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If you're Chris Harris, host of Top Gear and one of the most prolific motoring journalists working today, and you somehow haven't reviewed the super quick Tesla Model S, you're going to need to save face - like racing it against the incredible Porsche 911 R.
Tagged With porsche 911 r
The secondhand market for Porsche's specialty GT cars is insane. We've reported on 911 Rs selling for three or four times their original sticker price. Porsche's not taking this lying down, and so the automaker says it will start getting tough on car flippers to ensure their sports cars are sold to people that will actually drive them.
Some of you may not be aware of this, but Porsche has apparently made a model called the 911 R. It is a car that some would say is quite adequate if you like that kind of thing. Top Gear’s Matt LeBlanc shares his thoughts on the new “fancy Beetle.”


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Latest data shows rate cuts not helping retailers
Retail sales in November went backwards. That's despite around 12 months of interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank. Meanwhile the latest data shows unemployment in the eurozone has reached a record high.
SALLY SARA: Unemployment in the eurozone has risen to an all-time high. The single currency unit is undergoing harsh economic reforms and it's crippling the labour market.
While conditions in Australia are significantly better, economists are now concerned about a worrying trend developing in the non-mining sectors of the economy.
Here's finance reporter David Taylor.
DAVID TAYLOR: Australia's economy has become a relative safe haven for central banks and international investors, but some dark clouds are gathering.
Today saw retail sales data for the month of November. Despite several interest rate cuts throughout the year, total sales actually went backwards. There was a noticeable drop-off in sales in a few key categories including household goods, clothing and department stores.
Matt Sherwood is the head of strategy at Perpetual Investments.
MATT SHERWOOD: Really reinforces the view that after 15 months of aggressive rate cutting by the Reserve Bank, we're not seeing any signs of the pick up yet in the non-mining part of the economy.
DAVID TAYLOR: Deutsche Bank Australia's chief economist, Adam Boyton, agrees with that view.
ADAM BOYTON: I think generally what the data tell you is that the economy, at least in the consumer sector, in the retail sector, is still pretty sluggish.
DAVID TAYLOR: Even after several interest rate cuts?
ADAM BOYTON: And that's really part of the reason why the RBA is cutting rates in order to stimulate that part of the economy. What these data tell us is that before the December rate cut at least, the RBA probably hadn't quite done enough in order to turn the tide as far as retail spending is concerned.
DAVID TAYLOR: What about the argument that monetary policy is a blunt instrument and it will take time for recent interest rate cuts to make their way through the economy, or do we have to just accept the fact that the interest rate cuts we've received, and perhaps are going to receive, lack some potency?
ADAM BOYTON: I think there's two issues there that you've identified and they're both right. The first is that monetary policy, interest rate cuts, they do take some time to work their way through the economy. And the second point is that we're in an environment now where consumers are more cautious, households have a different attitude toward debt, which means that interest rates probably aren't as powerful as they were, say five or 10 years ago.
DAVID TAYLOR: Some of the more prominent retailers in Sydney's CBD were being tight lipped today. I hit the pavement and approached several leading brand names, including relative newcomer TopShop in George Street. Management were quite happy to speak to PM when the store opened late last year, not so much today.
ADAM BOYTON: Oh look, I don't really know what sort of policies those companies have on comment. What I would say is that the ABS (Australia Bureau of Statistics) data don't say that things are getting any worse in the retail sector. What the ABS data say is that the difficult conditions we've seen over the past few years remain the case.
DAVID TAYLOR: Conditions in the eurozone, however, are getting worse, noticeably so. Over the last few years the eurozone has become one of the worst-performing economic regions in the world.
Late last year conditions became so extreme, the European Central Bank said it would do "whatever it takes" to save the single currency block from disintegration. With an unemployment rate of 11.8 per cent, the latest jobs data tells the story of a region in dire straits.
Matt Sherwood again.
MATT SHERWOOD: Ah well what's really happening of course is the austerity cuts which are being forced on many of these crisis-hit countries are actually making the situation worse.
DAVID TAYLOR: Alarmingly, Matt Sherwood says the current policy agenda could see the region's economy deteriorate further still from here.
MATT SHERWOOD: When you're actually taking money back off people through higher taxes, of course that naturally hits their ability to spend and their disposable income and of course this is having a very big impact not only on economic activity but also the labour market and in many ways the austerity cuts are becoming reinforcing to the poor economic outlook.
SALLY SARA: That's Matt Sherwood from Perpetual Investments ending David Taylor's report.
Author David Taylor

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The show's creators believe video watchers (and advertisers) are hooked on other members of the ensemble. Series co-creator Greg Goodfried said viewer numbers for episodes of season two held constant with the average number of views of episodes in season one. "The other characters have MySpace pages and fan clubs just like Bree," Mr. Goodfried said. MySpace brought in an entirely new set of viewers, he said, who don't have any attachments to older characters.
Lonelygirl's popularity has only continued to soar since last fall's revelation that what seemed like a teen girl's innocent -- albeit somewhat mysterious -- online video log was actually a scripted show with young actors, one portraying 15-year-old Bree. Before the curtain was pulled back, each episode attracted 150,000 to 200,000 viewers, but the numbers have increased to between 250,000 to 300,000 since last fall, Mr. Goodfried and show publicist Jill Siegel said. Statistics on websites such as YouTube show that some episodes have attracted more than 1 million views.
The series' episodes are short, averaging between one and three minutes, and they're interactive. Co-creator Miles Beckett said the show has added to the online landscape by mixing elements that were already being used in online programming with social networking. "All of that really creates an experience that's unlike a lot of the other content that's online right now," he said.
The show completed its first season on Aug. 3, with a 12-part season finale. In a deal with MySpaceTV, the episodes premiered on MySpace before being posted on other outlets. Most shocking about the finale was the death of Bree, who was finally caught by the members of the religious cult who wanted to use her as part of a sinister ceremony.
Ms. Siegel said that for three days the finale generated more than 1 million views on MySpace and more than 1.6 million on YouTube.
Sophisticated ad methods
Advertising is also helping the program survive. The series' website had featured typical banner ads and sponsorships from Google AdSense, but it was redesigned early this month. Mr. Goodfried said the team behind the show is looking into more sophisticated methods of advertising.
One possible ad model involves tapping into ideas from viewers. Because the show is based on an interactive experience between the characters and viewers, the website includes a forum that lets fans discuss all things Lonelygirl. A moderator, who goes by the name BrokenKid, often throws out questions about advertising -- viewers have been asked to comment on the show's street team and how Lonelygirl might include advertising from other companies. A recent post requesting help to publicize the show online garnered more than 50 positive responses from the community. Other threads on the message board show blessings for the advertising, as long as the show continues.
The program also has become a place where marketers can feature their products. Lonelygirl's first encounter with advertising involved weaving Hershey's IceBreakers Sour Gum into the show, and the gum was prominently featured in an episode (Bree refused to share the product with her friends). The spot represented a way for Hershey's to keep up with the ways people consume entertainment, said Kirk Saville, a spokesman for the marketer.
The show took advertising one step further with a brand integration of Johnson & Johnson's Neutrogena line. As part of a two-month deal, Neutrogena became an integral part of the plot, with a new character, Spencer Gilman, working as a scientist for the company. Neutrogena provided the character with a real Neutrogena e-mail address and an employee-of-the-month page on its website. A Neutrogena spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
While Mr. Goodfried said he sees this as the model for future advertising, he emphasized that story lines will not be created around a brand. "We just sit down and write a story. Consciously, in the back of our minds, we understand that we will have to go pitch aspects of a story to a brand. If they say no and everyone says no then we still do the story exactly how we planned," he said.
Spinoff also has ad deals in place
Similar methods are already in full swing for Lonelygirl's first spinoff, KateModern. Set in London, the show is based on the idea that there are several other girls like Bree around the world who are wanted by a mysterious religious order. The show has a deal with Bebo, a U.K. social-networking site, to premiere the videos.
"What's unique here is the immersiveness of the program inside a social network, enabling you to do stuff that you can't do on YouTube," said Ziv Navoth, VP-marketing, Bebo. "People are for the first time realizing what it means to develop a show for the internet, and not just repackaging it for the internet."
Although KateModern started this spring, there are already deals with MSN, Walt Disney's Buena Vista, Paramount, Procter & Gamble, and Orange Mobile, a British telephone company. The deal with Orange Mobile will also include mobile episodes that Orange customers can download for free, Mr. Navoth said. The Lonelygirl team is looking to have more spinoffs based in several cities.


