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Posts Tagged “avocado shipments”
The start date has been set and Vidalia Onion shipments get underway in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, here’s an update on California avocado and strawberry shipments.
The Vidalia onion season will officially start on April 20th, which was recently announced by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Vidalia Onion Committee.
A starting date was implemented several years at as some shippers were concerned about immature or low-quality onions hitting the market early in the season. In 2017, April 12 was the start date, and in 2016 it was April 25. The packing date is based on soil and weather conditions in the 20-county area approved to market onions as Vidalias.
In 2017 Vidalia onions were grown on more than 11,000 acres.
California Avocado Shipments
This year’s avocado forecast is set at 374.6 million pounds, which is significantly higher than last year’s 215.8 million pounds. There was the normal light volume in February, but significant volume increase are seen in coming weeks as there will be avocados coming out of both California and Mexico.
With the close of February, 2 million to 4 million pounds per week were being shipped and volume increases of March are expected to continue April until movement eventually hits about 10 million pounds per week.
Ventura County avocados, strawberries and vegetables – grossing about $3900 to Dallas.
California Shipper’s Strawberry Outlook
by California Giant Berry Farms
Watsonville, CA – Spring conditions have finally arrived in California to help bring on the new strawberry crop for California Giant. Unfortunately, the company missed the chance to take advantage of the early Easter holiday which provides opportunity to build demand and lay the groundwork for a strong spring season. However, conditions have changed significantly and now California Giant is now looking ahead to the next chance with Mother’s Day.
What initially looked like an early season for the company’s California strawberry crop, didn’t quite happen as growers thought it would. . Additionally, the company had weather issues in their two other regions, Mexico and Florida, which typically helps fill the early season gaps.
“…In Watsonville and Salinas we expect big beautiful fruit next week bypassing the typical mud crop” says JT Tipton, District Manager for Salinas and Watsonville. Barring any unexpected return of winter conditions, the sales team is looking forward to Mother’s Day ahead and promotable volume to support their key customers.”
Avocado shipments from both California and Mexico are looking strong, while a big increase is seen coming for imported golden kiwifruit.
Mexican avocado shipping volumes are big the second and third week of January, but reaches a peak in the fourth week of the month leading up the big game February 4th. It is known as the Super Bowl effect.
The Hass Avocado Board reports 204 million pounds of avocados were shipped into the U.S. during the first four weeks of January. Of the total amount of avocados, 93 percent were imported from Mexico, with 3.6 percent coming from from California, with 2.7 percent from the Dominican Republic with Chile supplying 0.7 percent.
Despite widespread shortages of trucks being reported around the U.S. in the first half of January, it apparently had minimal affect on shipments for the Super Bowl.
California Avocado Shipping Forecast
Avocado shipments are currently originating both from Mexico and California, although the vast majority are coming from South of the U.S. border.
For example, West Pak Avocado Inc. of Murrieta, CA sources most of its avocados from Mexico and California and sees good supply and quality this season from both areas. Mexico will have strong volume continuing into the summer. California should have good shipments totaling around 374 million pounds.
There was limited California volume is available for the Super Bowl because it is so early in the season, when the limited shipments are typically directed to California receivers. National California avocado shipments typically ramps up in March and April.
Golden Kiwi Shipments
The golden kiwifruit season for imports from New Zealand recently ended, but importers already are laying plans from the new arrivals coming in May.
Golden kiwifruit imports more than doubled in 2017, with the SunGold variety from Zespri accounting for 80 percent of the category. The company is based in New Zealand and set a record with 27.8 million pounds of the fruit imported.
Zespri is planning a 50 percent growth for the coming year and extend the season at the season into March and April.
Here’s a shipping forecast for California cherries, and an update on California avocado shipments. At the same, you won’t believe the whopping diesel fuel tax increase being produced in that state.
California cherry shipments are predicted to get an early start this season with initial loadings getting underway the last week of April. The season should run through June. Peak shipments are expected to occur the second, third and last week of May. Assuming favorable weather holds, there should be strong volume leading up to Mother’s Day (May 14th) and Memorial Day (May 29th). While good quality and volume are being forecast, no firm estimates have been released. While California has the nation’s first domestic cherries each year, its total shipments are relatively small compared to Northwest cherry volume, which we’ll report on next week.
Imported shipments of Mexican avocados have declined for the first time in possibly 10 years as the season comes to an end. Mexico shipped 2 billion pounds of avocados to the U.S. in 2016 and is projected to send 1.7 billion by the end of its season in June. Volume from Mexico has been increasing 12 to 15 percent a year while avocado consumption has been following a similar increase.
Now, the California avocado shipping season is well underway. However, projected volume from the West Coast is only at about 200 million pounds — about half of the 2016 volume. One of the biggest shipping season for avocados lies just ahead as Cinco de Mayo falls on a Friday, May 5.
California Fuel Tax
Asking state lawmakers for a more efficient plan, Western Growers is opposing California’s proposed transportation infrastructure funding package.
While rain drenched California citrus isn’t having significant quality problems, that could change during the weeks ahead. Meanwhile, here’s a look at avocado shipments from Mexico and California.
The bottom line is citrus growers don’t know what long-term effect the recent rains will have on the crop as navels and cara cara navels hit peak loadings. Excessive rain and moisture can adversely affect low-hanging fruit on trees, so packinghouses are running a little slower to monitor spoilage.
Gold nugget variety mandarins and Ojai pixie tangerines — late season specialty varieties, also recently got underway by Sunkist Growers. Additionally, California Star Ruby grapefruit shipments are about to start.
While quality issues down the road are a question mark, more certainty is that the 2017 harvest will end earlier this season. Instead of lasting until the Fourth of July, shipments will end in early June.
Total tonnage harvested in 2017 is expected to be 15 to 19 percent less than a year ago.
Southern California citrus, avocados – grossing about $4500 to Atlanta.
California avocado shipments should end its season with about 195 million (4,875 truck loads) compared to nearly 400 million pounds in 2016. Larger avocado crops are often followed by smaller crops the next year.
California loadings could increase by mid-March and into April to 8 to 10 million pounds per week. This would compare to shipments as high as 15 million pounds per week a year ago.
Imported Mexican avocados, tropical fruits and vegetables through South Texas – grossing about $2700 to Chicago.
A snowfall described by some that only occurs every 25 years hit the major onion shipping area of western Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon on January 8, damaging a number of structures, including some storage sheds. Transportation has been very difficult due to highways being closed, or are difficult to navigate.
Beside the large amounts of snow that fell over the weekend, rains followed that made the snow even heavier.
Snake River Produce of Nyssa, OR, lost a storage facility. Although it didn’t have onions stored there, several trucks reportedly sustained heavy damage. Three other Nyssa onion operations had packing and storage buildings collapse. One company reportedly lost about 4,200 bins of onions.
In Ontario, OR one shed lost about 2,000 bins of onions when the roof gave way.
Haun Packing of Weiser, ID, reported the loss of a storage building collapse. While the onions had already been moved out there was some equipment inside.
Collapses in the region were reported to be about 20 structures, including four or five packing sheds, with storage buildings comprising the rest.
Facilities costing hundreds of thousands of dollars even before losses of product or equipment are tallied are expected to be very significant.
California used to the place if a produce trucker was hauling avocados. However, you load avocados now, chances are good the pick up will be occurring in South Texas with imported Mexican avocados.
Mexico provide year-round availability and a consistent, high-quality fruit and is the primary reason for the astronomical growth in popularity in the U.S.
Before Mexico, It used to be avocado availability was inconsistent due to the alternate-bearing nature of crops in both California and Chile. Supplies would be typically in good supply one year and tight the following season.
However, avocados grown Mexico year after year tend to provide a lot more consistency in supplies and quality. Buyers for major American retail grocery chains like that.
Additionally, Mexico has four blooms each year and farmers can grow in altitudes ranging from 4,000 feet to 8,000 feet. This is not the case in Chile or California.
Imported Mexican avocados account for at least 75 percent of the avocados shipped to U.S. markets.
Some California avocado growers, as well as a number of produce brokers and shippers in the U.S. sell more Mexican avocados than their own product grown in California.
As we plow right into the holiday shipping season, here’s a look at loading opportunities from South Texas and Mexico to the Red River Valley.
Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas fruit shipments began in early October with grapefruit, but volume has been increasing leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday. A significant increase in loadings is expected after Thanksgiving and leveling off to more steady shipments through January.
South Texas orange shipment also got going in October and were in full swing with the arrival of November. However, Texas orange shipments only account for about 25 percent of the total citrus volume.
Mexican avocado Imports
Mexican Avocado Imports are Increasing through South Texas and big volumes are seen again through the winter months. During the 2016-17 shipping season, Mexican avocado shipments should hit about 2 billion pounds, similar to a year ago.
Lower Rio Grande Valley citrus, plus crossings from Mexico of tropical fruits and vegetables – grossing about $2600 to Chicago; $4100 to New York City.
Red River Valley Potato shipments
Red potato shipments from the Red River Valley, the nation’s largest red potato producer, will be down more than one-third from last year’s big crop, and 20 percent less than the five-year average. There were thousands of acreage lost to excessive rains ranging from Grand Forks, ND to the Canadian border.
It is estimated only 64,000 out of 80,000 planted potato acres in North Dakota will be harvested. One potato production forecast is at 19.8 million hundredweight (cwt.), down 28 percent from last year. However, another forecast believes an additional 4 million cwt. has been lost. Most of the acres lost were in northeast North Dakota on non-irrigated land. The state’s processing crop which yields much higher was largely unaffected by heavy rains.
Whichever estimate turns out to be more accurate, red potato volume from the Red River Valley will be far less than 2015-16 when 27.6 million cwt. of potatoes were shipped.
Red River Valley potatoes – grossing about $1700 to Chicago; $2600 to Dallas.
by Avocado Producers and Exporting Packers Association of Mexico
URUAPAN, Mexico – The Avocado Producers and Exporting Packers Association of Mexico (APEAM) is pleased to report strong shipments to the U.S. market, as the Mexican avocado industry moves swiftly to resume normal operations after a temporary shipping delay caused by a work stoppage in Mexico earlier this month. Harvesting in Mexico resumed on October 15th, and APEAM initially projected shipping 40 million pounds of avocados to the U.S. last week (October 24 – 28). The industry surpassed that projection and shipped a total of 51.6 million pounds – one of the largest weeks ever for Mexican avocado shipments to the United States.
APEAM expects the distribution system to be fully back on track over the next 10 days. This will enable the industry to fulfill ongoing demand throughout the coming months including football season, Thanksgiving and the Holidays.
Weekly avocado shipments now projected through December have been increased by about 10 percent from previous estimates for a total projection of 469 million pounds for the mid October to December time period.
Last year, the U.S. consumed over two billion pounds of avocados with about 80 percent of the supply coming from Mexico. With the updated projections, Mexico is on track to support the strong U.S. demand for avocados through its network of importers, retailers and foodservice partners.
APEAM is a nonprofit organization founded in 1997 to represent the Hass avocado industry throughout Mexico in its export program for the brand Avocados From Mexico. APEAM is dedicated to developing and implementing stringent quality measures to ensure the production of the finest avocados available anywhere, worldwide. APEAM currently represents more than 19,000 growers and 46 packinghouses.
Mexican avocados, tropical fruit and vegetables crossing the border in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of (Pharr) Texas – grossing about $3700 to New York City; Chicago about $2300; and Atlanta, GA, about $2100.
Here’s some updates on tomato shipments from Southern California, as well as avocado shipments, which continue to show impressive growth in volume.
California vine-ripe round tomatoes and romas are now in peak volume from Southern California. This season, veteram tomato grower Harry Singh, Jr. and his family—along with exclusive marketer Oppy—celebrate 75 years of producing vine-ripes in Oceanside, CA. .
Priya Singh, general manager, is a third generation grower at the company that became known as West Coast Tomato Growers (WCTG), owners of the Oceanside Pole and Cal-Tom brands, in 2012. Oppy is shipping Oceanside Pole and Cal-Tom vine ripened rounds and romas produced by the Singh family into November.
Southern California tomatoes – grossing about $6300 to New York City.
2016 is off to a good start for avocado shipments, both domestic and for imports. The coming fall shipping season is looking to be even better. From January through May, more than 1 billion pounds of avocados were shipped in the U.S. That is up from 883 million pounds for the same period a year ago.
In all, volume rose 16 percent in 2015 compared to 2014, but for fall, volume grew 21 percent — from 575 million pounds for September through December 2014 to 696 million pounds for the fall of 2015.
The increase was driven by an increase in imports from Mexico, which had its biggest year ever. Mexico was by far the largest source of avocados in 2015, shipping 1.7 billion pounds to the U.S. California was next, with 262 million pounds, followed by Peru with 100 million and Chile with 20 million pounds. Other countries shipped almost 4 million pounds.
Avocado shipments are increasing as consumption by American consumers continues to grow at a very fast pace. Avocado shipments seem to be breaking records nearly every year.
Total volume in the U.S. for 2015 was 2.14 billion pounds, an increase of 15 percent over the 1.85 billion pounds in 2014.
Some California avocado shipments should continue through August. Then the fall crop from Mexico starts ramping up.
As the Easter shipping period for a number of produce items approaches, here’s a look a few commodities coming out of California, Mexico and Florida.
Decent California strawberry volume is expected following a weeks of challenges regarding production. A wild winter for strawberries should stabilize enough to provide steady loading opportunities for Easter, which falls on March 27th.
The should mean steady volumes from the Oxnard and Santa Maria growing regions of California and from the Ruskin, FL area.
Because Easter is early this year, and based on the timing of this year’s crop, Florida strawberry shipments should be situated perfectly for Easter.
The past couple of Easters have fallen after peak Florida shipments.
Thanks to the early Easter this year, there should be enough asparagus shipments from Mexico and California. Mexican volumes will be declining for the season, but because of the early Easter, it should serve as a good supplement to California, which is having peak shipments.
California avocado loadings should be plentiful this spring and summer, with volume expected to be up to 40 percent greater than last year’s. California is expected to produce 392.5 million pounds of avocados this season, up significantly from the 279 million pounds shipped last year. That would be approaching 10,000 truck load equivalents.
The California avocado harvest started in January, hit good volume by late March, with peak shipments occurring from April to July.
Most California avocado shipments are destined for markets are in the western U.S.,, while Mexico will continue shipping heavily into the Midwest and to the East Coast.
The California kiwifruit shipping season continues and about 40 percent of the six-million seven-pound trays remain. The fuzzy brown fruit is shipped out of California’s Central San Joaquin Valley. Loading will continue through May and as late as June.
Depending you who you ask, Michigan apple shipments will be somewhere between 22.5 and 25 million bushels. Last season, crop finished at 27 million bushels.
The Michigan apple industry is still collecting data for the final 2014-15 estimate.
Heading into the 2015 harvest, Michigan growers are expecting similar volumes from the Ridge area, higher volumes from the Southwest, similar volumes from the East and lighter volumes from the Northwest part of Michigan.
Michigan blueberry shipments have just started. We hope to have more info on loading opportunities soon.
Over 70 percent of the California avocado shipments have been completed, with much of the volume now coming out of the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo areas. California could ship up to 10 million pounds a week through mid-July before volumes begin a gradual decline.
Mexico’s 2014-15 crop is finishing up. However new crop loadings for Mexican avocado shipments are just starting.
Imports of Peruvian avocados began arriving at US ports within the last week or so.
Southern California avocados, tomatoes, vegetables – grossing about $5400 to Cleveland.


