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They are routinely ignored -- so much so that a pamphlet issued by the National Crime Council on auto theft leaves little room for doubt: "After years of false alarms, people have stopped paying attention."
They are loud. Some of the more powerful audible automobile alarms register sound levels of 125 decibels, which is like standing 200 feet from a jet airplane as it takes off.
And, despite their popularity, no reliable statistics are available to suggest car alarms actually do what they are supposed to do: stop a car from being stolen. Experts suggest professional car thieves aren't deterred by them.
Yet, while cheaper and more effective alternatives exist, the piercing alarm sounds have become as much a part of the contemporary urban landscape as the skyscraper and the bodega.
They may not be as annoying as their on-board automobile companion, the massive, pumping, thumping sound system, but the alarms have become just one more way the city's fragile quality of life is being routinely punctured.
As a result of the audible onslaught from car alarms, other kinds of alarms are ringing -- those of discontent.
Earlier this month, New York City Council held a public hearing on audible alarms, as a way of addressing two bills before council that would effectively ban their sale or installation within the city's five boroughs. This is at least the third time in five years that the city has tried to address the problem.
Special-interest groups also have been pushing for a ban. In its report "Alarmingly Useless," released in March, Transportation Alternatives, a bicycle and pedestrian group, outlines reasons why the audible alarms should be banned.
The group estimates the financial impact of car alarms on the city to be between $400 million and $500 million per year in public health costs, productivity and decreased property value.
These high-decibel alarms operate at a level that is dangerous to a person's hearing, says Aaron Naparstek, co-author of "Alarmingly Useless." Alarm manufacturers "are basically putting a weapon on the street, a really dangerous and unhealthy and not very useful product. It is time they got regulated," he says.
Alarms make up a portion of the auto accessory market, which accounted for $27 billion in sales during 2002. Dozens of different brands are available, many with aggressive names such Viper, a leading brand, and Rattler. They often come with equally aggressive slogans. Viper's boasts: "No one dares come close," while Rattler, which is sold only in densely populated urban areas, allows owners to "secure your future in a hostile environment."
Some city folks, like Patti Engler, who heads a crime watch in Allentown's Eighth Ward, say car alarms are an aspect of city life that is driving good people away. But Engler admits that "loud music coming from cars is more of a problem."
"People are not leaving the city because of the crime or the perceptions of crime," she says. "They are leaving because they can't sleep at night. The alarms are almost an intimidation thing, especially for the gangbanger drug dealers. It's just another way to intimidate people and control a neighborhood."
Unlike loud music from cars, alarms have a legitimate function -- protecting cars. But improper use has made them less effective.
"The audible alarm is really meant to primarily alert the owner of the vehicle," says Kennedy Grammage, head of marketing for Directed, a major manufacturer of auto alarms, including Viper. "Unfortunately, far too many customers fail to customize their siren tones. If they did, they would realize, "Oh, that's my car alarm going off.'."
Still, Grammage believes audible alarms are part of a layer of protection that will help owners keep their cars by making the thief uncomfortable as the sound alerts the owner.
Putting an end to the noise pollution these alarms cause is challenging. Unlike repeated false alarms from buildings, for which police can cite the owner, usually after three false soundings in a 30-day period, false auto alarm soundings are not as easy to cite. Cars are easily moved, making the disruptions much harder to pin down and the owners difficult to prosecute, says Sgt. Henry "Hank" Hamory, Allentown's crime prevention officer.
The regularly sounding disruptions also are a reason car alarms are ineffective, police say.
"Alarms can be expensive, and often times they are more of a nuisance than an anti-theft tool," says Roy Miller, executive director of the state's Auto Theft Task Force. Professional thieves, who often specialize in stealing a specific make and model of car, also can easily circumvent the alarm systems, he adds.
Car alarms "can slow down a thief, but I think they are more effective in a private setting," says Det. Mike Martinko, who supervises the Lehigh County Auto Theft Task Force.
Another problem with audible car alarms is that owners expect them to do far more than just protect a car against theft, alarm advocates say.


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SuperData has shared a study in which it guarantees that Overwatch has overcome the barrier of $ 1 billion in revenue through microtransaction. This achievement has earned the Blizzard video game to become the 64th title to overcome the monstrous figure.
Activision Blizzard has six games in the millionaire microtransactions club, with Overwatch. The rest of those chosen are World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Destiny, Candy Crush Saga and HearthStone. Overwatch has recently made headlines by adding a new character to its extensive catalog of heroes and villains: Sigma.
Since its launch in 2016, Overwatch has not stopped growing, releasing content periodically and urging users to get loot boxes to access new cosmetic elements.

domain: news


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June Saw Another Large Increase in Consumer Prices
Despite predictions that pricing pressures would ease, the Consumer Price Index climbed 9.1 percent from a year ago, setting a new record high. Among the areas with the largest increases were food, rent, and fuel, further compressing Americans' already tight budgets.
With the price of gas, rent, and groceries all on the rise, the cost of living for American families increased by 9.1 percent year over year in June, the fastest annual rate since 1981. The broad and unexpected price increase presented a problem for the Federal Reserve.
When the Labor Department releases the Consumer Price Index data for June this morning, inflation is expected to be at its highest level in more than 40 years. Prices are likely to have increased by 8.8 percent over the previous year, the fastest rate of increase since 1981. After excluding volatile food and fuel, price increases are slowing slightly, but they are still likely to accelerate.
According to the medians found in a study conducted by Bloomberg, economists anticipated a gain of 1.1 percent from May and an increase of 8.8 percent year-over-year. This was the fourth month in a row in which the annual headline figure was higher than the estimates.
At the opening bell, the S&P 500 index was trading down as rates on shorter-term Treasury securities increased, and the currency gained ground.
The latest round of inflation statistics confirms that price pressures are broad and extreme. Real earnings have fallen by the highest since records began being kept in 2007. President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats, whose support has dropped ahead of midterm elections, are under further pressure due to the inflation report, which will keep Fed officials on an aggressive policy course to rein in demand.
Because gas prices have moderated in recent weeks, the inflation index, which includes food and gas, may slow in July's data. Last month, the national average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas reached around $5. It was around $4.65 this week.
Beyond the headline figure, the report contained unwelcome news. A core inflation index, which excludes food and fuel prices and provides a sense of underlying inflation trends, remains high and came in faster than economists expected. However, gas prices are volatile and could rise again. The core index increased 5.9 percent year to June, barely slowing from the previous report's 6 percent increase. The core measure increased by 0.7 percent from May to June, which was greater than the previous monthly increase and was bad news for central bankers.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the global economy has been buffeted by a series of shocks.
Factory closures and shipping shortages have strained supply chains; worker shortages make it difficult for airlines to fly at full capacity and hotels to fill rooms. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has disrupted oil and gas supplies.
Economists have spent more than a year attempting to forecast how and when inflation will begin to fall.
"We now understand how little we understand about inflation," Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell said at a recent panel in Sintra, Portugal.
The Federal Reserve, which is in charge of maintaining price stability and guiding the economy toward full employment, is no longer waiting for normalcy to return. Central bankers are concerned that if inflation remains high and persistent, consumers and businesses will become accustomed to it.
If people start asking for higher wages in anticipation of price increases — for example, negotiating cost-of-living adjustments of 6 or 7 percent instead of the typical 2 to 3 percent — companies may try to pass on rising labor costs to customers by raising prices.
This could perpetuate rapid inflation, making it much more difficult for the Fed to combat.
Given the threat, the central bank has increased its attack on inflation.
In March, the Fed raised interest rates from near zero to a quarter point in an attempt to make borrowing money more expensive and slow consumer demand. It increased rates by half an end in May and 0.75 percentage points last month.
Many central bankers have stated unequivocally that they intend to raise interest rates by 0.75 percentage points in July, to reach 3.5 percent by the end of the year. They could do so by raising interest rates by half a point in September and a quarter point in November and December.
The question is whether the data will allow the Fed to ease up on its policy.
The gas outlook is clouded by the possibility of a hurricane season disrupting supply.
Another potential wild card is geopolitics: White House officials are concerned that a new round of European sanctions aimed at reducing the flow of Russian oil by the end of the year will drive up global energy prices again and are working to mitigate that risk.
And other inflationary pressures remain. Rents, for example, account for a significant portion of household budgets and are rapidly rising.
Goldman Sachs economists expect monthly core C.P.I. readings — the gauge that captures underlying inflation pressure — to "remain strong in late summer" and to pick up in the early fall before slowing toward the end of the year.
Effects made by inflation
- Rents have been rapidly rising across the United States for much of the pandemic period, and housing experts warn that they may now receive a boost from an unlikely source: the Federal Reserve. As the Fed raises interest rates to cool the economy and contain rapid inflation, mortgage costs rise, putting home purchases out of reach for many first-time buyers. Suppose people who would have bought a home otherwise stay in apartments or rented houses. In that case, it could exacerbate already-brisk demand, putting downward pressure on rental prices.
- The Fed is expected to raise interest rates by 0.75 percentage points later this month. Still, market pricing predicts an even larger one percentage point increase following the report.
- This report confirmed for American shoppers that the economy is challenging to navigate. Wage increases are not keeping pace with price increases, and the cost of everyday necessities is rapidly rising. Food prices increased 10.4 percent in the year to June, the highest annual increase since 1981.
- At the same time, there are signs that the price of goods may be leveling off.
- Food is significantly more expensive.
- The core index, which strips out the effects of food and fuel price swings to reveal longer-term inflation patterns, rose by a larger amount than predicted and at a faster rate than anticipated in the most recent month, 5.9 percent.
U.S. Inflation Soared 9.1% In June, As Prices Continue To Climb


