text:
The emergence of bitcoin as a kind of currency like any other has created many hurdles and worries. The basic principles root it possess a lot of uncertainties and as a matter of known fact, it is becoming touted because the virtual money into the future. As a matter of fact, not too long ago individuals had been talking about the final end of the currency program. There were stories of bankruptcy and the collapse of governments.
This may tone very strange to some of you, but the whole situation appeared extremely dramatic, to the people of the Caribbean country of Barbados especially. Imagine the outcry in these developing nations, should they found out that this pound was no longer their currency.
Fortunately for all of us, there were no such calamity and therefore, we are all relieved. But what should one anticipate from a money that is regarded as a sort of virtual item, day in the present?
Really, the high volatility and speculative businesses which thrive in it could possibly be the downfall of such a currency. Which is why several economists do not have confidence in its future specifically. They claim that this is a gamble which will likely fail.
Though this currency, bitcoin, has been around for some time now quite, it have not developed the same value as some of the others. Instead, it really is still closely associated with its value like a commodity and its values are still heavily dependent on supply and requirement. In short, it isn’t stable. Will be this how we expect our cash to behave?
Indeed, it seems that bitcoin is a stable little bit of infrastructure nonetheless it still depends upon the decentralized world. And this helps it be unpredictable and prone to reduce worth extremely.
Another problem with this currency is that it is reported to be a currency that has been useful for illegal transactions. It’s been linked to scams. Some vendors and online stores, who have announced plans to simply accept it experienced to back away from it since it is doubtful if they will be able to stay legal in the near future.
With such problems, will governments continue steadily to support it? The truth is the governments of many developing nations as well as the world’s largest finance institutions are still keeping out to find out more on what bitcoins will be managed in the foreseeable future.
This can be an urgent need to put our thoughts at ease. Nevertheless, the general public’s awareness continues to be lacking. That’s the reason why the big query is definitely unanswered still.
If the information could be provided, the need for there to become adoption is a very urgent have to put our minds at ease. And there’s still time before it is too late.
It seems that currency continues to be the curiosity that lots of want forward to and for most it is prematurily . to get involved with this currency revolution online. There are more questions that may have to be answered before the standing of bitcoin as a currency can be assured.
If you have any concerns relating to in which and how to use pop over to this site, you can make contact with us at our own page.
Great tips linked to the subjects on this page, you will like:


text:
A couple of weeks ago, we launched
Product Hunt's sister company, Hyper
. We've been blown away by the quality of applications to our inaugural founder program
so far, and we can't wait to kick off the program this fall. Today, I want to talk about Product Hunt’s future.
When Ashley Higgins became GM
earlier this year, she brought more than a decade of experience as a community-driven product leader from Reddit, Clearbit, and SEGA. It quickly became clear to me that Ashley is the right person to run Product Hunt as we develop a new, broader focus—so, today, I’m excited to announce that she will become Product Hunt’s new CEO. I’m going to remain heavily involved as President, focusing on the higher-level vision of Product Hunt and Hyper.
Ashley is supported at Product Hunt by a strong leadership team, including Product Hunt veterans Rado Stankov, Head of Engineering; Julie Chabin, Head of Design; and Emily Snowdon, VP of Operations. All three know the Product Hunt community intimately, having worked at the company for five or more years each, alongside founder Ryan Hoover.
The team will continue to focus on tools that grow and empower the Product Hunt community, like a new mobile app experience, an improved launch flow, more community events, and a fresh look and feel.
We've been investing a lot into Product Hunt this year: the team has already grown by more than 50% since January, and we’re still growing—there are several exciting roles
currently open. (We love recruiting from within the community!) With Ashley at the helm, we’re going to continue growing the team and focusing on our mission.
Preparing for the future...
In preparation for Hyper’s launch and our expanded focus, we recently spun Product Hunt out of AngelList so it could operate as its own independent company. Being independent once again will allow us to develop a more focused leadership structure, expand our scope, and give us the ability to make bigger investments into major projects. (For the record, AngelList is still a key partner and major investor, and we plan to work very closely into the future.)
The makers and early adopters who make up the Product Hunt community mean everything to us. We wouldn't exist without the inspirational people who launch, build and discover new products every day. I’m confident that Ashley's experience with community-led product building makes her the perfect person to lead Product Hunt into its next chapter. Exciting times ahead!
Stay tuned for more Product Hunt news from Ashley and the team, coming soon.

domain: news


text:
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – A local business owner says someone posing as Dominion Virginia Power scammed him out of $1,200. It turns out he’s not the only target.
The scam involves someone calling, claiming to be from Dominion Virginia Power. The caller says you are past due on your electric bill and you have to pay now, or they’ll cut off your service.
A Portsmouth mechanic told WAVY News the scammers got him.
“This is a very elaborate, very well thought out, very, very, very hard scam. It would catch just about anybody that I know of,” he said.
To avoid losing power, the caller tells people to go to the store and buy a “Green Dot MoneyPak card,” which is a pre-paid, reloadable debit card. Police say those types of cards are nearly impossible to trace.
Dominion Virginia Power says they take reports of scams very seriously.
In a statement they said, in part:
Neither Dominion nor its collection agency ever requests payment using a pre-paid card. Customers are encouraged to call their local police department’s non-emergency line – and Dominion – to report suspicious activity.


text:
What you need to know
- Samsung has introduced the world's first mobile image sensor with a resolution of 108 million pixels (MP).
- The new Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX image sensor is said to have been developed in collaboration with Xiaomi.
- It is slated to enter mass production later this month.
Xiaomi announced its plans of launching a Redmi smartphone with Samsung's 64MP ISOCELL Bright GW1 sensor at an event held in Beijing last week. At the same event, the company teased the launch of an upcoming Mi-branded phone with a whopping 108MP sensor. The sensor has now been formally announced by Samsung.
The new Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX is claimed to produce "exceptional photos even in extreme lighting conditions", thanks to its large 1/1.33-inch size. Its large size and Samsung's pixel-merging Tetracell technology allow the sensor to gather more light in low-light situations and produce bright 27MP photos.
Its pixel size, however, remains identical to the 48MP and 64MP ISOCELL sensors that Samsung announced earlier this year, due to the higher megapixel count. Apart from boasting impressive low-light performance, the sensor is capable of recording videos at up to 6K (6016 x 3384) resolution.
The 108MP ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor will enter mass production later this month. As confirmed by Xiaomi, it will be the first company to launch a smartphone with the new sensor. Rumors suggest the sensor could be used in the upcoming Mi MIX 4, which is expected to be unveiled sometime in October this year.
From Xiaomi's co-founder and president Lin Bin:
Be an expert in 5 minutes
Get the latest news from Android Central, your trusted companion in the world of Android


text:
A US-based medical device manufacturer reported that 30,000 former and current customers may have had their personal information exposed when a company employee's email account was compromised.
Health care device manufacturer Natus Medical Incorporated has reportedly updated the software used in its Xltek EEG products, which monitors brain activity, after a researcher discovered five vulnerabilities that could be exploited.
The healthcare industry believes attacks on a medical device built or in use by their organisations is likely to occur over the next 12 months.
NATO and partner countries are sharing R&D in the development of cyber-security tools to achieve economies of scale, including the CIICS (Cyber Information and Incident Coordination System).
As this year's Slush conference opens, securing The Internet of Things has become a hot topic with many of the exhibiting companies tackling the issue head on.


text:
Fort Lauderdale, FL (November 22, 2022) – SIXT USA, one of the world’s leading premium providers of mobility, will open its newest location in Eagle County Regional Airport in Vail, Colorado on November 23, providing more travelers with premium rental options in yet another major tourism market. This announcement follows a multitude of branch openings across the United States in the past year including Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Nashville International Airport, and Kauai Lihue International Airport, continuing to grow the brand’s footprint nationwide.
Vail averages more than 1.6 million visits annually with 2021 being one of the busiest years on record, according to Eagle County Regional Airport. The city is one of the most well-renowned skiing destinations in the United States and the opening of the SIXT Vail branch will give winter travelers the opportunity to rent the best-in-class transportation when they head to the mountains. The branch opening is ideally timed with most ski resorts across Colorado officially opening their doors in early November.
“We are excited to continue our US expansion by adding Vail to our growing network” said Tom Kennedy, President and Chief Executive Officer at SIXT USA. “Vail has long been one of the most popular skiing destinations in the United States, and we are looking forward to offering our premium product and rental services to the thousands of skiers and vacationers alike that choose to travel through Eagle County Regional Airport.”
SIXT USA has continued to expand operations with the aim to bring a premium product and customer service to travelers throughout the country. Customers are encouraged to download the SIXT app and use the new Mobile Checkout service which is now available in over 30 airport locations.
Sixt SE, with its registered office in Pullach near Munich, is a leading international provider of high-quality mobility services. With its products SIXT rent, SIXT share, SIXT ride and SIXT+ on the mobility platform ONE the company offers a uniquely integrated premium mobility service across the fields of vehicle and commercial vehicle rental, car sharing, ride hailing and car subscriptions. The products can be booked through the SIXT app, which also integrates the services of its renowned mobility partners. SIXT has a presence in more than 100 countries around the globe. The company stands for consistent customer orientation, a lived culture of innovation with strong technological competence, a high proportion of premium vehicles in the fleet and an attractive price-performance ratio. In 2021 SIXT achieved significant market share gains as well as a new record result, amounting to revenues of EUR 2.28 billion and earnings before taxes of EUR 442.2 million – despite the ongoing COVID–19 pandemic since 2020. In the decade before, from 2009 to 2019, the SIXT Group doubled its revenues. Sixt SE is the parent company of the Group and has been listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange since 1986 (ISIN ordinary share: DE0007231326, ISIN preference share: DE0007231334). https://about.sixt.com
Alison Brod Marketing + Communications


