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Latest Galaxy S10 sales report is music to Samsung's ears amid Galaxy Fold controversy
Pretty much all the early excitement surrounding the radical new Galaxy Fold has crumbled before Samsung's eyes ahead of the actual launch of the world's first mainstream foldable device, but fortunately for the global mobile industry leader, the Galaxy S10 lineup is doing fine.
Although the company's mass-oriented high-enders are obviously not without their flaws, Counterpoint Research is proclaiming last month's US commercial debut as successful based on data gathered in a new weekly smartphone model tracker. While the specific sales numbers of the S10, S10+, and S10e remain under wraps, the market research firm claims these have surpassed the first week results of the Galaxy S9 series in the always important US region by a solid 16 percent.
The Galaxy S10e is making a big difference, but the S10+ is the star of the show
The S10e is a hit
For the first time in the history of the Galaxy S family, Samsung has simultaneously released three main variants of its latest flagship (no, Active models from back in the day don't count). This fragmented strategy seemed like a gamble... until we reviewed the "entry-level" Galaxy S10e version. The flat-screened 5.8-incher crushes the "affordable" iPhone XR in many aspects, providing excellent bang for your buck and essentially proving the deciding factor in the jump of S10 sales compared to S9 numbers.
In fact, the combined first week (March 8 to 14) scores of the Galaxy S10 and S10+ stateside are reportedly "similar" to those of the S9 and S9+ racked up between March 16 and 22, 2018. That also means the Galaxy S10e is not selling quite as well as its swankier siblings, although perhaps the most encouraging news for Samsung is that it doesn't appear to be "cannibalizing" the Galaxy S8 and S9 either.
The Galaxy S10+ is Samsung's most popular new flagship variant
Instead, the company is gaining market share thanks to the S10e, S10, and especially the S10+. The largest, most impressive, and priciest of the three models accounted for 50 percent of the lineup's volumes during its first seven days of availability, which is certainly good for profits.
Can Samsung beat Apple for first place in the US?
The short answer to that question is absolutely not... as far as yearly shipments are concerned. But Samsung did get incredibly close to claiming the top spot in the US market for the months of May and June 2018. As such, if the Galaxy S10 trio continues to prove more popular than the S9 duo, there's a good chance Apple will have to yield the crown soon... only to no doubt recover it when the first triple camera iPhones are released in the fall.
Keep in mind that Samsung last toppled Apple way back in June 2017 stateside, so if the S10 can help its makers pull off that feat again, even for a single month, it's going to be a momentous occasion. After all, as Counterpoint Research explains, the "majority" of Samsung's "premium" smartphones are still sold in the US, making it one of the most crucial markets in the world for the company's financial stability.
Of course, we probably shouldn't jump to conclusions based only on one week of sales. Then again, the Galaxy S10 series is reportedly "on track" to reach 40 million unit shipments around the world by the end of 2019. While there are no official Galaxy S9 numbers to compare that forecast with, hitting the 40 mil target would most likely improve on last year's Samsung flagship performance.
By the way, the S10, S10+, and S10e have gotten off to strong starts in multiple key regions according to previous reports, including the UK, China, and Brazil, but oddly enough, not in Korea.
Things that are NOT allowed:


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The MLLP will present their recent work and the UPV poliTrans service for automatic multilingual subtitling at the European MOOCs Stakeholders Summit EMOOCs 2017 (Leganés, Spain, 22–26 May 2017). The presentation will take place in the Business Track’s session “Automated translation”.
Universitat Politècnica de València announced on 3 February the launch of poliTrans, its new MLLP-powered service for automatic video transcription and translation, now available for use by any interested university or organization. See here how the press in Spain covered the poliTrans launch.
The MLLP presented their recent work and the new UPV poliTrans service at the Opencast Community Summit 2017 (València, 1–3 March 2017). Read here all about it, and watch the video of the presentation if you missed it!
Universitat Politècnica de València has just launched poliTrans, its new service for automatic video transcription and translation. Powered by MLLP technology, this new service is now available for use by any interested university or organization.

domain: news


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A new exhibition dedicated to reducing waste in the food and drink industry will launch in 2015.
Waste-Works will take place at ExCeL London on 22-25 March alongside IFE, the international food & drink event, and Pro2Pac, the food and drink sector packaging event.
Corby Ganesh, event director at show organiser Fresh Montgomery, said: "We are launching Waste-Works to provide the food and drink industry with the knowledge and solutions to continue the progress already being made in reducing waste.
"There are thousands of small to medium food businesses in the UK that have a genuine interest in reducing the waste they produce and improving efficiency, but don't know where to start."
For more information visit www.waste-works.com


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As our lives become increasingly digital at home and at work, Microsoft wants to make sure users have the proper privacy, security and control of their data. The company is actively collaborating with the Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Credentials Community Group to provide an Decentralized Identity (DID) solution, standards and an interoperable ecosystem for developers and businesses.
“Today we use our digital identity at work, at home, and across every app, service, and device we engage with. It’s made up of everything we say, do, and experience in our lives—purchasing tickets for an event, checking into a hotel, or even ordering lunch. Currently, our identity and all our digital interactions are owned and controlled by other parties, some of whom we aren’t even aware of,” the company wrote in a white paper.
According to the company, a standards-based decentralized identity system can enable users to take control of their data, provide a digital hub to store and access their digital identities, and provide stronger trust and security across apps, devices and service providers.
Microsoft has been working on this solution for the past 18 months, using technologies like blockchain and distributed ledgers.
For users, Microsoft explained the benefits will include ability to own and control digital identity, provide secure experiences and enable user-centric apps and services. For developers, the solution will enable them to provide personalized experiences, better respect privacy, and promote a new kind of marketplace “where creators and consumers exchange directly.” Organizations will be able to utilize the solution to minimize privacy and security risks, provide a unified data protocol, and improve transparency and auditability.
“To achieve this vision, we need to augment existing cloud identity systems with one that individuals, organizations, and devices can own so they can control their digital identity and data. This self-owned identity must seamlessly integrate into our daily lives, providing complete control over what we share and with whom we share it, and—when necessary—provide the ability to take it back. Instead of granting broad consent to countless apps and services and spreading their identity data across numerous providers, individuals need a secure, encrypted digital hub where they can store their identity data and easily control access to it,” Microsoft wrote.
As part of the company’s partnership with DID and W3C, it will provide a open-source DID implementation that will “establish a unified, interoperable ecosystem that developers and businesses can rely on to build a new wave of products, applications, and services that put users in control.”


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The Volkswagen Group denies a new report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that drags Porsche and Audi, two of its most profitable brands, into the enormous emissions cheating scandal the German automaker has admitted to in September.
The latest report says at least 10,000 vehicles in the United States with a 3-liter diesel engine are also equipped with software that can cheat emissions tests. The number, however, could still go higher if the same software is found in the same models sold in other markets. The new models affected include the 2014 Volkswagen Touareg, the 2015 Porsche Cayenne, and the 2016 models of the Audi A6 Quattro, Audi A7 Quattro, Audi A8 and Audi Q5.
Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, says the luxury vehicles caught in the scandalous web are fitted with software that automatically turns on "temperature conditioning mode" when it detects that the vehicle is about to undergo testing. In this mode, the higher temperatures warm up the catalytic converter, allowing the vehicles to pass the stringent emissions tests in the U.S. However, they immediately go back to "normal mode" just one second after testing, says Giles.
"We have clear evidence of these additional violations and we thought it was important to put Volkswagen on notice and to inform the public," Giles says.
The affected vehicles, which are alleged to emit nine times more nitrogen oxide than prescribed levels in the U.S., could net Volkswagen another $375 million in fines for violating the Clean Air Act, on top of the $18 billion the automaker already faces for admitting rigging emissions test results in 11 million of its vehicles, including several models of the Jetta, Passat, Golf and Beetle.
Volkswagen spokesperson Mario Guerreiro, however, says no cheat device has been installed in the newer vehicles, without fully categorically denying the finding.
"Volkswagen AG wishes to emphasize that no software has been installed in the 3-liter V6 diesel power units to alter emissions characteristics in a forbidden manner," he says.
Nearly half a million Volkswagen vehicles discovered to have rigged emissions tests are found in the U.S., but majority of the affected vehicles are found in Europe and Asia, Volkswagen's biggest markets. Matthias Müller, former CEO of Porsche, has taken over the helm as CEO of Volkswagen as then chief Martin Winterkorn was forced to resign as the fallout over the cheating scandal ensued.