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Rest assured that the Apple doom train continues to chug along whether you choose to ride it or it ever stops at Cupertino or not.
Writing for Gizmodo, Rhett Jones says “Apple Is Blowing It.” (Tip o’ the antlers to Bart.)
“Blowing what?” you may ask. Let The Macalope assure you it is blowing all the things. Let us hasten to the enumeration of the blowings, for there are many blowings to be enumerated and we would not want to leave a single blowing behind.
The Apple’s starting to fall far from the tree
Translation: I am driving to the outskirts of town to buy these incorrectly-used Apple metaphors from Dirty Ray’s Misplaced Metaphor Market and Vape Shop.
On Tuesday, Apple will report its first-quarter earnings, and financial analysts are expecting dire results.
Apple’s second-best quarter ever is “dire.” That’s a… uh… that is… um… a thing you can apparently say on the internet. And not burst into flames.
As it turned out, the company beat estimates and its revised forecast (which, duh). Its shares are up more than 15 points since it announced its results.
Virtually every facet of Apple’s reputation for innovation, quality, and desirability has been tarnished in one way or another.
What’s the reverse of fanfic? Whatever that is, this is it.
And at a moment when it appeared to be building its brand as the choice for privacy, it’s suddenly found itself embroiled in an embarrassing privacy scandal.
Jones, who apparently cannot tell the difference between a bug and willful attempts to subvert privacy, is referring to the Group FaceTime bug in iOS 12.
Apple has a stellar reputation for security. The iPhone has long deserved to be known as the most secure smartphone in the world. But it’s seemingly become more common to find malware-riddled apps in the iOS app store…
It is a constant battle for Apple to keep up on bad actors trying to get apps into the App Store and the company is not always perfect at it. But let’s compare that to Android, where FaceBook’s malware VPN app, Onavo, is still readily available on the Google Play Store. There’s a platform that tries and one that just doesn’t. Apple spent much of the past week smacking down both FaceBook and Google over privacy but to Jones the company doesn’t deserve any credit.
Not all of Jones’s criticism of Apple is unfair. But you need tweezers to pick the valid criticism our of the landslide of obtuse polemics and presumptive predictions.
It’s [sic] streaming TV service is expected to launch in the spring—it’s also expected to totally suck.
Apple analysis is easy if you take the worst case scenario for everything!
Last week, 200 people were laid off from [Project Titan]…
Apple has reduced staff in Project Titan, but it’s not exactly a layoff as those employees were given a few months to find new positions in the company.
Apple’s earnings today are expected to disappoint investors…
Yeah, that didn’t happen. This is usually why people write articles like this right before instead of right after.
It’s becoming a boring company that’s shedding users’ trust.
Even if this were true, who would you trust more? Apple or the companies that are actively trying to subvert your privacy?
This is not Jones’s first “You think Apple is good at privacy but it’s not” small animal rodeo. The company may not be perfect, but it’s way better than its competition.


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The entire world is dealing with the adverse economic shocks and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. Pakistan is no exception and the economic situation is worsening especially after the lockdown was implemented. Auto manufacturers had to close manufacturing plants just like other sectors.
Like other auto manufacturers, Toyota has also been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
Soft launch of Yaris Suspended
The first setback that Toyota had to endure was the suspension of the soft launch of Yaris. The dealerships were set up for this soft launch; however, the call for lockdown from the government suspended it. The soft launch is usually at the dealerships and it ensures a significant footfall of potential customers to experience and view the newly launched vehicle.
These potential customers then book the newly launched car. With the suspension of the soft launch, an earlier influx of bookings was adversely affected. The original launching event by Toyota was also canceled due to the concerns related to the spread of the coronavirus in a large gathering of people.
With the dealerships closed, the booking of the new Yaris sedan and other Toyota vehicles is suspended. This is because if you have to book a vehicle, you have to need a dealership for that. You cannot book your vehicle directly with the Indus Motor Company (IMC).
According to sources, allocations of the dealerships have also been suspended by the IMC. With the lockdown period further extended, we will have to wait and see how things will unravel to allow dealerships to reopen and bookings to commence again. The lockdown will also delay the deliveries of vehicles that have already been booked with Toyota.
Price of Yaris to Increase
With the massive depreciation of the Pakistani Rupee against the US Dollar over the past few weeks, the rise in the prices of vehicles is now imminent. The prices at the launch of the new Yaris sedan were introductory and they were bound to increase.
According to estimates, they would have increased around PKR 50,000 to 55,000 for each variant of the Yaris. After the depreciation, the prices will now rise in the ballpark of PKR 100,000 to 150,000. Nevertheless, the prices of Yaris had to increase as the prices quoted earlier were introductory ones.
The prices were scheduled to increase within a month even before the depreciation of Rupee against Dollar. This large increase in the price of Yaris this early after the launch can also damage future demand for the new sedan. Introductory prices of all Yaris variants are mentioned in the table below:
|TOYOTA YARIS GLI MT||PKR. 2,349,000/-|
|TOYOTA YARIS GLI CVT||PKR. 2,519,000/-|
|TOYOTA YARIS ATIV MT||PKR. 2,449,000/-|
|TOYOTA YARIS ATIV CVT||PKR. 2,599,000/-|
|TOYOTA YARIS ATIV X MT||PKR. 2,649,000/-|
|TOYOTA YARIS ATIV X CVT||PKR. 2,809,000/-|
Prices of Other Toyota Vehicles
The last time Toyota increased prices of its vehicles was when the UD Dollar was at PKR 150. Now the Dollar has risen up to PKR 168, which is a massive increase and will have a subsequent effect on the prices of vehicles.
According to sources, the price of every Toyota vehicle will be jacked up by at least PKR 100,000 and it can go well up to PKR 200,000 for high-end vehicles like Corolla Altis Grande and Fortuner. The rapid inflation and the fact that the economy is going into a recession will have adverse effects on the demand for automobiles in Pakistan.
Note here that the manufacturing plants of all the auto manufacturers in Pakistan are closed due to lockdown. Indus Motor Company (IMC) also issued a press release earlier intimating the closure of its plant to help the government in battling the coronavirus pandemic. It also apologized to the customers for the probable delay in deliveries of vehicles.
The auto industry was already struggling with low demand even before the coronavirus pandemic. This was due to higher taxation, rapid inflation and the depreciation of Rupee against Dollar. The pandemic and the current situation have made things even worse.
Stay tuned on PakWheels blog for more updates on the situation of the auto industry of Pakistan. Drop your thoughts in the comments section below.
Recommended for you: 10 Best Used Cars Under 5 Lacs In Pakistan


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Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon — aka GAFA, or The Big Four — may be an easy target but, as the latest episode involving Facebook’s profit at all costs controversy shows, Silicon Valley’s tech giants don’t exactly help themselves.
Author Dave Eggers can’t miss. His latest dystopian sci-fi book “The Every” picks up where his 2013 bestseller “The Circle” left off. The new book features the world’s largest online retailer (referred to by its nickname, “The Jungle”), which has now merged with The Circle, the thinly disguised Google-Facebook clone from the first installment.
As a book, “The Circle” was a thoroughly entertaining and prescient piece of 1984-ism which depicted a self-censoring, self-serving monopoly that stamped out all forms of deviation and rebellion.
The 2017 film adaptation was less successful, and starred a miscast Emma Watson and Tom Hanks, who is no one’s idea of evil.
One of that book’s main Orwellian forecasts was the use of video and tiny cameras positioned everywhere and worn by everyone as surveillance, as if everyone were trapped in The Truman Show.
Wired and others criticized the first book for misunderstanding aspects of the internet and other technologies.
READ MORE: Dave Eggers’ The Circle: What the Internet Looks Like if You Don’t Understand It (Wired)
“But today we are swimming in the wake of two US presidential campaigns (and arguably a presidential term) conducted largely via social media and against the online tide of pandemic and vaccine misinformation,” notes CNET. “From this vantage point in 2021, Eggers’ visions come across as more clairvoyant than cartoon.”
CNET also carries an interview with the author. In it he says that he thinks we’re all to blame for passively going along with The Big Four’s ambition and control. We know the trade-off, he says.
“I think, generally speaking, humanity has spoken, and humanity has said that they want monopolies,” Eggers said. “As a species, we’ve proven that we want convenience, safety, certainty, all of these things that are made possible through data and surveillance, and we’re not as interested in humanity, freedom and mystery as we are in certainty, convenience and safety.”
READ MORE: Dave Eggers’ heartbreaking list of staggering tech concerns: ‘We’re never unstudied’ (CNET)
The tech innovations in “The Every” are a dark joke but not far-fetched — and that’s the point. They include eye-tracking hardware that ensures you read every word of every user agreement, contract or legal disclosure; an app allowing people to film and tag misbehaving children with tracking chips embedded in their ankles; data analysis from e-readers with built-in eye-tracking to determine the formula for the ideal novel.
“There was a design firm here in San Francisco that was measuring laughter, for the same reason, because scientists said it was good,” Eggers said. “So then they said, ‘Well, the obvious next thing is to have a device in the conference room that will measure how much we laugh, and that’ll tell us how healthy our company is.’ It’s far beyond anything Monty Python or anybody could have dreamed up, but it really happened.”
Perhaps the most profound concept is the one that is actually true when you think about it.
He explained, “A new thing in the history of humankind is that you have to have a tether via your smartphone to participate in commercial society or democratic society.
“You are never untethered. And we’re never unstudied.”


