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The Northern Rock savers who queued all day to rescue their cash: Customers recall the day banking changed forever
Customers queue to withdraw their savings outside a Northern Rock branch in 2007
When David Kirsch queued with hundreds of others to take his money out of Northern Rock a decade ago, he didn't realise that banking as he knew it was about to change for good.
David, 82, was the last person to be served on September 14, 2007, at his local branch in Golders Green, North London.
He'd waited in line for around two hours — and after serving him staff shut the door and turned everyone else away. 'Lots of people were panicking — I was lucky to get in,' he says.
'I only planned to take out the amount that was over the limit protected by the Government, which was £35,000 at that time. But I was told it was all or nothing, so I asked for all of it to be transferred to another bank.'
David, a retired accountant, says many in the queue were unaware of how bad the situation was.
'I remember a dear old lady, barely able to walk with a stick queuing to make a deposit,' he says. 'She was being very vocal about how it was all a fuss about nothing.'
David now banks with another High Street name. 'I am sure our bank will not fail and have no worries about having our savings held there,' he says. 'The real issue is the terrible savings rates offered by banks — but that's another story.'
In the years that followed these desperate scenes outside Northern Rock branches many historic names, such as Alliance & Leicester, Bradford & Bingley and Britannia disappeared from the High Street for ever as they were taken over by larger institutions or bailed out by the Government.
Branches were shut in a bid to save cash and thousands of bank workers lost their jobs.
Today there are an estimated 8,978 branches across the UK, compared with 12,270 in 2007.
Many of those shut were the last branch in town, leaving around 1,500 communities without a bank.
Carol Purvis, 81, refuses to bank online because she is worried about fraud
This means thousands of elderly customers in rural areas must now travel miles to their nearest branch to deposit cheques and pay bills. And more still are closing — around ten branches every day.
Brian Brown, head of insight at financial information business Defaqto, says: 'The Northern Rock collapse marked the beginning of a new era.
'Since then there has been a massive reduction in the number of branches as banks and building societies had to cut costs, with customers increasingly being pushed towards digital banking.'
At the time of Northern Rock's demise, new technology was beginning to emerge that would transform the way we spend and manage our money today.
In June 2007 — a couple of months before the run on the bank — the then Apple boss Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in San Francisco.
It took several more years for smartphones to become commonplace, and in 2011 UK customers were able to download the first banking app from First Direct.
Today. nearly 20 million of us regularly use smartphones to manage our bank accounts.
David Kirsch and his wife Jo, 79, rarely have cause to step into a bank branch today.
'We do everything online,' he says. 'Our income from pensions is paid into our accounts automatically and anything else we need to do is done on the computer.' But not everyone is comfortable with the shift to the internet.
Carol Purvis, 81, refuses to bank online because she is worried about fraud. Fortunately, she still has a Lloyds Bank near to where she lives in Rowlands Gill, Tyne & Wear, but it's a lot quieter than it used to be.
Carol says she misses the days when the Post Office she ran with her late husband, Ron, was a hive of activity at the centre of village life.
'On a Thursday, there would be queues of people coming to pick up their pensions and maybe a packet of Pontefract liquorice, too. The customers would talk to me about their children and I'd even be invited to their weddings.
'Now everything is paid directly into people's accounts and they pay all their bills online, we have lost some of those interactions.'
The way we spend our money has also changed dramatically over the past decade. We are now so comfortable with paying by plastic that card payments are predicted to overtake cash by the end of next year, according to the trade body Payments UK.
It was also in 2007 that Barclaycard launched the first contactless payment card, OnePulse, allowing customers to tap and pay on the London Underground and in 6,000 shops around the country.
Today around two-thirds of shoppers tap and spend at 450,000 contactless terminals in the UK.
THIS IS MONEY'S FIVE OF THE BEST CURRENT ACCOUNTS
Santander's 123 Lite Account will pay up to 3% cashback on household bills. There is a £1 monthly fee and you must log in to mobile or online banking regularly, deposit £500 per month and hold two direct debits to qualify.
Virgin Money's current account offers 15 bottles of wine worth £180 when you switch and pays 2 per cent monthly interest on up to £1,000. To get the bonus, £1,000 must be paid into a linked easy-access account and 2 direct debits transferred over.
Club Lloyds's Current Account offers benefits such as cinema tickets, magazine subscriptions and dining cards to current account holders. There is no cost if you pay £1,500 each month, otherwise a £3 fee applies. Must hold two direct debits to earn monthly credit interest.
Metro Bank will give newcomers referred by existing customers £50 to open a current account. Existing customers can refer up to five friends for a total of £250. Customers must switch through CASS, deposit £500 in each of the first two months and make 10 debit card purchases over that time.
Nationwide's FlexDirect account comes with 2% interest on up to £1,500 - the highest interest rate on any current account - if you pay in at least £1,000 each month, plus a fee-free overdraft. Both perks last for a year.
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A top financial regulator in Belgium has issued a warning about OneCoin, a digital currency product that has frequently drawn fraud accusations.
The notice, published this weekend, states that remarks from promoters that OneCoin has received the institution's tacit approval are "false and misleading".
Despite the claims, the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) said that it had no regulatory powers to speak of in relation to digital currencies, and the note itself constitutes little more than a warning about getting involved with products like OneCoin.
The notice reads:
OneCoin functions with a multi-level marketing system whereby people purchase packages of "tokens" that can then be redeemed for access to a "mining" platform. OneCoin marketing materials offer significant returns for those who can get others to sign up, a characteristic that invokes so-called pyramid schemes whereby the biggest gains go to those at the top of the structure.
The post goes on to reiterate past warnings about digital currencies as a whole, pointing to cybersecurity and price volatility risks publishes in 2014 and 2015 by the FSMA and the Belgian central bank.
Reports indicate that regulators worldwide have taken notice of pitches like OneCoin and their promises of quick riches.
As reported by Bangladesh news service Bangla Tribune, a group of individuals involved in the promotion of multi-level marketing schemes including OneCoin were arrested in mid-June. The arrests reportedly involved the country’s counter-terrorism forces.
German regulators are also looking into OneCoin. Major German newspaper Der Spiegel reported in early June that the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), the country’s main financial services regulator had opened an investigation.
MLM news site BehindMLM has reported in the past that other regulators in Europe are investigating OneCoin as well.
Image via Shutterstock
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.

domain: news


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With utility bills expected to get even more expensive, many UK gamers are thinking of giving up their hobby to cut costs.
We already know that people have been Spending less and less on video games this year, with the cost of living crisis in the UK being a major factor.
Now some are thinking about not even playing video games anymore, as energy bills have risen and are expected to get even higher.
In a survey, 2000 UK gamers were asked if and how their gaming habits have changed as a result of rising energy prices, and about one in 10 of them (9%, to be exact) are considering leaving their hobby altogether.
21% have already started playing games for shorter periods to cut costs, while 15% have chosen to save money through other means, such as groceries.
Nearly half of those surveyed (46%) were reluctant to give up their hobby, with some citing it as good for stress relief and/or as an opportunity to hang out with friends.
53% said they are more than willing to curb their gaming habits if it means saving money on energy bills, although 64% admitted they are unaware of the financial costs of gaming.
The research was conducted by Carbon Cutting Consoles, which also looked at the impact of gaming on the environment. The full results can be found on its website.
The decline in spending on video game products can also be attributed to the lack of significant releases this year. At this rate, though, it doesn’t matter if Sony and Microsoft have stronger 2023 lineups, if not enough people can afford to buy them.
Not to mention that with the passage of time, gaming has only become an increasingly expensive hobby. After all, publishers like Sony are now charging £70 for their games.
Now that production and shipping costs have also risen, there is talk of game consoles becoming more expensive as well. We’ve already seen it with the Oculus Quest 2, as Nintendo is eager to avoid raising the price for its Nintendo Switch.
MORE: Even mobile games are in decline as people spend less on smartphone apps
MORE: Your pint could soon cost £9 amid 6% price hikes in pubs and restaurants
MORE: ‘Biggest, most united’ protest planned to date over cost of living crisis
Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at [email protected]
To make it easier to submit letters to your Inbox and Reader’s Features without sending an email, use our Stuff Stuff page here.
For more such stories, check out our Gaming page.


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MySpace Acquisition Settled, Justin Timberlake Revealed To Be An Investor
Jun 30, 2011 18:18
Ruper Murdoch's News Corporation had recently agreed to sell Myspace to Specific Media for $35 million, a fraction of the $100m it was initially seeking earlier this year.
Hours after news of the sale went public, Timberlake announced his minority stake in the company. Based on a statement provided to The Hollywood Reporter, "The Social Network" star is set to help Specific Media develop the company's future strategy and creative direction:
"There's a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favorite entertainers, listen to music, watch videos, share and discover cool stuff and just connect. Myspace has the potential to be that place," said Timberlake in a statement.
"Art is inspired by people and vice versa, so there's a natural social component to entertainment. I'm excited to help revitalize Myspace by using its social media platform to bring artists and fans together in one community."
In an interview with AdAge, Specific Media chief executive Tim Vangerhook revealed how Timberlake had put his own money into buying Myspace, but refused to disclose how much. He confirmed that the former N Sync singer will have an office in Myspace but that he was "probably not going to be there every day".
Ikea just made an ad that looked a lot like The Shining. One scene, that is. Ikea Singapore is promoting its late night shopping hours, and this is probably the best Halloween ad anyone has done for a long time. Read more
Here's a very important development in technology. The engineers over at Hendo just released a video of their real-world Back to the Future style hoverboard. It works, and they're showing it off. Read more