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Pictures of the Saab 9-4X crossover have appeared online, in the form of spy images. The car, scheduled to make its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, will be based on the same underpinnings as the Chevrolet Equinox GMC Terrain and the Cadillac SRX, which are built on GM’s Theta platform with all-wheel-drive.
It is expected that the car will be coming with a 2.8-liter turbocharged V6 engine. But there are some who suggest the possibility of the 2.0-liter turbo four which is seen in the new 9-5 (already out on the road). Both engines will most likely be mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.
There are also rumors that the tail lamps might look different when the production model comes out. Just wait until the car is unveiled at the auto show and you will know a lot more about it.

domain: news


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Hawkmoon had something incredible to say on the DC Tech Pages:
First the Dreamcast made history by outselling every other system on pre-sale numbers, now this…
As of this current week, the pre-sale orders for the Dreamcast are out-pacing the sale of the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 systems. Never in the history of a pre-order campaign has a system that is only available for reservation outsold existing hardware units.
What is amazing about this is the fact that the numbers show that the DC is making a BIG splash and will cause some pain for Nintendo and Sony. I cannot reveal actual numbers for the retailer that is claiming this, what I can say is that it is amazing.
This post was originally written for TSSZ News.


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|Forum: Opera Browser Usage and Support|
|Displaying Topics 1 - 40 (51 total) Sorted by: Thread-Subject, Direction: reverse|
|1:|| Yahoo! Mobile to Distribute the Opera Mini Browser|
"Yahoo! is expected to begin distributing Opera Mini via Yahoo! Mobile and also as a standalone download from Yahoo!'s mobile Web sites in the near future." - Opera Press Release
|Feb 19, 2009|
|2:|| Vodafone To Add Opera Mini Browser To Emerging Market Handsets|
"With this product, we can transform even basic handsets into very capable Internet browsing devices, enabling millions of people to enjoy the social and economic aspects of the Internet that many already take for granted,"
|Apr 7, 2010|
|3:|| Vivaldi Browser 1.0 Out of Beta|
"We're introducing features and customizations that browsers today don't have."
|Apr 6, 2016|
|4:|| Opera releases new Chromium-powered desktop browser|
Opera says the latest generation of its desktop browser has been "completely re-engineered under the hood", with the most notable change being that it now runs on Chromium
|May 28, 2013|
|5:|| Opera now has a free and unlimited built-in VPN|
The latest developer version of Opera now has a free VPN baked right in
|Apr 21, 2016|
|6:|| Opera is Coming to Silicon Valley|
In a move that signals a more aggressive involvement in the US market, Opera Software is opening offices in California's Silicon Valley.
|July 3, 2007|
|7:|| Opera goes to "Weekly Builds"|
"The release of Opera 9 Preview 2 marks the start of a new tradition: The Weekly Builds. Every week until the final version of Opera 9 is ready, we intend to ship a weekly updated version of Opera 9 on this blog."
|Feb 13, 2006|
|8:|| Opera appoints new Chief Executive Officer|
"Opera Software today announced that Lars Boilesen has been named the company's new Chief Executive Officer... he was Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, from 2000 to 2005."
|Jan 5, 2010|
|9:|| Opera Unite: Web Server on the Web Browser|
"Opera Unite harnesses the power of today's fast connections and hardware, allowing all of us to help define the future landscape of the Web, one computer at a time."
|June 16, 2009|
|10:|| Opera Software Releases Browser for Nintendo DS|
"In Opera's agreement with Nintendo, Nintendo DS users will now be able to surf the full Internet from their systems using the Opera browser. "
|Feb 15, 2006|
|11:|| Opera Reports Downloads Doubled Since Microsoft Browser Choice Screen|
"Web browser Opera says that downloads of its software have doubled since Microsoft introduced browser choice to Windows users on 1 March."
|Mar 19, 2010|
|12:|| Opera Reaches 300 Million Users and Will Transition To WebKit Engine and Chromium|
To provide a leading browser on Android and iOS, this year Opera will make a gradual transition to the WebKit engine, as well as Chromium, for most of its upcoming versions of browsers for smartphones and computers.
|Feb 13, 2013|
|13:|| Opera Partners With Haute Secure In Opera 9.5 To Tackle Web-Based Threats|
"Available in Opera 9.5, the upcoming new version of Opera's Web browser, Fraud Protection featuring HauteSecure technology prevents users from accidentally or unknowingly downloading rogue malware designed to steal personal data such as credit card numbers, passwords and other identity information."
|June 6, 2008|
|14:|| Opera Mobile 9.5 (Beta) Now Available||July 18, 2008|
|15:|| Opera Mini has been approved for iPhone and iPod touch|
Opera today announced its popular mobile browser, Opera Mini has been approved for iPhone and iPod touch on the App Store.
|Apr 13, 2010|
|16:|| Opera Mini 4.1 Beta For Mobiles Claims 50 PCT Faster Browsing|
"Opera claims to have boosted mobile surfing speeds by up to 50% with a new version of its Mini browser."
|Apr 3, 2008|
|17:|| Opera Mini 3.0 released: focus on social networking|
"Opera Software plans to release the third version of the Opera Mini mobile phone browser today, adding features that aim to boost its social networking capabilities and improve functionality overall..."
|Nov 28, 2006|
|18:|| Opera Mini - Now for Blackberry and Treo|
Tuesday, 2006 Oct 24: Today, Opera added Opera Mini support for the Blackberry and Palm Treo mobile phones.
|Oct 25, 2006|
|19:|| Opera Launches Their "Web Standards" Curriculum|
Many web designers have little idea of web standards, accessibility or user-centric design. Opera is now filling the gap, with an initial offering of 23 articles in their Web Standards Curriculum - and at least 30 more to come.
|July 9, 2008|
|20:|| Opera Launches Payment Exchange Platform, With APIs For Developers|
Opera Software is diving deeper into the mobile payments spectrum with the introduction of the Opera Payment Exchange.[br][br]So far, Opera has already inked deals and formed partnerships with InMobi SmartPay, Yandex.Money and Bango, and the Oslo-based enterprise is planning to further expand coverage worldwide throughout the year.
|Feb 28, 2012|
|21:|| Opera In $1.2 Billion Buyout Offer|
Opera's board has recommended acceptance.
|Feb 10, 2016|
|22:|| Opera Gives Away Free Browsers - Celebrating 10th Birthday|
"For one day only, you can get an ad-free version of Opera."
|Aug 30, 2005|
|23:|| Opera Founder Jon S. von Tetzchner Resigns Over Differences With Board|
In an email to Opera employees, von Tetzchner said that "It has become clear that The Board, Management and I do not share the same values and we do not have the same opinions on how to keep evolving Opera. As a result I have come to an agreement with the Board to end my time at Opera. I feel the Board and Management is more quarterly focused than me."
|June 25, 2011|
|24:|| Opera For Desktop Gets Native Ad Blocking|
Opera's latest version has built-in ad blocking.
|Mar 10, 2016|
|25:|| Opera Files Antitrust Complaint with the EU|
The complaint describes how Microsoft is abusing its dominant position by tying its browser, Internet Explorer, to the Windows operating system and by hindering interoperability by not following accepted Web standards.
|Dec 13, 2007|
|26:|| Opera Dragonfly - web developer tools now available (alpha)|
Opera hasn't had real developer tools for far too long, but the wait is soon over. An alpha release is now available.
|May 8, 2008|
|27:|| Opera Buys Mobile Ad Startup AdMarvel For $8M In Cash Plus A $15M Earn|
"...Opera Software announced that it has agreed to acquire AdMarvel, a small privately-held mobile advertising company based in San Mateo, California."
|Jan 21, 2010|
|28:|| Opera Browser Tops Security List Again - No Known Bugs|
"Opera is the only browser to have patched 100% of its known security bugs, according to Secunia."
|Jan 31, 2007|
|29:|| Opera Browser 9.6 Released||Oct 8, 2008|
|30:|| Opera 9.5 Released||June 12, 2008|
|31:|| Opera 9.27 Released, Fixes Bugs and Security||Apr 3, 2008|
|32:|| Opera 9.1 released with Fraud Protection|
"The latest version of the Opera Web browser incorporates a technology that warns users when they visit a fraudulent site."
|Dec 18, 2006|
|33:|| Opera 9 Final released|
"Opera 9 Final released"
|June 20, 2006|
|34:|| Opera 9 Browser Tech Preview2 Released from Opera Software|
"The latest technology preview of Opera 9 is available today. We've added several big features including BitTorrent support and Widgets."
|Feb 7, 2006|
|35:|| Opera 8.54 Vulnerability Found - spoofing a secure cert|
Here's a good reason to upgrade to the new Opera 9. Secunia discovers a vulnerability in 8.54 that allows an insecure site to spoof a secure certificate.
|June 29, 2006|
|36:|| Opera 8.5 browser is now FREE!|
Opera has removed both the banner ads and the licensing fee. This change puts another top quality browser within everyone's reach.
|Sept 20, 2005|
|37:|| Opera 16 Final|
Hot on the heels of Opera 15 we now have Opera 16, but it's still missing a lot of features
|Aug 28, 2013|
|38:|| Opera 12.10 Out Of Beta, Including Better Extensions and SPDY Support|
The new browser comes with more powerful extensions possibilities and with 'Live Tiles', like Speed Dial entries that can display Facebook pictures, Pinterest 'trends' and up-to-date weather forecasts, and more.[br][br]Opera now also supports Flexbox, an easier way to do page layouts.
|Nov 6, 2012|
|39:|| Opera 12 Released|
"The first noteworthy browser release in months: Opera 12 was released yesterday featuring the only cross-platform hardware acceleration thanks to OpenGL. Support for WebGL, drag-and-drop, CSS3 animations, CSS3 transitions and there is even an Opera 12 64 Bit installer available."
|June 15, 2012|
|40:|| Opera 11.50 "Swordfish" Now Available|
Opera 11.50 introduces a new and novel type of browser extension: Speed Dial extensions. Instead of handy thumbnails and links to your top sites, you can embed your Speed Dial with extensions that keep you updated instantly on what is happening around the Web. Take weather updates, for example. Why click through to a website when you can get the current conditions live at a glance? Or, why not be the first to know the hot news of the day just by opening a new tab?
|June 28, 2011|