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Tatas now have to accept the LoI, post which the Share Purchase Agreement will be signed
The government on Monday issued a letter of intent (LoI) confirming the sale of its 100% stake in loss-making Air India to Tata Group for ₹18,000 crore, a senior official said.
Last week, the government had accepted an offer by Talace Pvt Ltd, a unit of the holding company of salt-to-software conglomerate, to pay ₹2,700 crore in cash and takeover ₹15,300 crore of the airline’s debt.
Subsequent to that, an LoI has now been issued to Tata confirming the government’s willingness to sell its 100% stake in the airline.
"Letter of Intent has been issued today," DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Padney told PTI here.
Tatas now have to accept the LoI, post which the Share Purchase Agreement will be signed. Conditions precedent to the transactions would need to be satisfied by Tatas before they actually take over the operations.
"Normally within 14 days of acceptance of LOI, the SPA is signed. We expect the SPA to be signed fairly fast," he said.
Mr Pandey said the deal is targeted to be closed by December end. After SPA is signed, the regulatory approvals will have to come in following which the handover process starts.
"When they give the Letter of Acceptance, they will give payment security of 1.5 per cent of EV value which is Rs 270 crore. Rs 270 crore will be payment security in bank guarantee which will be received by us along with acceptance letter to the LoI," Pandey added.
The cash component of the deal, he said, will come in on the day of handover which will be by December end.
The deal also includes the sale of Air India Express and ground handling arm AISATS.
Tatas beat the ₹15,100-crore offer by a consortium led by SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh and the reserve price of ₹12,906 crore set by the government for the sale of its 100% stake in the loss-making carrier.
Source: Read Full Article


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Hands-on with the brand new Web-based TV experience.
Physicists commandeer a beam of neutrinos to send a message through solid rock but at a painfully slow data rate
They're people, actually.
Access to the Internet may be going global, but a "bandwidth divide" persists.
Federal lawsuits against Aereo, a startup that plans to show broadcast TV online, could influence the awkward relationship between television and the Internet.
Japanese researchers build a gun capable of stopping speakers in mid-sentence.
The prototypes, code-named "Fishbowl", make encrypted calls, and may be emulated by handset manufacturers.
Samsung's projector smartphone is cool. Its ads are unbearable.
Nokia excites and disappoints.
Nobody knows whether humans can access exotic images based on quantum entanglement. Now one physicist has designed an experiment to find out


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Sony has been ordered to stop selling its PlayStation consoles in America by a federal court in California and pay £48 million in damages to a small technology firm.
The court ruling, which includes the original PlayStation, PlayStation2, two game controllers and 47 games concerns the technology used in its dual shock controllers.
Immersion, a California-based developer of digital touch technologies, claimed SCE infringed on its technology that makes a game controller vibrate in sync with actions in games.
Sony denies the claim that it copied the technology. The company hasn't withdrawn the consoles from the shelves however because the date by which all stock has to be removed is after the appeal date. The company has, however agreed to pay the compulsory licence fee to Immersion for the time being.


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Walt Disney World and Disneyland are increasing the prices of single-day tickets at certain times of the year and setting expiration dates on tickets in hopes of preventing overcrowding during the theme parks’ busiest times, company officials said Saturday.
The single-day ticket prices are either staying the same or are increasing no more than $5 under the new price structure that went into effect Sunday. Last year, Disney rolled out a pricing plan that allows visitors to view a calendar from eight to 11 months out to determine which days are considered “value,” “regular” or “peak” times. Visitors pay more on “peak” days, the busiest times as forecast by park officials.
Disney is raising prices after a 5 percent decline in attendance at its U.S. theme parks during its most recent quarter, which included the holiday season.
The goal of the varied price structure is to give visitors an incentive to go during times when the parks aren’t crowded, officials said. There have been times during the holidays and spring break when the crowds have been so large that Disney has had to stop selling tickets.
“Our pricing provides guests a range of options that allow us to better manage demand to maximize the guest experience and is reflective of the distinctly Disney offerings at all of our parks,” said Disney spokesman Jacquee Wahler.
After the price increase, “value” days for Magic Kingdom in Florida cost $101 for children ages 3-9 and $107 for visitors who are 10 or older, a $2 increase. During “regular” time, park visitors will pay $5 more, after prices jumped to $109 for young children and $115 for others. The “peak” prices remained the same, at $118 for young children and $124 for others.
At Disneyland, prices for single-day tickets increased by $2 to $5. The regular price of admission at the Anaheim, Calif., park rose to $110 for visitors older than 9, up from $105. A ticket during peak periods climbed to $124 from $119. And the value ticket’s new cost is $97, up from $95.
All tickets will now have expiration dates. In the past, only one-day and Florida resident tickets had expiration dates. Also, guests will be able to save $20 on multiday tickets when they purchase them in advance.


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Heavenly Bella Hadid recreates Farrah Fawcett's iconic Charlie's Angels image as she cruises around on a skateboard
Bella Hadid recreated the iconic image of Farrah Fawcett riding a skateboard on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old beauty was decked out in a pair of retro flared jeans, a chic orange Nike sports bra and classic Cortez sneakers for the Nike ad campaign.
Channeling the iconic Charlie's Angels actress, the young model bent her knees on the skateboard as she concentrated and stretched her arms out.
Beauty: Bella Hadid recreated the iconic image of Farrah Fawcett riding a skateboard on Wednesday for her new Nike ad campaign
Go for a classic pair of Nikes like Bella
Bella took the opportunity to showcase her innate Cali- girl je ne sais quoi in this advertisement for Nike.
She looked like the ultimate cool girl in this look featuring a red strappy crop top by the sports giant with some loose-fitting flared jeans that she tied in with a fresh pair of classic Nike Cortez.
Trainers with relaxed ensembles such as this but also with pretty dresses is bang-on trend right now. Casual is the new cool.
Bella's red, white and blue trainers are available for purchase by clicking right to My Theresa.
If you want to check out other cool retro white kicks before making your mind up, head to our round up below. These are all spot on look-a-likes in a range of budgets, from steals at Nordstrom & Amazon to luxe versions at Saks Fifth Avenue.
Her signature dark chocolate locks were styled in a natural fashion as she went for a subtle make-up palette.
The retro vibe of the shoot looked identical to Fawcett's image from the 70's.
This latest look is part of her new role as the face of Nike's new Cortez sneaker campaign, which is also in celebration of the style's 45th anniversary.
Hadid's partnership with Nike was revealed in November 2016.
Throwback: The iconic Fawcett image from the '70s was actually taken on the Charlie's Angels set
Model behaviour: Bella looked incredible as she showed off her toned legs in the edgy shoot
The iconic Fawcett image from the '70s was actually taken on the Charlie's Angels set.
The classic Cortez sneakers were designed by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman, and was was released in 1972.
The first women's version of the shoe, the Senorita Cortez, was released two years later.
Perfection: The 20-year-old beauty was decked out in a pair of retro flared jeans, a chic orange Nike sports bra and classic Cortez sneakers
The late Fawcett played Jill Munroe in the drama series Charlie's Angels from 1976-1981.
Meanwhile, Hadid has been enjoying herself in Europe for the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival.
She spent the weekend on a yacht in Cannes, France with Jordan Barrett.
She was also seen jetting off to Rome with some pals after her red carpet appearances at the Cannes Film Festival.
Long time: Hadid's partnership with Nike was revealed in November 2016
Stunner: Hadid showed off her model poses in a series of different outfits for the campaign
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Update: Nielsen has informed us that not all data in the report was from the survey. We have updated the report accordingly. Smartphone users still prefer mobile websites for shopping than smartphone apps. Only 3% surveyed of smartphone users access smartphone apps for shopping while 25% of surveyed smartphone users access shopping websites at least once a month, according to Nielsen Informate Mobile Insights panel data from January 2013 to March 2013. Methodology for survey: The company claims that Nielsen Informate Mobile Insights was conducted a a pan-urban India survey with 10,027 Smartphone users in 46 cities representing all town classes during September-October 2012. It captured information such as operator, operating system, connection (2G/3G) details, smartphone usage and ownership of other connected devices. Other highlights from the survey: - Although shopping websites are more popular among the older audience (Panel), smartphone users aged between 25 and 35 years claim to make more online purchases (survey). - A greater percentage of smartphone users aged over 40 years access shopping properties at least once a month, according to the panel data, however, smartphone users aged between 25 and 35 years engaged in m-commerce, according to the survey. - About 8% of people smartphone users between the age group of 25 to 35 years have engaged in online purchases, while it is 6% for those aged under 24 years age group less than 18 years and in age group of 18-24 years and 5% for age group 36 years and above, according to the survey. - Flipkart is the most popular shopping website with a reach of 5%, followed by eBay at 4%, Amazon…
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Is Mac a secure choice for SMBs?
Mac adoption is growing by leaps and bounds in large enterprises. But is macOS a secure choice for small and medium businesses (SMBs)?
The cybersecurity challenges of SMBs
SMBs face many of the same cyber threats as large businesses:
Phishing attacks: Attackers send malicious emails to trick the recipient into giving up login credentials, providing sensitive information, or downloading malware.
Ransomware: File encryption malware that locks a victim’s computer system and files until they pay the attacker a ransom in exchange for the decryption key.
Weak passwords: Employees use easily guessed passwords that make it simple for attackers to hack into a network.
Unpatched software: Companies fail to update software, running vulnerable versions of programs that attackers can exploit.
Hybrid workforces: While not a threat in itself, the rise of work-from-home (WFH) has made it more complicated for businesses to secure their company assets.
But while the threats may be the same, SMBs have fewer resources to devote to cybersecurity than big companies. Their budgets are smaller. Their IT departments consist of one or two people who are already overworked, and who aren’t security specialists. Top-of-the-line enterprise security suites are out of their price range—and too complex to manage with a small IT team anyway.
At the same time, attackers know that smaller businesses are poorly defended. The FBI warns that cybercriminals are now pivoting to attack small organizations. A study by the IT consultancy Accenture estimates that around 43% of cyberattacks target small businesses.
In this challenging landscape, small business owners may wonder if Macs are safe for SMBs. The answer is a resounding yes!
Cybersecurity benefits of Macs for SMBs
Macs offer SMBs several cybersecurity benefits. Here are the most important ones:
Apple support for Mac in business is increasing
- Apple is undertaking a major push to get the Mac into enterprises. This also benefits SMBs, since enterprise MDM features like remote lock and content auto-erase are helpful in any IT setting.
- Apple recently launched Apple Business Essentials, which unifies device management, support, and cloud storage into one subscription—and is specifically meant for SMBs!
- The rise of Macs in business settings has spurred third-party development. There are now several solid third-party MDM offerings for macOS that are reasonably priced and easy to configure.
- Apple’s commitment to supporting Mac in the enterprise means SMBs that scale up in the coming years will find an increasingly rich ecosystem of enterprise-tier Mac security and technology features waiting for them.
Stock macOS features address many common threats affecting SMBs
- Mail now includes anti-phishing tools like BIMI support; Passkeys offer a FIDO-compliant login method that mitigates credential-phishing attacks.
- macOS has seamless integration with iOS, which makes it easy to implement 2FA using the native Apple authentication code generator and the native Apple password manager, Keychain.
- macOS has a powerful disk encryption feature, FileVault, that provides a layer of security to mitigate against device theft and other physical-access threats.
macOS and third-party macOS developers take security seriously
- macOS was designed with a layered security architecture that includes the Transparency, Consent, and Control framework (to control file access and permissions) and System Integrity Protection (to prevent the execution of unauthorized code).
- The Mac comes with a number of built-in security features: GateKeeper, XProtect, Malware Removal Tool (MRT), and Rapid Security Response. They may not be enough to provide airtight security, but they are a good first line of defense against attack.
- A passionate and dedicated security community has grown up around the Mac. This community has developed robust apps that extend the native security protections of macOS. Macs can be integrated with open-source or subscription-based security apps such as firewalls and malware detection tools.
Macs are not targeted as much as Windows (for now)
- Macs are attacked less frequently than Windows systems. There is simply less malware developed for macOS than for Windows, and there is almost no ransomware. This is not something to count on in the long-term, since the growth of Mac in the enterprise will bring a rise in macOS malware—but it is a nice short-term security benefit of the Mac for SMBs.
- Macs as WFH or BYOD devices are also—for the time being—statistically less of a risk than a Windows machine.
Macs free up money to improve security
Although a bit more subjective, workers who use Macs say they are more productive on macOS than on Windows.
- Research shows that Macs are less expensive than PCs when considered in terms of total cost of ownership (TCO) over time.
- Lower IT costs and more productive workers translate into money that can be spent on other things that directly impact cybersecurity: security tools, training, and consulting.
In the final analysis, Macs are good machines for both enterprise and SMB use. As Macs become more prevalent in the enterprise, small and medium businesses will also benefit from the security enhancements, MDM features, and third-party development that this will bring.