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New variety of potato approved
Agricultural universities are continuously developing new varieties of crops to increase the production and productivity of various crops in the country. In continuation of this, two new potato varieties MSP/16-307 and Kufri Kumthi were approved in a three-day workshop held on October 18 in the Potato Research Project. Both these varieties have been developed to give higher yields.
On the third and final day of the three-day workshop of the 41st All India Integrated Potato Research Project organized at Chowdhury Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, two new varieties of potato were approved for cultivation in different areas. the country
What is the specialty of this new variety of potatoes?
Potatoes of MSP/16-307 and Kufri Sukhti are high yielding and have high storage capacity. The specialty of MSP/16-307 variety is that its potato and anus are purple in color and it is ready for digging in 90 days, whereas Kufri Sukyati variety is ready for digging in only 75 days. Scientists have recommended the release of these varieties for the northern, central and eastern plains of the country.
In various sessions organized during the workshop, scientists from 25 All India Integrated Potato Research Project Centers in various states of the country brainstormed on innovation related issues including potato production enhancement, improved varieties, storage, food security.
To improve production and productivity
Assistant Director General (Fruits-Vegetables-Spices and Medicinal Plants) Dr Sudhakar Pandey while addressing the scientists on the occasion emphasized on increasing the share of Indian varieties in potato processing in India. He said proper biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, forecasting models and improvement of production and productivity under climate change conditions are essential in potato research.
He said, the production can be improved by reducing the production gap by applying new crop quality and production technology. The assistant director called for prioritizing seed production to reduce the need for quality seed potatoes in different regions of the country and engaging in innovation to increase potato production.


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By MacRumors Staff
Sunday Times Articles
Apple Asks UK Retail Landlords for 50% Rent Cut Despite Record Sales
Apple has asked landlords of its retail stores in the UK for a 50 percent cut to rent, reports The Sunday Times. If landlords agree to cut rent by up to 50 percent and offer a "rent-free period" of an undisclosed duration, Apple is supposedly offering a considerable lease extension in return. The proposal is understood to relate to stores with several years left to run on their leases,...
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Jony Ive Discusses Design Philosophy, Relationship with Steve Jobs, and Future of Apple in New Interview
In a lengthy interview with The Sunday Times, Apple's Senior Vice President of Design Jonathan Ive discussed a number of topics including his philosophy on design and collaboration, the strong relationship he had with former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, and the future of Apple along with thoughts on new product categories. Speaking on his approach to design, Ive stated that he starts on a project...
Apple's Jonathan Ive Considering Moving Back to England?
The Sunday Times reports that Apple designer Jonathan Ive and the Apple's board of directors are at an impasse about his future. The British designer is said to want to spend more time in the UK while Apple's board seems unwilling to allow that. The report comes by way of The Daily Mail and Cult of Mac as the original article appears to behind The Sunday Times' paywall. Ive has reportedly ...


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With total spending on digital advertising in the U.S. surpassing that of TV advertising in 2016, scrutiny on this growing market is increasing. Recent news headlines have highlighted the concerns of senior marketers about whether digital can deliver on the promises of ad campaigns.
As large CPG advertisers call for greater transparency in the digital supply chain, the conversation in the press and in the market has focused on viewability and accountability. In response to these concerns, some of the largest digital publishers have agreed to audits by certain industry bodies.
For Nielsen, the conversations around digital advertising reinforce the need for true third-party measurement across platforms. While we applaud the calls for greater accountability, the recent discussions have missed some key points. In order to transact with confidence, buyers and sellers need more than viewability and individual accreditation—the industry needs truly independent, third-party measurement that provides a trusted view across the full media landscape.
Eric Solomon, SVP, Product Leadership at Nielsen, recently sat down to discuss the importance of last year’s digital ad spend milestone and what marketers need to know about measuring the effectiveness of digital advertising. He shared his thoughts on transparency and accountability, and the three key areas Nielsen believes marketers need to focus on:
- What viewability and audience measurement means
- The difference between accreditation and independence
- The balance of digital and traditional media


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Dietary supplement maker Star Scientific Inc. has agreed to pay $975,000 to settle a dispute with the Virginia Department of Taxation.
Court documents show the Henrico-based company reached a final settlement with state officials last month.
Star Scientific sued the tax department in Mecklenberg Circuit Court in 2011 challenging the assessment of retail sales and use tax on its purchase of tobacco curing barns.
The settlement covers the more than $707,000 bill plus interest and penalties.
Star Scientific previously marketed tobacco products but exited that business last year to focus on dietary supplements, including its Anatabloc anti-inflammatory support product.
State and federal authorities are investigating its CEO's relationship with Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Both received thousands of dollars in gifts from Star Scientific and its CEO.


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This Giving Tuesday, help make sure no Floridian goes hungry and no food goes to waste
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that, on average, between 2017 and 2019, 10.9% of Florida households were food-insecure at some time -- meaning they didn’t have consistent, dependable access to enough food for active, healthy living. This alarming statistic doesn’t even account for the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has increased the amount of food Farm Share has distributed to food-insecure Floridians by more than 60%.
This Giving Tuesday, and throughout the year, we ask Floridians to join us on our mission to make sure no Floridian goes hungry and no food goes to waste.
For more than three decades, Farm Share has collaborated with Florida farmers to distribute fresh fruits and vegetables that may not look good enough for grocery store shelves, but are perfectly nutritious to food-insecure Floridians who do not know where their next meal will come from completely free of charge.
Farm Share distributes approximately 100 million pounds of food to Floridians in need each year through a network of 2,000 food pantry partners, including churches, schools, and other nonprofit organizations. However, during the pandemic, from just March through October, Farm Share distributed more than 78 million pounds of food -- a drastic increase over the same period the previous year.
For every dollar donated, we can provide at least 100 pounds of food, enough to feed a family of four. That change in the cupholder of your car could make a world of difference to someone who doesn’t know where their next meal is coming from. Unlike other organizations that charge a “shared maintenance fee,” Farm Share distributes food completely free of charge.
Generous Floridians can support Farm Share’s mission to make sure no Floridian goes hungry and no food goes to waste by sponsoring a truckload of food, volunteering or adopting a charity. And this Giving Tuesday, Farm Share encourages Floridians to join its efforts.
Shelley, of Tallahassee is CEO of Farm Share.


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NEW YORK – Amazon.com Inc. plans to open dozens of grocery stores in United States cities, The Wall Street Journal reported, a move that would expand the retail and technology giant’s grocery footprint beyond its Whole Foods Market chain.
The first of these stores will open in Los Angeles as early as the end of 2019, and Amazon is in talks to open locations in shopping centers in San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The company is also exploring the idea of purchasing regional grocery stores, the paper said.
The Seattle-based company, which has been experimenting with online delivery of groceries for more than a decade, got into brick-and-mortar food retail with its 2017 purchase of Whole Foods. Amazon has also expanded Amazon Go, its cashierless convenience store concept, to 10 stores. People familiar with the matter said last year that the company planned to open as many as 3,000 of the so-far small-format stores, including up to 50 in 2019.
Amazon declined to comment on the Journal report.
Shares of food retailers all fell on the news. Kroger Co., the nation’s biggest traditional grocery chain, dropped as much as 6.4 percent, while Walmart Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. also declined. Target Corp., which gets about 25 percent of its sales from food, also fell before recouping its losses.
Amazon’s $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods signaled the company’s intent to break into the $840 billion grocery market, but left it at a scale well below the likes of market leader Walmart Inc., which operates 4,750 grocery stores.
Some analysts saw Whole Foods, which stocks a limited selection of items in contrast to Amazon’s preference for selling a wider range of items, as a starting point for Amazon in physical grocery retail. The company has since started delivering groceries from the shelves of Whole Foods locations across the U.S.
Matt Day is a reporter for Bloomberg News.


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What you need to know
- Robin is the first to add HomeKit Secure Video to a doorbell.
- A new firmware update has been released.
- This is the first video doorbell to support HomeKit Secure Video.
Robin has today announced that it has received certification from Apple, allowing it to release a new firmware update that adds HomeKit Secure Video support to its ProLine Video Doorbell.
This is the first video doorbell to bring HomeKit Secure Video support to the market and while it surely won't be the last, there's something to be said for being the first.
The addition of HomeKit Secure Video means that all video recordings will now be stored in iCloud, allowing users to access them from an iPhone, Mac, or iPad.
iCloud: A 10-day recording history from your ProLine is securely stored in iCloud and available to view in the Apple Home app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. You can add one camera to your 200GB plan or up to five cameras to your 2TB plan at no additional cost. Camera recordings don't count against your iCloud storage limit.
Keeping all recordings in iCloud adds a level of privacy that most third-party vendors can't offer, especially at a time where many video doorbells are in the midst of multiple privacy scandles.
Those wanting to take advantage of this new feature will need to download the latest version of the Robin ProLine app from the App Store as well as update their doorbell's firmware, too.
Apple removes Plague Inc. from Chinese App Store
Popular disease-simulation game Plague Inc. has been removed from Apple's Chinese App Store, in a move possibly linked to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in China.
Your next iPhone might have a removable battery
A leaked document from the European Commission suggests the body may be planning to force manufacturers to make it easier to replace the battery of electronics such as smartphones.
Apple was fairly muted about coronavirus at its shareholder meeting
Despite its prevalence in global media, the coronavirus outbreak barely got a look in at Apple's annual shareholder's meeting yesterday.
Show off your HomePod with the best accessories around
Apple's HomeKit makes the HomePod so much more than a speaker. Here are some accessories to take advantage of that.