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A new report has leaked the prices of the Realme X7 Max 5G ahead of its launch, and they are in line with the speculation. Realme X7 Max 5G prices in India are expected to start at Rs 27,999, according to MySmartPrice. This price is for the phone’s base model, which will have 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, according to the report.Another edition would supposedly contain 12GB of RAM and 256GB of inbuilt memory, and will cost Rs 30,999 in India, according to the article. If these pricing points hold true for the X7 Max 5G, we should expect higher prices in India.
On May 31, the Realme X7 Max 5G smartphone will be released in India. Realme’s upcoming 5G phone will be the first to feature the MediaTek Dimensity 1200 processor. As a result, it’s possible that the X7 Max 5G will be a rebranded GT Neo for India. If the prices of the GT Neo in China are any indication, the X7 Max 5G will be a mid-range phone in India. A new report has been released ahead of the launch.
The Realme X7 Max 5G will also be available in Mercury Silver, Asteroid Black, and Milky Way colours, according to the rumour. The GT Neo, on the other hand, comes in Black, Silver, and Aurora colorways. The X7 Max 5G appears to be fairly similar to the GT Neo, so I assume Realme has simply altered the names of these colour versions for the Indian market.
Because no official word has been issued, it is best to treat this information with caution. Realme will announce the price of the X7 Max 5G, among other things, at the launch event on May 31. The new 43-inch and 50-inch smart TVs are also launching on the same day.
Specifications of the Realme X7 Max 5G
If the X7 Max 5G is the Indian counterpart of the GT Neo, we may expect similar specs
The Realme X7 Max could include a 6.43-inch Full-HD+ Super AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz.
The X7 Max will be powered by an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 1200 processor.
Storage: The Realme X7 Max could come with 128GB or 256GB of storage.
RAM: The Realme X7 Max may come with 8GB or 12GB of RAM.
Rear Cameras:The Realme X7 Max is expected to have a 64-megapixel Sony IMX682 sensor on the rear, as well as an eight-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor and a 2-megapixel macro sensor.
The Realme X7 Max could offer a 16-megapixel in-display fingerprint sensor for selfies.
The X7 Max could include a 4500mAh battery with 50W rapid charging for power.
On the X7 Max, you should get Realme UI 2.0 out of the box, which is based on Android 11.


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At SXSW’s 2019 Sonic panel, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka dropped some big news. Another Sonic game is being developed! Okay, so it’s not groundbreaking but it does confirm that SEGA decided that after Sonic Forces the franchise should continue. On this SEGA News Bits, Barry and George discuss what worked and what didn’t work in past 3D Sonic games and what they would like to see from the next Sonic game in development.
If you want to support this type of content, you can check out our Patreon!
If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a thumbs up so it shows up on more like-minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.


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05 June 2009
05 June 2009
The American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) this month released its 2008 Composites Industry Report, which provides the latest statistics on the U.S. composites industry, including end market uses.
The 2008 Composites Industry Report highlights the total impact of composites production and also provides data on fibreglass thermoset composites shipments by year, market and end-use applications. Additionally, it highlights sales of composites for markets such as construction, marine, and transportation and the use of composites in windmill blades and sports equipment.
Cobra International will showcase a range of composite products at CAMX 2018, including carbon fibre components for the automotive, transportation, marine, water sports and luxury sectors.
3A Composites Core Materials reports that its BALTEK SB balsa core has been ABS-approved for more than 20 years.
Innovators and industry pioneers will gather to discuss the latest applications of graphene nanotubes at the Nanoaugmented Materials Industry Summit (NAUM) 2018 in Shanghai, China, on 31 October. Visitors will also be able to see an on-site demonstration of the production of nanoaugmented products with real industrial equipment.


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Speech-to-text systems already exist, as do augmented-reality displays. Now, a group of New York City teens led by Daniil Frants (who interned at the MIT Media Lab when he was 14) have combined the two technologies to form the Live Time Closed Captioning System (LTCCS). Once up and running, it could revolutionize the way in which deaf people communicate with the hearing world.
Architects and designers who attended the Architecture and Design Film Festival (ADFF) in New York this past week got a first hand look at how augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) can be used in their respective industries. For the first time in the festival’s seven year history, an AR/VR lounge was set up separate from the traditional film screenings to showcase short films that illustrated the immersive abilities of both of these technologies.
Microsoft's ambition to take over your living room was more evident than ever at its new hardware event Tuesday in New York where the company demoed "wearable holograms" made possible by its HoloLens augmented reality setup. The brief demo showed how any living room can transform to an alien battlefield with the headset.
To gain proficiency, pilots need realistic training, but they also need to avoid needless cost and risk. Real aircraft provide the most obviously realistic training, but they're dangerous in inexperienced hands. Meanwhile, simulators can reproduce much of the look and feel of actual flying without the danger of losing an aircraft or pilot, but they aren't as successful when it comes to complex maneuvers like aerial-refueling. To square the circle, NASA is developing a technology called Fused Reality, which uses a special headset that combines real flying in a real aircraft with an overlaid simulation.
Pokémon announced today that it will be bringing Pikachus, Mudkips, and
Bulbasaurs to an entirely new realm never inhabited by Pokémon before:
real life. In collaboration with Niantic, developer of the
augmented-reality sci-fi game Ingress, players can expect Pokémon Go
to use physical locales as settings for the otherwise familiar
collecting, battling, and trading. Aiding players is a new device called
the Pokémon Go Plus, which will augment the mobile game available for
Android and iOS devices.
Riding a bike while looking down at a smartphone isn’t the safest or smartest thing to do. While you could just pull over to use the phone, Chinese tech manufacturer Insenth is offering an alternative – augmented reality glasses designed specifically for cyclists. Called Senth IN1, they not only let riders place and receive phone calls, but they also let them select music, take photos, navigate, and more.
Microsoft made waves back at E3 with the purpose-built version of Minecraft running on the company's HoloLens augmented reality headset. The demo provided a glimpse of what might be possible with the tech, which is set to provide tabletop AR gaming on Windows 10 and the Xbox One. But what other games would work well with the headset?
When the unmanned CRS-7 flight blew up in midair yesterday en route to the International Space Station (ISS), it destroyed a lot more than a shipment of freeze dried shrimp cocktail. It also meant the loss of dozens of experiments. One of more exotic of these was Sidekick; a project by NASA and Microsoft that uses the latter's HoloLens technology to provide astronauts with their own holographic augmented reality.
Within the 2015 Tokyo Toy Show, at the
end of June, Toyota displayed the fourth episode in its Camatte series of exploratory concept vehicles. This year’s story was called Hajime (begin) and was a miniature copy of the
car design process. It enabled children (and adults) to create their own
vehicle concepts on a dedicated tablet and then drive their designs and
themselves around a model town, all in augmented reality. Gizmag went along to experience the
Camatte Vision for real.
While we've come to expect a host of new and exciting games from E3, this year saw focus shift a little. The big, glossy new games were still there, but certain companies, Microsoft in particular, offered a second focus – one of augmenting the gaming experience with meaningful peripherals.


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Don’t miss Commerceweek, February 28–29 in NYC, to explore the technology and trends fueling commerce. Get strategic insights from leaders at The New York Times Advertising, Turo, TikTok and more. Register.
The first quarter of the Super Bowl wasn't even over yet, and Esurance already appeared to be miles ahead of competitors when it comes to social chatter.
The insurance brand ran a 30-second pregame ad created by Leo Burnett. The commercial promotes a contest in which people could win up to $1 million in exchange for tweeting #Esurancesweepstakes.
— Esurance (@esurance) February 7, 2016
According to data from tech company Spredfast, the brand's Twitter mentions spiked at 6:35 p.m.


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LOS ALAMITOS – Two men have been arrested on suspicion of making checks, using them to buy goods at home improvement stores then reselling the items for cash.
David Arthur Larousse, 45, of Anaheim and Earl Leroy Gorman, 39, of Santa Ana, were arrested Thursday after Los Alamitos and Buena Park police detectives found equipment used to create fake checks during a search of their homes, police said.
Officials from Los Alamitos began investigating the men about three weeks ago after retailers including Home Depot, Ganahl Lumber and Office Depot reported the crimes, police Capt. Bruce McAlpine said.
Investigators said they believe Larousse and Gorman created checks using the names of existing businesses and used them to purchase goods totaling an estimated $30,000.
"That number could go up because they are still investigating these cases," McAlpine said.
Police said Larousse and Gorman would take the goods purchased with the checks and pawn them later for cash. They were arrested on suspicion of burglary, forgery and narcotics possession.
Information on how police connected Larousse and Gorman to the crimes is not being released because the crimes are being investigated.
Buena Park and Los Alamitos police departments served Larousse and Gorman simultaneous search and arrest warrants, although it was Los Alamitos police who made the arrests, authorities said.
During the search, officers said they found about 15 grams of methamphetamine and evidence of paperwork used to steal identities.
Police said $3,500 worth of Home Depot property was also recovered and returned to corporate authorities.
Contact the writer: (714) 704-3764 or email@example.com
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- $45 million donation to Chapman makes Fowler couple the school's largest donors at $100 m
- Mission Viejo massage therapist arrested, accused in sex assault on client
- 13-year-old boy in scuffle with off-duty L.A. cop in Anaheim free for now


