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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Nineteen drug companies will pay more than $176 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging they overcharged for medicine sold at independent pharmacies in California, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday.
In addition, the companies will have to pay $27 million in fees to attorneys who represented the plaintiffs in the suit brought on behalf of California's 32 million consumers.
It is the latest in a series of big settlements in suits alleging unfair pricing practices.
The companies in the California case agreed to furnish $148 million worth of brand-name drugs to 300 nonprofit medical clinics in the state that dispense drugs to the poor. The companies would pay $1.6 million to administer the three-year program.
The case is set for a final hearing on April 21 before a judge in San Francisco Superior Court.
Spokesmen at Merck and several other drug companies said today they could not immediately confirm the settlement report.
The drug companies used an unfair, two-tiered system to price wholesale drugs, according to the suit filed by the California Public Health Association, a group that represents the clinics that would receive the free drugs under the settlement.
"It represents a cheap settlement for the drug companies, and they'll go on, business as usual, ripping off the public," Fred Mayer, a Sausalito pharmacist and past president of the association, told the Chronicle.
The companies sold drugs at discounts to health maintenance organizations and other big volume buyers like mail order drug firms, the suit alleged. However, exorbitant prices were charged neighborhood pharmacies and even some drug store chains.
Druggists claimed they paid up to $28.90 for 100 tablets of a synthetic thyroid drug, while HMOs paid as little as $1.43.
Over the past three years, 15 drug companies settled federal lawsuits from drug store chains for more than $700 million to end claims that the firms conspired to charge pharmacies more for drugs than managed care plans had to pay.
In addition, last December, a judge approved a $64.3 million settlement between the 10 states and the District of Columbia and the world's largest drug companies in a lawsuit that charged the manufacturers conspired to destroy competition between retailers and health maintenance organizations.


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Published on October 31st, 2018 | by The GC Team0
Brexit fears sap UK consumer confidence
Consumer confidence slipped again in October as concern about the future of the general economy under stalling Brexit talks deepened and consumer spending on big-ticket items such as electrical goods and furniture fell.
GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index dropped one point to -10 amidst expectations for the general economic situation over the next 12 months sinking to the low level of -28.
“The prospect of a no-deal/hard-deal Brexit must surely be weighing heavily on people’s minds, injecting a mood of despondency as to how people view their future personal finances and the longer-term economic outlook for the UK,” said Joe Staton, Client Strategy Director at GfK.
“We also appear to be losing confidence that now is ‘the right time’ to make major purchases. This will concern retailers in the run-up to Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the key Christmas trading period.”
Staton commented on “imminent end of austerity” claims, lower retail price inflation and accelerating wages growth, stating that these would normally be sufficient to boost consumer sentiment. “It looks like the UK Government will need to administer an exceptionally strong tonic to the nation to settle the obvious Brexit anxieties,” he added.

domain: news


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Former Assassin's Creed game designer Patrice Desilets believes his former employer, Ubisoft, should invest the time and effort to give players the choice to play as a woman in Assassin's Creed Unity, something the developer pulled back on due to "the reality of production."
At E3 this week, Unity creative director Alex Amancio explained why the cooperative multiplayer game features four versions of protagonist Arno and why the developer excluded the option to play as a female assassin.
"It's double the animations, it's double the voices, all that stuff and double the visual assets," Amancio said. "Especially because we have customizable assassins. It was really a lot of extra production work."
In an interview with Polygon, Desilets said that Amancio's reasoning — that it would create extra work — was valid, but that Ubisoft should put in the effort to let players have gender options.
"It's true. If you do a big giant character and a small character, or a woman and a guy, it's different," Desilets said. "But that shouldn't stop you. With all the time, money and people on that project, you could've done it."
The game designer, who was terminated by Ubisoft last year and is currently involved in litigation with his former employer but still has friends on the Assassin's Creed team, hoped that the publisher would be bolder with its game design choices as they relate to diversity.
"You know what would have been really awesome? Four women," he continued. "Then people would be like, 'Wow, they've got big balls.' Imagine four girls. It would have been really a strong message of what Assassin's Creed Unity is about."
Desilets, who has two young daughters, said he thinks that some game publishers and developers get caught in a cycle of making and selling games to a particular audience, and that informs decisions like the choice to prioritize male avatars over offering gender options.
"They always try to sell the same thing," he said, referencing the commercial underperformance of female-led games like Remember Me as cited evidence for why certain games don't sell well. "So it's easy to win the argument: 'See, that's the only thing that sells' — because that's the only thing to buy.
"That's why the game that I'm designing, I'm giving control back to the player," he said. "Which gender do you want to play? Let's start there."


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U.S. stocks traded higher Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently jumped 135 points to 15427, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 16 points to 1669 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 35 points to 3556. Among the companies whose shares are trading actively in Thursday's session are Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Apollo Group Inc. (APOL) and Celgene Corp. (CELG).
Software giant Microsoft ($35.18, +$0.48, +1.38%) unveiled an expected restructuring of its operations to improve its ability to compete in a quickly shifting marketplace. In internal email to employees Thursday, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer outlined the new organization by functions, including engineering, marketing, business development and evangelism, advanced strategy and research, finance, human resources, legal and chief operating officer.
For-profit education company Apollo Group ($18.89, +$1.00, +5.60%) got enough of a thumbs-up from the Higher Learning Commission to take its stock sharply higher. The company's University of Phoenix has gotten its accreditation from the group extended through the 2022-2023 school year, though it was placed on notice status for two years. Meanwhile, fellow for-profit education company Bridgepoint Education Inc. (BPI, $15.30, +$2.69, +21.33%), the parent of Ashford University, said the school was granted accreditation approval by a higher education commission, a year after its application had been denied. Shares of ITT Educational Services Inc. (ESI, $26.99, +$0.99, +3.81%) and Capella Education Co. (CPLA, $45.08, +$1.75, +4.04%) also rose.
Celgene ($133.02, +$7.94, +6.35%) said a Phase 3 study of its flagship blood-cancer drug Revlimid, in combination with dexamethasone, met its primary endpoint of progression-free survival in patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma. The biopharmaceutical company said it will begin discussions with regulatory authorities and plans to submit dossiers for registration in the U.S., Europe and other markets.
Other Stocks to Watch:
MKM found things in telecommunications-equipment maker Adtran Inc.'s (ADTN, $24.42, +$0.95, +4.05%) better-than-feared second-quarter report late Tuesday upbeat enough to raise its price target to $22 from $18 and upgrade Adtran to neutral while sharply raising 2014 estimates. "There is now a multiyear revenue tailwind, primarily from specific nine-figure deals" with Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGY, $11.65, +$0.16, +1.39%)(DTE.XE) and AT&T Inc. (T, $35.81, +$0.42, +1.19%), said the firm. Goldman Sachs also boosted its view to buy, saying Adtran "is uniquely positioned to benefit from a multiyear access-infrastructure upgrade cycle."
Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD, $4.25, +$0.27, +6.78%) to buy and boosted its price target to $6 from $2.50, saying in a note to clients that exclusive wins in processor chips for the next-generation Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One game consoles expected in the fourth quarter "can transform AMD into a profitable, diversified company with a multi-year recurring revenue stream." Canaccord Genuity also upgraded AMD to buy from hold, pointing to the company's transition away from near-exclusive reliance on PC demand.
Destination Maternity Corp. (DEST, $29.65, +$1.90, +6.85%) said it expects its fiscal third-quarter earnings to be at the top half of its previous guidance range, as the retailer also reported a jump in same-store sales for the quarter.
McGraw Hill Financial Inc. (MHFI, $56.79, +$0.90, +1.61%) named Douglas Peterson, who is currently president of its Standard & Poor's Ratings Services unit, as its president and chief executive, succeeding Harold McGraw III who will continue as chairman.
Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. (MACK, $5.91, -$1.08, -15.46%) said it plans to offer $50 million in stock and $75 million in convertible senior notes. The biopharmaceutical company recently had a market capitalization of $671.7 million, according to FactSet.
PriceSmart Inc.'s (PSMT, $87.00, -$4.63, -5.05%) fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 18% as the operator of warehouse clubs continued to post stronger sales. Still, per-share earnings fell short of analysts' expectations.
Biopharmaceutical company Rockwell Medical Inc. (RMTI, $4.67, +$0.91, +24.20%) said results were positive from a late-stage study of its investigational drug for the treatment of iron deficiency in chronic kidney disease patients receiving hemodialysis.
Texas Industries Inc.'s (TXI, $66.64, +$1.65, +2.55%) fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell 27% as the construction-materials company posted fewer asset-sale gains and was hit by weaker margins that overshadowed strong revenue growth. However, earnings from continuing operations and revenue beat expectations.
Voxx International Corp.'s (VOXX, $13.79, +$0.59, +4.47%) fiscal first-quarter results topped market expectations and the audio-equipment maker reiterated its top- and bottom-line guidance.
Write to Anna Prior at email@example.com