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IBM’s 20-year partnership with Dassault Systemes took an interesting turn this week. The pair, which for more than two decades has collaborated on developing and marketing Dassault’s 3D CAD and PLM suite, have slowly been backing away from their exclusive arrangement. Their independent streaks surfaced again this week when IBM inked a deal with UGS Corp. to co-market to its business partners UGS’ Teamcenter Express software, part of its Velocity series of pre-configured PLM aimed at SMB customers. IBM inked a similar co-marketing deal with PTC last year. Experts say the moves signal a broadening of IBM’s strategy to be more of an open PLM vendor and to push sales of its WebSphere integration and infrastructure platform. For its part, Dassault is focused this year on building out its own channel. Regardless of their individual agendas, the pair claim to be committed and their partnership strong.
Who knows, maybe non-exclusivity is the best bet for both parties.
Enabling the Future is designing prosthetic appendages modeled more like superhero arms and hands than your average static artificial limbs. And they’re doing it through a website and grassroots movement inspired by two men’s design and creation in 2012 of a metal prosthetic for a child in South Africa.
In order to keep an enterprise truly safe from hackers, cyber security has to go all the way down to the device level. Icon Labs is making the point that security has to be built into device components.
Three days after NASA's MAVEN probe reached Mars, India's Mangalyaan probe went into orbit around the red planet. India's first interplanetary mission, and the first successful Mars probe launched by an Asian nation, has a total project cost of nearly $600 million less than MAVEN's.
Plant user interfaces are beginning to incorporate the consumer features such as swipe, double tap, and pinch. The driver is Millennials who expect plant equipment to match the sophistication of the smartphone.
Focus on Fundamentals consists of 45-minute on-line classes that cover a host of technologies. You learn without leaving the comfort of your desk. All classes are taught by subject-matter experts and all are archived. So if you can't attend live, attend at your convenience.


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Disney Loses Court Battle Over 3D Movie Patents
HollywoodReporter.com reports that a Delaware judge says the studio giant can’t stop RealD from acquiring patents, potentially hampering Disney’s ability to turn 2D movies 3D without fear of being sued.
Walt Disney Studios has lost an appeal in a dispute that could open up questions about whether it still has the right to distribute some of its recent 3D blockbusters as well as create new films using a patented 2D-to-3D conversion process.
The dispute emanates from the bankruptcy of Digital Domain Media Group, a visual effects studio co-founded by James Cameron in 1993 that sold most of its assets to Galloping Horse America and Reliance MediaWorks last year. DDMG, the parent company, remained in bankruptcy and to satisfy debts, sought to sell its remaining assets including prized patents relating to the 2D-to-3D conversion. The bankrupt company had acquired these patents when merging with In-Three, another visual effects studio, in late 2010.


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Unsafe cars, coupled with the South American nation’s often dangerous driving conditions, have resulted in a Brazilian death rate from passenger car accidents that is nearly four times that of the United States, according to an Associated Press analysis of Brazilian Health Ministry data on deaths compared to the size of each country’s car fleet. Recorded 40 percent fewer fatalities from car wrecks in 2010 compared with a decade before. In Brazil, the number killed rose 72 percent, according to the latest available data..
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It is nothing new that North America market is one of the most vivid and important in the world, but the response CSV Containment received during Interphex 2022 in NYC has overcome its expectations.
Although CSV Containment, the branch of CSV Life Science Group dedicated to containment strategies, has long-standing relationships overseas, 2022 could be the watershed year for breaking new ground and enhancing existing collaborations. The US is a top player and can count among its own ranks the largest pharmaceutical companies of the world. Moreover, in the last decade both the American internal market, after the Obama administration’s healthcare reforms, and external one, with the massive covid19 vaccines production, have increased a lot. New production site, new spaces, new technologies and existing-situations readjustment have made the leading American pharma players interested in everything that can meets their needs with an innovative approach. That is the main reason why many people were interested in CSV Containment products.
The DIT® system.
In particular, The DIT®, Drum Iris Technology, has aroused the interest among experts. Enhanced with the “Seal of Excellence” given by the European Commission in the context of Horizon 2020 to acknowledge the technological development introduce with this CSV equipment, the DIT® is undoubtedly a real innovation for the market. The iris solution has already proved to be an efficient help in containment operations for our European customers since it assures an improvement in production processes for both safety and time aspects. The successes presented by CSV Containment to new potential customers have certainly convinced them, also rewarding the courage of such a company that has made its way among the leaders in the sector by betting on innovation and customised services. Actually, CSV Containment have found an American partner to start providing the US with this new technology. Being innovative to stand out and provide a range of products that are new or complementary to what the market offers: this is our philosophy that has allowed us to move its first step in the United States.
The curiosity and attention shown by the American attendees has once again proven how important this market is for CSV Containment and all the world Pharma sector.
CSV Containment provides tailor-made solutions for pharmaceutical and fine chemical sectors in terms of containment. For more info: firstname.lastname@example.org


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Doddle and Cancer Research UK launch charity click & collect initiative
The Doddle parcel delivery and returns service has embarked on a new partnership with Cancer Research UK to enable shoppers to click and collect their online shopping from the charity’s shops and make a donation at the same time.
A donation from every parcel collected and returned via Doddle at a Cancer Research UK shop will go to the charity.
The partnership will initially be trialled in eight Cancer Research UK shops in the first year. Both organisations expect the new partnership to contribute thousands of pounds to the charity during its first year.
Cancer Research UK is aiming to reach more supporters through the initiative, particularly female shoppers aged 18 to 30. As well as boosting donations, the charity hopes to grow awareness of the charity’s activities and increase sales of its clothing items to the fast-fashion set who will be collecting items from retailers such as Amazon, Asos, Missguided and Pretty Little Thing.
The new locations will complement Doddle’s existing network of more than 60 stores in high footfall locations around the country, including train stations, universities and shopping centres.
Tim Robinson, Doddle chief executive, said: “This is a terrific partnership for Doddle and one we’re really proud of. Combining Cancer Research UK’s uber convenient high street locations with Doddle’s easy parcel services means consumers can make an everyday activity like shopping online, make a difference to the lives of cancer patients and their local community.”
Seven Cancer Research UK locations are now Doddle-enabled, with another planned before the Christmas peak and a view to expanding to more locations in 2017.
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Startup World Cup
Startup World Cup creates innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities for startup ecosystems all over the world. The platform is a global series of startup conferences and competitions that bring together the top startups, VCs, entrepreneurs, and world-class tech CEOs. It consists of 16 startup competitions around the world, and the top startup from each event will be flown out to the final event in San Francisco where they will be competing for a $1M investment prize in front of an audience of 2000 entrepreneurs.
This year, FEnox Venture Capital partners with mit asia business conference to have its BOston startup world cup at MIT.


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Reddit is looking to hire a senior backend developer to help it build its own NFT platform. The position requires development abilities, but no prior knowledge of crypto or NFTs is required. Reddit aspires to “create the internet’s largest creator economy,” according to its mission statement.
According to a job posting on Friday, Reddit is looking to build its own non-fungible token marketplace. The social media platform is looking for a senior engineer to design, construct, and deploy “backend services for millions of users to produce, buy, trade, and use NFT-backed digital goods”.
The GameStop trading frenzy was one of the most popular market events this year, and Reddit was at the forefront of it. Dogecoin, a meme-inspired cryptocurrency, saw enormous increases as a result of conversations on the website, which positioned the token as a humorous alternative to the leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.
In the same way that cryptocurrencies are expected to disrupt the world of economics and banking, NFTs are set to rewrite how we think about digital goods, according to Reddit’s job posting.
There’s only one NFT-related job posting on Reddit right now, but the post hints it’s trying to hire more. The ad reads, “Our team is a new and exciting, rapidly developing company that seeks to build the internet’s largest creative economy, powered by independent creators, digital commodities, and NFTs. We’re searching for talented engineers and leaders to help us develop the team from the ground up, determine its direction, and plan for the future”.
Applicants should have at least five years of backend programming experience, but no prior familiarity with crypto or NFTs is required. NFTs are one-of-a-kind digital assets that signify ownership of a virtual item like artwork, music, a video clip, or a tweet. An increasing number of artists, singers, and influencers in sports, fashion, and the entertainment business are creating digital assets to engage with followers and consumers, fueling demand for these assets.
NFTs, according to proponents, let authors to commercialize their digital work while also giving consumers a unique and established proof of ownership.
This has prompted a slew of new businesses to enter the market, allowing users to quickly mint, purchase, showcase, and discover NFTs. By the end of the year, Coinbase plans to launch its own NFT marketplace, whereas FTX has already done so. “The NFT movement is just getting started,” Reddit remarked.
If you find this article informative then do share it with your friends and family!


