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August 20, 2012 |
NEW DELHI: CBI's judicial request to get details of financial transactions of a Swiss defence firm and Ganton -- suspected to be front company of arms dealer Abhishek Verma -- has been cleared by the government. The visit of CBI's team to the USA to record the statement of estranged business associate of Verma -- C Edmond Allen -- has also been cleared, CBI sources said. After getting nod of the Legal and Treaties Division of the External Affairs Ministry , the agency would soon send Letters Rogatory to the USA as well as Switzerland to get detailed financial transactions of Rheinmetall Air Defence AG (RAD)
June 2, 2013 |
NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank has extended the deadline for banks to complete the process of allotting a unique customer identification code to their customers to March 31, 2014. Banks, however, will have to allot the Unique Customer Identification Code (UCIC) to all customers while entering into new relationships. RBI said some banks had expressed difficulties in implementing UCIC due to various reasons, and have sought more time to allot UCIC to their existing account holders.
July 1, 2005 |
DELHI: Banks, financial institutions and intermediaries including stock market intermediaries such as brokers would be required to maintain records of all cash transactions, exceeding Rs 10 lakh from Friday. This would be a necessity under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, '02 (PMLA) which comes into force from Friday. The Act makes it clear that even if the value of individual cash transactions is less than Rs 10 lakh each, but are seemingly between related parties and takes place in a month, records would have to be maintained.
December 29, 2014 |
KOLKATA: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today questioned for about three hours Trinamool Congress leader Sankudeb Ponda in connection with its money laundering probe in the multi-crore Saradha chitfunds scam case. "Ponda has been questioned about his association with the Saradha group and its management. His statement has been recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as he was questioned for close to three hours," official sources in the agency said. Earlier, Ponda had reached the ED office in Salt Lake here at around 11 AM. Sources said Ponda has also "shared some useful information" with the investigators about the people involved in the operations of Saradha and allied groups.
October 19, 2004 |
Very soon, when you make a high value purchase -- a Versace ensemble, Tag Heuer watch,or a Mont Blanc pen -- you will have to carry your PAN card. Purchases of what value will need quoting of PAN? The Finance Ministry is set to extend compulsory quoting of PAN to high-value purchases of over Rs 50,000. Individuals buying items of personal use will have to quote their PAN number in payments against their bills. When is this new law coming into effect? The Income Tax rules (Rule 114B)
October 18, 2004 |
NEW DELHI: The next time you pick up a Versace ensemble, Tag Heuer watch, or Mont Blanc pen, don't forget to carry your PAN card. The Finance Ministry is set to extend compulsory quoting of PAN to high-value purchases of over Rs 50,000. Individuals buying items of personal use will have to quote their PAN number in payments against their bills. The income tax rules (Rule 114B) will be amended soon to include such high-value purchases to the list of transactions where quoting of PAN is already mandatory.
February 5, 2012 |
NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry is likely to reduce Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on equity trade in the forthcoming Budget in a bid to boost the capital market despite pressure to improve revenue collection. The ministry, however, may not revisit the issue of Commodities Transaction Tax (CTT), which was aborted in 2009 after protests by industry, sources said, adding that the government is keen to go ahead with the broader policy of reducing the cost of financial transactions.
January 27, 2010 |
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Financial inclusion exercises may not have evoked much enthusiasm among the multitudes of unbanked citizens of the country, but mobile commerce could just be the game changer that can bring formal and easy banking within their reach. According to officials of Utiba Mobility, the Singapore-headquartered mobile financial transactions platform player, the days of vast masses of unbanked people around the world getting into formal financial transactions with the help of mobile commerce is round the corner, as M-commerce possibilities are being demonstrated across different countries.
December 18, 2014 |
NEW DELHI: More than 1100 hotels, banquet halls, gyms, health clubs and spa in the city have come under Delhi government's radar for allegedly evading luxury tax. Excise department, which is also in charge of luxury tax collection in Delhi, recently conducted a survey on the numbers of such entities to detect luxury tax leakage and found that there are 1149 unregistered banquet halls, gyms, banquet halls, spa and health clubs operating in...
May 14, 2015 |
MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has cast serious allegations in its chargesheet against commodity bourse NSEL and its erstwhile board of directors, including promoter-director Jignesh Shah, Joseph Massey, Shreekant Javalgekar, Bhagwat Pawar and chairman Shankarlal Guru for assisting the moneylaundering activities of the bourse's defaulting members and its management, including former MD & CEO Anjani Sinha . The chargesheet that...


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Gapsted turns out wine with a cool attitude
GAPSTED Wines has tapped the call of cool and the North East’s high country to launch a new range which coincides with the winery’s 20th anniversary.
General manager and chief winemaker Matt Fawcett said the enterprise would formally release its ‘High Country’ range – prosecco, pinot gris, chardonnay, shiraz and cabernet sauvignon produced from King Valley fruit – on October 20.
“The grapes have been sourced from premium high country vineyards and the wines crafted to express the natural, concentrated and elegant flavours from the region,” Mr Fawcett said.
“We wanted to create a really strong link between ourselves and our presence here.”
He said the business, which is owned by upper King Valley shareholders, Riverland interests and some smaller shareholders, had been working on the new range for some time.
“We’ve had it sitting there for a while to evolve,” he said.
“More recently it’s been some months in the planning.
“We’re trying to capture the best we can produce from this cool climate and the wines are more French, or European-like, than you might find elsewhere.”
Mr Fawcett said the range might also extend at some stage to include fruit from other high country regions, such as Tumbarumba in southern New South Wales.
He said the new prosecco had been produced from a sparkling wine process known in France as ‘Charmet’ in which wine is naturally fermented in-tank.
“We’re attempting to capture the aromatics from that process,” he said.
The gris is of a northern French or Alsatian style.
Mr Fawcett is also bullish about the new chardonnay.
“Beechworth has done a great job with chardonnay and the King and Alpine Valleys can do a great job with this grape, too,” he said.
“Beechworth has the jump on us but we’re doing a lot of work here to develop our chardonnay wine in the true Burgundian style – one of complexity and richness.
“The shiraz is more restrained. It’s not one of those big voluptuous, muscular wines that you get, say, from the Barossa.” myrtlefordtimes.com.au
Mr Fawcett said Alpine Valleys’ vignerons were working hard to bring the geographic indication – the alpine wine district – forward.
“We’re pushing ourselves because there are such significant opportunities,” he said.
“As a region, along with the tourism elements, we have so much to offer.”
More information about the midpriced ‘High Country’ range and its launch is available from www. gapstedwines.com.au.

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On Jan. 10, it was announced that KidSuper founder Colm Dillane will guest design Louis Vuitton’s upcoming Fall/Winter 2023 collection. He joins a collective that includes stylist Ib Kamara, filmmakers Michel and Olivier Gondry, and visual director Lina Kutsovskaya. The Fall/Winter 2023 presentation will be the first time that a Louis Vuitton men’s show does not feature any “specific influences from Virgil,” Louis Vuitton chairman and CEO Michael Burke told WWD.
The announcement comes a week ahead of Louis Vuitton’s Jan. 19 presentation. While many are still eagerly awaiting to see who will succeed Abloh at Louis Vuitton, it appears that the house’s interim solution is a series of guest designers rather than immediately appointing a new artistic director for its men’s line. While LVMH labels like Dior have consistently invited guest designers to create collections, Dillane’s upcoming presentation is a first for Louis Vuitton. To be clear, Dillane has been tapped as a temporary placeholder, not a true successor. Louis Vuitton’s official statement declared he was “embedded into the men’s studio.”
“You never think a brand as big as Louis Vuitton would be willing to take such a risk,” Dillane said in an interview with the New York Times. “I thought there would be so many rules about what I was or wasn’t allowed to do, but I was given the candy shop. They let me have a hand in every aspect—clothing, bags, shoes, accessories. It’s wild.”
When Dillane first applied to be part of the Paris Fashion Week calendar, he was rejected three times before finally being approved in 2019. For KidSuper, he has only presented in-person in Paris three times. Next week, he will be showing his designs on the runway for arguably the biggest luxury house in the world.
“Even when I was applying for Paris Fashion Week, I almost did it as a joke because I thought it was impossible,” he told the CFDA in a 2022 interview.
Ahead of the presentation, we decided to take a look at Dillane’s history up to this point. From formulating one of New York City’s most inventive clothing brands from a blue building in Brooklyn to building runway collections for historic high fashion houses, he has grown a lot over the past 15 years. Learn about Louis Vuitton’s new guest designer, below.


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Together while using the cheese expert Ana Mikadze-Chikvaidze, this system will likely be prepared about past of agriculture in Khani.?Particular attention is paid to your technology and storage of qvevri cheese.
Expert Miqadze-Chikvaidze, Chairman with the Association of Cheese Producers Association of Georgia met with Baghdadi’s leadership and Head of Tourism Development Division. The meeting was upon popularization of qvevri cheese.
As experts say, this cheese is rare and it’s important to introduce it to foreign market. Good her, it will take patenting thanks to uniqueness.
Imeretian cheese festival are going to be held on May 2 in Kutaisi, where khani kvevri cheese will be presented.


