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New molecules promise cheaper, more efficient OLED displays
Harvard University researchers have designed more than 1,000 new blue-light emitting molecules for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) that could dramatically improve displays for televisions, phones, tablets and more.
OLED screens use organic molecules that emit light when an electric current is applied. Unlike ubiquitous liquid crystal displays (LCDs), OLED screens don’t require a backlight, meaning the display can be as thin and flexible as a sheet of plastic. Individual pixels can be switched on or entirely off, dramatically improving the screen’s color contrast and energy consumption. OLEDs are already replacing LCDs in high-end consumer devices but a lack of stable and efficient blue materials has made them less competitive in large displays such as televisions.
The interdisciplinary team of Harvard researchers, in collaboration with MIT and Samsung, developed a large-scale, computer-driven screening process, called the Molecular Space Shuttle, that incorporates theoretical and experimental chemistry, machine learning and cheminformatics to quickly identify new OLED molecules that perform as well as, or better than, industry standards.
“People once believed that this family of organic light-emitting molecules was restricted to a small region of molecular space,” said Alán Aspuru-Guzik, Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, who led the research. “But by developing a sophisticated molecular builder, using state-of-the art machine learning, and drawing on the expertise of experimentalists, we discovered a large set of high-performing blue OLED materials.”
The research is described in the current issue of Nature Materials.
The biggest challenge in manufacturing affordable OLEDs is emission of the color blue.
Like LCDs, OLEDs rely on green, red and blue subpixels to produce every color on screen. But it has been difficult to find organic molecules that efficiently emit blue light. To improve efficiency, OLED producers have created organometallic molecules with expensive transition metals like iridium to enhance the molecule through phosphorescence. This solution is expensive and it has yet to achieve a stable blue color.
Aspuru-Guzik and his team sought to replace these organometallic systems with entirely organic molecules.
The team began by building libraries of more than 1.6 million candidate molecules. Then, to narrow the field, a team of researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), led by Ryan Adams, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, developed new machine learning algorithms to predict which molecules were likely to have good outcomes, and prioritize those to be virtually tested. This effectively reduced the computational cost of the search by at least a factor of ten.
“This was a natural collaboration between chemistry and machine learning,” said David Duvenaud, a postdoctoral fellow in the Adams lab and coauthor of the paper. “Since the early stages of our chemical design process starts with millions of possible candidates, there’s no way for a human to evaluate and prioritize all of them. So, we used neural networks to quickly prioritize the candidates based on all the molecules already evaluated.”
“Machine learning tools are really coming of age and starting to see applications in a lot of scientific domains,” said Adams. “This collaboration was a wonderful opportunity to push the state of the art in computer science, while also developing completely new materials with many practical applications. It was incredibly rewarding to see these designs go from machine learning predictions to devices that you can hold in your hand.”
“We were able to model these molecules in a way that was really predictive,” said Rafael Gómez-Bombarelli, a postdoctoral fellow in the Aspuru-Guzik lab and first author of the paper. “We could predict the color and the brightness of the molecules from a simple quantum chemical calculation and about 12 hours of computing per molecule. We were charting chemical space and finding the frontier of what a molecule can do by running virtual experiments.”
“Molecules are like athletes,” Aspuru-Guzik said. “It’s easy to find a runner, it’s easy to find a swimmer, it’s easy to find a cyclist but it’s hard to find all three. Our molecules have to be triathletes. They have to be blue, stable and bright.”
But finding these super molecules takes more than computing power — it takes human intuition, said Tim Hirzel, a senior software engineer in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and coauthor of the paper.
To help bridge the gap between theoretical modeling and experimental practice, Hirzel and the team built a web application for collaborators to explore the results of more than half a million quantum chemistry simulations.
Every month, Gómez-Bombarelli and coauthor Jorge Aguilera-Iparraguirre, also a postdoctoral fellow in the Aspuru-Guzik lab, selected the most promising molecules and used their software to create “baseball cards,” profiles containing important information about each molecule. This process identified 2500 molecules worth a closer look. The team’s experimental collaborators at Samsung and MIT then voted on which molecules were most promising for application. The team nicknamed the voting tool “molecular Tinder” after the popular online dating app.
“We facilitated the social aspect of the science in a very deliberate way,” said Hirzel.
“The computer models do a lot but the spark of genius is still coming from people,” said Gómez-Bombarelli.
“The success of this effort stems from its multidisciplinary nature,” said Aspuru-Guzik. “Our collaborators at MIT and Samsung provided critical feedback regarding the requirements for the molecular structures.”
“The high throughput screening technique pioneered by the Harvard team significantly reduced the need for synthesis, experimental characterization, and optimization,” said Marc Baldo, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT and coauthor of the paper. “It shows the industry how to advance OLED technology faster and more efficiently.”
After this accelerated design cycle, the team was left with hundreds of molecules that perform as well as, if not better than, state-of-the-art metal-free OLEDs.
Applications of this type of molecular screening also extend far beyond OLEDs.
“This research is an intermediate stop in a trajectory towards more and more advanced organic molecules that could be used in flow batteries, solar cells, organic lasers, and more,” said Aspuru-Guzik. “The future of accelerated molecular design is really, really exciting.”
Learn more: Towards a better screen
The Latest on: OLED displays
via Google News
The Latest on: OLED displays
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Hewlett-Packard has finally unveiled the latest from Project Moonshot yesterday, a new class of hyperscale servers that feature low-power consumption and are more cost-effective than conventional data servers. Reinventing the wheel . The HP Moonshot 1500 Chassis houses 45 Atom Server Cartridges, network switch, management components, dual power supplies and cooling fans. The servers could use chipsets from Intel, ARM, AMD, and Texas Instruments. The first server cartridges used in Moonshot 1500 are based on the Intel S1260 Atom chipset, which has a 64bit processor with 2 2GHz cores, 4 threads cost only $65, and has a lower power requirement of 8.5 Watts compared... more »
In many ways the HP Moonshot announcement April 8 was an amazing event. HP executive David Donatelli rightly called it “the day the industry changed”. But in some ways it, and in particular Cube interview of Suresh Gopalakrishnan, corporate VP and GM of the Server Business at AMD, was as notable for the elephant left unremarked in the room as for anything that was said. For some months now Wikibon.org CTO and industry guru David Floyer, has made no secret of what he sees for the future of Intel versus AMD. In his latest analysis of this future, “Intel's Nightmare Worsens....”, he... more »
HP Leads the Hardware Industry into the Hyperscale, Commodity Hardware, Software-Defined System Future
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Every year in early autumn Apple holds its event where it presents new iPhones, Apple Watches, and iPads. This year wasn’t an exclusion. But yesterday’s presentation didn’t result in Apple stock growth, and here’s why.
Nike stock: a gap down is in focus
Despite analysts’ optimistic anticipation of positive Nike’s earnings, the sneaker maker did not excite the market with its fourth-quarter results. Even the rise in online sales could not save the company amid the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, after the market close on Thursday we saw the following figures:
EPS= -0.51 (vs. 0.09 expected). Compared to the Q4 of the previous year, the indicator fell by 182%.
Revenue= $6.31 billion (vs. the forecast of 7.29). This data shows a fall of 38% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.
In our analysis earlier this week, we highlighted bullish forecasts by several famous analytical companies. The most bearish projections were made by JPMorgan, which set the stock at $104 and Wells Fargo with a price target of $99. Now it seems like the second one demonstrated the most accurate information.
On Thursday, the stock strengthened to $101.44 as buyers were excited ahead of the report. Most likely, the stock will gap down after the opening of the New York trading session at 16:30 MT time. Pay attention to the $96 and $93 levels closely.
Richard Branson offloaded nearly 10 million shares, which equals about 4% of the Virgin Galactic stock, leaving him with an 18% stake.
Today at 00:00 GMT+3 SPCE will present the second quarter 2021 financial results. We will get to know everything about the company's financial condition and plans.
Don't miss our new digest with the most important events for the next week.
China's activity is recovering, US stocks and other news!
News is always essential. Especially when we speak about the FOREX market. What is the most important information for today? Let's see together.