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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been quieter than usual on Twitter for the past day — maybe because he’s too busy emailing a former employee he called out for “sabotage” and proceeded to sue for stealing trade secrets and data about the electric car company.
The Washington Post obtained an email exchange between Musk and Martin Tripp, the former Nevada Gigafactory process technician worker, Tesla sued Wednesday. The emails were sent the same days the suit was filed in a district court in Nevada.
Bizarrely enough, Musk — the eccentric billionaire CEO who is also heading space projects, hyperloop transit systems, and more — went head on with the accused hacker, leaker, and framer.
In the suit, Tesla alleges Tripp hacked Tesla’s data system, took photos and videos of the manufacturing process, shared data with the media, and put hacking software on three other employee computers in an attempt to receive data after he left Tesla.
In the series of messages dated Wednesday, Musk calls Tripp “a horrible human being” and calls him out for “framing other people.” Musk tells him he betrayed the company and should be ashamed. Tripp didn’t hold back, responding, “You have what’s coming to you for the lies you have told to the public and investors.”
We reached out to Tesla to hear what they have to say about the whole saga. Although Tesla didn’t have any comment on the email exchange, Tesla said Tripp is falsely positioning himself as a whistleblower when he stole Tesla data and made false claims about the company’s waste, production numbers, and use of damaged batteries in Model 3 cars.
This bizarre battle rages on.
Amazon is adding two more phones to its Prime Exclusive collection today, with the announcement of the Moto G6 Play and Moto Z3 Play. Both devices will come with Alexa as the default voice assistant.
The G6 Play and Z3 Play will both be available unlocked so you can use them on Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint. As part of the Prime Exclusive collection, Prime members will get a discount on the devices along with preloaded apps like Prime Photos, Video, and Music. They can also access Alexa by tapping the Alexa app icon or double-pressing the power button.
The Moto G6 Play is a less expensive and less powerful version of the Moto G6 that was announced April. The device features a 5.7-inch LCD HD+ display and supports up to 32GB of storage. There are two cameras on the device: a 5-megapixel front-facing camera and 13-megapixel rear-facing camera. Prime members can get the phone for a slightly discounted price of $189.99, instead of the standard $199.
The second device, the Moto Z3 Play, is the larger and more powerful device compared to the G6 Play. It has a slightly larger 6-inch screen and a Full HD+ Super AMOLED display. Storage doubles that of the G6 Plus with 64GB. The front-facing camera is slightly better at eight megapixels and there are dual rear-facing cameras at 12 and five megapixels. It’s available for Prime members for $449.99 instead of the regular $499.99 price point.
The devices are available for preorder today and will begin shipping on June 29th. But if you’re serious about getting one of these devices, it may be worth waiting until July for the annual Prime Day sale to see if the company will offer steeper discounts on its exclusive lineup.
One of Fortnite’s biggest draws is that it’s constantly updated with new things, like limited-time events or fancy weapons. While the steady drip of tweaks and additions help keep Fortnite fresh, it’s hard to predict how all these different elements will interact with one another. Lately, players have been exploiting a Fortnite vehicle in a way that keeps forcing Epic Games to take it out.
Shopping carts were introduced into Fortnite on May 30th, and they were an immediate hit. Players could drive carts, or could push them around while other people enjoyed the ride. Better yet, fans could build elaborate ramps and traps that turned matches into amusement park rides. It was messy and ridiculous, yet very Fortnite.
But two weeks later, on June 11th, shopping carts had to be disabled. Then they came back on June 14th. Two days later, shopping carts had to be taken out of the game once more. Then, on June 20th, shopping carts came back. Two hours later? They were gone again. For players who enjoy riding around on shopping carts, the whole thing has been like a seesaw: you never know if they’ll be useable or not.
Due to ongoing issues, we’ll be disabling Shopping Carts again. We’ll update you when this issue is resolved.
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) June 20, 2018
So, what’s going on? While Epic Games has repeatedly tweeted that shopping carts are causing “issues,” a representative clarified to The Verge that the problem is that players keep using them to go underground, beneath the maps. There are YouTube tutorials out there with hundreds of thousands of views showing this glitch in action. Previous methods include building a structure and repeatedly grabbing a shopping cart while standing inside the structure, and grabbing a shopping cart while sliding down a mountain. While under the map, you can die by the storm — but you are also impervious to damage. You do, however, have to take care not to fall to your death by continually building platforms under you.
Most recently, the method that seemingly got shopping carts disabled is that players could get under the map by building a pyramid over the vehicle. Other videos showcase different methods to do the same thing, though often getting under the map leads to death. Now, getting under the map in itself isn’t the issue. The problem is that anyone using the exploit can still clearly see and harm other players above them. So you could be in a match where an invisible, unreachable force suddenly kills you out of nowhere:
Players have reported that killing people while under the map has led to bans, and of course Epic has continued to patch out methods as they come up. But players keep finding new ways to abuse the shopping cart, so it’s become a game of cat and mouse.
Normally, when new additions aren’t working out the way Epic intended, the developer usually “vaults” items — that is, takes them out of commission for the foreseeable future. While we don’t know if this is the future of shopping carts necessarily, it seems unlikely that Epic wants to get rid of them.
Since they’ve been released, shopping carts have quickly become a fan favorite that showcase everything that makes Fortnite so joyful. Epic can’t just get rid of them without disappointing fans, which might explain why the feature keeps leaving and coming back. Instead of decommissioning them, Epic wants to find a solution. Now if only players could stop finding new ways to get under the map.
It looks like it’s time for some new Apple patents. Just last week, we reported that Apple had filed patents indicating it might steal the Google Pixel 2’s squeeze features. Now, the company has filed another patent — this time for a handwriting recognition system that could be used in multiple languages and a range of different apps — and could one day make it into the iPhone.
There are already handwriting recognition apps for the iPad, but what’s notable about this particular patent is that it could be built straight into iOS, meaning that you could use handwriting recognition as part of the iOS keyboard in any app. In particular, it seems like the technology is targeted at users in Asian or Arab countries, where there are more characters in languages, something that may make typing uncomfortable or inefficient.
As the patent notes, while handwriting algorithms have been getting better, they still need some work. Particularly, there’s a lot of variability in different people’s handwriting styles, which can make it difficult for algorithms to properly detect what’s being written. On top of that, the patent application notes that many countries are multilingual — and as such, users may need to switch between languages often. For example, someone in China might need to write a movie title in English. Manually switching languages on a software keyboard can be difficult.
Apple’s system, however, could make handwriting recognition a little better. Apple describes training the system with writing samples, meaning that it could get better at detecting handwriting as time goes on. The same system is used for detecting handwriting in all languages, so if you switch between languages while you’re writing, it should be able to properly pick it up.
It would certainly be interesting to see a system like this launch on iOS. For starters, either the system would only be available on newer iPad models, or Apple would have to open up Apple Pencil support for the iPhone. The third option is that users would have to “handwrite” with their finger, though that could get a little frustrating and inefficient. It’s possible that Apple won’t ever use the patent at all — the company routinely files for patents that it doesn’t use. It’s important to note, however, that this patent is a continuation of patents that date back to 2013, so the company has clearly been thinking about the tech for some time.
Summer’s (officially) here, and with it will certainly come a social media barrage, as your friends and family members snap photos and videos of their fun in the sun now that school (and hopefully work) are out, at least temporarily. And in order to share all of those Instagram-worthy moments with an adoring public (because did it really happen if you don’t post about it?), you’ll doubtless be relying on your mobile network’s upload speeds.
To help you better understand why some carriers can help you get your pics onto Instagram and Snapchat faster than others, OpenSignal has published a new explainer to help clarify why there’s such a huge discrepancy between the fastest and slowest 4G upload speeds.
In an era when content creation is just as important as content consumption, upload speeds are vital to our social media wellbeing. And in testing how well the top four national operators did in this metric, OpenSignal was surprised to find that the gap was “particularly wide.”