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Carmen Bauza and Muriel Gonzalez made Cosmetic Executive Women Newsmaker Forum history Wednesday night when the two retail beauty executives served on a panel at The Harmonie Club in Manhattan, talking about their stores, Wal-Mart and Macy’s, respectively. Apparently the duo attracted more attendees and more sponsor offers than any other panel to date. But it’s easy to see why, seeing that each has a controlling stake in their respective markets. Both executives talked about what it takes to win at retail and how to engage the consumer before and once she’s in the store.
“There are great choices everywhere a customer looks so I have to work that much harder,” said Gonzalez, executive vice president, cosmetics, fragrances and shoes for Macy’s. “So what we have to do better and better is service.” To get closer to the consumer she noted how now Macy’s tracks about 30 million households to make better informed marketing decisions, and now the retailer is better able to track consumers who do their research online and then buy products in the store.
Bauza, vice president, beauty and personal care at Wal-Mart, said that the world’s largest retailer gets to know their consumer by shopping with her, spending time in her home — “we go in their drawers” — and living their lives. She talked about how, during the month of January, she lived on a $30 budget for consumable items since that’s what Wal-Mart’s average family of two lives on. “I put water in my shampoo” to make it last longer, she said, of keeping within her budget, noting she was unable to buy the mascara that she wanted to try. She emphasized that Wal-Mart’s everyday low pricing strategy is in full force and that the key to success is offering the customer the right brand at the right price. For example, she tends to find a brand she knows her customer wants and “Wal-Mart-izes it because there is a certain expectation.”
Gonzalez said that at Macy’s there are many opportunities to grab the consumer and pull her into the beauty area. “She is shopping for jewelry, mattresses, sheets…and during the recession we picked up share from our competitors and we responded to the customer because she was making choices and we fine tuned our approach.”
While many view Wal-Mart as a retailer with a ceiling in prices, that ceiling appears to be reaching closer to the penthouse level. Bauza said that in China one can find a $2,000 bottle of wine on shelves, and in beauty, prices go from 50 cents to $70 or $80. Her average fragrance price point is $50, but at the same time she can “sell a lot of dollar product.”
Gonzalez said Macy’s offers a wide range of prices “but the value in our store is with the gift with purchase.” She said her customers love to post on Facebook Macy’s current GWP offerings, which ultimately drives interest. “That’s how they discover product they didn’t know about before and we can really hear directly from the consumer in a way we didn’t before. We monitor this and it shows us great feedback.”
Bauza said that a recent conversation with Facebook chief operating officer Cheryl Sandberg informed her that the largest percentage of Facebook users are women, who spend an average of seven hours a month on the site. “I better be there with her,” said Bauza, citing a Maybelline Fit Me promotion on Facebook that brought users, when clicking on the product, directly to Wal-Mart’s site for purchase.
Gonzalez said that Macy’s e-commerce is “growing at many times the pace as the bricks” and that product mix is pretty much the same online as in store but what she has been doing is when a fragrance is slowing down in sales she will “leave it online a little longer to give her the opportunity to buy it there.” Also, a sales person can access it online if it’s not in the store and order it there. “I am now hearing [that consumers are looking for] some of the old fragrances and I plan to use [the Internet to offer it to them] even more.”
Bauza said that Wal-Mart has been into e-commerce for the past two years and she uses online to offer things she can’t in the store, such as beauty advice. Bauza said she also listens closely to consumer requests, for example, Essie was the number-two requested brand, and now it is offered in stores. Derm brands were also high on the list for requested brands and, as of last week Wal-Mart began offering Kinerase, Cosmedicine, Dermasilk, Vita K, Specific Beauty and EB5 in 1,200 doors within the skin care aisle.
Gonzalez said Macy’s Impulse Beauty allowed Macy’s to add additional beauty brands, which were completely incremental to business. “About 40 percent of people shopping there were Macy’s customers that had not bought any color or treatment item in the store in the past 12 months. The remaining 60 percent that had bought color and treatment were buying more.” By the end of the year, Impulse Beauty will be in about 100 Macy’s locations. “It allows for a share demonstration model, an edited sku [stockkeeping unit] assortment and not having to go through the capital of a counter and a dedicated salesperson and a huge amount of inventory so we can test things much more nimbly. This will be seen not just in beauty but also in jewelry, accessories, shoes and ready-to-wear.”
@tradesy is turning the concept of a showroom upside down with its new space in Santa Monica. Here, the company plans to hold events, art exhibits and a showcase rare fashion pieces like this Louis Vuitton boxing set. Get all the details on Tradesy’s first showroom on WWD.com. #wwdnews
Spotted last night at the @erdem x @hm launch event: Kate Bosworth, Rashida Jones, Kirsten Dunst and Selma Blair. The party, which took place in LA, also marked the opening of their pop-up shop. “I was interested in creating a collection that wasn’t in any way disposable. It was about pieces you’d create and keep forever, things that have a permanence to it,” designer Erdem Moralioglu said. #wwdeye (📷: Katie Jones)
Renee Zellweger in yellow in 2001 and again in 2017. Chosen as one of the 12 @pantone Leading Spring Colors (and dubbed “Meadowlark”), it only makes sense that the bright hue stands the test of time and is making a resurgence this season, seen already on stars like @blakelively and @gigihadid. (📷: Donato Sardello & @rexfeatures) #wwdfashion #tbt
Dior’s 70th anniversary celebration continues with a new exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. “Christian Dior,” which is scheduled to run through March 18, takes a look at the founders tenure from 1947 to 1057 and feature 40 designs. Pictured here is an evening gown from the Ailée, fall 1948-49 haute couture collection. #wwdfashion (📷: Brian Boyle)
As one of the most recognizable models in the world, Christy Turlington Burns has an insider’s view of the fashion industry and the allegations of sexual harassment swirling around it. “I can say that harassment and mistreatment have always been widely known and tolerated in the industry. The industry is surrounded by predators who thrive on the constant rejection and loneliness so many of us have experiences at some point in our careers,” Turlington told WWD, along with her suggestions for how the modeling world should protect younger women and men. Read more on WWD.com. Link in bio. (📷: Tony Palmieri) #wwdnews
@asics America has tapped a new brand ambassador: famed DJ/record producer @steveaoki. This initiative is intended to set the tone for the new brand identity and philosophy and will include partnerships with influencers and in-store and off-line activations that will continue into next year. This is Asics’ most significant marketing effort in two decades, and is expected to attract younger consumers to the brand. #wwdfashion
24-year-old Jean Prounis is redefining the rules of jewelry. Formerly a studio assistant to Jemima Kirke and a design apprentice at Ghuran, she focuses on handcrafted subtleties and ancient goldsmithing techniques. “There was a really sterile feel in the environment and I wanted to have jewelry with character that shapes how you wear it everyday,” Prounis said. Each piece is hand made in New York, either by Prounis or three other jewelers in the district. #wwdfashion
“These collections continue to build on that vision, empowering differently abled adults to express themselves through fashion,” said @tommyhilfiger of his line of adaptive apparel, which launches today. The line consists of 37 men’s and 34 women’s styles based upon the pieces from the spring Tommy Hilfiger sportswear collection. #wwdnews


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VR won't be a part of Microsoft's next-gen Project Scarlett console for the foreseeable future, Xbox exec Phil Spencer says.
A bit ago a Microsoft patent for room-scale VR gaming stirred up the internet. Everyone thought it was for Xbox and that Project Scarlett, Microsoft's new ultra-powerful next-gen Xbox console, could get a Windows Mixed Reality headset of some kind, similar to Sony's PlayStation VR. But that's not going to happen any time soon...if ever.
In a recent interview with Stevivor, Xbox division head Phil Spencer confirms VR just isn't important for Microsoft right now. VR is simply too niche. Gamers aren't asking for it, so Microsoft isn't delivering it. Plus it goes against the ethos of the Xbox brand, which is spreading services and games across every device on the planet--in contrast, VR is more locked and closed-off.
"I have some issues with VR. It's isolating and I think of games as a communal, kind of together experience. We're responding to what our customers are asking for and nobody's asking for VR. The vast majority of our customers know if they want a VR experience, there's places to go get those. We see the volumes of those on PC and other places," Spencer told Stevivor.
Scarlett is certainly powerful enough to push VR, especially with its new high-end SoC with an 8-core, 16-thread Zen2+ CPU and Navi GPU combo, unified GDDR6 memory, and super-fast SSD, all of which could support native 4K 60FPS gaming, and even upscaled 4K 120FPS.
The issue is that Microsoft simply just doesn't care that much to do it.
This isn't the first time Microsoft pulled away from VR. In 2017 Microsoft said that Xbox One X, then known as Project Scorpio, would support Windows 10 Mixed Reality headsets for AR and VR gaming. They even said Scorpio would deliver 90FPS VR gaming.
Then in 2018, Microsoft announced they were basically giving up on Xbox VR support. It's been that way ever since.
I wonder if Half-Life: Alyx will be enough to change Microsoft's sentiments, if, of course, it moves a bunch of VR headsets. Probably not. The game is VR-exclusive and thus gated off to a sliver of the PC gaming audience.
Other games-makers feel the same about VR. CD Projekt RED says it has no real plans to adopt its biggest games for VR, and said it's a "nichey niche market".
Spencer says that Microsoft could eventually dive into VR gaming, but not until everything's in the right spot. Remember Microsoft likes safe bets when it comes to gaming now, especially with its multi-faceted services that tie into pretty much every gaming hardware known to man. It's here where the core focus of Microsoft lies, not necessarily in its proprietary hardware solutions or, godforbid, niche VR headsets.
Project Scarlett is due out by Holiday 2020. No pricing has been announced.
Check below for confirmed specs and details, and a huge content listing of everything we've heard about Project Scarlett so far:
Project Scarlett confirmed details:
- 8-core, 16-thread Zen 2 CPU
- Navi GPU
- Highly customized 7nm SoC from AMD
- GDDR6 memory
- 4x as powerful as the Xbox One X's 6TFLOPs of perf
- Can deliver up to 40x more performance than Xbox One in specific use cases
- Adaptive sync supported
- Super-fast SSD that can be used as VRAM
- Supports 8K resolution (likely media playback)
- 120FPS gaming
- Variable refresh rate
- Raytracing confirmed with dedicated raytracing cores
- Backward compatible with Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One games
- Compatible with Xbox One accessories
Project Scarlett coverage:
- Next-gen Xbox Scarlett plays four generations of Xbox games
- Microsoft teases next-gen Xbox: 8K, 120FPS, super-fast SSD
- Xbox Scarlett CPU: 'no compromises', allows for 4K 120FPS gaming
- Microsoft: Xbox Scarlett will kick PlayStation 5's ass in perf/price
- Next-gen Xbox may hit 4K 60FPS in every game
- Project Scarlett to hit 1080p 120FPS gaming
- Project Scarlett trade-in program announced, but there's a big catch
- New Viking Assassin's Creed may be next-gen console launch game
- Next-gen Xbox may get room-scale VR gaming
- PS5 and Xbox Scarlett will both handle ray tracing differently
- Gears 5 developer says Xbox Scarlett has dedicated ray tracing cores
- GTA 6 on PS5, Project Scarlett to have insane hyper-realistic visuals
- AMD 'Flute': Xbox Scarlett SoC: Zen 2 8C/16T @ 3.2GHz on 7nm
- Project Scarlett's price isn't locked in yet
- Project Scarlett isn't the last Xbox console