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The program, which began this week, runs through June 30 on the 2008 model year F-Series, including F-150, F-250 and F-350. Ford will back the move with print, television, radio and Internet ads and POP. The campaign features employees who build Ford F-Series pickups.
The company is supporting the campaign with point-of-purchase materials for 2008 models F-Series outlining the MSRP, the employee discount and rebates.
Last month, Ford sold 42,973 trucks, a 30.6% plunge versus the month last year. Since January, F-Series sales are off 18.7%. The company is not alone. Sales of GM's Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups were down 42% and 31.4% respectively. Sales of Dodge Ram, Toyota Tundra, and Nissan Titan were off 27%, 34% and 57% last month, respectively. All told, may saw a 101,508-unit drop in pickup sales.
For perspective, Honda saw its best-ever sales month last month when it sold 53,299 Civics, a 28.3% increase. Kia, Subaru, Hyundai and Mercedes also posted best-ever months in May.
Analysts say that although pickups have been shielded from gasoline woes because a lot of buyers can't use anything else, another big slice of the consumer pie are image buyers. These so-called "urban cowboys" have bought crew-cab versions that can double as family haulers, stylized "image" versions, and a huge array of variants, including luxury versions. Ford, for example, claims to have some 60 F-150 models, including the well-known Harley-Davidson version and this year's Lariat Limited.
Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research in Bandon, Ore., says those style buyers are precisely the ones leaving in droves. "That's 30% of the market, and that's where you are seeing all of it disappearing," he says, adding that there are five kinds of pickup buyers: the aforementioned "urban cowboy"; contractors who, per Spinella, are actually returning to the pickup market; farmers and ranchers "who never left,"; and rental fleets. "For Ford, style and premium trucks have been a strong suit," he says.
John Casesa, managing partner of the N.Y.-based Casesa Shapiro Group LLC, says even die-hards are departing pickups. "There's a scarcity right now of all types of buyers--from contractors to weekend warriors. The utility-driven buyers will come back with a rebound in housing and the economy, but I don't expect as many discretionary buyers to return if gas prices stay high."
Last month, for the first time, Toyota began offering national annual-percentage-rate deals on pre-owned Tundras and Sequoia SUV. Chrysler has extended for a month its cross-brand deal offering consumers three years worth of $2.99 gasoline with the purchase of many vehicles.
Spinella says GM won't follow Ford because it is already heavily incentivizing its pickups. A GM spokesperson agreed, saying the company has no plans to match Ford. "We'll look at it, but we think our incentives are competitive. We will gauge the market and keep fighting, but we have no plans to follow Ford at this time."


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This week, U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., was able to get two of his proposals on blockchain technology through the U.S. House.
Soto was able to get his “Digital Taxonomy Act” and his “Blockchain Innovation Act” rolled into other bills which cleared the House on voice votes.
In April 2019 with the backing of U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, Soto introduced the “Digital Taxonomy Act” which would have the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) study the “state of blockchain technology in commerce, including its use to reduce fraud and increase security.” Soto hopes to eventually include a Blockchain Center of Excellence in the Commerce Department.
“As lawmakers, it’s our duty to ensure the United States continues to lead in blockchain technology,” Soto said this week. “The Digital Taxonomy Act adds greater jurisdictional clarity for a strong digital asset market in the United States. The amended version of the original bill highlights the importance of digital tokens and blockchain technology in driving innovation and consumer protection initiatives. The bill directs the Federal Trade Commission to produce a report that would detail how the FTC protects consumers from unfair and deceptive acts or practices and provide further recommendations. Hearing the opinion of regulators is an important first step to encouraging regulatory clarity with the aims of promoting innovation and maximizing the potential of virtual currencies for the U.S. economy.”
The Central Florida congressman was also able to get his “Blockchain Innovation Act” rolled over into another proposal which cleared the House. Soto introduced the bill at the start of last month with the support of U.S. Reps. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Doris Matusi, D-Calif. The bill would have the FTC report to Congress with recommendations “on unfair and deceptive acts or practices relating to digital tokens.”
“Blockchain technology has an incredible amount of potential for innovation and economic growth,” said Soto this week. “I believe our government needs to support that growth, establish light-touch regulations to ensure certainty, protect innovation, stop fraud and enable its appropriate use for government, business and consumers. The study mandated by the Blockchain Innovation Act is a starting point meant to give government agencies a chance to make recommendations before any bills pass with a regulatory effect. These recommendations will perform an educational function to members of Congress and will pave the way for more actionable blockchain-focused legislation.”
First elected to Congress in 2016 after serving in both chambers of the Florida Legislature, Soto has been active on technology issues during his two terms on Capitol Hill. He co-chairs the New Democrat Coalition’s Technology Task Force and is a co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus. He is also part of the Democratic leadership as an assistant regional whip.
Representing all of Osceola County and parts of Orange and Polk Counties, Soto sits in what is considered a secure district for Democrats. He faces Army veteran Bill Olson, the Republican nominee, and write-in candidate Clay Hill in November.
The bills which cleared the House are now before the U.S. Senate.
Reach Kevin Derby at email@example.com.