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Good360 – Helping NFPs #DoGoodBetter
9 October 2014 at 10:00 am
Good360 connects businesses with excess goods to charities that need them and their online GivingPlace platform is about to launch across Australia in time for Christmas 2014.
Good360 Australia was established in 2012 when Managing Director, Alison Covington, brought the concept to Australia. They have operated successfully in the US for over 30 years, delivering over US$8billion worth of goods to 40,000 Not for Profits, with operating costs of less than 2 per cent of donations and feature on Forbes’ Top 10 Best-Managed Charities list.
“Our GivingPlace eCommerce platform is the technology that makes our vision a reality – the first of its kind in Australia,” Covington said. “It’s a central online marketplace for companies to provide excess product and charities to request those products to fulfil their mission,”Covington.
Good360 is based on a simple concept – connecting excess product to people in need.
“It’s more than a shopping cart. It also offers a great communication tool for Not for Profits to connect with their local communities,” Covington said.
Good360’s GivingPlace is the social platform to do good. The powerful new website brings together Not for Profits, businesses and individuals to meet community need and maximise social impact, at the same time as diverting thousands of tonnes of potential waste from landfill.
Good360 creates a win-win-win situation for charities (and their clients), businesses and the environment. It matches businesses and individual donors to charities and redistributes excess non-perishable goods like toys, clothes, shoes, household goods and office furniture to charities that, in turn, pass them on to people who most need them.
Good360 provides an innovative and unique service that does not currently exist in Australia and it will make it easier for Australian NFPs to help our most vulnerable fellow citizens.
Companies that have partnered with Good360 Australia include 3M, Linen House, Shoes of Prey, Deals Direct, Booktopia and Lush.
Good360 takes care of all the logistics to ensure products go to charities around Australia.
“By combining world class technology and shipping solutions to the charitable sector, Good360 provides the piece of the puzzle that has frustrated businesses and charities from easily making the donation connection,” Covington said. “Our website enables connections between businesses and charities on a scale that has never been achievable before.”
Junghan (JH) Lee, 3M Australia’s Managing Director, said “I know of countless companies that struggle to give away excess product and Good360’s GivingPlace online platform will provide a one-stop solution to donors and charities that need that product. I would encourage the CEOs of other companies across Australia to support Good360’s efforts to help Australia’s charities, reduce waste, save money, and at the same time give employees an opportunity to be more engaged and proud of the companies they work for.”
Registrations are Now Open to Not for Profits.
Charities that have pre-registered will be eligible for product donations when Good360’s GivingPlace goes live in December.
Benefits of registering
· Cost of shipping can be a barrier for some charities to access donated product. In partnership with Temando, Good360 assists charities by providing them with access to the best shipping rates across Australia.
· Crowd-funding fundraising feature – charities will be able to rally their supporters to help fund the shipping and processing fees. Charities add all the FREE product to their shopping cart, create a compelling story about impact the product will have on the lives of the people they assist, and then Good360 will help push these stories out to their supporters via social media/newsletters.
Supporters can ‘chip-in’ to fund the cost of shipping. This provides a leveraged effect of their donation and donors can directly see where their donation is going, e.g. how $20 will help a children’s charity give $10,000 worth of toys to their community.
· Charity feedback reporting feature – charities can upload their “Impact Stories”, with images and video, once they receive and distribute the donation. Impact stories are linked to the dashboard of product donors and individual cash donors, providing tangible stories of the good the donors’ contributions have made, hopefully encouraging them to make further donations. These stories are also shareable via social media widgets.
· Charity “Needs List” feature – tools for charities to provide compelling stories to request specific product via wish lists and share the impact these products would have on their community. Good360 has had a lot of positive feedback about this feature because charities find it hard to communicate their needs and reach potential donors who would happily give if they knew what was needed and the impact their donations would make.
With $250 + gst the registration creates a profile on the Good360 GivingPlace.
The suite of benefits includes:
1. Access to FREE product
2. Crowdfund to receive donations from supporters
3. Create Impact Stories
4. Create Needs List.
For more on Early Bird registration, visit www.good360.org.au


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ROANOKE, Va. – If it hadn’t already, the holiday season officially got underway Friday.
Dozens of people packed downtown Roanoke Friday evening to watch the city’s Christmas tree light up.
The tree lighting kicked off the 37th annual Dickens of a Christmas celebration.
From 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. the next two Fridays, there will be holiday-themed activities downtown.
That includes a mini-carnival and even a pet costume contest.
“It brings the kids some excitement and kind of kicks off the holiday season. I think it’s a good way to get everybody together and kind of kick off the holiday season,” said Justin Keen, who came to watch the tree lighting with his kids.
For a full list of Dickens of a Christmas activities, click here.


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Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud business of Amazon.com, is planning to launch its own network switches to business customers at lower prices.
With this move, Amazon could tap the $25 billion Ethernet switch market taking on the US-based Cisco Systems, the dominant player.
The size of the Ethernet switch market was $6.29 billion (+10.9 percent) in the first quarter of 2018, said IDC. The size of the Ethernet switch market in the US alone was $2.44 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
The move will impact enterprise networking companies such as Cisco, Huawei Technologies, Juniper Networks, Arista and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).
The networking devices will consist of open-source software and unbranded hardware known as “white-box” switches and come with built-in connections to AWS cloud services, such as servers and storage, the Information said.
Amazon Web Services could price its white-box switches 70-80 percent less than comparable switches from networking giant Cisco.
“If true, we think this would be a notable negative for the networking equipment space going forward,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Mitch Steves wrote in a note.
AWS expects to launch the switches for sale within the next 18 months, the report said.
Cisco’s shares fell 5 percent, wiping off nearly $11 billion from its market capitalization. Shares of Juniper Networks and Arista Networks fell 4 percent as investors feared that Amazon’s scale and pricing power could disrupt the enterprise networking sector, Reuters reported.
“The emergence of next-generation software-based network intelligence platforms that add to the intrinsic value of networking, and the push by large enterprises, hyperscalers, and service providers to leverage faster Ethernet switching speeds for cloud rollouts are contributing to the growth,” Rohit Mehra, vice president, Network Infrastructure at IDC, said earlier.
Cisco has 53.4 percent share in the global Ethernet switch market in Q1 2018. Cisco share plummeted from 55 percent in Q1 2017 and 58.9 percent in Q1 2016.
Huawei’s Ethernet switch market share increased to 8.1 percent as compared with 6.3 percent in Q1 2017.
Ethernet switch market share of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) was steady at 6 percent during that time.
Arista Networks has a share of 6.5 percent in Ethernet switch market, up from 5.1 percent in Q1 2017.
Junipers Ethernet switch share fell to 3.7 percent from 4.3 percent.
IDC in another report said vendor revenue from sales of infrastructure products such as server, storage, and Ethernet switch for cloud IT, including public and private cloud, grew 45.5 percent to $12.9 billion in Q1 2018.
Dell is the market leader in the global cloud IT infrastructure market 15.9 percent share in the first quarter of 2018 against 11.5 percent share for HPE.
IDC also raised its forecast for total spending on cloud IT infrastructure in 2018 to $57.2 billion (+21.3 percent).


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Stephen Curry is the top-ranked Golden State Warriors player on the Forbes “NBA’s Richest Shoe Deals” list courtesy of the $20 million contract he signed with Under Armour in 2013.
He is fourth on the list overall, behind former Warrior Kevin Durant/Nike, $26 million (third), LeBron James/Nike, $32 million (second) and Michael Jordan/Jordan, $130 million (first).
But Curry’s Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, did not go without mention by Forbes.
Thompson started his career as a Nike guy — the most popular brand in the NBA, with just over 62% of the league’s players who have endorsement deals signed to the “Just do it” company, according to Forbes. So, during the 2014-15 season, Thompson signed with Chinese shoemaker, Anta, and inked a 10-year extension in 2017.
His deal with Anta is worth $9 million and his promotional trips to China have become legendary, giving rise to the #ChinaKlay hashtag.
In June 2018, Thompson seemed to enjoy hosting a freestyle contest …
eating noodles …
and getting beat at pop-and-shot.
What hasn’t been reported via mainstream outlets, however, is this angry outburst, #ChinaKlay-style — WARNING: This video contains language that some may find objectionable or offensive. But, overall, Thompson seems like a fun-loving, adventuresome guy.
It is not known yet whether #ChinaKlay 2019 will happen. Currently, Thompson is experiencing #VacayKlay with girlfriend Laura Harrier.


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921 SW Washington Street, Suite 750 Portland, OR 97205Phone: 503-222-5144 • Fax: 503-227-8777
A totally cosmic look at the brightest stars—and the up-and-comers—in our local sneaker industry’s footwear firmament.
Wieden, one half of Portland's iconic ad agency Wieden & Kennedy, died Friday, September 30, at the age of 77.
The annual event, taking place August 4–10, brings out the city’s most cultured and creative enthusiasts in the footwear industry.
With his upcoming Nike movie, he’s got Portland cred, but let’s just imagine some of the alternatives: Jesus, Voldemort, George Clooney…
Many of the Rose City-based brands have founders with roots at Nike, Adidas and Columbia—like Velous, which is making recovery sandals
The namesake building is the largest yet to grace the sprawling campus in Beaverton.
The Nike-sponsored Portland bike share program's all-electric fleet is free for up to an hour if you have the app.
From Nike to Stoel Rives to City Hall, many local businesses are navigating COVID-era office culture by moving to hybrid work schedules.
Disagreements with the early face of the brand—a beloved nurse and influencer with more than a million Instagram followers—changed the company's trajectory. Its founders, two former Nike employees, are trying to right the ship.
Private employers in Oregon are starting to jump on the vaccine mandate for their employees.
How We're Coping
Shain Brenden says he and other comedians have had to "adjust accordingly." But that doesn't mean it's not a little bit funny.
The Culture PDX is a vintage wonderland of 750-plus Nike pieces.
Your cremains come back in a minimalist "urn" so sleek it could hold a new iPhone.
The best part? The socks. No, for real.
“I got really inspired by the posters and sociopolitical prints of the 1960s and ’70s civil rights movement," says designer Marcellus Johnson.
And it boasts a workspace that would make Tim Gunn clap with joy.
Nike designer and Toffee Club co-owner Pete Hoppins explains why football fashion is having a moment.
Hate the color of our city's communal bikes? Channel your rage into a new design.
On, a Zurich-based running shoe maker, aims to break into the local market.
Eleanor Van Buren
Athletics meets aesthetics in menswear label Dyne.


