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The merger of the UK’s greatest meals ordering app Simply Eat and its Dutch equal Takeaway.com final yr created that uncommon firm whose title can be its technique: to influence prospects to not cook dinner at dwelling or exit however to Simply Eat Takeaway.
The lockdowns of 2020 created the right recipe for that ambition to be fulfilled. That shone by within the speedy progress revealed by annual outcomes this week from JET and its UK rival Deliveroo, following sturdy numbers final month from Uber, DoorDash and Supply Hero.
Simply Eat Takeaway’s gross merchandise quantity — a measure of client spending throughout its companies — went up by 51 per cent final yr. Supply Hero, the group which runs supply companies in 40 nations, and Deliveroo, which is making ready for a $10bn initial public offering, each reported an annual leap of round two-thirds in buyer spending. Uber Eats greater than doubled its gross bookings, whereas DoorDash’s market gross order quantity tripled in 2020.
Every of those corporations measures the top-line exercise on its apps in a barely completely different manner, making it troublesome to attract a real like-for-like comparability between the figures.
Nevertheless, one proxy of relative market share will be gleaned from analysing anonymised cost knowledge. In response to Edison Traits, which tracks greater than 2.5m card transactions within the US, DoorDash gained share on the expense of rivals all through 2020. It estimates that its market share elevated by about 27 foundation factors per week whereas opponents, particularly these with smaller scale, misplaced out.
DoorDash’s rise can be supported by app obtain knowledge from Sensor Tower — which can be utilized as an indicator for buying new prospects. It confirmed that the San Francisco-based firm’s price of progress was increased in each month final yr when put next with rivals. Within the UK, Deliveroo outperformed friends on this measure.
It’s clear that the pandemic supercharged the meals supply house. “The disaster appears to have lifted all boats,” stated Andrew Gwynn, analyst at Exane BNP Paribas.
After a rocky first few weeks of the pandemic, when many eating places needed to shutter altogether, the net meals corporations that did greatest have been those that function their very own fleet of couriers, resembling Deliveroo.
That logistics functionality enabled them to ship meals from locations that had by no means signed up for takeaway apps earlier than the pandemic. Tens of hundreds of recent eating places and grocery retailers joined Deliveroo final yr to take its whole to 115,000, whereas Uber and DoorDash now have 675,000 and 450,000 particular person shops and retailers respectively promoting by their platforms.
That left Simply Eat Takeaway — which has historically let the pizza joints and kebab retailers that record on its app to ship orders utilizing their very own workers — racing to recruit couriers. Up to now few months, for the primary time, Simply Eat’s orange-jacketed riders have appeared on the streets of London to tackle Deliveroo’s distinctive military of turquoise-clad mopeds and cyclists.
Because of Simply Eat’s closely discounted supply drive, what is generally among the many most worthwhile of meals supply corporations noticed pre-tax losses jump 67 per cent to €147m. Most of its rivals posted even wider losses, however Deliveroo and DoorDash have been in a position to rein in advertising and marketing spending final yr, which on some measures pushed them nearer to profitability.
Jitse Groen, JET’s chief government, believes its base of extra conventional takeaway eating places and prospects will go away it higher positioned than its rivals when restrictions ease. Coupled with the completion of its merger with US-based Grubhub, he anticipates an “acceleration” of order progress this yr, even after 2020s frenzy.
“When the pandemic began, there was fairly a big improve in logistical orders in principally all our markets,” he stated. “If you happen to can’t go to a restaurant, you’ll order in. So the inverse will occur when eating places reopen.”
Deliveroo chief government Will Shu counters that even when eating places have been briefly allowed to reopen within the UK final summer season, the London-based firm “continued to develop quickly and the order frequency of customers remained excessive”.
Nonetheless, Deliveroo and DoorDash are both warning of slower growth in buyer spending this yr.
“The priority I’d have is the second half of the yr,” stated Gwynn. “All of them have to maintain the highest line rising and it might be fairly troublesome.”
Further reporting by Patrick Mathurin and Chris Campbell


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NEW YORK – To understand the impact of soaring inflation on back-to-school spending this year, look no further than children’s rain boots with patterns like frogs and ladybugs made by Washington Shoe Co.
Spending has held steady for these evergreen items even after the Kent, Wash.-based company was forced to pass on 15% price increases in January to its retail customers due to soaring transport costs. But in May, as gas and food prices also rose, shoppers abruptly shifted away from high-end $35 rain boots to no-frills versions that cost $5 to $10 less, he said. its CEO Karl Moehring.
“We’re seeing consumers go down,” Moehring said, noting dramatic sales swings of 20% in opposite directions for both product types. “Wages are not keeping up with inflation.”
In this back-to-school shopping season, parents – especially in the low-to-middle income bracket – are focusing on the basics while turning to cheaper stores amid soaring inflation, which has hit a new 40-year high in June.
Last week, Walmart noted that higher gas and food prices are forcing shoppers to make fewer purchases of discretionary items, particularly clothing. Best Buy, the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain, said inflation has dampened consumer spending on gadgets. Both companies have cut their earnings forecasts as a result.
Such financial hardship amid the industry’s second busiest shopping season after the winter break marks a big difference from a year ago, when many low-income shoppers, fueled by the measures government stimulus packages and supported by wage increases, spent freely.
Matt Priest, CEO of the Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America trade group, noted that last year, member retailers of the group saw a noticeable increase in online sales mid-month when shoppers received their monthly credit checks. child tax bills that amounted to a few hundred dollars. . This season, without that bump, he expects shoppers to buy fewer shoes for their kids and rely on private labels.
Inflation has taken a toll on household finances for Jessica Reyes, 34, who took her daughters Jalysa, 7, and Jenesis, 5, to a ‘Back to School Bash’ event last month in north Chicago which offered free backpacks full of student supplies.
“I feel like everything’s going uphill these days,” she said at the event. “We’re a single income household right now…so I think it’s affected us a lot in all areas, in bills and home and school necessities.”
While shopping, her daughters have been drawn to school supplies featuring TV characters and animals they love, but she will focus on simple versions.
“They want the cute, you know, the kitties. And these are always more expensive than the simple ones. And the same with folders, notebooks or pencils,” Reyes said.
Earlier, Manny Colon and his daughters Jubilee, 8, and Audrey, 5, stopped by the back-to-school event to pick out backpacks.
Colon, 38, works at his daughters’ primary school. He said his wife had to take on extra work due to high prices for school supplies, groceries and gas.
“I think it definitely affected us,” he said.
Many forecasts point to a strong back-to-school shopping season.
Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks spending on all payment methods including cash, projects back-to-school spending will increase 7.5% from July 14 to September 5 compared to the period last year when sales had increased by 11%. For the 2020 back-to-school period, sales fell 0.8% as the pandemic wreaked havoc on school reopening plans and back-to-school shopping.
Still, higher prices support much of the numbers.
A basket of about a dozen supply items showed an average price increase of nearly 15% this back to school compared to a year ago, according to retail analytics firm DataWeave. The price of backpacks has increased by nearly 12% to an average of $70, for example.
Back 2 School America, an Illinois-based nonprofit that distributes back-to-school kits to children from low-income families, has seen “significant increases in supply costs,” including a 10% increase of their supplier with another possible brand-up on the way, said the organization’s CEO Matthew Kurtzman. And the shipping costs have also increased.
With increased support this year, Back 2 School America will be able to cover the new costs and is on track to distribute more kits than ever before – 12,000 so far and over 30,000 by the end of the year. late August, Kurtzman said. But funding is not guaranteed going forward as worries about a recession grow.
Retailers are facing big challenges getting shoppers to spend, especially on apparel.
Walmart said last week it was accepting additional apparel discounts to eliminate inventory. Analysts believe these sales will put more pressure on other rivals to cut further in order to stay competitive. However, Walmart said it was encouraged by early signs of school supply sales.
Meanwhile, Gap’s low-cost Old Navy division is securing a price freeze on its denim from July 29 through the end of September.
As for Washington Shoe, Moehring said it is shifting production from higher priced children’s boots to lower priced products in the coming months. The company still sees annual sales ahead of last year, but it’s cautious.
“I think it’s a muddy prospect,” he said.
Claire Savage reported from Chicago and is a member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places reporters in local newsrooms to report on underreported issues.
Tortilla Flat closes Portland restaurant after 44 years

domain: news


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Adobe does not use customer projects to train generative AI models, Chief Product Officer Scott Belsky said in a statement to Bloomberg. The company denies allegations of AI training through customer data.
Generative AI models such as ChatGPT and Dall-E learn to create new materials by analyzing content from various authors. Content creators are rightfully concerned that their materials are being used for AI training without notice or compensation.
If Adobe were to use customer projects for AI training, the company would carefully request consent with an opt-in setting, the CPO claimed.


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Revealed by HMD back in December a year ago and as of now accessible in Europe, the Nokia 150 component telephone has now touched base in India. Outsider retailers including Amazon and Flipkart right now have the gadget recorded on their site.
In particular, Flipkart is putting forth the dark model for INR 2,299, while the white model is being sold for INR 2,399. Amazon likewise has the Dual SIM variation recorded, however it’s right now inaccessible.
The Nokia 150 Dual SIM houses a 1020mAh battery which cases to present to 22 hours of battery existence with a standby time of up to 25 days. The telephone measures 117x50x13mm and weighs around 82 grams. Extra components incorporate a MP3 player, FM radio, Bluetooth v3.0 with SLAM, and a VGA camera with a LED streak.


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Most families are smart enough to not spray poison on their garden for fear that it will harm the small harvest they will consume. What most people do not realize is that genetically modified crops do exactly what we wish to avoid at home: genetically modified agricultural products are designed to grow in RoundUp. While the food industry argues that this is harmless, there is new evidence that this slowly poisons consumers. The food industry likes these modified crops because they no longer have to weed, they can simply dump a herbicide to destroy all competing plants. What is good for the food industry is bad for consumers.
A paper published in the International Journal of Biological Sciences (Abstract PDF) links genetically modified corn to liver and kidney poisoning (the organs that detoxify the body). This study comes to the reasonable conclusion that food grown in RoundUp may be bad for those who consume it. This food is currently legal and common in the U.S. An Australian news agency reports that the multinational enterprise seeking to advance this product used fraudulent research in its attempt to get this food approved.
This is the first of several posts that will examine the use of carcinogens in commonly consumed American products. This post concerned the long-term dangers in consuming non-organic (or genetically modified) corn.


