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February 13, 2023
The World Media Group, a strategic alliance of leading international media organisations, welcomes Dianomi as Partner
London, New York and Sydney, 13 February 2023, Dianomi (London Stock Exchange: DNM), a leading provider of native digital advertising services to premium clients in the Financial Services and Business sectors, is delighted to announce their new partnership with the World Media Group, an alliance of international media organisations championing and supporting trusted journalism.
Dianomi has now been approved as one of three partners to the World Media Group whose members include The Atlantic, BBC Global News, The Economist, Forbes, Fortune, Insider, National Geographic, Politico Europe, Reuters, The New York Times Company, The Smithsonian, TIME, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Members of World Media Group are all considered trusted and premium publishers of journalistic content, and the organisation acts to promote their ethos of innovation, integrity and inclusion in the sector. Dianomi is proud to work in association with the brands of the World Media Group and support their work in furthering the development of high-quality content.
Dianomi has built its reputation as a contextual leader serving ads for the premium segment of the Business and Finance sectors with a client base that includes 7 of the world’s top 10 largest asset management companies, 7 of the top 10 largest wealth management firms in the US and half of the top 10 banks in the US.
“This is an interesting collaboration for Dianomi and one that aligns with our own commercial objectives of focusing on high-quality content for premium clients,” CEO Rupert Hodson says. “The World Media Group represents some of the strongest brands in advertising and journalism, and we are proud to be named as one of their partners. I hope that the partnership furthers our work in collaborating with the most successful names in the industry.”
Belinda Barker, Chief Executive at The World Media Group said, “We are delighted to welcome Dianomi as one of our partners. Our organisations both share a focus on providing high-quality content across media publications throughout the world. We have significant cross-over in terms of our members and Dianomi’s client base, and we look forward to collaborating closely on future campaigns and events.”
Novella Communications: Tel: 44 (0)203 151 7008
Tim Robertson/Safia Colebrook
Dianomi, established in 2003, is a leading provider of native digital advertising services to premium clients in the Financial Services and Business sectors. The Group operates from its offices in London, New York and Sydney. The Group enables premium brands to deliver native advertisements to a targeted audience on the desktop and mobile websites, mobile and tablet applications of premium publishers. It provides over 400 advertisers, including blue chip names such as abrdn, Invesco and Baillie Gifford, with access to an international audience of over 400 million devices per month through its partnerships with over 300 premium publishers of business and finance content, including blue chip names such as Reuters, Bloomberg and WSJ. Adverts served are contextually relevant to the content of the webpages on which they appear and mirror the style of the page, which enhances reader engagement. http://www.dianomi.com.
About The World Media Group
The World Media Group is a strategic alliance of leading international media organisations that connects brands with highly engaged, influential audiences in the context of trusted and renowned journalism. Its members include The Atlantic, BBC Global News, The Economist, Forbes, Fortune, Insider, National Geographic, Politico Europe, Reuters, The New York Times Company, The Smithsonian, TIME, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, and partners Brand Metrics, Dianomi and Smartology. To find out more about the World Media Group, please visit www.world-media-group.com.


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You have searched for "Ride-hailing services"
Showing 31-40 of 66
GEORGE TOWN: From cholesterol-busting solutions to cardio workouts on ice to a chance to try out a rock-climbing wall to a step-by-step guide on using a ride-hailing app, the Star FitForLife Penang 2017 promises to be an enlightening experience.
SEPANG: The Express Rail Link (ERL) Sdn Bhd is expecting a 5% increase in passengers with the launch of three new trains at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Tuesday (March 13).
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexicans faced with a fuel shortage are turning to bikes and scooters, generating business for startups that rent those alternative rides, but straining operations for ride-hailing service Uber in some cities.
PUTRAJAYA: Motorcycle e-hailing service will benefit the people and those doing small businesses, says the Prime Minister.
KUALA LUMPUR: The mother-and-daughter team of Dr Sazlina Kamaralzaman and Siti Sarah Anuar is determined to give established e-hailing companies a run for their money.
SINGAPORE: Uber passengers who are tardy in meeting their drivers will now be charged a wait-time fee.
JAKARTA (Bloomberg): Indonesia's national dish of nasi goreng, or fried rice, has become a lot cheaper these days as the nation's two big ride-hailing apps wage a price war on everyday groceries.
PETALING JAYA: Not just cabbies have been hit by ride-sharing services Uber and GrabCar, chauffeur-driven services are also facing a downturn, said the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA).

domain: news


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Microsoft's long-awaited new version of Windows has taken another step toward reality now that it has a real name. The new Windows version, which had until now been known by the code name Longhorn, is now called "Windows Vista
." Microsoft has been promising that the new OS will have significantly improved security and file management features (though not the promised WinFS file system), IPv6 support, and more sophisticated graphics.
Microsoft plans to release a beta version on August 3, and will offer further details about Vista in September. A commercial release is scheduled for the latter half of 2006... creating the longest time lag ever between release of Windows versions. The server version will be available in 2007.
For more on Windows Vista, visit ZDNet's Q&A
on the topic.
Source: Reuters (Excite)


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Tradition, innovation and sustainability are the themes of the sixth edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, a global initiative promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, dedicated to the promotion of the Italian gastronomic tradition and the country’s agro-food sector, includes many events in several countries across the world.
The United States will be the first country to inaugurate this year’s edition, with a rich program of events throughout the U.S., from November 15-21. From Washington to Los Angeles, from Miami to Chicago, from New Orleans to Houston and New York, passing through Boston, Dallas, Baton Rouge, Detroit, San Francisco and Philadelphia, the program celebrating Italian cuisine features close to 40 events “from sea to shining sea”.
This effort is supported by the diplomatic-consular network in the USA, as well as the Italian Cultural Institutes, the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), and sector companies, ambassadors and chefs of Italian cuisine in the United States, bloggers, creators, historians and researchers.
“Italian cuisine is synonymous with tradition, quality, creativity, but also innovation, well-being and sustainability,” said Ambassador Mariangela Zappia, recalling Americans’ passion for Italian cuisine and highlighting the role of food, cuisine and agro-industry in Italy-US bilateral relations.
This is all the more timely given that in 2021 trade between our two countries has already surpassed the record levels of 2019, with a nearly 30% growth of Italian exports to the US of beverages and agro-food products.
“From the Mediterranean Diet, taken as a model by doctors and researchers, to the traditional art of the ‘pizzaiuolo napoletano,’ recognized by UNESCO as part of the cultural heritage of humanity, Italy continues to inspire the United States, and indeed the entire world, in this field too” continued the Ambassador.
This year’s edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World includes a delightful menu of events and insights on topics related to tradition, innovation and sustainability of Italian cuisine: from the intrinsic value of ancient dishes and ingredients to the most innovative discoveries, from food waste to the well-being of the Mediterranean diet, from the awareness of nutrition challenges to the quest for greater sustainability.
On November 19th, Washington will host one of the key events of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, focused on “Food and Sustainability”. It will be opened by Ambassador Zappia and feature Sara Roversi, President of Future Food Institute, Michelin-starred Chef Cristina Bowerman, President of Ambasciatori del Gusto, Laura Maria Ferrari, President of Ferrari Giovanni Industria Casearia and Board Member at Consorzio Grana Padano, as well as blogger Laurel Evans.
The webinar, moderated by Riche Holmes Grant, entrepreneur and content creator, is organized in cooperation with Future Food Institute and Ambasciatori del Gusto. The Italian Ambassador will also host, in the splendid setting of Villa Firenze, Michelin-starred Chef Silvia Regi Baracchi for a promotional event on Italian haute cuisine.
The Week of Italian Cuisine in the World is part of the project The Extraordinary Italian Taste coordinated by the Italian Trade Agency, which aims to promote authentic Italian products in the world.


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ENID — Donors and volunteers are needed to help local families provide gifts for their children this Christmas, through the annual Toys for Tots program.
The program, a function of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, collects new, unwrapped gifts for families who have applied for assistance and distributes the gifts in time for Christmas.
Local Toys for Tots coordinator Gail Wheeler said unwrapped toys and gifts are needed for the program, especially items appropriate for older children.
“Everyone donates for the young kids,” Wheeler said, “but we always have a need for gift items for kids ages 10 and up.”
Volunteers have been busy distributing more than 100 donation boxes around Enid and surrounding communities, with an emphasis on local businesses and fire stations.
In addition to the donation boxes, two local toy drive events also are set for the coming weeks.
Janes Machine Shop, 421 S. Grand, will host the 26th annual Toys for Tots Car Show and Toy Collection, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 23.
Cars and motorcycles are welcome at the show, and free food and drinks will be offered. Attendees are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots.
Cycle Ward, 319 N. Independence, also will host a holiday customer appreciation event and toy collection, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 7.
The event, free and open to the public, will include food and drinks, door prizes and photos with Santa. Attendees are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots.
In addition to buying and donating toys, monetary donations also help Toys for Tots fill gaps and specific needs for families in the program.
Checks can be sent to Toys for Tots at 225 Oklahoma Street, Lahoma, OK, 73754.
Registration for Toys for Tots will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 21-23 at 108 S. Independence in Enid.
Families cannot bring children with them to the registration, and must bring photo identification and proof of residence. A birth certificate or some other form of identification with name and birth date for each child in the household, and proof of household income, such as a pay stub or tax return, also are required.


