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Silk Road was an online black market, selling everything from drugs to stolen credit cards and murderers-for-hire. It was shut down by the. Russian national AlexanderVinnik, one of the operators of BTC-e, was arrested in AlphaBay Market became one of the most popular Tor-hidden drug market. Bitcoin has a bad rep. A lot of people view it as a black market currency, which to be fair isn't false. The first place Bitcoin was. Silk Road, an online black market on the dark web, allowed people to sell drugs and other illegal goods. About 1 billion worth of bitcoin. Tor Browser Installation-step 1. these dark web market also offer escrow use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency to purchase everything from drugs to guns. Helix functioned as a bitcoin mixer or tumbler, allowing Darknet markets and the dealers who sell opioids and other illegal drugs.
8 days ago and later the company has supplied to its US-based subsidiary for distribution in the US, the world's largest market for generic drugs. Extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet. The complaint alleges that, while in operation, Silk Road was used by thousands of drug. 1 billion in Bitcoin from former dark web drug market Silk Road The cryptocurrency was seized during the dismantling of Silk Road. Chinese officials have also recently indicated that they will be taking measures to curb bitcoin mining in China, one of the largest markets. 4 days ago Representations of virtual currency bitcoin are seen through broken glass in With new rules looming, crypto markets were skittish to the. The Silk Road: The Silk Road, aka the Amazon of illegal drugs, only allows transactions with bitcoins. At bitcoin drugs market one point, the Silk Road drew the line.
By K Porter 2018 Cited by 27 Aug 2017, Markets and vendors (1), drugs and law enforcement (3), cryptocurrency (5), discussion about Silk Road (7), anonymity (8), DHL market??? (9). By F POLICY 2019 Cited by 540 This staggering number is close to the scale of the US and European markets for illegal drugs and suggest that cryptocurrencies are transforming the black. The EMCDDA publication on Internet and drug markets aims to unravel some of the complexities surrounding these markets: what they are, how they operate, the. The October 1 closing of a popular darknet marketplace leaves a big hole in drugs, and more than 31 million in cryptocurrency and cash. The Silk Road, an alleged billion dollar black market website that allowed users to buy guns and drugs using digital currency was raided by. While it's associated with the dark web marketplace has forever left a stain on the crypto asset, Bitcoin may also not be where it is today if it didn't catch.
Brokers for Selling 79M Bitcoin Seized from Illegal Drug Market to hire brokers to sell 1,981 Bitcoins seized from illegal drug. Authorities around the world know about the website, but closing it is another matter partly because it uses Bitcoins. Tor Browser Installation-step 1. these dark web market also offer escrow use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency to purchase everything from drugs to guns. Bitcoins are untraceable digital currency, which is appealing to human traffickers, drug pushers and arms dealers who operate in the illicit. A archetyp market url man was arrested on July 18 for trying hydra darknet market to launder 19 million of bitcoin earned on the darknet drug marketplace Silk Road. 8 days ago The rise of cryptocurrency is usually a story of pizzas bought with bitcoins now worth over a billion dollars, kingpins of darknet drugs markets.
After all, the market for drugs is notoriously inefficient. And most of the sites conduct business in bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that. Cryptocurrencies are among the largest unregulated markets in the world. We find that approximately one-quarter of bitcoin users are. Using real money, users purchase these Bitcoins, which can be traded at roughly 9 to one bitcoin, and use them as proxy for real money when. By K Keane 2020 They found crypto market drug supply was negatively correlated with the local supply of a drug. Criminals are using cryptocurrency to evade law. Ross William Ulbricht, archetyp market link the alleged "Dread Pirate Roberts," is arrested and an online drug market disabled. Among them was the creation of the world's first online drug bazaar, which sparked a vicious bear market in the price of bitcoin.
Top Darknet Markets 2022
For example, if you lend your car to a friend, you aren’t a car rental company. Our innovative Story Viewer for Instagram will track every new Story a user you monitor has uploaded. Below you will find some archetyp market darknet websites which archetyp link are not drug markets, but other shops where you can also buy many of the items which you would expect to find on a dark web market.


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Frontier backs $1 billion luxury ocean liner Utopia
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- Christopher Tritto
See correction at end of article.
St. Louis-based private equity firm Frontier Group is spearheading a more than $1 billion venture to build a residential ocean liner, and St. Louis stands to benefit.
Frontier Group, which was started with the help of Senior Adviser Sanford “Sandy” McDonnell, former chairman and CEO of McDonnell Douglas Corp., is putting up most of the money to launch Utopia Residences Co., which has ordered its ship be built by South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries Co. for delivery in 2013.
Utopia is selling private residences, ranging from 1,400 square feet to as large as 40,000 square feet, aboard the ship. Once complete, the vessel will sail to international events — the Cannes Film Festival in France, the Monaco Grand Prix, Carnival in Rio De Janeiro, the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, New Year’s Eve in Sydney Harbor and more — throughout the year.
David Robb, Utopia’s chairman and another co-founder of Frontier Group, said he expects fewer than 20 percent of the residential owners will occupy their on-board homes year round. Many will travel to and from the ship as they please. But in addition to restaurants, swimming pools and other amenities, the ship will feature a state-of-the art business and communications center from which residents can manage their businesses, Robb said.
Utopia and its flagship showroom are based in Beverly Hills, and two additional showrooms grace Madison Avenue in New York City.
But Robb said Utopia has selected St. Louis to be the future home of four infrastructure and support services operations that will receive millions of dollars in investment and create local jobs.
St. Louis will host a call center Utopia will use to interact with customers, suppliers and employees. A travel services operation here will be responsible for booking airline tickets and charter planes to coordinate the movement of 700 people from around the world who will work directly on the ship, another 300 corporate employees stationed around the globe, as well as residents moving to and from the ship. A logistical operation will be responsible for scheduling the ship’s crew and service staff from various countries, and coordinating the supply of fresh food and other goods to the ship. Finally, a warehouse here will hold spare parts for the ocean liner and be responsible for packaging them for air freight deliveries as needed.
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Shropshire Hills Tourism EXPO 2019
Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership and Shropshire Hills Tourism are jointly hosting their annual tourism conference and leaflet swap on Wednesday 3 April 2019 at Ludlow Racecourse.
The day’s programme starts with a morning leaflet swap and Expo. The morning will include talks about the proposed Tourism Ambassadors Scheme and new destination branding. Gemma Davies, Head of Economic Development at Shropshire Council will talk about the importance of tourism in Shropshire.
Over thirty attractions and other businesses from across the Shropshire Hills will be there promoting their services. Last year’s event attracted over 80 local tourism business owners to pick up leaflets and network. This year, over 100 bookings have already been taken, with two weeks left until the event which is free to attend. For booking details visit the Eventbrite page.
The event will also launch The Great Shropshire Hills Cream Tea Trail and awards to encourage visitors to explore the area sampling its best cream teas. Visitors will vote for their favourite and the winner will be awarded at the Ludlow Food Festival. Bite-sized cream tea tasters will be served at the Expo by Ludlow Farmshop who are sponsoring the trail.
The afternoon conference will be opened by Cllr Lezley Picton, Shropshire Council Cabinet member for culture and leisure.
The key note speaker will be Carol Ritchie, Chief Executive of the Europarc Federation, who will be congratulating the Shropshire Hills for their recent Sustainable Tourism Award. Carol will talk about the value of being a member of an international network of destinations, renowned for their outstanding landscapes and important heritage. Invited speakers also include Shane Harris from North Pennines AONB and Tish Dockerty from Local to Ludlow.
Cllr Lezley Picton said:
“This annual event gets bigger and better every year. It shows that the benefits of working together locally. It also celebrates how we are part of an international network of special places all working towards greener, more responsible tourism.
“I’m looking forward to the event and to exploring the Shropshire Hills in search of the finest cream teas!”
Paul Davis, Chair of Shropshire Hills Tourism, said:
“This is the biggest tourism event in the area, with people coming from Herefordshire, Powys and Worcestershire to join us. It’s an efficient way to make sure every business can pick up leaflets and find out what’s going on in tourism. It is also a great opportunity to develop partnerships and promote new things, like the Cream Tea Trail.”
Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership and Shropshire Hills Tourism are working together as part of the Shropshire Hills Destination Partnership to promote green tourism in the Shropshire Hills.
Notes to editors
For more information about the event and Cream Tea Trail contact Nigel McDonald, Sustainable Tourism Officer for Shropshire Hills AONB (email@example.com 01743 254744).
For more information about the leaflet swap and Expo contact Paul Davis, Chair of Shropshire Hills Tourism (firstname.lastname@example.org)


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As the end of Chicago’s patio season approaches, restaurant leaders are urging local officials to take a cue from Northern European cities and Colorado ski towns to encourage outdoor seating even as the weather turns cold.
Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association, said the trade group has been having conversations with the city and state about extending street closures and using tents, heaters, blankets and plastic domes to give restaurants more seating capacity as COVID-19 restrictions continue.
“We have about six weeks,” Toia said Wednesday during a virtual speech to the City Club of Chicago. “We need to start thinking outside the box right now. … Because we could be in this for the next six months and we want to be ahead of the curve.”
Restaurants were devastated by the mandatory closure of dining rooms for more than three months, and about 5,000 Illinois eating and drinking establishments are expected to close permanently as a result, said Toia, based on estimates from the National Restaurant Association that put closures at 20% to 25%.
They continue to suffer amid occupancy restrictions designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In Chicago, indoor dining is permitted at no more than 25% capacity. Outside of the city, state social distancing rules requiring 6 feet between tables typically means restaurants can’t be more than half full.
Outdoor dining has been a saving grace for restaurants with the space for it, and the city has reduced sidewalk fees, streamlined the process for getting an outdoor seating permit and blocked off some streets to allow tables to be set up there.
When the weather no longer cooperates, “we could really be in trouble,” Toia said. He urged local officials to take a page from Toronto, Paris and Colorado ski towns to make outdoor dining feasible into winter.
The restaurant industry, which was Illinois’ largest private-sector employer pre-pandemic with nearly 600,000 workers, continues to suffer amid the restrictions and continued consumer wariness of spending much time in public.
Though dining rooms were permitted to reopen in June, sales at restaurants remain 50% to 80% lower than last year, and 86% of restaurants say they don’t expect to turn a profit by the end of the year, Toia said.
“Building consumer confidence back up is definitely a challenge,” Toia said.
Rising cases of COVID-19 in Illinois are not helping reopening efforts. The safety of employees and customers must be the priority to avoid a tightening of restrictions or a second round of closures, Toia said.
While there are some bad actors, 99% of restaurants comply with rules around face masks and social distancing, Toia said. He stood alongside Gov. J.B. Pritzker during the announcement last week that businesses will be fined if they don’t enforce the state’s mandatory mask rules, a policy decried by some other business interest groups.
“We can’t afford to go backwards right now,” Toia said.
The Illinois Restaurant Association has called for another round of forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program after the first allocated just 8% of funds to the restaurant industry. The group also backs a federal bill to create a $120 billion relief fund that would provide grants to independent bars and restaurants that have been hurt by the pandemic.
“We need a bailout from Washington, D.C., like they’ve done in the past for the airline industry, they’ve done for the banking industry, they’ve done for the auto industry,” Toia said.