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A suite of tools to guide brands through selection, evaluation and impact of sponsorship deals
MediaCom Sport has launched Connected Sponsorship, a new suite of industry-leading proprietary strategy and evaluation tools, for local and global brands investing in or considering sponsorship.
The four tools ensure that all sponsorship investment decisions are made in the context of a robust strategic framework.
Connected Sponsorship enables MediaCom Sport to match opportunities to client objectives, and help them streamline strategies to deliver the fairest prices. Raising the level of accountability regularly applied to sponsorship, the tools also help clients calculate and accurately measure return on investment.
The Connected Sponsorship suite of tools includes:
The tools have been developed by a team of experts across the wider MediaCom agency, led by specialists within Mediacom Sport. Collaborators include Alastair Macdonald, an acknowledged industry-leader in the area of sponsorship strategy, research and evaluation.
With 15 years’ specialist experience, Alastair has worked with the a wide range of blue chip brands and rights owners in the UK and internationally including the Premier League, Mercedes GP, Volvo Ocean Race, Ryder Cup, Nokia, O2, Lucozade and Zurich. Alastair will be working with the MediaCom Sport leadership team to incorporate the tools in the agency’s everyday work and practice.
The tools are already in use by a variety of client launch partners in the UK, including Audi, Subway, Skoda, Green Flag, and are now being rolled out across the agency’s broader group of clients globally.
James Hough, Managing Director of MediaCom Sport UK said: “As brands now recognise sponsorship as a legitimate marketing investment, it has become increasingly important to provide a more sophisticated quality of analysis. By looking beyond media value alone, and accounting for strategic and intangible factors in a more intelligent way, our Connected Sponsorship tools provide a significant step forward for the industry. This is what both brands and rights-holders have always wanted; a new level of credibility and accountability for assessing sponsorship value and impact. The reaction of our clients to these tools has been 100% positive, which for me is a great score by the most appropriate metric.”


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Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, on Monday, announced that it has completed 40 years as a joint venture with Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) of Japan, which was signed between the Government of India and Japanese marque in 1982. It also revealed that it became a subsidiary of SMC in 2002.
India’s largest homegrown car-maker, in its Annual Integrated Report for FY22 titled '40 years of Maruti Suzuki - Joy of Mobility’, said, “It has been 40 years since Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan, entered the Indian car market as a joint venture partner in the company to fulfill the aspirations of millions of Indians to own a reliable, affordable and modern technology car.”
RC Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Suzuki, while recognising the company’s contribution to the automobile sector over four decades, said, “This year is a landmark not only for your Company, but also for the country. We celebrate 75 years of Independence… Your Company also celebrates 40 years of the formation of the partnership with Suzuki of Japan… This resulted in the development of a modern competitive automobile industry in India, generation of millions of jobs and creation of immense wealth for the nation…”
Maruti Suzuki India, in terms of production volume and sales, is now SMC’s largest subsidiary which currently holds 56.37 per cent of its equity stake. Currently, Maruti Suzuki is a public limited company and its shares are traded at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
“MSIL not only created a modern automobile industry in India but brought in new concepts of quality, productivity and competitiveness to manufacturing activities in India. We now have a large component manufacturing industry that is of global standards... To mark 40 years of this wonderful partnership, your Company is intending to launch a number of new initiatives,” Bhargava added.
In FY22, Maruti Suzuki’s total sales increased by 13.4 per cent to 16.52 lakh units. In comparison, total domestic passenger vehicle sales in the Indian market stood at 30,69,499 units in 2021-22, as compared to 27,11,457 units in 2020-21, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data.
Maruti Suzuki also reported that it had lost out on sales in the first quarter of the fiscal due to the pandemic and production being affected by the shortage of semiconductors, mainly for domestic models. The company’s unmet bookings at the end of the year rose to about 2.7 lakhs, while its market share declined to 43.4 per cent from nearly 50 per cent as it lost some opportunity in the domestic market.
Bhargava, while detailing the company’s performance in FY22 and sharing optimism for the future, said, “During the current year (FY 2022-23), the vehicle production would increase as the situation regarding the availability of semi-conductors has improved. Your Company has also made further improvisations to enhance production. I am exhorting our team to reach 2 million units, though doing that remains a challenge.”
“We already have 26.3 MW of solar energy generation in operation in our plants at Gurgaon and Manesar. There is a plan to add another 21.85 MW by 2024. At Kharkhoda site, we plan to install another 20.0 MW of solar energy from the very beginning. Our employees are fully vaccinated and most have had the booster dose. We work closely with our supplier partners and dealers to ensure that they also adopt the best practices in respect of employee safety, health and adopting practices that would minimize risk of any damage from fire or other accidental causes,” he said while elaborating on carmaker’s continued strong focus on health, safety and environment.
Kenichi Ayukawa, Executive Vice Chairman, Maruti Suzuki - who had recently resigned as the Managing Director and CEO of the company and is moving on to higher responsibilities in Suzuki Japan - said, “Changes in technology, customer preference and many more aspects will surely bring more challenges. I am confident that Maruti Suzuki will use these as opportunities and emerge successful. As I handover the reins of this magnificent Company, I draw satisfaction that Maruti Suzuki is in the hands of able leadership led by Mr. Hisashi Takeuchi. I am sure under his leadership Maruti Suzuki will achieve even greater heights.”
Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki, in his first address to shareholders, shared his mission and said, “During the last 40 years, the Company has been satisfying mobility needs of many Indian people by providing affordable modern technology cars. However, only 3 per cent of Indian people enjoy the ownership of a car, and I would like to deliver this ‘Joy of Mobility’ to as many Indian people as possible. This is my personal mission. Majority of people love our products, and we also want them to join our large base of happy and loyal customers.”
Maruti Suzuki’s total revenue was Rs 900,891 million in FY22 as against Rs 732,789 million in the previous year showing an increase of 22.94 per cent. Sale of vehicles in the domestic market was 1,414,277 units as compared to 1,361,722 units in the previous year showing an increase of 3.86 per cent.
Total number of vehicles exported was 238,376 units as compared to 96,139 units in the previous year showing an increase of 147.95 per cent. Profit before tax (PBT) was Rs 45,823 million against Rs 51,594 million showing a decrease of 11.19 per cent and profit after tax (PAT) stood at Rs 37,663 million against Rs 42,297 million in the previous year showing a decrease of 10.96 per cent.
Copyright©2022 Living Media India Limited. For reprint rights: Syndications Today


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Popular social media platform Facebook has now renamed its parent company ‘Meta’ in line with its plans to focus on Metaverse business. With its new initiative, the company will focus on the NFT domain as well.
“This will make it easier for people to sell Limited Edition digital objects like NFTs, display them in their digital spaces and even resell them to the next person securely,” said Vishal Shah, head of the company’s Metaverse division.
Facebook had long been rumored to expand its focus on the Metaverse business. In August of this year, it was found that the company is considering implementing NFT-related functions in its digital wallet “Novi”.
At that time, David Marcus, the head of the company’s subsidiary Novi, said:
“It’s too early to talk about our plans, but we’re definitely looking at a number of plans to get involved in the space, because we’re in a good position to do so.”
Shah’s remarks were made at Facebook’s “Connect” event on the 28th. The company’s AR/VR division “Facebook Reality Labs” metaverse presentation material also included images suggesting that it would handle “NFTs”.
The company has revealed that it will not change the names of apps such as Facebook and Instagram.
The names of the apps that we build—Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp—will remain the same.
— Meta (@Meta) October 28, 2021


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SURFSIDE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – Two local Holiday Inn hotels may have been affected by a data breach that affected over 1,200 locations nationwide.
The company the runs Holiday Inn and Crown Plaza hotels is warning customers of the data breach, which potentially exposed credit card numbers, expiration dates and security codes from guests at nearly 1,200 locations.
The InterContinental Hotel Group says the locations were accessed by hackers between Sept. 29 and Dec. 29, 2016.
The Holiday Inn Oceanfront at Surfside Beach at 1601 N. Ocean Boulevard, and the Holiday Inn Express in North Myrtle Beach at 722 Highway 17 are the two local hotels affected, according to IHG.
IHG says malware searched for data from the magnetic strips of payment cards as they were routed through affected hotel servers.
The company says customers should review card statements and free credit reports with places like Equifax, Experian and TransUnion for any unauthorized activity.
Those who have questions and reside in the U.S. are asked to call IHG at 855-330-6367.
WCSC contributed to this report.


