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2021 was a year of big moves, devastating losses and cautious but optimistic steps towards a return to life as we knew it — which were, more often than not, met with jarring reminders that we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic and that maybe there’s no such thing as a “return to normal.”
A new political administration in the U.S. had immediate implications on the fashion industry, from introducing us to new faces that would become ubiquitous to a return to using clothing as a messaging tool in D.C. Then, brands began reacquainting themselves with the IRL event, growing in scale and head count as the year progressed. Meanwhile, a global supply chain crisis had an impact on companies big and small — and likely will continue to be an issue in 2022 — and the industry mourned the loss of some of their own.
Ahead, we run through the biggest fashion news stories that shaped 2021.
The supply chain crisis
Even as people returned to work and stores opened up, the effects of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic continued to be felt in the fashion industry, which relies on a complex global supply chain. In 2021, around half of global businesses suffered from disruptions to that supply chain. Travel restrictions, inventory shortages, lack of labor, rising shipping costs and other complications meant that many brands and retailers struggled to meet demand, resulting in significant hits to their profit margins. For shoppers, “out of stock” notifications were at an all-time high, prices were higher and deliveries were delayed. Despite federal efforts to address these issues, they will probably be felt well into 2022, and may drive prices up permanently, according to experts. We’ll also likely see many companies streamlining and/or localizing their supply chains, which could dovetail with the ethics-related push for brands to make their supply chains more transparent and less exploitative.
A movement to #StopAAPIHate
In light of the rise in reported crimes targeting the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community throughout the year — and since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic — fashion and beauty professionals sought to raise awareness and combat misinformation, while speaking out about how these issues have long existed within their industries. Many dedicated themselves to the work: Phillip Lim helped organize GoFundMe’s #StopAsianHate fundraiser and led a Running for Protest event in New York City; Prabal Gurung consistently used his platform to speak out on these topics; many others lent their time and product towards the cause, and launched projects aimed at addressing anti-Asian racism and hate.
The (short) return of fashion week and IRL events
Once Covid-19 vaccines became more widely available in the U.S. and before more new variants loomed, many in the industry were hopeful that industry gatherings would be a possibility again. There had been a handful of socially-distant, limited-audience outdoor events here and there, but by the summer, we saw more brands testing the waters with more traditional, familiar formats, such as runways and parties. The September fashion weeks did get much closer to feeling “back to normal” — only with proof of vaccination and more masks — though some hesitancy lingered. Now, this will-they-won’t-they of whether or not IRL fashion week will come back may be put on ice, with Omicron and an ongoing issue of vaccine equity globally. (The British Fashion Council already canceled its previously-announced January London Fashion Week.)
Worker’s rights amid a global pandemic
The pandemic held a magnifying glass to ingrained exploitation of garment workers globally. This year and last, many already-underpaid workers were laid off without severance, and others became victims of wage theft and diminishing working conditions resulting from price cuts and cancelled and unpaid orders from cash-strapped brands. There have also been reports of union busting and harassment, not to mention health risks. As facilities hastily reopened, many companies saw surges in infection rates before vaccines were readily available or as new variants took over.
This only further motivated workers-rights advocates and organizations to campaign for brands to “#PayUp” and for legislation that protects workers. Retailers agreed in August to extend the Bangladesh Accord (now the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry), which holds them legally accountable for labor violations. In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the Garment Worker Protection Act (or SB62), which similarly holds brands accountable and sets fairer payment practices in the state, which is home to the largest concentration of garment workers in the United States.
Virgil Abloh’s life and legacy
The life of one of fashion’s most prolific, influential, beloved and promising figures was cut short on Nov. 28, when Virgil Abloh lost a secret, two-year battle with cancer. His sudden passing left the industry bereft as evidenced by countless heartfelt tributes on social media (and a beautiful one at his final runway show), but what became clear in the aftermath is how much the Off-White founder, Louis Vuitton artistic director and DJ left us with: countless products and collections, a plethora of new design ideas, an entirely new blueprint for industry success and a scholarship fund designed to make it easier for people like him to get into fashion.
Paving the way for future generations, he achieved more in his 41 years than many achieve in their lifetimes, but it’s still hard not to consider what he could have done with more time. In July, LVMH acquired a majority stake in Off-White and gave him a powerful new role at the conglomerate in which he’d help launch new brands and collaborations inside and outside of fashion. Abloh will no doubt live on through the scholarship fund, the countless people he touched and inspired and the institutions he helmed.
Remembering Alber Elbaz
Just months after unveiling his latest venture in fashion — his biggest move since leaving Lanvin in 2015 — Alber Elbaz died from Covid-19. The entire industry went into mourning, with many reflecting on the ways Elbaz had an impact on them, whether through his work or through his kindness. Designers came together months later, during Paris Fashion Week, to pay tribute to Elbaz in the form of a runway presentation featuring looks inspired by his most iconic collections and his likeness. That collection is set to go on display as part of a special exhibition at Paris’ Palais Galliera next year, from March 5 to July 10.
A focus on political fashion
In January, fashion’s presence loomed large throughout the events surrounding the Inauguration of President Joe Biden, with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both displaying a considered, meaningful approach to their wardrobes, with an emphasis on independent, value-driven American designers: Pyer Moss, Jonathan Cohen, Markarian, Christopher John Rogers and Gabriela Hearst. Though both Dr. Biden and Vice President Harris have declined to comment directly on their sartorial choices — for the Inauguration and even since — their wardrobes speak for themselves, as both have continued to champion diverse talent in public appearances and repeated looks they’ve loved, time and time again.
Introducing Ella Emhoff
This year began not only with a new Presidential administration, but also with new It girl: Vice President Harris’ stepdaughter (aka “Second Daughter”) Ella Emhoff stepped onto the inauguration stage wearing Miu Miu and Batsheva, and a style star was born.
Within a week, she had an IMG Models contract, and gigs quickly followed with the coolest brands including a Stella McCartney x Adidas campaign and runways for Proenza Schouler, Miu Miu, Lacoste and Balenciaga. McCartney also dressed her for her first Met Gala. Unofficially — or to those paying extra close attention — she was also the queen of It-neighborhood Dimes Square, and one half of fashion’s coolest young power couples. Meanwhile, the Parsons student has been working on her own knitwear line, and amassed a big online audience to sell it to.
Big moves in haute couture
Kerby Jean-Raymond made history as the first Black American designer to present a collection during Paris’ Haute Couture Fashion Week, with an inaugural Pyer Moss couture show that celebrated Black innovation. Each look in the show, held at Irvington’s Villa Lewaro, corresponded to a product invented by a Black person, including an automated traffic signal, a folding chair, a SuperSoaker and an air conditioning unit. (As Jean-Raymond wrote in the show notes, “Black imagination is this world’s greatest technology.”)
Though a summer rainstorm forced the original show to be postponed after guests had already arrived Villa Lewaro — and had to be re-planned almost from scratch — many came back days later to witness the history-making runway. “I’m always reversing the erasure of Black people in the larger conversation around the African diaspora. But we need to evolve that conversation every time,” the designer told WWD‘s Booth Moore. “I wanted this to be new, imperfect and fun. And some of the pieces are super hilarious to me.”
That wasn’t the only highly-anticipated debut on the Haute Couture calendar: Balenciaga also reintroduced its couture collection this summer, following a 53-year hiatus. The Demna Gvasalia-designed line was widely praised by the industry, and has been embraced on the red carpet by the likes of Tracee Ellis Ross, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Isabelle Huppert.
Change-ups at Bottega Veneta
It felt as though Bottega Veneta was always in the news, for one reason or another. In January, it was because it wiped its presence off social media. In February, it was because it launched a new campaign; in March, a zine. In April, a secret in-person show amid lockdowns raised eyebrows. All the while, shoppers continued to buy into the brand’s buzz, under the creative direction of Daniel Lee. Then, in what felt like a surprise twist to many, Bottega Veneta announced that Lee would be leaving, only weeks after he had presented a new collection in Detroit. Less than a week later, his replacement was confirmed, with Matthieu Blazy assuming the top creative job at the brand. (He’d been working on the ready-to-wear team since 2020.) So, yes, a lot happened — but with a new era debuting in February, Bottega Veneta doesn’t seem to be leaving the zeitgest any time soon.
Victoria’s Secret rebrand attempt
Surely hoping to hold onto some of the market share Savage X Fenty is after, Victoria’s Secret spent much of 2021 trying to rehabilitate its business and image after a slew of PR disasters, a spinoff from former parent company L Brands and changes in leadership in 2020. The most noteworthy shift this year was the elimination of its famous “Angels” and the narrow, homogenous, male-focused idea of beauty they represented. In their place is a group called the VS Collective, “an ever-growing group of accomplished women who share a common passion to drive positive change.” It includes models like Bella Hadid (who spoke about “taking her power back” in the new role), Hailey Bieber, Adut Akech, Valentina Sampaio and Paloma Elsesser, as well as other figures like athletes Megan Rapinoe and Naomi Osaka. Stores are also being revamped, removing all Angel imagery and adding curvy mannequins. Still, many feel that the rebrand is too little too late; others say that Victoria’s Secret is still too big to fail. We’ll definitely still be talking about it in 2022, especially with a forthcoming book and docu series chronicling its rise, fall and future.
Rihanna’s billionaire status
Rihanna’s 2021 began with an ending, or at least a pause: LVMH announced in February that her designer ready-to-wear line Fenty would be “put on hold…pending better conditions.” The stakeholders opted to instead focus on growing Rihanna’s cosmetics, skin-care and lingerie businesses, and that decision paid off: In August, Forbes announced she was officially a billionaire, estimating her net worth to be $1.7 billion, making her the world’s richest female musician and second-richest female entertainer after Oprah. Most of her fortune — about $1.4 billion — so far has come from Fenty Beauty; Savage X Fenty is worth an estimated $270 million. Both of those numbers are likely to go up as she moves forward with expansion plans, including retail stores.
Phoebe Philo’s confirmed comeback
Former Céline and Chloé creative director Phoebe Philo still hasn’t launched her new LVMH-backed namesake label, but the mere announcement that it was confirmed sent the fashion industry into a tizzy this July. The designer has one of the most loyal fanbases in fashion; the years since her 2017 departure from Céline were filled with speculation as to what she’d do next. Expectations are high.
The year of unexpected collaborations
2021 might go down as the year of the unexpected fashion link-up. There were the ones we saw coming (Yeezy and Gap, announced in 2020 and dropped somewhat sporadically throughout the year), and those that got us scratching our heads (Balenciaga and Gucci “hacking” each other, Skims’ Fendi-fied shapewear). Still, the hype wheels went right into motion with all of them: Yeezy x Gap products sold out in record time, crashing Gap’s site and getting marked up by resellers; Balenciaga x Gucci’s The Hacker Project Hourglass GG Supreme bag became a 9th-inning contender for “It” accessory of the year; and Fendi x Skims was rumored to have raked in $1 million in minutes. So, that formula seems to be working — bodes well for Fendace.
In terms of style, nothing was more omnipresent or influential this year than Y2K, 2000s, early aughts — whatever you want to call it. We saw starlets hitting the red carpet in 2000s-era Versace, Gucci, Betsey Johnson and more, and we saw those brands reference their own Y2K designs (hello, Miu Miu and ultra-low-rise mini skirts in its Spring 2022 collection). The hip New York brands also embraced things like handkerchief tops, low-rise pants, micro minis and visible G-strings. Year-end reports by Google and Lyst confirmed consumer desire for this aesthetic: Searches for “Y2K” were up significantly on both platforms.
The attention-grabbing era was also hot on the luxury resale market. Demand skyrocketed for Fendi baguettes, Balenciaga city bags and Louis Vuitton pochettes, as well as ready-to-wear from that era’s Gucci, Blumarine, Chloé and Jean Paul Gaultier collections. If the longevity of the ’90s resurgence is anything to go by, we haven’t seen the last of this.
Pop-punk fashion reigns supreme
The Y2K resurgence has been so strong that it seems to have conjured the return of pop-punk as a microtrend in both music and style. Leading this movement in 2021 were stars like Machine Gun Kelly, Olivia Rodrigo and Willow Smith, as well as Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, who emerged as a popular music collaborator and very visible boyfriend-turned-fiancé of Kourtney Kardashian. Avril Lavigne even got a Nylon digital cover.
Fashion-wise, studs, spikes, safety pins, plaid skirts, fishnets, ironic neckties, heavy eyeliner and Doc Marten boots were everywhere, from TikTok to the Chanel Cruise runway. Experts say this trend is symbolic of an era defined by nostalgia and anti-establishment ethos, and the promise of more live music in 2022 could give it even more fuel.