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| The death of Nabile Quenum, Victoria Beckham to show at LFW, the Gucci Garden in Florence, Elaine Welteroth departs Teen Vogue and Nina Agdal fights body shamers.
This week we’ve been talking about London Fashion Week Men’s, How to up your Instagram Stories game and a Stylish Guide to Newscastle. But what have we been reading about? Here are the top five fashion news headlines from around the web!
Esteemed street style photographer Nabile Quenum has passed away, according to multiple sources, believed to be from carbon monoxide poisoning. Quenum, 32, was pronounced dead in Paris on January 8th.
Victoria Beckham will join the London Fashion Week schedule for the first time in September for a 10th anniversary show celebrating a decade in the business. The catwalk event will follow a series of changes to Beckham’s eponymous brand starting with how she presents her autumn/winter 2018 collection in February. Instead of the Sunday morning catwalk slot she has occupied for past seasons at New York Fashion Week, she will showcase the clothes during intimate presentations at the James Burden Mansion on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
On Tuesday afternoon, Alessandro Michele reopened the newly curated Gucci Museo in Florence and with it, the world’s most covetable gift shop, the Gucci Garden. Since Alessandro Michele decided to do up the Gucci Museo next to Palazzo Vecchio in Florence- jewel in the crown of the Florentine fashion house- the museum has served as a shrine to its history from Guccio Gucci’s beginnings in 1921 to Tom Ford’s tenure and onwards. But it’s the so-called Gucci Garden store on the ground floor where Michele’s talent for retail innovation comes alive.
Editor-in-chief Elaine Welteroth is moving on from Teen Vogue. Reportedly, Welteroth sent an email officially announcing her decision to leave to the staff at the Condé Nast publication on Thursday.
According to a statement issued to Fashionista from a representative for Condé Nast, Welteroth was offered a different opportunity at the company, but ultimately, decided to pursue a different direction in her career. She has now signed up with talent agency CAA.
Yet another top model has taken to social media to shed light on the harsh realities of her industry. Danish beauty Nina Agdal, best known for her work with Sports Illustrated, tweeted an open letter Friday directed towards the fashion and publishing industry. Without naming names or publications, the IMG-signed model shared an instance of having a cover shoot cut from a magazine unapologetically. The unnamed title’s reasoning? It did not reflect well on her talent and did not fit their market. She says the publisher also asserted that Agdal didn’t fit the sample sizes, which Agdal notes is false.
Fashion Fix Daily
Independent fashion magazine, Fashion Fix Daily, is what happens when you bring together big personalities and fashion influencers such as HoneyPop Kisses and Forever Yours Betty, with the geeky tech know-how of folks who work every day in fashion digital marketing.
Our writing team is a mix of established and up-and-coming fashion bloggers, and cover the latest fashion trends, opinions from influencers and much more.


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New Honda Jazz`s Indian Website goes live
Honda Cars India have updated their website with details of the new Jazz which will launching in the country on 8th July, 2015. The website gives information to buyers about the premium hatchback`s features, engines and looks. Interested buyers can also book a test drive of the vehicle.
Honda dealerships in the country have started accepting bookings for the 2015 Jazz for an amount of Rs. 51,000. However, the company`s website does not mention the details about the number of variants the car will be available in. As per online reports the Jazz would be offered in 12 variants.
Other technical information like the Jazz`s engines and mileage figures have been put up on the website. Powering the Jazz diesel will be a 1.5 litre i-DTEC motor which bangs out 100 PS of power and 200 Nm of twisting force. The oil burner is mated to a six-speed manual transmission. The ARAI claimed fuel efficiency figure for the diesel is 27.3 kmpl.
The petrol Jazz gets its juice from the tried and tested 1.2 litre i-VTEC engine which forks out 90 PS of power and 110 Nm of twisting force. It is mated to a five-speed manual transmission. The petrol powered Jazz will also be offered with an automatic transmission (CVT). In terms of fuel efficiency the petrol (MT) delivers 18.7 kmpl while the CVT is good for 19 kmpl.
When launched the Honda Jazz will fight it out with the Volkswagen Polo, Hyundai i20 and the Fiat Punto.


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The Food Agency said Sunday that people should not eat Kinder egg products pulled by chocolate company Ferrero this week.
Mika Varjonen According to the Food and Drug Administration, chocolate-borne salmonella epidemics are rare, but urged consumers to do so. "definitely not eating" eggs on the return list.
Consumers can check if their eggs have been withdrawn by comparing the batch code to the wrappers listed reminder list Published by the Food Agency.
Although no cases of Kinder-related salmonella have been reported in Finland, the majority of those infected with the food poisoning virus in other countries have been under the age of 10, according to the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
Symptoms of Salmonella include fever and diarrhea.
According to Varjonen, there is no information on how many withdrawn eggs have been sold in Finland.
Source: The Nordic Page


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-JWT London launched “Christmas Break” for KitKat (video above).
–Interpublic Group’s Magna Global predicts that digital ad spending will overtake TV by the end of 2017.
-More About Advertising Asks, “What does WPP’s Sorrell think of the Publicis revamp?”
-Skift talks with Carnival chief strategy officer Josh Leibowitz “on Brand Collaboration and Why People Don’t Cruise.”
-Group transformation director and former chief customer officer Jill Easterbrook has left Tesco.
-“All I want for Christmas? Creativity for good,” says BBH London deputy executive creative director Caroline Pay.
-MediaCom U.K. promoted chief operating officer Josh Krichefski to CEO.
-The Ad Contrarian talks “Blair Witch, Zappos, Oreo, & Ice Bucket.”


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Derek Anderson, the once future quarterback of the Cleveland Browns, might be selling his 2007 Aston Martin on eBay. For some strange reason, the company that has listed the car for Anderson did not mention that it was Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Anderson’s Aston Martin. Surely, this would be right up there with Jon Voight’s LeBaron. You could get more than $73,500 for a car that was once owned by Derek Anderson.
A real change of pace for the future Hall of Famer.
Twister, Matrix, Lance Stephenson – it’s all here.
Roundup: New York City Cop Berates Uber Driver, Funniest March News Bloopers & Another Alabama Football Arrest
Be on the lookout for dumb April Fool’s Day jokes.
On his international debut, no less.
He’s still only 22. Remember that.
More soundbites from Gronk.


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Google has blessed its search engine with a new, eye-candy seasonal touch in line for Christmas that is just around the corner
As a part of this seasonal makeover, users who search for the "let it snow" keywords, are gifted with a gorgeous cascade of snowflakes in the background of their browsers.
Adding more to this attractive visual tweak, the list of returned search results starts freezing over amidst falling snow flakes.
It's not an uncommon move on the part of the search giant to tweak its search engine on special occasions with what it calls Google Doodle. However, seems like the company decided to put some extra efforts this festive season, as the tweak has been already applauded enthusiastically by users from all around the world.
The search-results of the "let it snow" keywords include YouTube videos of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Kylie Minogue singing their respective versions of the song "Let It Snow". The results can be brought back to full visibility with a mere click on the ‘defrost' option that appears on the search window.
In addition, the search results also include in them at least one query related to the much awaited festive season.