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Oklahoma City family finding vegan lifestyle benefits in many ways
Alissa Finley's story sounds much like the introduction to "The Brady Bunch.” Two years ago, she had two children of her own, Elsa, now 11, and Alek, 7, and both had hair of gold, like their mother. It's also the story of a man named Deke Dalrymple, who was busy with three boys (and a girl) of his own: Sky, now 12, Bodhi, 9, Sen, 6, and Anna, 3. They were four men (and a little girl) living all together, yet they were all alone. Till the one day when the lady met this fellow at Vegetarian Summerfest. Soon, the two knew this group must form a family, and that's the way they all became the vegan bunch. That's the twist. Finley's family, which has recently grown to include 5-week-old Fin, are all vegans — they don't eat meat or any animal byproducts such as milk or eggs. This Oklahoma City family may seem unusual, but vegetarians and vegans are cropping up everywhere. According to the Vegetarian Resource Group, 4 percent to 7 percent of Americans call themselves vegetarians (people who don't eat meat but who usually will eat animal byproducts). These days, grocery stores and even many convenience stores are well-stocked with vegetarian and vegan items such as veggie burgers, soy and rice milk, "not-dogs” and "facon,” or fake bacon. Vegetarians are no longer doomed to shopping at dingy natural food stores in the dark corners of aged strip malls, where they have to dust off the cartons of soy milk and tofu. Herbivores have more choices and convenience than ever. But you don't have to be a vegetarian or vegan to benefit from the great variety of healthy choices now found on grocery shelves near you. Many veggie foods not only taste great, but they are typically low in fat and cholesterol. "A vegetarian diet's strengths clearly are that it is so plant-based, with the nutrients that are native to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and legumes and grains. It is just an excellent quality way to go,” said Karen Massey, registered licensed dietitian for Integris Health. Finley has been a vegetarian since she was 18. She said she always loved animals but, growing up in Oklahoma, had never even heard the word "vegetarian,” much less thought about becoming one. The first time she heard the word, she was at an out-of-state summer camp. When a counselor asked which campers wanted a vegetarian diet, Finley's hand shot up. "It had not occurred to me that you could not eat animals. I was blinded to that fact. All of a sudden, it all made sense,” she said. The month she spent at camp eating a vegetarian diet set her on a dietary path that would become more grounded in her ethics when she was a Cornell University freshman. As a volunteer at an animal advocacy group, Farm Sanctuary, she decided she was not comfortable supporting the egg and dairy industries, so she became a vegan and never looked back. Sixteen years later, Finley is president of Vegetarians of Oklahoma (VegOK), a statewide organization of vegetarians and vegans that meets monthly for potlucks and dinners at vegetarian restaurants. This month's meeting was at Queen of Sheba, an Ethiopian restaurant at 2308 N MacArthur. The group advocates for animals and promotes vegetarianism at statewide events. But the group welcomes "Friday vegetarians,” she said — those who may want to become vegetarians but are making the change gradually. "People come to vegetarianism for a lot of different reasons,” she said. "Compassion, health and environmental concerns are the top three.” The VegOK logo is a looping, interactive triangle in which all three of these reasons feed into each other. "Eating low on the food chain means getting the most food out of our resources that we can, instead of making all this good food and feeding it to the animals so we can eat the animals,” Finley said. "So, you have this care for the planet that feeds into caring for the animals that are on it, and that kind of feeds into caring for yourself and the health benefits that you can enjoy.” Veg PAK, an offshoot of VegOK, is a parents and children group that Finley started "not only to find vegan playmates for my own children,” she said, but also to help parents who have common questions about raising their vegetarian or vegan children. "What do you do at birthday parties?” and "What do you do with grandparents who want to give them this food?” are just two questions she gets asked by other Veg PAK parents. "There's no reason to reinvent the wheel,” she said. When one of her children is invited to a birthday party, Finley just opens her freezer and pulls out a vegan cupcake, spreads some icing on it, and sends her child off to have fun at the party. For a cookout, she sends a veggie burger or a "not-dog” along with her child to toss on the grill. And ice cream? "They have soy ice creams out there that are awesomely delicious,” she said. Finley crumbles faux beef on top of pizza or mixes it into spaghetti sauce or lasagna for a meatlike experience her children love. And she has recipes for vegan chocolate chip peanut butter banana cookies that drive her brood wild. "The kid-friendly recipes are not necessarily super-healthy, but they are meant to be yummy for the kids,” she said. For nonvegetarians, substituting some of the meatless products in place of a serving of red meat or chicken can lower the calorie, fat and cholesterol intake, a benefit for most U.S. families, Massey said. What about protein? That is the most common question people ask Louis Green, VegOK board member. He said that it is a common misconception that vegetarians and vegans lack protein in their diets. "The answer is that the standard vegetarian diet does not lack protein. It's not an issue,” he said. "In fact, people that eat a standard American diet have an issue of consuming too much protein.” Massey agrees. She said most Americans eat too many foods that are not only high in protein but, more importantly, are high in calories, cholesterol and saturated fats. "We eat too much, period,” she said. However, she pointed out that it is also not uncommon for young women who have eating disorders such as anorexia to say that they are vegetarians to avoid eating. She cautions parents with vegetarian children to make sure that they are eating enough and not using vegetarianism as a mask for an eating disorder. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's new food pyramid recommendations have changed to include more vegetarian-friendly terminology. What used to be the "meat” group is now the "meat and beans” group, for instance. The USDA has also issued recommendations for a healthy vegetarian diet.
The most important aspect of maintaining a healthy vegetarian diet is ensuring that the proper amounts of certain vitamins are consumed. Vitamin B12, which is only naturally found in animal byproducts, can be consumed in fortified foods such as rice and cereal. Fortified foods also contain higher amounts of iron, calcium and zinc, which are integral to a healthy diet and are lacking in many American diets, vegetarian or not, Massey said.
Vegetarian food choices can add a tasty change and variety to a nonvegetarian's diet. You don't have to cut meat completely out of your diet to reap the benefits of vegetarian options available.
"These things, give them a whirl,” Massey said. "Some of these garden burgers, obviously, they're not going to taste like ground beef, because they're a legume, but they have a wonderful flavor in and of themselves. Just the flavor change and the nutrient change, I think you might enjoy it.”
Why veg out?•By lowering your intake of meat, eggs and dairy, you can reduce your saturated fat and cholesterol intake, which lowers the risk for heart disease. •Typically, vegetarians have a lower incidence of cancer than nonvegetarians. •A low-fat vegetarian diet can take off, and keep off, excess weight. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indexes than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer. The American Dietetic Association
- Related to this story
This or that
Calorie, fat and cholesterol comparisons
- Article: Vegans have dining, shopping options in metro
- Article: 'Hit of the Party' Vegan Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter-Banana Cookies


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ANAHEIM – Are you ready for another 24-hour endurance test at Disneyland or Disney California Adventure?
To kick off Disneyland’s 60th anniversary, the two theme parks will be open to visitors for 24 hours, beginning at 6 a.m. May 22, a Friday.
Disney announced the event on its Disney Parks blog on Wednesday. Walt Disney World also will have a 24-hour event, Disney said. For the special days, which have become wildly popular, Disney charges the regular admission.
This is the fourth consecutive year Disney has offered the 24-hour day in Anaheim. At times, Disney has had to shut its gates to new entries for a while to prevent overcrowding.
On May 22, Disney will unveil three new attractions: Paint the Night, a nighttime parade at Disneyland inspired by the old-school Main Street Electrical Parade; “Disneyland Forever,” the park’s latest fireworks show; and a new light-and-water show at California Adventure, “World of Color – Celebrate!”
Disneyland turns 60 in July.
Contact the writer: 714-704-3764 or firstname.lastname@example.org


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Ecommerce portal ShopClues will be looking to tap into its hyper-local model to satisfy the expected upsurge in orders this festive period, which includes Navratri in October and Diwali in November.
Ambitious sales target
Management consulting firm Technopak advisors, is forecasting that this year’s festive period will generate Rs.25,600 crore worth of business and ShopClues is targeting sales of up to Rs. 1,600 crore over the next three months.
Last year the festive shopping battle between the ecommerce biggies which includes Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon was based on discounts. To counter this, ShopClues will be unveiling exclusive product launches this year as part of its strategy to lure customers.
- ShopClues gets more than 60 million visitors on its website each month
- It has as much as an exhaustive 30 million catalogue list of products
- Its logistical network allows it to deliver to 25,000 cities across India
- Houses an 850 strong team of employees to roll out operations
In order to speed up delivery time, ShopClues recently launched a ‘neighbourhood market’ feature on its mobile app, which is gaining traction. This connects local sellers in each product category with customers and utilises the company’s multiple local logistics partners to deliver orders efficiently.
“We plan on doing Rs 1,000-1,600 crore of business during the festive season till November,” said Radhika Aggarwal, co-founder and chief marketing officer at ShopClues “This will be supported by our tie up with the 2.25 lakh merchants on our platform, who double up as our fulfillment centres from where local courier companies can pick and deliver the product within a specific region.”
ShopClues started the new year on a high with the announcement of a massive $100mn raised from Tiger Global, in series D round of funding. The company aims to break even by the second half of 2016 and very recently explained that it envisages its gross merchandise value to touch $1.2 billion by the end of March 2016.
Looks like this festive shopping period is bound to bring ShopClues closer to its overall goals. Whether it achieves success in all its endeavours will only be unravelled next year.