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WAFF grains deal promises more marketing opportunities
The Western Australian Farmers Federation (WAFF) says a move to pay growers more for higher quality grain will improve opportunities for local farmers in premium Asian markets.
WAFF has renewed its partnership with the Emerald Group for five years, which it says will give growers more choice in marketing strategies and finance options.
It also says growers can now sign up to its dynamic annual pool, which will reward growers for quality grain.
Federation president Dale Park says it will focus marketing in key destinations, including Japan, Korea and Indonesia, and increase opportunities for WA growers.
"What tends to happen is you have a base line quality that gets accepted into the receival points and that's what growers get paid for, so this is quite a new innovation," he said.
"The quality parameters are very much geared to each particular market so what Emerald will be looking to do is pick those markets that want the quality and then supplying the grain to those markets."

domain: news


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HANSON AISEDU DROPS OFFICIAL VIDEO OF "LESSONS YOU LEARN"
Following a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, Hanson Asiedu presented his five-track Stages EP in October 2018.
Earlier in the week, he shared a short message about the release of soul-funk LESSONS YOU LEARN official video.
Aided by a beautiful storyline, digital graphics and other tools, this video enlivens viewers with inspiration and never looked out of place.
And because it's on Youtube, anyone can access it on the go. If you have a chance to watch the visuals of LESSONS YOU LEARN by Hanson Aisedu, you`ll find out its worth.


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Nov. 15 (UPI) -- A bar in Wyoming hosted an unusual Guinness World Record attempt when a group of men clipped their beards together and created a 150-foot chain.
Competitors in Casper for the National Beard and Moustache Championships gathered at Gaslight Social, where their beards were clipped together into a chain.
"You had to stand there and not move for probably, we were there for a good, like, half an hour of just standing straight," participant Joel Andrus told WZZM-TV. "Because if you move too much, you break the chain a little bit."
The beard chain was measured at 150 feet, breaking the record of 62 feet and 6 inches, which was set in Germany in 2007.


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Trump's remarks came a day before the Fed was set to announce its next decision on interest rates.Politicsread more
In a tweet, Trump said that he and Xi "had a very good telephone conversation," and that "our respective teams will begin talks prior to our meeting."Politicsread more
Stocks in Asia rose in Wednesday afternoon trade following positive developments overnight on the U.S.-China trade front.Asia Marketsread more
Sen. Josh Hawley, a well-known tech critic, is introducing legislation that would remove the immunity big technology companies receive for user-posted content under Section...Technologyread more
In its new "Future Skills" report, LinkedIn has identified what it calls the 10 "rising skills" of the future and the jobs associated with them.Get Aheadread more
Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters on Tuesday requested that Facebook pause its development of Libra, an upcoming cryptocurrency that the company plans to release in 2020.Technologyread more
Zuckerberg fell out of Glassdoor's top 20 CEO ranking for the first time, although his employee approval rate remains high.Technologyread more
Signs of companies moving out of Hong Kong have emerged, members of the business community told CNBC following massive protests in the city. But one analyst said Hong Kong's...China Politicsread more
Tensions between China and the U.S. are threatening to slow global trade further, threatening some Asian economies.Asia Economyread more
U.S. President Donald Trump officially kicked off his reelection campaign Tuesday at a Florida rally where he exhorted thousands of rollicking supporters to keep advancing his...Politicsread more
The fashion industry is currently swept up in a storm of nostalgia. Riding on this throwback wave, Italian heritage brand Fila and American sweatshirt producer Champion are...Apparelread more
Uber on Monday confirmed it hired a senior U.S. auto safety official involved in the federal government's handling of self-driving cars for its autonomous vehicle efforts.
Nat Beuse, a long-time official at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) overseeing vehicle safety research, is the latest federal official to join the private sector's effort to commercialize self-driving vehicles.
"Uber's approach to self-driving vehicles is an opportunity to make a difference in the safe commercialization of this revolutionary technology, which I've spent a considerable amount of time working with in recent years," Beuse said in a statement released by Uber. "It's clear to me that the team here is dedicated to prioritizing safety."
Last month, Uber asked Pennsylvania for permission to resume self-driving car testing on public roads and said it had improved the autonomous vehicle software, more than seven months after it suspended testing following a deadly crash in Arizona. Uber is still waiting for approval, a spokeswoman said.
Uber has said it will resume testing with two employees in the front seat, enable an automatic braking system at all times, and more strictly monitor safety employees.
In June, police in Tempe, Arizona, said a back-up driver behind the wheel of a self-driving Uber was distracted and streaming a television show on her phone right up until about the time the car struck and killed a pedestrian walking across a street, deeming the March 18 crash that rocked the nascent industry "entirely avoidable."
The crash was the first death attributed to a self-driving vehicle and a significant setback for the industry.
Last week, Alphabet's Waymo said it hired former National Transportation Safety Board Chair Debbie Hersman as its chief safety officer. Waymo said Hersman will "oversee the design and enhancement of our product safety program."
In 2017, General Motors hired NHTSA's chief counsel Paul Hemmersbaugh to oversee legal and policy work on automated vehicles. Also last year, autonomous car start-up Zoox Inc hired former NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind as chief safety innovation officer.
Waymo plans to launch a limited commercial self-driving ride hailing service in Arizona before the end of the year, while GM has asked NHTSA for approval to launch a similar service next year in vehicles without steering wheels or brake pedals.
In October, NHTSA said it was moving to revise safety rules that bar fully self-driving cars from the roads without human controls.


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A recent trending video of H and M Fitting Room CCTV Footage goes viral on social media and most viewers are searching to watch. The headlines “HM Fitting Room” on tiktok, twitter, reddit and youtube. Below is the keyword for search;
video cctv h&m viral telegram
video cctv h&m twitter
cctv h&m telegram
fitting room h&m telegram
fitting room h&m viral
H&M Fitting Room CCTV Footage Video
Several of the video footages of shoppers in fitting room have been making rounds in the internet. A woman has recently claimed that the suspects from Malaysia have been selling the video footages of individuals changing in the fitting room. Suspect have been selling over the internet. There was some footages on reddit.
The woman also tweeted that she was quite supprise to find out the online selling of this video. Along with the tweet is the screenshot attached of the sellers.
Victims has reacted to the video after noticing their video getting viral over the internet. It was believed that such videos were sold on twitter.
Tons of internet users clearly want to view the Fitting Room CCTV Footage video, as we’ve already delibrated. However, unlike other movies that can be found instantly on social media, internet users must use particular terms in order to find the video online.
This is due to the fact that the movie is unlike other movies that can be found instantly on social media. Customers can also access the website pages that connect to the explicit recordings directly. They have no other options besides this one. There aren’t any alternatives available to them.