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The LG Optimus 2X was the first dual core smartphone to be launched at the beginning of the year, but despite the fact that it is still a powerful handset, LG has confirmed that the smartphone won't get Google's latest platform update, Ice Cream Sandwich.
When asked whether the Optimus 2X will be eligible for the update, LG responded that they will not be "introducing Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich updates" on the LG Optimus 2X P990 before adding "Keep watching this space for further updates".
Not surprisingly, the comments have attracted a barrage of insults, threats and criticism which have apparently forced LG to retract that comment (the rest of the feedback can be found here (opens in new tab).)
Now here's the kicker; the LG Optimus 2X shares the same configuration as a number of Honeycomb tablets on the market. It has the same chip as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Motorola XOOM, albeit with half the RAM and a smaller onboard storage capacity.
But then, if the Samsung Nexus S, which has an inferior processor, does get ICS, then why not the LG Optimus 2X? The phone was shipped with Froyo and Gingerbread only appeared in September 2011, nearly nine months after it was launched.


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Pinterest for Android is finally available in the Google Play store for most Android smartphones and tablets, including the Nexus 7.
After a slew of fake ad-pushing Pinterest for Android fakes, and more than a year of waiting since the Pinterest iPhone app, Android users can now pin with reckless abandon.
Pinterest is a free service that allows users to Pin information to their boards, which share recipes, fashion, tech and much more out to social networks like Facebook. The previously invite-only service is now open to all users and all devices. The Pinterest service
Like Instagram, the Pinterest Android app is a long time coming, and another example of the long wait Android owners face before using popular apps and services.
The Pinterest Android app is built from the ground up, and optimized to run on Android tablets and phones. This means users can enjoy a better experience than just using the Pinterest website in a browser. The app scales up nicely on the Nexus 7 instead of stretching to obscene levels like some phone apps.
Pinterest says they’ve tested and designed the new Android app to work, “well on Android phones and tablets, regardless of your device’s cost, speed or screen size.”
Pinterest for Android Screenshots
The Pinterest Android app is a free download in the Google Play store. Pinterest promises that it will hit the Amazon App Store later this week, allowing Kindle Fire owners to use Pinterest. No word on when it may arrive in the Nook App Store.
The Pinterest for Android app joins the iPhone app and a new Pinterest iPad app. The new iPhone app includes a two column layout so users can see more pins at once, and faster scrolling.
The new Pinterest iPad app shows off four columns of pins and swipe gestures to make it easier to get back to pinning and browsing. The iPad and iPhone apps remain free.


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When Grace Wambere graduated with a degree in Information Technology (IT) from a German university, she hoped to secure a well-paying job in the sector.
However, as fate would have it, Wambere ended up selling second-hand clothes in Gikomba Market, a decision she doesn’t regret.
From trading the clothes from Gikomba, Wambere currently runs a mitumba wholesale and retailing shop in Nairobi CBD known as Mitumba Chap Chap.
Here is her story as narrated by WoK.
She enrolled for a German language course before undertaking a degree course in information technology at Johan Wolfang University. According to the entrepreneur, she did abit of hotel management before interning in a media company where she learnt branding. Wambere stayed in the country for eight years before coming back to Kenya in 2011.
Career in IT
When Wambere arrived in Kenya, she set up an IT company where she specialized in web development and graphic design.
However, in an interview on Citizen TV, she noted that she was pushed out of business by stiff competition in the sector and cheap labour.
“At some point it became challenging because of the huge competition and cheap labour here in Kenya,” Wambere said.
Wambere ventured into second-hand clothes business in 2013 while shopping for her newborn baby at the Gikomba market.
With an initial capital of Ksh 2,000, she bought some clothes which she sold online before acquiring enough capital to set up a physical shop in 2016.
“In 2013 I was expecting and when I was shopping for my baby, I discovered there were nice things selling in lower prices that I can sell to people who cannot manage to access Gikomba,” Wambere added.
Her dad was against the idea and tried to dissuade her against taking that direction,
“My dad was against the idea of me selling mitumba saying I cannot go to Germany, do such a course in IT which can land me a job at the United Nations then come back and start selling mitumba. I was determined to be self employed”, she told a local daily.
Wambere urged people to try their luck in the second-hand clothes business, adding that she doesn’t regret venturing into the business.
“Since the day I decided that this is what I want to do, I’ve never looked back. I’d rather do IT as a side hustle but mtumba is my main,” she stated.


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San Antonio Sports announces new chairman, board members
Published 3:08 pm, Wednesday, October 11, 2017
San Antonio Sports, which is organizing the NCAA tournament being hosted here next spring, has named SWBC executive Brad Young as chairman and appointed five new members to its board of directors, the nonprofit organization announced this week.
Young, who’s executive vice president of SWBC’s AutoPilot Services, will replace Carlos Ramos of the Coca-Cola Co. at the helm of the organization, which has a charitable mission to “transform our community through the power of sport.”
New board members are Jeff Garrison, Cox Media Group San Antonio operations manager; Steve Brauer, Zachry Group executive vice president for safety & quality; and Brian Hurtak, USAA executive director for deposit experiences.
Two executives also replaced their company representatives on the board: Brannon Lacey, Rackspace vice president and general manager; and Brock Purslow, Humana vice president of sales for Texas.
“Any non-profit organization is dependent on the passion and actions of its board members,” San Antonio Sports CEO Russ Bookbinder said in a statement. “We are thrilled to have the infusion of new ideas and participation from our new board members and all of our team members welcome them to our family.”
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Local film producer to take legal action against e-commerce platform for pirated copies of film on site
A local film producer said she is planning to take legal action against an e-commerce platform after discovering that sellers were offering pirated copies of her film from as low as 80sen each.
The public may be staying home to avoid Covid-19, but that hasn’t stopped them from joining challenges that are going viral.
In a game known for its film tie-ins, a bullet-deflecting umbrella gives players a last-chance reprise ahead of 2020's Kingsman movie prequel.
Thwarting the sale of “illegal” Android boxes is paramount to rejuvenating the entertainment industry, and stemming the loss of billions of ringgit and thousands of jobs.
Everything is going digital, from paying for Ramly burgers to eSports at the SEA games.
Held on the afternoon of Dec 3 in Japan, the 2019 PlayStation Awards celebrated some of the console brand's best-selling titles of the past year, as well as a septet of games unbound by release date that won a Users' Choice vote.
The 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines is currently underway and for the first time ever, Malaysia is sending 24 eSports athletes to compete in six eSports medal events from Dec 5 to 10 at Filoil Flying V Center in Manila.
Japan desperately needs to pour investment into robots and other technology that caters to its aging and diminishing population.
Nintendo Switch multiplayer action game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the franchise's fifth entry, collected five awards from the 2019 Japan Game Awards.


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Uber pickups now allowed at Toronto's Pearson Airport
Toronto air travel authorities have some good news today for locals who'd rather take a Lyft home from the airport than a limo: ride-sharing services are now finally, at long last, officially permitted at Pearson.
Starting today, anyone who gets off a plane at Canada's largest airport can order a regular UberX or Lyft ride to pick them up on the Arrivals Level at Terminals 1 and 3 — just like pretty much everywhere else on the planet!
To our wanderlust Torontonians, you can now ride uberX from @TorontoPearson. https://t.co/BitKyZCKpF pic.twitter.com/NTCP2qiQJ5— Uber Canada (@Uber_Canada) June 12, 2018
You see, up until now, passengers were unable to hail rides to Pearson International Airport through either app, with the exception of luxury-tier (read: super expensive) Uber Black vehicles.
The price discrepancy was significant and incredibly frustrating for ride-sharing app users who, in some cases, would walk out and away from the airport with their luggage in tow just to order a reasonably-priced ride.
An Uber Black SUV from Pearson to Union Station is currently estimated to cost up to $130, for instance, while a regular old Uber X to the same location is roughly $40. Uber Pool, which has even cheaper rates, is not yet available to order from the airport.
so the Toronto airport made it so only premium Ubers can pick you up and an Uber to our hotel is $200...that should be illegal tf— mycayla 🌻🌿🌊 (@Mycaylaaa_) June 8, 2018
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority announced the news of its municipally-approved "pilot project for ride sharing companies" today, explaining that it currently fields an average of 100,000 ride sharing requests per month.
"Following significant demand from our passengers, we believe that a pilot of full ride sharing options is timely at Toronto Pearson, and in line with other airports across Canada and the U.S. already offering this service," said said GTAA Vice President Scott Collier in a press release on Tuesday.
"We appreciate the collaboration of the ground transportation industry in sharing their feedback and welcome another opportunity to offer our passengers choice in their transportation options."
Join the conversation Load comments