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Last week, Brazil slapped on a 30 percentage point increase in import tariffs of automobiles (the Mercosur trade bloc and Mexico are exempted). A major objective of this tariff is to slow surging imports from China.
Earlier this month, Brazil enacted important tariffs on certain steel products from China.
China is the largest trade partner of Brazil, which both heavily imports from and exports to China.
China’s biggest trade partner is the European Union.
Recently, the Eurozone has been hammered by its sovereign debt problems, which are threatening its entire banking system. Its economy is also dragged by austerity measures.
For China, it means their customer is struggling. In response, it’s trying to use the possibility of injecting cash in Europe to gain trade and investment regulation concessions.
So far, though, the Europeans haven’t yielded too much.
History has shown that prosperity and trade go hand in hand. When trade dries up – no matter whose fault it is – economies usually suffer.
Legendary investor Jim Rogers, a free trade advocate, is one of the concerned watchers of Brazil’s hawkish trade stance.
“I hope to tell you [trade] war doesn't break out,” Jim Rogers said on TV channel CNBC.
“Throughout history when you've had trade wars it's caused depression. You saw what happened in 1930. It led to depression. Ultimately it led to war. So I hope it can be contained. I was very surprised to see Brazil” enact a 30 percentage points tariff increase, he said.
When it comes to fair trade, though, China is no saint either.
By undervaluing its currency, China has accumulated a huge hoard of foreign exchange reserves.
At this vulnerable juncture of the global economy, it’s critical that those with capital spend it and invest it. China, however, is not spending enough domestically. Its undervalued currency makes it expensive to spend money abroad (i.e. import goods).
On the investment side, It’s blocked by wary Westerners who are concerned about the perceived Chinese encroach on their countries.
Please email Hao Li at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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What if you could order a magazine online and order the exact magazine cover, instead of the cover image?
You could even order a cover from one of the most influential magazines of all time, but you would have to go to a third-party company that would deliver it to your door.
That’s what a startup called “magazine-maker” company i.magazine is proposing to do.
The company, which was founded in December, has been in talks with retailers and publishers for the past year about creating a service that would let people order magazine covers online.
If it can get enough funding to do so, it will allow customers to buy magazines directly from the companies that produce them.
The service would then let users choose the magazine cover they want, rather than having to wait for a third party to deliver it.
Magazine-maker’s business model isn’t new.
Last year, i.
Magazine started accepting payments for magazine covers through the service, which then made it easier for customers to find a magazine cover to order.
Cmagazines had similar plans for a few years, but these services didn’t last very long.
Last fall, iMagazine decided to sell itself, and the company has since gone private.
The business model is still being considered by the i.M.
Magazine board, which has been working to figure out how to make money on the service.
“We’ve been talking with a lot of people about the business model and the possibilities of a magazine-maker for a while,” said i.
Magazine CEO and founder Jason Siegel.
“We were very happy with what we learned from it, but we were also very sad that we didn’t get to do that.
That’s what we’ve been looking for, is a way to bring the magazine business back.”
The startup is currently in talks to retailers about selling magazines on the iM.
Magazines platform, and it plans to start accepting payments later this year.
It’s not clear how much the service will cost, or when the first magazine covers will be available, but i.m.magazines has raised $15 million in funding, so the company says it’s looking to expand quickly.
It plans to ship its first magazine cover in September.
The business model i.cmagazines will be offering is a little different from the other magazines that are already in the market, because the magazine-makers would be paying publishers directly.
Instead of paying for a magazine, iCmagazine will be charging for the cover, which will then be delivered by i.p. magazine distributor.
That will enable i.n.c. to offer its own cover, and other magazines will be able to choose from them.
But the magazines will not be able buy the magazine itself.
Instead, iMMagazines is offering a subscription-based service that allows subscribers to order the cover for just $1.99.
The subscription will also include access to the magazine’s entire catalog.
The magazine’s website lists a variety of different cover options for the magazine, including the cover of the hit New York Times bestseller, the cover from the new Star Wars film, and more.
iCMagazines has also partnered with a publisher, Random House, to provide cover samples to subscribers who want to buy a magazine from the service’s catalog.
In the future, the company hopes to be able offer a broader range of cover options.
i.c magazines also has other plans for its future.
The startup has already built a store in Shanghai that it hopes to expand into a major international outlet.
It has also been talking to a number of companies about building a service in Europe, and Siegel said that it could eventually bring a new magazine cover service to Europe.
I.mag magazines will continue to sell magazines, but it will be a subscription service, and its current model is a bit limited, he said.
At the same time, i Cmagazines is planning to launch a magazine subscription service in the United States this year, he added.
For more, read: ‘The world’s most boring’ is the title for this week’s cover story from Recode.


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The new Italian government will introduce a ban on Sunday shopping in large commercial centers before the end of the year as it seeks to defend family traditions.
Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said that shopping is “destroying Italian families” and limiting shopping times could help keep the country traditional.
Small shopkeepers in Italy think this could be problematic for business.
Earlier this year, Poland restricted Sunday shopping.
ROME (Reuters) – The new Italian government will introduce a ban on Sunday shopping in large commercial centers before the end of the year as it seeks to defend family traditions, Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Sunday.
In a bid to spur economic growth, the then Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti liberalized Sunday trading in 2012, despite pressure from the Roman Catholic Church and unions who said the country needed to keep its traditional day of rest.See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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Alfa hopes that its latest creation, the Mi.To, will help it recover the struggling Italian brand. Mi.To’s projected sales are expected to reach between 70,000 and 75,000 a year and if it does, the target “will be the first spark in Alfa”s recovery,” according to Alfa’s CEO, Luca De Meo.
The Mi.To is set to go on sale in July in some parts of Europe with a starting price of €16,000 ($25,243). Alfa says that the Mi.To as a rival to the BMW MINI brand with its aggressive design inspired by the 8C Competizione supercar.
So will the Mi.To come to the U.S. when the Italian brand makes its return to the stateside? While there is no official word as of yet, don’t doubt it for a second. Alfa engineered the Mi.To to comply with US safety and emission standards, so the car could be sold in North America after the Alfa returns to the U.S. next year.
Alfa Mi.To Gallery:
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
[tags]Cars, Car, Auto, Automobile, Vehicles, Technology, Auto News, News, Automotive, Alfa, Romeo[/tags]


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Business of…Camel products
As Europe approves camel milk, Kipp look at some of today’s camel-related items
March 7, 2012 10:57 by shafeer
A trip to the bastikiya in Dubai with $5.45 (20AED) in your pocket can land you a quick meal of camel burger at the Local House restaurant, a traditional Emirati restaurant in Dubai.
Added to the menu last year, Kipp’s online research for ‘camel burgers’ show the top three hits are news pieces about the restaurant from Reuters, Telegraph and CNN.
Touted as a fat- and cholesterol-free alternative, the burgers is prepared with cheese and special burger sauce and served with a choice of fries and potato wedges.
According to the Telegraph article, a fast food outlet in Saudi Arabia put baby camel burgers on its menu last year.
Kipp hasn’t yet tasted this delicacy. Have any of you?
Photo is the actual order from Local House, from www.straitstimes.com


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BDEW 2011 Customer Focus on Households
Customer behaviour strengthens competition
Survey shows considerably higher switching rate than the year before / Consumers continue to appreciate security of electricity supply
A growing number of household customers make use of the possibility of changing their electricity supplier. As compared to 2010, the switching rate in the previous year rose by more than four percentage points and cumulatively totals approximately 26 percent at the present time. This rate increased in the gas sector as well: Currently, it amounts to somewhat more than 14 percent. This is the result of the BDEW 2011 Customer Focus, a representative customer survey of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (Bundesverband der Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft – BDEW) carried out by the market research institute "promit".
"The survey impressively shows that a growing number of customers knows how to use the various offers of the energy market and thus strengthen competition in Germany", Hildegard Müller, Chairwoman of BDEW’s General Executive Management said. According to the BDEW, the German household customers can currently choose among 102 electricity suppliers and 37 gas suppliers, on average. About 1,100 electricity suppliers and more than 800 gas suppliers existed in Germany at the present time.
Furthermore, it was encouraging to see that in times of energy transition consumers have large confidence in their suppliers, Müller underlined. According to the results of the survey, almost 70 percent of the persons interviewed trust their energy utility. 90 percent are satisfied or extremely satisfied with the security and reliability of their electricity supplier, while this percentage totals 87 for gas suppliers. Almost 45 percent of the interviewed customers said that their energy supplier supported the development of renewable energies (2010: 38 percent).
A further result of the survey was that less than one fifth of household customers are unsatisfied with the price to performance ratio of their electricity supplier. 40 percent consider it to be reasonable, 37 percent even to be good or very good. "Energy utilities in Germany offer different tariffs adjusted to the specific needs and requirements of certain customer groups. The BDEW advises customers to inform themselves about suitable individual offers of their supplier", Müller said.


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$NUE's average sales price per ton for 3Q15 decreased 15% from last year and total tons shipped to outside customers fell 13% to 5.88MM tons. Total steel mill shipments decreased 10% and downstream steel products shipments to outside customers declined 3% from a year ago.
Any idea why some investors are happy about the disastrous $UA results??
Wow! GM killed it with earnings today! Did not expect this after $F gave the feeling it will eclipse the Chevy maker completely!
Oil rebound starting to show up in energy stocks. $XOM $CVX
I have a feeling "CLOUDy" days are ahead, with $AMZN leading the pack.
$AAL is giving pay hikes to its employees but investors are sulking.