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$245.35 Million in Sales Expected for Oxford Industries, Inc. (OXM) This Quarter
Brokerages forecast that Oxford Industries, Inc. (NYSE:OXM) will post $245.35 million in sales for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Four analysts have made estimates for Oxford Industries’ earnings, with estimates ranging from $241.90 million to $249.20 million. Oxford Industries posted sales of $222.31 million during the same quarter last year, which suggests a positive year over year growth rate of 10.4%. The company is expected to report its next earnings report on Tuesday, December 5th.
On average, analysts expect that Oxford Industries will report full-year sales of $245.35 million for the current financial year, with estimates ranging from $1.09 billion to $1.11 billion. For the next fiscal year, analysts expect that the firm will report sales of $1.15 billion per share, with estimates ranging from $1.14 billion to $1.15 billion. Zacks’ sales calculations are a mean average based on a survey of analysts that that provide coverage for Oxford Industries.
Oxford Industries (NYSE:OXM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 31st. The textile maker reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.01. Oxford Industries had a net margin of 4.64% and a return on equity of 13.56%. The company had revenue of $284.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $291.34 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. Oxford Industries’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis.
A number of research firms recently weighed in on OXM. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Oxford Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, September 15th. BidaskClub lowered shares of Oxford Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 5th. FBR & Co reissued a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Oxford Industries in a research report on Tuesday, September 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC set a $62.00 price target on shares of Oxford Industries and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.88.
Oxford Industries (NYSE:OXM) opened at 64.96 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $62.63 and its 200-day moving average is $59.91. Oxford Industries has a 12 month low of $49.50 and a 12 month high of $76.19.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 27th. Investors of record on Friday, October 13th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 12th. Oxford Industries’s payout ratio is currently 37.37%.
Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its holdings in Oxford Industries by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 1,977 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Oxford Industries by 79.8% in the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,966 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new position in Oxford Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Piedmont Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oxford Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Mason Street Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Oxford Industries by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Mason Street Advisors LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $200,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.55% of the company’s stock.
WARNING: “$245.35 Million in Sales Expected for Oxford Industries, Inc. (OXM) This Quarter” was first reported by American Banking News and is the sole property of of American Banking News. If you are accessing this article on another website, it was copied illegally and reposted in violation of international copyright legislation. The original version of this article can be read at https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2017/10/23/245-35-million-in-sales-expected-for-oxford-industries-inc-oxm-this-quarter.html.
About Oxford Industries
Oxford Industries, Inc is an apparel company. The Company designs, sources, markets and distributes products bearing the trademarks of its owned Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer and Southern Tide lifestyle brands, other owned brands and licensed brands, as well as private label apparel products. It distributes its lifestyle branded products through its direct to consumer channels, consisting of its Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer full-price retail stores and its e-commerce sites for Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer and Southern Tide, and through its wholesale distribution channels.
For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com
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Six out of ten customers use the same password for multiple websites, which could potentially compromise financial data, according to US fraud-detection vendor CSID.
Most passwords contain between 8 and 10 characters, though there are websites that don’t allow for more, according to TechWorld.
“Many businesses don’t fully grasp how consumers’ password habits can impact their security and safety,” Adam Tyler, chief information officer for CSID, told TechWorld.
Consumers can take some steps to protect their financial access online, according to U.S. News.
A strong password is random and combines uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols, according to U.S. News.
Using various passwords for different online accounts reduces the damage caused when one is breached, according to TechWorld.
When possible, make your password longer than 10 characters, according to TechWorld.
Financial institutions never ask you for your password. Be careful about what information you give away online — if it can compromise an online account, don’t share it, according to U.S. News.
Several banks and credit unions offer an extra security layer by providing an extra passcode upon request, according to U.S. News.
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Gifts Get Personal
By: Mark Seavy
Things are getting personal in the gift and specialty category, for both retailers and customers.
While the customization of products is not a new trend, it is one that is taking on added importance in the current retail landscape. That much was clear at the NY Now Show in New York this week as specialty stores worked to stand out from mass retailers that are focused on launching their own exclusive collections and private labels.
The key, many specialty retailers said, is building a community around a store that generates repeat customers for products that are, in many cases, sourced from local artisans. It also means offering services that are only available at an individual location.
The Ann Arbor, MI-based pop culture store Rock Paper Scissors, for example, installed a “banner bar” by partnering with supplier Oxford Pennant to produce personalized felt pennants in six colors. Jaded CBD includes a thank you note with each order of its CBD-based sleep aids and oils. JK Adams promotes its wooden cutting, barbeque, and serving boards in partnership with artist Laura Zindel, using nautical designs that tend to cater to consumers on the East Coast. Moving forward, JK Adams is internally developing boards with themes that will target a number of U.S. regions.
“The purpose behind your brand is important because consumers are becoming conscientious to the point where they care about the story and mission behind the product and who is behind the brand they are supporting,” said Evi Triantafyllides, CEO of children’s book and toy supplier Worldwide Buddies, which recently landed a licensing deal for books and card games inspired by the PBS series Rosie’s Rules.
To underscore that story and mission for consumers—and to create experiences that feel personal to their brand—many specialty retailers are hosting in-store events. At Rock Paper Scissors, for example, there was recently a Taylor Swift-themed event that spawned ideas for tea and book clubs as well as merchandise, store owner Lisa Mattison Roberts said.
“Consumers want something that speaks directly to them, even if it is as simple as buying something with their daughter’s birth stone,” said Jessica Gebauer, founder of Yardley, PA-based Krysset Artisan Boutique, which draws solely from local artisans. “People want things that say where they are from, who they are with, and what they believe. Much of that comes thorough personalization and customization.”
But personalizing and customizing products means more than adding a name. In the case of JK Adams, this strategy accounts for 80% of its business and includes programs with Sur La Table and Crate & Barrell.
Personalization may mean creating a range with a specific style and color palette that a retailer wants to promote, said Tamara Moran, President of Town Pride, which develops town- and corporate-themed merchandise including sweaters and golf shirts. Town Pride recently signed an agreement with Disney and Warner Bros. for corporate apparel and opened its first 1,300-square-foot store in Yarmouth, ME in November. The company also hired Franchise Marketing Systems to expand the concept starting in April.
This focus on personalization doesn’t necessarily mean products are customized for each individual consumers, said Moran. Often, it’s more about creating products and experiences that feel special to customers and are unique to that retailer.
“Every retailer wants something that stands out and is different,” Moran said.


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TAIPEI, Taiwan -- If you were worried that the buzz around personal 3D printing was starting to die down, never fear -- it's alive and well at Computex 2014.
The Taiwanese Industrial Technology Research Institute had its handheld 3D scanner on display at its booth in Hall 3. The compact device uses LED infra-red, is accurate up to 0.2mm and scans at five frames per second.
ITRI was demoing the device using a garden gnome on a rotating platform and the 3D scan was quick and -- to my eye -- extremely accurate.
While I was watching, however, some other Computex attendees approached the ITRI team and asked for a more personal demonstration. While one of the chaps stood still, the booth staff scanned his face.
Again, a very quick and accurate result, although my colleague Aloysius Low was less impressed, declaring that the result resembled a "North Korean propaganda statue".
ITRI also had a desktop 3D scanner. The Institute doesn't actually sell the devices, but it does license out the IP on its research, so we'd expect this tech to make its way into commercial consumer applications soon.
Just across the walkway, 3D printing mob XYZ had its Da Vinci range of personal 3D printers. We saw the Da Vinci 1.0 back at CES -- at under $500 it's a pretty affordable solution for the home.
XYZ also had the Da Vinci 2.0 and 2.1 on the stand. The 2.0 adds a second extruder head for multi-coloured print jobs, upping the price to $649.
The Da Vinci 2.1 goes a step further -- you've still got dual heads, but the printer has built in Wi-Fi and an Android-powered 5-inch touchscreen. This means you can use it as a standalone device, printing from a USB drive or even sending print jobs wirelessly. It's $849 though, which might be edging it out of the average household budget.


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Uniqlo has become the latest company, of more than 300 in total, to pull out of Russia.
In a nutshell
This marks a U-turn by the two Japanese companies who had previously indicated they would remain in the country despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompting many to leave.
Founder of Fast Retailing had previously told Japanese media that the company would continue to operate its 50 Uniqlo shops in Russia. However yesterday, Fast Retailing said: "While continuing our Uniqlo business in Russia, it has become clear to us that we can no longer proceed due to a number of difficulties.
"We condemn all forms of aggression that violate human rights and threaten the peaceful existence of individuals."
Online sales in Russia will also be halted, Fast Retailing said. The company had previously announced that it will donate $10 million and 200,000 items of clothing to aid refugees fleeing Ukraine.
Japan Tobacco, which controls one-third of the country’s tobacco market said it would suspend investment in Russia.
The company said in a statement: “The challenges of operating in Russia at this time are unprecedented.
Japan Tobacco, has four factories and about 4,000 employees in Russia. It has said that manufacturing in Russia will continue for now but could be suspended if the operating environment becomes too difficult.
Mass exodus of multinational companies in Russia
More than 300 companies have already halted or suspended their operations in full or in part in Russia since the country invaded Ukraine on 24 February.


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At least in certain contexts, WhatsApp is a truly major traffic driver — bigger even than Facebook. Should there be a WhatsApp button on your news site?
This article is the first in a series looking at some of the key issues and topics which will feature in our Digital Media Strategies event next March.
One of the ways many publishers are increasingly coming to resemble tech companies is their use of and reliance on data about their users. But like many tech companies, publishers are having to navigate increasing consumer concerns about how and what data is collected and how it is used.
Apple kept a tight lid on everything to do with its first wearable, but now some of the secrets of the Apple Watch have been revealed. Apple has launched WatchKit for developers who want to create apps for the wearable. The detailed software development kit (SDK) hints at several key aspects of the company’s first wearable, including screen sizes, resolutions, and the overall app experience on the Watch.
Publishers are seeking ways to add value to print ads, leveraging on core strength not available to new media competition and search engines. Companies that embrace mobility for their business need to adopt a fully integrated advertising platform against this fast-moving mobile industry to effectively position their companies ahead of competition.
"Whether that’s finding a way to get native advertising into mobile or finding new, creative ways to tell stories in that small space. Consumers are going to mobile. There’s no doubt about it. It has to be our main focus in terms of figuring out how to make the most out of that channel."
INDEPENDENT News & Media have announced the appointment of two pivotal positions in the group.
COMPANIES in Ireland will struggle to survive unless they have a digital platform, industry analysts have warned.
Will digital magazine sales ever offset print decline? The Audit Bureau of Circulations figures for January to June this year are out and the PPA has helpfully compiled a list showing the combined circulations of those magazines that have both print and digital editions.
The iPhone is no longer really a phone.
Amazon doesn't care if you can make a call on its phone. Yes, if the rumors are true, the company has built a phone, which we all expect Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos to unveil on Wednesday. But Amazon doesn't care about helping you keep in touch with friends; it cares about putting its industry-leading online retail store and services in your pocket and your hands almost 24/7.
BlackBerry will not renew T-Mobile US's license to sell BlackBerry phones when it expires on Apr. 25, the company announced in a press release.
Apple’s ‘low cost’ iPhone 5c may finally see a price reduction that may put it at ‘affordable’ even if not quite ‘low cost’ per se. But it won’t be without its trade-offs.
Here's something that's rare lately: Apple is getting an upgrade. Andy Hargreaves at Pacific Crest upgraded Apple to "outperform" from "sector perform" and gave it a $635 price target.
Taking inspiration from the much discussed New York Times Innovation Report's key recommendations, Digital Media Asia 2014 will showcase some of the hottest international trends in digital media. Media executives around the globe with share their best practices and insights on online content monetization, digital advertising, social media, tablet publishing, big data, and other recent digital innovations.
13th Intl. newsroom Summit #NRS14 13 Oct 2014 - 14 Oct 2014 Amsterdam Netherlands
The Audience: The most important networking platform for the global newsmedia industry.
ArabNet Riyadh 2014 is the largest gathering for digital professionals and entrepreneurs in the Kingdom, aiming to highlight the best of Saudi digital innovation, developments and trends.
Asia's Largest Conference on New Media Digital Media Asia 2014 will showcase the hottest international trends in digital media. Media executives around the globe with share their best practices and insights on online content monetization, digital advertising, social media, tablet publishing, big data, and other recent digital innovations.
توقع تقرير جديد أعده خبراء أمنيون من شركة “آي بي إم” IBM، واستنادًا على البيانات التي جُمعت خلال الأشهر الستة الأولى من عام 2014، أن ينخفض عدد الثغرات الأمنية التي يُكشف عنها علنًا إلى ما دون 8,000، وذلك لأول مرة منذ عام 2011.
أعلنت خدمة التخزين السحابي “دروب بوكس” اليوم عن تغيير في خططها التخزينية المدفوعة، حيث ألغت السعات الثلاث التي تقدمها وضمّتها جميعًا في خطة جديدة تقدّم 1 تيرابايت من المساحة التخزينية بسعر 9.99 دولار أمريكي شهريًا.
انطلق على شبكة الإنترنت موقع "الخليج أونلاين"، بوصفه أول موقع إخباري متخصص في الشأن الخليجي برؤية خبرية جديدة، تسعى لتكون بوابة الباحثين عن الخبر الخليجي في مختلف جوانبه؛ السياسية والاقتصادية والرياضية والثقافية.
الوطن Bonus .. خدمة إعلامية جديدة و فريدة تحرر الخبر و الإعلان من قالب النص التقليدي المطبوع فتقدمه للقراء الأعزاء بعناصره السمعية و البصرية وتحلق بالقارئ الى آفاق مفيدة و مثيرة من المعرفة و المتعة.
كارولين فرج أكدت لـ «الشرق الأوسط» أن المرحلة الحالية تتطلب التغيير في تقديم المضمون