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When cyber-attacks go undiscovered
Delays in responding to cyber breaches can cost financially and reputationally; we explore what happens when compromises are only discovered months or even a decade after an attack.
When cyber-attacks go undiscovered
By their very nature, cyber attacks are typically designed by their instigators to avoid detection, but a concerning number of large-scale and serious compromises are remaining unnoticed for months and even years. This poses fundamental questions regarding how many large organisations are open to vulnerabilities they have already been prey to, and remain so, but are completely unaware of? It also raises the question of the effectiveness of approaches being taken to prevent, detect, and mitigate intrusions. If the cyber criminals are always one-step ahead, how can businesses start to get the upper hand? And if the reputational damage of an initial cyber breach is bad enough, what is the impact if it went undetected for months or years?
Ticketmaster cyber breach response – too little too late?
Consumers quite rightly expect their online transactions to be fully secure; they don’t necessarily want to know how, they just want to know their details are safe. And at the very least, should an online business fall foul of a cyber breach, they want to know it will be found and any resolution implemented immediately. This is precisely what did not happen when Ticketmaster, the global event ticket sales and distribution company, suffered a major data breach impacting 40,000 customers. Personal data was breached between September 2017 and June 2018 – but the first some customers knew there was a possibility their data was in the hands of unknown cyber criminals was when they received replacement payment cards from the NatWest and RBS banks around nine months later. Even more concerning was that it was a new bank, Monzo, that alerted Ticketmaster their systems had been compromised, when they detected an unusual pattern of behaviour as part of its fraud detection process.
Collection #1 – the price of delayed action?
Some of the impacts of cyber breaches, such as those to Morrisons, BA, and Ticketmaster may not manifest for some time. It is believed stolen card details from the major hack of BA were found for sale on the ‘dark web’ weeks after the attack. And in the past week, the largest ever repository of stolen personal data has come to light. Known as ‘Collection #1’, the data consists of 770m email addresses and passwords, that were posted to a popular hacking forum in December 2018. The 87gb data dump was discovered by security research, Troy Hunt, who believes the stolen data is most likely “made up of many different individual data breaches from literally thousands of different sources”.
This raises the question of how much illegally gathered data came from sources whereby businesses have failed to respond to cyber hacks, leaving the door open for more data theft. As in the case of Ticketmaster, it makes sense that the longer a vulnerability is exposed the more client data can be stolen and ultimately resold. The nature of the Ticketmaster attack means hackers were not stealing data already existing within a database, but rather taking the data at the point of payment transaction – meaning the rogue code needed to remain in place to gather large amounts of personal information. This highlights how important it is for organisations to implement technologies to detect and avert breaches in real-time.
Yale University data breach only realised ten years later
The prize for a delayed response to a cyber data breach may yet be awarded to Yale University. In 2008 and 2009, a university database was hacked with the loss of thousands of names, social security numbers and — in some cases — dates of birth, email and physical addresses. It wasn’t until 2018 during a security review of the university’s IT hardware that the breach was uncovered. While those affected were informed, a class-action exceeding £5m has been filed by 100 of those individuals, on the basis that the university had failed to comply with privacy regulations. The impact of the breach was all the greater because the university had retained data from individuals who had applied for courses ten or more years prior, long past the date in which the data was required. In the EU, the GDPR has specific provisions to avoid this type of occurrence – Art.5(1)(e) states personal data held by organisations must be stored “no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed”.
Too many large-scale cyber breaches are not being detected and actioned in a timely manner, risking crippling reputational damage to the affected organisation. As cyber-attacks become increasingly prevalent and harmful, businesses will be forced to compete with others who are investing in cyber security technology to detect real-time hacks and mitigate them. Solutions which provide real-time detection using artificial intelligence to detect unusual activity, login attacks, cheating, DDOS’s, or any other type of cyber-attack modality are now becoming widely accessible. The sheer volume of technology now available to guard against, detect, and mitigate cyber threats can be overwhelming. Engaging the services of cyber security specialists ensures those in positions of corporate responsibility are able to focus on the operation of their business, with the knowledge their data, and that of their clients are protected from cyber criminals, and should an attack happen, it is detected and actioned immediately.
Lineal is a global leader in providing eDiscovery, Cyber Security and Digital Forensic expertise and support. To find out how Lineal can help your organisation with Cyber Security, please call us on +44 (0)20 7940 4799 or email email@example.com.


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By Alicia Buller
Azza Fahmy is recognisable as Egypt's first truly global fine jewellery brand, and lists the likes of pop star Rihanna and supermodel Naomi Campbell among its clientele
“I always knew I’d be in magazines,” says Egyptian jeweller Azza Fahmy. “I just didn’t know why.”
Decked out in a bright pink jumper crested with a dazzling Pharaonic necklace, there’s no mistaking the chutzpah that got Fahmy where she is today: sipping tea in the basement of her newly-minted store in London’s most upmarket district – the latest in a global network of 15 eponymously-named retail stores.
“But it wasn’t always like this,” Fahmy says, with a glint in her eye not unlike that of her statement pieces.
In 1969, when she was in her mid-twenties, Fahmy happened upon a German book about the jewellery of Medieval Europe. She says it was a ‘lightbulb’ moment that inspired her to want to make jewellery that draws on heritage.
At the time, the goldsmiths’ quarter of Cairo’s Khan el Khalili souk was entirely male-dominated, but that didn’t stop Fahmy trying her luck and urging them to teach her the craft.
“They let me in… they liked me,” she says, breezily, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to become Egypt’s first female jeweller.
Her experience in that bazaar would prove critical in her success. After her apprenticeship, she received a scholarship to study jewellery design in London in the mid-1970s, before returning to Cairo and opening her first shop in 1981.
Today Azza Fahmy is recognisable as Egypt’s first truly global fine jewellery brand. The firm has collaborated with British designers Julien Macdonald and Matthew Williamson and lists the likes of pop star Rihanna and supermodel Naomi Campbell among its clientele.
Speaking from her Burlington Arcade store in London’s Mayfair, which opened in March, Fahmy says: “My long term aim has always been to inject culture into jewellery… something pulled me towards it. I had a vision to do this.”
Back in the 1980s, Fahmy began by appropriating her Egyptian homeland’s history into her pieces, and followed up with collections that showcased Gulf, Moroccan, Palestinian and African heritage.
Today each piece is handmade in the firm’s Cairo atelier. Many of the jewels feature Arabic script portraying messages of love, friendship and peace, along with traditional symbols from across cultures.
“We never copy,” she insists, “we understand, digest, and then come up with something.”
Nowadays Fahmy designs the collections alongside her youngest daughter, Amina. Her eldest daughter, Fatma, is the company’s managing director, and has spearheaded the new London store.
Fahmy says her two daughters grew up learning the jewellery trade not through choice but necessity.
“I was a single mother so I took them everywhere; they would be polishing gems, stamping price labels and setting up booths. Actually it was very good for them because they learned everything there is to know.”
Managing director Fatma sees great international potential for the brand. “It was time for us to take our first step out of the Middle East region into Europe. We knew we needed to be in one of the world’s fashion capitals, such as London, Paris or New York.
“We chose London because we have a lot of connection to the UK, it felt like a natural fit for us. It’s a prestigious Mayfair address and has a lot of jewellery heritage.”
Fatma says she wanted to create a European physical store where people can come and experience the story.
“We sell online but it’s not the same, especially with jewellery. People want more than a piece of metal: they want something with meaning that they can connect to.”
Azza Fahmy first launched in Dubai in 2003 in the then-fashionable Emirates Towers Boulevard and later moved into the nearby Bloomingdales department store.
Fatma says: “Right now Dubai is going through a competitive and challenging stage, we don’t feel we are in the right place to have a stand alone shop so the Bloomingdale’s concession works for us.”
Fatma says the Azzy Fahmy brand was initially built on the loyalty of Kuwaiti, Saudi Arabian and Egyptian clients. But the brand is seeing much more take up from Emiratis and Bahrainis today, she adds.
“Many of our GCC clients have children at school in London and they holiday here, so many of them will visit our London store,” Fatma says.
The firm is also witnessing significant online growth in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as clients become more comfortable with paying for goods online.
“Our online sales are around five per cent of our global revenues and I want to grow it to this within three years to 10 to 12 per cent – I believe we will surpass that,” she says.
As for her mother Azza Fahmy, the lynchpin of this huge empire, what is she most proud of today?
“I am proud that when people think of culture and jewellery infused together, they think of us, all across the world,” she says.
“I always knew I’d be here, in this London store. When I love something and when I want to do something I am sure about it,” Fahmy says, with that fierce glint back in her eyes.
“I don’t care about failing, I will just learn from it and never look back. Listen to your heart and follow it.”
“All I know is that I want people to feel the same feeling that I feel when I see something – whether it’s a play, a flower or poetry. I want them to feel that love and beauty. I want to go crazy with creation.”For all the latest retail news from the UAE and Gulf countries, follow us on Twitter and Linkedin, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube page, which is updated daily.


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Tue, Oct 28, 2008 | 21:28 GMT
Average gamer leaves 11% of games collection unopened
According to a new NPD survey, the average US gamer has a collection of 48 games, 11 percent of which haven’t been opened, Gamasutra reports.
The NPD study polled 562 gamers who have purchased a video game in the past six months.
Just goes to show. Other results from the survey show that 54 percent of those questioned trade or sell games when they’re finished with them, 24 percent give them away, 17 percent store them, and 2 percent throw away or recycle the disc.