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Chicago—For all the early holiday shopping preparations, retailers can expect to see more shoppers making last minute purchases this year. While many may actually be waiting in anticipation of deeper discounts, shoppers are expected to drive sales late in the season with four of the 10 busiest shopping days between Dec. 20 to Dec. 24, predicted ShopperTrak, a leading supplier of shopper analytics.
Moreover, due to the fact the shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas is five days shorter this year and only four weekends, retailers will have to be well prepared to capitalize on the last minute crush.
ShopperTrak expects consumers will make slightly fewer store visits in November and December this year (1.4% fewer than in 2012), but this trend will not translate into a decline in spending. The company predicts national retail sales this season will rise 2.4% compared to the same holiday months last year.
Last year’s 10 busiest shopping days accounted for more than one-third (35.7%) of sales of general merchandise, apparel, furniture and other products between Black Friday (Nov. 23, 2012) through Jan. 5, 2013. According to ShopperTrak, this drove a 3% increase in total retail sales over the 2011 holiday season.
ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin says “calendar changes affect each holiday season differently. Because Christmas falls on a Wednesday this year, it will create its own mid-week momentum without compromising the typically high weekend shopper activity. Retailers should anticipate such calendar shifts each year and prepare their marketing, labor and operations accordingly.”
Shoppers Procrastinate, but Prepared
Black Friday (Nov. 29) will lead the way as the single busiest shopping day this holiday season, in both total retail shopper traffic and sales. This will be the tenth year in a row Black Friday produces top-performing sales and shopper traffic, the company said.
ShopperTrak anticipates the final Saturday before Christmas, known as “Super Saturday” (Dec. 21), will be the second strongest shopping day of the season, followed by Dec. 22, Dec. 20 and Dec. 23.
Stores will see slightly more shopper traffic than last year on Black Saturday (Nov. 30), the day after Black Friday. ShopperTrak expects Black Saturday to rank sixth in shopper traffic and eighth in sales. In fact, ShopperTrak predicts six out of the 10 busiest days will be either a Saturday or Sunday – days shoppers tend to come to stores.
“The four weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas are pivotal for retailers,” says Martin. “Though shoppers may wait until the weekends to hit the stores, they will come prepared with information about exactly what they want to buy. Smart retailers will ready their staff to work with an influx of these knowledgeable shoppers this season.”
The following table shows ShopperTrak’s forecasted busiest holiday sales and traffic days in November and December 2013:
Sales Rank Traffic Rank Date
1 1 Friday, Nov. 29 (Black Friday)
2 2 Saturday, Dec. 21 (Super Saturday)
3 3 Sunday, Dec. 22
4 10 Friday, Dec. 20
5 4 Saturday, Dec. 14
6 (not among top 10) Monday, Dec. 23
7 5 Thursday, Dec. 26 (Day after Christmas)
8 6 Saturday, Nov. 30
9 7 Saturday, Dec. 7
10 9 Saturday, Dec. 28
(not among top 10) 8 Sunday, Dec. 15


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On G.P.S. Engineering’s new Facebook page you can find all company news and technical curiosities from the world of special gearboxes. Follow GPS to know the technical characteristics of the new products and the news in the field of conditions monitoring and of the other offered services!
Share GPS on the social networks
Share the products and services of GPS Engineering S.r.l. for what concerns special gearboxes.


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In less than six months, The Sway Effect has gone global and has expanded its reach to Spain, Columbia, Argentina, and Mexico. Spearheaded by its female Founder and President, Jennifer Risi, our team is poised to help global brands connect in these key local markets while also helping local brands based in the region expand globally.
Allyship work is difficult and hardly ever linear. But there are so many steps anyone at any organization can take, no matter their position, to create a work environment that benefits everyone—not just those in positions of privilege.
If we really want to create a workforce that’s more diverse, inclusive, and equitable across the board, reactive, one-time company initiatives won’t do much. It’s about the smaller and more proactive day-to-day actions that make all the difference and create a permanent culture shift.
It's the firm that's swaying the tide of the communications industry. The newly launched, Sway Effect, is working to create a network of agencies to not only handle communication for clients, but to integrate diversity and inclusion into all aspects of their business. We spoke to Jennifer Risi, Founder and President of The Sway Effect.
Our industry is obsessed with the word “purpose.” There are entire conferences, events and award ceremonies dedicated to it. It's truly the buzziest of buzzwords. The problem? Many brands are not as purpose-driven as they think.
Called The Sway Effect, the new firm is named for the impact Risi hopes it will have on the communications industry, as well as brands and public perception, she said. The agency and its business model are built to foster alliances, as well as diversity and inclusion.
It's not only about messages, but how women are portrayed and the roles they take in media. It shouldn't be about women in business or women in science. It should be executives in science or executives in business.


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The WTO has allowed the EU to waive import taxes on 75 products from Pakistan to help the country recover from devastating floods in 2010. The humanitarian action is unprecedented at the international trade body.
The World Trade Organization on Wednesday approved a waiver for Pakistan to export 75 types of products to the European Union without paying tariffs, in a humanitarian gesture to help the country recover from massive floods in 2010.
Pakistani trade officials said they expected the waiver would significantly increase exports of textiles. It would also cover products like leather and industrial alcohol.
"This waiver… shows the human face of the WTO," Pakistan's WTO ambassador Shahid Bashir told the AFP news agency. "The Pakistani people have faith in the multi-lateral trade system."
Pakistan was devastated by massive flooding in 2010 and its economy has not yet fully recovered. The EU offered the tariff waiver on humanitarian grounds - an unprecedented action at the WTO.
EU officials said the imports of the 75 goods make up about 27 percent of all imports from Pakistan and are worth almost 900 million euros ($1.19 billion). The duty-free access is expected to boost that value by 15 to 20 percent, or some 100 million euros compared to 2009 levels.
The waiver was initially contested by a group of textile-exporting countries including Brazil, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia. WTO rules generally forbid giving preferential treatment to one country over others.
But the countries dropped their objections after the EU modified the waiver to use tariff rate quotas on 20 products instead of complete liberalization.
If approved by the WTO's General Council, the waiver is to apply from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013. The EU may request a one-year extension if it decides the Pakistani economy needs more time to recover.
acb/jw (AFP, AP, Reuters)


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Xinhua News Agency reported from Vientiane capital, Laos on June 21 that the Vientiane Times reported, citing the words of Lao Agriculture and Forestry Minister Petch Prompriphaks. that Laos made income from agricultural exports during the first 6 months of this year totaling more than 870 million US dollars (approximately 30,600 million baht), representing 72.57% of the target for the full year.
The report states that The main agricultural exports for Laos are bananas, rubber, cassava, sugarcane, cattle and buffalo, with China being the largest buyer.
Mr. Petch made the remarks during the 3rd General Session of the 9th Legislative Assembly of the Lao National Assembly. last week that the government will encourage both domestic and foreign entrepreneurs to invest in agriculture to stimulate exports and added that Many local companies plan to invest in agriculture. to produce food for domestic consumption and export which is in line with government policy that want to promote production in this sector
Laos currently has more than 2,000 livestock farms, of which 655 are cattle farms, 553 pig farms, 711 poultry farms and the rest are goat, sheep and other animal farms. significantly higher production This is mainly due to rising fuel prices.
In addition, the costs of machinery, fertilizer and feed are all rising rapidly. This is because these goods are imported from abroad and must be paid in foreign currency. This is costly as the kip continues to depreciate.
to solve the above problem The Lao government is promoting the use of organic fertilizers. and locally produced feed to reduce import costs. Lao farmers need about 2 million tons of fertilizer per year, but currently can produce only 600,000 tons of organic fertilizer, and about 600,000 tons of animal feed, but 6 factories in the country can produce less than 400,000 tons, or 100. 60 each of the total demand
However, Laos has a huge opportunity to increase crop yields for export. especially to China Because now the China-Laos railway can transport spoiled goods more efficiently and faster by growing exports Make Laos receive more foreign currency. This will help maintain the stability of the kip currency.
Laos generated income from agricultural exports in 2021 at more than $900 million (about 31.7 billion baht), accounting for 82 percent of Laos’ target for the previous year.
Information-image : XINHUA