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Following the blocking of foodstuff by northern traders to Southern part of Nigeria, News Carrier NG has gathered the traders have lost over 10 billion naira in one week.
News Carrier NG had reported that members of the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria across the Northern part of the country have started diverting their goods and all consumables to the neigbouring countries of Niger Republic and Cameroon
They have also begun blocking trade routes to the South by stopping food item-laden trucks from going south.
Speaking to News Carrier NG via telephone, a trader, Musa Tijani said they have lost over N10Billion in just one week and pleaded with the group to allow them bring their foodstuff to the Southern part of the country.
According to him, “most of the perishable foodstuff have spoiled because even the countries that we are moving the goods to have the items”.
“So, what happens is that when we get there, they won’t buy most of the foodstuff till we will just dash them or dump them there.”
“We need stop this blockage and see ourselves as one. There is no difference between an Igbo man, Hausa, Yoruba and Fulani if we our leaders can unite us” he told our correspondent.


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In 2017, Disney’s Cars.com and Tesla announced a partnership.
Both companies offered car-share services for free to Disneyland guests.
Both services offer a ride to Disney Springs for a low monthly fee.
Both car-and-ride programs are available at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.
However, Cars.net and Tesla are currently only available at Disney’s Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, according to the Disney Blog.
The partnership is part of a larger push to drive more car-based travel in the U.S. and internationally.
The car- and car-pooling services are part of the Disney Drive, a partnership between the Walt Disney Company and Lyft, which aims to drive up the share of car ownership among U..
S.-based households and individuals.
Lyft has been expanding its car-purchase services at Walt Disney World Resort.
Tesla is not the only company that is offering car-hire services.
Google launched Carpool, a ride-hailing app, in 2016.
The company has since launched Car2Go, a similar service for car-hiring.
Uber is also offering carpooling at Disneyland park, but its car service is currently only in its testing phase.
Disney’s Cars and Disney Drive programs are not available in all states and cities.
For instance, California is not part of Cars.org’s partnership.
The program is also available in Hawaii, Nevada, and Texas.
For more information about car-buying services, visit car-hopping.com


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Speaking at the Wall Street Journal’s WSJD Live conference today, Apple chief executive Tim Cook said that the company had activated 1 million credit cards with Apple Pay in the service’s first three days of availability.
That makes Apple the number one provider of contactless payments, Cook claimed.
“And we’ve only been at it a week. I feel fantastic,” he said, according to a report on the Verge.
Apple Pay is the company’s contactless payment system for the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and the previous generation of iPhone 5 and 5S. It will also work with the upcoming Apple Watch, due out early this year. Apple Pay uses Near Field Communications (NFC), the same technology used by Google Wallet and some other contactless payment systems. It launched on October 20.
Cook said the secret to success in mobile payments was in making them “easy, private, and secure.” That echoes VentureBeat reviewer Devindra Hardawar’s comment that Apple Pay is “fast, easy, and boring.”
By contrast, Cook, said, credit cards are “a pain in the butt.”
VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative enterprise technology and transact. Discover our Briefings.


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Tourist hub closure on cards
The City of Rockingham is proposing a new tourism business model in an attempt to bring more people to the region, with the plan including the closure of the Rockingham Visitor Centre within the next two years, the Telegraph can reveal.
City representatives were due to brief visitor centre member businesses and local stakeholders of their plans and seek feedback at a meeting on Tuesday night.
The proposal is based around a perceived growing trend of tourists and holidaymakers researching and booking accommodation and tours online.
The centre was granted $93,000 from the City in the 2016-17 financial year, but recorded a $9000 loss.
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The City is proposing the employment of two specialised tourism marketing professionals, who will be handed a marketing budget, to operate in the Strategy and Corporate Communications team. These recruits will be tasked with increasing the City’s tourism investment and getting a better return for the industry.
Research by the City has found the current model of visitor servicing is “unsustainable”, despite its report stating centre management and staff had done a “terrific job”.
The transition from the current shopfront model to a digitally based solution, with the centre closing as a result, is scheduled to happen in the next two years.
The City has also pledged to convene and resource a Tourism Marketing Advisory Committee and to engage with local and external members of the tourism industry in the near future. This will lead to the development of a tourism marketing strategy, with the so-called MICE — meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions — market an area the City believe can be enhanced in Rockingham.
Visitor centre manager Scott Hewitt said he was keen to see the organisation’s members’ thoughts on the proposed changes.
“It is a positive thing that maximising Rockingham’s tourism potential is on the agenda,” he said.
“Our members work hard to advocate for Rockingham and I look forward to hearing their feedback on the City’s proposal.”
A City of Rockingham spokesman said that despite the proposal being circulated to visitor centre members, the City was unable to comment on its plans until the project went before the council.
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LG's 2012 is off with an OLED bang, courtesy of the company's new 55-inch HDTV. It is the world's thinnest, lightest, and largest OLED TV yet. Also introduced at CES 2012 was the LG Spectrum LTE handset, which brings the same 4.5-inch 720p IPS display of the Nitro HD to Verizon subscribers. And that's before the doors to CES have even opened.
LG was showing off its 2012 HDTV lineup at CES, including an 84-inch 4K panel, and the LM9600 — a 55-inch set with a 1mm bezel.
Hands-on impressions of LG's first ultrabooks, the Z330 and Z430. The 13.3-inch and 14-inch ultrabooks have SSDs and aluminum construction.
Sprint has just announced its LTE launch strategy today: along with the Galaxy Nexus, Sprint will also carry the LG Viper and Sierra Wireless Tri-Network Hotspot.
LG's True HD IPS display is making its way to Verizon, to do battle with the Galaxy Nexus. The 4.5-inch Spectrum was just introduced at LG's CES 2012 press event.
It's real, people! LG's mythical 55-inch OLED TV was just unveiled here at CES 2012, and honestly, it's even more amazing than the words "55-inch OLED" would lead you to believe.
The LG Spectrum, a 4G LTE phone on Verizon, has been confirmed.
We've known LG and VMware have been working on phones with virtual Android instances since February, but now Verizon and Telefonica wil be launching a phone with the tech "in the coming months."
LG's 55-inch OLED TV under wraps at CES 2012
Google just announced that LG, Sony, and Vizio will be showing off Google TV devices at CES 2012, with additional devices from Samsung coming later in the year.
LG's 55-inch OLED television is world's largest, measures just 4-mm thick, and is headed to CES 2012.
It's all but a given that Intel will be showing off a smartphone running its Medfield platform at CES. According to a report from Korea Times attributed to Intel Korea chief Lee Hee-sung, Intel head Paul Otellini will be showing off an LG Android smartphone running Medfield, with the implication it would make its way to consumer release sometime later in the year.
LG couldn't wait for CES to take the wraps off what could very well be its flagship television for next year. It's announced that it will be showing off an 84-inch "ultra-definition" television at the show with a 3840 x 2160 screen resolution, 3D capability, and all of LG's Smart TV bells and whistles — including a library of 1,200 apps and its voice-controlled Magic Remote feature.


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News updated for HTC’s Android phones.
We present to you a video walkthrough of HTC Hero’s new Sense user interface and a small peak at the new HTC Perspectives which integrates your contacts on your phone with several social media sites. As we mentioned before, Senses looks a lot like TouchFLO 3D on Windows Mobile. It even has the animated weather with rain drops on your screen. Enjoy!
We finally got our official press release email from HTC. By now, we’ve shared most the information already, but they were kind enough to send us details on when the Hero will be launching and where. The HTC Hero will be appearing first in Europe, some time in July, followed by an Asian launch in late summer. North America will need to wait until "later in 2009" before we get our own "distinct" version of the HTC Hero.
We’re bringing in the news as fast as we can find it. HTC has taken down the Hero’s website for now, but we’ve gotten a few more details about the handset. As we mentioned in the last post, the HTC Hero will be connecting your Gmail contacts with other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. HTC is calling this "Perspectives". Also, the HTC Hero will be the first Android handset to ship with native support for Adobe Flash!
Check out the full press release after the break.
We woke up a little early this morning to see if we could bring you some early coverage of HTC’s press event in London. No word from across the pond quite yet, but HTC web designers accidentally leaked the product page for the HTC Hero before the announcement. The leaked images of the Rosie Interface has been renamed to HTC Sense, which allows users to use an array of customized widgets that puts the information you want right at your finger tips and on your Android Home screen. HTC’s Sense also features different profiles which allow you to easily switch between different preset widgets depending what you want to see (work/media/home). HTC has expanded Android’s contact integration from Google’s simple Gmail contacts to allowing you to view your contacts live streams from Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
The HTC Hero will be powered by a 528MHzQualcomm MSM7200A, has a 3.2-inch TFT-LCD with 320 x 480 screen, 512MB/288MB ROM/RAM, 900/2100MHz HSPA and Quad-band GSM, trackball, GPS, 802.11b/g WiFi, 3.5mm audio jack, G-sensor, compass, and 5 megapixel auto-focus cam with microSD expansion.
Don’t worry, you read that right. The HTC Hero will have a 3.5mm headphone jack! Now we just have to wait for the official announcement. Have we mentioned yet that HTC Sense looks very much like TouchFLO 3D on all their Windows Mobile phones?
I just wanted to give everyone a quick reminder that HTC will be hosting a press event tomorrow morning in London, UK. Things are expected to kick off at 11:30am local time. Most bloggers are expecting HTC to unveil the HTC Hero and the HTC Lancaster (Memphis), but keep in mind that there are quite a few HTC devices that are still expected for this year (Jasper, Magnet, Whitestone, Firestone, Barium, and more). Even though HTC has emphasized that they are concentrating on Android in 2009, Windows Mobile makes up the majority of their sales.
We know what to expect from the HTC Hero, with Rosie and a slew of new widgets. Lets hope HTC has something amazing planned for the Lancaster as well, which is expected to hit the At&t network before the end of the summer. Personally, I’m hoping that HTC gives us a few details on the HTC Magnet. With its unique design, the Magnet should to able to capture the hearts of consumers as a Windows Mobile or and Android handset.
Adobe has officially announced that they will be bringing Flash 10 support to Windows Mobile, Android, and a slew of other mobile operating systems. Surprisingly, Apple’s iPhone is missing from the mobile roundup. Adobe’s CEO Shantanu Naraye released the news during Adobe’s latest earnings call. Adobe’s plan is to release a beta version of Flash for mobile platforms during the Adobe MAX developers conference this October.
Nearly six months ago, we learned that Adobe was working on bringing full Flash support to Android, Windows Mobile and other smartphone operating systems. At the time we saw a video demonstration of a Flash vidoe playinf on the T-Mobile G1. For years, Adobe has had a Flash Lite version of their software available for Windows Mobile, but it is very dumber down Flash support. With Flash 10 support, great HTC handsets are destined to get even better.
The natural benefit of Adobe Flash 10 is that mobile web browsing will become even more like what you get on your desktop. Android’s browser and Opera 9 already offer extremely dynamic experience, but I am really hoping that developers will see Flash as another development tool to enhance their current applications and use it as a backbone to create more streamlined.
The past few days, all our news stories have been revolving around T-Mobile’s version of the HTC Magic. Last week, T-Mobile made an announcement that they were going to announce their second Android phone, then there was the confirmation that the announcement was going to come on Monday. Well… it’s Monday and the announcement has come! T-Mobile has put up a site dedicated to the myTouch 3G, featuring a pre-sale countdown that finishes on July 8. Those who pre-order the myTocuh 3G should expect to get them by the end of July. Engadget is reporting that the price for the new Android phone will be $199 with a new two year agreement. The price point is a bit odd to me since the only difference between the HTC Magic (myTouch) and the HTC Dream (G1) is that the Magic is missing the full QWERTY keyboard, but has a slight memory boost.
The T-Mobile myTouch 3G’s site make reference to a few widgets that we still have not seen.
- "Themes and skins let you show off your style. You can even customize menus, wallpapers and icons to create an experience that is truly your own."
- Picasa, weather, and Youtube widgets
- Exclusive Sherpa app that features shops, restaurants and more