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1.4 million customers currently do their banking via the ING Banking app will now be able to use their ING cards with Apple Pay.
“We’re constantly looking for new ways to help our customers manage their money even easier, and Apple Pay is a great fit,” said Amaury Vanthournout, Director of Payments at ING Belgium. “We’ve seen a major behavioral shift among our customers as a result of the pandemic, many of whom have become hesitant to use cash. Half of all payments are now contactless, a steep rise from 13% a year ago. By introducing Apple Pay in the ING Banking app, we are seizing the momentum by offering our customers a new payment method that offers incredible ease of use in shops, online and on the go.”
With support for Apple Pay now live in Belgium, ING customers will have the added benefit of paying for things using their iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac, without having to enter their PIN, even for amounts over 50 euros.
Belgium is the latest territory ING is partnering with Apple Pay. The financial institution already offers Apple Pay in the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Romania, Poland, Australia, and Germany. Apple Pay launched in Belgium in November 2018.
Adding Your Credit or Debit Card to Apple Pay
Once Apple Pay arrives in their country, users can add their credit or debit card to the service by doing the following:
- iPhone users running iOS 12 can go to the Wallet app and tap the “+” icon in the upper right-hand corner to begin, and then just follow the prompts. Users of iPads with Touch ID can add a card to the service to use in apps by going into “Settings” -> “Wallet & Apple Pay” to add a card there.
- Apple Watch users will need to enter the Watch app on their iPhone, Tap on the “Wallet & Apple Pay” option, and then tap the “Add Credit or Debit Card” option.
First introduced in 2014, Apple Pay is now available in over 50 countries or regions around the world.
The full list of Apple Pay countries and regions is available on Apple’s website.
For more information about the service, visit the Apple website.


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LONDON, England (CNN) -- As you drive along the main road from Reykjavik to Iceland's most famous tourist attractions, the geysers, you pass a rather non-descript farm in Laugarvatn.
Iceland plans to drag itself out of economic collapse by developing its geo-thermal energy technology.
You wouldn't notice it but for a constant stream of steam billowing up to the sky from a rusty derrick.
It's on the farm of Gunnar Ingvarsson, the 74-year-old who decided 20 years ago to tap the boiling hot water spewing out of the ground.
The unassuming Ingvarsson, who speaks no English, did this just to provide the free hot water to a few farms in the area. Now, he is paid by the owners of hundreds of holiday homes across the valley for this cheap gift from the Earth.
Ingvarsson says it costs pennies to maintain his business and that he has no idea how much money he has made from it all. He still farms.
Iceland as a whole has of course tapped this geo-thermal on a much grander scale. There are hot baths to draw the tourists to this remote island. There are massive power plants to use the power to create, well, power.
Iceland has even lured big aluminum companies to build a massive smelting plants.
The power in Iceland to do this is so cheap that it is economical for companies like Alcoa and Alcan to ship the raw materials all the way to Iceland and then ship the final product out it to its customers.
Of course Iceland has been in the news recently because of the meltdown of its banking system and its currency.
Iceland's banks used high interest rates to attract savings from hundred of thousands of customers in Britain and the rest of Europe. Icelandic banks then used the money to buy up every pricier assets around the world. All was going so well.
Beyond the near collapse of the Icelandic economy, Alcoa has reacted to the global economic slowdown by cutting back on aluminum production around the world.
But Iceland says its use of cheap energy will help bring its economy around.
In the past ten years it has not only developed technology to harness its own geo-thermal but it has started to export that technology to other countries.
In fact the country's president told CNN earlier this year that some 100 countries around the world are lucky enough to have the same kind of geographic advantage as Iceland. Watch Iceland's president talking about the global potential of geo-thermal energy »
And, Iceland itself admits is still has only tapped one fifth of the country's viable hydro and geothermal potential.
You could argue the answer is for more companies like Alcoa to set up in Iceland. But environmentalists are horrified at the prospect.
They have fought the expansion of Alcoa in the country and say Iceland could exceed its Kyoto targets, which were actually expanded in part to allow Iceland to attract smelters.
So while Iceland is held up as an example of creating cheap energy without using fossil fuels, how it exploits that advantage, especially during an extremely tough economic climate, could be test case for other countries.


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National Spa Week 2017, which will run from 30 October-5 November, has announced two major sponsors – Aromatherapy Associates and Groupon.
National Spa Week is the annual flagship PR and communications event run by the UK Spa Association (UKSA), the official not for profit trade body for the UK spa industry.
It is the only UK event of its kind that unites the spa and salon industry to increase consumer awareness around the health benefits of regular treatments and spa attendance, while actively driving additional sales through participating outlets during a dedicated week of promotions, activities and offers.
Last year, more than 300 spas and salons joined forces to provide introductory offers on treatments, the target for 2017 is to get over 1000 UK spas and salons involved.
“The goal is to drive more people, into more spas, more often,” said Lisa Barden, UK Spa Association board member for National Spa Week. “However, the consumer PR and media campaign will only have real impact if all the UK spas and salons actively get involved.”
This year’s theme will once again be ‘Spa for everybody and mind’. The idea is to educate the public that going to a spa or salon shouldn’t be viewed as a one-off annual luxury, but a regular and essential investment in physical and emotional wellbeing, just like gym attendance.
‘’Throughout Europe and the world, entire families will choose to spend their free time together at a spa, and the UKSA sees no reason why we shouldn’t be educating the hard working people of this country to do the same,” Barden concluded.
The UKSA is driving the campaign and the website www.spaweek.co.uk behind the scenes - registration is free.
“We ran a follow-up survey across the 320 participating spas and salons in 2016 to find out how effective National Spa Week had been in driving an increase in sales,” said Charlie Thompson, chairman of the UKSA. “Over 40 per cent felt they saw additional client footfall and sales because of National Spa Week.
“Interestingly, those spas were also the ones that went over and above to promote their participation in the week in their local area using the ideas, materials and tools provided. This year, we will offering even more free materials, hints and tips so I would encourage all spas and salons to sign up now and start planning for October.”
Mandara Spa is just one spa that saw results from last years’ National Spa Week.
“2016 was the first year that Mandara Spa London took part in National Spa Week, and we found that the campaign helped raise our profile in the local community and drove an estimated uplift of 20 per cent new customers through our doors,” said Erinn Cracknell, spa cluster manager, Mandara Spa.


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Suzuki is one of India's trusted brands when it comes down to a four wheeler. The Japanese manufacturer has showcased a few products at the ongoing 2014 Auto Expo. Among their offerings was a Special Edition Grand Vitara.
Story first published: Friday, February 7, 2014, 9:29 [IST]


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Intel’s Atom Z2670 Clover Trail processor is the company’s new low-power system-on-a-chip designed for Windows 8 tablets and other devices. The company is officially kicking off Clover Trail season at an event in San Fransisco next week, where a number of top PC makers will show off devices powered by the new chip.
Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and ZTE will all be on-hand to showcase Windows 8 computers with Clover Trail chips.
The Clover Trail processor is a cousin to the Intel Medfield chip used for smartphones. It’s a faster processor though, which has 2 CPU cores and a faster graphics processor.
Intel has designed the Atom Z2670 as an energy-efficient chip which has a new “active idle” power state that allows tablets and other computers to basically go to sleep while still connected to the internet. This makes sure you don’t miss incoming email messages, social network notifications, or other important data, but allows the device to use 20 times less power than while fully active.
The new system-on-a-chip is expected to be used primarily in tablets and convertible notebooks.