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Russia exempts Afghan exports from customs duties. According to Afghanistan’s Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry pledged to exempt its customs items and expedite Afghanistan's exports at a meeting with businessmen and investors.
According to officials at ACCI, a list of commodities to be exported to Russia will be developed soon, and once this list is completed, Russian customs exemption on the country's exports would begin.
"We requested export convenience; "They promise us a customs exemption in a list in which they exempt certain of our export goods,” said Khairuddin Mayel, deputy of ACCI.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan's exports to Russia are now lower, according to the director of the Chamber of Commerce and Investment, due to the high level of Russian customs products on the country's trade goods.
One of Afghanistan's most important exports to Russia is dried fruits, particularly raisins.
"Russian customs were the same on Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. We think it is a good thing that Russia has given us an exemption," said Mohammad Younus Momand, head of the Chamber of Commerce and Investment.
However, the Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock, believes that the exception for fruits and vegetables is vital to expanding Afghanistan's exports.
The Russian market is suitable for selling agricultural products, according to the Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock, and the country's fruits and vegetables are exported to Central Asia and Russia every year.
"The current opportunity must be taken advantage of in order to increase exports; it should be transited by wagons from Hairatan port to Russia,” said Mirwais Hajizada, a member of the Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock.
"Currently our crops are sold on the roads. If our traders buy them and export them to other countries and sell them at a better price, it will be good for us as well,” said Noor Mohammad, a farmer.
Afghanistan has exported 80,000 tons of potatoes to Russia, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, and is also exporting onions from Kabul to Moscow.


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"Wendy called to say, `I'm the Quaker lady now,"' said Mr. Uzzi, president of Quaker's beverage division, laughing.
Wendy, of course, is the "Snapple lady," star of TV and radio spots for the New Age beverage that Quaker hopes will be its thirst aid for the '90s.
In forking out $1.7 billion for Snapple, Quaker hopes history will repeat itself. Back in 1983, when Quaker bought Gatorade, the package-goods marketer that has grown to $6 billion in sales also was at a corporate crossroads.
"Gatorade put Quaker into the beverage business; this substantially broadens our position," Mr. Uzzi said. "Quaker has a vision of becoming a very large beverage company. This is the first step toward that vision."
At its annual meeting in Orlando this week, Quaker will tell shareholders it now has four core businesses: cereal and grain-based snacks; rice and pasta brands; foodservice; and the Gatorade-Snapple beverage operation. Snapple's annual sales are estimated at $700 million.
Noticeably absent was any mention of domestic pet food, even though the division's free fall in sales has been stabilized, due to the strengths of brands like Kibbles 'n Bits, Cycle and Pup-Peroni. Somewhat lost in the Snapple excitement was the flip side of Chairman-CEO William Smithburg's announcement that Quaker is putting its $800 million European pet foods business on the block.
All President-Chief Operating Officer Phil Marineau will say is: "We've told our U.S. pet food people that our plan at this point is to continue focusing on improving results. But we'll re-evaluate our brand portfolio on a quarter-to-quarter basis."
The acquisition means one-third of Quaker's annual sales will come from beverages. Buying Snapple also gives Quaker a chance to do what it's done best lately: manage acquisitions.
Though some analysts said the immediate drop in Quaker's stock price that followed the announcement could make the company more of a takeover target, most think the acquisition will serve as a buffer against a takeover attempt. Quaker for years has been the subject of takeover rumors. But Mr. Marineau adamantly denied any such motive on Quaker's part.
Led by Mr. Marineau, Quaker built Gatorade from a $90 million, regional business into the company's largest brand, with sales of $1.2 billion in 26 countries. Following a bruising and expensive summer competing with Coca-Cola USA and Pepsi-Cola USA-in which analysts estimate Quaker spent an extra $40 million defending its turf-Gatorade ended the sports-drink season with only a small share loss.
Beyond Gatorade, Quaker's done well by acquiring the Chico-San rice cake business, which combined with its Quaker line has an 80% share of a $255 million category. Quaker feels good enough about the once-neglected rice cake line to have returned to TV advertising this fall, with spots from Berry-Brown, Dallas.
Last year's purchase of the Near East side-dish line also "has been the acquisition we hoped it would be," Mr. Marineau said. Near East, plus Quaker's Rice-A-Roni and Noodle Roni brands, are "right on target."
Of course, some might say what Quaker does best is make money in categories where it owns the market-whether rice cakes, sports drinks or oatmeal. That may make Snapple, awash in competition, a tougher challenge.
"[Snapple CEO Leonard Marsh] told his employees that they needed this to move on," Mr. Uzzi said. Many analysts agree.
Despite leading with 21.3% and 17.7% volume shares in ready-to-drink teas and single-serve juice drinks, respectively, Snapple sales dropped 6% in its most recent quarter. "Snapple had moved beyond its point of competence," said Tom Pirko, president of Bevmark, a food and beverage consultancy in New York. "Both Snapple and Gatorade have been staring at barriers they had to cross."
Michael Bellas, president of Beverage Marketing Corp., agreed. "Both companies needed to get bigger. The ante is bigger every day in this industry."
With Quaker, Snapple gets packaging and manufacturing expertise and clout in improving its supermarket distribution. Meanwhile, Snapple gives Quaker efficiencies of scale, more leverage as a beverage marketer, plus the cold-channel distribution it's coveted for Gatorade.
But if Mr. Marineau really wants beverages to account for half of Quaker's sales-as he said last week-some analysts say Quaker's best move would be to make another acquisition quickly. And Mr. Pirko said to compete, Quaker must spend "a lot more money on advertising."
Snapple this year committed $65 million to its quirky ad campaign from Kirshenbaum & Bond, New York. Though he joked about setting up a meeting between Wendy and Gatorade spokesman Michael Jordan, Mr. Uzzi last week said he expected no immediate change in that agency relationship; Bayer Bess Vanderwarker, Chicago, handles Gatorade.
There are other questions about the Gatorade-Snapple combination. One is how the Quaker corporate culture meshes with street-smart Snapple; "They can't afford to `Quakerize' Snapple," said a former senior executive.
"The burden's on Quaker to demonstrate why this acquisition makes sense," said Michael Mauboussin, analyst with First Boston Corp., New York.


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Swiss luxury goods group Richemont entered a global strategic partnership with Alibaba Group to tap China’s online luxury market.
The collaboration means online luxury fashion retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter Group (YNAP) and Alibaba will form a joint venture (JV) to introduce two mobile apps for YNAP’s Net-A-Porter and Mr Porter brands in the country.
Alibaba will also offer technology infrastructure, marketing, payments, logistics and other support.
US-based Differential Brands Group completed the acquisition of an interest in the North American licensing business of Global Brands Group Holding (GBG) for $1.2bn.
The completion follows DFBG’s announcement in June that it signed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire a significant stake in GBG’s business.
In line with the transaction closure, Differential Brands also changed its name to Centric Brands to represent itself as a lifestyle brands collective platform.
Debenhams revealed plans to close up to 50 underperforming stores over the next three to five years as part of efforts to generate cash, reduce debt and reshape store estate.
The UK department store chain will focus on future investment in up to 100 stores and develop a new lower-cost approach for 20 stores.
According to the retailer, the comprehensive review of store portfolio will address structural challenges and drive profitable growth.
Grocery store company United Natural Foods (UNFI) concluded the acquisition of US-based supermarket chain Supervalu for approximately $2.9bn in cash, including the assumption of outstanding debt and liabilities.
UNFI closed the deal following the satisfaction of all closing conditions, including approval of Supervalu shareholders and a receipt of all necessary antitrust approvals.
UNFI chairman and chief executive officer Steve Spinner said: “We will take the best from both businesses to create North America’s premier food wholesaler with significant scale, reach and choices for our customers.
The Court of Appeal for the UK declared that British supermarket chain Morrisons is legally responsible for the data breach that affected thousands of its staff.
The supermarket chain would be required to pay a heavy compensation to 5,518 claimants, whose personal information was leaked on the internet.
On 12 January 2014, a senior IT auditor in Morrisons’ employment Andrew Skelton leaked payroll data of about 100,000 employees on the web.
New Look Retail Group accounced its intention to close its remaining 120 stores in China by the end of December.
The decision comes after the company’s board revealed its decision to exit the retail business, New Look Commerce Shanghai, in the country.
In a statement, the British fashion retailer said that the decision was reached due to low performance, fewer sales and profitability despite substantial investments in the business.
US retailer Sears Holdings, along with its subsidiaries, filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
The company aims to establish a sustainable capital structure, continue streamlining its operating model and grow profitably through this move.
Sears has also received commitments for $300m in senior priming debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from its senior secured asset-based revolving lenders. It is also currently negotiating with ESL Investments for an additional $300m subordinated DIP financing.
Global retailer Walmart revealed plans to acquire intimates online retailer Bare Necessities in a move to expand its US eCommerce portfolio.
The deal adds Bare Necessities to its portfolio of digital brands, including Bonobos, Modcloth and ELOQUII.
Walmart US eCommerce Fashion head Denise Incandela said: “As we continue to build our assortment, we are also focused on bringing on the right talent and expertise to drive our fashion business.
US-based speciality retailer Mattress Firm, along with its subsidiaries, filed voluntary Chapter 11 restructuring in the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.
The restructuring plan will allow the retailer to implement a pre-packaged plan of reorganisation and offers new financing opportunities to support the business.
Mattress Firm also plans to close 700 economically inefficient store locations as well as pay all trade creditors in full for goods and services provided.
British supermarket chain Waitrose & Partners piloted a new delivery service in London, ‘While You’re Away’, to deliver groceries into customers home while they are out.
The retailer is currently testing the service with 100 customers located within the vicinity of its dotcom fulfilment centre in Coulsdon, south London.
Leveraging smart lock technology from Yale, customers need to set a temporary access code for the lock to provide access to a Waitrose delivery driver.