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MarketFinance has raised £100 million debt financing from Deutsche Bank to support UK SMEs.
The London FinTech says it will allow companies to access £10,000-£500,000 of growth funding within 24 hours of an application.
The news comes amid data from the Federation of Small Businesses which showed that lending to UK SMEs has hit an all-time low, with just 9% of small firms applying for finance in Q1 2022.
MarketFinance uses smart technology to deliver better access to faster, more affordable payments and finance, including one-to-one personal help.
“Closing a funding deal from a high calibre institution like Deutsche Bank is a huge milestone for our business, and a testament to our lending track record, our technology, and our people,” Marion Delille, VP of capital markets at MarketFinance, said.
“This facility will allow us to continue to deliver on our mission to make finance frictionless for our SMEs.”
Anil Stocker, CEO and co-founder, added: “MarketFinance continues to innovate by serving sole traders and partnerships by embracing the move to embedded finance.
“We’re making our products available via key platforms, helping businesses manage their payments and gain seamless access to finance when they need it most.
“Businesses need funding in the good times and the bad, and we’re right here standing by them.”


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Update (16/12/2019): Korea’s Yonhap News Agency cited a Samsung spokesman who admitted that the company has not actually sold 1 million Galaxy Fold yet. It also seems that Sohn possibly mixed up Samsung’s sales target of 1 million by the end of 2019 with the actual sales figure. Yonhap also cites analyst estimates of between 400,000 and 500,000 Galaxy Fold units are sold this year.
Samsung Galaxy Fold hits its sales to 1 Million units. The South Korean company, Samsung, has revealed that it has achieved its Galaxy fold sales figure to one million. This phone was launched at MWC 2019.
Galaxy Fold was entangled in controversy when the reviewers started facing issues with the display. The delicate foldable display was found breaking by the reviewers. This made Samsung rework on display, and the design of the phone so that it will be less prone to the damages. The phone again re-released in September.
At TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin event, the statistics of the latest sales were announced.
In October, the phone’s sales were 500,000 units. It means the company has managed to make the same amount of sales just in one month.
Young Sohn, President of Samsung Electronics, announced at the event that the company had reached the sales of Samsung Galaxy Fold to 1 Million units.
After the initial hiccups, it is praiseworthy that the phone has reached one million sales and that too at a massive price of $1980.
TechCrunch reported Sohn stating, “I think the point is, we are selling a million of these products. There are a million people who want to use this product at $2,000.”
Samsung has reported that it has already started working on its next Galaxy Foldable device. It is rumored to launch it as early as February 18, 2020, at the Unpacked event in San Francisco. The next generation Galaxy Fold phone is anticipated to have a clamshell design, which will fold and open vertically, and can be priced below $1,000.
Motorola Razr 2019 that was launched last month, has an alike design.


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Laughing Planet sticks to strong script
Franz Spielvogel spends a lot of time on the road, chatting up vendors at the local farmers markets, grilling members of the local food co-op, and watching customers in the prepared foods section of the Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s or other natural grocers.
“If there’s a crowd, that tells us there’s a demand. That there is already an audience for our product,” said Spielvogel, CEO and managing director of Portland’s popular Laughing Planet Cafe.
It’s been nearly a year since Spielvogel, aided by The Meriwether Group, led an employee buyout of Laughing Planet. And he’s celebrating with big expansion plans that are taking Laughing Planet to new markets and new businesses, including catering and real estate investing.
This week, Spielvogel announced the 11-unit chain will open up to six new locations, taking Laughing Planet well beyond its Willamette Valley base.
If the ambitious expansion rings a bell, it’s because it sounds remarkably like the plan Spielvogel described when he bought the business from founder Richard Satnick.
“It has been spot on to plan,” said Bill Nootenboom, managing director of The Meriwether Group and a Laughing Planet board member. “Franz and his team, they know what they’re doing.”
Laughing Planet will open a satellite restaurant in downtown Portland in December and a full-service location in Lake Oswego in May. In 2014, it will also open in new markets in Reno, Salt Lake City, Boise and Bend.
And as the company and its real estate requirements grow, Spielvogel is forming a separate company to acquire properties to lease back to the company. Its first move is to buy property in Salt Lake City. Negotiations are underway.
Wendy Culverwell covers sustainable business, manufacturing and law.
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According to a report by consulting firm Capgemini, consumers want to be as connected in their cars as they are at home and in the office.
Get more details on this latest study of car buyers.
Motorists want their cars to deliver the sort of connected technologies they already have in homes, offices and on smartphones.
Automakers who want to connect with their customers have to make sure they offer the latest in connected car technology, according to a new study.
Buyers don’t want to differentiate between what technology they can access behind the wheel from what they already have in their homes, offices – or on their smartphones, according to a report by consulting firm Capgemini.
That extends to the buying process, the study of 8,000 consumers from eight countries revealed. Buyers are more and more focused on the web when it comes to gathering information on the vehicles they’re likely to buy. And dealers and manufacturers who don’t embrace that – and respond quickly to online shoppers – will likely lose sales.


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Ikea founder Kamprad 'too busy to die'
GENEVA (AFP) - The 86-year-old founder of Swedish furniture giant Ikea revealed he has no plans to retire and rejected any idea of the company going public in an interview published in Switzerland.
"The company will never go to the market," Mr Ingvar Kamprad told the latest edition of Swiss business magazine Bilanz.
"We want to keep strict self-financing."
Named by Swiss media in June as Europe's richest man with an estimated fortune of US$37.5 billion (S$46 billion) including holdings in the family-owned foundation, Lake Geneva resident Kamprad also rubbished recent reports that he intended to step down.


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OutDoor by ISPO 2022 • Trade Show
Munich – June 12-14 2022
Outdoor is an attitude, outdoor is nature, a way of thinking, a key competence for a regenerative economy. As the premier international trade show in its industry, OutDoor by ISPO hosts the world’s most innovative outdoor companies under one roof. Come celebrate what unites us: the outdoor lifestyle.
WTC Utah, in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and the U.S. Small Business Administration, will lead a delegation of Utah’s top outdoor companies to represent the state at this trade show in Germany.
How it works
Utah outdoor companies can apply to participate through March 15, 2022.
Eligible companies can apply for STEP Grant funding to help cover travel costs.
WTC Utah provides a booth for Utah companies to exhibit at the show.
Outdoor companies who travel to ISPO have the opportunity to showcase their products to international buyers and expand their global footprint.
If you are interested in representing the state at OutDoor by ISPO, contact Jake Glenn, the Director of Trade Shows and Trade Missions for World Trade Center Utah, at email@example.com by March 15, 2022.
STEP is funded in part through a grant with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
The State of Utah international program was developed and executed by many of World Trade Center Utah’s partners on Team Utah, including the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, U.S. Small Business Administration, and the U.S. Commercial Service.