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By Bill Lewis
The products made by East Central Indiana’s glass manufacturing industry are strong, endlessly recyclable and sustainable. The industry’s impact on the region’s economy could be described the same way.
Multiple glass manufacturers launched operations when abundant reserves of inexpensive natural gas were discovered more than a century ago and the Ball Brothers relocated the Ball Corporation to the area. Consolidations and economic headwinds reduced the number of companies and jobs over time. The Ball Corporation, the namesake of Ball State University, diversified into the production of plastics and aerospace technology. Today, the industry is represented by two major glass manufacturers, Ardagh Group and Owens-Illinois, which have invested millions to modernize and upgrade facilities and continue to create well-paying manufacturing jobs.
The natural gas that attracted the industry may have played out, but the companies benefit from a resource that is just as important – a workforce with generational experience in the industry.
Source of Jobs
“Built in 1904, this factory specializes in production of glass containers for the foods and spirits industries. Ardagh Group is the largest employer in Randolph County, with a workforce of over 425 dedicated men and women,” says Ceann Bales, Randolph County Community & Economic Development Corporation executive director.
In the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, the glass factory employed nearly 1,200 people and was the hub of economic vitality in Winchester. The city was also the home of multiple glass-related industries that employed an additional 400 people during those years. “The changes in manufacturing over the past 30 years have had a dramatic impact on Randolph County. However, Ardagh continues to anchor the local manufacturing economy in this rural community,” Bales says.
Winchester’s location is another plus. Ardagh’s plant specializes
in the production of liquor bottles. The city’s proximity to distilleries
in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Lawrenceburg, Indiana, gives it a logistics advantage, she says.
Ardagh Group invested nearly $71 million in its Winchester facility between 2015 and 2016, making it one of the most modern glass
container manufacturing facilities in North America. The plant is
capable of manufacturing about 1.5 million glass bottles and jars
Ardagh’s economic impact extends beyond the production of glass. Maintaining the equipment is another sourceof jobs. The company has facilities for repairing and rebuilding machinery in Grant County, where it employs about 75 people, says Tim Eckerle, executive director of the Grant County Economic Growth Council.
In Madison County, Owens-Illinois employs 225 workers at its facility, which produces glass bottles. It is one of the county’s top 25 employers. The company invested about $20 million in 2015 to expand capacity.
It’s fitting that an industry with such historical and current significance should have a museum devoted to it. The Glass Museum at 309 S. Franklin St. in Dunkirk is open to the public from May through October. The museum’s collection includes 8,000 unique pieces of glass.
The city of Dunkirk has its own rich history in glass manufacturing dating back to the “boom era” of the early 20th century, says Travis Richards, executive director of the Jay County Development Corporation.
“At one time, the city was home to over 20 glass factories. In fact, Dunkirk has the distinction of being the Glass Capital of Indiana. With that history, it is no surprise that the city is proud to have a major Ardagh operation as the anchor in its industrial park. The city and company enjoy a great rapport with a long and positive working relationship,” Richards says.
Generations of Experience
Geographically, the Dunkirk location is close to Ardagh’s headquarters
in Fishers and another glass manufacturing facility in Winchester.
The plant is the largest employer in Dunkirk and the third-largest
manufacturing employer in Jay County. “Many of these employees are the second or third generation in their family to work in the industry. This translates to a deep knowledge and pride among the workforce,” Richards says.


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If you’re a Samsung phone user, there are pretty good chances that you may have a hard time deleting the Facebook app.
According to a report by Bloomberg, some Samsung smartphone owners are facing troubles uninstalling the Facebook app. While some users found that they could disable the app, deleting the app is still impossible for them.
Several Samsung users posted similar experiences in forums, such as Android Central.
As seen in the image above, the users were presented with options like “Disable” and “Force Stop.” Generally, there is an “Uninstall” option in place of Disable.
A few Samsung phones come with Facebook pre-installed on them and the mobile manufacturer has also released several apps that link its devices to Facebook.
One such app, called the Samsung Mobile, required permission to access 36 types of information about you and your friends on Facebook. It included timeline posts to your friends’ photos, religious preferences, and political views.
Samsung’s another app, the Galaxy S4 app, gathered less info about your friends but it did seek their birthdays, status updates, events, photos and videos.
At present, neither Samsung nor Facebook responded to the issue faced by Samsung users. However, Samsung told Bloomberg that the pre-installed Facebook app doesn’t run anymore once the user has disabled it.
Whereas Facebook stated that a disabled version of their app behaves like a deleted one, and it doesn’t collect data or send any information back to its servers. But considering Facebook’s history, we really find it hard to believe any of it.
Also Read: Politicians Cannot Block Critics On Social Media: US Appeals Court


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Crony Capitalism: By-Product of Big Government
NCPA November 1, 2012
Crony capitalism describes an economic system in which the profitability of firms in a market economy is dependent on political connections. Despite the coverage in popular press, little academic research has been devoted to researching the causes and effects of crony capitalism, says Randall G. Holcombe, professor of economics at Florida State University.
- Crony capitalism exists when those in the government are able to use their power to give benefits to their cronies.
- Government intervention in the economy through subsidies and regulations are a primary reason for crony capitalism.
- As a result, businesses are more likely to devote resources to lobbying rather than becoming more productive at producing goods and services.
One expression of crony capitalism is "rent-seeking." Businesses come to the government to seek protection from domestic and foreign competition, which results in political favors being given to a select few. This creates a decline in the overall productiveness in the economy as entries to barrier are increased and fewer competitors exist.
Sometimes, regulatory agencies that are created become influenced by certain businesses that create favorable requirements for themselves. Naturally, the businesses in the regulated industry have more information about their industry than policymakers or the general public, which lends to the notion that they can use the system to their benefit.
For many politicians, giving support to their cronies comes with many benefits. First, politicians can expand their own personal wealth by giving favors to wealthy businesses that need something accomplished in Washington. Second, politicians can rely on the large support that businesses provide in election campaigns. And because the public can be largely unaware of the nuances in regulations, politicians have an incentive to cater more toward businesses in a regulated industry rather than making tough decisions for the public good.
Crony capitalism can also hurt the democratic system as a whole. Because the Constitution does not have strict restraints on spending or discretionary powers of those in government, policymakers have become more influenced by lobbyists to get certain things done.
Source: Randall G. Holcombe, "Crony Capitalism: By-Product of Big Government," Mercatus Center, October 24, 2012.


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Cost-cutting, Brand Identity Top Green Motivators for Retailers
Retailers rate cost reductions and brand identity to consumers as the top motivations for adopting more environmentally sound practices, according to a recent survey from the Retail Industry Leaders Association.
Among what are called “winners” when it comes to the environment, about 59 percent of retailers cite cost reductions and brand identity as their motivators, followed by ethical obligation (55 percent) and industry image (55 percent), according to the report, “Real-World Green: The Role of Environmental Savings in Retail.”
Furthering the notion that adopting green technologies is about perception, about 64 percent of retailers say they are most willing to invest in green projects that “project public perception that ‘we care’.” Here’s a look at how retailers rate various investment options.
About 80 percent of the “winners” cite customer expectations as the top reason to act in focusing on green initiatives, followed by their logisitics providers wanting to reduce energy consumption. Here’s a detailed look.
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Spielwarenmesse is launching a new platform to host talks spanning some of the biggest topics to be affecting the international toy industry, from retail to sustainability.
Called the ToyAcademy, the platform will welcome experts from across the global industry to share their insight and stance on important factors affecting the toy space today. The platform will host year-round talks and discussions.
Launching on June 17, the ToyAcademy will kick off with a presentation titled ‘Evolving retailing landscape – Challenges for traditional toy stores with the rise of e-commerce.’ The talk will be hosted by Iselie Iglesias, a leading analyst with Euromonitor International, and will shed light on the current situation facing the toy trade while taking a look at the challenges ahead in the wake of the pandemic.
Ernst Kick, CEO of Spielwarenmesse eG, said: “The toy industry is changing at a rapid pace. It is therefore essential, especially for the retail trade, to receive insights into the current market situation all year round.”
The first ToyAcademy video talk will be available on demand and in English at www.spielwarenmesse.de/en/toyacademy.
After the talk, the presentation can also be downloaded free of charge through Euromonitor International. The corresponding link can be found on the ToyAcademy website.
The next expert talk is scheduled for the autumn.


text: PERTH-BASED GMA Garnet Pty Ltd is the sole Western Australian recipient of an Australian Export Award this year, having won the ‘minerals and energy’ category, sponsored by the Minerals Council of Australia, at last week’s awards ceremony. GMA Garnet, which manufactures a blast cleaning and waterjet cutting abrasive, was the only WA winner to also win a national prize, ahead of other state finalists including Custom Vis, Risktec Australasia and ThinkSmart Ltd. Rio Tinto Iron Ore, along with Brisbane-based mining services company Ausenco, was inducted into the award program’s hall of fame, which recognises companies that have won their export category three times. Hearing solutions company Cochlear Ltd won the overall prize for exporter of the year. Austrade chief executive officer Peter O’Byrne said in a statement that the award recipients reflected the increasing diversity of Australian exporters. “Last financial year, Australian businesses generated a record $215 billion in export earnings for the country. (The) finalists in these awards generated $11.6 billion in export sales last year and directly employed more than 38,500 people,” he said. The Australian Export Awards are in their 45th year.


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Newly revealed cards from Freeze Bolt include Lunatone, Marill, and the in set print of Flygon, and new cards from Cold Flare include Electivire, Dusknoir, Timburr, Scizor, and Ether. Additionally revealed is a new promotional card, Keldeo, due to release in July.
Partial translations have been posted below; however, larger scans of the issue will be available later today, so Lunatone
, Ether, and Electivire will have their text confirmed then. Cards from the commercial are currently illegible.