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Sep 2, 2009
SCHAFFHAUSEN, Switzerland, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tyco Electronics Ltd. (NYSE: TEL) today announced that its Chief Financial Officer, Terrence Curtin, will be presenting at the Citi Global Technology Conference in New York City on Sept. 9, 2009 at 9:15 a.m. EDT.
ABOUT TYCO ELECTRONICS
Tyco Electronics Ltd. is a leading global provider of engineered electronic components, network solutions, specialty products and undersea telecommunication systems, with fiscal 2008 sales of $14.4 billion to customers in more than 150 countries. We design, manufacture and market products for customers in a broad array of industries including automotive; data communication systems and consumer electronics; telecommunications; aerospace, defense and marine; medical; energy; and lighting. With approximately 7,000 engineers and worldwide manufacturing, sales and customer service capabilities, Tyco Electronics' commitment is our customers' advantage. More information on Tyco Electronics can be found at http://www.tycoelectronics.com/.
SOURCE Tyco Electronics Ltd.
SOURCE: Tyco Electronics Ltd.
Web site: http://www.tycoelectronics.com/


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CARNOUSTIE celebrated gaining Fairtrade status this week at a civic reception.
On Monday, representatives of various Carnoustie organisations gathered in Carnoustie Library to mark the occasion and to sample a range of Fairtrade and locally grown produce organised by Angus Provost Councillor Helen Oswald.
The town was granted Fairtrade status last year following a campaign by the Carnoustie Fairtrade Group.
Irene Hoar, chair of the Carnoustie Fairtrade Group, was particularly pleased with the timing of the event. She said: “Today Scotland was announced as a Fair Trade Nation, it’s only second to Wales which is great news.”
According to Mrs Hoar, gaining Fairtrade status has actually made maintaining their ethical credentials easier. She explained: “There’s been a very good response since we got Fairtrade status, there’s been at least another half dozen organisations come on board, if not more. It’s been a great boost to us to get that status.
“We’ve got to re-apply every year and we have to increase the number of people supporting it, until of course we reach a point that we can’t increase it any further.”
The Provost added: “I was very pleased when Angus became a Fairtrade Zone. I would not be at all surprised if the success of the Carnoustie Fairtrade Group was the tipping point for this zone status. And I believe the vision of Scotland becoming a Fair Trade Nation became something to be grasped as small burghs like ours took up the Fairtrade Challenge successfully.”
Angus South MSP Graeme Dey: “For somebody who lives in Carnoustie I’m particularly pleased that this reception was on the same day that Scotland has announced it has become a Fair Trade Nation. This is just the start and we’ve now got to build on it and get as many people on board as possible.”


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Will Launching a technical help service for consumers and small businesses is a great idea. I receive far too many calls from my (silver surfing) parents when they are unable to access something on their computer, download a new program or connect their digital camera to the TV. So, if nothing else, Dixon’s announcement this week that it is launching its TechGuys service is going to cut my personal IT advice time right down, and most probably do wonders for the relationship I have with my parents.
But from a business perspective, taking into consideration Dixons’ parent company DSG and its other subsidiaries, the move appears slightly more confusing.
Let’s park the fact that the name – TechGuys – reeks of the stereotypical sexism that is still rampant in our industry and look at the fact that the service, which DSG is ploughing £50m into, will target consumers and small businesses with IT support, including a premium-rate phone line and house/business site visits. DSG’s other subsidiary, PC World Business, provides products and more importantly support services to the SME sector. The danger for Dixons is how much crossover there is likely to be. Will DSG just cannibalise its own market?
Dixons is not just faced with the task of keeping its subsidiaries from operating against each other; it is involved in an ever-increasing battle against competitors. With other electrical retailers, the might of Tesco and the department stores, as well as the announcement last week that Marks and Spencer is to dip its toe into the rough seas of technology, Dixons will have to ensure that it offers a service above and beyond any of its competitors.
The firm said it will have 3,000 staff operating the phones in its TechGuys call centres. Training and equipping that number of people with a high enough level of IT knowledge to be able to offer a quality service will be both time-consuming and costly. And consumers are fickle: if the service isn’t up to scratch, DSG’s competitors will be waiting in the wings, claws at the ready.
Activist investor puts forward five director candidates as turmoil continues at security giant
Nima Green asks what is driving public cloud uptake in Germany
In the wake of yet another lawsuit involving Oracle, we run through 10 of the vendor's biggest court battles
CEO Chuck Robbins says Cisco will use the Catalyst 9000 product range as a template for future launches


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American families are shelling out what amounts to $5,000 per year to put gas in their cars — a painful increase from $2,800 just a year ago, according to a new report.
The new study by Yardeni Research shows the ever-increasing financial burden borne by US households in recent months as the price of fuel has reached record levels.
In March, the annual rate of gasoline spending by US households was at $3,800, according to the study.
“No wonder that the Consumer Sentiment Index is so depressed. The wonder is that retail sales have been so surprisingly strong during April and May,” Yardeni said in a note.
Yardeni said that while Americans’ incomes are growing at a slow pace when adjusted for inflation, that doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t spend.
“When we are happy, we spend money,” according to Yardeni. “When we are depressed, we spend even more money!”
Yardeni’s statement is supported by newly released data about the nation’s spending habits.
US retail sales rose 0.9% in April, a solid increase that underscores Americans’ ability to keep ramping up spending even as inflation persists at nearly a 40-year high.
The increase was driven by greater sales of cars, electronics and at restaurants, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.
Even adjusting for inflation, which was 0.3% on a monthly basis in April, sales increased.
Consumers are providing critical support to the economy even after a year of seeing prices spiral higher for gas, food, rent and other necessities. The economy contracted in the first three months of the year, but consumer and business spending still increased at a healthy pace.
Gas prices fell slightly last month, restraining inflation, after soaring in March in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The latest data, however, points to an uptick in prices as analysts warn that the nation could see $6-a-gallon averages.
The average price of a gallon of gas rose nationwide to a record $4.56 on Wednesday, according to AAA.
US crude rose to $114.07 per barrel while Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at $114.86 per barrel as of Tuesday, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
“There is a real risk the price could reach $6+ a gallon by August,” Natasha Kaneva, head of global oil and commodities research at JPMorgan, told CNN on Tuesday.
“With expectations of strong driving demand … US retail price could surge another 37% by August,” JPMorgan analysts wrote in a report.


text: A new gameplay video for Pic-a-Pix Color was released today. The game is being published by Lightwood Games for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. The latest gameplay footage shows off a few different puzzles, including different sized puzzles. The puzzles themselves are designed by Conceptis Ltd, a leading designer of logic puzzles that are used in print and digital media. No release date has been set, but expect the game to release sometime this year (2017). See the new gameplay video for Pic-a-Pix Color for 3DS and Wii U below.


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Australians are expected to spend about $2.1 billion in today's Boxing Day sales, with some keen shoppers camping out overnight to secure themselves a bargain.
The Federal Government has slashed its iron ore price forecasts, and miner Atlas has flagged large writedowns.
It has been burned before, but Telstra is going back to try and make money in Asia.
The Australian share market has risen in the last session before Christmas, but the dollar dropped.
The Dow Jones cracked 18,000 for the first time and the Aussie dollar plunged after strong US growth figures.
Nicaragua announces the start of work on a $50 billion shipping canal to rival the Panama canal.
|ASX All Ordinaries||5356.40||5369.50||0.2%|
|S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary||1740.10||1741.60||0.1%|
|S&P/ASX 200 Energy||11614.60||11675.40||0.5%|
|S&P/ASX 200 Financials||6229.50||6252.80||0.4%|
|S&P/ASX 200 Health Care||17540.50||17504.30||-0.2%|
|S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology||773.50||773.40|
|S&P/ASX 200 Materials||8563.60||8582.10||0.2%|
|S&P/ASX 200 Industrials||4318.50||4340.80||0.5%|
|S&P/ASX 200 CONSUMER STAPLES||9107.50||9157.60||0.6%|
|S&P/ASX 200 Telecommunication Services||2086.00||2067.80||-0.9%|
|S&P/ASX 200 Utilities||5898.00||5898.10|
|S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries||2015.80||2017.30||0.1%|


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Marriott Hotels and Lifewtr have collaborated to debut a new augmented-reality in-room guest experience. Guests are encouraged to browse virtual artwork from Lifewtr artists and transform the walls of their guestroom according to their inspiration. The AR experience was featured at a pop-up event taking place at The Oculus at the Westfield World Trade Center in New York and will continue to roll out for guests in Marriott Hotels nationwide throughout 2019.
“We are always looking for ways to engage and inspire our guests through innovative travel offerings, from the thoughtful design of our guest rooms to the enriching experiences we create with partners like Lifewtr,” Matthew Carroll, VP of global brand management for Marriott Hotels, said in a statement. “With our latest AR venture, guests can enhance their stay with us by using technology and art to spark new ways of thinking – from there, the opportunities are endless.”
How it works:
- Guests will receive a dose of inspiration by simply scanning a custom bottle tag on Lifewtr bottles found in participating Marriott Hotels.
- Users will be prompted to open the Facebook in-app camera for the AR experience to begin.
- Once the code found on bottle tags is scanned, guests can customize their rooms virtually with an augmented reality art gallery available on their mobile device, featuring artwork from 18 Lifewtr artists.
- Guests can choose their Lifewtr artwork and drag the artwork onto the virtual walls, or even color their own artwork to make the images their own.
- They can then share photos of their unique décor with followers across social media directly within the application.


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Wal-Mart launching mobile checking account
PASADENA, CA - Wal-Mart is launching a mobile checking account for its customers that will eliminate some of the fees charged by banks.
The company said Wednesday that the GoBank checking account through Green Dot Corp. has no minimum balance requirements or overdraft fees. A monthly membership charge of $8.95 can also be waived if a direct deposit of $500 is made each month.
The company says that credit bureau ratings and other scores traditionally used to determine eligibility are not part of the process.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Arkansas, already had a relationship with Green Dot, offering prepaid cards from the Pasadena, California-based company.
A MasterCard debit card can be linked to the GoBank account, which can be set up with a starter kit that costs $2.95.
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Don Angel, small businessman and CEO of the World Wide Business Group, maximises market opportunities while shopping for pants.
A promo sketch for the series Very Small Business.
Go to http://www.abc.net.au/tv/verysmallbusiness/
or www.gristmill.com.au for more information.
Mar 21, 2019 0Wrexham.com A Continental Street Market showcasing cuisines from across the world will return to Wrexham town centre this week. Over the next four days (Wednesday 20th – Saturday 23rd March) Hope Street, Regent Street and Queen Street, will play host to international themed traders selling street...