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Birkenstocks are the ultimate anti-fashion shoes, but their current popularity has attracted a number of big-name fashion collaborators (such as Dior and Jil Sander). The latest is luxury shoe label Manolo Blahnik.
Global fashion shopping app Lyst has launched an interesting new trends roundup with the debut of Born Online. On a monthly basis, it looks at “the newest, hottest fashion trends born from internet subcultures”.
Now the world's most popular fashion house, according to the fashion search platform Lyst, Balenciaga hasn't stopped making the news this year with ideas that seem each more ingenious and avant-garde than the next.


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Vestiaire Collective bolsters executive leadership team to “accelerate expansion”
Luxury Paris-based resale platform Vestiaire Collective has appointed Samina Virk as CEO of North America, and Marie-Christin Oebel as Global Chief Marketing Officer, to help to accelerate the company’s growth – particularly in the US market.
Virk, pictured right, is a leader in the fashion e-commerce industry, with a strong background in building brands at the intersection of fashion and technology - most notably at eBay and Target. More recently, she was CMO and President for the US market at Threads Styling.
In 2015, Virk initially launched Vestiaire Collective in the US market, establishing the brand and leading the company to its first growth milestones.
Oebel, pictured left, will be joining the company’s Paris HQ, having spent the last 15 years in marketing and strategy roles at Zalando, L'Oréal, McKinsey and most recently, at French unicorn Doctolib as Marketing and Strategy Director.
Fanny Moizant, President and Co-founder of Vestiaire Collective, said: “We are very excited to welcome Samina and Marie-Christin to Vestiaire Collective. They will be leading our global efforts in strengthening our visibility and brand development, especially in the US market. Through their previous experiences, they perfectly embody Vestiaire Collective's values of women empowerment, dedication and greatness.”
Samina Virk commented: “The fashion industry has reached a turning point. It’s an exciting time to join Vestiaire Collective, leading the movement to a circular fashion economy. With an increasing global presence, we will now accelerate the company’s expansion and further build the brand and business in North America.”
Oebel said: “I’m thrilled to join Vestiaire Collective to support the company's expansion and global visibility. In this new role, I will have the opportunity to amplify Vestiaire Collective’s mission through growth and performance marketing, campaign management, social media, PR and influence.”
In December 2022, Vestiaire Collective secured a £64.4 million (€75 million) credit facility from Crédit Agricole CIB, Societe Generale, HSBC, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs.
Prior to that, in September 2022, the company raised £152.8 million (€178 million) in new investment.
The business also recently announced a ban on the resale of fast fashion on its global platform as part of its mission to “fight fashion waste”.


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A 54-year-old Omaha woman was sentenced to three years in federal prison Tuesday for stealing more than $760,000 while employed as a business manager for a local freight company.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Kopf also ordered Toni R. Walker to make restitution in the amount of $765,236.
Walker took the money between November 2007 and April 2012 while employed with Royal Fowarding Inc.
According to a federal indictment, Walker drafted numerous checks to herself. She used the money for a variety of reasons, including the payment of utility bills and gambling.


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A meeting was held with the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Uzbekistan to Qatar
On February 8 of this year, a meeting between the Chairman of the Supervisory Board Bekzod Mamatkulov and the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Uzbekistan to Qatar Ashraf Khojaev was held at the head office of BMB Holding.
During the conversation, it was noted that representatives of the private sector and business circles have a special role in the development of trade and economic relations between Uzbekistan and Qatar. In this regard, the delivery of various competitive, export-oriented agricultural products to the Qatar market, which are grown and deeply processed by enterprises and clusters within BMB Holding, and the high demand for medicinal saffron products in this country, was specially noted.
Extensive tasks related to the implementation of other prospective projects were discussed in detail during the dialogue. The parties jointly agreed to cooperate on mastering new markets and expanding the circle of business partners, further increasing the export potential of Uzbekistan through convenient transport and logistics routes.


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India shelves crackdown on single-use plastic
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called on the nation to work towards ending the use of plastic. It comes after India shelved a blanket ban on single-use plastics saying it was too disruptive during an economic slowdown - the proposal had already spooked businesses and manufacturers.
Video by Jaltson AC, Pritam Roy, Aakriti Thapar, Mrigakshi Shukla and Suranjana Tewari
04 Oct 2019


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More Americans will be traveling to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, all thanks to improving economic scenario in the country.
An estimated 42.2 million travelers, up 11.4 percent compared to 37.9 million last year, are taking a trip at least 50 miles away from home this Thanksgiving, according to American Automobile Association (AAA), the nation's largest automobile club.
This year's projected increase in holiday travel appears to be the result of modestly improved economic conditions since last year, including an increase in gross domestic product, real disposable personal income and household net worth combined with a decrease in consumer debt, the association said.
The Thanksgiving holiday period is defined as Wednesday, November 24 to Sunday, November 28.
After a year of negligible growth of 0.2 percent - in Turkey Day travel last year, and a 25.2 percent plunge in holiday travel in 2008, the projected double-digit increase this Thanksgiving signifies an important upturn, AAA said.
While Americans remain cautious with household budgets and discretionary spending amidst high levels of unemployment, many are in a better financial position this Thanksgiving than a year ago, said AAA President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet. This improvement, along with a strong desire to spend time with friends and family, is expected to propel a significant increase in Thanksgiving travel.
Trips by automobile remain the dominant mode of transportation for holiday travel with 94 percent of travelers, or 39.7 million people, reaching their destination by driving. This is an increase of 12 percent from last Thanksgiving when 35.5 million Americans reached their destination by motor vehicle. AAA expects the national average price for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline to remain between $2.85 and $2.95 during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period.
People travelling by air is expected to account for four percent of overall travel with 1.62 million holiday flyers, an increase of 3.5 percent from last year's 1.57 million flyers
AAA's projections are based on economic forecasting and research by IHS Global Insight. The Boston-based economic research and consulting firm teamed with AAA in 2009 to jointly analyze travel trends during the major holidays.


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May 6, 2015by Speckyboy EditorsNews A new and exciting website has recently been launched for web designers and developers.You likely spend hours every morning browsing through hundreds of posts on your RSS feeds, hoping to stumble across relevant stories. Webdesigner...


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July’s used car prices saw biggest price increase since August 2018
Used car prices saw their fourth consecutive month of growth in July, which saw the largest monthly increase since August 2018.
According to analysis of approximately 900,000 classified ads across its service, Auto Trader reports the average sticker price of a used car was £13,888 last month, which is 4.6 per cent up year-on-year.
The price increases are being driven by high demand for petrol and diesel vehicles, despite relatively low supply. However, the opposite is true of electric vehicles, where demand has increased massively, but supply has outstripped that demand, leading to a decline in the average price.
The highest price growth by vehicle age was seen in the 10- to 15-year-old segment, where prices were up 23 per cent in July compared with a year ago, driven somewhat by supply dropping 16 per cent.
Commenting on the results, Auto Trader’s director of data and insight, Richard Walker, said: “Over the last few months, used car prices have benefited from high demand in the market whilst the supply side has emerged more slowly from lockdown. Even when auctions reopened, the supply of new stock in the market has been slow to return to pre-Covid-19 levels, whilst demand has remained at record levels.
“Looking ahead, at a time of economic uncertainty and with so many variables at play, we will continue to be data driven rather than publish opinion-based statements about the future.
“Whilst consumer demand shows no signs of slowing into August, we have seen that supply constraints are working their way through, so we expect the growth rate we’ve seen in recent months to stabilise somewhat, rather than continue to accelerate each month.”
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Italian design crew Ciccarese Design has come up with a custom rendering of the so-called Apple “iWatch”, a device that is now believed to be due for launch sometime next year. While Samsung may likely be unveiling the Galaxy Gear smartwatch two weeks from now at the “Unpacked Episode 2” launch event in Germany, Apple’s iWatch may be a good one year more away from making its debut.
However, that hasn’t stopped Ciccarese from cooking up a concept for what should be Apple’s first-ever smartwatch product.
The design crew had actually manufactured prototypes for its concept, with two copies to test how the device would appear in terms of aesthetics. Photos of the concept have apparently gotten good reviews from viewers, and it looks like the iWatch concept does indeed look smart and understated, while also boasting a lot of function as an iOS 7-powered device.
Sadly, no other specifications were mooted by the Ciccarese Design team, as the team had mainly focused on the design aspects of the iWatch, rather than specs and features that might not actually make it to the device once it gets launched.
Concept Phones, which spotlighted the iWatch concept, described the wearable device as something akin to “those big metallic bracelet [sic] that were so fashionable for the ladies over the past years.”
Still, it appears like a type of device that should appeal to men and women alike, as Ciccarese designed its concept as one that shouldn’t feel too uncomfortable or rigid. It also would appear as if the concept comes in different colors – at least five, as suggested by the design team’s video.