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Organization: Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau (Palm Beach, FL)
Campaign: Hayworth Creative Public Relations (Palm Beach, FL)
Duration: May-October 2012
The official tourism board of Palm Beach County used the 2012 presidential election as an opportunity to capitalize on the areas surrounding Lynn University, host of the final debate in Boca Raton, FL.
The agency and democracy-advocacy group, Rock the Vote, partnered with the Palm Beach County's visitor bureau to host a special concert in Boca Raton on debate night to leverage media exposure.
The free concert and debate screening was hosted with Xbox Live and pop-rock band Neon Trees at Mizner Park Amphitheater minutes away from Lynn University. Partnerships with local companies provided prizes and gift certificates to hotels and restaurants in Palm Beach County.
Those not in attendance at the live screening and concert could watch on Xbox with interactive features to participate in trivia questions and polls. Promotion for the event was heavily pitched to local radio stations and media, including pre-interviews with the band prior to the concert.
More than 3,500 attended the concert, while approximately 60% stayed to watch the live screening of the debate.
The Xbox Live stream generated nearly 500,000 consumer impressions, the highest of all the presidential debate streams.
The event received coverage in Romania, Germany, and London as well as nationally on CNN, and HLNTV.com.
Hotel occupancy rose 10% in October compared to the previous year in Palm Beach County as well as leading the state in revenue per available room growth.
Visitors to PalmBeachFL.com increased from 41,113 in October 2011 to 77,310, in October 2012.
According to agency president Maria Hayworth, there are plans to coordinate another Palm Beach County event targeting the culinary or fashion sector.


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Google I/O 2018, the most anticipated conference by Google kicked off yesterday at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. Seems like it was just yesterday that Google I/O 2017 was over and we were still in awe of the new AI capabilities they announced last time but here we are, with the next annual I/O event in front of us.
On the 1st day, CEO Sundar Pichai delivered the keynote promising a 3-day gala event for over 7,200 attendees with a plethora of announcements and updates to Google products. I/O’18 will conduct 400+ extended events in 85 countries.
Artificial intelligence was a big theme throughout. Google showcased ML Kit, a SDK for adding Google’s machine learning smarts to Android and iOS apps. New features were added to Android P, Google’s most ambitious Android update. Not to mention the release of Lighthouse 3.0, new anchor tools for multiplayer AR, updates to Google assistant, Gmail, Google Maps and more. Here are our top picks from Day 1 of Google I/O 2018.
Machine Learning for Mobile Developers
Google’s newly launched ML Kit SDK, allows mobile developers to make use of Google’s machine learning expertise in the development of Android and iOS apps. This kit allows integration of mobile apps with a number of pre-built Google-provided machine learning models. These models support text recognition, face detection, barcode scanning, image labeling and landmark recognition, among other things. What stands out here is the fact that the ML Kit is available both online and offline, depending on network availability and the developer’s preference.
In the coming months, Google plans to add a smart reply API and a high-density face contour feature for the face detection API, in the list of currently available APIs.
New Augmented Reality experiences come to Android
At the Google I/O conference, Google also announced several updates to its ARCore platform focused on overcoming the limitations of existing AR-enabled smartphones.
Multi-User and shared AR
New cloud anchor tools will enable developers to create new types of collaborative experiences, which can be shared with multiple users across both Android and iOS devices.
More surfaces to play around with
Vertical Plane Detection, a new feature of ARCore, allows users to place AR objects on more surfaces, like textured walls. Another capability, Augmented Images, brings images to life just by pointing a phone at them.
Simple AR development
New ARcore updates also simplify the process of AR development for Java developers with the introduction of Sceneform. Developers can now build immersive, 3D apps, optimized for mobile without having to learn complicated APIs like OpenGL. They can use Sceneform to build AR apps from scratch as well as to add AR features to existing ones.
Android P: the most ambitious Android OS yet
The name for the new version is yet to be decided but judging by their trend of naming the OS after a dessert it may be Pumpkin Pie, Peppermint Patty, Or Popsicle? I’m voting for Popsicle! Apart from the name, here are the other major features of the new OS:
- Jetpack: Jetpack is the next generation of the Android Support Library, redefining how developers write applications for Android. Jetpack manages tedious activities like background tasks, navigation, and lifecycle management, so developers can focus on core app development.
- Android KTX: In the last I/O conference, Google made Kotlin language a first-class citizen for developing Android apps. Continuing on the same trend, Google announced Android KTX in I/O’18. It is a part of Jetpack that further optimizes the Kotlin developer experience across libraries, tooling, runtime, documentation, and training.
- Android Studio 3.2: There are 20 major features in this release of Android Studio spanning from ultra-fast Android Emulator Snapshots and Sample Data in the Layout Editor, to a brand new Energy Profiler to measure battery impact of the app.
- Material Design 2: While other Google apps like Gmail and Tasks have already gotten a recent visual update, in Android P, Google is overhauling the OS’ overall look with what people are calling Material Design 2. Google calls it Material Themes, a powerful plugin to help designers implement Material Design in their apps. This new interface is designed to be “responsive and efficient,” while feeling “cohesive” with the rest of the G Suite family of apps.
- Adaptive Battery: Apart from refreshing the looks, Google has been busy thinking about improving performance. Google has partnered with its AI subsidiary DeepMind on a smart battery management system for Android.
Scaling IoT with Android Things 1.0
After over 100,000 SDK downloads of the Developer Preview of Android Things, Google announced the long-term release of Android Things 1.0 to developers with long-term support for production devices.
App Library, allows developers to manage APKs more easily without the need to package them together in a separate zipped bundle.
Visual storage layout helps in configuring the device storage allocated to apps and data for each build and helps in getting an overview of how much storage your apps require.
Group sharing, where product sharing has been extended to include support for Google Groups.
Updated permissions, to give developers more control over the permissions used by apps on their devices.
Developers can manage their Android Things devices via a cloud-based Android Things Console. Devices themselves can manage OS and app updates, view analytics for device health and performance, and issue test builds of the software package.
Lighthouse 3.0 for better web optimization
A new update to Lighthouse, the web optimization tool of Google, was also announced at Google I/O. Lighthouse 3.0 offers smaller waiting periods more updates to developers to efficiently optimize their websites and audit their performance. It uses Simulated throttling, with a new Lighthouse internal auditing engine, that runs audits under normal network and CPU settings, and then estimates how long the page would take to load under mobile conditions.
Lighthouse 3.0 also features a new report UI along with invocation, scoring, audit, and output changes.
- Google announced the rebranding of its Google Research division to Google AI.
- Google made a massive “continued conversation” update to Google Assistant with Google Duplex, a new technology that enables Google’s machine intelligence–powered virtual assistant, to conduct a natural conversation with a human over the phone.
- Google has also announced the release of the third beta of Flutter. Flutter is Google’s mobile app SDK used for creating high-quality, native user experiences on mobile.
- Google Photos get more AI-powered fixes such as B&W photo colorization, brightness correction and suggested rotations.
- Google’s first Smart Displays, the screen-enriched smart speakers, will launch in July, powered by Google Assistant and YouTube.
- Google Assistant is coming to Google Maps, available on iOS and Android.
There are still 2 more days left for Google I/O to conclude and going by day 1 announcements, I can’t wait to see what’s next. I am especially looking forward to knowing more about Android Auto, Google’s Tour Creator, and Google Lens. You can view the Livestream and other sessions on the Google I/O conference page.
Keep visiting Packt Hub for more updates on Google I/O, Microsoft Build and other key tech conferences happening this month.


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How the FAA is Killing Drone Innovation
“The Part 107 commercial drone regulations, implemented in August 2016, affect everyone from the individual drone enthusiast who wants to get into the drone photography business, to large companies such as Amazon, Google, and Disney, who envision operating fleets of these tiny craft.
Amazon would face a public relations nightmare if it failed to do its due diligence in designing and testing future delivery drones.
The FAA has also targeted hobby fliers in its push for regulatory dominance of this nascent field. Under a rule rushed into place last December, the agency established a federal registry of drone owners and established penalties of up to three years in prison and $277,500 in fines for those who failed to comply.”