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With just a few days left until Christmas, Santa's elves will be busy distributing toys and clothing to Del Norte County kids starting this weekend.
Smith River firefighters and volunteers with Trees of Mystery in Klamath will be distributing gifts to families in their respective communities today, said Ron Phillips, special projects coordinator for Rural Human Services.
"(The parents) get an opportunity to give us an idea of what their child would like," Phillips said. "What we do is we put those mittens out on the tree and then people take them off and either buy what they've asked for or buy something that goes along with it."
Volunteers with the RHS Santa's Workshop program started wrapping presents Wednesday and are expected to continue through Monday, Phillips said. They will be distributing those gifts to 1,150 children from 450 families throughout the county. Seventy-eight families from Smith River signed up to participate in the program, he said. Toys will also be distributed to about 17 families in Klamath.
This year video games and other electronics appeared to be the most requested items, Phillips said. This included LeapFrog and VTech gadgets for little kids and XBox video games for older children. Legos, Barbie dolls and art supplies are also popular, he said.
"A great one I get from Debbie Stover over at the stationary store has about three books and various types of pencils, colored pencils and chalk. It's really a great thing for beginning in art," he said. "We try to keep the gift between $20 and $40, but we really prefer the $20 and $30 range."
RHS staff members also started giving out holiday meal baskets Friday. About 320 baskets were made up as of noon Friday. Phillips said RHS may distribute up to 350 baskets to local families.
Large families get a basket with a turkey, a 5-pound sack of potatoes, vegetables, pudding and jello.
"They get stuffing, green beans, corn, olives and pickles. Everything for a Christmas dinner," Phillips said. "And then small families got a chicken and the homeless, they get a gift card for McDonald's and a box of cookies."
The Santa's Workshop distribution sites for today include the Smith River Fire Protection District, 245 Haight Ave, and the Klamath Community Center, 219 Salmon Ave.
Meanwhile, the VFW is also getting into the holiday spirit by distributing toys and meals from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday. Santa Claus will be there. Toys for kids ages 1-13 will be given out, as well as turkey or ham dinners. For more information, call Sparky Countess at 951-1635.
Reach Jessica Cejnar at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Posted on Sep 30, 2012 under Archives, The Weekly Dish |
Here is the dish on what is happening this week in Los Angeles and Las Vegas:
Gordon Ramsay’s The Fat Cow Opens at the Grove
Award-winning Chef Gordon Ramsay brings his unique style and culinary flair to nationally-acclaimed Los Angeles retail destination, The Grove, on Oct. 1 with the opening of his newest restaurant, The Fat Cow.
The Fat Cow is the realization of Ramsay’s vision for a friendly neighborhood gathering place. Embodying the spirit of a roadhouse eatery, the ambience of The Fat Cow is warm and rustic, with a deconstructed, industrial aesthetic. Conceptualized by Ramsay and designed by AK Design Network, the restaurant features communal-style dining tables, uniquely-designed light canopies, and creatively juxtaposed reclaimed wood, unpolished metal and vintage hardware. With just over 200 seats both indoors and out, the welcoming feel of The Fat Cow is enhanced by leather tufted booths, vintage flea market items and one-of-a-kind lighting sconces that set the visual tone for the restaurant. The menu takes a classic-yet-modern approach, offering guests delicious, home-inspired comfort fare using seasonal ingredients and fresh produce from the adjacent Farmer’s Market and local farms and purveyors. Check out www.thedivinedish.com later this week for pics and review.
Peninsula Hotel Hosting Peninsula In Pink Afternoon Tea
Following the successful introduction of “Peninsula in Pink” for the first time last year, The Peninsula Hotels in Asia and North America are once again showing their support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month throughout October with “Peninsula in Pink” – the group wide campaign to raise both awareness and funds. The Peninsula Beverly Hills will host the “Peninsula in Pink” Afternoon Tea. Through the years, the Peninsula Afternoon Tea has become a hallmark feature of every Peninsula hotel around the world, and so each hotel has created a pink-themed tea for the month of October, offering a selection of pink-hued cakes and pastries in addition to the traditional scones, clotted cream and preserves. A donation will be made to the respective hotel’s designated local breast cancer charity for every “Peninsula in Pink” Afternoon Tea sold.
Eli Roth’s Goretorium Opens
It is slaughter on The Strip as
Eli Roth’s GORETORIUM, the first year-round haunted experience to hit Las Vegas dares brave souls to enter its doors. An experience unlike any other, the 15,000-square-foot Goretorium, packed with state-of-the-art scares, bone-chilling special effects and a cast of hauntingly horrifying characters is now open in the heart of Sin City. Best known for creating the gruesome “Hostel” franchise, actor/director Eli Roth has coupled the latest technology with old-fashioned scares to bring his darkest nightmare to life as he invites hapless visitors to step inside the urban legend of the mythical Delmont Hotel. Guests start their frightening journey inside the lobby and make their way through the “abandoned” resort where, according to legend, a serial-killing family preys upon every person who dares to enter.GORETORIUM is open seven days a week: Monday – Friday from 2 p.m. – 2 a.m. and Friday – Sunday from 2 p.m. – 4 a.m. Tickets are $40 for general admission; $35 for advanced online. A Death Row VIP package is available for $60 which includes a complimentary line pass, express private elevator entrance to the haunt and complementary entrance to “Baby Dolls” Lounge. For more information please visit www.goretorium.com.
Life-Size Chocolate Skeleton Haunts Jean Philippe Patisserie at Bellagio
Sweet treats and scary characters make Halloween a delightfully spooky time of year. In the spirit of the holiday, the talented pastry team at Bellagio’s Jean Philippe Pâtisserie spent more than 70 hours creating a life-size chocolate and fondant skeleton complete with glistening gold teeth. This charming display measures 5’5” and sits on a chocolate electric chair for an extra-eerie addition. More than 130 pounds of white and dark chocolate were used to mold this hauntingly delicious creation, sure to shock the sweet tooth. Guests may take home some holiday cheer of their own with miniature chocolates and sugar cookies in classic Halloween shapes such as black cats, ghosts and witches.
Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace is Named #1 Buffet in Las Vegas by USA Today
Looking for the best buffet in Las Vegas? Look no further than the all-new, $17 million Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars. According to USA Today, with its focus on chefs, nine open kitchens, variety and abundance of food and sleek design, the culinary paradise found at the Bacchanal Buffet tops the list at #1. Overlooking the world-famous Garden of Gods pools, the Bacchanal Buffet serves more than 500 dishes daily in a 25,000 square foot extraordinarily modern and inviting space that seats 600, designed by internationally renowned firm Super Potato.
Thrill Seekers Wanted to Rappel from Planet Hollywood Roof for Special Olympics
For adrenaline junkies looking for a little adventure, Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino is offering the opportunity to rappel more than 300 feet from the hotel’s rooftop for “Over the Edge,” a fundraising event benefiting Special Olympics Nevada. To participate, individuals must raise or personally donate a minimum of $1,000 to Special Olympics Nevada. Fundraising is done by soliciting donations from family, friends and co-workers through the “Over the Edge” online giving site www.overtheedgelasvegas.com. The “Over the Edge” event will kick off on Friday, Oct. 12, with a preview day. Rappellers will start their descent down Planet Hollywood on Saturday, Oct. 13, from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Posted on Jul 01, 2012 under Archives, The Weekly Dish |
Here is the dish on what is happening this week in Los Angeles and Las Vegas:
Chef Christophe Happillon shucking oysters
Church and State – Chef Christophe Happillon, the Oyster Gourmet, will bring his famous oyster bar to Church and State every Tuesday and Thursday beginning this week from 6 to 10 pm. $36 per dozen, 1850 Industrial Street, reservations at 213/405-1434.
Soleto Trattoria and Pizza bar debuts downtown this month, located in the financial district. Chef Sascha Lyon will be overseeing the Southern Italian menu. Located at 801 South Figueroa Street, 213/622-3255.
Central Michel Richard
Central Michel Richard at Caesars Palace- will be hosting a Great American Cookout this Saturday, July 7. The all you can eat barbeque includes beer and patio seating to view fireworks beginning at 9pm, reservations at 702/650-5921.
Luxor – launches it’s “Race Through The Pyramid” contest now through July 23. Submit a video showcasing why you and your favorite comrade should be chosen among four teams to compete for a luxury prize package. The four selected teams of two will receive roundtrip airfare to Vegas and hotel stay and meals and participate in various challenges at the Luxor to win a VIP vacation package. Enter at www.luxor.com/racethroughthepyramid/.
Minus5 Ice Bar Frosty Mojito
Minus5 Ice Bar, Mandalay Bay – Chill out at Minus5 Ice Bar and guests who wear a Minus5 t-shirt will receive $5 off any entry package on July 4. Also, this week the bar launches it’s latest cocktail creation, the Frosty Mojito Cocktail, located at 3960 Las Vegas Boulevard South.
Lagasse’s Stadium at Palazzo – is hosting a UFC 148 viewing party with fighter Roy Nelson on Saturday, July 7. The event begins at 7pm at 3325 Las Vegas Boulevard South, 702/607-2665 for reservations.
Earl of Sandwich – is opening its second Las Vegas location at the Palms on July 2. Official sandwich cutting will begin at 5 pm, located at 4321 West Flamingo Road.
Posted on Jun 24, 2012 under Archives, The Weekly Dish |
Here is the dish on what is happening this week in Las Vegas:
Bally's Las Vegas
Hypnotist Anthony Cools temporarily moves to Bally’s while his showroom at Paris is remodeled. Shows are dark Monday and Wednesday, all other nights shows start at 9 pm, tickets at 702/967-4567.
Rao’s restaurant launches a series of YouTube videos showcasing the Rao family’s traditions including tips on bocee ball, cooking and family. The first video provides recipes for some of the restaurant’s signature dishes, check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbjJeUHA-BI&feature=youtu.be
Bradley Ogden at Caesar’s announced it will end its 10-year run on August 5, 2012.
Posted on Jun 16, 2012 under Archives, The Weekly Dish |
Here is the dish on what is happening this week in LA and Las Vegas:
Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel
Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel – EnoSteak just opened at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel. All entrees at the new steakhouse are sourced from farms within 150 miles from the resort. Located at One Ritz Carlton Drive, reservations can be made at 949/240-5088, open Tuesday through Saturday from 6 to 10 pm.
NARS at Barney’s Beverly Hills is hosting a makeup event with Uzo, lead makeup artist, this Thursday through Saturday, June 21 to 23. NARS will be offering make-up demonstrations showcasing their new line of summer products, reservations at 310/276-4400, ext. 5596.
Williams Sonoma Beverly Hills is hosting a booksigning with Nancy Silverton and Matt Molina this Friday at 2 pm. They will be signing copies of their new cookbook, The Mozza Cookbook, located at 339 North Beverly Drive.
Gordon Ramsay’s Steakhouse at Paris Las Vegas is hosting a casting call for the chef’s next season of Hell’s Kitchen. Aspiring TV contestant chefs can try out on June 18 from 10 am to 2 pm, 3655 Las Vegas Boulevard South.
Lagasse’s Stadium at Palazzo is launching two summer programs – a beer pairing menu and Oyster and Beer Fridays, offering $1.50 oysters and $4 draft beers.
burger shake combo
Kerry’s Gourmet Burgers at Harrah’s is serving up monthly specialty burger and shake combos. Each burger and shake combination crafted by Chef Kerry Simon is available for one month. Combos are $18, 3475 Las Vegas Boulevard South.
Caesars resorts celebrate national steakhouse month with special offers at The Range at Harrahs and Center Cut at Flaming, both offering three course steak dinners for $54.99, and at VooDoo Steak at Rios diners can purchase a Tomahawk Steak Special dinner for $75.