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Time: 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Place: Bell Harbor International Conference Center
Microsoft: Windows Phones sales will top Apple in China
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- Puget Sound Business Journal
Bloomberg reports that Chinese officials for Microsoft didn't spell out a timeline for when Windows Phones will outsell Apple's, but added that China is a huge smartphone market, expected to be the world's largest this year, surpassing the U.S.
Microsoft's Windows Phones will have a way to go to catch Google Inc.'s Android smartphones in China, which dominate the market currently with 70 percent of the Chinese market. But Microsoft officials say that topping Google's Android is a long-term goal in the Chinese market.
Microsoft is also looking at opening retail stores in China.
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Milwaukee Burger Co. location planned for La Crosse
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — The Milwaukee Burger Company restaurant chain is planning to open a location in La Crosse.
The company lists an address on Medco Court in La Crosse as the new restaurant’s location.
Another chain restaurant, Grizzly’s Wood Fired Grill, is currently open at that location.
An opening date for Milwaukee Burger Company or the future plans for Grizzly’s Wood Fired Grill have not been announced.
It will be Milwaukee Burger Company’s 7th location all in the state of Wisconsin.
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Tag Archives: next box
Wed, May 01, 2013 | 06:19 BST
Microsoft will once again host its pre-E3 press conference at the Galen Center on the University of Southern California campus on Monday, June 10.
Thu, Apr 11, 2013 | 13:31 BST
A trio of next-Xbox rumors have surfaced today, and no matter whether the sources call it Xbox 720 or Durango, keep in mind we will know nothing for sure until Microsoft announces something. Click the break for today’s lowdown.
Mon, Apr 08, 2013 | 03:29 BST
Thu, Apr 04, 2013 | 20:59 BST
Atari founder Nolan Bushnell is of the opinion that Microsoft will win the next-gen console war.
Thu, Apr 04, 2013 | 19:39 BST
Microsoft’s next Xbox console will require an Internet connection in order for games or apps to be started, according to the latest from two Kotaku sources.
Fri, Feb 01, 2013 | 16:46 GMT
A “Microsoft insider” has said the winner of next-gen consoles will be the one which makes the most “impact” not the most “noise.”
Sat, Nov 17, 2012 | 19:46 GMT
The last issue of Xbox World promises to go out with a bang as it contains eight pages of everything there is to know about the next Xbox console.
Tue, Nov 06, 2012 | 19:58 GMT
Mon, Nov 14, 2011 | 21:27 GMT


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Today, Torchlight fans that have been waiting for Torchlight III to officially release will be happy to see the official launch trailer, celebrating the launch on PS4, XBOX One and PC. Nintendo Switch gamers don't have much longer to wait either, as the game will launch on the console on October 22nd.
The full release of Torchlight III is coming this fall to Xbox One, PS4, PC and the Nintendo Switch this fall, bringing with it the full experience on the go for Switch users.
Torchlight III might be a continuation of the ARPG gameplay everyone has come to love in the franchise, but that doesn't seem to be stopping Runic Games from adding new systems to the mix. In a new video, the team highlights their Fort system, giving a glimpse into making the world around you a little bit more to your liking.


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Crackerjack and Sporting Profiles on board for classic game show property.
Bulldog Licensing has welcomed two new partners to the oche for classic game show brand, Bullseye.
The new deals will see Crackerjack produce a gifting range including alcohol gift sets, money tins, tankards and glassware.
In addition, Sporting Profiles will launch a Bullseye fan website.
This adds to an existing programme which includes Bullseye-branded biltong, a Bullseye quiz book – complete with magnetic dartboard and toy darts – nightwear, socks, apparel, mugs and prints.
”Bullseye is a brand that has transcended its original format to become a much loved part of British culture, so even people who weren’t born in its heyday know the name and the catchphrases,” said Rob Corney, md of Bulldog Licensing. “This massive brand recognition is translating into a big and growing licensing programme that shows no sign of stopping.”
Bullseye ran from 1981 to 1995 across the ITV network, regularly pulling in 13 million viewers per episode with a peak audience of 19.8 million on Boxing Day 1989.
ITV has since featured the show in two one-off specials and it is still on air through digital channel, Challenge.


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MagnaChip to Present and Discuss Growth Opportunities and Strategies at the Barclays Capital Global Technology Conference
SEOUL, South Korea and CUPERTINO, Calif., Nov. 30, 2011 – MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation (“MagnaChip Semiconductor”) (NYSE: MX), a Korea-based designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products, today announced that Sang Park, MagnaChip’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will be presenting and discussing the company’s growth opportunities and strategies at the Barclays Capital Global Technology Conference in San Francisco.
The presentation is scheduled for December 7, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time and will be webcast live and archived on MagnaChip’s investor relations website at www.magnachip.com.
About MagnaChip Semiconductor
Headquartered in South Korea, MagnaChip Semiconductor is a Korea-based designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products for high volume consumer applications. MagnaChip Semiconductor believes it has one of the broadest and deepest range of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor platforms in the industry, supported by its 30-year operating history, a large portfolio of registered and pending patents and extensive engineering and manufacturing process expertise.
In the United States:
Director of Investor Relations
Senior Manager, Public Relations


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By Adam Pagnucco.
A new push to allow beer and wine sales in grocery stores, which is illegal in most of Maryland, is underway by the Maryland Retailers Association. And the retailers have posted a Mason-Dixon poll from 2018 on their website showing massive support for their initiative.
The poll of 625 registered Maryland voters in September 2018 shows that allowing grocery stores to sell beer and wine had 71% support overall. Support had significant majorities across every split on region, sex, age, race and party tested by Mason-Dixon.
A few elected officials in the state favor grocery sales of beer and wine, including Comptroller Peter Franchot and Montgomery County Council Members Hans Riemer and Andrew Friedson. But since this issue is a matter of state law, it’s the General Assembly that counts. The retailers are asking consumers to sign up through their website to get involved with their campaign. The prohibition on grocery store sales of beer and wine is ancient and the package store lobbyists are powerful. Consumer support is absolutely necessary to get this done.


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Fujifilm is rumored to announce a new XF 35mm f/1.4 lens by the end of June. The next generation Fuji XF 35mm f/1.4 lens is reported to come packed with a new AF motor that will provide faster autofocusing.
According to inside sources the next-gen Fuji XF 35mm f/1.4 lens will be updated to feature the same AF motor like the XF 23mm f/1.4 R and XF 56mm f/1.2 R models.
The only major change of the lens will be the new autofocus motor. It is still not clear that the lens will be weathersealed or not.
The Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 Lens Rumored to Feature New AF motor
The new version of Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 lens previously said to be in development. However no specs, price and release date information revealed yet. The new Fuji XF 35mm f/1.4 lens will be compatible with all X-mount interchangeable lens cameras. It’s also likely that the lens will be announced on June 19 when Fuji will have the big announcement day.


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We provide the best cbd extract for wellness on the market. We use only the best in our CBD Oil and Full Spectrum Hemp Extract. CBD Lexington | CBD Your CBD Store® Hilton Head- Get healthy, not high: Natural hemp products a hot CBD Store franchises in Augusta, Georgia and Lexington, South Carolina, Find Indigo Ridge Hemp CBD Oil and Products in your favorite stores or check out our retail store in Lexington South Carolina. All hemp is USDA Certified Find CBD in Lexington, SC. Check out Reviews and Deals available at Columbia Kratom/CBD. 16 Sep 2019 Synthetic marijuana sold as CBD in South Carolina, AP finds LEXINGTON, S.C. — Jay Jenkins says he hesitated when a buddy Suburban yoga studios, big-name pharmacies and Neiman Marcus department stores carry
21 Mar 2019 CVS Pharmacy announced Wednesday that it will begin selling hemp-derived CBD products in eight states. The national drug store chain will
Planet Vapor Columbia SC - Planet Vapor Columbia, SC's leading Vape Store, supplier of eLiquid, devices, and accessories. CBD cannabis products store opens in Columbia SC’s Vista | The A new store selling cannabis-derived cannabidiol, or CBD, products is open in downtown Columbia SC. Infusion 420, owned by a disabled Army veteran, is located on Gervais Street in the Vista. Cbd Store Lexington Sc - bobbyfuller.net Can All Cbd Drops Be Vaped Curaleaf removes medical claims for CBD products, deletes hemp. SUMTER, SC (WIS) – Some of the first industrial hemp plants in. On Tuesday, a new CBD Store will open in Lexington offering products made from industrial hemp. The CBD Store Lexington Store manager.
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Barnes and Noble made waves earlier this week when they issued statements that they would not carry any Amazon published books in their stores. It seems this proclamation resonated with the nation’s second largest book seller Books-A-Million. The company today officially announced that they also would not carry any of the books that Amazon publishes.
Books-A-Million is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama and has bookstores in 31 States in over 200 locations. They are the second major company thus far to resist the urge to carry physical books in their retail locations from their arch-nemesis Amazon. There is no word yet on whether this applies to ebooks. Barnes and Noble mentioned that although they will not carry paperbacks by Amazon they will sell the ebooks in their online store, because there is a higher profit margin on them.
Michael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times.