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The eagle-eyed trendspotters from the New York Post, Wall Street Journal, and New York Magazine are totally keyed into the styles of the day. What's hot right now? Kid foodies (as young as three!) eschewing chicken fingers and demanding Nobu's black cod with miso; dress codes getting relaxed so people are wearing jeans to restaurants; and chefs cooking with hay.
It's possible (and likely) that in some instances, all of this is going on at the same time: kids wearing denim overalls and flip flops munching on Michelin-grade hay! It's like the ninth circle of trend hell. When will this madness stop?
1) The Post looks at kids who eat at upscale restaurants and order food like sushi and the tasting menu at Thomas Keller's New York restaurant Per Se.
But is it a trend? In May 2010, the Times looked at fine dining restaurants that cater to your kid's needs, and the term "koodies" ("kid foodies") dates back to November 2009. In fact, people bring so many kids to fine restaurants these days that sometimes the shrieking hellspawn get banned from brunch! Verdict: An ongoing trend.
2 The Wall Street Journal, soothsayers that they are, pointed out the hot new trend of relaxed dress codes: "A majority of the iconic old-school restaurants that once mandated jackets and ties for men have replaced 'required' with 'requested.'" To drive the point home, fashionable people like Gay Talese, Steve Cuozzo, and Gilt Manual editor Tyler Thoreson shared their thoughts.
The relaxation of dress codes across all of American society can barely even be registered as a trend — Eater NY's dress code archives is both vast and deep — instead it's just another signifier of American population's sad decline into the sweatpants-wearing, Brawndo-guzzling masses you see at the airport. Verdict: Barely a trend.
3) And then New York magazine points out hay, in which chefs utilize the ingredient in "search of a certain parfum de barnyard". The Wall Street Journal wrote about hay back in November — so did hay become trendy, then untrendy, and is now trendy again? Verdict: Yes, a trend.
· Jacket (Not) Required [WSJ]
· For some New York City tykes, only the finest dishes will do [NYP]
· Stable-to-Table Dining [NYM]
· All Trendwatch on Eater [-E-]


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Copyright © 2015
Tag - Voyager Mobile
Voyager Mobile is preparing to offer a new international service, promising that users on the plan "won't pay a penny of roaming charges." Called Project Global Voyager, the service uses “patent-pending global wireless technology” that allows a mobile phone to be used internationally, without any per-minute roaming charges being applied to the account.
Voyager Mobile, the new prepaid carrier that was due to launch on Tuesday, has announced it needs to delay the debut due to a malicious network attack on its website. Instead, the service and site will launch in the "very near future," though exactly when this will be remains to be seen. The carrier promises to bring contract-free, all-in plans that start at just $19 per month when users bring their own hardware.
A new carrier will vie for subscriber dollars when it launches in some states on May 15. Called Voyager Mobile, it promises to introduce unlimited, no-contract plans that start at $19 per month. The MVNO piggybacks onto Sprint's network, and is unique in offering Voyager Rewards points for using minutes.
Now AAPL Stock: 94.27 ( -0.72 )
HBO Now has 800,000 subscribers
The CEO of HBO, Richard Plepler has confirmed that the online streaming HBO service, HBO Now, has 800,000 subscribers. When criticized for the seemingly low number, Plepler noted that the still nascent service was bound to Apple exclusivity during the fifth season of Game of Thrones. Plepler declared during the Time Warner quarterly earnings conference call marketing for the online-only offering would be enhanced in 2016. While HBO Now's critics are slamming the low numbers, the service must also compete against itself on cable, in addition to Netflix and other streaming services. http://on.recode.net/1QWoLHe
Unsafe IoT called threat to humanity
US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told two different Senate committees yesterday that the Internet of Things posed a clear and present danger, and could be weaponized by governments. Before the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Clapper declared that insecure IoT "will bring new security vulnerabilities" and "will connect tens of billions of new physical devices that could be exploited" by those wishing to perpetrate violence or eavesdrop on the populace of the world. http://bit.ly/23Xvcky
Apple public betas for iOS 9.3, OS X 10.11.4
Following Monday's release of betas for the iOS and OS X, Apple has unveiled public betas for both operating systems. The iOS 9.3 beta includes all of the previously reported enhancements for education customers, along with Wi-Fi calling for Verizon iPhone owners, and a carrier update for T-Mobile users. The OS X 10.11.4 third beta includes enhancements to Twitter URL opening, Live Photo viewing and sharing, and Evernote note importation into Notes.
Google given NHTSA SDS waivers
In contrast to the California Department of Motor Vehicle's approach, the US National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) has confirmed that it is declaring the software in autonomous cars is the legal driver of a so-equipped vehicle. In a letter to Google, the NHTSA says that it "will interpret 'driver' in the context of Google's described motor vehicle design as referring to the SDS [self-driving system], and not to any of the vehicle occupants." Other matters, such as legally-required rear-view mirrors for occupied vehicles has yet to be determined. However, regulations specifying the "driver" need no longer be interpreted as meaning a person behind the wheel, as the agency writes that self-driving cars "will not have a 'driver' in the traditional sense that vehicles have had drivers during the last more than one hundred years" http://1.usa.gov/1QrAGtR
Dropshare 4 for Mac now available
Dropshare 4 for Mac has shipped, introducing support for uploading files and screenshots to Amazon S3 API-compliant services, like DreamObjects and OpenStack. The update also introduces a new popup design, an in-app editor for custom landing pages, an improved upload history window, and security improvements when using SSH connections. The paid upgrade costs $25, though it is free for customers who bought the previous version this year and half-price for those who acquired version 3 of the app last year. http://bit.ly/1XixV3q
Google starting phase-out of Flash ads
Search engine and advertising giant Google will shortly no longer accept Adobe Flash-created ads for its AdWords network. Starting June 30, ads in the once-ubiquitous format will no longer be accepted. Additionally, after January 2, 2017, the network will no longer serve Flash-based advertisements, and the network will be completely HTML 5 based. http://bit.ly/1PNx1uc
Sonos now works with Apple Music
Wireless music system manufacturer Sonos has announced that its systems worldwide will gain compatibility for streaming the paid Apple Music subscription service starting today, February 10. "Music fans worldwide will have access to Apple Music features like For You, New, Radio, and My Music, and will also be able to stream the entire Apple Music catalog through Sonos smart speakers tuned for great sound in every room of their homes," the company said in an email to journalists. Apple Music's streaming service costs $10 per month, with a free three-month trial. http://bit.ly/1Wdi2Ko


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Back in the saddle
wrapping up another week
A few items of interest, and a funny video
“Facebook is generating buzz with the unveiling of Home, but it seems everyone has forgotten about the Facebook phone nobody wanted.” Read more.
“You think Google’s Android OS is hopelessly fragmented now? This is just the beginning.” Read more.. ]
A short slideshow that (I suspect) will open your eyes to the risks of the Internet — even if you think you’re already aware of the risks.
“Civil libertarians are loudly protesting Congress’s renewed deliberations of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). The bill is intended to facilitate sharing cyberthreat information between government and the private sector to protect the nation from cyberattack.” Read more..
“Microsoft built Windows 8 around the new touch user interface, but it seems that consumers are quite attached to their keyboards and mice.” Read more..
[ And I don’t think M$ didn’t know that was going to happen. If they didn’t, they didn’t read their “feedback” during the beta. Nor ever notice how little-used the red “eraser” on ThinkPads are.. or how many people plug mice into their laptops because they hate the touchpad… ]
* Surprise? Survey: Finance chiefs not thrilled with IT ROI
“A new CFO Research/AlixPartners survey reveals that finance leaders are not happy with their IT spending return on investment, with just 3% describing ROI as excellent. Most rated their company’s results with a C grade or lower. “The message from CFOs and other senior finance executives is loud and clear — companies are spending too much on IT, and they’re not getting the business information that they truly need,” said AlixPartners’ Meade Monge.” Read more..
[ Yes. But. It’s employed a lot of people.. ahem. ]
“The digital currency Bitcoin has suffered yet another hack. Bitcoin wallet site Instawallet has been taken offline after a security compromise, has suspended its service indefinitely. Instawallet didn’t say in a notice on its website how many bitcoins were stolen after hackers fraudulently accessed company database. “The Instawallet service is suspended indefinitely …” Read more…
“Things have taken a nasty turn for Samsung in its worldwide battle against Apple with a new ruling from the International Trade Commission.” Read more..
almost like watching an amateur circus, or toddler talent show, isn’t it?
* A laser printer for $50?! Yup. If that interests, click here.
Friday Fun Video: You do want to double your Internet speed for free, right?
I am a little surprised he only got 6 million views with that …
Today’s quote: “What can you do against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy?” ~ George Orwell
Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
All we really have, in the end, are our stories. Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
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Wayfair.com announced it has secured $36.3 million in new equity financing to fuel the growth of Joss & Main, the company's private sale site for the home. Investors include Battery Ventures, Great Hill Partners, HarbourVest Partners and Spark Capital. Joss & Main has acquired nearly three million members and is operating at a $100 million annual revenue run-rate to become the fastest growing flash sale site for home goods and furnishings, according to a company press release.
"Joss & Main has gained tremendous traction over a very short period of time through its unique approach to curated e-commerce," said Niraj Shah, CEO and co-founder of Wayfair.com. "The site hit its highest sales day on Cyber Monday by a factor of over 50% and sales are up 10-fold since last year."


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There is finally a new Rugby game coming out for console and will be released this October for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Rugby games have been incredibly poor in recent years but the new instalments Facebook page is promising the most immersive rugby game ever created.
The project is being headed by Bigben Interactive, who are the same company that created the SHOCKINGLY poor Rugby World Cup and Rugby 15 games.
However, after taking 2016 out, hopefully, in the two-year period without a game, they’ve been able to create an actually half decent experience for players.
They’re working with EKO Software on the development of the game, which is another french company.
They have in the past created the very popular handball games, which are distributed throughout Europe. They look okay…
Fingers crossed we’re about to finally get a good rugby game for the first time since 2008.