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Tata Wants to Sell the Nano in the U.S. in Two Years, Would You Buy One?
With the Indian version of the Tata Nano finally set to go on sale in July and the European version slated for 2011, Tata Chairman Ratan Tata is getting ambitious, telling reporters this week that he hopes to have the car on sale in the U.S. within two years.
"It will need to meet all emission and crash standards and so we hope in the next two years we will be offering such a vehicle in the U.S.," Ratan Tata told a panel at the Cornell Global Forum on Sustainable Global Enterprise on Wednesday.
The Nano, billed as the world's cheapest car at about $2300, has been plagued by delays due to disputes surrounding its production site. The Nano was originally designed as a safer form of transportation for India's poor and already has over 200,000 orders in its home market. In fact, there have been so many orders that Tata has been forced to implement a lottery system to determine who will get the first run of 100,000 cars.
Do you think the Tata Nano will ever actually be offered in the U.S.? If it is, would you buy one? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.


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BEIJING (Caixin Online) — Hertz Global Holdings Inc. has agreed to buy 20% of China Auto Rental Holdings Inc. (CAR) as part of a broader partnership between the second-largest U.S. car rental company and China’s biggest.
The two companies announced the deal on April 16. No financial details were disclosed.
Under the agreement, Hertz US:HTZ will also get a seat on CAR’s board, and CAR will acquire all of Hertz’s business in China. The two companies’ rental locations in the country will be co-branded.
Hertz will also provide management and technology support to CAR. The companies would share customer information and service networks.
Mark Frissora, chairman and chief executive of Hertz, said his company was attracted to the deal by CAR’s impressive performance in recent years.
“It’s a perfect fit for Hertz to partner with the largest and most recognized car rental company in China,” Frissora said. “Not only will CAR and Hertz be able to fulfill business and leisure rentals throughout the country, we will also provide the best rental solutions for international travelers to and from China, two markets with strong growth projections.”
Industry observers said CAR hoped the deal would help it in its bid to list in the United States.
Last year, the company applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a $300 million initial public offering. However, the plan was suspend as the stocks of Chinese companies listed in the United States suffered due to reports of financial misconduct.
CAR, founded in 2007, offers more than 50,000 vehicles in 66 cities around the country. Hertz trails only Enterprise Rent-A-Car in terms of U.S. fleet size.
CAR had revenue of $250 million in 2012, double that of 2011. Frissora predicted CAR would have annual growth of more than 50% through 2016.
China’s car rental business has seen rapid growth in recent years, prompting companies to search for sources of capital to support further growth. In July, CAR received a $200 million investment from Warburg Pincus, an American private equity firm.
The country’s car rental market will grow at more than 15% annually through 2015, said Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, making it the world’s fastest growing market.


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- AI solutions company Infobird has announced an agreement to provide e-commerce platform upgrades for elderly consumer footwear manufacturing giant Zu Li Jian
- The Beijing-based company delivers intelligent B2B services, and the Zu Li Jian agreement demonstrates the growing integration of online consumers among a population more inclined to use traditional market channels
- Infobird also recently announced an agreement to provide its web-based optimization services to cosmetics retailer SaSa Cosmetics (China)
- The company has 70 proprietary licensing rights developed under its cloud computing structure and AI technologies, and recently completed its launch on the Nasdaq Capital Market
A month after SaaS innovator Infobird (NASDAQ: IFBD) made its Nasdaq debut, the artificial intelligence (“AI”) solutions company focused on commerce in China, has begun building new retail agreements that promise to draw more attention to Infobird’s digital customer engagement solutions for improvements to customer service, management, and marketing.
The Beijing, China-based company announced June 10 that its platform will provide Zu Li Jian, a pioneer in the production of footwear for the elderly in China, with cloud-native, autonomous, and controllable source code resources, to create flexible customization and expansion for Zu Li Jian’s own e-shopping platform. Infobird’s upgrade will grant Zu Li Jean’s customer service platform high stability, high concurrency and high expansion capability, according to the announcement, making it responsive to future needs and business peaks (https://ibn.fm/9AE2w).
The announcement follows on the heels of a similar intelligent B2B collaboration that will deliver enhanced customer service and marketing capabilities to beauty retail services company SaSa Cosmetics (China) Co., Ltd. (https://ibn.fm/6qBWs).
Together, these latest agreements provide validation that Infobird’s SaaS products have successfully entered the retail industry and are gaining recognition from reputable large enterprises.
Zu Li Jian has more than 2,000 specialty stores nationwide and has successively obtained 245 patents for utility models and appearance designs of elderly footwear. The company has become a world-scale provider of consumer products for the elderly by developing footwear and clothing, daily necessities and technology products.
Zu Li Jian’s e-commerce portal has achieved full-channel coverage and provides evidence that China’s elderly population — reported at more than 260 million people over the age of 60 — is gradually adopting Internet technology’s consumption and interaction channels into their daily lives.
Infobird’s solutions also help clients to improve their performance efficiency through analysis of big data, using AI capabilities to better identify and understand their customers, markets and products in order to create a foundation for precision marketing.
Infobird is undergoing a strategic transformation, making its product evolve from customized SaaS to standardized SaaS. In the process, Infobird’s client base is growing more diversified to cover more industry sectors. The company predicts its revenue will grow more than 50 percent during fiscal 2021 to between $22 million and $25 million.
Infobird also has significant experience in the finance industry that it expects to leverage as it attempts to grow into other industries.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Infobird.com/en/index.html.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to IFBD are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/IFBD
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Last week, news broke of a potential PUMA partnership with Kylie Jenner. The deal was disputed by Kanye West, making many headlines for and against the debated deal. Today at Agenda Las Vegas, while stopping by the PUMA booth at Liberty Fairs, we were able to confirm that the Kylie Jenner PUMA partnership is in fact a go.
As originally reported by Us Weekly, the Jenner deal differs in title and role to that of Rihannaâ€™s partnership. Rihanna, who partnered with PUMA in December of 2014,Â signed on as global ambassador, exclusively wearing PUMA collaborations from her FENTY label.
Conversely, Kylieâ€™s deal will make her a brand advocate, seeing her support specific PUMA products through campaigns and her own personal social outlets. Nice Kicks has learned that PUMA photoshoots with Kylie have already taken place, and the deal is in motion.
Look for Kylie Jenner, your 2015 CSS Rookie of the Year, to start popping up in some exciting new PUMA silos in the very near future.