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Archive for the ‘Tourism & Leisure’ category
Plan and provide for the lean months during the peak season, advises Business Partners.
Economist expects tourist numbers to drop after recent Westgate Mall attack in Kenya.
“Not everybody can afford $300 a night,” says Diar Capital founder as it moves into the mid-range hospitality market.
Holiday Inn Accra Airport general manager Bruce Potter shares his business insight.
Mangalis Management is an African hospitality group that wants to put Africa on the map.
“Home is the best. If you don’t build your country, no one else will build it, that is why I moved back to Somalia.”
Despite the terrorist attack in Nairobi on the weekend, hotel groups met to discuss potential investments.
Zimbabwe’s rich mineral resources will drive economic growth in the country.
Crude oil production in Ghana has a knock-on effect on property development.
Online meal ordering platform grows consumer base in Nairobi.
How we made it in Africa talks to Kenyan entrepreneur about tourism in the country.
If at first you don’t succeed, try and try and try again.
“Tourism is fickle. But it is still the biggest contributor to the GDP in this country.”
How we made it in Africa looks at how some of the continent’s hotels are managing their online reputations.
Tourism accounts for a large part of many African countries’ GDPs, but the industry faces numerous obstacles.


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The economy is now only 0.6 per cent smaller than it was before the crash and is likely to grow in the next quarter, according to ONS figures.
The economy is now only 0.6 per cent smaller than it was before the crash - six long years ago. Likely to exceed that growth next quarter.
Slightly slower growth than expected, construction especially. Agriculture actually fell but it's so small it didn't affect overall number.
The economy grew 0.8% in the first three months of the year or an annualised rate 3.1% - the fastest since before the crash in 2007.
More top news
A hacker group who claimed to be behind a cyber attack on Sony Pictures have posted a message online apparently mocking the FBI.
The returns of Benedict Cumberbatch's detective and the X Factor judge were among 2014's most tweeted TV moments in a billion conversations.
A family has issued an appeal to help find their missing pet turkey - in case he gets gobbled up as someone's Christmas dinner.


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LOS ANGELES, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- An entertainment industry group is developing standards for the loudness of commercials and previews in movie theaters, The Hollywood Reporter said Friday.
The paper said the Cinema Advertising Council is putting together its first set of sound standards to regulate the volume on commercials, coming attractions and other items that run prior to movie screenings. Executive director Bob Martin said CAC -- which works on consumer research issues for the cinema industry -- will deliver its recommendations by the end of the year.
The move to turn down the volume on ads and coming attractions got a boost from Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh, who spoke last month at a meeting of the Trailer Audio Standards Associations. The group is made up of volunteers from the studios, and works to maintain loudness standards for movie theaters.
Citing sources, The Reporter said Soderbergh complained about the volume on trailers for coming attractions. The loudness standard for trailers is 85 decibels, and moviegoers frequently ask management to turn it down -- but the volume doesn't always get turned back up for the feature attraction.


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Despite the effects of rising fuel costs, Ecolab reiterated its full-year 2018 expectations after second-quarter sales and profits spiked amid growth gains from all divisions, company officials announced Tuesday.
Officials at the St. Paul-based maker of sanitizing and filtration chemicals also revealed plans to cut $200 million in selling and administrative expenses by 2021, resulting in unnamed plant closures and staffing reductions.
For the quarter ended June 30, sales rose 7 percent to $3.7 billion. Profits rose 19 percent to $351 million or $1.20 a share. Excluding one-time items and a lower tax rate, adjusted income rose 13 percent to $1.27 a share. Results met analysts' average expectations.
On average, Wall Street analysts expected profits of $1.27 a share and revenue of $3.7 billion for the quarter.
The company saw pricing and volume improvements during the quarter. In speaking to analysts during a conference call Tuesday, CEO Doug Baker said that new business wins, new products and enhanced pricing and cost efficiencies helped the quarter.
Baker said he expected these "strong trends to continue." Improvements were across all divisions and should be enough to offset rising transportation and raw-material costs during the rest of the year.
Like many companies, Ecolab has not been immune to rising fuel prices needed to bring goods to market. Many of Ecolab's products depend on oil-based chemicals, said Ecolab spokesman Mike Monahan.
Companies that have any exposure to oil-based materials are seeing costs "rise dramatically. They are up 30 percent year over year," Monahan told the Star Tribune. "Most of our own raws are oil based and are up 15 to 20 percent this year alone."
In addition, transportation costs are rising amid a nationwide driver shortage that has hit the trucking and freight industry hard.
Even so, full-year earnings are still expected to rise 13 to 18 percent to reach $5.30 to $5.50 a share in 2018.
Officials also said that Ecolab will build upon recent investments in computer enterprise systems and other technology platforms. It is implementing a new efficiency program to cut $200 million in selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) by 2021. The program will result in $170 million in pretax charges over three years, including $10 million taken during the second quarter 2018. Officials said the charges will be tied to "team reorganizations and some facility closures."
Baker told analysts that the efficiency move is warranted and is expected to work in conjunction with the company's plan to increase prices to offset rising costs.
"This [SG&A efficiency] program leverages our more than $600 million investment in technology, and will streamline our organization, reduce complexity and improve our business processes to help drive our future growth and margin expansion," Baker said. "Internal teams will work through the balance of this year to develop final plans for our global business structure and resource improvement."
CFRA Research Analyst Christopher Muir said in a note that the $200 million cost-reduction plan "will help to offset rising raw material costs." The plan also comes at a time when "the strength of [Ecolab's] global energy segment" continues to improve along with industry conditions.
Ecolab's energy division has been vulnerable to the industry's volatile cycles. Muir noted that the division's risk could return, should oil and gas prices plummet again as they have during the last three years.
Ecolab's stock closed Tuesday at $140.70, down 4 cents. The stock has traded between $125 and $150 during the last 12 months.


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Hollywood's theory that it takes teenage boys to make a blockbuster, was totally overturned this weeked by "Sex and the City."
The movie, from Time Warner's New Line brought in $55.7 million in its first three days, double what Warner Bros. was expecting and making it the biggest R-rated comedy opening of all time.
And its opening weekend is number five for all R-rated films, falling behind '300' and 'The Matrix.'
The huge difference this time around; success for "Sex and the City" is driven entirely by women. Warner Bros. reports that a full 85 percent of the audience its huge opening Friday night was female, a ratio that shifted only slightly over the weekend as women dragged more boyfriends and husbands along.
Looking at the numbers, more women went to see "Sex and the City" this past weekend than went to the opening weekend of 'Pirates of the Carribean," which had one of the biggest weekend openings ever.
"Sex and the City's" success is huge for Time Warner's movie division--there's already talk of a sequel. The film will likely bring in at least $110 million domestically based on its opening weekend, and if DVD sales of the Sex and the City HBO series are any indication, the home video sales of this movie will also be enormous. Then there's all the product licensing and spinoff, and well, it looks like Time Warner is looking at a female-driven goldmine.
Ironically, this hit happened too late to save New Line, which produced and distributed it, a division that Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes is now rolling into the company's other studio, Warner Bros. And even more ironically, this movie took years to get off the ground--if anyone had predicted this kind of blockbuster it would have been out years ago.
Sources inside the company tell me that HBO actually turned down the opportunity to turn their hit TV show into the film. While HBO does make movies, it was less interested in building a franchise, and more interested in focusing on its own more artsy fare.
Good news for the movie industry all around: this weekend's box office was up 27 percent over last year's same weekend. And I think it's a good thing that Hollywood can now try to build giant films on an audience other than the "fanboy" --the teenagers and twentysomethings that will obsessively blog about a film in anticipation, guaranteeing a big opening weekend turnout.
Now there's a new kind of fangirl, one that's a prime target for the slew of big brands partnering with the production. (Go here for my blog on product placement "In the City").
It'll be tough to find a brand that has the same kind of build-in audience that Sex and the City does, but if anything that means we're more likely to see a sequel.
Questions? Comments? MediaMoney@cnbc.com


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Fine, apology for hazardous shipping
Published 4:00 am, Saturday, November 15, 2008
A San Francisco cosmetics company must pay a $350,000 fine and issue a public apology after pleading guilty Friday in federal court to shipping hazardous materials by air without proper training.
Benefit Cosmetics, a beauty boutique known for its whimsical candy-store atmosphere, admitted that it shipped isopropyl alcohol by air March 26, 2006. The substance, which is used as a cleaning fluid and is a common ingredient in cosmetics and personal-care products, is highly flammable.
Benefit and its employees were not properly licensed, trained or certified to prepare hazardous materials for air transport.
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At a hearing in San Francisco, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ordered the company to pay a $350,000 fine and to apologize. The company intends to issue a notice in a trade journal to help raise awareness about the importance of properly transporting hazardous materials in the beauty industry.
The company, at 685 Market St., began as a small shop in the Mission District selling lip tints in 1976. Owners Jean Ford and her twin sister, Jane, now have 1,000 counters in more than 25 countries.