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Bank of Japan officials are concerned about increasing signs of weakness in the economy following a sales-tax increase, according to people familiar with the central bank’s discussions.
Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and his board will discuss this week if they should lower their assessment of the nation’s exports and also whether to express caution about a decline in industrial production, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.
Economists from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and UBS AG cut their estimates for second-quarter gross domestic product after data showed exports unexpectedly declined, retail sales dropped more than forecast and output fell the most since the March 2011 earthquake. The BOJ is forecast to maintain its record stimulus at a two-day meeting ending Aug. 8.
“The latest data flow out of Japan has not been pretty,” Izumi Devalier, Japan economist at HSBC Holdings Plc in Hong Kong, wrote in an e-mailed note yesterday. “We think the government and central bank will face increasing pressure over the coming weeks to deliver additional stimulus if data continues to disappoint.”
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe increased the sales levy by 3 percentage points in April, hitting consumer spending and ending six straight quarters of growth in the world’s third-biggest economy. Industrial production tumbled 3.3 percent in June from the previous month, the steepest decline in more than three years, as manufacturers cut back in response to weak consumption.
The volley of weak data overshadowed a July 17 report from Abe’s Cabinet Office in which the government raised its assessment of the economy for the first time in six months, saying a drop in demand after sales-tax increase was easing.
“We are finally seeing the real impact of the sales tax,” said Maiko Noguchi, senior economist at Daiwa Securities Co. in Tokyo and a former central bank official. “The rebound from the tax hike is going to be anemic.”
The BOJ will keep policy unchanged at its meeting this week, according to all 34 economists in a survey by Bloomberg News. Twenty-six percent of those surveyed forecast easing to come at one of two meetings in October.
Japanese companies have found little extra support from overseas demand, with shipments stagnating, even after reflationary policies championed by Abe helped to weaken the yen 17 percent against the dollar since he took power in December 2012. The currency was little changed at 102.58 per dollar at 11:43 a.m. in Tokyo.
Exports dropped 1.1 percent in three months through June from the previous quarter, when they declined 1 percent, according to the Bank of Japan.
Reuters reported earlier that BOJ policy makers may propose lowering their view of exports and industrial output.
After the production data on July 30, JPMorgan cut its GDP forecast to an annualized contraction of 7.5 percent for the second quarter and UBS reduced its projection for the economy to contract 8.2 percent. The GDP report for the three months through June is due on Aug. 13.


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We can’t count how many times we “wished upon a star” growing up, but as it turns out, dreams really do come true. Only this time, it’s thanks to the most high-profile designers in the industry as opposed to Walt Disney himself.
Jasmin by Escada/Photos via Vogue UK
After much anticipation, Harrod’s Disney Princess display was finally unveiled yesterday. Fashion’s biggest designers crafted enviable contemporary gowns for the iconic characters, with Versace


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(CNN) — your credit rating could quickly get down — or up.
FICO announced Thursday its latest variation of this FICO rating, a three-digit quantity that assesses a person’s credit danger. The brand new scoring model will need customers’ financial obligation amounts into consideration and can more closely track signature loans.
Previous scoring models took snapshots of the person’s payment history. Continue reading “Exactly About Exactly Just How Changes Are Coming To Your Credit Rating”


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The reason Republican health-care plans are doomed
Sometimes, in some weird markets, too much consumer choice can be a bad thing.
Unfortunately for Republicans, health insurance happens to be one of those weird markets.
Republicans believe the problem with the health-care system is that Americans are forced to buy too much insurance, in plans that are too prescribed. Their solution is to give consumers more choices for what kinds of plans (including no plan at all) they can buy.
The Consumer Freedom Option, recently proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), is emblematic of this: It would allow insurers to sell plans that don't comply with Obamacare regulations (such as protections for preexisting conditions), so long as they also sell at least one plan that does.
"We're guaranteeing them exactly what they have now but giving them more options," Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said Sunday. "Options that would inevitably unleash free-market forces, that would in turn bring down the price of health care."
And who doesn't like options?
Choice is as American as apple pie, a core perk of living in a capitalist society. We are free to choose whatever car or yogurt we want, from an enormous menu of colors, features, flavors and prices, and economists (generally) believe we're happier for it.
But the health insurance market has some distinctive properties that mean too many choices can lead the whole market to unravel. This would leave nearly everyone -- consumers, insurers and health-care providers -- much worse off.
Why? The answer is somewhat counterintuitive. So counterintuitive, in fact, that the economists who figured it out won Nobel Prizes for the insight. Let's take it step by step.
At its core, offering greater "choice" in health plans means eliminating both standardization and basic quality minimums.
Eliminating standardization -- for example, Obamacare's rules for what benefits are covered, coverage tiers and out-of-pocket maximums -- would make it much harder for consumers to comparison-shop.
Shopping for health insurance is already super-complicated and time consuming, and lots of people make objectively bad choices. You have to comb through fine print and in-network doctor lists. You have to sort out which deductibles and premiums match your family's likely needs and risk tolerance. Imagine how much more complicated this would become if insurers could offer many more plan configurations with more hidden exceptions and fewer quality controls.
Maybe one plan covers breast cancer but not throat cancer. Another covers statins, but only if you've never been diagnosed with heart disease, or maybe just one month's supply. With so many variables, and so much opportunity for obfuscation, apples-to-apples comparisons become impossible.
Consumers might also end up buying "mini-med" insurance that turns out to cover virtually nothing. This happened a lot pre-Obamacare.
There's a larger problem than consumer confusion, though. It's that the entire individual market would fall apart under Cruz's plan because of adverse selection -- the idea that people with higher health costs will self-select into more generous coverage.
The cost to a supermarket of selling you a yogurt is basically the same as the cost of selling me a yogurt. That's not true for health insurance, where I might turn out to be a much more expensive customer than you are.
In a world where patients know more about their health status (e.g., a bum knee) or future health spending (e.g., pregnancy, long-delayed surgery) than insurers do, insurers try to attract only the cheapest, healthiest enrollees by offering the cheapest, stingiest plans. Cruz would eliminate quality minimums, remember.
When consumers have a choice of many plans, and insurers can tweak those plans to attract the healthiest patients, you get a death spiral.
In Cruz's health insurance market, sick people would end up in the relatively generous, Obamacare-compliant plans, which couldn't turn away patients -- and healthy people would get siphoned off into the mini-med plans, which could. Or these healthy people would drop their insurance altogether, since there would no longer be a mandate.
With only sick people in the Obamacare-compliant plans, the plans would become very expensive, causing slightly less sick people to drop out, causing the pool to get even sicker (and costlier), causing even more people to drop out. And so on.
Cruz says the government would kick in money to subsidize coverage in these plans, but we've already seen how limited Republicans' appetite is for adequately funding high-risk pools (which Obamacare-compliant plans would essentially become).
In the end, we'd have what we had on the individual market pre-ACA: healthy people buying razor-thin coverage, and few good answers for everyone else. All because Republicans gave consumers, and insurers, that beloved freedom to choose.
Catherine Rampell is a columnist for The Washington Post. Her email address is firstname.lastname@example.org. Follow her on Twitter, @crampell.


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As we had expected, Google has officially turned the lights off for Reader. The service went offline around midnight, however there is a bit of good news for those who may have been slacking in terms of downloading your data. Google will have all of your subscription data available until the middle of July.
Specifically, Google has said the Reader subscription data will be available until until 12PM PST July 15, 2013. The Reader data includes your subscriptions along with lists of people you follow, items you have starred, notes that you have created and more. Of course, we suspect most will be interested only in the subscription list.
The data is available by way of Google Takeout and just to drive this point home, you will only have access to grab that data until July 15th. In fact, Google has made it quite clear that it will be deleted afterward. In what is likely to be the final posting on the Reader Blog, the team has said “all subscription data will be permanently, and irrevocably deleted” as of July 15th.
Further details mention that after July 15th Google “will not be able to recover any Google Reader subscription data for any user.” Bottom line — get your Reader data before July 15th or lose it forever. Otherwise, aside from the doom sounding get your data before the 15th bit, Google has also taken a final opportunity to thank the users.
Or perhaps more important for some, the Reader Team briefly mentioned about how they understand you may not agree with this decision and pointed users to the alternativeTo website for other options. Of course, we shared some of our alternatives in a post here on Android Community yesterday.
SOURCE: Google Reader Blog


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Volvo looks away from the road to Skype for Business
Volvo Cars will introduce Skype for Business to its new 90 Series vehicles. This makes Volvo the first carmaker to launch an in-car productivity tool like Microsoft's collaborative app. This could be just a new distraction, or it could be a next step in autonomous driving.
Volvo announced that Skype for Business would be available as an in-car app in its S90, V90 and other 90 Series vehicles starting with the 2017 model year. The infotainment-based app syncs with the user's smartphone to display upcoming meetings and participation details, and allows the joining of meetings with a touch of the infotainment screen. Meeting codes and logins are automatic, freeing the user from remembering or entering these distracting details.
As the video below shows, Volvo is also including some note-taking capability to go with the Skype addition. The company says that this partnership with Microsoft may also mean that Microsoft's Cortana personal assistant will be coming soon. That would allow more seamless voice recognition and command response for in-car apps.
"Skype for Business represents another big step forward for our in-car connectivity and communication offer," said Anders Tylman-Mikiewicz, VP of Consumer Connectivity Services at Volvo Car Group. "With the dawn of autonomous cars we see a future where flexible in-car productivity tools will enable people to reduce time spent in the office. This is just the beginning of a completely new way of looking at how we spend time in the car."
Tylman-Mikiewicz is hinting towards a future use of these types of technologies, when cars are driving themselves. Volvo has long been exploring autonomous vehicle technologies and is considered a pioneer in road train and vehicle-to-vehicle communications techs.