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Full profile →'">
The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.
Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY) this morning painted a gloomy view on the U.S. outlook for the nation's gadget economy.
The company this morning posted revenue for its fiscal third quarter ended November 27 of $11.89 billion, down from $12.02 billion a year ago, and below the Street consensus forecast of $12.47 billion. Comparable-store sales were down 3.3% overall, and down 5% in U.S. outlets. Profits of 54 cents a share were short of the Street consensus at 61 cents.
For the full fiscal year ending January, the company reduced its profit guidance to a range of $3.20-$3.40 a share, from a previous forecast of $3.55 to $3.70, citing weaker than expected U.S. sales.
The company blamed both weaker consumer demand and lower-than-expected market share for the reduced forecast. Best Buy noted that in U.S. outlets it saw a low double-digit comp stores sales decline in TVs and entertainment hardware and software, with TVs seeing a low-double digit decline in units and a mid-single digit price decline.
Best Buy said the TV softness was partially offset by a low double-digit comp stores increase in mobile phones, and a mid-single digit increase in mobile computing, as tablet computer sales were strong.
U.S. online revenue was up 7% from a year ago.
Best Buy estimates that its domestic market share was down 110 basis points from the comparable period last year for the three months ended October 31, citing weakness in TVs, mobile computing and gaming software. The company now expects to lose market share for the full fiscal year.
The surprise weakness in consumer electronics sales generally, and the ongoing wan demand for televisions in particular, puts the pressure on gadget makers to come up with some new must-have devices as we head for the industry's mammoth Consumer Electronics Show coming up in early January.
BBY this morning is down $6.14, or 14.7%, to $35.56.


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Swipe to see emojis from other periods
Viber, also known as Rakuten Viber, uses a device's native emoji font within the application's own emoji keyboard.
This means that Apple devices will see Apple's emoji design set, while Android users will see a different emoji design set depending on the manufacturer of their devices (though most likely the Noto Color Emoji set).
The messaging platform also include several emoji-like sticker options, such as those shown below.
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First Look: New Emojis in iOS 17.4
New emojis have arrived on iOS as part of the first iOS 17.4 beta. The new additions include a phoenix, a lime, smileys shaking their heads up and dow...
Google's Emoji 15.1 Support In Noto Color Emoji
Today Google has officially unveiled its full-color designs for Unicode's latest approved emojis, which include a phoenix, a lime, smileys shaking the...
Microsoft Windows 11 23H2 Emoji Changelog
Microsoft have begun to roll out their latest update to Windows 11, adding Emoji 15.0 support and debuting the glossy 3D Fluent designs in select appl...


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Apple made headlines last month by announcing iBeacon – their newest software product that pushes notifications to users as they browse their retail stores. Since then it’s become one of the most talked about new technologies.
So what is an iBeacon and how does it work?
iBeacon is an intelligent micro-location platform that can be deployed in a variety of environments to aid in navigation and interactive geofencing. In layman’s terms it’s software that allows mobile apps to recognize when an iOS or Android device is near a small wireless sensor (called a beacon). This beacon can transmit data to the device and vice versa using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), very similar to submarine sonar.
When the signal emitted from the iBeacon reaches another device it will display a notification if the receiving device has Bluetooth enabled and has the app installed.
The benefits of iBeacons are obvious for retailers. It allows stores to track and connect with customers in real-time as well as sharing coupons, promotions and rewards. Imagine receiving a 10% off coupon for Kenneth Cole shoes for just being in the shoe department. Macy’s has already started a pilot program in their flagship New York and San Francisco stores
That sounds great…but what about Sponsorship Activations?
I see iBeacons being paramount in Sponsorship Activation programs moving forward. This technology adds layers of interactivity at events, which would benefit teams, sponsors and of course fans.
As an example, CES held a massive scavenger hunt at the show this year. Attendees who own iOS and Android devices were invited to download the CES app available at both the App Store and Google Play. Once installed it provided further information and details. Participants then roamed CES trying to collect iBeacon badges. Top winners won various prizes ranging from tablets to CES swag.
Major League Baseball has also jumped on the iBeacon bandwagon. Later this year they’ll be utilizing the technology to customize fans’ experiences at ballparks via their At the Ballpark app. Last year MLB officials gave a preview of the app by showing how it can offer special features based on users’ location in a stadium such as coupons for food and souvenirs or a video that plays near park landmarks.
There are nearly 200 million iBeacons in the wild today that come in the form of our hand held devices. The fact that your phone can be both a transmitter and receiver allows for limitless possibilities. Peer-to-Peer fan/sponsor/athlete interactions, gamification, spontaneous messaging based on your real-world location, etc.
This emerging technology will open the floodgates of creative ideas to push the envelope and create new ways to fulfill the needs of teams, sponsors and fans/consumers worldwide. It’s a great time indeed.


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Samsung president of mobile business DJ Koh made the announcement after admitting Note7 battery faults
Samsung will not be unveiling the Galaxy S8 at Mobile World Congress (MWC) this year, according to Samsung president of mobile communications business DJ Koh.
Traditionally the firm used MWC as the platform to launch its premium Galaxy S series. The trade show begins February 27 – March 2. Koh made no indication of when the S8 will be launched, analysts expect sales to begin in April.
The announcement was made in a press conference today (January 23) where Samsung concluded the Note7 incidents were caused by battery issues. Koh told reporters at a press briefing: “The lessons of this incident are deeply reflected in our culture and process, Samsung Electronics will be working hard to regain consumer trust.”


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Originally published August 21 2015
World economy's doomsday clock strikes minute to midnight as financial system collapses
by Natural News Staff
(NaturalNews) Seven-odd years ago, when the banking crisis in the United States eviscerated global financial markets, central bankers stepped into the breach as last-resort lenders. Risky loans from the private sector were transferred onto the public-sector balance sheet, and unrestrained money printing (called "quantitative easing") seemed to provide a short-term fix in helping the global economy to at least stabilize.
However, as reported by John Ficenec of the UK's Telegraph, the fix is rapidly unraveling.
"China to Brazil, the central banks have lost control and at the same time the global economy is grinding to a halt. It is only a matter of time before stock markets collapse under the weight of their lofty expectations and record valuations," Ficenec wrote August 17.
The signs are increasingly obvious. For instance, he noted, the FTSE (Financial Gains Stock Exchange) 100 has lost all of its gains for the year already, and there are indication that the situation could get much worse:
— In 2008, China was the world economy's great savior, launching an unprecedented stimulus package that launched a major infrastructure investment boom. The boom caused a massive need for commodities to fuel the construction frenzy, which "dragged along oil- and resource-rich emerging markets," Ficenec wrote.
Now, however, the Chinese economy has all but stagnated. Economic growth has fallen below 7 percent for the first time in 25 years, according to official state data. That probably means that real growth is much lower.
The People's Bank of China, that country's "Fed," has attempted to implement a number of policies to boost the sagging economy, including cutting the rate of borrowing from 6 percent to 4.85 percent. Choosing to devalue the Chinese currency recently was a policy of last resort and signaled to the rest of the world that the Asian economic giant's growth is rapidly approaching its end.
Continue reading the full article at NationalSecurity.news.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml


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Iconic American utility vehicle manufacturer, Jeep, debuted in India at Auto Expo 2016 in February by showcasing the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee. The launch was expected soon after the show but for unknown reasons it got delayed. Emerging reports indicate that Fiat India, the parent company of the Jeep has decided the launch schedule.
The Jeep range will be launched in India by the end of August reports Cardekho. The Jeep Wrangler will be offered in four-door format only in the county. The vehicle will be powered by a 2.8-litre diesel engine that belts out 197bhp and 460Nm of torque mated to five-speed automatic transmission. The power will be transmitted to all four wheels. The ARAI rated fuel efficiency of the SUV is 12.1kmpl and it also comes with 238mm ground clearance.
On the other hand, the Grand Cherokee will be sold in three variants. The Limited and Summit variants will be powered by 3.0-litre V6 EcoDiesel engine that develops 240bhp and 570Nm of torque. Power is sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed transmission. The Grand Cherokee SRT is a performance spec variant. It will be powered by a 6.4-litre Hemi V8 diesel unit that produces 469bhp and 630Nm of torque mated to an eight-speed AT and AWD system.
After establishing the brand with these two SUVs, the company will debut an all new localised SUV by second-quarter of 2017, reports ET Auto. The company also has plans to make India as its export base for eastern countries. Details on the new SUV are scarce now. Reports indicate it will cater to the burgeoning compact SUV space in India and will be priced competitively.


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KEENE, N.H. (Sept. 13, 2004) — Tire Warehouse Central (TWC) Inc. recently celebrated the opening of a store in Littleton, N.H., its third new store so far this year.
The Littleton outlet is a franchise operation owned by Allan and Nancy Vieira and their son, Keith, who previously managed a TWC-owned store in Claremont, N.H. The Littleton store celebrated its grand opening June 26.
In April, Keene-based TWC also marked the openings of stores in Goffstown, N.H., and Brewer, Maine. The Goffstown store is a franchise location owned by Chris Herbert, while the Brewer outlet is company-owned and managed by Halis Sirimoglu.
The three new stores give Tire Warehouse 53 company-owned and franchise locations.