text:
Every year, Bitcoin is growing in stature. Bitcoin is certainly going mainstream by every metric financial value, adoption prices, transaction volume, you title it.
However, not everyones joyful Bitcoin adoption keeps growing. Specifically, the banking business feels threatened by bitcoins increase and proceeds to wage battle on the cryptocurrency.
That banking institutions dont like Bitcoin shouldnt be considered a shock. Satoshi Nakamotos creation is the foremost disruption to the age-old monetary program in years. As a peer-to-peer system for developing and exchanging worth, Bitcoin may render banking institutions useless.
To safeguard their position, financial institutions possess resorted to the traditional device of warfare: propaganda. By spreading misinformation, banks desire to discredit Bitcoin decreasing open public adoption and encouraging stricter regulation.
A (Brief) Background Of Big Funds Propaganda Battle On Bitcoin
From the onset, Big Finance will need to have realized Bitcoin may potentially disrupt the bank operating system. But they thought we would believe its make use of would remain limited to drug dealers, pc geeks, cypherpunks, libertarians along with other fringe components.
But as cryptocurrency adoption grew, specifically among institutional traders, panic pass on in the bank operating system. For the very first time, the chance that this magic web money may displace banking institutions was real.
Thus, banking institutions launched a coordinated energy to discredit cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has been and is really a favorite focus on, given its status because the worlds first & most well-known cryptocurrency.
In 2014, Jamie Dimon, billionaire President and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Americas largest lender, declared Bitcoin an awful store of worth at the planet Economic Discussion board in Davos, Switzerland. Nevertheless, that didnt stop hawaii of NY from issuing licenses to Bitcoin exchanges the next season.
Dimon followed up along with his criticism of bitcoin in 2015, saying the cryptocurrency could not receive acceptance from governments. In his phrases, No government will actually support a virtual foreign currency that encircles borders and doesnt possess exactly the same controls.
Unhappy, the JPMorgan Chase supremo released his greatest attack on Bitcoin however at the 2015 Barclays Worldwide Financial Services Meeting. Not merely did he contact Bitcoin a fraud much like Tulipmania, but he furthermore threatened to fire anyone who exchanged Bitcoin via his corporation.
Dimon isnt the only real Big Financing stalwart who has attempted to undermine Bitcoin. President of the European Main Bank Christine Lagarde in addition has been vital of Bitcoin during the past.
At a Reuters Following Conference, Lagarde top quality bitcoin an extremely speculative asset, including that it’s been used to carry out some funny business plus some interesting and completely reprehensible money laundering action. This is even while the European Central Lender was taking into consideration launching its electronic currency called the electronic euro at that time.
The ECB, as well, has frequently lent itself to the anti-Bitcoin propaganda marketing campaign. In its 2021 Financial Balance Evaluation, the apex banker in comparison surges in bitcoins cost to the infamous South Ocean Bubble. [Bitcoin’s] exorbitant carbon footprint and potential make use of for illicit reasons are grounds for problem, it additional in the document.
Also the worlds largest finance institutions have also joined up with in on the anti-Bitcoin party. For instance, the planet Bank refused to aid El Salvadors intend to adopt bitcoin as lawful tender, adducing environment and transparency shortcomings of the cryptocurrency. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) furthermore urged the Latin American country to drop Bitcoin earlier this year.
Of training course, there are several, many more cases of old-money organizations sowing question and spreading misinformation about Bitcoin. However, these statements all indicate the same conclusion: banking institutions hate Bitcoin and can stop at nothing at all to discredit it.
Bitcoin Is Poor, Blockchain Is Great
Some financial players took another tack within their disinformation campaign. This calls for criticizing Bitcoin but praising the underlying blockchain technologies that powers the machine.
Banks see the possible of blockchain technologies to revolutionize obligations and desire to co-opt the technologies for their benefit. For instance, JPMorgan Chase, the avowed Bitcoin critic, has generated a cryptocurrency known as JPMCoin working on its Quorum blockchain.
Central banks also have touted blockchains capacity to power central lender electronic currencies (CBDCs) cryptocurrencies released and supported by governments. Such possessions are usually pegged to a fiat foreign currency, just like the dollar or euro, similar to a stablecoin.
THE LENDER for International Settlement (BIS) ripped into cryptos in a June 2021 document, describing them as speculative property used to facilitate cash laundering, ransomware attacks along with other monetary crimes. Bitcoin, specifically, has few redeeming open public interest features when furthermore considering its wasteful power footprint, the record declared.
Ironically, the BIS advocated for CBDCs in exactly the same review. Heres an excerpt:
Main bank electronic currencies represent a distinctive opportunity to style a technologically sophisticated representation of main bank money, one which offers the unique top features of finality, liquidity, and integrity.
Such currencies can form the backbone of an extremely efficient new digital transaction system by enabling wide access and providing solid data governance and personal privacy standards based on electronic ID.
The Bitcoin poor, blockchain good! line is among the most preferred refrain of banking institutions and fintech operators in reaction to Bitcoins recognition. As usually, this argument misses the idea.
Without Bitcoins decentralized architecture, blockchain-based payment monetary techniques are ineffective. Permissioned blockchains like Quorum have problems with centralization and single factors of failure difficulties Nakamoto sought to improve by creating Bitcoin.
Exactly the same problems plague CBDCs. WHEN I explained in a recently available article, centralized handle of an electronic dollar or lb causes the same difficulties witnessed with fiat currencies. With central banking institutions managing every inflow and outflow of cash, itd be all-too-simple to conduct economic surveillance, implement unpopular financial policies and conduct monetary discrimination.
A more impressive problem with this type of argument will be that it does not consider Bitcoins biggest power: cryptoeconomics. Satoshis finest contribution had been a novel mix of economic incentives, video game concept and applied cryptography essential for keeping the machine secure and helpful in the lack of a centralized entity. Centralized blockchains with bad incentives are available to attack simply like any legacy program.
Why Are Banking institutions Scared Of Bitcoin?
Traditional banks have lengthy made cash by charging customers to store and make use of their money. The common account holder pays accounts maintenance fees, debit charges, overdraft fees and various charges made to profit the lender. All the while, the lender loans out the amount of money seated in the accounts, while giving users just a fraction of the gained interest.
Bitcoin, nevertheless, poses a danger to the banking industrys income model. With cryptocurrencies, you can find no institutions helping customers to shop, manage or make use of their cash. The dog owner remains completely in charge of their bitcoins.
But, wait around, theres more.
Much better And Cheaper Dealings
Bitcoin can help you transfer cash to anyone, instantly, regardless of the amount included or the recipients place. And users can perform that without counting on an intermediary like their regional bank.
Typically, Bitcoin-powered transactions are quicker and cheaper than dealings through banks. Consider just how much time it requires to process a global move and the hefty costs that banks charge.
Aside from miner fees, folks are not paying any one else to process dealings on the Bitcoin blockchain. And levels of any size, big or small, could be moved minus the usual crimson tape. In under 10 minutes, Bitcoin procedures an irreversible money move. Banks just can’t match that.
Shop Of Value
Banks assist customers arrange long-expression investments in gold, bonds along with other assets, to safe the worthiness of their money. Plus they charge a charge for custodianship, expense consulting and portfolio administration.
But what goes on when people find out they dont need to depend on banks to shop value?
Because of its intrinsic qualities, Bitcoin is quickly emerging as a desired shop of worth. Bitcoin is scarce (just 21 million units will actually be produced), but additionally fungible and transportable. This makes it better still than traditional shops of ideals like gold.
Because anyone can simply purchase bitcoin and HODL, banks can’t earn money off shilling asset administration plans. Banking institutions, like JPMorgan, possess adapted by promoting bitcoin-centered investments such as for example futures but that wont conserve them.
Level of resistance To Manipulation
Banking institutions have lengthy survived by manipulating the economic climate for private benefits. The 2008 financial meltdown resulted from underhanded dealings by a few of the worlds greatest banking institutions, which includes Lehman Brothers, which later on declared bankruptcy.
For example, banks constantly lend out additional money than they personal in whats known as leveraging. Should everyone opt to withdraw their cash from banks, the complete business would inevitably crash.
Bitcoin allows visitors to be their very own banks. Profit a Bitcoin wallet can’t be manipulated or utilized by anybody in addition to the holder. For the very first time, people today have the power to regulate their money.
Banking institutions Cannot Kill Bitcoin
The strength of the banking industrys details war shows the amount of they fear Bitcoin because they should. Its just a matter of period before bitcoin permeates every economic field offshore settlements, escrow, obligations, asset investments and much more.
When that happens, banking institutions will become the most recent victims of technical disruption. In the same way Netflix replaced movie rentals and Amazon changed bookstores, Bitcoin will replace banking institutions. And no quantity of doubt-sowing and misinformation will invert that.
It is a guest post by Emmanuel Awosika. Views expressed are completely their own , nor always reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.


text:
Just when you thought your shoe game couldn’t get any more on point.
Nike, the shoe brand famous for it’s daring, but comfortable designs, has announced a new version of its infamous Benassi JDI Slides.
The newest version of the classic sandal is set to hit select Nike retailers soon, and will feature a fanny pack.
You heard correctly. The new Nike endeavour is not a slide and a fanny pack sold separately, but a slide and a fanny pack sold as one. The traditional sandal strap on Nike’s Benassi’s will be replaced with a fully functional affixed zippered pouch, with enough room to carry small items like keys and cash.
The slides are expected to drop in the coming weeks, and will be available in black, black/pink, and green/blue.
One thing is for sure, security at airports and concert venues are going to have a lot on their hands this summer with the release of multiple types of “storage clothing”.
Earlier this year at Coachella, Rihanna was spotted wearing a flask bracelet - a bracelet that has a removable jewel detail that when removed reveals a hole to fill the hollow bracelet with 3.5 ounces of liquid. Talk about multi-purpose fashion.
However, the invention of these types of clothing presents a problem - how do you police what type of clothes/shoes people can and can’t wear? And how can you be sure they aren’t carrying illegal or even dangerous items in them? While “storage clothing” can be fun, it also poses a potential risk.
Outside of the "Fanny Pack" Slides, Nike has been busy the last couple of months, with plenty of new releases for shoe lovers far and wide. Some of these included new versions of the company's most popular shoe, the Air Jordans, as well as new Huarache '91 Qs. Nike is also scheduled to release the Air Max 98 'Wolf Grey' on Friday June 15, which will include the multi-levelled wave aesthetic and full-length visible Air that the popular shoe had when it first launched 20 years ago.
In the meantime, will you be buying Nike’s new Benassi “Fanny Pack” Slides? And what will you be storing in them?