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The fourth and final New Amsterdam Market day of the season will take place on Sunday at the Seaport in front of the old Fulton Fish Market from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Among the 80-odd vendor offerings this time around will be gingerbread from Saltie, charcuterie from the Piggery, fish from Port Clyde Fresh Catch, and mostarda made from New York state fruit by chef Michael Vignapiano. Heartland Brewery will sell wassail for $6 a cup; all proceeds benefit City Harvest. Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery will operate a very World’s Fair-ish sounding Baking Pavilion.
Because the so-called Wintermarket marks the end of one season and the beginning of another, we asked New Amsterdam founder Robert LaValva what 2010 has in store. “The market really advanced significantly this year because we had four consecutive monthly market days,” he said. “Next year, I hope it will continue evolving at this incremental and organic pace. As it does, it will continue to gain a growing coalition of supporters.” New Amsterdam Market will hold a second fund-raiser in February featuring oysters on the half shell and beer, and will have its first monthly market day next spring.
Wintermarket [New Amsterdam Market]


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Fastener Acquisitions Kick Into High Gear
2012-07-19 Class:American News
Fastener acquisitions went into overdrive in recent weeks, capping an already strong year of consolidation within the industry.
Stanley Black & Decker occupied center stage in the latest round of acquisitions, buying one prominent company in the U.S., reportedly bidding on another in Singapore, and facing the threat of a union lawsuit in the UK related to the closure of facilities at Tucker Fasteners, which is a part of Emhart Teknologies.
Stanley Black & Decker was a potential bidder for Infastech Ltd., a Singapore-based industrial fastener manufacturer with revenues of more than USD500 million, Reuters reports.
Infastech was formed in August 2010 when Asia Trading Company Ltd. purchased the Avdel and Global Electronics & Commercial divisions of Acument Global Technologies Inc. for an estimated USD350 million. Infastech's corporate headquarters are located in Hong Kong, with global operations managed from Singapore.
No deal has been finalized on that business, but GlobalFastenerNews.com found out that another former Acument business is on the selling block. Ruia Global Fasteners AG, formerly Acument GmbH and Co. KG, is seeking new ownership after filing for bankruptcy, according to a report by German newspaper Westdeutsche Zeitung.
Ruia Global Fasteners was acquired in February 2011 for an undisclosed sum by the Ruia Group, led by entrepreneur Pawan Kumar Ruia. News reports indicate during its brief ownership tenure Ruia Group was unable to inject funds into the company to make it viable.
Neuss, Germany-based Ruia Global Fasteners employs around 1,300 people to manufacture automotive fasteners at four German factories.


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October 14, 2014 |
Shares of Bajaj Auto gained 2.9 per cent as Bank of America-Merrill Lynch upgraded its outlook to "buy" from "underperform". The company cited higher volume and average selling prices, and increased contribution from dirt-bike making affiliate KTM . It said July-September results would reflect some of the rising sales price trend, but profits would likely be flattish. The company's July-Sept earnings are due later in the day.
March 11, 2013 |
In the past few issues, we have explained moving average, an indicator that follows trends. To make the analysis more efficient by generating additional information like momentum and price trend, technical analysts have developed several advanced indicators over the years. As in the case of moving averages, these indicators are also derived from readily available market data, such as price, volume, open interest, etc. However, unlike moving averages, which...
May 6, 2013
By Naveen Mathur While the prices of chana, or chickpea, remained positive during most part of 2012, they may be comparatively stable in 2013. A sharp drop in output, amid unfavourable weather conditions in 2011-12 and negligible stocks in the previous year, led the prices to reach historical high levels of Rs 4,999 per quintal last year. However, the prices have seen a significant decline in the past six months due to higher imports and estimated record high production in...
December 13, 2013 |
By: Sutanuka Ghosal & Parshant Krar KOLKATA/CHANDIGARH: Indian basmati rice exporters have suffered a jolt as Iran has stopped purchasing the cereal from the world market since October. The Islamic republic is weighing its options following the withdrawal of sanctions by the US and five other nations and has not invited bids for procuring rice. India is a major exporter of the Pusa 1121 variety to Iran. Talking to ET, All India Rice Exporters' Association president MP Jindal...
April 7, 2014 |
PUNE: Raw sugar export has become unviable even after export subsidy is included because domestic prices have rallied 24% in the last few weeks. India is likely to re-enter the world market only when global prices increase. Export contracts have decreased after the rally in domestic prices began in February and peaked in March. Ex-mill prices increased from Rs 25 per kg in February to Rs 32 per kg in April. A range of factors including less pressure on sugar mills...


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Posts Tagged ‘SMG’
Nassau Coliseum ranked 17th in Pollstar Magazine’s list.
Nathan’s Famous reported that fourth quarter net income soared 43.7 percent to $1.6 million and revenues rose 3.9 percent to $15 million.
Amid widespread closures of restaurants due to Hurricane Sandy and litigation costs, Nathan’s Famous reported fourth quarter net income slipped to $1.06 million from $1.21 million a year ago.
Continuing its U.S. and international expansion, Nathan’s Famous reported $1.2 million third quarter in net income up from a $153,000 loss a year ago when the firm faced high litigation costs. Jericho-based Nathan’s said sales for the quarter ended Dec. 25, 2011 rose 13.2 percent to $14.8 million from $13 million a year ago, fueled [...]


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ITASCA, Ill. — KNAACK® announced that it is an official sponsor of the 2021 SBD World’s Strongest Man (WSM) competition, happening June 15-20 in Sacramento, Calif. Over the years, fans have watched competitors carry things from cars to refrigerators, from pulling airplanes to participating in the infamous Hercules’ hold. This year, participants will compete in a Deadlift event with KNAACK jobsite boxes as legendary and durable as the World’s Strongest Man competition itself.
“We are very excited to be a sponsor of the 2021 World’s Strongest Man contest. There is a determination in trade professionals akin to the competitors in the WSM competition. In fact, several of the competitors in this year’s competition are hard working professionals themselves,” said Stacy Gardella, vice president – brand marketing, WernerCo. “Our partnership with WSM will allow us to show support for the athletes in the competition and to keep encouraging hard work on jobsites across the world.”
For more than 40 years, WSM has been the world’s premier strongman competition. Throughout the multi-day event, contestants test their strength and fortitude through a series of extreme physical and mental challenges, including lifting, pushing, pulling, carrying, and throwing heavy weights such as refrigerators, logs, large trucks, etc.
Digital Activations Across KNAACK Channels
In addition to the sponsorship, KNAACK will activate a digital campaign called “Tools of the Strongman,” highlighting the road to the final event hosted this year in Sacramento. The series will be featured across WSM and KNAACK’s social media channels and will feature brand ambassadors from this year’s WSM competition, including Jerry Pritchett, a welder, who has competed in four WSM contests. KNAACK will also be using the #CantCrackKNAACK hashtag across its social networks that will feature workplace competitions on select jobsites. Be sure to follow along for some intense strength, durability, and security content.
WSM athletes were announced on March 31. For the full list of competitors you can visit the World’s Strongest Man website. The complete list of events for the competition will be announced later this month. The World’s Strongest Man competition will air on CBS Television Network and CBS Sports Network at a later date.


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On the 8th of May 2018, the VeChain Foundation had published the third part of their technical papers that reveals more about the VeChainThor blockchain. The consensus algorithm was focused upon in the papers, which is an essential aspect of the upcoming VeChainThor blockchain. It is already known that the VeChain Foundation has selected the proof of authority (PoA) consensus model. The papers reveal the method that VeChainThor will apply to achieve consensus. According to the announcement by VeChain Foundation, the proof of authority consensus model will eliminate the issues faced in a Proof of Work (PoW), Proof of Stake (PoS), Designated Proof of Stake (DPoS), or Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) model. The proof of authority has “low computational power requirements, no requirement for communication between nodes to reach consensus, and is optimized for system continuity.”
The philosophy of VeChain’s governance model, “Neither a total centralization nor a total decentralization would be the correct answer, but a comprise and balance of both would,” led to the PoA consensus algorithm for the VeChainThor blockchain. It is also expected to shrug off anonymous block producers. The user will have to reveal their identity voluntarily if they want to be an Authority Masternode (AM) of the VeChainThor blockchain. The team believes that all the AMs will work in favor of the network growth and security when their identity and reputation are at stake.
The proof of authority protocol of VeChainThor blockchain provides an equal opportunity to the Authority Masternodes to produce blocks. As there is no computational competition in PoA, the “longest chain” rule is no longer applicable here. The VeChainThor blockchain system prioritizes the branch that is viewed by more Authority Masternodes between the two. Unlike the practical Byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) protocol, the PoA protocol does not need a certain number of genuine validations to be available. This ensures that the system can perform multiple rounds of inter-code communications to get consensus.
VeChain and PwC Partnership
The 4th of May 2018, saw a new partnership announcement between VeChain and the multi-national audit and consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). As of now, PwC holds a minority stake in the Chinese start-up. PwC is interested in VeChain Global Technology Holding Limited that specializes in supply chain management, the Internet of Things (IoT), and anti-counterfeiting. PricewaterhouseCoopers plans to incorporate VeChain’s service platform into its infrastructure. This means that VeChain tokens will be used to access and perform transactions. The platform of VeChain has been developed to apply IoT technology to build private keys for all the products and they can be traced throughout the distribution process.
“We are glad to establish a deeper relationship with VeChain, which aims to build a trusted and distributed business ecosystem to help address long-standing challenges in supply chain management, food trust and anti-counterfeiting areas. VeChain’s mission aligns with PwC’s purpose of solving important problems and building trust in society,”
- Raymund Chao, PwC Asia Pacific and Greater China Chairman
This partnership with VeChain will put PwC ahead of its competitors like Deloitte, EY, and KPMG. The discussions between PwC and VeChain concluded that the logistics and transport industry, government and pharmaceutical/medical industry could benefit most from blockchain technology. The multi-national audit firm may actually help in bringing out solutions to issues hereto undiscussed. The partnership between VeChain and PwC is thus expected to benefit not only to the ‘real-life’ sectors but also the blockchain industry. Sunny Lu, the CEO of VeChain also believes that the distributed data storage characteristics of the blockchain technology will be vital in improving traceability and transparency for the supply chain management and logistics. He hopes that “With people’s increasing awareness and knowledge of blockchain, ‘killer’ applications are sure to emerge, and initially these are most likely to occur outside of the financial sector.”
At the time of writing, according to coinmarketcap.com the price of VeChain (VEN) shows $4.59 USD approximately. The market cap is approximately $2,415,132,754 USD while the volume (24h) is nearly $26,617,100 USD. (As of 14th May 2018) According to coinmarketcap.com, the crypto coin currently ranks 15. The partnership with VeChain and the proof of authority of the VeChainThor blockchain is hopefully going to see more investments in VEN and thus increase the trading volume.
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Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and/or its affiliates, employees, writers, and subcontractors are cryptocurrency investors and from time to time may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency and read our full disclaimer.
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Less than a month after rumors began circulating that HTC was building a phablet to take on Samsung's Galaxy Note series, images of the purported device have popped up on a Taiwan Web site.
Codenamed T6, the HTC One Max will sport a 5.9-inch, full 1080p screen, according to a post on Taiwan-based ePrice. While the current HTC One is powered by the Snapdragon 600, the HTC One Max will sport a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, according to the post. The One Max also features the same UltraPixel and 2.1-megapixel front-facing cameras as the One.
The device, which is expected to run Android 4.3, includes 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and a 3300mAh battery, according to the post.
The One Max is, according to German mobile site Mobile Geeks, which last month was first to report HTC's plans for the device.
CNET has contacted HTC for comment and will update this report when we learn more.