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MondoCon 2019 Pin Releases
As many of you know, Mondo recently partnered with Disney to create officially licensed pins! We’ve been covering the new Disney pin releases from Mondo including Marvel as well. MondoCon 2019 is September 14-15, 2019 at the Palmer Events Center in downtown Austin.
MondoCon is a celebration of incredible artists & creators from around the world, panels, screenings, food trucks, interactive events, and more! Here is a look at the MondoCon 2019 pin releases.
- Disney Fantasia Pins: Four (4) event exclusive Disney Fantasia pins! Designed by Nico Delort.
- Marvel Spider-Man Pins: Four (4) event exclusive Marvel Spider-Man pins! Designed by Matt Taylor.
Click here to view more Mondo pin releases.
-Disney Pins Blog


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Published: 24 June 2013
From Tech News Daily…
Article Excerpt: “Forget about 3D glasses. Holographic monitors -- which render images that, even to the naked eye, seem to float in space -- could soon become an affordable reality for the masses. Researchers at MIT say they have cut the cost of producing key components that until now have kept holographic video displays as being only expensive lab projects costing tens of thousands of dollars to a commodity costing about $200 and compatible with a regular PC.
“In a new study published in the current issue of Nature, Daniel Smalley, a graduate student at MIT's Media Lab, outlined his work manufacturing an optical chip used to create color holographic videos for about $10 (about 6 percent of what it has cost), thus drastically bringing down the price of the whole system. Smalley built a prototype display that renders color holographic video at resolutions equal to that of a standard-definition TV.”
Link to full news story.
InterpretAmerica’s take: In order for interpreting to remain relevant, we need to keep an eye on new technological developments that could well affect our field in the future. According to this article in Tech New Daily,3D holographic video is well on its way to becoming an inexpensive consumer product. What could this mean for the remote delivery of interpreting services? At this point, it’s anyone’s guess, but it would appear that having an interpreter’s image jump from a flat screen to a full-blown 3D holographic image is just a few years away. ”Help us, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re our only hope…”


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A majority (57 percent) of small business owners now believe the U.S. economy has entered a recession, while only 30 percent of respondents rate the condition of the U.S. economy as good or excellent. Meanwhile, a vast majority of small business owners are opposed to a major component of the recently passed “Inflation Reduction Act.” Seventy percent of respondents oppose doubling the size of the IRS, which will trigger more audits of Mainstreet.
Elaine Parker, president of the Job Creators Network Foundation, said, “The U.S. economy is on shaky ground as Main Street continues to face rising prices, labor shortages, government red tape, and big tax burdens. The latest blow comes in the form of the misnamed Inflation Reductions Act—legislation that will raise taxes on job creators, pick winners and losers with ‘green’ subsidies, fuel even higher inflation, and sick the IRS on small businesses. Despite efforts by the White House to spin the bill as a ‘win,’ small business owners understand it’s a raw deal for America.”


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Useful or creepy? Machines now suggesting Gmail replies
MOUNTAIN VIEW (AP) — Google is toeing the line between helping you save time and creeping you out as it turns to machines to suggest email replies on your behalf.
The customized auto-responses come in the latest version of Gmail on the web and expand on a feature already available on Android devices and iPhones. They’re just one more example of how artificial intelligence is seeping into everyday online life, whether it’s to tailor product recommendations or correct spelling.
So far the new feature has been drawing mixed responses from users.
The new feature, called Smart Reply, offers three short responses, like “It was great seeing you too,” or “I’ll look into it.” Unlike standard auto-replies when on vacation, for instance, these are customized to an individual email based on its context. If you select one, you can either send it immediately or edit it before sending.
The responses are automatically created using Google’s artificial intelligence systems. Humans aren’t reading people’s emails, but machines are scanning them. Although Google stopped scanning email to target advertising in 2017, it still scans them to filter out junk mail, identify phishing scams and, now, to create suggested replies. (Yahoo and AOL, both owned by Verizon, still scan email for advertising.)
Google’s suggestions draw on the text of your email. Google says it doesn’t analyze anything else, like attachments or photos, even though it scans them for security risks. The analysis can include past conversations. For example, if someone says “Thanks!” more often than “Thanks,” with no exclamation point, the suggested response would likely reflect that.
Brian Lam, a San Diego attorney who focuses on privacy and data security, said autoreplies represent “a tradeoff between privacy and new features that consumers may want.”
Google has been scanning Gmail since its debut in 2004, so scanning for auto-replies shouldn’t come as a surprise. Lam said he has no concerns as long as companies disclose they are doing this.
“There’s a market incentive to behave responsibly,” he said. There’s been consumer backlash when people get wind of companies that don’t respect privacy. People decide not to use those services.”
Not every email will get suggestions — only those that Google thinks will lend themselves to a short reply.
Graham Gardner, a freelance photographer and leather-goods maker in Minneapolis, said he has used smart replies in Gmail several times over the past few months. He said the speed of response can be helpful, particularly if he is on his phone and can reply with one tap.


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Reportedly, in just four years, this startup has managed to raises almost 7 million Euros. With this investment, the company will strengthen its presence in the markets that already operates, but as announced will continue its expansion conquering new markets as well.
To date, the company is present in Greece, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. Their next plan is further expansion in other destination in Europe, Middle East and America.
Founded in 2013, greek startup Blueground is a VC-backed hospitality technology company, aspiring to become a global leader in the corporate rental market. The company offers stylish, fully-furnished apartments to business executives and travelers.
“Our vision is to offer high quality and no hassle accommodation to our guests surpassing their expectations but at the same time ensuring our offering is of great value” the Blueground’s team noted on their website.
Owned by Alexandros Chatzieleftheriou, Alexis Marangos, Andreas Nezeriti and Penny Papaconstantinou, this startup employs 60 employees and manages more than 400 properties for rent.
According to the company’s LinkedIn profile among their prominent clients are many of the worldwide known companies such as Coca-Cola, H&M, Panasonic, Novo Nordisk, LG, IKEA and many others.
VentureFriends are entrepreneurial investors who support startups and help them to become disruptive and eventually grow to become sustainable businesses. They have a strong financial, marketing & business background coming from extensive startup experience. To date, reportedly this venture capital have invested 20 million Euros in 20 startups, creating 154 jobs in Greece and abroad.
Endeavor is an American non-profit organization that supports high-impact entrepreneurs around the world. Launched in 2012, Endeavor Catalyst, part of Endeavor, has raised 35 million dollars to date, investing them in over 40 companies in 15 countries worldwide, capital.gr reported.


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There is a lot of people that don't even have a computer and no way to get to one. I had filed for mine and they told me to come back Oct. 16 and refile. I was going on line and putting in about 6 apps a day.I would rather be working. They act like the money is coming out of their pockets. I think they should go back and start doing it like they used to.
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Last-minute deals will disappear over the next two years as travel companies cut almost one in every five of the flights and holidays they sell, say industry experts.
The market has been transformed in the past year with travellers choosing long-haul destinations over shorter trips to Europe because of the pound's dramatic fall against the euro, the mergers and closures of Britain's biggest travel companies, the demise of 30 airlines worldwide and high fuel prices, said Casia Zajac, of the Association of British Travel Agents.
"The impact will be profound," she said. "The whole last minute era is over. It's a huge shift in culture for the British holiday market.
"We strongly advise people to snap up good deals now because if they wait, they might well find their choices are very limited and costly."
Thomas Cook Group has reduced the number of flights and holidays it offers by 16 per cent, while Tui UK said that by this summer it would have shed one in eight of its flights and holidays.
The weak pound has seen a rise in demand for holidays to Australia, New Zealand and Canada and "mid-haul" destinations such as Turkey, Egypt and Morocco have also benefited.