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The United Aqua Group, formerly known as Aquatech, announced the rollout of several branding programs at its annual conference.
While the group adopted UAG as the name of its umbrella corporation, Aquatech remains the brand for its builders, Aqua Value for retailers and Aqua Commercial for its commercial contractors.
Held Feb. 3-7 in Phoenix, the event drew 650 attendees from 165 companies.
At the opening session, UAG Vice President of Marketing Tracy Thomas outlined the new branding tools, including a set of three, minute-long videos for members to post on their websites or use for local television commercials. One is more design-oriented and geared to high-end clients, one humorous and family-oriented, while a third targets retail customers.
The group also has developed several short “viral” videos meant to launch this spring and spread quickly through social media. They are for Aqua Value retailers.
“We feel like it’s doing something a little bit differently than everybody else in the industry,” Thomas said. “We’re really trying to create awareness so if people think of building a pool or want to buy pool supplies or get service [they’ll] ... have our brands top of mind.”
UAG also updated its website and created Web templates for members. While the sites were created to ease the process of posting and changing content, UAG can perform some maintenance for an extra fee.
The materials are part of a push for members to reinforce the branding. It is hoped that all companies will incorporate the Aquatech, Aqua Value and Aqua Commercial monikers in their names.
“Even though builders and retailers are in local markets, they become more relevant if they’re affiliated with a national brand that has standards of professionalism and quality,” said Jeff Fausett, CEO of the Las Vegas-based organization. “In this day of digital marketing, having a national brand elevates your presence on the Web to a whole other level.”
Peter Sheahan, CEO of ChangeLabs, a global consulting firm that has helped companies such as Apple and IBM work through transitions, gave the keynote address. He encouraged attendees to see their businesses with a new perspective to help respond to changing times.
The group also bade farewell to longtime chairman Ron Atlas of Paragon Aquatech, Wheeling, Ill. He retired after serving on the board for 15 years, the last five at the highest post. Don Gwiz of Lewis Aquatech in Chantilly, Va., has taken the helm.
In the past year, the UAG grew to include 280 members.
Next year’s event will take place Feb. 2-6, 2015 in Puerto Rico.


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On Sunday HTC is expected to finally reveal the HTC One M9 to the world – so it is curious that today the company has announced a special “Champions League” edition of last year’s phone: The HTC One M8.
The early announcement is some canny PR – if the company kept it secret until Sunday, if anyone even cared about it, the question would be “Why not an M9?”.
The press release says that the phone gives “Unparalleled performance on the pitch”, whatever that means in the context of a mobile phone. It was launched today at a Carphone Warehouse event with Manchester United’s Peter Schmeichel and Arsenal Women’s Goalkeeper Emma Byrne.
What makes it so special? Well it is essentially a standard M8, but with a list of the winners of the Champions League etched into the back.
If you’re not convinced, I can’t blame you – not even Schmeichel and Byrne seem impressed enough to make the switch, having tweeted about the event from, umm, their iPhones:
The new handset will apparently be exclusively available to HTC competition winners following the Arsenal match this evening.


text: Ford Motors, Inc. and 7,000 employees represented by the Canadian Auto Workers met today in the first of a series of discussions meant to find ways to cut costs before the current labor contract expires in 2011. The discussion leaves 1,600 jobs at a plant in St. Thomas, Ontario somewhat up in the air, as the factory currently has no production plans after 2011. The union plans to fight to keep those jobs, but want at the very least an assurance that should this plant close, others in Canada will continue to operate and expand. Union president Ken Lewenza says that he hopes the plant could take on the production of some new car models, or produce alternatives goods in conjunction with other companies. Union members are also hoping to discuss a reconstruction of the employee health trust, but are not interested in discussing current wages or pension funds.


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Along the bustling Luthuli Avenue in downtown Nairobi, banners and billboards advertise mobile phones to the throng of shoppers passing by.
The blue, red, black and white storefronts in the busy Kenyan shopping district denote the colours associated with some of Africa’s bestselling phone brands – Tecno, Infinix and iTel.
They are all phones that are made in China. But most people in mainland China will not have heard of them. After all, they have never been sold there.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
That is because all three phone brands are manufactured by Transsion, a Shenzhen-based company that made its fortune exclusively selling phones in Africa – before it expanded into other markets such as Latin America, India, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia.
In fact, Transsion has made such a success of its sales strategy that in 2023 its Tecno brand sold more smartphones in the Middle East and Africa than Samsung or Apple.
It is a feat that has helped cement Chinese tech diplomacy in the region – and has in turn attracted a growing number of Chinese technology firms into Africa and the Middle East.
Tecno smartphone shipments grew by 77 per cent year on year in the fourth quarter of last year, surpassing Samsung to lead the Middle East and Africa region for the first time, according to data from Hong Kong-based firm Counterpoint Research.
During the same period, Tecno’s smartphone shipment market share increased to 20 per cent from 15 per cent in 2022, while Samsung’s market share dropped from 24 per cent in 2022 to 18 per cent.
According to Counterpoint, Tecno’s growth was driven by handsets in the US$150 price band, with models such as the Tecno Pop 7 and the Camon 20 Pro proving popular with consumers.
Economic factors may also have played a part in Transsion’s 2023 success, according to Yang Wang, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Research. He said the growth – seen particularly by Tecno – was mainly due to a much better macroeconomic environment, as inflation and energy prices came down, while local African currencies stabilised across most countries.
Wang said this had a sizeable effect in boosting consumer confidence, particularly among the lower-income audience.
“Transsion brands benefited the most from these tailwinds as they are the most invested in Africa’s mid-to-lower tier smartphone segments, among the biggest brands,” he said.
Sell quality phones in the budget segment, such as this Tecno Spark 8c, has been a winning formula for Transsion. Photo: Shutterstock alt=Sell quality phones in the budget segment, such as this Tecno Spark 8c, has been a winning formula for Transsion. Photo: Shutterstock>
The company’s products in the affordable segment have been a key part of its success. Looking at African sales alone, Tecno had already managed to pass Samsung back in 2020. That was largely due to the successful launch of phone models in the lower price band, as well as continued market spending.
Wang said Tecno was notable in its continued investments in marketing and channel penetration, as well as ambitious plans to launch premium-grade smartphones such as foldables, which increased the brand’s credibility among audiences.
It is a strategy that has worked. Transsion is now the dominant mobile phone manufacturer through the entire Middle East and Africa region, taking more than 36 per cent of the shipments market share in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 32 per cent across the whole year.
Together, Tecno, Infinix and iTel accounted for 48 per cent of the smartphone market in Africa in 2023. Tecno alone held 26 per cent of the African smartphone market share while Infinix and iTel had 12 per cent and 10 per cent market shares respectively.
For more than a decade, Transsion, which is listed on the Star Market section of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, made its money by exclusively selling its mobile phones in Africa. But in recent years it has expanded into other markets.
Its success has been attributed to superior marketing and understanding consumer needs, such as making dual SIM card phones and camera phones better calibrated for darker skin tones.
According to technology research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), Transsion shipped 95 million smartphone units last year – 30.8 per cent more than it did in 2022. IDC said Africa was the biggest contributor to Transsion’s entry into the top five worldwide vendors for the first time.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Samsung ranks second with a market share of 16 per cent in Africa, though sales remained flat in 2023.
Besides Transsion, other Chinese mobile phone brands include Xiaomi and Oppo. Xiaomi, one of the top-selling Chinese smartphones globally, had a 7 per cent market share in Africa in 2023, mainly due to widening product availability and geographic reach. Oppo had a 5 per cent smartphone shipment share in Africa.
But Transsion did not start big when it entered the African market in 2008. Back then, when it launched its operations in Kenya, its office was on the second floor of a building along that same, crowded Luthuli Avenue which these days is festooned with the company’s branding and billboards.
It was from this noisy street that the company established its base to grow and expand into other markets in Africa, including setting up a manufacturing plant in Ethiopia.
Since those early days, Transsion has now moved its office to a quieter part of the city at Cardinal Otunga Plaza on Kaunda Street in central Nairobi, but it has kept the Luthuli Complex office as a service centre.
Transsion began its African trading from a nondescript office on the second floor of a building in downtown Nairobi, Kenya. It now dominates the phone market across the continent. Photo: Shutterstock alt=Transsion began its African trading from a nondescript office on the second floor of a building in downtown Nairobi, Kenya. It now dominates the phone market across the continent. Photo: Shutterstock>
However not all Chinese phone companies have had such sales success stories in Africa. Huawei Technologies has seen its market share in Africa drop from 10 per cent in 2019 to about 1 per cent in recent years.
“Huawei was indeed one of the biggest players in the region, but sales dropped sharply after 2020 when US sanctions starved the company from access to GMS [Google Mobile Services] and chipsets,” Wang said.
“[Huawei] has been on the rebound in 2023 but now accounts for less than 1 per cent of the market.”
That said, Huawei Technologies is a big player in the enterprise business in Africa, where it dominates built data centres, cloud services, networks and internet connectivity infrastructure.
Sub-Saharan geoeconomic analyst Aly-Khan Satchu said Chinese mobile phone brands “are ubiquitous across the continent”.
He said this speaks to the Chinese ability to get up close and personal to its demand curve as well as the skill to price appropriately without compromising on the features suite. He added that this is not unique to handsets, but applies across the consumer space.
For Huawei, Satchu said the company is competing at higher price points – and the market at those points remains thin.
“The issue of Google Mobile Services has no doubt galvanised Huawei,” Satchu said. “I give it a maximum of 24 months before Huawei provides the market with a better operating system.”
New Zealand-based Kenyan technology consultant Peter Wanyonyi said accessing apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook or TikTok requires smartphones.
“That is where the likes of Tecno have found a winning formula: they provide smartphone capability at very affordable prices,” Wanyonyi said.
He said this used to be Huawei’s market, but ever since it got locked out of Google’s Android ecosystem, the Chinese tech giant has struggled to produce smartphones that provide access to the Android ecosystem – which is what Africa’s middle class runs on.
“Without an equivalent set of devices at an affordable point from Huawei, a gap opened up in the African smartphone market – and there was a market in the gap. This is what Tecno and similar phone makers have exploited to quickly eat Huawei’s lunch,” Wanyonyi said.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.


