce Phantom V Touring, once owned by 'King of Rock and Roll' Elvis Presley, for sale.
John Lennon's Psychedelic Rolls-Royce
Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen .
Observer & Eccentric
4 Hills residents exhibit autos at Concours Sunday
With highlights that include the evolution of the sports car, the visionary designs of Virgil Exner, jet age pick-ups and the 50th anniversary of Mustang and Lamborghini, the renowned Concours d'Elegance of America on Sunday, July 27 The Concours is considered one of the most prestigious showings of classic, rare and magnificent automobiles in the ... (more)
Mon Jul 21, 2014
Small World News Service
Rock and Rolls! Elvis Presley's former LIMO set to sell for A 180,000
An Elvis Presley fan could become the King of Rock and Rolls after the singer's old limousine was put up for sale.
Rolls-Royce Opens Innovative Summer Studio In Porto Cervo, Sardinia
Whatever the Rolls-Royce does, it does with Style! Here, opened a second studio to explain this courtesy, after the first one inaugurated last year at Cote d'Azur.
Sun Jul 20, 2014
Linux gets automotive grade release for open source cars
Information and entertainment systems are very important parts of the modern car.
Sat Jul 19, 2014
Kazakhstan Mechanic Turns Old Mercedes Into Rolls-Royce Phantom
Dreaming Rolls-Royce doesn't always mean one has to buy a one. Meet this young man from Karaganda region of Kazakhstan, who fulfilled his dream of Rolls-Royce Phantom by "making a one".
Fri Jul 18, 2014
Rolls-Royce Fan From Kazakhstan Turns A Mercedes-Benz Into One Rockin' Roller
Life's tough in Shakhtinsk, a rough & tumble town located about 30km west of Karagandy, the capital of Kazakhstan's central Karagandy Province.
Wed Jul 16, 2014
Globe and Mail
RM puts 80 classics up for bid at Motor City Auction
Canada's RM Auctions will put 80 classic cars under gavel on July 26 as part of the prestigious 36th annual Concours d'Elegance of America being held in Plymouth, Mich., from July 25-27.
Mon Jul 14, 2014
Blac Chyna -- Cops Impounded My $300K Ride
Tyga 's baby mama has some 'splaining to do ... because Sunday in Malibu she got their Rolls Royce Phantom impounded -- for a really dumb reason.
Tue Jul 08, 2014
Rolls-Royce announces record sales figures
The Goodwood-based company announced the company has enjoyed a record half-year in 2014, with sales increasing by 33 per cent worldwide compared with the same period in 2013.
Rolls-Royce sales reach half-year record
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has just announced its sales performance for the first six months of 2014, with the company reaching a new record after rising 33%.
Mon Jul 07, 2014
Brabus To Build New Mercedes-Benz S-Class Pullman?
Mercedes-Benz is working on an extra, extra-long version of its S-Class sedan that will revive the Pullman name and have a price tag that's more than double that of the Rolls-Royce Phantom .
Sun Jul 06, 2014
Exceptional European highlights added to RM's 20th anniversary Motor City Sale
RM Auctions announced the addition of a fantastic group of European highlights to its upcoming Motor City auction, July 26 in Plymouth, Michigan.
Mercedes' $1 million S-class Pullman will be built by Brabus
Brabus, the high-performance aftermarket tuning company, will begin building a new version of Mercedes-Benz's ultra-luxury S-class Pullman in December 2015, Automobile News Europe sister publication Automobilwoche reported.
Thu Jul 03, 2014
The Auto Channel
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Opens Innovative Summer Studio
July 3, 2014: Adding to the success of the Rolls-Royce Studio in Cannes on the Cote d'Azur last year, this summer Rolls-Royce Motor Cars will welcome guests both to Cannes and a second 'Summer Studio' at the exclusive enclave of Porto Cervo on the Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, Italy.
Wed Jul 02, 2014
Mercedes S-Class Pullman to be built by Brabus?
Back in the late 1990s, something came over Germany's automakers that made them all want to break into the market for super-luxury sedans.
Mon Jun 30, 2014
Mercedes-Benz S-Class Pullman To Be World's Most Expensive Sedan
Mercedes-Benz is working on a stretched version of its latest-generation S-Class that is expected to debut at the end of the year and revive the Maybach name as a new trim level.
Luxury Unique - Brought to you by the Regent Berlin, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Berlin and KPM
It's the ultimate luxury, a perfect combination of style, tradition and culture: The 5 star superior hotel Regent Berlin, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Berlin and the Berlin based fine china manufacturer KPM have teamed up to offer a package which leaves no wish unfulfilled.