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The U.S. 3D print market remains “white hot”, fueled by the explosion of 3D print manufacturers from around the world that are setting their sites on the market, according to new research from International Data Corporation (IDC).
IDC says the U.S. is the world's largest market for 3D printers, with hardware revenues expected to approach $1.5 billion by 2019.
The increasing demand to reduce manufacturing cycle times and to reduce prototyping costs are major drivers of 3D printing.
"The technologies that enable 3D printing continue to develop and expand in nearly every direction," Tim Greene, research director, Hardcopy Solutions at IDC, said in a statement. "These technologies can help deliver larger, more accurate, and more solidly built models in a fraction of the time."
With key patents expiring in 2014, stereolithography (SLA) technologies, which offer the potential to increase speed and build size, are being more widely explored, the report says.
For the study, U.S. 3D Printer Forecast, 2015-2019, the IDC market sizing and forecasts are presented in terms of shipments of new printers and the revenue derived from the sale of those units. IDC calculates the revenue opportunity by multiplying the number of printer shipments by the selling price of those printers.
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Just three people came into Lizzy Lou Boutique all day Tuesday, and one of them was the UPS man making a delivery.
Highly coveted parking spaces just outside the Main Street business remained vacant all day.
“I started to see it was getting slower Friday and Saturday,” Lizzy Lou Boutique owner Sarah Gibson said as she stood behind the counter of her women’s clothing store Wednesday morning.
Sales are down 30% this month compared to March 2019. The downward spiral from the threat of the coronavirus began last weekend.
Retailers all over Danville are seeing a decline in sales as a result of fears of the coronavirus and draconian restrictions on public gatherings.
“9/11 was tragic, but this has been unbelievable,” said Karen Johnston, owner of Karen’s Hallmark Shop in the Danville Mall.
Johnston, like Gibson, has also experienced a decrease of nearly a third in sales volume compared to this time last year.
“I have obviously seen a significant drop,” she said.
Sales have plummeted at Vintages by the Dan next to Lizzy Lou and The Gingerbread House at Memorial Drive and Park Avenue.
“Sales are down about 40% this March compared to last March,” Vintages by the Dan owner Robin Jones said Tuesday.
It’s even more grim at The Gingerbread House, where sales have fallen by more than half, said assistant manager Sarah Talbard.
“It started last week,” Talbard said inside the empty store, which had opened Wednesday morning under reduced hours. “This week has been another turn.”
The store, which sells home decor, coffee, gourmet food items and other products, had just ordered its spring, Easter and summer inventory.
“You’ve got a store full of merchandise you planned for,” she said. “Everything has come to a halt.”
Besides the changes in hours, Jones and Talbard have also cut back on what they offer customers. Fears of spreading COVID-19 have forced Jones to stop wine and beer tastings at Vintages and Talbard to temporarily quit offering samples of food items at The Gingerbread House.
The Brown Bean, a coffee shop and restaurant attached to The Gingerbread House, has also reduced its hours and limited seating for customers. In its empty cafe, chairs were left on top of some of the tables to restrict the availability to patrons.
Jones said she is not sure whether she will have to cut her workers’ hours — she has just three part-time employees.
Uncertainty from the virus, the resulting restrictions and the slowdown in activity have cast a pall over the usually bustling area at Main Street near Memorial Drive, where Vintages and Lizzy Lou are located.
The section also includes Dell’Anno’s Pizza Kitchen and Main Street Art Collective.
“I’m just sitting here trying to figure out what to do,” Jones said behind from behind the counter at Vintages on Tuesday. “I may cut back hours. I may close. I don’t know what to do.”
Gibson seemed downcast Wednesday morning.
“I just hope this will blow over in the next two weeks or so,” she said.
If the current economic conditions last a month or more? “That would be devastating,” Gibson said.
“It would put me in a bind financially,” she added. “It would be very hard to catch back up from that. I can’t afford to stay open every day if no one comes in. [There are] a lot of unknowns right now.”
When Gibson opened her business in September 2015, she never expected to see this type of situation
“I didn’t think when I became a business owner, I would have to deal with anything like this,” Gibson said, adding that reducing her employees’ hours was possible.
Back at the Danville Mall at noon on Wednesday, almost all of its stores were either closed temporarily or operating under reduced hours.
Belk, Victoria’s Secret, Bath and Body Works, Footlocker stores and other businesses had their gates down with signs stating that they were temporarily closed.
On the mall’s bottom floor, just a couple of people could been seen walking by — instead of shopping, they had come for the exercise.
One man was there on his daily walk on the upper level.
“I’m not here to shop,” said Tim West. “I try to go [walk] every day.”
T.J. Davis was there with his 10-year-old daughter Zakayla Fitzgerald, who had just bought a pair of shoes and a hoodie.
Davis said he had no problem with businesses closing their doors.
“I agree with it,” he said. “Containment is the biggest issue right now. Less people means less chance of spreading it.”
Karen’s Hallmark was operating under limited hours Wednesday, but Johnston doesn’t plan to eliminate workers.
“We don’t have any intentions of cutting any employees,” she said.
If customers call, Karen’s will take items to the parking lot for them.
Over at Hall’s Pastry Shop on Piney Forest Road, owner Michael Hall has been making sure the business is well sanitized and disinfected. He has not reduced his hours so far.
“If [sales] start falling off, we’ll have to start making some adjustments,” Hall said. “I’m going to see how it goes this week and the following week.”
Crane reports for the Register & Bee. He can be reached at (434) 791-7987.


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Even for a famously frugal nation, Chinese language folks saved rather a lot final 12 months. Caught at dwelling resulting from Covid restrictions, they socked away a file $2.6 trillion.
Now that life is returning to regular, hopes are excessive that buyers will spend with a vengeance, offering a much-needed enhance to the world’s second largest financial system, the influence of which might be felt world wide.
Family financial savings at banks surged by a file excessive of 17.84 trillion yuan ($2.6 trillion) in 2022, up 80% from 2021, in keeping with the Individuals’s Financial institution of China. That’s a couple of third of households’ complete revenue. Earlier than the pandemic, folks saved a few fifth of their revenue.
With pandemic controls lifted, Chinese language customers gave the impression to be having fun with their freedom to spend. Lodge bookings, film tickets and restaurant gross sales all boomed throughout the latest vacation season.
The reawakening of the Chinese language shopper can be an “thrilling story” for world traders in 2023, mentioned Swetha Ramachandran and Jian Shi Cortesi, funding administrators at GAM Investments, a worldwide asset administration agency based mostly in Zurich.
“Chinese language shoppers are actually going into reopening with sturdy family stability sheets,” they mentioned, including that Chinese language firms uncovered to discretionary spending and world luxurious manufacturers stand to achieve considerably from the development.
Greater than 300 million vacationers spent a complete of $56 billion over the seven-day Lunar New Yr vacation via January 27, up 30% from a 12 months in the past, in keeping with the cultural and tourism ministry. In accordance with the State Tax Administration, gross sales from consumer-facing companies have been 12% increased than pre-pandemic 2019 ranges.
Bookings for accommodations soared greater than 10 fold at a number of the hottest vacationer sights, such because the cities of Xi’an and Luoyang, in keeping with on-line journey company Tongcheng Journey. Xi’an’s Terracotta Military museum was so crowded that guests complained on social media they might solely see different folks’s heads somewhat than the statues.
Eating places reported increased gross sales than earlier than the pandemic and have been unprepared for the elevated demand, in keeping with a nationwide survey revealed by the China Delicacies Affiliation final week. Greater than a 3rd of respondents mentioned they have been “extraordinarily” short-staffed throughout the vacation.
China’s field workplace receipts climbed to greater than $1.5 billion final month, the very best January on file, in keeping with the China Movie Administration. That’s primarily due to a unprecedented vacation week, when moviegoers paid 129 million visits to cinemas.
The restoration in consumption has already lifted the Chinese language financial system.
Final week, the Caixin/S&P World companies buying managers’ index (PMI), which tracks exercise within the companies sector, expanded in January for the primary time in 5 months. That’s primarily as a result of journey and shopper spending bounced again.
The index, which primarily covers smaller, personal companies, mirrored the outcomes of an earlier authorities PMI survey. The information added to proof of a speedy rebound in financial exercise, analysts mentioned.
The growth has fueled enterprise confidence. After seeing file gross sales in lots of shops, Xiabuxiabu, considered one of China’s largest sizzling pot chains, opened 34 new shops final month within the nation, the corporate mentioned.
World luxurious giants are additionally hopeful Chinese language customers will come again. LVMH mentioned in January that it was “assured” and “optimistic” that China’s luxurious market would bounce again this 12 months. LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault mentioned its shops in France are able to welcome Chinese language customers as extra journey restrictions are eased.
(BBRYF) mentioned final month that it’s seeing “very promising” indicators in China, in keeping with Reuters.
There’s one conspicuous laggard in consumption, nonetheless.
Property gross sales by China’s 100 largest builders dropped 32% in January, in keeping with knowledge compiled by China Actual Property Info, a property analysis agency. Within the nation’s 30 largest cities, property gross sales have been solely 60% of the 2022 stage.
Chinese language households have been reluctant to purchase properties for greater than a 12 months, as Covid curbs, falling dwelling costs and rising unemployment discouraged potential patrons. Mortgage protests that erupted in dozens of cities final 12 months additional dented patrons’ confidence.
Regardless of a flurry of stimulus measures, the stoop has proven no signal of enchancment. By December, new dwelling costs had fallen by 16 straight months, in keeping with the latest authorities statistics.
Since actual property accounts for 70% of family wealth in China, “revenge spending” can be restricted, analysts mentioned.
“The property business stays the most important drag on China’s financial system,” mentioned Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Larger China at ANZ Analysis, including that the excessive youth jobless fee and asset value deflation will constrain China’s consumption restoration.
BNP Paribas says “revenge spending” in China is ready to occur, though it is going to be on a smaller scale than in Western economies resembling in america.
“The removing of Covid restrictions ought to unleash pent-up demand, and we count on the most important driver of the restoration in 2023 to be consumption,” its analysts mentioned.
They count on family consumption progress to rebound to 9.5% in 2023 from about 3% in 2022, fueling annual GDP progress of greater than 5%.
Morgan Stanley analysts count on to see some “revenge spending” largely from family with steady incomes.
These households embody staff from the export sector, a uncommon brilliant spot within the Chinese language financial system throughout the pandemic years, enterprise house owners with regular earnings or these dwelling off payouts from asset holdings.
“We see a mini-rebound as early as within the first quarter of 2023,” they mentioned, including that the restoration in consumption might choose up within the second half of this 12 months, however would nonetheless be decrease than the pre-Covid stage.
They’re anticipating family consumption progress to rebound to eight.5% in 2023, contributing to full-year financial progress of 5.7%.


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- Lucky's Market is closing most of its stores, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported on Tuesday.
- Kroger said in December that it planned to divest its stake in the grocer, which has about 40 stores in 10 states.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The regional grocery chain Lucky's Market is closing most of its stores and laying off thousands of employees in a matter of weeks, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported on Tuesday.
The 17-year-old company has about 40 stores in 10 states, though most are in Florida, according to its website.
Lucky's plans to close 32 of those stores by February 12 and lay off about 2,500 employees, according to the Sun Sentinel's report. The chain also has stores in Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, and Wyoming.
Affected employees were informed on Tuesday morning that they would be losing their jobs, according to the report.
A Lucky's Market spokesperson did not respond to multiple emails and phone calls seeking comment on Tuesday.
The decision to close dozens of stores comes after Kroger announced in December that it planned to divest its stake in Lucky's, which advertises the tagline "organic for the 99 percent."
Kroger invested an undisclosed amount in the grocery chain in 2016.