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Fees send TCF Bank customers packing
TCF Bank customers are leaving over account fees, but bank officials said they don't know how many have left or which particular fee pushed them over the edge.
Revenue from fees and service charges — the bank's largest source of non-interest income — continued to shrink. Fee revenue dropped to $41.86 million in the first quarter, down $9.15 million (about 18 percent) from year-end and $11.66 million from the same quarter last year.
Card revenue, at $13.21 million, dropped by 3 percent from the end of the year but was down 50 percent from the first quarter of 2011.
TCF CEO and Chairman Bill Cooper said a new daily overdraft fee assessed against accounts with negative balances generated less revenue than prior overdraft practices and sent customers to other banks or to leave the banking system entirely.
Growing retail fee income remains a challenge for TCF, which is "focusing laser-like" on customer attrition and plans to implement new solutions in the months ahead "to stem that tide and reverse it," Cooper said.
"Some of this has been experimental. Some has worked and some of it hasn't worked," he said.
TCF has fewer checking customers, but account activity volume is up, Chief Information Officer Earl Stratton said. He could not say how many customers have recently left the bank.
The bank recently changed the way it sorted customer transactions when determining if an account has been overdrawn. The change, from high-to-low ordering to a more chronological approach, will likely reduce fee revenue, but was only implemented in late March. It's still not clear whether they will prefer that method or the daily negative overdraft charge, said TCF Executive Vice President of Funding, Operations and Finance Tom Jasper.
"It's really early to be making any predictions around that. … We're less than 30 days into it," he said.
Jim Hammerand reports on Twin Cities breaking business news for MSPBJ.com and manages online features and social media.
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Best Money-Saving Hotel Tips2013-07-15
Which country has the highest-priced hotels? The immediate answer is the Maldives, according to Hotels.com’s recently released Hotel Price Index. But the real takeaway is that for the past few years hotel prices have been rising across the globe, no matter which country you choose to visit.
The average room rate rose by an average of 3% in 2012, according to Hotels.com. Thankfully, there are plenty of savvy ways to save money on a hotel room today — you just need to know the insider tricks. Many have to do with navigating the increasingly complex landscape of online booking. You’ll find start-up websites such as Tingo, which offers automatic refunds when a room rate drops. DealAngel, meanwhile, will help you decide if that online find is really such a steal. And all the major booking sites are embracing “bundling” as a way to drop rates.


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Facebook expected to join Apple, Google & Microsoft on Nasdaq
Facebook's forthcoming initial public offering is expected to be offered on the Nasdaq Stock Market, joining a host of other major technology companies like Apple, Microsoft and Google.
The massive social networking site is expected to raise as much as $10 billion with its IPO, and it will be the biggest offering since Google hit the market in 2004. In what is seen as a major victory for the Nasdaq, Facebook other tech giants on that exchange in May, anonymous sources told The Wall Street Journal.
Facebook's alliance with the Nasdaq would be significant because it is in heated competition with the New York Stock Exchange for listings. Last year, LinkedIn opted to join the NYSE while Groupon went with Nasdaq.
Nasdaq remains the world's second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization, behind the NYSE. As of January, the Nasdaq had a total capitalization of over $4.5 trillion.
AAPL stock is by far the biggest offering on the Nasdaq, or any stock exchange, as the Cupertino, Calif., company has the world's largest market cap of over $590 billion. As of Thursday's closing, Apple's market cap was nearly three times larger than rival Google.
Facebook and Apple have had a number of run-ins with each other over the years, both in partnerships and in disputes. Last November, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg revealed that Steve Jobs coached him on building Facebook, giving him guidance on focusing his company and choosing the right management team.
In conversations with biographer Walter Isaccson, Jobs revealed that he admired Zuckerberg for trying to grow Facebook into a major company instead of selling it.
Facebook officially filed for its IPO in February, revealing that the company earned $3.7 billion in revenues and made $1 billion in profits in 2011. The social networking company hopes its IPO will raise $5 billion.
[ View article on AppleInsider ]


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Pier 1 Imports Inc. PIR, -2.55% on Tuesday said the New York Stock Exchange has notified the company about unusual trading in Pier 1 shares. The NYSE has asked Pier 1 to respond to the unusual activity in a press release. The home furnishings retailer said its policy is not to comment on market rumors or speculation including unusual market activity. Pier 1 shares rose 22% Tuesday after a published report indicated that the company could be bought. In May the company said it would consider strategic alternatives that could include a sale.
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Round-Up - CAGE 2012
The world's analysts descended on London this week for the Consumer Analyst Group of Europe conference. just-drinks and sister site just-food were the exclusive media partners for the three-day event. Here's a round-up of our exclusive coverage.
Major growth rates in emerging markets will mean these regions will rise to represent a third of the Coca-Cola Co's global business by 2020, a senior company representative has forecast.
The growing US cider market mirrors the country's craft beer sector 20 years ago and can reach similar levels over time, the boss of C&C Group has argued.
The head of Danone says he expects volume sales from its bottled water division to remain “resilient”, but warned that Western European markets continue to be “of concern” for the wider business.
The head of SABMiller's operations in Africa has said that the scramble for mergers & acquisitions in the continent's brewing category is pretty much over.
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Today is the 7th National Handloom Day. The handloom industry is one of the essential part of the cultural heritage of Panipat. Machinery may have given a new dimension to the handloom industry, but even today, Panipat is recognized in the world in the handmade industry. Handmade handlooms products are most liked by Americans and Europeans.
Exporter Raman Chhabra says that even today 50% of our total export (17 thousand crores) is of handloom i.e. hand made products. Even today, not only Pit Loom-Khadi, but Charkha is also being used here. Exporter Vinod Dhamija says that both our business and industry will grow very fast in the coming times.
The handloom industry in Panipat existed even before independence, but then blankets were made on pit looms. Ramesh Puhal, who wrote a book on Nandlal, says that Utsad Nandlal, who settled in Rohtak from Pakistan, was brought to Panipat after finding the government. Then Nandlal started the pit. That remains our identity.
Today Panipat has a handloom business of 120 thousand crores. In which there are the domestic businesses of more than 90 thousand crores and exports more than 17 thousand crores. Chhabra says that China's 2000 crore business has got to the exporters of Panipat for the first time contains polyester products.
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Ralink this week announced a new 802.11n chipset with a carefully-crafted pitch. 802.11n tends to be thought of as using MIMO technology to achieve its 100Mbps+ speeds. But the chipset doesn’t use MIMO and Ralink doesn’t use the term in its announcement.
Instead, the RT2700 chipset is described as using a “1T2R” (one transmit, two receive) configuration that the company says is “capable of up to 300 Mbps downstream and 150 Mbps upstream PHY rates”. And while Ralink doesn’t say “1T2R” is MIMO, which it isn’t, the enumeration of transmit and receive channels implies MIMO technology, since this is common practice for MIMO products.
The next example pushes the envelope a bit further. Buffalo has changed the name of its WHR-HP-G54 wireless router and WLI-CB-G54HP notebook card from “Turbo G High Power” to “Wireless-G MIMO Performance”. To its credit, Buffalo appends an asterisk to each use of “MIMO Performance” that links to a clear disclaimer. The disclaimer states that the products are not designed to 802.11n, but “outperform[s] two radio/three antenna MIMO technology beyond certain distances”.
Those of us who have been around the wireless LAN block a few times understand what is being said. But do you think the typical wireless buyer trolling the aisles looking to solve his crappy wireless connection does? They are more likely to see the all-caps “MIMO” with the lower price (than other “MIMO” products) and take it home.
The last example is the worst of the three. SMC’s “g MIMO” product line might be using the Ralink chip, since it uses the specific “1T2R” terminology that Ralink uses. But SMC goes right ahead and puts MIMO right into the product name, gives the products three antennas (just like real MIMO products have) and has no disclaimers on the products’ website descriptions or downloaded datasheets.
So even as technology marches on and wireless performance is entering an era of true higher performance, consumers must continue to be on guard. Marketeers are continuing to do their jobs, which is to get you to buy their company’s products. And so you must continue to do your job, which is to arm yourself with knowledge so that you can choose products wisely.