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Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Hoist replacement on parallel track means production continues as planned.
Custom lift provides safer ride, more controlled vertical movement of satellites at Boeing manufacturing facility.
Rather than continue to manually sort returns in its picking warehouse, Hermes Fulfillment looked to shuttle technology to increase efficiency and accuracy.
Facing a decision to add operators or automate, American Packaging Corp. turned to robotic industrial pallet trucks to increase consistency and savings.
Autonomous system supports transition to lean manufacturing.
Order totes travel to the inventory while pickers stay in zones.
Monday, October 01, 2012
Packaging research and consulting firm White & Company announced today the launch of Best Pallet, a stringer pallet design and analysis software tool.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Seven primary catalysts—including transportation and energy costs—creating potentially favorable environment for domestic re-shoring and increased U.S. production activity
Posted on 09/28 at 12:55 PM
Effective Monday, October 1, Hyster-Yale began its first full day as an independent company.
Following a very strong performance from June to July, global trade activity from July to August took a step backwards, according to data released by Panjiva, an online search engine with detailed information on global suppliers and manufacturers.
Posted on 09/28 at 08:00 AM


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LaMint aims to solve the lack of additional income streams for creators on sites like Instagram and Facebook by opening multiple streams of revenue through their non-subscription-based, non-advertising platform.
The emotive nature of people's reactions because of social media presents a state that has come with the intentionally conditioned reflex of people over time.
In this video, BSV developer Joshua Henslee explained the recently re-launched curation service Windbell application and talked about its new feature called The Breeze.
In this video, BSV thought leader and developer Joshua Henslee discusses the short-term thinking that plagues the digital currency industry and explains some of its consequences.
Genuine Retweets allows promoters who it signs up to earn money by retweeting, commenting and liking posts, but it’s not just about the money as founder and CEO Nick Numas explains on CoinGeek Conversations.
The ASIC has released a new information sheet that restricts the kind of information that influencers can distribute, and it could wipe out an entire industry.
The proposed Digital Markets Act aims to restrict large tech players from herding users towards dominant platforms, where users may have less privacy or control over their own data.
On this episode of CoinGeek Weekly Livestream, Casey Hamilton and Ryan X. Charles announce their newest project called Heartmail.com, a social media platform built on top Bitcoin SV.
In addition to engaging in another interesting conversation about all things BSV on Crypto Bitz, Ryan X. Charles and Casey Hamilton also announced a new company related to Bitcoin social media.
Facebook has retracted its longstanding ban on ads related to digital currencies, NFTs and more, saying it wants to “make it easier” for companies to apply to run digital currency ads.
Jeffrey joined CoinGeek’s Patrick Thompson on the sidelines of the CoinGeek Conference in New York, where they talked about the integration, different use cases, and his vision for PeerSend.


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West Bromwich Albion have signed a three year kit manufacturing deal with German sportswear giants Adidas reported to be worth £1.5 million per season.
Adidas will supply the Baggies with all playing and training kits and replace Umbro as the kit manufacturers.
West Bromwich Albion chief executive Mark Jenkins commented in the national newspapers:
“We are delighted to have joined forces with Adidas, who are renowned for the design and quality of their sportswear. We see it as a real coup to be working with such a leading worldwide brand, which reflects the strides we, as a club, have made both on and off the field in recent years.
“This is the first time the club have had a kit deal with Adidas and considering the fact we are renowned for playing in blue and white stripes and that Adidas are famous for their three stripes, we are confident the news will be very well received by our supporters.
“We are now looking forward to unveiling our new home and away kits and training gear in the coming weeks.”
West Bromwich Albion join fellow Premier League clubs Chelsea, Liverpool and FA Cup finalists Stoke City as partners with Adidas.
Steve Holland, commercial club partnerships manager for Adidas, said: “Adidas is looking forward to forging a great longstanding partnership with West Bromwich Albion. We have developed some exciting activations off-pitch such as the shop refit and hope that these are reflected with continued success on the pitch.”


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By Ray Ampoloquio May 22, 2022
It's been 6 years since Final Fantasy XV hit store shelves in 2016, making it the longest time that Square Enix hasn't come out with a new mainline installment in its best-selling JRPG franchise.
Now, it appears that Final Fantasy XVI might be coming out sooner than expected.
According to sources, FF16 might come out later this year as Square Enix delays Forspoken.
This would make sense since FF16 in the final stages of its development as revealed in April by the game's producer, Naoki Yoshida.
Unfortunately, it's a shame that it would come at the expense of Forspoken.
We should start hearing more about Final Fantasy XVI in the next few weeks.