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I have heard several TV panelists say that we will never be the same after Trump and the pandemic. But none have explained how we will be different. I think I have seen evidence of what we will be after these two simultaneous catastrophes.
I think the changes will be moderate, though significant.
First, school attendance will be less important. Pandemic proven software will be available for grades K through senior year in college. Homeschooling in the United States already constitutes the education of 3.4% of U.S. students, that’s approximately 2 million students. We have nine online cyber schools in Pennsylvania already, four free public, five private schools. Now, even more students have experienced online schooling.
Using Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet, teachers can teach from anywhere to students located anywhere. Formats are being modified in light of their heavy use in U.S. schools during the pandemic.
Online K-12 education eliminates bullying, dress competition, and sports and all the injuries resulting from them. Kids studying at home, like those in Finland today, where schools only convene 3 or 4 days a week, get their exercise by playing with each other. They will play soccer, basketball and baseball on their own, perhaps under parental supervision, learning to cooperate on their own.
Shopping will be different, too — more online shopping. First, because many small stores will have gone out of business because of the pandemic and, second, because we will have become accustomed to shopping online during the pandemic. The online shopping experience is being made more comfortable, shipping is becoming less a problem and, as online department stores become easier to access. The experiment with running businesses online will teach those businesses that survive that, in many cases, brick and mortar presence is not only expensive, but unnecessary. So, more people will be working at home.
My son is a director at Oracle, perhaps the world’s largest database company. He visited us from Boulder, Colorado, for more than a month this summer. He worked 8 to 10 hours a day online, holding video meetings with his teams, who kept doing their jobs without a hitch.
Oracle’s databases are now all in the “cloud,” accessible anywhere in the world. When Oracle sees how well he did, someone there is bound to ask, “Why are we maintaining so many expensive brick-and-mortar office buildings?”
Businesses that depend on the creative interactivity will adopt hybrid schedules, opening offices once or twice a week. But even hybrid work schedules will reduce operating costs: heating, electricity, water and sewer bills will be lower for businesses adopting hybrid schedules.
So, more of us will be working more at home and more of our kids will be doing their schoolwork at home—a recipe for knitting families more closely together. This will reduce the demand for day-care. School sponsored after school activities will still be available for some, but opportunities for parent-child activities will blossom for others.
Some parents, of course, cannot work at home. So, the transition will only affect some families: those in the building trades, working in restaurants, infrastructure maintenance, and so forth, will have to go to work. But many parents can do their job as well at home as in an office. So, the changes I see brought on by a pandemic prolonged by the Trump administration, is that more families will spend more time together than before it.
(The Sunbury Daily Item September 12, 2020)


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New trucks, powertrains, technology and equipment will be introduced at The Work Truck Show 2016. Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America Inc. has said it will debut two prototypes of its FUSO E-CELL all-electric truck at the show. One of the prototypes will be available for test drives as part of The Work Truck Show Ride-and-Drive.
Cummins Inc., Mack Trucks and International Truck also said they plan to make significant powertrain announcements. Kenworth Truck Company, Ford Commercial Vehicles, Ram Commercial and Knapheide Manufacturing Company have scheduled press briefings at the Show. To date, more than 60 exhibiting companies have announced plans to introduce their latest truck equipment and technology at the event.
The Work Truck Show 2016, produced by NTEA – The Association for the Work Truck Industry, will be held March 1–4 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. Educational sessions and the Green Truck Summit begin March 1, and exhibits open March 2. The Work Truck Show Ride-and-Drive takes place March 2 and 3.
Originally posted on Government Fleet


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Farmers Edge enlists Google Cloud to bring AI/ML and more to the AgTech space
Farmers Edge shared the launch of a global strategic co-selling initiative, with the goal to bring AI, ML, and analytics to more customers across the AgTech space. Enhancements to their digital platform – FarmCommand® – will include near real-time carbon and sustainability tracking, simplified insurance reporting and claims management. These will not only help accelerate the rate at which organisations are able to move to the cloud, but it will allow them to do so while minimizing costs and maximizing sustainability.
Learn more about our latest efforts in the Farmers Edge press release here!
Related Google News:
- A Matter of Impact: March updates from Google.org March 26, 2021
- Discover the best products for everything on Google March 26, 2021
- Check, please! Billing in Cloud Storage March 25, 2021
- Rethinking ‘rehost, replatform, rearchitect’: Cloud migration for the real world March 25, 2021
- Run a transformed supply chain – see how at Google’s Digital Supply Chain summit March 25, 2021
- Four ways CSPs can harness data, automation, and AI to create business value March 25, 2021
- TELUS International migrates key customer experience app to Google Cloud March 25, 2021
- Meet the EMEA startups and scaleups redefining their industries with cloud technology March 25, 2021


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Buyout firm KKR considers £1.8bn bid for GMG's Trader Media
Bid: KKR is interested in buyingTrader Media, the company behind Auto Trader
KKR, the buyout firm immortalised in Barbarians at the Gate, is knocking on the door of Guardian Media Group (GMG).
The US private equity giant is considering a £1.8billion bid for Trader Media, controlled by loss-making GMG, publisher of the Guardian newspaper.
Trader Media, the company behind Auto Trader, is carrying around £600million of debt and is 50.1 per cent owned by GMG with private equity group Apax controlling the remainder.
GMG, about to make the first compulsory redundancies in the Guardian’s history, could reap £600million from a sale.
Other possible buyers include German media group Bauer.
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Video game company Square Enix has released a new video for the upcoming installment of its popular video game franchise Final Fantasy. The trailer is dubbed Ambition and it provides a detailed backstory to the game, its realm, as well as the characters that inhabit that realm.
The trailer’s description reads, "Who shall claim their fading light? From a single spark, will the land ignite. A new shadow rises to fall upon the Dominants, painting their destinies black as night. It has been fifteen hundred years since the fall of our forebears, and Valisthea has been slowly dying ever since. Darkness spreads as day gives way to twilight, the Mothers' flame now all but a flicker. And as the fringes fade, the people flock to the Mothercrystals."
The trailer’s release was accompanied by messages from the game’s producer Naoki Yoshida and the game’s director Hiroshi Takai.
In his message, Yoshida stated that the new trailer focuses more on the world’s lore and characters, rather than its action sequences as was the case with the previous trailer. He also wrote that the game’s production is in its final stages and promotion will begin in a few weeks with interviews that will provide fans with even more information.
Takai’s message reiterates Yoshida’s own about the game nearing completion. In his words, "As the game edges closer to completion, the team has turned its full attention to debugging and final adjustments. Now that things are starting to come together, the game is sizing up to be something truly special."
The events of Final Fantasy 16 will take place in a realm called Valisthea. The realm possesses magical crystals that enable people to practice magic. Valisthea has different ruling houses namely the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, the Dhalmekian Republic, the Iron Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Waloed. Valisthea has certain individuals called Dominants who can summon and control powerful creatures called Eikons. These Eikons make the Dominants incredibly powerful and capable of doing mighty things. The Eikons are Odin, Titan, Ifrit, Phoenix, Bahamut, and Garuda.
The game’s major characters are Clive Rosfield, his younger brother Joshua Rosfield, and their adopted sister Jill Warrick. Final Fantasy XVI will chronicle the war that spreads across the world and the part the characters play in it. The new Final Fantasy 16 trailer also showcases the game’s new combat system. Unlike prior installments which used a turn-based combat system, the upcoming title will use an action combat system.
By the way, the Final Fantasy franchise will celebrate its 35th anniversary this year. Square Enix unveiled a website for the anniversary earlier in the year. It remains to be seen what else they have in store. Also, the developer will launch a second DLC for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin on October 26th.
Final Fantasy 16 is in its final production stages and is scheduled for a Summer 2023 release as a PlayStation 5 exclusive game. However, the game’s PS5 exclusivity is timed and when it elapses, Square Enix will release a version for other platforms.


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Beginning Tuesday, June 7 and every subsequent Tuesday during the months of June, July and August, vendors will set up between 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM at First Baptist Church.
This sprouted up in our email this morning:
Beginning Tuesday, June 7 and every subsequent Tuesday during the months of June, July and August, GrowRVA will have vendors and farmers including Black Boar Farm, Dog Bark, Goin Family Farm, MA’s Mad House of Adornment, Steve Haas Mushrooms, Espresso A Go Go Catering and more. The event will take place in the auxiliary parking lot of Richmond’s First Baptist Church located at the intersection of Monument Avenue and Robinson Street. A portion of the night’s sales will benefit ACTS to further help prevent homelessness in RVA. Come out, eat dinner, buy wonderful locally produced food and support a great cause.