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amazon-will-broadcast-the-Premier-league-for-free-on-Twitch.jpg" alt="Amazon will broadcast the Premier League for free on Twitch: will it also be for Serie A?" />
While Serie A is wondering about the possibility of broadcasting two matches a day in the clear to avoid gatherings on the premises, Amazon continues to focus on the Premier League, which started again yesterday. The American company has announced that it will broadcast the UK’s top football league on Twitch for free.
The broadcasts will start later this month, with Crystal Palace – Burnley on June 29th and should involve four games in total. According to reports from various sites, it will be a real direct, such as those that hold millions of creators and the Q&A that we regularly transmit on our channel. Viewers will also be able to chat in chat to comment on the game live.
Apparently, however, the possibility will be given only to those who connect from the UK, which means that even if you have a Twitch subscription, Italian users will not be able to follow the games.
This is an absolute first for Amazon as it had never before relied on its streaming service, as it had previously broadcast the Boxing Day matches (for which it was awarded the rights) on Amazon Prime Video.
What happened overseas is particularly interesting as it could be a harbinger of what will happen with Serie A. In summer will award the TV rights of the championship for the next three years, and Sky will no longer be able to have exclusive rights on the internet. An offer from Amazon cannot, therefore, be excluded.


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Costa Victoria to make her third call at port Vladivostok on May 20
On 20 May 2017, cruise liner Costa Victoria will moor at the passenger terminal of port Vladivostok for the third time this year.
The ship will come from the port of Sokcho (Republic of Korea), then will visit Japanese ports of Otaru and Akita, Korean port of Pusan and return to Sokcho.
The ship will call in the framework of the Pacific Tourist Forum and Pacific International Tourism Exhibition.
A traditional welcome-ceremony will be arranged at the passenger terminal.


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Aspen Technology, Inc. (AZPN) Given a $63.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird
Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BidaskClub cut shares of Aspen Technology from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued a buy rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Aspen Technology from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Canaccord Genuity reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Friday, August 11th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $61.50.
Shares of Aspen Technology (AZPN) traded up 1.25% during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 334,043 shares. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.78 and a 200-day moving average of $59.32. Aspen Technology has a 52 week low of $45.47 and a 52 week high of $64.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.67 and a beta of 1.24.
Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 10th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.29. Aspen Technology had a net margin of 33.58% and a negative return on equity of 73.17%. The firm had revenue of $123.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Aspen Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Aspen Technology will post $1.99 earnings per share for the current year.
ILLEGAL ACTIVITY NOTICE: “Aspen Technology, Inc. (AZPN) Given a $63.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird” was first posted by Watch List News and is the property of of Watch List News. If you are viewing this report on another publication, it was stolen and reposted in violation of international trademark & copyright law. The correct version of this report can be read at https://www.watchlistnews.com/aspen-technology-inc-azpn-given-a-63-00-price-target-at-robert-w-baird/1616151.html.
In related news, insider Karl E. Johnsen sold 1,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.14, for a total transaction of $116,446.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,264.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP F G. Hammond sold 3,388 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total transaction of $205,312.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,256,419.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Aspen Technology by 354.1% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 31,854 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,760,000 after purchasing an additional 24,839 shares in the last quarter. MARSHALL WACE ASIA Ltd purchased a new position in Aspen Technology during the first quarter worth about $314,000. Credit Suisse AG raised its holdings in Aspen Technology by 37.2% during the first quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 109,284 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,439,000 after purchasing an additional 29,605 shares in the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Aspen Technology during the first quarter worth about $300,000. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its holdings in Aspen Technology by 6.4% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,302 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter.
About Aspen Technology
Aspen Technology, Inc is a global provider of process optimization software solutions designed to manage and optimize plant and process design, operational performance, and supply chain planning. The Company’s aspenONE software and related services have been developed specifically for companies in the process industries, including the energy, chemicals, and engineering and construction industries.
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Audi said it was bringing its E-Tron GT concept car to the L.A. Auto Show, but now we have some teaser images of what is claimed to be the E-Tron GT sedan.
The pictures popped up on Germany’s Bild and show Audi’s design boss Mark Lichte with the vehicle in question. It’s not exactly clear from Bild’s report if these images are for a concept or a production car, but it does claim the E-Tron GT Sedan will be ready for the market in 2020. We’re inclined to believe these teasers offer a decent representation of what the production E-Tron GT sedan will be like. A few details about the sedan were also released. Supposedly, it will have a 100 kWh battery pack, good for 248 miles of range. Acceleration to 62 mph is set to happen in under 4 seconds as well.
Perhaps the most interesting tidbit of information Bild gleaned is that the E-Tron GT sedan will be built on the Porsche Taycan platform. That being said, we might not be doing it justice by calling this the “Taycan” platform, because Audi just might come to market with a car on it before Porsche does. The batteries are to be located in the normal electric car spot: under the floor.
From what we can tell, these teasers show a sedan that’s sleeker than an A7. Size-wise, there’s no doubt the E-Tron sedan will compete with the Tesla Model S. Whatever Audi has here is set to be revealed on Wednesday in L.A. We’ll be there when it happens, so stay tuned for more electric Audi coverage.


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The MLB’s 2020 season has run amuck. But perhaps more importantly, so has the St. Louis area’s 2020 car show season!
Twenty-nineteen... ahhh, those were the good ol’ days – the days when we didn’t have to sing Happy Birthday twice every time we washed our hands and the days before we had to wear a mask just to go shopping at the local Walmart. One year later and things sure aren’t as they used to be.
The photo on this page was taken last year. Dillan was my new TKCS-STL volunteer as Luis, the youngest of our three foster grandsons, was graduating from Collinsville High School and would soon be shipping off to MCRD – the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. Luis had served The FIN MAN as a valuable asset to my Take a Kid to a Car Show volunteer over the past nine years and has attended over 100 car shows and cruises during his tenure.
No longer having a foster grandson at home, I knew it would be tough to find a single kid to fill Lou’s shoes. So, I began a recruiting program in the fall of 2019, and after Dillan signed up (with his mother’s permission) in the spring of 2019, this year I had two more volunteers sign up – Ignacio and Edgar.
The four of us started the New Year with a bang at the 2020 New Car Show at the St. Louis ConventionCenter. We saw some of my old friends from the Horseless Carriage Club of Missouri’s display of vintage cars. The next month Nacho, Eddy and I took a day trip to Lebanon, Missouri for the It’s A Gas! petroliana show and swap meet. That was followed one week later by the Gateway Gas and Advertising show in Springfield, Illinois.
And then came COVID-19, and all our future plans for shows and cruises were dashed, at least for the time being.
REMEMBERING YESTERYEAR’S EVENTS: The featured car, shown here behind Dillan, is a 1965 Dodge Coronet 440 2-door hardtop, owned by Arlyn and Joann Lange of Marine, Illinois. It is decked out in Dark Blue Poly (metallic). The interior is done up in a metallic medium blue which compliments the midnight blue exterior.
The 1965 Dodge Coronet series came in three trim levels, the basic Coronet, the Coronet 440 and the Coronet 500. Seven engine choices were offered starting with a basic 225 cubic-inch Slant-6 which put out 145 hp. The six engines which followed were all V-8 mills of 273, 318, 361, 383 and two 426 c.u. engines, one with a 2-barrel, and the other with a 4-barrel carb – the latter put out a whopping 425 horses!
Now, here’s the best part of this story. Arlyn purchased the car brand new when he was 19 years old and has owned it ever since! He and wife Joann dated in the car, and it remained in his family as a daily driver for the first 20 years. One day Arlyn pulled it out, dusted it off and did a total restoration, including having the engine rebuilt.
The Langes didn’t restore the car for it to become a ‘trailer queen,’ rather they drive it to car shows and cruises and occasionally to the grocery store, church or just out for a Sunday drive.
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Black Friday 2017 has come to Walmart and GameStop Take a look at these hot deals on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch titles.
Xbox One X & Xbox One S Black Friday 2017 Deals
Sunglass Hut is offering Up to 50% Off Original Price Styles as part of its Black Friday Early Access Sale.
You have to select the Auto-Renewal option to get the subscription at this price.
$200. off Walmart Coupons, Promo Codes November, 2017
Target’s Big Black Friday Deals Begin This Weekend: Toys
News - walmart-vs-amazon-best-black-friday-2017-deals
Their sale starts 6PM on Thanksgiving in-store and at 12:01AM on Black Friday online.
Amazon begins Black Friday games deals - Polygon
With over a decade of experience, BFAds is the definitive source for Black Friday news, early ad scan leaks, Black Friday buying guides, doorbuster roundups, and informative articles.
Blacker Friday - Best Black Friday 2017 Deals
This post will be updated as more carriers post their Black Friday deals or.
Best Black Friday 2017 Video Game Deals: Top - coed.com
LEGO Ghostbusters Ecto-1 21108 Celebrate 30 years of ghost-busting action with the iconic Ghostbusters Ecto-1 car.
Just Dance 2018: 30: 30: 30: Game: Lego Ninjago Movie Video Game: 20.
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Nintendo Switch Legend of Zelda Special Edition - $49.0 at
QuickBooks just announced their Black Friday deals and this year you.
Find the best travel deals for your next escape with Marriott.We have all of the best Black Friday 2017 deals on video games and technology from Walmart, Target, Best Buy and more.Features: Cordless functionality Glass body LED heating indicators Automatic shut-off Anti-slip grip Heat-resistant handle.Black Friday is still a few weeks away but Walmart has released their Black Friday ad for this year and we can see what LEGO deals.
In fact, this team has been powering your Black Friday ad scans for over a year.Sign up for the BFAds mailing list and be the first to know when the ads leak for Lego.
Save Money with Walmart Deals & Walmart Coupons – Hip2Save
Lowe's 2016 Black Friday ad released (see all 8 pages
Walmart hopes to tempt shoppers with online deals before Black Friday.
A Little Background on Black Friday and What it Means for
Toys R Us Black Friday 2017 Ad Deals: All The Switch, PS4
On Airbnb, you can book unique places to stay from local hosts anywhere in the world.
Walmart Black Friday Ad | Queen Thrifty
Here are some of the best Black Friday 2015 deals and Thanksgiving Day sales for shoppers, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Best Buy.
iPod Cyber Monday Deals - iPod Touch and Nano - Wccftech
The Microsoft Store may not be the first retailer that comes to mind when thinking about Black Friday deals,.According to BFAds.net, which hoisted the pirated insert over the weekend, lead-off appliance deals include a.
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There are tons of deals on electronics, hot toys, kitchenware.At Savings.com, get free Black Friday coupons, coupon codes, deals, and promo codes for your online Black Friday orders at hundreds of online stores.Read below to find Walmart Black Friday deals on Xbox One, PlayStation 4,.