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The Wick Hill, Zycko and SIPHON names are to be phased out this year, with the trio's new holding company, Nuvias Group, becoming the predominant brand from 1 April. Nuvias Group is the new distribution...
EMEA market sees growth in Q1
Chief exec of Dutch ERP vendor discusses why splitting up the business and turning to the cloud gave Exact a second wind
Troubled networking vendor proposes debt-for-equity swap to alleviate dues by $4bn
Distributor talks up hosted infrastructure opportunity at Phoenix gathering


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When planning for retirement, investors should consider adding high-quality stocks to their Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) that generate interest, dividends or capital gains, absolutely tax free. The income generated from TFSAs does not attract tax implications. Thus, investors can save a sizable nest egg for retirement.
Given the tax advantages for stocks with big potential for capital appreciation, growth stocks tend to be better investments in a TFSA. Here are two such stocks I think investors may want to consider adding to their TFSA on dips moving forward.
Top TFSA stocks to buy: Shopify
Shopify (TSX:SHOP) is one of Canada’s biggest global e-commerce companies. It enables merchants to display, market, manage and sell their products via several sales channels like mobile apps, physical stores, mobile storefronts, etc.
Shopify merchants can now access the Discovery AI of Alphabet’s Google Cloud. This allows integration of Google’s advanced search technologies on the platform, enabling retailers to enhance customer experience.
They can now use AI to deliver personalized search results and recommendations to customers when they visit the seller’s website. Furthermore, the software can analyze consumer behavior by taking note of the products they buy, add to their cart, etc. and informing the retailer of their tastes and preferences.
In early May, Shopify released its financial results for its first quarter, which showed strong financial performance. The company’s gross merchandise values has increased to US$49.6 billion, showing a 15% increase from last year. Its merchant solutions revenue and total revenue have increased to US$1.1 billion and US$1.5 billion, indicating a growth of 31% and 25%, respectively.
Shopify has also welcomed notable brands on its platform, such as Herschel Supply, Seiko, 7 for All Mankind, and Keen. Furthermore, the organization has partnered up with systems integrators like Cognizant and IBM Consulting to scale the adoption of Shopify Plus across a wider customer base.
Based in Toronto, Constellation Software (TSX:CSU) is an international vertical market software company. It makes mission-critical and industry-specific software for both public and private sector firms.
For the current quarter, this software provider has declared a dividend of $1.35 per share. It will be available to shareholders of record on June 16 and will be disbursed on July 11.
Moreover, this dividend is supported by strong growth, according to the company’s recently released financial statements. The company saw impressive revenue growth of 34% on a year-over-year basis in the first quarter. Indeed, for a company of Constellation’s size, that’s impressive.
Additionally, recent reports indicate that Perseus Group, a subsidiary of Constellation Software, has completed the acquisition of Winklevoss Technologies. The latter is a renowned provider of defined benefit pension and other post-retirement benefits software. Its clients consist of top global investment consulting firms, plan sponsors, insurance companies, etc.
This acquisition by Constellation’s Perseus Group will enable the former to further strengthen its presence in the niche software market. As the company continues to provide outsized growth, investors stand to benefit from capital-appreciation upside over the long term.


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At least 46,000 Twitter accounts have been linked to supporters of the Islamic State in late 2014, a research report released in Washington showed.
Impressed with the 27-year-old's roster of accomplishments, Stone soon committed an undisclosed amount to Lookup, and decided to advise the company.
Stone is hoping his latest change in direction pays off as he heads down a new path at Jelly Industries, a San Francisco startup he launched shortly after leaving Twitter three years ago.
Having learnt to paint with oil paints later, he continues to sell his work from his own gallery in Chipping Sodbury for two decades now.
In his meeting with Modi here today, Ma discussed how Alibaba can help empower small businesses in India, the ecommerce major said without elaborating further.
Netflix is seeking a partner that has licenses for content on all devices, including mobile phones, computers and set-top boxes, the report said.
China's Alibaba Group, together with Bengaluru-based mobile and analytics solutions company Globals, will establish a startup incubator in the city that will focus on mobile internet and mobile commerce.
"We had a good meeting with the Prime Minister Modi and the momentum there is headed in the right direction," Royce said.


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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — With Christmas fast approaching, here’s where to find the perfect tree for those who are ready to start putting up decorations.
Several stores, including Home Depot, Walmart and Lowes, sell the trees pre-cut. However, to cut your own you need to go to a farm. According to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, the state’s weather has been good for most Christmas tree farms. In fact, many Christmas tree farms will open sooner than usual this year; some as early as Nov. 19.
“Our producers have worked hard and this year’s crop of Christmas trees is the best quality,” said Justin Diel, owner of Big Sky Farm in Sumner County and executive director of the Tennessee Christmas Tree Growers Association. “As a result, there are plenty of locally-grown trees available across the state.”
Diel said a Tennessee Christmas tree purchased directly from a farm will often have better needle retention than what is found at a store.
“To have the best opportunity to find the perfect tree for your home and family, visit one of Tennessee’s beautiful Christmas tree farms soon,” Diel said.
For the best selection, it is recommended to visit farms early in the season. To find a Christmas Tree farm near you, check this list.
Before visiting any farm, TDA suggests contacting the producer for tree availability and hours of operation.
Many of the farms also create wreaths and garlands. TDA said many farmers have special equipment for wreath and garland making and will work with customers to create the wreath that is the ideal variety and size.


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BRIDGEWATER, NJ – Somerset County Tourism is now accepting nominations for the 5 annual Salute to Tourism awards program. The event, which includes an awards presentation and keynote luncheon, will be held January 19, 2018 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the The Bernards Inn, 27 Mine Brook Road in Bernardsville.
This year’s keynote speaker is hospitality expert, writer, travel podcaster and consultant, Glenn Haussman.
The Salute to Tourism awards pay tribute to front line tourism staff and organizations that set the bar for the Somerset County Tourism industry. Nominations are being accepted through December 20in the following categories:
Economic Champion: A person or organization that has made a significant and direct impact on the Somerset County economy through visitor spend, job creation, or increased tax revenues.
Service Excellence: A Somerset County tourism professional who has demonstrated outstanding customer service at a county tourism asset.
Tourism Champion: An individual or organization that has promoted Somerset County’s attributes and resources to help establish the destination brand and draw more visitors.
The nomination form and more details about the award categories are at https://visitsomersetnj.org/2017-salute-to-tourism-awards-program/.
“Somerset County is known throughout the region not only as a wonderful place to live but for our many tourist destinations and hospitality venues,” said Jacqueline Morales, Director of Tourism. “We look forward to honoring those individuals, organizations and events that have made a positive economic impact in our county through tourism activities.”


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What to learn from Kleins franchise demise
News that a retail business has collapsed may not surprise some in the present difficult market.
But when it’s a major franchise that has been around for 26 years it puts a shadow over conventional wisdom that says franchises are far less likely to fail than traditional businesses.
The demise of Kleins jewellery has been painful and full of unanswered questions for former franchisees like Vera Granshaw who closed the doors for the last time on Thursday to her store in Sunshine Plaza.
The Buddina businesswoman said she was angry about the chain’s collapse and has questioned where millions of dollars of franchise fees had gone, including marketing fees she said franchisees contributed but received nothing for in return.
Ms Granshaw said she had lost everything she poured into the franchise and would walk away with nothing.
“The management team was the same team with the same vision for 20 years,” she said.
“Nothing changed despite the push from competition. They (management) didn’t read the market quickly enough, either that or they didn’t know what to do.
“They didn’t capitalise on our niche market of exclusive lines – they didn’t promote it enough – we just lost more and more market share.”
Ms Granshaw also said management had not listened to franchisees’ suggestions, despite the fact “we were working on the ground 60 hours a week”.
“And they never used the marketing funds we paid ... not for marketing anyway.”
She also said some Kleins franchisees were considering their legal options.
Last week Ferrier Hodgson partner James Stewart, appointed as administrator, found Kleins owed nearly $1.5 million to landlords, representing an average of three months unpaid rent per store.
Mr Stewart said apart from not moving with the times, the problem for Kleins was its business model.
“The Kleins business was charging its franchisees about 15%, plus a 5% marketing levy,” he wrote in an article in a financial newspaper.
“What was unusual ... was the extent of the rental subsidies and income guarantees provided to the franchise network.
“In some instances, franchises were getting financial support that equated to 100% of the rent as well as income guarantees of up to $100,000 ... where store turnover rarely exceeded $250,000 a year.”
Ms Granshaw admitted her landlord had called asking where the rent was, telling her it had “not been paid for a while”.
She also warned other franchisees to keep an eye out for warning signs, saying some she had spoken to about her own situation said they could see similarities in their businesses.
Unfortunately for her, years of hard work has now come to nothing.
“I’ve even had to put in extra capital ... I just have to call it quits and take the loss,” she said.


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SOUTH LAKE UNION
In the shadow of Seattle's quintessential houseboats and seaplanes on Lake Union, a new
neighborhood is rising (quite, literally) as the place to be for business, retail, food,
and a flood of young, tech professionals. Heralded as a model of urbanization at its finest,
South Lake Union could almost be accused of showing off.
This buzzing, accessible neighborhood manages to be leading edge (yes, they have their own electric car dealership) without losing the heart and soul of a true community. And from the looks of things, this little corner of Seattle has just gotten started.