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Are you ready to see how deep the rabbit hole goes?
Laurence Fishburne stars in Kia's latest Super Bowl ad — or you may know him better as Morpheus, from the 1999 film The Matrix.
In the video, released Tuesday on YouTube, Morpheus — playing the most intense valet attendee ever — asks a couple to make a life-changing decision.
"Take the blue key and go back to the luxury you know," Morpheus says, recalling the iconic red/blue pill movie scene. "You take the red key and you'll never look at luxury the same again."
The couple, of course, takes the red key and gets a look at Kia's K900 car. Morpheus then serenades them with an impressive cover of the aria from Puccini's Turandot while the world implodes around them.
The ad's use of The Matrix is a smart move, considering the movie asks its protagonist Neo to reconsider his reality — and Kia is now asking people to literally reconsider the brand's image.
This marks Kia's fifth year advertising during the Super Bowl. The broadcast will air Feb. 2 on Fox.


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What’s the future of Medal of Honor? It’ll be back, but EA needs to do better says executiveWritten by: / / No Comments
In what seems like an age ago, EA committed itself to rebooting the Medal of Honor series of military themed first-person shooters after a few years of franchise dormancy. Medal of Honor ‘2010’ was met with a mixed critical response, but the commercial reception was very positive going on to sell over five million units.
Medal of Honor: Warfighter in 2012, however, faired less well in both regards, leading EA to decide to take the series out of the publisher’s annual ‘rotation’ to focus on its big war game franchise, Battlefield. What does this mean, and what is the future of Medal of Honor? Speaking to Rock, Paper Shotgun, EA’s chief creative director Rich Hilleman provided some answers.
The Answer Needs a Question, First
Is the shooter genre simply overcrowded and are gamers weary of military themed games what with Call of Duty and Battlefield already dominating the space? Hilleman doesn’t think so, saying:
“We don’t think its a genre problem. It’s an execution problem. We don’t think Medal of Honor’s performance speaks to any particular bias in that space against modern settings or World War II or any of that.”
Then what explanation does Hilleman have for the poorer than expected performance of Medal of Honor: Warfighter? He reckons EA and developer Danger Close simply “should’ve done better” with certain elements of the games.
Leading From the Front
“I think a key part of this is having the right amount of high-quality production talent,” Hilleman continued. “And we didn’t have the quality of leadership we needed to make [Medal of Honor] great. We just have to get the leadership aligned.
“We’re blessed to have more titles than we can do well today. That’s a good problem, frankly. In the long term, we have to make sure we don’t kill those products by trying to do them when we can’t do them well.”
Where Do We Go From Here?
Where does Medal of Honor fit into EA’s game line-up going forward? Here’s Hilleman again:
“What we think right now is that, for the next couple years, we can just have one great thing in that space. So we’re choosing for it to be Battlefield.” When we can expect the Medal of Honor series to return is anyone’s guess at the moment, but Hilleman is confident it will return, citing an example of how members of EA are always quick to fight for franchises they think are important:
“There’s always someone at EA who’s sticking up for any number of the properties we have,” Hilleman said “You know, I had somebody the other day say, ‘Come on, Mutant League Football. We gotta bring back Mutant League Football.’ So, to my mind, there’s always somebody at EA who loves a property. That property will come back when it’s time is right and there’s someone to carry it.”
Do you think this is the correct strategy? Should EA and Danger Close continue to try and improve the Medal of Honor formula for a release in 2014, say, or give the series a break and sew some really solid ideas together before trying again?
What did you think of the two most recent Medal of Honor games and do you think they have a place in the market with Battlefield and Call of Duty already providing wildly different ways of playing a military shooter?


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Google updated its Android distribution numbers this afternoon, showing a jump for Kit Kat from 17.9% in July to over 20% (20.9%) in August. While Kit Kat has climbed, the numbers show devices running Jelly Bean (54.2%) and Ice Cream Sandwich (10.6%) on the decline. Those running Gingerbread and Froyo haven’t moved much. Actually Android 2.3 saw a slight jump to 13.6% from 13.5%, which is odd.
Google updated their Android distribution numbers today, showing a big jump for Kit Kat (Android 4.4+) to 13.6%, up from the 8.5% we saw in May. Jelly Bean, on the other hand, saw a drop to 58.4% from 60.8%. The rest of the older Android builds fell as well, like Ice Cream Sandwich which now sits at 12.3%, Gingerbread at 14.9%, and Froyo at 0.8%.
Honeycomb is now no longer listed. Throw your bad self a party, 3.0.
And that’s that. (more…)
The Android distribution numbers of been updated for the beginning of April, with Kit Kat (Android 4.4+) showing signs of growth. The newest version of Android now commands 5.3% of the pie, up from 2.5% last month. With that growth we are seeing a slight decline in Jelly Bean numbers to 61.4% from a flat 62.0%. In other words, the newest devices running the newest version of Android continue to run the newest version of Android.
Ice Cream Sandwich saw a decline to 14.3% (from 15.2%), as did Gingerbread (17.8% from 19.0%).
And that’s that. (more…)
The favorite time of the month for industry pundits who write stories with the word “fragmentation” in the title has arrived! That’s right, it’s Android distribution number update day!
According to the latest numbers pulled from the Android developer site for February, we’re looking at Jelly Bean jumping to 60.7% (from 59.1%) and Kit Kat to 1.8% (from 1.4%), while the rest of the versions all fell slightly. Ice Cream Sandwich is now at 16.1% (from 16.9%), Gingerbread dropped to 20.0% (from 21.2%), and Froyo finishes the chart off at 1.3%.
Galaxy S4 Active owners can now celebrate, as their devices have received the head nod from AT&T to begin updating to Android 4.3. It’s taken a while, but updates are always better late than never. Am I right, HTC One X and One X+ owners? Then again, don’t feel too bad, since the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 are still waiting to hear about Android 4.4. Ah, fragmentation, it’s a beautiful thing. Anyways, back to the topic at hand. (more…)
Google finally updated its Android distribution numbers today, showing that Jelly Bean has jumped up to almost 60% (59.1%) and Kit Kat to 1.4%. We are also seeing decreases in Ice Cream Sandwich (16.9%) and Gingerbread (21.2%) numbers, something the “fragmentation” champions will certainly be fans of. (more…)


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The clock is now ticking until the opening of the Encore Boston Harbor Casino, however those planning on spending a few days at that sprawling new casino resort are going to have to have some very deep pockets, for the prices being charged for a room currently are much like the hotel tower, that being sky high.
It will be on the 23rd of June this month that the doors of that casino resort finally swing open to the general public, however bookings are now being taken on its website, and those of you out there that are planning on a few nights away are certainly going to be shocked by the prices being asked for the available room and suites.
Rooms that are available start in the $700 per night price range and the most expensive ones available are going to set customers back a whopping $2,600 per night, and as such its very to say that they appear to be hoping to attract a very well-heeled type of customer through their doors.
Those prices are considerably higher than any other nearby high end hotel, but with an established customer base in places such as Las Vegas, the owners of that casino resort are hoping it will attract those customers that are living more local to the Boston area and who do not wish to travel to Vegas.
The casino resort is well connected to the road and rail network and as such there is expected to be a huge number of customers to the venue once it does open, but looking at those prices not many of those customers will be staying in the hotel.
David is a keen slots player and has spent countless hours playing both online and in land based casinos. He enjoys sharing his knowledge of the gambling industry and keeps a keen eye out for the latest online slot games. Contact him by sending an email to firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Luigi’s Mansion 2 : Dark Moon was released March 24, 2013 and right away it took off like a rocket. It was the top selling game in Japan for three weeks in a row. We (myself, Senior Instructor Andrew Laing and Head Of Department Dave Warfield) conducted an interview with VFS Game Design graduates who helped in the creation of this very successful game.
Thanks very much to Diego Pons, Matt McTavish, Cavin Yen, and Jeffrie Wu for their time and for producing such a fun game. And thanks to Doug Tronsgard and Rob Davidson from Next Level Games (NLG) for helping to make this interview happen.