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MURGON MARKET REPORT
THERE were 600 yarded Tuesday at Murgon’s fortnightly sale.
Numbers were drawn from Mundubbera, Gayndah, Biggenden, Yarraman, Kingaroy, Nanango and Boondooma .
430kg four-tooth heifers from Windera sold to $810 at 188c/kg.
Droughtmaster trade heifers from Gayndah, weighing 467kg, sold to 195c/kg to return $911.
Droughtmaster bullocks, a/c the Dellaway Family, Windera, sold to 224c/kg and $1266.
Full-mouthed bullocks from Nanango sold for $1543 at 209c/kg.
Heavy bulls sold to a top of $1818 at 210c/kg.
615kg cows from B Joyce Nanango sold for $1200 at 195c/kg.
J and J Kirk, Gayndah, sold charolais cross cows for $1305 at 189c/kg.
Charbray cows from Johnstown sold to $1070 at 186c/kg and 575kg.
580kg hereford cows from the Bennett Family, Manambar, sold for 185c/kg to return $1078.
570kg brahman cross cows from O and E Love, Mundubbera, sold for 187c/kg for $1082.
Heavy fresian cows from Tansey sold for 185c/kg returning $1564.
Cows 400–500kg sold mainly from 170-185c/kg.
Cows under 400kg topped at 140c/kg.
T Sampson, Yarraman, sold 426kg angus steers for $1024 at 240c/kg.
Two-tooth droughtmaster steers weighing 400kg sold for $938 at 234c/kg.
400kg brangus steers sold to $933 and 232c/kg.
Local charbray steers weighing 342kg sold to 229c/kg returning $785.
S and T Cosford sold charolais cross steers for 227c/kg and $812.
314kg charbray steers from Goomeri sold for 219c/kg for a return of $688.
378kg charbray steers from Kilkivan sold to 217c/kg for $822.
Murray grey weaner steers sold for $574 and 222c/kg.
Angus steers from Nanango sold for $602 at 280c/kg.
Charolais weaner steers a/c R Dower, Tingoora, sold for $560.
350kg angus heifers sold for $762 at 216c/kg.
Two-tooth droughtmaster heifers sold for 208c/kg returning $809.
235kg droughtmaster cross vealer heifers from Goomeri sold for $505 at 215c/kg.
Local charbray vealer heifers weighing 245kg sold for $517 at 211c/kg.
Light droughtmaster vealer heifers from Murgon sold for $423 at 214c/kg.


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December 28th, 2023: LeoVegas Group and PlayOJO showed why they’re one of the leading operators in the industry by getting recognition from one of the top industry award-winning bodies. In the recent EGR Operator Awards 2023 held in London, United Kingdom, on October 26, 2023, two leading casino operators received Gold and Silver medals for the Operator of the Year and Best Mobile Product Category.
LeoVegas was recognized as the top-performing casino operator and won the ‘Brand of the Year’ award in the EGR Awards. The company mainly operates in Malta, while its headquarters is in Stockholm, Sweden. It offers casino and sports betting with global and scalable brands such as LeoVegas and Royal Panda. The recent awards received show the company’s unwavering commitment and dedication to the iGaming industry.
Meanwhile, PlayOJO has also secured second place in the Casino Operator award category. It also collected Gold medals for the Mobile Casino Product and Slots Operator category. Over 15 casino brands competed for these categories, including William Hill, Tombola, and the Betsson Group, and scooping the Silver is a notable achievement for PlayOJO.
LeoVegas’ and PlayOJO’s continue to inspire the industry
LeoVegas is a popular online casino site in the UK offering a wide range of slot games and sports betting opportunities. It takes a mobile-first focus approach, highlighting innovations like LeoVegas Multi-play.
According to LeoVegas’ Head of Casino, James Ford, the casino has positioned itself to become the ‘King of Casino’ since the beginning of 2019. The company takes pride in receiving these prestigious awards as their hard work and commitment are fully recognized.
On top of the major awards achieved, LeoVegas was also a nominee in the same event in other categories, such as Mobile Casino Products. This winning point strengthens the casino’s plan to take this momentum forward to provide its clientele with the most incredible gaming experience.
With its flagship product, LeoVegas Casino, the company holds a great reputation for excellent gaming experience, whether you are playing on mobile or desktop platforms. It features a dedicated mobile app fully optimized for mobile browsers.
Meanwhile, PlayOJO is also honored for its latest award wins. According to PlayOJO’s Global Product Marketing Head, Andrew Steddy, the recognition testifies to the company’s creativity, dedication, and unwavering commitment to delivering the best gaming products and experience. PlayOJO is looking forward to providing new products and market launches next year.
The 2023 EGR Operator Awards
The 2023 EGR Operator Awards was held at Grosvenor House in London, United Kingdom, on October 26, 2023. Several companies in the gambling industry participated in the prestigious event. Participating companies have competed in Headline, Affiliate, Operator, and General categories. Specifically, these operators have bagged medals for Casino Operator, Operator of the Year, Sports Betting, Operator, Slots Operator, and Mobile Casino Product. The leading casino operators who joined the event are LeoVegas, PlayOJO, Kaizen Gaming, Betsson Group, Tombola, and William Hill.
The 2023 EGR Operator Awards emphasizes and recognizes the potential of competitors to thrive as they take a customer-focused approach and provide top bonuses with free spins to players. With intense competition in the casino operator industry, winning the two major awards is a significant milestone for LeoVegas Group. The selection of the winners underwent a rigorous process to ensure recognition to all deserving operators.


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The chief operating officer of California-based meat substitute brand Beyond Meat was recently arrested after biting a man’s nose during an altercation. Doug Ramsey, 53, was put behind bars on Saturday and released the following day.
The altercation that led Ramsey to show violent behavior took place after the football game held at the University of Arkansas. The incident happened in the parking lot near Razorback Stadium. The officer who reported the incident mentioned that it happened around 10 p.m. Upon arriving at the scene, the officer found “two men with bloody faces”, as reported by KNWA Fox24.
According to the account of the incident given by the law enforcement officer, Ramsey was in the structure of the taxiway when the victim, the owner of a Subaru, “made his way” and brushed the front tire on the passenger side of Ramsey’s car. Ramsey, agitated by the contact, got out of his vehicle and punched the Subaru’s rear windshield.
The victim got out of the vehicle, pulled Ramsey closer to him, and began punching Ramsey. After the scuffle, Ramsey bit the victim’s nose, ripping a piece of flesh off the tip of his nose. Ramsey allegedly threatened to kill the victim. The spectators, seeing the bloody fight, intervened and separated the two parties. Half an hour after the incident, Ramsey was arrested at the scene.
Ramsey took over the management of Beyond Meat in December last year. Prior to his last stint, Ramsey had overseen the poultry arm of Tyson Foods since 1992, according to the publication. Ramsey also served as President of McDonald’s Global Operations in 2019. Currently, he leads the operations division at Beyond Meat. The company is popular for making plant-based meat substitutes.
Read all Latest Buzz News and recent news here


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Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange Mt.Gox claims to have nearly a quarter of the 850,000 bitcoins it said it lost in February, according to Kyodo News International.
The French telecoms company Orange is on "serious alert" after reports of a fresh spate of work-related suicides.
Google faces a lawsuit in California over whether bulk scanning of emails to deliver advertisements breaches state and federal wiretap laws.
Music subscription services including Spotify and Deezer have broken through the $1bn (£600m) sales barrier worldwide as increasing numbers of fans choose to pay for music online.
MtGox, the defunct bitcoin exchange, has re-opened the ability to login to its site, but only to the extent of letting users see the balance in their wallets.
KKR has announced that David Drummond has been appointed to the Board of Directors of KKR Management LLC, the managing partner of KKR, and to the Board's Conflicts Committee.
MtGox continued trading for at least two weeks despite knowing that it did not hold enough bitcoins to return every customer their money, according to a deposition from the CEO of the embattled bitcoin exchange.
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales slammed the U.S. government over its electronic surveillance methods, after Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg had called President Barack Obama to express his concerns.
The Financial Times says that Chinese e-commerce site Alibaba was "95 percent certain" they would list in the U.S.
The overnight boom in tech stocks made a few billionaires even richer when they woke up Friday — and helped Bill Gates fend off a brief challenge to his title as world's richest man.
Amazon beat Wall Street expectations on Thursday, reporting a surprise profit, helped by rapid growth in its cloud computing business.
If you want to know how much Google is spending on some of its wildest dreams, you'll have to wait a little longer than the first earnings report from Alphabet, the new name under which Google will report earnings for the first time on Thursday.