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- Darden Restaurants reported earnings, revenue, and same-store sales that topped Wall Street estimates.
- The restaurant group raised its dividend by 19%.
- Shares are up 9%.
- Watch Darden Restaurants trade in real time.
Darden Restaurants, the owner of numerous restaurant chains including Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, on Tuesday reported higher-than-expected earnings and guidance, and raised its quarterly dividend. Shares are up 9% following the results.
The restaurant group reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.39 a share, topping the $1.35 that analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting. Revenue jumped 10.3% versus a year ago to $2.134 billion, edging out the $2.126 billion that was anticipated.
Blended same-store sales from the restaurant group's legacy brands rose 2.2% as both Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse saw 2.4% year-over-year gains. The one weak spot was Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, which saw same-store sales fall 4.7%.
"Our solid fourth quarter results concluded another strong year of performance as we executed our back-to-basics operating philosophy and strengthened our competitive advantages," CEO Gene Lee said in the statement. "Our strategy remains unchanged, and our operators' consistent focus on being brilliant with the basics has allowed us to continue building guest loyalty while taking market share."
Darden raised its quarterly dividend by 19% to $0.75 a share.
Looking ahead to fiscal year 2019, the restaurant group sees same-store sales growth of 1% to 2%, and plans to open 45 to 50 new stores.


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Lady Gaga has expressed her delight at being involved with the latest Versace campaign.
The first image for the Italian fashion house's Spring/Summer collection, which was released yesterday (November 23), sees the singer posing in a lilac dress.
Gaga told Twitter followers that she was "so happy" to be the face of the new campaign and asked them, "What do you wanna wear this spring?".
The star has become good friends with Donatella Versace over the past year, after wearing pieces from the brand's archive in her video for 'The Edge of Glory'.
â€” Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) November 24, 2013
In October, she posed with the designer at the home of the late Gianni Versace for a series of images taken by fashion photographer Terry Richardson.
The print ads featuring the star are expected to run in glossy magazines from January.


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ALC Set to Unveil Full-Motion Technology
According to ALC, Princeton, NJ, the technology -- tentatively called EyeStoppers -- turns full-motion video into video that can be inserted into any Web page and viewed with any browser. It will debut the technology June 1-4 at the 15th Annual Catalog Conference & Exhibition in Boston.
ALC said that in recent tests, banner advertising with EyeStoppers video footage pulled click-throughs (the rate at which people click on an ad) of 2.77 percent compared with a 1.45 percent click-through rate for banners without EyeStoppers.
A demonstration of a 5-second EyeStoppers video is available at http://www.smartbiz.com/eyestoppers/ . According to Irv Brechner, director of technology at ALC Interactive, the sample footage is an 158 kilobyte (reasonably small) file that takes 30 seconds to load on a 28.8 bps modem.
Brechner said EyeStoppers file sizes will vary depending upon length and color of the video from 100 kilobytes to 175 kilobytes.
"Our service bureau has committed to working on algorithms that will compress the files even further," Brechner said.
ALC developed the proprietary technology with an unnamed partner. The firm will convert existing video footage for clients, shoot and convert video footage or supply stock footage. ALC is charging a one-time fee with no limitations on use for the EyeStoppers service.
Among the applications ALC plans for EyeStoppers is supplying video footage for catalogers' e-commerce sites and for banner advertising. Brechner said he also sees opportunities for the travel industry and for nonprofit firms.
"If your charity is 'Save the Whales,' you can add footage of whales to your site," he said.
Seema Williams, an analyst with Forrester Research, Cambridge, MA, called EyeStoppers definitely impressive as a technological advancement. To date, products such as RealVideo have required people to download extra software to view moving pictures on the Web. Williams estimated that from 30 percent to 50 percent of people will turn away from a Web page that requires this.
"No-plug-in is a big step forward, and this is great video considering the circumstances," Williams said referring to the generally low quality of moving images sent over the Internet.


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SINGAPORE - Let's Go Tour founder Robin Loh had a busy 2019 - so busy that he hardly had time to indulge in his hobby of fishing. His plastic motorboat, which he had purchased for $16,000 five years ago, lay in storage at the SAF yacht club.
It seemed a worthwhile trade-off. The company was doing well, hosting more than 700 guests a month on tours and cooking classes. A cycling tour he developed, which delves into Singapore's history through fictional character Tan Ah Huat, won it the best tour experience at the Singapore Tourism Awards 2019.
This year, however, it all ground to a halt as Singapore closed its borders to international tourists in March. With no tours to lead, Mr Loh revisited his old hobby, going fishing about thrice a week until circuit breaker measures kicked in.
"Even my only pastime had been decimated," says Mr Loh, 48. But that short stint gave him a new business idea.
Last month, he and a business partner founded Under Da Boat Seafood Market, sourcing from their personal network of seafood suppliers and kelong owners. They sell a small menu that includes fresh prawns, mussels and clams online, priced between $8 and $25 per kg.
Through word-of-mouth marketing, the company has been doing about 70 deliveries a week, which exceeded its initial expectations.
Mr Loh is one of many travel players who have launched a sea change of new products in the past few months.
Others have tapped different markets or offered alternative services. Their goal is the same - to ride out the travel drought, which looks to last at least until the end of the year.
Industry watchers like Ms Shirley Tee, a senior manager at Nanyang Polytechnic's School of Business Management, warn that the coronavirus pandemic will likely result in a consolidation of travel players. Many, she says, will not survive the fallout.
But there is hope in the domestic market. "People have an innate desire to experience new things," adds Ms Tee. And if companies are nimble, they will be able to cash in on customers' demands.
Online travel agency Klook understood this when it launched Klook Home, a hybrid of online and offline home-based experiences that was rolled out in May, in response to global lockdowns.
It is available in 14 markets in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe and offers up to 200 activities in each country. These include DIY meal kits, food delivery, online classes and workshops.
With many Singaporeans missing bubble tea when stores were closed during the circuit breaker, Klook launched DIY bubble tea kits. With prices starting at $35 for a kit that makes 10 cups, it proved to be one of Klook's bestsellers here.
More recently, online durian sales have also been popular.
It was Klook's first foray into live-streaming, where they paired up with local company Durian Edition to educate viewers on the different varietals available. Three boxes of mao shan wang , weighing 420g each, went for $109.
Its South-east Asia marketing director Sarah Wan says: "As a global brand, we usually rely on economies of scale. If there is a particular attraction that will do well in multiple markets, that is what we will gun for.
"But with Covid-19, we decentralised a lot of execution plans so local teams could develop a strategy for their own market."
Their strategy has paid off, with about 2,000 Klook Home bookings in Singapore over the past two months.
Another start-up, Travelhorse, also shifted away from its original service of luggage storage. It now does mainly F&B deliveries.
Founded in January by then undergraduate Scott Koh, the company had roped in a network of shops and individuals living near the city centre to offer temporary luggage storage for travellers.
But when the coronavirus pandemic prevented Travelhorse from getting off the ground, Mr Koh and his co-founder bought a second-hand van and began doing F&B deliveries themselves.
They now serve 15 to 20 eateries and work with about 15 delivery drivers, including some who had lost work because of the pandemic.
"Back then, when we couldn't launch the original business, we were quite worried. But we could be agile and flexible as our project was new," says Mr Koh, 26.
He is now looking to build up the company's tech capabilities, such as by automating the booking process.
FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL
Alternative revenue streams help defray overheads such as office rental and employees' salaries, but travel start-ups are still hurting. Although they decline to reveal actual figures, players say the revenue from new offerings is a mere fraction of what they earned in the same period last year.
Mr Loh says revenue from online seafood sales is "barely 10 per cent" of what his tour company used to earn.
Klook recently furloughed and laid off 10 to 20 per cent of staff. Its founders have not been paid a salary since February. And its marketing director Ms Wan notes that the amount earned from Klook Home is "not comparable" to what the company would have made in pre-Covid times. "The typical spend on international or domestic activities is higher than what customers are willing to spend while stuck at home," she says.
Yet, there are travel start-ups continuing to give back to the community even as they fight to stay afloat.
Blue Sky Escapes, which specialises in bespoke, experience-driven trips, organised a series of about 20 donation-based online experiences and workshops.
The experiences included a three-hour dance movement called Circuit Connekt, while the workshops covered topics such as conscious eating, the art of decluttering and how to thrive in a crisis.
Founder Krystal Tan, 32, says all the money raised from Circuit Connekt went to the Sayang Sayang Fund, which supports vulnerable communities affected by Covid-19, and migrant-worker focused non-profit organisations.
Meanwhile, money from the workshops was split three ways, between donations to migrant worker charities, paying the speakers and to cover expenses.
She estimates that the company has donated over $4,000 to charity in the last couple of months. "The workshops are in line with our philosophy of building a smaller, more inviting and enlightened world," she says.
Despite the current struggles, travel players are determined not to let the crisis cripple them, hoping to parlay their survival mechanisms into longer-term sources of income.
Mr Loh hopes his online seafood business will be self-sustaining by the end of the year. He plans to hire someone to run it so that he can return his focus to Let's Go Tour.
Meanwhile, Mr Koh of Travelhorse will continue to observe market conditions and travel restrictions before deciding on his next steps.
The newly-minted graduate in Global Studies from the National University of Singapore has given himself until the end of 2020 to decide if his foray can take off.
As for Klook, the pandemic has been an opportunity to expand more quickly into the leisure space, which the company has been eyeing.
Ms Wan says: "The leisure market has always been on the cards for us. Now that borders are closed, we've been able to focus on growing these products more rapidly."
This article has been edited for clarity.