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Loophole keeps cheap Chinese products flowing to US
A ‘de minimis’ rule exempts packages valued at $800 or less from tariffs as long as they’re addressed to individuals
New York — The meteoric rise of shopping platforms selling Chinese-made goods, including Shein and Temu, has been fuelled by a decades-old loophole that allows cheap products like $10 dresses to land in US mailboxes tariff-free.
This happens thanks to a “de minimis” rule exempting packages valued at $800 (R15,000) or less from tariffs as long as they’re addressed and shipped to individuals. The exemption is open to all retailers but is most heavily used by Shein and PDD Holdings’ Temu, and potentially by TikTok’s new e-commerce business.
A June report published by a House of Representatives committee estimated that Shein and Temu likely account for more than 30% of all de minimis shipments into the US.
Its publication reflected growing congressional scrutiny of the provision, which critics say is allowing the companies to evade higher tariffs on Chinese goods and customs inspections under a law banning products made from forced labour. Shein has become an especially high-profile target as it weighs a US initial public offering.
The China-founded company told Reuters it has been compliant with US tax and customs laws since entering the market in 2012.
Its global head of strategy, Peter Pernot-Day, told Reuters that Shein is not dependent on the exemption for its success. Instead, he attributed it to the company’s practice of monitoring online trends and ordering small initial batches of apparel from its manufacturers. They only increase production if the styles sell well, allowing it to avoid expensive excess inventory, Pernot-Day said.
Shein sent a letter to the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) in late July calling for de minimis reform but did not make specific policy recommendations. Its US Senate disclosures show it has lobbied lawmakers on “trade and tax related matters” in recent quarters.
Temu, which launched in the US in 2022, did not respond to a request for comment. TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Data from US Customs and Border Protection shows that de minimis shipments into the US rose to 685.5-million in 2022, up nearly 67% over 2018. That equals roughly two to three million packages a day, Robert Silvers, under secretary for policy at the department of homeland security, told lawmakers in July.
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers in June introduced bills that would ban de minimis shipments from China upon enactment.
The fact that Chinese goods and China-founded companies are benefiting from de minimis has frustrated some lawmakers. Republican Representative Jason Smith, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, described the provision as a “free trade agreement for China” during a May hearing.
Rival US retailers also have grown increasingly concerned about the exemption as Shein and Temu have gained market share.
Senate records show that more than a dozen retailers have lobbied on the exemption since 2018, from Tapestry, the parent company of Coach, to Mercari, a Japanese e-commerce marketplace.
Some retailers and industry groups, including Columbia Sportswear and the AAFA, support maintaining the $800 threshold while allowing retailers sending merchandise from distribution centres in US foreign trade zones to also use the exemption.
Others would like to see the cap lowered or eliminated entirely, while some who regularly use the provision don’t want to see it changed at all.
The House committee report released in June said H&M and Gap respectively paid $205m and $700m in import duties in 2022, while Shein and Temu, whose packages ship directly to customers under de minimis, paid nothing.
Steve Story, whose firm, Apex Logistics International, helps retailers and other companies ship goods under de minimis, said the exemption is available to everyone. “If you don’t want to save money and take advantage of this e-commerce paradigm shift, then you’re losing out,” he said.
Traditional retailers typically import merchandise in bulk by ocean freight, paying duties once the goods arrive at port, then move it to warehouses and ship it to stores or individuals who place online orders.
In the US, the small shipments covered by de minimis aren’t subject to duties, and often sidestep customs inspections, too. They’re typically handed off to UPS, FedEx or other carriers for delivery.
Goods can also be shipped over the ocean from China and arrive in bulk at bonded warehouses in Mexico or Canada. Once a customer places an online order, the products are individually packaged and driven into the US duty-free.
The de minimis rule has been in place since 1938 and was originally intended for low-value gifts mailed from abroad and souvenirs brought back by Americans travelling overseas. In 2015, Congress raised the cap on de minimis shipments to $800 from $200, making the US threshold one of the highest in the world.
About the same time, there was an “explosion in e-commerce” that led to more packages shipped under the exemption, according to Erik Autor, a trade attorney with Barlow & Company.
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JEFFERSON CITY (AP) — Kelly von Plonski’s bookstore is struggling to keep its doors open.
Sales at Subterranean Books, located two miles from Washington University in St. Louis, were down 25 percent in January. The recent economic downturn hurt sales, but von Plonski says the biggest burden on the store is the 9.4 percent sales tax it must pay to the city and the state — that its online rivals avoid.
“It’s the absolute main reason,” she said in an interview by phone last week. “Hands down, no question.”
Subterranean’s online competitors do not have to pay sales taxes because a 1992 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court held that states cannot force companies to pay sales or use taxes unless they have a physical presence in the state.
Some Missouri lawmakers are backing legislation to let Missouri go around that decision by joining an agreement with 24 other states that makes it easier for companies to voluntarily pay sales tax on Internet purchases.
If enacted, the measure will generate up to $210 million for Missouri’s cash-strapped budget. But it has little chance of passing, because lawmakers fear a political backlash from tax-averse voters.
Reps. Margo McNeil, D-Florissant, and Rory Ellinger, D-University City, have filed bills to have Missouri join the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement.
Under that arrangement, Missouri would change its tax rules to allow Internet companies to charge state and local sales taxes on purchases shipped to Missouri.
It also would simplify the system through which the companies voluntarily remit the taxes to the state Department of Revenue and would let companies that remit the taxes promptly keep up to 2 percent of the tax revenue they collect.
The House Tax Reform Committee heard public testimony on both bills earlier this month. McNeil said she had hoped to emphasize the positive effect the bill would have on small-town businesses and the state’s economy as a whole.
“My main thrust has been that this is evening the playing field for brick-and-mortar businesses,” she said. “The local businesses are the people who have most of the jobs for people in Missouri.”
Fiscal estimates included with the bills say the state’s Division of Budget and Planning “does not have an estimate of the sales tax revenues to be gained” from the proposals.
But a 2009 University of Tennessee study concluded that Missouri could gain $210 million in 2012 by collecting sales tax on e-commerce, based on the state’s sales tax rates and estimates of future online purchases.
Ellinger said the impact of the sales tax disparity between online stores and local shops is felt even more sharply in more rural areas.
Debbie Miller, the executive director of the Moberly Area Chamber of Commerce, said not collecting the sales tax could give online stores an unfair advantage.
“It’s already easy enough to shop online,” she said. “To me it only makes sense for them to collect a tax they have to pay.”
McNeil said she thought that impact on local governments might have interested some committee Republicans, including its chairman, Rep. Doug Funderburk, R-St. Peters, who previously served on the St. Charles County Council.
Funderburk said he agrees that the merchants should be paying the tax, and he said the state needs the money.
But he said the bills won’t move beyond the committee this legislative session.
“It’s not going to go to the floor — at least not this year,” he said.
He said the proposal could have dire political consequences, even if the state’s benefits from it total in the nine figures.
“Regardless of what’s the reality, someone is going to try to use that against you in an upcoming election — that you voted for a tax increase,” he said.
Von Plonski and Miller both agreed that customers might have to pay more online if the tax were collected. But they said those tax dollars help cities provide services many people value.
“The sales tax is what pays for our fire department and our police officers,” Miller said. “I hate taxes just as much as the next person, but I know that we have to have a strong tax base in order to be a thriving community.”


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As technology continues to permeate every walk of life, existence is increasingly based within the digital realm — including fashion. Just recently, Facebook rebranded to Meta and the company announced its plans to focus on the metaverse, a shared online space where virtual, augmented, and physical reality will converge. So why would fashion be any different?
When I first heard about digital fashion, I was confused, to say the least. I thought about the Barbie dress-up games I would play on my computer as a child. Little did I know this was something a lot more complex and was fast becoming one of the most promising products. So, what exactly is digital fashion? More importantly, is it going to be the future of how we dress up in a world where Instagram posts matter more than real-life events?
Digital fashion explained
Digital fashion first came into existence in 2018 when the Scandinavian brand Carlings unveiled a completely digital clothing line. However, it was the Covid-19 pandemic that brought this convergence of technology and fashion into the mainstream. While virtual fashion shows became the norm, it was the increasing sales of purely digital clothing that represents the most interesting aspect of digital fashion. Through companies like The Fabricant and DRESSX, consumers can first try digital clothes via augmented reality before purchasing them. Once the item is purchased, the customer can upload a photo of themselves to the website and will soon have the item professionally edited onto their body, ready to be used across social media (or however they please).
How digital fashion is changing the game
Digital fashion has not only helped the fashion industry weather the pandemic, but it has opened a whole new world of possibilities. No longer limited by the physicality of the real world, designers can now get more creative than ever. In conversation with Dezeen Magazine, Amber Slooten, the co-founder of The Fabricant, said, “we can go completely crazy. We can wear a dress made of water or have lights everywhere and change your textile according to your mood”. This creativity is also accompanied by the possibility of an answer to the problem of fast fashion. As social media encourages a consumer culture where clothing must not be repeated, digital fashion can provide consumers with the opportunity to be on-trend while also being ethical. DRESSX claims that the “carbon footprint of producing one digital item is 95% less than the average production for a physical garment”.
Inclusivity in digital fashion
In addition to claims of being environmentally friendly, digital fashion is a lot more inclusive than traditional clothing. Regardless of body type, size, gender, and disability, these digital pieces can be perfectly fitted to anyone and thus allow consumers to express themselves in a way that has never been possible before.
Dhanush Shetty, a consumer of digital fashion told Vice that “I don’t need to worry about being ‘too big’ for digital fashion or whether [it] was made in a sweatshop”. From an industry point of view, the increasing popularity of digital fashion presents an opportunity to cut down on both costs and time. For example, Puma was able to reduce their time to market and costs by 30%. Adapting to the digital fashion trend would not only allow companies to reduce their environmental footprint, but also gives them the opportunity to become more efficient in the long term.
Digital fashion meets digital currency
Digital fashion certainly presents an exciting opportunity for the future of fashion, but there are those that are not as optimistic. Research has shown that consumers are much less likely to pay more for digital counterparts of physical items. There are also claims that digital fashion may not be as environmentally friendly as it seems. Some digital fashion items are being sold as NFTs (non-interchangeable digital tokens) on the blockchain. Most NFT marketplaces have been developed on the Ethereum blockchain, which has a carbon footprint comparable to Sudan. Blockchain technology like Ethereum is considered to be highly determinantal to the environment due to its high energy consumption.
The fact of the matter is that the concept of digital fashion is still in its infancy, and as such, it presents both exciting new opportunities. The question is — are you willing to try on some digital clothes, or is all this starting to sound a little too sci-fi?
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With Borders' going-out-of-business sales underway, the company is getting ready to sell off its next most valuable property, its intellectual assets: trade marks, trade names, logos, Internet domain names, and customer information, including e-mail addresses and purchasing history. If the sales procedure is approved at the next hearing on August 10, a bid deadline will be set for September 8 at 5 p.m., followed by an auction on September 14 at 10 a.m.
According to the filing, Borders’s attorneys say that they “contemplate a straightforward sales process and auction.” There will be a cap of $250,0000 for reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses for a qualified stalking horse bidder. They also ask that the U.S. Trustee name a consumer privacy ombudsman, since the retailer will be selling private information outside a going-concern sale. Streambank will assist in the marketing and sale of Borders’s IP assets. And a sale, or sales, would take place on or before September 30.
In a declaration in support of the sale, Holly Felder Etlin, managing director of AlixPartners notes, “Because there is a cost associated with maintaining the IP Assets (primarily borders.com), selling the IP Assets on an accelerated timeframe will save the Debtors substantial costs.”