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Latitude59, Europe’s premier startup and tech event, is hosting its first ever high-level event on African soil with the Latitude59 Kenya Edition taking place in Nairobi on 6 December 2023.
This annual one-day event, which has been running for 11 years since its inception in Estonia in 2011, brings together players from across the entire digital and startup ecosystem to engage in knowledge- sharing and best practice conversations, and to unpack and explore solutions to those challenges facing the digital startup community, especially on the African continent.
Internationally, Latitude59 has been widely hailed as a catalyst for digital innovation across the European startup space that has catapulted a few startups onto a global stage.
Liisi Org, CEO of Latitude59, says the mission of the Latitude59 event is essentially to create a better world through technology and innovation.
“Since the first event back in 2011, we have experienced an explosion of energy and massive growth in the global digital startup space, with Africa being no exception,” Org says.
The Kenyan startup scene is considered one of the fastest growing and most evolved ecosystems on the African continent.
Kenya is seen as a mobile-first society, with a young, connected and digitally savvy population that is eager to help drive economic prosperity and societal change within their communities, and across the nation.
Org believes that whilst the main issues facing the digital and startup community in Africa vastly differ from those of its European counterparts, the underlying principles remain the same.
“The golden thread that connects us all is the search for creative solutions to address economic, environmental, and societal challenges. We’ve seen how digital integration and innovation creates jobs, empowers individuals, and connects previously marginalised societies with the wider global markets.
“With this move into Africa, and Kenya specifically, the Latitude59 event creates a platform which connects the Estonian and Kenyan startup ecosystems. We want to pave the way for open dialogue and knowledge and experience sharing to foster valuable relationships between all stakeholders,” Org says.
Latitute59 extends an invitation to stakeholders from across the entire African digital and startup ecosystem to attend this high-performance networking event.
“We invite all interested parties to register to attend the Latitude59 Kenya Edition, meet up with global startup founders, early-stage and established startups, and of course investors and fund managers and everyone else keen to explore the massive opportunities and mutual learnings to be gained from being part of the Latitude59 digital global village,” Org says.
The programme features top innovators and speakers from the international and African tech and startup communities on pertinent issues facing Kenya’s current ecosystem such as access to finance, digitalisation, sustainability and logistics and collaboration.
Latitute59 Pitch Competition and prize money
One of the highlights of the Latitude59 Kenya edition event will be a startup pitch competition, which presents the winning pitch with the chance to win an investment of €100,000 as well as a spot in the Startup Wise Guys accelerator program.
The Latitude59 Kenya Edition winners will also move on to compete in the main event pitching competition during the Latitude59 event taking place in Estonia in May 2024.
During the Latitude59 Spring 2023 event in Estonia in May, the top three winning startups received a combined total of €1,3.m in prize money. Incidentally, following the successful outcome of its participation at the Latitude59 event, one of these winning startups has just announced the completion of a pre-seed round of €755 000.
Petra Wolkenstein, General Partner of Estonia’s Startup Wise Guys Africa fund, says it is essential to create opportunities for startups to connect and build relationships with trusted partners to help ensure sustainable implementation and acceleration of their businesses. “We are excited to cooperate with Latitude59 in Kenya to provide startups a stage to share their vision and showcase their success,” Wolkenstein says.
Startup Wise Guys are calling all early-stage startup founders from the East African region to submit their applications for the pitch competition by no later than Saturday, 25 November.
The Latitude59 Kenya Edition would not have been possible without the support from the event partners.
One of the Latitude59’s prime project partners for this first African event, Admirals, is the Estonian-based global online trading and investment platform that has been active in the African market for a few years were core contributors to bringing the Latitude59 Kenya edition to life.
Elaborating on Admirals’ support for this first-of-its-kind event in Kenya, Boriss Gubaidulin, Admirals Director for the African region, says Estonia’s economic and trade relations with African countries are intensifying, with a growing mutual interest in exploring avenues of cooperation.
“We have witnessed an increased intent and commitment to drive innovation from both private and government level. This is evident from several supporting innovation and research policies currently being drafted and implemented. In Kenya specifically, initiatives aimed at innovators, researchers, and startups are being rolled out to fast-track innovation and digital transformation,” he says.
“This bodes well for the future of Kenya as Africa’s leading tech nation. The Latitude59 event hopes to build on this momentum and will lay the foundation for the bridge to connect our global startup ecosystems,” Gubaidulin concludes.
Gubaidulin will also be participating in the panel discussion on “Bridging the Gap in Financial Inclusion” along with other industry experts, who are expected to delve into the transformative role of digital finance in fostering greater financial inclusivity across the African continent. Entrepreneurs, investors, and anyone passionate about the future of finance will find this a prime opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of how technology can drive meaningful change and empower individuals economically. Don’t miss out on this chance to be part of the conversation shaping the future of financial inclusion in Africa.
Latitude59 takes place on Wednesday, 6 December 2023, at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.


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Tropical Nights is the theme of the ninth annual Kiwanis dinner and auction on Saturday, June 18 at the Mazatzal Casino.
The $40 tickets include a chance to win $250 and a dinner choice of prime rib or chicken. Dinner will be followed by an auction.
"Every dime goes directly back to Payson youth," said Kiwanis President Lucinda Campbell. "We support over 30 projects including accelerated reading in the schools. We give a minimum of $10,000 in scholarships to teens going onto college."
Attendees will be given leis and the opportunity to bid on items such as a three-tier diamond necklace, a set of luggage and an auto package.
If the dinner and auction aren't enough to put the event on your social calendar, club members are selling raffle tickets for two vacation packages. You do not have to be present to win. Raffle winners could find themselves lounging at Marriot's Newport Beach Coast Villa for a week or heading to Playa Del Costa Sur in Puerto Vallarta Mexico for a week's stay. The winner of the Puerto Vallarta auction also gets $500 cash. Ten dollars buys one chance to win; $20 earns you three chances to win.
Tropical Nights and raffle tickets can be purchased from any member of the Kiwanis. Donations are still being taken for regular auction and silent auction items. For tickets or donations, call (928) 474-6607, (928) 474-6430 or (928) 474-7757.


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Li & Fung 2015 Turnover Declines Amid Deflationary Market
Leading firm Li & Fung reported its full year results Thursday and turnover took a hit thanks in part to China’s challenging market and disruption at retail.
The deflationary environment coupled with currency depreciation helped send total turnover at the Hong Kong-based company down 2.4% to $18.8 billion and turnover in trading dipped 2.8%. The logistics business was the year’s bright side, sustaining 6.7% growth.
“2015 was a challenging year,” Li & Fung Group CEO Spencer Fung, said. “Our major markets in US, Europe and Asia all experienced strong headwinds.
However, our business foundation remains solid and our turnover was resilient. There was an increase in trading unit volume and continued growth with our core customers. Our logistics business continued to be high-growth despite economic challenges across Asia and in the global freight market.”
Operating costs in 2015 were flat despite infrastructure, logistics and vendor support investments and operating profit fell 15.2% to $512 million.
Earnings per share were 39.1 HK cents ($0.054), down from 41.1 HK cents ($0.0529) in 2014. “The retail industry is facing unprecedented changes,”
Li & Fung Group chairman William Fung, said. “Brands and retailers are challenged globally, to meet evolving consumer expectations against the backdrop of weak macroeconomic conditions.”
Spencer Fung added, “The changes happening at retail are impacting everyone along the value chain. Our customers are looking to us to help them navigate these changes with innovative products and increased speed to market across all available consumer buying channels, especially mobile and e-commerce.”
Last year, Li & Fung said it focused more on core customers and product innovation, namely in sweaters, furniture and beauty, to help customers differentiate product offerings and to increase margins.
“Along the supply chain, these changes at retail are having enormous impact,” William Fung said. “Vendors and factories globally need help to increase speed to market, improve margins and produce unique products for changing and demanding consumers. Vendor Support Services is helping factories gain operational.
“Along the supply chain, these changes at retail are having enormous impact,” William Fung said. “Vendors and factories globally need help to increase speed to market, improve margins and produce unique products for changing and demanding consumers. Vendor Support Services is helping factories gain operational efficiencies and migrate production geographically while the retail industry is in flux.”And according to Spencer Fung,2016 wont likely shape up to be a whole lot. Butter than the year before it .
”All indications so far point to a challenging 2016 for both retail and the worlds economy,”Spencer Fung said.Increasing our market share and growing with our customers remains a key priority.”
The company said it has aligned its teams to focus on core customers and key product verticals, simplified its structure to improve speed and flexibility and key product verticals, simplified its structure to improve speed and flexibility and introduced technology and innovation to fuel product development and operational efficiency.”We are building a long-term sustainable business for the future,With a solid foundation,” he added .”I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.


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The January news about the proposal of the Central Bank to ban the production, exchange and circulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia did not go unnoticed by the public. Several online ad services reported an increase in the number of people willing to get rid of mining equipment and a decrease in those interested in buying it.
According to the RBC publication, citing information from one of its sources, in January the number of ads for the sale of video cards increased by 12% compared to December 2021, but the number of people interested in them decreased by 4%. At the same time, the average offer amount decreased by 8% – to about 24,000 rubles. So, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660, GTX 960 GTX 970 video cards began to appear on the secondary market 14%, 6% and 5% more often, but demand for them fell by 10%, 9% and 21%, respectively.
In January, the number of announcements for the sale of ready-made mining farms increased by 18%, while those interested in buying them decreased by 9% compared to the previous month. In addition, during the week after the announcement of the Central Bank, demand fell by 15% compared to the week before. The average price of a mining farm on ad sites in January was 555,450 rubles. The number of offers for the sale of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) increased by 17% at an average price of 241,830 rubles, while demand decreased by 27%.
A representative of the press service of VKontakte Announcements and Yula reported a similar situation on the mining equipment market. However, it is reported that compared to December 2020, there is a 1.5-fold increase in demand for mining equipment: 46% more often they began to look for video cards. Ozon also announced a 51% increase in sales of mining products in January compared to the previous month.