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Launches failed to meet sales demands
By Angela Espinoza, News Editor
Target and Sony Corp store chains announced mass closures throughout Canada last week. The brands join Mexx Canada, Jacob, and Smart Set, among other store chains, in recent closings announced in the past year.
Sony Corp is closing all 14 of its stores in Canada within the next eight weeks. The chain currently has three locations in British Columbia in Vancouver, Burnaby, and Langley.
As for Target, the major chain opened 133 stores across Canada starting in March 2013. With the company having lost approximately $2-billion since opening, all Target stores will be closing.
Along with cutting thousands of jobs, various Canada-specific deals will be lost with the closures.
Many critics have said the failure of the chain’s launch was due in part to higher-than-expected prices.
“Many in the Canadian market expected TCC (Target Canada Corp.) to follow Target’s US prices,” said Mark Wong, Target’s general counsel, in court. Target’s Canadian locations, however, had prices comparable to many other major Canadian chains.
The lack of a Canadian online shopping option and the high number of openings are also linked to Target Canada’s failure.
As Target and Sony begin their closures, Mexx Canada has already begun closing 95 of its stores.


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Anaqua, Inc., the leading provider of innovation and intellectual property (IP) management solutions, today announced that multinational technology company Sony Corporation has entered into a multi-year agreement to use the ANAQUA software to manage its patent and trademark portfolios.
Sony is one of the world’s largest technology and entertainment companies, with products spanning consumer electronics, smart phones, game and network services, financial services, and professional products.
“We are excited to welcome one of the world’s largest companies and IP leaders to Anaqua’s growing client community,” said Bob Romeo, CEO of Anaqua. “Sony’s decision to strategically partner with Anaqua for their IP Management system reinforces our continued investment in the APAC market.”
Copyright © 2019 Legal IT Professionals. All Rights Reserved.


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An 1931 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Touring Spider on the grass at the Pebble Beach Concours| Bob Golfen
You could almost hear the collective sigh of relief at the 2015 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance as the best-of-show winner was announced. After last year’s choice of a post-war car, a custom-bodied 1954 Ferrari coupe that flew in the face of hide-bound tradition, the 2015 victor was a suitably classic pre-war icon, a very elegant 1924 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A cabriolet.
So the forces of generational change had not taken over completely, as some Pebble veterans feared. But elsewhere on the Monterey Peninsula in early August, the tide was still rising as European sports cars and race cars from the late 1940s through the early ’70s – especially Ferraris and Porsches – continued to rule many of the collector-car auctions and car shows that preceded the 65-year-old concours.
The 1924 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A wins best of show at Pebble Beach | Bob Golfen
Pebble Beach was, as usual, a splendid affair that brought together some 200 of the world’s greatest vintage vehicles in the luscious atmosphere of the 18th fairway of the venerable golf course adjacent to a scenic Pacific cove. This great event should be on every car enthusiast’s bucket list.
Tradition does rule here, but it gradually shifts as the culture moves on. Spectator clothing is more casual, with fewer sports coats and more T-shirts, more flip-flops and fewer flowered women’s hat. And there are such trendy classes as this year’s custom Mercury “lead sled” group. But overall, the aura remains the same as it ever was.
The collector car auctions showed robust results, although not with the startling rise in prices of recent years. The total for the six Monterey auctions, according to Hagerty, was $403.2 million, which slightly exceeds last year’s $402.6 million total, although last year’s results were boosted by the $38.1 million sale of a single car, a 1962 Ferrari GTO. The highest-selling car this year, also a Ferrari, came in at less than half that.
Ferraris continued to dominate the top end, with seven of the 10 highest-selling cars – all sporty Europeans – wearing the Italian stallion. And the strongest part of the classic car market was again seen at the top; the lower tiers of prices for five-figure and low-six-figure cars were fairly stagnant. Hagerty termed the market overall as “stable,” with some outlying variations.
A 1962 Ferrari 250 LM coupe was the highest seller at $17.6 million | RM Sotheby’s
RM Sotheby’s was the hands-down winner in sales totals at a remarkable $179.9 million for 129 cars at a high-rolling average sale price of $1.338 million. Gooding & Company followed with results of $128.1 million, Bonhams at $47.5 million, Mecum with a booming sale that reached $44.7 million and Russo and Steele growing to $10.2 million.
A new auction on the scene, JR Auctions, was a spectacular flop with only a handful of cars sold at modest prices and overall results of $624,000. Rick Cole’s smart-phone auction has not reported any results for Monterey, so we don’t know how it did (that auction’s results from last year’s sale are extracted from the 2014 total so as not to skew the comparison with 2015).
The only substantial change for the auctions from the previous year, aside from the JR debacle, was Mecum’s move to a new, more-spacious venue at the Del Monte Golf Course. The results were up more than 32 percent, lifted by the sale of a 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera formerly owned by the late Steve McQueen, which went for a stunning $1.95 million, as much as seven times the current highest value of a non-Steve McQueen 1976 Turbo Carrera.
Monterey classic car week is packed with car shows, ranging from the grand Quail, A Motorsports Gathering to the much-less-than-grand Concours d’Le Mons California, a cheeky celebration of terrible cars. Highlights were Concorso Italiano, now returned to its original excellent venue; the second year of the Porsche Werks Reunion, which was terrific; Legends of the Autobahn; the Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours on the Avenue; the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance lunch-stop show, also in Carmel; and the fun Little Car Show in Pacific Grove.
New to the Monterey events was Classic Americana in Carmel Valley, with domestic-car aficionados enjoying fine examples of “the American motoring tradition” at Carmel Valley Community Park. The show was small this year, but judging by its enthusiastic reception, it is certain to grow.
A lineup of 911s at the Porsche Werks Reunion | Bob Golfen


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People across the country, including residents of Billings, Montana, may be familiar with the product manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, for their medical products. However, the world's biggest medical device manufacturer is under scrutiny for its hip implants, which have been recalled.
According to a report, a products liability lawsuit was filed against the company for their artificial hip implants. The attorney of the plaintiff considered the hip implants a defective product while the company was not addressing the safety of the patient. The plaintiff, a 65-year-old man, was previously a prison guard in Montana. As stated in the complaint, after receiving an ASR XL hip implant in 2007, the man was in a great deal of pain because of the defective hip and other health complications. The man suffered difficulty while walking and was in continual pain.
Allegedly, Johnson & Johnson was aware of the defects of the hip implants before the plaintiff had the implant put in. The plaintiff claimed that the manufacturing company failed to warn patients about the hip implant's risks. However, the company denied the claims, saying that the plaintiff's worsened condition was because of his diabetes, kidney cancer, and other medical conditions.
In addition to this, Johnson & Johnson recalled an estimated 93,000 ASR artificial hip implants in 2010. A statement from the Consumers Union's Safe Patient Project also said that the ASR hip implant device and other metal hips have been used by almost 750,000 people throughout the country, including Montana. They noted that many of those patients have sustained serious medical problems.
While it is common for product manufacturers to be concerned about the profit they can make after selling a certain product, they also need to regard the safety of its users and consumers. Any product that was created to provide a cure for ailments or health problems should have its efficiency scrutinized. If the manufacturer fails to do so, the company can be held liable for the damages incurred by the user in connection with the defective product. The damages may include compensation for the victim's medical expenses and other related costs necessary to achieve recovery.


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UK: Clothing retail sales grow but at a slower pace
Clothing retail sales rose again in the year to March, albeit at a slower pace than the month before - but growth next month is expected to rebound strongly, new figures suggest.
The latest distributive trades survey from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) showed sales volumes at clothing retailers grew substantially in March, with a balance of respondents (+27%) reporting growth on a year ago.
However, this was a little slower than the balance of +33% who saw growth in February.
Across the survey as a whole, 36% of respondents reported that sales volumes were up on a year ago, while 23% said they were down - giving a balance of +13%. This marks year-on-year growth for the fourth month in a row.
Sales growth was weaker than last month's +37% - the strongest seen since the onset of the financial crisis - but is expected to pick up again in the year to April, the CBI said.
"It's promising to see a run of positive growth rates on the high street, with sales up on a year ago for the fourth month in a row," said Barry Williams, Asda chief merchandising officer for food, and chair of the CBI Distributive Trades Survey Panel. "We're hopeful that this will continue, but there are still signs that this needs to be a cautious hope.
"The pace of growth has slowed, likely in part down to the later timing of Mother's Day and Easter this year - conversely, this is the same reason many retailers are looking forward to more robust growth next month."
Internet retail sales volumes continued to rise strongly in the year to March (+55%), with this the fastest pace in 11 months.
ASDA Stores Limited - Strategic SWOT Analysis Review provides a comprehensive insight into the company’s history, corporate strategy, business structure and operations. The report contains a detailed ...
Sales of apparel specialist retailers were affected by the wet weather characterising the British summer in 2012, which discouraged consumers from buying spring/summer collections. On the other hand, ...
The first fall in demand for clothing since the start of the year weighed on UK retail sales growth in June, according to new figures, although the pace is expected to pick up again next month....
Apparel and footwear specialist retailers in the UK recorded sluggish growth in sales in 2013 as the trading environment in non-grocery retailing across much of the UK remained challenging. As well as...
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Panasonic Energy is focused on strengthening its supply chain in North America while reducing its environmental impact. As part of this effort, the company has announced its plan to use Novonix’s synthetic graphite in EV battery manufacturing facilities in the United States.
It is anticipated that Novonix will commence shipping synthetic graphite from Tennessee starting in 2025. In a bid to minimize the carbon footprint in the entire lithium-ion battery supply chain for electric vehicles, Panasonic Energy aims to achieve a 50% reduction as compared to 2022 levels.
In addition to the partnership with Novonix, the company is collaborating with other organizations to enhance its supply chain. One such collaboration is with Sila, from which Panasonic Energy has gained access to Titan Silicon, a nanocomposite silicon negative electrode.
Furthermore, Panasonic Energy is also in the process of planning for the construction of a third electric vehicle battery plant in the United States.