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June 2016 was certainly an interesting month, with the Brexit vote upsetting the markets and causing uncertainty that will likely continue for some time yet; plus there was plenty of M&A activity. The big deal was undoubtedly the Microsoft purchase of LinkedIn for a whopping $26 billion. There were other billion dollar deals this month too, Salesforce paid $2.8 billion for e-commerce platform maker Demandware and Amazon announced an extra $3 billion investment in its India operations. Other significant deals saw Daetwyler Holdings AG pay more than $877 million for Raspberry Pi maker Premier Farnell Plc; Red Hat paid $568 million for API management software company 3Scale; and OpenText paid $315 million for HP’s Customer Communication Management products. Other deals saw an investment group buy Dell’s software arm; Microsoft bought natural language start up Wand Labs; and Samsung bought cloud computing company Joyent. Also, Google Capital announced its first investment in a public company, investing $46 million in Care.com, an online personal services marketplace platform.
The US economic news was less buoyant, but they still added 170,000 new jobs and all indicators are relatively positive, just not as positive as the past couple of years. Canada continues to show little sign of booming, but that is likely expected given our dependence on a hurting resource sector and the ambivalence of our governments to provide any help to that sector.
In this Issue:
The vote to leave the EU by UK voters has caused considerable discussion and speculation about what it might mean for various sectors, including tech. It is difficult to fully understand the implications of such a complex situation yet, but clearly there are going to be serious ramifications. The fallout of Brexit is something to watch for sure.
An EY survey found that only 46% of workers placed a great deal of trust in their employers, and only 49% placed a great deal of trust in their boss or colleagues. Workers in India, Mexico and Brazil are among the most likely to place a great deal of trust in their current employer. Respondents in Japan, the UK and the US are the least likely to do so.
A study from the Ponemon Institute, and funded by IBM, found that the average cost per record stolen or lost went up 10.6% compared to the same period the year before. The report is part of an annual global study of breaches in 13 countries (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, France, Brazil, Japan, Italy, India, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Canada and, for the first time, South Africa), which last year covered 383 organizations.
There will be 52 million units of virtual reality head-mounted displays by 2020 as businesses and consumers become users, but marketing execs need to time investments and strategies carefully, according to Forrester Research. Enterprises are expected to drive adoption of VR going forward. Companies will use them for content, healthcare, retail, e-commerce, data visualization and collaboration. Enterprises such as Unilever, McDonalds and sports brands will target VR.
The economy – Canada
Employment in Canada changed only slightly in May, gaining 13,800 according to Statistics Canada. Compared to the same month a year ago, Canada was up 0.6% to 108,500 jobs in May, the result of gains in full-time work. Canada’s unemployment rate fell to 6.9% in May from 7.1% in April and total employment in Canada was approximately 18 million.
Canada’s unemployed are increasingly stuck, with difficulty getting interviews and work, according to Express Employment Professionals’ third annual State of the Unemployed national survey. Canada’s unemployed are now out of work for an average of 16 months, compared to 14 months in 2015. Nearly half, 44%, have not had a full-time job in more than a year.
The Canadian staffing index fell in May, continuing a trend of moderate year-over-year declines. The index, which measures staffing activity in Canada, fell to a reading of 101 in May, down 1% from May 2015.
If you had trouble hiring in the past year or so, you are not alone.
According to a new study, nearly half of IT leaders, or 46 per cent surveyed, had difficulty filling IT positions in the past 12 months.
A survey by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) showed that 55% agreed recruiting and retaining the right talent is necessary for global competitiveness. 40% had had trouble finding the right skills for tech positions.
The economy – US
ADP reported that US private-sector employment rose by 173,000 jobs in May from April, with job creation apparently slowing as the year progresses.
Economic activity in the US nonmanufacturing sector increased in May at a slower pace than April. The Institute for Supply Management’s nonmanufacturing composite index fell to a reading of 52.9 from April’s reading of 55.7.
Economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics lowered their growth projections for the US economy in 2016 and 2017. The median forecast in the new survey is for inflation-adjusted US real gross domestic product to grow at an annualized rate of 1.8% in 2016, down from 2.2% forecasted in a March survey. The median forecast for 2017 edged down to 2.3% real GDP growth from 2.4% in the March survey.
Real GDP grew 2.4% in 2015.
Optimism about the US economy among certified public accountants who hold leadership positions in their companies — such as CFO or controller — rose since last quarter, although those executives remain more guarded in outlook than they were a year ago, according to the second-quarter Economic Outlook Survey released by the American Institute of CPAs.
While 37% of CPAs in leadership positions expressed optimism about the US economy over the upcoming 12 months — up from a three-year low of 28% last quarter — that measure stood as high as 68% in the first quarter of 2015. Meanwhile, the CPA outlook index (a gauge of executive sentiment within the survey) rose five points in the second quarter to 68, but still remains well below a post-recession high of 78 set in the fourth quarter of 2014.
The number of IT jobs in the US edged up 0.2% in April from March to more than 5.1 million, reported TechServe Alliance. Year-over-year, IT employment in the US rose by 3.8% in April, adding 189,100 IT workers.
The TechServe Alliance reported that the number of US engineering jobs edged up 0.1% in April from March to more than 2.5 million jobs. Year-over-year, the increase was 0.8%, adding 21,100 engineering workers.
While increasing slightly from 2015, fewer than one in five IT professionals consider the work they are currently doing to be the most stressful of their career, according to TEKsystems’ annual IT stress and pride survey. Results showed that 14% of entry to mid-level IT professionals and 18% of senior IT professionals consider the work they are currently doing to be the most stressful of their career, up from the 11% and 13%, respectively, who said the same in a similar survey in 2015. However, both years saw a significant drop from the 2014 survey, in which 30% of entry- to mid-level IT professionals and 32% of senior IT professionals considered their work to be the most stressful of their career.
The inadequate supply of qualified and skilled talent is the second-biggest threat to US companies’ ability to meet revenue or business performance targets, second only to "increased competitive pressures," according to the Randstad US Workplace Trends report. Meanwhile, increasing turnover rates are exacerbating the challenge with 41% of companies indicating their turnover rate increased in the last year.
Fox Business reported the International Monetary Fund downgraded its forecast for the US economy. It now calls for growth of 2.2% this year, down from a forecast in April that called for 2.4% growth. It also said the Federal Reserve should hold off on raising interest rates. In addition, the IMF warned that declining labor force participation, falling productivity growth, a widening income gap and high levels of poverty could further hamper the US economy to expand.
The US Conference Board Leading Economic Index declined 0.2% in May to a level of 123.7. The decline was attributed to an increase in unemployment insurance claims. May’s decline follows a 0.6% increase in April and a 0.1% increase in March.
American worker confidence rebounded in the first quarter after falling in the previous two quarters, according to the latest national Worker Confidence Index released by staffing provider Yoh and HRO Todaymagazine. The index measures four drivers of worker confidence: likelihood of job loss, likelihood of promotion, likelihood of a raise and trust in company leadership. Levels rose across all four categories in the first quarter to a total reading of 96.8 from a reading of 94.2 in the fourth quarter of last year.
US real gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 1.1% in the first quarter, according to a third estimate of GDP growth by the US Commerce Department. The new estimate is improved from an earlier second estimate that pegged growth at 0.8%.
Care.com an online personal services marketplace platform that ranks among the largest human cloud firms, announced Google Capital made a $46.35 million investment in the company, which makes Google Capital the largest shareholder in Care.com. The investment is Google Capital’s first in a publicly traded company; it also owns stakes in private tech companies including job-rating website Glassdoor Inc. and fantasy sports company FanDuel Inc. Launched in 2007, Care.com counts 11.0 million families and 8.6 million caregivers across 16 countries, including the US, UK, Canada and parts of Western Europe, and approximately 800,000 employees of corporate clients with access to its services.
Amazon announced this week that the company will expand its investment in operations in India by another $3 billion, from $2 billion to $5 billion. The money will expand Amazon’s cloud and retail operations in India. Amazon will, however, face local competition in India as it did in China. Amazon has built 21 fulfillment centers in India and employs 45,000 people there. Amazon isn’t alone in seeing India’s potential. Both IBM and Microsoft previously announced plans to expand their cloud services in India.
Microsoft is buying social media company LinkedIn for more than USD $26 billion, making it one of the most expensive tech acquisitions of all time. At the price, the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant is paying $196 per share for the company, a 49% premium. However, this pales in comparison to LinkedIn’s valuation of $270 per share back in early 2015. The social network, which allows professionals and students alike to post resumes and connect with each other, has been struggling in recent months. Ad revenue, which reports indicate accounted for only less than 20% of revenue, has been slowing, as has been growth in its user base, which currently amounts to roughly 430 million. Just last month, the website also saw millions of accounts hacked and credentials put up for sale. The sale means that Microsoft is officially in the social media business, despite the now-subsidiary operating as an independent unit and LinkedIn chief executive Jeff Weiner staying on board. It also means Microsoft will have more than 400 million new customers to sell products and services to. If approved, the sale would become the third largest tech acquisition of all time, and Microsoft’s largest acquisition under CEO Satya Nadella. It is exceeded by Dell-EMC ($67 billion) and HP-Compaq ($33.6 billion).
Salesforce.com says it plans to acquire e-commerce platform maker Demandware in a $2.8 billion deal. That’s one of the largest acquisitions for the cloud-computing software firm to date. In addition to giving it a presence in the fast-growing e-commerce market, the buy bolsters Salesforce’s efforts to build out its Customer Success Platform. Demandware will serve as the foundation for the new Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Salesforce is expecting to gain a leading provider of enterprise cloud commerce solutions that helps to power a multi-billion dollar digital commerce industry. Demandware’s technology powers the e-commerce for such customers as Lands’ End, L’Oreal, and Marks & Spencer. The digital commerce platforms market is expected to soar 14% annually to reach $8.54 billion by 2020, according to Salesforce, which cites a Gartner report released in March. Salesforce will not only be able to jump-start its efforts into digital ecommerce with the Demandware acquisition, but will add yet another service it can bolt onto its Customer Success Platform, which it launched in late 2014. The Customer Success Platform is designed to allow companies to connect to their customers via mobile and social tools powered by the cloud for such things as sales, customer service, marketing, apps, communities, and analytics. The company says it plans to use its Salesforce Commerce Cloud as an "integral part" of its Customer Success Platform. For Salesforce, it expects its Demandware acquisition to increase its fiscal-year 2017 revenue by roughly $100 million to $120 million.
Red Hat reported its revenues were up 18% in the first quarter of its 2017 fiscal year, totaling $568 million. It also announced a $1 billion stock buy-back program and its acquisition of API management software provider 3Scale. The company spent $66 million to buy back 900,000 shares of its common stock in the first quarter, its last installment in a plan to spend $500 million on buy-backs. It used a total of $329 million. That program will be replaced with a follow-up buy-back plan of $1 billion over the coming year. The buy-back uses up some of the cash accumulated from profitable quarters, and tends to increase the value of the remaining shares in the marketplace, according to Frank Calderoni, executive vice president for operations and CFO. In addition, Red Hat announced that it was acquiring 3Scale, a firm that produces API management software. 3Scale produces a containerized gateway to Red Hat’s OpenShift that is useful to developers using OpenShift. No price was disclosed in the announcement of the deal.
The Round Rock, Texas-based software arm of computer giant Dell is being acquired by New York City-based hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. and San Francisco-based private equity firm Francisco Partners. Known best for its network security solutions, Dell Software’s portfolio also spans analytics, database management, data protection, endpoint systems management, identity and access management, Microsoft platform management, and performance monitoring. Francisco Partners focuses exclusively on acquisitions and investments in the technology sector. Its transaction values have ranged from $50 million USD to over $2 billion USD, according to the firm, and to date it has raised approximately $10 billion USD in capital and invested in more than 150 technology companies since being founded in 1999. Elliott Management, meanwhile, supported the deal through its recently established Menlo Park affiliate, Evergreen Coast Capital.
OpenText Corp. announced it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Customer Communications Management (CCM) products of HP Inc., including HP Exstream, HP Output Management, HP TeleForm and HP LiquidOffice for customer communications management, process automation and document delivery solutions. OpenText expects this acquisition to complement OpenText StreamServe, OpenText MediaManager, OpenText TeamSite, and OpenText MediaBin, and allow the company to better serve its customers by offering a wider set of CCM capabilities in areas, including authoring, workflow and composition for multichannel document presentment and interactive communications. In addition to the acquisition, the company announced they are exploring opportunities to work together in the future to broaden their software offerings. The deal is worth approximately US$315 million, with the assets being acquired expected to generate between US$110 and US$125 million of annualized revenues. This isn’t the first time OpenText has snapped up HP assets. In April, it announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire some of its customer experience software and services assets from HP Inc., including HP TeamSite, a modern multi-channel digital experience management platform for web content management, and HP Qfiniti, an intelligent workforce optimization solution designed to improve enterprise contact center management.
Product strategy and development software firm Wizeline just bought its own spinoff services company Wize Services a year after it was launched. Founded by Bismark Lepe, former Google employee and founder of video content platform firm Ooyala, Wizeline was conceived to help companies streamline the product development process. Wize Services provides ‘pods’ of engineers, UX designers, tech writers and project managers who would take projects on. It typically focuses on long-term, difficult projects for Fortune 150 clients. The services company had to operate independently of Wizeline, even though it shared the same office, to demonstrate to Wizeline’s VC funders that their investment was not being diluted by the distraction of another venture. Wize Services had another CEO, and his Wizeline sales people were not allowed to sell Wize Services to clients. Wize Services is now established, with about 60 staff, and will bolster Wizeline’s entire headcount to around 110. That’ll hit 200 by year’s end, when it should also be profitable.
One of the largest manufacturers of Raspberry Pi computers agreed to be acquired, bringing to an end the British-owned manufacture of the incredibly popular tiny computer. Premier Farnell PLC, based in Leeds, began manufacturing Raspberry Pi systems in 2012. It is being purchased for $877.7 million by Daetwyler Holding AG, a Swiss supplier of electronic components. Premier Farnell, which was founded before World War II, had become a conglomerate, selling parts and components ranging from fire-fighting equipment to printed circuit boards. After a series of earnings warnings last year, the company began to divest non-electronic businesses, finishing the process by agreeing to be acquired by Daetwyler. Daetwyler, founded in 1915, is the larger company, with a current value of around $2.35 billion. The $877.7 million price agreed to for Premier Farnell is a significant premium on the company’s pre-purchase valuation.
IT management services company, ServiceNow, is buying BrightPoint to bolster its recently released security operations platform. Founded in 2011 by a former CSO of Merrill Lynch, BrightPoint offers businesses a distributed analytics approach to cybersecurity prevention and detection. Its sales pitch is that it can help customers understand the level of an attack and how to act against it. The San Mateo, California-based startup used to be known as Vorstack until it changed its name about a year ago.
Microsoft has acquired Wand Labs with the intention of improving messaging apps and bots with enhanced natural language technology.
Microsoft has confirmed its acquisition of messaging app company Wand Labs. Wand Labs is focused on developing new technology for messaging apps. It was founded in 2013 with the goal of leveraging mobile scale, natural language, and third-party services so users could access and share authorized services and devices. The startup has built its expertise around semantic ontologies, services mapping, third-party developer integration, and conversational interfaces. Wand’s work on the future of messaging makes Wand a natural fit for Microsoft, which has been increasing its focus on improving communication, particularly for intelligent agents and cognitive services. The people and technology at Wand Labs will join Microsoft’s Bing engineering and platform team as part of the acquisition. There, they will continue building on the messaging technology currently integrated into Microsoft services.
Samsung is buying Joyent, which offers its own technology to run private and public clouds. San Francisco-based Joyent was one of a handful of veteran stand-alone companies with expertise in cloud computing. It faced an array of rivals in the OpenStack camp as well as tech behemoths Amazon, Microsoft, and Google in the public cloud space where one provider amasses a huge stockpile of computing, storage, and networking gear and rents it out to customers. Some companies prefer private clouds when they build their own non-shared infrastructure to offer the same ability to add and delete resources as needed. In the past few years, Joyent had stepped up its emphasis on containers — a buzzy way to deploy modern applications either on-premises or on private or public clouds. Joyent was founded in 2004 and has garnered about $126 million in funding from Intel Capital and others. It was a leading proponent of Node.js, a popular computer programming language, and has expertise in object storage as well. Samsung, the South Korean consumer electronics giant, said that Joyent will give it its own cloud platform to support Samsung’s lineup of mobile, Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud-based software and services.
Job board Snagajob will acquire applicant tracking system provider PeopleMatter. Snagajob, based in Glen Allen, Va., focuses on hourly paid jobs. The company says it works with more than 200,000 employers. PeopleMatter is focused on the service industry and serves more than 47,000 locations. It is based in Charleston, SC. Combined, the company will offer tools that include candidate sourcing, screening, tracking, scheduling, performance management and more, according Snagajob and PeopleMatter.