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We may be finished with new gadget launches for 2014, but there’s plenty to look forward to next year.
Here’s a look at the biggest tech launches we’re expecting to see in 2015.
The Apple Watch will be Apple’s first new product category under CEO Tim Cook. While the company introduced the watch in September, we only got a limited look at all its features. Apple is still working on the device, so expect to get more details when it launches in early 2015.
Microsoft gave the world a small preview of the next version of Windows, Windows 10, this fall.
Windows 10 is designed to work on all devices including smartphones, laptops, desktops, and the Xbox. It can also change its interface depending on what kind of device you’re using thanks to a feature called Continuum.
It’s still in the early stages, but Windows 10 will launch before the end of 2015.
Samsung’s next flagship phone, the Galaxy S6, will likely launch in early 2015.
Details are scarce, but some early rumors suggest this will be the biggest upgrade yet to Samsung’s Galaxy phone. Supposedly, Samsung has given the Galaxy S6 the codename “Zero” because it’s designing the phone from the ground up.
Read more at ENTREPRENEUR


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London Outperforms New York, Hong Kong
UNITED KINGDOM – The latest quarterly Global Cities Survey published by London Property Alliance (LPA) in partnership with think tank Centre for London showed that London had surpassed its rival financial hubs New York and Hong Kong in terms of economic output, office space demand, and growth of employment, reported OnLondon on Wednesday evening (16 March, SGT).
For instance, London’s commercial real estate market, which is considered as a vital economic barometer, saw selling prices of office space in West End increase to levels higher than before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, although that’s not the case for the City of London.
Moreover, the vacancy level of office properties in Central London declined in H2 2021 and it’s currently hovering at less than 8 percent versus Manhattan’s 20 percent. However, the capital’s “return to the office” seems to have slowed down in February, based on office visits statistics. By that measure, London is ranked 4th out of the 5 cities surveyed.
In Q4 2021, it was reckoned London’s gross domestic project (GDP) increased by more than 1 percent compared to Hong Kong, which saw a sharp decline in economic output of 8 percent.
London’s unemployment rate also marginally dropped from 5.6 percent to 5.2 percent, despite the termination of the furlough scheme in September 2021. This compares favourably with the unemployment rate drop in New York, whose government didn’t implement a furlough scheme.
London “seems to have demonstrated a smoother transition from pandemic to endemic” but stressed that the full impact of changes in travel, working and shopping habits remains unclear and the Ukraine crisis is now a complicating factor, “with falls in consumer and investor confidence likely to send some economic gains into reverse,” said Alexander Jan, co-author of the survey and Chief Economic Adviser at LPA.


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Network and cloud integrator Colt has booked a slight decline in sales at the end of its financial 2011, with strong growth in nascent managed services sales not yet enough to offset declines on voice.
Total sales at Colt were down 1.9% to €1.55bn (£1.31bn), while operating profit before tax and exceptional items fell 6.6% to €72m. Post tax profit decreased by 38.5%, excluding restructuring charges booked in fiscal 2010.
Managed services sales were up 7.9% to €186.2m, while data sales were flat at €805.1m. Voice continued its long-term decline, down 7.7% to €563m, Colt revealed this morning.
In spite of a lacklustre performance on the revenue front, CEO Rakesh Bhasin hailed Colt's progress in its restructuring programme, and vowed the firm would regain its swagger in 2012.
"We are Europe's leading information delivery platform and the hard work by our team in 2011 lays a strong foundation to return to revenue growth," he said.


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A disgruntled fishkeeper has been accused of killing more than 350 marine fish and invertebrates at an aquatic retail outlet in Florida.
According to the Miami Herald, a 27-year old man was arrested last week and charged with animal cruelty for alledgedly tipping chlorine powder into a reef tank at Exotic Aquatics in Florida.
The customer is thought to have become upset when he was not allowed to bring the fish he had purchased the day before back to the shop for an exchange.
Staff noticed that the reef tank had gone cloudy shortly after he left and could smell chlorine. The fihs and inverts began to die shortly afterwards.


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Company: Obama for America
Contact: Scott Goodstein, External Online Director for Obama for America
Annual revenue: Confidential
Number of employees: Confidential
Mobile marketing offers a sense of immediacy and intimacy that few other media can. Such timely connection is what the Obama for America Presidential campaign leveraged to establish deeper relationships with supporters, provide them with breaking news, and motivate them to become active contributors and promoters.
A first in American politics, it was likely the first mobile campaign to be launched on such a massive scale. And it proved an effective device for organizing and getting out the vote, thanks in large part to a targeted approach that turned a nationwide program into localized operations.
This study shows how the Obama for America campaign was able to establish an opt-in list of more than 2.9 million Americans and provide them with the tools and inspiration to get directly involved in the campaign.
The Obama for America Presidential campaign was already well underway when it decided to engage in mobile marketing, because it couldn't ignore the channel's growing popularity.
"Over 80% of people have a mobile device according to the cellular communications industry," said Scott Goodstein, External Online Director for the Obama for America campaign. "That is critical mass."
Take the first step (it's free).
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Ah, the official announcement is finally here. After being recently rumoured and then rated, Okami HD has been confirmed by Capcom for a PlayStation 4 release. According to the latest issue of Japanese publication Weekly Famitsu, it's hitting the Land of the Rising Sun just before Christmas, on the 21st December, and it'll support 4K resolution. Oh, and those little loading screen minigames will be returning.
Unfortunately, we don't have any Western release dates yet, but we're sure it won't be long before Capcom gives us something to work with. It's also worth mentioning that the PS4 version is getting a physical edition in Japan, so we suppose there's some hope of a retail release in North America and Europe.
We'll keep you in the loop as far as Western dates go.


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Despite the future of Hadoop looking rosy for the three main distributors –Hortonworks, Cloudera and MapR – there is a common issue with new technologies in any field, one that all three vendors have to...
McDonald's makes its largest acquisition of the past 20 years - with a decision-support technology company
Legislators ignore protests, experts and activists to sign directive - including Articles 11 and 13 - into law
Ocado Smart Platform to go live in Australia's Coles in the next four years, with warehouses in Sydney and Melbourne
Apple launches Apple News+, Apple Arcade and new Apple TV subscription services alongside a credit card to pay for them
Open wide: Apple plans new services to cash-in on its customers


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The so-called alternative accommodations market suddenly isn’t so alternative. It’s big business.
Stephenson, who has worked at Amazon for 17 years, was most recently vice president and CFO of Amazon's worldwide consumer organization
SoftBank-backed OYO has approached homeowners and will help them create 'mini hotel rooms', which could be rented out to guests.
Goibibo is also unveiling its new marketing campaign, with Deepika Padukone as its brand ambassador. The site will have about 3,000 listings at the time of launch.


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announced a fourth-quarter loss of 14 cents a share, 4 cents narrower than the 21-analyst view but deeper than the year-ago loss of 8 cents. The company attributed the loss to an aggressive marketing effort.
As expected, Amazon said it had fourth-quarter sales of $253 million, including $33.1 million in music sales. Although sales benefited from the usual holiday-season boost, the company said it expects to see sequential growth in the first quarter.
reported on Amazon's results in a
story this evening.
Elsewhere in Internet earnings,
reportedly surged to 238 after hours from its close of 220 7/8 after reporting fourth-quarter earnings of 7 cents a share, 3 cents ahead of the nine-analyst
outlook and up from the year-ago 1 cent. The online auctioneer also set a 3-for-1 stock split. eBay said it hosted 13.6 million auctions in the fourth quarter, up from 9.2 million in the third quarter, and had 2.1 million registered users at the end of December, up from 1.2 million at the end of September.
Just before the close,
agreed to acquire
in a stock deal valued at $2.1 billion. Warner-Lambert said the deal would not be dilutive but also would not be immediately additive to earnings. WLA continues to expect 1999 year-over-year earnings growth of 30%. Agouron's headquarters will remain in California (Warner-Lambert is based in New Jersey), and no job cuts are planned.
In other postclose news (earnings estimates from First Call; earnings reported on a diluted basis unless otherwise specified):
Earnings/revenue reports and previews
recorded first-quarter earnings of 73 cents a share, 1 cent ahead of the nine-analyst view and above the year-ago 60 cents. The company also said it set a 2-for-1 stock split and filed to offer 6 million shares.
reported fourth-quarter earnings of 26 cents a share, 8 cents better than the eight-analyst expectation and up from the year-ago 6 cents. The company also set a 2-for-1 stock split.
reported fourth-quarter earnings of 16 cents a share, beating the six-analyst estimate by 8 cents but falling below the year-ago 29 cents. The company also said it will sell its reseller and retail operations in the U.S.
reported second-quarter earnings of 16 cents a share, on target with the two-analyst outlook and above the year-ago 15 cents. But the company warned that third- and fourth-quarter results will fall below expectations because profit pressures experienced as the company pursues increased market share. Analysts called for third-quarter earnings of 18 cents, vs. the year-ago 12 cents, and fourth-quarter earnings of 23 cents, vs. the year-ago 15 cents.
said it expects to report fourth-quarter earnings of 25 cents to 28 cents a share, below the 10-analyst outlook of 34 cents. The company, which earned 24 cents in the year-ago period, cited severe weather in the Midwest and Southeast.
posted fourth-quarter earnings of 36 cents a share, in line with the four-analyst prediction and ahead of the year-ago 33 cents. But the company said it expects first-quarter earnings to fall from fourth-quarter levels and then improving during the second quarter once shipments of new products begin. Analysts call for 37 cents in the first quarter compared with the year-earlier 31 cents.
said its plan to eliminate a gain-on-sale method of accounting on certain securitizations will lower its 1999 earnings by 8 cents to 12 cents a share. The 27-analyst forecast called for $4.29 vs. the year-ago $3.77.
reported second-quarter earnings of 86 cents per share, before charges, in-line with the eight-analyst consensus and up from 84 cents a year ago. However, the company forecast third-quarter earnings of 70 cents per share and fourth-quarter results of $1.15; the current estimates are $1.01 and $1.16, respectively.
said it expects to record a first-quarter charge of $85 million as a result of the Brazilian currency devaluation.
said it sees break-even fourth-quarter results due to a slowdown in its photo and printing and publishing units. The four-analyst estimate called for 18 cents a share vs. the year-ago 2 cents.
reported a fourth-quarter loss of 30 cents a share, 10 cents better than the five-analyst forecast but down from the year-ago profit of 2 cents. The company said it sees its operating loss narrowing in the first quarter and expects a return to profitability in subsequent quarters if unit volume improves. The two-analyst first-quarter estimate calls for a loss of 17 cents vs. the year-earlier loss of $1.10.
reported fourth-quarter earnings of 28 cents a share, excluding a gain and a charge. The single-analyst forecast called for 35 cents vs. the year-ago 43 cents.
posted fourth-quarter net earnings of $1.26 a share, including a 65-cent gain. The five-analyst forecast called for operating earnings of 89 cents vs. the year-ago 80 cents.
posted a fourth-quarter writedown of $49 million, blaming weak natural gas prices.
posted a first-quarter loss of 14 cents per share, 2 cents better than the three-analyst consensus and up from a loss of 11 cents a year ago. However, the company said its second-quarter sales will be below expectations.
said it expects to report fourth-quarter earnings of 8 cents to 10 cents a share, below the three-analyst call for 22 cents and the year-ago 14 cents. The company blamed charges, inventory adjustments, lower sales and a poor sales mix.
reported fourth-quarter earnings of 64 cents per share down from 77 cents a year ago but a nickel better than the five-analyst consensus. The company forecast a "modest increase" in its first-quarter earnings as it expects sales to be "flat or slightly down"; the five-analyst consensus for the first-quarter earnings is 17 cents.
reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.09 a share, a penny better than the eight-analyst estimate and higher than the year-ago 85 cents. But the home appliance maker said its first-quarter results could be hurt by the Brazilian currency devaluation. A two-analyst outlook calls for $1.01 vs. the year-ago 90 cents.
In other earnings news:
Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures
agreed to sell all of the operations of its Brownsville and McAllen, Texas, wireless markets to
for $95 million in cash.
Illinois Tool Works
said its tender offer for
has received early termination of the
antitrust waiting period.
said the exchange ratio for its proposed merger with
Arterial Vascular Engineering
has been set at 0.77 of a MDT share for each AVEI share.
Offerings and stock actions
announced a 2-for-1 stock split and a 15% dividend increase.
set a 3-for-2 stock split.
set a buyback of up to 8 million common shares.