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AT&T and DIRECTV have finally announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which AT&T will acquire DIRECTV in a stock-and-cash transaction for $95 per share based on AT&T’s Friday closing price. The agreement has been approved unanimously by the Boards of Directors of both companies.
DIRECTV is the premier pay TV provider in the United States and Latin America, with a high-quality customer base, the best selection of programming, the best technology for delivering and viewing high-quality video on any device and the best customer satisfaction among major U.S. cable and satellite TV providers. AT&T has a best-in-class nationwide mobile network and a high-speed broadband network that will cover 70 million customer locations with the broadband expansion enabled by this transaction.
The combined company will be a content distribution leader across mobile, video and broadband platforms. This distribution scale will position the company to better meet consumers’ future viewing and programming preferences, whether traditional pay TV, on-demand video services like Netflix or Hulu streamed over a broadband connection (mobile or fixed) or a combination of viewing preferences on any screen.
“This is a unique opportunity that will redefine the video entertainment industry and create a company able to offer new bundles and deliver content to consumers across multiple screens – mobile devices, TVs, laptops, cars and even airplanes. At the same time, it creates immediate and long-term value for our shareholders,” says Randall Stephenson, AT&T Chairman and CEO.
“This compelling and complementary combination will bring significant benefits to all consumers, shareholders and DIRECTV employees,” adds Mike White, president and CEO of DIRECTV. “U.S. consumers will have access to a more competitive bundle; shareholders will benefit from the enhanced value of the combined company; and employees will have the advantage of being part of a stronger, more competitive company, well positioned to meet the evolving video and broadband needs of the 21st century marketplace.”


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Krispy Kreme is giving away original glazed doughnuts at its North Carolina stores in celebration of something it’s calling the “Doughnut Harvest,” on Friday – April Fools’ Day.
Stores throughout the state, including in the Charlotte area, are participating in the giveaway. Each customer gets one free doughnut, Krispy Kreme said.
“This year, on account of the unusually fair winter, the Doughnut Harvest was especially bountiful. Now, for the first time, the surplus is so great we are inviting guests everywhere to join us in celebration,” the Winston-Salem-based doughnut maker joked on its website.
A sense of humor isn’t required to participate, though it’s “strongly encouraged,” Krispy Kreme said this week. Only a few select U.S. markets aren’t participating.
Krispy Kreme often does doughnut giveaways in the Charlotte area. Ahead of the Carolina Panthers’ first playoff game in January, for example, the company handed out free doughnuts to fans uptown and collected donations for Carolina Panthers Charities. It also did so for fans waiting for the team to return from its game against the New York Giants on Dec. 20.


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The Lithuanian government will be able to regulate prices of essential goods during quarantine after the parliament passed the law on Tuesday.
Under the new law, the government's Emergency Situation Commission will compile a list of essential goods and services. Their accessibility will then be monitored by the State Consumer Rights Protection Authority. If there are shortages or unwarranted inflation of prices, the government could introduce price controls or rationing.
The amendment must still be signed into law by President Gitanas Nausėda, who previously criticised the initiative. The Bank of Lithuania and the Competition Council have also expressed disapproval of the measure.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Skvernelis says price controls would be an extreme measure and only used to clamp down on speculation. During quarantine, that would primarily concern disinfectants and protective gear.
“The government is surely not intent on regulating prices of products and goods. It's about having this tool available,” Skvernelis said, suggesting that the law alone would prevent speculative pricing.
President Nausėda's economic adviser Simonas Krėpšta previously criticised the measure, saying it could lead to shortages and boost the black market.
“Price controls during emergencies are not compatible either with economic logic or the legal system, especially in the form they've been proposed now, putting all the responsibility on the government,” he was quoted by BNS.
The Lithuanian parliament, Seimas, tried to pass the law last week, but fell short of votes after the opposition walked out.
On Tuesday, the amendment to the Law on Civil Safety was endorsed by 79 MPs, four voted against and six abstained.


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The campaign coincides with Mother’s Day in Australia
McDonald’s Australia has launched a new brand campaign via DDB Sydney, which celebrates the role Macca’s plays in the lives of Aussies.
The ad, titled Cravings, forms part of the ongoing 'We’ll be here' brand campaign.
The spot depicts the story of a daughter who goes out of her way to make her special reveal even more special with Macca’s.
Says Jo Feeney, marketing director, McDonald’s Australia: “We’re so proud of the array of unique moments Macca’s is able to share with so many Australians, and are continuing to highlight this with the latest addition to our ‘We’ll Be Here’ brand campaign. This new spot taps into the emotion of a wonderful family moment, and continues our celebration of the unique relationships our customers have with us.”


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Yamaha India has launched the 2018 model of its naked roadster, the MT-09, in India at a price of ₹ 10, 88,122 (ex-showroom, Delhi). The 2018 model gets new colour options which look quite funky. These are Bluish Gray Solid, Deep Purplish Blue and Matte Dark Gray. The bike gets sharper, sexier styling along with subtle cosmetic updates as well. The bike will be brought to India as a completely built unit (CBU). The MT-09 will be available for sale only at select dealerships across India. Overall, the bike remains the same more or less. As of now Yamaha has rather limited models in its superbike portfolio for India, but the company says that it is working on introducing new performance bikes over the next few years.
Commenting on the launch of the new MT-09, Mr. Roy Kurian, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd. said, "Yamaha technology is known globally to offer the desired nimbleness and edge which motorcyclists seek from a two wheeler. It is exciting to announce the introduction of the new MT-09 in the Indian market shortly after its successful run globally. The new MT- 09 will reiterate Yamaha's commitment to offer in India the very best mix of Yamaha's superior expertise coupled with its unique flair for innovation. The new MT-09 has been constructed with excellent rigidity balance that contributes towards the bike's agile handling performance and power delivery."
The MT-09 gets a 847 cc 3-cylinder engine, which makes 113.4 bhp at 10,000 rpm and churns out peak torque of 87.5 Nm at 8,500 rpm, mated to a six-speed gearbox. Yamaha says that the MT-09 is targeting those people who would like to move up the displacement ladder from 500-600 cc to above 800 cc. But, the MT-09 will be facing rather tough competition from illustrious rivals such as the Triumph Street Triple RS and the Kawasaki Z900.
The sales of the MT-09 were discontinued earlier in the year, as the bike could not meet the BS IV emission norms.


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The convenience store industry continues to evolve and where it ends up as robotics and personalized delivery gain traction is anyone’s guess.
With the likes of Bill Gates and Elon Musk talking about the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to change the world for better or for worse, the fourth industrial revolution is coming and cognitive automation is its flag bearer, according to a report by KPMG.
You may think that this is not relevant to retail or certainly not for the next 10 years. Well, think again! Technologies that can think, learn and adapt will increasingly be part of our lives and sooner rather than later, according to KPMG’s report “Robocalypse: Now? What the ‘Fourth industrial revolution’ means for retail.”
This AI and robotic technology can also transform retail by streamlining labor, improving customer service, upselling new items and yielding a treasure trove of data that helps you sell more, both to new and existing customers.
Big-name retailers such as Walmart and Giant Food Stores have been working toward employing robots to reduce costs and improve customer service.
Source: Convenience Store Decisions


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Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, talking at a fintech tournament in London on Monday, April 4, 2022.
Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg by the use of Getty Photographs
Klarna, the Swedish purchase now, pay later fintech corporate, halved its internet loss within the first quarter, recording an important development in its base line after a big cost-cutting power.
The corporate posted a internet lack of 1.3 billion Swedish krona ($120.7 million), down 50% from the two.6 billion krona loss in the similar length a 12 months in the past.
Klarna reported general internet working source of revenue of five billion Swedish krona, up 22% year-over-year.
“This quarter we now have impressively controlled to develop GMV and income, similtaneously we minimize prices and credit score losses, and likewise making an investment ambitiously in AI pushed merchandise,” Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski stated in a remark.
“We’re on target to succeed in profitability this 12 months all whilst revolutionizing buying groceries and bills via our AI-powered means.”
Siemiatkowski prior to now advised CNBC the corporate used to be making plans to succeed in profitability in the second one part of 2023.
Klarna attributed the newest aid in losses to a fall in buyer defaults because of an development in its underwriting, in addition to to diversification into different resources of income, comparable to advertising and marketing.
The effects display how Klarna is making “vital strides” towards profitability on a per 30 days foundation, the company stated.
Klarna, which now has greater than 150 million shoppers, used to be in April given a credit standing of BBB/A-3 with a strong outlook by way of S&P World. The rankings company on the time stated this mirrored Klarna’s “talent to protect its powerful e-commerce place in its key markets, rebuild profitability,” and “take care of a robust capital buffer.”
Early indications sign that Klarna’s deep cost-cutting measures are beginning to repay. The corporate went on a hiring spree right through 2020 and 2021 to capitalize on expansion prompted by way of the Covid-19 pandemic, and used to be pressured to cut back headcount by way of kind of 10% in Might 2022 based on investor drive to narrow down operations. Regardless of this measure, it nonetheless later misplaced 85% of its marketplace worth in a investment spherical closing summer time.
Klarna isn’t on my own in its troubles. Purchase now, pay later corporations, which permit customers to defer bills to a later date or pay over installments, had been in particular impacted by way of souring investor sentiment on generation, amid a worsening macroeconomic setting.
Extra lately, Klarna has became its center of attention towards AI. The corporate remodeled its app with a extra complicated AI advice set of rules to assist its traders goal shoppers extra successfully.
Klarna prior to now introduced the facility to combine OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its provider with a plugin that we could customers ask the preferred AI chatbot for buying groceries inspiration. The corporate stated it used to be embedding AI in its trade to “make stronger inner efficiencies and supply shoppers with a good higher provider and revel in,” for instance via real-time translations in buyer chat.
The corporate has now additionally made a foray into facilitating temporary vacation leases. Previous this month, Klarna introduced a partnership with Airbnb to let the net holiday condo company’s shoppers guide vacations and pay down the price over installments.
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NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – At the start of the reporting season in the USA, the New York stock market extended its previous day’s losses on Friday. The numbers and outlook of some US financial groups were mostly disappointing. The technology stocks, which had come under strong selling pressure again the day before, did not recover either. They are particularly suffering from interest rate fears, which increased again after some US monetary authorities signaled that they wanted to fight inflation aggressively.
Der US-Leitindex Dow Jones Industrial
recently fell by 0.86 percent to 4619 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100
US economic data also gave little cause for celebration. Sales in the important US retail sector fell much more sharply than expected in December. Industrial production for December also fell short of expectations. The consumer climate survey by the University of Michigan was also disappointing and fell to its lowest level in over ten years in January. In contrast, the rise in prices for goods imported from the USA weakened more than expected in December.
A few large banks traditionally started publishing company figures for the fourth quarter before the weekend, but the majority of their results did not meet expectations. This included the numbers from JPMorgan
However, JPMorgan’s trading business did worse than experts thought. CEO Jamie Dimon also warned of continued inflation risks and set investors at significantly rising costs. That was not well received by the market: JPMorgan shares slipped 6.3 percent at the Dow end. With American Express
Two other financial stocks in the leading US index were among the biggest losers with price losses of 4.8 and 3.8 percent respectively.
Also at Citigroup
The papers of the world’s largest wealth manager Blackrock
ISIN US2605661048 US6311011026 US78378X1072