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SAN DIEGO, CA (PRWEB) June 26, 2014
Former NFL athlete Shawne Merriman is issuing a warning to current and future athletes: protect your personal brand at all stages of your career. Merriman learned the hard way and is now taking on Nike in a case of unfair competition and trademark infringement of his LIGHTS OUT® brand, which has been synonymous with Merriman for almost a decade according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Case No. 14cv00872 (JAH) (NLS). The suit was filed by his company, Lights Out Holdings, LLC in California Federal Court and demands immediate injunctive relief to stop Nike’s actions, and millions of dollars of damages including “statutory damages of up to $2 million per content mark per type of goods or services sold, offered for sale or distribution . . .” as noted in the complaint.
“I am fortunate enough to have had the knowledge to protect my brand by going through the necessary steps to achieve a trademark registration; however I still have to fight my way to justice,” said Merriman. “I hope to use my case as an example and a platform to warn and educate current and up and coming athletes. This lawsuit is an important reminder that athletes need to protect themselves and not let companies take advantage of their hard work and their brand.”
The LIGHTS OUT trademark registration covers a broad range of apparel, listing: “clothing for men, women and children, mainly, bottoms, boxer shorts, caps, hats, headwear, nightwear, shirts, shorts, sleepwear, sweatshirts, tank tops, tops, t-shirts, underwear.” Items from the brand have been sold at retail locations across the country as well as on the brands website Lightsoutbrand.com. for several years. Because Merriman’s company has had rights in the LIGHTS OUT mark for so long, the trademark has been deemed incontestable by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
In late 2006 or 2007, according to the lawsuit, Nike entered into negotiations with Merriman for a LIGHTS OUT line of apparel. Negotiations between Merriman and Nike were unsuccessful but, according to the complaint, “after these discussions Nike decided to use the LIGHTS OUT clothing brand anyway.”
The suit, filed by attorney Andrew Skale of Mintz Levin’s San Diego office, demands a preliminary and permanent injunction for trademark infringement and related unfair business practices by Nike in addition to a damages amount to be determined at trial, disgorgement of Nike’s profits and treble damages for willful infringement, as noted in the complaint.
About Shawne Merriman
Shawne Merriman was given the nickname "Lights Out" in high school for his hard-hitting style of play. He knew right away that “Lights Out” was more than just a nickname, and set out to parlay the success of the “Light Out” ® trademark into a globally recognized Luxury Lifestyle Brand that features affordable items for all.
Shawne had an amazing career in the NFL, playing with both the San Diego Chargers and the Buffalo Bills. Shawne is a three-time NFL Pro Bowler and NFL All Pro and was named the 2005 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Shawne is currently an analyst for The NFL Network and the WWE. He has taken a special interest in contributing to the Salvation Army, Standing Up For Kids and Feeding America while establishing the "Lights On Foundation" in an effort to help children and families in need.
For more information on Lights Out Brand visit http://www.LightsOutBrand.com


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Living up to their promise of another playable character reveal, NetherRealm Studios unveiled the latest hero to join the growing roster of "Injustice 2."
In a YouTube video shared by WWE wrestler Xavier Woods, who came to the NetherRealm office to try out the game, superhero Firestorm was confirmed to be the latest addition to the upcoming fighting video game. The video also showcased actual gameplay footage of the character who didn't come much of a surprise for gaming analysts and enthusiasts, as NetherRealm boss Ed Boon already teased the superhero last December.
The video gave fans a glimpse of the character's abilities, led by a super fast fireball projectile and a torpedo attack. He can also turn his red flame into a blue one whenever he goes Nuclear, which apparently deals and greater damage.
Meanwhile, a report from Gamezone listed the names of Firestorm's attacks, namely, the Fusion Blast, the Energy Shield, and the Molten Trap.
Last week, NetherRealm released the second part of the story trailer titled "Shattered Alliances," which featured the Green Lantern and the Green Arrow, as well as a quick glimpse of Bane and Professor Zoom. Moreover, the video also showed Dr. Fate and a peek at Captain Cold.
In addition, a report from Polygon earlier this month confirmed that the game will feature thousands of unlockable items, which was something the video game developer didn't employ on the game's predecessor. Fans can expect kits in three different forms — namely, equipment, shaders, and abilities — which drop at the end of a fight and can be purchased using in-game money.
Furthermore, the report also confirmed that the playable characters will also come various equipment items, which they can use for their head, torso, arms, and legs. The equipment is also customizable, allowing players to come up with different looks for their characters.
"Injustice 2" is slated to be released on May 16 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.


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Food Network star Sandra Lee has five-book deal
New York: Food Network star Sandra Lee has a full plate of publishing projects.
Hyperion and the Disney Interactive Media Group announced Wednesday that Lee has agreed to a five-book deal, including two cookbooks, an entertaining/lifestyle book and two food-themed novels, recipes included.
Lee, the girlfriend of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is also working on a series of 15 online videos that will coincide with the fall 2011 release of her lifestyle book and first cookbook.


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In the first hour, you might think social credit systems like they have in China could never make their way into the U.S., they’re actually already here. Plus, recent tests show some of the most popular smartphones out there leak far more radiation than government safety limits. And, Amazon is still selling thousands of unsafe products.


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You’ve heard the argument before: we need “illegals” so we can keep paying low prices for our fruits and vegetables. The basic argument is that, since undocumented immigrants need work, they’ll work for cheap. And paying those workers less ensures that our produce stays cheap.
One Half of One Percent
Next time you hear the argument, keep this in mind: For each 32 pound bucket of tomatoes a farmworker picks, he or she will receive, on average, $.50. Those 32 pounds of tomatoes when purchased at the Publix grocery store in Naples, FL, on Sunday however, cost farmworker advocates $79.63. Do the math: .50 divided by 79.63 equals, rounding up, 0.0063.
That means that farmworkers earn roughly one half of one percent (0.63%) of the final price of a pound of tomatoes at the checkout counter. 99.5% of the final price of tomatoes goes to everyone else in the supply chain, with the lion’s share going to the corporate supermarkets, like Publix or Wal-Mart, who make millions in profits from farmworker poverty.
So why, then, are growers around the country telling farmworkers that they cannot afford to raise their wages? Part of the reason is that corporate buyers have used their increased purchasing power to demand cheaper produce. As Wal-Mart grows, it commands a larger and large portion of the retail market and, therefore, has more influence over produce growers. Squeezed by corporate buyers on one side, and raising production costs on the other, growers try to control their costs the only place they can: lower wages, increased workloads, faster paced work and–in the most extreme cases–modern-day slavery.
So if corporate buyers are pressuring growers for cheaper fruits and vegetables, why don’t we see lower prices at the produce stand? The reality is that the corporate food industry is equally happy exploiting farmworkers and consumers alike, demanding more produce for less and passing the savings on to their profits instead of on to consumers. It is precisely the recognition of that overlapping exploitation that has infused the farmworker-led Campaign for Fair Food with it’s sustained energy. Consumers and farmworkers have united to demand dignified wages and working conditions and an end to mondern-day slavery from the corporate food industry.
Farmworkers–no matter their immigration status–deserve dignified wages and working conditions. And as the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Campaign for Fair Food have demonstrated time after time, corporations profiting off of farmworker poverty can easily raise wages without raising retail prices–for documented and undocumented, citizen and immigrant alike.


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Johnson & Johnson will stop selling its line of popular skin whitening creams in the U.S. in response to criticism that the company promotes white skin as preferable over Black skin.
The pharmaceutical company announced its decision on Friday after multiple corporations decided to "retire" Black characters that served as logos on their consumer products for over a century.
Johnson & Johnson will cease selling skin brightening products such as Neutrogena Clean & Clear dark spot reducer and Neutrogena Naturals skin brightener cream in the U.S.
"Conversations over the past few weeks highlighted that some product names on our Neutrogena and Clean & Clear dark-spot reducer products represent fairness or white as better than your own unique skin tone," reads a company statement. "This was never our intention — healthy skin is beautiful skin."
Johnson & Johnson will continue to sell the majority of skin whitening products in Asia.
The company will not remove products that are already on store shelves in the United States. But the products will not be replaced once supplies run out.