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Abdul Latif Jameel, Toyota unveil all-new Fortuner!
Jens Jensen set the launch to a unforgettable event by his powerful shows as highlight to present the cars and the company.
Abdu Latif Jameel (ALJ) announced the launch of the 2016 Toyota Fortuner in Saudi Arabia to unveil a second-generation model, which builds on its heritage of being a durable sport utility vehicle (SUV) with impressive off-road capabilities.
With the new Fortuner, Toyota has focused on creating a more distinctive, sleek and powerful design while improving performance and adding a wide variety of features to increase convenience, safety and ride comfort.
The Fortuner’s Assistant Chief Engineer Osamu Tomioka explained: “Our development concept was to build a true SUV that has style and confidence. The all-new Fortuner is the outcome of our continuous efforts to redefine toughness while offering our customers powerful vehicles with drastically improved off-road capabilities. To ensure peace of mind for our customers, we developed a new stronger frame, which enables the vehicle to withstand rough road conditions, in addition to an improved four-link suspension system for a more comfortable drive. The new engine offers high torque at lower RPMs. The all-new Fortuner claims to offer premium utility and safety features.” Takayuki Yoshitsugu, chief representative, MENA Representative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation, said: “The all-new Fortuner is a completely redesigned SUV that enhances driving confidence on every level while setting a new standard for SUVs all around the world. It debuts a compelling design with a strong identity, expressing refinement and innovation as well as being functional and tough. It also epitomizes Toyota’s focus on developing vehicles with impressive quality, durability, reliability and off-road ability. The result of this is a comprehensive revamp, creating a unique SUV that’s fun to drive and all-terrains compatible.”
“Today, the Fortuner introduces more of the toughness that Saudi drivers demand for what can be harsh driving conditions on and off-road,” commented Hassan Jameel, ALJ’s VP and vice chairman of the board.
IMPORTANT NOTE TO YOUR PRIVACY:
Upon clicking on the play button, YouTube can and will collect information about you!


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With the 2012 NBA All-Star game only about three weeks away (tip-off is Sunday, Feb. 26 at the Amway Center in Orlando), Adidas has unveiled what the league's top players will be rocking when they take the court. The design is inspired by the jerseys worn at the 1992 All-Star game, which was also the last time A.S. weekend was held in Orlando.
As for who's going to make the cut—we have our own premature selections—but the real starters will be named tonight on TNT at 7 p.m. ET. At that time you'll also be able to cop this year's All-Star jerseys from NBAStore.com.
So, whether you're reppin' the Bloods West or the Crips East, you'll be fresh on All-Star weekend. We kid. They're pretty dope, though.
[via The Smoking Section]
Follow @Complex_Sports for more news and commentary.


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LG is known for making interesting and ambitious phones, but it seems the LG G5 has performed too poorly for some within the brand, with a 'shake-up' seeing big changes at the top of the company's mobile division.
As a result of the G5 not managing to hit the expected sales level, the company has sacked some senior executives from its mobile division, according to the Korea Times.
"Friday's announcement is because LG Electronics' latest flagship G5 smartphone failed to generate sales" LG told the paper.
But as well as replacing certain executives it sounds like LG is shaking up its whole mobile division, as it also claims that "the overseas business unit at the mobile division will take a bigger role."
The numbers don't lie
Whether these changes will lead to the success LG hopes for remains to be seen, but it's clear something needed to be done, with the report noting that market research firms expect LG's mobile business to report an operating loss of around 100 billion won (roughly £66 million / US$86 million) in the second quarter of the year.
Shipments of the LG G5 in that quarter are estimated to be just 2.2 million, much lower than the 3 million unit original expectation.
Pulling itself out of this hole could take more than just a reshuffling of its mobile business though. The LG G5 was only a pretty good handset; while the screen, camera and performance all impressed, the headline modular components and build quality were rather underwhelming.
Its failure to sell is likely as much to do with the rise of low cost rivals from the likes of Huawei with its impressive Huawei P9 handset as it is with any failure of the phone itself. There's certainly room for improvement on the inevitable LG G6, but the company will probably have to change more than just the hardware to increase its market share.


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Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon.
Cadillac revealed its mega-horsepower CTS-V Sport Wagon two days ahead of the New York auto show’s media days, which begin unofficially with a series of parties on Tuesday night and officially on Wednesday morning.
The Sport Wagon is a station wagon that follows a tradition that had been exclusive to Europe — high performance wagons that can rival sports cars or record boast-worthy Nürburgring lap times (see Audi RS6 Avant). Nick Twork, a Cadillac spokesman, said that the show-version CTS-V wagon was also built to convince company executives — successfully, it turns out — to put the car into limited production. “We just tweaked it for the show a little,” Mr. Twork said. “It’s a business, so we have to justify what we do. People who buy it will be part of a very small club, but it’s the ultimate insider’s car.”
The Sport Wagon comes with all the things that make the CTS-V sedan one of the world’s fastest four-doors, including a 556-horsepower supercharged V-8, available 6-speed manual shifter, magnetic computer suspension, Recaro seats, Brembo brakes – and now, a power lift-gate to go with a top speed of roughly 185 miles per hour. The CTS-V wagon should reach dealers at the tail end of 2011. With the sedan starting at $61,545, the wagon version should stay below $65,000, about $30,000 less than the new Mercedes-Benz E63 wagon, if Benz ever decided to import it here.
We’ll have more information on the CTS-V Sport Wagon when the New York auto show opens to the news media on Wednesday.
The 556-horsepower Cadillac CTS-V Coupe will be unveiled to the press at the Detroit auto show next Monday.
With the Detroit auto show just around the corner, General Motors released photos of the forthcoming Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, a supercharged version of the luxury coupe introduced a few weeks ago at the Los Angeles auto show.
The announcement may not be the greatest of timing. Oil rose to above $81 on Monday. And in India, Toyota and Honda unveiled subcompact concepts at the New Dehli auto expo. The release of a new gas-swilling muscle sedan will not warm the hearts of Americans who feel that G.M. is living off borrowed money (and time).
Of course, the CTS-V Coupe has been in the works for a while. It is a natural derivative of the CTS brand, which already includes the highly rated V-Series sedan. The coupe version features the same 556-horsepower supercharged V-8 engine and a choice of two 6-speed transmissions: a dual-disc clutch Tremec TR6060 manual and a Hydra-Matic 6L90 automatic with paddle shifters. The coupe also comes with Magnetic Ride Control suspension and Brembo brakes.
But there are some differences. While the CTS-V Coupe shares the sedan’s wheelbase, the coupe has a wider track (by one inch) and is two inches lower and shorter. There’s no word on pricing, but G.M. plans to release the CTS-V Coupe this summer. We’ll have more information next week from the Detroit auto show.
The Cadillac CTS-V Coupe.
The V-Series Challenge may have ended Thursday afternoon, but the discussion seems to have only begun. And what started off as an off-the-cuff remark by General Motors’ vice chairman, Robert A. Lutz, and became a casual competition has evolved into viral monster — the publicity gift that keeps on giving, as it were — providing fodder for countless forum threads, video sites and blog posts.
Much of the debate has been about who won the competition. The timesheet shows that John Heinricy, G.M.’s test driver, recorded the fastest lap time at 2 minutes and 46 seconds. But Web sites, like Edmunds Inside Line, point out that Michael Cooper, a competitor in a BMW M3, actually won the competition because, he beat Mr. Lutz with the best time posted by the civilian (non-G.M., nonprofessional) drivers.
The V-Series challenge, which took place Thursday at Monticello Motor Club northwest of New York City, came about casually enough. During a conference call in September to promote the “May the Best Car Win” refund campaign by General Motors, Robert A. Lutz, the company’s outspoken vice chairman, asserted that the 550-horsepower Cadillac CTS-V was the world’s fastest sedan and challenged any competitor’s vehicle to best it on the track.
Jalopnik.com, an enthusiasts’ Web site, accepted the challenge. “We’re not sure he expected anyone to take him up on the challenge, but we couldn’t let it stand,” Jalopnik wrote. “We love the CTS-V, but we’re at least going to try. So we told him we’d do it if he named the time and the place, and he accepted.”
Robert A. Lutz, G.M.’s vice chairman, recorded a lap time of 2 minutes 56.32 seconds in the CTS-V.
Over the following weeks, G.M. set the location, opened up the competition to all comers and established the rules. The competing car would have to be an unmodified four-door sedan roughly equivalent to the $60,000 CTS-V. About 120 people applied, G.M. reported. That list was winnowed to seven, which for some reason included two drivers in CTS-Vs (not exactly “competitor’s vehicles”).
Jalopnik was, by far, the most vocal competitor. Initially, the Web site proposed using a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG in the V-Series Challenge. It then made an arrangement with Jaguar to use an XFR. But in the days leading up to the event, Jaguar withdrew its car because of concerns that the XFR’s brakes would not survive that kind of track abuse, according to Jalopnik. Read more…