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If you're rocking an iPhone, you've probably noticed most models have looked pretty much the same from year to year. If you're someone who likes to stand out, you may be wondering about ways to make the typically uniform smartphone look more like your own. Check out these 10 awesome ways you can customize your iPhone to your liking. Not only will they help your iPhone look better but it will function better, too.
Photos of Apple's upcoming iPhone (rumored to be called the iPhone 11) have finally leaked on the internet -- along with a number of anticipated tech specs and details. The phone looks poised to deliver a powerful new set of chips, a better camera, and better battery life than the current offerings from Apple's stable. As for design, well, you'll just have to see it for yourself. Could this phone be the next big thing for Apple? Or should you hold off on upgrading until next year?
In 2012, Apple threw its customers for a loop by releasing the iPhone 5 -- a brand new form factor requiring a brand new charging cord. Now, it looks as if Apple is attempting to repeat history. Leaked iPhone schematics -- along with a mysterious graphic in the code of the upcoming iOS 13 -- point to a new generation of charging cables on Apple's latest device. Strangely enough, the reaction this time might be more positive than negative.
Samsung had its big event Wednesday where it announced a bundle of new products. With all the hype, Samsung certainly delivered. There were rumors of their foldable phone and we finally got to see it in action - and boy was it amazing. Not to mention they announced 3 other incredible products coming out that will blow your mind.
The big day is almost here! On Wednesday, September 12, Apple will finally reveal this year's highly anticipated new iPhones and a slew of its other products. We'll be live blogging all of the action, so you'll have updates as soon as they happen. Make sure you visit Komando.com's front page on Sept. 12. In the meantime, you're probably wondering what Apple already has in the works.
We knew Apple was going to release some new gadgets, including iPhones, but we did not quite know when that would be. Now we do. Apple has invited people to an event that will take place in Cupertino, California, in which they are expected to unveil a host of new and fun devices. It is a highly-anticipated event, and it will no doubt have plenty of eyes glued to what transpires.
Way back in 2015, Apple debuted a much-hyped technology with the iPhone. It was supposed to be a game-changing feature, but due to a combination of poor implementation, a lack of app support and limited user awareness, it is not as widely accepted as it deserves to be. Now, after years of languishing in relative obscurity, it looks like Apple is ditching the technology for good.


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For some weird reason, we get a kick out of the traveller’s surveys that come out of TripAdvisor. The most recent was a survey of 2,500 users of the TripAdvisor website about their outlook on travel for 2008.
- 41% of Americans said unfavorable exchange rates will prevent or limit their travel to Europe
- 26% intend to be more environmentally conscious in their travel
- 34% of Americans are planning to engage in an educational activity on vacation this year
- 48% of travelers are likely to visit a spa while on vacation
- 80% of travelers are concerned about germs, bacteria and viruses while traveling
- 78% of travelers believe that cell phones should not be allowed on flights


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Sony Ericsson to announce 2011 financial results on Thursday
0. phoneArena 17 Jan 2012, 06:52 posted on
Sony Ericsson has announced that it’s releasing its financial data for the last quarter of 2011 and the whole year on Thursday, January 16th, at…
This is a discussion for a news. To read the whole news, click here
1. RamyRamz69 (Posts: 390; Member since: 12 Dec 2011)
I hope it's better than the 2010 results. Xperia Arc S was a great device that sold good numbers worldwide to be honest. Same thing with the Ray and Active.
2. darac (Posts: 2156; Member since: 17 Oct 2011)
you mean 2011? :-P
last year and a half wasn't bad for SE , four quarters of profit, one with a slight loss, and one with a positive zero.
I expect they report a slight profit this time
3. darac (Posts: 2156; Member since: 17 Oct 2011)
actually, Sony sold around seven million Xperias in q 3, which makes it the third largest android maker, behind Samsung and HTC


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has taken off after the travel booking company delivered a positive working capital in the first half of the 2022 financial year as high booking volumes return.
Webjet delivered a cash surplus of $3.5 million per month, compared to a $5.5 million average monthly cash burn in FY21. Total transaction volume, revenue and EBITDA were all up compared to the previous comparable period, reflecting the gradual reopening of global travel markets. Total revenue reached $55.4 million, compared to $22.6 million.
The company's WebBeds business has been profitable since July, driven by domestic markets in North America and Europe.
“1H22 results largely reflect the turnaround in WebBeds with that business now producing positive cash. Our decision to target new domestic opportunities while international markets were closed and expand WebBeds’ presence in the large North American B2B market has returned that business to profitability," said managing director John Guscic.
Webjet said the third quarter of FY22 is currently tracking ahead of the second quarter. The company said it expects to be back at pre-Covid booking volumes by the second half of FY23.
Shares in Webjet (ASX:WEB)
are trading 2.3 per cent higher at $5.72.


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Obamacare remains key concern for the retail and restaurant industries
The re-election of Barrack Obama has some members of the retail and restaurant industries worrying about how four more years will affect their bottom lines.
In a recent article on the National Retail Federation website, Craig Shearman, vice president of government affairs public relations, summed up the outcome as a “status-quo election”: Obama remains president and Congress remains divided, with Republicans having the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Democrats having the majority in Senate.
So the same concerns the retail and restaurant industry had before the election remain their concerns post-election, Shearman states. What are the key issues that will impact the industry? No surprise, Obamacare and tax issues made the list.
To the latter, Shearman points out that of the $500 billion in tax increases coming down the pipeline, most of that will be as a result of the expiration of the Bush tax cuts for individuals — a situation that “could have a substantial impact on consumer spending.”
And when consumers don’t spend, retailers lose money.
And with the re-election of Obama, so goes perhaps that last chances that Obamacare would be overturned. If anything, the re-election has been seen as a validation of the Affordable Care Act, and implementation will likely speed up, writes Shearman, adding that the reform is “highly unlikely to be repealed.”
It is a scenario that has many restaurant owners very worried, notes Paul Frumkin in the Nation’s Restaurant News. He quotes Rob Green, executive director of the National Council of Chain Restaurants, saying this legislation “puts chain restaurants in the bull’s-eye.”
Tricia Lynn Silva covers real estate, retail, construction, and law firms; she also plans and edits some special reports.
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China’s domestic auto industry is becoming more challenging. The market remains highly fragmented, with the top four players accounting for just 40 percent of the market (vs. 60 percent in the U.S.). However, Chinese automakers are increasingly capable of producing vehicles that are good enough to be sold globally.
In 2009, China surpassed the U.S. as the world’s largest auto market. But more surprisingly China became the largest market for electric vehicles in 2015. The timing is apt, especially as Chinese policymakers are getting serious about tackling both pollution and congestion. Chinese automakers are also eyeing up export opportunities in overseas markets. Non-Chinese automakers should prepare for the day when their partners in the world’s largest market become their newest rivals.
Growth forecast for China's EV production


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Earlier this week we reported that a city councilman was going to attempt to make ticket buying more fan friendly. Yesterday morning, councilman Dan Garodnick held the first hearing on what we'll call, for now, The Radiohead Law (since that band's concerts in New York last month are what inspired him). He Tweeted from the hearing yesterday, "One witness talks about the difficulty of getting Knicks tickets. Knicks games these days are trying enough!"
The new legislation, introduced by Queens City Councilman Leroy Comrie, would require venues with 3,000 or more seats to be forced to reserve at least 15 percent of their tickets for the general public, available at the box office. Garodnick says, "People are increasingly frustrated by the fact that when they go to buy tickets to an event, they sell out in a nanosecond," later forcing the fan to spend way over face value if they want to get into the show, presumably stuffing the pockets of the artist they want to see. As we previously noted, artists like Katy Perry and Taylor Swift are hoarding their own tickets to sell via secondary markets at higher rates. DNA Info reports that in 2009 Taylor Swift only made 1,600 of 13,000 tickets available to the public; when tickets sell out in mere seconds, it creates more buzz for the artist.
Garodnick's crusade is shockingly being criticized by Ticketmaster. The corporate monolith says, “While well-intentioned the bill the City Council is considering would do exactly what it is trying to prevent. This bill would help scalpers and brokers gain access to more face-value tickets only to resell them to fans at much higher prices. The only people that lose in this scenario are the fans." Even if they should significantly lower their fees, they may have a point.
Can a world where there's only one Radiohead ever be a world where every fan is satisfied and gets to see them? Probably not. But, and this is a true story, Ike Willis once told us backstage at a small club in Providence that Frank Zappa had been working on a hologram machine which would allow him to play simultaneous concerts all over the world. Get into the laboratory, Ticketmaster. And until then, try actually providing "service" if you continue to bill us for "service charges."