text:
Buying and selling used items can be a tricky business – with one in four Americans feeling “intimidated” by the thought of making a deal they’re unsure about.
According to new research of 2,000 U.S. adults, 69% of people who have ever personally sold or bought a used item said they wish they could go back to before the deal was made, so they could do things differently — especially when it came to cars.
Over the past year, used cars were the most commonly-bought items both online (34%) and in person (31%).
Commissioned by CarLotz and conducted by OnePoll, the study found 65% of Americans have purchased a vehicle from another individual — but only 27% bought their car from a stranger in person. According to respondents, 66% of their used car purchases were made online.
Meanwhile, 15% of respondents said they had sold a car directly to another person, with most of those sales being done in person (69%) and only 19% were online.
Half (49%) of those who have sold a car said the process has taught them a lot about cars and the car market in general.
And even in the rise of online marketplaces, vehicles are still the one item where nearly half (49%) still prefer to meet in person.
Meanwhile, while 41% of potential buyers of any used items — from phones, to books, to clothing — are fine with having things shipped to them, 34% would rather meet in person. Over a third (38%) would insist on bringing someone along with them to meet sellers, while 37% would strictly only interact with sellers through texting or messaging.
Interestingly, sellers are more cautious about meeting potential buyers than the other way around. Only three in 10 are willing to meet buyers in person — 50% would rather ship items directly, and 29% would prefer interacting with buyers only online.
Just like their potential buyers, if they plan to make the deal in person, 41% prefer to have someone they know alongside them.
“Whether online or in-person, CarLotz offers guests the ability to buy and sell through its unique consignment-based platform,” said Liz Messick, vice president of operations for CarLotz. “By utilizing consignment in the used-car category, consumers can be confident they are getting more car for their money and more money for their car.”
The trend of buyers and sellers wanting to make a deal in person revealed a lot about people’s overall comfort levels.
Although 70% said they consider themselves “pros” because of their experiences, over half (55%) of respondents said they have hesitations about buying or selling items to others.
Hesitations include the fear of being lied to (42%), sharing their personal information (41%) and making the deal alone (37%).
Two in three (64%) said keeping their personal information private is important when they’re making deals with others. If violated, 45% said they’ll back out of the deal.
Similarly, 41% will refuse to give their real phone number and 40% won’t reveal their real address.
Even so, private information (19%) tops the list of items found in used cars, followed by old CDs and cassettes (17%) and spare parts for the car (17%).
“Simply put, the modern vehicle is like a cell phone on wheels,” continued Messick. “Four out of five vehicles sold last year contained personal data such as phone numbers, addresses and even our garage door codes. Oftentimes, people will sell or turn-over their car to a third party for sale without wiping it clean.”
Ironically, many believe it’s okay to do a background check on whoever they’re making a deal with if they have access to their personal info.
Forty-six percent said they’d look up their social media accounts, 44% would see if they live in a good neighborhood and 36% will even try to figure out where they work.
To add a level of comfort, many insist on meeting in public places like shopping centers (29%) or police precincts (17%).
Two in three (67%) said research is key before purchasing something used — they’ll take up to 36 hours to research before agreeing to a deal. But this is stemmed from an underlying fear about not knowing as much as possible before a purchase.
Using the right platform was also seen to make a difference in how people feel about making deals. Facebook Marketplace has the highest level of excitement (44%) and Craigslist had the highest level of frustration (15%).
Stories and infographics by ‘Talker Research’ are available to download & ready to use. Stories and videos by ‘Talker News’ are managed by SWNS. To license content for editorial or commercial use and to see the full scope of SWNS content, please email firstname.lastname@example.org or submit an inquiry via our contact form.
Baby hippo who became social media star now a big sister
Staff noticed a change in Bibi’s behavior two days ago. She was restless outside and wanted to go indoors and...
Scientists discover why this drought-proof ‘super plant’ keeps growing and growing
Scientists have learned the secret to its success.
Drink in the world’s smallest whisky bar
Guests will have just 10 minutes inside the bar to sample the single cask Scotch whiskies on offer.
Brave dog who was shot and stabbed now works with cop who saved him
“Buddy is still understandably a little nervous around the rest of the Wellbeing Dog team, but he’s a lovely calming...
Couple recreates 40-year-old photo posing next to 12-foot tall sunflower
The couple - who have two sons, Jason, 32, and Kyle, 31- continued to grow sunflowers over the years and...
Weird3 days ago
Freaky footage shows alleged ghost knocking a bag off shop’s counter
COVID-193 days ago
New data reveals how many people scientists suspect have long COVID
Wildlife3 days ago
How fire ants’ ‘supergene’ helps them survive
Dads3 days ago
Cool dad builds ‘flamethrower’ for his kids using a leaf blower
Food & Drink4 days ago
Is family dinner canceled? Three out of five Americans don’t think so
Parenting4 days ago
How this couple has triplets that were each born TWO YEARS apart
Animals3 days ago
Up close look at one of the first short-eared owls bred in captivity
Cars3 days ago
Gen Z and millennials have complex relationships with their cars


text:
The German Idealism Reader: Ideas, Responses, and Legacy UnionBank Sets Up Bitcoin ATM in Manila Fintech Singapore
- UnionBank Launches First Two-way Cryptocurrency ATM in the.
- UnionBank to Launch a Blockhain Powered SME . - Fintech
- Philippines Central Bank Helps Launch Bitcoin ATM .
- ECXX Ties up With UOB Kay Hian to Offer Securitised . - Fintech
- Daenerys Crypto ATM Singapore - daenerys cryptocurrency atms.
- Bitcoin ATM Manila Philippines
- Bitcoin ATM Singapore – find bitcoin machine locations
- UnionBank Sets Up Bitcoin ATM in Manila Fintech Singapore
- Bitcoin ATM Philippines – find bitcoin machine locations
- How DeFi is Building a New Financial System Fintech Singapore
See where Blockchain. Bitcoin exchange rate was last updated on June 17 2021, Thursday 05:50:01 With this page, you have learned how many Azerbaijani Manat (AZN) will be worth 5 Bitcoin (BTC). Find products for sale online. If one daily import is not enough for you, you can click on Check Now on the API import page up to once an hour in addition for extra imports. This is more expensive compared to Binance or AAX where their fees are up to 0. com.
UnionBank Launches First Two-way Cryptocurrency ATM in the.
In the capital Manila, the first Bitcoin ATM was set up. A gander at who is behind this choice demonstrates the developing acknowledgment of bitcoin. The Philippines Central Bank Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the UnionBank are in charge of setting up the machine. This will give you access to the find an offer and. See torch. Massey Ratings Description. Bitcoin Huobi). Back in 2014 I purchased a million Dogecoin and half a Bitcoin. io Language: English All topics Unsorted. UnionBank Sets Up Bitcoin ATM in Manila Fintech Singapore
UnionBank to Launch a Blockhain Powered SME . - Fintech
Around the same time frame, the bank also set up a “Bitcoin ATM” at its main branch to enable users to deposit or withdraw from a wide selection of cryptocurrencies. Image Credit: UnionBank’s Facebook Page Here's what 9 experts said about why Dogecoin is the new star of the crypto market - and it's not just the Musk effect. Over the last decade, cryptoassets have developed into a 100 billion industry hidden behind lines of computer code. COMP, the governance token of Compoundand RUNE, the native token of THORChain both reached local highs of 264. 12:51. Predictive analytics.
Philippines Central Bank Helps Launch Bitcoin ATM .
One of the largest banks in the Philippines, Union Bank, has collaborated with the countrys central bank to launch a Bitcoin ATM, allowing customers to One of the largest banks in the Philippines, Union Bank, has launched its first Bitcoin ATM which allows customers to both buy and sell BTC for cash. Bitcoin (BTC) Next Week Price Prediction ( - ) Exchange rate and chart for today; Predictions for. Makita ang kompletong profile sa LinkedIn at matuklasan Nicole ang mga koneksyon at trabaho sa kaparehong mga kompanya. Depositing and Withdrawing Assets Binance. Price at writing: 0. Good for t shirt, tee design prints. UnionBank Sets Up Bitcoin ATM in Manila Fintech Singapore
ECXX Ties up With UOB Kay Hian to Offer Securitised . - Fintech
ECXX Ties up With UOB Kay Hian to Offer Securitised Token Offerings by Fintechnews Singapore February 1, 2021 ECXX Global, a Singaporean asset-based digital securities exchange, announced that it has collaborated with regional brokerage UOB Kay Hian to bring in deep tech startups to their network and offer them the opportunity to list via Securitised Token Offerings (STOs) to raise growth capital. ROSEDALE, CA ACCESSWIRE Might 17, 2021 In a market growth equal to a digital enlargement westward, the quickly rising crypto scene is a part of the Wild West as its a land of alternative and prosperity. Exclusive 5-star hotel for sale in Pines, Ul. 30 Black Label Lincoln Navigator. Enter the amount you wish to transfer. Blackrock CEO calls Bitcoin an untested asset in a 'very small. How to use RSA in. Why this crypto VC bet on DeFi cross-chain liquidity tool Unbound.
Daenerys Crypto ATM Singapore - daenerys cryptocurrency atms.
Currently, there are 2 Bitcoin ATMs available in Singapore under Bitcoin Exchange: 532 Upper Cross St., #03-11, Hong Lim Complex, Singapore 050531. Tiong Bahru Plaza Level 1, 302 Tiong Bahru Road. Bitcoins and cryptocurrencies in Singapore are still highly speculative Crypto.com is on a mission to accelerate the worlds transition to cryptocurrency. Through the Crypto.com Mobile App and Exchange, you can buy 80+ cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and It shows a significant increase in the number of people using and investing in crypto, plus a wider awareness among the public. - Knoji. Complete liquidity, outlined as money and bitcoin holdings. Today, were launching Facebook Dating in the US. The person behind the Bitcoin Fog was identified and arrested. Cloudbet is among the most popular BitcoinCryptocurrency sports betting sites, and comes with a hard-earned reputation for offering great odds and in-play bets on a wide range of sports. Jigsaw Puzzles.
Bitcoin ATM Manila Philippines
Bitcoin ATMs in Manila, Philippines. Total number of Bitcoin ATMs / Tellers in and around Manila: 7. Coins: Bitcoin (BTC) Lightning BTC (LBTC) Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Ether (ETH) Dash (DASH) Litecoin (LTC) Zcash (ZEC) Monero (XMR) Dogecoin (DOGE) Tether (USDT) Ripple (XRP) Operations: Buy Sell. Location type: It said it had invested an aggregate 1. Low processing fees. It fluctuates by about 1 thousand dollars in 2021. LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin jumped to its highest in over a year on Monday, adding to a 2020 rally that has seen it more than treble in price since March. There has been an hourly rise by 1. Tx Fee: Log Scale Thanks largely to its unbounded scalability, smart contracts running on Bitcoin enjoy 1000X cheaper transaction fees than same ones running on Ethereum, while processing comparable number of transactions. cigae torrenty.
Bitcoin ATM Singapore – find bitcoin machine locations
Bitcoin ATMs in Singapore. Total number of Bitcoin ATMs / Tellers in Singapore: 10. Coins: Bitcoin (BTC) Lightning BTC (LBTC) Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Ether (ETH) Dash (DASH) Litecoin (LTC) Zcash (ZEC) Monero (XMR) Dogecoin (DOGE) Tether (USDT) Ripple (XRP) Operations: Buy Sell. Location type: New To Bitcoin. The Songwriting of Steve Perry Shines On Stripped Down Version Of. Aktien, Indizes, Futures, Devisen und Bitcoin-Charts auf. Crypto Soft Malaysia provides a secure, flexible and fully customizable white-label exchange software for businesses that want to create their own exchange for bitcoin or any digital cryptocurrency. Certified tutor with 8 years of experience. MBTC: Tagalog to English: Dictionary Online. UnionBank Sets Up Bitcoin ATM in Manila Fintech Singapore
UnionBank Sets Up Bitcoin ATM in Manila Fintech Singapore
Bitcoin machines are on the rise worldwide. Currently, these devices are in 76 countries and now the Philippines have been added to the list. In the capital Manila, the first Bitcoin ATM was set up by UnionBank and Philippine’s central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The fact that these parties are behind setting up the Bitcoin ATM in Manila shows a trend of growing acceptance for cryptocurrencies in the Philippines. If you learn how to invest in Bitcoin at the top of a bull cycle, then you might be so excited by the shiny new technology that you buy right in. Exchange Rate (also known as forex rate, FX rate, foreign-exchange rate, or Agio) is a relative value between two currencies at which one currency can be exchanged for another currency. This is known as a mining pool. See today's latest prices of Binance Smart Chain crypto tokens listed by market capitalization 24h volume 24h price change . UnionBank Sets Up Bitcoin ATM in Manila Fintech Singapore
Bitcoin ATM Philippines – find bitcoin machine locations
Locations of Bitcoin ATM in Philippines The easiest way to buy and sell bitcoins. Producers. Genesis Coin (8957) General Bytes (5500) BitAccess (2282) Coinsource (1612) Bitstop (777) All producers; Countries. United States (19339) Canada (1553) United Kin Set up by government to help people make the most of their money, it gives free, unbiased money advice across the UK online, over the phone and face to face. CryptocurrencyTalk is a crypto blockchain forum that has existed since 2013 and is a source for cryptocurrency resources, news, and information. In the previous tutorial we studied the anatomy of an ERC20 token in Solidity on the Ethereum blockchain. Default is 0. bnpparibas. Reasons why you should NOT leave your funds on Kraken Reason 1: Nothing is unhackable. UnionBank Sets Up Bitcoin ATM in Manila Fintech Singapore
How DeFi is Building a New Financial System Fintech Singapore
See full list on fintechnews.sg Store Exchange DOGE coin is an app made by Freewallet Crypto Financial Service. You never invest. 'The value of Bitcoin is entirely based on wishful thinking' .UnionBank Sets Up Bitcoin ATM in Manila Fintech Singapore