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The fashion biz has had quite a year. 2013 was jam-packed with major designer shakeups, groundbreaking ad campaigns, celebrity collaborations, and pop star performance wardrobes filled with custom-made designer duds. In the final days leading up to 2014, we’re counting down Style File’s most popular twenty stories of the year. So sit back, relax, and relive 2013′s unforgettable moments. Let’s kick things off with numbers twenty through sixteen, below.
20. Rihanna and River Island Take London Fashion Week
Rihanna stirred up some anarchy in the U.K. when she and Adam Selman debuted their risqué River Island collection at London fashion week in February. Style.com had a front-row-seat to the star’s design debut.
19. Maison Kitsuné’s Retro Pop Experience
Gildas Loaëc and Masaya Kuroki, the talents behind cult fashion brand-cum-record label Maison Kitsuné, were Pitti W’s Fall ’13 guest designers. And in keeping with their quirky, multidisciplinary roots, the pair put on a riotous musical fashion presentation. Style.com was on the scene to document their sixties-themed extravaganza.
18. Dior Walks the Red Square
Last July, for the second time in history, Dior staged a show in Moscow’s Red Square. As you can imagine, the festivities, which were hosted inside a purpose-built mirrored pavilion, were brimming with glitz and glamour—albeit of Dior’s sleek and tasteful variety. Designer and Style Map contributor Vika Gazinskaya took us inside the memorable affair.
17. Playboy‘s Artist Pals Are Rethinking Sexy—But Is It Porn or Art?
Playboy has had a big year, what with Kate Moss covering its sixtieth anniversary issue and Richard Phillips’ controversial Playboy Marfa installation. Back in May, the magazine’s new director of special projects, curator Neville Wakefield, asked artists Aaron Young, Malerie Marder, and Alex Israel to create works featuring Playmate of the Year Raquel Pomplun. So we asked the question—were the results porn or art?
16. Bike Like Baba
In 2013, just six years after Paris inaugurated its shared vélo program, New York finally caught up and launched its ever-popular Citi Bikes. But traffic-inducing tourists aren’t the only ones using the vehicles—the bicycles were a popular mode of transport at New York fashion week. During the Spring ’14 shows, we talked to eccentric stylist and cyclist extraordinaire Catherine Baba about the dos and don’ts of biking about town.
Talk about dichotomy: Vivienne Westwood, she of SEX and naked cowboys T-shirt fame, has designed a collection of romantic costumes for the Vienna State Ballet that will be worn by dancers during a New Year’s concert on Wednesday. Despite her punk past, the Dame has, of course, proven her adeptness in creating lavish, impeccably draped feminine frocks and gowns, and the dancers’ silk and tulle wares are of this school. In fact, one costume is a riff on a look from Westwood’s Spring ’14 collection. But it’s not all prim and proper attire—according to WWD, Westwood has put some of the dancers in her famed tartan kilts and bustiers. As the old saying goes, you can take the designer out of 430 Kings Road…
There’s really never been a better time to be a model. Many will argue with me that the pinnacle of the profession was the glory days of Naomi, Christy, Linda, and Cindy. But they never had social media. In 2013, we witnessed the rise of a new class of supers who have since become household names. Cheeky Brit Cara Delevingne has amassed over 3.5 million followers on Instagram and is trailed by paparazzi everywhere she goes. Last week, Joan Smalls, Jourdan Dunn, and Chanel Iman became pop stars in their own right with the release of Beyoncé’s “Yoncé” music video, in which they dance like divas alongside Queen B. Hell, they’re even reclaiming the covers of fashion magazines.
This year, I was also thrilled to see a few of my favorite catwalk veterans make comebacks. Naomi herself had jaws on the floor when she opened and closed the Atelier Versace show—looking fiercer than ever—back in July. After a couple of years off the runways, Catherine McNeil walked in forty-two Fall shows (she’s kept the momentum going with a profusion of ad campaigns and editorials, in addition to an impressive Spring season), and Daria Werbowy had a cameo at Balenciaga. Who doesn’t love @dotwillow? As for the hottest newcomer? That prize goes to Edie Campbell, who was crowned Model of the Year earlier this month at the British Fashion Awards.
“We’ve offered so many olive branches,” Dylan Jones, the editor in chief of British GQ, and chairman of the London Collections: Men, told WWD last week. “[The Italian organizers] seem to be intransigent and don’t appear to be particularly interested in working with London, so we’re just going to go ahead.” His statement was in response to an ongoing scheduling conflict that the newly established London menswear shows, which will run from January 6 through 8, have with Florence’s long-standing menswear fair, Pitti Immagine Uomo, whose eighty-fifth installment is set for January 7 through 10. In an interview with Style.com today, however, Pitti CEO Raffaello Napoleone and director of special events and projects Lapo Cianchi argue that they’ve been more than cooperative. “We have had very good conversations with [British Fashion Council chairman] Caroline Rush,” offered Napoleone. “And we are totally open to finding a balance and solution to this situation.”
The concern on both parties’ ends is that, due to the current two-day overlap, editors and buyers will have to choose one fair over the other, and will miss key events in either city. Burberry, for instance, will present its Fall ’14 menswear lineup at 2 p.m. in London on January 7. Meanwhile, Diesel Black Gold—Pitti 85′s guest brand—is meant to hold its Fall ’14 show in Florence later that evening. Pitti’s (rather opulent) answer this time around is to charter a plane and fly about fifty editors to Florence immediately following the Burberry show.
The problem ends up involving all four major menswear cities: If Pitti were pushed back to accommodate London, Milan and Paris would have to alter their calendars as well. According to Napoleone, the Pitti team proposed a fix, to which Milan and Paris are reportedly not opposed: London would always run from January 6 through 8, Pitti would begin on the 8th, Milan on the 12th, and so on. “We’d have to show on the weekend, which is not exactly what we feel would be best for our clients or exhibitors,” expressed Napoleone, noting that while there would still be a one-day overlap, it was at least an improvement. “But as the French say, faute de mieux—if there are no other solutions, you have to accept it. The last time I was in London with Dylan and Caroline, I left them this very fair proposal, and we didn’t receive any answer.” As for why Pitti didn’t just concede to start on January 8 this season, Napoleone said, “The seventh was decided with Milan and Paris two years ago, before the new London fashion week had started.”
Napoleone insists that he has “no idea” what inspired Jones’ comment. “Dylan Jones is a supporter of Pitti. He always attends,” said Cianchi. “The real olive branch in this story is that every city is open to renouncing something. We are completely open,” Napoleone added.