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- Dongfeng Yueda Kia enters ranks of the top ten automakers in China
- 36,508 TianLiMas sold in the first half of 2004 (+67.6% over last year), taking more than a 10% share of China’s compact car market
(SEOUL) July 20, 2004 - Kia Motors today announced that TianLiMa, the company’s first compact passenger car made specifically for the China market with its joint venture partner Dongfeng Yueda Kia Motors, has captured 10.1 percent of the country’s compact car market according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Sales of the TianLiMa reached 36,508 units in the first six months of this year (an increase of 67.6 percent over the same period last year), making it the best-selling car among the 23 vehicles in the 1,300cc-1,600cc class of 2004 in the world’s fastest-growing auto market. Dongfeng Yueda Kia Motors also entered the top 10 in sales among the 40 Chinese automakers during the first half.
Kia Motors Senior Executive Vice President and COO Yong-Hwan Kim had this to say about the accomplishment: “TianLiMa’s impressive success in this dynamic market of the future is an affirmation of our global strategy of producing locally and thinking globally. We have high expectations for China, and with the addition of the new 100,000 unit capacity facility in Jiangsu Province, we will have the ability to meet rising consumer demand for Kia through increased production volumes.”
Last week, Kia commenced China sales of its Carnival minivan, which is being produced on a knock-down basis in Yancheng city, Jiangsu Province. Kia plans to sell 80,000 units of the TianLiMa and Carnival in China this year, up 56.8 percent from last year’s sales.
Founded in 1944 and now celebrating its 60th anniversary, Kia Motors Corporation (www.kiamotors.com) is Korea’s oldest manufacturer of automobiles. As part of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Kia is among the world’s fastest growing automobile companies and aims to be a top five global automaker by 2010. Kia’s 15 manufacturing and assembly operations in 12 countries make more than a million vehicles a year that are sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 190 countries. Kia today has 30,000 employees and annual revenues of $12 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and an international sponsor of the Davis Cup.


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INDIA: Diageo move for United Spirits safe, despite pledged share sale
Diageo's deal with The UB Group to take control of United Spirits should proceed despite yesterday's bump
Vijay Mallya, who heads up UB and holds around 27% of United Spirits (USL), was told yesterday (2 April) by the Bombay High Court that he must provide a personal guarantee of INR5bn (US$91.9m) to obtain a four-week protection period against lenders hoping to sell a portion of pledged shares in the unit. However, this was followed late yesterday by news that the court had rejected outright a plea by Mallya's United Breweries Holding (UBHL) to stop the divestment of pledged shares to creditors that comprise 17 banks led by the State Bank of India.
The creditors subsequently have started selling their shares in USL as they look to recoup funds lent to UBHL to prop up its Kingfisher airlines business. The troubled airline has lost its aviation licence, has not flown since October and owes around $2.5bn to banks, staff, airports and oil companies.
The share sale prompted reports that Mallya may struggle to keep hold of enough shares to sell to Diageo as part of the deal announced last year. Diageo is set to take a 27.4% share of USL - effectively all of Mallya's stake - before launching a mandatory tender offer to minority shareholders, representing another 26% of the company.
While Diageo will start the public offer next week, just-drinks understands that it has not yet completed the purchase of Mallya's shares in USL.
“The Diageo deal is intact,” a source close to the issue told just-drinks earlier today. “The banks can sell up to 1.8% of the USL shares pledged directly towards airline loan. Diageo … can sew up the deal without the shares pledged for Kingfisher loans.”
Local reports have also said that, while UBHL had pledged a total of 35.2m shares of USL with various entities, the consortium of banks led by SBI only holds 2.6m shares as collateral.
Separately, Diageo has confirmed to just-drinks today that it has “received all the regulatory approvals required” for the mandatory tender offer. A spokesperson said it expects "no further comments" from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Since the great recession of 2008/2009 Diageo has transformed itself, primarily through acquisition, from being overly focused on mature markets to a more balanced geographic split and if, as seems li...
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More signs that Apple is doing well in Japan.
The iPod is proving a colossal hit on the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant’s own turf. The tiny white machine is catching on as a fashion statement and turning into a cultural icon in Japan, much the same way it won a fanatic following in the United States.
And then some news on the iTunes Music Store coming to Japan.
Apple will offer the Japanese equivalent of iTunes within the next year, with prices comparable to the 99 cents a tune it charges in the United States, Apple vice president Yoshiaki Sakito, a former Sony employee, said in an interview at Apple’s Tokyo headquarters. That’s almost certain to change the music download industry in Japan by winning over those who now opt for cheaper CD rentals they can record onto MDs at home. Commercial downloads cost about $2.30 a tune in Japan.
The full AP article can be read here.


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ITMA + CITME boast huge showcase from 17 textile sectors
31 May '12
2 min read
Some 1,300 exhibitors from 28 countries are gearing up to showcase their latest technology at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2012 as the countdown for the third combined show begins.
The five-day exhibition will open on 12 June at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC). It is expected to draw strong response from Asian buyers, especially Chinese visitors from major textile-making hubs in the country.
“In today's challenging business landscape, there is always demand for cost-effective solutions. Asian industry players, like their counterparts from other areas of the world, are looking at a greater return on their investment, and they will be able to find everything they need among the comprehensive range of products on show at our forthcoming event” said Miss Maria Avery, Secretary General of the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers (CEMATEX).
ITMA ASIA + CITME 2012 boasts a huge showcase of exhibits displayed over 17 sectors, ranging from spinning, nonwovens, weaving and knitting, to finishing, testing, handling and packing. The three largest product groups are spinning, dyeing/printing/finishing and weaving.
Exhibits will be on show over 132,000 square metres of gross exhibition space. This represents an increase of 30 per cent over the size of the previous show in 2010.
CEMATEX is the owner of the combined show, together with its Chinese partners – the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT (CCPIT-Tex), China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA) and China International Exhibition Centre Group Corporation (CIEC).
The event is organised by Beijing Textile Machinery International Exhibition Co Ltd and co-organised by MP International Pte Ltd. The Japan Textile Machinery Association (JTMA) is a special partner association of the show.