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Tactical RPG Wargroove just got a massive quality of life patch
March 06, 20191 min read
Just over a month ago Wargroove was unleashed into the world and players immediately took to it. Partly because of the general lack of high profile SRPGs in the current market (Into the Breachcomes to mind), but also no doubt due to its Advance Wars aesthetic.
It just got even better too with a large quality of life patch that smooths out some of the game's rough edges. The main event is the checkpoint system, which you can set anywhere and allows you to return to a specific point in a campaign battle after death. The difficulty system is also completely overhauled, with five settings (story, easy, medium, hard, and custom). The game currently defaults to "hard."
Multiplayer also got some huge enhancements, like the ability to add AI to online games (huge) and nine more co-op maps. General improvements include faster skips (for things like cutscenes) and reworked menus. In a game where you're going to spend most of your time in menus, that's a welcome fix.
Wargroove is currently available on PC, Switch and Xbox One. It'll see a PS4 release sometime this year amid a fight from Sony to make cross-play as difficult as possible.


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A GTAForums member has spotted some new artwork for GTA V being displayed in a Gamestop store in the US. On one of the pieces of artwork you'll notice a helicopter in the top left, something that has become a tradition featuring on official box arts for the games. Rockstar did tell us we'd be seeing new artwork as well as the game's cover reveal later this month. Given that there are only 5 days left of this month chances are we'll be seeing those this week, could what you see below be part of what Rockstar was planning to show us?
You can see a higher res version of the promo art on the left by clicking here.


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Simply put: Technology has changed, and is changing, everything (“#digitaltransformation”).
One of the headlines from the PwC 19th Annual Global CEO Survey, PwC’s seminal release to the global market giving insight into what’s top-of-mind for CEOs, is “74 percent of CEOs are concerned about geopolitical uncertainty.” There are some particularly significant events this year which underscore this, but beyond that headline, technology is changing our world and impacting CEOs’ strategies.
Per PwC, Global CEOs are steering their businesses to achieve “growth in complicated times,” meaning they are evaluating how to manage and mitigate the risks impacting growth. Let us analyse four of the top risks to growth prospects that CEOs cite in the survey and weigh the impact on technology.
Social Instability (concern to 65 percent of CEOs)
Technology is fuelling this, but can also be a remedy to the discord.
Technology helps connect remote individuals in a positive light. For example, ahead of the British Referendum or ‘Brexit’ in June this year, social media is full of messages from people across Europe encouraging Britain to vote to stay in the EU.
Technology is obviously the platform for this connected collaboration for good and bad, but for your business it’s a fantastic way to reach your consumers directly – more effectively and more regularly.
Take Nike, where through the NikeID service you become the designer by customising your trainers, receiving tips and news from the latest sponsored sport star, order on the website and then, if you choose, you can try out your trainers and collect them at your nearest store. From there, you can show them off on Pinterest, Facebook or your blog. By empowering you in this way, you’re compelled to show off your creation. Having the right platform in NikeID encourages the consumer to become an ad-hoc advertiser for Nike.
Cyber Threats (concern to 61 percent of CEOs)
You already know the ever-increasing list of financial, retail and manufacturing companies that have had their brand damaged by a security breach, and now every industry and company is at risk – even the smallest business is likely to be handling online transactions, or sending sensitive information via email.
Each business and individual is going to have to take more responsibility for managing this. As I write, London’s Metropolitan Police chief suggested individuals take more responsibility to make their data secure and in October last year, one banking giant revealed 70 percent of its customers who fell victim to a scam did not get a single penny back. Extend this to global enterprises and the losses are in the billions.
Enterprises need to think about cyber security as not only an IT problem, but also as a brand equity problem, a financial problem, a competitive problem. It’s one of the top agenda items in my discussions with clients at Level 3, but, ironically, although it’s seen as one of the top challenges to growth, investments in threat prevention and mitigation rarely match the inherent risk to business.
Shift in consumer spending and behaviours (concern to 60 percent of CEOs)
People are 1) buying more online and 2) doing it more via mobile devices. I’ve already talked about NikeID as a great example of how a brand is capitalizing on these trends. But what about the individual’s behaviour in relation to the types of products they buy? Organic, Fair-Trade, ethically sourced are all service sectors growing exponentially. From a technology standpoint, leveraging social media or SEO to enhance your connection to the consumer is part of your purpose. But is your enterprise truly embracing the opportunity this offers? Today’s consumers have more options to choose brands with a conscience and at the heart of this evolution in values lies technology. Using mobile apps to provide access to services more conveniently, e.g. – online banking or shopping – securely (see previous point) enhances brand value, consumer engagement and builds trust.
Lack of trust in business (concern of 55 percent of CEOs)
Three years ago this figure was only 37 percent. I think it’s increased partly because of the prevailing factors in terms of cybersecurity breaches, which have put a heavy dent in the brand perception of affected enterprises. Also, the changing expectations of the consumer who want on-demand services, to see the product in store and buy it online. Whatever it is you’re looking for as a consumer, if you’re not getting it right now, you will lose trust in that company and go elsewhere.
For CEOs, technology doesn’t just add security or improve the experience, it’s also a great way to enhance trust, which may make it easier for consumers to purchase your products. Take NFC or near-field communications devices. Paying by electronic device has been around for a while, but has actually been slow to find consumer acceptance. With Apple and Android Pay, people are finally beginning to adopt this as it makes payments more convenient – and you must absolutely trust the technology if you’re going to use it. When the iPhone first launched in 2007, would you have believed me if I told you you’d be doing your banking and buying your lunch with your phone in less than 10 years’ time?
This is relevant to everyone, because technology impacts the company you work for and often holds the key to being more productive, engaging or cost effective.
I echo these trends in my business conversations and look forward to updating this blog in 2017 when it all changes again.
Steven Anning keeps pace of the latest technology and digital trends through his customers, and helps them understand how to match them with the business objectives. Outside of that, he tries to keep in touch with being an Englishman in a US company by playing cricket and drinking real tea!


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The Boot Rack in downtown Albion will hold a two-day Open House this Friday and Saturday, April 24th and 25th. New owner Dani Thober is excited to show off everything the newly expanded store has to offer.
Make plans to stop in during store hours to check out the fresh merchandise, enjoy refreshments, and enjoy 15% off your entire purchase. US 92 will be on hand from 11am-1pm to help celebrate and give away two concert tickets to a lucky recipient. Guests may also enter to win a $50 gift certificate to the store.
Be sure to stop in and support this fine local business!


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We earlier reported Google’s inclusion of India in the list of countries where Android app developers can sell paid apps, but Google has now removed India from the list (link to support page, link to cached page).
So for India based Android app developers, things are back to what it was earlier – i.e. you cannot sell paid apps in the Play store (some workaround here).
We have asked Google to update us on the final status (or was it some drunken employees updating the support page?). For sure, Google needs to revisit this strategy. If not, Microsoft is going to snatch away these Android app developers with a better integrated strategy (it’s already happening).
– hat tip.


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DES MOINES, Iowa – Sept. 24, 2015 - Buyers from China agreed to buy $5.3 billion worth of U.S. soy, totaling more than 484 million bushels of U.S. soybeans, during a signing ceremony today hosted by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC).
“Anytime an agreement like this is made, it is great for U.S. soybean farmers,” says Laura Foell, U.S. Soybean Export Council chair and a soybean farmer from Iowa. “Our international customers demand a product that is sustainable and high quality, and that’s what U.S. soybean farmers continue to deliver.”
In the most recent marketing year, U.S. soybean farmers exported almost 2 billion bushels of soy to international customers. The value of these exports set a record of more than $30 billion. China alone imports approximately 25 percent of all U.S. soy. The country was the No. 1 buyer of whole U.S. soybeans in the 2013/14 marketing year and the second-biggest buyer of U.S. soybean oil.
“This is a great example of how our farmer-leaders’ work of establishing relationships in China are paying off,” Foell says. “We must continue this work with China and other countries since exports are so important to the U.S. soy industry.”
Similar signing ceremonies in the past resulted in purchases of $2.3 billion worth of U.S. soy in 2014 and $2.8 billion worth of U.S. soy in 2013.
Earlier today, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service reported export sales of 313,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to unknown destinations for the 2015/2016 marketing year which began Sept.1.
The purchase coincides with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the U.S. After visiting with corporate leaders in the state of Washington over the last two days, he is scheduled to arrive Thursday afternoon in Washington, D. C. President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will welcome Xi and his wife at the White House for an official state visit on Friday.
#30For more news, go to: www.Agri-Pulse.com


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Go RVing Canada announced today (March 23) the appointment of Christopher Mahony as the new executive director of Go RVing Canada. According to a press release, Mahony brings in “a strong presence, credibility and adeptness in collaborating with all levels of management, media, stakeholders and the public.”
“Go RVing Canada is thrilled to have Christopher join our team in the role of executive director,” said Jeff Hanemaayer, Go RVing Canada chairman. “Christopher’s broad business, association and communications expertise, along with his enthusiasm for the RV lifestyle, will bring in a whole range of exciting new ideas to the table.”
Mahony joins Go RVing Canada from his most recent executive director role for the International Confectionery Association. The release stated that he is a strong leader in managing and maintaining marketing strategies with ad agencies and PR firms. In addition, he holds 10 plus years of board experience with national associations.
“I am delighted to join Go RVing Canada in my new role,” said Mahony. “I have had a long-growing passion for RVing which began when I first drove across Canada in 2001. I am very much looking forward to continuing to showcase the fun, freedom and flexibility associated with RV travel – and not only that, it is incredibly affordable.”
The Go RVing Canada coalition was formed in 1997, and consists of RV manufacturers, RV dealers and campground operators. For more information, visit www.GoRVing.ca.