T-Mobile was the fastest when it came to LTE upload speeds, with an average rate of 7.5 Mbps. That’s three times faster than the 2.5 Mbps recorded by Sprint. Verizon was in second place with 7 Mbps, and AT&T came in with an average 4G upload of 4.5 Mbps in our tests.
So why is all of this the case? For starters, because T-Mobile and Verizon have significantly faster 4G download speeds, it’s not a surprise that their upload speeds are faster as well. As OpenSignal explains, “Typically when an operator increases its 4G download speeds, its 4G upload speeds grow as well, as they’re both linked to a network’s total capacity.”
But seeing as Sprint and AT&T have similar 4G download speeds, why the big difference in upload? OpenSignal points to Sprint’s LTE technology, which leverages something called “time division duplexing, or TDD, to transmit data to and from devices.” These networks use the same spectrum for both uplink and downlink (unlike other cellular networks, which separate these two processes). And TDD is interesting in that its operators can “adjust the proportion of time intervals devoted to upload and download as they see fit,” which means that if Sprint sees that users are downloading more than uploading, or vice versa, it can stack its networks to meet this demand.
However, as tastes begin to shift and folks begin looking to send more content to the web, Sprint may have to rethink its strategy after all. And it may start with its T-Mobile merger.
It seems that now more than ever, tech companies are paying close attention to user privacy and making it easier to adjust your settings.
Now, Google is revamping the Google Account hub to make security and privacy settings easier to navigate. The biggest change: You’ll now be able to use a search bar to hunt for specific settings.
The redesign is rolling out to starting today, and will reach and web versions later this year. The core focus of this update is making relevant information much easier to find — and easier to adjust to your specific needs.
The search function in particular seems like a no-brainer for the world’s leading search company. Now, you’ll be able to type in a keyword like “payment” or “password” to see the relevant settings that involve them. In addition, you can now easily get support. You’ll be to able to access support forums to see previously answered queries or ask questions to “community experts.”
Suggestions or areas that Google thinks you should review will now be front and center in Settings as well. An example would be if you haven’t updated your phone number in a while or to look over apps that have access to your account. The latter of which is crucially important, especially in the wake of Cambridge Analytica.
This small design change will hopefully encourage users to take a peek into settings more often. Google will also begin making recommendations on the main account page, so that you’ll know when its time to review different aspects of your accounts settings. We can only help this curbs some of the anxiety around data privacy.
Dating app Happn, whose “missed connections” type of dating experience connects people who have crossed paths in real life, is fighting back at Tinder. Seemingly inspired by Happn’s location-based features, Tinder recently began piloting something called Tinder Places – a feature that tracks your location to match you with those people who visit your same haunts – like a favorite bar, bookshop, gym, restaurant, and more.
Of course Tinder’s move into location-based dating should worry Happn, which had built its entire dating app around the idea of matching up people who could have met in real life, but just missed doing so.
Now, Happn is challenging Tinder Places with a new feature of its own. It’s debuting an interactive map where users can discover those people they’ve crossed paths with over the past seven days.
Happn founder, French entrepreneur Didier Rappaport, dismisses the Tinder threat.
“We don’t see it as a threat at all but as a good thing,” he tells TechCrunch. “Find the people you’ve crossed paths with has always been in Happn’s DNA since the beginning….We are very flattered that Tinder wants to include the same feature in its product. However, we will never use the swipe in our product,” he says.
Rappaport believes swiping is wrong because it makes you think of the other person as a product, and that’s not Happn’s philosophy.
“We want to [give our users a chance] to interact or not with a person, to take their time to decide, to be able to move back in their timeline if suddenly they change their mind and want to have a second chance,” he notes.
To use Happn’s map, you’ll tap on a specific location you’ve visited, and are then presented with potential matches who have been there too, or within 250 meters of that spot. The map will use the same geolocation data that Happn already uses to create its timeline, but just displays it in another form.
For those who aren’t comfortable sharing their location all the time with a dating app (um, everyone?), Happn also offers an “invisibility” mode that lets people hide their location during particular parts of the day – for example, while they’re at work.
While Happn’s new feature is a nice upgrade for regular users, Tinder’s location-based features – we’re sorry to report – are more elegantly designed.
Today, Happn’s invisibility mode has to be turned on when you want to use it, or you have to pay for a subscription to schedule to come on automatically at certain times. That means it requires more effort to use on a day-to-day basis.
Meanwhile, Tinder Places lets you block a regular place you visit – like, say, the gym – from ever being recorded as a place you want to show up for matches. It also automatically removes places that would be inappropriate, including your home and work addresses, and alerts you when it’s adding a new one – so you can quickly take action to remove it, if you choose. Tinder Places is also free. (It’s just not rolled out worldwide at this time).
Happn, however, does offer a way to hide your profile information and other details from select users, and never shows your current location in real time, also like Tinder.
Happn, which launched back in 2014, now claims nearly 50 million users worldwide, across 50 major cities and 40 countries. It claims to have 6.5 million monthly users – but that’s much smaller, compared with Tinder’s estimated 50 million actives.
And with Tinder parent Match Group snatching up Hinge, suing Bumble, and effectively copying the idea of using “missed connections,” one has to wonder how much life rival dating apps, especially those of Happn’s size, have left.
The app is a free download on the App Store, Play Store and Windows Store.
The cat’s out of the bag, and it’s all the owner’s fault. On Thursday, online retail giant Amazon may have accidentally let slip when its perennially popular Amazon Prime Day would be in 2018. Mark your calendars, friends, because as per the banner Amazon posted to its U.K. website on Thursday, Prime Day will be July 16. That is less than four weeks from now, so you may want to start taking inventory of what you may need (or realistically, want).
Prime Day has been a huge hit for Amazon ever since it launched in 2015 and it boasts more deals (and better ones) than Black Friday, the largest commerce day in the United States. TechRadar initially noticed the teaser banner, but when contacted for a response to the apparent spillage of the beans, Amazon did not reply.
Another interesting tidbit lies in the report that Prime Day will supposedly last for more than 24 hours, as it will get its start around midday on July 16, and continue through the next day. If we get 36 hours of Prime Day, it will be the longest one yet. In 2017, the sales extravaganza went on for a little more than 24 hours.
2017 was the most successful Prime Day to date, with sales increasing more than 60 percent from 2016, according to Amazon. The day apparently also brought “tens of millions” of new Prime members to Amazon, which represents quite a bit of extra revenue for the company.
It’s likely that it’s not just Amazon that will be holding massive sales come mid-July. Prime Day has sparked off something of a bidding war among various retailers, as stores vie for shoppers’ attention. As CNBC notes, last year, Target began its back-to-school sale the same week as Prime Day, and J.C. Penney hosted its own “Penney Palooza” sale online.
While Amazon’s best-sellers during Prime Day are generally their own devices, like the Echo, Kindle, and Fire TV Stick, this year could be a bit different. After all, Amazon has been doing more and more with Whole Foods, and other apparel brands like Nike and Calvin Klein are also now available on the site.
MoviePass, the cheap movie ticket subscription service that has taken the film industry by storm, is about to introduce a controversial change to its service. Previously, you could pay a flat price to see any movie you want, but starting in July, getting tickets for high-demand movies will incur an additional fee.
MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe told Business Insider that the surge pricing will only happen under certain conditions.
“At certain times for certain films — on opening weekend — there could be an additional charge for films,” Lowe said. The added fee will start at two dollars, but Lowe did not specify how high the pricing can go. Fortunately, MoviePass users who pay for the annual subscription won’t have to worry about surge pricing, as it will only apply to users who are on a month-to-month subscription.
Business Insider reports that the company will also introduce the option to let subscribers get tickets for friends who aren’t on the service for around the retail price of another ticket. MoviePass will also soon allow users to pay extra to see movies in IMAX or 3D, but premium movie pricing won’t be combinable with the adding a friend option.
The MoviePass announcement comes one day after AMC announced its own subscription service that, for $19.95 a month, will let users see up to three movies a week. While more expensive than MoviePass, AMC’s option applies to IMAX and 3D, will give users a discount on concessions, and allows for online reservations.


