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RINGWOOD is set to be filled with twinkling lights this Christmas, after the town council pledged £10,000 for an extra special display.
This year the lights will hopefully spread wider, as business will be offered the chance to buy lanterns which will be added to the installation, possibly into the Market Place, Fridays Cross and Southampton Road if enough backers come forward.
Town clerk Steve Nash told the council’s Christmas lights working party the tender for installation had been awarded to Lamps and Tubes for a fee of £4,800.
He said this would leave about £5,000 for extra lighting.
He said lanterns would cost £178, but would be cheaper in bulk. Mr Nash said 25 were needed for the High Street, costing £4,450, and that £1,700 in sponsorship has already been offered for seven lanterns and the Christmas tree.
There will be a white light theme throughout with electric blue accessories, which will include the Christmas trees.
Mr Nash has also got some collection tins to go into pubs and shops to encourage customers to support the lights, expecting that the pub or business will make up the shortfall if the whole amount is not raised for one light.
The Furlong will be following the same white and blue theme and will be using the same installers. The shopping centre has offered to sponsor Santa’s grotto in the Market Place at the launch event, which will move into the Furlong a week or two later.
A spokesman for the council said: “This will demonstrate that the Furlong can also support High Street activities.”
They added: “To show everyone that Ringwood has Christmas lights a number of lights could be added to the large trees along Meeting House Lane which can be seen from the A31.
“In addition, if funding allows, a ‘Merry Christmas’ sign can be installed on the end of the Gateway Building... The town clerk will continue to seek grants for this purpose in the lead up to December.”
The council also hopes to install a 30ft tree in the Market Place and at the Gateway, covered in 3,000-5,000 blue lights, and is seeking a sponsor for the Gateway tree.
A Christmas window competition will be judged by the mayor, with a prize of £100.
A programme of activities including a Christmas fair and a lantern parade was circulated and priority for stalls will be given to local businesses.


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China has announced that it will resume issuing all types of visas, starting on March 15, 2023, marking another step toward business and travel activities between the country and the world. The decision was announced by the Foreign Ministry's Department of Consular Affairs, which also stated that the country will resume issuing all types of port visas to applicants. Foreigners with visas issued before March 28, 2020, that are still valid, will be permitted to enter China.
The new policies are seen as a positive development that will encourage foreigners to visit China, boosting tourism and cross-border trade. With the resumption of international flights and an increase in inbound flights, airlines are expected to boost their schedules. These new policies will also facilitate the resumption of tourism and international business travel, as well as overseas studies.
This recent announcement is absolutely fantastic news for us! As an international exhibition company, we have been eagerly awaiting the day when we can resume our China International Tire Expo, which has been paused for the last three years due to COVID-19 restrictions. With this exciting development, we can finally bring our show back and are expecting it to be bigger than ever. We are especially pleased to hear that foreigners can now enter China again, which means that more international exhibitors and visitors will be able to attend this year's CITEXPO, which has been scheduled to take place from September 4 to 6, 2023, at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center. See you this year, everyone!
Never miss any important update in the tire industry by subscribing to our regular newsletter on CITEXPO Official Facebook Page. For further information, please visit the official website at http://www.citexpo.com.cn or email: email@example.com / Tel.:+86(0)10-8589-8181

domain: news


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Deflation in Ukraine comes to 0.7% in July
Consumer prices in Ukraine fell by 0.7% in July, while since the beginning of the year their growth was 3.6%, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine has reported.
According to the agency, in annual terms (July 2018 to July 2017) inflation slowed down to 8.9% from 9.9% in June and 11.7% in May.
Underlying inflation in July 2018 also fell to minus 0.1% from zero in June.
Since the beginning of the year, the growth of the basic consumer price index stood at 3.4%. In annual terms, the growth of the index slowed to 8.8% from 9% in June.


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Maryland Lottery machine glitches frustrate players
New system suffers long breakdowns, customers complain
A new lottery sales system being installed at thousands of convenience, liquor and grocery stores statewide has experienced breakdowns of up to several hours at a time this week, Maryland Lottery officials said Friday. Store owners and avid players in search of their daily numbers were frustrated and furious.
Customers have let store owners hear their displeasure especially those who can't play the popular Keno game.
You should s ...
Jun 5, 2006, 7:12 am - Lottery News forum
Employee charged with stealing lottery tickets
An employee of a Bath convenience store allegedly made off with 59 North Carolina Lottery tickets Saturday and cashed in the winnings a day later.
Several of the winning stolen tickets were converted to cash and a money order at a convenience store in Washington Sunday. The winnings from the stolen tickets totaled $102.
Jamie DeJong Carpenter, 24, of 23 Deerfield Lane, Chocowinity, was charged with one count of larceny by employee and two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses Wed ...
Jun 2, 2006, 10:21 am - Lottery News forum
W.V. Lottery officials target 'coin-pusher' machines
Retailers could lose licenses if they have coin-pusher devices
Coin-pusher machines are popping up at limited video lottery businesses in violation of state law, and the West Virginia Lottery is warning operators that it will yank their licenses if they do not get rid of the devices.
Coin-pusher machines are touted as skills games by manufacturers and distributors. Players insert coins in the machines in an attempt to push other coins, tokens, jewelry or other prizes off rotating shelves a ...
Jun 2, 2006, 8:39 am - Lottery News forum
N.C. Powerball lottery sales begin, with difficulty
Computer glitches and printer problems hit 20% of vendors
North Carolinians played Powerball to the tune of more than $1 million during the first day of sales Tuesday, despite computer glitches and printer problems that plagued nearly 20 percent of the state's lottery retailers.
Many ticket buyers and sellers in the Charlotte area were upbeat, even though some stores could not sell tickets for the multi-state lottery game for several hours.
The new game paid off in sales for Victor Madh ...
May 31, 2006, 9:51 am - Lottery News forum
4 Massachusetts lottery licenses suspended
A top official with the Massachusetts Lottery Commission said yesterday that it has indefinitely suspended lottery licenses for four establishments where video slot machines were seized last week by state police investigating possible illegal gambling.
The suspensions were issued yesterday, said Beth A. Bresnahan, director of communications for the state Lottery Commission. We take this seriously, said Bresnahan.
Massachusetts State Police reported on Thursday that 38 machines were seiz ...
May 10, 2006, 7:30 am - Lottery News forum
Oklahoma bans some businesses from selling lottery tickets
A bill to prohibit pawn shops, payday lenders and check-cashing businesses from selling Oklahoma lottery tickets has won final legislative approval.
The bill by Senator Kathleen Wilcoxson passed the Senate yesterday and now goes to the governor.
The state Lottery Commission voted last year to prohibit those businesses from selling lottery tickets but Wilcoxson says the law will prevent future Lottery Commissions from reversing the decision.
The commission had initially agreed to allow l ...
May 9, 2006, 7:57 am - Lottery News forum
Iowa Lottery TouchPlay ends tonight
After TouchPlay owners lost a last-ditch legal battle Tuesday to leave the video lottery devices turned on, some lawmakers said they would make a final effort to keep the affected businesses out of bankruptcy.
A Polk County judge on Tuesday refused to delay the ending for the Iowa Lottery's TouchPlay machines, a ruling that means the machines must be turned off by 11:59 tonight.
A group of private businesses that had been invited by the Iowa Lottery to invest in the TouchPlay machines, inc ...
May 3, 2006, 11:48 am - Lottery News forum
A look at hot spots for sales of N.C. lottery tickets
A busy road helps; so do fishing worms
North Carolina's leading sellers of lottery tickets sit along busy interstates, or on major thoroughfares, or they have extra ways of drawing their players in.
The very top stores have all three.
Dunn's Gas and Grocery in Four Oaks in Johnston County, the top seller in the Triangle so far, is along U.S. 301, about a mile from Interstate 95. And it gets plenty of locals by offering more than gas and candy bars.
We have fishing worms and ice crea ...
Apr 11, 2006, 9:24 am - Lottery News forum
N.C. Lottery will have some unique vendors
Thousands of retailers are getting ready to sell North Carolina lottery tickets. But it won't just be convenience stores and supermarkets.
The Paper Doll Lounge, a Charlotte strip club, will be offering the lottery along with its lap dances.
We're the only (strip) club that has it, said Chris Falls, owner of the Paper Doll Lounge. And I also have something the convenience stores don't.
Any business in the state can apply to sell tickets for the game that begins March 30, with the o ...
Mar 23, 2006, 6:46 am - Lottery News forum
Iowa Gov. Approves Ban On TouchPlay Lottery Machines
The fight to keep video lottery in Iowa is heating up. Governor Tom Vilsack approved a ban on the state's lottery TouchPlay machines, giving businesses 45 days to shut them down.
It's a move that's not sitting well with owners, but it also could cost the state millions of dollars in revenue.
They look a lot......and sound a lot......like a slot machine you'd find in Vegas.
You don't have to drive to a casino anymore, you can just play these, said Dan Viereck, manager of the Trophy Cas ...
Mar 22, 2006, 8:51 am - Lottery News forum


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If things happen quickly in a New York minute, the five days of New York Fashion Week must amount to a month’s worth of the city’s average activity. From the return of the baguette bag to Travis Barker’s performance on the runway, plenty of unforgettable moments have been made during the fashion capital’s favourite month. With all of the back-to-back shows, online experiences, and parties, it’s easy to miss something. Ahead, all of the buzziest moments from NYFW Spring/September 2022.
Puma stepped into the Metaverse
Not only did Puma release its ‘FUTROGRADE’ collection during NYFW, but the ever-innovative activewear brand also launched its first phyigital products, Nitro NFRNO and Nitro Fastroid sneakers, alongside its metaverse experience, Black Station. The sneakers are attached to the brand’s NFT Nitropass mint, and holders of these NFTs were able to access the sneakers on the 7th by burning them in Black Station. This metaverse experience will be a mainstay for the brand moving forward, as Puma strengthens its presence in Web3 and defines its future-forward customer experience.
Travis Barker Performed During Tommy Hilfiger
Ponchos were the dress code at the Tommy Hilfiger show during NYFW. The brand released its “See Now, Buy Now” autumn 2022 collection on Sunday night at the Skyline Drive-In in Brooklyn during a downpour of rain. Travis Barker ran up on stage to hold a surprise performance during the show’s grand finale while the models walked down the runway lined with umbrellas.
SJP released Surprise Collaboration With Fendi
SATC fans rejoiced during NYFW due to the iconic collaboration between Fendi and Sarah Jessica Parker. The Italian fashion brand celebrated the 25th anniversary of its baguette bag by releasing its top-secret partnership with the actress on the runway, revealing its line of Carrie Bradshaw-inspired baguette bags.
Gigi Hadid releases her knitwear collection
Gigi Hadid hosted a pop-up in New York amid the buzz of NYFW for her first clothing line, Guest in Residence, a brand that specializes in knitwear. The supermodel had announced this project earlier this month, just ahead of NYFW, and now NYC residents can shop Hadid’s knitwear collection at her pop-up shop, “FEEL SHOP,” which will stay open through September 17th.