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Gionee unveiled its new S8 flagship smartphone at MWC in Barcelona, Spain. Along with that the company revealed its brand new logo and tagline that says, “Make Smiles.”The Gionee S8 has been priced at approximately Rs. 34,000 and will go on sale by end of March in Rose Gold, Silver, and Gold colours.
Gionee at the launch said that the smartphone comes with ‘Dual WhatsApp’ and ‘Dual WeChat’ features, which means we can have two instances of WhatsApp open at once, associated with different accounts.The smartphone features 3D Touch ,pressure sensitive display, can sense 3 levels of force including touch to select an app, tap to preview the content of an app, and press to run the app.Another notable feature is a loop metal design. The smartphone features a 5.5-inch full-HD Amoled display with narrow bezels measuring 0.75mm.
The smartphone supports 4G+ connectivity and dual-SIM functionality. The S8 runs Amigo 3.2 OS based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the smartphone packs 64GB of inbuilt storage.It sports a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080×1920 pixels) Amoled display. Under the hood, the Gionee S8 is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 processor clubbed with 4GB of RAM.Notably, the company has also integrated a fingerprint sensor in the home button.
On the camera front, the smartphone sports a 16-megapixel rear camera with f/1.8 aperture, PDAF, laser autofocus, and LED flash. The company claimed that the camera app on the S8 has been redesigned and comes with features such as text recognition (OCR) support (English and Chinese); video also comes with beauty effects; time lapse, and Slow mo. There is an 8-megapixel front camera on board as well.
The Gionee S8 packs 3000mAh battery. It supports dual 4G, FDD, and TDD, 7 modes and 14 bands which the company said will make it ideal for globally roaming.It measures 154.3×74.9x7mm and weighs 148 grams.


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So far, all iPhones have been delivered including Apple headphones and charger. This will end in the future: In Germany, the iPhone 12 will only be sold with a USB-C to Lightning cable included in the scope of delivery.
That wasn’t the only disappointment Apple fans had to cope with after the recent launch of the new product range, but it certainly caused the most ridicule. Because Apple justifies the step with its environmental protection goals.
Apple officially justifies the step with environmental protection goals
Under the hashtag #earpods, numerous users promptly speculated that it would be more of a strategy to increase profits by now having to buy separate accessories in addition to the already expensive iPhone.


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Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR)
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Avis Budget Group, a car rental company, said it will buy ZipCar Inc. for about $500 million.
The purchase would give Avis inroads into the car-sharing…


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The city of Pelham is considering a new development on 36 acres of land across from the Oak Mountain Amphitheater. The proposal includes news retail shops and restaurants. Supporters say it will bring "young life" to the city, while others are worried about increased traffic. The city is holding a public hearing at 6pm on Thursday to get residents' input.
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Editor in Chief
- Dec 30, 2010
- Reaction score
- Austin, TX
If AT&T's newest blatant hypocrisy doesn't get you a little rankled, then you have tougher skin than we do. AT&T is back in the news basically thumbing their noses at the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) again. To reiterate, in the fall, the FTC sued AT&T for misleading its customers. The FTC's complaint hinges on the fact that AT&T charges its customers for "unlimited" data plans, yet reduces their data speeds by as much as 90 percent if they use too much of their “unlimited” data.
Not only is that obviously hypocritical, their most recent statement aimed at the FTC is even worse. Here's a quote with the details,
“AT&T plainly qualifies as a ‘common carrier’ for purposes of Section 5 because it provides mobile voice services subject to common-carrier regulation under Title II of the Communications Act,” AT&T wrote. “The fact that AT&T’s mobile data services are not regulated as common-carrier services under the Communications Act is irrelevant. The text, structure, history, and purpose of Section 5 leave no doubt that its common-carrier exemption turns on an entity’s ‘status as a common carrier subject to [an Act to regulate commerce],’ not its ‘activities subject to regulation under that Act.’”
So basically, AT&T is saying that the FTC doesn't have the authority to regulate them because they are a common carrier protected by the Title II classification of the FCC. Yet, out of the other side of their face, they have been desperately lobbying to make sure the FCC doesn't classify their Internet service under Title II.
You can't have it both ways. AT&T's shenanigans would make Emperor Palpatine's head spin...
Source: AT T defends unlimited data throttling says the FTC can t stop it Ars Technica


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Second Chances Thrift Shop supports Helotes Humane Society's mission
Published 12:00 am, Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Golf clubs. Jewelry. Vintage toys. Salvation, in the form of revolving statue of Jesus under glass.
These are just a few of the hodge-podge of items that fill the Second Chances Thrift Shop, waiting to be sold to raise funds for animals in need.
Run by the Helotes Humane Society, the yellow cottage at 14398 Bandera Road is stocked with collectibles from old Americana to the new millennium.
Vinyl albums and videotapes fill a room, nicknamed the Man Cave. Near the cashier's counter, a sewing machine nudges a wooden spinning loom. A Styrofoam Dora the Explorer gazes from a shelf at shoppers perusing assorted goods.
And the bargains aren't restricted to the cottage — outside there's a school bus for sale.
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“It's not your typical thrift shop,” Manager Shelley Lewis said. “People can help with the animals, and it's a fun place to shop.”
The thrift shop is the main revenue stream for the Helotes Humane Society, a foster home-based shelter. The nonprofit is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday; it's not affiliated with the Humane Society of the United States.
Executive director Janice MacRossin said proceeds from the shop pay for their foster, adoption and education programs.
“We're trying to spread a message of kindness to animals and being a respectful pet owner,” she said.
As for the thrift store, the message is one of respect for the environment.
“If there's anything that can't be used, we'll find someone who can use it,” she said.
MacRossin patterned the shop after the Hill Country Animal League's thrift store that supports spay/neuter operations. In 2010, the nonprofit started with a smaller shop in Old Helotes. Last summer, they moved to their current location.
Encircled by mesquite trees and brush, the shop sits beyond the nonprofit's open leash Dog Park. Several months ago, they upgraded the park with the help of a grant and an Eagle Scout, who built agility runs.
“It helps make the city a little dog-friendly,” she said.
Behind the shop is temporary animal lodging, ranging from three dog kennels to a wire pen, occupied this day by a pair of bantam chickens, named Oh and Oh Oh.
Volunteers said on a good day, there won't be any strays and abandoned animals around the shop — either someone is fostering them or they've found a home.
But on most days, resident cat Tom Selleck can be found curled up near racks of clothes and children's games.
A woman brought the gray and white cat to the cottage eight months ago after she found him, abandoned in 30-degree weather at a Walmart parking lot. Now, he's the shop's official greeter.
Shopper Madeline Kile, 62, said she's found a wealth of items for her family. She's found old books for her son, a neurologist, and clothes for her niece and granddaughter.
“You can find great stuff here; I shop for everyone here,” Kile said. “I've found Witte Museum quality books for my son's library.”
Anne Donnell is one of more than 25 active volunteers who sort, price and tag the items. Donnell's love of shopping at thrift stores drew her to volunteer at the shop. A retired elementary teacher, she's worked as a cashier for the past three years.
“I like the fact that the animals are fostered,” Donnell said.
Volunteer Steven Koch, 25, said he's been involved with the shop since moving from New Bedford, Massachusetts, to Helotes several months ago.
“I love being with the animals,” Koch said. “I want to make a difference.”
Lewis, 52, said when the shop opened in 2009, their books were in the red. Last year, she said, they took in $36,000.
She credited their customers for the rise in sales.
“There's a daily, social aspect,” Lewis said. “We love coming in and seeing familiar faces.”


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Seventy-six years after leaving the factory, one of the world’s most extraordinary Mercedes-Benz motor cars will be presented for public sale for the first time at Gooding & Company’s prestigious Pebble Beach Auctions on August 18 and 19. The 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster once owned by Baroness Gisela Josephine von Krieger is expected to fetch a handsome eight figures price, during the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Fewer than 10 such cars are said to survive in comparable condition, and Gooding, who is now the president of his own auction house, Gooding and Company, believes the completely restored roadster might set the record for the most expensive car ever sold at auction. As one of Mercedes-Benz’ ultra-rare 540 K Special Roadsters, the von Krieger Special Roadster is already a special car, yet it ranks superior to other examples because of its unrivalled condition, history and provenance, says David Gooding, President and founder of Gooding & Company. Its complete restoration, beautiful story and thoroughly documented history make it absolutely extraordinary and perhaps the finest 540 K Special Roadster in existence. It is the most exciting pre-war Mercedes-Benz I’ve ever known.
Von Krieger’s Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster is one of 26 540K Special Roadsters, and was built on special order before World War II. With chassis number 130949, this long-tail, high-door car with exposed-spare, was purchased new in year 1936 by the aristocratic Von Kriegner family for the use of son Henning, but the beautiful Baroness Gisela Josephine Von Krieger, who is described as one of the 10 most fashionable women in the world, as per Gooding, eventually made this car her own. She then saved it from the potential destruction in Germany, first shipped to Switzerland, then to U.S. after the end of war. Though, she lived in Manhattan, but Baroness kept the 540K safely at the Homestead Inn in Greenwich area, even after when she moved back in early 1960s to Switzerland.
In 1989, when she died of a heart attack, she was living in Havishamian squalor, with $320,000 worth of jewels by Cartier and others — later auctioned off by Sotheby’s — scattered around her filthy apartment.
The 540 K remained an undisturbed time capsule, with such items as the Baroness’s driving maps, lipstick-stained cigarette butts and silk gloves intact. After the estate was settled, the Special Roadster was sold to its current owner, who has cared for the car ever since.
Under the guidance of the car’s current owner, the high-door, long-tail Special Roadster was recently restored to its original condition by Chris Charlton, whose restorations have won Best of Show at Pebble Beach. Just as it was upon leaving the factory in 1936, the Special Roadster is finished in black and chrome over a Cognac-colored leather interior and remains distinctively marked by the von Krieger family crest, hand-painted on the upper portion of the driver’s door.
To break the record for a car sold at auction, Gooding will have to outdo himself: Last year, his company sold a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa for a chart-topping $16,390,000 at Pebble Beach.
Even so, Gooding’s prediction may not be that far-fetched. A similar 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster broke into the top 10 most expensive cars sold at auction last year. That car went for $9,680,000 at RM Auctions’ Monterey event—but that nearly eight-figure purchase price didn’t buy the enchanting history that accompanies Baroness von Krieger’s Benz. [Gooding & Company]