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The Samsung SSD Global Summit 2015, Samsung announced that it will double the capacity of its 850 Pro and EVO wheels.
New 850 EVO Pro and drives will be available in capacities up to 4 TB, 2 TB half of what is available today. In addition, the compact 850 EVO M.2 disk format will also get a boost for storage.
Small internal disk capacity will be available in 1TB, compared with industry-leading capacity of 512GB available today.
Pricing and Availability
Samsung has not announced how many discs will cost. Samsung said that it begins production later this year, and drives will be available in 2016 for consumers. The drives will be available in Samsung, massive Xian, China factory.


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FairWin TGE will start in December 2018
After long team discussions, we have eventually decided to hold a Christmas token sale. The sale of the FairWin platform tokens will take place from December 1, 2018 to January 1, 2019.
Upon completion of the TGE, the FWIN token will be published on crypto-exchanges. The details about token listings and exchanges will be reported later.
The FairWin team has a working prototype now. In August 2018, we launched the FairWin platform beta. At the moment, there are 8 games available, including 6 classic slots and two original FairWin games: Yggdrasil about the magic tree from Norse mythology and Top Drop devoted to smugglers in Colombia. You can familiarize yourself with the platform and test the games using test FWIN tokens on the company’s official website in the Showcase section.
By March 2019, the FairWin team plans to release, in addition to the already-made games, another 16 games on the blockchain platform — 14 classic slots and two original games, including Zethereum Catz about space cat travelers.
A feature of the FairWin platform is the FairChannel technology, which is used to optimize gameplay and speed up game transactions. Fair Channel is a data transfer channel within which an RNG operates and all game turns are performed. Only two transactions are conducted on-chain — when the player deposits funds and withdraws them from a game. Bets and game turns on the FairWin platform are made only with the FWIN tokens.
The sale of FairWin tokens will take place from December 1 till January 1. The FWIN tokens will be sold at the rate of 1000 FWIN = 1 USD.


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Azerbaijan, officially known as the Republic of Azerbaijan is planning to adopt new methods to protect Intellectual Property Rights.
Chairman of the Azerbaijan Copyright Agency Kamran Imanov said that “The products will be marked with Special Holograms. Along with the software, the hologram will be applied to the packaging of medicines, book covers, including religious ones.”
According to the reports, Products distributed without these holograms, will be considered as pirated.
by Akshatha Karthik
Photo By erjkprunczyk/www.flickr.com/ CC BY-SA 2.0


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Illusion Labs is excited to announce that Android players will be able to land sick scooter tricks in Touchgrind Scooter starting on December 8th, 2021. Players that can’t wait to scale massive ramps on their scooters can pre-register now for the Google Play launch.
In Touchgrind Scooter, players can tout their skills on the global leaderboard by competing against friends and other players in their city, state, or country and see how they stack up against other scooter enthusiasts. Illusion Labs has added Gmail and Apple connectivity for players moving from iOS to Android play to allow players to save and sync their progress between devices.
Collectors and customizers have plenty to look forward to in Touchgrind Scooter as the game features countless scooters and gear, including epic and legendary items. Players looking to deck out their scooters will have hundreds of colors to choose from and tons of gear to use to assemble their custom scooter. Add lights, props (zoom around with a cactus on your scooter), embellished handlebars, and more, and show them off by sharing runs.
Pre-registration for Touchgrind Scooter on Google Play is open now. Android players can look forward to the game landing on December 8th. For more information on Touchgrind Scooter visit the official site here.


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Crypto miner Bitdeer Technologies has bought a maximum security physical safety vault, Le Freeport, for S$40 million ($28.4 million), Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
Bitdeer, which is backed by crypto billionaire Jihan Wu, bought the Singapore-based vault in July, the report said. Le Freeport is a repository for fine art, precious gems, and gold and silver bars, from shareholders led by Swiss art dealer and founder Yves Bouvier, according to the report.
Wu confirmed the transaction in a text message to Bloomberg.
Le Freeport is a unique acquisition by Bitdeer, which was looking to go public through a deal with a special-purpose acquisition company.
Bitdeer was formed after Bitmain, the world's largest mining rig manufacturer, was split into two companies. Bitmain was founded by Micree Zhan and Wu and was split into two after a messy battle between the two co-founders. Zhan kept Bitmain’s design and manufacturing business, buying Wu's share, while Wu kept Bitdeer.
Bitdeer didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.