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News that Ian Schrager's Clift Hotel in San Francisco has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection has led to mutterings about the death of the 'design hotel'.
Nota Bene, the notoriously picky guidebook series for well-heeled travellers, proclaimed in its most recent issue that design hotels have become a 'cliché' and that hotels such as Schrager's Sanderson in London are 'past their sell-by date'.
Harsh words, but in the fickle world of high fashion the more cutting-edge the design, the quicker it dates.
I visited Schrager's refurbished Art Deco Delano hotel in Miami soon after it first opened in 1995 and felt like Alice stumbling through the looking glass as I walked through a magical stage set of towering pillars, long white drapes and huge velvet thrones. I'd never seen anything quite like it before.
But just as high-street shops such as Top Shop are quick to produce their own imitations of the catwalk collections (at a fraction of the price), so the big hotel chains have jumped on board the 'design' bandwagon.
Matt Turner, editor of hotel design magazine Sleeper, says the term 'design hotel' will soon be obsolete. 'Even the big groups like Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza are offering a high standard of contemporary design now. It's becoming the norm,' he says.
And there's the rub... when even Holiday Inn can pull off the 'designer look', it's time for the haute couture hoteliers to go back to the drawing board.
Otherwise, there's a danger that limestone floors and Phillipe Starck washbasins will become the twenty-first century equivalent of the beige carpet and Corby trouser press.
How to cull your own tourist industry
I was in Iceland in May and the undoubted highlight of the holiday was a whale-watching trip from the port of Husavik. There were several nationalities on board our small boat as it lurched onto the Arctic Ocean, all jealously staking out their territory on the deck but as soon as a whale was spotted - 'Minke at 11 o'clock!' - we all piled on to the same side of the boat, united in our excitement, squealing like children.
Later that same week I bumped into an elderly English couple who had travelled to Iceland's remote Snaefellsnes peninsula for one thing only - a sighting of the elusive blue whale.
The Icelandic government is planning to allow the slaughter of around 250 whales over the next two years in an effort to research the potential impact on fishing stocks. It claims this number is no threat to the local whale population, but the damage to Iceland's international reputation is harder to quantify.
According to operators selling trips to Iceland, interest has waned since resumption of whaling was announced. The country makes more revenue from whale-watching trips than it would make if it resumed commercial whaling.
The words 'killing', 'goose' and 'golden egg' spring to mind.


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Social media's traffic contribution to online shopping sites increased 77 percent in one year, but few users actually buy anything, according to a new report by marketing firm Monetate. The firm's study shows that search engine and e-mail referrals more than held their own against social media sites in generating sales in the second quarter. Original Story
Any commercial link will be deleted and reported to Mollom as SPAM. As such, we highly recommend against including commercial links in comments. Even comments with a reasonable amount of relevancy to the subject will be deleted and reported as SPAM.


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According to comScore, photo-related widgets dominate the top 10, and slide widget usages ranks number one–with a reach of 117 million people worldwide. Because of this comScore, the company that tracks internet usage world wide and “measures the digital world”, has launched comScore Widget Metrix, a service to track the usage of widgets across the Internet.
comScore tracks “Web Widgets”, the data files that are embedded into a web site’s back-end html code. Usually, Web Widgets are displayed in the sidebar on a web site and are used by the web site’s owner to “personalize” their site a bit more…by sharing customized web content to certain visitors. They’re also used to share photos or even the site owner’s music recommendations. Web Widgets are very often seen on blogs, social networking web sites, and other “personal” type sites.
comScore recently analyzed the top ten Web Widgets used worldwide and revealed that photo-related widgets are most often used.
According to comScore, the most popular widget provider was slide, with a whopping overall reach of more than 117 million unique viewers–or 13.8 percent of the total worldwide audience.
comScore also reported that the other top photo-related Web Widgets included RockYou (82 million viewers), PictureTrail (31 million viewers), and Photobucket (28 million viewers).
comScore also notes that Facebook’s recent opening of their doors to third-party Web Widget developers most likely will have “a significant impact” on the usage of Web Widgets; they also noted that Facebook’s decision to open their API will “likely have a significant impact in shaping the widget landscape over the coming months.”
Top Web Widgets Worldwide April 2007 Source: comScore Widget Metrix Percent of Unique Viewers Worldwide Online Widget (000) Audience All Widgets 177,777 21.0% Slide 117,072 13.8% RockYou 82,045 9.7% PictureTrail 30,647 3.6% Photobucket 28,189 3.3% BunnyHeroLabs 24,984 3.0% BlingyBlob 21,614 2.6% Poqbum 18,697 2.2% Brightcove 16,866 2.0% Layoutstar 15,348 1.8% Musicplaylist.us 15,089 1.8%
Another interesting fact to note is that the Web Widget penetration is the highest in North America according to comScore.
As more and more web sites across employ Web widgets, the worldwide penetration will continue to grow. In April 2007, comScore reported that Web Widget penetration was the highest in North America. They say that 40.3 percent of web users visited a site that contained a Web Widget, followed by Western Europe at 24.3 percent and Latin America at 17.5 percent.
Web Widget Internet Audience Penetration by Worldwide Region April 2007 Source: comScore Widget Metrix Unique Viewers Widget Penetration* Region (000) by Region Worldwide 177,777 21.0% North America 81,011 40.3% Western Europe 43,792 24.3% Asia Pacific 33,514 10.9% Latin America 10,074 17.5% Middle East-Africa 4,805 12.6% Eastern Europe 4,581 7.6% * Penetration = Number of unique widget viewers /number of total Internet users for that region
Web Widgets are defined as being “embedded flash (.swf) objects”. comScore expects to change and adapt its tracking service to include other file types as needs change.
For more information about the comScore Widget Metrix, go here.


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Is Apple’s iTunes music store coming to South Korea?
According to one local report, the company is conducting a feasibility study on launching music sales in Korea. Apple declined to comment, but there’s good reason to be skeptical about Korea becoming the second Asian market after Japan for iTunes music sales.
Korea has three main digital music stores, including Melon, which accounts for more than 40% of the market. Melon and the others offer a range of plans that charge flat fees for a set number of downloads over a certain period.
For example, Melon offers one plan for 40 downloads for a total of 5,000 won over 30 days.
That works out at 125 won per song, or $0.11. Compare that with the $0.99 Apple charges for each song download in the U.S. and it’s hard to see how they could compete on price with the local players.
Of course, Apple has managed to convince people who download music illegally for free to pay for it, but any commercial success in Korea looks like it would depend on Apple convincing artists and labels to move over to iTunes for a larger slice of revenue.
While the economics don’t seem to make sense at the moment, the huge success of the iPhone in famously-wired Korea may have prompted Apple to look at expanding its product offerings here.
Apple doesn’t provide a breakdown of its shipments but the number of smartphone users in Korea has spiked in the nearly two years since the iPhone went on sale to exceed 20 million, or about 40% of the population.


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A $2 trillion stimulus package is moving forward in the United States, Google Podcasts comes to iOS and ClassPass offers livestreamed fitness classes. Here’s your Daily Crunch for March 25, 2020.
1. Senate, White House reach deal on $2 trillion stimulus package to lessen COVID-19’s economic impact
After five days of negotiations, Senate leaders and the Trump administration said early this morning they have reached a deal on a $2 trillion stimulus package to help relieve the economic impact of COVID-19.
The deal (which includes sending $1,200 checks to many Americans) still needs to be approved by the Senate and House of Representatives, but the stock market was already rising Tuesday as reports came out that an agreement was imminent.
2. Google Podcasts is finally available on iOS
Users’ listening habits on the app will be synced across platforms by way of Google Podcasts for Web. The iOS version is available for download starting today. The Android update, meanwhile, will be rolling out to users this week.
3. ClassPass now offers live streamed workouts for those house-bound by coronavirus
ClassPass, the fitness platform that connects gym-goers with the right studio/fitness class, announced that it’s dusting off its shuttered video product in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with tweaks. The company is allowing studio partners to set their own prices, date and time, and share a link to the streaming platform of their choice for their class.
4. Second Life-maker calls it quits on their VR follow-up
SF-based Linden Lab announced today that it has sold off assets related to its virtual reality project to a small, little-known company called Wookey Search Technologies, which will take over development of the title. Linden Lab will continue developing and maintaining Second Life and some of its employees may be joining Wookey.
5. Survey shows growth in podcasts and voice assistants, little change in streaming
A new annual survey — taken before the current COVID-19 crisis led to restrictions of movement in much of the U.S. — suggests good news for Amazon, continued dominance for Facebook and continued growth in podcasting. (Extra Crunch membership required.)
6. Amazon warehouse workers organized to demand PTO, and coronavirus clinched it
This particular group of Chicago workers was fed up with the company failing to provide paid time off or vacation it promised to part-time workers. They organized; Amazon resisted — and the coronavirus acted as tiebreaker.
7. Facebook in talks to acquire stake in top Indian telco Reliance Jio, report says
The social media giant is in talks to acquire a 10% stake in the Indian telecom operator, according to a report in the Financial Times. The size of the deal, the paper said, was in “multi-billion dollars.”
The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here.