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Reckitt Benckiser Teams With AmtrakSeptember 2, 2020
Reckitt Benckiser LLC (RB), parent company of Reckitt Benckiser Professional, has entered into a strategic partnership with Amtrak®.
The agreement calls for microbiologists and other experts from RB to work with Amtrak to develop comprehensive disinfection protocols for Amtrak trains, stations, and customer lounges. RB will supply Amtrak disinfection solutions approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection agency (EPA), including products proven to be effective against the SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
“We are proud to partner with Amtrak, to help provide a clean and hygienic travel experience,” said Rahul Kadyan, RB executive vice president of global business solutions. “With each partnership RB enters, we are looking to help further RB’s commitment to protect, heal and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner and healthier world.”
About Reckitt Benckiser
Reckitt Benckiser Professional is a Parsippany, New Jersey-based manufacturer of branded cleaning and infection control products. For more information, visit www.rb.com.


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From November 29 to December 2, 2012, the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City will host the 2012 Manila Auto Salon, now on its sixth year.
What has gotten people to come back annually to this event? It’s a car show for serious enthusiasts, specifically the type who watched MTV’s Pimp My Ride religiously. This year’s event will bring together an extensive roster of companies focused on the business of transforming cars into personalized, customized, bling-ified four-wheeled machines of wonder. From car restoration services to providers of extreme automotive audio equipment, the Manila Auto Salon is where you need to head this weekend to check out the industry’s most talked-about names in the art of vehicle beautification.
The participants—custom car shops, aftermarket shops, performance upgrade specialists—promise to bring their A-game (and their most eye-catching rides) to get a chance to win Best-In-Show awards. So to anyone who’s going, you can expect the event to wow you with some pretty wicked rides.
How wicked? Well, when we attended the event's opening rites we noticed there was a satisfying lack of karag-karag vehicles. Hit the gallery below, and skim through some of the sights we had seen.
PHOTOGRAPHY: MAJOY SIASON


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Sustainability is a hot topic right now, whether it’s regarding the environmental impact of the underwear you just bought or how you heat your house. Even while the leaders are sometimes overshadowed by the laggards in the news, there are many individuals, organizations, and projects bringing about genuine change. The Global Good Awards honor the best of the greatest each year.
Here are the winners of the 2022 Global Good Awards:
1. Best product of the year
Even though bisphenol-A (BPA) is frequently used to preserve the contents of tins, it has been linked to long-term health issues. Not exactly a mouthwatering idea. The first non-BPA coating technology has been created by paint and coatings manufacturer Sherwin-Williams after ten years of research. It was introduced this year and can be used in food, beverage, and cosmetic products packaged in steel and aluminum cans.
2. Sustainable supply chain of the year
Ofi (Olam Food Ingredients), UK
A strategy to establish a sustainable cocoa supply chain by 2030 was introduced by the food supplier ofi in 2019. It seeks to safeguard the environment, end child labor, and assist farmers in making a living wage. Ofi educates farmers in good agricultural techniques in nine nations, including the Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Brazil. It also distributes millions of trees for agricultural and forestry and revenue diversification and has developed an app to track child labor.
3. Game changing innovation of the year
Pivot Bio, US
More than 2% of all greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, which also pollutes the world’s waterways and has a negative impact on biodiversity. But up until today, farmers didn’t have many options. The first “biofertilizer” of its kind to hit the market in the world is “Proven 40,” which Pivot Bio created. It assists farmers in preserving agricultural yields for crops like corn, wheat, oats, and barley through microbe-based targeted fertilizations.
4. Climate action: race to net zero
CGI, a digital services agency, has established some challenging net zero objectives. It plans to cut its own activities’ greenhouse gas emissions by 46% and business travel emissions by 46% by 2026. The business has solar panels placed at its Bridgend premises, is testing a “internet of things” system to track and lower energy use, and has 30 electric car charging stations installed. As part of its net zero pledge, CGI will also make sure that by 2026, at least half of its suppliers have also established their own goals.
5. Employee engagement and wellbeing
Lamington Group, UK
The judges were impressed by the Lamington Group’s “Team Planet” program, which encouraged employees to make environmentally friendly decisions. Among them were adopting a plant-based diet, quitting single-use plastics, and starting a vegetable garden. The company claims to have opened the first net zero carbon hotel in the world in London, cut its energy use in half, and has plans to open further net zero hotels in Belfast, York, Glasgow, and Manchester.
Also check out our latest web story on companies that might save the world!
6. Best startup enterprise
Y.O.U Underwear, UK
The UK’s top-scoring B Corp and the world’s top fashion B Corp is Y.O.U Underwear. It specializes in ethical underwear made from Fairtrade cotton that is Gots (global organic textile standard) certified and donates two pairs for each pair that is bought. The recyclable underwear is also produced in an Indian plant that prioritizes sustainability and supports women’s and girls’ access to education.
7. Global good SME of the year
JPA Workspaces, UK
Office renovations all too frequently include removing the old and bringing in the new. But it’s not need to. JPA Workspaces operates a successful community furniture initiative in addition to working in business, educational, and healthcare environments. By rearranging and updating old furniture, it has helped clients save over £1.5 million while diverting over 5,000 pieces of outdated furniture from the garbage in the UK. Additionally, it offers a variety of “circular support services,” including reupholster and repair businesses.
8. Global good company of the year
St James’s Place, UK
St James’s Place (SJP), a wealth management company, reached a record high of £154 billion in funds in 2021, demonstrating that ESG (environmental, social, and governance factors) and financial success may go hand in hand. Despite the fact that the company turned down 60% of potential clients because they did not adhere to their responsible investment guidelines, Particularly in terms of ethical investing and the incorporation of ESG elements into decision-making, fund managers are scrutinized. All of this is in line with its goal of utilizing money for good.
9. Best campaign of the year
Hubbub, Ellipsis Earth and McDonald’s, UK
Ellipsis and Hubbub Drones and artificial intelligence were employed by Earth to map and identify the many kinds of garbage that had been dumped on several of Dorset’s beaches, parks, and urban areas. These observations were later put to use by the McDonald’s-funded Neat Streets initiative to offer cutting-edge treatments like glow-in-the-dark trash cans. City leaders in Glasgow are now interested in attempting something similar after littering was cut by 75%.
10. Technology for good
Customers are demanding for more transparency because greenwashing is prevalent in many businesses. However, historically, obtaining product impact evaluations has cost brands thousands of pounds and required months, making them out of reach for the majority of businesses. Dayrize is the first technology in the world to quickly assess a product’s impact using artificial intelligence. The judges praised it as “excellent and very needed technology” and expressed their admiration for the 500 firms who have already signed up.
Did you like this article? Let Newsum know in the comments below if you are also doing your part for the planet. For more such articles keep visiting Newsum & while you’re at it do check our latest web stories!