text:
Companies in social media analysis changed ownership 20 times in 2016, down from 32 deals in 2015. Despite the slower pace, the logic underlying acquisitions continues from last year, with the majority representing portfolio plays, as companies extend their technology and services capabilities. The serial acquirers slowed down in 2016, while several smaller companies combined forces to go after larger markets.
Here's a recap of the year's deals. As always, you can find the latest deals and a record of past deals in the space at SMA's acquisitions scorecard.
Whether it's described as a merger or an acquisition, some combinations represent companies teaming up to take on the world. Augure (which earlier rolled up iMente, Adequate Systems and Wisemetrics) merged with Fashion GPS to form Launchmetrics and pursue fashion and other high-end, global brands.
M-Brain extended its geographic reach and team with Opoint, two Nordic companies going everywhere. Sentimonitor and Vortio teamed up to go global from their base in Brazil. Wayin and EngageSciences combined their strengths in social media intelligence, digital campaigns and customer engagement.
Meanwhile, straight-up consolidation continued as Tailwind bought and shuttered PinAlerts, continuing its pattern of rolling up Pinterest specialists.
The typical acquisition has been, for years, the larger company picking up a smaller company for a product or technology. After a busy 2015, Sprinklr made just one purchase in 2016, adding influencer marketing tools of Little Bird. Hootsuite went mobile with Sales Prodigy, its first acquisition since 2014. Meltwater got technology and talent in Encore Alert.
CARMA added CustomScoop to its client toolbox. Shapiro+Raj chose MutualMind. LRW picked up MotiveQuest as a step toward integrating listening with other research methods. Anexinet added unstructured data analysis to its diversified business technology portfolio with ListenLogic. Each of these continues to operate with the addition of parent-company branding.
2016 saw two deals in a less common category, as companies adjusted their priorities and traded entire businesses. Innodata bought PR Newswire's Agility media-intelligence business, a result of Cision's late-2015 deal to acquire PRN. Notified bought the media monitoring business from Twintip Insights as the latter refocused on its dashboard product.
Running a news site is work. If this one is delivering value, please support the effort.
SMA is retired. Check out the new projects at Directed Curiosity. I’m exploring the structure of data markets and more.


text:
24 November 2022 | Thursday | News
Kamada Ltd., a leading global biopharmaceutical company, has a well-established infrastructure for marketing, sales, and distribution of commercial pharmaceutical products in more than 30 countries. The company is reputable and has a strong position in its home market in Israel where Kamada today distributes more than 20 pharmaceutical products.
Under the terms of the agreement, Kamada is responsible for the commercialization of Zeqmelit™ in Israel and has the exclusive right to marketing, sales, and distribution of the drug in this market. Thus, it is incumbent on Kamada to register Zeqmelit™ in Israel. Kamada's assessment is that the company will be able to apply for registration and market approval to the Israeli authority MOH, Ministry of Health, in the first quarter of 2023. The processing of the submitted application is expected to take between 8 - 24 months.
"We are very pleased to sign this commercial agreement with Kamada regarding the Israeli market. Kamada is a very reputable company and Zeqmelit™ will complement their product portfolio in allergy. The agreement is a historic and commercial milestone for AcuCort. It is also a confirmation that AcuCort's innovative drug Zeqmelit™ is commercially interesting and attracts partners," says Jonas Jönmark, CEO of AcuCort AB.
In the development of Zeqmelit™, AcuCort has managed to combine the benefits of the well-proven substance dexamethasone and the patented user-friendly oral film for quick availability and relief in emergency situations such as severe and acute allergic reactions.
This information is information that AcuCort AB (publ) is obliged to disclose pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person below, on November 23 2022.


text:
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player...
US Bank has announced it is kicking off a limited trial of its Go Mobile payment service via an NFC-enabled iPhone case. The Go Mobile wireless payment service is initially being rolled out in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Portland, Ore. US Bank customers in either city can visit a bank branch for...
Subscribe to Newsletter
Software Updatesmore updates
- iOS 8.0.1 update now available (Updated -- Don't update!)
- NFL Mobile updated for 2014 Season with new Fantasy Football features, NFL Now integration
- Yahoo Mail improves email inbox searching with new filtering options
- Ember for Mac gains 'hugely-requested' screen recording feature
- Spotify update adds equalizer, refreshed Artist page and more
- Fantastical 2.1 for iOS adds new snooze, search and notification features