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GWD Toyota has been fully committed to servicing southern motorists since 1906. If you’re seeking a new car, a used car, a fleet of vehicles, or even servicing and panel work you’ll find GWD Toyota an excellent company to do business with. We are locally owned and operated and the best providers of new and used vehicles in Invercargill, Southland and Central Otago. In this age of gimmicks and promises, service is still a tradition at GWDs.
We are calling on all New Zealanders to come along with us on the journey as we continue down this exciting and innovative path towards the future.
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With over 180 vehicles in stock at any one time we have a huge selection to suit all tastes and budgets. From Utes to hatchbacks and Signature Class there is something here for you.View used cars
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Sony Xperia Z release date reportedly set for January, to beat Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5S to market
We have recently learned that the Sony Yuga, one of the company’s 2013 flagship devices, will be known to the crowds as the Xperia Z and now we hear that the phone will be launched one week after CES 2013, where the device will be unveiled.
Next year’s Consumer Electronics Show edition will take place between 8-11 January in Las Vegas, so if this new rumor is correct, the Xperia Z will be launched sometime between 15-17 January.
The new report comes from ePrice, a Chinese website, that says the Android smartphone will be launched on January 15, which would make the Yuga the first flagship handset of the new year.
Sony is obviously interested in grabbing more smartphone market share and what better way to do it than by launching at least one new flagship device as early as possible next year.
By having the Xperia Z out and about from mid-January, Sony would be able to beat to market rivals like Samsung and Apple, which are expected to reveal their flagship devices only later next year. Samsung’s Galaxy S4 is rumored to launch in April, if not later, while Apple’s seventh-generation iPhone (iPhone 5S?) is said to launch either in summer or fall of next year.
The Sony Yuga is already said to sport some interesting hardware including a 5-inch display with 1080p resolution, a quad-core Qualcomm Snadragon S4 processor with Adreno 320 GPU, 2GB of RAM, 13-megapixel camera and microSD support, but we’ll tell you more about it in the following weeks.
Anyone buying the Xperia Z as soon as it’s out in stores, or are you waiting for other Android OEMs to unveil their first 2013 flagship devices?


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See original post here.
The project’s core offering is its World ID, which the company describes as a “digital passport” to prove that its holder is a real human, not an AI bot. To get a World ID, a customer signs up to do an in-person iris scan using Worldcoin’s ‘orb’, a silver ball approximately the size of a bowling ball. Once the orb’s iris scan verifies the person is a real human, it creates a World ID.
The company behind Worldcoin is San Francisco and Berlin-based Tools for Humanity.
The project has 2 million users from its beta period, and with Monday’s launch, Worldcoin is scaling up “orbing” operations to 35 cities in 20 countries. As an enticement, those who sign up in certain countries will receive Worldcoin’s cryptocurrency token WLD.
WLD’s price rose in early trading on Monday. On the world’s largest exchange, Binance, it hit a peak of $5.29 and at 1000 GMT was at $2.49 from a starting price of $0.15, having seen $25.1 million of trading volume, according to Binance’s website.
Blockchains can store the World IDs in a way that preserves privacy and can’t be controlled or shut down by any single entity, co-founder Alex Blania told Reuters.
The project says World IDs will be necessary in the age of generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT, which produce remarkably humanlike language. World IDs could be used to tell the difference between real people and AI bots online.
Altman told Reuters Worldcoin also can help address how the economy will be reshaped by generative AI.
“People will be supercharged by AI, which will have massive economic implications,”
One example Altman likes is universal basic income, or UBI, a social benefits program usually run by governments where every individual is entitled to payments. Because AI “will do more and more of the work that people now do,” Altman believes UBI can help to combat income inequality. Since only real people can have World IDs, it could be used to reduce fraud when deploying UBI.
Altman said he thought a world with UBI would be “very far in the future” and he did not have a clear idea of what entity could dole out money, but that Worldcoin lays groundwork for it to become a reality.
“We think that we need to start experimenting with things so we can figure out what to do,” he said.


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November 25, 2022, to January 6, 2023 airlines and airports lost, damaged, or delayed an exceptional number of checked bags, with a 101% increase from a year ago, while air traffic was up only 67% YoY, with Buenos Aires, named as the worst offender.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230118005416/en/
Sostravel.com is an app for travellers to access travel technology services such as Lost Luggage Concierge. (Graphic: Business Wire)
“A lot of passengers had to break up with their bags last holiday season, as airlines and airports struggled to keep up with demand amid a combination of staffing shortages and air traffic control problems”, says Edoardo Zarghetta from Sostravel.com. “But lost luggage is unfortunately nothing new, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated an old problem.”
Worst Overall Destinations for Luggage
The global trend indicated by last holiday season Sostravel.com Lost Luggage Index, Europe remains the number one safest spot when it comes to baggage loss, probably due to airports and airlines being able to retain more staff, compared to the U.S. and Asia, Middle East, and Asia, where more workers were fired during the COVID-19 pandemic. The worst airports, with the most problems for luggage, as revealed by Sostravel.com data are:
- Ezeiza, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Hariri, Beirut, Lebanon
Africa, where luggage melts in the Sun, though Buenos Aires top the charts with the worst performance.
Italy on the contrary did particularly well at staying out of trouble: the Mediterranean country continues to dominate the top of the list of Top Overall Destinations last holiday season.
Sostravel.com Lost Luggage Index
Sostravel.com first-hand proprietary data, shows the routes, airlines, and airports where bags have a better — or worse chance of reuniting with their owners.
Sostravel.com S.p.A. is a digital tour operator with a portfolio of premium resorts, and a provider of travel-technology services and lost luggage concierge. Over 1 million users worldwide used Sostravel.com as a digital travel companion, to find deals on their trips and get information to make their journeys more enjoyable. Listed in Milan (ticker BIT:SOS) and New York (ticker SOSAF), it provide investors with exposure to global travel and digital travel technology.
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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230118005416/en/
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The boss of US trading app Robinhood has fired almost a quarter of its workforce as retail investors quit the platform amid falling crypto prices.
The value of assets held by the California-based business plummeted 31% in the three months to June, as almost two million users left the app. The firm posted a net loss of $295 million (£242 million), while transaction fees for stock trading sunk 19% to $29 million.
Robinhood boss Vlad Tenev wrote in a blog post: “We have seen additional deterioration of the macro environment, with inflation at 40-year highs accompanied by a broad crypto market crash. This has further reduced customer trading activity and assets under custody.
“In this new environment, we are operating with more staffing than appropriate. As CEO, I approved and took responsibility for our ambitious staffing trajectory – this is on me.”
The announcement marks the latest round of job cuts in the crypto sector as tech firms that went on a hiring spree during the crypto boom in 2021 pare back their expansion plans as investor enthusiasm for digital assets dries up. In June, Crypto trading platform Coinbase laid off over 1,000 employees as billionaire CEO Brian Armstrong braced for a “crypto winter,” while in July, American bitcoin mining business Compass fired 15% of its workforce and slashed executive pay after a series of “multiple setbacks and disappointments.”
Robinhood announced an initial round of job cuts in April after identifying “duplicate roles and job functions.” A recently as December, the company said it expected its 3,800-strong headcount to “continue to grow for the foreseeable future.”
It comes as cyber criminals stole $200 million worth of digital assets from two crypto firms in the space of 24 hours, leaving customers stunned as they found their crypto wallets empty. One of the firms, Solana, said it was investigating the incident and urged customers to abandon compromised wallets.
Robinhood shares fell 2.3% in pre-market trading. The stock has fallen 50% since the start of the year.


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The gross value of production (GPV) for agriculture and livestock in Minas Gerais reached a record of R$ 132.3 billion in 2022, an increase of 8.6% compared to the previous year. The results are a result of the good performance of coffee and soy. Minas Gerais was responsible for 11.4% of the national VPB, which ranks fourth in the ranking of states.
The indicator represents an estimate of income generation in rural areas and its calculation is made by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa), based on data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the National Supply Company (Conab ) and the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea/USP).
Among the segments of agriculture and livestock, crops accounted for 66% of income in Minas Gerais. Last year, revenue reached R$ 87.5 billion, 13.3% higher than in 2021. In the assessment of the superintendent of Innovation and Agricultural Economy at Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Seapa)Feliciano Nogueira, the positive results of the VBP, this year, are due to the good prices practiced in the market, in addition to the increase in production.
“The main product in the composition of the state indicator, the GDP of coffee amounted to R$29 billion in 2022, with a growth of 22% compared to the previous year. This positive result is due to the high prices practiced throughout the year in the local market. According to Cepea, from January to December 2022 there was a 31% increase in the average price of a bag of coffee, compared to the same period of the previous year. In February 2022, the highest monthly average of the period was recorded, reaching BRL 1,485 per 60 kilogram bag,” explains the Seapa superintendent.
Soy ranks second in the agricultural segment, with a gross production value of BRL 22 billion (5.4% higher than in 2021), driven by the record harvest. This good result is due to the production of 7.6 million tonnes in the 2021/2022 harvest (8.1% higher than the previous harvest) and the high prices that were practiced in the market.
Sugarcane also recorded growth, with GDP reaching R$12.2 billion (19% higher than the previous crop).
Products that stood out with an increase in the GDP of the agricultural segment in 2022: potatoes (22%), bananas (45%), tomatoes (29%), oranges (10%), cotton (2%), wheat (69). % ), cassava (47%) and rice (10%).
Decreases were recorded for maize (3%), beans (9%), grapes (1%) and peanuts (9%).
In livestock, there was an increase of 0.4% in the state GDP, which reached R$ 44.8 billion. With a share of 38% in the segment indicator, milk amounted to R$17.1 billion in 2022, an increase of 10.3%. The positive result was driven by the high price applied in the market, due to the lower supply of the product in the field.
With the high cost of production and increased demand, egg prices remained high in 2022, contributing to the positive VBP result, which reached R$ 1.8 billion (+7.1%).
As for meat, there was a decrease. The gross income from beef amounted to BRL 14.1 billion in 2022, 4.5% lower than the previous year. Performance was affected by the low consumption of protein, justified by the reduction in the purchasing power of the population, caused by high inflation.
Chicken GDP was R$8.2 billion, 6.4% lower than last year’s value. As for pork, revenue amounted to R$ 3.7 billion, a decrease of 7.4%.