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Follow Your Heart dips into pancake batter17 Mar 2021
Trailblazing vegan brand Follow Your Heart has entered a new category with the launch of its Rocket Cakes bottled pancake batter mix. The mix is a refrigerated batter made from corn, white rice and millet flours and is gluten-free, soy-free and non-GMO and can be used for either pancakes or waffles.
This new product announcement comes shortly after French dairy conglomerate Danone acquired the Los Angeles-based vegan dairy maker, Follow Your Heart, in order to expand its plant-based portfolio.
Rocket Cakes is yet another addition to the growing roster of vegan brands that Follow Your Heart has pioneered. In addition to its Vegenaise, the longtime vegan brand boasts plant-based cheeses, plant-based dressings and VeganEgg as part of its product lineup. However, this foray into the baking aisle is an entirely new adventure for Follow Your Heart. In order to successfully accomplish the debut of this new product line, the brand did not develop this product in isolation. Instead, the vegan cooking business Spork Foods helped develop Rocket Cakes alongside Follow Your Heart.
The research and development for this product took five years for a recipe that would produce fluffy, better-for-you pancakes with the ability to entice consumers to consume breakfast more frequently. While an appealing product is instrumental in increasing sales, the launch of this batter also coincides with an uptick in at-home breakfast consumption.
During the pandemic, lockdowns forced many more people to remain home for the most important meal of the day, which led to a larger demand for breakfast foods, including a 25% increase in pancake consumption and a 20% jump in waffle consumption last year, according to GlobalData. With an elevated number of consumers enjoying breakfast and 71% of people saying they intend to continue to cook at home even after the pandemic ends, according to a January survey by consumer market research firm Hunter, Rocket Cakes are landing at an opportune time.
Animal-free dairy cheese appeals to over half of global consumers
20 Jul 2021
Globally, 70.5% of consumers said they would be willing to buy cheese made with dairy proteins that don’t come from animals, according to a new survey from the precision fermentation company Formo and the University of Bath published in the journal Fro...Read more
Provenance Bio's plant-based gelatin beats animal based options on price
12 Jul 2021
To answer the growing demand for animal-free collagen, San Francisco-based startup Provenance Bio, unveiled its first animal-free gelatin product made with its proprietary protein expression platform. The company said that the proteins it produces for ...Read more
PepsiCo doubles down on nonalcoholic cocktail mixers with Unmuddled
8 Jul 2021
Legacy soda manufacturer PepsiCo is moving deeper into the non-alcoholic cocktail space with the announcement that it will debut a line of premium mixers called Unmuddled. The product line will be available beginning in September at Fresh Thyme and on ...Read more
The Protein Brewery inaugurates pilot plant, begins producing Fermotein
2 Jul 2021
The Protein Brewery, a microbial fermentation startup from the Netherlands, announced that it has both completed the construction of its first commercial production plant in Breda, Netherlands and that it has delivered the inaugural samples of its food...Read more
Imagindairy ferments casein and whey, expects launch in two years
1 Jul 2021
Israeli startup Imagindairy is aiming to take cows out of the dairy equation entirely with its animal-free casein and whey proteins that it has developed over the course of 15 years of research. The company says that its proprietary fermentation techno...Read more
OmniFoods splashes into seafood with new launch
23 Jun 2021
Asia’s plant-based protein titan OmniFoods is now stretching its portfolio to hook more customers with the launch of its first seafood analogs. The company will expand from land-based protein to sea-based protein with its new OmniSeafood line where it ...Read more
Chromologics addresses natural colors challenges with precision fermentation
18 Jun 2021
Danish food coloring technology company, Chromologics is developing a platform to address the lack of variety in the high-performance, animal-free, sustainable food colorings market. Its first foray into the space is with the color red, and the company...Read more
Akua launches burger made from regenerative kelp
14 Jun 2021
In a bid to take a slice of the plant-based burger market, New York-based Akua launched a burger made from kelp. This ocean-farmed seaweed burger also contains crimini mushrooms, pea protein, black beans, quinoa, and crushed tomatoes.Read more
Icelandic Provisions dips into oat milk with new skyr product
11 Jun 2021
American dairy company Icelandic Provisions launched its first plant-based product, Oatmilk Skyr. When the product rolls out across the U.S. at Whole Foods Market locations, the company says that it will become the first oat milk skyr on the market.Read more
Unilever adds mycoprotein to its portfolio through partnership
7 Jun 2021
Multinational Unilever has partnered with food tech company Enough to incorporate the startup’s mycoprotein Abunda into its plant-based products portfolio. Enough’s mycoprotein is made using fermentation to create a biomass that the company says uses a...Read more
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New Mac Pro, Pro Display, and Pro iMacs
Apple held an on-the-record discussion with several technology journalists in which they announced that they’d be launching a completely redesigned Mac Pro, a Pro display, and Pro iMacs. What I found interesting about this discussion was that none of these products are ready to be shown. Apple doesn’t announce the release of products that are still in development.
It has to be asked, though: what choice did they have?
The Current Mac Pro
The current Mac Pro has been criminally neglected: no updates whatsoever since its release in 2013. Today, though, Apple are making minor tweaks to the configuration. Phil Schiller, transcribed at Daring Fireball:
In the meantime, we’re going to update the configs to make it faster and better for their dollar. This is not a new model, not a new design, we’re just going to update the configs. We’re doing that this week. We can give you the specifics on that.
The CPUs, we’re moving them down the line. The GPUs, down the line, to get more performance per dollar for customers who DO need to continue to buy them on the interim until we get to a newly architected system.
This is a welcome move, but it strikes me as a bit cheap. I feel as though the price should have been dropped a little as well — it’s also been the same since launch.
Apple also admitted to the shortcomings of the current Mac Pro design. John Paczkowski, at Buzzfeed:
“We designed ourselves into a bit of a corner,” Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of software engineering said of the current Mac Pro’s unique arrangement of pro computer innards around a triangular heat sink inside a cylindrical chassis. “We wanted to do something bold and different. What we didn’t appreciate completely at the time was how we had so tailored that design to a specific vision that in the future we would find ourselves a bit boxed in — into a circular shape.”
All the right words…
The Next Generation Mac Pro
- with regular upgrades; and,
- released in 2018 (I assume)
Also coming with the new Mac Pro is a new Pro Display. Not much else is known it would seem.
Here’s a thought to ponder: are the LG UltraFine displays currently on sale nothing more than expensive stopgaps?
The final tidbit from this discussion: the iMac will get an upgrade this year and it will be aimed at the pro customer.
My late-2013 iMac is beginning to show its age so I have a keen interest in what this upgrade will entail.


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Honda India obtains a patent for the NT1100 tourer, launch is expected in 20231 min read
Honda has just registered a patent for its NT1100 sports tourer for the Indian market. The NT1100 tourer is based on the successful CRF1000L Africa Twin motorbike on the international market.
This touring machine’s major attractions are its long-travel suspension, DCT automatic transmission, and a variety of electronic safety devices and features.
While the filing of the patent does not ensure a launch, odds are that this touring model will be released in the market, especially given that the Africa Twin is currently on the market.
The motorbike is powered by a 1,084-cc parallel-twin engine. This engine is rated to produce 102hp of maximum power at 7,500rpm and 104Nm of peak torque at 6,250rpm. may be ordered with either a 6-speed DCT or a 6-speed manual transmission, as well as an optional quick shifter
The Honda NT1100 is priced globally at £11,999 for the manual and £12,999 for the DCT. According to current exchange rates, this translates to 12.20 lakh and 13.22 lakh, respectively. It is somewhat less expensive than Honda’s adventure touring motorbike at this pricing.


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Coffee drinkers indulge in caffeine primarily to get the adrenaline shot they need to last through an energy-demanding day. Others drink coffee in keeping with the fad of sipping the brew from paper tumblers and hanging out in a boutique cafe.
Meanwhile, some wise guys have added a reason to start the day with a caffeine shot, after showing through TikTok videos, challenging the overweight to drink coffee mixed with lemon juice every day for one month. The videos went viral as the dare gave waistline-conscious men and women hope to lose unwanted kilos in a simple way.
Some who tried the technique claimed that it worked. To others, however, it did not. Dieticians debunked the pseudo-science behind the lemon-coffee dieting, saying the citric fruit does not burn calories that drive weight loss.
If anything, the lemon-coffee challenge may just increase one’s frustration from not losing weight or the caffeine level in the body, leading to “headaches, irritability, nervousness, increased heart rate and insomnia,” registered dietician Michelle Rauch of New Jersey said, according to Fox News.
Indirectly, more people consuming coffee increase demand for the beans, the cultivation of which is already impacting the environment through the clearing of forests to make land available for coffee farming.
To mitigate the environmental impact of additional coffee demand arising from lemon-coffee believers, perhaps they can try alternatives like coffee-flavored brandy. After all, a local brand of such liquor touts in a press release its versatility — it blends well with ice, milk, chocolate and even condensed milk.
An even better alternative to coffee is a copycat of the Arabica and Robusta varieties of coffee beans developed by a team of researchers at the technical research institute VTT in Finland.
The VTT granules, however, are not ground coffee beans. Instead, they are the product of coffee plant cells grown in a bioreactor under controlled temperature, light and oxygen conditions. The process is the same method for growing artificial meat.
Team leader Heiko Rischer told AFP he estimates it will be a minimum of four years before their lab-grown coffee becomes commercially available. Nevertheless, coffee lovers will be looking forward to sipping cups of cell in a bio cafeteria.


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Dale explained how the new service in town called TrustDale works. It is a free online service that vets home service companies and protects your purchase with the $10,000 Make It Right Guarantee. For more information, visit www.trustdale.com.
Posted at 11:59 AM, May 07, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-07 12:59:36-04
Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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NEW YORK – Shares of Martha Stewart's (search) namesake company slid after she was found guilty Friday of all counts in her criminal trial.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (MSO) stock dropped about 24 percent when it reopened on the New York Stock Exchange (search), erasing a 17 percent jump just before the stock was halted for news of the verdict.
Shares of Kmart Holdings Corp. (search) , the company's retail partner, dropped about 2.8 percent.
Martha Stewart Living, a media and merchandising company, said its board will meet promptly to evaluate the situation, and that the company is confident it has more than enough assets to continue the corporation's development. Martha Stewart said she will appeal the verdicts in a letter posted on her personal Web site.
Analysts said the guilty verdict thrusts the future of the company in doubt.
The company likely will have a tough time attracting advertisers to its TV programs and magazines, which already have suffered during Stewart's legal travails, and it might decide to put itself up for sale, said Peter Cohan, a management consultant in Marlborough, Massachusetts.
"The fact she was found guilty to me means the odds of the company being put on the block go up quite a bit," he said.
Martha Stewart Living shares fell $3.43 to $10.60 when trading resumed.
Before the verdict, the stock soared to 21-month highs, gaining more than 17 percent to trade as high as $16.75.
The pre-verdict gains reflected speculation that Stewart was going to be found innocent, Keith Keenan, vice president of institutional trading at brokerage Wall Street Access, said.
Before the verdict, shares in the company had climbed more than 40 percent this year.
Martha Stewart Living has struggled throughout its founder's legal woes, with advertising pages in its flagship magazine sliding about 35 percent last year. The company posted an annual loss for 2003 and forecast more losses in the current first quarter.