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CNN Sometimes, the only way to get noticed is to be controversial, to be out of the ordinary. Stir it up, cause a fuss, rip up the rule book and watch the masses react. I never cared in the slightest that males were paying more attention to us because we did a nude calendar. Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.
Australia: From nude calendars to Women's World Cup contenders - CNN
They're everywhere -- athletes, and athletic supporters, posing in the buff to raise money for their favorite causes -- in some cases, themselves. So, if you're looking for a special gift for that special someone -- and want to do some good in the world -- we've provided this wonderful guide to what's available. Let's hope you're not checking out the horse. One even does a fair impression of a confused Lady Godiva.
Matildas out to shock the globe as women’s game continues rapid growth
Football: Matildas superstar Sam Kerr is one of the stars of Nike's incredible new advertising campaign. Sam Kerr. This week, as the Matildas prepared to begin a World Cup they believe could end with Australia lifting a trophy, Nike dropped a powerful advertisement starring superstar striker Sam Kerr.
It's been 20 years since the Matildas team of took off their clothes and stood in front of a camera. The images were printed in a calendar and thousands of copies were sold around the world. It captured global attention and triggered a fierce debate about feminism, body image and the path to equality for women's sport. Since then, everyone has known who they are," says Heather Reid, who was on the board of the Australian Women's Football Association at the time.


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Michael Dell’s battered effort to buy his namesake company for $24.4 billion and take it private, which has been under siege by unhappy shareholders and competing bids since it was announced in February, is about to get more difficult.
The CEO has known about the opposition from some larger shareholders since just days after the proposed deal was announced, and bids by other organizations—most notably Blackstone Group—have come and gone.
But now activist investor Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management—one of the early and most vocal opponents of Michael Dell’s plans—are making their own bid to buy the world’s third-largest PC maker. They want the company’s board of directors to put their bid next to Michael Dell’s for a vote before all shareholders. Otherwise, they will work hard to spike Michael Dell’s offer and to get their own slate of 12 directors voted to the board.
In a lengthy, strongly-worded letter sent to the current board May 9, Icahn and Southeastern laid out a competing bid that they said is far superior to Michael Dell’s, which they call a “giveaway agreement.”
“We are often cynical about corporate boards but this Board has brought that cynicism to new heights,” they said in the letter, which was included in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission and signed by Icahn and G. Staley Cates, president and chief investment officer at Southeastern. “This company has suffered long enough from very wrong-headed decisions made by the Board and its management. Do not make another by putting the company through an unnecessary debilitating proxy fight. Allow the shareholders to decide for themselves which offer they choose.”
For the past several years, Michael Dell and other company executives have been working to transform Dell from a maker of commodity PCs to more of an enterprise IT solutions and services provider. Like other tech vendors like Intel and Hewlett-Packard, Dell has seen its financial numbers impacted by the continuing sales declines in the global PC market.
Through in-house development and acquisitions, Dell has looked to build its capabilities in such areas as networking, storage, software, security and services.
In February, Michael Dell and equity firm Silver Lake Partners announced a bid to buy the company in a leveraged buyout for $13.65 a share. The CEO has argued that taking the company private would enable him to accelerate the transformation of Dell outside of the glare of Wall Street.
Southeastern and other investors, including T. Rowe Price, quickly came out against the plan, saying it greatly undervalued the company and would benefit Michael Dell and Silver Lake at the expense of shareholders.
With this latest bid, Icahn and Southeastern—which hold about 13 percent of outstanding shares in the company—are making a move they say will benefit investors.
“The shareholders in this case are literally getting screwed,” Icahn said May 10 during an interview on CNBC. “You can camouflage it with numbers or whatever, but $13.65 is a giveaway. … This is what we call the great giveaway.”
In the Icahn-Southeastern deal, shareholders could either get a $12-per-share cash dividend or receive $12 in additional shares for $1.65 a share. Icahn and Southeastern both will opt for the shares, not the cash, they said. They would finance the proposal using available Dell cash and about $5.2 billion in new debt.
“We have great respect for Michael Dell for creating and building Dell and also for the ‘negotiating’ ability he has shown in getting his Board to grant to him this almost absurd bargain,” the bidders wrote in their letter. “However, we believe all shareholders (at their discretion) should have the opportunity to participate in the upside potential we believe is present, not solely Michael Dell and an opportunistic buyout group leveraging to the hilt the company’s own assets with very little of their own equity.”
Michael Dell Faces Bruising Fight With Icahn, Southeastern for Company
In the letter, Icahn and Southeastern had harsh words for both the board and Michael Dell. They criticized the board for not only agreeing to the CEO’s bid, but also agreeing to pay him hundreds of millions of dollars should the deal not go through. They said they didn’t understand why, when Michael Dell and Silver Lake approached them with the offer, the directors wouldn’t give shareholders the option of accepting it or give them another alternative—like theirs—that gave investors money and enabled them to continue profiting if the company prospered.
“After all, many loyal shareholders held on while management and the Board oversaw the decline of the company these many years,” Icahn and Southeastern wrote. “Instead, astonishingly, we believe the Board basically said ‘thank you Michael for offering to purchase the company with the shareholders’ own money at a bargain price and, by the way, if anyone dares to offer a higher value like our proposal and you don’t want to compete with it, have no fear because we will award you a break-up fee of up to $450 million. And even if we find the competing offer to be a “superior offer,” we will still pay you at least $180 million.'”
They also said they saw a lot of potential for Dell and its transformation efforts. There also are opportunities to pare away “excessive and bloated overhead” and the possibilities of spinning off business units that no longer are part of Dell’s core efforts.
“Most importantly, we note Dell is not solely a cost story,” they wrote. “Dell is a proud 29-year-old global brand with key relationships with some of the world’s most dynamic suppliers (including Microsoft and Intel which have a vested interest in Dell’s success), enterprises (small, medium and large), and individual loyal customers. We truly believe the best days for Dell are yet to come and the company has a tremendous opportunity to build on its strong platform.”
However, if Icahn and Southeastern have their way, those best days will be without Michael Dell.
“You need a new CEO,” Icahn told CNBC. “You’d need to change the culture. … If our board’s elected, he’s not going to be running the company. That, I can guarantee 100 percent.”