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It’s been more than a decade since we saw this concept for the first time. The Japanese manufacturer came up with an idea to offer some kind of a lifestyle pickup truck. The goal was to attract various types of drivers, not just typical truck lovers. Unfortunately, this model remained in a form a concept.
Eleven years later, things are much different in the automotive industry, so many believe it is time for a new, 2020 Toyota A-Bat Concept. According to some reports, the new version would closely resemble the original version in term of the style, but with a completely new mechanics.
- Futuristic design
- Capable and efficient
- Probably electrified
- Less capable than traditional trucks
- Probably won’t come
Speaking of the exterior design, there is no doubt that the new 2020 Toyota A-Bat Concept would closely resemble the original version. This particularly refers to the styling, which was characterized by pretty futuristic characteristics for the time it was launched.
We have no doubt that the new 2020 Toyota A-Bat Concept would stick to the same approach. In practice, this means a small, but pretty rugged looking pickup with focus on versatility. Of course, it would be completely re-engineered for this occasion. We count on a modern, unibody platform, which is becoming more and more used for truck models.
The Honda Ridgeline rides on such platform for years, while several new models are also about to come with the similar layout. Of course, that would be a new TNGA platform, with all the benefits it brings.
The interior of the original model was very futuristic. A sporty steering wheel and strong color combinations provided an instant futuristic feel. We have no doubt that the 2020 Toyota A-Bat Concept will stick to this philosophy.
Does it mean the same extended cab layout with suicide back doors? It is hard to say at the moment. In any case, count on an attractive styling, which probably won’t have many things in common with the rest of the company’s lineup.
This aspect of the 2020 Toyota A-Bat Concept leaves a lot of space for speculations. Considering that the new model will probably ride on a new TNGA platform, there is a quite long list of potential candidates, especially if we consider that this is a quite compact truck.
Given the model’s futuristic look, it won’t be a surprise if we see an electrified powertrain. While some suggest an all-electric version, we are closer to a hybrid powertrain. Still, it is hard to talk more specific at the moment.
2020 Toyota A-Bat Concept Release Date
The 2020 Toyota A-Bat Concept could hit some of the major showrooms in the next year. Still, there is still no official confirmation from Toyota’s management.
February 11, 2019


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Notwithstanding the popularity of Android, primarily due to its free applications, Microsoft wants its developers to sell quality apps at higher price points for its Windows Phone 7, Bloomberg has reported.
It’s not that Microsoft wants the developers to charge more for the same apps, it actually wants them to create better and more feature rich apps, and then charge more.
Brandon Watson, director of an apps developer program for Microsoft, said, “I’d rather developers sell fewer than a million downloads and get to a million dollars. If we can support a higher price point that’s good for developers.”
Microsoft adopted a similar strategy for the Windows Mobile 6.5 as well, which means it is not the first time Microsoft is looking to developers to build better and expensive apps.
The company is trying to attract those developers who are not happy with Apple for one reason or the other. By attracting those developers, Microsoft intends to build a momentum in favour of its app stores.
Microsoft has recently released close to 500 updates for Windows Phone operating system, all of which concentrate on improving different aspects of user experience.
Notably, Nokia has earlier this year announced that it will be making smartphones using Windows Phone 7 platform. It will be releasing close to 11-12 smartphones on the WP7 platform by the end of 2012.
In contrast to Microsoft, Android owes its popularity to the large number of applications.


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| Jan 11, 2014
| 7:22 AM
As he talked to students at Aux Sable Middle School in Joliet, Jarrett Payton gave bullying only a brief mention, as if to show that bullies couldn't win against the greatness inside those who were listening.
He talked about his dad – the late...
| Aug 22, 2013
| 11:39 AM
Maybe it’s a backlash to booty shorts and over-sexed advertising. Or it’s resentment over the resistance to plus-size products. Possibly it’s due to the economy, which is still squeezing teens and their parents.
Whatever the reason,...
| Oct 14, 2013
| 4:32 PM
Remember when, on Black Friday, stores would actually wait to open their doors on Friday? This year, Macy’s will continue the shift away from that tradition when most of its stores open their doors at 8 p.m. Thanksgiving Day.
| Jan 28, 2014
| 11:00 AM
The following items were taken from police reports:
•A 42-year-old Worth man was charged with DUI, speeding, improper lane use and improper lane change during a Jan. 11 traffic stop on the 8800 block of 143rd Street for driving 72 mph...
| Sep 2, 2013
| 6:22 PM
Eric Dickerson flew. So has time.
It has been 29 years since the former Los Angeles Rams star set the NFL's single-season rushing record — a span that matches his jersey number — and now the Hall of Fame back once again waits to see if his...
| Dec 20, 2013
| 4:46 AM
American Express cardholders can score a free $79 ShopRunner membership.
The service offers free two-day shipping from more than 80 online retailers.
Enroll an eligible card and use it to pay at stores like Amazon.com, Toys R Us, Radio Shack,...
| Nov 7, 2013
| 6:41 AM
The fifth annual Heather L. Hurd 5K Run and 1 Mile Fun Walk will be held at Harford Community College Saturday, Nov. 9.
The race honors the memory of Heather L. Hurd, a history major at Harford Community College from 1999 to 2003, who was killed in 2008...
| Nov 7, 2013
| 8:37 AM
Toys "R" Us, Rite Aid, Macy's and
| Nov 7, 2013
| 3:38 PM
Office supplies retailer Staples announced Wednesday that, for the first time, it would be opening its doors at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving this year.
Because who can wait until Black Friday for sales on office supplies?
Staples joins Toys R Us, which will...
| Nov 9, 2013
| 2:56 AM
Freebie Friday morphs into Shopping Saturday! Our fabulous freebie free-for-all goes coupon crazy so you can save at Veterans Day sales at your all fave stores. Save $10 at Macy's and JC Penney and get in free at national and state parks Saturday...
| Nov 11, 2013
| 6:48 PM
The annual retail arms race is invading Thanksgiving with a vengeance. Instead of a Norman Rockwell tableau of family gathered round the turkey, a more fitting image this year might be Americans rushing out to bag bargains.
On Monday, Wal-Mart, Target...


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Funding in startups dropped by 17 percent to USD 6 billion on a quarter-on-quarter basis to USD 6 billion, about Rs 47,800 crore, in the April-June period, industry body Nasscom said on Friday.
According to the Nasscom quarterly investment factbook on tech startups compiled in association with PGA Labs, deals also dropped by about 17 percent due to dampened market sentiments but despite the reduction in deal value, funding in the growth stage continued to increase.
The report said, “16 large ticket size deals helped generate total funding of USD 6 billion in the second quarter (Q2) of the calendar year (CY) 2022. Startup ecosystem witnessed the birth of 4 new unicorns in Q2 CY22, taking the tally to 20 unicorns in the first half.”
Around 26 percent of the total funding went to the fintech segment.
“Large ticket deals like CRED and Dailyhunt resulted in an overall increase in total investments in fintech and media and entertainment sectors, contributing around 45 percent of total funding in Q2, CY22,” the report said.
52% of funding was in the ticket size of $100 million or above with Dailyhunt and ShareChat raising big rounds.
Growth stage deals contributed 58% of the total funding during the reported quarter as the investors-backed startups have already reached a certain scale, it said.
Separately, as per the report by Tracxn, a market intelligence platform, Indian startups raised a total of $6.9 billion in the second quarter of the year 2022 declining by 33% sequentially.
New unicorns like Leadsquared, Purplle, PhysicsWallah, and Open witnessed their valuation swell up to $31.8 billion in the past quarter (Q2 2022). Startup funding dwindles by 17% to $6 billion in April-June: Nasscom.
CoinSwitch and Startup Karnataka
CoinSwitch is organizing a blockchain hackathon, “Building Future Cities,” in collaboration with Startup Karnataka, a Karnataka government initiative, and Tejasvi Surya, a member of parliament (Bangalore South), to recognize and stimulate blockchain-based solutions to everyday problems faced by India’s 1.2 billion people.
The hackathon will challenge participants to envision a blockchain-powered India, with a focus on intelligent mobility, energy credits and trading, decentralized waste management, secure digital identity and certificate management, efficient and transparent vaccine distribution, and farm supplies and supply chain management.
The winners will be rewarded with prize money of Rs 3 lakh, with the total prize pool of the hackathon set at Rs 6 lakh. Participants can enter the competition individually or in a team of up to four members.
Cricketer Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan is collaborating with Web3 fintech startupand Web3 metaverse startup WIOM to launch the first metaverse sports city.
This soon-to-be-launched multifaceted sports city will be home to cricket stadiums, a sportsplex, a sports cafe, gym, e-sports zone, cottages, running tracks, a first-of-its-kind 3D immersive sports museum, sports library, and an arena for other sports, among other things.
Hyperlocal location AI startup GeoIQ on Thursday said it plans to expand its team by 2X in FY23. These roles are primarily in line with its expansion plans across India and overseas across both leadership and mid-level positions to lead its data teams in the financial and eCommerce sector.
The company has achieved 10X ARR growth in the last four quarters and is on its way to reaching 5X growth in the next two quarters. Founded by IIT alumnus-data scientists, GeoIQ has a team of exceptional and experienced data scientists from India.
Bikayi partners with WhatsApp
To become WhatsApp’s first recognized e-commerce partner in India, the eCommerce startup Bikayi has partnered with WhatsApp to launch its new marketing platform, BIK.ai.
Through its AI-powered intelligent platform, the potent marketing tool aims to revolutionize the way eCommerce brands target, reengage, and manage their customers on WhatsApp, assisting them in driving higher conversions and boosting revenue by 11X.
Customers are 70% more likely to make purchases after receiving personalized messaging from BIK.ai, helping brands increase sales. Focusing on the daily active WhatsApp user base of over two billion, it also enables brands to reach a wider audience.


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Twitchy-fingered gamers are hopeful of a fix this morning as Sony's Playstation Network goes through the fits and starts of a re-boot.
But as the servers around the world are kicked into life, the fits and starts of the process are getting some disgruntled users into a right two-and-eight.
"Please bear with us as we continue working on #PSN restoration. We are experiencing extremely heavy traffic," twitted Sony on its EU thread.
Other Twitterers were spluttering in exasperation as their access to the Network came and went intermittently.
One Sony twit was so put-upon his spelling went out the window: #PSN "We're expereiencing a heavy load of password resets and will be turning off the services for 30 minutes to clear the queue," he spluttered further sending gamers into paroxysms of anguish.
Finally early this morning UK gamers wer back shooting each other up.
"The UK, Ireland and the Middle East are all now back online. Other countries to follow soon," said Sony at 12:39 this morning.
Still hanging gameless were Japanese players, waiting for the official OK, before Sony would once again be trusted on the Japanese Interweb.
Over the weekend it emerged that hackers rented a server from Amazon for the attack which exposed the details of up to 100 million users, and leaked some credit card account details too.
The country-by-country restoration of PSN services is scheduled to be complete by May 31, Sony has said..
Japanese games maker Square Enix said on Saturday that hackers had snaffled up to 25,000 customer e-mail addresses from its holed servers, as well as a much of job-seekers' CVs.