text:
NEW YORK -- The nation's top carbonated soft drink manufacturers have bulked up their diet soda lines in time for summer, in a bid to maintain growth during the traditional high season of soda consumption.
Each of the main competitors have added Splenda-sweetened beverages to their lineup. From Coca-Cola there is Diet Coke with Splenda and Coke Zero, two no-calorie products. Splenda also figures prominently in Cadbury Schwepps' revamped Diet 7-Up, as well as Pepsi's relaunched Pepsi One, an alternative to Diet Pepsi.
If last year was any indication, it's going to be a hot summer of competition in the fizz biz, industry analysts said.
"Diet soft drinks drove most of the category's growth [in 2004]," said Michael Bellas, chairman of the Beverage Marketing Corp., based here. "Consumers are increasingly seeking out healthier products."
Such opinions are reflected in the numbers. Last year, diet sodas were largely responsible for propelling the CSD market: Total diet soft drink volume increased 6.4% while the overall CSD market increased only 0.7%. Put another way, regular Coca-Cola dropped by 3.2% during 2004, according to Beverage Marketing, but both Diet Coke and Diet Sprite saw sales jump by 5%.
Chris DeMaio, group director, large-store channel for Coca-Cola Enterprises in Atlanta, said about 35% of CSD consumption is in diet varieties and predicted that in 10 to 12 years, consumption of diet sodas will equal regular sodas.
Indeed, as growth dri-vers, diet sodas have become so important that PepsiCo announced earlier this year that their diet colas are now their flagship beverages, at a time when research shows consumers are looking for healthier options and less sugar, analysts said. Largely, this means they are turning to water and alternatives like diet sodas.
In fact, according to Bill Pecoriello, a beverage industry analyst with Morgan Stanley, New York, 67% of people reported that they try to drink more water because it's healthy and 33% said they don't mind spending more for a healthy beverage.
"People are conscious enough about the calories coming from sugar that there's almost a guilt-factor now associated with drinking full-sugar soda," said Don Montuori, editor of Packaged Facts, a market research report firm, also based here. "Sugar substitutes have gotten so much better that objections to taste have been overcome."
In the coming years, sales of diet beverages are expected to continue to outpace regular CSDs and the gap between the two categories is expected to broaden.
Terry Marks, president, North America for Coca-Cola Enterprises, expected that all categories of beverages will grow in the next three years except for regular soft drinks.
Consumer demographics play a big role in the trend. Diet Coke is aimed more toward an older, female market, said Irial Finan, president of bottling investments and executive vice president of Coca-Cola. Coke Zero is expected to be popular with 18- to 34-year-olds "who want the real cola taste without compromising calories."
Pepsi One is aimed toward people over 40 who prefer the taste and mouth feel of Splenda over other artificial sweeteners, and younger males who aren't comfortable drinking Diet Pepsi, the company said.
Diet soft drink profits are expected to increase by $449 million between 2005 and 2008, outpaced only by energy drinks whose growth is anticipated at $573 million, according to Marks. Regular soft drinks, on the other hand, are only expected to grow profits by $96 million, being outperformed even by sports drinks and juices.
Bottlers have their sights set beyond the summer months, too. Coca-Cola will release a madeover version of its Fresca brand in September. Two new flavors will be added to this zero-calorie line -- Sparkling Peach Citrus and Sparkling Black Cherry Citrus -- to complement the original Sparkling Citrus. All three products will be available in a 12-ounce can with new modernized graphics.
Given all the promotional activity, soda makers are aware that not everything works out the way they want it. Many still recall last year's lukewarm reception of Coke's C2 and Pepsi Edge -- new "mid-cal" offerings that were heavily promoted last summer.


text:
ChatGPT has taken the global classes by storm, as lawyers, bankers, coders, writers, and artists worry about artificial intelligence (AI) taking jobs and different types of bots based on Large Language Model (LLM) technology proliferating in Silicon Valley and beyond.
Just a week ago, tech industry luminaries like Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and more than 10,000 others called for a six-month pause on chat-bot development so humans can assess how dangerous the new AI models might become.
A six-month pause might be all that Baidu needs to catch up with ChatGPT and other American peers. Baidu is China’s leading search engine and — so far — leading AI chat bot developer, having launched its Ernie Bot (文心一言 wénxīn yīyán) on March 16. The company’s founder and CEO Robin Li (李彦宏 Lǐ Yànhóng) recently suggested that the current gap between Ernie Bot and ChatGPT is “maybe two months at most.”
China news, weekly.
Sign up for The China Project’s weekly newsletter, our free roundup of the most important China stories.
Ernie Bot beats expectations, falls short of aspirations
But initially, Baidu’s unveiling of Ernie was a disappointment. It was announced without a live demo nor was there a public release. This led to fears that the product was not ready for market. Indeed, reports leading up to the launch suggested that staff were being worked around the clock and denied leave for Chinese New Year in the scramble to meet the March 16 deadline.
However, since its release, Ernie’s reception from users has been broadly positive. An in-depth post on forum website Zhihu, replete with screenshots from interactions with the model, says that Ernie’s response time is fast — faster than GPT-4 in some instances — and that information storage is also not a problem, enabling previous responses in a conversation to be “remembered.” As for Ernie’s capacity to solve math questions: “Dare I say, this performance is even better than GPT-3.5.”
Nevertheless, while awarding Ernie a score of 65/100, the writer acknowledges a significant lag in comparison with GPT-4, which they would grade 90/100, and says the quality of its responses are often clunky, and that ability to assist in writing code is still rudimentary.
Image generation has another bug: While impressive and a step beyond GPT-4’s capabilities, Ernie appears to translate prompts into English before producing pictures. This is indicative of one of the main issues for Ernie and for Chinese LLMs more generally: the paucity of quality training data.
The big issues facing Ernie Bot
Baidu is China’s largest search engine but it has not functioned as the gateway for internet traffic in the same way that Google has, thanks to WeChat and other online services that are not on the open internet.
Tools such as those provided by Common Crawl, a nonprofit that “crawls” the web to freely provide datasets to the public (and thus to LLMs such as ChatGPT), would not be feasible for China’s siloed internet space, especially in the mobile era, where most data are stored in individual apps and distributed by various app stores.
Furthermore, according to market research firm BAiGUAN, Chinese language training data is inferior to English training data in most domains, including social media content, literature corpora, academic corpora, news data, and Wikipedia data. Indeed, a Peking University professor cited by news outlet Jiemian noted that English content accounts for 60.4% of the top 10 million websites in global rankings, compared with just 1.4% of Chinese content.
Censorship is another concern for Chinese LLMs. The Washington Post, which gained access to Ernie, noted that any sensitive prompts or questions will terminate the conversation, with a button appearing: “Start a new conversation.”
Baidu has no choice but to be cautious: Regulators have already told major Chinese tech companies including Tencent and Ant Group not to offer ChatGPT services to the public; Xiaobing, a chatbot launched in 2014, was soon banned for displaying an “unpatriotic attitude.” Another model, ChatYuan, was suspended within days of its launch.
Censorship is a widespread issue in China, but it is particularly fraught when it comes to LLMs, because their outputs cannot be completely controlled. An inability to have one’s model tested by the public forecloses a significant avenue for improvement — ChatGPT had over 100 million users providing additional data to its model within three months of its launch. As such, there is likely a trade off between these models’ usefulness and the desire for control over content.
Ernie might just be good enough to make money
Within China, GPT-4 is not accessible. As such, Baidu is well placed for the domestic market. Jeffrey Ding, an assistant professor of political science at George Washington University focusing on emerging technologies, told the China Project that Baidu’s first mover advantage here is crucial: “Baidu has been focusing on LLMs for several years. A lot of the work and experience is in the tacit knowledge, the organizational knowledge to make your training runs more efficient. If you haven’t accumulated the technical expertise to build these LLMs, how are you going to create a ChatGPT?”
When it comes to specific applications of LLMs though, perhaps concerns about censorship, or even the broader criticisms leveled at ChatGPT, are largely irrelevant. When I put this to Ding, he agrees: “Maybe you don’t need wide-scale public adoption of LLMs,” he says. “Maybe you only need to commercialize the technology in certain sectors.”
A report from Leonis Capital, a venture capital firm, also supports this point of view, arguing that from a business perspective, the lag in Chinese LLMs makes little difference. According to the report, building vertical-specific models with large amounts of domain data “often make up for the performance gap and usually produce better real-world application results.”
This report points out that open-source models from the West have also enabled Chinese developers to take shortcuts, such as simply adapting existing models to the Chinese context. For example, the image generator Taiyi-Stable Diffusion builds on top of the pre-existing open source model Stable Diffusion, released in August 2022 by the startup Stability AI in collaboration with researchers in Europe and the U.S.
The greater use of video-based marketing also means that there is more focus on creating digital humans and AI avatars, which are used extensively in China’s media, entertainment, and ecommerce sectors.
Besides Baidu, there is a burgeoning sector in China working on these products. Ding sees the technology conglomerate Inspur as Baidu’s closest competitor. Meanwhile, Alibaba’s research division DAMO Academy has released a text-to-video synthesis on the open source platform HuggingFace, but it currently only supports English input. Meituan co-founders Wáng Huìwén 王慧文and Wáng Xìng 王兴 have announced that they are working on a similar project. And veteran investor Kai-Fu Lee (李開復 Lǐ Kāifù) has announced that he is building a new AI company called Project AI 2.0 that will focus on developing ChatGPT-like apps. However, it is unclear when these firms will release products, with little in the way of actual detail among the various announcements so far.
Universities have released models too, such as one from Peking University’s Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI), and Tsinghua’s open source ChatGLM-6B model. However, academic institutions will be hampered by the lack of money to spend on the vast quantities of both computing power and human resources required.
The real dark cloud?
Perhaps the biggest drawback for the industry in China at the moment is more fundamental. Jeffrey Ding notes that cloud computing is a key enabling factor to run LLMs. “If you’re not going to train them yourself and you want to access someone else’s, then cloud computing is key for the diffusion of these models. And cloud computing rates in China, as well as overall digitization rates, are just much lower than in the U.S.” This contrast in technological diffusion for AI more broadly is also underscored in the Stanford report: last year there were 542 newly funded AI companies, compared to only 160 in China.
And when it comes to the U.S.-China competition, cloud computing is coming into focus as a potential issue: most Chinese companies have relied on advanced GPU chips to train their models. However, despite the export controls put in place last October restricting China’s access to these chips, many companies have found a workaround by using offshore cloud computing to train their models instead.
It is unclear whether this access will be maintained, or if the U.S. will tighten restrictions further. And this level of uncertainty is unhelpful for businesses.
But Baidu remains bullish. Robin Li has said that he has full confidence that Baidu Cloud will become China’s leading cloud provider. In fact, he sees cloud computing technology as the most important aspect of the AI technology race.