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Neither I nor anyone really doubts that China has a good economy. Everyone the world over has become familiar with China’s economic growth especially during the past decade. Just type “China” into google news and see how many stories pop up on a daily bases about China’s economy. Whether positive or negative in tone, all resoundingly proclaim the attributes of China’s economic expansion, even if the latter are rooting for its collapse. But just how good is it? Not as rosy a picture as some would have you think..
Since first coming to Shanghai in 2001 and 2002, I could see how much development had taken place in my absence before returning in 2009, and since that time it has continued, at least where housing and metro construction is concerned. The city looks truly amazing and completely transformed since the early 90’s when China finally dispensed with the idiocy of Mao and decided to engage with the global community economically. The great transformation epitomized by “The Head of the Dragon” (Shanghai), has been nothing short of breathtaking and I am sure that it is the image of vibrant new and shinny Shanghai that has helped foster the use of such terms as “miraculous” and “meteoric” to describe China’s rise in the Western and domestic press. Terms which I tend to avoid as I fail to see where they are truly warranted.
China has boasted 10% GDP growth for 2 decades while many developed nations hovered between 0 and 53%. To those looking across the globe, such figures were truly astounding. But if you take a closer look, I think you’ll agree that they are not quite so amazing and certainly not deserving of the lavish praise they have received.
For one, it’s easy to grow economically when you start from nothing, and China certainly started from nothing. Before “opening up”, as it is known here, China was the most unskilled country where GDP growth is concerned, perhaps in the history of the world. Besides endemic famine, political campaigns, civil war, and ridiculous slogans there was very little the Chinese soviet could produce. So they started at zero with a billion plus peasants to work in foreign factories. If the growth rate of China’s GDP was not running at 10%, I think that would be more cause to use catch phrases like “meteoric” would be more fitting as meteors actual crash and burn instead of rise.
Secondly, GDP, or “nominal GDP” the figure used by China and the press to bolster China’s economic importance, is not really a good economic indicator, especially in China. If you are paying attention to economic data coming out of China for the past 6 months or so, you are well aware that everything is not peachy keen in the Middle Kingdom. China’s stock markets are circling the bowl in the economic toilet, and manufacturing has sharply contracted. On top of that, of the billions and billions of dollars thrown into China’s economy after the recession of 2008, most were wasted on non-performing state industries and national corruption projects like China’s misguided high-speed rail. Still, GDP is continuing to rise. Companies are going bankrupt left and right, yet GDP continues to grow. How can that be?
Stockpiling Creates GDP
One reason for this apparent contradiction is “stock piling”. In just about every industry, Chinese factories ar producing products that no one is buying. Likewise, raw materials, like coal and copper, are also being stock-piled as a matter of course in the attempt to maintain China’s economic growth record. In fact, factories are being ordered to produce product which they cannot move by local officials eager to report high GDP figures farther up the chain of command. These same officials don’t want to see production lines or factories shut down as they are equally eager to avoid masses of unemployed disenfranchised peasants beating down their doors with torches and pitchforks. No, everything must remain “harmonious”, so things are still being made, they just aren’t being sold. If this continues long enough, then even if the international economy picks up, there’ll be such a glut in the marketplace that prices will crash, and the economy here in China will further suffer, including GDP.
Thus, GDP can be high while sales, stocks, and people’s incomes remain flat or indeed contract as they are already doing. One industrial indicator I believe that tells a far better tale where China’s economic acuity is concerned is car sales.
The Automobile Industry
Car sales are a much better indicator of a nation’s economic prospects for a number of reasons. Where individuals are concerned, growth in sales of cars means that the middle class is growing and a more vibrant consumer base is emerging. Things were looking good for China’s auto industry after the economic crisis of 2008. Back in 2009 China had a growth rate of over 36% in new car sales and actually overtook the US as the world’s largest auto market. Last year the growth rate dropped to just 2.5%! What a shock, and shockingly simple to explain. The rapid growth was simply produced by the government stimulus. Cars were heavily subsidized and tax breaks were passed onto car buyers as a part of the 2008 stimulus package. In 2011, that dried up, and so did the auto market. Once again, the US is the world’s largest market and the Chinese one is floundering. China today has just 83 cars per 1000 people and the US has 812. In short, China is not quite the market it was made out to be, and neither was the emerging consumer class it was supposed to foreshadow. Today, cars are still getting made of course, and promptly being added to China’s ever growing stock-pile of unsalable goods.
The Consumer Class
So what of the consumer class, especially in cities like Shanghai? News story after news story has mentioned the “incredible” urbanization that has taken place in China over the past decade or so. Chinese are in fact moving to the cities, and so the prediction goes, they will soon find high paying jobs buy apartments, and furnish them with appliances and other consumer goods. Not so.
For starters homes are extremely expensive things to purchase, especially in places like Shanghai. Normal 2 bedroom flats run an average of $276,000 US each while the average per capita income is a measly $13,000 US. Far out of reach for Shanghai’s resident population, including its more than 9 million recent immigrants. And even if the average person could afford to buy a home, I doubt if they’d ever be able to furnish it with all the consumer goods forecast as things such as TV’s, washing machines, and refrigerators actually cost more here than they do in the US thanks to the governments high import tariffs (yes, things made in China are imported into China). These hard facts of reality should firmly put the nails in the coffin of the persistent “1 Billion Customers” myth.
Urbanization with Chinese Characteristics
Another problem worth pointing out with China’s urbanization trend is that it’s not really “urbanization” as western economies experienced it. Sure, a large percentage of China’s population is now moving into the cities, but that doesn’t mean that they will stay there. China has the “hukou” system of rural and urban registration. If you are born in the countryside, than that is the only place you are allowed to claim benefits. Even for those who have spent their whole working lives in Shanghai paying into the city’s pension scheme, when they retire, they’ll have to move back to wherever they were born and registered to claim any benefits. This is an entirely different reality than that which the Western media persents. Therefore, the 9 million who moved to Shanghai in the past 20 years, 9 million of them will be leaving eventually, and while they are here, they’ll be paid so little and live so poor, that they, for the most part, will never become the urban consumers misguided commentators are so willing to predict. If anything, they’ll continue to exist as they do now, on the periphery of Shanghai society forced to do menial unskilled tasks, live in squalor (quite a few without basic necessities like the people living in tents down the street from me) and will more likely resemble the urban poor of Latin America than the middle class consumers of the US or Europe.
So, if GDP stats are nothing more than a pipe dream, which seems to be the case where wages (Shanghai’s minimum wage is about $159 US per month btw) and consumerism are concerned, ten just what are the important indicators of China’s economic might?
Assessing China’s Economy
First, GDP by purchasing power per capita. On that scale, china comes in at the 92nd spot, about as close to the bottom as I is to the top of the IMF’s survey scale. Hanging out in the company like East Timor and Bosnia, it looks less than stellar or “miraculous” for that matter. Another key indicator, especially where average Chinese are concerned, is China’s ranking of GNI by purchasing power per capita. There too it comes in at a rank of 92 which is no less deserved of the boasting China and many Westerners grace China’s economic development. For the average Chinese citizen, they’d have just as good a life in Turkmenistan or Albania, and I’m being generous.
In 2010, China’s Millionaire Class jumped 31% while GDP per capita rate rose about 10%. In 2011 it rose a further 15% year on year! Wow, that’s a lot of millionaires. That’s quite a disparity in wealth and it means that for all the figures listed in the previous paragraph, the majority of people here have seen even less benefit than they should have.
Take Your Money and Run!
So the rich are getting richer, no surprise there, but what are they doing with their new-found wealth? The answer is: leaving. Most of the lucky few that have finally arrived at a middle class or better lifestyle are packing their bags for greener pastures and taking their wealth with them. Even buying one of the overly expensive homes here in the mainland offers little assurance that it will be yours or your offspring’s in the tears to come as homes aren’t actually bought here. Technically they are all owned by the state and leased to “owners” for 75 years. The reason they are getting out while they can is because of China’s political and legal system. China’s modern history has been riddled with government lead movements to strip anyone above the class of peasant of their wealth. In short, there is no trust between Chinese citizens and their government, so they are getting while the getting is good.
Unfortunately, this means that China’s further economic development will suffer. Without a stable wealthy class willing to invest and risk their wealth in the creation of new business, a key ingredient for any developing economy, China will never realize its dream of economic development.
So, just how good is China’s economy? At the moment I have to conclude that for the common citizen, it’s no better than any of the world’s mediocre economic duds. It may fail and it may not. Certainly many things seem to be at best out of proportion with Chinese people’s economic reality, housing prices for instance, and the automobile industry appears to be clearly too close to the rocks for example, but it could rebound. It is possible China will continue to follow the road to development as the West did around 100 years ago, but it is not guaranteed by any stretch of logic. In the short-term, I expect things to keep chugging along, but I don’t really believe it will last. Unless China adopts a responsible form of government that harnesses and reigns in corruption, does a better job of sharing China’s wealth with the Chinese people, stops fooling itself with the notion that it can dictate production and establishes a code of law in line with international norms, the future may not be bright at all. “China’s Meteoric Fall” may be in the headlines gracing Western newspapers within the next decade.


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Thousands of pounds worth of damage has been caused after shop windows were smashed in Hertford.
Police say they're now looking for a man after criminal damage was caused to five shops in Parliament Square, The Wash and Fore Street.
The stores affected were Serendipity, Hertford Hair, Oishii, The Job Centre and The Chinese Medicine Centre.
CCTV has revealed that it happened in the early hours of Sunday, September 16th.
PCSO Dean Richardson said: "This criminal damage has caused thousands of pounds worth of damage and inconvenience to the business owners".
:: Anyone with information should email email@example.com, call the non-emergency number 101 quoting crime reference 41/37651/18 or report information online at www.herts.police.uk/Report.


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Igaming software provider BeyondPlay has announced it has been acquired by FanDuel.
BeyondPlay will now become part of FanDuel Casino, FanDuel’s igaming brand, and will have a focus on product development and innovation.
The company’s flagship products are a Jackpot Management System and Multiplayer Software which allows multiple users to participate in the same casino game sessions and pool their stakes.
“As a founder, witnessing the journey of our start-up from its humble beginnings to becoming part of the world’s leading online sports betting and igaming company is an incredibly gratifying experience. This acquisition validates the hard work and dedication of our team and the vision behind our products,” said BeyondPlay CEO Karolina Pelc.
“We are excited to join forces with FanDuel Casino to amplify the impact of our technology on a global scale. This milestone marks not just the culmination of our tireless efforts, but the beginning of an exciting new chapter.”
According to FanDuel, the addition of BeyondPlay’s jackpot technology and multiplayer software capabilities will further enhance its igaming offering as it seeks to become the number one operator in the vertical.
“I’m absolutely delighted with the acquisition of BeyondPlay. Our U.S. strategy is about investing to win, and continuously improving our igaming proposition for our customers is a key part of that,” added FanDuel Casino Managing Director Asaf Noifeld.
“This acquisition further strengthens FanDuel Casino’s leading customer experience, by adding BeyondPlay’s best-in-class jackpots and multiplayer technology. We’re also excited to welcome their experienced team to FanDuel and look forward to working together to continue to grow our rising share of the US iGaming market.”
Last month, Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of FanDuel, reported that FanDuel Casino’s market share grew to 26% in Q4 2023 which cemented its position as the second-largest igaming operator in the country behind BetMGM.


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IF you're a fan of posh meat then you might want to head down to Lidl.
The budget supermarket just released a 21 days matured, dry-aged British beef côte de boeuf - and it’s £15 cheaper than at Waitrose.
The massive joint of beef, is to go on sale today at £14.99 a kg at Lidl.
A similar cut would set you back £29.99 a kg at Waitrose or nearly double the cost.
It also sells for £82.50 per kg at trendy London steak restaurant Hawksmoor - and that’s before adding the chips.
It is worth noting that the côte de boeuf from Waitrose is a 30 day dry-aged steak, so it might have a superior flavour to the cut from the budget supermarket.
Meanwhile, Hawksmoor restaurant is known to serve one of the best steaks in London, so we'll be surprised if your beef from Lidl prepared at home tastes as good.
But, if you're looking for a budget alternative then it is worth checking out Lidl's offer.
Côte de bœuf is basically a massive rib-eye steak that includes the rib bone.
A single côte de bœuf is often served as a meal for two and is a meaty treat for beef lovers.
Shoppers will have to be quick to take advantage of the offer however, as stock is likely to be limited.
Lidl's offer comes just a week after rival Aldi brought back it's huge 16oz rump steak following a sell-out success.
Both budget stores have recently been given the stamp of approval by posh lifestyle magazine Tatler.
Meat from both budget supermarket chains have made the list, with Aldi's Specially Selected 30-day aged fillet steak costing just over a fiver.
Morrisons is also known for its generous offers for meat lovers.
Marks and Spencer recently launched boxes that come with up to eight different types of meat in a money-saving move for its customers.
More about the latest food and drink deals
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