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Dual-interface credit and debit card sales lifted CPI Card Group Inc.’s second-quarter sales figure, the company reported Wednesday.
As the nation’s issuers increase their orders for the near-field communications-equipped chip cards—the cards can be dipped into a point-of-sale terminal or tapped against compatible devices to do a transaction—Littleton, Colo.-based CPI is seeing some benefit.
In the quarter, CPI reported $51.1 million in U.S. debit and credit card sales, up 16.7% from $43.8 million a year ago. CPI’s prepaid debit sales in the quarter totaled $16 million, up 3.9% from $15.4 million. In its earnings release, CPI attributed the increases to a double-digital percentage increase in EMV card manufacturing volumes, “propelled by dual-interface EMV cards, as well as higher card personalization and fulfillment sales.”
Card makers, in general, may experience a bit of a boon as the dual-interface conversion continues. In July, Visa Inc. forecast the number of its contactless cards will reach 300 million by the end of 2020. The brand’s earlier forecast called for 100 million by the of 2019. Even contact-only EMV cards have more room to grow. EMVCo, the payment standards body, said 53.5% of U.S. card-present transactions in 2018 were chip-on-chip, meaning both the card and point-of-sale terminal were EMV-enabled. By comparison, the figure is 97.8% for much of Western Europe.
Overall, CPI had $66.9 million in second-quarter revenue, up 8.8% from $61.5 million. Its net income reversed from a $16.7 million loss to a $1.5 million gain.
In related news, Atlanta-based payments provider EVO Payments Inc. on Wednesday reported second-quarter adjusted revenue of $150 million, up 6% from $140.9 million in the year-ago period. Reported revenue for the quarter was $122.5 million. “We are pleased with our business and financial performance in the second quarter and the first half of the year,” said chief executive James G. Kelly, in a statement.
EVO, which historically has maintained strong operations in overseas markets, pointed to advances abroad achieved in the quarter. “We announced a new 10-year, exclusive joint venture with Bci in Chile to expand our distribution further into Latin America,” Kelly said. “We also continued to develop our tech-enabled capabilities in our international markets, such as Mexico, Spain, and Ireland, to complement our strong bank-referral channels.”
Bci is Santiago-based Banco de Credito e Inversiones, which has issued more than 2.5 million payment cards and maintains operations in Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, and China, as well as the state of Florida.


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News & Updates
While most OEMs are just fine stuffing anywhere between 1,800mAh and 3,500mAh batteries inside their phones, Doogee — a Chinese company — wants to go well beyond that. The company’s latest smartphone, the HomTom HT6, brings to the table a huge 6,250mAh battery
Even if that pre-launch leak didn’t paint the phone in the best light, it seems a lot of people are excited about the OnePlus 2. So many, that OnePlus’ pre-invite reservation list has now topped over 1 million signups. That’s pretty impressive.
Motorola officially took the wraps off their 2015 lineup earlier this week when they announced not two, but three new devices launching this year: the Moto X Style (Pure Edition in the US), Moto X Play, and Moto G 2015. It seems they could be hiding another ace up their sleeves…
We haven’t heard much from Sony’s camp as far as their plans for the second half of 2015, but the company is teasing a new announcement for August 3rd. They did so on Twitter, with a post teasing that they’ll be showing us “a new way to capture split second photos.”
Samsung today unleashed their full earnings report for Q2 2015. It looks good from our end, with revenues of $41.5 billion and profit of $5.9 billion. The mobile division even had a good chunk of that profit at $2.4 billion. But from Samsung’s perspective, things could be much better.
With the OnePlus 2 and Motorola X Style (Pure Edition in the states) flagships being unveiled this week with huge 5.5-inch+ displays, our hope of finding a phone we can easily use with hand now lies in the Nexus 5 (2015).
We’ve safely escorted the Moto G 2015 back to our domicile and we felt it appropriate to have a little chat about this very capable device.
The Moto X Style will be known as the Moto X Pure Edition right here in the good ol’ US of A. That comes with some upsides and downsides, but one big upside is that carriers won’t needlessly delay the update process.
Motorola can tell us all day about their camera improvements in the Moto X Style / Pure Edition, but it helps to see something from a more objective source. A new review sees the phone getting high marks, just under the Galaxy S6/Edge, tying the Galaxy Note 4 for second place.
Wondering what some of the color options for the Moto X Style will look like when you order through Moto Maker? We got a close look at some of the options Motorola had on hand at today’s event.
Motorola sort of threw everyone for a loop when they officially announced this year’s flagship as the “Motorola Moto X Style.” Turns out, the phone will be known as the Motorola Moto X Pure Edition (2015) but only in the US.


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Geoff Keighley might deem his Summer Game Fest 2022 to be the last blow to E3’s lifeless body, but considering all the showcases that The Game Awards host has planned, he might not be far off the mark.
The former journalist took to Twitter today to announce that more than 30 gaming companies have signed up to hold activities and premieres in his SGF 2022 in June. Xbox, PlayStation, Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, SEGA, Netflix, Steam, 2K, Capcom, and Devolver Digital are but a few of the industry giants that will bring their line-up of video games to showcase to the world. Check out the whole list for yourself below.
Keighley claims that more companies will join that list, but it remains unclear whether each will have a showcase or contribute to the digital event in some other way. Though Summer Game Fest itself will be held on June 9, Keighley is loosely adopting other showcases throughout the month under the umbrella of the so-called biggest gaming festival of the year. That includes Microsoft’s June 12 Xbox & Bethesda Games showcase, and even Sony’s June 2 State of Play conference.
The host also teased fans by saying that a lot of announcements and surprise reveals are being kept under wraps for the time being.
“I’ve been spending the weekend working on my hype trailer that I edit to get us all ready for the shows that’ll be coming your way soon,” Keighley said. “We’ve got a lot to share and it’s going to be a different June than what we’re used to sometimes with E3. But I think it’s going to be exciting to see all the things that are coming. And in a digital world, I think things can pop up within a couple of days’ notice.”
Summer Game Fest 2022 is planned to start streaming on June 9 at 2 pm ET.


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OPPO A9 got leaked almost two days ago. At that time, we had no idea that the phone would make its way to the market so early. The good part of the news is that the handset went official earlier today boasting a massive battery of 4020 mAh & Helio P70 SoC.
OPPO A9 Specs, Color Options & price
The latest handset by OPPO features a 6.53-inch Full-HD+ notched display and has a screen-to-body ratio of 90.7%. The latest phone Oppo A9 is powered by Helio P70 SoC which is paired with the 6GB RAM. In addition to that, the smartphone runs Android Pie-based ColorOS 6 straight out of the box. Furthermore, it comes with 128GB of internal storage.
In addition to all this, the A9 flaunts a 3D gradient design. The OPPO A9 Color Options include Mica Green, Ice Jade White, and Fluorite Purple. Let’s have a look at them.
Furthermore, the smartphone comes with GameBoost 2.0. It has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and packs a massive 4,020 mAh battery that keeps the lights on. For photography, it sports a dual camera (16MP+2MP) set up at the rear and a 16MP selfie snapper on the front. The Oppo A9 price is set to be CNY1,799 (PKR 37,773). According to the latest reports, the sales of the phone will start on April 30 in China. However, there had been no words about the global availability of the handset yet.


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Morrisons looks to online and new brand marketing as profits fall
The Bradford-based supermarket believes it can increase its accessible market by around 40% by developing a “substantial presence” in convenience and online channels.
Chief executive, Dalton Philips said that plans, for launch of Morrisons.com are on target for a January 2014 launch:
“We’ve been working at pace on our online offer; the final pillar of our strategy. Morrisons.com will be making home deliveries of our great fresh food by the end of January 2014, supported through our long term service agreement with Ocado.”
Philips added that loyalty marketing campaign, Pay Day Bonus, had proved “very successful” as had a new and refocused marketing campaign, which was supported by in-store communications. These included the new Market Street branding created by Elmwood in Leeds, which is expected to roll out nationally.
It also also looked to strengthen its own brand offering, along with the arrival of new children’s clothing brand, Nutmeg.
Morrisons' pre-tax profits fell to £344m for the last 6 months, compared to £440m in the same period last year. Turnover remained relatively static at £8.9bn, but like-for-like sales dropped by 1.6%. Its share price rose following the announcement of the results.