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What is even most fantastical about this new smart watch is that it is more affordable than the afore-mentioned smart watch brands. And it's all thanks to Richard Odjardo, a Beninese tech entrepreneur whose company, AS World Tech, manufactures the product and more.
Richard Odjardo can rightly be described as one of the hottest entrepreneurs in the African tech space at the moment. The 32 year old entrepreneur is on a mission to simplify Africans' daily lives through efficient tech. And while he's not the first to do this, it's obvious that he is doing more efficiently and affordably, albeit in an Africa-centric manner.
Richard's products range from smart watch to laptops and smart glasses, and they are all said to be high quality and super affordable. With the smart sun glasses, you can answer your phone when it rings while you are on the steering. All you have to do is tap the glasses and you can effortlessly talk hands-free with whoever is calling. It can also be used to listen to music and can be connected to several operating systems (OS) all at once.
Now, let's talk about the laptops produced by AS World Tech. First, they have interesting local names such as Shango 2, Orisha, Shadey, Ogun, etc. And they are quite affordable. As you may well know, it can be quite expensive to buy brand new laptops in Africa. And often times, repairing any parts of these foreign laptops can be quite hectic and expensive.
At this point, you are probably wondering how Richard Odjardo got the inspiration to start manufacturing his own tech gadgets. Well, on a few occasions after his phone was stolen, he couldn't trace it. So, he built a technology that can help anyone to trace and recover their lost or stolen phones. Also, after he almost had a fatal accident sometime ago when he tried to answer a phone call while driving, he decided to create a smart sun glasses primarily for the purpose of safety while on the wheels.
There is no gainsaying the fact that Richard Odjardo is building what is going to become a very profitable venture in the long run. Some global tech giants know this, which is why at least two of them have separately offered him $2 million and $3 million in a bid to buy him out. But of course he told them no.
He said he wants Africans to continue to have these quality tech gadgets at affordable prices, cheaper than the amount leading global tech giants could ever sell them. He also wants his products to be a constant reminder to Africans that they too can produce locally instead of depending on foreigners to manufacture the daily tech products they need.
In a September 2021 interview with France 24, he stressed that the best ways to tackle unemployment in Africa are through entrepreneurship, innovation and technology.


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In a bid to promote African technology, fashion, music and art, Lagos-based events management agency Temple Management Company, partnered with Insider, a DC based firm to organize the very first South by Southwest (SXSW) activation, Africa house. The event will take place on the 11th and 12th of March 2018, at the Parker Jazz club in Austin, Texas, United States.
The co-founder of Insider, Aubrey Hruby says that the first edition of the Africa house will give tech entrepreneurs, musicians, designers and artists the opportunity to build a global market for their services. The event aims to engender cooperation between African entrepreneurs and investors interested in doing business on the continent. The program will showcase the works of these African entrepreneurs to investors, who will get to see the budding tech landscape in Africa, and how it is charting a new course for innovation on the continent.
“From South Africa’s Silicon Cape to the Silicon Savannah of Kenya, African innovation is taking off. Africa is the future of global growth, and our goal for this program is to connect Africa to the rest of the world,” Aubrey said.
The African celebrities to highlight the show include actress, singer and former Big Brother Naija housemate Bisola Aiyeola, Nigerian recording artist Iyanya, Kenyan hip hop artist Khaligraph Jones, amongst of other celebrities. In addition, there will also be about 15 panel discussions over both days, that will include discussions on the Nigerian Tech scene, Afro-beats, green energy, brand activism, Africa in space, Afro-futurism etc.
The program will also feature workshops, and many networking opportunities for participants at the event. The event will also feature exhibitions from fashion and entertainment companies from around the continent.
The program is held with the support of the United States Government through the U.S African Development Foundation (USADF). The USADF is an independent Federal agency instituted to assist “support African-led development that grows community enterprises by providing seed capital and technical support.”


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If there’s one thing to be said for 2011-12 for Toll, it’s that there are benefits to diversity, its CEO and managing director Brian Kruger told investors this morning.
“It’s a mixed result,” Kruger conceded. “A number of our businesses have struggled, however many continued to perform extremely well.”
Write-downs on assets in Australia and Japan led to Toll posting a dismal profit figure of $71 million, down 76% on the year before ($291 million). Not helping this profit figure was a $6.4 million payout to Paul Little, the former CEO who grew Toll from a company with 125 employees to the global business it is today. Kruger, who took over in January, received $2.61 million in compensation for the year to June.
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If the $215 million in write-downs were taken out, profits were $274 million, down from $291 million the year before.
Underlying revenues (excluding the impact of foreign exchange, fuel surcharge and acquisitions) were 2.5% higher. This growth wasn’t matched in profits, as Toll is investing heavily in capital expenditure to try to win new business and customers.
The Melbourne-based global logistics giant operates in 55 countries. It has multiple business divisions offering several different logistics services, many of which, under the ‘One Toll’ policy, have been rebranded in the last year.
Of its largest divisions, Toll Specialised and Domestic Freight had a great year thanks to its exposure to the resources sector, while Toll Global Forwarding (formerly Footwork Express, a Japanese logistics company Toll bought in 2009) and Toll Global Express (a 2011 amalgamation of Toll Priority and DPEX which does priority freight deliveries in Asia) had a worse time of it.
Toll has recognised the dawn of the age of online shopping, launching a new business-to-consumer offering that was “very well received”. But this remains a small part of its overall business, which focuses on larger bulk deliveries. A third of Toll’s profits come from clients in the embattled retail sector.
The problem for Toll’s new chief, who took over from the long-serving CEO Paul Little in January, is that its traditional clients, many of them in Asia, Europe and America, continue to operate in depressed conditions. Their business sales are down, and they are using Toll’s services less as a result.
Even though Kruger says Toll “gains more new customers than it loses”, it has seen volumes of freight go down in several of its businesses, meaning it needs more customers just to keep profits steady. This has been the case for a number of years.
In May, Kruger said he had “never seen or been involved in a market where there’s been so much noise from our customers about the need for us to help them manage their margin issues”, referring to Toll’s customers, particularly those in discretionary retail markets.
This hasn’t improved, Kruger said in response to questions from analysts this morning.
“It’s probably abated a little bit, but whenever we have an upgrade with a discretionary retailer who’s under margin pressure, it’s a challenging discussion.”
Toll has managed to improve its conversion of sales to cash (getting its customers to pay their bills), cited by the company’s new CFO, Grant Davenport, as a priority. Almost all (99%) of Toll’s customers are now paying their bills, up from 96% last year.
The focus for the current financial year, Kruger said, is to complete a strategic review of its Japanese divisions, which are not performing well. He wouldn’t give details of the review, saying the options being considered were commercially sensitive. Analysts speculate the review may lead to a write-down or sale of the assets.


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H&M announces British singer-songwriter FOXES is the new face for their ad campaign this July, featuring the first look from Divided for Autumn 2015. This campaign was shot in Los Angeles, with Foxes wearing a cool mix of new season essentials:bomber jackets, varsity sweatshirts, slogan T-shirts, mini skirts and bootcut jeans.
It was so much fun shooting the H&M campaign. The clothing has tons of character, which means you can really play with the looks and the best thing is it all still feels like me," says Foxes. It is a playful mix that allows for experimentation with personal style, like a sheer mustard lace top, a long black fluffy-knit sleeveless cardigan, or ethnic print mini shorts. Accessories are essential to the look, especially wide-brimmed hats and chunky-heeled platform boots.


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It should come as no surprise that the US economy is in the midst of a major slump. The May jobs report, released by the Department of Labor, was incredibly disappointing and revealed that employers added a measly 69,000 jobs, far fewer than analysts had forecasted. The unemployment rate also surged to 8.2 percent, up from 8.1 percent in April. This figure does not even begin to tell the story of real unemployment in America. The unemployment rate does not include a growing number of people who have simply left the labor force. The European financial crisis has the potential to send shockwaves to the US and further impact our already fragile economy.
If there is one piece of good news to come out of this economic slump, it’s that businesses have increasingly gone green to cut costs and increase profits. Let’s take a look at three ways businesses can and have gone green to accomplish this measure. This should illustrate the point that environmental concerns and business success need not be mutually exclusive.
Invest in Alternative Energy
Businesses may not be making as much money as they want to and so they are looking to find ways to cut costs. A popular cost-cutting option many large corporate companies are turning to is investing in wind energy. This is an excellent green investment for larger companies because, while it is costly at the outset, it can save companies in long-term energy costs.
Embrace Green Printing Practices
Businesses can immediately go green and simultaneously accomplish cost reduction by embracing green printing practices. All companies should adopt duplex, or two-sided, printing to drastically cut paper usage and reduce their costs. Businesses should eliminate utilizing separate printer, copier, fax and scan devices, and instead purchase all-in-one equipment. This green measure would help businesses save substantially in energy costs. It would also reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Finally, businesses should also switch from using petroleum-based inks to using vegetable or soy-based inks, both of which are ultimately more cost-efficient. These inks are low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are harmful to the environment.
Transition to LED Light Bulbs
Businesses can easily help save the environment and cut their costs by replacing existing light bulbs with LED light bulbs, which use far less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs. LED bulbs convert energy to light instead of heat, which allows them to shine brighter. Businesses will be very happy to learn that switching to LED bulbs can save them between 75 and 80 percent on their electric bill, according to the US Department of Energy.
Going green helps companies cut costs and save the environment. Environmentally conscious consumers may appreciate such efforts and reward companies with their loyalty.
Sarah Peters is a freelance writer, web content strategist for BabyChangingStation.com. Sarah is very passionate about the environment and has written extensively on the importance of greening the corporate world.