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COMPANY NEWS; RESPIRONICS TO BUY HEALTHDYNE TECHNOLOGIES
Published: November 12, 1997
Respironics Inc. agreed yesterday to acquire Healthdyne Technologies Inc. for $24 a share in stock, or about $337 million. Respironics, which is based near Pittsburgh, will also assume $33 million in Healthdyne debt. It said it would take charges of $25 million to $30 million in the first quarter of 1998. Healthdyne, based in Marietta, Ga., makes monitoring devices for newborns and products for respiratory disorders. It has about 550 employees and had $146 million in sales last year. Respironics makes products to detect and treat obstructive sleep apnea, the temporary stopping of breathing, and other portable ventilation products. Healthdyne stock was down 12.5 cents at $19.75 a share, while Respironics shares were down 37.5 cents at $26.25.


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Bitcoin Lightning Network Payments Jump Over 400%, 80M Users Have Access to Network
As the usage of the Bitcoin (BTC) Lightning Network is growing rapidly, now more than 80m users are estimated to have access to this network, compared with 100,000 users last summer, a new report from Arcane Research has found.
The main driver of growth for the Lightning Network this year has been Jack Dorsey’s payments app Cash App. Also, El Salvador’s national Lightning wallet Chivo and the popular bitcoin trading platform Paxful contributed to most of the growth in 2021.
Users with access to Lightning payments:
Source: Arcane Research
The authors of the report also noted that while Lightning Network payment volume peaked in November and has since retracted somewhat, the picture is different when we exclude deposits and withdrawals from trading services.
"[Then] we see that all other payments actually dipped in November but have since grown to new highs," they said, adding that these payments jumped 480% in a year. Total payments jumped 410%.
Lightning Payments Except for Deposits/Withdrawals to trading services:
Source: Arcane Research
Meanwhile, Arcane’s researchers also found that of the total payment volume in the first two months of 2022, about half of the value transacted came from transactions directly between individuals.
The next most popular way to use Lightning was exchange deposits and withdrawals, which came in with 32% of transactions. Lastly, 20% of payments were made up of purchases of goods and services, handled either through payment processors or by buying gift cards.
Distribution of Lightning Payments Volume in 2022:
When looking at usage in terms of the number of transactions, the report said so-called micro rewards dominate the picture.
These are transactions that are typically sent to a user for using a service, for example through a gaming service that rewards its players with satoshis (1/100 million BTC) for playing a game – a concept known as play-to-earn (P2E).
“According to our estimates, individuals sent each other more than 300,000 payments, made more than 200,000 payments for goods and services, and over 100,000 deposits or withdrawals to or from trading services in the first two months of 2022,” the report said.
In terms of the future of Lightning – Bitcoin’s most popular Layer-2 network – Arcane said that although the network’s usage is still far behind legacy payment networks like Visa, the potential for “explosive growth” exists. This potential comes from both users using bitcoin over the Lightning Network directly, and for the network to be used as a payment rail for fiat currencies, the report said.
Also, according to them, with the Lightning Network, usage can continue to grow even as we “wait for hyperbitcoinization to explode” through the use of the network simply as a payment rail for traditional currencies.


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January 13, 2020
Media contact info:
FLUSHING, N.Y., January 13, 2020 – The spring training home of the New York Mets and regular-season home of the St. Lucie Mets, New York’s Advanced-A minor league affiliate, will have a new name next season.
The venue, formerly known as First Data Field, will be called Clover Park beginning in February 2020. This change follows the 2019 acquisition of First Data by Fiserv, a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology.
The new name highlights the Clover® platform from Fiserv, which has been powering payments for St. Lucie Mets fans since 2017. Clover enables payments at thousands of businesses, including more than 25 stadiums and arenas across the United States.
The St. Lucie Mets venue’s naming rights have belonged to First Data since 2017, as part of an exclusive, 10-year strategic marketing partnership. The Mets and Fiserv will continue the existing partnership.
“We are excited to continue our partnership with Fiserv by showcasing their innovative Clover technology and appreciate their contribution to making our spring training home field a great place to watch baseball,” said New York Mets COO Jeff Wilpon.
“From making it possible for people to access and manage their banking activities, to allowing them to easily purchase t-shirts at a local business and concessions at the game, Fiserv plays an integral role in people’s daily lives,” said President and Chief Operating Officer of Fiserv Frank Bisignano. “We’re proud to be part of our communities as we enable people to engage in memorable experiences at the ballpark and beyond.”
Clover allows people to pay the way they want – with a debit or credit card, via Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay, prepaid card, or cash. The payment process is quick and easy, meaning fans spend less time waiting in line and more time watching the game.
Clover Park will host 16 spring training games in 2020, beginning on February 22 with the New York Mets’ matchup against the Miami Marlins. Following spring training, the venue will continue to serve as the summer home of the St. Lucie Mets.
Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV) aspires to move money and information in a way that moves the world. As a global leader in payments and financial technology, the company helps clients achieve best-in-class results through a commitment to innovation and excellence in areas including account processing and digital banking solutions; card issuer processing and network services; payments; e-commerce; merchant acquiring and processing; and the Clover® cloud-based point-of-sale solution. Fiserv is a member of the S&P 500® Index and the FORTUNE® 500, and is among the FORTUNE Magazine World’s Most Admired Companies®. Visit fiserv.com and follow on social media for more information and the latest company news.
Media contact info:
Sign up and learn more about Clover.


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Free charging stations that you might find at a shopping mall, airport, or hotel may not be as life-saving as you think. Those innocent-seeming charging stations could easily turn from saviors to devious data thieves. Those charging stations could easily be configured to copy data from your smartphone — or to even install malware on […]
NBC News Reports on How Smartphone Pictures Pose Privacy Risks Almost all smartphones and GPS cameras, by default, enable the geotagging feature. This new technology gives the public control to see where a posted picture was taken, within fifteen feet.
In Romania, eavesdropping via smartphone has been taken to a new level. Fifty people were accused of using smartphone software to listen in on conversations. The software, obtained from an IT cell phone communication specialist, allowed the accused to monitor the communication interactions of business competitors and spouses according to news sources. A 30-year-old IT […]
Apps. Everyone loves them, and cell phone providers are happy to provide them. Google has apps, iPhone has apps. You could say that everyone is very “appy” with their apps. In fact, the Wall Street Journal online cited that there are “more than 250,000 applications” that range from social media location-based games to financial tools […]


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“We took the 1st European Games as the baseline. Those games attracted about 28,000 tourists. We intend to do better than that. We intend to welcome at least 30,000 tourists,” the official said.
A republican organizing committee led by the prime minister has been set up to ensure the games are properly organized. It includes a subcommittee on interaction with foreign tourists. An official tourist operator and an agent of the games have been selected via tenders. The National Tourism Agency has certified 886 guides and 200 escorting interpreters for the games. Any kinds of tours are available for any kind of audience. Infrastructure is being prepared to give the people, who come here, a quality tourism product, the official said.
“In Europe major events usually inflate hotel prices by two or three times. We've decided to limit price growth. During the European Games we will also invigorate domestic tourism. We are confident the event will proceed flawlessly,” Mikhail Portnoi stressed.