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The Internet is full of hatred and bile-spewing comments about video games. Hell, I'm guilty of it myself. If you shelled out money for the Duke Nukem Forever: Balls of Steel Edition, you're entitled to throw out a couple of curse words in front of someone's children at a Best Buy, too.
The most famous video game comment maker on the Internet is The Angry Video Game Nerd, a character creation of filmmaker James Rolfe who became famous for his obscenity laden diatribes about the worst classic games ever to be shoved into a game console's orifice. The fans he built up through his YouTube channel and his presence on local game production outfits like ScrewAttack have been clamoring for him and his friends to put the pen-pack wearing, Rolling Rock-chugging character in an epic adventure to review the undisputed worst video game of all time. He and his crew have finally done just that and it's on its way to Dallas.
Rolfe announced on his Cinemasscre Productions website that the movie will start a tour of screenings that includes the Magnolia Theater on Thursday, August 7, and the screening is already sold out. The string of screenings will open on July 21 with an official premiere at Grauman's Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles followed by a panel and screening on July 24 at the San Diego Comic-Con.
The movie stars Rolfe as his signature character, who embarks on an epic quest to review the video game version of E.T. for the Atari 2600, a legendary pioneer in the annals of bad game making. The game was rushed into production in 1982 to coincide with the release of Steven Spielberg's famous family movie about a young boy who befriends an adorable alien stranded on Earth. Atari shelled out a lot of money for the license and only had five weeks to complete the game with a staff of three programmers insane enough to take on such a challenge. The game was so bad and sold so poorly that, according to rumor, Atari tried to bury its mistake by shipping 14 truckloads of unsold E.T. cartridges to a New Mexico landfill. This spring, a crew of excavators confirmed the rumor by digging up part of the landfill where they found thousands of copies of the game, some of which still worked.
The AVGN's epic quest becomes a road movie when the Nerd decides to travel to the same New Mexico landfill, dig up the burial site and prove once and for all that it's just an urban legend. Along the way, he'll have to deal with zombies, robots, a military general with a mini-tank for legs, projectile vomiting and (worst of all) skills that were only useful in the horrid NES remake of Top Gun.
Keep the Dallas Observer Free... Since we started the Dallas Observer, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Dallas with no paywalls.


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Non-profit, Green America, recently took a closer look at 14 of America’s biggest apparel brands and found that, despite an increase in consumer demand for – and company claims of – sustainable production practices, most of the label’s supply chains are still dirty as hell.
While nearly all of the companies profiled “say that they have a policy addressing an environmental or labor issue,” none of them provide any “detail about what they are doing to measure their progress or achieve their goal.”
And while it’s true that some companies are “increasingly incorporating sustainability efforts into their policies,” often those efforts only address a single issue, and / or are only implemented to “demonstrate their commitment to sustainability when in reality, they are not addressing most issues in their supply chains.”
All that said, the report did note that transparency is “improving but still lacking,” mentioning that Target, VF, Nike and Gap now “identify chemicals used in their supply chains” and Ascena Retail, The Children’s Place and Urban Outfitters all rely on a Restricted Substances List for chemical management policy. (Also, for what it’s worth, six of those companies actually identify the factories that they source from.)
As for which of the 14 companies examined is the greenest, Green America says none of them. But, Target, VF, Nike are definitely trying the hardest, while Carter’s, J.Crew, Forever 21 “were clearly laggards.”
“When consumers want something, the markets listen,” the report concludes, “and we must continue to demand more of companies.”
You can read more about it at Green America.


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The overnight disappearance of these foreign exchanges from the App Store comes almost a week after the Indian government issued a notice seeking updates on their legal compliance statuses. At the time, the Indian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) had urged the government to ban these crypto exchanges until they showed how compliant they were with India's crypto laws in place so far.
Members of India's crypto community have been actively discussing on social media the reasons and warnings behind the disappearance of these apps from Apple's ecosystem in India. Along with Binance and Kraken, Mexc, Huobi and Gate.io are also not appearing in searches.
The move appears to be a part of the regulatory efforts that India is making aimed at addressing tax evasion concerns regarding the crypto sector.
After India introduced tax on crypto income last year, many Indian traders decided to transfer their deposits to offshore international exchanges. Indians have to pay 30 percent tax on all crypto earnings and 1 percent TDS on all crypto transactions. As these laws came into effect in 2022, Indian crypto exchanges reported a decline in trading volumes.
The government now wants to reduce the margin of misuse of crypto for criminal activities and quietly promote the use of native exchanges.
Check out the latest news from the Consumer Electronics Show on hindi.gadgets 360 and our CES 2024 page


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SD cards are gaining attention as their use in the consumer world for digital cameras, smartphones and laptops increases significantly. In the video surveillance market, it is becoming increasingly common for IP cameras to support SD cards and, with that, interest in storing video inside the camera itself.
Are we quickly moving to a world where centralized storage dies and storage moves to the camera?
In this report, we examine what the video surveillance market will look like in 2014 - 5 years from now - analyzing the barriers that need to be resolved, projecting advances in features and pricing and analyzing the competitive position of SD cards versus other forms of video surveillance storage.
Today, in 2009, SD cards storage for IP cameras almost certainly represents less than 1/10 of 1% (.1%) of new deployments. By 2014, we project that SD cards in IP cameras will replace traditional centralized storage in a few niches, remaining a distinct minority. However, by that time, SSDs will start to be seriously considered as a replacement for hard drives in video surveillance.
[Update 2012: With major camera companies adding support for managing edge storage, we expect SD card usage to accelerate over the next few years. It will be a niche but a rapidly growing one.]


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If we needed any more proof that the world has yet to return to a state of normalcy, it’s been given to us in the form of further blank sailings announcements. The reason cited for these planned blank sailings is the continued congestion of North American ports and the resulting schedule delays.
Congested Ports Still Plaguing North American Trade
Since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, North American ports have been overwhelmed with traffic and inundated with congestion issues due to a variety of factors. Chief among those factors are blank sailings and increased demand for empty containers leaving US ports bound for Asian countries. A premium is being placed on empty containers to the point that US exports are being delayed in favor of sending back the more profitable empty containers over those filled with trade goods.
While the West Coast was hit particularly hard by port congestion at the onset, shippers diverting to East Coast ports has resulted in those ports becoming congested as well. Case in point, the Port of Charleston has struggled under the weight of a record number of containers having arrived in the first quarter of this year, leading to it being named the world’s most congested port by major logistics companies.
Charleston is far from the only US port that finds itself in the top 10 most congested ports around the globe currently. The ports of Oakland, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Houston, and New York all find themselves among the company of ports with the current longest import container dwell times. The primary metric used for assessing port delays and congestion, dwell time is defined as how long it takes for cargo to leave the port premises after its arrival.
Global import container dwell times at North America’s worst-performing port, Oakland, is nearly a full week (6.92 days). Long Beach, not to be left out of consideration for the most congested port, currently boasts an import container dwell time of 5.61 days.
Suffice it to say that North American port congestion will continue to be an issue in the coming months. Considering this fact, many major carriers have announced blank sailings for North American ports in the month of June.
Major Carriers’ Blank Sailings Announcements for June
According to Drewry’s Cancelled Sailings Tracker, 74 of the 741 scheduled sailings for the month of June have been preemptively canceled. Twenty-six of these cancellations were announced by 2M Alliance, while 22 and 14 cancellations were announced by THE Alliance and Ocean Alliance, respectively.
The ongoing congestion issues in North American ports have gone on so long that major ocean carriers are making plans based on the expectation that the congestion will remain a factor. In light of this, a significant number of scheduled port calls have been and will continue to be canceled.
ClearFreight is here to keep you up-to-date on all the important events impacting global trade. Contact us today to hear how our specialized supply chain solutions, and decades of experience, can help make logistics easier for you.