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|Expense Ratio (net)||1.39%|
|Category||Europe ex-UK Large-Cap Equity|
|Last Cap Gain||N/A|
|Morningstar Risk Rating||Average|
|Beta (5Y Monthly)||0.95|
|5y Average Return||N/A|
|Average for Category||N/A|
|Inception Date||Jul 26, 2004|
The crisis forced a decision that still troubles him: He ordered his employees to give injections to the pregnant sows, one by one, that would cause them to abort their baby pigs. Van Beek and other farmers say they have no choice but to cull livestock as they run short on space to house their animals or money to feed them, or both. The world's biggest meat companies - including Smithfield Foods Inc , Cargill Inc , JBS USA and Tyson Foods Inc - have halted operations at about 20 slaughterhouses and processing plants in North America since April as workers fall ill, stoking global fears of a meat shortage.
Tyson Foods is the latest meat producer to warn of a slowing food supply chain, as the brand closes doors on more of its processing facilities amid the coronavirus pandemic. Yahoo Finance’s Heidi Chung joins Zack Guzman to break down the details.
A brewing American meat shortage, rising Chinese adoption are a 1-2 punch for Beyond Meat, plant-based protein producers


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Electronic cigarette use among people who have never smoked remains negligible in Great Britain, according to an ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) fact sheet.
Only 1.1 percent of “never-smokers” have ever tried e-cigarettes and almost none of those who have tried these products continue to use them.
Among former smokers, 11.8 percent have tried e-cigarettes but only 4.7 percent use them on a regular basis.
ASH has commissioned a series of surveys on e-cigarette use, starting in 2010 with a survey of adult smokers that was repeated in February 2012, February 2013 and March 2014. In March 2013, an additional survey of young people aged 11 to 18 was conducted.
Using its own and government data, ASH estimates that whereas in 2010 only 8.2 percent of current smokers had ever tried e-cigarettes, by 2014, that figure had risen to 51.7 percent.
Between 2010 and 2014, also, there was a gradual but consistent rise in the number of current smokers who used e-cigarettes on a regular basis: 2.7 percent to 17.7 percent.
There are currently 2.1 million e-cigarette users in Great Britain, of whom about 700,000 are ex-smokers and 1.3 million continue to use tobacco alongside e-cigarettes.
The ASH fact sheet is at http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_891.pdf.
Category: Breaking News


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This makes UPS more competitive with rival FedEx - which offers ground delivery on Saturday - and the U.S. Postal Service, with its Saturday and Sunday deliveries, allowing orders fulfilled on Saturday to arrive on Monday. Deliveries to residences are expected to account for more than half of UPS's total by 2019.
Multichannel Merchant asked Jerome Roberts, vice president of marketing for UPS, about the new service offering and its implications.
MCM: What was the business rationale for doing starting Saturday operations?
Roberts: E-commerce is a 24×7 operation and as it continues to expand, our customers are changing the way they do business. With order-to-delivery times continuing to shrink, UPS’s Saturday operations provides the choice, control and convenience customers want.
The addition of another operating day allows customers across multiple industries from healthcare to retail to ship and receive six days a week, providing an opportunity to grow revenue, turn inventory faster, utilize space more efficiently, and increase productivity.
MCM: What is the impact of Saturday ground service on UPS in terms of network, infrastructure, labor, costs, etc.?
Roberts: More than 6,000 new UPS jobs expected when operations are fully implemented by the end of 2018. UPS is launching Saturday ground operations with no additional investment in buildings, vehicles or trucks. The addition of another ground operations day more efficiently utilizes our existing delivery network and offers customers an even faster ground delivery solution.
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For its new production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” New York City Ballet remade costumes that the designer Barbara Karinska created more than a half-century ago. Above, Kellie Sheehan (kneeling) fits Laine Habony in one of the new costumes.
Andrea Mohin/The New York Times
New Costumes for a Balanchine Classic
New York City Ballet recreates costumes for its new production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”


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Thriving in the New Normal
With 70 years of history, operations in 12 Asian markets and more than 16,000 employees, Dah Chong Hong Holdings (DCH) is a diverse company covering the four basic necessities of life: food, health, mobility and household goods with operations that extend across brand development, manufacturing, marketing, logistics and retail.
Like all consumer-oriented businesses, DCH was faced with unprecedented uncertainty and disruption upon the sudden onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. However, the company consistently found ways to transform adversity into advantage. According to the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Frank Lai, “DCH achieved solid outcomes and breakthroughs across its business units amidst a challenging business environment.” How did DCH and its consumer products businesses adapt to thrive in the new normal?
Pivoting Towards Evolving Tastes in the Food Business
In Hong Kong, as in many markets, the pandemic severely impacted the food and catering industries. Ms. Betty Leung, a director of the GS1 HongKong Board, former head of the DCH Food Business and current DCH Advisor, recalled concerns about food supply and cost spikes. “DCH teams had to move quickly to identify stable food sources, anticipate changes in demand and plan advanced orders to ensure adequate inventory,” she said. “As a result, DCH was able to provide its customers with a resilient and agile supplychain despite ongoing disruptions.”
DCH teams also reviewed its product mix given the new prevalence of home cooking. “For example, we launched ready-to-serve ‘Foodie Cuisine’ under the Leo’s brand,” said Betty. “From Chinese sauerkraut fish to lobster bisque, the heat-at-home collection offered consumers convenience and simplicity.” Recognising a long-term trend towards healthy eating and green diets, DCH also became the exclusive distributor of a range of plant-based meat products, healthy and carbon-friendly alternatives to traditional meats. According to Betty, “Strategic adjustments like these helped us to solidify and maintain our market leading position.”
While the pandemic raised new concerns over food safety, DCH has always recognised the critical importance of quality and safety in the supply chain. DCH Food Mart, Sims Trading, IGF and Tai Luen have all joined GS1 HK’s Quality Food Scheme+ and scored Diamond Enterprise and Gold Enterprise Awards respectively, demonstrating a level of professional excellence in food traceability and supply chain transparency.
Developing Unique Capabilities to Serve the Healthcare Industry
Through its subsidiary DCH Auriga, DCH provides sophisticated supply chain services for the healthcare industry, distributing healthcare products with complex regulatory, storage and transportation requirements.
Four years ago, DCH Auriga was sharing office and supply chain facilities with other business units. “With strong support from our parent company, CITIC Pacific, we made a decision to invest in a healthcare-dedicated building and offer specialised capabilities to the medical industry,” said Frank. In 2018, DCH Auriga relocated to a 11-storey building in Kwai Chung with a floor area of more than 400,000 square feet. The facility was outfitted with advanced technologies and storage solutions, including automated guided robots, voice picking capabilities, an expansive cold storage system, e-locks and more. “While we had hoped to achieve full capacity in five years,” said Frank, “we beat our target by the third year and are already looking for new space for expansion.”
It was no coincidence when, in 2021, DCH Auriga was selected as the sole logistics provider for both the Sinovac and Pfizer BioNtech COVID-19 vaccines, particularly as the latter had to be stored at -70˚C. “I had been following the arrival of the vaccines very closely,” Frank recalled. “I remember waiting up on the first night for a status report to ensure our teams had delivered above all expectations.” With over 50 years of experience in managing sophisticated pharmaceutical supply chains, robust quality assurance protocols, GDP and GMP accreditations, stringent adherence to global ISO standards, as well as GS1 standards for identity and data capture, the distribution program went smoothly.
By October 2021, DCH Auriga had safely distributed more than eight million vaccines across Hong Kong. “Our success has been the result of strategic planning and a focus on the evolution of the healthcare experience – as well as the commitment to service that is the bedrock of our culture” said Frank.
Launching an E-commerce Portfolio to Capture Demand for New Retail
As consumers around the world stayed home to protect their communities, the global pandemic created new opportunities for online retailers. DCH was quick to accelerate the development of a strong portfolio of e-commerce businesses in Hong Kong.
Grocery retailer, DCH Food Mart, refreshed its online shopping platform (dchfoodmartdeluxe.com), while subsidiaries like IGF and Leo’s began offering consumers direct access to their best-selling products online. To support a growing community of home chefs, DCH Food Mart unveiled “DCH Cooking Buddies”, a loyalty program that amassed 200,000 members in its first year.
In early 2021, DCH launched Ahaa (ahaashop.com.hk), an online retailer of electronics, home appliances, personal care and more, which provides an interactive shopping experience and exclusive offers for many of the brands distributed by DCH subsidiaries. DCH has also joined forces with HKBN and Kerry Logistics to launch the HOME+ platform (home-plus.hk), a Hong Kong-based shared-economy e-shopping portal, where independent sellers can offer customers a sweeping array of products including food, household items and appliances. According to Frank, collaborations like Home+ are built on synergy and create win-win partnerships. “HKBN has over a million customers in Hong Kong, while we and our partners are uniquely positioned to offer product supply, delivery and after-sale services.”
"Leveraging market opportunities enhanced by the pandemic, our B2C and e-commerce businesses have developed rapidly while our internal teams are building critical operational knowledge,” said Frank. “These are important capabilities for our long term, sustainable development.”
Always Looking Ahead
While the worst of the pandemic seems to be behind us, DCH continues to look for growth avenues in today’s new normal. In particular, the Greater Bay Area (GBA) represents an immense opportunity for the company. With mega logistics and food processing centers in Hengqin and Xinhui, DCH Logistics is ready to offer much-needed cold chain solutions and value-added services in the region. Likewise, DCH Auriga is reviewing changes in regulatory requirements to offer cross-border services.
“Our existing regional infrastructure will reinforce our supply chain coverage and gives us a unique position in the market. We are all looking forward to quarantine-free travel with Mainland China, so we can fully harness our capabilities and contribute to the rapid development of the GBA.”