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BYD rolls out its 50,000th pure electric bus
BYD boasts the world's largest selection of battery electric buses, and a clientele that spans across 300 cities around the world.
Underwater robots and scooters
WhiteShark Nano, a super smart autonomous underwater robot, is an ideal solution for underwater photography and videography. It uses AI to follow a preset target, whether that is a human diver or marine life, to capture beautiful shots even from a distance.
Volkswagen mega factory to strengthen e-mobility strategy
Through the completion of the Foshan Plant Phase II, the Foshan production site's capacity will double from 300,000 to 600,000 cars annually. As the first SUV-model of the Volkswagen brand built by FAW-Volkswagen, the T-Roc successfully rolled off the line in April this year. Together with the Audi Q2L, which will also start production this year, it is a vital building block in the fast growing SUV segment.
A report from the 13th CIBF 2018
IDTechEx Analyst Dr Na Jiao attended The China International Battery Fair (CIBF), the first legal international battery fair in the Chinese battery industry, which is held every two years.
Using crumpled graphene balls to make better batteries
Lithium metal-based batteries have the potential to turn the battery industry upside down. With the theoretically ultra-high capacity of lithium metal used by itself, this new type of battery could power everything from personal devices to cars.
NEVS AB and DiDi Chuxing form strategic partnership
NEVS AB and DiDi Chuxing, the world's leading mobile transportation platform, have now formed strategic partnership and finalized a number of steps towards an extensive cooperation.
More solar power thanks to titanium
Earth-abundant, cheap metals are promising photocatalytic electrode materials in artificial photosynthesis.
Chemists create 3D printed graphene foam
Nanotechnologists have used 3D laser printing to fabricate centimeter-sized objects of atomically thin graphene.
NEVS presents InMotion concept
NEVS recently displayed the new InMotion Concept for the very first time in Shanghai. This is not a normal car - it´s a vision on how we in the future can travel safely and efficiently through a big city, without owning the car - and without a driver.
New catalyst offers efficient storage of alternative energies
Researchers have designed the most efficient catalyst for storing energy in chemical form, by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, just like plants do during photosynthesis.
Tianjin Lishen Battery Co., Ltd.
Established on December 25th 1997, Tianjin Lishen Battery Co., Ltd. is a hi-tech company that specializes in the technological development, manufacture and sales of Li-ion battery for consumer electronics, power tools, transportation and energy storage systems.
Lithium-ion batteries for electric buses
In this article IDTechEx analyst Dr Victoria Adesanya-Aworinde shares insights into demand and sales forecasts, market share, market size and market leaders.


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Thu, 14 Sep 2017 | BUSINESS SALE
Bristol-headquartered digital, print and marketing services provider, Latcham Direct, has acquired a print management company as part of its growth strategy.
Crawley-based CGL will continue to trade under the brand Latcham|CGL brand, with a rebrand expected in 2018.
Latcham Direct was launched in 2010 and employs more than 90 staff. Its services include print production, mailing and specialist digital communications.
This will be the company's first strategic acquisition in their efforts to expand and broaden their business scope to include and reach many key industries across the UK.
Latcham Direct managing director Mike Hughes said: "We are thrilled that CGL has now become part of the Latcham Group. The business is a perfect, complementary fit for us in terms of the expert print management and digital solutions it provides and its commitment to delivering the highest possible service to clients.
"This acquisition is the first important stage in the continued expansion of Latcham Direct demonstrating our commitment to the print sector and the huge opportunities that digital communications represents now and into the future. These are exciting times and we are looking forward to expanding the Latcham Group further in the months that lie ahead."
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Well established and impressive children’s indoor activity centre. Prominent and accessible trading position, excellent reputation. Superbly presented throughout, 70 covers, car parking, retirement sale. The business has a thriving 100 cover café wit...
Highly impressive detached children’s day nursery (Reg 40 children). Sought after and accessible setting, truly enviable reputation, Ofsted rating ‘Good’. Superbly presented, potential living accommodation, viewing recommended. This is a rare and exc...
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The Auburn Farmers Market
doesn’t officially open until June 15, but you can get seeds, plants, and handmade goods at the Early Market on Thursdays from now until then.
The Auburn Farmers Market, located inside Auburn City Park
, opened for its early season the first week of May.
“We’re trying to bring in more people who are selling plants and seeds and things to plant your garden,” says Market Manager Robin Devereaux-Nelson, and is working at finding vendors interested in the early market. Devereaux-Nelson says she also wants to capture some of the spring flower vendors with hanging baskets and potted plants, too.
The Auburn Farmers Market opens for the 2021 season on June 15.
You can find a handful of vendors at the market from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays until the opening day celebration on June 15.
“We’re having a special event, a Friends of Auburn Recognition Celebration, on June 15th
to kick off the season,” she says. At 3:30 p.m. June 15, donors and grantors who have supported Auburn Parks and Recreation will be honored. The celebration also will include food trucks, music, and ice cream.
This summer, Devereaux-Nelson says she’s hoping to see the market grow beyond fresh fruits and vegetables.
Devereaux-Nelson says this year’s vendors include NOM NOM Ninja
, a Saginaw based hibachi steak-sandwich truck, and Bad Wolf BBQ
, a Freeland-based food truck.
She says the market also is promoting #eatlocalfood and will let shoppers know where their food comes from.
Vendors still are needed at the market, located just off US-10 in the Auburn City Park.
“We do have a few sellers who buy food from the Amish and re-sell it, but it is still locally grown in Michigan,” Devereaux-Nelson says, but there will be signs on each vendor’s table indicating where their food comes from. “We’re really promoting the #eatlocalfood this year.”
Like last year, Devereaux-Nelson is bringing back the Market Munchkins program, which provides coupons for fresh fruits and vegetables to kids between 4 and 14 years old. The market will also accept Project Fresh
coupons through WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) and Project Senior Market Fresh
coupons offered by the USDA through the Michigan State University Extension office.
She applied to bring in the federal SNAP
(Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), but COVID-19 has slowed progress on government approvals. Devereaux-Nelson hopes to have SNAP in place by the time the market opens in June.
With room for 42 vendors under the pavilion, Devereaux-Nelson says she’s hoping to see a lot more available this year, too.
“It’s really economical for vendors,” she says. Vendors pay $8 a day for a highly-visible location just off US-10, making the program a win-win for both sellers and shoppers looking for fresh, locally-grown food.
In support of the Farmer’s Market and the Auburn Park, Devereaux-Nelson says they’ve got two special events planned this year, too.
On June 5, Walk in the Park & Craft Fair
will feature more than 80 vendors, musicians and food, to help raise money to make the park more accessible. The park features some ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) amenities, but the path between them is deteriorating, so the June event will help re-pave the path. Then, in October, another benefit will support the Market Munchkins and Farmer’s Market projects.
The Auburn Farmer’s Market is open 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays from June 15 – Sept. 30 in the pavilion at Auburn City Park.


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There may be one last twist in the tail when it comes to the often speculated powertrain under the bonnet of the next-generation Honda Civic Type R, due to be revealed later this year.
It had initially been thought that the model would get some form of electrified assistance, marking it as the first hybrid Type R. These rumours were then squashed with Autocar UK reporting last September that the car would remain a pure internal combustion engine affair.
Now it’s been reported by noted Japanese outlet Best Car that the forthcoming Type R is set to use the same K20CI 2.0-litre turbocharged four it uses currently with power remaining unchanged for the Japanese market.
The Best Car report corroborates Autocar UK’s earlier musings, noting that the model won’t feature any hybrid elements under the hood. Indeed, the new Type R is expected to be the last pure internal combustion engine Honda sold in Europe.
In Japan, the current FK8 Type R produces 235kW of power and 400Nm of torque, while those sold Down Under get a slightly detuned 228kW/400Nm. Best car adds that the new model’s engine won’t be a complete copy and paste, having been given some tweaks between models to change its “torque characteristics”.
On top of this, the report indicates that the Type R will be getting an automatic transmission option. This is a fairly big first for the Type R sub-brand, with all previous models sporting either a 5- or 6-speed manual transmission.
The Type R is said to also be gaining some monstrous rubber. According to the report, it will be shifting from a 20-inch wheel to 19s, wrapped with enormous 265/30 rubber. If true, it’ll be some of the biggest rubber ever fitted to a front-wheel drive car.
Honda has yet to comment on the claims, and is unlikely to until the model’s proper unveiling later in the year. It’s not the only new Civic set to debut this year, with the e:HEV hybrid also set to be revealed. The Type R has already been confirmed for our market, while the e:HEV is expected to also follow.