text:
Who is JUUL, the electronic cigarette that made Marlboro manufacturers invest 12.8 billion
The tobacco industry is facing changes derived from new laws and a new vision of the population, which are putting their future at risk. Given this, many companies are looking to change their strategy to focus on technology, which in theory would ensure its survival.
The biggest and clearest example of this was in December 2018, when the Altria Group, owners of Philip Morris USA and makers of Marlboro cigarettes, made a tremendous $ 12.8 billion investment in JUUL, a relatively young company that is causing a lot of noise thanks to its interesting technological / social focus within electronic cigarettes.
Ok, who or what is JUUL?
JUUL is an electronic cigarette that was born in 2015 as a project of the American PAX Labs. In 2017, and after seeking a change in the marketing strategy, JUUL becomes an independent company that focuses on the manufacture of this peculiar electronic cigarette .
JUUL's approach is to try to offer a cigarette that does not look like the rest of the cigarettes, since its design is very similar to a USB memory. In fact, its charging system is based on a small USB magnetic base that can be connected to any port or plug with the use of an adapter.
That technological approach, supported by an attractive design, made JUUL become the most popular electronic cigarette in the United States in late 2017. Until September 2019, JUUL had a market share of 75%, the largest for a brand in the country.Today, JUUL owns 75% of the electronic cigarette market in the US, the largest in the country.
This cigarette is made in Shenzhen, China, while its cartridges or 'JUULpods', which are the adapters that offer the flavor, are made in the United States. According to the company, the key flavor ingredient in JUUL lies in small amounts of nicotine salts extracted from the tobacco leaf, making it "healthier than consuming a 'normal' cigarette."
The company started with 200 employees and today they already have more than 1,500. Its marketing began in the United States and today they already market their products in countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, Ireland and the Philippines.
According to the company, each cartridge offers up to 200 vapes and only contains 5% nicotine, which is equivalent to 59 mg / ml. JUUL markets its 'pods' in eight different flavors, Virginia Tobacco, Classic Tobacco, Mint, Menthol, Creme, Fruit, Cucumber and Mango. Here it should be noted that for the moment the company has decided to withdraw the 'pods' of flavors due to the recent controversy of the "vaping disease".
JUUL's price starts at $ 35 for a single cigarette, or $ 50 for a kit that includes the cigarette and four cartridges. While the 'pods' are priced from $ 16, in a package that includes four cartridges of the same flavor.
Being the most popular electronic cigarette in the United States comes with consequences, as this has led to a great deal of research by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), which has resulted in changes in laws. and restrictions for its sale.
This is due to a growing participation of adolescents in this vaping market, which has served to increase the popularity of JUUL, but also its problems. For example, the company had to close its social networks and change all its advertising; You are no longer authorized to sell flavor pods in physical stores, which is only limited to your online store; and those who want to buy online, and must demonstrate by means of an identification and social security number that they are over 21 years old.
The old wolf disguises itself as a sheep
As I mentioned, being the most popular electronic cigarette in the world brings its advantages and disadvantages. Today, JUUL is valued at $ 38 billion and confirmed that the Altria Group will make a capital injection of $ 12.8 billion, in exchange for a 35% stake in the company.
This announcement brought with it a series of criticisms of JUUL, who in the end, after handling a speech against the tobacco industry, decided to yield to pressure. However, Kevin Burns, CEO of JUUL, has come to clarify that this move will bring a number of benefits for both his company and the company that owns Philip Morris.
Some of the brands owned by Altria Group.
"We understand the controversy and skepticism associated with affiliation and association with the largest tobacco company in the US. We too were skeptical. But over the past few months we were convinced by the actions, not the words, of that in fact this partnership could help accelerate our success in changing adult smokers. We understand all the uncertainty. We had it, too. "
According to JUUL, this agreement will only allow Altria Group to have a 35% stake in the company, no more, at least for the time being. While JUUL will have access to the entire Altria database and distribution network, with which they will seek to reach a greater number of possible consumers.
On the other hand, JUUL will have a space next to Altria products in retail stores, which today are more than 230,000 chains, which also includes the entire sales force and access to the design and advertising area.
On the side of Altria, who in recent years has made interesting strategic moves, including the acquisition of a 45% stake in the Cronos company, focused on cannabis products. As well as the closure of its own e-cigarette division, including all MarkTen and Green Smoke products, and VERVE oral nicotine products.
Given this, it seems that Altria is betting everything on JUUL, who they see as their savior to stay in business, since the majority of their consumers are turning to the electronic side. In other words, Altria wants to keep its customers, only now it will be through a new product, which is not just any, since it is the fashionable electronic cigarette, the one that has the most consumers and the one that due to the prohibitions has been become the object of adolescent desire.
JUUL before the "vaping disease"
During the month of August of this 2019, alerts were fired after the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed the presence of a mysterious lung disease that seems to be related to the use of electronic cigarettes. This has led to the hospitalization of more than 600 people and the death of at least 30.
Early research points to vitamin E acetate. But while research continues, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recalled some products and banned the use of others, such as flavor capsules.
Since then, JUUL has been bogged down in new regulations and legal discussions against vaping, although JUUL is not being specifically held accountable. The focus is on flavored vaping variants, which they claim drives their use in minors and supposedly makes a new generation addicted to nicotine.
This caused a drop in sales and the appreciation of JUUL, as well as the dismissal of its CEO. Even Altria seeks to reduce its investment in the company by 4.5 billion dollars, this due to the controversy surrounding the company, which, even before the mysterious diseases, had a promising future in sight.
A few days ago, Juul presented plans for a restructuring, where a reduction of between 10 and 15% in its workforce is expected, as well as the dismissal of several high-ranking executives, such as its chief financial officer.With updated information as of December 2019.


text:
Conject CEO Ralf Händl regards his company as the European market leader and is anticipating further consolidation in the SaaS collaboration market as a result of BIM adoption.
After Anglo/German SaaS technology provider Conject finally entered the BIM race last month, I got chance this week to meet Conject Group CEO Ralf Händl face to face. Ralf officially took over as Conject CEO at the beginning of 2014 after Colin Smith stepped down from the role (later taking up a new position at Textura).
Besides being leader of a German-owned company, Ralf has extensive knowledge of the global construction and real estate industries, having served in overseas roles for Stuttgart-based consultancy Drees & Sommer, and holding international executive board and management positions in German construction companies Bauer, Walter Bau and Bilfinger & Berger. A long-time Conject shareholder, he has also worked as a Conject consultant assisting with its international expansion.
SaaS and mobile trends
This has not always been easy; Ralf believes the drive for greater SaaS adoption in construction and real estate was hampered by the global financial crisis in the late 2000s, but now the global economy is growing again, he feels construction is beginning to catch up with SaaS and mobile trends evident in other sectors. In his view, larger businesses were initially more comfortable with SaaS solutions than small or medium-sized companies, but now the rest of the sector is beginning to change.
Following Conject’s acquisition of mobile construction solutions developer Wapp6 (announced in January 2014), the business has been focused on assimilating its mobile expertise into existing solutions and markets, Ralf said. Rebranded as ConjectMI, this was launched in the UK in May 2014, and the mobile capability is now available in English, French, German and Russian language editions, with consultancy support also being extended. Integration of ConjectMI into the group’s solutions had, however, briefly delayed development of the company’s SaaS FM solution and its BIM capabilities, Ralf explained.
BIM and beyond
We briefly reviewed Conject’s BIM initiative (covered more extensively in my March post). Interest in BIM is growing rapidly in Germany and France, Ralf said. Some companies (Hochtief was mentioned) were pushing ahead of the rest, and BIM adoption was further advanced in sectors such as civil engineering. However, he sees the UK as two to three years ahead of mainland Europe countries, so Conject’s UK team will be leading the company’s BIM developments. He sees this as critical to the company’s future success.
“BIM requires significant investment in R&D by collaboration vendors. There may only be five, maybe 10, SaaS businesses with strong BIM capabilities as a result of consolidation in the market, and clients will want one-stop shops for their data. At the moment, there are too many breaks in the chain from delivery to FM.”
Ralf sees Conject as “the market leader and major player in SaaS collaboration” in Europe, with strong adoption in all major regions. He said Conject UK sales had been booming since mid 2014; adoption in France was also growing and the business had identified significant opportunities to grow further there; and the German market was strong, with Conject’s position strengthened by some consolidation among major customers [the Group will be announcing its results soon – to be covered in a future post]. Austria, Poland and Russia were also strongholds for Conject, he said, although currency fluctuations had affected margins in their Russian business. The company had also won projects in Italy and Switzerland, and its Duisberg office was well placed to help it serve customers in Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg.
Outside Europe, Conject claims strong growth in the Middle East and Asia/Pacific, winning substantial projects in these regions. Ralf had recently visited Conject’s offices in Dubai (“now in complete recovery – it’s as though there had never been a financial crisis – and we are winning work across the whole Middle East”) and Singapore. Despite having some projects in the United States, this is not a priority market for Conject:
“We’ve watched Aconex and Asite try their hand in America, and it’s clear that you can’t compete in that market by organic growth. It needs a substantial acquisition of a business with operations across several states to have an impact there.”
We talked briefly about Aconex’s IPO, Viewpoint’s 2013 acquisition of 4Projects and other deals in the sector – including Trimble’s acquisition of Gehry Technologies, Bentley’s purchase of EADOC, RIB’s ProjectCentre and Docia deals and Business Collaborator’s MBO – plus the closure of some smaller players such as Cadweb and Woobius, confirming Ralf’s view of market consolidation. He regards Conject as an attractive partner to customers with strong operations in Europe, or who want to add strong SaaS technologies that complement their existing solutions, but also said Conject were looking at some acquisitions of their own.