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FDA Says Juul-ing is NOT Cool
Following months of complaints from politicians, school administrators and parents, federal agencies have begun cracking down on underage use of the popular e-cigarette brand Juul. As of Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings to 40 retail and online stores. This is part of a nationwide effort against the illegal sale of Juul to minors. Juul has become popular among teenagers thanks to its semblance to a small flash drive, making it easy to vape in school and in public. Apparently, the San Francisco-based company monitors all retailers to ensure they follow the law.
To learn more, read here.


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LG has officially confirmed that the company will soon launch a white version of the popular LG Nexus 4 smartphone. This new White Nexus 4 smartphone will be exactly identical to the currently available black colored LG Nexus 4. There will be no changes to the hardware configuration whatsoever.
After the white colored Nexus 4 smartphone was spotted at the Google I/O event, LG has confirmed the device from its side as well. It is also being said that this new device will add an extra color option to the Nexus 4 smartphone, but there will be no changes in specs. The white Nexus 4 will only offer you a change on the outside whereas everything remains the same on the inside.
The white Nexus 4 smartphone has been in rumors since the start of the year, and it has been confirmed about five months down the line. LG also said that this new white Nexus 4 will go on sale in Hong Kong on the 29th of May. The device will soon be available in other markets which include Asia, North America, Europe, and the Middle East. These markets should get this device in the weeks to come.
As of now, there is no information available about whether this white Nexus 4 running on stock Android will be available on Google’s Play Store or not. We expect LG and Google to announce this very soon, we will just have to wait till then.
Since the time LG Nexus 4 was released, it has been one of the most popular Android based smartphones in the market and the demand for this device has been growing at a very good rate. Consumers who have not bought the device yet will be able to opt for a white colored version of the Nexus 4.
The Nexus 4 device has a 4.7-inch IPS touchscreen display with a resolution of 1280 x 768. The device is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and has 2GB of RAM. The device comes with 16GB of internal storage and an 8MP shooter.


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WASHINGTON (CBS.MW)--International Specialty Products Inc. included a new concession in its $1.04 billion unsolicited bid for Dexter Corp., according to papers filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.
Under the plan, Dexter DEX, +0.31% shareholders would receive one contingent value right, or CVR, for each share they own.
International Specialty said the CVRs would benefit Dexter shareholders by allowing them to pocket the proceeds from its proposed sale of Life Technologies stock in "excess of $50 per share."
Shares of Rockville, Md.-based Life, which are listed on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board, last traded at 54 1/2.
"Chase Securities Inc. has advised us that the CVRs would be a source of significant value for Dexter shareholders," International Specialty noted in its filing.
Wayne, N.J.-based International Specialty, a company that manufactures specialty chemicals, mineral and filter products, said it would pull the offer today unless Dexter commenced "substantive negotiations with us," the filing said.
Dexter's board of directors, which received International Specialty's latest proposal last Wednesday, is expected to meet today to discuss the offer.
International Specialty has been seeking to acquire Windsor Locks, Conn.-based Dexter since last December when it bid $45 per share in cash. It raised its offer to $50 per share on March 23 after Dexter refused to enter negotiations.
International Specialty has since launched a proxy fight to gain seven seats on Dexter's board.
Dexter, the oldest company on the New York Stock Exchange, has publicly acknowledged that it is considering a wide range of alternatives that would include a sale of the company, a financial restructuring, or spin-off of one of its businesses.
So far, the company said it has received interest from 28 companies who have signed confidentiality agreements.
In recent trading, shares of International Specialty were down 1/16 to 54 5/8; shares of Dexter were up 1/2 to 54 5/8.


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When It Comes to Delivery, Houston Loves Beef Fajitas
It's amazing what you can get delivered to your doorstep these days. Gone are the days where pizza and Chinese food were your only delivery options; with enough money in your bank account and a smartphone, you can bring the entire culinary world to you. The options feel limitless at times, but thanks to some data analysis by Grubhub, we have a pretty good idea about what Houston wants delivered.
It probably won't surprise you to find out the answer is meat. Up at the top of the list this year are a whole bunch of chicken dishes—chicken tacos, chicken fajitas, chicken flautas, chicken fried chicken–and the ever-reliable beef fajitas. In fact, Houston orders beef fajitas more than any other city in the country, making us way cooler than burger-obsessed Dallas, sweet potato tot loving Philadelphia or Las Vegas, who order more tuna sandwiches than anywhere else in the country. Who knew that tuna was such a sin?
Nationwide, the big winner this year was poke. Houston, it seems, was not the only city to experience a poke boom in 2017, with the dish seeing a 600-plus percent increase in orders coast to coast. Those numbers make it the runaway winner this year, with its closest competition, soft pretzels, only seeing a 221 percent increase in orders. America's most divisive food, other than pineapple pizza, comes in at No. 3: avocado toast. Rage or cheer as you like.
The biggest surprise, and the dish that I'm most happy to see on the list, are mini corn dogs popping up at No. 10. I promise you, you're never too busy, grown-up or cool to enjoy a plate of mini corn dogs.
Now, if you're wondering what 2018 has in store in the world of home food delivery, Grubhub is ready to make some predictions. They're still high on poke, but they think the dish that's in the driver's seat right now is the lettuce chicken wraps, which are already doing booming business in Detroit. Other dishes to keep an eye on include bulgogi bibimbap, roasted cauliflower and pumpkin soup.
But there's a dark horse dish out there, once that might just come out of nowhere to surprise us all: spaghetti squash. Believe it or not, it's one of the trendiest dishes in the nation right now. But this is still Houston, so if it wants to make it name for itself in this city, it's going to make friends with some serious local meats.