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Reuters does not usually check the pulse of Americans when it comes to video games, but a new Reuters/Ipsos poll does just that and the results (if you believe them to be showing a trend) are not good for Microsoft. The poll asked respondents to indicated their interest in dedicated gaming devices. Around 26 percent of the 1,297 people surveyed through an online poll last week indicated that they are likely to purchase a PlayStation 4 when it launches on November 15, compared to 15 percent who said they would buy an Xbox One on November 22.
On October 26 organizers of StopWatchingUs will hold a rally in Washington D.C. on the anniversary of the Patriot Act. StopWatchingUs is a nonpartisan coalition of organizations, individuals, and companies that oppose the unconstitutional mass surveillance being conducted by the National Security Agency. The collective seeks "a full Congressional investigation of America’s surveillance programs, reform to federal surveillance law, and accountability from public officials responsible for hiding this surveillance from lawmakers and the public."
If you are using AT&T as your service provider and you are accused of copyright infringement by a rights holder, you could end up losing your internet access if you don't pay attention to the notices the company sends you as part of its compliance with the "six strikes" system to fight copyright infringement online.
While the petition to bring Grand Theft Auto to the PC has gotten plenty of media attention and a fair share of signatures (over 365,000 so far as of this morning) another petition on Change.org isn't getting as much love. As Andrew Eisen pointed out this morning, the petition to bring Grand Theft Auto V to the Wii U has only managed to garner 4,313 signatures of the 20,000 it needs to be sent off to Rockstar Games. The petition has been online since 2012.
From the appeal on the petition to Rockstar Games / Take-Two Interactive:
Scot Osterweil, creative director at MIT’s Education Arcade writes an interesting article on Boston.com detailing a game created by the lab to push the idea of good conflict resolution. The game is called "Quandry" and it teaches players to resolve conflicts by better understanding the different perspectives of those who might be engaged in strife.
A new Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign has an interesting pitch: help fund an MMO universe built with a high level of input from players. Not only will players have a say in how the fantasy MMO will be built, the creators of the game claim that they are already helping to build out some of the content. The game is called Neo's Land, and it is being developed by Calgary-based game studio NeoJac Entertainment.
Wired contributor Rachel Edidin has joined a growing contingent of writers and game developers that say they won't be attending PAX events in the future. Edidin says that a Q&A with Mike Krahulik (the artist of the web comic Penny Arcade and co-founder of PAX) this weekend was the final straw that broke the camel's back for her. She is not alone in that assertion.
Peter Hines, Bethesda's vice-president of public relations and marketing, is making news today for some comments he made about why the Elder Scrolls and Fallout makers are not supporting the Wii U. Speaking to GameTrailer's Bonus Round, Hines said that Nintendo needs to do a better job of communicating with third-party developers about platforms like Microsoft and Sony have.
Gamescom, the annual gaming event that took place in Cologne, Germany last week was a big hit according to organizers. Organizers of the event announced details on attendance, exhibits, and more. According to the data it released, 340,000 people attended the event last week. It is an astounding number compared to last year's attendance numbers: 275,000 showed up in Cologne last year to take in all the latest games and gadgets. All told, attendance was up 32 percent this year...
Today Microsoft launched a new contest that encourages Xbox One fans to create and submit a one minute video about the Xbox One games they like. The creators of the chosen videos will win a series of Xbox One related goodies when the system launches this fall including an Xbox One system, a one-year Xbox Live Gold subscription, an undetermined amount of free Xbox One launch titles, and the opportunity to work with Microsoft's Upload team in the future.
Update: Politico is reporting that the White House knew that David Miranda would be stopped at London's Heathrow Airport before it happened, but it also denied any involvement in the incident.
"This is a decision that they made on their own and not at the request of the United States," White House principal deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said.
Earlier this year Mojang co-founder and Minecraft creator Marcus "Notch" Persson said that he was having a creative block and that he would put his pet project, 0x10c, on hold. The game has remained on hold since that time, and during a recent Team Fortress 2 live stream on Twitch, Persson revealed that he has all but given up on developing the space-themed game inspired by Minecraft's aesthetics.
Does an abusive and abrasive community scare away game development talent? That depends on how far individuals in such a community are willing to go in order to express their disdain for what a game developer is doing. When members of a community think that it is acceptable to wish death or a sexual assault on someone, it has a very real affect on game developers - or anyone else in the public eye.
A group of Satanists have petitioned Riot Games to uncensor the name of their favorite deity in the popular MOBA game League of Legends. They may have a valid point in calling it censorship of their religious views. In their petition they point out that other religious gods and deities are not censored such as Jesus, Allah, Zeus, Venus and God.
Something interesting happened this weekend after Brad Keselowski won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen: he credited video games for helping him to master the track. Keselowski told Motorsports Talk that he learned to navigate the legendary New York road course by playing video games, and that the knowledge and expertise he gained playing the track in the virtual world translated to success in the real world.
On this week's show hosts Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight talk about the latest Tropes v. Women video, the Boob Jam, Australia's plan to make all upcoming consoles region free, the Xbox One's ability to stay on for ten years, the new community-policed Xbox Live system, and a whole lot more. Download Episode 63 now: SuperPAC Episode 63 (1 hour, 13 minute) 56.7 MB.
There's a petition for everything it seems. For example, there's currently a petition on Change.org to make playable Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. game for Wii U and 3DS. The petition directed at game producer Sora Sakurai and Nintendo has already garnered 7,752 supporters as of this writing. Here's a bit from the petition appeal:
While the editorial pages at many gaming websites are featuring opinion pieces on how the Internet is a pretty nasty place for creative types, not everyone agrees. Of course all this soul searching and hand ringing is related to Polytron's Phil Fish saying over the weekend that he has cancelled further development on Fez 2 and has quit the games industry after a public dust-up with Marcus Beer (also known as Annoyed Gamer over at GameTrailers).
Finland has made history as being the first country to present a copyright law to lawmakers that was crafted by citizens. Last year Finland passed a law changing its constitution to allow its citizens to propose legislation if they obtained 50,000 signatures. Fast-forward to 2013 and citizens have managed to get fairer copyright law before legislators in the country because they managed to get the required support from fellow citizens.
A petition on Change.org calling for a PC version of Rockstar's upcoming game Grand Theft Auto V has over 200,000 signatures. While Rockstar hasn't ruled out a PC version, the company has not officially announced that it is working on it either. With GTA IV, Rockstar released a PC version eight months after the console game releases.
The petition jumped from 100,000 signatures in November 2012 to 150,000 in February of this year. Now the signatures are well above 200,000.
GaymerConnect announced a collaboration with Logo TV, the largest LGBT cable television network in the country, for GaymerX, the first ever all-inclusive gaming convention focused on LGBT gaming culture. The event is set to take place Aug. 1 -3 in San Francisco. Logo is in over 52 million homes across the United States, and is complemented by a number of online properties including LogoTV.com, NewNowNext.com, AfterEllen.com, TheBacklot.com, and DowneLink.com. Logo is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Viacom.
The results of a new survey released today by the Newseum Institute shows that roughly 34 percent of Americans think that the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees, up from 13 percent in last year's survey. This is the largest single-year increase in the history of the State of the First Amendment national survey. The survey has been conducted since 1997 to determine public opinion about First Amendment rights and issues. The results were released today by First Amendment Center President Ken Paulson and Newseum Institute Chief Operating Officer Gene Policinski.
A PSN account holder allegedly used ill-gotten PlayStation 3 and Vita trophies to bid on items in Sony's Bid for Greatness campaign. The campaign gives PSN users a chance to bid on one-of-a-kind props originally used by actors in the "Greatness Awaits" PlayStation 4 trailer that was shown during E3 2013 in a special auction.
Speaking to GameSpot recently, Riot Games e-sports manager Nick Allen revealed that high-level League of Legends players can now be awarded a visa similar to those obtained by traditional pro athletes. He told GameSpot that the company had convinced US immigration services to recognize League of Legends as a professional sport and simplify the visa process. They apparently listened.
Giant Bomb co-founder and longtime GameSpot writer Ryan Davies died on July 3 of unknown causes, Giant Bomb announced this morning. He was 34-years-old. Fans, colleagues, friends and the games industry expressed their deep sorrow on Facebook and Twitter as the news broke. Giant Bomb's Matthew Rorie conveyed his deep sadness in a short post on the site today:
A petition on Whitehouse.gov to pardon NSA contractor Edward Snowden for revealing the NSA's spying activities (PRISM and phone data collection) has passed the 100,000 signature threshold needed to earn a response from the White House. As of this writing the petition sits at roughly 117,000 signatures. The petition solicited the Obama Administration to pardon Snowden for any crimes he may have committed.
According to an in-depth Vanity Fair article chronicling the departure of Jason West and Vince Zampella from Activision and the lawsuit that followed, the duo who helped make Call of Duty a household name were not getting along at their new studio Respawn Entertainment. Last month West left the company to deal with "family issues," but those issues may have had more to do with his work family than his home life.
In the wake of all of the bad PR that Microsoft is generating, a group of unhappy gamers has decided to create a site and petition that publicly shuns Microsoft and the Xbox One. That site is called "Xbox Shun" and offers visitors the chance to sign a petition and publicly shun Microsoft for all the things gamers think is wrong with its new next-generation Xbox console.
So far 2,686 people have signed the petition shunning the Xbox One and Microsoft.
The petition text is as follows:
Valve Software revealed today via its Team Fortress 2 blog that Team Fortress 2 community members have had a total of $10 million paid out, and the 60+ individuals who participated in Robotic Boogaloo made a quarter of a million between them. The $10 million was distributed to over 400 contributors and partners, and almost $250,000 out of that money will be handed out to Robotic Boogaloo participants.


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On the topic of FIFA, the CEO of Take-Two spoke about Top Eleven, a management soccer video game developed by the company and reserved for the mobile public, adding: “This is a big step forward for us… we have never dealt with of this sport before. ‘now. And uh, I think I’ll stop there for today. “A smoky answer, which fits well with the current situation EA Sports and FIFA find themselves in.
On the occasion of the economic results conference organized by Take-Two, a large American video game company, the question has once again arisen that sees the possible end of the collaboration between EA Sports and FIFA for the development of the homonymous video game series. . For more details, CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked at the event what he thought of the matter and if the company would be interested in acquiring the FIFA license. In this case, the development would go to 2K Sports, a branch of Take-Two dedicated to sports video games. Currently, the only football title released by the company is Top Eleven, a management software developed by Nordeus and available on mobile devices. For the rest, the Take-Two name is mainly linked to basketball, with the NBA 2K video game series.
On the subject of FIFA, as VGC reported, Zelnick focused on the work Nordeus has done for Top Eleven, adding: “This is a huge step forward for us… we have never covered this sport before. And I think I’ll stop there for today. A smoky answer, which nevertheless fits in well with the current situation EA Sports and FIFA find themselves in.
After the launch of FIFA 22, the company issued a statement in which it indicated the desire to change the name of the series. The following week, documents were leaked in the UK showing the name EA Sports FC. Subsequently, it was the turn of FIFA which, again through a press release, announced that it was in contact with new development teams and professionals in the sector to build a long-term future. According to a New York Times report, the dispute between EA Sports and FIFA is due to the amount requested by the federation for the acquisition of FIFA’s naming rights, which amounts to 2.5 billion dollars for the next ten years. Considering that the agreement between the parties is expected to fall in 2022, this explains the current need for EA Sports to disassociate itself from FIFA.
The five most important news in FIFA 22
Regarding sports rights, Electronic Arts (EA, parent company of EA Sports) and Take-Two have often argued about sports rights: last year, 2K Sports launched PGA Tour 2K21, while EA’s previous monopoly had lasted twenty-five years. All this opens up a new mystery about the future of FIFA video games, which paradoxically with FIFA 22 achieved excellent goals. Not only is it among the highest-paying titles of the semester for EA, but it continues to feature comprehensive updates to ensure realism and immersion in the middle of the field.
“Introvert. Travel expert. Extreme problem solver. Web buff.”