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Would you like the chance to help a local business expand?
The Fitting Room, owned by Grayslake resident Bex Anderson, is running a crowdsourcing campaign on Lucky Ant with the goal of expanding the lingerie shop's inventory—including the addition of mastectomy bras.
Donors can either make a straight donation or purchase deals, like a $75 Fitting Room gift certificate for just $50, a private party at the shop for $99 (regularly priced at $175) or a bra makeover package for $199 (regularly priced at $275).
"I think it's something awesome," said Anderson, who started the crowdsourcing campaign Sept. 3.
She opened The Fitting Room 10 months ago. The shop offers bra fittings, specialty bras and hard-to-find sizes. Anderson opened the shop with no working capital.
"Everything here I paid for outright," said Anderson. She only uses the money from day-to-day sales to purchase additional inventory.
For now, Anderson is aiming to raise $10,000 through her Lucky Ant page. There are just 11 days left in the campaign.
"I figured $10,000 would be reasonable," said Anderson.
Offering mastectomy bras would itself be a sizable expense, between gaining the certification needed and buying the costly bras.
"That's a huge goal of mine," said Anderson. "I've had two dozen women who came in during the past few months asking about that."
If you'd like to donate to The Fitting Room's campaign, visit the shop's Lucky Ant page. The Fitting Room is located at 11 S. Lake St., Grayslake.


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In a recent interview, Sherlyn Chopra criticised Sunny Leone saying she's not the ultimate provocation. Now the Playmate says that she was misquoted and could never condemn Sunny Leone who's her inspiration behind taking up Playboy assignment.
The gorgeous Shruti Haasan, it seems, is keen on shedding her 'girl next door' image. The young actress went for an image makeover with a bold fashion statement. Shruti posed sensuously in a pair of black lingeries in the latest cover of the Maxim magazine. Check her out looking super hot in the photoshoot for Maxim India.


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The virtual reality device Oculus Rift could very well be flooding the consumer’s market during this winter. This is according to creator Palmer Luckey who in a recent Telegraph feature estimated a winter 2015 release for the first consumer version of the Oculus Rift.
This is not the first time that the company has talked about releasing the device in 2015. In the final quarter of 2014, CEO Brendan Iribe went on record to state that the release is still “months” away but could be delayed in light of needed improvements.
The November or December launch time frame could also be a placeholder and in such situations delays are almost imminent. The company has at numerous occasions expressed the desire to improve the current prototype before releasing it for the masses.
The last prototype dubbed Crescent Bay was revealed in September last year and integrated audio, full 360 degree positional tracking and an OLED display with an unspecified resolution that’s said to beat the 1080p screen on the second development kit (DK2).
Currently there are not details about the consumer version regarding region availability, pricing, bundles, and such. We can expect Oculus to throw all of that towards our way around summer time as the release of the device approaches nearer.
It’ll be interesting to see post-release as to just how many games end up supporting the device, and how many of those end up doing it right.


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LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) – British business expectations for consumer price inflation a year from now rose to 9.5% last month from 8.4% in August, a Bank of England survey showed on Thursday.
The survey of chief financial officers by the Bank of England’s panel of policymakers also showed that businesses expect output prices to rise 6.6% in the coming year, up from a forecast of 6.5% in August.
The survey was conducted between September 2. 2 and 16 and received 2,522 responses.
Sign up now for free unlimited access to Reuters.com
Reporting by Muvija M, Editing by Kylie MacLellan
Our Standard: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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Market Monitor: October Mid-Month Update
Twice a month, we send clients this overview of the markets and roundup of key economic news stories. Similar to Altair Insight, it enables us to share our big-picture views while also highlighting select market returns and developments that we feel are important.
Headlines and Highlights
- Interim trade pact lifts markets: President Trump announced what he called a “phase one deal” with China following high-level talks between the world’s two biggest economic powers. Trump called off a planned tariff increase this month and said China will purchase $40 to $50 billion of U.S. agricultural products as part of the partial agreement, although further details were limited and Beijing described it only as “progress.” Investors were optimistic, boosting the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index by 3% over the past week following a down start to October.
- IMF downgrades global growth outlook to lowest in a decade: The International Monetary Fund said the world economy is poised to fall to its slowest growth rate since 2008 as higher import tariffs from the trade war crimp manufacturing and global trade. The IMF lowered its 2019 global growth estimate to 3.0% from 3.3% six months ago and predicted the “big four” economies of China, the U.S., the eurozone and Japan will see no improvement in their growth rates over the next five years. However, it forecast a recovery next year to a rate of 3.4% thanks to improvement in emerging markets in Latin America, the Middle East and Europe.
- U.S. consumer sentiment resurges: Americans in October showed the most optimism about the economy in three months after expressing some doubt a month earlier amid escalating trade tensions. The rebound in the University of Michigan’s sentiment index came as consumers anticipated larger income gains and lower inflation during the year ahead.
Chart of Interest
Steady sentiment: Consumers continue to buoy the economy despite slowing global growth. The consumer sentiment index has remained at elevated levels throughout the trade war.
Sources: St. Louis Federal Reserve , Altair Advisers
- The latest jobs report, while slightly below expectations, signaled continuing strength in the labor market despite the economy slowing. U.S. employers added 136,000 jobs in September and unemployment dropped to a 50-year low of 3.5%.
- Markets responded positively to the Federal Reserve’s decision to start buying $60 billion a month of Treasury bills to address cash shortages that caused a recent spike in the overnight cost of borrowing known as the “repo” market. Expanding its nearly $4 trillion balance sheet after almost two years of declines is another form of monetary easing along with its two recent interest-rate cuts – and potentially a third by year-end.
- The yield curve un-inverted as economic data improved and the Fed’s balance sheet began expanding again, sending 10-year Treasury yields back above both 3-month and 2-year yields. The 10-year yield had fallen below the 3-month for much of the time since trade talks broke down in May and also briefly was below the 2-year, which had heightened concerns about a possible recession.
- Emerging-market stocks fell nearly 5% in the third quarter as a rising U.S. dollar put pressure on their economies. But the benchmark iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has rebounded 8% off its low point in mid-August as the dollar flattened and emerging economies showed resilience.
- U.S. economic growth is now estimated to have remained roughly level since topping 3.1% in the first quarter. Third-quarter GDP is now pegged at about 1.9% according to a blend of estimates by the New York and Atlanta Fed offices – on par with second-quarter growth of 2.0%. We believe this growth, while not great, continues to reflect a stable economy.
The material shown is for informational purposes only. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements. As a practical matter, no entity is able to accurately and consistently predict future market activities, and all investments are subject to the risk of loss. While efforts are made to ensure information contained herein is accurate, Altair Advisers LLC cannot guarantee the accuracy of all such information presented. Material contained in this publication should not be construed as accounting, legal, or tax advice


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Jason Clay of the World Wildlife Fund gave a talk yesterday about video and social change, featuring the video below that tries to convince people to think through the impacts of their consumption, and what changes could be made to make use of resources more efficient.
His talk this morning looks at these issues in far more detail, asking hard questions about the sustainability of human life on a single planet in the wake of increasing consumption. This ends up being a conversation primariy about agriculture and food production, which Clay characterizes as the single largest threat to the planet.
Clay tell us that he grew up on a Missouri farm, which he ran for five years before going to college. He tells us that there’s an old midwestern saying: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” In environmental terms, we need to know where we’re going and where we are on the journey.
Ultimately, our population times consumption needs to be sustainable within the footprint of our planet – right now, we’re consuming roughly 1.25 earth’s worth of resources. If China consumes at the rate that the US population does, we need two new earths just for Chinese consumers. Clay asks whether consumers should have a choice about buying sustainable products. His answer – nope. They need to all be sustainable – consumers need to choose based on other metrics.
We need to focus on agricultural sustainability because agriculture is our major threat towards biodiversity. WWF chose 35 key biodiversity locations around the world to protect – the threat to all is human impact, and the threat of agricultural and ranching encroachment is twice as large as any other threat. We currently farm 33% of the world’s terrestrial surface, 57% of non-river and mountain land. An additional 12% of terrestrial land is protected. The fate of that remaining 30% will be determined in the next few years. Right now, we’re seeing agricultural encroachment into forest and wetlands at 0.6% a year.
Agriculture uses 70% of all water on the planet. One crop – rice – uses 14%. Water scarcity means that agriculture is becoming more unpredictable, more variable. This makes it hard for farmers to borrow against their future production. “If American and Brazilian farmers don’t get money to plant, we’re going to starve.”
We waste roughly 60% of the water allocated towards agriculture And we’ve lost half our topsoil in the last 150 years. Agriculture may provide 25-40% of greenhouse gases – we don’t really know because we don’t know how carbon is released from soil. And these ugly numbers all precede biofuels.
By 2050, we’ll have 3 billion more people in the world, and food consumption will likely triple. That’s because people spend money upgrading their diets before anything else, and “better” diets mean more animal protein. In the US, we’ve tried very hard to keep food inexensive – we pay less than 10% of our income for food in the US, eating out about 40% of the time. But we don’t necessarily pay for externalities. If you buy a large burger, the farmer gets paid about $0.25 for the ground beef. Growing that beef could require anywhere from 3000 to 15,000 liters of water – is that really a fair price for water? (Clay quipps, “Water is the new carbon – lack of water will kill you in a couple of days, unlike climate change, which takes decades.”)
The problem with getting a handle on these issues is that even big companies don’t have a huge amount of control over their carbon impacts directly – Coke, Clay tells us, controls less than 15% of their carbon impact directly, and the rest comes from the supply chain. “Generally carbon and water impacts aren’t under control of large brands or retailers – they occur upstream, in primary production of commodities.” That means that improving corporate efficiency doesn’t get the job done – you need to work with suppliers and their suppliers.
When WWF looks for places where they can impact supply chains, they look at these numbers:
– 1.4 billion producers of raw materials
– 6.7 billion consumers
– 15 commodities that represent the most potential for positive environmental impact
– 300-500 companies dominate 70-80% of trade in each of those commodities
– 200 companies represent 50% of 15 commodities, and 100 represent 25% of those 15
WWF’s take: let’s focus on those 100 companies. (Cargill is, by far, the most important of these companies.) The goal is to get them to commit to ensuring that 25% of one of these commodities will be sustainably produced, checked against third-party standards of sustainability, buy 2020. These goals need to be public and transparent to avoid greenwashing. And there’s a ton of interest in doing this – 21 companies have already partnered with WWF, and WWF is trying to bring in 15 more a year.
Mars has committed to making 100% of their cocoa sustainable. That’s important because they buy more cocoa that any other companies. Clay theorizes that 25% of the market is what it takes to “flip” a market – producers realize the economic benefits of sustainable production through higher prices and longer contracts and other producers will follow their lead in the hopes of reaching these markets.
WWF is focusing on cotton, palm oil, soy, sugar, bananas, pineapple, cocoa, coffee, wild fish, farmed salmon and shrimp, beef, pulp and paper, timber and biofuels. Bananas, pineapple, cocoa and coffee are critical to a number of regional economies, while the other are key global commodities. (Clay pauses to wax lyrical on aquaculture – it now produces more fish than wild caught, and the production goes in strange places. Turns out that Mars vastly more fish than WalMart… to make cat food.) Around each of these products, WWF convenes a roundtable to discuss global standards for impact, creating 4-8 key, measurable impacts that can be tracked and measurably reduced.
Once we start setting standards and monitoring impacts, we’re able to answer tricky questions, like whether we’re better buying local or not from a greenhouse gas point of view. It turns out that transport is only a tiny component in the carbon footprint of most products – 85% of greenhouse gas is attributable to production. So we’ve now got good studies that demonstrate that it’s far smarter from a carbon impact to raise lamb in New Zealand, freeze it and ship it to the UK than to grow locally.
This sort of analysis turns into uncomfortable news for environmentalists. Tesco looked into building more small stores and encouraging people to walk to them, rather than big stores with parking lots. They discovered that the carbon impact of the food people eat to power their walk to the store outpaces the gains from reduced car usage! The analysis of a grande latte – in the video above – shows that a company like Starbucks uses almost no water in producing a beverage, a few liters in producing a cup and lid, and hundreds in growing the coffee. You can bring a recyclable cup, and you’ll save some water… but if you really want to save water, you need to address the supply chain.
Clay looks closely at China’s increased consumption of pork – China has more pigs than the rest of the world combined. As China eats further up the food chain, they’re buying massive amounts of soy from Brazil. That soy is grown on former rain forest. Brazil is basically exporting soil and water to China in the form of soy, cotton and sugar.
We’ve got to find some way of increasing productivity if this trade is going to continue. There are eight key crops in the world which are responsible for 50% of the world’s calories. We need a 3% growth rate in production to meet our food needs – the two most critical crops, wheat and rice (which provide 80% of the globe’s calories), have less than a 1% growth rate. None of the crops with a growth rate over 2% grow in the tropics.
So we may need to get tricky. Mars discovered that 20% of cocoa trees were responsible for 80% of their suppliers’ crops. And they discovered that providing water during the dry season doubled production. Between careful irrigation and sequencing genes to discover the most productive cocoa strains, Mars predicts that their producers can grow 300-400% of their crops on 30-40% of currently farmed land. The rest can grow trees to sequester carbon, act as grazing land or as watershed. And it’s possible these techniques could be applied to oil palm and cassava, critical food crops in cocoa producing regions.
As meat consumption moves to the developing world, so does meat production. For meat to be 10% of the world’s calories, we can raise meat using nothing more than agricultural waste. But to bring meat production to 20% of calories, we need to double world grain production, which is just not possible. So we need to get more efficient. The humble fish stick is a miracle of engineering – it allows us to use 60-70% of the weight of a fish, and the remainer can go towards aquaculture feed. Fish will soon replace poultry, which was the previous miracle protein. (Think tilapia or catfish. Not much flavor, but the goal is to create a protein-rich substrate for spices.) Poultry efficiency – in terms of converting grain calories into protein ones – has doubled in efficiency every eight years over the past century. Now we need to look at other metrics. Producing a kilo of chicken requires 32 liters of water… Brazilian farmers figured out how to bring the numbers down to 16 liters. But the grain to feed the chicken requires 2500 liters per kilo – if we can reduce that 10%, we’ll see an amazing impact.
We get even bigger impacts through rehabilitating abused and abandoned land. In Brazil, farmers are buying land at 10 cents on the dollar and letting it grow grasses for five years. They’re able to borrow against the land, because when it’s rehabilitated, it’s more productive than agricultural land in use. In Borneo, farmers are buying land that was abused and planting oil palms – Clay says they’re selling carbon sequestration and palm oil simultaneously.
Business models that have multiple impacts at the same time are Clay’s obsession. He talks about conversations he’s had with Dupont about capturing sulphur from coal-burning energy plants. His idea – Dupont should capture nitrogen and sulfur and give it away to fertilizer producers. They’ll retain the rights to trade NOx and SOx credits. He predicts the model is so profitable that Dupont will be compelled to put the technology in for free in Indian and Chinese coal plants.
Making these systems work requires monitoring the commodities produced. When agricultural standards emerged, they came into play to allow people to make purchases sight unseen, defined by specifications – a bushel of #2 corn was a certain color, a certain quality and a cerain moisture. We’re now asking to buy products with values that aren’t verifiable through careful analysis. Was this organically produced? Does it contain GM materials? What’s the water usage? Is it fair trade? Was child labor involved? We don’t sell cocoa and child labor separately – we sell cocoa that’s free of child labor. We can – and need to – sell commodities bundled with cerain water and standards as well.
This won’t necessarily add cost – we’re capable of being more efficient with water and carbon footprints. But it will require third-party verification. Clay wants to see market standards emerge, before government standards come into play, because he believes markets will set a higher bar. He also believes we need to get over the idea of having completely separate supply chains. “You don’t buy green energy. You buy the bragging rights about green energy.” As long as a company is producing a certain amount of energy sustainably, you don’t care if your electrons come from coal or water. Perhaps a similar blurring can take place in agricultural markets.
I thought that this was one of the most revolutionary talks I’ve heard in a long time. Clay argues that, while consumers can have a modest impact on the environment, the real change needs to happen at corporate supply chain levels. This calls into question lots of well-meaning green orthodoxy. If it doesn’t matter all that much if you bring a recyclable cup to the coffee shop – at least in comparison to the coffee production – what other “truths” do we need to examine more closely?
One questioner asks whether we wouldn’t benefit from small, polyculture farms throughout the world. Clay administers “tough love” in response – polyculture’s great to feed a family, but it probably won’t get it out of poverty in the same way that selling commodities will. And small farmers have the biggest impact per ton of any on the planet. It’s not a scaleable way to produce food and address these issues of carbon and water.
I raised the concern that some of the well-meaning green efforts are paradoxically bad for the environment, citing Tesco’s “carbon count”… which encouraged consumers to buy less sustainable produce from Britain than more sustainable from Kenya. It turned an environmental good faith gesture into a retrograde action in green terms, as well as a damaging form of protectionism. On the other hand, people clearly want to do the right thing as environmentalists – they just don’t know what it is.
Clay suggests that it’s an and, not an or – we can take actions in our lives, but we need good data to make the right choices. But we also need to take actions as citizens. We can become informed on these issues and put thoughtful pressure on large corporations to change. He suggests letters to the Cokes and Nestles of the world, suggesting that a dozen letters is worth far more than thousands of Greenpeace postcards.
I was thrilled to see Saul Griffith – who gave the other best talk on these subjects I’ve attended in recent years – in the audience. That talk, at last year’s ETEch, looked closely at global power production and consumption and each of our personal footprints. Talking with Saul afterwards, I noted that he’d responded to his research by making massive personal changes in his life – travelling less, becoming mostly vegetarian. Clay’s talk seemed to suggest that the real impacts come at a corporate level, while Saul wondered whether there’s a moral responsibility that comes from understanding this sort of calculus. Saul assures me that the perspectives are compatible – I’d love to continue the conversation with them both to see whether the answer is that we should apply pressure for big changes at a corporate or government level, or whether we need personal change as well.


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HTML5 is the fastest growing web development trend and HTML5 video as a part of HTML5 becomes the new natural way to show video online....
Showing results 1 to 20 of 2,086
Lenovo's storage area networking arrays are available in June and designed to provide a bridge to flash-based systems.
Adobe's latest security update includes patches for 18 vulnerabilities in Flash, as well as 34 flaws in Adobe Reader and Acrobat.
EMC's latest all-flash array software is designed to consolidate more enterprise workloads and cut down on storage sprawl.
Do your data-center-based apps need an input/output kick in the pants? If so, SanDisk wants to tell you about its new data access software and its Fusion ioMemory PCIe flash storage cards.
Why tie up two USB ports with a flash drive and a phone charger? The Bricwave Xpress does both and can recharge some phones in half the time using a single port.
Trippy Salamander 2 is an endless scroller that combines classic arcade game-play with psychedelic environments. You must help the...
Recently discovered vulnerabilities are being used by the Russian APT28 group to spy on government targets and steal politically sensitive data.
NetApp, together with Fujitsu, recently installed a range of flash storage arrays in the National Computational Infrastructure's supercomputer, Raijin, boosting its total raw storage capacity to 44 petabytes.
Computer screen, game, video recording is possible. Pause/resume of recording function. Recording using the built-in video codecs (AVI,...
This Lightning and USB 2.0 flash drive is useful, but also shows how iOS makes it complicated to work with files.
The compromised website is redirecting all traffic to a Nuclear Exploit Kit targeting vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash, Oracle Java and Microsoft Silverlight software.
The two companies claim their new technology offers up to three times the density of other 3D NAND competitors, with full production ramping up later this year.
Known vulnerability CVE-2011-2461, despite being patched, remains a threat to today's websites which host exploitable Flash movies.
The increasing popularity of SSDs and flash-based storage have created a big problem for Windows, and that problem is getting worse as OEMs shrink storage on cheap tablets to save costs. To address the problem, Microsoft is making some radical changes in Windows 10.
Adobe's latest security update includes patches for vulnerabilities which allow remote code execution.
Adobe, maker of software including Flash and Adobe reader, is catching up to the times and has launched a vulnerability disclosure program -- but something may be missing.
First they bought Skyera, erstwhile all flash array startup. Now WD's HGST unit is buying Amplidata, a scale-out object storage software vendor. Is the world's largest disk drive vendor moving into the storage systems business or not?
SanDisk launched a new enterprise flash system that could upend the storage economics favoring traditional hard drives.
Google has removed a roadblock preventing its Adword customers from delivering interactive Flash ads to users on mobile.
Solid State Drives - SSDs - are a product of convenience, not good architecture. Storage systems need to be re-architected to achieve the highest performance of NAND flash and, soon, byte-addressable non-volatile memory. Here's an example.
Samsung has announced that it has begun production of its new Universal Flash Storage chips, which the company claims have a random reading speed up to 28 times faster than external memory cards.
Users of the new Raspberry Pi 2 are calling it 'camera shy' after discovering that the flash of a xenon tube has the potential to disrupt the board's power supply.
The best of ZDNet, delivered
- 1 ZDNet Cloud TV: Hurdles to overcome (highlights)
- 2 Perfectly legal ways you can still get Windows 7 cheap (or even free)
- 3 34 ways to improve your iPhone's battery life
- 4 How much does an iPhone 6 really cost? (Hint: It's way more than $199)
- 5 So you have an app idea and want to make a bajillion bucks


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- WorldViews: The real news in Iran: Tehran’s big soccer game
- Employers told to watch their staff for signs of domestic violence including bruising, changes in mood and frequent personal calls at work
- SIMON HEFFER: Now there's only one way to stop Ed being PM
- Man has 50 maggots removed from his NOSE before they chewed away at his flesh and eyes
- Hidden camera on New York woman's yoga pants reveals a ridiculous number of men (and women) stealing a glance at her rear
- Eurosceptic Tories urge David Cameron to put pressure on Nigel Farage
- The LOG Ness Monster: Woodland Trust claim recent burst of sightings are nothing but driftwood
- Hilarious video of English bulldog being pushed in a playground swing
- Nude female PETA protesters painted like orcas in a bathtub in New York to oppose SeaWorld's Thanksgiving Day Parade float
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Broadcom eyes entry into LTE chip market in 2013
More from Tech
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NEW YORK | Thu Dec 6, 2012 3:21pm EST
(Reuters) - Broadcom Corp said on Thursday that it would provide sample chips supporting the latest high-speed wireless services to its top cellphone customers in 2013.
This could help the company compete better with bigger rival Qualcomm Inc, which is years ahead of its rivals in Long Term Evolution (LTE), the high-speed wireless technology being adopted by wireless service providers around the world.
Bob Rango, the company's general manager for wireless, announced Broadcom's LTE plan during the company's annual investor meeting.
Broadcom Chief Executive Scott McGregor would not provide an estimate for the timing of the production of commercial smartphones using its LTE chips, but he included LTE in a list of "signposts" investors should look for in the next year.
"We need to be there. We're not there today," McGregor said.
The latest hot devices, such as the Apple Inc iPhone and Samsung Electronics Co Galaxy phones, already support LTE.
Broadcom already supplies Apple and Samsung with chips for short-range connectivity such as Wi-Fi, but an LTE chip would help it increase the revenue it generates from each phone.
Broadcom shares were up 77 cents, or 2.4 percent, at $33.11 on Thursday afternoon. It announced late Wednesday that it was raising its financial targets for the current quarter.
(Reporting By Sinead Carew; Editing by Nick Zieminski)


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Apple recently unveiled its new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, boasting of a robust chassis design crafted from grade 5 titanium. However, early assessments, including rigorous durability tests, have raised eyebrows over the resilience of this model, particularly the back glass’s vulnerability.
The Titanium Conundrum
Apple’s move to utilize grade 5 titanium was intended to showcase the iPhone 15 Pro models as stalwarts of durability. Titanium’s high tensile strength, theoretically, makes it a stronger alternative to the materials previously used in iPhone designs. Yet, in practice, the new chassis design may be revealing some unforeseen challenges.
In a widely viewed durability test by JerryRigEverything, the iPhone 15 Pro Max was subjected to various trials including scratch testing, heat application, and abrasive contact like sandpaper. Although the titanium body, matte back glass, display, and camera covers held up well against scratches, a more startling revelation came when pressure was applied to the device. With seemingly minimal force, a sharp snap was heard, and the back glass was found to be completely shattered.
Notably, this outcome was unexpected even for Jerry, who commented on the abnormal swiftness of the break, especially for an iPhone, which generally enjoys a reputation for sturdiness.
Another YouTuber, Sam Kohl, conducted a drop test comparing the iPhone 15 Pro and its predecessor, the iPhone 14 Pro. Initial drops seemed innocuous, but as the test progressed, the iPhone 15 Pro displayed substantial damage and was rendered non-functional, while the iPhone 14 Pro continued to operate.
Social Media and User Reactions
The surprising fragility of the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s back glass caused quite a stir on social media. Users expressed their astonishment, with comments highlighting the unexpected nature of the damage, especially given the premium branding and cost associated with Apple’s products.
One point of contention is the representativeness of these tests. While these videos provide visual evidence of potential vulnerabilities, it’s essential to note that the sample size is small. As highlighted by a comment on 9to5mac, using just one or two units for testing doesn’t yield statistically conclusive results. The possibility exists that the tested units could be outliers or have manufacturing defects.
Apple, for its part, has emphasized the merits of the iPhone 15 Pro models. In addition to its purportedly robust construction, the company claims prolonged battery life and improved wireless charging speeds.
While durability tests are not definitive representations of a product’s overall strength, they do provide potential consumers with valuable insights. As it stands, the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s back glass appears susceptible to breaking under certain conditions. However, Apple’s decision to reduce the cost of back glass replacements this year might be a silver lining for concerned users.
In an industry where the race for innovation is relentless, the challenge lies in ensuring that advancements do not come at the cost of fundamental qualities like durability. It remains to be seen how Apple will address these concerns, but for now, potential buyers might want to exercise caution or at least invest in a good protective case.


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Online shopping victims
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of online shoppers, and with that the rise in online shopping scams like gift card frauds, postal delivery frauds etc have also increased. A report by Norton suggests that many Indian adults surveyed who have fallen victim and been defrauded while online shopping have been impacted financially and have lost money as a result. While some consumers are not strangers to threats and are taking preventative measures to protect themselves online, there is always room for improvement.
The festive season is often a time when many people buy gifts for their family and friends. This holiday season, Indian adults surveyed expect tech-based gifts including smartphones (64%), smart watches (55%), and smart home devices (47%) to be the most sought out gifts.
The report of Norton highlights the importance of taking precautions with your personal information online. The findings reveal that though only a small minority of adults in India surveyed (8%) plan to buy fewer technology gifts this festive season compared to years past, over 4 in 5 of those planning to buy less tech gifts (84%) say this is due to concerns of rising costs of living and inflation.
To help with inflation/the rising cost of living, most Indians surveyed (91%) are likely to take cost cutting measures of some kind this festive season, which for some includes clicking on a questionable link offering them a good deal on technology products (36%) or a reduced energy bill (29%).
Two-thirds of Indian adults surveyed are at least concerned about the following when shopping online during the holiday season:
• Their personal details being compromised (78%)
• Being defrauded by a third-party retailer (77%)
• Unintentionally receiving a counterfeit version of a gift (76%)
• A device they buy for someone else being digitally unsafe (75%)
• Their holiday travel arrangements or accommodations being ruined by a scammer (73%)
• Buying or receiving a refurbished device as a gift (72%)
• A device they receive as a gift being hacked (69%)
The survey reveals that spending time online offers an escape for many Indian adults during the festive season. Most Indian adults surveyed (78%) agree that spending time online via their connected devices helps them feel more connected during the festive season, and 74% say that it helps their mental well-being.
Bank of Abyssinia chooses Newgen for delivering superior Customer Experience
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ASIRT 107th TECHDAY conducted in Mumbai
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Hikvision showcases Problem-Solving Retail Security Solutions in National Retail Federation Show
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Kingdom Rush: Vengeance – the fourth title in the Kingdom Rush franchise – will be released on iOS and Android devices on November 22. Pre-orders for the game are currently available on the App Store and Google Play, and will cost players $ 4.99.
Unlike other Kingdom Rush games, Revenge is all about the bad guys. Vez’nan, the dark wizard of the first Kingdom rush, has returned to sow terror and chaos. But this time the players will be working for Vez’nan instead of trying to stop him.
Players will be able to build 16 different towers – an improvement over each of the previous entries, eight unique towers – to take on the forces of good still on the march. But unlike previous games in which players wielded druids, elves, dwarves, and men, Revenge will configure players with Orc Strongholds and Zombie Crypts to control. Like always, Kingdom Rush: Vengeance will allow player-controlled heroes to fight alongside their allied towers.
Kingdom Rush: Vengeancethe developer of, Ironhide, was responsible for Kingdom rush, Kingdom Rush: Frontiers, and Kingdom Rush: Origins. Last year the studio released its first RTS game on mobile devices, Iron Marines. Revenge will be the first Kingdom Rush game since Origins was released in 2014.
It is currently unclear whether Kingdom Rush: Vengeance will arrive on Steam, as have other Kingdom Rush games. Polygon has contacted Ironhide for further comment.


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Today, EU Vice President Neelie Kroes and representatives from the EU Parliament
have launched the “eIDAS Regulation” in Brussels. The Head of IAIK, Reinhard Posch, also attended — for a good reason: Read on.
eIDAS is an EU regulation on electronic identification, not only nationally, but cross-border.
In case you do not know: EU regulations are legal acts of the European Union becoming immediately enforceable as law in all member states simultaneously: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_(European_Union)
The eIDAS Launch Event included an “electronic signature ceremony.”
Guess which e-signature system has been used? Yes, you got it! Mobile phone signatures as defined by IAIK’s researchers through the project STORK and as being used by more than 400000 Austrian citizens currently.
(Check out: https://www.handy-signatur.at/)
(Check out: https://www.buergerkarte.at/en/activate-mobile.html)
At IAIK, we are quite happy about eIDAS for several reasons:
(1) We have been fore-runners in this development for quite some time.
(2) Austria’s eGovernment has been rated Number 1 in the EU for many years.
(3) At IAIK, we have been hosting Austria’s “E-Government Innovation Zentrum” (EGIZ, https://www.egiz.gv.at) for almost 10 years. EGIZ is the home for many if not most innovative eGovernment solutions like the Mobile Phone Signature.
Do you want to know more? Check out the following:
A letter to President Juncker referring to the Mobile Phone Signatures in Austria: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/dae/document.cfm?doc_id=7225
Want to read more? https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/eidas-regulation-launching-event
Copyright: Photograph showing Neelie Kroes and Reinhard Posch: Audiovisual Services @ European Commission.


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Just when you thought trying to find a place to rent couldn’t get more invasive or tiresome, a new company launches to prove you wrong.
We present: Tenant Assured. It’s a ‘referencing’ service which hopes to comb through your private social media to pass judgement on whether you’re likely to pay up on time or wreck the place.
Once the service is up and running, it won’t just be limited to your public declarations on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
After you allow the app access, it will be able to scrape everything you post on your private pages – and if you want to sign that contract, you can’t really turn down the request.
As if having to impress potential flatmates on a househunting blind date wasn’t bad enough, now you’ll have to retrospectively delete any photo holding a wine glass from the last five years – or even any mention of wine.
Co-founder Steve Thornhill told the Washington Post he wanted to ‘take a deep dive into private social media profiles’.
After a strong backlash to the article, the company has vowed to make changes to the original conception.
As originally reported, developers planned to use language processing software to gauge how often people used words like ‘loan’, ‘poor’ and even things like ‘pregnant’.
Would-be landlords would then get a report on their prospective tenants’ ‘financial stress level’ as well as their personalities.
‘If you’re living a normal life then, frankly, you have nothing to worry about,’ Thornhill told a Washington Post journalist who tested out the software.
He claimed it can help both landlord and tenant and added: ‘People will give up their privacy to get something they want.’
This is how the reports were designed to look (although the product is now undergoing more development):
The company is reconsidering some of how it operates ahead of its beta launch on June 27.
As initially conceived, the reports would only be visible to the landlord and not the tenant being examined – but this may now change so that people can request to see their own rating.
Ben Stubbs told Metro.co.uk: ‘The updates that we are in the process of making will significantly improve the usability and output of the product.
‘As we have seen a HUGE volume of enquiries for people to review their own reports, we are designing a much more consumer friendly product. We always intended this product to be inclusive and to help people where traditional credit scores and referencing had let them down. The changes reflect this mission.’


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The Consumer Safety Products Commission will be banning five different kinds of phthalate chemicals used in plastic toys and childcare articles. Public health just scored with a 3 - 2 vote in favor of the restrictions.
Phthalates are also called plasticizers, which are known to make plastic material resistant to breaking because of flexibility, like in teething rings. However, scientists have found that exposure to the chemicals can potentially cause health problems, particularly in young adults.
CNN reported that phthalates can disrupt our hormones and cause fertility problems. Other harmful effects were linked with childhood obesity, neurological disorders, and even cancer.
The lawsuit was filed by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Environmental Justice Health Alliance (EJHA) and Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP) against the CPSC last December.
According to a NRDC press release, Michele Roberts of the National CoCoordinator of the EJHA said, “This will especially protect children who face overlapping exposures to phthalates in their communities, in household products, and even in the toys they play with."
“This is a big victory for children’s health,” said Avinash Kar, Senior Attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council. “These chemicals in children’s toys and childcare articles are a known health risk. In banning them, CPSC is following the advice of its scientific experts and doing precisely what Congress directed the agency to do in a 2008 law it passed overwhelmingly.”
Advocates have pleaded with manufacturers to reduce phthalates in products, but the Food and Drug Administration couldn't find conclusive evidence on phthalates' effects on human health.
However, there is enough evidence gathering on the toxicity of phthalates. A report in AAP News & Journals said:
Phthalates are animal carcinogens and can cause fetal death, malformations, and reproductive toxicity in laboratory animals. Toxicity profiles and potency vary by specific phthalate. The extent of these toxicities and their applicability to humans remains incompletely characterized and controversial.
Phthalates are known as "everywhere chemicals." They are found in your water bottles, bathroom floor tiles, and even the wrappings on various food products. If you're a fan of Kraft macaroni & cheese, you may be disappointed to find out you're ingesting phthalates.
Tell Kraft to listen & eliminate sources of toxic #phthalates in food: take selfie “listening” to @kraftmacncheese… https://t.co/9hLy80IGGS— Environmental Health Strategy Center (@Environmental Health Strategy Center) 1508417161.0
Dr. De-Kun Li, a senior research scientist at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Northern California lauded the CPSC's vote, however, he believes it's not enough as the victory is just the "first step in the right direction, but is probably not enough since phthalates are still plentiful out there in consumer products."
Phthalates is in most dishwashing liquid and it is lead back to birth defects! #Natural #BirthDefect #Phthalates https://t.co/1hRU5ljcEF— Dirk Butler (@Dirk Butler) 1508608499.0
Li hopes the government will extend the ban of phthalates used as solvents in cosmetic products. He suggested that the fetus is more sensitive to exposure; therefore, any form of absorption of the phthalates into the body should be avoided.
The toy industry even weighed in on the importance of the health victory. When it comes to child safety, the Toy Association isn't playing. They wrote in an emailed statement:
Safety is the toy industry's top priority. Toys are among the most highly-regulated consumer products, with comprehensive restrictions on the use of substances known to be harmful to children and to which children might be exposed. We support the Consumer Product Safety Commission's effort to ensure children are not exposed to substances of concern in toys. The industry largely moved away from using phthalates in the late 1990s, therefore the vote will not have much impact on our manufacturers, except for increased testing costs.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
H/T - cnn, nrdc,aappublications


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The manager of one of the state’s licensed medical cannabis producers said he reported to the Albuquerque Police Department in April that an employee had stolen at least 18 pounds marijuana, but the man has not been arrested and product with an estimated value of at least $57,000 still hasn’t been recovered.
“Police did nothing, they took no action,” said William Ford, managing director of R. Greenleaf Organics Inc., a medical cannabis producer with five dispensaries in Albuquerque and one in Grants.
The accused former employee has not been charged with a crime but has been named in a civil lawsuit as Jordan C. Wallace.
The lawsuit says Wallace admitted taking the marijuana after he was confronted with a video recording allegedly showing the theft.
Wallace could not be reached for comment Thursday.
In complaining about police inaction in the case, Ford said Thursday, “I would have thought the city of Albuquerque would be more concerned about public safety. To have this happen and for them not to respond, I find that unfortunate. … I would imagine there would at least be some contact to let us know what is happening and that the perpetrator would have been arrested.”
In response to an inquiry from The New Mexican, Albuquerque police spokeswoman Celina Espinoza said in an email: “We appreciate The New Mexican bringing this concern to our attention. We are reviewing this case and will get to the bottom of it. Currently, we have forwarded this report to APD’s Organized Crime Unit, and they will investigate the case and work diligently to pursue any possible criminal charges.”
According to an April 11 police report, Ford said that Wallace on April 4 used an employee ID and a manager’s security code to gain access to a vault used by his company at a facility where marijuana is refined into edibles and other products.
The next morning, the police report says, a manager noticed things out of place and reviewed security camera footage, which allegedly showed Wallace leaving with the marijuana. A subsequent inventory revealed a shortage of 18 pounds of medical cannabis.
“[Wallace] was then confronted regarding the theft,” the report says. “[Wallace] admitted he had stolen the marijuana and said it was a big mistake.”
Ford told police he told Wallace to return the product or he would call police, and he said that Wallace returned with three bags of marijuana that was not the same as the marijuana that had been taken.
Ford also told police he believes Wallace may have been working with five other employees of the business.
Wallace said there is no requirement that he report the theft to the New Mexico Department of Health, which oversees the state’s Medical Cannabis Program, but that he did so.
Ford said he is not only interested in recovering the valuable product and seeing justice done but is concerned about public safety.
“If this material is sold, it’s sold to people who aren’t patients,” he said, and could be distributed in an unregulated fashion to youth or others who should not have access to it. “Any distribution would be a breach of law,” he added.
The company sued Wallace in state District Court in Albuquerque in June. The lawsuit makes most of the same claims contained in the police report, saying Wallace was caught on video taking the cannabis and that he admitted the theft, but “instead of returning the product, gave Plaintiff a smaller amount of different product of lower quality and value.”
Because the state Department of Health “carefully tracks each cannabis plant from cultivation to sale,” the complaint says, “the different product … cannot be legally sold or used in manufacturing of cannabis products.”
Contact Phaedra Haywood at 505-986-3068 or firstname.lastname@example.org. Follow her on Twitter @phaedraann.


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Preston's 140-room Premier Inn hotel put up for sale for £8.7 million
and live on Freeview channel 276
Owners Kames Capital – part of Aegon Asset Management – are seeking to offload the seven-storey building at the junction of Ringway and Fox Street, which was built in 2010.
But any sale is unlikely to affect the ongoing operation of the city centre hotel. Premier Inn has a 25-year lease on the building – signed in 2011 and due to expire in 2036 – and this would continue under a new landlord.
However, Premier Inn reportedly has a lease break option in 2031, when the hotel chain will have the opportunity to either renegotiate the terms of its lease or end it altogether.
According to real estate firm CRBE, who have been instructed to find a buyer for the building, the Premier Inn’s lease accounts for 91% of the property’s total income.
Ground floor units occupied by German Doner Kebab, Kaspa’s Desserts and clothing retailer Hollywood Exports make up the other 9%.
The building recently had work undertaken on its exterior cladding. Some old panels were replaced and new fire-proof materials added, whilst lime staining on its brickwork was removed.
The owners said the improvements were not due to safety concerns following the Grenfell Tower disaster. Instead, it said it was simply making improvements as a “proactive landlord.”
Before work commenced, a spokesman for Kames Income Property Fund said: “The Premier Inn building received full building regulations approval when it was built but we are bringing it in line with the new standards.
“As proactive landlords, we recognise that there are always improvements which can be made."


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Giving information on social media, Kawasaki said that it is going to increase the price of its motorcycle in India from January 1. Kawasaki has decided to increase the prices again on August 1, a few months after the price hike of several of its models. Apart from the Ninja 300, Z H2 and Z H2 SE, Kawasaki’s road legal range will see a hike in prices. Apart from this, the prices of Z650, Vulcan 650, Z H2 and Z H2 SE are also going to increase.
The ex-showroom price of Kawasaki’s most affordable model Ninja 300 in India will increase by Rs 6,000 to Rs 3.24 lakh. On the other hand, the price of the litre-class SuperSport has been increased by Rs 23,000. The company has not given the reason behind the increase in price, but the increase in raw-material prices could be the reason. Kawasaki has also said, “If customers book the motorcycle on or before December 31 and take delivery within 45 days from the date of booking, the ex-showroom price till December 31 will be applicable.”
Hero MotoCorp, the country’s largest two-wheeler maker, is also going to increase the price of its products again. The company has announced to increase the prices of motorcycles and scooters by up to Rs 2,000 from January 4. The price hike will be applicable on all models. However, the price hike will vary from model to model.
Input cost became the reason
Hero company says that the reason for the increasing price of the product is the increase in input cost. The prices of all the components used to make motorcycles and scooters are increasing rapidly. The price hike will depend on the model and the market. The increased prices will be effective from January 4 next year.


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In-Depth: 10 Things That Baselworld Is Changing For 2020
Baselworld should change. That has been the message, mantra and mission of the embattled show’s new overseeing chief, Michel Loris-Melikoff, since he took the post last July.
But how might it change?
Loris-Melikoff and his new group say that they need “to change Baselworld from an exemplary exchange reasonable into an encounter stage” at the fake watch costs gems and gemstone industries.
What does that mean precisely? How might Baselworld change one year from now and over the accompanying two years? (“We are anticipating a three-year change,” Loris-Melikoff says.)
Here are 10 new things to expect at Baselworld going ahead. They are based on a video about the supervisory crew’s new plans, called “Vision 2020+,” that was appeared to exhibitors during Baselworld this year. They are likewise based on public proclamations by Loris-Melikoff just as HODINKEE interviews with him and other show officials.
The show has consistently been principally b-to-b, but end shoppers will have a lot bigger influence going forward.
1. New Audiences
Historically, Baselworld is a career expo, a b-to-b (business-to-business) occasion where fake watch prices adornments and gemstone exhibitors hold deals gatherings with retail customers and, for some, organizations, look for new clients. It will stay that. But from here on out, Baselworld plans to have a solid b-to-c (business-to-shopper) center too, drawing in fake watch prices and adornments enthusiasts and authorities just as retailers.
Hence, the show’s new motto – “Baselworld: The World fake watch prices & Jewelry Community.” That community embraces everybody engaged with the fake watch prices gems and gemstone ventures: makers, distributors, retailers, e-rears, gatherers, fans, end buyers, closeout houses, and all way of media (exchange, standard, design, bloggers, influencers, etc.).
“In the past, we just centered around the prosperity of our exhibitors,” Loris-Melikoff said. “Later on we should center, on the exhibitors, but the prosperity of the individuals who come to see the exhibitors.” at the end of the day, the whole Baselworld community. The arranged upgrades to the show are intended to pull in both more exhibitors and more guests inspired by the items on display.
To that end, one year from now “Baselworld will open its entryways with an extraordinary offer explicitly for end clients and gatherers,” the show declared in its March 26 shutting question and answer session. Subtleties will come later.
We are changing the arrangement. We’re building a brand-new stage for our global community: live, advanced, important, all year round.
– Michel Loris-Melikoff, Baselworld Managing Director
2. New Events
Loris-Melikoff is an attorney with 20 years of involvement with the occasion business. For a very long time, he was top of the Zurich Street Parade, the world’s biggest technoparade, with more than 1 million participants. At the following Baselworld, he intends to offer a full menu of occasions to exhibit new items and connect with visitors.
Baselworld will grow the Show Plaza idea it presented at the current year’s show in the adornments segment. That was a phase and catwalk where the show held four gems style shows every day, just as public interviews and different occasions. One year from now there will be extra occasion spaces around the show complex.
The reasonable will likewise have what it calls “new experience zones.” It designs a Virtual Reality Zone, with VR and AR (expanded reality) test systems and holographic experiences.
Education projects will be a standard component of the show. Plans call for things like highest points, meetings, talks, workshops, debates, and influencer occasions on subjects important to different fragments of the Baselworld community. Besides, brand introductions (items, sponsorships, “ambassadors”).
Also viable are occasions like honor evenings, function evenings, and amusement supported by the show and additionally the exhibitors.
The “Blue Room” is the place where Baselworld coordinators prodded their vision for the following year’s show in front of the fundamental press conference.
3. New Show Areas
Next year, Baselworld will return Hall 2, the three-story building which was shut for this present year. Corridor 2 will incorporate another region called Innovation Square, which the show describes as “a space for advancement and computerized change.” It will incorporate Baselworld’s first area gave to smartwatches and wearable devices.
The Incubator idea, which debuted for this present year in the fake watch prices segment, for begins ups and other little, mostly secret brands, will be extended to the adornments and gemstone areas.
Exhibition Square, the huge zone outside the doorways to Halls 1 and 2, ordinarily a beehive of movement, “will be completely upgraded and intuitive” one year from now, and incorporate an occasion territory. This year the square was unfilled (aside from a bratwurst stand) because the show zeroed in on overhauling the inside of the principle exhibition building, Hall 1.
The Baselworld coordinators believe that the way to future achievement is to connect with crowds all year through computerized platforms.
4. New Digital Platforms
The biggest change to Baselworld is that it will go advanced. It will make another computerized stage planned to serve the broad Baselworld community. “We are changing the configuration. We’re building a brand-new stage for our industry, for our community,” the show says in the Vision 2020+ video. The objective is to utilize the advanced stage to associate the Baselworld global community. Baselworld describes the stage as “live, computerized, important, all year round.”
Under the new idea, Baselworld will be an all year experience. It will be a live occasion where the Baselworld community accumulates for multi week that will be live-spilled to the remainder of the community that can’t be there.
And it will be an advanced encounter that keeps the community in touch through the stage for the remainder of the year. “The objective is to offer all members in the business a computerized stage with various data, administration and networking instruments consistently,” the show said in a statement.
Loris-Melikoff describes it as “a multi-sidelong, computerized, trade stage for this community that we structure. A stage for encounters, collaborations, exchanges, administrations and business. All the entertainers in this community will have an approach to communicate with one another.” He imagines multi-channel communication for extraordinary objective gatherings. What’s more, openings for business networking through the Baselworld stage. Every last bit of it will be available, as the video described it, “Any time. Anyplace. every minute of every day, 365 days a year.”
5. New Pricing Model
The cost per square meter for booth space one year from now will drop between 10% to 30%. For exhibitors, it is a welcome change. The significant expense of exhibiting at Baselworld is a significant explanation behind the mass migration of 1,000 exhibitors in the course of the last three years.
The new, worked on value structure helps, but not a great deal. Space rental just adds up to 15% of an exhibitor’s absolute show costs, the board says. Overhead (lodgings, staffing, showcasing, diversion, and so forth) represents 30%. Furthermore, foundation (booth development, takedown, warehousing) represents 55% of all out expenses. “By far most of the costs that exhibitors have are identified with the stands,” Loris-Melikoff says. Which is the reason the time of shut, palatial booths intended for deals gatherings with retail customers might be ending.
Next year will see the show grow back into the three-story “Lobby 2” space.
6. New Booth Designs
Loris-Melikoff says that a few exhibitors are thinking about changing from shut booths to a more open-space, guest amicable development. For two reasons. One is cost: as noticed, the shut, three-level booths with deals workplaces are more exorbitant to develop and store than a more open-plan format. The subsequent explanation is the show’s b-to-c move. On the off chance that Baselworld additionally becomes an occasion for authorities and fans, a more open arrangement is more suitable for accepting them.
Booth configuration relies upon an exhibitor’s requirements, Loris-Melikoff says. A brand with a b-to-b concentrate needs a brought booth with numerous deals to a close workplaces. But, “on the off chance that an exhibitor just requirements half of his space for retail workplaces, and the other half can be devoted to encounters for buyers and gatherers, at that point kindly do it,” he says. “I need to have greater imagination, more extravagant, open booths, cool plan, regarding design and impression. This is energizing for all of us.”
That’s the soul behind the design of the new Innovation Square in Hall 2, where the smartwatches will be. It will have an advanced, modern feel, Loris-Melikoff says. “It will be more urban, dynamic. The objective is to show that Baselworld can pull in a more youthful audience.”
Baselworld has endure World Wars I and II, the Great Depression, and the Quartz fake watch prices Crisis. Would it be able to endure the computerized revolution?
7. New Services
Baselworld will present new administrations for guests and exhibitors. It will instantly report an e-attendant service that will enable guests to book their outings to Baselworld 2020 (travel, inn, cafés, touring) through the actual show by means of their smartphones.
It presented an on location Office of Retailer Services at the current year’s show, offering communication office administrations (website, content, recordings) for retailers needing help. It will likewise offer promoting administrations for more modest exhibitors needing assistance with computerized showcasing, for instance. Or then again who are hoping to expand brand mindfulness in abroad business sectors, or need to dispatch a brand on the Chinese market. Baselworld works with experts who can give this ability, Loris-Melikoff says.
8. New Revenue Streams
Baselworld, truly, has been a treasure trove for its parent company, the MCH Group. It has run in the red, in any case, for as long as two years, and has contributed to MCH’s extreme misfortunes (CHF 300 million) over that period. Exhibitor charges stay the fundamental wellspring of Baselworld’s income. Nonetheless, it needs to grow new income streams, Loris-Melikoff told HODINKEE. Some will come from the new administrations it is introducing.
Another income opportunity is sponsorships. “In the past it was a complete off limits to discuss or even consider supporting at Baselworld,” Loris-Melikoff said. “But the [exhibitor] committee concurs that a couple of administrations could be supported by fitting accomplices that need to be essential for this new Baselworld. We are now conversing with a couple of vehicle brands and they are extremely intrigued to accomplish something with us.” Other suitable supporters incorporate aircrafts and food administrations, he said.
On the last day of Baselworld, Loris-Melikoff introduced his vision of things to come to a crowd of people of writers, retailers, and brand reps.
9. New Events Off Site
Baselworld plans to work with the city of Basel to facilitate social and melodic occasions and exercises at the city’s various exhibition halls, settings and tourist spots during Baselworld. The thought is to make a feeling of a fake watch prices and gems celebration in Basel during Baselworld week.
10. New Hospitality Program
Baselworld will grow the friendliness program it started for this present year on location and off-site. Improving the catering nearby was a need at the current year’s show, Loris-Melikoff said. Baselworld had new cafés on every one of the three degrees of Hall 1, just as remove alternatives, similar to “Grab And Go” stands. These upgrades will proceed, Loris-Melikoff said.
So will the show’s endeavors to keep prices reasonable at Basel inns and eateries. The four-rules arrangement that Baselworld worked out with inns confining cost increments and taking out compulsory least stays and food and beverage charges was consented to by 75% of Baselworld lodgings, Loris-Melikoff said.
The city of Basel will be used much more for off-site enactments and events.
Who Needs Baselworld?
At Baselworld’s end public interview this year, Loris-Melikoff tended to this inquiry: “Do we truly require Baselworld? All things considered, simply check the number of gatherings you had,” he said to the assembled exhibitors and press, “the number of clients you saw, the number of influencers you got.” The appropriate response appeared glaringly evident: Plenty. “That is the reason the business needs this stage,” he said.
Loris-Melikoff believes – and numerous in the business concur – that there is a reasoning for the global fake watch prices and adornments industry to meet in one spot ( or two, remembering SIHH for Geneva ) when a year. Enormous brands and gatherings can stand to do whatever them might want to do, have their own occasions around the globe. Most Swiss fake watch prices companies, notwithstanding, can’t do that, strategically or financially.
Moreover, most retailers fear all the fracture. It will be gigantically wasteful, they contend, to set aside effort to go to exhibitions and culminations held gathering by gathering and brand by brand, either in Switzerland or locally or both. Better for the business all in all, they say, to accumulate once every year in Switzerland for one goliath fake watch prices occasion that allows them to augment meeting time and that makes a monster media buzz about fake watch prices around the world.
Baselworld is 102 years of age. It was born during World War I and has endure the Great Depression, World War II, Switzerland’s Quartz fake watch prices Crisis , and the production of SIHH by what is currently the Richemont Group.
Can it endure the computerized transformation? We’ll see. The new Baselworld group has arranged it work. Presently it’s working its arrangement, one year at a time.


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BMW will recall the 2016 7 Series because a short circuit can potentially prevent the airbags from deploying. There are no reports of accidents or injuries.
Search for BMW Recalls
Since Takata has decided not to take the lead concerning potential issues with its airbag inflators, the automakers have. Perhaps that's unsurprising, since it's the automakers, not Takata, that will take a beating on the dealership floor if consumers decide its models are a health hazards. The Detroit News reports that Toyota, Honda, General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Subaru met in a hotel conference room near the Detroit Metropolitan Airport last week to sort ou
Some 223 examples of the 2014 BMW i8, built between May 16, 2014 and September 16, 2014, are being recalled over a potential fuel leak. A bolt used to secure a ground cable from the chassis structure to the fuel tank could have been welded improperly; if so, gas might leak from the tank.
- Most and least efficient car companies
- Fastest-depreciating cars in the United States
- Find and compare 2017 Models
Get recall details from the NHTSA and find out what to do if your car been recalled.


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The demand for iPhone programming jobs has skyrocketed by 500pc over the past six months as the iPhone Software Developer Kit (SDK) creates a brand new marketplace.
The success of the iPhone has taken everyone by surprise, and certainly Apple CEO Steve Jobs after he revealed that 10 million of the devices have been sold so far.
In August, he announced that iPhone users have downloaded more than 60 million applications from iTunes since they went on sale with the launch of the iPhone on 11 July.
Jobs said while most of the applications are free, users paid on average US$1m a day for those which are not – yielding Apple an impressive US$30m in sales within the App Store’s first month of trading. Jobs predicted that if this continues, Apple will crest US$360m a year in new revenue from apps.
According to oDesk, an IT skills outsourcing provider, demand for iPhone programming jobs has skyrocketed by 50pc over the past six months.
“Apple’s introduction of the 3G iPhone and the iPhone 2.0 platform has driven global demand for oDesk’s highly qualified freelance iPhone developers,” said oDesk CEO, Gary Swart.
“The App Store and Apple iPhone SDK have created a whole new marketplace that oDesk is best able to serve.”
For the period from March through September 2008, the oDesk trends show an increase from under 30 to over 140 jobs per month for iPhone app developers, iPhone SDK engineers, and other iPhone programming and consulting jobs working in the ‘oDesk oConomy’ network of providers from the US, Russia, India, Ukraine, China, and 100 other countries.
“There is a huge demand for iPhone developers and people are quickly learning iPhone development,” reported Adeem Basra, founder of one of oDesk’s highly ranked iPhone development companies, based in Lahore, Pakistan.
Basra’s start-up has hired five additional iPhone programmers. “The demand picked up after July 2008. I believe we are still way under capacity,” Basra said.
oDesk has introduced a qualification test to help employers select the best certified professionals for their projects and jobs. The qualification test is available free of charge to all registered oDesk providers.
Embeddable widgets of the oDesk Trends covering nearly a hundred key job skills and roles will be available soon to industry websites, business publications and media covering IT jobs and outsourcing.
By John Kennedy
Pictured: the iTunes App Store


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Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) on Friday reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $133.8 million.
The Orlando, Florida-based company said it had profit of $1.05 per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 99 cents per share.
Continue Reading Below
The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 84 cents per share.
The owner of Olive Garden and other chain restaurants posted revenue of $1.73 billion in the period, falling short of Street forecasts. Ten analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.74 billion.
For the current quarter ending in May, Darden Restaurants expects its per-share earnings to range from 91 cents to 94 cents.
The company expects full-year earnings in the range of $2.45 to $2.48 per share.
Darden Restaurants shares have increased 11 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen 1.5 percent. The stock has risen 32 percent in the last 12 months.
This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap ) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on DRI at http://www.zacks.com/ap/DRI
Keywords: Darden Restaurants, Earnings Report


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ApeCoin (APE coin) has seen a 34.03% increase in price and was trading at $16.50 as of this writing.
This article will discuss the factors that are causing ApeCoin’s price to soar.
Why is ApeCoin’s (APE) price rising?
Before we look into the current uptrend, let’s first explain what ApeCoin is.
ApeCoin, a utility token and an ERC-20 governance token, is used in the APE ecosystem that Yuga Labs Bored Ape Yacht Club project (BAYC), to encourage and empower a decentralized community. APE is its native token.
Let’s now delve into the factors causing the bullish trend.
Yuga Labs Announcement on the upcoming metaverse
One of the key reasons the coin is so high is Yuga Labs’ speculations about its founder and the announcement about the forthcoming metaverse.
Yuga Labs unveiled a teaser video called Otherside on March 19, detailing its forthcoming metaverse. Yuga Labs did not disclose all details of the project, but it was clear that it would be a metaverse which will include several NFTs as well as ApeCoin. Yuga also stated that more information will be released in April.
— Yuga Labs (@yugalabs) March 19, 2022
Bored Ape Yacht Club will also celebrate its first anniversary, which is April 23, since its inception.
Prices for land sales launch in APE
Another reason for the price increase is that @renegademasterr (Bored Ape owner) stated that Yuga plans to soon launch land sales for its project which will be priced at APE.
Punks, Meebits, Cool Cats, Nounz, WoW, Toadz (Auto WL)
— renegademaster / guccibayc.eth (@renegademasterr) April 20, 2022
Whales are in high demand for APE/NFT
The growing interest among whales in ApeCoin and Bored Ape NFTs is another reason for the current price rise.
Whalestats reports that the token is 5th most frequently purchased by ETH whales. An average of $63500 tokens are moved in each transaction.
BlueWhale0093, an ETH whale, transacted almost 300,000. Tokens for $3.9 Million.
The post ApeCoin has been trending and it is up by over 32% today: here’s why it is rallying? Coin Journal was the first to publish this story.