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ISLAMABAD-Inflation rate has eased to 23.8 percent in November mainly due to smooth domestic supplies, unchanged energy prices in November and a stable exchange rate.
Inflation measured through consumer price indicator (CPI) has eased to 23.8 percent in November after increasing to 26.6 percent in October. On month on month basis, it has increased to 0.8 percent in November 2022 as compared to an increase of 4.7 percent in the previous month (October), according to the latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The CPI inflation Urban increased by 21.6 percent on a year-on-year basis in November 2022. Meanwhile the CPI inflation for Rural has enhanced by 27.2 percent. The Sensitive Price Index (SPI), which gauges rates of kitchen items on a weekly basis, increased by 28.3 percent. On a monthly basis, Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation on YoY basis increased by 35.59 percent in November 2022.
The ministry of finance had projected in its monthly report that inflation on annual basis will marginally decline in the month of November and may remain in the range of 23-25 percent. It noted that inflationary pressure is expected to marginally ease out MoM due to smooth domestic supplies, unchanged energy prices in November and a stable exchange rate. Further, the recent PM Package for agriculture has made an optimistic crop outlook which will decelerate food inflation in the months ahead. Moreover, the food supply chain disruption caused by flash floods is also settling down which has smoothened the food and other related markets. Thus, food inflation is also expected to remain on the lower side because the administered prices are maintained restricting the pass-through of energyled inflation. “Though international commodity prices are showing an upward trend on YoY basis and being net importer, we are affected by it. However, the stable exchange rate, government’s administrative, policy and relief measures are providing cushion to absorb its impact”, it added.
Imran could face disqualification, detention before elections, claims Zardari
The break-up of inflation of 26.56 percent showed that food and non-alcoholic beverages prices increased by 23.84 percent last month. Similarly, health and education charges went up by 17.1 percent and 11.07 percent, respectively. Similarly, prices of utilities (housing, water, electricity, gas and fuel) increased by 9.89 percent in the last month. Meanwhile, the prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco went up by around 35.90 percent. Prices of clothing and footwear increased by 18.58 percent and furnishing and household equipment maintenance charges 29.10 percent. Recreational charges and those related to culture went up by 25.55 percent in the period under review, while amounts charged by restaurants and hotels by 28.37 percent in November 2022 as compared to the same month last year.
In urban areas, the food items which saw their prices increased during November 2022 included onions (34.42 percent), tea (14.79 percent), potatoes (14.57 percent), dry fruits (12.79 percent), fish (7.01 percent), pan prepared (6.48 percent), eggs (5.34 percent), butter (4.96 percent), sugar (3.67 percent), milk powder (2.97 percent), wheat products (2.15 percent), bakery and confectionery (2.11 percent), readymade food (1.4 percent) and sweetmeat (1.36 percent). In non-food commodities, prices of following commodities enhanced including woolen readymade garments (12.71 percent), solid fuel (5.87 percent), household textiles (5.53 percent), and Washing Soap/ Detergents/ Match Box (3.63 percent).
Ten-member Golf Club Teams to engage in combat at Rumanza Golf Course
In urban areas, prices of following items were reduced including fresh vegetables (26.42 percent), pulse masoor (11.17 percent), tomatoes (9.56 percent), pulse gram (5.51 percent), chicken (5.08 percent), pulse mash (4.26 percent), besan (3.5 percent), pulse moong (3.05 percent) and gram whole (2.01 percent). In rural areas, prices of following commodities increased including onions (29.22 percent), dry fruits (16.61 percent), tea (10.42 percent), potatoes (5.72 percent), condiments and spices (5.68 percent), milk products (5.04 percent), milk fresh (4.16 percent), sugar (3.75 percent), wheat products (3.57 percent), fish (3.52 percent), Nimco (3.35 percent), butter (3.19 percent), milk powder (2.81 percent), eggs (2.8 percent), pan prepared (2.56 percent), sweetmeat (2.15 percent) and fresh fruits (2.14 percent).