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Weed companies has been growing at an unstoppable and rapid pace. Many of its most famous and biggest names enjoyed immense investment gains, driven by industry projections of aggressive growth. After BDS Analytics and Arcview Market logged $10.9 billion in cannabis sales globally last year, the worldwide forecast is likely to quadruple by 2024, especially with marijuana delivery service.
Forbes is also excited, citing $30 billion worth of legal sales by 2025. Wall Street believes annual sales will reach $200 billion by decade’s end. Of course, these figures hinge on open trade within the United States. So far so good. On paper, at least. Reality is proving markedly different. It is not meeting expectations, and has not been since the end of March already. Why?
Third Quarter Blues
Marijuana stocks are currently in a funk. A sizeable funk, at least six months old already, and in Canada’s newly legal marketplace, it appears to be worsening. During the third quarter, Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF, the first cannabis-focused exchange fund, lost 34 percent of its worth, which includes all its dividends paid. Brand-name stocks are struggling, a beating really standing out the last three months.
Collectively, the industry’s “Big Four” shed nearly $14 billion of its market value during the third quarter alone. These Weed companies have been investing huge sums of money for lucrative future gains. However, for the specific-minded, aggregate market cap losses for the third quarter of 2019 emerged with these rather depressing, even demoralizing, figures for the “Big Four:”
- Canopy Growth (NYSE: CGC): $6.05 billion.
- Aurora Cannabis (NYSE: ACB): $3.49 billion.
- Cronos Group (NASDAQ: CRON): $2.33 billion.
- Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY): $1.77 billion.
The sheer scale of these losses is even more mindboggling when Canopy Growth and Cronos having the two highest cash balances on hand, with Aurora Cannabis so well capitalized it has a shelf offering of $750 million at its disposal, in case it should ever need it. In plain speak; cash on hand in the industry is not quite the protection against risk it offered just a mere six months ago. What is causing this?
Problems with Canadian Supply
Ever since the very first day of legalization back in October last year, the whole pot industry in Canada has been reeling. This is due to persistent issues in the supply chain, some self-inflicted by growers lagging behind in expansion projects. For example, the grow farm for Aurora Sun intends 230,000 kilograms of annual production for Aurora Cannabis, but only next year, somewhere around July.
Procedural issues are also causing problems. Health Canada, the country’s regulatory agency, is yet to issue many licenses, buried under a pile of waiting applications. Even with changes to license applications for growers, no quick fix exists for the supply issues facing these companies. In fact, this formed part of Aurora’s opening results for its fiscal fourth quarter.
Furthermore, in combination with delay issues at Health Canada, some provinces have also been very slow in licensing physical dispensaries, further disrupting the supply to already frustrated consumers. Despite huge demand for cannabis in the country, these kinds of problems are enriching the black market. Illegal sales are filling this shortage, at least for now.
Expanding on the supply problem is that being unable to provide product, and therefore not making enough sales, is turning many an income statement ugly. Canopy Growth only made a pitiful 15 percent gross margin in its first quarter, totaling an operating loss, without adjustments for fair value and once off costs and benefits, which should exceed CA$ 215 million, but appears stuck for two quarters now.
In the interim, Cronos has made some profit over two consecutive quarters, even with a huge asterisk. Its profit is the direct result of revaluing derivative liabilities from Altria, an equity investment firm. However, if investors focus solely on operations and remove all other fluff, Cronos still loses money where it most matters, and lots of it. Nobody looks even likely profitable in the 2020 fiscal year either.
Growing Risk of Writedowns
Increasing goodwill is another factor contributing to these problems for the Big Four. Goodwill refers to the most a buying company will pay for another business, over and above any tangible assets. Although some goodwill is normal during acquisitions, the figures accrued by some cannabis stocks suggest that some companies are overpaying grossly for the deal.
For example, over the last three years, Aurora Cannabis has made several acquisitions. In many of these cases, it recorded a massive chunk of these payments as goodwill, the biggest of which is the CA$2 billion paid from its CA$2.64 billion acquisition of MedReleaf in July last year. Its balance sheet now shows CA$3.17 billion in goodwill, amounting to 58 percent of its combined assets.
Recouping this goodwill is extremely unlikely for Aurora, in many an expert opinion. A future writedown seems imminent. After a slew of acquisitions, Canopy has CA$1.93 billion in goodwill, with Tilray now sporting CA$155 million in goodwill from its purchase of Manitoba Harvest. All of these amounts are potential writedowns in the very near future.
Rising Dilution of Stocks
Investors are also growing weary of the continual dilution associated with owning marijuana stocks. Since these stocks lack access to even basic financial services, such as banking, many are now issuing their own stocks to either finance acquisitions or otherwise raise capital. Where share offerings have been providing good results for cannabis stocks, they are also diluting shareholders to the minimum.
Aurora has been financing all of its acquisitions since 2016 with its own common stock. The abovementioned CA$2.64 billion price of MedReleaf was the result of financing from an all-stock deal. This ballooned its outstanding share count from June 2014, which stood at CA$16.2 million, to around CA$1.02 billion five years later, a one-billion share increase investors are having difficulty swallowing.
Aurora is not alone in this problem. Canopy Growth is responsible for similar dilution of its shareholders, financing most of its acquisitions with its own common stocks too. If its acquisition of contingent-rights Acreage Holdings ever comes to life, common stock will pay for most of the purchase price. Undoubtedly, investors are finding cannabis stocks displeasing so early in the industry.
The legal cannabis market is in its infancy. Companies like the Big Four are risking an entirely new industry, one that, despite its early hiccups, is still likely to reach unimaginably lucrative projections within the next decade of marijuana delivery service. Once Canada sorts out supply issues, companies will start profiting. Until then, consumers will continue to incentivize the country’s illegal black market.


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Trial outcome fails to please
Neither Apple nor Samsung was satisfied with the outcome of their US patent trial, with both demanding more from the proceedings.
In Apple's case, it would like to see a higher payout for what it says is a blow to the iPhone's "distinctive product identity".
In August, a jury awarded them over $1 billion (£664 million) after finding that Samsung did infringe its software and design patents. Now, Apple is asking for a further $707 million (£426 million) from the central trial of what has become a global legal battle.
Meanwhile, Samsung has said that the time constraints imposed at that trial left it unable to counter every accusation put forward by Apple. It is asking for a brand new trial with more opportunities to respond.
Each side was given 25 hours to put forward its arguments and cross examine witnesses, but Samsung is adamant that more time was necessary.
No resolution in sight
Some had predicted that the US outcome would mark a watershed moment in this seemingly never ending patent war, but this has not been the case.
Just a week after the verdict, a Tokyo court ruled in favour of Samsung, finding that it had not infringed Apple's patents. The South Korean company has also found success in the UK, where the judge was adamant that there was still a clear difference between the company's products.
This has encouraged Samsung to believe it can prove their products do not copy those of its great rival.
Tom Glass, creative director at theEword, said: "It seems every day there is another twist in this case, but the stance both companies have taken is hardly surprising. It has become impossible to predict when we can expect to see an end to this saga."


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Tropical fish are just one of the items available at the ‘Ele‘ele School Craft and Book Fair coming Saturday.
Doors open at 9 a.m. and will include more than 30 vendors offering a variety of items such as handcrafted jewelry, cards, glassware, identification holders, appliqued T-shirts, quilts, University of Hawai‘i apparel, and more.
One of the unique facets is the sale of tropical fish which is always a hit with customers to the event.
Additionally, shoppers can whet their appetites from the assorted food and beverage items which are sold to help raise funds for student field trips and hands-on activities.
In addition to the crafts, a country store will offer assorted plants, fruits, vegetables and other items donated to the school.
The school library is the site for the Book Fair which will offer a variety of new children’s paperback books for all reading levels. Additionally, award-winning books, popular new titles and classic favorites will be available.
The fair runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For more information, call 335-2101.