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After Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) could not live up to the earnings expectations of Wall Street, at least 7 brokerages have cut their ratings on shares of Google. However, analysts say that growing mobile advertising revenue indicate better times in future.
The earnings report was released hours ahead of schedule due to a glitch. The report exposed slowing sales in Google’s core Internet advertising area.
The quarterly earnings have missed the expectations for yet another time in a year. Analysts, however, feel that the decline was a short-term trade-off since mobile advertising revenue accounts for a bigger part of its business.
Will GOOG rebound After The Recent Slump? Find Out Here
Larry Page, Google’s Chief Executive, said that mobile business of Google that includes app sales and advertising was now generating revenue at a yearly run rate of $8 billion, up from $2.5 billion previous year.
The run rate indicates how Google has placed itself to win regardless of platform, as written by Brian Nowak, an analyst from Nomura Equity Research. He has, however, cut his price target on the stock from $900 to $840 owing to the short-term outlook.
Google stocks closed down 8% at $694.37 on the earnings day. Shares of GOOG are down about 9.50% ever since it reported earnings.
Raymond James, Susquehanna Financial Group, Evercore Partners, Piper Jaffray, Robert Baird and RBC Capital Markets have also lowered their outlook on the Google stock by an average of $44.14.
Analysts of Barclays Capital, on the other hand, have raised their price target by 4% to $780.
Anthony DiClemente, an analyst at Barclays said that he believes dislocation in shares generates a buying opportunity. He thinks Google can benefit from ecommerce tailwinds and moderation in cost per click.
For the fourth consecutive quarter, Google has reports a decline in average CPC, which happens to be a crucial metric measuring the price advertisers pay the company.


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Motorola is set to launch Edge 30 Neo version soon in the global market and we have already witnessed numerous leaks and rumours about the handset. Rumours suggest that the smartphone is expected to be a rebranded variant of the Edge 30 Lite, which has not yet received formal approval. The Edge 30 Neo is currently listed on the Geekbench benchmarking website hinting toward an imminent launch.
Motorola Edge 30 Neo Geekbench Listing
According to the Geekbench listing, the Motorola Edge 30 Neo is tipped to be powered by a Qualcomm chipset with six 1.80 GHz and two 2.21 GHz CPU cores. The Adreno 619 GPU is present on the chip, according to the listing's source code. These specifics show that it will be a different Motorola phone with a Snapdragon 695 processor.
Motorola Edge 30 Neo tipped to run on Android 12 OS and backed by 8GB of RAM. The smartphone has managed to score 664 points in the single-core test, while in the multi-core test, it received 1848 points.
Recently, the Motorola Edge 30 Fusion was revealed on the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) website. It is rumoured to be a Motorola S30 Pro model that has been given a new name and is on its way to China. Reports claim that the Motorola S30 Pro, model number XT2243-2, appeared in the Geekbench database. This smartphone purportedly scored 1,179 points in single-core testing and 3,638 points in multi-core testing thanks to its 3GHz octa-core SoC.
Motorola Edge 30 Neo specifications
- Display: Full HD+ display with 120Hz refresh rate on a 6.28-inch P-OLED.
- Storage: The Snapdragon 695-powered smartphone is anticipated to come in LPDDR4x RAM options of 6 GB and 8 GB. Both variants can have storage capacities of 128 GB and 256 GB, respectively.
- Camera: It will feature a front-facing 32-megapixel camera for selfies. A 64-megapixel primary camera and a 13-megapixel ultra-wide camera will be located on the device's back panel.
- Battery: 4,020mAh battery.
Motorola Edge 30 Lite / Neo Expected price
According to a prior leak, the Motorola Edge 30 Lite will cost 399 euros in Europe. It is likely to make its debut this year in Q3. The gadget will replace the Edge 20 Lite from the previous year.


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Motorola on Tuesday (May 23) launched the new premium mid-range phone Edge 40 in India.
It flaunts a premium vegan faux leather cover on the back and flaunts a 6.55-inch full HD+ (2400×1080p) 8-bit pOLED-based 3D curved display. It supports 144Hz refresh rate, and peak brightness up to 1,200 nits and the device also comes with IP68 water-and-dust resistant certification.
There is also a Lunar Blue model in PMMA (acrylic glass) finish and it measures just 7.49mm in thickness, making it the slimmest 5G phone with IP68 certification.
It also features an in-display fingerprint sensor, stereo speakers, Dolby atmos system, single nano SIM slot (+ eSIM), a Type-C USB port, and three microphones too.
Inside, it comes with a 6nm class MediaTek Dimensity 8020 processor and can clock CPU speed up to 2.6GHz, which is more than enough to play any top-end games and also less chance of lag-ness while doing heavy-duty tasks.
It also features with Mali-G77 MC9 GPU, 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, 256GB UFS 3.1, and a 4,400mAh battery with 68W TurboPower support and 15W wireless charging.
The new phone runs Android 13 and Motorola has assured to offer two years of Android updates and three years of software security support.
As far as the photography hardware is concerned, It boasts a dual-camera module– 50MP (f/1.4, Quad Pixel Technology, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation) + 13MP 120-degree ultra-wide( f/2.2, autofocus camera), support macro mode and LED flash. It also houses a 32MP front camera (f/2.4, Quad Pixel Technology) on the front.
Motorola Edge 40 will be available in three colours– Reseda Green and Eclipse Black in vegan leather finish and Lunar Blue in PMMA (acrylic glass) finish– for Rs 29,999 on Flipkart from May 30 onwards. If the customers pre-order on Flipkart, they are eligible to get lucrative deals including Screen Damage Protection Plan for getting a one-time screen replacement worth Rs 9500. There are launch offers worth Rs 3,100 in the offing for Jio subscribers too.
Motorola Edge 40 vs competition
It will be up against the Popular Google Pixel 6a, Samsung Galaxy A34 5G (review), and Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus, among others.
Must read | Google Pixel 6a review: It’s all about user experience
Get the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps, cybersecurity, and more on personal technology only on DH Tech.


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Game Awards Says What It Will and Will Not Do Considering the Activision Blizzard Controversy
The Game Awards, set to come out live on December 9, 2021, is set to be a popular night, filled with highlights of the gaming industry, a celebration of fan favorites, and a lot of musical guests and great hosts. But while there are all of these good things during the awards night, there is something else that’s sitting on people’s minds. And that is how the Games Awards will speak of the situation with Activision Blizzard.
For those who don’t know, Activision Blizzard has been in the middle of some controversy, with its CEO Bobby Kotick in the middle of it. Not only has Activision Blizzard been mired in sexual harassment and sexual misconduct allegations, the situation has gotten bad enough that 6 State treasurers, the auditors of their various states in America, have demanded to speak with the board of directors. And while the big gaming companies of PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo have commented on the situation internally, but little has been done other than “considering” their working relationship with Activision Blizzard.
And with the Game Awards being a big marketing tool for the big names of the gaming industry, this could be a good way for Blizzard to, well, make more money. And this can also be a good way for the Game Awards to comment on the situation, bringing forward their support for workers of the video game industry. And what The Game Awards have decided to do is, well, a mix of good and bad.
While reportedly they, and most importantly Geoff Keighley, who is the host of the Game Awards, does want to support the voices of the gaming industry, apparently he doesn’t want to rock the boat either. While aware that this is a large marketing opportunity for big game announcements and the like, Blizzard is not being banned from the Awards. Neither are they kicking off Activision president Rob Kostich from their advisory board, which also includes other executives from the big gaming industry names.
“We want to support employees and developers,” said Keighley in an interview about the Game Awards. But, Keighley added, “We have to think very carefully about how to proceed here.”
It’s a mixed message, to say the least, but it’s starting to paint a picture of how the Gaming Industry feels about Activision Blizzard. It almost sounds as if Keighley, among the other gaming giants, is afraid of Blizzard and what they might do.
I also realize we have a big platform which can accelerate and inspire change. We are committed to that, but we all need to work together to build a better and a more inclusive environment so everyone feels safe to build the world’s best games.
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) December 4, 2021
Then again, it was also confirmed that while Blizzard will be highlighted in its nominated categories, it will not appear otherwise within the Games Award. Keighley added that “There is no place for abuse, harassment or predatory practices in any company or any community.” he went on in a Twitter post with,
“All of us are accountable to this standard. Incredible games — and the talented developers who build them — are who we want to celebrate. ”
That’s true. There is a certain amount of accountability that has to happen when it comes to the video game industry. We will just have to see it happen.