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No matter where you look, there are signs of an impending recession. Publishers are certainly not immune to the downturn. Many have shifted their businesses operations already, and that is likely to continue in the coming months.
Digiday+ Research surveyed 58 publisher professionals this summer to find out where their revenue is coming from, how their revenue streams compare with six months ago and where they’ll be focusing their business over the next six months — in light of a possible recession.
It turns out most publishers are getting their revenue from direct-sold ads: 45% of respondents to Digiday’s survey said a large portion of their revenue comes from direct-sold ads, making it the No. 1 revenue source among publishers this summer. However, that percentage is a sign


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The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said specialist officers from its National Cyber Crime Unit are managing the ongoing investigation and are working with the airline to gain a better understanding of the incident.
‘Our investigations into these types of incidents are often complex and take some time before the full details can be established,’ NCA said.
‘We know that ‘opportunist’ criminals often use incidents like this to conduct secondary fraud attacks. Anyone who thinks they may be affected should remain vigilant of potential fraudsters seeking access to personal details.’
British Airways said it had emailed over 380,000 customers to notify them of the data theft and advised all customers who made bookings or changes to their bookings with ba.com or the mobile app during that period of time to contact their bank or credit card provider.
More information is available from British Airways.
You can also read the NCA’s full statement and advice.
Any affected Australians should consider monitoring financial accounts for suspicious transactions, especially during the period the data breach took place, and contact your bank immediately if you suspect any fraudulent activity. BA customers are warned that fraudsters may attempt to contact you pretending to be from BA seeking additional personal information.


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An auto club wants to stop the sale of E15 fuel, citing consumer confusion.
With less than 5 percent of cars on the road approved by automakers to use the fuel, AAA urges regulators to suspend E15 sales to protect motorists. Pam Moen of AAA Wisconsin says a recent survey by the auto club finds 95 percent of consumers have not heard of E15, despite the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent approval of the gasoline blend that contains up to 15 percent ethanol.
“The problem is that 95 percent of the vehicles on the road today are not compatible with E15 gasoline and it’s not an approved fuel that manufacturers are recommending putting in most cars that are currently on the road.”
The EPA gave the thumbs up in June of this year to sell the product at gas stations nationwide for use in 2001 and newer vehicles. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was thrilled. “This gets us one step closer to giving the American consumer a real choice at the pump.” But Moen warns, the public isn’t sufficiently educated about the higher ethanol blend of fuel.
Moen says there’s a potential for voided warranties and vehicle damage with the misuse of E15. Following the EPA’s approval, Moen says retail sales could grow quickly in states whose regulations allow its sale. And, consumers are likely to be attracted to the cheaper price at the pump. The higher blend of ethanol — a corn-based additive — is not yet available in Wisconsin, according to Moen, but she says it’s important to educate consumers now.
“And so we’re trying to get out in front of that and just make sure that regulators in the industry proceed with caution and make sure that they’re not widely selling the product until the proper labeling and consumer education can be ensured.” Moen says her group is not opposed to the fuel, they simply want to make sure consumers know what they’re putting into their vehicles.
After reviewing available research, automotive engineering experts at AAA say sustained use of E15 in both newer and older vehicles not approved for this blend of fuel could result in significant problems, including accelerated engine wear and failure, fuel-system damage and false “check engine” lights.
AAA urges fuel producers and regulators to educate consumers about potential dangers of E15 before selling the special blend of gasoline.
U.S. Representative Jim Sensenbrenner from Wisconsin agrees with AAA. In a statement the congressman says, “AAA’s findings affirm what we have already heard — E15 causes premature engine damage and voids warranties, even on new models,” he continues, “Concerns about E15 are not diminishing, they are increasing. That is telling. When an organization like AAA, a nationally trusted source for motorists, calls out the EPA, you would think the Administration would listen.”
Sensenbrenner had introduced legislation to do exactly what AAA recommends. “My legislation (H.R. 3199) would require the EPA to task the National Academies of Science with conducting an unbiased study of E15.”
Meanwhile, a representative of the bio industry says AAA’s statement is “misplaced” and a “veiled attempt by Big Oil to stop consumers from benefiting from its use.” Josh Morby, executive director of the Wisconsin Bio Industry Alliance, says, “E15 is the most extensively tested fuel in the history of the Environmental Protection Agency. As part of the approval process, the EPA has also established a throughout consumer education program.”
AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report 1:54


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Samsung is allegedly working to bring Android 8.0 (Oreo) to several more of its most popular devices, according to recent reports, including the Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, 2017 Galaxy A5, and the 2017 Galaxy A3. That list is also expected to expand to cover at least one tablet with the Galaxy Tab S3. The news shouldn’t come as too much of a shock but it bears repeating that, as is always the case with unnamed sources, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Having said that, it wouldn’t be surprising since Samsung has unleashed a steady stream of updates to its devices over the past several months both to bring new versions of Android and Samsung Experience to its devices and to bring security up to date – following a string of new vulnerabilities over that time frame. Moreover, the newly listed devices match up with those included in a purportedly leaked list covered back in November.
In the meantime, it isn’t immediately clear what new features the updates would bring with them in terms of new features. Android Oreo is predominantly an under-the-hood update that doesn’t bring many user-facing changes – with Google opting to instead focus on optimizations and enhancements to underlying software and security. Meanwhile, Samsung’s updated Android overlay can vary from device to device. Regardless, it should include any bug fixes that are still needed for the above-listed devices and, at very least, the core changes that Android 8.0 brought with it. That should include picture-in-picture mode, which allows videos to be moved into a smaller window – freeing the user to do other things while continuing to watch. It should also mean battery enhancements that prevent a given application from draining battery life in the background. The notification shade may or may not be updated, depending on what Samsung does with its own software for each of those devices.
As mentioned above, however, it is important to note that although these updates would seem to align with earlier leaks, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to happen. Furthermore, even if Samsung has now officially started working on the updates, that doesn’t mean that they’ll arrive anytime soon since getting an update certified and pushed out can take several months.


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Every summer since 1994, the Oysterponds Historical Society has held its Summer Fine Art auction, with the proceeds benefiting OHS’s mission.
This summer, the pandemic has forced all not-for-profits to think outside of the box in terms of fundraising events. OHS has chosen to go forward with a new outreach: inviting the entire community to anonymously submit illustrated postcards that will auctioned off online starting on Aug. 31.
The OHS “Secret Postcard Project, Wish You Were Here!” is an experience that showcases the Orient’s community’s collective talent—artists and non-artists alike.
Impressive postcard creations have been pouring in and OHS staff are heartened to see the community is having a great deal of fun participating.
“This year is an unprecedented time in everyone’s life. We are affected as individuals and as communities: locally, nationally and globally,” says OHS Executive Director Sarah Sands. “We are necessarily separated by circumstance, but it is heartening to see that together we can all rise to the challenge. So far, the postcard entries have been even more creative and inspired than we could’ve imagined. Oysterponds Historical Society is extremely grateful for the exceptional generosity and creativity shown by all the participants—accomplished artists and weekend illustrators alike.”
Although the stated deadline for entries is Aug.15, OHS will be accepting new submissions up until the bidding starts.
For details on how to participate, check out OHS’s website, https://oysterpondshistoricalsociety.org/.
The online bidding starts Aug. 31, but auction items are viewable now online at http://www.postcard.givesmart.com/.


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Cineworld revenues jump 10% thanks to Black Panther and Avengers:Infinity War
Blockbusters like Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity Struggle helped annual revenues at Cineworld bounce 10.1 per cent.
The corporate was additionally helped by actions in trade charges. On a continuing foreign money foundation, gross sales rose 6.7 per cent within the twelve months to 13 Might.
The primary 4 months of this 12 months have been significantly profitable for the cinema trade as movie followers have flocked to see the most recent movies within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Black Panther and Infinity Struggle are two of the highest-grossing motion pictures of all time, raking in additional than $1.3bn (£1bn) and $1.9bn respectively.
Cineworld did significantly effectively within the US the place its field workplace receipts rose 9.eight per cent for the 12 months. Within the UK and Eire, nonetheless, field workplace income fell 2 per cent in fixed foreign money.
The world’s second-largest firm lately purchased US chain Regal for £2.7bn to increase its presence within the profitable North American market. US field workplace gross sales are price greater than $10bn a 12 months.
Cineworld stated it will be helped within the coming weeks by a sequence of big-budget releases together with Deadpool 2, Solo: A Star Wars Story and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
The group accomplished its buy of Regal in February, a deal which suggests it now has greater than 9,500 screens throughout 10 international locations.
On Wednesday, Cineworld additionally unveiled a three-year cope with Informal Eating Group, the mid-market restaurant firm that owns chains together with Bella Italia, Café Rouge, Las Iguanas, Belgo and La Tasca. Cineworld members will get 25 per cent off at Informal Eating’s eating places below the deal.
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