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Persona raises $150M, renews development efforts in digital ID solutions and infrastructures
Persona has announced the closure of a US$150 million Series C funding round led by Founders Fund, with participation from BOND, Meritech Capital Partners, and existing investors Coatue Management and Index Ventures.
The move comes months after Persona closed a $50 million Series B round, and will now see the firm renewing its efforts in the development of trusted digital identity infrastructure and solutions, such as with the proprietary biometric technology behind the company’s video selfie liveness checks.
The Series C funding round brings Persona’s total amount raised to $217.5 million, and its valuation to $1.5 billion.
“Identity is at the core of every business, whether you’re a bank verifying an account holder, a marketplace corroborating sellers, or a company onboarding new employees,” commented Persona’s CEO Rick Song.
“But identity isn’t a one-off transaction — it’s a relationship,” Song added.
The Persona platform aims to establish this trusted relationship by enabling the collection, biometric verification, and management of individuals’ digital identities, together with the deployment of orchestration tools designed to streamline the process.
“With Persona’s identity infrastructure, businesses can go beyond verifications and build trust throughout the customer lifecycle by offering a safer, faster, and more tailored experience for each individual,” Song said.
A number of well-known firms are already using the Persona platform, including Square, DoorDash, and Coursera.
The fresh funds will now aid Persona to expand its team further and extend its offering to new customers.
“Persona is fast becoming the market leader in the identity space,” commented Napoleon Ta, Partner at Founders Fund.
“We’re confident that Rick and Charles [Yeh] will fulfill their vision of delivering the trusted identity layer for the entire internet. Founders Fund is thrilled to support Persona in scaling to meet global demand,” Ta concluded.
Persona has also recently launched a new orchestration tool dubbed Workflows, which features automation and customization options.
The deal continues a hot streak for digital ID investment, which also includes ID.me securing over $100 million this week.


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During the early weeks of March 2023, Shou Chew, CEO of TikTok, spent more than five hours testifying before a Congressional committee, as bipartisan lawmakers have grown increasingly concerned over the social media’s accessibility to the personal information of more than 150 million U.S. users.
This hearing marked the first appearance of Chew before Congress, as lawmakers pick up steam to bring more clarity surrounding the data harvesting practices of TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, a Chinese-based technology company.
Although Congress’s efforts stretch far and wide, one thing is clear, American lawmakers are concerned about the direct threat a social media platform, more specifically, a Chinese-based platform can have on the country’s national security.
While Chew explicitly denied any allegations that TikTok or ByteDance have been harvesting consumer information and data to be used by the Chinese government, these actions have only now begun to lay the foundations of what could potentially become the war on consumer data harvesting in the coming years.
There’s More Than What Meets The Eye
The issue with TikTok is more complex, and deeply rooted in American national security than one would think.
For starters, tensions between the U.S. and China have escalated over the last several months, mainly in part of China’s strengthening relationship with Russia, and a possible Chinese spy balloon identified across North America earlier in the year, before military intervention took the blimp down.
Secondly, lawmakers have already raised skepticism regarding TikTok’s wide access to millions of consumers’ data, and even more so the company’s direct affiliation with Beijing-based parent company ByteDance.
The issue is not purely for the fact that TikTok, a company based in the U.S. is a subsidiary of a Chinese-based company, but rather the close connection these companies have with the Communist Chinese Party (CCP).
Experts on the matter claim that current Chinese law requires any business, company, or citizen to provide the Chinese intelligence authorities with information that could link to a national security risk or threat.
This would place ByteDance, the owner of TikTok in a direct line of fire, that provides the Chinese government with unfettered access to consumer data that is currently being harvested by any Chinese company.
What the case makes is that with seemingly unlimited access to American consumer data, the Chinese government could use this information to target users, track their activity, or incite malicious activity on U.S. soil.
Congress has already initiated several counter mechanisms that would potentially see the widespread banning of TikTok in the U.S., while at a state level, some governments have already barred the use of the platform on any government-issued devices.
This is a copious amount of data users are willingly handing over to social media conglomerates, however, compared to other popular platforms such as Facebook, TikTok collects less data in some cases.
There have already been multiple attempts to hold social media and big-tech companies, including Alphabet, Meta, Google, and service providers such as T-Mobile and Verizon accountable for the absurd amount of data they harvest from users. However, both the government and these companies are well aware of the physical, and monetary value this data holds.
Yet, in the case of Carpenter v. United States, the court’s ruling was that the government would need to provide a warrant to companies for them to produce any available sensitive data.
The case of Carpenter was more targeted toward the use of location-specific data, however, there remains a vast number of unanswered questions about how data harvesting will not only influence how consumers interact with platforms, but also the long-term social and economic impact widespread bans can have for smaller, and less prominent businesses.
Finding The Balance
In recent months, U.S. lawmakers have attempted to roll the ball further down the court, as they look to introduce more stringent policies that could further restrict big-tech companies from soliciting consumer data, and how they use this data to their advantage.
However, a major concern, currently, is whether or not these policies would cut off small businesses from the larger digital consumer market.
For many small businesses, social media has become a place where they can directly advertise products and services to targeted audiences. Over the last several years, platforms, including Meta, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter, among others, have become a digital advertising ecosystem for small to medium-sized enterprises.
Instead of relying on antiquated methods of marketing, such as print, small business owners have realized the potential social media can bring to their company, and how they can better leverage search algorithms, and user data to their capital advantage.
There has already been controversy surrounding the practices of companies, and their data harvesting protocols. Yet, in the case of smaller businesses, where creators are leveraging social media to promote their brands, a ban on data harvesting, or even tighter regulations would close off a massive market opportunity.
There is no shortage of digital ad space. Latest revenue statistics indicated that social media advertising generated more than $226 billion in global revenue. This figure is expected to grow to more than $385 billion within the next three to five years.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, cashed in more than $153.76 billion in advertising revenue. Google on the other hand, recently reported more than $58.14 billion in ad revenue for the second quarter of the year, with YouTube ads accounting for over $7 billion in ad revenue.
While tech giants are raking in billions on ad revenue quarter over quarter, often accounting for the majority of their annual turnover, introducing restraints, or in the case of TikTok, placing a ban on operations, could have a tremendous ripple effect that would be felt across an economy still in a post-pandemic recovery rebound.
Barring platforms such as TikTok from operating in the U.S. would put around five million businesses in jeopardy, including several thousand other smaller businesses and creators.
While the exact estimates of how many businesses are currently using TikTok as a digital advertising platform are still somewhat limited, lawmakers would need to ensure they can provide U.S. citizens and businesses with evidence that clearly outlines the benefits and potential drawbacks of banning a platform such as TikTok from operating on American soil.
A further consideration, in this case, would be to revisit the understanding of how companies, perhaps smaller ones, are using consumer data and information for the purpose of digital marketing and brand awareness.
This has raised concerns in the past, the case of Meta, then Facebook, and Cambridge Analytica provided substantial evidence as to why social media companies and private stakeholders should have limited, and perhaps restricted access to user information.
Countless efforts have been made to ensure companies have appropriate access to consumer data and information, partially to leverage online consumer trends. Smaller businesses have found it easier, and seemingly more affordable to use harvested data, and search algorithms to increase their digital footprint among consumers.
Oversight provided by bills such as the RESTRICT Act, which was introduced earlier in the year, already has proved several challenges, as the legislation could unintentionally prevent international small and medium enterprises from operating within the American digital ecosystem.
Additionally, there have been remarks, claiming that further intervention, without proper oversight and consideration could provide some government agencies with unrestricted authority, such as in the case of the RESTRICT Act, that would unintentionally give the Secretary of Commerce opaque accountability and seemingly opaque leverage.
It becomes increasingly difficult to determine how much good will be brought with the introduction of more progressive legislation, but more importantly, how will both private and government institutions be held accountable for their authority?
Many experts suggest that Congress could require both domestic and international tech companies to clearly identify their affiliation with any type of foreign adversaries. This would help broaden the efforts of the Internet Application I.D. Act, and would further lend consumers the ability to consent to data harvesting and capture by tech companies.
However, this is still only in the mere foundational phase of development, and while there are already several privacy policies, and informative guides to opting out of certain services available to consumers, the ability to strike a balance between how much intervention is too much, without cutting off an economic artery remains largely ambiguous.
Where Do We Draw The Line?
While American lawmakers are concerned and well aware of the near-term threats unsupervised access to consumer data can have, they will need to consider how every moving part can be accounted for, and how these parts make up the bigger picture.
The future of how tech companies can access and harvest consumer data remains uncertain. In the case of TikTok, lawmakers will need to understand how millions of consumers and businesses will be affected, and the subsequent aftermath of stringent oversight this may have on the social and economic dynamic.
Perhaps we’ve reached a point, where too many moving parts need to be accounted for, and yet, haven’t answered how can both private and public industry be held accountable for the unrestricted access we have given them to our information.