text:
Google has set up a new subpage on the Android website that is aimed at users of Apple devices with the slogan Get the Message. Because when communicating with Android devices, Apple will continue to rely on SMS and […]
The long-awaited mixed reality headset with features for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) is slowly taking shape. In the meantime, the well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also indicated the possible [...]
With the announced delay, but at least you get the Sir Apfelot newsreel for calendar week 28 of the year 2022 this Sunday. It contains the Apple and tech news that I received over the course of the week.
Hello dear readers of the Sir Apfelot blog, since I'm treating myself to a few days of vacation, the overview of the Apple and tech news that particularly caught my eye this week is appearing late. Instead of today’s Friday […]


text:
For more than a decade, the eRUPPtion zone has given Kentucky a unique home-court advantage in Rupp Arena. UK students have made it their home, but it hasn't always been that way. Here's the story of John Astle, the first fan to ever set foot in the eRUPPtion Zone.
Video: Story of the eRUPPtion Zone's first fan
TrackBack URL: http://cstv.collegesports.com/mt5.2/mt-tb.cgi/49787


text:
19 April 2019
From the look of the things, the BlackBerry License Alcatel is allegedly getting ready to announce another BlackBerry branded phone. One of the BlackBerry forum member 'Thurask' found a model number of the new phone in the Blackberry DTEK app latest build. As per the report, the upcoming BlackBerry phone model number is BBI100 and the codename is 'Adula'.
Unfortunately, other details regarding the Adula are still in the dark. However, we can expect more details will pop-up in the coming days. Considering the device spotted in the DTEK App, we can expect it will be manufactured by TCL. One of the members suggested the device could be announced as Aurora 2. However, nothing is confirmed as it is too early to predict what the company is cooking inside.
This year won't be easy for BlackBerry as the competition is growing more than ever that's why this year will be quite tough for BlackBerry phones. We can expect more detail regarding the BlackBerry Adual will appear in coming days. Stay tuned, we will keep you updated.


text:
A feasibility study carried out by Less Common Metals (LCM) has confirmed that it is feasible to establish a rare earth per-manent magnet production facility in the UK to service the UK market, however, it must be under the right conditions.
In 2019 LCM was awarded funding, guided through the Ad-vanced Propulsion Centre (APC) as part of the Automotive Transformation Fund, to conduct a feasibility study to identify the requirements for a fully integrated supply chain for Rare Earth Permanent Magnet production in the UK.
After this study finished, LCM was awarded funding by UK Government on a second occasion to develop a detailed scope for a rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing facility in the UK. The focus has been on innovation and the study inves-tigated market opportunities, location, size of a magnet plant, amount of feed required, health and safety, environmental impacts, local community, and employment.
Rare earth-based permanent magnets are the most powerful mag-nets commercially available and find use in many key applications such as electric vehicles, wind power, low-energy pumps, and chemical couplings. The rare earths required for such magnets are critical materials and the current overdependence on China for supply gives huge strategic vulnerabilities.
Research carried out via the feasibility study has determined that an operational market could be established as early as 2025. Even more so, the market could create up to 170 jobs in the local area.
A UK magnet plant would need to service both automotive and wind turbines to be a success economically.
New legislation would need to be put in place to ensure a min-imum of 50% of UK-produced magnets are integrated into products manufactured within the country. Implementing this legislation will help manufacturers transition to support local businesses and help to diversify the supply chain away from China. In addition, a stable and secure supply of raw material feed independent from China will also be required to create an end-to-end supply chain.
Above all else, UK Government support is critical, and LCM has identified ways in which the Government can support such a market including a supportive approach to permitting, access to low-carbon competitively priced electricity in the UK and options for rebates to ensure the UK supply chain remains viable through times of low market prices.
LCM is continuously searching for ways to secure a sustainable and independent supply chain. To keep up to date, follow its LinkedIn page: Less Common Metals Limited.


text:
A member of the Cadbury family plans to launch a rival chocolate company in protest at her family’s business being sold to Kraft.
Felicity Loudon, whose great-great-grandfather John Cadbury founded the business in Bournville in 1824, said: “I can’t accept that Cadbury has gone to a plastic cheese company.”
Now the 61-year-old plans to sell her £27million estate in Oxfordshire in order to pursue the family tradition of chocolate-making.
It comes five months after Cadbury shareholders backed the £11.9 billion deal with the American food giant, which produces Dairylea.
“It’s been the worst-handled takeover of all time,” said interior designer Ms Loudon.
“My great-grandfather George would be spinning in his grave.
“I’ve got so many things I want to do and one of them is to make chocolate. I’ve been talking to wonderful chocolate gurus.”
But she will be unable to use the Cadbury name as it is now protected by trademark law for Kraft to use. Ms Loudon admitted she regretted not taking up an invitation from former Business Secretary Lord Mandelson to discuss a strategy to fend off the Kraft bid before the deal was sealed.
She lives in the manor house, which has 100 acres and dates from 1746, with her second husband, John, aged 74.
Ms Loudon said she had told her husband she did not want to “retire and lounge around the indoor pool”.
“I want to make chocolate and I’m jolly well going to do it,” she added.


text:
Hero Electric, an Electric scooter manufacturer has announced that it has raised Rs 2.2 billion in its Series B funding (Part 1). The funding round was led by Gulf Islamic Investments and OAKS Asset Management, which was formerly known as Alpha Capital. OAKS Asset Management is Hero Electric’s existing investor as well.
According to the company, the fund raised will be utilised to expand its production capacity, consolidate its position in the market, invest in new technologies, and increase its footprints across countries. The company also plans to build manufacturing facilities going forward to double its sales.


text:
Click to learn more about author Dean Gonsowski.
We’re in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This revolution, also referred to as 4IR or Industry 4.0, is changing how we live, work, and relate to each other. According to Bernard Marr, a strategic technology advisor, this revolution “represents the combination of cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, and the Internet of Systems.”
In a 2016 article, Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, wrote:
“When compared with previous industrial revolutions, the Fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace. Moreover, it is disrupting almost every industry in every country. And the breadth and depth of these changes herald the transformation of entire systems of production, management, and governance.”
With digital transformation happening at breakneck speed, companies are creating and collecting more data than ever to accelerate their operational efficiencies and company growth.
More Data, More Management
As technologies such as GPS, AI, and blockchain become increasingly prevalent in our lives, consumer expectations are also changing rapidly. A global study from Salesforce found that customer trust is increasingly important, which, when combined with the increased proliferation of data privacy laws, is putting immense pressure on companies to secure and protect the massive amounts of personal data they collect daily.
The vast amount of data available today is both a risk and a liability. While consumers are still happy to hand over personal information for personalized experiences, they also want reassurance that their data is being handled with care. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff calls this potential exchange a “crisis of trust.”
Consumers are starting to ask more questions about how their data is being handled — from how it’s collected to where it’s stored and for how long. Privacy laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have given consumers several rights over their data, including the right to erasure, data portability, and rectification. According to Gartner, “Unlike many regulatory standards, modern privacy laws demand a fundamental transformation in how personal data is managed and cannot be dismissed with a narrow checkbox mentality.”
With privacy obligations increasing, an organization’s inherent bias to keep and process everything is proving to be an increasingly risky practice. According to a report by PwC, only 51 percent of private-sector companies have an accurate inventory of where personal data for employees or consumers is collected and stored. Understanding how data moves through your organization is a requirement to being able to secure and protect it — after all — how can you manage what you don’t know you have?
Automated Data Mapping
Protecting personal information is hard. It’s spread out across numerous, often unknown, databases, repositories, and environments.
Data mapping is the starting point for any cyber and privacy framework implementation. It helps provide organizations with an accurate picture of what data they hold, where it is located, when it’s transferred, and who has access to it. The sheer volume of information flowing throughout an enterprise makes manual data mapping — the process of discovering and classifying data — incredibly difficult, not to mention time-consuming and potentially fraught with error.
Like bloatware led to SaaS, the non-stop proliferation of data creation has led to the creation of a new category: Data Mapping as a Service or “DMaaS.” Data mapping exercises have been attempted for decades but were always fraught with instant obsolescence since they were based upon snapshots in time and custodian interviews. DMaaS transforms the way data professionals manage their data universe with automated, always-on, actionable data mapping.
Protect and Manage Your Data
Discovering, classifying, and protecting data is no small undertaking, but with privacy a growing competitive differentiator, automation can help to lighten the burden. A data mapping exercise is not a “one-off” activity. A data map needs to be evergreen and accurate to ensure compliance with regulations such as Article 30 of the GDPR, which requires that “every data controller and data processor is required to keep a record of their processing activities, including the purpose, a description of the data subjects’ categories, information about whether personal data was transferred to a third party, and details of any appropriate data safeguards in place.”
Data privacy goes hand-in-hand with security, and it all starts by understanding the full extent of your data universe, facilitated by a data map. There are significant business benefits to investing in data privacy, including lower losses from data breaches, operational efficiencies, and consumer trust.
SaaS is the natural evolution of software. DMaaS is the natural evolution of data mapping.


text:
|Bid||47.22 x 1300|
|Ask||50.00 x 1000|
|Day's Range||45.77 - 47.40|
|52 Week Range||36.90 - 90.92|
|Beta (5Y Monthly)||0.07|
|PE Ratio (TTM)||100.85|
|Earnings Date||Apr 11, 2022 - Apr 15, 2022|
|Forward Dividend & Yield||0.24 (0.49%)|
|Ex-Dividend Date||Oct 22, 2021|
|1y Target Est||59.25|
Investment company FourThought Financial, LLC (Current Portfolio) buys Northrop Grumman Corp, Lockheed Martin Corp, Xcel Energy Inc, AbbVie Inc, DocuSign Inc, sells AT&T Inc, L3Harris Technologies Inc, Nike Inc, Southwest Airlines Co, Alphabet Inc during the 3-months ended 2021Q4, according to the most recent filings of the investment company, FourThought Financial, LLC.
LANCASTER, Calif., January 13, 2022--Simulations Plus announced that a new funded collaboration will enhance GastroPlus to support veterinary medicine and alternatives to animal testing.
LANCASTER, Calif., January 12, 2022--Simulations Plus CEO Shawn O'Connor will be presenting and meeting investors at the virtual Sidoti Winter Small Cap Investor Conference, Jan. 19-20.