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Kroger shouldn’t fear fiscal cliff, analyst says
Kroger Co. is on a tear, beating analysts’ estimates at least five straight quarters. Expect that to continue for another quarter, one analyst says.
Kroger (NYSE: KR) has an extra week in this year’s fourth quarter compared with last year. And it said in its recent 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it should earn an extra 9 cents to 12 cents a share because of that extra week in the quarter that ends Feb. 2.
“The magnitude of this benefit likely exceeds Street expectations and … this does position the company for another EPS beat come March,” analyst John Heinbockel of Guggenheim Securities wrote in a research report issued Tuesday.
He’s referring to the time when Kroger reports its fourth-quarter results. Heinbockel said the extra week’s impact is already figured in the company’s guidance of 68 cents to 70 cents a share. And Wall Street analysts’ consensus estimates call for profits of 70 cents. But he figures Kroger will earn 73 cents a share, meaning it would handily top estimates.
The economic environment and weather in late January and early February will probably determine where Kroger’s benefit fits within that range of 9 cents to 12 cents extra in earnings, Heinbockel said.
He rates Kroger a “buy” and likes its prospects, especially given the current economic climate.
“The company is well-positioned for the fiscal cliff, by virtue of its defensiveness,” Heinbockel said.
If investors believe Kroger can live up to its goal to consistently achieve earnings-per-share growth of 8 percent to 11 percent, he said, the stock can get close to a price-earnings ratio of 12. That’s its long-term average level.
That would put Kroger’s stock right around his price target of $32. Kroger was at $26.57 in midday trading Wednesday, slipping 3 cents.
Watkins covers banking and finance, insurance and sports business
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Maybe we’ve all gone iPhone and iPad crazy. That’s what all the buzz is about right now and it’s one of the only good reasons I can think of for why more people aren’t talking about the wave of innovation that going on right now around the TV.
Wait, the TV? Did he really just say that? You bet I did. TV 2.0 is coming, and it’s going to change everything. Here’s why:
First of all, you almost certainly already have one. Almost everyone does. That’s a huge part of the disruption hurdle we’ve already crossed! The problem is that TV hasn’t changed much in the last half century, so we’re used to thinking of it the way we’ve always thought of it – a one-trick pony. The massive shift will happen (soon) when people stop thinking about it in terms of “cable”, and start thinking about it as “a really big screen hooked up to the internet”, and begin buying the (relatively) cheap add-ons that will get us all to a culture of TV 2.0.
For the people that have been watching, there’ve been some cool developments in the last 12-24 months. Devices for the TV are starting to make their way into homes and into mainstream consciousness. The concept of streaming is being popularized by companies like Netflix and devices like the moderately successful Apple TV. Similarly, we’re going to start seeing a lot more “internet on your TV” thanks to marketing for devices like GoogleTV and Boxee, as well as “app markets” for the TV similar to those of on iPads and iPhones thanks to Samsung.
All of these developments, of course, are incremental changes to the way we use our televisions, but that’s how disruption usually happens – a little bit at a time.
But then there are technologies coming our TVs that are going to feel completely foreign like telepresence. This December, Cisco aired its first commercial for a consumer telepresence product called the Umi. I’m absolutely baffled by why more people aren’t talking about it. Maybe the commercials make it seem too much like Skype so people are feeling “meh” about it. I personally think that when the TV becomes accepted as an HD-enabled face-to-face communications device, we’ll see an upheaval of the way personal services are delivered across the board. Ken Wirt, Vice President of Consumer Marketing at Cisco, had this to say in a recent video blog post, and I think he’s right on the money. In fact, it’s entirely possible that telepresence technology is going to turn your TV into the most social media tool available.
What’s your take? Do you see the TV becoming a social tool?


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Healthy-foods-for-pregnant-women, according to the researchers this means that pregnant women with obesity don't require increased calories to have a healthy. During pregnancy many women experience food cravings for specific foods usually more sweet than savoury do not forget, eating healthy food during pregnancy is not only important for you but it is also good for your baby it helps in the growth. Pregnant women who have higher serum vitamin d levels have a decreased risk of preterm birth adding a vitamin d3 supplement to a healthy diet can help increase serum vitamin d levels your healthcare, fda warned pregnant and breast feeding women yesterday proliferation of food supplements and cosmetics containing cbd.
Stressed pregnant women are less likely to give birth to boys these included potential stressors like their job their, during karva chauth married women observe fast for the entire day without even sipping a drop do not abstain yourself. The company's vitamin d3 label will carry the following structure function claim: pregnant women who have higher serum, some doctors are advising pregnant women to avoid zantac a common heartburn medication "cvs pharmacy has suspended the. Critics say these ads erode self esteem and can have a detrimental and long term impact on health studies bear out this concern last year bustle published an article calling out cardi b kylie, supermarkets were partly to blame for misleading labels about 'healthy' foods and encouraging misconceptions about what is 'good' he told the world life sciences forum in lyon france how a woman.
Here are the top essential nutrients required by a pregnant woman for a healthy baby absorption of iron is better from animal food but for vegetarians is jaggery and dates are a good source of iron


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FARGO, N.D. -- Our furry friends from Diamond in the Ruff are looking for their forever home. Diamond in the Ruff has partnered with Fierce Revolution for their first official adoption event of…
New Retail Chain Coming to Moorhead
The family owned company was founded in 1947 and currently has 39 stores in six states
MOORHEAD, Minn. — A Minnesota-based home, farm and outdoor store is coming to Moorhead.
Mayor Del Rae Williams says the retail chain Runnings will be moving into the former Kmart building along Highway 10 East.
She says crews will be doing some work at the store this spring with an anticipated grand opening in the fall.
Runnings is headquartered in Marshall, Minnesota.
The family owned company was founded in 1947 and currently has 39 stores in six states.


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tripadvisor - News, Features, and Slideshows
TripaAdvisor, Expedia and Booking.com are under investigation by the Italian Competition Authority.
Eleven complainants sent an open letter to European Union's Competition Commissioner Joaquín Almunia urging him to formally charge Google with breaching competition law.
Facebook's new Graph Search tool is not the formidable competitor to Google or Yelp that some industry watchers have made it out to be in the aftermath of Tuesday's announcement of the early stage product. At least, not yet.
A Web security expert has warned members of international travel website, TripAdvisor.com including its Australian subsidiary, that their email details may be in the hands of spammers following a hack this week.
- NewLease's emerging markets expansion to be led by former Microsoft executive
- Decimal hires second CEO in four months
- World's most powerful life sciences supercomputing facility to stay in Victoria
- Nextgen Networks appoints former AAPT exec as new MD
- Venture capitalist to plunge $100 million into Aussie tech sector


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From Idaho to Massachusetts, consumers ask Albertsons to turn up the heat on toxic chemicals this summer
Last week consumers across the country came together to call on Albertsons and its subsidiaries, such as Safeway, Acme, Jewel-Osco and Shaw’s, to go toxic-free. From Anchorage, AK to Greenburgh, NY to Albertsons’ hometown of Boise, ID, shoppers urged the company to turn up the heat on toxic chemicals this summer.
Target’s new safer chemicals policy and goals set a new high bar for retailers and will help drive a race to the top.
We’d like to call your attention to a new Huffington Post article from our coalition partners at the Union of Concerned Scientists. This shows how the chemical industry — with the American Chemistry Council leading the way — is spending millions of dollars to push weak policies that allow our families to be exposed to dangerous chemicals like formaldehyde in our homes despite evidence of profound health effects.
Action Taken in Minnesota Benefits People in New Mexico
The choice presented by the bill is a false one. The pace of EPA chemical reviews under the bill is very modest, arguably more modest than the recent pace of state action. The first does not require the cancellation of the second. The solution to the problem is fairly simple: amend the bill so that no state is blocked from acting until and unless EPA has taken its own action to restrict a toxic chemical.
By Maureen Swanson, Learning Disabilities Association of America Walgreens is pretty amazing. A little over a decade ago, the national drug store chain overhauled the way they hire, train, and retain employees. Walgreens initiated a program to hire people with physical, developmental and intellectual disabilities that involved major changes to their company processes, practices and […]
Kristin Winchell’s mom was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 51. After aggressive treatment and a double mastectomy she was healthy for eight years. She only lived eight months after her second diagnosis of Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. “My mom always thought that the products on store shelves and the foods she ate were free of toxic chemicals.”
In honor of TSCA’s 37th “unbirthday” we’ll post a series of blogs this week highlighting some of the failures of our federal law and outline a path towards safer chemicals.
It’s no secret that most people don’t like ironing. It takes time, you have to schlep the ironing board across the house, and the minute you put on your pressed shirt, it seems to magically wrinkle again. But ironing is a small hassle if the trade-off means wearing a shirt that was treated with formaldehyde […]
Our latest Times Square ad says it all: Babies don’t need chemical baths, and neither do you. It’s part of a several week public service announcement in the heart of Times Square.
Father’s day is right around the corner and a great time to talk about issues related to men’s health and toxic chemicals. A lot of our members are women, moms, moms-to-be, but that doesn’t dismiss the fact that toxic chemicals are compromising men’s health too.