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The new McDonald's spinoff, CosMc's, has created quite the buzz in the Chicago suburbs. The drive-thru-only restaurant, a "beverage-focused" concept, saw drive-thru waits skyrocket to around the two-hour mark as lines of cars snaked through a parking lot typically shared with businesses like Best Buy and XSport Fitness, reported Eater Chicago.
Opening its doors to the public at 6 a.m. on Thursday, December 7, in Bolingbrook, Illinois, the response was immediate and overwhelming, with cars lining up as early as 3:30 a.m. According to an individual who services McDonald's CO2 tanks, CosMc's is expected to go through double the supply of a regular McDonald's CO2 in just a week. This testifies to the sheer volume of beverage orders the new outlet is processing.
CosMc's menu isn't just about drinks; it features fewer meat-heavy options than the traditional McDonald's offering. Items like the creamy avocado tomatillo sandwich, spicy queso sandwich, and "McPops" filled pastries have been available from day one. Customers seem eager to try the new offerings, and Eater Chicago notes that one customer spent an adventurous $104 on her order. A painted sign cheerfully invites customers to "Have a nice sip" while waiting their turn.
In an effort to assess the new venture, CBS Chicago spoke to Stephen Campbell, who had been in line for almost two hours just to get a taste. "It's like 100 carts are going from each direction – I mean, the same food they've got there today they'll have it next week," Arnold Riggs told CBS Chicago, illustrating the chaos as customers jockey for their spot in the extensive queue.
Despite varied reactions to the extended wait times, the pilot restaurant is McDonald's creative leap into a new market. With specialty drinks such as the S'mores Cold Brew and Turmeric Spiced Latte, CosMc's aims to inject innovation into the classic fast-food chain's repertoire. Plans are already in motion to open additional CosMc's locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and San Antonio in the upcoming year, as McDonald's looks to spread its "learning lab" concept far and wide.


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BHI Provides $40 Million in Construction Financing to the Kolter Group LLC
December 30, 2022
BHI provided $40 million in construction financing to the Kolter Group LLC, for the development of Selene Oceanfront Residents, a new luxury oceanfront condominium in Fort Lauderdale.
BHI C&I Group Provides $18.35 Million Financing for Allstate Sales Group
July 14, 2022
BHI's Consumer & Industrial Group has provided $18.35 million in financing for Allstate Sales Group (ASG), a provider of telecom and electric infrastructure engineering, design and construction services.
BHI Appoints Noam Katz as Head of High-Tech, First Vice President
May 16, 2022
BHI announced that it has appointed Noam Katz as Head of High-Tech, First Vice President.
BHI International C&I Team Provides $20MM Revolving Credit Facility to North Shore Components
May 5, 2022
BHI announced that its International Consumer & Industrial Team has provided a $20 million revolving loan for North Shore Components, Inc., a global OEM distributor of electronic computer parts, components and hardware based in Bellport, New York.
BHI CRE Group continues growth in multifamily financing, appoints two new VPs
May 3, 2022
BHI announced that its Commercial Real Estate Group is continuing to expand its team and breadth of products.
BHI Lends $35M on East Village Apartment Building
February 2, 2022
BHI provided the bridge loan for Stella Residences, a 45-unit apartment development at 251 East 2nd Street.
BHI Lends on Luxury Rentals in Vinegar Hill
February 2, 2022
BHI's commercial real estate group has provided $33.15 million for the development of a new luxury rental complex in the Vinegar Hill section of Brooklyn.
BHI provides $36M financing for 144 1st St in Jersey City
January 24, 2022
BHI announced that its Commercial Real Estate Group has provided $36 million in construction financing to EPIRE for the development of 144 First Street, the firm’s new condominium development located in the Powerhouse Arts District of Jersey City, New Jersey.
BHI Provides $45MM in Financing to Pair of New York-Based Clients
January 21, 2022
The commercial and industrial group of BHI closed $45 million in new financing transactions for two New York companies.
BHI's CRE Team Secures $1 Billion in New Loan Originations in 2021
January 7, 2022
Congratulations to the BHI CRE team for securing $1 billion in new loan originations in 2021.
International C&I Team Closed Transactions Totaling Nearly $100 Million in December
December 31, 2021
Congratulations to our International C&I Team for closing transactions totaling nearly $100 million in December alone!
BHI APPOINTS BRIAN FOLEY AS FIRST VICE PRESIDENT, FOOD & BEVERAGE GROUP
December 22, 2021
BHI is pleased to announce that Brian Foley has joined as First Vice President of the Food & Beverage and Corporate Banking Groups.


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Robert K. Banks, a former Albertsons executive, and Eric B. Petersen both were involved with local nonprofits when they started thinking of a business that could help fund the Allumbaugh House, a residential center in Boise that provides mental health and detoxification programs.
They started making a product called the Boise State Rally Towel, "which started this whole thing," Petersen says.
From the project emerged Spirit Towels USA, a new Eagle business that makes collegiate sports licensed merchandise including towels, posters, coloring books, wall calendars, greeting cards and invitations.
"We were running out of our garage, kind of like The Ramones, for the last 18 months," Petersen says.
When it starts making a profit - Spirit Towels USA was financed through loans as well as personal funds - the owners plan to give 10 percent of net sales to charities, with the primary focus being Allumbaugh House.
The business is an NCAA licensee now with nine schools, including Boise State University and the University of Idaho. It also has agreements to use the likenesses of former school athletes, such as football players Kellen Moore and Doug Martin.
The next step? They plan to expand the business into professional licenses, including the NFL, NBA and MLB.
"Now that we've developed a business model around Spirit Towels, we are also going to move forward a lot stronger with [a related business they run called] Next Step - artwork around the 12-step program," Petersen says.
Audrey Dutton: 377-6448, Twitter: @IDS_Audrey


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GM will deliver climate-ready crops
Conventional breeding outstrips GM in delivering climate-ready crops
In December 2011 the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) deregulated Monsanto’s drought-tolerant maize variety MON87460.2 It was hailed as the first commercialised GM crop designed to resist stressful environmental conditions like drought. But the USDA, in its assessment of the crop, noted that many non-GM maize varieties on the market are at least as effective as Monsanto’s engineered maize variety in managing water use. “The reduced yield [trait] does not exceed the natural variation observed in regionally-adapted varieties of conventional corn,” USDA said, adding, “Equally comparable varieties produced through conventional breeding techniques are readily available in irrigated corn production regions.”3
This is to be expected, given that GM crops are developed by adding GM traits to the best existing conventionally bred varieties.
Meanwhile, conventional breeding, sometimes helped by marker assisted selection, has outstripped GM in producing numerous climate-ready crops. Examples include:
- Maize varieties that yield well in drought conditions,4 including some developed for farmers in Africa5,6,7
- Cassava that gives high yields in drought conditions and resists several diseases8
- Climate-adapted, high-yield sorghum varieties developed for farmers in Mali9
- Beans resistant to heat, drought, and disease10,11
- Pearl millet, sorghum, chickpea, pigeon pea and groundnut varieties that tolerate drought and high temperatures12
- Rice varieties bred to tolerate drought, flood, disease, and saline (salty) soils13
- Flood-tolerant rice varieties developed for Asia14,15
- Over 2,000 indigenous rice varieties that are adapted to environmental fluctuations, as well as varieties that resist pests and diseases, registered by Navdanya, a seed-keeping NGO based in India16
- Tomato varieties developed by Nepali farmers that tolerate extreme heat and resist disease.17
It should be borne in mind that only a part of the solution to climate change lies in plant genetics. Insofar as genetics is the solution, humanity will continue to rely on the same source that GM seed companies mine for their germplasm – the hundreds of thousands of locally adapted seed varieties developed and conserved over centuries by farmers worldwide. These varieties are our living germplasm bank.
The part of the solution that lies beyond plant genetics will be found in proven effective agroecological farm management techniques, such as building organic matter into the soil to conserve water, planting a diversity of crops, rotating crops, and choosing the right plant for the conditions.


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U.S. new vehicle sales is expected to fall in April, as low inventories and rising interest rates boost prices amid high demand, consultants J.D. Power and LMC Automotive said.
U.S. retail sales of new vehicles in April could fall 23.8% to 1.1 million units from a year earlier, according to a report released by the consultants on Wednesday.
Demand remains strong, but with fewer than 900,000 units in inventory at dealerships, sales volumes will be well below year-ago levels, said Thomas King, president of the data and analytics division at J.D. Power. The automotive sector has been hit hard by supply issues, with production being hampered for more than a year by a global shortage of electronic components and supply bottlenecks due to COVID-19 lockdowns in China and the war in Ukraine.
Research firm Cox Automotive also forecasts April sales volume to fall 1.7% from March on tight inventories and adds that conditions would likely not improve in 2022.
"We expect production volumes to improve in the second half of the year, but fulfilling existing orders may not allow dealer inventory to accumulate in any noticeable way," Cox Automotive Senior Economist Charlie Chesbrough said in a statement.
Rising interest rates also pose a threat to current transaction prices, with the average interest rate for loans in April expected to increase 33 basis points from a year ago to 4.61%, the consultants said. They also added the global forecast for light vehicle sales has now slipped to 81.7 million units in 2022, down 900,000 units from last month.
Total new-vehicle sales for April 2022, including retail and non-retail transactions, are projected to reach 1.2 million units, a 21.5% decrease from last year. Also Read:
Higher-than-expected bookings during a motor show held in Bangkok between late March and early April were also a boost, Surapong Paisitpattanapong, a spokesperson for FTI's automotive industry division, told a news conference.
According to Ford India, as per the agreed settlement, it will revise the final severance settlement to an average equivalent of 140 days of gross wages per completed year of service from the ongoing offer of 130 days.
According to a complaint filed by Vivek Gupta, the Chief Financial Officer of JBM Group, Sector 44, it was on Friday that he received messages on WhatsApp requesting to transfer certain sums to bank accounts indicated in the messages.