text:
Here's another bit of info that everyone might want to listen to:
I was talking to a guy the other day who knows a lady who has a company that makes solar panels. She said that China has gotten into the solar biz bigtime and in about a year and a half the price of panels will drop to half what they are now. This is really gonna hurt U.S. producers if they produce here. I'd guess that the Chinese companies are subsized more than ours too. This globalization thing is killing us in so many ways. There's a giant sucking sound eminating from developing countries and the straw reaches here. There's little we can do about it. We're screwed. Harbor Freight may sell crap but that doesn't mean everything China produces is crap. It's getting tougher and tougher to stay in business in America and to do it in a responsible manner. We could lessen environmental regulations and beurocracy but somehow I don't think that's the problem. There are stronger fundamentals at work here.
I think Rocky is in the solar biz. What say you coRky


text:
All your Sports Tech news in one place, covering topics like AR/VR, Data Analytics, eSports, Live Streaming, Sports Betting, Wearables, etc.
Hey Sports Tech Fans!
It seems like every week has similar news stories with streaming, betting and eSports dominating the trends of 2019. The Drum has the top 5 Sports Marketing Trends below, will the trends we have seen match up over there?
Smart Scarves have been launched in La Liga, with Real Sociedad allowing fans ticketless entry among other things.
The podcast of the week is from Bloomberg where they discuss the NBA draft and Fox & ESPN plans to integrate gambling into their TV broadcasts. It is the last story below.
The football scarf has been a vital part of fans’ match day attire since the early 1900s, not only did it become popular because it can keep you warm on a cold Tuesday night in Stoke, it has helped create unrivalled displays of passion inside football grounds all over the world and helps supporters show
The sports-focused streaming service fuboTV will soon follow the rest of the industry by offering its own free and ad-supported streaming channel, in addition to its paid subscription, sometime later this year. The news was exclusively shared with The Wrap (paywalled) in an interview with fuboTV co-founder and CEO David Gandler. FuboTV confirmed the accuracy […]
Once, big-name sponsorship deals were enough to satisfy sports marketers. But amid a saturation of advertising and proliferation of new channels, fresh opportunities are arising for brands and clubs alike to cultivate deeper relationships with fans.
At yesterday’s Pay TV Show in Denver, Joe Markowski, EVP North America of DAZN , said the service is “on the positive side” of 4 million subscribers around the world. The company is currently available …
REPORTING FROM OAKLAND: A partnership between Google and the Golden State Warriors, on display during the NBA Playoffs, is part of a growing convergence of tech and pro sports in the Bay Area — offering a potential glimpse of what’s to come in Seattle.
Fox Corp. and Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN are entering the world of sports betting – and gaining notice as media companies look at new ways to build viewership in a world of declining pay-TV subscribers. But the real winners may prove to be regional gaming companies.
Scott Soshnick, Michael Barr and Eben Novy-Williams discuss a host of issues related to the business of sports, including ESPN’s new partnership with casino giant Caesars Entertainment. The Walt Disney Co. unit will build a studio at a Caesars location in Las Vegas and beef up it’s gambling related content. ESPN’s plans differ from that of Murdoch Family-owned Fox Corp., which last week bought an equity stake in a gambling operator and is launching its own gambling platform this fall. Also discu


text:
Bigger Ondangwa Trade Exhibition
Another year of successful trading and exhibiting took place at the Ondangwa Trade and Industrial Exhibition held last week. This year the event was visited by a larger audience compared to previous years, and it had over 250 exhibitors who showcased a variety of services and products. Some of the major highlights of the event, was the visit of the Ondonga King, Elifas Kauluma from the community in Olukonda, and the much-anticipated cattle auction by exhibitors. At the official opening ceremony on Tuesday, 29 April, President Hifikepunye Pohamba stated that the event had experienced remarkable benefits from past exhibitions and that it had grown each year, attracting an ever larger number of exhibitors and spectators. Pohamba commended the organisers and said their efforts undoubtedly bear all the hallmarks of visionary and dedicated leadership, which must be applauded. It was his hope that the Exhibition would steer the organisers, exhibitors, visitors and the entire spectrum of stakeholders to make use of the platform to think, plan and act with innovation. The President stated that he was further informed that the organizers expect the number to grow substantially, as a lot of improvements were made with regard to the intensified marketing strategies and the programme, which amongst others include a livestock auction, a boxing bonanza and the Day of the Majesty the King and His Council of Headmen, where the royal establishment history of the area is narrated.
“Exhibitions such as these can be used as opportunities for various businesses to showcase and inform the public and prospective investors of their services offered and the goods they produce. While the initiative is commendable for its contribution towards local economic development, trade and investment and community development at large, the industry should be encouraged to develop and enforce a regulatory framework to add more value and to ensure that standards are maintained,” stated the President. He added that the government will continue to support events of this nature to create awareness of the importance of the country’s domestic market. Additionally, he said that mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that local businesses especially SMEs have access to public tenders for the provision of services and implementation of government-funded development projects. “Our target is entrepreneurial youth, women and men who have been deterred from starting new businesses due to a lack of collateral and access to finance. The government, through the Ministry of Trade and Industry has adopted the concept of “growth at home” as an economic strategy. This strategy aims at diversifying the economy and encouraging local value addition and manufacturing,” he said. He also mentioned other interventions by the government such as the Business Site and premises Development Programme; which gives affordable sites and oremises to SMEs, the Business Support Service Programme, where business plans and feasibility studies are developed, as well as entrepreneur training and mentorship services. The Export Market Assistance Programme (EMAP) is designed to promote growth of trade and to enable exporting manufacturers to be competitive. Finally, the Equipment Aid Scheme assists SMEs to acquire appropriate production technology in the form of equipment and machinery to compete for tenders and to improve their productivity.


text:
After keeping it restricted to a number of selected countries for approximately 6 months, Facebook is finally ready to launch the stripped version of its Android app to the entire world. Facebook Lite occupies less than 1MB of storage space and speeds up navigation by downloading images in a lower quality and employing various other free. The app is completely free and only works on smartphones powered by Android. The company refused to offer any information about when or if the application becomes on other mobile operating systems.
If you are wondering why this is important, then you're clearly one of those people blessed with a high-end smartphone and a good Internet connection. Over the years Facebook's app has kept expanding its functionality and adding feature after feature so that it can hang up there with the best. However, the downside is that those who own low-end devices or have poor connectivity issues can no longer conveniently use it. This is why the company has decided to create a stripped down version of the app called Facebook Lite which they launched in developing countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam, Nigeria and Nepal.
At the moment, Facebook Lite is rolling out in countries from the Asia while other regions like Africa, South America and Europe will follow over the next few weeks.


text:
In response to U.S. President Donald Trumps plans to put tariffs on Chinese goods, the Chinese government is proposing tariffs on three billion dollars of U-S products and commodities.
That includes wine, which would be hit with a 15-percent tariff.
CGTN’s Mark Niu heads to California’s Napa Valley for reaction.
At tasting rooms in California’s Napa Valley, customers enjoy some of the best wine produced in the United States.
Upon hearing news that China could slap tariffs on California wines, some expressed concern about a possible trade war with this country’s biggest trading partner.
“China’s a big emerging market for California wine and everything is related whether it’s steel products or aluminum,” said wine enthusiast Ryan Bjorkquist. “Everything does have a cause and effect. So whether it’s electronics or wine, an emerging trade war…I don’t think is good for anybody.”
“The Chinese market—they can buy wine from Europe, they can buy the wine from South America, they can buy wine from the United States,” said wine drinker Angela Dilaura. “There are a lot of options and in this type of global economy it’s important that the United States remains competitive.”
Napa Valley is the most famous winemaking region in the United States. It’s composed of 225,000 acres of land and responsible for just 4% of the total volume of California Wine. But it produces about a third of the total value.
“We’re at the top of the luxury pyramid. And there’s not that much production, so not that many consumers. So, every time you go up in price, there’s fewer and fewer people that are able to afford those products,” said Michael Honig, President of Honig Vineyard and Winery.
Honig is a third generation family vineyard.
It was also one of the first to enter the China market more than a decade ago.
Since then, Michael Honig and his team have increased exports to China tenfold.
He’s also seen an increase in Chinese tourists coming to his tasting room and ordering bottles to be shipped back home to China through the delivery service Gliding Eagle.
The tariffs would make that pricier too.
“If I sell something for a dollar, by the time it reaches the port in China it’s marked up 50 cents, so it’s $1.50. The new price would go to $1.65,” said Honig. “Now you have countries… a great example is Australia, which next year in 2019, their tariffs and duties go down to zero. So we are trying to compete not only with other California producers, but wineries from around the world.”
Currently only about three to four percent of Honig’s wine are exported to China.
But as Napa Valley growers aim for a bigger share of China’s growing wine market, they only hope U.S. tariffs do not get in the way.


text:
Norden reshuffles fleet, bolsters focus on dry bulk
Danish shipping company Norden has seized on the market opportunities to increase its presence in the dry bulk cargo market while shifting away from its exposure in the tanker segment.
In line with the startegy, the company’s Asset Management division has sold two Handysize tankers, Nord Bell and Nord Hummock, and bought three kamsarmaxes.
The newly purchased fleet additions are expected for delivery in the second half of the year.
Norden added that it has also entered into agreement to lease a further seven dry cargo vessels with period and purchase options.
In total since the beginning of 2020, the company’s Asset Management division has entered into agreements for 33 owned and leased dry cargo vessels.
“Our switch of exposure from tankers to dry cargo has been well-timed,” said CEO Jan Rindbo.
“The tanker market is still challenged by low oil demand due to the pandemic; while the dry cargo market is extremely strong and we see this trend continuing during the year.”
At the same time, another dry cargo vessel, Nord Stellar, has been sold, after being purchased by Norden in December.
The vessel has only just been delivered to the company and will undertake one voyage under the Norden flag before being delivered to new owners.
“The sale of Nord Stellar is not an indication of our loss of faith in the dry cargo market, but rather an example of a fantastic asset trading opportunity,” explains Henrik Lykkegaard Madsen, Head of Asset Management.
“The strong dry cargo market and rising asset prices enabled us to generate a great return on this ship during our very short period of ownership. In Asset Management we continually look for such opportunities to capitalise on market developments.”


text:
Mobile phones scam: Rs 800m loss caused to national exchequer
KARACHI (92 News) – A loss amounting to Rs 800 million has been caused to the national exchequer, it was revealed during investigations into the mobile phones scandal.
The investigators have also sought particulars of the mobile phone company.
They said that the loss of Rs 800 million has been caused under the head of duty by smuggling 31,000 mobile phones.
Three cases have been registered and a few arrests made so far.