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[Paleopsych] The Scotsman: Glasgow's diet was healthier in 1405
checker at panix.com
Thu Jun 9 01:05:38 UTC 2005
Glasgow's diet was healthier in 1405
GLASWEGIANS in 1405 had a better diet than the citizens of 2005,
eating their "five-a-day" 600 years ahead of its time.
Even their light beer was healthier than sugar-laden fizzy concoctions
that are today's favourite, according to new archaeological evidence.
It reveals a diet of porridge and small amounts of pork and fish made
medieval mealtime more nutritious than a visit to the chippy, the
pizza parlour or the ubiquitous American fast food joints.
And an absence of sugar in the diet meant medieval Glaswegians had
better teeth. In addition, they could not smoke, a major cause of
diseases that killed 119 out of every 100,000 men in the city last
Experts agreed yesterday we could learn from our predecessors' eating
habits as revealed by the council's new history and archaeology
Glasgow is developing a mapped medieval trail from Glasgow Cathedral
to the Clyde, the medieval hub of the city.
By analysing cesspit material, archaeologists discovered medieval
citizens ate a healthy diet of fruit, vegetables, cereals and fish. It
is a long way in time and culture from modern Glasgow, where obesity
is so commonplace because of a junk food diet of pizza, burgers and
fish suppers that the Scottish Executive is considering opening an
NHS-funded stomach-stapling clinic in the city.
Professor Stephen Driscoll of Glasgow University's archaeology
department, said: "Around 100 bodies examined showed good health and
the teeth were worn rather than decayed.
"The diet was healthier than today, with porridge, a little meat,
fish, milk, cottage cheese and vegetables and fruits."
At one excavation, in Bell Street, cesspit material revealed large
quantities of seeds and fish remains.
Councillor Catherine McMaster, on the working group for the medieval
project, said: "It seems they were into 'five-a-day', 600 years before
the rest of us. We modern Glaswegians could learn from it.
"We hope to reveal more of the city's rich tapestry of history by the
medieval trail, and it is ironic that it is already revealing that
they probably ate better then."
The "Glesca diet" is notoriously unhealthy, provoking the joke that
whole generations were brought up on "chips and lemonade".
In some areas, 80 per cent of children develop tooth decay by the age
of five because of a high consumption of fizzy drinks.
Recent research also showed that 63 per cent of schoolchildren in some
areas were "less healthy eaters".
Dr Frankie Phillips, of the British Dietetics Association, said:
"There wouldn't have been too many obese people in medieval times.
"We could certainly learn from some aspects of the diet that was
More information about the paleopsych


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New app could mean big bucks for retailers
Raise allows consumers to buy discounted digital gift cards instantly to redeem in-store or online. As payments shift to become increasingly digital, Raise is primed to become the largest player using prepaid technologies to help people save. This mobile wallet app provides a simple way to pay, helping Raise's nearly 2 million consumers who use the platform to save more money than ever before.
"Raise is altering the way consumers pay for everyday purchases and transforming payments in a way never before seen," said George Bousis, founder and CEO. "Raise has helped millions of consumers save and the addition of our new mobile app allows for a seamless experience for both retailers and consumers, making it the easiest and the most valuable mobile wallet."
The new mobile wallet makes digital gift cards easy to use both in-store and online for every purchase, every day. This ultimately allows brands to interact with and create more relationships with millions of consumers. Raise is bringing these relationships closer to retailers, helping brands continue to serve their best customers, while attracting new ones.
Innovative features on Raise's mobile app include:
- State-of-the-art location technology. Raise's mobile wallet includes new push notifications for "suggestions nearby." This new technology provides consumers with the ability to know which cards stored in their Raise wallet can be spent at stores and restaurants in close proximity.
- Redesigned cart and optimized checkout. Raise's new mobile wallet includes a modernized cart for faster and easier purchases, including three-tap checkout with passcode confirmation, now supporting credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay on compatible devices. This optimized checkout experience features improved promo code integration and better use of data already stored in Apple Pay and Android Pay.
- Improved user interface. Raise's mobile wallet implements the highest-rated user interface of Raise-acquired mobile app Slide for streamlined access to gift cards. This interface includes an improved experience for loading gift cards consumers already have.
- Easier and faster access to gift cards. Raise's mobile wallet has expanded to include easier and faster access to gift cards bought on Raise, along with other marketplaces, for an enhanced redemption experience. This includes straightforward redemption methods with expanded support for more types of POS systems, better balance tracking and card management capabilities.
- Ability to reserve gift cards. Raise's mobile wallet app permits consumers to "reserve" a gift card in their cart for up to five minutes, in order to stop other buyers from taking the card, and assuring consumers that their desired purchase is theirs.
According to Raise, it aims to transform how consumers buy products in-store and online through gift cards. Raise's launch of the new app is the first step in many changes as the company moves to be mobile-first.


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Private equity firms including Advent International, Cinven and Warburg Pincus are considering bids for a group of GlaxoSmithKline‘s non-prescription products, Reuters reported. Up for sale are several over-the-counter drugs including painkillers and vitamin supplements. The products have sales of around 500 million pounds ($817 million), representing about 10% of the company’s total consumer healthcare business, Reuters reported.
(Reuters) – At least three private equity firms are planning to bid for a clutch of GlaxoSmithKline’s non-prescription products, expecting limited competition from rival large pharma groups, people familiar with the process said.
Advent International, Cinven and Warburg Pincus are among firms considering bids for the over-the-counter (OTC) products, which include painkillers and vitamin supplements, people said.
GSK, Britain’s biggest drugmaker, said in February it planned to sell several non-core products with combined sales of around 500 million pounds ($817 million), representing about 10 percent of its total consumer healthcare business.
Advent is seen having an advantage over its rivals because it counts former GSK chief executive Jean-Pierre Garnier among its group of operating partners — senior advisers who advise on potential deals and portfolio company development.
Non-binding bids are due on Aug. 8, the people added.
GSK Chief Executive Andrew Witty said on Tuesday, when presenting Q2 results, that the auction of non-core brands was proceeding “on track” and the sale was expected to close in the fourth quarter.
He said there was interest from both private equity and strategic buyers, and GSK would take a pragmatic view about selecting those bidders offering best value for GSK’s shareholders.
Non-prescription medicines are a major focus for a number of GSK’s rivals, including Sanofi , Novartis and Johnson & Johnson , some of whom may want to pick up assets now on the block.
But rival firms are unlikely to want to buy all the brands on offer, and some have doubts about diet pill Alli that accounts for around one third of sales for the portfolio marked for disposal.
Industry analysts had initially estimated the products could fetch 3-4 times sales, implying a price tag of 1.5-2 billion pounds ($2.4-3.3 billion).
But some now believe the price could be less, given uncertainty about prospects for Alli, launched four years ago. It had a strong start but sales fell in 2010, when the product was tarnished by rare reports of liver injury.
Potential private equity buyers are also uncertain about the costs of carving the non-core products out of GSK, people said.
“It’s a tough portfolio and it’s not clear it has any coherence other than being stuff that GSK doesn’t want,” said one of the people.
Consumer healthcare is a favoured investment sector for private equity players, who like the defensive nature of a business that has stable cash flows.
Despite the divestment, consumer healthcare will stay a priority area for GSK, which aims to focus its efforts on successful top-selling brands like Sensodyne toothpaste and nutritional drink Horlicks.
Faced with slowing sales growth and a squeeze on margins, many pharmaceutical companies are looking to divest non-core businesses to improve their financial performance.
GSK’s British rival AstraZeneca recently sold its Astra Tech dental unit for $1.8 billion to Dentsply International , while Pfizer is embarking on the sector’s most far-reaching divestment programme with plans to sell or spin off its animal health and nutrition units.
The private equity firms mentioned in this article declined to comment, while GSK had no further comment on the progress of the auction beyond Witty’s remarks on Tuesday. ($1 = 0.612 British Pounds) (Reporting by Simon Meads and Ben Hirschler, editing by Jane Merriman)


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NBA follows up Carol of the Balls hit with ‘Jingle Hoop’ Christmas ad
The NBA today unveiled its highly anticipated follow up to last year’s Carol of the Balls ad, which pulled in over eight million views.
Titled, ‘Jingle Hoops’ the ad once again shows big name NBA players, wearing special edition Christmas Day uniforms, shooting perfectly choreographed three-pointers into hoops with bells attached. The result is a unique rendition of Jingle Bells, finished with a dunk from LeBron James.
Created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners and O Positive, the ad has also been followed up with a behind-the-scenes film showing how it was made.
The NBA is promoting the film, has already garnered over 80,000 YouTube views, using the hashtags #JingleHoops and #NBAXmas.
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