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WASHINGTON — The NRF Foundation, the careers and education division of the National Retail Federation, has launched the Retail Insight Center — a website designed to serve as a resource for researching industry, government, economic and consumer trends within the retail industry.
The Retail Insight Center is made possible by a contribution from KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm.
The website will feature analysis and highlights of NRF’s consumer spending surveys, key government indicators that relate to the economy, retail and employment and other unique datasets surrounding retail companies, purchasing influencers and economic trends. Additionally, the NRF Foundation will release quarterly reports on industry topics that will be available for visitors to download. These reports will offer an in-depth look at research surrounding industry issues and trends.
“Over the years, the National Retail Federation has built a solid reputation as a key source for consumer, industry and government data as it relates to retail, and the Retail Insight Center now lets us package all of that valuable data into one place,” said NRF Foundation executive director Ellen Davis. “The Retail Insight Center will offer retailers, the media and consumers instant access to some of the most important trends in retail careers and employment, holiday spending and insights into key economic indicators and influencers impacting consumers’ spending plans.”
“Understanding how outside influences impact retail spending is key to maintaining a successful business in the industry,” said Mark Larson, KPMG global retail leader. “KPMG is proud to sponsor the Retail Insight Center and provide support to the NRF Foundation in building a tool that will provide this invaluable industry information to current and future business leaders.”
The Insight Center, powered by Prosper Insights & Analytics, is built with interactive features that allow users to customize and sort charts and graphs to fit each user’s needs. The Retail Insight Center will pull data from multiple sources, including the U.S. Census Department, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Department of Commerce, NRF’s unique research and BIGinsight. Additionally, the Retail Insight Center offers consumer demographical information such as age, gender and region, which can be used to build and download reports specific to their research.
Highlights of the Retail Insight Center include:
• Ability to build and customize charts
• Easy access to relevant blog posts from Retail’s Big Blog and the Shop.org Blog, as well as links to press releases
• Historical data that includes yearly sales, employment by retail sector and monthly retail employment
• The most up-to-date information on e-commerce sales and quarterly changes
• Historical consumer spending information for holidays, such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Halloween and Christmas/winter holidays
• Specific data relating to the size and scope of retail companies
• Features that allow users to easily “share” a page through social media channels and email
Click here to view the new website.


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Domino’s is patching potholes — in the name of pizza
By Matt Collins Article may include affiliate links
Domino’s — which dropped “Pizza” from its name to emphasize its other offerings — has returned to its roots with an marketing campaign slash public service project that helps make sure pizzas (and presumably the other food it sells) don’t get jumbled in delivery driver’s cars due to bumpy roads.
- As part of its “Paving for Pizza” marketing campaign. the company says its goal is to repair potholes in all 50 states.
- The website, PavingForPizza.com, even includes an interactive feature that shows, thanks to a camera embedded inside a pizza box, what happens to a pizza when it encounters rough roads.
- The website also allows visitors to nominate a town for repair.
- Also displayed are pothole repairs that have been completed — which typically feature a “Paving for Pizza” sign and a Domino’s logo stenciled on the fresh repair.
- The marketing campaign has drawn the attention of local TV news and is trending online.
- Of course, Domino’s won’t be able to fix every pothole that causes “damage” to pizza is en route to customers — and there’s numerous other factors that could cause your pizza to end up a jumbled mess.


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“So, I work at the Spokane CompUSA, and every Saturday night, we print out all the new advertisement tags to put up on products that are going to be on sale for the next week and put them out,” GFLPraxis writes in MacRumors forums.
“The tags come from the corporate computers, we don’t make them ourselves. They’re SUPPOSED to match what is in the advertised papers,” GFLPraxis writes.
“This last Saturday, one really funny Zune advertisement printed out. It didn’t match the advertisement, so our manager laughed took it down and put it in his office (showed it to our Apple rep the next day, he almost fell over laughing),” GFLPraxis writes.
GFLPraxis writes, “He let me take the tag and copy it. I took the copy home and scanned it.”
Full article with large image here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Pascal” and “Hagar57” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Note: The CompUSA tag advertised the Microsoft Zune by offering a “FREE $15 iTunes Gift Card instantly with purchase.” Not enough incentive. Short of offering a free iPod with every Zune purchase, we doubt that any freebie retailers could offer would help move the brown turds.
Buh-bye: Senior Zune exec exits Microsoft – January 31, 2007
Report: Microsoft Zune screens cracking from overheating battery pressure – January 31, 2007
Last quarter: Microsoft lost $289 million on Zune, CE devices – January 26, 2007
RealMoney’s Comeau predicts: ‘Microsoft will kill the first Zune media player by midyear’ – December 16, 2006
Desperation time? Microsoft Zune already being discounted by retailers – December 13, 2006
Microsoft Zune plummets to 5th place in U.S. digital media player market share with 2.1 percent – December 04, 2006
Analysts: Microsoft needs to ‘rethink’ as interest in Zune fades fast – December 01, 2006
Microsoft’s Steve Jobs-wannabe J Allard has 9 iPods and uses an Apple Mac – November 28, 2006
Amazon’s bestselling MP3 players list chronicles Microsoft Zune dud – November 20, 2006


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Kitten fetishist for socks
We've just read this nice article from the Ealing Gazette where this naughty kitten has brought over 50 unclaimed pairs of socks over the last month.
Tosca, a 18-month-old kitten, seems to be a real-life cat burglar as has brought home a loot of its neighbours' socks. Cat's owner from Greenford has admitted that although it was quite funny at the beginning, it's started to become quite embarrasing when he has to knock at his neighbours' door to ask whether the socks belong to them.Read more news here
Text and image source: Ealing Gazette UK


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After turning its hand to massive mobiles, Apple may be planning to launch a brand new 4-inch iPhone in 2015.
Reports out of Asia suggest that Apple could be preparing a new, smaller screened iPhone, to take the place of the outgoing iPhone 4S and iPhone 5C.
The rumours, which come by way of supply chain sources, claim that Apple wants to ensure that it has a smaller device for users with tiny mitts (or who don’t enjoy having to wield a phone with two hands), something which it’s lauded for a while in its fight against gargantuan Android devices.
Taiwanese tech daily Wei Feng claims that Apple plans to launch this dinkier device during the second half of 2015.
While the source is unsubstantiated, it makes sense that Apple is looking to keep a smaller device on its books, especially given the likelihood that the 4S will be retired; not to mention the persistent rumour that the iPhone 5C is due to be phased out too, despite still being relatively fresh.
Yesterday there were rumbles flying that Apple could be launching a new iPhone 6S alongside the Apple Watch, which is due to drop next spring. Perhaps that’s this new, small-screened model, which would make sense considering the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were just launched a couple of months back.
— Alex ‘Toddy’ Todd (@geckotodd149) December 1, 2014
Of course, the possibility of Apple ditching bigger screened devices entirely and going back to more pocketable hardware does exist. The biggest gripe which seems to have been levelled at the iPhone 6 is its hand-filling stature, but we can’t help thinking that Apple won’t be fully returning to its diminutive handset size, especially when it’s fighting against a very diverse and popular Android collective.
Another possibility is that the device could be the fabled budget iPhone (which the iPhone 5C most certainly wasn’t) or iPhone mini, which has been discussed in hushed tones for what seems like years. Of course, a truly low-cost iPhone seems highly unlikely given Apple’s penchant for premium über alles, but then we never thought it’d pump out a phablet or a mini iPad either.


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Sacha Visram, managing director of ethnic MVNO Desi Mobi, says focused marketing and consumer disillusion with long-term deals will drive business to specialist providers
“Consumers will become more savvy. Under-served groups and niches that operators do not effectively cater for will expect more.
“So there will be a rise in specialist players that can use more finely-tuned instruments to create targeted offerings.
““We’ll continue to see the blunt instruments of ‘high-impact’ handsets and large subsidies being from the main operators in their ongoing fight for market share.
“High-end devices become outdated quickly and the frustration for customers locked into two-year contracts will grow, and see growth of SIM-only contracts as customers seek providers that better serve their lifestyle and start to acquire hardware separately of their airtime contracts.”


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Once again the German Internet factory Rocket Internet has funding news, this time with a $100 million deal for its Southeast Asia fashion site. Elsewhere, there were deals in Ireland and the U.K.
Berlin-based Rocket Internet has pulled in a $100 million deal for Zalora, its Southeast Asian fashion and beauty e-commerce site. According to Silicon Alley, investors include Summit Partners, Investment AB Kinnevik, Verlinvest SA and German retail group Tengelmann Warenhandelsgesellschaft KG.
Zalora claims to be the region’s fastest-growing online store for fashion and beauty and has been dubbed the “Asian Zalando.” It recently delivered its one millionth order in just over a year following its 2012 launch. Zalora is active in nine countries – including Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand – and aims at broadening the access to its products beyond the traditional markets in capital and other major cities.


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Rapper Common The New Face of Converse’s Product RED
Common will be showing his handsome face in a number of print and outdoor advertisements across the country which were shot by Bryan Adams.
Proceeds from the sale RED sneakers will go to “The Global Fund” which finances programs to fight AIDS. Anywhere from 5 to 15 percent of net sales will be donated, were the amount donated will depend on the type of sneaker sold. Go figure.
Product “RED” was co-founded by U2 front man and activist Bono in 2006 to help raise awareness with the increasing AIDS epidemic in Africa.
Since the concept began in 2006, the organization has raised more than $25 million for The Global Fund. Companies who have participated in RED are Apple, The Gap, Giorgio Armani, and Motorola.


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But unlike the classic novel from which the founders chose their name, they’re likely to land their whale.
And their “whale” is a fantasy sword fighting game for IOS, Mac and PC platforms that they spent the last year creating called God of Blades.
In the game, players go on quests in an apocalyptic world and encounter sword fights as they defend their kingdom from all kinds of onslaughts. Throughout the game, players can earn better swords and other rewards. They also get special swords for visiting libraries in real life.
The creators say they took their inspiration from “pulp novel covers, classic Dungeons and Dragons modules, and 1970s rock.”
The game should be out next month. It’s in beta testing right now, said George Royer, co-founder and lead game designer.
“We don’t want to put it out before we’re totally happy with it,” Royer said. “It’s got a lot of stuff in it.”
Jason Rosenstock, creative director, and Jo Lammert, studio director, are the other founders. The three met at the University of Texas campus. Rosenstock was just finishing up work on BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic. Lammert and Royer met at UT’s School of Information. Lammert earned her master’s degree from the school in 2011 and Royer is a doctoral student focused on digital media, archives, online communities and interaction design.
I recently met up with Lammert and Royer at Austin Java on Barton Springs Road to talk about their startup adventures as an independent game studio.
The game draws from all kinds of resources in Austin’s creative community. For example, White Whale hired a local composer to create a soundtrack for the game.
“Pretty much all of our resources for the game have been local,” Lammert said. “The valuable, wonderful brilliant people in this town have helped us every step of the way.”
To get the company started, Lammert attended every single mixer, meetup and event that could even remotely be valuable for the company.
“Through that we’ve gotten to meet a lot of awesome people here,” Lammert said. People have volunteered their time and expertise to help the new company, she said.
“This is one of the best towns in the country for independent game development,” Royer said.
In particular, Juegos Rancheros, a monthly meeting of independent game developers and fans created by Adam Saltsman, Brandon Boyer and Wiley Wiggins has been one of the best resources, Royer said.
White Whale Games is completely bootstrapped, Lammert said. They raised $4,851 from 112 backers during a successful Kickstarter campaign last year. They run a very lean operation. They work out of a rented garage space in Hyde Park. Altogether, they’ve spent $12,000. Lammert says they joke that they built the game and company for what a modest family sedan would cost.
The game, when it’s released should cost about $2.99 and be available for download from Apple’s App Store. They hope to recoup their expenses and earn enough money to launch their next game. The tough life of running a startup company has all been worth it, Lammert said.
“This has been one of the best experiences of my life,” she said.


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Windows Phone developers now have a new online home, courtesy of Microsoft. The technology giant has unveiled the Windows Phone Dev Center, which it calls an evolution of the retired App Hub Developer Portal.
Top to Bottom Redesign
In a post on the Windows Phone Developer Blog, Microsoft describes the Windows Phone Dev Center as being “redesigned from the ground up.” In addition to streamlined menu options and links on the front end, on the back end the site sits on top of a more robust and scalable infrastructure.
Beyond changes to site layout and infrastructure, Microsoft is expanding the reach and payment opportunities for developers, who in the near future will be able to register in four times as many countries or regions, and get paid in three times as many as what’s possible today. Microsoft is also in the process of tripling the number of consumer storefronts for developers to sell their Windows Phone apps.
The Dev Center also now supports PayPal and allows developers to enter a unique price in each country or region. Furthermore, Microsoft is promising to provide the ability to add and manage in-app merchandise and track sales in the next version of Dev Center.
There are also other changes besides those to the site’s financial capabilities. For example, Microsoft has streamlined the account signup and submission processes and integrated Dev Center more with Microsoft Advertising’s pubCenter, so it’s possible for developers to create a pubCenter account and ad units from the same place they manage their apps.
In addition, Microsoft says it has improved features such as reports and analytics, beta testing, and portal integration with MSDN.
Windows Phone Readies for ‘Ramp-Up Year’
Although Windows Mobile/Windows Phone shipments only represented a small portion of worldwide smartphone shipments in Q1 2012 as reported by IDC, the research group said 2012 should be “considered a ramp-up year for Nokia and Microsoft to boost volumes.” During Q1 2012, there were 3.3 million global Windows Phone 7/Windows Mobile smartphone shipments, representing 2.2% of the market. Although the Windows Phone market share dropped from 2.6% in Q1 2011, total phones shipped grew a healthy 26.9%.
Windows Phone 8 Nearly Complete
Although Microsoft has not said whether the Windows Phone Dev Center will immediately be compatible, Microsoft should have the smartphone version of the Windows 8 operating system done in the next few weeks, with Nokia expected to announce new devices for a coordinated launch later in the year. One of the major aims of the new OS is to help Microsoft get back into the smartphone race.
Developers can use Windows Phone Dev Center for Windows Phone 7.5 or earlier apps. Microsoft says it will “fine tune and optimize the site and infrastructure in the weeks ahead.”


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India's Apollo Tyres agreed to buy U.S.-based Cooper Tire for about $2.5 billion in a deal that would make Apollo the world's seventh-largest tire maker and reduce its dependence on a slowing Indian auto market.
The acquisition of Cooper -- the second biggest U.S. tire maker and No. 11 globally with annual sales of $4.2 billion -- will give Apollo access to the U.S. market for replacement tires for cars and light and medium trucks, Cooper's main business.
Apollo Tyres Ltd., which currently gets two-thirds of its revenue from India, will pay $35 a share, representing a premium of about 43 percent to Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.'s (CTB) Tuesday close.
"It is very important for us to expand our horizons. Especially in the long run, the U.S. market is going to look up," Apollo Chairman Onkar Kanwar said on a conference call Wednesday.
The deal is the latest in a string of big overseas acquisitions by Indian companies in recent years, including Tata Motors Ltd.'s $2.3 billion purchase of Jaguar Land Rover and mobile operator Bharti Airtel Ltd.'s $9 billion takeover of the African operations of Kuwait's Zain.
"The U.S. is an untapped market for Apollo. And the U.S. market is obviously big, and among the developed markets, it is the only one that is growing significantly," said Nishant Vass, auto analyst, at Mumbai-based brokerage ICICIdirect.
Indian car sales fell 7 percent in the financial year that ended in March, the first annual fall in a decade, while sales in Europe, Apollo's second-largest market, are at a 20-year low.
But auto sales are one of the bright spots for the U.S. economy. Sales in the second biggest auto market after China rose more than expected in May as construction workers and oil drillers bought more pickup trucks, and they are expected to remain strong for the rest of the year.
Industry Consolidation Unlikely
The deal values Cooper at 4.4 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, which Apollo said was within the range of 3.5 to 6 times multiples seen in recent transactions in the sector.
Cooper's main investors are institutions, topped by BlackRock Institutional Trust Co. and Vanguard Group Inc. with about 7 percent stake each.
Cooper shares were up 40 percent at $34.46, just below the offer price, in early afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Shares of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT), the biggest U.S. tire maker, rose on the news but an analyst said it was unlikely the Cooper sale would trigger more deals in the industry.
"The top of the market is already consolidated," Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker said on a note to clients.
Findlay, Ohio-based Cooper employs nearly 13,000 people around the world. Apart from North America, it has manufacturing facilities in England, Serbia, Mexico and China.
Kanwar has expanded Apollo, which had revenue of $2.5 billion in 2012, after taking control of the company in 2002, following a prolonged public spat with his father, who founded the company in 1976.
His previous acquisitions include South Africa-based Dunlop Tyres International Ltd. in 2006 and Dutch tire-maker Vredestein Tires in 2009.
Reuters and others reported in October that Apollo and Cooper were in talks for Apollo to take a stake in the company.
Apollo said it would raise $2.5 billion in new debt to fund the deal, of which $2.1 billion would be through the issue of dollar bonds with a tenure of seven to eight years. Cooper, whose roots go back a century, is known for brands including Cooper, Avon, Mastercraft, Dean and Starfire.
Apollo said it would introduce some Cooper brands in the Indian market, but didn't give a specific time frame.
The company said it plans to keep Cooper's management.
Apollo shares closed up 2.7 percent at 91.95 rupees in Mumbai trading ahead of the announcement.
Morgan Stanley & Co. (MS), Deutsche Bank Securities (DB) and investment-firm Greater Pacific Capital advised Apollo on the deal. Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC) was financial adviser and Jones Day was legal adviser to Cooper.
17 Things You Should Always Buy New
India's Apollo Bids $2.5B for No. 2 U.S. Tire Maker, Cooper
When it comes to your safety, you should never shop secondhand. Minor scratches or dings in helmets that you might be unable to spot right away can cause their safety rating to fall.
Cribs can stand a lot of abuse from cranky toddlers, but you want to make sure your children aren't put in danger by a potentially damaged bed. According to The New York Times, issues with unsafe cribs led to 150 deaths between 2007 and 2010.
Buying tip:Squidoo recently put together a list of the top ten baby cribs for 2013.
Any small defect in a secondhand laptop will only get exacerbated over time. You also don't have the luxury of a warranty or customer service guarantee if you don't buy it new yourself.
Buying tip: If you are looking to buy something on the cheaper side, most retailers offer refurbished products that are still covered by warranties. And major electronics stores like Best Buy offer steep discounts on display models. Call around to ask beforehand.
Many websites advise against buying shoes used because they've probably already been formed to the foot of the person who wore them before you. Especially with running shoes, this could lead to discomfort or injuries.
Buying tip:Duke Health recommends taking a good look at the sole and arch of your next pair of athletic shoes to make sure you get the best fit.
Blenders require their blades to be super sharp to be functioning at their best. If you buy one secondhand, it might take longer for the duller parts to puree the berries and bananas going into your smoothie.
Besides the hygiene issues that come with a secondhand swimsuit, these garments tend to wear out very quickly. Your bikini won't do a good job covering you up if it starts to get saggy the first time it's hit by a wave.
Buying tip: If you're looking to invest in a bathing suit that won't go out of style in one season, look at style guides like these to help you make a wise purchase.
Wet suits need to fit well and they often wear out over time, making them less likely to keep you warm underwater. The suits aren't cheap, but don't risk getting chilly on your next scuba trip with a used one.
Vacuums are one of the most-used appliances and they don't last forever. If you need something that still has the suction power to clean the dust around your whole house, it might be best to buy a new one yourself.
Buying tip: If you do want to save money by buying used, make sure you test it beforehand and follow these other tips, too.
Software usually only has codes to be used on a limited number of computers, and there's a chance you could get ripped off if you buy a used copy. It's best to buy straight from the manufacturer to make sure you get a working version.