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Lenovo may become second largest Android smartphone vendor, say Taiwan makers
Daniel Shen, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES
While Samsung Electronics has dominated the global Android smartphone market with a market share of 65% and LG Electronics, HTC, Sony Mobile Communications and Motorola Mobility have global market shares of 7%, 6%, 5% and 4%, respectively, Lenovo is...
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In less than 10 hours, it has already been fully sold out. At 5000 tickets, for $1599 each, Apple has made close to $8 million on WWDC tickets alone. Compared to WWDC 2010, which was sold out in 8 days, this is very fast.
No word on whether Steve Jobs will be on hand at the 2011 WWDC.
At this year’s five-day conference Apple will unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS®, including exciting demonstrations of the new kinds of apps that developers can build using Apple’s advanced frameworks and more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers.
“At this year’s conference we are going to unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “If you are an iOS or Mac OS X software developer, this is the event that you do not want to miss.”
Mobile developers will be able to explore the latest innovations and capabilities of iOS and learn how to greatly enhance the functionality, performance and design of their apps. Mac® developers will see and learn how to develop world-class Mac OS X Lion applications using its latest technologies and capabilities. Developers can even bring their code to the labs and work with Apple engineers, applying development techniques and best-practices to enhance their apps.
Activities at Apple’s WWDC 2011 include:
Go to the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2011 website developer.apple.com/wwdc for updates and more information.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.
Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iPad and iPhone are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
By Carl W. Brooks


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Pandora saw both sales and earnings soar past estimates, with its revenue growing by 30 per cent year-on-year to $285.6m.
The Internet radio service announced earnings per share that were over double analysts’ expectations at $0.05 against the forecast $0.02.
Shares in the company lept after the report, trading over 6 per cent up in after-hours trading.
Why it’s interesting
A growing number of competitors in streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal aren’t causing Pandora any difficulties yet, as advertising revenue has started pouring in for the digital radio service, and subscriber figures are up
What they said
Chair and chief executive Brian McAndrews said:
Our advertising investments, particularly in local, are paying off. This quarter, local ad revenue reached an all-time high, driving record RPMs. Our monetization success allows us to be an even more effective platform for helping artists grow their careers.