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Dar es Salaam — New regulations in Zambia meant to empower locals could have a devastating impact on Tanzanian transporters, it has been revealed.
The Citizens Economic Empowerment (Transportation of Heavy and Bulk Commodities by Road) (Reservation) Regulations, 2021 seek to operationalise the southern African country's the Citizens Economic Empowerment Act, 2006.
Currently, the Tunduma-Nakonde border post is Tanzania's busiest crossing, being the gateway to Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and, to some extent, Zimbabwe.
It is estimated that over 70 per cent of transit goods imported through Dar es Salaam Port pass through the border post.
On average, the value of cargo passing through the border to Zambia, the DRC and Zimbabwe is estimated at $1.5 billion (Sh3.4 trillion) annually.
These figures translate into lucrative business for transport firms from Tanzania and Zambia, but Tanzanian transporters are now worried that some sections of the new Zambian regulations could have far-reaching ramifications on their business volumes.
This is because the regulations state categorically that Zambian road transporters be given preference when it comes to transporting goods into and within the country.
The regulations apply to producers and manufacturers of raw materials, oil suppliers, logistics companies, clearing and forwarding agents, oil marketing companies and transporters by road of a commodity to a person's plant, industry or place of business.
They are categorical that a person who intends to export goods from Zambia shall ensure that at least 50 percent of the merchandise is transported by a Zambian transporter.
"A person who intends to import a commodity referred to in the Schedule, into the Republic (of Zambia), shall ensure that at least 50 percent of the commodity is transported by a local transporters," the regulations state in part.
As for domestic transportation, the regulations require that it be fully conducted by local transporter.
Any person found to have contravened the regulations faces a fine or a jail term of up to three years or both.
Although the regulations and the law could be seen as a Zambian affair, the fact that there are close trade relations between the two Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states gives Tanzanian transporters reason to worry.
Tanzania Truck Owners Association (Tatoa) vice chairman Elias Lukumay told The Citizen that should Zambia start to enforce the law, it would not only deny Tatoa members access to business, but would also eliminate competition.
"It means that up to 60 percent of cargo will be transported by Zambian transporters, and 30 per cent would be carried by Tazara, leaving us with only 10 percent. This is not a good sign," he said, and called for urgent intervention by the Tanzanian government.
"We have invested massively in this business. We don't support these regulations at all," Mr Lukumay said.
Apart from impeding the flow of goods and passengers across Tanzania and Zambia, Tanzanian transporters also say that the regulations would deny them access to other destinations.
They have since written to the government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking that the matter be addressed as soon as possible.
Tatoa and the Tanzania Association of Transporters (TAT) say in the letter, whose copy The Citizen has seen, that part of their mandate was to transport cargo to landlocked countries within SADC and the East African Community (EAC).
Works and Transport minister Leonard Chamuriho told The Citizen on Monday that the government was aware of the situation.
"This is a Zambian matter. However, it is a fact that if they implement them (the regulations), they will have a big effect on our side," he said.
Dr Chamuriho added that the government met with Tanzanian transporters on June 11, and the new Zambian regulations were among their biggest concerns.
As a result, another meeting has been scheduled for June 26 when it will be agreed how Tanzania should handle the matter.
"Since this is something that affects us, we need to reach an agreement with another country. After the business council meeting, we will arrange a trip to Zambia, or organise a zoom meeting that will enable us to share our views with them," Dr Chamuriho said.
He said once an agreement is reached, the media would be informed accordingly.


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Updated: Feb 1, 2021
Great news, American Girl fans! When I went to the American Girl store today, I was told that there’s going to be a brand new release on Tuesday, February 2! We can assume that the American Girl Airlines items that AG has been teasing will release then, as well as some other new fun stuff! Maybe Courtney’s second book will release then, as well... who knows? Anyways, who’s excited for the new release Tuesday?
UPDATE: The new release will actually be online tomorrow! Thanks familydolls for the info!


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How a tech startup went from ‘no one’ to a $100M startup
The rise of an emerging tech startup has left a number of entrepreneurs struggling to stay afloat, and the problem is even more acute in 2017, says a new report from Next Big Futures.
In 2017, tech companies have seen their value soar by nearly 40% compared to 2016.
The rise is largely due to the rise of cloud-based services like Uber and Airbnb, which have enabled them to raise large sums of money in an incredibly short period of time.
And, more significantly, many of these companies are now able to tap into vast amounts of consumer data to create new products and services.
However, for many, this is not the end of the story.
The report points out that, while companies like Airbnb and Uber are increasingly popular, many are also finding themselves in a tough spot, as their revenue and profitability are not always sustainable.
For example, one of the most famous examples of this is Next Big Things, a company that raised a $30 million seed round in 2015, only to fail to cash in due to a lack of funding.
This raised $2.5 billion in funding from a range of VCs and large companies, but its failure to deliver on its promise was not helped by the fact that it had to raise $1.5 million from investors in order to do so.
As a result, the company has been forced to raise a substantial amount of money from a number other sources, including the US government, in order for it to get off the ground.
But as the report points this has not been enough to make up for its failure, and in 2019, Next Big Thing went bankrupt, with an estimated valuation of $35 million.
It is not only the tech companies that are struggling to survive, but also the non-tech industries in general, with the report noting that, although most of these industries are struggling, there are still plenty of people who are doing well in some of them.
For example, more than two-thirds of all workers in the hospitality and retail industries, for example, have seen increases in income in recent years, and one in six of all new jobs has been created in the industry.
As we enter the next five years, we need to ensure that tech companies do not become an opportunity for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people, and we need them to remain resilient in their pursuit of profits and growth, says Next Big Ideas chief executive and founder John Kelly.
As these sectors continue to grow, and as they grow faster than the rest of the economy, we have to take a more holistic approach to tackling poverty and inequality, he said.
In the meantime, some companies, like Spotify and Uber, are investing heavily in developing technologies that will help them reach their potential.
This is great news for the millions of people currently relying on these services, but, as the company notes, we also need to take action in order that these innovations can also be made available to the many people who cannot afford to pay for them.
“The technology that is currently available to these companies is a fraction of what is needed to address the root causes of poverty and income inequality in the world,” said Kelly.
“We must ensure that the solutions to poverty and inequalities are affordable, accessible, and secure for all.”
Read next: Facebook’s $30B acquisition of WhatsApp is the latest in a long line of acquisitions that are shaping up to be massive


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Despite worries that DRAM prices have peaked, modest price declines to boost market by stimulating demand.
VR video consumes 15x more memory vs. 2D video; need to focus more on the potential of 5G and AI.
5G to shift industry paradigm from DT to RT, ushering in the second big cycle for memory semiconductors.
The low valuations of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are proof that shares have priced in DRAM price concerns.
DRAM price concerns priced into memory semiconductor shares
Chipmakers are suffering from severe corrections due to concerns that DRAM prices may have peaked. These lingering concerns, which began last year, are unlikely to materialize at least until 3Q18. Some worry that the closing gap between PC DRAM spot prices and contract prices will lead to the fall of PC DRAM contract prices. However, the prices of mobile and server DRAM should maintain until 3Q18 because of robust demand. We expect DRAM prices to fall in 1H19 when demand is seasonally low. Even so, the decrease should be limited to 5% given the strengthening AR functions and growing number of cameras in smartphones as well as burgeoning demand from data centers. Also, in 2H19 when silicon wafer capacity is slated to increase 7% from the current level, DRAM prices should be able to find a firmer footing. Samsung Electronics (OTC:SSNLF) is working to boost the DRAM capacity of its Line 17 and Pyeongtaek fab but considering the capacity loss caused by Line 11’s conversion into a CMOS facility and the loss of yield stemming from the production of 1Y nano DRAM, Samsung’s DRAM capacity increase will be just enough to retain its DRAM leadership. Of course, mobile memory chip prices have to fall to a certain extent because the BOM cost ratio of high-end smartphones with 6GB LPDDR4x and UFS 256GB has climbed to 31% despite weak smartphone demand. This explains the recent drop of TLC wafer prices. However, even if UFS prices decrease, the bigger price premium of UFS over eMMC means chipmakers can halt price declines by raising the portion of UFS in their product mixes.
Trading approach until 1H19, buy and hold from 2H19
When 5G services become available in 2020, the current AI service will fuse with hyper-connected technology, shifting the industry paradigm from data technology (NYSE:DT) to robotic technology (RT). Memory chip demand, mostly led by data centers currently, will be fueled by consumer electronics as well, resulting in excessive demand across the industry. Indeed, AR/VR- enabled video which is most likely to become a killer application in the 5G era requires 15 times more storage capacity compared to full HD content in 2D. Considering the expandability and vast upside potential of demand, chipmakers’ capex is not at all aggressive, in terms of both speed and scale. As such, we believe the memory semiconductor industry will experience the second big cycle from 2020. The last noise from the memory semiconductor sector will probably be DRAM prices that still do not fall, and even if they do fall, DRAM shares are still expected to re-rate as uncertainties dissipate. Of course, it is possible that DRAM makers will experience further corrections if DRAM contract prices come down; but it is also possible that shares will sharply rebound, if valuations become more attractive and DRAM price declines turn out to be milder than expected. Having said that, there is no need to become overly excited because if Korean chipmakers report record earnings in 3Q18, it may be soon followed by one-off cost hikes in 4Q18 and weak seasonality in 1H19. As such, we recommend a box trading strategy for the two Korean memory semiconductor names until 1H19, and a buy-and-hold strategy from 2H19.
Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Editor's Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.


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XPeng is to begin taking pre-orders for its upcoming flagship SUV, the G9 this Wednesday. According to bloggers from Weibo, some images of the new car leaked via the company’s own app. They appear to be screenshots of the 3D interior viewer.
We don’t get to see much more than the front of the car, with two giant screens taking up most of the space. The company was quick to realise its mistake and all images were pulled from the app.
Two big screens layout with a smaller driver dedicated instrument display is a familiar approach, we saw it on Li Auto L9 as well. It makes the XPeng G9 interior much more modern than that of other models from the automaker.
The G9 was officially unveiled in November last year and the automaker confirmed the car is designed for international markets and meets both Chinese and international safety standards.
XPeng G9 is the fourth model in the lineup, it is a premium SUV that is meant to compete with Li Auto L9. Pre¡orders for the SUV will begin on August 10 with the official launch of the car scheduled for September.
To keep the audience on their toes, the XPEng's chairman He Xiaopeng released a video on Weibo, teasing the details of the G9 SUV: