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In a World first, Lloyds Auctions mint NFT’s to offer blockchain proof of ownership on arguably the most significant photographic collection in our Nation’s history.
“We have taken considerable measures and invested heavily in state-of-the-art technology in order to honour the owners of one of the most significant photographic collections in Australian history,” said Mr Lee Hames, Chief Operations Office for Lloyds Auctions.
This auction celebrates moments in time from the Rose Stereograph Company, a collection of original glass plate negatives from over 140 years of operation. Literally thousands of original glass negatives capture extraordinary moments of not only Australian but World history and some that may even change the course of history.
All physical glass plate negatives being auctioned have also been minted as an NFT (Non-Fungible Token). The ownership of the NFT will transfer to the highest bidder at the conclusion of this auction.
“An NFT is an item of value stored on an internet technology called blockchain, which certifies that the digital asset is unique and provides irrefutable proof of ownership,” notes Mr Hames. “We believe this technology is a match made in heaven for those wanting to purchase or prove ownership of highly collectable items of value”.
For the very first time, customers can bid for ownership on both the Lloyds Auctions platform and in cryptocurrency on leading NFT marketplaces for rare digital collectibles. Winning bidders will receive ownership of both the minted NFT, along with a tangible one-of-one original glass plate negative.
“We felt it was the right thing to do by this collection, to digitise and secure such a significant piece of history to the blockchain for future custodians to appreciate,” said Mr. Lee Hames, Chief Operations Officer for Lloyds Auctions.
Noteworthy photographs include The Landing At ANZAC (Gallipoli 1915), Ned And Dan Kelly’s Armour (taken at trial in 1880), The Duke & Duchess Of York And Daughter Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, Phar Lap Winning The ‘Melbourne Cup’ 1930, Egyptian Pyramids And Sphinx, Franco British Expedition and many more.
“Put it in terms of physical art collecting; anyone can buy a Picasso print, but only one person can own the original. Many people may be unaware that validating original artwork and collectables online is extremely difficult, so NFT’s offer a new era of rights management.” continued Mr. Hames.
There will be several auctions published over the next week leading up until the end of June. If you are looking to browse the collection and own a piece of significant history then head to www.lloydsauctions.com.au


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Newsletter September 25th: Streaming Services Dominate the Emmy´s
25 September 2019
The Emmy Awards mark the beginning of an eventful time period in the video content industry – this year is no exception. With the 71st installment wrapping up this past weekend, streaming services – yet again – displayed their strength. Perhaps most surprisingly, one online video service, usually defined within e-sports and gaming, received its first Emmy.
The 71st Emmy Awards celebrations kicked off last weekend with the Creative Arts Emmys, honoring outstanding artistic and technical achievements in TV productions. The main event was this Sunday; no doubt emphasizing the domination of the streaming giants’ as HBO, Amazon and Netflix topped the scoreboard.
HBO received 34 awards during the two events. The major titles discussed previously in our newsletter and press release lived up to the expectations: Game of Thrones was awarded 34 statuettes for the eighth and final season and Chernobyl won 10 awards, including Swedish born Johan Renck receiving the prestigious award for “Directing for a limited series or movie”. Comparatively, Netflix was awarded 27 statuettes in total – among others “Best TV Movie” for the interactive Black Mirror episode Bandersnatch.
Despite the large number of awards won by HBO and Netflix, the spotlight was stolen by another streaming service, namely Amazon Prime Video, and its success series Fleabag that won 6 awards. Writer, director and actress starring as the main character Phoebe Waller-Bridge accepted, amongst other, the award for “Outstanding comedy series” and “Lead Actress in a Comedy Series”. In addition to Fleabag, the second season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel contributed substantially to the grand total of 15 awards received by Amazon.
Another highly exciting win for Amazon was the “Outstanding innovation in interactive media” award won by its online video service Twitch, for the second season of Artificial. Similar to Netflix´s Bandersnatch, Artificial is an audience interactive science fiction series in which the live audience can affect the outcome of the episodes.
This is the first ever Emmy award received by Twitch, more commonly known as the market leader in e-sports and gaming, with daily viewing reaching 700’ Nordic individuals (+44% YOY). As the service will soon be integrated in Apple TV, viewing may well increase even further. Twitch has recently acquired the Swedish site IGDB (International Gaming Data Base), similar to the user created database for movies and series, IMDB. With the help of their users, IGDB has created a database providing information about games, genres, publishers, release dates etcetera. Currently, the database contains information on more than 119 500 video games.
Twitch´s market domination in e-sport and gaming viewing is one of the topics which will be discussed during Mediavision´s presentation on the Nordic E-sport Summit in Malmö, Friday the 4th of October. For more information please visit https://esport.confetti.events/.
Danish YouSee has entered a content partnership with Danish TV 2, C More and Nordisk Film. Starting from early 2020, YouSee’s customers will gain access to both international and local films and TV dramas.
In a recent study, Gemius/PI concluded that Vod.pl is now the most popular on demand streaming service in Poland, surpassing Netflix in terms of both users and reach.
Mediavision Press Release
Mediavision in the News
- Nordic E-Sport Summit: 4 October 2019, Malmö, Sweden *
- MIPCOM: 14-17 October 2019, Cannes, France
- Nordic TV Summit: 24 October 2019, Copenhagen, Denmark
*Events where Mediavision will be presenting

domain: news


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- Trump announces 5% additional tariffs on Chinese products.
- Gold, Yen, AUD and the AUD/JPY should b the ones to watch in the FX space.
In retaliation to the earlier news that China will impose 5% to 10% tariffs on $75 billion of goods (including frozen pork and nuts) along with resuming the 25% duty on US automobiles and auto parts from 15th December, Trump has struck back in the latest round of trade wars – neatly timed after the stock market close which will likely make for a blood bath open next week – (more on that below).
Here is the announcement made by Trump on Twitter:
For many years China (and many other countries) has been taking advantage of the United States on Trade, Intellectual Property Theft, and much more. Our Country has been losing HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year to China, with no end in sight Sadly, past Administrations have allowed China to get so far ahead of Fair and Balanced Trade that it has become a great burden to the American Taxpayer. As President, I can no longer allow this to happen! In the spirit of achieving Fair Trade, we must Balance this very unfair Trading Relationship. China should not have put new Tariffs on 75 BILLION DOLLARS of United States product (politically motivated!). Starting on October 1st, the 250 BILLION DOLLARS of goods and products from China, currently being taxed at 25%, will be taxed at 30% Additionally, the remaining 300 BILLION DOLLARS of goods and products from China, that was being taxed from September 1st at 10%, will now be taxed at 15%. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
It was supposed to be all about the Jackson Hole today, with Powell delivering a speech which has left the door open to a rate cut in September. However, the markets were not prepared for the Chinse announcements where some tariffs will come into effect as soon as 1 September while others will kick in around 15 December. Indeed, this tariff retaliation from China was an utter surprise to many given that China did not immediately react to the 10% US tariffs on $ 300 billion goods and President Trump’s unexpected tariff delays to 15 December - The sudden surprise element of it all will cause a risk-off to asset markets globally which makes for a treacherous Asian open next week.
FX will be trading in a feedback loop to what goes down in the global equity markets – (US stocks ended in a blood bath on Friday on the news). The Yen and CHF will likely be underpinned as the go-to place for investors and gold prices are likely to break down the doors of the resistance line through the 1535s which has capped the precious metal in July and August so far. The Aussie, already tainted by a dovish Reserve Bank of Australia which trades as a proxy to China’s geopolitical business will likely be pressured below the August trendline support in the 0.6730s opening the case for a breakout into the lower levels of the 0.60s renewing a bearish case again for the FX space’s risk barometer – AUD/JPY.


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One of the greatest media for the print versus digital divide is the newspaper industry. As more daily print newspapers around the country close, from the long-standing family-owned papers to corporation-sized outlets who once held millions of subscribers, that arm of the publishing world is struggling to adapt and stay afloat.
With more readers relying on tablets, e-readers, and smartphones, even for their news reading, newspapers that couldn’t make the switch to a digital edition, even if it was nothing more elaborate than a daily website source that subscribers could access via password, seem to have fallen by the wayside. Other papers sought to avoid alienating print readers by limiting the number of days of circulation, some dropping to only three days a week or offering Sunday-only subscriptions.
However, new information has been released that suggests that tech-savvy newspapers who set their sights on digital advertising to meet their costs may be very disappointed. According to an article by Rick Edmonds for Poynter.org, the Newspaper Association of America posted some marketing information recently that shows digital ad revenue fell short of expectations.
While print ad revenue slowed down its rate of decline by nearly a percentage point, digital revenue from advertisers actually rose. Unfortunately, that rate of growth never topped more than three percent, which means newspapers are losing print ad revenue at a far greater rate than they are gaining digital.
In order to stay ahead, newspapers have had to resort to layoffs and focus on the circulation revenue, which is actually working for the second quarter of this year. The NAA also feels that the second half of this year will show some growth over the first.


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Ub Group Fuller’s said its gas and electricity bills would rise by £10m without them Govt support as companies await details of the package to be unveiled this week.
The group, which owns 385 pubs, said it expects its energy bill to more than double this year from £8m to £18m.
“While we have been actively purchasing forward contracts to limit exposure to Fuller’s, we will see significant growth this year and urge the government to bring much-needed clarity to its proposed support package so we can plan accordingly.”
The company told shareholders it had seen “good progress on a number of initiatives” to help lower energy bills and mitigate rising costs.
“We are looking forward to the upcoming FIFA World Cup and our first Christmas without restrictions in three years
It came as the hospitality firm revealed that sales in the 25 weeks to September 17 were up 21% year-on-year.
However, the firm said it was aware of the cost pressures its own clients were facing.
Mr Emeni added: “While sales continue to recover from the effects of the pandemic, we recognize that consumers are facing increasingly challenging times.
“We are looking forward to the upcoming FIFA World Cup and our first off-limits Christmas in three years.
“The future may present more obstacles to navigate, but Fuller’s is a long-term company with a clear vision and the people, assets and financial strength to deliver sustainable returns over the long term.”
Actions Fuller’s fell 3.1% to 492.1 pence on Tuesday.


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BASILDON police are warning shoppers to be on the lookout after a spate of purse dippings.
One woman had her £500 iPhone stolen from her child’s pram as she walked through Basildon town centre.
Police are unsure if a gang is operating in the area because so far only one victim has been able to give a description of a suspect.
Angie Torrance, station sergeant at Basildon police station, said: “We sometimes get spates of these kinds of thefts in our town centres.
“We are currently investigating if these incidents are linked and if they are being committed by an organised group of people or if they are opportunist offences.
“In the meantime, we have issued crime prevention advice to the public so they can keep themselves safe.”
A 60-year-old woman from Basildon had her purse stolen from her handbag as she walked in Market Pavement, at about 10.10am on May 9.
The woman was carrying her bag on her arm and had put her purse in the bag, but had not zipped it up.
The purse contained £39.
A 33-year-old man had his £500 iPhone mobile phone stolen from his pocket in Basildon town centre at about 3.15pm on May 7.
A 54-year-old woman’s purse was taken out of her handbag at about 2pm on May 9.
Her bag was hanging on a shopping trolley as she shopped in the Card Factory, in Wickford. The purse contained £37.
The woman told police the thief was dark skinned, with dark hair and was wearing a cardigan.
Thieves stole a £500 Apple iPhone out of a pushchair in Town Square, Basildon, at about noon on May 10.


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♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Agriculture at 10/31/2014 01:30:00 AM
|Anti-Monsanto campaigners have fun with Photoshop.|
Given such a scenario, think about being a millennial tasked with generating positive PR for Monsanto. Whereas most wouldn't go near the company without a hazmat suit, NPR has a fascinating interview with Vance Crowe, "director of millennial engagement" over at Monsanto. Here are some Q&As:
You have an interesting job title. How did the job come about, and when did you start?While GMOs are not as ostracized in the US as they are in Europe--nearly all corn and soy in America is now of the GM variety--these are not permanent victories. There are propositions in left-leaning states like Oregon and Colorado for a GMO labeling law to be passed. (Which, if I may say, would be redundant in the case of the plentiful corn- or soy-containing foodstuffs since almost all will have GMO content.) Regardless of where you fall on the GMO debate--as a scholar of world development, I remain keen on its potential to increase productivity and help alleviate hunger--attitudes of next-generation consumers will be interesting to watch as to whether GMOs and Monsanto by implication survive and thrive.
It's been pretty clear for a long time that Monsanto has been really good at talking to and selling seeds to farmers and talking to Wall Street about our progress and growth. But in between those two poles are consumers, and the company didn't have a robust strategy for talking to them. It's clear consumers have some strong feelings about how food should be produced and what sustainability is. And the tenor has gotten kind of loud.
If you are a big company, you can't take a piece of poster board and say, "We're open to talking!" You have to have a plan for where the conversation is going on, and how to engage. The company decided it would find somebody to join the conversation in ways it might not naturally think of. I started in June.
Why exclusively millennials? Is there a director of boomer engagement, too?
Millennials are looking to how they're going to fit into the economy and culture, and they have a new set of ideas that need to be incorporated into all aspects of global life. We use the term "millennial," but it really has to do with new ideas out there, and listening to them.
How is Monsanto's conversation with millennials different from how it might engage with other groups?
In the U.S., many people living in cities are several generations away from farms. Monsanto is clear that millennials in cities are paying attention to where food comes from, but that they don't have a direct connection to farming the way that generations in the past did. One of the things we have a connection with is farmers. We are trying to invite farmer customers to come to places and actually meet people and talk about their stories and how Monsanto is helping them solve some of their challenges.


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A guest post by Pratyasha Malakar, PR Specialist, Polycom India
If you have been hearing a lot of cheering coming from the direction of Polycom India this week, it’s because we’ve got something to be very proud of! According to Frost & Sullivan, Polycom led the video conferencing systems and infrastructure segment in India, with a 44 percent market share in 2014. Polycom received the award based on a variety of parameters including revenue and market share growth, portfolio diversity, unified communication integration, and go-to-market strategy.
On receiving the award, Minhaj Zia, Managing Director, Polycom India & SAARC said, “As firm believers in the power of human collaboration, we are proud to be the recipient of this award. This win reinforces the increased demand for Polycom’s high-definition video and telepresence solutions in visual collaboration environments across the region and across vertical industries. We will continue to help customers realise the potential of collaboration technology, particularly when embedded in their business functions."
Polycom India works like a single organisation across the globe which inherently has the advantage of highly skilled resource, scale, expansion, and an already established R&D base. It can be said that Polycom India’s R&D has increased many folds in the last five years. The award’s selection procedure involved in-depth
primary interviews of various industry participants and secondary research conducted by Frost & Sullivan analysts after which the data was presented to an elite panel of jury members, comprising some of the most prominent CIOs/CTOs in the industry.
Frost & Sullivan recognises outstanding industry achievements by presenting its India ICT Awards to companies that have demonstrated best practices in their industry, commending the diligence, commitment, and innovative business strategies required to advance in the global marketplace.
This Awards program acknowledges companies that excel in their business segments, and their efforts to improve the industry as a whole. Congratulating Polycom on the award, Benoy CS, Director, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan said, "Polycom has had a very successful year 2014, where it displayed exemplary performance with the highest market share of 44 percent in the Video Conferencing Endpoint and Infrastructure markets in India. The growth, backed by constant innovation and product differentiation has helped Polycom strengthen its position in the market. The company has commanded the industry in terms of offering truly pervasive video solutions by imbibing mobility, hardware, software solutions as well as cloud based solutions that have gained high mindshare from mid-sized as well as large enterprises across industry sectors. Its focus on providing interoperable, scalable, and open standards based solutions combined with its partnerships with unified communications vendors further strengthens its position in the market.”
2015 has been a great year to date for Polycom India and the award win was a great way to end the quarter. Frost & Sullivan’s research reveals the market for video conferencing in India stands at a whopping INR 474.86 crores accounting for a growth rate of 19.3 percent YoY in CY 2014. We remain committed to transforming the way the world collaborates and we’re certain that Polycom will remain a frontrunner in the workplace of the future!


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Sri Lanka’s Cape Weligama in top 10 resorts in Asia by CondÃ© Nast
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Cape Weligama hotel has been named one of the top 10 resorts in Asia by readers of Condé Nast Traveller, a travel publication, with another hotel in the group, Wild Coast Tented Lodge making it to the top 20.
Anantara Peace Haven, Tangalle was ranked at 16, making it in to the top 20. It is a joint venture between Thailand’s Minor Hotels and Sri Lanka’s Hemas group.
Cape Weligama ranked ranked the 8th best resort in Asia and Wild Coast Lodge ranked 19th are run by Resplendent Ceylon, a firm affiliated to Sri Lanka’s Dilmah group. It also runs another luxury property, Ceylon Tea Trails.
The Condé Nast readers picked Sri Lanka as the 19th best country to travel to in the world in 2018. The hotels are new, indicating the dynamism of the industry, which has seen new investments come in.


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De La Rue has scooped silver in the Clio Awards, one of the biggest advertising and entertainment awards in the world, for its collaboration with Disney and the GREAT campaign on last year’s Star Wars commemorative banknotes.
The creative partnership was recognised in the Clio Awards international entertainment category, for partnerships and collaborations, at a ceremony in Hollywood last week.
The project came about to mark the release of The Last Jedi last December and celebrate 40 years of Star Wars being produced in the UK, while showcasing De La Rue’s innovation and design expertise. The campaign raised more than £186,000 for the children’s charity Together for Short Lives, which supports children with lie-threatening and life-limiting conditions receive the very best care.
The Clio Awards are the definitive advertising awards in the USA and one of the top three advertising awards in the world, which celebrate creativity in business and distinction in creative communications and marketing.
Sinead Keller, Head of Media and PR at De La Rue, said:
“The Clio Entertainment Awards represent the very best of marketing and advertising for the entertainment business, so winning a silver award is a significant achievement. Bringing together Disney, the UK government’s biggest international marketing campaign and the expertise of De La Rue to work in an innovative and creative way, resulted in a fantastic campaign, which reached an audience of one billion world-wide, as well we as raising money for a fantastic charity. It’s also a huge milestone for De La Rue’s partnership work and for getting our name out to a broader audience than ever before.”
Above: Mark Hamill, 'Luke Skywalker'
Below: The Star Wars commemorative notes, created in partnership with Disney, the GREAT campaign and De La Rue.


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A consortium led by Singapore’s GIC Private has agreed to invest $500 million in VCM Services, a consumer retail division of Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest conglomerate.
Vingroup has also joined the consortium and will continue to hold a controlling position in VCM following the transaction, according to a release. GIC stressed its confidence in the growth outlook for...
Michael Granoff, founder and CEO of Pomona Capital, discusses raising capital from Asian LPs, how GPs can be differentiated in a crowded secondaries market, and why he’s not keen on fund restructurings
Japanese mid-market buyout firm Tokio Marine Capital is spinning out from its corporate parent to form an independent investment manager known as T Capital Partners.
Centurium Capital, CITIC Capital and Hillhouse Capital are part of an investor group targeting a $4.6 billion take-private of China Biologic – just over a year after committing new equity to the US-listed company to protect it from other would-be acquirers.
Groww, an Indian financial technology provider focused on mutual fund investment services, has raised a $21.4 million Series B round led by US-based Ribbit Capital.


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Death rides a pale horse in our Darksiders Edition of the Greatest Game Art Ever.
Latest News - Page 2
Capcom may never give us a third Mega Man Legends, but Keiji Inafune and Comcept are teasing yet another spiritual successor.
Bethesda explained the details of how you'll be able to score your free copy of Fallout 3 after pre-ordering the Xbox One version of Fallout 4.
Despite Sony overwhelming Xbox in the overseas markets, Microsoft intends on pushing Xbox One sales throughout Europe, and they're starting with Gamescom.
Best Buy has dealt a crucial blow to scalpers by implementing some limitations on how to buy the exclusive Dark Pit amiibo this month, and every retailer should follow it.
Following the disappointment of Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, it’s not as if anyone has particularly high expectations for a Tomb Raider reboot — it wouldn’t have to do too much to surpass the quality of the last film. But Warner Bros. and MGM are apparently working quite hard to get this one as right as possible, and a new report suggests that part of that plan includes hiring a woman to direct.
Inside sources claim that Warner Bros. was well aware of Batman: Arkham Knight's crippling and glitch-ridden issues for months before its PC version launched.
Naughty Dog has released its extended gameplay demo of Uncharted 4, which features double the amount of footage we saw during E3 2015.
Fighting game aficionados had a blast at CEO 2015, which featured some awesome wrestling-themed entrances reminiscent of WWE back in its prime.
Six games will be available for PlayStation Plus subscribers to get for free this month, including four for PS4.


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In keeping with maritime tradition, a keel-laying ceremony was held today at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, for Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras, which is scheduled to enter service in August 2020.
The ceremony, which dates back hundreds of years, was highlighted by the placement of coins placed on top of a 750-ton keel block called 3C signifying good luck for the ship and the official start of construction.
Carnival’s Senior Vice President of Newbuilds Ben Clement and Mardi Gras Captain Giuseppe Giusa, Chief Engineer Ferdinando Ruocco and Hotel Director Pierre Camilleri joined Meyer Turku CEO Jan Meyer at the festivities.
Mardi Gras will be a stunning expression of the Carnival vacation experience offering a variety of groundbreaking innovations, including BOLT, the first roller coaster at sea; the first seagoing restaurant by legendary chef Emeril Lagasse; and six themed zones with a wide range of culinary, beverage and activity choices.
Mardi Gras will also be the first cruise ship in North America to be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), part of Carnival Corporation’s “green cruising” platform.
“This is a historic day for Carnival – the official start of construction of the spectacular Mardi Gras which will usher in an exciting new chapter for our company and introduce so many guest-pleasing innovations,” said Clement.
“We have been very excited to design and now finally to start assembling Carnival Mardi Gras. All these different features onboard require a lot of engineering and design expertise which we have been happy to provide to our customer,” CEO of Meyer Turku Jan Meyer states.
Mardi Gras is set to debut in Europe Aug. 31, 2020, then reposition to New York for a series of voyages before shifting to Port Canaveral, Fla., for year-round Caribbean departures.
Carnival Details Mega Ship Mardi Gras
Source: Carnival Cruise Line
- Mardi Gras Trip Report, Day 1: Let’s Get This Party Started
- 13 Photos of the Rooftop Garden on Celebrity Edge
- Cruise Radio News Briefs | Week of July 25, 2021
- Carnival Leads Port Canaveral Return with Mardi Gras Sailing
- Odyssey of the Seas Prepares For Inaugural Cruise
- Your Backstage Pass to Carnival Cruise Line’s VIP Party for Mardi Gras [PHOTOS]
- Viking Resumes Cruises on the Seine and Rhône Rivers in France
- Holland America Takes Delivery of New Flagship
- Royal Caribbean Adds Testing Requirement For All on U.S. Cruises
- Carnival Horizon, a Journey in Photos Day 4: Sea Day, Part 2
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You have searched for traditional sari
LAST UPDATED : 27 Apr 2017, 01:00 IST
- Traditional timekeepers sneak into wearables segment with hybrid watches
Chennai: Till date, smartwatches have remained in the realm of brand loyalists and the tech savvy. However, this is fast changing with a growing number of consumers looking to include connectivity in their daily lives as unobtrusively as possible. Traditional timekeepers are now offering hybrid wearables – Smartwatches that bear the design of a traditional watch, packed with the ‘smart’ features, allowing inclusion of technology to be a little more discreet. Players like Titan and Fossil group are betting big on this market which is expected to touch $1 billion in global revenues this year. Hybrid smartwatches look and function like traditional analogue watches, but include smart features like step tracking, heart rate monitor, notifications and even NFC enabled payments. They connect to smartphones through dedicated apps available on iOS and Android stores allowing users to use the watch with traditional look and feel with smart functionalities. With sales of traditional watches buckling under pressure from products of Apple and Samsung, several brands such as Fossil Group, Tag Heuer, Citizen group and others have entered the wearable segment. Pure play wearable tech brands including Garmin, Misfit, Withings (now, Nokia) are also now adopting the hybrid approach. Fossil Group launched their first smartwatch globally in 2015 and brought it to India in October 2016 across six of its owned and licensed brands such as Fossil Q, Michael Kors Connected, etc. In January last year, Titan launched its first smartwatch, Juxt. Since then, it has launched smartwatches across brands like Sonata, Fastrack. The company has close to 10 products lined up for the coming year across price bands. Titan looks to pack a lot of features and offer it at a reasonable price. For instance, the Fastrack Reflexes Smartwatch Fitness Band, priced at Rs 1,995, can measure steps, distance, track calories, sleep, call & SMS alerts, OLED display, 10 Days power reserve, vibration alarm, sedentary reminder and is water resistant. “Hybrid has potential to redefine the wearable and watch segment. A lot will depend on incremental price that a consumer has to pay to access the technology. The price conscious consumer is a fairly big segment in India,” said S Ravi Kant, CEO, watches and accessories, Titan. Analysts believe that Titan has an edge over wearble brands considering its huge presence offline and affordable pricing. According to Counterpoint Research, a million wearables were sold in India in 2016, with activity trackers having 85% share and 15% from smartwatches and other wearables . “Smartwatch segment hasn’t been able to drive wearables. In 2017, hybrid watches will drive momentum for wearables as they offer better mix of luxury with technology,” said Parv Sharma, research associate, Counterpoint Research. While there is a growing customer base for hybrid wearables, watch makers are certain that the core of their business will remain traditional watches. “ Undeniably, the mainstay for the Group are traditional watches as of now. However, we strongly believe that wrist watches will move beyond the realm of mere fashion or horology,” said Paul King Ruban, head – go to market, Fossil Group, India.
- Nine railway stations to get touch of tradition & culture
The passengers and visitors at nine railway stations under Ratlam division of Western Railways will soon get a visual treat since there blemished and dirtied walls will be transformed and covered with images depicting tradition and culture of cities like Indore and Ujjain.
- Youth must stand up for society when it faces challenges: Kailash Satyarthi
Addressing the gathering at the fifth convocation ceremony of the Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya here, the renowned child rights activist said the unique education system of the university, which combines tradition and modernity, should be utilised to fight challenges like radicalisation and terrorism
- From reading out Puthen Paana to preparing Pesaha PaaluVariety is the spice of these Easter traditions of Kerala
On Easter Sunday today, as the world celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we explore the significance of each day of Easter, as well as some of the different and interesting traditions of Easter followed in various parts of Kerala.
- South Indian temples ring in New Year
Communities across the city celebrated the new year with traditional rituals and joy. While city-based Tamil and Malayali residents celebrated their new year amidst prayers and community gatherings on Friday, members of the Bengali community are gearing up for Naba Barsha and Pratishtha Diwas celebrations during the weekend.
- Folk artists to welcome PM Modi to temple city
BHUBANESWAR: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives here on Saturday afternoon, there will be over 500 traditional folk dance and music artists drawn from all over the state present along the road to welcome him. The entire stretch of the wide two-lane road from the Biju Patnaik international airport to Janata Maidan, the venue for BJP’s national executive, through the Raj Bhavan square has been barricaded where the performing artists would be deployed at different places to showcase Odisha’s rich cultural heritage. The roadshow will have such cultural stuffs like Odishi, Gotipua, Mahari, Chhau, Danda, Bagha, Chaiti, Ghoda, Paika, and Sambalpuri dances, Jodi Sankha music and dances by different tribal troupes. With Odissi classical music in the background, the prime minister, BJP sources said, is expected to stop at places and greet the people. “Since so many top political leaders of the country will be present in the state capital we want to use the opportunity to showcase our vibrant culture,” BJP’s cultural cell convener Panchanan Nayak told media persons here on Wednesday. “We have chalked out grand welcome programmes. The area near the airport and Janata Maidan specially will create the colour of a grand festival,” he said. Nayak said performance by the cultural troupes will start from about 2.30 pm, much before the prime minister’s arrival. The prime minister will come in a ceremonial procession from the airport to the Raj Bhavan and after a brief halt there will again join the road show till the meeting venue, he said. “The show will continue till the prime minister reaches the meeting place,” pointed out party spokesperson Sajjan Sharma. BJP also flagged off two campaign vehicles to publicize the prime minister’s visit and welfare measures taken by his government at the Centre for the people of Odisha. Two more vehicles would be engaged for the purpose on Thursday, state BJP president Basanta Kumar Panda said.


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The Tiana’s Bayou Adventure main entrance sign has been installed in Magic Kingdom.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Main Entrance Sign
We saw crews preparing to install a Tiana’s Foods sign on the ride’s yellow barn on Wednesday morning. That sign or support is now gone and a “main entrance” sign has been installed above the barn’s doorway.
The sign is white with purple lettering. It has green and purple borders. The color scheme matches Tiana’s Foods posters and signs on the construction walls.
The sign is directly under the window, which was recently revealed with new glass panes. Crews also installed a new frame around the window.
Splash Mountain’s queue entrance was in front of the train station. That still might be the case for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and this sign could be a themed sign for the fictional Tiana’s Foods co-op.
On Tuesday, Disney revealed the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attraction poster and more new critter characters. The ride will open at Magic Kingdom this summer and at Disneyland later in the year.


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[SatNews] LiveU and Network Innovations (formerly GMPCS), a provider of satellite services, have announced that LiveU’s LU-Lite live video transmission software is now fully integrated and certified to work over the Inmarsat BGAN Network.
LiveU’s LU-Lite bonding software for laptops and mobile newsgathering vehicles can now transmit live using up to two bonded BGAN HDR devices, from any location, at latency as low as 1.4 seconds.
According to Avi Cohen, LiveU’s COO and co-founder, “The integration between LU-Lite and HDR is a very important development. Until recently, the original BGAN was mostly used for file transfer in remote locations. With the additional bandwidth on HDR, and the low latency and encoding power of LU-Lite, broadcasters can now take LU-Lite and HDR to any breaking news location around the world for actual live shots, even if local cellular or other data infrastructure isn’t sufficient”.
In addition, LiveU has signed a distribution agreement with Network Innovations, which will become an authorized LiveU reseller, and the companies will offer combined turnkey packages of cellular, BGAN, and Ka-band, to company’ customers, including emergency coverage packages for local broadcasters.
LiveU’s LU-Smart bonding app for smartphones is also supported by the BGAN HDR. LiveU owns the patent for cellular bonding for remote newsgathering in the U.S. and other countries. All LiveU products are based on this fourth-generation patented technology.
LiveU will present its full range of portable uplink solutions at the 2014 NAB Show, April 7-10, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, booths #SU8513. LiveU will also be showing its advanced mobile newsgathering truck in the Outdoor Exhibit area, booth #OE825.
Network Innovations will present its portfolio of products in its GMPCS/NI booth #SU-11403.
To visit the LiveU's infosite, access http://www.networkinv.com/


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Amazon has launched Audible in India and is currently available for 30 days free plan for normal users and 90 days free trial for Prime members.
The membership is charged at Rs. 199/month after the completion of 90 days. For those who want to buy just Audible service, you have to shell out Rs. 299 for one month, Rs. 1,345 for six months and Rs. 2,333 for 12 months membership.
You can enable your subscription via the Audible app from iOS or Play store.


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Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said after his recent trade talks with the United States that he was confident in the sustainable and healthy development of the Chinese economy, Report informs citing RIA Novosti.
"Despite the existing pressure, I am confident that the Chinese economy will maintain sustainable and healthy development", Liu said.
Speaking about the impact of disagreements with the United States on the Chinese economy and about the possibility of its downturn due to heightening tensions, Liu said "China is not afraid".
"If we consider the state of China’s economy in the medium term, we can state that the Chinese economy faced a slight downturn last year. But now, a stage of growth has begun again. So, if we consider it in the long and mid-term, we are extremely optimistic", Liu pointed out.
The vice premier also praised China’s "gigantic internal market, huge consumer market and large investment market".


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Discount retailer B&M delivered record sales over the Christmas trading period, with like-for-likes up 7.2% in the three months to December 24, but has warned that prices will still rise in 2017 due to the devaluation of the pound.
Revenue at B&M was up 20% to £789.1m for the festive quarter, and 14 new stores were opened. The retailer said it was confident it would meet full-year profit forecasts.
Said managing director Simon Arora, “We have once again demonstrated the strength, relative appeal and popularity of our model at a time of uncertainty for consumers generally and continuing structural change in the retailing sector.
"We have delivered our best ever Christmas trading and served over 5.5 million customers in a single week in the UK alone as we continue to gain market share."
It was back in November that B&M first warned customers that prices would rise as the fall of the pound following the EU referendum vote begins to affect import costs. The company was able to prevent the price hike last year after hedging against currency swings, but has said it will no longer be able to do so come Spring.


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PepsiCo shareholders’ enthusiasm for CEO Indra Nooyi is beginning to fizzle.
Amid a stock that has lagged archrival Coca-Cola’s, and flagging beverage sales, a number of investors say Nooyi faces a significant test in 2010 to turn around the Purchase, NY, company’s fortunes or get an earful from an increasingly impatient shareholder base.
“Indra Nooyi has had a tough three years since becoming CEO,” said one leading PepsiCo shareholder. “I think 2010 is a pivotal year for PepsiCo and Indra.”
Another investor added that if PepsiCo next year can leverage its acquisitions of two bottling companies, and expand its business internationally, Nooyi has a shot at erasing missteps made over the past three years. However, he warned, “if they can’t convert, it will be problematic.”
Since Nooyi has taken over, PepsiCo shares have fallen 7 percent, while Coke shares have surged 28 percent. The comparison is more favorable against a food company like Kraft, whose shares have tanked 22 percent over the past three years. In addition to its beverage business, PepsiCo also owns snack-food giant Frito-Lay.
“I think it is hard to give Indra much better than a C-plus as a CEO,” said the first shareholder.
PepsiCo shares closed up 15 cents yesterday to $60.63.
“Despite significant external challenges over the last two years, we’ve been aggressively pursuing strategies and investments that will position PepsiCo for sustainable, long-term growth — both here in North America and internationally,” said PepsiCo spokesman David DeCecco. “Furthermore, it’s important to bear in mind that PepsiCo is made up of a diverse portfolio of food and beverage businesses spanning nearly 200 countries, and overall the portfolio is performing well.”
Indeed, some who have deep knowledge of Nooyi and PepsiCo give her high marks. “I think everyone thinks she’s a genius, and her moves have been pretty bright,” according to one person close to PepsiCo executives. “I think the bottling acquisition was very shrewd.”
To be sure, PepsiCo remains a consumer-products giant with an enterprise value of $100 billion. But its core beverage business — which includes Pepsi, Gatorade and Tropicana — has been struggling amid strategy shifts that have turned off customers and eroded sales.
The company replaced Gatorade’s name on its bottles with the letter “G,” only to see its sales fall roughly 17 percent in the first half of the year. Gatorade’s US market share among sports drinks, meanwhile, has fallen to 74.9 percent from 79.3 three years ago, according to Euromonitor International.
Meanwhile, Pepsi’s US cola share has slipped to 22.4 percent from 23.3 percent.
In February, PepsiCo brought back Tropicana’s old logo, an orange with a straw stuck in it, after a short-lived package redesign left consumers believing Tropicana was in fact a private-label brand sold by supermarkets, which in turn led to a 20 percent slide in sales.
That kind of performance has sparked speculation that PepsiCo could try to expand its food business by buying a company like cereal giant Kellogg, an idea, one banker close to PepsiCo said, that is on Nooyi’s radar screen.


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Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Internet Providers.
Getting kicked off Amazon Internet Providers is uncommon, however it has monumental penalties.
It occurred this week, when Amazon dropped Parler, a social community that gained traction from conservatives after Twitter banned President Donald Trump and housed content material that inspired violence. Parler filed go well with in opposition to Amazon in federal district courtroom in an try to cease Amazon from suspending Parler’s account, and Amazon pushed again, requesting that the courtroom deny Parler’s movement.
The incident demonstrates a sort of energy that Amazon wields nearly uniquely as a result of so many firms depend on it to ship computing and information storage. Amazon managed 45% of the cloud infrastructure in 2019, greater than another firm, in keeping with estimates from know-how analysis firm Gartner. The app survived with out being listed in Apple and Google’s app shops, however getting despatched away from Amazon’s cloud has left Parler absent from the web for days.
Parler’s engineering group had constructed software program that drew on computing resources from Amazon Internet Providers, and the corporate had been in talks with Amazon about adopting proprietary AWS database and synthetic intelligence companies, the corporate mentioned in a district courtroom submitting on Wednesday.
It will take time to determine find out how to carry out comparable capabilities on Parler’s personal servers or a cloud apart from AWS. And within the case of Parler, time is vital, as a result of it got here because the service was gaining consideration and new customers following Twitter’s Trump ban.
Parler’s engineers might be taught to make use of different computing infrastructure, or the corporate might rent builders who have already got that data. However as a result of no cloud supplier is as fashionable as Amazon, individuals expert in, say, Oracle’s cloud aren’t as as straightforward to seek out as those that know find out how to construct on AWS.
The swiftness with which Amazon acted should not come as a shock. Firms have been disclosing particulars about their offers with Amazon that warn of those sorts of sudden discontinuations for years.
In 2010, DNA sequencing firm Full Genomics said that “an interruption of companies by Amazon Internet Providers, on whom we rely to ship completed genomic information to our prospects, would lead to our prospects not receiving their information on time.”
Gaming firm Zynga warned about how its AWS basis might rapidly vanish when it filed the prospectus for its preliminary public providing in 2011. On the time, AWS hosted half of the site visitors for Zynga’s video games, similar to FarmVille and Phrases with Pals, the company said.
“AWS could terminate the settlement with out trigger by offering 180 days prior written discover, and will terminate the settlement with 30 days prior written discover for trigger, together with any materials default or breach of the settlement by us that we don’t treatment inside the 30-day interval,” Zynga mentioned.
AWS may even terminate or droop its agreement with a buyer instantly beneath sure circumstances because it did in 2010 with Wikileaks, pointing to violations of AWS’ phrases of service.
Parler began utilizing AWS in 2018, lengthy after the Wikileaks incident and the primary company disclosures about the potential of cloud interruptions.
When AWS advised Parler it deliberate to droop Parler’s AWS account, it mentioned Parler had violated the phrases repeatedly, together with by not proudly owning or controlling the rights to its content material.
Over the course of a number of weeks, AWS alerted Parler to cases of consumer content material that inspired violence, Amazon mentioned in a courtroom submitting. Extra of that content material surfaced after protesters stormed the Capitol building in Washington on Jan. 6, interrupting Congress’ affirmation of the Electoral Faculty outcomes from the 2020 presidential election. AWS conveyed that Parler wasn’t doing sufficient to speedily take away that kind of data from its social community.
Parler might have protected itself extra. Massive AWS prospects can join extra intensive agreements, which permit extra prospects time to get into compliance in the event that they wind up breaking guidelines.
Gartner analyst Lydia Leong spelled out this distinction in a blog post: “Thirty days is a typical timeframe specified as a treatment interval in contracts (and is the treatment interval within the AWS commonplace Enterprise Settlement), however cloud supplier click-through agreements (such because the AWS Buyer Settlement) don’t usually have a treatment interval, permitting fast motion to be taken on the supplier’s discretion,” she wrote.
Different cloud suppliers have their very own phrases their prospects should observe. AWS now has tens of millions of consumers, although, and it holds more of the cloud infrastructure market than another supplier. In consequence, many organizations may very well be uncovered to the kind of remedy Parler obtained, uncommon as it’s, if they do not behave in accordance with Amazon’s requirements.
Parler acknowledged the drawbacks of being beholden to a cloud supplier, however finally, the flexibleness clouds supply was too interesting to disregard. “I am personally very anti-cloud and anti-centralization, although AWS has its place for high-burst site visitors,” Alexander Blair, Parler’s know-how chief, wrote in a post on the service.
Parler and Amazon didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.


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Story excerpt provided by Akron Beacon Journal.
Written by Katie Byard.
An Akron-area startup that is developing an online platform that allows users to trade stock without paying a commission fee has snagged $25,000 from the region’s nonprofit Innovation Fund.
Users of the Echo Investing platform would only pay a fee when they “echo” other users, gaining access to detailed information about these other users’ stock trades.
The platform will let users know about successful traders — those whom users might want to emulate or “echo.”
“If you just want to trade stock [without “echoing”] another user — you can do that for free,” said Echo co-founder Dan Jones, 28, a Coventry Township resident who is a 2013 graduate of Case Western Reserve University, where he studied economics and accountancy.
Click here to read the complete article.
Originally published December 10, 2017.


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BOSTON (CBS) – Massachusetts residents have consumed all types of donuts from Dunkin’ over the years, and now there’s a hot new one to try.
With Halloween approaching, Dunkin’ released on Wednesday their Spicy Ghost Pepper Donut, which features strawberry icing, a mix of cayenne and ghost pepper, and red sanding sugar.READ MORE: School Closings For October 28, 2021
The donut will be available at participating Dunkin’ restaurants nationwide until December.READ MORE: The Aztecs 'Slowly Crush You': CBS Sports' Randy Cross Previews Fresno State-#21 San Diego State, Other Matchups
The WBZ This Morning team – prepared with antacids- gave a review of the new donut that you can check out on Facebook.
In addition to the spicy treat, Dunkin’ is also bringing back its Halloween favorite “Spider Donut” which is a donut with orange icing topped with a Munchkin to look like a spider.MORE NEWS: Nearly Half A Million Lose Power As Nor'easter Hits Massachusetts


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Steve Wozniak thinks he’s coronavirus ‘patient zero’
The Apple co-founder says his wife came down with a 'bad cough' after a trip to China.
On Mar 2, 2020 by Mikael Thalen
Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak thinks you should quit Facebook
'My recommendation to most people is you should figure out a way to get off Facebook.'
On Jul 8, 2019 by Mikael Thalen
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak abandons Facebook over data concerns
'With Facebook, you are the product.'
On Apr 9, 2018 by Phillip Tracy
How Captain Crunch built the blue box that fascinated Steve Jobs
Be the first to read part of Draper's brand new biography.
On Oct 28, 2017 by David Gilmour
Meet John Draper, the hacker who inspired Apple’s founders
The notorious phone phreak known as Captain Crunch is ready to move 'Beyond the Little Blue Box.'
On Oct 27, 2017 by David Gilmour
Stephen Hawking is right—the AI arms race is already here
And humans may be powerless to stop it.
On Jul 29, 2015 by Gillian Branstetter
Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk are worried about weapons that think for themselves
They want to prevent our annihilation.
On Jul 27, 2015 by AJ Dellinger
Silicon Valley is getting its own Comic Con
Does California need another giant comic convention? Okay, yes. Yes, it does.
On Apr 20, 2015 by Gavia Baker-Whitelaw
Steve Wozniak calls net neutrality a victory for the people
"It's an indication that the people can sometimes win. We've had a lot of defeats over the years, but once in a while we get a win."
On Feb 26, 2015 by [email protected]
Why Seth Rogen will make or break the new Steve Jobs biopic
The comedian is set to play Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak in an upcoming film written by Aaron Sorkin. Here's why you should be nervous.
On Nov 3, 2014 by Chris Osterndorf


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Sysco Reports Progress of “Delivering A Better Tomorrow” in 2018 Corporate Social Responsibility
Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY), the leading global foodservice distribution company, today released its 2018 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report titled "Delivering A Better Tomorrow.”
The report details the Company’s CSR activities and accomplishments for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018. Additionally, the report expands on the Company’s continued commitment to CSR with its recently announced 2025 Responsibility Goals in the People, Products and Planet pillars.
Highlights from Sysco’s 2018 Corporate Social Responsibility Report include:
Launched Nourishing Neighbors – a giving program supporting local communities with 75 percent of funds going to hunger relief organizations.
Conducted training for more than 5,000 Sysco leaders on Diversity and Inclusion fundamentals, inclusive leadership and unconscious bias.
Provided product health information to more than 23,000 users through our eNutrition database.
Continued to advance our commitment to sustainable seafood, supporting 14 fishery improvement projects (FIPs) since 2010.
Updated and published new Global Supplier Code of Conduct.
Conducted 160 third-party social compliance assessments for Sysco Brand suppliers across 17 countries.
Signed a 10-year renewable energy agreement for solar power, supporting the majority of the Company’s electricity load in Texas and accounting for about 10 percent of Sysco’s U.S. electricity usage.
Recycled more than 40,000 tons of waste since 2014, saving more than 500,000 trees. Partnered with more than 8,000 canned and frozen fruit and vegetable growers to advance sustainable agriculture practices.
“At Sysco, we are proud to be the global leader in foodservice distribution and recognize that with leadership, comes responsibility,” said Tom Bené, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Sysco. “We aim to lead our industry in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives and our 2025 goals are foundational as we progress our CSR journey. Whether the task is feeding the hungry in our communities, doing more to promote the health and well-being of associates and consumers, taking action to make agriculture more sustainable, or lowering the carbon footprint of our operations, Sysco is poised to be at the leading edge of change.”
The report is formatted to meet Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, is mobile-friendly and can be viewed .
Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. With more than 67,000 associates, the company operates approximately 330 distribution facilities worldwide and serves more than 600,000 customer locations. For fiscal 2018 that ended June 30, 2018, the company generated sales of more than $58 billion.
For more information, visit or connect with Sysco on Facebook at or Twitter at . For important news and information regarding Sysco, visit the Investor Relations section of the company’s Internet home page at , which Sysco plans to use as a primary channel for publishing key information to its investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information. Investors should also follow us at and download the Sysco IR App, available on the and the . In addition, investors should continue to review our news releases and filings with the SEC. It is possible that the information we disclose through any of these channels of distribution could be deemed to be material information.


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* Q2 adj EPS $0.11 vs $0.09
* Q2 rev down 12 pct to $371.7 mln
July 25 (Reuters) - Noranda Aluminum Holding Co reported second-quarter results that beat analysts’ estimates as higher shipments of aluminum and flat-rolled products offset lower prices.
Aluminum prices on the London Metal Exchange dropped about 20 percent in the second quarter due to high inventories, prompting Wall Street analysts to lower their original profit estimates on companies such as Alcoa Inc and Noranda.
Second-quarter net profit fell to $25.3 million, or 36 cents per share, down from $47.4 million, or 69 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding items, the company earned 11 cents.
Second-quarter revenue fell 12 percent to $371.7 million, but rose 5 percent from the first quarter on higher shipments.
Analysts on average had expected a second-quarter profit of 9 cents a share on revenue of $355.21 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Noranda operates a mine in Jamaica that produces bauxite, which is then refined into alumina at its Gramercy, Louisiana plant. The alumina is then smelted into aluminum at its smelter near New Madrid, Missouri.
Shares of the company, which has a market value of $425.55 million, closed at $6.37 on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting By Vishal Krishnan Menon in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)


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There has been lots of talk this week about Netflix stock and how the increased competition from Disney, Warner and Amazon are putting the company under more pressure than ever, as content providers like Disney start pulling their own content away to create platforms like Disney+.
Recently 7Park Data released some details on the current trends over on Netflix and how their original content consumption has gone up, while Disney’s content including Marvel shows like Netflix and even Fox’s content has changed.
Looking first at Fox, which earlier this year, started to pull its shows off Netflix to move them to Hulu, which saw Fox’s viewership share drop from 25% of content watched on Netflix in January 2017, to around 5% by October 2018.
Meanwhile, Disney has accounted for 8%-12% of Netflix’s U.S. streams since the start of 2017. However since Disney haven’t been actively removing content as quickly as Fox, its roughly stayed constant throughout the period shown in the chart. It’s also worth noting that the ABC-produced series “Grey’s Anatomy,” has ranked among the top six most-viewed Netflix shows every month this year.
The chart also shows how much Netflix Marvel original content such as Daredevil, Iron Fist and Luke Cage contributed to the viewing figures. However with Disney and Netflix cancelling these shows, the viewing figures for these shows will decline once season three of Jessica Jones and season two of The Punisher are out.
The good news for Netflix is that viewership of their original content has grown, which has grown to 37% of all streams on the platform in October, up from 24% a year earlier and 14% in January 2017, according to a study by 7Park Data. But with other companies like Warner Brothers also set to start removing content when they launch their own service, Netflix will be forced to create more original content.
An article over at Forbes talks about how “Netflix’s Nightmares Are Coming True”, which talks about how Netflix is having to spend huge amounts of money on creating new content in order to compete, resulting in major debt piling up, which is making investors wary. However Yahoo Finance looks at the way that Netflix has been able to take steps to ensure it can maintain subscribers in the future, even if the data does show much much content they will have to create to fill the gap by companies like Disney and Warner.
The next year is when the Streaming Wars pick up pace and Disney+ will have to offer strong quality content to compete.
Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom.


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Most businesses closed for Labor Day on Monday. But some decided to stay open and saw the benefits.
One of those businesses that opened was JJ’s, a local bar and restaurant that opened it’s doors for the first time in Fayetteville just last week.
Jody Thornton, owner of JJ’s on Dickson Street, said, “A lot of people just want to hang out and have a beer and a burger and they don’t want to do it themselves and we feel like we’re a great spot to do that so as you see today we’re packed and people are loving it.”
Just down the road from JJ’s, local coffee shop Arsaga’s, opened on Monday. The shop was packed with customers.
One waitress at the shop said the booming business is great for her and worth working the holiday.
Penelope Starroberski has been a waitress at Arsaga’s for the last year, she said, “Everybody wanted to work and especially for me, I’m in high school,so since I’ve had the day off it’s been convenient for me to be able to come in and work.”
Starroberski added, “It’s been quite a busy day. It’s closer to like how we are on the weekends during our brunch.”


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Gate City Brewing and Carl Black Buick-GMC Roswell
Named Presenting Sponsors of Alive in Roswell
Roswell’s Premier Festival Partners join forces to bring you this spectacular event
ROSWELL, GA — Alive in Roswell, hosted by The City of Roswell and Atlanta Plays It Forward, is pleased to announce Gate City Brewing and Carl Black Buick-GMC Roswell as its 2018 Presenting Sponsors.
Alive in Roswell is a monthly free, family-friendly festival held concurrently on Historic Canton Street, Historic Roswell Square, and the City Hall Grounds. The festival occurs each 3rd Thursday evening (5:00-9:00 pm) from April through October.
“We could not be happier than to have these two enthusiastic and dynamic Roswell businesses join forces with us to bring you the 2018 version of this spectacular event!” said Atlanta Plays It Forward Executive director Tom LaDow.
“Gate City Brewing is thrilled to again be Alive in Roswell’s Presenting Sponsor for 2018. This year we are proud to share this sponsorship with Carl Black Buick-GMC Roswell. We are two businesses that have made a huge commitment to ‘keep it local’ by sponsoring this fantastic event”, said Brian Borngesser, Co-Founder, Gate City Brewing Company.
“Carl Black Buick-GMA Roswell is proud to be added as an Alivein Roswell Presenting Sponsor for 2018. We are very excited to be partnering with Gate City Brewing on the extremely popular Roswell event”, said Tod Baker, Executive Manager, Carl Black Buick-GMC Roswell.
The festival features live bands, food trucks, kids games, face painting, balloons, etc. and enjoys participation from the many boutiques, small businesses and restaurants surrounding the venues.
The full parking lot at city hall is for parking and also by Wells Fargo bank. Also the lot at the SW quadrant of Mimosa and Magnolia.
2018 Season Dates


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Pakistan Eyes Ruble Trade with Russia
- September, 28, 2022 - 15:08
- World news
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Pakistan is considering trading with Russia in rubles and Chinese yuan, according to Zahid Ali Khan, President of the Trade House of Pakistan Association.
“We are still trading in dollars, which is a problem… We are considering the issue of trading in rubles or in yuan, but the issue is still being finalized,” said Ali Khan, executive director of the Russia-Pakistan Business Council at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, TASS reported.
The official, who was taking part in the ‘Export Marathon’ international forum in Ekaterinburg, Russia, noted that the transition to ruble-yuan use in trade could occur next year.
According to him, the Pakistani market is interested in the supply of Russian goods, including chemical and pharmaceutical products.
“In the near future, we see very great prospects for the development of relations between Russia and Pakistan. Especially, of course, (Pakistan is interested that) Russia exports chemical products, technical products, paper… we need pharmaceuticals. These are issues that are being worked out now,” Zahid Ali Khan explained.
In March, Islamabad inked a major trade agreement with Moscow on the importation of two million tons of wheat, as well as the supply of natural gas. Then-Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in February to discuss ways to expand bilateral trade relations.


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In November, along with seven other states, Massachusetts legalized marijuana. In Massachusetts, Nevada, California, and Maine, recreational cannabis was legalized, and in Montana, North Dakota, Florida, and Arkansas, medical cannabis was legalized. Massachusetts, traditionally a very liberal state, has been battling back and forth over the pros and cons of legalizing recreational marijuana for a few years, now, since they decriminalized marijuana in 2008 and legalized medical marijuana in 2012. Despite the naysayers, Massachusetts voters passed the measure and plans to treat marijuana regulation like alcohol, which is the same platform California has run its pro-cannabis campaign on. Lawmakers in Boston are now pushing back against the established recreational legalization dates, trying to extend them and causing an uproar in the pro-recreational cannabis community.
Massachusetts’ New Cannabis Laws
In Massachusetts, the state will create a new marijuana oversight commission to control dispensaries, cultivation, and manufacturing and testing facilities; enact strict marijuana product packaging and labeling rules; allow cities and town to limit, regulate, or prohibit marijuana establishments; and put a 3.75% excise and 6.25% sales tax on marijuana sales – cities and towns could also add 2% sales tax on top of that if they so desire. Finally, people 21 and older will be allowed to possess marijuana and start their own home grows.
What Happened in Massachusetts after Legalization?
Well, basically lots of people were happy, including the hipsters in this photo, and some people were unhappy, including lawmakers in Boston. Unfortunately, some of the people who want to delay recreational cannabis legalization are heavy-hitting lawmakers in Boston. Some of the reasons that Massachusetts legalized cannabis for medical use were based on opioid deaths, PTSD, and chronic pain issues within the state; medical cannabis cannot be prescribed by the Veterans Administration because it’s not legal at the federal level, yet. Legalizing recreational cannabis throughout the state would help patients bypass this snag, allowing them to self-medicate without a prescription if they are over 21.
The Big Rec Cannabis Pushback in Boston
Massachusetts was originally scheduled to legalize recreational marijuana on December 15th, which is now less than 14 days away. Lawmakers in Massachusetts are citing a “delay in certifying votes cast in the 2016 election,” which could stop recreational users from smoking or consuming marijuana edibles in their own homes. This delay could also stop recreational cannabis growers from starting seeds (six per person, or 12 per household) and possessing up to 10 ounces at home and one ounce in public. Although pro-cannabis consumers don’t see it that way, William Galvin, the Massachusetts Secretary of State, said the vote certification is being held up only because the officials only meet once per week and may not complete their job prior to the December 15th deadline.
When Will Recreational Cannabis Dispensaries Open in Massachusetts?
According to the new laws, Massachusetts recreational cannabis dispensaries (or retail stores as they call them) will open in 2018, but officials in that state are worried they will have to push that date back as well. The main reason that pro-cannabis groups in Massachusetts are so fired up about the pushback is the state’s previous three-year delay when medical marijuana was legalized back in 2012. The first dispensary didn’t open until 2015, and consumers are afraid the same thing will happen this time around. There is also some debate over the wording of the law, and pro-cannabis groups are afraid they may have to deal with rewording that will change things about the law without their input (like what happened with Colorado’s Amendment 300 for social cannabis consumption). For now, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens, but keep supporting the pro-cannabis revolution in Boston.


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On Tuesday (Aug. 21), Spotify and Guinness World Records announced the launch the ultimate record-breaking playlist The Year in Pop.
To celebrate the musicians featured in the upcoming Guinness World Records 2019 book, the playlist is made up the artists' record-breaking tracks for all to listen. "With records from 'Most streamed track worldwide' to 'Most followers on Instagram,' these musicians are recognized for a variety record-breaking achievements, including tours, online streaming, social media and even crowdfunding," Guinness said on its website.
The playlist features Justin Bieber, BTS, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and more.
Check out the full The Year in Pop playlist below:


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Australian Banking Association lands new head of future policy
Australia's top court finds Google not liable for defamation
Apple drops iOS and iPadOS 15.6.1 to fix two exploited zero days
CBA's CIO Pascal Boillat to leave in November
Zurich Australia's CIO to leave
STATE OF IT
STATE OF IT
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US FAA parks Amazon drone delivery plans
Disputed legislation up for renewal.
Jun 25 2014 11:38AM
Telstra pumps millions into access network
Alcatel-Lucent takes the lion's share of spending in support of small business.
May 2 2011 1:07PM
AAPT to expand into infrastructure-as-a-service
Diversifies hosted business beyond Google's enterprise platform.
Mar 15 2011 5:30AM
EU sanctions 'three strikes' rule for illegal file sharers
Telecom Reform Package details agreed.
Nov 6 2009 6:37AM
IT salary growth declines
Higher package brackets for managers and DBAs.
Jun 19 2009 1:44PM
CeBIT09: Centrelink reveals IT impact of stimulus packages
Centrelink had almost 250,000 people log onto its self-service portal on the Monday after the first stimulus package was announced.
May 14 2009 5:44AM
Alcatel-Lucent woos SMEs with IP-ready package
Alcatel-Lucent has launched an IP-ready communications package designed to help get small and medium sized enterprises onto the path of unified communications.
May 12 2009 6:02AM
Interview: Inside the ATO's Change Program
Australian Tax Office Second Commissioner David Butler and CIO Bill Gibson tell
editor Brett Winterford that the ATO's Change Program is likely to cost more than the current projection of $725 million.
Apr 14 2009 2:45PM
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About last night, B-town divas graced the Global Spa Awards and made strong fashion statements. They were dressed impeccably for the event and it was really hard to decide that whose gown game was the strongest out of all. However,
Tara Sutaria went for an all black outfit for the latest promotional round of her debut movie, 'Student of the Year 2'. She looked chic in her outfit and with this, proved us that her fashion sensibility is strong. This
Ananya Panday, who is all set to make a sensational debut with 'Student of the Year 2', wore this cool dress for the latest promotional round. She gave us an athleisure-a total street-style dress, perfect for chilling out on Sunday
Kajol's sari game is getting stronger and we totally loved her latest sari, which she wore for the Joyalukkas event. The seasoned actress wore a Tarun Tahiliani sari, which was absolutely beautiful and about subtle contrasts. This time, Kajol's look
Donald and Melania Trump: will the First Lady let her guard slip while on the UK state visit in June? Photograph: Lucas Jackson/ReutersSo, Donald Trump is coming back to the UK. What should we expect, style-wise? Caroline, by emailRe-inflate the orange blimp, the human orange blimp is coming back. This June, to be precise, for his first official UK state visit, as opposed to his last visit which was – amusingly, adorably – described as “a working visit”, which is like when I tell my toddlers how helpful they are when they unload the dishwasher by putting all the cutlery in the bin. Last summer, if you remember – and who could forget – Trump spent his four days in Britain alternately hiding from and grumping about the British people who seemed less than enthusiastic about his visit. He managed to be a dick even to the Queen, barging ahead of the 93-year-old woman as she valiantly attempted to humour the giant man-baby on walkabouts around Windsor. But the Queen might, or might not, have had her revenge, possibly-allegedly-maybe sending coded messages through the medium of her brooches to communicate her distaste for this man even other Americans refer to as “that vulgar American”. It was a headily exciting time for us all, and cost the UK tax payer a mere £18m for the joy. Ma’am, we are keenly awaiting your brooch messages. Red for emergency, orange for double emergency.So why are the Trumps coming back, you ask? Well, officially it’s to discuss defence and security with Theresa May, as well as being the guest of the Queen (brooch at the ready) for a ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-day landings. We can only wait to see if Trump bothers to turn up, unlike last November when, while on a trip to France, he couldn’t be faffed to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, where US and French troops who died fighting the Germans in 1918 are buried. It was rainy, you see, and while honouring soldiers is important, avoiding bad hair days are more so.Some of my compatriots found our president’s behaviour a little mortifying: “It’s incredible that a president would travel to France for this significant anniversary – and then remain in his hotel room watching TV rather than pay in person his respects to the Americans who gave their lives in France for the victory gained 100 years ago tomorrow,” tweeted the US political writer David Frum. To which I say: sorry, have you only just met our president? The man who claimed John McCain wasn’t a war hero because he was captured, but who himself didn’t go to Vietnam at all thanks to bone spurs which even he described as “temporary”? If Trump feels embarrassment at attending military ceremonies, that might be the most noble emotion he’s ever felt.Still, forward looking. What to expect of this trip, Queen’s brooches aside? Well, Trump is a man who proves Dolly Parton’s timeless adage that it costs a lot to look so cheap, and that’s all that needs saying.Which brings us to Melania, and the only question is: is Melania actually coming on this trip? Officially, yes, but will it be the real Melania or the fake Melania, ie the woman who occasionally stands next to Trump and doesn’t look that much like his wife? Conspiracy theories invariably overestimate the intelligence of those alleged to be carrying out the plot, and I do have my doubts about whether Trump has the mental capacity to manage a stand-in wife. But I love this theory because it plays to two of my pet theories: one, that Melania patently cannot stand her husband. And second, that we all know this, and our open discussion of this is not about laughing at Trump (well, not entirely), but at the absurd convention in US politics that the president has to be married and present a Norman Rockwell-esque tableau with his wife. We see this with Melania being dragged out to stand next to her husband at events (and then whacking his hand away in disgust), and we see it again with the wife of presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke gazing adoringly up at her husband, as if the past 200 years hadn’t happened.Only two US presidents weren’t married when they entered the White House – James Buchanan and Grover Cleveland, pub quiz fans – but that may well change. Among the current candidates, Cory Booker is single and while Pete Buttigieg is married, he would be the first gay president. The truth is, the Trumps, with their visible mutual loathing, are like a satire on the anachronistic expectations about how a First Family should look and I, for one, have high hopes about Melania ending them once and for all on this trip, as she whacks Trump’s hand away outside Windsor Castle. And when that happens, we can definitively say this state visit was totally worth it.Need style counsel? Email email@example.com
Ananya Panday and Tara Sutaria have been inspring us with their fashion statements. They have been giving us high doses of fashion. Well, their movie, 'Student of the Year 2' is about to hit the screens and the two would
Come spring and we think about yellow hue but this minty yellow hue is what we found absolutely inspiring. Yes, Priyanka Chopra Jonas was spotted at the airport in a minty yellow ensemble and she totally had all our attention.
Hollywood glammed up at the Time 100 Gala in New York. From Taylor Swift’s princess pink gown to Emilia Clarke in red and Brie Larson in stand-out green, the ladies went all out to bring their best dresses on the red carpet.
Sonam Kapoor Ahuja is unstoppable when it comes to fashion. Her airport looks are totally winning us and she has been inspiring us stylishly. Recently, she stepped out in a yellow floral dress that wowed us and today, she went
About last night, Tabu graced the birthday party of Manoj Bajpayee. She looked delightful in her dress, which we thought certainly qualified as an OOTN. She wore an Amit Aggarwal number and pulled it off effortlessly. Well, Tabu inspired us
Katrina Kaif recently shared a heartfelt post on her social media feed, as she introduced her character, Kumud Raina from her upcoming movie, 'Bharat'. The actress also shared a look from the movie and took us back to those understated
Tara Sutaria and Ananya Panday have been doing promotional rounds for their upcoming movie, 'Student Of The Year 2'. Their dress game is only getting better and they have been giving us a lot of fashion ideas. This time, Ananya
Yellow is one of the hues that can brighten up your mood instantly, Janhvi Kapoor certainly proved that. The 'Dhadak' actress, who recently won the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, was spotted in the city in a yellow traditional suit, which totally
Sonam Kapoor Ahuja has oodles of airport fashion goals for us and her latest look was something that we could easily ace. The actress channelled the boss lady vibes and wore a spring-worthy dress. Her look was impeccable and she
Karisma Kapoor was in black and white as she graced the Forevermark event. The actress opted for an Amit Aggarwal attire for the occasion, which was all about colour-block and glam. She was a vision to behold in her dress
Kalki Koechlin's latest ensemble by Sabyasachi was awe-inspiring and definitely a lot about layering. Her attire broke the conventional boxes and surpassed the geographical barriers. Apart from her outfit, Kalki's makeup and styling was also beautifully done. Let's decode her
Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Raveena Tandon gave us contemporary traditional moments as they graced the sets of Super Dancer 3. The divas looked stunning in their outfits and gave us formal wedding event attire goals. One went with a lehenga,
Alia Bhatt looks stunning in Blue dress at Critics Choice Film Awards in Mumbai. She first-ever attended the critics award and she killed it with her looks. Check out the Video .
Perfectly poised against the oceanic backdrop of Maldives, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was a vision to behold. The actress and a fashion diva, Aishwarya took to her social media to share the moments from her seaside vacation with husband Abhishek and
Jhanvi Kapoor looks beautiful in pink saree. Jhanvi Kapoor chose a Pink saree for the night, Ishaan Khatter wore an asymmetric white kurta. The two shared a light moment on the stage too, when they were awarded for their performance in Dhadak. Watch this video to know more!!!!
Bangladeshi activists and relatives of the victims of the Rana Plaza building collapse take part in a protest marking the first anniversary of the disaster in 2014. Photograph: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images Why do we need a fashion revolution? Because six years after the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, which killed 1,138 garment workers, our clothes are still being made by some of the poorest, most overworked and undervalued people in the world. The ruins of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The building collapsed in 2013, killing more than 1,100 people. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images A report published last week by the Worker Rights Consortium, gives a shocking picture of repression, violent attacks and intimidation of garment workers in Bangladesh who are simply trying to campaign for a living wage. Desperate workers – vital cogs in the country’s $30bn (£21bn) industry – have been asking for more money since the minimum wage was raised in November 2018 to the equivalent of $22 (£17) a week, less than 45 cents (35p) an hour. Since last December, at least 65 workers have been arrested on false charges, while factories producing clothes for some of our favourite brands have fired and blacklisted 11,600 workers with no legal justification. According to the WRC, some have paid with their lives, shot dead by the police as retribution for speaking out. “The industry and the government seem to be driven by a desire to maintain control and low prices, regardless of the risks to workers’ lives and well-being,” says the report. “They are clearly betting that western brands and retailers care a great deal about prices and very little about labour standards.” I care, and I want the brands I spend my money with to care, too. That is why I will be taking part in Fashion Revolution week this week to ask: Who made my clothes? “We are campaigning for an industry where environmental protection, as well as human rights, are the standard and not the exception,” says Carry Somers, who founded the campaign in the immediate aftermath of the Rana Plaza collapse. She started Fashion Revolution because she, like co-founder Orsola de Castro and many others working in the industry, felt that the disaster had to stand for something. “It had to lead to revolutionary change within the fashion industry.” Last year, 3.25 million people took part during the week to ask, #WhoMadeMy Clothes? That question, when a brand is tagged on social media with the hashtag #WhoMadeMyClothes?, has already resulted in major change within the industry. View this post on Instagram Fashion Revolution is the biggest global fashion movement working to ensure a fairer and safer industry for people and the planet. And our big week is just hours away! Get ready to make some change with our ‘Letter to a brand’ template, which you can repost, and tag the brand(s) you love, asking them to show us their supply chain and answer the question, #WhoMadeMyClothes? Let’s work together this #FashionRevolution week and make sure that no one suffers for the clothing we wear. #FashionRevolution #IMadeYourClothes A post shared by Fashion Revolution (@fash_rev) on Apr 21, 2019 at 2:41pm PDT Marks & Spencer now publishes its supplier list along with an interactive map of the factories who produce its food and clothing around the world. The map covers 67 countries and details 1,720 factories employing 994,512 workers; 85 of these are in Bangladesh. Many other brands are now publishing their supplier lists including Asos, the H&M group (including Cos, Arket and & Other Stories), Primark and Levi’s. “Fashion Revolution has been really successful in terms of giving people easy tools to be curious, find out, and to do something about it,” says Somers. I will be doing just that. The textiles industry accounted for 1.2bn tonnes of CO2 in 2015. Its use of non-renewable resources - including oil to make synthetic fibres - is estimated to increase from 98m tonnes in 2015 to 300m tonnes by 2050. Dyeing and textile treatment processes contribute to 20% of the world’s industrial water pollution. British actor Emma Thompson takes part in the Extinction Rebellion. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images “When the system is killing us, we must change it,” said Sara Arnold, founder of fashion rental company Higher Studio, which is taking part in the Extinction Rebellion protests. “The privilege and influence of the fashion industry should be used to force governments to declare emergency and act.” Fashion Revolution week provides the perfect platform to urge brands to put worker welfare and safety and environmental safeguards above shareholder profit. “We have to start looking at the true cost of our clothing, because at the moment that is hidden,” says Somers. “Ultimately, future generations are going to bear the cost of the unseen social and environmental impacts.” We all have the power to make a change. This Fashion Revolution week is all about demanding fair and decent conditions and pay, environmental protection and gender equality. On Wednesday, Fashion Question Time will be at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, with a panel of speakers including Mary Creagh MP, chaired by Baroness Lola Young. Limited tickets are still available here. There are thousands of other events around the world – to get involved, go to Fashion Revolution’s events page. Our voices really do count. And it’s such a small action. All you need to do is join #WhoMadeMyclothes? You may be pleasantly surprised by the answer. This article was amended on 22 April 2019. An earlier version stated that 1,338 workers were killed in the Rana Plaza collapse; 1,138 died. It also reported that 32.5 million people took part in Fashion Revolution week in 2018; 3.25 million participated.
Alia Bhatt and Fatima Sana Shaikh are not only powerhouses of talent but they are also proving to be gamechangers in fashion. Beyond gowns and saris, these two prolific actresses made a strong case for pants at a recent award
Lakshmi Manchu graced the Critics Choice Film Awards and wore a dramatic number for the occasion. She wore a Shantanu & Nikhil gown for the occasion, which was for sure not an easy number to pull off. Since the outfit


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E*Trade Looks to Outgrow That Talking Babyby
E*Trade Financial (ETFC) may boast some of the most popular advertisements on TV, but the company still can't make a profit. Hobbled by bad loans that blew up in the financial crisis, it's stuck at fourth place in the highly competitive online brokerage industry.
E*Trade executives are thus trying a new strategy: While not entirely abandoning their talking baby campaign, they're spending more than half of an increased ad budget on messages without the stock-trading infant. The talking baby ads, which began airing during the 2008 Super Bowl, have been a hit with TV viewers. Nielsen (NLSN) said on Feb. 9 that an ad featuring the E*Trade baby with a sneezing cat was the third most-liked commercial during the 2011 Super Bowl, watched by a record 111 million people. Because of the baby, "we have much higher brand recognition vs. the competition," says Nicholas Utton, E*Trade's chief marketing officer.
Despite the attention, the New York-based company has fallen behind rivals in assets and new customer signups. Since the end of 2007, E*Trade has boosted its number of brokerage accounts by 9.4 percent, to 2.7 million. That's solid growth, but much of the online brokerage industry has seen a heavier influx of assets. Charles Schwab (SCHW) has increased its active brokerage accounts by 13.5 percent since 2007 and TD Ameritrade (AMTD) has boosted total accounts by 24 percent in that period.
The growth lag dates back to 2007, when many potential customers were spooked by financial problems caused by bad mortgages and other loans made by E*Trade's bank. In November 2008, a Citigroup (C) analyst estimated a 15 percent chance of bankruptcy for E*Trade. Customers closed 256,000 E*Trade accounts during that quarter. From the start of 2007 through 2008, E*Trade's stock price tumbled 95 percent.
No "Near-Death Experience" for Rivals
The problems severely harmed E*Trade's brand image, says Alois Pirker, research director at the Aite Group, a financial services consulting firm in Boston. "The online brokerage market has done very well," Pirker says. "E*Trade has definitely lagged behind." E*Trade's larger rivals—which include not just direct competitors Schwab and Ameritrade, but also Fidelity Investments—"stayed very nicely out of trouble during the downturn," Pirker said. "They didn't have a near-death experience. That obviously helped them."
In response, E*Trade has shrunk its bank, reducing its loan portfolio from $25.5 billion to $16.9 billion over the last two years. Some of the damage to E*Trade's brand may be starting to heal, says BMO Capital Markets analyst Michael Vinciquerra. "The troubles they had are starting to get further in the rear-view mirror." A rising stock market may also be improving customers' moods, he says. E*Trade said on Jan. 26 that it had added 27,600 net new brokerage accounts during the last quarter, up from 7,200 in the previous quarter. Trading activity rose 19 percent over that of the previous quarter.
Still, proof that E*Trade, which reported a net loss of $24 million last quarter, gets less respect than competitors comes in the occasional rumors that it could be taken over by a larger company. As the smallest of the "big three" online brokerages, after Schwab and Ameritrade, "they are going to be constantly discussed as an acquisition target," says Joel Jeffrey, equity analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW). At the end of 2010, customers had $176 billion in assets at E*Trade, while $386 billion in client assets were at Ameritrade, with $1.6 trillion at Schwab. Fidelity, a privately held company, claimed $3.3 trillion in total assets as of Sept. 30. For now, the acquisition talk appears insubstantial. "I don't sense they're in a hurry to sell," Vinciquerra says. For one thing, executives are optimistic they can boost the value of the franchise by adding brokerage customers and continuing to trim debt, he says.
There is little evidence that E*Trade's brokerage offerings, which generally get high marks, are holding it back. Corporate Insight, a firm that annually rates the offerings and usability of financial service websites, awarded four top ratings to E*Trade on Feb. 8 for, among other things, its product and service range and how it delivers account information. An investor or trader on E*Trade over the last few years wouldn't have noticed an impact from the problems at E*Trade's bank, says Corporate Insight brokerage analyst Tim Ullrich. In a competitive industry whose players are constantly adding new features to their websites, "they've never slacked off on it," Ullrich says.
Leading Capabilities and Apps
Like other online brokerages, E*Trade is adding complex tools for traders, such as options, and further materials to educate customers on how to invest and trade. E*Trade has also led most competitors with its capabilities for foreign stock purchases and its applications that run on mobile phones and Apple's (AAPL) iPad. What's holding back E*Trade may not be its offerings but its customer image, something the talking baby ad campaign isn't improving, says Robert Ellis, a principal with Fast Track Advisors, a wealth-management consulting firm. The ads are irreverent and silly. In fact, last year's Super Bowl ad featured babies discussing a "milkaholic" tot named Lindsay. In September, E*Trade settled a lawsuit with the actress Lindsay Lohan, who claimed the ad referred to her battles with substance abuse. It's an unusual strategy for a financial company. "How many people want to take advice from a baby?" Ellis asks. "One thing people don't like to joke about is their own money."
E*Trade executives defend the ads, to a point. Other financial companies emphasize safety and security in their advertising. "If we wanted to be ordinary, we would have done [that]," E*Trade's Utton says. "We don't want to be perceived as exactly like the big, boring, bulge-bracket firms." Yet Utton admits that while the talking baby ads catch the general public's attention, they aren't an effective way of telling people about E*Trade's unique offerings. "How much differentiating information can you put in a baby ad?" Utton said.
Two new ads feature a mountain biker and a runner, along with the tag line: "Investing Unleashed." Those ads will make up half of E*Trade's TV ad impressions this year, Utton says. Also, 30 percent of E*Trade's ad budget, which is being increased in 2011, will go online, where almost none of the ads will feature babies. E*Trade won't disclose how much it is boosting ad spending in 2011, but executives says higher outlays will be offset by cutting expenses elsewhere. The target of this more serious ad campaign is people who want to closely manage their own money, says Michael Curcio, president of E*Trade's securities division. "Our bulls'-eye is a self-directed investor, the ones who take control of their own finances."
E*Trade forecasts that it will post a profit in 2011 after four years of annual losses. Doing so will depend on improved market conditions, some good luck with its loan portfolio, and the company's success at convincing customers that E*Trade—still easy and fun to use—is growing up.