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High balance and rewards checking are just a few of the accounts that credit unions and banks are seeing increase in use.
A new deposit insurance fee calculation this year may push bank retail deposits even higher, one research firm predicted.
If history is any indication, the increase in rates on long-term certificates of deposit could mean higher inflation is around the corner.
Research firm Market Rates Insight found that in the fourth quarter of 2010, banking consumers kept placing their money in FDIC-insured deposits despite declining interest rates.
A decrease in the premiums on deposits at credit unions and banks in 2010 may have indicated a lesser amount of new capital was needed to fund loans.
That meeting between the rate of a liquid account and of a term deposit called the liquidation point may be one of the reasons more money tends to flow out of CDs into money market accounts.
More money tends to flow out of CDs into money market accounts if the liquidation point, that meeting between the rate of a liquid account and of a term deposit, is high.
It appears that when personal tax as a percentage of personal income goes down, deposit balances go up and vice versa, according to Market Rates Insight.
New research from Market Rates Insight showed that banks and credit unions may be offering consumers and members the reverse of what they are demanding with CDs.
Consumers used nearly 80% of their $29 billion in maturing CDs to pay down credit card balances in the first half of 2010.


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The French Privacy group planned to launch AntiPivacy website ProtectionLivres.com which helps authors to search and report the infringement.But the group forgot to register the domain before the launch.The same was noticed by the ebook pirates and they decided to surprise the Privacy group.Ebook Pirates group AlexandriZ registered the domain which was to be used by the privacy group and re-directed the website to Anti DRM website.
“Protectionlivres.com was supposed to be a site where publishers can report pirated content, but it’s now a portal to fight against DRM. Because DRM is one of the causes of piracy, not its effect,” Team AlexandriZ said. After the Press pointed the same to the privacy group,they issued a new press release replacing the ProtectionLivres.com with the PortailProtectionLivres.com. Though new website was launched but the pirates had the day.


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Inflation hits six-year high but remains far below rates of other Latin American countries
Although Ecuador registered its highest inflation in six years in April, the rate remained far below that of neighboring Colombia and Peru as well as other Latin American countries. On an annualized basis, inflation stood at 2.9 percent increase at the beginning of May.
Colombia’s rate reached 9.23 percent in April while Peru’s was 8.62.
In its monthly report, the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses said that it expects inflation to continue to rise and predicts a 3.8 percent rate over the year. “Ecuador’s economy continues to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic as well as the war in Ukraine,” INEC said. “Our predictions are based on improving pandemic conditions and a prolonged war in Europe but these factors are subject to change.”
According to Finance Minister Simón Cueva, imported products are the major driver of inflation. “The cost for fuel, fertilizer, construction equipment, agricultural machinery, international transport and many good items have risen by 10 percent or more since the beginning of the year and we don’t have any sign that prices will subside anytime soon,” he said. Although the price of regular gasoline, diesel and LP gas are subsidized by the government, fuel costs for high-test gasoline and jet fuel for airlines have risen sharply, he added.
Food prices, which make up 32 percent of the inflation calculation, held steady in April although Cueva conceded there are government cost controls on some products that will need to be adjusted for international inflation. “The price of wheat is rising and since most of it is imported, the allowance that bakers and pasta manufacturers can pass on to consumers will need to increase.”
He added that many imported food items, such as cooking oil and cheese, have increased. “Many of these products are optional for Ecuadorians but some, like oil, are not.”
In addition to the rising cost of imports, Ecuadorians are affected by other international inflationary factors, says University of Guayaquil economics lecturer Todd Gorman. “Remittances from Ecuadorians living and working overseas is the third largest income source for the country and high inflation in the U.S., Canada and Europe means higher living costs, which could mean the amount of money sent home could be reduced,” he says. “Inflation in the U.S. is almost nine percent and rents have increased 15 to 20 percent in less than a year.”
He added: “There are almost two million Ecuadorians living overseas so it’s easy to understand the impact they have on the economy.”


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TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (pic) said he was not considering raising the sales tax beyond 10% under his administration, and that he saw no such need for at least a decade.
The premier has repeatedly pledged to raise the sales tax to 10% this October as planned, barring a big economic shock on the scale of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development earlier this year suggested Japan’s sales tax needed to rise to as much as 26% to pay for bulging social security costs to support the fast-greying population.
Policymakers have steered clear of debating further tax increases despite the industrial world’s heaviest public debt burden at twice the size of its US$5 trillion economy.
Abe has twice delayed the planned tax hike since the last increase to 8% from 5% in April 2014 dealt a blow to consumers and triggered a deep economic slump. Growing pressure on the export-reliant economy this year has fuelled speculation he may postpone it again.
“I’m not at all thinking about raising the sales tax any more under the Abe administration,” he told a debate yesterday with other political party leaders ahead of the upper house elections set for later this month.
“I don’t think it will be necessary for 10 years,” he said, when asked about the possibility of a further hike beyond the one scheduled for October. — Reuters
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Kris Yenbamroong and Hollywood's khao soi problem
So there’s this new khao soi — that would be the Chiang Mai curry soup dish — spot in Hollywood, west of Thai Town. It’s called, easily enough, Khao Soi by Inthanon Thai, and first came to light at the end of last month. Since then, food writer types have been arriving in droves.
There’s only one problem: the menu seems to have been heavily lifted from another Thailand specialist — Kris Yenbamroong of Night + Market.
LA Weekly makes a strong case against the Khao Soi offshoot and their pilfering of Yenbamroong’s work, even referencing a very personal dish (called luu suk) that the Night + Market chef is no longer selling at either location, since it’s been snagged for use by this newcomer. Still, writer James Gordon can’t help but notice that the execution of those dishes (even if they are heavily filtered through someone else’s work) is mostly on point.
So … what to do when Hollywood’s new blogger-favorite Thai place turns out to be a nearly-there impression of one of the city’s foremost restaurants?
That didn't last long
Haggen Grocery, the Pacific Northwest mini-chain, pushed into Burbank not long ago in a bid to put dozens of sites across Southern California. Now according to CBSLA they're filing for bankruptcy because, you know, the grocery store biz ain't easy. So much for that L.A. takeover.
Cider has been the new beer since before beer
If you're really looking to show your drinker's cred, get to the LA Cider Fest on September 19 at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. You can tell all your cool craft beer friends that you've left those wild yeast sours in the dust — but haven't quite graduated to mead yet.
Monterey Park gets a closer look
History-focused KCET takes a look at some of the most iconic restaurants in Monterey Park, detailing the info behind places like NBC Seafood and Luminarias.
Knife attack in West Hollywood
Someone ended up stabbing two people at zpizza in West Hollywood. The early A.M. occurrence sent the pair to the hospital with minor injuries, and now the knife-wielder in question is behind bars, says Wehoville.
Formerly just a Tumblr account posting (mostly) L.A.-based photos of burgs, it looks like Burgerlords might just be branching out into the real world? A new Instagram account, FB page, and website hint at big news to come one week from today — a bigger, better burger event, perhaps?


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This article was written by Paul A. Eisenstein for TheDetroitBureau.com
DETROIT, MI (04.29.22) – When the first Ford F-150 Lightning rolls off the assembly line at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center near Detroit today it will join a growing list of new battery-electric vehicles. By my estimate, there’ll be as many as 60 on the road by the end of 2022, more than triple the count last year.
But Ford’s new pickup isn’t just another BEV. It’s the spark the market needs to bring battery technology into the mainstream, connecting with potential buyers that hardly glance at earlier models like the Tesla Model S, Chevrolet Bolt or Volkswagen ID.4.
“Those vehicles still appeal to the early adopter community,” suggested Sam Abuelsamid, the principal auto analyst at Guidehouse Insights. “This is the first BEV to really move into the mainstream market.”
The broader F-Series has been, of course, America’s best-selling nameplate for 40 straight years — and the number one pickup for 45. Even after the production cuts suffered last year due to the semiconductor shortage, Ford managed to sell 726,004 F-Series pickups in 2021, far surpassing next-in-line models like the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado.
And where pickups were once the purview of farmers and contractors, they’ve today become mainstream vehicles, nearly as commonplace in the New York suburbs as on Texas ranches. If you were simply to go by average transaction price, industry data reveal the F-Series to be the best-selling luxury vehicle in America. And you certainly can outfit it like one, with upgraded trims like the Platinum, King Ranch and Limited loaded with leather, wood and the latest technologies.
In the automotive market, familiarity typically brings comfort, rather than contempt. Making the switch to an all-electric version of the truck becomes that much easier when there seems little to sacrifice and plenty to gain. At up to 7,700 pounds, Lightning has more than enough towing capacity for most pickup buyers, and its range of as much as 320 miles is significantly better than many of the new battery-electric sedans and SUVs now coming to market.