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#opensea #coinbasenft #looksrare
OpenSea has been the dominant decentralized platform for users looking to mint, buy, sell and trade nonfungible tokens (NFT). Serving more as an NFT aggregator than a gallery, OpenSea locked in $3.25 billion in volume for December 2021 alone, according to data from Dune Analytics, and from December 2020 to December 2021, the total volume increased by a whopping 90,968%.
No stranger to contention and criticism, OpenSea has had its fair share of perils and pitfalls. Most notably, its former head of product, Nate Chastain, was found using insider information to front-run and profit from selling the platform’s front page NFTs.
Adding to the overall feeling of distrust, the community felt devalued after newly appointed chief financial officer Brian Roberts hinted at going public. However, he quickly reaffirmed that OpenSea has no intention to go public anytime soon.
OpenSea might be the top NFT marketplace by transaction volumes at the moment, but in 2022, there are bound to be a handful of competitors aiming to unseat the giant.
Here are five NFT marketplaces that could potentially shake the top contender from its spot in the coming months ahead.
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MultiChoice South Africa is happy with the uptake of Showmax Pro in South Africa as well as across the African continent.
This is according to a spokesperson for the company who recently told MyBroadband more about the popularity of the service and what users can expect from it in the coming year.
MultiChoice launched Showmax Pro in South Africa back in August 2020, with mobile and standard packages priced at R225 and R449, respectively.
The service bundles Showmax’s standard collection of movies and TV shows, with live news and sports such as football, boxing, wrestling, and athletics.
According to MultiChoice, both packages have seen interest in South Africa, with increase in viewing recorded for particular events.
“Regardless of the device used, there are noticeable spikes in viewership for key matches in international leagues such as the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga, as well as the local leagues like the DStv Premiership,” the spokesperson said.
While several MyBroadband readers have said the service is too expensive without other popular sports like rugby, cricket, golf, and tennis, MultiChoice stated there were no plans to change Showmax Pro pricing in South Africa at the moment.
Coming to Showmax Pro
When asked about new sports headed to the service, MultiChoice said there were several sports documentaries to look out for.
“Earlier this year, HBO’s brilliant Tiger Woods documentary series joined the other top HBO content on the platform, where it is currently available to stream for all Showmax subscribers,” the spokesperson said.
New sport documentaries will be available on Showmax Pro before making their way to DStv’s SuperSport channels.
The first of these will be Klopp – The Inside Story, which will premiere on 8 March. This title should be popular with Liverpool fans in particular, MultiChoice said.
Next is South African Moto GP breakout star Brad Binder’s remarkable story in BB Reflections 2.0, which will be available on 12 March. The documentary will then head to SuperSport from 19 March.
In April, Kobe: Life of a Legend will air first on Showmax Pro in South Africa before it airs on SuperSport.
MultiChoice said that there were a number of other exciting projects coming up, which they will share when details become available.
There were no details available on the possible inclusion of the 2021 Olympics or British & Irish Lions tour this year, however.


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The growing list of celebrities speaking out against fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana has just added a Real Housewife to it. Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star and gay rights activist Lisa Vanderpump is weighing in on the controversy.
Dolce & Gabbana first made headlines over the weekend when they spoke out against some same-sex partners choosing adoption and IVF to have children. "We oppose gay adoptions. The only family is the traditional one," the fashion designers told Italy's Panorama magazine. "You are born to a mother and a father—or at least that's how it should be," Dolce added. "I call children of chemistry, synthetic children. Rented uterus, semen chosen from a catalog."
Lisa is not a fan of what the pair had to say. "Disappointing that D&G who design with such grace, can be so censorious, the only labels they should use are the ones on their clothes. #lgbt," she tweeted afer the pair's comments went viral.
Andy also reacting to the designers' interview—by auctioning off his own D&G suit for charity.
Elton John was one of the first celebrities to make headlines afther the pair's comments picked up steam. In the wake of the controversy, Ricky Martin, Glee creator Ryan Murphy, Courtney Love and tennis player Martina Navratilova have all spoken out against the pair.
The designers have since responded to the backlash with Dolce noting he was sharing his opinion "without judging other people's choices."
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As our recent AI market report highlighted, 2023 was the breakout year for Artificial Intelligence. Within a year of ChatGPT going viral, AI went from a water-cooler topic of tech employees to a focus of global business leaders.
Rapid innovation in AI development and a flood of venture capital investment have produced many motivated companies looking to gain a competitive advantage through AI solutions.
We wanted to dig into the Artificial Intelligence market through a focused lens. This report analyzes the AI maturity of the Fortune 500 and the Inc. 5000 to show how the largest and fastest-growing companies are investing in generative AI technologies. For accuracy, we compare the AI maturity of the top 500 companies on each list.
Discover insights into the AI market, including the adoption of AI by industry and the most AI-mature companies today.
The State of the Artificial Intelligence Market
According to Statista, the Artificial Intelligence market size is projected to reach nearly $306 billion in 2024. With an annual growth rate of 15.83%, this could lead to a market volume of about $739 billion by 2030.
Additionally, the market research company forecasts the Generative AI market size will reach $66.6 billion in 2024 and show an annual growth rate of 20.80%. This illustrates the significant innovation and interest in generative AI technologies specifically.
A recent McKinsey Global Survey illustrated the impact and how leaders are adapting to gen AI technologies:
- One-third of respondents’ organizations use gen AI regularly in at least one business function
- Nearly one-quarter of C-suite executives personally use gen AI tools for work
- More than one-quarter of those at companies using AI say gen AI is already on their boards’ agendas
AI Industry Trends of the Fortune 500
This chart shows the average AI Maturity score of this year’s Fortune 500 by industry, according to the HG AI Maturity Index. The average AI Maturity of the entire Fortune 500 list is 21/100.
Tech and Telecommunications are the industries with the highest average AI Maturity at 27/100, a comparatively high score but still indicating how far even the largest, most AI-mature enterprises have to go on the road to AI integration.
AI Industry Trends of the Inc. 500
According to HG Insights’ data, the average AI Maturity of the Inc. 500 is 12/100. These charts show AI maturity by industry and company size for those top 500 companies on the list. Please note: Roughly half of the Inc. 5000 have no detected AI signals. If we only look at those who have an AI detection, the average goes to ~12.
The Most AI-Mature Companies by Industry
This chart shows the top ten companies by AI Maturity score for each list. According to the AI Maturity Index, Healthcare is a top industry within both the Fortune 500 and the Inc. 500.
Per a recent Deloitte report, common use cases for AI solutions in the Healthcare sector include:
- AI-assisted predictive diagnosis
- Detection of insurance fraud
- Cloud pricing optimization
- Patient engagement
- Delivering more equitable healthcare outcomes
- Preparing for future pandemics
Technology, Media & Internet Industries
As many companies exist within both verticals, we have grouped the Technology industry with the Media & Internet industry for this deep dive.
According to the same Deloitte report, 72% of survey respondents in Technology, Media and Telecom strongly agree that “AI is very important to their ability to stay competitive over the next five years, 12 percentage points higher than any other industry.”
For many Tech companies, AI may be used extensively across commercial offerings; for those in the Media & Internet sector, top use cases include production operations automation, video content analysis, and audio and video mining.
Along with those in Tech, professionals in the Finance industry are the most likely to expect disruptive change from generative AI. Top AI use cases among Finance companies include:
- Financial reporting & accounting
- Cloud pricing optimization
- Digital customer experience
- Risk management
- Natural language generation & processing
Discover AI Opportunities in Your Market with GenAI Navigator™
To help customers capitalize on the wave of innovation in gen AI, HG has developed GenAI Navigator, a solution that helps you understand a company’s AI maturity, interest, and cloud-centricity.
The GenAI Navigator enables you to identify businesses whose technology stack indicates they’re ready to pursue a generative AI product or service and unlocks a breadth of opportunities for vendors — allowing them to discover untapped opportunities and gain a competitive advantage through early targeting.
The insights contained within the GenAI Readiness Report are based on HG’s patent-pending AI Maturity IndexTM, which includes insights into AI adoption by company, the locations where adoption is detected, the strength of these detections, and the application of an Ideal Customer Profile of data-related product detections.
To learn more about the GenAI Navigator or to see it in action for yourself, schedule a demo with one of our solution experts.