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(Bloomberg) -- Key iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. may achieve an “unprecedented” performance in the first quarter, according to Chairman Young Liu. Most Read from BloombergCrypto Crash Erases More Than $1 Trillion in Market ValueMorgan Stanley’s Slimmon Warns Against Buying Growth-Stock DipSolana Suffers Network Instability in Brutal Week for CryptoU.S. Orders Families of Diplomats Out of Ukraine Citing War RiskShares in Hon Hai, the world’s largest contract manufacturer of elec
People between the age of 18 to 40 can contribute up to £4,000 to their LISA every tax year.
FAANG stocks -- essentially the top five stocks of the tech sector -- as a group cooled off in 2021. Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) led the group of growth stocks with a 65% return for the year, followed by Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) near-34% return. The rest of the group -- Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: FB), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) -- all underperformed the S&P 500 index, which returned nearly 27% for the year.


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Flappy Bird Creator Breaks Silence, Explains Why He Shut It Down
Flappy Bird, the game that suddenly became the world’s most sought-after application, was shot dead. No, it wasn’t its enemies, but its own creator, Don Nguyen, who – after long days spent without Internet – decided to break his silence and explain the short life and death of the heavily pixelated bird that has captured global attention over the past few weeks.
In an exclusive interview with Forbes, Nguyen admitted that he developed the game in just a few days with a simple aim: play it “when you are relaxed”. But in an interesting turn of events, the game released for free on May 24, 2013, with little fanfare by .GEARS, a Vietnam-based developer, became a world hit, ranking as the No. 1 game both in the App Store and Google Play.
The 29-year-old developer has other games in the App Store, such as Super Ball Juggling and Shuriken Block, but these are harmless. Flappy Bird, on the other hand, delighted and engaged players in equal measure. It was an extraordinarily difficult game. In fact, it was so difficult to play that Twitter users flooded social media with their highest score. It became a phenomenon. As Nguyen said: it became addictive.
“Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed,” says Dong Nguyen, in an exclusive interview, his first since he pulled the plug on the app. “But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it’s best to take down Flappy Bird. It’s gone forever.”
And that was exactly the reason why he decided to pull the game from both storefronts.
He says he will continue to develop games. “After the success of Flappy Bird, I feel more confident, and I have freedom to do what I want to do.”
The lucky ones who have already installed the game on their iPhone can play it further. But those who are after the game have two options: either head to eBay and search for an iPhone with Flappy Birds installed or – maybe the less costly option – ask a friend to give you a copy via different tools such as iExplorer.


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Governor Haslam, Commissioner Rolfe Announce Tyson Foods, Inc. to Create 1,500 New Jobs in Humboldt
Posted on: Monday - Nov 20, 2017
Leading food processor to invest more than $300 million.
HUMBOLDT, Tenn. — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe and Tyson Food, Inc. officials announced today that the company will locate new operations in Gibson County.
Leading food processor, Tyson Foods, will create more than 1,500 jobs and invest over $300 million in Humboldt, which represents Tyson’s biggest investment in Tennessee and the single largest investment in Gibson County’s history.
Manufacturer to create more than 170 new jobs
PARIS, TENN. – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd along with Eurotranciatura USA officials today announced the manufacturer is investing $ 12.6 million to expand its operations in Paris over the next five years. Eurotranciatura, a subsidiary of the world’s largest steel lamination company for electrical rotating machines, will create more than 170 new jobs as part of the expansion.
Eurotranciatura’s investment includes upgrades and new equipment for its existing manufacturing plant in Henry County. Eurotranciatur a will also build a roughly 30,000 square foot distribution warehouse near its current plant to accommodate growth and reduce transportation costs.
Governor Haslam, Commissioner Rolfe announce Frazier Industrial Company to locate new manufacturing operations in Dyer county
Structural storage racking system manufacturer to invest $17.4 million, create 120 new jobs
DYERSBURG, Tenn. — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe and Frazier Industrial Company officials today announced the company will build a new manufacturing facility in Dyersburg. The leading structural storage racking system manufacturer will invest approximately $17.4 million and create 120 new jobs in Dyer County.
“In Tennessee, we are known for our highly skilled workforce, especially in the manufacturing sector, and it means a great deal that Frazier wil l be adding even more jobs to this steadily growing sector,” Haslam said. “I want to thank Frazier for its commitment to create more than 100 jobs in Dyersburg and for bringing us one step closer to our goal of making Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”
Governor Haslam, Commissioner Boyd announce Develey Mustard and Condiments Corporation to locate first North American facility in Dyersburg, TN
Leading condiment producer to invest $20 million, create 150 new jobs
DYERSBURG — Tenness ee Gov. Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd along with Develey Mustard & Condiments Corporation officials announced today the company will locate its first North American production facility in Dyersburg. Develey will invest $20 million in the new operation, creating 150 jobs in Dyer County over the next five years.
“We welcome Develey to Dyersburg and thank the company for choosing Tennessee as its first location of operations in North America,” Haslam said. “Develey joins more than 1,000 registered food and beverage manufacturers operating throughout our state. The new jobs created through this project will have a great impact on our West Tennessee workforce and help support our goal of becoming the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”


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About a year removed from its split with United Parcel Service of America Inc., Roadnet Technologies Inc. is nearly doubling its office space from 31,158 square feet to 59,050 at the firm’s existing Towson building.
The transportation logistics firm, founded in 1983, was part of UPS between 1986 and 2010.
San Francisco-based private equity firm Thoma Bravo LLC carved out Roadnet in December 2010, giving Roadnet the autonomy it sought. Since then, the firm has gone from 154 employees to 169, outgrowing its space at 849 Fairmount Ave.
Roadnet will soon occupy both the fourth and fifth floors of the building.
“We’ve been on top of each other for a while,” said Cindi Brandt, Roadnet’s vice president. “Going private gave us the platform to look for new space.”
Roadnet sells logistics software that helps major beer, soda and food distributors trim the costs of deliveries by setting more efficient routes.
Based on the companies plans, it might soon find even its extra space inadequate. Roadnet, which earned $39 million in revenue in 2011, wants to reach $100 million and beyond, Brandt said.
“That growth,” she said, “will be a combination of organic growth and acquisitions.”


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TVC E. Some stakeholders in the entertainment and creative industry on during the week advised the Federal Government to resuscitate the moribund textile industries across the country so that they could produce and promote high grade and high-quality made-in-Nigeria fabrics.
Such fabrics would be able to compete favourably with their peers internationally, they also said.
Speaking in separate interviews during the official launch of Fashion and Life Style Store in Lagos, they said that the Federal Government should resuscitate the moribund textile industries across the country, it would also boost the country’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP).
They said that with the existence of the textile industries functioning, many jobless Nigerians would also secure employment opportunities.
Mrs Yeside Laguda, the Creative Director, MyQ Life Style Concepts, said that African fashion was trending alongside their foreign counterparts.
Laguda, also the owner of the fashion store, said that there was nothing that the western designers could do with their fabrics that African designers cannot do with theirs also.
“Our local designers are improving day-by-day and are meeting up with western standards.
“I do not think there is any reason for people to still be overwhelmed by foreign designers.
“What the local designers are doing with Africa fabrics are mind blowing,’’ she said.
Laguda said that the fashion industry was capable of generating huge employment opportunities for people, boost revenue and improve the nation Gross Domestic Products (GDP) if well developed.
She added that the Nigeria fashions had continued to get gain global recognitions and acceptance.
“There is nowhere in the world that you will wear Nigerian fabrics to that you will not be respected and also be identified as Nigerians.
“The Nollywood practitioners are really trying in terms of promoting Made-in-Nigeria fabrics and designs in their movies which have made foreigners to be conversant with our native fabrics and styles,” she said.
She urged the Federal Government to provide the necessary infrastructure and incentives to support the development of the industry.
Laguda also advised the Federal Government to resuscitate the now dead textile industries across the country.
They will be the ones to fully promote made-in-Nigeria fabrics through their products when fully back into operations, she said.
Also, they would provide job opportunities to several of our teeming unemployed youths, she said.
Also, Mr Bayo Balogun, the Commissioner, Lagos State House of Assembly Service Commission, speaking on made-in-Nigeria fabrics, said that he was an ambassador of made-in-Nigeria goods.
He said that all his household items were made-in-Nigeria products including his clothing.
“The Nigerian fashion industry is improving day-by-day, the materials are of high quality and last for a long period of time.
“People who are saying products made in Nigeria are substandard patronise substandard products but the ones that patronise quality products will have value for their money, ” he said.
He urged Nigerians to support and patronise made-in-Nigeria fashion designs and products.
Also, veteran actress Bukky Wright said that the Nollywood practitioners have been playing their roles in promoting the country fashion designs.
“I used to wear, showcase and flaunt Nigerian attires, designs in all my movies; the idea is to promote the country’s fashion industry.
“Each time I travelled abroad to show a movie, foreigners were always thrilled by African designs I wore, “she said.
Wright urged the government to create an enabling environment for the industry to thrive.
Earlier, Mr Bashiru Bolarinwa, a former Lagos State House of Assembly member, urged the Federal Government to restore the moribund fabrics and textile industry.
He said that insufficient and lack of textile companies was responsible for low production and substandard fabrics.
“Nigeria should have been mass-producing for the neighbouring countries by now but the lack of textile and other productions companies are responsible for the inadequacy, ” he said.
Bolarinwa appealed to the government to provide the necessary infrastructure to boost the production capacity of the industry.