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A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Estee Lauder (EL). Shares have added about 11.9% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Estee Lauder due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.
Estee Lauder Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Sales Down
The Estee Lauder Companies reported third-quarter fiscal 2020 results, with the top line and the bottom line surpassing the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate. Notably, this marked the company’s 23nd and 13th straight quarter of earnings and sales beat, respectively. However, both earnings and sales declined year over year.
Quarter in Detail
The company posted adjusted earnings per share of 85 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 72 cents. However, the metric declined 45% year over year.
Estee Lauder’s net sales of $3,345 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,055 million. However, sales declined 11% year over year (down 9% at cc). The downside was caused by retail store closures due to the coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, the decline was partially offset by inclusion revenues from the recently-acquired Have&Be Co. Ltd.
Gross profit came in at $2,509 million, down 14%. Also, gross margin contracted 310 basis points (bps) to 75%. Operating income declined 84% year over year to $109 million. Operating income margin declined significantly to 3.3% from 18% reported in the year-ago quarter’s levels.
Product-Based Segment Results
Skin Care’s sales declined 1% year over year (flat at cc) to $1,723 million, due to reduced sales from Clinique, La Mer and Origins brands.
Makeup revenues were down 22% year over year (down 20% at cc) to $1,146 million, thanks to softness in brands like Clinique, Bobbi Brown and Tom Ford Beauty to name a few. The downside can be mainly attributed to impacts of the outbreak of coronavirus. Also, persistent softness in color cosmetics sales in most markets was a deterrent.
In the Fragrance category, revenues fell11% year over year (down 10% at cc) to $349 million caused by softness in various designer scents like Jo Malone London mainly due to the coronavirus outbreak. This along with expiration of the Tory Burch license agreement in Dec, 2019 acted as a deterrent.
Hair Care sales totaled $119 million, down 13% year on year (down 12% at cc). This was caused bylower sales from Aveda, and Bumble and bumble owing to the coronavirus outbreak.
Sales in the Americas declined 23% year over year (also at cc) to $892 million, due to reduced sales in brick & mortar stores following retail store closures in March due to the coronavirus outbreak. Nevertheless, growth in online sales during this time offered some respite.
Sales in Europe, the Middle East & Africa region declined 6% (down 5% at cc) to $1,525 million due to the coronavirus outbreak. Nevertheless, gains in the online and travel retail offered some respite.
In the Asia-Pacific region, sales fell 4% (down 1% at cc) to $928 million, thanks to lower sales following store closures due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, online sales increased double-digits during the quarter.
Other Financial Updates
Net cash flow used for operating activities for nine months ended Mar 31, 2020 came in at $1.95 billion. Further, to maintain financial flexibility, the company has decided to suspend its next quarterly dividend which was due to be paid in Jun, 2020.
Estee Lauder anticipates majority of its retail stores to remain shut through most of fourth-quarter fiscal 2020. The company expects these store closures to continue impacting the global prestige beauty negatively. Given the uncertainty related to the pandemic, management is not providing any guidance for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2020.
During the third quarter, the company undertook various expense-control measures that included suspending non-essential recruits among others. In fact, these measures have resulted in nearly $250 million of savings during the quarter. Moreover, Estee Lauder expects these cost-control measures to deliver increased benefits in the fourth quarter.
On Apr 15, the company took various other measures including salary cuts for senior executives and other management employees along with furloughing workers, among others. These along with other cost-control measures implemented in the third quarter are expected to reduce operating expenses by $500-$600 million in the fourth quarter.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
It turns out, fresh estimates have trended downward during the past month. The consensus estimate has shifted -133.11% due to these changes.
At this time, Estee Lauder has an average Growth Score of C, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with a D. Following the exact same course, the stock was allocated a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Estee Lauder has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
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Let them eat (lots of) pizza: Toronto's Furious Pete faces Takeru Kobayashi in a pie-pounding rematch
This weekend, legendary competitve eater Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi battles Toronto’s own “Furious Pete” Czerwinski in the second annual pizza pie eating competition at PIE, Barrie’s only wood-fired pizza joint. The Let ‘Em Eat Part Deuce competition will see the two — along with nine others — hoovering sauce and inhaling cheese like human garburators.
At the inaugural competition last year, Kobayashi downed 40 slices of gloriously cheesy pizza in a mere 12 minutes. (For the record, that’s 10 full pizzas.) The eating machine gained a bad-boy reputation last summer, when he crashed the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest after a dispute with Major League Eating (yes, that is a real thing). This year, he’s back and vows to break last year’s record, said a PIE spokesperson. Earlier this summer, Kobayashi set an unofficial world record by consuming 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
In the other corner of the pizza pie ring is homegrown power-eater “Furious” Pete, who struggled with anorexia in high school (which even he admits is pretty ironic). Finishing in a not-so-distant second against Kobayashi, he ate his way through 29 slices of tomato, mozzarella and basil pies last year. Hungry for the competition (quite literally), he recently consumed an entire pizza in just 35 seconds.
The two face off this Sunday at 3 p.m. in Barrie. Eleven contestants will compete in the final, mowing down on 14-inch Queen Pies made up of margherita tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and basil.
Up for grabs is a personal parking spot at PIE and $3,000 (which, if spent on food, will sate one of these guys for precisely five minutes).
Let 'Em Eat Part Deuce, PIE, 705-725-WOOD


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Chinese spot alumina prices were steady Thursday in thin trade, with offer levels also rangebound despite news of a planned refinery restart in South China.
The Platts ex-works Shanxi alumina spot assessment continued Thursday at Yuan 1,890/mt ($290/mt) full cash payment terms, with Henan spot alumina also unchanged at Yuan 1,920-1,930/mt cash.
Sellers' offers were stable at mostly Yuan 1,950/mt cash in both provinces.
Down south in Guangxi, refiners' quotes also continued at Yuan 1,850/mt cash, with tradeable prices pegged around Yuan 1,800/mt.
Galuminium Group, which operates an 800,000 mt/year smelter grade alumina refinery in Guangdong province, completely shut down in December 2015 due to poor market conditions to conduct an overhaul.
It now plans to restart 400,000 mt/year capacity in April, a company source said.
"The news of the restart has put a halt on spot alumina offers rising further, but there is no sign of prices going down yet," a South China smelter source said. "We'll have to wait and see how that impacts the market in the near term."
A Beijing trader said Galuminium's restart impact would be "minimal, as the quantity is small...the majority of the refinery shutdowns earlier were all in the north, in millions of mt, and there's no news of any restarts there yet, so prices can still edge higher."
A Shanxi refiner said Thursday he was currently sold out of March spot alumina, and would only offer spot for April delivery at the end of the month. He expects offers can likely reach Yuan 2,000-2,100/mt by then.
A Henan refiner agreed, adding that prices were currently steady and market participants needed to see some stabilization before more restarts would surface, and more buyers would emerge.
The front-month aluminum contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed at Yuan 11,200 mt on Thursday, down from Yuan 11,240/mt last week, but up from Yuan 10,570/mt at the start of February.


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These are the most read stories published on am-online.com from September and October 2014.
A director of a car dealership in Greater London has been jailed for one year for selling two unsafe vehicles.
In a pilot initiative, Colin Appleyard Cars is set to open an "unmanned" car sales showroom where customers will browse and choose their car without a sales executive.
Jaguar has unveiled its new XE compact saloon, the British brand's rival to the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class.
Knights Group aftersales director Ian Dow explains why he has extended working hours, up to 2am for some departments, and why the motor trade needs to follow the lead of other retail sectors on customer convenience.
British luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce has received its largest ever single order for a fleet of 30 bespoke extended wheelbase Phantom luxury limousines.
A car salesman has landed a suspended prison sentence for fraud after privately selling a Nissan from his dealership's stock.
A lack of new models, particularly in segments it used to be strong in, has led to year-on-year decline in the Honda brand. Its reputation for technological innovation has also paled as a result.
Almost a year on from opening its first UK retail location, Tesla has transformed from a company looking after a handful of Roadster models to one which is starting to build some scale. However, franchised dealers have not been invited to the party, and aftersales will not be a crucial profit centre.
Mercedes-Benz has revealed the AMG GT, a new halo supercar for its range that will be capable of 0-62mph in four seconds.
Land Rover dealers will offer the Discovery Sport model from below £30,000 when the new car arrives in 2015.


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Canaccord Genuity’s Mike Ramsay released a report Tuesday morning on his thoughts about the future of Ambarella Inc. (NASDAQ: AMBA). The direction of the report is that the company has a strong disposition for sales and earnings growth based on its application-specific video encoding microprocessors. This becomes increasingly true as HD and UltraHD video capture and compression become increasingly important across consumer and enterprise markets.
Along with this, the brokerage firm believes that Ambarella’s investments in video analytics will be significantly undervalued and provide sustained long-term differentiation and price stability.
Looking ahead, Canaccord Genuity believes that Ambarella will have sustainable leadership in both video compression and processing power efficiency due to its application-specific video encoding processors. In the long term, the company’s investments in video analytics software and encoding expertise will be incredibly relevant through important applications such as facial and action recognition, security, augmented-reality, self-driving autos and content-aware advertising.
Considering Ambarella’s unique processor and software technologies, the brokerage firm anticipates sustained leading market share in the range of 20% to 25% core growth markets including:
- Action sports cameras, including top customer GoPro Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRO)
- Enterprise video security
- After-market auto cameras
- Video broadcast infrastructure
It is worth noting that GoPro’s cameras contain Ambarella’s processors. GoPro produces a solid product, which in conjunction with market tailwinds has skyrocketed shares since its initial public offering this past summer. This arguably makes Ambarella that much more valuable because GoPro will speak for the quality of its processors, in turn attracting more clients and more sales for Ambarella. Also, Ambarella is inside the devices of GoPro’s competitors as well.
Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage of Ambarella with a Buy rating set its price target at $66. The price target is based on the shares trading at roughly 25 times the fiscal year 2017 earnings per share estimate. The firm would go on to state that while shares trade at a premium multiple, it believes that the emergence of new growth markets will allow Ambarella’s shares to hold their premium multiple, as well as appreciating consistent with the firm’s sales and earnings growth estimates.
The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $56.22, with an upside of 8.7% to the Canaccord Genuity price target of $66 and with an upside of 27.6% to current prices. The highest analyst price target is $70, which implies an upside of 35.4%.
The brokerage firm has forward-looking estimates for adjusted earnings per share in the coming years as:
- 2015: $1.75, up 60% year-over-year
- 2016: $1.98, up 13%
- 2017: $2.64, up 34%
Shares of Ambarella were up 2% at $51.71 in the first two hours of trading Tuesday, against a 52-week trading range of $21.60 to $58.00. It has a market cap of roughly $1.5 billion.